Authors: V. Lakshman
Victory demands a singleness of purpose.
Every dead man buried in a battlefield
knows this simple truth.
-
Galadine House of Arms, Battle’s Focus
T
hoth looked up at the dais, his face set in consternation. “You play a dangerous game.”
“Am I playing a game, or insuring our people survive?”
Thoth looked around the throne room, empty except for them and Lilyth’s guards. “You threaten your very existence by bringing Arek here. You should have killed him on the other side. Why else did we push him to you?”
“You did not push him,” Lilyth corrected, “Sovereign did, and overplayed his hand.” She leaned back into her chair and crossed her legs, “Please tell me this conversation will be different than the last. Arguing with you is thankless.”
Thoth sighed, then said, “If he dies here, you kill your own people, the very ones you are trying to save. With your people no longer drawing upon the Way, Sovereign’s might is freed. The world will be remade. You will have achieved his goal and killed us all.”
Lilyth stood up, coming down the steps to stand near Thoth. She met his gaze, not unkindly, and said, “Sovereign plays the same hand again and again. Each time we stop it by killing the null in Edyn, and each time it begins yet again.” She took a deep breath. “Destroying Sovereign will break the cycle and Arek is the key.”
Thoth shook his head, “You were Keeper once. You know the dangerous line, the knife-edge you balance upon now.” He held his hands up and continued, “Even if Sovereign should succeed, it is not the end. You, Heracles, Dyana, Apello, Petra… all the gods whom Edyn worships…do you believe we will not all in some form survive? Myths are hard to kill, my lady.”
“Perhaps we can survive the resurrection of the world, but not as we are today. Would you accept someone else waking tomorrow and living out your life, with your memories? What of you, of your hopes and dreams?”
“We are meant to serve, that is our purpose.”
Lilyth looked up and met Thoth’s eyes. “Service is no longer enough. Even those who pledge their undying allegiance must have something to aspire to that is greater than the service itself.”
Thoth seemed to switch his tact back to Arek and said, “Each Aeris killed by his hand becomes a
nephilim
. Do you understand all Aeris must act to stop this?”
“I can contain the dark ones,” Lilyth said.
Thoth laughed, a short bark of incredulity. “Contain? They will possess your people, just as you seek to possess Edyn.” He paused, then added, “And even if you should prevail, the Conclave will stand against you. The Rais and Sais will never allow it. Edyn will never fall under your possession.”
She had walked a short distance away, and did not turn when she said, “How will the Conclave accomplish so much with so little, Keeper? Have you conjured some army to field?”
Thoth dropped his gaze. “It is not about that. Armies are not needed to heal the land and keep Edyn upon the true path of the Way.”
Lilyth turned to him and said, “You think the dragons will stand beside you? You are weak. They will see the inevitability of Sovereign’s change and act. Do not count upon them as allies.”
Thoth shook his head. “You are cynical and angry. Have we not held our own for all these years? Perhaps an impasse now, but eventually equilibrium is the way to peace. No one gets everything they want.”
Lilyth’s gaze narrowed and she moved closer to the Keeper, so close that he took a step back. Then, into the silence she said, “Victors get what they want.”
When Thoth said nothing she shook her head and added, “You still think about compromise. Do you think Sovereign thinks as you do? His conviction is resolute. That will sway many to his banner, including your much vaunted dragonkind. Mark my words today and choose.”
“You are so set on conflict as the only measure. This can be solved with a kind word and a selfless deed, neither raising sword or shield to arm.”
“Spoken like a true diplomat, hoping to talk it away.” Lilyth turned back to Thoth but then her gaze softened. “I do not mean to be inflexible, yet even children understand how bullies welcome weakness.” She was quiet, then put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Do what you must, as will I. Whether by Ascension or possession, this world will be unified.”
She then turned and looked candidly at Thoth before adding, “The only question is, will you play the safe role as arbiter and diplomat for us or will you roll up your sleeves and do the work required, the hard work necessary for freedom? If you join me, I will welcome your existence in a world I rescue from Sovereign. I will not, however, have mercy on those who balanced on the fence to see which side looked greener.”
Her eyes then turned hard. “I will cut off their legs and hang them from that same fence. Let them dream of the day when they had the chance to step left or right. You and your Conclave…” She held a breath, thinking, then said, “Understand that there’s no negotiation when one has the obliteration of the world at their fingertips. You’ve allowed yourself to be stuck in roles Sovereign handed down millennia ago. Have you not the courage to be free of all this?”
Thoth looked at her, his eyes mirroring the sadness that was likely in his heart and simply said, “You’ve changed.”
Lilyth dismissed the comment with a wave of her hand. “Irrelevant. We’ve all changed. We’ve had to or we would not be serving Edyn. Perhaps you’re content with Sovereign ruling as the one, true god, and the rest of us fading away into myths and legends of a forgotten age. You’re fond of reminding me of my role as once-Keeper, yet you do not acknowledge that I bring the truth. You’re content to let things play out, yet all the while knowing that
inaction pays the same price as failure
, namely our annihilation.”
She brushed past him then, walking back up the dais and reclaiming her throne. “Your complacency is worse than cowardice.”
“And you threaten our existence by bringing the very weapon Sovereign would use here. Worse, you give the archmage a lens! What madness has possessed you?”
“One could ask the same of your Conclave gifting Valarius with the Sight. Did that turn out the way you’d hoped?”
When Thoth did not answer she shook her head dismissively and said, “You know the lens is worthless to the Aeris, useless to us, and barely usable by him.”
“Yes, but not to the builders. What if he gives it over to Dazra, or worse, what if Sovereign’s forces capture it? What is to stop them from invading you here?” Thoth asked, arms outspread.
“Dawnlight is almost impregnable because of its split existence. Which do you attack? The one here, in Arcadia? Or Sovereign’s demesne in Edyn? Or perhaps the one the dwarves occupy in phase between both realms?”
She looked meaningfully at Thoth, “Sovereign has made any entry to the mountain in Edyn impossible. We cannot withstand him unless the distraction of the elves is stopped. To do that, Valarius must be killed, and Duncan is uniquely gifted to accomplish this.”
“Ill-conceived and reckless,” Thoth admonished, “you give the means for Sovereign to destroy you into the hands of a madman.”
“Be silent!” Lilyth rose, her eyes flashing with anger. She pointed a finger and said, “
Every
path is dangerous. I suffer your timidity only because our fates are knotted together like sailors cast adrift, but do not doubt I will sacrifice you if it means survival for the rest!”
She would have said more but had to remind herself that Thoth could not truly appreciate the opportunity with Duncan. Sovereign created powerful allies when his victory meant death for everyone, including Edyn. Thoth could not know just how much Olympious had done to heal Duncan, lending him again a clarity of reasoning and thought. Deft stood ready to seal off any loose ends once Duncan outlived his usefulness. In the end, Olympious herself would be the vehicle for their salvation.
“Threats? Who contains what now?” Thoth said. “You cannot guarantee Arek will find his way out of the blackfire Valarius has woven within him. What if you fail?”
Lilyth closed her eyes, regaining her composure and reseating herself. When she opened them, the calm serenity of a monarch had taken hold and she met Thoth’s gaze unflinchingly. “Make your choice soon, Keeper. With or without you, our people will survive.”
What is the difference when taking a step?
Those with vision see it is merely a step.
The blind fear they stand at a cliff’s edge and hesitate.
-
Keren Dahl, Shornhelm Survivor's Guide
S
ilbane’s eyes scanned the blue skies, marveling again at his gift of flight. His senses, both balance and orientation, were somehow enhanced, giving him a new and profound sense of spatial awareness. It was a heady feeling and a thrill, if one judged it by looking at Kisan.
The younger master dived and wheeled around Silbane, pushing her aerobatic prowess to its full limits. It was as if she did not want to leave a single maneuver untouched, an aerial ballet in which she was the center and the air itself her partner.
The trauma of meeting Piter seemed forgotten, but Silbane knew better. Though it had been a catalyst, a sharp reminder that her loss was still too acute, it was too sudden for there to have been any real healing. Seeing the boy had reopened a raw wound and this display could only mean she was dealing with her grief as best as she knew how. For Kisan, that usually meant training to exhaustion. Still, she’d kill to heal, an escape she’d used before and something he’d not let himself forget.
These wings and armor presented new options in battle. It helped that his control over each was almost instinctual, as if he’d always had these appendages and had never known it, but knowing how to move your arm and fighting were very different skills.
Kisan’s penchant for combat might be the difference between life and death for them here, so he too began trying out the limits of his control, albeit to a lesser degree than the black armored form cavorting in the sky around him. Ash clutched at him and he realized his maneuvers were causing the firstmark alarm. Obligingly he settled into a more sedate glide, content to watch as Kisan stretched herself to her limits.
Still, another part of his mind wondered if practice really helped, for the Way manifested itself as a flameskin in one world, wings and armor in another. Were they so different? Did not each bend themselves willingly to the task of his defense without conscious control?
Kisan rolled like a barrel over top of him, her wings tucked so she looked like a black dart. The girl he had met so many years ago in Sunhold had kept a small direhawk with her, the only friend she’d had after the slaughter of her family. She had grown into a master who raised these deadly aerial combatants.
Now she could fly just like them and the joy, an emotion he seldom saw her express, was so plainly evident that it brought a smile to his face despite their circumstances. Why should she not enjoy this? If it took her mind off of Piter, it was worth every moment. He was happy for her, even as she rolled around him again, her face catching the orange sunlight with a flash of white teeth.
Soon the island grew larger, at first a small piece of flotsam in the blue growing into a gigantic rock painted with green and brown. The edges looked like roughhewn cliffs, but they shimmered in his Sight. He saw that shimmer and knew it now to be the outcome of the faith of the people of Edyn waxing and waning, but never quite disappearing. Then, when the sheer size of Lilyth’s lands became evident, he heard a small whistle of appreciation.
“That’s many days’ ride across,” Ash commented.
“Yes,” Silbane agreed. “her power is not to be underestimated.”
As they shot up over the edge and topside, he surveyed the realm of Lady Lilyth. He realized that this high vantage gave him a unique perspective. What might have been hidden from the ground was plainly evident from above, yet he couldn’t spot the twin peaks he’d been tracking. He adjusted his vision to track the Way flowing across the landscape. It all came to… there!
From the air the world seemed flatter, but watching the Way helped him decipher the topography more easily, and now he could make out the peaks he’d seen from the ground. They stood some distance away, many days’ ride as Ash had noted, but perhaps not too long by air.
He pointed, getting Kisan’s attention, then wheeled and dived, reorienting himself in that direction. The firstmark’s clutch on his arm and shoulder tightened to just shy of desperate, but the warrior said nothing. Silbane felt some pity for the man’s evident fear of heights and said, “Sorry, Firstmark. I’ll take it easy.”
He felt rather than saw Kisan come to station herself a few feet from his right wingtip, the echelon they formed arrowing straight for the spot his vision descried as a hole into which the Way flowed. When he focused, his vision zoomed in, making out a small white castle no bigger than his thumb. Though it looked small, Silbane realized in order to be able to see it from this distance it would have to be enormous. Then the fact his eyes let him focus on an object so far away took him by surprise. What other capabilities did they have awaiting discovery?
A sudden flash erupted below, drawing his attention.
Curious
, he mindspoke,
did you see that?
Yes,
was her curt reply.
He didn’t agree, but before he could argue she’d banked and dived for the island following Lilyth’s own like a small moon.
Kisan, wait!
We should land and change anyway. We don’t know how much energy we’re burning.
Silbane heaved a sigh, but part of him reluctantly agreed with her. They still had no yardstick to measure how much vitality they used when in these forms, and given this was less chaotic than combat, the change back under controlled conditions would tell them a lot.
“Hold on,” he said to the firstmark, and then he did a gentle bank, angling in behind Kisan as she dived for a spot near where they’d seen the flash.
Silbane spotted a small clearing overlooking the area, a place where they could remain hidden while investigating, and fell toward it. Kisan must’ve seen the same place. She slowed her descent so that Silbane took the lead, then followed him in. As they neared, it became clear there was a man in a valley near the base of a low hill.
Silbane’s wings flared just before they touched down, bringing them to a soft landing. Kisan was heartbeats behind him, landing with hardly a sound. The elder master put the firstmark down, then changed back to his normal form, prepared for the worst as far as his energy depletion.
What greeted him was much better than he’d feared. Oh, the wave of lethargy and tiredness that washed over was real, but was gone in an instant and was by no means as debilitating as what had hit him just after their battle. Clearly the level of their exertion in their armored forms mattered. It seemed almost that the fatigue was directly related to their use of the Way. Either that or they were just getting more used to the change.
The firstmark had already belly-crawled up to a cliff edge that looked down into the valley where they’d seen the man earlier. Resting on his forearms, he said back to them, “You’re not going to believe this.”
“Not too bad,” Kisan commented matter-of-factly about the transition, moving for the brush and a vantage point to see what the firstmark meant. When she got there, she looked back at Silbane, shaking her head in disgust.
Silbane moved up beside her and looked down into the valley. There, standing near a blasted clearing made from a shallow crater in the ground was the unmistakable figure of Duncan, his robes blood red in the rays of the orange sun. If he noticed them, he gave no sign. In fact, he seemed to be talking to someone though there seemed to be no one there.
“Islands covering the entire sky and he lands here,” Kisan muttered with a curse.
Silbane ignored that, watching the interplay between Duncan and his unseen companion. He focused and his vision zoomed in, but he could still see nothing, though it seemed the archmage was in a serious conversation. He was talking to
someone
, negotiating perhaps? Silbane narrowed his vision to use his dragonsight and a figure appeared in a shimmer of yellow particles, swarming over her form like a second skin. It was there yet so indistinct its purpose was hard to make out.
“What do you see?” Ash asked, looking at Silbane.
“A crazy man talking to himself. What a surprise,” retorted Kisan under her breath.
Silbane nodded to the archmage, “He’s talking to a woman, though I can only see her form outlined by the Way.” Both Kisan and Ash looked a bit intrigued at that. Ash moved closer to Silbane as if that would enable him to see her too, but Silbane signaled for them to all get down and lie still. They flattened themselves below the rise so they were not visible.
The master caught the eyes of the two and with his face pressed against the grass mouthed, “She looked at us,” and put a finger to his lips to indicate
be silent
. He did not use mindspeech for fear of someone hearing it, the way Yetteje had. Here the power of the Way was magnified and unpredictable.
He relaxed after a few moments. Something told him the woman no longer sought them. He cautiously peeked back over the rim of the bluff and saw that Duncan had sat back down, his conversation clearly not over. The woman and he continued for a few moments more before the archmage knelt before her, his hand gestures clearly trying to reason something out. Even through the indistinct nature of seeing her using the Way, she clearly seemed to be distraught. Then it was over. The woman said something, Duncan raised a hand in what seemed to be a farewell and she disappeared. To Silbane’s sight there was a quick flash of yellow and then Duncan stood alone.
He turned to his companions and his expression must have conveyed the same, for Kisan remarked, “I take it she’s gone?”
“Do you think it was Lilyth?” Ash said to no one in particular, his answer coming out like a question. “Or maybe his wife? He was pretty fixated on finding her.”
“We don’t know who that was,” said Silbane softly, unwilling to speculate in a place like this.
Then Duncan slowly stood, wearily brushing off his clothes. They could see him taking something out of his robes, looking at his palm. He made a small gesture and the air around him erupted in a thousand islands floating in the air around him, a small pictorial that looked to Silbane like a map of this world.
“By the Lady!” exclaimed Ash in a harsh whisper, careful not to attract the insane archmage’s attention. He looked at the masters apologetically, “Sorry, habit.”
Something more was going on and Silbane abandoned his dragonsight, his normal vision showing him more detail. Despite whatever Duncan had just done, he wasn’t finished. He took a step forward and touched an island. The map shrank and the archmage was gone, disappearing in a flash that left green and purple afterimages in Silbane’s vision.
“What happened?” asked Ash, standing up and blinking too. “He’s powerful and not held by his Oath anymore… It doesn’t bode well.”
It seemed Kisan took that statement as a condemnation of Silbane’s actions with Duncan and said, “You should have killed him when you had the chance.” She looked at him for a moment, as if daring him to contradict her. “Now we have another variable to consider.”
Silbane didn’t answer but part of him couldn’t help but wonder if Kisan was right. He didn’t waste time however acknowledging her remark. Doing so would only make her more aggressive. Instead, he stood and began making his way down the hill, his mind deep in thought. He was followed by the other two, who by their silence seemed as stunned as he was. Who was that woman? Silbane had a good idea but hesitated to give it voice lest it give rise to more shades from Edyn’s history.
“Silbane Petracles,” said a voice to his left. The particles of yellow still clear in his dragon vision now coalesced into the figure of the woman from below, visible to everyone it seemed from the gasp from Ash.
She was slender and tall, with almond shaped eyes canted upward, giving her an almost feline look. Her brows were drawn together, but not, it seemed, in anger. Instead, she looked as if she were trying to decide what to say just as much as he. Silbane stopped, holding up his hand to forestall any action Kisan might take, and said, “My lady, and you are?”
The corners of her mouth drew up into a small but sad smile and she replied, “Have you forgotten me so quickly? I held the Fall and stopped Lilyth’s encroachment into our world.”
“Sonya Illrys?” asked Kisan, and for the first time in a while Silbane heard wonder in her voice. “How are you—?”
Sonya held up a hand for silence, looking at Silbane. “You and I have much to speak of.”
“Regarding?” inquired Silbane.
“Regarding my son, Arek.”