Vedek

Vedek found Frost collapsed against a wall. He was soaked in blood. Not all of it his. He was wheezing through broken ribs and struggling to see through eyes swollen shut.

“What happened?” Vedek asked.

Frost faintly smiled. “I won.”

Chamela was torn like a child’s toy and beaten to a bloody disfigurement of his former self. The state of the sitting room was such that Vedek could never imagine it recovering from the brawl that must have occurred there. There was a splatter of blood on the ceiling that could have only come from one of them hurtling the other into it.

Vedek patted Frost. “I won too. Will you be alright? I have to find the others.”

“I’ll live.” Frost mumbled sleepily. “We all promised we would…”

Vedek let Frost conserve his strength and drift back to unconsciousness. Despite his ravaged body, he looked serene.

Vedek disliked leaving him there, but it had to be done. He was needed elsewhere. He returned to the sitting room balcony. From here he could see the front of the Keep. A small portion of the minotaur army had charged through the city and were sieging the courtyard gates. Sráid archers discouraged this attack with precise arrows. However, their efforts were divided between the forces outside the walls, and the small team of warriors that were already inside them.

It was Onakie’s portion of the strike team. Her massive shield easily deflected any missile and gave shelter to her allies. She moved with singular purpose to the white coatlmade at the crest of the courtyard walls: Kelmin.

Self-preserving man that he was, Kelmin was ordering any and every soldier of Sráid to fall upon Onakie and save him. With her four team members, Onakie cut her way through all attackers. If she was wounded, then she fought through the damage excellently. Vedek noticed two archers had crept into position behind Onakie. Ross and Bosh were prepared to kill the Keeper of their fallen lord.

Vedek’s hands flew to his bow. Ross and Bosh were far away, but he had the higher ground. His first arrow struck Bosh between his shoulder blades. Ross pivoted, sighting Vedek, and fired the arrow she had prepared for Onakie. Vedek ducked back. Compared to his battle with Cuixmala, this brief skirmish felt slow. He wasn’t sure where his retaliation shot struck Ross, but she collapsed over the edge of the wall after it hit.

Her assassination avoided, Onakie reached Kelmin. Vedek could not isolate what they were saying to each other, but it seemed Kelmin was begging. Or perhaps he was insulting her. She gripped him by the throat and threw him against the wall. The impact knocked the wind from him and he became very still on the ground. Vedek smiled on behalf of Onakie’s vindication.

The satisfaction couldn’t last. Reinforcements to the Keep arrived from the east and west ends of town. Onakie and her team were cut off from re-entering the Keep and were forced to vault the walls, joining the minotaurs led by her father.

Vedek sprinted from the sitting room. Kelmin was finished, but Ghetsis could still live. He realized he could reach the throne room by way of the balcony above it. As he ran he could feel the contents of his quiver rattle. He had so few arrows left.

He could hear the battle inside the throne room before he reached the balcony. With each long stride he tried to determine the state of the battle on sound alone. There didn’t seem to be many voices, or clashes of weapons and armor. It was dwindling to its final participants. He hoped that meant his side was nearing victory.

He had to slow himself when he arrived at the throne room. The balcony had partially collapsed. He skidded on his heel, catching himself on a stretch of intact railing so that he could assess the situation. The strike team was down to six warriors. Vedek was thankful that his friends were still alive, but there was a crisis unfolding. In the chamber’s center, Ghetsis Reballo marched against a pillar of black arcane fire being emitted from Legion. Ghetsis’ massive armor was charring, but a blue aura seemed to protect him. Legion was trembling like a leaf. He was barely holding on to his wand and his will to stand.

In the end, Legion forfeited first. His fire faded and his legs gave out from under him. Ghetsis was standing over the boy with his blade prepared to execute. The blue aura over his armor was gone.

“This is proof.” Ghetsis solemnly declared. “Proof that I am imbued with strength beyond that of any mortal fiend! Let this death show the futility of opposing my Order!”

Vedek didn’t remember nocking an arrow, but he fired it all the same. Before Ghetsis’ blade fell, Vedek’s arrow passed through a narrow gap in the armor where the shoulder met the neck.

Ghetsis’ body spasmed. His mouth sputtered failed attempts at speech. The greatsword he carried clattered on the ground. He fought to stay standing, grasping at some mysterious something. It was a fight he lost. Ghetsis Reballo died on his back.

Even though he had just arrived, Vedek felt every bit as exhausted as if he had dueled Ghetsis sword to sword. Those below either gazed in shock at Ghetsis, or in relief at Vedek. Azeroth scooped up Legion. He confirmed that the boy was still awake, just utterly drained of any strength.

“The bastard’s dead.” Azeroth nodded to Ghetsis. “How do we tell those out there?”

Vedek turned. Behind him was a window that displayed the courtyard. The true soldiers of Sráid, Fae races like him, were defending the Keep with all the valor expected of them. They weren’t fighting for the Order, they were fighting for the nobility of Sráid. They were a force caught in the middle of this conflict. The neutral.

A sense of resolve formed in Vedek’s core and hardened to diamonds. With the end of his bow he shattered the window completely. This was his platform for the point of no return.

“Stop!” He bellowed. He yelled louder and harder than at any point in his life. His proclamation rose above the sound of combat. Every soldier on both sides paused at the command of this dragon roar that came from the center of Vedek’s being.

All eyes were on him. Elden eyes. Tuatha eyes. Minotaur eyes. Human and coatlmade eyes. The eyes of Order members and Sráid soldiers. Azeroth’s eyes. Legion’s eyes. Every soul that heard Vedek’s cry waited in stunned silence for what he would say.

“Ghetsis Reballo is dead.” Vedek began. The crowd quaked with this news. Before the tension built to a breaking point Vedek silenced them again.

“I killed him. I am Vedek Slevelisk of the royal family of Fae’Riam, an Elden Fae of the highest birth with the eyes to prove it, and I killed Ghetsis Reballo because I recognized the vileness of what he stood for. I condemn what he has done, and all that followed him.”

Vedek’s throat was dry. He could scarcely believe it himself. He had just revealed the secret he had kept hidden for two months. It had to be done. If so much value was to be placed on his birth as an Elden Prince, then he had to use it for good.

The silence that followed his speech was brief. There was no clear way to react to such a declaration. Some cheered. Some shouted in disbelief. The rest continued to stare in dumbfounded silence. Vedek waited for the battle to resume as if his words were meaningless.

The defenders of Sráid looked to their commanding officers. Kelmin wasn’t there to coerce their decision. Vedek watched with rapt fascination as they deliberated. Onakie sheathed her weapons and cautiously approached to give her input. She pointed to the battlefield outside the city. The order was given that the soldiers of Sráid would stand down. They would hold the Keep until their rightful Queen was returned to them.

The weight in Vedek’s chest vanished. He moved from the window and fell upon the railing facing the throne room. Azeroth was regarding him with quiet intrigue. Tuatha soldiers entered from the courtyard to confirm that Ghetsis lay dead. They sealed the doors behind them. Blood was pounding in Vedek’s ears. He felt like laughing, or screaming. Any form of outburst to expel the last barbs of tension within him.

He settled on a long, contented sigh.

It was the last breath he took before an unknown figure bashed his head against the railing.