by Susi Wright
Lord Xian said little, even for a Gaian, but things became clear, nonetheless. He gestured and the dark-cloaked and armoured warriors moved into marching ranks. The only sound was the clicking of boots on the cobbled floor as they assembled. Xian was readying his force to leave the palace immediately, moving out to find and intercept Lord Luminor’s army.
Apart from the bows in their hands and quivers of arrows slung across their backs, the stark black uniforms of these soldiers were completely dissimilar to that of the Gaian warrior, who favoured natural earth-colours. Gaians rarely wore body armour, preferring to rely on their speed, agility and other skills to avoid injury. Xandor noted, with dismay, the lustrous and unique black feathers used in every one of these soldier’s cloaks. These were not mere crow feathers. He spared a sad thought for how many magnificent obsidian swans must have been killed to provide a hundred such cloaks. These feathers were usually reserved only for the ceremonial cloak of a clan-chief. He didn’t imagine the rare birds’ moulting-grounds alone would offer up an adequate supply.
Xandor examined the individual warriors as they formed up. Most moved with a powerful muscular grace, bearing a bow or spear with deft confidence – the majority of them seemed well-trained and battle-hardened. Closer inspection of their faces revealed many had more than a century of hard years etched upon them. All had the distinct Gaian hair-colour, though for some reason they had cropped it very short. And the brilliant eyes. It was impossible to tell if any here were clan or blood-brothers. Xandor wondered if the dissemination of their race had brought these men to this. Had their youth been spent in a lonely search for meaning? They were mercenaries now.
That they would be adept at physical combat was evident. But how many had been wandering, estranged from the old ways for too long, and perhaps lost touch with the higher skills?
This lord had seen fit to armour his warriors heavily. Xandor wondered if Xian did not trust their individual abilities in the advanced arts. If there was a weakness there, Lord Luminor and his elite force had an advantage.
At that moment, Lord Xian looked up directly towards their hiding place. Xandor ducked away from the peephole, freezing against the stone wall of the cavity, regretting he had even been thinking of Lord Luminor – the object of Xian’s hatred. He locked eyes with Churian in mute appeal. Had Xian sensed something?
CHAPTER 31
Answered Prayers
Luminor directed his warriors to land in a forested valley of Lealand, halfway to their destination. They needed rest, water and food. Their meal consisted of dried biscuits from satchels, worn at the waist. Few words were exchanged and any conversation was had quietly.
The newcomer, Melu, had fitted in well in the short time since his arrival on the scene. He easily became friends with his carrier who, like all the others, was a long-time believer in the ideals of the Alliance. Even without language, the man had been open to the irresistible appeal in the Morvian’s eyes. Similar friendships had already been struck, while they had been at this rest stop, just by a shake of the hand or simple eye contact. Luminor had liked the Morvian from the moment they had met; his loyal and generous spirit emanated clearly from his person. One touch on the shoulder, a glance exchanged, and Luminor knew he could enlist Melu’s indubitable percipience in finding the enemy.
No fires were lit, the absence of their warmth lending a sombre atmosphere to the meal. The men sat in groups on the damp ground in the cold, dark mist of these foreign highlands. Their breath was steam. Some who had finished eating were blowing into their hands to warm them. Others were replacing their gloves, preparing to sit for the next hour in chilly contemplation. Luminor walked among his loyal men. He acknowledged every individual in his company, knowing that, like himself, they would all miss the comfort and mantra of a campfire on this, the eve of battle. Conversely, tomorrow, they would to-a-man have no choice but to endure a conflagration beyond anything they could possibly imagine!
Finished his rounds, Luminor seated himself on a boulder to meditate, casting his masked mind-sense out in search of the Dark One. Luminor had given his enemy the name, not yet knowing the birth name. But it didn’t matter. A name was just a name. From his dreams, he had come to know the unmistakable identity he sought. A dual identity, since the Dark One had a mystical accomplice, an evil familiar – was even more distinguishable by that fact.
This ‘duality’ was holding tight to the stolen portion of the Flame with the probable aid of a spell. It had taken extreme skill to catch Luminor unawares while he slept. The Dark One had been corrupted from the ancient codes, had long ago abandoned them. Apart from ignoring the rule of birthright, this deluded Gaian – it pained Luminor to think of him as such – had missed the essential principle of unity, which bound the Lord of Fire to his element, to his people and vice-versa. Love. The Fire of Love was an unbreakable bond. In playing with Fire, the enemy was not as clever as he thought himself to be, not fully understanding the power he coveted.
Love was true Power. The enemy mistook those twin sisters, Love and Power, choosing the latter in the absence of the former, not realising they were inseparable. In that, lay his biggest mistake! The Supreme power over Fire was in question. Bound unnaturally to part of this element, despite the use of all the best shields and masks, made him as visible as the sun to Luminor. Fire was a beacon leading to the challenger and his craven pet. Luminor recalled an old proverb, which his mother recited when he had questioned his inheritance of the Supreme Power. Like all power, he who needs and craves it, loses it. He to whom it is rightly given, though he needs, nor wants it. . . has the choice to keep it.
Silently, so as not to disturb, Melu joined the meditating Luminor; he sat on the ground cross-legged, a short distance away and the two spent several minutes in contemplation. Luminor was grateful for Melu’s empathetic support. These Morvian people were excellent at detecting energy, similar to himself; but it seemed their percipience differed from Gaian in several ways. They could project images into another mind, particularly if the person was receptive. This worked well for them sometimes for communication purposes, if the receiver was not frightened by the phenomenon. They could not, however, control that person’s emotion – real trouble if the reaction of the receiver turned out to be violent. Apparently, they had no shielding skill which was unfortunate. They did have vivid, though somewhat random, premonitions of the future. They could not see everything; the visions they had were clear, unless something changed in the meantime. Luminor could feel a slight charge of mental energy from Melu as they both focussed on the same thing – the search for the negative aspect of Fire, cleverly-disguised as an altruistic cause.
This energy, the missing portion of the Eternal Flame, melded with the stolen part of his own power, was now clearly detectable. The connection was still there. They were very close, just a couple of hours from the battle. Luminor was certain the Dark One could not see him. Or his warriors. He chose not to attempt to intrude on his enemy’s mind-shield just yet. He wanted to keep the element of surprise.
His mind’s eye caught a movement on the edge of his awareness, something fleeting, alongside the strong sense of where his opponent lurked. He guessed the chimera was a promise of aid from the Guardians. During his meditation, the elusive manifestation swooped several more times through his mind, but before he could distinguish the form, it disappeared, leaving him feeling slightly disappointed.
Putting that aside, he hoped with the Guardians’ help, he would be able to penetrate the Dark One’s shield, even if only momentarily. A moment would be all he needed to strike a powerful mental blow.
With that thought, he rose to his feet, his movement echoed by his companion. He cast Melu a grateful glance; the Morvian bowed humbly and withdrew to find some rest, leaving Luminor to do the same.
But he chose not to sleep, preferring to hold his vigil against intrusion, until the darkest hours of night. Then, he would lead his men towards the enemy and into battle.
He must ha
ve dozed for just a few seconds, when something nudged his arm, waking him with a start. Still seated upright on the boulder, he had company. He shook his head, to make sure he was not dreaming.
A small reptilian creature, about half his size, was perched on the boulder right next to him. It stared up at him with what seemed to be an expectant expression in its bright-red eyes. The slitted black pupils gave an evil appearance, though its manner did not seem threatening. The head was angular with a beak-like muzzle which opened and closed reflexively, revealing two rows of very sharp teeth. It had a crest of iridescent blue feathers, running from the top of its head all the way down a long graceful neck. Blue-green and silver scales covered its body, glinting brightly, even in the darkness. The wings had pale-pink, transparent and delicate skin that stretched between strong bony appendages as they flexed. They were tipped with long hooked talons that, together with its two clawed feet, looked capable of ripping a man in two with one strike.
Despite its deadly appearance, Luminor trusted his intuition – it was friendly – even when it preened, arched its neck and suddenly blew a fiery blast into the air directly in front of him. It seemed to be showing off for him. He felt an immediate affinity with the creature and smiled in wonder, knowing it was his, but not how to employ it.
So engrossed was he in this interaction, he’d not noticed Melu’s approach. Berating himself for the lapse, he looked up. The Morvian nodded and smiled as if this was all to be expected.
Luminor had to admit he had not expected this marvelous re-incarnation of a creature that had been extinct for centuries. But then, there was always good reason for one’s faith in the Ancestors. He studied the dragon with his usual appreciation for natural beauty. In the supernatural creature, of course, this beauty was greatly enhanced, luminescent and dreamlike. He admired its form and features as one admired a work of art. It seemed the Guardians, unable to manifest themselves into this Existence, had chosen to send Luminor help in this fitting form. However, in the way of good mentors, they presented him with an enigma. Its very appearance, when one bore in mind the enormity of the task ahead, posed yet another question.
Why. . .in all their wisdom, and great power. . .did they only send a small one?
CHAPTER 32
Bad Dream
A gentle early summer breeze rustled the leaves in the old oak at the edge of the garden. Orange butterflies were fluttering in and out of its shade; honeybees were busily gathering pollen from the flowering hedges that bordered the lawn and the rows of red lilies along the garden path. A stone bird-bath in the centre of the lawn had attracted a large number of tiny red-and-blue finches to dip in the cool water. They gaily splashed and flitted, enjoying some relief from the afternoon heat.
The day had started warm, had been bright and sunny all morning, perfect for outdoor activities. By midday, it was so unseasonably hot, the only sensible place to be was in the shade under a tree, or, Fralii smiled to herself, bathing like the little birds. She imagined the comical picture of her ponderous self, bathing in a small pond like some enormous sea creature – nothing like the agile finches. She wiped droplets of sweat from her brow. The early afternoon air had become humid and oppressive, though there were a few dark clouds visible on the horizon which promised a storm by evening. That would at least clear the air and give the garden a much needed shower of rain.
Fralii sat in her favourite place in the garden of the family villa, on a wooden bench in the deep shade of the spreading ancient oak, watching the tranquil scene. She wanted to enjoy a few minutes of peace and quiet, while her little daughter, Espira, was napping, weary after a morning’s strenuous training with her Gaian tutors.
Fralii loved to watch those sessions. Espira was developing so quickly in all the academic skills. In addition to the mother tongue, she could already speak two human dialects fluently. With the higher arts, her amazing mental skills had begun to surpass the abilities of some Gaian adults. Espira needed the best tutors available; several had been selected, but none quite matched up to the expert mentoring of her own father, Luminor.
In his absence over the past few days, she had become a little rebellious, even though her character was generally a joy to be around. She tested Fralii at every turn, knowing her mother’s lack of special powers, and it had been exhausting. In her advanced pregnancy, Fralii already felt quite lethargic these days, particularly in this heat. In fact, at this moment, she felt very much like dozing herself, but Espira’s naps were becoming shorter now she approached her third birthday and Fralii did not want to fall asleep when her daughter might wake at any moment. The tutors had left before the midday meal and there were some hours yet, during which Fralii would be alone to deal with Espira’s antics. Later, Aleana was due to join them for the evening meal, staying overnight, as she did every day now the birth was close.
This evening Fralii expected some extra guests for dinner. Aleana had promised to bring three of the new refugee women and two children to meet her. The visiting ladies would all attend to the preparation of food so she could relax. Feeling more tired than usual this afternoon, she looked forward to the respite, happy that Espira would have playmates for the evening. She was pleased that Aleana would be there to help with discipline, particularly at bedtime when the little girl became very difficult to settle, missing her father. Fralii hoped her mother-in-law’s calming ability would help there as it had last night, when the two women had gone to check on her and discovered Espira awake, sitting on the window sill, staring out to the southern horizon. The child insisted she was holding vigil like she had with her father the nights before he left on the quest. It had taken a great deal of persuasion, even from Aleana’s subtle magic, to get her back to bed. When she was finally deeply asleep, the older woman took Fralii aside into the study to voice the serious concern she had about the incident.
“We must watch her carefully. . .I think she is trying to reach her father. I suspect she has not yet managed to do so. . .that is an Elite skill! Luminor’s shield is iron-clad, but we do not know how strong she really is and to what extent the familial Link between those two will allow communication. We cannot afford for that to happen! It will jeopardise Luminor’s cover, to have undisciplined energy roaming about, or worse still finding him and giving away his position. We must use wisdom in dealing with this. I doubt the effectiveness of merely forbidding her to experiment in this way!” Aleana pursed her lips with a wry smile, as her bright green eyes met Fralii’s apprehensive gaze.
Fralii sighed in agreement, recognising in her daughter’s character, stark similarities to her own rebellious streak. “You’re right! Unless anyone left here in the Capital is capable of issuing one of those ‘edicts’ – which I seriously doubt – forbidding will probably have the opposite effect, especially in her present state of mind! But, she has such powers of reason. Can we not appeal to those? That part of her is much better developed than mine ever was!”
“That might be possible, my dear. We can try. I am not confident, however. Her self-discipline still needs much work! In my experience, a brilliant mind like hers is sometimes prone to obsession. We must try to avoid that – if we can! Perhaps my calming influence will stick, if I sleep next to her for a few nights. . .” Aleana’s thoughtful gaze fell upon Fralii’s rounded abdomen, and she smiled hopefully. “Then, perhaps the arrival of her little brother will prove to be sufficient distraction!”
The direction of her thoughts had Fralii feeling much less inclined to doze than moments ago, now worrying about the previous night’s conversation with Aleana.
Suddenly, a scream came from Espira’s bedroom on the far side of the villa. Fralii lumbered to her feet, cursing her unwieldy body. She waddled towards the house, as quickly as she could (there was no question of running!). Leaving the shade of the oak tree, she started uphill, making for the villa which was at least a hundred paces away along the garden path. She was quickly breathless from the rushing and the stress, feeling as if the humid air was suffoca
ting her and making her body even heavier than ever. Her legs felt like lead. To make matters worse, the exertion had caused a painful stitch in her side that seemed to be getting worse by the second. She was forced to stop on the villa steps when it got so bad it almost doubled her over. Gritting her teeth against it, she kept going step by step. It felt like she was moving in the slow motion of a dream. There was another scream, followed by hysterical crying.
Finally, she’d almost reached Espira’s bedroom, when everything fell silent. She was beside herself, her heart beating frantically. Was there an intruder? Fearing for Espira’s safety, memories of her own kidnapping flooded her mind. As she flung the door open to the child’s room, almost expecting Espira to be gone, she saw her little darling, spreadeagled and deathly still on the cot, her rainbow coloured eyes wide-open, looking up towards the ceiling, but unblinking as if in some kind of trance.
Fralii refused to believe it was anything worse – a trance would be bad enough. Rushing to the bedside, she bent over the child, leaning in for a closer look, ignoring the nagging pain in her side; with some relief, she detected shallow breathing. Fralii’s voice caught on a sob, as she desperately tried to rouse the child. “Espira! Espira-wake up!”
Still trying to catch her breath, Fralii realised Espira was alive, but unconscious. Was it some kind of fit? She wished Aleana would hurry.
And with a strange pop, water gushed around Fralii’s ankles. The baby was coming!
CHAPTER 33
New Mission
The seconds ticked slowly in the tense silence of the wall cavity. The four warriors waited with bated breath, Xandor’s eyes never leaving those of his protector, Churian; Dak watched over Zenth, for the two dozen heartbeats which sounded far too loud in their ears.