Position: Gantus

"Lady Mírya!" A familiar voice called. It seemed far away, as if calling from a high tower. Mírya looked to the sky, half-heartedly searching for its source. The familiar bronze of the atmosphere had become dark and menacing. Embers floated upward and blinked out; a cruel parody of the night sky she had seen once, long ago, in her childhood. Her head swam. The still body she held rolled out of her arms as she was lifted, the yelling now close to her ear.
"The royal family is being evacuated, the fleet... the fleet..."
His words trailed off. Explosions shook the ground as she stumbled over more bodies, those of winged steeds carrying soldiers she knew, some she had even trained with. She halted suddenly, staring forward, directly into a raging blaze.
"The fleet...?" she questioned, sorrow clogging up her voice. Her footing faltered, and the man escorting her made an attempt to carry her. Mírya shrugged him off,
"Please..." She turned to him, her consultant and friend of so many years. There was much fear in his silvery eyes. Still, he retained his polite, subservient demeanor.
"I meant no offense, My Lady Mírya. The fleet has been all but obliterated," His eyes, so familiar, seemed so distant as they shifted toward the flames behind her. "Sunu has already been overtaken..."
"How can the people escape..."
He grabbed her elbow, and dragged her along towards the woods, away from the burning palace, which housed the entrance to the underground fortress; the only hope of salvaging the survivors.
"Eijan!" She cried, raising her voice over another explosion above them. He did not turn to look at her, nor did he pause in his stride. She tried to dig her heels into the ground, forcing blood out of her ankles. Now he did not hesitate, and swooped her into his arms unromantically. She shrieked and flailed with all of her strength, but members of the Elite Guard were not chosen blindly, and he was much stronger than she. He carried her through the dense, bronze wood, toward a clear structure so tall it ascended beyond the clouds. The firing grew louder as they closed in on the Spire. She could see flames, explosions erupting upon the transparent tube. However, each attempt appeared to be completely ineffective.

"The Gods..." she whispered, to none but herself.

The explosions were deafening now, and the previously forbidden door to the Spire was in sight. The clear tower was massive; ten thousand men, spread arm to arm, could not possibly surround its entirety. Inside were four smaller tubes, one for each member of the royal family: The Queen herself, and no more than three children, as was written into the law of her bloodline. A dark blur shot into the sky through one of the tubes, and, for a moment, the black, roped hair of her sister was visible. Her breath caught as what seemed to be the firepower of the entire army was unleashed at the quickly rising figure. But the Spire, it appeared, had not the slightest crack, and cylinder carrying her disappeared above the clouds. Eijan set her on her rocky feet and grabbed her bloody hand, slapping it against a small screen to the left of the doorway. It flashed and whirred, making sounds that seemed very daunting to her, though her companion seemed completely unaffected as he scanned the forest and the skies for enemies. The door slid open with a hiss. Giving her no time to be wary of it, Eijan grabbed her once more and rushed her inside the main tube,
"There's someone behind us," he said quietly, without a pause in his stride. She however, turned. Through the transparent door, now shut, she caught a glimpse of a soldier, clad in black, heading now towards another door.
"There's nothing we can do about him now." Eijan declared flatly.
"But-"
In what seemed less than a heartbeat, her feet touched the platform of the tube, and she and her companion were enclosed inside almost immediately. Her stomach sank quickly and her slender neck whipped downwards as they shot with incredible force into the sky. She would have fallen to the floor if Eijan wasn't grabbing her bruisingly around the waist. She shrieked as her senses were overwhelmed with hundreds of flashes and explosions that shook her bones as the Atoxion forces mindlessly continued their fiery assault on the Spire. Her burns throbbed and her ears felt full and pressured as they ascended above the rusty orange clouds. The platform slowed as they broke through above the veil of auburn, revealing a peaceful gradient of blue. They continued to rise slowly toward an opening in an ellipsoid, which was made of the same clear substance. It was several times larger than the girth of the Spire and, seemingly all as one being, the figures inside turned to look at them as they drew nearer. Attached to the giant ellipse was what appeared to be another flying machine, though it was unlike the dark, angular Atoxion warships. Her mother, the graceful Queen, broke through the crowd of people and rushed to the door which they approached. Her shredded gown was hiked up, revealing her bare feet briefly, before she let her skirt down to press her hands against the clear walls in earnest.

In a matter of moments, the platform had stopped, the door was open, and she was in her mother's arms. The great Queen was sobbing, her thin frame shaking violently. Over her shoulder Mírya was assaulted by nearly a dozen pairs of eyes, including those of her sister, directing their mixed glances towards her. No one said a word for an eerily long time. The awful tension broke as the Menders swarmed her, reassuring her mother as they drew her back a ways. Eijan insisted he was fine, though he allowed them to check his heart and lungs. Mírya stayed silent as they did the same for her, hardly noticing the sting as they inspected her burns. Her eyes never left those of Teirin's, her sister. They were dark, dead. Having applied a salve to her wounds, the Menders retreated to search through their sacks for bandages, allowing her babbling mother to fawn over her again. Mírya heard not a word the Queen said; the buzz of numbness drowning out all except the plink of a boot in a puddle of blood as her sister stepped towards her, a neatly wrapped stump where her left arm once was. Her sickly, cracked lips parted, and she spoke,

"So, Mírya, you made it out alive..." Her mother's eyes, still staring at Mírya, grew wide, and she became silent. Tierin stepped toward her again, inspecting Mírya's skin with her shadowy eyes as the Menders returned, rolls of wrapped fabric in their hands. "Why bother," she said with a light giggle, flicking her eyes to them for a moment, then back, "Barely a scratch on her." Her remaining fist balled up and struck her, hard, her bony knuckles crunching into her cheekbone. Mírya crashed to the floor, momentarily losing sight of everything around her as she struck the bottom of the ellipse. Her sister's foot jabbed painfully into her lower abdomen, forcing a cough out of her as her sister's fist continued to fly madly, yelling with each strike.

"This. Is. All. Your. Fault. You-"

Hands pulled Mírya away from the relentless hand as she shut her eyes tightly. Her mother's frail body came between the assailant and herself, scolding Tierin softly through her tears. The screaming only grew louder and more violent.

"Dasshi! This wouldn't have happened if you were never born! You lead the darkness here!"

"T-Tierin..." she croaked in response, but Eijan was already in front of her, crouched down, and blocking her view of everything happening to his back.

"On your feet," he ordered urgently, grasping her shoulders between two firm hands. Mírya only let out a wheezy breath of protest. She carefully studied his concerned face. The screaming had stopped, and a wall of Guardians now surrounded her sister, though their attention was drawn elsewhere. A low rumble had begun. Though at first hardly recognizable, within seconds the entire structure around them began to shake and chatter. Eijan, now nearly supporting her all weight, only kept his eyes fixed on the clouds just below them. As she searched beneath her feet for the source, she heard her mother cry out. She glanced up slowly toward the flurry of motion as the group rushed once again to the door from which she had entered moments before. Looking down once more, she perceived a tiny dot, now quickly growing, burst through the sea of orange and continued its ascent.

"Ados!" Jerkily she moved to join her family, but Eijan's outstretched arm quickly caught her in the collarbone, making her visibly dizzy. She turned to squint at him with a huff, but he, without even returning the glance, hooked his arm around her and covered her mouth. Her muffled squeals were not heard, or were ignored by her family as he dragged her slowly towards the attached ship. Though the distance between she and her family was quickly growing, she could see the platform carrying her older brother and his Guardian creep up to the door of the ellipse. Eijan was once again grabbing her hand and placing it on a screen, twisting her awkwardly, and painfully, in order to keep her mouth covered as well. Now panicked, she bit hard into his skin. But then they began moving forward again, beyond another clear door which had responded to her hand on the screen. When it shut behind them, all the noise behind them ceased. Eijan released her, and she clamored toward the exit, cursing him.

"Have you got bastia in your head you traitorous filth? I trusted you! All these years I trusted you!"

"My Lady... please..." he said lowly, without making eye contact. She followed his eyes to her family, still in the ellipse, completely unaware of her departure. Ados and his hooded Guardian were now amongst them, and the Menders were swarming. The man holding Ados's curled body rejected any aid, but held out the bundled body to the Menders, as if presenting it to them. Everyone seemed to freeze, until one of the robed Menders stepped forward and gingerly accepted the body into his own arms. The Queen fell to her knees as her sons face was unveiled, her mouth wide, and her fingers twisting in anguish. She was screaming. Inside the shaft to the ship, however, Mírya and Eijan heard nothing but the combined breathing of the two of them. No one outside seemed to notice when the man who had carried Ados cast his cloak aside. Mírya pounded on the door, and began screaming over and over,

"No! No! Please no!" The man was not a Guardian. His head was without hair, his skin milky white; a sharp contrast to the soft blue-gray skin and feathery hair of the native Uthinis. Boxes and colorful wiring covered most of his torso.

"The soldier from the forest..." Eijan murmured, his voice cracking. Mírya's family, and the people she had known her whole life stared wide-eyed as the soldier reached up to touch a red circle protruding from his chest. Instantly, all inside the ellipse was transformed to fire and ash.

The floor continued to tremble as Eijan led her to the ship. She did not put up a fight. He strapped her in to a foamy chair, and instructed her to stay still until the ship was stable. He showed her food and water and first aid.

"How do you know all of these things, Eijan..." She questioned monotonously, staring at her reflection in the dark glass above.

"It is my hope that one day I may tell you."

"You are not going to accompany me..."

"That is correct."

"Where will you go?"

"I have someone. Someone I need to go back for."

"It is your sworn duty to protect me." He did not respond for a lengthy minute. Her tired eyes did not stray from her reflections'.

"You are in the hands of the Gods now, as it should be. I must bid you farewell now, My Lady." Mírya closed her eyes, ignoring him. After some time, his footsteps started towards the other door. One which led back into the ellipse.

"Eijan. This is all my fault, isn't it?" The footsteps paused, but there was no reply. When Mírya opened her eyes again, she was alone, with only the girl reflected in the glass above her. Her hair had be chopped off hideously, and she was covered in blood, dirt, and grime. She began to sob repulsively as the ship roared with life.

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Woo! This was a long one. As always, please let me know if you find any mistakes!

What did you think about the use of  their native curse words? Confusing or nah? Should I make footnotes for them?

How do you like the Lady Mírya and the other Uthinis so far?