Dear Alfonso,
I’m writing to you to say that I’ve made to Irine lands in one piece, it’s been a hell of journey, but I hope you’re still doing well back in Curlessi. When I left home to find mercenary work, I didn’t think that I’d end up all the way in another country, but the good news is, the army I’ve been attached to is authorized to send letters, so I hope that this reaches you in one piece via whatever ships the Principality cone-heads use.
So I guess I should start with the most crazy thing, I’ve been made a cavalrymen! When I saw the horse outside my tent, I thought it was for someone else; but it turns out, your older sister has been made a cataphract mercenary of Irine! We’ve spent the past few months training and patrolling the south, but I’ve yet to see any real battle, and I hope it stays that way; I want to make it back home in one piece after all.
I hope you’ve been doing well, ever since momma passed away, you’ve had me on edge, Alfonso. Don’t go getting yourself killed now, you’re all alone in Curlessi, I can’t wait to come back with my bags full of coin, from there, maybe we can open up that shop momma dreamed of.
Please keep on writing to me, Alfonso,
With Love, Iyia.
…
The events of the previous night still warmed and poked at Alisson’s heart. Though, with a swallow, he was content to savor them for the long road ahead. For now however, sitting atop his stallion with Celis beside him, the Great Ipithid Plain was right before them. The overhanging canopy of the small grove they’d stayed the night in was the last traces of any tree’s for hundreds of kilometers in front of them.
So, the two of them sat, like scared mice, peering from their holes at the vast expanse stretching before them, wary to leave their cozy nest.
It was like taking a step down a bottomless pit, but Alisson leaned forward on his mount, and the horse continued along its trot, right down the single dirt road that carved a path through the fields of high grass. The grass was about a foot high only, so it wouldn’t be concealing anything harmful anytime soon. He was more concerned about how exposed the two of them were, two horses in this plain would be able to be seen for miles around. With all that bustle Alisson had gotten wind of, of the Caliphate Armies marching down south, he prayed not to encounter them, at least until they passed through.
“My mind’s been dwelling on something for a while…”
Celis said.
“Oh?”
“That, that trick you pulled in Qutrya and Curlessi, what was it?”
Alisson smiled wryly. He hadn’t told her about those spells, mostly because they were extremely situational.
“That was a combination of the vanish and teleport spells. First, I use the invisibility spell to hide myself, the use the teleport spell, so that the bright flash of the teleportation spell is blocked by the invisibility.”
“You-! You can teleport, and go invisible-!?”
He chuckled.
“Yes, both of them are neutral level spells of the first tiers; so the vanish spell only lasts a few seconds and the teleportation only works in a dozen meter radius. For those meager effects, they use up most of my mana, so I haven’t used them very often.”
“Then, then why did use them back at…”
Alisson smiled guiltily, a wave of embarrassment crossing of him.
“I was just trying to show off.”
And because of that stupid action, I only had the mana left for one shielding spell…I could’ve protected Celis and fought back the mages easily if I weren’t so overconfident…
Celis shot up, surprised, flashing a bewildered face at him.
“How many things are you going to hide from me Alisson…”
She said half-jokingly.
“That was the last one, I promise. Though, I wasn’t exactly hiding them, you just didn’t ask.”
Celis fell silent after that. They continued on the road for a few more minutes until; she piped up again.
“Hey Alisson, the next town north of here, it’s…?”
Celis asked, out of his sight. It sounded like she knew the answer already, but was asking for Alisson for corroboration.
“Yes, it’s Daigoro. The Daigoro.”
The town was known far and wide, it was as renowned as the Capital for its magnificent buildings. Of course, non-Sidonians had never even gazed upon the walls of the Capital, so for them, Daigoro was among the most wealthy and successful cities; perhaps even the wealthiest city. It was magnitudes larger than Foksly and Curlessi combined.
“Do you know much about it?”
Alisson asked.
“As much as anyone else does.”
Celis said.
“Well, you’ve been taught about the elves I hope?”
“Mm.”
“That town was the last stronghold of their nation before they capitulated to the Caliphate a couple centuries back. The elves were beaten back to their most grand town, and surrendered; not wanting to spoil it’s beauty, I imagine.”
It was a common joke; that elves were just that uptight, but Alisson knew the truth, those elves fought to the last in their war against the Caliphate, by the time the Caliph came knocking on the gates of Daigoro, there were no elves left to greet him.
“What happened to them, the elves, I, I haven’t seen any in my life.”
Celis asked.
“The Caliph of the time had a personal enmity against them…they were hunted down, killed by the thousands indiscriminately. Not all died though, I’d imagine you can still see some in Daigoro, even. Though they are quite rare after their culling.”
“…Scary.”
Alisson smiled at his apprentice’s innocence.
“Yes, you should be grateful the current ruling Caliph is so lethargic, the one of years’ old was just as cunning as Sidonia and Prince Iridide. They’d do the same thing to us if they were to knock down the walls of the Capital. From there, we’d have no place to run.”
The Capital was on a peninsula, as such, if Sidonia was being invaded, the entire populace would be squeezed further south. It was a point of concern in most Sidonian Lord’s minds, for good reason.
“That, that would never happen right?”
Alisson chuckled.
“Of course not, Celis. Our cities are built not only beautifully, but impenetrably as well. Our walls and towers are not just for show, our siege emplacements and arrow fire alone would be enough to stave off invaders.”
Larger human towns employed chiefly magic artillery cannons to protect their towns. Sidonia was lacking in magic, plain and simple. Their edge was in their swaths of ballistae, mangonels, and trebuchets; Sidonia had brought forth the idea of such contraptions long ago. He always wondered where she came up with the ideas for such things. Though her intellect far surpassed any other Nekomata’s; just as a perfect being's intelligence should. Alisson could never hope to decipher her wise-minded thinking.
Alisson’s absentminded thinking and conversing with Celis had taken his mind off of where he was, and had cooled his nerves. When his senses came back to reality, Alisson ended up in a brief panic, surrounded by nothing but grass. He turned behind him, to see how far they’d already come. Sure enough, the grove of tree’s was now but a blip on the horizon.
They had a few long weeks, of nothing but this sight, the sight of ever surrounding grass.
Alisson simply tried to clear his mind, though, he still couldn’t relax entirely. There was something about this plain, like a phantom pin, Alisson’s mind did not feel at ease, still scanning the surroundings with his eyes.
Time passed surprisingly quickly, the sun had already set, they’d travelled in silence for almost the whole day. Of course, they were not going to sleep. Him and Celis had already many times before travelled nearly continuously. This was because Nekomata did not require as much sleep as humans did. For this margin’s worth more of endurance the Nekomata had, they had to pay dearly; Nekomata were like stones when they slept, and they did so for longer than humans, depending on how long they’d gone without sleep. Him and Celis normally travelled for three days before taking a rest. The horses of course weren’t travelling continuously, every few hours would him and Celis halt to give them a few minutes of breathing room and food. Horses, thankfully, were not deep or long sleepers; they slept on their feet for minutes at a time throughout the day.
Alisson’s eyes narrowed. With the third day passing in silence between him and Celis, they’d been on the road for an extreme amount of time. Still, he wanted to pass through this area as quickly as possible, both because of short supplies and to save time, so Alisson had asked Celis what her limit for restlessness would be, though she’d simply replied, ‘Anything is fine.’.
…
This really is the most boring travelling I’ve ever experienced. Grass, and nothing but grass, except for the dirt road that cut through it all. It’s been five days now. Straight travel. My mind, has become pudding. To think that we have another few weeks of this…I wanna sleep, and wake up in Daigoro, that’d be great.
The moon shines brightly in the sky, so visibility isn’t an issue. I have to say, the nights in this plain are breathtaking, the clear skies, crowded with bright stars, isn’t a view I get often. I can even see that large wisp of white that stretches across the sky, that dense string of millions of stars. The moon’s and star’s light reflect on the fields of grass, illuminating the ground with white, it’s certainly the brightest night I’ve ever seen.
“Celis, we’ll stop here for now.”
The horses slowed, and we both disembarked. Alisson scanned forward, I searched our backside. Even if this place is clear in vision, Alisson and I agreed that it’s dangerous being so exposed. We spent a few minutes prodding the area for anything, as usual. We won’t be making any sort of fires out here; It’d be horrible, the smoke rising would alert god knows what for kilometers around.
“Hm. Alright.” Alisson nodded, apparently satisfied with the area, even though it was the same as it was five days ago when we first entered the plain.
“Celis, you get some rest.”
At this point, I don’t wanna argue. I’m already dead on my feet. The most I stayed awake for was the Academy’s Hell Week, so it’s not like I’m unfamiliar with this level of sleep loss though. Sidonian armies are expected to be able to fight for days at a time. We may be higher quality, but that doesn’t change the fact that cutting down millions of soldiers takes time for extremely outnumbered forces, no matter how much better we are.
Plus, I don’t want to argue with Alisson. I’ll be watching him sleep in time’s coming, so I’m contempt to abide; I love staring at his face while he sleeps, I never get to do it any other time because it’d be weird.
I nodded my head to Alisson.
Here, where the only place to sleep is either dirt or grass, I’m not exactly bathing in luxury. The grass is a no go, it’s just a tad too tall for comfort, it could still hide something. So, dirt it is. I’m not going to get my sleeping bag dirty or my blanket, so I’ll just use my cloak, since it’s already stained with blood and mud. Once we’ll get to Daigoro, or any other settlement, I always flip my cloak inside out, same for Alisson, to avoid attention with all the blood and dirt. I just need to remember to clean it when I get the chance, a river can’t exactly make my cloak spotless like magic.
I unclip my cloak and spread it across a patch of ground. Alisson takes off a few of the heavier packs from the horses, for their own sake; and for something to sit against I’d imagine.
Thankfully, it isn’t too cold. Yet. This plain gets very hot in the day, and freezing cold at night. My armor blocks the brunt of inclement weather, but that doesn’t mean it won’t cool and make me feel like I’m inside of a frozen metal casket. I take off my gauntlets, flourish a light fur roll over me, and rest my head on a one of the bags from the horses.
Resting on my cheek, I can see clearly for kilometers in my vision. As I’m about to shut my eyes though, I see something, an outline across the blue sky of the night. Two legged, white, standing tall, and staring right…at…me.
I hurry to sit up, my hands raised at my wrists, twitching for my baselards on instinct.
“What’s wrong?”
Alisson said quietly. He’d just sat down with his arms and legs crossed, but now he too had a hand reaching for his weapon.
My eyes wide, I gulp, staring hard at, at that thing. I blink, and it’s gone, just like that.
My arms fall limply by my sides and I breathe a sigh of relief, my body sinking back as the tension faded. A moment of silence passes, I breathe heavily, still affixed on the previous place of that thing. My breathing soon calms, and I flash a glance at Alisson, who peered at me just as much as he did the surrounding area.
Should, should I tell him? I, I think he’ll just call me crazy but, something inside of me is pleading to share, to spew forth this phenomenon that I’ve kept to myself.
…I’ll, I’ll do it. The more I talk openly with Alisson, the less weight I feel in my stomach. This lightening of my gut, is this the drive of sociality that I’ve lacked all these years?
“Alisson, can I ask you something?”
I say, in between my still quick and staccato heart, blood pulsing through my ears without respite.
“Go ahead.”
I swallow.
“Are, are they any kinds of beasts that watch their prey from afar before they strike?”
I’m ninety-nice percent sure that what I’m seeing is some hallucination, since Alisson has never saw it.
“Celis, you don’t mean to say…”
His voice trailed off, looking with concern at me. I nodded my head, seeing this, his face steeled.
“How long? Tell me. How long have you seen it?”
His voices increased in tempo.
“Three times now. The first I saw it was in those wheat fields with succubus, the second in the Menton forest and the third just now.”
Alisson closed his eyes.
“They are Sequiturs. Our Lady referred to them as: Qui Sequitur Qui Subridet. Their very existence is shadowy, it’s all hearsay. That’s because they appear to only a select individual at a time, and follow them for god knows how long, until, well, nobody knows what happens. I’ve heard a few humans talk about their existence, it’s riddled with bad omens. What, what does it look like?”
Alisson asked.
“I, I haven’t managed to get a good look at it, but, it’s tall, white, and has very long and slim limbs. I couldn’t see its head too well.”
“Then it’s far away from you when you see it?”
I nod, and Alisson exhaled.
“That’s good. Don’t let it close the gap. Tell me whenever you see one; I, I never dealt with them, and I haven’t a clue how to but, but I’ll try my best.”
I nod sternly. Hah, it feels good, to know that Alisson is looking out for me, and that he knows of this, this thing. It’s, it’s not even that I’m scared of it, I’m just, imitated by its sudden appearance. So, its name, Sequitur, according to Alisson, Sidonia gave it that name. What an odd word, Sidonia must be really good at making up names.
I take a deep breath, and my muscles relax. I slink back down to my ‘bed’. My eyes still wide, scanning the horizon of grass.
“Celis.”
After a few minutes had passed, Alisson said my name.
“Please, I’m watching over you, rest easy.”
At his words a certain weight piles onto my shoulders, a strong, refreshing weight of security, and it feels as though a flame now flickers within my chest, for whatever reason making a smile play out across my face.
For whatever reason, my eyes feel heavy, and I feel safe.
Drifting off to sleep, only one thought clings to the back of my head,
Is it just me, or was that thing closer than it was before?
…
Dear Alfonso,
I’m sorry that it’s been a few weeks since I last wrote to you, but know that I have been getting your letters. It’s just, it’s been hectic ever since the army I’ve been assigned to has come in contact with Sidonians. They ambushed us, is what my officers keep on telling me…but there’s grumblings all over the army that an elite unit ours actually struck first. I don’t know how it happened, we had a peace treaty and a non-aggression pact, I didn’t think anybody would try to kill each other in the south of Irine, that’s why I signed up in the first place.
The first day we hunkered down in a forest, everybody was given shovels and axes, and told to dig in. In about the week that’s passed since then, the whole area’s been deforested, and we’ve dug many trenches and built large barricades and towers. We dig in the mornings, and then scout at night. My cavalcade has been busy, we’ve been running on almost no sleep since we’re the only ones who can search for the Sidonians. They attack us every day dawn, I never see them, they never get too close, they just pick some off us off and then run away. So far, we’ve only dug in, we haven’t attacked at all, and some of the men are getting angry about it. I’ve seen what the Sidonians are doing with my own eyes when I’m scouting, I see their massive trench line and what I’m told are ‘siege emplacements’. For them having less people than us, what fortifications they have made look impenetrable given what our side has. Our army only has a few thousand men, but my officers tell me Irine is sending reinforcements to us in due time.
I just hope they get here. I haven’t slept in a few days now, I’ve been too paranoid about waking up with an arrow or bolt of magic in my throat.
But, anyways, that’s enough of me, I’ve read your letters, I see you and Ghrenzino have been busy as well! Making some sort of coalition to defend against those bastard merchants that’ve sacked us huh? Well, don’t take it too far my brother, the last thing you need is to get arrested by the Curlessi guard.
Well, I’ll try to keep my head down,
Love, Iyia.
…
It had been another three days at this, this sea of grass. In total, they were making good time in their now eight days of full travel. The sun was high in the air, and clouds wisped here and there high above them. Still, however, was their scenery the same sprawling field of green.
Alisson had not been expecting Celis’s revelation, some random myth, that he almost never thought about, had now became a large worry for him. He’d scraped the barrel of his mind to find anything else he knew of these, these Sequitur beasts, but alas, Alisson didn’t pay attention to these monsters that only seemed to watch. And very well could it be that they only did watch, and he was simply playing the fool, overexaggerating at another one of hundreds of oddities of nature. One learns not to question that which does not harm, when so many things are anomalous, and unexplainable, even to those that commit their lives to unraveling them, it’s no use to bother thinking about.
Alisson still didn’t like the thought of it, a Sequitur, stalking his apprentice? He felt a surge of action fly through his body, ready to fight and protect his apprentice. Alisson’s fist tightened.
There was no use in getting worked up about something that ultimately, Alisson could do nothing about. He couldn’t see them, he had no clue if he could touch or hurt them, and he most certainly didn’t know what they sought.
As the day continued on, Alisson started to hear something. Something akin to the quaking of thousands of footfalls at once. It was faint, but Alisson still recognized it. It was the quaking of an army, a large, marching human army. No other armies made that horrid quake when they marched; there simply wasn’t enough manpower to produce such a noise. Humans however, with their mind boggling numbers of fighters, easily produced the distinct sound, without even trying. Sure enough, a few seconds after Alisson had heard the noise, he saw a few blips, far off into the horizon.
It was like a wave, a wave of black that appeared over the horizon, and blotted out the ground. To him and Celis’s luck, they weren’t on the road that they were on, it seemed the army was taking the much larger road that inched along side the plain, whereas Alisson’s choice cut right through the heart of the plain, leaving little chance to see others. This place, it must be the closest that the main road got to the center of the plain; it was extremely unlucky that there happened to be an army travelling over it as him and Celis were nearby.
The flags and insignias now rose over the horizon, hundreds of them appearing as every second passed. Every moment yielded more and more heads that poked over into the view, it was like a never-ending plague that just kept spreading.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Alisson swallowed, and made a decision instantly. If he could see that army, then they could see him. Simple as that.
“Celis, follow me! We’re getting off the road! We need to get as far away from them as we can!”
It was a shame that the army produced only enough sound to be heard from the moment Alisson saw them, he’d rather evade this army in a far larger maneuver instead of just running away from it.
Alisson’s stallion veered off the road, breaking its trot into an intense gallop upon the grass. The army he’d seen was northwest of them, so, him and Celis were now dashing north east. The safest bet would’ve been to head south east, but that would take too long to circumvent the army and make up lost time. Alisson played his luck; he hoped the army was not so large that it stretched all the way northeast of himself and Celis.
The horses bolted as quick as they could, perhaps sensing the overwhelming danger looming near them as Alisson had. Soon, the road they’d travelled on was indistinguishable, and invisible, devoured by the field of grass. There was now not a single road in sight, but Alisson kept urging the horses forward, for he still heard the distant thundering of the army.
Although it was at first a horrifying sight, to not see any roads and thus have no sense of direction, but Alisson was not stupid; They weren’t getting disorientated, he had a compass, the sun, and the stars to use.
It wasn’t long before the falling hooves of the horses droned out the army, to the point where Alisson heard not a whiff of any human presence, like it’d just been a prank. It was a unique state of mind, to at the same time know exactly where something of danger was, and yet not see it. Kilometers separated them and the human army now, yet a few meters in the wrong direction would warrant immediate exposure. He felt not the pin pricks of his body warning him to a bad presence, but a tugging, a pulling at his gut toward the direction of the army.
The land was now bare of any sound but of the rushing horses. There was something stuck into the ground some distance away, and as they approached, he saw what it was; it was a black cross, about as big as his horse.
They blitzed past it without a second thought. It was odd that anything would be here, in the near middle of the Ipithid Plain, it was like a desert in its inhabitability that came from its barren isolation. The horses gradually came to a slow on Alisson’s command, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief, though they continued to trot forward. The sun above them was exactly where Alisson was thinking it’d be with their maneuver in the right direction, they had headed northeast, by a large margin. While Alisson was glancing at the sky, he noticed something of grave concern, north of them, were gathering gray clouds.
“A storm lay ahead…tch.”
Alisson clicked his tongue. This was bad, very bad. Storms in the Ipithid Plain were regarded as some of the strongest, most unpredictable and most destructive in the world. He could imagine that on this plain, that tornadoes were not uncommon. The gray clouds were headed right for him and Celis, a wave of gray fluff cast and blotted out the sky ahead, and would soon be upon them.
The best course of action would be to run away once more, and avoid it entirely. The storm was headed for him and Celis yes, though it was veering west, as if it was chasing the human army they’d encountered. If they travelled a little farther east, more toward the center of the plain, then they’d be able to avoid the brunt of the storm.
On that thought, Alisson realized that the storm seemed to be almost guiding him and Celis deeper into the plain and away from the road. He didn’t like it, but it was better to head further in and not be blown away by the strong winds, he and Celis could be separated with relative ease in such winds.
“Celis, we’re heading around those clouds. It’s about to get rainy, so get ready.”
The center of the storm, where the winds were the quickest, is what Alisson was going to attempt to circumvent, avoiding the storm entirely was out of the question, and they’d be stuck under rain for a time no matter what. The two horses changed direction on his command, and continued further east, away from the worst of the storm.
T’was a beautiful sight, for within a short few moments did the sun shine through the clouds as it was being overtaken, shooting rays down to the earth past the haze. Being able to see this all around him for kilometers, it was a breath-taking sight. Though it did not last.
It wasn’t fifteen minutes before the sky was all but gray, and the sun was no where to be seen, it’d been engulfed by the overcast. Soon after, the pitter-patter of rain fell upon them. They were lucky, for it was a light, and hardly noticeable rain, more a drizzle than anything. On their way through the gloomy and ever darkening day, Alisson noticed another one of those black crosses that they’d earlier passed, though it was far off and to their side, as if denoting a boundary.
“Alisson…we, we won’t get lost right?”
Celis was clearly fearful, and he understood her worry. Alisson, unlike Celis, had much more experience, and confidence in his navigation, he wasn’t scared to be a little off the rails.
“Of course not. We may not see the sun or any stars, but we have our compasses and our sense of direction, we’ll be fine Celis.”
Celis let out a murmur of acknowledgment, though didn’t seem too eased by his words. As much as she said she was happy from his words, she never showed it. The rainfall gradually became louder as time went on without any other sound, the droplets of the rain hitting the grass becoming the only noise Alisson could hear.
Something soon broke the sound around, it was a voice, the cracked and decrepit voice of something, seeming to speak across the plain and into Alisson's mind.
Above the ground and under the shades, born of lues and in a bade, the to-be king awaited his crown.
It was a different sensation than that of when Alisson was called upon by Sidonia, this voice, it was horrid, like a man laying on his death bed, his throat ridden with holes of plague; and it sounded as though it crossed the land, not only directed at Alisson.
“Alisson, did, did you hear something?”
Celis asked nervously from behind him, her soft voice barely audible over the ever-loudening rain.
“Yes, you did as well then? Ignore it.”
“Yes, master.”
Celis promptly replied.
Just what the hell was that? A voice, in the middle of this plain? Where did it come from? What is this nonsense it speaks of?
Alisson was not in a position to be privy to dwelling on this, strange things happened, end of story. Alisson tried to push it out of his mind, but a heavy gulp and an increasing heart rate did little to calm himself. The ground under him was slowly turning into mud as the rain continued to fall. The horses carried on trotting, the clouds above thickened and blocked out more and more light.
A sudden and sharp crack made Alisson jump. The sound came from below him, and when he looked, he saw that the hooves of his stallion had crushed something. It was a skull, buried in the grass and barely noticeable. Alisson didn’t have the time to get a better look at it as his horse continued on past it.
Five score passed and naught but one maiden arrived, he sought his crown yet she bore but a basket and gown.
“There it is again…”
Celis muttered.
It’s not some fluke then. Something is wrong about this place.
Alisson looked to the sky, hoping that the worst of the storm had past, so that he and Celis could get back on to their road. The darkest clouds were southwest of them, but there was a problem, the storm had seemed to increase in size, and had stretched to their east as well, like forming a net against them.
If we head northwest, we might have a chance to escape this area, and those damnable winds.
She set the basket down, offering it to the king; he opened it and felt a sting, for inside the basket, lay the world’s casket.
Ignoring the voice, Alisson rummaged through a pouch for his compass. When he withdrew it however, he saw that it was far from operable. The needle was spinning around, revolving at an immense speed.
“What in the world…”
Alisson mumbled, staring at the compass.
“What is it?”
“…It’s nothing. Keep moving.”
He shoved the compass back into the pouch and urged his stallion along with a small whip of the reins.
Up and out of the basket came louses, they engulfed the king, in search of their spouses.
Up ahead of them was a hill. It was very slight, and for that reason Alisson hadn’t noticed it. The thought occurred to him that they may have been traveling upward without knowing, on the smallest of inclines. The hill itself was curving around something, and stretched far east and west, like it was wrapping around something in the plain. They nevertheless continued on, the height of the bump in terrain would give a little more vision.
Celis and him, at a more cautious pace, crested the hill, and reached the top both at the same time. What lay before them was something Alisson hadn’t been dreaming of to see in the middle of a plain. The hill they were on acted like the boundary of a crater, one that stretched as far as Alisson could see in diameter. The ‘crater’ wasn’t deep, the floor was only a few meters below the top of the hill, but it was just enough to obstruct vision.
It was what laid inside the crater itself and upon its floor that Alisson found unsettling. It seemed to be a graveyard of sorts, hundreds, nay, thousands of black crosses stood from the ground in random dispersion. Each one was different in its tilt and lean, and each seemed to be in a differing state of repair for some were broken and others looked newly erected.
The ground from which these crosses stood had little grass. But what it made up for its lack in sod was its abundance of bones.
Again, these were varied, some were cracked and blackly rotted over and others seemed newly picked free of flesh, skull of all kinds of animals littered the area complete with the rest of their bodies. Alisson could barely make out the ground beneath the ocean of bones.
The king, devoured within moments and urged on by the maiden’s ails, accepted with foments, his skin was replaced with scales.
“W-what is this Alisson?”
Celis said, letting out a slight gasp at the unscrupulous sight.
“I haven’t a clue.” Alisson looked behind them once more. “Look. The storm.” He pointed, and Celis glanced behind them as well.
The clouds were now in a semi-circle behind them, only but a few kilometers separated himself and Celis from flesh-rending winds. Alisson grimaced at this, this entrapment. There was no doubt in his mind now: The clouds were purposely pushing and constricting them into this place. Soon, the clouds would be upon them, for they surged for him and Celis with immense speed. To think that such far off clouds could rip them to pieces by shear power alone, it was a laughable affair.
Alisson clicked his tongue. This was far from bad. This was predestined death. Whether or not he and Celis made it out of here, had already been decided by the whims of whatever fanatical piece of nature this plain was.
There were three choices Alisson could enact.
They could avoid this area entirely, and attempt to break through the clouds instead. The problem was that these clouds were host to those winds, which could tip horses over with a faint breeze; He couldn’t imagine getting through them, it was suicidal.
The second option was to hunker down, and dig in. The winds would be severely neutered if Alisson abused the hill, and dug into it a ways. Though there were of course several problems with this as well, chiefly time, Alisson didn’t think they had the leisure to sit around and dig an entrenchment.
Their last option, was the only one that was both reasonable, and idiotic, depending on how long one spent thinking about the situation. It was to continue into this crater, and continue moving north, or at least, what Alisson felt was north; One could never be sure of themselves without constant reassurance, for one’s sense of direction could drift and drift over a period of time without notice.
“Celis. We’re heading forward.”
It made Alisson’s stomach churn, but this was their only realistic option, diving headfirst into a sea of bone.
“…Yes master.”
And so the horses begun their descent unto this bone ridden crater, laden with crosses.
The deed was done, the king had won, for on his head rested his crown, not paying mind that in worms did it drown.
The horse’s hooves cracked bone after bone, skull after skull with their hastened trot. They passed by dozens of crosses within only minutes. To Alisson’s intrigue, there were no little creatures here feasting, exemplifying that indeed the corpses here were bare of flesh.
It had only been five minutes until Alisson couldn’t make out the hill that acted as the boundary between this, this graveyard, and the rest of the plain. The clouds closed in on them, not as they had been, but rather, they seemed to lower down to the ground, for even the gray film above them was now far closer than it had been only minutes before:
There would be fog soon.
Even worse for navigation! We’ll just try and hope to cross this damnable crater of corpses.
Alisson’s eyes were sharp as he scanned the edges of his vision, which, thanks to the ever-lowering clouds, was becoming smaller and smaller. It wasn’t long before Celis and him were beset by a haze on all sides. This haze turned into fog, and it encroached and thickening with every passing moment, engulfing everything in a gray veil.
“We’re being squeezed in. Keep your guard up.”
Alisson doubted he needed to say anything, for the atmosphere was putting even him on edge, and if that was the case, there was no way his apprentice wasn’t already at least a little frightened.
As the minutes ran by, the fog encroached, and the clouds above lowered and lowered, like a house closing its walls in on the two of the them. It was not a sight Alisson found himself taking any comfort in. If Celis weren’t right beside him, Alisson didn’t think he’d be able to keep his composure; he would’ve been alone, alone in this foreign place, just like he’d been when his sister had taken him to the forest of midnight when he had been an apprentice.
The king was not finished, for now he needed subjects, so forth a plot of land he did annex, and erected a town that did drown in worms, all searching for their returns.
Again, that decrepit voice had washed over Alisson for what felt like the dozenth time.
The fog was now within an odd twenty meters of them, and there it did halt its advance. Alisson now couldn’t see very well at all, for even the clouds above were now but meters from his head.
Suddenly, Alisson’s stallion stopped dead in its tracks, he could feel its muscles tense through his legs. Beside him, Celis’s mare stopped as well. It was not a halt in motion but rather a freeze, like they were scared to their very cores by something. Realizing this, Alisson scanned the perimeter in a panic. It didn’t take him long to find what had spooked the horses.
Out of the fog, directly in front of the two of them, was a black figure. It was partly in the fog, though that didn’t explain its undulating outline, it was like it’d been set ablaze with a black fire. It looked more like a shadow, standing upright and peering out of the fog toward him.
“Alisson-!”
Celis said in a rushed whisper, her hands on the hilts of her baselards. She was asking him if this was a threat they’d be better off engaging. He was glad she could keep her cool, unlike that time in the forest of black, where she had almost gotten them both killed by preparing spells at an apparition.
However, this time was different. Alisson didn’t know what this thing was, plain and simple. And as such, the utmost caution was needed. This thing before them could either be just like the apparition of the forest they’d encountered before; something better off being left alone, or, perhaps it’d be better for him and Celis to take the preemptive strike.
For now though, they could do little; their horses were as stiff as statues.
“Dismount, forward perimeter.”
Him and Celis soundlessly slipped off their mounts, and stood in front of them, staring down the black shade. His hand was on Enhérejär, ready to be drawn should this wispy figure take action. It was humanoid more or less, though it didn’t seem to have a neck, and it had abnormally short limbs in comparison to its torso.
Into Alisson’s ears came a new sound, it was not the crack of bone underfoot, it was not the rain splattering upon the bones, and it wasn’t that horrid voice. It was a whisper, an incoherent mumble, a drone that Alisson could barely distinguish from the patter of the rain-
Then came one by one the people of the king’s new nation, he inducted them with the same louses that’d brought him pain, all in a spot on the Great Ipithid Plain.
Damnable voice! Shut up already! As if this disgusting fairy tale isn’t enough already, I now have the whisperings of this damned shade!
Alisson clenched the hilt of Enhérejär, at the ready. Though, another shade walked into view, standing side by side to the other. Then another, and another…
Within a minute, they were surrounded by these shadows, a couple dozen of them, all in a circle staring at him and Celis. The whispering he’d heard, it was multiplied a dozen fold over as if to match the new additions to Alisson’s vision. The whispering was now immensely loud, filling Alisson’s ears, though he wasn’t able to decipher what any of it meant or any actual words. It sounded like dozens of people trying to communicate through a small metal pipe, all in a cloud of sound around Alisson’s head.
Alisson swallowed, clenching Enhérejär tighter as the whisperings grew louder and louder.
Then, it happened. The first shadow stepped but one foot forward.
“Back!”
He drew Enhérejär in an explosive motion, and heard the scraping of Celis drawing her weapons as well. The shade, nor any others, moved after that; another long moment of staring occurred between the two parties. He saw Enhérejär shaking before him in his vision, and wondered why it was doing that, when Alisson realized he himself was the one shaking.
His hands tightened, and the shaking stopped.
Still into Alisson’s ear did whispering inundate;
Shut up! Shut up already!
“Gyah-!”
A shriek brought his senses back immediately. When he recognized who’s voice it belonged to, his heart fell in horror. He turned to not see Celis, but rather blank air. Instead, Celis was thrashing on the ground within the bones, struggling against something. From the ground reached up black tendrils of long three fingered hands, grappling at Celis’s limbs. That wasn’t all, from the bones and dirt rose brown, orange tinged, centipede looking insects, hundreds of them beginning to already squirm their way up Celis.
More and more subjects did the king gain, but it was in vein, for his rule was threatened by none other than his thane, objected to his way of reign, she told him that he was bringing about this own bane.
“Celis!”
Alisson didn’t think, he charged forth, and reached out to Celis’s struggling body. He wrapped his hands around her back and onto her arm, dropping Enhérejär without thought. He pulled, trying to wrench her free of this accursed earth’s binding; but alas, he couldn’t. He couldn’t, he couldn’t!
“Alisson-!”
He heard and saw that desperate call leave her mouth, staring at him, with tears welling in her eyes, begging, pleading him for help-
“Alisson!”
He felt a squeeze on his shoulder, and heard Celis’s voice once more, this time from behind himself.
He blinked, and the horrid vision disappeared, The once warm and soft body of Celis that he had grabbed hold of was now but a skeleton, he let go of the corpse with a yelp, and turned, to his relief seeing Celis standing right behind him, although with a worried grimace. He stood in a scramble, picking up Enhérejär and turning back toward the shades, frightful that one may have closed in on-
As he feared, one was right before him, its presence was infinitely more imposing than that of the image in his mind. He didn’t need time to think through his next action.
Enhérejär!
He thrust forth with Enhérejär, the blade peeled away forward, like a flower blooming backwards. The dozen fold strike of Enhérejär, to Alisson’s immediate relief, caused the phantom to disperse into but black and formless mist. He heard one of the whispering voices scream in agony, before silencing. He didn’t feel a thing thrusting through it, no resistance, as it were made of nothing. Though, the mist stopped its dispersion, and came back together, reforming into its previous state. Alisson stared, wide eyed.
“We leave, now!”
He waved his hand back at Celis, urging her to embark on her mount. He backed up from the shadow that stood a mere foot in front of him, staring it down as he neared his horse’s flank.
Alisson deftly slipped onto his stallion, not taking his eyes off of the figure. Filled with fear that his horse would not move, he instinctually gave it a kick and a whip with the reins to make sure that it did. The stallion tersely neighed, whilst standing on its hind legs briefly, as if snapping out of a trance. The stallion bolted forward, followed close behind by Celis’s mare. They passed right through the shades, as if they weren’t even there.
The horses broke quickly into a gallop, diving into the fog and heading forth, to where Alisson hoped was north. The whispering that seemed passive earlier, had now broken out in fury, multitudes more voices had joined in the chorus of the phantom talk, and all of them were infuriated, screaming and bellowing.
Alisson did his best to ignore them, and reached for his compass, only to find that it still was of no use.
The king denied the basket-maiden, stating that his country would never fall to any pagan.
The shades that once had passively stared at them now chased them, running in a massive gait, easily keeping pace with the full speed of the horses. The phantoms ran behind and beside them, Alisson could only see a few peeking out of the fog, but he heard many more than that through all the whispering.
With the crack of bone underfoot, him and Celis could do nothing but hope that the end of this corpse-laden crater lay close ahead. Alisson could barely tell the shades apart from the crosses, they were both mere blurs rushing by them.
The country was invaded, its great ideas and way of life abraded, ‘till none but the maiden, king, and his close disciples stood.
Just then, after another clause of the decrepit voice sounded, Alisson felt a loud crash reverberate through him. Something was behind them, chasing them, and it was not as small and did not have the sleight of step that the other phantoms had; it was big, that’s all Alisson could think. When Alisson turned, his curiosity and instinct getting the better of him, he saw it. A massive black head of shadow, sticking out of the fog behind them, looming above the horses, and staring down with its void clad eyes.
The marauders stormed the final bastion, the king’s very own hall, but alas they did not catch the great lord, for he’d found the truth, he had ascended into the upper path, never to be seen any mortal eyes again.
“What is it Alisson?”
Celis glanced at him, about to turn as well to follow Alisson’s gaze.
“Don’t look back.”
He said breaking his vision from the massive looming figure of black behind them. The crashing intensified as the seconds went by, the threat growing and growing along with Alisson’s fear. He shut his eyes as tightly as he could, and simply tried to bear it all.
We won’t be devoured by this fog, we do not perish here, no, it is not our time.
Alisson was surprised of his sudden brazenness, but upon further thought, he realized it was probably denial out of cowardliness.
With the help of the ascended king, the rest of the disciples escaped, and that is the tale, of our great king, Lord Evering.
Alisson felt a slight incline up, and before he knew it, there were no pursuing shades, and he the crashing noise died away. The whispers faded, and the fog lightened. The horses didn’t stop, but Alisson saw the ground, there no bones anymore, and they were now heading down hill; they’d made it out.
…
Dear Alfonso,
Once again, I’m sorry for the scarcity of writing, I’ve been too caught up. Our reinforcements arrived a month ago, and ever since then, more and more men have showed up to support us. What started as a small border skirmish, well, it’s a full-scale battle now; our army now has hundreds of thousands of men, and the Sidonians seemed to have also gotten extra manpower. Ever since both sides started getting more men, it’s gotten bloodier and bloodier. As of now, it’s a stalemate. We attack the Sidonian line, and then they counterattack, every single day.
I’m surprised I’m still alive, my cavalcade’s been the first to charge the Sidonian defenses almost every day, the friends I had, they’re mostly gone now. I’m probably going to transferred into the real Irine cavalry soon thanks to my unit’s losses. At least then I’ll be treated better than trash.
I can’t express the fear I feel when I charge the Sidonian trench line. Their massive bolts from their ballistae and their large trebuchet rounds fall all around me, hitting my less lucky mercenary allies. After the siege equipment, I have to charge right through a barrage of arrows and magic, I’m lucky enough to have only been hit a few times from that. Afterwards, we’ll usually pull back, because we’ve taken too many losses to effectively attack the Sidonian line. They sometimes send out cavalry against us, it’s a rare sight but when it happens I breathe relief, because the Sidonian cavalry is, unlike the rest of the Sidonian forces, inferior to our own. I’m contempt that the few Sidonians I’ve killed have been from their cavalry.
I’m sorry I’ve been rambling but, it’s been hard is all. I guess I just want to vent a little. Well, your little gang is starting to become something huh? I’ve haven’t gotten all your letters, but it looks like you’re staying safe, and for my sake as well as our momma’s spirit, I ask you to stay that way.
I, I don’t want to say this but, if I don’t write back to you…Well, you’ll know what has happened.
I hope to see you soon,
Love, Iyia
…
“Hah…hah…”
The clouds had lifted a little, and the fog, although not dissipating completely, became much less thick in the hour after that, that crater or whatever. Alisson was able to find our way back to the road, much to my happiness. Apparently, his compass was busted or something for a while…
The moon was out, and I could see it only faintly through the cloud cover high above. The rain had stopped, and Alisson said that we should give the horses some time to rest, since they’d sprinted so much to get us out of there. I was sure to give them plenty of hay and water for that one…
Me and Alisson now sit side by side, against a few packs brought down from the horses, set on the floor beside them. We still both breathe heavily, even though we didn’t exert ourselves, it seems like we’re both exhausted mentally. Hah…just what in the hell was all that? First the human army, that made my skin crawl with fear, seeing so many humans…
They were marching south, so…that means that there on their way to Sidonia…just like that abbot Liknearavich was talking about.
Then those clouds came and, and then we found that crater with all the bones and crosses…then after that, those whispering shadow things, and that voice…ah, what the hell?
Goosebumps run down my body in a shiver of relief at now being out of that place. The easiest way to calm down, is to remember that Alisson is right by me. We haven’t spoken much since we left the crater, I think that’s just because of how spooked the two of us got.
Alisson, he must have seen something unpleasant, when we we’re staring down those figures. He just looked over at me, like he’d seen a ghost, and shouted my name. I was frozen for a second at his outburst, but then he ran in front of me, sliding across the boney ground a grasping at a skeleton, struggling as hard as he could to pull it out of the ground, and for whatever reason, it didn’t budge. I realized that he was probably seeing some sort of hallucination, so I was ready to hit him upside the head, but thankfully, a little tug at his shoulder is all it took.
“Hey…Alisson…what did you see, back in the, in the fog?”
Technically, we’re still in fog, but our radius of vision has increased tenfold from what it was since then, thanks to the fog clearing up and becoming less dense.
Alisson looked over to me, his face blank. He closed his eyes, a wry smile forming.
“What is it?”
I ask.
“It’s nothing. I’m just happy to see your face is all.” Probably not realizing what he just said, Alisson continues, “It was a horrible sight, you were on the ground, about to be devoured by earth, being grappled by worm and shadow alike…I, I’m glad it was an illusion, when I saw your face I, I…I apologize for my inability to keep my composure.”
W-worms? And hands? Grabbing me all over!? D-disgusting! I’m glad it was an illusion too!
“Hmm…Alisson…” I say a little pleadingly, which prompts him to open his eyes at me. “I’d do the same thing if I saw something like that…there’s nothing to apologize for.”
A smile had formed at my face without my realization. Alisson looked off into the cloudy sky. It was too dark to tell what color his face was, but I knew he was blushing.
“…So it would seem.”
He clearly doesn’t know how to react to my words. Well, I don’t think I’d know how to react either. Time passed quickly, for I was happy to be side by side to Alisson, in such a quiet and peaceful place such as this. Hmph, peaceful my ass, not after all that crap that happened. But still, it’s a nice atmosphere; if not a little off-putting if it weren’t for Alisson.
Before I know it, I hear a soft breathing near me. I would’ve turned to look, but I realized that something was on my shoulder. Alisson had fallen asleep, and his head had slipped off onto me, without me even realizing it.
I was a little taken back at first. But, the warmth of his cheek on my shoulder, his weight resting on me, it brings a certain warmth throughout my body.
So, so this is how it feels. All this time I thought Alisson was this large and unreachable height, that towered over me, protecting me. The proof is right before me that that isn’t the case. I see his soft face…he really does look like a girl in this position, sleeping on me. The indominable Alisson, he’s much more on my plane than I thought. An urge overcomes me, to guard him, to preside over him as he’s done to me;
I briefly laughed at myself from having such a ridiculous thought.
Though…my eyes peer pleadingly at his lone hand on the ground, and his head that’s mere inches from my face…
Ah…my mouth lay open for a moment, staring at Alisson.
…Grr. The hell with it. I can only keep a lid on myself so much…
I rest my head over his own, grabbing onto his hand that lay across the ground. Alisson’s soft hair on my cheek, it's better than any pillow I’ve ever rested on. I nuzzle it, a shiver runs down the back of my neck and down my spine. With my last few breaths of consciousness, I spot a figure far off into the distance, one of those shades, poking it’s head out of the fog at us.
Well, it’s not a Sequitur…
I close my eyes, and I smile, as if to spite it by saying that it can’t hurt me with Alisson so close to me. As I tighten my grip on his hand, my smile widens with the heat of Alisson splashing over me. I doze off into the warmest sleep I’ve ever had, complete with a fully filled stomach and chest, not empty as they had been before.
***