Dragon Prince: For Union and Liberty
Chapter 3: Crazier things.
Location: Kingdom of Katolis, Pentarchy (1923)
Ulysses Oliver Morton, Ulyse to his friends, was a man of principles. He rarely drank, tried not to swear in front of the fairer sex, he prayed every evening for a good harvest and a blessed year. His parents had always said he was a good boy, and now he might die for no reason at all. Or maybe it was just deserved for a horrid situation which played direct part in his exile from the hallowed halls of Columbia.
He and Selena obliged the guard though it gave him no pleasure and had ignited the woman to the point where he could hear the snow flurries' "pshsh" sound as they evaporated off her body. The man in Crimson that appeared to be leading these guards held a pistol in the air and fired it. "Don't be a fool freaks. These guns will tear you to pieces if you don't yield.
"Do you have any idea who I am human?" She said. Uyles observed the mirage emanating from the woman's skin. If it weren't so burning hot, it would've sent chills up his spine.
He laughed, "Of course I do! By the Thunderer, do you think we were out for a stroll after a big meal?" He doffed his cap, "Your Radiance."
Ulyse felt his heart thump at that. How could this be, and why would she be traveling alone?
It was no band of thieves and murderers. The men and women were well fed and brandishing copies of his own Columbian long rifle. Even the pistol now lowered on him by the man in crimson was a model of his own Colt pistol. They were heavily armed and holding as steady as any drilled unit he'd seen at university.
She was visibly shaken. "You realize that I am-"
"That you are expected by His Majesty the King Ezran of Katolis, long may he reign!" He interrupted. "Oh yes we are very well informed. Hell, we even know about this bastard halfling." The officer gestured at Ulyse. "Tell me halfling how did it feel, leaving your entire squad to get eaten alive, hmm?" He paused, "Oh never mind you coward. I guess I might as well introduce myself." The man stroked his salt-and-pepper beard, "I am General Larin, of Del-Bar, now throw down your arms in the name of the true Pentarch."
Ulyse finally managed to find his voice, "True Pentarch?"
The soldiers burst out laughing, "Who knows, maybe you'll live long enough to find out?" Larin sighed, "Now I grow tired of this, lay down your arms or die, five, four…"
Rayla looked left and right, she strained her exceptional hearing as well as she could. Having heard nothing, she followed Callum into his study and locked the heavy door. The place was disheveled at the best of times. Two easels sat with half-complete paintings of Hatran and Irna, amidst a dozen other paintings depicting fruit, Rayla against the backdrop of a moon, and various other memories swimming through her husband's head.
In another corner of the Room was his desk, it had been a gift from a grateful Columbian Craftsman. It was a huge L-shaped monstrosity of solid wood on which was painted a troop of soaring skywing elves. Littering the surface were letters awaiting his response, treatises on Arcana from the Sunfire Elves, transcriptions of runes from every corner of the Xadia. Adding to the madness were several folios of Callum's sketches scattered here, there and everywhere. One lay open, showing the couple caressing each other modestly.
Between these two mountains of madness was a literal valley that the door led into with steps dividing the two halves. This valley was largely free of litter, with a simple rug, a decanter of moonberry brandy, and a chair that seen better days. Rayla had never seen her husband restock that jar but judging from the faint tincture of it she received in his breath every now and again she suspected that it was continual. She didn't mind, in youth and in old age his touch never made her doubt her own safety.
Leaned against one side of this worn-out armchair was his now heavily patched knapsack, and on the other, the latest incarnation of his Spell Book which as a general rule had no spells. He offered her the best seat in the house and she prepared for the maypole dance that would follow as he tried to explain.
He didn't, instead he grabbed a stool that looked like it had been made for one of their children and sat in front of her. "Del-Bar is usually impenetrable this time of year, and Ezran thought it'd be a good idea to send Cela to investigate." He paused.
"Yeah, so?" Rayla added.
"Luckily she got back safely, but what she brought back was terrifying."
The indignity of being disarmed made Selena fit to burst into a bon fire. She nearly did too, until it was summarily snuffed out by a bucket full of soft white snow. Her teachers had tried to temper the boiling hot blood in her vanes by stressing that, "Discretion was the bettor part of valor." She didn't by it then and barely bought it now that she found herself in the hands of some obscene entity.
For both the elf and her halfling companion it was some relief that they weren't marched straight through the rugged mountain passes of Del-Bar. The meandering path they had taken was clearly meant to disguise the groups movement, but as far as Ulyse was concerned it was overkill as snow started to fall gently from the grey clouds over head.
Ulyse had been deprived of his pistol and rifle, though that didn't exactly mean he was defenseless. He had a knife in his boot and a tomahawk in his bag, not that it did him much good against a company of men. Even now though, the gears in his head were turning, plotting.
Rock, rock, creek bed, squish squish through mud, such was the monotony of foot travel. It was near dark when they reached the hidden tents of the encampment. The two prisoners were offered the shelter of a cell mounted on a horse cart. No food, no water. Humanitarians all, they first made sure to make the halfling shed his boots, overcoat and bag. He supposed they might've killed him, but next to the firm possibility of frostbite claiming a finger or two.
They were given quite the outsiders eye-view to them as they reveled and toasted, and seemed almost human. Ulys tried to sequester himself at one edge of the cage, but it was difficult to hide his shivering. Selena wouldn't stand for it and quickly found herself holding him in her lap like some absurdly large child. "Silly boy you are if you'd sooner die than be in the arms of a friend."
That pained her as soon as it was out of her mouth, the same foolish pride that had nearly led her to charge blindly into an untenable situation would've made the boy freeze. He looked weakly up at her, then closed his eyes. It was the last thing she remembered before drifting off to a pleasant dream of summer.
The hand full of staff members in the castle cheered against torchlight as they struggled to make out Lady Rayla in the courtyard. Even Irna and Hatran sat spellbound by how fast their mother glided off walls and seem to fade into the blackness of the night. Their father was no pushover in his old age, he'd have been far more dangerous otherwise.
"Fulminis!" He shouted as he traced the rune releasing lightening from his hand.
It narrowly missed Rayla as she perched atop an arch at one end, "Is that the best you've got?"
"Are you going to attack, or would you pre-", Rayla held the butterfly dagger to his throat. Just as quickly she returned it to its holster. The small crowd cheered. Callum was taken genuinely by surprise, "But how?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She winked.
Irna jumped into her mother's arms, "That was sooo cool," she said hugging her.
Hatran was close behind, equally excited and trying not to seem tired. Adults were always doing cool things after he fell asleep.
"How about you little guy, what did you think?" Callum asked. He got down on his knees.
He rubbed his eyes, "When will I be able to do magic like you?"
That made him shrug, "I don't know."
His sister shot back, "We have the moon, not the sky, right momma?"
Rayla smiled, "That's right, when did you get so smart?"
"You taught me." Irna replied.
Hatran wanted to be like his dad, and like most six-year old's huffed at the annoyance. Callum placed an arm on his son's shoulder, "Hey, you never know, before me, no humans could do magic. Crazier things have happened."
Lujanne had grown used to the shades the cluttered around the newly rebuilt henge of the Nexus. There they waited and would continue to wait until reunited with loved ones that they simply couldn't bare to go on without. Normally they were barely a breeze, but on the night of the full moon they were almost solid, albeit see through.
She'd never know what Claudia was waiting for her father and brother had long since faded into the ether, only she remained. Try though she might, as she sat in meditation, the answer never came. Claudia made history as she stole away from the Nexus that night.
The feeling of leaving the Nexus was akin to being torn in half. It was the pain of a soul tearing itself in half. She threw up her head and screamed as her etherial body materialized and she solidified. Air filled her lungs and her white hair fluttered in the wind. The unfortunate condition of being alive, and being very naked took a while to register.
"I- I'll find him," she stumbled forward, "m-m-m-must find." There was no time to spare. She followed this logic down the Cursed Caldera. The town guard found her the next morning and dragged her into the local drunk tank, some people really couldn't handle their spirits.
[To Be Continued]