Chapter One: The Horizon Darkens.
"world-grasping vines burst forth, the horizon darkens. betrayal and treachery lie on all sides. who brings relief? who brings despair? she will watch for Ruffu, she will call the dawn her mother, she will be murderer and saviour."
- From the Crimson Dawn Prophecy
Her eyes downcast, Laela noticed the shadow of her Guard Captain, sharply cast over the alabaster tiles, before the woman herself spoke. "The horizon is clear, my Lady," came the woman's gently rolling voice. She sounded like a chime tinkling in the wind, but such a melodious voice belied the anxiety and depression that she - and all of the Watchers - felt. They had failed. They had all failed.
"It is clear," Laela gave the ritual reply, although the horizon was anything but, "but yet we watch." She raised her eyes to meet her interlocuter, Guard Captain Nylia.
Nylia bowed deeply, leaning on her ceremonial staff and sweeping her great wings low as she did so. Although her dark hair fell into her face, her deep blue eyes did not leave those of her Lady. "I renew again my request for dismissal, Lady Laela. I am unworthy even to stand in your presence, let alone serve as your highest guardian. Send me away."
"And I deny your request again. Rise, servant. This failing belongs to all of us, not to you alone." Nylia did so, and Laela continued. "What have you learned?"
"I have spoken with the head of our mages, Watcher Rionn. She informs me that not only were our mages all concentrated on monitoring the flow of black and red mana, and therefore the great surge of green mana that..." Nylia paused. "It is being called the Lohvash, my Lady." Laela recognized the ancient word - it was yet another part of the prophecy. "I don't know whether it is or not, and it does not bear on my position. Suffice it to say that the vines that make up the...the Lohvash...appear to be nearly sentient, and there have been tales of a vine snaring and crushing a low-flying Watcher near the ruins of Akoon."
"Carry on with your report, Nylia, and do not let superstitions and tall tales among the ranks unnerve you." Laela did not believe that any Watcher would be slow and unresourceful enough to be crushed by a vine, but the tales of the Lohvash...well, it would be ridiculous if not for all the accompanying signs. "What else did Rionn tell you?"
"Ah...yes, my Lady. Watcher Rionn told me that the surge went unnoticed due to our woeful lack of mages among the Watchers, and that few of them save Rionn herself would have even had the skill to detect it had they been monitoring green."
Laela cursed her decision to keep magery out of the ranks of the Horizon Watchers, but it was in the past now. She supposed that there was nothing for it now. "Was that all?"
"No, my Lady. Rionn herself has attempted to analyze the afterwash of the mana surge from closeby. She tells me that although the massive pull of green mana has mostly bled into the afterwash, she was able to detect trace amounts of black mana."
"Is she saying that black mana was actually involved in the surge?"
"It is unlikely, and if so, only the smallest amounts. No black mana was detected by our mages during the surge."
"I'm afraid I can't take what our mages did and did not detect on faith any longer, Nylia. Find out for sure."
Nylia bowed low. "As my Lady wills, so shall it be. Can I serve you further?"
"What is the latest news on the Eeilyi refugees?"
Nylia pursed her lips. "Their situation has not improved. Nantoc and his subjects are still holed up in the Wyrm Tunnels, and the Kazzik Band is now harassing them. I doubt they can hold out much longer. We must act."
Laela considered her servant. She had gone from humbly offering her resignation, to subtly commanding her Lady. It could just be her Watcher conditioning, naturally, but something here seemed a trifle odd. Of course, Laela's behaviour of late was odd. Every Horizon Watcher from the newest recruit up knew that the entire existence of the Angel race on Ruffu was to protect the empire of Eeilyo. That empire had crumbled, and now its survivors were in dire need, yet their Lady Laela did nothing. Could it be possible that this was not the time of the prophecy, and that Eeilyo truly would be annihilated due to her inaction? But no, she had to be faithful to the prophecy and to her mother's last instructions.
"Laela," the Lady Daeyth had whispered to her daughter as she prepared to pass on to whatever existence awaited all of them, "heed the prophecy."
"Umma, it's nothing but lies. You've told me so yourself." The young Laela, tears held back for the moment - she would let them flow after her mother passed, but for now she had to be the strong heir to the Horizon Watchers - bent over the fading Daeyth and peered intently into her eyes.
Daeyth's hand clutched her daughter's fervently. "You weren't ready for the truth, sweet Laela. It will pass, and it will pass in your lifetime. Keep your daughter safe."
"I don't have a daughter, Umma," Laela replied. Was her mother's intellect failing her at the last?
"You don't, yet..." Daeyth's chest rattled, and she barely eked out her last words. "She will watch for Ruffu, she will call the dawn her mother, and she will be murderer and saviour..." Within moments, Lady Daeyth had faded out of existence, leaving only the words of the prophecy burned into her daughter's heart.
"Do not act," Laela commanded Nylia. "Nantoc will hold out."
The disappointment in Nylia's eyes was not concealed as she bowed again and her waist-length dark hair obscured her face. "As my Lady wills, so shall it be."
"Where is Adriana?" Laela suddenly asked.
Nylia rose, and a subtle tartness entered her voice at the mention of her Lady's daughter. "Watcher Adriana is not in the Hub, and probably not anywhere in all of the Crystal City. It is likely that she is on the ground, fighting crocs or raiders." Her tone was pure disapproval, but this was not specific to Nylia. No Watcher approved of Adriana. Laela only prayed that her daughter was the child of the prophecy - although it would damn the poor girl forever, she would be Ruffu's salvation.
"Do not send for her. When she returns to the Hub, send her to me. You are dismissed, Nylia."
"As my Lady wills, so shall it be. May the horizon remain clear." Nylia tapped her staff three times and turned to leave, her bare feet padding gently on the tiles.
Laela turned to face the great window called the Watchers' Eye that formed the back wall of her chamber. Gently shimmering clouds framed the horizon, Ruffu's sun blazing above it, and Laela found solace in the empty blueness of the sky. Usually the phrase "horizon watcher" was a misnomer, as the previous threats to Eeilyo, all struck down by the ever-vigilant Watchers, had originated on the ground. But now there were the Dawnbringers to contend with, the rogue angels who had defected from the Watchers, believing - as most Ruffuans did in their secret hearts - that the end times of the prophecy had indeed come, and the ancient command to defend Eeilyo no longer applied in the apocalyptic era. Laela couldn't blame them, for she shared their belief, and so she did not order them destroyed. In truth, she felt that she would lack the callousness to give the order for the destruction of their sisters, even if the need presented itself. She kept her compassion, and Ruffu needed compassion now. The Korkor, the crocodile-folk of the Shaeya marshes, had betrayed their Eeilyi allies for reasons yet unknown, and had somehow accelerated the growth of a vast jungle through the channelling of a truly epic amount of green mana. The jungle, now suspiciously referred to as the Lohvash, the ancient word used for "world-grasping vines" in the tongue of the prophecy, had spread over most of Ruffu's landmasses, completely choking the great limestone cities of Eeilyo and driving the Eeilyi forth from their cities. The great strider-cities of the Djinn had also been entangled and pulled into the depths by the waterborne vectors of the Lohvash, and the great Djinni empire was no more. Very few of that noble people, longtime allies of Eeilyo, remained alive. The vines had by and large avoided the great chains of mountains that were the war-torn contested territories of the mountain warlords, but all the same, the warlord bands had poured forth from the Majn Peaks and now raided the ravaged empires that had once held sway over the civilized lands of Ruffu. Deep within the Shaeya - who knew? The shade-folk, who called themselves Sombri, kept their own counsel and rarely allowed outsiders into their bog cities, but the prevalent opinion among the Watcher rank and file was that the Sombri had somehow manipulated the crocs, who were clearly responsible for the growth of the Lohvash, into betraying their allies and entangling the world.
Lady Laela, Watcher on the Horizon, heaved a deep sigh. Of course, the Crystal City remained untouched through all of this turmoil and uncertainty, but she still felt as though she was failing in her ancient duty. Did her loyalty lie with the prophecy and the destruction that its fulfillment surely entailed, or with the beleaguered people of Eeilyo? Her gaze wandering over the horizon, Laela's thoughts touched upon her daughter. Was she ready for her own fate? She believed herself the protector of all Ruffu, not just Eeilyo. Did she know what she would have to destroy in order to save it?
Next chapter: Tidings.
Card for this chapter: Laela, Watcher on the Horizon:
Laela, Watcher on the Horizon
Legendary Creature - Angel
4WW
4/5
Flying
Prevent all damage that would be dealt to you by creatures with flying.
1: Target creature controlled by an opponent gains flying until end of turn.
"I have failed in one duty placed upon me. I will not fail in my other."