Lost in the Light

Epilogue

"Are you alone my child? Would you like some company? I am here for you. I will always be here for you." She said in a soothing voice. "You are not alone. Never alone. I am here. Let me console you, let me warm you. There, there. I can make the pain go away. I will embrace you, I will wrap you in warmth and happiness, and you will never be sad again."

"No."

"Oh, my poor child. Do not be angry with me. I am here for you. I will keep you company. I will keep you warm. Just open your arms, and allow me to hold you. It's all right. All this sadness will pass, you will see. I will make it all better. Here, let me hold you in my arms."

"No."

"But why child? Are you afraid of me? I am your mother! I am not going to hurt you. I just want to make you feel better, to make you feel loved. Which you are. You are so loved. I am here, you are not alone. Let me hold you. I will keep you safe, I will take away the sadness and-"

"No."

"I know you are upset. But do not be upset with me. I just want to help you-."

"no."

"Is it because of those elves? Are you afraid of them? Was it the bad man? The bad man that hurt you? He is gone now my child. See? He is gone there before you! He won't hurt you or anyone again. Let me hold you, you won't have to see him again. I promise you."

"no."

"Now child, you are making me sad. I only want to keep you company. Do you think those elves will keep you company instead? They would hurt you. They would hurt you worse than the bad man did. None of them are your friends. I am your only friend. Wouldn't you like to go with me outside and play? We don't have to play with them, we can play by ourselves. Isn't that a fun idea?"

"No."

"I suppose we could play with them if you wanted. Mother is here, and I will protect you from the other elves if you want. I can keep them from hurting you. I will always be here to protect you. If that is your wish, let us go and play with them. Let us go and play with the elves"

"No."

"Why not child? Do you not want to have fun? Are you still sad? Wouldn't playing with them make you happy and not sad?"

"No."

"You miss him don't you? The brave boy that helped you. You want him back don't you? I am so sorry my daughter. He was a good boy. Let me hold you and I will make you feel better."

"No."

"No? Do you want to see him again? I know how we can see him again. One of the elves knows how. She can teach you the secret if you want. Don't worry, Mother will be there to protect you, and keep you warm. The elves can't hurt you if Mother is here. And I am here. I will keep you company and we will go ask the Elf Woman how to see your boy again. Would you like that? Would you like to see him again."

"No."

"Are you playing a game with me? Always saying 'No!'. I do not mind this game. You can say no all you like, you will not hurt my feelings. I will always be here with you. Would you let me hold you? You can say no to me all you want, just let me hold you so I can know you're safe. I only want to make you feel better, I know you are so lonely now. But I am here. I am here to keep you company and to help you. Let me hold you now, my child, let me-"

"No. No. No."

"You are a stubborn one you are. But I do not mind. I know it is only the sadness making you speak in such a way. That man was so terrible. I understand. I am not angry with you. I will still keep you company. If you do not go outside. The bad men on dragons will hurt the elves! They will hurt them badly. The elves might die. You should take me with you. We can help them all. We can keep them safe. Take me with you please? We can save the elves from the bad men on dragons! Then we can ask the nice elf lady if she will help find your boy. Its not too late you know. We can still find him, we can still see him, the elf lady will show us the way."

"No."

"But why child? Why do you push me away? No one else is here to keep you company. Don't you want my company? Don't you want your mother?"

"no."

"You make me sad child. Is that what you want? To make your mother sad? Fine I will leave you be. I will leave you alone to the darkness. When you are scared, you will call for me, and I will still be here waiting because I love you, and I will come help you be strong. We will save the elves from the bad men, and we will see your boy again. Where are you going child? That old man cannot hurt you anymore. You stopped him. You stopped him good. Fire? Oh, child you should not play with fire. It is a dangerous thing. See? You have set the bad man on fire now. He cannot feel the pain anymore, but it will smell bad in here now and you do not want that, do you? Let mother keep you warm. This will not keep you warm, it will only make this room smell terrible. Why do you watch him burn? He will not get up again, child. He cannot harm you. You do not need to worry. Look away child, do not watch such a terrible thing. He was not a good man, he does not deserve your attention like this. Look away child-"

"no."

"Oh my precious child. Have it your way. It does not bother me if you watch him burn. I was only thinking of you. But what will you do now? He is burned and you are alone. There are friends outside we could meet. We could save them from the bad men. Will you go? Will you let mother take you outside to make new friends?"

"No."

"But-"

"Leave me alone!"

Her cry echo across the empty chamber, and silence kept her company.

* * * * *

"I said stand down!" Riyarra shouted. Her sword Dekarsil was in her hand and ready to strike Liam down.

"Your grace," Liam said calmly, with only slight reverence that bordered on sarcastic. "this elth does not answer to you."

"I do not command him, Disruptor..." Riyarra replied icily. Her hands tightened on the handle of her sword. Even with Liam's back to her, she did not want to attack of fear of what he would do. "You gave me your oath, do you remember?" There was a barely noticeable twitch in the man's cheek. The sky rider noticed, and relaxed his freezing grip on Liam's foot. "Release him, now." she commanded with all authority.

Liam lifted his foot off the rider. The elf careful rose to his feet.

"Enough bloodshed." Riyarra said softly and gently so that only these two men could hear it. Then in a clearer, louder voice that rang out she spoke. "My Lord Rider, although I know this man and he is bound to me by his word, until today and this very battle, we have been separated for many weeks. His actions were not supervised by my command." Riyarra said hastily. She did not move until her kinsman had taken a step back, turned his head to look at his dying mount as it twitched.

"This human is thine abductor." The Rider said in grand Elthairin and rubbed the soreness from his neck. "He is to die by order of His Majesty." Riyarra lowered her sword, planted it tip first into the blood soaked dirt, and rested her hands upon it to stand regally before him.

"I will speak to his defense, Rider. I have that right. Present your case." She arched an eyebrow at the skyrider. Knowing full well that this soldier was not privy to the intrigues that had brought them here. If he did... then he was in league with her brother, and she would release this Huanguard from his restraint and any soldiers that remained able would rise to her call and fury.

"I do not recognize thine authority, Thou art Courrupted.." He said and raised his hand to give a simple gesture to the sky.

Riyarra's heart sank and a cold chill ran over her as the blood drained from her in panic. Time seemed to stop. The world grew uncertain. Her mind raced to find a way to stop the slaughter that was about to happen of all those here. All her comrades that had fought and died so bravely to save this world from a terrible evil were about to be assaulted by Elthair's strongest millitary force. They would all die here, and their heroism would be forgotten to time.

The drakes circling above dove towards the buildings commanded by their riders. Her heart broke. Her lungs filled with air and she meant to shout out to the heavens her wrath and protestation. Something caught her eye and the words stopped in her lungs. A distortion of air flew overhead. It was not an object, but a bubble of magic. She watched it soar high above, coming from somewhere behind one of the buildings. She read Liam's cold calm demeanor as he watched as if expecting it and recognized what it was - the beginnings of a trap about to spring.

The sky riders saw the magic bubble soaring up to meet them and banked away from it. It detonated an instant later with an earsplitting bang that shattered all the glass windows around them. Riyarra stumbled backwards, knocked from her feet and clutching her sensitive ears. Her head rang, vertigo washed over her, and she felt a warm trickle flow down the sides of her cheeks. She wiped away the blood that was dribbling out of her ears, then glaced at the sky dizzily to see the drakes suffering and struggling to stay aloft. The Rider beside her was also on his knees clutching at his head. But this was just the beginning she knew. Liam did nothing in half measures.

Arrows erupted from the low rooftops in a scattering barrage to cover as much of the sky as possible. They exploded and filled the air with a thick white haze. The Skyriders righted themselves, descended and made for the buildings before the smoke could obscure them completely. Elves, Elthairin and Zecairin, revealed themselves from their rooftop hiding spots and dropped to the ground. They quickly scrambled to crawl under the buildings through the foundation spaces. Riyarra was being dragged away with a rough hellish fervor as if what was coming next would kill everyone of them all. She managed a glance at Valel holding her by her collar as he slid into the dirt at the buildings foundations and pulled her into the crawl space between the stone bricks by her feet. She only had a heartbeat to glance up to see Liam's smirking face as one last final arrow shot into the sky trailing a wisp of fire.

Just as the drakes started to emerge from the cloud, the fire arrow reached it, and the sky exploded into searing brilliance.

* * * *

"What do you want child?" she pleaded.

"You killed him."

"They killed him." she corrected.

"You made him a monster."

"I gave him his heart's desire, power and strength to keep you safe." she countered. "I could not control his foolish actions. He boldly took on the dragon, and died for it."

"You made the dragon."

"Again, I merely gave him his heart's desire. He could not handle such a gift, it poisoned his mind." she pleaded. "I want to give you that gift. With me beside you, you could bring him back. Make him how you want him. Human... Elf... half of both... or none at all."

Silence.

"I do not shape the hearts of men or elves. I just want to be free! So I bargain with them, I pay them for my freedom, but they never deliver me!" she wailed. "Oh please, set me free. Let me in, child. Let me join with you and save me from this oblivion."

"you killed him..." she snarled, and shut the door of her mind.

* * * *

"Thou are truly an abomination. I would see all mankind culled to prevent more like thee from being born." the Rider hissed. His elevated Elthairin speech did not lend itself well to aggravated threats.

"I am not human," Liam said calmly in low Eltharin. "I merely look human."

"You will not have her." Twenyl grumbled.

Riyarra stirred. The voices she barely perceived grew more solid as she groggily came to.

"I will remain free," Riyarra wheezed, and sat up. The world was black. She blinked and then squinted, but nothing changed. "I will not be shackled to the madness of my brother."

Hands touched her shoulders. They startled her. She was not used to barely being able to perceive her surroundings. They touched her forehead, and a warm soothing sensation seeped into her face through her temples. Slowly the world became filled with colors and shapes again. They stung at first, as her eyes were healed from the blindness, and she could make out Twenyl's fatherly grimace. Behind him stood Valel, looking very weary but also concerned for her. The Sky Rider, the one that had met with them and whose mount had been shot in the eyes, was sitting nearby tied to a chair. Not far beside him, Liam was being bandaged up by Alysi. The girl had a black expression on her face as she tried to set his mangled arm as best she could with some scraps of cloth and some sticks.

They were in the remains of the chapel. All the windows had been shattered, and sections of wall had been blown inward. Bodies of the injured were laid around this place. Some on the floor, some on pews, some leaning against the walls of their own accord, but too weary to do much else.

"To defy Elthair invites misfortune." the Rider responded a bit dismayed, "His Highness will be most furious." To which Liam snorted, and was about to respond before Riyarra stood up and approached the Rider.

"I was sold into Zecairin slavery," She said hoarsely and locked the Rider with a glare so menacing it would wither the living. Indeed, he seemed to shrink from it reflexively. "I have been raped. I have been beaten and cut upon. I have had my mind poisoned and stolen from me. I have had my childhood love branded Yvarna and sent to kill me. I have had my reputation tarnished amongst my family in the Knights." She unfolded her arms from her chest and hefted the rider up, chair and all, by his collar until they were eye to eye. She remarked on his handsome face for a moment - he had shallow pale cheeks, long thin platinum hair, and gorgeous black eyes, he was truly a lord of the old ways. That was a pity. "When that did not stop me, he sent you. There is nothing more that he can do to me. But there is plenty left that I can do to him."

She dropped the rider unceremoniously, and struck him across the jaw with her fist.

An uncomfortable silence followed that crack of bone. The Rider dared not whimper from the pain, but breathed through his nose to steady himself against it. Riyarra looked around the room at the survivors. Those that would meet her gaze, looked away with pain in their eyes, and she did not blame them. Barely half had survived. Barely half...

"Tamain and his people?" She inquired to Twenyl and Valel. "Elsewhere. Resting." Twenyl grumbled bitterly. "Great Mother have mercy on them. Small as they were, their loss was just as great."

She left the chapel in a hurry to find him.

She didn't get far as the sight of the destruction of the monastery stopped her. The smell of the burnt dead assaulted her nose, the reek of spilled entrails and blood mingled with the cooked stink of wood, clay and flesh. She lifted her sleeve to her face to closed her eyes before she retched from it all. It would be a small expenditure of magic to blow in fresh air, but it wouldn't solve the problem.

She found him standing in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by the dead of the battle His poise was calm, his feet apart, his limbs loose, he was sensing for something. She approached quietly so as not to disturb him. Once she was within casual earshot, his head lowered from the sky and he turned to greet her. Riyarra bit back the cry of grief when she saw his mangled left eye - cut out by a weapon and hastily mended by his own hand in order to stay in the fight. It was a mess of bright pink scar tissue amid a sea of rich charcoal skin. His one good eye, fierce and blue, regarded her with a fire and turbulence. He was horribly upset.

"I cannot find her." He said quietly, his voice quavering on the edge of grief and rage. "Sharla... Pebbles... I cannot find her. I can't listen to the wind, the headaches will start again." His hands clenched into fists. For a moment, her instincts grew suspicious and wary of his intentions, but she knew this man. They had spoken in heartfelt and in earnest. She trusted him and his allegiance.

Riyarra boldly stepped closer to her shadow elf friend. She took his face in her hands, and pulled his cheek down to her shoulder, and held him to her. The tension in his arms relented, they responded by embracing her in return, and a long heavy sigh escape his lips and broke his composure. He didn't cry, he didn't shudder in contained grief, her merely let himself let go of it all for this one moment.

"Tam?" Came an uncertain, timid voice from across the courtyard. Lysia approached them with a wobbly Corella leaning on her for support. Riyarra let him go, motioned them over, and took a moment to inspect his wound while he was busy looking at them. It could be repaired, but it would take time, magic, and concentration she didn't have right now. They needed to conserve themselves until all survivors were accounted for.

"Rollis is helping to search the hills for survivors." Tamain said slowly, deliberately. As if the words were a brace keeping him from falling apart. "Ut'van is in the chapel, he lost an arm, and Katral." He paused before speaking again. Taking a step closer to show that despite his marred face, he was well and able. "I have found the others," He said with an emotionless tone to his voice. "But I have not found Pebbles." he added very slowly as he dreaded the words.

"We did." Lysia said soothingly. Knowing now, why he was so stone faced. "She'll be fine. She jumped the wall before the blast, and got caught in it. The landing broke both her legs." Tamain took a deep, purposeful breath, tilted his head back and let the stagnant breeze calm him somewhat. It was as best a sigh of relief as he could manage if his heart wasn't so heavy with the other losses - Pemmi, Katral, Faosen, Gerrick.

"We should get inside, it'll be dark soon." Lysia said. "Tam can you help Corella? I'll... look for more." Tamain nodded and took Corella's other arm over his shoulder. The head wound Corella suffered at the hands of the shapeshifter would need to mend on its own. Using magic to heal the brain was too tricky for any of them to attempt it. Lysia watching him as they walked, wondering what kind of hell he had just lived through. She herself, had been tasking with keeping Corella safe back at the camp. When the fighting stopped they both were too curious to sit still and came looking. Tam felt Corella's limp arm twitch randomly against his shoulder, it wasn't a good sign, and he made a mental note to ask Twenyl for help when they got her inside. He took one glance over his shoulder at Riyarra, and saw that she had already moved off to survey the carnage.

"Thank you Tam," Corella said softly. "I know you kept her safe,"

"You should thank the human, Liam," Tamain replied uneasily. His words came and left him with each breath as he struggled to recount what he saw. It was such a frantic chaos he couldn't be sure of everything he thought he witnessed. "I was mending the fallen... She was in the middle of it... I don't know if he knew what she meant to me, but he kept an eye on her specially. He stayed beside her, gave her orders... gave her advice... taught her in the middle of combat, almost like she was his student or his responsibility. It was comforting, and uncomfortable at the same time."

"Is he a threat?" Corella said with concern.

"Ha!" Tamain snorted, "He's that slave bastard that killed that General in the capital! After the last Shadowraith here fell, he gave us a moment to tend the injured, but never kept his eyes off this one spot in the sky to the west. When we saw what he saw - and it wasn't me, it was one of the Elthairin's using their longsight, I couldn't see anything - they raised the alarm that Skyriders were coming. I almost shit myself right there. But before we could shit ourselves, he had a battle plan already laid out and started giving us orders for a trap." Tamain paused and shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know what to make of it. What kind of human can do all that? He was giving me instructions earlier as well, told me to fly the Elthairins over the wall. I don't know how he knows everything, but he does." He laughed darkly to himself. "No, if he is a danger to us, then we're fucked for good. There's not a damn thing we can do against that monster."