Fall of the Stars Book 2: Victory's Wing

Gerey Nesell III

If death had come to him at that moment he would have embraced it with both arms open. His body felt as if it were on fire and it pained him to even open his eyes. Around him was silence and the smell of his own flesh decaying. It had been two days of him lying on the ground staring at the sky. The sun's heat had only made him feel worse, and at least his body was numb to the point that he couldn't feel himself being eaten by the insects.

I must look like a corpse... I definitely feel like one. When the gryphon came and the horn sounded, the whole castle was alive with shouting and the stinging sound of steel being drawn. Not long after that, the shouting became screaming and the steel became stone falling from the ceiling. Gerey only had the strength to roll himself over as the roof collapsed on him, yet it was not enough. A large stone landed right on his shoulder and since then he could no longer feel his right arm.

"Help..." He tried to speak, but his voice was faint. Who was he even calling to? The only things that greeted him in the morning were the birds and the worms. Soon the worms would have their fill of his arm and the birds would finally treat him like a proper corpse.

Then he heard something? A voice? Not likely. Maybe it is God, come to take me to the sky. Please, I want to leave this bloody place. But it was not God. He heard hooves, many of them. Perhaps the Arnishmen came to finish what they started. Either way, death was better than what he was feeling.

"Are there any survivors?" Gerey heard that loud and clear. It was a woman's voice. A familiar woman's voice. Was it his mother's? His sister's? Was it Trisha's? Was it that girl who Rynn saved in the woods? What was her name? I forgot...

"Search the debris!"

"Everyone's dead. Let's move on."

"We can't move on until we find Gerey. I know he's here somewhere. We at least need to find his body."

"Don't be ridiculous. He probably got swallowed whole like a good deal of the rest of the people that were here."

He knew it then. The voices were so familiar. Jasper Towers. Trisha. They were close. So close. But he couldn't move or speak. How would they find him? Would they leave him? But if they left him he would die...

"Gerey? Hey, Gerey's over here!" Trisha's face. "Come, quick! It looks like he's alive!"

A hand on his face. "You sure? He feels like a cor... God bless my soul, look at his arm!"

Hands were on him. Gerey was lifted and sat upright against a piece of the wall. He tried to lift his arm, but it was dead to him. Even his head felt too heavy to turn. As it dropped to the side he got a glimpse of his arm, green and rotten and crawling with insects. Trisha held him by his shoulder while Jasper knelt in front of him with his sword drawn. Over Jasper's shoulder Gerey spotted at least ten other people.

"Lay him down," Jasper said. "That arm has to go immediately."

"Are you sure there's nothing else we can do?"

"Woman, just listen to me."

Gerey was put on his back, his eyes facing the sky. He heard it, but he felt nothing. The sickening, squelching sound of the meat on him being sawed off. A few seconds in he felt a grating sensation on his upper arm. The bone... Once Jasper was through the bone, he quickly cut through the rest of it. Gerey saw his arm being tossed aside. Trisha removed her tunic, handing it to Jasper. He cut it with his sword and began wrapping Gerey's arm stump with it.

"Gerey, can you talk?" Jasper asked.

Gerey tried, but no words came. His mouth was too dry for him to speak.

"My lord, we need to get him some water. His mouth is dry."

Gerey was brought water and a piece of bread and was fed by Trisha. Jasper and the rest of the men scoured the place looking for more people, but Gerey doubted that anyone else was alive. When the gryphon came, it was hell. The bird tore the castle apart in seconds, killing nearly everyone. And then came the soldiers, hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of Eastland soldiers stormed in to finish what the birds started. They killed everyone. Everyone. If Rynn hadn't left they probably would have killed him too.

The sun was setting and Gerey started to feel a little more like himself. He was still sitting against the wall, but now he had the strength to lift his arm and speak. Trisha sat next to him the whole time, watching Jasper carry out his search.

"Trisha," Gerey said, his voice weaker than ever. "What...is going to...happen to me...?"

"Nothing," she said. "Nothing. Gerey, we are losing. The king is losing. Rynn is losing. We have to flee."

"Flee...? I am no...coward."

"Gerey, listen to me." She turned Gerey's head so that he was facing her. "If you stay here, you will die. You can no longer fight. You may be fine with throwing away your life, but I will not let you."

Flee? To where? Gerey did not want to leave. He wanted revenge. He wanted to prove himself. My shield... My cloak... His shield and cloak, both emblazoned with the sigil of House Selley of Windmoor, were missing. He would probably not get another.

Gerey remembered when he first got that cloak from Lord Rancis. It was the summer of the year 259 when Gerey was only ten years old. Ever since he was a boy, hearing stories and songs about knights and famous warriors, Gerey wanted to be a great knight like Lord Rancis Selley, whose castle was not too far from Gerey's own home. Every evening he would sit at a distance and watch the castle gates, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of the tournament champion. One day, the gates opened and out came Lord Rancis and dozens of men, waving the smiling sun of Windmoor above them. They rode to the direction of Sickle, Gerey's village. He did not know why their lord was paying them a visit, but Gerey was excited.

When Lord Rancis stopped in the village to stock up on food from the local market, Gerey ran up to him. Every guard drew their sword, but Lord Rancis told them to stand down. He couldn't remember exactly what he said, but Gerey told Lord Rancis that he wanted to be a great knight just like him. Smiling, Lord Rancis removed his large cloak and his shield and handed them to Gerey. Gerey kept them and fought for them and wore them every chance he could, even while squiring with Sir Drew. Now both the cloak and shield were gone.

A childish dream... My childish dream... Gerey could never be a great knight like Lord Rancis with one arm. His dream was over. Maybe fleeing was the best thing he could do.