by Rosie Scott
The Icilic Army among the highlands was depleting. Though my previous spell had killed Jakan, it had also killed thousands of our foes. The numbers of our armies had balanced, and now it was turning to our favor. Friendly soldiers backed out of the area, leaving me to my destruction. I added hundreds of lives to my power, only satisfied when I was ready to pass out from the agony pounding against my skull.
Some of our foes were fleeing back to the tunnel now that the tides of battle were turning. Perhaps they meant to join up with the army in the lower grasslands. I didn't want there to be an army for them to return to.
I turned and started walking back to the cliff's edge overlooking the battle below. Cerin raised some of the dead in the area behind me and sent the corpses into the tunnel after the routed enemies. The Icilic which refused to run came back to a clash with Eteri soldiers as the Sentinels once more sent them forth.
The only signs of life closer to the cliff edge came from Nyx, who was a broken mess. She still cried over Jakan and Anto. I let the upsetting sight continue to fuel me.
Zephyr's army and the giants aiding them were all retreating back into the Highland Pass to my left, having heard the call of the other Sentinels. The army chasing after them was still massive, but now it was even closer to my reach.
I came to the cliff's edge. I only realized I'd been screaming during my rage because the enemy army below slowed their pace and looked up in alarm. My own voice was foreign to my ears, mirroring the inhuman tone of Malgor's from years earlier.
Both of my arms reached for the sky. “Generat le funel!”
The scream traveled over rock and into the canyons alike, echoing over the cup of Eteri like I was everywhere at once. Some of the Icilic started to flee from the area, recognizing the air spell. Others shot arrows in my direction. Some missed, but a few hit. Three arrows peppered into the armor and flesh of my torso, and I paid them no mind as I watched thick black clouds gathering above us. I couldn't feel the pain of their hits in comparison to the agony of my power.
Zwip. A life shield connected over me. I assumed Cerin had given it to me, but I didn't look. I forced the energy of hundreds into the atmosphere hanging over Eteri, and the clouds started to swirl into a funnel. It was small at first, pointed at its bottom tip and widening the farther up it went. It swirled and swirled until I could hear its whizzing, and I only gave it more.
Lightning crackled out from the clouds. I wasn't calling it, but it was yet another side effect of such an immensely powerful spell. I was forcing so much energy into the skies that it barely knew what to do with it. The funnel grew and grew, widening until the center of its vortex could swallow towns whole. The entire cup of Eteri was blocked from my view with the enraged winds of a monstrous storm the likes I had never known possible.
The tornado was now a beast that was roaring with a rage that still could not surpass my own. My ears were ringing in pain from my proximity to the harsh noise as the funnel finally touched down in the midst of the massive Icilic Army. Even bodies outside of the twister were picked up and thrown, splattering over the grasslands and into the rocky cliff sides like bones put up no resistance. Hundreds of foes were pulled up and into the twister's spin until I saw arms and legs poking out of the clouds nearest the sky.
The noise was so brutally loud that a high-pitched piercing ran through my head, promising to plague me for days ahead. The ground shook beneath my feet with the movements of the funnel as it carved its way south toward the Pass, picking up thousands of elves as it went and leaving the plains scarred in its wake.
Some of the Icilic soldiers still had enough energy to have shields, but no matter their protection, the twister broke through it. Both wards and physical shields flickered out as they were picked up and battered by winds and debris alike. A few of the elves were pulled apart or sliced open within the funnel, whether from the immense pressure put on their delicate bodies or hitting debris. As the tornado moved south, it spewed foes out of its grasp so powerfully that some of the bodies ended up being thrown to the top of the highlands, where they busted and shattered with the force of landing.
I was tugged back from the edge of the cliff as my spell roared toward the Pass, chasing after the remaining army which was determined to finish Zephyr and her men off. I fell back into the arms of whoever grabbed me, refusing to pull my eyes away from the destruction when it finally hit the cliffs.
BOOM! Crrrk!
The edges of both the Pedr Crags and the Cleves broke off and crumbled as the tornado hit the earth. The Pass was far too narrow for such a massive twister, but the storm was determined to get through it nonetheless. Entire chunks of stone and rock were cracked off and spinning in the sky, battering the men and women still unfortunate enough to be in its grasp.
Someone was tapping me frantically on the shoulder. I turned, seeing Azazel yelling at me. He pointed one periwinkle finger to the storm as it broke open the cliffs. Pieces of the Cleves before us were crumbling and collapsing. Only when the archer lifted a hand up to his neck and made a “cut it off” motion did I understand.
Unlike the tornado in Hazarmaveth, this one came from the skies and could be dispelled. I did so, watching the funnel thin and retreat back into the clouds. The storm hadn't used all of the energy I'd given it, so when the tornado was fully gone, the heavens rumbled with excess. A crack of lightning flashed to the north, and then all at once, heavy rains began to fall.
All was quiet. At least, it seemed to be. My ears were still ringing from being too close to the tornado, so when I heard voices behind me, they echoed into obscurity. I hadn't really noticed I'd been sitting on the ground until I was forced to stand to view the destruction.
I walked to the newly crumbled cliff side, looking out into the grasslands of Eteri beyond. Thousands of bodies were broken and mutilated in piles of gore below, making the entire cup of Eteri look like a field of blood rather than grass. The dead were so numerous that the river beside the battlefield ran red. As I looked over the tens of thousands of corpses, I realized I had just taken part in the most massive land battle in Arrayis's history. Even in the deadliest wars of Chairel and Eteri's pasts, there had never been so many casualties. The air stunk of death.
There had been survivors, of course. On both sides. I didn't miss the few thousand Icilic who picked themselves up from various places on the battlefield and fled north. There were probably survivors on their way to the grasslands from the tunnel who would join them. Azazel picked a few of them off as they fled, but soon they were too far for even him to reach. Our foes would likely attempt to regroup in Esen. After all, they had taken it, and reinforcements were on the way.
Eteri's army was broken and battered. Some of our own soldiers had fled south earlier in the fight, unable to face their fears against overwhelming odds. I usually found fleeing cowardly, but now I almost hoped more of them had escaped than I had witnessed. At least it would mean they were alive.
All of the excess energy was out of me. I felt like I wanted to fall asleep and never wake up. Not only from the fatigue, but because I knew the deaths of my friends hadn't been a nightmare. It was real. It was very real, and I didn't want to face it.
I went back to Jakan and Anto. I sat in a puddle beside them, staining the armor one had made for me with the blood of his lover. I reached out with both hands, holding on to Jakan with one hand and Anto with the other. Their bodies were cooling now. The warmth life had given them was gone forever. My eyes welled with tears again, and I finally allowed myself to mourn.
Nyx sat on the opposite side of their bodies, watching me with a distance. She said nothing. There was confliction in her eyes I didn't want to explore.
Maggie was shocked when she finally found us. She'd missed their deaths, but she also mourned. She had started to become friends with Anto in particular, and now she no longer had the chance.
The Sentinels came up to me on their own time. Altan was upset but a little hesitant. He'd seen firsthand how I could get
when my friends were hurt or threatened, after all, so I had a feeling he feared how I would react if he expressed his sympathies. Cyrus and Uriel were the most affected. We'd been with them the longest, and both men had shown intrigue in Jakan and Anto many times before. I wondered if the Sentinels knew Anto had died of a broken heart. I hoped they didn't. Anto had been told his whole life he wasn't as strong as other orcs because of his Celdic blood. It was the reason why I'd often reminded him of how strong he really was. I'd wanted to give him as many compliments as I could to make up for all of the insults and biases that were thrown his way throughout his troubled past. Uriel had expressed to us that the Vhiri also viewed the Celdic as weak, and the reason why was how Anto had died. I felt overly protective of him for that fact now, even in his death. I never wanted Anto to be viewed as weak.
I attempted to calm my sobs when my body would no longer produce tears. I glanced back to see the Uriel still standing behind me, though Cyrus and Altan had started to go through the casualties. With a hoarse voice, I asked him, “Is Zephyr alive?”
“Yes, Kai.”
“I am glad.” I turned back to stare at my friends. I was sitting in a puddle from the falling rains, but I didn't care. “I cannot return immediately to Mistral.”
Uriel hesitated. “Why?”
“Jakan was from Welkin. Anto had never been there. They wanted so badly to go.” The last few words were nearly indiscernible as I choked up again.
“You want them to be buried there,” Uriel replied, understanding.
My body shook with more sobs, so I could only nod.
“It will take us a fortnight to get there,” the Sentinel said. At first, I thought he was saying it to prepare to refuse my request, but then he added, “I will get one of the wagons we have for supplies. We can clear it and use it to take their bodies.”
I could not reply. Cerin thanked the Sentinel for me.
“Are we so sure we have the time?” The question was so dry and biting that I found myself alarmed when it was asked from Nyx's voice. I stared up at her through tears. Her black eyes were cutting into my own, and the flesh just beneath them was swollen.
“Nyx...not now,” Cerin pleaded.
“Oh, fuck you, Cerin. Not now, not now,” Nyx mocked. “Everything can wait. Everything can fucking wait. Everything except for this gods damn war.” Nyx abruptly stood, before taking a step back.
“There's a time and place for this,” Cerin retorted.
“Yeah, and it's not here, is it? It's not now.” Nyx flipped a finger through the air. “So it's as I said. It can wait.”
“We left you to mourn, Nyx. Give the same courtesy to Kai.”
Nyx bowed sarcastically. “Courtesy given.” She spun on her heel, stalking off into the mess of a battlefield.
Now fear rose to meet with the overwhelming sadness that meant to suffocate me. As Nyx disappeared from sight, I wondered just how many friends I'd truly lost.
Thirty-four
43rd of Red Moon, 422
The highlands surrounding Welkin were just as beautiful as Jakan had described. These were Eteri's highest cliffs. We towered above the ocean so close to the sky it felt we could reach up and touch the clouds. It was a gorgeous sunny day with just a slight breeze that whistled in our ears as we stood overlooking the calm waves of the Servis. The long grasses beneath our feet were slightly red with the coolness of Red Moon, and as they waved over the highlands the combination of colors made the ground look like a glimmering rainbow.
Altan, Cyrus, and Uriel had all decided to join us for Jakan and Anto's burial. Altan was supposed to stay in Makani, but he knew how much his presence here meant to us. Zephyr had taken his place, pulling all of the remaining soldiers to the city to have them rest and heal. Our losses were extensive in what we were calling the Battle of Highland Pass. Out of twenty-four thousand soldiers, we had just over nine thousand left.
The war would not wait. The Icilic were still on the move. But for now, we took a break if only out of respect.
Two holes were dug in the ground before me. I wanted to ensure their graves overlooked both Welkin and the ocean, and we'd found the perfect spot. They would be buried together because that was the only place they'd ever wanted to be.
“Azazel, can I have one of your karambits?” I asked my friend.
“Of course.” Azazel pulled one of the weapons from its sheath, handing it to me. I hadn't wanted to ask Nyx for a dagger. She had barely spoken to me since the battle.
I took the karambit with me and knelt between the bodies of my friends. They still looked much the same as they had when they'd died. The rains of that night had cleared them of most the grime and blood, which was a small relief. I reached for Anto's top knot, cutting the karambit through the short ponytail at the back of his head. I pulled away a lock of his black hair. Holding it in hand, I slowly unscrewed the bottle from the necklace at my neck, adding Anto's hair.
I repeated the gesture with Jakan. My eyes caught on the hair tie still in his ponytail. It was Anto's. That would have made me happy once. Now, it only saddened me. With a lock of his chocolate brown hair in my hand, I added that to the bottle with Anto's.
It was only hair, but the bottle felt so heavy once it was screwed back onto the chain. I knew that Jakan and Anto were both dead, and my lack of belief in an afterlife made it seem unnecessary, but I spoke to them anyway.
“I will forever regret using the spell I did,” I murmured, one finger trailing down the lightning scars on Jakan's face. “I cannot go back. I would give up every power I have to bring you back. I will miss your jokes. I will miss your laughter. I will miss your spunk. I will miss you. I love you, Jakan, and I am sorry.”
New tears streamed down my face as I turned to Anto. “You had nothing to apologize for. We often spoke about having powers we could not fully control. Both of us went through that together that day. You told me not to blame myself for such things, Anto, but I will. It is times like these when I feel so powerless. I tried everything I could to save you both that day, and you died nonetheless. For that, I am truly sorry.” I hesitated. “I will miss your humility, your kindness, your levelheadedness, and your strength. I love you. Even if I live for hundreds of years, I will still love you both.”
I kissed both men on the cheek, their skin cool on my lips. Then I stood and backed away, allowing the others to say their piece. When everyone was done, Maggie and Altan lowered the two men into the ground, and I found myself crying again as they were covered with dirt.
If Cerin wasn't holding me, Azazel was. I was obsessed with my memories of Anto and Jakan, trying to replay them in my mind to make sure I would always keep them there. Theron had been dead for so many years that I sometimes wondered if my memories were correct as to his appearance. I had an unnaturally large fear of forgetting what my friends looked like. There were no methods of keeping their appearances with me. It was then that I promised myself that when I took over Chairel, I would commission the best artists I could find to recreate those I had lost, through memorials or otherwise. Even if my friends gave their lives for this war, I would honor them in every way I knew how.
We decided to spend the night in Welkin before heading back to Mistral. We visited all the places Jakan had told us about. We went inside Vertun's temple where his mother had worked and even found a priestess who told us she had known the Yairs. She remembered Jakan and was saddened by the news of his death. She said that he had been an adorable and hyperactive child, which made complete sense to me. Jakan had been so energetic even as an adult. He had died exactly a week after his thirty-seventh birthday, and he'd never seemed older than twenty-one.
We attempted to find some of the places Jakan remembered that he couldn't recall the names of. He had once told us that there was a store he'd often badger his mother to take him to as a child because it kept a variety of snacks and toys in its low windows. There was a store similar to this that we found showcasing small dolls made out of canvas and straw and tiny ca
rved stone toys of various Eteri creatures. The store owner was in the midst of carving one of the toys as we passed.
My friends and I recreated Jakan's stories for the Sentinels who hadn't yet heard them. Despite our sadness, we found ourselves chuckling together over the thief's memories. He'd gotten himself into so much trouble as a child that there were plenty of stories he'd told us of his adventures, and we tried to find joy in them now.
There was a small inn we stayed at in Welkin that was hidden within the wall of the stony cliff. The innkeeper insisted we stay for free since we'd delivered news of the outcome of the battle. The entire town could have been wiped out if we hadn't stopped the Icilic in the tunnel. I gave the man gold anyway, and I told him to take it in Jakan's name. The gold once held in the thief's possession was now mine to give, and I hoped Jakan would have appreciated using some of it to fund the businesses in his hometown.
The inn was tiny and mostly windowless because few people other than traveling traders came to stay this far north in the Cleves. A small bar was set up on the first floor, and the sun still hadn't set outside by the time Nyx settled in one of its few seats. While Cerin took a bath in our room, I went to try to talk to her.
Nyx's face was so far over her mug of ale that I almost thought she was already drunk. When I sat down beside her, I noticed her eyebrows pull forward in a frown, but she said nothing. Two black eyes stared straight down into her ale. She then shook the cup just to watch the liquid swirl in a distraction.
“Nyx,” I said softly. My voice cracked with hesitation. Nyx's dark nose wrinkled, but she was silent.
“Can I get you anything?” I glanced up at the innkeeper who asked me. He smiled at me with warmth I surely wasn't getting from my best friend.
“Oh, no thanks. I appreciate the offer.” My answer caused him to walk to the end of the bar and ask the same question of a new arrival. I realized that Azazel had followed me down here after hearing my intentions voiced to Cerin from through the inn walls. He waved off the innkeeper as well before slowly walking over to me. The archer stayed back to leave Nyx and I space, but he wanted his presence to be known. I wondered if it was because Nyx was angry enough at me that he feared for my safety.
