Chapter 164

Cross Country

"Ptoo!" Roran spat bitterly on the floor. The priest held up the hem of his robes and shook the last vestiges of grime away. "O that Solaris would open up the heavens and drown that place in fire!" Roran shook his fist and directed his curse at the shrinking horizon. The last remnants of smoke rising from the bog dissipated in the purple sky.

They had fully escaped the swamp, and had put enough distance between them and Black Doom's fortress to finally breathe easier. Shadow eased back against the trunk of a large tree. Repeated use of the Reditus and the Ring of Kings left him utterly spent. A heavy fatigue pressed down on him and he desperately wanted to close his eyes and sleep.

"We should not rest here," Howl said, bursting the temporary bubble of relaxation. "We may be out of the swamp, but this forest is not safe. I say we head east. That will bring us to a ravine between here and the Farsow mountains. It won't be hard to find a cave or something we can spend the night in."

The princess Amara ignored the call for vigilance and fell spread eagle onto the forest floor. She had not said a single word since their battle against the Drowned Fury. Shadow watched the slow movement of her chest to confirm that she was still breathing. She's too weak. He thought apprehensively. The task Zertian had in mind was much too daunting for what remained of the princess. Perhaps she had the making of an empress at one time, but not anymore. Black Doom has seen to that.

However, that did not mean that Shadow would give up. Splitting the imperial forces was still their best chance at victory. All we need from her is her face and a few choice speeches. I can be the real strength behind her.

Groaning faintly, Shadow stood up and braced himself against the tree. "Before he died, Zertian told us to find someone named Gareth Valaron." He had directed his words at Amara, but the princess took absolutely no notice of him. Her eyes were closed, but she did not appear to be sleeping. Annoyed, Shadow meant to prod her with his foot, but Howl intervened.

"I know who that is, he is the Imperado, the head of the Tralagian Order of Warriors."

"Zertian seemed to believe we could convince him to support Amara as the new emperor."

Howl seemed surprised by this revelation. "As far as I knew, Valaron did not try to resist Robotnik when he took over. He would have been a high general in Zertian's army, but as far as I know, the Order all defected to Robotnik."

"Where can we find this Imperado?"

Howl pointed towards the north east. "Their castle is aways to the east. It is fairly isolated from most of the imperial settlements."

"Then that's where we should go," Shadow said briskly. He did not like the sound of another extended trek, but that could not be helped. Shadow bent down and jostled Amara by the shoulder. "Get up."

Her eyes opened slowly. She turned towards Shadow and gazed at him with a completely blank expression. "There's no point," She said at last. "We will never reach the Revari undetected. It's too far."

"I can get us there," Shadow said. "Ten miles, ten hundred miles, it makes very little difference to me."

Amara returned to staring at the sky. "Then we will go there."

Shadow stood up and stretched his legs. He knew instantly that it would be no good trying to travel far that night. He needed rest as he already pushed his muscles to their breaking point. "We will find that cave and rest tonight," He said. "Tomorrow, I will run us to this Revari place."

"Can you manage?" Howl ventured. "It is no short distance."

"We don't have a choice. We need to act fast. Every day Robotnik grows closer to conquering earth and then he will come back here. It would be easier to resist him if we can establish Amara while he is off the planet."

"Very well, but we need not reach the Revari by a direct route. I can show you a way that is less direct, but should keep us well out of sight of imperial surveillance."

With their plan formulated, they began the finishing march. The dawn stained sky steadily brightened as they crossed the final miles of the forest. Roran and Amara both walked slowly, and eventually, Shadow called for them both to be carried.

Day began in earnest as the ground became less lush and more rocky. Distantly, Shadow could see the heights of the Farsow mountains. They appeared as long razored spikes at the edge of the world rising high above a low level fog. As Howl had promised, between the forest and the mountains was a stoney ravine filled with looping paths and tall walls of razor sharp rocks. The unique features of the place made it ideal to hide. Fog covered the low sky and the ravine was filled with small crevices and caves.

Howl found one that was just large enough for all four of them to fit comfortably. Exhaustion was tugging heavily at Shadow as soon as he took cover in the cave. He was beyond relieved when Howl offered to take the first watch. Shadow found a smooth stone to use as a makeshift pillow and closed his eyes. Instantly, the wave of fatigue washed over him and Shadow fell into a deep sleep.

The crackle of fire woke him. Shadow stirred and groaned as he tried to move his stiff neck. Firelight danced in his face, temporarily blinding him. He blinked to adjust and was surprised when he saw how dark it was. Somehow he had managed to sleep uninterrupted for several hours with his face pressed tightly against his rocky pillow. Now Shadow's neck was stiff and his back ached horribly.

Shadow yawned and pushed himself to his feet. Someone had set up a campfire in the cave. It burned low with specially chosen pieces of dry wood to keep the flames small and hot. Very little smoke drifted off the flames and what little vapor did escape the cave was quickly lost in the fog hanging over the ravine.

Someone sat at the mouth of the cave, their figure obscured by the low visibility. Shadow hunched as walked over to them. "I can take over now," He said sleepily.

However, it was not Howl, but the priest Roran. He looked up at Shadow with his hood concealing his features. "You may rest," Roran said quietly. "I cannot sleep anyway."

Shadow sat down beside the priest. "You seemed tired enough before."

"My body desires rest, but my soul is too troubled."

"And why is that?"

Roran sighed and looked up at the sky. "It has been three days since the Blood Moon. In that time I never felt such a heavy darkness in the world. It seemed that evil was no longer constrained but had been unleashed at its full devastating effect. But now…nothing. Something has happened. The evil that I sensed before has been muted. There is something…new…something strange in the wind."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Roran shook his head. "I don't know. My heart and mind are completely divided. I find a sense of calm inside my soul, as if some key had at last been turned, or some threshold had been crossed…but…that cannot be. Our battles have just begun and there is so much in doubt. Our enemies are more powerful than I could have ever imagined."

"But that hasn't stopped us," Shadow said. "We got Amara just like we set out to do."

"Aye," Roran agreed. "And she is nearly broken. Perhaps it would have been better for her to receive the same gift I gave her father."

"We do what we can," Shadow argued. "Even if she isn't strong enough to lead on her own we can still use her."

"All this effort just to partially divide the emperor's forces," Roran lamented. "Even if we manage that we still barely have a chance."

"A chance is all we need."

Roran bowed his head and took a slow intake of breath. "Whatever the case. This world will never be the same as it once was. The old slips away to give place to the new, but what that new world is, I cannot begin to see. But I am certain that my order will not see the other side."

"Your order?"

"The order of priests. For four thousand years we have safeguarded the mysteries and oracles of Solaris. We priests preserved the traditions of the ages and have kept up the rites and ceremonies of our religion. Through intense persecution, banishment, and exile we have endured. Our industry has preserved our holy texts and ensured that the history of our people was protected against the efforts of tyrants to wipe it away. For countless generations we served in the Church of Solaris in an unbroken line of descendants that dedicated their lives as a visual testimony of the heritage of our people."

Roran exhaled and looked up at the curtain of fog hanging over the ravine. "Legacy," He said emphatically. "That is the heart of the Soleanna. Our history goes to the very formation of Arvana. The imperials," Roran gestured to the still sleeping Howl. "Can trace their history back through the centuries, but there is a great gulf between their antiquity and ours. We are the memory of Arvana, those bestowed with a special grace to receive the oracles of Solaris."

"But our time is at an end." Roran shivered in the non existent chill. "Soleanna will not survive this conflict without changing. That is what the princess was preparing us for. For thousands of years we had been set apart, and privileged. But now all living things on Arvana must be brought together. The division of former times must be broken down. We and the imperials, and all races on the planet must become one family."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Shadow prompted.

Roran smiled wistfully. "A beautiful thing. The thing that was promised by Solaris so long ago. Soleanna was always meant to be temporary. A picture of what Solaris would build throughout the entire world. But that doesn't mean there won't be lamentation. It is the duty of a priest to separate the clean from the unclean. Our order served to show that the blessing of Solaris remained on us, on the people of Soleanna. But when Sol falls that blessing shall go forth to all the world. And there will be no more need for priests."

Roran fell silent and folded his hands into the sleeve of his robes. He rocked back and forth and started to hum in a low, drooling tone. Shadow watched him with a growing sense of uncertainty. He didn't understand a majority of what Roran had said, but found that he shared the priest's feeling of ominous serenity. The overwhelming pressure of dread evoked by the blood moon had dissipated drastically. However, Shadow could not think of any reason why this should be.

"What did you mean by when Sol falls?" Shadow asked the priest.

"Because that is where the hammer strike will fall hardest," Roran answered. "The war for Arvana will be decided there."

"And you think we'll lose?"

Roran shook his head. "I don't know that. But the city will fall, and it will never be the same again."

Shadow wanted to ask more, but he was interrupted when Amara gave a shrill shriek and jerked up. The noise woke Howl and prompted the wolf to jump to his feet with his sword drawn. He growled as he searched for the source of the disturbance but stopped when he saw Amara. The girl was holding herself tightly and rocking back and forth.

"No…no…not now…"

"Can't you help her?" Shadow implored Roran.

The priest raced over to Amara and removed his cloak so he could wrap it around her shoulders. The princess was trembling terribly and struggling to catch her breath.

"What's happening to her?" Howl cried. "Has Black Doom done something to her?"

Roran shook his head. He motioned for the others to scoot back and not to cramp her. "It will pass on its own."

Amara bowed her head and continued to rock back and forth. She gasped as her lungs struggled to capture any air from her rapid intakes of breath. Shadow knelt down and watched her out of the corner of his eye. He felt that he was intruding on something private, but he could not look away.

After several painful minutes, Amara's breathing slowed. She stopped rocking and used her arms to cover her face. It was evident that she had returned to herself and was acutely aware of everyone watching her. "It's alright," Roran said soothingly. "You're safe now, every-"

Amara shoved the priest aside without looking at him. "Leave me alone." Her voice was cold as ice.

Shadow turned to Howl. The wolf captain looked terrified. So much for getting some rest. Shadow stood and stretched. His muscles were still stiff and sore, but the sleep had restored much of his stamina. Amara's episode had spooked him and he knew that there would be no point in trying to get anyone to sleep after that.

"We should go."

The night deepened while Howl and Shadow sat up discussing their route. "It's about five hundred miles from here to the Revari," Howl explained. "But we will have to take a detour to avoid major roads and patrols." The wolf sat down and drew a rudimentary map in the loose sand of the cave. "The Revari is here, just beyond the outer extent of the Grovian Mountains. And here," Howl indicated a circular stretch of land south of the Revari. "There is an undeveloped forest. A temple to the old gods is in the center, but the imperial cult has outlawed all of the old religious practices so there shouldn't be anyone over there. But all the same, we'll avoid the temple and only go through the northern bend of the forest."

With their destination chosen, they next had to choose the best means of reaching that point. "I can run five hundred miles in less than an hour," Shadow said. "But at a comfortable speed, going back and forth and carrying someone, I think it will take a full day."

"And you can't carry all three of us," Howl mused, rubbing his chin. He cast a quizzical look back at Amara and Roran. "Do we take the priest? He served his purpose back at the fortress, but he'll only slow us down from here."

"We can't just leave him here," Shadow ventured. "Besides, it won't be long before Black Doom realizes what has happened. If he comes after us, we'll need Roran."

Howl relented and went about explaining a series of relay points they could use to reach the Revari. The bulk of the workload fell to Shadow who would end up making the trip several times over. He would have to ferry each member of the party to each point before progressing to the next. The five hundred mile straight shot had now turned into a rigorous odyssey of nearly two thousand miles.

I'll be spent at the end. If we are attacked I won't be able to defend myself. With a full view of the daunting task ahead of him, Shadow was anxious to get started right away. He placed Howl at the start of the relay to be followed by Amara and then Roran. This order did not overly please Shadow as he still remembered that Amara had managed to slip away from the priest back at the fortress. However, Howl had to be first to ensure that they were going in the right direction.

Shadow took Roran by the hem of his robe and dragged him to the back of the cave. "Keep an eye on her," He said firmly. "If she tries to escape, you stop her."

"But I-"

"She's half emaciated and can barely walk. I don't believe she can overpower you. Last time she got away from you, I found her about to throw herself off the tower."

Roran's expression hardened. "I'll do what I can."

"Not what you can. Just do it."

The first relay went off without a hitch. Shadow ran Howl across the countryside and through a gap in the adjacent mountains. After about a hundred miles or so he dropped the wolf off in a woody inlet near a lake. On his own, Shadow was able to return to the cave in only a few minutes. Amara resisted him as he lifted her up, but stopped squirming once they started moving. He ran slower with the princess, sensitive to her fear and not wanting to cause her any unnecessary discomfort. Once she was safely with Howl by the lake, he returned for Roran.

Through the night and next morning, Shadow ferried his companions across the heartland of the empire. They mostly stayed towards the borders and forests, not wanting to emerge out into the open. However, at times they were forced to use routes closer to major roads and thoroughfares. Sometimes they came within viewing distance of some of the other cities.

Shadow's heart darkened when he saw that every city was covered beneath the ominous cloud of one of Eggman's colossal airships. "This is new," Howl said, echoing Shadow's concern. "The emperor must be wanting to remind everyone of his power. He might be anticipating trouble."

Shadow wished he knew what Sonic and the others were up to. It seemed certain that they had managed to stop Iblis, but what were they doing now? Had Sonic found a way to defeat Infinite? Seeing the increase in the imperial presence only made Shadow want to finish their mission even faster. Eggman must be struggling to conquer the earth. He is nervous that the people here will grow uncertain of his might so he is using his ships to intimidate them.

At last, they reached the last stop in the relay. Their final destination was a woody grove set deep in the heart of a pine wood forest. Here the trees were tall and their branches reached outward to create a seamless canopy of brown and green bramble. The last vestiges of daylight trickled in through the leaves to create an orange and gold mist.

Shadow didn't notice the beauty of their surroundings at all. He was completely and utterly exhausted. His legs were shaking like withered leaves in a windstorm. As soon as he dropped Roran off for the final time, Shadow collapsed.

The world around him seemed to spin. Shadow felt bile and stomach acid in his throat. He had not accounted for how long it had been since he had eaten. His energy stores had fallen to beyond zero. I can't move at all. He realized despairingly. If they were attacked there would be absolutely nothing Shadow could do about it.

"Rest for a bit," Howl told him. "I'll see if I can find us something to eat." The wolf drew his sword and strode into the narrow gaps between the trees, vanishing out of sight.

Shadow forced himself to sit in an upright position. This simple movement was enough to make him groan as all his muscles seemed to seize up all at once. He closed his eyes and focused all his attention on keeping himself conscious. It took a few minutes for the episode to pass, and when it did, the world around him had stopped spinning enough for him to look around.

Amara sat in the middle of the grove with her arms held over her knees. Roran circled around her, bending over and collecting pieces of firewood.

"No fires," Shadow managed hoarsely. He did not want to risk catching any attention until Howl had returned. As it was, they were already in a precarious spot. Shadow still couldn't move, and he still had concerns that Amara might try and run away.

All that day the princess had switched back and forth from higher states of awareness. At times she seemed to know where they were, and even helped Shadow navigate. Then suddenly, she would switch and think that he was back at the prison. However, both of these extremes were preferable to the final state where her expression would become completely blank and her eyes fogged.

Now it seemed that Amara was in one of her better moods. She watched the wind whistle through the trees as dusk slowly settled into true night. A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She whispered to herself, lost in daydreams or tormented hallucinations, Shadow could not tell which.

He turned away from her and focused on trying to regain some of his energy. His legs were stiff and the muscles throbbed. The emptiness in his stomach sloshed acid up into his throat. It was a pitiable sensation, made even worse by Shadow's anxiety that they could be attacked at any moment. It seemed that ever since Robotnik had awoken him from his fifty year slumber Shadow had known nothing but battle and unending conflict. Times for rest had been extremely rare.

And all that challenge made me more and more powerful. Shadow flexed his hand and recalled the litany of foes he had battled and overcome. Repeated exposure to the limits of his abilities forced him to constantly break through and unlock deeper levels of power. However, Shadow was left wondering how much longer that could go on. Even his well would have to run dry eventually.

His thoughts turned to Infinite and his humiliating defeat aboard Eggman's space station. If he and Sonic together had been beaten so easily, what chance would Shadow have if he had to fight Infinite on his own? And what about Black Doom? Shadow had so many enemies, and though his allies were brave, none had the power to stand up against them.

His eyes grew heavy. The duration between blinks extended. One moment Shadow was fighting to sit upright, and the next he was being forcibly awoken by Roran. "Shadow! Get up!" The priest had a bad cut over his right eye, and looked terrified. "She threw a rock at me and-"

Shadow jumped to his feet. Adralined pushed away the dormant remnants of fatigue as all his senses activated into high alert. "Which way did she go?"

The priest pointed feebly in the direction of a tight gap between two interlocking trees. "There's a chance she-"

But Shadow did not hear him. He instantly took off in that direction, wiggling through the tight bramble of the wood. Damn it all! Shadow fumed. Twice already the girl had proved too much for Roran to handle on his own. Can I not rest for five minutes?

Shadow's rage might have proven his downfall. After fighting through a layer of dense foliage, Shadow arrived in a semi open clearing. From here, he could see several possible routes that Amara might have taken. He bent down but could not see any visible footprints. "Damn it," He swore loudly. Shadow was just about to run through a number of choice descriptions for Roran when he noticed something just above the top of the treeline.

It was difficult to make out in the darkness, but he could definitely see an outline of a tall structure. Shadow hurried in that direction. She can't have gotten far. He returned into the net of tightly woven trees and low hanging bramble. This frustrated his attempts to stay on course, but somehow Shadow managed to head in a relatively straight line.

The woods opened yet again, but this time it did not emerge into a natural clearing. Here the woods had been purposely pushed back to create a grassy road leading to the forward entrance of a ruined temple.

Shadow's first impression was that of the temple within the Mystic Ruins. However, as he looked closer he saw that the design was slightly different, preferring a more open roofed and spacious effect that favored square shaped buildings supported by rounded pillars. Shadow recalled that Howl had told him that this temple would be here.

Hoping that Amara had actually come this way, Shadow approached the front gates. Two massive marble columns stood on either side of the entrance. The gate itself had been thrown down and its pieces rusted on the overgrown floor. Much of the architecture was covered in heavy coats of ivy that were like tiny hands slowly pulling the temple back into the earth.

Beyond the gate, several smaller buildings encircled the central cathedral. High above its forward facing wall was a great star shaped window. The glass was broken now, but Shadow imagined that there had once been a design burned into the window.

There was a heaviness in the air that made Shadow uneasy. He approached the main temple cautiously. The wind seemed to change with leaves rustling near his feet. Broken steps took him up a short dais and in front of the towering doors. They had already been pushed open.

Shadow walked inside and watched as the true expanse of the temple revealed itself. Its towering walls and ceiling rose nearly fifty feet in length. The central gallery was completely barren save for two twin waterways set at waist height. The basins no longer flowed as the waterfalls set above them were dry.

Weeds and grass broke through the marble floor to proliferate all over the ground. The walls dripped with algae while vines hung loosely from the ceiling. It was as if the wood itself had created this temple. The design of those who had first constructed it had been long forgotten as the spirit that dwelt within the forest reclaimed and repurposed what had been built from the bounty of its own bosom.

Shadow felt the heaviness in the air increase as a pressure settled over his heart. He walked deeper into the temple and approached the path leading to the altar set at the far end. A dozen shrines were set up on both sides of the walkway. Shadow turned and saw the towering shapes of wolves, hedgehogs, cats, and echidnas. He had heard of monuments such as these from earth, and knew that these were not the displays of heroes, but of a pantheon of gods.

At the climax of the temple, set at the very summit of all the shrines was the largest statue of them all. An echidna with fierce empty eyes and long flowing quills. In its arms it held a scepter and in the other, a globe. This, Shadow assumed, was the king of the gods, the head of the pantheon.

Shadow shifted to get a better look, but froze when he heard faint snuffling. He whipped around to try and locate the source of the noise. Amara knelt in front of one of the shrines a few paces away from where Shadow was standing. The shrine was that of an old hedgehog woman in an elegant robe. Most of the face was broken off.

Shadow hurried over to her, intending to berate her for running away. But stopped when he heard the unmistakable sound of crying. Amara's hands were buried in her hands as she wept. Shadow felt the rage and irritation flush out of him. He walked over to her and sat down.