Sheets of honeyed light illuminated the dirt path on their trail. Each side blanketed with fallen pine-like leaves of the redwoods. The Devote of Blade made their procession through the outskirts of the Bloodwood Forest under light of mid-day. The bright streaks of light gave way to the fading tree line, allowing the rolling hills of Indigo’s Gabros to unfold before them.
Illuminated by the fiery glow of the morning’s sun, protruding rock segments pierced through an ocean’s surface of vivid green grass that lay before them. The blackened stone protrusions glistened like onyx, with accents across the visible surface in streaks of indigo. These protrusions littered the landscape, some more exposed than others. Weaving across the pointed hilltops lay a thin dirt trail that snaked into the skyline and beyond.
Deric rode at the front with Luex in tow. Ciarán and Lyla rode side by side, Elli and Dionne close behind, with the cycle’s recruits following in succession. Bringing up the rear, more of the Devote, while a multitude of scouts flanked on either side peaking and fading over ridges in fluid movements.
Ciarán rode close to Lyla, keeping his eyes upon the road ahead. He rode with his canvas white leather jacket that somehow never stained. His pine-dyed leather armor accents rose slightly above the jacket at the pauldrons and bracers.
All around the Devote, were creatures of various origin. The soul-binds moved with solidarity to the Devote. Those both seen and unseen.
A warm breeze swept the hilltop in a wave’s momentum. Bringing Lyla to instinctually tie back her hair. Ciarán laughed, closing his eyes, allowing it sweep over him.
Lyla eyed the somewhat wavy sand-blond hair of his, “Easy for you Ciarán. You’re not blinded by hair four times the length.”
He pulled a strand down a little past eye level, “This is true. If you like, I can shorten yours to assist in that matter. Then you can enjoy the weather in its full fruition.”
She raised her eyebrows, “You will do no such thing. If the day should ever come, I decide to ‘shorten,’ I would much prefer Dionne’s hand over yours.”
Ciarán laughed again, bringing Lyla to smile while they both eyed the road ahead. An approaching acceleration of hooves caught their attention from the scenery ahead. Before Ciarán even turned around, he cocked a smile, “Speaking of which.”
“Who requires my hand?” Dionne reined up, falling into pace with Ciarán and Lyla. She lay her fingertips on top of Ciarán’s resting hand upon his saddle.
Ciarán took his gaze to her, taking his hand in hers. “I certainly would.”
Lyla sighed noisily, struggling to pull Dionne closer to her. “You have her hand far too often as it is!”
Dionne fell in closer to Lyla’s side, dramatically pulling away from Ciarán. “She’s right you know. You have some nerve taking me away from Lyla.” She toyed with her hair, eying him from head to boot, and back again. “Even if following your rangings happen to be more… scenic.”
Ciarán rolled his eyes. “You both should be keeping eyes on the road, should you rather wish to kiss Reyah’s Lace.”
Lyla stood up in her saddle to see the more of the cliffside. The upcoming route hugged cliffs with a significant gap, separated by the river down below. Moss blanketed rocks turned to carpeted boulders as the Devote approached the bend.
The air held hints of crisp fresh scents, wafting from the busy waters down below. Even with the sound of hooves on dirt, she could hear the water hitting against rock, sweeping the current side to side. Lyla took it in, stride for stride, she even felt her skin prickle when the blanketed shade covered her.
Lyla’s glance jolted to the skies, just in time to see the massive wingspan of the haast eagle sweep over her, down into the gorge below. The fiery plumage covered the creature from crest to topside of its body. While underneath bore eggshell feathers dipped in ink-black at the tips.
After recovering from recoil, Lyla strode closer to the cliffside, watching the eagle swoop through the river below. “Each time your bind dives at me from above, I think, this is the time he tries to land on me.”
Dionne laughed heartily. “I would not doubt he tries. I sometimes feel compelled to catch Cruaiden with my arm. Then he opens his wings to full extent, and I remember just how big he is.” The three followed the haast eagle upwards, back into the skies above the procession. “He flies the boundaries the soul-bind permits, testing my will as I tested his.”
Ciarán pulled his attention back to the road, pulling away from the looming edge. “The eagle flies alone.”
Dionne shot him a glance. “Not anymore.”
Lyla glanced behind her to the recruits that trailed them. Auedon and Haydrin were riding close and in good conversation by the looks of it, Tehyra behind them, with Farrah and Dustin behind her talking with Elli, bringing in the rear of the clustered recruits.
She turned back to Dionne and Ciarán. “Haydrin and Auedon seem to be getting along quite well.”
Ciarán nodded, “Both are skilled enough.”
Lyla shook her head, “No, not that. They are talking more now.”
Ciarán paid a look over his shoulder. “Haydrin is certainly on the reserved end of the spectrum. He calculates his decisions. Him and Auedon shall get along quite well.”
Dionne smiled, “Auedon is already far less quiet in comparison to when we left Andescion.”
Lyla added, “Haydrin was the same from what I saw, it is good they have each other, like we did.”
Dionne laughed, “Oh yes, I would have been stuck to deal with Ciarán on my own without you and Elli.”
Lyla smirked at Ciarán, “Though I feel he may be slightly harder on them than he was on us.”
Ciarán flushed, “I’ll make sure they know that it was your idea to drive them harder.” He smirked back at them each in turn, “Then I shall be the favored ranging leader.”
Before Lyla managed to open her mouth, something drew her senses forward. In the midst of trotting the tranquil path, a surging rumble of gravel broke the atmosphere. Wide eyed, Lyla watched Deric running his gauntlet through his hair, bringing his courser to a full sprint down the line of the Devote. One by one, the procession turned in pursuit.
Luex was on his heels, not a moment behind. It happened all so quickly. From the corner of her vision, she watched the scouts from far ahead pull in at an aggressive pace.
Reeling her courser in sync with Ciarán and Dionne, she and the Devote of Blade turned in succession, giving pursuit to Deric’s path.
Lyla searched the horizon for the threat with her peripherals – movement of any kind, for that matter. Focused deadest on Deric, she unfastened the chakras at her hips while bringing her courser to full sprint.
She spared a moment in the search to seek out Farrah and Dustin, not far behind. Good. With a white knuckled grip on the reins, she freed her other hand for a chakra.
One hill’s pass back on the trail they had come, Deric veered from the path towards a crest in a nearby hill they had crossed earlier. Something brought his pace to a slowing halt. He reared his courser, backing the steed away, just in time for Luex to reach his side.
Lyla and Ciarán were next to approach the hill, with the scouts and the remaining Devote approaching behind. He did not immediately dismount, rather he stood gazing at something off in the distance.
At a steadier pace, Lyla cautiously, yet equally curiously, approached closer to Deric and Luex’s position. The rest of the Devote followed suite. While some managed to have weapons drawn, all approached with more curiosity than urgency.
Ciarán’s lynx hissed violently, baring teeth in aggressive pleas. They drew closer to the top of the hill, sinking into a vigilant stalk of an approach. Neither Deric nor Luex moved from their position. Beating the others to the hilltop, the lynx paced back and forth. Waiting to strike, or fear of something more?
Lyla froze approaching the peak of the hill. Scanning the field that lay before her, she felt her mouth fall agape.
Large black winged corpses littered the field below them. Not quite the haast eagle’s wingspan, but large enough. Some of the protruding stones were stained with dried blood where the creatures lay, necks bent awkwardly where they found the jagged edges of the stone.
Deric and Luex were first to dismount. Lyla traced Deric, whether it is rage or horror written on his face, was uncertain. Complete utter silence fell upon the Devote, the plagued field revealing itself to the onlookers above.
At the peak of the hill, the Devote fell in line one by one while Deric began his descent. Luex loosely followed nearby, scanning the field before them. Pausing momentarily at each individual corpse.
In the midst of Luex’s evaluations, Deric called over one of the scouts. A short exchange between the two, sent the scout back uphill, where the rest of the Devote stood waiting. He remounted in silence.
At the near epicenter of the debacle Deric motioned for the other Ranging Leaders. Lyla refastened the chakras into place, dismounting with Ciarán.
She could not stop herself from gazing upon the field that lay before her, incrementally making her way over to where Deric stood. Her attention wandered amongst the littered corpses, tiny creatures left wide-eyed, old and young alike. Even those that did not fall upon stone, were left to lay in unnatural positionings.
An uncanny silence filled the landscape. Even the wind seemed to find a path away from the newfound graves. Deathly eerie... Luex was first to reach Deric, who had crouched himself beside one of the fallen.
Lyla, Ciarán, Luex, and Deric formed a loose circle in the middle of the chaos. Deric nodded towards Luex, prompting the others to join him. All four crouched around Luex’s finding. He spoke softly, “Northron raven, the kind Lessiel mentioned in his findings.”
Ciarán added with a similar tone, “Though, we are many kilometers north and east of where the Shadowmancers were at the time.”
Lyla spoke solemnly, towards Deric, “If the Shadowmancers found a similar display that close to Andescion, why head to the Greywacke Promontory?”
Deric stared silently at the ground between them all. “Lessiel can be quite intuitive. Despite our encounter in the Bloodwood, it does not appear Enclave work in the slightest.”
Luex knelt beside one of the fallen ravens, touching the feathers with the tip of his finger. His eyes glossed over, bringing a stillness to the air. He shivered, eyes returning to their golden oak hue. “Not Enclave work at all.” He skimmed his hand just above the carcass, watching Deric carefully. “This is Blood Ranger handiwork.”
“Intuitive indeed.” Deric, nodded to Luex, “Scout the area.”
A low hum broke through the quiet. From the surrounding peaks Lyla turned to watch while the Cateran Flyers descended upon the scene. In small groups they fanned out amongst the raven, each flyer falling upon a corpse. Then without hesitation, each rose one by one, disappearing once more.
So, this is what Lessiel meant...
Ciarán’s confusion must have been equally apparent to Lyla’s. Deric turned to both of them. “The Blood Rangers were more than just a rebel faction of Andescion. They used the mark of the ranger in ways Arias never intended.”
Deric motioned to the field around them. “The Blood Rangers use the mark of the ranger to their own benefit, while draining the eneryia, the lifeforce itself from anything and everything in their path.”
Ciarán’s face puzzled itself further, “Why these creatures in particular? A boon for wiping out a species?”
Luex dismissed the notion quickly. “Not even Telatis would bring about such a sacrifice. Let alone Ceronus to allow such an atrocity.”
Lyla pondered before giving reply, “What would be the causality of their emergence from the Antherope Sanctum?
Deric gave hint of a smile with a nod towards Lyla, “Now that is a question worth a grain of thought.”
Ciarán eyed Deric, "Lessiel will be heading towards the Promontory to deal with this will he not?"
Lyla was quicker this time, "Will the Shadowmancers be enough for this?"
Deric focused in on the ground again, fingers pressed together studiously at the tip of his nose. Whether he noticed the three staring at him was unapparent, but he rose all the same as if they hadn’t been waiting for his reply.
He paced the newfound graveyard, circling where Lyla, Ciarán, and Luex sat crouched. His ranging leaders watching with anticipation. Will we give chase? …What of the wyvern?
After a few moments in passing, Deric stopped behind Lyla. Resting a hand on her shoulder, "If the Shadowmancers are not enough, the aid of more wyvern will be.”
Lyla shot a curious glance. Surely you don’t mean to bind two to yourself? Ciarán alone absorbed the look. “An additional bind to Lyla’s, Deric?”
Deric paced the circle again with his hands behind his back, his voice equally confident with a balance of cryptic. “The Terros Enclave reenter the realm from Novus Terros. The Night Witches push beyond their desert borderlands. And now Blood Rangers enter from the Antherope Sanctum.”
Luex nodded more in agreement with each sentence, Deric continued. “Remember what that man said on his final breath; ‘When the sirens sing, and drums set tempo…’” Bring forth the tools of war… “There is something more sinister at play here, and I will not allow the Devote of Blade to fall prey to it. Regardless of whether or not this is intertwined in some fashion, we need to be ready for anything.”
Ciarán spoke before Lyla could, “With Lessiel on the pursuit of the Blood Rangers, should we send eyes to the Night Witches.”
Deric eyed the patiently waiting Devote at the top of the hill. “No. Let the Night Witches sort the Enclave out.”
Luex added, “They will be the least of our concern if more than just the Blood Rangers have grown bold enough to reenter the realm.”
Lyla and Ciarán saw Luex in unison. “What?”
Deric shot a glance to Luex, before looking upon the rest of them steadfast. “One additional bind may not be enough for what may soon come to pass.” More Autechs?
Deric dismissed half open mouths filled with more questions, “The Night Witches are indeed not an imminent threat, but it seems to be, the count of enemies grows by the hour. We must move.”
Deric moved uphill, towards the rest of the Devote without looking back, Luex obediently at his side.
Ciarán and Lyla walked with haste side by side, nothing was said, but the question was apparent. Who else would bind another wyvern? She watched him curiously.
When the two made it uphill, the Devote were already listening to Deric’s briefing. “What you see down there before you, is all the more aligning to our destiny. The threat grows by the hour. We will use the strength of the wyvern’s bind to call Arias to our aid once more.”
Deric remounted, the scouts fanning out in all directions once more. Before he turned his courser back towards the trail, he looked upon the Devote one by one while they readied themselves.
When he finally pulled back towards the trail, the Devote moved with him. A slightly more aggressive pace than before.
Lyla fell in line towards the rear of the procession. Up ahead, Luex had Tehyra and Auedon on either side of him. Further back Ciarán had Haydrin at his side with Elli and Dionne close behind. I wonder what they’ll tell…
She glanced on either side to find Farrah and Dustin. Instinctually, she rode in silence, however with each stride taken she felt them searching her.
The Devote fell into a steady pace again, once the coursers rounded on the trail. Dustin rode awkwardly closer. With noticeable effort, and a failed attempt of a whisper he leaned in to Lyla, “So what creature did that to those birds?”
Farrah said nothing, but the question was plain as day on her face as well.
Lyla pulled her courser away from Dustin, shaking her herself free, “All this open road, yet you manage to get all up in my reins.”
Dustin pursued with the same tactic again, bringing the three of them within arm’s reach. Farrah could not keep a straight face, “You might as well tell us before he knocks us clean off the cliff.”
Lyla sighed, “Not a question of a ‘creature’ at all.” She gave them each a hard look before continuing. “There are forces outside of Andescion that as Deathwalkers, we never knew.”
Farrah curiously, “You mean like the ones we encountered in the Bloodwood.”
Lyla paused visibly before giving reply, “Similar, yet stranger still. This group is not of this realm either.”
Dustin stood straight in his saddle again, but kept his courser next to Lyla’s. She glared back and forth between his courser and him. He still isn’t going to make way?! He did not notice, “So are we going to hunt them down?”
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Farrah leaned over Lyla now to glare at Dustin. “Hunt them down? Is your solution to everything to hunt it down?”
Now Dustin leaned back over leaving Lyla helplessly in the middle. He dramatized a loud whisper, “Only when it goes around killing all the living things in sight!”
Lyla pushed them both apart to their own coursers, “We shall not be pursuing anything of the sort.”
Dustin rolled his eyes, “Oh, come on where is the fun in that!”
“The fun is in being alive, you have much more to learn before you give pursuit to such a threat.” Especially if another wyvern would not suffice…
Dustin reluctantly drew his courser back, giving space for Lyla and Farrah to spread out again. “Challenge accepted.”
Lyla and Farrah both narrowed their eyes at him in turn, but in the corner of her vision she saw Cruaiden swooping downward again from overhead.
The winged creature dove straight down, wings folded, at an accelerating pace. A burst of wind caught Lyla while she watched the descent into the canyon below.
Dionne called out to the haast eagle, eyeing the trail ahead leading away from the cliff’s edge.
After a few moments of silence Elli laughed, “Now what kind of example are you setting for our young ones here.”
Dionne kept her eyes on the cliffside where the bird made his descent, but her tone lightened. “He’s hunting.”
Dustin half muttered to himself sarcastically, “At least he gets to hunt.” Farrah smacked his shoulder with her backhand before he could move away.
The Devote procession moved about them, the small group clustered around the cliff edge waiting for Cruaiden’s return.
Dionne sighed, “Perhaps I should go retrieve him.”
Ciarán dismounted before she could contest, “You shall not be descending that cliffside alone.”
Dionne conceded. On dismounting, she brushed his arm softly in passing. Gathering Ciarán’s and her own reins she handed them to Elli.
We do not want to fall behind on Deric’s heightened pace. Lyla jumped off her courser, handing her own reins over to Elli’s impassive open hand. “The more eyes we have, the quicker we shall find him.”
Elli took Lyla’s reins, “You’re going to leave me here to babysit?”
It was hard to tell who was more offended, Dustin, Auedon, or Elli. Both recruits sat with their mouths open, but Elli paid them no mind.
One of the Devote scouts on the rear flank rode in while Lyla, Ciarán, and Dionne were looking for a path downward. Elli whispered something in his ear, sending him riding off back into position.
The Devote were beginning to fade from line of sight on the trail, as it rose through the hills, away from the cliff. Alright, let’s get this over with.
Ciarán called out from a dozen or so meters along the cliffside, “Over here. There is a small trail down below.”
Dionne and Lyla made their way over to him, while Elli had the circle of recruits gathered around her. She stood up and cupped her hands to her mouth before falling from sight, “We are taking bets on when to leave, should you not return.”
Lyla laughed, shaking her head. The group of recruits and Elli, faded from sight below the cliffside, while the three made their way along the rocky wall. A narrow dirt and gravelly path wound its way along the cliff down to Reyah’s Lace.
Lyla kept a firm hand along the rock wall. Which is beginning to grow too damp for comfort. “Where in the realm did your bind go Dionne?"
"I'm not sure." Dionne shot quick searching glances between steps, the three moving single-file, deeper into the ravine. “I can sense this steep trail far more than Cruaiden at the moment.”
Ciarán at the lead moved surefooted, yet with an equal amount of caution. “Can you still feel him?”
Dionne paused for a moment, either to glare at Ciarán or sense Cruaiden, could be both. “He is down here.” Dionne did not move, Ciarán continued downward however. She whispered. “Somewhere.”
Lyla kept silent, Dionne continuing after Ciarán, what do you mean somewhere?
An emerging staircase of stone, damp from condensation, led them to the riverbank. The final descent was easier than scaling the wall above, allowing the three to move quicker now.
The last few steps brought the three to the riverbank. Their boots sloshed in the mud, the sound of fresh moving water echoed softly in the background.
Dionne stepped out into the water. The ranger dress she had on miraculously stayed dry. While she stood silently, little specks of light shone on her copper hair. For a moment, all was peaceful again.
When she brought her attention back to the group, she caught Ciarán staring at her openly. She smiled. “Let’s split up, else we spend the rest of the day catching up to Deric’s pace.” Dionne lifted her dress, with the water deepening, she made her way across.
Lyla darted eyes back and forth between the two of them before breaking off herself. They better stay split up!
Lyla followed the flow of the river westward, silently searching for Cruaiden.
The flow of water picked up pace, the sound growing deeper the further she walked. Following the change of sound, she peeled back leaves and branches alike to regain sight of the river.
The water had a sudden drop off, with a small pathway on either side. Maybe he spotted food down here.
She descended further, with more flora taking shape around her. More flora, more food, right? Hopping over a trunk-soaked felled tree, it gave way to a small cove in the bend of the river.
Her boots landed her on a small rocky shore. Tiny stones of river rock lined the shoreline, and surrounded in lush greens was a small waterfall creeping through smoothed river rock.
Lyla closed her eyes, taking it all in. The soft rush of the waterfall, the steady pace of the waters below it, the tranquil echo off the cliffside walls, - on second thought, take your time, Cruaiden.
Reluctantly moving forward, she lazily paced along the shore scanning the scenic beauty. Trees and underbrush were abundant… yet no creatures to be found. No birds, squirrels, bugs, nothing! Lyla felt her skin prickle at the thought of it. No creatures at all. Her eyes narrowed, scanning the scene more carefully. When her gaze met the waterfall, she froze and locked onto it. Nothing stirred. Just the smooth sound of the waterfall in the background.
An instinct, or something kept her attention lingering over the falls. A shadow stirs within. With miniscule movements she managed to reposition her hands above the chakras. Arias, pray it be Cruaiden.
She positioned herself still, patiently waiting for the image to stir. Lyla could feel the blood moving through her body, her eyes widened in the heightening silence. The falls.
Lyla’s vision flashed in front of her, she staggered – or I think I did. She attempted to peer through the waterfall, the waters seemed to slow around her. From falls to river, the ripples in the moving water flowed fluidly…thickened like the flow of blood… she became lost in the motions of it all…
She saw the path that had wound life itself around what she had become now. The threads spread branchlike around paths she could not see. Her own threads lit up in reminiscing fashion. A translucent weave.
Her cross with the Deathwalker on the staircase, moments before the ceremony began, only later to watch him get beat to a bloody pulp. His bloodied face, vivid as the day it happened. By the time the memory fully lit up before her, flashing lights altered the scene to something else entirely.
Lyla’s hands moved closer to the chakras at her sides, in tempo with the aura stirring around her. The river was near at a standstill, leaves scarcely moved, the reminissions enveloped her vision once more.
The three pyres of Andescion’s ceremony of rebirth, burning fervently in the rainfall. The Devote were leaving the ceremony with their new recruits; Dustin, Farrah – Auedon, Tehyra, - Haydrin – she glanced up at Ciarán while he conversed with Haydrin, Dionne at his side. It all moved around her as if time itself had lost the confines of constraint and order. What is this…
The procession of the Devote leaving Andescion, heading into the Bloodwood Forest. The memories quicken. Farrah’s success in soothing the beauke. The beauke running. Wait…
Lyla, Dustin, Farrah arriving back to camp to find Ciarán have set up their night’s campfire. Ciarán, you didn’t have to –
Lyla shut her eyes tight, took a deep breath… Focus. She opened her eyes to the ceremony of rebirth again. Except this time, it was she that stood before the pyres. Before Deric… The wyvern perched behind him glaring down upon her.
“I come before the Andescion flame to be born anew. To cleanse myself from all that I was, in turn for all that I will be.”
Her mouth voiced the words. Reciting them before the Devote. The flames danced methodically in the haze. Haze… the pyres move too slowly… The weave flashed again.
Deric handed her the chakras. The bainite steel felt ice cold in her hands, she tightened her grip, this, this has happened already…
The Bloodwood appeared before Lyla once more. The redwood sentinels silent in their judgmental gaze. Ciarán was leading Lyla, Elli, and Dionne out on their first ranging. The three of them laughing while he led them through the forest’s pathway. Dionne stopped listening to Elli, she stared longingly at Ciarán.
Not a moment later, Dionne tripped over a root, knocking Elli down in front of her. Lyla reached down to help Elli, but pulled back laughing finding her face caked in mud. Ciarán looked back at the three of them shaking his head. Lyla’s eyes closed again. She felt two weaves of thought colliding, the laughter slowly faded to a naked smile on her face, something is amiss…
Lyla’s eyes opened wide to the open clearing just outside Andescion’s walls. Under the cover of night’s shroud, Deric waited many meters ahead of Lyla with the wyvern standing behind him obediently. “You too will soul bind to the wyverns one day.” His eyes darkened with anticipation. “Now again.”
Instinctually, she flung her chakras into the targets he had set up beside him, one after another. Neither he nor the wyvern flinched, both blades thumping violently into their destinations. Chips of wood scattered on top of packed dirt and fallen leaves.
Taking another breath, she unfastened the other two chakras, eyes locked upon the upright remains of the wooden targets. Her vision flickered, Lyla struggled to hold her grip on the targets. Targets, there are no targets…
Her eyes flickered rapidly opening to the waterfall. The waters moved at a steady pace, with an eerie tranquility in the air. She looked down to find the chakras were in her hands, white knuckled in locked grip.
Her chest drew deep breaths, slowing only with conscious effort. Lyla unclenched her grip from the chakras. Her gaze wandering from the weapons in her hands to Ciarán nearby. Somewhat still dazed she gazed at him who in turn was absorbed in whatever lay beyond the falls.
She called out to him, but could not find her voice, her lips motioned the words, but no sound emitted from them. Deadened silence surrounded her in comparison to the vivid images that flashed before her moments prior.
She made to move towards him, but her legs would not move, something was tranquil about where she stood, yet eerie indeed. What is he looking at…? Her gaze hesitantly returned to the waterfall.
A sensation sent goosebumps up her leg that brought her attention downwards. A furry tail wrapped around her leg, she glanced into the eyes of Ciarán’s lynx, Beirith, and transfixed herself on him while he brushed around her legs.
Lyla felt a cold sensation rush over her the more she kept her attention on Beirith. She licked dry lips as if tasting for the first time in ages. What has deprived my gauge of senses.
“Found him.” Lyla snapped to the location of Dionne’s voice, refastening her chakras. She stood above the water drop off. How much of that was real. ‘What’ was that. She looked again over to Ciarán who was walking along the other side of the river upwards towards Dionne, who was crouched beside Cruaiden, her haast eagle. “He caught himself a chipmunk.”
Ciarán’s lynx pulled away from Lyla, running over to Ciarán and Dionne. She traced the path downwards from above. Where did you come from?
Lyla walked over beside Ciarán and Dionne. She eyed the waterfall momentarily, but lost in sight she stared through the environment around her. I don’t even know what I’m looking for. With each step the memory faded like waking from a dream.
Cruaiden indeed had caught something, her attention focusing on the present more and more. The eagle squatted over the lifeless creature in its talons, a snapped neck hanging against the ground.
She stared into the lifeless tiny black orbs of Cruaiden’s catch, something, if not for more than an instant, flashed back into her head.
Lyla recoiled, glancing once more towards the waterfall, and as the vivid paintings from a dream fades, she could not recall what enticed her so. Odd.
Drawing the eyes of Dionne and Ciarán, Lyla stood back up and made her way into the shallow cold water, stepping face to face with the waterfall. She peered through, only to find an empty darkened cave, there was something.
Dionne called to Lyla slightly perplexed, “What are you doing Lyla?”
She returned to Dionne and Ciarán, “Ciarán did you notice anything peculiar about the waterfall.”
Dionne eyed the two of them in turn questioningly. Ciarán hesitated before answering, “No... Something drew my attention, I thought perhaps Cruaiden had caught something behind it, but Dionne found him first.”
Ciarán was silent for a moment, “Something was back there.” He eyed Lyla, “You saw it too?”
Lyla, “I’m not sure what I saw.”
Dionne looked between both of them with increasing concern, “What happened?”
Ciarán scanned the area before replying, “I dozed off for a moment, but nothing more. The moving waters were relaxing to say the least.” He laughed.
Dionne hit his shoulder, “When you should have been searching for Cruaiden?”
Lyla held her laugh back, the eerie atmosphere returning, “As much as I want to give credit to Ciaran’s moment of sloth, it happened to me as well.”
The concern reappeared on Dionne’s face, her tone growing sterner, “Lyla, where are your chakras?”
Instinctually she felt the chakras at her hips, but before she could move from them, Dionne turned Lyla sideways to reveal the unfastened clasps at her back, nothing more. This was more than a dream.
Lyla took hold of the two she had left, and stalked the waterbed. “There is something amongst us.”
Dionne and Ciarán triangulated their positions between the three, expanding their coverage from there. Each with weapons drawn.
Ciarán reached the other side of the river, waving the other two over. He stood between two trees, each with a bainite steel chakra half diameter deep in the limb. Chips of wood scattered on top of packed dirt and fallen leaves.
Before either of the two could speak, Ciarán paced back to the shoreline, placing a hand above the water. All grew still once more.
When he rose, he sheathed his weapon. “I cannot find a trace of anything being here other than us.”
Dionne went to try for herself, but he stopped her, “Whatever was here does not wish to be found.”
She reluctantly nodded. “Let’s see if Luex has some insight into this.”
Lyla ripped the chakras from the targets, proceeding to refasten them on her back. With Beirith at the lead, the group ascended the steep pathway without conversation.
By the time they reached the surface, Elli and the recruits had dismounted. All sitting in a circle with vibrant talk going. Upon sight of Lyla, Ciarán, and Dionne’s approach, they rose one by one.
Elli looked from Cruaiden circling above them all, to the path of the Devote procession way ahead. “Took you long enough!”
Dionne took her mount from Elli’s hands hopping on, “There was something else down there as well.”
Lyla watched Ciarán remount silently, neither had anything to say. Something indeed.
Elli and the recruits remounted following the lead of Lyla, Ciarán, and Dionne, the three positioning to head out.
Elli pulled up beside Ciarán, lowering her voice from the recruits coming up behind. “Was it the same type that bloodied the field earlier?”
He kept a hard look on his face, intent on the trail ahead, but his reply was softer, if to himself, “I would not doubt it.”
Ciarán pulled forward driving an aggressive pace, doubling Deric’s tempo from earlier. Lyla and Dionne flanked on either side, while Elli fell to the rear with the recruits in the middle.
Riding on, Lyla scanned a cloud ridden sky. He knows.
For a good while, the passing hilltops brought more open trail. How far ahead did he push? Each approach of the horizon brought another empty rolling hill further off. Each time, the pace dropped from a chase to a more consistent tempo. Eventually they returned to what was Deric’s prior pace. Not long after, the recruits broke the silence, returning to their good spirits.
Lyla caught herself smiling in spite of herself listening to Dustin and Tehyra debate who would soul bind a wolf first, and whether or not the other would survive. Elli encouraged them both on, adding in she will auction off their both belongings to the others when they failed.
Every so often Elli shot Dionne and Lyla a glance of concern, but for the most part the unrest began to visibly unwind. For now, at least. Her fennec fox sat perched on her shoulder, occasionally hopping from courser to courser, sniffing the other Devote. He would always bounce back to Elli after each excursion however. The time will come soon enough.
The small group of Devote strode across the rocky trail, that wound around the peaks of the hills. Off down one of the nearby slopes, a herd of menlow, stood grazing in the luscious grasses. Lyla took in the warm air that rolled through the moving scenery.
She took her attention across each recruit in turn, pausing on Dustin’s courser. In his place where he rode moments prior, was the other side of the trail instead.
Perplexed, she stopped, glancing about her, to find his courser idle behind the Devote procession, and without a rider.
She rose in the saddle to see his figure, slowly trekking down the grasses off the trail.
Farrah was next to notice, bringing herself around to pull up beside Lyla. “What is he doing?”
The others one by one turned around, approaching beside Lyla and Farrah. Not again. Lyla and Ciarán were full sprint with their coursers at Dustin.
By the time they reached his idle steed they both came to a decelerating halt, the herd below the hill revealing themselves to Lyla’s line of sight.
One of the menlow grazed on the outskirts of the herd. Small little guy, barely standing two thirds a meter off the dirt beneath its tiny hooves. Its furless, leathery grey-clad skin seemed oily smooth from a distance.
Lyla and Ciarán watched Dustin gradually approach the creature. Farrah pulled up at Lyla’s side curiously, the others lining up next to them on their arrival. Lyla released a heavy breath of relief.
Dustin stalked from a wide circle, slowly closing in, till he got within range. He crouched, hands outstretched, as if he intends to tackle the thing down, the oily skin of the menlow catching the light. A hard time tackling it if you do, Dustin!
Lyla smiled, the oceanic blue aura around him grew in wispy tendrils from his temples. He took each step with precision.
The little beast had beady black eyes, watching, but the menlow did not move from its frozen state. The beast’s eyes went wide, they have synced.
What felt a prolonged minute later, Dustin popped back upright – nearly falling backwards, cocking a smile towards Tehyra and Farrah, shouting “My next one will be a wolf.”
Farrah and Lyla laughed together, Farrah calling back over to him, “A wolf is quite a jump from a baby menlow.”
Dustin shot glances back and forth between the menlow and Farrah. “That’s… well, the menlow has to be at least an adolescent!” Dustin searched the trail above him, seeking the Devote for approval, the remainder of the procession had all stopped to watch.
Tehyra gave his reply, “it looks to you as its mother now Dustin, you may have bound your soul bind already!”
Dustin jumped, glancing down at the creature who was now a decimeter from his leg. “No, no, no, no, no!” He came running back up the hill, the other menlow all looking at him now with open black eyes.
Ciarán nodded in approval when finally, Dustin remounted. Elli and Dionne congratulating him in abundance. Their small procession began to move out once more.
Dustin rode up to Lyla and Farrah, “Do you think they will follow us?!”
Lyla smiled without turning to him, “They merely tease Dustin, it was not a bind, but you certainly did successfully connect with the creature.”
The rising ego was flooding his face. Tehyra called out to him again, and he rode to her side where they picked up from their last debate. Though this time with more fervor.
Lyla and Farrah rode side by side while the journey continued. Farrah watched Dustin for a while as they rode onwards.
Lyla eventually caught notice, smiling, “He soothed the menlow rather quickly I have to admit.”
Farrah nodded from a different wavelength, “He certainly did.” She paused. “Dustin and Tehyra seem to already know what they want to bind.”
Perhaps she is uncertain. Lyla smiled at Farrah. “There will be all sorts of creatures we will encounter to inspire. Many to the likings most of us have never seen.”
Farrah gazed similarly in return, “Maybe one day I will learn to bind the wyvern, like you.”
Lyla’s glance was quicker this time, but Farrah didn’t notice. “Perhaps one day, indeed!” Could she?
The sun was heavy in the sky by the time they caught up to the rest of the Devote. Deric would not make camp until the sun sets.
A darker palette was brushing the sky in preparation of the night to come. Deric had steered the Devote well off the path, under an overhanging rock formation. The marbled stone erupted from the greens beneath, like a wave ready to crash over them.
Lyla sent Farrah and Dustin off with her courser to prepare their campfire, making her way to Deric’s tent. Outside stood Luex and Ciarán already.
When she arrived, Deric pulled the flap back, motioning the others inside. Her heartbeat quickened.
The tent itself was large enough for a good amount of the Devote at the camp to fit inside comfortably. Lit at each structural pillar, the smoky beige canvas was illuminated with a warm orange glow that filled its walls, darkening the filemot accents to appear blackened. Like burnt ink on paper.
Deric’s face was stern, if not from the shadows of the tent, but of the silence. He took a seat behind his desk at the center point of the makeshift room, leaning back in his chair with a boot propped up on the other knee.
He toyed with the Night Witch’s dagger in one hand. “Who saw it?”
Ciarán was first to respond without hesitation. “I saw something in the waterfall. At first I thought it could have been Dionne’s bind.” He struggled to piece his vehicle of thought to words. “Something in that cave deprived me of my senses.”
Deric continued moving the dagger between fingers, no change in expression. “And you, Lyla?”
Lyla took a deep breath. “I the same.”
Deric ran his fingers along the edges of the blade, “But neither of you know what you saw.”
Ciarán and Lyla shook their heads dismissively. Casually, Deric propped the blade upright in the table, nodding to Luex. “Lucky for us we had more eyes to sense this shadow.”
Luex crouched, calling to Beirith with a quick click of his tongue. Almost instantly, the lynx briskly popped into the tent and approached Luex, nudging up against him then the surrounding Devote in turn.
An auburn aura with streaks of gold emerged from Luex’s temples, resting upon invisible waves of air around him.
The lynx slowed to a stop in front of Luex. They both locked eyes, became absorbed.
Ciarán circled behind to watch the encounter, Lyla kept where she stood. He curiously glanced to Deric, “I thought it was forbidden to use that eneryia technique on another’s bind.”
Deric kept his gaze on Beirith and Luex, responding calmly, “It is forbidden to bind another’s bind. In addition, using this approach of eneryia on any person you should encounter. However, a creature of the realm is eyes and ears for all, in the purpose of knowledge. This shall allow us to see what your Beirith has seen when he found you.”
He viewed each of his ranging leaders in turn, before returning his gaze to Luex and the lynx. “This may show us whom was able to deprive you both of your senses.”
Lyla’s heart dropped, Ciarán froze.
The aura around Luex suddenly vanished, Beirith’s eyes went wide before returning to normal. The lynx brushed up against Ciarán who subconsciously scratched his head while still staring at the tent wall blankly.
Luex stood, looking to Deric, who studied him in turn. “There was something in the falls, but it was… obscured.”
He then eyed Lyla and Ciarán in turn concerningly. “You both were frozen, staring into the waterfall for a considerable amount of time.” Luex nodded to Beirith. “Ciarán’s bind could not stir either of you at first. Eventually Lyla came to, with some luck Dionne approached, and...” He looked to Deric.
Deric turned away from all of them. “The count of enemies grow by the hour.”