Dedicated to doddledoctor. Thank you for all your support, encouragement, and insight. All greatly appreciated. <3

8.

Memory's Tidings

Even though Sianna felt Reth's tight grip over her waist and legs, she held on to his coat tails. The ground swept under them so fast all she could see was white, but that could have also been because of the Magus' ice. Her hands tightened her hold on Reth's uniform, this time out of anger.

They stopped and the ground greeted her feet as Reth placed her down. She inhaled a few times to get her footing and opened her eyes she didn't know she had closed. Sianna faced Reth and stuck a finger in his face.

"We're not going to do that again anytime soon," she told him.

He jammed his chin out. "Yes, ser."

"At least you threw me over your shoulder. I would've punched you had you cradled me like some maiden," she added.

A small smile crept over his lips.

"Where exactly did Ser Aldermeck say to find her, ser?" Deneck asked.

Sianna looked at him and her surroundings. The two Rhokins had brought her to higher ground with the path to The Silent Chapel before them. She could see Jabel cupped below in the frozen valley. It appeared dozen of miles away, enough for Sianna to see the town in its entirety encased with frost and snow. Orange glares rampaged between the blue and white giving the illusion of icy fire.

Then, the Magus started to disappear. One by one, each of the orange smudges left in a swirl of flakes and exploding icicles until only the biggest one of them all—the one Sianna, Reth, and Deneck ran away from—was left. The towering creature curled its lengthy neck as if searching for something. For a moment, Sianna felt it had locked eyes with her, but that was ridiculous. She was too far away to even make sense of the direction its stretched out head had faced.

A wet cough and the sound of something falling drew her eyes away. "Reth?"

The Rhokin was on one knee with a hand to his mouth, blood streaking across his gloves. It was then Sianna noticed how terrible Reth appeared. His cloak was gone and his uniform had small tears on it as if he had been attacked by tiny, flying razor blades.

"What happened to him?" Sianna asked Deneck.

Her eyes widened, noting Deneck's tired body as well. His right arm was sticky red, gluing bits of his tattered uniform to his skin. She had never seen so much blood on him before. At least not his. Sianna looked back towards Jabel. The massive Magus from before was no longer there.

I didn't know there were Magus that powerful. At least the attack from long ago on my village had survivors and it was rebuilt. Smaller, yes, but still there.

"The Magus hit us with exploding crystals full of ice," Deneck explained, his eyes on Reth. "We both took multiple hits from both magick and Magus. I believe Reth may have broken a rib."

Sianna pursed her lips together as she watched Reth slowly rise to his feet. "Can you help support him while we find Ser Aldermeck?" she asked Deneck.

He nodded and went over to the other Rhokin. Sianna took lead as they walked on the pebbled path. Rocks the size of speared melons flanked them and they increased in size as they paced. Sianna concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. It was the only way to prevent from screaming. From pulling her sword out and hacking at the rocks around her.

It's gone.

Sianna had never called anywhere her home. She was not foolish enough to allow herself to settle into a place, no matter how long she had resided in it. As a member of the Guard, she could be stationed elsewhere in a heartbeat. Attachment to planks of woods, cobbled pathways, and Guard towers was trivial.

It had been the people.

She had seen their faces too much. Neil's booming laughter always overwhelmed the drunken talk of his tavern. His daughters and serving girls each had their own sighs and giggles, designed to draw in a man to their beds in hopes of extra coin.

Sianna also remembered Kem's colorful curses she'd yell whenever she would heal anybody. Jabel mothers would try to keep her from healing their children. Kem's foul mouth was matched, if not surpassed, by Patt's, the Guard's cook. He and his shy son were regular sights in Sianna's life.

Jabel's smiles, laughter, taunts, cries, brawls, and greetings were within everyone's faces. Especially the greetings. They all always had warm words for the Guard.

The Guard. My friends at arms.

Her sword hand shook as she remembered the horrible splat their blood would make when it would fall to the ground while they had been combating the Magus. It had taken almost all of them to best just one. She had seen too many die, and they were all now frozen corpses. No time for proper burials.

"Sianna! Deneck!" Aldermeck's voice snapped her from her thoughts.

It seemed to come from the wall of snow covered boulders a few feet away from the path. She saw Aldermeck pop from behind the rocks and wave at them.

"Ser Aldermeck, are you alright?" Deneck asked.    

A horse's neigh answered him.                                

"What the hell?" Sianna said.

"Hurry!" Aldermeck waved them over again.

The three scurried to the natural stone wall. The scavenging horse was the first thing Sianna noticed, a bloody Tiel on the ground was the second.

"Tiel!" she cried. She moved to go to the side of her companion. Probably her best friend.

"No!" The young man leaning over Tiel held a tanned hand out at Sianna.

She stared at his deep green eyes. There were flecks of orange in them and they reminded her she was supposed to be angry. "Who are you?" she snarled.

Deneck's eyes widened with recognition, but it was Reth that spoke.

"You are the man from the raven tower that warned us of the Magus threat," he said.

Aldermeck scowled. "Yes, we all know each other. How adorable. Leave the boy be! He is healing Tiel. A Magus managed to sink its damn talons in him."

Sianna grit her teeth as she saw Tiel's body shake with whatever it was the boy was doing. It caused the blood already pooling under him to spread out further. There were two holes in his torso: one completely through his left shoulder and another through his stomach. The one there was maimed and strips of flesh mingled with his torn furs. His mail had probably fallen off from the ferocity of the stabs though there were still silver links caught in the gore.

The young man wasn't using herbs or potions. He wasn't even bandaging up the wound. On hand was holding something in his enclosed palm that was small enough for Sianna to not see it. His other hand was on Tiel, over his heart. Other than that, nothing was happening except Tiel's spasms.  

"What is he supposed to be doing?" Sianna turned to Aldermeck.

She didn't respond, her eyes a cold blue as she scrutinized the scene before her.

"I need someone to hold him down," the young man said.

"Deneck," Aldermeck said, voice stiff, "even with your maimed arm, you're stronger than any of us here."

"Yes, ser," Deneck answered and led Reth to the boulders for him to lean on meanwhile.

"Hurry," the boy insisted as Deneck kneeled by Tiel's head.

"Where shall I hold him."

"Grab his arms but be careful with the shoulder."

"Yes."

The young man's eyes swept the bleeding soldier. The orange in them appeared so bright. "I need 'nother pair of hands."

"Reth," Sianna called to him.

He leaned away from the boulder and faced Sianna with his usual indifference. "Yes, ser?"

She wasn't sure what was going on, but if this boy could save Tiel, she would send him her Rhokin. "Help out and do what he says."

He nodded and kneeled by the soldier's feet. His crouch wasn't as swift as Deneck's had been, Sianna noticed.

With both pair of Rhokin hands holding down Tiel on his arms and legs, the young man moved his hand from his chest to the wound in his shoulder. He grasped the object in his other hand tighter, turning his knuckles white. The orange in his eyes was almost shinning.

Muscle and skin began to appear in the middle of the wound. Blood vessels threaded through the gore but none was spilled. The mass of flesh engorged like a wineskin inflating with liquid. As the wound filled out, Tiel's hand and the bottom half of his arm shrunk into his elbow. It was like those pieces of his body was the material filling out his injury. After a minute, Tiel's shoulder was smooth and whole.

Sianna's mouth opened in surprise but her eyes were still furrowed. What type of sage is he?

The boy moved his hand over to the gash in Tiel's stomach. What would be sacrificed to plug that hole? Sianna waited for something to start shrinking. A leg or his other arm, but nothing happened. The young man withdrew his hand and clutched it to his chest. His other that grasped his mysterious item dug into his pocket. 

"I'm sorry," he said, "the organ is torn 'un I can't fix that."

"What?" Sianna gaped at the boy. "But I saw you—Tiel's shoulder! It's fixed!"

His eyes held nothing but sorrow. The orange in them wasn't as bright anymore.

"Deneck, you may stop holding him now," Aldermeck said.

"Yes." He stood.

"You as well Reth."

The blond Rhokin eyed Sianna. She met his gaze. Her jaw tightened and she shook with nausea but she couldn't tell if it was because of his silver stare or because Tiel just let out his dying breath. The sour stench of urine followed.

"Let him go, Reth," she whispered.

"We leave," Aldermeck said and turned away from them.

What?

"Just like that? Can't we—"

"No." Aldermeck cut through her words like a whip. "We have to reach Dux Suller and tell him Gywn Caps are lost. We should have been prepared for this attack."

"Meryl." Sianna remembered to call her that, but it did nothing to lift the scowl from Aldermeck's face. "Prepared? How could we have known this would happen? There has never been such an attack on Jabel before. Not even in its records."

She whirled to face her. "Indeed, Sianna, but that other lone Magus that attacked us yesterday was odd, was it not? It had been easily defeated, yet it did not use magick on us like these of today did. Either it was unable to use magick, which I doubt, or it had been a scout to gauge our security."

Sianna was taken aback. "A scout?"

"Yes, I have seen it happen before while at the Citadel, but it had never come down to this caliber."

"Ser, I believe there was intelligence in them too," Deneck said.

The two women spun towards him.

"When Reth and I were fighting them, they seemed to learn from our attacks. They would dodge our beheading techniques and one even used ice shields against me to prevent its blood from falling on me."

Aldermeck's scowl deepened. "Only more the reason to reach the Dux. We may reach The Silent Chapel after nightfall if we march now. The Dux is a two day walk from there. Unless..." She eyed the horse.

"Milady. Please, no," the young man said when he saw her looking at it.

Her glare spoke of her impatience. "I am not a lady, but tell me all the same why I cannot take this horse."

He bit his lip. "She's not tamed."

"Not tamed? I saw you riding her."

"Yes, but—"

"She even stands there, waiting." Aldermeck walked up to the horse, but when her hand came up to it, the steed neighed and bolted away.

"I'm sorry, milady," the young man said.

Aldermeck stared at the horizon that had already swallowed the horse. "I am not a lady."

"Ser?" Sianna called to her.

"And I am not 'ser' to you either," she snapped.

"Meryl. Are we really unable to give Tiel—"

"Rayoss, we have no time for this. I am sorry, but we must be off."

All emotion drained from her, and Sianna felt like her face could rival a Rhokin's vacant expression. "Yes, ser."

Blue eyes scolded her but Aldermeck spoke to the young man. "You there, boy. What is your name? You simply appeared to me offering help to heal Tiel, though good that did us."

He bowed his head in what appeared shame. His blond curls were dirty and some sweaty strands stuck to his forehead despite the cold. "I'm sorry milah—ser. My name is Iari. Iari Osardel. I come...came from Vess Wake."

"Iari." The Leitnant tasted his name on her tongue. "Very well. You may accompany us to The Silent Chapel. However, after such, you shall be on your own."

He nodded. "Thank you."

Aldermeck called Deneck to her side and the two walked up to the path and took it. Sianna turned back to Reth. The fact that she was going to be traveling with him—even possibly sleeping next to him—put her stomach in a knot. Maybe she could prod his broken rib to keep him away from her.

"Your wound," Iari said as he walked up to the Rhokin. "I can heal it. Rhokins are easier to heal than people even if they 'ave broken bones or torn organs. I 'ave healed Calera."

His left hand dug into his pocket and came out in a fist, no doubt holding the object from before when he was healing Tiel. Iari's other hand rested over Reth's heart before fanning over to his right side. The young man gave him a small smile. The Rhokin returned a smaller one and then his eyes darted to Sianna as if to question if his action had been permitted. She rolled her eyes.

"There," Iari said.

Reth inhaled deeply and his eyes gave a twinge of excitement. "I thank you, young ser."

The boy blushed.

Sianna's eyes narrowed as they darted to Iari's enclosed fist. It wasn't fair. Why could he heal Reth so easily yet Tiel had been a lost cause? She looked at his corpse and saw Iari had draped his body with a cloak. She suspected it had been the same one the boy had been wearing. Sianna felt some of her anger wash away.

"Iari," she called to him, "what is that you hold in your hand when you do your 'healings'?"

He shoved his fist into his pocket and kept it in there. Another blush overtook his cheeks. "I'm sorry, milady, ser, but I can't tell you."

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Author's Note: So I started working on a website for Calathus. It's still under construction but about half of it is up, information wise. There shouldn't be any spoilers and there never will be if you're caught up with the readings 'cause I plan to update information as it appears in the story, so check it out and keep it bookmarked should it catch your attention. It also has a mobile version, so it should look good on your phone or tablet or whatever.

calathus.weebly.com (you can also find the link on my profile)

Thanks! ^-^

Also... picture of Aldermeck! I keep forgetting to mention it...but her picture, along with the others I've posted, were made on heromachine.com. There are several character creation programs on that website you can use. :D