by N. M. Howell
The hymn pulsed in her ears. It brought her to her knees. It was so beautiful, powerful, and true. Yes, it was true, it must be. Nothing that poetic and melodic could be false. Andie began to see, to understand her place in the coming days and movements of the church. Everything could be so much better, so perfect, if she would only bow to their will.
“What will you say to our proposition princess? Listen to the hymn, the dream. Believe in us and our loving purpose. We only want to bring all people together under a better truth. The broken, crumbling world from which you come does not need to be the world in which you die. Join us. We will take you into our arms and provide the home you desperately seek. We love you already. Be our vessel. Help us, Andie. Save us.”
Andie rested on her knees, happy, crying, finding peace within the red sand walls. But the priests’ last words sounded similar, reminding her of something. Something she had heard before. Voices calling out to her from some place. Voices in need, crying for her to help them. Save them. The dragonborn. Her people.
The hymn was so beautiful, so strong, but it was false. It was merely a subliminal ruse meant to attract her to their terrible cause. She began to wake.
“Impossible,” the entity said. “No one resists the magnitude of the hymn in this room! Kneel! Join these ranks and become us!”
“Clearly, you’ve never messed with a dragonborn before.”
Andie regained her feet and cast her spell again, only this time she made it infinitely stronger. The hymn left her and her clarity returned. She faced the entity, but before she could raise her hand, he drifted backwards and disappeared into the walls. Andie was about to help the other dragonborn to their feet when the whole room began to tremble. Within seconds, the room began to morph. Andie and the other dragonborn were borne in the air on the red sand. A face appeared in the wall in front of her.
“If you will not join us, you will fall,” it said. “We anticipated you would become one of us, but we made other arrangements as well. An army of thousands lies within these walls. The Church of Sand and Stone has offered asylum to all your enemies and they have gathered here to prepare for a battle that will shake the very foundations of your peace. This army grows daily and soon it will be too large for even the dragonborn to defeat. Feast your eyes upon your end.”
A large opening appeared in the wall and as she looked through, Andie could see into a room full of soldiers. There were different factions and different races. Andie knew that her worst fear had come true. All their enemies across Noelle had joined together to form one massive army. The opening closed, protecting the soldiers from the spell Andie just cast.
“You’ve chosen wrong, princess,” the entity said.
“No. You have.”
Andie raised her palms and emitted wind and light so powerful, the face in the wall blasted away and the room was pushed out from her. She and the dragonborn fell back to the ground, but the others were still under the influence of the hymn. She had to find a way to get them out.
Suddenly, something hit her face so hard that she was thrown across the room. Just when she was about to catch her breath, something hit her again, and then again while she was in midair. She landed on her back and had just enough time to draw her sword and protect herself from the next strike. It was the red sand, acting as if it had a mind of its own. The very walls of the Church were striking out at her. She fought it off with her sword as best she could, but it was nearly impossible to defend herself on her back. She felt the sand of the floor come up around her throat. Then her arms and legs were trapped and sunk into the sand. In the ceiling above, a large point formed in the sand, extremely sharp, and began to descend toward her.
But she wasn’t afraid. She and Saeryn had been studying the grimoires for months. Andie learned a few tricks. She exhaled and clenched her body. Instantly she became fire, her entire body turning into a humanoid flame. The sand all around her superheated, turning to glass. She broke it easily and regained her feet. Before the room could launch another attack, Andie raised her arms and sent a pulse of flames out in every direction. The entire room was turned to glass, stuck in its final movement. Andie cast a spell to make the dragonborn float beside her and she levitated herself up with all the force she could muster, sending her heat out above her first.
Several moments later, they burst from the top of the Church into the warm sunlight. The minute the light touched them, the dragonborn regained consciousness. Andie put them down on the roof of the Church and it was only seconds before their dragons came. They all mounted up and took off as fast as they could, thankful to finally be rid of that place.
Chapter Four
“You don’t understand,” Andie said. “The army is massive. It already numbers in the thousands and is still growing.”
“Oren,” Lymir said, still confused. “What did you see?”
“I’m afraid the allure of the hymn was too much for me and my comrades,” Oren replied. “It completely overpowered us. If Andie had not been there, my friends and I would be at the mercy of the Church. Andie is the only one who was enough in control of herself to see what was hidden in those walls, though I can assure you the Church is no friend of ours.”
“There were always rumors of their megalomania, but never proof,” Saeryn said. “We always assumed the rumors were false and that the Church had no enemies, though now it’s obvious that it never allowed its detractors to leave. But I don’t understand why they think this army will help them achieve their goals.”
“It’s likely both the army and the Church are using each other.” Andie rubbed her temples as she processed the memory of what she had experienced in the Church. “The Church thinks the army will help it convert the world. The army probably thinks the Church’s only goal is to help them take us out. But they’re both our enemies. Not only is that army composed of all our enemies, but it’s so much closer than we ever imagined. I doubt they have transportation for an army that large, so they’ll be walking. It’s only a few days by dragon, which means maybe a month on foot with a large army. And I have to be honest they looked like they’re starting soon.”
Everyone was quiet. Andie, Saeryn, Lymir, Oren, and several of the high members of the University were in the meeting hall of Lymir’s department. Andie and Oren had only been back for an hour, but they wasted no time in warning the others.
“We only just opened the University,” Lymir said. “But maybe we should consider closing its doors again. I’d rather postpone and save lives than risk people getting hurt just to prove we aren’t afraid.”
“We cannot close those doors again.” Saeryn’s spoke with a finality in her voice. “This university is not just for education. It is a symbol to Arvall and to the world of a new era. It means a great deal to my people as well.”
“Saeryn’s right,” said Andie. “We can’t close the doors. We can’t give in. Even if we did, it wouldn’t change anything. That army isn’t for show and it’s coming no matter what we do. Closing the school only takes away the hope we just gave everyone.”
Lymir leaned back in his chair and locked his fingers. Andie couldn’t stop thinking about the Church. She realized that their enemies were greater than they ever thought before. Lymir began to nod his head and everyone knew what he would say.
“So, we stay open. Classes go on as usual and the celebrations will continue as scheduled. We’ll tell the people nothing, but we’ll take every precaution possible. I want our professors trained harder than ever. I want our defenses increased and expanded. Not just magic, but computers, too. I want every security measure we can think of and when we run out of ideas we’re going to call in other people to think up some more. If we’re going to keep these doors open, we’re going to do everything in our power to protect these people and give them a chance.”
“We must,” said Oren. “These people have welcomed us into their lives and their city. They’ve risked a great deal to help us and they’ve made a new world feel like a home. We cannot
lead them into slaughter.”
“We won’t.”
The voice belonged to Raesh. Andie didn’t see him come in. In fact, she hadn’t seen much of him at all over the previous few months. But as he entered the room and neared the table, Andie focused her eyes elsewhere.
“I promise you, Oren, no one is going to be forgotten or abandoned. I agree we have to open the school and keep this army a secret, but don’t worry. We’ve learned a lot in fighting the University. We’re ready, and if we’re not then we will be.”
A kind of ease passed through the room. Raesh had a way of reassuring people. The meeting ended. Andie was almost gone when Raesh called to her.
“Andie.”
“Hi,” she said, facing him. “Something wrong?”
“I want to talk to you.”
Raesh left the room through the other door and Andie followed, wondering what she was supposed to say to him. They hadn’t had a real conversation in over six months and whenever they did talk it was only a passing greeting. She followed him down the long main hall, past Leabharlann, and she almost broke off and ran several times, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. Truth be told, she wanted to talk to him more than anything. So much was going so wrong so fast that she needed someone to confide in.
Saeryn had been a terrific friend, but Raesh got Andie in ways she didn’t even get herself. More than that, there had always been something in their way—an enemy, or battle, or catastrophe, or death. Maybe now they could begin to change that. Soon they exited the University through the front doors and walked to the cliff facing the city.
“I don’t know if you’ve been avoiding me or if I’ve been avoiding you,” he began. “What I do know is that sooner or later we’re going to have to talk. I want it to be now.”
“Raesh, I don’t know what you expect me to say,” Andie said, berating herself for being so cold. “Whatever this is or was, whatever we are, there just isn’t time for it right now. We have enemies all across Noelle. Some of them pretty close to our front door. That’s what we need to focus on.”
“Is it?”
“Yes. We need to look for ways to root these threats out.”
“Do we?”
“Yes.”
Raesh simply stood there, watching her in that way of his, that way that no one else on the face of the planet watched her. Andie didn’t want to admit it, but she felt a host of emotions she hadn’t been forced to deal with in months. After the attack on the city, there was so much chaos and death that she had easily put her personal feelings aside. But now, even with the army in the north, the dragonborn and the citizens of Arvall have gotten control of their lives. There weren’t enough distractions.
“There aren’t enough distractions to keep you occupied,” Raesh said. “And there’s nothing out here but us. I’m going to make this as simple as I can for you.”
Raesh took two steps toward her, closed her in his arms, and kissed her.
“You’re stronger, my leader,” said Lucas. “Soon you’ll be stronger than you ever were, even before the fight. Now that pieces of the armor have fused with your body, you’re going to be more than you ever dreamed. Nearly unstoppable.”
“What are we doing here?” Ashur asked, continuing his pushups. “This is a complete and total waste of time. If I’d known this is what you had in mind—”
“Be patient with me, my leader. I’d already sent scouts ahead to speak with these people and the way seems clear. I would’ve come myself, but I didn’t trust your care to anyone else. I’ve done my research on these people.”
“Lucas, tons of people hate the dragonborn, but that doesn’t mean we can trust them.”
“My leader, you’re right. Many people and factions across Noelle are no friends of the dragonborn, but most of them have only ever hated them on principle. Because that was the way they were raised and told to feel. Few people truly hate the dragonborn and their dragons, and my gut tells me that the only people in the world who hate them as much as we do are these people. We’re here because we need their numbers and their experience. Chancellor Mharú was smart enough to only show part of his forces that night of the attack. He had battalion members stationed all over Noelle, but even with all of them, we still don’t have the force to take on the dragonborn and western Noelle. I believe these people can help us.”
Ashur stopped his pushups and stood. He paced, then he turned to face Lucas. Lucas was his second, his most trusted. While Ashur was too injured to command, Lucas intuited his every need and coordinated the battalion in his stead. He aided Ashur in his recovery and never, not even once, gave Ashur any reason to distrust him. Ashur placed a hand on each of his shoulders.
“Forgive me, Lucas. You’ve been a true ally to me and I’ve repaid you with mistrust. I’ll meet with them.”
Ashur and Lucas walked out into the sun. The top captains of the battalion lived in the largest of a series of cabins the battalion built when it was settled. Just that morning they relocated there, to the Unnamed Lands in east central Noelle, too far for the dragonborn to hear rumors. The sun was going down behind them, and, in front of them, at a distance of two kilometers is the Hushed Forest, so named for the quick and silent death that usually meets those who enter. The trees there were huge, as tall as fifty meters, and more beautiful and lush than any other forest in Noelle. So many have died by thinking that nothing so enchanting could be deadly.
“Are you sure this is where they are?” Ashur asked. “And if they’re so deadly, then why did they send our scouts back alive?”
“Three scouts came back.”
“How many did you send?”
“Six.”
“Maybe we’re on to something.”
“My leader,” said one of the captains. “The information you requested about the Hot Salts has come back.”
“The Hot Salts?” Lucas asked. “What could we possibly need there?”
“I started this investigation long before we confronted the dragonborn that night in Arvall. The Hot Salts is a very inhospitable land: hardly anything grows, most of the water is undrinkable, even the wildlife escaped there in the last age. The only thing that lives in the Hot Salts are criminals, vagrants, and some other undesirable specimens of Noelle. I began to get reports saying they were fleeing the land by the droves, leaving all their possessions. I wondered. What’s terrifying enough to displace an entire community of criminals? I started studying topographical maps. There are mountains in the Hot Salts, some of the only mountains around that are high enough and large enough to hide an entire race of people who don’t want to be found.”
“But the weather there is too unforgiving. The lighting strikes make permanent habitation nearly impossible. Even the criminals only lived at the borders.”
“That almost deterred me, but then I realized that those mountains are huge. So huge, in fact, that their summits breach the clouds. If someone were to settle in the mountains above the clouds, no one would ever even think to look for them up there. I’ve been trying to figure out where the dragonborn have settled since they came out of that portal. They’ve been careful, but I think I’ve found them.”
“That’s excellent news, my leader. These people will be glad to hear it.”
“I’m sure they will. What did you say they call themselves?”
“Can you see them, Olthrion?”
“Yes, my liege. They can be no further than two kilometers. Do you take them at their word?”
“I trust no one. This so-called battalion claims to hate the dragonborn. They say they wish to see the end of them. I think they also intend to use us.”
“What a pity for them, my liege.”
“What a pity indeed. No one uses the Beautiful Dead.”
Chapter Five
Andie stood in Victory Garden on the side of Brie, waiting for her first class to arrive. She wasn’t as nervous as she thought she’d be. At least not about teaching. She and a few other dragonborn worked to reorganize the gardens and in
troduce some of the plants the dragonborn brought from the past and from the Hot Salts. She was a little worried about the Church, the army, and the battalion, but today those threats seemed far away. Today she was thinking about what happened yesterday and what it felt like to finally be with Raesh. She’d essentially given up hope. She’d even stop trusting that they belonged together. But that was over now. And for the first time in a long time, she was happy.
Soon enough her students arrived and surrounded her. It was time for her very first class to begin.
“Good morning, class. I’m Andie Rogers. Welcome to Modern Horological Enchantment.”
Her students stared at her as if she were a celebrity. That was something she hadn’t anticipated.
“Excuse me, Ms. Rogers,” a girl asked. “Is it true you took down both the Chancellor and the leader of the battalion single-handedly?”
“No. Well, yes, but I learned a tremendous amount from the dragonborn and I had a whole network of people who helped me along the way. Taking down the University was more than just one fight.”
“But you’re, like, unstoppable.”
Several of the students nodded and looked as if they might burst from excitement. Andie felt proud, but also a little overwhelmed.
