by Mark Ryan
He looked to the main castle gates, where the first of the Lord Major’s troops trickled back in.
“You ready?” she asked.
“Yes sir.”
“Just try to stay calm, Sergeant. I saw it, too. The Lord Major better have a good explanation. Lead the way.”
Heiml, Reynolds, and Mikkels made their way out of the gates and onto the field of death. The truth of the destruction they’d wrought on the orocs staggered Reynolds as they crossed the battlefield. The last attack had reduced many of the creatures to piles of mangled flesh and bone, and little clear earth offered itself to walk on between the bodies.
Distant cheering grew louder as they approached Illamer’s position. Several dozen soldiers surrounded the lord and raised him to their shoulders. Scores of Drayston wounded and dead still lay on the ground behind them. Lieutenant Heiml stalked ahead of Reynolds.
“What’s going on here?” she shouted.
The cheers died off, except for Illamer’s snap of laughter.
“Victory, Lieutenant! Surely you can see—”
“We’ve hundreds of wounded to be tended to while you’re wasting time out here holding a parade, is that it?”
The lord traded looks with certain soldiers, most likely his personal guard. They lowered him to the ground.
“There are always casualties in battle, Lieutenant,” he said. “Forgive my men and I for celebrating that we are not among them.”
Reynolds came up beside the Lieutenant, keeping his voice level with enormous effort. “You broke ranks and attacked before the entire oroc force was in motion. You exposed our ambush and forced your line to confront the enemy off the protection of the ice. Some of these deaths lay squarely at your feet. Sir.” He spat out the last word.
“I engaged the enemy when I thought it most timely, Sergeant.” Reynolds’ rank rolled off Illamer’s tongue like an insult. “I don’t answer to you on these matters.”
Reynolds quaked with barely contained rage. “There was a plan and you cost the lives of my men, Voids take you, and of your own men when you abandoned the plan for your own glory.”
“Sergeant,” Heiml cautioned.
Illamer’s eyes widened at first, but then a grin cut between his cheeks. “Would you like me to take your rank for this insult, or would you prefer banishment? I’m merciful enough, but only suffer fools such as you so far.”
Reynolds stepped towards Illamer, and Heiml laid a hand on his arm. “Only fools order their own men into certain death.”
Illamer spat at his feet. “You’ll be tried for this insolence. Hanged. I’ll be there to watch.”
“Push it,” Heilm said, “and I’ll see you stand accused next to him, Lord Major.”
Shock flashed across on Illamer’s face, replaced by a mask of calm. “Very well, Lieutenant. Why should we argue on such a day of victory?” He waved a gloved hand to his men as he stalked off. “Tend to the wounded.”
She scowled at Reynolds. “That wasn’t wise, Sergeant.”
“Was I wrong?”
She sighed and shook her head. “No, but you overplayed your part, Malthius. You should’ve let me handle him. And you know why.”
Her use of his first name surprised him, implying she knew more about his past than she let on. But how much? “I’m not afraid of him, or any other lord for that matter.”
“I know. And that’s why you’re here saluting me instead of the other way around. Lord Illamer is a dangerous man, Sergeant. Maybe more so to his own men on the battlefield, but in the king’s court he’s feared for a good reason.”
“Then why did you stand up for me?”
“Because you’re my responsibility, Sergeant, and I don’t take such things lightly.”
She spun on a heel and headed off, leaving him to ponder all she’d said—and left unsaid.
***
Chapter 49
Tetra Bicks
Tetra woke, groaning and struggling to place himself. For a moment, he thought he’d been fighting orocs through smoke and fire, listening to people die around him while the earth itself came alive with murderous intent. When his vision cleared, he recognized his usual infirmary room, with weak blue sunlight streaming through the window. Right before dawn, he guessed. Had it all been another nightmare then? Another fever dream? The memory of screams and moans still wavered around him. Would these tortured memories of Jaegen plague him the rest of his life?
Then he realized the sounds didn’t come from any dream. He jerked upright, ignoring the twinge in his lower back. Sounds of suffering came from the infirmary wing beyond the room. He strained to listen, but heard no noises indicating an ongoing battle. Had it ended? Had they won?
The door opened, admitting Healer Alma, who wiped blood off his hands with a white cloth. “Up then? Good. I feared I’d be changing your bed sheets and loincloths for another four weeks.” He stepped aside. “You’ve a visitor.”
As the healer left, Sergeant Reynolds took his place. Oroc blood, and other fluids, splattered the sergeant’s uniform, enough to hide the gold in the design. He smoothed down his mustache with one hand, the other tucked behind his back. Reynolds looked like he had aged a decade overnight.
“So you fought,” he said.
Tetra sighed and slumped against the wall. “Going to yell at me for disobeying orders, sir?”
The sergeant’s lips quirked. “They say you killed two orocs on your own and directly saved the life of at least one man. No, Tetra. I’m not going to yell at you. I came to give you a commendation.”
“What’s that mean?”
Reynolds drew his other arm out and revealed the sword he held. Tetra’s sword. His father’s sword. Walking stiffly, the sergeant came over and placed it in Tetra’s shaky hands.
“It’s yours now. You’ve earned it, and no one will ever take it from you again. Not without a fight, at least.” He clasped hands behind his back, shoulders straight.
Tetra ran fingers along the blade, re-familiarizing himself with the weapon. He tried to imagine his father’s hands on the same hilt, guiding the blade in battle. After accepting this was real and no dream, he leaned it against the side of the bed, alongside the mace Bealdred gave him. He’d need another loop on his belt for an extra sheath.
“How long has it been?” he asked.
“You only slept a night,” Reynolds smirked. “We’ve only just begun tallying our losses.”
“What happens now?”
Reynolds grimaced. “We deal with the dead and then keep on living. It’s the most we can ever do after a battle.”
“What about Halli? My sister?”
The sergeant frowned. “What about her?”
“I’m still sure the orocs have her. I’m still sure she’s alive, and maybe others from Jaegen. I’ve got to after her and at least find out.”
Reynolds cleared his throat. “You’ve seen how savage orocs can be twice over now, and you really think they’ve kept a bunch of children alive all this time?” He held up hands at Tetra’s pained expression. “I don’t mean to be overly blunt, but you have to at least consider the possibility.”
“What about the possibility that I’m right? I mean, I was right about the orocs attacking, wasn’t I? Doesn’t that mean something?”
The sergeant studied the floor for a long moment before meeting his gaze again. “It means a lot, yes. And I think you might find Lord Drayston a bit more amenable to the idea of going after orocs after all this. But give us time to recover. We’ve got to get the castle back into a defensible condition and wait until those patrols we sent out return. Otherwise, if we launch a counterattack right away and the orocs come back while we’re gone, we could easily return to a smoking ruin.”
Tetra winced, reprimanding himself for not having thought of that. Still, the idea of holding back, of leaving her fate unknown galled him to no end. He reached out, trying to sense her as he always had. She was still there, but she seemed so far away, so lost.
Reynold
s must’ve understood his expression, for he held a hand up. “Patience, Tetra. You’ve waited this long. What’s another few days or a week?”
Tetra clutched fistfuls of the sheet. “I’ve been here all this time because I had to be. Do you have any idea what it’s like to just leave your family and friends with the enemy, wondering if they’re being tortured every minute of every day?”
The sergeant eyed him until Tetra looked away uncomfortably. “You’d be surprised.”
Tetra puzzled at the unexpected answer, but the sergeant didn’t seem eager to share any other details. Instead, Reynolds’ hard sigh puffed his cheeks out.
“Wait until things settle here and I can at least give you a proper introduction to Lord Drayston,” he said. “Hear him out on what he chooses to do next.”
Tetra lay back, knowing full well that after last night, he needed to rest his back anyway. “Fine. But if he still refuses to do anything about Jaegen, then I’m going into the Rocmire by myself.”
Reynold’s laughter startled him, but the sergeant refused to explain what he found so funny. He left Tetra, chuckling to himself.
Healer Alma returned in his wake, frowning. “What are you still doing here?”
Tetra looked around. “Isn’t this my room?”
Alma hustled in and stripped the sheets off his legs. “Are you mad? I’ve got near a hundred wounded and dying and I need as much space as I can get to tend them all. Now get out and see if anyone else can put a brave fool like yourself to work.”
Tetra gathered his things as the healer rushed around him, prepping a number of cots and clean linens. There were still so many questions to answer, so many things he had to do to rescue his sister. But for the first time, there was a way forward. A way to achieve his goals.
Strapping on his belt, Tetra hung the mace from its loop and then slid the sword in opposite. He tightened a few buckles on his back brace, and then firmed himself to head back out into the castle grounds, where death still ruled. Despite the extra weight on his hips and in his soul, his feet felt steadier and his head felt clearer than ever. With the weapons secured, it gave him a sense of being centered. It felt right. It felt balanced.
It felt like hope.
***
Codex
The Places
Academy – training center in Aldamere for the instruction of young humans in use of their affinities.
Aldamere – capital city of Promencia
Castle Drayston – center of governance for Jaegen and surrounding villages
Jaegen – small village on the border of the Rocmire in Promencia
Kestalt – neighboring village to Jaegen
Promencia – country with the capital of Aldamere
Rocmire Forest – immense forest, home of orocs, bandits and ravagers.
Ulfast – neighboring village to Jaegen
The Humans
Bealdred – Graviton, Dreadknight at Castle Drayston
Calhein Drayston – Magnus, lord of Castle Drayston
Cathereen Heiml – Psion, lieutenant in the Castle Drayston garrison
Draden Greenwald – retired Drayston guard who helps search Jaegen
Dreadknights – twelve near-mythical soldiers, each represents an Aspect
Alleen Faulk – Volcon, corporal in the Castle Drayston garrison
Halli Bicks – Geist, member of the Jaegen Seven
Katerine Svelt – Volcon, member of the Jaegen Seven
Kellian Mikkels – Tidus, corporal of the Drayston garrison
Laney Corlin– Vorten, member of the Jaegen Seven
Leesa Svelt – Katerine’s little sister
Leta Bicks – Geist, lead healer for the village of Jaegen, mother of Tetra and Halli Bicks
Malec Haldenfeld - Magnus, member of the Jaegen Seven
Malthius Reynolds – Tempest, sergeant in the Drayston garrison
Pavil Serevin – Pathos, member of the Jaegen Seven
Petrius Alma – Geist, Healer for Castle Drayston
Proumin Bicks – Prios, Jaegen elder, grandfather of Halli and Tetra
Rein Glause – Tidus, Alma’s assistant
Saimun Illamer – Pathos, Lord Major in the King’s service
Sven Malschev – Tecton, member of the Jaegen Seven
Tetra Bicks – Graviton, member of the Jaegen Seven
Viktor Bicks – Prios, patriarch of the Bicks clan, father of Tetra and Halli
The Orocs
Argant – oroc shaman for the clan Bearoak
Bearoak Clan – clan of orocs in Rocmire
Bullvine Clan – clan of orocs in Rocmire
Furl – Gnarrl’s offshoot
Gnarrl – harvester of the clan Bearoak
Kunat – harvester of the clan Bearoak, Gnarrl’s friend
Maraco – harvester of the Bearoak, Gnarrl’s friend
Morag – harvester of the Bearoak
Mrgle – harvester of the Bearoak
Orocs – living plant clans formed by Trocus and Azaria in the creation of all things, live in forests
Stonewolf – clan of orocs
Surro – harvester for the clan Bearoak
Uargan – Battle-Chief to the Bearoak
Other Species
Dracus – reptilian creatures formed by Vox and Opion in the creation of all things; fly the skies.
Ifrahn – dervish creatures formed by Volterus and Agleiopan in the creation of all things; live in the deserts.
Kafa – dog
Lelwyn – watergoing creatures formed by Emascodeus and Empirious in the creation of all things; dwell upon islands and sail the waters of the world.
Shikara – shadowy creatures formed by Tachondrus and Megathia in the creation of all things.
Velnites – subterranean creatures formed by Emascodeus and Empirious in the creation of all things; live in the mountains and caverns of the world.
The Aspects and their Magic
Agleiopan – Aspect of raw force (Energy).
Archmage – highly powerful human magicians
Archons – people with affinity for the raw force of motion
Aspects – creators of the world, gods and parents of the seven races
Azaria – conscience aspect of spirit
Emascodeus – energy aspect of density
Europina – material aspect of water
Empirious – conscience aspect of emotion
Geists – healers and spirit workers, able to feel life around them
Gravitons – people who can affect the mass of objects
Heart of the World – the gem comprising the twelve aspects that formed at the beginning of the universe.
Magnuses – people able to manipulate and influence metal
Magethia – energy aspect for love of metal
Mentak – conscience aspect of will
Opion – conscience aspect of perception
Pathos – people able to influence another’s emotions
Psions – people able to influence another’s will
Prios – people able to amplify their perceptions
Tachondrus – energy aspect of passing of ages.
Tectons – people with affinity for earth
Tempests – people with affinity to manipulate time
Tidus – people who manipulate water
Trocus – material aspect for earth
Volcons – people with affinity for fire
Volterus – material aspect of fire
Vortens – people with affinity for air
Vox – material aspect of air
***
About the Authors
Peter J. Wacks was born in California sometime during 1976. He has always been amazed and fascinated by both writing and the world in general. Throughout the course of his life, he has hitchhiked across the States and backpacked across Europe on the Eurail. Peter writes a lot, and will continue to do so till the day he dies. Possibly beyond. Peter has acted, designed games, written novels and other spec
fiction, and was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for his first graphic novel Behind These Eyes (co-written with Guy Anthony De Marco). Currently, he is the managing editor of Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta’s WordFire Press.
Mark Ryan grew up in the great plains of the Midwest where he developed his love for music, science fiction, fantasy, and basically any form of storytelling. He chased his dream of music for most his early adult life, performing theatrically and touring, and winning a handful of awards for his singing talents at a young age. He also loves growing/preparing food, and during his time as a professional musician he was blessed with the opportunity to work with and learn from many talented chefs in the Boulder and Denver areas. Mark has written since before he was a teenager and continues to do so daily. Bloodletting is his second work of fiction, co-authored with his friend, literary mentor, and fellow conspirator, Peter.
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