As was expected, Muna found them pretty quickly. Jerome had only had a few hours of sleep before the ancient succubus shattered the walls. The barrier against the rock wall delayed her for another second. Light from an aurora poured into their little cave. The storm had died down. Csala only had a moment to gasp at the breathtaking sight before they were whisked away by Achilles.
“The spatial barrier would hold her for an hour or more,” Jerome said, looking around to find out where they were. He would lose his second binding like this but sacrifices must be made.
“Hour?”
“Never mind.”
He picked her up and shot into the sky. Moving as fast as he could toward his friends. The unbound were almost upon them. Thankfully, he had rested well and was at full strength now. He planned on getting rid of them as quickly as possible so he could head to the dark forest. Time was far spent. They had a few more days until Terra Praeta spits them back to their world.
“Twenty-one days, Xerae. It’s still enough time to get to the dark forest…yet enough time to be caught by a succubus who wants nothing but to consume your vitality.”
Not helping, Achilles. “How quickly do you think we can get rid of the unbound?” he asked Csala as he flew them deeper into the mountain range. They were many miles away from Muna right now, but any chunk of space was nothing to the succubus once she punched a hole in it.
Csala was distracted by the Aurora in the sky. It took her a while to compose herself to answer. “Right. The unbound. Normally, a pack of forty would be impossible to defeat.”
Jerome gaped at her in surprise. “Are they that powerful?”
“But since you are Fae-touched,” she continued as though he had said nothing, “it should be possible, in fact, easier and a lot quicker. We should meet up with your friends as soon as possible so I can explain my plan.”
“Fae-touched?”
“Spatial barrier?” she asked pointedly, countering his question with a question of hers. Jerome could see the curiosity in her eyes. “I thought you said it was a barrier to mask our aura?”
“I made another one inside the cave. So what do you mean by Fae-touched?” he asked, diving into a mountain and entering a…temple? “That’s…interesting.”
“It’s incredible!” Csala exclaimed.
They landed on broken marble tiles that seem to have witnessed millennia. Jerome looked around wondering how possible it was this place had stood the test of time. Four stone statues stood tall, carved out of the circular wall of the wide hall. There were smaller statues too. The white gigantic wall was also filled with writings and imagery — like the hieroglyphs left by ancient Egyptians on Earth.
“What does it say?” Csala asked Jerome.
He was standing in front of an ancient inscription on the wall.
“The story of the Ice Fae,” Jerome began. “The longest-lived of the fae. Thought to be immortal, they froze their bodies every millennium or so to prolong their youth for as long as possible. But nature catches up with all. Without becoming more powerful, and transcending the limitations of the flesh, one couldn’t truly be immortal.”
“They truly could become immortal?” Csala asked.
“Hmm. Where I come from, there are people capable of transcending the flesh. Even the planet.”
“Wha-what do you mean?”
Jerome eyed her with a smile. “I mean they can leave the planet and traverse the stars.” When he was in Vorthe he didn’t know much about Transcendents. Only that they were all-powerful. But now, he knew a lot more from memory stones in the library of Sanctum. Transcendents. Jerome sighed. He hoped he wouldn’t catch the attention of another one ever again.
Csala gulped audibly.
“You don’t need to fear beings like that,” Jerome said but he quickly gave it a second thought. “Well, as long as you don’t attract their attention.”
Csala glared at him. She could hear the humor in his voice. “This is not a joke, Jerome! People with power cannot be reasoned with. You don’t even need to attract their attention before they may come seeking you.”
Jerome scratched his temple and looked away. If anything he was guilty of attracting the attention of powerful beings. “Ehn. Sorry about that,” he apologized.
“So, what happened to the Ice Fae afterward?”
“They remain encased in ice, deep in the mountains; their bodies unable to wake up any longer… or maybe they are waiting for an external force to wake them up. The writer didn’t say.”
~~~
Csala
“They remain encased in ice?” Csala asked incredulously. “Unable to wake up?”
Seeing the contemplative look on his face, Csala decided to wait. Perhaps he was finding it hard to decipher the text. Ancient faerie wasn’t something someone just learned to read overnight, talk more understand. She glanced at the entrance through which they came in. The wide arch framing the entrance and resting atop two pillars cut out of the mountain was designed to draw attention. And drew their attention, it did. The hall was spacious and almost white like the snow outside. She couldn’t hate the color any more than she already did. Everywhere she looked, signs of the Fae’s influence showed. As if she had gone back in time.
Her mother would have killed to see something like this. She was always intrigued by what the Fae could do and had told her the same stories over and over again.
All were in order, for now. She just had to wait to get rid of Muna once and for all so she could get on with her life.
“The fae who carved into this wall was once a slave—”
“Fae were slaves to other Fae?” she interrupted Jerome and snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Sarcasm suits you,” Jerome said with a smirk. “You should use it more…” his gaze shifted to the wall. “...often.” He reached for her and shoved her behind him.
Something burst through the far wall into the hall.
Stolen story; please report.
“Unbound!” Csala hissed. Her twin swords materialized in her hands and they both shot forward. Before the unbound could steady itself, its head rolled off its shoulders.
“It’s tall. Taller than what was told in the stories,” Csala said amidst uneven breaths. The creature was at least fifteen feet tall and built like a bull on two feet. It was covered in fur from head to claws — claws that were as thick as her fingers and looked like they could rip steel to shreds.
“Look at those muscles,” Jerome squatted down to observe the twitching creature as the last of its vitality escaped its dying frame. “Bands on bands of muscle. Too bad.” He stood back up. “Would have loved to study it but time is against us. We need to go, Csala.”
Csala looked at the opening that was just created in the wall. It was time to face off with a pack of unbound, who could wield essence by the way — just great. Her life just kept getting interesting. She let Jerome fly her into the hole, to the rescue.
“You didn’t give me an answer to my question?” Jerome said as he flew through the catacombs in the mountain. Csala noticed how they didn’t seem to be naturally formed and they were quite narrow. The Ice Fae must have been amazing architects. The catacomb was a labyrinth in itself but it seemed Jerome knew where he was going.
“Fae-touched, right?” Csala asked. She hadn’t forgotten. She was just taken by surprise by the temple. “Being fae-touched means exactly what it says. It means you’ve been touched by the fae and can do the abnormal things they could in their time. Of course, some would argue that you’ve been ‘blessed’ by the fae.”
“Blessed? What do you mean blessed?”
Csala took some time to put her thoughts together. “These are just rumors by the way, but they insisted that the fae had a connection to the earth that other species didn’t. So being blessed means that you obtain that same connection with Mother Nature.” Csala took the moment to glance at him. “So are you blessed by the fae?”
~~~
Selene
They had been running for half a day now. Wondering when another will be taken. Selene blamed herself for getting too greedy. Her mother had once said to her, “The North is unforgiving. It saps the heat and vitality out of you to feed itself. Even in death, your corpse does not rot — it freezes…preserved for Mother Nature’s offsprings to feast on.”
If she hadn’t been too greedy, if she had restrained herself, if she had seen the signs, Trudhorn would still be with them. Now they run from creatures of this frozen North — not their frozen North. Why didn’t she realize on time that this wasn’t their frozen North? She sniffed. Treasures blind the adventurer, and the promise of land urges the sailor on.
“Trust him, Selene,” Nia said. Selene looked over and could see the tears in her eyes too. Trudhorn gave them assurance. Not just as a spotter, he made them feel safe like they could get through anything. The only other person who had made her feel this way was Jerome — here in Terra Praeta that is. If only he was here.
Running feet sounded in the distance, gaining on them. Ten? A dozen? Selene had lost count of how many had been sent after them. They had only been able to take down one. And that was because it came at them alone. If these bizarre wolves had attacked as a pack, they would have slaughtered her teammates in a dozen breaths — probably in less time. Their powerful feet pushed down on the earth causing it to rumble as they gave chase.
“Hurry,” she said, pushing down her pain. She was a leader, a commander and she would trust in Trudhorn to get himself out of his trouble and perhaps he could bring help their way when he escapes. The Itakars always push themselves hard. The North was their domain, or it should have been, now it would be their burial — if they let it.
Selene looked at the few wolves they had been able to bond with — seven of them, a pack. Fur as thick and as white as snow. These creatures were as intelligent as humans and as tall as horses on four feet, and they could wield essence. However, they could only be compared to Blanks. The wolves had carried them for miles but even they would get tired. Now they were running on foot but they couldn’t run as fast as wolves, even though they were in a Greater Realm above the sacred beasts.
Bram jumped over a chasm. “Careful there. That’s deep!”
They all jumped as they passed by, breathing hard from exhaustion. No one could stop to look back. If they stopped, the creatures got closer. Selene extended her perception instead to get a sense of the distance between them and their pursuers. Good. It was still wide.
“That’s risky, Selene,” Tega said. “They wield essence too so it’s unsafe to assume they can’t use mental energy.”
She nodded. “Which means they can sense my mental energy when I extend it. I know, Tega. But we need to know how far they are from us.” Tega was their best scout remaining. Her team had been reduced to fourteen members. And they couldn’t bear to lose more. The last expedition to Terra Praeta lost as many as ten members. Selene didn’t know if she could bear losing that many friends. Information is power, however. The more they know about their pursuers, the better their rates of survival.
The creatures howled around them like wolves. One howl led to another and another and another. The sound clawed deep into her heart, into her bones, making them shake from fear. “They are trying to unnerve us,” Selene said. “Don’t give in to them.”
“They might be predators, but we are hunters of the frozen north,” her twin brother, Ajax said, giving her a nod. White long tresses matted his head. She gave him an appreciative look. His blue eyes, a replica of hers, smiled at her. Ajax had grown these past seasons in Terra Praeta. Like he had found his strength, and by doing so, he found himself. He wasn’t that child who tried to blow his own horn and puff his chest to show people that he was important anymore.
“Ye gonna say it?” Bram asked from the front of their group. He had taken up Trudhorn’s post as soon as the spotter vanished underground. Someone had to spot for them, if not they would have been moving blind.
She took a deep breath, “They might have claws and fangs, but we have blades of steel!”
“Hoo!” her teammates responded.
“They might have the strength of a hundred sacred artists, but we have the will of our ancestors!” Ajax said.
“Ha!”
“Their blood flows in us; their secrets empower our limbs!” Selene said.
“Hoo!”
“They have held the frozen North by the scruff of her neck, held her dangling by her throat in their time,” Bram said.
“Ha!”
“And we will tame this frozen North too; her beasts and her cold, none would stop us!”
“Hoo!”
~~~
The mountain was a labyrinth of tunnels. But Jerome’s perception helped him traverse the maze toward the Itakars. They were headed his way, but not fast enough. The werewolves were toying with them — predators cruelly having fun with their hapless prey, enjoying every moment of their torment.
“Werewolves. What a fitting name, Xerae,” Achilles butted in on his thoughts.
Myths from my old world, Achilles. And from shows meant to entertain. The unbound are an evolved race of wolves And the patterns on their hide. How the hell did they evolve to such a state? He hadn’t just observed the muscles and strength of the one they killed, he had studied the patterns on its hide — patterns that look a lot like runes.
“Eons of evolution, Xerae. Terra Praeta is not a young planet. I would love to study the patterns on their hides. Who knows, maybe I can find something interesting.”
I think they are runes of a sort. Can they wield essence like other magical beasts?
“And you are correct, Xerae. Those patterns are runes. They use essence to power them and improve their speed and strength. Their hides harden and yet remain flexible. It would take special weapons to break their skins. It’s also one of the reasons why they are so evolved and intelligent.
“But they haven’t studied themselves as the fae would. So no, they don’t wield essence as an extension of themselves. No fire, water, ice, and the like. What an irony.” Achilles chuckled.
Jerome tumbled the AI’s words in his head. Those runic patterns were nothing like what he’d seen before. If Achilles was right, then Mother Nature must have given them those runes — a gift, probably to help them break the shackles of their oppressors from eons ago — which meant just like Achilles mentioned, they haven’t taken their time to study the runic patterns yet, they wouldn’t know how to wield them like weapons, probably. But it wasn’t good practice to assume the worst of an adversary.
“You may want to make a detour, Xerae. The succubus wants to pick up someone, and I think we want to be the ones to pick it up instead of her.”
Who is it? Jerome asked as he flew, swerving left and right through the labyrinth, like a peregrine falcon.
“You’ll find out soon, Xerae. Just know that if she picks him up, we’ll be fighting from a point of disadvantage.”
Jerome sped up, following the map Achilles laid out in his mind.