Savage Flame

Chapter 8

Leoric had been lost in his thoughts, his fingers tracing the gemstone halo that he'd taken from his brow delicately. The King sat perched on a boulder that overlooked the river. The valley they'd stopped for water in was green with foliage, a vibrant collage of nature more beautiful than that of Einarsson. Einarsson... Leoric's heart clenched at the thought of his kingdom left behind. This journey seemed almost meaningless, yet rewarding in ways he hadn't expected. Quality time with only his knights he always enjoyed, but a quest such as this would be their first.

A crunch of leaves underfoot sounded and Baard appeared, his eyes clouded and a strange rune painted on his forehead. "My Lord, there is something you must see."

The Alv folk had scattered, leaving only one standing alone, strong gusts of wind screaming through the valley. Their horses disappeared, and Njal and Amund stood flanking the Alv woman, their eyes unseeing and the painted runes on their foreheads glowing. The Alv's hum was a beckoning vibration that pulled Baard like a trance through the river, his boots remained untouched by the water, until he turned to stand behind the Alv. The woman's mouth and eyes spread wide and blinding blue-white light erupted, her hands clawing at the churning sky above them and body arching backwards as more and more light streaked upwards like lightning into the thunderclouds. Then, with an unearthly scream, she was lifted into the air and a blast of red light broke through cracks of her body until the Alv woman shattered, a beam of sunlight piercing the dark clouds and slamming into Leoric's chest.

The King gasped awake, clutching his chest. The boulder was cool under his heated touch and centered him. Touching his forehead, he was relieved to find the halo still upon his brow. The vision had shaken him to the core. But what did it mean? Despite his whirling thoughts, Leoric scrambled down the valley's rocky trail and nearly stumbled into Amund at the bottom. Leoric's eyes tracked every inch of the Valley, but the horses were indeed gone. "My Lord-" Leoric's heart tightened, knowing exactly what his friend was going to say. But before he could warn the knight, a soft light caught his attention. 

A three-pointed symbol shone above an Alv woman's head, gracing her scales with light. Her fellow folk had disappeared, but Leoric could see small shimmers of observers through the thickness of the Valley's forest watching them. She beckoned him with a spindly hand. The King approached the woman warily, but her soft gaze washed his fears away as she bowed before him in a flourish of beautiful dragon scales. When she rose to meet his eyes again, her fingers painted the air with glowing runes, her voice as ancient and powerful as the snow-capped mountains that looped overhead. "Oppstigning." Ascension. A caress of her hands along the fragrant breeze to create another. "Kjærlighet." Love. Her hands painted a glowing white, nearly looped circle and then knotted her fingers together to complete the symbol. "Uendelig." Infinite.

Suddenly, the ground split down the river and the earth opened its mouth to reveal a silver door, the material flawless and untouched by its earthly grave. Upon its face, the rune of Thurisaz was carved. The Four felt the unruly tension that filled the air the second the door appeared. Thurisaz was feared by all, for it only brought chaos and destruction. The Alv woman approached each of the knights, her softly-projected fae light infusing their fear with ease and confidence.

Finally, at Leoric, she touched the gemstone halo at his brow and whispered, the power in her voice spreading fire through his blood, "Evig herredømme." Eternal rule. Then, the Alv woman stepped back and spread her arms, the billowing sleeve of her garments framing her figure like swam wings. 

To all, she warned, "Vokt dere for faren som lurer inni dere." Beware of the danger that lurks within. As a gust of wind blew through the valley, she suddenly disappeared, flower petals blowing out of sight by the wind.

An orb of faelight remained in her stead, one that guided them to the door. From a calling that pulled from deep within his bones, Leoric placed a hand onto the silver surface to which he could see his own reflection. The silver hummed with a dark energy, an icy-hot bite that made him snatch his hand back. The door groaned, the growl echoing down the throat of the passage enveloped in darkness revealed by the orb that beckoned them into the belly of the mountains.