Honor and Blood

by James Galloway

  "That's pretty clever," Jesmind grunted with a nod.

  "I thought so myself," Miranda agreed. "It was that Arakite General's idea, Kang. He's a devious man. Few would think to create a defensive perimeter by allowing enemy troops to gain a foothold. It was pretty ingenious."

  They waited for long moments, until Tarrin heard an unmistakable roar from outside the Tower grounds. A Demon. They had allowed the Demons to pass unmolested, so the Wizards at the Tower could deal with them, but he didn't know if they could take on thirty at once. He immediately stopped pacing and recalled his sword from the elsewhere. "Jesmind, Miranda, take Jula over to the corner of the courtyard, and keep her there. Jasana, you stay with them," he ordered, feeling the sword in his paw. Its weight was comforting to him now, for he knew that it gave him a weapon against the Demons coming. He set himself directly before the fountain, sword in paw, and waited with his senses open. He felt an oppressive surge of magical power flow through the Weave, and then another, and then another. Those were spells cast by Wizards, and they were not simple or weak spells. The third was marked by a great explosion on the eastern edge of the grounds. He felt several more spells flow through the Weave, flowing from that other place where Wizards drew their power to the Wizard, coming faster and stronger than the last. There was another roar of a Demon, and then another different one, and then a flurry of spells all drawn from the Weave at the same time.

  Then there was a great crashing sound, the sound of the magical fence surrounding the Tower being ripped asunder. The enchantment on the fence was disrupted with its mauling, and caused it to explode as a Wildstrike at the point of destruction. He felt that clearly, even as he heard the loud bang of the torn fence section literally exploding as the magical power contained within it was released from its containment. Tarrin was certain that now there were Demons on the Tower grounds, and it made him worried. He gripped the sword in both paws and started turning in his stance, watching in all directions for whatever may appear tramping through the maze.

  He didn't have long to wait. A dog-headed, four-armed Glabrezu appeared over the hedges, which were waist-height to it, trampling them down as it moved directly towards the icon. It looked quite the worse for wear, with one of its pincer arms missing and black blood flowing liberally down its manged fur body. It was also missing an eye, and had a rather gruesome wound over the same side of its face. Keritanima and Shiika had been right; what did reach him had definitely been put through a meat grinder. Tarrin blocked its path to the icon, sword held at the ready and simply waiting for it to enter the courtyard. It approached, closer and closer, stepping to flatten down the hedge that formed the wall of the courtyard. Tarrin settled down into a defensive posture, letting it come to him. Jesmind jumped up and put the others behind her, claws out and ready to fight that monster if it came after them. It stepped over the flattened hedge, but then the statue of the Goddess exploded in a bright, radiant white light. The Demon flinched away from that light, snarling and snapping, the pincers on its outer arm clacking together in a sound that still made his stomach quiver at the memory of being crushed between them. Tarrin felt that light on his back, felt it permeate into him, reassuring him that the Goddess was with him. He stood his ground against the wounded Demon as it stalked warily into the courtyard. It could see its objective, but it could also see that there was one more barrier standing in its way. Clacking its pincers together, it regarded the smaller foe, holding a sword that could injure it, seeing its tail lash in anticipation and the grim look of business all over its face, glowing green eyes glaring back at it. The little creature actually snarled at it, baring its fangs as its tail lashed straight behind it suddenly and its ears laid back against its head. Some kind of threat display, that would have been comical if not for the sword in its furry hands. But it would not move, staying firmly between the Demon and its goal. It paused to consider how to best finish off this small foe--

  --and then its head was suddenly soared from its body, to bounce once on the grass of the courtyard before coming to a wobbling halt. The body remained stock still for a moment, then collapsed in on itself in a heap even as it began to dissolve into that horrific black ichor.

  Tarrin blinked, then saw a bat-like wing out of the corner of his eye. He turned in time to see one of the Cambisi, probably Anayi, swoop away with a huge scimitar-like sword in her hands, sending drops of Demonic blood falling onto the grounds below. It had been so intent on Tarrin that it had never heard the winged Alu approach, and she took it completely by surprise. For that matter, Tarrin hadn't noticed her either.

  Tarrin decided that he was going to soundly kiss each and every Cambisi after all this was over. Given what happened the last time he shared a kiss with Shiika, perhaps a hug would be more in order for her. He let his breath out explosively, then regretted it as the horrific smell of the dissolving Demon reached him. He heard Miranda laugh delightedly. "I didn't expect that!" she remarked from the corner.

  "It didn't either," Tarrin called in reply.

  "What was that?" Jesmind asked.

  "One of Shiika's daughters," he told her. "I think I'm going to give her a big kiss when this is over."

  "I may give her one too," Jesmind admitted with a laugh.

  There wasn't time for any more chitchat. Another Demon appeared, one of the thin tusked ones with wings, coming in through the hole the first had made. It didn't hesitate like the first, it howled in a victorious manner and rushed forward, huge clawed hands leading to rend apart the last obstacle to the goal. Tarrin put his ears back and darted forward to meet this threat. It pulled up just as Tarrin reached it and took a swipe at its midsection, managing to nick it slightly. That seemed to take the Demon out of its bloodlust, causing it to take another step back and regard the smaller foe with wary respect. It held out its hand again, and then a searing blast of fire erupted from its open palm.

  That was a very bad idea. For a moment Tarrin wondered if they'd bothered to explain a few things to these Demons as he charged confidently through the blaze of fire, sword leading. It seemed genuinely surprised as the Were-cat erupted from the gout of fire, and nearly lost the taloned hand casting the spell as the Were-cat slashed at it. But it recovered from its surprise quickly, moving with a speed that belied its height and bony, ungainly appearance. It reached out and tried to grab Tarrin in its taloned hand, but the Were-cat slid underneath its grasp in a display of his own unnatural agility. He tried to stab it in the narrow belly, but it slithered aside at the last moment. He turned to face it, but the light suddenly was swallowed up by some kind of impenetrable blackness.

  Tarrin didn't panic. He sensed that it was a magical effect of some kind. He heard the thing moving, and ducked underneath a broad swipe of one of those hands with their huge talons. In the single step it took to square himself, he had puzzled out how the spell worked, then willed the Weave to disrupt it. The Weave responded, choking off the flow of power that caused the spell to function, and then light suddenly reappeared, nearly as quickly as it had appeared. This startled the ugly creature, severely startled it, for it was caught trying to sneak up on him. It was easily within reach of his sword. "Fool," Tarrin chided as he skewered the monster on his weapon, driving the blade up and into its chest. The Demon gurgled incoherently, and then staggered backward off the blade and collapsed to the ground. Its body began to decompose into that horrid black sludge, smoking and sizzling on the grass and the ground, sending up fumes of toxic smoke.

  But those two were just the first of them. Two more Demons were trudging towards them, and a vulture-headed third was in the air, flying just ahead of them. All three of them looked to be in rather good condition. The vulture-headed one had no visible wounds, carrying a guisarme built for its twelve span tall frame that was stained with blood. The other two were both those frog-headed Demons, smaller than the vulture one, but more solidly built and looking remarkably uninjured. What happened to the gauntlet they would have had to run to reach him? Tarrin would tangl
e with a single Demon, given the sword, but not even he would try to stop three uninjured Demons at the same time. He took a few frantic steps back towards the icon, his mind racing and his heart speeding up in his chest as he saw an undefeatable enemy advancing on the courtyard. Where was Shiika? He needed her help right about now!

  His heels hit the edge of the fountain. He couldn't back up any further. Where was Shiika? Where were the Cambisi? Where were those damned Wizards and Priests? Sorcery and Druidic magic wouldn't affect a Demon, and he couldn't fight three by himself! His mind raced as he considered all the possibilities. He could try to blow them away with wind; they couldn't be harmed by magic, but they were still subject to the application of physical force. It could do them no harm, but it could very damn well pick them up and hurl them out of the courtyard. That would give the others time to put some wounds on these three.

  Yes, that would work. It wouldn't hurt them, but it would buy him some time, maybe split them up so he could deal with them one at a time. He raised his arms out to his sides and prepared to weave together the flows to do it, but then he saw his shadow on the ground before him, a shadow cast by his body interposed between the ground and the light emanating from the icon. The light of the Goddess, his Goddess, shining her power upon him to bolster him, to reassure him, to remind him that she was with him.

  Or was it?

  Tarrin hesitated, realizing that he had made a fundamental, elemental blunder. He'd even thought it several times, and had never made the connection. Priest magic affected Demons. And the katzh-dashi were the Priests of Niami, the Goddess of the Weave.

  Whenever you need me, I will be there. All you need do is ask, and I will give, the Goddess had told him once, long ago.

  Don't experiment, my kitten. My constitution couldn't take it. The clue that had made him realize that he could use Druidic magic. He had completely forgotten the fundamental reason she said it. To not experiment with Priest magic.

  And him, the fool, had even learned some of the Priest magic used by the katzh-dashi, and hadn't thought that since he wasn't technically mortal, he could go beyond that! All it required was the blessing of the Goddess!

  He threw the sword down in disgust, a move that surprised the three Demons that stood against him. The Goddess hadn't been shining her light to scare the Demons, she'd been doing it to make him understand!

  Alright, I'm a thick-headed fool, Mother, he thought inwardly. What must I do?

  There came, of all things, a silvery laugh in reply. All it takes is faith and belief, my kitten. Ask, and I shall provide what you need. The words will come to you of their own volition.

  Faith and belief. Those were no problem. He believed in his Goddess, he had faith in her power, he loved her. He stared at th three Demons and words did indeed simply come into his mind, strange words in some language long forgotten by the world. Those words definitely seemed to have meaning to the Demons, for they suddenly recoiled from him, recoiled from the glowing icon of the Goddess. He was aware of a massive surge of magical power flowing directly from the Goddess, a power unlike Sorcery yet related somehow. This did not come from the Weave, it flowed directly from the Goddess, from wherever her real being existed, which was some place beyond his imagination. This was a direct blessing of her power, akin to the power she had used to smite Val not an hour before.

  He grabbed his amulet and held it before him. "In the name of Niami, Goddess of magic, I abjure ye, creatures of darkness!" he thundered at them in a voice that seemed to make the very air quiver, a voice charged by the power the Goddess poured into him. In that moment, he was a living extension of the Goddess, had been entrusted with a tiny fraction of her power, which was still enough to make the Demons before him tremble in fear. "Begone to the pits that spawned ye, or face the wrath of the Goddess!"

  They stared at him in shock and horror, but then they squealed in pain when the amulet around Tarrin's neck flared with intense light, a light that seared and burned at the Demons' eyes and flesh. They turned and fled from the light of the amulet, but by then it was too late. The light flared again, and then the bodies of all three of them simply evaporated into a misty vapor, which itself disappeared from view.

  Far to the southwest of Suld, far beyond Wikuna, a sudden bar of shining light suddenly erupted beyond the horizon. It was only visible to the fish and whales in the sea, shining with a radiance that made the sun seem dim, sending great light out over the trackless ocean. It flared thus for a long moment, and then faded from sight. But the sudden release of magical power exhibited by that display rushed away from its source like ripples over a pond, ripples through the air, ripples through the Weave. Travelling away from it.

  Tarrin sighed, feeling alot of his strength wane as the light of the amulet and the icon both waned away. He understood what had happened. He had called upon the Goddess for help, and she had directly provided it by banishing the three Demons back to the Abyss. He had used the spell of Banishment.

  Finally, the Goddess said to him radiantly. You have finally accepted what you are, my kitten. I'm glad I didn't have to hit you over the head with it.

  "I, I never really considered it," he admitted contritely, blushing and abashed. "Are there any Demons left?"

  No. Those were the last three you need worry about. The Wizards and the Cambisi are currently dispatching a rather troublesome Nalfeshnee, that's why they couldn't aid you here.

  "What's happening out there?"

  It is house to house fighting, she replied. The Wizards managed to break the Ward, and the Goblinoids have rejoined the battle. But they paid for it in blood, for Jenna allowed them to break the Ward and struck them down while they were busy undoing her work. The Goblinoids are part of the battle, but the Sorcerers can now fight them without countering the enemy Wizards.

  Tarrin considered that. That put the advantage firmly with them. The Goblinoids wouldn't last long without Wizards there to force the Sorcerers to concentrate their attention on them. Sorcerers couldn't weave spells and actively disrupt Wizard magic at the same time, it was one or the other. Jenna could do it, as could he, but she had been facing a vastly greater number of Wizards, it probably took all her attention to counter them all, and consumed all the resources of her Circle to do it.

  The Centaurs and Selani have the invasion contained in a fifty-block section around the east gate, she added.

  "What about Kravon, and that Mary-lith?"

  Marilith, she corrected. They survive. The Marilith is commanding the assault. Kravon is one of the few magicians left alive on their side. Kitten, you aren't needed here any longer. Now that you have accepted my power, I can use you to protect my icon myself. All I needed was a true Priest, and now I have you.

  Tarrin flushed slightly. He was still a little embarassed that it had taken him so long to realize that. He was about to say something else, but something of tremendous power flowed through the Weave, an echo of some immense use of magical power. It chilled his blood, froze his soul, to feel something so powerful. And it was but an echo of the true power that had spawned it! He stopped dead in his tracks, and turned impulsively in the direction from which it came.

  Wherever the wave of magical power passed, any who had the aptitude to use magic, be him Priest, Wizard, Sorcerer, or Druid, felt its passing, felt it in the marrow of his or her bones. And as one, they all turned in the direction from which it came, unsure what it was, but knowing it was something of great power. Even the Sorcerers and Wizards locked in combat at Suld stopped what they were doing and turned southwest, turned towards the origin of that power. Some of those that knew what it was rejoiced. Others that knew it for what it was were consumed with fear or dread, knowing what it meant.

  It was the end. Or, possibly, the beginning.

  "What was that?" the four awake beings in the courtyard asked simultaneously, Jasana to her mother, Jesmind to Miranda, Miranda to herself, and Tarrin to the Goddess. As one, all four of them had turned in the direction from which it had co
me.

  That, my kitten, is what I hoped would not come so soon, the Goddess sighed. Tarrin, that was the Firestaff.

  Tarrin paled, his ears rising up to point towards the statue.

  It has revealed itself to the world. Now, my kitten, now things get very serious.

  Tarrin was stunned. No wonder it could make someone a god! That power had been incredible! And it had revealed itself! He realized that from that wave, he could tell the general direction in which it rested. That meant that any magician with a ship was going to be sailing off into the western seas, searching for the location of the Firestaff. But where they would flounder around, Tarrin and his friends knew the way there. It meant that they were going to be running into quite a few challengers for the Firestaff out on the open ocean.

  "Papa, what was that?" Jasana asked as she and Jesmind approached him warily, ready to sprint back to the corner if another Demon appeared.

  "It's safe now," he told them, wearily. "Miranda, could you help us carry Jula back to the Tower?"

  "Is it safe?" Miranda asked.

  "I was told it was," he replied.

  "Then come over here. I'm not carrying her over to you, you know."

  "What just happened, my mate?" Jesmind asked. "I felt...something. Just on the edge of my senses."

  Tarrin remembered that Jesmind had minor Druidic ability. It was enough for her to sense that. He padded over to Jula with them following him. "The Goddess showed me how to banish the Demons," he explained. "That's why they disappeared, and the Goddess told me they were the last ones. That magic you felt was the Firestaff," he said grimly. "It's revealed itself, just like the Goddess said it would."