The Elder's Path (21 page)

As they walked towards their inevitable confrontation, Lyn found herself not focusing on the fear of it, but rather of all the good experiences she had the good fortune
of having that led her to where she was. She recalled the pure sense of liberation and possibility when she first exited the forest, her piqued curiosity when she first met Satora, her great pleasure at traveling with Zhiva and Yusef. She remembered the feeling of strife and determination as she ascended the slope, wrapped up against the snow and wind, the feeling of wonder when she was exploring Marcho's cave. She relived the wonderful sense of belonging in Brightpeak, and her time spent among the people. She especially remembered the feeling of the butterflies in her stomach when she met Siege, and the feeling she got every time she thought of him since.

What a wonderful time she'd had of it up until now, she thought to herself. Lyn had never considered
herself a fatalist but she felt if she were to die just then, she could die satisfied with all she had done so far. Alternatively, she was immensely curious what the future would bring; she couldn't even begin to imagine what the world would have in store for her.

With a great satisfied sigh, she put a smile on her face and kept moving forward towards whatever awaited them next. Hearing her sigh, Siege looked over and was puzzled by the smile evident on the Druid's face. He thought for a moment, but could
come up with no reason why the girl should realistically be smiling. Part of him thought perhaps it was some misguided reaction to their current predicament, but he did not think that was truly the case; over his limited time spent with the girl, he had come to find her to be a person of character and surprising fortitude. Plus, Stygian seemed to like her well enough, and Stygian didn't like anybody. As such, he concluded she must indeed have a reason for her smile, and in enjoyment of her exuberance he smiled, too. Lyn noticed Siege looking at her and seeing him smile caused her to blush and look away quickly.

Eventually they stopped to take some rations despite Lyn's resistance to the idea. Siege countered that they had to keep up their strength for whate
ver lay ahead. He also suggested they walk their horses to keep up their strength in case of a hard run, so Lyn spent their break time petting Argos and talking with him. She hoped he would eventually come to bond with her, but she knew she would never bond with any creature the way she had with Alir. For his part, Alir seemed to take well to life mounted on the steed; Siege had been kind enough to procure for her a piece of equipment that tacked on to the saddle and allowed Alir a permanent perch atop Argos.

Lyn took a moment to look at her horse, her bird, and her friend. Considering everything, she could not imagine a better way to travel, or better company to travel in. Suddenly Alir puffed up and let out a screech. Argos began shifting nervously and St
ygian's nostrils flared. Lyn looked immediately over to Siege, but he was intently searching about them for the source of the unease.

To her left, Lyn caught movement and turned to see Marcho staring at them from just around a tree. Siege immediately drew
his weapon with a quick motion, the grating sound of which made Lyn cringe.

"Name yourself, beast,
" Siege demanded with a low voice. Despite herself, a not unpleasant chill wound its way through the Druid. Curiously, Lyn found she was very attracted to Siege's evident aggressive side. Understandably, the Druid people had little use for warriors, and as such their caste was unfamiliar to Lyn. And after seeing it a few times in Siege, she found she rather liked it.

Marcho, however, seemed unaffected as alwa
ys and took a step towards them before sitting back on his haunches. "Marcho, the Voidwolf," he said simply. "You would be Siege Skyehart, kin of the corrupted one."

Siege stiffened visibly at the ebon wolf's outwardly abrasive words. Through gritted teet
h he said, "Ren. His name is Ren."

"Incorrect.
Its
name is Umbra; Ren Skyehart has ceased to be as you understand it."

"No!" Siege cried out, his voice fraught with emotion. "No, that is not true. He remembered me. He knew me. Ren is still in there." Sie
ge's great sword was still leveled at the black wolf, but Marcho did not seem to care about it.

Slowly he began to stalk around them, his three crimson eyes never leaving the blonde warrior. "Your thoughts betray you, Skyehart. I am not your enemy. I am n
ot even your brother's enemy. I am here for Umbra, and Umbra alone."

"Your tricks don't impress me, beast. I have no use for you; Umbra will be drawn from my brother by my own hand, and cast out like the garbage he is. Like you both are. You do not belong
in this world."

Still circling, Marcho's throat rumbled with threat. "You humans forget so easily; we were both summoned here by willing men."

"What man would ever contract with the likes of you?"

"A wiser man than you shall ever be, boy."

Siege joined in the stalk, and the two circled each other in earnest. Marcho's long teeth glinted against the reflected light from the snow and Siege's large blade hung menacingly in the air, poised to strike. A cold wind blew against them; Siege's cloak swept out in the gale and time stood still while Lyn was caught by the moment. It looked just like a scene from one of Nana's stories, with the grand shining knight standing against the dark beast, cape billowing behind him.

But then reality caught up to her and her
gut knotted. "Both of you, stop. We have a common enemy, we don't have the luxury of this argument!"

Neither seemed to hear her, but rather
they continued to slowly circle one another. The horses and Alir were clearly in a state of panic, and the violent intent in the air was palpable. Lyn did her best to calm them, but she could not blame them for their unease.

"My family has defended this mountain for as long as we've had our name. I'll be cast into Oblivion before I let either you or the other of your
ilk continue to taint the world."

"You meddle with forces you do not understand, human. I am not here for your extermination, but if you stand in my way I am not averse to destroying you."

Lyn, sensing the rising tension in the air, called out to them. "Listen to yourselves! You both know why you are here! Keep your purpose foremost in mind; we can work together to end Umbra. Siege, once this is done, Marcho will return to his world. Marcho, Siege needs closure and peace for his brother. Listen to the wind, a storm is coming. Umbra has lured us out here away from shelter or aid; it wants us to divide ourselves so it can pick us off! "

The three-eyed wolf stopped and shifted his gaze over to the girl who stood defiant against the cutting wind, fists clench
ed and face flushed with emotion. "She is correct," he said slowly, looking back to the large blonde man. "This situation is most opportune for Umbra. It is undoubtedly waiting for instigation of conflict so that it may take advantage."

Siege paused for a
moment before slowly lowered his sword. The wind was picking up drastically, carrying with it the threat of a harsh mountain storm.

The wind bit against Siege's face and he squinted his eyes, looking to the sky. "Yes," he said with resignation. "Yes of c
ourse you are right, Lyn." He looked back to the wolf. He said nothing, but he nodded once and slid his sword across his back with exaggerated movement. With an unaffected air he turned first and headed back to Lyn and the horses, not looking back at the giant wolf. True to form, Marcho passively strode over to the party and sat waiting while they discussed their next steps.

According to Siege, there were ruins of an old guard post nearby. While they had been unoccupied officially for some time, the ruins
were a well-known shelter for travelers heading up or down the mountain from this side. Siege had used it himself more than once in his earlier travels, he said. However, there was no guarantee they would be the only ones finding shelter there, especially with the coming storm. As such, Marcho made himself scarce and said he would be watching for the moment he was needed.

Lyn and Siege continued on, now mounted on their respective horses. Siege had insisted that the ruins were not far, but it felt like a s
olid amount of time before they reached them. By the time they did, the wind had died down but snow still fell. Fog encompassed the area so the trees appeared like wraiths in the mist. It was surprisingly warm, and Lyn commented on that fact.

"Though it c
an't be that warm, obviously," she intoned, "because it's still snowing."

"No," Siege said, looking
forward with hatred in his steel gaze. "It is ash."

Lyn sat puzzled for a moment. She reached out and took off a glove, leaving her hand palm up to catch
one of the falling flakes. When one landed on her outstretched fingers, she pulled it in and rubbed it against her thumb. It left a gritty black smear, making Lyn gasp. She turned back to Siege, who was watching her hand as though to confirm his suspicions. With a nod to himself he turned back towards the barely visible remains of the guard towers.

"Stay here," he ordered curtly, making Lyn bristle. She had come all this way with him, she did not intend to stand by now when it was almost done. At this junc
ture, however, she felt it best to adopt the policy of 'better to ask forgiveness than permission' and waited until Siege and Stygian had moved up a ways before she followed.

A faint cry reached her ears and she pulled to a stop. Argos, clearly not
accustomed to the burning smell and ash, shifted uneasily from side to side. Lyn decided it would be more expedient for her to continue on foot, so she dismounted and tied her new friend around a tree just like Siege had instructed her. She patted the nervous horse gently on the neck and reached out her arm for Alir and he hopped over to her.

The two set off towards the smoking ruins, arriving just in time to peek over a small crumbling outer wall and watch
as a bloodied man died in Siege's arms. She had not heard what was said, and Siege's back was to her, but by his posture she could tell he was furious.

Gently placing the man down and closing his eyes with armored fingers, Siege stood abruptly and drew his giant blade. "Ren!" he called, his voice deep with ra
ge. "Umbra! Whatever you call yourself, step forward. Your fate awaits you, it is time to reap what you have sown!"

Lyn looked about, but saw no enemy forthcoming. The fog cast an
eerie stage indeed, and Lyn found herself hoping that Umbra would not choose to reveal itself here. Deciding to do something useful, she stepped within view and cast about to find the source of the fire. Siege did not seem surprised at her presence but did not move to help her.

"You do not wish to go any further," he said flatly
. Lyn looked back at him to see if he was going to offer anything further but he did not. Turning a corner around a barely standing wall, she saw the source of the fire and ash; a great conflagration took up the entirety of the open floor space, and within its dancing flames Lyn distinctly made out the twisted shapes of bodies. She retched and put a hand to her mouth.

Siege stood unmoving, and once she had retreated back to him she managed, "Who would have.....why?"

Her armored companion looked down at her and Alir let out a cry of distress. He took to the air and circled about, rising on the warm lift from the flames. "You know what did this. As to why, I could not tell you."

"Suffering," a
guttural voice said from the surrounding fog. Marcho's large form took shape and he stepped into the light. "Umbra feeds on the suffering. It is weakened from its long slumber. Seeing that its demise may be at hand, it is seeking to siphon as much strength as it can."

"You really are monsters," Siege said, spitting on
the ground. Marcho did not react, but his eyes told a different story.

"Siege," Lyn said quietly, "Umbra is an exception even in the Astral plane. You cannot blame Marcho for the actions of another. That is the same as blaming any human for the actions o
f a different human. Marcho has no more control over Umbra than you or I have over anyone else."

"Ignorance often breeds contempt," Marcho said, causing Lyn to quietly swear under her breath; there was no way these two were going to make it easy on
each other.

To her surprise, however, Siege did not react aggressively to the provocation
. "I have found that to be true," Siege said, and spoke no more on the matter. Men, Lyn thought. Who could even know what was going on in their heads?

"Lyn," Marcho said, t
urning his attention to her. "Umbra is still nearby. I can sense him. This fire impedes my ability to track his scent."

"Say no more
,” Lyn said with gusto, glad to be of use. She found a space of flat ground and sat with her back to a stone wall. Steadying her breathing, she expanded her awareness until she could feel Alir circling above her. Seamlessly, she lifted herself to him and rode with him in the cool air. The two had practiced this until it became second nature, but Lyn never tired of the feeling of freedom and elation she experienced flying with Alir.

For a moment she forgot about Umbra, about the fire, about anything but being free. Alir was carried away with her and for a moment they felt bliss. Reality soon sunk back in as the two began to foc
us on what they actually had to do. Lyn and Alir scoped the area, but they saw nothing. Determined to make a difference for her friends, she redoubled her efforts. Suddenly she realized what she had just thought to herself; her
friends
. Despite herself, she found yet another set of individuals she cared for. One of them was a demon. What was her world coming to?