Eversolstice III

Chapter Three: Remembrance

 

Now Shahelama was bold, brash, and full of courage. She was eager to befriend all the children of men. Day after day, she would dash at full speed, chasing away the dark everywhere she went, trying to outrun it. 

The gods of the dark and the kings of the demons came together and they said, “If we don’t do something, the dark will be destroyed, and no one will be able to see. They will all be blinded.” So, they came together and they raised up a champion, Gyreshia, a lovely goddess with dark hair and eyes like diamonds. She was a magnificent warrior and hunter, and the daughter of one of the kings of the dark gods.

-The Great Teacher

-Centaur 20th, three days until Feasteve.

Another day, another stack of meaningless receipts. This feast really is just a waste of resources, isn’t it? 

Celestra spent the entire next day catching up on work. She knew that soon, she would have no use for this job or position, but she still had her personal pride.

The day passed without any progress or any signs from her undead soldier, so she slept a dreamless sleep alone.

The next day, the staff fixed Celestra a delicious breakfast. She took it in the office while she did her work, adding sums and back-checking transactions. She had a strong intuition about today, so she wanted to get her work done as quickly as possible.

If need be, I can leave when I wish, but it’s better if I can stay in good standing with the lord.

Celestra didn’t care much for food, even the fine food prepared by the mansion staff, but she made sure to take a few nibbles at every meal just to keep up appearances. 

She was running low on time before Feasteve, but she had to rely on her skeletal servant. Gaib was, of course, incapable of speech communication, especially over such a long distance; but she had managed to craft a talisman that reacted to the presence of the gorhash. She placed the conduit talisman on a chain around Gaib’s neck, and the receiver like a necklace on her own, a bronze ring with a gilded arrow through its center. The receiver was created to shake wildly once her man found her quarry. 

Just as she was going over her equations, there was a knock at the door. She was only wearing her nightgown, with her long, wild hair unbound, so she didn’t really want any visitors, but before she could respond, the door swung open and Lord Gnornoth Granador Hesmarr, lord of House Hesmarr, entered. He was a man in his mid-40s, with short-cut golden blonde hair and purple eyes. The lord was a handsome enough man, and he seemed fond of her, but Celestra wasn’t interested in meeting new men at this point in her life, not unless they were magical immortal men who delivered gifts to the whole world. 

“Morning, dearest lady,” said the lord, playfully putting on airs. He had a mug of something steaming in his hand.

She quickly brushed her hair back behind her ears and tucked her talisman away underneath the neckline of her gown, “My lord!”

What’s the point of knocking if you’re just going to barge in anyway? Indecent! What if I had been naked? Or performing a forbidden ritual? Or both?

“Lady Vulture,” he said, because he was led to believe that was her real name. She had led him to believe that. “I see you’re . . . “ he gestured to her plate, where she had a few pieces of sugared toast and berries, “You’re eating in the office.”

She looked at the plate, then back at him. She couldn’t read his expression, “Yes . . . is that . . . against your wishes?”

“Well, no.” he was dressed in a robe, but it was a nice robe, and he was the master of the house so he could wear what he pleased, meanwhile, Celestra had to make sure nothing indecent was showing through her gown. “It is not . . . against the rules . . . only against my wishes in that I wish to invite you to brek with me.”

Oh. This is the first time he’s invited me to brek specifically. 

The lord always invited Celestra to dine with him, at least once a day, whether it was for brunch, lunch, linner or dinner. She always denied him, claiming too much work, even though she knew it was a breach of etiquette to do so.

I simply don’t have the time or energy to play concubine to a grieving lord. 

“My lord . . .” Celestra gestured toward the stack of books and papers on her desk, “I have to-”

“Oh, yes, the work.” the lord smiled sourly, “Maybe I should fire you from your job so you’ll have time to talk to me.”

He was joking, but was he really joking? 

“Lordship, I’m sorry if I offend you.”

“Pay it no mind.” he said, clearly disappointed, “Just know that you have a place at my table, should you wish for it.”

What does he mean by that? Is he trying to invite me into his family? I don’t have time for this.

“The chef makes an amazing blueberry jam.” he said, “I’m sure you’d love it.”

Celestra hated jam. Every kind of jam. 

She was trying to think of a witty response, but suddenly she felt a tense vibration against her chest.

The amulet! The beast is found!

She shot up to her feet, making the poor lord jump. “Lordship!”

“Yes?”

“I . . . must go.” she said, then darted past him, toward her room, to equip herself.

I’m usually more clever than that. I wonder if I’ve lost my job. Whatever the case, it hardly matters. I’ve got a monster to hunt!

—

Celestra tied up her hair and dressed, donning her green overcoat and equipping Nesstra’s Crown, an enchanted circlet of twisted wood that helped protect her from intense cold. 

She gathered her component pouch and took her staff, then took to the street. 

If the streets were lively the evening before, they were twice as lively in the morning. Mothers exchanged conversation and filled their baskets with fruit and ingredients. Porters ran between workshops and homes. Hunters wheeled their fur-carts before traders to exchange for silver tails. 

A little child in a ponytail crashed into her and fell backward onto her rear.

“Oh,” Celestra turned and reached out to the girl, hoping she wouldn’t start to cry, but the little spout was already up on her feet again. Without apologizing or even acknowledging Celestra’s presence, she got up and started running again. Celestra watched as she ran over to another girl in a yellow coat, taking her hand. The two of them looked like sisters. Celestra smiled sadly. 

The Livannya house was never lacking in Feast Day gifts. There were toys, books for little Celestra and toy soldiers, bows and arrows for Lunelda. Candy and cakes were eaten for breakfast, and the whole day was spent in amusement. 

“What’s this one?” Lunelda asked, tilting her head sideways the way she always used to, letting her ponytail dangle. There was a small box with a silver ribbon on it.

“That’s . . .” Father looked at it and trailed off. He looked to Mother, and the two of them seemed as though they were at a loss. 

Celestra wordlessly took it and began to shake it. It rattled softly. 

“Well, open it!” Lunelda’s eyes beamed with excitement. 

Celestra nodded and pulled at the ribbon, gently undoing the knot, then she lifted the lid. “It’s . . . a bird . . . a bracelet?” 

Father and Mother came over to look, along with Lunelda. Inside the box there was a pair of silver bracelets, both decorated with the image of a long-necked bird. 

“There’s a note inside.” Celestra said, taking it out and reading it aloud. It was written in black ink, in simple script.

“To–Celestra and Lunelda

For you, on this blessed day of celebration, a pair of snowgeese. This breed of bird is unusual in that they lay their eggs in pairs. The young hatchlings will learn to fly, hunt, and sing together, and even into adulthood they will always be together. You two are like the snowgeese. Enjoy the times you have now, and remember them as the years go by.

-Sincerely

~Allfather”

Celestra took one of the bracelets and slid it on her wrist. It fit perfectly, then she gave the other to Lunelda. 

Mother and Father continued to marvel and wonder. The rest of the day, the two of them-

Her thoughts stopped racing when she noticed a familiar pair of wide, purple eyes peering at her from behind a haystack. 

The little devil is following me. Why? Did his father put him up to this?

Celestra smiled a cold smile. She drew her arthema and began striding slowly toward the hay. 

“No! Please!” It didn’t take much to scare the boy, “Don’t pull my eyes out!”

“What are you doing, young lord?” she asked, putting as much threat into her voice as possible. 

“I was just . . .” he stammered, raising his hands in surrender. 

She made sure she was not being watched, then pointed her knife at him, “Speak truth to me. If you don’t, I’ll have your fingers.”

“I just wanted to see the body!” he cried out. 

Celestra sighed, “What body, young lord?”

Does he know about Gaib? If he does . . . I’ll have to take measures. 

“The bodies I know you’re hiding. You promised me you would tell me if you were murdering anyone! I wanted to make sure you weren’t being unfaithful to me!”

What a ridiculous child. 

She groaned, “No murders yet, young lord, although, if you keep spying on me, that might change.” 

Her goal was in sight now. She couldn’t risk letting this little devil ruin things. 

“I won’t. I promise.” he looked so afraid. It pleased her. 

“Good, then you shall live another day, young lord.” she grinned and sheathed her knife, “Now, run along, before I cast a spell on you.”

—

She spent the next hour making her way through the woods, then up over the hills. Celestra had the ability to climb vertical and horizontal surfaces like they were the floor beneath her, but it was still tiring to climb, so she found the smoothest slopes she could. Her talisman shook every now and then, indicating that Gaib was still on the creature’s tail. She had trained herself to trace her own mana, so she could find Gaib, even at a great distance.

It was dark by the time Celestra reached the peak of the hill where Gaib awaited her. It was a silent night. She couldn’t hear anything but the distant whistling of the wind. 

She found her soldier standing up against a withered rookwood tree. The skeleton was dressed in a jacket of scalemail, with a silver lance in its bony hand and a round shield strapped to its arms. The soldier lay still, motionless. 

“What did you see, Gaib?” she mused. 

She moved toward him slowly, leaving tracks in the deep snow. 

It’s around here somewhere. I need to find it before it finds me.

Suddenly, Gaib turned his head, the skull turning to the east against the wind. Celestra twisted in the same direction and saw a dim shape flickering in the darkness.

“Light.” Celestra cast a spell to light up the tip of her staff. It cast a dim, bluish glow across the hilltop, but she saw nothing. 

She had the power to see fine in the dark, but cutting through the snow and wind was still a challenge.

Some gorhash breeds have the power to hide their appearances. I need to be careful.

She clasped her hands around her staff and planted it in the snow in front of her, then she shut her eyes and tried to focus.

The gorhash was a magical being with elemental ties. If she could focus, maybe she could sense its mana and-

Something thumped heavily in the snow! 

Her eyes shot open. She caught a glimpse of two massive hoofprints in the powder.

Then she heard a snarl, and something lashed out.

“Shield!” she cast the spell quickly, and just in time! Something like a blue-white whip snapped towards her and cracked straight through her barrier, shattering it like glass, and she tumbled backwards.

She fell into the snow and saw a glimpse of something like the head of a lion, with a long, curved horn, no nose and long, twisted teeth sticking out in rows from its face. 

“Gaib! Attack!” the dead bones moved, rushing over to the space where the creature had been standing, but he swung his sword into empty air. 

It’s hidden itself again. 

She climbed to her feet and scanned the area. 

A new pair of tracks appeared three claw away as the creature’s weight bounded off the ground. 

“Strike!”

Gaib attacked again, but again he was too slow. 

The undead warrior stood in the snow waiting. Snow fell, laying on top of his helmeted head. Something suddenly crashed into him and he crashed to the ground.

“Gaib! No!”

A voice bellowed out, louder than thunder. Celestra screamed and turned to run!

She heard it bound and thump behind her. Bits of snow rained down around her.

I wasn’t prepared for this. I should have planned my strategy in advance. 

She turned, muttering an incantation to herself, “Thou of light and motion. Grant me the gifts of thy sundered palace and tear the threads of wrath before me. Roar! Ripping wave!” 

Strands of blue crackled between her fingers, and she turned and snapped them into the air behind her, where the beast had just landed! Her spell struck, shaking the monster and wracking it with pain!

For a moment, she could see its whole body; a head the size of a boulder with a mane of white whips that lashed out like the arms of a hungry octopus. It stood on two muscular, backward-bent legs with large hooves for feet. 

Celestra had never seen a creature so strange outside the illustrations in demonology texts. 

The gorhash was supposedly an invasive creature that had wandered into this world from the tethered elemental realms, but it looked like an abomination. 

The shock stunned the monster long enough to let Celestra run a few more paces. It vanished again in an instant, then flickered back, then faded again. Whatever magic was keeping it hidden was no longer working right.

Celestra could see the monster now, but it was still fast! It bounded into the air and landed behind her with a snowy thud. She turned to face it.

“Shield!” and it shattered her shield with another of its whips. She knew she wouldn’t survive a single strike from this monster. It could snap her thin body like a twig. 

She stumbled backward. The flickering beast reared its head and roared, its whip-limbs lashing at the air wildly. Then, something silver and white tumbled into it.

The gorhash squealed in pain as Gaib pierced the back of its head with his sword. 

It wobbled and dropped to one knee.

“Well done, my friend.” said Celestra. 

There was no telling how dangerous the beast could become after being wounded, so she had to put it down, now. 

“Thou of light and motion. Grant me the gifts of thy sundered palace and tear the threads of wrath before me. Roar! Ripping wave!” She repeated the chant and focused as much of her mana as she could into it, then fired the wave into the sword, which was still buried deep in the gorhash’s skull. 

Celestra pumped it full of lightning for several moments before it collapsed, convulsing, and then fell dead. 

She waited a few beats to make sure it didn’t move again. 

“Well done, Gaib.” she congratulated her skeleton, “I could not have done it without you.”

When she was sure it was safe, she had him take his sword and remove the horn.

—

It was past midnight when she made it back to the mansion. Despite her enchantments, she was cold and exhausted, but she didn’t rest. There was still so much to do. After sneaking back into the mansion without being seen, she returned to her office, where she found a note placed on her desk, engraved in crystalline ink.

“To: Vulture

We request and hope for your presence two evenings from now on Feasteve.

We shall dine on roast, on shellfish, and on many types of wine.

You are not required to join us, but we would be delighted to have the pleasure of your company.

~Cordially

Lord Gnornoth Granador Hesmarr

Scobroltha Granador Hesmarr”

Celestra put the note down and rolled her eyes.

There’s no way that young imp signed this letter. I doubt he even knows his letters.

She went and found her grinding implements and began her work on the horn.

Eternal life was within view. Sleep didn’t matter.