When she awoke, Stathis felt somewhat rested, despite the uncomfortable position she was in, wedged into the chair, with her armour prickling into her skin in several places. She shifted in the seat, armour poking her through her padding and scraping freshly-healed skin. Well, she might not have gotten much information, but at least she had gotten healed! Something fell off her – she looked down, seeing that a heavy blanket had fallen to the floor. With the armour, she didn’t really need extra warmth, but it was a nice gesture from someone.

Where was everyone? She could hear movement from close by, and stood up, wincing as she was poked again. She needed to find an armourer! But there was still the aftermath of the battle to deal with, and to find out how bad the casualties had been.

She left the main room, someone bumping into her with a squeak. It was Kivata, holding some magical apparatus, a curving twist of bronze or brass. Her face was weary, her clothing stained with mud and blood. She bobbed her head in a quick semi-bow.

‘It seemed best to let you rest.’

‘You look like you need a break yourself! You managed to get through OK though?’ She seemed to be moving without any signs of injury, just an obvious weariness in her whole body.

‘It was… unpleasant. I certainly would prefer not to be in such a situation again!’

‘Well, combat’s not for everyone, and that one was even more desperate than usual. Just glad I could make it in time! And that Semari was able to delay him enough. How is she?’

‘Pajaran has been tending to her – she has not yet regained consciousness.’

‘Shit. I hope she’s OK! She really took a beating, but we managed to defeat him. Uh, he is still dead, right? I took his head off, I hope he hasn’t bloody regenerated.’

‘Chirutha? He is still dead, his armour still present. There has been some talk of disposing of it, but there has not yet been any time.’

‘How long was I out?’

‘Almost half a day, I think. Time is… hard to judge.’

‘Have you rested? If not, go and sleep now! You need it, if you’ve not rested for that long. Hakara’s not going to have rested either, has she?’ Kivata looked away, her movements slow and guilty. ‘Solder’s advice. Rest when you can, because no-one knows when the next chance to take a break will be. Unless this is absolutely critical, then go and find a corner and sleep.’ She looked at the bronze thing Kivata was carrying. ‘Can this wait?’

Kivata’s head drooped, and she stifled a yawn. ‘I… I suppose so.’ She looked about ready to collapse then and there! ‘I will go and rest. But please let Magus Hakara know.’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll tell her. And try and get her to rest as well, because she’ll need it! No good for anybody if we’re all exhausted. Where are they, anyway? Pajaran’s probably in the infirmary, what about your sister?’

‘Janaxia is asleep. I think? She is surrounded by shadows, in one of the rooms here. She was being attended by her Sethan handmaiden.’

‘Sen survived? That’s good. Anyway, you go rest! I’ll go have a look around for myself.’

She gave Kivata a friendly pat on the shoulder, although she still looked nervous whenever she was touched, before giving them a light nudge towards the room she had just left – it wasn’t the most comfortable, but it was quiet and empty. That done, she headed outside.

Was it her imagination, or was the air warmer, the black sky just a little brighter? Although the roaring crackling of a corpse-fire immediately made the air grim and rank with the smell of gristle and fat. Thick, greasy smoke filled the air, without any wind to dispel it. From the depth of the pit and the size of the flames, it had been going for some time. The figures highlighted in front of it stood out, brightly silhouetted by the flames as they fed in body-parts.

As Stathis approached, the low thrum of work and labour slowed, everyone turning to look at her. In the flickering light, it was hard to tell the groups apart, but she advanced towards the fire. She could see bones amongst the ashes, slowly crumbling into dust, the fat and muscle leaving behind dirty, greasy smears. Bodies of the defenders had been placed to one side – there had been no time to clean or tidy them, many still in frozen death-throes, or torn apart by the zombies, armour or clothing damaged and ragged.

She took a deep breath and walked closer, feeling the heat of the fire prickle her face, then drew her sword. The metallic rasp of the blade seemed far too loud, slicing through the silence. The blade caught the firelight and held it, gleaming with an amber light as she held it high, before slicing it through the air in a clean, crisp swing, holding it extended.

‘We have suffered many losses today! Far too much blood shed, lost against an ancient and implacable foe. But it was not shed in vain! We have defended this place and defeated a great evil!’ She flicked her sword upwards, pointing at the huge suit of armour, still untouched. ‘The darkness is not defeated, but held at bay again! Those that perished did so in defence of this place – whether they lived here or not, it was a sacrifice they made to protect those that couldn’t protect themselves. We will honour them in our memories, so they won’t be forgotten while we live.’

In another swift motion, sword flashing, she sheathed it, everyone watching her, their eyes bright in the darkness.

‘We fought together against a common foe. We have bled together, to protect this place – although we are from many places, this is where we fought together as one.’ The heat from the flames was starting to prickle through her armour, sweat beading on her back. ‘An alliance, forged in the darkness, to reclaim this land from the shadow that has fallen upon it. Tomorrow, my companions and I will travel to the barrow these creatures were excavating, and reclaim whatever treasure lies there. With that done, we will distribute what we find, and then travel from here. There are many places that need protection, and perhaps this darkness can be broken. If you wish to stay here, you may, but anyone that wishes to come with us is more than welcome to. Many places across the lands will be afflicted like this, and be in need of saving.’

She saw several of the soldiers stand up a little straighter, the townsfolk looking more determined. One of the soldiers drew his own sword, blade catching the firelight. ‘We protect against the darkness!’

Other soldiers followed his example, holding their swords up, some of the townsfolk imitating them, even a few of the Sethans, although they were holding a stranger variety of weapons, blades with large numbers of strange hooks, spikes and spines.

‘To stand against the darkness!’ The cheer ran through Stathis, doing something to help dispel the darkness and the gloom, despite the charnel pit flaring behind her. Even some of the medusa’s followers were cheering as well.

‘The first cut of light, to stand to the last! This is our pledge!’

Those of the Iristari followed along, the rest mouthing parts of it, not entirely sure of the words.

‘The light shall stand. Against the fall, against the darkness, into the end of days and beyond! To fight and protect those that cannot protect themselves!’

The shout echoed upwards into the darkness, blades held strong and high, as Stathis drew her own blade again, letting a whisper of power flow into the metal, an amber glow coming from within the metal.

‘This do we swear – to be the blade against the night, the shield against the wicked. To fight until we die, to withstand hurt so that others don’t.’ Her sword was glowing more brightly now, starting to drown out the fire as it shed warm, soothing sunlight, illuminating the faces of those looking up at her, letting her see their weariness and wounds. But as they were lit, a hope came into their eyes, and they stood a little straighter, weapons shining with reflected light.

Their voices sounded back even stronger as they echoed her words at her, faces solemn.

Rousing, but rather loud? Although I feel I have slumbered enough. There was the sensation of a satisfied yawn and some stretching. It seems rather strident and martial? Although my compliments on your stagecraft. After so long hiding yourself, perhaps now you are going to be more forthright?

Stathis couldn’t see where Janaxia was – she must be watching from a window somewhere? With her ability to see in the darkness, she could easily be further away than Stathis could see.

I suppose I should ready myself to ride out then? It is only fitting that I be there to reclaim some measure of my legacy. Juliette and her minions are still afoot, so it would be best to move swiftly. Who is rested enough to be of use?

It would be really helpful to be able to respond to Janaxia, but this was definitely not the moment to start yelling! Instead, she finished the oath, her sword bright like the sun, shedding the first true light she had seen for days, if not weeks. ‘The first cut of light, the last stand against the dark! Let us stand together, through fire, darkness and death!’

‘Through fire, darkness and death!’

It felt awkward standing there, everyone staring up at her. Was she meant to just leave? Her sword’s glow was slowly fading, dropping everyone back into twilight gloom, but the light had felt warm and good. She sheathed it again, glad that everyone was starting to turn back to their grim work, letting her move away from the fire, her back-plate getting uncomfortably hot. Now to find Janaxia, as she was obviously up!

She found a door that had darkness oozing from beneath it, merging into the darker shadows everywhere else. Stathis knocked.

You may enter.

‘You ready to head out? Reclaim your legacy and so on? I’m hoping there’s not too much shit to deal with.’

The door opened, the darkness fading into more normal darkness, rather than impenetrable night. Janaxia was already geared up for combat, her armour edged with dark purples and reds so dark they were almost black, a wooden stick-sword at her waist.

‘I think it would be useful to being Ophalissia as well. She knows the local terrain and it may be useful to have her… abilities, as I believe them effective against vampires, or my brother. At the least, she is another combatant, and we are stretched rather thin at the moment. As I imagine that you want some reserves here in case of another attack? A sensible arrangement, but everyone is rather drained right now. Hakara especially will need time to muster her arcane energies – a weakness of her style of magic. One that I do not share.’

‘Oh? So you’re admitting that you’re not a regular wizard?’ Stathis tried to keep her tone light, even as Janaxia tensed up, hair throbbing red. ‘You certainly aren’t just a regular wizard! Most wouldn’t dare going into combat like that. Vrintar’s still good to go, and I’ve not seen much of Parth, so she’s probably fine as well. And Ophalissia, I suppose. Try to keep an eye out for me, as I’m going to have to take point. I don’t want to get hit by bloody everything down there!’

‘I will do my best. I hope this won’t be too awkward. It would be nice if things were to be nice and simple for once.’

‘Well, if you know of any way to destroy vampires other than stabbing thing, I’d love to know it. This is probably going to be pain. Especially if there’s magical stuff down there. I just hope Kinnevar protected it!’

Janaxia tossed her hair. ‘I am his heir, I’m sure I will be more than sufficient to the task! And we have dealt with vampires before.’

‘Well, I have. You didn’t do much then, did you? Although it looked like you’d had some fun.’

‘Well, they were rather skilled.’ Janaxia walked forward, forcing Stathis to step to the side before Janaxia walked into her. ‘Although that meal you took me on was rather pleasant.’

Stathis let out a sigh, glad that Janaxia was taking it well. ‘Good. Well, it might not be for a while, but perhaps we could do that again sometime?’

Hm, perhaps. Although there is a legacy to claim first!

‘Let’s go get the others. And see if we can deal with those damn vampires. And, uh… are you feeling OK? It’s been busy lately so we’ve not really been able to talk much, but it’s been a bit crazy.’

A stray wisp of her clothing brushed against Stathis’ armour as she walked past. ‘The darkness has been, perhaps, a little… isolating. And rather frenetic, yes. Perhaps when we have more time, we could visit Setha, in rather more… friendly circumstances. If the world hasn’t been destroyed, and if Setha is still intact, of course. As it seems that things could get rather frenetic.’

‘Well, let’s get through this first, and see what happens. I’m hoping the world won’t get destroyed or anything!’

Yes, that is something to strive for! And now you seem to be acquiring some of the accoutrements of leadership? Perhaps you may acquire a domain of your own?

‘Let’s just not die first, OK? And I don’t want to end up in charge of a kingdom or anything! That’s a lot of work. Let’s go deal with this first, then see what we’ve got left.’