Songs of War: Pureblood

Ataraxia

She breathed in the sharp, cold night air as her feet slid across the snow, maneuvering between spruce trees in hope to escape the multicolored glow pursuing them. She glanced back at her brother, whose comfortable red markings glowed in signal that he was still there.

Suddenly she ran into something and fell backwards into the snow, the white fluffy substance piling onto her face. Shoving it off she looked up to find a green-marked Ardoni glowering over her, his staff drawn in anger and ready to pulverize her. She held up her hand to brace for the blow; she saw then the flash of Adraius diving over her and tackling the Kaltaris to the ground.

"Run, Adara!" he yelled, drawing his dual katanas and beginning to engage in a fight. Adara knew he was outmatched by the much older Kaltaris, but so far he had put up a hell of a fight; she figured it would be best if it wasn't in vain.

She tore through the snow and ran up a small mound at the top of the summit, glancing around at the fields below.

Suddenly she heard a scream and her vision shot backwards where Adraius has been fighting. Her spirits dropped and she bolted, having no time to grieve; she raced down the mountain and opened out into a smaller plateau, with no snow. Then, hearing the other Ardoni come down the path after her, she hid behind a tree, praying that they wouldn't find her.

"It's a Voltaris," said the green one, flinging the unconscious body of Adraius to the ground in front of him. Thankfully his markings were still on, although they were flickering somewhat dangerously.

"A'araxia's just o'er that ledge," said another, pointing. "We could take em there."

"Nah mate," said a third. "Those cowardly Ataraxians came here to get away from the Voltaris. We'll be very well assaulted if we brought one into their home."

"He's not of much threat, I chopped off his right hand anyways," said the green one from earlier. Adara cringed, peeking around the corner; he was right, her brother was missing a hand. His red blood flowed from the wound, staining the white snow as he lay.

"That doesn't make him less dangerous," said a blue one. "That's not how it works with Voltaris."

"Well then how does it work?" asked the Kaltaris.

"Don't ask me!" The Sendaris repelled, sheathing his enchanted diamond sword.

"Ack. If we're not stopping here then we're going to have to trek to Nestoria or Sendaria, which is like a three day walk." the Kaltaris explained exasperatedly.

"And this son of a Magnorite is only going to slow us down," said the Nestoris, gesturing to Adraius. Adara tensed, trying to keep herself from being provoked by the insult.

"Calm Adara," she said to herself. Then she realized she had said it aloud.

"Did you hear that?" asked the Nestoris, his ears perked.

"Hear what?" the Sendaris glanced around as Adara trembled in her hiding spot not 10 feet from the Ardoni.

"Never mind."

"Anyways, let's just leave em here and go," said the Kaltaris. "Not like he's much use to us anyways."

"Probably he'll die from the cold either way," said the Sendaris.

"There was another one also - a younger female. Don't know where she ran off to though," the Kaltaris added.

"Eh. The hunters will probably get her."

"True," said the Kaltaris and decided to abandon it. She heard their feet crunch off up the pathway back into the mountains.

She waited a good twenty minutes before peering out from behind her tree. Adraius was lying alone on the ground, his red markings flickering in the night air. Adara crawled over to him and felt his heartbeat, the slow pulse radiating down his body.

"P-please don't," she cried. "Please don't leave..." tears began to form in her eyes. She needed help, and quick; the other Ardoni had mentioned the Ataraxia. Maybe they could help her - but she also remembered they came to escape the Voltaris. She wondered what would happen if she tried to go to them for help.

Just over that ledge... she climbed towards it and grasped the end of it, pulling herself to the precipice. And behold.

It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. They were rocks, giant rocks, floating in the sky above a reflective, shallow river and walled by the steep mountains (one of which she lay on right now). The tops of the rocks were flat, and layered with grass and trees, with the periodical Ardoni cave hidden somewhere inside. Long wooden bridges linked the islands to each other, and a cave network, with its entrances visible through balconies and verandas, spread below each island, housing many peaceful Ardoni. She then spotted another Ardoni, a blue one like the one before, but smaller; somewhat around her size and age.

She couldn't call to him, of course, he was too far away; she thought perhaps to walk down to him, but her spirits sank when the boy was alerted by a call from inside a cave to the left. A Nestoris girl ran out and summoned him, and they both sprinted inside.

She sighed in depression and crawled back to Adraius, who was still sleeping. She didn't have any medical experience either, and she tried not to look at her brother's now useless right arm.

Tired and sad, she curled up next to her brother and went into a deep, dark sleep, devoid of dreams and nightmares alike.