An Iliad: Part Seven

     The night that they had been captured, Jerdana and the two petpets were the only ones to escape. The Aisha had tried to follow the group of the enemy back to their base, but she was detected by Alaric, who went looking for her. Fortunately, Jerdana eluded him, and managed to flee back to Altador, where she went for reinforcements.

     They were camped right outside the perimeter of the Shadow Blade’s underground fortress, watching their every move. The main part of Altador’s army was on their way right now, lead by Torakor, but they need time to arrive. In that time, the Shadow Blades might pack up and move their location so Azure and her new Special Unit were there to track them.

     “Are you sure Terelia and Alaric can’t sense us?” Azure muttered to Kalec.

     “Of course they can,” he replied, in a matter-a-fact way.

     “What?” Azure frowned and jerked towards him, only to yelp slightly and put a paw to the bandage that hid the puncture wound of Terelia’s Demonic Needle of Doom. Jerdana had done a good job with cleaning it of whatever paralyzing acid or venom the needle had secreted, but it still stung sharply.

     “The only reason that they didn’t finish us back there was because they realized Jerdana was coming.” The Shoyru shrugged. “So they went back. They just don’t like the rest of the Shadow Blades, so I don’t think they will tell them of our escape, so the majority of the group will not know we’re gone. So they won’t likely move their location. But Terelia and Alaric’ll definitely know that Jerdana’s here. They seem powerful, but they probably still can’t beat her.”

     “No,they can’t,” a soft voice murmured in Azure’s ear. The Draik yelped and almost jumped a meter into the air. She was a little more than jumpy, tonight.

     It was just Jerdana, who had somehow materialized next to her. The Aisha wore her long hair down so that it swept around her shoulders like a curtain of gold that shown in the moonlight, contrary to looking like a waterfall of gold in the sunlight. Her dress was the one that she often wore, plain, but elegant. She looked sadly at the large rock, which marked the half-hidden entrance to the Shadow Blade’s lair.

     “I remember when Terelia and Alaric were just two innocent children. A Blue Kougra and a Red Aisha. When our city was founded, it was not even realized that there was already a village here, as it was so small, it was completely hidden within the cliffs. I believe it was called Trialet. It was when our walls were being built that they came forward and told us to, well, get out. It was too late to halt construction so we told them they were welcome to join our city or move to the outskirts, and trade with us. We promised never to be hostile with them and even offered to not extend construction to where they lived. Yet they did not listen.”

     Jerdana shook her head. “It was truly all a misunderstanding. But they crept in one night and attacked. A dozen innocent lives were taken. Naturally, Torakor, Kelland, and many of the other Protectors and the citizens were enraged and demanded that we defend ourselves from these “savages”. King Altador was not the wisest king in the world, then. They convinced him. He agreed and we crushed the village within two weeks. I believe the only survivors were Terelia, Alaric, and this one other Blumaroo, whose name escapes me...”

     “Darwil,”Azure muttered. “Terelia told me.”

     The Aisha sighed. “Yes. And so we forgot about them. But mistakes always return to haunt us. “

     “Then how do you know of Terelia and her brother?” Kalec asked. “They are just two in a village of many.”

     “I found them after the destruction of their home. I cared for them, as even then I thought the burning of Trialet was a hasty and rash move.” Jerdana looked at one of her paws. “They did show an interest in magic, so I taught that to them as well. They learned... alarmingly quickly.” She gave a bitter laugh. “It’s almost no surprise that they began to practice the darker arts, then the twisted ones, then the absolute forbidden.”

     “What happened to Alaric?” Azure inquired, “Why’s he like... all... all weird?” She could not think up of any other adjectives to describe the Creepy Zombie Guy.

     Jerdana shrugged. “A curse, perhaps? Maybe a spell backfired on him. Maybe he intended to become like that. They left me after a short while and I haven’t seen them until now.”

     “So in the forest, you recognized Alaric? Could you have defeated him?”

     Jerdana shook her head. “I don’t know. He’s more powerful now, but the exact level of his magic is unknown. It is likely that I am still more powerful, else he would not have fled. I might have been able to defeat him, but even if I had him at my mercy, I couldn’t...” she trailed off.

     Just then, a soldier of their unit, hurried over. “My Lady,” he bowed to Jerdana, “we saw two Shadow Blades leave their base and escape into some nearby trees. Should we pursue?”

     “Ah,” the Aisha said wearily. “That would be Alaric and Terelia. No, do not go after them.”

     “Why not?” Kalec asked hotly. “They deserve to be locked away in some—!”

     “Peace, child.” Jerdana got up with a quiet swish of her dress. “Our quarrel is not with them, but with the Shadow Blades.”

     “What? But they are Shadow Blades!”

     “I truly doubt that they consider themselves so. Terelia is too proud to admit herself under the leadership of anyone. And Alaric, I cannot say for sure, but he follows his sister, wherever she goes. They have just left the Shadow Blades to fend for themselves, thus proving their opinion of this group. But still the Shadow Blades are the main threat to Altador. We will deal with the two siblings when the time comes.”

     Azure also got up, marveling at how well Jerdana knew her enemy. Well, she reasoned, If your title is “the Protector”, you have to know what to do, to protect anyone.

     Kalec silently walked off, muttering about getting another sword. But Azure knew perfectly well, he would rather chase down Alaric, than fight the other Shadow Blades.

     A trumpet suddenly blared in the distance and the rhythmic clopping of many hooves made the ground shake. It was Altador’s cavalry, the Uni riders, which always rode ahead of the infantry. Shouts of muffled alarm reached Azure’s keen ears, echoing from underground. Those trumpets were loud.

     Soon, Unis of all colors poured from the woods, with their armed-to-the-teeth riders bearing oversized flags. In other words, it was difficult to fit everyone in the tiny clearing that was their campsite. Then to make matters more crowded, the Shadow Blades began to come above ground. They stared in disbelief at the cavalry, and then drew their strange black daggers and attacked.

     Azure fought for five minutes, before getting tired and pulling out of the fray by flying out of reach. She did a quick assessment of the situation and found things slightly in their favor. The Uni and their riders had the advantage of height and reach. The Unis had horns which poked anyone too close and the soldiers carried giant lances, at least six feet long that took down a foe, before he could even get close enough to use his knife. But then, an endless number of cloaked figures seemed to swarm from the ground, all with flashing daggers and gleaming masks. They were being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Worried, Azure glanced around and flew higher. She gazed to the east and felt her heart fill with relief. Thousands of torches lit the forests below, belonging to thousands of marching troopers. The infantry had arrived. With their Frost Cannons and giant broadswords and other goodies, too.

     However, the Shadow Blades just kept coming. They were still outnumbered, about five to three. (Yes, she could do rapid math, too. How educated she felt.) Azure shook her head. Be an optimist, right? They were definitely going to win, they were definitely going to win... Wiping any remaining concerns from her mind, Azure dove back down, her borrowed sword drawn.

     Time passed. How long? She couldn’t say for sure. Battles were like that; they seemed to last an eternity and a single second at the same time. At one point, the Draik was drawn into the thickest knot of fighting and closer to the Shadow Blades’ hideout. She found herself at the entrance and just happened to see a large figure slip by and run in the opposite direction of the battle. Growling with the intensity and electrified by adrenaline fighting often brought, Azure pursued him into the trees. The mysterious pet turned around and gasped at Azure.

     “You!” he snarled in surprise and fear. Azure recognized the voice. It was Darwil, the so-claimed leader of the Shadow Blades. Unlike last time, his mask was gone, revealing the scarred, contorted face of a Camouflage Blumaroo. “You!” he said again.

     “Me,” Azure replied calmly. “Haven’t seen you... in hours, huh? Miss me?”

     His only response was to draw a sword. Not just any sword, but Azure’s sword! It was the blade she had left, the one that they took away. How dare he touch her sword?!

     Azure brought out the crummy replacement weapon she was issued and took an experimental stab at Darwil. In a clumsy manner, he parried it and hacked at her head. With practiced ease, the Draik ducked and kicked him in the stomach, with her favorite move. A pained grunt escaped her foe as he went flying, dropping Azure’s sword in the process. Swiftly, she snatched it up, the blade reunited with its rightful owner. (The replacement sword, she dropped onto the ground. That stupid flimsy metal stick was beginning to rust, anyways.)

     Darwil got up again, wild fear in his eyes. He fumbled in his pocket and held up an odd little charm that glowed in the darkness. Magic emitted from it and Azure drew back, wary.

     But nothing happened.

     “Terelia!” Darwil shouted. “Come here! Where are you and your accursed brother? You said this charm would summon you whenever you are!”

     “You want Terelia?” Azure snorted, advancing again. “News flash, buddy. She doesn’t listen to you anymore. In fact, she never did. She thinks you’re an idiot.”

     “How dare she!” Darwil roared. “I am her Elder!”

     “Really? You don’t look that much older than—?”

     “Not that, you fool!” Darwil snarled, “Our village, Trialet, was ruled by five Elders. And I was, am one of them! She is still under my authority, my contro—!”

     Azure, bored with his speech, moved forward again. Darwil broke off, backing up. She stepped forward. He backed away. She continued to advance and he retreat, until, without warning, Darwil seemed to fall backwards and disappear into the ground. Puzzled, Azure rushed over to the spot and found that the ground abruptly ended there, dropping into a sixty-foot high cliff side, with the sea underneath. Camouflage Blumaroos, unfortunately, could not fly. And they dropped rather quickly. Wincing, Azure moved away so she wouldn’t have to see the speck fall into the ocean below.

     With their leader’s death, the last of Alaric’s spell was broken, and the confused Shadow Blades were jolted out of their trancelike state. They milled about in bewilderment, before Jerdana managed to restore order to both sides. The soldiers, after discovering them to be regular, petty roadside thieves and pirates, arrested them for stealing whatever bandits steal, these days. The still-confounded former Shadow Blade went without resistance.

     Azure felt something warm and soft thump onto her back, as Loyalty rejoined her. Kalec was sitting on a rock, polishing his recovered sword. (He probably threw his borrowed blade away, too.) Pharos was up to his old antics. There was a yelp from across the clearing, as the mischievous Airax stole someone’s boot. The footwear ended up in a tree, with its owner clumsily climbing up to retrieve it.

     It took a few hours for everything to be sorted, out, but in the end, the army finally began the long march back to Altador.

     Azure was perched on the wall, on the balcony. They had arrived in the city, about ten minutes ago, greeted by cheers and a roar of welcoming from the crowd of citizens. She, unable to stand the cacophony, retreated until she literally smashed headfirst into King Altador.

     “You must be Azure.” The Lupe smiled gently. “The one who stopped Darwil? Surely you are tired. Come, I will show you somewhere to get away from the chaos here.”

     The Draik was led to a tower where luxurious rooms awaited. She got her first bath in weeks (Ugh!) and ate a real hot meal that wasn’t made up of moldy bread and black lumps of what passed as meat.

     Kalec found his way to the tower sometime later and he got a dorm neighboring hers.

     However, despite the feather-stuffed bed being the softest thing she had ever felt, and having not slept a wink in more than two days, Azure was restless and unable to find the peace. She went to the balcony to get some air and watched the sun rise slowly.

     “Why aren’t you resting?” someone asked, behind her. Azure flinched and muttered something about people sneaking up on her way too much. Kalec silently came up next to her.

     “I’m not tired.” Azure sighed. “Well, I am. But I can’t sleep at all.”

     “Me either.” The Shoyru stared at the bits of gray in the sky, all that remained of twilight, as dawn took its place. “Too much to think about.”

     “What about you?” Azure asked.

     “Me?”

     “Yeah. Now that your dad’s... not around,” Azure looked away awkwardly, “where are you going to, like, go?”

     “I don’t know. I can’t go back to our tower. I just can’t.” Kalec paused, and said hesitantly, “You’re returning to your home, in Brightvale, right?”

     “Huh? Yeah. Why?”

     “Well,” Kalec muttered, “I was just wondering, if, you know, I could come with you?”

     Azure blinked. “You mean...?”

     “If it’s okay with you. I bet I could find something to do there, maybe...”

     Azure smiled. “Sure, I could use some company with the long trek home.” Then Azure gave him a queer look. “Hm, are you sure you’re not coming with me, just to write poetry about Brightvale’s exotic fruit?”

     “No, of course n—yes,” Kalec admitted, resigned.

      The Draik grinned. “Of course. But that’ll be great. I bet you could live with us too. Don’t worry; we have a ton of room. You could be my adopted brother. You’ll fit right in, with Korial.”

     “Really?”

     “Yeah. Well, I deal with my brother all the time, so one more poetry-loving freak wouldn’t make much of a difference,” Azure said playfully. The Shoyru only chuckled softly. Suddenly Azure remembered something, “And you want to be painted Cloud, right?”

     “What? Um, yes... I guess.”

      “Great.” Azure clasped her paws together in a conclusive manner. “That’s easy. We’ll just go to the Marketplace and find one selling for a hundred thousand.”

     “A hundred thousand? That’s a lot.” Kalec blinked.

     Azure frowned. “It is? Oh, yeah... absolutely. But I doubt my parents will let you get painted Cloud, though.”

     “Why?”

     “You’ll see,” Azure murmured, fondly stroking her Faerie wings. She may have hated them at first, but they had served her well. Maybe her snobbish color wasn’t as prissy as she had always thought. “You’ll see.”

     Ignoring his puzzled look, the Draik sighed, and yawned deeply. “Okay, now I am tired. We’ll probably be leaving soon so, better get some shut-eye.” She stretched and padded back inside, falling onto her way-too-soft bed.

     “Recite me a poem, will ya?” Azure called, barely stifling another yawn.

     “Again? I thought you hated poetry.” The teasing reply came from outside.

     “Yeah, but still. Go on. Do your thing. Say something too deep for me to comprehend,” she moaned, now very drowsy.

     “Oh fine.” He cleared his throat and began to recite a verse. Azure turned over, burying her head into the pillow. She was completely asleep now, but somewhere in the white fringes of her dreams, she could still hear Kalec, rambling on. He was articulating his favorite poem, Ladies of the Moor.

     “Behold the ladies upon the sea,

     Basking in morning’s glory!

     Their sails a raised, forever free

     Come listen to their story.

     A storm blew during their crossing

     A tempest came crashing down!

     The ocean wrathful, waves a tossing

     The sailors feared being drowned.

     As the rain and thunder roared their might

     The crew did plead for calm

     The storm clouds plunged day into night

     Yet the Caption steered with aplomb.

     But when at last the storm did lift

     The ships were bruised and battered

     Their rudders smashed, masts adrift

     The crew’s hope all shattered.

     But the sun did at last come out

     The sky returned, still blue

     Sweeping far away their doubt

     And their fears aside, too.

     For even in the greatest gale

     The sun will always return anew

     Never lose hope, fearlessly sail

     May the winds watch o’er you.”

The End