novelraw Chapter 732: Keepers of Dawn Part 1
Chapter 732: Keepers of Dawn Part 1
Chapter 732: Keepers of Dawn Part 1
“Don’t you see? We lost. Now we must protect those we can,” said Chieftain Aqil.
Mylaril shook her head. “Tell me you do not agree with him, Lodin?”
The high priest looked up at the morning sky and sighed. “I… It is as you said, young Mylaril. I called this meeting to find a way to protect our people. Whether that leads to war or retreat is yet to be decided.”
“I can’t believe you. Don’t you two get it!?” Mylaril yelled. “There is nowhere to run to! Where do you plan to lead the tribes, hm? To the west? To Vulture Woods or Glimmer Grove? Or maybe south to the orcs? Perhaps north to Frost Rim? Or do you plan to go east and storm Hollow Shade again? Because that worked so well the first time.”
“I thought you wanted to fight?” Aqil cocked an eyebrow.
“Of course, I do, but I want us to win… I– I. I want…” Mylaril’s voice cracked. She paused, lowered her head and took a deep breath. “I don’t want any more of our people to die. But the only way we can protect our loved ones is if we fight.”
Aqil placed a hand on her shoulder. “Forgive me, Mylaril. I misjudged you because of your youth. I thought you thirsted for war and glory like so many young warriors. I see now you carry the heart of a true chieftain and only wish to protect our people.”
Mylaril wiped the tears in the corner of her eyes and nodded glumly. “I’ve lost too many people in Marek’s war. I only wish to save the ones we have left.”
“As do I,” Aqil said. He glanced at the high priest, “Has Undergrowth replied to any of the tribe’s messengers?”
“No. After their queen’s death, Undergrowth has seemed to cut off all ties with the tribes. None of our messengers has returned either,” Lodin said.
“Then we must consider Undergrowth to be hostile like the other Great Cities,” Mylaril said.
“I wish it were not so, but I believe you are correct,” Lodin said.
“Marek left us vulnerable. He promised our people freedom from Hollow Shade and the Great Cities if we only followed him and his queen,” Mylaril clenched her fists. “Now they are both dead and the dragonrider and monsters are gone. What are we supposed to do?”
“We need to flee. Have the scouts keep an eye out for the Great armies. They are large forces. They cannot hide and they will be moving slowly. We can prepare the tribes and have them skirt around the armies,” Aqil said.
“You’d just run away? Not even try to fight?” Mylaril asked.
“What can we do? Our armies are broken. The tribes are weak. Chieftains are scrambling to fill the hole Marek left behind. We cannot afford to fight the Great armies and incur the wrath. We will lose,” Aqil said.
“We don’t have to fight them head-on. The Frost Rim and Undergrowth soldiers are far from their cities. With a few battalions we can attack their supply caravans at night. Cut off their support. If we weaken them, they’ll be forced to retreat,” Mylaril said.
“And then what?” Aqil asked. “What happens when they return? Do you think Frost Rim or Undergrowth will be merciful? Do you think Hollow Shade will be grateful? They will see us as a threat to eliminate once and for all.”
“Aqil is right. Hollow Shade and its Ebon Aspirant already massacred the Cairn Tribe a few weeks ago. People are afraid and they have good reason to be so. We must protect those we have left. Even if it means abandoning what little is left of our lands,” Lodin said.
Mylaril clenched her teeth. “How can we call ourselves the Keepers of Dawn, the tribes of the Valley, if we do not reside in Dusk Valley? How much must our people lose to these invaders? “
“So long as we are alive, there is a chance to change our fates. But if we fight now, if we die, then the light of Solis and the ideals he instilled in us will be extinguished forever,” Lodin said.
“It isn’t fair,” Mylaril whispered.
“It never was,” Lodin agreed.
“I will have messengers sent to the tribes, explaining to them our plan. If the tribes keep their distance from one another, then if the enemy finds one of us, the rest may still survive,” Aqil said.
“If they only find one of us,” Mylaril said. “They have their own mages. Probably even a few True Reds or Purples.”
“Even more reason to keep as much distance between the enemy and our people,” Aqil said.
“Then it is settled. We will prepare the tribes to—” Lodin paused, and held a hand over his eyes. “What is that—?”
A figure emerged from the rising sun, a sliver of a shadow against the light. It flew down from the sky, a comet of silver, and crashed into the top of the hill. Aqil stumbled back. Lodin held his staff and bowed his head as he embraced the heavy impact. Mylaril was the fastest of the three. She drew her sword and leapt in front of the two older men.
As the dust settled, a pair of silver wings wrapped around one another appeared. “I mean you no harm.” The wings unfurled and revealed a young man. His appearance was close to that of a drow, but no. Certain features were off. As if the drows were an apprentice painter’s attempt at capturing beauty incarnate and this, this being was the original. The angelic creature’s eyes glowed with inner starlight and as he moved with unnatural grace, it was as if the air itself responded to his will, the dust settling before him.
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“Who are you?” Aqil asked.
“What manner of creature are you?” Lodin asked.
“Don’t take a step closer,” Mylaril pointed the blade at the stranger. Though her hand trembled, her eyes were steeled with resolve.
“I meant what I said. I did not come here to harm any of you.” Stryg slowly raised his hands.
“Who. Are. You?” Mylaril asked.
He sighed. “I am Stryg, son of Lunae… But you probably know me as Stryg Veres, the Ebon Aspirant of Hollow Shade.”
“The Aspirant?” Lodin muttered.
“Murderer.” Aqil narrowed his eyes.
“I only wish to talk in this place. This is a Meeting of Dawn, yes? Combat is not allowed on this sacred hill,” Stryg unconsciously glanced at the book peeking from his satchel.
“Talk? Why should we believe anything you have to say!?” Mylaril said.
“This must be some kind of trick. Son of Lunae? You are no god,” Lodin stomped his staff into the ground.
“Just like how he tricked the Cairn Tribe and lured them out, only to massacre all of them,” Aqil said. “You did not spare a single soul. Not a child nor infant. You had them all murdered.”
“I did not intend for the Cairn to be attacked,” Stryg said with a face full of regret. “I wanted a truce with them, with all your people. But I underestimated the pain and hatred that have scarred both sides. A captain under the command of one of my generals went against my orders and triggered the attack that day.”
Stryg looked them in the eye, “I personally executed him and had his family punished accordingly.”
“And what of the others that aided him? What of the soldiers who murdered the Cairn? The men. Women. Elderly. Children. All dead. What about your soldiers and their families? Do they get to live and grow old?” Aqil said.
“Do you think executing one person changes anything, Veres!?” Mylaril said angrily. “Are we supposed to simply forget the centuries of atrocities that your people have inflicted upon ours? Do you expect us to thank you for killing a monster? You are a monster. Your family has been drenched in blood since its founding. A Veres only seeks death and bloodshed.”
Stryg took a step back as if he had been struck. “I didn’t come here to hurt anyone—”
“No,” Lodin stepped forward. “You came to our sacred hill despite having no right to stand here and then you claim to be the son of the gods! As if we are just some fools who would believe anything you have to say. I do not care what manner of foul magic you cast to conjure such wings, you are fooling no one. This display of yours is more than desecration of our ways, it is blasphemy!”
Stryg slumped his shoulders. With a thought, his wings disintegrated into dust, leaving nothing behind but a feather that glided to the grass. “You have every right to be angry. I understand you have lost people you loved. So have I.” He inhaled with a slight tremble and sighed quietly. For so long, he had kept his pain buried deep inside him. Now he chose to share it with people he had barely met. “Marek and one of his warriors killed a man I loved as a brother. I despised your people because of what they did. I swore vengeance upon all of you.”
The two chieftains and high priest shared a wary glance.
Stryg looked at each one of them with eyes full of sadness. “I was wrong. I cannot blame the death of one individual on an entire nation. I can only hope that you might agree and hear me out.”
“What is it that you exactly want, Veres?” Aqil asked.
“I know now more of the history of your people, the struggles you have had to endure in order to simply survive. In many ways, you are not so different than the Sylvan Tribes.”
“The Sylvan Tribes?” Aqil furrowed his brow.
“You call me Veres, but I was born to a tribe of Sylvan folk in Vulture Woods. My people, like yours, have suffered at the hands of Hollow Shade. We have lost our lands, our families, our identities, because of individuals whose greed would not be satiated, no matter the cost of lives. They betrayed everyone and both our people paid the price.” Stryg stared at his own hands, “Hollow Shade is not so different than Murkton, is it…?”
“Why did you come here?” Lodin asked.
Stryg swallowed and refocused. “Your scouts have no doubt seen the armies marching to Hollow Shade. If Undergrowth and Frost Rim claim victory, then the City of Shades will fall. The victors will rip apart the land and take whatever they can.”
“Good. Let Hollow Shade burn,” Mylaril said.
“It will not only be Hollow Shade and its towns that will suffer. All of Dusk Valley will be left to the greed of nobles who would gladly subjugate all of this region’s people,” Stryg said.
“We will never bend to one of the Great Cities,” Mylaril said.
“Aye,” Aqil said.
“Then they will kill you. It is a war you will not win,” Stryg said.
“What exactly are you trying to propose, Veres?” Mylaril scoffed and shook her head. “Are you—? Are you actually asking us to help fight your enemies? You’re fucking insane.”
“No, that’s not why I—”
Mylaril laughed angrily. “What, do you expect us to just turn around and protect your precious city so you can just backstab us again!?”
“I told you, I did not order the massacre of the Cairn Tribe. Ever since the siege, I have pulled back Hollow Shade’s armies from Dusk Valley. I do not wish to fight your people,” Stryg said.
“And why should we believe you?” Aqil said.
“Exactly,” Mylaril shoved the sword in Stryg’s face.
He did not flinch, nor move. He simply stared at her. “I know you don’t have much reason to trust me, but—”
“I don’t think you do,” Lodin spoke up. “You pretend like you are different, but you are cut from the same cloth as the Ebon Lords of old. They came to our valley and treated with my ancestors to build their city. They promised peace and new roads of commerce. Prosperity for both sides. But when the Schism struck, they broke their oaths and attacked us. They killed our god, stole our lands, and our people’s very souls. Half the shades that were in that cursed wall came from our tribes. In the end, your predecessors took everything that made us who we were. All except this,” Lodin placed a hand over his heart. “We have so little left, but it is this small ember that we Keep alive, no matter the cost. We are nomads now with no land to call our own, unable to stay in one place for long for fear of your city’s attacks. So we do what we must, we protect what we can. We cannot help you.”
“What the Ebon Lords of old did was unforgivable and they paid the price with their lives. I am not one of them,” Stryg said in a quiet voice.
“Yet you carry their legacy, Ebon Aspirant,” Lodin noted.
“If you only see me as a vestige of the Ebon Lords, then allow me to amend the crimes of my predecessors.”
“You cannot,” Lodin said.
“Let me try. I will reforge the pact the Ebon Lords of old made with your people.”