by J. A. Comley
On the second night after Valana had joined Mukori, a new moon rose over the land and for three days the night would be darker than the day. The Great Expanse was arid but had no shortage of life. Most were small mammals and reptiles who posed no real threat to their small party, but prowls of shimbak and even a hunt of cargons were not uncommon, especially now that they, like the tribes, had been forced into smaller areas where they had to compete for scarce resources.
Torches would only attract trouble, drawing the dangerous subterranean creatures, and so the group trusted entirely to their two pure-blood Nightstalkers, who could see even in the pitch darkness. They walked in a line, holding hands, with a Nightstalker at the front and one at the back. This was the last night it would be necessary. Even the smallest sliver of their bright moon produced enough light for a normal Aurelian's eyes.
Valana tried not to fidget as Karicha, who had been holding her hand, chose to move up the line to Okano, forcing Valana to take the hand of the person Karicha had been holding.
Mukori's hand slid into hers and squeezed. It was so brief, she wasn't sure whether it was intentional or just in assurance that he was still guarded from behind. But his breathing and heart rate grew more rapid.
She watched Mukori's head turn as if he could see her, too, and then he stumbled, only just catching himself and apologising to the person in front of him.
Valana watched colour rise in his cheeks and heard his heartbeat speed up further.
She shook her head. He was a fascinating person. They had spent the days before the new moon in constant debate about the state of the worlds and what they could realistically do about it. He was intelligent, charismatic, and confident, without being overbearing, cocky, or superior. She had caught his eyes lingering on her many times, but he was her leader now and anything like what flashed through her veins would only lead to complications. Besides, she still hadn't decided whether she should trust him. He had seemed like he had wanted to say more when she had agreed to join them but then had changed his mind, smiling and telling her to get some rest. Sometimes there was a good reason for having secrets, but usually there was not.
His thumb began tracing small patterns along the back of her hand, and his fingers also moved a little, sliding back and forth along hers. She heard his heart and breath fall into that steady, heavy beat that she knew well enough from her previous lovers. She couldn't tell him to stop because no matter how softly she spoke, Okano's sharp ears would pick up the noise, neither could she simply remove her hand. Smiling at his back, she used her free hand and delivered one sharp pinch to his bare arm.
Mukori hissed in surprise and stumbled again. Then he chuckled and squeezed her hand once more before his fingers fell mercifully still. She watched Okano's ears flicker backwards and cursed silently. Although Okano had become a more sombre version of the man she had known, he still seemed to enjoy teasing her, just as he always had. No doubt this little episode would join his repertoire.
The darkness began to brighten to the coming day, allowing them to break out of their single file, and they drew to the edge of the Wheel to set up camp. There used to be several way-houses along this stretch, too, but since the Breaking, they had been abandoned because of their proximity to the Scar, a perfect circle of dead land where the Demilain's magic had exploded outwards. In the intervening years, the abandoned way-houses had been burnt or torn down and the Wheel beaten into a new shape.
As the others set about constructing the raised platform on which to sleep, Okano beckoned her over. Gritting her teeth, she moved towards him where he stood beside the few bits of rubble that were all that was left of the way-house that had once stood here. They both smiled at Karicha as she went to mind Durio so that Mika and Bakoro could help the others too.
“She's taken quite a shine to you.”
Okano's smile faltered a little. “Yes. I'm afraid that the leader of the attack on your village sounded very similar to Mukori, a Hipotarali accent tinged with Cyrali.”
“But she said it was a woman.”
“Yes, it was. At first, she found him a little disconcerting. I think I reminded her of you. A Protector. A pure-blood Nightstalker. She always sought me out.”
“She seems to like him well enough, now.”
“Of course she does. He has a way of winning people over, does he not?”
She looked up at him sharply, twinging a muscle in her neck, and caught the traces of a playful smile. She elbowed him in the ribs.
“That had nothing to do with me. I have more sense than to bed our Lord.”
Okano laughed out loud, earning them a few startled looks from the others. Okano raised a hand in apology and spoke in the same soft voice as before, meant for her ears alone.
“Oh, I know you do, and I also know that the real reason is that you haven't decided to trust him yet, not because he's our leader. You have seen how he looks at you.” He met her eyes and smiled. “I have been following Mukori around for fifty years. I have seen many woman want him, but I have never seen him reciprocate the feelings. Until he saw you. He is still just a man, after all.”
Valana narrowed her eyes at Okano's towering form. She was tall, for a woman, but he was still a head taller. “Out with it.”
Okano shrugged. “He is a good man. You could do worse.”
Valana watched him walk away unable to think of any coherent words that weren't swear words.
What game was he playing? Sometimes she thought he was flirting with her and that maybe they would try to rekindle their old flame. Then he says stuff like that I don't know what to think any more.
She looked past him and found Mukori watching her closely. His eyes flickered between them and he frowned. Good. She turned away from them both and stalked off to her sleeping mat. For now, others would guard them. Today, she and Okano were to rest.
***
Hapira sighed. The Conclave would still not see her. Did they really expect there to be anything left when the Sacrileons and Ezira managed to force a balance if they did nothing?
Surely they had heard of the fate that had befallen the Kazori? Or had they shut themselves away so completely that it didn't reach them?
She took off to the dingy little safehouse in a bad part of town. Guilt at what the documents she bore had cost weighed her down.
She entered the small room, which smelled of damp and dirt, pulled the spellbound diary towards her, and began to write.
A new rumour came to mind. One that spoke of Valana's survival. If it were true, she would make a worthy ally.
After this, she would send out messengers to find her. Pure-blood Nightstalkers not controlled by the Conclave were rare and could very well turn the tide in this conflict.
***
A gentle hand brushed her hair from her face.
“Time to get up.” Mukori's voice was soft and, as her eyes opened, his own, no more than a few inches from her face, bloomed with a sudden longing.
Valana slid away and sat up, trying not to let her surprise and irritation show. “Thank you.”
He cocked his head to the side and pulled back. “Am I that unattractive to you?”
She nearly poked herself in the eye as she tried to tie back her shoulder length hair in a high ponytail. She looked at him a long while, listening to his heart speed up as her eyes passed over his body. “No.” She rose and shook off her mat, forcing him back a few more steps.
“Then why—”
“Because I am not interested in a meaningless, once-off, tryst,” she said bluntly, turning from him to put her mat on the cart. The others were some way off, watching Okano and Karicha sparring. Only Tanoril stood nearby, looking sour.
“And if that is not what I want either?”
She turned to find Mukori right behind her, imprisoning her between his body and the cart.
She let the silver of her eyes turn solid, a look that had terrified many. “You have no basis to say otherwise. You do not know me, Mukori. Nor do I know yo
u. I don't have that kind of relationship with people I don't trust. You are my Lord and I am your Nightstalker. That is all.”
Mukori's face went through several emotions, looking like he was holding back laughter at one point before he became more serious and ran a hand through his hair, something she had noticed him do often when he was thinking. Yet the fear she had only half-expected was entirely absent.
“I know you better than you might think.”
Valana shoved past him, nearly knocking him to the ground, and had to bite back an apology. “Your spies may have given you many details of my life, but they did not know me, either,” she said over her shoulder as she moved to join the others, giving him no time to reply.
Karicha called a break when Mika told her Durio was awake and ran over to coo at him. Valana fought back tears, realising that the girl was using little Durio to fill the loss of her own blood-brother. She felt her heartache echoed as Karicha glanced her way, threw her a fragile smile. She had witnessed Karicha's day-terrors, watched her startle awake, tears streaming down her young face. Valana hoped that they would both pass through their grief and come out stronger on the other side. Perhaps they would be given the time once they reached the headquarters of the Unseen Hand.
“Shouldn't we be moving on?” she asked when Okano came to stand beside her.
“No. New information came in earlier.” His eyes cut across to where another retari had joined the first one Valana had seen in the library. “We'll be here for a week. There is a courier we must intercept and then we'll be heading home.”
Valana sighed at the thought of being stuck here for a whole week. Okano bumped her arm.
“Care to duel?”
She matched his grin and drew her swords. “Are you sure you want all these people to watch me beat you?”
Okano swung his great sword at her head as his answer and the dance began.
The small group of watchers faded away as Valana's focus narrowed down to just her partner. It would be good to dance again.
She heard the gasps and squeals and thought it must be odd to watch two pure-blood Nightstalkers duelling, seeing them blur from sight and then reappear a few steps away, blades locked. To her, the details were all there. The way their muscles rippled as they moved through the forms, following the steps of a dance that was as old as the Aurelian people themselves. His moves were different to hers, heavier blows and swings, his greatsword requiring both his massive arms to wield. Her own blades flowed like lightning, coming from different angles, their strikes combined with more acrobatic movements. But they were all still part of the same ancient dance.
After she had Okano at her mercy for the third time, Mukori called a halt to their game, drawing Okano aside. Valana laughed, relishing the song in her blood. She had forgotten how nice it was to duel an equal. Since the Breaking, duelling for fun had been wiped from the daily lives of her people.
“You're amazing!” Karicha exclaimed, and Valana hastened to hide the shadow that had entered her eyes. “I've never seen anything like that before! Will I be similar? Not as good of course, but close?”
Valana smiled at the girl. She knew Karicha still had trouble sleeping, but was glad to see that she didn't seem to be letting it stop her from enjoying the rest of her life. In fact, apart from the horrors that preyed on the girl's dreams and the hollow look that sometimes haunted her eyes, she seemed mostly unscathed. She felt her hope that Karicha would survive the horrors stronger than before them grow.
“Only if you keep training. We'll have to try and find you a new Mentor.”
“Oh, Lord Mukori says he knows someone who would be perfect. She left the Cyrali to join him years ago but has been a Mentor before. He also has lots of Makhi to Unbind me when the time comes.”
Valana smiled at her blood-niece's excitement, even as the thought of Makhi made her angry. “Then we'd best make sure you keep up your skills so that you can impress her when she comes.”
Karicha grinned broadly, unsheathed her dagger, and moved through her stances as Valana watched and corrected, all while wondering why and how Galatian Order Makhi were involved in the poisoning of the Ever-Spring.
Galatia had always been very secretive of their magical knowledge. Makhi, unlike the other magically gifted of Trianon: the Brosney of Cosmaltia; the Inagium of Galatia; and the Nightstalkers of Aurelia, were born into every race and so each planet produced their own. But Galatia was the only one of the three planets to have set up a single base for the training of their Makhi.
Any Makhi could join Galatia's Order, but doing so meant forgoing all ties to their previous home. The knowledge held by the Order was carefully guarded by their High Lord and exchange of magical knowledge non-existent. So why had a Galatian Makhi of their Order broken all patterns and joined a group of Honourless savages?
Okano took off along the Wheel at full speed a moment later, bringing her out of her thoughts and Mukori came wandering over to them.
“You move well, young Nightstalker,” he commented, sitting on the boulder beside Valana.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and found him doing the same. He chuckled as she looked away.
“Do you mind if I borrow Valana for a few hours?”
Karicha stopped mid-pose. “I suppose not,” she said, trying to hide her disappointment.
“Bakoro is an acclaimed warrior of his people. He will keep training you. I believe he has some excellent techniques for fighting in enclosed spaces known only to the warriors of the Torik.”
The lean warrior grinned as he, too, joined them. Although he wasn't a behemoth like Okano, Valana had sparred with him once before and could attest to the iron hardness of the wiry muscles covering his body. He wasn't a Nightstalker, but he had certainly been a worth-while opponent. “But I think it's time we started sharing information, don't you? I have a short spear you can borrow if you like, young Nightstalker.”
Karicha grinned back. “That would be great!”
“Will you join me then, Valana?”
Valana rose with Mukori and nodded. “Of course, my Lord.”
She nearly laughed at the look on his face. He had asked her not to use his title unless in more formal settings, where his role as leader was important to be noted. However, she felt it prudent to remind him now, to show him the barrier to his intentions.
They moved to a secluded area between a few tall lightning fern bushes. Their thick, succulent leaves stood unfurled in anticipation of a moon that was barely more than a sliver of light in the sky. He had fashioned for himself a workspace, lit by the soft light of the strange, phosphorescent rocks that the Frelok people liked to trade.
Valana waited for him to speak, to make some indication of what he wanted.
“You were right,” he said, turning to her again. “All I know of you is second-hand. Yet in the week we have known each other, I have found much of it to be true. You are kind, fiercely loyal, and intelligent. You have a strong sense of pride and honour. You have been through an event that would have broken a lesser person, yet here you stand, unyielding and, more importantly, untainted.”
Valana shifted her weight. “But—”
Mukori held up a hand. “I have never met a woman like you before, and I very much doubt I ever will again.” He stepped in closer, the tone of his voice holding her trapped. “For now, I would simply like to get to know you better and for you to know me. I understand that I must first gain your trust before I can have any hope of being accepted.”
Valana opened her mouth several times but could think of no answer to that. He turned aside and gestured to the papers and folders laid across the ground.
“Even if you have no interest in... well, I would still appreciate your insight into other matters. This folder,” he pointed to a fat sheaf of papers, “contains the information I had come to ask your Chief about. The people I sent to your village to see if either you or your Chief were there despite the pending battle found it in the ruins.”
<
br /> Valana stared at the folder as if it might burn her, automatically holding her breath, trying to still the terrible images that sprung to mind.
“I understand that it is hard, but I would like you to read it and share your thoughts with me.”
Valana didn't take her eyes from the papers but nodded once in acknowledgement of his command.
Steeling herself, she took a shallow breath, opened the folder and began to read the papers that had miraculously survived the fire that had stolen so many innocent lives.
Okano arrived back at moonset, tired, but able to confirm that the courier was still on schedule.
The week at the abandoned way-house went by faster than Valana would have thought possible. She and Okano duelled every moonrise and took it in turns with Bakoro to further Karicha's training. Mukori only watched before inevitably calling Valana away where they would spend the latter part of every evening perusing papers, discussing the general state of the world, or speculating about the news Mukori received from his Hands via his flock of trained retari.
Most of that news was grim. The Dralog, like her own people, were mostly gone, scattered to the winds. The Jensolir were trapped between the powerful Torik and Hitori tribes and the Frelok hid in their caves, surfacing ever more rarely. Only the Cyrali seemed mostly untouched, the Spires offering their villages and people a level of separation from the world.
The news from the other worlds was no less concerning. Droughts, famine and land-swallowing waves still shattered their lands, forcing their people into ever smaller areas and surviving off fewer and fewer resources.
“You'll get one of your own as soon as there’s an available hatchling. I’ll make enquiries when we get home,” he said one evening, stroking his retari's feathered crest. “All my Hands are given their own retari to train and bond with. That way, you will always have a means of contacting me or the others in our network.”
Valana looked at the winged reptile as it stretched its lightly-feathered wings, and smiled. Retari were intelligent animals, with small, magical talents of their own. The most important for message purposes was their ability to travel as if they had an in-built and everlasting Guiding Stone. This allowed them to cross great distances swiftly and could even travel between planets if their gift was strong enough.