Ayuen
????, The Grasping Isle
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/926707024362885130/1045841100604186624/Ayuen-WayX.png]
Ayuen art by Ina Koffen, @Ina_Koffen on Twitter
When Ayuen let go a couple of seconds later, she felt much better. The emptiness retreated from her soul for the most part. She was still shaking, but she felt better Ayuen took a deep, quivering breath while she looked around the mist, still clutching the Herhor. Nothing. No shadows, no Hyra, no anything. That was a relief at the very least.
“A-alright. I won’t ask any of you to share what you witnessed, but is everybody okay?”
“Mostly,” Rove mumbled softly. “I think at least. Shit, this mist is hitting where it hurts. Saw my sister. And almost lost my bloody mind.” Rove wiped the sweat off his brow and shot her a shaky but grateful smile. “Thanks, by the way. I needed that.”
“Yeah, so did I. Won’t lie.” She simply said, returning his grateful expression with her own, after which she turned to Sneak and Trïeste, the latter disentangling herself from the flustered former. “How about you two?”
Wiping the last of the tears from her face, Trïeste’s face went back into the mask it often was after the night of her betrayal.
Her face was expressionless, and she nodded. Her voice was cold and serious, her accent absent.
“I’m fine. Saw my mother. And that’s all I’m willing to say about that.”
Sneak shrugged and looked rather confused. “Sneak didn’t see anythin’. But ye and Miss Trïeste and Master Rove started to stare into the white. Like dead fish starin’ at a cucumber. Nothin’ helped, so Sneak had to slap ye. Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Ayuen shook her head and smiled at Sneak, causing the man to stagger backwards a pace. “Who knows what would’ve happened if you didn’t? I’m most grateful.” Looking around at the white clouds around them, the poët frowned and hummed as a thought popped up in her mind. “But you didn’t see anything? No shadows, loved ones or anything of that nature?”
“Sneak sees lots of shadows all the time. Never show themselves to Sneak. There be lots of shadows in the white, but they don’t show to Sneak. And if Sneak sees what shadows do to Mistress Ayuen, Sneak doesn’t want shadows to show.”
Interesting...
“Ah, alright. Thank you, Sneak.”
Sneak nodded happily, and Ayuen picked up Floryshia. Sneak probably wasn’t affected because his mind was too weird already. Maybe his broken mind was a boon in their current predicament.
With no other sign of any shadows as far as she could see, she motioned for Rove. The Herhor had picked up his blade and was watching diligently with narrowed suspicious eyes. She had to tap him on the shoulder to snap him out of it.
“Rove?” She asked sternly. “Time to go. I’d like you to lead our way.”
“Yes. Of course. Just… Give me a shout when any of you see shadows, all right?”
“Sneak sees shadows now, Master Rove! There be one there and th-…”
“Sneak?” Rove interrupted the man with murder hearable in his voice.
“Yes, Master?”
“I get it. Just...” An exasperated sigh echoed through the fog. “You look for something else than shadows, alright? Maybe Prado’s men or something.”
And with that, he got into position. He put a left hand on the cliff face and started walking. With an amused huff, Ayuen joined him as she grabbed the back of his tunic with a hand, followed by a frantically searching Sneak and a pale-faced Trïeste.
----------------------------------------
Even though the mist didn’t throw any more shadows at them, Ayuen did notice other things that made the hairs of her collar stand upright. Slowly, the little vegetation the valley held became more warped and alien. At first, the changes were small, mere shifts in the hue of the leaves and stems. A little purple here, a sudden flash of crimson there. But then the forms started to shift. Plants contorted at sharp angles, holding flowers with long spines on their petals resembling a teethed maw. Trees were covered with writhing vines, dripping with acid. Even the moss covering the ground twitched periodically as if it was eager to maim and tear flesh.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
She shivered, aiming her weapon at each new monstrosity that came into view. Going by Rove increasingly annoyed grunts, he was feeling similarly fearful. It was nowhere near as bad as the shadows, but it was another drop in their bucket of fear.
But the spines were just the beginning. As they walked further past all the disturbing vegetation, Ayuen felt a heat starting to burn against her chest. It got so bad that she eventually called for a stop, pulling on the amulet’s string to find out what was going on. Fishing out the amulet from between her breasts, the heat radiated from the trinket.
She held up the amulet, breathing a sigh of relief. Much better. The amulet's metallic surface was almost painfully hot to the touch. It appeared to radiate from the item in waves, but there was no light or other signs of activity. Rove leaned in to take a closer look. Grumbling softly, carefully palming it and stroking it with his index finger. The man winced as he noticed the strange temperature.
“I’ll say this in advance,” Ayuen said when Rove looked at her with questions in his eyes. “I am clueless why it’s doing this. But seeing as it’s connected to the Dawn of Life itself, I must figure it is a good thing. I will wear it over my clothes, for now. That should take care of the heat.”
Rove shrugged, grunted approvingly and turned around. She smiled to herself just a bit. His worry for her felt soothing. If it were another situation, she’d probably caressed his face. Although she didn’t try to lighten the mood, a little mental silliness to push her mind into a better place couldn’t hurt. The thought lightened her spirit just a tad.
Time had lost its meaning in this white abyss. They could’ve been walking for ten minutes, an hour, or even a day. Ayuen just wasn’t sure anymore. But eventually, they all heard a cry of agony in front of them. Ayuen’s blood ran cold as it was cut off abruptly, fading into a gurgling sound before the sound died away. There it was. Trouble. With Rove bringing up the front, the group proceeded to advance towards the sound. Their weapons were kept at the ready, their breaths baited. They advanced further, and the mist began to thin out, revealing a haunting scene. The ground before them was littered with corpses. Six men and women, all armed and armoured with bronze armaments.
Looming over one of the bodies stood Prado, his imposing figure pulling his steel blade out of his former subordinate. The man’s armour, once impeccable and spotless, was dented and dirty. Brownish-red spots of dried blood stained his apparel and face. At their approach, he lifted his head, panting heavily. A large cut just above his eye sent a small stream of blood down just beside it. His helmet was nowhere to be seen, and his shield had been damaged and battered.
Behind him, Ayuen could see a large archway made of vines and branches, under which emanated a soft golden glow. She couldn’t see anything past that archway. She gulped. The amulet had begun to pulse even faster with heat, almost feeling excited at their approach. This was it...
Despite his injuries, Prado turned around toward their group, head held high and his entire stature emanating nobility and pride. Despite his injuries, his eyes were clear and determined.
“Welcome.” He greeted them with a strong, albeit somewhat tired voice. “I am sorry to interrupt your travels, but for at least one of you, the journey ends here.”
Ayuen stepped up, determined to get through to this man. She raised Floryshia and aimed it square at the warrior’s head from some ten meters away. There was no way she could miss from this distance.
“I must return your apology to you, sir Prado. Your journey is the one that ends here today. These people are my companions and are assisting me to further both my own goals and their own. I am not dying here. Neither are they.”
To her confusion, Prado smiled softly at her, the emotions in his eyes flickering.
“I know my journey ends here, miss Ayuen. But I will not take your life today. Nor will I take Trïeste’s life, despite her betrayal.” He motioned to the corpses around him. Then, to her shock, he bowed his head to her and fell to one knee.
“However, even when my mother and her accomplice are capable of sending these men, my comrades, to their deaths, I cannot go against her direct wishes. My orders were to retrieve Navene... No, not Navene. To retrieve Rove. Please, miss Ayuen. You can go ahead, as can your friends. I will not try to stop you. I ask only one thing. That you let me and my brother settle things once and for all.”
“What? No!” She said harshly, fury starting to cloud her mind and her eyes narrowing. Was this man insane? No way she was going to comply with such an outrageous demand. If she killed this man, they could all go forth together. Nobody would get left behind. Not after Tira. Her grip on Floryshia tightened, her mind made up. “You’re going to fall right here, right now. Farew-… Rove?”
Rove had walked forward and had put a hand on the end of Floryshia’s barrel, gently pushing it down.
“Go through that portal, Ayuen. I will take care of things here.”
Ayuen stayed silent for a few seconds, not believing her ears. Instinctively, she grabbed his arm.
“But Rove. You might... die.”
“I might. I might not. However, Prado’s still family. Even though the fool is still bound by duty and honour. As his brother, I need to see this through. Go through that gate, Ayuen. I will be waiting here until you get back.”
She couldn’t believe her ears. She began to sputter, not getting out a word when Rove interrupted her with a calm in his voice that she instantly hated.
“I got my contracts, he got his duty. We’re two sides of the same coin. This is something I have to do. Otherwise, I’ll not be able to forgive myself. Go, get what you came here for and get back here safely. In the meanwhile, I will make sure this side of the portal remains safe for your triumphant return.”
He smiled at her and a little bit of his usual cockiness snuck back into his voice. “Now stop wasting my bloody time and go, you naïve poet.”
Ayuen opened her mouth for a smart retort, but changed her mind, snapping her mouth shut again. Okay, deep breaths. It was clear she wouldn’t be able to convince Rove. Giving a last soft squeeze on the Herhor’s arm, she let him go.
Whipping around towards Sneak and Trïeste, she briskly pointed towards the archway.
“You heard him. Let’s go.”
With a brisk pace, she walked past Prado, not granting the man the slightest courtesy or acknowledgement or even a glance. Prado seemed fully focused on Rove, keeping his word.
Without looking back, she headed into the unknown.
Damn him, damn Rove, damn it all. He better be alive when she got back...
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/554030201789743105/1028654515798409237/Grasping_Isle_Final_V1.0.png]
Map made by Mark Evegaars, writer of this story