Olimpia

The realization of Redgenald's indifference was like a spike driving into her chest, and Kathren felt her eyes burn and itch as she suddenly felt like she had lost something. No, like she had thrown it away… because I'm looking for ways to die instead of trying to live, said a small child-like voice in the back of her mind. Like always.

The thought ignited the blood flowing through her body into raging anger, and the chains tying her to the pile of bodies shattered as she thrust herself to her feet. All the sounds around Kathren disappeared and were replaced by the rushing sound of flowing water as she abruptly felt lightheaded. Kathren wobbled in place as the world rocked around her, eventually realizing that her arms were thrown wide and she still held her gladius, somehow having avoided cutting herself with her actions.

Her ordinary grace of movement was gone, but Kathren had plenty of practice with drunkenly staggering about, and if that was what it took to prove Redgenald wrong, so be it. Flopping one leg forward, Kathren followed after the legionaries and the bastard, ignoring the small jabs of pain spearing up her thigh from her left knee.

Pushing through the pain, Kathren followed after the others, who, if their unsteady movements were any indication, were all in a half daze and not fully aware of the collapsed goblins they were walking over. Not that Kathren was much better because as she took one careful step after another among the carpet of bodies, she found it far more challenging than it should have been.

Her body just wasn't cooperating as it usually would, even while drunk. Simply taking one step after another without falling over consumed her mind for the first score of small steps. After that, Kathren could finally process what she was passing.

Kathren's first look at the goblins gave her the impression they were all asleep from their long and slow breathing. However, a cold fist gripped her heart when she realized that many of the goblins' that were "breathing slowly" weren't so much as taking long breaks between breaths, as much as they weren't taking them at all. Their blank eyes stared up at nothing, and their chests were still.

Whatever the wave of energy had been, it was far more devastating to the goblins than their conflict with the legionaries. From her quick look, something like one in three of the goblins were dead. And it was… not important to her survival. Ignoring the dead and unconscious, Kathren staggered forward, chasing after the others to the supposed safety of the collapsed line of legionaries a hundred or so feet away.

As her boots splattered the trickling streams of blood working their way between the bodies and small stone ridges, Kathren frowned. Something wasn't right. Besides her pounding head from a backlash and her aching and actively complaining body, it was too hard for her to move. If she had to put it into words, it was like thousands of strands of spider webs were draped across the trench, and every step she took broke them.

More than that, Kathren felt a numb, tingling sensation all over her body. Not to mention that instead of feeling stronger and more energetic when it looked like life was within her reach again, Kathren felt weaker…

Then again, did she really want to live, or was she simply going through the motions again? If that was true, the only reason this time was so much more difficult to proverbially — and literally — get back on her feet was due to Redgenald's accusation…

Kathren didn't know the answer to those questions, but she was pretty sure she didn't want to know them… And what does that say about me?

Whether it was her imagination or not — and she was starting to think it was — every time she pushed through the mental barrier and took a step, the constrictive feeling lessened. Enough so that she could take a moment to really look inward to the barren wastes her psy pool had become after the union breaking and gather up the still scattered energy within her body.

As she gathered her psy and established a basic mental shield, Kathren immediately felt better. It must have been the aftereffects of backlash and lack of psy that made me like that. Yeah, Redgenald was wrong, and I wasn't bleeding my thoughts at all.

A few strides after constructing the mental shield, Kathren's steps shifted from the stiff tension of experiencing long days of grueling work to that of simply being tired and having to force herself to move. The difference was that with the latter, all you have to do is gather the willpower to keep moving, whereas, with the former, you're going to hurt something if you even manage to move your body at all.

Now, all that was left for her to keep moving was dredging up the willpower, and one look around was all she needed to light a fire under her backside. The goblins might be unconscious, or they could simply be faking it after what happened, but there were way too many of them moving their arms and groaning for her liking. It was eerie, and Kathren had no intention of staying in their midst.

For a brief moment, the thought of running around and slicing as many throats as she could manage passed through her mind, but that seemed like an excellent way to end up surrounded and clawed to death. And that would prove Redgenald right, so she rejected the idea. It's not like she was in the condition to run around wildly swinging her sword, anyway.

Eyes landing on the broad shoulders of the man leading them, Kathren forced the annoyance deep within herself to rise to the surface. Who does Redgenald think he is to judge me? Keep my thoughts to myself? Does he think I'm some kind of child who can't even control her own thoughts? Even in her mind, the words sounded weak, like someone trying to justify their actions.

If you were trying to convince anyone that you were in the right, you were already in the wrong. Because whether you were in the right or not didn't matter at that point. You were already at the bottom of a hole, and clawing your way out of it was near impossible… Pushing the pointless thoughts from her mind, Kathren plodded on.

Not caring what part of the goblins' bodies she stepped on, Kathren wobbled her way toward the pillar, watching the legionaries before her. Some fell, landing on the bodies they were stepping over only to get up, and others only stumbled before righting themselves again. The only thing they all had in common was that each held onto their shields and swords.

The bastard was by far the first to make it to the end of the carpet of goblins. As soon as he reached the border, he started lashing out with his feet again, kicking the legionaries as he shouted, "Get up! On your feet! The enemy is here, and you're lying on your backs?! Where's your pride as a legionary!"

Redgenald put down the wounded man on his shoulders, then moved along the line and continued to shout at those he was striding over, being none too gentle about where he stepped. Some started moving and sitting up, but most of the men remained unmoving on the ground as if deep asleep.

"Anyone who's awake," Shouted Redgenald. "Get your brothers on their feet! Do you think our enemies will remain lying down forever?!"

Kathren saw those in front of her pick up the pace, hurrying over to the unmoving legionaries to lift them up and drag them into a clear area before they set about slapping faces. It would have been comical if it had occurred in another situation, but there was an urgency and desperation to their actions that snuffed out any humor.

Stopping five feet from the line of legionaries, Kathren's hand tightly clenched around her sword hilt as she watched the men. The reality was she was a woman with multiple injuries. While she could use psy to drag them around, she needed to have psy to use it. Using her last bits of psy to move a body or getting in their way and standing around was a waste of her time.

Lifting her right arm up, Kathren chopped down, her sword slicing into the neck of a goblin. For a moment, she looked down on the being, watching it squirm in its sleep as life left its body, and she felt nothing for the savage little creature. Nothing other than a dull satisfaction that she was doing her part in the battle.

Taking another step and turning ninety degrees, Kathren walked across the trench, alternating her downward arcing blade on both sides of her body. With every twirl, another of the goblin's throat was opened, leaving a red river in her wake.

Most goblins reacted to the blow in some form, like curling into themselves as if the action would shelter them. Some looked like they had half woken up, calling out in a mixture of alarm and a cry for help.

However, the ones who sent a shiver down her spine were the ones who didn't react at all. From the moment the blow landed, and she looked back seconds later, they never moved. Not so much as a twitch of a finger. It was as if, from the moment they were knocked unconscious, their souls had been ripped from their bodies… Or their minds were torn apart by a reaver, leaving nothing but a husk in the place of a person.

For what had to be minutes, Kathren walked up and down the line, thinning out the hoard of goblins as best she could. It felt like she was killing the creatures by the score, and her arm was burning from landing so many blows. And yet, Kathren hadn't moved more than ten feet from the legionaries' line or crossed the trench more than once on her meandering slaughter.

As seconds slipped by, Kathren's eyes were constantly flicking around. With every rapid beat of her heart, she saw more goblins twitching. And when she looked farther down the trench, past where she and the others made their last stand, Kathren even saw goblins starting to get to their feet and stumbling around.

Their time was rapidly running out, and as much as this moment for respite was a blessing by the Ancestors, it was coming to an end. Head snapping toward Redgenald and body quickly following, Kathren called out as she strode toward him, "Hey Asshole, we gotta get moving! They're waking up!"

Most of the men looked up from their tasks to look around at the goblins warily, but she only had eyes for Redgenald as he turned toward her. Kathren knew he was looking past her, but a little shiver ran down her spine as he glanced in her direction. His stern face somehow hardened a little more before he looked over the nearby legionaries and then back toward Borment and the rest of the century.

If anything, the detachment down at the end of the trench appeared to have fared worse from the weird energy wind than Kathren and the others. Only a few of the legionaries were starting to get up and move around, all prompted by one stocky figure moving and shouting in his distant, hoarse voice. On the bright side, it looked like the goblins were just as bad off.

"Let's move, people!" Redgenald called, snagging her attention. "Grab those who aren't awake, and move your asses down the trench past the next pillar!"

By this point, a bit more than three-fourths of the legionaries in the rear guard were up and moving around, though some of them looked to be on their tenth mug of the night and well on their way to waking up somewhere they didn't remember walking to.

Stepping up to one such man, Kathren flicked the blood from her blade before sheathing it. She wrapped her arm around his waist and slipped her shoulders under his arm for support. He looked at her, his eyes dull and half-looking past her.

After a couple seconds, a spark of recognition ignited within those eyes, and he grunted something she couldn't understand before nodding to her in thanks and focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. The lengthy man let part of his weight fall onto Kathren, causing her to let out grunts of pain as she struggled to bear the load on her good leg.

At the sound of scuffing feet to her side, Kathren looked over, surprised to see Redgenald and his knight, each carrying one of the unconscious men over their shoulders. As he looked at her, emotions played over his face that were too fast for her to read before settling on a neutral professionalism as he asked, "What are your psy reserves like?"

Taking his lead, Kathren responded in the same tone, "A sixteenth. Enough to form a short tendril or two, but my concentration is shot after…" She took a moment and flopped her throbbing arm, grimacing at the movement but feeling the pain was worth it as she gestured around them, taking in everything. "Whatever happened. I won't be able to hold a casting for long."

Nodding like he expected the answer, Redgenald replied, "It's the same for everyone else. Every drop of psy outside our bodies was blown away, and our willpower was eroded. If I didn't know better, I would say that everyone was already in or on the border of entering a haze. But there were no signs of anyone suffering excessive backlash from entering a fugue state before the fight. I have never heard of anything like this— Ehh, it doesn't matter." Redgenald sighed, and his shoulders slumped.

Kathren wanted to reach out. She didn't know what to say, but she at least wanted to touch his arm and offer her silent support, even if it would hurt moving her bad arm. However, she hesitated, and the moment passed.

The man pulled from a reserve of will deep inside himself, and his back straightened, lifting the burden on his shoulders along with the expectations of leadership the century had placed upon him. Fumbling with her hand, she grabbed the legionary's wrist to pull him closer, allowing her to better support him.

"All that matters is that our psy has almost bottomed out, and at best, we can form a Union," Redgenald said, picking up where he had left off. However, he left unsaid that they wouldn't be able to hold the union for long as no one needed the grim reality of their situation pointed out. All it took was one look around at the already half-defeated legionnaires stumbling along beside them to be reminded. "Double time it, people!" Redgenald shouted, "I want us on the other side of the pillar in a minute!"

Having said so, Redgenald strode forward, clearly presenting himself as an example for the others to follow. Many responded to him and surged forward to catch up, but some were too beaten down.

Slowing down, Kathren got behind those men and shouted at them, "Move your ass or get my foot shoved up it, you sorry pieces of shit! Do you think you're the only ones that are tired? Where is your pride as a man if a little woman like me can outlast you?"

Whether it was a voice in the back of their mind telling them to march forward, pushing them to continue a little longer, or having a woman insult their pride, the men shuffled a little faster. Soon enough, Kathren and the some what improved staggering man taking up the rear of the formation marched past Redgenald, who was standing ten feet past the pillar.

"Form into a line and keep going!" Redgenald shouted at the men while giving Kathren a slight nod of acknowledgment, "Get to the next pillar!" Then, in a lower voice, he said to the man next to him, "Bring it down, Drogaith." A moment later, the chamber air cracked again, and Kathren's back was pelted with shards of stone.

Kathren's heart rumbled in her chest as another support for the roof fell. The cacophony was one thing, and her body responded with a surge of adrenaline at the noise, but she wasn't worried about that. Most of her focus was behind them as she waited for the goblins to clamber over the rubble in another wave. Her focus was to the point that she hardly even noticed as the man she was helping stepped away to move on his own, as the goblins never appeared.

In their ragged line, the legionaries marched in preparation to be attacked, but the distance to the last pillar steadily shrunk as if it never happened. Looking over her shoulder, Kathren's eyes were locked on the pillar a couple dozen feet from her as she began to hope they would make it unhindered, only for the hope to come crashing down as a frantic voice rang out, "They're coming from the sides!"