Flash Fiction #671 -- Forgotten/5

 

Cita wasn't sure where she got the energy to leap at Tennon and grab him by his shoulders. She shook him several times.  

"What do you mean, first?" Cita demanded.

Tennon extricated himself from her hold and took a cautious step backward. "Magic -- rule of three. We have two more."

"Those flying monstrosities don't count?" Atora asked.

"Gargoyles. They were just defending their territory."

"What next?" Urdo asked with a nervous twitch of his head.

"They still have Farlyn's stone, so we follow it.  Yes, that might lead to a trap, but that is still better than wandering aimlessly. Unless you wish to go back? I can get you to the staircase.  It is a long climb, but I doubt the gargoyles will bother you if I am not there."

No one said anything.

So they followed Tennon. Cita tried to believe that their mage had a clue to where they must go.  Sometimes she thought she could see a hint of green in the distance and assumed that must be the stone.

Following Tennon started to seem like traveling in a constant circle. The landscape rarely changed, and when it did, it was not for the better. Nor was the journey helped by Tennon repeating tales of past adventures that seemed far too much like this one. That only made her think, even though that was part of the circle.

Then, in the blink of an eye, everything around them changed to a landscape of low hills covered in small fires that seemed to move on their own.

"Well," Tennon said as he looked around. "This is different."

Cita thought he sounded too assured, as if he believed his magic could take on anything. He had already used considerable power to get them this far. He acted as though he had infinite powers to draw upon, but Cita knew mages didn't work that way. Was a mage-priest any different?

Another thought intruded. Was it possible that Tennon was not anything like what they thought he might be?

She glanced his way and was shocked to find him nodding in her direction. "It took you long enough to figure that one out," he said. "I didn't mean to hide anything from you.  It just seemed as if there was no right time to explain. Watch out!"

Cita spun to find one of the fire creatures waving spindly arms at her. They shot out fireballs and sparks. She swept her blade at it out of habit before considering how the fire would react to metal.

Cita almost tossed the weapon aside before she realized it was not reduced to a molten mass of iron. In fact, the creature shriveled and died as it spat a few useless sparks at her, then shriveled into a pile of ash. Tennon knelt long enough to scoop up a couple of handfuls of ash and shove it into a pouch.

"Use your blades!" Cita shouted to the others and hoped her encounter had not been a fluke. In moments, dozens of the fire creatures were turning to ash.

But there were too many. They fought in pairs, the other two resting while the other two swept their weapons into the massing creatures.

"Storm," Tennon gasped.  "I need a moment --"

Atora and Urdo rose to fight while their mage -- or whatever he was -- took a step back and began to chant. The fire creatures paused for one heartbeat and then surged forward.

Cita hoped the rain would come in time.

Deluge.  It felt as though a river suddenly dropped on them. Creatures of fire turned to shapes of ash and then disappeared into the mud. The rain only lasted a few dozen heartbeats, but as it eased back, she could see that Tennon had defeated the enemy.  He had also fallen on his back in the mud.

Cita stared down at him,  "What are you?"

"An embarrassed godling." He sat up on his own but accepted her hand to stand. Cita released his too-warm hand in haste.  "My father is a god and my mother a fae. That gives me unusual powers, but I am limited by being one of the Forgotten."

"Forgotten," Cita echoed. They were already heading away from the battlefield.

"The gods scatter offspring wherever they pass and think nothing of it. They forget as part of their nature.  The fae are different. They only send a child out if there is a reason it cannot survive in the fae world. In that case, they are forgotten for a reason.  I suffer from both types, which makes it difficult for me to call upon any help."

"And then, here we are," Urdo added.

"I did not ask for you," Tennon said.  "You did not ask for my help, either.  As one of the Forgotten, the best I can do is join with others if I think I can help.  I did not expect to find the problem with Farlyn. I could have sent you away --"

"We are here," Urdo said. "You better get moving, or we'll leave you behind."

Cita planned on a long discussion later, but right now, Urdo was right to get them moving.  They had one more battle to fight.

Flash Ficton #670 -- Forgotten/4

 

Cita realized the creatures didn't notice that Tennon had allies.

She felt panic for a heartbeat before it transformed from 'flight' to 'fight'. If the creatures hadn't been so intent on Tennon, or maybe stopped yowling and growling for a moment, they would have noticed Cita shouting orders to her companions.

Tennon wasn't helpless. One tumbled lifelessly down the stairs while another glowed briefly and disappeared. Cita saw the boy balanced precariously at the edge of a step.  He had a dark-bladed sword in his hand, and she didn't know where it came from.

Cita didn't doubt it had power, though. It destroyed these creatures so easily that she felt tempted to leave the battle to him. Unfortunately, another ten of the creatures and they noticed that Tennon was not alone.

"Stay close together," Tennon shouted.  "Guard your backs and heads!"

Good advice. The three of them immediately moved to Tennon to form a square as best they could on the stairs. He gave a nod of appreciation, although his sword never stopped. Urdo was doing almost as well with his non-magical, but thick-bladed sword. He grunted every time he swung the heavy weapon, but rarely missed a blow.
Atura fought with matched short blades.  Usually, her battles looked like a graceful dance.  That wasn't entirely possible on the stairs, but she held her own.

Cita found that her long knife wasn't the best weapon against creatures with multiple claws and wings. One came behind and caught her by the hair jerking upward. Cita sliced off a strip of hair, spun, and cut the creature with her blade in a wing.

It howled and tried to pull away, but the knife tore a long, ragged wound through the thin skin and tendons.  The wing folded, and the creature, his long-nailed feet barely on a step, shouted in pain. It tumbled backward, hit its head on the stone steps, and went limp.

Cita spun and found the battle done.  The enemy either lay dead at their feet or retreated in flight.

"We must go!" Tennon ordered.  He tied a piece of cloth around Atora's right wrist, a touch of magic helping to stop the bleeding. All of them had suffered cuts and bites.  "Go, go!"

So they headed downward again. Cita wasn't alone in watching the clouds for more of the demons.  They rushed across the stairs, all of them growing breathless.

Things flew close by, but those intrusions lessened as the clouds thinned.  They broke out into a bright sunlit day, but kept heading downward for another hundred steps before Tennon signaled a stop.

At least they could see the ground from here. Fields, paths, and a distant town with a huge temple of some sort.  Cita hoped that was good.

She saw a flash of green from a high temple tower.

"Tennon --"

"I saw it.  At least we don't have to hunt through a realm or two." Tennon lifted his hand and nodded.  "It is a trap, of course. But it is his stone."

"And we'll walk right into it," Cita said.

"Actually, I thought we would fly.  Now."

Cita barely had time to yelp as a wind caught hold of her, lifting all of them upward by several yards.  Atora looked like she might pass out from the fear, but Urdo looked as though he was born to fly.

Cita wasn't certain of her own feelings and didn't have time to contemplate them.  At this speed, Tennon was going to splatter them against the tower wall.

They barely slowed as they neared with Tennon in the lead. He threw himself through a window, and the other three quickly popped through, with Cita entering last. She rolled and came to her feet.

Late to the battle.

Urdo was down with Atora standing over him while he grabbed at his fallen sword. That left Tennon alone fighting a multi-armed monstrosity with even more eye tentacles. There was no way to take down such a creature.

"Tennon -- what should we do?" Cita asked, her voice trembling.

"Surprise me."

She almost snapped a rude answer before she realized the underlying wisdom in what he said. She had to believe that this thing not only saw, but also heard and understood any plans. Surprise was their best weapon.

Cita stepped back to her companions. She offered a hand to Urdo to get him to his feet. 

"Will your leg hold up for one more attack?" she asked.

He grinned in agreement.

They spun and rushed the creature, all three of them throwing themselves at the ground and cutting into the five thick legs that held it up

It screamed and thrashed, claws catching hold of cloth and skin. Cita hoped the others were smart enough to protect their heads. Atora had graduated from legs to eye stalks while the other three focused on arms.

Tennon found the shell-encased brain.  The black sword sliced through it several times before he stepped back and nodded as it shriveled into a mass of black and disappeared.

"Good!" Tennon said.  "That's one down!" 

Flash Fiction #669 -- Forgotten/3

 Cita had no idea what they would do next. As the supposed leader of the small troupe, she thought she ought to make an important decision now. 

Instead, she watched as Tennon walked to the skeleton and leaned down to gently touch the skull.  He jumped backward when the mouth popped open, showing dagger-like teeth.

A piece of green cloth was caught on one of the teeth.  Tennon reached in and pulled it out.

"Smart dragon," he mumbled as he crumpled the cloth in his hand. He looked at the others. "This is our link to Forlyn, or at least the one who took his stone. This will not be an easy journey, and even with this cloth, I can't tell what we will find.  I only know which way the person wearing this cloth went."

"Person?" Urdo asked.

Tennon held up the cloth.  "This is the bottom half of a sleeve.  It seems at least human-like.  Not fae as far as I can sense, but the person must have power."

"Or powerful companions," Atora said.  "Or both."

"Both," Tennon agreed.  He looked past the dragon to an archway and a staircase that appeared to go downward for a long distance. Tennon crossed to look down and frowned when the other three joined him.  "This is more danger. You should go back now.  I can get you there."

"And we wait to see if you win?" Atora asked.  "What happens if you don't win?"

"Forces that have tried for eons will finally break through and raid this realm. The gate is weaker now, but if I fall, so does the magic that holds the destruction back. You might do better by being there to help."

The entire world seemed to take a shuddering breath, the air itself trembling.

"I am going with you," Cita said. 

All four headed downward, although she thought Urdo mumbled a few curses. She couldn't quite hear what he said, so she couldn't decide if she agreed.

A few steps later, Tennon stopped and nodded at Urdo.

"You are right. We have had no discussion about either time or distance. My offer to send you back at any time will always stand–– as long as I do. You might be wise to consider your choices before we go into battle rather than during it."

"And we are likely to have a battle, aren't we?" Cita asked as he started downward again. She still couldn't see the landscape at the bottom of the stairs. In fact, she couldn't see the bottom of the stairs, which seemed to be lost in a cloudy mist.

"You have fallen into an ancient war that has waged ever since the beginning of time. There have been battles that have included everything from Ragnarok to D-Day. We are more likely to find ourselves in a skirmish rather than anything large, but that doesn't make it any less important, especially if we find the ones who took Farlyn's essence."

That seemed a wise thing to tell them, and Cita kept whatever question she had to herself this time. Urdo seemed content with the answer, and since he was their only true warrior, Cita accepted his reaction. She never quite decided what Atora wanted and decided now wasn't the time to ask.

So they kept going right down to the edge of the mist, where the tenant finally stopped and sat down on the stairs. They were all worn by now, and none of them was in a good mood. Even Tennon snarled at the wispy clouds below them. Atora drew out some bread and cheese from her supplies and passed pieces of it around to everyone. That improved the mood of the group.

At least right until something yowled in the mist below them. Tennon snarled in a way that made him look far from human. No one had ever asked the questions. Tennon stood and shot lightning into the heart of the cloud. With no warning, they were in a battle.

Things came out of the clouds. Small, annoying creatures, easy to bat away, formed the first wave. Cita soon realized they were an intentional distraction. She was the first to see these long-winged dark creatures emerge from the misty cloud.  

All ten of them went for Tennon before she could shout a warning.

(continued)

 

Flash Fiction #668 --Forgotten/2

 

Tennon had stopped them at the last easy part of the journey. After that, they fought through bracken, weeds, and saplings, moving closer to the river. Cita thought she could hear water rushing through rapids. Were they going to cross the river? Why not when it had been less turbulent?

Cita wanted to ask questions -- many questions.  However, she feared trespassing into areas that Tennon didn't want to discuss, and she didn't want to push that line.  Surprisingly, even Urdo held his peace for a change. In fact, he looked pleased, even while the roar of the river grew louder.  

They stepped out of the trees at the base of a gigantic bridge that led straight through the heart of a massive waterfall. Cita could not see through the water and mist to the other side, but she had the feeling of a building gathering shadows around it and hiding from the world. The distance and the river made it impossible to make out any details, though.

"He should have started across to meet us," Tennon said. Cita caught a hint of desperation in his face, but he quickly buried that emotion.  "I sense nothing beyond the gateway."
"Gateway?" Atora asked with a growing expression of distrust.

"Between here and the realm of the gods," Tennon answered, paying no attention to her worry.

Cita didn't like that answer any more than the rest of her companions did -- however, she had no intention of pushing for more information. The other two fell silent as well.

Tennon turned to her and started to speak.  He even changed his mind.

"Let's go, then," Tennon said.  He stepped toward the bridge. "The fae built this. It is not as straightforward as it seems."

Cita had never dealt with anything fae-related, of course. Until a few heartbeats ago, she thought they were nothing more than tales for children.

Cita didn't like walking into the mist, even with Tennon and his magic at her side. The white stone surface melded into the water ... but the thunder of the falling river muted to a slight whisper. Cita didn't feel better for it. Cita didn't feel safer walking beside Tennoon. She had no idea of his abilities or his limitations. She wasn't even sure what he might be beneath that human facade.  Was now the time to mistrust him?

Cita turned to Urdo -- but he wasn't there. Neither was Atora --

Tennon grabbed her arm just as she started to panic and head back to find them..

"I have them. They are safe."  He gave Cita a slight shake.  "Be calm.  Trust me.  We are almost there."

As far as she could tell, they were nowhere. Her friends were gone, and she was lost.

"I cannot say this again: trust me."

Cannot?
    
Trust him or go off on her own?  Cita was not that stupid.

"I trust you." Just not as much as he might want.

Cita realized she had passed a test. Tennon looked both relieved and pleased. He still held her arm, but it felt more like camaraderie rather than command.

Like she belonged.

They broke out of the mist and stepped onto an open balcony that seemed more like a temple. The skeleton of a mid-sized dragon lay stretched out across the floor.

Tennon faltered, and Cita caught him.

"No," he whispered.  "It can't be --" Then he stopped and nodded, the fear of a moment ago, gone. "Of course it is not true. He isn't dead."

"He's a skeleton," Urdo pointed out.

"When dragons die, they disappear. And I would have known.  His Stone of Being is gone.  It is a palm-sized Ruby that sat in the middle of his forehead.  Forlyn isn't dead, but he will be hard to find."

(continued)

Flash Fiction #667 -- Forgotten/1

 

"There is a problem ahead," the boy said as he looked back, startling his three companions.

It wasn't what he said that startled them. There had been trouble ahead for the entire month-long journey.  It was that their companion spoke at all that unsettled the three. He'd said nothing when he joined them at the edge of the village until now.

Not an auspicious start to their first conversation, Cita thought. She was the leader of the expedition, but she had never gotten used to being in command.

"Priest," she addressed him because that was what they'd decided he must be, despite his young age. She shaped her words carefully. It was best not to anger the servant of some god. Then she looked back at him and threw caution to the wind. "Boy, is there anything helpful you can tell us?"

He met her look, grave as ever.  "Never take in a priest without knowing what they're after."

Silence filled the area, except for the rush of the river they had followed far into the unknown mountains. Urdo and Atora were doing their best imitations of being nothing at all.  There would be no help there.    

Cita glimpsed humor in the priest's eyes.  "You have been waiting to say that for a long time, haven't you?" she asked.

"You have no idea how long." He pushed back his hood, showing his long, braided hair for the first time.  "Sit down.  Now that we are this close, we need to talk."

"Since it is too late to go back?" Urdo demanded, dour as ever.

The priest looked around.  "I see no one stopping you."

Urdo frowned but settled on some grass, resting on his elbow as he stretched out.  He even looked intrigued.  So did Artura as she sat on a log by Cita.

"I am Tennon," the boy said as he sat cross-legged in the grass near Urdo.  "I am a Guide of Orantis -- which means I lead the worthy through the dangers on the last part of the journey."

"Orantis is a very old god," Urdo complained.

"They all are," Atora countered.

"Worthy?" Cita asked, hoping to cut their conversation short.  "We aren't members of your temple or followers of your god, or any of the Old Ones."

"Worthy," he repeated, and seemed to look for the right words.  "That is a state of mind. You have come this far without arguments or talk of glory and a dragon horde to plunder.  Rather, you look for forgotten stories to go with your legends.  None of you is looking for riches: you want to find truths."

"I am hoping for both," Urdo admitted and won a grin from Tennon.  "But say you are right about why we are here.  What is your place in this group?"

"Guide," he repeated as he stood.  "And guardian."

"A Guardian against what?" Cita asked.

"Other legends." He lifted his hand and traced a glowing symbol in the air. Somewhere in the woods nearby, a creature howled and hissed.  The other three were instantly on their feet.  "Yes, time to go.  This way."

The symbol moved, lighting their path with a silvery glow.  Large things moved around them, but nothing came into the light.  Cita wondered if they were now over the line and couldn't go home.  Urdo wasn't the only one who kept looking back.

Tennon led the way. He somehow had taken over the group in those few words he had spoken. Cita thought to complain, but that idea passed quickly.  Tennon at least seemed to know where to go -- and he had magic.

Magic.  No one had seen such powers in this part of the world for a few generations. Then this boy brings it back with a simple wave of his hand, and acts as though this is normal. Cita forced herself to look away from the magic symbol and at Tennon instead.

"Why are you a guide and guardian?" she asked.

He glanced at her and away.  "No one asked that.  It was my assigned duty, and an important one in the days when the pilgrims still came."

A long time ago, she thought.

"The gods fought a long war. They forgot us. I am not the only one."

(continued)