Air

by Rosie Scott

  Uriel swiped a hand across his throat.

  “Her own kid? Offed?” Nyx spoke up, shocked.

  “You and I have our own issues with such things,” I commented, to which she shrugged in agreement.

  “Look, I'm not saying a thing,” Uriel finally stated, holding both hands up in surrender.

  “Xander was her third child,” Cyrus said, lowering his voice so the soldiers behind him could not overhear. “He was a good man who had many issues with his mother's rule. A fantastic fighter and general as well. Rumors started going around about the queen's distaste for him as she kept throwing him toward battles which seemed impossible.”

  “Go kill this ancient dragon with one hundred men and a toothpick,” Uriel said flippantly, only half-joking. “Things like that.”

  “He kept succeeding anyway because he was immensely talented.” Cyrus paused. “Xander quickly rose to be the first Sentinel, which meant he was first in line to take the queen's throne. People were excited at the prospect of him being their leader rather than the queen, and I think she caught wind of that. She called him home to Mistral after he killed a giant electrical dragon in northern Eteri. Yet another mission I doubt he was meant to succeed at. It wasn't but two days after Xander was home that he was found dead in his room of the castle, his head in a bowl of half-eaten soup.”

  “Poison?” Nyx asked.

  Cyrus nodded. “And there wasn't anyone who wanted that man dead.”

  “Evidently, there was one,” Anto commented.

  “Forgive my ignorance,” I started, “but you said that Xander was next in line to become ruler because he was a Sentinel? Not because he was Tilda's son?”

  Uriel clarified, “Our monarchy is elective. That is why Queen Tilda has given up on having children; she doesn't need to. She will still have her pick from the Sentinels when she is on her deathbed.”

  “And if she isn't?” Cerin asked. “If she were to die unexpectedly, who would become the ruler?”

  “The first Sentinel,” Cyrus replied. “In this case, Altan. Then me, and down the line. She has the power to pick someone else, of course, but the rearranging of the Sentinels would need to be complete before her death.”

  “Altan said the Sentinels are promoted based on length of service and achievements,” I mentioned.

  “Yes,” Cyrus nodded. “And that's the gist of it. But Queen Tilda has rearranged the order before. As you said, it includes achievements. That is why her threat to Altan was not without weight. She could, technically, promote me to his place, or even Kirek.”

  “Kirek,” Uriel huffed irritably.

  “Uh-oh,” Nyx mused playfully.

  “Uriel, tread carefully,” Cyrus warned.

  “You both better not be withholding secrets,” I told him.

  Cyrus shook his head, before looking to the side and watching as the butchers of the ceros brought over enough slabs of cooked meat for all of us. We took the food and thanked them for its preparation before they left to go take food to the others. The venison smelled delicious and fresh, and as I started eating it, I found it was reminiscent of beef, only much richer and leaner. It was unique and surprisingly good.

  “We aren't holding anything from you,” Cyrus finally promised. “I simply find value in the Sentinels, and I don't like speaking ill of them when they aren't here to defend themselves.”

  “It's not Kirek herself that bothers me,” Uriel retorted. “Okay, maybe a little.” Cyrus chuckled dryly beside him as if he'd heard this all before.

  “I have to say,” Maggie spoke up, after having been quiet most of the conversation thus far. “I spent decades working for the queen, and in the short span of being with the Renegades, I'm learning so much more.”

  “I'll get you to love politics like I do,” I promised her.

  Maggie laughed joyously. “Oh, I think I already do, love.”

  “Go on with the drama,” Nyx insisted through a mouthful of food.

  “So...Kirek, see, has been in the Eteri army for all of one hundred years,” Uriel began. “She's originally from Esen in the north, and she spent most of her life there. She's always been a great fighter, but it was mostly to defend the village from creatures and stray dwarf ship alike. She avoided the army because though she was great in battle, she didn't want to live for it. Well, something happened to change all that, and then she was requesting to join the army about a hundred years ago. Kirek's the most recent Sentinel of us all but Bhaskar, and yet she's the third.” Uriel hesitated, and reminded us, “I'm the sixth. I've been in this army nearly three hundred years. Think about that for a minute, and you'll see my issue.”

  “Why does the queen favor her?” I asked. I remembered Altan saying much of the same thing, though I couldn't recall why or when.

  “Flashy battle prowess, nothing more,” Uriel retorted. “Kirek dual-wields axes and also wields earth magic, which is Tilda's element. Apparently, my life magic is too boring. Kirek has more battles under her belt, but do you want to know why that is?” He hesitated. “She gets sent to all of the battles that matter. I was in Mistral when Kirek was sent to Nahara. I had been stationed in Mistral for weeks. Kirek was there for all of two days before she got sent to Nahara. That battle for T'ahal has the potential to change history and put Eteri on the map in this war. And whose name will it be in the history books? Hers.”

  I shook my head. “I'm sorry to hear that.” I could completely understand where Uriel was coming from. “Life magic is a rare and useful element. It's a wonder she doesn't utilize you more.”

  “She utilizes me plenty,” Uriel replied. “Just not where it matters. I will forever be in the lower half of the Sentinels. It's a wonder she keeps me here at all.”

  Cyrus raised a finger. “My recommendations,” he said.

  Uriel raised his eyebrows as he shrugged. “Yes, that's probably it.”

  “Ah. That's why you two are all friendly with each other,” Nyx mused.

  Cyrus nodded toward the healer. “Uriel was my soldier a few centuries ago. He continually outperformed the others, and his life magic makes sea battles with the dwarves so much easier. There was a time when we lost a Sentinel, and another needed to be promoted. I suggested Uriel. Ever since he was promoted, I have sung his praises to the queen.”

  “A lot of good that has done,” Uriel commented, before a light-hearted shrug. “In a way, perhaps I should be happy she does not promote me. It seems like she only remembers me as being part of Cyrus's army, so she tends to send us together. I have become used to fighting with him.”

  Cyrus smiled with amusement at the other Sentinel. “Ah. You are used to me. Nothing more. No friendship comes into play in the slightest.”

  “Friendship with a water mage?” Uriel scoffed facetiously. “Never. Besides, I can't ever compliment you, for fear of you getting pushed farther up the ranks while I stay stagnant.”

  Cyrus chuckled and playfully pushed at the other Sentinel's shoulder as he ate. I was grateful for moments like these in Eteri. The personable natures of most of the Sentinels made it a bit easier to accept our alliance with such a treacherous queen.

  Sixteen

  69th of Red Moon, 421

  Within the weeks following our departure from Mistral, we passed the remaining Orna Cliffs and left the Ternion Trail to move north. Our army marched through the central plains of Eteri with the world stretching open and free around us. To our left were the open skies and grasslands leading to the oceanside that we had initially seen when entering the country for the first time. To the right of us were stretching, rolling meadows leading to the eastern coast of Eteri and the port city of Makani. The land was too expansive to see the city from here, of course. What we could see in the distance to the north were Eteri's most troubled highlands.

  Northern Eteri was formed like a bowl, supporting lowlands at its center and rugged highlands at its edges. It was why I'd heard it referred to as the cup of Eteri. The cliffs here were much higher than those in the south,
so massive in scope that we could see them many weeks before we reached them. Cyrus and Uriel informed us that our army would be headed through the Highland Pass, which was the only major path connecting northern and southern Eteri. The cliffs were so high on either side of the pass that as we finally neared them, they rivaled the sky.

  The rocks along the left wall of the pass were jagged and rough, and most of the cliffside was made of gray and deep brown stone. These were known as the Pedr Crags, and they stretched from the pass to the edges of a river which broke through the land further north along the western coast of Eteri. On the right, the tall wall was made out of lighter brown stone and hard clay, and appeared smoother, even though its height rivaled that of its neighbor. These were the Cleves, the highlands which bordered Makani in the south and stretched as far north as Esen on the country's peninsula. The Cleves also held Jakan's hometown of Welkin, and I hoped we would have the time and ability to visit the town before we left northern Eteri.

  Cyrus told us that there was an underground entrance to the surface of the Cleves from Makani since many travelers often made the trek from Welkin to Makani and back again. Jakan's hometown was mostly utilized for agriculture, given its placement on top of flat, high land that was open to both the sun and rain. The thief told us that the underground path had been the one his family had utilized years ago, though he couldn't remember the trek.

  The Highland Pass was a sight I wouldn't soon forget. If it was intimidating as we approached it, it was a wholly unique experience going through it. Our army had to form a narrow line just to enter it. Once I personally passed the beginnings of the rocky walls, all sound muted into near non-existence save for the whistling of a breeze blowing through to us from the north. Every noise we made here echoed, sound waves sharply bouncing off of the cold rock and clearly repeating what was said, as if the cliffs themselves spoke to us.

  Of course, this was immediately taken advantage of by Nyx, who started yelling crude jokes into the air so they would repeat back to the soldiers, who all laughed as they heard them. I'd heard all of the jokes before, so I could do nothing other than groan and grudgingly question my choice of friends.

  With the Highland Pass behind us, the land opened up once again as we entered the cup of Eteri. It felt as if we could see all of northern Eteri at once since the Cleves and Pedr Crags mostly contained it within their towering walls. The giant populated village of Reva sat at the edges of the crags to our left, and the only reason we knew this was because we could see the villagers from across the valley. Jakan excitedly reminded us that Reva could be seen from Welkin, so he was filled with nostalgia and happiness. Though we could not see Welkin from where we were, we soon passed a fork in a river which also was said to point toward the town's location upon the cliffs to our right.

  Though we did not visit Reva, I noticed from our distance that it appeared to be a mining town. If there were any Vhiri that made it their home, I could not see them. The giants disappeared into a massive black hole in the side of the crags and reappeared later with armfuls of rock and thick chunks of metallic gemstones. There were no buildings in Reva as far as I could see. I had learned during my time in Eteri that the giants did not rely on them. Though the giants were the master builders in charge of much of Eteri's architecture, they mostly liked to mold the land from within. Their bulk made buildings inconvenient and a waste of resources. If they stayed outside at all, they slept beneath the stars.

  The Sentinels decided that the best course of action was to let our army rest for a night in Esen once we reached it because we had been traveling non-stop for a full moon and a half. Visiting the northernmost village of Eteri would allow the Seran Renegades to meet Naolin Zeru, the fifth Sentinel tasked to keep an eye on the Icilic movements there. She had been scheduled to arrive in early Red Moon, so it was possible she had information with which to update us.

  As High Star turned into Red Moon, the weather became windier and colder, as if the skies themselves feared an incoming storm. It made sense the Icilic wanted this land. Though it wasn't freezing cold, it was chilly enough that I had switched out the thin cloak Anto and Jakan had bought for me years ago and put on my thick green royal cloak, to keep the intruding fingers of the breezes from stealing my body heat. Cerin, Nyx, and Azazel were happy in the chilly weather, though my lover soon became annoyed at how quickly his long hair could tangle in the constant winds. The necromancer finally relented against his no ponytail rule and put his hair up in a tie I lent him to keep it back, and I did the same with my own red locks.

  The skies in northern Eteri were in a constant state of turmoil and ranged anywhere from moody and gray to nearly purple with rabid energy. When Esen finally was laid out ahead of us in late Red Moon, the village sat before a backdrop of rumbling skies and choppy water. Esen was a sprawling village, its stone buildings stretching from one side of the northern peninsula to the other. Multiple large warships creaked along the northern coast, the vessels at the mercy of rough waters. Because of the village's unique location, it had two harbors. The largest was laid out along the northern coast, where the warships were docked. A smaller port was on the southern side of the village facing a shallow inlet, where smaller fishing boats were coming and going. The dark, intimidating skies did not faze the residents of Esen, who went about their business as usual, though their movements were hurried with the presence of the Eteri soldiers.

  Our small army marched past fields of flowing wheat which rustled in the breeze as we headed for the center of the village. Esen was clearly relied upon for its agriculture, given that the land here was moist and rains were common. I noticed the crops here differed from those Welkin was said to deal in because of the different climate. My eyes fell upon fields of wheat, rice, and many varieties of leafy greens and legumes. Eteri was the only country I'd visited thus far that had such an immense array of foods from one end of it to the other. The cuisine of southern Eteri had been full of various types of berries, dairy products from milk-producing livestock, and lean meats. We had passed traders and transporters moving product to and from the other locales, of course, but as was the case anywhere, each settlement's menu revolved around the foods it could produce itself.

  The townsfolk started murmuring amongst themselves as our troops passed through the town. I heard questions and concerns, all of them revolving around why Esen would need to house a second army. If even the Sentinels were kept in the dark about the Icilic threat, I could only imagine the information was kept from everyday people.

  A large warship sailed through the seas in the north, its yellow and black sails rippling in the sharp winds. It didn't appear to be doing anything more than patrolling the Servis Ocean for now, given most of the ships of its kind were in the harbor. The farther we walked into Esen, the more soldiers we started to see. Many hung out together and chatted, though some were helping the populace of Esen with their work. Some worked on the ships in the harbor by cleaning, repairing, or resupplying the vessels. Naolin's army was not as large as Kirek's had been, but I supposed that was because Eteri couldn't risk removing many ships from Makani's harbor in the case that Narangar would attack. Overall, I estimated that the army in Esen numbered close to three thousand soldiers.

  After stopping beside a group of soldiers to request Naolin's location, we headed to the northern harbor. My eyes immediately caught on a woman leaning against a stone watchtower beside the docks, since she wore armor similar to the other Sentinels. While the soldiers of Eteri wore yellow and black gear if they were mages and yellow and white if they were not, the Sentinels all wore yellow and black. Their armor differed from the mages with its extra shine and bulk, and the Sentinel armor also was black by default with yellow adornments, allowing them to stand out from their soldiers.

  Naolin Zeru was a little less than six feet tall and had long black hair which was kept from her face with two braids leading to the back of her head, where they met and combined into one. She had light skin for a Vhiri, a soft cream
that was just a shade or two darker than my own tone. Her eyes were the same sharp red as Altan's, and they quickly found Cyrus and Uriel as the two Sentinels led the way to her. A sword was sheathed by her right hip, and a metallic shield sat against the wall beside her boots. She watched us approach curiously, and stood up from the wall to greet us.

  “Cyrus, Uriel,” she greeted, her eyes falling upon the other Renegades and me with much interest. “Long time, no see!”

  The two Sentinels greeted their comrade before Cyrus looked back to me. “Kai, this is Naolin Zeru. Naolin, this is Kai Sera and the Seran Renegades.”

  Naolin walked straight up to me and shook my hand, her face beaming. “I was beginning to think you would never come! Welcome to Eteri.” With the same enthusiasm, she shook hands with the other Renegades as they shared introductions. She said a friendly hello to Maggie, though she seemed surprised the engineer was with us. After introductions were through, she turned back to Cyrus. “Now—why are you here?”

  “Before I answer that, why were you told to come to Esen?” Cyrus replied, his blue eyes keeping track of the warship patrolling the coast.

  “To protect it from a possible impending attack from Glacia,” Naolin answered, frowning. “Why?”

  “Our queen hasn't been so straightforward with us,” Uriel informed her. “We just found out about the Icilic threat right before we left Mistral. None of the Sentinels are on the same page. It's been...hectic, to say the least.”

  Naolin exhaled heavily through flared nostrils. “As usual.” She raised her eyebrows at me in sympathy.

  “To answer your question, Naolin, we are only stopping in Esen for the night.” Cyrus pointed off to the cliffs on either side of the plains we'd only passed that day. “We are out here on a mission to seek and kill the goddess Aleyah.”

  Naolin huffed a laugh. “Ah! Just your average quest, ey? Gods, much has changed since I left Makani, apparently. What does Aleyah have to do with this war?”