So many questions but no answers.
***
Someone knocked at the locked gates of Firaska. It was a quiet, almost shy knocking but the Crimson Guardians took it as seriously as they would a blaring alarm. Hundreds of newly-made Liht spheres, thrown from the watchtowers, dotted the grass beyond the walls, chasing the darkness away. But they didnt reveal much. There were no monsters around, just two human figures by the gates: the very kids that had left the city in the morning. On seeing them, Aven Jay Zarbot cursed under her breath: she knew those young Lifekeepers would be trouble.
The younger of the two was holding a dirty bundle in his arms. When one of Avens mages demanded him to open it, the boy obeyed. He threw the rags aside and raised his trophy with both hands for everyone to see.
It was a severed head. A moroks head
***
There are many dangerous creatures in our world. You need only a warrior to stop most of them. You need a mage to stop the ones of a more dangerous kind. And a battle Seven to stop the most vicious ones. But not all dangerous creatures are children of the night. This is the term reserved only for the monsters that specialize in humans, imitate their appearance and even speech while hunting.
Are children of the night sentient? Is their behaviour conscious? There are many opinions but no one knows for sure.
Our book does not delve in such discussions. It teaches you how to fight the dark creatures.
Tome of Dark Creatures by Helga-Vlada and Sereg, a handbook of Crimson Guardians and Grey Hunters, first published in 1254, the newest edition published in 14501
Chapter 6. Between a rock and a hard place
Q: Are fairies dark creatures? Fairies are known to attack humans sometimes.
A: No, they are not. This is evident from the creatures behaviour. Fairies are hive species that react to anyone breaking into their hive or treading on their territory in the same way that bees or wasps do: by attacking the intruder. They never hunt humans on purpose. They also do not eat meat.
Q: But a fairy body is similar to a human body. Is it not an imitation of human shape, one of the signs of the darkness? And what about fairy larvae that can live in any dead creatures, including humans, feeding on decaying flesh?
A: Neither of those facts proves anything unless another fact, the most important, is present: imitation of human behaviour. No fairy imitates a crying child to lure a wanderer into its lair. No fairy uses human empathy as bait.
Fairies are dangerous, magically active animals you should be wary of but no, they are not dark creatures, not the children of the night.
Tome of Dark Creatures by Helga-Vlada and Sereg, Appendix 2
Firaskian walls followed the same protocols as temporary field perimeters did: they were divided into five segments, each segment had its own leader, a high-ranked Crimson Guardian. Aven Zarbots segment was the most important one of the five: she was in charge of the city gates. That circumstance made her a chief battlemage in Firaska but only in times of peace. If an emergency were to happen, like a massive invasion of dark creatures, the Elder Rule would make the oldest, most experienced Crimson Guardian Sarien Sarra, a fragile old lady with grey hair and devastating magical powers the head of the Firaskian mage army.
As Aven was walking through Firaskian alleys in the middle of the night in a company of five other mages, she couldnt stop wondering whether the time to enforce the Elder Rule was now
Do you know those boys, Aven? asked Sarien Sarra in her usual tone: cold, spiky, making everyone feel like a child caught with their hand in a cookie jar. Zarbot wrinkled her nose as she heard the question. Couldnt help it. Luckily for her, it was dark enough, so no one noticed anything.
I saw them enter the city in a company of eight other Lifekeepers and talked to their leader. He said that they were on a mission and wanted to hire a Transvolo mage in Firaska and jump to Torgor, reported Aven. For some reason, they decided to stay in the city, though. They earned the trust of one of the college magisters, visited the college library, and trained with the young mages. That was unexpected but not suspicious. Young Lifekeepers often travel together and share their experience with everyone who wants to learn, its their tradition. Magister Sharlou spoke well of them, so did the college swordmasters
What kind of magic did the boys use to kill the morok? Sarien interrupted her.
It was killed with an ordinary sword, said Aven.
The other mages exchanged puzzled looks behind Avens back. The rest of the way, everyone kept silent
Lots of warm Lihts floating under the ceiling of a detention room filled it with enough light to keep all the night horrors at bay and enough warmth to make it cosy. Bala and Kosta shared that room with several sleeping citizens that had been caught by the guards in the streets after the curfew. What those people did was not a crime and the detention they got was only for their safety because of all the dark creatures prowling around, so the room did not look like a prison cell and the cots there were clean and comfortable.
The moroks head had indeed allowed Bala and Kosta to enter Firaska at night but it had also alarmed the whole Crimson Guard. There would be questions, lots of them. Tired as they were, the boys were too worried to sleep now.
Kosta walked up to a sink in the corner of the room, grabbed a bar of soap and began scrubbing the dried blood from his hands, hair, face and clothes. The water turned crimson-red; there seemed to be no end to the bloody filth no matter how hard Kosta tried to wash it away.
Bala, feeling sad and useless, sat on his cot, and hid his face in his hands. A swarm of questions he couldnt answer tortured him. He could make neither heads nor tails of the situation. What kind of disease Kosta had? Why did it pass after the morok had died? Why was Kosta immune to the moroks horror magic? Who was that boy after all
For the first time in his life, Bala regretted not having been reading more. The only things he could remember about moroks were a snippet of one of Kangassk Magestas incoherent lectures and a couple of his teammates bedtime stories.
He knew that moroks were dangerous magical creatures of a dark kind, because they preyed specifically on humans. He knew that the magic they used was not spells but rather a limited set of patterns. They knew a few illusion tricks they used those to fake human appearance and could spread waves of horror-inducing magic. An ordinary person could resist one such wave at best. Bala could not do even that: the very first wave had paralyzed him. But Kosta Kosta stood his ground like a breakwater, through all three
When Aven and Sarien arrived at the detention station, a couple of young Crimson Guardians woke up everyone in the room and escorted them away, leaving Bala and Kosta alone. They were going to be questioned, that was as clear as day, so they prepared themselves. Kosta, now scrubbed clean of most of the bloody filth, hastily combed his hair with his fingers in a feeble attempt to look nice. Bala did his best to put on a brave face; he was the adult here, after all, and needed to look like one.
Seeing the adult warrior the Crimson Guardians had told her about, the adult who in fact was just a teenager scared out of his wits, Sarien got suspicious, to say the least. But learning that this boy wasnt even the one who had killed the morok and that the younger one a twelve-year-old! had done it, made the old mage almost furious. Was Aven Zarbot that incompetent? Obviously, those kids were not the ones who had killed the monster! But who did it then? And why did that person decide to hide? That seemed worthy of Sarien's attention.
I heard, my dears, that you had killed a morok, said Sarien sweetly, like a loving grandma would, while her battlemage companions inconspicuously spread around the room, keeping an eye on the boys every movement.
Not we, said Bala, a shame in his eyes, Kosta did. To protect me. He is the true warrior here.
You? Sarra gave the younger Lifekeeper a long look, with a very convincing surprised expression on her face. The kids clothes were still splattered with blood even though he had tried his best to wash it away.
Yes, he nodded with quiet dignity.
Oh how interesting! almost cooed Sarien and sat at a cot next to Kostas. I feel that you are telling the truth, my sweet. But its all so very puzzling! The morok was killed with a simple sword. Its so rare! You see how old I am and Ive seen that done only once in my whole life. Thirteen years ago. I was leading a team of young mages through the Firaskian forest and we met a whole pack of moroks: four ancient monsters hunting together! Their illusion was extremely convincing: they pretended to be a family wife, husband, two kids and played their parts so well that it took us long enough to recognize the trap. By the time we did that, we were doomed. My companions were no battle Seven, and a single mage, even a mage of my calibre, was no match for a morok pack. A young woman saved us that day and she, too, like you say you did, killed the moroks with only a sword. Only her sword had a handguard, unlike yours, and was not a katana. But that woman was immune to the horror magic, just like you must be if youre indeed a morok-slayer. She had raven-black hair, black eyes, and I never forget a face, my dear! she even looked somewhat like you. Sarien looked Kosta in the eye, a silent question in her gaze. Well, what else? The woman was wounded in the fight and I treated her wounds; it was the least I could do to repay her. That encounter left her four claw marks on her right shoulder. She didnt say much about herself, not even her name, but she mentioned that she was from the No Mans Land.
Aven and her fellow mages were listening to Sarien with bated breath, surprised, to say the least. Why was she suddenly so friendly and open with the boy? Even they, her battle brothers and sisters, had never heard that story!
Kosta Ollardian was silent for a long time but Sarien Sarra didnt say anything to hurry him up. Aven had no idea that her boss could be so patient.
That woman was my mother, Kosta confessed at last.
Small world! Sarien smiled admiringly. Tell me, my dear, are you your mothers only child?
No. I have siblings, answered Kosta, as honest and vague as Juel was with Aven when they first met.
Ah, dont worry, Im not going to interrogate you about personal things, said the old mage in a warm, soothing voice. Its the way you and your mother resisted morok magic that interests me greatly. Your mother never taught me her secret. Will you?
No, Kosta shook his head.
But my dear boy, Sarien chastised him softly, it can save countless lives. Just think about it!
Its just impossible to learn, explained young Ollardian. Its what you can only be born with.
Sarien Sarra looked disappointed but didn't change her sweet attitude toward the boy.
Tell me, where is your mother from? she moved to the next question. Are all people in her native land like her?
There is a small settlement in the No Mans Land. Its almost near the Karmasan Sea, in the forest. The names Marnadrakkar. Kosta shrugged. But my mother is an exile. She was not like the other people there, so they told her to go away. Thats all I know. My mother rarely spoke about her past.
The younger Crimson Guardians exchanged a few silent gestures when their boss wasn't looking. After so many years of working together, they had their ways of understanding each other without words. It was as clear as day to them that the old mage had big plans either for the boy himself or for his mothers people.
Before his simple no, she must have dreamed of legions of specifically trained monster-slayers marching through the No Mans Land. But after that, the flow of her thoughts changed: now it was Marnadrakkar people that interested her.
Sarien Sarra had a way of making a suspect spill everything out and was very creative in her approach. The grandmotherly tone she had chosen for that shy little boy was working extremely well. Slowly, one tiny confession at a time, the young Lifekeeper was opening up.
He knew little about his mothers origins, indeed. Her ancestors called themselves Marns and were a small tribe surviving between a rock and a hard place, with yellow dragons reigning over the Karmasan Sea and children of the night prowling in the No Mans Land. That must have been why there were so few of them.
Aven and her three fellow mages listened to Sarien Sarra with breathless attention. One word from her and the Elder Rule would be enforced; one word from her and the massive raid on the No Mans Land dark creatures would begin. That meant a bloodbath, the end of the fragile peace they all were working so hard to keep, that meant a lot of mages, warriors, and civilians would die One word. Just one word. Maybe not even Sariens but Kostas if he really knew something the old mage needed.
There was a moment when Aven was sure that her worst fears would come true: Sarien fell silent for a while, thinking, brooding over something, a frowning, pondering expression overshadowing her mask of grandmotherly kindness. Finally, she wished the young Lifekeepers goodnight and signed to Aven and the others to leave the room.
***
You didnt tell her everything, right? asked Orion, a shaky mix of optimism and desperation in his voice. He was the one who broke the silence that followed Kostas report of the last nights events. That disease of yours is gone. You are no longer coughing.
Yes. I didnt mention that to lady Sarra, nodded Kosta.
Bala opened his mouth to say something but dropped the idea as he suddenly recalled the end of Kostas illness, that mass of black clots and red blood he had coughed out
My father warned me against telling anyone about it, even you. I was allowed to speak about my immunity to wild horror magic but never about the cause of my magical addiction, he explained looking at Orion alone.
Why? a question followed. That was Lainuver.
It would make me too valuable to Greys and Crimsons, Father said. They would recruit me whether I wished that or not.
Call me a shlak if I get whats going on, Oasis shook his head. Kosta, can you just explain that to me that like Im five? I swear and everyone else will join me, I bet that your secret will be safe with us. Were all your brothers of the Order, after all. And your friends.
Not a single muscle moved on Juels face to betray his emotions but the last phrase hit him hard. Since the very beginning of the journey, he was doing his best to be distant. He failed. Those boys were good people. The more time he spent with them, the better he got to know them, the more he liked and respected the whole lot.
That peaceful time they were having together in Firaska worked wonders on the teams mood. Also, it made Abadars words about the true purpose of the journey and the true fate of everyone under Juels command seem distant, almost unreal. Now, Juels memory shoved all that into his face again.
Anger, terrible, uncontrollable like a forest fire, rose in the young Faizuls heart, consuming everything he held dear, leaving only duty and oaths behind
Shut up! he growled at Oasis but instead shut up himself, terrified by his own inner rage.
Oasis took no offence. Just like Kosta was immune to horror magic, the urban jungle boy was immune to insults of any kind. He didnt care to reply to Juels outburst indeed, he barely even noticed it. Only Kosta mattered to him at the moment.