Griffin's Destiny

Ashinji thought.

He stared at the castle wall in desperation and willed himself to the top.

A heartbeat later, he landed face-down with bruising force on paving stones. After a terrifying moment of confusion, he realized he had somehow reached the battlements. He tried to rise, but his limbs refused to obey.

Move, move, move! his mind screamed, and after what seemed like an eternity, he managed to shift his head to the side.

What he saw filled him with horror.

He lay against the wall opposite where Sonoe now stood, arms raised, before a howling maw of darkness. Her flaming tresses whipped about her face like a tattered banner as a river of dust swirled past her straining body into the vortex. A pile of bodies lay heaped at her feet-the corpses of Sonoe’s fellow mages.

Ashinji could see shapes moving just beyond the tear, milling about as if uncertain whether to hang back or charge through. The former Kirian spoke a Word of Power and the tear expanded. Soon, it would grow big enough for the creatures waiting on the other side to easily pass through.

Ashinji struggled to throw off the strange paralysis that gripped his body. He concentrated on moving a finger, then his hand, then both hands, until he managed to push himself into a sitting position with his back against the parapet.

A black fog of exhaustion threatened to extinguish his consciousness. He fumbled at his belt, searching for the spirit box, then remembered he had lost it. It had proven useless, anyway; he would have to think of something else.

Sonoe seemed unaware of his presence. Ashinji could see the White Griffin glowing pure as starlight on her left hand. Despite how the Nameless One planned to use it, the ring’s magic remained uncorrupted by the evil of its creator.

The magic is still pure , Ashinji thought.

The solution came to him in a sublime flash of understanding.

The fundamental natures of the two energies-the positive polarity of the White Griffin, the negative of the Void-would not allow them to exist in concert. If brought together, they would cancel each other out!

Ashinji staggered to his feet, gripping the cruel edge of the parapet with tingling fingers. The rush of air into the vortex had grown to near gale force. One by one, the wind was lifting the corpses of the slain mages and pinwheeling them into the violet-shot darkness. In a few more heartbeats, it would suck him in as well.

Sonoe spoke a second Word of Power and Ashinji cried out in pain as its force ripped through his body. Through the shimmering aftereffects, he rallied his last reserve of strength.

Jelena, I loved you even before I knew you were real, and I’ll love you forever, even beyond death. We’ll be together again soon, I promise!

With a whispered entreaty to the One, he released his grip and lunged.

He slammed into Sonoe and the force of his charge carried them both over the parapet into the mouth of the Void. A shriek like tearing metal assaulted his ears and then he was falling, falling, into the limitless dark.

Light exploded around him, blinding and glorious.

He felt his body disintegrating in the mighty conflagration.

His last thoughts, before oblivion claimed him, were of the most beautiful girl in the world, and of how lucky he was to have known her love.

***

“Ai, Goddess!” Taya hissed, clutching her head. Amara reeled as the first shockwave hit her mind.

“It seems as if your son has succeeded,” the princess said through gritted teeth.

The second shockwave hit and both mages moaned with pain.

“Ashi,” Amara whispered.

***

The sky lit up like the very sun itself had exploded. A geyser of light erupted from the dark tear overhead, cutting a swath of destruction through the milling mass of people below. Those in its direct path were reduced to ash in the blink of an eye. The lucky ones on the periphery escaped instant death, but many fell, the exposed parts of their bodies badly burned.

Before the gates of Tono Castle, the defenders watched, awestruck, as the cohesion of the Soldaran army fell apart. With its principal commanders dead and its ranks shattered, morale collapsed and those who could still run turned and fled. As the human forces streamed back down the valley toward the pass, the terrible wound in the sky dwindled to a thin, ragged black cut against the blue, then closed with an audible snap .

Raidan shook so hard, he could barely stay seated on his plunging stallion.

“What in the Goddess’ Name just happened!” Sen shouted, struggling with his own mount.

A miracle , Raidan thought.

The prince clung to his horse until the animal finally ceased rearing and stood still, its neck and flanks in a lather. He looked around for an aide, spotted Mai Nohe, and waved him over. “Start spreading the word to the captains. I want our forces to follow the humans, nip at their heels, see to it that they really do leave.”

“We should station at least five companies at the pass for the next few days,” Sen added, pulling his blowing horse up next to Raidan’s. “We wouldn’t want ’em sneaking back in while we weren’t looking.”

“Yes, my lords!” Nohe saluted and galloped off.

The prince and the Lord of Kerala sat their horses in silence for a time. Finally, Sen spoke.

“The One works in ways too mysterious for us mere mortals to understand. She has delivered us from a terrible fate, yet the price she exacts is so very steep.”

Just how steep you have yet to find out, my friend , Raidan thought. He had no idea how to break the news to Sen about his beloved younger son.

Should I even tell him at all?

Sen believed Ashinji had died over a year ago. His grief, while still a part of him, had become manageable.

Why tear open those wounds again?

Because, as a father, he has the right to know of his son’s sacrifice. I can’t keep that from him.

Raidan noticed the castle guards, along with some of the bolder serving staff, had ventured forth onto the field and now wandered among the dead.

Damn it! I gave strict orders that no civilian be allowed outside the castle walls! We still have the plague to deal with! His chest tightened with fury.

“Prince Raidan!” Raidan turned in the saddle to see a soldier running toward him. The man skidded to a halt, breathing hard, and pointed to the east. “My lord, you must come at once.” he cried, hopping from foot to foot.

“What is it, soldier?” Raidan called out, his anger forgotten.

“It’s Prince Raidu, my lord. He has fallen! You must come now.”