The crowd once again broke out into cheers and applause after the prince announced the name of his wand. The King stepped forward and placed a hand on Adonis's shoulder, waving at the crowd, smiling. There was something calculated to everything the King had done during the ceremony.
"Thank you, everyone, truly. This is a special day for the prince…my boy." He paused and looked down at Adonis. "Well, I guess young man is the more accurate term. Elder Rolus told a story of great importance to us today. But remember, son, and everyone else. Our duty is to each other first." He gestured at the crowd. "What I like to call our extended family. But I forget myself, this day is not about me, so again, thank you for your support. And I hope to see you at the banquet later." He tapped his scepter on the ground.
The two hooded men took to either side of the stage and, again in sync, raised their wands. The mana swelled like it was taking a deep breath, and when it released, the stone turned back to quartz, the orbs and vines faded, and the sky darkened.
I hadn't realized it was so late that the sun was already setting. The King, Adonis, Rolus, and the professor processed out, and the crowd was dismissed.
"So, what did you think?" Marin asked.
Suddenly, the ground started to quake furiously. A few choked gasps sounded from the crowd while panic spread. An earthquake, I thought. That feels like it would be too easy. Marin grabbed Emry and held her in her arms, then turned to me, stretching her hand.
"I'm alright," I said, trying to maintain my balance. I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. The crowd pushed and shoved while the rumbling continued. I felt a distortion that was hard to describe, it didn't feel like mana.
The quaking stopped. Marin's worried expression eased a bit, but I could feel the nerves from everyone in the crowd. Roars of concerned chatter mixed together while everyone headed for the exits.
"What was that?"
"Everyone, please remain calm."
"Let us out!"
"It was just a tremor—"
"Out of the way."
Marin made her way out of our row headlong with Emry in her arms, with me in tow. Brushing the others aside. I secured my sword and then made my way in front of Marin. At first, she startled, but once she saw the determination on my face, she smiled softly and allowed me to take the lead. After some more pushes and passive aggressive excuse me's, we finally made it to the main corridor after reaching the bottom of the stairs.
The commotion started to die down as there were no more tremors. We took the chance to check on each other off the path by the main entrance.
"You alright, Em?" I asked, patting her head. She shook her head yes and then nestled into Marin's arms. "And how about you, Marin, and the little one?"
"We're alright," She brushed the hair out of my face, then ran a hand down the side of it. "We're in good hands, are we not?" If my skin were lighter, I'm sure I would be blushing. I turned, mildly abashed.
"Still up for the banquet?" She asked, looking out into the sea of faces. Wouldn't hurt to at the very least congratulate Adonis on his big day, but it would probably be best for Marin to go back home.
"Yeah, but are you sure you're not tired or anything?" I asked, straightening my clothes.
"Cane?" A voice in the crowd, I squinted.
"Cal?"
"My lady," He said, bowing respectfully after squeezing his way out. "My littler lady," He bowed again. Emry didn't pay him any mind.
"Ah, perfect!" Marin exclaimed. "Cal, would you be a dear and take Cane here to the banquet. I have to get this little one to bed." Cal and I shared a look.
"Sure, I don't mind," Cal said, patting me on the back. I shooed his hand away. I gave Marin and Emry a hug goodbye as they got ready to head back to the carriage. Marin leaned in close to Cal.
"Don't think I haven't noticed you got my son a sword." Her eyes were sharp like daggers clawing into Cal's hide. I think I actually saw a shiver run down his spine. He smiled nervously and glanced at me. I gave both a wry smile and started to inch away slowly.
"My son." I never really gave it much thought, but Marin did treat me like one of her own. In some ways, she reminds me of my aunt. I wonder what Elise would have been like if we had had the chance to be a family like this. Does she even know about Dean?
We made our way towards the Telenor Palace on foot, which was in the center of the city, not too far from where we were.
"Do you know what that quaking was about?" I asked, looking towards the skyline, a mixture of warm reds, yellows, and oranges cooled into a dark blue just over the horizon.
"Just a normal tremor, I suppose. Oh—" He cut himself off, fishing for something that was tucked into the back of his waistband. He pulled out a thin stack of frayed paper, his eyes sparkled with smug amusement.
"The lost pages from the book I was reading,"
"What!? How'd you even find them?" I assumed it was the church or government that was censoring the information that was out there.
"Well, Sara—"
"Oh…" I said, casting a mischievous glance at the young guard from the corner of my eye. He shot an unamused glare back.
"I should have left you at the hall." He shook his head, his curly blonde hair jumping at the movement. "Anyways…she saw the book and thought you were the one reading it, so she found these pages a group of Yarden workers left behind one day. She said they were in and out of the library quite a few times and took books with them, others they left behind in worse shape."
The Yarden factory? What does Nole have to do with the church now?
"So, what was on the missing pages?"
"There was still some content missing, so the part about the Dominie is missing useful context, I assume." He flicked his thumb against the edge of the papers. "But the Dominie were ancient priestesses, that, and I'm quoting the text here. Gardened the paths of the pillars." We passed a few smithing shops as well as some bakeries. The smell of steel and iron mixed with fresh bread made for an interesting aroma. I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was dark now.
"What was interesting, though, was it talked about how this world was created and the origin of Dominie, starting with three impossibly powerful winged beasts…they sounded li—"
He was cut off by a loud crash that shook the ground. It sounded like the noise was coming from the next street over. A few cries were let out before both Cal and I were headed full speed for the street. We cut through an alleyway, and another crash sounded off, causing the floor beneath us to crack. I swallowed hard and placed my hand on the hilt of my sword.
"Cane—" Words were forming in his mouth, but he bit his lip. I could guess that he was going to tell me to stay, but he knew better. We slid to a stop in the street.
There were three downed guards, another company of Grishan war prisoners, this time a mix of adults and children, and some people who had also come from the ceremony. Looks like the attacker brought friends this time. There were five of them squaring off against twice as many guards.
Flashes of red and yellow went off as spell and steel clashed. The prisoners were huddled off to the left while the fight raged on in the middle of the street. Cal and I charged in. A guard was sent flying past me, a trail of blood in his wake. One of the assailants took aim at me with a downward slash. I dodged to the side and unsheathed my sword. I increased the mana flow within my body, strengthening it.
The attacker recovered and thrust at me with their sword. I parried and let their blade grind past mine, sparks spraying as the blades slid past each other. I aimed a kick at their stomach, causing them to stumble backwards. At the same time, another cut downward at me, trying to create some space for their friend to recover. With barely any time to react, I raised my blade over my head and met theirs in the air, the resulting force required both of my hands for bracing.
I gritted my teeth while I looked around. The guards were dropping like flies. If we don't figure something out quickly, we'll lose the rest, and the Grishans.
I increased the flow of mana in my legs and tilted my sword. Taking advantage of the leveraged blades, I used his strength against him, letting his sword slide off mine toward the ground. I slid a foot backward, and his sword slammed into the road, causing the metal to ring. I jammed the hilt of my sword into his hands. He dropped his blade, reeling back in pain. I swiftly crouched and swept one of his feet, sending him to the ground with a hollow thud.
The attacker from earlier charged in. This time, I felt mana pooling, and a flame appeared, dancing around their sword as they charged in. They slashed at me, leaving a crescent of flames in the air. I rolled out of the way. Their sword hit the ground, and it shattered under the force of the blow. Well, that won't feel good to get hit by.
I pounced at the attacker, and our blades clashed. The flames licked the side of my face, leaving a slight stinging sensation. As I began to concentrate, the world was drowned out. My focus on the bloodlust spilling out of my opponent and any subtle movement. I took notice of even the rhythm of his breathing.
They withdrew their sword and attacked with alternating short, rapid thrusts and swipes. I pivoted and parried each blow. They lunged forward, aiming the tip of their sword at my head. I twisted my neck, the blade just barely missed my cheek, cutting a few strands of hair from my head.
Before they could retract their sword, Cal came in with a crushing shoulder check.
"You doing alright there, Cane?" He asked between breaths. The attacker slid back, maintaining their balance, and raised a hand. Their palm started to glow orange, then heat distortions appeared just before a flame erupted in their palm.
"I'm hanging in there. Doesn't seem like these guys are much for talking, huh?" I responded, getting in a defensive stance.
They lunged forward, flame first at Cal, he dodged and caught their wrist, the flame flickered and spiraled into Cal's bracers. The designs lit up with a silverish-white light. What is that? Without giving my surprise too much time, I moved in for a finishing blow, my blade aimed at their center mass.
A silver blade with orange highlights slashed downwards, whistling through the air, and slammed into mine. The blow was powerful, it nearly sent me to the ground. I recognized that blade, though, from last time. My eyes tracked up the sword while I recovered.
The hooded figure crushed their foot into the ground, and the floor beneath Cal and I shifted, knocking us off balance.
Cal's grip on the fire mage was loosed, and they backed away, rubbing at their wrist. Only two other guards were left standing. "Damn," I cursed. Then, a harrowing cry tore free from one of the prisoners. Everyone's heads snapped in the direction of the Grishans.
A sickening, tainted wave of foul mana spread, undulating through the air. My stomach lurched, and my skin started to itch. My knuckles turned white as I gripped down on my sword. The mana became more erratic, thrashing and whipping about from the screaming prisoner. It felt similar to that distortion earlier. The other grishans backed away as he curled into a ball on the ground and started convulsing. His body popped and bubbled, his skin started to turn black and coarse like concrete.
Two dark gray spikes shot out from his body, one from his shoulder, the other from his back. He began swelling and growing in size. I instinctively started to back away, my hands trembling around my sword. His hair fell out, and he got on one knee, growing to the size of half a building. The chains around his neck and wrists shattered, and he released an ear-piercing roar. A thin whistling frequency wrapped in a thunderous bellow. The pressure from the roar knocked the guards and some of the attackers over.
The beast stood, and the ground quaked. It's malice so thick in the air, I was nauseous. It had glowing, dark red eyes. Its body was ribbed with greyish-ivory colored spikes that were slightly darker than its skin along its collarbone and forearms. Jagged, serrated teeth jutted out from its jaw. The beast must have been at least ten or fifteen feet tall. Barely covered by the brown sack, the prisoners wore. It raised one of its huge, bulky arms, taking aim at the prisoners.
My heart started beating against my chest as I willed my body to move. Cal and the attacker with the silver sword didn't have such a problem. They sprang off the ground, leaving clouds of dust in their wake, appearing in front of the beast with their guards up. The blow connected, the resulting shockwave shattering the nearby windows. The street was in pure chaos. All the noise from the screams continuously grew louder until only a high-pitched whistle remained in my ears.
I slapped my face with my free hand and leapt into action. I channeled as much mana as I could to my limbs and raced towards the beast. With another wave, the beast slammed its hand into Cal, sending him tumbling furiously into a nearby wall. The earth mage released a wave of mana, and three spikes of rock tore free from the ground, one of them punching through the beast's arm. I raced in trying to take advantage of the opening. The beast roared again, knocking the earth mage back. I brought my sword up, cutting towards its ribs, when I noticed—too late—its raised fist hurdling towards me. The blow connected, and a sharp pain radiated through my body. There was the sound of bone cracking, and my vision blurred as my body hit the ground, bouncing and sliding backwards.
I wheezed on the ground, trying to catch my breath, but my vision continued to blur as the sounds of the battle raged on. "I should probably rest my eyes for a bit," I mumbled, the words slurring while I lost consciousness.