Chapter 11: The Sky Serpent

Kaius Northguard

"These must be the winding hills Mallory told me about." I say.

They live up to the name, the rising and falling of the landscape in front of us almost looks like a frozen green ocean. From this vantage point it's easy to see the valley.

Gregory clears his throat, grabbing my attention. "Apologies, my prince, but you still haven't told me why we are here."

"We're here because my sister believes there is something here that may give us insight as to the origins of the creature that attacked our home." I explain plainly. We are out here all alone after all, there is no need to be discreet.

I turn to gauge his reaction. He turns to me with a surprised expression which melts into a look of pained resolve.

"And she is sure?" He asks quietly.

"She wouldn't have asked me to come here if she wasn't." I nod.

He nods back just as I remember what Bale told me about the fate of Gregory's father. "On your lead, my prince."

With that we continue our journey, keeping a fast pace. As we descend the last hill into the valley I feel an unsettling sting behind my eyes and distant ring in my ears. Gregory notices my discomfort and comes to a stop.

"I thought it was just me…" He admits, his words surprising me. "There something wrong with this place, my senses feel…"

"Disturbed." I fill in for him, shaking off whatever it is that's happening. "Let's take a look around."

We both dismount before wandering around, making sure we stay close together. At first glance there appears to be nothing out of the ordinary, but this feeling that's gripping my senses…

There is something here.

The deeper we go into the valley the more intense the sting behind my eyes and ringing in my ears. There is something else, a spark of dread at the back of my mind, I felt it when we first entered the valley but I've been able to ignore it until now.

"Wait!" Gregory calls out from some distance away.

Blinking, I turn back to where his voice came from, when did he fall so far behind?

And how did I not notice?

Gregory has his eyes closed, a look of deep concentration on his face. Slowly, I make my way back towards him, still on high alert. After a few moments he lets out a deep and slightly strained breath.

"Our minds are being meddled with." He states quietly.

I find myself raising a curious eyebrow.

"Meddled with?" I question.

"My sister, Meredith, the one I mentioned to you." He starts, I nod, indicating that I remember. "She's something of a scholar when it comes to magic, she got it from our father."

My features soften as his voice becomes solemn at the mention of his father.

"She studied it from all corners of the land." He continues. "Including how magic can affect the mind, Vilos' speciality. I remember her once telling me that the mind's natural reaction is to resist outside influence."

"And you believe that is what's happening to us now." I catch on to what he is saying.

"Yes…" He trails off, looking around.

I look around as well and begin wandering the valley again. I reach down, plucking a few blades of grass from the ground along with some soil. I clench my hand around them, feeling them scrape the palm of my hand.

"Wet…" I mummer.

"I beg your pardon, my prince." Gregory asks from some little ways behind me.

"The soil is wet here." I say louder.

"But… it's the dry season." He wonders aloud.

"It is." I nod before getting to my feet. "So it's not wet from rain. The only other reason the soil could be this moist is the presence of a spring nearby."

"I didn't see any spring." Gregory points out, though the tone in his voice implies he is coming to the same conclusion I am.

"Neither did I." I conquer. "Which means it is being hidden."

I bend low feeling where the ground feels moistest moving as I do.

The feeling of dread in the back of my mind intensifies and I find myself almost recoiling. From the sharp intake of breath that comes from Gregory, I would guess he felt something similar.

"M-my prince, perhaps we should turn back." He suggests, voice a little shaky.

To my surprise a small voice in my mind agrees with the suggestion.

No…

If Gregory is right about the magic at play here, then this should be a sign that we are getting closer. "Steel your nerves, Gregory."

Before long the trail takes me to a part of the valley facing a small hill, one of the smallest ones I've seen here, in fact. I reach down again, expecting to feel more soil, instead my hand goes right through the ground. Startled, I pull my hand back immediately and find it covered in water.

"Intriguing." I mumble, directing my gaze forward and lowering my hand to rest on Langris' hilt. "Open my eyes, old friend."

Langris hums to life, sending a soothing wave through my senses. The stinging behind my eyes begins to fade, as does the ring in my ears and before my eyes the view in front of me begins to change. It's almost like waking up after a long slumber, my vision a blur before slowly clearing away.

Before me where there was once just a hill is now a spring with crystal clear water pouring out of a cave at the foot of the hill. It's actually quite beautiful; large multi-coloured stones are scattered along the stream.

"My prince?" Gregory's voice breaks me out of my thoughts.

Without a word, a settle my free hand on his shoulder, willing Langris to share some of its magic with Gregory as well. Gregory's eyes grow wide as he takes in the site before us.

"Incredible." He marvels aloud.

"That it is." I nod in agreement. "Someone went through great lengths to make sure no one would stumble upon this place."

"Indeed…" Gregory nods. "Shall we."

With a simple nod I take the lead once again. We make our way towards the cave, through the spring, using the stones as footing. The water pouring out of the mouth of the cave appears to be coming from deep within the hill. The deeper we go into the hill, the harder it is to see, the light of the sun fading as we near the heart of the hill.

I conjure bright yellow flames in the palm of my hand to light the way, prompting Gregory to do the same, though his flames are a darker shade, more orange than yellow. We eventually reach a points where the tunnel starts going down into the earth.

I pause, looking over to Gregory who gives a firm nod. It's settled then, we press forward. Descending deeper into the tunnel is a bit of a challenge, the rocks being significantly more mossy and hard to get a firm foothold. Slowly, we are able to make our way down, I take the last small jump down and land in a shallow pool of water.

The first thing I notice is the fact that the tunnel has divided into multiple different routes, 7 of them at least, each presumably leading to somewhere different under the valley.

"I thought our investigation was going too smoothly." Gregory drawls. "How do we decide which way to take?"

I ponder his question for a moment before fully unsheathing Langris, holding out the blade forward.

"I'm not sure what we are looking for but I have no doubt it is tied to a great deal of magic." I explain. "If that is the case, Langris should be able to help me feel out where it is."

The blade hums in my hand as I point it towards each tunnel, testing how much arcane energy is emanating from each one. Arno vibrates the most over the tunnel on the far right.

"This way." I lead on.

It feels like we've been in these tunnels for hours. All the walls look the same. It's eerily quiet with no hint of any activity down here save for the hum of Langris detecting the magic in the air.

"My prince." Gregory calls out.

I come to a stop, looking back to him. He is closely examining the wall, holding his flame up to get a better look.

"What is it Gregory?" I ask curiously, approaching him.

"When we first entered these tunnels I had assumed they were formed by the spring or by whoever cast the illusion outside but…" He trails off, running his free hand over the wall which I am just noticing has almost uniform ridges. "But no man or arcane force made this. Something burrowed through the base of this valley and created these ridges…"

He plucks something from the wall, looking over it for a moment before offering it to me. Hesitantly, I reach out and take the mysterious item from him. The first thing I notice is how leathery and damp it feels.

Skin…?

"Something large enough to create tunnels large enough for an entire group of men to traverse through." He finishes, looking back to me, a grim look on his face.

I swallow thickly, forcing down a lump that suddenly formed in my throat. I lose myself in my thoughts, weighing the risk of what we are doing and what we could potentially find. What if what Finn and Gertrude find is more than sufficient to piece together what we need? We could be taking this massive risk for nothing.

"You were not aware of what we would be doing when we left Thaegon today." I say, feeling a heaviness in my shoulders. "I have to keep going, I owe it to everyone back in Kamrion, but I cannot in good conscious hold you to the same obligation. You are free to turn back and return to the Vanguard."

Confusion washes over his features momentarily before his face falls into something forlorn.

"You fought alongside my father? Ostwin Greenwich." He asks, voice quiet and slightly sombre.

"He and Commander Arthur taught me and my brother swordsmanship." I explain. "He was a good man and one of the finest knights."

"And if you had offered him the same way out that you are offering me, what do you think he would have said?" He asks.

I think about it for a moment before a brief laugh escapes my throat. "He would have laughed at the absurdity of the offer and continued on with me."

"Then you can see why I, in good conscious, cannot accept your offer." Gregory manages a small, sad smile. "Besides, my sister is quite fond of you and has plans on being your wife one day. I'm sure she would be most perturbed if I left you to die here."

This time I let out a full laugh. "I must meet your sister, Meredith, one of these days."

"I'll make sure you get the chance, my prince…"

"Kai… or Kaius. We're venturing into the bowls of the unknown together; you may as well use my given name."

His eyes widen in surprise before he nods.

"Then let us proceed."

We proceed down the tunnels with renewed vigour. Eventually, Langris leads us to a wider section of the tunnels that resembles something like a cavern. I hear Gregory unsheathe his sword, our flames still dancing in our hands. Langris' humming intensifies as I wander deeper and deeper into the cavern, keeping my ears sharp.

I feel myself step in a puddle, initially brushing it off as water from the springs. Looking down, I have to resist the temptation to flinch away.

It's blood.

I raise the flame higher, intensifying the light so that I can see more of the cavern, the sight makes me almost wish I hadn't. Blood coats the cavern walls and most of the stone spikes poking out of the ground. Gregory notices it too and becomes visibly pale. I motion for him to stay quiet, knowing whatever or whoever was responsible for all of this bloodshed could still be close by.

Langris is still leading me deeper into the cavern so I follow, staying ready for any surprises. A little further into the cavern, I now hear heavy ragged breathing coming from a corner hidden by stone spikes. Turning to Gregory, I motion towards where the breathing is coming from, he offers a nod in response and we both slowly make our way towards it, swords at the ready.

Peaking my head around the corner, I hold Langris tight and ready for the first strike until I see a tuff of white hair and delicate features underneath.

She's a child.

A child with ashen white hair and amber coloured eyes that seemingly glow in the dim light of the cavern, reflecting the bright yellow light from the flame in my hand.

She jolts when she sees me, flinching backwards but she is pressed against the wall and doesn't go very far. Her eyes are wide in panic and her breathing is deep and uneven. She may even be shaking if I am not mistaken.

Seeing how terrified she is, I lower Langris, pointing the blade towards the floor but not putting it away just yet, caution still lining my every movement.

"We aren't going to hurt you." I assure her.

She hesitates, eyeing me cautiously before her gaze shifts to Gregory beside me. I take a moment to examine the rest of her. She's wearing a worn grey robe that has been torn in several places, it even has a sleeve that looks like it had been completely ripped off. She's not wearing any shoes but the most disturbing part this is her wrists and ankles, bound in heavy irons with broken chains attached to them.

The sight makes something in my chest clench painfully and my stomach drop. She's incredibly thin, through some of the tears on her robe I can see her ribs threatening to burst out of her skin.

"Are you hungry?" I ask, trying to engage her again.

I sheathe Langris and extend my hand to Gregory. Gregory only pauses for a moment before handing me a part of our rations, several sticks of dried meat. I kneel towards the girl as slowly as I can so as not to spook her, one hand holding the flames and the other holding out the rations to her.

"It's food." I offer.

Something finally seems to click as she stares at me for a moment before eyeing the rations in my hand warily.

"F-food?" She asks, her voice meek and barely audible even in the dead quiet of the cavern.

"Yes, take it." I offer again.

Slowly, she reaches out and takes one stick, sniffing it before taking a small tentative bite. Her eyes widen before she practically inhales the rest of it. She eagerly reaches out for the rest of the rations on my hand but stops herself, looking up with once again terrified glowing amber eyes.

"C-can I…" She tries to ask, the words seemingly a struggle to get out for her.

"Go ahead." I encourage her. "Take all of them if you want."

She eats the other rations much more reservedly, occasionally sending both me and Gregory a weary glance.

"She's a mutant." Gregory whispers to me.

"She is." I agree. "And she is also a child."

My eyes always seem to find their way back to the irons around her wrists and ankles, equal parts rage and sorrow gripping my chest.

"A child who may know what happened here." Gregory points out quietly.

I take another look around, seeing the blood splattered about the cavern. I look back to her, quickly chewing at the dried meat. She coughs, a sound that echoes around the cave. I unclasp the water gourd tied to my waist and offer it to her.

"It's fresh water." I tell her softly.

She takes it and downs almost the whole gourd in one large gulp. Staring at it for a few moments before offering it back to me.

"Thank you." She says, voice still quiet but not quite as weak as it was before.

"Your welcome." I reply gently. "What's your name?"

Her features crease into a pained frown as she closes her eyes and for a moment I am worried that I have lost what little progress I have made with her.

"Ai." She strained through her throat. "I was not given a… name, so I called myself… Ai."

Not given a name?

I share a disturbed look with Gregory before turning back to Ai.

"Who didn't give you a name?" I ask her.

"T-the ones with the knives and needles." She states, wrapping in on herself.

"What… what did they do with the knives and needles?" Gregory asks hesitantly. I hold back a wince, knowing already that I won't like the answer.

"They…" Ai starts, her breath hitching as she begins shaking again. "The ones with the knives cut us open, ripped our skin open, they sowed us back together. Every time they did they took something out and… put something different in… my eyes…"

A sob rips out of her throat, halting her words. Almost on instinct I move towards her and try to comfort her. I really shouldn't have been surprised by her reaction. She jerks away with a scream, what surprises me is the large pair of black wings that tear out of the back of her torn robes and almost knock me back.

Despite everything I stand my ground, staying on my feet. I hold my hands out, without trying to touch her this time.

"I know you are used to people hurting you." I tell her, going down to one knee so I can talk to her eye to eye. "But I am going to make certain that no one ever hurts you again."

I summon the magic from my core and channel it to already outstretched hands before laying them over the irons around her wrists. With a loud crack they break apart enough to simply fall from her wrists. I wince at the raw skin that was underneath the irons, bloodied and coarse. I wish were skilled enough in healing to ease her wounds but I settle for cleaning them instead.

I tear a small part of the cloth on my cloak and wet it with some of the remaining water in my gourd. Gently taking her hand, without a violent reaction this time, I gently dap at the raw skin.

I do the same with the irons around her wrists before looking up to find wide and tear filled eyes staring at me with wonderment and confusion as if the very idea of someone showing her kindness is a concept beyond what she can understand.

Her wings finally settle down as I move to cleaning the raw skin on her other wrist.

"There were others like me." She admits quietly, her voice pained. "But they are gone now. Sometimes when they cut one of us open… they couldn't sow us back together. The ones with knives and needles kept calling them failures."

I swallow thickly, a sour taste in my mouth. "If they were taking notes such as those they must have written them down somewhere, right?"

Ai offers a weak nod. "They did, they kept going there whenever they found a failure."

Ai points towards a path that seems to lead into a deeper section of the cavern. Gregory gets to his feet and begins to make his way there.

"I will look." He declares. "You can stay with her, Kaius."

I nod in thanks as he goes to investigate.

"Kaius…" I hear her mummer to herself.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you told me your name and I never told you mine." I offer her a small smile. "My name is Kaius, but my friends and family simply call me Kai. And that is Gregory."

There still one thing I need to know…

"Ai, what happened to the ones with knives and needles?" I keep my voice as gentle as I can.

Her wings fidget behind her as her face falls, eyes to the ground. When I notice her trembling I take the chance to reach forward and pull her towards me, careful not to burn her with the flame in my other hand. She only resists for a beat before letting me pull her into a gentle embrace, the top of her head resting under my chin.

I hear her mumble something but it sounds muffled from her position.

"What was that?" I ask, pulling away slightly but still keeping her close.

"I saw a green light; I couldn't see what they were doing." She explains, voice a little shaky. "Then I heard a loud sound, like… like… something like a very strong wind, I forgot the word."

"A hurricane." I supply for her.

"That." She nods. "I heard screaming, so much screaming. There was a space between the rocks. I saw them. They were like snakes, big snakes with wings. They burrowed through the walls and…"

Another sob breaks her out of her explanation. I pull her into another hug. "You don't have to explain anymore."

Sky Serpents…

She has told me enough to know that we need to leave this place as soon as possible. Gregory chooses this time to return, several sheets of parchment in hand. I am about to tell him we need to get moving when I see the grim look on his face, even from the dim light of our two flames in this massive cavern I can see it.

"What is it?"

"My pri… Kaius…" He trails off, looking off to the side, jaw tense. Without another word he hands me one of the parchments.

With Ai still pressed into my side, I take the paper and hold the flame over it.

This is…

Most of them are disturbingly detailed explanations of whatever experiments were being conducted down here. The number of failures, near successes, the twisted procedures…

And then there is that last latter.

These are the details of Finn and Luthera's wedding ceremony. The time, list of guests and specific location within the castle. Further into the letter is a detailed description of the stations and rotations of the guards that night, as well as blind spots that could be exploited to get through undetected or without alerting anyone inside the castle. All addressed to Queen Clementina.

There are very few people who know the castle this well. Myself, my father, Commander Arthur, Gertrude and Finn come to mind, but besides them…

I don't want even consider it but the bottom of the letter tramples whatever doubts I had. The blue royal seal of Illis, the seal of Tristan Revena. I struggle to swallow down my saliva, resisting the urge to crush and crumple up the paper in my hand.

Slowly and with great difficulty, I hand the parchment back to Gregory who takes it along with the other parchments and neatly folds them before folding them and tucking them into his robes.

"We…" I clear my throat, voice failing me at the moment. "We have what we came for and we need to leave. Ai says it's Sky Serpents that killed everyone here."

Gregory's eyes widen a fraction before he collects himself. "Then these must be their tunnels."

I nod before looking down at Ai who is looking back up at me with large glowing, worry-filled eyes. "Ai, we need to go, we're taking you with us. Can you walk?"

"Y-Yes." She responds quietly.

"Good." I offer her a smile but it feels uncomfortably forced.

I take her hand with my own free one and begin leading the way back through the tunnels. The contents of the letters we found keeps pulling at my mind, taking over every other thought. A whirlpool of emotions threatens to break through to the surface. Mostly rage and anguish.

Why would he…

"Kaius…" Gregory inquires hesitantly, breaking me out of the tempest my thoughts are creating. "What exactly are we going to do with her when we make it back to the surface, given how she…"

I look down at her, she also seems to be curious as to my answer. I know Gregory is referring to her appearance. How do you explain ashen hair, glowing eyes and wings like a bird…?

"Let's get out of these tunnels first, we'll figure it out then." I direct the statement to both of them.

Gregory gives me a look that seems halfway between sympathy and contempt. "We all trusted him, Kaius."

I let out a sigh, trying to come up with anything to say. Before I can think of anything a deep rumbling halts any words I may have said. We all stop in our tracks as a deafening hiss fills the tunnel.

Ai whimpers and launches herself at me, wrapping her thin arms around my middle. I follow my ears, it sounded like it came from down where we came from.

Without thinking any further I extinguish the flame before picking up Ai.

"The exit, now!" I almost yell.

Gregory doesn't need to be told twice. We both begin sprinting down the tunnels towards the way we came in, loud splashes echoing from the walls as our feet hit the spring water beneath us. Gregory's flame, now our only source of light, flickers, sometimes threatening to go out entirely.

The hissing behind us grows louder and I can almost feel something clawing at the back of my neck even though the more rational part of my brain is arguing that it is unlikely it has caught up to us already.

We reach the path that leads up to the entrance of the cave. The slippery rocks look like they are going to slow us down…

No time to stop and think now. Deciding to take the risk I jump forward, landing on a slippery rock but I somehow keep my footing even with the added weight of Ai. It feels like the entire hill is rumbling now as we carefully but quickly make our way up the rocks, water splashing onto my face but not slowing me down.

As we make it back to the surface and the caves exit comes into sight I almost stumble forward when a powerful wind hits me from behind, my ears ringing as a sound like a hurricane feels like it threatens to bring the entire hill down on us.

"Kai?" Ai's voice is the most terrified I've heard it so far.

"You'll be alright." I reassure her, the sureness in my voice greatly contrasting what I actually feel.

No.

She will be alright; I'll make sure of it. She's suffered enough.

Feeling the magic pump in my veins, I kick of the rocks as hard as I can, jumping unnaturally far. When I finally make it out of the cave the light of the sun almost blinds me, forcing me to blink. I don't stop until I am away from the springs and on dry land.

The moment my feet hit the ground I have to catch my breath. I turn to find Gregory just catching up also looking out of breath. I make sure he is unharmed, giving him a once over before my eyes find the cave we just escaped.

At first I only see two bright yellow orbs glaring right at me.

It exits slowly, a massive serpent with dark green scales begins slithering out. Eventually, enough of the serpent comes out of the cave for me to see its famed wings. Large pale wings sprout from its back each flap sending a powerful gust of wind towards us.

Then I hear another rumble and I feel my heart stop in my chest for a few moments. Another Sky Serpent, slightly smaller but still huge in comparison to us, ascends from behind the hill, coiling around the top before setting its eyes on us. This one has dull orange scales and black wings but it's eyes are the same twisted shade of yellow as the other Serpent.

"K-Kaius." Gregory's voice manages to grab my attention. For the first time since our departure from the palace of Thaegon I hear fear in his voice. "I don't think we can make it to the horses."

I don't respond immediately. Ai is deathly quiet and still, her already pale skin somehow a few shades paler, her face frozen into a look of restrained panic and dread.

I take a deep breath, forcing a tight grip on my resolve as I set Ai down.

"You can make it to the horses and out of the Valley if I keep them occupied." I supply flatly, my eyes never leaving the serpents who just eye us closely, their gaze almost daring us to make a move.

"K… My prince, I'm not going to…" Gregory tries to argue.

"I'm more equipped to fight them than you are, Knight Gregory." I cut him off, forcing as much authority into my voice as I can.

"I'm sworn to protect you, my prince." Gregory seems to find his resolve as well.

"Have you already forgotten?" I inquire, noticing that the two serpents seem to be getting impatient and ready to strike. "You are sworn to protect the people of Kamrion, that includes your sister, Meredith. In order to protect them we need those letters but they will only be useful if they make it out of this valley."

There is a beat and I am tempted to look over to him but I don't dare take my eyes away from the serpents.

"I… alright." Gregory sighs in defeat. I can't help the relieved breath that leaves my lungs.

"Don't go back to Thaegon." I begin instructing Gregory. "We can't risk Queen Clementina taking back the letters."

"Very well, I'll return to Kamrion…"

"Go to Illis." I cut him off again. "Find Finn and give the letters to him. Gertrude is going to Merridor so there will be no one in Kamrion who knows what we have been doing."

"Illis? But King Tristan…" Gregory doesn't continue, letting me fill in the rest of his statement.

"Will not suspect anything if you don't give him a reason to." I tell him calmly. "Just find Finn as soon as possible and give him the letters, he'll take over from there."

Just then I feel a tug on my sleeve. Sighing, I finally risk taking my eyes off the serpents to look down at Ai who is looking up at me lost and confused.

"You're staying here?" She asks shakily.

"I…I have to, to make sure you can make it out safe." I try to explain to her. "Gregory will keep you safe until I find you again. He'll take you to Illis."

"B-but, what if the people there try to hurt me?" Her voice is pleading now.

"Ai, you're going to meet my brother, his name is Finn." I explain to her as the serpents, having grown impatient, start hissing loudly, opening their jaws wide before they begin making their way towards us. "He'll be with a woman named Luthera, they're good people, they'll keep you safe. Here."

I unclip my clocks and put it on her before resting my hands on her small shoulders and give them a small comforting squeeze. "Finn and Luthera, remember their names. Right now, I need to make sure you leave this place safe."

Ai finally relents and hesitantly let's go of my arm. I quickly turn to Gregory, finally able to see the deep conflict on his face.

"This cloak should be on her at all times." I instruct. "Cover her wings, cover her head and face. Make sure no one discovers what she looks like. No one except Finn and Luthera, go."

Gregory must recognise that we are out of time, this time he does not argue. He carefully picks up Ai before turning back to me.

"Fates be with you, Kai."

"May they be with you too."

With that Gregory breaks into a sprint towards where we left the horses. That seems to be what finally triggers the serpents to attack. The two serpents rush towards me at an even faster speed.

"Promise you'll find me again!" I hear Ai yell from behind me.

Without turning around, I draw Langris and get into a ready stance as the green and orange Sky Serpents quickly close the distance. I let a sad smile creep onto my face.

"I promise!" I yell back before charging forward.