Redemption

Chapter Seven

The next few days of travel were warmer as Niko and Alistair picked their way down the mountains, following the old trail. It had been so long since the path had been travelled upon by any large numbers that the mountains had started to reclaim what was once a well groomed, well maintained road. Out of respect to their Southern brothers, the Aesin had built their capital city south of the protective mountains in a high altitude basin where the snow still fell year round. It was summer now and though the sun was shining high above them with clear skies, the air was still cold but it was not bitter like the last several days of their travel.

Niko took the path down first, his horse more surfooted than Alistair's. Even as well trained as his mount was, he slipped frequently. Niko ended up getting off of the beast to ease it's descent and whistled to Alistair who was struggling a bit higher behind him. Alistair looked up and carefully got off of his horse, picking his path carefully. He called down to Niko, "Are you sure that this is a real road?"

Niko nodded and continued moving down, the slag underneath his feet slipping and sliding. He ended up letting go of the reigns and letting the horse pick its own way down the mountain, carefully plodding along as it weaved and chose the best path. Alistair watched and did the same, having both hands free made his life a bit easier as well. He was starting to gain confidence, moving a bit quicker as his sharp eyes spotted the best steps to take.

Though it was cold, Alistair was starting to sweat before they made it halfway down the side the current mountain. The trail zig zagged along the mountain face and it was slow going. The sun was high above them when Alistair finally caught up to Niko, his expression triumphant as he panted softly; he could keep up even on foot.

"So how much further?" Alistair asked tiredly. Niko looked behind him and pointed at the ridge they were heading towards, "It's just on the other side. You'll be able to see the basin when we reach the top of that ridge and go through the pass."

His hands shook as they walked closer and closer, his mouth growing dry. Isa flew overhead, letting out a sharp but comfortingly familiar cry. She knew what Niko was going through: he hadn't been here since the genocide. It wasn't going to be easy seeing what was left of the ruined city.

Alistair could sense Niko's unease and after hearing the story that Niko had told him that night in the cave, he understood why. What was once his favorite childhood home, the warm memories had turned into a cold nightmare for him. Niko continued along the path when he heard the rocks crack underneath them, the cobbled road shifting under their feet. He slammed his foot into the loose slag and grabbed Alistair's arm just as the rocks around them slid down in a landslide of sharp, lose rocks. Alistair's feet were swept away from him and if not for the strength of Niko holding onto a rock embedded in the solid ground beneath the shale, he surely would have been swept away to his death.
After the land had settled, Niko carefully pulled them both to their feet. Panting softly both from fear of death and exhaustion, Alistair met Niko's eyes, "Thank you, you've saved my life again."

"Don't worry about it; we both need to stay alive." Niko smiled softly and continued on the hard trail, working his way along the steep slope until finally, after what seemed like an age, they reached the far ridgeline where the horses stood waiting. Alistair managed to pull himself up onto his mount and gave a satisfied sound of relief when he saw a legitimate road curving down along the side of the mountain basin. The sun was starting to sink past midday and Niko knew that the road would take them the rest of the day to reach the city, but in the amber sunlight reflecting off of the snow around them, the city of Kaandar stood like a silent mausoleum - a relic of tragedy that shone brilliantly in the sun.

As the only true Aesin city, Kaandar was a testament to the strength of the people who built it. Although the place had been abandoned for nearly twenty years, it looks beautiful and still beneath them in the basin. The buildings had all been made of blue stone, some of the strongest and heaviest found in the northern lands, mined and carried down from the mountains by the Aesin themselves. Because of this, the city would stand the test of time, even with it's homes empty. As they rode their horses along the rode, quickly slipping inside the rim of the basin, the silence of the city almost became oppressive. Niko could hardly tear his gaze away from it, built high into the mountainside itself, the city was beyond beautiful. Even from here, several miles away, the wind could be heard playing a lonesome melody through the city. It was as if time itself stood still here; cut still by the knife of tragedy. Niko wasn't the only one who felt it; Alistair who was so closely tied into that magic of the world could feel an unwelcome feeling. It was as if the ghosts of all those slain here could tell what he was - could smell it in his blood. His illness was the driving cause behind all of their deaths... and the burden was immense. The horses were edgy, spooked by the silence of the city and the wind as it whistled eerily through the ice and stone.