The Nightstone

by Wil Ogden

  Silon went over to a large flat stone by the river. Charles had often used that stone to lie in the sun. Using his horn, Silon dug under and flipped it over. There were symbols carved in the other side. Charles had never seen them before but he could read them.

  “This marks the spot where Prince Kehet of the Unicorns both exited and entered this world.”

  Silon changed back into his human form. Charles had expected him to be naked but he had all the clothing he’d been wearing prior to taking Unicorn form. Charles followed, also changing to his human form. Chelle did the same.

  Silon ran his fingers along the symbols on the stone. “I carved this stone a little less than a thousand years ago. I was part of the Vulak hunting party where you were last seen. Our camp was setup here, though the river was a little shallower than.”

  “You knew I’d be back?” Charles asked.

  “No, you told me you entered the world at that stone,” Silon said. “That’s what we had come here to do, to see where you’d come from. And to hunt Begli, they were rampant in this area back then, pressing south from the mountains. This was still part of the Abvi kingdom of Grenlith back then. Relarch was a much smaller nation a thousand years ago.

  “I wasn’t born yet,” Chelle said. “I’m only three hundred years old. Relarch hasn’t changed in my lifetime.”

  “How old do Unicorns get,” Charles asked. Before anyone could speak, he knew the answer; it somehow appeared in his mind. “Thousands of years,” Charles said. “There’s really no upper limit.”

  “That’s it,” Silon said. “There are only a couple thousand of us, maybe ten. No one really knows. We’re terribly secretive; more so while you were gone.”

  “So, what do I do?” Charles said. “If I am Kehet, what can I do? What do I need to do?”

  “I don’t know everything, you’re not one to brag of your abilities,” Silon said. “Like all Unicorns you can heal with the touch of your horn, only a virgin may ride you, and you can sense when someone else is a Unicorn. And what did you mean by ‘if’? What is there to leave any question in your mind?”

  “I have a ring to change me and Kehet is a god,” Charles said.

  “I know nothing of the ring, but you are a god. You are Kehet,” Silon said. “I ran with you off and on for three thousand years. I never saw you do anything omnipotent. I’ve seen other gods create things from nothing and such, but not you. I know you’re a god; the other gods talk to you like you are one of them. I just think you’re a little different.”

  “Probably because he’s a Unicorn,” Chelle said. When they looked at her she explained, “Unicorns are magical creatures, but we cannot possess magical ability. There are no Unicorn mages or Tempests or Sorcerers. It probably has something to do with that.”

  “As good a theory as any.” Silon shrugged. “So, Your Majesty, can you really question who you are?”

  Charles thought about it. The thoughts seemed ridiculous. But it felt true. The evidence was hard to argue with. I am Kehet, he thought. He’d always thought it as a question before that, this time it was a statement.

  Kehet took his Unicorn form and led Silon and Chelle back to the camp of the Wandering Rose.

  CHAPTER 20: PANTROS

  They’d passed through three villages along the Abvian Highway without stopping. When they’d stopped the carriage at a one inn town called Whisperwillow, Sheillene seemed particularly happy and at the same time particularly sad. Pantros was the first out of the carriage, hopping to the ground, thankful to have the chance to stretch his legs. He helped his sister and Sheillene step down.

  “This is your home, isn’t it?” Tara said to the huntress as they walked from the carriage to the inn.

  “I am Sheillene of Whisperwillow,” Sheillene said. “But it’s been many decades since I lived here.”

  “Do I get to meet your family?” Tara asked.

  “Not today,” Sheillene said. “My mother lives with my sister in a cottage far to the north. We’re not really part of the town, but this is the closest town to our home. That’s probably why I’m not as happy as I could be for visiting home, I won’t actually have time to visit my home. Still, it will be nice to see a few friends in town and play for familiar faces, even if we are only staying long enough for a meal.”

  “We’re staying the night,” David said, catching up to them. “The drivers say there aren’t enough horses here to trade for.”

  “The inn is nice enough,” Sheillene said. “No running water, but clean. Faren, the proprietor is fair and offers food for both human and Abvi tastes. Don’t drink the local wine he offers though, it’s usually the vintages that weren’t good enough to transport and sell. Speaking of Faren…” Sheillene gestured to an Abvian man coming out the inn’s doors.

  “Sheillene?” The man asked. “What are you doing in a Relarchian Prince’s Carriage? Did you finally find a wealthy patron to keep you?”

  “Hush, Faren,” Sheillene said. “You know I live for the travel. The prince isn’t even with us; he just lent us the carriage. Our driver tells us you’re short on horses, but do you think you could spare one for a night?”

  “I could,” Faren said, “But you won’t be needing it. Your mother and sister are heading to Melnith, as most people are. It seems there have been sightings of Vulak raiding parties, and not just a few. There’s so many that the King has called for Veterans to rejoin the army until the Vulak are gone from our lands. Mostly they’ve been to the southeast and northwest. Your family farm should be safe, but why risk it. Behind the city walls is the safest place to be.

  “But you’re still here and still peddling bad wine on travelers,” Sheillene said.

  “Business is good when people are moving,” Faren said. “I’ll head to either Melnith or Fork if the Vulak are within ten leagues. I’m keeping my fastest horses at the ready.”

  “I’d thought the Abvi were not bothered by the Vulak. I thought they were only a human problem, aren’t they afraid of the Abvi,” Pantros said.

  “The Vulak are a perpetual threat to everyone,” Sheillene said. “No nation has completely cleansed their lands of the vile race. They hide in the lands too remote and too inhospitable by Human or Abvi standards. There are millions of them north of the mountains, in the plains and tundra. They breed twice as fast as humans and they celebrate war.”

  “But you’re encounters with Vulak are all in Relarch,” Pantros said. “Usually southern Relarch.”

  “Personally, yes. That’s where I spend most of my winters and winter is when the Vulak need to raid for food. But there are constant battles along the northern borders of all the civilized kingdoms from Enlith to Valencia. Given the choice, a Vulak would rather raid the Abvi lands than the Human lands. Abvi ears are trophies and humans, in all honesty, are better at war than the Abvi who generally value their own lives too much to takes risks in battle. Abvi will give ground until they have a clear advantage. Humans will hold difficult ground out of sheer stubbornness, and somehow, that seems to work for them.”

  Pantros rested his hand on the bell of his sword. It was a reminder of why the Abvi were less willing to engage in combat without a strong advantage.

  Sheillene then lowered her voice a little, as if she were telling a secret. “I’m probably the only Abvi that will admit that when it comes to war, humans are better at it. Vulak know this. Even the Abvi know this. So when humans started becoming a significant population in Teminev, the Abvi were willing to cede the territories with the longest flatland boundary to the Vulak lands. Relarch’s northern borders are mostly flat plains dotted with forts.” The nation of Melnith has a northern border of the Starshone River and the Whitecap mountains. We still get Vulak raids from the north, but not as often as Relarch.”

  Vulak raids were not something Pantros had ever had to worry about in Ignea. The city was isolated between the sea, the Backflow River, the volcano and the Valencian Peaks, which contained wild beasts far more threatening than Vulak. Those beasts neve
r approached the cities, though.

  “Could the Vulak be after the gem too?” Pantros asked the huntress.

  “It would have to be something like that if they’re as active as Faren says.” Sheillene said. “There’s a small Hunter’s Guild lodge here, they have ways to communicate quickly throughout the lands. I’ll see what they know. I’ll catch up to you inside.” She headed down the street and Tara went into the Inn. Pantros followed his sister.

  §

  The only people at the Inn were the people travelling with Pantros and Faren. Everyone else had gone, headed to one of the walled cities.

  “The Hunters are aware of hundreds of incursions by the Vulak, starting about four days ago,” Sheillene said. “So far none are more than fifty leagues into the country, but the numbers are large. The reports are either exaggerating or this is not seasonal raids, but a gathering army, and a large one at that. We need to head that way immediately. Faren is coming with us, so we get his horses for the next leg. After that, we may have to resort to drastic means such as pushing the horses beyond prudence and possibly stealing replacements from abandoned farms and inns.”

  “Will we make it?” Pantros asked. “Melnith is still two hundred leagues from here.” He’d been trying to map out the journey in his head. The distance he’d stated was mostly a guess.

  “A little more than that,” Sheillene said. “The towns between here and there are already evacuated. The Vulak forces are moving inward, but they are on foot and as slow as the slowest member of the group. We have an advantage in speed, though only a slight one. We should make it ahead of the Vulak with a couple days to spare.”

  David raised a finger then said, “I’ve had tours at the northern forts. I know Vulak strategies. There will likely be small forces made up of younger, more eager Vulak ahead of the others. We’ll probably have to fight a few of those. I’d say that Vulak do not fight with any honor, but it would be more accurate to say that the Vulak sense of honor is alien to us. They don’t attack unarmed people, but they expect the unarmed people to become slaves for a season, two if the first season is spring. Slaves are treated with respect, even by our standards, but they lose all their property. Armed folks will be killed and if they don’t die immediately they face torture before death, and then they might be eaten, and that likelihood increases with their apparent prowess in battle.”

  “So those of us who can’t fight would do better not to try?” Thomas asked.

  “If Vulak attack us, and you aren’t a very competent fighter, sit down, wherever you are, and wait for the fight to end,” David said. “As long as we win, you’ll be fine.”

  “The rest of us should wear armor,” Sheillene said. “I grabbed a few leather jerkins and some bracers from the Hunter’s hall. They’re in the carriage. I couldn’t find anything large enough for Marc.”

  Faren pointed to the inn wall, or something on the other side of the wall. “I have a tanned ox hide in the barn. We wouldn’t have time to make proper armor, but we could cut a hole in it for his head and then belt it and trim off whatever is in the way of his movement. It wouldn’t be pretty, but it’s better than the canvas shirt he’s wearing.”

  David said, “I have two sets of armor in the carriage: Battle armor and tournament armor. There’s little coverage on the back in the tournament armor, so I’d be willing to wear that if someone wanted to use the battle armor. It looks like it would fit Pan, Thomas or Faren. It might fit Tara, but it wouldn’t be an ideal fit.”

  “I don’t think I could move in plate armor,” Pantros said. He’d always thought the best way to not be hurt was to not get hit. He figured if he could dodge Bryan’s sword, even when it was usually not actually a sword, he’d do fine against any Vulak. “I’ll probably try one of the jerkins if they’re anything like Sheillene’s armor.”

  “Not as pretty,” Sheillene said. “Functional, but not pretty.”

  “I’m probably going the sit-on-my-ass route,” Thomas said.

  “I’ll take a jerkin,” Tara said. “I may not be the best with a sword, but I don’t want to be alive knowing I did nothing to keep my brother from being killed.”

  “Real armor sounds good to me,” Faren said. “I’m a fair shot with a bow and can handle a spear and shield as well as any. I served in the Abvi Army for ninety years back when I was Sheillene’s age. I kept my weapons up, but my armor would need to be re-strapped and reconditioned. I don’t think we have the time for that.”

  “We really should be leaving now,” Sheillene said. “Grab the ox hide and some shears and we’ll be on our way.”

  Faren got up from his chair. “Sure thing,” he said then headed towards the front door. He stopped and turned around, “There are four sacks on the counter in the kitchen. That’s all my dried meat, my current bread and a hard cheese or two. Someone should grab it.” The innkeeper then stepped out the door.

  Marc and Pantros gathered the food sacks and headed out to the carriage. The prince’s drivers had headed back towards Fork with the Inn’s staff, but David had claimed he could handle the team of horses and teach some of the others to do so as well. Moments later they were headed southwest on the Abvian Highway,

  CHAPTER 21: KEHET

  The pond reflected the stars and the occasional fiery explosion. Heather sat beside Kehet in his human form. She was concentrating, trying to manipulate the shapes of the blasts of flame. Jonah had produced a book from somewhere in the camp that contained spells for Wizards. According to Heather, the spells could be used verbatim for specific effects, but by taking bits and pieces from each of them, she could produce far more variations of effects.

  She had spent the morning practicing throwing balls of fire that would hit a target and splash like they were made of liquid. The afternoon had been spent causing explosions at a distance. She’d managed to get the explosions to radiate in three prongs from the center, but, so far, could only do three equally spaced prongs of flame.

  “It’s unfair that I can’t ride you in your other form,” she said, idly bouncing a tiny ball of flame in her palm. “I was a virgin when I first met you, which should count for something. You really don’t understand how much I wish I could ride a Unicorn, specifically you.”

  Kehet didn’t want to go into the same argument again, especially not when she was wielding her magic. It’s not like they hadn’t tried. She’d just slipped right off every time. “I wish the same thing,” he said. A few of the times he’d tried explaining how he couldn’t control the rules, but he was unable to say why because he didn’t know. It became more difficult when she brought up that he was a god. This time he chose to simply be sympathetic.

  He still didn’t feel like a god. He’d become comfortable with being the ruler of a species that didn’t really insist on recognizing any formalities regarding his position. He didn’t seem to have a whole lot of day to day responsibilities as Prince of the Unicorns. Among the Gypsies the bows had devolved to dignified nods as he approached people. The nods make him far less uncomfortable.

  A sharp whistle and thud startled Kehet and Heather. A thick arrow had struck the ground just inches from Heather. The ball of fire in her hand fell to the ground, burning a thin trail as it rolled down the hill into the pond. Kehet picked up his sword and stood, looking for the source of the attack. Heather ran for the trees, back towards camp.

  Three extremely ugly people emerged from the forest, blocking her. Two carried oddly curved swords and steel shields. One held a two handed axe. They were Vulak, surmised Kehet. He charged over to intercept the three before they could get to Heather. He swung wildly trying to cause them to step away. It worked on the Vulak with the axe and one of those with the shields, but the other stepped towards him, catching Kehet in the shoulder. Kehet was able to roll with the hit, but not enough to stop it from biting deep.

  Kehet grabbed that Vulak’s sword arm and yanked him off balance. With a twist of his blade and a tug, Kehet pulled the attacker onto his sword then used both hands t
o swing the Vulak away, off the blade. Kehet then attacked the Vulak with the axe, cutting furiously, forcing the Vulak to block constantly. A splash of flame to Kehet’s left told him Heather was throwing fire at the other Vulak. Kehet knocked the axe free of one of the Vulak’s hands, leaving an opening for his next strike which cut deep into the Vulak’s chest. It fell to the ground gasping and spitting blood.

  The last Vulak was retreating towards the forest with his shield between himself and Heather’s continuous onslaught of fiery balls. Its shield glowed bright yellow and was bending around his arm with each ball that bounced from it. The Vulak screamed and threw his shield to the ground and sprinted back into the forest. Heather stopped her attack when the Vulak turned away.

  “We should get back to camp,” Kehet said.

  “Your arm!” Heather said, “Are you okay?”

  “Well, it hurts like hell,” Kehet said. “I can move it. It hurts to move it, but I can do it. We should get back and then worry about the wound.”

  “I could cauterize it,” Heather said, her voice lilting with humor.

  Kehet laughed. “I’ll heal, possibly before we reach camp.”

  “Now would be one of those times it would be really handy if I could ride you,” Heather said.

  Kehet agreed. “I wish I understood enough about this to know if and how to change such silly rules.” It was more of a fact than a rule. Earlier they’d even tried to tie her on but it didn’t help. The ropes either came untied or slid off as well. She could sit on him as long as he didn’t move, but riding was impossible.

  They jogged back to the camp of the Wandering Rose to find the camp already under attack. Only the Gypsies were not fighting back. All of the Gypsies simply sat in the dining clearing as a couple dozen Vulak ran around them. The Vulak ignored the sitting Gypsies and crowded around a person by the fire pit. Kehet couldn’t tell who.

  A Vulak noticed them and screamed, pointing their direction. Several others joined that one and headed towards them.