Lost in the Blue Mountains

"The path to Agho has been blocked,"

"That's great news!"

"How so?"

"Haven't you heard, there are monsters festering there,"

"Monsters? But the Lord got rid of them months ago,"

"They've returned, sneaked through the defences,"

"They're smarter and stronger,"

"Oh no, what will happen to us now?"

"How long before the path opens?"

"If the storms to come rage, it will take at least a month," 

"By then I'm certain our lord will come to save us,"

"We can only hope,"

"It's the same monsters that devoured the Blue Mountains,"

"Oh by the gods,"

"Not a single survivor left to tell the tale,"

"But I heard there was one,"

"What nonsense! Who could have survived that?"

"There was a girl that washed away on the shores of Agho, my aunt swears she saw her,"

"What's to say she was from the Blue Mountains?"

"There's nowhere else she could have come from unless she fell from the sky,"

"What happened to her?"

"Don't know, the healer lady took her to her home to treat her and after a few days they both disappeared. No ones seen them since,"

"How odd,"

"Indeed."

—-

"Can't sleep?" Rayni asked, walking into their bedroom where Rexander lay staring at the ceiling. Not an uncommon site but one that meant trouble was on the horizon. "Another monster attack?" Rexander only hummed. They made good progress clearing the lands but there were still ways to go. Rayni looked at him, her judging eyes burning his side.

"You have something to say?"

"Do you think working yourself to the bone like a mad man will do you good?"

"Its doing good so far,"

"You forget you are human," She looked at him from her vanity mirror as she took her jewelry off.

"No, you forget that the Mighty King of Warlords is no common man," He retorted, using her words against her.

"Common? Definitely not. A man. Most definitely," She walked behind the room divider to get changed into her nightgown.

"Some King I am. My Queen only has simple jewelry, just one lady in waiting and a small collection of plain dresses," Rexander mocked.

"The horror, my darling husband, a champion of the people, cannot even afford me the luxuries befitting his title," She stated flatly, as she walked to lie next to him. 

"Most noblewoman would not stay if they were in your position, should this kind of life not be incredibly uncomfortable to you?"

"It is refreshing," She yawned gently, "I finally have purpose, more than a doll to be dressed up and presented for the amusement of old hags and pervy men," Rexander regarded her words thoughtfully. It is true what they say, the life people show is not the life they actually have. He turned to his side, facing her back. 

As he did he remembered what he had seen and heard. 

'Save me, please', he hadn't imagined it, there is no way. 'Save me', but from what?

'…shows you the darkest truth of your life, the ones that still haunt you,' It doesn't make sense that the girl he saw looked so frail, her clothes were not that of a beloved princess nor was the bare room she was crying in. Her reaction to this life as a lady of her standing was beyond unusual. Her calmness in all of this made no sense. 

"What are you hiding from me, Rayni?" He muttered, as her soft breathing lulled him to sleep. 

–

"Father?" Blue eyes that have haunted her for years pierce through her. 

"Has she improved?" The King's face turns into a snarl, he uses his magic to push her against the wall. "Why are you so useless?" He yells angrily as he unleashes sharp gusts of air that slice her skin causing blood to fall on the clean floors.

'It's just a dream, wake up', she tried but failed. She was trapped.

"You should have never been born!" As the King continues his blows she sees her mother on the side. Uncaring as always she does not show any remorse in seeing her daughter writhe in pain. Rayni wants to yell at the king to stop, scream at her mother to help her but no, she's unable to do anything but relieve the memory. 

'If only I was stronger' she found herself saying.

"I can make you stronger," At once she was surrounded by darkness. "Do you wish for power?"

"Who are you?" Rayni asked into the nothingness. A mirror appears before her and she sees a woman wearing a hooded cloak, her red painted lips the only feature visible.

"We have met before," The woman answered.

"It can not be, I do not know you," 

"You do. You have forgotten me, but you will remember me soon." The lady spoke fatalistically.

In the next moment Rayni was thrust into darkness once more and when she next opened her eyes she found herself deep in a forest. Rain came down heavily and unsurprisingly lightning and thunder followed. She walked deeper into the forest and saw a clearing scattered with dead monsters, the blood seeping from their torn limbs. She gasped at the sight, she'd only heard of such a scene in her books. As her eyes ran over the monster limbs her heart stopped when she saw Rexander resting his back on a rock with a gruesome wound on his shoulder. She ran to him and saw black smoke coming from his wounds, he was poisoned and it was spreading fast. She felt his weakening pulse and her heart filled with dread. What was she going to do?

"You can save him," the masked woman's voice echoed in her mind.

'How? I have no magic,' 

"He needs you to live, his life is in your hands." 

The light from outside woke Rayni up from her sleep, she rubbed her eyes and blinked several times. 'What did I dream about?', she questioned herself. Rexander is fine, he should be coming back by noon she reasoned with herself. Besides Rexander was immune to all poisons, he has had that blessing as a baby and is what helped him survive for so long. A man as powerful as him could not be defeated so easily she assured herself.

—

 "The monsters from the Cursed Caves are attacking Agho," 

"Agho? We cleared them of monsters and set up multiple magic defences, how can that be?" Gareth asked.

"It seems they're slipping through the cracks, we are not quite sure ourselves but from what we know they are smarter than before."

"Scouts are sent on the regular; why have there been no reports?"

"There have been reports but what we have is unclear. There is no one target, no recurring pattern either just a series of disappearances and brutal deaths that could not have been done by humans,"

"It's the monsters resting period, there shouldn't be any monsters at all during this time," 

"From what we understand these monsters that are attacking are not only attacking out of season but are much, much stronger than before. Some reports indicate there may even be hybrids, new monsters not anything like the ones anyone of us has fought before,"

"A troop must be dispatched to Agho immediately."

"We don't know what we are fighting so mages of all elements should be deployed though the only thing separating Agho and the Cursed Cave is the Black Moon River so perhaps water elementals would be at advantage from having the river by their side," 

"Weapons of all kinds, as well as poisons and medical herbs will need to be arranged before we leave. We'd need enough back up supplies too, it seems the situation is grave,"

"Gareth and I will lead the Knights, all of the elite force with the exception of Lander and Kane will be dispatched. Lander will be the acting Commander and Kane the acting Second-in-Command." The Knights nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

"Myra, select a team of mages as you see fit," Myra, the Leader of the Mages, gave a slight tilt of her head. She was a tall lady, with raven black hair and pale skin. Like Gareth, Rexander had met Myra when he was still a boy and though they often aggravated the other they were close friends. Myra had a blunt way of speaking, knew only sharp pointed answers and taunting remarks. There was nothing soft about her, from the way she spoke to the way she appeared. However, she was highly skilled and hidden within her cold persona she had a caring and compassionate heart. 

"Dante, how long will it take for you to gather your healers?" 

"The healers are not the issue my lord, if the reports are unclear on what exactly the monsters are then a multitude of medicines will be needed. It will take at least a week," Rexander nodded his head, they had to act quickly but still rationally. 

"So then nine days from now we will leave for Agho," Rexander announced.

—-

"No." Rayni rolled her eyes, arms crossed with a pointed expression.

"You did not even let me finish," Rexander looked at her incredulously.

"There could be no good reason for you to make a rather uncomfortable trip to the Borderlands where there is little comfort, mind you. Agho has become infested with monsters; worse than anything we've dealt with, and you want me to let you accompany us all the way there,"

"Yes." Rayni said with determination.

"No." Rexander repeated with the same tone.

"Agho might be a monster infested land now, but the Tales of the Past told of miraculous plants and rare magic that used to grow there-"

"As I have heard you say countless times, I do not doubt the wonders of these lands. Once the monsters are cleared you may go as many times as you desire,"

"Clearly you have not listened well enough, otherwise you would know that the Core of our lands is dead. Nothing can 'prosper' here without restoring the core first. I've consulted the best mages and wisest guardians the only way to restore the Core of Valkore is to get the Blue Moon Rose that only grows in Mira Lake,"

"Mira Lake?"

"Yes it is in Agho, the gates to which only open once every 50 years. If we miss the upcoming full Blue Moon, we will have to wait too long and all our efforts thus far will be wasted."

"Tell me Rayni that you are not referring to Mira Lake from the story of the Star-crossed Lovers?"

"It is not just a story of sacrifice and endless love, its roots are in the actual history of the land," Rexander sighed heavily.

"When is the next Blue Moon,"

"You cannot predict exactly when it will come, but there will be signs leading up to it that should give us a good idea."

"How do you intend to find the gates of Mira Lake?"

"I found a map in the chests you brought from that cave a while ago,"

"And must it be you that goes?"

"Yes, I know the most about it and am the most capable of finding it." 

"So you plan to find the fabled Blue Moon Rose in Mira Lake, the gates of which only open once every 50 years to restore the Core of our land. You have no magic, no combat skills, have never been on the field or had any experience in such missions....and yet you think you are the most capable of finding it?" 

"The Map is written in the ancient writing of the people of the Eastern Valleys, whose native I am,"

"So you can translate it as well then," Rayni huffed, why was Rexander being so hard headed about this, she was more than capable to complete this task. 

Nini, you must calm down. 

Mith? 

Yes mistress, it is me. It took a while to conjure enough of your aura to come all this way.

I see, so that is where you have been.

I apologise, my lady. With the mages around it was more difficult, especially that scary looking raven haired one.

"I am done with my work now as well, let us go to bed," Rexander announced disrupting her conversation with Mith.

If only you could hear his thoughts you'd know what he was thinking Nini.

Shame my powers only work on those weaker than me.

"I have read endless books on monsters, I can identify any monster I see just by looking at them." Or rather, Mith could but Rayni kept that part a secret.

"Books are different from real life, Rayni,"

"Yes, but I can tell their weaknesses and strengths at a glance. With that kind of knowledge I can help you with the new threats," Rayni offered. 

"My answer is still no."

"What is your concern? I can carry my weight, I will not be a burden, you have my word." Rayni insisted. 

"Burden? I am more concerned with your safety." Rexander retorted.

"I will be with the strongest Knights on the continent, the most elite mages and talented healers. What worries do you have, or do you not trust in the ability of your troop?" Rayni poked, increasingly annoyed at Rexander's refusal.

"Rayni, my answer is final. You will not accompany us." 

Oh dear. You will not be able to convince him, my lady.

"Fine." Rayni settled. 

After he leaves his authority becomes mine Mith, who will stop me from going then? Rayni resolved, determined to restore the core of Valkore.