I remember some of the battles. Enough to know they numbered hundreds. So many lost gone to time. Most are left as muddled feelings and absent memories. Rage. Hate. Sorrow.

…The stench of death.

ARC 5 - PARACLETE

CHAPTER 14 - THE SUN WAKES

Victoria stirred, woken by shouts in the distance. She laid still as stone and slowly looked about her room. No one leaned on the walls. No one sat in any of the chairs. The pale light of the moon above no longer poured through her window, instead replaced by the warm hue of fire. The room was empty, the same as it had been when Nora had blown out the candles and left to stand guard. The wicks had long gone cold, yet the faint smell of smoke wafted about with the same lazy grace as the sheer curtains.

A commotion outside her door bid her roll over so she could stare down the entry. Her hands tightened beneath her pillow as she watched shadows move beneath the small gap above the floor, shifting with voices wrapped in hushed tones. Raegn and Nora entered in a hurry, both covered in their Crownguard armor.

Neither had been asleep in the adjacent room, she realized. Which of them had been standing guard? How long had she been asleep?

“Any sign of Edolie?” Nora asked as they approached the bed.

“No. Couldn’t get down to the scullery without going through half the palace guard.”

Victoria saw Nora wince behind the face of her helm. She couldn’t choose which of her Crownguard to keep her eyes on. They both seemed…tense. Why were they fully armored? And why was the city aglow?

“What’s happened?” she asked.

“Princess, you need to get dressed,” Nora instructed. “Do you have travel clothes? Something simple?”

Victoria nodded. “They’re what I wore when we saw the Selected.”

“That’ll do. Come on, quickly now,” Nora prodded.

Victoria slid from the bed and began to grab the bottom of her nightgown. She paused with the garment near her thigh before whipping her head upright. Her cheeks flushed, but Raegn had his back turned and was already near the door. The thought crossed her mind that it might not be out of respect for her privacy. Her two Crownguard were often focused, their demeanor seemingly cold towards her as they directed their attention on the task at hand, but this was entirely different. They only acted like this when there was a threat.

Still, Victoria waited until he was in the hall before pulling her gown the rest of the way off and taking the trousers Nora thrust into her hands. She scrambled to get dressed, pressed to move ever faster by Nora even as the sound of fighting erupted in the hall.

Raegn exited the room as clattering footsteps ascended the final stairs and arrived in the corridor. The men, Sunstriders by the flowing ribbons fastened to their backs, came to a hesitant halt at his presence. Their swords were drawn as if expecting a threat. Raegn’s eyes narrowed as they stayed unsheathed. The princess’s room was yet secure, but to them the threat was yet present.

At long last, the Emperor showed his true colors. The board was set. The final stroke upon them.

Raegn gently closed the door. The latch gave a soft clunk as the barrier met its frame. A slow hand released the handle and took up his spear from his shield arm. He stared into the whites of half a dozen sets of eyes, giving each their due. One pair was familiar. The same brown as the others, but the hint of a brow beneath a helm was one he remembered from several days prior. It belonged to the soldier that had returned his sword after he’d left it in an alley full of would-be assassins, unable to carry it for the wound in his side. Not a pity that their paths should cross again, but a shame it was in this manner.

“If you’ve come to talk, I must ask that you keep your voices down,” Raegn said. “The princess is trying to sleep.”

The Sunstrider in front scowled and flexed his fingers around the hilt of his sword, hefting it in the new grip. Others swayed, readying themselves.

Raegn gave a sad sigh. Poison flowed through the city, but he blamed not the sick, for they had nothing else to drink. He settled into a stance behind his shield, his eyes hardly visible above its edge and his spear set to be their only greeting.

“Fine, then,” he told them. “Come if you wish.”

He did not wait for them to cross the full distance to reach him. He conquered a portion of the ground before him, securing space to fall back without needing to give up the door. Unlike the assassins, these men had set their priorities right. They went not for the end goal, but for the obstacle in their path. They went for him.

These outnumbered fights were ill-advised, but he could stomach them so long as the terrain continued to be in his favor. The hallway was even more narrow than the alley, so much so that only three men could stand abreast, and even then it made it difficult to swing a sword. Tucked neatly behind his shield, Raegn absorbed blows and shuffled side-to-side to counter those who tried to flank. His spear need not be swung. Swift thrusts bounced past greave and pauldron, but found flesh on the return draw often enough. Hamstrings were severed, underarms lacerated, and a neck opened here and there.

Slowly, methodically, he carved them down until they were but a thick, uneven rug on the floor. The door opened a moment later. Nora stuck her head out to confirm the state of things, then led Victoria out by the arm. The Justicar’s other hand was occupied by the strap of the sack slung over her shoulder, preventing her weapon from being drawn. A large bag, but a meager amount of supplies for three people. Enough to start a journey, but not finish it.

“Why won’t you tell me what’s—oh gods!” the Princess gasped as she caught sight of the dead. A hand covered her mouth and she gagged as though she were about to vomit.

“It seems we’re no longer welcome here,” Raegn informed her.

Victoria swallowed hard, forcing down the rising tide in her throat. Unfortunately for her, they didn’t have the time for her to fully compose herself. As agreed, Nora stuck by the princess’s side, pulling her down the hall despite her reluctance to step between bloodied corpses. Raegn led the way down the stairs and through the palace, sticking to the scant hallways used by the servants rather than the lavish routes.

The Tsurat home was alive with activity, though most of it could be characterized as complete disarray. Servants ran about frantically, unable to decide if they should hide or flee. Guards patrolled in frenzied groups, but they were easy enough to avoid. A patient moment at an intersection here, a quick duck into a storeroom there, and soon enough Raegn stepped out beneath a dark sky dotted with stars. Two seasons of walking the grounds had offered them the time to memorize every detail. Like clockwork, they’d taken a moment to refine their plans in the dead of each night when they traded who guarded Victoria’s door. He set them off west, hugging the walls as they made their way around the palace’s edge and heading towards the lone portcullis without a gatehouse.

The gardens were empty, but still they avoided the set paths in favor of the shadows provided by wispy shrubs and thirsty trees. They’d nearly reached the far end when a voice called out into the night. It bore both a touch of the Light and carried Victoria’s name. The princess whirled to find its owner, but was drug back out of sight by Nora’s firm grip. From beneath twisted branches, the three crouched and looked back towards the palace.

Tirin stood proudly upon the balcony attached to Victoria’s room, several guards at his back and Edolie held fast at his side.

“Come back, Victoria,” he shouted into the night. “Come retrieve your precious servant!”

Raegn didn’t need the Light in his eyes to see the dagger the Crown Prince held. The crisp sight did reveal the tears that streamed down Edolie’s plump cheeks, though. And the cloth gag that bit into the corners of her mouth.

“It’s a bluff,” he whispered. “He’s trying to—”

Raegn’s words were cut short by Victoria’s muffled scream. Tirin drew the knife across Edolie’s throat and pushed her from the balcony. The poor woman couldn’t even scream in her final seconds before meeting the ground. She lay motionless, a twisted heap with limbs contorted far from their normal position.

Nora kept a hand tightly clasped over Victoria’s mouth, fighting to keep her from running to the handmaid with the other. Raegn felt the fire in him rise. Only the sinfully arrogant killed the weak and helpless. The son of a bitch hadn’t given Victoria time to go back even if she’d been able! Save the handmaid be-damned!

His hand came up without thought. A far distance, but he stood a good chance of cutting the Crown Prince in half with a quick beam of Light. If it only separated the bastard’s legs that would be pleasing enough. In fact, it might even be better than a quick death.

A river of Light flowed through Raegn’s arm, but before it could manifest at his palm Nora shouldered into him. The impact forced him to abandon the effort in favor of catching his balance.

“What are you doing!” she hissed, still struggling to keep the princess both quiet and still from her frantic anguish. “We need to go! Now!”

Raegn ground his teeth. Nora held the very essence of their mission in her arms, nothing more than a girl with soggy tears running down her face. The palace, however, held all that was wrong with this kingdom within its walls. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Tirin give a final scan of the grounds before retreating back into the princess’s room and out of sight.

Fuck this whole city.

“The northern option?” he asked through a clenched jaw.

Nora nodded.

The anger stayed in his stride, hiding the fatigue he should have felt behind hot blood. Their route was correct, there was no gatehouse, yet on either side of the iron-wrought passage, two guards stood firmly at their post. As agreed, Nora stayed out of sight with the princess. And Raegn was free to relieve himself of his ire.

The first hardly had time to ready his spear at the madman sprinting at him. Raegn threw his full weight at him, crushing the man between his shoulder and the stone wall. The guard wobbled as he pulled away and was left defenseless as a shield bearing the crest of an owl flattened every bit of tissue in his throat.

The second rallied himself from shock and gave a furious thrust of his own spear. Raegn ducked it easily, dancing up its length and ramming his shield’s edge into the man’s gut. The guard doubled over, then was wrenched upright by Raegn’s vice-like grip about his helm. Like a starving beast opening a shell-covered fruit, the guard’s head was beaten against the wall until he lay still.

Shoulders still heaving, Raegn moved to draw open the gate from the nearby winch as Nora and the stunned princess made their way from the shadows. Victoria’s face was still damp and her eyes swollen, but Nora need silence her no longer. The dove looked broken, her body carrying on but her mind blank. She stayed like a puppet as they ran, pulled this way and that, always a second late to respond to any command but doing so with unfailing acceptance.

They ventured deep into Shaktika’s streets, dodging patrols of guards that ran down any hapless citizens that tried to flee. The city was chaos, anything not made of stone or mud ablaze and filling the air with billowing smoke. Figures darted in and out of the gray air, screams rang out from all around, children cried, and more than once they nearly tripped over some poor soul that hadn’t reached safety.

They’d gone half a dozen streets without a recognizable landmark when Raegn finally came upon the dry moat that split the city. He pressed on, eager to free them of the horrid labyrinth in which they’d been kept. Three steps into the open and several more from the bridge, a torrent of flame erupted from his left and cut off the path. He dove backward, tackling Nora and Victoria both and then scrambling back behind the safety of a nearby building.

Smoke burned his eyes, but was replaced by the Light as he peered around the corner. Amidst the swirling smog, he could make out a line of figures. More guards, though they had affinity or some method of creating fire.

“It’s going to be impossible to cross,” Raegn growled and leaned his head back against the wall for a moment’s rest.

They were still being hunted. The longer they stayed still, the greater the chance a patrol would stumble upon them and sandwich them. He watched Nora’s eyes dart about, searching for a solution.

“Do you think our shields can take the heat for a moment?” she asked.

Raegn frowned. “I don’t know. Probably?”

Nora nodded. Slowly at first, then more quickly as if convincing herself of her own plan. “I’ll go down the street at them and draw their attention. You cross with the princess.”

“And then?”

“You repeat it for me on the other side.”

Raegn scoffed. “Nora, they’re not going to fall for the same trick twice.”

She hoisted the princess up and passed her weary frame over to him. “Have any other ideas?”

“Cut them down with Light,” he answered flatly. “I think her life is in more than enough danger to justify it.”

“We swore,” Nora countered. “Not until the exact moment it becomes necessary. We try my way first.”

“This is absurd, Nora!” He’d risen from his restful crouch, an arm swung wide in demonstration of his point. “The entire city is going up in flames! Even if it weren’t necessary, who do you think is going to testify against us?”

She cocked her head to the side as a mother would to her brazen child. “Is that it then? You forget your oaths so quickly?” She gave a rap of her gauntleted hand against the forehead of his helm. “Have some faith, won’t you?”

Raegn slung Victoria’s arm over his shoulder and pivoted hard to put his partner’s face out of sight. Nora would see them killed before even putting a toe near whatever line had been drawn in the sand. It was only personal conviction and a fear of excommunication that kept the Justicar in line. All their oaths were just words. After all these years, how could someone honestly believe that Raguel would descend from the Heavens and smite anyone who failed to follow them?

“And Raegn?”

He kept his eyes on the bridge, visualizing his way across. He’d carry Victoria if she couldn’t keep up. More tiring, but certainly faster. Nora couldn’t afford to take the flames for long.

“Raegn, look at me,” Nora said more sternly.

He turned his head enough to see her out the corner of his vision. Soot stained her cheeks and brow, but her eyes were like crystals, blue and pure as the lakes and rivers from his home.

“Promise me you’ll protect her.”

That was the whole point, wasn’t it? Get the princess across the bridge without having her be roasted like a pig?

“I promise,” he grunted.

Nora smiled, then hefted her shield higher up on her arm and took a position in front of him. Their legs flexed in sync. Nora took one quick step, then planted and ran hard down the street. Raegn felt the heat erupt behind him and saw the flame’s glow in the smoke that masked the far side of the bridge. As his foot hit the first plank, another pillar of fire flare out towards him. He ducked behind his shield, pulling Victoria close and ensuring his cloak covered their backs. They couldn’t afford to stop. In a low crouch and with quick steps that sent the burning in his thighs soaring, he forced them on.

The moment his foot felt stone he all but threw Victoria behind the nearest wall. He dove in behind her, tearing at his flaming cape to free it from his shoulders. In his inspection looking for other parts of himself on fire, he realized the face of his shield had melted so that the shape of the owl was far from recognizable and the leather of his boots had crusted. Behind them, a steadily crackling became several loud snaps as the wooden bridge broke apart beneath the roaring flame and fell into the street below. Raegn froze, peering through the smoke in search of Nora. He would have been relieved when he saw her, still alive and back behind a different building if there were still a way for her to join them. Instead, she was waving them on.

“Go!” she shouted. “I’ll meet you where we planned!”

Raegn grimaced, but threw his arm around Victoria’s shoulders and forced her down the street. They ran far slower than he would’ve liked, in part because the princess wasn’t up for the pace, but also due to his own fatigue. The wound in his side was mostly healed, though his normal vigor hadn’t returned with it. One fight and some running shouldn’t have taken such a toll, yet he found himself hard for air.

To make matters worse, his mind couldn’t keep up with the layout of the city even with the slower tempo. The smoke hung so thick in the air that even when he called the Light to his eyes he couldn’t make out any landmarks in the distance. The general direction was right, but his turns were liable to wrong. A risk, considering that many of the streets—

“Shit!” he hissed as they came upon a dead end.

He grabbed Victoria by the wrist to lead her back the way they’d come, but found their exit blocked by a company of guards before they’d made it halfway. Raegn backed away, searching for another way out. The walls offered no doors to escape through. Above street level there was a window too high for him to grab. He could heft Victoria to it, but it would leave him defenseless. He pushed the princess behind him and readied himself for another fight.

The company advanced steadily, eight across. Raegn kept easing back, matching their cautious steps until he felt a hand in his back as Victoria met the wall.

There was nowhere else to go - no chance he could fight so many. Not when half a dozen swords and several pikes could reach him at once. These weren’t the same type of soldier that had been guarding the bridge though, thankfully. Or perhaps they were exercising a bit of restraint rather than torching them. There was still a chance they wanted Victoria alive, he supposed.

Not that it mattered. This would be the moment the facade came tumbling down. Whether the Emperor was simply capitalizing on the rebellion’s outburst or its instigator was trivial. Khada Tsurat had hidden his intentions for nearly two seasons. All that mattered now was that he and Nora had done the same - plus a few hours longer.

Raegn reached out for the Light. The power came as a thundering waterfall, pounding everything below into submission. It coursed into his limbs, giving them strength far beyond the average man. The front row hesitated at the glowing white in his eyes, then all but a few turned around completely.

So easily afraid.

Yet he realized in short order that it wasn’t his appearance that had stolen their courage. More bodies had poured into the street and crashed into the back of the company. Most had simply turned to face the unexpected threat. He let his arm go back to his side and take up his spear as men fell, their dying screams bringing a halt to the advance of those in front. In the midst of the standard helmets and hardened leather armor, Raegn could make out figures in black with expressionless white faces. Through the jostling tide of the company, he glimpsed a nimble girl hacking through foes that the other rebels rallied around.

Black hair flowed from beneath a pale mask and her sword, if it could be even called one, was as tall as she. The blade was straight for only a short bit past the long grip and handguard, then curved wildly into a massive sickle for the majority of its length. Ridiculous as it was, she swung it well. Most she faced were kept at length, meeting the blade’s wicked edge as it cleaved through them. She dropped the inside of the curve over shields, pulling them away and exposing the lifeblood they were meant to protect.

Were Raegn not so focused on keeping back the few soldiers still focused on Victoria, he might have had recognized their savior. As things were, it was the princess who came to the realization first.

“…Tanis?”

The pace the rebels set to the safehouse was quick, so much so that Raegn thought he might have to drag Victoria along or carry her over his shoulder. It was with pleasant surprise that he found the princess was able to keep step, no doubt thanks to the presence of one Tanis Tsurat, First Princess of Shaktika and traitor to her own family. By the looks of how the other rebels treated her, she wasn’t just a member, either.

Pairs of masked fighters in blackened leather armor fanned out into every street crossing at a wave of her arm, then formed up behind them once the main group had passed. They crossed the dry moat that split the city once again, this time over a hastily fastened rope and plank bridge that hadn't been there in the days when Victoria had still walked about the city. The rebels were well prepared, Raegn noted. Being impressed was quickly replaced by mounting frustration at the realization they were headed south, however, opposite the way they needed to go. If they could offer a few moments safety and an escort out of the city afterward, though, he had little desire to argue.

They arrived at the safehouse, no more than a simple storeroom with walls hidden behind towering stakes of crates and barrels that the flames had somehow failed to reach. The group took up watchful positions, every set of eyes set fast on an entry or peering out narrow windows. Victoria doubled over in the center of the room, hands on her knees and her chest heaving.

“We appreciate the help,” Raegn said through his own heavy breaths. “But we need to—”

“Listen to me,” Tanis said, pulling the mask from her face and hanging it from her belt. “We haven’t much time here and there is much knowledge you need to take with you.”

Raegn recoiled at the force behind her voice and she hardly gave him time to reframe his thoughts to her message.

“Father sends the Selected out to a camp somewhere in the desert,” Tanis explained, “but that’s not the most important thing in those dunes. Before the Void War, it wasn’t all just sand; one of the war’s largest battles took place in that wasteland. My family has done everything it can to keep that part of history hidden.”

“Why?” Victoria asked.

Raegn felt his blood run cold. “Because of what would have been left behind.”

“What would—?”

“Soulstones." He cut the question off before it was complete and Tanis confirmed it with a single nod.

Items of fables and tales, all too prevalent and cohesive not to hold some partial truths. Khada Tsurat hadn’t only been rounding up those with affinity, he’d been gathering the remnants of all the fallen Lightborne. If there truly was a battle large enough to turn an entire portion of the Realm to sand…

Raegn’s heart sank. He found a nearby crate on which to sit and took off his helmet, letting it clatter to the floor. The pieces fit perfectly. The Emperor already had mages in his ranks, given their encounter at the bridge. How many, Raegn wondered, and how long until Khada had what he deemed enough?

“What?” Victoria pressed, looking between the two grim faces that understood something she did not. “What does that mean?”

“It means the Emperor controls a force that no one else has or can match,” he told her. “With an army of mages, Shaktika could sweep through Elysia unless the Order rose to stop him.”

“Well why wouldn’t they?”

“The Order may be led from within Elysium, but it is an ally to the Realm, not Elysia,” Raegn grumbled. “We don’t meddle in affairs of state.”

It was a lie, but not much of one. The Inquisitors might try to influence things here and there through singular acts of deception and spycraft, but the Order had not, in its entire history, been a part of any war between kingdoms. It was created as a coalition, a representation of the entire Realm to fight the Void and nothing more. Any other action taken was simply to protect its ability to do so.

“But the Order performed the Cleansing,” Victoria argued. “They’ve beaten mages before!”

“It was less of a war and more of a hunt of scattered deviants,” Raegn said, recalling the history annotated in the Justicar code. “If these mages fight under a nation’s banner, there won’t be a repeat of history.”

“Your Highness.” One of the rebels approached Tanis, stealing her focus from Victoria's rapid education. “We cannot linger. The dawn will be here soon.”

“I understand.” Tanis glanced at Victoria, then surveyed the room. “We’ve secured what we came for. Get the message out. Everyone is to disperse after these two reach the walls. We’ve been cut tonight. Best to stop the bleeding before we lose too much.”

The man gave a nod and headed off towards the nearest group of masked figures.

Raegn couldn’t decide if they meant the dawn in the literal sense or if the rebellion was so infatuated with the symbolic fight between moon and sun that they always spoke in such ways. Neither was favorable, unfortunately. Daylight would only make it harder to get out of the city unseen and fighting the Empire’s soldiers was a fool’s choice considering their vastly superior number.

“Do you know how to get to the southern gate from here?” Tanis asked, her attention back on them.

“Our plan was to meet at the northern gate,” Raegn told her.

The rebel leader shook her head. “Not possible. It’s the shortest route for you to get home, but father knows that, too. We’ve lost control of our passages there and the majority of the mages are in the northern half of the city. You won’t make it, even with your affinity.”

Nora would still be heading north, though. She was going headlong into the threat just to wait for them. He had no way of telling her the plans had changed. If she stayed too long or fought too hard…Raegn ran a hand over his head, combing back the hair from his forehead in a mixture of sweat and ash. Heavens knew he wanted to flood himself with Light and turn this wretched city to rubble. And curse Nora for all the oaths and promises she demanded of him! Damn the entire assignment to the abyss and back!

He closed his eyes and forced back the frustration that welled in his chest.

“I know the way south,” he muttered.

“Good. Just to the east of the gate and one street back is a partially collapsed smithy,” Tanis said. “In the cellar beneath there’s a small tunnel that will take you out of the city. There will be someone waiting with horses some supplies, enough to get you by for a few days, at least. Say the phrase, ‘When the sun sleeps’. The reply will be, ‘The moon is set free.’ It must be exactly those words and in that order. If it’s anything else…”

“We’ll find a way to get home,” Raegn assured her. “Listen, if you find Nora—”

“I will do everything I can for her,” Tanis replied.

He rose and held out his hand. She took it by the forearm. A warrior's farewell. An unspoken word. One shared between those willing to put their trust in another and not one Raegn ever expected to share with the Shaktikan princess.

“Come with us!” Victoria interrupted.

Tanis gave a sad smile, but shook her head. “My place is here, with my people.”

“But what will you do?” Victoria pleaded. “You can’t go back to the palace!”

“I agree.” Tanis looked at the other rebels, bandaging the last of their wounds and preparing to move. “If my father wants open war with the rebellion, so be it. I will fight him for every grain of sand in this city. I will hound him at every turn and wear him down until the rest of the Realm forces him to a negotiating table. Shaktika will not stand behind a slave army. I swear it.”

It was a noble cause, Raegn could admit, but if the Emperor brought the full force of his army into the city and locked down the streets, there would be little Tanis could do. Ambushes thrived on the element of surprise and the rebellion’s longevity on their ability to shrink back into the shadows. Were every corner to be watched by a pair of guards and every route patrolled, she’d be choked out eventually. In the midst of a burning city and hiding in a meager storeroom was neither the time nor the place for him to say as much, though.

“I’ll come back for you,” Victoria said, grasping for Tanis’s hands. “I’ll get my father to send aid. Elysia will back the rebellion, I’m sure of it!”

Tanis freed a limb from the desperate grip and brushed the back of her fingers down Victoria’s cheek.

“I hope you will.”

The rebel leader placed a kiss on Victoria’s lips and earned a slight gasp of surprise from the Elysian royal.

“Go,” Tanis told them. “It will be a hard journey over the southern tip of the mountain and across the Great Plain, but I have faith you will find your way home.”

The First Princess donned the mask she’d fastened about her belt and her face became hidden behind pale white.

“May the moon watch over you.”