Innocence Questioned
Chapter 8
Taless'naverine watched on in stony silence as the smoke billowed up from the funeral pyre into the cloudy night.
Along with what remained of the silverway, she had spent much of the day gathering fallen comrades upon a small plateau not far from the stronghold, laying them side by side with their weapons resting proudly upon their chests.
Night was fast approaching as they completed their grim task; the wind wailed like a banshee through the jerals, light from the gathered torches spluttered wildly casting flickering shadows over the gathering.
They stood to attention as kosiv and lorenk made their way onto the plateau. The pair made their quietly to the stand before the dead.
For a while the pair stood there, lost in their thoughts, saying their goodbyes, taless'naverine thought.
Lorenk nodded and was handed a lit torch igniting the oil and stepped back as the flames as took hold.
As the heat of the inferno grew the silverway backed away, the melancholic sound of a panpipe could heard over the roaring fire and many of her fellows broke down in tears.
She promised herself she wouldn't cry.
Taless'naverine wandered quietly into the apothecaries. The place seemed eerily silent now; all the seriously injured had been moved to safer locations over the last couple of days, leaving only shalinva.
She stopped at the entrance to the apothecary content to just watch her sleeping, the sound of her breathing, the rising and lowering of her chest even the way her lips twitched occasionally.
Even in these dark times, taless'naverine found herself nearly overwhelmed with both joy and love for the woman, her constant companion for over a year.
As taless'naverine approached, her eyes flickered open and with a grin and shalinva took her hand.
"How're you feeling beautiful?"
Shalinva yawned. "Well enough to travel. Kosiv says with a couple more treatments I'll be well enough to join you".
Taless'naverine sighed; they had been over this before.
"Don't look at me like that lessa" she said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I'm not some kind of cripple who needs to be fussed and doted over".
"It's not that linn and you know it". Taless'naverine replied softly, pulling up a stool to sit at her bedside. "I nearly lost you once already and you're hardly in any condition to fight".
"I love you too". Shalinva replied with a grin.
Taless'naverine's face softened and she reached over the pallet gently brushing hair from Shalinva's face. "Your still not coming", she added with a quick smile.
"We started this thing together lessa" she protested. "I think it's only right we both see this through, don't you?" Shalinva propped herself up one elbow, wincing in discomfort. "Anyway, I've already cleared it with the old man".
"You did what!"
She winced again at taless'naverine's outburst.
"You can rant on as much as you want beautiful" she continued over the stream of foul and inventive language. "But some poor buggers got to keep an eye on you; it might as well be me. As long as lorenk gives the okay, I'm coming".
Sitting up, shalinva took taless'naverine's face in both hands, stopping her in mid curse, drew her close until their lips met.
The argument was settled.
On the third day the silverway met together in the library for the last time. Every one had packed their meager belongings for, what many believed would be a final journey.
Shalinva and taless'naverine included, only fifteen remained behind.
"Hardly enough to wage a war lessa", shalinva whispered. I hope the old mans got something good up his sleeve".
"I hope so too". She replied, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Here he comes". Shalinva nodded as lorenk and three strangers, fully
hooded and cloaked in red entered the library.
"I thank you for attending, please take seats where you can find them," he began, giving everybody a chance to get comfortable.
"I have received reliable information concerning the temple massacre, and although this truth may be hard on many of you, I think its least you deserve. This morning I received word that a few of the temples priests and guards escaped and are now in hiding".
A murmur went through the crowd and lorenk motioned for silence.
"They have first hand knowledge of what occurred and to be quite frank I was, horrified". Lorenk motioned for one of the hooded figures to come forward.
"We were mid way through the daily rituals when the attack came", a woman said, her voice trembling. "It was utter chaos. Without any warning the walls had been breached, the inner sanctums and palaces had been invaded, at first we saw only the daedra, butchering everyone. Then the humans appeared".
The hooded priestess went on to describe how as the defenders fought desperately to hold the line against endless waves of daedra and barbarian humans until they were betrayed from within by their own.
Over the cries of shock and disbelief, she continued.
"The priests of Welke, Morahame and Wendelbek had thrown their lot in with the humans. I dare not guess what they were offered to betray the temple, but we think it was they who lowered the temple wards allowing the enemy to teleport".
The priestess became unsteady on her feet and gratefully accepted a chair.
"Even with this betrayal we regrouped and held our line" she continued the horror of the massacre evident in her voice. "Then their leader appeared amongst us. The humans called him pelinal and he cut through us like a whirlwind of death. Those that faced him were simply slaughtered as their weapons seemed to have no effect against him. We fear he may have been of divine blood, a weapon of the aedra, we just don't know". Her voice trailed off for a moment as she gathered her thoughts.
"A few of us ran and managed to escape the temple through the old tunnels to eventually find you".
The gathering was left in stunned silence as, with aid of one of her companions, the woman stood and quietly retreated into lorenk's study.
"Questions anyone?" Lorenk asked.
People shifted uneasily on their feet, the tension was palpable.
"How are we supposed to kill something like that?" Shalinva's voice echoed
in the silence.
"If this Pelinal has divine power, what in oblivion can we do, and what about Alessia, I thought she was the one in charge?" A few others nodded, muttering their concern.
"The priests are preparing some kind of grand summoning, so I'm told. A weapon of deadric power will be used to destroy this foe, as for their slave 'queen' there is no news. We will be joining the remaining priests in a day from now so finish packing what you need for travel, we depart within the hour".
The sky was overcast as the silverway departed the Rielle for the last time; few were under the illusion that they would live to see the place again.
Lorenk, with the priests' assistance navigated the safest route through the forests of cyrod, giving the burning cities and refugee's a wide berth.
They stopped only briefly to rest before once again picking up the trail.
Taless'naverine along with shalinva and the others walked on in silence, each lost in their own thoughts of what awaited them.
They camped under trees of ancient oak that night, eating their rations in silence and huddled tightly around small camp fires trying to keep the chill at bay. Lorenk discussed tactics late into the night with priests.
Taless'naverine and shalinva slept together near the edge of the camp, wrapped in each others arms, content in the others company.
Later the next day the silverway entered the priests' encampment.
It wasn't much, taless'naverine thought as they approached, merely a recently cleared goblin cave, the stench of the vile creatures still evident as they neared.
The silverway halted as a guard in battered plate armour approached and conferred with one of the priests. He nodded, giving the group a brief appraisal he bid them follow.
"Gods!" Shalinva whispered, covering her nose. "You think they could've done something about the reek."
Taless'naverine shrugged her shoulders and smiled. She noted the crude wall carving and totems left by the caves previous inhabitants. A few of them were apparently goblin depictions of war, slavery and struggle against her people, taless'naverine didn't miss the irony.
They were led down a series of twisting tunnels into the chamber the priests
had made home.
It was a deep chamber, circular in shape. The priests, taless'naverine saw as they filed into the central pit, had done a fairly good job of making the place habitable.
Lorenk and kosiv took their leave to confer with the other priests present.
"Welcome" greeted a slender, kind faced woman dressed in battle scarred leather armour. "There isn't much, but please make use of what we have. Make yourselves comfortable, through there please". She indicated towards another cave. "The ceremony will begin in three hours; the high priest has asked that you all attend in the main chamber".
The time passed quickly, taless'naverine awoke to see shalinva curled up with her, with her head resting upon her breast.
Wrapping her in a gentle embrace she ran her fingers through shalinva's hair. Glancing about the cave, she was glad to see that a few of the others had paired off to find a quiet spot together, spending what may be their last time together.
No, she thought, pushing aside her doubts. She and shalinva would both get through this; there would be time enough to fully express her feelings.
The silverway assembled in a huge cavern deep. Well lit by dozen's of glow globes, taless'naverine could easily see the stone altar in its centre. Standing around it with four red robed priests she could see lorenk and kosiv.
Incra'te
Her heart missed a beat. Her brother was here, alive after all this time. She wanted to run into his arms and shout out with joy.
"Hey lessa, you alright?" shalinva gripped her hand.
"My brother" she replied as tears rolled down her cheeks, she pointed to the altar.
The weatherworn Ayleid, wearing the robes of a high priest, glanced up at the disturbance, their eyes met for the first time in years.
With scarcely a smile incra'te, last of the high priests addressed the crowd.
"A time of darkness has come upon us all." He began, his strong voice carrying across the mass. "Even as I speak, humans led by the one known as Alessia bring chaos and destruction to all that we cherish! Even as I speak our crops are put to flame, our people murdered in the streets, our women violated and our cities left broken shells!"
Taless'naverine listened uneasily as her brother went on, stunned at the change in him. The carefree man she once knew seemed to have disappeared and replaced by someone bitter and furious, who reminded her all too much of their father.
"Hope is not lost however" he continued. "We now know that pelinal, alessia's lieutenant and consort was slain in battle by umeril, sorcerer king of garlas malatar, although he also perished, the great king has dealt the enemy a grievous blow and now the duty falls upon us, all of us, to finish what he began".
Those gathered around the altar raised their arms high, the glow globes began to dull and flicker, and taless'naverine had the strangest sensation, an iridescent shimmering just on the edge of her vision and the oddest sensation of weightlessness.
"Let it be known, a great summoning will shall take place upon this consecrated ground". Incra'te intoned. "With the blessing of the daedra, a weapon of power will be forged; a weapon powerful enough to breach the wards akatosh has placed about his slave queen".
Familiar pain burned down the ayleids back and threatened to overwhelm her as the priests began their incantations, only with the assistance of her companions was taless'naverine able to stand.
As the chanting reached its crescendo a rumbling could felt in the ground beneath, their were cries of alarm amongst the silverway as large cracks appeared along the cave walls but as they began cautiously inching towards the exit until they noticed the white haired woman standing transfixed before the altar.
Runes traced across every inch of Taless'naverine's body glowing white hot, burning through her clothing and causing the very air about her to warp.
Before her, the altar pulsated equally bright with light of its own. Taless'naverine stared into the magical maelstrom only she could see and what she witnessed threatened to drive her beyond sanity.
Whipping around the altar and priests like raging vortices of pure power were not one, but eleven deadric gods in their most pure form.
Above the stone alter something took shape; it took her a moment to see the sword incra'te had mentioned and realized the daedra were instilling the weapon with their combined strength.
Completed, the glowing blade dropped to the altar with a sharp clang that reverberated through her body.
Awareness dawned on taless'naverine with a burning pain behind her eyes.
They were watching her.
She screamed in agony as the weight of their combined consciousness regarded her, as one would an ant.
Then, they were gone.
Shalinva rushed to her lovers' side, catching her limp body in her arms and easing her to the ground.
Her clothing had been completely burned away by the fire and now taless'naverine shivered, cold sweat glistened across her skin.
"Damn it, talsa give me your cloak!" she cried.
The white haired woman stirred as shalinva draped the given travel cloak over her.
"Linn?" Taless'naverine whispered.
"It's alright love, I'm right here". She soothed, cradling her head. Taless'naverine smiled weakly. "I saw them linn, saw them all".
"How is this possible sister?" Incra'te asked as he and taless'naverine strolled together through the woods later that evening. "Not even the high priests can claim to have such visions".
"I'm only really beginning to make sense of it all myself." She replied, her mind drifting back to her initiation in the blood pool, the moment everything began to change.
Not wanting to dwell on the event, they sat down together under a tree; taless'naverine hugged her brother tight and sitting for a time, reminisced about happier days.
"What about the sword brother, can something that powerful really used by one of us?" taless'naverine asked.
"For a time, yes, but there is always a price to be paid when dealing with daedra".
"I see". She said, not liking where this was going.
She remembered the old story of Gael van'las, how she had called upon the deadric powers for a weapon to crush the fabled city of nalvastra.
The morning following the victory the sword exacted its payment, wrenching the woman's soul from her body.
"Your carrying the weapon aren't you?" She asked, bracing herself for the possibility she of loosing her brother again. Incra'te regarded her for a moment, as if weighing something up in his mind.
"As penance for his crimes, lorenk of the silverway has taken up the sword, he will be leading the fight".
Taless'naverine was silent for a moment, knowing full well what he meant.
"We did what we believed was right brother, the silverway I mean" she said softly.
"Yes we've known of the silverway, trying to wipe you out for years, we know your mandate" he added coldly. "Tell me taless'naverine, how does it feel to have accomplished your goal".
"That's not fair". She cried, pulling herself to her feet. "We wanted to end the slavery, to destroy those who controlled it; I wanted a better world for everyone!"
His laughter was harsh and devoid of humor. "So my little sister decides to go change the world, for the better" he sneered, "and damn the consequences!" he stood facing his sister. "Your better world lessa, is chaos. Without the high temple guiding the houses they've begun warring amongst themselves, even joining the humans in the hope of power, and those humans you saved, did you honestly believe they would stay grateful?"
Taless'naverine lowered her head; she feared that he was right. She had ignored her father's warnings in her anger over nandi's murder, become blind to the truth.
No, taless'naverine thought, no doubting yourself, not now.
"I've chosen my path incra'te". She told him squarely.
He nodded sadly. "Very well my sister. We leave for the tower at first light, get some rest".
Taless'naverine choked back the tears as her brother walked away.