The Longest Night

The assembled trio crossed the seemingly invisible boundary that separated them from the fabled forest.

Revarian stepped lightly, his feet barely touching the ground, as if he were worried the slightest noise would bring calamity.

Shyana took in the looming trees with suspicion, her keen eyes scanning for any who may be lying in wait to attack. Though no one did, her grip remained tight on her weapon, as they wandered further into the darkness.

Akiem glanced up at the thickness of the canopy, where only a fragment of sun penetrated, barely enough to light their way. Even more unsettling was the feeling stirring inside of him. Perhaps it was the dark legends of this place or the animal within was reacting just as the horses did; whatever it was, the advisor didn't like it.

His eyes turned to Shyana, who stalked alongside him with unfaltering prowess. The fact that she hadn't shaken in her stride calmed him slightly. She always had the ability to give him courage without even realizing it.

Ruek hovered back a bit, clearly uncertain about proceeding further, causing Revarian to stop and turn back.

He rose up an arm whispering. "Ruek, I need you to be my eyes."

When the hawk hesitated, Shyana stepped closer and put her hand on Revarian's shoulder.

"I was taught the forest walkers could use the trees to see. Is it possible to leave him behind? A forest this dense doesn't seem avian friendly."

It was obvious that Revarian wasn't happy about the suggestion, but took it into consideration, as the low hanging vines would hinder his hawk's flight.

He reached up a hand and set it gingerly on a moss-covered branch, his milky eyes searching for the sight he lacked. Suddenly the bark around his fingers began to glow, a crackling sound searing his fingers. He jumped back and clutched his newly burnt hand to his chest.

Both Shyana and Akiem's eyes widened at the sight of the smoldering branch. "What happened? Why would it burn you?"

Revarian hissed in pain, before glaring in their general direction. "Because this forest is angry! It doesn't want us here. My kind hasn't walked through it for far too many summers and it's rejecting me. We should accept this warning and leave."

Akiem looked to Shyana, who shook her head. "We can't leave now. We've just started this quest and I intend to finish it. Akiem, could you speak to our guide's eyes and try to persuade him, please?"

He nodded and stepped back over a few large roots to the hovering hawk. "Hello friend. Trust me that I don't wish to be here either, but we have a mission to accomplish. Your master won't make it far without your assistance. I understand it's suffocating in here. We'll only make it through with his help and he needs you now. Please, lend us your aid."

Reuk turned his head one way and another, before Revarian sighed at them, as if they were exceedingly stupid.

Wrapping his hand in some leaves he packed away, he scoffed. "Pretty little speech, but you're wasting your breath. The only one who can commune with him is me. He is my companion and therefore understands me even without speaking. The fact that I use words is a courtesy to you, but we don't require them."

Shyana raised her eyebrows, impressed. While the forest walkers weren't known to fight in anything they deemed as petty as battle, they would defend themselves and hunt for food. It would be awkward and impractical if they had to announce their plans to their eyes before every movement.

Revarian exhaled and raised his arm again. "Please Reuk, I need you."

The hawk hovered for a few more seconds before shrieking an outraged complaint and flying low to settle on his arm. Revarian smoothed his feathers down and fed him a treat from his pack before freeing him back to flight. While the hawk wouldn't be able to fly as freely as he would have liked, by the way he curled around the trees, it was obvious that they would be able to move on as planned.

Shyana smiled, pleased that they wouldn't be losing Revarian before this even started.

The group made their way through walls of vegetation that seemed to grab at them from all angles. They tried to move quietly, avoiding the hanging vines and thorn-filled branches as much as possible, but that was proving to be more difficult than originally planned.

Their steps kept on crunching, which was uncommon for the advisor, who stepped with the subtle grace of an animal.

Suddenly, Akiem hissed in pain, as a particularly large stone pierced his foot through his boot. With a grimace, he looked down to examine it, but his eyes widened.

He grabbed Shyana's shoulder, the sudden movement surprising her, as she twisted around quickly, ready to attack. "What is it?"

He pointed to the ground, where the forest floor they thought was filled with branches and twigs, was in fact littered with bones.

Countless bodies, both human and animal alike, scattered the ground in white like a macabre snowfall. Skulls, arms, legs, wings, every possible combination laid silently before them, daring them to come closer.

Shyana gulped and put a hand on her chest to slow her heart from the sudden surprise, but Akiem's grip hadn't lessened on her. His eyes caught her own, as she feigned calm and even offered a nervous chuckle. "Practice for the underworld…remember?"

He shook his head. "This is too much Shy. We should go back and talk to the queen again about a search party. We can't do this alone."

Shyana placed her hands on her hips, which was difficult to do with a sword in her hand. "Every second we waste, the Thurucalns get closer to the Blood Song. They could easily have it in their grasp, while we are at Xera, begging for my little sister to stop throwing a tantrum."

Revarian interjected, his hand still feeling the effects of the burn. "You seem to be the one throwing the tantrum. Both your advisor and myself have told you this is foolishness. What does this fabled Blood Song do that is so important, you would abandon wise counsel just to seek it out? Surely your strength is enough to eradicate the Thurucalns. Why do you suddenly need a weapon other than your own sword to do it?"

Shyana sheathed her blade and tried to calm herself, so her words wouldn't be lost in her temper. "The battle between us and the Thurucalns began over a hundred winters ago, when a Thurucaln soldier kidnapped a young princess right from her bed. They snuck into the castle in the dead of night and took her for ransom.

Xhaian law is to never negotiate when royalty is involved. It gives us a weak image. So the army assembled and attacked. The princess was never found. It's believed they dismembered her and sacrificed her royal blood to their sun god, the same one they have branded on their chests."

Akiem looked to Revarian. "The Blood Song is a weapon that came into existence at the same time and it was said to be so powerful, because it was forged in that princess's blood. Her innocence is what fuels it's power, but during the Great War between Thuruca and Xhaia, it was lost, hidden away by their priests, with no record of its hiding place for us to find. It's called the "weapon to end all wars" because it's powerful enough to rip a man's soul from his body. At least, that's what the legends say."

"Is there any proof that a weapon could do such a thing?"

Shyana looked about the dark forest, feeling increasingly antsy to move. "When the Blood Song was forged, men who went to search for it, came back as...as…" She gulped, the image of one of the creatures flashing through her mind.

"As what?"

"Monsters."

Revarian crossed his arms. "So, you want to go search for a weapon that is said to do such an evil and use it against another tribe? How can you have that on your conscious? Even if they are your sworn enemy from a hundred winters ago?"

Shyana looked down and admitted something she hadn't even said to Akiem. "I don't want to use it. Even my hatred of the Thurucalns doesn't run that deep. I've seen one of these soulless men before and I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. I want to keep THEM from getting it. Any people who would kidnap a young girl from her bed and sacrifice her for their own power, are those who would have no hesitation to use it on us."

There was a heavy silence between them. Shyana looked to the two men and waited a moment, before she turned and continued on in the direction they'd been going. Akiem followed after her without complaining, limping slightly from the bone to his foot.

Revarian didn't speak. It was clear that nothing he said was going to change the general's mind and the admittance of her own hesitation, was surprising to him. Surprising enough that he wanted to see this weapon in Shyana's hand because she may be the only one not use it for its intended purpose.

They tried to shuffle through the mixed graveyard, pushing away polished bone with their boots until much to their relief, it seemed to thin out a bit.

Shyana looked up to the canopy, trying to gauge whether or not the three suns had begun to set. Unfortunately, the small gaps between the tree tops weren't enough for her to tell.

The stealthily moving group came to a particularly large tree, with roots that circled out like a basin. Shyana glanced around, judging their surroundings. "This looks like a good place to make camp. Let's get a fire built and rest here, before traveling on."

Akiem nodded and set down his pack, massaging his throbbing foot, while Revarian nestled gently against the large trunk, his head lolling back and forth on the mossy bark.

Shyana tilted her head. "I thought the tree burned you before, why is it allowing you to touch it now?"

Revarian held up a piece of meat to Ruek, who was nesting in the branch above them. "I'm not trying to commune with it. It burned me because it didn't wish to speak to me."

She sat next to him, while Akiem put together a quick fire pit, eager to keep busy so as not to focus on the unsettling prickle in his chest. She tapped one of the mossy roots with her knuckle. "You speak as if the trees have moods."

He nodded, pulling out the bloated corpse of a dead rat from the base of the tree and flinging it up to Reuk, who devoured it greedily. "They do. The forest is alive in more ways than you can understand."

Shyana looked up to the mighty tree, that seemed more threatening in the growing firelight. Her eyes scanned the large branches, which had long tendrils of moss hanging from them like thinly parted hair. "Do you feel anything from these trees? Other than the anger you spoke of?"

Revarian closed his eyes and pulled down his hood to shield his face from her. "Pain…. overwhelming pain and sadness. It's not the trees' natural way to feel. That's why this place is so suffocating; it doesn't feel alive and vibrant as a woodland should. It is a forest feeding off death."

As if to reiterate his point, out from the all-encompassing darkness, a cry, which wasn't man or any kind of beast, echoed through the trees. It howled and wailed, sending the tiny hairs on the back of her neck on edge. The sound suddenly pitched and an empty silence resonated through the night.

Revarian withdrew his daggers and rested his head against the tree. "It's going to be a long night."