A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2), page 30
"They still walk in the Legend." Melal turned in his direction, yet his eyes didn't focus on Slaten. "All will be well in the end."
"Does that mean we're going to meet them along the way? Do they know to go to Mount Tmil now?"
"They... will return to me in the end. One way or another."
"What does that mean?"
Melal did finally look at him, but only gave a benevolent smile and then wandered away. As he did so, his hair shone as the light seemed to gather around him. Slaten felt a bright stab deep in his heart that he had nearly forgotten. That suggested that nothing would interrupt this journey, unless it ended catastrophically.
He was still unable to set aside practical concerns. Their force was smaller than the previous raid, less than a third of the Bloodskin clan's warriors. They had among them Gatoda, who had completely fallen under Melal's spell, and Patule, who had come for reasons unknown. Chief Bufogu led them, most likely because he feared that Melal would otherwise steal a third of his clan and much of his authority.
Given that group, Slaten decided to next approach Patule. The other man turned to him immediately, scarred eye bulging. "What?"
"I want to know how much danger we will be facing. The Stormpeaks were distracted for many days, so why leave now? Is it because of the risk of the conflict ending?"
"Maybe, but not only that." Patule gestured ahead to specific peaks Slaten did not know. "For some reason, the Hardbloods broke apart and the Earthbreakers won their fight. This has created the clearest path to Mount Tmil that we are likely to get."
"I see. Do you think our chances are good?"
"That depends on the Hero."
Hearing Patule refer to Melal that way made Slaten wince, though being around Natala so frequently led him to automatically suppress the expression. Had Melal's days in the Bloodskin village actually been more effective than they appeared? Even when it didn't lead to bloodshed, the Legend always lurked underneath everything, roots growing deeper and deeper...
Patule opened his mouth, but was interrupted when a shout rang out. They looked forward, at first alarmed, only to find Melal standing on a peak ahead of the group. With all eyes rising to him, he raised his fists, clad in sunlight.
"Men of the Bloodskin clan! Our journey to Mount Tmil may not be easy, but it is the only path forward into the Legend! Your strength may be needed, your will tested, your faith attacked. But the only way we can go is forward! Onward, to battle and adventure!"
~ ~ ~
Battle and adventure turned out to mean a great deal of walking. Though Slaten and a few others attempted to keep up regular scouting patrols, Melal pushed them hard every day, heedless of such things. Their path seemed strangely blessed, free of conflict, but that meant it was simply boring.
On some nights Slaten went away with Natala, both to maintain the pretext and because she was the only source of good conversation in the group. That night, they sat against a tree trunk. He wished that they could risk setting up the Yenith board, but instead settled for cycling through his normal exercises while they spoke.
"Is it normally like this?" Natala watched him thoughtfully, eyes black in the dark. "The Legend."
"It has been different, both with Melal and with others. I feel... that there is something fundamental we are missing."
"That's why you support meeting this Sage?"
"That's part of it." Slaten closed his eyes and leaned against the tree, grinding the bark against the back of his skull. "I don't know if the Sage will tell us anything new or if he will simply encourage Melal. But I have to believe that someone understands everything that is happening, or... it will all seem insurmountable."
"I've tried to think about it myself." Natala rubbed her forehead with both hands, a gesture he didn't think he'd ever seen from her before. "I don't think... it's difficult to express myself..."
"It has always been that way."
"But it's new to me. Normally when I put my mind to something, I can focus on everything it contains and begin to understand. But with this... I do not think it can ever be reduced to logic or reason. Whatever the Legend is, it is fundamentally... something else."
Slaten frowned, stopping his exercises. "I'm not sure I agree. If something exists, it must have some logic. I think, or at least I hope, that the Legend must be like any other game. The rules may be complex, but if we watch for long enough, we must be able to understand."
"You've watched longer than I have, so you might be right. But I'm not sure."
They sat in silence until it grew dark.
~ ~ ~
Surrounded by Bloodskin warriors at almost all times, Slaten thought it might be unwise to experiment further with their arts. Likewise, the possibility of an attack at any moment prevented him from any form of training that left him exhausted or with injuries.
Instead he returned to pure sein training, which the Bloodskins didn't understand but at least accepted. Though he struggled to deepen his understanding in a meaningful way, he didn't feel that he made any progress. The most he could do was expand the quantity of the sein flowing within him.
Normally simply increasing raw capacity was a poor method of training, but he hoped it might help the next time he fought. Regardless of the core problem with his stamina, the ultimate effect was being starved of sein. Therefore, increasing the quantity available to him would at least alleviate the problem.
At least, it was the best he could do.
~ ~ ~
As they entered Stormpeak territory, they began taking increasingly dangerous routes to avoid attention. Sometimes that meant scaling sheer cliff faces, which the Bloodskins managed because the falls did them only temporary harm. Slaten had to let down ropes so that Natala and Laeri could manage the climb.
That day, one of the Bloodskins accidentally caused a small rock slide. Slaten had managed to save both women and several slow Bloodskin warriors, but had turned his ankle while pushing aside the rocks. It might have been little concern, except that he needed to continue walking on it as they pressed forward to find a hiding place before the rock slide could be investigated.
So that night when they made camp, Laeri knelt down by his ankle to care for it. The Bloodskins might not respect him for receiving healing, but given the threat of an attack, Slaten didn't care. As she worked, Laeri looked up at him and spoke nervously.
"Your ankle will be fine, Slaten, but... I think you should be careful with the Bloodskin arts. There might be consequences, you know?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Oh, well... I don't know enough to have a theory and the Bloodskins won't let me look at them deeply. But have you noticed that there are a few old women, but no old men?"
Slaten blinked in surprise, realizing that the fact had completely passed him by. "Their lives are hard, but that would strike both men and women. Likely untrained women more than warriors. The older warriors might simply age better due to their bodily arts."
"I wondered that too, but I've asked some of the older women. None of the warriors have lived much longer than fifty years." Laeri shuffled uncomfortably by his ankles. "I know that they live dangerous lives. But I also worry that they might be burning through their lives too quickly. Normally a warrior at fifty should be at their peak."
"Does it work that way? As if lives are candles?"
Though speaking with Laeri was often awkward, they could usually discuss sein comfortably. Laeri brightened and moved up to sit beside him, but before they could speak, they were interrupted by a loud disruption at the edge of the camp.
Scouts dragged in two men who Slaten at first assumed were Bloodskin raiders who had committed some crime. Only as they were thrown to their knees in front of Chief Bufogu did Slaten notice the differences. Physically they looked like the same people, but they wore more blue cloths and one had a necklace of bones. Presumably another clan.
"These two stumbled on us while we were scouting, but we caught them." Gatoda sneered as he kicked one of them further to the ground. "Barely more than boys. If this is what passes for men among the Bonewalkers, they're lucky they've survived this long."
"But they found us." Chief Bufogu stared at the two young raiders, who glared back defiantly.
"We swept the area and we didn't find any more. You want us to kill them and bury the bodies?"
"If they came this far, they were sent. Someone might suspect us, or at least they might be missed." Bufogu rose to his feet and pulled a large axe from beside his pack. "Their deaths must be made to serve us."
He swung down, a single powerful blow severing one of the young men's arms. He let out a scream of pain and tried to struggle to his feet, but Bufogu easily swept the axe around, hacking off his other arm. The second young man scrambled to his feet to run, but other Bloodskins caught him and forced him back down as Bufogu finished off the first.
"How horrible!" Laeri turned away, hiding her face in both hands. "Even if he had to kill them, he needn't be so cruel..."
Slaten didn't answer, instead watching the axe as it began hacking into the second Bonewalker. For a time he wondered how the violent deaths served any purpose, then he realized the truth: Bufogu didn't usually fight with such a large axe. The one he used now had been taken from the body of the Catai they fought earlier, and it was a particularly distinctive mansthein style...
"Slaten, are you ignoring me? Why is he being so cruel?"
"He's making it look like the Bonewalkers were killed by Deathspawn." Even as Slaten watched, Bufogu buried the axe in the second target's back and left it there. That was perhaps a clumsy choice, since there would have been no reason for a Catai to leave his weapon. Yet a moment later he saw the Bloodskin chief pick up his own axe and use it to strike the mansthein weapon to render it too damaged to use. "That way when these scouts are discovered, they will draw attention away from us."
"That's horrendous." Laeri peeked through her fingers, staring at the gory mess of the two. She appeared sad, but not horrified - after all, she had seen many wounds in her work. "I think that one is still alive, Slaten, don't you?"
"It... appears to be that way." How long he would last without both arms and with so much blood gushing from his body was another question.
"Do you think they would stop me if I tried to go help him? Not to heal him, just to... take away some of his pain, you know? It's the only thing I can do."
Slaten frowned toward Laeri. "I agree that this is cruel, but those men are our enemies. They would kill us if they could, and if they hadn't been caught, they could have brought their entire clan down on us."
"But I'm a healer, you know? One should always help kin and allies first, but if anyone is in pain, I should help them..."
"You have a duty to heal everyone?"
She nodded with great conviction. "If it is possible, yes. I would heal the Bloodskins, if they let me."
"Even Deathspawn?"
"Of... of course not Deathspawn! They want to kill all of us!"
"Even if it was Iralin?" Slaten asked. When he saw Laeri flinch, he pressed on. "The two of you worked together for much of a year in Ith Ire. If she was injured and couldn't heal herself, would you let her die?"
"I... I don't know. Why are you asking me these things?"
Despite his questions, he had no answer for her. Perhaps he was being cruel in his own way, without even an excuse like Chief Bufogu. As they sat in silence, the young warrior bled out beside their camp.
~ ~ ~
As they walked, Natala told him of everything she hoped to do if she escaped the mountains. Where the minds of others tread a straight line, she walked in a dozen directions at once, each consideration influenced by a great many possibilities. Any direction she turned, it seemed likely that she could reach some aspect of her potential.
All at once, his answer came to him. Not an answer to be held forever, but for now, it was enough. Natala noticed that something had changed and watched him. "You have something to say, Slaten?"
"Only that you were right, before." His eyes wandered south, though the Chorhan Expanse was long gone. "There was a mansthein man I knew named Kolanin. Not a perfect man, but he attempted to make a difference. He was a warrior, but that was the least aspect of him. If he had not been cut down, he could have become much more."
"And?"
"You're right that the greatest of potentials can be destroyed by a single moment of violence. But they can also be saved by one. I may not be able to change the world, but I can save those who could."
Natala regarded him without expression. "Does that grand ideal satisfy you?"
"I'm not sure." Slaten finally looked back at her and shrugged honestly. "But it is better than nothing."
~ ~ ~
As they grew near to Mount Tmil, Slaten began to wonder if they could possibly arrive without encountering a truly dangerous enemy. Yes, they had been working for many days to prepare the way, but he had assumed that another obstacle would rise before them. Yet Melal strode on, increasingly confident that he walked the path of the Legend.
The real path had become increasingly steep, and Slaten felt the air struggle to escape his body. Others claimed that it would become far worse at the peak of Mount Tmil, so they might need to leave Natala and Laeri at the base of the ascent. Allegedly a village sat there, tied to the Sage atop the mountain and so falling under his protection. If they reached it, they would finally be safe.
When Slaten gripped the stone ledge above him, he was surprised how painfully it dug into his hand. He forced himself past the pain and pulled himself to the top. Once there, he looked more closely and saw to his surprise that beneath the dirt and layer of small gray rocks shone dark black stone.
He slowly brushed them aside, revealing more of the dark stone that reminded him of the Chorhan Expanse. Instead of jet black shot with crimson, silvery threads ran through the darkness. Instead of being worn smooth by wind and rain, these must have fallen from a greater height, broken apart into sharp edges. This piece had clearly fallen ages ago, yet the edges retained much of their sharpness.
Though the somewhat familiar stone made Slaten feel strangely comfortable, it was irrelevant. He straightened at the top of the rise, and that was when he saw it across the next several hills:
A village sat alone at the base of a great mountain.
~ ~ ~
Tmil Village appeared to have no walls or guards, which put the Bloodskin warriors far more on edge than any army. They crept closer down several well-worn paths that connected a few outlying houses and wells. No one appeared to oppose them, and Slaten could see people going about their business ahead, without any sign that they noticed something was wrong.
There had been some argument about how best to approach. Melal had insisted that they would be welcomed and escorted directly up the side of the mountain to meet the Sage. Most of the others were not so confident, and they won out in the end, so the group advanced as if preparing for a raid.
Until a man dropped out of the sky in front of them. In the instant the man landed, Slaten felt the world tilt toward him.
Though he had dark hair and light eyes, just like many of the raiding clans, this warrior stood as if he strode across mountains. The hair hanging about his shoulders was gray, but he otherwise looked to be in the prime of his life. He wore only a few cloths, several around his waist and one hanging across his shoulders. His bare chest was muscular, but less massive than many Bloodskin warriors. He was tall, but not as tall as Slaten, much less Chief Bufogu.
Yet the Chief of the Bloodskins and everyone else took a step back when he arrived.
"This place is not for you." The master warrior rolled his shoulders with an audible grinding and smiled. "The only difference between all of you leaving and all of you dying is whether I have to wash my hands afterwards."
An overwhelming sense of scale descended on Slaten, as if he stood at the edge of a cliff, seeing mountains upon mountains rising before him. The only time he had felt the same sensation was when he faced the Zeitai, his training since then only allowing him to see the distance between them more clearly.
In that moment, the roads of power coalesced into peaks. He could see that the Catai stood atop the mountain he now climbed. Chief Bufogu and many others stood atop a yet higher peak. The Zeitai and this man stood in a misty realm so far beyond he could no longer see the peaks. Just as it had been with the Zeitai, Slaten realized that his strength would be completely useless if he attempted to fight. All of them together would not be enough.
"Don't get in my way!" Melal stepped forward, out of the group, immediately drawing all eyes. The man frowned and started to raise one hand, a casual gesture that somehow carried a threat. Yet he paused. "I am the Hero, Savior of the Coran Resistance! The only reason you even guard the Sage is because he's waiting for me."
"Huh." The master examined him, utterly unconcerned by Melal's approach. "The Sage will decide if you tell the truth. Follow me."
As they walked into the village, more and more of the inhabitants turned to look at them. Slaten saw many shades of hair and colors of skin, almost reminding him of the diversity of Bundlin. Most wore layered cloths like the raiders, generally in drab colors, but otherwise they clearly had different origins. They watched silently, pulling away if any of the Bloodskins drew close.
Most of the raiders stayed back, intimidated by the overwhelming strength of the master who guarded the village. Chief Bufogu moved forward to only two paces behind him, however, and Slaten hastened to catch up and overhear their conversation.
"You must be the great master Aganomu."
"Aye, they've called me that." Aganomu glanced up at the other man the way one might look at a rambunctious animal.
"Then why do you spend your days here, guarding an old man, when you could conquer nations?"
"You think it would be as easy as all that? Don't answer, it doesn't matter. I've found something more important to do with my strength. If the Sage will meet with you, you'll understand."
