by R. M Garino
The quickness with which the woman spun away to examine the field was almost as satisfying as the shrulks getting chopped to pieces below her. Almost. Focusing her attention on the contest, she allowed herself to relish the vicarious shedding of thickening blood.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE
Change of Tactics
Arielle drew deep to resist the pull of fatigue. She had lost count of how many waves had descended upon them. All she knew was that the circle she was part of kept shrinking, pulling them all closer and closer together. Caradoc and Darien had fallen within moments of each other. Ossian fell blocking Enid’s back. Demona had crashed seconds after Denuelle received a wicked slash across her belly. The fool woman had jumped to the other’s aid without thinking to watch her own back. She’d not seen how the others had gone down. A quick glance around her showed her all that were left. She and Angus remained, as did Nessah, Gwen, Thomlin, and Enid. All of them were bleeding from numerous wounds, but were still standing. She felt Angus’ fatigue paralleling her own, and she spared him a glance. His face was set in a grim mask, and she felt his determination as if it were her own.
“Time to change tactics,” Gwen said. “There’s not enough of us to hold the circle.”
“We can’t go off on our own,” Enid said. “They’ll pick us off in seconds.”
“We won’t last much longer this way,” Gwen said, as if challenging the other woman.
She felt Angus grow still beside her.
They told us to use what we have been taught, he sent her. But we haven’t done that yet.
Yes, we have, she sent as another series of coughs sounded through the valley.
Angus dropped his sword to the ground, and drew the small axe and short sword from his belt.
Hammer and Trenton have taught us two differently, he sent her. We haven’t used any of that training and knowledge yet.
Arielle gasped as the realization dawned upon her. They had been fighting with steel alone, trusting their fate to the strength of arms. There was so much more that they could be doing. Angus drew upon the flows beneath them a heartbeat before she did, and she felt his sin’del expand within her as well as beside her. She had never practiced these techniques with him, as per Trenton’s injunction. But he had told them to use what they’d learned to defend themselves. So she was not breaking any rules.
The first shrulks that rushed from the shadows burst into flames and fell to ash before they could so much as cough. The valley shuddered with the grinding of stone as Arielle followed Angus with her own attack.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR
So Long to Realize
“What in the seven hells are they doing?” one of the Mala’kar yelled as the magical fury erupted beneath them.
Thenaria did not bother commenting on what was obvious to all of them. The children were using all the skills they had learned to survive the test.
You knew this would happen? Brocco sent her.
Of course. She offered him a smile to take the sting from her thoughts. I’m just disappointed it took them so long to realize it. I had higher hopes for them.
The Lord Procreator chuckled in response and hugged her.
“What is that?” Endeara screeched, pointing at the space between the children. Even as they danced about the field, swinging their magics with the enthusiasm of amateurs, a silver-white cord stretched between them.
And there it is, Thenaria thought, plain enough for everyone to see. Judging from the shocked reactions of everyone around them, however, they were not yet ready to accept.
“They have linked their abilities for the sake of the combat,” Thenaria said.
“It is a simple enough procedure,” Chrysies added. “A first year Magi could do it. Angus has been doing things of this ilk for decades.”
“They will be fine afterwards,” Thenaria said. “It will not have any lasting effects.”
The statements caused a general wave of relief. If the Matriarch and Heir said it, then it must be true. They were, after all, the absolute authority of all things magical.
Well played, Thoreau sent them. That should hold most of them for now, but Endeara is a suspicious one. She sees plots where there are only smiles. If she believes one of her pups is being short changed she will become fierce. Endeara has already spoken to Arielle’s parents about the children’s relationship. She wanted to know what they were doing about it, and where her own son fits in.
Has she approached Arielle?
No, Thoreau sent. I do not believe so. She would be rabid indeed if she had.
Then I will disabuse her of whatever notions she has, Thenaria sent. And put the rabid dog down if need be.
As you say, Matriarch, the Commandant sent with a mental bow.
She refocused her attention to the children below her. Two more of their number had fallen, but Endeara’s other pup and Talon’s nephew still held their own. Angus and Arielle, however, were a sight to behold. They complemented each other perfectly, as if they were engaged in an elaborate dance, each taking their turn leading. Their movements were fluid, giving testament to their Areth’kon training. The shrulks had the numerical advantage, but it was blunted by the magics the children wielded. They’d begun healing themselves as they fought, although she doubted they knew what exactly they were doing. They were acting on instinct.
The field was littered with carcasses, many of them crushed and burned as well as cut. Even the pause between waves did not stop them. Gavin would be impressed at the expertise his former pupil displayed. He was quick with his constructs, and Arielle was just as quick in learning what she was shown. By the time the twentieth wave was upon them, it was destroyed almost in its entirety before ever reaching them. In similar fashion the twenty-first wave fell, and the twenty-second, and the twenty-third.
Thenaria regretted that she had not claimed a prize should she win the wager.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE
Always Time for Humor
Angus’ eyes throbbed and his limbs felt like leaden weights. Despite the constant influx of energy from the earth, as well as that which they drew from each other, they were both beyond exhausted. They would not be able to hold much longer. When had Thomlin fallen? It was not long after Gwendolyn had gone down, he knew, but he could not remember much aside from the yell his cousin had issued before he was taken from the fight in a burst of light.
It was just the two of them now. The bodies of the shrulks made it hard to see down the valley. Piles of burning beasts cast wicked, elongated shadows along the canyon walls as new ones entered the killing field. They were amassed high in places, low in others, forming easy conduits for the shrulks to move through. He had forgotten whose idea it had been to deepen the channels, giving the beasts routes of access that they determined.
I don't know how much more I can take, Arielle sent. Her voice was as clear in his mind as his own thoughts, and she was just as tired. If she had ever doubted his assertion that working magic could be just as exhausting as the most sadistic physical training an Elc’atar could devise, she no longer did.
Me either, he sent. Each wave is larger than the one before, and they’re coming quicker. We’ve no time to construct a decent defense.
So what do we do?
We have to seal it.
But it’s a captive breach. Trenton controls it. It will only close when we fall.
Then it won’t be open too much longer.
Is this really the time for humor?
It’s always time for humor. If not, we start screaming.
What do we do?
Angus did not respond. He was out of ideas. The only thing he had not tried was the Satyagraha, and he did not know if he had the strength for it. An idea, an innate understanding borne of their exhaustion, flourished in his mind and Arielle’s simultaneously. He reached for her hand as she reached for his.
A wall of light surrounded them, just as the next wave of shrulks emerged from the tunnels of carcasses.
CHA
PTER EIGHTY-SIX
Aesari
A pillar of light erupted from the valley floor, blinding the witnesses upon the walkway. The sudden explosion staggered even Thenaria, although her physical eyes sensed nothing. A rush of wind filled the canyon, buffeting them away from the protective wall. The disorientation passed, but Thenaria needed to shield herself, as the light and wind continued unabated.
In the belly of the canyon, floating in the center of the pillar, were two glowing figures, larger than any she had ever before beheld, save only the Lo’ademn. Their hands were clasped, and each raised the other toward the beasts. The sky spit forth arcs of lighting, ripping the monsters to pieces and blasting them into the air. The wind battered the shrulks, tossing them head over heels and smashing them into the canyon walls. Bands of fire slithered through the currents of the wind, visible from the debris it picked up and carried along. The fire struck out at every available beast, leaving a withered, ashen husk that was lifted away with a gust.
It was not long before the shrulks stopped advancing, as if sensing the destruction that awaited them. But then the magics sought them out, striking them down. The outer ranks attempted to flee, crashing into those behind them in a storm of snapping jaws and slashing talons. The churning waves of death fell upon them in their confusion.
Silence descended, save the whistling of the wind as it surged around the vortex. The witnesses stood open mouthed and staring, struck motionless with the sense of awe at the power displayed before them. The figures in the light rotated on level with the spectators, toward where Thenaria and the Heads of the Houses stood. Angus and Arielle floated within the light, but they were grander, their potential made perfect and complete. The pair studied the gathered Lethen’al, and Thenaria let her arms fall to her sides as a sudden dread filled her. The silent examination weighed them all, judging them with emotional detachment.
SEAL THE BREACH! the figures commanded, their voices intertwined as if only one being spoke, the words assaulting the ears and minds of the listeners. They raised their hands, Arielle her right, and Angus his left, pointing to Trenton. THIS HAS PERSISTED LONG ENOUGH. THEIR PRESENCE WILL BE TOLERATED NO LONGER.
Trenton continued to stare, as did everyone else, at the apparition before them. Each recognized the vision of their former selves and knew what it was that they now saw.
A pair of Aesari floated before the congregation, complete and whole, no longer sundry and spilt. The next wave of shrulks entered the Menace, and without any apparent effort from the pair, the earth below the creatures ripped open and swallowed them whole.
SEAL THE BREACH! the pair repeated. The sound of the grinding stone carried throughout the valley as the fissure was sealed, entombing the beasts. The air about the spectators thickened, condensed in anticipation of a strike.
Thenaria called Trenton’s name, but he continued to stare transfixed. She pushed him aside and seized at the power he held. She severed the connection, and the multiple points of entry snapped shut.
The figures rotated away from them, and the pressure in the air lessened. With both hands clasped together, they stared at one another, ignoring everyone else. They descended, gliding back down to the earth with a slow, easy movement.
The light vanished as soon as their feet touched the ground, its departure pushing the pair apart with an audible thud. Angus and Arielle were thrown in opposite directions, lying sprawled upon the ground where they landed. The silence that reclaimed the valley was absolute.
Thenaria was the first to move, and she formed a ramp from the walkway to the valley floor by rearranging the structure of the rock as the children had done. The sudden, screeching of moving stone brought everyone out of their stupor, and a general exodus flooded down to assess the state of the children.
They both appeared to be asleep, with not a single mark marring their skin. All evidence of their ordeal had been erased from their forms, save a silver-white cord that stretched between them, linking the entirety of their sin’dels together.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN
Tremendous Shadow
The forest of Aklediem: Present day:
23 days until the Feast of Night.
“So that is why ye dinna fear the nasties,” Larria said as the Elder picked up his cup. He nodded, without really thinking about what he was doing. He had lost his terror of them a long time ago, but it was not inside the walls of the Gates. It had been after, he reflected. But he was not up to that part of the story yet. There was still more, much more to tell before he got to that.
“Sounds like The Village, ta me,” said McGregor, a middle-aged man. “Aye could swear that all the testing and practicing was what we did day and night when we was a’ training.”
“That it does, lad,” Josef said. “Aye trust there be a connection there ye have yet to tell us, Elder.”
The Elder stared down at the fire. “We have a ways to go before that.”
The Extipana auras shone with the excitement the tale promised.
“It be late, Elder,” Eleanor said, gathering up her granddaughter. “Thank ye for the tale tonight. May the Mother watch over yer dreams.”
“As with you,” he said. He stood, and bowed to her with his right fist pressed against the palm of his left hand. She was, after all, the wise woman of the village, and the gesture of respect was appropriate.
He bade them all a good night as they left his fire, and then he was alone again.
It had been so long since he had thought about the Menace. The memories, the sensations, the complete and utter connection he had experienced there were graven in his memory. Glimpsed through the new perspective the Temple provided him, though, he wished he could. The memory did not make other details any easier to understand. If anything, it made it harder.
How could things have changed to such drastic degrees, he wondered? He had spent over three hundred years by his count trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the events leading to his exile, but he was unable to discern the truth. Slipping his cloak over his shoulders, he scratched the leading edge of the scars decorating his face, and walked to the threshold of the encampment. Scouting helped when he finished the stories. The darkness helped him hide, and the silence comforted him. Nothing, however, could keep his brooding thoughts at bay. Not even the presence of his new allies, his new Pride, the creatures born of the Temple could fend them off. They did try, though.
He could feel them and their excitement at his arrival. By day, he belonged with the humans. But by night, he belonged with them.
A tremendous shadow detached itself from beneath a towering pine and moved toward him.
“How now, my friend?” the Elder whispered, and luxuriated in the comforting touch of fur beneath his fingers.
The story continues in
Angels of Perdition
Chaos of Souls Book II
And look for
Requiem's Reach
A Chaos of Souls Novella, Volume I.
Coming early 2019
Rmgarino.com
Glossary
Aesari (AH-sar-EE): An Angel of the Creator.
A’gist: The lo’el pastures in the Patresilen. This is an area set aside for the lo’el, where only those who are accepted by the pack are allowed to go. Each squad rotates through the A’gist during their tour of the Gates to determine who has the potential to try for Elc’atar.
Aklediem (Ah-klee-dee-um): The Great Forest outside Golan’s Pass, where the Prince El’Cain and his guard held the forces of Tarek at bay to secure the passage of the Lethen’al into the Patresilen.
Annii (ANN-eee): Magi who postulate that all souls are actually variants of the same soul, and that where these intersect is the Creator. She went further, to claim that the amalgam of these souls, this Over Soul, was the true form of the Creator, and as such, each element of creation was part of the Creator; there is no division between the creation and the Creator, no division between the living and the Divine.
Apostate: Tarek, Lo
rd of the Lo’ademn. Originally charged by the Creator to guard the tear in the veil of creation through which the renegade Aesari entered the Quain. He was called the Exile. However, as time passed and he grew to hate his exile, he corrupted his mission, and actively sought the destruction of the E’ine and the Lethen’al by conspiring with the Lo’ademn, who fought against them in the War of Heaven. He was banished from the Quain by Thenaria Tu’renthien.
Areth’kon (AH-reth-con): The Lethen’al Gathering of the Blades, a place for soldiers to train, to learn to defend, and gain mastery over their selves. To the Lethen’al, the soldiers are the blades. Here, they learn to fight, with their hands and feet, with a sword, and every other weapon imaginable. Every Lethen’al studies at the Areth’kon, for they will never again accept the role of the victim. After they have studied five decades at the mountain temples of the Vaults, they undergo a score of years in apprenticeship at the Gates of Golorath. These are the gates that separate their realm from the human world. After their apprenticeship, some soldiers choose to stay with the Areth’kon and perfect their arts of war. These are called Blades. Those who go further are called the Elc’atar Guard, the finest Blademasters in the world. Some go further, and transcend the need of the sword. These are the Bladeless Masters, the Mala’kar. Others choose to leave. If they are able, they will become Magi, the Keepers o’ the Lethen’al knowledge and magic. Others become Fiftanu, the Seers of the Lethen’al who bridge time and space within the confines of their minds. Others retreat to lead a life devoid of such trials and hardships. These are called Suixander, the Keepers of the earth. They tend the land, the histories, or the arts of the people. But everyone studies at the Areth’kon before they choose the path of their life. A Lethen’al farmer, a potter, a scholar can hold against a pack of shrulks in defense of his hearth and home.
