Dark Imaginings
War or Honour
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A/n This chapter beta'd (?!) Thanks wanderingaddict :P
glaring brightness of the sun’s rays as it reflected from the crystalline
snow. His eyes watered while they adjusted
from the cosy darkness of his tent and he had to shake his head a few times and
blink rapidly to clear his vision. A
subtle fog was all that remained of the charm Dyhedriel had cast on his mind
and it was easy for Evan to pass it off as wild imagination.
agreed to the pact when- normally- he would have made no move without the
sanction of the Ring of Law. Whenever he
thought about the arrangement he had just made with the Dyhedriel he was filled
with an unnatural and passionate conviction that he had and was doing the right
thing by his people. He wasn’t thinking
about it now though. Dread had its hands
around his heart and was twisting it.
encampment and his eyes fell on the make-shift mess the cooks had erected
outside the tent his men usually ate in.
The packs were gathered in a thick, snarling knot at the entrance of the
hide structure. Even though they were
bristling and obviously agitated, they were strangely quiet as though in the
aftershock of some devastating event. It
was one Evan had yet to face. Cu’Ren was
dead. He knew it in his heart with a
certainty that couldn’t be wavered. He
sprinted toward the knot of his men, shoving them rudely aside as though he was
gripped with madness and he snapped at them with a harshness he had never
displayed before. The doorway of the
mess tent loomed before him but he were still four men in his way.
his warriors aside. “Cu’REN!”
calling his dead uncle’s name, his Spear...it wasn’t as though he could answer
but Evan couldn’t stop. His eyes were
burning with unshed tears that would doubtlessly fall when he reached his
uncle’s body. His men looked at him wide
eyed and confused, trying to get out of his way as he rabidly shoved them
aside. Only two still remained in his
way. Dwr and another, but not
anymore...he staggered into the tent all but foaming at the mouth.
vehemently. Death was a part of every
Lycean’s life. They dealt it and dealt
believe what his eyes were telling him.
Alpha, concerned, and rose slowly to his feet from where he had been crouched
over Cu’Sciath. “The Blood Guard was
attacked.”
a few steps toward Evan, his hands outstretched as though to pacify him.
you were killed...” Evan choked the
words out.
laid it heavily on Evan’s shoulder. “I’m
alive and well, as you can see,” He cast a fleeting glance at Arithien, “and
apart from a few kicks to the head that were so weak that your pups could have
done better, I am unharmed.”
General give a soft snort but for now, he was more concerned about Evan.
disturbing look in his eyes. He hardly
seemed able to believe Cu’Ren was alive.
were tending Cu’Sciath shrugged when Evan addressed him.
eyes of the Alpha. “I can’t tell.
Cu’Ren a bored look. “Don’t tell me you
don’t know how to heal the curses of your own kind?”
as though it was a trigger that set off something buried in his mind.
he leaped at the Silheen, shifting into a sleek black dire wolf in
mid-air. Arithien had always hated that
about the Lycean, who were able to shift from man to wolf in a heartbeat and
did so whenever they deemed one form or the other to be more of an advantage.
so much harder, not that he would have to worry about that for much longer.
chest and winded, Arithien flew through the air to land heavily on his
back. Evan pinned his shoulders to the
ground with his paws and all the Silheen saw was a wide gaping mouth literally
teeming with dripping razor sharp fangs, angled to tear his throat out.
and then there was the small fact that he was bound hand and foot.
battle or even with a sword in his hand, instead of bound like a slave.
liquid silver wolf eyes and waited for the end.
wolf atop him and the two wolves rolled over in a snarling bundle of teeth and
fur. The grey wolf managed to pin the
black for a heart beat before they flipped and the black snarled over the grey,
who was a wolf no longer, but Cu’Ren instead.
pinned under his nephew’s huge black paws and Evan’s jaws were frighteningly
close to his throat. “It’s me! Cu’Ren!”
into his humanoid form again. He looked
confused and his voice shook. “You were
killed!”
his lips peeled back from his fangs.
“Arithien brought creatures of the Dark into out camp, disguised with
Silheen glamour. They killed you...”
shook his head slowly. “Evan, I
live. I’m here...easy...”
himself, Evan released Cu’Ren and sat on his haunches.
body shuddered.
Alpha’s view of Arithien would be blocked if he looked up.
sense to keep his mouth shut but he thought he could be asking for a bit
much. He looked over his shoulder and
saw Dwr standing alert at the tent door.
“Dwr, erect the wards and then assign six of your best as temporary Blood
Guards.”
chest and broke up the cluster of onlookers, barking orders at them and
assigning them temporary posts.
Immediately after, his voice rose in the arcane incantation that would
activate the carved stones, whose energy the Lycean used to shield their abodes
from dark magic.
Evan’s head shot up from his hands and his face twisted with unnatural
rage and spit flew from his mouth. “He
brought them here, the creatures of shadow.”
his nephew’s bulk, disguising the restraining hold as a hug.
head in Arithien’s direction. He mouthed
silently, “Get him out of here. My
tent...” and breathed a sigh of relief when the acting Shield moved swiftly and
discretely with the temporary guard to obey him.
tunic in desperation. “It was a plot,
Cu’Ren...to kill you and the Blood Guard.”
to me...” Cu’Ren took care to remain
calm but it was hard in the face of Evan’s uncharacteristic behaviour.
fists in his own just in case he decided to run after Dwr and kill Arithien
anyway. “If it was a plot, the Lore Keepers will get to the bottom of it.
is bound and hobbled. You dishonour
yourself and break the law if you attack him.”
up from the Blood Guard he was tending.
“Evan. Gerdd
is gone...”
on his haunches.
surgeons as his Blood Guard breathed their last and returned to the palm of the
Wolf. Cu’Sciath held on the longest but
shortly after the last of the Blood Guard passed over, the surgeon tending him
shook his head as well.
black hair. “Send word to their packs in
the Den so they can prepare the funeral rites for when we return their wolves
to them.” He turned and nodded to
Cu’Ren to follow him.
mess and passed through the camp to a place where there was little chance they
would be overheard, Cu’Ren eyed the Alpha warily.
gloating smirk Cu’Ren had never seen before slid over his handsome face.
he answered. “He is going to lower the
Silheen Shield on the eve of Hethwyn
the villages of Cagt and Tewdd in the Savage Lands, ready to invade at
twilight.” Cu’Ren looked sharply at the
Alpha as they approached Evan’s tent and he lifted the hide door, standing
aside to let him enter before following himself.
looked at him. “Together we will smash
the Spire of Light to dust.”
hair line and it took a few moments for what his nephew had said to sink
in. He had zero love for the Dark hosts
but apart from the hybrids they bred, their aversion to light made them a
lesser threat to the Lycean than the Silheen hosts.
will have to approve any plans, and they don’t convene until Hethwyn
Cu’Ren, not a bunch of doddering old farts.
I made this nation.”
Cu’Ren looked at his nephew from under his eyebrows and crossed his arms
over his chest. “But the laws you
instituted in the covenant of the Ring is what bound the packs together
Evan. If you undermine them, it will
tear at the very heart of our people.”
Cu’Ren raised an eyebrow. His nephew was
a lot of things, driven, a harsh leader who sometimes swayed toward being too
hard but he was never usually arrogant.
When it came to the power of the Lore Keepers, Evan was unswayable in
adhering to their word.
his musings and looked sharply at his nephew.
“Your wards are down, did you lower them?”
absently shook his head. Cu’Ren’s ears
pulled back suspiciously. Erecting wards
around their dwellings was as essential for Lycean’s as food or water, since
the creatures of shadow that were obsessed with killing them wherever they
found them for deserting the Dark hosts found it easier to exist in the dimness
inside a shelter, as opposed to the open.
Wards were especially necessary when the Lyceans left the Den where
their defences were all but impenetrable.
It was not law that wards be erected but it wasn’t far from it.
long enough to mutter the incantation that would charge the carved rune stones
into erecting a protective barrier against dark magic around Evan’s tent.
to his nephew, and his thoughts about the deal he had made with Dyhedriel.
strike a critical blow against the Silheen who have hunted us like dogs for
centuries, we have to ask at what cost.
What do you know about Dyhedriel?”
considered Cu’Ren’s question for a few moments before answering.
him? What’s in it for him to see Silhee
fall?” Cu’Ren asked shrewdly.
then he will ally Silhee to the Den. The
humans of Pyntriffith wouldn’t dare to attack us again, not after losing the
backing of The Spire.”
Silhee will not ally with us. Evan, the
elves would die before ever considering such a move, which then leads me to
ask, who – or what - does Dyhedriel plan on filling the city with once the fair
elves are gone?”
were attacked by shadow creatures, Evan, hybrids the likes of which I’ve never
seen before and they had no aversion to light.
The three elves Dyhedriel handed over for our amusement were not elves
at all and were disguised with Silheen glamour.
It’s easy to see now why he did that.”
Evan?” Cu’Ren raised a suspicious
eyebrow. “Arithien was betrayed to us by
Dyhedriel, we all saw it.”
snort. “I’m not interested in arguing
with you about it uncle. Like you said,
the Ring will get to the bottom of the matter.”
He strapped his arm guards back to his wrists and gave Cu’Ren a stern sideways
glance that indicated for now, the conversation was ended.
ready to move? We will return to
the Den and prepare to mobilise our entire force.”
the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
There was no point persisting at the moment.
returned to the Den and his nephew was over the shock of what had happened to
his Blood Guard. “I’ll hunt Dwr up and
find out.”
tent and onto the snow made dirty from the feet of hundreds trampling over
it.
from reverie, he stopped and turned to see Dwr trotting over the snow toward him.
the next Wolf Shield. The Ring would
have to approve and deliberate over the promotion first but Cu’Ren knew that
was only a formality.
rested his hands lightly on his tapered hips.
shuffled uncomfortably. “I uh... thought
you should be aware that – well, the packs are seething.”
some of our finest.”
moments. “They’re looking for
revenge...a few heard Evan reveal the prisoner’s part in – in what happened.”
his face. “They’ll get justice once the
Silheen General stands before the lore keepers in the Ring.”
uncomfortably. “I just...”
be the teller of tales ... but there’s
talk that Arithien won’t make it back to the Den to stand at all.”
Dwr continued hastily. “It’s
understandable. This Silheen in
particular has touched every pack with death – and personally, at that - and this
time he brought it among us in our own camp, not to mention the
nervously. “I feel like I’m betraying my
litter mates by telling you this but I want the laws upheld.”
his hands to calm the man. “Dwr, it’s
all good. You’ve done the right
thing. Our law code is what makes us
different from the denizens of the Dark.
You’d be doing far worse by your litter mates if you remained silent and
let them break the heart of our nation.
My thanks, for bringing it to my attention,” He forced a smile to his
lips that he really didn’t feel like wearing for Dwr’s sake, “Leave it with
me.”
clutched his fist to his chest before returning to the packs.
time.” Cu’Ren winked and then continued
to make his way over the choppy snow to where Arithien was being held in his
tent.
quickly enough by the time he reached his tent.
live long enough to make it to the Ring were getting slimmer by the moment.
bristling. The warriors were as tense as
bow strings and considering Evan’s view of Arithien, it was possible that the
Alpha would take matters concerning elf into his own hands.
something like that before.
make the packs lose control and then they wouldn’t even need a significant
reason to tear the General apart.
Especially if Evan was willing to allow it and his earlier attitude made
Cu’Ren think that he would. If that happened,
Cu’Ren would be helpless to save Arithien so that he could stand in the
Ring. It wasn’t that he cared about the
Silheen. After all, he had admitted to
killing Cu’Ren’s father and six brothers and more of his extended kin than he could
count. He didn’t hate him though, well,
not enough to warrant breaking the laws for retribution anyway.
survival and like any other warrior; Arithien had done what he had to in battle.
Cu’Ren than that the Lycean law code be upheld.
His father, his brother and he had developed the code thinking it little
more than fancy until it was implemented at last by Evan when he united the
twelve Lycean packs. Cu’Ren hadn’t been
humouring Dwr when he called it the heart of their nation.
that separated the children of the Wolf from the denizens of the Dark and if
the Lycean ever wanted to live in peace within the Realm of Reality, they had
to prove by their conduct that they were no longer of the shadowy hosts.
presence in Tyragul may one day be tolerated, if not eventually accepted and
then they might be able to live in peace at last.
separated Evan’s tent from his. He
nodded to the four Lycean who were now the temporary Blood Guard as he passed
by them to enter his tent where Arithien was being held.
others, mainly because the rest of the Lycean’s marquees were designed to
accommodate the sometimes numerous members of a pack.
simply to underline his own standing but he had never felt the need to try to
impress others with grandeur.
stepped through the hide door. The two
Blood Guards inside were standing stiff, their muscles were coiled the way
Lyceans will when they are squaring off to either fight or kill.
which Cu’Ren knew was Arithien, with the same intensity the wolf men used when
they were hunting prey. The hair on the
back of their necks was raised and more than anything, that screamed to Cu’Ren
that they weren’t looking at the General as prey, they were sizing him up for
the kill.
and was relieved to see the elf looked none the worse for wear.
relief and berated himself for doubting his men.
attack a bound prisoner – not yet anyway.
He nodded to the guards and they stepped outside the tent to wait for
him there.