The Brightest Shadow, page 2
Tani slipped into the familiar arts of running. Hopes and apprehensions floated through her mind and she noted them, but she didn't let them control her. Instead she made mental plans for when she reached Bundlin. Provided that there was no immediate threat, she needed to meet her tribe's contact and fulfill her official duties. Then she would be free to learn more of the Deathspawn.
The sun burned high in the sky by the time Tani began to hope she was close. Bundlin supposedly spanned a river and she ran between more bushes and larger plants now. Yet as she continued east, she began to hear strange sounds and realized that her journey wasn't over yet.
Screams and cries sounded ahead of her. Tani took a deep breath, slipped her sickle knife into one hand and a throwing knife into the other, and resumed running.
She wanted to sprint to see the conflict and help if she could, but she forced herself to maintain a steady pace so that she wouldn't arrive exhausted. Judging from the sounds, the violence was close, yet she could see nothing. The only object nearby that could block her vision was a small hill of boulders, so she redirected herself toward it.
As she drew closer, she could hear the voices more clearly - fear, pain, anger. Tani bit her lip and let herself move a little faster. After coming this far, she didn't want to find that the far east was just as swept up in violence as the rest of the Chorhan Expanse.
Running straight for the side of the stones, Tani drew more sein into her legs. Not letting herself fear failure, she leapt, trusting her increased strength to take her to the top of the first rock instead of crashing into the side.
Her boot hit the stone hard, but she managed to absorb the shock with her knee and pushed upward. In several quick hops she ascended the pile of boulders, mint burning in her nostrils. Tani slowed down as she reached the top, dropping into a crouch on the highest boulder to examine the scene before her.
Several bodies lay on the ground, their blood staining the grass. A group of Corans huddled together, wailing. Coran warriors faced off against Deathspawn soldiers, apparently trying to keep the soldiers from attacking a human woman and her child.
Tani nearly acted then, even raised her throwing knife, but she managed to restrain the instinct. Her master had always taught her to see truly before acting truly. It was not a lesson she had mastered, but after coming this far to see the truth, she couldn't act impulsively.
So even as the handles of her knives grew sweaty, Tani forced herself to look more carefully. It might have been a battle not long ago, but currently the warriors were only threatening one another, not truly fighting. There was a lean man with hair much too dark to be Coran who was standing between them, calling for order.
When Tani looked at the huddle of civilians again, her eyes grew wide. The wailing group might have blond hair, but their skin was mottled gray-green... they were Deathspawn. Deathspawn wearing ragged clothes instead of armor, none of them carrying weapons, fear obvious even in their red eyes.
Tani rocked backward and her instincts only barely saved her from falling from her perch. She had never believed that Deathspawn could just pop out of the ground as some said, but that hadn't prepared her to see Deathspawn noncombatants cringing and helpless. They looked so ordinary, especially with hair and clothing that could be mistaken for Coran.
A moment later she thought to look to the woman and child, her gaze snapping to them. Both Deathspawn, and now she could see that they were being held hostage by the Corans, not protected. The child clung to her mother's leg, staring at the armed humans in terror. Though the Deathspawn girl's hands had claws and her teeth looked uncomfortably sharp, she looked so much like a human child that Tani felt a surge of connection in a way she never had with the invading Deathspawn armies.
Tani had initially assumed that the Deathspawn soldiers had attacked the Corans, yet now she didn't know what to make of the standoff. There were warriors of both groups, yes, but it seemed that the Coran men had captured the Deathspawn woman and child. Only the strange man stood in between both groups, calling for order. She had a feeling she would need a long time to truly understand this conflict.
As much as she wanted to keep staring, Tani realized that she didn't have that option. The advancing Coran men looked angry and several of them had minor injuries. Whatever had occurred, they weren't going to let things end so easily. Tani wanted to act, but without knowing the truth of the situation before her, that would be unwise.
The dark-haired man stepped forward to meet the Corans. He raised both hands to show that he was unarmed, holding only a roll of white bandages. Though his hair was as dark and straighter than her own, Tani didn't think he was Nelee or even Rhen at all. But given how little she knew about the eastern Rhen tribes, perhaps he might be.
She couldn't quite hear his words, but some of the Coran men began to lower their weapons. Tani stood up, easing her grip on her knives and hoping that the conflict might have passed peacefully. Then she could get some answers about-
One of the Coran men abruptly rounded on the Deathspawn woman and child, raising his sword. He moved with sein-enhanced speed, but strangely the healer flinched immediately, as if his eyes could follow the movement. Yet instead of helping, he hesitated, and one of the other Coran men slammed a shoulder into him, knocking him sprawling.
Tani didn't hesitate.
Even as she saw the healer fall, she began leaping down the boulders, propelled by all the sein she could manage. She was already streaking through the air, knives in hand, when her mind caught up with her body and she had a disorienting moment of being completely unsure what she needed to do. She didn't know anyone involved, didn't know what had happened, and had fought Deathspawn until that day.
But she saw a trained warrior moving to cut down a terrified child. And seeing the little girl's expression, Tani realized that her decision was already made.
She threw a knife as soon as she was in range - a bad throw, not flying true but instead striking the man lengthwise. Yet thrown with as much strength as was surging through her body, it still made him stagger. He turned away from the Deathspawn girl, searching for the threat.
Tani had already closed most of the distance, but another Coran lunged into her path, swinging at her neck. Had he been a fully-trained warrior, his swing would have taken off her head. As it was, Tani barely had enough time to duck underneath it, the blade slicing at her short hair.
She dug one foot into the earth and swung her other leg around, sweeping the man off his feet. As he started to fall, she pushed hard off the ground, throwing herself at her target as hard as she could.
The Coran warrior knew what he was doing, saw her coming, and struck at her. But she had expected that, her sickle knife flashing up to deflect his sword. That let her ram straight into him with her shoulder. She had expected her speed would overcome the weight difference between them... but the man managed to regain his balance before falling.
There was a fleeting moment where she could have stabbed him, but Tani hesitated. She didn't understand the situation, didn't know if he deserved death... and now he was thrusting down at her, forcing her to dodge backward.
That left them facing each other and Tani wondered if she would regret not stabbing him when she had the chance. Among the Rhen tribes, Coran warriors had a reputation as lumbering brutes. But seeing how smoothly this warrior moved, noting the scars on his bare arms... even if he was no master, that didn't mean that she could overcome him.
"Enough!" Someone shouted from nearby and Tani tried to look without drawing too much attention from her opponent. It was the healer who had spoken, but at that moment another one of the Coran warriors rushed at her.
If he had been aiming for her, Tani couldn't have reacted in time... but he didn't attack her at all. Instead he grabbed the other Coran man's wrist, wrenching it and making him drop his sword before flinging him to the ground. The two warriors struggled, but it was obvious that the new warrior was stronger and trying to restore order.
Looking back, Tani saw that the crisis had ended and let herself breathe normally again. Several Deathspawn soldiers eyed her, but one just gave her a curt nod. The Coran man who had attacked the healer had been wrestled to the ground by the others and there was no one currently threatening the frightened Deathspawn.
Thinking of them, Tani looked to the mother and child. Both stared at her, the mother with a grim look Tani didn't understand and the child with wild-eyed wonder. They almost didn't look like Deathspawn at all... but then again, before that day, she hadn't even been sure if Deathspawn actually had women and children.
"Are you okay?" Tani smiled and leaned down to look at the child, but the girl shrieked in terror and ran. The mother hastily moved to catch her, while Tani backed up and raised her hands to show she meant no harm. Maybe it was best not to get involved until she understood more of what was going on.
When she turned back, she found the healer approaching her. He gave a thin, weary smile. "Thank you for your help."
"What exactly is going on here?"
He stared at her for a moment, then sighed and gave a helpless gesture. Tani used the pause to actually look at him for the first time. Up close, his narrow blue eyes made it obvious that he wasn't Rhen. His skin was paler than most Rhen, but darker than a Coran, which suggested he might be Oken. There weren't many Oken this far east, but his presence was far from the strangest thing about the situation.
Now that she got a better look at him, she realized that he was a young man, at most a few years older than her. Hair a little longer than hers framed a lean but handsome face. He wore a dark brown Coran tunic with a black mantle over it. The mantle was much higher quality than the rough tunic, embroidered with triangular designs she assumed were Oken patterns.
"Normally, I might say it's hard to explain. But you leapt to defend them, so perhaps..." He was looking at her as well, his gaze shifting from the sickle knife in her hand to the weapons at her belt. That was a warrior's look, and he had reacted quickly before, yet he had been knocked aside so easily... "That was very well done, throwing the knife non-lethally. Hopefully this will end without anyone else dying."
Though Tani wasn't entirely sure what to make of this man, he was the only person explaining anything and he seemed friendly, so she gave him a rueful smile. "Truthfully, I didn't plan that. I've never tried to throw while running that fast before."
"Well, it helped a great deal. We need to resolve this as quickly as possible, but if you come with me, I'll fill you in. Unless you need to be somewhere else?"
"I can follow you."
"My name is Slaten, by the way."
"I am Tani of the Nelee." She gave him a brighter smile and he smiled back, but then turned to head back to the main group.
Tani moved beside him, analyzing the situation again. The Deathspawn group was now less terrified, though they still watched suspiciously from behind their soldiers. Another small group of Coran men had formed as well. One of them thrust a bloody arm out in their direction.
"Damn nasty cut. Think it needs a proper healer?" The man spoke gruffly but familiarly. Slaten examined the injury and Tani realized that most of the blood was coming from a single cut higher on the warrior's arm. It was a deep cut - the warrior would be in a great deal of pain once his sein gave out.
"Let's bandage it for now," Slaten said. "You and your friends should go as soon as possible. They'll be sending someone to investigate."
"The damn Deathspawn don't do a thing to guard this side of Bundlin. What makes you think they'll get here soon?"
"Better to be cautious." Slaten took out a dark cloth and began to clean the wound before applying the bandages he carried.
While he started his work, Tani carefully cleaned her sickle knife and returned her weapon to its hook on her belt. After that, she shifted beside Slaten and folded her arms. She took a moment to watch his movements: steady, but not the actions of an experienced healer. Though she was curious about him, she had more important questions.
"So, can you finally tell me about what happened here?"
Slaten didn't answer for a time, working in silence, then spoke without looking at her. "A Deathspawn caravan of civilians was coming to Bundlin when they were attacked by bandits. Some managed to escape, but when they drew near the city, they met these Coran guards on patrol. Both sides assumed the worst and attacked each other."
Tani pondered that silently while the Coran man made a disgusted noise and spat onto the grass. "It's not right, Deathspawn taking over like this. Now me, I'm not stupid. But can you blame the boys for wanting to take them out while we have the chance?"
Without answering, Slaten tugged on the knot to finish the bandage. Judging from the man's grunt, he pulled on it tighter than might have been necessary, but Coran men didn't acknowledge pain, so he pretended that it hadn't happened. But that was less important than the confirmation that was slowly coming home to Tani.
"So it's true. In Bundlin, humans and Deathspawn live side by side."
The warrior was about to say something, but at that moment Slaten clapped him on the shoulder. "That should do for now. Get the other guards and get out of here, fast. And get your story straight."
Grumbling, the warrior left. Slaten looked after him for a while, then turned to look at her and suddenly it was as if they stood alone together. The Coran guards argued with one another and the Deathspawn civilians murmured in their own language, but that didn't seem to matter. A stillness descended around them as he met her gaze and she realized that he understood.
Tani swallowed. "So... the Deathspawn... are they...?"
"Like us? Yes." Slaten closed his eyes and was still for a moment. "I don't understand everything, and they don't come out of their side of Bundlin very often, but they're... I'd say 'human' but that isn't really appropriate, is it? They're not just monsters like in the stories."
"Then why the invasion? Why act like monsters?"
"I don't know. But the more I hear, the more I'm starting to think that it might not be like this everywhere. Somewhere else..." He left the sentence unfinished, but she thought she understood. Somewhere else, perhaps humans and Deathspawn weren't at war. Perhaps the invasion could end and there could be peace here as well. If she could just understand, she could keep her tribe from war.
After a moment, Tani frowned slightly. "Why the name, then?"
"Humans gave them that name and the army just adopted it for the sake of intimidation. They call themselves the mansthein."
"This is... all a bit much. I came here because I hoped the rumors might be true, but I guess part of me didn't expect to get an answer so quickly. It's a bizarre feeling." She wasn't sure why she spoke with Slaten so easily, but realized too late that she might be saying too much to a stranger. But Slaten just nodded slowly, as if he understood.
"It takes a while to adjust. I'm still not sure I-"
Mint burned into her mind as Tani sensed the rush of power a moment before it arrived. She threw herself back on pure instinct, skidding through the grass with a hand flying to her sickle knife, ready for an attack.
The Deathspawn Catai had arrived on the battlefield - and though Tani tried to think of him as "mansthein", just a person like her, she couldn't. That mass of muscle was so undeniably a killing machine, capable of slaughtering everyone around him. Worse, the sein flowing within him was even more powerful than when she had encountered him in the encampment.
"What the hell happened here?" The Catai roared down at Slaten, who lowered his eyes.
"Bandits attacked the caravan. We tried to defend them, but we couldn't reach them in time t-"
"Idiot!"
It shouldn't have been possible for someone so large to move that quickly, but Tani barely even saw the blow. The Deathspawn's fist struck Slaten in the chest with enough force to send him flying backward until he flattened against the boulders behind him and then crumpled.
Tani crouched low, clutching her knife hilt even though she knew it couldn't do any good. She knew many warriors more powerful than her, but could they fight someone like this? Could even her master face such overwhelming might?
Fortunately, it seemed the new arrival had merely been venting his frustration. He stomped to the Coran guards, roaring condemnations at them. They flinched back, well-aware that even if all of them had attacked together, they would probably still have been left dead.
More importantly, Tani needed to check on Slaten. She let go of her knife and rushed over to where he picked himself up off the ground. He should have had broken ribs and possibly a cracked skull, but he seemed only stunned. That confirmed that he must have been trained in sein, or whatever the Oken called the equivalent arts. But if that was true, then why did he act like a clumsy healer instead of a warrior?
"He's not attacking?" Slaten asked. He looked dazed from the blow, but shook his head to clear it and managed to focus on the massive Catai. "Good, then he bought the story."
"The other Deathsp- the other mansthein won't tell him what happened?"
"I think they just want to reach safety. By the time they speak more openly about this, the moment will have passed and no one will get killed. There are many incidents like this."
Tani glanced at him, surprised by the weariness in his voice. But his gaze was impossible to read, so after a moment she just smiled at him. "I can imagine how difficult it is. It's open warfare across most of the Chorhan Expanse. But here... there's a possibility of something else, isn't there? For the fighting to finally end and for us to have peace?"
"I don't know." Slaten cast a dark glance over the scene, then turned to walk toward the city.
She stayed behind, watching both sides and trying to cope with everything she'd learned. Yes, the Deathspawn had vulnerable women and children... but they also had brutal warriors like the Catai. They might not be evil monsters from out of myths, but they were still the invading force that had razed villages and threatened her tribe. The conflict was more complex than in the stories, which just made it messier.
