The Nightstone (25 page)

Off in the distance, dozens of mounted knights approached from the east. They charged down several groups of Vulak, though they actually killed very few. They seemed to simply be scaring the fleeing Vulak. Seeing the lances of the knights, Kehet understood why. A lance, like a Unicorn’s horn, could pierce an enemy and a lance with an enemy impaled on it cannot be used again and must be dropped. The Vulak were in full rout, so there was no real need to kill more of them.

The knights approached the circle, but only one passed into the perimeter. He rode up next to where the healers worked on Marc. “I know this man,” the knight said. “Will he live?”

“I cannot say,” the ornately dressed healer said. “We’ve fixed the wounds, but there is more to life than the body. His spirit must believe that he can survive and until he regains consciousness we will not know whether it has faith or has already given up.”

“And Sheillene?”
The knight asked.

Two healers had rolled her on her side and were pulling the Vulak spear through her body. “She’s not in any danger,” one of the healers said. “The Unicorn purified her, so there is no risk of infection. Once we mend the wounds, which are not as bad as they look, she will be fine.”

The knight rode over to Kehet, “I’ve never seen a Unicorn,” he said. “I believed your kind were just a myth.”

Kehet shifted to his human form then said, “It wasn’t that long ago that I thought the same thing. Until recently I didn’t even know I was a Unicorn, let alone a god. And today I led twenty thousand of us into battle.”

“Prince Kehet?” The knight asked. He dropped from his horse and knelt. “
Your
Majesty, I didn’t know.”

“Please stand,” Kehet said. “Like I said, I didn’t know either and it’s a long story, one that I don’t even know the whole of.”

“I’m happy to meet you and happier to meet your army,” the knight said. “I brought every knight that I could gather on short notice and we are only a couple hundred. Seeing how many Vulak
were
here, I doubt we would have made much difference.”

“I’m sorry, I should have your name,” Kehet said.

“I’m Estephan: a Prince of Relarch,” the knight said.

“I’ve heard of you,” Kehet said. “I’m sorry to hear of your father’s passing.”

Estephan looked back to the east. “He’ll be remembered as a good king.”

Sheillene stepped up beside Kehet; she was pulling at a hole in her leather armor where the spear had been moments before. “Majesty, I owe you my life,” she said. “Thank you.”

Kehet nodded, he didn’t know how to respond. How could he make saving someone’s life sound humble?

Estephan saved him from having to try. He said, “I’m glad he did. Westgate wouldn’t be the same without Sheillene on the stage at the Rampant Gelding.”

“Highness,” Sheillene said. “Forgive me, I didn’t notice you. I was distracted.”

“It’s understandable,” Estephan said. “They tell me your half-ogre friend may live.”

“Marc?” Sheillene looked over at where the giant lay on the ground. The healers had finished but one still knelt at his side. “If he’s breathing, he’ll live. I can’t actually imagine anything killing him, and I saw a demon crush his spine and Marc still killed the demon. His spirit is not the kind to give up.” Sheillene’s eyes dropped to the ground and she said, “Prince Estephan, there is something you should be told.”

“Oh?” he asked. “Your other friends, are they well?”

Sheillene looked at General Bryan then she shook her head and said, “Most of my friends were not in the combat. I need to tell you of your brother.” Before Estephan could ask for details, she said, “He died a hero. Between him, his knights and Pantros, they stopped this from being an army of demons.”

Estephan took his helm off and fell to his knees. “He always liked the stories of the great battles and the heroes who fought in them. To be among them will make his spirit proud. The loss of his knights is also sad, and I can’t help but mourn your friend, he was young and not really meant for a warrior’s death.”

“I’m not dead,” said Pantros as he walked over to them. His armor had been torn and there was a cut on one of his shoulders, but the boy smiled impishly.

“Where did you go?” Sheillene asked. “I assumed you went back into the tunnel with Aven.”

“When the Vulak started to flee, I decided to take advantage of their panic,” Pantros said. He held up several pouches, most still attached to belts. “Vulak, it seems, keep silver and gold just like we do. Now several Vulak are a few silver and gold poorer.”

“And their pants are falling down,” Sheillene said. “This is how you cope with sadness?”

“Bryan?” Pantros said, looking over at the fallen General. The healers had draped a sheet over the body. “I expected him to die like this. I honestly expected he already had. The only thing I hadn’t been expecting was that it was for a good cause. I’m going to be sad that he’s gone, but I’m sure he’s causing all kinds of fun trouble in paradise.”

“Sheillene is right,” Estephan said, “You deal with sadness with risk. You use the rush of the daring accomplishments to overcome the depression. You shouldn’t. It’s dangerous. I’m sure you can appreciate how being in a depressed state means you might not be performing to your best. If I know you, I know you take pride in how little risk you actually take. Stealing pouches from people fighting a battle is the biggest risk I’ve ever heard of.” Estephan looked around the battlefield a moment then said, “You were stealing from the living, right?”

“Steal from the dead?” Pantros asked. “Where’s the challenge in that?”

Heather then approached them. “I can’t see any Vulak left to burn,” she said.

“It’s good to see you,” Kehet said. “I’m sorry I left you alone in the city.”

“You left?” Heather asked. “The Wizards hadn’t let me leave the training platform until this morning when Mirica came up to get me.” Heather pointed to the woman in the white gown, who was walking towards them. “It seems that what I am to fire magic, she is to air magic.”

“Close enough, anyway,” Mirica said. She bowed and said, “Your Majesties, thank you for giving us the room we needed to come and save my brother-in-law and two of my brother’s closest friends. She looked at Pantros, “The healers didn’t fix that shoulder?”

“I haven’t seen a healer, yet.” Pantros said.

“Are you telling me you came through that almost unscathed?” Sheillene said.

“I don’t like fighting,” Pantros said. “That was always Bryan’s thing. I did my best to only engage in combat where there was little chance of the Vulak swinging back. It would have been easier, but my sword insisted I only attack from the front of the Vulak I chose to confront. There were a couple that got in my way that I hadn’t planned on. I wasn’t counting but my sword tells me I killed fourteen, which isn’t much compared to Marc, Bryan or you.”

“I didn’t count either,” Sheillene said. “But I can guarantee no one killed as many as the Wizard.”

“Are you okay?” Kehet asked Heather. He had kept count and the number of Vulak he’d killed was four and he felt remorse for having to do so. “You shouldn’t have been thrust into a battle.”

“Fire kills,” Heather said. “Learning to understand that is part of maintaining a Wizard’s calm. I’ve killed warriors prepared to die and I’ve killed innocents who never saw it coming. I can feel sad for the loss of life, but I cannot feel guilt for being the instrument of their death. The warriors I killed on purpose, but they understood that potential fate. The innocents I had no design to kill, but no one without training could control that rage, that power. I kill; it’s a part of who I am.”

“That’s disturbingly rational,” Kehet said.

“Wizards come in two kinds,” Heather said.
“Pragmatic and insane.
Being able to rationalize the results of our magic allows us to still care about the outcomes without being crippled with guilt. It means we maintain the emotional and intellectual facilities to choose how to use our power in the future. Those who can’t rationalize lose all ability to make those choices.”

“We should head to the city,” Sheillene said. “Mirica can you fly us all back?”

“That’s what I came over to tell you,” the woman in white said. “The healers are done, but Marc and two of the Abvi may not wake up for days. I’m going to fly them back, but I can take you all with us.”

“I’ll meet you at the palace,” Estephan said. “I trust your ability to fly us, but I can’t speak for my horse. Pantros, I will want to talk to you about my brother, later.”

“And I look forward to telling you about Prince Reginald,” Pantros said.

“Sheillene,” Kehet said, “Your ear?”

“My ear?”
Sheillene’s hand touched the side of her head where her left ear had been. It didn’t find anything. “All I have is a little hole in the side of my head.”

One of the healers rushed over and stood with his gaze on Sheillene’s feet. “I am terribly sorry,” the healer said. “I didn’t notice the missing ear. I am afraid there is nothing that can be done now that we’ve closed the wound.”

Sheillene pulled back her hair, showing scarred flesh around a tiny hole. “This is permanent?”

“Can you hear?” The healer asked.

“That’s not the point,” Sheillene said, “But yes, I can hear. I’m just not thrilled about the idea of going through life looking like this. I know healers can regrow body parts, find one that can regrow an ear.”

“If we hadn’t healed your flesh, we might have been able to re-attach the old ear,” the healer said. “But we cannot do more than regrow flesh and ears are more than skin and muscle. Perhaps a Tempest could regenerate it. I’ve seen them do what you said and regrow limbs.”

Sheillene turned away from the healer. “I’m ready to head back, Lady Mirica.”

The woman in the white gown reached out to her sides and Kehet felt the wind pick up around his legs. The wind grew stronger though more densely focused closer to the ground. Then something pried his feet from the ground and he nearly stumbled. He stood on a wide disk of wind. Mirica pulled it from the ground and they floated back to the city.

§

The Abvi had launched an attack from the city gates when the Unicorns arrived. The Unicorns had focused on the demons, and the Abvi had simply formed into battle lines and advanced slowly to the enemy. In most cases the Vulak fled before the Abvi reached them. At the end of the day, the Demons were all dead, the Vulak were running back to wherever they came from and only three people died, though the number of people injured was far greater.

King Allaind announced a day of celebration and had the royal stores of wine emptied and distributed throughout the city. He then held a memorial for the fallen of the Battle of Melnith in his audience chamber. The gathering was small, only a couple hundred people. Sheillene and Pantros were among them, as was Marc who seemed as healthy as ever. Three bodies lay draped in sheets, two had swords and shield lain over their chests; one had only a very large sword.

Heather didn’t come to the memorial. After the battle, she kissed him goodbye and retreated back into her training chamber. As much as she said she was fine with what she did, she’d had a melancholy air about her since they’d come back to the city.

The king stood before his throne and said, “There is, among the Abvi of Melnith an Honor rarely given, and when it is, it is only to those whose actions preserve our kingdom. It is an award of such prestige that no Abvi alive has achieved it. Few do so and survive. Today we induct six into the Order of Light.”

An Abvi knight approached the king, holding a cushion in his hand. On the cushion, several pendants glowed. Each was attached to a blue and yellow ribbon. The king took one of the pendants and stepped over to one of the covered bodies. He draped the pendant over the hilt of the sword and said, “Elefth Tercloud, you are hereby inducted into the Order of Light, you have served with honor.”

He did the same with body of Vila Wythetone.

As he stood by the last body he said, “No human has ever earned any Abvi award of such prestige. He set the pendant over the huge sword and said, “General Bryan Aaronson, you have served with honor.”

He then returned to stand by his throne, “General Bryan is not the only human we induct today. Prince Estephan, if you would accept on behalf of your brother.”

The prince, who had been standing near the king, stepped forward. The King placed the pendant in Estephan’s hand. “Your brother, Prince Reginald, a king among men and Abvi, is hereby admitted to the Order of Light. He has served with honor.”

The prince clasped his hand over the pendant and stepped back with a bow.

The king then said, “Prince Kehet, please accept for your subject.”

Kehet stepped up to the dais and transformed into his Unicorn form as was proper while participating in a royal court. The king hung a pendant from Kehet’s horn.
“For Chelle, noblest of the Unicorns.
She has served our kingdoms with honor.”

“Each of these great heroes has earned a monument outside our gates. The king then held up the last pendant. “This one is the only one I have to give to someone who didn’t die earning it. Marc Williams, please approach.”

 
The large man stepped up and knelt. He was still taller than the king but not so tall that the king could not put the pendant around his neck. “You now know the weight of honor. I cannot induct you unless you accept. If you do, can you swear to never bring dishonor to the kingdom?”

“I do accept,” Marc said. “I am flattered by the invitation and will always act with honor, with the honor of the Abvi of Melnith.”

“Then stand, Sir Marc,” The king said. “You are now not only a knight, but the senior knight of the Order of Light. I only require you to attend me twice per year, but you are forever welcome in my court and my palace.”

Marc bowed and stood then stepped away from the king.

The king then said, “I have too many other, lesser but still exalted knighthoods to award at the moment. Tonight we remember the sacrifice of these five and the others, Prince Reginald’s knights, who have died in this battle. Go now and spread word of the fallen and their deeds.”