Remnant Pages Spearhead

by J. B. Kleynhans

  ‘And he has been practicing his arts relentlessly for over a century,’ said Cid.

  ‘There is that,’ said Lidayel.

  ‘Is there any chance he could have corrupted Stelinger, you know, like some kind of new spell that makes him look like he’s still in control?’ suggested Alex.

  Lidayel shook his head. ‘No, Arumcas likes his closest servants to maintain their brain faculties for the simple reason that being sentient is so much more effective than being manipulated. As is the case with the Shadow Priests, their working minds allow them to excel in magic where Fallen cannot.’

  ‘Tis the reason the Fallen are often a clumsy enemy,’ said Vanapha.

  ‘Not when you face them head-on and they have the numbers,’ said Brunick.

  ‘And what they lack in coordination they make up with relentlessness; pain and fatigue is a notion wasted on them,’ said Cid.

  ‘I would say that if Stelinger is working under the command of Arumcas then it is by his own choice,’ said Lidayel conclusively.

  ‘That is, he thinks it’s his own choice,’ said Vanapha.

  Lidayel nodded. ‘Arumcas, even without his magicks, has shown himself to be a master manipulator as we’ve seen with the Reavers; they seem to be bred and nurtured to follow his will blindly.’

  ‘It all leaves a bad taste in my mouth though. I’d never thought Lanston would suffer a disgrace like this. I didn’t even think Stelinger would ever do something like this,’ said Brunick, disgust showing in his face.

  ‘Yet we should all remember that there is a slight chance that Stelinger is not at fault here, maybe not deliberately anyway,’ said Cid.

  He was met with incredulous stares from everyone and Brunick actually gave a cynical bark.

  ‘Why are you defending him? He hates you even more than you hate him,’ said Alex.

  ‘I’m defending Commander Bennam…’ said Cid, suddenly struck by Bennam’s death; it was strange though that he struggled to convince himself that the old Commander’s actions had any merit at all. ‘Bennam would not have chosen Stelinger if he didn’t think he would be a great Commander.’

  ‘Well I have long since made peace with the idea that Bennam screwed up on this one Cid. He should’ve made you Commander whether Stelinger is a traitor or not.’

  Cid sighed. ‘If we cannot succeed at Jacanta, then… well, you guys should be fine. As for me, if I cannot win this war then I would rather die in it.’

  ‘Don’t talk horseshit Cid, you’re better than going pitiful on all of us,’ said Brunick.

  ‘You’re our captain and all of us have a stake in this. You just keep at leading and we’ll put this war away in no time,’ said Alex, throwing some stones to seem casual. ‘And seriously, the Teritua story is getting old, I can’t wait to see how this one turns out!’

  Cid chuckled.

  The campfire had been reduced to a mound of coals. They cut a few prime pieces of meat from the buck and let it grill on their makeshift rotisserie. No spices and no salt tonight, so the meat was bland. Yet as always it was a solid meal and that went a far way to keep up the travellers' strength. It wasn’t long after eating that they all settled down for the night, as the fire also withered into nothingness.

  Chapter 33

  One of the Masons

  Cid woke, his eyes sore and dried from the canyon winds. The sound of rocks crunching under boots made him snap upright with his sabre coming out. He rarely slept without it anymore.

  ‘Easy, it’s only me,’ said Vanapha in response to the lick of steel as it left its sheath near her ankle.

  Cid noticed her hair was wet and tied up, her scent surprisingly perfumy.

  Cid grunted, putting the sabre away and rubbing at his eyes. ‘Early riser are you?’

  ‘Actually, there’s a spring just down the trail and I never pass up a chance to clean up. You should try it every now and then,’ said Vanapha mockingly.

  Cid blushed and smiled. Being in war didn’t allow one much hygienic outings and right now Cid and company were as grimy as they were likely to get without participating in bloodshed.

  He looked at the other men, sprayed out and sleeping obstinately. Even Lidayel, who had seemed well groomed at first, was looking ragged and unkempt, oil build-up evident in his long strands of hair. With the presence of a lady, albeit she a warrior, and seeing how the other men looked, Cid was inclined to agree.

  ‘Hmm, I think we all might take your suggestion seriously,’ said Cid, rising.

  Cid took out his simple cloth cloak, intending to dry himself with it. He set off alone down the trail without pause, suddenly yearning for the water.

  It was the second hour of the morning, Cid monitoring the sun thoughtfully.

  ‘Much better,’ announced Alex as he joined them back at the campsite, still shaking his hair dry with his fingers.

  ‘Brunick?’ asked Lidayel.

  ‘Still scrubbing away, he has a lot to wash,’ said Alex laughingly.

  Cid was standing with his back to them, turning to the horizon to the north.

  ‘Two days until we reach Jacanta,’ said Cid loudly.

  ‘We’ll hit the Basin before that. The army is at least a day behind; we should be able to scout out the situation thoroughly before the battle,’ said Alex, who was starting to pack his things.

  ‘The army is likely to send out their own scouts far out today though, seeing that my sisters and I did not return to report,’ said Vanapha.

  ‘You’re right, but we shouldn’t have much trouble avoiding them,’ said Cid.

  ‘I wonder if Stelinger ever considered-’

  ‘Brunick!’ interrupted Vanapha in alarm.

  Cid whipped around on the spot, but saw no sign of the man.

  Vanapha was already on the trot, her bow in her hands, escaping their enclosure of rocky fences like a bounding hare to ignore the lethargy of the trail.

  ‘Come on, Brunick is still at the spring, Vanapha has seen something!’ Lidayel supplied.

  Cid hurried to follow, grabbing his spear and finding himself running on Alex’s heels. By the time they made it onto the trail he could see Vanapha far ahead of them, sprinting towards the waters. Twenty paces later Cid could see what Vanapha had seen.

  Brunick, half dressed, was already outside the pool. His figure though was tensed and poised, dark shapes closing in on him.

  Shadowlings!

  Brunick had the mind to take his axe along, yet the sight could not be more horrifying as Cid knew that Brunick alone had no chance against that many of them.

  Brunick was buying time though, manoeuvring himself all around the pool edge, his eyes squinting for any sign of movement from the shadows. They did not entertain a fair fight, streaking suddenly from nowhere, in a whirl of black smokes like a cloak, daggers flashing, and Brunick could but turn in a defensive effort, the creature already gone the other way before he could offer any riposte.

  Brunick knew what he had to do; spacing his hands wide over the shaft of the axe, for the moment only allowing himself short cutting strikes in order to better defend himself until he was reinforced by the others.

  Vanapha came within a comfortable firing distance, jumping on a small solid rock for a good vantage and let loose. A shadowling screamed in agony as the arrow hit it in the spine, going down, and the shadowy magic left him as he died, the Fallen scout’s body very human in death. The sudden uproar however triggered the other shadowlings, making them sense that time wasn’t on their side any more, and like one now they charged, encircling Brunick’s figure like a pack of dogs. At this sight Cid sprinted as fast as he could, overtaking Alex. Still a distance away though he could do nothing but will Brunick on to survive somehow.

  Brunick cleaved horizontally, forcing space as he ripped through a multitude, their projectile-like movements coming to a sudden halt as the host body suffered mortal wounds.

  More came on a delayed rush, haunting Brunick with attacks too fast, the Mason seemingly taking fatal cuts. He
landed his axe into the belly of one, but the weight of the dying shadowling carried the axe out of his grip.

  Pressing on Brunick rolled out of the ambush, regaining his feet and his axe in unison, spun, and then met a shadowling vaulting from an outcropping in the air with the double blades coming in overhead. The creature came through cleanly decapitated, its headless body slamming the earth in a lifeless heap.

  Vanapha crucially shot down one more without error, the arrow speeding faster than anything else to pierce neck and throat.

  Brunick continued to retreat inch by inch without turning, waiting for back-up.

  Vanapha fired another arrow, soon followed by one of Alex’s who had caught up. Two shadowlings went down, one dead and the other wounded in the back. Cid was far out ahead of them.

  Ten paces…

  Desperately Cid wrenched himself forward, aiming his spear and plunging it into a shadowlings side, the pain overpowering the creature and lifting it from its feet before being driven into the ground. Cid had his own taste of the shadowling’s stealth then, one emerging unnoticed, ignoring Brunick and leapt at Cid in turn.

  Cid did enough to avoid its blades, and then tried to grasp the creature, to pin its arms. Even with his arms wrapped around it he wasn’t ever sure whether these men were corporal while the magics lingered on them.

  It felt real enough, for a second at least, before it somehow twisted out of Cid’s hold, aiming its blades to Cid’s belly.

  His breath caught in his throat.

  An explosion ensued, first the blinding light and then an instant later the combination of heat and concussive force. Cid tilted and was swept from his feet, assuming the shadowling was experiencing much of the same. Ears ringing and mind flailing Cid sure hoped that whatever magic Lidayel was using that it was under control.

  Momentum flung his body to tumble down the slope towards the pool, the tiny sharp rocks inherit to the water bank a cruel buffer. A tormented howl pierced Cid’s deafness and told him that Lidayel’s spell had found its mark. He halted his roll forcibly with elbows and knees, and blinked profusely to clear up his vision, witnessing the instant before the shadowling hit the water, tumbling much like he had, yet engulfed in flames. It crashed into the pool, its figure disappearing in a sudden upsurge of steam.

  Its burned carcass surfaced subtlety moments later, motionless.

  Cid breathed deeply, his mind not understanding how they had survived - how Brunick had survived! He looked back at Lidayel, raising his hand in acknowledgement to the mage, who seemed ever more pleased with himself.

  ‘So much for bathing,’ said Brunick jokingly, wallowing back into the water to wash the blood from his chest. None of it seemed to be of his own however.

  Cid was astounded. He had seen it with his own eyes; how the shadowlings had cleaved and slashed at Brunick. He imagined that Lidayel had somehow shielded Brunick, yet sure enough there were many angry red lines across his arms and chest as though he had been whipped, but there was no blood and no wounds.

  He should be dead!

  Cid rose on unsure legs, closing in on Brunick, the ringing in his ears stubborn.

  ‘Brunick, what… how in the world-?’

  Brunick looked down at his own body, examining the scars, unimpressed.

  There was a silence of expectation, everyone now staring.

  ‘Alright, I might as well tell you,’ said Brunick reluctantly.

  ‘Tell them or I will,’ said Vanapha, ‘no point hiding it.’

  Brunick looked at Vanapha, flicking his eyes to Lidayel, Alex, and then locked onto Cid, knowing he owed the truth to him more than anyone.

  ‘I am a Stoneskin,’ said Brunick, as though it was something to be ashamed of.

  Even Alex had not managed to comment and Brunick knew this was one of the rare occasions he would stun the trailblazer into silence.

  He was however surprised to see Cid smiling, shaking his head, and on the verge of laughing.

  ‘What is it?’ he asked defensively.

  ‘All these magicks and fables are catching up to me!’ he laughed in relief. ‘But really, I’m just glad you survived, and now I finally understand why you’re in the army, and not playing ball…’

  A soldier would go through his career tethered to the fears of knowing how fragile his own body is to the merciless weapons crafted by other men. Brunick was different and had a gift, a gift any soldier venerated, a gift that made Brunick resistant to even the most devastating of physical onslaughts.

  The condition was magical in nature, this much the fable explained, and thus disqualified him from playing Bajural since mystics were strictly prohibited in any form in the league. It did however make Brunick an almost perfect warrior, one who could go into battle without fear.

  Stoneskin; a legacy, a myth even. One Cid had not believed in till now. Here he was, his friend Brunick, carrying that legacy on his own body. They were moving slowly forward, still in the grips of what had happened, talking it out.

  ‘How long have you known?’ asked Cid.

  ‘It started when I returned to the army four years ago, just before our expedition to Teritua, remember?'

  ‘Yes, you were away with your fellow Masons for awhile, did something happen that made you change?’

  ‘No, turns out it’s a natural process among my folk. Not everyone is endowed of course, still kinda of a big deal among us if you are. We keep it secret for the most part, it’s simpler that way, you know? The whole thing’s got something to do with the Greathir moon as well, it’s some kind of “reciprocation” they called it between Mason and our patron moon.’

  ‘You felt it?’ queried Cid.

  ‘Hell yes! When it first started it was itchy and tight and uncomfortable. Ever since though I’ve felt my strength increase and my skin and muscles have grown harder and harder by the year. You have no idea how much stretching exercises I have to do just to keep myself limber,’ confessed Brunick.

  ‘You won’t turn into a statue will you?’ asked Alex, finally finding his quip.

  Brunick laughed loudly, shedding some of the tenseness he had carried the last few minutes.

  Cid had never seen the big man so careful on a subject, or so embarrassed by anything.

  ‘So how many people know about this?’ asked Cid.

  ‘Only my brethren. How did you know, Vanapha?’ asked Brunick.

  ‘I know more of your kind than most, but I realized in full when I shot at you the other day and my arrow didn’t wound you,’ said Vanapha.

  Cid nodded, now understanding.

  ‘Gee, so you're invulnerable,’ stated Alex.

  Brunick shook his head. ‘Magic can beat me,’ casting a glance at Lidayel, ‘and there is something else too… Cid give me your spearhead.’

  Cid complied, detaching the headpiece blade and handing it to Brunick. The big man took it and made a delicate show of slicing his own hand, just nicking it enough for some blood to show.

  Absurd as it was Cid expected nothing to happen, yet Mindevhier effortlessly gashed Brunick’s palm, bloodying his hand and wrist.

  ‘Is this what you meant when you said that only I can beat you in a fight?’ asked Cid.

  Brunick nodded, as Lidayel took his hand to heal the shallow wound in stride.

  ‘And here I was thinking you valued my skill,’ said Cid.

  Brunick laughed.

  ‘That is no ordinary spear,’ said Vanapha, impressed, ‘according to Stelinger it’s made from the same metal as his sword.’

  ‘My brethren told me of Hethellean, it’s possibly the rarest of metals and as a honed weapon can harm even us Stoneskins. I deducted that Mindevhier’s blade must be crafted from Hethellean when Cid accidentally cut me last year when we were ambushed on the border,’ said Brunick.

  ‘Yes, I remember the day,’ said Cid thoughtfully.

  ‘I'm familiar with Hethellean as well,’ said Lidayel looking up from Brunick’s hand, ‘if my academic memory serves the metal is magic-resist
ant and can cut right through Calophrites just like it does with Brunick’s skin. It also requires the best of forges to craft them effectively,’ he finished.

  ‘And you’re saying Stelinger is wielding a Hethellean sword?’ asked Cid at the Valkyrie.

  Vanapha nodded, ‘worse than that, my sister Claire came in contact with the sword in order to track you down, and she suspected it to be a weapon of Ruin.’

  ‘A possessed blade?’ asked Alex in alarm.

  ‘A common misconception that is, possessed is not the most apt term. Ruin weapons bond with their owners, man and weapon mutually growing stronger through interaction of thoughts and sensations,’ said Vanapha.

  ‘Are Hethellean weapons and those of Ruin different from each other?’ asked Cid.

  ‘Ruin weapons are Hethellean weapons released by a Summoner, just like a Summoner releases the potential of a human mage,’ said Lidayel.

  ‘Weapons are but one possibility of Hethellean. Devices and machines that can pierce or resist magic would revolutionize warfare once more,’ said Vanapha.

  ‘I would like that though, going into battle without fearing the Priests’ magic,’ said Alex.

  They continued their talk as they wandered forward.

  Cid’s mind however began reaching for that very letter he had received;

  Destinian smithies… new weapons… binding process…

  Had someone redirected that letter purposefully to warn him?

  Cid decided not to doubt the matter. Given what was happening he had to assume something was afoot and that it was larger than what he could grasp at the moment. He had to be decisive and he needed facts. Even more now became his drive to reach Jacanta.

  A conspiracy formed in his mind; one that would explain what Stelinger had been up to all along.

  Chapter 34

  Flight

  Early in the morning Elmira was ready. Again, like the time she had travelled with Alex to Taverka, she felt the thrill of breaking loose from the life her family and status designed for her. She manoeuvred quietly around the house, gathering some last supplies for her trip, always finding some more room in her pack. The Alder stone as the Ranger had named it, was wrapped up and tucked away safely as well.