Blood Moon Cycle
Chapter Twelve

They left Meria and pushed their horses to a gallop the moment they left the gates. They flew across the plains, pushing the horses as fast as they could go, rarely slowing to a walk long enough for the horses to catch their breath before racing on again. By the time the sun was beginning to set, Vesth could see the forest and the Mercury Mountains in the distance. Vesth came to a stop to let the horses rest and had to catch Segine’s arm to keep him from falling out of his saddle.

“Are you well?” He asked the knight. Segine tried to nod.

“Of course I am. I could travel another hundred leagues.” The knight swayed in his saddle.

“I rather think not.” Vesth said, leaping down from his saddle and pulling a length of cord from a pouch. “You couldn’t stay in your saddle for five more minutes, let alone a hundred leagues.” He forced the knight to lean forward then tied his arms around the horses neck.

“It will be uncomfortable, but you won’t fall off this way.” Vesth told him. Then he went to his saddle and removed a few torches from the sack and set them alight. He took one of the torches and stuffed it under Segine’s belt, making sure it would not burn him.

“Whatever Master Solidus said was out here fears light. This should at least keep them at arm’s length.” Segine grunted but said nothing. Vesth turned to mount again and saw Segine’s wounded shoulder. It was swollen and an angry red color, clear liquid continued to ooze from it. “It hasn’t bled yet. You need to bleed to help fight the infection.” Vesth said, sticking his newly lit torch upright in the ground. He quickly removed Segine’s left shoulder guard. He inspected the wound for a few seconds then drew a short knife and inserted it into the injury. Segine groaned and tried to move. Vesth placed a hand on the knight’s back and held him in place.

“I know it hurts friend, but you need all the time we can get.” Vesth added pressure to the knife and then quickly withdrew it. Crimson blood flowed from the wound. Vesth made a few more cuts and then tore a scrap of cloth from his tunic and stuffed it into the wound, tying the shoulder guard back in place over the top. Vesth heard a growl not far away and looked over his shoulder. Behind them, just outside of the light cast by the torches, stood a sickly thin creature with ashen grey skin and long claws. It’s face was oddly almost human, but when it growled again Vesth could see needle sharp teeth.

“So this is what Solidus spoke of.” He muttered. He turned to face it and drew his sword, blade flashing in the torch light. The creature flinched back a couple of paces with a hiss. Another growl came from behind Vesth. Vesth looked around with one eye and saw another creature there. Vesth growled back.

“With the sun down these things are going to be after us by the dozens.” He looked around, thinking carefully, as three more creatures surrounded them but staying outside the ring of torchlight. Then the torch that had been thrust into the ground caught Vesth’s eye.

“Ok then.” He said to no one in particular. He took hold of the reigns of both horses and wrapped them around his hand. “Since the sun has gone down, I will just have to make it as bright as day without it.” He stood silently, breathing carefully for a few moments. Then he turned and kicked the torch towards one of the creatures. It shrieked and fled as Vesth leapt up into his saddle. The dry grass caught fire and in seconds it was a roaring inferno. The creatures scattered with shrieks of fear and pain. Vesth kicked his horse into a run and straight through the wall of flames.

“It seems I underestimated you.” He told the horse on the other side. “It seems you were worth the price I paid for you after all.” The horse looked at him rather calmly as if to ask why they were not still running. Vesth nodded. “You will have your chance to run, but we must stay near the fire. Now if the wind were to start blowing in the direction of the mountains it would drive the fire fast enough for you to…” Vesth stopped as the wind picked up and began to blow towards the Mercury Mountains.

“That’s strange.” Segine muttered in a pained voice. Vesth nodded.

“Indeed it is, but I will not begrudge such fortune.” The fire had reacted immediately to the stiff wind and roared with angry life. It rushed over the dry plains so quickly that it was far ahead of them when Vesth had finally turned the horses and pushed them into a gallop. They raced after the wildfire, staying as close as they dared to avoid the creatures which Vesth could still hear growling and barking to one another over the roar of the fire.

They ran on for what seemed to be an eternity to Vesth until they suddenly came upon the forest. The first trees burst into flames and the flames which had been ten feet tall grew to over forty.” Vesth reigned in the horses who danced nervously from side to side. He looked behind them and saw hundreds of sickened yellow eyes reflecting the firelight back at him.

“Don’t look at them Vesth!” Vesth whipped his head back around to stare at the wall of fire. He had recognized Rielle’s voice immediately. There was a few seconds of nothing, and then the flames directly in front of them were thrown aside as if by a powerful wind. Rielle stood amongst them, surrounded by a purple glow.

“Through the fire Vesth, quickly!” She shouted. Vesth kicked his mount again and they raced past the wall of fire. Rielle held out her hand and caught Vesth’s, swinging up into the saddle behind him. She slumped tiredly against his back.

“Quickly, we must get up the mountain. Solidus cannot manifest right now. He says that he must save his strength to save Segine.” Vesth glanced back over his shoulder and watched as the fire spread.

“What of the fire? We can’t let the villages around here burn to the ground because of what I did.” Rielle shook her head.

“The Deity of Evil has agreed to control the fire. It will not spread where it should not.” Vesth felt a knot in the pit of his stomach and Rielle seemed to sense it.

“The Deity of Evil is part of the balance too. He will help us as long as it proves to help him as well. It will cause problems for him if the fire spreads into the mountains so he will stop the fire when we reach the path to the peak.” Vesth nodded and leaned forward. The horses raced through the trees and burst out into a clearing beside a high wall of cliffs.

“Turn right and follow the cliffs until you come to the corpse of a felle wolf.” Rielle called. Vesth pulled on the reigns and turned to follow Rielle’s instructions. They raced along the cliff, splashing across a small stream created by a spring, and rushed out into a clearing. Vesth pulled up short when he saw the shadowy mass of fur that he assumed was the dead felle wolf. Rielle pointed at a narrow opening in the cliff.

“There. That is the path that leads to the cabin. It is clear of dangers. We need to hurry so Solidus can look into Segine’s condition.” Vesth nodded and steered the horses towards the opening. The moment they stepped through the opening in the cliff Vesth felt a sudden chill wash over him from the mountains and out into the forest.

“The Deity of Evil is extinguishing the fires, as promised.” Rielle stated. Vesth shuddered and kept moving. The ride up to the peak was easy and no more of the monsters appeared behind them. When they reached the top Rielle slipped off of Vesth’s horse and took the reins from him. “Tiasia.” She called. “Come quickly and tie these horses next to mine.” Vesth dismounted and then watched in surprise as a young girl, no more than twelve, ran out of the small hut and joined them. Vesth quickly untied Segine and helped him down before the girl took the reins of the horses and led them off around the hut. Rielle got under one arm and Vesth the other and they half led half dragged Segine into the hut. When they were inside, Rielle’s eyes turned silver and Solidus spoke.

“He is in very bad shape. Help me remove his armor.” He told Vesth. Vesth nodded and they quickly untied the bulky plate armor and set it aside. The young girl returned and Rielle/Solidus pointed to the heap of armor.

“Please take that armor into the meditation room little one.” The girl nodded.

“Yes sir, mister Solidus.” She gathered what she could into her small arms and dragged the rest towards a door at the back of the hut. Rielle/Solidus removed the scrap of Vesth’s tunic and prodded at the injury. Segine groaned. Rielle/Solidus shook her head, tracing the lines of Vesth‘s cuts.

“You did well to make the incisions Vesth, but this is already beyond my power to heal.” Vesth felt himself become angry.

“You sent me halfway across the world to replace this man only to let him die from a minor injury he received because he was with me?” Vesth tried to refrain from shouting. Rielle/Solidus shook her head carefully.

“I didn’t say that. I said it was beyond my power to heal. We will have to take him to Agamemnon.” Rielle/Solidus rolled the groaning knight over and helped him stand. Vesth quickly supported him.

“How are we going to get to the Temple Island of Alenon in time?” Rielle/Solidus spoke. “There are ways.” Rielle’s eyes returned to normal.

“There is a cave a short way back down the path we took to get here, we must take him there.” Vesth nodded and they started for the door. “Tiasia, come quickly.” Rielle called. Vesth felt Segine flinch when they heard the girl drop the armor and come running.

“What should I do?” She asked. Rielle shook her head.

“Nothing right now, Tiasia. Everything will be provided where we are going.” The little girl nodded and simply followed a few paces behind. They shambled down the path until they came to the small cave Rielle had spoken of. They went inside and laid Segine down next to a cold fire pit. Rielle pointed at the small pit and whispered a word. A small fire leapt up around the wood and Vesth could immediately feel the heat.

“It seems your skills are increasing.” Vesth commented. Rielle nodded as she knelt down next to Segine.

“I have had a few days to practice and learn here while we waited for you.” She pulled a handkerchief from her pouch and wiped the sweat from Segine’s face. Vesth felt a tug at his sleeve and looked down to see the small girl standing beside him. She held out her hand and spoke.

“I am Tiasia, nice to meet you.” Vesth hesitated for a moment before taking the girl’s small hand in a handshake.

“I am Vesth, I am glad to meet your acquaintance as well.” Tiasia looked at Rielle. “Oooh, he is very proper isn’t he?” Vesth gave the girl a strange look and Rielle laughed. “Yes he is, but you get used to it after a while.” Tiasia shrugged and squatted down next to Rielle.

“And this is the knight mister Solidus said was coming? He doesn’t look very good.” Rielle nodded.

“For some reason the infection is spreading very quickly through the rest of his body. It is going to be difficult to remove.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Vesth asked. Rielle looked out of the cave mouth at the mountains to the south east.

“The moon must rise before we can proceed. We are fortunate, tonight is a Bright Moon Cycle.” Tiasia followed Rielle’s gaze and then looked back to Rielle.

“What is a Bright Moon Cycle?” Rielle laughed patiently.

“It is a fancy name for the full moon.” Tiasia made an O with her mouth and nodded. Vesth also looked outside.

“Why is it important that it is a full moon tonight?” Rielle pointed as the moon began to rise.

“You will see.” The bright silver moon rose over the mountains, lighting up every detail almost like day. The light flooded into the cave and a grinding noise sounded from the back wall. They all turned to watch as a section of the wall slid down into the floor and revealed a large room on the other side. Rielle’s eyes turned silver again.

“Help Segine to his feet, I must open the portal that will take us to Alenon.” Vesth nodded and lifted Segine with a grunt. Tiasia, at a loss for any way she could help, simply followed behind Vesth, hoping he would drop something she could pick up and pretend it was very important that she carry it around.

They moved into the room and Vesth looked around quickly. The room was a large dome with nothing to adorn it’s walls or floors save a set of rings standing upright on a raised dais on the opposite end of the room. The rings were of varying size, ranging from six feet across at the outer edge, to two feet across at the center. Each ring was an inch wide and had six clear, perfectly round, gems imbedded at equal intervals around them. At the center of all the rings was a single, large gem the same as those in the rings, but much larger.

“What is this place?” Vesth asked. Rielle/Solidus half turned and looked at him before answering.

“This is a portal through the chaos. Through it we can travel to any other portal in the world in a matter of moments. We will use it to travel to the portal below the Temple of Alenon. Agamemnon already knows we are coming and will meet us there when we arrive.” Vesth chose not to ask any more questions and Rielle/Solidus turned back to the rings. Rielle’s arms rose in the air and she spoke strange words. The moonlight that streamed in through the opening behind them twisted and warped and flowed into a single collective pool between Rielle’s outstretched hands. The pool grew large, and when it touched Rielle’s hands it streamed into the gem at the center of the rings. The gem grew brighter and brighter until it looked as if the moon itself had been transferred into it.

Then the light flowed out into the smaller gems in each ring, filling them with brilliant silver light. After a few seconds, there was a great squeal of metal and the rings began to move. Each ring began to spin on a single point, and each one in a different direction. They spun faster and faster and the gems became streaks of light. Sparks flew from the rings as they spun, causing Tiasia to jump with a squeak. Rielle/Solidus continued to chant, feeding the condensed moonlight into the portal until it was spinning so quickly that it seemed to be a single solid surface. Rielle’s arms fell to her sides and she turned and waved.

“Come, we must step through the portal immediately. The moon’s power will hold it open, but not for very long.” Vesth nodded and started forward. Rielle/Solidus joined him and helped him support Segine. Rielle felt something press against her back and glanced back to see Tiasia clinging to her waist pressing her face tightly against her back. Rielle felt her empty hand pat the girl on the head.

“All will be well little one.” Solidus reassured her. They walked up to the portal and Rielle/Solidus propelled them forward, not allowing them time to flinch back. Vesth felt the light wash over him, filling everything with brightness. Then he was stepping out into an identical room to the one they had just left. Except this room was pure white and Agamemnon stood at the other end, a stretcher seemingly floating beside him.

Rielle/Solidus steered them towards the old man, who helped them lift Segine onto the stretcher. Some words passed between Rielle/Solidus and Agamemnon and then they were moving again. Vesth was replaceing it hard to concentrate on anything and so he followed Rielle blindly down the halls of the temple until he found himself sitting in the dining hall, Rielle offering him a drink. Vesth thankfully drank what he was given and slowly his mind began to clear. He looked around and saw Tiasia receiving the same drink he had.

“Solidus says the first time through a portal is always difficult.” Rielle said. “This will help you clear your head.” Tiasia looked around.

“Where are we?” She asked. Rielle smiled and tousled the little girl’s hair.

“Somewhere safe.”

“What about Segine?” Rielle turned to Vesth with a relieved sigh.

“Agamemnon says that we got him here in time. He will remove the infection and he should recover by morning. The wound will take a few more days to heal, but he will survive it.” Vesth nodded and was happy to hear good news for a change.

“Until then, Solidus has asked me to fill you in on what is happening.” Rielle stated. Vesth looked up at Rielle.

“What were those creatures that were after us?” Rielle nodded and then looked at Tiasia. Tiasia folded her arms and settled deeper into her chair.

“I am not going anywhere, I want to hear too.” Rielle smiled and then turned back to Vesth.

“They are called Nibilus. They were sealed beneath the Serpent Tongue Mountains ages ago, very near the beginning of the world.”

“Why were they sealed away?” Tiasia asked. Rielle sat for a moment in thought then answered.

“They were bloodthirsty and corrupted. They were once humans.”

“What?” Vesth asked, sitting up in his seat. Rielle nodded sadly.

“They were once humans. Long ago, when the religion of chaos first came into existence, those who practiced it were weak and at the mercy of those who believed in the Six Deities. So they began to experiment. A demon could not hold a physical form in the world, so they tried to place them inside human hosts. Most hosts died in the process, unable to handle the strain of a demon inside them. Some were corrupted, becoming Nibilus. A few managed to maintain a semblance of their former intelligence. These grew larger and more powerful and were able to control those who had been corrupted. These were named Basilisk.” Vesth shivered at the thought that there were worse things than the creatures he had seen on the plains. Rielle continued.

“They, of course, perfected the process and eventually were able to host a demon inside a human body. But there still remained hundreds of Nibilus and dozens of Basilisk. These were taken and sealed in caves beneath the mountains. Now the Telatians have released them, hoping to use them as a mindless army. Completely obedient and subservient.” Vesth placed his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together in front of him.

“So, there are hundreds of these things out there?” Rielle shrugged.

“We don’t know. There may be hundreds, or there could be thousands. They have spent millennia underground, anything could have happened to them. We don’t know if some of them died off or if they multiplied, or if they even can multiply for that matter. Same goes for the Basilisk.” Vesth stared at the table top, his chin resting on his hands.

“So they have the element of surprise. We don’t know how many there are or where.” Rielle shrugged again.

“No, we don’t. But we do know their strengths and their weaknesses. They fear light and it can destroy them if they get too close for very long. They are pack hunters, strong together, but alone they are weak. They do not have minds of their own to think, they only have the urge to kill and feed. They must have a Basilisk nearby to control them or they do not know how to act and they turn on one another.” Vesth nodded and then stood as he heard the door open and Agamemnon walked into the room.

“It is done. Your friend is resting now. By morning he will be strong enough to stand on his own again. Until then, the rest of you should get some sleep. You have had a long day and you need your rest.” Rielle bowed.

“Thank you Agamemnon. We appreciate your hospitality.” Agamemnon nodded his head in return.

“The Temple of Alenon is always open to you if you are in need of it.” Rielle nodded. “Thank you again. We will go to our rest now. I will let the little one sleep in my room, there is no need for her to be alone in a strange place.” Agamemnon nodded and smiled when Tiasia had a look of relief cross her face.

“Then goodnight, your rooms are the same as when last you were here. We will meet here in the morning for breakfast.” Rielle bowed again as Agamemnon left the room. When the old priest was gone, Vesth stretched his back.

“I think it is time to turn in for the night.” Rielle picked up Tiasia, who was already starting to nod off.

“Can you replace your way to your room on your own? Tiasia will be asleep by the time I get to my own room.”

“I will not. I could stay awake all night. Really, I am not tired at all.” The little girl mumbled tiredly against Rielle’s shoulder. Rielle smiled and Vesth was careful not to laugh.

“I can replace my way. Be careful with that one though, from the sounds of things you will be up all night with her.” Tiasia tried lifting her hand in the air.

“That’s right. All night long with Rielle. We will have a party.” The last sentence trailed away as Tiasia dozed off and her hand fell limply to her side. Rielle smiled at the little girl and then walked to the door, which opened for her, and down the dark hall towards her room. Vesth watched them go, chuckling quietly to himself, then left the dining hall to seek his own bed.