Fallen Star

by Ivan Kal

  Kyarra was convinced that the Arashan were real, she just couldn’t attribute to them a world-ending threat. Her world had fought so many wars, and there were nations with armies that were larger than Tourran’s entire population. Vin’s people, while great warriors, had never practiced war. They had fought duels, hunted monsters, trained to gain more strength, but they did not know war. Perhaps if they had, they would’ve won. Without even knowing how to fight wars, they had nearly pushed back the Arashan invasion.

  Still, she knew that Vin believed everything he said, and she had a responsibility to protect her people. The wall she stood on was the way that she would do that.

  “All the wards are fully charged, and I have personally checked all the conduits to the anima-wells,” Master Jeressi said as they walked into one of six towers along the wall.

  Inside was the command hub for the defenses of the wall. It was one of three newly constructed hubs in Tourran, each placed on the other side of the city across from one another, creating a triangle. The central hub was inside the city, at the exact center of the triangle. Kyarra had spent an ungodly amount of coin to build all of it, nearly three quarters of Tourran’s treasury. Her nobles hadn’t been happy, but after they had been invaded and conquered once before, they couldn’t argue much.

  Tourran had always relied on the Eternal Soul, or rather the name and reputation thereof, as well as the fact that both the Lashian Empire and Amaranthine had interest in the kingdom, to keep people from invading. But the events of several years ago had taught them that they couldn’t rely on Kyarra alone. Most cities in the world had powerful magical defenses, but what Kyarra had constructed was something else. Usually, all such projects were overseen by the Guild Mages, who were the ones that crafted the defenses of every capital city on the continent—for a fee, of course.

  Tourran’s relationship with Academy City had improved immensely, but not enough for her to be willing to let them work on the city’s defenses. Their dismissal of her claims had made her weary of them, even though she understood their reasoning. The fact remained that they were willing to accept the Lashian Emperor’s word over hers, even though there was evidence that the attack had been sanctioned by him. That alone had taught her a valuable lesson in world politics: as long as everyone was willing to, or had no choice but to, accept a lie, they treated it like the truth.

  So she had hired mages from across the ocean, Mage Masters of the Free Cities, great enchanters from Kahaldia, and of course made use of Master Jeressi and herself. The Mage Masters might not have as good of a broad education as the Guild Mages, but they had an extremely highly focused knowledge. Across the ocean, knowledge was passed down from master to apprentice, meaning that many of them knew great secrets and ways of using magic that others did not.

  Together they had devised the defenses for the city, and Kyarra was proud of what they had achieved. She doubted that any city of Tourran’s size in the world had as great of defenses.

  Once inside, Kyarra approached a small panel on a table that had several gems and wards placed on it. She put her right hand on it and two of her rings flashed as she keyed the wards of the wall to them. Wards could be keyed to people or objects, but they had decided to go for objects on this occasion. She took one of the rings off and gave it to Master Jeressi—only the two of them would be able to use the wall’s defenses.

  She focused on the ring and then reached out with her will, inspecting the wards more closely. They had been carefully designed and laid into the battlements over the course of five years, and to her mind they shone brightly. So much power was at the tip of her fingers. Kyarra wasn’t unfamiliar with feeling such power, as she possessed a fragment of power, a nearly unlimited source of anima. Through her key ring she could even channel the power of her fragment directly into the wards—although they had their own anima-wells, which were substantial.

  Seeing the project finished, she couldn’t help but feel relief. She had been worrying about another Lashian invasion for years, even when there were no outward signs of aggression. Now she doubted that any army could take the city, especially not with her in it. Her guard had taken several precautions to prevent her ever losing her power again like she had the last time the city was invaded.

  The only way they would stand a chance would be with fragment-bearers of their own, and Kyarra had every advantage here. Tourran was her seat of power. The staff that held her fragment was geared toward grand works of magic: weather control, and aiding in overall control over her power. With it, she could make any prolonged siege very difficult.

  “I assume that everything is working as planned?” Master Jeressi said, bringing her attention back to the room they were in.

  “Yes,” Kyarra said as she pulled her will back. Seeing it all finished made her satisfied that she had made a right choice. She might not have done as Vin had asked, but she had made sure that her city would be safe.

  “Excellent,” Master Jeressi said. “I shall monitor the wards and the anima-wells in the next few days to make sure that there are no overlooked issues. You can never be too careful when working with wards of this magnitude.”

  Kyarra nodded. “Please,” she said, and the two left the room, walking back onto the wall. She glanced around, seeing the valley stretching in front of her on the other side and the inner wall of her city on the other. The original wall was slightly taller, and there was quite a bit of room between them. She glanced down the wall and saw wooden barracks that had been built in the last five years. Kyarra had allowed the mercenary armies to build them between the two walls, instead of them staying in the valley in their tents.

  She was already formulating a plan asking a few of the mercenary leaders to swear fealty and join her kingdom. She knew that not all would agree, as she could feel that some of the leaders were thinking about leaving as it was. They had originally taken their contracts on the belief that war between Tourran and the Lashian Empire was imminent. Some were content to stay and get paid for doing nothing—a lower rate, of course—but others were yearning for battle.

  Perhaps she shouldn’t have resisted her nobles’ requests to reduce their numbers for so long. She now had five thousand mercenary soldiers and a thousand Tourran Guard. Enough in her opinion to defend the pass and the city should another invasion take place. The pass had been reinforced with fortifications, and any attack from the Lashians would be undertaken at their extreme disadvantage. She felt confident that with everything she had done over the last few years she could hold Tourran against any threat.

  As she and Master Jeressi continued with their inspection, she found her mind wandering to Vin. She didn’t know how to feel about his return; when she’d first seen him, she couldn’t contain herself, as once he was gone she realized just how much he mattered to her. But reality was never so simple—they couldn’t just forget everything and be together. She could tell that he was disappointed that she just couldn’t do what he asked of her. No nation in the world would believe their story, and Tourran alone couldn’t oppose the Lashian Empire. She knew that he imagined the two of them leading an army deep into Lashian lands, heading straight for the gate, but that was impossible considering they wouldn’t get very far before their Legions came down on their head. Vin just didn’t understand. He couldn’t—he came from a world where the few could hold off entire armies, where personal strength was absolute.

  But at least this time he didn’t just go off again by himself. He had remained in his estate training. He was still trying to convince her that their best course of action was to head for the gate, even if it was just the two of them. But Kyarra couldn’t abandon her city, the people who had made her their Queen.

  Responsibility was a terrible thing. She’d had a lot of time to think on Vin’s parting words, before he left the city all those years ago. In a way, he had been right: she had trapped herself again. She couldn’t just abandon the people, as she had been raised with the knowledge that it was her responsibility to protect
Tourran. That was not something that she could shake away, even though she wanted to.

  She felt like if she did that, she would be betraying the people’s trust, as well as herself. Some people were born free, whereas others were born with a great burden on their shoulders. At times, she wished that she could be like Vin. He was completely free of any obligations, of any responsibility other than the pursuit of his own power. She envied that freedom—he did what he wanted and he didn’t care what anybody else thought.

  The night slowly fell on Tourran as Master Jeressi and Kyarra finished their inspection. The wall was impressive, and Kyarra couldn’t help but feel a touch of pride. It was something that she had built, her achievement. Ever since she had received the crown she had second guessed herself, wondering if she was being a good Queen. Seeing a visible representation of her reign, of something she had brought to the kingdom, made her smile. Tourran was prospering, their trade increasing, their magical knowledge expanding with the Guild’s decision to finally allow their mages to come to their nation. The people were happy, any threat of war put in the past behind them—and with the projects Kyarra had built adding to their defenses, they were all feeling safe.

  Kyarra was, for the first time, satisfied, and found herself wishing for things to remain as they were forever.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  ASHARA

  Four years ago

  Ashara looked at the man standing next to her. He was tall, with wide shoulders and a hard look to his face. His short hair was almost white, and his eyes were shockingly intense. She remembered the god Khalio sending her to his Commander, one called Narzarah, and him introducing her to this man: Xhao Wa Lei, a spirit artist just like Vin, and now just like her. She didn’t know what to think of the man, but she knew that she needed him. Narzarah had put her in his charge, to be trained and shown how to use her new power.

  And what power it was. Ashara had never in her life felt like this. She felt like she could do anything.

  Lei had shown her the most basic ways of utilizing the power of her new body. Thankfully, she didn’t need to learn from scratch—every time he showed her something, it would trigger some of Vin’s memories, and she would know how to do it naturally. She still had to practice, but more often than not she was able to replicate what she saw in her memories. It was a strange feeling, having this knowledge inside of her head without having really ever learned it herself.

  “Are you ready?” Lei asked her.

  Ashara nodded her head, but inside she wasn’t so sure. She had been training with Lei for a year. The time passed quickly as they had gotten into a routine, enough so that she hadn’t really had a chance to think on her new reality. But she while she had never felt better in her life, knowing that she had power now, she had never actually used it in combat—which was what they were going to now do.

  To fight a war on another world. She was a part of the Arashan now, as was the deal she had made. They walked slowly toward the giant gate in front of them, and stepped through. It was her first time going through one, before she had been transported by the Arashan god himself.

  The two of them stepped into the cold air and were greeted by a howling wind. Ashara was immediately thankful for the heavy cloak that she wore around her shoulders. There was snow all around them, and a single human Arashan standing close to the gate, waiting for them.

  “Welcome, Champions, to Úlfriiror,” the man said.

  Ashara tried to bring ki to her eyes and study him more closely. It took her a moment to activate the technique, but then the world around her changed as she saw more of it. There was anima—or aura, as the spirit artists called it—in the air, but not as much as on her homeworld. Still, she could see it, and the man had enough of it that she knew he was a mage.

  Lei approached and spoke to the man as she looked around. The World Gate was on a large open plain, surrounded by wooden buildings erected in an orderly fashion, and out in the distance she could see the fortifications. The Arashan camp, the base of operations for this world, was well defended from what she could see. Out in the distance she could see tall mountains covered in snow.

  Lei stepped closer to her and brought her attention back to him.

  “Come. We are needed,” Lei said, and then Wind Stepped away and into the camp.

  Ashara took a moment to gather her ki and slowly push it toward her feet, activating the same technique and following after Lei. At times, she could react almost instantly, her body moving without her even thinking; other times, it took her a while to do what she wanted. She had been told by Lei that that would go away, but she wasn’t so sure. There was only one other person who knew what she felt like, and he wasn’t here.

  As she ran over to the camp after Lei, she couldn’t help but smile at the feeling of the air rushing around her. This was the feeling she had always been looking for without even realizing it. She was free.

  The two of them jumped over the walls of the camp and headed up toward the mountains. Lei slowed down and allowed her to catch up, for which she was thankful. While she enjoyed using her new body, she was not yet used to it.

  She didn’t know for how long they were traveling, but they finally reached their destination: an army camp about halfway up the mountain. They slowed and then entered the camp before heading for the command tent. The other Arashan stepped out of their way, mostly because of Lei. Ashara had learned that he had been fighting for the Arashan on other worlds and that his power had been noted. He was famous and respected among the Arashan.

  Once they reached the command tent, they were allowed in, and they met with the Commander of this invasion. He was a human of the same rank as Narzarah, a Grand Commander. He greeted the two respectfully and immediately got down to business—Ashara got the feeling that the man didn’t like to waste time.

  “We have been trying to get through the mountains and finish off the last of the Úlfriir, but the passes are narrow, hard to navigate, and impossible for an army to safely traverse. The Úlfriir have been using this to their advantage. They have fewer numbers, but our advantage doesn’t matter when they can hold the passages with less troops. I’ve been losing troops at an alarming rate ever since the last of their resistance moved up here. From those who had surrendered, we have learned that these mountains are their ancestral home. Apparently there are old cities in there, fortifications, and even hidden valleys. We don’t know how many there are, and the low amount of ambient anima makes it harder for our mages to do much against them.” The Commander looked the two of them over. “I’ve been told by Narzarah that the two of you can help us put down this resistance.”

  Ashara felt a bit of trepidation at the prospect of having to fight a real battle, but another part felt excited at the chance to see what she was truly capable of.

  Lei looked at the maps in front of him carefully. Ashara joined him, but she didn’t really understand what she was looking at—she hadn’t yet learned the Arashan language, or at least to the extent that she could make sense of all the symbols on the map.

  “We can,” Lei spoke after a while. “We are not very suitable for acting with an army, but we can make a way for you. From what Narzarah informed us, these Úlfriir are not very powerful. If they don’t have massive numbers beyond the passes, we will be able to defeat them ourselves.”

  “By yourselves?” the Commander asked, but Ashara didn’t really detect any disbelief in him—it looked more like he was curious.

  “Yes, as long as they are not able to bring large numbers against us, we will prevail,” Lei said confidently.

  Ashara wondered when she would become like him: so sure in her own power.

  “Very well, then,” the Commander said with a nod. “I have a group attempting to fight through these three passes here. If you can move to any of them and help them punch through, I would be most appreciative.”

  * * * *

  Ashara followed after Lei as they ran through the mountains, following a barely passable trail
. Before she had gotten this body, Ashara would’ve never attempted to run on such a dangerous trail for fear of slipping and falling to her death. But now with every step she took was sure of herself, and the wind roared in her head. She knew that all she had to do was pull the ki from her core and then push it outside, and she would fly—or at least that was what Vin’s memories told her. The truth was that she had barely managed to use the techniques of flight; she could float for a few seconds, but that was it, though Lei assured her that she would improve.

  Finally, they reached their destination: a small plateau filled with Arashan tents and beyond them another crack in between two mountains, a pass where she could see combat. It was a tight space, enough for maybe three people to walk side by side.

  With her improved eyes, she could see the fighting ahead, and it was brutal. The Arashan were holding long pikes, stabbing them at the enemy, while large wolf-people holding weapons that were a cross between axes and pikes defended before attacking in turn. The two sides were attempting to push the other back, but with little success. It was such a tight place that there was little they could do. Ashara saw dead bodies on the ground being stepped on by both sides.

  Lei increased his speed, jumping over the Arashan forces into the tall crack between mountains with such precision that Ashara was impressed. Then he dropped on the heads of the enemy. The wolf-people, the Úlfriir, had barely a moment to see him, and not enough to act. He fell on top of them and flashes of green ki exploded out of him. She saw him grab one of the Úlfriir and shatter his head against the sidewall, splintering it and sending blood everywhere. Those around him tried to stab at him, but their weapons did nothing to his armor or skin.