Redemption

Prologue

"We have no other choice." The King looked down gravely to his own feet. No matter what way they looked at it, it was clear that this decision had to be made. If he refused to act, his grandson would die. But the betrayal had become too painful for him to bear... He looked up, head held high, the shame bright in his eyes.

"Give my son his orders, to proceed with the attack." He paused a moment, the next words hard to move past his lips, "Destroy the entire clan, women and children as well."

The ambassador bowed deeply and retreated from the war council. King Vitris left the room as well, the weight of the order bearing hard down upon him. He was at a loss; he never suspected that the Aesin would betray their own brothers, but it had finally happened. The sickness that had been laid upon his grandson had been a sickness cast by one of the Aesin clan leaders. The court mages themselves had felt the taint of their unusual magic.

He opened the door to his grandson Alastair's room where two mages currently worked in shifts to keep the child alive; the glowing silver netting they cast moved like a bag of snakes around his precious grandson. He knelt at the little boy's side and took up his hand, holding it close to his forehead, "Please, survive...be strong, Alastair..."

In that moment, he wasn't the king, he was a grandfather desperate to save his grandson. Boundaries were transcended as he cried at his grandson's bedside.

The carnage was unexpected and brutal; as Haldr Aesin fought off the mages that had attacked from the south. The strangest part was the insignia he kept seeing; the visage of the bird in flight, the Vitris family insignia. But that was absurd - why would their clan of brothers be attacking them? Had the old alliances finally been broken? The scream Haldr heard then froze his blood, his wife Ingra fell to the frost bitten ground, her empty gaze falling upon her husband. His son, Niko began to scream in terror, trying to run away. Haldr fought through the people between them, throwing full grown men aside who screamed in a terror equal to his son. The madness of the scene playing in front of him was absurd.

"Niko!" Haldr screamed his son's name as he pushed through the mages and stumbled over the fallen bodies of his kin. Then he saw Prince Vitris, his life-long friend pick his son up by the front of his shirt and throw him to the ground. Arden Vitris looked towards Haldr and shook his head.

"A son for a son." Arden had tears in his eyes as he plunged his sword, imbued with magic, down through Niko's chest. The child screamed in pain and grasped the sword with his left hand, heaving it from his chest, the abnormal strength the child possessed got him to his feet and into his father's arms before he collapsed.

"Father..." Niko gasped, his eyes filled with tears. The uncertainty and pain made Haldr panic as he looked around. His clan was dying and there was no way they would all survive.

"Haldr, run!" His second in command, Roland, yelled to his chief as he blocked the swing of a sword and his tattoos began to glow as he threw another man over the heads of the charging soldiers.

"It's over, old friend." Roland hoisted Haldr to his feet, son in his arms. "We must spread like snow in wind. Run!"

Haldr whistled to the massive bear in the midst of the battle and the great beast threw the men off of him and barreled towards the forest where Haldr met him and climbed onto it's back, his dying son in his arms.

"To the north, Graylin, we will escape them in the Icy Steppes and make a new home in those forests." The bear gave a roar and ran forward. Haldr sheltered his son from the wind as it became colder and colder, wrapping a thick fur around the boy's shoulders. Bless the boy, Niko's tears were silent and reserved as he worked desperately for air and fought to stay alive.

"Hang in there, Niko, just hang on." Haldr worked desperately on his son, using the Aesin magic in his blood to try to stop the flow of blood leaving his son's chest. Niko's eyes were closed as he struggled for life, his lips turning paler as the bear thundered quickly forward.

High above them came the sound of a strange cry through the blizzard that was beginning to form. Haldr looked up just as a massive white bird landed in front of them on silent wings, halting the bear in its tracks.

"A Storm Falcon..." Haldr breathed in disbelief. The bird gave a slight trill in its throat, calling out curiously at the smell of blood emanating from the bear and man. Haldr held his son closer protectively, wondering if they would have to fight this legendary creature. They had been held as a symbol of the Aesin family and usually promised great hope or warned of great calamity depending upon where they chose to be seen. The bird opened its wings wide and the wind gust nearly buffeted Haldr off of Graylin's back.

"What do you want?!" Haldr yelled to the bird, knowing that the creature would understand him. The eyes in that Storm Falcoln were beyond the intelligence of any normal bird of prey.

"I am here to save your son, Haldr Aesin." The female voice that responded to his question echoed in his mind. The Storm Falcon lifted her great head and stepped forward, lifting her wings like a mother, sheltering them instantly from the storm. The bird was far larger than he expected up close. She lowered her head and brushed her break through Niko's bluish white hair affectionately.

"Such a strong, handsome boy. He's the hope, you know. I would be sorely remiss in my duty to your people if I allowed such a brave child to die for such a terrible mistake." The bird lowered her head further and blinked a few tears from her eyes onto Niko's wound. The skin began to knit itself together slowly and color began to return to his face but the bird continued to work, a soft light blue glow beginning to appear from her chest that enveloped the two of them.

Haldr gasped as he realized this mythical creature was binding herself to his son. The bird's size began to decrease, a sacrifice she willingly accepted and Niko began to move, a soft pink blooming in his cheeks. Soon, she was a third of the size she once was and no longer protected them from the wind.

"He will live. The magic in the sword that pierced his chest has been nullified; it was very powerful." The bird fluttered up to sit upon Graylin's head, her wings fluttering gently. Haldr looked back to see the smoke to the south, his heart breaking in his chest. He wondered how many of his people had survived, or if he was the only one. And why had Arden had been the one to try and kill his son.

Anger pushed through his soul, pumping through his veins as Graylin began to move north again. Niko slept soundly in his arms, once again safe from harm, heart pumping strong in his chest. He was young enough that as a man, this would simply be a foggy memory, but Haldr had to live with the pain of the betrayal for the rest of his life.

He looked down at his son with a burning fire in his chest, "Don't worry, Niko, we'll make sure that one day, they will be punished for their betrayal for they have branded themselves in the blood of their brothers: they are Oathbreakers."