"What is it? Is something wrong? Please tell me I didn't accidentally bite you somewhere I shouldn't have," I said, trying to lighten her mood, pulling her closer. "I don't want to lose you," she said softly as I stroked her black hair that had more than a few strands strewn across my shoulder.
"I know this coming fight can't be avoided, but if there were a way…" she trailed off as I sealed her lips with mine. "There's nothing more to be done. We're on a mission to get yours and Leona's home back, and that's exactly what we're going to do," I continued. I could see tears begin to well in her eyes, as she tucked her face into my chest.
"But I don't want you to die, not when I've just found someone who doesn't treat me like I'm a piece of meat. I don't know how you fight, or how well the others around you will protect you, but I'm scared I'm going to lose you. I finally find a person that's not a complete menace to the female gender, and he immediately has to go to war? I- I'm scared, Thoma. I'm terrified that even if the rest of the synners succeed, you won't be there at the finish line," she said, tears streaming down her face.
What the actual fuck am I supposed to say to that? I wondered.
It was a common worry we all faced; from New Bloods to master Synners. Regardless of its nature, going into any battle was dangerous, but it was a risk we were all willing to take. I'd grown used to the fact that I might die at any given moment, but what I didn't realize was just how badly that would affect someone on the outside of our world.
My stomach turned with a guilt that shouldn't have belonged to me.
"I won't die, or at the very least I'll do my best to take as many of those bastards with me on the way out," I said softly as her small hand moved to the side of my face. "Can you promise me that?" she asked, gazing into my eyes.
I looked into hers and pondered her question for a moment. "There is no way to know when either of us will die. All we can do is pray the gods don't let that happen sooner than it's supposed to," I said. "Then I'll pray to the gods to spare us both, and not have us suffer the loss of the other," she said softly as I kissed her forehead.
"But even so, I know I'm your first, making it a little more difficult for you to understand certain aspects of relationships. You have to understand that even though I've been with other people, forced upon or not, you're the first one I've met that I think I could truly care for," she said, moving her head back onto my chest.
I'd never thought I'd hear those words come out of someone's mouth, so to say that I was shocked would be a blatant disservice to how I felt in that moment.
"I'll admit, it's a little difficult for me to understand what you're going through, but I promise that I will do my best not to let you down, or uh, you know, become past tense," I said jokingly, trying to make the situation seem a little less heavy. "I know it's in your nature to make jokes in dark times, but for fuck's sake!" she managed a chuckle.
"Hey, look at that! You laughed a little. Mission complete!" I said with a bright smile. "G'night, Thoma," she whispered, smiling a little as she said it. "Good night, Meliss," I replied, kissing the top of her head as she snuggled closer. She was soon fast asleep, as our little adventure had drawn more out of her than it did from him.
I won't let that happen to either of us. Fate may be a fickle bitch, but I promise I'll come back to you, even if the gods disapprove of my methods, I thought, my mind already galloping over the infinite possibilities as I tried to get some sleep.
Dawn eventually came, and Meliss had barely moved from her previous position the whole night. I was just waking up, though, only now realizing what had happened the previous evening. I gingerly tried to take my numbed arm out from under her head, but failed miserably as she woke up with my movement.
"Is there something wrong?" she groaned in a raspy morning voice. "Nothing could possibly be wrong in this situation," I said, feeling my arm crackle with what felt like a Kyr spell. "It's just that I always wake at, or before dawn; old habits. Well, that and my arm doesn't feel like it belongs to me anymore," I said in jest. "Oh, right," she said softly, lifting her head just enough for me to get my arm out from underneath her.
"The Master may be looking for me," I began. "Leona knows you're with me. If anything, she can tell him where you are," she said, her voice raspy and sleepy. Not a minute passed before there was a knock on the door. "I've got to go," I said with a light-hearted shrug. "I know," she replied, frowning slightly. I was out of bed in a flash, putting on my jerkin and boots as quickly as my sleepy limbs would allow.
There was another knock on the door. "Coming," I replied, getting my last boot on. As soon as it was on, I rushed over to her side and kissed her on the forehead. "One for good luck," I said. She pulled my head close and kissed my lips. "Two's always better, but go now or you'll be late," she grinned and shooed me away before I rushed over to the door and undid the bolts, only to find my brother with his shit-eating grin.
"Someone popped their cherry," he said cheerfully. "Shut up, she might hear you," I replied. I couldn't hide that I also had a smile from ear to ear and probably the strong scent of whatever had happened the previous night. "Hope she didn't break your hip," Bernar said, patting me on the shoulder.
"That's none of your business," I replied defensively. "Whoa, touchy, are we?" Bernar said, the grin still showing on his face. "I just don't want her to hear you," I said quietly. "Oh, alright," he conceded with a roll of his eyes, moving away from the door.
"The Master wants to see us. Not sure what he wants, but if he's only summoned the two of us, it must be serious," he continued. "Let's go, then," I replied. I closed the door behind me, getting one final look at Meliss, who was still in bed. I smiled, but felt that leaving her in that state might make me out to be an asshole in her eyes.
Wish I could stay there forever, I thought as I closed the wooden door, following my brother over to Pyle's house.
The Master was waiting for us, along with Anwill, Pyle, Thorsen, and Garett, who sat in the same positions as the previous day. "Ah, there you are. Glad you could join us. Please, sit," the Master gestured with a knowing smile. My face flushed as I bowed to him and the others, then slowly made my way to the chair provided for me.
"As I was just telling the others, we must move sooner than we thought," Pyle said to help me understand the current topic of conversation. "Friends of mine from the country have sent me ravens saying that the large force of monsters has been making their way to Coltend, destroying every town in their path. I have already notified the ones who have volunteered to help us, and we ought to be off within the next hour or so," he continued gravely.
"How many do we have?" Bernar asked. "Counting the ones we've come with: A little over five-hundred," the Master said grimly. "So it's a suicide mission," Bernar noted sardonically. "Not exactly," the Master replied as Leona walked in from a hidden corner of the room, holding a scroll.
"Leona has laid out the city's plans for us; drawn entirely from memory," the Master said, prompting Bernar and I to look at each other in pure befuddlement. "I've drawn these up to help us make a better plan, since trying to summon the Coltendian Army from across the country would waste what precious time we have," she began, unfurling the scroll on the table.
"Not many people know this, but Coltend was once an elven city, one built on a large portion of its remains," she gestured to the outskirts to show just how much larger the city used to be, causing Anwill to widen his eyes. "I know that place. Legend tells us elves that it was once home to the Arwydus, the Formidable Ones in our native tongue," he said, looking at the map carefully, recognizing many of the same stylistic architecture from his homeland.
"I believe a passage there leads to one of the few Portal Stones. If we can muster enough mana, which I have nearly no doubt we will be able to do, we may yet be able to summon reinforcements from Caegwen," she pointed to a spot some distance from the castle walls before glancing at the others.
"How would that even be possible?" Garett asked. "You humans have only a glimpse of what you can do with the other realms," Anwill began proudly but not in a disrespectful way. "If one of you were to volunteer to help me until all of the reinforcements were through, I will gladly show you how it can be done," he continued.
Each one in the room looked at the other, wondering who would be the first to raise their hand. "Roburn might be able to help you with that," the Master suggested. "Roburn? That self-centered glick-herder?" Garett asked.
"He may appear self-centered, but he is a formidable all-caster," he continued. "Seems as though we have little choice on the matter," Garett said. "I will begin his training at once, while the rest of you conjure up the plan," Anwill said, excusing himself from the room.
"I think the real question here, for someone with little or no knowledge of the last few hundred years, is: Why Coltend of all places?" I asked as I looked at the map. The others looked at each other and nodded. "It is where a large quantity of Gwynnleaf is kept on the continent," Pyle nodded.
I swallowed the information like a dry tuft of fur.
"Right, I get that, but monsters don't randomly team up to go somewhere. There must be someone leading them who knows it's there," I concluded. "The Masked One," Pyle replied gravely, making the others in the room visibly uncomfortable with mentioning that title.
"What in the fuck is a Masked One?" I raised an eyebrow. "Not what, but who. A long time ago, and far to the north of here, a dark power began to rise in a place known to us as Valdis. Thorsen and I are the only two here who have seen his power first hand," Pyle began.
"He was the one who attacked Grundvollr, slaying all in his path, and stealing our precious books of knowledge, as I'm sure you know every synner school has a copy of them. We initially thought it was simply a random act of violence against the Synners, though we only later discovered his true purpose," he continued, sighing as the memories came to the forefront of his mind.
"Thorsen and I traced him there, only to find a dark citadel infused with mana from the Underworld. King Mads kept the failure of Grundvollr hidden from the rest of the world, and expelled us from our own country, striking the attack from our country's history as well," he explained.
I pondered what I'd just heard for a moment. "If he knows that the source is there and is bringing an army to get it, why didn't he do this before?" I asked. "He wasn't strong enough to take on an entire city until now," Pyle answered.
No, that can't be right. He took down all of Grundvollr; a place filled to the brim with Synners. So why now? I thought.
"Alright, suppose we manage to make it to the Portal Stone and activate it. What then?" Bernar asked. "There are various openings placed around the city that would allow us to get in, hopefully without being noticed," Leona spoke as she pointed at a few points on the map. "Once inside, a small group will create a distraction outside the walls, while another will head directly towards the palace to thwart any attempt to open the passage to the source. The rest of us will keep the beasts at bay," the Master added.
"So much death," Anwill said quietly. "If we must die to protect the rest of the Continent, and possibly the Continent from such a fate, then it is a sacrifice I know we are more than willing to make. However, with a proper battle plan, I believe we will suffer minimal losses," the Master said with a nod.
"Even the best battle plans go to shit after the first sword is drawn," Anwill said. "I know, which is why we shall devise a secondary plan should the battle not go our way. So, shall we begin?" he asked.
The others, myself included, nodded in agreement, and we began preparing accordingly. A few hours of planning went by, and Leona brought some food in, surprising nearly everyone equally.
She knows how to cook, too? I smiled as I graciously accepted the plate, watching my brother's expression sour when she handed me mine first.
It immediately shifted back into a smile when she sat near him, nearly shoulder to shoulder, and continued their intermittent input on the plans being formed. A few more hours had passed, and the plan was finally coming together. All that was really left was the execution.
"All in favor, then?" the Master asked. "Aye," we replied in unison. "Very well, then. We'll ride just before dawn tomorrow. Anwill, find Roburn and teach him what you need to. Get some rest, everyone. We're going to need it," he nodded.
Each one went to their respective lodgings, while I returned to Meliss, who had cleaned the entire house before I arrived.
"You didn't have to do all of that, you know. But still, thank you," I said warmly with a bashful smile. "You're welcome, but I was bored," she shrugged. I walked over to her, pulling her in close by the small of her back and kissing her. "We're heading off to Coltend tomorrow at dawn," I said, my tone growing slightly heavier than intended, but she nodded, understanding what I meant.
"Will you ride with me again?" I asked, moving a few loose strands of hair behind her small ear as my eyes darted to each of her own. "'Til the horse cannae carry us," she replied, smiling while undoing the clasps that held my jerkin shut. I could've sworn I heard Bernar chuckle from just behind our door, though it sounded like he moved on towards Leona's room.
He'll never let me live that one down, will he? I mentally chuckled.