Litam watched as the blackness began to clear away, revealing acres of still-glowing embers: the dying gasps of a vast forest fire. Above him, though, remained an ashen sky.
Where are we?
he asked, looking around but unable to see an end to the ashes.
This is the Great Forest of Isŕikove. Or, it was,
Selassei sighed. It was the first place Shalyon and I made when we opened the Book of Realms and cast a new world into existence. It grew for twelve thousand years, until the treetops reached so high that the sun had to navigate around them.
It is gone, now. It stretched across half the World, but now it is little more than a vast field of stumps and smoke.
She flicked her wrist dismissively and a blackened trunk wrenched out from the ground, roots and all, to arc through the air until Litam couldn't see it anymore. A few moments later, he heard the distant crash, and he winced.
There is more.
The ground raced away beneath them, until it was a blur of black, the orange glow of weakened flames streaking behind them. They slowed to a stop, hovering motionless over a gaping pit in the ground, as wide as a lake and as deep as one too.
Was there water there once?
Litam asked, chills running up and down his spine, standing his fur on end.
No, Litam. That is where my city used to be. Talya.
Selassei visibly shuddered. It was ripped from the ground in one fell swoop and swallowed up by a dark elemental. If you want to see the ocean, though…
Again, they were moving. The crater whipped out of sight, as did the vast icy desert surrounding it, and finally a shoreline. They stopped as suddenly as they started, the mouse finding himself staring down at the jagged remnants of a galleon. Its bow peeked above the surface of the water: water that was murky and dark, as if it had been mixed with a huge well of ink. Litam's tail coiled and uncoiled around his arm nervously.
That ship, the Kimeransu, was the greatest ever built; a beauty to behold while it was still seaworthy. Look over here, though.
Selassei gestured, and Litam's gaze was directed toward a shape, moving slowly, painfully, across the deck of the massive craft.
It raised its head, and immediately what looked like a tattered black robe swooped down upon it, carrying it away. The shape was gone. Litam shuddered at the foul sight.
That was Shfe Shfa, last of the otters. He managed to survive this long by eating the few fish that could stand the poisons in these waters. By now, though, he is only a memory.
Selassei turned, or drifted rather, to face Litam, looking at him critically. He shrank back.
That spirit took him to his death: devoured him in mind and body. If anything remains, it will awaken as part of the Army of Darkness. I pray that Shfe Shfa is lucky and will not be spared from a true death.
As it stands, all of this will happen. Unless you agree to help us, there is no way to avoid it. You see, though, you hold the key. You were destined to save us all, even before time was time. I cannot say exactly how, but without you, we will falter. It is your choice, Litam. What will you do?
Litam's head was spinning. How could this be real, any of the images that filled his mind? This empress couldn't really be Selassei…
She seemed to read his mind. I am Selassei, my little mouse, just as you are Litam and Lanyur is Lanyur. I am asking for your help in my time of need. Please, do not turn away.
Litam nodded, his resolve against belief finally breaking. This change of heart slowly took hold of him as he whispered: Alright.
Thank you, Litam, Unlearned Prophet. We must prepare.
A rush of air screamed past Litam's ears. He felt dizzy. Something took hold of his arm to steady him, and he turned to see Selassei practically beaming at him.
The ground steadied beneath his feet—there was actually ground beneath them! He fell to it and touched it with his paws to make sure it was real. It seemed to be.
What will I have to do?
he asked.
Selassei frowned and turned away from the mouse. I do not yet know, and I can only be sure of glimmers. For now, you must simply trust me.
She took Litam's paw and helped him back to his feet. The next day, she convened her court.
Selassei entered the throne room in full regal dress. Everyone, Litam included, rose from the temporary pews that had been set up in her throne room.
The empress' hair was arranged in seven long braids, one for each of the kingdoms in her empire. Each braid had a different flower woven into it by the stem.
She wore a blue robe wrapped around her like a toga, gold thread woven into it in an intricate pattern. A deeper blue cloak trailed behind her, trimmed in white, its train hovering on its own accord slightly above the ground.
Upon her head sat a fragile crown. It was carved from a single diamond, inlaid with rubies, amethysts and sapphires. It glimmered beautifully as the light from the chandeliers struck it.
Stetzis ya; sit down,
Selassei said plainly as she reached her throne, itself a simple wooden chair that looked to come from her study. She sat at the same time as the audience, took off her crown, and set it on a small table beside her. She took a breath. Then she began to speak in her native Tsesial.
Dés amileisz mer! Ín voltar néu veniźes…
Litam lost interest quickly; what she said made no sense to him. He looked about the room, at the faces. They were as varied as any other place he'd seen. Mice, horses, and was that a puma? Many of them looked worried. Litam knew full well why.
He heard his name, and snapped his head up. Selassei was looking at him, again. She waved him toward her, quite unbecoming for her stature. He looked around to make sure he was the intended target, then stood up and walked over to her, bowing his head.
Don't worry about formalities, Litam,
she whispered to him, then looked up at the crowd. She spoke in Tsesial again, but repeated in Mitarian for Litam's benefit. This is the bravest of the mice: Litam. Today, he is to swear allegiance to the Crown. With the help of this mouse, we will prevail over Kveilaz and his evils!
The empress turned to look at Litam again. Kneel, my little mouse, and repeat after me.
He did. Speaking both in Tsesial and Mitarian, Selassei began to recite.
I, Litam of the family Witinh Hae…
Litam repeated, solely in Mitarian.
…do swear on my honour and my life…
Litam repeated. He repeated the entire vow, not questioning a word of it; he felt honoured, a mere peasant mouse taking an oath of so great importance. At the same time, though, he feared what it entailed. When the oath was complete and binding, the empress called upon Skenleth, Briole, and Koshos to take similar oaths.
Then Selassei raised her head and called out to the crowd something in Tsesial. Litam didn't understand a word of it, but the audience erupted in cheering and applause. He wished he could have scurried off and hidden.
The travellers didn't meet again for several days. Over time, they learned to discern where a door was in the wall, how to summon for food, and other activities that were done differently in Talya than elsewhere.
Koshos was entreated with a special kind of magic, one created specifically to ward off Kveilaz. How it worked was not clear to Koshos: while magic was not in her nature, Selassei said that the prophecies called for it, and so it was done.
Skenleth immediately enlisted in the army of Tsesanne; he had been given the option of returning home safely but he wanted to help more directly in the war effort, so they took him in and started his military training.
Briole, who already knew how to use a sword and shield, was fitted with heavy plate armour and told to protect Litam with his life. This he had sworn to do, and his unwavering faith that he would see Lanyur again bound him to his words.
Litam knew no more details than this; he was too busy training for what he had to do. A crash course in soldiering and swordplay, with a touch of the magical, was intended to bring him quickly up to speed with some of the best knights in Selassei's army.
Some of its best blind knights.
Some of its best blind and deaf knights.
Well, at least his ormuff could run fast.
While eating a meal with the beasts charged with his training, Selassei approached him. The others immediately placed down their plates and stood up, bowing to the empress. Litam didn't notice her and continued eating his supper, his appetite great from training all day.
Selassei watched the mouse for a few minutes before tapping him on the shoulder. He looked up at her and gulped a mouthful of food down, preparing to apologize—but he didn't need to.
She kneeled before him, making every soldier in the room gasp and blanch, then handed him a small sword. It was so polished that Litam could see each of his whiskers in it.
The mouse took the weapon in his paws and hefted it, feeling its weight. He could feel it on a deeper level than metal on fur—there was a power there that was steadying him. Letimpra won't stand a chance against this blade!
he thought.
This weapon is blessed, Litam. Shalyon himself made it, and I breathed into it the ability to ensnare Letimpra. However, you are the one who must wield it against her, and only her, or its power will be wasted and it will fall to ruin. If we fail to stop her rebirth then she will seek you out personally, and I cannot promise I will be there to defend you. Be strong, my little mouse, and wield proud Vaźeblada: the Sword of the Heart.
He was indeed getting stronger with every day he trained; no amount of training would let his young arms lift a full warrior's sword, but he persevered. He worked at it more intently than he had ever worked on Jajma's farm, and he felt quite proud of himself.
He practiced with his sword every day, and every night too, even when he was explicitly told to get some rest. The sense of purpose it gave him, the knowledge that he wasn't just a farmhand, it worked a form of magic on his soul and drove him onward.
Elsewhere, Selassei's armies tried in vain to capture at least one Unholy Stone, but to no avail. Whenever they heard of one being found it was always days away from the mass of their forces. By the time they arrived, the village or the forest or the field where it was found was razed and the locals stolen away to join the saurians.
A sense of desperation swept across much of the empire. The Army of the Damned was poisoning the land from afar, and Tsesanne's beasts could not eat what little had grown before the frosts set in.
There was plenty to eat in Talya; Selassei simply conjured as much as was needed. She could not, however, create enough for the entirety of her nation, and she had to order complete silence from the city to keep a riot from starting outside its walls.
Litam caught hints of this in passing: an overheard conversation, a remark at the supper table, or a knowing look from another beast. It worried him, and so he kept his mind off it by immersing himself even deeper in his swordplay.
He was, in fact, so immersed that, like he had before, he didn't hear her enter his bedroom. She approached him, watching as he jabbed, deflected, ducked and parried.
Your stance is all wrong,
she said to him. Your legs are too close together, so your motion is limited.
Litam turned around to look at her, beginning to say who are you?
but his heart leapt in his throat and he shut his mouth as he saw her appearance.
She was a beast, but she had no fur at all. Her clothes were as rags and fresh wounds criss-crossed her raw, pink skin. One of her ears seemed attached by the thinnest of fibres, dangling against her cheek.
The worst, by far, were her eyes. There were two empty holes above her nose, bloody and raw. She had no trouble following Litam with them, but there they were, hollow.
Litam, overcoming his shock, raised his sword and pointed it at her. Get away from me!
he told her, but she laughed cruelly and made no motion to leave.
You are far younger than I expected, little kit. Perhaps you would like it if I wait for you to reach half my height before I kill you?
Such a wait was not required, however. Selassei had felt this presence almost immediately, and the empress, still in her night robes, wrenched the door directly off its hinges.
Damn!
she cried, and stepped between the other two beasts. Get out now, before I break you to pieces again.
But dear, sweet Selassei… Don't you miss me? Not that it matters anymore—I'm home again,
Letimpra hissed, the gaze of her charred and barren eye sockets locked on the white beast.
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