The North (Closed)

[KieranSoares]

Schaller took a short run to spread his wings and catch the wind, his powerful muscles carrying them hundreds of feet upward in seconds. He adopted a patrol pattern that he and Fiona often took. It crossed many others at random, giving them the ability to monitor not just for threats, but for other pairs slacking off or missing things. He carried himself professionally as always, his flying form perfect and his eye sharp for anything out of place. Honing in on his task was enough to help him find a bit of calm. Being useful had always soothed his agitation, much like many of the Ghis.

"Thank you for looking after me, little Fox," Schaller rumbled over the wind at one point. "It is... embarrassingly easy to lose my way without your mother."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I believe there is to be a meeting of the lairds later. Perhaps we can provide Kate an honor guard.” Riley called back, not dwelling on his weakness while trying to keep her own mind occupied.

Within the castle, things finally quieted down. Fiona was exhausted, but unable to find slumber. Only a few candles burned around the room as anything else was much too bright for her suddenly sensitive eyes. Her gaze traveled around the room, taking in the various healers as they worked. She found Alex in quiet conversation with Steris. Then she found Sam. Her hand lifted from the twisted sheets, reaching for her husband’s. She watched him for a moment, squeezing his fingers with all of her might.

“You’re in pain.” She muttered, knowing that she was putting him through mental and physical anguish. “Love, you need to leave.”

 

[KieranSoares]

Sam, similarly unable to sleep but leaned back in his chair trying to rest as much as he could, stirred at the sensation of Fiona's weak grip. He sat up a little, turning shadowed green eyes to his wife and lifting her hand to kiss it.

"I'm where I need to be," he muttered, his voice hoarse from his own struggle. Even if Fiona had forcibly cut herself off from everyone and the Judges were keeping her contained, Sam's proximity meant that he was dealing with more than he'd ever let on. But he maintained his vigil with confidence and a loyalty second to none.

"My hurts are nothin' compared to yours, lass," Sam assured her. "I've been through worse. Long as you're okay in the end... I'm fine."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Liar.” Fiona said with a slight smile on her lips as his hand warmed her chill flesh. “What do they say? Am I healing?”

 

[KieranSoares]

"I don' understand most of it," he admitted with a quiet sigh. "Lots of talk about tryin' to 'break through' something. But they seem pretty confident that they're on track. The way they talk about it all, it sounds more like an exorcism than a medical procedure. Then again, I guess it isn't just a sickness. They were talking about phantoms, curses, a ritual they need to perform... All things I would've called nonsense before I started to understand your gifts as a Caller."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Mmmmm…” Fiona said with a noncommittal tone. “I’m sure… if my grandfather were alive he would be here too. Spouting nonsense like it’s fact.”

“I want to face what is to come with dignity.” She murmured, squeezing his hand again. “With sheets not soaked in sweat, fresh clothes, and sitting upright.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"If what's to come is you winning this fight," Sam murmured more to himself than her. "I've got you, love."

Instead of calling on others for help, Sam pulled himself to his feet with the aid of a crutch, and limped away after kissing her forehead. When he returned, he had a fresh tunic and loose trousers for her, undergarments, a hairbrush, and a few towels. He had enlisted a member of the castle staff to fill a tub with hot water in the next room, and sheets were brought up shortly thereafter. Sam gave one look to the surrounding Judges and doctors, making all of them slowly file out except for a couple of castle physicians who helped Fiona out of bed and to the washroom. They didn't remain there with her, giving the husband and wife privacy as Sam tended to her like she had to him when he was injured or weak. Once he had her undressed and settled in the water, he sat down beside the tub and tossed his shirt aside so not to soak it while he helped her clean up.

Sam had done the same for her following the births of their children when she was having a hard day, or on the rare occasions she was extremely ill or limited due to injury. It wasn't unlike how she would trim his beard for him. It was intimate, made possible by absolute trust and love.

"I missed talkin' to you," he admitted quietly after a long while. Moments of clarity had grown rare, and he missed his wife. His best friend and dearest partner in all things. "Every so often, since you've been sick... Hell, since we left Norway... I think about the little normal things I miss about bein' with you in our own space, just going about our business. I miss comin' in from the forge to find you curled up by the fire waitin' for me. I miss comin' to Kayla's palace to walk you home from workin' with the council. I miss holdin' your hand whenever I feel like it."

He wasn't sure why it was all coming out just then, but it did. And he wasn't ashamed to express all those little ways he loved his wife. She deserved to know.

 

[heartofcourage]

The hot water of the bath soothed her aching bones. She sank to her chin, soaking in the warmth and simply relaxing in the moment. Cracking open an eye, she stared at Sam as he confessed that he had missed her and the little moments that they had once shared. All of the little moments that a couple probably never thought about.

"I've never left, love." She said softly, letting him know that even in the darkest moments she was still there. "Well, really I can't say that. I suppose I have left. Out walking in the mists. No one is there. I don't think this...thing...allows anyone through. It's been lonely with only my thoughts to keep me company."

She reached up from the water to touch his cheek, already growing weary in the few moments that they had stolen away. "I'm trying..."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I know, love," Sam whispered, leaning in to press his forehead to hers and closing his eyes. He let her have a moment to gather herself before lifting her out of the bath and helping her to dry off.

Once she was dressed in the comfortable, loose clothes, he carried her back to the newly-made bed and helped her settle in. He'd requested extra pillows as well, taking each part of her previous request to heart. Sick and weakened as she was, he would make sure she could face the trial to come on her own terms. He took a moment to himself as well, leaving her side briefly while she rested to bathe and change. Fiona's insistence on putting herself together had reminded him that he needed to do the same not just for his own sake, but the sake of the family supporting them. A strong front would help soothe fears, and it was a little easier to be strong when he didn't feel like a complete mess.

 

[heartofcourage]

As early evening spread and the skies darkened with rain, Riley finally reentered the castle. Schaller has been thoroughly exhausted and Markos had been placed in charge of guarding him and lending him support through the evening. Still in her riding armor, Riley sent word to Andre that she would see him within the hour.

In the meantime, she found Soma and Tati, closing all three siblings into Soma’s secured war room to have a talk. Tati was still too young, but Riley felt she had the right to know everything that was happening.

“There are things I have to tell the both of you. Things that affect all of us.” Riley murmured as she peeled off her riding gloves. “Things that we probably should have known a long time ago.”

“Is it bad?” Tati asked, innocent yet serious in her questioning.

“I don’t think so. No.” Riley said as she took a seat and let out a long sigh. “But the three of us have to make a decision.”

She then told them all about the Judges and Ephriam, the duty that he had left behind, and the duty that awaited them in the future.

 

[KieranSoares]

"So... They want a Blackstone back in the seat Ephriam left behind," Soma muttered more to himself than his sisters. "He left because they were constantly forced to fight, either for their survival or to take down dragons whose actions endangered others. That means they're only a step away from still being Arbiters."

The young man with an entire alliance on his shoulders took this new, weighty information in stride. He didn't react immediately, instead taking a long moment to mull it over.

"We don't have to join them. Ephriam cut ties, and they seem to have done fine since. But if we were to associate with them after this, I demand they be better than Arbiters. Much better."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Soma, they aren’t the kind of group you can just make demands of. I had to fight to get them to treat Ma instead of kill her.” Riley murmured as her little brother pondered all that she had said.

“We…don’t have to…do anything.” Tati said softly.

“I feel as if we might be obligated now. Even if they say we aren’t, they are giving us a service that will be incredibly difficult to repay.” Riley explained as Tati glanced towards Soma.

 

[KieranSoares]

"If their first instinct was to execute a suffering person instead of helping them, I'm not sure I want to be involved with them after this. That kind of cruelty is exactly why they've been fighting for their group's entire existence. That means they're also ruining the idea of dragons and riders. No wonder every country around them is anti-dragon."

Soma took a deep breath, pulling his recently shortening temper back. "If we're going to be involved with them at all after this, I will not stand for how they currently function. No matter which one, or if any of us, takes Ephriam's seat."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Their first instinct was the stop the spread of a horrendous illness. They didn’t care who the infected was. They wanted to protect the greater good. Can we really blame them when we do the same?” Riley asked, shocked that her sweet, humble little brother was suddenly filled with anger and flames. “I changed their mind. I threatened that it would be at the point of my sword that they killed my mother.”

There was silence in the room as tension settled over all three. “As King of Inverness you can decide who you deal with. The rest of us won’t have that luxury.”

Tati was listening quietly, her ears flattening slightly as her siblings had a heated discussion. “I…could go.” She murmured, looking between the two of them.

“We don’t need to make a choice right now.” Riley said softly.

“I…can’t do much. But I…can ride. I can…sit. I can…listen.” Tati insisted. “I won’t…be little forever.”

 

[KieranSoares]

Soma softened at Tati's offer. He knew that as heir to the Invernessian throne, a Caller, the North's tactician, and nephew to the Queen of Scotland, he couldn't hope to take on another mantle if they did work with the Judges. He also knew he didn't want to chain Riley to such things. Tati was no Caller, but even so young, she was shaping up to be quite a scholar and Rider. She was too young to take on a major role, but she has the foundations to become an able voice for dragons.

"I think we see Ma through, and finish this fight for our family," Soma explained softly to his little sister. "Then... we can weigh our options. I want to know more about how these Judges work first."

 

[heartofcourage]

Riley sighed as she smoothed back Tati’s fur, nuzzling against her little sister. “If the three of us can stay together, we will be stronger for it.”

Looking at Soma, Riley took in just how young he still was. Hell, just how young they all were. It wasn’t a position any of them imagined being in, but the three Ghis children had to stand strong with one another.

That evening, after retiring to bed, Riley found herself unable to sleep. She stared at the top of the gur; listening to Andre work to secure their camp. When he entered, she cleared her throat and turned her head towards him.

“Don’t blow out the candles.” She murmured.

 

[KieranSoares]

Perhaps in an effort to calm his own nerves, or to regain some sense of normalcy, Andre had been tending their camp and catching up on simple tasks anytime he wasn't needed by the greater clan. Ever since he'd resigned his position as Johania Ordermaster, he had primarily considered himself a caretaker and supporter more than a warrior. Looking after Riley and their camp was to Andre what working in a forge and looking after the family was to Sam.

When he entered, Andre set aside a few things he'd been working on: mostly mending and cleaning clothes, gear, and cooking implements. Hearing Riley speak up, he came over to the edge of their pallet to sit before her. His shaggy dark hair was all pulled back, and he'd trimmed his short beard for the first time since before they'd left for Byzantium. He reached out for Riley's hand, lifting it to kiss her knuckles. They'd only had a passing moment to speak since she'd returned, and they'd been so busy and constantly on the move before that, they hadn't had much time for anything but sleep when they stopped. It was clear he'd missed having quiet moments with her.

"Evening, love," he muttered softly with a familiar warmth. "Can't sleep?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"I feel sometimes as if I'll never sleep again." Riley said softly as she sat up and let out a great sigh.

She'd been restless and agitated since her return. She tried hard to blame it on her mother's condition, but that wasn't entirely the issue. She felt something crawling along her skin. There was ruin approaching. There was the feeling of generations crushing in on her and making it hard to breathe.

"The Norther Riders are with me. For now." She murmured as she rose and started to pace. "I offered them freedom. They follow my mother and I'm not her. Why continue to swear allegiance to a queen that is unproven? I don't know how far I could take them nor how much safety there is."

She stopped her pacing and turned to face her husband with tears in her eyes. "There was an entire council there, Koah. And by the Gods, they kill dragons. They kill them and they kill their riders. My grandfather left for a reason. He left because he couldn't take it. He was like me and felt every single emotion crashing down on him. And yet, like a fool, I swore that a Blackstone would fill that seat."

She let her tears fall as she roughly pulled at the fur on the top of her head, everything spilling forth. "Grief clings to them. Self righteousness all over the entire lot of them. And anger. No. Rage. Rage that one of their own left and had a life. And now they're here. They have brought chaos to chaos and I feel every moment of it."

Riley panted as it was finally out in the open. She knew, in a way, that Andre was one of the only people who might understand what she was going through.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I can't tell you anything about our Riders that you haven't already heard, Ri," Andre murmured. "They choose for themselves. As for the Judges... I consider this a necessary evil and nothing more. I know there's so much more to it for your mother and you, but you don't owe them a Blackstone. We can work with them. We can pay them for their services. But we don't have to owe them anything beyond that. When they're done here, we can send them away and be done with them. We already have a world of problems. We don't need to involve ourselves in theirs."

 

[heartofcourage]

“Andre, listen to me.” Riley said. “They kept the seat empty for over seventy years. I was the first to sit upon it since Ephriam. You and my brother might think this will easily go away, but it won’t.”

She was quiet for a moment before she turned to grab her cloak and riding gloves. “I’m going to find my grandfather. He might be the only one among us that understands.”

As Riley gathered a few more supplies, events were happening in the palace that few had expected. Fiona was standing on her own, unassisted. Still weak as a newborn, she simply stood in the middle of her apartments as doctors and healers stared back at her.

She stared down at her hands outstretched before her. It was the first time she was truly seeing them and not visions of ruin that had been clouding her brain. They shook as she turned them to stare at her palms, her eyes taking in the thick black stains that traced along her veins.

Slowly she blinked her large reptilian eyes and raised her gaze to Steris, standing just feet away from her.

“You asked me what I see.” She murmured, dropping her hands to her sides. “Dreamers and seers are not common in your world. My grandfather was the last, was he not?”

“For this…for taking me this far, I’ll tell you what he saw.” Her eyes blinked slowly, the black voids of her pupils seemingly glowing even darker. “He saw ruin. Towers toppled and dragons slain. Callers burned as heretics and chased to the ends of the earth. He didn’t know if the end was because of others….or because of you.”

 

[KieranSoares]

Steris stood firm and fearless before Fiona, facing the Hunger he'd been fighting most of his life, and the Blackstone strength and mystery he'd once lived with every single day. But hearing Fiona's words, a moment of revelation came to him.

"Ephriam once said... A Blackstone would be the end of things, and another would be the beginning of something better. He never... He never explained it. And only a month later, he left us for good. Even before he left, the Judges began to decline. Callers are hunted beyond your alliance. And as I've heard it, you've been hunted many times like we have. My lady, we are already facing ruin. There isn't much further we can fall, short of losing our home and all of our lives. We have already lost everything outside of Ararat."

 

[heartofcourage]

“There’s others.” She said softly, taking a tentative step forward.

She heard the heavy creak of her husband lifting himself from his chair and she stopped him. Holding up a hand, she turned her head towards him and gave him a quick shake. She was on her own now.

“Far beyond the seas and far beyond the steps. As far south as a dragon can travel. Those that have left you have branched out, settled new worlds. You might see ruin in Ararat, but there are those yet untouched.”

She turned back toward Steris, letting loose a long breath. “I want my armor for what comes next. The spilling of blood if what I hear is correct.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"There is no need for armor here, Your Majesty," another Judge spoke up, but Sam finally rose with a stern look.

"If my wife needs her armor, she'll have it," Sam rumbled before turning his gaze to Fiona. He now knew reality was fading into whatever she was seeing in her mind's eye, but he wouldn't deny her comfort or stability. He stepped away to gather her armor, calling for assistance from a guard outside the apartments.

"Your Majesty, this next step will be the hardest," Steris explained quietly once Sam was gone, bringing the focus back to the fight to cure her. "I will be perfectly frank with you. This is the point where many frailer patients give in. We've battled the Hunger- the remnants of Hesperus's madness- to weaken it and you. Now, we excise it completely. It may indeed be a battle in your mind. Everyone experiences something different. But we Judges will give you all the strength we can. It's time to face the phantom of Hesperus still dwelling in your blood, and burn him out."

 

[heartofcourage]

“I burned him once. With dragon scale.” She said as he talked about burning out the last remains of Hesperus from her body. “He’ll never burn again. He’s made that clear.”

Fiona’s attention was stolen when Sam returned with her armor. He’d gathered the dragon scale pieces, still singed with the intensity from her battle.

“I had to make sure he wouldn’t rise. I ran a glaive through his heart.” She explained as Sam came to her side and she gently touched the armor. “The same I’m sure I’ll have to do with all of you.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"It isn't us you will face, Your Majesty. It will be what Hesperus has become, cocooned in your mind." Steris watched Sam begin outfitting his wife, helping her put on her armor like he had before many battles and patrols. He knew every strap by heart, and had even brought a pair of dragon steel pliers he'd made to try to bend a few ragged edges back into shape.

When he finished, Sam leaned heavily on his crutch and let out a breath. Glancing at the concerned and intensely focused Judges, Sam met Fiona's draconic gaze. "I know there's not much I can do to help... But I'll be here every moment, love. To whatever end."