Part 4 – Uneasy
I glanced down from the skies above, noting that Toffee had just stepped foot out of his house. Landing in front of him, the wind from my wings disturbing the snow that had piled up through the night, I greeted with my hands behind my back, "Good morning." He narrowed his eyes at me, holding a hand out to me to tilt my chin up with a finger. "Did you spend all night outside?" he inquired, his voice stern and unforgiving.
"I distinctly remember mentioning I don't need sleep."
"And I, Goddess, distinctly remember Your colleague Alester saying that being here was harmful to You. The least You could do is to lessen the damage You're doing to Yourself, don't You agree?"
"… You're right. I just went out scouting for Realm anomalies in the night. I guess I'll get some rest tonight, then." I answered, stepping away from him and keeping my wings in. I sighed quietly under my breath as I prepared a cup of tea for us both, sitting down on a worn out chair in silence. Retrieving the map from my satchel, I began marking out places where I'd spotted and fixed said anomalies the night before, leaning my head in a hand as I scanned the map. I marked a few other places out on said map; where I could release Dark energy, and where there were possible anomalies at play.
Toffee carried a spare chair in the house and set it down beside me, sitting down with his cup of tea as well. "Perhaps it's about time I tagged along to help You out with Your errands, Enicara." the Septarian suggested, to which I responded with a long, sharp whistle. For a moment, he seemed confused, though two small portals soon ripped open in the room and in flew two Ravens – Huginn and Muninn. Offering them the carrion of a deer, I commanded, "Huginn, scout out the Butterfly Kingdom, inclusive of the Castle. Muninn…" I trailed off midway when I noticed the second Raven was staring straight at Toffee with burning yellow eyes. The Septarian had an expression that was a mix of confusion and shock, and I assumed it was because the Raven in question might have been conversing telepathically with him.
"Can You not hear him talk?"
"Well, I prefer not to eavesdrop unless they specifically state for me to listen in on it." I answered with a chuckle, stroking the Raven's feathers gently before clearing my throat. "Muninn," I continued, "Check for locations of other monster villages, and… Confirm these locations." Muninn took a glance at the map, the two letting out a series of loud caws in acknowledgement a minute later and disappearing into respective portals they'd created.
"You are not to interfere in my work, Toffee, just as I am not quite permitted to partake in sides of Your conflicts lest it concerns the balance of Light and Darkness." I replied, rolling up the map and tossing it back into my satchel. Leaving the bag on the table, I got up and raised my hand to summon my Relic. "Now, I believe you have an assault to perform on a Mewman village in the evening. How about a final practice session before that?" I asked, opening the door and gesturing for him to go outside. He gave me a raised eyebrow, picking up his machete and heading out as he mumbled, "I never told You about that."
"I have my ways of knowing, as you've probably already guessed."
Once we were in the backyard, I raised my staff to point it at the Septarian, saying calmly as I eyed his every movement, "Come at me."
The hours passed by with worry. As the evening blaze dusted the clouds, I handed Toffee his machete, assuring him that I would keep the village safe while he was away. "Be careful," I warned, patting him on the back before opening a portal to the meeting point with monsters of the other village. He nodded once, reminding me that he might not return for a while, but that he would nevertheless be alright; it wasn't his first time on the field, anyway. I waved him and his small team through before shutting the portal, now left alone to gaze upon the run down village before me. Mothers were ushering their children back into their homes, and oil lamps were being lit, fireplaces following suit within the various houses.
The last rays of day waned in favour of lunar glory, the skies clear to showcase a full moon. Soon, I was the only one left outside, and I spent this time wandering the village, peeking into houses every now and then. I didn't have much to do and simply had to stay alert should anyone attack the village, but I doubted that would happen considering its remote location.
Huginn came back soon enough, informing me of what he'd found out on the plans of the Butterfly Kingdom, as well as its current condition, and so on. I thanked the Raven once more, albeit I had to send him off again immediately. This time… "Check on Toffee and the other monsters. Thank you for being my eyes." I whispered to the bird, glancing down at the blanket of white beneath my feet. He cawed once to acknowledge the order, taking off into the sky once more and leaving a single black feather to land upon the snow.
An hour, then two, and as I rolled yet another snowball in my hands to pass the time as I wandered the edge of the village, I heard a loud crash in the distance, followed by terrified screams and what sounded like war cries. Smoke began rising, black and thick, billowing high to taint the serene air as I rushed to the scene, summoning my staff. Huginn came back just then to report his findings, but it was just a minute too late and I'd already figured out what was going on as soon as I saw soldiers of the Butterfly Kingdom tossing yet another Molotov cocktail. "Huginn, inform Toffee that it was a diversion, they're here!" I yelled, sending the bird back off into the air as I began attempting to evacuate the villagers.
I felt my heart drop when I witnessed a child being ripped away from her father's arms, struggling with shrill cries tearing from her vocal chords and hot tears stinging her eyes as her father was forced down on the ground before her. In a split second, the tip of a lance protruded from her chest, her ragged dress staining a reddish copper with blood as she grew limp. Their house was up in flames and her father was struggling to break free of the soldiers' holds, but it was to no avail as cuffs were slapped on his wrists.
Pointing my staff toward the fires, I called upon Darkness to extinguish the flames, wisps of ominous black rising from the ground to wrap around the roaring fires to starve them of the oxygen they needed. I tapped an end of the Relic on the ground, chains of Darkness breaking out of the ground to knock the weapons out of the hands of a few soldiers at random as I approached the captured monster to free him. I brought the staff down on the chains to shatter them, directing him to the others to run toward the designated safe point as I brought the staff up yet again just in time to deflect an oncoming lance from a Butterfly knight.
"I don't want to fight you!" I yelled, swinging the staff toward the army to send them back with a crescent of Darkness directed at their feet. I wasn't exactly allowed to hurt any of them, and that was what I was trying my hardest to do, though it was admittedly getting more challenging by the minute. It was expected that they would refuse to listen, as they were soldiers of the Queen to their dying breath, though I had to drive them back while I could somehow… Still, fighting an army without the permission to kill was a rather unrealistic task, even more so with bottle after bottle of Molotov cocktails being tossed to unleash flames faster than I could put them out.
I jumped back to dodge the slash of a spear, though a subsequent thrust gashed my upper arm with ease, spilling ichor and tainting the sleeve of my gown red. Well now that… "It certainly warrants punishment, doesn't it?" I heard the voice of corruption speak in my mind, though I knew it would still be out of the question; Skywynne would absolutely flip her lid. Hell, I would certainly be mad at myself too. I shot that soldier a glare, raising my staff toward her to send a beam of Darkness toward her body. It wasn't strong enough to kill, but it wasn't gentle either, and was sure enough, sufficient to knock her out. I sent forth another few waves of Darkness to push them back, then stabbed an end of my staff into the ground to erect a translucent barrier of Darkness around the village. Still panting a little from the energy I'd expended to fight them off, I called forth Darkness once more to momentarily contain the flames that I didn't have the strength to put out.
"I don't want to fight you!" I yelled, louder this time as a spear shattered upon contact with the barrier. They weren't going to give up, and slowly but surely, the capacity of the barrier was waning as I struggled to contain the flames within the village as well. I looked behind to see the last resident evacuating, just as a familiar figure in the skies came into view. Three distinct caws were heard as Huginn, now in his battle form and inherently larger, swooped down with a rather injured Toffee on his back, along with a handful of other monsters. Huginn reverted to a Raven of regular size as the monsters hopped off onto the ground, landing on my shoulder and cawing in worry. The first hairline cracks were beginning to form on the shield that could barely protect what remained of the village.
Toffee began issuing orders to the monsters that were with him, to protect the villagers at the safe point, to salvage what they could. I drew in a deep breath, unyielding as I stood at the edge of the town in some desperate effort to keep both my physical and mental state together. "Will you just shut up and listen?! I'm acquainted with your Queen, tell her I'm here via a message of sorts! My name is Enicara!" I screamed in vain, my resolve against murder wavering. "Come on, Enicara, we've got to get out of here! It's not safe anymore, just leave it and run! You're fighting a losing battle!" Toffee growled in frustration, attempting to pry me away from where I was to run.
The first spear pierced the barrier, and along with the fall of the shield, the last fraying ropes of my humanity came undone. Before it all dyed red, I grabbed Toffee's machete by the blade, knocking myself out with the hilt of the weapon, the Relic disappearing from my hands.