Nivenmage

The Conflict

The path to Palinor was a wide one, meandering its way up the mountain, a path made by Fierim hands or perhaps magic. Argenen looked up at the fortress but it gave him a sudden sense of vertigo, so instead he looked down. To the south he could see the river Grenn springing from its birthplace in the mountains, a mere stream trickling over the rocks here and there, yet farther away it would become a strong river leading into the desert of Leogorath. Suddenly he wondered if he would ever see the home of the Daghym, or even his own home one more time. He looked up the mountain to the battle he was marching toward, but strangely his resolve didn't falter. He had become a different, stronger person since he had left Pyriam.

Gore led the party of just over a hundred soldiers, Fierim and Daghym, to either death or glory, or, more likely, both. In these faces Argenen saw only determination, he imagined he must have looked the same. Then the path widened and the slope became level. Before them a great stone arch was built into the mountainside, and then the sounds of battle could be heard, carried by the wind out over Galyn.

"The siege still continues." Gore said. "Hurry, we might still be able to save some of our brethren!"

With that he set off at a charge, and his rabble followed cheering, perhaps hoping the noise would distract their enemies just long enough for them to get there. Argenen charged, and shouted with the rest of them, and just around the very next bend the walls of Palinor appeared.

The gate still held fast, for the Soulless hadn't bothered with it; instead they had simply tried to climb over the wall, where they were even then being held back by the last few desperate defenders on the battlements.

"The wall is unbroken!" Gore shouted hopefully, but even as he spoke hundreds of Soulless forms crawled like ants down from above, sliding down the slopes, many of them falling off the small cliff to land like a black rain on the other side of the wall. The defenders turned around and screamed in terror, suddenly being forced to defend themselves on two sides, while a large part of the Soulless group ignored them completely and ran off into the fortress.

"Run!" Gore screamed, and then looked up at the men still standing on the walls. "Open the doors!"

The men looked confused, many hadn't heard Gore at all, but luckily one man had seen them coming and disappeared from view. A few moments later the large wooden doors started to slowly open, and Gore's army was there already to force the doors apart. Then Argenen found himself surrounded by Soulless, and quite suddenly the battle was upon him.

His body and mind both went numb, something else acted instead. Instinct took over, and wreaked havoc upon his enemies. His hands moved in a blur, hidden in the obscuring effect of moving Fabric, which rolled in on itself like water caught in a whirlpool. He could hear cracks like whips through the air, but these ruptures brought air from another plane, scentless air from the realm of the dead. The creatures fell in heaps before him, and still more came from above, and still the power spilled from him.

Soon he couldn't even move his feet. Something landed on him and sunk its teeth into his shoulder, but the threw it off with a forceful blast and fought on. Then another, and two more, then the weight was too much and his legs gave in beneath him. Above the bodies on top off him he could see a Soulless creature, shapeless, yet somehow holding a crude spear. It opened its mouth but no noise escaped, then it thrust its weapon mercilessly through the body of another Soulless and straight into Argenen's chest. He grunted as his breath was forced out, then the light above disappeared as more creatures clambered onto him. For the second time in his life, Argenen died.

When he opened his eyes, Argenen was sitting on the grass, once again in the world of the dead, and once again the old lady stood in front of him. Her back was turned on him, she was looking at something he couldn't see. Then she turned around and smiled at him. For some reason, he knew who she was. The knowledge didn't come in some startling revelation; it was as if he had always known.