Tyrant's Ebb

Tyrant's Ebb, chapter 6 - Reverence

Seldin

Former prince of the Eternal Empire of Tavran. Brother of the fallen Emperor, Keldin the First. One moon since the new Mark of the Other One blossomed.

Gingerly lifting his head, Prince Seldin tried his best to get a bearing of where he was, but the town and the fort had disappeared. All around him people were slowly getting up on their feet, all of them as confused and dazed as Seldin. Someone's hurriedly approaching footsteps sent a shiver of fear through Seldin, but he quickly recognised the face of Orhan looming above him.

"Get up!" The dark-skinned giant barked with a hoarse voice. "This is no time to lie around, get up! Move!"

A second pair of footsteps was rushing towards him and the next moment Seldin had to fight off two pairs of hands dragging him upright. He glimpsed Furos, Teresa, Agmar and Cleo, all gathered around Noelyn, who was still unconscious. But Seldin still couldn't work out where they were or how they had ended up here?

Only the foundations remained of their shack and all the other buildings. Up here the wind was growing stronger. Tennver and Orhan were shouting something, but Seldin shook himself free from their grasp. He became aware of the swaying and moving mass of land underneath his feet.

The view ahead of him must have been what gods and Draig'yar could witness every day. And the sight overwhelmed him with fear. The sight of Ironcourt turned into a hollow pillar, the Mark of the Other One lazily hovering above. And all the forests, rivers, plains, lakes, fields, villages, hills and mountains in the far distance spread out right here, almost in the palm of his hand. He only needed to reach out with his hand and take hold of it all.

But no one should be able to do that! Seldin remembered the stories their teachers had told him and his brother, stories of humans able to shatter the lands with the flow. He had laughed at the stories while Keldin had listened, full of awe and a spark in his eyes. It had been a tremendous relief when his own powers fell short of the fairy tales.

Tears welled in his eyes. Such possibilities were not for him, such a world in front of his eyes at this moment ought to not exist.

"Where is Sool!" Seldin yelled louder than he had intended. But it forced Tennver and Orhan to stop their argument.

"Now! You are thinking about this now?!" Tennver shrieked at him. It occurred to Seldin now that it did not matter how loudly they yelled. The world had come alive again, and he noticed all the others who were wailing and shouting with disbelief and panic in the voices.

But the thought of Sool worried him. Sool might have been dead, killed by this cataclysm. If he would not get to kill Sool then what was the point of all this? Why was all this happening? Seldin spun around on the spot, taking in all around him and beyond their floating sanctuary. Looking for anything that might give him a clue of the fate of the fort of Verdant Ruin.

Cleo's fist still appeared out of nowhere and nearly landed on his nose. He barely stumbled away from the enraged woman who took the opportunity to push him to the ground. On his behind, Seldin now had to defend himself from the woman's kicks. She did not relent and soon enough Seldin was lying down on the ground, curled into a ball.

"Sool this, Sool that! It's always Sool! Can't tell one brother from the other!" She shrieked.

Eventually Orhan pulled the raging woman away from Seldin. But even he had stern words for Seldin. "Focus! Sool will have to wait until we get off of this circus."

"How! How do we get off?" Tennver hissed at the giant of a man. Orhan opened his mouth yet no words came.

Only a distant thunder raced across the skies, drawing everyone's attention. Two of the floating islands had collided, turning each other into a cloud of boulders. Seldin tried not to look at the plummeting bodies amid that collision. Furos had fallen on his knees and it looked as if Agmar was suppressing tears, shaking and writhing with his hands around himself.