Chapter 25: Our Lady Phosphora

Unakna did her best to hide her fear. Her fastly beating heart could not be helped, but she kept her face stoic as she herded her litters along the train of refugees fleeing into the caves of their canyon.

"Children!" she shouted at her twin boys. They stopped their snapping and looked at her impatiently. "Why do you fight? Now is not the time."

"Hyaldin think's we're going to lose," Arkad accused.

"And he won't let me think that way," the other twin complained.

"Argue later. Come on! Look after your brothers and sisters."

It took all her effort, but she managed to ger her children together in one alcove, it wasn't as deep inside the canyon wall as she would have liked, but the path leading to it was narrow, dark, and bent several times along its way. Any fiends making it in the canyon would be less likely to find them in such a nook than in the larve caverns where the bulk of the populace would be hiding.

"Are we going to lose, mother?" asked Ikkitoki, one of her younger girls.

"Of course not," she said. "We are just being safe, out of respect for our Lady, Phosphora."

"I don't understand," said Sheik. "If we're not afraid of defeat, then why are we hiding? It doesn't make sense."

"She's right," said Hyaldin, not giving Unakna a chance to answer. "Especially if Phosphora commanded..."

"Listen!" shouted Nikinara. "If dad were here, would you two be whining? We're just as safe with mom here as we would be with dad, so quit your crying and listen to her."

Unakna choked back tears. I cannot figure this girl out, she thought. "Listen to your sister," she said. "Is there any protector more fierce than a beast mother? No. And Lady Phosphora is our beast mother. She will protect us, as she always has, and we will trust her. The Fiends are strong, so she shows wisdom, not arrogance, by commanding us to hide. It may be that our city is attacked, and that we will need to stay hidden and quiet, but that does not mean we'll have lost. The Fiends are wily and deceitful, and might send an army to attack our city while our Lady marches on their own. Whatever happens, we will listen, obey, and be saved. That is how we will succeed. Do you understand?"

She looked at each of her children in turn, holding their eyes until she saw them either comfort or courage. Then she took Nikinara aside.

"Thank you, daughter."

"You're welcome, Mother."

"I know you'd rather be with Asvana right now. Know that I understand that desire, and that I value your decision to come with us."

Nikinara began to smile, then forced a look of defiance. "Is it my decision?"

"Everything we do is our decision. If we obey, we have decided. If we defy, we have decided. For you to come with us was a different kind of decision, but it was still a decision."

"And what kind of decision do you think it was?"

"A selfless one. And selflessness is the most important trait of a warrior. Don't you think your father would rather be here with us?"

Nikinara's lips quivered. "I sometimes wonder."

"Oh child. Is that why you wish to be a fighter? To be with your father more?"

Nikinara laughed, but not gleefully. "No. I want to fight because it's in my heart to do so."

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There was something in her voice, something only a mother could hear. "And?"

"And... And because I want to see what's so great about being a soldier. Because if a man like Dad, who's supposed to be such a good and loving father, leaves his family time after time, then there has to be a good reason."

Unakna could not decide whether she wanted to hug her daughter or slap her, so she chose simply to respect her. "Thank you for telling me this. And thank you for saying it quietly. You're a woman now, Nikinara. Not because of your age, but because of the intelligence in your heart. Follow it. Go or stay. It's your choice. It's always been your choice."

Nikinara drew in her breath, then went to the twin boys and stopped their bickering. This is how they passed the anxious hours, sharing between them the tending of the litters. Then there was a cry and a shriek, and they smelled blood and fear on the damp cavern air. Both women gathered the pups and kept them quiet while the snarls of their kin mixed the weird sounds made by Fiends. All kept quiet and still, until the youngest squealed and pointed behind them to the entrance of their alcove. Both mother and daughter turned with bared fangs.

The Fiend looked hideous. A fleshy mass like both plant and swollen lipped mouth pulsed on wandering legs like fingered roots. It spewed a rank mist and whipped with thorny vines. Unakna and Nikinara circled it on either side, and when they were both about to leap they saw Arkad plunge into it and tear with his fangs. The Fiend lashed out at him, but the boy was too quick. Nikinara hurled a loose stone into its funnel and it staggered, so soon the whole brood was throwing rocks into it. It vomited the rocks out as quickly as it could, but not quickly enough. Soon it lurched forward, then burst open. An ooze of ground stone mixed with viscous bile poured from where it split open.

"Brave children," said Unakna, but they were paying no attention to her, because Arkad was bent forward on his knees.

"Brave boy," Unakna said, leaning down and putting a hand on his head. The boy turned away, and she smelt a frightening odor coming from him. "Arkad? Are you alright?"

He nodded, but she didn't believe him, so she gently cupper his muzzle and lifted his head. His lips were swollen, and the gums around his fangs were turning green and leaking pus.

Unakna turned to Nikinara. "Find healing herbs, salves, anything."

Nikinara hurried to the bundles of supplies they'd brought and began strewing their things on the floor. Outside, the sounds of battle grew louder. Nikinara got the older children to help her search, and Hyaldin and Sheik both found the ingredients for a soothing poultice. They quickly went to work mashing the ingredients with stones and hurriedly spread the paste on their brother's lips. The swelling had rapidly grown, and the poultice slowed it only for a second. It came back violently, and the boy retched and heaved. His fangs fell out, and in a moment he had emptied his body onto the cave floor. His family stood frozen in horror, too shocked to hear the stealthy footfalls coming their way.

Asvana and Wuknvar had led an entire troop of armed soldiers into their cave, and many of them let their weapons fall when they saw the boy's empty skin among a pool of innards and steaming yellow fluid. But not Asvana. The Den Mother gripped her spear more tightly and she snarled, a sound more frightening than the ululating of the Fiends. She commanded her men to give their sidearms to the family, even the youngest pups, then went to Unakna's side.

"I'm so sorry, my sister," the Den Mother said. "Many are now like your boy. The worst has happened. We must flee, or we will all suffer the same. Please, wake yourself from shock and grief and save the children who still have. Then, when we are safe, your son will be mourned by us all."

Unakna turned slowly to her Den Mother, and when she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper. "He was brave."

"All your family is brave."

Unakna wailed for a moment, falling into Asvana's arms. Wuknvar rallied the rest of their family, including Nikinara, and when their mother calmed herself somewhat, they ran through the winding cracks of the canyon wall until they emerged on the other side. Before them were the bogs and marshes of the mudlurkers, and people many thought as fouls as Fiends.

Unakna was silent as they followed what remained of their city's military. Asvana led the people, while Brassondor led the soldiers. For days the walked in a silent train, the troops calling them to halt frequently. Each halt could last for up to an hour, as the troops searched for stragglers in the brooding swamps. All the while Unakna felt mean, watchful eyes on her, and when the first dark shapes emerged from the swamps she thought their fate was upon them. But the mudlurkers didn't attack. Instead they spoke with Asvana and Brassondor, and though their own warriors were ever watchful, they led the beastfolk of the Blazing Stars to their kingdom of grottes beneath the deep mud sea. Asvana and Brassondor told of the battle and how they were routed, and the mudlurkers told of how they too had been attacked, but were able to drive the Fiends away.

"We may have driven them to you," said Vinjoll, their Chieftain. He was short, but very broad and very strong, with tusks so large it was a wonder that his neck could hold his head.

"Maybe they joined the force already attacking us," said Brassondor, "but we were already beaten."

"And your Lady? The Mighty Phosphora? We saw her star riding the firmament towards Ralgrimr."

"She led the assault on the Fiends," said Brassondor. "If she hadn't, the whole world might have been overrun."

Vinjoll allowed Unakna's people to spend time above ground, as they were accustomed to air kissed by the Crown. On a cold, empty day, Unakna stood with her children on a lilypad and saw a beam of violet light shoot from beyond the boglands. it pierced the clouds and a curtain of light spread like lotus petals over all the sky, casting a violet glow over the world. Then there was thunder and the ground shook, and the violet light was no more. The sky was left black and charred, and over the next few days the waling of the Mighty could be heard in the very fiber of land and sky.

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