There was rustling outside the pavilion flap, followed by two voices. One was familiar, the other new. A stranger.
“I need the Fallen.”
“For what cause?” It was Tyak, his calm voice holding a protective edge.
“One of the foals-”
The words were hard to hear from where the Ethaefal sat within the large tent and she leaned, straining to hear. Willing the Ankal to send the stranger away.
“You may.” The Ethaefal stiffened. “Her name is Yomila.” She did not need to see the hand gesture that went with Tyak’s words. His tone was enough.
Be gentle.The flap opened. A long, slanted sliver of golden light poured in, shadows flickering and licking at the light cast from the fire beyond.
“Yomila?” The voice was more cautious than gentle, wary. A body moved, blocking most of the light.
The Ethaefal remained where she was, ensconced in her section of the pavilion, back to the tent wall, molten silver eyes fixed on the entrance.
The body paused as the lantern it held cast its light upon the Ethaefal’s form, the warm glow sucked up by the creature’s shimmering, marble-like skin and glass-like horns. “Yomila.” the form said after a pause to take the creature in. “I am Svaya of the Palerun Pavilion, member of the Amethyst Clan.”
“The Palerun’s are in need of you.” She continued. Her sign was awkward, the lantern moving and causing shadows to swim -
urgent, help, rely. “We require your power.”
Yomila tensed. She was an animal backed into a corner, trapped. She knew the other woman could see it in her eyes, even in the dim, even at a distance.
“It’s for a foal. A pale one” -
special, gift - “It’s weak. Please. Will you come?” Svaya asked.
The Ethaefal could begrudge humans and Drykas. She could not begrudge a foal.
She rose, hiding her reluctance, and nodded.
Svaya took a step back, not expecting the Fallen’s stature but composed herself and motioned for Yomila to follow.
The moon was full overhead as they arrived at the penned area of the Amethyst clan, Leth’s light illuminating the area enough for the Ethaefal to begin to understand. It was foaling season. Members of the Palerun pavilion stood vigilant over their Strider dams with round bellies, only intervening when necessary.
Svaya motioned towards one that stood away from the others, two Drykas crouched off to the side. The Ethaefal didn’t have to see the small thing they were crouched over to know it was the foal in question.
Striders were sacred. Yomila was fascinated with them: their speed and everything they stood for. As painful as it was that none had yet to bond with her, she could not hide her awe at their majesty and felt the pull to help.
She joined the others without a word and they moved without question to give her space, her entire being radiating and powerful during Leth’s reign. Svaya had told her about the foal: it had not developed fully and had come too early. She had added: light-colored Striders were such a rarity. The collective whole believed this tiny creature to be a gift from Zulrave. Even a test.
Yomila felt the weight on her shoulders and the eyes on her person.
Do not let it die.Yomila was no healer. She knew no medicine. What she did have was a gift, one discovered during her first foaling season since her fall. She had pressed her hand to a foal’s wound out of impulse and distress and it had aged - healed - a day.
She was possessive of this gift and used it sparingly, reserving it for the beautiful horses she was certain she would never ride again.
Once more she set a shimmering hand and closed her silver eyes, calling upon her ability. Once more a thing aged a day. This time it was not a wound but an entire creature.
The Ethaefal stepped away to allow the Drykas to do what they needed to once she was done. She was no longer needed. Or so she thought.
Svaya approached after convening in low tones with her fellow clanmembers. “I have another request.” Her look was oddly sympathetic as Yomila stiffened. “We ask you remain with us. The foal is still too small and weak and will need your power until it is able to stand on its own.” she explained.
The Ethaefal only nodded. She would stay for the foal.
~~~~~
Tyak’s gentle blue eyes followed her without reproach or question. She hated how she could not dodge his attention. Hated how he made her feel seen and welcome when everyone else ignored her. It made it hard for her to remain steadfast about her decision.
“I can’t stay,” she said, words weaker than she wanted them to be.
He dipped his head in understanding.
This only made her sigh. His unwavering love and support was like a warm blanket. It was security. Peace. It was going to be so hard to part with it.
They continued to pack in comfortable silence.
Come morning, Tyak clapped a hand on his eldest’s shoulder and said, “I’m glad you agreed to join us on my last adventure.”
Yomila was oblivious of the exchange, too focused on orienting herself to the Zavian-mix she would be riding. The pointed look Tahlto shot her bore into her back.
“You do not need to come, father. The three of us are enough to see Yomila to her destination.”
Tyak smiled. “I trust you would, my son, but do not rob an old man of one last ride.”
K’walen and Rulkis, two of Tyak’s younger songs, exchanged a look and then mounted their Striders in unison.
Each son was heavily armed. Each rider wore armor. There was no guarantee the trip would be uneventful.
It was why the aging Ankal had called it an adventure.
The five rode steadily from sun up to sun down and took regular breaks for the sake of Zavian-mix and its rider. Tahlto kept point, sharp eyes on a constant swivel for danger, and his two brothers took up the rear leaving Yomila and Tyak guarded in the middle. Nights were spent around a low camp fire.
It was during one of these nights where Yomila sat close to Tyak, feeling surprisingly comfortable. The initial tension that had existed at the start had fallen away; outgoing K’walen and mischievous Rulkis had both warmed to her, bolstered by the freedom and excitement of being away from Endrykas. Even Tahlto was less rigid and formal, laughing at his brother’s antics and father’s stories.
Tyak stretched, rose, then excused himself to answer the call of nature and K’walen took it upon himself to fill the silence with another tale of a hunting trip gone wrong.
The remaining bodies sat in rapt attention until a heart-stopping scream tore through the silent, moon-less night. The rumblings of a roar followed and all four were on the feet in a flash, the boys snatching up their weapons to advance towards the noise.
Yomila froze. The scream had left her blood cold and the hairs on her arms stood up on end. She grabbed the bow Tyak had often lent her with a shaky hand and trailed the others.
The scene she came upon was horrific.
A juvenile night lion had Tyak’s limp body pinned beneath a black paw, lips drawn back to reveal teeth and gums as it bellowed a terrifying roar in response to the spears that were stabbed in its direction. It lashed out with claws and might, causing the armed men to jump back.
Yomila charged with a scream.
It was only as she advanced that she realised she had forgotten the quiver at the campsite. Her fingers clenched white on the bow. No matter, it could still be a weapon.
The lion balked as the stately, horned biped lunged, tucking its head to grip Tyak’s face in its jaws, stubbornly refusing to release its prey even as the blows came.
More stabs fell from the three spears. More blows fell from Yomila’s hand.
The lion lashed out one final time before growling lowly in defeat. It rose and reluctantly parted from its quarry, disappearing into the night as seamlessly as it had appeared.
Yomila was instantly on her knees, cheeks wet from tears, hands gripping her beloved Ankal. She felt a hard push from her left as Tahlto came careening to her side, attention on his father. Then Rulkis’ scream.
“You have your power.
Do something. Fix him!”
The world melted away as her chest knotted tight and sob escaped her, unbidden. How badly she wanted to. Her knuckles white in Tyak’s bloody tunic.
Tahlto vibrated near her with emotion and K’walen approached cautiously but turned away violently once he saw the extent of his father’s injuries. He took five steps then retched.
Hands were on her suddenly, shaking her violently, fingers flexing in her hair and then shoving it down hard.
“Fix him!” Rulkis’ was desperate and wild.
It took everything she had not to do as he demanded. It had been her initial reaction, to use her power and mend him a day. To remain at his side and see him through until his wounds were no more.
But he was so
ruined. She knew he would hate her. Hate that she robbed him a natural death in the Sea of Grass. Hate that she might have sentenced him to a less desirable death. One of old age, of a life becoming a burden to his family.
“I can’t,” she cried, voice breaking.
It was Tahlto who moved first, sweeping to his feet and then to his brother, tearing him from the Ethaefal.
Yomila yelped without meaning to.
“Peace.” Tahlto’s voice was even, cold and calm and he gripped his brother, stifling Rulkis’ attempts to thrash, to fight. He gripped him tight until the strength pooled out of the younger Drykas, until tears replaced the screams, until the younger slumped against the elder. “Peace,” he repeated, softer now.
The brothers had each other, K’walen having sought them out and they embraced.
Yomila remained, heartbreakingly alone with the knowledge Tyak, mutilated and bloody before her, was gone. Gone because of her.
Another sob shook her whole body.
~~~~~
The world felt muted and gray as she walked numbly down the road. Everything felt pointless now with the knowledge that her need to leave had left Tyak dead.
Tyak, the only person who had ever been good to her. The only person who had ever accepted her. Tyak, just, patience and merciful, ever true to the Topaz clan way of life.
Her eyes shut tight as she fought back fresh tears.
She opened them to see a woman suddenly in her path and she started, surprised.
Dressed in pure dazzling white with long braided hair the vibrant red of a sunset, the woman wore a gentle smile upon her equally gentle face.
“You are hurting,” she said, words equally gentle.
Warmth. The woman exuded warmth. Just like Tyak had. The Ethaefal felt drawn to it like it was a campfire on a cold night.
The woman continued, “It is not wrong to hurt now, child. Don’t feel shame.”
The woman beckoned her forward but Yomila remained where she stood, uncertain, head a mess of emotion.
“I know you are hurting,” the woman coaxed once more, pressing just enough, “but I want you to know you did the right thing and Tyak is proud of you.” Her soft smile returned.
Hot tears spilled down Yomila’s face.
The woman reached out and took hold of the Ethaefal’s hand, holding it soothingly between her own and cooed gently, like a mother comforting a babe, “The cycle of life is important. Cherish it. Protect it. But do not go against the natural course it follows.”
There was a sudden increase in warmth in the woman’s hands, the burn was noticeable but not uncomfortable. It soothed.
The woman’s eyes regarded something over Yomila’s shoulder and the Ethaefal felt compelled to look. She saw riders approaching and glanced back to the woman, seeking direction.
“Go with them, child. This is not your end, only your beginning.”
Yomila looked back towards the riders as she felt the woman pat her hand. When she turned back, the woman was gone. Confused, the Ethaefal looked down at her hand, noticing the symbol upon its back.