Four original Titans remained, and the fused plate and flesh went on the offensive. It drove through one Titan's sword, knocking it aside before splitting it down the middle with his own. The plates rang against the floor as the armored construct split apart. Two more were taken in one stroke, he slashed through the chest of one and the legs of another. The last was toyed with, the abomination dancing around the remaining Titan and teasing it before he finally dispatched it.
Impressive, Martell thought to the being who controlled his body, He's quicker, more agile, and stronger with all that weight inside of the plates. But is it really worth the hassle? Are they that much stronger?
The controller considered torturing Martell for his impertinence, but cooled his temper before replying. You really don't understand. Martell saw his hand reach up and pull the Breath of the Titans from his neck. It set the swirling pendant on the ground, and all of the Titans around them went dark and lifeless, except for the flesh covered one. It stood staring stoically ahead before kneeling to Martell. “This is the legacy you will leave behind. Titans that tear the world down around the worshipers of Dalanar.” Mad laughter filled the air, and Martell realized that the person in charge of his body was insane.
Chapter Thirty
She floated on the wind, feeling the currents carry her further and further from where she had started. It felt wonderful, feeling the way it supported and carried her. When she felt this way, she could conquer the world!
“Annika.” An old lady said, and she felt it before it happened. A tap in the center of her forehead that drew her back towards her body. “Focus, young one. You should be trying to take the wind in, absorb its power. Not give yourself to it like a silly girl.”
Annika had to fight her anger, this woman who was her teacher was maddening! She knew exactly what buttons to push with the young orc woman. “I don't know how to do that. You say absorb it, but how? How can I absorb it if I don't surrender to it?”
The old woman let out a loud cackle, passing a disgusting smell beneath Annika's blindfolded eyes. “Breathe deep, suck the air in.” The woman wafted the smell towards the young woman, then began to wave a smoking branch around her. Softly, the old woman chanted and danced around Annika. “Now, relax and breathe. I'll be back in an hour to check on you, so just lose yourself in the time.”
Annika huffed in agitation, hearing a slight tsk from behind her. She took a deep breath, calming herself and finding the center of her being. She stretched out her awareness, working to free herself from her physical body. She was having trouble relaxing enough to work free. That old woman had raised her temper, and that made it harder for the young woman to concentrate. She kept having to reset her mind, focusing on releasing the senses of her body.
On what felt like her thousandth time resetting her thoughts, she felt her consciousness slip free. Annika glowed with triumph as she floated on the winds, trying to find a way to absorb the currents of air as they passed her. She lost herself to the passage of time as she tried different things, trying to suck it in as if it were a breath, and grasp it as if it were sand. Nothing worked, and she felt more and more frustrated as whatever she attempted failed. This was supposed to be the simplest lesson, the one they taught the young children just from their mother's teat! Yet she couldn't grasp it. She gave up, drawing herself back to her body.
Annika walked to one of the shelves in the room, pulling a book free and sitting in the torchlight to read it. She had found a great love for books since coming to this school. Her people had mostly oral traditions, there was some writing, but not much. Here, one of the first things she learned were letters and numbers, and the way they taught it! So quick!
But the other things they wanted her to learn, she felt she would never understand. After a while, the old woman returned, walking stooped over, and using a walking stick to help her on her way. “What are you doing? Shouldn't you be training?” She demanded of her young pupil, stepping forward and rapping her on the head with her stick. “Get back in position and do what you're supposed to do.”
“But I've tried, I just can't get it to work!” Annika complained. She should have been ashamed to hear the whine that filled her voice.
“That's just it, you're trying, not doing it!” The old woman kicked out at her, pointing to the spot in the center of the room. “Now get over there and do it!”
The young woman growled at the old woman, towering above her with barely suppressed rage. “Every time you make me angry, you make the task that much more difficult.”
The woman gave her a funny look, “Really? Do you think when you're fighting with your lover that you're going to be calm? Or are you going to have that fiery temper running full force?” The old lady smiled coyly at the younger before saying, “I know with the passions my own love and I shared, some of my fondest memories of him are from after fights.” Annika's master pointed to the spot on the floor. “Now sit, and figure it out. Otherwise, how can you in good conscious let that boy fall in love with you?” She turned and left the room again, leaving Annika feeling chastised and put into her place.
The young orc woman turned to the circle in the center of the floor, and took her place. She followed the runes with her eyes, searching for the one that would tell her exactly what she needed to do. As she traced the lines cut into the ground, she saw that there were five places where the stone was different than the others. Annika positioned her torso so that her body and limbs would pass through all of the spots, then closed her eyes and worked herself free from the physical realm.
Something was different. Here, now, she could see the currents of air as well as feel them. And she watched as the wind curled in and around itself, reminding her of the funnel web spiders that dotted the orc lands. She took hold of the threads, using nothing but thought, and brought them into herself. Slowly she twisted them, tighter and tighter, feeling the sense of spinning in place. The currents pulled into her, wrapping her tighter and tighter, as she felt herself floating on the wind. This time though, she was in control. Faster and faster she spun, and she loved the feeling, free from her body. There was no sense of dizziness, only the speed at which you spun. Slowly, she released the strands and set herself back into her body. She opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling in triumph! She sat up as the doors opened, turning to it behind her, a large smile plastered on her face. “I did it!” Annika called out triumphantly, her voice filled with pride at her accomplishment.
The old woman looked around the room, drinking in the scene of mayhem. Books and loose pages from them were strewn all over the room, chaos had hit her library. “So it seems.” She said gravely to the younger woman before her. “Congratulations. Now we just need to teach you control.” She gestured to the room around them, and Annika truly took it in for the first time.
Not even the prospect of having to reorganize the room dampened her spirits though, and Annika found herself whistling as she did the work. She even missed dinner, but her teacher brought her a large snack when she was done picking up the mess and placing the books back on the shelf. She fell asleep content that night, none of the dreams and nightmares that had been plaguing her came. She slept the entire night through, waking in the morning refreshed and ready to tackle the next challenge.
Chapter Thirty One
Missy ducked behind a rock, using it for cover. She watched as Rose, a pixie who had been hot on her trail burst into flames. These little demons were becoming more and more infuriating by the day.
They had appeared from nowhere months ago while Lov was just starting his march to Heart. As time went on, and Missy assumed he came closer and closer to Heart, more and more of the little winged demons began to appear. They didn't have a size advantage over the fairies or their flowery friends, but in the surprise and fire of the first attack, they had lost Hae Terrae. The tree had burned in a blazing inferno that filled the fairies and pixies with a blood lust not felt in their kind since the Dragon Wars.
At first, the f
airies held their own, even pushing to all but drive the demons from their lands. But the winged monsters were persistent and refused to stay away. Lately they were returning. Coming back in force and attacking in packs, overpowering fairies and pixies, pushing through their shields before slaughtering those unlucky enough to be caught. In the first days of the attacks, the fairies were busy searching for a new home while their warriors fought. Now they spent their days running for their lives, trying to stay one step ahead of the demon horde. Several times she considered approaching Lov for help, but knew he had enough on his plate right now.
Missy was just about to give up hope when the roar of a dragon burst across the Fairy Lands. A wall of flame passed over Missy's head, scorching everything that happened to be in the air. Some pixies and fairies were caught in the blast, but the demons took far worse casualties. Missy poked her head from around the rock that hid her, seeing Tyrosh towering in all her majesty. She let out a trumpeting roar before disappearing from sight.
Missy assessed the battlefield around her, happy to see that the fairies once again had the upper hand. “Charge!” She called, rushing for the enemy in her sights, thinking of Sherman and Hae Terrae and all of the shit she and her kind had to put up with lately. She charged in with fury.
A spry energetic middle aged woman strode into the village, not running or jogging, but walking at a quick pace. She wore a simple brown sack robe and a sealskin cape to keep the rain off. Her skin was weathered and rough, a soft brown from too much time in the sun. She rubbed her hands down the cape, which had been a gift to her from her best friend. Her name was Apple, but she had always hated that name. She thought her parents hated her, the way they had named her. The lewd things other children had said to her growing up were disgusting, and turned her stomach. She'd changed it to Singala as soon as she escaped from their clutches.
Singala didn't come into the city often. She hated humans. She thought them cruel, manipulative, evil, and easily put under spells of influence. That lesson was taught at a young age when her parents had attempted to kill her friend, Crusherkun. Crusher was a druid, a man with the ability to touch the dragon source. He shunned his human form, choosing instead to go through life as a bear. She understood Crusher's perspective, she never heard him talk, but he got things done. He wanted food, he found it, mostly fish from the streams. In the winter he would feed himself from the stores of fruits, vegetables, and seeds that Sing would bring him. The first winters their pantries had been empty and her parents had to scramble to find food for them. Reluctantly, Sing had shown them her friend. They were shocked and alarmed, but had fallen in love with Crusher's cuteness. They began to think of him as a wild pet for their daughter. A danger when it was larger, to be killed when it showed aggressive tendencies, but cute as a cub. His fur was so dark of a purple that it was black, but when the light hit it just right it blazed a bright violet. Around his muzzle and paws were large oxblood colored spots. They matched their decor perfectly, and her parents had decided to let her keep the young cub.
When the young girl was was ten, a man had come to attack her. Crusherkun had reacted to protect his friend, lashing out and mauling the man who had come to take the young girl's innocence. He had ripped the man's face off with one savage pull of his teeth, and scooped out the bottom six inches of the man's torso, bone and all.
When her parents saw the man dead, they seized their chance. The brutal way the man had died ensured that the Titans would be involved. They told their young daughter that the other villagers and the Titans, wanted to put the bear down. When Apple had tried to explain to her parents what he was, it only increased their want to kill him. A human soul, beautiful and in touch with the universe in a way they'd never understand. That didn't stop them from wanting to kill him still. They said his kind of company wasn't welcome in their home, calling him a magic user and cursing him for thinking of touching the source of Dalanar's power. They never told the Titans, though Singala didn't know that. Sing had spent her life hating Gendry for a perceived wrong. But the one time she had looked on Martell in service, her skin had crawled. It took everything she had to keep from running out of the middle of the service. She didn't want to draw attention to herself. Still, she was one of the first through the doors, and sprinted from the city, not stopping until Crusher caught her.
Her parents were ardent supporters of the Titanbringer. If they were still alive even in these hard times, when their neighbors were being killed by their very protectors, they would still support the one who speaks for their god. It turned her stomach to see them become such zombies to this man, and not the being. They listened to the wizard, not the dragon, and what he taught.
Dalanar taught peace and love. He apologized to trees he knocked over in his passing, and never ate, sustaining himself on the aether of the universe. It sickened Singala to think of what her parents had almost made her into. One of the brainwashed zombies stumbled into her as she crossed the street, cursing her with his looks. She had always been ostracized, after she chose her bear over her parents' will. She hated having to come to town, but some things she just couldn't do on her own. Today she came for needles, steel ones were easier on her hands than bone for leather stitching.
As she approached the general store in the town, a band of enraged farmers came from around the building. She ducked into it, ignoring whatever happened outside. Who knew what drove these people. She slapped a silver coin onto the counter saying, “I need two steel needles, Joseph. Then I'll be out of your hair.” The man behind the counter pointed out the mob that had followed her into the store. She turned, looking them up and down. “What?” She asked, her voice full of disdain.
One of the large men at the van of the group reached out and grabbed her hair, whipping her head around roughly. “We've got the witch!” He called loudly, lifting her from the ground. “Once we kill her, the Titans are sure to leave us alone!”
The store owner glared at the group in his store. “You're all pathetic, get your violent bullshit out of my store. And leave my friend.”
The man set Sing down on her feet, turning back to Joseph. “Keep your mouth shut, fatty, or I'll burn your store down.”
The man behind the counter backed down at the threat, watching in shame as his friend was dragged away. She was kicking and screaming at the man who held her, trying to work free of his grip. But he had a good hold of her, and she only ended up hurting herself more.
She resigned herself to what was coming, ready to face whatever these foul beings did to her. They poked her and prodded her with sticks, and children began to throw stones at her. Sing was battered and abused by the time they put her on the post. They tied her to it, placing her hands above her head. The mob built a wood pile quickly, surrounding her in the brush. One of the men began to pour oil on the wood before they tossed a torch onto the dried vegetation. The flames traveled from branch to branch, and soon the blaze's heat was causing Sing's skin to redden.
Just as the flames were beginning to lick the fabric of her robes, a frigid rain began to fall. A yellow ball of light flitted down to land on the woman's shoulder. “You people are despicable! Why is Lov even bothering to save you from your doom! You seek to kill a woman, for what?”
“She's a witch!”
“Burn her!” the crowd shouted out, and they started to push forward to relight the wood.
Missy pushed them back with a savage blast of air, struggling to keep the crowd in check. A loud menacing roar lit the square, and a large bear came thundering into the town. He rushed up to Singala, trapped on the pole, and ripped the cords that held her before lifting her onto his shoulder. He ran on his hind legs, sprinting from the town, leaving chaos and disorder behind him.
Chapter Thirty Two
Lov sighed, for once happy and content with how life was going. Since he had returned to his army, it had been nothing but smooth sailing. They were now making good time across the farmlands, and more and more towns began to crop up as they went.
Every night, Lov and Nord had to listen to Jaxon complain about his dwindling gold supply. And every night, the two told him to put a damn sock in it. Jaxon grumbled, not happy to see his fortunes dwindling, but content knowing his friends would help to support him after they had beggared him.
They were just finishing a game of spades, when Lov heard a commotion coming at them from outside of his tent. He walked out, looking over the fields. A mob of people streamed from the town, chasing a large bear that seemed to be carrying a woman. Lov acted taking a path to intercept it, his Talons a half step behind him.
Lov ran up to the bear, running into it, attempting to tackle the large black beast. The dark ball of fur refused to drop though. Lov's arms and hands were buried in its coat as he struggled to stop it. The fur was soft and silky, but the muscles beneath it were rock hard as they strained against Lov. They stood, pushing against one another, neither with the upper hand before the woman the bear held began to scream, “No, they're gaining, Crusher! Get us out of here!”
Lov grunted out, “You mean this bear is your friend?” He strained and pushed against the bear, his Talons joining him. The women pushed against his back looking to inch this large ball of fur backwards.
“Yes! This is my friend! It's the villagers that are trying to kill us!” She called out, looking behind Crusher and seeing the people gaining quickly.
“Then tell him to stop! I can't help the two of you and figure this out if he's bowling me over!” Crusherkun roared, understanding every word that Lov said. He refused to be stopped unwilling to take the chance that either he or his friend would be hurt by the villagers. He shoved hard, tossing the young half-dragon back a couple feet and knocking him to the ground. Lov's guards moved swiftly, tripping up the large bear with their staves before he could get far. When he fell, Sing was thrown away from him, landing hard on the ground, and knocking the wind from her lungs.
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