A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2), page 6
As they climbed a particularly steep hill, Celivia readjusted her pack to a slightly more comfortable position. To her surprise, a voice suddenly boomed from not far behind her.
"You want some help with that, Kaen?" Big Ragh stood nearby, extending a hand toward her pack. He was smiling, but she saw the scorn there.
With sein flowing through her, Celivia could have broken his over-muscled body easily. Part of her wanted to, but it was too early for such confrontations. So she only snapped, "Worry about your own pack, Nin" and continued marching.
Judging from the way Big Ragh grinned and some of the others muttered, it had been the wrong choice. Celivia kept her face neutral and inwardly fumed as they moved forward. Of course, no matter what she did, it would be wrong in some way.
She reminded herself that this band wasn't filled with subtle politics like a Seinan unit. Perhaps she could have established her authority by immediately beating up the largest of them. Still, vacillating or lashing out in a petty manner would be even worse, so she lived with the mistake.
Sooner than expected, the sun started to dip low, caught by the rising peaks around them. She raised a hand to call a halt and Ghasfik immediately barked out "Halt!" Fortunately, they had all obeyed by the time she turned back to face them.
"The region we need to range is too large to cover in one day," she explained to the band. "That will get uncomfortable unless we establish semi-permanent camps at various places. We should use the rest of today to prepare a place for when we need to camp outside the fort."
Splinters scowled at her from the back, but the others didn't object. It was what they were going to do anyway, after all, and those were the easiest sort of orders. As they set to work, a soldier named Huthur walked up with a rope over his shoulder.
"Kaen, I was thinking we should get an outpost up high to keep anyone from sneaking up on us. If you give me enough time, I should be able to put some handholds in one of these big trees and build a little outpost at the top."
"If you can build, then your skills are better suited making us a windbreak. We'll need shelter when the seasons change." Celivia considered putting a hand on his shoulder and stopped herself, second-guessing if that would send the wrong message. "I'll take care of scouting."
Huthur looked a bit surprised, but nodded. That was what she had hoped, which meant that it might be the right time for a simple demonstration. Celivia bent her legs, let her sein flow through her, and then leapt directly up. She harmlessly snapped through a few branches before snagging a larger one high above the others and flipping to crouch on it.
From near the top of one of the taller trees, it was easy to see the land around their camp. More importantly, she heard some whistling and hooting that sounded earnest. Hopefully this was the right way to remind her band that she was a sein-trained warrior.
Celivia found a comfortable position against the trunk of the tree and stared out into the mountains. Her first day of command had gone well enough, but this was no true test. Discipline would weaken, conditions would worsen, and eventually they'd face a real crisis. The crags around them were all potentially filled with enemies.
Not so different from the camp below.
Chapter 4
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"Text: The Chorhan Expanse is a strange and terrible place filled with endless waves of grass swept by dust storms that can strip one's flesh in mere moments. Deep in the center of it travelers say that the sky turns purple and drives one mad. It is inhabited by many creatures, most notable of which is the duusha, which is born with two horns and throughout its life grows more up to nearly a hundred horns in the eldest beasts, heavier than the creature itself.
Gloss: Other than potentially exaggerating the horns of the duusha, your humble annotator cannot begin to guess where Telekrainas got any of these ideas."
- excerpt from The Annotated Travels of Telekrainas the Great
-
Tani had never been so unhappy to have been right. As the air grew steadily colder, Laeri and the others commended her for anticipating it and buying several thick cloaks, but that was just a reminder that she wished that she'd bought ten times as many. The fabric that had felt claustrophobically warm was now barely adequate to keep her from freezing at night.
The wind pierced straight through it when she ran, and that hurt almost more than the cold itself. She had always enjoyed running ahead to scout, but now sprinting into the wind left her chilled to the bone. In theory she knew of arts that could keep one warm, but they were not particularly Nelee and she had no one to teach her them. None of the lessons contained within her master's case even hinted at resolving the problem.
Could her master have made an oversight? As much as Tani respected Master Yanumi, she knew that the older woman was human. Perhaps masters could ignore the cold somehow... Tani noticed that only Veron seemed unaffected by the chilling winds. The rest of them had to suffer through it with varying degrees of complaining.
As she returned to the group and traded off with Slaten, Tani approached the older woman instead of taking her usual place. Veron simply ambled forward as if the steep slope didn't bother her, toying with the stopper in her jug of alcohol.
"Veron, do you have a trick for staying warm?"
"Nice try." Veron pulled her jug closer and shielded it with her other arm. "If you wanted a drink, you should have prepared for the journey properly."
"It must be a sein art of some kind, surely. I haven't felt anything like sein flow from you, but perhaps it's just beyond my current senses..."
"There's really no trick to it. When I was younger I spent a bit of time in the Nollan Ridge and I was as cold as you. But after years of training, the cold stopped bothering me. Nothing I can teach."
Tani frowned, unsure if she was being mocked. It was true that some proficient warriors seemed impervious to nature - her master could pass over mud effortlessly. Veron wasn't exactly a polished master, however, so it was harder to believe. Deciding there was no reason to be polite, Tani simply reached out and grasped the other woman's upper arm.
"Hey! I don't think that's appropriate, do you?"
"You're burning." Tani pulled her hand back, though not because of Veron's half-hearted mockery. The other woman's arm felt as hot as a stone heated over the fire. She would have assumed, yet... "You're being honest with me when you say that this isn't a sein art?"
"Why would I lie? You'd obviously just keep asking me questions." Veron gave her a flat look. "Are you really so surprised? Catai are impervious to blades, sein or no sein... did you think physical changes were unique to them?"
"No, but I thought it might be unique to mansthein." Tani chewed on her lip as she considered the matter. Once she had been given an opportunity to read a large number of sacred texts, including those currently beyond her. Some of them had spoken of rebuilding the body, but she hadn't imagined that it could potentially occur so literally.
"You're really going to just feel me up like that? How callous!"
Despite herself, Tani smiled over at Veron. "I suppose it's true that we haven't really spoken much, beyond all our day to day plans."
"And when you want sein knowledge from me, of course." Veron turned away from her and sniffed as if offended.
"Is that what you want? Do you need a shoulder to cry on about Graenin leaving you?"
"Hah. If anything, he'd need to take refuge in the arms of a younger w-" In an instant Veron went from speaking wryly to drawing her sword, eyes focused outward. Tani couldn't react as quickly but automatically drew her sickle knife and reached for her throwing knives. As she moved it occurred to her that Veron might be doing it to disrupt her, but better to be mocked than unprepared.
It was no jest. Figures moved in the hills all around them.
"This is a bad day for you." The voice spoke Coran with a thick accent Tani didn't recognize. She spun slowly, Veron at her back, trying to identify all the figures. There were at least six of them and most had spears at their shoulders, ready to throw. "You walk in weakling Whitebone territory, but you have met a patrol of mighty Bloodskins."
Finally Tani identified the speaker, a massively built man standing with his arms folded. Though not as large as a Catai, he was more muscular than any other man she had ever seen. What was strangest is that he didn't seem to be wearing proper clothes, there were simply cloths draped around his chest in a shocking combination of colors and patterns.
"Two men, three women... you are brave to cross the mountains alone." The man eyed them coldly, then gave a hollow laugh. "To salute your bravery, we will be kind. Leave your packs and your weapons and we will let you return alive."
The ambushers had managed to avoid her scouting and surround the group, so their coordination was good. All the raiders she saw had well-built bodies and carried a strong scent of mint. It was impossible to judge their strength accurately, but Tani was inclined to be cautious. Surrendering was completely unacceptable... yet what was the best path through the ambush?
"Get out of our path or be destroyed!" Melal drew his sword in a shimmering arc and pointed it at the leader of the raiders. "Do you have any idea who I am? I'm-"
One of the raiders hurled his spear, faster than Tani could react to intercept. With his eyes shining, Melal simply struck it out of the air with unnatural speed. Everyone paused in a moment of surprise, and for at first Tani thought that Melal might simply draw the ambush into the Legend, then the raiders let out battle cries and attacked.
She didn't see the spear flying toward her, but Tani felt the weight of it in her sein as if she held a heavy stone. Trusting her sein instincts, she ducked aside before the spear clattered off the rocks just beside her. It seemed as though none of the other spears had found their mark either, Veron evading two and Slaten using his broader sword to deflect the point of another.
Somehow there was a snarling raider in front of her, lashing out with an axe. Tani hadn't seen him move and could only scramble back desperately, separating her from the others. Fortunately there weren't many raiders, but the one in front of her would be challenge enough, attacking with savage ferocity.
Tani deflected his first chopping swing to the side, but when she tried to hook his wrist with her sickle knife, he easily jerked it away. With surprising speed for such a large man, he pulled his axe back and struck again. Though Tani tried to deflect it, he had so much strength behind the blow that he nearly pushed through her guard. Only a quick dodge saved her neck.
Even though she jumped back, she didn't purchase even a moment of safety as the raider came after her, attacking with a dangerous combination of strength and speed. It seemed he had no regard for his own safety, yet the best Tani could do was defend herself, unable to take advantage of any of his openings as he continued rushing her.
A bad block left her hands stinging and mint burning in her nostrils. Despite the raiders' rough appearance, their sein was strong, perhaps stronger than hers. She kept her mind firm and prevented herself from panicking, yet she couldn't manage to break out of her weakening pattern of defense.
The raider let out a wet gasp and a sword appeared through his stomach. Behind him, Veron shot Tani a glance.
"Honestly, girl, do I have t-"
Ignoring the sword through his stomach, the raider threw his head back against Veron, smashing his skull into her nose. Veron staggered back, losing her grip on her sword, and he rounded on her.
Tani acted first, sinking a throwing knife deep into the thick of his neck. The raider grunted and turned on her, but the injuries had slowed his movements. She hooked her sickle knife into his stomach beside Veron's sword and pulled.
Though the raider managed to stay on his feet, grabbing at his guts as if to keep them in, he couldn't survive Veron pulling out her sword and putting it through his neck. Even as he fell, his face still displayed nothing but the raw rage of combat.
"Tough bastards." Veron didn't offer any jest this time, just getting her sword ready for more.
Melal was exchanging brutal blows with the leader of the raiders, covered in blood, but Tani assumed he would pull through as the Hero always did. She was more concerned about the other two: Laeri was being stalked by a laughing raider and Slaten was faltering against another.
Though the raider bled from several small cuts and Slaten looked untouched, the raider was unquestionably in control of the fight. Slaten staggered backward, barely keeping up his guard, while the raider kept trying to move him onto rough ground where he might stumble. Though Slaten prevented his attempts with good footwork, it couldn't last.
Since Veron swept in to help Laeri, Tani decided to help Slaten. She drew three throwing knives in her good hand... and saw something to the side. Instead of throwing, Tani dove for the ground, narrowly evading a sword coming for her head. The raiders still had the advantage in numbers and she'd lost track of them.
Though Tani rolled to her feet quickly, the raider was after her just as fast, his shoulder slamming into her chest. Her feet left the ground and she found herself staggering into the other fight. She collided with the raider Slaten was fighting, too stunned to strike him, and fell onto her back.
In that instant she saw the entire scene as if drawn in a sacred text: one raider surprised by her, Slaten in a ready stance, and the raider who had attacked her rushing at his side.
Her instincts told her to get her feet under her and flee. Instead she attacked.
Throwing her knives from the ground required an awkward twist, but Tani put every drop of sein she could manage into the knives as she rapidly threw one after another. One hit the nearest raider in the side and the other two flew at the one rushing for Slaten. She was surprised that he just grunted when the first knife dug into his chest, but the second blade nearer his stomach made him stagger.
That left her in a weak position on her back, with only her sickle knife ready. Fortunately, Slaten used the opening she had created to strike.
His swing hacked deep into the side of the first raider, breaking ribs and pushing him into the second. Though the second raider simply shoved aside his comrade, being forced to do so brought him to a complete halt.
"Enough!" The shout rang between the mountains, halting all combat. Tani looked despite herself and found Melal and the leader standing across from one another. Melal grinned through the blood and yelled again. "You're strong! Why don't you fight for me?"
For a heartbeat everyone stared, then the leader let out a roaring laugh. "And just who are you to order us?"
"I am the Hero, Savior of the Coran Resistance! You should battle the Deathspawn in service of the Legend, not fight your fellow humans!"
Every remaining raider watched the leader in absolute silence. For a moment Tani feared that it would go the way it had with the Coran resistance, the leader ignoring Melal's attempts. Yet Melal had changed since the battle with Aryabaus, and in that moment he was more the Hero than Melal.
"You've got stones, kid!" The leader thumped him on the back and the tension dissolved. As if they hadn't been trying to kill each other, all the raiders lowered their weapons. Tani and Slaten froze in surprise, while Veron looked as though she wanted to stab her opponent in the back and regretted restraining herself.
Slaten reached down to help Tani up and she accepted his hand gratefully. When she looked for her knives, she was surprised to see that the raider whose ribs had been broken was getting back to his feet. He was still losing blood, yet somehow he lived. Across the bloody path, she saw another heavily injured raider rise as well.
"This is a good day after all!" The leader grinned through bloody teeth. "We Bloodskins are not too proud to take from travelers, but we hate the Deathspawn who drove us so far. You have the luck of the mountains to find us here!"
Judging from how bright Melal's eyes shone, Tani doubted that luck had anything to do with it. Though she was uncomfortable with the turn of events, she accepted that this might be what they needed to survive the mountains. If Melal could make the raiders work with them, they had the knowledge to survive the mountains.
She braced herself when one of the raiders approached, yet to her surprise the man completely ignored her. Instead he punched Slaten in the chest, hard enough that the Oken man rocked back slightly but not enough to knock him over.
"Such a mighty blow! Badobu here thinks he's a strong man, but you broke him like a melon!"
Badobu himself grimaced, holding his still-bleeding side, much less amused than his companion. Though Slaten stared back, not knowing how to react, the raiders interpreted it as stoic resolve. With a broad grin, the raider grabbed for his sword to examine it.
"Just what kind of sword is this?"
"It's an Oken blade." Slaten pulled his arm away, but held the blade aloft.
"Oken, huh? A lot of lowlanders are just boys, but Het-Inai is strong. No clans dare to attack them. Maybe there are some real men among the Oken!"
They called themselves a clan instead of a tribe, which surprised Tani. She had expected the raiders to be collections of rogue warriors and former soldiers. Other than their light skin and dark hair, none of them looked particularly related. Then again, they spoke Coran very roughly, so perhaps they did not mean the same thing she did.
The raider pulled Slaten away to one of the others, repeating the story of Slaten's strike. Slaten looked taken aback, though most probably couldn't read that from his expression, while Tani was even more discomforted. They'd barely even glanced at her during the entire conversation, despite the fact that she had been integrally involved in the fight that they found so remarkable.
As she looked over the battleground, Tani noted that none of them were bothering Veron or Laeri. That struck her as curious, though she wasn't sure why they would behave in that way. For the moment, she was simply relieved that none of them made any attempts. It was strange how little they seemed to care for their fallen allies, but perhaps the Legend had arranged for Melal to meet the right raiding clan.
