Knights Thranis

TWO Burden-1

TWO – Burden

‘Krashnar, open up!’

The battered makeshift stretcher bearing Lileah’s wretched broken form lay crooked on the uneven ground beside her; given its hasty manufacture it was a miracle that the poorly constructed frame had remained intact during their crossing. The abhorrent fusion of bronze and flesh that was her left wrist throbbed painfully, yet without the strength of her prosthetic mechanical claw it would not have been possible to drag Lileah’s prone body to Krashnar’s hide. Lileah, splayed across the wooden stretcher, looked abnormally pale – as though disease had taken hold of the petite Freylarkin’s damaged physique. On a good cycle Lileah typically looked gaunt and malnourished, now the body of her grievously wounded lover appeared as if its soul barely remained tethered to its decrepit physical anchor. The dead weight of the stretcher had taken its toll on her left arm; she struggled to raise her ornate claw as she sought to drive it into the rogue shaper’s half-concealed door once again.

‘Open up now!’ she screamed, delirious from stress and exhaustion.

Even in her wildest dreams, she had never once imagined returning to Krashnar’s hide. Just the sight of the familiar door to his horrid abode was enough to stir haunting memories of her past torture. Almost anything was preferable to the evil laying beyond that door, but she was desperate; there were no other options available to her. Lileah’s soul clung on by a thread – her lover would not survive the extended journey to one of their more agreeable associates.

‘Go away!’ came a distant strained voice from behind the door. ‘I told you never to return here!’

‘Open this door now, else I will rip it from its moorings you callous bastard!’

She waited for a response from the exiled shaper, yet there was none. Krashnar’s hide was well hidden within the cracked relief of the borderlands, though after spending so much time in the barren wilderness his presence had inevitably revealed itself to them. Their trained eyes knew well how to distinguish unusual occurrences dotted across the bleak landscape leading to Narlak – home to the Narlakai – and it was this ability which had enabled them to discover Krashnar’s lair many passes ago. Her previous visit to Krashnar’s hide had scarred her mind indefinitely; the nightmare memory, made manifest in the form of her ghastly flesh-metal replacement hand, made it easy for her to recall the location of the rogue shaper’s abode. Krashnar was also a creature of habit, unlikely therefore to relocate his base of operations simply because others of his kind had stumbled across his location.

‘Open up now else I will inform The Blades of your whereabouts, and the illicit activities it conceals!’ she said vehemently as her choler began to rise.

Immediately she heard the sound of a great many locks frantically being opened; she had clearly struck a nerve, thus acquiring her unwilling benefactor’s attention. The door before her swung open revealing a lanky, dishevelled Freylarkin, seemingly incapable of standing fully upright. The odd-looking shaper had long brown unkempt hair that obscured most of his face, and a crazed look about him. Krashnar had the same pupil-less eyes as Freylar’s queen, Mirielle, though his were black like polished obsidian orbs. Gazing into the shaper’s eyes was like staring into a sinister black void, one which threatened to devour her soul.

Krashnar was shaking badly and from his body language she could tell that he appeared to be paranoid about something; the shaper’s head twitched constantly, left and right, as he nervously surveyed the rugged landscape behind her.

‘Why are you here?!’ rasped the wild-looking shaper.

‘Release comes for her Krashnar!’ she replied, inclining her head towards Lileah’s pallid prone form.

Krashnar observed her fading lover with his cold abyssal eyes; they gave nothing away regarding his visual assessment of Lileah’s rapidly deteriorating condition.

‘So why bring her here then? Do I look like a renewalist to you!?’ replied Krashnar coldly, abruptly trying to close his door on her.

Before the uncaring shaper could seal the door tight, she drove her claw into the diminishing gap between the door and its frame, causing wood to splinter from both. She felt nothing as the faded heavy wooden door sought in vain to crush her bronze mechanical hand.

‘Leave me alone!’ rasped Krashnar, clearly frustrated by her action.

‘Surely you can do something for her?’ she implored desperately, ‘You helped me, did you not?’

‘Did I?!’ he replied opening the door fully once more, realising now the missed opportunity to close it. ‘Look at you Darlia, and what you have become – a monster...’

‘And what of your own grotesque appearance Krashnar – who are you to label me such?’ she replied tersely.

‘I am your demon creator!’ Krashnar rasped once more. ‘When last we parted your lack of gratitude was boundless! Why is it then that you come here Darlia, seeking my services yet again?’

‘Because I must, do you not see?’ she replied as tears began to well in her eyes. ‘Who else am I to turn to in this accursed wasteland?’

‘Then you would have me mutilate her – is that what you want?’ hissed Krashnar.

‘No – I would have you save her!’

‘Aren’t you going to wish me good luck?’ echoed a familiar voice from her left across the large study hall.

She turned immediately from her books and looked down the length of the long thick wooden bench at which she sat. Beyond the bench, at the far end of the empty study hall, stood Rayna with an infectious childlike smile stretched across her face; the recent invasion of Freylar and the horrors of Scrier’s Post seemingly had little or no effect on the dogged light bringer’s personality. Instinctively she offered Rayna a warm smile of her own. It was then that she suddenly recalled the time when nightmares, born from the grubby repressed memories of a previous life, first began to plague Rayna’s subconscious. The revisited horrors of Rayna’s former existence threatened to steer The Guardian down a dark path, one leading to overwhelming despair. Yet despite the relentless subconscious attacks on Rayna’s psyche, the relatively new-born Freylarkin endured the continued assault and eventually emerged stronger in spite of the ordeal. She admired Rayna’s unyielding determination to overcome such challenges and wished that she could say the same of The Vengeful Tears; instead they had lost their way, choosing to embrace fanaticism as a survival mechanism. Thanks to her position on the ruling council she had been privy to Nathanar’s raw account of the events at Scrier’s Post, thus she was not limited to those carefully depicted events in the official report which he had submitted as commander of the rearguard. Initially she had toyed with the idea of scrying those horrible past events, but after hearing Nathanar’s stark retelling she decided it best not to burden herself with such sorrow.

Rayna strode confidently across the sparsely furnished hall and promptly sat down opposite her at the wide study bench she had chosen that morning. Rayna playfully pushed her books to one side, temporarily putting an end to her studies.

‘I have not seen you in several cycles Kirika.’ said Rayna. ‘Is something the matter?’

‘You still manage to confuse me with your bizarre choice of words.’ she replied, all too analytically. ‘Though in answer to your oddly phrased question, I felt sure that you would not wish to see me in light of recent events.’

Rayna frowned momentarily, with a brief look of disapproval, before reverting to her characteristically casual, even playful, demeanour.

‘Look here...you are not your sister, and you are sure as hell not responsible, or indeed accountable, for her actions.’

‘And yet I do feel accountable for Darlia’s transgressions.’ she replied. ‘Though I had never sought to be such, I often felt that Darlia viewed me as a hurdle blocking the path towards her own success. I am convinced that my sister felt the need to push her ability to dangerous levels in order to surpass my own.’

‘Oh my, so you’re camped out here, alone with your dusty books, wallowing in self-pity and needlessly blaming yourself because of a sibling rivalry?’ Rayna said, clearly goading her on the matter.

She scowled at her interrogator; it was the first time she had exorcised displeasure towards her surrogate sister since Rayna’s arrival in Freylar. Rather than taking offence at her obvious displeasure, Rayna instead beamed once more as though believing with supreme confidence that an infectious smile would soften the blow – which it inevitably did.

‘How do you do that?’ she replied, after her scowl had abated. ‘You insult me one moment, and then the next wash away any negative lasting ramifications with a light heart.’

Rayna simply laughed. The Guardian’s ability to cut to the heart of any matter was but one of many enviable skills in Rayna’s arsenal. Since her mentor, Aleska, recently retired from active service on the ruling council, she had made a secret pact with herself to become more assertive, thereby reinforcing her role as council member despite her young age. Darlia’s re-emergence, however, had been a setback in her personal development; she had allowed her estranged sister’s vendetta to tar her own image needlessly. Rayna was correct in her counsel; she was not Darlia, and indeed not accountable for the abhorrent behaviour of her blood-born sister.

‘Look, I’m leaving soon, as I’m sure you are aware.’ noted Rayna after laughing at her expense.

‘Yes. You are going to be spending some time with the Knights Thranis, so I hear.’ she replied.

‘Indeed, I shall be spending time amongst them.’ confirmed Rayna. ‘Marcus has asked that I take Anika with me, and I do not wish to leave the vale with other concerns preying on my mind. I need to know that you will get past this, sister, and move on before I set out for the unknown.’

‘Do not worry about me and my personal insecurities.’ she replied. ‘As of now I will attempt to no longer burden myself with my sisters’ actions. Whilst I cannot vouch for my future success in this endeavour...it is a start at least.’

With that she stood up and proceeded to gather up the books Rayna had pushed aside. It was time she fulfilled her secret pact, rather than repeatedly doubting herself.

‘Since you came all the way to see me, you may as well put yourself to use and help me file these books away.’ she said with a beaming smile of her own.

Rayna returned the smile along with a casual wink. After tending to her books, both then left the deserted study hall behind them; it was time now to abandon her self-imposed shackles and move forwards, forging a fresh chapter in her life. Though Darlia remained an ever-present concern, it would no longer be one she would allow to hold her back.

After leaving the Tri-Spires’ cold study hall behind them, she accompanied Rayna down into the heart of the vale, home to Freylar’s forest dwellers. Rayna had insisted that they spend the afternoon together, given the early departure with Anika the following cycle; it would be some time before both would return from their mission, and so she was pleased to spend what little time remained with Rayna prior to her departure. Although Queen Mirielle had tasked her with overseeing Rayna’s integration with Freylarkin society, she did not perceive the task to be a mission as such. She enjoyed spending time with Rayna, and this in turn had wrought a positive outcome on her own personality.

They strolled aimlessly through the forest, content to converse and share each other’s company whilst they immersed themselves in the half-hidden community established by the forest dwellers. It was easy to overlook the important role played by the common folk of Freylar, when ensconced within in the Tri-Spires attending to matters of state. The change of pace was refreshing and allowed her to partially reintegrate with the natives, albeit temporarily. Their random path through the forest took them past several outdoor classes where younger generations paid strict attention to the wise teachings of their elders; that was at least until The Guardian was spotted. It became apparent to her that Rayna had become somewhat of a celebrity amongst the locals, especially in the eyes of the youth, though it was unclear exactly how much the forest dwellers understood of The Guardian’s origin and the revelation heralded by Rayna’s unique means of arrival in Freylar. Upon reflection, she decided that she was over-analysing affairs; regardless of their collective level of true understanding, most of the forest dwellers appeared to welcome Rayna’s presence amongst them and that was ultimately the desired outcome of Mirielle’s planned integration. Initially the fear was that Rayna’s unorthodox presence would incite fear and panic amongst the Freylarkai, fortunately none of that had come to pass.