Darkness infinite

" We.. we finally did it.." said Jokaï, laid out on the hard black rock, catching his breath.

" We actually managed to destroy the Drelg leader " puffed Aiken, holding himself with the pommel of his sword.

Aiken caught sight of Lévania making her way towards him.  Seeing her limping was a hard contrast from how he first saw her.  

Lévania Veiszpram, emperor of the Tchozak. 

A female warrior bordering seven feet tall, with skin as black as coal and azure pupils.  She was the sole reason strength wise that they were able to defeat the enemy leader.  

Unbeknownst to him until recently, he learned from her during an intimate moment that the Tchozak had a special trait.  Only their leader, the strongest of their kin, could inherit this power.  She could borrow the strength of their ancient gods and use it for a limited period of time.  

The downside was that after using this gift, the bearer was left in a incapacitated and vulnerable state.  It was this very power that gave them the edge to overpower the Drelg leader.  

Yet here she was, worn-out and unsteady on her feet but still trying to hold her head high because her pride wouldn't let her do otherwise.

" You.. look like.. shit " She said slowly to him

Aiken looked at her and they both started to laugh heartily.

" Thank you Lévania.. for everything " 

" Don't..mind it..boy, we all..paid the price..in this war"  

She turned around to glimpse at the remaining Tchozak warrior.  Exhausted, crippled, maimed, yet none of them dared to sit down since she haven't. 

Gathering some strength in her lungs, she called to her people.

" Hear me, oh proud Tchozak fighters!  Today we fought and today we won!  Our descendents will sing songs about this war! "

Every female warrior lifted their spears and yelled simultaneously 

" AHOO "

" Gather your strength, wipe off the blood and help me once more.  We will march down on the headless Drelg army and destroy them once and for all! "

" AHOO, AHOO "

Her speech was all they needed for the Tchozak warrior to regain vitality.

" Geez, can't you let us relax a bit?  We don't have your endurance you know " Aiken protested to Lévania while slowly shaking his head.

" Hush boy.. now is the best time.. to defeat the Drelg army.  They will.. need time to appoint.. a new leader and we can't.. give them the opportunity "

" I know Lév.. I just need to complain a bit "

Hearing him calling her like that brought back the memories from their intimate moment so she turned around while clearing her throat.

" We leave.. in ten minutes "  

Looking at them by the sides, Jokaï shook his head helplessly.

" I will always wonder how you get on her good side.  If she caught me looking at her, all I get is a punch in the gut, and she fucking punch like an ogre man.  Did you see those tree trunk fist? "

Aiken laughed awkwardly when he heard his best friend talk.

" I'll tell you when we are back in Berheda "

" Will you stay there with us?  Since.. well.. Beka is.. not there anymore "

Hearing her name still hurt inside but he tried to keep a straight face.

" I'm not sure, maybe I'll travel around the land " Aiken said while looking in the direction of Lévania.

" Oh well, me and Aliz will always welcome you with open arms! " said Jokaï with a wide grin.

Looking at him, he suddenly realized something.

" Your child! Your daughter should be born now right?"

Jokaï snorted.

" Who says I have a daughter? It's gonna be a boy "

" Forget it, it takes a man to make another one "

They both barked a laugh.  Jokaï then stood up, offering his hand to his brother. 

" Come, before that queen beat me up again for being late "

Grabbing his hand, Aiken followed behind while looking around him.  They had fought tirelessly for God knows how many days.  They had lost so much, so many good men and women.  They were around three hundred when they left the main army to cut through the black mountain.  Only a handful of them remained alive, around twenty five or such.

Not too far ahead, he sees their most nimble fighter mounted on her wyrm.  Maaï was from the Noav tribe.  She's their sentry and their most accomplished archer.  He could see the pain across her face from the loss of her second wyrms.  It was a necessary sacrifice to ensure their victory towards the Drelg.  

He just hoped that she understood.  The decision had come fast and suddenly, without time to ponder an alternative.  Her wyrms were the best bait they could use to make the Drelg leader take action, giving them the opportunity to strike.  The cost was the loss of her life companion.  Even though they did let her time to mourn her wyrm, he still felt bad about it.

She was the youngest of their group.  At eighteen years old, she enrolled in the army and proved her value in the early stages of the war.  Her powerful companions were such a huge war asset that the leaders couldn't pass up on the opportunity to use her.  Her skin was pale, with long navy blue hair, tied in a single braid and her pale grey eyes were a curiosity to look upon.  

Walking up to her, while making sure her mount sees him, he says " Hey.. are you holding up? "

Maaï turns her head at Aiken with a frown, then with a whistle, urging her wyrm forward, without sparing him a single word.  The wyrm hissed at Aiken then lunged forward, grabbing the rocky wall and propelling itself on high ground.

Seeing the scene, Lévania walk up to Aiken and says " Let her be..she is grieving.  Trying to befriend her..will only result in more hatred.  She probably think that..we betrayed her, even if it was for..the sake of victory "

" I just can't do anything Lév.. we hurted her.. isn't it natural that I want to redeem our sins?"

"  There is nothing.. to redeem.  We did what we.. had to do.. in order to survive.  Not just us Aiken.. but the whole world.. don't try to..shoulder everything alone "

" Let's finish this once and for all..I don't want to see anymore pointless death and suffering"

Aiken went ahead, leaving Lévania behind sighing.  The worn-out group readied themself then went back from the way they came from.  They need to regroup with the main army, to relay the words of their victory and to heal themselves.  The way down will be way easier than going up, since they had already cleared the path from enemies.  Apart from random encounters, they shouldn't be in any dire situation until they meet up with the main army.  

After two days of hiking, the group was back at the gorge where a huge battle took places days prior.  They had lost a lot of fighters here, thrown off the cliff to their death.  Not wanting to linger here any longer, they started to move forwards when something caught their attention.

Not too far, a group of people was waiting for them.  It was a part of their former band, around fifty of them, that suddenly disappeared during the night back then.  A quick investigation led them to believe they had fallen off the cliff, since the mist up here was toxic and affected their senses.  

Each of them had received a blessing from the church before entering the mountain to fight the mist but with each passing day, the blessing would whittle away slowly, until none of it was left.

Since no evidence was found that they perished or fled, the group opted for the former.  They had fought numerous times together and thinking they could have fled was impossible to Aiken.  

" Siem! You are alive! "

Aiken smiled broadly with his arms open, waiting for the hug from his brother.

Siem sneered, smiled slightly and opened his arms to embrace his brother.