Aetherian(Part 1): A War Begins

Tessa

 Tessa didn't want to believe it, but she knew the truth about what she did. She failed her sister, Illyria, and now she had failed her Queen, Kara Karvine. The first, she betrayed, and the second, she lied to. She could feel the anger from Theon Bloodbane as he stood behind her, but she only sensed disbelief from Julien.

"So, were you supposed to assassinate Queen Kara or something?" he asked.

"No, I was at her side for ten years," Tessa insisted. "I had a million chances."

"Liar," Theon denied.

"She's telling the truth," Julien promised. Tessa could only imagine what sort of punishment that Kara could have in mind for her. She didn't know her for being merciful to her enemies, sometimes having Theon burn them with his golden fire breath. When it came to punishment, that was about as merciful as she could think of.

"Does that portal actually lead to the Queen's son?" Theon demanded.

"Yes," Tessa promised.

"Let me be sure," Theon snapped. Before he could step through the portal, Kara and Blake came out. Queen Kara had tears running down her cheeks, and Blake's arm was around her shoulders.

"What happened?" asked Julien.

"Did you see Trevor?" said Tessa.

"I did," Kara answered, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Blake let go of her and said "He decided not to come with us. I can't say I blame him for not wanting to come anywhere near where his sister died."

"Why did he stay in Mistral?" asked Theon.

"He says something's there," said Kara. "Under the Ivory Tower."

"What?" asked Julien.

"Something bad enough for him to stay in the reach of the people who could kill him with a snap of their fingers," answered Blake. "He didn't want to leave without finding out what it really was."

"I see," said Theon, then he gestured to Tessa and asked, "Now, what do we do with this one?" Tessa looked to Queen Kara with dread. There was no anger from the Queen, but there was still doubt. Maybe seeing her son made her reconsider executing Tessa, but she still didn't trust her.

"You helped me see my son, Tessa," Kara admitted. "But you've lied to me from the beginning. I don't want to see you in Dragonbarrow dead or alive. Collect your things and leave by sunrise." It was about as light of a punishment as Tessa was going to get. She went back to her hut near the edge of Dragonbarrow to pack her equipment, whatever would get her far enough north. Epsilon didn't sleep, so she didn't need something to sleep on, or to stop at inns to rest, but probably to eat. There was also the possibility of whatever creatures that came from the sands at night, so she took a pair of silver weapons called sais that had glowing crystals of radiant malakyte on their pommels, along with her two pistols. Once Tessa packed everything she thought she needed, she went to the northern edge of Dragonbarrow wearing a dark cloak, where Blake and Julien waited for her.

"Where will you go?" Blake asked. Tessa hadn't thought about that.

"North," she said. "It's really the only place I can go, isn't it?"

"Well, the Windlands are nice this time of year," Julien suggested. "They're west."

"No, I think north will do just fine," said Tessa. "I don't know if Lord Morvain will let an Epsilon into Sandstorm."

"Just be careful out there, okay?" Blake wished.

"Thank you," said Tessa. She mounted a camel and began through the sands under the light of the full moon. It was midnight near the end of spring, six hours until sunrise, which meant six hours for her to get eaten by something, or worse. Maybe she could find a city that wasn't completely destroyed, but considering what happened a year ago, it was unlikely. There was one way that Tessa could tell where she was going, though. Ancient travelers would memorize where a certain star was, and use it to find their way. There was a particularly bright star in the sky in the direction of Dragonbarrow, which Tessa memorized decades ago. There was a string of a dozen stars that seemed to lead north, which is what she followed. She wouldn't need to follow it for long. She soon found a paved road that split into three different roads. There was a sign between two of them, each one with the name of a city. Southsage, which was twenty miles away, Belhall, which was five miles away, Freycrest, which was ten miles away, and Red River, which was thirty miles the opposite direction. Belhall was closest, but Tessa wasn't sure that House Drumwind would accept her as a traveler. Maybe she would only stop in the city for food for herself and her camel and be on her way.

"Come on, boy," she urged the camel, and she followed the sign pointing to Belhall, under the lamp posts along the road. As the sun rose behind Tessa, she could make out a city on the horizon. The silver bell banner of House Drumwind flew over its walls and towers. There was still an hour before Tessa arrived at the city's gates, and when she approached them, the silver-armored soldiers weren't welcoming.

"Stop right there," one of them said, raising a hand. "What is your purpose in Belhall?"

"Just looking for food and shelter, soldier," answered Tessa.

"No one enters the city without leave of Lord Drumwind," said the same soldier.

"Then maybe I should have a word with him," Tessa suggested.

"Maybe you should get lost, girl," another one of the soldiers scolded.

"I'll only be in the city long enough to eat, feed my camel, rest a bit, and then I'll be on my way," Tessa promised.

"No, you'll be on your way right now," the soldier denied, and the squad pointed assault rifles at her. Tessa could hear her stomach growling. She was starving, and it was clear that the Drumwind soldiers had no intention of letting her into Belhall.

"Fine," she said, jumping from her camel. Her cloak fell as she landed, and she pulled out her two sais.

"Hey, stay back," the squad's Sergeant urged, as she stepped towards them. Tessa could sense a feeling of nervousness from the Drumwind soldiers. They stepped further back as she stepped closer.

"I said 'stay back'!" the Sergeant reminded. Suddenly, one of the soldiers fired a shot from his rifle, and Tessa disappeared. The Drumwind soldiers looked around, hoping to find her before she attacked them, and one of them suddenly fell. There were three more, and Tessa revealed herself standing with a foot on the fallen soldier's head. The other three began to fire bolts of red plasma from their assault rifles, and she put a hand out in front of her, projecting a ward that stopped the rounds. Tessa rushed straight for the Sergeant while he was reloading, knocking his rifle out of his hands before kicking him in the head, knocking him to the ground. She then threw a silver throwing star into the neck of another one, and then the last one right as he was done reloading.

"Sorry," she said. She picked up a small key card from the Sergeant and slipped it through the scanner at the gates to Belhall, and she entered the city.