Chapter 14: The Light

Yara watched as the carriage in the distance came closer.

She hadn’t been with the Blackspears for a long time, so she was surprised to be already sent on her first mission, even though it was just outside Ephyra. Neither she nor any of the soldiers with her had gotten any information about the mission, which she knew to be rare because the Ashiir empire was proud of its excellent espionage capabilities and kept all its armies and soldiers well informed about their missions and enemies. But one day, her commander summoned her and fifty other soldiers and told them that they would be going on an important mission, personally given to them by the Tarabyn.

She thought she’d have to start patrolling the city streets for a couple of years before eventually working up the ranks and being sent on missions. Even though she was the best soldier in her age group, she never expected to be sent on a mission so soon, let alone a mission given to them by the holy Tarabyn themselves.

Yara didn’t join the Blackspear because she wanted to, but because it was the only thing she thought she could do. She didn’t particularly like fighting, but I was the only thing she was good at, exceptionally good, some might say. From a young age, her mother raised her to be a warrior, all the while neglecting any other skills she should’ve learned as a child. Even when her mother died, Yara continued fighting. She didn’t know how to talk to people; she knew next to nothing about history or the world. All she knew was how to kill, and that’s what she did. First as a mercenary and later as a Blackspear.

Although she fought her entire life, she never had anything to fight for; the death she brought felt meaningless to her. But it was all she knew.

Her gaze alternated between the back of her commander, wrapped in the Blackspear’s famous cloth armor, and the carriage.

Her commander slowly stepped forward as the carriage halted, and multiple guards came forward.

A tall man in a black robe stepped out of the carriage and removed the hood that covered his dark bearded face.

“What is the issue, if you’d allow me to ask?”

“There won’t be any issues as long as you let us search your carriage,” The commander replied, her tone making it evident that she wasn’t interested in talking.

“I’m sorry, but you have to understand that I’d like to know the reason for you wanting to do so,” Arit explained.

“Are you saying you refuse the Blackspear’s duty to fulfill their task?”

“No, of course not, but-“

Before Arit could answer, the commander raised her hand in a fist, resulting in the fifty soldiers behind her putting their right foot forward and left back while bending their knees and pointing their spears forward. The entire movement was practically silent.

“Wait! Okay, if it’s necessary, you can search the carriage,” Arit exclaimed while putting his hands up.

The commander kept her fist in the air but eventually opened it, showing all five fingers.

In response, the soldiers behind her split perfectly in the middle and started to surround the carriage and its escort.

“You,” The commander stopped four Blackspears. “Search the surroundings.”

The Blackspears nodded before walking to the sides of the road.

The commander walked past Arit, who quickly followed her.

“I’m just traveling with my daughter and wife; I really don’t know why this is necessary,” Arit hastily explained.

“You don’t have a daughter nor a wife, Arit Mahnun,” The commander refuted.

“…Well, as a politician, I’m a public figure and prefer to keep my private life to myself,” Arti explained.

The commander turned to Arit as she arrived at the carriage. “Well, if you’re able to hide things from all Ashiir, I can’t wait to find some of your other secrets.”

The commander opened the carriage door. “Come out.”

Dalia stepped out first, followed by Isa.

The commander pulled off both their hoods and looked into Dailia’s nervous eyes. However, as she looked down at Isa, she could only see her profile, her gaze directed at a rock formation away from the road. Her eyes were dimly glowing.

…

(A bit earlier)

“All right, old man, good luck,” Asiir said while standing up from the rocks they laid on, watching the group of Blackspears stop the carriage.

Casin’s old hands gripped Asiir. “Wait, I told you to listen to me.”

“I know. How about you tell me what to do then. At first, it was twenty guards, but now you expect me to go up against an entire group of Blackspears; are you senile?” Assir complained, whispering.

“Here, wait,” Casin pulled out the shard and pointed it in the direction of the carriage. “Ha, you see that? You don’t have to defeat any goddamn guards or Blackspears. She will,” Casin explained while pointing at the dimly glowing eyes in the distance.

“What the-“

“Here, quick, put it in your ears,” Casin said while pushing two small balls of cloth into Assir’s hands.

“Wait, w-“

“Just do it,” Casin interrupted Assir again while putting two equally small pieces of cloth into his ears and pulling out a small glass vail filled with blue liquid.

“Don’t look into her eyes!” Cassin commanded.

Asiir hesitantly put the pieces of cloth in his ears and watched as Casin opened the vail, and two droplets of the blue liquid fell onto the shard.

…

All the questions she had beforehand been long forgotten, and the only thing that filled her mind was the desire to fulfill the mission to the best of her abilities, as her mother taught her.

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Yara and the Blackspear that accompanied her already wanted to make their way back when Yara thought she could see two figures shuffling around on a rock formation.

Before she could sneak any closer, a sound resounded through the dark desert. As if commanded, both of them dropped their weapons.

A deafening, deep humming sound that they wouldn’t have been surprised had it been heard throughout the entire continent made them press their hands on their ears with all their strength. With contorted faces, they felt the ground beneath them shake violently.

Yara, whose knees were almost buckling, saw even through her tightly closed eyes something immensely bright piercing through her eyelids from where she knew the carriage to be.

As she opened her eyes the tiniest bit, the pain vanished.

At first, she felt…She felt something that couldn’t be put into words. Something she had never felt.

Joy, happiness, bliss. None of these words could come close to expressing what she felt. Finally, she slumped to the ground, overwhelmed by her emotions.

…

Isa knew she was dreaming but didn’t know when she fell asleep. Unlike her other dreams, this one wasn’t blurry. She clearly saw the vast meadows with flowers, the colors of the rainbow stretching themselves out before her. In the distance, her golden eyes could recognize a girl. She felt like she knew the girl. It was the same one she saw every night in her dreams, the girl in whose laugh she took such comfort.

Behind the girl stood something or someone; Isa couldn’t tell. She also knew the figure behind the girl. It was the same one that, even though it only rarely appeared in her dreams, made her feel like it was talking to and watching her directly. Still, she couldn’t recognize it clearly. The figure was like a ghost that could fade from her dream whenever it wished.

Isa watched as the figure bent down and whispered something into the girl’s ear while pointing at Isa. The girl followed the figure’s gesture and looked directly into Isa’s eyes.

As though she stood in front of her the entire time, the girl appeared directly before Isa with a beautiful smile.

Although Isa hadn’t met many people, she always considered Dalia the most beautiful woman in the world. But she knew she was wrong the second she had gotten a good look at the girl before her. As she looked at the girl’s soft features and long white hair flowing down her back, she thought it was hard to think of words that could accurately express the girl’s beauty. The first word that came to Isa’s mind as she looked at her was… pale. But not sickly pale, no. More like a ghost, almost translucent. Isa felt as though would she look away for even a second; the girl would disappear.

The girl started to walk circles around Isa, curiously looking her up and down. Her white dress was so long it dragged behind her.

Isa couldn’t help but look at the figure again, still standing in the distance. Though she couldn’t recognize any clear features, she knew the figure was smiling at her before it disappeared.

Her curiosity satisfied, the girl halted in front of Isa again and looked deep into her eyes. Isa thought she knew those eyes.

It were hers.

Suddenly a golden light blinded her, and the idyllic landscape disappeared and was replaced by images of what could only be described as deaf and destruction. Wails and screams echoed through her mind.

The images passed too quickly for her to make anything out, but the emotions of immense despair and fury were clear.

…

Asiir could only hear a shrill tone as he looked at the scene before him with an open mouth.

A girl lay amongst dozens of white statues.

Suddenly he felt someone pulling and shaking him and looked at Casin, who was yelling at him.

“Go! Grab her, quick! Casin yelled.

Woken out of his daze Asiir ran down toward the carriage but hesitated before he passed all the petrified bodies.

He looked at the girl on the ground with a bit of fear. However, before he could pick her up, he was surrounded by four Blackspears.

Shocked, he quickly drew his sword and did his best not to look in Casin’s direction so as not to give him away.

The Blackspears, to Asiir’s surprise, didn’t attack but instead nervously shuffled around him, trying to stay away from the statues scattered on the ground.

Before he knew it, a Blackspear shot past him. At first, his eyes tried to follow her before he heard a dull sound behind him. As he quickly turned around, he saw a Blackspear with a round hole in the side of her neck bleeding out on the floor, and as he turned around yet again, he watched in awe as the Blackspear that had shot past him fought the other two.

Although Asiir knew that the Blackspears were famous for their fierceness in battle and were one of the most dangerous enemies to encounter on the battlefield, especially with their light cloth armor that made it possible for them to move far quicker than other warriors, he had never seen a Blackspear or any fighter in general as capable and deadly as this one, easily fighting against the other two.

Just as he was about to help her, the two other Blackspears collapsed to the floor, one with a hole in her chest, gasping for air before finally dying, and the other with blood coloring, the ripped cloth around her neck red.

Asiir gripped his sword even tighter as the Blackspear turned around and looked at him through the eye-slit of her armor.

“What are you planning to do with the girl,” Yara’s voice cut through the tense silence.

“I’m not planning anything,” Asiir replied.

As if he was called, Casin came running down. “Don’t hurt her! Please don’t hurt her.”

Yara pointed her spear at the old man stopping him in his tracks. “What are you planning to do with the girl.” She repeated.

Asiir looked at Casin with eyes that urged him to say something.

Casin nervously swallowed. “Bring her home.”

After a brief moment, Yara put down her spear. “Let me help then.”

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