The Shattering

“M’lord,” the messenger attempted to bow deeply and ended up falling to his hands and knees, “Thank you for meeting me at this late hour … I’ve ridden all day and all night.”

Caleste, Edrahn, her sons, and her advisors all stood in the great hall to hear the messenger that, according to the guards, had demanded an audience. The guards had apparently been sufficiently moved to let him in and Caleste could see why. Caleste looked at him closer: he was young, perhaps about Graden’s age, and caked in soot in dirt. His face was streaked in tears and covered in scratches. One of his hands shook terribly, the arm wrapped so tight in bandages she feared he had cut off circulation to it.

“Get the healer,” she muttered to one of her servants who bowed and hurried off through the side door.

“What is it?” Caleste asked.

“I hail from Odrum. We’ve been raided, m’lady. We need your help,” he said it as if he had recited these lines a thousand times on his journey. Graden stepped down from his place next to his mother and made his way to the boy. He helped him into a kneeling position but the boy, obviously exhausted by his travels, ended up falling backwards. He at least remained relatively upright though he now sat crosslegged on the floor. Graden kept a steadying hand on his shoulder.

“By whom?” Caleste asked.

“I- I don’t know,” the boy admitted, “It was dark and we couldn’t see very well – it was really foggy. My dad put me on a horse and told me to ride to here and not stop.”

Caleste was quiet for a long moment. Her mind raced, Odrum was a small town to the southeast, not far from Caleston. It sat along the southern border and was practically in the Barrens. Who could it have been? Bandits? A group from the Barrens? Would they even be that brazen?

She mused it could have been from the south, the winter hadn’t been hard on just her territory, and a desperate lord could have resorted to a cross border raid. If it was from the south, she could use this to her advantage. Venera couldn’t fault her for defending her borders, she mused. Taking a few towns over in the process would just be a perk to also increasing an important city’s distance from potential invasion.

“Get this boy some food and drink,” she ordered another servant, “Once he has the healer look over his wounds I want him to be put up in the guest quarters.”

The servant nodded and Graden helped the boy stand before the servants escorted him from the room. After they left all eyes turned to Caleste.

“What will we do?” Sigrus, Caleste’s closest advisor, asked.

Caleste thought for a moment, though she had already pretty much made up her mind as to her next actions. They’d have to respond and in force. She would not let this transgression against her people, against her, slide. She turned to Commander Emmon, “How soon can you get your men ready?”

“It depends on what we’re planning on doing,” Emmon said, “Is this going to be a quick mission?”

“I’m prioritizing speed,” Caleste said, “We need to be at Odrum as soon as we can.”

Emmon stroked his beard, “We can be ready by late morning if we prepare tonight.”

“Good,” Caleste said, “Then be ready. I don’t intend on gathering a large force, you and your best men should suffice.”

The countess turned to Sigrus, “I trust you can keep my city from falling apart for the few days I’ll be gone?”

“I think I can manage,” Sigrus answered flatly, “You intend to go with Emmon and his men then?”

“Yes,” Caleste said, “I want to see the town for myself.”

Idan spoke up, “I’ll go with you.”

“No,” Caleste retorted sharply, “You will stay here with your brother and help Sigrus.”

He was not nearly ready for battle if it came to that. She needed a force that could handle whatever had attacked the town and Idan was going to be a hindrance to that. He needed to stay home, perhaps learn a thing or two from Sigrus in the process. She’d have given the responsibility of handling Caleston to him if she wasn’t so unsure of his competence.

Idan at least schooled his expression enough to hide his pout, if only barely.

Edrahn spoke up, “You’ll need healers if you intend on aiding the town — I can summon our best mages to help.”

“Good,” Caleste said, “I take it you’re coming with me then?”

“I’d never leave your side, dear,” Edrahn replied, “Someone has to keep you from doing something foolish.”

Of course, Caleste knew that Edrahn was spoiling for a fight as much as she was. While Edrahn was a bit more levelheaded and thoughtful than Caleste — Edrahn was by no means passive. She shared Caleste’s ambition for glory, and Caleste was very happy to have her on her side.

Caleste turned to one of her other advisors, “Anida – I need you to get messages out to all the lords in the surrounding towns to gather their forces.”

Sigrus gave Caleste a sharp glance, “You intend to raise an army, m’lord?”

“I want one at the ready,” Caleste said, “In case this turns out to be something bigger than an isolated raid… Odrum is on our borders and the winter wasn’t just harsh on us but on our neighbors to the south as well.”

“You think that one of the lords of the Southern Kingdom attacked us?”

“If they were desperate enough? Yes,” Caleste replied, “And if that were the case I’d like to have an army ready to defend not only my territory, but Venera’s queendom.”

Sigrus narrowed his eyes at that — he saw right through Caleste’s reasoning, but she knew that even he had to admit that this was a sound decision. If there were to be more raids along their border or even an invasion, it would be good to have an army ready to respond. The council broke up, knowing they had work to do if they were to leave in the morning. There was no time to waste.

As Caleste strode back to her quarters, driven by the urgency the situation demanded, Edrahn followed closely behind her.

Edrahn finally asked, “So were those the actions of a count who’s truly concerned about the security of her realm or were those the actions of someone interested in expanding their territory?”

“… Why can’t it be both?”

***

The party that gathered at the gate late that next morning wasn’t the most organized or best prepared, but Caleste knew time was of the essence. Caleste, clad in chainmail and a plate cuirass, mounted her fastest horse. Her halberd was strapped upright to the side of the saddle. She thought back to her time fighting for Venera — she knew Torvola would have never put together a slapdash force like this. Of course she’d spend the next season fretting over logistics and planning … who to send, what to bring, and what route to take.

Gods she was glad to be out of that woman’s shadow.

She spurred her horse on and her and her men thundered out of the gates of her castle, through the streets of her city, and out into fields beyond. They made good time that morning on the relatively flat terrain of the valley Caleston was nestled in. They rode along muddied paths, flanked by fields that farmers were only just beginning to sow. Caleste would have loved to pause and meet some of the farmers and see how they were faring. They didn’t have the time though.

Odrum was a little over a day’s ride away under normal circumstances. Caleste wondered who had attacked the town, it would largely dictate her response. If it were an unusually organized and brutal band of bandits — they may already be back in the Barrens or whatever dark hole they had crawled out from. If it were the Southern Kingdom then their forces might be on the move already. There may be more towns at risk.

She vowed to ride through the night if she had to.

Her and her force thundered around the large merchant caravans that had finally made it over the mountain passes and into the valley. The traders looked on in surprise as they quickly moved to make room on the road for Caleste to ride by. The terrain rose sharply as they reached the edge of the mountains, the shrubby landscape they had rode through gave way to an open forest of towering evergreens. The world around them cooled as the sun that had been beating down on them all morning was eclipsed by the thick canopy of boughs. The light breeze that traveled up the slopes carried a faint scent of vanilla.

Odrum was in the next valley over, which meant they’d have to make their way through the mountains to get to it. While the mountain range wasn’t as formidable as the ones that made up the Barrens and there was a pass that made the terrain navigable — it was still a tough ride for anyone. The horses slowed as the ascent got rougher and Caleste allowed the group to slow to a walk. She didn’t like the delay but it would be better than having to deal with a horse suffering a broken leg.

She may be criticized for being rash and impatient but she wasn’t a complete idiot.

They smelled the fire before they saw it, as they neared the pass the trees thinned out slightly and allowed Caleste to look up at the sky above. The skies were no longer blue, and the sun shone bright red through the orange haze that now drifted overhead. Finally, they crested the pass and got their first good look at the valley below. Columns of dark smoke billowed up from Odrum and the thick forest that surrounded it, it looked like the town and some of the surrounding settlements were burning. The fire hadn’t seemed to have spread to the surrounding forests. The wet winter had been a boon after all. Well … At least in this one case.

They paused at the pass to let the horses rest and drink from the small mountain stream that trickled out of the rock nearby. Caleste stood on an outcropping of rock that gave her the best view of the valley below. Odrum was the only place that was burning, she saw no other signs of whatever force had attacked the town.

Emmon joined her at the overlook, “We can be down there by nightfall,” he said, “Though I’m not sure that will be the wisest decision. We don’t know what’s down there, m’lord.”

“If we stay up here then we’ll be exposed and visible to anyone still in the valley,” Caleste replied, “At least the forest will offer some cover and shelter.”

She did have to admit — Emmon had a point. If Odrum and the other settlements in the valley were destroyed then they’d have nowhere safe to stay for the night if they descended. It would be better to wait for morning.

“We can stop below the tree line for the night,” Caleste said, “Get everyone back up – we’ve a few hours yet before nightfall.”

They descended through the hazy air, the air in the valley was cooling as the sun began to disappear behind the western mountains and the smoke began to settle into the lower elevations with the cooler air. Caleste had to admit that listening to Emmon’s council was the right move, and not only because they would be in a potentially indefensible position if they were caught in the valley. Being halfway up the mountain slope, just below the tree line, meant that they were mostly above the air in the valley that was now choked in thick smoke.

She couldn’t imagine how unbearable it would be to spend a night in that suffocating murk. As they dismounted and prepared a crude encampment for the night, Caleste couldn’t help but notice how deathly silent their surroundings were. She paused and strained to hear even a bird chirp or the buzz of an insect. She was met by heavy silence.

She wasn’t the only one who noticed the unnatural stillness in the air. The horses were restless, stamping at the ground and snorting as the knights tried to tie them up for the night. She swore, whenever the light breeze picked up, that she could smell a hint of sulfur.

It had to be nothing. It was her mind playing tricks on her, surely.

“I want two people on watch at all times tonight,” Caleste said to Emmon, “No fires.”

The sun slipped behind the mountains and Caleste and her men settled in for a long, cold night. Caleste kept her chainmail on, despite how uncomfortable it was to sleep in, just in case. She sat up against a log and held Edrahn close to her that night, both women’s eyes trying to peer through the hazy darkness for any sign of danger. Neither of them got much sleep.

It felt like an eternity before dawn broke and it became bright enough for them to move safely. Everyone was quiet as they packed up camp and prepared to set out for the day, Caleste and Edrahn were not the only ones who didn’t get any sleep.

Caleste went to her horse to mount it, and a thrill went down her spine as she looked over the valley below. A thick shroud of smoke obscured everything below her, making it impossible to see what lay ahead of her. Edrahn stopped her wife before she got onto the horse and handed her a dark green cloth, “It’s not much but it may help with the smoke,” she said.

Caleste nodded and took the damp cloth and tied it around her nose and mouth. She looked around at the rest of her party, all now donning the same crude mask that she wore. She hoisted herself up onto her horse, and patted it lightly to reassure him as he shook its head with a snort and stomped his feet. Emmon brought his horse next to her and Caleste gave him a nod.

Caleste gave her horse a slight nudge with her foot and it reluctantly walked forward. The same thrill went down her spine and she tried to ignore it, tried to ignore the sense of danger she felt, the sense of fear. She could be anxious, apprehensive even … but she couldn’t be afraid.

She breathed slowly and deeply through the thick cloth mask and blinked against the smoke that was growing thicker as they descended. One by one, she and her men disappeared into the murk.