Within the Ice

by LaPolla, C. J.

  He directed Devyn to take stance against him and he began a series of wild attacks, attacks unlike Devyn had ever seen his mentor use. Devyn blocked them easily though, as they were off balance and easy to predict. On one high attack, Devyn rose his sword to meet it, but the attack halted mid air and began a downward arc towards his leg. Devyn redirected his block and discovered to late his folly. Alviss used the motion of Devyn’s sword against him and when the block connected to redirect the attack it simply slammed the blunted blade into Devyn’s legs sending him sprawling on the ground. Devyn stared at the sky very quickly realizing his mistake.

  Alviss stood over Devyn and reached out his hand to help him up. “Deception. You should never grow angry and fight stupidly. But there is no reason you can’t make your opponent believe you’re angry.” Alviss grinned at his student as he helped him up from the ground.

  Devyn glared at Eldgrim in front of him, putting on his best face to appear completely enraged. His attacks came fast and furious and Eldgrim still wore his mocking smile as he blocked and dodged the worthless strikes. This continued for a short time with Eldgrim never missing a block or wavering in his confidence against this opponent. Devyn then unleashed the move his mentor had taught him so many years ago. He raised his sword for a wild attack, which he saw Eldgrim shift his stance to absorb. As the wild arc came crashing down, Devyn stopped and changed the direction of the attack towards his leg. Eldgrim diverted his block towards the lower attack but, instead of ever making contact with his sword, in a movement of blinding speed he cleared the distance between Devyn and himself and smashed Devyn in the face with the hilt of his sword. In the same motion, Eldgrim disarmed him as Devyn fell to the ground. Eldgrim tossed his sword aside.

  “You are good. You are fabulous. It has been an absolute pleasure, kind sir, to do battle with you.” Devyn could see him standing over him through blurry, tear filled eyes. His voice came through foggy to his dazed head and Eldgrim continued. “But alas, our time grows short. This battle has been enjoyable. Though it would be such a shame to kill such a skilled swordsman.” Even dazed Devyn could see the dark thought spreading across his face. “I am going to give you the gift of eternal life.”

  Devyn could not believe the power this man possessed as he pressed his foot down onto his chest. It was clear the man was toying with him, with the strength he showed now he could have ended Devyn’s life in mere seconds.

  “Do you hear that?” Eldgrim held his hand to his ear in a cupping motion. “They come. The Maeliz and their minions will feast upon you and you will rise one of them and live for all eternity.”

  Devyn struggled to move, but was held firmly to the ground. “They’ll devour you as well!” Devyn yelled at him.

  Eldgrim only laughed. “The Maeliz will cause a problem, but the others are pitiful creatures that couldn’t even scratch my skin. You on the other hand will be a feast for them. Now shush and listen. Listen to your death approaching.”

  Despite his hatred for this man, Devyn listened intently, just making out the sounds of the creatures’ approach. A snarling mass of dead flesh trampling the ground at the smell of fresh blood. Devyn remembered what had happened to all the others who were attacked and could not shake the memories, or the fact that he would share their fate, out of his head. It was no use struggling against this man. His foot was like iron on his chest and no matter how hard he squirmed or pushed his leg did not budge. Devyn had forgotten his knife, the knife he used to cut those worms out of Eskor, was still strapped to his leg. Eldgrim’s eyes laid on the cavern entrances all around him anticipating the blue skinned monsters to walk out of the darkness at any moment, and while his attention was turned away Devyn pretended to continue to struggle and slowly unfastened the loop which held the knife securely to his side. Once the knife was loose he yanked it from its sheath and stabbed hard behind his knee. The knife bit deeply into the hardened leather and sunk into his knee, but not as far as Devyn had thought it would. Eldgrim buckled under the strike and fell back three paces.

  “You cut me.” He said with a baffled look on his face. “How could you cut me?”

  Eldgrim pulled his hand away from the wound bloody, his face was a mask of pure astonishment. Devyn realized he was not amazed that he had tried to cut him, but more so that he actually managed to do it. He gave it very little thought as he rolled to his feet and raced for his sword which lay across the cavern. If he was going to die, by these creatures or by this strange opponent, he was going to do so fighting.

  He would never get the chance, though, as Eldgrim was on him in a flash with the initial shock of being wounded having ended. His knee caught Devyn square in the temple like an anvil crashing down on his skull and he sprawled out on the ground. Eldgrim kicked him hard in the ribs, he then gripped Devyn by the collar of his armor and slammed him against the icy wall. Eldgrim held him with two hands tightly against the wall so tightly that Devyn could barely get a kick off because his breath was being squeezed out of his body.

  “Fool! How dare you strike one of your betters.” Eldgrim roughly slung Devyn to the ground and pushed his head to look at the back of his knee. “See! Healed already. You simpleton. You pathetic husk of flesh.” He pulled Devyn upright and pushed him hard against the wall again his feet sitting two feet off the ground.

  Devyn knew at that moment what he was facing here. He never believed they were real, only legends and fantasies made up for children and those of the faith. This man’s unimaginable strength and speed. The old legendary stories came to mind when they spoke of them. Like man but greater. The creator and the destroyer of all things. The winds of Isiir are nothing to the great ones, the shining ones, the Aelaar. Faster and stronger than any man and impenetrable to iron and steel. Another slam against the wall broke his concentration on the old tale. But it was enough to understand his dire situation. All of the qualities that he had always learned about the Aelaar were true. They were faster and stronger and healed quickly.

  “Why do you not listen? Is your weak body dying already with anticipation of the torment you are about to endure?” Eldgrim screamed at him.

  Devyn had obviously been lost in thought and missed everything Eldgrim had just said. The realization struck him very quickly that he had just caused one of the gods of Isiir to bleed and now he was ignoring his words. No matter, if the gods of Isiir were all as petty as this Eldgrim, there was no hope for Isiir anyway. Devyn simply relaxed and accepted his fate, there was nothing more he could do to fight it.

  Chapter XVI

  The sounds grew louder from the caverns all around them. The moans echoed through the halls so loudly that, even if there were only two of them, it would seem a thousand. Either way, two was all it would take to end the life of the broken man against the wall. He knew this battle was lost, he was not able to fight one of the gods. His thoughts were not for himself though, they were for Rana and his children and the sadness in them never knowing his fate. He would never see them laugh or smile and a tear streaked down his face at the thought of his Lil saying to Rana, ‘I miss Papa.’.

  The sounds grew more intense as the first blue skinned creature set foot in the cavern. Its eyes locked onto the two men in the chamber and its jaws began to chomp in tune with its steps. More disfigured and horrifying creatures in various states of decay and disarray began to set foot from the dark caverns. The second one to enter no longer possessed a jaw and the third was missing all of the skin on one side of its face. The muscles were a deep purple which stood a stark contrast to the light blue color of the skin. Devyn barely took notice as more began to flow in, he had resigned himself to his fate and, while he could not claim he was not terrified at the prospect of dying at their hands, he knew there was very little he could do about it.

  A handful of the creatures stumbled their way in with a hungry look in their blank eyes. Thankfully, none of the creatures that Eldgrim had called the Maeliz entered the room. Although, Eldgrim seemed to fear them, so perhaps it would be a ble
ssing and a curse at the same time for one to enter. None did and the line of stumbling dead creatures began their very purposeful steps in a direct path towards him.

  “A fate worse than death is to become a minion of the Maeliz.” Eldgrim wore a sardonic smile as he shifted his gaze from the creatures to Devyn. “To wander these frozen halls for all eternity. I wonder, dear boy, when we slay these wretched beasts, do their minds go dark or does it lay on the ground forever? Perhaps you’ll find out.”

  Eldgrim’s eyes were dark and unmerciful. Devyn could tell there was nothing but pure joy in watching one such as him suffer. The fact that some men followed these monsters as their gods gave further proof to Devyn that none of those men had ever met one if they were all like Eldgrim.

  The creatures continued to lumber towards them in their slow, shambling manner. It almost looked as if Eldgrim was growing impatient while waiting for them to get their hands on Devyn. He was held in the iron like grip of Eldgrim as the creatures began to reach them. The icy finger tips caressed Devyn’s face and the cold seeped into his bones from their touch. It was cold unlike he had ever felt before, cold that chilled him down to his very core. One of the creatures grabbed hold of Eldgrim’s arm and bit down hard, its teeth shattered against his flesh and it fell backwards unmoving. Devyn squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of the pain that would begin any second. But there was a metallic sounding commotion while his eyes were shut and the unmistakable sound of a blade ringing out through the air. The iron grip on Devyn released and he slumped to the ground in a heap. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes and took in the scene all around him. All of the blue skinned creatures lay sprawled on the ground with various parts of their bodies missing. Each wound was a clean, sheer cut across their dead flesh.

  Confusion was the only emotion Devyn could muster as his eyes fell on the newcomer to the battlefield. A man coated in dirty, muted armor, that was once gleaming, had saved him and slain all of the monsters that were about to devour him. He held a beautiful sword aloft against Eldgrim who wore a face of utter disgust.

  “Truly? You throw yourself into the fray for the chattel?” Eldgrim wiped the disgusted look off his face and readied his sword. “Eldgrim, student of Threm, of the line of Oray, at your service.” He ended by holding his vicious looking blade in front of his nose.

  “Graen, student of Berosus of the line of Thalas. You’ve done enough damage to these people. They deserve no more.”

  “These people are our play things to do with as we wish. To think anything else makes you weak. And you are weak, aren’t you Graen? As all of you who follow the ways of Qui are.”

  “Weak indeed. Where you use your words to show how strong you are, I will use my steel and you will fall. You are outmatched Eldgrim. Give up your quest for what lay within this glacier, you should know by now it is folly. Whatever lay within here will devour us, and if we must continue this battle, let us continue it on our homeland and away from this forsaken block of ice.”

  Eldgrim responded only with a mocking scoff and he bent his knees in stance with his sword arcing above his head and resting on his outstretched hand. Graen only shook his head in response and prepared.

  Awe. Awe is what Devyn knew he should be feeling. This was not a spectacle that any man witnessed but it was somehow lacking from what he imagined what a battle between two opposing gods would be. He always imagined more lightning and fire, this was just two men squabbling like any man in Northspire.

  A long moment passed with the nemeses staring at one another. Stark silence struck over the entire cavern and as quickly as the moment began, it ended. Any doubts Devyn had about the Aelaar and their squabbling or their pettiness ceased in this moment. The fluid motions of these men and their attacks were the most amazing example of sword play that he had ever seen. Their speed was unimaginable and the full scale of how much Eldgrim had been playing with him came to light. Their deadly dance was a mix of lightning fast attacks and blocks that seemed to materialize in the way of every strike. Devyn had lived by the belief that his sword was a part of him, he did not truly comprehend the meaning of that statement until he witnessed these two in battle.

  Graen struck forward which Eldgrim leapt over and immediately spun his sword in a series of perplexing attacks all of which met the blocking blade of Graen with ease. A thrust from Eldgrim lead to Graen ducking his back under the blade and grabbing Eldgrim’s wrist and flipping him forwards. Eldgrim did not lose stride as he managed to maintain his balance and land on his feet immediately striking out which was met with more easy blocks. It did not require lightning and fire for Devyn to feel awe in this moment. He could have used this time to escape but instead he sat with his back against the ice wall staring at the spectacle before him.

  Despite the engagement, it was impossible not to hear the moans and the trampling feet of the creatures as they approached. The two men battling within the cavern did not seem to take notice. Devyn was sure they were aware, after watching their display of battle it seemed impossible they would not be aware of anything. Devyn finally managed to pull himself away from the spectacle as the song of metal and the dance of battle played out around him. His sword lay across the cavern floor and he ran to retrieve it. It felt good to once again have his sword in hand after feeling helpless for so long.

  “You are quite good for one so young.” Graen said during a pause of the battle. “It is a shame your talents are wasted on the path of Bregidonnon. You could have accomplished so much.”

  An arrogant smiled spread across his face. “I am impressive to be sure. But if your display here is what I could have accomplished, then I am quite happy where I landed.”

  The tension built in the room as they circled one another, the low sound of the creatures growing louder by the second. The two still seemed unconcerned about their approach. It was not until the shrill shriek of one of the creatures Eldgrim referred to as the Maeliz rang out among the cave that the two took notice. The same pain Devyn had felt many times before now struck him as he fell to one knee. It was as if the creature was angrier. Or hungrier.

  “The husk over there made you bleed. I think you may have stirred one of them into a frenzy.” Graen said with a laugh that held a bit of fear underneath it.

  Eldgrim launched an attack on Graen just as the blue skinned minions of Maeliz burst into the tunnel. This time it was not just a handful, but a surge of them entered the cavern with a ravenous look in their milky white eyes. The clicking sound of their teeth gnashing together as their jaws opened and closed echoed through the hall. Graen side stepped Eldgrim’s attack and returned a wide angled strike that was also dodged. Obviously Graen had known it would be blocked as he immediately kicked Eldgrim in the shoulder driving him directly into the surging minions. Eldgrim released a wild thrust as he fell back and Devyn could not see if Graen had gotten his sword up in time.

  “This is not the end!” Eldgrim screamed as he was covered in the blue skinned creatures. “I will be the end of you! And I will take this item of power here and with it we shall lay waste to your lands!”

  Devyn could see Eldgrim’s sword rising and falling and swathes of his enemies would drop with every stroke. Graen turned and ran towards Devyn who raised his blade defensively unsure of his intentions.

  “Come! We have to get out of here.”

  Graen’s eyes held fear in them and it was not for his battle with Eldgrim. Devyn shared his fear as the screech of the Maeliz sounded through the caverns. Graen grabbed him by the arm and they both raced into the nearest tunnel. His torch was long gone and yet all of these tunnels glowed with a blue light that emanated from the blue streaks in the ice. There was no time for wonder as Graen led him through the tunnels that winded and twisted through the glacier. It wasn’t long before they came to a cavern that had ledges into higher caverns. Graen leapt the height with ease and reached out his hand to assist Devyn up. He jumped and was amazed at the ease of which Graen hefted him up to the cavern. Their escape continued for
a long time before Graen suddenly stopped in a small cavern that overlooked a wide opening in the ice. He collapsed to the ground with a huff.

  Devyn eyed him carefully as he lay on the ground not moving.

  “Rest now. I…” Graen only spoke a few words before he ceased with a sigh of breath leaving his body. Devyn eyed Graen with worry as his eyes closed shut.

  “Graen? Are you alright?” Devyn asked carefully and received no response.

  Graen’s arms were wrapped around himself but Devyn was able to dislodge them easily and look at his body. His beautifully crafted armor was caked in dark red blood. Devyn frantically searched for the wound and found it just to the edge of his armor. The final vengeful thrust of Eldgrim had obviously found its mark. The thought of a dead god laying in front of him was lost on Devyn and all that could cross his mind is that his final hope for ever escaping this glacier alive was lost. He crossed Graen’s limp arms across his body again and sat back against the ice feeling helpless and hopeless. He leaned his head back and left his thoughts to the darkness. It wasn’t long before an exhausted Devyn fell into a fitful slumber.

  Chapter XVII