Fantasy: Wings in the Night

Part One of Two

First Draft: May 30, 2002 – June 3, 2002.

Word Count: 4,683.

The Grey moon’s silver light shone in reflected brilliance off the dull black stone, the matte black solid seemed to have suddenly been transmuted to quicksilver by some forgotten sorcery. The moonlight turned to a viscous liquid and slid down the rock face with shimmering silver brilliance, the effect was breathtaking in its beauty, sublime in its perfection. The enchanted walls of the castle stretched upward as far as the eye could see, at the very base of the basalt fortress wound a narrow unkempt rock trail, and on that trail stood a very humbled Masterclass Mage.

Amlys was awed by the shimmering testament to the power of the builders of this mighty citadel, awed enough that for a few moments she forgot the sound of the howling wind roaring across the high mountaintops above them and the chill of the wind in a land where winters spell was still not broken. For many heartbeats she forgot anything at all save the glory of the sight before her and the wonder of it’s beauty, such was the power of the guardians of the northernmost boarder of the Llyran Empire.

"It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen…" she murmured appreciatively under her breath, "Too beautiful to be a part of this grim and grey world." For it seemed to her that the tower was a flower, unfolding on the top of this grim black mountain, the hand of the Goddess Mordane herself had reached down and blessed her chosen defenders and given their lives beauty unparallel, her eyes watering from the wind and her stubborn refusal not to blink she forgot the world around her, and gradually she forgot herself, then there was only the Castle, only the beauty of the moonlight.

It took a hand descended from nowhere, to startle the young mage out of her extended reverie. Flailing around wildly Amlys felt her heart pound madly in her chest as she tried to pinpoint the source of her shock. All around her she saw nothing out of the ordinary, the wagon drivers that made up the mock merchant train that she had been traveling with were all too far away and of the hired swords that made up their elite guard there were none near enough to have touched her, indeed none of them would dare!

"What..." she began, but there was no one behind her, indeed the blazing spectacle of the Sylvan castle had ruined what night vision the human woman possessed and she could see naught but the brilliance of the moon and the spots before her eyes. Slowly the rising tide of panic overtook the spell of the mountain and its silver jewel and she spun, whirling suddenly in a panic lest an enemy attack her unprotected back. After long agonizing moments of hearing nothing but her own harsh breathing and desperate heartbeat Amlys heard a noise. A dry rasping chuckle echoed loudly in the cold mountain air, blinking furiously and trying to disguise her discomfort Amlys took refuge in scolding her armored companion, who had somehow flanked her and was now openly laughing at the younger (and much shorter) flame haired Masterclass Mage.

"Commander Kael! For the love of all that is holy don’t _do_ that!" Amlys scowled furiously as her voice sounded shaky and petulant. The darkness where her companion stood resolved itself into the figure of a lean mercenary woman in dark leathers; her black hair shook in hundreds of small braids as she laughed silently, obscuring the burnished gold of her eyes, plain steel armor of fine craftsmanship was the only concession of rank that she wore, for this woman was the Captain of the Guard for this caravan and the Commander of the Mercenaries hired for this special mission.

Finally after a long moment in which the woman was obviously collecting herself, she brushed back the braided locks and grinned broadly, her white teeth shining brightly against the dark gold of her skin. Her scarred and usual serious face was set into a broad grin as she mocked her charge in a rustic brogue.

"Child you damn’d near jump’d a half mile inna air, if’n I’d been a Troll I coulda eaten the entire pack train ere ye landed." Still chuckling over Amlys’ obvious discomfort Kael finally managed to collect herself enough to stop grinning from ear to ear. "I figured I had best be breakin' the spell before ye kept us here all night, the trail inna wide enough for two t’pass ye know."

Amlys blushed furiously, the color of her skill mercifully hidden in the dark, from the burning of her cheeks she thought that if the light had allowed, her face would have admirably matched the flame hue of her curly hair.

"How in the name of Ryssa did she manage to move so fast and so quietly…" she thought to herself, "And how did she flank me without me seeing her after I turned."

Puzzled by this apparent contradiction but not wanting to reveal her thoughts to her laconic and often vicious companion, she instead tried to justify her absorption in the shining spectacle of the castle.

"I’m sorry Kael," she stammered, "I was just…"

"I know," the mercenary commander cut in with a small smile, dropping the irritating rustic accent. "You were thinking what everyone thinks when they see the great big hunk of rock, what they can't help but think. Everyone that isn’t a telepath with heavy shields that is." Her mouth twisted into a wry grin. "You were thinking some god awful cliché about how absolutely astoundingly beautiful Castle Blackspire is weren’t you?"

Amlys blinked in shock and groped for a reply, "Well yes, but it is beautiful, but what does that have to do with mind-shields?" she stared quizzically at the usually silent mercenary. "And I think this is the longest conversation we have ever had in a journey of two moons."

Kael simply shrugged at the muted rebuke and continued in her own rambling fashion. "Well you were thinking what you were thinking because the damned shiny rock was telling you what to think." At the blank stare from the young mage she grudgingly added a little more to her explanation.

"About five hundred years ago Lord Vedric of the Onerie hosted some silly fete for all the Elven Lords and their Ladies up and down the Northern boarder of the Empire." Leaning forward and resting her arms on the high pommel of her saddle she scratched at a recent scar across her cheekbone thoughtfully,

"Well some Lord’s silly chit of a wife got a little tipsy and mentioned to Lord Vedric how much she absolutely _loved_ the enchantment that his family had put on the tower no matter what the Dowager Queen said about it." Kael paused for effect while Amlys winced at the lack of tact in that comment, Lord Vedric was notoriously surly regarding just about everything.

Pausing only long enough to remount her rangy gelding and urge her mount back up the path at a slow walk, she continued "Well of course Vedric was absolutely fascinated by what the Empress had to say about his ancestral home. So he decided that if one absolutely had to listen to people’s opinions regarding one's house it would be nice if they were tolerably flattering."

Amlys found herself torn between remounting her fleet mare and listening to the mercenary’s story, practicality finally won out as Amlys struggled back into her saddle as the packtrain continued up the steep switchback trail. Kael paused to roll her eyes expressively, though Amlys could not guess as to whether the gesture was prompted by her own clumsy riding skills or at Lord Vedric’s sense of humor.

Watching the passing muleteers with an expression of disgust, Kael continued on with her tale. "Well then Lord Vedric decided he ought to hire a whole temple full of Enchantress Sisters of Mordane to place a screen of perception on the whole mountain. The reasoning being now when anyone sees Blackspire Castle their mind is clouded with the perceptions of the glamour rather than their own uncouth opinions." Grinning with obvious appreciation of the noted Lord’s jest, Kael added mischievously "Somehow I don’t think the Queen was amused, though that feud is undoubtedly much longer lived than either you or I."

Amlys felt the blood drain from her face; she was scandalized by the mercenary’s dangerously obvious lack of respect for the Elven monarch. "Lord Vedric is indeed fortunate that the Queen was only mildly displeased! For hoer’s is the power to see an end to Lord Vedric." Amlys maintained righteously, "Lord Vedric had no right to publicly criticize her Majesties opinion with such blatant rudeness. And in a public forum at that, it’s absolutely disgraceful."

Kael merely laughed at the young mage’s spluttering and inept defense of the Queen; "You’ve got three things to learn about the Elves of the borderlands if you plan to trade with the Dwarves." A chuckle rumbled deep in her throat while she began ticking off points on her fingers, "First thing you should know is that the Lord’s that hold the borderlands wield, to a man, a lot more power than any daft Elfess sitting on a pretty chair in a land that hasn’t seen a war for five thousand years."

"Second, you should know that the boarder lords hold the purse strings and the armies of the Empire in their castles and the Queen will never forget it. If she wants to criticize the Castle of the richest Lord of the North then she had better do it knowing he’s going to find a way to make her look like a fool by way of thanks."

Kael’s golden eyes suddenly blaze with repressed emotion, but when the scarred mercenary spoke there was no heat from the flame of emotion in her tone. "Third, and this is the most important, in the Northlands Lord Vedric Onerie is the only King that these people have ever known. They will treat him as such, heaven help you if you run afoul of his devotee’s with your devotion to the Queen. There is no other way to reach the Dwarven Kingdom and Vedric has many trade treaties with the Mountain Folk, if you run afoul of him we will all be out of business for the rest of our miserable lives, and don’t you be forgetting it!"

Amlys shrunk back from the blistering heat of Kael’s eyes, though the reprimand had been delivered in a voice lacking in emotion beyond bland pleasantness. Amlys still felt her pride, if not her hide, had been singed. She remained silent for a long moment, cheeks burning with shame as she tried to formulate some sort of apology that would pacify her guardian. "I cannot afford to alienate the only other human that I will see in this strange place." Amlys thought to herself, "If nothing else she seems to know more about the North than I, information that will be valuable long after she has gone again." The last thought was what finally goaded Amlys into making some sort of conciliatory gesture. Clearing her throat, she began, "I… don’t understand. Why would Lord Vedric keep his castle enchanted for so long? Surely the spell has worn thin and if the whole business was a jest in the first place why would he bother with the expense of keeping the enchantment?" Amlys worried at a hangnail while waiting for the other woman’s response, finally after a span of silence in which Amlys had just about decided that her companion was going to ignore the question, the mercenary answered.

"I really don’t know, I suppose the best reason is one you just demonstrated. If someone was going to try to attack Blackspire at night they would never be able to fight back, the shine of the castle ruins the night vision of all but the Sylvan Elves. The Elves of the Moon and Starlight skies aren’t affected by the enchantment, or so the story goes, for they glow naturally, without enchantment with the same light of Mordane." Frowning momentary as thought she were trying to brush away an unpleasant memory, "The same way the Llycar, the Elves of the Golden Flame, glow with the light of the Alestran’s sun when their power is upon them, as though their skins were beaten of burnished gold. I cannot tell you truth, because I don’t know it. But if you’re lucky I imagine someday you will get a chance to ask his Lordship and then you can tell me the answer."

Amlys merely shook her head, the ways of the Elves were strange and beyond the comprehension of even the wisest and eldest humans at times. Their ways were not the ways of the human folk and if an Elven Lord wanted his Castle to glow at night with the light of the moon it was something that you just had to accept, Elven reasons were just that, the property of the Elves. Amlys decided that while the mercenary was apparently talkative she would ask her another question, one that had been preying on her mind since she boarded her ship in Sul-En and began her travels north into the lands of the fair folk at the behest of the Sul-En merchants’ guild. "Fat Merchants and their fatter wives," she thought to herself bitterly. "They care more about the profits to be made from the dwarven trade than they do for the lives of their men, else they would not have lost five caravans already this year!" Forcing away her anger at the stupidity of a Guild that would allow such losses before even bothering to send an investigation, she framed her question carefully in her own head before repeating it aloud to the mercenary.

"Kael," Amlys was unsure how to phrase her question, she knew that one wrong word would close the mouth of her guardian on the matter for the duration of the journey and that would prove a great loss to the young mage, treading with caution, "Do you have any idea what happened to the five missing caravans? And do you not think it odd that they all disappeared traveling through Lord Vedric Onerie’s lands?"

Kael turned in her saddle and watched Amlys out of narrowed golden eyes, Amlys noted in a detached fashion that the other woman’s eyes were actually glowing in the dark and just reflecting the moonlight back as she had early supposed. Her skin began to crawl with the realization and she swallowed hard, "Oh Sirondus protect me, is she even human or is that some enchantment common of Northern Fighters? Oh please don’t let her be one of the waarg." Amlys’ thoughts were chaotic in her sudden realization that she might be traveling with one of the legendary skin-changers, one of the people of the northern woods who could put on the bodies of the wolves, bears, and other beasts at will and then put them off again to walk like men without the aid of powerful magic.

Finally Kael responded to the question put to her, but when she did her voice was no longer resounding and calm, instead it was terse and quiet as a whisper, as though she was afraid of who or what might hear their conversation. "Listen to me well child because I will not say this again. If the Elves wish for Dwarven steel they would trade for it themselves, the DwarfLords trust Lord Vedric far more than they would ever trust a human. Additionally if the Elves ever wished to kill humans passing through their lands they would do so without playing games, the second caravan would have found the heads of the first mounted on pikes at the base of Blackspire pass. Elves have powerful mages and even more formidable warriors. If Vedric Onerie wished to make war upon the lowlands he would do so, I have heard it whispered that he has a Gryphon Calvary, he would not stoop to playing petty games with minor merchants."

Amlys thought of the Heathen Elves calling upon their Gods for power in their magiks while enchanted arrows rained down and gryphon warriors attacked from above and shuddered, "Why then, is that so dangerous to say Kael? For you speak as one afraid of a death sentence era your words were known?" Amlys’ tone was light; she understood not whatever danger her guardian saw so clearly. Kael sighed, "Because little one, Lord Vedric is no fool, he knows that five caravans of merchants have passed through his pass without returning."

Warming to her subject, Kael drew breath then continued, "He knows that there is something out there, something that preys upon the race of men and undoubtedly he has Sylvan Rangers, the Silver Falcons of Mordane, set ever few feet along this pass to make sure that it doesn’t happen on his land. The Silver Falcons exist for a reason, because the Elves of this land are used to beating back all manner of beasts from their boarders. Things live in the North that are beyond the naming of men because none have lived long enough to do aught but scream. There are Rangers watching us, Rangers that could take offense at our words and make our journey most difficult and perilous." Kael then frowned and pushed her mount ahead, ending all possibility of further conversation.

Sighing at the stubborn and often irritating nature of the mercenary, Amlys hunched over in her saddle and tried to get comfortable. When they had first set foot on this steep dangerous path up the side of the mountain the sun had been hours from setting, now the moon marked the time as just past midnight and the horses were terrified and nigh exhausted from the harsh treatment. Her thoughts turned pensive as she began contemplating the nature of her current assignment, while she was lost in thought her mare stumbled in the dark and began to fall. Amlys barely had time to scream as her mount went over, thoughts of tumbling off the trail and down onto the rocks far below overwhelmed her training as a mage and she found herself helpless as horse and rider tumbled into a heap. Within heartbeats Kael was at her side, pulling her out from underneath the fallen horse and checking her over quickly for injuries and broken bones.

"You’re far luckier than you deserve child." Kael growled angrily, "If you insist on your wits wandering while in the saddle I would ask that stop riding until we’re off this cursed path and the sun has come up! You either pay attention to where your mount is putting her feet in the dark or you will lead your horse up to the castle or ride pillion behind me. Which shall it be?"

Exhausted and terrified the young mage merely sagged limply to the ground as soon as the mercenary was no longer supporting her. Fighting back a moan of fear and pain, Amlys opening her mouth to protest that she would ride, but scarcely had she got out a half of a syllable before Kael held up her hand for silence. Stung by the casual disregard in the gesture, Amlys reached back and cast the hood of her cloak over her face, hiding her expression in the deep folds of the soft woolen cloth and fought back the urge to argue, for it would serve no purpose but to drive a wedge between them.

Kael scanned the ridges above her with bright glowing eyes and keen senses far in excess of what a ‘normal’ human would have. Fortunately for the pack train their guide and guardian was not a normal human but one of the race of Waarg, the Werewolves. The scarred mercenary smiled ironically into the darkness as she spotted a figure silhouetted against the moonlight on a ridge several hundred feet above the pack train, long had she suspected that the Sylvan Rangers were following the process of the party, but this was something more, visual confirmation.

"She’s letting me see her," Kael thought to herself after finally judging the figure to be female and undoubtedly Elven. "She wants us to know that she knows that were are here… but why?" shaking her head at her own unanswered question Kael glanced along the same ridge, there were no other figures visible though undoubtedly they were there. No female would ever be allowed to follow a band of this size alone after dark, judging carefully she tentatively placed the rest of the war-band on a ledge much closer to their position and only about 5 yards further up, undoubtedly waiting to ambush the pack train should they prove to be an enemy. "Never try to sneak up on the Elves." Kael muttered under her breath, turning her back to the watchers she could not see, she regarded her charge out of burning gold eyes and sighed.

After a few moments of painful silence the mercenary crouched on the ground next to the young woman and hissed softly, "The Rangers have spotted us, Lord Vedric’s scouts are the best in the Empire. They will probably send out a party to intercept us before we get too much closer to the Castle as they were not expecting either us or the packtrain for at least another fortnight." Kael paused before continuing, "That means that we can stay here and wait for them to come to us, or we can continue and wait for them to stop us. Which would milady prefer?"

Amlys thought her sudden degree of formality was undoubtedly prompted by the supposed nearness of the spying Elven eyes. That didn’t stop Amlys from finding it insulting and irritating reminder of her time with her father spent at the court in Sul'En, plus she suspected the older mercenary was mocking her. Shaking aside the unpleasant memory, Amlys watched darkness for the Elves that she could not hope to see. "Are you quite sure that they’re out there?" she asked doubtfully, "How can they see us, it’s so dark."

Kael merely snorted, "Do you really think we would have gotten this far up Blackspire Pass without acquiring an escort? Don’t be a fool; they’ve been watching us since we came up out of the plains below and into the high country. They’ve just waited until now to make their presence known. I saw at least one of them up there on the ridge, and where there is one Sylvan Ranger there is always more, they make war not as one, but as many."

Amlys chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully for a long moment before finally answering, "I think we ought to stay here, allowing them to make the first move might reassure these Rangers that we are not a threat to them." Eyeing the shimmering mountain that was the guardian castle of the North, Amlys sighed regretfully. "I hope that they do not wait too long to question us as to our purpose for invading their lands, I would give all the gold of Morrindale to be off this cursed mountain."

Kael merely nodded, whether her agreement was with the assessment of Amlys’ tactics or whether or not she agreed with the desire to be off the Black Spire. Instead of explaining further she began making camp by unsaddling her buckskin gelding and Amlys’ white mare with a fluid ease that bespoke a lifetime among horses. Barking out commands to her troops while looping the reigns loosely around a nearby juniper bush she glanced at the moon for a moment before grunting, "Best be making camp then, the Rangers will appear before moonset and try to startle you. Do not show your fear or your surprise or you will loose a great deal of face with them. The respect of the Rangers is too valuable to be lost so easily."

Amlys nodded at the practicality of the advice and gave the orders for the pack train to make camp as best they could on the narrow ledge. One of the wagon boys began gathering brush for a fire; he glanced reflexively down the mountain and whimpered softly. Amlys glanced herself and began to wish she hadn’t, the trail led up the mountain. The cliff face along which they were traveling now was more than high enough to dash a rider and horse to pieces on the rocks below, the distance seemed to grow as she stared off the precipice.

Closing her eyes and swallowing convulsively to settle her now queasy stomach, Amlys backed away slowly from the edge and started a fire with a whispered word of magic, the flames leapt up. Bright and warm in the cold darkness of the mountains, "the humans gathered around this frail light "Oh Bright Sirondus." Muttering an oath under her breath that was at least part prayer, Amlys settled herself on a rock while armored warriors arranged themselves in rings about the camp, guarding against the unseen menace and to await the company of the Sylvan Rangers that still remained hidden, watching in the night.

Far above the two weary travelers, a group of three lithe figures stood on a narrow ledge and watched silently, their skins seemed to give off the light of the moon and stars and they glowed softly with soft silver light. Finally a tall male with long tapered ears and eyes like the sea spoke softly in a language that few of the race of men could ever hope to master, his ebon hair whipping in the wind.

"Well Legoth, do we stop them or let them pass?"

A second figure, a well built youth of Llycan decent replied with ease, "Why Master Gildas, they have even lit a fire to welcome us. Why don’t we pay them the honor of a visit and see what brings the humans into our lands." He chuckled softly at the antics of the humans far below, "It’s absolutely astonishing that they’ve even gathered the courage to come this far in the dark, of course their being driven by a Waarg."

A female voice responded sharply, "Be not a fool Legoth! Never underestimate the craft of one of the Wolf People. They are wiser far than certain young Falcons that I could name." The golden haired youth flushed at her rebuke, his ears turning a slightly darker red gold and his eyes burning brightly in the dark with crimson light. "Forgive me Verenna, I misspoke myself."

The eldest male regarded the visitors below with some misgivings, finally he signaled the Elfess to his side, "Verenna, gather the band. Head back to the keep and notify Lord Vedric of the arrival of these humans. The boy and I will pay them a visit and see as to their intentions, they are not a raiding party or the Waarg would not be among them. For it is as you said the Wolves are no fools, she would not throw her life away on a raid that is so hopelessly outnumbered. I think it more likely that this is a party sent out by the Human Merchants to see what has befallen their last five parties of traders. Lord Vedric has been expecting that the humans would do something about this matter, though I would have thought they would have investigated matters long before now."

The Elfess nodded her dark head, silver skin glowing softly in the moonlight. "It shall be as you say Captain; Lord Vedric shall hear that a sixth group of idiot humans has decided to feed themselves to whatever monster dwells beyond our lands." Spinning on her heel, the Sylvan Ranger disappeared into the gloom, darkness easily pierced by Elven eyes.

"Come Legoth." the Sylvan Warrior mocked the boy with a grin, "As you say, let us pay these humans a visit."

END PART ONE

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