The Iron Pillars

Chapter 1

"Well yeah, how could you ever expect a single good night's sleep again with her blood—no, their blood on your hands?" 

Brant's eyes snapped up from the running water in the sink to the mirror hanging above it, startled at the sudden voice as if it wasn't his own. In reality, the incriminating question had proceeded from his own lips. His conscience answered in silence, only alerting Brant to its verdict by firing another arrow of guilt into his aching heart. 

He sighed and splashed water onto his face before turning the faucet off. As he shook the moisture off his hands, his gaze swept back up to the mirror, and he studied his face with tightened lips. 

A pair of vacant blue eyes with pupils resembling black holes stared back at him, surrounded by a network of bulging red veins. The former brilliance of his cobalt irises had faded through three months of unrelenting exhaustion coupled with and fueled by sleepless nights aplenty. Of course, the mental burden he carried daily didn't help matters any, either. 

Brant turned his face from side to side and shrugged. He hadn't shaved once in those three months, so his beard featured far more prominently. His pale skin gravitated toward dryness, but it seemed his washing had refreshed it sufficiently to make him presentable enough. With a sigh, he pushed through the door and found himself in a dark hallway. He limped down to the light at the end, where festivities lay beyond. 

Once Brant reached the end of the corridor, he found himself on a railed walkway surrounding a central courtyard with an open roof. Two stairways branched off the path to lead down into the crowd below, but he found himself lacking both energy and willpower to walk that far. Instead, he leaned against the railing and studied the throng below. 

The Kemarian Insurgence had dwindled to dangerous numbers, and due to that fact, foreign Innutukian soldiers dominated the space in the courtyard. Though they hadn't arrived in time to prevent the recent catastrophes, they now proved useful allies in rebuilding the movement. Today, though, was a special day to their Innutukian allies. 

It was their Day of Ancestral Appreciation. Disciplined and ascetic as the foreigners often were, their behavior proved quite the opposite today. Dressed in tuxedos and gowns, they indulged themselves in dancing, singing, eating, and drinking to their hearts' content. Any other day of the year, such activities would be restricted to a bare minimum, only as far as necessity required. But as their bards recounted glorious tales of their ancestors, they showed their appreciation by loosening up. 

Brant perked up when he caught movement in his peripheral vision. A lithe brunette with luscious curls and pretty hazel eyes strutted his way, the click of her high-heeled shoes increasing in volume as she came closer. 

"Hey," she said as she stopped a couple feet from him, "you look lonely up here. Can I interest you in a dance?" 

Brant eyed her with a disinterested glance. "No thanks, I'm good." 

"Are you sure? I'll admit, it's not every day I get to sway with a handsome gentleman like you." she said, laying a hand on his meaty bicep. 

"Yeah, I'm sure." Brant replied dryly. "I'm sure a fine lady like yourself should have no trouble finding another partner." 

The woman's fingers met her lips as she leaned back and smirked. "I'm flattered. You really should come down, though. I'll keep an eye out for you." 

Brant silently watched as she stepped away. He could've swore her hips hadn't swayed that noticeably earlier. When she cast a flirtatious glance back, he rolled his eyes and refocused his attention on the crowd below again.