by Beaux Riley
“The One Zight and Commander Omni approach. At attention!” The old soldier said. Illoke’s attention was diverted to the two doors at the entrance to the castle opening. A mature looking Teravin and the well-known Stratus Omni made their way towards the talking statue. Several birds had taken residence on Illoke’s shoulders, making him smile at the wildlife.
“King Dawnsent, what brings you…so to speak?” Teravin asked, looking oddly at the statue. Illoke bowed, making creaking sounds in his limbs. The two returned the bow.
“A great threat has taken our land, gentlemen. Prince I…” Illoke was quickly interrupted.
“I am no longer a prince, King Dawsent. I have forsaken that title for the betterment of this land. For now, I am the One Zight.” Said Teravin. Illoke scratched his chin out of habit, despite it not being itchy.
“Well, titles aside. I come with news of both kinds.” Good and bad news were not something a King of Illoke’s magnitude would deliver. Stratus showed much interest in the words of the elf. “Do the words ‘Vathra’ or ‘Light’, have any meaning to you?” Stratus quickly had his eyes grow in disbelief. Images flashed through the Zirris Commander’s mind. He saluted out of habit and nodded slowly.
“I came from Vathra. My son…and I both came here from the Gineb forest.” Stratus seemed lost in thought. The old man almost broke a tear in from of the two of them. “We never met officially while I lived there, but I knew about you, King Dawnsent.”
“We have reason to believe the Light is connected to the fall of Stoneholt and the other events that have plagued our lands. The burning at Maiden’s Point and now Imrosyn Prison City, they are all linked.” Said Illoke. The statue creaked ever louder. It bothered Illoke.
“What proof do you have that they are all connected?” Asked Teravin. “Invasions aren’t so simple.” Illoke nodded in understanding.
“We have rescued one of the prisoners at the cost of a paladin.” Said Illoke. Stratus mouthed the word, knowing immediately what Illoke meant.
“A paladin?” Asked Stratus.
“Kimura sacrificed himself to rescue his brother, Aedrius. They survived the purge of Lossetta. We were working with him to discover the real reasons that Stoneholt fell. I can say that losing him will leave a mark on history.” Said Illoke.
“The Light has always left a mark. But perhaps it is best that they are dealt with if any survived and the paladins believe it to be true.” Said Stratus.
“I sense a grudge.” Said Illoke. “Careful your thoughts, Commander. We can see through you. I know you saw the Wave of Light, just as we did that fateful day.” Stratus shrugged. It was the Light that saved Saebel that day. But to let such a power loose was not responsible. He wanted the Zirris to ensure the Light was controlled. Even if it was Stratus that’d be the only one who had it.
“One Zight, I suggest we take caution in this request. I’ll take my Zirris and investigate their claims. Assuming we can justify a full on invasion, I will call for the royal army. Do you approve?” Stratus waited several moments as Teravin begrudgingly accepted.
“We owe it to my father’s treaty. We are required to aid an ally in need. Illoke, if you can provide us evidence we will accept your request. But you’ll have to first honor ours.” Said Teravin. Illoke contemplated the request.
“I will bring with me, the man who survived the reconnaissance mission I ordered before our meeting. Talus of Kaydren’s Rune Lords.” Said Illoke. Stratus considered this change of evidence to be rather serious.
“A dwarf? Three years have passed and not a hair of their beards have been seen. Seems this will be a show.” Said Stratus. “I will prepare the Zirris. We will arrive, where exactly?”
“We will meet on neutral ground. The broken gates of Stoneholt, I expect you will see the severity of this situation very soon, Commander. My army will be there within three hours.” Said Illoke. The statue bowed and the wood went inert in that position. Stratus bowed to Teravin and disappeared down the stairwell towards the headquarters of the Zirris.
***
The path that Caliya led the paladins to, had changed from what Caliya originally knew. The gryphons no longer lived in the top of the trees like they had in previous years. The creatures mysteriously built giant nests further down the path and their community clearly displayed an alpha male among the pack, even as they were trained.
One of the taller and bulkier of these creatures approached the group of three as they stood side by side. The beast’s feathers were and blue as the sea. It stood as tall as Asa and as it looked and smelled him over, it made a ‘caw’ that hurt the paladin’s eardrums. The beast walked on four legs and its wings were withdrawn to each side of its impressive display. To measure such an animal, Asa believed it was the length of two large adults if the gryphon reached out as far as it could on all fours. It continued to stare at the paladin, waiting for a response of some sort.
“No, nope, not any way. That bird is giving me the death eyes.” Said Asa, staring hard at the gryphon who had approached him. Caliya and Kilo both laughed and quickly asserted themselves to wave over to him.
“This is their territory. Even my father has had some issues gaining their trust. You simply open your hand make a small offering of meat. They will be like kittens at that point. Kittens with beaks and wings.” Said Caliya.
“So not kittens.” Said Asa.
“Do not lose eye contact. He is reading you. Take this.” Caliya reached into her pocket and pulled from it a small piece of cooked meat. Asa wanted to make some comment about the elf carrying around cooked food but this was neither the time nor the place. Asa slowly offered the mysterious piece of flesh with an open palm to the gryphon. The animal approached him closer and with the very end of its beak, it ever so quickly pulled the favor and ate it, not coming even close to harming Asa’s hand. “Now pet him.” Asa tried to let go and with the same hand, he ran his right hand down the shoulder and wing of the beast’s right side. It made what he assumed was a cooing sound and then Asa moved to its back. The gryphon knelt down to allow Asa up on its back.
“See, big flying kitten.” Caliya said casually. “Kilo you do the same. We have company, escorts for an escort, I assume.” The two women saw what looked to be more than fifteen of the most heavily armored and well equipped elves they’d seen today. Caliya handed Kilo a piece of meat just like the one Asa received and to Kilo’s surprise, the gryphon she made contact with was much friendlier and took her offering rather fast. “The not-so-alpha ones are rather playful and friendly. Asa got chosen by the alpha, because he is a male.”
“I’d rather get to Kimura now and learn about gryphon hierarchy later.” Said Kilo. Caliya gave a bit of a disappointed look.
“It’s a rather interesting subject. But you’re right. A later time. I’ll show you all sorts of things and oddities we’ve met in the forest. You have to see them with your own eyes or you won’t believe me.” Said Caliya as the elf went to a smaller gryphon and mounted her without feeding the beast. Kilo took little mind to it and assumed it was Caliya’s personal mount. She looked up and what looked to be a rather powerful storm approaching, spanning the length of the entire sky. The sun disappeared and black and gray clouds reigned overhead. “We will be in for a wet trip.”
Chapter 11- Storm
The initial jump and flight for the untrained riders was rather frightening. Kilo was in a thrill, her blood racing and she was excited. Not by their situation, but the freedom of flying and being off the ground like her kind, the Zephyr were vaguely known to enjoy. Though, Asa did do his best to focus and keep the gryphon steady. A total of seventeen other elves had accompanied them with faces of those whom they’d never met. Caliya had not joked about becoming soaked either. The storms above their head were getting louder and the land was begging for the cleansing and refreshing rain. They came bursting out of the trees like pigeons migrating for the shifting seasons. As they progressed south, strong winds could be felt. It was hard for them to stay in
any kind of actual formation and even less to know who was riding where. Kilo put her hardest effort to keep within a range of Asa and worried less about Caliya who was leading the pack ahead of the other seventeen riders.
It was as they cleared the Ela’syn forest that lightning began to strike all around them. Rain fell hard on the riders and the gryphons didn’t seem shook up by it. Kilo continued to motivate her winged assistant to obey and fly with the pack, but it seemed as though this particular bird was having none of it. It shook her each time the lightning came. Kilo made the choice to have the bird fly lower and she noticed that they were near Stoneholt. Guiding the bird into a downward shoot, she tried to fly lower. The bird pulled up, looking at the sky when it was chosen by the storm to be its first victim. A screeching sound from the bird could be heard for a split second until the winged creature's skull was fried from a direct blast of lightning. It jerked about as it fell. Kilo was fortunate to avoid being hit with the electricity coming from the sky and was pushed from the bird. She fell only about twenty feet until she used what little she remembered of the Zephyr's elemental prowess. She conjured a small gust of wind which caught her body and bounced from it like a child bouncing on a soft bed and landed on her hands and knees. The storm masked any sounds from above and all that could be seen was the gryphon being struck by any nearby riders who came to Kilo's aid. Kilo looked up to see Asa and Caliya's birds flying towards Midian, well beyond hearing range.
"Madam Thou! Are you ok?!" The voice came from one of two elves who'd chased after the paladin when she fell. Kilo felt a tingling all throughout her body. Her body would not respond to her. It became apparent that the realization of what happened shocked her emotionally and physically. She slumped over onto her left side and began to sigh deeply. Kilo waved a hand as the two elves knelt down to her with several types of medicine being reached for. Kilo's eyes met with the bird that had faithfully carried her halfway to Midian. A massive hole of charred flesh and seared feather that remained from the gryphon steamed in the rainfall. The bird was torn apart with none of its head remaining. Kilo saw the bird's corpse having small spasms as it finally stopped moving entirely.
"I'm fine..." Kilo answered as she wiped the constantly falling rain from her face. Kilo rose her hood over her head and pointed towards Stoneholt. The mausoleum city had not a single footstep within its carved walls since the day the paladins appeared in Ethra. The elves helped Kilo up and they made their way towards the city, to get out of the storm.
"The King stated that the armies would converge and meet here at the Root Bridge, we best wait for them." One of the younger looking elves said as a suggestion to Kilo. The paladin eyed the two as water dripped from the ends of her silver hair, cold and shaken. She turned when the other called out.
"Here, your staff had fallen in that mess..." Taking it from the other elf’s hands, Kilo realized she had indeed dropped her metal staff in the confusion. So much mishap occurred that she'd forgotten her own weapon, a foolish mistake on Kilo's part. Thanking the other elf, they proceeded towards the city. The two giant stone doors had been pulled apart by Illoke several years ago. In the aftermath of the slaughter, he used those same roots to reseal and enforce the entrance in that no one could enter. The root bridge that Illoke had created was surprisingly solid to Kilo. It made for a good replacement for the destroyed bridge that once stood. Kilo rushed as fast as she could to stand under the slight covering that the remaining portion of the entrance provided from the rain. She was huddled with the other elves and they noticed that the gryphons had followed suit. The beasts were clearly smarter than they’d given them credit for.
The two creatures shook themselves of the rain they’d accumulated and made the three women even more soaked than they'd previously been. The rain came down unnaturally hard as Kilo noticed. She didn't want to encourage paranoia, but that morning, the skies were beautiful. One would go as far as to say, that there would have been no chance at the rain being a thought in anyone's mind. She pushed the idea of a weather-based obstacle to here worry for Asa and the others and brought the other elves in for warmth.
“Do we have a time frame when they are supposed to arrive?” Kilo asked, clearly agitated and shivering by the gryphon's uncaring actions.
“The King’s army will approach us directly from the forest clearing north from where we stand, and to the far south from the mountain we’ll see the human army.” The elf said looking about at nothing. Kilo nodded. She knew Asa would want to come back. Where he placed his priorities could mean a great deal.
In the distance, ever so faintly through the heavy storm, they could hear the grounds rumbling. Kilo and the two others could see the flags of Saebel, a color of gold and royal blue with a seal emblazoned with the face of Grand Secorim. The shear amount of soldiers were less than impressive. Kilo counted the rows as best as she could. Twenty or so rows and at least a hundred marching forward. It was not the Grand army that the Saebellians prided themselves in the number of ten thousand or more. She wondered to herself if this was the military police that was led by Asa's father, The Zirris. As they came closer, she felt rumbling from behind her and quickly pulled her staff to a position to defend. The other elves and the gryphons confused, turned to see the roots being broken by what looked to be an orange vein coursing through the old wooden roots. Kilo called out a word that the other elves failed to hear as the roots were destroyed from the inside.
The doors slid open only about a foot. Kilo stepped back quickly onto the root bridge and then saw the orange glow from a moment ago starting to make its way into the roots of Illoke's creation. She jumped back onto the small remaining portion of the dwarven construction that remained from Aedrius's blast. The length of a person was all she had before they touched the doors and the width of at least three of Kilo, is all the room the five had. Kilo grabbed one of the elves and threw her on the gryphon, trying to call out to her again.
"Get to the army!" Kilo did not give her a chance to respond as she had thrown the elf in such a way that the gryphon bounced the elf onto its back and flew off back towards Ela'syn. Kilo had moved to get the other elf out of the way when the doors to Stoneholt slid open even more. The looks of rocky living fingers gripped the stone slabs. The grunts of something unnatural and guttural with scraping rock against rock was all she could hear, until the color of two bloody-orange eyes stared right at Kilo and the remaining elf. It reached out with its hand and gripped the gryphon, squeezing it and dragging it into the darkness of the city. A crunch could be heard, a squawk and nothing.
***
The paladin and the Princess soared the crying skies as fast as they could. They had to lower their flight path significantly, due to the storm and their safety. They were soaked to the bone and Asa felt there was not a place water hadn't seeped into. He decided it would be better to worry about this when they arrived at their destination.
The forests that Asa and his father first traversed so many years ago came well into sight within thirty minutes of the rain starting. The Gineb forest was harsh and pushed Asa to survive. He remembered all the conversations he'd had with Kimura about how those two paladins followed the trail Stratus set and the one the Char might have followed.
So many images of fighting off wild animals and the strange magic his father used to keep him safe came to his mind. Something repressed that memory and he realized that after they had entered Saebel and became citizens, that his father disclaimed any notion of using magic and was very much against the manipulation of unnatural elements. Asa could only imagine the look that his father would give him when he learns that Asa was now leading a pack of misfits with that said power. No...He knew exactly what his father would say and do. Beating him within an inch of his life for faking his death and taking on such a task.
Asa never wanted to be his father, and following every path as though Stratus had carved them and made each step Asa took, that much easier made him resent the man. It was not easy to hate a parent and even
harder was it, to forgive them. Asa did neither. So many secrets were kept from him that he never knew his father's personality. He assumed that his parents parted in such a traumatic way that his father didn't want him to know anything about his mother, including her name. All that Asa knew is that they married in private and she left him at the age of one to his father in Lossetta.
Asa wiped his face on a pretty steady frequency and as he flew, he tried looking back. The blurry images of at least ten or more elves rode directly behind him and Caliya was the only one he could see...well enough anyway. He met eyes with her and she called out to him.
"Asa!" He heard the Princess shout.
"Yea?!" Asa responded, yelling into the storm. She pointed up and laughed.
"It's a bitch of a storm!" She said, surprising him by language unbefitting royalty. Asa laughed deeply. They continued to fly until they eventually saw the outline of Midian Temple within the mountain chasm. As the temple was hidden from being seen in any direction from the ground, being in the air, one could see the sheer magnitude of size that the mountain contained with this building. They each kicked the sides of the birds, causing them to encourage their winged rides to fly faster. Their eagle-like faces pointed down and flew towards the temple grounds, flying right over the temple's stairway and landing near the cavern entrance that they'd always use to enter Midian.
Asa could barely tell while they were making this landing, but there were many people out in the rain. No one was moving. Then the thought came to him hard, nearly as hard as the rough end of his flight to solid ground. For a moment, he wondered where Kilo was in the formation and why she hadn’t tried to check in with him.
He dismounted his bird and walked slowly up the stairway and that was when he saw a familiar body. As his eyes adjusted to the rain, he realized there were two bodies. The usual dress of the monks was distinct. A simple white robe, wrapped in a fashion that it served as a loin cloth and a shirt and a pair of the similarly milky white pants and simple brown sandals. Both were red and bloodied from what looked to be a battle they'd lost. The one he noticed first had to be Lin Kin. He felt himself lose his breath and gasp.