What had happened after the detonation of the orb had been relayed to him secondhand.
The tale from the phrenics, guards and tributes alike had been startlingly consistent. The ball of energy exploded outward as it impacted with the ground. Even for those without the speed of the phrenics, time seemed to pause. The approach of the Lei Guard had stalled as if they were encased in ice. The wicked blades halted meters from drawing the blood they so fiercely sought.
The dome of light, or raw energy, expanded upward, reaching far above his head. The power, electric and terrifying, cracked as it ignited the air. The light burned so intense that color was lost to shades of white and black.
The momentary pause of time ended as startlingly as it had begun. Time snapped back to normal. A deafening clap of thunder accompanied a violent ripple in the air as an unseen wave of energy exploded outward from where he’d stood. Guards and tributes were tossed from their feet by the unrelenting and unnatural force.
The light collapsed back to Ryl, rushing into a single location in his core. He doubled over; his face locked in a soundless scream of agony. As the energy passed the Lei Guard, it seemingly carried with it their driven animosity, their will to fight.
Their urge for blood.
Their consciousness.
One by one, they collapsed to the ground, the last of them crashing face-first to the damp soil at Ryl’s feet. The long, curved sword in its hand, primed for the killing strike, embedded itself in the soft earth of the recently worked field.
Ryl’s body was the last to crumple. At his side, the still form of Kaep lay unmoving save for the shallow rise and fall of her chest.
As quickly as it had come, the flash of light vanished. All in Tabenville were now awake. Any with the fortitude to fight had taken up arms to defend against whatever wave of soldiers would pour from the darkened maw of the forest.
The force was modest, yet the fighting was frantic. Trained soldiers pitted themselves against comrades from days earlier. Inhuman strength and seething orbs of fire had laid waste indiscriminately.
In the end, it was an assault of forty-nine Lei Guards and a company of nearly fifty soldiers. Seven groups of the dreaded warriors descended upon their meager rebellion. Though the black-cloaked warriors were outnumbered, only a fraction of the newly liberated and their companions, it would have been a slaughter. All who opposed would have been butchered with ease. As it was, twelve members of their beleaguered army lay dead. Soldi was among those who perished in the assault.
Another faithful defender of Vim had died. His lifeblood had been spilled on the cruel, fertile grounds of Damaris.
Ryl mourned the loss of his companion, as did all who’d accompanied the small group from the hidden city of Vim. Dav, of all, was the most affected by the loss. To him, Soldi had been a friend and a trusted warrior.
At the present, there was no time to mourn.
It was with heavy hearts that the retreat into the depth of the Erlyn was enacted. As both Kaep and Ryl had been incapacitated in the battle, the task of opening the pathway to the hidden ramparts of the forest fell to Andr. The two remaining phrenics, Ramm and Vox, had yet to see the location, though they were willing tutors of the mercenary.
From all accounts, Andr had performed astonishingly well. Not that Ryl had any doubts. His position among the guards and tributes had grown to nearly mythical status. Though Ryl had yet to see his control over the forest, he understood the character and the mettle of the mercenary.
His friend.
The gifts from the Erlyn were undeniable. For the first time in known history, the ancient woods obeyed the command of one not gifted with the blood of a phrenic.
Ryl paused in his attempt to piece together fragments of the recent past. In the long run, what knowledge was firsthand and what had been retold was immaterial. He hastened toward the gathering in the center of the clearing.
He nodded his head in greeting as he reached the gathering, pausing as he reached the fire’s side. Though the air inside the hidden clearing was pleasant, he held out his hands subconsciously, warming them over the remaining embers of the withering blaze.
“All have had their second day’s doses of the remedy.” Vox interrupted the scattered hushed conversations, forsaking a formal greeting. He began the meeting without fanfare or preamble. Ryl found his mind was still distracted, his thoughts elsewhere.
Kaep.
Elias.
Their absence was felt profoundly. The emotions, however, were mixed with diametric potency.
After a moment, Ryl grunted as he nodded in agreement. It was with effort that he focused on the proceedings.
Under the direction of the phrenics, the process of brewing the putrid remedy had begun shortly after the party had entered the clearing. The dust had barely settled after Elias’s attack, after the Lei Guard were entered into the Erlyn’s care when the leaves had been revealed. Though Andr and the phrenics allowed all to make the choice whether to partake in the remedy, to their satisfaction, none had resisted the putrid liquid. The tributes were keenly aware of the vile treatments that had been forced upon them since the day they crossed the dreaded threshold of The Stocks.
Somehow, the disgust was made far more palatable when the freedom of choice was allowed to enter the equation.
“I can’t help but marvel at the voracious appetite of the remedy,” Mender Jeffers announced as he joined the assembly. He cleaned his hands on a scrap of cleanish cloth. Stopping close to Ryl’s side, he tossed the piece into the fire. A momentary flare of light, heat, and a waft of putrid odor bloomed from the small blaze as the scrap took flame. The stench of the blighted rose dissipated rapidly, covered nicely by the heady
