by Jordan Baker
The Darga grunted and its reptilian features twisted into a frown.
"You have been dismissed," Calexis said.
"Highness, the Darga scouts wish to know why you do not attack."
"Do you question my orders?" Calexis hissed, letting go of her young consort, and walking toward the Darga
"No, highness," the creature replied. "We Darga only seek to serve you better."
"Then do as you are told!" Calexis shrieked. "If you Darga were more intelligent, then I would consider you worthy of sharing my plans."
"Darga are learning, highness," he said, then he stood and bowed his head. "But you are the leader, our rightful queen."
"It is good that you know this," Calexis said. "Now begone from my sight."
"Yes, highness," the Darga said, and he turned and walked from the cavern.
"Insolent creatures," Calexis growled, then she turned to Aaron. "Come, dear. The day grows long. Let us dine on fresh meat this evening, and perhaps the servants in the kitchen can fetch some of the good wine. It might put me in a better mood."
"As you command," Aaron said, feeling her power pulling him forward as he followed her out of the chamber, his body screaming in pain from what she had done to him.
Behind them, several of the eggs began to crack, and a sharp claw sliced through a translucent membrane that held a creature that was distinctively reptilian, but with pale features upon its face that were like a small mask of Calexis' own. Clear, viscous liquid, flecked with blood, spilled out onto the blackened stone floor beneath it, as the rest of the chamber began to echo with the chattering sounds of countless creatures, awakened by power and now eager to escape into the world.
As they made their way up through the palace, Calexis felt her legs begin to fail, and she summoned more of her power to strengthen the flesh and bone that supported her, flesh that had begun to rot, and she was irritated at the frailty of her body, and the foulness that it had begun to exude. As the power of the shadow within her became stronger, it seemed that her physical form was beginning to weaken, and it was also making it more difficult for her to sense the world and the movements of her enemies, even with her magic. It was as though, despite having more power at her command, her vision was becoming cloudy, and she cursed the weakness of the flesh that held her corporeal form. Calexis wondered if that weakness might be the reason that she had not seen the mages at the doors to her temple until moments before they would have attacked, no doubt intending to disrupt her plans. She was frustrated that she was now dependent upon the Darga scouts to bring news to her of the specific movements of those who would challenge her, since she did not like not knowing things, but Calexis reminded herself that soon it would not matter, for through the power of the shadow she could tell that Aaron's resistance weakening.
Deep within her, in a secret place she had created, the part of Calexis that remained free of the power of the dark god, the part of her that had not fallen prey to the darkness, endured the pain of her disintegrating flesh, and she felt horror and revulsion for what she had become. The Calexis that remained, trapped within herself, hidden by a spell, wavered between self-pity, regret and anger, the latter mostly from how helpless she was to do anything about what she had become. But she was not entirely powerless, and carefully, so as not to attract the shadow that coursed through so much of her being and was now, slowly closing in on the place where she stayed hidden within herself, Calexis summoned what little power she had left, and waited, searching for some way to stop the madness that her world had become.
As they walked past a window that looked out over the lake to the west, the part of Calexis that had become one with the god, looked out over the gloom and used her power to search the horizon for signs of the enemy. While she could feel only vague impressions, she knew that they were drawing ever closer, and soon they would be within her grasp. From behind the dark veil of shadow that now enveloped him, Aaron also wished he could use his power to learn more of what was happening in the world, but he knew that he should have faith that Ehlena and the others would come, and he hoped they would be able to save as many of the people as possible if the worst were to happen, especially now that the plan that Stavros and Calthas had put into motion had been thwarted by Calexis.
In the fog of the shadow that was closing in on his thoughts, Aaron was curious to find out how the mages were holding up in their captivity, and knowing how difficult it must be for them, after his own experience of having much of his power drained by the dark crystal in the temple, so he used a little residual power he had gathered and let his senses flow outward to the city, toward the temple. He was relieved when he felt their distinctive energies, weak but still alive, though he could tell that they were both too weak to free themselves, let alone finish the work they had begun. Aaron felt something else, something he had noticed before, when the mages were working on reversing the flow of the crystal spell. There had been a third power, weaker than the two mages, but somehow tied to the changes they were making to the magic, and Aaron could still feel it. He felt a slight shift occur in the way the crystals in the city resonated, and he realized that whoever it was that had been helping the mages before was now continuing on with their work, and that discovery buoyed his spirits, like a brief parting of the clouds that let in a beam of daylight through an overcast sky.
Even though Aaron was fighting just to keep the shadow from invading his thoughts, the part of him that resisted the dark power was pleased at the renewed prospect that Calexis and the dark god within her might be thwarted, for every life restored would be a victory against the shadow. Oblivious to his struggles, or perhaps simply ignoring him, Calexis led him into the dining chamber, where a luxurious table had been laid out for yet another decadent feast for which Aaron had no appetite. He stopped next to his chair as Calexis continued on to hers, then she turned and stared at him and squinted her eyes suspiciously.
"What is it that you find so amusing?" she asked.
"All this for two people, while the people either starve or end up eaten by your creatures," Aaron said, his voice monotone, and the faint smile upon his face turning to a frown. "It is a mockery of life."
"Or perhaps it is life that is a mockery of death," Calexis said. "All you need do, Aaron, is take that which is already yours, and then you will understand the truth of it."
Aaron shrugged and took his seat at the table, opposite the dark queen, the goddess she had become, and the shadow that surrounded her.
"The truth?" Aaron said, then he began to laugh, his voice rasping and his eyes cold and emotionless, staring through the darkness within him.
*****
Ehlena awoke and found Tash fast asleep, leaning on her shoulder. Careful not to disturb her, she laid her gently on the cushions, and made her way out of the tent. The day was growing late, with night nearly fallen over the eastern desert and she was both frustrated that she had lost time and did not feel any better for having rested. If anything she was more exhausted than she had been before, but she did not have time to dwell on such things. Ehlena hoped that the Ansari would aid in the fight against the shadow, but she knew that such a decision would be made by the warrior people, in their own way. When she made her way from the tents to the center of the camp, she found Kasha in the fighting circle with the Ansari leader, both of them circling each other cautiously, their footfalls tired and bearing numerous wounds as though they had been fighting for a long time.
Ehlena saw Ashan, and the old Ansari noticed her and nodded to her, confirming the question that she whispered in his ear with her power. Kasha had challenged the leader of her people, and should she triumph, then she would take his place, as was custom among the Ansari, and her word would speak for all Ansari. Ehlena hoped the mysterious and beautiful warrior would succeed, and when Kasha caught sight of her, she nodded to her, with a determined look in her glimmering green eyes, as though having heard her thoughts, which was entirely possible, for she did little to hide them. Ehlena watc
hed as the Ansari woman leap toward the leader of her people, then she disappeared on the wind, leaving the clash of steel echoing in the wind behind her.
*****
Dragons circled the sky over the foothills beneath the southern Kandaran range, keeping watch for enemies as the Maramyrian army moved eastward along the road toward the land that was their home. Rivergate had been reclaimed with relatively few losses, and after a few hours rest, the army pressed onward, down the main road, leaving a garrison behind to secure the town. Moving quickly along the main road, the army reached the fortified village of Mountain Ridge and discovered that it had been left completely undefended. After conferring with the rank and file regarding whether they wished to rest of carry on, Nathas and Kaleb recommended a hard march for Maramyr. Upon the solid footing of the stone road, it was not long before, at a high point among the foothills, the city appeared, far off in the distance, a sharp point in the dull horizon, looming over the great Lake Mara.
"Does the lake somehow seem larger than it was?" Kaleb asked Nathas, and the older commander looked ahead, trying to remember the last time he had viewed the lands of Maramyr from this perspective.
"It does seem to be," he said, then he looked toward the southern tip of the lake to where it drained into a river that would flow all the way past the sandy grasslands of Ansara and out to the Aghlar coast. "The river looks flooded as well. We should find out if there are any problems with the bridge crossing. It will slow us down considerably if the army cannot take the road to the southern gate."
"I will speak to the princess," Kaleb said, and he spurred his horse forward to where Ariana rode alongside Borrican, each of them followed closely by Keira and Margo.
"Highness," Kaleb called out as he approached. "Your generals are curious about the great lake Mara and the river. It appears the waters are high, and it could mean problems with the bridge leading to the city."
"You are right, the waters are unusually high, especially since he land is so dry," Borrican said, rising up in the saddle and peering ahead. "The bridges appear to be holding, though the river waters are nearly touching it."
"You can see that from here?" Kaleb was somewhat surprised until Borrican turned to him and he saw the Kandaran prince's eyes, reptilian and flickering with firelight.
"I can see quite a distance," he said, and Kaleb cleared his throat, uncomfortably before continuing.
"Yes, well, it is very strange," he said. "The land to the north is brown and barren, which suggests that there has been very little rain recently, and the spring runoff from the mountains has come and gone, so it makes no sense that the waters should be so high."
"Perhaps Calexis has done something to disrupt the natural flow of the river," Ariana said, wondering why the dark queen would do such a thing, to what end.
"What purpose that would serve, I don't readily know," Kaleb said. "Whatever the case, if Calexis destroys the bridge and the crossings are flooded, then we will have to go around the north side of the lake, which would mean we will be completely exposed."
Borrican remembered his lessons at the Academy, which included defensive plans based on the different ways an army might attack Maramyr from different directions. A city bordered on the west by water, and surrounded by flatlands, gave its defenders distant warning of an approaching army and many opportunities to ride out and engage, long before attackers could reach the city walls in great numbers. Since the city was perched upon high ground, built upon solid rock, it made it even more difficult to mount any kind of assault from the ground, other than attacking the main gate itself, which was made of thick wood that was reinforced with iron, and could also be buttressed from the inside, making it all but impregnable, though perhaps not to a dragon, or a mage, but Calexis was also not without such power. The other gates of the city were equally as strong, and they were also smaller, making them even easier to defend. And even if an attacker was able to overcome the gate or the walls, the city itself had walls inside it that could be closed and guarded against intruders, one of them separating the common and merchant quarters, another for the palace district, and yet another, higher wall that surrounded the palace itself.
Maramyr was not an easy city for an army to breach, and even though they had the advantage of being able to attack from the air, from what the girl goddess had told them, there also remained the problem of the people of the city, who were held captive by the same sort of magic that had enslaved his own people, so the dragons would likely have to be careful with their attacks. In the meantime, there was also the possibility that, if they were forced to travel around the city, Calexis might launch an attack from the city while the army was out in the open, and she certainly had a large enough number of winged Darga and commanded powerful magic herself, which meant that a lot of damage could be done to the army before they even reached the city walls.
"If we cannot cross the bridge on the main road, then we must find another way across," Borrican said. "We will be vulnerable at that point, but any other approach to the city would be even more dangerous. We will find a way across, even if the dragons must tear up half a forest to build a new bridge."
"I see you've been thinking around the lessons you learned at the Academy, on the defense of Maramyr," Kaleb commented with a grin.
"You must have learned those same lessons, in your day," Borrican replied.
"In my day?" Kaleb chuckled. "Come now, Prince Akandar, I'm not that old."
"Not as old as Nathas, then," Borrican joked.
"Nathas isn't even that old," Kaleb said. "Besides, if you keep your back straight and your arms and legs strong, age will barely slow you down. The old armsmaster to King Gregor, he was old and grey, but could defeat just about anyone with just about any weapon, no matter how young or strong they were."
"You speak of Tarnath," Ariana said, her thoughts straying to the bearded man with the smile she remembered from long ago.
"Yes, Master Tarnath," Kaleb said with a nod. "I would have liked to see him fight in the Ansari circles. I doubt even their finest could best him."
"He was loyal to my family," Ariana said. "And, from what I have learned, he left Maramyr in disgrace, mostly because of the lies spread by my uncle, Cerric."
"That seems to be the case for a lot of people, especially those who were loyal to your father," Kaleb said. "Cerric played a lot of people for fools, and made a real mess of things."
"A mess I will have to sort out once the throne of Maramyr has been restored," Ariana said. "I hope I can count on your support, Kaleb Alaran."
"Of course, highness," Kaleb said with a grin. "You've always had my support. Why do you think I gave Cerric such a difficult time over these past years."
"Then it was intentional and not because you are a difficult man?" Ariana asked him, feigning suspicion and with hint of a smile on her lips.
"Me, difficult?" Kaleb protested. "I am easy as it gets, well, except for when I'm not."
"I'll keep that in mind," Ariana said.
"In all seriousness, I am very reasonable, but I just couldn't just stand by and watch Cerric and his flunkies like that Baron Manfred walk all over the good people of my lands, and the people of Maramyr for that matter."
"I apologize for what my uncle did," Ariana said. "I hope we can set things back to the way they were when my parents still lived, and rebuild the kingdom."
"I hope for the same, highness," Kaleb said, then he nodded to Borrican. "Prince Borrican, I will convey your thoughts to Nathas about having the dragons build a bridge if need be, if that is indeed the plan."
"If it is possible, then we should avoid being exposed in open country as you and Borrican have said," Ariana answered, distracted a little by the familiar look of the countryside on this part of the road that touched something in her memory.
"Very good," Kaleb replied. "Then I will take my leave."
"Thank you, Lord Kaleb," Ariana said, and the man turned his horse around and rode away.
"You have som
e good people in your lands," Borrican commented after Kaleb was out of earshot.
"I believe I do," Ariana said. "I wonder how many of them were pushed aside by my uncle, and how many even survive all that has happened with Calexis on the throne. Look at it, Borrican." Ariana pointed through a gap in the trees at the gloom that lay ahead. "This once proud and prosperous kingdom has turned to darkness."
"I know," Borrican said. "Kandara has suffered a similar fate."
"I hope both our lands and their peoples will recover," Ariana said.
"Let us focus on stopping this god and the magic of the shadow," Borrican replied, knowing that doing so might take far greater destruction than anything they had seen thus far.
"I will take back what was stolen," Ariana said. "And if we must rebuild Maramyr from the ground up, then so be it."
"You will have my help, and the help of all Kandara, if need be," Borrican told her, and Ariana reached out her hand and Borrican did the same.
"Thank you, Borrican," she said. "I am sure that the people of Maramyr will gladly do the same for Kandara. I have faith that once they are free, our kingdoms will prosper, if we succeed."
"Of course we will succeed." He smiled at her. "As long as we live, and refuse to give up, there is much we can do."
Ariana squeezed his hand and smiled at the Kandaran dragon prince, and she realized that, in terms of the traditions of Maramyr, he had effectively become her consort, and the same was true of her when it came to Kandara. With all the travel to different lands, living among the elves and being overwhelmed with the ways of the dragons, the bonding and the three dragon eggs that they had created, she had not given much thought to what all of that meant, but now that they had returned to the lands of Maramyr, where she was reminded of the courts and her duties, it became clear to her that she and Borrican were joined in every way.
"Do you think we can rule two kingdoms together?" she asked.
