Night of a Thousand Lights: A Light In The Darkness

by Jacey Sturch

  We gather our packs and other supplies quickly, and all of us gather at the exit of the tunnel. After a few quick goodbyes, the door to the outside scrapes open. Raina and I step out into the early morning light and start the long journey to Haelind’s capital city, Selvgr.

  It has been three days since Raina and I left for Haelind. Travel is becoming more difficult with each passing day. Snow covers the ground like a glittering white blanket. Ice and snow pelt us, coming down in sheets.

  Just as the weather is worsening, a village comes into view. “That is the village of Dawnfalls. We can seek shelter from this weather there. We will resume our trip in the morning, Leora.” We make our way through the ice and snow, into the small village.

  The streets are dark, and silent as we walk through the village. Raina leads me to a house in the center of town, with a dim light coming from the front window. She knocks on the door, quickly explaining who this house belongs to. “Since this is such a small village, everyone here is involved in the resistance, so there is no official resistance base here. We should be safe in any one of these houses.” The light in the front window grows brighter, and the door swings open, revealing an older woman holding a candle. Her brown hair is greying with age and she has kindly blue eyes. When she opens the door, she appears worried, but once she sees Raina, a smile spreads across her face.

  “Raina dear, how are you? What are you doing here again? Are you here for the resistance again? And who is this young woman with you?” Raina gives the woman a small smile. “It is good to see you, Idina. This is Leora. She is the girl who was born on the night of a thousand lights. We are on our way to Haelind to try and gain their support.” Idina looks at me with a shocked look on her face, but quickly recovers her composure.

  She opens the door wider and beckons us inside. “Please, get out of the cold. Come inside and warm up.” Raina and I walk inside, and Idina starts a small fire in the hearth. An orange glow is cast over the room, as warmth emanates from the fire.

  Raina and I approach the hearth, absorbing the heat from the flames. After a few minutes, Idina approaches us. “You two are, of course, welcome to stay the night here and wait out the storm.”

  “Thank you Idina, Leora and I will be out of your hair by morning. Hopefully, the storm will have calmed enough by then.” Idina smiles warmly at both of us. “Don’t trouble yourselves. dear. It is no imposition. I’ll show you two to the spare room.” Idina guides us through the house to a small room with two beds in it. “I will see you two girls in the morning. Good night.” Idina closes the door, and leaves Raina and I alone.

  We slip into the two beds, completely exhausted from the journey so far. “So, Raina? How do you know Idina?” I can’t see her through the darkness, but I hear her shift, as though trying to get comfortable.

  “I met her when I came here on a different mission. The village was being terrorized by a bandit clan nearby, and the royal guard wasn’t doing anything to help. So, I came here with a small group and dispatched the bandits so they couldn’t harm the people here again. Now she lets resistance members from out of town sleep here if they need it.” I smile in the darkness. “That is kind of her,” I want to keep talking, but sleep pulls me into its waiting arms, and I am asleep before I realize it.

  It is still dark when I awaken. I hear deep breathing from Raina, so I know she is still asleep. I toss and turn for what feels like hours. But every time I am close to falling asleep, my mind goes to the monumental task before me. And the consequences if I fail. Soon I accept that I am not getting back to sleep any time soon. I quietly rise from the bed, intending to sit by the fire in the hearth hoping that might make me fall asleep again.

  When I enter the room, however, I see someone already sitting there. Idina is still sitting at the hearth, just staring at the fire. She must have heard me approach, calling over her shoulder, “Couldn’t sleep?” I go to sit next to her by the fire. “I just have a lot on my mind tonight.” Idina gives a haggard smile. “Sometimes talking the problem out helps. I’m always willing to listen.”

  I hesitate, not wanting to trouble her. But Idina has a comforting air around her and I feel the need to confide in her. “I’m just worried about what comes next. What if Haelind doesn’t give us the support we need? Or what if I make a mistake and can’t defeat Aetheria? The whole kingdom is relying on me to end the suffering, but what if I can’t?” Idina sits quietly, listening to me and when I am done, I feel as if a crushing weight had been lifted from my chest. I had never given voice to the doubts in my mind before today, afraid to let those around me down.

  After I finish speaking, I feel the familiar worry creep back in. Why did I say that? What if she thinks less of me? What kind of leader doubts herself? Idina quiets those thoughts as she turns me away from the fire to face her. “I think you are quite wise to worry about that. It is only natural to be worried about the future, especially with such a large task ahead of you.”

  I stare at Idina, hardly able to form the words that make up the question in my mind. “It is?” She nods her head and cautiously gathers me in her arms. “I would be more worried if you were overconfident. And I know it feels like it is all up to you, that you alone have to end the darkness of the queen’s reign. But remember you are not alone. You are never alone. We carry those we love in our hearts wherever we go and draw strength from that love and support. And even if you do make a mistake, you can always try again, and your friends like Raina will be there to help.” I start to tear up, feeling relief well up in me at finally having given voice to my fears.

  Idina gives me a tight hug as she sees the first tears roll down my cheeks. “The people of Asinia have complete faith in you. I truly believe that you are able to do this and that you will make a wonderful leader. A true leader worries about the wellbeing of her people, just as you have. I look forward to the day I can see you on the throne.” Feeling comforted by the conversation, we sit in companionable silence for a time until I begin to feel tired once more. I bid goodnight to Idina and retire back to the spare room. With the fears of the future lessened, I fall to sleep easily.

  Morning comes quickly, and with it comes clear weather. Raina and I quickly pack and bid Idina farewell. “I know you two will be successful. Good luck on your journey.” I thank her once more for all her help. Then we continue our journey to the north. Soon, we approach the border to Haelind. Snow and ice crunch beneath us as we walk through the frozen land. The freshly fallen snow glitters like diamonds in the sun.

  The sun is high in the sky this day, when we encounter a problem. We are reaching the border between Haelind and Asinia. Raina has said that this section of the border is normally deserted and that we should be able to sneak across easily.

  However, when we get close to the border, we can see a squadron of the royal guard standing at the border. After watching them for several minutes and they don’t move, Raina turns to me. “That’s strange. There aren’t normally any guards at the border. Why would they be here now? It would be unwise to just charge into a fight head on. The best option is to wait and hope they move on. We can wait them out and take shelter in a cave I saw about a mile back.” I nod towards her and we carefully walk back the way we came.

  We reach the cave after about an hour of walking and begin to set up camp. We don’t set up any fires, in case the guards see the smoke rising from the cave entrance.

  We settle into a rhythm of checking the border every morning and evening, in the hopes the guards will leave. We are not so lucky. By the end of the third day, it is clear that the guards will not be leaving anytime soon.

  Raina and I regroup and start planning a way to get across the border. The plan is simple. We noticed that one of the groups of guards is smaller than the other. Our plan is to neutralize this smaller group and cross the border quickly.

  Hopefully we will be able to cross into Haelind before any of the other guard groups notice us. We slowly approach the hill just in front of the border. As we cre
st the hill, we see the small group of guards.

  We cautiously approach, wanting to get as close as possible before they notice us. The snow crunches beneath our feet as we creep closer to the guards. When we are close enough, Raina and I launch at the closest guards. We quickly dispatch the guards, but the rest of the group notices us.

  The remaining guards charge at us, swords gleaming in the sun. The snowy field descends into chaos as we clash with the guards. Raina and I are quickly separate in the fight. With my sword in hand, I face the guards surrounding me.

  I am able to incapacitate two of the guards quickly, but there are still several surrounding me. I feel a sword cut into my shoulder, but am able to get out of the way before it causes further damage.

  This is not going to work. The other groups of guards must have noticed us by now. We have to get out of here. I can hear Raina yell from my left. I dash between the guards standing in the way, and soon I am next to Raina. I don’t stop running, I just grab her arm and push my way out of the circle of guards. The few guards that get in our way are quickly knocked unconscious by the hilt of my sword.

  Once we break free of the encirclement, we notice that the other groups of guards further down the border have noticed the disturbance and are racing to support their companions. Raina and I can’t stop, and we rush across the border into Haelind. We don’t stop to see if the guards have stopped pursuing. We just keep running.

  After what feels like hours, we stop running and take stock of the situation. By now, night has fallen and it is dark all around us. The guards have either stopped pursuing us or they have lost us. We look around us, and all we can see for miles is a flat, snowy terrain. To our left is a mountain with a small cave opening further up the mountain.

  We climb up the mountain and enter the cave and set up camp for the night. We tend our minor wounds in exhausted silence. Once that is done, we collapse on our bed rolls and fall into an exhausted sleep. It isn’t long though before we both wake up to a strange noise.

  A low rumbling noise is coming from outside the cave. The sound is getting louder and louder, and we both realize what the noise is at the same moment. We turn to each other quickly and yell, “Avalanche!” We quickly grab our travel packs and as much of the equipment as we can, and rush from the cave.

  We look farther up the mountain to see the avalanche quickly bearing down on us. We turn to flee, but the avalanche is too fast. We are quickly swept up by the snow. I am tossed all over, the snow, taking me farther from the cave. Occasionally I am brought back to the surface, and I scream, hoping someone will hear and come to help Raina and me.

  Slowly, I stop moving as the avalanche stops. I try and pull myself out of the snow, but it is difficult to move. Then I feel the snow above me start to shift. Soon a hole opens above me and a hand reaches down. I am pulled from the snow, back into the open air.

  I look around and see several men and women milling around. One of the men has pulled an unconscious Raina from the snow as well. I turn back to face the man who pulled me from the snow. He is muscular with long red hair and a beard to match. He also has a large battle axe on his back. I have no idea where the avalanche took us, having completely lost my bearings in the chaos. “Where are we? Who are you people?”

  The man regards me with curiosity before answering my question. “We are the warriors of Haelind, the Telun. You are just outside the capital Selvgr.” When I realize we have reached our destination, a wave of relief crashes over me and my vision goes dark.

  The first thing I notice when I start to come to is the feeling of warmth surrounding me. I open my eyes and see that I am lying on a bed in a long clay hut. There are several furs piled on top of me, keeping me warm. Raina is in a bed next to me, still sleeping.

  “Good. You are finally awake.” The sudden voice startles me and I turn to see an older woman emerging from another room. “You gave us all quite a shock. What were you doing all the way out there?” I sit up, and quickly begin telling our story. “We are from Asinia. We are trying to gather support so we can overthrow Queen Aetheria. We were coming here, hoping to get aid from your warriors.”

  The woman looks at me in shock. “We haven’t seen anyone from Asinia in years. Not since the new queen took control of the kingdom. You still need to rest, but I will go tell the Ural why you are here. He is our leader and he will decide if we will help you.” I go to protest, but she is already out the door and, on her way, before I can say anything. I lay back down and quickly fall back asleep.

  It doesn’t feel very long before I am awakened again by the same old woman from before. “I spoke with Ural Gunnald and he has agreed to hear you out. If you feel well enough, we can go now.” I nod my head and rush out of bed, eager to speak with the Ural. The older woman leads me through the streets of the village to a large hut she called a longhouse.

  She leads me inside and I see a tall man sitting at the head of a long table. He gestures me forward and listens quietly as I explain the situation in Asinia. “Queen Aetheria is terribly cruel to everyone. The people of Asinia view me as the true royal, since the trees all glowed when I was born. That is a sign of a royal birth in our kingdom. Now we want to remove Queen Aetheria from the throne, but we need support if we are to succeed. Please, we need your help.” I stand in silence after finishing my plea, waiting for the Ural to say anything. Ural Gunnald stands and what he says makes me freeze. “I’m sorry.”

  Chapter 6

  Hearing those words makes my blood run cold as the doubts about myself creep back in. My head snaps up to face him once more. “What?” He looks at me apologetically. “I’m sorry, but I can’t offer you support right now. I have to focus my efforts in order to safeguard my own people from the evil that lurks in the mountains.”

  That catches my attention. “What do you mean, Ural Gunnald?” Ural Gunnald stands up and comes around the table, approaching me. “There is a creature that has been lurking in the mountain that we call the Ice Behemoth. It is what caused the avalanche that you and your friend were caught in. Not only does it cause avalanches, but it can also cause fierce snow storms to spawn at will. It has been causing a lot of destruction. Every time I send my warriors out to destroy the beast, they can never find it. Even worse, it leaves my people defenseless and the Ice Behemoth attacks the city. Now, I can’t even send anyone to destroy this creature, for fear that it will destroy the rest of us in the warriors’ absence. If I send my warriors to support your campaign, who will protect my people?”

  I feel despondent, knowing that this trip may have been for nothing. Then I have a thought. “What if Raina and I were able to locate this Ice Behemoth and defeat it? If it caused the avalanche, then it must have been close to the cave Raina and I were taking shelter in. It might still be close. If Raina and I go after it, with just a few warriors to support us, then that would leave most of your warriors here to defend the city.”

  Ural Gunnald looks thoughtful for a moment. “It is very brave of you to offer. I accept your terms. I will give you four of my best warriors to support you in this endeavor. If you defeat the Ice Behemoth and make my land safe once more, then I will lend you the Telun warriors to support your claim for the Asinian throne.”

  I rush from the longhouse, eager to begin this task. I enter the hut where I woke up and see Raina awake and alert. She turns to face me when I enter. “Leora. It is good to see you up and about. How did the meeting with the Ural go?” I quickly fill Raina in on what happened at the meeting.

  “This Ice Behemoth sounds like quite the fearsome beast. I am ready to depart now, if you are ready?” We quickly gather our belongings and leave the hut. When we arrive at the gates of the city, we are greeted by four warriors. There are three women and one man in the group. They introduce themselves as the warriors of the Telun that will be accompanying us. Soon after, we set off to find the elusive Ice Behemoth.

  It isn’t long before our group arrives back at the cave that Raina and I had been sleeping in before t
he avalanche. Now, in the light of the day, we can see that the mountains reach high into the clouds. From above us, we can hear rumbling on the snow-capped mountain.

  We decide to climb higher up the mountain, where the rumbling noise is coming from. After climbing for several hours, as the sun begins to set, the rumbling becomes clearer. It isn’t rumbling, it is loud footsteps.

  We climb onto a ledge and are able to see across the ridge. The mountain continues higher, covered in ice and snow, appearing to be impossible to climb. Then we see “It” emerging from the fog. The silhouette of a large creature looms before us. When it comes through the fog, we freeze at the sight of the creature.

  It looks like a large human, at least twenty-five feet tall. Its skin is an icy blue color and it has pure white eyes with long, stringy, white hair. It seems to have ice crystals growing out of its face and hands. It is dragging what appears to be a large icicle behind it, as a club. The ground shakes with each of the creature’s lumbering steps.

  Everyone seems to falter at the sight of this monster, suddenly doubting the success of this mission. We back away a little, hiding behind a rock wall and one of the Telun warriors explains a plan. “The main issue here is its size. If we assume this thing is like us, then all of its vital places are either in its head or chest, which is too high. If we focus on its legs, we may be able to bring it down. That will give us the chance to deal a killing blow.” Everyone seems to agree with that plan.

  The warrior who suggests the plan, a young woman with long, auburn hair tied in a braid, says in a solemn tone, “Let us fight and be victorious or die honorably.” Everyone readies themselves for battle. Soon we leap over the rock we are hiding behind and the battle begins.