White Ravens: Advent of War

House Thorn's Black Sheep

Rune felt as though he had been running for hours on end, but in truth, he had only been running for fifteen minutes. He was getting more and more exhausted, but he needed to make sure that there was nobody on his tail anymore.

As he reached a clearing, he caught his breath, and bent his knee, trying to alleviate his exhaustion. Vigilantly, he listened to his surroundings, and he realized that there were no more footsteps on his trail, and the birds and critters showing any sign of agitation around.

There was a large, mossy boulder at the middle of the clearing. He went around the rock and sat behind it to hide himself and rest at the same time. It was then that he removed his right shoulder armor and stared at what seemed to be a tattoo.

The tattoo appeared to be a series of stars, akin to the constellation, Orion the Hunter. Faint lights fluttered about his shoulder, and he could hear the faint whispers of the spirits of dryads and sylphs. One such as Rune, blessed with the Mark of the Stars, were bound to be favored by the spirits. Aside from the mana within their body, they could invoke the mana from their environment.

Rune had kept this a secret from everyone, except for Sigil. He hardly ever used his mark, for he believed that the only way he could prove himself was through his own strength. But now, he was laughing at himself for using it as a last resort to escape something that he should take responsibility for.

"What would Father think of me now?" he muttered under his breath.

He reached out his right hand, and soon gathered the lights that were floating around him. The condensed energy formed into the shape of a sword, which then became a tangible bladed weapon. "Skellur," he whispered into the wind as the beautifully formed sword landed on his hand.

Rune stared at its edges, and saw the runic engravings along its edges. This weapon was one of his most powerful spells. It drained a fraction of his mana, and a large part of natural energy must be infused with it as well. "Forgive me, everyone. I shouldn't have brought you into this mess."

"Speak for yourself, asshole!"

Rune glanced at the direction of that voice. He would be able to recognize that cheeky voice anywhere.

Gust and Zeke emerged from the trees and it seemed that they weren't here to arrest him. They neither drew their weapons, nor showed any sign of hostility.

"What are you doing here?" Rune asked, vigilantly holding Skellur at the ready, despite knowing that they weren't here to attack him.

"Calm down, Rune. We're here to help," Gust rebuked.

Zeke cleared his throat and averted his gaze from rune. "We've already found Tatiana and Yelena, and we've taken them to a safe place. My father has a hunting cabin within these woods, and nobody will dare to intrude on Scion Lionheart's property."

"Why are you helping me?" Rune asked tentatively while putting down his weapon.

"Because I've come to realize that you did the right thing. I acted poorly during the onset of the crisis, and for that, I apologize," Zeke remarked.

Rune fell silent for a moment. He glanced at Gust and saw that the latter nodded at him. "Where are Tatiana and Yelena?"

Zeke led the way to his father's cabin, and there, they found Yelena and Tatiana resting in a comfortable sofa. It was cold during this time of the year, but they couldn't afford the luxury of using the fireplace right now. If they were to do so, it could alert their pursuers and give away their position.

Yelena's eyes lit up upon seeing Rune. She immediately came to his side and asked how he was doing, to which the latter felt overwhelmed.

Due to the urgency of their situation, they decided to put off the small talk for now, and formulate a plan to rendezvous with Sigil. It was hard to navigate through the forest without being seen by their pursuers, especially because they were being chased by the Black Hawks.

By now, that squad had probably called for backup, and were combing through this entire forest. Time was not on their side today, and the sun was still high. The hopes of escaping this forest without being seen were infinitesimally small.

Suddenly, Rune came up with a plan.

"I know what we have to do," he said.

Yelena noticed that look in Rune's eyes that he would always get whenever he was planning something foolish. "Don't do it, Rune," she refuted.

Based on what she said, everyone figured out what Rune was planning. Their eyes fell on him, and it seemed that Rune was determined to do it, nevertheless.

Thus, Gust took the initiative to say, "Just make sure you survive. Commander Liana will have my backside if you die out there!"

Rune smirked when he heard Liana's name. He realized that the commander was still on his side, even though her hands were tied.

"Use the fireplace and make sure the smoke condenses well. It'll be visible even through the canopies that way. Knowing Sigil, he'll figure out that we sent that signal. However, that means our hunters will also notice that we're here, so before they do arrive, everyone else will go to a different location. I'll shoot a fireball across the forest to the west, and it'll give Sigil an idea where the rest of us are heading. Meanwhile, I'll stay here to delay their advance and run southwards after they see me. It'll buy you enough time to rendezvous with Sigil. From there, journey west into Merseto, and look for a man named Dreyfus. Sigil will take care of the rest."

Once they had done as Rune instructed, the rest of the squad went west, while Rune remained in the cabin. It didn't take long for Mormont and his personal retinue to find him there.

They broke down the cabin's door, thinking that a man like Scion could forgive their intrusion for an urgent matter such as this.

Inside, they found Rune in the middle of the living room and staring at the fireplace. He was warming his hands leisurely and he didn't even bother to look at them.

"It's a nice fire, isn't it, Mormont?" Rune jested.

"Enough with your idiosyncrasies, Rune! You are coming with us, whether whole or otherwise! I have been authorized to use as much force as necessary if you resist arrest! Don't make this harder on you than it is for us," Mormont snarled with contempt.

"Oh, I think we're past that, Senior." Rune turned around and held Skellur at his side. "I'm sure Lord Scion won't let you hear the end of it for breaking down his hunting cabin's door."

"I said enough jokes!" Mormont shouted.

Before he could draw his sword, Rune appeared before his eyes. Within the span of his sentence, Rune had closed the distance between them, and held back Mormont's arm from drawing his sword.

Rune drove Skellur's hilt into Mormont's abdomen, effectively stunning the latter. The other three knights with him were ready to cast spells, but Rune was too quick subdue them in the same manner that he used against Mormont.

And before they realized how Rune managed to attack them so swiftly, he was already at the door. "Much like you, I'm also ready to take a beating from Lord Scion," he said with a smirk.

Mormont reached his hand out and shouted, "No! You fool!"

Rune swung his blade, Skellur, in a horizontal arc. A sharp squall of condensed mana appeared before their eyes, which broke the foundation of the cabin. What once was a cozy abode had now become a pile of wood, and burning wreckage of logs.

Later on, Mormont and his subordinates emerged from the ruins of the cabin, but they realized that Rune was no longer there. Mormont kicked one of the planks in frustration and roared at the top of his lungs.

"I'll get you for this, Rune! You'll see!"

Rune ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but he didn't go to Merseto like he told them he would. He knew that going there would only endanger the rest of his squad. And so, his plan was to journey into Regalian territory instead.

"Sorry, Siege, but I can't put your lives in danger anymore. I'll figure out my way from here. You've done enough."