Chosen by the Sky

Chapter 27 - The Fallen One

Anger and shock pulsed through my veins like lightning, crackling angrily with no place to go.  I stood, sword in hand, and stared out at the ruined mountain where so many memories had been made.  Steves had come to this place for generations, offering gifts to the Sky People.  How could it be gone?

Something touched my shoulder, and I jumped, whirling to face the Yellow Leader, whose face was grim.  He stepped back from my sword, but no indignant sparks rose along his arms.  His demeanor was business-like, almost calm.  A steely determination shone in his eyes.

"I'll get the leaders together."  he said firmly.  "Can you dismiss M and the others?"  He gestured to a group of steves in the distance.  I could faintly hear M's muffled sobs as he clung to the Violet Village Leader, and a few steves stood nearby, watching with concerned expressions.  I nodded, trying to brush away the horror of what had just happened.  The Yellow Leader was right for once, we had to keep everyone calm, or the entire kingdom would begin to panic.

I picked my way through the rubble until I was close enough to rest a reassuring hand on M's shoulder.  The Red Steve sniffled softly, then detached himself from the Violet Steve, brushing puffs of dust off the rainbow folds of his cloak.

"Sorry."  he whispered, voice dull.

"Nothing to be sorry about."  I told him.  "It's those Demon Steves who should be sorry."  Who will be sorry, after I'm done with them.  Behind M, the Green and Violet Village Leaders stood side by side, giving M sympathetic expressions.  "You should get back to your kingdom, take the day off."  I advised.  "Smite you-know-who if he tries to harass you again."

M didn't laugh, just nodded quietly, bringing down two bolts of lightning and leaving without so much as a goodbye.  A pang hit my heart, but I reminded myself not to take it personally.  He needed some time.

"I hope he'll feel better soon."  The Green Village Leader sighed.  I glanced back up at him. He was staring at the place M had just disappeared, one hand clasped over the red pin he wore.

"I tried to suggest he visit the Fallen One, but... I think he's too distraught."

"Poor steve."

"Of course.  It must be harder for him.  This is the only place the other steves use."  I stood up quickly, taking a step forward.

"What do you mean?"

They both blinked, looking surprised that I was listening.

"Sorry, Sabre, we were just talking about the Fallen One."  The Green Village Leader explained.

"The one who blesses our village."  The Violet Village Leader added, noticing my confused expression.

"The one who- wait, what?  Start from the beginning, what do you mean by 'The Fallen One'?"  I had heard a lot of steve folklore over the years, and being friends with M had led me to a lot more, but I had never heard of any 'fallen one'.

Or maybe I had...

"Haven't you heard of him?"  The Green Village Leader asked.  "He's the one who blessed the village.  Since you're with the Messenger all the time, we thought you knew all about Sky People history."

"I think you'll have to fill me in on this part..."  I murmured, frowning.  M had given me a lot of knowledge about the Sky People, but had never talked about a blessed village, just legends of previous guardians and messengers.  Most of them, anyway.  My mind went back to the last pair, the two steves M never liked to talk about.  Did it have something to do with them?

"Why don't you come with us back to the village?"  The Violet Village Leader offered, excitement shining in his eyes.  "We can introduce you!"

"I'm sure he'd love to meet the savior of our people."  The Green Village Leader agreed, smiling warmly.