Chapter 6
Ko-Matoran Outpost
Three Years Earlier
The shadows were beginning to lengthen as Valkyria returned to the Ix raid squadron. The sun was a burning ember of dark flames in the west, and no stars shone in the sky yet. The Matoran outpost she'd been watching was small, but contained many items of value. She'd been scouting ahead, observing their defenses and weaponry.
They didn't have very many weapons, but had something even more precious to the Ix. Information. Information that she did not know, information that she knew her superiors needed. These Matoran were prestigious recorders, and kept records of many transactions that went on within the world outside Illiera. Valkyria knew that they'd committed crimes against the Ix Empire before, but the Ix had spared this particular outpost. Now they'd been discovered supplying their enemies- the hated Resistance on Xaterex- with useful records of the Ix's dealings with other beings. They had to be eliminated, and both Valkyria and her friend, Xhallin Naar, had been chosen to accompany the Ix strike team.
Fortunately for the Ix, the Matoran were very reclusive, and did not employ large amounts of mercenaries, as some of the outposts other Ix had raided had. It was perfect for her first battle. As an Ix apprentice, she would have to prove herself against many other apprentices, who all wished to be the strongest, fastest, and smartest of the new generation.
There were two other apprentices with the strike force as well, and they all wanted what Valkyria herself desired-a chance to kill one or more of the Matoran. Killing the guards of an outpost would garner great fame for both apprentice and master, something all apprentices craved.
Moving stealthily through the undergrowth, her green and brown camouflage blending well with the forests, she saw the Ix camp in the distance. Two guards were standing on the embankment above the small valley, waiting for her return. She recognized one easily.
Xhallin, she whispered. Let's see if you can find me any better than you can fight.
Silently, she crept toward them, certain that Xhallin could not spot her.
"Val?" She heard the easily recognizable voice through the forest. "Are you back?"
She dematerialized from the undergrowth, slightly annoyed that her friend had spotted her so quickly.
"I don't know how you did that, Xhallin," she said with mock frustration. The Ix warrior with Xhallin stared at her silently, and Valkyria immediately broke off. While they'd been close when they were younger, she had to remember that the divisions that separated all apprentices applied to them both.
Xhallin Naar, a tall, broad shouldered Illieran with lime green eyes and dark gray armor, smiled. "I don't know. Luck, I suppose." Then his voice became quieter, full of anticipation. "Can we attack?" he asked.
"They're completely unguarded." answered the Ix apprentice. For whatever reason, Xhall seemed to believe their friendship could continue during their apprenticeships, something that was completely impossible if you had any ambition at all. "We'll win easily." Though she tried to keep her voice neutral, her eyes glittered with anticipation.
"I'll kill more Matoran then you." Xhallin teased, then vanished into the valley to spread word of the coming invasion.
Valkyria sighed, then drew a curved dagger and followed him into the valley. She noticed the other Ix guard had been studying them thoughtfully. As he noticed Valkyria watching him, he nodded once in approval of her cold, neutral attitude towards Xhallin.
Descending into the valley, Valkyria saw that the commander of this attack force, Ix warrior Khazin Thaer, was standing with his senior commanders discussing tactical plans. Valkyria spotted her own mentor, Scrall Vhokyn, with them. Quickly, the meeting dissolved, and Khazin walked over to her.
"Apprentice," he said in his clipped, hard voice. "Does the enemy have any defenses to speak of?"
"No, commander," answered Valkyria. "They are defenseless, though they all carry poorly made weapons. Several larger beings are with them, but their weapons, while powerful, are too few to resist the might of a full Ix raid squadron."
"And you are sure none of them spotted you?"
"Yes, commander."
"I will gather the warriors, then," said Khazin, turning away to address the gathering warriors and apprentices.
Khazin's eyes were a cold red, and he was wearing standard light Ix warrior armor, as well as an ornate breastplate carved from obsidian he'd taken during an earlier raid. He had a reputation for being one of the most coldly efficient of all commanders. All of the other Ix were wearing full plate now, Valkyria's green-gray cloak stood out in the mass of shadowy armor.
"We will strike the enemy on both sides, with ten Ix warriors and two apprentices. The rest will strike the enemy head on. Their weaponry is too weak to resist our might." The Ix said nothing more, not even needing to acknowledge their commander's order. They began to group into their attack forces, Scrall and Valkyria joining a group of four other warriors.
"They've probably retreated into their fortress by now." said Scrall. "If so, we'll overwhelm the guards, then attack the outpost's interior with our combined might. If their main force is still outside the fortress, we'll strike them from behind while Commander Thaer's attack force and the other strike team will devastate them with their assault."
All of the Ix warriors nodded grimly. Valkyria drew her curved dagger, and vanished with the rest of the Ix into the darkness.
By now, the sun had mostly set, and clouds hid the moon and stars. Valkyria knew this was the perfect time to attack, when the Ix possessed superior weaponry, the cover of darkness, and their night vision which they'd learned the Matoran lacked.
Valkyria knew that her cloak blended almost perfectly with the shadows, but still wished she'd been able to wear full Ix warrior armor. While the camouflage clothing gave her the advantage of speed, if she was stabbed by one of the weapons, no matter how weak, she could easily be killed. For a moment, a slithering tendril of fear invaded her thoughts, but she quickly quashed it. Fear was the first thing an Ix apprentice was taught to avoid.
Still the thought she could be killed by these inferior creatures was startling.
Valkyria's keen vision easily picked out the shadowy forms off two guards. They were not Matoran, but the taller Glatorian she'd seen while she'd been scouting. They were carrying swords, but their reach did not exceed that of the long scythes that the Ix carried.
"Attack." whispered Scrall quietly, and the Ix silently struck. Valkyria heard scythe clash with sword as one of the Ix warriors cut the tall being to the ground. The second being, further away, heard the clash of arms and whirled around, stabbing his weapon deep into the Ix attacker's body. The attacker was flung backward, and he quietly died.
The being was looking around wildly for more assailants. His eyes alighted on Valkyria, and as he was about to charge her, Scrall struck from behind like a Shallows Cat, plunging two daggers into the being's back. As the guard opened his mouth to call a warning, Scrall pointed a hand at the being. A single ray of dark energy channeled from his aura struck the being, snapping his neck.
As the being collapsed, Valkyria and the four surviving Ix were approaching the fortress. Despite the death of one of their warriors, the attack had been carried out quickly, easily, and efficiently. No one had heard anything inside the fortress.
As the Ix approached the fortress, Valkyria heard the clash of weapons and an abruptly cut off scream. She could see torches flickering within the fortress, and realized quickly that the time for subtlety had passed. She heard another scream as the second guard fell, and saw Scrall smash down the heavily bolted door with a bolt of dark lightning. The rest of the Ix attackers materialized out of the shadows and charged through the door. Valkyria raced forward, along with the rest of the strike force, and saw several white-armored Matoran standing before her. One was talking to Khazin, pleading for their lives.
Khazin smiled grimly. "This is over, fool." he raised his hand and snapped the Matoran's neck before he could open his mouth to reply.
"Murderer!" screamed one of the Matoran, his voice shrill. Valkyria drew back her arm to throw one of her daggers, aiming at the Matoran's heart, but at the same time Scrall flung him against the wall telekinetically. Even with the sound of weapons clashing all around her, Valkyria still heard his spine snap.
Several more Matoran charged Scrall, but he easily overwhelmed them. Khazin was fighting another of the tall beings, forcing him up the stairway. The rest of the Matoran either tried to surrender or fled deeper into the fortress. But the Matoran and their defenders had lost the element of surprise, and Valkyria watched as black blood spattered against the fortress walls.
The battle was over within ten minutes. While brave, the Matoran lacked the sheer power of the Ix, and they were quickly overwhelmed. Valkyria saw that four Ix warriors had been killed in the battle, two cut down by the three remaining tall beings before they were killed, the others felled by the Matoran's sheer numbers.
"Val?" Xhallin's voice broke into her thoughts. "Did you find any Matoran?"
"No." she called back, a note of disappointment in her voice. "This room's empty." Neither she nor Xhallin had been able to kill a Matoran during the battle. One of her daggers had speared through a Matoran's leg, another into a shoulder. But she hadn't slain any of the enemy, nor participated in gathering the Matoran's records. Khazin had overseen the collection personally with Scrall and several others, leaving the three apprentices to search for survivors.
Regrouping with Xhallin and Kresh, the other apprentice, Valkyria listened while they reported the same news- there were no hidden Matoran in any of the areas they'd searched. Xhallin seemed unhappy, but Kresh was smirking. He'd killed a Matoran in the battle with a scythe, slashing his head off. His victory would bring honor to him and his mentor, damaging the other apprentices' chance to become warriors.
"They're obviously all dead." said Kresh. "Still, we'll complete the search. Continue." he said, acting as though he was their superior already. Valkyria kept her emotions, both in and out of the aura field, unreadable, and continued her search.
For a few moments, all was quiet as Xhallin and Kresh continued their search. Then she heard another voice, a whisper. Reaching out in the aura field, she realized that even with her limited senses, she could almost visualize two beings, both Matoran, hiding from the Ix.
Quietly, Valkyria approached the chamber door and listened there. She heard nothing more, other than the scrape of metal-shod feet against the ground. Slowly, she opened the door.
Two Matoran were standing in the chamber. One was a tall, grizzled gray armored being, carrying a single poorly made weapon. The other was far younger, and he stared at the Ix girl with wide, unblinking eyes.
"Who are you?" asked the tall Matoran. He didn't seem afraid at all. "What do you want?"
"I am Valkyria, Ix apprentice and aura warrior." said the Ix apprentice.
"And they've sent you to finish off any survivors?" asked the Matoran, before she could continue. He seemed slightly amused.
"I'll have to kill you both." she answered, trying to keep both the shock and slight excitement out of her voice. "But it will be painless if you surrender your weapon."
"But why?" asked the younger Matoran, his eyes even wider. "We've never done anything to you. What-"
"She doesn't mean it." said the older Matoran calmly, challenging Valkyria to deny it. "She's not that much older then you. She'll not kill us, because there's nothing to gain from it."
"You didn't see what I did outside. There were others with her, and they killed as well. She's just as ruthless. She means what she says. Don't-"
"Stop." said the older Matoran. He turned to address Valkyria. "I think it's obvious that you're not about to kill either of us. You don't have it in you to do something like that."
"I am an Ix apprentice. Surrender your weapon and I will kill you both painlessly."
Now the young Matoran was even more scared. "They've probably killed all of the order except us by now. She's not bluffing, Aatron. She will-"
"Be silent." said Aatron. "Valkyria. If you are going to kill us, then do it now. If not, then let's ta-"
He broke off when he saw Valkyria was holding a dagger in her hand, ready to throw. With a scream, the young Matoran turned around and fled, and just as he did, Valkyria released the dagger.
The younger Matoran turned with a screech just as the dagger entered his body. Valkyria saw blood pour from the open wound, and felt his presence in the aura field diminish, then vanish completely. In stark contrast to feeling elated, she was unnerved at how his life had simply slipped away, falling into endless darkness.
Aatron's shocked eyes stared at her as she moved to retrieve her dagger. The slain Matoran's blood covered the hilt, and she winced as she felt the blood drip onto her hand.
Valkyria turned back to Aatron, and saw his face was a mask of fury. "There was no reason to do that, Ix apprentice." he practically spat the title. "He was no threat to you. Why would you-" he broke off, unable to continue. His eyes were filled with unshed tears, and for a moment, Valkyria felt something like uneasiness within her. Something was telling her what she'd just done was horribly wrong, but she couldn't quite understand anything beyond that.
Aatron had raised his weapon now, and Valkyria readied another dagger to fight. As his crazed eyes blazed into hers, he snarled, "This is for-"
He broke off suddenly, and fell to the ground, his blood mingling with that of the fallen Matoran's. His eyes glazed over and he whispered something unintelligible. Then Valkyria felt him slip quietly out of existence as well.
Turning to the doorway, she saw Scrall Vhokyn standing there, a second dagger in his hand ready to throw. His armor was slightly bloodied, but he appeared unwounded.
Scrall pointed at the body of the younger Matoran. "You killed that one?" he asked. Valkyria nodded, still not entirely comfortable with what had transpired.
"You have done well, my apprentice," he said. Valkyria felt the cold abyss within her give way to warmth, and began to relax. She'd done the right thing, killing the Matoran for the Ix.
"I wish to present you with this weapon as well." continued Scrall, drawing a long dagger from his sheath. Valkyria almost gasped in shock, but then remembered and cloaked her emotions in the aura field.
The dagger was long and curved, and seemed to be made of molten silver. As she grasped the cold obsidian hilt, she saw a shiver run down the blade, as though it had found its rightful owner. Valkyria marveled at how perfect the weapon was for her, how completely attuned she felt to it, as though it had been made for her.
"Its name is Laetari-Xyrr, or Silverblade." said Scrall. "It is one of the original weapons that our Ix ancestors crafted on Arcaea, made of Cold Iron, the hardest metal. Use it well in the service of the Ix order."
Valkyria nodded, and they returned to the gathering Ix warriors and apprentices. Xhallin's eyes widened when he saw the weapon she was carrying, and Kresh stared daggers at her when he saw the blood on her hands, but neither of them spoke.
Scrall strode toward Khazin, and reported what he and Valkyria had done, then the Ix regrouped and left the bodies of the Matoran and the fallen Ix lying within the fortress now devoid of life. But Valkyria felt uneasy, and her thoughts kept returning to the Matoran she'd killed.
In action, it had been simple. A dagger thrown, a life ended. In the aftermath, it had changed her forever, turned her from an innocent to a killer. The uneasiness grew deeper, and Valkyria, recognized it as guilt. She still felt that what she'd done to the Matoran was horribly wrong, even though everything else, including the Ix blood that flowed in her veins, told her it was right.
Valkyria suddenly realized with cold shock that she'd never even learned the Matoran's name.