Seven Reimagined, A new view of an old story Options

[Acadian]

What a wonderful episode as Aela addresses the man hands that have bothered her for a long time. I love how you described her ability to actually change her body. How the body’s desire to resist change makes healing easier but Aela’s current task much harder makes perfect sense.

Success - as she reveals her pretty little girly hands to Loria! Scenes like the end of this episode make it clear why Aela loves her dear elven friend.


Nit: ’That is what made healing so easy. Aela almost snorted at the that thought.’ - - Looks like one of the two underlined words is a spare remnant of the editing process.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: I wanted Aela's sex change to be more involved that just waving a wand and saying a magic word. Like anything important in life, I wanted her to work for it. It was also a great opportunity to show one of the ways that magic works in the world, and how it literally reshapes reality in accordance with your will. that is why Camna was so impressed with her. Aela is using magic for how it is ultimately meant, rather than just to sell cheap trinkets to make money. Likewise, that scene also adds more to how aura's work, without it being an infodump.


The that was indeed a fragment of previous edits. Thanks for catching it.




Chapter 10.4

The Nakdeok Queen spent the night pulled up to a clear stretch of shoreline, and the travelers rolled out their sleeping mats on the deck. It was not the comfortable bed Aela had left behind in Veia. The deck was hard, and the air was hot and humid. But the Arvern could still not stop from smiling as she stared at the stars overhead.

The next day they continued their way up the meandering Nakdeok. By now Alcheon had more than proved his worth as a river man, often diving into the muddy brown waters, only to return with a fish clutched in his bare hands. While some might have been doubtful of his fighting ability, all of their stomachs were thankful for the Teodon's presence.

They came across an area where the edges of the river rose up in steep banks of clay. Great flocks of colorful parrots and macaws clouded around the almost sheer surfaces. They darted in and around one another, in a great seething mass. Somehow they avoided colliding. In fact, they seemed to move in a strange sort of unison. Watching them reminded Aela of a rolling and undulating wave, which became almost hypnotic after a while.

"Are they eating the dirt?" Hrafngoelir wondered. Aela looked again, and saw that the Skanjr had been correct. The birds were indeed nibbling upon the earth of the high riverbank.

"Many of the seeds the birds eat are toxic to them," Phereinon explained. "The poisons bind to the minerals in the clay in their stomachs. Then in turn they are safely expelled when the animals… expel."

"How do they know to do that?" Hrafngoelir asked.

"Most populations produce more offspring than their environments can support. So there is always a steady rate of attrition." Phereinon explained. "The first bird to eat the clay gained an advantage over those who did not learn to expel the toxins from their systems. It lived longer, it bore more offspring. At least some of its young learned to do the same. Perhaps this was simply by observing the parent, even if not actively being taught. They in turn lived longer than other birds, and produced still more offspring. In time all the parrots and macaws either adapted, or were replaced by those who had the advantage over them."

"So you subscribe to the ideas of Epicura, from On The Nature Of Things." Loria observed. "That only the most functional lifeforms survive."

"I have seen it with my own eyes," Phereinon contended. "Life is always competing with life. Even the trees in the forest around us fight for sunlight. Only the winner survives."

"What of the Principle of Plentitude?" Loria debated.

"That when the amhranai sang to their sleeping mother Domhan, they created all the plants and animals that were imaginable, because the world would be incomplete without them?" Phereinon said. "That may be. I was not there to see it. But plants and animals do change. Even the manaborn deliberately change them, to suit their needs. Look at the Maelanu breed of horses. They did not exist a thousand years ago. The Arvern bred them from other lineages to create an eidos that is better suited to riding."

"I do not contest that we intelligent races intentionally alter other creatures," Loria said. "We certainly select them to succeed or fail to fit our needs. But do you really think that nature does so by accident? Do the gods play dice with the Earth?"

"It may seem accidental when you look at from a short term perspective," Phereinon said, "in timelines of only millennia. But when you view it over tens of millennia, or hundreds of them, chance becomes certainty. Random become inevitable. Nature's process of selection only moves slower than that of kith. But it does move just as decisively."

"Hundreds of millennia?" Hrafngoelir balked. "That is before even the First Age! The world is not so old."

"I suspect the world is far older than any of us might imagine," Phereinon contended.

"You radical!" Loria grinned. "Even I would not say anything so heretical. At least not out loud."

"But then how could history only go back so shortly," Hrafngoelir argued. "We are only five thousand years into the Third Age. And the Second Age was what, another four or five thousand years long? What was the First Age then, a million years?"

"Perhaps more," Phereinon said. "Perhaps much more. Our idea of history may be only a tiny chapter of our world's story."

"But what of the gods then?" Loria wondered. "What were they doing all that time? And what were people doing? Surely there would be more signs of ancient cities, monuments, roads, and the like."

"Maybe there were no people." Phereinon waved a hand out toward the clay riverbank and the birds clustered there. "Maybe it was all like this, growing, maturing, evolving, into what it is today."

"So maybe creation took longer than a song, but a million years?" Hrafngoelir wondered. "You have some wild ideas my friend."

"The idea of a boat was unheard of once," Phereinon contended. "Yet here we are."

"Since you believe in creatures evolving over time, surely you agree with Gwenael of Alalia's theory of mythic evolution?" Loria asked.

"The physical characteristics of the manaborn races certainly evolve to reflect their own self-image." Phereinon insisted. "Over time - a very short time - mythic values become physiological traits. The Silmar on the steppes of Glastal are a prime example. They did not exist in the Second Age. They evolved from Dark Elves who survived the Great War."

Aela shook her head and pulled Hrafngoelir away while the two talked natural and magical philosophy. Loria could talk about books all day long. When he found the time to read them, she had no idea. Personally, she would rather read a fiction about interesting and relatable people and their successes and failures, rather than dry and dusty philosophy and history.

Still, at least someone was drawing Phereinon out into a social activity. The corpse-pale swordswoman was usually even more distant and remote than Valens. He was merely gloomy and surly! Aela wondered if perhaps that had been Loria's intent with the discussion all along?

[Acadian]

Nicely done!

You painted a nice feel for life on the river. Heat, humidity, Alcheon's fishing skill and, especially that fascinating scene of the jungle birds eating bits of clay.

Some evolutionary theory mixed in with more character study of Phereinon, Loria and even Aela. Somehow I got the feeling from Phereinon that what she refers to time before history, she has the first-hand creds to back it up. . . .

I love Aela’s pondering near the end of this episode as to whether Loria’s motivation had been academic curiosity or to draw out Phereinon some. I suspect the answer is both.

’Personally, she would rather read a fiction about interesting and relatable people and their successes and failures, rather than dry and dusty philosophy and history.’ - - Heh, I’m with Aela here.

[Renee]

But she has no body odor. She does not sweat. She is nothing but oil and leather, and… death."

Whoa. *shivers*

[SubRosa]

Acadian: I think I learned the part about the birds eating clay from a documentary called Wild China. I get a lot of ideas for the setting from nature documentaries like that.

Phereinon is not quite old enough to remember time before history. She's merely 5,000 years old. Just a drop in the bucket really. But she has had time to watch, and think, and ponder how the world works. Many of the books and authors I referred to in that part about evolution were taken from Ancient History. The Ancient Greeks were thinking about evolution even back in their day. Darwin was only really special because he spent years traveling and amassing a body of evidence to back it up.




Renee: That was just one more hint about Phereinon's true nature. That will eventually be coming to a head, because the other six mercenaries are all smart and perceptive people.


Chapter 10.5

The settlements thinned out as they penetrated deeper into the rainforest. Soon they found that Captain Hesari gave a wide berth to several camps that they passed along the watercourse. Their inhabitants were a mix of humans and Teodon, and all looked dirty, rough, and exceedingly well-armed.

"Bandits," the Silisce explained to Aela when she asked after the second such occurrence. "These backwoods are infested with outlaws and worse. Some will trade for goods and news. Some will cut your throat as soon as look at you."

In one stretch of river the captain even eschewed their usual break to rest the spirecrowns. Instead he continued on, using spells to restore the flagging stamina of the draft animals. He warned them all to be wary of strangers, and not to let anyone on the boat, even if they found them in the water.

"Why?" Hrafngoelir asked. "What is wrong?"

"Necromancers," the Sea Elf explained. He pointed to a scattering of cave mouths yawning within the bluffs to the west. "Those are Black Bog Caves. Some captains will trade with them. But I'll not have any part of such blackguards."

Aela felt a shiver run along her spine, and she could swear that her breath came out in cloud of frost. A feeling of emptiness came over her, like she was standing in a graveyard that went on forever.

She turned, and saw that Phereinon's eyes literally glowed silver-white, like twin stars shining from her skull. She had produced her sword from the aether, and gripped the long weapon in one hand. Now that Aela was closer to it, she noted that its narrow fuller began at the hilt and ran three quarters of the blade. A hand-span of the blade just above the crossguard was dulled, and Aela imagined that would allow its wielder to safely grasp it there, if they wanted to choke up on their hold of the weapon. This ricasso was etched with the design of an owl, wings outstretched and claws forward, as if it was about to snatch up its prey.

Aela knew that the Rasen believed the owl was a symbol of wisdom. It was often featured in sculpture and artwork within the Ingenium. But that was not the feeling that this inscription created within her. Instead Aela was reminded of the Asokar, who viewed the owl as the messenger of the White Bone Mother. To hear its cry was to know death was near, for they guided the souls of the dead to her in the underworld.

Phereinon's eyes burned at the caves, like such an owl sizing up a lost soul. Aela half-expected her to leap from the boat and race up the cliffs to assault them.

Without really thinking, Aela aesensed the swordswoman. As ever, her aura was bright and strong, that of someone magically adept, but otherwise ordinary. Aela knew it was a mask, but she could still not pierce the disguise. The sword in her hand however, was an entirely different story.

It screeched the name Malediction to her, like a great night bird. Aela felt her heart sink into a yawning black abyss as her perception roved over it. She was reminded of how she felt when she was only a child, and Duty - one of the family dogs - had died. Duty, who had slept in the same bed as her for as long as she could remember. She felt that same wrenching emptiness that had haunted her after his death, that same desperate frustration at the unfairness of it all. She felt cursed, cold, alone, and angry at the unfairness of it all.

The caves fell out of sight, and with a silvery glow, the sword vanished from Phereinon's hand. With it went that terrible feeling of loss and loneliness. Watching in the aether, Aela saw the threads of the weapon's aura likewise fade into nothingness. She imagined that they fell into the weave of the swordswoman's aura. But Aela could sense nothing beyond the carefully maintained facade that Phereinon maintained in the aether.

Clearly, she did not much like necromancers.

Soon they passed another set of caverns on the opposite side of the river, which the captain identified as The Lightless Pit.

"That one has vampires," he said. "I've seen them fighting the necromancers by the river's edge."

Aela looked to see if Phereinon reacted once more. But the white swordswoman made no sign of interest. Aela did see Loria taking mental notes however, weighing the danger versus the possible profit. The Arvern Witch had to admit that she was doing the same herself. Perhaps when their quest for the Agrigentans was finished, they might revisit some of these caves?

In time the Nakdeok turned west, and they came to a stop at the bend of the river. Here stood the ruins of an old Rasen castle. Only the crumbling stones of the outer walls remained, and even half of those were missing, with the gaps filled in by wooden timbers. Sweet wood smoke curled up from within, and a mixture of humans and Teodon could be seen standing guard at the single entrance, as well as around the rest of the site. A wooden pier stretched out into the river from the ersatz fortress, and it was here that Captain Hesari docked The Nakdeok Queen head on.

"This is the end of the line for you," the Sea Elf declared. "Welcome to Castle Blackwater. From here the river turns into the Stone Forest."

"Aye," Daehyun said. "I have been here many times. The Rasenna abandoned the castle ages ago. Now it's a trading post, inn, smithy, whatever folk need it to be."

"From here we walk," Ranazu added.

As Daehyun had intimated, he knew his way around the trading post. Many of its denizens - a hard and none too clean bunch - greeted him by name. Aela discovered that the bailey was filled with several daub and wattle buildings of much newer construction than the original fortress. Daehyun led them to one of these, which turned out to be the eating house. A meal of fried sausages and tangy onions filled their bellies. While the wine was hardly Alalia's finest, at least it was not served in mugs.

Since it was late in the day, they decided to stay the night. Another daub and wattle building doubled as the inn. They found the accommodations to be nothing more than a space on the floor and a rattan sleeping mat. Aela decided to use her own bedroll instead, as did many of the mercenaries. Still, she was thankful to be inside the walls of a settlement. At least they did not have to put out watches against night dangers.


Malediction

Owl Screeching

Owl Carving

[Acadian]

A rather ominous transition through bandits, necromancers and vampires (Oh my!) to the end of the river that has seen them safely to this point.

Phereinon continues to mystify, but the fact that she dislikes necrodudes is a good thing. Very impressive how she can maintain a (mostly) Aela-proof aura of privacy to maintain her secrets.

Your descriptions continue to draw us into the story. I could almost smell the wood smoke curling up from what is left of Castle Blackwater and taste the adventurers’ sausage and onion dinner.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: Now that the river journey is complete, we are just a few more segments away from Agrigento itself. But first we will have the journey overland, in which we will continue to learn more about not just Phereinon, but all the Seven, and get some background on Agrigento and this corner of Kye Rim.


Chapter 10.6

The next day they pressed on overland, heading ever southward. They followed a road that was little more than a pair of ruts worn into the ground by wagon wheels. The trees grew thick around them, and it was only through the occasional break in the growth that Aela was able to glimpse the sun.

"Was there not an insurrection somewhere near here several years ago," Dhasan asked. "I recall hearing of some troubles. But a call never went out for mercenaries, as it usually does in such times."

"Aye, an insurrection," Hyunsu snorted, "at least that is what our fat gyukon in Hansando called it."

"I imagine it felt much different for those who were not provincial governors?" Loria ventured diplomatically.

"Much differently," Daehyun said. "The sublime ancestor in Hansando decreed that our taxes must increase. He needed our hard-earned money to honor the ancestors sufficiently, so they would continue to bless our lands with their good will."

The dubious expression on Daehyun's face showed how little of that he actually believed.

"Apparently the ancestors demanded a new bathhouse in his palace in return for their good will," Vesia muttered. "With marble imported from Rase."

"Thanks to our soju, we were able to pay," Ranazu said. "But only just barely. Many other settlements were not so lucky as we were."

"So the sublime ancestor sent out his dogs to take what could not be paid." Daehyun said.

"That eggless bastard Ugeo…" Ranazu fumed. Aela noted his hands clenching and unclenching into fists.

"He was…" Loria let the words dangle as an open question.

"The leader of the gyukon's company of hwarang - The Celestial Gallery." Vesia explained. "He led the 'pacification' of those villages who could not pay."

"Somehow one of the villages captured him. The hwarang claim that he went in unarmed to parley with them. But who knows if they would tell the truth." Daehyun shrugged. "In any case they tortured him, and put out one of his eyes."

"If only they had killed him when they had the chance," Ranazu fumed.

"So what happened then?" Dhasan asked.

"What do think happened?" Hyunsu said bitterly. "The rest of his nangdo came in and killed everyone. Women, hatchlings, even the oros and chickens. They left nothing alive."

"Some say he escaped first," Vesia said. "That he broke free of his bonds, and ate his torturer's hearts. Then he came back with his men to finish the rest"

"Wendigo!" Dhasan growled.

"So finally Manaha rears her ugly head…" Loria breathed.

"Afterward, when they saw what he had done, even his own men could not abide it," Daehyun said, "nor his master in Hansando. He was exiled."

"After that, most people paid the tax, even though they starved," Vesia frowned. "Those who still could not pay were killed by the Celestial Gallery's new leader, Daeso."

"Let me guess, after that the raiders appeared?" Dhasan asked.

"Yes," Daehyun said. "I think many were farmers who fled the gyukon's soldiers. Either before or after their villages were destroyed."

"I have seen it before." The vulpine shook his head. "A leader's misrule creates his own Fomorians, when before there were none."

"He created Dark Eye," Vesia lamented. "Now he terrorizes all of us, and the gyukon will do nothing about it. It's as if he wants them out here robbing and murdering people."

"Perhaps that is exactly what your provincial governor desires," Venca finally spoke.

"But that is madness!" Loria sputtered.

"Is it?" the Rasen warrior stroked the curled hairs of his goatee. "Now all of the settlements are too preoccupied with raiders to start another 'insurrection' against him. Maybe a real one the next time."

"But how can the people pay the taxes with Dark Eye and his ilk around?" Loria argued. "How can his own servants collect it?"

"His tax collectors have never been molested by the bandits," Daehyun insisted, "not once."

"How convenient," Hrafngoelir spat. "Either the raiders are smart enough to avoid directly antagonizing the governor or…"

"They are bribing him with part of their plunder," Venca finished her sentence. "The sublime ancestor has divided and conquered you all. He taxes you, and then he taxes what the raiders steal from you."

"Aye, like Black Venca over a thousand years ago, when he conquered Aulerci for the Sacerdotium," Loria murmured, "except without the outlaws and cannibalism that time."

[Acadian]

Wow, the situation the villagers face is grim but rather brilliantly engineered by the evil bastage in charge around these parts.

We see some of Daehyun’s worldliness, Venca’s perceptiveness, Loria’s tact and Hrafngoelir’s temper on display while learning more about what the Seven face.

I recall early in my fanfic writing that it was you who patiently taught me how to write dialogue for fiction. I couldn’t help being impressed by your skill with non-dialogue ‘descriptors’ in these two passages:
- -"I imagine it felt much different for those who were not provincial governors?" Loria ventured diplomatically.
- -"He was…" Loria let the words dangle as an open question.

Sounds like the task ahead of the Seven has some real potential to escalate beyond Agrigento.


Nit: "Much differently, Daehyun said. - - Missing a closing dialogue quotation after differently?

[SubRosa]

Acadian: I put a lot more work into the background of events this time around. How Dark-Eye became not only a bandit, but a cannibal and champion of a dark goddess. And how he was able to operate unchecked. When working on the local governor, I was inspired by the Native American belief in the Wendigo. It is not only a cannibal, but it is also seen as an allegory for the dangers of capitalism and consumerism - and how the more money and objects one accumulates only makes you need more and more. Dark-Eye is the classic Wendigo who eats the flesh of others. The governor is this second type, who is driven by greed - and untempered by any sense of ethics or morality.



Chapter 10.7

Alcheon vanished somewhere during the trek. Hours later they came across a dead pheasant dangling from a tree limb by a rawhide cord. Dhasan declared that it had been slain by a javelin, the same kind as several which the young Teodon carried along with his spear.

"That Teodon is going to make us all fat before this is done," Hrafngoelir laughed.

They made camp for the night soon after, and were once again rejoined by Alcheon, who now clutched a duck in one hand. While he might have been inexperienced in war, the young Teodon was certainly a proficient hunter.

Venca was even more silent and moody than normal, and Aela realized that he was again entranced by the sunset. The Rasen spent the entire time staring at the falling sun, and the brilliant colors it splashed across the horizon. Aela wondered what it was he saw there, since it was plainly more than just the end of the day to him. Was it his own sun setting that he saw? Did he see his own doom writ upon the firmament?

They struck out again at dawn's first light. The forest grew warmer and damper than even when they had been on the river. Soon sweat began to drip from their skin. Except of course for the Teodon, who seemed more than ever at home in the moisture. It was not the heat that bothered Aela. An Alalian summer was hotter. But the humidity seemed to just suck the sweat from the Arvern's pores, as a vampire would blood.

Soon they came to a break in the trees, and found themselves in a wide field of grass. This was not the short green carpet one would find in Rase or Aulertil however. This grass stood taller than Aela, and came in thick blades, whose edges she soon discovered were razor sharp.

"Well would you look at that," Hrafngoelir whistled.

The Skanjr and the other, taller members of the group came to a halt. Aela stood on tip toes to try to get a look at what the Northerner saw. But the grass was still too high. A moment later she felt Dhasan's furred arms wrap around her waist, and the vulpine warrior lifted her high into the air.

Now that her head was above the grass, Aela saw a herd of wild hadrosaurs wandering lazily through the field. Over thirty feet in length, the adults were easily double the size of the crumheads that she often saw used as draft animals. They lacked the big, bony crests that rose up from the heads of so many other hadrosaurs. Instead they sported a single line of flat, bony ridges running down the middle of their back, from head to tail. The vitamancer within Aela immediately recognized them as elongated projections of bone from the vertebrae in their back bones. The manaborn possessed the same projections of bone of course, just not so long and dramatic.

"Maias," Alcheon murmured.

The maias were munching on the tall grass. The Arvern Witch imagined that with their thick scales, the sharp edges of the grass did not bother them. She could not suppress a smile as she watched the massive herbivores. Somehow by simply doing so, she forgot the heat and humidity. Instead she was reminded of her connection to the natural world, and part of her wanted to rush out and touch one of the gentle beasts.

But her amazement was cut short when one of the hadrosaurs reared up its head to scan the skies above. A moment later a series of short, yet booming roars rose up from one of the maias. It was almost like the moo of a cow, yet far deeper, and much more energetic. The herd scattered, running for the trees on all fours.

Aela reflexively brought the pattern for her arcane shield firmly in mind and called upon her mana. Dhasan set her down upon the ground, and reached for his flatbow. The other mercenaries did likewise, all looking this way and that for the source of the danger.

"There, a cockatrice!" Ranazu cried.

Aela followed the farmer's pointed finger up into the sky. She saw a dragon wheeling high overhead. The scales of its lower body were light green in color, and a row of spines ran down the length of its back, from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail. Its head and back were covered in dark green feathers. Its four legs ended with long claws, and she saw that it clutched a dead hadrosaur within its mouth. Aela could see it was not one of the maias from the clearing below, but belonged to yet another type of duck-billed beast. For this poor victim possessed a large, bony sail that rose up along the top of its head, colored bright orange and purple.

"That is a cockatrice?" Dhasan stared amazement. "I thought they looked like chickens!"

"It does!" Daehyun insisted. "See the feathers on its head."

"That is a dragon with feathers!" the vulpine cried.

"Shhh, will you be quiet," Vesia hissed. "Don't get its attention. Our we might end up the appetizer for his meal."

Dhasan nocked an arrow on his bow as they began to back toward the treeline. The Teodon all looked horrified, and even old Hyunsu raised a hand before the Asokar warrior. They had not noticed it, but Malediction had formed from thin air in Phereinon's hand as well. Aela had felt its cold loneliness enter the air, and hoped that the dragon was too intent upon his supper to sense its presence as well.

"You must not harm it!" the old farmer cried.

"The cockatrice is sacred!" declared Alcheon.

"Well, as long as he feels the same way about us, we shall get along just fine." Dhasan said. The vulpine did not lower his weapon until Aela motioned for him to do so. She said nothing to Phereinon, but looked pointedly at her sword. A moment later if faded into nothingness, as if it had never been there in the first place.

[Acadian]

No surprise that Alcheon is beginning to show his worth within his home turf.

Once Aela got a vulpine-assisted good view over the tall grass, the epic scene was reminiscent of some of the majestic dinosaur scenes from Jurassic Park.

"The cockatrice is sacred!" declared Alcheon.
"Well, as long as he feels the same way about us, we shall get along just fine." Dhasan said.’
- - Heh, this fox is wise and I fully endorse his thinking!

[SubRosa]

Acadian: All I need is Aela twisting her sunglasses off and pointing: "It's... a dinosaur!"

Next we learn more about the cockatrice and why it is sacred, as well as find out a little more about each of the Seven.


Chapter 10.8

"I suggest we keep our eyes open," Loria said, "and retire to the trees for a respite. Then perhaps our Teodon friends might tell us more about their feathered friend?"

The cockatrice paid no heed to the drama unfolding beneath him, and in seconds flew on out of sight. Still, the party of travelers moved back into the concealment of the forest. Once there, packs were shucked off, water skins passed around, and a welcome break taken by many.

"This is a very good sign!" Daehyun declared, still looking skyward. "To witness one of the sacred ones as we returned!"

"Perhaps the water flows our way for once," old Hyunsu murmured.

Like the others, Aela stared from one of the scaled folk to another. She had read about cockatrices at the Ingenium of course. But the Rasen books had little to say about the creatures, other than rumors and conjecture of course. The only thing they did seem certain of was that the fantastic creatures only lived within Kye Rim's rainforest. That much was at least borne out by their lack of mention in any other land's history and legends.

"The cockatrice is a part of our oldest stories," Alcheon explained. "Legend has it that thousands of years ago the ancestors of our nine tribes made an exodus across the Inner Sea. They were all that had survived a great calamity in some far off land."

"The Great Dying," Hyunsu nodded. "A terrible time."

"After many days and nights at sea, they came to a bright and green land, overflowing with life. They went ashore, and found a cockatrice egg within. It hatched when they opened the box, and from it a child was born. He shone with light, and all of the animals within the forest danced with joy to honor him."

"They named him Hyeoknuri," Daehyun now picked up the story, "which means 'Shining World' in the tailless tongues. They built Asadal, our people's first city, upon the spot, and named the land Kye Rim, or 'Chicken Forest'. The boy grew up to be our first seonjo, or sacred ancestor, and the cockatrice has been the symbol of the royal family ever since. They share the same sacred bones. So to harm a cockatrice, is to harm the king's family."

"Ahh, I see," Aela nodded her head in understanding. "My people in Aulertil honor dragons as well. My own city of Cymner's flag bears a red dragon.

"Your tale reminds me of one told to me by the orcs of the Alagar mountains," Hrafngoelir said. "Their legends speak of a terrible war across the sea, against the Silor. It ended when the Dark Elves were laid low with fire and thunder. But the land was shattered, and all were forced to flee or be destroyed with it. The Great Migrations began. The orcs spread out across the world. Some went east across the Inner Sea to the Alagar Mountains. They become the Guzuks, or Mountain Orcs. Others went north, and became the Assina, the Forest Orcs of Hiakwia. The remainder fled onto the steppes to the south, only to return decades later, and become the Rouran, or Desert Orcs of Tiwanaku."

"Aye," Venca spoke up as well now. "We Rasenna tell of the Great War with the Dark Elves as well, when all the races rose up to claim our freedom from them. After the war laid waste to the Westlands, we fled across the Inner Sea too. We landed in Old Perusna, to the east of Kye Rim."

"Everyone seems to have a story from back then," Aela noted. "We Arvern were already living in the heartland of Aulerci, but we tell tales of the Dark War against the Silor, and the terrible cost paid by both humans and the other elves to stop them. It is said that the Mound People, who lived in Aulerci before us, were the direct descendants of the slaves of the Dark Elves."

"My folk know the old tale of the war with the Dark Elves too," Dhasan said as well. "We also fled the southern lands to escape the scourging of the Dark Ones from the world. Even today there are whispers that certain places in Hiakwia are cursed, because the Silor once had outposts there. My mother even used to hush me at night by saying the Dark Ones would come to get me if I was not silent."

"It was the Fomorians in my case," Aela laughed.

"My mother said the frost wyrms would freeze me with their breath!" Hrafngoelir declared.

"My mother said an imugi - a leviathan - would come up from the swamps and swallow me whole!" Alcheon cried.

"My father said the Phereinon would strangle me in my bed." Loria spared an amused glance in the direction of the white-haired swordswoman.

Aela noted that while others were offering up their versions of the boogeymen whom their parents had threatened them into good behavior with, Venca remained silent. Instead the Rasen mercenary rubbed the back of his head, and stared off into the trees. Aela wondered if he could remember anything from his life at all. Or was it all empty doubt?

"What about you Phereinon?" Hrafngoelir directed the talk away from her silent Rasen friend, and to the white-haired swordswoman instead. "What did your parents frighten you with when you were acting up?"

"I never knew my parents," Phereinon said. "My owners told me that if I did not behave, I would be sold to the quarries, and die a slow death of toil and starvation."

"Your… owners?" Dhasan gaped.

All grew silent and stared at the pale woman.

"But slavery has not existed since…" Vesia murmured.

"Since the Dark War," Phereinon finished the Agrigentan's sentence. She turned her scarred features to the empty sky. "The cockatrice has been gone for some time now. Let us move."

[Acadian]

A great deal of wonderfully rich world-building going on here as you share a wealth of well-thought out ‘Aela lore’.

This episode, despite being rife with history and information, flowed impressively from the cockatrice sighting to its significance to the culturally common dislike of the Dark Elves and overthrowing their oppression.

I can’t imagine a more perfect ending to this episode than the stark bits of her history that Phereinon offered. It seems the white-haired swordswoman gave away her quite significant age!

[Renee]

Wow, the situation the villagers face is grim but rather brilliantly engineered by the evil bastage in charge around these parts.

Yeah, it sounds downright horrible.

I like how all these different people, different races and so on, comparing all these different backgrounds to where they grew up and their facets of lore and whatnot. "Well where I came from it was X".... "it was Y where I was brought up..." etc.

Hope that cockatrice don't come back?

This post has been edited by Renee: Dec 11 2018, 04:00 PM

[SubRosa]

Acadian: I definitely worked hard at showing vs. telling in that last segment, where a great deal of information was dumped on the reader. I wanted to make sure it all flowed out through natural conversation.

Phereinon definitely mic-dropped at the very end there! I had fun with that.


Renee: I really enjoyed writing that second half, where everyone is retelling how their parents kept them in line. It gave me a opportunity to show how multi-cultural this group is, and give every one of the Seven at least one thing to add.

Perhaps the cockatrice should hope that Phereinon does not come back...


Chapter 11

"Come Sindeok, spar with me," Dark-Eye insisted. "There are none here who can give me a good workout."

The former nangdo did as his new leader commanded. He knew better than to gainsay the older Teodon. In the short time he had been in the raider company, it had become very clear that when the one-eyed Teodon spoke, everyone leapt. Failure to do so was tragic.

"I will show you how to use the longsword, as the elves do," the black-striped bandit leader said. "When not using a shield, their methods are superior to our own."

Dark-Eye tossed a wooden practice sword to former nangdo. Like the aetherial longsword that Sindeok had witnessed Dark-Eye summon, the weapon stretched nearly five feet long, with almost four feet of that being the blade. He caught the wooden weapon with one hand, then shifted his grip to both hands when he brought the weapon to a guard position.

It was not as heavy as he expected, nor did it feel at all clumsy. Dark-Eye took a few simple, testing strikes at Sindeok's head, and he easily parried them all. He found himself sliding one hand up past the crossguard, to the lower section of the wooden blade. That gave him more control over the long weapon, and Sindeok soon found, more force to his blows as well.

"Do the elves not use the shield at all?" Sindeok asked. Pure bone aristocrats like himself never used them when fighting in duels. It was considered coarse and crude. But during sieges or set-piece battles, shields were far too effective a defense against arrows for anyone to ignore.

"Their armor makes shields pointless," Dark-Eye said. "Even their simplest fighters wear astril, which will stop any weapon of mundane steel. Their greater fighters wear crystal panoplies, which even enchanted blades are hard-pressed to bite."

"Then how can they defeat one another?"

"With the longsword," Dark-Eye declared. "As you know, every part of your sword is a weapon, not just the point and cutting edge. But with a longsword this is far more the case than ever. Half-swording is much more effective, bringing you far more power and versatility. This allows you to accurately stab into even the smallest weak point of armor."

Dark-Eye emphasized his point by not only half-swording with his weapon, but also by spinning it around, so that he led with the grip. He swung the weapon down in a great arc over his head. This brought the crossguard down at Sindeok's skull like a hammer. The former nangdo brought his own longsword up to parry, also half-swording with one hand upon the hilt, and the other near the point of his sword. Sindeok caught the blade of Dark-Eye's sword upon his own, and they stood there, blades locked.

"This is the morte-strike," Dark-Eye said. "The crossguard itself will not pierce armor. But the physical force from the blow will. Strike hard, and you will break the bones of even an armored foe."

Sindeok was about to push his captain's blade aside when the bandit leader suddenly yanked down hard. The black-striped Teodon's crossbar caught upon Sindeok's blade and pulled it down. Thinking quickly, the younger warrior let go with his left hand, allowing Dark-Eye to harmlessly sweep his point down toward the ground. He imagined that if he had not done so, his sword would have been completely stripped from both hands.

Without thinking, Sindeok followed through with the swinging motion of his blade. This brought the point back toward his body, where he gripped it once again with his left hand part way down the blade. Only now he too was leading with the grip. He twisted slightly to the left, and jabbed forward horizontally with the weapon. His pommel nearly smashed into Dark-Eye's face. But the wily Teodon swept his own longsword in a sideways arc, pushing Sindeok's blade aside.

Continuing the same motion, Dark-Eye took a half-step forward. He thrust his point up toward Sindeok's face. Sindeok was as mindful of the bandit leader's feet as he was his point, and took a half step back. He knew that by coming in so close the red-scaled Teodon was probably intending to trip him. But he was able to get just far enough away to avoid such an opportunity, and parried the sudden attack.

With that Dark-Eye stepped back out of range, and lowered the point of his weapon. "Well done," the bandit leader said. "You have good reflexes, and have trained well. No one else here has ever lasted through an exchange of blows with me. Not even your former hwarang."

"It was you who taught him, was it not?" Sindeok ventured. He had witnessed Dark Eye's duel with Daeso, and his former leader had lasted far more than one exchange of blows. Still, he was not about to point this out to his new captain.

Sindeok had joined the Celestial Gallery company after Daeso had become hwarang and taken command. He had only heard whispers of Ugeo - Dark-Eye now - and those were rare slips of the tongue. None of the older Celestial Flight nangdo had seemed to want to talk about their former leader, and when they did it had been forbidding.

"Indeed I did," Dark-Eye declared. "I trained them all. But in my hour of vengeance, they betrayed me, and cast me out. All because I devoured the hearts of those who did this."

The bandit leader raised one finger to his eye patch, and the scarred scales above and below the leather strap.

"Now that you have tasted the sweet meat of victory, you are cast out as well Sindeok," the former hwarang went on. "Your brothers will now hunt you down and kill you. You now only have one course, as do I. We will take our revenge upon those fools in Hansando, especially the gyukon. They will learn to either eat, or be eaten."

At one time Sindeok would have shivered at the words. But now he simply felt the hunger twinge from deep within his belly. He knew that he should be horrified, but now the thought of eating another manaborn filled him with nothing but craving.



Morte Strike and Half Sword Defense

[Acadian]

An instructive display of sword fighting, when the shield hand is free to optimize more of the weapon’s abilities.

You continue to paint Dark-Eye as an imposing foe – and his appetite for foe-eating renders him more so.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: Things have really slowed down in the story at this point. So I was hoping to liven things up a bit with a display of sword fighting. It also gave me an opportunity to look in Sindeok, and see what he and the raiders are up to.


Chapter 12.1

The sun had begun to dip in the sky when they came to the valley in which Agrigento was nestled. Their first sight of it was from the top of a ridge north of the settlement. From this commanding height, they could look down across the entire vale. The oval depression stretched at least a mile through the surrounding hills, and was filled to the brim by a brilliant splash of green trees and brush.

All of that changed at the far end of the valley however. There the woodland had been cleared to create wide fields. This open space was divided into a patchwork of dozens of irregularly shaped paddies. Each was separated from its neighbor by low bunds barely half a foot higher than the brown water around them, and just wide enough for a single person to walk along their muddy tops.

The hamlet itself stood behind the paddies, at the far end of the valley. Hills surrounded the settlement on three sides. Except for one rise that was topped in tall grass, these heights were covered with thick stands of bamboo. A narrow stream trickled down from one of the bamboo-crowned hills, snaked around the village, and meandered along the length of the valley. It gained width as it was joined by other small rivulets draining from the hills surrounding the dale, and vanished to the west. Aela imagined that it might eventually join the Nakdeok, and ultimately empty out into the Bronze Sea.

From the heights where they stood Agrigento reminded Aela of a great fried egg. It stretched out in all directions in an irregular glob, filled by over a hundred homes built of brown thatch. A large open field took up the center of the settlement, like the yolk of the egg. At the far end of this plaza rose a stone building in the Rasen style, stretching at least two stories high and roofed with red-glazed tiles. Another wooden structure of plainly Teodon design rose at another side of the town square. This one was capped sided with colorful pillars, which held up a gracefully curved roof. Finally a third large structure squatted along a third edge of the plaza, this one of simple, unadorned wood.

Aela could see that the perimeter of the village was marked by a line of heavy logs sunk vertically into the ground. The top of each was sharpened to a point to dissuade climbers. Aela sharpened her eyesight with a spell, and noted that the barrier had fallen into disarray. Many of the timbers had fallen, and near the main entrance they had vanished altogether, to be replaced by a thin fence of bamboo.

"You have a large village," Dhasan observed.

"This is small for Kye Rim," Alcheon noted. "Mine was over twice this size."

"How many people are there?" Venca asked.

"We are a new settlement," Vesia explained. "I would say about five hundred people."

"Hmmm," Venca murmured. He thoughtfully rubbed his goatee with an armor-plated hand. "Your defenses have seen better days."

"You see the work of the bandits," Daehyun declared. "The first time the thieving worms came to our village we thought our walls would protect us. We were wrong…"

"Let me guess, elemental magic?" Loria said. "Fireballs will incinerate wooden walls quite easily."

"Aye," Vesia now responded. "But that was the least of it. At one time the walls were on top of a rampart we had built up. A good five feet of solid turf. They used spirits to just level it somehow."

"The bastards pulled the very ground out from underneath us." Ranazu spat onto the dirt at his feet. "Then the wall around the gate went up in flames. We never stood a chance."

"We have not resisted since then," Hyunsu said. "What can simple farmers do against such terrible magics?"

Loria laced his long fingers together and stretched out his hands before him. His knuckles popped loudly, and he grinned. "Terrible magics are our specialty. These bandits have not seen anything like Aela and I."

"No one has seen anything like the elf…" Dhasan murmured under his breath.

Aela said nothing. Instead she stared at the ruins of Agrigento's defenses. As if fifty fighters were not bad enough, the brigands had conjurers and elemental mages as well. That made sense however. Otherwise how could they have intimidated a hamlet of ten times their number? Even given that they were experienced killers and the Agrigentans simple farmers, even ordinary folk could stand tall behind walls.

But simple farmers could not counter elemental magic. Certainly not of the magnitude she witnessed here. Her heart sank. This meant she and Loria would not have the spell advantage. Considering the damage the raider magicians had wrought, she imagined that they would be evenly matched at best.

Clearly this battle would not be won by simple magical or physical muscle. They were going to have to outthink the enemy.

"Well, let's get down there and get a closer look at the land," Venca said. "Then we can get a better idea of how to beat these buggers."

The four Agrigentans led them down from the ridge and into the rainforest. The sky quickly vanished behind a dense roof of greenery. The banyans rose all around. Their grey trunks were long and ropy looking, reminding Aela of strands of clay that had been soaked and stretched out before drying. Then there rose the durian trees, dotted with their large, spiky fruit. A host of other trees that Aela could not even hope to identify joined them to blot her view in all directions. All around their feet rose tall grasses, brilliant green ferns, and brightly colored bromeliads. Multi-hued birds flew through the growth or perched upon the trees, where they were kept company by lizards, serpents, and insects of all varieties. The forest was literally an explosion of color and life.

"I thought this place was supposed to be a swamp. But it looks more like a regular forest, just with different trees and animals than we have up north," Hrafngoelir commented.

"There are swamps in places," Alcheon admitted. "But our land is a large one. Here in the west the land is still somewhat high. Farther east things change. In some places between the hills the water pools in great swamps. Sheets of moss hang from the giant cypress and water tupelos, and nearly blot out the sun entirely. In many places there is no solid ground. There is only mud and water and roots and darkness."

"But in other places there are mountains," Daehyun explained. "Well, perhaps not what you northerners would call mountains." He looked to Hrafngoelir. "But they are high enough for us. Perhaps two or three times the height of these hills around Agrigento. They grow as you go east, toward Old Perusna."

"Aye," Alcheon nodded, "and along the coasts there are great mangrove forests. Excellent places for fishing and hunting."

"All of the best things in the Earth can be found in Kye Rim," old Hyunsu crowed.

In time Alcheon surprised them all when he leapt into the branches of a durian tree, and came back down moments later with one of its giant spiky fruits clutched gingerly in his hands. With a deft motion of his knife, he sliced it lengthwise, revealing a creamy pulp within. Even from several paces away, the stench of it curled Aela's nose. It smelled like a latrine filled with onions and sweaty boots. From the expressions on the faces of her companions, she could see that she was not the only one who was less than enticed by the food.

Yet the young warrior dove into the fruit with zest. The other Teodon stepped up to take pieces themselves, and joined him in the snack. Vesia surprised Aela by doing the same.

"Come and try some." The Rasen woman held out a piece of the yellowish-pulp to the Witch. "It's much better than it smells."

The last thing the Arvern wanted to do was eat the revolting fruit. But she was reminded that many people thought the same about haggis, laverbread, black pudding, and other dishes native to her own homeland. Determined not to discount the strange, smelly fruit just on appearances alone, she steeled her stomach for a taste.

Aela found that the creamy pulp was surprisingly good. It reminded of her of custard, with a strong taste of almonds. After the first dab from the tip of her finger, she eagerly took a palmful of the gooey fruit and devoured it with a gusto that nearly matched that of the others. Still, she wondered if the Teodon ate so quickly to avoid smelling the tasty fruit. It certainly was an incentive to gobble the meal down, rather than take the time to savor it!

"Try some Loria," the Arvern offered some to the elven mage. "It really is good."

"I think I should sooner lick his butt," Loria made a face as he nodded to Dhasan.

"For once I agree with the cream cake." The vulpine waved one hand before his nose. "I would sooner he lick my butt as well!"

"You should be so blessed to enjoy my linguistic ministrations!" Loria murmured with a smile.

That brought a chorus of guffaws from the group as they once again made their way through the rainforest. Aela found herself wiping the sweat from her brow in no time at all. It was even hotter than the Nakdeok River had been. Worse, the humidity in the air felt like a wet blanket wrapped around her body. A glance at the others showed that they were sweating as well. Only the Teodon seemed unmoved by the heat, and Phereinon. As ever, the white-haired woman seemed as cool as a glacier.

The path they followed was only a line of wagon ruts worn down into the ground. It was heavy with growth however, and the ruts were little more than grass-filled depressions. When Dhasan asked about it, Daehyun revealed that this was the route they used to take their wagons to sell their soju. It led from Agrigento to the Nakedok River. From there they took boats like Captain Hesari's down the river to Telsin, and finally cogs or hulks across the Bronze Sea to Veia. From the state of the path, it was obvious that they had not sold any soju in a long time…

When Hrafngoelir asked why they did not just sell it in Hansando or some other local city, Daehyun explained that everyone drank soju in Kye Rim, and every tavern or inn brewed their own. But no one in Rasen cities like Veia made the drink. That made it special, and as Daehyun pointed out, special was always valuable.

Soon the group came to a halt again, when Daehyun raised a warning hand from his position at the front of the column. The soft hiss of weapons being drawn came to Aela's ears. Out of habit, the pattern for her arcane shield popped into her mind. She called up her mana, ready to release it and create the ward at a moment's notice. At the same time she felt out in the aether for the dryads that lived in the forest surrounding them. She would need but an instant to pull one of the tree-spirits into the physical world.

The mercenaries fanned out across the path, armed and ready. Except for Phereinon, whose hands remained empty. Of course from what Aela had seen in Veia, the mystery woman hardly needed a weapon to be dangerous. Aela stepped to the fore with Loria at her side. The Silaine had his hands filled with fire, ready to annihilate anything that crossed them. Ahead of them the Arvern saw what had caused the alarm.

It was a snake, roughly six feet long, that slithered across the path with head raised high up above the ground. Its scales were black in color, but lightened to a shade of cream on the underside of its mouth. Its black eyes reflected the light with a gleam, and seemed as devoid of emotion as an opal.

"Forest taipan," Alcheon observed. "It's venom is especially dangerous to you softskins."

"Best just leave it be," Daehyun advised. "We see them often enough in Kye Rim. They hunt the birds and rodents in the forest. So long as we do not go near, we will not be in danger."

"Let's just leave it alone then," Venca said. Aela noted that his longsword Solagea bore an odd blade. Its black steel narrowed toward the middle of its length, then widened again, only to gently taper once more at the point. She would have sworn it was one of her own people's leaf-shaped swords, but for the black lorcras steel of the Dark Elves of which it was comprised. Not to mention the five foot length of the blade and hilt. Apparently the Arvern had not been the first to use that point-heavy design after all.

Aela also noted that a wolf's head seemed to protrude from the weapon's narrow crossbar. It was set so that it appeared that the top of the predator's skull rose from the side of the blade, and its eyes and long snout seemed to look down along its narrow fuller toward the sword's tip. Etched there on the blade before it was the name Solagea . The elvish word glowed softly, as if the moonlight it was named after shone from the sword itself.

A wolf and moonlight, Aela considered, how appropriate.

Venca sheathed the unusual sword, and took a step back from the snake. "We aren't here to kill every wild animal in the country."

As they waited for the creature to slide off of the path and vanish into the underbrush, Aela noted that Vesia stared at the serpent with hands clenched into fists. The Rasen said nothing, but it was clear that she would prefer to hack the jungle predator into pieces. Aela wondered what grudge she held against the snakes. Then the taipan was gone, vanished into the forest. However, the group was careful to stay near the other side of the road as they passed the spot of jungle it had disappeared into.


Banyan tree

Durian tree

Bromeliads

Solagea

[Acadian]

You really bring the jungle-forest surrounding Agrigento to life here with some wonderfully rich descriptions.

This is surely going to be a bigger challenge than the witch and elf had first thought – particularly after seeing the results of the magicks their foes wield.

Yikes! Time to get busy with battle preparations and hope there is enough time to adequately ready this village to resist the bandit raiders.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: I expanded on the size of the village this time around, and on that of the entire land of Kye Rim. I picture the country as being roughly the size of the UK. So it will have lots of different evironments, not just all swamp. Everything it is getting bigger in this version of the story.



Chapter 12.2

In time they emerged from the rainforest and came out into the rice paddies. The fields were empty of the green stalks of rice plants, and were filled with nothing but muddy water instead. They followed a raised path that wound through the paddies to the hamlet's bamboo gate. Aela could see that the ground still bore the tell-tale scorch marks of flames around the entryway and flanking walls. As she stepped nearer, she partially shifted her senses into the aether. Now she could feel the burns seared deep within the soil as well, where the timbers of the walls had been incinerated all the way down to their bases.

"This was definitely done by elemental magic," Loria echoed her thoughts aloud. "I can feel the marks it left behind."

"Aye," Ranazu grumbled. "The flames seemed to just come from nowhere."

"Well, two can play at that game my friend," Loria vowed. The high elf rolled up the sleeves of his green robe and raised his arms, but Aela stopped him with a shake of her head. This was not the time for showing off with fireballs. Not when they were making their first impression upon their employers.

However, those employers were nowhere to be found. Daehyun and Ranazu pushed open the bamboo gates to reveal empty streets beyond. The seven mercenaries followed the villagers down silent lanes, flanked by tall houses to either side. There seemed to be little organization to the layout of the village. Houses were scattered about like dice tossed from some giant's hand. Small gardens dotted the irregular gaps between homes, and Aela noted vegetables such as basil, ginger, garlic, peppers, chives, and other spices growing within them.

The homes themselves were raised up above the ground upon thick stilts made from straight durian timbers. Their elevated floors were made of hardwoods, walls were cross-stitched rattan, and the tall peaked roofs were of simple thatch. Few of them possessed any windows, and none had more than a single door facing the street. All seemed to have a small porch before their entrance, reachable by wooden steps or notched logs. Upon every one Aela noted a bench or rattan chairs, and several wide bowls. Pairs of sandals or boots were tucked away beneath the benches at some of the homes. Others were bare of footwear.

Aela felt eyes staring at her from all around, and it was not those of the chickens or other livestock that lingered in the streets. The way the other mercenaries turned their heads this way and that, she could tell that they felt it too. The villagers were there. They just were not showing themselves.

They came to the yolk of the egg that Aela had observed from high on the ridge at the edge of the valley: the village square. A small wooden stage rose at its far end, in front of the temple. The shrine's gracefully curved roof seemed to almost float in the air, held up only by brightly colored columns that both paced around the perimeter of the structure, and rose from deeper within. It had no walls, but rather was open to the air, allowing Aela to glimpse into the interior. It was sparsely furnished, and the wide space was dominated by a large stone-rimmed pool in its center, where water rose in a gentle fountain. Aela felt an undine riding the waves, and imagined it might even be the village's guardian spirit.

Across the corner from the temple stood the high, Rasen-style, stone building. Its only windows were high on what must have been the second floor, and the angled roof was made of red-glazed tiles. On the other side of the plaza from the temple, a large building of thick wooden timbers squatted. This was also constructed at ground level as well, rather than raised up on stilts like the villager's homes. From the wide double doors this possessed, the Arvern Witch imagined that it was either a stable or communal storehouse.

Waiting for them on the wooden platform before the shrine was a single Teodon woman. She was covered in green scales along the top of her head and back, which faded to soft brown under her mouth and down her chest. Rows of black stripes crisscrossed her head and fell down her long neck, only to vanish beneath her clothing. Her eyes were bright yellow slits, and unlike the male Teodon, her head was bare of spines. From the luster of her green and brown scales, Aela imagined that she was young, possibly the same age as Alcheon.

The young Teodon woman wore a simple blue robe tied around her waist with an equally simple cloth belt. When she stepped down from the stage Aela saw that she wore blue trousers underneath the knee-length robe, but her feet were bare as she walked across the hard-packed dirt of the square. In one hand she held a small clay jug, and in the other a simple cup.

"Aecha!" Hyunsu exclaimed. The aging Teodon darted from the group with more energy than Aela had ever seen the farmer display. Taking the younger Teodon in his arms, he scolded the girl. "What are you doing? You shouldn't be out here like this!"

"Why, is she in danger from us?" Alcheon's voice betrayed the same bitterness that Aela felt rising within herself. "We came here to fight for you people, and this is how you greet us?"

"You are right," Aecha answered him, "this is not how Agrigento should greet you." Disengaging herself from her father, she crossed the distance to the mercenaries and stood before them.

Aela felt energy flowing around her like a cool stream. The young Teodon was a magician, the local Witch or priestess no doubt. Aela's attention was drawn to a bright spot of power that hung from her neck. There she saw a curious pendant hanging from a rawhide cord. It was a crystal shaped like an hourglass, surrounded by a latticework of delicate bronze all around. Within Aela could see a blue liquid that glowed with a soft light.

It was a dowsing crystal, Aela realized, enchanted to fortify its wearer's water-based magic. That meant that Aecha was probably a water priestess. Aela had learned about both at the Ingenium, but had never encountered either before. Well live and learn, Aela thought to herself, the Earth always had something new to teach.

"I apologize for the behavior of my neighbors," Aecha said. She poured water from the jug she carried into her cup and took a sip. Then she held it out before her. "I am our mudang, and on behalf of Agrigento, I greet you all and extend the hospitality of our village."

The mudang's eyes went to Aela's and lingered there for long moments. Her aura burned brightly, and Aela realized that the Teodon was sensing her power, just as she could feel the mudang's. Then Aecha's eyes moved to Venca, and each of the other mercenaries in turn. In the Rasen's case, it was clearly the Ravenwheel that drew her attention. The artifact radiated so much power that a magician could no more overlook it than a hadrosaur standing on their foot!

"A mudang?" Hrafngoelir whispered.

"She is their water priestess," Loria answered out of the corner of his mouth. "She purifies their wells, moves the water to their fields, enriches it, and charges it with life and good health. She is the soul of their village."

The Light Elf wizard stepped forward and took the cup from the Teodon's hands. He raised it high over his head for all to see. Then he lowered it and took a long drink. "On behalf of all of my comrades, we accept your offer of hospitality and pledge to honor your village, your people, and your ancestors."

Aela could not prevent a small smile at the Silaine. Apparently Loria had learned more than just smuggling at the Ingenium after all!

"Now that we are all friends," Dhasan murmured, "will the others come out?'

They looked around, and found that now both Teodon and Rasenna began to filter into the square from all sides. While they were of different races, the newcomers all seemed more alike to Aela than not. For whether they had scales or skin, hair or spines, they were all stained with the same dirt and mud. They all possessed the same weather-beaten look that came from years of toiling under the hot sun. They all possessed the same calluses, and the same wiry, lean appearance of one who eats just barely enough to get by. Most of all they had the same empty and defeated look in their eyes. Eyes which few of them raised to meet the stares of Aela and the other mercenaries.

"They do not look like much," Venca said in a voice too low to carry far. "I am supposed to make an army out of this?"

"We all fall," Phereinon pointed out. "But we can all rise again."

"And rise to the occasion we all shall!" Loria declared in a loud, bright voice. The Light Elf leapt upon the stage, and had to coax the others to join him there, where the farmers could get a better look at them. Then the gregarious elf began to make florid introductions.

"Meet the most deadly Phereinon," he waved a hand to the pale swordswoman. "She is a master of armed and unarmed combat, philosopher, poet, and naturalist. One who finds value in all lives, great or small."

"The man all in black beside her is Venca," the Light Elf went on. "He is the Champion of Mhorlor - the Goddess of Magic, a seasoned military veteran, and a great general of Rase." Aela noted the sour face that the Rasen made at the introduction.

"This golden beauty next to our champion is none other than Hrafngoelir," Loria continued. "She has come all the way from the frozen north to fight for you. She has made the ravens sing many times over the corpses of her enemies. Now they will do so again over your foes here in Kye Rim."

"This handsome young fellow with yellow and green scales is Alcheon," the Light Elf proclaimed. "He was going to join the hwarang, but turned them down to become a wandering mercenary instead. He said it was more challenging! And besides, he is far too good-looking for them…"

The final, offhanded remark brought a series of guffaws from the gathered villagers. Aela could see that as always, Loria was working the magic of his personality upon the gathered crowd.

"And of course we cannot forget my own partner of many years, the most inestimable Aela," the Arvern magician had to fight to keep a straight face as the elf piled on the accolades. "She is the greatest Witch who has ever lived. She is the master of spirits, healer of all injuries, reshaper of the world, and best of all, she's not married!"

Aela had to stifle a groan when the Light Elf winked to the villagers at the end. As if any of them would care in any case.

"Last, but certainly not least, there is my humble self, Loria" the wizard lowered his head, as if in humility. "As I am sure you can already tell, I do not like to brag. But since we are all friends here, why not?"

Now he struck a dramatic pose, arms akimbo and head held high. "I am a master of the arcane arts, a graduate of the Ingenium, and being an elf, I am naturally a superior being!"

"And so very modest about it all too," Aela murmured out of the corner of her mouth. She was shocked when some of the others heard, and began to laugh.

"You forgot someone!" the villagers began to shout. Some of them pointed at Dhasan's red-furred form. "What about him?"

Loria made a great show of searching here and there for the Asokar warrior, pointedly never looking directly at him however. He lifted one of Hrafngoelir's braids to check underneath, peered behind Alcheon's shield, and even tried to check down the front of Venca's trousers. But the Rasen shook a finger from side to side in front of him, and the Light Elf thought twice before doing that.

For his own part, Dhasan stood aloofly by with arms crossed, and merely stared at the Light Elf without saying a word. Finally, to genuine laughter from the villagers, Loria walked right into him. The wizard pantomimed seeing the Asokar for the first time, threw his arms up in the air, and screamed.

"It's a wolf!" Loria cried.

The Light Elf fled behind Aela, and now Dhasan growled at the wizard, baring long, vulpine teeth. The Arvern Witch wondered how she had gotten herself into this. A glance back at Loria reminded her. Still, she had to admit to herself that her partner's attempt to lighten the peasant's spirits had indeed worked, for now she saw smiles and heard laughter, where just moments before there had been nothing but empty hopelessness.

"All right, all right!" Venca stepped forward, holding his hands in the air to quiet everyone down. "In spite of what you might think, we really are mercenaries. Well, most of us are, and we really are going to fight for your hamlet."

"But we are going to need your help," the Rasen went on. "We cannot fight the raiders alone. You are going to have to join us."

That cut through the villager's mirth like a Skanjr war axe. Now the somber looks returned, and Aela hoped that the Rasen would not destroy the spirit of the villagers, which Loria had worked so hard to raise.

"We will train you," Venca declared. "We will make armor, and shields, and weapons for you. We will repair the village defenses. Then when the time comes, we will stand beside you and fight. We will crush these bandits, that I promise! When this is all said and done, you won't need to ever hire mercenaries again. Because no one will have the sack to threaten Agrigento a second time."



Teodon village house

Teodon village house

[Acadian]

What a delightful episode as we finally arrive in Agrigento!

The villagers may not know how to fight but they certainly can tell when others are approaching and know how to hide. That is a start, at least.

I loved how the Arvern Witch and Agrigenton Water Priestess silently sized up each other’s likely magical prowess.

I grinned throughout the dapper Loria’s skilled introductions as he described the band’s skills with enough mirthful charm to warm up his audience. And the warm up was necessary, for it was with no such light humor that the Seven’s obvious choice for ‘Training Officer’ (Venca) began to spell out the task ahead in his no nonsense manner.

[haute ecole rider]

I continue to enjoy this reinterpretation of the Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven tale.

If I were one of the villagers, I would find Venca’s speech sobering, but bracing. After all, he did promise that the mercenaries would stay with them and teach then want they need to know, make the armor they need, fix their defenses, etc. In other words, the mercenaries would invest in the village. That’s something.

I am looking forward to more.