THE LAST LIGHT

CH VI: The Wild Beast Of Folvar

CHAPTER VI

The Wild Beast Of Folvar

“Aerion!” Aerien shouted with enthusiasm. The fresh air filled her lungs and she urged her horse to run faster and faster. The wind was hitting her face and the world seemed to be moving in backward direction. She loved it, it felt like flying, and she laughed. “Aerion! Wait for me!” She called above the noise of soaring wind.

“No! I won’t. Train thy steed to be faster.” Aerion answered, laughing in return.

Aerien knew her brother too well. He won’t stop. He would make her go faster. This was his own way to make her perform better and better. And Aerien appreciated that. It meant that he did not think her to be ‘limited’ only because she was female, but rather believed that she could better than any other men. So she urged her horse to be faster. But instead going faster, the horse seemed to move slower. Or to be more accurate, the world seemed to move in a forward direction, faster and faster, separating Aerion from her. But her brother hardly seemed to notice this change.

“Aerion!” She called out desperately, but he could not hear. He was too far away. The world seemed to grow darker and darker. She could not see the sun. An unknown fear gripped her heart. “Aerion!” She called out for one last time. But he was gone. Suddenly, her body was filled with pain. Black spots danced in front of her eyes and her head was throbbing painfully. 

Aerien opened her eyes to find herself in a cold little cell. Its walls were made of stones and the only source of light was the little window at the top. She was lying on the floor and despite of the cold, she was sweating. Horrible memories of the last two days flooded through her. She knew it had been two days, but it seemed like weeks. There were goblins, gloating, fingering their knives. They asked her questions, so many questions that she thought she would go mad. And when she did not answer, they beat her with a whip. One of them had ‘made designs on her skin’ to ‘teach her how to behave’. She was still afraid to look at her left arm, where the rouge had cut through her skin. She had heard that a wound looked worse than it actually was. But still the sight of the bloody, unwashed arm made her sick. She was kept without food and water. Her throat was burning with thirst and felt weak with hunger. Slowly, she forced herself to sit up.

 She looked at the entrance, expecting the guards enjoying her pain. That is what they had been doing whenever she opened her eyes. Ready with a new way to torture her. But instead, she noticed was that the two guards that stood at the entrance of the cell were sleeping. That knowledge filled her with sudden strength. She slipped her hands through the loose chains that bound her hands. They had never been tight enough to keep her bound. What had kept her bound were the two guards, who liked to be entertained by hearing her scream. When she refused to scream, they eventually found out fouler methods. She closed her eyes, in the horrid memory. Last night, they had questioned her about the sword. They usually questioned her about it.

The Sword! They had taken it from her on the first day. As much as she hated to be called the owner of Dûrsigil, she knew that she was responsible for it.

She carefully stood up on her feet. Her body was filled with a new kind of agony. The world seemed to spin around. The pain was making each step, a torture. She let out a groan but refused to give up. She dragged her feet forward. Cautiously, she took a closer look at the guards. To her surprise, the guards were drunk and heedless to the world. A new hope rose through her. Carefully, so as to make no noise, she walked in the darkness, towards where she knew exit would be.

The end of the corridor opened to a wide room. But luckily, the goblins were messy and did not care to clean up the boxes lying here and there. There were two goblins in the room. Aerien hid herself behind a box and listened to their conversation. At first she could not make out their words, but then it occurred to her that they were speaking in another language. Disappointed, she scanned the room.  In the middle of the hallway, there was an object that they were probably guarding. Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized Dûrsigil.