Roll Of Fate 10: Crimson Dawn
Roll Of Fate (10)
Crimson Dawn
Seriphia: We waited for the scouting party to pass over us, their footsteps making enough noise in the sand to hint at their numbers while the desert itself lent us its senses to judge just how strong of a group this was. He always took care of His Children, though the joyful rage of a sandstorm might lash us into submission, it was not His fault. We gained more than He took from us, and the beauty of His features filled men and women born of His sandy loins with desire before the word was known.
Desire...it was a different desire for all of us today, for me...for Him. These things that walked across His lands were tainted and foul in ways all of us could sense but not articulate into words. The feeling was enough, and it had filled the air during the destruction of Erithanalis, City of the Golden Suns. There had been many survivors at first before it was found that the air itself had become tainted. Those that remained after the painful culling had sworn to avenge our people and Him for this slaughter. In all the years of civil peace, this had shattered us to our core and left something dreadful in its place.
The pressure above from the travelers faded and there was a silent agreement from all of us. None of the creatures would survive; their blood would stain the sands and be the first step towards vengeance. Sand parted even as it pushed me to the surface, the sound of a storm approaching making me smile behind my veil. He was as eager for this as we were...His help would go a long way towards dispatching these foul raiders.
He struck without warning, the sandstorm howling furiously as it battered the few flying beasts that accompanied the group ahead, the wind and sand parting around His children and I as we dashed forward, silent as death until the first blades and spears found their marks. Shrieks and screams fading quickly in the storm like a discordant chorus as shapes fell and became swallowed by the beautiful chaos. I felt Pain from one of my companions followed by others as they gathered around the only remaining foe, large and dark even in the shifting sands. Three were down and at least one had died from his injury, my tears already drying as I let the storm drive me forward, His rage filling me.
Giving a silent call, I rushed forward sweeping my spear out into the storm and calling upon Him to aid us further, wrapping the blade in his deadly embrace. A sliver of wind and grit surrounded the edge as I jumped, pushed off the shoulders of two companions who had come together for this purpose and used them for springboards to rise high into the air.
I left the storm suddenly, the towering greasy black figure roaring in startled surprise, its bleached face striking against the swirling rust red/brown background of wind and sand. Yellow eyes wide with shock as I spun around and used my momentum to drive the blade and half the shaft of my spear into its forehead.
All His fury embraced me, rushing around and past my form down my spear and into the wound, the complete force of His rage at what had been done to His children. The creature swelled alarmingly before bursting apart, the storm catching and protecting me from harm as I was thrown back. He lowered me to the ground and let His fury fade, the winds and sands settling slowly and revealing the corpses that had yet to be buried in His embrace. There was a cry of despair and I turned to find one of the others kneeling beside a body, my heart stopping as I recognized the face revealed as the veil was pulled back.
"SEVEE!"
***
Denver: ...The jungle trek proved to be quicker and smoother than the journey to Ethanissal had been. For two days we walked through the dense underbrush, using trails the indigenous humans had created from many years of hunting and exploration. While primitive in appearance, the humans were far from barbaric or uncouth, fluently conversing in English though they had a heavy accent. They knew nothing of the prophecies or who the Chosen One was supposed to be and his purpose; something that was a relief if a small one.
Arriving at a river, Ghan-thes arranged for passage up the winding expanse of slow moving muddy water, dropping us at a broad landing of cleared jungle where a temporary weaver outpost had been set up.
"This is as far as I can take you," Ghan-thes croaked, using one of his back legs to stroke his abdomen gently as he looked around. "If you continue to follow the river you'll come to a path leading up through the cliffs which separate the jungle from the desert beyond. We call it the black path; the reason for that you'll discover when you get there."
Clasping his chitenous forearm, I shook it firmly with a broad smile on my lips.
"My thanks to you for your aid and that of your people," I told him, nodding respectfully. "May you live to see many sunrises and children from your unions."
"May you and your companions succeed in what you are attempting," He replied, claws lightly digging into my scales a moment before he turned and boarded one of the small boats that had brought us upriver...
Elayna: ...Trudging along with all the others, I had to hike up my divided skirts to keep them out of the mud and dirt that made up the path along the river, muttering under my breath and glaring at any of the Ryodan guards that thought my comments were amusing.
"Chosen One! Arrogant bastard is what they've sent us; dragging all those of the light into savage lands and through the muck they're covered in!" I hissed, giving a startled cry as I slipped in a muddy patch, barely catching myself on one of the tree roots before I could fall face first onto the river bank.
Letting loose a string of profanity that I had seldom uttered in the open, I tried in vain to right myself and gain purchase with my feet, a gentle hand on my arm the only aid I received.
"Easy, M'Lady," said a gruff voice as the elderly man picked up in the Weaver city attempted to help me up.
"I don't neeeeEEEAAA!" I got halfway to my feet before screaming in panic as I fell back into the muck and sank almost up to my shoulders. This time the Ryodan guards let loose their laughter as my curses reached new heights and breadths.
"That is most un-lady like, Elayna," remarked a voice that caused me to freeze, half wallowing in the filth of the river bank as I looked up. Denver stood before me, his scales gleaming in the sunlight but there was only a slight quirk to his lips to suggest any amusement at my current state. Reaching down and taking my arm firmly, he lifted me out of the mud and set me onto firmer ground. My cheeks burned with embarrassment and I kept still lest I fall again or cause myself to appear even more un-lady like. "If you didn't have to worry so much about your skirts and kept closer to the forest, you might not have as much trouble walking through the jungle...Stop for a break! Ten minutes, take it easy on your water skins!"
Many of the guards sighed with relief and took the opportunity to find a dry place to sit while others decided to keep watch and make sure that none of the native wildlife decided to ambush us for an easy meal.
A low humming song started and I turned my gaze back to Denver, to see him striding out towards the water...and walk upon it, the sight of which made my jaw drop. I knew of only a few clerics and some other less than wholesome creatures who were able to do so, and the new form the Chosen One had taken didn't seem at all able to perform such a feat, yet here it was.
Raising his hands and starting a slow sinuous dance, the water seemed to react almost immediately, part of the slow current breaking away to follow the twists and weaves of Denvers' form. It rose up around him and spun, part of the river bed revealed beneath his feet as he made a slow circle, supported by the water parting at his feet. His voice rose but the song was joyful, soothing, and almost...playful in a strange sense that I couldn't quite understand.
The bare mud hardened in moments as moisture was drawn from it, a low grinding coming from below our feet that had me swaying unsteadily for a second before the tops of large boulders emerged, ringing the area in a solid embrace that prevented even the river from entering it again. The water set Denver down once more on the tops of the boulders where his dance continued, voice going lower and with a deep resonance as the granite rocks seemed to quiver. I saw their sides take on a spongy appearance before they started flowing together, each stone merging with the next to form a kind of bowl, its edge starting to angle back a bit until it was large enough for three people to comfortably sit in.
Stones appeared near its base and spread out, forming a solid platform, the feel of it beneath my feet and the sudden lifting action making me start and give a slight squeak in surprise. Neither the guards nor the mates of the Chosen One seemed to notice or care as the dance started to slow again. Changing back to the tone he used to affect the water, Denver spun once and knelt in a single smooth motion at the center of the basin he had created, abruptly ending the song.
For a long moment, it appeared that the basins bottom became covered with a glassy sheen before I noticed the water rising up from its center, pure and clear without any of the swirling mud and debris moved by the river. Denver remained still, eyes closed as if praying silently before he stood and climbed out of the stony bowl.
"Everyone fill your skins from this before you decide to bathe," he said, a weary note in his voice as he gave a sad smile. Our eyes met again and I couldn't tear my gaze away, something in his eyes hinting at a weariness that was more than just physical. "Soldiers first, the women last...so that you don't sweat while you wait for the men to finish and possibly grow faint..."
Inwardly I knew his comment was directed at me, but I couldn't give voice to the spite his words caused considering that it made sense. 'Damn you,' I thought, quickly turning away to hide my face as my cheeks burned. 'And damn me for being so weak...'
***
Denver: ...Two days later we reached the base of the crimson cliffs Ghan-thes described, the change from lush humid jungle to barren rocky ground sudden and almost unexpected. After just one hour out away from the shade of the trees I could see the change brought forth in the rest of my companions. The Ryodan guardsmen and women who even used to wearing their armor in all weather conditions moved a little slower, their actions sluggish even with frequent sips from their wine skins.
Lesanna, Iridell, and Arosha fared a little better; though Arosha started to gripe about how those with thick fur weren't meant to be baked alive and how it was a cruel punishment for some past deed the Fates were finally getting around to for her. Elayna and the old man fared less well, one due to his age, the other...well...what else can one do with a woman so completely convinced of her superiority to all others? She had finally agreed to change into the light breeches during the brief respite at the pool I had made, but even so, her shirt was soaked with more lost pride than it was with sweat, her own mutterings dark with the occasional swear.
After a few more hours we found the path the Weaver had suggested we use. The black path was almost an understatement; the dust and dirt that covered the winding trail up through a crevice was blacker than pitch and almost as fine as silicate powder.
"I wonder why how this soil changed color?" Lesanna asked as we started up through it, having to use ropes to form a safety line. Lesanna was better suited to climbing up the steep loose bank in her serpentine form than anyone else, and with help, she was able to anchor one end of a rope to an outcropping at the top of the path.
"Could be anything from uncovered ash due to a long forgotten or unseen eruption, to something of a more inexplicable nature," Iridell remarked, pausing only long enough to scoop a small handful and let it slip back to the ground. "Either way, it's not our concern..."
"Let me tell you what is though," I said, finally reaching the top of the cliff and staring out over the expanse revealed. As the others reached the ridge, a bleak look of resignation came over their faces, many of them muttering oaths to varying gods without any real conviction. Spreading out before us in all directions but East and North, lay a sea of rust red dunes, so vibrant that only the occasional patch of scrub or hearty brush remained. Even that didn't extend past a few hundred yards, for all became covered in the crimson sand; the sun above seeming to taunt us with what lay ahead.
Turning to look at my companions once more, I stifled a sigh and steeled myself for what we were about to do. "I want everyone to strip down to their minimal armor and light clothing only!" I shouted, leaving no hint in my voice for compassion or gentle understanding. "No helmets and use any spare shirts to wrap your heads and cover your necks. The less skin you have exposed the better. Scott, I want you and four others to look along the ridge for some kind of outpost or possible water hole. Chances are this close to the river there will be one for other travelers but let's just be sure. When we find a path down to the desert, we'll pause one last time at the river to fill our water skins before setting out across the dunes. Keep your eyes and ears open."
The grumbling grew for a moment before Scott re-issued the commands in a harsher tone, getting the groups mindset back into the guards of Ryodan rather than complaining mercenaries. It took little to understand that this was going to be a long arduous trek...I only hoped that I wasn't leading them to their deaths...for nothing.
Iridell: We found the path down to the desert easily enough, and as fortune would have it, an abandoned settlement at the base of the cliffs. The well was old and wind worn but never the less held the most precious commodity that all natural beings needed to survive. Fresh water.
Before setting out into the dunes themselves, My love bade me to aid him with something to help protect us from the elements further. Taking my hands, we crossed our arms and I shivered, the gathering magick sending chills up and down my spine as it had when Denver formed the wash basin by the river. It was like nothing I had ever felt before, the energies pure and primal, as much given to emotion as they answered to discipline. This time however, there were no words, no motions aside from those made by our spirits as we asked for the aid of the elements and the protection from the fierce heat ahead.
A cool breeze made itself known and playfully wound itself around Denver and I before seeking out the group, gently caressing them as the protection asked for was granted. Placing a hand on his chest as the spell faded but the effect continued to linger, I had to shake my head a little to clear it of the sudden euphoria I felt. Only during the most important rites or when communing with one of the gods themselves had I felt such a rush, and my body desired to feel it again. Steadying me for a few minutes, Denver said nothing, but nodded to the party and started off into the desert with me in tow, a slight quirk to his lips.
***
Arosha: Whatever Denver had done worked well, far better for those with thick fur than the humans, but after what seemed to be hours of wandering a wasteland, weaving a path along the ridges of one dune to the next, it was hard to keep one's spirits up. There was absolutely nothing here but sand, scrub, and more sand. I knew that small critters could survive in a place like this; heck I had hunted in the mountains where it seemed almost impossible for anything to survive, but it did. Each place had its own deadly environment, and critters to go along with them. Being a desert, I could only guess at what small dangers lurked beneath the sands.
Turning and walking backwards for a bit, I took in the overall appearance of the small band I now found myself traveling with. Ryodan was known for its guardsmen and women, having trained with them for a short while to use a sword effectively, I sympathized with what they were facing. This would be the longest hike in any of their lives, and probably the harshest as well. Facing forward again, I quickened my pace until I was beside Lesanna and Iridell, Denver walking just a few dozen feet ahead, apparently unaffected by the heat.
"They can't keep this pace for much longer," I remarked, shifting my pack slightly and casting a sidelong glance to the other women.
"The enchantment is working at keeping the heat off them for the most part though," Iridell replied, frowning and looking back a moment in puzzlement. "I don't think-"
"It's not just the heat, Iridell. It's the miles. This is new territory to them and they probably haven't been on a long trek in a while. Not to mention the humidity of the jungle has drained as much water from them as it's given, if not more. They need to rest," I told her, giving a slight growl and shaking my head. "I don't think you understand just what they're feeling."
"What do you suggest? Stop out here in the open where the sun can bake them dry or the air can leech what moisture is left from their lips?" Lesanna asked, somewhat airily, her serpentine form gliding over the sand with ease. "You know that isn't a practical choice in any regards Arosha. None of the guards have tents and there wasn't enough time to purchase any or the pack animals to carry them. Just be glad it's past midday."
"I'm well aware of what hasn't been planned for, 'princess'," I snapped, both women looking at me in surprise. Shaking my head, I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "Sorry...just...this place gets to me for some reason."
"Understandable. Just try to remember that you're not the only one enduring this journey, Arosha," the Naga princess said, her airy tone vanishing as she gave a reassuring smile. "Just trust Denver. I tasted fresh if warm water on the air a few times now. My guess is that he's picked it up as well and is leading the way to it." I turned my gaze back to Our love and couldn't help but sigh.
"Is it just me or has he grown more distant?" I asked finally, voicing fears that had started to writhe in my heart.
"Leaders...sometimes need to be distant...Showing emotion or fear can break the moral of those they lead, just as surely as it could strengthen them," Lesanna mused, though her eyes also locked on the silver dragon.
"It's not just that," Iridell added. "He's afraid of becoming attached to the people he leads...He knows that if something goes wrong, he'll be responsible for it. The less he knows about them..."
"The less the chance is he'll brood over what he could have done different," I finished, feeling a chill down my spine and hugging myself, suddenly desperate to feel any sort of warmth...
***
Denver: The scent of water grew stronger as well as the sense of peace ahead, my perseverance and trust in the new abilities I had rewarded me as I crested another dune, the sun having long since started its decent. A lush oasis lay below, as if something had taken a chunk of the jungle behind us and transplanted it in the desert, willing it to thrive against all odds. Shouts and welcome exclamations came from the Ryodan guards as they spotted what lay below, a few of them breaking from the marching order to slide and stumble down the dune towards the welcoming haven of shade and water.
Scott shouted for them to halt where they were, but of the few that went down, only a couple listened, the rest already heading towards the pool and stooping to drink. I smiled a little and shook my head at Scott, letting him know it was alright before starting down myself. Even with the spell shielding us from the punishing heat of the sun, the moment I stepped into the shade of palm and date trees, or beneath the few shrubs, I could sense a difference, more a relief than anything else.
"A jewel of beauty in such a desolate place," Elayna remarked, sinking to her knees at the waters edge, eye closed as she basked in the shade of a large leafed plant.
"Life finds a way," I said, looking around and making sure that the others were alright before crouching down as well, lightly resting a palm against the sandy ground. "It always has..." She looked up at me sharply, lips tight as if holding back a scathing reply but none came.
My thoughts were interrupted as a new scent made itself known to me and I stiffened at the touch of steel against the base of my neck.
"Move and die outlander!" Whispered a soft feminine voice, the blade pushing just hard enough to make a point of what would happen if I disobeyed. Shouts of alarm or the sounds of brief struggles sounded all around me and I saw other figures dressed in light full body desert garb standing amongst the guards and other companions. Each had a sword, spear or bow at the ready and the few Ryodan knights who had been knocked unconscious were unceremoniously dumped by their comrades.
"Who are you and what are you doing trespassing in the land of the Sun?" the woman behind me asked.
"We've come here seeking allies in a coming war," I stated, very slowly getting to my feet and holding out my arms to show that I had no weapon in hand. Turing carefully, I faced the short athletic figure garbed in the same rust reds and browns of the desert. Her head was wrapped in cloth, rather like a turban; a small strip of which wrapped over her nose and mouth, leaving only her eyes exposed. "One that will ravage all lands, including this one."
"We're already at war, and for all we know you could be the heralds of the next assault on the remnants of my people!" She shouted back, amber eyes flashing with rage. Sighing, I took hold of the broad headed spear and stepped forward, letting the tip pierce my chest as the woman resisted, her eyes widening. Arosha screamed as Lesanna hissed, Elayna's face going stark white from shock. Only Iridell kept silent, for even the guards protested. I winced as the burning pain lanced through me, the blade severing bone, flesh, and muscle easily as I pulled myself along the spear, gasping in pain as it emerged from my back.
Letting go of the weapon, I force myself to look at the woman again, feeling blood rising in my throat, I tried to swallow so I could speak.
"If...I was leading....them...to destroy...your people....I...wouldn't be wise...doing this...now would I?" I choked out, slowly sinking to my knees and gasping for breath. Bloody foam speckled my lips and I shook my head, trying to fight back the pain. She let go of the spear and stepped back, shocked and horrified at what I had just done. 'She thinks this is crazy, I wonder what her next reaction will be?' I thought, taking hold of the spear again and letting out a strangled roar as I yanked it back out the way it had come.
Stars flashed before my eyes from the pain, but instead of passing out it only drove me to keep going, bit by bit pulling the weapon from my body and letting it go as soon as it was free. Despite the onlooker's previous efforts to restrain my mates, they raced to my side, taking hold of my shoulders to keep me from falling forward. I was panting from exertion and blood loss, my body tingling with pain and magick as it started to rapidly heal itself. "On my blood, I swear...We are not here to harm...you..." Darkness closed in around me and all other thoughts faded from my mind with it.
Seriphia: I watched the three women gently lay the dragon down, my curiosity getting the better of me in my shocked state as I approached them, staring at the wound that right before my eyes was healing. In moments the only traces of it left were the blood stains upon scale and soil as the women tried to wake the male up.
"By the Sire," I breathed, snapping out of my shock at the sound of someone vomiting noisily nearby. Looking to the human woman as she retched again, I scowled a moment before moving my fingers in a series of subtle but complex gestures.
<Let them go and lower your weapons,> I told the rest of my troupe.
<It's a demon. We should follow the legends and cut the heads of him and his followers before burning them,> Alent protested, glaring at the intruders.
<Listen to Him. There is no protest to their presence, and you could feel the taint just as well as anyone else if they were sent from the West,> I snapped, fingers moving a tad faster than normal. <Release them and start setting up camp. We'll see if we can trust these...Outlanders...Epecially the silver scaled one...>
Alent's grip on his shamshir tightened a moment, but he sheathed his weapon and relayed the command silently, before informing our...guests that they were free to move about as they wished, but remain in sight of the oasis. Some of them looked less than convinced that the danger had passed and in truth, it hadn't...but the silver one had bought them a little time with his...display.
***
...It was well after moonrise before Alent informed me that the silver one had awoken but was weakened.
<Their guard is down...we could kill them with ease and leave the matter at that,> he counseled me, glancing back at the dimly lit tents and cook fires. <In his weakened state, even the silver one would be hard pressed to defend himself...>
<I gave my word to listen to him and see what he has to say. He also thinks that we should listen to these strangers and at least learn why they are here,> I replied, grey eyes regarding Alent coolly. <Any idea on which direction they came from?>
<He indicated our southern border but it makes less sense than what the silver one did. We've sent no caravans to the Weavers in a long time...even longer since an emissary from their kingdom has approached us. I don't think they would allow travelers through their lands without killing or questioning them first.>
<Agreed. And I have seen the silk city they call home. This group isn't enough to have destroyed them unless they have powers we have yet to witness,> I told him with a nod. <Keep watch. With strangers in the lands, there may be another raid soon if not an ambush in the night.>
Alent nodded his assent and went to speak with some of the others for the first watch around the oasis. Turning towards the tent set aside for the silver one and the females that traveled with him, I pushed back the tent flap and stepped inside once I arrived. Bedrolls had been made into an improvised pillow behind the males head where he lay, the conversation he was having with the women ceased upon my entrance and all their eyes turned to me.
For a long moment there was silence between us as we looked each other over, part of me intrigued by his appearance and the three females attending to him. It wasn't uncommon for a male to have more than one wife, but in these lands, it was more common for a woman to have more than one husband...when they gave up the blade and shield to another.
"Feeling better?" I asked, tone hollow of any real concern or emotion as I returned my eyes to the male, resting the butt of my spear on the ground and shifting my stance slightly.
"As well as I can be after having a spear driven through my chest," he said with a wry smile, slowly sitting up with a wince, his breaths quickening a little for a moment. "My thanks to you and your people for their current hospitality..." I nodded curtly before sinking into a crouch, spear shaft across my knees. I had no doubt that if they attempted to attack me that I could kill the snake and wolf with ease, the flying serpent was another matter.
"Why are you here?"
"We are here seeking allies against an ancient Darkness that's threatening all lands of this world," he replied, voice becoming matter of fact as the wry smile faded to a somber expression. "A war is about to sweep across the land that will destroy or taint everything in its path until nothing is left but a truly barren wasteland."
"Why should I believe what you say?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, the action hidden by the veil and turbin I wore.
"There is no reason for you to believe what I say since my companions and I are strangers in this land. However, there is just as strongly a reason as to why you might want to consider it to be true. Almost two and a half months ago, the Darkness lashed out at your people, destroying a city in a mere matter of moments and tainting the land it had been built upon," he said simply, my eyes widening as I rose to my feet, spear tip leveled at him.
"You! You were responsible for it?!!" I demanded, rage and hatred rising within me, burning with heat upon heat, upon heat.
"No. The Darkness orchestrated it, I...dreamed of what it did to cause such destruction," he told me, his eyes glistening with tears...tears?
"How can an outlander know of such things if you are not responsible?!"
He didn't respond at first, his eyes closed as the tears flowed down his scaled cheeks. His lips parted and a strange almost ethereal song filled the air as he worked to stand up, the lamp light fading and the tent vanishing from view. His women faded as well but I knew somehow that they were still there. The song continued, rose, grew stronger and more powerful as the darkness around us changed.
...A meadow where the she-wolf stood over a young human, bare to the waist of clothing with silver threads woven around his right hand. They spoke, the words audible but not fully understood. A small trade town, the Inn, dice, lovemaking between them-
-riding through rain, ruins ahead for shelter, the shared moments before a small fire; the human rising again to dance with two ethereal beings, merging with one and joining physically, passionately with the other-
-Change of hair and eyes, a powerful mark of unease, travel to a temple of some kind, the first encounter with the dragoness, an oracle. The council arguing about validity, prophecy, beliefs, the ritual of visions, darkness, consuming, devouring, all but a single light that grows stronger, defiant, compassionate-
-jungles, torrent of twisting images, time flowing differently, sluggishly as if sickened or drugged. A palace of crystal to serpents, housing the elements and their embodiments on this plane. A contest of strength, a proving ground against a many headed beast, spewing corrosive bile, His death, a defiant outburst of power. Resurrection upon the agreement of the elements, the two beings that he had joined with before, the restoration of his body-
-Torture, pain, anguish for the pride of a woman, betrayal of a Kings word, awakening the power deep within again, barely restrained torrents of primal desire and emotions, revenge-
-The Other, Darkness a mirror, inverted, tormenting, taunting, memories, faces, emotions, love, hate, desire, pain, ritual, rebirth, ascension.-
-the song ended softly, the silver one swaying unsteadily before sinking to his knees panting for breath and sobbing, rivers of blood flowing from his eyes like tears. I could sense the anguish of the memories, both those old and new to him, remembered as if through a haze but no less brutal or painful. He had relived them to show me the truth of what he said, the ritual...the Darkness that had violated one of my kin to lay waste to the capitol city. My eyes were wide with amazement at what he had just done but I couldn't make a hasty decision based on just this.
"At sunrise we start for the Pillar of the Dawn. Get some rest all of you while you can," I said, the hard edge to my voice gone as I reconsidered the selfless actions he had taken by pushing himself onto my spear earlier and what I had just witnesses.
"My thanks to you...Lady?" He managed to say between sobs, taking a deep shuddering breath as he looked up at me.
"Seriphia en' Callindar en' Tisuran," I replied after a moment, turning back to look at him and lowering the veil I wore.
"Denver," he replied, bowing his head, a gesture that I returned.
***
Denver: ...Opening my eyes, I looked up at the tent's canopy, faintly tinted by the last remnants of moonlight as it slowly set to the west. Time...seemed so different. Part of me felt as if only a few moments had passed since the conversation with Seriphia, and yet, I felt as though I had a full nights rest already. My mates lay near me, Arosha huddled for warmth next to Iridell while Lesanna rested next to me and a low brazier that still radiated a gentle warmth. Few sounds aside from the easy breaths of my sleeping lovers broke the stillness and yet...I was wide awake for no apparent reason.
Sitting up slowly, I expected to feel a burning pain where the spear had penetrated my chest, yet there was none. It seemed that after each 'death' the discomfort of healing lessened or at least took a shorter time to resolve. Somewhat comforting.
Gently pushing aside the blanket, I stood and exited the tent, closing my eyes and lifting my head as a cool breeze danced through the camp, fresh, and smelling of the plants, water and night flowers of the oasis...lavender, lily, and something else. I noticed one of our 'captors' stood a short distance away, gazing out into the desert, spear resting at ease like a walking stick yet held with a readiness that was hard to miss.
"I would have thought that you'd be making sure that no one was trying to leave the camp," I said, walking up to stand next to him. He glanced at me unconcernedly and inclined his head a fraction before resuming his vigil of the desert.
"Where would your people run? You outlanders wouldn't last a week in His embrace, much less two days. This is the only source of fresh water for seventy miles, and the river is tainted soon after it leaves the jungle by salt," he replied, accent thick but not difficult to understand.
"'His Embrace'?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Something that outlanders will never understand," he continued, shifting his stance ever so slightly. "All that is beneath you, before you, around you is His, is a part of Him. His face shines upon us from the heavens and blesses us with the gift of light even as His harsh treatment of the land forges us into His judgment, His peace."
"The desert's alive?" I inquired, then almost felt foolish for doing so as I opened up my senses more. Of course it was alive, all such places, no matter how harsh or barren were alive, but...now that I had become more aware, I saw what he meant. There was a feeling...a presence in the landscape, proud, fierce, and beautiful in its own way.
"Desert is the term used by outlanders. To us, His children, He is Father, Son, Companion, Brother, and adversary. You can never understand what it means to be one of His," he stated matter of factly.
I bowed my head a moment in thought and the wind shifted again, bringing with it a different scent that brought my head up and made my eyes blaze. The scent of tainted death and decay.
"TO ARMS! RISE AND STEEL YOURSELVES!" I roared, spinning on my heel and making a dash back to the tent, the sword that Arosha had bought for me flying from beneath the blanket already unsheathed.
I heard the guard start to speak harshly before it turned to a guttural scream. Blade in hand, I turned to see a Greevus already crawling its way out of the sand, bile dripping from its tooth ringed maw, the spiked tail sticking out of the guards throat.
Howling a challenge, I jumped and spun towards it, sword flashing as I struck, the demons head springing from its shoulder along with that of the guards. Other shapes were appearing now, some rising from the sand, others making a mad dash over the dunes, horns upon horns sounding from the ridges beyond that sent chills down my back.
"TO ARMS!"
This time the horns and my warning were heeded, and veiled figures dashed out from the shadows they had hidden in, the flash of spears, broad curved blades, and even the gleam of arrows cut through the night, staggering the first wave of night terrors. Others soon joined them, the guardsmen and women of Ryodan more often than not fighting their opponents in small cloths or nothing as they did in armor for those who tried to prepare.
A massive shape reared up before me, a grotesque mockery of a gorilla with a blunted face and a single crimson eye that blazed above a tusked mouth. Two of its five arms lashed out and fell to the ground next to me as I twisted and brought my sword around, its head leaping into the air as the torso split in half as I completed the turn. Instinct, rage, and disgust drove me as I moved upon these creatures, weaving a deadly dance that complimented the true children of the desert, and the guards of Ryodan. Yet even the strongest of them must have felt their stomachs twist at some of the things the moon and firelight revealed.
Something like a centipede skittered towards me, back covered in the grisly parodies of female torso's, the eyes empty pits that leaked blood while the breasts let loose jets of caustic liquid that ate through flesh and metal alike.
A rolling mass of flesh that had the heads of infants twisting and turning about, pressing against the ground as a means of movement would pause only to ensnare someone unwary enough to ignore it with thousands of barbed tendrils from the open mouths, pulling it towards the quivering sphere of flesh that would then open and engulf the individual in a squirming mass of bile green organs.
Nigh skeletal figures that had the skin stretched tightly over the bones but stood almost 8 feet tall strode through the tents, cruel barbed hooks for hands lashing out to snag an opponent and bring it to a slavering demonic head jutting out from the junction of the legs where fangs would tear the individual apart.
Horror upon horror ran through the camp, and for all the skill of the fighters, the enemy had numbers and the advantage of not being affected by their own presence. I moved from one group of creatures to another, barely stopping but for a quick glance before moving on again.
'Too many! Just too damned many of them!' I thought, cutting down something that resembled a turtle the size of a pony, but whose head was actually made up of the two top halfs of a human head, hinged sideways and belching a dark smoke. I tried to let part of my mind relax and a memory drifted up from the past, unbidden but welcome just the same with what it contained.
Crouching on the ground with a snarl, I leaped into the air, rising twenty, forty, eighty, one hundred and sixty feet into the air, sweeping my sword back as I channeled my magick into it. In seconds the hilt became a five foot long shaft, the blade splitting near the base to form twin prongs that flanked the main blade. My weapon flared, shining like a second sun as I spun it up and over my head, the power overwhelming.
"KINSLAYERS SPEAR!" I roared, the air cracking like a whip as I hurled it at the oasis. It streaked forward like a comet then burst forty feet above the camp, lances of light streaking towards each tainted creature within sixty miles, going through flesh, bone, and sand to reach their targets. Where the light struck, the creatures flared, inverting colors and vanishing from existence with only a slight after image and those they had slain to speak that they had ever truly been at all.
Arosha: One moment I avoided the Greevus's tail and the next I was blinded by the flash of something, like a lance of pure light and heat that struck from somewhere above. Then it was just...gone. Blinking quickly, I held my blade at the ready looking around for any other creatures.
"What in the Gods names' was that?" I demanded, confused, dazed and...relieved beyond words. Someone touched my shoulder and I jumped, my sword meeting the length of barbed chain being used by Lesanna as she shook her head. I gave a rueful apologetic smile before looking to where she pointed and seeing Denver slowly descending from the sky.
He almost seemed to float, his scales gleaming brightly in the moonlight as he landed beside an unusual staff that appeared to be driven into a plate of glass. His eyes seemed to burn with a bright blue fire that only made his expression appear more grim as Iridell, Lesanna, and I raced over to him. Trust a male to over react to a situation. Survivors both of the desert people and the guardsmen walked, limped and supported each other as they approached Denver, the bitch who had been wanting to make us prisoners approached him as well, her veil lowered and her expression wary.
"Denver? Are you alright?" I asked, gingerly stepping onto the strange glass disk and sighing with relief when it didn't shatter. Instead of answering right away, he grabbed hold of the staff and pulled it out of the glass, my eyes widening once it became apparent that it was a spear with three wicked blades capping the end of it.
"I could have done that at the beginning of the fight," he muttered, closing his eyes and gripping the weapon in both hands. "If I had only remembered then..."
"What's done is done," Iridell said softly, reaching up to rest a hand on his right shoulder, eyes looking up at him worriedly, her beauty marred by the blood of the creatures she herself had slain.
"I could have prevented so many deaths."
"Loss is a part of life, as much as death is. Not every leader knows when or how to do things until it happens, and then it is a lesson for the next battle," Lesanna intoned, approaching his left and resting a hand on his arm.
"How many died that didn't have to? How many could I have saved if I had thought to prepare for an ambush?" he said, his voice breaking as he squeezed his eyes shut, his body shaking. "WHY CAN"T I REMEMBER?!"
Again light flared, brilliant and golden, expanding wave after wave from his form, passing over me, over the entire camp. My arms had felt like lead weights after all the fighting, my legs twisted springs of pure iron, but the instant the light touched me, all the pain, all the exhaustion vanished with a sudden chill followed by an all encompassing warmth. I gasped, dropping my sword and arching slightly before the sensations started to subside, my head feeling suddenly light and yet at ease. All around me I could see the effects of the light coming from Denver had. Guards who had been limping flexed their legs in amazement as the nicks and bruises born by others seemed to seal themselves or vanish without a trace.
Others who, a moment ago, had been dying a slow agonizing death staggered to their feet, fingers touching faint scars where moments ago there had been rent flesh and horrid gaping wounds. The light faded slowly and my Love sank to his knees weeping, head bowed as he sobbed for those that didn't rise with the miraculous light.
"I-I should h-have done...something...sooner," he gasped between the wracking shudders of his body and hoarse gasps for breath. Seriphia knelt before him and, taking his head in her hands, studied his face a moment before kissing his forehead.
"A wise man once said, be grateful for those that can be saved, for they can remember those who have fallen. All who passed here of my people know that the only true shade is that of death, and all have sworn to fight until all is shade for them. Do not grieve for their passing for it was meant to be so," she said, a hint of compassion tempered by steel marring her voice. "If you must grieve, let it be for the sorrow of the living and those who have yet to realize this truth. Sorrow benefits the dead nothing..."
The fire in his eyes faded, and vanished completely and his sobs lessened. The desert woman rose and walked away, spear in hand and began ordering the disposal of the dead. Iridell, Lesanna, and I knelt by Denver a moment before getting him to his feet and heading back towards the tent. He leaned on us heavily, but it wasn't the exhaustion of the body that weighed his shoulders so. All of us felt the truth. Like any leader, he was accepting full responsibility of those who had given their oaths to him, and the people of the desert who he wanted to ask for aid.
'It'll only get worse from here,' I thought, doing my best to comfort him without passions of the flesh. Tonight had driven all such thoughts from our minds, and we hoped that the blissful oblivion of sleep would help to ease the passing of the horrors that had happened.
***
It seemed like only a few moments had passed before the Children of the Sun woke us from an uneasy slumber and we broke camp for the journey ahead. Of all who remained, none of them sported a single injury from the night before, but that didn't mean the ambush hadn't left its mark. More than a few on both sides were crimson eyed and weary with loss, though it most heavily showed in Denver. His sword was back, the strange spear that he had pulled from the glass disc last night nowhere to be seen.
His expression was grim and determined and despite the best efforts to make him smile, all that Iridell, Lesanna, and I could get from him was a tired sad grin that didn't reach his eyes. For the longest time everyone moved in silence until the midday sun reached its peak, and the Zethanin ordered a break to be taken while they moved off from the rest of the group a ways. Denver remained standing, watching them as each Child of the Sun turned to face the North and knelt gracefully, prostrate on the ground before Seriphia sat up and turned to face her companions, a strange ululating chant rising from her and echoing across the sand. There were brief periods where the other members of her troupe sat up and muttered something in unison before going prostrate again and the chant started up once more.
"She's Leading them in a prayer," Iridell remarked, voice respectful as she listened and gazed intently at them.
"Can you tell what she's saying?" I asked, taking a sip from my water skin.
"My gift is in the dreaming of future events and omens, Arosha," She said, giving a ghost of a smile. "Not the gift of Tongues. Very little is known about these people, aside from legends and half hazard tales brought across the sea by drunk sailors or peddlers."
"They're calling out to their Patron, the being who is One with everything in the desert that's part of the desert, and thus part of Him," Denver said after a moment. "Praising Him and asking that He remembers the children who were lost last night, and hopes that they will be with Him in death, giving their blessings to those left behind."
"You understand what they're saying?" Lesanna said, more of a comment of fact than a question.
"When you listen with your heart and can see the tears in the eyes of the one leading them...Words are barely fit to describe what is being said with heart and voice alike," He told us, bowing his head and closing his eyes. I stared at him a moment before nodding in silent understanding and following his example...
***
Denver: ...It was a few hours to dusk before Seriphia called a halt again, this time at the base of a lone rocky mound that seemed out of place in a land of sand and scrub. The mountains were still miles away, and would take another three days at the least to reach given our current pace. The desert woman lead us around the base of the rocky mound which was well over fifty feet tall and close to three hundred in diameter; taking us to a cleft on the north face of it.
"Go inside and keep silent. You'll find torches that you can light in the chamber ahead. Have all of your companions remove their weapons and put them into bundles," she said curtly, turning back to the rest of her people.
"Why?"
"Weapons are not allowed in the Temple or within the chamber of the Pillar. We also don't need one of your guardsmen panicking and trying to attack his fellows during the journey."
"Journey?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in puzzlement, but she ignored me this time. 'Well, trust works both ways,' I thought, turning to the others and making it clear that all weapons were to be bundled with the packs and secured as tightly as possible before entering the mound. The guards grumbled again but having been caught unprepared by the Children of the Sun once and seeing them fight the same night, not too many wanted to rouse their anger, especially out in the open.
Once the bundles were made, we moved into the crevice slowly, my eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness and spotting the first of the torches set into a crude bracket on the wall ahead. Channeling a small amount of magick, I called forth the fire the pitch and kindling were bound to accept and it lit quickly. Sending the request ahead to the other torches, one after another burst to life with a soft boomf!, the tunnel and chamber we emerged into readily illuminated with the soft glow.
The tunnel itself was only two hundred feet in length with a steady downward slope, the steps well worn from sand and foot fall from who knew how many decades of use. Along the entire length of the tunnel were carvings and paintings that were sometimes barely discernable from the shadows caused by the torchlight. Most of them were rather crude to start out with, but a subtle change occurred as one traveled further.
The carvings and paintings becoming more stylized and advanced as metaphoric representations fell away to more precise depictions of individuals, battle scenes, and other great events. More often came the table sized indentations next to them with a flowing script that was completely undecipherable to me.
"I wonder what these mean?" one of the guards said, just barely loud enough to be heard, the echoes dying quickly.
"It's a record...a history of their entire civilization," Iridell replied, more of a whisper of sudden understanding and awe than in true response to the question. "Everything from their first bonding with the Desert to now..."
Some of the guards exchanged glances but no one else spoke, all of them gazing with a humbled uneasy respect at what lay around them. I nodded slowly in silent understanding, remembering one such time when I had walked into a church in my old life, that wasn't exactly old, but had the feel of being a sacred place in and of itself, and how it also reminded me of something before that. A realm where it seemed true peace could be found at last, along with the promise of many such years to come.
Eventually we came to a chamber with high vaulted ceiling that contained even more astonishing history frozen in the rust red stone, the torch light making the shadows shift and move, as if the scenes were silently re-enacting the moments portrayed for all eternity. The floor was just as intricately carved, but with other symbols that looked nothing like the familiar script adorning the walls. Far more angular, abstract and rough in appearance, each was set in rings that eventually joined in the center where an object that held everyone's attention rested.
Rising from the floor and rings of symbols to the height of three feet stood an irregular jagged pyramid of something that looked like hematite. If such could be melted, caused to fountain and then be immediately frozen at the prescribed moment. The grey silver luster of the stone was marred in places by pitting and the jagged edges, at once beautiful and difficult to look at the same time. The air just above its surface seemed to shimmer and waver, with whatever on the other side looking as if it were 'bending' slightly in the most unnerving fashion. The guardsmen, Arosha, Iridell, Lesanna, the old man, and Elayna spread out around the edge of the chamber, more than once casting the stone in the center a curious glance.
The children of the sun entered soon after, Seriphia leading them and having the bundles of weapons and provisions placed against the wall near the chambers entrance while she glanced around at us.
"This is one of our most sacred places, next to the Pillar of the Sun," she stated, looking at each of us gravely, her veil lowered, her posture at ease yet ready for the slightest fight if needed. "What you see here, and through the gate I'm about to open must never be spoken of. Ever!" Her eyes flashed as she tightened her grip on the spear she held, her companions shifting their grip on their weapons slightly as the tension started to rise a little. "I require your oaths that this will be so, or that death take you before you reveal the secrets you are about to bear witness to."
"I give my word that my companions and I-" I started to say, stepping forward.
"No! Each of them must swear for themselves that this will be so!" Seriphia broke in, her voice stern and broking no argument. "You have already earned Our trust, Silver One. I don't believe you are naive enough to believe that all of those who follow you will honor your word when the chance comes to tell someone about this chamber and the Pillar of the Suns; freely or against their will. They must swear as individuals that they are willing to die before revealing what they witness else they will not leave this chamber...alive or dead..."
I grimaced at her words but understood what she said, and hadn't said at the same time. Last night's battle I may have cleansed any infections, diseases and whatever other injuries had been caused by the creatures that attacked us. That didn't mean that one or more of the guardsmen who followed me did so for the purposes that prophecy and the promise of surviving or dying in service to me. Something I hadn't considered yet knew that there was always a chance.
"You heard her," I said flatly, turning to look at the guards as well, eyes straying to Iridell, Lesanna, and Arosha. "Give your oaths honestly so we can show our hosts respect and continue on to the Pillar of the Sun."
"You can't expect me-" Elayna started, outrage showing itself on her face as she gestured at the Children with disgust.
"YOU WILL DO AS YOU ARE COMMANDED, ELAYNA! OR HAVE YOU ALREADY FORGOTTEN YOUR OATH TO ME?!" I roared, the sound deafening in the small chamber as I finally let my frustrations loose. She fell to the floor and scrambled backwards until she was against the wall, white as a sheet and staring at me in terror. Silence ruled the chamber for the longest moment as all eyes turned to me, uncertainty warring with some of the guards desires to grin at the former high priestess's reaction to my outburst.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and sough to regain control of my emotions, feeling my mates coming closer and resting their hands on my shoulders. There was no forgiveness that I could ask for this time...No way for me to apologize since I had to be a leader, and there were times when a leader...should not...could not apologize for what was said or done. The guardsmen and women gave their oaths readily enough, the old man as well after helping Elayna to her feet so she could stammer out her oath through pride torn sobs.
Nodding in satisfaction, Seriphia gestured to her comrades to place the bundles of weapons and supplies against the center stone and bade all of us to stand in a series of circles, mirroring the rings set into the floor. Kneeling before the twisted triangle, she prostrated herself before it before rising up into a kneeling position again, eyes closed in concentration as she intoned a few words in her peoples tongue. Her comrades responded in murmurs that seemed to make the chamber vibrate, falling silent when she spoke, only to respond again once she finished.
If I had still had hair on my neck, I would have said that the sound and sensation of the chamber vibrating was making it stand on end, as it was, an icy chill ran down my spine as I felt the sensation grow stronger with each verse chanted after Seriphia's intoned phrases. Looking at my companions, I saw that they too felt as though something was happening, but the uncertainty of what was warring with their curiosity. The old man was gripping his bible tightly, knuckles white as he stared around the chamber, wide eyes and in shock.
Following his gaze I suddenly understood why the reverberations were becoming so unsettling. Power was gathering, but it had been so subtle that I hadn't noticed that the chamber seemed to be growing...or were we shrinking? The carvings on the walls loomed over us, the shadows from the ceiling growing more pronounced with each verse as the center stone grew...and started to shift!
There was no mistaking it now, the strange illusion of things being bent was nothing compared to what I witnessed as cold stone started to twist and flow, writhing in the air as it formed complex geometric shapes that stayed only for the briefest of moments before changing again with sickening fluidity and clarity.
The vibration was more than just a irritant now, it was something that could be physically felt by all in the chamber, but it wasn't like that of an earthquake or other violent disaster. The floor, walls, air, even all of the people in the chamber seemed to be vibrating, their forms becoming slowly distorted and fuzzy around the edges of their bodies. I turned back to Seriphia, about to demand an explanation as to what was happening when the flowing stone broke off into individual pieces, each forming a twisted circular ring above each persons head before a blinding radiance filled the room along with a screaming howl the likes of which even in my own memories I had never heard before...except once...
***
...Gasping for air, I sat up with a start, panic gripping my mind for a moment as I looked around wildly to try and get my bearings. The chamber was gone, but the stone rings carved into the ground beneath me and the twisted hematite stone in the center of the circle was still there. My companions were slowly picking themselves up off the ground, some being aided by the Children of the Sun with caution as more than a few had vomited violently upon sitting up or standing. Lesanna, Arosha, and Iridell were all sitting up carefully, the latter two holding their heads in their hands. The Naga princess had coiled her lower body and seemed to be in meditation, though her scales looked a little off color. That and the grim set of her lips said that she wasn't suffering any less from what had just happened.
My gaze went to the rest of the chamber, which I noted with some unease bore very little resemblance to where we had been. The circular platform seemed to have been set in the bottom of a rounded canyon or pit, the surrounding stone of the same rust red rock that the other chamber had been carved from. A broad high ceiling tunnel led away from here, descending slightly to another chamber that I could just barely make out. Both were illuminated by shafts of sunlight from wide holes above us. Other Children of the Sun were entering the chamber, most bearing basins of water or trays with small copper cups of a smoky substance. These were offered to any who wished them, and a few of the Ryodan guards were also being given the 'drinks' most of them the ones who seemed to be suffering from nausea.
Shaking my head a moment, I closed my eyes again and took a few deep breaths before slowly getting to my knees and standing. I didn't feel sick or have any pain, but there was a slight disorientation, a memory screaming out in almost the literal sense to be accounted from my past. That howling scream...Not from any man, beast, or other entity I had ever come across, in this incarnation or before. Yet the memories of Draven, of the past where I had been one entity knew and remembered that same roar and the anguish that had come with it.
"Are you ok, Silver One?" Seriphia asked, tone neutral though I could sense some concern coming from her.
"You just brought us through a Sun," I said after a moments silence, opening my eyes to glare at her, though at the same time, knowing that I couldn't fault her for what she had done. She started, eyes widening a little as her face visibly paled in the light of the chamber.
"How-"
"I've gone through one before, but without any protection. I've felt the flames caress and destructive power. You and your people may be protected to an extent...but those I brought with me could have died...or worse," I stated flatly. She said nothing , her eyes growing dark as her jaw tightened noticeably.
"Denver..."
I turned to look at Iridell who was kneeling beside one of the guards who was still prone on the ground, her expression grave. Talons of ice clenched my gut as I walked over to her, looking down at the person the dragoness was resting her hand on. Scott, the young man I had sparred with in Ryodan and during part of the journey across the ocean lay staring blankly up at the ceiling. The left side of his face and body was blackened, the flesh looking like a partially melted mass along with his armor, left hand partly raised and twisted, welded to his breastplate by the power and ferocity of the sun. He hadn't faced its full fury, but enough to die from the briefest exposure to the radiant star's power.
Turning to look around the platform again, I noted half a dozen more forms who would not be rising, either to joke or complain about the strange trip they had taken into the heart of a sun and out again. The bodies in various states of burned and blackened death, with only a few little more than piles of ash that didn't smoke or smolder.
"Did you know that this might happen?" I asked Seriphia softly, barely turning towards her as I took in the dead, memorizing what was left of them and recalling who they had been when alive. My tone was that of cold, lethal rage. Not only towards her, but at my own ignorance at not having thought to provide some kind of protection, for not asking exactly how we would be getting to the Pillar of the Sun.
"I...I had heard stories...but I thought them to be just that...The last who ventured through the Gate of Suns who was not of the People was over three hundred years ago," She said, voice shaking a little, her own horror of what lay before her apparent, her words true and without any deceit or joy. "I'm-"
"Sorry? Sorry won't bring them back...or retrace the steps of time to before the Gate of Suns was opened so I may give them some protection that will help them survive and keep them from dying or becoming exposed to the sun, Seriphia. Sorry means little to the dead...If anything at all," I said coldly, voice still soft, still barely above a whisper.
"I have a debt to you then," she said, suddenly kneeling, eyes downcast, even as she held her spear out to me, the others of her band mimicking her actions.
"That will not bring them back!" I shouted, snatching up her spear and half tempted to either break it and hurl it down into the chasm.
"No, it won't bring them back," Seriphia replied, here head rising to look up at me without fear or any emotion I could identify. "Yet it is our custom that should any lose their lives by incident, or a misunderstanding on our behalf, that those responsible owe a life debt of service to the family or leader of those who died."
"I can't-"
"You would dishonor me and my people by denying the debt we owe you?!" She demanded, her own voice enraged as she stood up, meeting my eyes with defiance...and fear.
I was caught. In a net of honor that I didn't understand, by the grief and sorrow of loss for those who had already sworn oaths to me from a world I still wasn't sure I understood...and my own humanity. There was no way of knowing what would happen to her or those who followed her if I denied the claim of a life debt owed to me. At the same time, I could only offer her the chance to die in service to me between now and the final battle with my darker half.
Looking down at the spear I held, all the rage I had drained out of me as I realized the truth. She had only had legends of those before who had passed through such a gate to go on. Her people were able to use them freely...But outlanders...
"I accept the fact that you owe me a life debt...on one condition. If I tell you to run and not aid me in combat, you will do so rather than prove your worth, Seriphia," I said after a moment, holding out the spear to her. "I am not the one in need of protection. If I tell you to run, or to protect the others, you will do so. Above all else, you will help to keep my mates, my...wives safe. Is that clear?"
She stiffened a little at the first part of my words, but as I continued, I saw her gaze go to Arosha, Iridell and Lesanna, her posture relaxing slightly.
"Until the Final Shade comes, and the sweet fierce embrace of the Father takes us, So do we swear," She intoned, the rest who followed her breathing the same oaths, sounding like small gusts of wind as she took back her spear and bowed her head in agreement.
She gestured to the others, her fingers dancing in complex patterns and they quickly fell into a protective ring around my companions as the healers continued to aid those still recovering from the trip.
"Take me to your peoples leader," I said, taking one last look around at those who wouldn't rise again in this life. Seriphia nodded and after a few more gestures led the way from the platform into the canyon city that was the home of the Pillar of the Suns...
***
...Even with such a heavy heart, it was hard not to appreciate the architecture of the canyon city. The main streets were the old river beds at the base of the cliffs, with multiple bridges that hung and criss crossed over head. Some of which were big and strong enough to allow carts to rumble along the wooden planks. The air was filled with the smell of spices, beast of burden, perfumes, exotic smokes, and the sound of people talking. It looked like something out of a bazaar portrayed in one of the Arab nations from the world I had been in. The color of fabrics as varied and flamboyant as any I could find at Indel's store, most with silver, gold, or other bejeweled trinkets sown into them. My companions and I caused many to pause and take a long look at us, some in surprise, others in a more calculating manner. Enterprising merchants started to call out to us with renewed enthusiasm, hawking their wares as they sought to gain our attention.
Seriphia's band kept many from getting too close, causing more than a few to curse and spit into the sand, but it did little to diminish the determination of the others. Aside from the press of bodies around us and the fragrances, it was surprisingly cool within the canyon, a nice change from the searing heat of the desert we had spent weeks trekking across.
After an hours walk, we finally came to another cliff face, this one having been carved with the same intricate patterns and relief's as the gate chamber we had traveled from. The archway was easily a hundred feet in height, the entrance guarded by men and women in similar garb to Seriphia, though their weapons also included bolas and broad swords strapped to their backs.
She approached them with upraised hands, speaking quickly in her peoples tongue while the rest of us waited at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the arch. The guards laughed at first, gesturing in dismissal to our group before pausing as Seriphia renewed her plea that we be permitted to enter. I didn't know what she said but it had the guards looking at me appraisingly before finally giving a nod. One was sent ahead of us while the remaining guards parted to allow us entrance.
Unlike the outside archway, there was little decoration in the winding hallway we walked through. No tapestries, murals, or carvings aside from the occasional remnant along the way which was badly eroded.
Rounding a bend in the hall we could see the stone open up again into a large cavern, the ceiling having long since broken to allow the natural light of day to illuminate everything. Three short steps led up to a small dais halfway through the chamber which was over a few hundred feet in length and barely a hundred feet in width. Twenty feet beyond the steps, the floor fell away into a chasm beyond. There were two other doorways, one to either side of the chamber, but what held everyone's attention the moment we entered was the crystal that hung in the air over the chasm.
Almost as tall as the chamber itself, it was a brilliant gold/amber in color, the sunlight seeming to dance along its surface. As wide as a redwood tree, small jagged spurs of crystal jutted out occasionally from various angles, capturing and amplifying the sunlight to a near blinding radiance.
"WHO DARES TO ENTER THE CHAMBER OF THE SUN?!!" demanded a cracked ominous voice that sounded like a ghastly blend of a male roar and a feminine wail. The figure who had spoken drifted down from the crystal, having been hidden by its brilliance before.
We approached slowly and I grimaced in disgust at the wretched creature I found before me. Parts of it were covered in shifting sand, forming crude 'masks' or parody's of a masculine figure and frame, one half of the face also covered, the mouth turned up in a sneer or grimace of anguish. What wasn't covered by the shifting sand had once been female, the flesh now desiccated, leathery and aged, the lips drawn back in a perma-grin of disgust. "THESE OUTLANDERS DEFILE THIS SANCTUARY WITH THEIR PRESENCE! YOU! YOU WILL PAY WITH YOUR VERY SOUL FOR THIS INTRUSION, SERIPHIA!"
"Speaker of the Sun! Please, hear out the Silver One! He knows of our plight and can aid us in recovering our city and gaining vengeance on the one responsible for tainting it!" Seriphia pleaded, going to her knees and prostrating herself before the stairs.
"HE LIES! A DECIEVER SENT TO BRING MORE RUIN! YOU FOOLISH DIM WITTED BITCH! I WILL FLAY THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES BEFORE DEVOURING YOUR SOUL!"
"Speaker!" She cried out, looking up with astonishment, as if seeing the emaciated figure for the first time. "What has happened to you?"
The only response was a cruel echoing laugh that shook the entire chamber, the speakers head contorting to one side as the limbs twisted unnaturally, the snap and crack of ligaments stretched beyond their limits filling the air.
My eyes had stayed on the speaker ever since she had made her presence known, my perception seeing more than just the flesh and embrace of a crazed deity. Black twisting energy laced through every part of her, coursing from a needle thin link that trailed off into the sky that would be barely visible, unless one was sufficiently powerful in the arts of magick. I had seen a similar spell enacted once before and knew there was only one way to stop it.
"DIE!" She cackled, one arm whipping forward, about to point at Seriphia. It never got that far.
I was before the speaker in seconds, my left hand grabbing her right before it could release the blast of vile energy at one of her own people, my other hand ramming into what remained of its chest with a loud CRACK!
My fist closed around her heart even as stark surprise showed on both of her faces.
"Be free of his torment," I whispered, unleashing all the emotions of lose, sorrow, and anguish I had held onto along with me own power as I crushed what remained the center of the speakers heart and corrupted soul. They screamed, the sound deafening, shaking the very stones of the chamber itself as shards of light broke out from beneath her flesh, my own eyes closed as I eradicated all traces of the taint my Darkness had infected her with. Soon she was bathed in light, coming from within her, growing ever brighter as I unleashed the full torrent of my magicks.
The roaring ended as suddenly as it had begun, the light fading until it was just I alone who glowed, as well as the Pillar of the Sun. Nothing remained of the Speaker, except for the sand which whirled around me in a miniature dust devil. It had never been tainted, just the priestess, and through that connection alone it had been enough to corrupt both into the cruelest of beings.
I could hear the voice of the Desert god, whispering to me, thanking me for its release but also asking a favor in return for its aid. A price that I couldn't give or fulfill for him. I paused as I listened, trying to make it understand the full extent of what it was asking until It became clear.
Turning back to my companions, I looked to Elayna and gestured for her to come forward.
"There is a choice before you,"_I said, voice my own, and yet echoing with a deeper, more baritone sound to it. _"You may be released from the service of the Chosen One, but on the condition that you serve the Children of the Sun as their Speaker. Companion, lover, and council to me, their God, the Father of the Desert that is bound to them and thus binds them to me. All of the power you once had will be restored to you, if you agree to this. Yet know that you will be one with me for many years, and part of that will be in service to the Chosen One again, in a different manner than before. It is a choice of Oaths, one with the freedom to help rule a nation wisely, the other, to be bound and serve only one until your oath is fulfilled."
Elayna: My eyes widened as I stepped closer, hesitant of the entity that was speaking through Denver; his words, his presence enthralling but a mere fraction of what he truly was. To be free of the Chosen One but bound to a people I wouldn't understand?
_"You will understand. Through me and with me. You will come to know your people, as you will be known by them,"_He added, as if reading my mind. The sand continued to swirl around him, on occasion a small wisp of it reaching out as if to gently caress my cheek.
It was sensual, powerful, inviting, and yet I could feel the harsh energy that was also a part of the entity beckoning me to become one with it.
Shuddering at the thrill that went through me, I closed my eyes, silently asking my heart if this was the path I was meant for. Had my eyes opened to the truth of the world since I had left Ryodan? Was I willing to learn and grow, become more than I once was?
"If the Chosen One releases me of the oath, I will serve the Children of the Sun," I said at last, voice ringing in the chamber. There was a cry of upmost joy from Denver and the entity bound to him, and it engulfed me completely!
Fear at the speed with which it came to me was quickly replaced with ecstasy the likes of which I had never known. The God took me, lovingly, tenderly, harshly as was his nature. He flowed through me, mind, body and soul, and with each moment of bliss and pleasure I learned, bore witness do, and flet what was the true heart of the Children of the Sun. Their history, their triumphs, their disasters. From noble to commoner, to the most unfortunate of those in the slums and gutters, I knew all of them and they suddenly knew of me, all of our hopes and dreams laid bare to each other.
The power was next, the feel of the sands, the strength of the sun, the harsh forge of the desert that had shaped the people of the land for hundreds of years. I finally understood what it was truly like to be one with a deity, one who was mortal but just as much a part of the god as any other being, and part of a greater whole. I cried from the knowledge, humbled by it even as I was strengthened.
Almost as quickly as it started, it ended, the god slipping to the back of my mind, pleasantly spent and full of love as I came back to myself, by body tingling with sensations all over...
Denver: I watched the sand obscure and cloak Elayna as she accepted the offer, a sigh of relief escaping my lips even as I grinned at the sudden surge of emotions that I felt coming from the center of the vortex. Lifetimes could have passed with emotions that strong, and those who shared them wouldn't have cared how much the world had turned once they had passed. Stepping back, I waited only a few moments before the sand died down, leaving Elayna standing there with a partially dazed look on her face.
Her skin and eyes were the only things changed, having taken on the same rust red coloration as the rest of the Children of the sun, her eyes the bright bronze and empty of the arrogant pride that had once filled them. She looked up at me as her eyes came back into focus and she smiled, approaching me with a gentle embrace as she cried tears of joy. "I'm so sorry," She whispered, her body shaking like a leaf. "I know. What's done is done...and at least you understand. Be at peace, Elayna, Speaker of the Sun," I whispered in return, kissing her forehead. She lingered in the embrace a few moments more before stepping back and turning to those gathered.
"I am Elayna! The new Speaker of the Sun, Chosen by the Father of the Children of the Sun! May all be blessed with His Passion and Radiance!" She intoned, the chamber echoing her voice. Seriphia and the other Children of the sun knelt where they stood, eyes bright with tears of joy as they gave praise in their own language, and from the hallway, we could hear cries of celebration and joy!
'One more step closer,'_I thought, watching as merchants, and other people flooded up through the hallway as servants emerged from the two doorways, bringing ceremonial drinks of refreshment to welcome the travelers. _'I will be ready for you...Draven. Don't lose hope that we'll find her.'