Soft echoing singing awakens me with a start. I sit up. I'm alone on a cool gray slab. I still have my clothes, my shoes, but where's my sword? I pat my vest pocket. Where's my map? I lean my legs over the side, feeling dizzy. Attempting to stand I get dizzy and fall back onto the table. I try again, slower this time, pushing myself off the table elbows first. A deep warmth rumbles in my stomach. My lips peel apart, parched. Peering to my right I see my sword lying against a stack of rocks. I pad softly across the grass and sheath it back to my hip.
On the ground I notice a small folded piece of paper. My map. I stick in back in my vest pocket and look around. A large vat of water in a golden dish sits upon on a stand. I make my way over to it, leaning in face first for a drink.
“You're awake.” A voice startles me. I look up from the vat like a horse from a stream. It's the man from earlier with the long blond hair. He’s older, much older. It's at that moment I first notice his pointy ears...he's one of the Mythical. “I see you found your things.” He motions to the sword affixed to my hip with a draped arm. His robes are white and gold, very delicate patterns emboss his sleeves and breast.
“Yes.” I reply.
“We wish to speak with you.”
“Where is my horse?”
“Do not fear my lady, she is safe. She was not struck with an arrow as you.”
The memory of being airborne while a pain spread across my back flashes across my mind.
“Why did you strike me with an arrow?”
“You have entered our sacred colony, and we do not take kindly to intrusions.”
Wiping a drip of water from my chin I take a moment to look around. Forest ceilings higher than I have ever laid eyes upon encompass me. Trees are not merely trees, but towers and buildings emitting a soft blue glow. It's so much more beautiful than I could ever have imagined.
“Miss?” He pulls my attention back.
“My apologies, I did not mean to intrude.” I look back to his pale gray eyes.
“Please,” he bows with a thin smile, “ if you’d be so kind as to follow me.”
We walk through a labyrinth of green, nothing like the dead forests surrounding the sanctum when I first entered. He leads me to a tree with enormous roots budding out of the ground, thicker than my body. The tree looks as if it were pulled out of the ground as it leans upwards and back, allowing a sort of cave entrance at its deep winding roots.
Without stopping he walks down steps and into the ground under the tree. I follow, taking as much time as I can to glaze over the elegance of my surroundings. A warm glow comes from within, a dark orange light resembling the flicker of a flame. As we descend the remaining steps we are met with a small circular room seating three Mythicals. Two men sit on either side of a woman with white-blonde hair. A small hearth of round gray stones line the center of the floor. Deep in the hearth a fire is lit, emitting light giving off refracting shadows throughout the arching roots.
The three Mythicals rise upon our entrance and nod to the one who brought me.
“Lady Jaria,” the woman begins, “welcome to the Sacred Colony.” I bow in respect.
“How do you know my name?” I ask as I rise.
They look at one another, no emotion plays upon their faces.
“It has been whispered in the trees that she was coming.” She says to me. “She with long hair black as a raven, clad with leather and a sword on horseback.” I tilt my head at them in curiosity.
“I have only just taken that horse this morning...or yesterday, I'm not entirely sure what day it is.”
They exchange brief telepathic glances.
“Lady Jaria, we are here to help you on your quest to Guarded Dusk in the fifth sanctum.” She speaks once more. “We can give you food, and your horse aid. She is very tired. Some are tending her as we speak.”
I shift my weight back and forth on my feet, “With all due respect, why are you calling me Lady Jaria?”
“My dear girl,” the man to her left with deep auburn hair speaks, “do you really not know?” The other two stare at me, with eyes alight in the flickering flames between us. The sincerity of his tone was unmistakable.
“All I know is this has something to do with the Seven Saints. Connar approached me in the woods, in my home of the Realm. He said I am to go to Fangsun, to seek entry to Guarded Dusk. Lord Helwain has turned the Realm against me, although I am not sure why.”
“My dear girl,” the man on the right now speaks, bearing an identical look and voice to the one on the left, “he turns them on you because he fears you. For you are her. The Lady. The Knight Divine. We have heard tales of your arrival whispered in the trees for hundreds of years. We have been waiting.”
“I am still not sure what any of this is about.”
The two men look across at one another. “It is not our place to fill you in, I'm afraid. You will have to learn of your new purpose in Guarded Dusk. We will assist you in arriving safely. One of our archers will be with you through the Western end of our sanctum, to the borders of Fangsun.”
“I'm afraid I don't even know your names.” I say to them.
“I am Elethwayn, keeper of the Sacred Colony.” The woman center bows her long, white-blonde head towards me, the men on her sides follow suit. I bow in return.
“Thank you...it is an honor to meet you Elethwayn.”
She rises from her bow. The same half smile keeps its place on her porcelain skin.
“Hothor will assist you in preparing for your departure and journey to the fifth sanctum.”
A much younger Mythical man enters the room from the twisting steps above. His dark brown hair bears no auburn tint like the others. His eyes are so blue they are almost transparent. A quiver of arrows holds his back as he bows towards me without a word. “May the Saints be with you in your journey,” Elethwayn gives me one last farewell as Hothor leads me up the steps back into the colony.
After gathering food, some blankets for the saddlebags, water and his bow, Hothor takes me to the edge of the Sacred Colony where my horse is waiting.
“She has been in good care,” his light voice expels from thin lips. “We have given her Mythical medicine, she is much stronger now.” I walk up to her, patting my hands along her new ebony saddle. “We have fitted her with new riding gear, much sturdier than the last.” He speaks, hands clasped together.
“Thank you, Hothor.” I look into the saddle bags, and notice a small leather sack pulled shut with rope. Loosening the contents into my palm a thin, gold chain falls out.
“What's this?” I hold it up to Hothor.
“You will know what it is for when the time comes.”
“Seems to be a common phrase these days.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
I study it for a moment, then place it back into the sac pulling the strings extra tight and seal it back into the saddle bag. Hothor approaches a white horse next to mine, with a flowing golden mane.
“This is Ederath,” he strokes his nuzzle. “He has been in my care for many years. What is your chestnut's name?”
I look to her, stroking her mane. Her dark eye looks into mine, as if she is asking me the same question.
“I do not know, I took her from outside the Realm. I hadn't really thought about it.”
“Every horse deserves a name. If I may, my Lady, offer a suggestion?”
“Please.”
“Perhaps you could name her Stallum? It means strength, in our language.”
“Stallum, huh? I like the sound of that,” I pet the white spot along her nose. “What do you think?” She nudges me back, as if nodding.
“I think she likes it.” Hothor smiles, tightening Ederath's saddle. “Shall we head out?” I take a moment to drink in the beauty of the Sacred Colony. I haven't stayed even a day, or at least I don't think. It's impossible to tell what time of day it is. Some parts of the colony are brighter than others, resembling daylight, but without a full sight of the sun there is no way
of telling what time of day it might be.
“My lady?” His light voice shakes me from my reverie of thought.
“Sorry, just taking in your home. I was here so brief, and I'm not sure when I'll get to see it again. If I’ll get to see it again.”
Hothor looks up, running his eyes over the white-blue lights and trees surrounding us in the same way I am as if looking at it for the first time himself. “Yes, it really is beautiful, isn't it?”
“Yes.” I nod, still looking up.
“You will be back my Lady, I'm sure of it.”
We share a look, then get on our horses and begin making our way to the western edge of the colony, to the borders of the fifth sanctum.
V: Fangsun
When we emerge from the colony we find ourselves back in the dead forest at night. “How long until we reach Fangsun?” I ask as our horses walk slow side by side.
“Not long. By sunrise.”
This would go a lot quicker if I was alone and could trot with Stallum, but having a guide and protection seems more pertinent than speed. I take the moment of solace to wrap my mind around as much as possible. What I am doing, what I am about to do. Everyone seems to know what's going on, save me.
“Shh…” Hothor holds up a hand stopping both our horses. Darkness envelops us through the dead trees. I look around, trying to see what has stopped us. Nothing. My sense of hearing heightens with fear, trying to pick up on any remote sound that could pose a threat. Silence. Brooding silence rings painful in my ears.
“What is it?” I whisper. He lowers a gloved-hand to his quiver, fingers delicate as they grasp the feathered end of an arrow. Stallum trots in place for a moment. She makes a noise alerting us of something. Hothor draws his bow, pointing straight ahead as he eases the arrow between his fingers and pulls back taught on the bow. Neither of us so much as breathes. Two glowing yellow eyes appear low to the ground with a deep growl. Ederath takes a step back while Hothor aims, steady. Stallum is getting uneasy. The eyes draw one step closer as a howl sounds out in the night. A black wolf leaps from the darkness as Hothor releases the arrow into its throat, killing it on impact. Our horses both stir, walking sideways and backwards.
“Easy,” Hothor strokes Ederath.
“Are there more out there?” I whisper.
“I'm sure of it. But we can't wait around for them to find us. Let's go.” He kicks Ederath with the back of his heels. We take off in a trot instead of a gallop, moving with ease but not noise. I'm trying hard to stay on course with Hothor, but the trees occasionally split us a reasonable distance apart. An ominous howl comes from the woods behind us.
“Run!” Hothor yells to me, kicking Ederath into a full gallop. I follow suit galloping Stallum. Her own fear begins to kick in, like earlier. She goes wild taking off, at times pulling us sideways. I pull her reigns following Hothor’s bright white horse through the velvet black of the dead forest.
“West! Keep west!” He yells from ahead.
I yank the reigns left and right trying to straighten our course through the trees.
“Come on girl! Come on!”
“Faster!” Hothor is so far I almost can't see him.
I kick Stallum with the rear of my heels as hard as I can, maintaining the reigns west. She screeches to a halt, leaping to her hind legs all but knocking me off when a wolf darts out in front of us.
“Hothor!” I cry as my sword sheath swings backwards. It's all I can do to stay on her. I can't forgo a hand to reach for my sword. Hothor jerks the reigns on Ederath in a swift motion, galloping our direction as he pulls another arrow on his bow and aims. With a quick release, the wolf is struck in the back of the neck and falls to the ground with little more than a whimper.
“Are you alright?” He asks, stopping his horse next to me as Stallum lands all fours back on the ground.
“Yes.” My heart is pounding so loud I can barely hear.
Low growls come from all around us. Pairs of gleaming yellow eyes light up one by one in the darkness, encircling us. I steady my hand on the hilt of my sword, readying myself to fight. Hothor places a hand on my arm, shaking his head. “You must go.”
“We're surrounded.” I say gripping my sword tighter, not taking my eyes off the wolves closing in around us.
“If you stay and fight, you will never make it. Head west, do not stop until you are out of the forest. They will not follow you past the trees.”
My eyes flicker to his, hand still on my sword. “What about you?”
He readies himself with another arrow.
“You cannot take them all on with arrows alone.”
“I can hold them off. They're closing in.” He looks to me, “Run!”
A wolf snaps at the feet of Stallum as I take my hand off the sword and grip the reigns tight.
“Run!” Hothor commands, shooting a wolf leaping towards him with an arrow.
Once I smack the reigns Stallum bolts west, heading through the trees with abundant speed and agility. A few wolves take off after us, the rest surround Hothor. As we start running I turn my head back, through long strands of hair I see Hothor bolt the opposite direction. He turns to shoot when he can. I turn back forward, watching as three wolves keep close on our trail. Do not stop, he said. I smack the reigns harder, leaning in as Stallum races to the edge of the forest. Stallum yelps, pulling north as one of the wolves leaps up snapping at her hind legs.
“Faster!” I command pulling the reigns back west. She follows my direction, picking up the pace.
There.
Just ahead I can see a light at the end of the forest. The fifth sanctum.
“We're almost there! Come on girl! Come on!” She runs steady, heading for the clearing. Only two wolves remain on our pursuit now. I turn once more before we reach the end of the forest and look for Hothor. No sign of him or Ederath. The clearing is just ahead, we're almost there. Pale moonlight shines on the other end.
“H'yeah!” I snap the reigns and kick her legs one last time, pushing for everything she has to reach the borders of the forest in time. One of the last two wolves sees the end of the clearing and slows himself. The other remains hard on our tail. The wolf comes up close on my left. I place my hand on the edge of my sword, readying myself for the wolf to jump, just as we break through the barrier and out into the moonlight. The wolf stumbles and howls at us from the outer most barrier of the dead woods.
Stallum continues her heavy gallop into the wheat fields until I sit upright, patting her neck and cooing her to slow her stride. She runs until the woods are far behind us, slowing only from exhaustion.
“Easy girl, easy,” I rub her neck. “We're safe now.”
She slows from a gallop to a trot, from a trot to a lazy, exhausted walk. “That's it, we're safe now, no need to run.” Once we've slowed, I reach into my vest pocket pulling out the map of The Seven Sanctums. The forest is behind us; the frozen tundra of Winterstrand to the north is too far to see, save the glistening peaks in the distance. To the south lies the Four East Seas, also much too far to see. For now, my vision is endless plains.
Studying the map closer, I try to look for where I should go. I wasn't given a name of who to ask for. I spy a place marked with an a star and the words "The Secret Citadel.” Peculiar, I hadn't noticed that before. Perhaps the elves had placed it there when they took the map from me so I would know where to go? Folding the map back into a perfect square I place it back in my right vest pocket and relax my back. We're on a slow, steady walk now. I look up to the sky and am met with a brilliance of beauty that outshines anything I've ever seen in the Realm. Dark black is broken by bright, neon strokes of purple, green and orange, as if someone bled neon paint into the night sky. The crescent moon shines a clearer white than I've ever seen, standing alone from any of the color that spills across the canvas of the night sky.
Taking a deep breath I am reminded of my father back home. My heart aches for him, and what he must be dealing with in the village, what he must think. I hope C
onnar is able to hold true and look in on him for me. Right now I need to focus all my strength and energy on getting to Guarded Dusk, and brace myself for what could come after. I stretch my arms out above me with a yawn, reaching the ends of my fingertips toward the sky, hoping to somehow touch the color and let it drip down my hand. I lean forward onto Stallum's neck, lying my head on my folded arms, and shut my eyes.
I awake to a bright red and gold sun in the middle of the wheat fields. How long have I been asleep? We hadn't strayed, had we? Looking up I see it.
There.
Right in front of us is Guarded Dusk. Stallum lie on all fours in the wheat field. She must have gotten so tired she laid down with me on top of her. I get off, stretching my legs and grabbing some food from the saddle bags for us. From here I can see a brilliant blue mote outlining Guarded Dusk, with stone bridges entering the town at different ends. We're far enough to take a moment to relax and eat.
After feeding her a carrot and myself a loaf of bread, I decide she's had enough exhaustion for one day and opt walk by her side instead, holding her reigns. We walk up to the stone path at the end of the wheat field and make our way to the nearest bridge.
“Who goes there?” A guard calls from the wall above.
I look up, “My name is Jaria, I—”
“What sanctum are you from?” He cuts me off.
“The Realm.”
He whispers with another guard. “What are you doing here if you're from the Realm?”
“May I come inside?” I avoid his question. I couldn't answer it if I wanted to anyway. He converses with the other guard.
“Yes, but you must post your horse in the stables. They're on the south entrance.”
“Thank you.” With a wave and a smile I pull Stallum back to the path. I'd rather not start answering questions about why I'm here, who I am, or what I want. These are the questions I need answered, not the questions I need to answer for others. As we walk to the other entrance I notice the path continues south, away from Guarded Dusk. There is a wooden post at the corner, with sharp edges and names of cities in various directions from this spot. I take a moment and look for the Realm. A post bears its name, pointing in the correct direction, but a distance is not labeled and the name has been scratched out. Looking to my left down the path south of Guarded Dusk I notice a few small buildings. One appears to be an inn, one a farm. I keep walking along the outer path until I spot the stables up near the entrance.
The Writings of Assassination: Book One Page 5
