Chapter 6: New Gifts.
The two days before Araniel departed were filled with preparation.
Bags were packed including food, water containers, clothes, shelter equipment, rope and many spelled and un-spelled objects that were essential.
In the evening before they went, Araniel went to the high armoury with the guildmaster.
This armoury held some of the most powerful weapons in the guild. Spelled by masters decades or centuries ago.
Araniel was surprised, normally it was only Amkr possessors who were allowed to take weapons from this store. They walked however straight through the room and into a passage that lead from behind the racks.
They passed many layers of spells as they walked, but none stopped them. As they reached the end room, the master disabled a further wall of marks. Then lead on through.
The room was dimly lit, charter spells ran over the walls, ancient but reeking of power. On a table carved of rowan lay a large collection of weapons.
These had evidently been made with so much care and skill. But they seemed incomplete. They looked dead. The weapon's marks stood still, held onto the metal and wood with power.
Save one. An axe lay amidst the weapons, it's blade glistened with marks, its handle of oak and the steel blade seemed to call for her.
"Over a thousand years ago, the Clayr saw a girl. She would be brought to us as a baby, and she would far overcome her piers. I do not know whether that describes you Araniel but they also said that this woman could empower the flames of this castle. We saw you summon the sendings, no-one has called their fire since that sight. This axe was made for you."
It was not an offer, he was telling her that it was hers. She wanted to say that she couldn't take it, but she knew it was hers.
"Thank you!" returned Araniel, embracing the master before raising the axe.
It was light as air, but sharp and hard as diamond. It seemed to know what she wanted. She looked around the curve of the blade, reading an inscription that formed from charter marks.
The Clayr saw me. The Guild made me. The free wield me. Gracen.
Once they left the armoury Araniel went to her chamber to dress for the feast that had been prepared.
As she dressed she looked back to her chamber. It was not a large room, or richly furnished.
There was a double bed in the centre, covered in many blankets to protect against the draughts. In one couner there was a desk, next to it were the book shelves, Araniel had many books and had spent much of her childhood studying the charter and the kingdom.
On the side of the room next to the door lay a large cupboard next to a dresser. In front of the fireplace was a large armchair and in another corner was the basin and chamber pot.
The room would always be her home.
Against her judgement she put on her evening dress for the feast. She normally didn't believe in dresses as they were impractical and ripped so easily, but it was customary. So she donned the black fabric and sat at her separate dressing table.
Looking into the mirror she viewed the results of her brushing. Her wavy brown hair fell around her shoulders, gleaming and glinting in many facets from the charter light.
She had tanned skin which complemented her dark eyes. She had never thought of herself as beautiful, nor unattractive. Araniel placed little faith in appearance.
As she extinguished the spelled light Araniel descended the staircase down to the great hall. The tables had been put together to make a larger one that the whole guild could sit at.
The masters sat amongst the apprentices as Araniel was called up to sit next to the high master and Lirael.
Much like the Clayr's glacier, there were no servants in the guild, each member did their part, and thus the feast was brought from the kitchens by guildsmen and women who placed the food then sat down with everyone else.
Once the wine glasses had been filled, the master rose to give a speech.
"Members of the charter guild!" announced the master, a smile on his weather-beaten face, "we hold this feast today as we bid a farewell to our guest and friend, the Abhorsen. Also to give our goodbyes, if only for a short time, to our sister, Araniel. They both go out to endure the dangers that threaten our kingdom and we wish them safety and the best of luck." he raised his glass and was mimicked by the whole guild.
Raising their glasses and drinking deeply before tucking in to the delectable food. The rest of the evening passed in merriment, all of the guildsmen enjoying themselves before retiring for a preparatory sleep.
The sun rose slowly over the mountains of Aunden, glimmering delicately from the sea of Saere. A cold sea breeze picked up heat as it headed for the guild isle.
There the party was setting off. Lirael and Araniel were at the centre of the group, three guards in front and a further eight behind, the other nine of the group had been killed. They were followed by a unit of the elite guards of the guild. The group was mounted on the finest horses of the guild, although they could not be spared beyond the village.
After they bid farewell to the masters formally (Araniel had bidden her own private farewells earlier) they thundered up the spit into the rising sun.
As they rode, Lirael explained the party's approach to battle.
"Destroy the dead if you can, but not so much that their spirit can escape, I will banish the spirits. If there are humans fighting you, try not to kill them, but restrain them using force if it is necessary. The primary concern is survival, and not getting hurt, their lives come below your own. Leave the greater dead to me. Unless you are completely certain that you can take them yourself then defend and seek help."
While this explanation was going on, Lirael was not the only one surveying Araniel's reaction.
One of the guards, called Canje was watching, entranced. He thought that Araniel was one of the most beautiful people he had ever seen.
She was not conventional in her looks, but her eyes seemed to grab him and pull him into their dark depths. Her whole appearance was enchanting and enthralling.
However he did not have time to further contemplate because they reached the village. The group dismounted and tied up the horses, the went to the centre.
It was a circle of houses with the broken stone in the centre, the windows of the houses were broken but the curtains drawn.
Lirael could smell the stench of death, mixed with a queasy feeling from the broken stone.
"There are twenty three dead in the village." Araniel began slowly, showing a shocking affiliation, Lirael had not though to see the exact number btu she only knew of herself that could feel the dead so accurately,
"there are five in each of the large houses at the four compass points and another three scattered, there is also a large dead thing in death near the charter stone."
"What! How can you know that, you are not a necromancer."
"I don't know Lirael, I can just see them with my mind."
Lirael sensed testing Araniel's theory, she was right, and when Lirael took the time to think as Araniel had it was easy.
"The other three are to the right of the west hall. We will draw the creatures out of each building at a time. To the north building!"
As the guards gathered Lirael send a powerful spell for light into the building, stronger than the daylight, this sent the dead running into the circle to meet a shower of sparks as they met charter spelled weapons.
All five were killed and their spirits banished by Saraneth's call. But the gargled screams from rotting mouths had alerted the other dead.
As a cloud came over the noon sun they came out of the houses, spreading out to become a more dangerous foe.
As the dead charged, the guards increased their pace, they did not want the dead to reach them with momentum.
Three of the most dim witted dead charged into cast marks of purity and fell but fifteen crashed into the shields that the guards wore before beginning combat.
The dead were different than usual, they had been made using the spirits of fighters and thus were far more dangerous, they remembered their skills.
But the elite and royal guards were holding on. Araniel and Lirael were helping, the troops were failing and they were now out numbered, Lirael was facing three dead, being forced to defend with one arm preventing the use of many spells or the bells.
Araniel was also facing three dead, suddenly they all attacked in a volley of manoeuvres forcing Araniel back. But as one fumbled she saw her chance, raising her axe she made a mighty sweep, knocking them back for long enough to destroy two with a blast of golden-blue charter fire.
Unfortunately the one that was left was the most skilled and leapt back into a vicious assault.
About to make a critical swipe, the corpse was knocked back by a wave of energy that emanated from the charter stone.
In a split second, all of the dead were knocked back by the presence of a fresh mordicant that leapt through the portal to death.
Heading straight for Araniel.
Without time for thought, Araniel shaped her fingers into a form she did not know and spoke the words of power that materialised in her mind, and as boiling strength rose in her throat a bolt of crimson lightning blasted forth, wounding the mordicant and sending it flying. Not destroying it but nevertheless a powerful assault of free magic.
hope you enjoyed this chapter (now review my pretties review review evil cackle)
another hint for the next chapter is that araniel uses more free magic and mogget/yrael is involved
will be up soon
charterfire