Welcome to Gaia! ::

Location: Makshim, Shiezin, Arkandia
Year: 29 052 (117 Fourth Age)
Status: Early Spring

One of Kyrie’s many favourite advantages of bonding with Uruloki was the ability she gained to see in the dark. Not only could she find her way around, but she was able to see where people were or had been. Thermal vision, Shiro had called it: being able to see body heat and residual heat. She was glad of it yet again when she slipped out of Tsara’s house well past dark. She could see that there were no guard anywhere in the street or on any nearby roofs, and she was able to make her way all the way to the palace without being detected.

Well, Uruloki, ready to try that partial bonding idea you had? Kyrie asked her friend silently as she crouched behind a bush, her eyes on the wall that she would otherwise have to climb.

She could feel Uruloki’s smile. I’m up for it if you are, he replied cheerfully.

She felt him shifting over her body, and then she felt the strangest sensation in her shoulder blades: it was as if something was growing out of her, different from the feeling of Uruloki bonding or unbonding.

Here goes, Uruloki quipped. He spread his wings, and the sensation was so foreign that Kyrie felt bile rise in her throat. Uruloki sensed her disgust and froze. No good?

Kyrie forced herself to swallow. At the very least, it’s something to get used to, she replied grimly. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything that disturbing.

Uruloki paused. Shall we pass on it?

Kyrie took a deep breath. No, let’s give it a try, she decided. If it works it will be very helpful. Maybe I can get used to it.

She braced herself for the odd sensation in her back, but nothing could prepare her for the way it felt when Uruloki flapped his wings again. It was like her back was covered in snakes that were slithering and writhing all over her. No, not on her back … in her back. She didn’t mind snakes – she’d dealt with many of them in her lifetime and never had a real problem with them – but this was something else entirely.

Then they left the ground, and Kyrie’s stomach stayed behind. She felt like a kitten being carried by its mother by the scruff of its neck.

Uruloki didn’t seem to be faring all that well, either. His wings were flapping, but they were not flying straight.

This is so weird, he commented, and Kyrie could hear him grimacing. I can’t feel the wind like I usually do …

Just get me to the balcony and we’ll forget this ever happened, Kyrie told him flatly. She had her arms wrapped around her stomach to try to keep it settled. She did not like this at all.

She was more than happy when Uruloki landed her on the balcony of the conservatory and retracted his wings, and once again she felt normal. Her stomach settled immediately, and she breathed easy one more. A glance inside told her that no one was in the conservatory, and there hadn’t been anyone there for a while. Her hopes fell. She wanted to talk to Maravel – he would be the best source of information she could have.

You could wait around for someone to show up, Uruloki suggested. Or we could go further.

Kyrie thought about it. She had to find out something, one way or another, and if she was caught she had Uruloki to help her out. Still, it would really let the General know that something was going on in the city, and that was the last thing they needed. She had to avoid being caught if it was at all possible.

I’ll wait here a while, she decided, and if we don’t hear anything then maybe we’ll go further in.

She settled behind the curtain to wait.

Hours passed, and Kyrie grew stiff. A few times she saw heat signatures on the far side of the conservatory door, their shapes showing that they were soldiers in armour. She was glad she had decided not to go further into the castle. Even with Uruloki’s help, she would never have been able to remain hidden.

A few hours before dawn, the door to the conservatory opened and someone entered. The door closed again almost immediately, and someone trudged slowly across the room. Kyrie peeled back the curtain slowly to see who it was, ready to fight or run if necessary. To her relief, it was the man she had been waiting for.

“Maravel,” she whispered, stepping out from behind the curtain.

The sage jumped and dropped the book he’d been holding. “You!” he exclaimed in a harsh whisper when he saw Kyrie silhouetted against the night sky. “But you – that doesn’t – what –”

Kyrie blinked. “What are you talking about?”

Maravel ran his hand over his face, and she could see that he was trembling. He shook his head. “No, nothing. Nothing.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. You frightened me.”

“Guilty conscience?” Kyrie quipped before thinking about it. She sighed. “Sorry. Things aren’t going well here, either?”

Maravel leaned against his desk. “No,” he murmured. “Not at all.” He looked up at her. “I suppose you’ve come for more information for the princess?”

Kyrie nodded, then tilted her head slightly. “Sort of. One of my traveling companions was arrested a few days ago and I’m here to find out his condition and how we can get him back.”

Maravel’s eyes grew wide. “He’s here with you?” he asked incredulously.

“Sh!” Kyrie shushed him. “There are guards outside the door!”

Maravel lowered his voice. “Seriously, though, where did you come in contact with a member of the Aldrich family?” he asked in a low tone. “They don’t live on this continent!”

“I’m asking the questions here,” Kyrie said darkly. “What condition is he in?”

Maravel shrunk back from her. “Not so well.” Kyrie stepped closer to him, and he swallowed hard. “He was doing fine for the first few days, but the General wouldn’t believe the answers he gave when he was questioned so he was brought down to the isolation cell. The General began torturing him this morning.”

Kyrie burned with fury. “What kind of information is he looking for?” she demanded in a hiss.

Maravel wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “He wants to know who the prince was traveling with, where they were going, why they were in the country …” He trailed off and his eyes grew wide again. “You’re here to kill the General,” he realized.

Kyrie grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. “Keep your voice down,” she growled at him. “What kind of idiot is the General? He knows he has a prince, a foreigner, and he tortures him and throws him into the death cell?”

“Please put me down,” Maravel begged, pulling at her hand with his. He might have had some luck if he had two hands, but with only one he was nowhere near her match in strength. “Please!”

Suddenly Kyrie realized what she was doing and put the man down gently. She was treating him the way the General treated him. She took a step back and rubbed her eyes tiredly. “Sorry,” she murmured. “It’s just that things are bad enough …” She sighed and tried again. “Tell me, what has the General done to him?”

Maravel swallowed hard and adjusted his shirt so that it wasn’t bunched around his throat anymore. “He’s tried to starve him, though Cael and I have been bringing him food. As for the torture …” He swallowed again. “Let’s just say it’s a good thing he’s such a nice guy. He’s not going to be much of a looker by the time he gets out of here. Cael’s been tending his wounds, but unless he gets proper medical treatment soon, they’re going to scar permanently, and that’s a best case scenario.”

Kyrie’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by that?” she asked quietly.

“Uh …” Maravel hesitated a moment, then traced along his cheek with his index finger. One line … two … three … and then a circle around it.

Kyrie closed her eyes and grieved inwardly. They needed to help Eärendil. He might have been trained for combat, but he was not conditioned for extended torture. If he were left in the General’s possession for long, he would either break or die.

“You said that you had other companions,” Maravel ventured softly, taking courage from Kyrie’s lack of physical response to his news. “Who are they?”

Kyrie thought for a moment about how to respond to that. It would be very easy not to tell him anything, but he had helped her, and had for over two centuries kept Mari’s survival a secret. She owed him something.

“His family,” she replied finally.

Maravel started. That was one thing he hadn’t considered.

“Any chance of getting him out of isolation?” Kyrie asked then.

Maravel shook his head. “Unless Prince Cael has any luck,” he murmured. “Both he and I have been trying to talk the General out of the way he’s treating your prince, but we’re not making any headway, at least so far. Like I said, Cael is doing what he can to care for him, bringing him food, water, a blanket, taking care of his wounds … but if he’s caught even he won’t be immune to the General’s fury.”

Kyrie sighed. “Then the only way to get him out is to take care of the General.” She nodded slowly. “We’ll do what we can. You just do what we need when the time comes.”

She turned to leave again, and Maravel came after her. “How will I know what to do, or when to do it?” he asked her.

Kyrie looked at him over her shoulder. “You’ll know,” she promised him. Then Uruloki unbonded and appeared in front of her, about twice her size. She hopped onto his back, and they flew off into the night, leaving Maravel behind.

Location: Makshim, Shiezin, Arkandia
Year: 29 052 (117 Fourth Age)
Status: Mid-Autumn

“It’s been a f-f-full season,” Ahkshi pointed out to Kyrie as he dressed early in the morning, halfway through Autumn. “He’s healing q-q-quickly, and he’s g-going to be leaving soon, I’m sure. If you want to t-talk to him, you’re r-r-r-running out of t-time.”

Kyrie sighed. She set down the knife she was using to cut up the fruit they were going to have for breakfast and licked some juice from her thumb. “I know he’s different from what he used to be,” she said quietly, picking up the plate of fruit and carrying it to the table, “but I still can’t trust him.”

“He’s been helping p-people for over a century,” her husband reminded her as he pulled his tunic over his head. “Just because he r-r-remembers what he used t-t-to be doesn’t mean that he’ll re-re-revert to it.”

He joined her at the table and sat down. Kyrie watched him take some fruit and begin to eat, but she was troubled and had no appetite at the moment.

“I just can’t trust him,” she said finally. “Here he’s constantly being watched, and he’s still recovering, but once he leaves there’s no telling what he’ll do.”

“You can’t keep him here.”

Kyrie sighed. “I know. And the approaching Winter won’t help us, either. White Elves aren’t affected by the cold.”

“And he won’t s-stay without a reason,” Ahkshi pointed out. He nodded at the tray of fruit. “You should eat.”

For a moment, Kyrie just looked at him; but then she sighed resignedly and reached for a slice. They ate in silence for a moment, with Ahkshi looking at Kyrie thoughtfully and Kyrie trying to avoid eye contact with him.

Finally, Ahkshi could wait no longer to make his suggestion, even though he knew that she wouldn’t like it. He swallowed his mouthful, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “You … could take him w-with you.”

Kyrie looked at him sharply, her eyes narrow. “You want me to keep him near me?” she asked him coldly. “Even after all we’ve been through?”

“Who better to watch him and make sure he d-d-doesn’t hurt anyone else?” he countered. “And let’s f-f-face it – who else would have the skill to stop him if he d-does?”

Kyrie opened her mouth to protest again, but nothing came out, and she closed it again. Her husband had a point. She hadn’t seen Mailon in action in his new life, but if his implication about muscle memory was any indication, he had the same skill with weapons in his new life as he’d had in his old life. Indeed, who else would be a match for him?

She sighed. “You know, I hate it when you’re right about things like this?” she murmured, half smiling and half glaring at him.

Ahkshi just smiled and leaned forward, reaching out to put one hand over hers. “I know.”