"The storm is approaching, we should move on. That "forest" is not too far now." Eraanel, a Lightborn with a slight yellow glow said. His right eye looking in the East, his left eye missing, covered by his hand in an attempt to regenerate it.
"Is it safer though?" Felemous, a Lightborn with a slight blue glow and a missing arm asked. Lightborns all around sitting down, tending to their wounds. "It could be just like the Frozen Passage, another lure." he said in spite, looking to his left, Orvus crawled up in shock.
"It doesn't matter." Manna added, she was taller than all of them now, her glow stronger than before, as she stepped between them and forward, looking at the road ahead and the looming storm. "If we stay here, a lot more will die. We don't have the power to keep the storm away, there's not enough of us." she continued, a good part of them now missing. "And even if danger is waiting, I can protect us. Not even the beast would put a scratch on me now." Manna said as she looked at herself, then changed her gaze towards Orvus, reaching with her hand for his shoulder from some distance. Her limbs were now much longer "Isn't that right, my cowardly brother?" she inquired, her eyes full of spite and powerful sparks.
A sun and a half ago
"We've been going for two suns, how far did you say it is?" Eraanel asked. His eyes looking for an answer at Orvus.
"Another two suns and we'll be there. Do no worry brother, soon we'll touch on new, more promising lands. I promise you." Ovus calmly answered, he was now less desperate but a lot more cautious. They've been walking for four days now and no sounds, only that of the waves and the occasional thunder in the distance. Or the large plates of ice slightly shifting under their weight. That would normally calm him some, but there were absolutely no sounds. When he first walked across the passage, some birds with six wings, a large beak with a large portion at the bottom and three eyes, that he named multiwingers, would soar the sky and sometimes plunge into the sea, catching smallfish.
A species of fish which had small hooks onto which others from their species would catch on and swim together, forming clutters of them. The largest clutter of them that Orvus had seen was the size of a small hill under water. The multiwingers were natural predators of the smallfish, as the smallfish were of the multiwingers. The multiwingers are plunging for small groups of them, but if the clutter was larger at the bottom than the top, it would trick the multwinger into trying to grasp at more than one could lift. That effectively made the multiwinger try to pull more than they could lift and the smallfish could swim down, wetting their feathers and trapping them on or under water. The smallfish would then unhook from the main host and savagely attack the multiwinger. Some multiwingers used this as an opportunity to gang on the smallfish. A truly visceral dance of life and death.
There were other critters, some which you would see on the pieces of ice which formed the passage. Walking orcas, timing their attacks on smallfish or clawsquids. Some were just resting above water, like greenwhales and fishbears.
On their road so far, Orvus didn't notice any of them. Smallfish, multiwingers, walking orcas, greenwhales and so on. That placed a great deal of worry onto Orvus, who now paced at the front faster, trying to make everyone walk quickly without raising suspicion. But those which were more experienced in hunting, did notice the faster pace. It was similar to an animal which knew something is not alright. With that in mind, no one really wanted to press this issue onto him, as they trusted his judgement, except for Manna that is.
She was walking by his left, as usual, when she put her hand on his shoulder, grabbing the spear with her left. "What's going on? Are you okay?" she worriedly asked.
He jumped a little at her touch, some panic could be seen in his eyes "What? Yes, of course. Everything is fine and good." he was lying, trying to hide his fear.
"You can tell me if something is wrong you know? It is why I'm here, to take care of you." she replied, taking her hand off cautiously.
"Nothing's wrong." he said, a small pause following "Well. There is something, but I'm not really sure. I'm sure it's fine though." he continued, trying to hide himself while trying to get it out.
"Orvus." she called his name, stopping him and grabbing him by both shoulders, her spear between her left hand and his left shoulder. "If there is something that concerns all of us, you should tell us. If it's something which concerns only you, you can tell me." she told him, seeing as he was under some sort of pressure.
"The um. The birds, and the fish. They're not there." he said, his right hand scratching at his hair, his eyes looking down, searching for something that wasn't there. "Nor are the other animals. They all are gone or something. Maybe whatever made that sound swallowed them whole. Maybe it wants to swallow us too?" Orvus was now panicking. But Manna couldn't allow that.
She grabbed his chin, lifting up his face to meet her eyes "Look at me brother. You can't falter. We've crossed more than half of it and we need you for the remaining, as well as for what's beyond the Shivering Lands." her voice and words calming him down.
"You're right. I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe it's just all inside my head." he said now a bit more relieved but still cautious of his surroundings.
"That's better." she said, a smile on her face "Now let's push forward. Once we're on the Frozen Side, that's where it becomes hard." her words full of confidence.
Before they could resume their walk, Felemous cried from the back "Orvus! Manna! There's something mo-" before he could finish, a long, large appendage snapped out of the sea. Suckers the size of their limbs, looking as if they're breathing were all across the appendage. In a split moment, it grasped at Felemous's arm and pulled him up into the air. Felemous, however, had prepared from previous encounters with powerful predators with safety measures. He could use his light to give orders to his limbs in lightning time fashion, allowing for near instant reactions. His ability activated at maximum capacity once the danger grasped him, his eyes glowing strongly and sparks erupting, allowing him to cut off his arm in a split second decision with his dagger. He fell from high up, caught only by his wind cushion which he barely manage to wave, as his sibling were all frozen in shock.
"Monster!" Felemous screamed, breaking their frozen up bodies. The Lightborn snapped out of it. Some were running away, while some manipulated wind, water and light to fight against the tentacle, successfully cutting and destroying it's flesh.
"Those with a glow like me follow Orvus! Those with a glow like Orvus's, follow me!" Manna commanded, she assessed the situation quickly. Those which could manipulate elements were the only ones capable of dealing successful damage to the monster, while those which were better hunters were needed to carry over the soon to be wounded. "Orvus, take them, form groups and-" as she turned to him, she could only see fear on his face, still frozen in place. "Orvus!" she snapped at him.
While she tried to wake him back up, more tentacles showed up, these were longer and stronger, sweeping across the ice plates, with it, crushing and throwing up and off the plates Lightborns. A powerful roar following, shaking the plates with it's sound. Dozens of Lightborn were losing their lives as tentacles pulled, grasped, ripped and squashed them.
Manna couldn't waste her time on Orvus, he wasn't going to move and her siblings needed someone to guide them. She ran off towards the tentacles, jumping above and below them, cutting at each while doing so. Orvus could only think "What a mistake." as he took off ahead, his siblings asking him what should they do. But he wasn't responding, he only ran.
Not knowing what to do, the others joined Manna in her efforts to detour the tentacles and save as many as possible.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"You fools!" she cried at them as she cut at the tentacles "You should've stayed with him and-"
"We are here because he isn't there Manna!" Eraanel interrupted her while taking up the body of one of his siblings, bleeding from the head.
She was frustrated but she had to deal with the challenge in front of her "Tsk! Very well! Eraanel, take three groups with you and pull back the others." she commanded as she infused herself for a moment with the power of all four lights and cut off a large portion of a tentacle "Felemous! Keep attacking the tentacles with two groups while leading them the opposite way!" she continued, grabbing a fallen sibling of hers while dodging the attacks.
"Yes sister!" both responded, taking over their roles fast. Lightborns were dying now less and less, her plan successfully getting enacted. The tentacles getting led away from most of them, while Manna let others take care of the sibling in her arm.
"Good, if we keep at it a bit more, we should be able to-" as she was thinking and running towards Felemous, a powerful roar was heard. She witnessed as the ice plates, one by one, got flipped over by the monster, hundreds of Lightborn falling into the water. She tried to escape the incoming attack, but to no avail.
She was sinking under the water. Now, Manna could see the monster, it's body stretching north of the passage until it couldn't be seen due to the darkness in the water. Hundreds of lights around her, left, right, in front. They were getting drowned and extinguished. She could only cry as her brethren were grasped by the monstrous limbs and eaten in front of her. She closed her eyes, wishing for everything to just be over.
She couldn't get what she wanted, the peaceful yet gruesome ending. Her eyes opened as dozens of her siblings grasped at her body, reaching for her arms, legs, head, chest. Everything those smaller hands could grab, they did and pushed her up. As they would get snatched from her body, one by one. She saw the smiles on their faces, as their light would join those four she carried. The more she got pushed up, the brighter she shone, and more of her brothers and sisters died. She tried to grasp at them, pull them along with her, but they all got taken away from her.
After a couple of minutes, she was back up, pushing her body on the ice plate. Some other Lightborn could be seen, trying to get away from the water. Manna saw them and put her hand forward, trying to reach for them. But to no avail, the monster took them one by one and pulled them into the dark waters. In a mix of sadness, sorrow and rage, she infused her body with the full power of the now seventy lights she possessed. The light couldn't be contained by her body any longer, trying to escape from everywhere as it lifted her up into the air, the ice plate cracking and melting under her.
"Enough." she commanded in a calm voice, from her eyes, lights erupted upward and light surrounded her, shining brighter than the sun itself for some moments. She put her hand forward, her spear in her left hand. She didn't know how to use this power, so she did the simplest thing she could think of. She gathered all of it in the palm of her hand, then simply let it out. The beam of light pierced the water, steam erupting violently at the contact, as the light continued deeper and deeper, until it pierced the body of the monster. Once inside it's body, Manna focused on the light, then dispersed it throughout it's body until it couldn't contain it. What followed was a shockwave of blood, bone and flesh that rippled across the water.
As the waves washed over the ice plates, Manna flew closer to them, her body falling motionless. She could barely see between her eyelids as her siblings were running away from the now dead monster and towards her. She felt as if her body flew once more, her siblings lifting her up and carrying her off from the fighting place.
A sun later
"Sister. Save them. They need you."
"I-I can't. All of you, too many of you are dead. I don't think I can."
"Do you want them to die?"
"No! I don't, but it's so heavy, your lights, your thoughts."
"Carry them. Isn't that what you do? Carry on?
"Yes. You're right. I'm sorry. I will never think like that again...never...never..."
"Are you awake, Manna?" Eraanel asked, his only eye looking at her, a smile across his face.
"Eraanel...you-your face! What happened to your eye?!" She asked back, dizzy and worried for her brother, her hand, now larger than his head, placed on his face. "Ouch. I think I hit my head, your head seems really small now."
Eraanel looked a bit surprised then let out a laughter, his face at ease seeing her, sorrow in his laugh "Well, your eyes don't deceive you. My head is now smaller. At least, compared to yours sister."
She didn't understand him, but, as she started to lift herself up, she saw that the more she got up, the lower her brother went. She was about two times as tall as him. For perspective, she was about eight-ten meters tall, while her brother about four-five meters tall.
"How? Why am I so tall? And why is my light so bright?" she couldn't recall much before killing the monster.
"You don't remember do you? It's fine, I saw it all, as the monster plucked the eye out of my head. I saw as our siblings pushed you up from the depths of the water and gave their lights to you." Eraanel informed her, his face wearing a stern look and bearing a strong tone. He knew what happened after as well, he knew that the power she possessed was much greater than one should have. So he wanted to see how she responded knowing what she had.
Manna could now recall everything that happened before she fell unconscious. The hands of her siblings pushing her up, their lights attaching to her own and their life escaping her grasp. For a moment, grief overwhelmed her, Eraanel noticed it, what he didn't notice, as her face claimed a more calm demeanor, was the burning image of hatred for her brother, Orvus, as he ran off in her mind.
Eraanel made his mind, the grief he noticed from her as she recalled how she got her powers, was something he was looking for. He didn't want someone who was overjoyed at their newfound power to have something like it. But if it was her, who cared so deeply for her siblings, he could only feel a sense of loyalty towards her.
He put his left hand on the right side of his chest, bowing his head in front of her as he told her that "I'll follow you from now on. Orvus left us, while you stood and fought for us, even when faced with such uncertainty." his respect couldn't be faked, she noticed.
"I understand. Is that how our brethren feel as well about it?" she inquired, her voice starting to reflect her mind, that now understood the role she had to take.
"They do." Felemous added, as he put himself at the right of Eraanel and in front of his now much taller sister, his missing arm noticed by the sorrowed face of Manna "With me, we needed three other to carry you over as you started to grow across the sun that passed. They all wanted to put their hand onto you, help you recover faster. Orvus on the other hand." some spite could be sensed in his voice as he said his name "He didn't look back. In fact, he was the first to arrive here. We found him shaking and whispering to himself. We don't think he's fit to lead anymore." he finished, not trying to hide the disgust in his eyes.
"I'll take care of Orvus. But now that you mention. Where are we?" she asked as she brushed over Orvus. Looking around her, she could still see ice plates, on which they stood as well. Except, now critters could be seen here and there. While the edge of a distant land could be seen.
"The last stretch before the Frozen Side. We'll arrive faster as we ran a good portion to here. We didn't want to take any risks, even though everyone now is exhausted." Elaanel explained, as Felemous returned to the Lightborn to report on Manna's awakening.
"Good thinking. And we'll keep going. I know everyone is exhausted, but we can't know for sure if there's only one monster. We also don't know what triggered the attack of the first. It might have been the size our group or something else, but, as we can't tell, we will have to push forward." Manna commanded, her words thoughtful.
"I agree, but we still have many injured. How do you want us to proceed with them?" Felemous added, followed by other Lightborn with light or no injuries.
"How many injured and...how many dead?" Manna asked carefully.
"Five hundred injured, three hundred dead. Of the injured, two hundred are gravely injured and might die." Elaanel said with a heavy tone and a painful expression on his face.
Manna wanted to cry, she wanted to beat Orvus until there was only bone, she wanted to kill that monster all over again for each dead sibling of hers. But nothing would suffice, her pain was now too great to manifest, so she could only bear it.
"I'll carry over the gravely injured. Aid those injured, support them however you can, and we are going to push forward." Manna commanded, her eyes determined, while her voice tried to hide the sorrow she felt so strongly.
"Carry two hundred? Are you mad sister?!" Felemous asked, indignation in his voice, worry in his eyes for his sister.
She didn't need to speak, she simply infused herself with the lights of her dead siblings. Her body lighting up strongly, as her feet got off the ground. She extended her right hand, and, with a simple motion, she lifted a whole ice plate in front of her, over five hundred Lightborn on top of it. "The sacrifice of our siblings wasn't for nothing, brother. I understand your worry, but this power was bestowed onto me so I can carry all of you over. Two hundred will be no major effort for me." she said fully confident of her new power and abilities.
Those standing near her didn't need any further proof. She was, without question, the strongest. If she said she could do it, she could and they didn't need to doubt her.
"Now, gather them, our siblings. We go forward, for there is no way back for us. Let us see what the Frozen Side prepares for us." Manna pronounced to Felemous, Elaanel and her close siblings, the others raising prayers as they witnessed her power, while Orvus simply started to walk forward, too scared to confront his sister. The remaining one thousand and seven hundred Lightborn preparing for what lied ahead.