Chapter 10: Souls from the Depths

The Jrrha closed his eyes and drew his hood back over his head as he leaned back upon the dragon's spade now well imbedded within the earth and gave a moment's pause to savor the sounds come after the now departed twilight... and to feel the movements beneath his feet that he may never feel again. The movements caused by the innumerable quantity of four-legged hoofed animals.

That of the mighty Calvary itself. Aside from the other ones, this had to be the empire's largest after all... though he hadn't thought that he'd created enough trouble to deserve that much attention for his efforts... but he was mildly pleased all the while. Pleased even more so when that very Calvary ceased its forward progress an admirable distance away from him despite the fact that he stood all alone.

"Well met travelers." He acknowledged the horsemen closed eyed, as though simple common folk. "Is the night amiss, that it has given your numbers pause before me?"

"Aye, peasant. And you'd do well to address us with respect if you value your life." Barked the lead horseman, who stayed his ground while his steed held its ground obediently. "Though if facts fall certain, it may be too late already."

"Oh?" inquired the Jrrha amused, "and what facts may these be?"

"That a scout came by here and did not return... save for this." He held up a blood-drained hand so pale that it was easily discernable even in the low light of the night. "And his horse died not long after its return—drowned upon its own blood-filled lungs."

"A body part I presume by the smell of it?" Mused the Jrrha as he tried best to look uninterested. "And this means what exactly to me? After all, I did not kill any man tonight. But then again..." he slowly opened his eyes, "I do remember meeting a man just recently.

"A man with just about as much disrespect for fellow travelers as you and your ilk."

"Then you admit to your crime?"

"No... I wouldn't say that for I have yet to commit such atrocity. For the only thing I'm guilty of is argument. That... and..." he pulled the dragon's spade from the ground and held it before him. "I already settled it with this."

"That—!" exclaimed the horseman with wide eyes. "Then the one who is cause of the disturbances—?"

"Is one whose life revolves around the practice of extinguishing fires... especially those consisting of an orange flame."

"Then it is my duty to destroy that practice, so that the fires will survive. It is the will of the empire."

The Jrrha's smile faded slightly as he lowered his weapon. "It is the will of the empire? To what, let fires survive?" He cocked his head to the side. "Then wouldn't the empire wish for my survival?"

"Clearly not, since it is your desire to simply extinguish them... then we who bear the symbol of fire shall have to extinguish you."

"Ah... I think I understand." The Jrrha said with a renewed smile. He let his weapon fall to the ground. "Then let me clarify: I live to destroy the orange flame only, otherwise, fire—" he let his hand alight in flame, "—is just a way of life."

"Wha-?"

"And death..." He threw his hand forward in a sweeping motion as he finished his thought, "—for YOU!"

As punctuation, the ground at the enemy's feet exploded outward in a fiery gulf of inferno, quickly causing panic to the beasts and their riders as they shrank back hastily lest they be engulfed as well, though only two of which were so fortunate, as the rest succumbed quickly to the fires that lapped at their flesh.

"Beast!" Shouted the lead horseman in agony, as he fell past the starting point of the flame and at the ground at the Jrrha's feet. "That you were... a mage!"

"No." he said quietly with subdued insanity as he knelt to the side of the man's burning body, the flames subsiding quickly at his touch. "I know naught of the ways of magic... just the ways... of the Gift." He moved the man's scorched face upwards so he could look into his eyes. "And the other word for Gift in the language of the reborn tongue... is Death!"

With a quick intake of the man's heat and an even quicker motion of the wrist, the Jrrha separated the now frozen head from the body and lobbed it in the direction of the trailing army as he jumped forward and plunged into his own flames. Already put out of sorts by the burst of flame, the severed head of their lead shattering against the still night's air was the breaking point of their animal's nerves, which whinnied and neighed as they broke formation with the moment's confusion. It was just the moment of chaos needed.

Like that of a living carpet, the fire that had threatened to dissipate resurged in a renewed effort to sweep the ground with its wake, swallowing all those living in its way as it streaked in that of a fine line into the heart of the threatened army. And it was from this fine wake's head that the Jrrha made his appearance known.

Like that of a demon bourn of the fires of hell, he emerged with naught a smudge of cinder as his voice rent the air with a fierce war cry, dragon's spade held aloft, dragon's crest held apt of a monster's disembodied head to welcome the soon to be fallen, and his eyes ablaze with silvered madness as the brand upon his palm blazed with a crimson hue that made his weapon all the more formidable. With neither plan nor mercy, he plunged deep into the ranks of the horsemen and began the brutal felling of his foes. Where for a moment he was easily seen on the upper level to the men upon their steeds, he was lost just as quickly to the tides of the men who sought to destroy him.

As the battle raged there in the heart of it, to the rear half a league away there was different movement.

"Rear mount, what is the situation with our foe?!" A well armored man upon horseback said as he sidled up beside the other man's mount. His black armor rendered him nearly indiscernible from the night around him.

"It seems that our little trouble maker is a sorcerer. That and a fairly powerful one!"

"What of our wards?"

The rear mount shook his head once.

"Is that so?" He stared through an armored helm to that of the burning glow in the far distance. "Then we mustn't crowd into the forsaken lands so willingly. There must be a greater force at work to oppose us so, and if that lies only as a single man, then we must assume a trap awaits."

"Would one be so clever? The act of such blatant rebellion has not once graced the thoughts of the people since before that of the second dawn of riders. To think that there were any at all capable is laughable." The rear mount wore a bitter expression. "What of your detachment of spell casters?"

"Occupied." The man gave an amused laugh. "The mighty Queen of the Kingdom of Air would frown upon us if she thought us so weak to require aid of such a royal dispatch. But fear not. I have already sent word to another. And they will be here shortly."

"They will? Then it is not so much a blood bath than that of a stall." He paused. "I will deliver this news to the Middle Guard then, as we surely have lost our Forward by now. And you, I imagine will be seeking a change in mounts?"

"A good assumption as any. He should only feel so rewarded." The man in black steered his horse towards a reverse face. "Then we shall meet again before the zenith of the moon?"

"That depends on you."

"So it does. Don't die!"

The Rear mount gave a nod and whipped his horse into a full gallop as he sped forward to get the news across. Though it was a stall that was required, should an opening come...

Blood flowed freely into his eyes as he plunged the dragon's spade deep into that of another, but fortunately, that blood was not his own. No, it wasn't that he had not received injury so much as having become adept at using his energy to seal a wound should one come. After all, so long as he hold his life, he was an immortal. However, aside from energy for fire and health, it did little to cure the creeping fatigue that sought to rob him of his strength.

In that respect, he still had much room to grow.

As it was, he wasn't ready to use that yet, no, he was having much too much fun!

With a laugh of glee, he dashed through the heated corpse garden at his feet towards the next fool in his sight. Whether he was to catch him with spade or crest it mattered not. Either was just as effective. Either had already partaken of the flesh before, so it was not as if he would be denying or granting one more significant pleasure over the other. It was just as it was.

And the answer of weapon use? Neither.

It was the Gift's turn.

With but a spin, the enemy's weapon was no longer. With but a touch of his finger, and the energy control was there. To pull in would freeze, to push energy out is to burn. But to pull and yet not take in? The possibilities.

He had to try.

Like that—just on a whim of the hint of a notion he did exactly as he had thought before, to pull the energy yet to block it before his fingers, so that energy was forbidden from entry into his being. It wasn't like he had any time to plan otherwise.

In an instant, the soldier froze and caught fire at the same time, though with differences. Where as the energy was stolen from his back, that area froze—just as the energy that collected in his front caused him to burn. As it was... just like this it opened all sorts of new possibilities.

And possibilities that allowed for serious damage, without draining as well. To create fire without expelling energy... this was certainly a step forward. A step he was certain to try all the—more?

Un-noticed, the forces which he had been so mercilessly cutting down had began a retreating movement towards the borders of the forsaken lands, but as they were still too big, a good many still remain trapped within it.

He sighed.

Though he wanted to play for just a bit longer... he guessed that there wasn't any reason to delay it further. His hand moved to the dragon's spade he had hung at his side.

"Wait!"

He hesitated. Who and why?

Through the teeming mass of the still remaining army, a path split as a man dressed in fine garments and detailed battle mail rode forward. Behind him, the soldiers at the front of the mass used the remaining parting to filter the forward part of the army to the middle or back.

They were using the stall to shift fresh men and animals to the frontline.

He stirred in an annoyed fashion but moved his hand away from the dragon's spade. To him, the intrusion better be good... but if not, there were always ways to make it good. No, to make it better.

"To whom or what do I owe this infringement upon my duty?" he asked the horseman in an annoyed voice.

"By authority bestowed upon me by the empire, I ask that you surrender yourself to our will, or face immediate execution."

"Oh...? And how is one not related to the other?" he said smugly. "Surely if I were to hand myself over you'd kill me anyway. Which in that case, I may as well stay here within these lands, as you seem to wish to be anywhere otherwise.

"Which is all well and good for me."

The man before him regarded him with an unchanging expression as his horse pawed the ground in an annoyed fashion. He seemed to be considering his next words carefully.

"It varies, with everything." He stated simply. "The empire is always in need of new strength. Obscurity needs it in order to grow, to defend itself from enemies that may come from afar. You may even be forgiven."

"I see..." The Jrrha trailed off as his eyes swept the shifting armies. "A question to you.

"Does this army of yours have archers or men with ranged weapons?"

Silence.

"Then I have nothing to fear from a harmless army as yours." He repositioned the dragon's crest and put his cloak about his head as he turned away. "I wish you luck in your travels, though should you meet my hand once more... none shall survive my judgment.

"Farewell."

With but a flick of his cloak and he was already in retreat back into the heart of the now still and quiet forsaken lands. Though his step was merely that of a normal pace, it would soon out distance the hesitant Calvary should they stay their position longer. A fact that did not go unnoticed to his enemy.

"Arrest your step!"

The Jrrha smiled with reply but did not turn, "I will not.

"Should you truly wish stop me, then you must give it your all."

Sparred by the insolent lack of concern the hand of the Middle Guard flew to his sheathed sword and grasped the hilt with a murderous intent, but stopped mid-draw... the words of the Rear Mount still fresh in his clouded mind.

"Should you be tempted to follow further into the forsaken lands, do not! Something is amiss, and though it would pain you to let go, know that the third Prince of Air deems it beyond foolish. Await his company by staying your troops.

"I warn you again, lead our armies to no thought of treachery, or I will use my command of the third to pull us out."

That such thought over such insignificance could stay his blade! Like hell it would.

Without thought to the consequence, he drew his blade and beckoned to his fresh troops upon the fringe of normal ground to follow his lead. The look of madness as heavy in their fiery steeds as the crimson reflections of fire and blood in his blade, there was little to stop them.

Like that of a tide they swept inward just behind that of the Middle Guard as he hastened upon the back of the form that most aggravated him. With so many numbers, despite the power of the one before him, that insolent whelp was destined for death. With his sword held he issued a cry by the pride of his position.

"By the authority of Obscurity, by the will of the Empire, you shall fall!"

"No..." whispered the Jrrha with a smile hidden by his hood, "it shall be you."

Without wasting another expression, he whipped aside his cloak and seized the great spade and swung it high. Placed his other hand upon its edge and let his freshly drawn blood fall to the earth below, before his enemies, before the lands... and called to the night as his foe bore down upon him.

"For the blood of the living... for the sake of your revenge...! By all that's unholy in the fallen lands of the Elves, I bid to thee—RISE!"

Like that of ripples across a pond, the ground beneath split as fine cracks marred its surface, out from the blood drop... and over all of the forsaken ground.

The impact was instantaneous.

At once, the steeds of the enemy bucked and reared, breaking formation despite the cries of riders, desperate to flee the impure lands they tread upon, only too late. Before they could even hope to run, their legs were already sealed—sealed by the thousand arms rising from the ground. Their movements stopped by that of the Stra'han'ia, the beings whom wished destruction upon the armies of Galbatorix like no other.

With such a force reaching skyward, like that of an unholy hell-fire, there was no further need for intervention on his part. But for sake of practice, or simply for the sheer joy of it, the Jrrha would let his prey be taken by no one entity, without him seizing some piece for himself.

So without further thought, he rushed the man who had sought to purge him directly, the fool of a Middle Guard that lay open as the spirits of the forsaken lands gave only him passage—perhaps their way of thanks—as the rest of his fellows around him were cut down in a vicious culling of ridiculous proportions. A guard that had already succumb to his fear of the death surrounding, and lost his physical head just as easily... its blood adding little to the great swath that had already painted the lands crimson.

There was naught one survivor should such man be within the boundary of the land.

The Rear Mount secured his sword in its sheath from afar, the result of his predecessor's deed frozen upon the face of his severed head.

The fool.

He had been warned. And now two thirds of the great Calvary lay in waste and ruin. The Queen of Air would likely have his hide, but to return with a third was better than not at all, and if his retreat bought time for the next wave...

He took out a great hollowed horn and put it to his lips.

The Jrrha paused as a great bellow of sound washed over the lands, even going as far as to echo off the bordering mountains. The spirits of the land even giving pause in their descent back into the cold earth with their kills in tow.

A retreat order? It had to be, as the formations that lay just beyond the boundary began to draw back.

Should he follow? If so, it would mean leaving these lands and his allies behind. But to let those responsible for the suppression of the North alive, that was equally unacceptable. Besides... as it was already night, the darkness would be the only ally of need.

Without further thought, he gathered his armaments and slipped into the adjacent forest. The fires burning behind him losing their light as the beginnings of a rain began to fall.

The Rear Mount wiped away hair from his face as the slick leather reigns in his hands began to slide through his fingers as he pressed his remaining army harder into the night. As it was now, buying time was no longer an option, their foe having slipped into that of a bludgeoning nature—was far beyond the point of being stalled with words. Now all that could be done was put distance between them.

To replay the events in his mind—the clarity of what could only be called carnage!

Who was this young man, and his reasons and his background were all mysteries of unimportance, much more important the possibilities of stopping weighing all the more heavy—weighted with lives—than the minor questions posed by the empire beyond. And the question of most importance... was whether they would escape it at all.

Suddenly, a crackling sound took to the air around them, as the grounds ahead solidified as an all identifying harbinger.

Impossible!

That he had caught up so quickly... had he another means of transport, or was it just his knowledge of his surroundings... or was it that he was than far removed from his humanity?

Before he could think further, the fools who did not heed the sounds before them were lost to the iced forest beyond, crushed beneath the weight of their own fallen mounts.

He flinched in his saddle. Something hard was colliding with him from above—like daggers from the sky—mixed with the pouring black rain of Obscurity! His breath hung on the air... and he understood. Rain... it was rain itself!

"Right guard! Left flank forward! Keep your backs towards the mountains! Leave the horses!" He dismounted his horse and smacked it hard, spurring it into a wild run—his soldiers quickly following suit. The resulting scurry of animals should create enough of a diversion to shield their preparations.

If lucky, it would also help reveal the enemy's position.

The Rear Mount grimaced as he thrust his sword into the ground at his feet. The magic warding resonating with the shield barrier set by his troops as he notched an arrow upon the bow he had liberated from its holdings prior his dismount.

All he needed was one true shot.

He watched as his horse ran directly for the woods beyond, sliding upon the ice below as it advanced. The dull clinking sound of the ice on the shield barrier stretched the anticipation painfully as he continued to watch the horse make its leave. It would come anytime.

He watched in slow motion as his horse's leg came down for the last time, before splintering apart as the completely frozen animal shattered from the jarring.

NOW!

Pieces of the horse blew apart as concentrated balls of fire pierced its entirety as they streaked right across to the soldiers beyond, glancing harmlessly off the ward shielding. The residual fire trail creating the perfect path to his foe—a perfect opportunity!

He loosed the arrow... but did not get the chance to notch another... as the next wave of fire not only pierced the barrier, but set his weapon—as well as his right side—alight with flame. The first arrow did nothing more than turn to dust far before reaching its mark.

That was all it took.

With their leader downed, the great shield wall broke, the soldiers charging as one unit, one force, towards the unreachable foe. A foe that did nothing more than smile as he embraced the darkness.

The Jrrha thrust the dragon's spade into the frozen earth for support, just before collapsing backwards in a fit of exhaustion. All around him were the pieces of the soldiers from before... expressions of terror and fleeting regrets locked onto their frozen faces—at least the fragments remaining.

It was painful. Perhaps he had outdone himself... even though in the last he did naught but absorb, the amount of energy in did nothing to displace the energy spent. And even he was not without wounds.

The Jrrha looked over at the half burnt—but still breathing—body of his last foe. The only one that seemed to have any brain to him. He was considering letting him be the messenger. But he hadn't completely decided.

He smiled to the unseen mountains beyond. If they hadn't curved the way they had, he would never have been able to cut across the forest as quickly. But it had provided a natural herding tool.

He was thankful.

There was some lightning, but he found it peaceful. Lightning that even behind his closed eyes would be dim and unimportant.

But... something about closing his eyes while in the open seemed a bad idea.

He opened his eyes and stared outward. A chill seized his body before releasing him to a chilled sensation.

On instinct, his fingers found his weapon. There was something else... something had come for him. He felt the need to move.

However, before he could even move to a kneeling position, the next flash of lightning confirmed his worse fear. That of a serpentine neck, arching high in the night's sky, a great body of hardened muscle and armor out of sight, but close behind. As well as an approach of the creatures whose sounds he was all too familiar with.

That whether ridden or not...

The Wilds had come.

AC (2/12/08): Long overdue. Might have mistakes here and there. I didn't feel like re-reading it anymore.