by K. E. Young
The sun was tending towards late afternoon. The shields held by the mages sparked and glowed with energy. So bright he could barely see those who held them in place. The skies above shattered by lightning in a cloudless sky, the crack and thunder of their strikes deafening him. He imagined the people in the city might see the glow of the conflagration. The crouching shape in front of his mate was no longer a vision of darkness and even deeper darkness, a hole in the world. Now it shone as a new sun, dumping the energy of a million lives into the world. The earth below him shuddered and sizzled with energy. Magic tickled his skin like the crawling of a million ants. The land itself was balking at the flow.
Pain stabbed his head as the wrongness of the bond burned. The light of the valbore's being creeping into the bond and searing everything clean. The bond stuttered for the barest moment.
Then it all faded, the light, the energy, all of it.
The world felt new. The dullness always present in the Waste wiped away in an instant.
His dragon was still restive, unhappy at the turn of events. He could see Sara drooping on her knees at the center of an exhausted-looking circle of mages.
He reached out along the bond. She was nearly as exhausted as after the river. What ate at him though, was the confusion and sadness. He wasn't entirely conscious of what had happened, but he loved her, and he didn't like feeling her sorrow.
She raised her head and he could see the tears on her face. He tried to go to her but couldn't budge his restraints. "Let me go! She needs me."
Urash gave a heaving breath and pulled a knife from his belt. "I'm glad to hear you, cousin! I feared we would lose you."
"Let me go, Urash. Please."
Urash cut his bonds and he crawled to Sara, too weak to stand.
As soon as he took her in his arms, his dragon felt contentment. She was whole, untainted, the beauty of her soul as clean and strong as it should be. She wept and he berated himself for it because all he could feel was relief. The horrifying experience of seeing into the valbore's madness dismissed for the moment as a simple nightmare. He would face it later. For now, his mate needed him.
Sara: 38th of Hunting, 3837
Kaio cuddled close to shield me from the wind. Few of those who had come to the Waste had the energy to transform and fly back to Therysal so we were waiting for transport back. The members of the war council were discussing the next steps.
Dragos sighed. "People will view the memory stone recording Gelal made over and over for generations. Never have we won against a valbore with so few casualties. I just hope those damned Arboren don't call up another valbore anytime soon."
I shook my head at Dragos' worries. "That's right, you missed that part of the meeting. You don't have to worry about the Arboren bringing through another valbore Dragos. They can't. There aren't any more valbore for them to summon."
Dragos looked puzzled. "What do you mean?
"The Accusers created one valbore. Their overpowered and mangled attempt to recreate the original Arboren Servants failed. The disparate energy sources they used caused the valbore to shatter, each piece out of tune with the others. The Mage-Kings locked each of those pieces away individually. That's why I needed so many mages to back me up in the sewer. I had to summon each fragment from its prison, tune the energy, and fuse them together to repair the Accuser's mistakes. Only then could I unmake it. The greatest effort was in summoning the fragments, not in the tuning and fusing. Once I tuned each piece, the fusing happened almost without effort."
She took a deep breath. "You know, I feel sorry for it. When the valbore shattered, its mind did too, each piece still able to sense and communicate with all the others. The dissonance in its energy caused it constant pain. No matter how much it fed it still hungered because parts of itself still starved somewhere. Each piece was desperate to punish the ones who created it and sentenced it to an eternity of torment, but it didn't know how. Its existence was a nightmare even to itself. The valbore was schizophrenic, scattered, starved, in pain, angry. The poor thing was grateful it was over." Sara felt her eyes well with tears. She understood torment. There was a time when she would have done anything to end it too. She was glad she could bring peace to another tormented being, even if it was by death.
Kaio: 38th of Hunting, 3837
Kaio looked down at his beloved as she tiredly shed tears for the existence and death of a nightmare that never should have existed. She had a point though. He had felt an echo of the valbore's mind through the bond. Having experienced a little of it himself, he couldn't help but feel a certain pity for the creature. Such an existence would have driven even a good man insane. Perhaps that's why the Goddess chose her. Because she could feel pity for a tormented being even if it was a monster. The horrors of her own life helped her keep her sanity when immersed in the mad thing's mind. Thank the Goddess her Task was complete.
He held her as the men and women around them tiredly celebrated their victory and turned his mind to what they needed to do to repair the damage. The Arboren were still out there in Vallen and the other countries. Urash and Gelal had already issued orders sending troops to fortify the border between the Waste and Vallen.
Kaio had sent orders to his agents as soon as he knew what he was looking for, compiling dossiers on redheaded individuals in Therys and beyond. Daro was doing the same. As Sara had said, "Know your enemy." He had a lot of work to do. They were already at war and this was but the first battle. A very important battle, but not the last.
Epilogue
Dragos: 40th of Hunting, 3837
Dragos looked up as the door to his sanctum opened. It had been two days since the Valbore was destroyed. Sara still looked tired, but the sadness she had exhibited after the valbore's death had faded. She even looked happy in the pretty blue gown that he had last seen her first day in the palace. "How are you feeling today? I'm glad to see you aren't afraid of me anymore."
She gave a laugh. "It's hard to be afraid of anything after playing steed to the valbore. It's a matter of perspective."
"Not the perspective I would want for you. Any nightmares?"
Her expression showed pleased confusion. "Oddly enough, no. Maybe I'm too tired or maybe I have finally found peace."
He gathered her into his arms and gave a father's hug. "For your sake, I hope it's the latter. I have a present for you."
She returned his hug fiercely. "A present?" Her voice held all the glee of a child's.
"The day you started in the Library, I sent a message to a jeweler in Drakken to make a bonding bracelet for you to give to Kaio. I asked him to make it a priority and it arrived with this morning's courier. You will have a proper bracelet to exchange at your wedding."
Her second hug was as enthusiastic as the first.
When he pulled away, he grasped her shoulders. "So why did you want to see me? I would have thought you would spend all your time with your mate."
She held up a sheaf of paper with a mischievous grin. "I brought you a present."
He cocked an eyebrow as he took the paper from her. "And what exactly have you brought me?"
"Just after the valbore disintegrated, the Goddess and I had a little chat. That," she pointed to the papers he held, "is the transcript. Every word burned itself into memory. I don't think I'll ever forget, no matter how confusing it was. I thought you might like to see what the Goddess had to say. The Sabriyu family get a copy for their records too."
Dragos gaped at her in shock before falling into a chair and turning his attention to the first page. Somewhere in the background, he could hear Sara pouring herself a cup of wine, but it barely penetrated.
Reading through it, he could see what Sara meant by 'confusing'. He too, found the contents confusing. He also found them electrifying. The Goddess's words shifted his world a little. The stories of the Tasks held a slightly different meaning to him now. Many things did.
It was on the second, or perhaps it was the third reading that his attention caught on some of
the Goddess's comments. He looked up to pin Sara with his gaze. "Next Task."
She nodded and took a sip of wine.
His mind raced. "Goddess wept. She's not done with you is she?"
"Nope." She was a lot cheerier about that than he would have expected.
He had never heard of a Nakairu called for more than one Task. "You don't seem upset."
She laughed lightly. "I don't choose to be upset. I've discovered I am stronger than I thought I was. Because of you, Kaio, and Urash, I am not alone, and whatever this Task is, I'll have help. The Goddess said 'you and the others' and she mentioned someone named Kendra."
She leaned forward, wine cup dangling from her fingers. "I think you'll have more Nakairi here so you should prepare. There will be a lot occurring over the next few years."
There was nothing in her reasoning for him to argue with. He wondered what other wonders he would see before he died. He smiled in anticipation.
Urash: 48th of Sanctuary, 3837
Urash seated himself at his desk tiredly. Court functions always bored him to tears but he was the one person who couldn't say "No, not tonight." For all his power, he had remarkably little freedom.
Especially not tonight. This night was to celebrate the newest addition to the Drakken Empire. Dragos' title of High-Lord of Therys was now permanent.
The corner of his mouth lifted in amusement. Lady Zenra had introduced him to a young woman at the party. Lady Cassettis Nisme. A lady who came to an Imperial reception dressed in warrior tunic, weapons, and an irreverent attitude. She was his age and Zenra had assured him in a whisper for his ears only, that she was qualified to be Empress.
If others learned of that, they might think Lady Zenra was trying to manipulate him. However, he knew Zenra would do no such thing. Even as a child, she had always told him gently that he had a choice if he exercised it. She was simply letting him know that should he find a preference for Lady Nisme, he could pursue the matter.
He had to admit. He very much liked Nisme's sense of humor. She was energetic, irreverent, and bold. He had felt freer in those minutes talking to her than he had since returning from Therys. Perhaps he would spend more time with her. It was possible their relationship would be strictly friendship, but that would be good too.
His eyes turned to the transcript of Sara's talk with the Goddess. Dragos had underlined one sentence. "We hope this time, my children can be more thorough."
He pulled the portrait he had drawn of his prey out of the drawer. Where was he? Sara's memory of Dagresh's 'Master' had burned itself into his memory and haunted his nights. He hadn't been able to identify the man and he wasn't among those captured or killed so far. Eight weeks of searching had yielded not a single whisper of his whereabouts.
He looked down grimly at the picture. "I made a promise to my Goddess that I would do everything in my power to make sure that we are more thorough this time. I will end you. Sara has taught me I should be the person I choose to be, so I choose to be your destroyer. You and your ilk have hurt my people for the last time."
Kaio: 4th of Seeding, 3838
Kaio looked down at the mud underfoot as a light spring rain sifted over him. The Waste was changing before their eyes. A river flowed in the ruins of Coranis for the first time in millennia. At his feet, a few blades of grass were poking their heads through the muck. He raised his eyes and swept the surrounding hills. The tinge of green on formerly barren hills had brought him out here in the rain. He squatted and selected a plant to take back to Sara. She would be especially pleased with this gift. For the first time in a thousand years, something was growing in the Waste.
With a light heart, Kaio tucked the plant away and transformed into his other self. He had to get back to his mate. Her morning sickness should have faded enough she was willing to have him around again and he wanted to spoil her.
About the Author:
People are complex things and I'm no different, so anything I tell you here will be, of necessity, incomplete and leave a lot out. I'll try to give you a sampling though.
I'm a writer, eccentric, network engineer, wine and spirits connoisseur, cat mom, chef, bartender, Firefly fan, armchair political analyst, craftsman, gamer, and smartass. There's a lot more, but you can't make the sentence too long or people get lost and bored.
I can't tell you my favorite food, color, or music because my favorite anything is entirely dependent on my mood. Except cats. My favorite cat of all time was named Little Shit. Don't look at me like that, he picked it himself and would answer to nothing else. He was weird.
I am neither an extrovert, nor an introvert. I am a proud ambivert. Live with it.
I believe that humor is good and political correctness is bad. Tolerance is necessary facet of the modern world, and political correctness is NOT tolerance, it's just tribalism. Tribalism is instinctual and animals follow their instincts. Humans are supposed to be more than that.
I love plants. They need sunshine just as much as I do and if they smell or taste good, even better. I don't care what they look like. I even like some weeds.
I like rugby. Really fit men in really short shorts getting active and occasionally violent. I want my symbolic warfare to have blood in it. Hockey's good too, but it has to be bush league.
I think art should be an expression of beauty, not a commentary on society. That is what the news is for.
I'm currently owned by a cat named Slick. He forces me to pet him at 2am.
So, is that a decent sample for you?
Web: http://WorldsOfKEYoung.com
