Lilly and Edan have talked so long that a brightness has managed to begin to penetrate the forest canopy. They have been walking among the trees for some time, in the general direction of the noises they heard when they arrived. Edan at least can tell more clearly that they're moving in the direction of some kind of industrial noise.
Neither of them thinks Ambrose has anything much to do with industrial technology.
"I don't know if we're headed the right way," Edan says. "Not at all what I expected. Oh, one more gift." He lays a palm against his stomach, then his heart, his throat, his head. Edan's hands radiate more and more heat as he does so, but it doesn't burn as he touches two fingers to Lilly's forehead.
"My father called this one 'wire-fu'," he says, touching his fingers to his own forehead. "With concentration and effort, we can overcome gravity in a limited way. It will last perhaps a watch. Run on water, make incredible jumps, fantastic acrobatic moves... all that is required is the occasional contact with a solid surface. You'll see."
Lilly smiles broadly. "All right," she replies. "You may have just succeeded in convincing me of the usefulness of sorcery... but let's see how this works for me first."
She falls silent for a moment before adding, "Now that we are somewhat more prepared, we need to choose our direction. If he is being pursued then logically, he would choose an area that is defensible and one that would serve to give him an advantage. Let's see..." Now that dawn is breaking Lilly begins to peer about searching for... something. Or more precisely somewhere.
In the early morning gloaming, it's easier to use other senses something else. Lilly smells blood and fire and men and horses, faintly on the wind. As the light comes up a bit, her information is confirmed. Below her she sees a wide valley, an army is encircled there, trapped in a blind canyon by what should be superior forces. Lilly's guess is that both sides are waiting for dawn. It will take more light to determine what each side's goals and weapons are, but Lilly is convinced she'll know shortly.
Edan's spell seems to work, but for how long?
Coming up behind her, Edan shakes his head. "I do not know," he says. "If Chantico beat us here with an army, she may have bypassed the pyramid entirely. Or Ambrose might have erred while manipulating Shadow and added an army to face. It seems likely that at least one of them is down there." He gauges the lightening sky. "We should hurry. Ambrose's standard is a feathered serpent. He seems to like sorcery that deals with Space. Chantico, I do not know her standard, but she manipulates fire much like I do. Can you make anything out?"
The encroaching dawn makes banners on both sides more clear. Ambrose's banner is in the trapped group. The other group hosts many banners, as if there are a large number of commanders.
No one is paying attention to the ridge.
"Have we anything resembling a plan?" Edan pulls two eagle feathers from a pocket of his robe; the feathers immediately smoke and smoulder as he passes them back and forth over the length of his horse. It smells awful, but apparently Aramsham has been through this before.
"I suppose charging in is out of the question," Lilly says with a shrug. After a brief pause, she continues, "A large number of commander might breed confusion. If we could manage to take control of one of the forces, we could more then likely wreak a bit of havoc. It's a question of finding which command would be easiest to dismantle." A death wish? Perhaps. But Lilly thinks of it more as living on edge of reason.
Edan blinks. "Of course. That would work better than merely blasting through the ranks. Easier to send one into a blood-mad rage and send them loose, but it's not impossible to take control of one. If you'll point out the most likely candidate, I'll make preparations."
Lilly scans the scene unfolding below. There were any number of calculations to make, any number of variables to assess but dawn threatened. Time was not there ally. Within a few heartbeats, a great battle would be raged. The longer they waited, the less likely the chance of reaching Ambrose. Knowing all of that, Lilly falls back on the on the only real choice she had left - relying upon sheer gut instinct.
"That one," Lilly states with unwavering confidence as she points into the distance. "Those carrying the scarlet banner. They would appear to be the least organized and most unsteady. I believe the leader is the man riding the pure black horse. He has but two generals beside him. He should be easy to target."
"So be it." Edan nods, then pulls a replacement crimson belt or sash out of a larger pocket. It unravels and unrolls into a serviceable pennant. He puts the silk into Lilly's hands, then covers her hands with his own; a moment later, the sash is burning with a crimson colored flame, yet is unconsumed and merely feels uncomfortably hot. Edan doesn't notice.
"Red for blood," he says. "Red for courage, and the inner fire. A reflection of your own. You shall charm them with your will, through the medium of the flame. Hold it high, daughter of Benedict. Let them see your inner essence. Those who see it will be affected. The closer they come to you and your Will, the stronger they will fall under your thrall. The stronger your Will upon them, the more that will pledge to you. There will be Many." Edan's voice is strong, oddly timbreless, breathy with flame. "Aramsham! We mount! May the Mer... stand tall and proud, my steed. Kyauta! I have given you as long as I can to slumber. You must awake, or you must stay here. You must choose now. Lilly- let us mount up. I will do what I can to ablate enemy sorceries while you assemble our forces. That general will be the first to fall today."
Kyauta's voice is in Edan's head. Will we eat of them? There are many Gods below. They sound delicious.
"Many Gods below?" Edan says for Lilly's benefit as they mount (or he does, at the least). "I imagine that we will. Anything left to do?"
Many. I am prepared. My brother-gods will be feasted upon this day!
Lilly takes in the scene below one last time as she shakes her head. "Nothing I can think of. I only hope we can outwit and outplay the gods of which you speaks." She turns then and swiftly mounts behind Edan erasing any doubts from her mind. The past few months have brought her nothing but frustration and half victories. Enough of this. Today was a day for change. They would succeed and she would allow her mind to think of nothing else.
Edan gives Kyauta a long, searching look while Lilly speaks, then turns to her. "I can think of no one I would rather have with me to do this. Be careful with your power over gravity; what I have done, a strong sorceror can undo. Raise your banner high!" He pulls at Aramsham's reins, letting the stallion rear; then with a ululating cry, he sends them charging down the straightest path to the battle.
Aramsham flies down the hill, heading into the heat of the battle. They leave many a surprised warrior behind them, and some who will never feel surprise again. Wherever Lilly and Edan go, turmoil reigns, and shortly they find themselves pressing the commander and the two generals, fighting them over the trampled remains of the commander's banner. They are all wearing full body armor, masterworks of gold inlays with stone plates. It is beautiful and shines brightly in the morning's sun, fire and blood.
Ambrose's forces are advancing into the chaos Lilly's advance brings.
It is at this point that Edan, who has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at least once in his life, realizes that something important is going amiss. The armor is the first clue; stone plates and gold armor bespeaks a low-metal technology, a confirmation of Uxmal origin. The intricate design of the armor might mean artistry, or it might mean sorcery. Edan guesses it is something less than a coincidence that the commanders' identities in this "weakened" unit are hidden. Also not much of a coincidence that these commanders aren't being brainwashed by Lilly's banner, or that Chantico hasn't revealed herself on the field yet, if she indeed is here. Or, most importantly, that the battle's Heroes are converging- or being funneled- to this point. It would be simple to fake this kind of weakness to draw them, or Ambrose, into a trap. And they took the bait.
Very well, he thinks. They have snared two tigers in their rabbit trap. Let us see how this will go.
So Edan steps forward, protecting Lilly, and casts aside the broken standard-pole he's just used to scatter a group of Uxmali. Pulling the scabbarded yataghan sword from his belt, he holds it out at arms' length, parallel to the ground, and gives a single slow bow from the neck. His arm, of course, is pointed at the commander.
"I am Edan ibn Bleys ibn Oberon," he says in a battlefield voice he hasn't used since leaving the Land of Peace. "The Djinn-al-Ghanii. Child of Amber. Temporarily, ruler of Uxmal. Feathered Serpent is my kin, my brother-in-arms, and under my protection. Who are you, that you interfere with my plans for my cousin? Reveal yourselves to me!"
Lilly stays at Edan's back, turned away to fend off any would be attackers. She listens to his words but does not turn. Safety and protection first. Let him talk, her steel would say all that she needed. And should the answer come, whatever it may be, she would be prepared.
Edan's voice carries across the entire valley, and everyone wants to be where he is.
From all sides the press starts, both men and commanders. It looks like the entrapped army is pressing forward.
From the commander of this group, there is a reptilian laugh. "Rise, then," the voice cries across the battlefield, "and face the Gods of Uxmal! See what we have learned of your kind from your Kinsman's father, Brand the Magician, the Kinslayer, the Dead God."
Seven commanders stand still and grow, from their helmet/masks, shadowy clouds of light that turn into people and animals in the sky. The soldiers below are awestruck. They are also free of Edan's influence.
Some of the light goes out of Edan's golden eyes. Seven?
He leans back against Lilly. There, in the center of armies and gods and blood and death, she is the only person in the universe who knows how much he sags, for a moment just a young prince who juggles insecurity and doubt along with his power.
Then he straightens, and laughs, a booming laugh that echoes and carries across the battle and is so much like his father's. "You seek to test me, godling? The rain god tried to test me. Then I tore him asunder and fed him to my affine. Are you all so eager to follow his fate?" Edan lowers his arm, and flames begin to dance along his skin, his clothes, his hair. "You are puppets. Where is your puppeteer? Where is Chantico?"
[OOC: and just out of curiosity, when it becomes clearer, I'd love to know what forms these Uxmali gods are taking :-)]
[OOC: "The traditional ones". Not really clearer? Fine, I'll go do the research... :) ]
A snake made of clouds, a hummingbird, a spider/woman, a sleek black predator cat, a pillar of fire, a stone disc, a brightly plumed bird.
The commander of the smallest force, the man in the bulky stone armor, pulls off his helmet, and reveals herself to be a woman with long dark hair and an aura of fire.
"I am here, son of my father's brother. I sought my brother and for his death, but you claim my claim a share of that as well. Shall we fight below or above?"
It as now, at this point, where Lilly decides fighting alongside of Edan is a fascinating experience. Every rule seems to bend, if not break. Every moment brings about some small nuance for which she could never have prepared. It was, dare she think it... fun.
Edan glances up and around, as the situation seems to be shaping up almost exactly the opposite of how he originally planned. That is what happens when you go and announce yourself, he thinks.
"Below, if it comes to it," he says back. "Or we could all turn around and go home and fight another day, when each of us won't have to contend with all these unwelcome suprises. What do you think?"
Glancing back to Lilly, Edan says (in a soft voice), "If it comes to you fighting these Uxmali gods, I know a spell for your sword that would help it parry spells and energies from them. If you would have it."
"Below... And why not? What's one more spell?" she whispers back, all sarcasm absent from her tone. Obviously their enemies were going to be using magic, so they might as well throw everything they had back at them. "We retreat as a last resort. I don't think we are there just yet. Just in case, have you trumps available? I can get us to Ossian but that is about all."
"Below it is. Is this your champion?" Chantico smiles at Lilly. It is not a friendly smile.
Edan opens his mouth, about to say that he is his own champion, before it occurs to him that they are not in the Dar-es-Salaam and that this would be the most advantageous situation all around.
"If she wishes it," Edan says, turning towards Lilly. He reaches out to touch the blade of her sword, which is suddenly surrounded by a nimbus of nearly colorless flame.
Lilly gives Edan a single nod then turns her attention to Chantico. "Do not make the mistake of judging us by appearance or gender and I will promise not to do the same. Instead, judge us by the power of our passion and the burning inner need we possess to see this thing through."
"For this, then, let us dispense with our other proxies." She raises her arm towards one of the flying spirit heads and he nods. There is a grey and white streak that runs throughout the armies. Wherever it goes, the men fall where they are, from no cause at all. It happens so quickly that few have a chance to panic, much less escape.
Edan's face registers first his suprise, then his disgust, then anger.
In mere moments, there are but ten figures standing. The seven gods, Lilly and Edan and, across the former front line, Ambrose. He approaches the pair from Amber. "Cousin?" he says, inquisitively.
Lilly nods but refrains from answering. Other things require her full attention.
Chantico raises her hands again and a vast circle of smoke appears, crossing over the bodies of the fighters on the ground. It is no more than a foot high, but it seems quite dense. "The stakes are set, your three lives, forfeit to me, will be spared if your champion can beat me in this trial by combat."
Edan doesn't say anything to Chantico, but his glance from her to the assembled Gods of Uxmal, then back to her, is obvious. And if -they- interfere, the free-for-all begins. You won't like the result. He brings up his Third Eye and observes on all levels; the dampening charm on his saber is quickly overwhelmed by the active pulse that now radiates from him, sweeping the field of battle, getting as much arcane information as he can.
"Well met, Cousin," Edan turns and says to Ambrose. "I am Bleys's son Edan. This is Benedict's daughter, Lilly. We were in the neighborhood and decided to drop by to enjoy your hospitality. Grandmother Clarissa could not attend, but she sends her love and regards. And some fingers."
Lilly's attention remains sharply on Chantico. "Combat," she says a clear voice untouched by emotion. "In the truest sense. As the challenged, I believe I have the right to choose the weapons. I choose, steel to steel. No magic, no trickery. My blade against yours. Simple, elegant, and a true test of physical prowess. Can you accept these terms?"
"Steel? Well enough." Chantico lifts her sword, which looks like a flat, wooden club with razor sharp obsidian chunks in it on high, and one of the beings reaches down and touches it with a bolt of magic or lightning. Chantico doesn't move, but the sword smokes, and shines like steel. She looks at it and it reflects the bright sunlight. "The smoking mirror as my servant. That is the funniest idea I have heard in a long time." Her smile is not a kind one.
Laugh, Lilly thinks to herself. Go ahead. Be amused. Do it now. Savor these last few moments of pleasure, Chantico.
"We fight until one of us is defeated, disarmed, or dead. We may not leave this circle, on pain of defeat. If you lose, your lives are forfeit. If you win, you may leave freely." She lifts her sword into a defensive pose and stands ready.
"So be it," Lilly responds followed by a single nod as she moves into her stance.
Ambrose leans in to Edan. "I can wake some of the men, if we need a distraction, but then Ah Puch will certainly hunt them. Is our cousin a very good swordswoman?"
"Eh? Never seen her fight," Edan says distractedly, as he tries to fit what he sees with old stories and legends that, admittedly, come from similar shadows.
A moment later he smiles and glances in Ambrose's direction. "But if the stories of the Chaos War are to be believed, Lilly is the best swordsman of all of us. And I am certainly no slouch. Now, if your sister were to lose her temper or her focus... and she does seem quite susceptible to irony..." Edan raises his voice and yells in Chantico's direction. "What, we win and all we get to do is walk away? Shouldn't I turn you into a dog, or something?"
The gray streak that has been travelling around the field stops. It's a dog or a coyote. "Hey! Nothing wrong with dogs, little immortal!" He then starts to walk, then lope, then run so fast that he becomes a blur.
Lilly takes the moment Edan has given her to focus. For years, she has trained, hours on end, day in and day out for this moment. Few have managed to even offer challenge to her skill. Still, she knows it unwise to under estimate an opponent, particularly when the stakes are so high. It is imperative to remove all thought, block all distractions, and look only to Chantico. Let Edan and Ambrose worry about the rest, she has a job to do.
A few deep breaths, and a strategy begins to formulate in her mind. Patience. Chantico seems to lack just that. If Lilly baits and plays, moves in and out, strikes softly and retreats quickly for long enough, she will undoubtedly become frustrated. Frustration clouds the thought process and bring about mistakes. When that happens, Lilly will be ready. She will strike without mercy. Until then, this will be a battle of mental fortitude and physical stamina.
Ambrose nods. "This will be an interesting fight, cousin. Chantico is a demi-goddess; the child of my father and the prior holder of her own name. Her divine prowess is unbeatable and she is of the godhead. From our father she has gained drive and unmatched wits, which are not traits of a god at all.
"And yet your cousin is a woman of great power, if for no other reason than that she is a scion of Amber, and such as her defeated all of them once.
"Do we have a plan if our champion is to lose? I will not go willingly to the sacrificial stones."
Edan nods. "Always a plan. I've already had two sets of plans go awry since we arrived, but that goes with the old adage, neh? I do not wish to be sacrificed, either. I am thinking that one of us could make a fine distraction while the other works on getting us all out of here, including your people. I am also thinking that you are better suited to the latter."
Ambrose nods. "They will not harm the people if they are not blocking their way to me. We are safer without them, and they without us. You may have noticed that this is a place where the simple magics of filmys and partings are not effective. That may be part of why my father chose this region. I should be able to do something with the elder magics, though."
Chantico whirls her sword above her head.
"Come to me. Champion of my brother. Let us see your skill with such a plain blade."
The taunt is an old way. A hundred men before have tried to offend Lilly by calling out the craftsmanship of her blade. At first, it did bother her. Lilly loved her foster father more then anything and as a child she viewed any attack on her blade as a personal assault against him. By adolescence, that had changed. Let them say whatever they wanted. Mallet's craftsmanship was good enough for Prince Benedict of Amber. No other argument was needed. The truth was, at this point in her life, Lilly found the comment to be little more then mildly amusing.
"Fancy adornments are for those who feel the need to draw attention away from their lack of skill," Lilly replies in a mild tone as she begins circling to the left of her opponent. "I have no need for such a show. A simple blade and a well-balanced hilt are all I require." She dances about her opponent, letting her grace, if not her speed be known. Her blade remains carefully poised to ward off any attack. For now, Lilly would allow her defense to shine as she gauged her opponents skill.
Chantico is not highly skilled, but is fast and strong and beyond fearless. She seems not to care if Lilly is given openings, and seems to be inviting a fatal blow.
The great disparity in their skills keeps Lilly from being hit. That seems important, because Chantico might not need to land many blows to do a great deal of harm.
"I did notice examples of industry," Edan says softly back to Ambrose. "There may be a suppressive effect on sorcery, but one could expect more... ah... complex chemical reactions here. That will be our advantage: low-tech gods in a higher-tech Shadow... and my ploy worked to get them identified and in the air while we stay on the ground." He pauses, head tilting, regarding everyone still left on the field. "Eventually, one of these beings of Power will get the bright idea to bring in rain or mist or ice or some kind of water to counter my fire. Either that, or I will bring it in myself as an unexpected move. When that happens, you will need to duck and cover. Cover Lilly, too. It will be the distraction you need for us. Some of the men in the higher elevations, they may be injured... burned. I will try to keep the area of the explosion a few feet off the ground." Edan scans the field again. "We may still have the coyote to deal with."
Kyauta? Don't do it yet... would you be able to make rain here? Or a great fog?
The rain starts immediately, then stops.
... yes, easily, Great Lord. I seem to be having trouble not doing so.
This seems too easy, Lilly decides. There must be something more to Chantico's plan. Otherwise, this entire battle may end up being something far less than remarkable. Only one way to make her show her hand... Brute force.
This is not salon dueling with ripostes and parries in sexte and fine point-work, but rather the kind of fighting one does in war, with rough terrain and armor and the possibility that a blow will shatter a weapon or armor. It is primal swordfighting, and neither Chantico not Lilly are playing for points.
Without warning, Lilly launches into a full onslaught. The aim is not to wound or maim but quick and certain death. Attacking with anything less would be dangerous, in her estimation. She gives Chantico as little time to react as possible. Hopefully, Edan is ready for whatever may happen.
Lilly beats back an overhead attack, pivots her sword around her opponent's, and slides down the flat of Chantico's blade, cutting through the Goddess' neck and lodging her sword deep in Chantico's black armor, where it sticks.
Chantico laughs, and swings a blow at Lilly's head. Luckily, she doesn't hit with the edge or the jagged bits, but she does wallop her with the flat. Lilly sees stars.
That should've taken her head half-off.
"I was afraid of that," Ambrose says to Edan.
"Is that even her?" Edan asks, dismayed that the charm on Lilly's blade didn't disrupt Chantico's spell effect. "Lilly knows what to do if all else fails..."
"She's a god, in ways that I am not for all that I am Feathered Serpent. They are not creatures of this plane. That's who she is. It would take her magical effort to be corporeal enough to hit with a sword." He pauses. "Although I imagine that she thinks of that as inherent in her being as well."
The lack of explosions or release of toxic substances is somewhat relieving to Lilly. She expected Chantico's game was something other then what is appeared and now there was proof. A few years ago, the sword maiden might have proclaimed the whole thing unfair. They were not to be using magic and this was clearly a less then natural situation. Unfortunately, Lilly had entered the ranks of adulthood. She could not call for a do over or take her sword and go home. The only real option was to see this thing through and hope Edan had a damn good back-up plan should they end up needing it.
Relying on speed and agility, Lilly goes after her sword. By closing the gap between them, she hopes to eliminate some of the threat of Chantico's blade. Still, she takes defense well into account. It was her job to cut up her cousins, not to be the one cut. Get the blade, remove Chantico's head. That was the simple plan. The complicated plan, if the simple one does not survive contact with the enemy, is to relieve Chantico of her blade and use it against her. But first things first...
Chantico's strategy becomes more clear to Lilly. She's more than willing to exchange blows and her stone armor chips and sparks where Lilly hits it with her steel blade.
Lilly fences around with her for minutes, dodging and weaving and attacking the sword and her opponent's wrist. Finally she has the opening she wants, and with a twisting move Lilly knocks the formerly flint-chipped blade to the ground, where it lands on one of the former soldiers who are everywhere.
Enraged, Chantico kicks out at Lilly, catching her on the hip and sending her flying. She lands atop the blade, with her hip screaming in pain. Chantico is scrambling for another weapon.
Edan reflexively takes a step forward, towards Lilly, then stops; then, the full impact of Ambrose's words hit him. "Oh, really?" he asks. "If those rules apply to her... then they apply to the others... and an explosion would hardly affect them all. Clever. But so... am... I. Better get ready, cousin. You too, Kyauta, make the air around here completely saturated with moisture when I signal. And keep close to me." Edan looks almost happy, now that the logistics of his plan fall into place.
Edan shifts his Third Eye to include astral sight as well, looking for the connection that keeps all the Uxmali gods connected and corporeal. Whether it be some bright beacon or silvery cord or even an internal chakra, he looks hard for the thing that brings them into this plane and that they rely on to remain effective. Knowing that his actions will ignite a new battle here, he gets ready to ply his Sorcery as fast and as effectively as he can.
When he sees it, Edan starts into a spell; strange words buzz at his lips and his hands make a series of fluid gestures, culminating in his hands pressed flat to the ground. Flame roars forth from his arms, his shoulders, his hands, into the earth. The fire spreads through the ground and creates a fiery matrix throughout the battlefield, up into the air, encompassing the Uxmali, yanking them hard into the plane, outlining the magical channels they use in golden fire.
"Lilly!" he cries, pointing at Chantico. "There is her life! Sever the connection! Kyauta, now!"
And his hand reaches almost casually into a pocket, pulling out a fistful of salt for his next spell.
There is a crash, and water falls from the sky like the first rain ever. It is a torrential downpour that quickly turns the ground to mud and the the creek to a roaring river. It is hard to see more than a few feet in it.
Chantico has another sword, this one wooden rather than steel, and turns to come back towards Lilly. Steam rises from her like a cloud of smoke and it is hard to see where she is.
The pain radiates through Lilly's hip. Every movement burns like fire. She grits her teeth and prepare to get to her feet once again... and then comes the rain. In an instant the terrain becomes little more than mud. Before, Lilly may have merely been unsteady. Now she would be lucky to keep her footing. Add to that the lack of sight...
And what was that Edan was yelling? There is her life? Sever the connection? What was the sorcery contriving to do now?
As soon as these thoughts come, Lilly decides on her course. She simply lies still looking both broken and pathetic. Let Chantico come. Let her get close. Let her close the distance and spare Lilly the pain. Then, just when the distance between them can no longer be ignored, Lilly will release her anger, her frustration, her inner rage. Die, if I must, the sword maiden decides, but I shall do my damnedest to take her with me.
Edan automatically turns his head to regard his affine; the rainstorm is huge, far more than he expected or wanted. Now it comes to it, he thinks, knowing that he has at best a few moments before the water squelches his Sorcery completely. Limited effectiveness, too, but now it doesn't matter. Chain reaction. At least one part of his plan is how he's envisioned it. He flings the handful of salt upward; the moist air becomes greasy and heavy as he uses Multiplicity to supersaturate all the water with salt, a downpour of saline on the field. I hope he knows to protect them, Edan thinks as he grabs Kyauta with his other hand and dives to the ground. I hope he remembers Lilly. I hope he remembers me, too. No time, now. If my other spell worked. If Chantico's body provides a shield, standing over Lilly like that. If they're vulnerable. If this works.
If, if... if.
The first thing Edan notices as the rain starts to fall is that the bodies of the soldiers on the ground disappear as fast as they fell before, as if something were moving them away. As Edan has not yet closed his third eye, he sees why: a creature, a four-legged animal, is doing something to them.
Chantico reaches Lilly and with a roar, raises her wood and stone sword and swings it down at her. For all that she is amazingly strong, she is not very fast, as if something is dragging on her.
[Edan] utters a rare curse as he hits the ground and turns his eyes away from the sky. His 'salt' hand clenches into a fist...
...as he converts all the salt in the air to elemental sodium.
The sky everywhere explodes in a million small blasts that add up to one large one. The sound and light are immense and the fire that is created is white hot.
Chantico's armor is blasted away, melted by the extreme heat of the explosion. She never gets to try to level that final blow.
The other gods fall, and the rain continues, although lessened. The burning metal, where it is still metal, is carried downstream by the flood.
Edan looks, still with his third eye, and sees the four-legged one picking up the gods in its mouth and carrying them away, as if it could part the veil.
In no more than a few breaths, there is no one on the field except Edan, Lilly, Ambrose, and Kyuta.
Great Lord, should I try to stop the raining?
Edan's thoughts are peaceful, slightly disjointed, unhurried, what one would expect in the moments after a great shock. Y-yes. I mean... no. Can you convert it to snow? Cold will slow the chemical reactions, whatever are left. He sits up, slowly, painfully. If you can't, then try to stop the rain. And see if Aramsham survived this, but don't leave the field looking for him. That was... nicely done, Kyauta.
Kyauta tries something, and the rain lessens. Great Lord, it should snow. It should not blizzard, I think. The torrent becomes a warm, gentle spring rain, and looks as if it may taper off completely. Something is wrong.
Then Edan puts other thoughts out of his mind, including Ambrose; he stands, stumbles, falls, rises again, and half-limps in the direction that Chantico was so recently standing. "Lilly?!"
Lilly lies still, the sound of her name barely registering in her ears. She stares upward into the space where Chantico should have been. She had been ready to face death, ready to let go and sacrifice everything if needed, and now.... nothing. Emotion boils under the surface - anger, pain, relief, dread - and a thousand others she can not name. Pushing them down, she manages to catch her breath long enough to voice the one thought that keeps coming to her over and over again.
"Edan.... You are a dangerous man." Lilly falls silent once again as the exertion of speaking begins to take its toll and she starts to fight for breath once again. She tries to move and a sharp wave of pain torments her anew. A long, deep moan escapes her lips. No good, she decides. She would just lie here and let nature finish the job Chantico started.
A bit of time passes and Lilly realizes that nature is not cooperating and would need some help to finish the job. A shadow comes over her. Ambrose. "She's over here, Edan. She's wounded." Ambrose leans down and looks at her hip, and then at Lilly. "Anyone else would be dead, I think."
Edan is interrupted by his affine. Great Lord! Coyote has stolen my rain!
There is a faint, echoing laugh. Or perhaps it's just the wind.
We may be going after him. Have you found Aramsham?
Edan hardly has a chance to kneel at Lilly's side and take a quick indrawn breath at seeing the damage, before his jaw drops and he twists around to scan the field again with his Third Eye. He hangs there a moment, looking back and forth between Lilly, the battlefield, and finally, a long look at Ambrose.
"Several things are happening," he says to Ambrose, and he hopes, a conscious Lilly. "First and foremost: just looking at your hip, Lilly, it is beyond my power to heal. I am not a chiurgeon. Not yet. I have the Sorcery to fix it, but not the knowledge, and I don't want to fix it wrong. Cousin Ambrose, even if you are gifted at healing, I know you would not wish to do it here. I think, Lilly, we need to get you to Xanadu. Or Brennan. Or Ossian. Or Xanadu by way of Brennan or Ossian." Edan tries to chuckle, but he covers his mouth as it turns into a weak cough.
"Second... I hope you know, Ambrose, I make no claim on Uxmal. What I said, it was a ruse to draw out the enemy. Uxmal is yours. It will need some rebuilding; Clarissa and I investigated the pyramid, and I became ensnared in the spells you had placed for Chantico. I was not gentle when I fought myself free. If those gods have not been returned, it will be quite some time before your home recovers.
"Which leads us to the Third. That coyote-god is still on the field, and causing trouble. Is it working for you, Ambrose? If not, it's stolen the army, the gods, and just now, the powers of the rain god. I am going to drive it from this place, and if it's not helping you, I'm going to catch it and make it squeal. We don't need another Hob."
At the mention of Hob, Lilly's eyes fly open and for the first time, the others are certain she was listening. "No, we don't," she gets out before attempting to reposition herself. The pain instantly threatens to send her back to unconscious bliss but she bites her lip and perseveres. After a moment she breathlessly adds, "I have a trump of Ossian in my pack." She leaves it at that.
Ambrose nods, and reaches for her pack. "Coyote is the trickster and the god of thieves. He works for himself and does as he pleases. It was he who took the soldiers from the field before the sky exploded.
"I don't see him. Why do you think he is still here?"
"I saw him take the other gods from the field. Kya... my affine has informed me that Coyote has just stolen the rain, and I think it is his laughter I just heard on the wind." Edan sighs. "I do not hold a great amount of hope for catching him, but I will at least make sure he has left. Before he comes back and makes off with our smallclothes as well.
"Lilly..." Edan lays a warm brown hand against her cheekbone. "Chantico, she had the unfair advantage all along. I found out from Ambrose. She was not fully... here. Like a ghost. I had to act quickly, to make them all vulnerable and to remove them as a threat. Forgive me, for I had no time to warn you. My timing was a little... off. Or perhaps on, depending on your perspective." He smiles, faintly.
Lilly returns the smile as best she can under the current circumstances. "Sometimes we all play the part distractor," she tells him then nods and lets her eyes fall shut once more.
"And Ambrose... I wish we could have met under better circumstances. Perhaps I will see you, either of you, in Amber or Xanadu. If you have need of me, Father or Paige should be able to find me, one way or another." He stands. "Peace be with you, Cousins. I will see you again."
Ambrose waves his farewell to Edan. His attention is mostly on Lilly and her injuries at this point.
"Until then," Lilly replies before reopening her eyes on focusing on Ambrose. Slowly she works to push herself into something resembling a sitting position, with her left arm supporting the majority of the weight of her torso. "You had better be worth this," she says a bit breathlessly to the red-headed cousin. Without waiting for a response, she adds, "Hand me the trump so we can get out of this place before something else happens. And though I doubt it will be anywhere near, make an injured warrior happy and look to see if my sword survived."
Ambrose roots through Lilly's pack, finds her Trump case, and gives it to Lilly without opening the case: the correct Trump etiquette among family. Then he moves off to find Lilly's sword on the field, if it's still there.
Lilly thanks him for the case then realizes having two hand free would make this easier. Sitting forward promises to be quite painful, so she settles for lying back on the hard ground once again. After a moment of fumbling to open the case, she manages and frees the trump of Ossian. A momentary wave of panic surfaces within her. What if he didn't answer? Or worse, what if he did answer then refused to help? No. Best not to think of those things. Ossian was a friend and as such, he would not abandon her in this time of need. She looks at the card briefly, but realizes she should await Ambrose's return before making the contact.
"I'm going to try to contact our cousin Ossian," Lilly says to Ambrose. "Hopefully he will be able to get us out of here. If not, the next option is my father."
Ambrose returns in a few minutes with her blade. "It's scorched and looks like it was battered, but here it is," he says. The blade looks to Lilly like her father could fix it, but it's beyond her skill in this place. Then something gets his attention, and he looks around for a moment before turning his attention back to Lilly. "We should go now. This place wasn't safe before and it's less safe now."
Sometimes it is better to not ask questions. Lilly gives Ambrose a brief nod, then turns her full attention to the card in her hand. She stares down at the image, trying to remember the sound of his voice, the turn of his smile, and the gentleness of his hands. He was one of the few she had missed during her time away and now she wished they were meeting again under better circumstances. But this was one of her last options as time closed in, so it would have to do.
Lilly attempts the trump contact.
Ossian answers, a cool mental presence "Who is it?".
As the vision clears Ossian is there, already stretching out a hand.
The answer comes quickly, "Lilly." Though the voice is hers, the tone is tense and a bit breathless. "Ambrose and I need help," she offers. There is hesitation before she adds, "I am hurt and can barely move but we need to leave this place quickly."
Ambrose reaches out to her. "I join you by touching you, yes?"
Lilly reaches her free hand out to Ambrose, "Yes. Take my hand and I will pass you through to Ossian."
Last modified: 22 September 2009