Thallax’s face twisted into a sad smile, knowing it may be the last time they saw each other. “Sorry. Old battlefield habits. I’ll do everything I can, Rionan.”
Rionan gave a short nod to Thallax. “Tell them to go. Send a party North for help. I’ll do what I can, from where I can. For now, the Well needs to remain empty, so that there is no power for Rannirr to access here.”
“As you will it, My Lord. Rionan.” Thallax corrected himself. With a flash of yellow light, he was gone. Rionan felt the collective message being sent out from Thallax across his commanders, to go, to take as many men as they could and retreat to safety.
The wind continued to whoosh past Rionan in mighty gusts as Ulreah’s storm clouds swirled above, cracks of lightning filling the air with sharp electrical pulses that called to the power readying itself beneath Rionan’s skin. Ulreah wouldn’t go. He was stubborn. Stubborn, brave, and courageous. Ulreah would hold that line. Rionan looked up through the flashes and saw the crowd of battling warriors, impossible to tell his own men from the enemies, with the mud that was splattered on everyone’s armour.
Stepping forward, Rionan closed his eyes and drew a slow, steady breath. Reaching out his arms on either side of him and flexing the tips of his fingers down towards the ground. As he inhaled, he felt the land beneath his feet respond, and power flooding inwards. The wind lost some of its ferocity. The night air lost some of its edge as every bit of Rionan’s power that dwelled within this land and made it what it was poured back into him.
Rionan heard distant cries to retreat as his body filled with an energy that he had shared with his land for centuries. He looked up, his body trembling with the strain of absorbing every bit of magic. It felt familiar and warm, but there was also resistance there. Like, it didn’t really want to leave.
Stripping Xanthia of his power – of some of its lifeforce - it was almost as wrong as the corruption the Eastern Lord had inflicted on his own territory, and now poured into the South.
Rionan had no other choice.
This had to be done.
Rionan. Rionan. Rionan.
The voice echoed through Rionan’s mind, conveying a sense of conflict and dread. It knew he needed to go, but it tried to pull him back, to urge him to send his power back into the land once more.
Rionan. Rionan. Rionan.
He exhaled slowly, forcing his power to seal itself within him.
Return to us. Return to us. Return to us.
Rionan lifted his head and lowered his arms. With a grim determination, he snapped down his invisible shield of energy that had kept him safe until now. Immediately, spears of red and purple light darted toward him from the distance. With his sensitive hearing, he could hear the shouts of the opposing soldiers, telling each other his shields were down, and he was vulnerable. They were coming for him. Rionan breathed in this familiar air one last time and brought his arms together in front of him in a swift motion. One of his hands, clasped into a fist, met the palm of his other hand, and he closed his eyes. With a bright yellow flash of light, he was gone.
***************
Rionan awoke to the sound of gulls calling, and the smell of the sea. He was lying face down in sand, which now coated the inside of his nose. He could feel water gently lapping against his legs as he rolled onto his side and spluttered. Rionan gently opened his eyes, squinting, the bright sun blinding him. Such a stark contrast to where he had been moments ago.
Had it been moments? Why had he been unconscious?
He lifted his arm, scanning his surroundings. His vision was blurry, and he could make out his own hand in front of hisface. His skin was changing colour rapidly, shifting from its warm silvery hue to a much more flushed colour. He swept his tongue over his teeth, feeling his canines retracting. He touched his pointed ears, which were now not pointed at all, but sat in delicate curves on either side of his head.
Rionan recalled that when he had done this before, his appearance was always the first thing to change. To help him blend in with the realm in which he found himself. Everything else caught up later.
He rolled onto his front and put his palms flat against the sand, pushing up in an effort to raise himself off the ground. His armstrembled with an invisible power that lay underneath his skin, that wrestled with him to return to his own realm. To Xanthia. He cursed quietly as he fought with his own power and tried to push it down inside himself – far away from the surface. An overwhelming feeling of sickness washed over him, and he collapsed back onto his front, fighting the urge to vomit.
Rionan felt himself fading in and out of consciousness, exhaustion passing over his body as he continued to tremble. He shut his eyes, breathing in deeply, as the crisp, salty air overwhelmed his heightened senses. He rested his forehead in the sand and gave himself over to the darkness that beckoned him.
1
The Stranger
Alianna strolled down to the shoreline of the sandy beach, letting the gentle breeze sweep her hair around as she took in a deep breath. She adored living by the sea. The wind, the salty air, the sand between her toes – she felt at one with the world, and with herself. That might just be because she was away from the hustle and bustle of busy streets and her day job, but she enjoyed it nevertheless.
The mid-morning sun shone brightly, causing the ocean to sparkle like a diamond under a light. The sea was flat today. Calm and beckoning. So far, the beach had been fairly quiet, with no other people around that she had seen. It was a mild morning, and she contemplated going out into the sea a little way, even just for a paddle.
As she stared out at the ocean, there came an impatient barking from beside her.
“Hang on, Shadow,” she breathed, looking down at the dog staring up at her. His dark fur was wet, and sand clung to him from where he had jumped into the water and then immediately rolled around on the shore afterwards. It didn’t bother her. If she were a dog, she’d do the exact same thing. Heck, she was human, and maybe she’d do it anyway.
Alianna scanned the sand for a rock that was good enough to bend down and throw into the water. She was particular about the rocks she enjoyed throwing. Not too big, not too small, not too rough. Smooth,round, and flat were the best kind. Sometimes, at low tide, they glinted up at her like gemstones, coated in salt water from the last wave to wash over them.
She leaned down and selected a stone that fitted perfectly in her hand. Closing her fingers around it, she found that the stone was warm from where the sun had been on it only moments ago. Pulling her arm back behind her, she launchedit across the beach and into the sea. Shadow, delighted, went bounding along after it.
