Ravensoul

Chapter 40

The dead clustered at the end of the passageway. The Raven and Auum’s Tai were at the head of them. Ilkar still probed the wall. Behind them, the passageway fled off beyond their senses. Outside, the void clashed and raced. But surrounding them was an ivory light that came from beyond the end wall.

Every one of them could feel it. They were drawn to it, pulled along by it. None would so much as consider moving away from it by even a toe. Yet none of them could reach it. None, they assumed, but one.

‘Where is he?’ asked Hirad.

‘Gone,’ said Ilkar.

‘Now if I’d replied that way to you, I’d be on the end of a long, long line of abuse.’

‘Sorry, Hirad. Gone through here. He must have done. Ulandeneth. ’

‘We have to get through,’ said Sirendor. ‘He’s going to need our help.’

‘Perhaps he doesn’t,’ said Ilkar. ‘Perhaps this is part of the whole scheme.’

‘Not if Sha-Kaan is to be believed,’ said Auum.

‘Something must open this wall,’ said Ilkar.

‘Another astounding revelation,’ said Hirad. ‘Is it too stupid of me to ask what that might be?’

The dead surrounding them were restless and anxious. Adrift at the end of their journey. Feeling vulnerable as they stood waiting for answers in a place open to attack. They made a hum of chatter and a swirl of emotions that sometimes made coherent thought difficult.

‘We must stop thinking like the living,’ said Auum. ‘This door will never have an iron latch.’

‘Sol had an advantage over us all,’ said Thraun. ‘He has knowledge of this place. Did that help him travel there?’

‘Well if it did, I wish he’d given us some pointers,’ said Hirad. ‘Unhelpful, just disappearing like that.’

‘I don’t think he had any choice in the matter, do you?’

Ilkar’s ears would have pricked when he said that. Hirad smiled, another invisible gesture.

‘No, probably not. So. Any ideas?’

‘Everything so far has been an act of will,’ said Thraun. ‘Or a use of the soul’s energy. We should start there.’

‘You think we can will ourselves over there, do you?’

‘Got a better idea, Hirad?’ asked Thraun.

‘No, it’s just that it’s difficult to will myself to a place where I’ve never been and which lies somewhere… you know… else.’

‘I don’t want to rush you but I think you’d better start believing as quickly as you can.’

Sirendor’s shadow was facing back down the passageway. Hirad rose above the mass of the dead and looked in the same direction.

‘This does not look promising.’

Three Garonin were pounding up the corridor but none of them was intent on attacking the dead. All three had eyes only for what was behind them. Panic spread among the dead. There was a concerted move to the wall, which remained steadfastly blank and impenetrable.

All the while the Garonin ran on. And well they might because the passageway was folding up behind them.

‘So many problems.’

The melodious voices flowed over Sol, taking the ire from him. He lowered his blade. The Garonin were standing about five yards from him.

‘We underestimated you.’

‘Damn right,’ said Sol. ‘Lucky for you we weren’t all acting together. We’d have kicked your sorry carcasses right out of Balaia.’

‘We think not.’ There was a susurration that Sol took for laughter. ‘But we warned you that resistance forcing us to expend our resources would ultimately go badly for you.’

‘I do remember that. And since then we’ve seen all sorts of wonderful things and bigger and nastier weapons. And yet, when last I looked, Xetesk still stood and you were denied her Heart. And here I stand once again, ready to take you on. No one who stood before me then is alive to tell you about it.’

‘Ultimately.’ The whispered word was discordant and sent a shiver up Sol’s spine forcing him to hunch his shoulders. ‘So much has been expended. So many of our people gone because of your fruitless resistance.’

‘It is not fruitless.’

‘No? One wrecked city still stands. Another is ready to fall. Your land is no good to you. It was ever going to be thus. And yet still you thought to fight, though to accept defeat would have been the easier option.’

‘For you, perhaps. Your problem is that you have fundamentally misunderstood what drives us. It is the will to survive. The belief that we will survive, whatever the odds and however powerful the enemy. And we will. We will.’

Sol saw them hesitate. One of them even fell back a pace.

‘You have spirit but you do not have the strength to turn us aside.’ The melodious quality was back. ‘You think to find a new home. We will follow you and we will destroy you there. You cannot escape us.’

‘So you say.’

‘It is forever the way. We need new worlds to harvest. We do not allow interference. We demand compliance.’

‘Well, as my friend Hirad Coldheart would say, you can shove your compliance right up-’

‘However. We respect a worthy foe and a worthy ruler of men. You are both of these.’

‘I don’t care for your respect,’ said Sol, and he spat on the ground at his feet.

‘No? When you have the lives of so many in the palm of your hand. Lives we can snuff out on a whim.’

‘I’m aware of my task.’

‘But not perhaps of the risks you take. Watch and… believe.’

The Garonin all lowered their heads. Sol felt a rush of energy in the air about him. The space above him turned black. He stumbled, almost fell. Night had fallen. From horizon to horizon it was the most complete blackness. But there was movement within it. Images resolved slowly, coming into focus like the world through a bleary eye after a long night.

Korina. The central marketplace. The Rookery. His old inn, now under new ownership but maintaining the tradition. Sol smiled at the memories. But the picture was not right. The market was empty and rubble-strewn. The inn’s sign hung from one hinge and was split down its middle, ready to drop.

‘What is this?’

Sol could not keep the quiver from his limbs. Dreams he could understand. This was something utterly different. The image drew away, like he was rising into the sky. Korina was slowly revealed before him. The once-beautiful capital city, the place where he had fallen in love, reduced to ruins and populated by gangs of survivors searching for scraps.

He saw whole areas barricaded off and the people within them carrying bows and spears against those without who begged for entry. He saw a man being kicked mercilessly by a gang of other men, some in ragged rich clothes, as still he tried to eat the bread he gripped with both hands.

Higher he went, and the scene or one like it was played out over and over. Shapes came into the image on either side of his view, as if he were passing between two high structures. Quickly they were revealed for what they were. Garonin machines. Vydospheres. Floating in the skies above Korina. And not just two. As the image continued to expand, he counted nine in a circle around the city. Worse, on its borders stood foot soldiers in their hundreds. Just waiting to fall on the helpless and desperate thousands within.

‘We have their fate in our hands. They cannot get out. We can destroy them. We can wait for them to destroy themselves. Or we can set them free. It is the same for these people. Some friends, I think.’

The image switched, and Sol was transported to the wilds of Balaia. He didn’t recognise where but he knew the faces that dominated the image he was shown and that lowered down on him. It took all his strength not to sink to his knees.

Rebraal and Dila’heth.

Their faces were grey with exhaustion and fear. Their eyes were wide and their expressions were of helplessness and despair. He saw their mouths move and knew they were speaking to one another but he could hear nothing.

‘What are they saying?’

Sol tried to read their lips but the image was not quite distinct enough. Again the image pulled away. Not as high this time though it didn’t have to. A few campfires sent smoke spiralling into a grey sky. In an open space stood multiple cells of the TaiGethen and a fair-sized group of Al-Arynaar. Surrounding them, a very large number of Garonin foot soldiers. Two thousand at a quick guess. Too many even for the TaiGethen though the battle would be fierce and bloody until the bitter end.

‘They have come so far to reach this dead end. We were always watching them even if they did not know it. They are tired. They need rest. You will ultimately decide whether they should get it. We are not always unmerciful.’

‘Why are you doing this?’ demanded Sol.

Not a head rose. There was no acknowledgement of his question. He thought about rushing them, seeing if he could take one of them down, but it seemed so futile and his emotions were churning anyway. He wasn’t sure if he could hold his sword steady.

The Garonin showed him one more scene. It was of a huge fleet at anchor. Hundreds of elven vessels in the waters off Sunara’s Teeth. North Bay. Wesman territory. The decks of the vessels were crowded with people. Many of the ships appeared to be riding low. Many others bore the marks of battle. There was flotsam in the water. Above them hung six vydospheres. On the peaks of the mountains stood foot soldiers. On the plains behind, a war camp.

‘You thought we would not realise such a density of verrian could be taken by sea? These elves’ lives are already forfeit. Long have we searched for them and we have delighted in their demise. There are over thirty thousand elves on those vessels. They are dying slowly of course. It is not in our nature to be merciful to such vermin. Yet there may be room. There may be.’

The Garonin’s heads came up. The last image disappeared and the ivory sky returned. Sol sucked his lip, fighting against a rising despair. Again his sword began to feel light in his hand. He concentrated on the victory in the corridor and the familiar weight returned. And there was something else too. It gave him hope but he couldn’t figure out why. Something was missing. Something had been left out.

‘So you see, Sol of Balaia, despite your best efforts there really is no hope left. Even should you reach your mythical new home, there will be no living to take there; and no dead either, we will see to that. All you will have done is open fertile land for us to exploit. You have lost the war.’

‘So why are you wasting your time with me?’ Sol stood tall again and stared at them, each and every one. He raised his blade and pointed it at them. ‘Eh? So destroy them all. Harvest your fuel and go back to where you came from to waste it on an enemy you cannot defeat. What are you waiting for?’

There was more hesitation before the reply. Sol found strength in that too.

‘We are offering you and all these people salvation. It benefits you because no more of your people need die. It benefits us for the same reason. All you must agree to do is let us harvest unhindered now and at any point we choose.’

‘I trust you about as far as I would trust a madman with a rapier. How can you expect me to believe you will honour such an agreement, ludicrous though it is? Effectively to allow you free access to our lands in exchange for… what? A few of my people being allowed to survive in a blasted country? You have no need to make such deals if your power is so great. And we all know that should you want more of your fuel you will take it without regard for the lives of my people. Gods drowning, but power comes with no guarantee of intelligence, does it? And our dead, what of them? Their resting place is destroyed.’

There was the slightest pause.

‘The dead are irrelevant. There is nothing meaningful beyond life.’

Sol shook his head sadly. ‘You have no souls. You do not understand. ’

‘Time is precious.’ There was a note of stress in the mellow sound of the Garonin voice. ‘Your decision.’

Sol smiled, the missing piece fitting into place.

‘You’re not sure you can cover your losses, are you?’ He took a pace towards the Garonin. ‘You don’t want us to fight because you know the damage we’ll do even as we are defeated. You want me to help you stop the fighting on Balaia to leave you free to plunder the Heart of Xetesk. And you didn’t show me Xetesk because you damn well couldn’t, could you? You are not in control. They’ve held you off, haven’t they?’

Sol laughed. Again the Garonin displayed anxiety.

‘And what happens if we choose to fight, eh? I’ll tell you. You might be forced to retreat, mightn’t you? To save your forces for the battles on your doorstep. Denied victory on Balaia and denied the chance to follow me to a new realm. The mighty Garonin undone by primitives. But primitives who can harness mana in a way you can never do. Let’s see, shall we?’

Sol raised his blade and advanced further.

‘Do not choose to fight us. You cannot defeat us.’

‘Well you know what? I think I’ll give it a try anyway. After all, I’m dead and I don’t have anything better to do.’

‘You will be responsible for the slaughter of many thousands of your people. Your loved ones, your peers. Your children. You are a man alone.’

‘Don’t believe everything you see,’ said Sol. ‘A Raven is never alone.’

The Garonin susurration irritated again. ‘You are at our mercy. We know what we see.’

Sol backed away. ‘Better start getting your killing sticks ready. Things are going to get bloody.’

‘So be it.’

Sol spread his arms wide, his two-handed sword in his right hand, and began to turn a circle. He felt young, vital, like before the docks at Arlen, where he had seen his hip smashed beyond complete repair. Armour covered his chest, shining in the ivory light. And while the Garonin stood and watched, he raised his voice, gambling with his death and the life of everyone still living on Balaia.

‘Raven! For all the times all we had was our belief, join me. For every moment we stared defeat in the face and returned victorious, join me. To avenge every one of us who has fallen, join me. You, The Raven dead. To believe is to prevail. To stand by those you love and pick up your swords one more time for Balaia and for The Raven.

‘I believe in you. All of you. Hirad Coldheart, you have never run away from a fight in your life. I believe in you. Ilkar, your shield never once failed. I believe in you. And you, Thraun, who stood by us man and wolf. Belief brought you back; it can do so again. Sirendor, the warrior with a blade to mesmerise. You were stolen from us too soon. I believe in you. Auum, your whole being is belief. Your Tai will never desert you. Stand with us.’

Sol continued to turn. The Garonin continued to watch. Briefly, an image played out above. Korina under bombardment.

‘Raven, where are you!’ Sol shouted. ‘Past and present. Believe in me. Believe in you. Believe in our fight. For the dead of Balaia, for the living of Balaia, believe in victory. Hirad, Thraun, Ilkar, Sirendor, Ras, Erienne, Will, Ren, Ark, Aeb, Darrick, Richmond, Jandyr. Whoever you are, you are Raven. Wherever you are, come to me. Stand with me. Stand with me!’

Nothing but his words echoing away into the ivory. Nothing but the susurration of the Garonin as their confidence grew. Sol narrowed his eyes and clung on to his belief.

‘Don’t you desert me now, you bastards. From wherever you are gone, I call you all. The Raven dead, the Tai of Auum. I call you. Stand with me. Fight with me. Raven! Raven, with me!’

The Garonin tired of watching. Weapons were drawn. Sol could hear the buzz of the white light that ran around their blades. He brought his sword in front of him and gripped it in two hands. He glared at the Garonin walking directly towards him.

‘One at a time, if that’s what it takes,’ he said.

There was a whisper in the air. Sol felt a presence standing beside him. He breathed in a huge, glorious breath. There was no need to turn to look.

‘Hirad. Just in time.’

‘Never a truer word.’

In front of Sol the Garonin advance had faltered. Sol dared a glance at the barbarian. Hirad was gazing down at himself, his filthy, beaded and braided hair hanging in front of his deep-tanned face. The scar on his forehead and left cheek was plainly visible. His leather armour was a patchwork of repair. But the sword in his hand was sharp and held with total confidence.

‘Don’t worry about it; believe it. Work to do.’

‘Where’s Ilkar and Sirendor? Or Auum?’

‘Plenty of time, Coldheart,’ said Sol. ‘Until then it’s just us.’

‘Should be plenty enough.’

The sound of a two-handed blade tapped rhythmically on the ground echoed across Ulandeneth.

‘What do you reckon, Hirad?’ said The Unknown Warrior. ‘One more time?’

‘You know you said that to me once before.’

‘Well, this time I really mean it.’

Hirad grinned. The two men touched gauntlets.

‘One more time, Unknown. Sol.’

The Unknown’s blade ceased its tapping.

The Unknown thrashed his blade upwards two-handed. The edge ripped through his opponent’s guard, smashing his sword from his hand. The swing continued, connecting with the Garonin’s helmet. The heavy blade shattered the faceplate and tore through nose and cheek on its way out. The victim was cast back, a bubbling scream breaking from torn lips.

Before the others had a chance to adjust, The Unknown circled the blade about his head and brought its tip crashing down on the head of another. The Garonin’s helmet crumpled under the force of the blow and his arms flew up as his body was driven to the ground. The Unknown roared and brought the blade through again, left to right. It buried itself in the hip of the third Garonin with a crunch of broken bone.

Hirad stepped in to block a white-edged blade angling into The Unknown’s unguarded right flank. He forced the enemy sword down and away. Hirad adjusted his grip and reversed his blade high and across the Garonin’s neck, finding the gap between armour and helmet. He moved his blade to his left hand.

The fifth moved in fast. Hirad spread his feet for balance and beckoned the man in. He moved to Hirad’s right and struck low. Hirad turned his body sideways. The blade fizzed by his thigh. He grabbed the enemy’s arm and pulled him off balance. Hirad’s sword cut deep into the Garonin’s back, sending him sprawling.

One man standing. The Unknown had dragged his blade from where it had lodged and began to move to the right. Hirad nodded understanding and went left. The Garonin inclined his head, lowered his blade and blinked out of existence.

The Unknown didn’t pause to curse the cowardice. He ran over to his first victim and dropped down, one knee on the Garonin’s chest. He pulled away the remains of the faceplate and stared into deep, dark orbs. The Garonin was bubbling blood from the slit of his nose and his cheek pumped crimson onto the ivory floor, where it faded quickly.

‘You’re going nowhere,’ growled The Unknown.

‘Impressive,’ managed the Garonin.

‘Just wait till we’re all here,’ said Hirad. ‘And Unknown, we need to get the others here fast. The passageway is folding up behind them.’

The Unknown jerked his head round.

‘What?’

‘It started when you left. Everyone is stuck but us.’

The Unknown swore and turned back to his victim. ‘Talk quickly. You want something from me. Something more. What is it?’

The susurration again. ‘You already know, Sol of Balaia. You are a light to follow. Cursed to lead us to where we want to go.’

‘And if I refuse to open the door?’

‘Your people are already dying. It is not an option, is it?’

The Unknown stood. ‘No, it’s not. Hirad, join me. We can call them. Why did you come?’

‘Because I was born to stand at your side to fight. I could feel your soul.’

‘Exactly. Think that of the others. Bring them to us. Will you fail?’

‘I will not.’

The two men spread their arms wide and called The Raven to them.