Title: Knotted Destiny
By: QT
Edited By: Buttons7

Summery: A new era is arising as darkness sets over the vast kingdom of Tortall. People are slain ruthlessly, cities are destroyed, people's hope diminishes rapidly. The only one who can turn the tide and return things to a balance is an unknown and unexpected hero.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Tamora Pierce's characters, however, I do own this plot.

"..." Talking
'...' Thinking
blah Dreaming

Lerant opened his brown eyes when he felt the sun's rays shining on him. Looking down he saw Kalasin's head resting on his lap. Smiling, he brushed a piece of stray hair away from her face and carefully supported her head as he slid out from under her. They had shared a few more kisses that night before holding eachother in silence.

Many things had passed between them in those long hours, a strong bond developing between them when their emotions got carried away. They knew how the other felt, and how it felt to be helpless, though Kalasin knew more of that feeling than Lerant. He, unlike most, understood why Kalasin was doing this and would help her along if he could. Lastly, she gave him a silent promise that she would defend him against the world if word got out of his help.

Crawling out to the edge of their shelter, Lerant looked to where the bandits had camped, and, to his surprise, found not a single one. Looking over to his right, he spotted movement in the woods. There they were, traveling through the depths of the forest in order to find a way around the steep cliff. 'Now would be a good time to get to the top before they did,' thought the man.

Turning around, he immediately clutched the wall beside him before he could topple over. His surroundings spun as he felt sick to his stomach. A low grumble emitted from his abdomen, telling Lerant that he needed food. 'Not yet,' he thought with a frown, inching towards the slumbering girl.

Kalasin groaned as her limbs began to throb from the strain climbing put on them. She didn't know how Lerant had done it, but somehow he had convinced Kalasin that reaching the top of the cliff, which to her dismay involved much more climbing, was better than waiting until the air wasn't so hot.

Beads of sweat formed on the girl's skin, her clothes, sticking to her body, felt damp. The sun was beating down on them as they continued to climb. An hour, then two went by as both took care in the placement of their hands and feet. Kalasin bit down on her lips as her hands grew moist, making it hard to grip anything. 'Please gods, don't let me slip and fall,' she thought as she pushed herself up.

A long, bony finger ran down the page of an aged book. Only those who knew the language of the Old Ones could read this; it was a spell telling how to destroy the gates that separated the Gods' realm from the humans' realm. Muttering the spell, the red-eyed mage grinned as the earth shook mercilessly. "It is done, the gates that the Gods had replaced are now shattered. Soon, I will lead the immortals in a second battle, but I will be victorious!"

Kalasin screamed as she clenched her eyes shut. She was sure she'd fall off now, but something grabbed hold of her and pulled her onto solid, shaking ground. Slowly, as the tremors became less and less, the girl opened her eyes and gazed at Lerant's worried face. Smiling she stood up with his help. They had made it to the top and were close to their friends now.

Onward they ran, passing trees and shrubs as their feet hit the earth. By the time they reached a clearing, both Lerant and Kalasin were well out of breath. Gazing down the path that led away from where the two first met, Lerant tugged on Kalasin's tunic sleeve and pointed, still too out of breath to speak.

Understanding what he meant, Kalasin nodded as she followed him, breathing heavily. Her lungs felt as if they were on fire, while the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, her skin crawling. Something wasn't right about this place; there should be animals chattering and making noises.

A sudden stench interrupted Kalasin's thoughts, a frown appearing on her face. Looking up into the sky, the girl caught sight of creatures with metal wings. 'Stormwings,' she thought to herself, as she continued to look at them while she walked. Stormwings were a type of immortal created to foul the dead in order to discourage war. Stormwings had a human head and chest, bird legs, and steel feathers, claws and teeth. Kalasin shuddered as an image of human carcasses being torn apart by stormwings came to mind.

Feeling something catch on her booted foot, she was awoken from her thoughts. Stumbling, the girl landed on her hands and knees, scowling. A cackle from above made the girl look up. A female stormwing was circling overhead as two others flew higher up. The stormwing had big brown eyes and blonde hair that draped over her shoulders and covered her chest. 'If she weren't a monster, she'd be almost beautiful,' the girl thought.

Ignoring the immortal, Kalasin looked around until her gaze settled on Lerant. He had stopped dead in his tracks, and was ghostly pale. 'What's with him?' Struggling as she tried to stand upright, a voice rang into the air.

"Look below you child, and see what tripped you," said the female stormwing.

Unsure as to why she was listening to a monster, Kalasin looked down. To her horror, she had tripped on a body. She was able to tell it was a soldier from the Own, due to the insignia on the uniform. His throat had been slashed open, and was the cause of his death. His face was pale and bloated, streaked with mud and dried blood.

Kalasin's stomach leapt into her throat as the girl discovered there were more bodies, most of which belonged to raiders. Looking at the female stormwing, the girl grimaced as she took a deep breath. "That horrible shaking earlier, what was that?"

The blonde tilted her head, an amused look appearing on her face. "That was the gates that separated the realms being shattered. Soon you humans will have a second war of immortals to deal with. Right now, thousands of Immortals are crossing where the gate once stood, entering into these lands, and causing chaos."

"Is that why there are no animal sounds?" asked Kalasin.

"My, aren't you the curious one. The animals are in hiding. They fear immortals, and they wait for their arrival." The stormwing's eyes flashed towards the sword hanging at Kalasin's hip. 'It's glowing.' "Wielder of the God's Sword, I am Arianna Sharp-wing. May our paths cross on friendly terms in the future."

Kalasin watched as Arianna Sharp-wing flew up to meet the other two stormwings that were waiting for her. Off they flew, Arianna Sharp-wing waiting a moment, her eyes fixed on Kalasin's, before disappearing into the distance. 'Everyone always says stormwings are horrid creatures, but they aren't that bad. They can't help what they are.'

Lerant slowly came out of his daze, trembling. Walking over to Kalasin, being careful as to where he stepped, he laid a hand on her shoulder, "We should get going."

Nodding, Kalasin tried to smile but found she couldn't. As she followed Lerant, she noticed most of the dead looked like bandits; their clothes were soiled and ragged, their bodies were rather boney, and their weapons weren't of good quality.

Lerant let out a sigh of relief once they came within sight of Fort Mastiff. Turning around so that he was facing Kalasin, Lerant grabbed the hem of her tunic and tugged a bit. The tunic, which had clung to Kalasin's form, was now laying straight, and hid the evidence that she was female.

Kalasin took a deep breath before walking behind Lerant up to the fort's massive door. A voice rang into the air asking their business.

"I'm Lerant from the King's Own. I'm a standard-bearer and had become separated from my group. Tell me sir, is Lord Raoul behind that wall?"

The men guarding the wall exchanged glances and then opened the gates slowly, admitting Lerant and Kalasin. The one that had asked them their business walked over to them, frowning. "Who is this with you, Lerant?"

"The boy I saved from dying. His name's Kal," said Lerant with a wink towards Kalasin.

"Come, follow me," the man said as he led them to the barracks. With a glance back at Lerant, the man knocked firmly on a wooden door before stepping aside.

Kalasin stared at the bald-headed man who opened the door. The right side of his face was scarred from an immortal's attack. He had saved the youngest princes and princess, Kalasin's brothers and sister. "Lord Wyldon," she breathed as his gaze passed over Lerant and settled on her.

AN: Sorry if I don't update for a while, or if this chapter isn't up to par with my other chapters. I have gone a week without a break from severe pain (if I move, I get a migraine). Also, sorry that I haven't updated in a while so you wonderful people had to wait so long.

This last part is to Strata: Thanks for the reviews and I'm glad you like it. Yes, their kiss did seem sudden, however, they understand eachother's feelings and being alone with the opposite sex (both seemingly very attractive) kind of gets the hormones flowing ;)