Seers of Verde: The Legend Fulfilled: Book One (35 page)

Egan started to smirk. “Then that third one is as good as dead, too.” The look on her face stopped him. “There’s more, I take it. What is it?”

Skipping some of the details, Verinya told the Defender about Aron’s discovery of the invading Verdan army and his desperate race to escape a troop of Sankari. “Aron sent Tevan back. Both could be caught and killed.”

Egan took her by the shoulder and looked into her eyes, which were moist with fear. “You are a brave woman to tell me this. Thank you,” he said, gently squeezing her shoulders. “You said they both are in danger. Are you concerned only for Tevan?”

Verinya blushed despite herself. Egan smiled. “Your secret is safe with me. You have my word of honor as a Defender.” He turned and ran through the marketplace to find his circle brothers.

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Aron kicked his heels into his horse much harder than he had ever done before. He slapped the animal vigorously on the shoulder with his reins. His mount now was visibly huffing and puffing. Its ears were flattened on the back of its head and foam flew out of the mouth. The horse’s sides glistened with sweat, but it kept running at Aron’s urging.

However, the Defender could tell the horse was slowing little by little. Courageous as the beast might be, Aron knew it would not last the entire trip back to the temple. Aron had glanced back several times during his frantic escape. It looked like a troop of Sankari were pursuing him.

Searching the countryside, the Defender spied a cluster of trees atop a rock-covered hill. If he was to be caught, Aron was determined it would be in a place of his choosing.

Guiding the horse to the spot, Aron grabbed his bow and rolled off his horse behind the tree. The well-trained animal attempted to stop, but the Defender whacked it savagely on the rump to make it continue running.

Out of breath and soaked with his and the horse’s sweat from riding so hard, Aron tried to stand, but his legs cramped, causing him to fall with a groan. Grimacing, he stretched his limbs and stumbled to his feet.

The pursuing Sankari were drawing near enough that he could hear the pounding of their horses’ hooves. Without looking, Aron notched an arrow, swung out from behind the tree, and fired at the leader. His aim was off, but the arrow struck the Sankari’s horse in the neck, causing it to fall, spilling its rider headfirst with a sickening thud. The Sankari’s body quivered slightly, then lay still.

With a quick breath, Aron had another arrow on his bowstring and fired again. This time he was on target. The second Sankari screamed with pain, grabbed at the arrow in his sternum and toppled off his horse.

Not knowing what they were facing, the surviving troop swerved quickly away to regroup. Even though it was only a short reprieve, Aron slumped to the ground in exhaustion. The Defender squinted, trying to count how many Sankari he faced. He counted at least ten, maybe more. The Sankari’s next attack likely would be fatal for him. He knew they would mount an all-out assault.

Most likely they would wait until just after sunset, encircle him and creep in. In the dark, his bow would be useless. It most likely would come down to hand-to-hand combat.

Aron was not the only one who was exhausted. The Sankari all had dismounted. Some sat in the grass staring at the stand of trees that sheltered the Defender. Others stretched out on the ground. It was already late afternoon. The sun would be setting in an hour. The Sankari, too, were conserving their strength for the final attack.

Aron leaned back against his tree. He was grimly planning how to send as many Sankari as he could to their ancestors when a familiar birdcall caught his attention. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw an amazing sight. His circle brothers were advancing quickly to where he was hidden. He rose slightly and waved.

The other Defenders dismounted and crept up the opposite side of the hill to him. After making sure he was well, the others surveyed the situation and saw the resting Sankari. Without a word, Circle Sankarikiller, minus Aron, mounted their horses and charged the Verdans. The Sankari were caught by surprise.

The Sankari mounted their steeds in an attempt to escape, but they were ridden down and dispatched with Defender efficiency. The skirmish was over quickly.

When all the Sankari were accounted for, Egan and the others swarmed their exhausted brother. Aron struggled to his feet and hugged each one of them. They assured him Tevan was safe. The circle had found him making his way to the temple.

“How did you know I was in trouble?” Aron asked.

Egan smiled and winked. “Some fortune teller must have had a dream. She slipped me a note. It’s a good thing she wasn’t drunk.”

His Defender brothers exploded in laughter at his joke. Their levity was cut short when Aron told them of the advancing army. After allowing him a few more minutes of rest, the circle mounted the horses and headed back to warn Temple Darya of the impending danger.

During the ride back, Aron motioned for Egan to pull close. “Fortune teller?” Aron whispered not bothering to mask his suspicion.

Egan smiled and met Aron’s worried look with a smirk. “Yes, a red-headed one, seemed quite concerned for you. Not to worry brother, all those ‘fortune tellers’ look alike to me. Don’t think I could pick her out of a crowd.” The two rode back together without saying another word.

21

Rufina became ill when she broke out of her trance. The High Seer had been watching with great pleasure through one of the Sankari who had been pursuing Aron. It appeared the Verdan warriors had the Defender trapped. All they had to do was wait for the right moment, surround the Nuven, and kill him.

However, the surprise attack by a Defender circle and subsequent slaughter of the Sankari caused Rufina to awaken in shock at the sudden turn in events. The Seer was tracking the oncoming Verdan army, which was about two to three days’ march from Temple Darya.

Her curiosity at the commotion in the camp when a lone rider appeared over a ridge to peer at the Verdans switched to anger at seeing one of those young Defenders from the temple.The last thing she saw through the Sankari was a frantic attempt to escape on his horse. The Verdan didn’t get far.

Rufina’s picture turned upside down when her Sankari fell from his horse. The High Seer saw a flash of sky, then the ground seemed to rise up to grab him. She couldn’t feel his pain from the arrow that stuck out between his shoulder blades. The Sankari’s vision started to blur. Rufina glimpsed a mounted Defender standing over him then her sight went black.

The Seer rocked back and forth for a few moments to compose herself. The Defenders who had rescued Aron now knew about the threatening Verdan army. She had to warn her fellow Verdans that they had been discovered. If the Nuvens had time to prepare, it would make the attack on Temple Darya and its sister temples much more difficult, perhaps even impossible.

Rufina knew it would be impossible to send a messenger. A rider would not have enough time reach the army. The High Seer rose from her chair to gaze out her window, watching the bustling marketplace below. Rufina’s attention was drawn to a sister Seer who had stopped to inspect a nearby vendor’s wares.

This gave her an idea, but she shuddered at the thought. Rufina could attempt to connect with the Seer who traveled with the advancing Verdan force. Such an effort could prove to be difficult. Contact between Seers separated by great distances had been attempted, but it was rarely successful.

Most Seers were naturally immune from being “visited,” as they liked to describe it. The women were not telepaths. They could not send mental messages to each other. Over the generations, they had tried to develop the telepathic trait so it could be passed from mother to daughter, but with little luck. If such Seer-to-Seer contact was attempted, both women would have to be receptive.

Rufina sat down at her table with a worried sigh. In front of her lay an unfinished report to the Council of Seers at Fortress Bryann. She picked up a parchment and studied it. With a grim smile, she reached for a clean sheet of paper and began to write slowly. Her hand swept across the page. When her message was complete, the High Seer took a deep breath, cleared her mind, and stared at the paper.

¶ ¶ ¶

Seer Giann was concerned about the twelve Sankari riding in pursuit of the Nuven who had discovered the Verdan army during its march to Temple Darya. After questioning the Sankari scout who had been chased back to camp by the Nuven, Giann suspected the lone rider to be a Defender. The interloper had killed two other Sankari scouts and had almost ridden down the third when he discovered their force.

It was almost sunset now, and there had been no word from the Sankari party. The troop had been gone for more than five hours now, which should have been enough time to catch and kill the Nuven. The Seer sat in her tent trying to use her “gift” to see through the eyes of one of the Sankari.

Giann had been preoccupied with other duties when the troop set out. This made it difficult because she did not know the Sankari she was trying to find. The young woman took deep breath after deep breath. Her mind reached out, but she was unable to reach the missing Sankari.

Frustrated, Giann shook her head and tried again. This time a slightly blurred vision floated before her eyes. She saw two hands holding up a parchment with words written on it. Letting herself relax, the Seer focused on the vision. The words on the parchment slowly came into focus. Giann gasped with surprise, almost breaking her trance. With renewed determination, she let her mind grasp the message.

Not daring to break her trance, the Seer reached out and fumbled for a parchment and writing utensil. In an awkward motion resembling the clumsy attempts by a child learning to write, she scrawled a few words.

Still in her trance, Giann tried to focus on the parchment she was holding. She kept her gaze locked onto her writing for several long minutes until her words faded away as if in a mist. This time, the second vision was much easier to understand. “Message received, Rufina.”

Giann came out of her trance. She was shocked at the realization of what had just happened — Seer-to-Seer sight contact. The message she had received was more important than her own comfort. The young woman's head pounded from the extra exertion, but she made herself rise on wobbly legs and set out to find the officer in charge of the Verdan army.

Rufina broke off her trance and smiled with satisfaction. She, too, tried to rise, but the room swayed dizzyingly before her eyes. The Seer shivered and realized she was wet with perspiration. The effort to contact Giann had taken more energy than she realized.

Like a drunk lunging for a comfortable place to sleep it off, Rufina stumbled to her cot. She clumsily stripped off her soaked garments and curled up under a warm blanket, exhausted but content that she had accomplished her mission.

¶ ¶ ¶

An incredulous Manor Stillinger, recently promoted to general, listened to Giann’s account of her contact with Seer Rufina. The gruff Sankari leader normally would dismiss anyone else with such a wild tale, but Manor knew better than to question a Seer.

The Tarylan officer cursed his luck at being discovered by a wayward Nuven, then swore loudly when hearing Defenders had slaughtered his Sankari. Manor started to bark orders at two nearby captains when a commotion to his right stopped him.

Giann had fainted and fallen to the ground with a heavy thud. A nearby med tech rushed to her side. A Seer showing weakness in front of men was unheard of. Even Manor was shocked by the incident. The med tech shouted for a stretcher.

As Giann was gingerly lifted onto it, Manor walked over to her. He had not noticed how pale the Seer had looked when she delivered her message. The young woman now looked even paler and her lips were turning blue. Manor grabbed the med tech by the arm. “You will be able to help her, will you not?”

The med tech frowned. “She does not look good, sir. Please excuse me while I attend to her.”

Out of respect, Manor waited until the stretcher bearers had taken Giann away. He turned again to his captains. “I want the troops to be ready to march at first light. We have to assume Temple Darya knows of our plans. There will be no surprise attack now, but we still must advance to the temple.”

The general strode over to a table covered with maps of the area and detailed blueprints of Temple Darya. His concentration was interrupted when someone coughed softly behind him. Manor turned to see who dared intrude upon him. The med tech who had come to Giann’s assistance stood in the doorway, looking very uncomfortable. His face was as pale as the Seer’s had been.

“What is it? Why aren’t you with Seer Giann?” the annoyed general demanded.

The med tech cleared his throat, not daring to make eye contact. “I regret to inform you, sir, that the Seer is dead.”

22

Witt Peyser and Aron Nels watched from one of the parapets of Temple Darya as the threatening sight spread out below them. Several thousand Verdan warriors blocked the temple’s access to the valley.

The two Defenders did not know the same scenario was being played out at the other Nuven temples. The other nine temples were more susceptible to attack. Only Temple Darya, the first Nuven religious fortress to be built in Verde Valley, backed up to a mountain.

Aron felt frustrated because he could do nothing about the threat gathering on the plains below him. Growing restless, he scanned the temple walls. His gaze fell on the tower that housed the Seers. A lone familiar figure stood on the balcony — Verinya.

Their eyes locked onto each other for a lingering moment. Not knowing if he was being watched, Aron tilted his head ever so slightly and mouthed a silent thank you. Verinya smiled, then stepped aside to let two other Seers join her.

Aron’s warning about the advancing army had been correct. No one had questioned the Defender after his circle brothers had rescued him from the Sankari who had tried to chase him down.

Tevan Nels had found his way back to the temple before Circle Sankarikiller had returned from its rescue mission. All the frightened man-child could utter coherently was Aron had told him to return to the temple because there was danger. Not even the sympathetic Seer Verinya could glean any more information from the confused young man, who almost had ridden his horse to death as he hurried back to safety.

Now, just as the Defender elders had feared, the Verdan army had marched to the temple, leaving them barely a day to prepare for an unprovoked attack. All the merchants and other Nuvens not bound by oath to protect the temple fled to the safety of the mountains.

Without being asked, all the merchants gave their produce and other food items to those who stayed behind. The temple was well stocked with supplies. Two waterfalls ran into a network of cisterns, supplying plenty of water. Much to the Defenders’ surprise, the six Seers insisted on staying. The women said they thought they could help suspend the hostilities.

The bridge that spanned the deep ravine that ran along the temple’s perimeter was dismantled. The pieces were stored in the hope they could be used again. Giant beams securely held shut the front gate and the other hidden entrances.

Witt and the other Defender elders watched as a small troop rode toward the temple. One of the Verdans surveyed the ravine and shook his head in disgust. Manor Stillinger had feared this would happen. Without the bridge, any successful attack on the almost impenetrable temple would be nearly impossible.

The Sankari general rode to the edge of the ravine and shouted his conditions to the waiting Defenders.

“As leader of these Verdan loyalists, I order every Defender to leave this temple and return to the Valley of Hunters. Your refusal to hand over the murderers of innocent Verdans has brought this upon you. If you comply peacefully, you and any other Nuvens with you will not be harmed. You have my word.”

Manor looked up and down the temple walls. Hundreds of faces stared impassively down at him. After a brief pause, the general received the answer he expected.

“You threaten Temple Darya without due cause,” Witt called down. “We have every right to man this temple and protect it. You have been lied to, Verdan. Defenders do not kill innocents. Attack if you must. You only will lose many men in your futile attempt.”

Manor started to leave when a female voice stopped him. Curious, he spun around. “Major, I am Seer Lanella. I and five others were sent here to assist Temple Darya. We wish to prevent any deaths on either side. Please let us work out a truce.”

The general shook his head. “With all due respect, Honored Seer, we are here at the request of the united communities of Verde Valley. This matter has nothing to do with the Seers,” he called back sternly. I highly recommend that you and the other Seers leave the temple immediately before any harm comes to you. Or are you being held hostage?”

Lanella reassured Manor that she and the others had chosen to stay. Manor shrugged, reined his horse around, and headed back to the army. With his back to the Nuvens, a large smile spread across his face. He would be content to lay siege. Even though the Nuvens felt secure in their temple, the Verdan strategy was falling into place as planned.

¶ ¶ ¶

A little over a week had passed during the siege without either side exchanging an arrow or a javelin. The Verdans seemed content to wait in an apparent effort to starve out the Nuvens. The inhabitants of Temple Darya were not worried. They had an almost unlimited supply of food and all the water they needed. In the mountain stronghold, the Defenders had gathered vast stores of grains, as well as dried and smoked meats in cool, subterranean caves.

Just as dawn was breaking on the tenth day, the temple inhabitants were awakened by large crashes that shook the walls. Sentries in the towers sounded alarms as the crashes continued with alarming regularity.

Rushing to the top of the walls, the Defenders discovered the source of the noise: catapults. The Verdans were launching large stones from machines used centuries ago on old Earth. However, none of the stones made it over the top of the walls. The missiles struck the temple with great force, but the walls stubbornly held.

The temple had been built by expert Nuven stonemasons who had two centuries of experience in warding off attacks from a fierce and determined enemy who could strike without notice at any time — those mysterious space raiders, the Tanlians. The crisscrossed walls were three and four layers thick.

Much to the dismay of most of the Verdan army, the temple stood undamaged from the missiles hurled at it. The machines had to be kept a great distance from the temple because Nuven archers could fire their arrows a deceptively long distance, and they were amazingly accurate.

The first few stones unleashed by the catapults caused a hailstorm of arrows from the temple in response. The first unprotected catapult crews were killed within a few minutes. A few pieces were jarred loose from the temple, and the walls were scarred where stones had slammed into them, but they stubbornly held. Even the huge wooden doors of the temple’s main entrance held.

Other than being annoyed and sometimes frightened by the barrage, those in the temple were unharmed. After three days of the steady pounding, the Verdans stopped. The only thing they managed to accomplish was to partially fill in the ravine with the large projectiles.

A day later, the catapults again hurled large objects against the walls, but this time there was no noise or jarring reverberation. Huge bales of grass and straw flew through the air and bounced harmlessly off the temple, but slowly large mounds started piling up the walls.

At first, Witt watched, puzzled, then he understood what was happening as the piles grew larger. As he suspected, when the mounds had grown to almost half the length of the wall, the Verdans shot flaming balls of wood into the piles.

Heavy, black smoke poured over the walls and spread through the temple. However, most of the Nuvens had escaped to the safety of the caves, where the smoke did not reach. A few Defenders kept watch and protected themselves as best they could with damp cloths over their faces. They rotated the watch every few minutes so no one would succumb to the heavy smoke.

The fire burned and smoldered for more than a day, when a heavy rain extinguished it prematurely. The Nuvens cheered their good luck, and the Verdans grew even more despondent at their failure to dislodge their enemy from the temple.