Storm Breaking

Karal was on his knees. Altra was beside him, a glowing cat-image under his groping hand. Florian stood braced between him and the Pit, a horse-shape of Fire against the darkness. To his right, looming out of the swirling, fluctuating energies, Firesong still stood like a blinding statue of a warrior with upraised sword—a high keening sound that somehow penetrated the roar in Karal's ears came from Need, as if the sword had somehow acquired a voice. To his left, there was no sign of An'desha, but two bird-human shapes with feathers of flame wove a restless web all about a shadowed core. He couldn't see Sejanes at all across the Pit.

He sensed the energies around them were winning. They couldn't feed the Pit fast enough, and their protectors were burning out.

And yet, he was no longer afraid. Even if they didn't survive, they had fed enough of the terrible power into the Pit to prevent a second Cataclysm. As he gazed on the burning image of Florian, great peace descended on his heart, and he faced the terrible, glorious, mystical fire without flinching. Once again, he stood in the heart of the Sun and knew he was welcome there. He opened himself up to it fully, and lost himself there, past fear, past pain, past everything but the Light.

And then his awareness of self evaporated, and there was nothing more.

The light was gone; the Light was gone. There was nothing but darkness, yet Florian's image still continued to bum against that dark.

He was lying on his back. His groping hands encountered rough blankets over him, then warm fur.

'I think he's awake,' said Lo'isha in a low voice.

He coughed, cleared his throat, and replied, 'I am awake. How is everyone? Did the light fail?'

His question was answered with the kind of heavy silence that only occurs when someone has unwittingly asked a question that has an answer that will make him very unhappy.

'Firesong has been... hurt,' Silverfox said gently. 'An'desha and Sejanes are quite all right, only tired.'

He tried to sit up, and felt hands on his chest holding him down. 'How badly hurt is Firesong?' he asked urgently. 'Can I see him? Where's Florian? Haven't you got any lights going yet?'

Again, that awkward silence, and then the answer came to him, to his last question at least, as Lo'isha asked, very softly, 'What can you see?'

'Nothing,' he whispered, stunned. 'Only—Florian—'

'It seems that those whose guardians were entirely spirit fared the best,' said Lyam in that dry way of his.

The fur draped over his legs moved. :Florian is gone, Karal,: Altra said, in the gentlest tones that Karal had ever heard him use. :I am the only one of the protectors to survive the experience. I am sorry.:

Karal moved his head, and still saw nothing but darkness and the fiery image of Florian in reverse silhouette against it. He swallowed, as the full impact of realization hit him, and felt hot tears burning their way down his face. Florian—gone? Protecting him? He blinked, but nothing changed in what he saw—or rather, what he didn't see.

'You see nothing, Karal?' Lo'isha persisted. He shook his head dumbly.

'What about Firesong?' he asked, around a cold lump in his gut and a second lump in his throat. 'Is he—like me?'

'No, but—the sword, Need—she exploded in a mist of molten metal in his hands. His face and hands are badly burned.' That was Lyam. 'I just sent Silverfox back to him.'

Although tears of mourning continued to trickle down Karal's face, he nodded. 'Good,' he managed. 'I don't really need a Healer...' He let his voice trail off, making a kind of question out of it.

'No, Karal,' Lo'isha said, with a comforting hand on his shoulder. 'I'm afraid a Healer won't do you any good right now.'

'Then, just leave me with Altra for a bit, would you?' he asked, and after a while, he heard them get up and move away. He felt Altra settle on his chest and legs, and began gently scratching the Firecat's ears. Tears slid down his cheeks, and Altra continued to rasp them away.

:Karal?: Altra asked, after a long silence. He answered the Firecat with a fierce hug.

'Just stay with me,' he whispered.