Chapter 1: The Scent of War
Story by Cymmie on SoFurry
First page of first chapter posted up.
Chapter One: The Scent of War
The crisp Falling time air whipped throughout the field, carrying with it the scents of death, blood, and burning flesh. The end of a battle lay before Devnet, bodies piled everywhere. Hundreds of people had died the last few days, even more lay injured and forgotten about as they slowly faded away before help could get to them. The scene in front of her was tragic, Souls flickered from existence, soldiers drew their last breaths, and bodies were burned to make space for more.
The frost on the ground made an uncomfortable death bed for many valiant fighters. The sky above them seemed to realize what was happening underneath it, from Dev's Storm Caller's instincts she could tell it was just hours away from opening up and spilling its tears upon the dead.
Healers hurried about from injured to injured soldier, saving as many as they could before they were too exhausted to continue healing the hurt. She watched with a heavy heart as ally and enemy alike were disappearing before her very eyes. She fisted her hand tight into Rebel's white neck scruff and fought back unbidden tears. Her lavender gaze blurred and burned, and she blinked them away hurriedly so she could focus on the task at hand.
She wasn't here to mourn, no matter how badly it hurt to watch not just her people, but every soldier on this battlefield fade away. Death did not play favorites. She whispered a quick prayer to the elements, praying to them to give her strength so that she could save as many lives as possible. Then with a sigh of resignation, Devnet, dismounted from the elk that was her Soul and rested a hand for a single moment on his flank until she felt strong enough to go deeper into the plains where she was needed most.
She wasn't supposed to be here, her father never approved of her being in the after scenes of a battle. He wouldn't allow her to fight, even though Devnet was probably one of his most valuable fighters at the moment.
Devnet's understanding of the magical workings of the world were extensive. She soaked up the books and teachings of it like a sponge. It fascinated her, and her ability to retain the information seemed endless. It was why she was able to master three elements at such a young age. Yet she knew it would all end soon.
Her ability to heal surpassed many people who focused purely on that. Dev loved the ability she had to help, to save, to protect people and their Souls. Yet, she knew very few people who only wanted that from her.
Her father, the High Tethered of the Elementalists, never wanted her to see the aftermaths of the battles because he knew how much pain it brought to his daughter. He didn't want Devnet to view the war in a bad way. He wanted to mold her into the perfect heir to continue on his work after he died. But, she knew that was already impossible. She wanted nothing more than to stop the war, save her people, and the other sects from any more bloodshed. He wanted to win the war, and control everything. She could care less and he knew it.
Yet he still thought he could change her mind if he shielded her from all the death and the fall out. She snorted as she picked her way through the fallen soldiers, waiting for Rebel to alert her to something he noticed, and looking for any sign of life herself. Her father would never understand. Once she took the throne, she would set things right, she would overrule the Council with the help of the few she would appoint herself, and save the people with peace talks, make everyone see.
She could hope at least, she frowned as a rather large raven flew over to a pile of bodies and started pecking at a man on top. She watched the strange bird for a moment trying desperately to place what was different about it as her mind continued to wander, the fact that her father did not approve was why she dressed like a man. Was why she cut her white her short and styled it like a young male lynian, and to hide her tell-tale eyes. It's why she wore the armor of a soldier of lower birth rights. However, with Rebel, the large white elk, as her Soul, she was easy to pick out if the person who saw her was a part of the Noble Guard. So, she avoided the places she knew the Guard would be as much as she could.
The raven turned to look at her, and that's when she noticed it was not just a normal raven, the shocking pupils of pure white looked at her intently.
“Are you going to help me or what?" His voice was creaky with exhaustion and his feathers were fading on the edge in the obvious sign that he was dying.
She nodded earnestly and hurried to him, her mind reached out to touch Rebel's urgently_, Help me move the bodies on top of the man._
The raven fluttered off, and watched nervously, shifting from foot to foot as they hefted several bodies off of the pile until they found a man who was breathing weakly underneath. His chest was caved in on one side, with obvious breaks in his ribs, and one of his shins had an exposed fracture. His eyes opened just barely to reveal the strange white pupils surrounded by a thin circle of black.
“Don't worry, I'm here to help," Devnet whispered, closing her graying eyes and reaching into the well of magic in her body.