A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2), page 49
"Well..." The errant hesitated, but eventually answered. "Both sides rely on their supply chains. If we could burn their supply bases, it would force them to retreat to better supplied territory. It would be only temporary, but the Deathspawn would no doubt retaliate."
Melal raised a finger triumphantly. "Then there's your answer! All you need to do is burn their bases."
"If... if the Hero were to join the battlefield, perhap-"
"No, I need to travel north to claim my destiny. Did the fight addle your wits? The entire purpose of that attack would be to draw the Deathspawn away from Portant. Just send the soldiers you have available."
All three errants stared at him before one of the women spoke. "Did you hear? They outrank us badly. Our soldiers would have no chance, and none of our Steeljudges could burn their supplies and live."
"Always arguing over ranks, never seeing any true potential." Melal shook his head, for a moment lightening the world around him. "Here in the north, you are blinded by your traditions. So what if their warriors are given better names? Yours will be walking on the path of the Legend itself! The glory of your purpose will ensure your victory!"
Though the errants stared at Melal, Slaten had no idea if his speech had any impact. It certainly seemed unlikely that he could overturn generations of tradition, especially in his current state. Before they could argue further, some of Veron's raiders returned, urging everyone that they needed to abandon those who could not run and escape before the mansthein found them.
Thoughts of war on the eastern border slipped from Slaten's mind. If anything did occur, it was beyond his power to affect it. What he could do was make sure that Melal did not bring war back to Olondris and Mantyos. He could ensure that Laeri was not left behind and that as many survived as they could.
First he could give Tani back her knife.
~ ~ ~
Some celebrated below, yet Celivia only sat on top of the fortress and stared out over the hills of Portant. In the dark, lit only by the light of a few fires, they appeared as depthless masses, endless folds of shadow that could contain anything.
Her friends had joined her, and Ghalia had tried to celebrate at first before surrendering to Celivia's grim mood. The healer from Jeraeli's cohort had assisted their entire group before he grew exhausted, so none of them retained any injuries. That had nothing to do with the pain Celivia felt.
"Celi..." Reina spoke up quietly, watching her from her seat nearby. "Why go so far for that human? You saw how she hates you."
"But she doesn't need to." Celivia sighed and ran her hands through her hair. She should have bound it back on her head, yet that felt wrong somehow. "If events had fallen slightly differently, she could be our ally. I don't just mean against the Hero, I mean against Zeitai Kreue and the Senate and everyone else who stands against us."
Ghalia merely grunted. "You always overthink these things. I'm the last person who would tell you that all humans are bad, but it doesn't work that way. Even if she forgave you, she's not going to join any of your grand causes."
Celivia expected such dismissals and ignored them, but Reina's gaze continued to pierce her. "Is that what you see, Celi? You look at her and imagine a future where you fight together?"
The implication was obvious and Celivia remained silent. There was nothing she could say, not to Reina. Besides, her answer was irrelevant. Tani hated her with a raw bitterness that Celivia reserved for only the worst of her targets.
An uncomfortable silence between old friends was hardly insurmountable, yet it did sit between them, growing. Celivia knew that she should say something and found nothing, her thoughts instead trapped with the humans. If she had been able to speak to Slaten... would he attempt to convince Tani of her intentions? He hadn't before... though she regretted that thought, since she wondered if anyone could staunch Tani's fury.
Instead of finding any revelation, Celivia remained silent until they were interrupted. Jeraeli walked up to the roof beside them, utterly untouched in the aftermath. With not a piece of jewelry or lock of hair out of place, she looked entirely improper on the rough fortress, yet she walked as if she owned the stone beneath her feet.
"This was a good start, Celivia." She smiled at all three of them, then walked to stand at the edge of the roof and looked over the battleground, dirt and blood marring the snow. "The Zeitai wanted to fight the Hero, but encountering him is better than nothing. We look like good soldiers, while so many others sat on their hands elsewhere."
"Many died in this battle." Celivia wasn't sure why she said it, and Jeraeli only shook her head sadly.
"It is tragic that they died for so little, but that only means that it is up to us to make their deaths have some meaning. We just might get that chance. We may have lost the Hero for now, but the Zeitai has apparently learned something from all the proclamations he made across Portant. There is a target that cannot simply slip away from us."
Celivia looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"
"It seems that to complete the Legend, the Hero must speak with someone called the Sage of Mount Tmil. They say that is in the Sotunn Mountains... have you heard of him?"
"Maybe a few rumors. Mount Tmil lies west of where I was stationed."
"That is... another complication." Jeraeli turned back to them, giving Celivia a sad look. "I gave you full credit for your help here, but there are still some who are unhappy with how long you left your post. Even though I wanted you to take part in the war against the Sage, others blocked me. They say that you cannot participate unless you complete your assignment."
For the first time that night, Celivia felt that a problem lay within her grasp. She glanced at Reina, then Ghalia, then she rose. "It seems we need to take one more trip."
Chapter 36
-
"Having proclaimed the truth, the Zeitai struck down all of the pretty birds and executed the liars who had raised them. And he told Fasn that this was to be his first lesson: that to cheat sein is to cheat your own strength."
- Feinan version of The Zeitai's Egg
-
Of all the times Celivia had arrived at Sotfaal, this was undoubtedly the strangest. It might be a relatively small fortress, but it still contained more than a full cohort. Yet when she arrived along with Reina and Ghalia, their presence meaningfully increased the fighting potential of the outpost. Unila stepped away from them, but it seemed this time she didn't have any official business.
"This counts as your favor." Unila rubbed her forehead sourly. "A lot more than one favor, but you got me started on this mess."
"I'm sorry if I pushed too much, but your help will save my entire band." Celivia attempted a smile, and to her surprise the Voidwalker smiled back.
"You seem to be fighting alongside rising stars and focused on work the Zeitai cares about. For once, a favor might get me one in return someday." She disappeared in a rush of wind.
For a time they stood silently on the Voidwalker platform, then Ghalia stepped out to look over Sotfaal. "Well, this looks like a little shithole."
"And the two of you will help me escape it." Celivia jerked her head at them as she headed toward the stairs. "Come on, let's not waste time."
As they left the fortress, Celivia wondered yet again exactly how the meeting with her band would go. Part of her did want to see them again, despite the emotions wrung from her by her friends and the humans. But it would be a trial preventing Reina from killing anyone, and she wasn't sure how they'd react to Ghalia. She wondered just what Splinters would do when he saw the three of them.
Outside the fortress, she discovered that Ghasfik and Krafan waited. Ghasfik merely eyed her new companions and nodded, while Krafan smiled broadly. "Celivia! We were beginning to think you'd forgotten about us."
"I hope you haven't forgotten your training," she said, "because I need you to fight with me. We have reinforcements, but not for long, so we need to end the Lowstep clan quickly."
"There are two others, Kaen." Ghasfik levered himself to his feet and bowed before he led them into Sotfaal. "They arrived a few days ago and said they were looking for you. They seemed rather unhappy that you weren't here, so you'd better talk to them quick."
"If they're from Ith Silvaros, then they're also reinforcements. I'll talk to them, so bring everyone together as quickly as you can."
She quickly discovered that Elanian had kept his promise by sending her two of his Catai. The first was a standard Towd named Vularagh, except that he had silver hair in the Seinan style. The second was smaller but more dangerous, a lean Seinan man named Antaliel in the traditional Seirios Catai form. Both of them wanted to be away from Breilin as soon as possible, but they would cooperate.
Fijn had been talking with the two Catai, and they met Huthur on the way back. Most of the others she discovered in their usual bar, though they sat at a table with Ghalia, laughing at some joke. Celivia had to swallow a sour smile as she saw how quickly the band seemed to accept her and tried to focus on the fact that they would work together easily.
Only Splinters was absent, and when he entered, his eyes leapt from Ghalia, to Celivia, to Reina glaring back at him. He spat onto the floor, but didn't leave.
Though they all spent some time carousing, Celivia found herself distant from it, focusing on strategy. She accepted drinks, habitually guarding against poison and keeping herself sober. Eventually when everyone was relaxed but not too drunk to remember anything, she made them all get up and move to the bar's only private room.
"Some of you are familiar with the Lowsteps, some of you aren't." She wasn't sure if the flattery would reach her band, but she was more concerned about the Catai from Ith Silvaros taking their assignment seriously. "The human raiding clans follow a path that gives them unusually large numbers of warriors equivalent to a fourth class or third class."
"They're damn tough." She hadn't wanted Brifik's contribution, but let him talk. He slurred as he gestured at the Catai. "They have some big, big mean ones. Big bovals." This made him giggle for some reason and Celivia decided to simply nod in acceptance of his point.
"He's correct, they have warriors comparable to a base Catai. They have no hierarchy but brute strength, so we can safely assume their chieftain is the strongest. Unfortunately, I've never encountered him directly to gauge his capabilities, and he has at least two strong subordinates still alive."
"So we can take them." Ghalia lowered her axe to the floor and leaned on it. "Direct assault?"
"If we do, they might scatter into the mountains, and we can't afford to bring other clans into this. No, I think this would work best with multiple strikes: as many small engagements as we can manage, weakening them without revealing our strength, then a final blow when they come in force."
Fijn sat forward, eyeing her. "With all due respect, Kaen, what exactly is our role in this? Seems like you've gathered your own band."
"You have a critical role: the Lowsteps know you, and they think they can take you."
"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me..."
She smiled as her band groaned. "I'm afraid so. This time you get to be the bait."
~ ~ ~
Around her, the others laughed and ate and talked as if nothing had changed. Tani stared down at her hand, feeling the tension of all five of her knives hanging from it. One of the knives began to tremble as her focus wavered and she reinforced the thread of sein that bound it to her. Whenever she flexed her hand, the knives chimed against each other.
Strangely, Laeri was the only one who seemed to take the battle as seriously as she did. For the first several nights, she had wept in her bed, crying over those she hadn't been able to save. Though Tani wanted to comfort her, she had only managed a few weak embraces and eventually Laeri's tears had stopped on their own.
Slaten took the combat seriously, diving deep into his training, but Slaten... they would need to talk.
The rest of the house floated only at the edge of her mind. Since Melal was asleep and the raiders had set up their own camp outside Torgaadi, it was a small group. With the fire burning in the forge, it should have been warm. At that moment, she was distantly aware that Slaten was walking to Olondris.
"The raiders will attract more attention," Slaten was saying. "It's only a matter of time before someone connects them to the attack."
"You might think such, but that is not our way." As before, Olondris seemed insistent on standing apart from everything related to the Hero. "The attackers will be viewed as agents of a nation, and retaliation will apply against the nation."
"Are you confident the mansthein will think the same way?"
"We have contingencies, if Torgaadi is truly attacked."
Though Tani tried to force the conversation to fade from her mind, she could only focus on her knives for a short time before she was abruptly slapped on the back. Several threads snapped, sending her knives clattering to the floor. Tani glared up at Veron, who raised her eyebrows.
"Well, I didn't know that saving your life was worth that kind of hate."
"I'm sorry, Veron." She managed a smile, though she wasn't sure how. "I just have a lot on my mind."
"Oh, I know. I heard about Celivia. The two of us drank together, I really thought w-"
"Veron."
"Fine." The older woman abandoned the subject and instead showed her a band of metal. "They gave me this after making me fondle their weird stick. Said I was a Peak Ironlord or something."
Glad for any distraction, Tani quickly retrieved her own pin. "They rank everyone's strength here. I'm a Peak Ironlord too."
"You what?" Veron actually looked taken aback, so much so that Tani wondered if she should be offended. "That doesn't make any damn sense."
"Yes, it does." Olondris spoke from across the room, entering their conversation without the slightest hesitation. Veron immediately turned on her, hand on her sword.
"What the fuck does that mean?"
"You are an exceptionally uneven warrior. A few of your strengths are on par with mine. But some of your weaknesses are weaker than these children."
"I'll show y-" Veron cut off with her sword partway out of her sheath, because there was a pike pointed at her neck. The clothes of everyone between them and several pieces of paper swept after the wind the movement had created, though Tani was more impressed with how confidently Olondris had swung such a long weapon inside a crowded room.
"Our hospitality is extended to you solely because of them." Olondris withdrew her pike and set it beside her, still as calm as when the conversation began. "But do not take liberties, and I will not permit you to misguide them."
"Permit me to fucking misguide?" Veron shoved her sword back into its sheath and stormed to the door. "I don't need your charity, I can just stay with the Earthbreakers. At least with a name like that they don't get uppity about everything."
All other conversation had died as she left, leaving silence as the door slammed behind her. After some time, Mantyos set aside his bowl and walked back to his anvil.
"Well... perhaps I should hurry with my gifts for you all, hmm?"
Laeri laughed, but Tani just nodded. He might have meant it as some mild jest, but he was correct. It was impossible to know if Celivia would attack or if Melal would lead them to assault the mine. She was grateful that Mantyos intended to forge her a new set of knives, but at the moment her gratitude lay very thin.
She saw Slaten rise and chose that moment to leave. As she escaped the warmth of the house, she felt him pursue her. Giving up, she waited in the small garden outside until he emerged as well. They stood in the chill for a time before he finally broke the first of many silences.
"I spoke with Veron. She convinced the Earthbreaker clan to join her by offering them targets in Portant. I don't know when they intend to strike, or if they already have, but they will likely invite retaliation from errants."
"Why ask me? She's more likely to listen to you."
"I am... not sure if that is true."
Tani sighed and rubbed her face, accepting that he made a good point. As much as his neutrality infuriated her, he continued to consider everything while she became too focused. "I can try to talk to her, but I don't know if she'll listen to me. Veron might like us, but she doesn't care about the same things. I think she's still the bandit she was, before the Heroes."
"Perhaps." Slaten sighed and leaned back against the wall beside her. "So much is beyond our control, but I feel like I should at least be able to influence Veron. In the end, though, she still views us as apprentices, and that limits how much she will ever listen to us."
"You should fuck her. That would do it."
Slaten stared, then exhaled sharply. His reaction made Tani laugh, though not for very long. The next silence stretched between them and eventually she spoke very quietly.
"I don't understand how you can forgive Celivia. She lied to us, manipulated us to create a false connection, and then betrayed us at the moment when it would hurt most."
"She wanted to save us."
"To take us back as trophies, you mean." Tani raised a hand to cut off his objection. "She's a soldier helping the Deathspawn armies expand their empire. Whatever you think you had with her, however much she actually might care about us, none of it changes that fact."
"But we're working for a Hero who explicitly wants to kill every mansthein in existence. We worked with the Coran resistance even though they were little more than bandits. Just now, we helped Melal attack a peaceful outpost. I think she wants the same thing we want, she's just never been given any reason to believe that human nations can actually bring about peace."
"And you think the mansthein can?"
He closed his eyes for a time, then looked skyward. It had grown dark during the meal and the blue of his eyes was sometimes as pale as the stars, at others more like the space between. "That seems unlikely. I cannot put any faith in them."
"Then what are you doing?" Tani rounded on him, grabbing the front of his mantle. "If the Hero is terrible and the Zeitai are worse and armies everywhere slaughter each other, what's even the point of fighting?"
