Arc One: Awakening

Chapter 27: The Waters of Skuld - Part 2

Lilith rubbed her hands together and smuggled them under her sleeve cuffs as the bitter winds nipped mercilessly at any exposed skin it could reach. Like flags in a concentrated breeze, the dwarven braids swayed and their golden beads clacked. A piercing howl assaulted the assembly and arms flinched to bat away the spray of dirt and snapping leaves.

"You nervous or something?" Lofran said from beside the waiting mage. "You've spent the past ten minutes squirming like a mud beast in heat."

Throwing him an unimpressed glower, Lilith cleared her throat and stuffed her hands behind her back, doggedly fighting the urge to fidget further. "I'm not nervous. It's brisk is all."

"Shouldn't a soldier of your reputation be able to withstand the cold?" he teased. "Here I was thinking mage warriors would be stoic and unyielding, yet in the face of a bit of wind, you fumble about worse than an irritated child."

"Are you trying to insult me?"

"Not at all, Commander Cleaver," Lofran laughed. "Just having a little fun."

"If only you knew the fun we mages have," Lilith quipped, triumph swarming when the curious sweep of the leader's eyes offered her an upper hand. She kept her own gaze forward, fixated on the trees where Bartholomew had vanished hours earlier. "The beauty and the chaos we can create. I have seen fire burn in a kaleidoscope of colours, watched healers bring back fatalities on death's doorstep, felt the pain it inflicts and bear the scars of its malevolence."

In a soft lull, the flurries hushed. Lilith synchronised each breath as though she herself compelled the elements, and commanded them to slow. "Do you feel that?"

"What?" Lofran asked.

"Exactly. No wind." With a pointed finger, she connected with her silent spell and sent ripples overhead. "I slowed down time and used the excess to form a barrier. Nothing can get in. Not even the weather."

"But are we able to leave?"

"Of course," Lilith said, undoing the enchantment. The screeching gusts and creaking boughs resumed their protest.

The tension discharged from Lofran's muscles with the exhaled breath he had been holding. To think that she had used her power without him, or any of the other guards realising, both intrigued and frightened him. And it took something truly extraordinary to shake Lofran Redblade. "You hold a tremendous force within you," he said, his usually gruff tone tamed into awe. "Great and dreadful indeed."

Once the last few crackles burrowed into the gaps between her fingerless gloves, she shook the rest off, ensuring they couldn't wriggle under the fabric. "You grow used to it after a while."

Ahead of them, Nestor planted his ceremonial spear into the mud with a deliberate thump and motioned into the forest, startling many in the gathered group. "I see them," he declared. "There. Look!"

Two figures wandered through the underbrush, sunlight winding like a mangled halo around their forms until the natural shade brought them into view. Lilith remained still, her heart soaring as she curbed the overwhelming urge to sprint to the woman who had nurtured and protected her.

Lofran stepped forwards, his jewellery and multitude of buckles creating a symphony of jangles with each stride. "Welcome back, Professor Spark," he said and diverted his focus to the representative accompanying him. "You must be Farina Canaris. It is an honour to receive you into Thuldran, my lady."

Farina's pale yellow gaze assessed the welcoming party, and she lowered her head to the territory's leader. The wind that tormented everyone else seemed to avoid her as though it didn't dare disturb the sleek black curls over her shoulder or the loose, flowing sleeves of her dress.