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Arriving in Norn with a procession of knights was quite different than arriving alone.
Though, from basic reasoning and my own personal experience, arriving anywhere with a procession of knights changed the experience. After leaving camp at the crack of dawn and marching for hours through the brisk morning air, we’d arrived in Norn in fairly high spirits.
As was to be expected, there was still unrest. There were still worries and stories and ideas being thrown around that didn’t particularly bode well for our future, but they were fairly easy to ignore. I’d heard all of them from inside my own head anyway. And with Kye’s innate aversion to the knights and their banter, I hadn’t had to listen that much.
Marching through the forest toward Norn had largely been the same as marching through the plains before it. We’d had a set formation with Bane and his most trusted knights in the front before gradually leading into rangers watching the back. We’d had rotating scouting parties that went ahead of the group to scan for potential dangers. And the only significant difference noticeable to me was the boredom.
Because apparently, having what technically still amounted to an open wound in my shoulder was enough of a reason for Bane to excuse me from scouting. Marching as a procession was simple for me—and it allowed me to fall back into the old knightly routine I’d been so afraid had been lost.
Yet, with the soreness and my body and the injury in my shoulder that was healing far too slowly for my taste, I couldn’t help but be irritable. I couldn’t help but harbor a tiny bit of shriveled jealousy whenever my fellow rangers would switch out for scouting times. Only to leave me walking by myself among the natural ambience.
Once the imposing stone-brick wall had come into view though, my frustration had melted away. The white flame had risen up to flicker in wonder as it watched through my eyes. As it experienced firsthand the elegant stone architecture I’d found myself marveling at all those months ago.
But as opposed to the short hassle Kye and I had received at the gate before, we stormed into Norn without halt. Not a single guard gave us a cursory scan or shot us a curious glance. They all seemed to know without having to be told. Which was a good thing, as far as I was concerned. But the looks of relief I could see behind some of their stoic masks only picked at my dread again.
Though, as we sped into Norn’s streets, I didn’t even have time to ponder it. We marched forward without any holdups. No stopping. No chatting. No gawking at architecture.
And as I pushed my sore legs to keep up, I noticed that even Kye was silent. Even her lips were pursed shut as she stared straight ahead. A sort of determination sparkled in her eyes. It was as if the fact that we were here had forced her to disregard her reluctance.
Something I should’ve probably done as well, I told myself. After all, we really were here. We were in Norn now. This was it.
There was no more turning back.
Trudging on over the paved and straight-edged streets though, my worries only barely dragged me down. Glancing at the city around us, it reminded me too much of my glory days. Too much of the triumph and achievement and relief I’d experienced every time I’d return to Credon. Back when I would’ve seen hundreds of cheerful faces that each knew they would be safe another day.
Around us, it was much the same thing. With the only difference being that even though we’d come to protect, we hadn’t succeeded yet. However, despite the rundown buildings and boarded up shops that were a little too much of a far cry from the flourishing city I’d seen months before, the citizens all seemed to perk up. As we marched by, their pale and weary faces became sparkling and wonderous.
They knew why we were here too, then. They were expecting us to succeed.
A hitch caught in my breath as my gaze glided over a child staring. I smiled at the little boy, sparing half a wave before the procession dragged me onward. But even after he’d left, I couldn’t get that expectant gaze out of my mind. We had a responsibility now, I reminded myself. That was why we’d agreed to come in the first place.
Responsibility. It was something I hadn’t truly felt in a while. And with it pressing down on me so suddenly, I didn’t quite know how to feel. The white flame didn’t quite know how to feel. It just floated quietly as I thought, warming me as I rebuilt the resolve I’d constructed back in Sarin.
I’d known about the responsibility from the start. I’d agreed to it.
So I was going to do my best to fulfill it.
Before I knew it, our formation was slowing. We stopped our oppressive pace and approached a large building. In the blink of an elegant, stone-carved eye, we’d arrived at our destination.
“What is this?” I asked, my voice more of a whisper on the wind.
Beside me, Kye only furrowed her brow. She looked up at the exceedingly extravagant structure and let her lips part wordlessly.
“The Temple to the World,” Lionel answered without even turning around. Tearing my gaze from the tall stone columns, I glanced at the charming ranger. He stood at the front of our ranger group and just behind the knights he’d been idly talking to since we’d left camp that morning.
“Really?” a voice asked. I was faintly surprised it wasn’t my own. Turning, I saw Kye widen her eyes at the ranger who still wasn’t looking back.
“That’s where we were supposed to meet up with the remaining force, at least,” Lionel said, twisting on his heel and rolling his wrist. He was doing a poor job at hiding the excited smile on his face.
“Shit,” Kye muttered, her pace slowing a hair as she stared at the building. “I’d never seen it, I guess. I didn’t know it would be…” She relaxed her shoulders. “Like this.”
I nodded silently, feeling much the same way as my eyes dragged over the temple again. All in all, the nature of it did make sense. Staring at its wide stone foundation and columns that held up a roof extending out from a glittering marble dome, I would’ve been surprised if it had been anything else. Anything else than something that matched its grandeur. Something that honored the world itself.
My body moved on automatic as we approached, following only a step removed from the rangers in front of me. I dragged my gaze smoothly over the building’s front. I marveled at it for a moment. Allowed myself to fall into the wonder and curiosity the white flame offered me in spades.
At the top of the building, etched into the section of the roof that extended forward, was a mural. There was no other way to describe the intricately carved scene. At the bottom of the mural was a singular dot chiseled in the stone, and from it spawned what could only be described as the entirety of nature. From desert dunes to wild forests to mighty mountains, the scene was carved with such intricate detail I almost lost myself in it.
Almost, though. As I watched the monument carefully and connected it with memories of similar monuments my people had constructed back in Credon, something nagged at me.
And it turned out I wasn’t the only one.
“Why are we regrouping in their temple?” a voice asked, soft and sheepish.
I widened my eyes and looked down, my gaze following to the ranger of ash-brown hair that was nearly latched to Lionel’s side. Her eyes were narrowed and curious, and her fingers were curled tight in a fist that showed white at the knuckles. Lanelle, I remembered—or Laney as she preferred to be called.
Lionel shrugged, lowering his head to the shorter ranger beside him. “I don’t know.” He glanced out, hushing his tone. “But they take worship of the World Soul way more seriously here. Maybe they’re meeting in here to gain its favor.”
Briefly, part of my mind tugged toward the bag slung over my shoulders. At the mention of the World Soul, I once again became acutely aware of the presence of the map.
Laney nodded slowly, obviously unconvinced. But at Lionel’s tilted smile and sparkling gaze, her features softened. She unclenched her fist and inched half a pace closer to him.
Raising an eyebrow, I glanced over at Kye. The huntress was already smirking as we pushed forward through the massive stone pillars without stop.
Not even the majesty of the temple, it seemed, was enough to hold us up. Before I knew it, the wide stone entryway was passing around me and the high-strung, tense commotion inside hit my ears like an oncoming avalanche.
I winced carefully as something brushed up against my shoulder. Twisting, I noticed it was Kye’s hand. But before I could open my mouth to complain, she was already mumbling curses while glaring back at the knight that had stormed right past her.
Instead I just let it go and scanned the room, trying to take stock of the sea of chaos. We were here, sure, but that didn’t mean business was done. There could’ve been more than three dozen knights in the vast building as far as I was concerned, and I had a feeling we were eventually going to have to deal with all of them.
Flicking my eyes around, I got a feel of the space first. Directly from the entryway, a lined and polished stone path led all the way to the back of the temple. And above the rows of seating, I saw it culminate in what I could only assume to be an altar.
But before the white flame could even grasp its tendrils around the sight, we’d already turned. Our procession had veered off of the main path and toward a more secluded area of the temple that—while still large—wasn’t nearly as chaotic or echoey.
In the center of the sectioned-off stone room sat a table. Wide and sturdy, the table was sprawled over with pieces of paper, scattered weapons, and other various utensils. I recognized it in an instant. A battle table, then. Bane must’ve led us in the correct direction after all.
And as I flicked my eyes to the corners of the airy room, I noticed the wooden chairs. I saw the other pieces of comfort that were tucked away as to not get in the way. All of the knights standing around the table were standing anyway—talking in hushed, serious tones that filled the space with a sense of importance.
Unconsciously, a smile grew on my face. My hand fell to the hilt of my blade and I straightened up, feeling instantly at home in the room.
“It’s an orgy of urgency in here,” Kye muttered beside me. I raised an eyebrow and darted my gaze to her. She narrowed her eyes. “They’ve been at this for a while it looks like.” She squared her shoulders. “Doesn’t seem that we’ll be getting much downtime then.”
I nodded, recognizing the weight in her tone. And pushing past the sneer she was fighting off her lips, I looked around the space we’d filed into. Around us, I saw more than half a dozen knights in various states of preparedness. Some in full armor trimmed with blue—some in almost none. Some with weapons, some completely unarmed. But all of them were moving in tense, calculated movements.
And I even recognized one of them.
From the far end of the table, Lady Amelia looked up. Her familiar face split into a relieved grin as we hauled up to the table. She glanced down at the papers in front of her only one more time before rising out of constant preparation and walking over to us.
Before she could say anything, Bane stepped up. “Lady Amelia. It truly is great to see you again—and so soon with the supporting force Marc provided.”
At once, the knight commander’s face dropped. She furrowed her brow and flicked eyes from Bane to the rest of us. Nobody in our group of barely more than a dozen gave her anything. Staring back at Bane, she hesitated.
“Yes… It is good to see a familiar face again, especially along with the assistance we have been so desperately waiting for. But, ah.” The knight commander forced a smile. “Marc left you in charge of his supporting force?”
Bane’s lips cracked a smug grin. “Of course. The Lord of Sarin saw fit to provide adequate leadership to this envoy. Even though he knew we would fall under new direction after arriving in Norn.” The man tilted his head slightly to Lady Amelia.
I could see her struggle at fighting a scowl back. But after a moment, she just shook her head. “Right. Leadership is important, no matter how brief. A lapse of it can have disastrous consequences. But now that you’re here, you will be under my direction.”
“Taking orders from a knight again,” Kye mumbled under her breath. Too quiet for anybody to hear. Or, that was probably what she’d thought.
I leaned closer to her without taking my eyes off the knight commander. “At least this one is half-competent.”
Kye chuckled, her lips splitting into a wry smile. I grinned myself, straightening back up and watching as Bane stepped to the head of our group and let Lady Amelia speak again.
She looked visibly relieved by his absence. Then, shaking her head, she gave a cursory scan over our group. She nodded at a few of the knights—the ones with the blue trim still on their armor—and then raised an eyebrow at us.
Lionel inclined his head in silent respect. The rangers around him followed his lead. And I squared my gaze with the knight commander, offering a tight smile before bowing my head slightly too. Kye gave the acknowledging gesture a half-hearted effort before just leaning back on her heel and pursing her lips.
“Right,” Lady Amelia finally said. “A supporting force of highly capable knights as well as Sarin’s own rangers, then.” Her smile ticked upward without a hint of hesitation. “Such variety can only be a strength to us.”
Kye mumbled something foul. This time, I tried to pretend I hadn’t heard the words.
“Lady Amelia?” a new voice asked, piping up with as much eagerness it could respectfully pack in. Fyn, I recognized as the cheerful knight stepped forward and inclined his head. The knight commander smiled fondly at him, folding her arms to listen. “We’ve traveled two days now—on foot from Sarin, only to arrive here and…” Fyn hesitated.
Lady Amelia raised an eyebrow. “There isn’t time for hemming and hawing. Spit it out.”
Fyn nodded briskly. “What now?”
“Ah,” she said as though remembering our situation herself. Briefly, she glanced back at the papers she’d been pouring over when we’d entered. “We need to get you all caught up on the plan. It has changed slightly from the last time you were likely informed.”
She nodded silently to herself, her lips pressed shut. There was more she wasn’t saying. I could see it clearly in the tense lines at the corners of her eyes. But as she walked back to the head of the table and gestured for the rest of us to gather around, I didn’t question it.
At once, the knights talking with each other at the table straightened up. They looked toward their commander and only got a curt gesture of her head toward the doorway. They got the message in short time, grabbed what little they’d left on the table, and left the room wordlessly to join the chaos of preparations happening in the larger temple’s space.
And as soon as they were gone, Lady Amelia looked at all of us in anticipation. Her glare forced Bane into action, and before we knew it, we’d crowded around the battle table. After far too much pushing, shoving, and bitten-off curses, we organized ourselves as efficiently as it was going to get.
Kye folded her arms alongside me, flicking her eyes in obvious frustration across the knights at the other end of the table—Lionel among them. Beside the charming ranger was, as always, Laney. And pushed up next to me and Kye were the other two rangers Lionel had brought along that looked way more peeved at the fact that they were separated from him than they should’ve been.
At the head of the table, Lady Amelia simply stared out at us until we settled. As soon as we did, Bane carved out his spot on one side near to her and nodded. “Down to business, then?” he asked.
Lady Amelia grunted once, the soft sound echoing off the smooth stone walls with more than a little amusement. “Right,” she said, her voice carrying like hard steel. It cut off all remaining murmurs. “My knights are already aware of everything I have to say, and I am sure you would rather rest than play catch up all day. So I will try to make this brief.”
I nodded and stiffened my posture, watching the knight commander carefully. She took a deep breath and spared a glance down at the papers still in front of her. Following her gaze, I saw what looked to be a letter of notice along with a list of supplies. And as I scanned the rest of the table, it was covered in like materials.
Letters. Charts. Organizational diagrams filled with names that I could only assume belonged to knights. Lists of weapons, people, and supplies. It looked almost exactly like the battle tables I’d poured over in preparation in my past life. Well, with the exception of a map.
But I knew better than to ask about that.
“Returning Knights of Norn,” Lady Amelia started, tilting her head toward the knights among our party still with the blue trim on their armor. “Newly minted Knights of Sarin.” She gestured in the same way toward the other of the opposing sects of knights that had held far more bitterness back in Sarin. “And Sarin’s own Rangers.” Lady Amelia spared a curt nod to us. “As I said, my forces here already understand how our plan has shifted, but you do not. We do not have much time—and I find it imperative to inform you all that I will be directing this mission.” She hesitated. “As Norn’s interim knight general.”
In an instant, murmurs began. Soft and more curious than worried, they made their way around the table through the line of knights. Namely, however, they skipped all of the rangers who—just like me—were unaware of the significance of her words.
There was that term again, though. That title that Marc had advertised for himself. He’d been a knight general before accepting the position as Lord of Sarin. The knight general of Veron, I remembered. Another one of the mountain states. But that recognition didn’t change the fact for me—or for any of the other rangers—that the term itself meant nothing.
In Credon, our knightly forces had been directed at the base level by knight commanders. And higher than that, they’d been directed by the king himself, his royals outside of the capital, or high-knights like myself.
I narrowed my eyes, a question rising to my tongue.
“You are knight general?” a voice asked before I could. All eyes in the room shifted to Bane. The man paled at the attention but shook it off to continue. “W-What happened to Sir Darrus?”
I raised my eyebrows, moving my eyes to Norn’s new knight general and tracking her expression. That name—Sir Darrus. I didn’t recognize it, but something told me it was important. And judging by the way Lady Amelia’s eyes tightened as she stiffened up, my assumption was correct.
“Sir Darrus was set to lead our incursion against the cult, but…”
“But what?” Bane asked, his face reddening more than I’d thought possible for the vapid man.
Lady Amelia shot him a glare. Bane shrunk back in short time. “They have been increasingly aggressive lately,” she said, trying to force her words not to sound hollow. “Aggressive enough, even, to come after our knights simply on the periphery of the city.” All eyes fixed on the armored woman, who only clenched her jaw and continued. “He was organizing with forces to set up a guard and they came stronger than anyone expected. Few knights survived the assault. Sir Darrus was not one of them.”
Cold silence took the room, suspending us all in mid-air. I blinked, my lips parting at the weight of the words still echoing off the walls. And after a moment, I regained myself. I felt able to take a breath after learning about the death of someone I hadn’t known.
It took far longer for the knights around me.
“He died?” Fyn asked. I turned to him instantly. The normally cheerful man wore a painfully weak smile as he tried to stay straight-faced.
Lady Amelia nodded. She didn’t allow herself any other words besides that. Probably for fear of spoiling the quiet minute of mourning she knew the knights had to experience.
And as the reality of it churned through my head, it wasn’t only the knights, either. The white flame reacted as well. It flared violently against the concept of death and surged against the inside of my skull. I winced at its white-hot presence, trying to fight it back. But it wouldn’t calm.
Fractured images appeared in front of my eyes. In front of me, it was dark. Rain was pounding down on a rough cobblestone road and I was staring straight through it. At a house, I realized. One secluded in the trees just off the side of the road; some said it was older than the town itself.
Slowly, the image rushed up in fractured pieces. My view shifted from the street, to the entrance of the house, to inside it. Somehow, I recognized the place intimately. Almost as if I’d just been there yesterday.
Other people ran into my vision as well. They were asking me questions in soft tones and trying to calm me down. Saying something about how sorry they were. Offhanded and useless reassurances about my safety. Condolences for my parents. I didn’t care about any of it.
Gradually, the image skewed even further until it descended into darkness. It swirled around me like a void for only the moment. Until something changed in it. A glint of light off metal. The form of a scythe.
I coughed, taking a step backward and shaking my head as I regained control of my body. I quelled the white flame with my will. Finally, it listened to my calls. It stopped crackling wildly in rage and retreated to the recesses of my mind.
A hand on my shoulder. I turned, my eyes widening and filling with Kye’s confused look. She stared at me as if I were crazy, only barely hiding the shimmering concern in her eyes. And as I remembered where I was—the temple and the battle table we were all standing around, I realized why.
“You okay?” she whispered.
“Yeah,” I said unconvincingly. My fingers wrapped around my blade’s hilt as I stepped back to the table. I shrugged Kye’s hand off and directed my attention forward again.
Luckily, nobody else at the table had noticed my movements. None of the knights, anyway. From across the table, I saw Lionel eyeing me curiously. I only waved him off.
Then, however, the long moment of silence had to come to an end. At the head of the table, Lady Amelia caught her stride back and glared out at all of us. She didn’t even attempt to hide the tempered rage in her eyes. But we all knew it wasn’t at us. At that moment, we all knew exactly why the plan had changed.
“We have lost too many lives due to the cult’s recent savagery,” she said. Her tone came smooth and controlled. “Too many knights. Too many apothecaries and merchants. Too many civilians and innocents. Their magic has been stronger than we expected. Their promises have turned out too reliable to ignore.” She paused, taking a breath. “We cannot stand to be reactive anymore. We must hit them where it hurts most and make sure they cannot inflict more harm they have already.”
I furrowed my brow. My eyes locked on the new knight general as she spewed cautious venom. As far as I knew, the cult was dangerous. The stories and my own experience with them were enough to persuade me of that. But… promises? What promises had they made that had come true?
Memories of months back flashed. Memories of Keris nearly burning us all alive as he warned us over and over of her ire.
It hurt to even think about now. I gritted my teeth, fear rising back up and waves of anger washing in from the back of my head.
“I have made the decision that no longer can we assume that we will simply weaken them and be done with it.” Lady Amelia couldn’t hide her scowl any longer. “Our forces for the incursion will be larger than planned. We will form a legion and march—within two days time.”
The armored woman grinned at the end of that, her normally-stoic face betraying flurries of emotion. She had changed since the last time I’d been in Norn, I noted. But, well, so had things in the city itself.
But that didn’t make the finality of what she’d said any easier to swallow. As it processed, the worries found the perfect opportunity to break back in. They asked questions that I didn’t know the answers to and only increased the burden of responsibility.
Now it was spread out over more sets of shoulders, but with the weight of it, it still wasn’t easy to carry.
A sour taste fell upon my tongue as silence took the room. As I could only assume everyone else did the same thing as me and considered what our new leader had said. We’d all signed up to come on this journey—we’d signed up for support. But things had changed since then, apparently, and now we were getting thrust into something more severe?
It didn’t sit well with me. And with the most glaring question sticking out like a sore thumb in my head, I almost considered giving in to the doubt.
I didn’t, of course. Instead, I raised my head and scoured the faces in the rest of the room. Aside from the confident expectancy painted on Lady Amelia’s face, everyone else looked… contemplative. That was the nicest word for it, at least. Some of them looked thoughtful, some looked scared, and Bane appeared downright ghostly at the end of the table.
His lips twitched with a question. Yet, each time it rose up, he would bite it off.
It was the same question I had. I was sure of it. So, instead of waiting for somebody else to gather the gall to ask it, I stepped forward.
“Two days isn’t much time,” I started, my voice carefully calm.
Lady Amelia shifted her gaze to me. Her eyes narrowed as she looked over my blue uniform. “No. It is not—but we cannot afford to waste time at this stage. We will march out then. It is not a short journey.”
There it was. I sneered. “It isn’t? Well, where exactly are we marching to?”
Recognition dawned on the knight general’s face. She nodded shallowly. “The point of assault is a long way out through the mountains. Maybe a thousand paces past Ord.”
I blinked, my mind spinning for a second as I tried to think of a follow-up question. But too many came to mind. About the distance, the nature of our destination, and the other city she’d mentioned that I’d never heard anything about.
Kye picked up the slack for me. “Past Ord? What do cult dealings that far out have to do with the safety of Norn?”
Lady Amelia stared harshly. “At this stage, everything.”
“How do you know the cult has an outpost that far anyway?” Kye asked. I didn’t miss the way her eyes flashed dangerously or the way her fingers curled into a fist.
Lady Amelia furrowed her brow in confusion. “No. You misunderstand. We are not simply going after her cult anymore.” Our leader smiled. “We are attacking Rath herself.”
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