A New Reign

by Bryan Gifford

  He turned and led his small army toward a makeshift bridge spanning the Alar. Planks and bits of andred armor splinted together the fractured remains of the former drawbridge. Cold water seeped through cracks to form puddles that they splashed through.

  The Warriors rode across the ramshackle bridge and stepped onto the other side. A slow decant of soldiers poured after them. They led the five thousand through the Merchant District and continued through the ruins toward the main road.

  Beneath the low tremor of the marching soldiers, Silas grumbled. “Isn’t this some shit?”

  “It is strange,” Aren mused. He eyed the nearby watching soldiers and civilians. “Why does Inveira just now need our help? They’ve fended off hundreds of andred invasions before now. What makes this time so different?”

  Cain scowled. “That’s what I want to know.”

  Isroc winced in his bouncing saddle. “Look, we’re all soldiers here. We follow our orders whether we agree with them or not. I doubt the king wants to do this, but it may very well be his only option. We don’t have the men to conduct an offensive and we still don’t know how Andred fares after losing so many of its creatures. As much as I wish we could break down the enemy’s gates, march in, and chop off Abaddon’s head, we just can’t do it until we gather more troops and supplies. Unfortunately, this is all we can do. For now, at least.”

  “He’s right,” Joshua added, “we’re going whether we like it or not. We might as well help Inveira and smile while we’re at it!” He gave a flippant grin. “We are the Warriors, after all!”

  Cain looked at each of his friends in turn. “I will do whatever it takes to end Abaddon. If this will lead us to the end, then let us follow it.”

  The Warriors soon climbed the rubble of the front gates. The five thousand followed them into the fields surrounding Morven, still littered with the bloated remains of tens of thousands of arzecs and andreds. Birds covered the field as far as they could see, gorging themselves on the feast of flesh. Even the most experienced soldiers among them suppressed a gag at the overwhelming reek of old blood and rotting bodies.

  The yellow morning sun gilded the crown of the city gate’s remaining statue. The kingly effigy still stood defiant, sword raised to protect the precious humanity within. The sun cast the stone face in bright light and sent shadows dancing. However, the halo of light soon dulled with the passing of a cloud.

  Cain frowned at this and cast a final look at the jewel of Tarsha, crippled and broken in the heart of Erias. He led his troops into the wilderness, wanting nothing more than to turn around.

  The map in Cain’s hands tossed in the strong breeze. He stared at the blotch labeled Inveira with such intensity that the soldiers around him kept a wary distance. Was he doing the right thing in going to Inveira? Or was he leading these five thousand men to their deaths?

  He turned his attention back to his officers and listened to their reports before dismissing them. The Kaanosi, Eriasan, and Meresi captains saluted and reined their mounts back to their respective forces.

  “How far to this damned Val Idris?” Silas asked from nearby.

  “Like I’ve said five times already. A month at best.”

  Joshua grunted. “It may not even be there by then.”

  “Tough shit,” Silas said, “we’ll just turn around and go back.”

  Cain asked, “What about all those innocent people dying at andred hands? Don’t you want to help them?”

  “Well, sure. But I want my palace bed more. I forgot what a nice mattress felt like.” Silas shuddered. “How can this place be so damned cold in spring?”

  Even Isroc shivered. “I’ve never been this far north,” he admitted. “Usually the snows are melted in the south by now. It will only get worse the farther north we go.”

  Cain turned from their groaning and urged his horse up a hill.

  “Cain,” Aren called. Cain turned to see his friend pick through the jumbled bricks toward him.

  Once they were ahead of the others, Aren spoke. “What do you think of this?”

  “If I’m honest, Aren, I’m not really sure. I want to help the people of Inveira and drive back the andreds, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more going on here. I just want to do the right thing… but I don’t even know what that is.”

  Aren bit his lip as he thought. “Cain. You fought for vengeance for so long. I was worried it would destroy you. To hear what you said to Darius… well, it’s different to say the least.”

  Different indeed. Cain’s quest for revenge had nearly destroyed him. Only with the discovery of Ceerocai and Cain’s revelation that he was somehow the center of the war had he been able to break free of his bloodlust.

  “Aye, you’re right, it’s different for me too.” he sighed. “I joined the Alliance to find vengeance for Eileen. I never knew how I could win it. I was just angry at myself, at everything. But I learned that I can do good for others. For once, I want to feel like I’m fighting for the right reasons, and I think I am now.” He turned to his friend with a smile. ‘Despite how I feel about our current situation, that is.”

  Aren smiled as well and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m glad to see you back to your old self again.”

  Unfortunately, he wasn’t the same person he once was. More scars, more pain. And now Ceerocai. “If only you knew what you could become, the things you could do.” Alanis’ words kept creeping up from the back of Cain’s mind. Andaurel was destroyed because of him. The attacks on Abraxas, Morven, it was all because of him. The invasion and the deaths of tens of thousands had but one purpose behind them: to stop Cain before he could use Ceerocai against its master. He’d kept it in for too long. He needed to tell someone the truth.

  “Aren…” Wait. If he told Aren, would his friend blame him for the destruction of their home, the death of his father? Cain deserved it, didn’t he? After all, it was his fault.

  “What is it?” Aren asked.

  Cain could face down hordes of arzecs, but he didn’t think he’d be able to last the potential anger and disappointment in his friend’s eyes. Perhaps some things were best left unsaid.

  “Thank you. For being my friend, for standing by my side while I found my way again.”

  Aren glanced at him. “Of course. What else are friends for?” He flicked his reins. “I’m going to meet up with the scouts ahead and see if they have anything to report.”

  Cain watched him go, then turned to the others. He reined up beside Adriel and the two rode in silence for a time, listening to Silas and Joshua’s usual banter.

  “Are you alright?” Cain eventually asked. “You’ve been quiet lately.” Adriel attempted a smile. The lackluster grin confirmed his suspicions.

  “You’re concerned about going to Inveira.”

  Adriel sighed. “Concerned enough, I suppose. I want to help the people of Inveira, I really do, but what about all the people we’re leaving behind? We’re just abandoning them.”

  “We’re not abandoning anyone. Ethebriel, Darius, and Cradoc hold a strong force in Morven. The city is safe if the enemy chooses to attack again.”

  “I’m not worried about Morven; it’s the rest of Erias I’m worried about. Charun, Meres, Kaanos. We gathered most of our troops to defend Morven and left the rest of Tarsha open. What if Abaddon chooses to invade again like he did Inveira? All those innocent people….”

  Unfortunately, Cain had the same fears. He rode in silence, unsure what to say.

  “I want to help Inveira. I want to help everyone, but there’s so many people that need us. Why can’t I figure out what’s right?” She tousled her hair with a hand. “Bah, why is this so difficult?”

  Cain reached out and placed a hand on her forearm. “You can’t save everyone, Adriel.”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

  “Uh… yes?”

  “You’re terrible at this, you know.”

  Cain scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Look, I just want
to say that I know how you feel. I fought in my first real battle at fifteen. As part of our training, we had to join a group of veterans on a scouting mission. Things went bad, and a lot of people died.

  “I just remember feeling… helpless. Five years of training did nothing to prepare me for the things I saw. So many dead. I was angry at myself for being useless, for not saving everyone.

  “But the years passed. Almost every day since I’ve watched people die, unable to help them. That kind of thing changes you. You either let it grow like a callous over your heart or let it bleed you dry.”

  “You couldn’t have always thought that. Surely you cared about someone.”

  Cain closed his eyes. Eileen. Thinking about her still brought pain. “Of course I did. Loss taught me that I can’t save everyone, but I can still try to save those that are before me. Let’s go to Inveira, Adriel. Let’s save these people from the andreds. Leave the rest of Tarsha to Ethebriel and the others, we’ll worry about all of that when the time comes. One thing at a time.”

  “Is that you trying to convince me, or you trying to convince yourself?”

  Cain chuckled. Sometimes the woman knew him better than he knew himself. “Both. I’m just trying to be realistic.”

  “We can save everyone, Cain. This is more than just Inveira, this is about Tarsha. We can’t turn our backs on anyone, not even for a moment. I refuse.”

  Cain smiled. Here he was trying to cheer her up, and yet again she was the one uplifting him. Of course he wanted to help as many people as he could, but he was just trying to be realistic. Could he really save all of Tarsha?

  Was Ceerocai somehow the key to this?

  Adriel nudged him in the side and he shook himself from his thoughts. The two galloped down the road, laughing as they went. They left behind the still bantering brothers and rode deeper into the hills.

  The rustling trees calmed, and the winds stilled. The cold air hung heavy as if the earth held its breath, watching. Waiting.

  The weeks passed. The Warriors stood on a mountaintop, wind whipping fierce about them. The five thousand were camped below, faint fires flickering in the twilight.

  The Warriors huddled in their cloaks against the cool, looking out at the grandeur before them. Jutting mountains and cragged valleys. Gray and white on gray and white, dark mountains slashed with robes of snow. Ribbons of evergreens splashes of color in the dull dusk.

  Tumultuous gray clouds enveloped the sky, pitching the Warriors in near complete darkness. The clouds burst with thunderous roars. Lightning crackled.

  “We’re here,” Cain muttered as lightning crashed down. “Inveira.”

  Peace

  Joshua shifted his weight in his saddle, grumbling at his sore backside. He hated horses. Stupid, unpredictable beasts. For someone who disliked horses, he sure spent most of his days in a saddle. In hindsight, he probably shouldn’t have joined the Outriders. It had the word “riders” in it, after all.

  Weeks of traversing the rough hills and rocky mountains of Inveira. Days of endless rain and sloshing mud. Not to mention the cold that clung to his perpetually soaked clothes. It was enough to drive a man insane!

  And yet, he didn’t want to be anywhere else. Inveira was a beautiful place with its sweeping mountains and towering pines and bubbling brooks. It was a refreshing change from the flat fields and farms of Kaanos.

  But it was more than the crisp air and breathtaking scenery. He was going where the people of Tarsha needed him.

  He’d joined the Alliance cause out of duty to king and country. And for his own vengeance, of course. He’d wanted justice for his destroyed home, for his friend at the loss of his wife. But he saw how blind he’d been.

  The Alliance was bigger than him and his friends. It was about the fate of the world and all the people in it. Only when they put aside their petty ideals and problems could they come together and take back their lives from Abaddon.

  He fought for the Alliance now. He fought for the people.

  He may complain and have his doubts, but deep down he knew this was where he was supposed to be. Inveira needed him.

  Silas glanced over at him with a frown. “What are you smiling about? You haven’t complained in at least thirty minutes.”

  Joshua chuckled. “Just thinking about the time that I greased your saddle and you fell face first in a pile of horse shit.”

  “Aye, I smelled like shit for three days,” his brother growled.

  “No more than usual.”

  “Well, I was thinking about the time I filled your bed with nettles.”

  “And we had a week-long ride that next day. I was trying to forget about that nightmare.”

  “You were red for days!”

  “No redder than your naked ass after that serving girl’s mother caught you in bed with her daughter!”

  “You didn’t have to tell her where we were!”

  “I was looking out for the poor girl.”

  Silas began his typical outburst with a flail of his arms and a string of colorful curses.

  Joshua smiled. He relished these moments with his brother; they were a distraction from his worries. And his fears.

  The clouds parted. The light rain dissipated, and the wet air sparkled with color. Sunlight filtered through the green boughs overhead and danced in the puddles underfoot.

  A shimmer appeared through the trees. The army stepped out of the evergreens and came to a stretch of rocky earth. Ahead lay a vast lake, its surface reflecting the setting sun. The lake seemed to span for miles in every direction, surrounded by an expanse of forested hills. The water glowed like white gold where every wave sent its riches ashore.

  “We’ll make camp here for the night!” Cain cried.

  Thousands of tents soon covered the lakeside, their creams and browns and blacks rippling in the breeze. Plumes of smoke coiled up from cook fires to whisk away into the cloudless sky. Men’s snores rose from their tents. Laughter filled the camp.

  Joshua, Aren, Cain and Adriel huddled around a cook pot. Cain stirred the strips of rabbit and tubers with his knife and sprinkled a handful of salt into the mix. The others looked on with wide eyes.

  The group laughed as Adriel’s stomach gave an audible growl. Her cheeks flushed red and she buried her face in her hands. “When was the last time we’ve had actual food?”

  The nearby Outriders gave a cheer at this and Matthew raised a flask of whisky. “Welcome to being a soldier! Jerky and hard tack ‘til you’re dead!”

  “Dead because you can’t shit anymore!” another Outrider called. The group exploded in laughter.

  “Cain, you’re the reason I’m fat,” Joshua chuckled. “You’re a damn good cook, but I’ll have to break you if you ruin these conies.” Cain smiled nervously and checked the stew again.

  “Has anyone seen Silas?” Joshua asked as they fell quiet. They shook their heads at this. “I’ll go find him.” He stood and turned to Cain. “Save some for me, mate.”

  “Aye, hurry back.”

  Joshua left the group and stepped into the sea of tents, weaving through the countless fires and clusters of men. He noticed a figure standing by the edge of the lake.

  Silas turned and smiled at him before rolling a rock in his hand and throwing it out over the lake. The smooth stone skipped along the water and sent out several ripples before sinking into the depths.

  Joshua stopped at his side and together they watched the ripples fade. The lake burned with the fiery red of the setting sun. The surrounding forests smoldered with the last of its ruddy light.

  “Something wrong, brother?” Joshua asked as Silas skipped another stone.

  Silas picked up another stone from a pile at his feet. “We shouldn’t be here, Josh.” He shook his head. “We just shouldn’t be here. We’re being pulled along by our throats and told that we have a choice, that we’re doing the right thing. That we just have to trust.” He flicked the stone. It skipped across the light and water before sinking beneath the surfac
e. “And yet, where has that trust gotten us? What good have we done? When we get to the end, death will be the only thing waiting for us, and we’ll think to ourselves, did any of it even matter?”

  Joshua frowned. His brother was rarely the contemplative type; he much preferred to plow through his problems and deal with the consequences later. But one look at Silas and he could tell that being here deeply bothered him.

  He picked up a stone and rubbed his thumb across its coarse surface. He then hurled it out over the water where it plummeted instantly below the surface. “I was never good at that.”

  Silas watched as Joshua’s ripples faded in the vastness of the lake. “What are we doing? How did we ever end up here?”

  “Well,” Joshua began. “I know what I used to think. After our parents abandoned us and after we lost Andaurel the first time, I had such anger. I had to put it somewhere. I thought if I joined the Outriders, then I could find my revenge. But after we lost Andaurel again, I didn’t feel that anger. I just felt… sad. My revenge didn’t seem to matter anymore.” His gaze dropped. “I accepted Ethebriel’s Alliance because it was the right thing to do. We need to end this war; we need to keep people from dying. My vengeance seemed kind of tiny compared to that.

  “Either way, people look to me for hope. They believe in me, in us, in the Alliance. I’ve found worth, brother. I’m a Warrior, and I finally feel like I’m more than the bastard son of two drunkards. My only regret is forcing you to come with me. I know the only reason you did all of this is because of me.”

  Silas nodded. “Aye, maybe that’s true. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.” The two brothers smiled.

  “Come on, Cain cooked some conies,” Joshua beckoned, stepping toward the tents.

  “Thanks for everything.” Joshua turned and looked back. “I couldn’t have gotten this far without you.”

  Joshua smiled. “Don’t get soft on me now, little brother! I thought I taught you better! Now come on, I’m starving.” He threw an arm around Silas and rubbed his scalp with a fist. The two laughed and returned to the camp to join their friends.