The Company
Four riders approached the southern gate of Asery. The gate guards took one look at the first of the four riders and immediately sank to one knee as she passed. As the last rider passed unchallenged into Asery, the guards started whispering about the other people who were accompanying the Lady Oracle.
—-
A stableboy appeared as the riders approached the stables. Upon seeing the Lady Oracle accompanied by three other riders, he ran across the yard and pulled on a rope several times before returning and holding the reins of the Lady Oracle’s horse. Three more stablehands appeared to assist the other riders in dismounting. As the riders walked into the Citadel of Kunir, the stablehands started whispering amongst themselves.
—-
The four riders walked into the main hall of the Citadel. Just entering from the opposite end was a surprised, but happy, man in plate armor. They met in the middle of the main hall and stood there for a moment. The three other riders looked at each other as the Lady Oracle and the man embraced briefly. There was a fire in the eyes of the man as he spoke softly, but forcefully, to the Lady Oracle. The Lady Oracle shook her head. “No, Laenatar. You were supposed to protect him and keep him here. How could you let him escape?” she demanded.
“Lisila, please. He is still within the Citadel. We can still catch him and make him understand,” Laenatar said desperately.
Movement at the back of the hall drew his eye and he pushed Lisila to the side. “Please understand Lisila. This is something I must do for us all,” he said as he stepped to the side and in one motion drew and hurled a long knife.
Lisila’s eyes widened and she screamed, “No!” as the knife flew through the air. The man in chainmail grabbed the girl next to him and shielded her as the other man dove to the floor. But the knife was not aimed at any of them. It sailed through the air and struck the man in the shadows at the back of the hall, piercing his shoulder completely and pinning him to the door.
Laenatar drew another knife and stalked down the hall. Lisila screamed, “Stop him! Ardel, Fenyn! Stop him!” Fenyn rolled to his feet and leapt at Laenatar who simply laughed and, with a strength borne of his complete insanity, flung him into a pillar. Ardel stood up and drew one of his many swords before stepping in front of Laenatar to block his progress. Lisila rushed back down the hall and Ardel and Laenatar jockeyed for advantage. Laenatar drew a second knife and they continued to dance, Ardel keeping between Laenatar and the man at the back of the hall.
Najal had picked herself up and was watching with all senses as Laenatar and Ardel moved, neither trying to strike, but merely trying to gain a positional advantage. Suddenly, Laenatar’s second knife glowed with a brilliant red energy. Najal shouted, “Ardel! Look out!” but Laenatar wasn’t aiming at Ardel. With a backhand flick, he sent the knife spinning into Najal’s leg. As it sank in, Najal screamed in agony. The blade shuddered and twisted as it burrowed deeper into her. With a roar, Ardel leapt on Laenatar, beating aside his knife with the flat of his blade before using a quick slash to separate Laenatar from his knife, arm and all. Laenatar looked stunned as he clapped his good hand over the bleeding stump and sank to his knees as Ardel rushed to Najal’s side.
Lisila slid to a stop next to the man that Laenatar had initially attacked and was murmuring quickly as she withdrew the knife with agonizing slowness. The man cried out as the knife was finally removed, but no blood seeped from the wound. Lisila looked at him and said, “Look after Fenyn” indicating the man laying in a heap at the base of one of the pillars. She then ran back to where Najal was writhing in agony with Ardel cradling her.
“Damn, damn, damn,” she swore. “Never would I have thought that Laenatar would have succumbed.” Looking at Najal, she said “This is going to hurt worse than anything you have ever experienced.” She grasped the hilt of the wriggling knife and stared at Najal. “If you can manage, chant with me.” With that she started chanting. After several measures, Najal joined the chant. Smoke started to rise from the wound and the blood that was pooling around Najal started to glow. Slowly, Lisila worked the knife backward out of the wound and, as it left Najal’s leg, it burst into fire. Najal screamed in agony and fainted as the knife was removed. Lisila hurled the knife into the nearest fireplace and where it exploded, sending sparks and bits of flaming wood flying into the room. Then Lisila started chanting rapidly as blood starting flowing freely from the open wound.
The man that had been looking after Fenyn limped over. “That guy is going to be fine. He’s just unconscious.” he said. As he looked at the person being treated by Lisila, he cried out and fell to his knees. It was the copper-haired woman that haunted his dreams. With a strangled cry, he ripped off the belt that secured his robe and used it to tie off Najal’s leg above the wound. When the blood touched his hands, it flared and dried instantly. Then he ripped off a sleeve and wadded it up against the still flowing wound. Lisila continued chanting and the wound slowly stopped flowing freely. Finally she stopped chanting and forced the man’s hands away from the wound. The bleeding had completely stopped.
Laenatar was still on his knees, though the bleeding had slowly. He was extremely pale and shaking as his shoulder throbbed and oozed more blood into the growing pool around him. Lisila walked over to him with Ardel close behind. Ardel’s knuckles were white with rage as he gripped his sword.
Laenatar looked up at Lisila’s approach. “I am sorry, Lady Oracle. You must understand that, Lisila. Surely, you saw this coming.” Lisila shook her head. “Laenatar, I have seen many things in my visions. Never did I see your betrayal. What have you done?”
Laenatar’s eyes clouded over. “Too many things, Nama’lin. Too many things. You have thwarted the worst of them by saving Palenon and the girl.”
Lisila hissed. “What else, Laenatar? Tell me what else you have done.” Laenatar laughed softly, but it turned into a hacking cough that loosened his grip on his bleeding stump. As his hand fell away, the blood pulsed from the stump two more times before finally stopped as Laenatar crumpled into the pool of his own blood.
Moments later, Citadel guards arrived in the hall and looked in horror at their Lord Commander laying in his own blood and the Lady Oracle tending three wounded. The captain of the guard ran up to Lisila. “Lady Oracle, what has happened here? Who killed the Lord Commander?” he demanded.
Lisila drew herself up and stared at the captain. “Captain, the Lord Commander gave his soul to the dragon-spawn,” she said. “He betrayed all that we worked for and tried to kill two people under Kunir’s protection.” The captain’s face registered shock and horror at her words. She continued, “You will gather the guards and remove him from our halls to the Traitor’s Wall. You will also send the clerics to me immediately. Now go!” she snapped. The captain saluted her and turned back to guards. One of them went running out of the hall while the others stoicly walked up to the pool of blood and circled it. Lisila looked at them standing there and snapped, “Use a damned rug! I want him out of here now!” The guards grabbed two rugs and used them to soak up the blood before wrapping them around Laenatar’s corpse and carrying him out. Just as they left, several robed people entered the hall, following the guard that had left earlier. They ran over to Lisila and after a quick, hushed conversation they split themselves between the three wounded. One person looked after Palenon and escorted him from the hall. Two more people carried Fenyn from the hall while another two carried Najal. Lisila and Ardel followed all of them as they headed to the infirmary.
—-
Palenon tried to brush off the robed man that approached him, but the man’s words were soothing and convincing, though Palenon couldn’t remember them. He followed the man as he led the way out of the hall. He glanced behind them to see the unconscious man being carried by two other robed people as well as the girl. At the back of the small procession was the armored man and the Lady Oracle, whom the Lord Commander had addressed as ‘Lisila’. When they reached the infirmary, the robed man tried to get Palenon to sit down, but he refused and, when the girl was laid on a bed, Palenon insisted that he sit next to her. “No,” he said, “I have to be here. I don’t know why, but I have to be.” The robed man shrugged and pulled over a small stool and started working on Palenon’s shoulder with a wand and a small knife. Palenon winced as he worked. “Is that necessary?” asked Palenon. The robed man nodded. “Best to make sure it’s not tainted,” he said. Several minutes later, the robed man stood up and declared Palenon’s shoulder clean and clear before walking away.
When he left, Lisila walked over and sat on the stool. “So, you are Palenon.” she said.
He nodded. “I am.”
“And you are okay, now?” she asked.
He looked are her. “Actually, not really. I don’t understand what’s going on at all.” he said. “Seriously, until two ten-days ago I was prisoner. I don’t really know anything than that. For sixteen years, I was a prisoner. And before that, I was on the street for as long as I can remember.”
Lisila nodded. “But you are safe here, Palenon, for now. The dragon-spawn may have corrupted Laenatar, but Kunir will protect you. Eventually, we must go however, if we are to stop the hordes in time.”
Palenon stared at her. “Stop the hordes? What are you talking about, Lady? I’m a runaway prisoner, an alley-rat. What am I supposed to do?” he exclaimed. “The Lord Commander, Laenatar, he stood up in the chapel and said that the hordes were marching. He said that something called the Company of Kunir was headed to Shieldhead. To delay the hordes, he said.” Palenon looked at her in disbelief. “He tried to kill me!”
Lisila watched the hysteria grow in his face. “Palenon” she said. “Palenon! Listen!” she said, shaking his shoulders. “He did not kill you. He tried and failed.” She took his face and stared into his eyes. “You are alive. Despite all that he tried, and that storm you survived was his doing also, you have survived.”
Palenon shook his head. “I still don’t understand. What about my dreams?” he asked, pointing at the girl laying next to him. “Who is she that she haunts my dreams?”
“Your dreams?” asked Lisila. “You see her in your dreams?”
Palenon nodded. “For the past six years she has haunted my dreams. Her haunting isn’t scary though, just nerve-wracking. It’s almost like she’s driving away the other haunts. But it doesn’t make me rest any easier.”
“You are haunted by another?” said Lisila in amazement. “Would you mind telling me of your dreams?”
Palenon shook his head. “It’s simple and it’s not. When I was an alley-rat, there was a woman who we all called ‘Mistress’. The only time we ever saw her was when we did something that displeased her. For me, it was the same day I was arrested and put in the work camps. From that day, when I go to sleep, I see her slitted eyes watching me and, until six years ago, I could feel her needle-sharp nails caressing my arms.” He shuddered. “Then, six years ago, for no apparent reason the sensation of her nails never came. Instead, this copper-haired woman showed up and ‘Mistress’ vanished. Since then, it’s been the same thing every night with the exception of two nights in Biqam when I was in the Sanctuary of Kunir. After that, I came here.”
Lisila listened carefully as he spoke. When he finished, she asked “Why didn’t you just stay in the Sanctuary? You would have been welcome there.”
“I thought about it, but I couldn’t bring myself to stay. I was in a work detail a day outside of Biqam. The storm caught us working on the bridge there. It killed everyone except for myself and a guard named Indrian. She was badly hurt, I don’t know how she survived really, and blinded. But I couldn’t just leave her there, so I dragged her all the way to Biqam. And I lied to her about who I was. And I lied to the guards in Biqam so they wouldn’t arrest me again. With her recovering there, reminding me of the lies I told to survive, and the horror of the shattered bodies and camp so nearby, I couldn’t stay. So I ran. I figured if the Sanctuary of Kunir could help me, then the Citadel of Kunir could also help. That was two days ago. Or was it just yesterday? I don’t really remember.” he said.
Lisila nodded. “Well, I can’t say I fully understand, but it is good that you are here. I’m sure you heard Laenatar say something about the Lady Oracle.” she said. Palenon nodded and she continued. “Well, I am her. You may call me Lady Oracle if you wish to be formal, or you may call me Lisila if you wish to use my name. If you’re not familiar with what oracles do, we see visions of the paths that people travel through life. Sometimes we see the whole path. Sometimes we just catch glimpses of them. Sometimes we only see where they cross other paths. In your case, I have only seen you in the future, after you joined us. And I have always seen you with Najal. Or more specifically, I have always seen you on the same path with Najal.”
Palenon looked at. “But what does that mean, Lady Oracle? I mean, why would she be in my dreams? And why do I feel like I should stay here with her?”
“Why she is in your dreams is perhaps the easiest to answer. She is in your dreams because she killed your ‘Mistress’ six years ago, when she was ten. As for your other question, only you can really answer that, but I can guess.” she answered.
She gestured to Ardel, who had been standing quietly at the door to the infirmary. He walked over quietly. “Will she live, Lisila?” he asked. Lisila nodded. “Yes, Ardel. She will live. But I wanted you to hear what I’m about to tell Palenon as it applies, in a way, to you as well.” Ardel looked at the young man sitting next to Najal and nodded.
“Ardel. This is Palenon. He was a thief a long time ago. Until recently he was a prisoner, but he is a free man now.” Ardel looked at Palenon first and then back at Lisila. “Palenon, this is Ardel. He was a guard commander for a Duke, but not any longer.”
She gestured at Najal. “This is Najal and she is bound to both of you, though for different reasons.” Ardel nodded, but Palenon looked unconvinced.
“Ardel, you and Najal are bound by spirit and purpose. The desire to do right by each other and the world.” Ardel nodded again. “Yes. I do feel that. Much like a parent and child sharing a vocation. I love her, but like the child I lost a year ago,” he said.
“Palenon, this will not be easy for you, but you are also bound to her.” Palenon looked uncomfortable as Lisila looked at him. “While you do desire to do right, that is not what binds you to her. You and Najal are bound by soul, not spirit. This will be harder on you because you will feel a need to be near her but not really understand why. It will be even harder when you and her disagree on something, but in the end you will make each other stronger.”
They were all silent for a while before Palenon looked at Lisila. “But why? Why me?” he asked. Lisila just shrugged. “The gods work is strange ways sometimes. Just remember that you will be good for each other, in time.” she said. “Stay here with her for now. Come Ardel, let’s check on Fenyn and then I must call the assembly together and explain what is happening.” With that, she and Ardel walked over to Fenyn’s bed and stood there for a minute before leaving the infirmary.
Palenon simply sat next to Najal, watching her rest. After a while, he tentatively reached out and held her hand. It was warm and comforting. He crossed his arms with a wince and laid his head on them. Before he knew it, he was asleep.
—-
Lisila looked over at Ardel as they walked away from the infirmary. “They will all need you Ardel. Are you prepared for that?” she asked.
Ardel looked back. “What do you mean?”
“You understand the tie you have with Najal, yes?” she asked. He nodded. “As much as it is uncomfortable to be tried to one so like Ellaia, I understand the nature of the tie.” he said.
She nodded. “Good. Do you understand the nature of your tie to Fenyn?”
“Ellaia is the only thing that ties us together. He was to be married to her and I was the reason for her death.” he said unhappily.
Lisila shook her head. “That is not the tie I speak of, though it will help you in aiding him. The tie I speak of is that between a commander and a soldier. You know the complexities there. He does not and you will have to teach him that in order for us to succeed in our quest.”
Ardel grimly nodded. “That is a role I am familiar with, though I’m not sure I want to reclaim it.”
Lisila looked sharply at him. “Unfortunately, if you want Najal to survive to see another year, it is a role you will have to accept.”
Ardel stopped in his tracks. Lisila took a few more steps before turning and facing him. “You doubt me, Ardel. I can feel it. But make no mistake, the dragon-spawn hordes are marching. They will arrive at Shieldhead within a ten-day. The imperial armies are preparing but they will not be ready in time to save Shieldhead. They may be able to save Asery, but I doubt it.”
Ardel stared at her in surprise. “If you know that, why didn’t you tell the Emperor sooner so the armies could be raised sooner?”
She sighed. “Ardel. The Emperor knew of this less than a day after I did. The scale of raising the imperial armies makes it something you can’t just conjure from the air, especially since the last full-scale mobilization was over three centuries ago. The first Imperial units will arrive in Asery two ten-days from now. If we are lucky, they will arrive before the hordes can break the Citadel. But it will take at least four more ten-days for all the Imperial barracks to be mobilized. Unless something is done, it will take no more than a dozen ten-days for the hordes to reach Artina. That is where we come in.” she said.
Ardel shook his head. “You realize how far-fetched that sounds, don’t you?” he asked as he walked up to her. She nodded and turned to continue towards the main chapel.
“I do. And I thank the gods daily that the Emperor chose to believe me.” she said.
When they reached the chapel, Lisila threw open the doors. A cascade of noise flooded from the chapel as the assembly murmured and shouted. “Come with me, Ardel.” she said as she strode up the main aisle. Ardel quickly followed on her heels.
As she reached the pulpit, a woman in armor stepped behind Ardel. “You!” she shouted. “You killed Lord Valadur!” Ardel turned as she launched herself at him. Ardel caught her wrist as she brought her sword down. She swung her other fist at him and Ardel caught it in his bare hand. She was growling with rage as they struggled and Ardel struggled to not lose control. He clenched his teeth and hissed, “Lisila, do something! I do not want to kill anyone else today.”
The murmurs and shouting had died down as Ardel and the woman struggled. Slowly, Ardel twisted her sword arm to the outside. As Lisila raised her hands for silence, there was an audible snap and the sword dropped to the ground. Pain lanced through the woman’s expression as her sword arm hung limply. When Ardel released her fist, she staggered back a step before surprising him with a solid punch to face. Ardel stumbled back away from her as Lisila stepped in front of the woman. “Enough!” shouted Lisila. Her voice echoed throughout the chapel and all other noise stopped.
“Yes, this man, Ardel, killed Lord Valadur.” she said as Ardel rubbed his jaw. “And for good reason. Lord Valadur had been corrupted by the dragon-spawn. He spoke of sending the Company of Kunir to Shieldhead. This is true. He has sent them to their needless death. The Company, while valiant, will not slow the dragon hordes by more than a candle-mark in their destruction of Shieldhead.
He also spoke of sowing seeds for our salvation. This too is true. Both he and I have sown many seeds in the past sixteen years. Four of those seeds have come to fruition and are now within the walls of the Citadel. By his own hand, Lord Valadur attempted to destroy two of those seeds. By his own words, Lord Valadur confessed his corruption to me. He claimed that he was doing it so that we had no choice but to surrender to the hordes, to accept destruction at their hands, to go quietly into oblivion.” her voice echoed.
Stunned silence answered her.
Lisila looked out at the assembly and paused for a moment. Then she gestured to Ardel. “This man who stands before you is one of those seeds that have survived. All of you know of the visions I have had. Those oracles among you have even seen him in your own visions. You know the truth of my words.”
She looked at Ardel and whispered. “Draw the Pureblade, Ardel.”
Loudly, she said “And, he wields a true Pureblade.” Ardel drew the weapon from his belt and held it aloft. He looked at the assembly and watched as astonishment registered on their faces. Even the woman who attacked him watched in awe as the Pureblade began to glow with a brilliant white light. She twisted away and shielded her eyes as the glow intensified.
Lisila whispered to Ardel again, “Okay. That’s enough.”
Ardel sheathed the Pureblade and extended his hand to the woman sitting on the ground. “I am sorry for doing that.” he said as he took her good hand and helped her to her feet.
Lisila smiled as Ardel helped his attacker to her feet. Then, turning to the assembly again, she intoned “Let us all pray for the souls of the Company of Kunir. May we never forget them.
Issyf, Mother of Civilization, take unto your grand halls the souls of the Company of your consort, Kunir. Grant them shelter within those halls for all time.”
The assembly replied “And may Kunir protect those halls for all time.”
Lisila nodded. “All preparations for war should continue. Gather the rest of the Guard and send out the cliffrunners. While Lord Valadur may have told his new masters of the traps and pitfalls of the pass, we may still be able to use them to slow their advance even if we don’t kill any of them. We have much to prepare and little time to prepare it. Gods be with you all.” she said.
To Ardel, she whispered, “Let’s go. You know more about packing for a group than I do. We need to prepare horses and whatever else is needed for us to journey beyond the Northern Shield.” With that, she stepped from the pulpit. Pointing at Ardel’s attacker, she said “You will come with us. Now.” Ardel looked at the woman and picked up her sword, while she cradled her broken arm.
Together, the three of them headed to the infirmary where Lisila cornered a cleric. “You must repair this guard’s arm before daybreak. How are the other three?”
The cleric raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Lady Oracle. The others are healing. The girl is still asleep, but it is a healing rest. The guard is awake and resting. The young man is sleeping, uncomfortably, in a chair next to the girl.” She motioned for another cleric to come over. “Take this guard and see that her arm is properly mended by daybreak. The Lady Oracle commands it.” The second cleric nodded. “Yes, healer. It will be done,” he said before leading the guard to another room.
The first cleric looked at Lisila. “Is there anything else, Lady Oracle?”
Lisila shook her head. “Not now. But we will gladly take any healing supplies that can be spared from the preparations for defense.”
The cleric nodded. “I will prepare them for you, Lady Oracle. They will be ready in the morning.” She inclined her head to Lisila.
Lisila nodded to the cleric, who promptly left through a different door. Lisila turned to Ardel. “Come. We need to go and make our own preparations.” Together they left the infirmary and headed towards the armory.
