Kinfol's eyes rested upon dawn's light, her thoughts dancing to a cacophonous orchestra. Each demanding more attention than the previous. No matter how hard she had tried to put order in her mind, nothing could ease the tension that had built within it.
She almost flinched at the slight tap on her shoulder that shooed her thoughts away. Turning her gaze away from the celestial light soaring from the sea, she met Salzeka's relaxed expression as he handed her a bowl of grilled fish. He offered her a slight grin before joking:
"Can't ruminate annoying thoughts at peace with an empty stomach now, ey?"
She slightly paused before slowly taking the dish from his hand with a nod. Salzeka took a step to the edge of the ship to stand alongside her. They felt the warm sun brush its ray on their faces, taking in the rare drops of relaxation they can get. The silence was occasionally broken by the steps of their troops behind them and the chanting of the waves. It's been a week since they had set sail from Enyo's shore. Nonetheless they were still on the kingdom's territory from what they could see.
The archipelago of Enyo was known for the Nation Of Elements, and elemental magic resonated strongly in that land. In its territory, pure magic marked by the land's signature could be felt and harnessed through the elements. The more abundant the element, the more power it held. And since its sea had an almost inexhaustible reserve of water, it was easy to read Enyo's mark in it.
"Wanna share your depression?" Salzeka offered.
Kinfol almost refused at first, but after a moment of consideration, she realized that her body needed to put down some of the pressure she's kept within her.
"We're obviously doing something wrong." She started after checking no one was close enough to hear them.
"Mhm." Salzeka took a bite of his own meal.
"We're playing by the enemies' rules. It's obvious since Kroll has proclaimed his betrayal before disappearing and, concurrently, two kings of The Five Lands just so happen to know that Talj is the last member of an ancient order and ask us to hunt him down. Now the real question is... Why?"
"Uhm? Isn't it obvious? Ain't that ancient order some secret organization that used to fight The Darkness? They just want us to hand them their enemy to kill him, no?"
"If it was about settling a score between foes then they'd have been way more efficient if they started by bowing all kings and queens to their will, without letting the Dali know. They'd have the power of the The Dali and the entire continent fidgeting on the palm of their hands. And then, killing one seemingly random civilian would be childishly simple."
"Maybe they were scared that they'll get caught before the whole plan was set, so they moved a bit faster." Suggested Salzeka.
"I assume not. For even in haste, there must be meaning. We're talking about a force that spent centuries studying us, slipping past our noses, planning for us... I believe there is a gigantic piece of this convoluted puzzle we're missing despite it being right beneath our eyes."
Salzeka frowned for a moment.
"You have an idea." He stated.
"A mere hunch. This prophecy we were handed as an excuse to arrest him. It speaks of 'The Spear's last Children' and not 'last Child'."
"Oh..? You think there are more survivors of that Spear out there?"
"Indeed. And I also believe no one knows of their whereabouts, not even Talj. He did mention not being aware of any other survivors."
Kinfol took a deep breath before whispering to her companion:
"It may be nothing but my soul clinging to hope, for I've no proof of my claims; but I believe The Darkness is deliberately using us to create a commotion about catching The Spear's last known member to draw out the other survivors. I believe that they fear The Spear tremendously, and for a reason I cannot understand, for if Talj's claim were true, they're nothing but a handful of the power they once were. Regardless, they're luring out the last sand grains, in order to quickly hack them off the chart. So as to say... I believe We have allies where we cannot see them."
Salzeka took her words in slowly before saying:
"They better be some kickass allies then. Cause I may not be the smartest in the room, but it doesn't take a big head to see we're not dealing with your usual silly criminal gang."
Kinfol raised an eyebrow and gave him the side eye.
"I really cannot know if you simply can't take anything seriously or if you're desperate to hide the underlying distress."
Salzeka chuckled loudly before replying.
"Ain't we all trying to... Erm, hide the underlying distress?"
Kinfol scoffed in one breath. The sun was now fully visible. They turned back from its painful light. The crew was way too busy availing of their free time to heed their conversation.
"You know," the Enyo General spoke up lightly with a grave expression, "When I learned that we'll have to arrest Talj, an emotion crept up within my heart. And even when I understood the cause and fully complied with the circumstances, that feeling lingered."
Salzeka, surprisingly, had the tact of staying quiet.
Kinfol regained her breath before going on:
"That emotion was a stinging guilt. Guilt for being the artifice that has to betray a man who accepted me as a friend. I know that Talj doesn't agree with the Dali's methods... Yet he acknowledged me as someone worthy of trust. Now, instead of honoring that trust, all I can do is pity his fate..."
"Well... It's not your fault."
"I'm not denying it. However..." Kinfol sighed again. "Once he confided to me that he was born and abandoned by his parents on Ramol."
Salzeka let out a whistle.
"Baby Talj was sure the sprinter then. That's about the opposite side of the continent."
"Aye... Now that I think of it, The Spear must have either taken him in or he decided to join it voluntarily... Either way, imagine spending your life helping a secret organization that risks its members' lives everyday, knowing that you could have had a different fate if not for the crimes of parents you've never met. And all for what? Unlike our martial approaches, The Spear's secrecy allowed freedom to the people, they gained no recognition, no rewards. Just strain after strain."
Salzeka had an amused smile.
"If you had asked me about it a few years back, I'd have told you that's the dream life. Fighting everyday for the sake of the cause. But now..."
His friend nodded understandingly.
"And what for in the end? His newfound home was destroyed. The feeble meaning he may have found in his life was stripped from him like an arm torn from its shoulder. And despite all that, despite the pain that probably haunted his shadows for many fitful days and wakeful nights, he moved on. He tried to pick himself up, to find purpose. And he succeeded. He found a new family, a new home. He still fought for the goodness of the continent. He'd sometimes go to explore the world and get a glimpse on the marvels he was always curious to find... And now? He is kicked out of the life he wrestled so arduously to keep together. It's as if the very world he is torturing himself to defend is denying him the most humane right one can ask for: A home."
Kinfol discreetly clenched her fist before concluding:
"And now I must be the treacherous hand that will drag him to his grave. Do you understand better my emotions now?"
Salzeka, short of words, only nodded. He understood his companion's feelings better than he let on. Out of The Five Generals, Kinfol was most known for her sense of loyalty and her value for trust. Having her abducting her friend for a crime that has not even come to be is making her stand against the valor that shaped her into the woman she was.
He gave her words a moment's reflection. He was too, the hand that must drag Talj to his grave, as it was his own king who gave -albeit with obvious reluctance- the first order.
"What if we don't..?" He said slowly.
"Pardon?"
"What if we don't listen to our bosses and hand him over?"
"I would dismiss this as one of your many misplaced jokes but you don't seem like you're jesting."
"Just hear me out, will ya? Clearly, our kings got a sword hanging on their necks, and they can't swat it for some reason. So what? I say we take the matter in our hands and do what's right ourselves!"
"Salzeka, you know well that we cannot do that. Even if I complied, we are under Great Oaths. We are physically incapable of such rebellions."
Salzeka thought about her remark. A Great Oath was no trivial deal, it was a pact that was made with magic towards a benefactor that, once sealed, cannot be broken. Even if one did try to escape the vow, their body would simply not obey them. Very few cases could resist a Great Oath's rebuke but they always suffer great harm physically and in their mind for their transgressions. Even someone as strong as Salzeka or as witty as Kinfol could not withstand it.
In fact, the very foundation of the continent of Ylbunish was being held together by the sacred power that Great Oaths represented.
The kings and queens of The Five Lands of Ylbunish were born from an ancient lineage of the Primordial People. They were the purest bloodlines in the records. Upon turning 16, the eldest child of the royal family took a Great Oath to either honor their nation and keep it under the banner of safeness and prosperity.
Normally, one would assume that power will slowly bring about corruption within their hearts, however the Primordial People had such a pure and abundant reserve of magic within them that once they took a Great Oath their body and mind subconsciously reached towards honoring it. Furthermore, the Primordial People's tribe from which the Kings hailed were instinctively dutiful. A strong sense of benevolence and justice was ingrained within their hearts.
And the echo of the Primordial People's genes were faint within the Kings, but it lingered enough for those instincts to subside strongly enough to hold them to their words and valor.
However it goes without saying, since none of The Dali Generals inherited Primordial genes, it implicitly makes them more prone to defiling their vow, and allowed to easily think about the idea of breaking it.
And that was what Salzeka had in mind until an idea buzzed into his thoughts.
"We can bypass the Oath."
Kinfol simply raised an eyebrow and let him continue:
"We can bypass the Oath, because the Oath makes no sense anymore." Seeing her puzzled expression, he asked: "What do we swear upon turning Generals?"
"In short: To obey our Kings, to fight for Ylbunish's goodness and to never bring about wickedness."
"Bingo. Right now we're obeying our kings by handing them the boy they asked for, but in doing so we are also, erm... Contradicting the other part of the Oath. We know that killing the kid is bad, and we know that his execution would give the continent a bad blow as it'd put the Darkness where it wants to be. So I reckon we're in a situation where the Oath is not happy with its own self. Then that leads to the questions: Are we breaking it or honoring it right now? And would we break it if we scream 'to pox with it' and play our own game?"
"That's..." Kinfol's sentence died before escaping her mouth. She realized how ridiculous it seemed. She, who was known for her prudence and analytic mind, had never thought of the question before. What if she'd be put in a situation where the Oath contradicted itself, what would happen to her? How would she act?
"Salzeka..." She started. "I admit that you're making a valid point, one I find myself impossible to refute..."
"Gotcha good for the first time, ey?"
"...But we can't just act upon an impulse born from a question without answers." She finished, ignoring his teasing remark. "Even if we knew for sure that going against the Oath is safe -which, allow me to reiterate, is highly implausible- there are several other factors we must take into consideration! We'd be accused of treason, we'd have all the forces of the Dali from the Five Lands on out tails for desertion!"
"So what!? Are we just gonna fiddle with our fingers like kids until papa and mama of every nation sort things out!? If there's even one slight chance of fighting back against the Darkness before it fully finishes-" Salzeka interrupted himself, realizing their conversation was no longer private and that he was about to let out sensitive information. "Finishes that, we must take it! You said it yourself Kinfol, they're probably shitting their pants about the thought of fighting back early! Or do you prefer waiting until our deaths are sure!"
"Of course I don't wish for inaction! But right now, we are powerless! Just hear your own words: Let's risk our lives by breaking our words and storm off in the wild chasing ghosts that may not even exist while the land we're supposed to protect burns behind our steps! Our only chance of winning this is to bring Talj in, get all the information the Spear kept secret about the Darkness and their plans for centuries, organize the Dali and strike back!"
"And what if the enemy moves faster than us? Don't make this face, pal, we know they already did! We can't just throw people at the wolf's pack and see how they crap on them for the sake of gathering intel and organizing our butts and hatch a plan! Or you'd rather send your friend to his death if it means saving our asses!? You who piss on our ears with all that trust among allies nonsense!"
Clenching her fist, Kinfol barely could contain herself anymore. Her expression finally showed all the anger and stress she's held up in the cage of her heart, and they flew through her words like knives:
"Of course not! If it can be avoided then I'd jump in a volcano to save him! But right now, all we can do is think rationally and hope for the best! And who has been weaving all the forethought up until now? Me! I've had to ponder this through over and over, with the threat of losing all I fought for since I was a mere child on the street! Losing a friend who aided me more than any of you Generals! While you just laughed like a mindless fool and considered it like a normal Tuesday operation! Maybe I plan a lot, maybe I'm in the wrong for being too careful, but from all I saw I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO CARES ENOUGH TO DO SO!"
Seeing that they're both losing their tempers and causing a scene in front of many subordinates, Salzeka should have chosen to let the conversation die here. However, the bulky warrior was not known for his patience and replied:
"OH IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME SONG WITH YOU! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WITH A BRAIN WHO THINKS OF THE PROBLEMS! BUT WHEN WE PRESENT A SOLUTION IT'S FAR TOO BELOW YOUR INTELLECT TO BE WORTH IT!"
"AND THAT IS BECAUSE YOUR IDEA OF A SOLUTION IS TO TAKE YOUR AXE! JUMP IN! AND KILL EVERYTHING IN YOUR WAY UNTIL THE HEART RESTS FROM ITS PUMPING!"
"IT'S BETTER TO DIE TRYING THAN JUST SITTING AND WHINING ABOUT THE WORLD ENDING!"
"IF YOU SEE IT AS SITTING AND WHINING THEN NO WONDER YOU-"
Kinfol suddenly stopped speaking. Her breath grew heavy, exhaling one sigh after another, but she didn't realize it. Her enraged expression slowly shifted into a confused frown. She closed her eyes, deep in focus. Salzeka's expression matched her own as he asked:
"What's up?"
All the crew -who very indiscreetly watched the heated exchange between their Generals- stopped in their motion to ascertain what was going on.
"Something... Approaches. And very rapidly that is."
Being a highly skilled elemental mage, her magic resonated with the elemental particles within Enyo's sea, and the mist she conjured all around the ship would not let anything get close undetected. Yet, she cannot exactly say for sure what is getting close, and if it's from sea or air. She is barely managing to track the general direction of the upcoming threat.
Wait... Threat? She thought.
But when she realized her own magic was warning her that the newcomer was dangerous, it was too late.
"LOOK OUT-"
Those are the two words that were released from her throat before the vessel shook and dangerously tilted. The shock wave was so powerful that no one stayed on their feet. Three sailors were sent to drink the sea, which became their tomb.
"The heck!?" Exclaimed Salzeka.
Apart from the two Generals who could easily get up, all the other soldiers were too stunned to move correctly. But the second shock wave didn't wait for them to gather their spirits. A stronger blow sent even more Dali soldiers into the below.
"This one probably dug a hole in the ship." Salzeka, who managed to stay on his legs along Kinfol this time, remarked.
"You four! Go down and check the damage! All the others, brace yourselves for combat."
Despite the yelled orders, they in fact, did not brace themselves for combat.
They're still too dizzy. Darn it!
Salzeka took his giant double axe from its holster and screamed to the sky:
"Who wants a piece of me!? Show yourself, coward!"
In answer, the sea screamed a very long and inhumane battle cry. And before anyone could question it, a giant form sprouted from the flat tire, breaking its motion, and a monster appeared before them. One that no Dali soldier, officer or General ever saw before.
"What in tarnation..." Kinfol whispered.
The monster had a filiforme body about twice as long as the ship. Its dark reptilian coat covered a very slender and flat body. Six legs sprouted evenly from what Kinfol believed to be its torso, each ending in purple glowing claws. The creature had a long jaw, and its eyes glowed green in the water. An impressive range of green spikes crowned its back from head to tail.
The first to get to his senses was Salzeka. A shout escaped his lungs as he addressed the crew to rouse them from their trance:
"On your feet you lazy scums! Do you wish to die on this woodpile!? If you really want me to believe you fight for the peace of our nations take your legs out of your arses and get in position!"
As if struck by lightning, all the Dali troops got up -somewhat clumsily- and got in a fighting stance. Some immediately started working on the ship's stability while the rest launched basic magic spells but they all bounced off the skin of the creature who snaked around the ship. However it did a fine job at irritating it, and it replied with another ram aimed at the ship's hull.
Swiftly, Kinfol took a herculean jump onto the air, boosted by her magical powers, to hover above the gap between the beast and the vessel. With her two daggers appearing in her hands, the general crossed her arms and performed a double slash towards the sea, summoning a strong wind spell that stirred the seawater into a giant wave directed at the monster. Without delay she backed it up with an ice spell to freeze the water in its movement. The magic spell spread with smoothness through the wave, turning it into a still giant ice crystal with long spikes glaring towards the rapidly approaching threat.
As the Dali general of one The Five Lands, she excels in her use of magic in combat, especially in elemental magic. Her precision matches her power, her mind shapes the most complex spells by influencing the nature around her. However, as she dropped slowly back onto the ship, letting a gush of wind put her down gently. The dark blue streaks of her white robe swirled around her before landing.
"Since when can you pull weapons out an invisible trap?" Asked Salzeka.
"A trick I learnt some time ago. I'll tell you about it later, for now focus on the matter at hand." Pointing at the frozen water, she added: "This should buy us time before-"
The words died in her throat as she realized that, not only did the frozen spikes break when the creature, but the thick merely could slow its pace as it nailed through it like rock thrown at glass.
"Casters, slow it down! Everyone else, stir the ship away from its trajectory!" She shouted.
All hands began to either cast defensive spells or heave the vessel out of harm. Salzeka muttered an incantation to himself with concentration. A red aura leaked out of his skin and into the sky, then slowly; two small dragon like figures took shape within it. Both looked similar with brown horns, red scales and golden eyes.
"Can't you conjure something more serviceable for our situation?" Kinfol shouted to him over the creature's screams and the waves' cries.
"I don't work much on sea! My workplace's mainly about plains and mountains I remind you!"
Salzeka was a very skilled warrior, who had spent a great amount of his life training to be the general he was. His prowess was exceptional with almost all sorts of weapons and he was gifted with a naturally large magic reserve within him. However, despite developing small spells that had improved his physical abilities, he knew that he had to see to his weaknesses as much as his strengths, and according to him his greatest weakness was that 'one man, no matter how mighty, cannot best an army.'
And thus, after a strenuous but fruitful training, Salzeka had become one of the finest sorcerers in the Summoning field. Elaborating dozens of intricate summons and creatures to help him in various situations. He could invoke flying beasts to allow him to navigate tricky terrains, raise powerful warriors to aid him in combat...
However, his inexperience in maritime missions made him lacking in spells that are adapted to threats such as the queer creature upon them.
Far from being discouraged, Salzeka jumped on one of his summoned dragons's back, ready to charge at the beast.
"Salzeka!" Kinfol warned him. "We do not know what we're fighting, we can't strike without a plan!"
"Here's my plan: Strike!"
And with those simple words said, the flying stallion took the general onto the monster that, after realizing that it missed its target, turned around to charge the boat again.
It didn't cross much distance before a loud thump hammered on its head. As Salzeka landed from his mount, he took out his axe from its scabbard and started striking the colored neck of the reptile while his dragons dove down repeatedly to claw its back. Or rather that's what the general intended, but he had severely underestimated the hardness of his enemy's skin. The monster felt no pain from the attacks, nonetheless they were very effective in irritating it.
Stopping in its track, it decided to focus on the annoying bugs crawling on its back rather than the ship. Slowly, its skin started to glow into a fluorescent purple. Salzeka interrupted his attacks, sensing that something was amiss, but before any thoughts gathered in his mind, a sharp pain stinged from his feet. The world spinned around him as sky and sea swayed into his vision, one after another. It didn't take long for him to realize that he'd been ejected from the enemy's back.
"That buffoon!" Kinfol exclaimed before turning towards her troops. "Everyone, focus on keeping the ship intact and getting to land. General Salzeka and I will try to slow it down as much as our strength allows!"
Seeing the reluctance in the soldiers' eyes, she added with more vigor:
"This mission cannot fail! Even if it costs our lives! Row and push without looking back!"
And without further delay, she summoned the winds once more and flew towards Salzeka. She stabilized him in the air and asked:
"Are you hurt?"
"Nah, I toughened myself right before… Whatever the heck that was."
"It seemed like some sort of shock wave that scattered from around its body. Furthermore, it seemed to have waited for both your summons to get close to it before releasing it, killing them both... Which indicates this thing's intelligence is beyond one of a mindless beast you may find in the wild."
"Yeah no crap! But how do we defeat it!?"
Kinfol gave her companion no response at first. She just eyed the creature from her spot in the air heading yet another time for their ship.
"I have a plan. You make sure the vessel suffers no harm." Before Salzeka could ask her anything, she directed him towards the ship before surging towards the monstrous reptile.
Then, in repetitive motions with her daggers, she sent multiple frost spells in the beast's direction. But they were not aimed at it, but rather at the water around it. The impact between the spell and the azure surface made it burst before changing it rapidly into ice. The creature slowed down, expecting another set of spikes to avoid, but that was blunder, for the idea was not to slow it down but to trap it within the ice.
Then, before giving it time to adapt to the situation, Kinfol focused her energy around her to form a new spell that took the form of a massive torrent of flames which surged from her. Still hanging in the air, the Dali general motioned towards her spell. The fire gathered and shaped slowly into three distinct forms, lounging it into a set of three gigantic tridents.
Then, animated by their master's intent, the three weapons descended upon the creature's trap. Kinfol quickly regained the ship -which had crossed a significant distance- and landed next to Salzeka who, alongside the crew, was watching the scene.
"Uhm... What's-"
"Wait for it." She interrupted his question.
Everyone held their breath at the sight of the smoke rising from where the creature was trapped until...
BANG!
A flash blinded everyone from the ship momentarily. Kinfol's strategy worked, the difference of temperature between the ice and fire was so great that the energy of their collision escaped in the form of a colossal and heavy explosion.
Sighing her exhaustion away, Kinfol said lightly:
"That may have gotten rid of it."
"No." Said a voice from behind. "It sure did some damage, but it was not enough to kill it."
Everyone turned at the newcomer, and shock was shared between all the Dali members on board: All were so mesmerized by the spectacle on sea that they didn't notice that Talj joined them on the deck.
"Apologies for escaping my cell dear abductors, but it just seemed to me that you needed a hand."