Tales of the Amber Vipers

by Mattwho81

In the time of the Dark Imperium a new Brotherhood arose, fighting in the forgotten reaches of the galaxy. Fresh and newborn they must walk a perilous line between honour and survival and the decision as to whether they shall be known for their nobility or callousness has yet to be determined. These are the stories of the Amber Vipers.

60. Chapter 60

Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 60

The Mon-keigh lurked in the underbrush, they were trying to go unseen but Elhyn could practically smell their filthy bodies. He crept forward, keeping low and his feet barely disturbed the underbrush as he advanced. The cold night air clung to his skin, beading his hair with moisture and making his breath steam but he shivered not. The Everforest was his ally and its touch aided him, as it impeded the invaders.

I felt strange to be walking on the ground, instead of soaring over it but the indignity had to be borne. The Mon-keigh had fled from the Eldar attack hours earlier but not all of them had made it. Transports had been cut from the air by dashing Wind-dancers and Kraken-riders, leaving a trail of wreckage all the way to the invaders base. There layers of waiting guns and missiles had repulsed the Eldar, breaking that place open would require the full force of the kinbands. Elhyn had fallen back before they lost more lives but he had been far from idle. Survivors of the ape's expedition were scattered through the Everforest, blindly blundering about in the hopes of reaching safety. Elhyn wasn't prepared to let that happen.

He heard a scuffling noise from the base of one of the great trees, a clumsy oaf trying to go unnoticed. The Mon-keigh must have thought to guard his back with the looming bulk of the trunk but the echoes of his movement meant all he had managed to do was highlight his position. To the sharp senses of the Eldar he might as well have lit a bonfire. Elhyn gripped Wrymfang tighter as he crept nearer; keeping so low wet fronds caressed his chest. Inch by inch he closed upon the sound and the scent of sweat and fear drifted over to him, tainted with blood.

Elhyn rose a fraction of a degree and spied a form laid back against the tree, a Mon-keigh in a soft yellow uniform, who gripped a gun in his hands and looked about with fear. His left leg was laid out before him, broken half-way along its length and it was from this blood seeped. The invader's eyes kept darting back and forth, quivering at every sound of the forest and its nocturnal predators. Elhyn was well aware of the dangers but it struck him that the Mon-Keigh was being paranoid, jumping at every rustle of the leaves. It took him a moment to remember how poor the ape's eyesight was, especially at night. An Eldar could see adequately in almost pitch darkness, they could hear a pin drop in a thunderstorm and walk a tightrope in a gale. Mon-keigh were not so blessed, half-blind, stupid and short-lived, the invader could not even make out his own hand before his face.

Elhyn felt a surge of vindication creep up him and he tensed, building power in his muscles. Then he struck. A single leap took him across the intervening distance and Wyrmfang's point flew forth to pierce the invader through the heart. The Mon-keigh never saw him coming; Elhyn's strike was so swift that the injured ape didn't even have time to fire off a single shot. Wyrmfang cut through bone and muscle as easily as it had metal and the Mon-keigh's life ended with a shot sigh. Elhyn should have felt a rush of triumph, he should have been exultant but inside he felt nothing, save contempt. These invaders didn't even make good prey.

The Eldar stepped back and drew Wrymfang upright as he examined the body. The Mon-kiegh was slumped over, its yellow uniform stained with blood and its hands cold and limp. It seemed pathetic, unworthy of the effort spent to end it. Yet it was beings such as this that had desecrated the Everforest and slain many Eldar. Strange that something so feeble could be such a threat, he was amazed it had even managed to drag itself this far on a broken leg. A cold shiver ran down Elhyn's spine as he realised that the Mon-keigh hadn't, there was no way it could have reached this point injured so, not without help. He cursed himself for a fool, its positioning wasn't random, it was deliberate. Someone else had pulled the Mon-keigh here and left it out in the open as bait.

Barely had the thought formed when the brushes next to Elhyn exploded upwards, revealing a warrior-caste alien buried beneath. The brute was wearing half-pate and was covered in a shawl that had blended in so well it had even fooled Elhyn's eagle eyes. It was missing one arm, the stump covered in thick clots of artificial sealant but the ape seemed no less powerful for it. The warrior-caste rose up with a savage cry of hate and a knife as thick as Elhyn's leg stabbed for his chest, seeking to end him. Elhyn reacted with all the speed of his race, swaying backwards to avoid the blow and swinging Wyrmfang around. One cut from that spear would end this fight but the warrior-caste was already inside the sweep of the weapon. A forearm slapped the spear aside and the knife struck again as it cried, "Death to the Xenos!"

Elhyn was forced to stumble backwards, reeling from the unexpected assault. He staggered away and tripped on a root, falling to his rear as the warrior-caste pounced. Elhyn gasped as he saw the knife descending, driven by genhanced muscles and steered by unthinking hatred. The death blow was about to fall, but then the warrior-caste brute froze, his whole body locking up. The cause of that was obvious, for suddenly a foot-long arrow was sticking through his neck, punching into his spine and out the other side. Elhyn blinked as the Mon-Keigh's corpse slowly toppled over, unable to even elicit a final death cry. Behind it was revealed the familiar form of Panthiro, slowly lowering his great bow with a look of disgust.

Elhyn breathed out in relief as he said, "That was close."

Panthiro strode over and angrily pulled his arrow out of the corpse as he spat, "That was foolish, you should know better than to go hunting alone. The ground isn't safe, even without the Mon-keigh scattered everywhere."

Elhyn got back to his feet and idly kicked the corpse of the Mon-keigh as he spat, "We can't let them get away."

Panthiro shook his head and said, "The Everforest is vast and they are scattered everywhere. Finding them all will take time. We have more important things to be doing."

"What could be more important than defending Athelling?" Elhyn asked.

"Honouring the dead!" a lighter voice interjected. From the shadows came the lithe forms of E'raye and M'sgith, their hands full of shining spirit stones. M'sgith held a red stone in her palm and stroked it gently as she sang a soft lullaby, easing the distress of the soul trapped within. Elhyn felt a surge of self-recrimination at the sight, for there were many such stones scattered through the Everforest. The invaders hadn't been alone in their losses, many Eldar had fallen in the battle and the essences of too many lay upon the ground. Helpless, lost and alone, waiting to be rescued and enjoined with the World Spirit.

Elhyn swallowed back his anger and asked, "Have we recovered them all?"

"No," E'raye sighed, "Our kin's life-forces lie in many places; we may never find them all."

M'sgith's head snapped up and she said, "We must, the souls must be taken to the scared glades to join the Song of Athelling. We cannot rest while one Eldar spirit lies in the mud."

Panthiro sighed, "Sadly it must wait, we are summoned to meet the Dynasts. Come Elhyn, we are already late."

Elhyn was in no mood to argue. He sent forth a psychic call and a moment later Ilfavor dropped from the midnight skies. The other Drakes followed him and they settled around their riders, accepting soothing hands that patted their long necks. Elhyn mounted up and saw the sisters stowing the spirit stones in secure pouches, then the Drake's beat their wings and leapt into the sky. The ground fell away and the air became sharp and cold as they steered through the darkness, gliding effortlessly around trees. Elhyn wasn't perturbed, his race were proof against a chill wind, as they were from most toxins and diseases, gifts of the ancestors to all branches of their progeny.

Their flight was short and swift, taking them to a ring of glowing torches, where the various Dynasts were holding court. They were surrounded by guards and their various mounts, but none spoke save the rulers of the kinbands. The Drakes settled down a short distance from the ring and Elhyn dismounted, leaving his comrades behind as he approached. He saw Celasia and Laegwen within the ring, heads held proudly as they addressed the others. Galahyn, Gonredil, Olalath and Dalsaar, all talking over each other.

Elhyn heard their argument as he closed and stepped within the ring, bowing to the Dynasts. Voices stilled as Celasia faced her son and said, "At last, where have you been?"

Elhyn straightened up and replied, "Hunting Mon-Keigh survivors."

Galahyn snorted, "Where we all should be, not standing about talking."

Gonredil replied sternly, "We must honour our dead and take our lost souls to their final rest."

Olalath snapped, "While the invaders yet draw breath? No, we must unite our forces and sweep the Everforest clean. Our ancestors can wait."

Celasia hissed at her, "You would scorn our own kin so?"

Olalath shrugged, "They're dead already, a few days won't make any difference to them. I will lead the search myself."

Galahyn barked, "Follow you? Never, I shall take my own forces and hunt down the invaders."

But Gonredil snapped, "We cannot be divided, we must have unity of purpose or we are doomed. If you two would bicker like children rather than honour or dead then I fear I must take up the reign of leadership myself."

Elhyn was surprised to hear the Dynasts arguing so, their ancient rivalries coming back to the fore now the fighting had died down. He realised then that they thought the war all but won, a notion he had to disabuse. He stepped forward and said, "Honoured Dynasts, I must council against any of these courses. The Mon-Keigh had retreated for now, but they will regroup and come back. They always come back. We must destroy the heart of their invasion: the base still standing. Only once it is levelled can we rest assured the threat has passed."

All eyes turned to him and Galahyn said, "Brave words, but who will lead the charge: you?"

Elhyn shrugged, "Does it matter, I care not for who yells, 'charge'."

Celasia sighed, "My son, I love you but from now on keep your opinions to yourself."

Gonredil snorted, "Only a youth would think matters were so simple."

Olalath agreed, "We united to drive the invaders out and we have done so, what follows next is the manoeuvring for advantage."

Elhyn sighed as he realised they weren't listening, too consumed by their ancient feuds, but to his surprise Dalsaar broke his silence to proclaim, "I agree with the boy, we must burn the Mon-Keigh base to the ground before they can rally."

Elhyn was stunned to hear his Kinband's most bitter foe agreeing with him and all fell silent in shock at the extraordinary declaration. Yet one other had yet to speak, it was Laegwen and she said, "None of you understands, my visions have not been thwarted. I see Athelling's doom clearer than ever. The Mon-keigh have breached the wards surrounding the Vale of Midnight Tears and entered the forbidden ship. Even now they crawl through its depths, seeking that will destroy us all. We cannot allow this to happen."

"Is this true?!" Celasia snapped, "Some of them got in?"

Olalath replied without concern, "Yes, it is not important. Let them crawl about in there till they die of hunger, we need not concern ourselves."

Galahyn snapped, "Of course it's important, the warnings all agree that ship must remain sealed. We must chase them down and kill them immediately!"

Gonredil concurred, "I fear not ancient curses but I know danger when it hangs over my head, I will send my kin into those depths to hunt these Mon-keigh down."

Celasia added, "Let us not forget the survivors scattered through our lands, we must eradicate them all."

Heads nodded in agreement but Dalsaar argued, "What of the base?"

"It can wait," Galahyn uttered, "Let us not argue anymore but act!"

"Yes," Gonredil agreed, "On this we agree, the battle is not yet done. I cannot mourn my dead while a fight yet wages."

Olalath concurred, "One battle at a time."

Dalsaar finally relented and said, "It seems I am outnumbered. Very well, first we kill the foe still in our lands, then the ones squatting on our borders."

Celasia concluded by saying, "Those of us who can fly will take our forces and hunt down the survivors of the Mon-keigh. Those committed to the ground must enter the Vale of Midnight Tears. Elhyn, take what forces you need and watch the base, but take no action without us. Is that clear?"

Elhyn bowed to his mother but inside he was worried they were making a mistake. Whatever else he was certain letting the Mon-keigh plot and scheme was a blunder they would come to regret. He could only hope the Eldar killed the scattered survivors quickly enough to make a difference. His only comfort was the knowledge that the fates of those Mon-keigh was already sealed.