Tales of Eleutheros

Daniel strode out of the palace doors into the courtyard the next morning. Before him was Oros and six of his elite guards, with Cro’kan for all of them tied to posts. Walking forward Oros noticed him and opened his arms to greet him.

“Daniel!” the Kryo said, moving to meet him. “Slept well I hope?”

“As best I could,” Daniel said, reaching his hand out and clasping Oros’ forearm in greeting. “I’m ready to get this started.”

“As am I,” Oros said, leading him to the rest of the party. “We have all of our supplies, and weapons. All we need to do is get moving.”

Without wasting any more time, Daniel and the party mounted and left the palace grounds. The travel to Eastern Baa’Yega territory would be several days of hard riding. Nothing Daniel wasn’t accustomed to at this point, and of course the prospect of finding another human and rescuing them from torment or imprisonment made any discomfort well worth it.

After the first day, they made for camp. Daniel leapt from his Cro’kan and groaned as his stiff back and legs creaked as he landed on the ground. “Damn, this never gets any easier does it?”

Oros just laughed, and ordered the warriors to set up camp.

As they finished, a fire was started, by Daniel this time, reminding him of when he first shared a fire with Oros, and how fascinated he was with the floating blaze that night.

“Ahh,” Oros said, leaning back on his travel bag situated around the fire. He had a bowl of meat in his hands and took a deep breath. “This is what life is all about, Daniel. The road, a long day’s ride, and mission to complete.”

“You’ve just been cooped up for too long,” Daniel said, chuckling as he leaned back against his own bag, with his own food in his hands.

“Warriors need fresh air, and space to ride,” Oros said, taking a mouthful of food. “Holding up in a palace is too constricting.”

“So how do you expect to take control of Vul De Rah someday? Let alone the prospect of being king of Lokkon?” Daniel asked. “You’ve got to get used to it eventually.”

“True,” Oros said, looking up to the night sky, “I suppose I’ll deal with that when it comes.”

They sat in relative silence for a bit after, finishing their meal and finally pulling out the wine to help digest the food. One of Daniel’s favorite things about the Lokkadonian military, wine was an essential part of their kit. Back home, alcohol was forbidden in the field. Surprising to some, as the Marines had quite a reputation with drinking it.

“So, Daniel,” Oros said, breaking the silence. “Tell me more about the human friends you’re hoping to find here. I’ve only heard bits and pieces from Illya, who heard it from Katrina.”

Daniel took a long drink of wine before answering. “Henry, and Angelo, they’re… well, we’ve been friends for years. Went to school together, got our first cars,” he paused, looking at Oros, “uh, a car is like a large machine that you travel in. Like a Cro’kan, on wheels, that moves really fast.”

“Wow.” Oros raised his eyebrows, and nodded before taking a drink of his own wine.

“Anyway, we were friends. Are. Are friends, I mean. I think they’re still alive. Henry came to Angelo and me with an idea for a trip. There was a large convention, or, a gathering, rather. We’d thought about going for a while. It was in a city South of where we lived called San Diego. We thought it would be great to go. I was fresh out of the military and trying to get back on my feet. So I agreed, and we went. Next thing I know, we’re at this convention, looking at an exhibit and a massive blinding flash of light hits us. Then I was falling in darkness. It was so damn cold. Then it was hot. I can’t explain it. Then there was nothing. I opened my eyes and I was in the Spirit-Forest, alone.”

Oros nodded his head, his face one of deep contemplation. “A very strange event, to be sure.”

“I don’t know,” Daniel said, feeling the frustration of the whole mystery weigh him down again. With a shake of his head he forced it to the back of his mind. “Well, here I am. In Pelemont, in the middle of a war, drinking wine with a friend I never in a million years would have imagined I’d have.”

Oros smiled then, his expression genuine happiness as he raised his wineskin. “Here’s to unexpected friendships.”

“Amen to that,” Daniel said, mirroring his movements and taking a long drink.

“And the Doulos?” Oros asked, his face growing more serious. “The guards said she came to your chambers last night.”

Daniel laughed. “It isn’t what you think, I promise you. I just wanted to talk to her. That’s all.”

“Dan,” Oros said, shaking his head.

“Look, I get it,” Daniel said. “I’m not going to sit here and tell you how to run Lokkon after hundreds of years of you guys going about it a certain way. But I’m not on board with the whole slave thing. I have my own reasons.”

“Very well,” Oros said, his voice sounding a bit resigned. “What about Illya, then?”

Daniel looked numbly at Oros. “Really? What’s to say about her?”

“Oh,” Oros continued. “Only that she has been venting to me for some time about how you’ve been ignoring her. She just wants to be friends, Dan. What’s the harm in it?”

Daniel let out a sigh of exasperation and then drank some more wine. “Oros, she made it pretty clear she’s looking for more than that. Same thing with Boros and Katrina.”

“Yes, I heard about that.” Oros chuckled. “Cato offered Boros his daughter’s hand. Politically he would be a fool to ignore joining with one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in Eleutheros. Father might force him in fact. But still, he thinks he’s in love. That aside, it would do you some good to spend time with Illya. She would appreciate it, and so would I.”

“She asked you to talk to me, didn’t she?” Daniel said, flatly.

“If I were to answer that question, Dan. I would be breaking a sacred vow,” Oros said, laughing then pulling another drink of wine.

~

The next day was as rough as the first. They rode without incident, until they reached the Baa’Yega border. A large fort stood before them, with warriors clad in blue cloaks and bone armor manning it. Oros flashed his credentials as a Kryo of Lokkon, and pulled a sealed scroll with his house sigil upon it. Oros told Daniel before they arrived that he needed to keep himself concealed, as bringing a Spirit-Sent into their territory would cause more trouble than they needed right now. Daniel obliged, wearing leather riding gloves, a bone mask, and a hood to cover any exposed skin. As they rode past the fort, and into Baa’Yega territory, Daniel admired the scenery. Much the same as Lokkon, it was very green and lush. Only Baa’Yega had more trees. Many more. By the third day, they were surrounded by a large forest, following a narrow road through it.

Before long they approached a stone building. From a distance it looked like it was a bit old. But as they got closer, Daniel could see that it seemed damaged. From the scorches and broken walls, from a battle of some kind.

Oros held his hand up for a halt, and the warriors pulled back on the reigns of their Cro’kan. Dismounting, Daniel drew his blade, and fell into a formation behind Oros beside the six other warriors.

“What’s going on?” Daniel asked, as they cautiously approached. “Is it supposed to look like that?”

“No,” Oros said, “I was told this was the headquarters of some Espi-Dae cult group.”

They closed in on the ruined structure and peered inside through a rather large hole in the wall that faced the road. Daniel was immediately hit with the smell of death, decomposition and blood as he looked into the dark interior.

“Give us some light,” Oros said, moving around Daniel, preparing to enter.

Daniel lifted his hand, and willed a small ball of crimson flame to brighten the darkened building. As he did, he saw the bodies of Dae scattered on the floor. “What the hell happened here?” he asked, stepping inside. “It doesn’t look like there are any survivors.”

“None that we can see here at least.” Oros gestured to a set of stairs that went up to a second level. “Look for anything or anyone that might help us figure out what happened here,” he said to the six warriors who stood behind them.

As one, the elite warriors of Lokkadonia answered, and immediately moved toward the stairs. Two remained below with Daniel and Oros, leaning over some of the bodies on the far side of the room.

Daniel turned to look at some of the corpses more closely that lay around them. He saw they wore thick robes. And wore large metal chains around their necks, each link with a different sculpted symbol.

“Spirit types,” Oros said, from behind him. “Each symbol represents a different type of spirit. These are cultists of the ‘Espi-Dunam’ extremists who believe the Spirits should essentially wipe Dae culture out. And that Dae should live as mindless servants to them.”

“Makes sense why they would seek out a human,” Daniel said, turning to face Oros. “Considering what they’re saying about us.”

Before Oros could say anything in response one of the warriors from above called out. “We’ve found someone!”

Daniel and Oros shared a look, and quickly made their way up the stairs to the second floor. It didn’t take them long to find the room above where the other Lokkadonian warriors were.

Daniel strode in to find a severely wounded cultist, groaning in pain with half of his left arm torn clean off, and a shard of stone jutting out of his abdomen.

“Heal him as best you can to keep him breathing,” Oros said, and one of the warriors who came up with them darted over to lay his hands on the Dae.

After several minutes, the cultist seemed to relax somewhat and his eyes opened to take in the room. “Who?” he said, weakly. “Who are you?”

“We are warriors of Lokkadonia,” Oros said, kneeling next to him. “We were in the area, and saw signs of a battle. “Can you tell us what happened?”

“Lo…” The Dae looked bewildered. “Lokkadonians? What are you doing all the way—”

“That doesn’t matter,” Oros said, pushing further. “What happened here?”

“You… you’re here for the Spirit-Sent,” the Dae said.

Oros sighed and put his hands on the Dae’s shoulders. “Yes, we’re here for the Spirit-Sent. Where is she?”

“Too late,” the Dae said weakly. “We were all too late.”

“Too late for what?” Daniel asked, pulling a canteen of water from his belt, opening the cap, and bringing it to the Dae’s lips.

He let out a desperate gasp and began to drink greedily. Daniel waited several long moments before pulling the canteen away.

“No,” the Dae pleaded. “Please. I need more.”

“Then answer our questions,” Oros insisted. “What happened here, and where is the Spirit-Sent?”

The Dae looked at Daniel then, seeing the pale bone mask, he wore. Then to Oros. “We were trying to transport her to the south… far from anyone who might take her. We only wanted her to lead us. But she kept trying to escape.” He took several heavy breaths, and licked his lips dryly. “Then they came… more… more of them.”

Several silent moments passed as Daniel leaned in closer. “Who? More of who?”

“Spirit-Sent.” he said, starting to wince in pain.

“More of them?” Oros asked, grabbing the canteen out of Daniel’s hand and bringing it to the Dae’s lips again. “Have some more.”

After another lengthy drink, he continued. “Yes... more Spirit-Sent… three of them. They blasted their way in, like nothing I’ve ever seen. They were so powerful.”

Daniel and Oros shared a glance.

“They slaughtered us… I ran here, and barely managed to take cover in time.” The Dae lifted his left arm’s stump. “Not nearly fast enough… but they took her.”

“Do you know what her name was?” Daniel asked, “How did you find her anyway?”

The Dae coughed. “Her name was Ashly… and… and we found her in a village outside of Eleutheros within the borders of Visoth…”

“Visoth?” Daniel asked Oros.

“The Kingdom the East of Eleutheros. The largest kingdom on this continent.” Oros answered quickly.

“We went there… to the village where she was… we heard there was a Spirit-Sent there. Some of the traders who frequented there, offered information for extra payment.” He took a moment to catch his breath, taking in as much air as he could. “We raided the village. And rescued her.”

“Rescued,” Daniel said under his breath. “Any idea where they might have gone? The other Spirit-Sent?”

The Dae winced in pain as he shook his head. “I… I’m sorry. I don’t know. Please… please let me have more water…”

Daniel nodded, and pressed his canteen into the cultist’s good hand. “Here. Drink all you need.” With that, he stood, taking a moment to ponder all he had just learned.

Oros soon followed and placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “This is good news,” he said. “If she’s with other humans, then she is safe.”

“Yeah,” Daniel agreed. “But who are the other humans?”

“Three of them,” Oros shook his head. “And if they were powerful enough to do this?” He gestured around the building. “I’d say we might have to tread carefully while searching. They are clearly dangerous.”

“My Kryo,” one of the warriors said, getting Oros’ attention. Daniel turned to see him looking out of a window at the edge of the room. “We have company.”

Daniel and Oros moved swiftly to look out the window. There were near a dozen or so cloaked Dae riding in on Cro’kan. Daniel figured they were Cultists as well, reinforcements perhaps.

Daniel and the rest of the warriors made their way down the stairs, and out of the building. Oros strode out first and planted himself at the head of a small formation, with Daniel and the other six at his flanks.

A cloaked rider led his Cro’kan forward to halt before Oros. “Name yourselves,” he said, clear anger in his voice.

“I am Oros, Kryo of Vul De Rah, and the southern region of Lokkadonia. These are my personal guards,” Oros said, resting his right hand on the handle of his blade. Seeing him do so, Daniel followed suit, along with the other warriors. Then Daniel noticed the cultists had brought with them a large stone box that seemed to slide gracefully over the road. It looked sort of like a wagon, but it moved on its own and had no wheels. Then it hit Daniel. This was the group sent to transport Ashly. Poor timing, he thought.

“What is a Kryo of Lokkon doing this far into Baa’Yega? And why does he exit the ruined remains of our temple?” the Cultist asked, drawing a blade from his side.

“We came upon it,” Oros said, using his thumb to point behind him. “You have a survivor in there, who can verify. We are not responsible for this destruction.”

The cultists followed their leader’s example and pulled weapons, causing Daniel’s blood to pump harder. Shit, he thought, wrapping his hand around the handle of his incisor.

“What have you done with the Spirit-Sent!?” the Dae bellowed.

Daniel saw out of his peripheral, Oros’ face go deathly serious. Turning to his left and right. He let out a breath. “Don’t do this, friend,” he said calmly. “You will all meet death, I assure you.”

“I doubt you are who you say you are,” the Dae said. “Lokkadonia has its hands quite full at the moment with Rexun at its doorstep.” He lifted his blade and pointed it directly at Oros. “Which means you have come here for our prize.”

“Believe what you want. But the result will be the same if you attack us,” Oros said.

“I’ll ask again. Where did you take the Spirit-Sent?” the Dae said again, this time with more malice.

This time Oros said nothing, just drew his blade, and Daniel and the other warriors did the same.

“Brigands!” the Dae yelled, and he thrust his blade toward Daniel and his party. Kicking the sides of his Cro’kan, all of the mounted cultists charged forward. Behind them a dozen dismounted cultists charged as well.

Daniel braced for the impact.

Oros, however, lifted his free hand and a massive line of spikes shot from the ground at an angle directly at the charging Cro’kan. The animals screeched in agony as the spikes tore through their hide, and as they came to a sudden stop, riders were tossed from them. The one in the middle shot a blast of fire out, blowing the spikes in front of him and several cultists to his flanks, leaving them a clear path through.

One of the unluckier riders slammed to the ground right in front of Daniel. In a skilled feat, the Dae used the momentum of his fall to roll to his feet, swinging his blade from left to right. Daniel blocked one of the horizontal slashes and punched him in the face with his left hand, knocking him off balance for a moment, allowing Daniel time to swing his own blade back, slashing him deeply across his chest. The cultist screamed as he fell back clutching at the gaping wound across his body. Before he had a moment to think, the rest of the cultists were on their small group. Daniel blocked the swings of two of them. They were surprisingly well trained, but after all the time spent training with elite warriors like Oros and Delmos, their blows were slow. Daniel parried and slashed, sending one to the ground, then, as the second brought his blade down in a vertical two-handed slash, Daniel dodged to the left, slashing his own incisor up, bringing the end across the Dae’s abdomen. The second Dae gasped. It was a female Dae, and she crumpled to the bloody grass below with a gurgled whimper.

Turning then to find his next opponent, a blast of wind caught him in his side. Daniel grunted as he flew back from the impact. Cursing, Daniel managed to stay on his feet, quickly inspecting the impact area. His cloak was torn, but his bone plate had absorbed the blast, preventing any serious damage. He looked up to find the culprit, a Dae man staring daggers at him with his hands raised toward him. With a shout the Dae unleashed another blast of air, this time aimed directly at his face. Daniel roared, swinging his incisor, and pouring his Dunamis into it. Crimson fire exploded from the blade, dispersing the Dae-Jin’s attack, and hurling toward him. The Dae screamed as his body was engulfed and began melting before Daniels eyes. Within moments, he was a silent heap of burning remains.

The cultists who witnessed the savage attack, halted their advance, and looked to second guess attacking Daniel. Using the moments he bought himself he turned to survey the rest of the battlefield. Of the six Lokkadonian warriors who accompanied them, all still stood, with bodies of cultists around them. Oros held the suspected leader by the throat and had him on his knees before him.

“Get the hell out of here,” Daniel said to the few cultists who still stood, hesitating. “Go!” he shouted, allowing a bit of his crimson fire burst from his hand, as he raised it toward them. That was apparently all the cultists needed, as they turned and began running away.

Daniel strode toward Oros, and got close enough to hear what they were saying.

“I told you,” the cultist leader said, struggling to get the words out while being choked. “We were trying to take her outside of Eleutheros.”

“Where?” Oros said, his hand squeezing just a bit more. “You’re just repeating yourself.”

“We were going to the port in Exous territory,” he gasped, “And getting on a ship to Dominicia.”

“Where’s that?” Daniel asked Oros standing beside him.

“It’s a kingdom to the South of Visoth, in a Peninsula,” Oros said. “Why?” he asked, directing his attention again to the cultist.

“Why else?” he spat. “We have a sect there. Eleutheros is about to erupt into war.”

“Do you know of any Spirit-Sent outside of the one you had here?” Daniel asked.

He saw the cultists bulging eyes dart to him. Anger and defiance shot back at him. Screw this, Daniel thought, pulling his hood back, and removing his bone mask. Instantly the cultist’s expression changed to one of shock and amazement.

“Spirit…” he sputtered, until Oros released his throat. “Spirit-Sent,” he said, hacking and coughing around the words. When he looked up again, he smiled, almost looking in a state of bliss.

“I’m asking because I need to find more of my kind. We’re scattered,” Daniel said. “Now stop being so fucking difficult and answer my goddamn question.”

“There are several reports we’ve received from around the continent. Dominicia has one for certain,” the Dae said. “Vohnavix, has another. And of course the four here in Eleutheros.”

“Do you know any of their names?” Daniel asked.

“I do. The ones I mentioned are well documented. As are you, Daniel,” the Dae said.

Daniel flinched slightly at the use of his name.

The Dae grinned at his reaction. “There are only two with Lokkadonia, one female, named Katrina, and one male.” He tilted his head toward Daniel. “Daniel.” His grin was broken as he began coughing again, but quickly quelled it. “The other is in Rexun; his name is Robert, and Ashly was here at this temple.”

“What about the others?” Daniel asked.

“Alexander in Vohnavix, and Angelo in Dominicia,” the Dae said.

Daniel’s eyes widened as the name of his friend, Angelo left his lips. “Angelo,” Daniel said, turning to look at Oros. “I’ve got to get to Dominicia.”

Oros tensed at the statement. “It’s quite the journey, my friend.” He turned to the cultist again. “What do you know of his situation there?” Oros asked. “Is he in danger?”

“No,” he said. “Not that we’ve heard. Our sect in the area has told us that he is among one of their noble houses. Being sheltered, much like yourself.”

“Dan,” Oros said, “I promise you that we will go. Together. And find your friend. But we must deal with the threat at hand. Once Alektor is defeated, we will go.”

Daniel took a deep breath and closed his eyes. At least Angelo was in no immediate danger, if the cultist was to be believed. But he did mention Alexander in Vohnavix, and that had been verified when Cato said the same. Reluctantly, Daniel thought better of it. He owed Oros and everyone in Lokkadonia as much; he would stay till the end of the conflict in Eleutheros. “Ok. Till the end of this conflict. Then we go get them.”

Oros smiled, and clasped Daniel on the shoulder. “Good.” Then he turned to meet the gaze of the knelt cultist. “Gather the survivors here and go. Most of your followers would still be alive if you had spoken to us before charging into battle. But as I said before, your temple had already been attacked before we arrived. They took Ashly and left one of your members alive.”

“I…” the cultist said, his eyes unfocused, “…I’m sorry… we just… wanted to get her out. She didn’t want to go… she still had attachments in Visoth. In the village, we found her in. She tried to escape. Daniel… you must believe me. We didn’t mean for her to—”

“That’s enough,” Oros said, cutting him off. “Your people need tending to.” Then he turned to Daniel. “We’ve got all we can from here. It’s time we started heading back.”

“Yeah,” Daniel said, sheathing his incisor. “Let’s head back and get this shit with Rexun over with.”