Young Flame

When the four mermineae finally arrive, they run in from the west. I guess they aren’t even trying to hide that they went somewhere.

“Come.” Taanoraa announces their presence without visibly showing himself. “We have no time to delay.”

And just like that, the four of them run off again, this time heading south. Would saying ‘hi’ hurt?

We all mount Grímr once more and head after the hurrying Forvaal. They are quick enough to escape the range of my sense by the time we rise to the air, but it doesn’t take long for us to find them again. I keep Grímr informed of the whereabouts of our guides. He keeps his altitude low enough to keep them within range of my sense.

A full day of non-stop travel. We cross an incredible distance before the mermineae stop for a rest. Good timing too; the Ember Moon will burn the sky in a few minutes and we’ll get to see that strange reaction Grímr’s body has.

We drop to the earth and I balk as the mermineae put space between us. They seriously don’t even want to try getting along with us? Whatever. At least Remus should understand what I was talking about now.

Red slowly devours the sky and the dark moon reappears. I watch Grímr closely this time, not wanting to miss the changes as they occur.

Even ready for them, I almost miss the transition. Most of the changes are subtle, but fast. Razor feathers split into jagged saw-blades. The tail peels outward, curving in on itself until it becomes a ball of protruding spikes. The crimson glister of his metallic coating has no hint of the green and gold from moments before.

His beak opens to reveal two rows of vicious, predatory teeth. A growl rumbles out his chest, a deep oscillating whirr. The teeth begin moving, spinning along his maw to add a buzzing noise to the creature’s growl.

Its wings slam into the earth and it rises to its feet, ready to pounce forward. Before I have the chance to worry that Grímr might have lost control, its joints lock and it topples beak first into the ground, stiff. The buzzing teeth cut through the stone with ease, almost like the hard rock is nothing but paper.

Hmm… we’ll need to be careful not to fly on Grímr during the Ember Moon. He’s obviously not got control of it, so I’d hate to see what would happen if we’re a thousand metres in the air when the change comes on.

The Ember Moon eventually recedes and Grímr can relax his body from the toppled metal statue he’d become. Tail, feathers and beak return to their original shape. It’s pitch black for a minute, but soon a trickle of moonlight returns the glow to his feathers.

“That… is strange,” Grímr says as he inspects his wings. “It’s usually only metals that this body craves. But under the midnight light, it becomes a ravenous carnivore.”

“Is there no way for you to stop the change from initiating?” Remus asks as he passes a limb along the flat tip of Grímr’s tail.

“Not unless I hide from the light. The process is completely separate from the nervous system, so it’s not something I can influence. The movements it makes under the influence of the midnight light aren’t orders from the brain, so I can’t control it.”

“So we should keep away from danger at midnight. Or do you think it would be better to look for something better? Something without such a flaw?” Remus asks.

“No, no. I could hardly hope for a better body than this.” Grímr curves his tail and the grinding sound starts up again as his feathers weave through each other. “It might take me a while, and a lot of energy, but I think I could put something in place to give me control in the altered form. This might be rash, but I think I want to commit to this body.”

“You sure? There are probably plenty of species out this side that we have yet to discover.”

Grímr nods. The movement looks much smoother now that his head isn’t completely deformed. Feasting on metals has done wonders. “Yes. We aren’t here to explore and I think it’ll be hard to find something with more utility and combat potential than this that wouldn’t be impossible to defeat. Besides, I can be helpful to both Bunny and Solvei with this.”

“Splendid.” Remus turns his smile to me. “Then, Solvei, if you are okay with remaining as our mage, Grímr will join us in the ritual from now on.”

Well, it’s fine for now, but if they plan to head back through the tunnels, we’ll have to part ways. There’s no chance I’ll be going down there again.

“Do we have time to worry about the ritual, though?” I ask.

“You’re right, there are more important things to focus on, but if the opportunity presents, we won’t miss it.”

Too bad they can’t just go underground for a while and eat glow-bugs. That worked pretty well for me.

❖❖❖

We’ve been following the mermineae for a few days now and finally, we are closing in on where the Beith mercs should be camped out. The landscape is as consistent as always. The only discrepancy is the wide, shallow river cutting down the Stepps.

Now that we’ve come down the Alps far enough, there is plenty of plant and tree-life around, but none are tall. On the other side of the Alps, it was common to see tall trees that rose far above my head. But here? I’ve yet to see a plant taller than myself.

Far ahead of us, the recognisable four-winged shape of an enantiorn eagle is visible. It is almost too far to see, but I watch as the large bird nose dives toward the earth. It must have found something to prey on.

I wait for it to return to the air with whatever it has caught, but it doesn’t. A handful of seconds pass and it still fails to rise.

“Huh,” Remus says but doesn’t elaborate.

The mermineae below spread, separating from each other as their pace slows to a crawl. I tell my team about their actions, but they are just as curious about what happened to the enantiorn. We fly a few hundred metres ahead of the lagging mermineae before I can make out the shape of the eagle.

Or, what’s left of it.

The bird is in halves, bisected right down the middle and now lies dead. There’s a dot moving between the two pieces, but we are still too far away to see.

“Well, looks like we’ve found them,” Remus says.

Really? Already? “I kinda thought it would be harder,” I admit.

“Whelp, I’ve yet to talk to them. There’s still time.”

That Beith mercenary cut the enantiorn in half in moments. The same bird that gave me so much trouble, beaten just like that. I know they are supposed to be strong, but as Remus said, they were his old comrades. I thought they’d only be a touch stronger, not this much.

It makes sense. After all, the mermineae could not touch them, and they’ve been out here for months at the very least. I doubt the first thing that attacked me out in these plains is the most dangerous thing around. The eagle is probably one of the most common creatures… which is pretty concerning now that I think about it. We’re lucky to have made it so far without being attacked ourselves.

It’s a surprise we’ve found them so quick. The mermineae have been leading us out this direction, but have refused to give any information and only tell us to follow them. On one hand, I’m happy about the separation between us, but on the other, we’d be able to work far more effectively if we properly cooperated.

We know what our role is, so we move ahead without discussing with the Forvaal. Not wanting Grímr to be mistaken for a normal predator of the sky, we drop to the ground a few hundred metres from the enantiorn corpse. From here, I’m finally able to see the Beith mercenaries. There are three; two dohrni and one khirig.

Remus takes the lead, Bunny following close behind with two holstered knifes she’d crafted from the metals Grímr found. Both the handles and the sheathes made from sapling wood. Not the best materials, but she seemed to make it work. Unfortunately, we’ve yet to come across anything she can use to make a spear shaft for me.

I walk alongside Grímr with Jav on my shoulder. The volan has opened up somewhat, enough that we don’t have to worry about him getting caught lost in his mind mid-fight. Though, participating will probably be a ways off from now, and not only because his wingsuit still needs repair.

As I look over the team, I realise just how unprepared we are if a fight is to break out. Only Grímr and I are at full fighting potential. Remus says he knows most of the Beiths, but they came across the mountains for a reason. What if they don’t like the idea of being followed?

I’m suddenly reminded of the Fearn team that went missing, and a pit of dread wells up within me. Did the Beith mercenaries kill them because they were caught making their way up the Alps? Nobody knew that they had been sneaking across, so they must have been actively hiding it. Did they murder members of their own organisation just so they wouldn’t be found out?

The Beiths ahead of us stand awaiting us. They aren’t too far now, but they stand relaxed, confident of their strength, despite our unannounced appearance.

“Remus,” I hiss. I keep my voice quiet as I’m unsure how good their hearing is. His eyes spin in his head and lock me with a questioning gaze. “The Fearn team.”

He nods with an understanding look before turning ahead, his pace unfaltering.

I guess he’d already considered that. It’s a relief to know he’s not blindly assuming they are his friends. Hopefully they are, and they have nothing to do with the death of the scouts from back then, but we need to keep our guard up.

“Remus?” One of the dohrni asks with surprise marring his face.

The man is huge. He stands a head taller than Remus, and each of his tentacles are twice as thick. Two massive war-hammers rest in a curled limb, each about as long as he is tall. The weapons look quite dangerous, but he holds them in a non-aggressive manner near the heads.

At his side, equally relaxed, is a khirig. Unlike the others of her kind, her antlers are sharp and sleek. They don’t branch like normal. Her cage exposes much of her chest, but each of her antler limbs looks like a sharp blade in of themselves.

Both have the iconic markings that oust them as mages. But while they have a fair number of the lines wrapping around their limbs — or antlers in the khirig’s case — neither come close to the other dohrni.

The last of the group is tiny. Well, not as short as me, but still tiny for a dohrni. While the others have the markings of mages, they look more like fighters. This one cannot be confused as anything else. Her markings leave not a speck of unblemished skin. In many places, the markings overlap one another. From what Leal taught me, I thought that was impossible.

“What are you doing out here?” the tall dohrni asks.

“I could ask you the same, Hëki,” Remus says with apparent cheer. “Last I heard, you were on defence standby in Boreen. Did the Order give you leave?”

Before Hëki can respond, Remus addresses the other two with a dip of his head that almost looks like a bow. “Imiha, Cairin, a pleasure.”

The khirig responds with a nod, but the short dohrni looks annoyed.

“I see you’ve already made friends with the locals.” Hëki glances behind us where I can feel the merminea lingering. So he can see them even while they’re hiding? “That’s so very like you, Remus.” He laughs, his eyes snapping over the rest of my team before returning to Remus. “I don’t know why you bother.”

“Yes, you know me well. I’m an appreciator of unique cultures, and that’s why I’ve come here, to preserve our own.” Remus words sharpen as he finishes.

The smaller dohrni huffs and crosses a pair of tentacles. “Have you come to take us back? I’m sorry you had to come so far, but we have no plans to return.”

“What is so important for you to leave the nations defenceless? Why come all this way?”

Hëki chuckles. “Defenceless? Hardly. The Order has more Beiths waiting around than ever before and all we do is get called for creatures the average Luis team could manage. A few of us leaving for a year or two won’t hurt when we haven’t been needed for five decades. It’ll be good for the growth of the Luis teams to deal with some greater challenges.”

“These lands are incredible hunting grounds,” the khirig speaks up. “We don’t need to prepare anywhere near as much as the Mid Elevation to grow the same amount. Leave us here for a while and we’ll come back stronger than ever.”

“Oh? That sounds great. I’m sure that abandoning your posts is worth the extra growth.” Remus’ tone sounds jovial, but I can tell he’s pissed. “Did you know that these locals have flooded down the path you opened and are ready to invade?”

“What?” the small dohrni stands shocked, but the other two seem unfazed.

“Hey, we weren’t the ones to open the way. We arrived months after the first Beith.”

Remus sighs. “Regardless, I need your help to stop them. We’ve already met with some mermineae willing to help us, but it wou—”

“No.”

Remus is silent. Even the short dohrni turns to Hëki, incredulous.

“Forgive me, my hearing must be failing me. I thought you just refused.” Remus’ voice is calm, but there’s no mistaking the furious undertone.

“Why should I sacrifice my gains when there are plenty of others out here? Unlike you, I have no intent to let myself fall behind.”

“I can understand wanting more strength,” Remus says calmly. “But you would abandon your oath to protect the people?”

“What are they gonna do? The Order’s lapdogs weren’t invited, so by the time we return, they won’t be able to do shit. Besides, that oath is only for public opinion. The Order only ever cares about the deepest pockets.”

“I see.” Remus turns to the other two. “And you both will make the same mistake?”

“Yes.” The khirig nods with a bored expression.

“How could you?” The small dohrni turns on Hëki. “There’s a limit to how thoughtless you can be,” she says and storms over to Remus’ side.

“Thank you, Imiha.”

“Shut it,” she snaps at Remus.

“What are you doing?” My body goes rigid at his words. The Beith mercenary’s presence floods the area as his eyes narrow.

I grit my teeth and push down the instinctual fear that rises within me. The dohrni’s power floods the air the same way the arachnid monstrosity’s growl would.

I feel Jav flinch, and Grímr lowers his chest to the ground while flaring his wings. Bunny unsheathes her weapons but Remus remains still, undaunted by the intimidating aura billowing off Hëki. Only barely can I hold myself back from attacking. My flames churn within, ready to strike. I shouldn’t attack until Remus acts.

“You are not welcome to leave.” Power laces Hëki’s voice, directed at Imiha.

An intricate pattern illuminates along her skin, far more complex than anything I’ve seen before. Hëki’s presence recedes, only to be replaced with another just as intense.

“Try me.”