#essedri

I made my way to the stairs, practically dragging the dazed dynamancer. She was heavier than she looked, especially with that armor. The Drakar warrior had apparently assumed command of the Crossbred, setting them to various tasks – Avians working in teams to drift Marinians down to the water and seize a ship, Lycans to help clear a path, Ursings to help carry the wounded. I was more than happy…

There was a thunderclap, a rush of wind, and the sound of glass, followed by a profound silence.

Holding Essedri tighter to make sure we were still in the land of the living, I cracked open an eye to see Candidius had been replaced by a young woman in gleaming green and gold armor, teeth bared and eyes blazing – wisps of light swirling about her with an almost tangible glamor.

Trinisa?

Tearing my…

Knife’s Edge

I was forced to my knees, the pain bringing a bit of clarity with it, and I looked up to see the head priest gazing down at me, clad in his mantle of cold moonlight, his vaguely-seen visage pale and twisted like the statues in the hall, features uncanny in the unnatural illumination. Inhuman, almost.

One thing I didn’t have any trouble seeing was the mirror-bright blade of Sa’Lithra hovering mere…

“So let’s say Oresida is waiting over here, and the Avians have blankets…”

I made the changes, rearranging a dead beetle and two pieces of lint with a string between them.

“That gives the Marinians a chance to strike. Then, when the next pair arrive, we douse the lights, with the Lycans flanking from either side…”

Two slivers of fingernail pounced on their hapless prey, two buttons blinded by…

“So,” Howler said the next morning, crouching down in front of us. “The Bramblepack is part of the Allfolk’s Alliance, but people have been pushing back against the Church for a long time, and we help where we can.”

Essedri nodded, but as she clearly knew this already, she was paying more attention to her breakfast. We’d woken up to find the Lycans cooking a rabbit they had caught, and were now…

The Chariot… the Lyre… Serri’s Lantern… and Eitra’s Eye glittering brightly in the north, of course, the undeviating axis of the heavens. I had always felt a strange sort of yearning while staring at the stars, as if the constellations were calling me to some distant horizon…

But as always, I had other tasks to tend to.

With a sigh, I directed my attention earthward once more, concluding my…

“I swear it’s just around this bend,” I said, holding back a branch so the others could pass.

Valentia stepped forward and pulled it the other way, holding it herself. Her eyes narrowed as they met mine. “That is what you said about the last one, hmm?”

“Listen, I haven’t been here in a while. It’s coming back to me. And just think – if I’m having this much trouble finding it, nobody else is…

“It’s all a matter of balance,” Essedri explained.

“You don’t say,” I drawled, more sarcastically than might be good for my health. “Pray, Scholar Shrewdly, what other wisdom have you to share? Is the ocean wet? Why do birds fly? How far away is the sky?”

“It will be if a little further away if you don’t pay attention,” she replied smartly, playing the game even if she hadn’t heard the folk story…