The Aspect: The Cessation's Harbinger Read online

  “Anything wrong, sir?” his subordinate whispered next to him. Brother Yurial turned and shook his head from side to side. The masks they wore completely covered their faces and made it impossible to see any emotion. Brother Yurial thought about attacking now. However, they already had an established plan, and they were going to stick to it. The perfect moment appeared several hours later when Brother Yurial was certain their targets had fallen asleep. He gripped his amulet one more time before issuing the order to his inquisitors.

  “Team one will begin phase one on my mark. Team two and three, be ready to bring in reinforcements if you hear anything out of the ordinary or we do not issue an all clear in sixty seconds. Is that understood?”

  “Understood, sir,” the two voices responded in unison. Brother Yurial beckoned to his team and the group quickly gathered into a huddle around him.

  “All right men. We’ve trained our entire lives for this moment. I expect perfection.” Brother Yurial paused to make sure all his inquisitors were paying the utmost attention. “Validate you’ve got a seal on your masks. Now, is everyone ready?”

  One-by-one, the inquisitors nodded their acknowledgement.

  “Good, now let’s go leave our mark on history.” Brother Yurial turned toward the ground below, grabbed his amulet, and gave the signal. In perfect harmony, his inquisitors descended to the soft grass of the courtyard. The inquisitors sprinted quickly toward the suite’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows and patio doors. With his men positioned at the door, Brother Yurial gave the signal to Brother Mirko.

  Brother Mirko was an expert at picking locks. He had grown up on the streets of Halairim as an orphan. Brother Yurial found him after an attempted pick-pocketing scheme left Mirko with an empty hand and a red face. However, Brother Yurial saw the boy’s potential and gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse. From that day forward, Brother Yurial shaped the boy into the perfect infiltration tool for his squad. He was proud of the man the boy had become.

  After only a few seconds, the patio doors were unlocked. A light creak caused the group to freeze as Brother Yurial peered through the patio door’s window. The female orc’s snores seemed to drown out all other ambient noise inside the room. On Brother Yurial’s signal, Brother Mirko slowly opened the door.

  Brother Yurial slid open the flap on his pouch and pulled out a silver ball. He twisted the top half, producing three clicks, indicating it was primed, and then slowly rolled it into the middle of the room. When it stopped rolling, hundreds of tiny little holes slid open along its metallic surface and began spraying a fine mist into the air.

  From his training, Brother Yurial knew it took less than three seconds to render a room full of combatants unconscious; however, he waited a full thirty seconds before giving the signal to enter. In a single file line, the five men entered the room with weapons drawn. The group did not hesitate, reaching their three adversaries and subduing them with little effort. Three of the men pinned their targets while the other two placed manacles on the trio’s arms and legs.

  Normal manacles would be all but useless, which is why these had been imbued with magic. They possessed the ability to drain any magical being of both their energy and mana, nearly paralyzing them. Once the five had confirmed their victims were unconscious, Brother Yurial clasped his amulet once again.

  “Teams two and three can stand down. We’ve subdued the targets.”

  “We did it!” Brother Mirko declared as the group came together. Shouts of celebration and clasping hands filled the air as the group shared their moment of victory. Only Brother Yurial did not join them.

  An emptiness befell him as he looked at the three naked lovers they’d subdued, like something deep inside him was still missing. This was the moment he had waited for, like a promised fifth birthday present. The hole in his soul soon filled with rage as his compatriots shouted with glee.

  “Can all of you just shut the fuck up?” Brother Yurial yelled. “If you’re going to celebrate like a bunch of idiots, do it outside.” The group stared blankly at each other before mumbling under their breath as they headed out the patio door. Brother Mirko stayed behind as the other three left the room. He shuffled up to the side of Brother Yurial, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  “What’s wrong, Father? Isn’t this the moment you had always dreamed of?”

  “Thirty-four years…for this,” Brother Yurial said, waving his hand at the exposed bodies. “I... I expected more.”

  “It just shows you how prepared we were. We’ve received the best training and have the best equipment money can buy. Nothing can stop us, not even an Aspect.”

  Brother Yurial turned his head toward his adopted son and patted the hand that sat on his shoulder. “I know what you’re trying to do, son, and I ‌appreciate it. I just need some time alone.”

  Brother Mirko leaned his helmet into his father’s, resting it just for a moment, before turning back toward the door.

  As soon as the door shut behind him, Brother Yurial let out his pent-up frustration. He slammed his fists over and over into the Aspect’s face until he could barely lift his arms. Brother Yurial straightened his posture and looked over his clothing, which dripped with blood. He took in a few long, deep breaths before bending down to hover over the man’s savaged face.

  He could see the mixture of blood and snot bubbling from the Aspect’s broken nose. Brother Yurial turned him to his side, so he did not choke on his own blood. The last thing he needed was to be responsible for the Aspect’s accidental death. Their orders were to capture these three alive, and only kill them if there was no other choice.

  Brother Yurial grabbed the nearby bedsheet and wiped the blood and flesh from his gloved hands. He tossed the sheet to the floor and headed for the patio door. In the same moment that he reached for the door and clasped his hand over the amulet, dozens of frightened screams filled his mind all at once.

  He was so startled, he jerked his hand away. His adrenaline spiked as he slowly reached for his amulet once again, only this time there was silence. He swung open the door and walked out into the garden. He looked both ways quickly, still clasping his amulet.

  “Team one report!” he shouted. No one replied.

  “Team two, team three, anyone say something!” His heartbeat thundered in his ears. He tried once more to call his allies. Again, he shouted into the void. The faint sound of dripping liquid caught his attention to his right. Brother Yurial swung around, drawing his short sword like he had done a thousand times in training.

  The sound continued.

  Brother Yurial slowly stalked forward, as the sound of heavy drops pitter-pattering onto the ground turned into a steady stream. It wasn’t until he felt the drops on his head that he noticed the blood. He stumbled to the ground as he looked up at his companions. Their mangled bodies were hung up in ropes of bloodied thorns that pierced everywhere they touched. The macabre awning painted the exterior a deep crimson red.

  He couldn’t move. Fear took hold of him as he looked upon the punctured bodies of his loved ones. He could only scream, as a group of green tree vines sprouted from the ground, quickly wrapping around his arms and legs. They yanked him up off of the ground as he violently thrashed in an attempt to free himself. Between the sounds of his pumping heartbeat, he heard footsteps approaching him from behind.

  When he turned his head, a white, feminine figure in a wooden headdress and with glowing red eyes walked around him and stood in front of his suspended body. Its voice was sharp and echoed, like it was shouting down a long empty hallway.

  “What did you do to them!” it shouted.

  Brother Yurial reflected ‌on everything up until that moment. He had prepared relentlessly for this encounter. There should have been no mistakes. What did I miss? he wondered. The sprouting vines interrupted his thoughts as they sprouted thorns that slowly sank into his wrists and ankles. Brother Yurial shouted in agony. His body jerked instinctively, only to be flooded with more pain.

  “Tell me
what I want to know, and I will end your life quickly,” the white figure hissed.

  Brother Yurial slowly raised his head, taking his time to look over the creature’s body. When he reached the top of its head, he realized what his error had been. The creature’s wooden hair sprouted leaves similar to the tree he remembered in the courtyard. His panting morphed into laughter.

  “The fireoak...you were there the entire time…”

  The creature cocked its head to the side.

  Brother Yurial’s laughter trailed into a coughing fit as he cleared his throat and hacked up blood, causing it to slosh around inside his helmet.

  The being lunged forward and clasped a hand around his neck. Its glowing, blood-red eyes hovered inches from Brother Yurial’s face.

  “Why did you attack them!”

  Brother Yurial just shook his head and smiled. This was the end. The creature wanted him alive to gather information, and he would not give it the chance. He pushed his tongue on his rear molar and then bit down, hard. The effects of the poison were instantaneous. He looked up at his son one final time as the pain burst in his stomach, like he’d swallowed a piece of hot charcoal. His body writhed in pain as he spent his last moments drowning in his own blood and vomit.

  Tempest awoke to find Riika, Ella, and Saïgra hovering over him. A sigh of relief washed over their faces.

  “Uh...good morning,” Tempest said with a slight tone of confusion in his voice. As soon as he leaned up onto his elbows, the smell of blood hit him. Tempest lurched to his feet, recognized his nudeness, and quickly grabbed a pillow to cover his groin as he frowned at the other three. “Why do I smell blood?” Ella rotated her feet to the ground and stood up with outreached arms.

  “Now don’t get upset, but we were attacked last night.”

  “Attacked?” Tempest asked, jerking his arms up before quickly bringing them back down. “What happened?” It was at that point that Tempest realized that Saïgra was completely covered in her bark armor, which he had never seen before. It covered her entire body, leaving only her face and wooden hair exposed. It bended and stretched like a thick leather as she leaned forward.

  Ella chuckled before pointing toward the nearby chest. “Why don’t you put some trousers on first.”

  Tempest did as he was told and slipped on his trousers before moving to a nearby chair in the room. Saïgra quickly checked behind her before she leaned against the wall. She drew a deep breath before she began.

  “I awoke late in the night when I heard a squeak come from the back-patio door. When I looked over, there were five armed men who were breaking in…” Saïgra’s voice trailed off as she clasped her hands over her eyes. Tears dripped through the wooden crevices between her fingers.

  Ella stood up and walked over to her. She placed her hand around Saïgra’s shoulder, whispering words into her ear that Tempest could not hear.

  Most likely words of encouragement, he thought. Tempest watched as the wooden armor retreated into Saïgra’s body while she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. The mixture of the remaining wood and leaves left her with an outfit that didn’t cover much, barely covering her breasts and nether region. Most of the dryads he had met, though, seemed to feel overdressed when wearing any clothes at all.

  “Sorry,” Saïgra said between her sobs. “I froze. I was completely afraid. I wanted to help, I absolutely did, but I just couldn’t move. During that time, they threw in some kind of magical device and jumped into the room. That’s when Queen Maileath took over.”

  Tempest furrowed his brow. “What do you mean, she took over?”

  Saïgra’s eyes lit up as she stood straighter. “Oh, I could have sworn she told you. Queen Maileath is connected to everything she has created and vice versa. In the event that it’s necessary, she can control any one or all of her creations.”

  “Wait, so she can just take control of your body without warning?”

  “Yes, if she so chooses to. All of Maileath’s children are connected in one consciousness that is Queen Maileath. We feel what each other feels, taste what each other tastes, hear what each other hears.”

  Tempest sat back in the chair and scratched his chin. He remembered Queen Maileath talking about how they were all connected, but he never envisioned this.

  “Let’s stay focused on the important part,” Riika said, breaking the silence. “We can talk about this trick the Queen performs at a later time.”

  Saïgra clasped her hands together and nodded quickly. “You’re quite right. Sorry about that. Anyway, when the Queen took over, she tiptoed toward the patio door to get a better view. She saw the three of you were in cuffs, and she could taste kyger spores in the air, so she pulled back, believing you not to be in immediate danger.”

  “What are kyger spores?” Tempest asked.

  “Kyger pods are a rare fungus that grows in the southern regions of Iðna,” Ella replied. “When they are disturbed, they release their spores into the air. If you inhale those, the spores will render you unconscious and can even kill you, if you do not have someone around to save you.”

  “That’s correct, Lady Fleetfoot,” Saïgra stated. “However, these spores were harvested and placed in some sort of device that these men triggered.”

  “So, they threw in an item that made sure we stayed asleep and then put us in shackles?” Tempest asked, leaning forward in his chair. His knee steadily bounced as his mind raced through every scenario of what might have happened.

  “Not just any shackles, magical shackles,” Ella stated. “From what we can tell, they drain all magical energy and stamina from the person wearing them.”

  “When Queen Maileath tried to remove them, initially, she was going to pry them apart. When she touched them, though, even for the briefest moment, she said it felt like she had just sprinted for an hour. She could sense it sapping her energy and mana through her hand, like they were being sucked out by a tiny tornado through a small hole.” Saïgra shook her head. “The Queen had to wait and get one of the Inn’s staff to unlock them.”

  Tempest stood up and began pacing around the room. The more he heard, the more his heart pounded, and his rage built. “Ok, so what happened after they put us in the shackles?” Tempest asked, tightening his fists.

  “The Queen was rightly concerned that this wasn’t the only group of assailants. She used Tremorsense in the surrounding area to see if there were any additional threats. Unfortunately, there were.”

  “How many people did they send after us?”

  Saïgra hesitated before she answered. “F-fifteen.”

  “Fifteen?!” Tempest shouted; his voice full of anger as he stared at the dryad.

  Riika stood and chewed on a fingernail as she contemplated the words. “This wasn’t some simple robbery attempt. This was a coordinated assault.” She looked at everyone in the room and placed her hand on her chest. “Five for each of us. From the looks of it, they didn’t realize Saïgra was with us. They were hunting the three of us. We were lucky this wasn’t an assassination attempt.”

  “But why, though?” Tempest asked. “Who are they, and why did they come after us?”

  “That’s what I plan to find out,” a familiar voice called out from the hallway. Tempest turned as Sophia Windcatcher entered the room. She was wearing a circular, brimmed hat and had on a black, sleeveless overcoat that permitted her feathers plenty of room for her to fly. It opened to a brown leather cuirass that depicted designs of a three-headed dragon looking up at Iðna’s twin moons. Her matching pants and boots looked worn from constant use.

  “Sophia, what are you doing here?” Tempest asked, taking a few steps back, unsure of her intentions.

  “What, you’re not happy to see me?” Sophia asked, smirking. The Investigator stopped and scanned the room. She could detect the tension in the air as she looked at Tempest and his companions.

  She let out an enormous sigh and raised her hands. “Look, I know things didn’t go great the last time we met. I threatened
you with lifetime prison sentences. You tied me up and left me in an abandoned camp. We both did what we thought was right. After hearing about everything you did to save the city of Ashwreath, I bear no ill will against any of you.”

  The four companions relaxed a bit as Sophia spoke. Tempest slid his hand down his face and sat down on the bed. “I appreciate that,” he said, smiling. “But you didn’t answer my question.”

  Sophia waved her hand to Saïgra as she approached the three on the bed. She kneeled down and spoke in a whisper. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m here because there was a kidnapping attempt on a foreign diplomat and... the Aspect.”

  Tempest’s head jerked up as he looked at Sophia in the eyes. “Wait, you know?”

  Sophia smiled and nodded her head. “I had my suspicions about you back in Ashwreath, after you pulled me out of the sky like you did. Then hearing Queen Alyndra’s account of how you saved her, I knew there was something special about you. However, Queen Vatia confirmed it to me, before I left the city center.”

  Tempest fell back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. This was the first time anyone had known he was the Aspect, without him telling them. It felt liberating, but also terrifying. The crushing weight of his responsibility was beginning to feel all too real.

  “I’m here to take you all to the castle, under armed escort, given last night’s events. I’ll be leaving my team here to complete the investigation. We’ll find out who the bastards are that are pulling the strings. You have my word.”

  Tempest raised his arms over his head and closed his eyes. He took in a few deep breaths, just trying to slow things down for a moment. Tempest felt the pressure on the bed move, followed by a hand sliding up is arm. Fingers worked their way between his. He opened his eyes to see Riika leaning over him.

  “Hey,” she whispered.

  “Hey.”

  “Are you okay?”