The Book of Ashe

Chapter 3

Pain. Nightmares. A sense of falling. More Pain.
I awakened in a bright, cold stone room. I was sore and ravenous. My vision was blurred. I looked around. I was sitting in a large stone chair in the center of the room. Iron shackles and manacles held my limbs and an iron collar gripped my throat. In front of me, about ten feet away, stood a very bored looking guard. When he noticed me stirring he ducked out into the hallway. By the time I finally got my senses about me, the guard returned with two more of his buddies and behind them strode the primal source of my terror and pain. She walked in and stood about a foot away from me. I could see her better in the bright torch light. Her hair looked blonde with subtle white streaks. She wore the same outfit she had when she captured us. Her cheeks were so sunk in it was revolting. She stared at me for a long while, then she snatched a chair from somewhere behind me and settled herself, straddling the chair, uncomfortably close to me. She wore a cocky smirk.
"You are one of the sages that travel with the rebel general Dragonmoon are you not, Ashe?" She seemed to be in a pretty good mood, which told me to be cautious.
"I'm not a sage. I'm a soldier." I said. My voice was squeaky. She was amused.
"No?" She held up a sealed leather pouch. It was the bag I kept my maps in and other notes. "Explain this then." She dangled it in front of me by the strap.
"I made maps for Dragonmoon while we traveled. I was one of the few who knew how to draw maps."
"So, you worked along side Dragonmoon, eh? Got anything you might want to share with me to make my life just a little bit easier?" she patted my cheek softly. I slowly shook my head and said "No. Not really."
You can only fear something so much. I had reached that point.
"Hmm." She frowned and stood up. "To bad, we could have done it the easy way. Your young Tarn friend was much more communicative." She smiled and stared down at me. my mind began to fill with images of pain and torture. I broke out in a cold sweat, and still she smiled.
"W-what are you going to do?"
She giggled, then said.
"Don't worry I'm to busy to use the old methods of interrogation, although I would truly enjoy it." She removed her white gloves. Her fingers were as grossly thin as her face. She placed her palms on my cheeks. They're touch was so cold it burned. I tried to struggle away from her but my iron collar prevented me from moving my head.
"This is going to hurt quite a bit, rebel, but it can assure no lies from you."
Her arms suddenly seized and what felt like lightning passed into my brain. My back arched painfully. I felt her trying to force her way into my mind. I fought her. The pain increased. Then suddenly my mind exploded with a dark dread. Memories began flowing without any control, she read every emotion, She viewed every memory I ever had. I screamed in pain and in horror. It was like being raped. I don't know how long she was in my head, I lost track of time.

When I awakened I was alone in a different cell. My chains had been removed. My head was spinning. I felt like I had drunk several gallons of bad beer last night. I got to my feet and vomited. My stomach was empty. Not much came out. I noticed a plate sitting on the ground a few feet away. On it lay the remains of something resembling food. I collapsed as I tried to walk, then drug myself over to the plate and ate. It was horrid, but it was food. A clay jar of water sat beside the plate. I drained it.
Afterward I sat against the wall of my cell for what seemed like hours. My mind was reeling with thoughts. Of Jayden and my other brethren back at Scorn. What had happened since my capture? Did the circle win? Did we lose the city?
The sound of someone walking rang through the hall on the other side of the door. I drug myself to my feet just as the door opened.
I expected a white clad guard to come in. What I got was a heavily armored figure bearing an insignia of which I didn't recognize. It was composed of two swords crossed with a black crown between them.
"Come with me, Ashe." His voice was a deep bass, but was filled with no malice. I followed him out of my cell and into a brightly lit hallway of stone. The armored figure led me through hallways and staircases, never glancing back. He led me to a large circular room. The room was filled with tapestries and tables. Although brightly lit, the room boosted a terrible dread. There were guards everywhere, many bearing my captors colors, but a few more wore a blue badge with a yellow, streaking lightning bolt in the center. My guide led me towards the back of the room. A small woman dressed in blue robes with raven black hair stood off to the left. Her hair and robes constantly fluttered, as if a breeze was constantly blowing around her. The dread filling the room seemed to come from her.
Stormweaver I guessed. Her presence matched Windrider's. She never looked at me once as we passed her. She seemed to busy talking to others. The guard led me to the table right behind Stormweaver. Rider stood at this one. She looked up and smiled.
"Ah, my little rebel friend has arrived. Before your death, your friend and you will witness the down fall of your beloved general and his army. She rolled up a scroll that she had been looking at, prior to my arrival, then stalked towards a large pair and white marble doors. Marble Doors? The was but one city famous for their marble doors. Tabmer. A fortnights ride from the front lines. An unseen force seemed to drag me in her wake. She muttered something I didn't catch and the doors swung open violently. She walked out onto a balcony. The first thing I noticed was Jayden. He was standing straight ahead of me. He wore tattered remains of his Imperial uniform. He looked ragged and starved. His normal bright blue eyes were dull and seemed to have no feeling behind them. He just looked at me and said not a word. He was beyond hope. When Rider passed by him I caught an odd glimmer in her cold eyes. My guess was that although Windrider was ages old, she still had her lust for a young companion willing or not, and had aimed her lust at Jayden. I shuddered.
The balcony was atop a tall tower. You could see for miles. A mass of smoke, indicating a large army, rose in front of us. Two more lay on our right and left flank.
"Dragonmoon, Shadowblade, and Flamedancer. All here. As you can guess Saber and I lost at Scorn, though not without the loss of one of the Circle. Starhawk perished under Saber's blade. Your damn generals were quick to act after they broke us, they have pushed us back to this s*** hole of a city, but today will be the end of theirs and your pathetic lives.
Something in her voice told me she seriously expected to win very easily here. I wondered what kind of terror her and her friend had cooked up.
"There sage!" she pointed down into a large courtyard, reading my mind. Dozens of men were busy building what looked like arrows one hundred times life sized. Each one had to be fifteen feet long. What looked like cloth was affixed to the sides about half way back from the head. At it's head a large orb was affixed. They seemed to be sorted by the color of the cloth. I saw red, yellow, blue, and black ones.
"What are those?" I asked confused. I was sure magic was involved somehow.
"Retaining rods. Those things beside them are what I, personally, pride myself on." A team of men were setting up short, thin metal barrels. Each about three feet high and about five inches in diameter.
"Those rods are Weaver's workings, the tubes are mine." she said proudly.
Why the hell was she telling me this? I am still her enemy, if I escaped I could tell Dragonmoon everything.
"You won't escape rebel!" I went cold, again she read my mind.
"You will live long enough to see these armies shattered. I have foreseen it. I shall enjoy it when the time comes." She walked back into the tower. She stopped and grazed her hand across Jayden's cheek gently. He winced but dared not draw away.
After she was gone I walked over to Jayden. He looked into my eyes. Tears threatened to leak out of them. He hesitated a moment then collapsed on me, hugging me. His tears began soaking my tunic. I'm not a touchy-feely kind of person, but I held Jayden. He shook all over. I was pissed. He had been robbed of the innocence of youth. That monster had broken him. Jayden was awhile with his break down. When he finished he slowly drew away from me and wiped the tears from his eyes. It was an awkward moment.
"We will get out of this alive, have faith." I said, though my voice told the truth. I knew we were doomed. If the battle turned sour for Rider and Weaver, we would both be dead before we knew it.
His eyes filled with a longing for that to be true, but he knew as I did that it was a small hope. We stood there, side by side, not saying a word, just looking at our breathren from a mile away. Several lax guards stood around us. We waited for something to happen, while dreading yet another siege. We didn't need to wait long.

Rebel trumpets sounded. Both Stormweaver and Windrider took places on the tower balcony. Jayden and I stayed as far away from them as we could. They seemed content to let us stay away as well. All three armies advanced at once. Siege towers crept forward slowly. They took a beating. Two went up in flames before they made it half the distance. Men below began loading the retaining rods into large crossbows. The men standing near Rider's tubes stood at rigid parade rest. Thump! Four rods engulfed in red cloth streaked towards Dragonmoon's army. They landed a few feet short. A wall of flames shot up obscuring most of the advancing lines from view. Archers began laying down fire as the men still advancing came into range. They were arrayed in turtle formation. The arrows did little good.
Stormweaver clapped her hands and a deafening clap rang out. Blue lightning danced between her palms as she pulled her hands away from one another. The sky above darkened quickly. Fierce lightning danced amongst ranks of soldiers. Rain and hail beat down on them as well.
Weaver suddenly let out a shriek, half filled with rage, have with pain. A soft green glow surrounded her. She closed her eyes and raised her hands, the storm above seemed to weaken a little. The green glow continued to grow stronger. Weaver's face was wrenched in pain. She gestured violently and it blinked out. She looked pissed. The storm began gathering strength.
Jayden tapped my shoulder and pointed behind me. I looked. Windrider floated about a foot off the ground. Her eyes were closed in severe concentration. The wind from the storm seemed to blow her about strongly. The wind felt like a gale up here. Long strips of black mist formed on the ground between Tabmer's gates and the advancing armies. Men and animal alike tried to avoid the mists, but some got caught up in it. There screams were loud and filled with agony. Soon the fog began to drift towards the rebel lines. It left behind ruined land, but no sign of the bodies of men caught inside. Some lines seemed to break and drift away causing no apparent damage to anything. A spear of yellow shot from the rebel camp to our left. It smacked Rider hard. She fell down and backward. The beam had come from the formations of Flamedancer.
The first siege towers arrived at the outer wall. Rider and Weaver seemed to occupied to use their magic offensively. Only the storm remained, tormenting the armies. Below huge blasts sounded as Rider's men operating the tubes began dropping fist-sized orbs into them, which quickly shot out as soon as they hit the bottom with an explosion. The orbs landed, throwing earth and spewing flames. The giant crossbows were re-loaded with blue clad rods. Soon they were air born, aimed at the Siege towers. Three out of the four hit dead on. A blast of electricity demolished the towers hit. The fourth arched way-out, then up and exploded in mid-air. Men poured from the surviving siege towers. Chaos ensured on the outer wall. Several large objects appeared and began moving closer. I couldn't determine what they were, till they came closer. Catapults! A shower of large rocks affirmed my guess. Jayden and I threw ourselves to the floor as two hit uncomfortably close to the balcony.
"Ironic, eh? Gonna be killed by our own kind." I joked dryly. Jayden wasn't in the mood, I got a dirty look for my wasted breath.
Another large rock glanced Rider's shoulder and took out two soldiers behind her. Blood sprayed everywhere. Rider only staggered a bit and grabbed her shoulder. A creak and pop rang out as she knocked her shoulder back into joint. I shuddered. That had to hurt, yet she didn't even flinch. She wore a scowl of anger. I have often wondered where Rider got her name. With Weaver it was pretty simple, but Rider I could never figure out. Soon though I learned. She half squatted, half knelt down. Her clothing and armor shimmered and seemed to melt into her skin. She began to grow. Her hands began to turn into scaly white claws. Her knees bent back and broke till they looked more like a dog's. Her boots formed to her feet, which looked like her hands. Her jaw seemed to extend till her head resembled that of a large lizard. Her back became rigid, and unfolded into great, leathery wings. I stared, dumbfounded and awed, still laying on the ground. Where Rider once stood now stood and huge white dragon. A dragon! A beast of terrible power, thought to have long ago died out. With a roar of triumph, she leapt off the balcony and sailed towards Dragonmoon's lines. Jayden looked a little sick and confused. He must have been thinking if his past experience with Rider was, now, considered bestiality.
Rider out flying around. Weaver busy fighting the Circle. Confusion everywhere. It was a prefect time, and I knew it was now or never. I jumped up, grabbed Jayden and made a run for the door. We entered into the tower. I quickly located the stairwell down, and headed for it, trying to keep out of sight. We were a few feet from the stairs when a voice yelled "Stop them!" I didn't look back. I began to run down the stairs. Jayden kept pace. The sound of metal rattling, soon filled the stairwell behind us. We ran down till we came to a landing. I ducked through the doorway and sprinted down the hall. I had no clue where I was going. I turned a corner and bolted into a large room. At the far side a pair of great, twenty foot doors stood slightly opened. Sunlight leaked through. Jayden was off before I was. A soldier tried to block us, Jayden kneed him in the groin. We kept running. An arrow whizzed by me so close it nicked my ear. Several more followed. They were terrible shots with a bow. I busted out into the sunlight and few steps behind Jayden. Chaos reigned everywhere. Our troops had breached the outer wall already. I followed Jayden off to the left, towards a small patch of trees. We crouched down, hoping they would hide us. Several armed men rushed out of the big doors and looked around, confused. They cussed and spat. They ran off away from us. I let out a sigh of relief. Only then did I realize that I was gasping for breath. Getting old sucks. The courtyard was so damn noisy from the metal tubes that seemed to be firing constantly and the large crossbows, hurling the retaining rods.
The dull boom of a battering ram echoed across the courtyard as our troops tried to smash the inner door. Archer's were laying it on thick, I knew a lot of our men were being killed as they tried to reach inside.
Jayden rose slowly and said, "We need to get going Ashe."
"where is it that we are going? We will have to wait till those doors go down."
He looked pissed and scared he didn't want to wait. A large shadow spread over us. I looked up. Rider looked like she was circling us. She circled once more, then perched on the stone rail of the balcony above us. She began making weird noises, I guessed she was talking to Weaver.
With a wail of rage she dove back into the air. Several large rocks flew over the wall. The balcony above us shattered. Stone rained down. Rider flew off towards the besieging armies.
I was watching the wall, when I should have been watching the door leading into the fortress. By the time I snuck a glance there were six men, bearing Weaver's colors, advancing on us.
"s***!" I said quietly, though not quiet enough.
"There!" A large burly man yelled, gesturing our way. Jayden and I leapt up and tried to run, but trying to run in trees and shrubs is hard. They overtook us shortly. I threw my hands up when the first spear was thrust at me. Jayden followed suit. The burly man came up to us.
"Thought you could escape, eh? Not on my watch!" His voice was deep and he tended to spit every few seconds. He thumped his badge with his right fist, almost like a salute. The earth shook wildly and all I could see was white scales. The men holding us at spear point fled. I was petrified. Jayden stood to my left, still as a stone. A great, white dragon's head lowered towards us. It came so close, I could feel the heat form it's breath. It's eyes where a dark red, but burned like those in it's human form. It seemed to sniff Jayden and I, then it flung it's head up and made a noise similar to the cross between a hiccup and a cough. I suppose that's what evil dragon laughter sounds like. Rider lowered her head once more, her lips rose barely exposing yellow, sharp teeth.
Someone strong came up behind me, garbed my hands and tied them behind my back. Another man did the same to Jayden. They drug us back inside, and back up to the tower. Not much remained of the balcony. Weaver stood off to our left know, she looked battered and pissed. In the distance the remnants of a tornado tormented Dancer's army. Dragonmoon had pulled his troops back, to re-group. Rider's boom-tubes focused on Shadowblade's army, while Weaver's retaining rods fired away at Dancer. Rider was flying about to our left, between Blade and Dragonmoon's armies. She breathed a blue fire, and spun off spells that did little damage on the whole. Thump! Rods engulfed in black cloth streaked out. When each landed it emanated a shock wave that seemed to rot anything it touched. Bow men poured arrows into both advancing lines. The left outer wall collapsed and Blade's soldiers came pouring. Rider's elite guard counter-attacked and forced them back. The archer's along the outer wall withdrew to the inner wall.
As the dusk drew closer, Rider came flying towards us. She perched on the edge of the balcony. I feared her weight would bring down what remained of our platform. It did not. She began to shimmer and shrink. Within a minute the pale, elven sorceress had reformed. She stalked towards us. I backed away from her, till my back hit the wall. She walked right up in my face. Her breath still smelled like the dragon's had. she backhanded me. My face burned with pain. She was a strong bitch.
"Take this one back to his cell, bring the younger one to me after dinner."
Jayden closed his eyes. I felt so sorry for him, but there was nothing I could do.
"I told you before, Ashe, you won't escape. Your fate is fixed."

It was late at night when the same black-clad guard came for me.
"What now? Rider wanna give me a round on the love cycle?"
He grunted in disgust and said "No, Weaver wants you this time. Please follow me."
You could see that he didn't agree with what the two from the Citadel were doing with us. He seemed to be a noble man, with honor.
Weakly I got up and followed him. I was nervous. With Rider I knew what to expect, but Weaver I had not yet had the pleasure of holding a conversation with. He led me to the same chamber as before, only this time it contained only three people. Weaver, and two couriers. We approached Weaver's table. Maps were stretched across her table. My maps! Why is it always my maps! She slowly looked up. Her eyes weren't as powerful as Rider's, but they were definitely freakier. They were pure white, with the pupils a shade of blue that matched her robes. She made a gesture with one hand and my escort, bowed and retreated towards the door. She indicated a chair across from her.
"No thank you, I'll stand." I said weakly. She shrugged and sat down. She sat there studying me with those eerie eyes, fingers steapled in front of her. I just stood there, wishing I was back in my cell.
"Your grasp of the old tongue is amazing. I can only decipher a few things on here. I need you to decipher the rest." Her voice was strong and surprisingly loud, even though she wasn't screaming.
"Of course I don't expect you to help me just because I asked, but perhaps we can come to an agreement, you and I. We are both soldiers. Rider has never had to fight with steel on a battlefield like you an I have. She doesn't have that sense of honor."
I swear I almost laughed. Her have honor? Hah!
"What do you have that I would want?" I asked quietly. So far she didn't seem like a half bad person.
She arched an eyebrow at me.
"Unless you intend on releasing Jayden and I."
She laughed. "Hardly. Any agreement we make will be between us only, your younger friend is without hope."
"Just curious, but don't you have maps of your own? Why would you need mine?" I began feeling bolder and bolder.
"You know as well as I do, that there aren't many maps of the south. It is a pain in the ass to try and map out. I would prefer just to use these, instead of drawing up my own. You are good at what you do. I'm offering you a chance to escape death and join with my army, as a scholar. You'll never have to bear arms against your breathren, they will never know you defected. They will assume you died with the Tarn. When this war is over you can retire."
It sounded good. I was tired of fighting. Tired of being scared. Tired of being Tired. I was mightily tempted. I did not respond. She seemed content to let me think it over.
"Can I ask you just one question? Soldier to soldier." I asked
"Certainly." She replied.
"Why? Why are you doing this?"
"Look I'm just trying to offer you a little help, in return for some information."
"No, I mean, why are all of you doing this? This war? Why does the Queen of Blades and her Five want Tharamond? Why not just be content with what you have. What do you need to prove? We know all of you are the most powerful wizards that are alive today."
She looked shocked then puzzled.
"You are growing to bold rebel! Just because I have been polite thus far doesn't mean I'm not capable of such terrors as my fellow general."
Her voice was sharp and chilling. Her eyes seemed to glow with her anger. I took a step back.
"Look, I don't mean to anger you. I'm probably not going to accept your offer anyway, so I'm marked for death. I just want to know why my enemies felt the need to take my life. I have heard plenty of rumors, but have never understood why."
She studied me carefully with her eyes. I held her gaze, barely. She broke eye contact and looked down for half a second, then she looked back at me.
"I don't question my orders, nor will you! Understand?" A hint of emotion shown through her voice. I couldn't tell if it was guilt for not knowing herself, or a building anger because I wouldn't back off.
I simply nodded, then sighed.
"Well, I hope you do what you think, in your heart, is the most honorable. As to your offer I have to say no. Sorry"
"You realize that you will be killed if you don't accept my offer, right?"
"Yes."
"And that Rider will probably be your executioner?"
"That's what I was counting on."
"It could be very painful." She was getting frustrated quickly. She acted like she didn't want me to die, but it was more then likely the fact that she didn't want to have to make her own maps. The south is hard to map, as she claimed. It damn near drove my crazy having to do it twice.
"I'm expecting that as well."
"And your ok with these facts?"
"Not to much I can really do about it, eh?"
"GODDAMNIT ASHE!" She leapt out of her chair and pounded her fist down on the table. The air in the room crackled. The hair on the back of my neck and arms stood on end. Her voice was thunderous. That struck a nerve in me. My courage died. I realized that for a moment I had forgotten to whom I was speaking with. This was no everyday person, this was a monster like Rider, powerful and with a heart of flint. I took a few more steps back. Her face was red with anger. I looked around scared silly. It was one thing to just talk about a painful death, anyone can do that, but it's another to stare that death in the eyes.
"Accept my terms rebel." She said quietly, but her voice hinted to roar again. I said nothing.
"Accept them!"
Again I said nothing.
She flung out a hand in my direction. A flash of light blinded me and pain coursed through my body All my hair stood at attention. When my vision returned Weaver was about fifteen feet away and I was half sitting, half laying down up against the wall. My head spun. I slowly rose to my feet cussing under my breath. She seemed calm, but her face betrayed the truth that I was going to be leaving this room in only two ways. Either as an ally or carried and buried. I still refused to betray my brethren. I made peace with the fact that I was a walking corpse as I she watched me, saying nothing.
"I thought you said Rider was going to kill me."
I thought Weaver would explode. She did not. She took a deep breath and regained her composer.
"Fine. You have declined my offer, you will return to your cell till your appointment with destiny brings you out."
My buddy-guard materialized beside me. He reached out to take my arm. I turned and gestured for him to lead. As we left, I snuck one last look over my shoulder at Weaver. She was slumped in her chair, supporting her head with one of her hands, covering her eyes. Her robes and hair wiped about violently. We all have our nervous ticks and habits, hers seemed to be gale summoning.

My dreams were haunted by a woman, clad in a black gossamer-like dress. She seemed to glow with a dark, sinister aura. She spoke to me in a strange language I did not understand. Upon her head was a black crown that shined. One large ruby was placed in the middle point, half-way up.

A racket like the gods were hurling boulders to earth awakened me. The sound drew closer, soon I could discern the metallic voice of weaponry. I walked to the door and pressed my ear against it. The noise stopped outside my cell.
"He in there?" Someone asked.
"Yes" came a reply
"Ashe? You alive?" The first voice asked.
"Uh, I think so." I was confused. Who the hell was this?
"Step back from the door." The speaker's voice was male and seemed familiar. I stood off to the right side of the door, up against the wall. The door creaked and exploded inward. A very energetic Jayden ran in, followed by one tired looking Circle member. My beloved Dragonmoon. Jayden tackled me with a hug.
"Come on you two, there is still a war going on. The fortress isn't ours yet." Dragonmoon fussed. I went up to hug him.
"Don't even think about it Ashe! A simple thank you will suffice at this time."
I agreed and thanked him. As we walked into the corridor, he asked, "Where is Rider and Weaver?"
"Huh? Why the hell do you want them, lets just leave!" I wined.
"No, not without Rider's head!"
I sighed, no sense arguing with him. I'll show you.
I lead the way, best to my memory and arrived at the tower room without getting lost to many times. Dragonmoon pushed into the room. In a loud voice he yelled, "Aladria of Cortian Isle, Heir of the Frozen Throne, Queen of the Western Oceans!" From fifty feet away Rider's head jerked up. Her back was to us. She slowly turned. She wore a wicked smile.
"Alexander Dragonmoon! Commander of the Third Druidic Army. Keeper of the Night. Welcome!"
I glanced around and saw no sign of Weaver. Dragonmoon and Rider faced off from fifty feet away. Aside from Rider, Dragonmoon and Us, there was only a hand full of Imperial troops. Neither of us was tempted to fight with two dueling wizards right in the center of the room.
Neither Dragonmoon or Rider moved, they just stared at one another.
"You were close Dragonmoon, terribly close. You have just fired your only arrow against me, and it broke." She sneered.
Dragonmoon didn't respond. We all watched, spellbound.
Rider made a throwing motion towards Dragonmoon. A long glowing blade of energy went hurling towards him. He simply closed his eyes and raised his hands. The energy blade seemed to hit an invisible barrier that glowed green whenever struck. Rider let out a howl of rage, drew her dagger and a short sword, then lunged at Dragonmoon. Dragonmoon's robes parted revealing a silver bastard sword that seemed to shimmer. He met her halfway. The sound of metal on metal rang throughout the room. One Imperial soldier, feeling brave, decided to help his general out. Dragonmoon rewarded his effort with a motion to quick to follow, which landed the man's head beside him on the ground. He was damn spry for his age. Rider and Dragonmoon fought with such fury and speed that there was no way of telling who was killing who. Rider was backing up, she tripped over a bench and rolled across the table. When she gained her feet, she had lost her dagger. She grabbed a nearby unlit oil lamp and smashed Dragonmoon upside the head. Oil covered them both. she dodged the first few blows of Dragonmoon's blade then side kicked him, knocking his blade from his hands. An unseen force pulled the sword to her out stretched hand. She brought the blade down right as Dragonmoon hit the ground. She stopped just short of beheading him. She looked up at me and the others. Then smiled. She raised her blade. To this day I don't know where the lamp came from, but it appeared in Dragonmoon's hand, burning brightly. He looked at us, then at Rider, who stopped in mid swing and stumbled backwards, trying to get away. Dragonmoon loosened his grip on the lamp and it tumbled from his hand.
"No!" I cried out!
I watched it the whole way, unable to do anything. Everything seemed to slow down. The lamp hit with the faint crack of glass breaking then a wave of heat as the flames leapt up and consumed Dragonmoon. Rider tried to turn and run, but even aflame, Dragonmoon was just a hair quicker then she. He reached out and pulled her to him in a big hug. Soon they were both aflame. Rider's screams drowned out those of Dragonmoon. They seemed to come from everywhere at once. Dragonmoon began maneuvering towards the balcony. He never let go of her, though she struggled. Still burning they toppled over the edge of the ruined platform, plummeting to the ground. I ran to the edge. Below there came a burst of white light and a scream so loud it had to have carried for miles. It was a deep demonic scream, yet had a feminin edge. Then all was silent. Everyone, rebel and Imperial stopped in mid battle.
I stared down, dumbfounded. Tears stung my eyes. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Raider, eyes gleaming. He nodded once then said "There will be a time to mourn Dragonmoon, but it is not now. Come! We have work to do!"
I nodded and dried my eyes. I looked around at the people behind me. After the death of their champion the Imperials in the tower surrendered without question. Our men were binding them. Most of their brothers out on the walls followed their example. One thing I noticed immediately was that no one bore Weaver's colors. Had she slipped out on her sister wizard? I asked Raider about it. He said that Weaver was ordered to Mist shortly before dawn this morning she slipped out. Dancer and Blade are pursuing her.
The adrenaline began to wear off and I started shaking.
"Come on Ashe, Jayden, lets get you guys back to camp. Looks like you two have been through hell and back!"
"You have no idea!" I said walking out of the room behind him.