Chapter 16 - Why Mother?

The Sun held his hand high above his head. The Union legion halted their march. Flames in the sky began burning out. Flames on the ground began dancing about. The march had taken over ten days. The Papillion Forest lay just ahead. Approach too close and the winged darkspawn and beasts dressed as women would begin their attack. The Sun knew they were watching, waiting, like a patient predator stalking its prey. Waiting for the moment a single person strayed too close to their borders.

He dismounted his horse. Horses would be useless in the thick of the woods. A line of catapults had been set up before the Union legions. Ammunition boulders had oils poured over them. The engineers waited to set them alight. They knelt before their lord. "Arise, my stars abound," he commanded.

They rose to their feet, one hand still firmly pressed against their chest in salute. The silver buttons upon their black coat uniforms shone like stars in a night sky. The Sun smiled. He preferred men of intellectual profession to soldiers. They were the closest in sharing like minds with a scholar. "Preparations are complete, Your Brilliance."

"As is made evident by your idle hands," The Sun commented. "The forest will soon be surrounded. We will begin once the army is in position." No sooner had he said that, distant signal flares rose high into the sky like the flickering flames of a candle. He turned to the mounted men behind him. "Honor guard, dismount. Follow my lead. The rest, create a perimeter and send half into the forest once the path is cleared. Kill any and every one you see, even if you need to sacrifice yourself to do it. The darkspawn hidden within have been left alone for far too long." The Sun turned back to the line of engineers, their coats blending well with the encroaching darkness. "You may begin."

The lead engineer nodded. A man with many tired lines upon his face and withering strands of white hair. He had a slightly hunched back. One hand still pressed against his chest, he bowed lower than his hunch. "Yes, Your Brilliance." Each engineer gave a formal bow before taking their places at their designated boulder throwers. Torches were held against the oil coated stones. They roared to life. "Cut loose all at once in three, two, one, fire!"

Flaming boulders rose to the sky, soaring through like comets too near for comfort. They descended. Then crashed. The Papillion Forest was lit ablaze. "Reload!" The Sun commanded. He drew the golden blade at his waist. "Do not stop until I have reached its borders!"

***

Ny'Danis swept away the wet corners of her eyes with a thumb. She knew the Trials would end that way. She didn’t want to do what came next. No parent would ever want to do such a thing. But it was necessary. To ensure that history wouldn't repeat itself. To ensure that the same mistakes she had made would never be repeated by her daughters.

Kiali came through the gate, her eyes burning with the red hue of sorrow. She smiled up at her Mother, high cheeks lush and round and shining damp. Ny'Danis came down and gave her daughter a hug. "You did well to endure all of that…"

"It hurts, Mother. It hurts so badly."

"I know. I'll make it go away," Ny'Danis replied. She breathed out a tide of regret through barely parted lips. She then stuck a blinding hand through Kiali's chest. The girl's eyes went wide. Gasps escaped her in fragments not audible. Ny'Danis could only imagine the terrible pain her daughter was feeling.

"Moth…er…?"

"Forgive me, Kiali," Ny'Danis croaked. A stone had settled at the base of her throat, making breathing difficult. "You did not pass. This is the one Trial I do not want my daughters to fail. Because I am forced to kill you myself."

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"Why?" Kiali managed as blood rolled down the side of her lips.

"A Heartless cannot be turned back. There is no compassion to show to them. They must be put down. That is what it means to have conviction. You kill them despite knowing their past. Every Heartless has suffered a tragedy. That’s how they're born… Goodbye, my dear daughter. Know that you were loved. I…I hope that your dreams will be sweet." Ny'Danis pulled her hand away. Kiali collapsed to the ground. She bore a smile on her now scarlet lips. As if she didn’t even once question her Mother's decision to kill her. As if such a pitiful explanation had been enough. Ny'Danis wanted to weep. But she held it in. Kiali needed to be returned to the ground before Sar'tara returned and discovered the—

Ny'Danis whipped her head around. The tree roots were picking up strong tremors. Tremors that were slowly engulfing the forest and were too close for comfort. Birds fluttered out of trees as a high pitched cry echoed. The Vashiri war cry. The voices of the forest's Guardians. No!

Ny'Danis clenched her hands. Another invasion. Greedy humans. Foolish greedy humans. She'd been too preoccupied with her daughters' Trials to pay attention to the encroaching army. Her Guardians could have better prepared had she warned them earlier. No matter. They were strong enough. Mere humans couldn't fell them.

Right?

Another white gate formed as the second huntress came through. Sar'tara looked up to Ny'Danis with teary eyes. Then looked down at her sister's lifeless form. Then at Ny'Danis' bloody hand. She blinked once. Then their eyes met. "Mother?"

***

It couldn't be real. It was a lie. A delusion formed from exhaustion.

Sar'tara blinked. She blinked again, harder. The horror before her didn't disappear. There stood her Mother, her hand red with blood and a hole within Kiali's chest who rested on the ground, eyes closed, unmoving. "Mother?" Sar'tara asked again. "What… why?"

Ny'Danis looked down at her feet. "Your sister did not pass the Trial," she whispered, hiding her voice as if ashamed or afraid. Or both.

Didn't pass? Kiali didn't pass? But that was…impossible. No. Of course it wasn't. Sar'tara shook her head. Most sisters fail. And failing the Guardian Trials meant certain death. Yes. It all made sense. There was nothing wrong here.

Nothing other than the fact that failing didn't mean dying. It meant being killed. By the one you trusted most. Loved the most. Admired and looked up to all your life.

"Failed?" Sar'tara seethed. "Failed?" She trembled. Her eyelids squeezed shut. Tears still escaped. "And that is a reasonable justification to kill her?" she screamed. "Failed you say. As if that's an appropriate explanation! You were her Mother. Our —my Mother. Why! Why would you? This…"

Sar'tara fell to her knees. Betrayed. Betrayed by her own Mother. She crawled to Kiali. Her sister was smiling. Why was she smiling? Why wasn't she disappointed? Sar'tara pressed her face into Kiali's belly and cried. Everflowers bloomed where blood had fallen.

"Sar'tara… I—"

Sar'tara looked up with red eyes, glaring at Ny'Danis. Her hand reached down to her thigh for her knives. In that moment, she felt nothing but hatred for her own Mother. The ground suddenly shook just as her fingers touched the handle of a knife. Sar'tara turned around. An orange glow could be seen through the forest canopy. But the night sky was completely dark.

"Run," Ny'Danis said.

Sar'tara turned back. "What?"

"I said run!"

Sar'tara rose to her feet. "Run? From what? You? From a cold blooded—"

Ny'Danis gave Sar'tara a hard shove, causing her to fall on her back. She glared at her Mother, teeth clenched and mouth open as if she were a predator baring her fangs. "Run you foolish girl! The forest is under attack. Go and warn your sisters!"

"But Kiali—"

"GO! I don't expect you to understand me," Ny'Danis said, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. Her hands trembled. "Nor take my words to be enough. But this hurts me more than anyone else. It's like ripping my own heart out! I don't want more of my daughters dying. Run hard, Sar'tara. The forest is surrounded. My Guardians cannot stop them all from entering at once. Your sisters must be prepared to fight!"

Sar'tara sat on her rear for a moment, mouth agape. She stared up at her Mother, frowning. Another rumble shook the ground. More orange light spilled into the grove. Sar'tara crawled backwards, eyes still on Ny'Danis. The nymphs of the grove were whispering amongst themselves, staring at the direction of the orange lights.

The huntress finally rose to her feet and began running. She turned her head to glance at her Mother and dead sister one last time before breaking out into a hard sprint.

Sar'tara ran. But she didn’t run because Ny'Danis told her to. She ran from the monster that had killed her sister. The monster she'd loved her whole life.