The Brightest Shadow, page 84
Since he disliked the memories that Ith Ire brought him, Slaten moved outside town to one of the mounds of boulders. He found himself looking over the broken buildings and the people moving between them, however. Out of curiosity he tracked the movements of one man with a brightly colored hat and observed that he simply wandered in an irregular ring around the ruins.
Slaten turned away, vowing not to focus on them any more. Instead he returned to training, starting with meditation and advancing to swordplay when no one else arrived. He was early, after all. There was no sense in wasting his final chances to prepare, as little good as he could do in the short remaining time.
Over the next three days, no one arrived except more seinshock victims. Most of the new arrivals seemed more like the usual seinshock sufferers, miserable and staring. Yet unlike most, almost all of them carried weapons, or picked them up from the remains of the battle site. Though he disliked watching them, he had no choice but to do so, just in case they turned on him.
When Slaten finally saw someone else running over the grasslands, he almost didn't believe it. He turned back and shielded his eyes with one hand, peering at the figure. It grew larger with surprising speed and he confirmed that it was Tani. She saw him as well and grinned.
He had been training atop the mound of boulders at the time, and before he could begin moving down, Tani reached the mound and sprinted straight up the side. In a few confident bounds she met him with an embracing tackle. Holding her that close was not exactly appropriate, but Slaten didn't care, he was just glad to see that Tani was well.
After squeezing him tightly, Tani pulled back and smiled. "You came. I mean, I didn't really doubt that you would, but I'm still glad to see you."
"I wondered if you would." Slaten realized that might sound wrong and smiled to soften it. "You were able to go home, right? I thought that you might not want to come back, given... well, you understand."
"Yes, I do. But I don't have that option." A shadow passed through Tani's eyes before she shook it off and smiled at him again. "I assume you were able to take Teren home, or at least to safety?"
"All the way home, yes. She has her uncle and aunt to look after her now."
"I'm sure she'll miss you."
"For a while, at least." Once again, he was taking the conversation in a dark direction, so he tried to change focus. Laeri wasn't with Tani, but he doubted Tani would look so happy if something had happened to her. "What about Laeri?"
"Oh, she's coming. I left her behind when I saw you."
Tani turned back to point and Slaten saw a blue and white robe coming toward them. Laeri was actually running, smoothly if not expertly, her robe trailing in the wind. While she approached, Slaten turned back to Ith Ire and told Tani about his observations so far. It was a relief to have her nod in understanding in response to what he couldn't put into words.
When Laeri arrived she was beaming, but the boulders stymied her. Climbing or jumping them as easily as Tani had was no easy trick, after all. But Laeri was still smiling and she looked determined to start clambering her way up the side, so they hastily moved down to meet her.
"Slaten!" She hugged him as well, though more reservedly than Tani had. Laeri immediately pulled back a moment later, looking over him. "Have you hurt yourself training? I should heal you right away, because we want everyone to be in perfect shape if we're going to fight."
"Don't worry, I avoided any training that would cause injuries because I knew everyone would arrive soon. We need you in good shape as well."
Laeri flashed a sunny smile at him and began talking eagerly about her time among the Rhen. Tani joined in and they told him more of their travels. He gave a shorter version of his, simplifying the events in Oleph-Amm so that he wouldn't have to explain the difficult parts. Throughout the conversation, he found himself smiling along with them.
Over the next two days, more people arrived in Ith Ire. Mostly seinshocked victims until one day, out of nowhere, Veron was watching them training from atop the mound with her flask in hand. She finished a swig and nodded down to them.
"Hey, kids. Glad you're alright."
"Veron!" Tani sprinted up the boulders to embrace Veron, but the older woman caught her arm and threw her back down. Tani managed to turn it into a controlled tumble and landed on her feet at the bottom, not bothered.
"Easy there, Tani. I might get the wrong idea, you trying to feel me up like that."
"I see you haven't changed." Tani grinned up at Veron, who took another drink, but it looked like she was smiling behind her flask.
"Nah, why would I? Graenin ditched us, which was the smart thing to do. But I figured if I didn't come back you kids would get yourself killed, so..." She shrugged and then pointed at Slaten. "Looks like you're hitting harder, but you're focusing too much on form again. Use all the sein you've got."
They sparred for a little longer as the sun descended toward the horizon, but they didn't have much time to enjoy Veron's presence. When she came down to begin with that night's meal, the reddish light spreading over the grasslands shifted momentously.
Slaten looked up and saw that while the sky was red, the sun on the horizon burned pure gold. He could just barely make out a form approaching them, but he knew who it was.
As Melal approached, the people wandering the city came to meet him. Their backs straightened, they raised their heads, they lifted dragging weapons and returned them to sheaths. All of them were soon fixed on their hero, dwarfing the small group near Slaten. He had to close his eyes because it all became too bright.
"My friends, you have all gathered just as I asked." Melal spread his arms wide, his smile empty and his eyes bright. "Tonight, we rest. Tomorrow, we march into glory."
~ ~ ~
When Celivia had returned to the Chorhan Expanse, she had expected to be thrown on the front lines and have to endure grueling battles against Coran knights. Instead, she found herself sitting at the fortress with little to do. Aryabaus wanted absolute control of every aspect of the battle and refused to use pieces he felt wouldn't obey him, which included her.
That left her with too much time. She had Reina to make it less boring, at least for now, and there was always more training to be done. But compared to what she wanted to do or the work she might have been doing with Zeitai Teirsan, it was frustrating. She didn't even have permission to hunt for Slaten or Tani.
Aryabaus kept good cooks in his tower, at least. After finishing a satisfying evening meal, Celivia headed down to the ground floor to check again. With so many forces departing into East Corah, there weren't many guards left. She easily evaded them, closing in on the treasure storerooms.
Only to find Subenor already there. The tall Rhen man spotted her instantly and smiled. "What, you have something you want to steal too?"
"Just keeping my eye on the supplies. I don't like how much Aryabaus restricts." That was actually close to the truth, though Subenor looked as though he didn't believe her. He turned his gaze from her, staring through the barred window of the heavy door.
"He knew he'd want to keep trained warriors out. I could break through, but it would make a lot of noise and take too much time. It would be easier to kill the person with the key, now that there are so few guards, but I haven't figured out who it is."
"I've been asking other mansthein. It would be easier just to take it from him, since security is lax now."
"It'd be more fun to kill him." Subenor turned toward her, leaning against the wall beside her and intentionally entering her space. "I think we should be honest: we're just bored. You're stuck in here, and I've raided all my targets. Maybe we should entertain each other, hmm?"
Celivia stared back at him. "You'd proposition a Deathspawn?"
"The corpses of male Deathspawn have about the same parts, so I'd bet you're close enough."
"How romantic."
"I'd like to keep those teeth at a safe distance, but if you're interested... or your little friend, she looks pretty good despite her height."
She answered by uncoiling her tail, poking the blade against his stomach. Though she knew the Rhen man was stronger than her, he couldn't ignore a threat like that. If it actually came to a fight, she would have everyone in the tower on her side, since most of them hated him. But to her surprise, Subenor raised his hands and backed away.
"Just an offer. I'll leave you alone."
"Don't even ask Reina. She'd try to castrate you."
"I'll keep that in mind." He smirked and vanished into the shadows, leaving Celivia alone outside the treasury.
Once he was gone, she pulled her tail back into her robe, pressing its length over the key in her pocket. She'd already found and taken the key from the drunk who was supposed to guard the storeroom. The only question was when best to put it to use.
Sighing, Celivia walked away from the heavy door, just as she had the previous times. Subenor was correct that she was mostly just bored. Maybe it would be more productive to find Kolanin.
He had arrived, spoken briefly to Aryabaus, then gone to his room and not emerged. Celivia had given him his privacy, since she knew he had a great deal to think about. She was considering interrupting him now, however, and not just out of boredom. Though she had avoided him while playing a human in case she slipped up in any detail, they'd spoken a little. Now she desperately wanted to speak to him honestly, to talk about the Hero and the other humans and Zeitai Teirsan.
Celivia headed back up the stairs, wondering if Aryabaus had assigned Kolanin to work on West Corah. It seemed clear that East Corah would fall eventually, unless their armies were forced to retreat, but the real threat was retaliation from the west. They would need to negotiate at least a little, and Aryabaus was smart enough to know that others were better at that.
As she crossed another floor to the next staircase, Celivia glanced out the window just to look at something other than the drab stone of the fortress.
The starlight illuminated an army. Not a full army, certainly not compared to the forces in East Corah now, but comparable to those remaining in the fortress. And though they had many strong warriors among them, Celivia felt certain that she knew who ran among the approaching force. From the great distance she could only make out one, the Hero charging forward at the head of his forces.
So it was happening now. Celivia sighed and advanced up the stairs to prepare.
Chapter 63
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"There is unquestionably some fundamental aspect of the phenomenon that we have not yet discerned. I continue to investigate regarding these bright companions, but the stories are unclear if they are anything more than controlled humans."
-
Everything had gone way too fucking smoothly so far. Veron kept twitching her wrist to keep her sword ready, waiting for the shit to drop.
No operation ever ran smoothly, not even with the goddamn Hero leading the charge - and she had the experience to back that up. Veron stayed in the center of the group as they ran straight for the gate of the fortress, her eyes flickering to all sides. It was just a matter of when something would go wrong and how bad it would be.
Keep Aryabaus was too fucking tall, a spire thrusting up into the sky. The lower part was a cluster of smaller structures, leaning against the central tower from all different angles. That led to a ton of sloping roofs around the sides - what the hell did they need that many roofs for? Must be a bitch to clean. Veron pushed that aside and looked lower, where the entrance was guarded by a walled courtyard, accessible only via a heavy gate.
The gate was closed, of course. If Melal's plan wasn't completely insane, the idea was that Aryabaus and most of his troops were gone, so of course they'd locked the place. When the warriors in front hit the gate they began to slam their weapons against it, doing shit against the reinforced door. Melal joined them, his blade shimmering as it did its best to slay a piece of wood.
Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Veron moved back a few steps and sprinted for the side of the wall. She couldn't do it in one jump, but she got half-way up and stepped off a protruding brick, vaulting herself to the top of the wall.
When she landed, she spotted several surprised soldiers. Most importantly, a few paces down the wall there was an archer trained enough to follow her movements. He hadn't been able to shoot her in the air, but now his bow was pointed straight at her.
Before Veron could move, a knife took the Deathspawn archer in the side of the head. Veron glanced down and saw Tani watching. She gave the girl a wave with one hand while she hacked through the nearest Deathspawn with the sword in her other.
Taking out the rest of the soldiers was easy, and though she heard some kind of bell clanging in an alarm, Veron didn't see any reinforcements coming immediately. Maybe they'd given up on the gate and reinforced the interior of the tower. That's what she would do, if there were few enough of them. Plus, it was a damn impressive tower, unlike the mostly empty courtyard, which just had a few supplies and some shabby buildings against the outer walls.
Veron grabbed Tani's knife and dropped off the wall on the other side. She landed below in a crouch and swiftly entered the gatehouse. Just one soldier there, staring in horror through a small window at the warriors wildly chopping at the door outside. As Veron separated his head from his shoulders, she wondered if they would have gotten through the gate like that eventually.
It was easier to raise the gate and let them all charge in. As the army of light released a resounding battlecry and charged into the fortress, Veron leaned against the wall of the gatehouse and took a drink from her flask. No shit yet, but it was just a matter of time. She almost wished there would have been a Catai in the gatehouse or something.
Before Melal and his warriors could reach the tower, Deathspawn began rushing out of it. Just soldiers, she thought, but they'd do for the horde Melal had gathered. He refused to retreat and a group of warriors quickly clustered around him, fighting in a circle as the Deathspawn flooded around them. The others tried to follow, creating a chaotic line between them in the center of the courtyard.
Staying back and monitoring the situation was definitely the smart thing to do, to best use her strength in the battle. It had nothing to do with avoiding all those sharp objects. Or laziness.
As expected, the kids didn't rush in so quickly. Tani and Slaten stayed close together and kept a wall at their sides as they entered, taking out any soldiers who left the main fray and approached them. Slaten had his usual dour lethality, while Tani was doing pretty well for herself with just her sickle thing.
While watching them, Veron caught a glimpse of a Deathspawn moving along the outer wall. Sneaking with a shifty expression. Oh, there were more of them. Planning to hit the group from all sides, sort of an improvised sneak attack. Not bad. Maybe the shit she'd been waiting for.
Veron ran out to stop him before he could reach the kids. The Deathspawn realized he'd been spotted and charged for them, though he had the sense to keep his mouth shut. Not that it mattered. She intercepted him before he could reach Tani's back. He only kept up with her for three strikes before her blade went through his chest.
Slaten and Tani turned to look at her, surprised. Veron pushed the corpse off her sword and pointed at it. "More of 'em." She then jerked Tani's knife out of her belt and flipped it back to her.
They caught on and began observing the walls more cautiously. Most of the others didn't. After considering whether to let them die for a while, Veron decided to do something.
She looked around nearby and found a stack of bricks, left over from some construction project. Hefting one of them, Veron chucked it into the roof of one of the buildings opposite her. It shattered many of the shingles and sent them clattering to the ground, raining down on the heads of the gathered fighters.
That prompted them to look up and notice the creeping Deathspawn. They roared out as they charged and the battle was on.
So that hadn't been what would fuck them. Bit of a surprise, but she'd handled it without any real trouble. Veron realized that Laeri was missing and glanced around for the little healer girl.
She was staying back, which was good. She was so far back that a Deathspawn was creeping over her from the outer wall, which wasn't. Shit. Veron lunged toward her just as the Deathspawn leapt from above.
Tackling Laeri out of the way was simple, but hitting the ground wasn't. Since the girl had healed plenty of her wounds before, Veron decided to take it easy on her and rolled so that her shoulder hit the ground first. That got her a bit tangled in the healer's stupidly huge robes and she had to roughly push her aside as the Deathspawn advanced on them, lifting his spiked mace overhead.
Veron's leg cracked out into his shin and she heard something break. He managed to keep his grip on his weapon, but that earned her the time to push to her feet and raise her sword. His huge overhand swing was easy to block and even easier to counterattack, her sword going through his throat and dropping him.
"If you can't stay somewhere safe, stick close to someone who can protect you!" Veron nudged Laeri with her foot and the healer scrambled to her feet.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I will!" She practically latched onto Veron's arm and she had to pull away.
"Not me! Go follow Tani and Slaten."
Since Laeri obviously wasn't going to enter the battle on her own, Veron moved forward and cut her a path through the soldiers. It looked like the other kids didn't need any help yet, since there still weren't many strong warriors in the courtyard. The main group was doing fine, though they faltered as Melal fought his way out of the main lines and toward the main door to the tower.
Was that it? No, not shitty enough, she knew Melal would do that. Saving Laeri had been a bit of a close call, but not really a disaster. No, something else was coming that would blow everything straight to hell.
"Onward!" Melal had fought his way free and now waved his sword over his head as he bellowed to the army. "Let us shatter this place of evil until not one stone remains upon another!"
