A Song on the Horizon
Written by: Tellemicus Sundance
Co-Authored by: ffdrake
#02: The Iron Price Repaid
The Grave-Hoard, The Longroam
As it had been for nearly a thousand years, the sight of one of the last battles fought by mankind against their mechanical enemies remained silent. Buildings, weaponry, and mountainside rubble stood in as replacement memorials and headstones for the last brave few souls to stand in defiance against fate. The rusting carcasses of the crippled and destroyed machines were proud remnants of their valor and deeds. Had times been different, this battle site would've easily been made into a global memorial.
But with the loss of knowledge and the remorseless marching of time, humans of the modern era didn't and likely wouldn't understand the importance of this site. All they could do was look upon what they saw and use their own understanding of the world, combined with their own cultural beliefs, to try and paint an image of what had happened here sometime in the distant past. Sadly, none of their projections and guesses came close to the truth. They certainly made several accurate assumptions based on the evidence, but only really grasping tiny fragments whilst missing the rest of the picture.
Over the decades and centuries since mankind had returned and started reclaiming the land, they had shamelessly and ignorantly picked at, scrounged, and desecrated what should've been an almost holy location. Now, all that was truly left were the last feeble pickings of anything that the scavengers had deemed of value. Once they'd taken all they could, they departed from this place and spread the word of its barrenness. Now, the ruined buildings, crushed and warped robots, and crumbling ruins of a forgotten era were left to further fester and deteriorate in nature's elements. Only the random traveler or an occasional trade caravan ever passed by this location nowadays as they journeyed between the Carja Sundom and the Banuk lands of The Cut.
Thus, there were no witnesses present to watch what transpired. From within the crumbling ruins, an unearthly purple glow suddenly came to light. The whirling of rusted engines started up, grinding and thunderous. Sections of the area began to tremble and split as pieces of an ancient war machine slowly started coming back to life.
But then something unexpected happened. A thunderous, groaning crack rent the air as the very land itself split apart. The combination of the teleportation dragging this chunk of Earth to another world, the sudden startup of a machine partially buried in such a badly damaged landscape, and the closeness of the machine to the sheer drop of the newly formed cliff that the battle site was now seated upon all added together to form a somewhat tragic occurrence. For all of those factors added together caused a massive landslide to split the land apart, sending a considerable chunk of the buildings, landscape, and the newly activated war machine to go tumbling over the edge. After a few moments of falling through the air, they eventually vanished with a series of large splashes into the oceanwaters below.
A malevolent purple light was glowing ominously the whole time as the machine disappeared from view.
X-X-X
Memorial Grove, Tenakth Lowlands
It was a quiet and rather tense atmosphere that hung over the heads of the people who stood within the Chief's throne room. Hekarro was seated upon his throne, looking as tense as a coiled spring ready to burst into motion. It was somewhat easy to figure out as to why when one followed the old man's gaze across the room.
Standing off to one side of the throne room was a squad of Quen soldiers. The group of ten white-clad foreigners were standing in vigilant defense around a unique pair of Quen. One of them was clearly a Diviner, given the elaborate headdress he wore that was emitting a small bead of blue light. The other Quen wore slightly more elegant and highly polished armor which, along with the exotic helmet, clearly marked him as an officer of some notable rank.
"I don't like this, Chief," Ivvira said quietly from where she was standing close by Hekarro. "Inviting so many strangers to our holy grounds like this? It feels somehow…blasphemous to me."
Hekarro glanced over at the lady Marshal, one of the newer ones he'd appointed just prior to Regalla's defeat. Still, despite her relative inexperience, Ivvira was fast proving herself to be one of his most loyal and enthusiastic Marshals. Even after so many years of peace between the Clans, this thought never failed to give him hope for a better future.
"Perhaps it might be," Hekarro said quietly as he returned his attention to the group of visitors. "But they are here on Aloy's request. And given that a number of their own Tribesmen have also been taken by those raiders, it is only right that we offer them a chance to assist in our vengeance."
Ivvira gave him an uneasy look for a moment before visibly recollecting herself and nodding. "As you will, Chief."
It was at that moment a familiar noise screeched out from the skies above. All the gathered Tenakth and Quen were able to easily recognize the noise as belonging to a pair of Sunwings. What was even more telling was the fact that the screech had come from a surprisingly low altitude. While all machines were generally murderously aggressive towards all humans these days, even the most bloodthirsty of them would avoid villages and towns of any significant size. So, the fact that a pair of Sunwings had approached the Grove without coming under attack by the surrounding warriors instantly told Hekarro what was going on.
"Aloy has arrived," he called out to the Quen emissaries as he stood up and stepped down the dais. "Prepare yourselves. We're about to start."
"Very well then," the Diviner said as he stepped through the circle of guards alongside the officer.
In the time it took the Quen to approach the dais, a familiar pair of figures entered the throne room. Dressed in a set of clothing that Hekarro could only assume to be some form of Nora outfit, the warrior woman Aloy had a determined and slightly angry look upon her face. Walking next to her with his new mechanical appendage hanging limply behind him as usual was the last survivor of Hekarro's Marshals from the Embassy Massacre nearly a year ago, Kotallo. Even after several months' time, it was still somewhat surprising to the Chief to see the changes that Kotallo had undergone since that fateful day. The man had tried to speak of his experiences, share the new knowledge and different perspectives he'd gained since joining Aloy's squad, thanks in large part to the 'most powerful weapon he'd ever possessed'. But Hekarro still wasn't sure if he'd ever truly understand.
"Ancestor," the Diviner spoke up loudly in acknowledgment as Aloy approached them. His exclamation caused all the Quen to back away and drop their heads slightly in reverence of the woman. The only two to keep their heads held high were the Diviner and his accompanying officer, both of whom purposefully took a step forward to greet the woman. "Greetings. I am Diviner Modon. This here is Gadik, Captain of the Guard."
"Greetings," Aloy greeted, nodding towards the two with an inquisitive look. "I wish our meeting was under better circumstances, but can I take it that in Alva's absence you two are in charge?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes," the Diviner said, bowing slightly. "I offer counsel and help with logistics. Captain Gadik oversees the soldiers and keeping security in and around our...our lands."
Modon's obvious unease about those last two words were fully understandable to Hekarro. As they all understood from what Kotallo had told them, these Quen were all that remained of their home world...a thought Hekarro would have never thought possible even a short time ago. While the Tenakth took their sudden unannounced departure from their…home world…in stride since almost all their homes, lands, and people had all largely been able to make the journey relatively safely. The same could not be said for many others, especially the Quen. After all, all that was left of their mighty empire were just a couple of small villages and settlements upon the Isle of Spires, which they'd claimed as their new homelands. It was a very heart-wrenching realization for them.
"To get Diviner Alva back," Gadik said softly, his voice surprisingly deep. "We will do what we must. No more Quen will be lost on my watch!"
"And I deeply appreciate your commitment to the cause," Aloy said diplomatically. She looked past the pair briefly, eyes scanning over the small number of individuals in the room with them before settling upon Hekarro. "So, let's get right to business then, shall we?"
"Indeed," Hekarro said as he motioned for his guests to follow his approach to the small table that had been set up nearby. "What news do you have to share?"
"Erend, Kotallo, and I have been tracking the raiders' fleet as best we could," Aloy said as she pulled out a large scroll from one of her pouches.
She hurriedly unrolled and spread it out upon the table's surface for all to see. On the scroll was a roughly drawn map. With just a passing glance, he recognized the Tenakth lowlands and coastal regions like the Stand of the Sentinels, Valley of the Fallen, Cliffs of the Cry, and the Stillsands. He could even make out the basic shape of the Isle of Spires. But there were other lands beyond them to the east that he could only guess at. He assumed that the large mass in the center, just east of the Daunt was the Carja Sundom. But the ones that were even further east and north? He had no clue about them.
"According to Erend," Aloy continued, placing her finger down upon a point just south of the Carja Sundom. "The fleet is in this vicinity and sailing quickly."
"We believe that there's another landmass not too far to the east," Kotallo added in. His face set into an expression of cold but controlled anger. "Given just how far and fast they must've traveled to hit us so quickly after arriving here, I estimate that the land must be only a few days sail from our easternmost…shoreline."
"How do you plan on locating our people once the raiders pass beyond our lands?" Ivvira asked curiously. Like all the Tenakth and Quen, the Marshal had a very high opinion of the young Nora hunter. But even this seemed like something just a few steps beyond her.
"I'm still working on that part," Aloy admitted absently as she studied the map.
"If it means getting Alva and our people back, the Quen will be happy to lend our ships to you, Ancestor," Gadik stated, rubbing his chin in thought. "Although, sailing after these raiders in unfamiliar waters with unfamiliar stars will likely be…challenging."
"And the Tenakth will be only too happy to send a few squads along to help," Hekarro added, nodding towards the Quen captain. "Assuming your ships are large enough to carry them and the rest of our people."
"It will be a bit crowded," Modon said, tilting his head slightly in thought. "But we could squeeze at least another two or three dozen soldiers aboard."
"The Tenakth will endure," Hekarro stated solemnly, knowing that his peoples' tenacity and grit would see them through. Reaching into a pouch at his side, he extracted a dagger that had a very specially carved symbol upon its blade and held it out to Gadik. Meeting the Quen's gaze, he said, "You should be able to find willing troops and plenty of provisions in Thornmarsh if you present that to Atekka."
Gadik nodded as he took the dagger and stowed it in his belt.
"Okay, that solves the manpower and supplies issues," Modon murmured more to himself than the others. "But now we're back to the original problem of figuring out just where those raiders are heading."
"Aloy?" Beta's voice suddenly called out into Aloy's ear from her Focus. "Aloy, can you hear me?"
Stepping back and away, Aloy turned away from the group as she reached up to tap her Focus. Even though a good amount of time had passed, she was still somewhat angry at her younger sister. And this carried through in her voice unconsciously as she quietly answered, "What is it, Beta? Kotallo and I are in the middle of a strategy session with the Tenakth and Quen leaders."
"Sorry," Beta offered in an even more subdued voice than she normally did, clearly having heard Aloy's ongoing anger. "I just wanted to pass on a message from Sylens. He's just finished releasing our first batch of satellites into orbit and we're getting our first readings on the planet."
"What? Really?" Aloy asked, surprised and reluctantly happy at this latest development. "That is perfect timing, actually. Send me the basic scans and a livestream feed over our region. This could be very useful for getting Alva back."
"Already sent it," Beta acknowledged, a hint of jovialness in her own voice as a message update appeared before her. "I'll continue to monitor the raider fleet and send any updates as soon as I can. Good luck!"
"Thanks, Beta," Aloy said, tapping her Focus to end the transmission while also opening up the message. Her small smile grew slightly as she finally got an actual topographical map of the new world. Opening up the message and finding the link to the scans, her smile soon faded at what she saw.
"What is it, Aloy?" Kotallo asked as he came up beside her. Thanks to his own Focus, he could actually somewhat see what it was that she was staring at.
Glancing at him, Aloy said, "Beta just told me that we can now track the raiders. And she's also sent me detailed maps of the world we're on."
"And yet I sense that there's something amiss with this," Hekarro stated, frowning slightly, along with Modon and Gadik. "What's the problem?"
Looking between the three men, Aloy considered her options for a moment before letting out a small sigh. Turning to them, she reached in another of her pouches and pulled out two of her spare Focuses and held them out, much to everyone's surprise. "If you want to better understand, put these on, Hekarro, Gadik."
"Ancestor!" Modon hissed, an appalled expression flashing across his face. "The Legacy is only meant for—!"
"I don't care about what your Legacy says!" Aloy shot back, shooting the elderly man a stern glare. "We are pressed for time! Gadik having one of these will help speed things along. I want him to have it. And if you're so against it, I can always take it back after this is over!"
While the Diviner was sputtering in indignation at this terrible breach in protocol—by a Living Ancestor no less!—Gadik put on a solemn but resolved expression as he and Hekarro both reached forward to take one of the Focuses. Aloy and Kotallo both watched with a slight tinge of amusement as both men's expressions changed to wide-eyed awe and surprise as their world changed upon gaining the 'second sight.'
"I'm going to be sending you guys a couple of things through the Focuses," Aloy said, quickly swiping through files and preparing the necessary data. "All you guys have to do is press the green triangle when it appears in order to accept and display them."
Not two seconds later, Aloy's package had been sent to Kotallo, Hekarro, Gadik, and Modon. After a bit of hesitation and a small amount of coaching from Kotallo for Hekarro, all of the men were soon staring down upon the far more detailed and expanded digital map of the world than the rough scroll that they had been earlier. This world was a fair bit different than their last one. It had no less than nine continents of notable size, one of which Aloy was fast to point as being their homeland. What was rather interesting about the map was that it showed how incredibly close they were to one of the continents in the northern hemisphere in particular. It would not have been an exaggeration to say that they were only a day's sail away.
"Okay, that land is probably where those raiders came from," Aloy observed, earning nods of agreement from the others. "And, according to Erend, they should be somewhere around here…" She trailed off as she pulled up the GPS livestream, zooming in down on the general area along the southern coast of the Carja Sundom. It took a bit of work scanning the ocean surface, but after a few short moments she did manage to locate the ships. "There they are. Now, just where are you going…?"
She trailed off as a series of thoughts and ideas began to play through her mind. And she wasn't the only one as all of the men contemplated what they could do next while staring at the images of the raiders' ships.
"Okay, I think I might have an idea for how we can catch up to them," Aloy said suddenly, a grin spreading across her face. But then she turned serious as she shot Modon and Gadik pointed looks. "However, we're going to need your best available engineers and builders ready to get to work right away."
X-X-X
Pyke, Iron Islands
With narrowed eyes, Balon Greyjoy carefully inspected the strange weapon he held in his hands. It had the basic shape and length of a common longsword, but that was where most of the similarities ended. It wasn't made of a single piece of steel, iron, or even bronze. Rather, it seemed to have been numerous pieces of metal, cloth, and some other strange materials he'd never seen before all tightly bound and bolted together in the rough shape of a sword. It didn't have a single or even two cutting edges, but at least five distinct edges that jutted out from the main haft. It didn't even end in a simple point like a sword but curved back at an angle that was more akin to an ax-head than a sword point. Plus, where most swords of this approximate size were reasonably light, maybe only a few pounds at most, this weapon was most certainly almost twice that weight from all the extra bits added on it. Clearly, this wasn't a weapon meant for smooth slashes and thrusts, but for hacking and bludgeoning.
"What a fucking strange weapon," Balon observed in an almost contemplative voice as he set the sword back down upon the table.
He then moved onto the next piece of loot that had been gifted to him by House Goodbrother. What next caught his eye was a set of garishly painted chest armor that, again, was unlike any he'd ever seen before. Rather than a set of smooth and well-crafted armor plates, leather, and linen, this armor was clearly cobbled together in a makeshift manner with larger pieces of those strange metal-like materials. But for as makeshift as it seemed, the armor plates were still very tightly bound and interwoven into the whole. Like with the armor plates, the exact material used to coil and weave the plates together was unknown to him, but far stronger than anything that the Seven Kingdoms could make.
Carefully picking up the strange armor, he marveled at just how incredibly lightweight it was. Whatever those materials were, they were far lighter than their steel and leather counterparts. Turning the armor this way and that, carefully examining it from several angles, Balon couldn't help but smile.
"It's so light. If we could get our blacksmiths and weavers to produce this kind of armor for our crews," Balon remarked in growing excitement. "Our combat prowess would be greatly heightened, both on and off the sea!"
Victarion, the only other occupant in the room with him, didn't respond. His brother was far too busy caressing the large greatsword in his hand in a surprisingly loving gesture. Seeing the starstruck look in his brother's eye at the sight of the greatsword, Balon smirked. He could already tell that Victarion had just found a new favorite weapon. Although, admittedly, it was a rather impressive one, even if impractical to use on a longship. The greatsword was nearly as long as Victarion was tall. Made of the same steel and strange metals of the rest, but with numerous sets of protruding little teeth-like blades along the edge. Those tiny blades gave the greatsword the image of being a type of massive sawblade affixed to a hilt, again clearly meant for hacking and bludgeoning. But still a very intimidating type of weapon.
Setting the chest armor down, Balon idly resumed his casual examination of the loot. Upon reaching a fetching looking pair of gauntlets, he picked them up to examine more closely. They were again made of that strange metal-like material. But what had caught his eye about these was that they seemed to have been even more well-made than the rest of the loot. Though they weren't made of gold nor had jewels encrusted throughout as he would've liked, they were still carefully carved and shaped into form. Without hesitation, he slipped them onto his forearms and tightened them down. Twisting his arms about to admire the craftsmanship, his smile broadened.
"This new land is indeed a wonder," he declared with an excitement he hadn't felt in a long, long time. "I've decided! I shall lead our next raid personally. I wish to see just what this land has to offer."
"I would suggest against that, Lord brother," Victarion said lowly, pausing in tying his new greatsword across his back to look quickly over at him. "The reavers were quite clear in their tales of those metal beasts. And the few that I've seen that were brought back are…unnatural."
"I have decided!" Balon snapped, glaring at his brother hotly.
Victarion's face remained impassive upon the rebuke, but his brother relented and nodded, letting the matter drop. "We have other issues that must be addressed, brother. Asha is dead."
"What of it?" Balon asked, disinterestedly as he resumed his casual walk around the loot.
His brother frowned as Balon idly ran his finger along the edges of the blades brought to him, thinking of when he would be able to sink it into the flesh of the greenlanders who embarrassed him and the Iron Born not long ago. "Asha might have been a woman, but she was still your heir. I know you. You have no intention of making Theon your heir. Not after he has spent so much time amongst the greenlanders, and the Starks at that. So, unless you're going to name me as your new one, what are you going to do about this?"
Balon paused as he realized his brother had a point. Despite being a weak woman, Asha was very much an Ironborn reaver he could be proud of. Once she'd been married and whelped a few grandbrats for him, his family line would be secure for another generation. He also had no intention of naming his good-for-nothing son as his heir since the boy had undoubtedly been turned into a soft greenlander at this point. Not to mention that following his brief rebellion against the Iron Throne a few years ago, his ungrateful wife had fled back to her family home on Harlaw and refused any summons he had sent to her. While Victarion was an excellent ship captain, loyal follower, and savage reaver, he would flounder badly as the Lord Reaper of Pyke and Lord of the Iron Islands. His younger brother Aeron was a Drowned Priest, thus forfeiting any claim on his inheritance. And Balon would be dead before he let Euron anywhere near the Seastone Chair!
After contemplating the issue for a moment, Balon smirked slightly. "I guess I'll just have to claim a saltwife and get her with child. That shall be my next heir! A few of those brought back have…promise. Particularly that one that others seem to defer too, or the dark skinned one with markings on her face. Not that it matters much, they're all women. Just press their faces down into the ground and they all look the same."
Victarion blinked for a moment clearly surprised at Balon's decision. But then the man shrugged nonchalantly as he resumed trying to find a way to settle his new sword into a comfortable but easily accessible position on his back.
'Yes,' Balon thought idly as he moved back to observe the loot in its entirety. 'Even if this new land doesn't seem to have any gold or jewels and is infested with beasts, there are plenty of opportunities to be had. And since it has no allegiance to the Iron Throne, we can reave it to our hearts' content! Finally, the Ironborn can return to our Old Ways of paying the Iron Price for our fortunes once again! Oh, what a glorious time these coming months and years shall be!'
X-X-X
"What a party," Aloy muttered to herself in disgust as she stood at the bow of the ship that'd taken her from her home and to this strange land, they found themselves in, the darkness of night hiding her and the four Quen ships with her from any unwanted eyes above. Even from their distance of several hundred meters away, they could still hear the sounds of celebration coming from above.
Even if she didn't avoid such festivities, especially when they were held in her honor, there would've been no way she'd have ever attended such a gathering. Especially not it was being held within the keep fortress before her. The massive crumbling castle they had tracked the raiders and their captives to was an admittedly impressive work of defensive fortifications. Large walls with numerous towers and a single gatehouse, all lined with catapults and massive bolt launchers. As well as having several large castles built atop large and tall sea stacks and islets that were in turn protected by the rough seas along the cliffside coast below. Trying to storm this castle would've been a massive undertaking, requiring several thousands of soldiers at minimum, and a prolonged engagement.
But that wasn't to say that the castle wasn't without its weaknesses. The first thing she'd noticed, even without her Focus, was that it very obviously been built with traditional weaponry in mind. While there were dozens of arrow slits scattered along the walls, there didn't seem to be any places that could work as suitable artillery roosts. Not to mention the fact that the very land the castle was built upon made for a very bad foundation, seeing as how a no doubt large portion of the castle had already collapsed into the sea below. And, if her Focus's scanning was at all accurate, then it'd only be a few more centuries at most before the water erosion claimed the rest of the islets and sea stacks.
"Yeah," Erend agreed, a look of annoyed disgust on his own face as they stood side by side and listened to the celebrations coming from the island before them. "They're acting like they just returned triumphant from a grand war, with riches, spoils, alcohol, and glory for all involved. When in truth all they've done was burn, rape, and pillage a few small villages along the coast. Where's the glory and revelry in that?"
"Indeed," Kotallo said, looking up from where he was finishing attaching his robotic arm. "Even in victory, it is just foolishness to not keep a guard posted upon the walls at all times. But they're stupidity is to our benefit."
Aloy sighed, nodding in agreement with her two friends. Casting one last glance back at the castle, she turned and made her way along the Quen's ship towards the captain's quarters. This was her first real time riding upon a ship out at sea. Even though she'd been onboard for a week or two, she still hadn't quite adjusted to the swaying, pitching, and yawing that the vessel made as it traversed waves. Indeed, she still hadn't quite gotten her sea legs under her yet. The mighty tugs of the overridden Tiderippers they had jury-rigged into harnesses for added speed hadn't helped. But at least she'd finally recovered from that minor bout of seasickness she'd gotten shortly after leaving.
As she walked, she cast a passing glance down into the exposed hold of the ship. Specifically, at where the six Sunwings were being housed for their journey. 'Good, the Tenakth and Quen are almost finished with them.'
"Enter," Gadik called after she knocked on the door. The man was pacing about the small open area of his quarters with the Marshal Ivvira. Both were staring down at the digital map of the castle with critical eyes.
Along with Kotallo, Ivvira was Hekarro's representative and the chief commander of the Tenakth forces upon this expedition. Citing his growing age and the necessity for his presence to help maintain the peace of their lands, Chief Hekarro had declined the invitation to join the rescue mission before he gave his new Focus to Ivvira, declaring that he wasn't suitable or comfortable with such powers. Ivvira had taken the Focus, leadership, and responsibility the Chief gave her with a good deal of reservation but also excitement.
"The Sunwings are nearly ready," Aloy said without preamble. "Once they are, I'll lead the insertion team. Ivvira, is your team ready?"
"Just say the word," Ivvira responded immediately, giving the Champion her full attention. "At this distance from shore, the climb up the cliff, and carrying our heavy weapons, I believe it'll take upwards of an hour for us to all get into position and ready."
Aloy sighed in annoyance, but also resignation. "Yeah, I figured as much. Still, that should give my team plenty of time to find our people."
"I am still uncomfortable with having our ships so close to enemy territory, Ancestor," Gadik stated, looking up from the map. "Even if it's dark, with no moon, and the raiders distracted by those festivities, this is still a big risk for my ships…Not to mention the Tiderippers."
"I know," Aloy nodded, empathically. "I don't like it either. But this is the best chance we have."
Gadik sighed heavily but nodded in acknowledgement.
X-X-X
The massive castle keep that rested upon the largest stack would've been an unnavigable labyrinth of twisting corridors, winding staircases, and scattered rooms. Trying to find anyone within that cluttered and very well fortified string of castles would've been an exercise of intense difficulty, never mind doing so without raising an alarm. But the small squad of infiltrators had several advantages that the defenders hadn't ever encountered before, let alone considered were possible.
The first and most obvious was that the raiders were clearly in the midst of a raucous party with alcohol flowing freely, boisterous laughter and displays of exaggerated fight scenes. The party wasn't even limited to a single area, but in the feasting halls of each of the four keeps. The raiders were also seemingly very confident in their success that there were next to no watchers lining the curtain walls or keeping an eye out for enemy infiltrators. This told Aloy and her squad several things. Either they had that much confidence in their defenses and fighting capabilities to repel any attacks, they had never truly experienced a counterattack in retribution of their actions before, they had largely known only peace with the nearby continent and thus were unprepared for any retaliatory strikes, were just an undisciplined lot of drunkards, or some combination of the aforementioned.
The second advantage they had was the fact that they knew almost certainly where their captive brethren were being held. This was thanks in large part to Beta using the growing number of satellites now in orbit to closely monitor the various ships and where each of their people were being taken. Though a handful of them had been separated and taken to the small, fortified residence down near the port town, the rest of the captives had been shuffled up into one of the towers of the middle keep. Aloy wasn't entirely sure, but she and the Tenakth all strongly believed that that was where they would be kept for the duration of their 'training' to be slaves. The raiders had absolutely no clue that they were being closely watched from high above and thusly had made no attempts at even trying to conceal their actions. Which was how and why Aloy, her squad, and the other infiltrators knew to hit these two castles and not any of the hundreds of others throughout these lands.
The third and final advantage the raiders were unprepared for was, of course, the fact that Aloy and her squad could get inside rather easily thanks to their overridden Sunwing mounts. Which was exactly what she and Erend were doing.
With the various parties, heavy drinking, light brawling, and more than a few partners engaged in sexual activities, the pair of machines were able to land lightly atop the tiled and shingled roof of the prisoner's tower with no one being the wiser amongst the revelers below. Dismounting her Sunwing, Aloy landed lightly upon the roof. Creeping carefully over to the edge, she had to maintain a firm grip upon her mount's wing to not slide off the steep incline and plummet to her watery death below. It was awkward but far safer than otherwise. Reaching the edge, she peered down to the water far below. The dim light coming from the various windows offered little help in making out much of the sea below. But thanks to her Focus, she was able to spot the numerous small rafts and other flotation devices that the Quen mariners had managed to bring right up against the rocks of the castle's base. It was low tide right now, so the water was relatively calm, but that didn't make the danger of them remaining there for a long period of time any less real.
"Gadik, you ready?" Aloy asked as she tapped her Focus, her voice perfectly calm despite her position.
"Ready and waiting, Ancestor," Gadik replied, waving up at her from the lead raft.
"Ivvira?"
"We are almost into position," the Marshal answered. "Just need to set up a few more of the cannons."
"Kotallo?"
"In position," the man grunted softly from his location down in the port town, where he'd be responsible for rescuing the rest of the captives.
"Okay, Kotallo, Erend, and I will begin our parts," Aloy stated. "Ivvira, open fire when you're ready."
"Roger," all of them answered before cutting the connection.
"Gah, jeez, it's another cliff," Erend grumbled in annoyance as he latched his rope firmly into place.
Aloy shot the man a wry but understanding grin. Then, just to show off a bit, she leapt off the tower's roof. With practiced ease, she twisted in midair and threw her climbing rope back up over the peak of the roof. The multi-pronged grapple bit into the wood and Aloy's fall smoothly transitioned into a swing towards the fair-sized shuttered window about two levels below the roof's edge. Flying in feet first, Aloy smashed through the flimsy shutters. Aside from the clatter of splintered wood falling to the stone floor, the small hallway she'd so dramatically entered was empty and silent. 'No guards? Wow, these raiders are arrogant.'
"Champion?" an unfamiliar voice spoke up from the side. "Is that you?!" Turning, Aloy may not have recognized the young woman, but her exotic body paint and bright tattoos easily gave away her allegiance and heritage.
"Yes, it's me," she answered softly. Looking down the hallway, she realized that she'd managed to swing right into the prison itself. The barred and locked cells were hint enough. It seemed that a good number of the hostages were approaching their cell doors to investigate the noise. Yet more appeared as a second crash resounded through the hallway from the opposite side with Erend making his own entrance. "This is a rescue!"
"A-Aloy?" a familiar, soft, and hesitant voice called out weakly from one of the cells. It was a voice that Aloy had been hoping to hear and she was fast to hurry over to it.
"Alva?" Aloy asked as she came upon the cell.
Her faint smile turned strained as she glimpsed her friend's condition. Her normally pale facial complexion was marred by various red and dark blotches of bruises, both new and old. Her lips were split and scabbed over with one of her eyes swollen near shut. She was dressed in grey rags that were as thin as a washcloth and covered about as much of her body. And from the ginger way she was walking, it was clear to Aloy that the raiders had been…entertaining themselves with her during their voyage back to this island. Absentmindedly, Aloy guessed that most—if not all—of the other women taken would likely be in similar conditions as well.
Stamping down on her growing anger hard and doing her utmost best to keep her voice reassuring, Aloy approached her friend with a smile. "Don't worry, Alva. We're here to bring you home." She proved this by jabbing her speartip into the flimsy locking mechanism, twisting and snapping its internal components, and then yanking the door open.
"Oh, thank the Ancestors," Alva murmured softly, looking about as relieved as she could in her condition. "And thank you, Aloy!"
Aloy nodded as she moved over and helped her friend out of the cell. Further down the hall, Erend busied himself by bashing in the locks or smashing the doors open with his large Vanguard hammer.
X-X-X
Outside the castle's walls, Ivvira and her platoon of soldiers lined themselves up before the admittedly impressive gatehouse. Aside from Aloy, Erend, and Kotallo's team, the entirety of the Tenakth rescue platoon were lined up alongside one another. Ivvira had been very careful in her placement of the men. Making sure they were just outside range of any bows and not clumped together too tightly. Each man of the five squads carried a different heavy weapon they'd salvaged from machines before departure. There were Ravager cannons for high speed and distance shots, Thunderjaw disc launchers for large collateral damage, Stalker mine launchers and Dreadwing bomb launchers for any light infantry that might manage to start approaching, and even a few boltblasters for rapidfire. She'd been expecting to face some form of opposition when her men crested the cliff face near the fortress, but to her surprise and disgust, they were met with none. 'Either they are too lost in their own revelry to notice our arrival, or they are simply too lax. Either way, they are fools. And soon to be dead fools.'
"All squads, ready!" Ivvira cried out, raising her arm. Stealth was done. It was time to attack! "Disc launchers, pick your target and open fire!"
The loud cries of acknowledgement were quickly drowned out by the bursts of humming discs launching into the air. They only had enough launchers for five discs at a time, but they were more than enough. The first two that struck blasted apart the heavy gates, while two others exploded violently against the flanking towers of the gatehouse, and the last hit the battlements just over the gates.
Once the five explosions had died down, Ivvira cast a passing glance upon the damage inflicted. Thanks to her new Focus, Ivvira had a better idea of that damage than her companions. The gates had been shredded with burning debris littering the internal passageway. The explosive force of the two discs had even managed to blow the corresponding interior gate clear off their hinges, sending scattered debris further into the courtyard beyond. The three discs striking the walls and battlement had a much more visible effect and caused her soldiers to let out loud cheers of triumph. Despite how remarkably thick and massive the gatehouse and its walls were, the three discs had caused incredible damage. Large cracks and fissures were blown into the walls. Higher up the walls, the cracks had widened, causing large volumes of debris to get blown out. Such damage could take years to fill in, but the gatehouse would forever after be incredibly weakened to bombardment from even basic trebuchets.
The night had gone silent as the sounds of revelry from within the keep died, replaced with moans of pain and cries of alarm. Ivvira would give them no chance for respite. As the Chief had told her before, when in battle and you have the advantage, do not give your enemies time to breathe. Wordlessly, she held out her hand in a cutting motion. And at her command, five more discs were launched.
With each successive volley of explosive discs, the damage upon the gatehouse and nearby walls grew. Over the din of explosions and crumbling stone, Ivvira could hear the clamor and cries of fear and alarm from inside the castle. Good, they'd managed to get their attentions! By the time the last volley of discs had been launched, all that remained of the gatehouse and nearby walls were an unrecognizable pile of debris, dust, and burning shrapnel. And it was only then that the first of the raiders started appearing within Ivvira's vision. The marvelous Focus illuminated the oncoming raiders as silhouettes of orange and there were quite a lot of them.
"Cannons! Watch the battlements!" Ivvira cried out as she drew back her bow. "Mines! Scatter your shots!"
As the soldiers wielding the Stalker mine launchers began peppering the area outside and around the destroyed wall, Ivvira's smile widened. The reason for her smile was once again thanks to her Focus. For it was as she drew back her arrow, a line appeared down the length of the shaft and headed off into the distance. Ivvira didn't need Aloy's advanced knowledge or Kotallo's instructions to know that this line showed the most likely path of flight her arrow would take upon release. She did a small experiment by straining against the bow and pulling the shaft back just a bit slighter. In response, the Focus instantly adjusted the predicted flight path. Deciding to put a bit more faith into it, she lined up the flight path with her desired target and released the arrow. Although the arrow instantly vanished from even her Focus's sight, her target jerking to the side and crumpling to the ground a split-second later widened her smile yet again.
'Kotallo was right,' Ivvira thought for the umpteenth time. 'This really is the most powerful weapon I've ever had! I love it!' Quickly shaking herself out of her slight happy daze, she refocused her attention on the battlefield as she continued shooting down more raiders within her bow range.
After she'd managed to down her fifth consecutive enemy, the various Ravager cannons finally started opening fire, spraying their deadly payloads upon the battlements. Though the plasma blasts of the cannons couldn't punch through the crenellations, the growing dozens of raiders lining the walls with simple bows provided more than enough targets for her men to aim at. With just a few simple passes, many of the ignorant savages quickly learned to be extremely wary of the blindingly bright blasts as they killed or maimed their companions with incredible ease and speed.
Shouts of terror and fury began emanating from the battlements. 'They must be trying to warn their brethren down in the courtyard to be cautious of storming us,' she guessed, almost nonchalantly due to her lack of fear. But as she watched an almost literal wave of orange silhouettes scramble over the debris that was once the gatehouse, she shook her head in disgust. 'They truly are barbarians. Disregarding the warnings of their companions to reach their enemy, probably out of some type of misguided desire for personal fame and glory. Disgusting!' That thought might've seemed hypocritical when coming from a Tenakth, given that they themselves would've been very similar to these raiders less than 30 years prior, but not from the modern Tenakth. They had grown up in and enforcing the Chief's peace and fighting against their common enemy in the machines, understanding that only through unity would they stand a chance of survival. An understanding made even more clear after the last Kulrut and the message held within the Vision of The Ten that Aloy had unlocked.
What followed next was as much a tragedy as it was stupidity. The moment the wave of onrushing raiders crested the gatehouse debris and started trying to race out to deal with their attackers, the various members of the Tenakth platoons opened fire. One or two of the Ravager cannons mowed down the oncoming wave of men with just a few casual passes, cutting down at least three dozen in short order. But that was most of their contributions to the attack. This was because the already launched Stalker mines had started doing their deadly work. The raiders barreled on through the newly set up minefield, utterly ignorant of what the strange blinking red lights were, if they had even noticed them after spotting the small line of Tenakth arrayed before them. Thus, numerous small explosions erupted in a maelstrom of explosions and bright light, sending men flying about. Some of the raiders still wore bits of armor, but most didn't, clad in only light tunics and pants. Thus, more than a few of the men were outright killed in these explosions while others were on the edge of them either lost limbs from shrapnel or their consciousness from being blasted about.
Most armed forces would've probably pulled to a halt upon such an unexpected and devastating attack. But there were several factors working against the raiders in this case. The first being that a large majority of them were drunk and reacting blindly to what they thought was an attack from one of their known enemies who would've been using known methods of attack. The second factor was the gatehouse debris pile acting as a type of shield. So, the ever-oncoming rush of raiders couldn't see what was causing those loud explosions or who was doing the killing. They just heard a lot of strange noise and the cries of dying men and assumed it was their men falling on the foolish attackers as was right. And the final factor was just simple arrogance in themselves and their fighting capabilities. They were Ironborn! The greatest sailors and raiders of the Known World! Whoever was unjustly attacking them would be paying the Iron Price for their impetuous strike against their honorable Lord's homeland and castle!
Once the first wave of Stalker mines had been exhausted and a fresh group of raiders picked their way past their dying and crying comrades to reach their foes, the Tenakth carrying Dreadwing bomb launchers opened fire. The little glowing orbs that the attackers launched towards them hadn't scared the raiders in the slightest, not with how slowly they were flying towards them. Perhaps the fools just assumed that they were using some kind of small catapults and that this was some kind of bizarre weapon from wherever they came from that would do little to no damage. They were partly right, just not as much as they perhaps would've preferred to be. Thus, like with the Stalker mines, they charged headlong straight into the midst of the incoming bombs without realizing the danger they were in until it was far too late.
Ivvira watched as the second group of attackers were blown apart with a sigh of disappointment. As much as she truly did want to keep this mission short and simple, there was a certain and rather large part of her—the Tenakth soldier within her—that desperately wanted to race forward to meet these cowardly raiders face to face. To cross blades with them and then give them an unadulterated lesson as to why it's a bad idea to provoke a Tenakth to violence. Ivvira knew that most, if not all, of her platoon were feeling the same way, but they all maintained their discipline as true soldiers should. They were here to draw these fools out so as to give the others time to get the prisoners free. That was it. They were not here to conquer.
"Wutakka! Zekka! Rhanatyyo!" she called out as the initial surge of raiders started slowing down again. "Shoot higher! Aim over the walls and for the interior!"
"Roger!" All three shouted as they tilted their cannons slightly higher. A moment later, three new bursts of bombs sailed high in the air. Although a few of them struck the wall's crenellations and exploded prematurely, the rest of them made it over with no problem. Ivvira didn't need her Focus to see the bright explosions bursting to life momentarily on the other side. Cries of panic and rage filled the air from the other side of the wall as the explosions died down and the rubble started to settle. Then another volley of bombs were launched over.
Thanks to this new form of attack, the charging raiders came to a sudden halt before they could start climbing over the gatehouse debris. Ivvira watched with mixed feelings of satisfaction and bewilderment as some of the raiders seemed to start fighting one another. 'Are they attacking each other now?! Do they seriously think that some of their comrades are the ones doing the bombing?! Or is this something else?'
Before Ivvira could contemplate this turn of events too deeply, a familiar whirling cry echoed through the din. Then the purple outlines of three machines appeared in Ivvira's Focus, climbing their way out of the shattered ruins of the building that had apparently been housing them.
"Burrowers!" she cried out, eyes narrowing as she carefully studied the outlines. "Apex Frost Burrowers inside the keep!"
"How'd they get those?!" Poso shouted in surprise and mild fear.
It was a sentiment that all the Tenakth shared. After all, Apex machines were some of the more relentless, most powerful, and most dangerous of the machines that populated their lands in recent years. The fact that these strangers had managed to not only subdue but transport three of them to their homeland…? Something suspicious was going on here.
Snapping back to reality, Ivvira called out, "They're tunneling! Be on the lookout! Open fire if you have a shot!"
She'd just barely managed to finish her command when a pair of red eyes burst out of the ground just beyond the castle walls. Those eyes whipped about, rapidly surveying their surroundings with a focus that was unnerving. Unnerving because Ivvira was quite sure that the damned machines had spotted her platoon as soon as they'd popped out but had ignored them. That was behavior far different from normal. Not to mention, they hadn't remained to fight against the raiders.
But she didn't waste time trying to understand the incomprehensible reasons or actions of a creature that wasn't human. Instead, she and her platoon all concentrated their firepower upon the pair of targets that had so conveniently showed themselves. Faced with five Ravager cannons, five boltblasters, five bomb launchers, and five common archers all firing upon them at once, not even an Apex machine could survive more than a single barrage.
"Ivvira! We're finished!" Aloy's voice spoke up suddenly. "The last of the captives are away and heading for the ships. Pull your men back!"
"Roger!" she barked before tapping her Focus to cancel the call. Turning to her men, she called out, "Fallback! Mission accomplished! Fallback!"
X-X-X
Near Pyke
Sunrise
The sun was just peeking over the horizon when Aloy was finally able to dismount her Sunwing on the leading Quen ship. She, Kotallo, and four other Tenakth had been flying overwatch for their little flotilla ever since they had retreated from the crumbling castle. Overall, things had gone exactly as planned. She and Erend had been able to successfully guide and lower the numerous captives down to the waiting Quen, who were fast to transport them back to the ships. Once all were safely away, they'd climbed back to their Sunwings and Aloy had alerted Ivvira.
At the same time, Kotallo's squad performed their own insertion and extraction. From what the man had reported, there had been 'minimal' casualties and a successful mission completion, which she had interpreted to mean that they had faced some minor resistance but had escaped without an alarm being raised. His squad's extraction to the sea was arguably more difficult since they had had to make their way out of and then around the port town to where they'd beached their rafts before making their way back to the ship that was their transport.
Once the various Quen ships had reunited, they had turned the Tiderippers west, opened the sails, and made their departure with all due speed away from the accursed island. It had taken them the better part of the remainder of the night, but with a combination of strong winds and the pull of the Tiderippers boosting their speeds, they had finally managed to break out of the archipelago and were now out in the open ocean. It would still take another two weeks of constant and hard sailing, but they were now essentially home free. Aloy had verified that with a quick check to their global position as soon as she'd seen dawn's light starting to appear.
Sliding off her Sunwing, she bit back a yawn. Exhaustion had been gnawing at her for at least an hour now, especially since she'd been up all night. So, that being the case, she just watched with slightly bleary-eyed amusement as several Tenakth soldiers cautiously approached the machine and started guiding it down into the hold below. The Sunwings were machines that were most active during the night, she knew. So, the machine were probably fairly low on energy right now. It'd take a few hours out in sunlight for them to recharge their power cells. Thankfully, unless something bad happened, they'd likely get that time.
Turning, she stalked over to the stairwell that led down into the crew quarters of the ship. As she did, she casually brought up her inbox to check for any new messages. Ever since she'd started gifting her friends, companions, and associates with Focuses, she'd begun getting the occasional text or audio message from them. Usually, they were a simple 'How's it going? Everything's fine here. Missing you badly.' - type of message. Other times, they were of considerable importance, like Sylens notifying her of his discovery of damage within Gaia's power station and how/why it was preventing her from quickly rebooting.
"Huh, Beta sent me something," she muttered to herself, only vaguely interested. Glancing at the timestamp, she saw that Beta had must've sent the message…about eight hours ago. Approximately when the rescue part had gone into full stealth mode upon entering the raiders' archipelago. She hadn't had the time or inclination to allow herself to be distracted then. And, frankly, she wasn't really up to being distracted just yet either. Her hammock was calling her name and she would be damned if she didn't heed its alluring song.
Beta's message could wait a few more hours. She had some much needed sleep to catch up on.
(Tellemicus's Note) Howdy, folks! Hope you're enjoying the story so far. I apologize if you were expecting a fullblown battle here, but I was trying to think like how Aloy would've led the rescue mission. She would've wanted a simple in-and-out operation with no dramatic flare, just getting the job done as quickly as possible. And while the Tenakth would've probably enjoyed massacring the Ironborn for what they'd done, they are still soldiers and would obey orders if it meant completing the mission successfully. In this regard, I view them as being far superior to the gloryhounds of the Westerosi knights and men-at-arms.
To be perfectly honest, this chapter is cut down a great deal more than I would've liked it to be. I would've loved being able to more fully explore so many points and make entire mini-arcs out of stuff like Aloy managing to override so many Tiderippers, fleshing out and formulating her rescue plans more fully, not to mention the sea voyage itself. But I also know my own limitations and am reasonably sure that going into such detail would increase the chances of my losing interest in this story. Especially since all of that would've only delayed me from reaching the real meat of the story later on!
Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please remember to leave a review so I'll know if, what, how, and/or why I made any mistakes and what I can do to fix them.