Chapter 10.

I woke up from the voice of the same blue-eyed priest:

- Lord Asheras, wake up.

With difficulty opening my eye, I looked up at him and said in a languid voice:

- Did something happen?

– The great priestess Isites has arrived and with her many Atretases and Hisnas.

- Where is she?

- She is expecting you.

I struggled to stand upright, noticing that someone had placed a piece of dark cloth underneath me.

- Invite her.

The priest turned and made a sign to someone to "let in" in the language of death.

- Wait. Is the Golden Guard packed?

- Yes, Lord Asheras.

- Are we ready? How long have I been sleeping?

- About fifty minutes. Preparations are being completed.

- Faster. We should be leaving in ten to fifteen minutes.

Isites' voice was heard nearby:

- Greetings, brother. I managed to gather everyone I was talking about.

I, having turned the weak healing on myself, turned towards the sound, finding my sister accompanied by Arichitos. When my gaze fell on the latter, she bowed low and said:

- Arichitos has arrived at your call, Atar Asheras!

- Excellent! Let's set off as soon as possible. I'll set off in fifteen minutes at the latest.

"We will be ready," they immediately answered.

Despite the "treatment", I stood up with difficulty. Well, I came up with an idea – to take a nap on the floor in armor and a mask… However, my condition quickly returned to normal. My first four priestesses immediately appeared nearby. Feeling hungry, I turned to the one standing on the left, judging by her red hair, Kerat, and asked her to get me some food. The guards at the storage room stretched out into indestructible statues when I passed them. In the courtyard, having quickly grabbed a bite of dried meat and washed it down with a sip of water, I could only watch the bustle around me getting organized. One of the blue-eyed ones led Miss to me, and I unexpectedly climbed onto him with difficulty. But now everything was ending. Looking at Isites, sitting and waiting on the hisne, I nodded. She immediately began to "bark" short commands, distributing the order of the following. And we began to move quickly from Iestret, illuminated by the yellowish light, into the darkness of the caves. Behind us followed another twenty Hisni in harness, but without riders. Together with the ten Hisni who had gone over to our side, they would carry my Golden Guard.

A sister appeared next to me and when I turned my gaze to her, she asked, casting an expressive glance at the seven blue-eyed atars:

- I see the goddess has answered! Did everything turn out as you wanted?

- Even more... - I nodded at the two sisters. - Look at them carefully...

Isites narrowed her eyes and stared at the two arirs. A few seconds later, I saw the curious sight of her eyes widening. I also saw what she was looking at. The auras of these two were so strong in the Darkness that the mana of this power created a real, barely visible trail that stretched behind them, quickly melting into the air, like water vapor in the desert. Did I go too far then... When I looked at their moving ters, I had a feeling of something unreal.

"A nightmare…" the sister gestured and pointed at the thirty wrapped bodies. "Are these the same?"

- No, no. You'll see for yourself. I don't want to ruin the surprise...

At last we arrived. Having exchanged conventional signs with the Arirs who were waiting for us, we approached our cache. I, having made sure that everything was in order, gave the command to the blue-eyed ones to unpack the Golden Guard. Over the past two days, the Arirs and Hisns who remained here had recovered and rested. They all looked with joy at the priestesses who had arrived from home and with amazement and hope at the blue-eyed ones, who immediately upon arrival began to dress in full armor.

Sister and Arichitos watched the unfolding action with surprise and interest: the priestesses and priests of the Golden Guard emerging from the silk cocoon. As soon as they woke up, they immediately began to rummage through the huge mountain of our trophies, picking out clothes, armor and weapons for themselves. I approached Isites and said:

- Thirty Athar loyal to me. I called them the Golden Guard - for the color of their hair. Their average gift is equal to the gift of any of my four changed ones. The Athar with blue eyes is a third stronger than me, and Sea and Lea - almost three times. The basis of their strengthening is the Source of Darkness. The Goddess made a generous gift and expects full dedication on the battlefield. - Let them think so. I want freedom, and not sitting in the Border of Darkness without leaving.

I shouldn't have left any traces. I glance at Arichitos.

- Sister, Arichitos! Have you not yet explained our purpose to yours?

"No, brother." Isites bowed her head slightly.

I looked at the blue-eyed and Golden Guard digging through the mountain of armor.

- This will take a long time... Well, gather your people - it's time to show them our goal.

A couple of barking commands, and I could see the fruits of centuries of training - the atretases silently lined up in two almost equal groups and froze like silent statues. I even had the feeling that they were not breathing.

I turned to Isites and asked with signs: "Should I speak?"

The sister nodded and made a sign with her left hand: "Yes."

Well then. I collected my thoughts for a couple of seconds and began to speak in children's language:

– My name is Asheras. Let it be known to you that I am the Reborn. I appeared in this world for one purpose – the revival of House Y'si'tor! To do this, it is necessary to save the previous matriarch – Elviaran. This is the will of the goddess! As you know, she is being held by the illithids. But the goddess sent me a vision that she would soon die – these creatures did not even think of torturing her for a thousand years ! Some of you heard that Ehaer already tried to pull her out, but was defeated. From the analysis of this, the assumption arose that there are spies from other Great Houses in our house. You should also know that recently another attempt was made on my life, much larger than the previous ones! On the territory controlled by House Y'si'tor, I and the Ariri of Atere encountered a reinforced tatrett of House Khitan! We completely defeated it with the support of the Eternal!

A wave of excitement passed through the ranks of priestesses and priests. The Atretases quickly exchanged signs, discussing the news.

- No one left! Each of you must understand that in order for this attack to be possible, support from the very top of our house is necessary. In this regard, we decided not to wait for a response from our enemies and to go on a raid on the illithids. My sister and I gathered all of you - those who still remained loyal to our house. Know! The goddess gave me forty atara! This force will be enough to strike at these pathetic and disgusting creatures! Do not forget about the masks and filtering weaves - it will stink of burning, I promise you! - I laughed loudly. - We will show these creatures that even here, in the Upper World, hell is possible! - And why did I get stuck at the end? And my speech is somehow incoherent ... Fatigue, perhaps. After all, I have been sleeping in short snatches lately ... Three tense days of continuous trials. The best will come.

After my inspired speech, I saw determination and even joy in the eyes hidden in the slits of the black masks.

Isites took a step forward and said:

- We leave in an hour. Try to get some sleep - there may not be another opportunity in the coming days.

After her words, the atretases began to slowly disperse in different directions.

"I'll sleep too," I said.

- Yes, yes, of course.

I headed for the Hisn rookery. Having identified Myss with some difficulty, I spread a thin silk blanket next to him and, taking off my mask, laid my head on his huge soft black paw. I fell asleep instantly.

* * *

Taenori was sitting in her office, doing paperwork, when Orin appeared in front of her desk and, after patiently waiting for the matriarch to turn her attention, said, bowing her head:

"My matriarch, the high priestess Eltruun, commander of Iestret, the Outer Fort of the Deepguard, requests an audience.

Taenori's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

- On what issue?

"She only said that the matter was important.

The matriarch sighed, slowly put the document aside and nodded to the maid:

- Ask...

The maid bowed slightly in response and, approaching the door, opened it, making an inviting gesture to the white-haired priestess standing at a distance. Her appearance was somehow vaguely reminiscent of the matriarch. She was dressed in the traditional leather armor of a priestess with meek boots with almost no heels, which only emphasized her tall stature. Her hair was so white that the gray skin of the priestess seemed black in comparison. On her hair lay a black mask with a ligature of gold and white signs indicating that this priestess occupied a high official position in the hierarchy of the Atretases. The priestess's weapons were inlaid with red gold. Particularly noteworthy was a set of short thigh swords, whose sickle-shaped blades were hidden in richly decorated scabbards, and the hilts, made of white gold and entwined with leather laces, depicted the head of a snake. The true high priestess. Few knew that Eltruun was the only atretas in the house who was well over a thousand years old - she was the daughter of Therist, mother of Elviaran. In her youth, the future high priestess and garrison commander lamented the fate that had prepared for her the fate of a soldier, but over time, watching the death of her high-born sisters, brothers and mother, she came to terms with it and even in the depths of her soul was glad that she had been able to see so many cycles. Now, a priestess who had participated in dozens of battles and hundreds of skirmishes that had reshaped her mind and soul, casting and tempering her into an experienced warrior accustomed to the smell of blood and the sight of severed limbs, entered the matriarch's office. Precise, verified movements, a smooth gait and a piercing gaze of black eyes, ready to see death around the bend of fate. With her appearance alone, she inspired confidence in the hearts of those around her.

"Greetings, Matriarch!" Eltruun said in a soft voice, raising her right hand in greeting.

She walked to the chair opposite, sat down in it, crossed her legs, and froze, looking into Taenori's eyes with narrowed eyes. An oppressive silence hung in the room. The matriarch was the first to break down and looked away. With her right hand, Taenori took the artifact of the Ancients from the top drawer of the table and placed it on the table. Her voice broke the silence.

- What did you want, Eltruun? I don't have time to play staring games with you.

- I came to find out since when have we been at war with House Khitan? Why am I learning about this not from you, but from my scouts? What kind of strange athars are scurrying around under my nose? And what the hell did our full tatrett under the command of that brat Isites go to God knows where, and I find out about it when they are already leaving ?! - if at first the priestess spoke softly and even detachedly, then in the end she jumped up from her chair and openly screamed at the matriarch, almost spraying saliva on her. Taenori turned pale with each of her words, and her last words literally pressed her into the back of the chair.

Taenori swallowed and said unexpectedly firmly:

- Calm down! I myself don't know what's going on!

Eltruun chuckled and obediently fell back into the chair.

- Now tell me what happened.

- It all started with the arrival of your son, Asheras. It was such stupidity to let him out hunting at such a young age! He wasn't even trained to use weapons! - The priestess looked questioningly at the matriarch: - I understand that magic is our everything! But what to do if the gift is exhausted? Or is it impossible to use spells?

"The speed of mana recovery in his gift is extremely high. Only about thirty ergs per second... He can create low-level weaves under certain conditions almost infinitely..." Taenori said, without looking up from the tabletop.

– It's incredible, but that explains something… So, what was I talking about? Ah! So, they leave with Atere's squad for two days. And only half of them return. You should have seen them! Their armor is all cut up, the hisni are showing off bald spots in their skin! You remember Myss, the leader of my hisni? Well, he came back not himself. And he took part in that massacre that happened back then… Your son went to the fortress storage and didn't leave it for two days. The guards weren't allowed in by his atars and arirs from Atere. You know who's on the guard there. And then Isites and Arichitos arrive with their eashes, and seven unknown, very strong atars emerge from the storage room, led by Asheras and two monstrously powerful entities. As for the latter, I've never seen anything like that. I have nothing to compare it to... So, they jump on the hisn and leave. And today my scouts accidentally stumbled upon the battlefield. Everything there is twisted. The Astral is still boiling from the spilled power. I had to figure out what happened there myself. So, get ready! Take a deep breath! The boy, this idiot Ater and this brat together smashed the Khitan tatrett into dust! Oh gods! Everything there is covered in blood! There is splashes even on the ceiling of the cave! I haven't seen anything like that for a long time! It seems that no one left. It is not entirely clear what the little kids did with three dozen prisoners... But the fact that they were there is as clear as a shadow in the light...

- Oh Elos! Khitan doesn't know anything yet?

- That's not my first concern... The battle was very close to Iestret, even less than a day's march away. My trackers spun around and came to the conclusion that it was a trap for the baby. But who ate whom is already clear. You must understand that something like that can only be done with betrayal in our circles. There aren't that many suspects...

"We can take advantage of the moment and catch the one who is doing this…" the matriarch smiled together with Eltruun. "By the way, where is Asheras headed?"

- Into the Depths...

- Then everything is clear... You cannot know... Asheras is a Reborn, having a direct connection with the goddess. She gave him the order to get Elviaran out. That is why he definitely went to the illithids. To their damned capital of Ishak-shi, if this filthy cesspool can be called that... Will he be the only one who will succeed? If the forces he took perish, things will get really tough. The exchange with the house of Khitan will be more than equal. But we cannot bear such an exchange... - Taenori rose from her chair and went to the narrow window looking out. After looking at the panorama of the capital for a while, she continued: - After we finish here, you will take all yours and go catch up with them. In the worst case, you will cover their retreat...

– Yes, matriarch.