They sat up against the walls in one of the rooms. The door was closed and barred in case any remaining chimera tried to attack them.
Janette was fast asleep along with Corvus while Kurai and Arcaea watched over them. The family they had met earlier sat in one of the corners, huddled together, holding each other tightly. Their mangled forms a living testament to the horrors that had been inflicted upon them. Despite all they had been through they still held their sanity, however fractured it might be. They were not feral like the others, possibly because their transformation had not been completed.
Arcaea held Raven’s head in her lap and gently stroked her jet black hair. She had remained unconscious since the fight and they all worried that she might not ever wake up. Her face and body was swollen and every now and then her fingers twitched and her eyes fluttered before going still once again.
The small bonfire they had created in the center of the room crackled lightly, injecting some warmth into that frigid space.
“What do we do now?” whispered Kurai so as not to wake the others.
“I guess we rest up and eventually make our way back to Keystone. Hopefully we’ll have enough rations to last the journey back.” said Arcaea.
“How are you doing?” asked Kurai coldly.
It was clear to Arcaea that she cared but was too scared to show how she truly felt.
“Tired. So torking tired.”
“Me too.”
“How are you feeling?”
“I just said I’m tired.”
“But how do you feel?”
Kurai thought about it for a moment, debating with herself on the topic of how much she should divulge.
“I don’t know. Just tired I guess.”
Arcaea stroked Raven’s hair again. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I thought I was about to lose all of you. It still scares me.” she said, looking at her unconscious sunborn friend.
“Have…” said Kurai before going silent for a moment. “Have you lost a lot of people?”
“Yeah. Most of my family and friends are gone.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. They fought in the second dozku uprising and never came back.”
“Their remains were never recovered?”
“Some were. The rest are still probably lost on some forgotten battlefield. Killed...by her people.”
Her saddened gaze remained on the unconscious valkyrie in her lap.
“You think she might have killed some of them? I mean...it seems unlikely but...you heard what Halel said about her.”
“I don’t know.”
“How are you okay with that?” asked Kurai, raising her voice in indignation.
“I wasn’t. After I educated myself on the valkyries and drew the obvious connections...I struggled with it.”
“But?”
“But it’s hard to dig up any definitive evidence on what they did during the war so I don’t know exactly how involved they were. Besides, I know Raven. I know she was just a soldier following orders. I know she hates herself for the things she has done.” Arcaea paused and brushed her hair once more. “And I know she’s not like the others. She doesn’t hate the dozku. She doesn’t hate me. And she’s a loyal friend.”
“You feel sorry for her.”
“I feel sorry that she has to carry this immense burden all by herself. I think she’s actually a good person, even if she doesn’t believe that she is.”
Kurai smiled sadly.
“I think so too. I hope she wakes up soon.”
“Me too.”
Kurai took a moment to stare absentmindedly into the fire. “Thank you, for looking out for us.”
Arcaea looked at her and smiled sadly. “What kinda friend would I be if I didn’t?”
Kurai smiled and then tossed a pebble at her. “Okay, stop. Too many feelings going on in here.”
Arcaea chuckled. “Oh don’t worry. I’ll draw out yours eventually.”
“Tork no.”
They both laughed.
“Don’t wait too long.” they heard a voice say from the corner where the family sat huddled.
As they looked over they could see the father, holding his family, looking at them with a remorseful smile.
“You never know when all of this might be taken from you. Don’t wait too long to tell your loved ones how you truly feel.”
“Wise words.” said Arcaea.
His face seemed stretched to one side, with the corner of his mouth reaching all the way to his ear, revealing jagged teeth. Still, despite his horrible visage the warmth of his smile was clear to see.
“I spent my life not telling my family how much I cared for them. I told myself they already knew, that there was no reason to say it aloud. Now that I almost lost them I can’t tell them enough. I love them so much it hurts.”
His wife stirred in her sleep, leaned over to him and kissed him on the cheek. Tears welled in his eyes and he held them even tighter.
“Don’t wait too long. Tell them while you still can.”
Arcaea smiled and looked at her own friends. Janette who was always so worried about everyone’s wellbeing. Kurai who pretended to be so tough but was actually scared of most things. And then there was Raven. So stoic, so quiet, so tormented. And yet so protective and so awkwardly giving.
When it comes down to it, out here all we have is each other.
“Hey Kurai.”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“Oh my gods, can you not?” said Kurai as she put on her headphones.
Arcaea just chuckled and continued to stroke Raven’s hair. Her breathing was shallow but consistent. Her wounds had closed but there was no telling how much internal damage there was. Not to mention the amount of damage Halel inflicted upon her when he tried to do...whatever it was he was trying to do to her. The thought of Raven turning into a chimera briefly entered her mind but she pushed it out as quickly as it came.
She’s going to be okay, she thought. She’s going to be just fine. She’s always fine. She always shakes off any and all punishments she suffers.
And yet she wasn’t sure. She had never seen her like this. Even after the urhtog battle, where she slept for a couple of hours, she awoke pretty much fine. She felt less certain that that would repeat itself here.
A few hours later Janette and Corvus woke up and relieved the two of them to take watch. It was now Janette’s turn to brush Raven’s hair.
“You guys really care for this valkyrie, huh?” said Corvus in his low growling voice.
“Yeah. She’s the best.” answered Janette. “She was the first one I met out here. Or, at least the first one I felt like I could trust.”
“Trust is important out here. Trust is all we have. But I don’t know if trust is something she deserves. She’s a valkyrie.”
“Ex-valkyrie. She deserted Infinitum and The Magistry.”
“My point still stands.”
“You don’t know her.”
“No...but I know her kind. I fought in the rebellion seven years ago and I can tell you, the things they did can never be forgiven.”
Janette opened her mouth to offer a rebuttal but then reconsidered.
“What sort of things did they do?”
“They killed without remorse. Men. Women. Children. It didn’t matter to them. If you were in the uprising your life was forfeit.”
“That’s what happens in wars.”
“Sure. But this wasn’t a war. It was a purge. A slaughter.”
“That’s probably why she ran.”
“Maybe. We don’t truly know, though. But it is a small comfort to see that she’s fine with fighting alongside dozku and draug like myself.”
“She doesn’t care about stuff like that. People are just people to her.”
Corvus nodded and stayed silent for a moment.
“What about you? Where are you from, hornless moonlet?”
Janette tried not to let the jab get to her. “Blackwood Grove.”
“I know the place. Why did you leave? Why did you decide to brave the wilds?”
“I didn’t like it there. I wanted to explore the world. Find my place in it.”
“Huh. Guess most of us are running from something, trying to figure out where we belong.”
“I guess so.”
“Those centurions we fought…'' he started before trailing off for a second. “They had darkness swirling around them and their weapons and armor were different from any I have ever seen before. That wasn’t hematurgy, was it?”
“No, it wasn’t.” An expression of growing concern washed over her face as the implications began to dawn on her. “It was Chthonian Conjuration.”
Corvus seemed confused. Not so much in his facial expressions, which were near impossible to read due to the copious amounts of metal that covered it, but in his body language.
“Abyssal magic.” She said. “Ruukai magic.”
“Huh.” said Corvus, thinking on this for a moment. “That’s very...peculiar. Most mages remain locked to a certain school of magic. It’s very rare to hear of someone mastering two.”
“Agreed, but it is possible. What baffles me is how he was able to learn such spells. The Urthrad Empire and the ruukai who formed it are notorious for keeping their secrets to themselves. How was a sunborn blood mage able to not only learn Chthonian Conjuration in the first place? And better yet...how was he able to use blood as components in their casting.”
“He seemed like he was preparing for something. Guess he’s done preparing now.” said Corvus as he looked at the octahedron which lay in the far corner of the room. “Which brings me to my next topic. What do you suppose that is and where did you find it?”
“We found it in a ruin near Keystone. As to what it is?” Janette said, slowly shaking her head. “I have no clue. But clearly this is something we need to keep out of the wrong hands.”
“Agreed. There’s no telling what sort of hidden power might reside within it.”
“We don’t even know if Halel was actually killed or not.”
“That hand will suffice in getting us paid, though.”
“Which brings me to my next topic.” said Janette with an inviting smile. “What are your plans after this? I assume you were part of the mercenary group that took this job before us? Were you sent by Marshall Delona?”
“We were indeed. Me and two others. They’re both dead now.”
Janette got awkward hearing that. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s the way of the Frontier.” he said with a sigh. “I figure we return this family back to their farm and then go back to Keystone to get paid. I don’t know how much you guys were promised for this but I’m sure we can figure something out.”
“Well we couldn’t have finished this without you so it’s only fair you get a cut of the share.”
“Damn straight.”
He then looked at the valkyrie and thought to himself for a moment.
“You really think she’s not like the rest?”
Janette looked at him and then at Raven.
“All I know is that she’s a loyal friend, fair in her interactions with people of different backgrounds and has continuously expressed disdain for Infinitum and The Magistry. That’s good enough for me.”
Corvus nodded and growled slightly, but not in a threatening manner.
“We’ll see.”
They sat in silence after that.
Janette tried not to think about the events of the day before but soon the guilt and shame came flooding back. She had used hematurgy. Granted she had used it to save their lives but still. That was no excuse.
She had given into her family’s teachings. She had given into what she had been fighting against for so long. And worst of all, she had broken her vow and she had done it so easily. Without hesitation she had reached out, created blood shards and impaled Halel and his minions with them.
She tried to think of how she had saved both herself and Raven from certain doom but it didn’t quell her guilt at all.
I must never use it again. Never, ever again. I will not become like them.
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