The Severaine

Chapter Four The First Piece of the Puzzle-2

It was comprised of intricate tunnels both above and below the coastal currents. They were a sight to behold gracing the land's edge with their mysterious form. The dark caves absorbed all light and echoed with an unnatural chorus as the wind chased through the unmapped network. These majestic mountains could be seen rising above the forest.

Through the gaps in the canopies, the pale blue sky met their vision. Despite the time of year, not a single cloud obstructed their skyward gaze. The stillness was calming, the occasional hushed sound of a bird seeking food, or singing to its mate, only added to the serene surroundings.

It was difficult to imagine that the Severaine rampaged across the lands, showing little mercy to those who stood in its wake. Even Daniel's home of Crowley was prey to the temperament of this mighty force as it terrorised his homeland with earthquakes and torrential rains so fierce that the land itself had started to crack beneath its pressure. They had thought that the result of the Severaine's release would have been an almost instant eradication of life. Thankfully they were wrong. This small mercy allowed them time to find the answers they sought, but for every moment they delayed, peoples' lives were at risk. Already they had heard tales of crumbling cliffs and villages levelled by this great power. Even the mightiest ships were confined to the ports due to the unpredictable currents, overfall, and whirlpools. The more time that passed, the stronger, more focused, its energy became.

It would have been easy to fool themselves into believing this danger was but a dream, after all neither Drevera nor Collateral, the two areas they had visited most recently, had shown signs of damage from this power. They still remained untouched by the raging force. Collateral was understandable given its unique traits, but Drevera, however, should have fallen prey to its wrath as all other known continents had.

Daniel turned suddenly, certain he had caught a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision, but his searching gaze met with nothing. They continued walking in silence. He did not want to warn his companions of his feelings towards this area, after all, they were unfounded. Yet with each step he took the surroundings seemed more familiar. His legs grew heavier as the unfounded anxiety became almost unbearable. He was so focused on the effort of moving that he hadn't noticed Acha and Eiji stood frozen on the entrance to a large clearing.

The thoroughfare before them had been worn deep from the excess of transport. The track through the forest gave way to cobbled stones as it neared the town. The road extended outward in much the same manner this settlement had over the past years. Toll gates had once marked the entrance, surrounded by wire and a wooden frame leading directly to the stone protection which encompassed the village so completely, ensuring all who sought access paid their dues for the wear and tear, and the expanding roadway. All was now laid to waste. The village outskirts were now mere wooden markers telling tales of the destruction within. The wall, thought to offer protection, broken and crumbled.

This village was no stranger to disaster, but following the last it had pulled itself from the brink of destruction. They had petitioned lords and the council for funding, and from the wake of murder and tragedy, which had struck six years prior, the town had flourished.

What once had been a trade for survival became affluent with demand. Their housing and grounds expanded as those who received a share of all profits directed business favourably. The once quiet village became an epicentre for its produce, which consisted of wool, hides, and flax.

This village had been known as Weft and had once boasted a large population. Its many structures admired by any who came to enjoy their annual trade festivities or hoped to purchase their wares. But now pieces of the structures, which had once taken so long to construct, lay ruined, destroyed in an instant.

The air was heavy with the earthy smell from the decimated buildings. Little remained standing, and those few husked shells that did were beyond any hope of repair. Even the raw materials were of little use for salvage.

The inner parts of the town had been forged by a combination of stone and timber, all laid to waste with the same ruthlessness. Stone had crumbled and fell as easily as wood. The town hall, the temple, all lost amongst the sea of destruction. There was no doubt as to the cause of this disaster, and it had left only rubble in its wake.

The force that had torn through was unbelievably strong, and seemingly impossible to stop. Yet, as Acha and Eiji looked on with horror, they realised it had been their mission to do so. Their delays, their inability to find the answers they sought, meant they had failed this village, and failed those who lay buried within, along with countless others.

Carrion birds took flight, their attentive search through crumbled matter disturbed by their appearance. Acha gasped, covering her mouth at the sight she beheld. Her hand sought Eiji's arm, squeezing it tightly in hope to gain some small comfort.

Their senses were overwhelmed, assaulted on all fronts. Slowly Acha and Eiji approached the village's remains, carefully stepping upon unstable debris searching for any sign of life. But the people here, it seemed, had long been collected by Hermes.

They continued the search, removing the debris from the fallen, and dragging the lifeless vessels to the clearing's edge ensuring each had the fare required to pay the ferryman on their final journey. As the first people here it was their duty, their moral obligation, to ensure the victims of this disaster were laid to rest. They were so busy with their task they failed to notice that Daniel had yet to join them. They remained unaware of their friend's terror as he stood frozen on the town's boundary. The heaviness of his legs ensuring he could take no further steps.

His legs remained unyielding, rooted firm at the sight he beheld. But his vision was not in the here and now, yet it was still a scene of death and disaster. One he had witnessed six years ago as a boy of seventeen.

Sweat beaded on his forehead. The mingled cries of panic and pain sliced through the air, deafening to the ears in more than just pitch. There were only the screams. Screams, darkness, and her. Each of her movements illuminating the next line in her horrific tale. Corpses lined her path, trailing behind her like a royal carpet as her swift movements stole the life from all within her reach. The flaming figures, touched by her magic, howled in pain, trying to dowse the unrelenting flames. Their flailing limbs casting haunting clarity on the scene before him. Her pace never slowed, her step never faltered, not until Daniel's own brother had emerged to challenge her. She regarded him with as little concern as the unarmed peasants who had fell before her. And once more Daniel suffered through his brother's death.

Marise's gaze, although just a memory, now focused upon him with new life and fresh bloodlust. Daniel's hand fumbled for his weapon, his head spinning and thoughts disjointed. Waves of heat flooded through him, the bile and acid from his stomach forcing its way through his mouth as his legs failed.

“Daniel?” Eiji's hand on his back startled him. His mind returned to the present only to find himself looking up at his friend, the ground before him stained with the contents of his stomach. His vision clouded, the image of the new terror overlapping the old. The town expanded within his mind, collapsing to rubble, yet still the dead remained. The corpses of man, woman, and child were once more arranged in painful symmetry to those he had witnessed fall. He felt his limbs tremble beyond control, its spasm giving a subtle reminder to draw breath. His throat grew cold, saliva filling his mouth as he threatened to once more vomit. Reality blurred, brought into focus by slow deep breaths until he could see his friend's hand extended towards him. It was a gesture without which he feared would have left him unable to stand. “Are y' okay?” The horror remained, but slowly the fear drained as he saw all before him for what it was. There was no difference to the disaster that came all those years before. Both the Severaine and Marise showed equal compassion.

“Yeah,” he whispered after some delay, a pause that had been needed to find his voice. “I was lost in the past… this is the place my brother was murdered,” he stated solemnly. “He gave his life to protect the people here.”

“Your brother?” Eiji questioned almost uncertainly. “What happened?” As he heard himself ask the question, he instantly regretted doing so. No doubt this was something he would rather not discuss, something best left forgotten. Especially considering his friend's fragility.

“Marise Shi,” he whispered, the name catching in his throat. Eiji was unable to contain the surprise which escaped him in the form of a gasp. He looked to Acha in disbelief, who dipped her head to confirm his words. It was a tale she had heard some time ago, one Daniel had confided to her in the hope that she would see the truth.

“Daniel witnessed it,” she whispered seeing further questions appear in his eyes.

“How'd y' survive? None who face her live,” he stated, still wondering whether he had truly heard correctly. Could Daniel have witnessed this assassin slay his brother and somehow have been spared from her wrath?

“Your master did, so have we,” he answered trying to force himself to take a step forward. “I'm not really sure how I was spared to be honest… I remember finding a weapon in my hand, charging towards her with the intent of avenging my brother. I intended with every fibre of my being to kill her. I wanted nothing more than to destroy her…” his hands clenched into tight fists as he spoke. The same anger he felt towards the figure back then intensified by his most recent loss. “Someone stopped me. They pulled me back wrapping their arms around me and protected me from her… the strange thing was, she advanced no further. Yet those who found me claim to have seen no one.” His first hesitant step came after great effort, but after this his movement grew slightly lighter, each following one becoming easier.

The final area to be searched had suffered the least damage and perhaps rekindled a slight hope that some had escaped this disaster alive. The earth here had been disturbed, but the tracks left were indistinguishable from man or beast. Scarcely a few corpses were found within the rubble. A mother and child taking shelter under a table, crushed as the beams overhead collapsed. A cleric, and a few of his followers lost in their attempt to see all safe before them, and finally a boy, the breath crushed from his small frame as he sought refuge as the temple collapsed around him.

The task of retrieving these final bodies was done in silence. Their fingers were bloody and filthy as they clawed their way through earth and wood, all of which complained under their touch. Daniel, holding the body of the small child in his arms, swore he heard him give a cry. He stopped sharply, laying the child down, his mind almost fearing what images would be conjured as he placed his fingers to the cold flesh. Not a pulse or breath was found, but he swore he heard the cry again.

Breath rose in plumes from Daniel's mouth as he once more lifted the child. The cold sting of the wind rose as the sky grew dark. The rainless thunder rumbled through the air with such force the ground trembled as a harbinger of what was to come. The skies themselves seemed ready to mourn those lost from the village.