RE: Monarch

Chapter 31: Enclave I

You have any idea how many commoner children do that? And Alten aint exactly an uncommon name.

It was a fair observation. I shrugged and asked him to do his best, recommending he leverage Thaddeus to assist with the search.

I gave Orben carte blanche to find me the perfect horse; a hybrid between the war-horses my father was so fond of and something more mobile.

But again, the most vital task went to Tamara. I explained Seras situation in broad strokes and how isolated she was, hinting at, though not specifically stating, how vital it would be to sway her to my side. Archery would be the way in. Sera was obsessed with learning to shoot, and constantly complained about the incompetence of every man and woman who tried to teach her. I was confident she wouldnt have the same issue with Tamara. In truth, though, I didnt expect much. Sera was always going to be a hard nut to crack. Gods knew Id failed at it for years. Still, it might help her to have a friend.

The rangers bickered amongst themselves, already debating the best way to approach things when they returned to Whitefall. It surprised me to find that I had nothing but faith in them.

There was a dull pastel to the scene that matched the bittersweet melancholy. My sense of color hadnt fully returned, washing everything in muted tones. This wasnt what I wanted, not really. I wanted Tamara to teach me to shoot, and to race with Orben. I wanted another year of sword tutelage from Cephur.

But it wasnt meant to be. I wandered over to the shadow panther, who stood at the edge of the forest uncertainly, as if it sensed this was the end.

I reached out tentatively, and it nuzzled its head against my hand and made a sound in its throat. It wasnt so much the creature itself, but everything it represented. Helplessness. The way I had struggled against it and nearly died, back when I didnt even know I could come back. Finding the strength to fight, even when the odds were against me. An enemy, somehow, miraculously turned companion.

Slowly, I crouched down achingly in front of it.

You cant go where Im going, Im afraid.

It cocked its head in a manner that looked so similar to a person asking a question. Why?

There wont be much for you to hunt. And theres gonna be enough suspicion on me without bringing in a giant cat with a penchant for violence.

It looked displeased.

Look, I dont know why you decided to follow me, but I am grateful for your company and bounty. I pulled out a piece of meat, some leftover rabbit the Panther had hunted the previous night.

It didnt look angry so much as disappointed. Which, as always, was worse.

I sighed and looked around. This particular patch of forest was nearly as thick as the Everwood had been, but the atmosphere was completely different. The sparse canopies let in plenty of sun. Birds chirped. More importantly, it lacked any sort of malevolence or sinister atmosphere. It felt light and peaceful.

Come. I pointed downward to my feet. Look.

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The shadow panther heeled at my side, golden eyes fixed on the forest. The fur around its neck had only just started to come back.

Look at all that green, filled with prey. Its all yours. Youre the scariest thing out here. The apex predator. King of the forest. I grinned.

Something flitted through its eyes too quickly to parse. Before, when Id talked to it the same way you would a dog or a cat, I struck with the uncanny sense that it could understand my words. Id written it off as wishful anthropomorphism. But now I wasnt so sure. It was intelligent. Perhaps smart enough to pick up on the meaning of my words, rather than the words themselves.

You dont have to wait for me. Im going to be a while. To do what I need to do, I need to get stronger, be better. But if you do happen to stay around here, one day Ill come back. Likely through this very path. And if you decide to come with me, Ill have a name for you.

The Panther stood, powerful muscle beneath its skin rippling. It began to prowl into the forest. It gave me one last lingering look, then disappeared into the brush.

I suddenly felt foolish. Who was I kidding. It probably had no idea what I was saying at all. Still, it would have felt wrong to just leave.

I coughed violently and held a hand to my mouth. It came away damp. There wasnt as much blood as before, but plenty of bluish ichor. A chill went through me. It reminded me, a little too uncannily, of what happened to my mother.

Maya had wandered over to me and spotted my sudden fear, and spotted the blue. She raised her voice suddenly and gestured towards the rangers, her tone brisk, belying an edge of panic.

He is getting worse. We need to go. Quickly.

But instead of helping me into the carriage, she darted up the steps, hefting both her luggage and mine under her arms.

Cephur studied us both. I take it this is where we part ways, then.

It is for the best, Maya said, transferring our belongings to a black horse. We are close enough to the enclave it should be safe to go on our own.

We can still see you both to the edge of the territory. Tamara said, looking at me worriedly.

No, Maya insisted. My people do not take kindly to outsiders. The two of us alone should be fine. If we approach with the three of you in tow, in the best case it will look like an overzealous survey from Uskarrian rangers. At worst, they will assume look you are bringing a hostage to trade.

Orben picked me up gently and placed me on the horse. This is goodbye then, your majesty?

Afraid so, Benny. I said, my voice weak. Cephur, you clear on next steps?

Yep. Gonna be a hell of a couple of months, but well manage somehow. Cephur retied one of the straps on the saddlebags, deep in thought.

And that other thing we talked about, I said quietly, I can leave it to you?

Yes. His face lowered into a scowl. Though I hope to Elphion it wont come to that.

Tamara boosted Maya up onto the horse in front of me.

Hold onto her tight now. She winked.

Terrible personality.

Equine Savant.

The vision suddenly disappeared from my left eye. My pulse quickened, fear rising in my gut. I smiled at them all, trying for a regal confidence I didnt remotely feel.

Thank you for everything. See you in a few years.

Somehow, I managed to hide my fear until they shrunk to the size of pinpricks. The focus of my remaining eye started to randomly vacillate between near and far sight, bathing one or the other in a thick gaussian blur.

Maya, I said urgently, Somethings wrong with my eyes.

Maya did not respond, but whipped the reigns mercilessly, driving her heels in, pushing the horse to a frantic, thundering gallop.

The idea of going blind was terrifying, especially when, from everything I understood, the sort of damage Id done to myself appeared to carry over after death. Dying would not save me from it. I had no idea how permanent it was or if it was the sort of thing that healed over time, but Mayas silence on the topic was far more frightening than any thing else. A grim resolve had settled over her. For all her empathy and kindness, she pushed the horse brutally hard, not letting it slow for a moment. All I could do was cling to her waist and close my eyes, ignoring the repetitive stabs of pain that radiated through my core every time the horses hooves struck the ground.

When I opened my eyes again, we had reached the enclave.

I remember my initial impression was disappointment. Though my vision blurred the details somewhat, the Enclave looked like nothing more than a small town, much like Kholis, only instead of humans, there were infernals. They came in varying shades of red, blue, and purple. Their clothing was ornate, consisting mostly of layered robes, each layer a different color. I could no makeup the details of their faces, but I watched their blurry visages shift as we galloped through the town. Black horns atop infernal heads panned as they watched us ominously. Tendrils of fear whispered up the back of my neck. I knew now, that they were not innately evil, but the lack of detail in the faces and my wounded state made it all too reminiscent of the night of the invasion. I tried to focus on something else. There were more than few dwarves, which surprised me, along with a light elf or two. Apparently the relations between demi-humans were not nearly as bad as I had thought. I looked behind us. Many were following, a small crowd forming in our wake, filling the street.

We approached the center of town, and I saw the vague outline of a gate, its center a murky crystalline that refracted in a dull prism.

What is it? I asked.

The entrance to the enclave. Maya responded shortly, her voice tight. Now that I thought about it, it made much more sense than my original assumption. I just assumed that the dimensional gate that led to the infernal plane, the one my father had destroyed, was one of a kind, housed in a massive cave. But it made far more sense that the infernals had iterated on the magic.

Thats not the only portal, is it? I asked.

Maya shook her head.

Tactically speaking, the solution was clever. Dimensional travel across the same plane allowed complete flexibility. They didnt need to build a fortress to defend the entrance. That was why there was nothing more than a simple town here, serving as a hub. If an enemy attacked, all they needed to do to defend was turn the portal off from the other side. Not to mention, it was just practical; If the enclave was as massive as I was led to believe, you would want multiple entrances just to deal with the insane congestion that often took place outside castle gates. There were many nodes like this one that served as entrances to the enclave, some like this, some more discreet.

A guard was posted on either side of the portal. They watched us approach impassively. Then two more emerged from the center, seeming to appear from nothing. Unlike the first two guards who wore steel simple steel, their armor was inlayed with a blackened bronze that matched the staff at Mayas side. Xescalt.

Wed attracted some attention, then.

I strained to see them more closely, and my vision faded to black, only returning after a matter of seconds. Panic clutched at me. I forced it back down. This was not the time for panic. Maya pulled the reigns back, slowing the horse.

One of the guards in the Xescalt composite armor walked down the steps towards us, away from the portal.

Nethtaris child, right? I thought you were off on a research mission for the Vessel. What are you doing back here? He eyed me. And in such poor company.

Maya set her jaw. She looked at him cooly, not backing down. I intend to bring my friend into the Enclave.

And I intend to get home on time and eat a nice warm dinner, and kiss my wife. But you dont see me making that your problem.

Well. It was nice to know that the ambivalence of guardsmen was the one thing that crossed racial divides. Always the same.

Mayas eyes narrowed. Her hand glowed green, and she drew a circle in the air, bisected with a strange pattern. I invoke the rite of Shaliat. His home is my home. His crimes, my crimes. His banishment, my banishment.

The crowd that had gathered around us, pinning us in, murmured in surprise. By the grace of some god out there, I did not fall off the horse. That was a lot of responsibility. At some point after this, Maya and I needed to have a talk about having more open lines of communication.

Invocation or not, thats not happening, Nethtaris daughter. The guard said. Hes human. He can linger on the surface, resupply if he can find someone that will sell to him, then be on his way.

Hes sick! Maya snapped.

Get him to the doctor then. His eyes narrowed. Arent you supposed to be a life mage?

I could see that Maya was stumped. And I appreciated what she was trying to do. She didnt want to out me, especially here, when we were isolated, outnumbered, and defenseless.

But I had already learned this lesson. Hiding my identity out of cowardice had nearly lost me my dearest ally once, and that was enough. There would be times to lie about what and who I was. But now was not that time.

I was someone they hated.

I had something they needed.

All I could do was hope the latter outweighed the former.

I slipped from the horse. The ground rushed up to meet me. I misjudged the distance, stumbling slightly to stay on my feet. The guard stirred slightly, hand going to his ruby encrusted pommel.

Carefully, I raised myself up to my full height, took in a deep breath, and spoke.

My name is Cairn of House Valen. Son of King Gil, the Tyrant. Another stream of murmurs. The guardsmans face went blank, callous ambivalence gone. He unsheathed his sword. Mayas head swiveled in panic, looking for an exit. I turned away from the guard and surveyed the crowd.

For one precious second, their faces came into focus. And it was not hate I saw, but fear. They feared me. I felt a surge of anger at what my father had done to these people, that even a child could instigate such a response.

With great effort, I summoned the spark. My chest seized for just a moment.

There was a string of gasps and the quiet murmurs grew to a fevered pitch. I heard the clink of armor as the Guardsmen closed the distance.

Holding the flame, I extended it out towards them gently, slowing moving in a circle until I faced the guard in xescalt plate once more.

I do not come to you as a prince, or a warrior. I come to you in the spirit of peace. I come to you, to return that which was stolen.