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Book of Havoc part 5 - Fall of the Eyries

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"You know, we wouldn't be in this situation, had you simply killed the man," Moyra whispered conversationally, barely a hint of resentment in her tone, as their group walked down a narrow corridor, nearly complete silence engulfing them.

"I don't think the Emperor would have given up even if his knight had died," Azhmer replied in Neil's stead, "but I agree that what you did was extremely stupid. Announcing yourself like that..." The man shook his head. "I am amazed we managed to get everyone away."

"Fat lot of good it did us," Zahar said, looking around a corner of a junction of several hallways, silently sidling along the wall.

"Getting rid of him wasn't even an objective!" Neil's disembodied voice resounded behind them, prompting the other three to shush him. "And you shouldn't be complaining, Moyra," he said with a more silent voice. "I saw the way you looked at him back there."

"It's not every day a man manages to touch me," the woman said with an exaggerated wistful tone, touching the bandage on her left arm. "I think I'm falling in love!"

"I thought you only loved me," Zahar grinned at her, to which she replied with a well aimed kick to the shin.

"Oh, stuff it, you juvenile," she added, "you don't even know what end to hold a sword from. And what took you so long with those things of yours? I can't believe it took you so long to get us out of there."

"The problem with a large arsenal of magic is," the man sighed, "you don't always exactly know what suits what situation."

"You could have thought of it while rambling about dragons and troubadours," Neil joined the bickering.

"Well, forgive me for not foreseeing you would tell Empire's greatest swordfighter that you're an invisible intruder who killed his men," Zahar retorted.

"Enough with this!" Azshmer growled at them. "What's done is done. We have to get to the Eyries as fast as we can, and even though Neil made that considerably harder for us, thanks to him at least we have an idea of what's going on. We take the one to the right here," he added when they reached another junction.

The four had been navigating the subterranean labyrinth for a few hours. They once acted as an elaborate escape route for the people in the mountains, but it now lay in a state of severe disrepair. They had to search for ways around collapsed tunnels more times they would have cared to count, and the one time they tried to clear the way using magic, they had led an Imperial squad right into the tunnels.

It was their greatest luck that the Emperor could not afford to send searching parties into the maze of corridors, but the sorcerers above them were still monitoring the underground with excruciating and painstaking devotion, ready to pinpoint exact locations to send soldiers to. The four even had to bury Zahar's devices so they wouldn't be found because of their magical signature.

They just had to reach the mountains. From there on out, they would be safe from Empire's scrying. But they had to hurry; the Emperor was readying himself to take on the Eyries in less than a day and a half, and they had to reach the peaks before that. It was a race against time, and the odds were stacked against them.

Their lack of knowledge about these hallways was another obstacle. Azshmer had a vague idea of where to lead them from studying old maps, but there were occasions they had to backtrack for nearly an hour because of reaching a dead end. Even their progress thus far was questionable, they could never know when they would run into another collapsed section.

"I can't believe he finally decided to attack here," Zahar said, growing bored of the silence rather quickly. "I always had the impression the Emperor wanted to get rid of us first."

"True, it is weird that he suddenly showed up here. Maybe his chasing us was just a distraction to lure our forces away from the vicinity," Azshmer shared his thoughts.

"But it was always our men who lured him left and right across the desert," Neil whispered skeptically.

"That's true," the small man conceded. "Maybe he just wants to gather the entire world against the desert. He has us nearly surrounded anyway."

"Or he just doesn't like other people in the air aside from himself on his dragon," Moyra said jokingly but stopped after Azshmer gave her a weird look. "What?" she inquired.

"If the air was entirely only his... Yes, that's certainly a possibility," he replied, deep in thought. "You know, for a pretty face with strong arms, you have some good ideas at times."

"Scratch the pretty face part and I can attest to that," Zahar jumped in before the woman could even begin feeling flattered.

"Next time we happen across a pile of manure, people are going to wonder at the pair of legs sticking out of it," Moyra replied, giving the man a venomous look.

"The two of you will drive each other crazy one day," Neil giggled. "Why don't you just get married and do it without involving us?"

"I'll have a spot reserved for you too in that pile of crap," the woman snarled. The silence persisted for a much longer time after this, save for the occasional directions Azshmer gave.

...

"Lady Edeline," the voice of a servant awoke the person sitting beside a window from her melancholic thoughts.

"Yes?" she asked simply, not withdrawing her gaze from the campfires sparkling hundreds of feet below. So much like a wayward bunch of red and golden stars, not giving nearly enough light to distinguish the shapes around them from each other.

"Our mages received another message from the Emperor's. He tells us that there is still time for us to surrender peacefully and allow him to garrison a portion of his men here," the servant recited.

"We are important to him," the lady said. "He could have completely razed these mountains to the ground, but he wants to take us instead. Why is he going through such effort?"

"I... I don't know, m'Lady," the man blurted out, not expecting the woman to take her time to talk to him, never mind ask him a question.

"Of course you don't. I do not either. He seems to do things on a whim quite often, doesn't he?" She had hoped her people would be safe as long as Empire's hunt of the desert-dwellers was ongoing. "How are the evacuation procedures going?"

"Nearly every civilian has escaped to the northern bastions. The remaining troops are your minimal escort, four riders and two thunderbirds."

"Good. See through with the last group of civilians and go with them. We will follow shortly," Edeline said, her expression unchanging as she followed the shadows around the distant campfires with her gaze.

"A question, if I may, your Ladyship?" the servant gathered his courage before leaving the room.

"What is it?" the woman asked with an indifferent tone.

"What stops us from surrendering? We only stand to lose otherwise, and the Emperor is willing to spare us all, should we bow to him."

"It is a matter of principle," the lady finally looked away from the window. A pair of piercing golden eyes were trained on the servant. "He is chosen by Havoc to lead the creation of Mor to the End Times. If the entire world submits to his will, reality as we know it will be brought to an end."

"Reality as we know it?" the man asked, confused by her answer.

"The Order of the world will be unmade, and perfect chaos will be unleashed upon us," Edeline said. "Do you know the story of Mor's children? How the world came to be and how Havoc will one day end this creation?"

"I've only heard bits and pieces, m'Lady," the servant answered cautiously.

"Mor's children are still amongst us today. The Mor'rok Kyne, the ones we call Morok Kin, who are the first men to walk the land. Their violet eyes and dark hair mirror Mor's golden, flaming eyes and his hair pale as the sunlight. They are his heritage upon the creation before he fell in love with it and made himself human to walk amongst his children. Legends say he still lives somewhere in the world and watches, while his children guard it from Havoc's influence."

"I understand that the Emperor himself is of the Morok Kin," the servant ventured.

"He was, but then he fell into Havoc's temptation, and now in his veins flows unearthly power not meant to exist within Mor's creation. That is why we must stand up to him. Do you understand?" the man nodded. "You may go now," she looked back out the window.

A few minutes of silence passed after the servant had left, which the woman spent alone with her thoughts, until the person who had been hiding spoke.

"You'd make a good story-teller, you know," he said.

"How long have you been here?" Edeline asked, unmoving from her position.

"The entire conversation," the voice replied, and soon the body belonging to it stepped out of the shadows of the dark room. A blond, robust man in fine clothes made his way to the window's other side, facing the lady.

"Your eavesdropping was always your sole repugnant quality, Evan," she replied, a faint trace of a smile on her thin lips.

"That story is not what you've told me so long ago," he leaned on the windowsill, ignoring her jab.

"Who would believe me when I tell them Mor's human blood flows in my veins?" she sighed.

"Aside from a lunatic like me? Not many, I believe. I think the Emperor would be interested in having an audition with you, though," Evan joked.

"Him especially must not know, but I am afraid he already suspects it."

"Why do you say that?" the man asked.

"Why else would he not just unmake us all with his magic? I cannot think of another reason for him to stall like this," she looked at him, uneasy feelings reflected in her eyes.

"Would it be that bad if he found out? He's going to conquer this fortress soon either way," Evan returned her look.

"That is why I want to take Edward with you and flee here," she answered, a look of iron hard determination moving into her gaze. The man had no words for a while in his surprise.

"And what will you do?" he managed to ask.

"I will stay here and will die," Edeline got up from her chair and walked over to her bedside drawer, opening it and taking out a sleek, finely made golden necklace with a round medallion, a green gem etched into its center.

"What? But Edeline..." Evan started to protest, however the woman interrupted him.

"Take the tunnels. They haven't been used in decades and can be dangerous, but you know your way around them," she laid the piece of jewellery in his hand.

"I cannot let you do this, woman! How can you expect me to..."

"Just like when we were children," she interrupted him again. "When we went to explore the labyrinth. Escape south. The Morok Kin will shelter you, but that may not be safe enough. You can hide in the western forests in the worst..."

"Edeline!" the man shouted, grabbing her shoulders. She looked into his eyes and he could see she was fighting back her tears.

"This is bigger than us, Evan. The world needs a scion of Mor, but not in the Emperor's captivity. Take our child and flee. Have him live up to his bloodline's legacy. But for us, it is goodbye."

"Is there no other way? Must I give you up for the sake of the world?" he asked, but he already knew she would not change her decision.

"One day we will meet again," Lady Edeline forced out a smile. "But until then, we have a duty to the world."

...

"Look, I know for sure we're already under the mountains. We've been going upwards for half a day!" Azshmer growled, his patience drawn to a limit.

"That's exactly the problem!" Zahar retorted. "According to what you said back at the entrance, we should have arrived to the Eyries hours ago! But we're still somewhere halfway through this bloody rock!"

"It's not my fault these tunnels are so badly maintained," the small man snarled. They were tired from their underground journey, as they had had very few precious moments of rest and were running late.

The bickering of the two was getting on Moyra's nerves and she was ready to jump into the fray when she froze. Footsteps echoed through the hallway. One pair, heavy, hurried. The others had noticed it too, having lowered their voices.

The two men and the woman stood perfectly still in the darkness, waiting for Neil to make his move. Seconds later, his whispered voice gave the report.

"One man, carrying a sleeping child some eight years younger than me. Both Eyrian. The man has a very faint magical signature, but the kid's aura is something amazing. I haven't seen anything like that before."

"So it's not an enemy," Azshmer exhaled. "But what are they doing here in the tunnels?"

"Let's go greet them and find out," Moyra said, sheathing her blade.

Not long passed until the source of the echoing footsteps was withing visual range. The man had no source of light with him, showing that he was wary of possible dangers. Zahar hoped that he wouldn't just run away as soon as he saw the three of them.

"Halt!" Moyra said and the man slowed down cautiously.

"Who goes there," he asked tentatively.

"We're not your enemies," Azshda replied. "We're here to deliver a warning to the Eyries. The Emperor is readying siege equipment to bring down your walls."

"It's too late for your warning," the man replied. "The fortress has already been evacuated. I am the last one to escape."

This took them by surprise. "Escape where?" Zahar asked.

"They fled north," the man explained, "to the tunnels leading to the mountains' other side. We had safe places built there in case this happened."

"Why are you here, then?" Azshmer inquired.

"The lady Edeline instructed me to seal down the tunnels from this side," he answered after a brief pause.

"We can't get up to the Eyries this way then," Moyra mused. The two men's argument seemed silly now. "What about the child?"

"He is my son. I couldn't leave him alone. I'm the only family he has. But that's not important. We have to get going."

"True," Azshmer agreed. "Hellfire will rain down upon this mountain soon, we don't want to be here when the passages start collapsing."

...

They had already escaped from under the mountains and were close to the exit when the ground shook. For the next few hours, it shook again and again, dust clouds falling from the ceiling of the corridors every time it did.

Reaching the outside, they saw the reason; five enormous wooden constructions were flinging burning boulders at the walls high above. The dragon could not fly in these conditions, but Empire didn't need him to. Rows of cannons shot the Eyrie's few remaining flying knights out of the air with deadly precision.

The fortress had suffered tremendous damage, but it was still somehow standing. Two of its towers had already collapsed in on themselves, and an entire floor seemed to have given up trying to stand up. The main building was still, in spite of this, mostly intact. Not for long, Neil thought to himself.

He could have sworn he saw a woman looking out a window before a fiery projectile crashed into it.
I feel like I rushed this a tad. One of the names showing up here may be subject to change in the future.
I could have had the Eyries survive. I really could have. But where would the fun have been in that?
Part 1 doofus-the-cool.deviantart.com…
Part 2 doofus-the-cool.deviantart.com…
Part 3 doofus-the-cool.deviantart.com…
Part 4 doofus-the-cool.deviantart.com…
Part 6 doofus-the-cool.deviantart.com…
Part 7 doofus-the-cool.deviantart.com…
Part 8 doofus-the-cool.deviantart.com…
Part 9 doofus-the-cool.deviantart.com…

Edit.: I am starting to feel like I only use those four for comic relief. Your anti-Imperial heroes, folks!
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