Black blood sprayed in my wake as I dashed to the next few targets, and while I wasn't as efficient as my mother would've been, it was still extremely effective. I noticed Ysevel was also carving her own trail of body parts and blood, but I only caught a glimpse of her dancer-like movement.
Each attack was one continuous motion like a river being led down a mountain path; however, the river was filled with sharp blades and spells that increased its lethality tenfold. I suddenly felt the difference between us, and while I knew she had much more training under her belt, I couldn't have dreamed of matching her efficiency at that moment.
Irun let out a burst of mana that made him brute-force his way through the daemons, crushing skulls and tearing them limb from limb in the process. At one point during the fight, I could've sworn I saw him use the arm of one to bash the face in of another.
Either way, it seemed like he was also unleashing some pent-up anger.
When the last daemon's head was separated from its body, the three of us looked at each other momentarily, silently verifying that the other was alright. Irun had a small gash on his still-human arm but quickly seared it shut with some mana.
"So, how was that? Trust me yet?" Irun asked, sheathing his sword and moving towards us. "A little more than before, I'll admit," I said, releasing my third stage. I immediately felt my head begin to spin, and my vision blurred as I dropped to one knee. "That'll be the come-down from the rage," Irun said, catching one of my shoulders as Ysevel caught the other. The two of them helped me back to my feet, looking at me carefully to make sure that I was alright.
"I'm fine," I said, shaking my head as I tried to refocus my vision. I felt a tightness in my jaw that wasn't there before and tried to loosen it a little. "I'll admit, I didn't expect you to use it so efficiently on your first try," Irun said, still eyeing me up and down. "I was an idiot to think I could jump straight to the third stage on my first try, though. I think I pulled too much," I said, blinking a few times.
"Dark mana draws a lot from your emotions. If you don't let them out, you end up pushing yourself too far and over-drawing mana. The Ethereal doesn't really have that effect, but it's also a lot less savage to use," Irun explained. I raised an eyebrow at him curiously. "Since when did you become an expert on emotions?" I asked sarcastically.
Irun scoffed and shook his head. "I've been trying to tell you from the start, Thoma, but you didn't want to listen," he said with a shrug. "Can you blame me for that? One minute, you're a traitor, the next, you're our savior. I don't even think you know what you want to be," I said derisively.
Irun was about to open his mouth to respond, but Ysevel stepped forward before he could speak.
"Enough. We can resolve this little issue later. Right now, we've got to go," Ysevel interrupted, jutting a thumb over her shoulder. Seeing the rest of the daemons, followed closely behind by the alternate, or so Irun had called it, made me remember the position we were actually in.
"We're going to have to make a run for it. Can you use enough dark mana to enhance your speed?" she asked, turning to face, making sure I was in the right headspace. "I can do that," I tried to reassure the others with a single nod. She gave me a warm, proud smile before her own eyes began to glow again. "Irun, lead the way," she said.
This is going to suck, isn't it? I thought, looking back up at the sky once more, remembering the feeling from only moments ago.
I drew the dark mana once more, but this time listening to what Irun had said. I still felt the rage deep in my gut, but instead of feeding into it, I tried to distill it into focus. Of course, I wasn't a master of this newfound power by any means, but I did what I could to keep up with the other two as I reinforced my body.
As soon as I re-entered the third stage, we set off at a much faster pace than we had been the past twelve cycles. What was supposed to have taken us another cycle and a half only took us the better part of what I'd perceived to be about an hour before we reached the outskirts of the Draukar Forest.
"There it is," Irun said, pointing off towards the village I'd spotted earlier from the top of the mountain. It was still a few kilometers away, but its overwhelming presence couldn't be masked by the distance. As we drew closer, I was reminded of how I felt the first time I'd gone to Coltend Castle.
I thought I'd be used to seeing incredible places by now, but I guess not, I thought, watching the walls of the so-called village drawing nearer.
The thick, metallic walls were blackened with a lacquer that allowed for minimal light reflection. They weren't as tall as Coltend's, but I was sure they were at least over half the height regardless. The only other noticeable difference was that the tops of the walls had large spikes protruding from the edges, while I could just barely see the tops of smaller ones lining the ramparts.
The lights that I had identified earlier weren't torches at all. Rather, they were very reminiscent of the mana-flame lamp that Taegin used when we first met all those years ago, as it appeared to be a larger version of it.
Why does it look like the one he had, anyway? I thought as we approached two hegraphenes that were guarding the gate.
"Halt!" one of them called out in a gravelly voice, drawing his weapon immediately and pointing it right at us. His build was very similar to the others I'd seen when we ambushed Irun, even going so far as having a small plume-like structure near the crown of his head.
I never would've thought I'd see them standing guard, let alone able to speak, I thought, watching the two guards just as carefully as they were watching me.
"Who are you?" he asked plainly. "I'm here to speak with Lady Kalia," Irun answered. "I know who you are, disciple. I'm asking them," he gestured to Ysevel and I, never once taking his eyes off us.
He's gotten us this far, he wouldn't try to betray us now, Ysevel sent. I've trained with him since we were children. Of course I expect him to betray us after what he did, I sent back. I knew that it was a little less likely than I gave him credit for, but I still couldn't trust him immediately.
Thoma, please. We're out of options and we need to get out of this place alive. This is our best chance to do that in one piece, she pleaded.
I could feel my pride like a stone scraping away at my throat as I swallowed it.
"My name is Thoma Fayren. I'm a… friend of Irun's," I said with a bow, struggling to get the word out. "I'm Ysevel Phrys, also a friend of Irun's," she said, mimicking the bow. "The Iron Plume clan doesn't usually treat unannounced visitors well. You should know this already, disciple," the hegraphene said.
Iron Plume? Guess that thing on the backs of their heads is how they got their clan name. I wonder if other clans would have different identifying features, I thought.
"Yes, I'm aware, but we have their alternates not far behind us, and I must speak with Lady Kalia urgently," Irun said, taking a single step forward. The guards hissed at the word alternate, making me realize that Irun was actually telling the truth about there being creatures here of higher intelligence.
The two guards looked at each other and without any sort of verbal communication, withdrew their weapons. "Where are the alternates?" the second one asked. "They chased us to the edge of the Draukar Forest, but that was the last we saw of them. They could be anywhere at this point, and I'm not wanting to find out where that is," Irun replied quickly.
"We will notify Lady Kalia and see what she wants to do with both the alternates and your friends. In the meantime, take them to the tavern and wait there for further instructions," the guardsman said, signaling for the gates to open. The large gate hinges creaked as they slowly began to open, revealing the main path just behind them.
We're in it now, I sent to Ysevel with a slight raise of my eyebrows.