The Ascension Trial

by CJ Embers

  She noticed and chuckled. “First female guard you’ve seen, I’m suspecting?”

  “Yeah. I disposed of the Tehji’s rules so long ago, yet the guards remained men. Up until now, apparently.”

  She nodded. “I think many women were unsure which path to take for the longest time. Our freedoms were restricted for so long, it was hard to break out of that mindset. As training progressed this past month, a handful of women came to love it. Getting stronger physically, knowing we were no longer weak and at the mercy of every threat. So we signed up to become guards.”

  The woman’s eyes shone when she glanced at me. “Breaking away from the society of the Tehji was a process, but I’m so glad to leave that life behind. I love having freedoms. I love being a guard. And it’s all possible because of you.”

  “I hope that soon, all of Karua will have the same freedoms we have. Speaking of, how is training coming along?”

  “Honestly… I think we’re ready already.”

  My interest was immediately piqued.

  “I think we were ready about a week ago. We just needed to wait for you to heal up, of course. I’m not complaining about having an extra week, though; extra training never hurt.”

  “Would you mind if I steal one of the trainees? Test out how good they are myself?”

  She nodded. “I was hoping you would ask. The reason I kept saying ‘I think’ is because none of us have had a chance to test our skills against an Adeptus. It would be stupid to assume all of the Adepti in Marnori will side with us; we will end up facing some, so it’s best to be prepared with experience.”

  The guard continued, “It’s unlikely us regular folks would win against you and Adepti in general, but it would still be smart for everyone to have some experience fighting an Adeptus.”

  I agreed, so the woman called for the training to stop. When the trainees saw me, they all bowed.

  The guard explained to the group about training with me. Everyone stood and made a space in the center of the clearing. I told Kain to stay and someone passed me a training weapon— a wooden sword— as I went to the center.

  “Who will be first?” I asked.

  A woman immediately jumped at the opportunity. As she stepped into the ring, she twirled her wooden sword. A moment later, she lunged for me.

  Raising my weapon, I blocked her attack. We traded blows, and as we fought, I was impressed with the woman’s skill. She jabbed at me and I dodged, leaping backwards.

  The woman immediately stepped forward, closing the distance between us, and I raised an eyebrow at her courage. She noticed, and a slight smirk played on her lips.

  The seconds ticked by, and I had to continually tell myself to not go too hard on her. Not because my sparring partner was a woman, but because as an Adeptus, my strength exceeded hers and I didn’t want to accidentally hurt her enough to need the doctor.

  Sweat beaded upon her brow as our wooden swords clashed, and I could tell she was losing energy. Her weapon swung towards me, and I blocked it with a thrust of my own, sending her arm flinging back.

  The woman took a small step back and wiped her forehead before steeling herself, looking like she wanted to admit defeat but having enough determination not to.

  She lasted a couple more minutes, and with my sword aimed at her throat, I claimed victory. Helping the woman up, I gave her nod and said, “Good fight. I’m impressed. Keep it up.”

  She thanked me with a smile, pride glittering in her eyes despite the loss.

  The rest of the day, I trained with as many villagers as I could. Each one exceeded expectations. When the sun was setting, I was exhausted. With lounging around in bed for an entire month, I had lost some of my stamina.

  Even though I wanted to set off for Marnori the next day, I figured it would be best to personally train with the villagers for at least another week— plus I needed time to make sure everyone was up to date on the battle plan. During the battle at the capital, I would try to take on the other Adepti myself, but it was inevitable that my people would get into a fight with some.

  That week passed quickly, and each day that did, I felt myself getting stronger, regaining what I had lost during the month of being on bed rest.

  The night before the day we planned to leave for the capital, I was in bed thinking about Helis. I hadn’t seen him for so long, I wasn’t even sure if I was under his protection any longer. The thought tugged at my heart. Never seeing him again was a nearly unbearable idea.

  Why do you never answer me anymore, Helis?

  Silence was the only thing that lingered in the air.

  It’s the night before embarking on the journey that ends with the biggest battle in the history of Karua, and my life, and yet you still won’t appear. Why?

  The longer the silence stretched on, the more the heavy weight of his absence pressed down on me.

  Are you no longer coming to me because you think I no longer need your protection? That I’m doing fine without you? Or is it still because of what happened with my mother?

  If it’s the latter, I can’t apologize. Well, more like I won’t, because I’m not going to lie to you. And if it’s the former, maybe I don’t need you anymore… But I still want you.

  I pulled the blanket up to my chin and let out a quiet sigh. The looming battle had been preventing me from falling asleep easily, and now it was the Trial deity’s silence, too.

  I shut my eyes and tried to force myself to get tired enough to drift off. Finally, it worked, and I fell into an uneasy sleep filled with dreams of the dark god.

  Sometime during the night, the dream awoke me, and I groggily grumbled. When the cold, familiar feeling of metal brushed against my bare shoulder, the sleepiness immediately vanished and I shot upright.

  Seeing nothing but an empty room, my hopes shattered and tears pricked at my eyes. “Please don’t abandon me, Helis…”

  Right before my eyes, the dark god materialized. There was no shuddering of the building, no chaotic whirls of black tendrils, just the quiet whisper of him appearing before me.

  Pure relief at seeing him battled with anger, and I ended up throwing a pillow at him. It bounced off him silently and I threw another one at his helmeted face. He blocked it and a rumbling filled the room.

  Exhausted once again, I slumped and rubbed my face.

  He spoke, the deep sound of his voice soothing me. “I did not come here to have things thrown at me, Adeptus.”

  “Except you’ve been here for a while, haven’t you? You always arrive in an explosion of chaotic energy, but this time you just appear.”

  His presence dissipated my anger, leaving me feeling vulnerable, and I bunched the blanket in my arms. The only thought running through my head was that I wanted him. I wanted him to stay by my side, even if I was strong enough to be without him now. Not because I wanted use of his power, but because I wanted him.

  Helis came closer and gently grasped my chin. A gesture I came to adore.

  As his thumb traced my jaw, he said, “You have me.”

  Chapter 22

  T hroughout the entire morning, I struggled with keeping Helis’ words pushed aside as I worked on finishing last minute preparations.

  He had been gone in a whirl of ebony mist shortly after saying those words, leaving me speechless and alone. I desperately wanted to know just exactly what he meant, but there was no time to speak to him.

  When we finally set off, it was around midday. I ordered a small handful of guards to stay behind to protect the elderly and those who were with child.

  Some of the vulnerable argued, citing my orders of them being trained, but I explained to them that it was only for their protection, and they would only slow us down if they came with.

  We took all the horses from the stables, using some to haul supplies and others to ride. I was at the forefront on a chocolate palomino mare, Kain following beside me. Helis’ ebony blade was hanging from my hip, a spear sat on my back, and a bow and quiver of arrows were attached to
the saddle.

  The five women who had become my friends were just behind me, and when I glanced back, I saw their excitement and determination.

  At night, we stopped to rest. I wanted to keep going for a while, but knew it would not end well if the soldiers were tired when we got to Marnori.

  It felt like the days passed both quickly and slowly at the same time. Every night, I wanted to call for Helis but decided against it. I couldn’t have distractions right now. And just his mere presence was a distraction.

  Half a day out from the city, we stopped, even though it was still light out. For the best chance at succeeding, I wanted to attack at night. There would be fewer guards and fewer chances of something going wrong before we could get to the Tehji.

  Right now, we were hiding out in the forest that the women and I had escaped to. It was about a few hours’ walk to the city, and we would be leaving as soon as dusk fell.

  The atmosphere was a heavy mix of grim, excitement, and uncertainty. As food was handed out, I forwent my portion, my mind too focused on the task ahead to eat. Instead, I sat by Kain while he gnawed on a hunk of dried meat, tracing the jagged edges of Helis’ sword in my lap.

  Knowing tonight could rewrite the future of Karua, I wanted to order everyone to get up and go, but I resigned myself to staring at the onyx blade.

  When the sun touched the horizon, it was time. There was one thing I needed to do before leaving, however. It would have been risky leaving Kain in Shekri for so long without me, but he wouldn’t be able to join in the battle, either; it would be much too risky for both him and our allies.

  I led him to a tree and tethered him to it with a long rope. The idea of leaving him here made my heart ache as memories of leaving Mazi in the village washed over me.

  “I promise I’ll be back, Kain,” I said, kneeling in front of him and rubbing his neck. “If everything goes well, I’ll be back by sunrise.”

  He gave my cheek a big lick and I smiled, trying to keep tears from welling in my eyes. “If I don’t, that will mean we failed… and that’s why I used a rope. You’ll be able to chew through it and survive.”

  I stood, told him to stay, and cleared my throat, trying to shake off the emotions. I went to my horse, swung up, and faced the large group of villagers-turned-soldiers.

  “Tonight will be the biggest battle Karua has ever seen. And if we succeed, this will no longer be a country of Tehji, but a country of freedoms.”

  Everyone raised their weapons in silent solidarity.

  Moving the reins, I turned my steed and set off in the direction of the capital. My entire body was tense with the huge burden weighing on my shoulders. I couldn’t fail tonight. I couldn’t.

  As we passed the valley where most of the female prisoners had been slain, my stomach churned, and I channeled the anger into energy.

  Through the darkness of night, we got close to the city. Outside the gate, I let out a short, sharp whistle. A few moments later, the gate shuddered and started lowering.

  When it was low enough, what I saw on the other side made me freeze. To my horror, I saw Algar gagged and bound on his knees with an entire army behind him.

  I grasped my spear as a Tehjin stepped forward out of the army.

  “People of Shekri and surrounding settlements, the capital is appalled at your treasonous behaviour. However, as we would prefer to not have to shed blood, we will let you turn around and go back to your homes.”

  The silence in my own army was deafening, and I chuckled, drawing the attention of the Tehjin. Raising my arm, I shot it forward, letting the spear fly. It landed with a sickening thunk in the man’s chest.

  As he dropped in an ungraceful heap, my people shot forward with a battle cry. I propelled my horse forward and leaned to the side, grasping the shaft of my spear. It ripped out of the Tehjin’s chest as my mount barreled through the enemy.

  The clash of metal on metal rang through the air and I unsheathed my sword, swinging it at a man. The blade sliced clean through his neck, and the body crumpled.

  My steed plowed through the army, and I hacked and slashed at any who were close enough. A man with a large battleax charged for me, and I brandished my sword to ward him off. Instead of going for me, however, he went for my horse’s legs.

  The ear-piercing scream of my mount curdled my blood as we both fell. I pushed off at the last moment, just barely in time to prevent myself from being stuck under the animal.

  The sound of his cries scraped my bones as I jumped to my feet. I wanted to end the poor beast’s suffering, but the man with the battleax was looming over me, winding up to take a swing at me.

  The heavy weapon was slow to wield, giving me an immediate advantage. However, its size nearly equaled it out. A flash of blue distracted me from the fight for a moment, and I glanced over the man’s shoulder to see an Adeptus cutting his way through my army.

  A burst of adrenaline shot through my veins, and I swung my sword as hard as possible at the enemy in front of me. The strength behind my attack caused his battleax to get thrust back, and I went in for another immediately.

  When his body dropped, I had a moment of panic, unsure whether to end my horse’s pain or intervene in the Adeptus’ path of destruction.

  When Mazi’s death flashed in my mind, I made up my mind. Running over to where the horse was still thrashing around and crying out in agony as he struggled to stand despite his missing leg, I quickly thrust my sword into his chest.

  When the metal pierced his heart, his body stilled. Tears pricked my eyes, but I had no time to grieve. The Adeptus was still carving through the battle, and a quick glance around showed me a handful more; I needed to deal with them as soon as possible to keep as many of my people alive as I could.

  I went for the closest one, who happened to have his back to me as he slaughtered my people. I shoved my blade into his back, severing his spine. He dropped immediately, and I ended his life with a cut across the throat.

  Going for the next Adeptus, he saw me before I could do another sneak attack, and he met me head on. The clanging of our swords against each other was nearly drowned out amongst the raucous battle.

  His blade swung at my head, and I ducked just in time, feeling the metal graze my hair. I jabbed with my own weapon, and he leapt back.

  The Adeptus took a step towards me, arm raised for another swing, when someone stabbed him from behind. When the body dropped, I recognized Oren.

  Anger flooded me like magma, my skin prickling from the heat. I had no time to hash it out with my former second in command, but seeing his face again made me want to tear him apart despite the fact that he had helped me.

  I turned away and leapt back into the battle, feeling like I had whiplash. Why had he helped me? He had made it very clear last time we had spoken that he was sick of the fighting.

  Thankfully, as I attacked another Adeptus, he didn’t join me. As my enemy swung his club, I didn’t move in time, and the tips of the spikes tore across my armour. They were razor-sharp, and some punctured right through. Recoiling from the pain, I tore myself from the weapon’s grasp and raised my sword as the man came at me again.

  Some of my warriors joined me, and with the extra help, we dispatched the Adeptus quickly. I gave them a quick nod in thanks and dove back into the fray, slashing my way through the battlegrounds as I looked for my next Adeptus to slaughter.

  As blood sprayed me, anger crackled through me. I had been distracted before, almost costing me my life; and I knew it was because I had seen Oren. If I had moved only a few fewer inches back, that mace would have punctured my organs.

  I wanted to cut him down, to make him pay for his betrayal. Back in Shekri, I had asked him if he would ever betray me, and he said no, making it cut all the deeper that he actually had. But going after him when there were still enemy Adepti would be a stupid decision.

  Two charged at me shortly after, like they knew I was the biggest threat to them winning the battle. Steeling myself, I shoved the th
oughts of Oren to the back of my mind as our blades met.

  Fighting two proved quite the challenge, and it got to the point where I was unsure if I would actually be able to win. Besides the fact that it was two against one, and despite being an Adeptus myself, they were still men and therefore biologically stronger than me.

  When I managed to shove the tip of my sword through a gap in one’s armour, I tried to immediately follow it up with another attack, but the other Adeptus blocked me and forced me a few paces back.

  It was not long before the one I had injured was back in the game, and I could think of nothing besides ensuring I blocked all their swings. Sweat coated my skin, making the grip of my weapon slippery.

  Blocking another hit, my sword got thrown from my hand, and I nearly froze in panic. They both lunged at me, and I dodged. Without a weapon, I would be dead, but I had no idea how to get close enough to grab it.

  My thoughts were dashed as soon as one of the Adepti swooped down to grab my sword, and dread hammered me. Now, not only was it two against one, but one of my enemies was dual wielding with my own weapon. There was no way I could win this now.

  Before they could come for me, someone dashed between us, weapon raised threateningly at the men. Anger flooded me as I once again recognized Oren.

  The urge to strangle him from behind was overwhelming, but I whipped around and dashed for a pile of corpses instead as my former second in command tried to hold off the Adepti.

  A sword was wedged in between some bodies, and I grabbed its hilt and tugged. It came free with a metallic slurp, coated in blood.

  I whipped back around in time to see Oren fall, and as the men closed in on him, I heavily considered just letting him be killed. Growling under my breath and gritting my teeth in frustration, I leapt for the Adepti.

  They were facing to the side, so neither of them saw me coming, and I managed to end the life of one before the other realized what was happening.

  The fury shooting through my body from Oren fueled me, guiding my sword until the second Adeptus fell to the ground, eyes glazed over and blood tricking from his mouth.