Bloodstained Paradise

Ciara stirred slowly. She had woken as the first rays of sun drifted through the open window but had no conception of how long she had lain in bed. Eyes open and awake, but without care. Slowly, she became aware of Kyner's presence. It can only be him. How long has he been here?

"Good morning Kyner," she said. The words were soft, and Kyner wasn't even sure he had heard them.

"Good morning," the old warrior replied, sitting up in a chair across from the bed, "did you sleep well?"

Ciara only smiled. Even while asleep, she felt the warmth of Aeterveris in her dreams. The song had never left her as she walked in woods of silver trees.

"Will we be staying here long?" she asked after a moment.

"We have a long road Ciara." Ciara sat up rigidly in her bed, her eyes pleading. "But we will need to stay here a few days. The sanctuary we were originally going to is no longer safe."

"Is it because of Bhaalspawn?"

"I believe so."

"Well," Ciara rested her back against her bed's numerous pillows, "now is as good a time as any to tell me more of what I am."

"Verily," said Kyner as he leaned forward, "I already told you that you are a mortal daughter of Bhaal. I did not tell you that Bhaal spawned his progeny in order to be sacrificed by his priests in a ritual that would resurrect him."

"Obviously something went wrong," Ciara commented.

Kyner nodded, "there was a harper named Gorion. He managed to find a temple of Bhaal where numerous Bhaalspawn had been gathered to be sacrificed. Gorion assaulted the temple before the ritual could be completed with a company of harpers and other allies."

"You were there?"

"I was. We had no idea that there were so many children, neither did we have any idea to what extremes the priests of Bhaal would go. I have taken part in many battles but none of them prepared me for the atrocities I saw committed within that temple. The screams that resounded through the temple as the priests of Bhaal began the... sacrifices continue to haunt my dreams."

Ciara thought of the paintings she had drawn: raped women, slaughtered children, and slain knights.

"It was a hard fight. Many of the children were slaughtered. Others escaped or were carried off. A few of us barely managed to escape with two children, yourself and a boy Gorion took into his care."

"You couldn't have been more than two years old and I was old enough that an end to my adventures seemed appealing. I often dreamt of finding a community untouched by war, marrying, having a family, and becoming a farmer. Only part of that dream came true though.

"Gorion told me that I needed to find a safe place to raise you. So I brought you to Keep Noatun. I could think of no place more secluded. A keep in the frozen north surrounded by thick pine woods and only accessible through a river that is frozen for most of the year."

"Something happened to Noatun?" Ciara asked intently.

Kyner nodded slowly, "It was destroyed within the past few days by Frost Giants."

Ciara's mouth fell open and her eyes spoke her horror. Kyner tried not to show it, but he was genuinely relieved by her response.

"Is that kind of thing going to happen wherever I stay?" Ciara sputtered.

Kyner nodded sadly, "We can stay here a few days, but no longer."

Kyner's words haunted Ciara as she tried to enjoy the sun and the woods. Wherever I go. She leaned on the railing of a platform on one of the taller trees. From it, Ciara could see many of the silver-barked trees and watch the elves go about their business.

The elves Ciara watched seemed at peace. While that should have been a comfort it only dismayed Ciara more. Despite her continued unease, Aeterveris was undeniably tranquil. How can I be so burdened when there is such calm about me?

No, the answer is simple, I will wreck that calm. I should not have tried to stay. I can't allow myself to endanger more lives. Nothing can give me the right to do anything so selfish.

Ciara took another moment to look down on the forest of silver-barked trees before she walked to a bridge that would eventually lead back to the chambers that the elves had given them.

Ciara felt better having made up her mind, and some of the wood's tranquility began to seep back into her. Ciara slowed her walk and let the song sink into memory.

Then the peace ended. Ciara heard a piercing scream and turned to see a number of large winged creatures descending from the tree tops.

"Wyverns!" Ciara heard an elf shout. A shout that was echoed many times over. But the wyverns were undeniably heading toward Ciara and she felt very exposed on the narrow bridge. The first wyvern came to the bridge and stabbed at the girl with a barbed tail. Ciara avoided losing her head but got a closer look at the tail's venomous barbs than she would have cared for. Ciara ran as the creature hovered in place and tried to stab at her again.

If only I hadn't left Aitana–no, it wouldn't have made a difference. Not against these things.

Arrows pierced the wings of the wyvern attacking Ciara and the creature veered away. Looking down the bridge, Ciara saw that a number of elven archers had appeared on the platform she was running towards. Once Ciara made it to the platform the wyverns redoubled their efforts.

A wyvern struck one of the archers in the chest with its barbed tail and the young elf collapsed. The wound was not deep but the archer convulsed violently before he simply stopped. Ciara shuddered. All my fault.

An archer struck a wyvern in the eye with a good shot and the creature fell lifelessly, but one of the wyvern's companions took its revenge, and the offending archer's head, with its talons. Then, an axe flew from somewhere behind Ciara to strike the vengeful wyvern in its back and carve out its spine before erupting from the creature's neck to return to its thrower. Ciara followed the flight of the axe back to where Kyner had thrown it from.

"You three," Kyner shouted at the elves closest to Ciara, "get my ward someplace safe."

Ciara began to protest but then realized how useless she had been in the fight so far. At Kyner's command the same three elves immediately hurried Ciara down the spiral stairs that encircled the great tree.

Kyner turned to the wyverns. There were only three of them left.

Kyner hurled his axe at one of the wyverns and ran to join the five remaining archers. The axe did its work, cutting a wing from the wyvern and sending it down to join its fallen companions.

A wyvern dived forward to impale an archer with its barbed tail but Kyner prevented that by cutting off the wyvern's tail with his long sword. The creature reeled in pain before it was perforated by arrows and sent to the forest floor. Another wyvern fell upon an archer and the elf barely avoided having his chest torn open. Kyner decapitated the wyvern with his long sword before it could escape. The final wyvern tried to fly away but didn't make it far before it was shot down.

Kyner should have been relieved but something was wrong. The fight ended too quickly. Wyverns, even trained wyverns, made poor assassins. Whoever sent them must have known that. They did not even try to pursue Ciara.

Kyner didn't like the only possible answer.

"Where did those warriors take Ciara?" Kyner questioned the closest of the remaining archers.

"Probably to one of our shelters–"

"Take me to the closest one then." The elf began to say something then stopped, intimidated by Kyner's suddenly grim countenance.

"Where are we?" Ciara asked. The question had altered in form but never in substance. Countless times as the three elves hurried her down stairs and across bridges she had asked the question 'where are we going?' The elves hadn't answered her then and they didn't answer her now.

Ciara had taken their silence as simple preoccupation before but it made no sense now. They were in a room with a few beds as well as chests and a table, all of which were tucked against the walls and left the center of the room empty.

The elves had motioned Ciara to enter the room and now stood at the door. They watched her now and said nothing. Their eyes were so empty. Ciara was overcome with a sense of dread much stronger than when she had seen the wyverns approaching. Now she was trapped.

It only took the elves seconds to nock and fire their bows. Ciara dodged the first arrow, the second one missed, but Ciara heard a dull thud and then felt a sharp pain as the third arrow pierced her shoulder.

The elves dropped their bows and drew their scimitars, then began to slowly make their way to Ciara. The girl struggled to maintain some kind of fighting stance but rapidly grew faint. She sagged against a chest on the floor and the three elves closed in around her.

Bohdan felt uneasy. He had watched the elves hurry Ciara into one of their tree-rooms and didn't trust the eagerness in their strides. Something was wrong. Every instinct told him that.

It was also instinct that told him he should slip into the room where they had taken Ciara rather than barging in as he was sure Kyner would have done. He was careful to quietly close the door behind himself.

Bohdan damned the elves for not letting him carry his short swords when he saw what was taking place inside. The fool girl had collapsed on the other side of the room, an arrow lodged in her shoulder.

Three elves slowly approached her with drawn scimitars. Their bows lay at the entrance. Bohdan smiled at the mistake as he took up one of bows.

The elf who stood in the middle raised his scimitar to bring it down on Ciara. He had no idea what hit him, nor the time to think about it, when the arrow perforated the back of his skull. Bohdan dropped the bow and slipped into the shadows.

The other two elves turned and began to search the small room. Bohdan waited for one of them to come near, then waited for him to turn his back, before he slipped a garrote cord around the elf's neck and tightened the noose.

Bohdan's stealth was certainly blown by the choked screams of the dying elf. This was proven by the fact that the only surviving elf was rapidly approaching Bohdan with a raised scimitar. The assassin wasted no time, pulling a concealed dagger from one of his boots and letting another fall from his sleeve.

Bohdan leapt forward to plunge his daggers into the elf but his attack was sidestepped and the elf quickly wheeled about and made a neat slice across Bohdan's back.

Ciara opened her eyes and all of her senses recoiled in disgust. She struggled onto her feet and felt a warm sticky substance on her hands and face where she had lain. It was difficult to see in the dim light but Ciara was certain that it was blood on her hands.

Slowly, the land took definition and Ciara saw what it was she had recoiled from. She had awoken in a field of broken, mangled and torn bodies. There were no landmarks, no hills or ravines, just a field of death as far as the eye could see beneath a grey sky.

"Welcome Child of Bhaal," the words were spoken in a thousand voices, resonant and dreadful. Ciara whirled about to find the source of the voice but failed to see anything that might have spoken to her.

"Who are you?" asked Ciara, desperation gripping her voice.

"We have been waiting for you," the voices resounded and slowly faded. This time Ciara realized what had been speaking. Impossibly, the mouths of the mangled bodies were moving, speaking. Ciara suppressed a shudder.

"What do you want? Why have you brought me here?" she asked.

"We did not bring you here. You came to us. Need brought you to us. We know what it is you will face when you awaken, and you will need our help if you are to beat it."

"I can fight well enough," Ciara proudly retorted.

"Yes, we know this. Your guardian taught you well, in fist and foot as well as in blades. But that knowledge will not avail you. You are poisoned and your physical prowess is quite useless. Use your instinct, and you will survive. Ignore it, and you will die. We cannot make you do anything. It is your choice."

Ciara blinked and found herself crumpled against a chest in the room the elves had led her to. Two elves now lay dead on the floor. The only standing elf was crossing over to where Ciara was laying. Ciara tried to stand, to grab the sword of the dead elf that lay before her, but it was no use. Only her eyes responded to her commands.

The final elf looked down on Ciara with soulless eyes and raised his scimitar.

Stop.

A look of confusion spread across the face of the elf and he lowered his scimitar. Then anger replaced confusion and the elf made to finish Ciara. No, it was not the elf that was resisting, something else was controlling that body.

Cease.

Ciara thought that she could see it. Her will, a battering ram knocking on the gates that guarded her opponent's will. But it was not the elf that was defending the will. Something else held the keys. But a battering ram held little regard for keys or locks. The elf frantically tried to cut Ciara down. But he seemed to be pushing the sword through a palpable barrier.

DESIST.

Ciara gave the battering ram its final push and the gates shattered. The elf's mind was laid bare. Where once there had been anger and confusion, there was now single minded determination and even glee as the elf raised his scimitar high and plunged it into his own heart.

Kyner barged into the elven sanctuary at a heedless run, the elves accompanying him only a few steps behind. It is as I feared. No, it is worse.

Bohdan lay in a pool of his own blood. Ciara sat crumpled against a chest with an arrow stuck in her shoulder but otherwise unharmed. Most disconcerting were the two elves directly in front of Ciara. One had an arrow perforating the back of his head, which was explicable. The other looked to have run himself through.

Kyner wasted no time going to Ciara's side. The girl's head lolled when Kyner approached. Her eyes were open but distant, her breathing slow and strained, her hands trembling. Kyner examined the arrow, the fletchings were green. It was an acid arrow and had not completely pierced her shoulder.

As he had done a hundred times before, Kyner carefully retrieved the arrow and thanked Helm that the tip was not barbed.

"These two are still alive," said an elven archer.

"Then get them both to the healers and keep it that way!" barked Kyner. The elves hurried to carry the bodies away as Kyner fumbled for an antidote.

At last he pulled a green flask from his satchel, uncapped it, tilted back Ciara's head, and slowly began to empty the contents into her mouth. She gagged and coughed for a moment, then eagerly accepted the liquid. The action almost seemed conscious, but Kyner dismissed the notion and gave Ciara more of the liquid until the flask was empty.

Ciara sagged for a moment, then her body was racked by a series of torturous coughs and she finally pitched forward, Kyner kept her from slamming her head onto the floor, and heaved a putrid frothing liquid onto the floor, which began to eat away at the wood.

Kyner picked up Ciara and laid her onto a bed. Her eyes started to regain their focus. Letting out a sigh of relief, Kyner pulled a healing salve from one of his belt pouches and applied it to the wound that the arrow had made. The arrow had not been designed to be deadly in and of itself. It was meant only as a carrier for the poison. Ciara's breathing evened out and Kyner released another breath before sitting down on the bed next to the one he placed Ciara on.

"Your girl caused all of this?" a voice boomed into the room. Kyner surged to his feet.

Mahtan stood at the door. "I should have suspected as much. Should have known that a Child of Murder could not be allowed to live. I will not make the same mistake twice."

"I do not want to fight you Mahtan," said Kyner, "but I will not allow you to harm my girl."

"Your girl? You are a fool Kyner. She is not your girl and never can be. She is Bhaalspawn! You like to think of yourself as her father but that is a role you can never take. Even she knows it. Why do you defend her? You should have slain her yourself."

"Gorion–"

"Gorion is dead!" shouted Mahtan.

Kyner was stunned but resumed with more resolve, "Gorion believed that these children could be saved and I will not abandon Ciara to you or to anyone."

"So be it," said Mahtan and he strode forward.

Kyner drew his long sword to defend his ward. The next moment was a blur.

When Kyner recovered his sight he was lying on the floor staring down the blade of his long sword, Mahtan was holding it.

Kyner shoved the blade away with a gauntleted hand and lunged at Mahtan but collapsed during the lunge.

The warrior doubled over, clutching his chest. Kyner's heart felt as if it were being crushed. Every beat was agony and salvation, standing up with an iron slab on your back only to have it crush you again.

Kyner clenched his teeth, opened his eyes and rose. Facing Mahtan, he drew his axe and steadily walked toward him, walked through a tunnel of agony to end the pain.

Enough! The word was flat and unaffected to Kyner, and it took him a moment to realize it had been a voice. The pain faded and Kyner straightened as he found himself a few yards in front of Mahtan.

Nearly a dozen guardsmen stood behind Mahtan with nocked arrows, all of them trained on Kyner.

"What do you have to say that is worth hearing, Bhaalspawn?" questioned Mahtan.

"Kyner," said Ciara, "if Mahtan wants me dead then I am marked. Even you can't win this one Kyner. Not without an army. Just . . . just go."

"You know that won't happen," replied Kyner, and he continued to stare stonily at Mahtan.

"Damn you Kyner hasn't enough blood already been spilled on my account?"

"Silence!" shouted Mahtan. Content that he had their attention, he continued, "Now I want to know why so many of my loyal guardsmen are dead. Why did you kill them?"

"They attacked me," Ciara responded. "I didn't kill any of them though."

"You're lying."

"Ciara was unconscious the entire time," Kyner said, "she couldn't have killed any of them. Bohdan Gyles, the man traveling with us, somehow must have known what was happening, he seemed to have dealt with them but was injured in the process."

"How do you explain that?" questioned Mahtan, pointing to the corpse that looked to have gutted itself.

"Why don't you ask your own?" returned Kyner.

"What do you mean?" Mahtan asked.

"There were three elves involved in this. These two were killed but another was still alive. Perhaps you should ask him."

Mahtan nodded, "Very well then, we shall wait for him to recover. You will be confined to your chambers until I see fit to execute or release you."

"And what of Bohdan?" asked Kyner.

"He will be returned to your chambers as soon as he has healed."

You must leave. They are coming. The presence of a great army filled Ciara's mind, slowly marching down from the Dagger Rise Peaks to the east. So many of them: orcs, ogres, giants, ettins, trolls, and something worse. Something that controlled all of them. Forced them to obey in joyful thralldom.

"Let us go," plead Ciara, "the ones who destroyed Noatun are coming here."

"Giants? They would not dare enter my realm. Besides, they could hardly fell our trees."

"I did not say that giants were coming," warned Ciara.

"Silence yourself, girl," Mahtan turned to the guards arrayed behind him, "take these two to their quarters and keep them under guard."