The Raiden

by Shelley Cass

  When Durna had finished it took a great deal of time for all of the crowds to slowly dissipate and to begin facing the consequences of the decision.

  We launched straight into our own preparations by accompanying Warlord Aeron to a meeting in one of the rocky watchtowers. He was to decide how many soldiers would be required to stay behind to ward off Griffin attacks or worse.

  “The towers are positioned so that every inch of the mountain and below it can be watched and covered by arrows at all times,” one of the guards explained for our benefit. “We can watch for Griffin assaults and pick them off in a particularly ferocious attack, hopefully stopping them from getting away with too many people or livestock from the valleys. They very rarely come close to City windows and walkways, or to the towers themselves,” the guard continued. “Our aim is true, and the towers are built so that there are no surfaces for a Griffin to easily find purchase on. The towers themselves cannot be breached from outside. They are secure.”

  The cold wind whirling inside the round tower room was stinging my face and hands. My nose felt numb and my cheeks felt chafed, and Kiana’s hair was blowing about crazily, even in its tie. I wondered how the soldiers could bear standing watch for hours on end.

  “However, beyond the security of the towers,” another guard addressed Aeron then. “We are the reason that people aren’t plucked from their balconies. We keep the valleys safe and watch the skies and the seas. At least five guards are needed in each tower at all times to continue to maintain the security of the City overall. Five per tower should be enough though, if just a small number of elite ground guards continue to patrol as a deterrent, as we predict that many Griffins will also probably be leaving for the battlefield.”

  It wasn’t until late afternoon that we’d worked out how many men would be needed to stay behind with all of those who wouldn’t be coming, but Aeron’s satisfied expression indicated his estimations had been accurate as we wound our way back down the tower.

  “Aeron,” Kiana asked as we approached the stairway that led out to the beach. “While you report to King Durna, I feel it is time for the three of us to inspect the ancient wall pictures in the Miridoon caves.”

  He nodded gravely and walked us out to the peaceful strip of sand before returning to his own tasks. And, with only Thorin and Nikon waiting outside for the three of us, we became quiet as we withdrew from the City and entered the dark caves.

  At once Kiana lit up the middle cave with her luminescent globes of light, letting them bud to life at her fingertips before sending them to different positions around the room, and we each gazed at the scenes that had been depicted about us before we had ever been born.

  They filled nearly every spare space on the rocky walls, and were such dazzling artworks that it looked as if each picture was a window looking into the very event taking place.

  I stepped over puddles on the floor and shivered at how disturbingly accurate and freakishly lifelike the out of sequence images were, feeling as if stepping too close to them could lead me to fall right through and back to that time.

  When I came upon scenes I did not recognise, a scene I was yet to live, my skin would prickle and I could not look too closely for fear of seeing something in my future that would terrify me out of acting when the real moment happened.

  Stepping away from one such image about Noal – where he appeared to be surrounded in an odd cloud of red smoke, I crossed to Kiana’s side instead and found her looking at a picture of what could only be herself locked in a skyward battle with a Griffin.

  “Perhaps this is you battling those Griffins in the Pass?” I asked her softly, feeling the need to be quiet in the eerie, echoing cavern.

  “No, there’s something in that Griffin’s talons. I’m fighting for whatever it’s holding,” she replied thoughtfully.

  “It looks like a bundle of washing,” I frowned. “But I doubt you would be provoked into mortal combat over some bed sheets.”

  She pointed to the next image and I shuddered.

  “No one would have understood the outcome of what was going on in this one until they’d lived it or had it explained to them in great detail,” she answered. “So I won’t understand the portrait of the Griffin battle until I’ve lived it either.”

  Noal came over to join Kiana and I in viewing the almost nightmarishly lifelike picture of Agrona attacking us beneath the Willow in Bwintam.

  Noal cleared his throat. “There’s so much detail in these things, I’m lucky they didn’t paint me in a bad moment.”

  “Scratching yourself somewhere you shouldn’t?” I asked, turning my back on the event.

  Kiana moved on to keep gazing at the images left by the Unicorns while I sat on one of the flat rocks at the foot of a glorious, if indecipherable picture. It was of an incredibly huge being linking hands with a tiny, winged, future Kiana while a light surrounded them. Beside that image was a horrific one that portrayed the slitted white eyes of an Evexus peering out of some trees while a raven perched behind it. I gave up mulling over them and waited for Kiana to finish.

  “You should go,” I told Noal when he sat in a Council seat. “You should spend the afternoon as you want to, in the company you wish to, while you can.”

  He regarded me with hesitation. “Kiana is enthralled here. You’ll be amongst these unnerving pictures for a while.”

  “I’ll be spending my time in the company that I wish to, while I can,” I answered him, and he smiled slowly with understanding and nodded.

  “Maeve spends her free time walking through the valley flowers in the afternoons,” he replied, and stood eagerly. “I’ll be with her if you need me.”

  When Noal had gone I returned my eyes to Kiana.

  “Is that him?” Kiana asked in a low voice.

  I locked eyes on the dreaded picture she referred to, of the most hated man amongst all races.

  Piercing grey eyes that were as hard as granite seemed to fall on us. Those eyes showed the unnaturalness existing within him, as if they had been carved out of a wise and evil creature, containing endless chasms of enormous power and malice, to then be melded into the face of a beautiful young man.

  “Yes,” I told her, coming over and glaring up at the towering, white-blonde being. “That is the Sorcerer.”

  In the picture a storm so unearthly that the sky flashed red and purple was raging behind Darziates, and in the distant sky – lit up by a fork of lightning, flew the raven that was Agrona. “Noal and I have seen his likeness drawn on scrolls or reports in the Palace at home.”

  Kiana’s face was hard and her body was tense as she frowned up at him, and I reached for her hand.

  “Perhaps it is time to look at more lovely pictures, where we can treasure the memories we have made,” I told her, and she allowed me to pull her away towards an image of when she’d descended into Sylthanryn City after she’d first found her wings.

  She smiled at me quickly.

  “This one is a very lovely memory,” I told her. And I didn’t let go of her hand.

  Chapter Seventy Seven

  Noal

  Only Nikon’s quick reflexes and strong grip catching my shoulder stopped my euphoric exit of the Miridoon caves.

  “Bleh!” my excited running turned into a startled grunt as I was caught and jolted back.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Nikon drawled, releasing my shoulder. Thorin straightened from leaning against the rocky cave entrance.

  “I’m afraid I’m in a terrible rush and can’t chat.” I made to move off again, and this time it was Thorin’s quick reflexes that broke my euphoria. His hand shot out and caught my collar, and as easily as if I were a child he towed me back towards them.

  “What’s the terrible rush?” he asked.

  I sighed. “Maeve. She goes down into the valleys at this time between her duties every afternoon and today I want to join her.”

  Thorin’s face softened with a grin.

  “Noal,” Nikon growled.
“We are here to guard you. Wait until Kiana and Dalin are ready so that we can accompany you. We must leave soon so that we’re not caught by the tide anyway.”

  I shook my head. “I mean no offence, but I don’t really desire a bunch of chaperones as well as Kiana and Dalin all trundling along behind Maeve and I.”

  Thorin’s grin grew wider. “I’m highly insulted,” he stated, not looking one jot upset. “I never trundle.” But he let me go and smoothed my collar.

  Nikon raised his eyebrows, but followed Thorin’s lead.

  “Fine. But,” Nikon warned. “If you get yourself hurt, in any kind of trouble, lost, or are too late in returning to your quarters, we’ll tear the mountains apart looking for you, raining destruction upon the Jenrans and likely ruining any alliances.”

  “Understood,” I affirmed, straining to go. “Don’t make the soldiers testy. Keep the allies happy.”

  “And …” Thorin added. “Enjoy your time.”

  “Thanks!” I called over my shoulder as I immediately sped off along the sand.

  I moved so quickly through the lower levels that no one had time to notice me, and in barely moments I skidded out into the valleys from the City gates, spotting her floating golden hair glimmering in the sunlight as she followed a trail through the fields.

  I didn’t pause, but almost soared across the distance between us to close it.

  Chapter Seventy Eight

  Dalin

  I walked Kiana back to her chamber and then instead of retiring myself, I followed along as Nikon sauntered back to his room, shared with Thale, Vulcan and Phobos.

  We heard roars of laughter and cheers that were coming from further along the corridor, and Nikon paused to listen.

  “What’s the commotion?” I asked, seeing that Lydon and Roth had their door closed after having spent the night on guard duty. They were probably holding their pillows over their heads, trying to catch up on sleep.

  A wide grin spread across Thorin’s face. “Some games are afoot,” he told me, and I realised that it was Wolf and Phrixus that I could hear from their room further down the hall.

  They were singing drinking songs and the fact that Aiolos and Gideon’s voices could be heard singing along with their roommates as well meant that there must have been quite a quantity of alcohol consumed. And the piping music accompanying their sorry excuse for a choir suggested that Rendor, a quiet and creative type of man, was lending a hand in producing a tune in a more constructive manner than those using their vocal chords.

  I followed Thorin and Nikon down to the chaotic room and found Ferron, Purdor, Cadell and Tane lounging in the apartment while Wolf and his musical group performed.

  But, ignoring the loud songs, Ferron’s auburn eyebrows were knitted together in concentration as he tried to work out Tane’s next move in a game of runes.

  “Come on, take your turn,” Tane was smug as he plotted Ferron’s downfall. He already had a small pile of Ferron’s coins gambled away beside him. “Don't you worry about me, I’m your friend!”

  “Of course, don’t worry Ferron,” Thorin mocked Tane as we flopped down on the empty beds. “Tane is too sweet to have sly strategies up his sleeve.”

  “Much too sweet.” Ferron glanced darkly at the coins he’d already succumbed.

  Cadell was polishing his armour on the balcony, and all of the different pieces normally assembled together were spread out in the sun. They gleamed brightly. “You know Ferron,” he said. “If in doubt you could always call for a slip.”

  Rendor’s piping music cut off on a shrill note and Wolf tripped over Aiolos and Gideon so that the three of them fell in a heap. Phrixus shrugged and sat himself down too, tired from his out of tune exertions.

  “He’s going to call for a slip?” Wolf’s muffled cry came from under Gideon’s armpit.

  “Never!” Ferron answered, completely aghast.

  “But it would mean you got half your money back,” Cadell reasoned.

  “Come on, I’ve seen him worse off than this,” Tane laughed as Ferron made his move. Tane flipped his own next rune over and Ferron groaned, giving him another coin and taking a big drink from the deep mug of Jenran ale beside him.

  I noticed that there were many empty mugs beside him, and only three beside Tane.

  “We’ll have to send for some more soon,” Tane commented evilly as he noticed that Ferron’s mug was emptying again.

  “Slow down on the ale and you might win one,” I recommended to Ferron. His cheeks were becoming as ruddy as his hair.

  “I can’t, that’s the point,” Ferron hiccupped. “The more you lose, the more you drink.”

  “What’s this slip thing you can do then?” I asked sympathetically.

  “When you call for a slip, you are admitting defeat to both the liquor and the other player’s talent,” Cadell informed me. “The superior player then usually takes pity on their tottering, unskilled opponent, and gives half their winnings back.”

  “I guess you could say it’s like admitting you made a slip in judgement by playing at all,” Thorin explained with good humour.

  Purdor shrugged from where he had been rocking back in a wooden chair at the table, eating fruit from a platter. “We’ve all had a slip when playing Tane. Most of us have learned from it.”

  “But, most of you have not actually verbally requested a slip,” Tane seemed to enjoy reminding them.

  “How do you request a slip in any way but verbally?” I asked curiously.

  “You pass out,” Thorin laughed.

  “I would love to see you beat Kiana,” I remarked thoughtfully. “She would be hard to beat in a thinking game and a drinking game.”

  Tane suddenly became very eager. “I’ll have to challenge her to a round!”

  “No, that would be unfair, she’s probably never played Krall’s version of rune gambling,” Purdor said with his mouth full of grapes.

  “I bet she knows most gambling games, but if not, I don’t think it would matter,” I told them. “It might actually give Tane more of a chance.”

  “Oh this afternoon could be interesting then,” Tane crowed in delight, right as Noal came trudging miserably into the room.

  “How was Maeve?” I asked him cheerfully.

  “Beautiful,” he moaned. “She had to resume her tasks.”

  “She’s probably got to relieve the other maid,” Cadell stated. “That one’s exhausted from having to fetch Ferron more ale all of the time.”

  “Because she was in a rush, she had to use the ladders. I didn’t like watching Maeve run up those ladders so quickly, holding her skirts and a basket of flowers,” Noal told us mournfully.

  “Don’t look up a lady’s skirts,” Thorin admonished.

  “I miss her already,” Noal sighed, stricken.

  “Oh, poor man,” Tane tutted. “My wife had the same strange power over me when we first met.”

  “She still does,” Thorin told him. “I’ve never seen a grown man so meek and so adoring. You’re like a little lamb for Mil.”

  “Just you wait,” Tane warned us all knowingly. “Women all have these strange powers.”

  “Very mystical and frightening,” Purdor agreed.

  “Good luck to the Raiden then, seeing as Kiana truly does possess actual powers,” Phrixus commented woozily from the floor beside his sprawled out comrades.

  I felt no need to contradict him, but rose to put an arm around Noal’s glumly drooping shoulders.

  “Come on,” I said. “Let’s cheer you up.” I steered him towards Tane and Ferron’s game and beckoned to the others. “I’ll go get that powerful One now, and we’ll see if we can do better against Tane with her playing along.”

  However it was not long before Noal was actually cheered more by the idea of saving his coins and withdrawing to encounter Maeve at dinner time once again.

  In contrast, those of us who had stayed long after the sun had gone down were surrounded by piles upon piles of ale mugs. And most of Tane’s money
, most of Ferron’s money and most of everyone else’s money was being counted out by Kiana. She’d been drinking too, but only for the fun of it, or she would have missed out.

  Even Phobos, Vulcan and Thale had joined the party when we’d begun to outdo the noise coming from their rooms but, surprisingly, Phobos had been carted back out to his own bed, being the first one of us to ‘slip’ unintentionally, despite his hulking size.

  Aiolos, Gideon and Rendor had admitted defeat early, after already having had a big afternoon of drinking songs. And Agrudek had never surfaced from his rooms while Lydon and Roth had had the sense to stay out of the game to hold onto their coins for another night.

  “I feel as though I have been educated,” Tane said, from where he was slumped tiredly over the table amongst the messy masses of scattered runes.

  His battle with Kiana had been an epic one that had lasted long after everyone else had bowed out.

  “A very worthy adversary,” Thale burped into his beard, congratulating Kiana.

  “And now we know to avoid both Tane and Kiana,” Wolf puffed some smoke out of his pipe from where he lounged against the balcony.

  Cadell was only now putting his polished armour away after having been distracted from finishing it all afternoon.

  “I feel better that Tane lost my coins again. Even though he didn’t lose them back to me,” Ferron chuckled. He was collapsed on his own bed, unable to stand or even sit up straight after having lost so many times and having had to drain so many mugs.

  “Poor Tane,” Purdor laughed. “Even your curls look weary.”

  Phrixus leant over from where he was sitting at the table between Kiana and Tane, and pulled one of Tane’s locks. Instead of snapping back into a spring like usual, his hair drooped limply.