Through gaps in the dense brush, streaks of dull light shined in. It was off the path, but Vyra's curiosity pulled her towards them. She pushed into the off path brush, still under her veil from the night before. She inched her way closer to the source of the light. She felt disappointed when it was lamps filled with candles. Dozens of them surrounded a clearing.
Inside of the clearing were some thirty people. Most of them were talents that she recognized from the village, but two were different. They didn’t wear the armor of the monsters from the night before, but she didn’t want to risk getting too close yet. One of them spoke and gave them instructions, then began to ask questions in the mage’s language.
She continued forward, to the edge of the clearing. One of the people pointed a finger toward her and said something. The others turned looked with confused expressions on their faces. He shouted something and began to walk towards her. Another man followed close behind.
She stumbled back tripped. Vines wrapped around her. Thorns bit into her skin as she pulled away and tried to run. But as she did, she only became more tangled in thorny vines. The two men shouted behind her, but she was too panicked to understand them. She wanted to escape and everything she had on it. Even the scrapes gathered were numb as she walked through the thick undergrowth.
“She’s right there,” one of the men said. “Just follow her!”
“Through the brush?” the other asked.
“You’re a swordmaster aren’t you?” the first asked. “Just cut through it.”
“I still can’t see her, mage. I don’t want to cut into a kid.”
Mage. Of course, she had found the meeting place. She let out a heavy sigh of relief and dropped her veil. Vines and thorns grabbed at her from every direction and trapped her. She was thoroughly stuck. She stopped her struggle and waited to be cut out.
“Oh, look at that,” the man said, a sword appeared in his hand. “You weren’t seeing things.”
“She’s been standing there this entire time, Freedic,” he argued. “A ranger should have better vision than that.”
“Ex-ranger,” Freedic corrected him. “Besides, I truly couldn’t see her.”
“Oh,” she interrupted softly, “I’m a veil.”
“See, Forec,” he said. “I can’t see the invisible.”
“You should have noticed the branches being disrupted or the splatters of blood at least,” Forec said. “A veil then, you’re quite the rarity.”
“What are you doing in the woods anyway?” Freedic asked. “Talents were supposed to meet in the clearing.”
“I didn’t know...I’m not from this village,” she said. “My village was attacked last night. They’re all dead.”
It was strange to hear herself say the words. Stranger yet was that she didn’t feel anything while she said them. Everyone in her life was murdered in front of her, her home burned to the ground. She didn’t feel like it had happened. She didn’t feel any sadness. She wondered what it was she felt if it was anything at all.
“Attacked?” Freedic asked. “What happened?”
“These things came from the forest, took everyone away back to their camp,” she said. “They couldn’t see me because of the veil, but they found everyone else. Burned the entire village to the ground as they left. Only ashes remain.”
“Well, guess your story has been verified,” Forec said. “Come, girl, we’re bringing all talents to Krux Aev’then. You’ll be in good company.”
“I would, but I’m sort of stuck,” Vyra said and struggled again to get loose.
“Cut her out, Freedic,” he said.
“I’ll just untangle her, safer that way,”
As the man helped untangle her from the vines and pulled thorns from her, she gradually freed herself. She stepped into the clearing and let out a sigh of relief. She stretched her legs and back, pops and cracks came from both. She followed behind the two as they went back to the few gathered talents.
“This girl is a talent from a village that was destroyed,” Forec announced. “She’ll be going with you.”
There wasn’t a place for arguments. By the time he finished what he said, he opened a blue rift in the sky before him.
“Enter the rift and wait,” he said. “We’ll be right behind.”
As Vyra went to enter the rift, Forec extended an arm out to hold her back.
“You’ll be coming with me to answer questions from the High Mage,” he said. “And it seems to me like you’ve never visited Krux Aev’then before.”
“I haven’t,”
“The High Mage demands respect in everything,” he said. “Answer all her questions as best as you can, but otherwise do not speak. If you have to address her, you address her only as High Mage. To be safe, don’t make eye contact with her. This goes for you as well, Freedic.”
“I’m well aware of Insmith’s personality quirks,” Freedic said.
“Then make sure the girl doesn’t get herself into trouble,” Forec said. “You may go now.”
Vyra stepped through the rift, from the dimly lit forest clearing, she entered a dimly lit room. Gray stone made up everything in the room. Only the brackets that held torches which gave the little light the room had were metal. There wasn’t even a carpet in the cavernous room. As she looked around the room, she found it filled by hundreds of talents.
None of the other talents seemed nearly as confused as she did. Some of them looked around and smiled, almost nostalgic. Most seemed more annoyed than anything else. The room was frigid, and she wasn't dressed for it. The tatters of clothes she still wore were more summer dress than bundled for winter.
Behind her, she watched Freedic then Forec step from the rift which closed promptly after. Forec looked over the room and seemed to shudder once he saw how many people were in with him. Freedic looked at the walls and shuddered as well. Forec looked down at her and frowned.
“That won’t do,” he said and held his hand out, just before her face.
The torn scrapes and cuts that had scabbed over closed. Blood that had dried on her body sank into her skin. Fabric grew from her tattered clothes and started to mend until she was properly dressed again. Once fully mended, the blood stains disappeared into nothing.
Forec mage nodded to Vyra and began to walk away, Freedic followed. Vyra followed close behind and tried to keep up with them. It would have been easy to lose sight of the two in the mass of bodies. There was no chance she would find them again if they got out of sight.
They walked through a mess of hallways, some of which led to other identical hallways. Some led to stairways that led them both up and down. Vyra had completely lost her sense of direction after only a few sets of halls and began to rely on Forec. As confident as he acted, she wondered how it was even possible for a person to remember directions within this place.
Through the maze of hallways, they reached a door with guards who didn’t so much as a glance as they walked by. Behind that door was yet another bland hallway, which had a single door with two guards. Then another and another. After again another door—four in total—two guards stood in the middle of yet another similar hallway.
“Council Mage Forec,” one of the guards said. “The High Mage has been waiting for you.”
“I’ve brought two talents,” he said with a gesture to her and Freedic, “both with firsthand reports.
Forec opened the door and ushered the two talents in. He followed close behind. High Mage Insmith Crissing read from a book, her head leaned back and feet on her desk. She didn’t even glance up as the three entered her chamber. Forec gestured for the two talents to sit on the hard wooden chairs. He stood behind and rested his hands on the back of either chair. Insmith looked up and met his eyes for a second then sighed and put down her book.
“Who are these two?” the High Mage asked.
“Talents,” Forec said. “Both saw something first hand.”
“And you believe them?”
“The man is an ex-ranger,” h
e said. “The girl claims her village was destroyed by the same things he claims to have seen.”
“Is this true?” she asked, her gaze wandered between the two talents.
“Yes,” Freedic said. “Ex-ranger.”
“I watched my entire village get kidnapped. Then I watched each of them get executed. My mother included,” Vyra said.
“And you survived?” the High Mage asked.
“She’s a veil,” Forec interjected.
The girl called up her veil. Forec could see her, though she was somewhat transparent. She was hard to see, but clearly still there. Apparently, that was a unique trait, but he thought it might be useful to keep to himself.
“Fascinating,” Insmith said. “What is your name, girl?”
“Vyra,”
“Tell me your story,” Insmith said. “With every detail.”
Vyra spoke of what she saw in perfect detail. She described each of the strange armored men she encountered and followed. Then each of the deaths in as much detail as possible. She included the death of her mother ,which she recalled with sharp detail. Insmith nodded as she talked and took down notes as she went. She stopped the story on occasion to consult one of her many books. Books Forec recognized as written in the ancient tongues. She nodded along as Vyra finished her story and only looked once the girl finished.
“And you, ranger-boy?”
Freedic in turn, told his story with exact precision. There wasn’t quite as much to what he had been through, though, he was able to give a much more detailed description of the things. Insmith nodded along and asked him to repeat many of the reports he gave, from the shape of their armor to the layout of their tents and buildings. She wrote the descriptions down and read through paragraphs that matched them in one of her books. They matched each of his descriptions of their appearance, armor, and camp.
It was a terrible experience for Forec. He tried his best to keep up with the conversation but it was never long before his attention wandered off. It was a dreadful bore to listen to the stories he didn’t care about from people he didn’t know.
As Freedic described the creature he had killed, Insmith’s head snapped up. She asked details so specific that the ex-ranger couldn’t follow. When he began to stumble she provided a description for him and asked if it matched. He nodded. She stood and walked to her bookshelf. She ruffled through some then pulled a book a shelf and flipped through its pages and placed it down in front of Freedic.
“Is that the one?” she asked.
“Exactly,” he said. “Right down to the measurements.”
“Forec, would you look at this?” the High Mage asked.
Forec stepped toward the desk and looked over. The picture of the creature was identical to the one that he had seen on the wall. She flipped the book to the cover and glanced up at him.
“This is a copy from pre-history,” he said. “That drawing has to be nearly ten-thousand years old.”
“I’m concerned, Forec,” she said. “I worry that the mages do not quite understand what it is we are facing. The description that these two have given is almost identical to another race within this book. A warlike race that once threatened to take over both continents. Elves, a race that was supposed to have been killed in the ancient times, but only once they drew the ire of gods.”
“What does that mean, exactly?” Forec asked.
“If it is the elves, then history as we know it has been changed forever,” Insmith said. “If it isn’t, then something identical to them is attempting to take their place.
“Forec, I’m assigning the mages to prepare the talents to act as our army,” she continued. “They won’t know what exactly what it is for, but the army will be raised. Rather than giving you a full group of them, I’m holding you responsible for these two. They seem useful, and you probably won’t kill them.”
“High Mage, respectfully, I would rather not play a part in this,” he said.
“Fine, you’ll be personally responsible for these two and obeying all my orders,” she said. “Or I’ll kill you in the most painful way I can imagine.”
“Of course, High Mage,” Forec said through clenched teeth. After a few thousand years of life, he didn’t want to know the depths of her imagination.
The taste of blood began to fill his mouth. A warm, wet trickle came from his nose.
“You two are to obey his orders,” she said. “Within reason. Don’t listen to the oaf when he tells you to walk off the side of a mountain.”
“Yes, High Mage,” Freedic said.
“Okay,” Vyra nodded.
He saw a speck of red beneath the High Mage’s nose and reached up to his own. He felt wet warmth. More blood. His eyes locked with Insmith’s.
“It’s happening again,” Forec said. “Should we go and observe?”
“Go where exactly?” the High Mage asked. “You know where this rift is, Forec?”
“When we find out where the rift is,” he said. “Should we go and observe?”
“Are you dense?” she asked. “Have some patience, child. I will soon know where it is and take the appropriate action.”
“And until then?”
“We will wait. And after we have finished waiting, I will decide,” the High Mage said, her eyes narrowed. “Until the talents are prepared for battle, and I have found which mages will lead them in battle, we are powerless.”
“So we sit here and wait while the world burns?”
“The world has burned for thousands of years,” she said. “Until the fire reaches its highest peak, we shall wait.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Chapter 5
Norvance stepped through the rift in the King’s palace and returned to the wall. The King’s Hand followed a moment later. The meeting with King Pharris had gone as expected. He mocked and threatened Norvance and scoffed at the idea of an alliance with the mages. According to him, it was just part of their plan to exert control. There would be no support going to the wall. There was no need for any support because nothing would come. Ters had argued in Norvance’s defense, much to his surprise, but there was no way to convince the king.
The sun had reached its peak in the cloudless sky, its brilliant light upon the forest before them. Trees in the distance shook and fell, ever closer to the border. Whatever was in those woods was close now. Norvance grimaced as he recalled the beratement he had received from the king. Bitterness and disgust filled him.
“It will take an earth-shattering event before King Pharris moves,” Ters said. “But when it does, he will bring fire and fury to whatever is in there.”
“I fear that fire and fury will be on top of him before he has a chance to move,” Norvance said.
“Let me see if I can convince High Leader Sepherance to deploy additional forces,” Ters said and rubbed his chin. “Pharris won’t question him.”
The earth shook beneath their feet. Norvance steadied himself as Ters wobbled. Their eyes met. Norvance tackled the mage before he had a chance to move. A blast of wind shook the trees violently. Men on the wall flew into the air. Some crashed against the parapets behind. Others weren’t so lucky.
“Another rift,” Norvance said as he struggled to his feet. “You can see it over the trees.”
“Yes,” Ters said as he took Norvance’s hand. “That isn’t the mages, Norvance.”
“No shit, Ters,” Norvance said and pulled the King’s Hand up. “The question is what it is.”
“I’ve reports to make,” the mage said, his voice shook. “Have your chatter nearby.”
Ters opened a rift and disappeared through it. Norvance turned and began to take in the mess that was left on the wall. Some had been left untouched—those who stood behind parapets—but most weren’t so lucky. It had been more powerful of a surge of energy than the first. Many who hit parapets at the back of the wall nursed bruises and breaks, but some weren’t so lucky. He counted at least eight who laid in puddles of their blood.
He looked over the ba
ck edge of the wall to find more of his men splayed out on the grassland below. Some of them had started to stand to their feet, but many more were laid in unnatural positions.
Only half of his few hundred men were able to stand. Many of those who hadn’t been killed were injured, some severely. He would have to send them to medics, but even then there was little chance they would make it.
A clap of thunder boomed from the Warring Kingdoms. He turned to face it and only to see clear blue skies.
Forec stood with his eyes closed as the High Mage continued to question Freedic and Vyra. Forec blocked out as much of the conversation as he could, but some words still managed to slip into his ears. Without context, they didn’t mean much, but the constant reference of “elves” began to stick into his mind. He began to focus on the elf that both Ters and Vyra had described. In his mind, he could see it. The elf’s head turned and grinned, then winked at him.
His eyes shot open as sounds came from outside of the chamber. Voices came from outside of the room, and loud. He swore one of them sounded familiar.
“I don’t care if you were ordered by Avalyns himself,” a voice shouted from outside the High Mage’s chamber. “If you don’t let me through this damned door I’ll make my own.”
Most likely an empty threat, Forec thought. But he didn’t feel like being on the receiving end of whatever would tear the wall apart. He opened the door and saw Auverance’s King’s Hand red-faced, his mouth open to shout.
“Hello, Ters,” Forec said. “How can I help you?”
“By getting rid of these two bumbling idiots,” Ters said. “Another rift opened in the Warring Kingdoms.” His eyes glazed over and the color fell from his face. “And a rift has opened just outside of Quisen.”
“Damn,” Forec said. “You two, let the man through.” He turned to look into the chamber. “High Mage, we know where the rifts are.”
Ters walked into the chamber and took Freedic’s seat.
Homecoming (Homecoming Chonicles Book 1) Page 4
