The Dunehei Chronicles | Book One: A Roseless Thorn

Chapter 3 Revelations, Letters, and a Smidge of Relaxation

Myrra stood on deck, looking out at the horizon and the endless sea of green. The winds blew in from the east making the tall grass of the Great Plains ripple like waves on the ocean, the dew-drenched blades glittering in the light of the morning sun. Thankfully, she wore her flight goggles, the tinted glass dulling the brightness of the blazing star and blocking the wind from drying out her eyes.

They had left Elven territory last night, crossing over the border of their nation and into the massive expanse that was the Great Plains. It came as a relief to her, the weighty feeling of her goddess' scales having been lifted. Here, in the Great Plains, there was no law, no order, no monarch to rule over the ocean of green. Just nature. And because it was just nature that ruled over this place, the balance here for justice was perfect, for there was nothing to tip the scales in one direction or the other.

Usually, Isyngrad, the capital city, and most of the surrounding districts would be perfectly balanced as well, but the previous morning she had woken up to find the scales slightly tilted to the side of chaos. She has yet to understand why or find out who it is that is causing the balance to be led askew, but once she returns from her mission, she will find out who is behind it, and they will wish they had never messed with her home.

Everything was happening so fast, summoned to the Queen and then informed war was inevitable, promptly promoted and then given hardly more than a few hours to pull together a crew that she could trust. That part was actually pretty easy. She had many favors to call in, perks of being a diplomat, and she knew many people who were trustworthy and loyal.

Her people weren't big enough to be called a full crew, just a little over half a dozen at around eight elves including herself. What they lacked in numbers, however, they made up for in skill. In the end, it all balanced out, just as all things should.

"So, Cap', what exactly is our mission? Kinda obvious we headin' for the human kingdoms but ya ain't told any of us what we be up to," spoke the elf to Myrra's right, clutching the wheel in her dainty hands and turning it to counter the push of the wind.

Kasila Teralith, or as the rough and tough elf preferred to be called, Kaster. She was one of Myrra's closest friends and perhaps the shortest elf the Symbol Bearer has ever seen. She was so short in fact, that she had to stand on a box to reach the wheel to steer the ship. Most people get over the surprise of her stature when they come to realize that she is half-dwarf.

One should not underestimate Kasila Teralith based solely on her height, for she was a master at engineering and possibly the best in both the human and elven nations combined. The fact of her trade was present all over her body, dressed in thick brown pants and a white shirt with innumerable stains, a leather harness strapped across her body with pouches containing an assortment of unknown items as well as holsters for countless tools.

Her hair was short, unruly, and greasy black in color, most likely because it was covered in grease and oil. A pair of goggles were strapped over her chocolate brown eyes and a heavily stained bandana was tied around her forehead.

The most eye-catching thing about her, however, is that her left leg was replaced by a mechanical prosthetic from just above the knee down. It lacked any type of outward plating, leaving it bare for all to see its skeletal structure and inner workings. Gears turned and pistons shifted when she moved or put weight on her fake leg, making it give off little whirs whenever she walked. There was a central cylinder located among the jumble of gears, wires, pulleys, and pistons. Embedded into it were small slivers of arcane crystal, runes Myrra was unfamiliar with etched into the metal around them.

Myrra had to have Kaster as part of the crew, mostly because she trusted the small half-elf, but mainly because the airship that now belonged to her had been designed and engineered by Kaster. Speaking of the ship, they really needed to give it a name, but that could wait for now.