Savage Rising: Eternal Forest Saga - Book 1

Chapter 16

Dawn came and nearly turned to midday before Viyana finally arose from her slumber. She was sitting in the dust and leaning against the stone wall at the mouth of the cave. Her back hurt from the lack of comfort and what little skin her armor left exposed felt cold to the touch. Her sword was lying at her side, her hand gently resting on the hilt. As the evening had turned to night, she'd wondered if her nerves would even let her sleep. Every sound in the woods sounded like the footsteps of a balisekt soldier on approach. Apparently exhaustion finally took her, and she fell into a sleep so deep that a raging storm couldn't have pulled her from it.

After rubbing her eyes, she looked over her shoulder and saw Cherin slumped over in the dirt. A puddle of drool near his mouth provided the only moisture the dry dust had seen in a long time. Zehlyr and Azalea were deep in the cave. She didn't know if they were awake or not, but it didn't matter to her either way. Heeska was up on the rocks, his clawed hands folded together on his belly and one leg hanging down off the side of the cave, swinging freely next to his tail.

She stood and stretched. Her muscles ached from the activities of the previous day. Morning always brought with it an ingrained feeling of calm and peace, but memories of the battle were quick to remind her that things were far from peaceful. She took up her sword and returned it to the sheath on her belt. With the air so silent, the blade clicked loudly as it settled into place.

With her arms up over her head, Viyana stepped out of the shadows set by the mouth of the cave and into the sunshine. It had been a cold night, especially at such a high altitude and sleeping against a stone surface. The fire they'd built in the night died out long before dawn. The last thing she could remember before drifting off to sleep was staring into its burning coals and thinking of the horrifying creature they'd faced in Stonemouth.

"So, you didn't kill me in my sleep," Heeska said as he slid down from the rocks and onto his feet. The balisekt rocked his head from side to side, making his neck pop loudly. "I guess I should thank you for that."

Viyana instinctively reached for the hilt of her sword, but sense finally took over and stayed her hand. "Well, you saved my life in the Wilds yesterday, so I suppose I'm in your debt."

"If it keeps me alive, I'll just let you keep owing me."

Viyana continued walking towards the edge of the cliff. She could still see the smoke climbing into the sky on the horizon. Zehlyr was right; the fire burned in the same spot and at the same pace as the previous day. No natural fire would behave in such a manner. It should have long ago either spread or died out as all possible fuels were consumed. It was the second thing in the forest she'd seen burning unnaturally yesterday, so the thought of the two being connected was inescapable.

"You seem to make a habit of that," Viyana said to Heeska. She could hear him approaching from behind her, and it took every bit of her restraint not to spin around in fear and distrust.

"A habit of what?" Heeska asked.

"Saving human lives," she responded. "It's amazing. In you, I've seen more civility and intelligence than I ever dreamed a balisekt could be capable of."

Heeska stood beside Viyana and looked with her over the cliff. His heightened sense of smell could detect the sweet nectar of the fruits in Azalea's grove a few hundred feet below them. "We could be capable of so much more. When the balisekts migrated north after the Blight, they split into many different factions. Some built homes, and markets. They established systems of trade and bartering. There were farms, communal spaces, and even schools. They made real communities."

"It sounds no different than us," Viyana said humbly.

"It wasn't," Heeska said. "In fact, there were many communities that voted to approach your tribes with an offering of peace, to see if we could be accepted as one of your 'civilized species'."