Part 25
Jake's POV
Landfall for the ship never happened; why would it on a secret mission? Instead, we got a few miles away from land, just enough for us to fly there. The squad was flying low and close to the water, so close I could taste the salt in the air, even through Chariot's wind shield. Careful not to be seen, we waited until night, and the ship never came within visual distance of the mainland; the Island of Taldre. The only light around was the moon, and the faint glow of the runes from Chariot, which I'd covered with a tarp for now. Captain Gigoales placed us into a formation, and forbid anyone from using magic to prevent any risk of detection by patrols. Silently, each of us flew in the dark, until a whisper from the Captain ordered us to land in the water and wait for a patrol to pass by. The blue of their feathers blended in with the water, but I had to send Chariot away, and tread water until the Captain gave the all clear; which was more difficult with only one hand.
If you've never seen a Neame swim, you're missing out, because it is a very funny sight. At first, you might expect them to rest in the water like ducks, geese, but nope. They just float there like drowned parrots. At least their blue feathers blended in, except for Lieutenant Datahu, who had to submerge her white and gray body into water, with only her beak sticking out, while the others used their wings to cover her. This far offshore, the waves were manageable, if a bit tall from the recent storm. Everyone was already wet from the splashing waves, but now we were all dripping. I never saw the patrol, but the Captain said it was a squad of four, flying high.
By the time we made it safely and undetected to the shore, everyone seemed tired, and looked like wet feathered rats. "I smell like the sea." Nine mumbled.
"Flying with wet feathers must be hard." I said, pulling my shirt off and ringing it out, using my knees in place of my left hand, and then sending Chariot away.
"Indeed, and it makes us too loud." The Lieutenant said. "Time for a sand bath, squad." 'Sand bath' was a type of training I'd watched them do a few times at base. It was a method for quickly drying off, so that you can resume flying, or to hide yourself from familiars who track by scent.
A few muffled moans echoed out, and they all fell flat to the ground, spread their wings, and flapped them until their whole bodies were covered in sand. It was quite a sight. A minute later, the Captain straightened himself out. "Alright squad, summon your familiars, and begin recon. Fourteen, you are on watch. Familiar Sentinel, avoid using your flying 'Chariot for this. The foliage here isn't thick enough to hide you, unlike on the Island of Sangu. It will stick out too much."
"Captain, without his rune creation, he is much slower. Perhaps too slow for recon duty. I suggest he stays in the dugout for now." Lieutenant Datahu suggested.
The Captain thought for a moment. "Agreed. Suma, you are on watch. Fourteen, summon your familiar once the dugout is finished. Sentinel, you stay in the dugout until it is time to move."
"Yes, sir." I said. Immediately, we all got to work digging out a pit underground, far away from the shore line, and hidden in the forest. I made sure to make the sleeping area as wide as possible. The dugout trench on Sangu was miserable, and nearly gave me a panic attack getting in and out of it without being summoned. The excess dirt we piled up, and used it and local foliage to blend the entrance into the area. Once that was done, and well hidden, Suma summoned me into the base, since the entrance was too small.
Inside the dugout, I settled down alongside everyone else, who had already summoned and sent their familiars out. Fourteen broke the silence first. "So Jake, or do you prefer Sentinel? Your master calls you both, sooo…"
"Jake is fine. Sentinel is more of a legal name than anything."
"Legal name? What do you mean? Do you also have an illegal name?" Fourteen asked, surprised.
"No… what's an illegal name?"
"It isn't an illegal name!" Suma suddenly shouted, sounding very defensive. "I would never!"
"I also have been curious about this." Lieutenant Datahu said. Even the Captain nodded in quiet agreement.
"It's the name my mum gave me. And Sentinel is the name Suma gave me when I became her familiar." I explained, a little confused.
"Wait… you were renamed, but you still use your former name, rather than your current one?" Fourteen asked, shocked. Lauric glanced my way, rolled his eyes, and went back to ignoring me.
"Uh, yeah? I think of Sentinel as a kind of government name here, and Jake as the name my friends call me."
"Aside from whatever a government name is; Suma, how did you manage to rename a Vi- I mean…" Nine started to ask, but stumbled over the word 'Viking' and glanced at the dirty look I was giving him. "…a powerful familiar such as Sen… Jak… uh?"
"Jake is fine." I said.
"How did you manage to rename Jake?" Nine corrected himself.
"Well, he had no magic when we met. That made it easier." Suma said. Captain Gigoales, Lieutenant Datahu, Nine, and Lauric didn't react much to that, they already knew, but Fourteen looked as close to slapped maceral as a Neame could.
"No magic? As in, he could not use spells, or that he simply lacked training?" Fourteen asked.
"None. My world doesn't have any." I said.
"But… your spells are unbelievable…" Fourteen asked, dumbfounded.
"Thank you?" I said, not sure if it was a compliment.
"Then, just renaming you was enough to give you such powerful mana?"
"Well… uh…" I didn't know how to answer him, without telling him that I also learned from watching the memories of a dragon and a real Viking. "No… I just figured it out really. My world has science, so that helped."
"Alright squad. Our familiars should be far enough away to begin recon. Everyone connect with them, and begin search-pattern-one." Captain Gigoales said. I sighed in relief. Suma went outside to keep watch, and everyone else connected to their familiars. "Sentinel, if you need to use magic, it should be fine so long as you stay underground. But keep the spells small and simple. You should remain undetectable that way. Only use it if you need to though."
"Yes, sir." I said. "Would a summoning spell be okay?" He said it was, and connected to his own familiar. Everyone took various positions when connecting. Lauric, Captain Gigoales, and Lieutenant Datahu were sitting, with the only things denoting that anything was different about them being their glowing eyes, whereas Fourteen and Nine were laying like dead bodies sprawled out in the dirt. Summoning my bag, I pulled out my phone to listen to music, and eat. Turing it on, what I expected to find was a fully charged phone, more food, and a new set of clothes. What was actually inside was nothing.
"Guess it is pretty late… or early. She probably hasn't had time to put everything back." I mumbled, and sent my bag back. Now without anything to do, a nap seemed the best idea.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lauric Isbala's POV
Loyalty, my Black Serpent familiar, slithered quickly through the grass, guided by my commands. At the moment, I had opted to allow Loyalty to retain control of its body, and make its way on its own, while I simply watched everything through its eyes. Weaving through the foliage and brush, it eventually came upon a river, and began to follow it at my order. However, it instinctively keeps a distance from the water's edge, as it cannot swim. While moving, the patterns on its skin change to match the surroundings, hiding itself as much as possible.
Suddenly, a shadow from above moved along the ground, sending panic through Loyalty's mind. It tried to hide in a patch of tall grass growing near the riverbank, but I forced it to turn and face the source of the shadow. Three Neame were flying in a tight formation, and perhaps due to Loyalty's camouflaged hide, had seemingly not yet noticed him. If they had, then they would have immediately attacked him from above, knowing that he was a familiar as Loyalty's species are not native to this island at all; it would be like seeing a Leviathan in a desert. Under my direct control now, I followed the three, allowing Loyalty to control its camouflage to keep us hidden. Although my physical body was safely hidden underground in my squad's dugout, losing Loyalty would be inconvenient, and perhaps even sad.
They landed outside a village, and summoned their familiars, Vedel Cats. A mid-sized, dangerous, and decently strong familiar. However, their sense of smell was the real threat now. Loyalty's eyes are not great, so I'd kept it close to see, but these Vedel possess a powerful sense of smell. Pulling Loyalty back, I settled for a bit of blurriness rather than allowing it to be caught. The three rode their familiars into the village, and were met by only a single Neame, who summoned a crate to his side. One of the Neame left their familiar, and inspected the contents of the crate. Meanwhile, the other two surrounded the single Neame, but made no move against him. Once the third Neame was satisfied, it cast a spell on the crate, and sent it away by unsummoning it. Afterward, the three Neame left without incident, and the single Neame returned to its home.
(A tax collection, perhaps?) I wondered. Once they'd gone, I used Loyalty to investigate further, sneaking it into the village's fields. There I found that it was a farming village, growing seeds and raising low-grade familiars. None of the familiars were high quality. Just beasts of burden, meant to be used in field work, or sold to those who could not perform summoning spells. None of them were considered combat familiars, or familiars meant to display some kind of status. While searching, I also found evidence of a battle outside the village. A Southern Union soldier's silver emblem chain, worn on their bodies to indicate their rank, just as our soldiers wear pins, laying in a patch of burnt grass. The ground around the chain was also greatly disturbed, like a Nature-Magic spell had been cast. Nearby was a small and freshly planted death tree forest.
From there, I began to form a theory. (Three Neame, using lower grade familiars, sent on a menial task. These three could represent the overall state of the bulk of the SU's forces, on this island at least. They were well fed, and their masters seemed well preened. Which indicates they have already crushed most of the resistance forces, and are not actively fighting.) I sighed internally, this was not a good sign. Not for the squad's mission, or my own. Unfortunately, the three were too far for me to gauge their mana, otherwise I could form a more complete understanding of the SU's average force. (Either way, it is safe to say that this island is well and truly captured, and under their command now.)
Releasing my control over Loyalty, I gave him new instructions to continue searching the area, and resumed passively watching. Allowing my mind to wonder, I came to a single thought. (Returning without him would be difficult to explain to his family, but under these conditions, it is unlikely he survived. Even as skilled with words as he has become since his assignment here, surviving this invasion would be nearly impossible.) I thought of my friend, assigned to be a spy in these lands, while my house aided him in watching over his daughter during his absence. He and the child's mother stayed together, even after the young one's hatching, a rarity… but still… (The spirits of these survivors have likely been broken by the Southern Union's violence, so we should not expect much help from them, if any. But maybe… hopefully you managed to survive.) I feared the worst, but no matter what, intended to discover Von-Pac's fate.
Part 26
Jake's POV
Ever been woken up because of screaming? It isn't fun. In a jolt, I was awake. Wish I could say that my armor was on and a weapon in my hand in a split second, but that would be a lie. Rather, there was a lot of floundering and confusion for a solid five or six seconds before I even considered it. "What's going on?!" I yelled. After a moment of fear, the screaming stopped. There were no explosions, no spells being cast, none of the others even seemed to notice what was happening. Actually, only Nine was even moving. He was still on the floor like he was earlier, but now he was flopping around, trying to get up. He'd been the one yelling.
"My… my familiar!" He whined.
"What? What happened?" I asked, still groggy from being woken up.
"My familiar died…"
"Just now?"
"Yeah. I was guiding him through a forest area, and he got attacked by wild animals. My connection with him was just suddenly cut off while he was fighting." Nine said, in shock.
"Oh. I'm sorry, buddy." Realizing I wasn't about to be able to go back to sleep, I rolled onto my butt and leaned against the wall.
"It all happened so fast. Maybe… it's still alive?"
"Ummm… maybe, but I don't know much about how familiars work… ironically." His familiar was probably dead, but how was I supposed to know for sure? Didn't wanna hurt his feelings. But still. "Does the connection sever for any other reasons?"
"…No." He sighed.
"How long has he been your familiar?"
"Since about a year before I joined the Drakes."
(Okay, so two years my time.) I thought. "I'm really sorry, Nine. Losing a pet… uh, familiar… can be hard."
"Thank you, Jake. I just wish I'd taken you up on your offer to name him." Not knowing what to say, I stayed quiet. As Nine spoke, his voice cracked a few times. Neame don't cry, they sing, and he sounded on the verge. "It might sound dumb, but I was really close to my familiar. Sometimes I would even fall asleep on its head. It always seemed to really enjoy whenever we spent time together."
"No, I get it. Besides my mum, Suma is the person, or Neame, I'm closest to. We're pretty much always together." I looked around, no one else had moved even an inch. "I doubt anyone else can hear you, and I'm not going to judge. Frick, I broke down crying in front of Queen Ompera and a bunch of Royal Mages."
I spent some time consoling Nine, he told me stories about his familiar. Really, I never realized or even thought about how other Neame besides Suma treat their familiars, unless it was happening right in front of me. A while later, the others 'woke up' from their spells. Nine said that they can't hear or see anything while in that state, which is why they have a lookout. Apparently, their job is to cast a spell on everyone if something happens, which will wake them up. For his sake, hopefully that's true, because he was very distraught.
Once everyone was awake, the Captain wanted us to debrief on what we found. The only person who wasn't participating was Suma, since she was still on guard. Captain Gigoales went first. "I found nothing of substance. Only the burnt remains of a single village, but that is to be expected. What of you Lieutenant?"
"There was a patrol of autonomous familiars. That could indicate a base nearby. We should avoid it if possible." Datahu said.
"What is an autonomous familiar?" I asked.
"It is what you are." The Captain said.
"Meaning?"
"A familiar that a master does not directly control. But simply gives orders to and allows it to follow them in its own manner." The Lieutenant said.
"Oh. Wait, how could you tell they were autonomous?" I asked.
"Their eyes were not glowing." The Lieutenant said. "If they were under direct control, their eyes would glow."
"Did you find anything else?" The Captain asked.
"No sir." He nodded, and Lauric went next.
"While traveling near the river, Loyalty happened across a surviving village. They were recently attacked by Southern Union forces, but were not destroyed. Instead, they have begun paying a tax of sorts for their continued survival. Three Neame and three Vedel cat familiars were sent to collect the tax. I believe we can infer the strength of the average forces using this as a reference."
"Excellent work. We will go over that in more detail later." Captain Gigoales said. "Nine, your turn."
"Um. My familiar was attacked by wild animals, and didn't survive, sir." Nine said sheepishly.
"I see. You have my sympathy. The loss of your familiar is a blow to our fighting strength as well. Do you have a secondary familiar?" The captain said.
"I do not."
"Then you will need to summon a new one. We will need to make preparations beforehand, but we can manage it."
"Begin considering your criteria. If you have preferences in mind, the process will go quickly." The Lieutenant said.
"Now then, Fourteen. Report."
"Yes sir. I found a group of what I think to be survivors from the initial invasion hiding in the forest. They have made hollowed out trees their homes, and were using native animals as pseudo-familiars to do patrols and guard the area." They all looked at me like they expected me to ask another question.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing. Moving on." The Captain said.
"Did you guys expect me to not know what a pseudo-familiar was? I'm not completely uneducated, you know."
"Moving on." The Captain repeated, more sternly.
Over our private connection, I contacted Suma. "Suma, what's a pseudo-familiar?"
"What? Oh… it is a familiar that you can control, but not summon, and has not yet been permanently bonded to a master. Only Neame who do not possess enough mana to regularly summon a familiar use one. Traditionally, all familiars start out as them." Suma explained.
"Does that make me a pseudo-familiar?"
"No. I can summon you, but not control you. Technically, you are a rogue familiar. Why?"
"No reason, it just came up. Thanks." I said, turning my attention back to the group and ending the connection.
"So, we have two main goals. One, investigate the survivors in the forest, and find clues to locate the guardian, Völundra." The Captain said.
"And two, capture a member of the Southern Union to interrogate." Lieutenant Datahu said.
(I missed something.) I thought. (Something important.)
Suma switched out for watch duty with Fourteen after a while so she could sleep. Once everyone had rested, we began traveling under the cover of darkness the next night. We grew enough fruits to last the day, and I was asked to store them in my bag so they did not need to risk using magic again. Crossing the island wasn't easy. We all had to stay low to the ground, which meant no flying. So, after summoning their familiars, we started walking. Well, I walked. Everyone else rode. Suma and Nine were both perched on my shoulder as I trapesed through the mud, bushes, and thickets. My trousers had more holes than a net by noon, and more rips than Van Winkle in a graveyard.
It took a while, but eventually we arrived at the village Lauric found. Hidden past a hill, under the cover of night and foliage, they all started surveying. Small lights flickered in the village, which Nine said were small fires.
"So, what do we do?" I asked.
"We need to make contact. Lauric, you know the village's situation best. You will enter the village, claiming to be a survivor looking for food for his family. Gather as much information from the locals as you can." The Captain said.
"Sir, I recommend sending Jake as well." Lieutenant Datahu said, to my surprise.
"Why?" I wondered.
"I can handle it alone." Lauric said.
"He will act as another set of eyes, and no one will question a familiar, as long as you do not speak and do not wear your metal garments." She explained.
"What about his normal–" Nine started to ask. I did not let him finish.
"You can stop right there, because I am NOT going naked." We were all whispering, but I whispered a little louder that time.
"It will be fine. Some Neame like to decorate their familiars, for a variety of reasons." The Captain said.
"Yes, Captain." Lauric said. Suma and Nine flew down, and Lauric landed on my backpack.
"We will wait here until sunrise, and then move to the tree line. May the winds meet you." The Captain said.
With that, we went into town. As we got closer, the light helped me see better, since there was no moon out tonight. The village was a mess. Nothing like Suma's hometown. Actually, it was more like a war-torn village from some bad Hollywood depiction in movies. And the smell was strong like burnt charcoal and wood ash. There may not have been any smoke, but the smell itself was enough to make me choke and water my eyes just getting close.
"Was it like this last time you visited?" I whispered to Lauric. We were still far away from anyone, but to be safe I kept my voice down.
"No, it has gotten worse." He whispered back. "I wanted to take a look around, but now I think leaving you alone would be a bad idea."
"Why?"
"There are signs of an attack. If I leave you, they may mistake you for an invading familiar, and kill you."
"Yeah, let's stick together then." I said. Soon, we heard singing in the distance. Turning a corner, there were a half dozen Neame gathered around several small fires, all singing.
"May your tree catch Ashem's eyes, my child." One of the voices said, standing over a body, and then cast a spell that caused roots to grow out of the ground, and wrap around it. Where the body was, a small tree grew, until it was around the same height as I was.
"Jake, follow my lead, but remember not to talk." Lauric said, leaving my head and fluttering forward. He called out to the mourning group. "Azhdaha's blessings." Many of them looked startled as their feathers puffed up, and some screamed.
"Are you with the Southern Vikings? Have you come to slay what is left of us?" One of the elders asked, angrily.
"I mean you no harm. I heard the rite, and offer my mana and my familiars mana for their trees." He motioned for me to come closer, and there were some murmurs in their small group.
"We have nothing to offer. Not anymore." The elder who made the tree from the body said.
"I'm searching for someone. A Neame named Völundra. She might be with a younger Neame." Lauric said.
"I'm sorry, we do not know any named Neame." The elder said. But when he did, I noticed one of the other Neame, younger looking, in the crowd looked away, towards one of the few remaining intact buildings. But they quickly looked back, refocusing on Lauric. "But if you are still willing to offer your mana, we would greatly appreciate it."
"Of course." Lauric looked to me, "my familiar, put some mana into their death trees." I walked over and put a hand on the small trees, then flowed mana into them for a few seconds, then repeated this with each of the nearby trees. Not really sure how much to put in, I just did it until the leaves changed color.
"Your familiar… seems to be quite extraordinaire. To be able to imbue so many trees with a season's supply of mana each…" The elder said, sounding nervous. "Are you a Magus of some kind?"
"No," Lauric said. His voice was uneven; upset in some way. "I was just blessed with a rather magically strong familiar. Regarding my request," he said, changing the topic back, "is there anyone in the village who might know where we could find someone capable of helping us locate our friend?"
The elder looked at me, his natural glitter dulled significantly. "No. I'm sorry we could not be of any help. All we can give you is our thanks." He said, bowing and spreading his wings. Although, unlike what I've seen Neame do before when they bow, he pushed his wings straight backward, rather than to the sides.
"I see. Then we shall take our leave. Be well." Lauric said, and fluttered up, landing once again on my backpack. "Come my familiar, let us go to the next town." With that, we walked away. Once we were far enough that I could talk again, I did.
"Lauric, did you notice that Neame in the crowd's reaction earlier, when the elder said they didn't know any named Neame?"
"I did not."
"They looked over at that building. It was in pretty good shape, despite the rest of the town looking like it had been bombed."
"Bombed?"
"Uh, like ruined."
"Hmm." He thought. "Perhaps- wait… shhh. Someone is coming." Lauric said, suddenly whispering and looking behind us. Through the darkness, I heard flapping and saw the faint outline of a Neame flying up. It landed nearby, and called out too us in a hushed tone.
"Stranger! Stranger!" He loudly whispered. "You said you were looking for a named Neame?"
"Yes, Völundra." Lauric said.
"Our elder did not lie, we do not know this Neame, but I must know… are you an enemy of the Southern invaders?"
"And if I am?"
"Then you could not be an enemy of mine."
"Why did you come here, young one?" Lauric asked.
"Yesterday, our village rebelled. Those Vikings took everything we had. Food, daljars, even our mages, all to feed their war. What few of us were left fought back. You saw the result." The Neame said.
"Admirable, but why tell me this?"
"Because we may have lost, but we did take something from them. We have two of their soldiers held in our old familiars' pen. They may know where your friend is."
"You did not answer my question. Why are you telling me this? What do you stand to gain?" Lauric asked, more intensely.
"Your familiar… one of the trees he filled was my mother's. She was the one who captured one of those two. We were just going to kill them, or ransom them back in trade for seeds and supplies. But you… you know that is pointless."
"Indeed. The SU would never trade supplies for men, unless they were the ones getting the supplies. They would simply ignore you. Or, upon realizing you had their people held hostage, would send a force to kill everyone in the area."
(Frick,) I thought, (these Southern guys really don't play around.)
"Take them. Find your friend. At least that way my mother's sacrifice will not go to waste."
Lauric nodded, and told the Neame we would be back by morning, with a few others to take the hostages. The Neame agreed to help us sneak in and out of the pen.
Part 27
Suma's POV
Jake and Lauric returned after some time, but before the sun had risen. They told us that the village had been attacked, that there were few survivors, and about the hostages being held in a makeshift prison.
"Alright then, squad," Captain Gigoales said, "we leave immediately. Jake, you remain here for now. We cannot take our familiars on this one, but if a fight breaks out, be ready for Suma to summon you."
"Yes, sir." Jake said. With that, we all flew straight for the village as low to the ground as we could manage, and arrived just over a minute later.
"That went much faster without needing to ride on a familiar's saddle." Lauric said. I sighed internally, because I knew first hand how slow Jake's travel speed was.
"Neame spotted, forward left. Is that the villager you spoke to, Lauric?" Datahu asked.
"Yes, Lieutenant, it is." In front of us a short distance was a young Neame girl, barely more than a child. As we got close, I saw through the darkness that she still had some of her down feathers.
"A hatchling? That is who is sneaking us into a prison?" Nine asked.
"It is a familiars' pen with farmers and shepherds as guards, hardly a prison, but yes." Lauric answered. We landed, and it was the captain who spoke first.
"Take us." He said simply.
"R-right, yes. Follow me." She said, and led us around the village, then through a series of death-trees, larger buildings, which were half crumbled to the ground, and down a deserted street. "This is it." She said. We hid behind the side of the building that faced away from the large open areas, and was relatively dark. "There are runes inside to prevent magic from being used. How will you carry them?"
"Some familiar have magic, so a pen for them would need to have measures to protect the other familiars, just in case." Lauric said.
"We expected this." The Captain said. "Are they tied up?" The child nodded, and Captain Gigoales turned to us. "We carry them. Three per hostage. Lauric, Datahu, and myself will take one. Nine, Fourteen, and Suma will take the other."
"Wait here, I will distract the guards." The child said, and flew away. I could not hear what they spoke about when the child landed, but a few moments later, she and the two guards flew away towards the center of the village.
"Go." The Captain ordered. We all flew through the door, and saw two Neame tied up with vines, surrounded by over a dozen runes carved into scraps of wood and leather. The Captain looked them over. "Not the best rune design I have seen, but it works. Nine, grab as many in your mouth as you can." He ordered, and picked up three of the leather strips in his own mouth.
"Alright everyone, lift and fly." Lieutenant Datahu said. Nine grabbed a plank with a rune, and flew over to the hostages; who had been asleep until several Neame started grabbing them in their claws.
"Wait, what? What is happening?!" One shouted.
"Quiet down, we are moving you." Datahu said.
"Where are you taking us?" He yelled again.
"Outside the village. No one is going to hurt you, so just quiet down." The hostages were clearly uneasy, but stayed quiet.
It took a lot of flapping and struggling to stay a mere wingspan off the ground, but we somehow managed to move both hostages out of the village, unseen by anyone. By the time we were far enough away that I could summon Jake, all of us, even the Captain and Lieutenant, were essentially gasping for breaths.
"What was the point of all those high-dive drills if we are still this tired?" Nine asked.
"Aireal control." The Captain said, through his wheezing rasps. "Private Suma, summon Jake."
"Yes, sir." I said.
"Jake, I am about to summon you, but we are not in a fight." I told him through our connection.
"Okay, ready." He replied. I performed the spell, and he appeared a moment later. "Why is everyone breathing so hard?" He asked, after looking around for a moment.
"Carry the hostages. We will fly away, and then resummon you at a safe location. Keep them safe until then." The Captain ordered.
"More flying? There are faster methods of execution, Captain." Nine joked. Fourteen chuckled.
"Yes, there are, Private. Such as complaining during a mission." The Captain replied, and for the very first time, I heard a small laugh come from Lieutenant Datahu. But she quickly apologized, and the Captain ordered us to follow him. With that, we flew away, leaving Jake to watch the prisoners.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jake's POV
As everyone flew away, I was left alone with the two tied up Neame, who'd been bound with ropes and had leather strips with runes hanging from multiple parts of their bodies. It was quiet for a bit, until one of them spoke, probably not realizing I could understand them.
"I think their gone. Could you reach my bindings with your beak or talons if I managed to get closer?" One said.
"Maybe, but untying the knot might prove difficult. I could try to cut it?" The other replied.
"What about that familiar? Think it would realize what we are doing, and stop us?" The first one asked.
"I do not know. It doesn't look too smart…" The second said.
"Frick you." I said, indignant. That startled both of them, and they began looking around.
"Did one of them stay behind?" The second asked, panicked.
"Sarge, I think it was that familiar." The first said. The second one, a sergeant apparently, stared at me in disbelief. It was dark, but from this close, I could see his glitter in the dark, and it got dimmer. Some of the feathers on his chest and neck puffed up.
"Indra's eyes… it is a Viking." The sergeant said, horror in his tone. The other, hearing this, puffed up as well.
"I'm not a… never mind."
"Can… you… understand… us?" The first one asked, speaking slowly.
"Yeah, I can understand you. Do you understand that if you try to escape, I'm going to have to stop you?" Despite being very tired from the long walk here, and being called a Viking again, I did my best to sound intimidating. The sergeant glanced at his subordinate, whose eyes were firmly fixed on me, then spoke again.
"So, the reports were true. There's another Viking."
"Yup." I said.
"Did you really kill Harbinger?" The subordinate asked, almost whispering.
I sighed. "Yes."
"And did she do that?" The sergeant motioned with his head to my missing hand. I nodded. "Ha! Well, at least that monster went down talons out!"
"She wasn't a monster!" I snapped, suddenly very upset, but quieted down, realizing I could be heard. "She was a victim. Captured and mind controlled by your people. Turned into weapon by the Southern Union…"
"Yeah, well… she was weak."
"What?" I hissed.
"That's what happens when you are not strong enough. You get perched on by everyone. There's never anything left for the Neame at the bottom. At least she died with a full stomach. What a waste."
"Sarge… I think maybe we should not provoke the big angry Viking. You heard what he did to Harbinger, right?" The subordinate said.
"Oh yeah. I heard how he cast Death-Magic and killed her." A white-hot flash of heat ripped though my heart; guilt. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Real slow too."
"That wasn't… I didn't… it wasn't supposed to happen. I made a mistake." I said, suddenly feeling short of breath, like there was a noose around my neck. "She was trying to kill me. I didn't have a choice!"
"Sure, sure. Let me ask you something, Viking. You ever been hungry?"
"What?"
"Hungry. Like, 'you have not eaten in weeks, and suddenly your dying friends are starting to look appetizing' kind of hungry. You ever been that hungry?"
"No." I shook my head.
"Well, I have. And so has this blithering skiddler here." He motioned with his head to the other Neame. "And so has my whole unit. Until we came here."
"What does this have to–"
"This place is nice. Plenty of food, clean water, it even has forests!" The Neame chuckled. "You know, I had never seen a forest until I landed on these islands. At least not one that wasn't poison. Sure, I saw a few trees, but a whole safe forest? I had no idea there were so many trees in the whole world. And the water! It is clean! Just clean. Anyone can drink it, and not have to pull the bodies and feathers out first." He stopped talking for a bit, and I didn't know what to say. "I know I'll die on this island. Probably soon. Guess what I think about that." He said. I didn't respond. "That's fine by me. Because when I die, it will be with a full stomach, preened feathers, and the peace of mind knowing that no one will be looking at my corpse like they would have in the union."
"What's it like there?" I asked.
"I was a slave, so all in all… it could have been worse. At least there was one person who would have cared if I died, even if it was just because it cost them money. Most Neame do not have such a privilege. When they die, they are just moved into the nearest sandpit, and forgotten. You want to know what my home was like? We have five different words for dead. One for all the worst ways to die."
"How… how did you get here, then?"
"I was sold to the army. Best day of my life. If any of my friends had still been alive, we would have sung together."
"So, you're still a slave?" I asked.
"Sixth slave front fleet. Or, as our master calls us, the shield squadron."
"Why did you come here? The Southern Union? Why invade this island, or the Island of Sangu?"
"Do you have sand in your head? I just told you, because I was sold. But you're asking why the union invaded. Probably one of the warlords got himself a notion of conquering the whole world; who knows."
"You really don't know why you're fighting?" I asked.
"Oh, I know why I'm fighting. Because my master said he would give me a better understanding of two or three of those five words I mentioned if I didn't, and he would give me a few seeds if I did. Same for the skiddler." The other Neame nodded solemnly.
"Why not run away? You could. They already think you're dead. Nothing can stop you anymore." I suggested.
"What a fantastic idea! Just let me go, and I'll fly away, you'll never see me again. Really." The sergeant said, sarcastically. "If it were that easy, there would be a lot more warlords, and a lot less slaves." He looked over to the other Neame. "Turn him over. Look at his back." I picked up the Neame carefully, he squawked a bit, surprised, but did not resist. On his back were burn marks that glowed a different color than his glitter. "Know what that is? I bet you have one just like it, somewhere under all those garments and all that muscle. A slave crest."
"I don't have a slave crest." I said.
"Maybe not, but I bet you do have a familiar's circle." He said. Glancing at my arm, I could picture that magic tattoo I got years ago, hiding just under my sleeve. "Our slave marks are the same as those circles, with a few tweaks. If we disobey our masters, or try to escape, we are punished… severely."
"You mentioned warlords. What did you mean? Is that like a noble? Or a rank in the military?" I asked, changing the topic abruptly with a shake of my head as I place the Neame back down.
"Do you really care? Or are you just trying to avoid–"
"JUST," I took a breath, "tell me."
"Fine. Warlords are the ones in charge. They control the food, the slaves, and the mages. You wanna be a warlord, you need those. A lot of those. If it is a warlord with enough supplies and slaves, they might try conquering another warlord's territory. Maybe it will even be a nice territory without too many deserts, no poison forests, and a few towns."
"Jake," Suma said over our private connection, "we are almost there. Are you ready?"
"Yeah…" I answered her, and picked up the two Neame.
"Undo their anti-magic runes, and toss them aside. But hold them tight. I will summon all of you." She said.
I picked up the Neame, which caused them both to panic, but they calmed down when I removed those leather straps.
"You are freeing us?" The sergeant asked.
"Nope. It's time to go." I said, and heard Suma's voice as she summoned me.
"I summon you, Sentinel!"
Part 28
Jake's POV
We were in a burned down building, made of stone and charred wood. Twisted metal poles were scattered about, half-melted from whatever spells or fire destroyed the place. As soon as we reappeared, the others flew over and encircled us, holding planks and scraps of leather with runes on them.
"Bring the sedative." The Captain ordered, looking to Nine, who flew away, then came back a minute or so later dragging a wooden bowl, with a pink liquid sloshing around inside, across the ground with his beak; with great effort.
"Want some help?" I asked.
"Yes, please." He said, panting and wheezing. Lieutenant Datahu and Fourteen tied up the prisoners, and I carried the bowl for Nine.
"Drink it." The Captain ordered them.
"You think I'd drink a sedative? Let you scratch around inside my soul? You drink it." The Sargeant said, turning his head away, and ruffling this feathers.
Captain Gigoales was cold. Ice cold. He didn't react, didn't shout or scream. Didn't even think twice about it. He just turned to the subordinate and made a simple declaration. "We only need one of you to drink this. By force or otherwise. The other is useless." His voice was even, sterile of tone, hatred, or anything that might give away what he was thinking. "I do not keep useless things alive." The Captain looked at me, then the bowl I was holding, and motioned with his head for me to set it down in front of them. The subordinate looked at the sloshing goopy pink stuff in the bowl, to me, then to his rebellious Sargeant, and finally to the Captain. Quietly, he lowered his head, and began to drink.
"Skiddler." The Sargeant spat.
"Lauric, kill him." Captain Gigoales said. Lauric glanced over surprised, then fluttered next to the captive.
"Wait, what?" I asked, stunned.
"You don't–" The Sargeant started to say, but was cut off. Something you need to know about Neame. They look like a cross between Blue Macaws and people. They have vaguely human shapes, but with feathers, wings instead of arms, and most importantly for what happened next, large talons on their bird-like feet. Well, large for their bodies I suppose. When Suma or any other are perching on my shoulder, the worst the claws usually do is poke me, or break the skin. But to another Neame… Lauric place the three large talons to the Sargeant's feathered neck, and pressed hard enough for blood to start trickling. "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! Indra's eyes… I'll drink it." The Sargeant leaned his head down, and began to drink.
"Skiddler." Lauric said, mocking him.
"Enough, Lauric. At ease." The Captain said. Lauric spread his wings, and flew back to the twisted metal perch he'd been resting on earlier next to Suma.
They were a fair distance away, but I could faintly hear the two of them talking. Suma asked if Lauric would have actually done it, and Lauric just nodded his head. Through our connection, I could feel Suma's discomfort and fear. Not of Lauric, not exactly. But something I couldn't quite place.
Turning my attention back to the prisoners, I noticed the bowl was nearly emptied, not that it was very full to begin with. "Now what, Captain?" I asked and kneeled down next to him, half sitting on my own leg.
"When the sedative takes effect, it will last several hours. Enough time to perform a memory delve, and find information about Völundra." The Captain turned his head to me, looking up. "Sentinel, you and Lauric will go into their minds during the delve, while myself and Lieutenant Datahu cast the spell on you both."
My eye crooked. "Me? Why?"
"We need someone mentally strong enough to pry out the information from their minds. Yourself and Lauric are our best choices." He said.
"I get Lauric, but seriously… me?"
"Your mind is strong. Your own master could not even force you under her command with the Rite of Dominance."
"Uhhh."
"You know?" Suma asked, sounding as shocked as I probably looked.
"You two do not hide it particularly well." Lieutenant Datahu remarked. "It is easily the most well-known secret on base."
"Plus, you didn't go insane when you lost your hand, so that's something!" Nine added, perched a few meters away on a burnt up wooden beam.
"There is also the matter of your soul." The Captain added, ignoring the others.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You have had a portion of another soul inside of you for as long as we have known one another. Yet, not once have you shown any symptoms. Except for when you would occasionally hallucinate, but that has not happened in a while."
"Any normal Neame not skilled in Soul-Magic would have lost their minds, or had their personality changed so dramatically that they would effectively be a different mind altogether. But you? You cannot even use Soul-Magic, and still you have not changed in the slightest." Lieutenant Datahu added.
"Exactly, Lieutenant. Which is why you, Sentinel, will be the one to perform the delve."
"I… thank you, Captain." I said, and agreed.
It was another hour before the sedative took effect, and the Neame were unconscious. We untied the Neame and moved the runes away, then the Captain and Lieutenant began the spell. Lauric and I laid next to the prisoners, as a Magic circle formed around us, and a second under our heads; mine obviously being much larger than his. Lauric went into the Sargeant, and I went into the subordinate.
As the spell began, my mind felt foggy, like after just waking up from sleep. Nothing felt real, but distorted and stretched, like pulled taffy. Images passed in my mind, warped memories. Suddenly, my whole body was under water, or that's what it felt like. Everything went cold, fluid, and a little unreal. This was different from when I looked through Zachariah's or Deyja's memories. But I could think clearly enough and knew why I was here.
"Völundra." I said, focusing on information I wanted. The images slowed down, and took shape. Became more solid, more real. Unfortunately, the first thing I saw was a dead Neame. Lichtenburg marks etched all over her body, and smoke rising from different feathers, some of which were still smoldering. Her beak was cracked, part of it missing and exposing burnt black flesh. One eye hanging from its socket. If I'd had a mouth in this void on memory, I would have thrown up. Instead, the memory kept going.
"You…" The voice of the Sargeant said, as the point of view turned away from the dead body, and I saw him. Von-Pac, my old friend from basic training, looking worse for wear. He was covered in blood, and missing one of the talons on his left claw-foot thing. He was being held down by a familiar, his wings spread out and pinned down by its paw and snout. "I heard you have training with Healing-Magic. That right?"
"Yes." He said, clearly in pain.
"Good. Then heal yourself." The Sargeant said, and the familiar released his wings, but kept his mouth close to Von-Pac's head. Von-Pac healed his claw, then the familiar quickly pinned his wings closed with its mouth.
"AHH!" He cried out. My stomach dropped watching this. All I wanted to do was end the memory, but I needed to see what happened.
"Easy there. We don't want him dead… yet. Say, that Neame over there called you Von-Pac earlier. Are you a noble? What am I saying, you were a diplomate for the Kingdom of Ambos. An ambassador, even! Of course you're a noble. I've never met a noble before." The Sargeant said, and gave a fake mocking bow.
"Who are you? Did the–"
"You know, I'd heard that Ambos was secretly supporting one side in the island's little power struggle. Guess that was true. Wanna tell me which one Ambos had their seed sacks on?" Von-Pac stayed silent. "Oh well. We will get all the information we want, later." The Sargent turned to face me, or rather, his subordinate. "You, go let the master know we found a healer, with plenty of secrets."
Seconds later, the memory stretched and warped, then was overwritten with new distorted memories, all playing at once.
"Von-Pac…" I said, shocked.
"Jake." A voice said, echoing in my mind. A cold chill ran down my spine. For a moment, I thought it was Deyja's voice. Suddenly, all the warped memories faded away, leaving me in blank white space. "Jake." The voice repeated.
"Datahu?" I asked, looking around.
"No." It said.
"Deyja?" A lump formed in my, nonexistent at the moment, throat. If my hands were visible, and I wasn't just a floating consciousness in a void, they would have been clammy.
"Thankfully not." The voice said. A moment later, there stood a big, burly man; wearing chainmail, furs, and leathers. On his hip were two axes, and a wooden shield hung from a strap over his shoulder.
"Zachariah?" I asked, confused.
"It's been a while, little vikingr."
"How is this happening?" I asked, confused. There he was, right in front of me. Not made of fire, not half dragon, not even blurry. Just… there, floating in a void, moving like he was standing on solid ground that didn't exist.
"I overwrote the spell that is connecting you and this feyling."
"But how?"
"This will be the last time we ever speak, young Jake." He said, putting his hand on my shoulder. That's when I noticed, I had a body. Every time I've looked through his or Deyja's memories, I've just been watching through their eyes, but now, I'm not. "I'm burning up what is left of my soul inside yours, so we do not have much time."
"Why are you doing this?" I asked.
"Because you've given up."
"Given up?"
"On your hunt, on your revenge."
"Deyja…"
"That is not his name anymore, but yes."
"Why do you care?" I pulled away from his hand, suddenly feeling very defensive.
"Because I'm dying, and when that happens, he will be free."
"WHAT?"
"In less than one month, I will be dead, the crack between the Aether and this world will open, and the dragon will step out. And when that happens, this whole world will be destroyed. Unless you stop him."
"NO no no no, back up." I began, talking quickly and in shock. "What? You're dying, there's a crack in the world, and Deyja is coming back?"
"Jake, when that happens, you have to kill him, no matter what it costs you."
"STOP, just stop! I was done, free. I'd accepted the fact that I was never getting home, and now…"
"The Norns rarely smile for the wants of men, and they do hate loose threads." He chuckled to himself, and I was immediately overcome with a desire to punch him as hard as I could.
"Why are you laughing?! You just said you're dying, and the world was going to end!"
"Not if you slay the dragon."
"I can barely hold my own against Neame, and you want me to fight the most deadly monster the world has ever seen?"
"Hardly," he scoffed, "he was outclassed by quite a few dragons. Like Nidhögg, and Fafnir."
"You're missing the point!"
"No, you are little virkinr. He is not some all powerful monster, nor is he unstoppable. You can slay him."
"Well, how did you do it? How did you beat him?"
"I didn't."
"What, but I thought–"
"You think if I'd beaten him, I'd be trapped in the Aether with him, dying? Instead of going to Valhalla?"
"Then, what–"
"I trapped him and myself, and I've been using magic to keep him there this whole time. It wasn't on purpose, but that's what happened. Like I said, the Norns do not smile often." He shook his head, and sat down. To me, it looked like he was floating on a non-existent chair.
"What changed?"
"When he took you from your body, and left the Aether, I was left alone there." He looked pained, and took a steading breath. "The Aether is not a gentle thing. It exists in a realm that is a chaotic storm. Any Aether, what you call mana, that enters this storm that is not in line with its own nature, is… remade."
"I don't understand."
"That is fine. When I am gone, my memories will remain, and you can learn everything you want to know from them." He looked down at his hand, as it began to fade away. "Okay, it's almost time. You have to kill the dragon. Swear to me that you will."
"I… I can't. I don't have what it takes."
"You killed those Neame, when you were surrounded and fighting on the Island of Sangu, did you not? You have what it takes, virkingr!"
"I am not a viking!" I yelled, half of his arm was gone now, like smoke drifting away. No blood poured from his wound, no bone poked out; just a hollow shell hiding a deep darkness.
"No, but you have the soul of one. Damaged though it may be, it still cried out for revenge."
"Damaged? And who's fault is that?! You and Deyja both forced yourselves into my mind!" I yelled, then a sickening thought came across my mine. "Wait, is he still inside me too? With you gone, what will–"
"He took the portion of his soul from you when he took your body. But it was not us that damaged your soul. It was your master, Suma."
"Suma… what?"
"When you first met. Remember? How she tried to force you to become her servant? I have some experience with that myself, so I know how it feels. He looked down at his shoulder, which was starting to disappear, and reached out his good arm suddenly, forcing it through my chest like a ghost passing through a wall. I seized up, frozen, unable to move. Like fire, pain spread through my whole body, eating me alive! I tried to scream, but could only manage to gasp and grunt, struggling to even breathe through the pain. "So long as you are bound to your master's soul, your will shall bend to hers. In your words, she has… I think you say… reprogrammed you." As he pulled his hand free, I collapsed, breathless, to the nonexistent ground. "She wanted a familiar, one who was perfect in her eyes. That's what that Rite of Dominance does. It replaces the familiar's desires with that of the master's. While she was not able to finish the rite, that does not mean it had no effect."
I looked up to him, panting, the pain not gone, but dulled, "… she wouldn't."
"With what little knowledge of the ley remains in this era, I doubt she even knows what the spell does, beyond allowing a master to control a familiar. Either way…" both of his legs were gone now, and he was a floating torso with one arm. "It's time, Jake."
"What did you do to me?"
"Prepared you for this." He said, and flung what was left of himself at me. I put my hand up to block him, but his whole body passed right through them. The moment his head touched mine, the pain returned, but worse. If last time was fire all over my body, this was lightning, focused and pure. Every kind of pain you can imagine hit me all at once. There were boulders on my limbs, crushing them. Needles in my eyes, digging into my brain. Every inch of my skin was being pulled apart, flayed like fish, and stitched back together.
"Jake!" Suma yelled, drowned out by my own screams.
"AHAHAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" I yelled, curled up in the fetal position and dripping sweat. The pain was gone now, but the memory lingered on my tingling skin.
"Jake, are you okay? What is wrong?" Suma asked, one of her wings was bent in an unnatural direction, clearly broken. The Neame that I'd been connected to was lying still a few feet away, right where he'd been earlier when the delve started.
"What happened?" I asked, my hands clenched into fists so tight my knuckles turned white. A trickle of red blood fell from my swollen right wrist. It hurt, but nothing like the pain before.
"You just started screaming, and flailed around wildly." Lieutenant Datahu said.
"Suma, are you alright?" I asked.
"I will be fine." She said, and began to cast a healing spell on herself. Her bone pulled itself back into place with a sudden and sickening crack. Suma winced, and stretched her wing out slowly to test it.
"I'm sorry." I said, wiping the sweat from my head with my left hand. "Wait… my hand!" I shouted.
"It grew back while you were screaming." Captain Gigoales said.
"It was disgusting." Nine added, looking more green than blue for a moment.
"Jake, what happened?" Suma asked.
"I… I don't know where to start."