Author's note:
Well here is another chapter, and a bit sooner than I anticipated.
Thank you to my good friend, MaliceUnchained for the ever continuing support!
Enjoy!
"Mercy. Mercy wake up." The soft calling of Fareeha's voice, and the gentle shaking of her shoulders, pulled the priestess out of a peaceful slumber. A fact that she was very unhappy about. She let out an indignant grunt, swatting the knight's hand away, and turning in the bed, pulling the thick, fur covers tighter over her.
Fareeha couldn't help but chuckle, quite unused to the healer's reaction. While calling Mercy a morning person would be a bit of a stretch, as she enjoyed a good sleep, and didn't mind staying in bed if given the chance, when duty called, or when it was needed, there was never any complaining from the woman. Well, technically there was complaining, but she would be getting up and ready while doing it, instead of being unwilling to even leave the bed.
"Come on, we're going to be leaving soon." The knight said more firmly, shaking the woman again.
"Ughh… fine." Mercy said groggily, barely managing to keep her eyes open, her eyelids feeling incredibly heavy. She sat up on the bed, and shook her head violently, trying to gain some semblance of consciousness. "By Ilá, that milk really did a number on me."
"Milk?" Fareeha asked, confused.
"I couldn't sleep last night." Mercy explained, blinking away the sleepiness and raising from the bed to wash up and get ready for the road. "Emperor Edhen found me outside, and we talked for a bit. He offered me some fjord grazer milk to help with the sleep. And it did, all too well."
"I… I see." Fareeha said, feeling a tinge of jealousy and sadness, that Mercy chose to talk with an almost complete stranger, instead of her. The rational part of her brain dismissed this very quickly, because she knew that the healer wouldn't want to wake her, likely didn't get up in search of conversation, but rather to think, and because the Emperor somehow seemed to know her secret already. She knew Mercy well, after all. Perhaps not as well as an ever growing part of her would have wanted.
She didn't realize she was staring at the floor, still sitting on the bed, until a gentle touch on her hand, threw her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Mercy sitting next to her, a serious expression on her face. "Fareeha. The next time we have some time, I… I want to share that secret with you."
The knight's features softened immediately, and she brought her other hand over the healer's. "You know you don't have to."
Mercy nodded. "I want to. You deserve to know." She offered the woman a small smile.
She received a smile of reassurance in return, and a gentle squeeze of her hand. "I appreciate that. Just do it, whenever you're ready, okay?"
The priestess nodded again, looking into the knight's eyes. "Thank you, Fareeha."
When they left her tent, much of the camp was already disassembled and packed onto carts, their wheels locked in place and with a runner attached to each pair, effectively turning them into sleighs. A multitude of people scampered about, loading stuff onto the carts, taking apart tents, or readying horses for the journey.
In the middle of the control chaos, Edhen stood in all his glory, his golden armor reflecting the rays of the morning sun, the light dancing playfully among the plates. The armor made him look even taller, towering over most others in the camp, and bulkier, although, somehow, it didn't seem to restrain his movements, as indicating by the rather intense gesturing, as he was discussing something with Winston, the occasional booming laughter from either of them, echoing amidst the bustle of the camp. The emperor noticed the two women, and gestured for them to approach. Mercy and Fareeha exchanged a glance, and made their way towards them.
Edhen greeted them with a smile. "Good to see you're awake, Mercy of Ellander and Fareeha Amari, knight of Helix. I trust you've slept well?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, thank you." Mercy bowed her head graciously, and Fareeha offered a respectful nod of her own.
"Excellent. We need to depart shortly, I'd like to make it to Kalaallt before nightfall." The emperor said, looking at the rising sun.
"That should not be a problem, Majesty." Winston said, fixing his glasses. "If we make as good time as we did so far, we should have about an hour of daylight to spare."
"Still, I am quite anxious to get going." Edhen smiled. He turned and pointed his hand at one of the still set tents, and snapped his fingers, then marking a few different shapes in the air with them, and the whole building lurched off the ground, the canvas slipping off the scaffolding, and folding nicely, the wooden beams quickly disassembling and floating over to one of the carts.
Mercy was quite impressed with the performance, not to mention surprised. Although it may have looked easy, the spell must have been quite complex to do so many things and on so many different elements. While that itself was not that big a deal for most mages, especially those with some experience, one thing really stuck out for the priestess. In order to channel their powers for complicated spells, a wizard required a magical focus, usually a staff or a wand. Since magic wasn't exactly natural for humans, they needed to attach themselves to the flow of magical energies in the world. Doing so, caused the power that left their bodies to be chaotic and uncontrolled, requiring something to direct it, bend it to the mage's will. While some magic users, like Fareeha, didn't have a very powerful attunement to the flowing mana, and therefore could use only simple spells, but safely and without need for foci, others needed them to not unleash their power drastically, and uncontrollably. A mage that lost control was extremely dangerous, and usually ended up dead, either out of necessity, or because they drained themselves out of magic completely. The emperor, however, didn't seem to have a focus, at least not an obvious one. And yet he performed the spell as if it was nothing, and with the pieces of the tent still floating in the air over the cart, he moved on to the next one.
Fareeha was impressed by the performance as well, but when the emperor turned his side to her, and a glint of his armor reached her eye, she turned to examine it more closely. Her gaze was immediately drawn to the impressive shoulder pad. What she failed to see before, in the dim lighting of the tent, was a battle scene etched into the plate.
A flood of various servants of shadow, from orcs through demons to the massive behemoths occupied the lower part of the shoulder pad, the creatures wading in water, looking up at their enemy above them, shields raised, spears pointed, claws and teeth bared. Over them, the central point of the scene, were four figures.
One was a woman, her body seemingly made of flame, her arms outstretched in front of her, a beam of fire surging from them, and into the mass below.
Another, was a man, standing on top of a wave, water following the movement of his hands.
The third, was another woman, floating higher above them, a pair of wings on her back, and a halo over her head, her staff pointed down into the scores of monsters, rays of light crashing into their shadowy forms.
And the last one was a man, a pair of falcon-like wings attached to his back, a shield in one hand, and a flaming sword in the other, raised above his head, as if he was about to swoop down, and strike at the creatures below.
Fareeha couldn't look away from the scene, taking in every intricate detail of the image, enjoying how the sunshine played on top of it, with every movement from the emperor, and something about it seemed oddly familiar to her.
Her eyes were torn away from it only when Edhen turned back towards her, and the man scanned Fareeha for a moment, offering her a smile, before turning to the approaching Captain Tirel, two servants leading four horses following after her. "Lord Commander." She said, bowing respectfully. "We're almost ready to move."
"Excellent." Edhen nodded, taking the reigns of his horse from one of the servants. His mount was covered in barding, consisting of golden plates with black lines, made to resemble dragon scales, and the chanfron on its face looked like a dragon skull, with silver horns completing the look. The emperor mounted his horse, and Mercy, Fareeha and Tirel followed suit, getting on their own mounts given to them by the servants, the priestess thanking the emperor for providing a horse for her. The man simply waved her off and turned to his captain. "Give the orders to move out." As Tirel nodded respectfully and turned her mount, riding away through the camp shouting orders, the hussle in the camp increasing, and clanging of metal sounding as knights mounted their steeds, Edhen gestured for Winston to lead. The yeti nodded, and started moving north, the Shiverpeaks looming over their left side, their tops hidden behind a thick layer of clouds.
As they moved, the emperor's followers assembled behind them, and soon Tirel returned with ten knights, their armor similarly accented with gold, and took half of them to the front of the emperor, and left half at the back. Fareeha watched the armored men and women with curiosity, their status as the emperor's personal guard clear in not only the more regal look, but also how they carried themselves, with practiced ease and confidence. Soon however, Amari had to keep herself from glancing at the emperor, the scene on the shoulder pad gently swaying with each step of his horse.
"I sense a question, Pharah, knight of Helix." Edhen said suddenly, turning to look at her.
Mercy got thrown out of her thoughts at that, and looked at Fareeha with curiosity. The knight cleared her throat. "I was wondering about the etching on your shoulder pad. It seems familiar to me, and yet I cannot quite place it."
The emperor slowed his horse slightly, to move alongside hers and Mercy's. "I'm not surprised a Helix knight would recognise it. It represents the Stand at Maroon Ford. Or Gibraltar Ford, as it was then known."
Fareeha nodded in understanding. "Of course. I should have realized."
"I don't think I've heard of that battle." Mercy interjected, moving her mount slightly closer.
"I suppose military history wasn't the most important subject in Ellander." Edhen chuckled. "Maroon Ford is a river crossing, next to the Rock of Gibraltar. Two years after the First Shadow Tide, An-Ath assembled his forces of darkness once more and sent them back towards the civilized realms, hoping that they were too weak to stop him again. This was before the Gibraltar keep was built, mind you, and only a small force was in the area, as no one was expecting such a swift return of the enemy. Five hundred strong of some of the most elite Zan-Eth forces of that time, left to patrol the edge of the northern realms, noticed the Darkness advance, and sending two to warn the kingdoms, took up their position at the ford, to slow down the enemy's advance, and either hold them there until reinforcements arrived, or at least delay them enough for the Katachurian army to assemble." Edhen recounted, seeming rather excited that he could tell the story.
"The Maroon Ford is the only crossing of the Crimson Waterway, that leads directly into Katachurian lands, and not past the elven forests of Anaria, which makes it strategically critical." Fareeha explained, making use of the short pause in the emperor's retelling.
"Indeed." Edhen confirmed. "As luck would have it, An-Ath was still too weak to lead his armies after his defeat, and the general he put in charge of this first force was not prepared for the resistance he got. And so five hundred clashed against forty thousand, and they held the ford, day after day, night after night, for a week. Dying of wounds, exhaustion, starvation or thirst within a few days, blocking the enemy with first their shields and then bodies, until only four remained. Four chosen of the Gods." He lifted his hand, and moved it towards his shoulder pad. "The Angel of Ilá." He pointed at the woman with a halo. "The Raptor of Helix." He said, indicating the man with falcon wings. "The Ifrit of Ithir." His finger moved to the fiery woman. "And the Meriad of Marr." And finally pointing at the man controlling the water. "They fought fiercely, not allowing even a single creature to cross the river, that was forever stained crimson with blood, ensuring the sacrifice of all those who fell was not in vain. Most in the kingdom at the time were still celebrating the victory over the First Shadow Tide, but within that week they earned, a small army of almost three thousand strong managed to assemble and reach the ford. They pushed the tired army of shadow from the river, and took positions around the Rock of Gibraltar, and at the ford, and with such a force they could hold the place with much more ease, until the rest of the kingdoms assembled, and pushed once again into the Dark Realms, to strike at An-Ath."
"That's incredible." Mercy sighed, taken aback by the sacrifice those knights made. "What happened to the four Chosen? Did they survive?"
Edhen shook his head sadly. "They survived the battle itself, yes. It is said they remained at the ford, while the enemy was being pushed back, gave their report to the general in charge of the reinforcements, and when the last creature fled from the battle, and victory was ensured, all four of them collapsed as one into the river, their last breath being a sigh of relief."
"I… see." Mercy dropped her head, deeply touched by the story. A gentle, reassuring rub on her shoulder, made her look back up, and at Fareeha, who was offering her a sad smile.
"Millennia have passed, and many incredible feats were performed since. But their sacrifice, stopped the Second Shadow Tide before it had a chance to affect innocents, and showed An-Ath that even weakened, the civilized realms are not to be underestimated." Edhen said, and readjusted the shoulder pad slightly. "And so this was etched in this armor to honor them, a reminder for eternity to come. And I wear it with pride, carrying the memory of them whenever I go."
They rode in silence for a few moments, and finally Mercy spoke up. "Thank you, for your story, Your Majesty, I had no idea that such a battle even took place." She admitted, almost shamefully.
"It was a long time ago, Mercy of Ellander." The emperor smiled. "Few remember it happened, and many of those that do, often have a warped image of it." He sighed, looking forward for a few moments before turning back towards her. "I thank you, for the opportunity to share it, and now, you can pass it along as well."
Mercy nodded. "Ilá's light shines upon the selfless. I'll make sure to remember the story."
"Lord Commander." Tirel approached suddenly, her arm raised, a big, black raven perched upon it. "May I speak to you?"
"Of course, Captain." Edhen nodded, before turning back towards Mercy and Fareeha. "Excuse me Ladies, duty calls." He offered the women a smile, and spurred his horse forward, leaving the priestess and the knight with thoughts of the valiant sacrifice at the Maroon Ford, and others that followed popping into their minds. A topic of conversation that lasted them for quite a while on the road to Kalaallt.