by N. M. Howell
The same night of the battle in the archives, the chancellor had sprung into action. He may have lacked basic courage, but he was nothing if not resourceful. He knew with so many people fleeing the building and the dragonborn wreaking havoc in Leabharlann, it was the perfect opportunity to exact revenge. Most of the dignitaries in the mirror room had opposed some of his more extreme measures. They had called him everything from a demagogue to a fascist imposter. He grabbed Ashur, who still called himself Tarven then, and headed for the mirror room. As he suspected, the dignitaries had remained in place, doing their best to exude elegance and calm while the commoner folk were hurrying out. There was confusion and chaos all around, as nobody was yet sure of what was happening. All they knew was that there had been explosions and a group of professors had come running and screaming out of the library. One of the foreign heads of state approached Myamar as he entered the room.
“What is the meaning of this? The festival is being ruined by this tumult. Explain yourself.”
The chancellor ignored him and moved on to inspect the room. He turned to Tarven.
“How fast will your plants work?”
“Almost instantaneous,” Tarven said, still trembling in fear. “What do you want me to do?”
“I’m going to clear this room of everyone who hasn’t pissed me off and then I want you to kill the rest. Give me a moment.”
The chancellor hurried to the small dais set up at the side of the room. He grabbed the microphone.
“All students and guests need to leave the room immediately. Proceed down the hall and out into the front lot. There’s nothing to worry about, just a small gas leak and we want to get it checked before things escalate. All foreign heads of state and dignitaries need to remain here for a moment, as we have special evacuation protocols for you.”
The chancellor waited patiently until everyone unessential had cleared the room. Just as the last of them were leaving, the other dignitaries from outside were being brought in by the professors. The chancellor had asked that they be rounded up. When he finally had them all in one place, the chancellor looked out to survey the crowd. He was performing a last check to see if any of them were worth saving. He saw several of his friends among them and even a few of his distant relations, but he was not a man to be swayed by that. He smiled.
“If you’ll all just wait here for a moment, we’ll have someone come in who will show you a quicker, less bottlenecked path. Wait here for your much-deserved treatment.”
With that, Chancellor Mharú stepped down from the dais and headed for the door. He nodded to Tarven, who was still struggling to pull himself together. Tarven turned and waved his hand at a section of the flowers he’d placed earlier. The petals began to blacken and disintegrate, and as they turned into Ashur a white smoke began to flow from them. The chancellor, Tarven, and the remaining professors exited the room. The dignitaries, who were no fools, saw the smoke and immediately tried to follow the chancellor out, but they found themselves blocked by an invisible wall. The chancellor turned to smile at them as his spell trapped them inside the room.
“I’d like to give you a dramatic, fitting goodbye,” he said. “But you’re not even worth it.”
He turned to leave and the people in the room looked up at the flowers; all the way around the top of the room the flowers were turning black, becoming Ashur, and pouring the white smoke over them. There wasn’t much time after that. Soon they were all dead. The chancellor’s only regret was that he hadn’t had all of the dignitaries in the room at the time. Apparently nearly 300 had already left the building before they could be rounded up.
As the chancellor rounded the corner, the screams began to reach him. Ashur and his battalion must’ve caught the other families before they boarded the train to leave. The chancellor relished the sound of death and magic. He was more confident than ever that the new armor would prove more than a match for the dragonborn if it could defeat the families. All seven of the family lines were extremely old and extremely powerful, not to be taken lightly if one valued your life. If the armor could best them in an honest battle, it just might defeat the dragonborn.
“Chancellor! Chancellor!” screamed one of his assistants as they came running through the hall. “Something is going on at the train. The battalion... they’re killing the families!”
“Killing them?” Chancellor Mharú asked. “As in defeating them? Murdering them?”
“Yes! There’s blood everywhere and the families are trying to escape, but the battalion won’t let them. It’s a slaughter!”
“I understand your sentiments, it’s very distressing,” the chancellor said, trying desperately to hide his smile. “But the battalion is only performing its duties. Evidence has recently come to light proving that the families are actually traitors in league with the dragonborn. I asked them here to give them a final chance to come over to the right side and they attacked us. The battalion has no choice but to eliminate the threat to the University. It’s to protect us, all of us. Even you.”
The girl still seemed anxious, panicked, clearly not used to seeing much blood or violence. She was shaking uncontrollably and by now had begun to cry. Chancellor Mharú took her gently by the arms and looked into her face.
“Go back to my office. Have one of my aides make you some coffee and try to settle down. Don’t think about what you saw or heard at the train, okay? Put all of that behind you.”
“I can’t forget that. I can’t stop... hearing those voices...”
“Listen,” he said through gritted teeth, grabbing the girl hard and giving her a violent shake. “If you want to work here you need to get used to seeing these kinds of things. People will die here. A lot of people. There will be torture, pain, suffering, dark magic. There will be blood. If you can’t handle that then maybe it’s time for you to do a little suffering of your own. Now get out of my sight.”
He tossed the girl aside and kept walking, not even looking back to see if she was alright. The cruelty made him feel powerful.
Once he was outside, the chancellor walked straight across from the University to the very edge of the precipice and looked down on the city. The whole vast grid was under his influence, his lies, his propaganda. All he need to do was make the people afraid and after that they belonged to him. They would support anything he wanted, as long as he could kill the dragonborn and their beasts. And if he actually did manage to kill the dragonborn, then all of Noelle would be his.
Just then he heard a scream and the sound of running feet behind him. He turned. It was Rasputraenir, current head of the House of Urania. He had managed to escape the battalion and was running, running, running, straight for the chancellor.
“Myamar! Myamar, you have to help me!” the man cried. “They’re going crazy in there! They’re killing us, they’re—”
But before he could finish, the chancellor waved a hand and the man was lifted into the air, flipped, and thrown over the side of the mountain. The chancellor didn’t even bother watching the body fall. Instead, he simply enjoyed the sound of the man’s final scream.
“Everything is mine,” he said, his eyes on the city.
Chapter Sixteen
When Andie woke, she didn’t know where she was, at first. Her mind was clouded, her head hurt, and she felt nauseous. But within seconds everything that had happened came rushing back in. She bolted upright and found she was lying in her living space, on the mountain. Someone had spread her bed out for her and there were two little cups beside where her head had been. She threw the cover off and jumped to her feet. As she turned, she came face to face with Lymir. It startled her.
“Lymir,” she said. “What are you doing here? How did I get back on the mountain?”
“Well, it’s a hard tale,” he said, taking a seat. “The way I heard it was ye fainted down there by the river. I don’t blame ye, not after what happened. They gathered ye up an’ flew ye back up here for a good rest. I haven’t left your side since. I give ye some tea to
make ye sleep an’ I’ve been wi’ ye ever since.”
“Where is she?” Andie asked. “What have they done with Yara?”
Lymir looked down at his feet and for a moment he refused to meet Andie’s eyes. She moved closer to him and lifted his face.
“Lymir, tell me what happened.”
“They’ve sentenced her to death, Andie. I’m afraid...”
Andie felt like she should have said something, anything. But she knew there was no point. She turned from Lymir and began to straighten up her area. He watched her and tried to talk to her, but she responded to nothing. Then he tried to help her clean up, but she refused and asked to be left alone. Hesitatingly, he left.
About a half hour later, Andie emerged from her space and went straight for Saeryn.
“How soon can we be ready to leave for Arvall?” Andie asked.
“Are you sure that’s the best thing for now?” Saeryn asked. “I agree that we need to leave as soon as possible and make great haste, but you have quite a situation at hand. Hundreds of your friends are injured, some dead, and of course there’s the issue of the traitor.”
“I understand it’s not ideal, but you know as well as I do that we need to stop the University. That’s what all of this has been for. All the suffering, and enduring, and betrayal, and lives lost, everything was leading us up to this moment.”
“But Andie your people—”
“Knew what they signed up for. I’m not happy to see them like this: broken, injured, betrayed. But they knew the risks. They understood that they might not make it home again or if they did they might not be the same people who left. We are at war, Saeryn. This is the cost. And while I am beyond grateful for everything that they have given and sacrificed, they are not my people. You are. The dragonborn are.”
Saeryn did not look convinced, but she gestured for Oren to come.
“Oren, have the warriors prepare. We leave within the hour.”
Oren nodded and disappeared around the bend of the cavern. Saeryn remained and watched Andie, looking her over from head to toe. Andie felt herself being watched, but she wouldn’t meet Saeryn’s eyes. She could feel everything Saeryn wanted to say, every emotion she was feeling. Pity, compassion, sympathy, fear, anxiety, love. Saeryn had told Andie that when two dragonborn were especially close, they could sometimes sense each other’s emotions. Andie hadn’t realized until just that moment how much she and Saeryn meant to each other.
“Andie, I already know what you’ll say, but you should be here for it.”
“For what?”
“The execution.”
Andie gave a small gasp. The word made her feel cold. Numb.
“She made her bed and now she needs to... They can do it without me. I don’t need to be a part of it.”
“You know, there were traitors in our time as well,” Saeryn said. “And many of them were friends and people I trusted. It was hard to have to watch them die, but somehow I knew it was my duty to be there. Betrayal never ends, not really. They turn their backs on you, betray you to your enemies, and then force you to have to kill them. That’s the worst part of all because then you feel guilty for punishing them, even though you know you had no choice. And you continue to feel guilty for the rest of your life.”
“Saeryn, I can’t. I just can’t. You and the rest of the dragonborn call me your savior. You lift me up on a pedestal and act like I’m some kind of miracle. You say I’m the one who can bridge the gap between our people and the rest of Noelle. Let me focus on that. Give me the chance to be everything you and the rest of our people already think I am. Let me earn your trust. But, please, please, don’t ask me to stay here and watch her die.”
“As you wish,” Saeryn said, touching Andie’s arm. “I’ll call for you when we’re ready. You will ride with me.”
Andie bowed and turned to leave. She went outside to be alone and found herself in the very corner of the mountain where she had been when the ship exploded. But she didn’t think about that. She didn’t think about Carmen and Murakami and the others lying unconscious in the sand. She didn’t think about her father’s terrible wound. She didn’t think about Marvo’s death or Raesh’s pain. She didn’t think about the ship, the victims, the blood, the unbelievably agony and blackness of that entire circumstance. She didn’t think of Lilja. And she didn’t think of the traitor.
Not much later, Saeryn found her. She took a seat beside Andie and they simply sat there in the sun, in silence and uncertainty.
“Raesh can handle things down at the ship,” Andie said.
“And your father?” Saeryn asked. “I think his wound may have been more serious than he let on. With him already being in such frail condition, I fear for him.”
“I just want to get out of here,” Andie said, standing.
Saeryn gave up after that, though she seemed hurt. She led Andie to where the dragon warriors were gathering with their dragons. Lymir tried to get Andie’s attention, but she ignored him and mounted up behind Saeryn. When all the warriors had mounted their dragons, they all left the ground behind. Oren was to stay behind and oversee the execution, but would join them after the deed was done.
A faction of warriors and healers had also been left behind to watch over those who were staying on the mountain. The scientists, thinkers, teachers, farmers, and other important contributors were to remain behind, as well as the children. They weren’t terribly concerned about being defeated in battle, but Saeryn was a wise and careful ruler, and she did not want the future of her people to be left to chance. She wanted to be prepared for any outcome and to ensure that the dragonborn would never again be in danger of extinction from the earth.
They flew like they had never flown before. They soared so high in the sky they couldn’t be seen from the ground. Andie held on tight and every time she thought the dragons couldn’t go faster, they surprised her. They truly were incredible beasts. Before the sun set they had left the Hot Salts of Mithraldia behind and were making great haste over vast rural regions that Andie didn’t recognize. The sun sank behind the horizon and still they flew on, as efficient at night as they were in the day. Andie allowed herself to be filled with the energy of flight. It kept her mind from going to places she didn’t want to think of.
The dragons were flying as fast and deliberate as ever, not the least bit tired, but the dragonborn treated their dragons like they treated their family and so they soon came down to earth and landed in a field that had recently been harvested. The bent stalks were a perfect place to lay for the night. The warriors all dismounted and saw to their dragons, then everyone went to sleep almost at once. They would need to rest and be back up in the sky before the sun came up. They couldn’t risk being seen and spreading fear before they reached Arvall. They had no plan, not even a definite beginning of one, and the last thing they needed was for their surprise appearance to be ruined. Neither Andie nor Saeryn slept at all.
In the morning, just as the sun was beginning to lighten the sky, the dragonborn took up again and rose to their usual height. On and on they flew, passing mountains and valleys and woods that sometimes seemed to go on forever. They passed a lake so blue and deep and dark that it looked like the night sky had taken liquid form and fallen to earth. They flew over small villages that could barely be seen from the sky and they came to cities whose building were so tall they had to circumvent the city just to be safe. Shortly after midday, they settled in another field to rest and were soon off again. They mounted up again and followed a narrow but seemingly endless river. They flew as if a demon chased them, cutting the sky with blinding and confident grace. Never once did they break their formation, they were so disciplined and focused. Andie was certain that whatever they met in Arvall would be no match for them.
Night came again and they settled to earth once more to rest. The dragons were able to drink from the river and some of the warriors washed their faces before eating and lying down. Saeryn laid down and was asleep instantly. Andie watched her, kn
owing she must have been exhausted from the stress alone. She knew that as much as Saeryn valued her help and support, she wanted more for Andie than just fighting for a cause. But that would have to wait. There was too much going on at the moment, but the most pressing issue was the University and its inability to let the past go, to stop spreading lies and leave the dragonborn to live in peace. Andie felt her own body warning her it was becoming dangerously low on energy, but as long as she kept getting enough sunlight in the daytime she would be fine. Besides, she couldn’t possibly think of sleep at a time like this, when the soul of the whole world was hanging by a thread. The University couldn’t win. The chancellor couldn’t win.
When they woke up in the dark of the morning, Saeryn said that they would arrive in Arvall just before sunset. By flying in a straight line and taking advantage of the dragons’ incredible speed, they would do in three days what would have taken the ship more than six weeks to do. Andie didn’t respond when Saeryn said it, she just went to the dragon and loaded up again. For the first time in days, she was excited. She was ready to fight the University, to meet them in the street or in the hallway and hand them over to destruction. They had killed so many people and caused so much pain, not only in the past weeks, but in all the centuries that they had been in power. Andie was full of mixed emotions and she relished the opportunity to vent them. She had no intentions of holding back or showing mercy.
