Read the story of Seven at the River Shining from the beginning.
Results of Last Week’s Poll: Does Tagren and the aid he sought show up in time to sway the battle?s’ families, does former Visionary Antrem recognize Lark’s leadership? (8 votes)
Yes. (100%)
No. (0%)
Arrow-10 watched his fellow defenders flying across the river. “A new development that was not predicted in my previous calculations. I must update my assessment tools to account for the flight ability of Heronshoen personnel.”
”If you’re saying that you’re shocked and stunned, then I agree,” Anna said.
”My limited data on the Heronshoen made this outcome unexpected.”
”I’ll take that as a ‘yes.’ But we can’t just stand around. We need to find a way to help them.”
”You are correct. I will not stand. I will walk.”
And with that, Arrow-10 clanked into the swift flowing river. Seconds later, he disappeared beneath the surface.
_______
Starr was flying. Flying! She knew her ancestors were descended from the angelic beings of the plane of Valokun, but never had she imagined such a lineage could express itself like this. Starr looked to her left where her sister flew beside her. Evie’s face was aglow: her eyes shone as bright as the sun, her hair seemed like fire, and light spilled from her open mouth, as if her insides could not contain the brilliance she was channeling.
”What’s happening to you?” Starr called over the rushing wind.
Evie laughed, a sound of pure glee that Starr hadn’t heard since they were little. “I found myself,” Evie yelled back. “And I am radiant!”
Starr mirrored Evie’s laughter as they soared across the river. But as they approached the western bank, a line of orcs opened fire. The reports of rifles echoed off the mountains like distant cracks of thunder. Starr felt a bullet graze her shoulder. Another fizzed by her left ear. She dived, skimming the water to present less of a target. Evie followed her, and together they landed amidst the bodies of Malavek’s guard who had met their end to tearing claw and goring antler. As they touched down, their wings of light disappeared, though Evie still shone as brightly as the sun reflecting off the River Shining.
“Naraleth!” Evie shouted. “Let them go!”
Malavek turned to the sisters. The bear and elk remained suspended in midair by their throats.
“I thank you, Evelana, for delivering me to my destined host,” Malavek said, his words strangely doubled, two voices coming from the same mouth.
Starr stepped in front of Evie, her sword ready to strike.
“Do you truly believe you can stop me, after all the power I showed you?” The big orc grinned, lopsided and cruel. “Or do you need a further demonstration?”
Starr felt a tightening in her chest. She couldn’t expand her lungs, couldn’t draw breath. She clutched at her throat with her free hand, but there was nothing to rip away. Starr dropped her sword, fell to one knee. Panic set in as black tendrils of unconsciousness unfurled in the corners of her eyes.
“No!” Evie screamed as she jumped to Starr’s side. Starr pawed feebly at Evie’s cheek, but her vision was swimming now, worse than after Arrow-10’s blow.
Were her eyes deceiving her? Lack of blood to her brain? Had Evie just taken up the dropped sword? Had it burst into brilliant flame as she held it aloft?
Starr blinked away the black. Evie was rushing forward. Starr blinked again. Evie held the sword ahead of her like a charging unicorn. Another blink. Evie buried the sword in Malavek’s side. He roared in pain, and suddenly Starr could breathe. The elk and bear fell to the rocky shore. The bear lay still, but the elk struggled to rise onto his hind legs. And now Lark was there, his head crowned with a glorious rack of antlers.
“Malavek,” Lark rasped. “Your quarrel is with me. You will visit no more carnage upon my people.”
The warlord swung his meaty arm and caught Evie with the back of his hand. She let go of the sword and spun away in a spiral of liquid light. Malavek grabbed the hilt and pulled the blade from the wound. The flames licked up his wrist, but he paid them no heed.
“You defied me,” Malavek said. “You escaped my hospitality. I will not let that go unpunished.”
“My people lie dead. Elders, friends, my…my mother. The village is gone. What more could you want?”
“You.” Malavek spat the word like a curse. “You will live. You will be my slave until you die toiling at my feet. You and your companion. Tell me, where is Tagren?”
Before Lark could respond, thunder rolled across the mountains. Starr flinched and looked for the shooter, but none of the rifle orcs had pulled their triggers. Rather, they were massing around Malavek, Lark, Starr, and Evie, pinning them to the river, three against a thousand.
Make that four.
Arrow-10 emerged from the river and stood with the others, his armblade in place and buckler held at the ready.
“Ah, the metal man,” Malavek said, and now Starr noticed the sharp line of his jaw which bore signs of a horrible and recent burn. “My Narex tells me you have no breath which it can steal, but you can still be dismembered. I shall take your head as a trophy.”
“If you are referring to the being which Evelana calls Naraleth, know that I have defeated it once and it shall not experience victory this time either.”
“And what are you going to do to stop me?” Keeping one hand on the wound in his side, Malavek held up Starr’s sword, from which Evie’s flames had disappeared. “Sorex firek mal. Rana pyrek ranfo kor, fray Olonkin. Mirex zi!”
Arrow-10 placed himself between the rifles and the Heronshoen sisters. “He told his rifle orcs to fill us full of holes. But I shall endeavor to intercept as many bullets as I can,” he said.
“Kava val!”
Starr gripped Evie as tight as she could and they shrank behind Arrow-10. Lark stepped up next to Arrow-10 and spread his arms wide. “If you’re going to shoot them, your bullets will have to pass through me.”
“A pointlessly heroic gesture,” Malavek said, and again Lark rose into the air, his neck straining against the invisible noose. “Taka sor!”
Starr flattened Evie to the ground and lay atop her. Arrow-10 lowered himself and presented his broad back to the semi-circle of rifles. He looked down at the sisters and gently ran a finger over Starr’s bruise. “I am sorry that I hurt you,” he said.
Before Starr could respond, fifty orcs pulled fifty triggers. The staccato pinging of metal on metal joined the low rumble of the rifles’ reports. Arrow-10 lurched as his armor deflected and absorbed dozens of bullets. None of them found Evie or Starr.
The rumbling continued, long after the rifleshots’ echoes died away.
“Firek mal!” Malavek shouted. “Garda oh Spark roh sorex dram!”
But the rifle orcs did not heed the leader’s command. Starr clambered to her feet, followed the orcs’ gaze upwards, and saw the sky darkening. The rumble was not the rifles’ echo. It was true thunder, growing closer and closer.
A sudden bolt of lightning split the sky and struck the center of the mass of Pierced Mountain orcs. Screams of pain and fear added soprano counterpoint to the booming bass of the thunder. Now Starr could discern shapes against the dark sky, hundreds of them, flying swift as the wind down the lower slopes of the Sunmount. As they approached, more lightning leapt from sky to ground amidst the orcish troops.
And now the orcs were fleeing, trying to outrun the oncoming storm. But the storm was too quick. A towering cloud, slate gray tinged with sickly green, formed over the valley. More lightning flashed. The wind strengthened into a gale. A cyclone snaked down from the sky, all fury and howl and swirl.
Starr watched the shapes draw closer. They bore wings, not of light but of feathers. In their hands, they gripped gnarled sticks glowing the intense blue of the center of a flame. And they were led by the most beautiful and graceful crane Starr had ever seen, gray and black and white, with a crown of blazing red feathers.
The vinaskir wheeled in formation and hovered over the battlefield, continuing to channel their magic into the growing storm. Only the crane dropped low and landed not more than a dozen paces from Starr. As he alighted on the shore, the crane’s wings turned to arms. His neck shortened, his head and legs grew. An Olonkin stood there, wrapped in heavy furs, with a layer of frost encasing his face like a mane.
_______
Lark fought for breath against the pressure constricting his throat, but none came. His head began to pound, loud as the thunder pealing across the valley. His vision narrowed to twin points directly ahead, where he could see Malavek shouting at his fleeing troops. But the appearance of the vinaskir and the ferocity of the conjured storm had spooked the remaining orcs. They did not heed their leader’s command. Malavek was alone.
But not alone. Naraleth was with him. Naraleth, whom Lark had bargained with. Naraleth had granted Malavek the power to change the river’s course, to ignore fatal wounds, to steal Lark’s breath.
That’s right, Lark. The insidious voice was inside Lark’s head. Now is the time to despair. You will fall unconscious in a moment, and then I will whisk Malavek and you away faster than any of your friends can follow.
Lark’s vision blurred as the black took him. But before he fell into the dark pool of senselessness, something behind Malavek drew his eye. His vision clarified on the Olonkin who had appeared there, tall and lean and beautiful.
Tagren!
He had returned in their hour of need on the swift wind of the vinaskirs’ flight. Risska was up there somewhere with their magical stick, sizzling orcs with bolts of lightning, one of many wizards Tagren must have recruited from the bird people’s ranks. If only Lark could call out to Tagren, to speak his gratitude and love. But his breath was spent. He felt himself slipping, slipping…
And then he was free.
Lark fell to the earth, and his lungs heaved in a grateful sum of air. He looked up and saw Tagren grappling with Malavek. The orc was shorter than the Olonkin but easily outweighed him. With the element of surprise spent, Malavek tripped Tagren and bore down on him, driving him to the ground. Lark lurched to his feet and stumbled toward them, his breath still coming in short burning gasps.
A bolt of lightning charged the air close by, and now rain began to fall in great sheets. In seconds, Lark was soaked through. His limbs shook. He had no strength to wrestle Malavek off Tagren. But he did not need might of arms when he could call upon the magic of nature. The rain would not be enough, but he had another source of water nearby. Vimak’s final lesson danced through Lark’s mind as his veered away toward the river. He planted his feet in the shallows and invited the water without to be one with the water within. The river snaked up his body. He wheeled his arms in one smooth motion towards Malavek. A geyser of water surged over him and out through his open hands.
But Lark did not just redirect the water. As it rushed through his fingers, he remembered what Vimak had said, half in jest: “Ice is just cold water!” Lark drew upon his magic and pulled all the warmth from the flow of the river. As it hit Malavek, the water turned to ice. Malavek was blasted off Tagren and encased in midair, a sudden sculpture of frozen jaggedness.
_______
Evie struggled out of Starr’s protective embrace and rolled onto her knees. Arrow-10 knelt before her, unmoving, his eyes dim. Drops of rain began pattering his metal exterior, then the clouds burst. But Evie remained dry. The aura of light surrounding her caught the rain and turned it to steam before it could touch her. Evie stood, a miniature sun shining all the brighter now that the star above was obscured by the vinaskirs’ storm. A sudden torrent of water shot by her. She looked to the river and saw Lark channeling the current. The deluge struck Malavek, lifting him off his feet, which did not touch the ground again.
“Lark! What did you just do?” Starr shouted over the drumming rain.
But Lark did not respond. He was too busy running to the other Olonkin, and now Evie recognized him, the one who had sent them to find Lark the other day. They pulled one another into a fierce embrace, not but an arm’s length from the frozen warlord.
“How did you control the water?” Lark’s partner asked.
“How did you turn into a bird?” Lark replied.
“The Sunmount taught me.”
Lark laughed, but the laughter died as he turned to the unmoving bear nearby. The bear was gone, replaced by the largest Olonkin Evie had yet seen. His lips were blue, his unseeing eyes locked open in a vision of breathless frenzy. Evie knew what had killed him. She had stopped the breath of so many with Naraleth’s aid. And while she had not persisted beyond her targets falling unconscious, she knew she could have. Naraleth would have given her the power to kill. Malavek seemed to relish that power.
Evie walked up and examined the statue of ice. Willing the heat swirling around her to dissipate, she felt the rain fall upon her for the first time. In no time at all, Evie was as wet as if she had jumped in the river. But the rain cooled her further, allowing her to touch the ice without melting it all at once. She felt a vibration coming from within and knew it came from Naraleth. The spirit had boasted of being a master of the elements; surely it could free Malavek from the ice.
If Evie let it.
But her own magic flowed through her now, tethered by a golden soulthread to Valokun. She had nothing to fear from the one who had called itself her helper.
“Naraleth,” she said aloud. “I’d like a word.”
Evelana, how wholly unsuitable you’ve become. The voice clawed a furrow in her mind, and she gritted her teeth against its horrid infiltration. I cannot take you back for you are too full now.
“That’s good because I wasn’t about to ask that.”
Watch your tone, Evelana.
“I will take any tone I wish,” she said. “And I’ll take it when I say this: Leave Malavek now and go far away. I never want to feel your influence within a hundred miles of me ever again.”
You dare give me an ultimatum? You cannot kill the orc as long as I am strengthening his body. We will break free of this ice in a matter of minutes, and then we will kill each and every last one of you. What could you possibly do? You are helpless against my power.
“You’re right, Naraleth…oh, not about being helpless. You’re right that I am full now, full of the Light of my people. It was always there, but I didn’t know it. So I embraced your shadow to save me from drowning. From then on you tried to take me. But no matter how much of your magic I used, you never could dominate me fully. And that’s because of the Light. Even a simple candle flame can drive away the darkness.” Evie paused, flared her light into her hands. “Now, I’m not a simple candle.” She put her hands on the ice on either side of Malavek’s head. “I’m the sun.”
The ice melted and Evie touched the orc’s temples. Rays of light shot from her fingers and burrowed into his head.
What are you doing? No, you must not!
“You are mine, Naraleth. And I won’t let you dominate anyone ever again.”
Evelana, please. I will give you whatever you ask. All my power. Please…
“I don’t want your power.”
Evie felt the presence of Naraleth burn away, like morning dew after sunrise.
_______
<Damage Assessment>
>>Anterior plating: 86% integrity.
>>Posterior plating: 13% integrity.
>>Left hand cannon inoperative.
>>Mobility compromised.
<Power Core Query> Sparkstone core depleted. Return to Foundry for replacement and repair.
Arrow-10’s ocular sensors blinked on, dimmer than normal.
“Are you all right?” Milly asked. She was standing next to him at eye level.
“I am crouching,” Arrow-10 said. “I cannot stand.”
“You took a lot of hits. The joints in your legs are all damaged, and your back’s a mess. Looks like you’re in low power mode, too.”
“My core is depleted.”
“Sounds like you need some sleep.”
“I do…require sleep.” Arrow-10 looked around. At least his neck still worked. “How did I arrive back on the eastern side of the river?”
“The bird people picked you up and flew you over here. They said you were really heavy.”
“Compared to what?”
“To what they normally carry, I suppose.”
“Were we victorious?”
Milly nodded vigorously. “Malavek is dead. Lark’s ice froze his blood. Evie said Naraleth is gone too. Most of Malavek’s clan died in the storm. The other orc clans left the battle before Tagren arrived with the vinaskir. The Kindred lost several more people in the battle with the orcs who did manage to reach this side of the river. But it could have been so much worse.” Milly was silent for a moment. Her head drooped. “Still bad though. Still very bad.”
“I am proud at the service we rendered,” Arrow-10 said. “We demonstrated non-transactional kindness in our willingness to risk our own lives to defend those with whom we had no prior relationship.” Arrow-10 scanned the town green and saw Lark with is partner Tagren, as well as Tynik, Evie, Starr, and Anna. “Now we have more friends.”
_______
Three days after the battle and one day after Risska and the vinaskir returned to their eyries in the heights, Lark stood between the bare pillars of the ruined Meeting Tent. Nalya, Farlak, and Kavosa, the remaining former Visionaries, flanked him. They would hold rites for Antrem and Vimak in time, as the community came to grips with the loss of over one hundred of their kin.
“Ya-Ya,” Lark said under his breath, still not quite believing the world he was stepping into did not include his mother. At least not in the flesh. Lark kissed the back of his hand, then touched his heart.
Nalya stepped onto a makeshift dias as a hush settled over the onlooking Kindred. “We remain,” she said. “Thanks to the bravery of the many and the leadership of a few, we remain. Yet we have lost much. We have lost parents and children. We have lost siblings and friends. We have lost the entire eastern portion of Morrin, while the west was ransacked by the orcs. We will rebuild in time. We will grieve. And we will live on in the shadow of the Sunmount like our ancestors before us. Our children will return from Greystar and continue our legacy. And now, as a first step in securing that legacy, the Council of Elders has confirmed a new Visionary.”
Lark stepped onto the dias.
“Or should I say Co-Visionaries,” Nalya said, and Tagren stepped up beside Lark. “Both of these young people have proven themselves through a quest on the mountain. Both have received the magic of nature to be their guide and companion. Both will lead our people together as we rebuild. And we certainly have enough for them to do. In the memory of Vimak and Antrem and all those who died here in these dark days, please join me in consecrating our new Visionaries to the work that is before them.”
Lark and Tagren held hands as their people breathed on them. Then a roar of approval swelled amongst the Olonkin. Lark looked out over the sea of faces and saw the outsiders at the edge of the crowd, outsiders who would now always be known as Kin.
After receiving everyone’s gratitude and well-wishes, Lark made his way to the six of them. “Thank you, my friends,” he said. “Without your aid, we would have all perished. You did not have to make our cause into your own, yet you chose to, and for that you have my deepest appreciation.”
“And only three of us got shot,” Milly said.
“Yes,” Arrow-10 said. “Forty-nine bullets hit members of our party. An average of seven bullets apiece.”
“But you took forty-seven of them,” Starr said, and Lark noticed her hand go to her opposite arm which sported a sling.
“I suppose I did,” Arrow-10 agreed. “My challenge now is that I cannot walk, and the only place capable of fielding my repairs is the Spark Foundry, which lies 985 kilometers west northwest of here.”
“Tell you what,” Anna said. “We’re on our way north to Titan. We’ll help get you to the city. You can catch a ship from there.”
“I wish I could go with you,” Lark said. “But my place is here.”
“Mine too,” Tynik said. “I couldn’t land the death blow on my father, but if I had to choose, I’d much rather repair the damage he caused.”
“I’d make the same choice every time.” Lark turned to Arrow-10 and sized him up. “But I suppose I could spare a day or two to get you to Lake Limnasa. You all can strap him to my back.”
And so it was decided. The next morning, Starr and Anna used all their nautical know-how to lash Arrow-10’s large frame to Lark’s elk form. The grateful Olonkin lined the northern path along the river to say farewell to their defenders. Tynik and Tagren remained behind, while the others followed Lark down the path into the wilds of southern Limnasa. As they reached the edge of Morrin, the sun burst over the peak of the Sunmount, bathing the entire assembly in the glory of a new day.
This concludes Seven at the River Shining. Trail Blaze Fiction will be on hiatus for several weeks as I go on vacation and prepare for the next story. You can listen to this chapter on the podcast side of the Trail Blaze Fiction Substack or your favored podcast app. While you’re waiting for the next installment, head over to AdamThomas.net and sample Adam’s fantasy novels.
Thank you, Adam! Enjoy your vacation and time away as you prepare for your next adventure.