Sun's Heart

Chapter 25 - Battle Above the Rift

Selias leaned on his sasuri and peered downward at the Rift. Wil cautiously grabbed onto the shaman's collar. Many nusitti, shamans and priestesses in training, had already nearly thrown themselves from the cliff to meet its undeniable draw. He'd watched one, captivated and enchanted utterly by whatever insidious thing whispered wonderful things into his soul, nearly step into the depths before Tona could grab him and shove him back. The nusitti now sat huddled together, sweating and resisting it with all their might as a circle of hunters surrounded them.

Selias finally straightened and turned away. Let out a breath he'd been holding. "Thank you, Yanto."

Wil nodded and looked toward his two companions. Gale and Tona were arguing. Dain and Talaris were arguing. Gale and Dain both looked to be losing, and neither was happy about it. Dain's features turned further irate, his gestures sharper. Gale, on the other hand, clenched her jaw and tried to coolly stare down the chief. Wil shook his head and smiled. June was a good teacher. Except June had the sharp retorts to match.

"They are so young," Selias commented, following Wil's gaze.

He rubbed the fingertips of one hand in the palm of the other. "So am I." Granules rolled against his skin.

"You listen when you should and speak when you must." He clapped him on the shoulder with his newly-healed arm and grinned. "None of them are so wise. Maybe when this is over, I will take you as my student."

Wil exhaled. "Why?"

"You are much like Reynard. Calm, quick to think, careful to act. I chose him for those qualities. He has much of what I look for in future shamans. So do you. If you wish, when this battle is done and we have won, I will teach you magics you could never learn in Beryl." He smiled. "Think about it." Before Wil could answer, he raised a hand in farewell and jogged toward the nusitti.

Hooting laughter rose from the depths of the chasm, ringing like chill bells in his bones. It cut off with a hollow shriek nearly as soon as it started. It wasn't the time to be thinking of his future.

The area around the Rift was full to bursting with men and women of all tribes, whether mage or hunter. The craftsmen and children were inside the city, guarded by what hunters Tona thought could be spared. Hundreds of people spread out around the blackened crevice scarring the ground. Archers lined the nearest cliffside, and those with shields and sasuri guarded the single slender pathway leading up. The rest, armed with whatever their preferred weapon was, waited behind the lines in small clusters. Wil estimated upwards of a thousand people or more.

The dissenters had chosen to remain in the city.

More's the pity. He shook his head.

Tona's hunters stood out from the rest in their unusual garb, but they weren't the only ones. Stone-Lighter's smiths were famous among the tribes for their blacksmithing. Here and there among the throng, metal shone and leather creaked on the several who had the luxury of being armored. Although, perhaps it was less "luxury" and more of a personal preference.

He'd seen Tona's dismissal of a particularly beautiful set of armor made to cover his chest and limbs while leaving enough space between to allow for mobility. And among those carrying the extra weight of protection, he saw that not all of them had a full set, cherry-picking according to preference. Many had chosen to don the veiled helmets, however, and walked with chainmail clinking about their necks. Moonlight shone like a starfield off the armored warriors.

When asked, Sani had explained that while metal was useful against smaller shadowbeasts, it was too heavy to allow for the agility needed to dodge the larger or stronger ones. And while leather provided agility, it wasn't enough protection against fangs and claws.