I clean the last ursu guards from the top of the wall. There isn’t any challenge to it. Nothing they do can slow me, let alone hurt me. A few ursu amongst the guards had swords of their own and far more enhancement than their comrades. Even these warriors might as well be tinder after my fight with the warden.
Thankfully, Leal gave me the go ahead to remove these ursu. After the treatment directed toward the prisoners, they deserve no mercy. On top of the abuse, entrapment is still one of the worst things you could do.
I’m glad Leal agreed. If she hadn’t wanted me to kill them, I could have probably subdued most of them alive. Without the warden, they are weak. Some people simply don’t deserve to continue living.
The guards got to be test subjects for my presence experimentation. The ability doesn’t make much sense. What made it show itself? How does it differ for others? Maybe there is just some unrecorded threshold of strength one needs to reach before it becomes available.
Its operation is completely natural. No different from influencing a flame or moving a finger. I can turn it on or off whenever I’d like and even focus the pressure it exudes upon a single target.
What is this pressure? The first time someone feels it, they most often freeze in place, but that paralysation wears off after a time, even with the presence still bearing down on them. It seems to inflict an instinctual fear within the target.
I jump off the side of the wall and arrive before Gerben and that tall ursu from before. Leal is off to the side, clearly lost in thought as she watches the gate.
“There shouldn’t be any left,” I say to the two. The tall ursu has taken command of the rest, so I should be able to inform him and get back to Leal.
“I appreciate what you have done for us.” The tall ursu steps forward and clasps my hand in his grip. His hand dwarfs mine, but he shakes anyway. “Will you be staying?”
“Uh, no. There’s still a war I need to get to. Well, more than one now.”
The tall ursu nods his head, but is clearly disappointed. “Please, come back whenever you wish. We could use the help.” He finally lets go of my hand and walks back amongst the ursu stunned at the rapid change in their circumstances.
Leal joined her dad’s side while I was distracted. Now that everything is done here, I really need to be getting back to the pact nations. My eyes fall on Gerben’s missing fingers and eye.
“Hey, I know someone who could heal you,” I say. With both Leal and Gerben, it’ll be impossible to fly, but as long as we’re careful not to attract too much attention, I’m sure we could rush back to the pact nations over land.
“Solvei, thank you, but I’m needed here.” Gerben laughs. “Half blind and fingerless as I am, my experience could really help this resistance.”
My gaze strays to Leal, and I know what she’s going to say before the words touch her tongue.
“I’m going to stay with dad,” she says. “This could never have happened without you. Thank you.”
So, that’s it? Time to say goodbye and see each other… whenever we see each other? Maybe it’s my fault for thinking that we would stick together. I can understand why; she’s got her dad back. If I had my mum or uncle or aunt back, I’d spend every second I could with them.
No matter how much I understand it, the disappointment still hits me.
For a moment, I seriously consider staying. I could abandon the pact nations and stay here to make sure Leal and her dad — and by extension, all the people I freed — remain safe. But doing so would abandon the others I care for to whatever fate may befall them.
My friends back in the pact nations won’t be able to defend themselves should the mermineae invasion continue, but Leal will be in just as much danger once New Vetus realise they have a rebellion festering. What could any of these ursu do if they send an army here? What could they do if they send Hund?
The Void-Touched ursu hasn’t overcome his desire. The giant is still tied to the whims of the New Vetus council. It would be nice if I could talk to him and somehow help him through the chains of his own mind. That will be hard for a multitude of reasons, primarily because I don’t actually know what his desire is, and by following the council’s orders, he’s just as likely to kill me as he is to listen.
“Ah, alright then,” I say. “I’d better get back, then.”
“Come now, you can’t leave like that.” Gerben stops me with a light smile. “At least stay for the celebratory bratchina.”
❖❖❖
The feast was every part a celebration as it was a horde of ravenous beasts stuffing their bellies. The now freed ursu raided the kitchens and storage areas to put on the largest feast I’ve seen. Larger even than the bratchinas held in city centres.
I am surprised there was so much food stored away within the compound, considering how thin everyone is. The guards hadn’t even been starving them because of a lack of supplies.
“Thank you so much,” another mother says as she bows her head. Her young child clutching at the fur of her leg.
I just nod. “It was no problem.”
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If I’d known I would have this much attention on me, I might’ve left before this celebration. Sure, I know they’re thankful, but I really don’t know how to respond to their gratitude. They also keep getting in the way of the remaining time I have with Leal.
I don’t want to leave, but the longer I stay, the more stressed I feel. Am I putting my friends in danger by relaxing right now?
My sight passes over Leal and I chuckle at how even through everything, she still hasn’t changed. Despite most of the attention coming my way, Leal looks more uncomfortable than I do. She’s still no good with crowds.
Before another excessively thankful ursu can approach me, the tall ursu — Adalbern — clears his throat loud enough to cut conversations amongst the gathering.
“Today, we celebrate our freedom, thanks entirely to the áed Solvei and Gerben’s daughter, Leal.” I watch in amusement as Leal ducks her head from the praise. “This moment reflects a turning point for us. No longer will we allow the council to descend us into oppression. We shall tear them down and rebuild New Vetus the way it always should have been.”
Adalbern pauses for a moment as murmurs resound. “Our future will not be easy. We face the entire army, and I don’t need to mention Tore Hund. The council has twisted our hero around their fingers, so we cannot hope to face them outright. It will be hard — damn near impossible — but we have an opportunity. If we play things right, not only can we save ourselves, but we can be the saviours of the hero of New Vetus.”
“We will stay here until everyone is healthy, then we will spread and build our numbers. Our success will rely on every person’s contributions. Convince who you can. Sabotage those you can’t. In time, we will tear the chairman’s seat from its pedestal, along with the rest of the council. This is our path.”
The crowd doesn’t cheer. Some applaud, but most simply hold determined, yet resigned faces.
This isn’t something they wanted. I realise now that while many of the ursu here were used as hostages for those outside, once the army discovers what happened, their roles will be reversed. Everyone here knows just how bleak their prospects truly are. Even if they want to hold a resistance force, they cannot face the council’s forces head on.
Most of these former prisoners don’t have any enhancement to speak of. If it ever reaches the point where a battle is unavoidable, they have already lost. I now realise why Adalbern was so disappointed to see me go. I could single-handedly give them far greater odds of success.
As much as it pains me to do so, I have to leave. Who knows how long it might take for them to overcome the council? If they had a plan to take out the council now, I would help them immediately. But they don’t, and I need to help push back the mermineae and the New Vetus army attacking the nations protecting my friends.
Maybe staying and applying pressure on the ursu army from here would be effective, but I’m afraid the same thing will happen as last time. The New Vetus army will quickly send a team of water mages to deal with me, and the resistance will be without strength.
Also, I’ll be dead.
The mermineae don’t have command over water through the use of mages as most other races do, so I needn’t worry when fighting them as much, but that assault where I met Leal taught me a valuable lesson. The nations keep their elite out of the fights for a reason. If that hadn’t been Leal to find me that night, I likely wouldn’t be here.
Creating hit squads to counter detailed abilities and weaknesses is a very real thing armies do to beat the strongest of their foes. I’m unfortunate enough to have my enemies know how horrifying water is to me. Can I even attempt to fight against the ursu anymore now that I know a group of water mages will hunt me down on sight?
It’s probably best not to think about it now. If the time comes where I have nowhere to escape from a mage ambush, my white flame should give me at least some opportunity to flee, or if I’m lucky enough, get a killing blow on those mages.
“Hey, Solvei. I’ve been thinking.” Leal pulls my attention from the many ursu somehow filling their gullets with an amount of food equivalent to their weight. How they can fit so much food in I don’t know.
“Hmm?”
“About Tore. I’ve been thinking about your explanation as to how he is controlled. I’m wondering if there’s a way to free him as you did for yourself. How is his mind twisted so that the council can manipulate him so thoroughly?”
“Well, I know it is linked to whatever his desire is, but I don’t know enough about him to know what that might be.”
“They always told us Tore did everything out of a selfless desire to do what he could for our nation, but who can say whether that is true or something of a children’s tale to encourage good behaviour?”
I hum in consideration as I think back on the advice he’d given within the Fog so long ago. He was immensely regretful about his own desire, so it might not be completely alike with mine. If it’s his desire that is causing him to be controlled, and not an element of its implementation, freeing him from that control will be far more difficult than it was for me.
“If that’s the case, it might be possible to convince him that the council is the problem.”
Leal winces. “Ah, that won’t work. There have been plenty of occasions in the past where people have tried to convince him to their goals. I’ve not thought of it till now, but the council made public laughingstocks of those that tried. Tore would always punish traitorous attempts to sway him.”
So, convincing him is off the table. Can’t say I’m surprised. One would have to have all the luck in the world for the Fog’s manipulations to be so easily thwarted. But maybe Hund needs a big enough push. Even if someone had told me the knot itself was limiting my thoughts, I doubt my awareness of the contradiction would have been enough to snap the rope. I’d only broken free after months of tension wore down my conflicting desires to the snapping point.
Well, Hund has been around for over a century. I can’t even comprehend that length of time. If Hund hasn’t found a way to escape his desire, then maybe there truly isn’t one. He is trapped, so his desire clearly doesn’t align with mine.
The tables are empty. Each ursu long having had their fill. Hopefully, they won’t need to eat near as much any time soon. There couldn’t possibly be that much food just waiting around for them.
Plenty have collapsed on the earth a short distance away, whether by alcohol or exhaustion, I do not know. The larger ursu not suffering excessive malnutrition surround Adalbern and Gerben as they discuss their future.
I’ve enjoyed being beside Leal again, but I continue to grow stressed the longer I wait around. It is time I should leave.
“If you ever need help, please don’t hesitate to find me,” I say as I turn to Leal. “Again, I’m sorry for what happened because of me.”
Leal doesn’t say it’s alright, nor does she forgive me, but I don’t expect her to. She nods, her eyes not meeting mine. “Stay safe, Solvei.”
I smile at that. Things aren’t perfect, but at least she doesn’t hate me. “After everything is over, and our lives go back to normal, would you like to travel with me? I plan to look for my mum’s spear once I get time.”
She doesn’t answer immediately. She looks up from her hands, her fingers tracing the markings over the back of her palm. “Ask me again the next time you are here.”
That’s better than a rejection. Thinking about what I’m going to do after the war might be premature, but I need something to think about that isn’t the bleakness and danger that has overcome the world. When the world is ready to go easy on me, I’ll finally be able to do the things I’ve wanted.
Now that I have strength of my own, there’s nothing to fear going back into the wasteland. My family is gone, and I have accepted that. I should at least carry on our tribe’s heirloom spear and return the other relic weapons to our Agglomerate.