Greywolf - Shadow Walking

"Greywolf, you look worried.

I was sitting on the ruin of an old altar in front of the dead, grey tree, the stars beginning to show themselves as I waited for War-leader Kula to give the signal. As Fox joined me on the weathered stone, I shrugged. "I'm just hoping Wysper's alright. If she's already lost her hands-"

"It won't be your fault," Fox said, cutting me off. "This is the last night of the festival, and according to Domina, it's the only good chance of pulling this off. War-leader Kula's certainly run everyone ragged getting ready for it."

"Don't I know it." I reached out and tugged on the new Artifact armor she was wearing. "Not to insult you, but it's strange seeing you dressed like the rest of us. Who made it?"

Fox hesitated. "Promise you won't be jealous?" That was odd, coming from a Daemo, but I nodded my head yes and she blurted out, "Prince Varsena. He wanted to be the first to sleep with the Daemo Shadow-walker," she said to my surprised look, "before his older brother did. There's no love lost between them."

"I know how Varsena feels." Listening to the way she talked, I couldn’t help but smile. "Do you know you're the first Daemo I've ever met who doesn't talk like a noble lady."

She flashed me a pearl white grin. "Blame Domina. The Rune sword influences us to want to please her, and she likes me better when I talk this way." The smile slipped away as she sighed. "She hates being called by that name. I wish I could call her by her old name, but the sword doesn't give us any choice. None of us have any choice at all." I opened my mouth to ask her what she meant, but she spoke first. "How's the wound you got from the troll?"

I shrugged. "It's faded to bruise marks without even a scar. Go back a moment. What did you mean about not having a choice? I mean, everyone has choices, even if there's reasons why you can't make them."

Fox hesitated, then plunged forward. "It's because of the tattoos we were given. They-"

"Fox," a deep male voice said, "Titan wants you with him now. It's almost time." Glancing up, the Gaul named Troll stood nearby with his Artifact Greatsword resting on his shoulder. Fox leaped to her feet and hurried away, the hulking man watching her go by before turning back towards me. "Our girl's really taken a shine to you since your mother whored you out to service her. I think little Fox's in love."

My eyes narrowed. "You don't know shite about Daemo if you think they're capable of love."

"And you don't know shite if you think she's an ordinary Daemo." He sauntered over, his manner easy, but his hand on the hilt of his sword was a white knuckled fist. "You don't know shite about any of us. Best you keep it that way."

I rose to my feet. "Is that a threat?"

He grinned, looking me in the eye and opening his mouth to speak as Amazonia's voice yelled, "Troll, get your ugly arse over here so we can get moving."

"Yes, Domina," he called over his shoulder, still grinning as he looked back at me. "Remember what I just told you, Shadow-walker." He turned and jogged away. Ignore him; he's Prince Timur's man now, who probably told him to get a rise out of me, and instead pay attention to the column of armored men standing in three separate groups.

The first were the Khanda swordsmen, seasoned fighters in thick leather armor with metal plates riveted into the material, steel swords in their hands, and large, round shields in their left, covered in thin white metal. Their helms were round and open faced, covering their necks with metal plates flaring outward at the bottom. Prince Timur was in the center with his Bloodguards and Amazonia's Chaldeans.

Second were Tengri's Chosen, warriors that the shaman of the Eternal Sky had tapped to be a part of the group. They wore black leather covered in plates of Artifact, and carried Artifact weapons. All those chosen from the White Horde were bearing great axes, but those few chosen from the mercenaries carried weapons carved in the style of their homelands, wielding long swords or bladed spears, while five of them fought together with a sword in each hand. War-leader Kula and Titan stood in the center of the group, as did Karl, with Lys on his shoulder.

Last were the eighty-five Xian mercenaries. They were exiles from the Empire of Xian, soldiers whose lord had rebelled against their emperor and lost, wearing armor of padded cloth with round metal discs sewn into the material and conical helms on their heads. Most of the mercenaries with the White Horde carried normal weapons, yet these soldiers had Artifact crossbows which fired six bolts, one after another, before they had to be reloaded and re-cranked, which went much faster than ordinary crossbows that only fired one bolt at a time. Captain Tang had told me there used to be more than three hundred crossbows, but even though Artifact's far lighter than steel, it was also more brittle, and no one outside of Xian knew how to make new crossbows.

The Khanda swordsmen opened their formation to let Troll in. A moment later a boy, who I was told was Avitohol's blood brother, wearing Artifact armor and a full face Greek helm, stepped out from the Chosen with a red battle flag in his hand. He waved it back and forth to tell me it was time. I waved back and he lowered the flag, rejoining his group as I turned towards the dead tree. Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I grasped an outstretched branch with both hands and used the concentrated power of the Grey to push outward with my mind.

Color bled away from the world in an expanding circle as all smells disappeared, the trees and underbrush becoming shadowy images as the night sky turned a light shade of grey without moon or stars. Only the stones of the ruined temple remained.

I asked papa once why the trees and animals not touching a person become shadow statues when humans and the other races enter the Grey, and he said it's because all the worlds connected to the Shadowlands were one world, and all the races on all the worlds really one race. I told him that made no sense and he laughed and taught me an Ogri drinking game, which made no sense either but was a great deal of fun-

"Shadow Raptors!" Kula began shouting orders as I took off running towards the lead group, drawing my katana from its wooden sheathe with a soft hiss and running through the shadows of the trees and underbrush as if they didn’t exist.

The Khanda's were already making a Turtle formation like the Etruscans used, their shields above their heads to protect them from the two Shadow Raptors swooping straight down towards them out of the grey sky. The Chosen were forming a Hedgehog, with weapons bristling like spines, while the mercenaries were supposed to form a Thorn Box, kneeling in a tight square with their short swords out and crossbows on the ground.

Instead, they were milling around, several taking aim at the creature resembling a grey, hairless bird with a body as big as a pony's and an elongated head, as it passed over the first two groups and dove towards them. Ignore it, go after the one that's almost reached the leading edge of the Khandas. One of the warriors was looking my way; he knelt down so I could use his shield like a step as I glanced to my left.

It's already reached them! Sprint, sprint. I leaped on the shield, then onto the ordered rows of them as I slashed at the grey wing filling my vision, and the Artifact blade sheared through. The creature slammed onto the shields then bounced off, screaming as it hit the ground. I ran across the shields and into the air, one hand off the hilt for balance. Both of my sandals hit the ground as the Shadow Raptor attempted to launch itself into the sky.

It floundered as it fell. I gripped the hilt with both hands again and slashed the other wing higher up, shearing through the fragile arm bones and wrinkled grey membrane. It lunged, but it was off balance, and I leapt backwards as the mouth filled with rows of razor sharp teeth snapped on empty air.

It fell face down in front of me and I shoved the tip of my sword on the place where its neck bones met its body. "Move and I'll kill you."

The Shadow Raptor went still as stone and I risked a fast glance towards my right. The first Shadow Raptor had one of the mercenaries in its claws and had lifted him above his fellows. It screamed as black bolts hit it... Wotan's blood, it just bit the head off the man. It tried to swallow the head as the body fell to the ground.

I knew it would spit the head out in a moment, as Shadow creatures cannot eat what they kill, so I turned my attention back to the monster under my sword. "Tell the others to leave us alone." It dug its claws into the ground and I put pressure on the sword tip. "Nine of you fell to my father's sword, and he taught me everything I know. Tell them to back off and leave us alone and I'll let you live." The Shadow Raptor's glared at me.

Then the first one screamed and I risked another glance. It's got another mercenary in its claws... wait, its dropping him and beating the air as it climbs its way into the sky. I looked back down at the second one and moved so it couldn’t easily snap at me. Then I leapt back and landed with my katana in a guard position. It lurched to its feet.

Then turned and ran away. The first one screamed in frustration as it continued climbing into the sky to join two others circling us like vultures, while the one dragging broken wings reached a point I couldn’t easily get to before turning around and opening its mouth. "The next time you enter the Grey, I will hunt you down and kill you."

"Hunt me down and you'll end up as my first ghost raven, following me as my father's nine follow him." The Grey was already beginning to heal it, tendrils of mist in the air moving towards it like questing snakes that would rebuild its shattered bones and torn wings as it moved away from us once more.

All at once I was trembling like a child and I didn’t know why, except Karl had told me I'd likely get an attack of nerves before I settled down. I knelt, not sure if my legs would hold me, my katana point first into the ground as I watched it totter away. A large hand on my shoulder made me look up. "Told you there was nothing to worry about," Karl said in a cheerful voice.

He looked towards the mercenaries and his eyes widened. "Odin's bones. I've heard this would happen if someone died in the Shadowlands, but I always thought it was a jest." I turned my head.

The mercenaries were scattering as the headless body of the dead man stood up. Its hands moved towards the place where its head used to be, waving them around as it stumbled about like a blind drunkard, looking for a jug of wine. Or in this case, its head. Take a breath, you've got to show them you know what you're doing. "Karl, tell War-leader Kula I'll take care of this."

"You better, because I'm not going near that thing."

I really wanted Karl beside me, and I gave him a sour look. "Coward."

Karl began clucking like a chicken, which made me snort in laughter as my fear subsided. But then it returned as I sheathed my sword and began trotting towards the frightened men. Not Tengri's Chosen, though, for as I passed them, a good number made a fist and raised it over their heads in a sign of respect. I gave them back the best bow I could while running, and kept going. Remember the lessons papa taught you about leading men through the Grey. Respect's got to be earned and you're doing it, so don't turn milk tea into slop by losing your nerve.

Reaching the soldiers of Xian, I grabbed the closest one by the shoulder. "Where head?" I asked in what I knew of their language, which wasn't a lot. The clean shaven man stared at me in fear and I shook him. "Where... head?"

A younger one nearby began to point. "There- gibberish- gibberish- Head there."

I raced towards the dead man's head, and stopped, kneeling down. Only Shadow creatures bleed in the Grey, and the torn vessels trailing out of the ragged skin hanging from his neck were still full of blood, with his neck bones dangling down even farther. Taking a deep breath to calm nerves growing ragged, I picked up the head with both hands. The helm was dented, with teeth marks in the metal from the Shadow Raptor's teeth, but otherwise the skull seemed to be in pretty good shape-

The eyes opened.

Shite, shite! Wotan's blood, don't drop it, whatever you do. Breathe, in and out. Everyone's watching. Better, the trembling isn't so bad. Breathe, in and out. You can do this. "If you hear me, blink one blink." I made my eyes do a slow, deliberate blink. The head's not doing anything, just staring-

The eyes blinked one time, then continued to stare. I took another deep breath. Several yards away, the body stopped moving and was facing me with its arms out. "Okay, one blink yes, two blink no. Okay?" The head blinked once. Another deep breath. "Okay, you dead." The head blinked twice and I sighed, wishing I understood their language better as I moved the head so its eyes were facing the headless body. "You. You dead."

The body dropped to the ground and curled up into a ball as the mouth opened wide. If it had been making any noise, I would’ve sworn it was screaming. Papa once told me that, if this ever happened, I had to make the dead man accept that he was dead, so I moved its face in front of mine once more. "Important, listen. You dead." The eyes closed and I shook it. "You dead." Tears glistened within the lashes but didn't fall.

"Walker-in-the-shadows." I looked up. The mercenary commander, Captain Tang, who was older than anyone else on the raid and completely bald, was frowning down at me. "You are too harsh," he said, speaking in Greco-Roma, which people from Xian to the Etruscan empires spoke as the language of trade. "If he can blink, then he's alive. Can the head be reattached?"

"He's already a ghost in the Grey. The moment he reenters the real world, he'll bleed out as he would've already, but if he remains in the Shadowlands, he'll be pursued by Shadow creatures and torn apart, again and again as the Grey heals him. He needs to remain near the temple, because soon after we leave this area, the real world will push back against the Grey and everything will become normal again."

Captain Tang's eyes narrowed, and I struggled to keep the frustration out of my voice. "Papa spends a good deal of time releasing spirits from their torment here. I don't want to add another."

The captain's face was inscrutable. "Give him to me and I will handle it."

I was more than happy to do so. I gave him the head, whose eyes had reopened, and got to my feet. "Put him just inside the ruined temple, but no closer. The area around the grey tree is twilight space, and he could still be trapped."

The mercenary commander nodded brusquely, and carried the head over to where the headless body had now sat up, as I trotted over to where Kula had the Khanda swordsmen arranged in a Hollow Box formation with the Chosen on the inside, scanning the skies for more Shadow Raptors. As I got close, the warriors stepped aside to let me in, then closed the gap again.

War-leader Kula was a big man with coarse features, wearing Artifact armor with plates pitted and cracked from heavy fighting. Prince Timur stopped the conversation he'd been having with Kula and gave me a hard look as I gave them a short description of my encounters with both the Shadow Raptor and the dead man, including Captain Chou's comment that I was too harsh.

I finished, and Prince Timur sneered, "You wounded the creature instead of killing it, then coddled a dead man by bringing him his head like a dog-slave. Too harsh?" He spat on the ground. "I’d say you're too soft."

Keep your temper. Titan, who was standing behind them, had told me Prince Timur had everyone thinking I was a spoiled child, and that the only way to shake the perception was by not rising to his bait. But it was all I could do not to snap back at him as Kula regarded me. "Greywolf," he said in his deep, gravely voice, "instead of killing the creature, you spared it, forcing the other creatures to leave us alone." He turned and looked down at the young boy beside him. "Remember this lesson: Glory in battle means nothing if the battle is lost, and the needless death of even a few men can change a general's fortune for the worse. Greywolf sacrificed glory for a better chance of victory."

Still wearing his full faced helm, the boy nodded, and Kula said, "Remember this lesson as well: all men die, and in the face of death, they need to accept it with a stout heart." He glanced at me, then back again. "I would've trussed the headless man up and left him behind so he wouldn't try to follow us like a lost puppy, but that's on Captain Tang's head now. If a man won't accept his death with honor, don't waste your time." The boy nodded again and the War-leader looked at me. "Greywolf, you are still a green warrior. But I have hope."

I didn't know why this Tartaros' respect meant anything to me, yet I held myself straight as an iron rod, my heart singing like a man drinking strong spirits as I kept my face impassive. "Yes sir. Permission to lead us onward?"

Prince Timur, who was looking past me, grunted. "That's the signal."

Glancing back, Captain Tang's aide was waving their red flag. "Go ahead, but keep Karl and a few of the Chosen with you in case there's another attack."

I nodded, Kula ordering several of his Chosen to follow me as Karl, Lys, and I left the column and headed towards the front, Prince Timur resuming his conversation with Kula. I felt eyes upon me and glanced back. The headless soldier was now sitting on a fallen pillar with his head in his lap, the expression on his face that of a man condemned to death.

I turned away and continued walking.