Amendments (3 page)

              Noir looked out where the man was looking but saw nothing.  “Straghs?” Noir whispered.

              “I’m not sure,” Elrid replied almost inaudibly.  “I heard something about two minutes ago and saw shapes moving soon after.  Nothing since.”

              “What else besides straghs could they be?”

              He replied with a tense voice, “I’m not sure.”

              Noir continued to look where Elrid was watching but saw nothing.  Soon, Noir heard the clanking of armored men approaching behind them.  Noir turned and saw four in the leather hawk armor and two more in heavy iron plate mail.  Elrid motioned them toward him with a nod of his head while keeping a finger to his mouth.  They drew close and one of them whispered, “I called the rest of the guard.  Any motion from the straghs?”

              Elrid said quietly, “I haven’t seen any movement since I sent for you.  But, like I said before, something seems different about them.  Be careful.”  Elrid pointed along the expanse of the wall to his right and then his left.  “They may be trying to get around to another side.  Spread out along the wall.  Gather more men to do the same if you can.  Go.”

              The well-trained men nodded and fanned out in both directions along the wall.  Once the soldiers spread out, Elrid whispered, “You should stay here, Noir.  You are at the center-most point of where the straghs would attack.  If any fighting breaks out, you can get to—”

              His words were interrupted by a sudden burst of orange light to their left.  The sound of an explosion followed less than a second later.  The source of the explosion was hidden by the nearby houses.

              “What the-?” Noir gasped.

              “Lumin, save me!  What was that?” Elrid exclaimed.

              They both burst into a run toward the location of the explosion.  They hurried alongside the unfinished wall and soon found the source.  The remnants of a soldier burned in the center of a scorched area of dirt.  Noir was shocked at the gruesome sight. He had to stop and look away for a moment to bolster his willpower before continuing.

              Elrid shouted to one of the soldiers which he had just dismissed a minute earlier.  “What happened here?  Who was this?”

              The shocked soldier spoke in a high pitched voice that quavered.  “It was Rahls, sir.  The stragh… it exploded!”

              More men had been arriving to the scene.  One soldier vomited, some stared, and others looked at anything except the corpse.  Then Noir recognized the almost-silent repeated clawing of earth and flung up a light barrier protecting all of the men.  Three pale-bodied straghs lunged out of the nearby shrubs and crashed into Noir’s barrier.  As soon as they hit, they began to fling their black claws in a frenzy at the nearly invisible barrier.  The men charged forward with spears, axes, swords, and maces raised.  Their weapons fell and Noir let the light barrier dissipate just before they met their targets.  Swords swung and dark blood sprayed from the creatures.

              Noir’s actions were instinctive.  He began shielding the men from the stragh attacks like normal.  Suddenly, Noir's stomach twisted as he realized his error.  Noir immediately replaced the light barrier and quadrupled its strength even though the soldiers' weapons clanked against it harmlessly.  It strained his chakra to keep such a large strong barrier, but he held it anyway and watched the injured straghs.  The men stopped attacking and looked around with confusion.  One man looked at Noir and yelled, “What are you doing, Luxin?  Let us slay these beasts!”

              The straghs stumbled and fell from the soldier's previous attacks.  Each had been wounded.  Their jaws moved under the overgrown skin, but no sound came forth from their covered mouths.  One stragh went prematurely limp as though all of the creature’s energy was stolen.  Suddenly, its body was torn asunder by dozens of giant spears of ice pointing in random directions.  They pierced the ground sending up violent clouds of dirt that battered Noir’s barrier.  He held the shield firm and watched as the same process happened to a second stragh.  This one burst into a violent explosion of flames and bathed the town in the same orange light as before.

              The third stragh still writhed in the dirt and Noir reinforced his barrier in preparation.  However, a new strange sight caught Noir’s attention.  A fourth stragh was approaching from the same direction as the others.  This one moved unlike any that Noir had ever seen.  It was slow and moved as though it was dragging something heavy behind it.

              The third stragh exploded in more fire.  The explosion buffeted Noir’s barrier and he struggled to keep it intact.

              Horrified, Noir saw the fourth stragh step through the flames with no care toward its own self-preservation.  It’s pale, putrid flesh was scorched by the flames, but its black eyes stayed fixed on the men in front of it.

              Noir looked at what it was dragging and realized it was not a separate object, but the creature’s own left arm.  It was a mass of metal at the end of an unnaturally long and thin arm.  Bands of pale flesh stopped halfway up the arm to show metal bars and gears underneath.

              Talik men stepped forward uneasily.  The stragh stepped forward to the group of frightened men and stopped.  It seemed to almost lose consciousness and Noir saw the yellow light of a lux enchant glow around the metal arm and through the creature’s torso.  He called out, “Watch out!” and put up the thickest barrier he could in front of the defending men.

              A metallic clinking and whirring sound filled the air and suddenly the grotesquely huge appendage flung forward over the creature’s head.  It pressed the creature to the ground and its bones cracked as the massive weight was flung forward.  The mass of metal slammed against Noir’s barrier over the heads of the Talik soldiers.  The weight and force put into the blow was staggering.  Noir put all his effort into maintaining it.  He felt his head get lighter and black circles threatened to close in around his vision.  “Get away from it!” He yelled as loud as he could.  Men had already started to scramble away from the massive metal appendage.  Noir couldn’t hold the object up any longer and let his barrier dissipate.  The mass of metal fell to the earth missing all of the soldiers.  Noir felt the earth tremble slightly from the force of the object.  If it had fallen without Noir’s barrier, many of those men would have been easily crushed.

              The beast regained consciousness and tried to stand, but too many of its bones had cracked under the weight.  It squirmed on the ground.  Noir faintly heard Elrid calling for the men to take the creature out.  Noir had to sit and put his head in his hands.  The barriers had been some of the biggest and strongest he had ever had to create.

              The sickening noise of blades going into flesh signaled the beast’s demise.  Elrid called for them to quickly get away from it after it was dead, but no din explosion followed.  The battlefield was silent except for Elrid calling out orders to the men.

              After a while, Noir was able to open his eyes and stand.  Nearby, five armored men watched the wilderness.  Now with regained senses, the battlefield made Noir sick.  He stood, tested his balance, retrieved the food and map, and then quickly walked away.

Chapter 3

Indecision

              Noir walked through New Talik without realizing where his feet were taking him.  The events that had just occurred repeated in his mind over and over.  Soon, without remembering the trip there, he was standing inside the doorway of Elrid’s simple house.  Elrid’s wife, Lucille, and their two children were huddled together under their simple wooden table watching Noir.  Despite her guarded state, Lucille had the same look of determination that Noir had grown to be accustomed to from the woman.

              “What’s going on, Noir?  What were those explosions?”  Lucille held her hands over the ears of her youngest daughter who looked up at him with wide eyes.

              “Straghs,” Noir admitted.  He wasn’t sure how to explain any more than that.  “I think.”

              “My husband went out to check something a few minutes ago.”

              Noir was confused for a moment, and then understood the hidden question.  “He was in the battle, but he is fine.  Don’t worry.”

              Elrid's wife took her hands off her child’s head and her tension seemed to ease significantly.  “Anyone else?”

              Noir instantly knew what she meant that time.  “One soldier.  Rahls.  I didn’t know him.”  He walked around the table and went towards the tiny room with a cot that was his space.  “I think it’s safe to come out now if you would like.  The whole town is on alert and I think the straghs are all dead.”

              Lucille nudged her children out from under the table and stood.  Noir went to his cot and crouched down to gather his belongings.

              Lucille's voice came from behind Noir as he searched through his things.  “Tell me exactly what happened.”

              Noir sighed with exhaustion.  He just wanted to leave.

              Lucille misunderstood his actions.  Her face grew cold and her lips tight.  “Don’t shelter us like we are helpless!  We have survived Tierian patrols, Chiron occupation attempts, and a stragh invasion.  No straghs have ever made explosions before.  Tell me what happened!”

              “I'm sorry.  I wasn't trying to insult or shelter you.”  He chose his words carefully with mind of the children.  “They were… new straghs.  I’m not sure what to tell you.  Three of them exploded with din.  One was… I’m not sure what to say.  Different.  They attacked from the eastern side of town not far from here.”

              Lucille's face had not changed.  “They exploded with din?  What does that mean?  How is that possible?”

              Noir shook his head.  He hadn’t yet figured it out for himself.  “As far as we know, straghs can’t use vigors.”

              “I know what straghs can and cannot do.”  Lucille paused and stared at him.  “What else can you tell me about them?

              Ellie, their older daughter, said in a small voice, “Mommy. Can I eat something now?”

              “Yes,” Lucille answered without looking away from Noir.  “But only what we have in the food sack.  Don’t leave the house.”  Ellie went into the small adjoining room, and their youngest daughter followed.

              Noir answered Lucille's previous question.  “They seemed to have all of their energy sucked away....” His mind churned on what he was saying even before he completed his sentence.  “It’s like they were using very strong enchants and losing all their chakra.”

              Lucille asked, “Were they carrying anything?”  Noir shook his head.  “This doesn’t make any sense.”

              “I don’t understand it either.”  Noir caught her looking at the door longingly.

              Noir looked back at his meager belongings by his small cot and was wracked by indecision.  New Talik needed him.  If there were more straghs out there like these, they would need him more than ever.

              Noir was shocked to feel dread at that new realization.  They needed him, therefore he couldn’t leave.  However, he needed to find Aimee and Ratt.  He was tired of always postponing what he wanted and needed to do for himself.

              “What’s wrong?”  Noir turned at the touch on his shoulder and found himself looking into Lucille’s eyes.  Noir was surprised to see concern in them.

              “I need to leave New Talik, but I don’t know if I can.”

              “Why do you need to leave?” she asked.

              “Remember?  My cousin, Aimee… she….”

              Lucille nodded.  “Elrid told me about it briefly, but didn’t say much out of respect for your desire for privacy.”  She sighed and sat on a chair at her crudely made table.  “We do need you here, Noir.  Think of it like this: if you hadn’t been there today… my husband….”  She continued without finishing her previous sentence.  “But I guess I am not a captain or leader of any sort.  I do not have the authority to say such things to you.”  She shook her head.  “Sometimes I forget my place and only see a seventeen year-old boy.”

              Noir started to correct Lucille on his age, but then he realized she might be right.  He had lost track of the months and days and his birthday had probably passed.  Instead, Noir assured, “You don’t need to worry how you talk to me.”  She looked away.  “And I appreciate your advice.  You are probably right.”

              Lucille nodded.  “Do what you have to do, Luxin Noir.”  Lucille stood, walked to the tiny front room, and tended to her children.

              Noir stood by his small cot with indecision.  Lucille just made him feel even guiltier for wanting to leave.  He already had clearance from Grandel to go, but that was before the attacks from the new straghs.  Fafnir had seemed to want him to go.  Would that be abandoning these people?

              “I don’t know what to do,” Noir said to himself.  He wished his uncle Steven was there to ask for guidance.  Noir hated feeling like the weight of the world was on his shoulders all the time.  He realized it would always be like that if he traveled alone, though.

              Frustrated with his indecision, Noir threw his belongings, the food, and the Tierian map into a cloth sack.  He headed for the cliffs where he had just seen Fafnir earlier that day.  She would be able to tell him what to do.

~~~

              The watchmen guarding the northern side of New Talik gave Noir no trouble as he walked past them into the wilderness.  They may not have said nor done anything as he passed, but he was sure they were thinking things.  Noir didn’t care.  He went forward with determination.

              The sun had set a while earlier and the mountains were silent with the heaviness of winter.  Noir was happy for the clear sky and bright moon or else he would have had trouble finding his footing.  Maintaining a lux fueled light would make him a glowing target for any straghs in the area.  That was suddenly a much more frightening proposition than it had been earlier that day.

              Noir climbed to the spot where he and Fafnir had met earlier that day.  He stood and looked out at the glowing fires and glow spheres of New Talik below and felt silly.  He had half expected Fafnir to still be there.  He stood with nothing to do and still no answers, so he sat on a log and looked at the stars.  He recognized the constellation Orion and the big dipper low on the horizon.  Noir thought they looked slightly different than what he was used to, but chalked the difference up to bad memory.

              For the hundredth time, Noir pondered on what this world could be.  He had seen TV shows about parallel universes, but that seemed so far-fetched.  Then again, he was sitting there waiting for a shape-shifting dragon to meet him.  He chuckled to himself and lay back on the log to see the stars easier.

              Noir pondered, “What if this is the same planet and dimension and everything, but a really long time in the past or far in the future after civilization as we know it destroys itself?”  He remembered Steven saying something about that during one of their conversations in the Azurite Tower.  He also remembered there was an ice age a few thousand years before his time.  Or was it tens of thousands?  Noir tried to think back to his science class, but it was foggy.  After all, he hadn’t been in school for about six months.

              Maybe it was all just a dream.  Maybe he bonked his head on a rock in the cave and is unconscious in a hospital somewhere in Montana.  He will wake up and it will be just a few days later and think, “What a weird dream.”

              Noir laughed out loud this time.  It felt good to forget his problems and think about the other world for a bit.  Even as he thought that, he felt guilty.  His mirth disappeared as he remembered the burning soldier in the circle of scorched dirt.

              Noir sat up and shuddered.  Not only was this place not a dream, it was
too
real for him.  If anything, his old world was starting to feel like a fantasy.  Planes flying through the air?  Smart phones?  High school?  How bizarre.

              A few minutes later, Noir saw stars wink out and reappear— their light blocked by a large flying shape.  It descended and Noir recognized Fafnir’s massive form.  He stood and held one hand up in greeting as she descended.  Her massive form glided over his head and gracefully landed in the dirt.  Cold wind whipped around Noir’s face as her wings folded down and behind her.

              “I thought you were leaving, Luxin Noir,” she calmly grumbled.  “I thought I ended your indecision and you would be on your way by now.”

              Noir sighed.  How he wished that to be true.  “The situation has changed.”

              Noir quickly told her about what had just happened in town.  She seemed disturbed by his description of the straghs.

              “And so,” Noir finished his story, “I’m not sure what to do now.  They need me in Talik.  Is it selfish for me to go?”

              Fafnir’s massive shape hunched down on the ground alongside the log on which Noir sat.  She looked out over the town below and answered, “Selfish?  No.  You are still moved by the need to help others, Noir.  That is highly admirable.  To be torn between helping one and helping another means you have a good heart.  If you left, you leave to save your family and get them home.  That is not selfish.”

              That comforted Noir.  He had not thought of it that way before.  “But what about New Talik?  I cannot leave them.  They need more Luxins than just Adeel.”

              A long moment of silence passed then Fafnir started to chuckle.  It quickly turned into grumbling, grating laughter.  Noir had never heard her laugh like this before.  He gave a confused smile and asked, “What’s so funny?”

              She squelched her laughter in a few seconds and looked at Noir with amusement.  “Before, I urged you forward.  You were afraid to do what you had to do.  I saw this easily while you did not.”

              Noir still didn’t understand.  “Yeah, so?”

              “Next time I shall not be so judgmental.  It takes a very important person to show an ancient dragon when she is being foolish.”  Again she laughed.  “A very important person indeed.”

              Noir let out a chuckle, but was still mostly confused.

              “I shall go among the people of Talik and be their Luxin.  I can blend in when I need to.”  She looked out at the town once again.  “You made me realize my foolish reluctance of going among the humans.  It does not happen often that I get made to feel the fool.”

              Noir started to understand, though he wasn’t exactly sure why it was so funny to her.  “I’m honored… I think.”

              Fafnir sighed and continued, “Yes, I shall go among the humans.  For far too long have I soared above their heads and judged them without getting my claws dirty.  Jotunar, I may have more in common with you than I realize sometimes.”

              A bright light lit the surrounding area.  Once it faded, Fafnir stood in front of Noir in her human form looking into his eyes.  Instead of her normal white robes, she wore the white cloak and bright steel armor of a Luxin.  The yellow symbol for lux stood out boldly on her cloak.  “I will go to the people of New Talik as a refugee Luxin.  I will only tell Luxin Adeel and Grandel of my true identity.”  She lowered her head but still made eye contact.  “Go now, Luxin Noir.  You have everything you need.  Go and find your cousin.  Go and find your friend Ratt.  Keep them safe.  I will deal with these new straghs and protect these people.”

              Noir felt immense relief.  “Thank you, Fafnir.  I had no idea what I was going to do.”  He paused.  “You’ve freed me, Fafnir.”

              The woman’s lips turned up into a warm smile.  “It is about time I stepped in and helped.  In a way, you have freed me, Luxin Noir.”

~~~

              Noir watched Fafnir climb effortlessly down the cliff sides and hills toward New Talik in her white Luxin cloak and armor.  She had said she would go to the front gates of the town and ask to speak to Captain Grandel.  There was little chance they would deny the free help of a Luxin, especially after she secretly explained the situation to Adeel and gained her support.  She decided to use the false name of Luxin Solrius.

              Fafnir had insisted Noir not return to town.  There was no reason to return.  She felt that if he did, he might find another reason to stay.