Even if he did survive this battle, he had no illusions about surviving the war. Without him, all hope of erasing Ellysetta’s Mage Marks throughshei’tanitsawould be lost, and the Massan would never let her return to the Fading Lands. Thesedahl’reisen,so unafraid of spinning Azrahn, were no strangers to protecting those Marked by the Mages. Perhaps, after his death, they would be able to find a way to free her of her Marks as he had not.
It was a risk. A scorching triple tairen-sized risk. If Ellysetta did fall to the Dark, a bloodsworn army ofdahl’reisenwould make her even more dangerous. But, then, Hawks-heart had already said if Ellysetta fell to the Dark, all Light in the world would fall with her. Whether she went with thedahl’reisenat her side or without them, the end result would be the same.
“Gather your men. She will not bless them—I don’t think either of us could survive her blessing four hundreddahl’reisen—but they can swear their bonds, and I will stand witness.”
“I—” Farel closed his gaping mouth and snapped into a deep bow.“Beylah vo, Feyreisen.For my men and I, I thank you.” Farel started to leave, then turned back. “I almost forgot. Sheyl gave me a message for you, Feyreisa. She had another vision while she lay trapped beneath that tree. A vision about you. She said to tell you that when all seems lost, let love, not fear, be your guide.”
Ellysetta looked surprised. “Hawksheart said almost the exact same thing to me when we were leaving Navahele.”
“I would say it was coincidence,” Rain answered, frowning, “but when it comes to Elves and their portents, there’s no such thing.”
“At least the message sounds more hopeful than ominous,” Farel said. “I hope it serves you well.” And with that, he gave a final bow and strode away to gather his men.
The bloodswearing went quickly. With the enemy approaching, there was no time for pomp or ceremony. Thedahl’reisenknelt in groups, and in unison each group of warriors swore on their life’s blood and black Fey’cha steel to protect and defend Ellysetta Feyreisa in this life and the death that followed. Farel was among the last to pledge his bond.
When they were done, the pile of steel at Ellysetta’s feet was too large to even contemplate weaving into her leathers. Instead,dahl’reisenEarth masters gathered and spun her leathers and bloodsworn blades into a gleaming, more feminine steel replica of Rain’s golden armor, complete with its own full complement of blades and a scarlet-plumed helm.
Thedahl’reisenformed a circular Wall of Steel twelvedahl’reisendeep around Rain and Ellysetta. Earth magic pulsed with sudden energy, and black leathers flashed to vivid scarlet, emblazoned with a golden tairen rampant with green eyes. The shout rang up from hundreds ofdahl’reisenthroats, a joyful, defiant cry:“Miora felah ti’Feyreisa!“
And they began to sing.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
What will emerge from this paused emptiness?
What emotions will spark? Which hopes ignite
And burst like fire weaves from nothingness
A fierce blooming in the desperate night.
Quick bursting light, souls reaching in the dark
Where love can take form, unfurl wings, be born
And burn like the stars, silver, spare and stark
Or fail to fly, crash, lie bloody and torn
Lie broken, forlorn, or take wing, fly free
Explode in to life, with Tairen roar
Rending the air. Rending her. Rending me.
To leave us gasping, stunned, searching for more
Forged, anvilled, hammered, tempered, together,
True mated. Loved. Forever. Forever.
Shei’tanitsa Sonnet,by Ellysetta Feyreisa
Two bells and twenty hard-won miles later, thedahl’reisenwere no longer singing. The grim battle for survival left little breath for anything beyond shallow gasps to fill straining lungs as magic and blades filled the air, and the forest Verlaine ripped apart at its roots.
The Wall of Steel had lost many of its men, and the Brotherhood used the bodies of the fallen as cover for the living. Thedahl’reisenforming the Wall rotated continuously. Every few chimes, the outer layer of warriors moved back to the center of the ring to rest while the next row of brothers took their places on the outer line. Asdahl’reisendied, the ring wall shrank in upon itself, always keeping twelve warriors deep.
At the center of the Wall of Steel, protected by a dome formed from multiple dense, impenetrable thirty-six-fold weaves, Ellysetta healed what wounds she could with each rotation of the Wall. At her side, Rain performed all tasks that required laying hands on thedahl’reisen—digging shrapnel from wounds, setting bones, holding flesh together—leaving Ellysetta to spin her healing weaves. The pain of so manydahl’reisen,crowded so close, coupled with the bludgeoning evil of the Mharog, had long since overloaded Ellysetta’s senses. She was operating now in a numb fog. Healing whatever wound thedahl’reisenput before her, moving when they told her to move, collapsing to her knees when they told her to stop.
