Nightfall came suddenly it seemed. Upon the arrival of a huge shining moon, Gelena's warrior sisters descended down from the slopes of the mountains as silent as the shadow of the mountain, which they used for cover. They were much the same as Gelena with their dark hair and runes on their abdomens. Yet they were not carbon copies with different heights, builds, and angles to their features. They were different enough to be of the same ethnic group but not necessarily to share the same parents.
There were four in total. Two to carry Dormach and Cayna. And two to join Gelena as escorts in case there was trouble, which already seemed to be the case.
One of the warriors was shoved forward to her knees before Gelena. Her face looked down at the ground in frustrated shame. The others gathered behind her and one spoke.
"Captain, this one tripped the border sensor on the way down here." She said and suddenly plunged her clawed hand into the kneeling warrior's shoulder. She stifled a pained cry. "What shall be her punishment?"
Gelena lifted the chin of the warrior until their eyes met. There was no kindness in her eyes. "I shall deal with you personally." The warrior shuddered. Gelena waved the other warrior back. "Tend to the wound. We need to be at one hundred percent to get to Nightrest. What is hostile ETA?" she said, looking at the sky. Cayna followed her gaze but said nothing.
"The border drones will be here in five minutes." One said. Gwyn mounted Carngrwn who was back in her horse form. Dormach snapped at the Morrigan warrior who worked her into the harness attached to her chest. Cayna was also strapped into the strange device. It wrapped around her chest, thankfully facing away from the Morrigan carrying her. Before being strapped in, the warrior gave her a reassuring smile.
"Ever fly before?" she said. Cayna shook her head. The warrior nodded, as if she didn't even need to ask. "Well, it will be scary at first, but you will get used to it. Just breathe in and out in controlled breaths. Panic is the last thing you want to do while double flying. The runes on the vest will protect you from altitude sickness as well as pressure changes. Stay as still as possible and don't make any sudden movements. It may cause us to fall out of the sky."
Cayna gulped, her whole body shaking at the thought of being so high up in the air. All her life she looked up at the mountains. It never occurred to her that one day she would be looking down on them.
When the words of the warrior failed to soothe the trembling girl, she reached into a pocket of the vest that was easily accessible from the front. She pressed a small button and out popped a small pill. It floated in zero gravity in front of the vest. She made a show of pretending to pop the pill into her mouth before replacing it into the compartment.
"If you feel that you can't calm down, press this right here and take one of these. It will relax you. You will only need one. These are quite powerful and I don't need you overdosing during our mission." She said. Cayna nodded, feeling much better knowing the pill was there in case she couldn't get a handle on her nerves.
Soon everyone was ready to take off. One of the warriors was using an ocular device to scan the horizon. She made a cry and pointed. "Drones incoming!"
"Alright, listen up!" Gelena said. Escort units at the rear to deflect all incoming projectiles and take care of the hostiles. Baggage one is top priority, everything else is secondary."
Cayna panicked at the thought of others putting their lives on the line for her again. She was about to protest but she didn't get a chance.
"Darkwind Sisters! Fly! Show these land trotters the power of your wings!" Gelena said. The other warriors raised up a cry and pushed off the with their powerful legs, leaping high up into the air. Cayna felt her stomach flop and for a moment, she was sure they were going to plummet right back down to the ground. Then, with a powerful beat from the warrior's wings, they defied gravity and were climbing steadily through the air. They gained speed and soon, Cayna felt nothing but wind. The fear and apprehension she had felt before seemed to melt away. The wind on her face felt amazing! The exhilaration of moving so swiftly through the air was marvelous! The view was stunning!
All her life she had been in the lowest levels of the cities, always looking up at greatness and wonder. Now here she was looking down at all that Sycadia had to boast of. What a small country! The world continued to grow bigger and bigger as the horizon expanded farther and farther. Eventually she could even see the mountains at the other end of Sycadia. She could see the dotting of the cities and settlements as they sparkled in the night.
Cayna felt a crossing of a threshold here. As if she was really moving to a different reality. She knew that it wasn't really so. Her feeling of elation was dashed when laser fire flashed by them, exploding on the mountain side, sending rocks tumbling into their path.
"Hold on!" the warrior said and Cayna suddenly lost all sense of up and down as she made some drastic maneuvers to avoid the debris. Cayna tried to look behind her but she couldn't. She heard the sound of laser fire and explosions behind them. Among the low clouds, bursts of light reflected on them. The battle was underway. "Stop moving!"
Cayna closed her eyes and did her best to stop moving. It was difficult not to try and see what was happening. She worried about Gwyn and Carn. They were fighting with the other warriors. What if they got hurt? She tried not to think about it. Gwyn was powerful. There was no way he would let some lousy drones take him down! Right?
Cayna cursed her helplessness. She couldn't do anything, again. Rage rose in her chest and the claws on her fingers began to lengthen, as well as her canines. She wanted to fight! She wanted to be strong and useful! She couldn't rely on people protecting her forever.
"Lycan! Calm down!" the warrior said, bringing her back to reality. "You can't help them. Trust in your companions. That is a warrior's greatest strength on the battlefield. You have to trust them!"
Cayna pushed her rage down and her body returned to normal. Well, the new normal anyway. They continued on their flight, sometimes dodging projectiles and rocks as they climbed the mountain side. They neared the top, venturing into thick clouds. Cayna felt their cool wetness as they moved through them. She couldn't see a thing in the gray fog and she grew afraid again. How could her ride know not to fly straight into the mountain?
Moonlight. Somehow, they made it through, punching through the clouds in a brilliant plume, leaving a trail of glittering crystals in their wake as the moon reflected on the millions upon millions of tiny water molecules floating in the air. It was another wonder to behold.
Dormach and her ride also punched through. The poor redhead was limp in her harness. She was so agitated at the thought of being taken up into the air that she was force fed a pill before they even left the ground.
The sounds of battle could be heard below them, but eventually, the other climbed through the clouds as well and caught up to them. As far as Cayna could tell, no one was injured. The warriors gave another war cry to celebrate their victory in battle. Gwyn came beside Cayna with Carn. The horse gave her a neigh that seemed to say 'that was invigorating!' Cayna wasn't sure exactly.
"Are you okay, Cayna?" Gwyn said. Cayna was touched by his concern and nodded.
"Yes, flying isn't as bad as I thought it would be." She said, happy to admit that she was braver than she originally thought she was.
Gwyn smiled. "I thought you might think so. It is truly one of the greatest experiences in this life." He said, stroking the back of Cargrwn's neck. "Form here, there should be no incident all the way to Nightrest."
"What's in Nightrest?" Cayna said.
"It is an underground city. Though this one is especially accommodating to foreigners of this dark land." He said. Most of the infrastructure is underground in the realm of Scythis for obvious reasons."
"They can't stand the sun?" Cayna said, recalling the stories.
"Yes, the sun is deadly to them, so they live and travel mostly underground." He said.
"That makes sense." Cayna said. "What will we be doing in Nightrest?"
"The truth?" Gwyn said with a grin. Cayna nodded. "Asking someone who hates my guts for help."
Cayna swallowed. "Um, that doesn't sound good. I thought you said the place is more friendly to foreigners."
"Well, it is to those who don't have bad blood with the ruler of that city." He said and there was something almost mocking in his tone. There was some sort of inside joke going on here and Cayna was far on the outside.
"Care to explain?" she said. Gwyn gave her a look that seemed to say, 'it's a long story'. "Kind of got nothing else to do here." She indicated to the open air, to accentuate her point.
"I suppose I can." He said. "Nightrest is under the dominion of a shadechild."
"You mean one of the shades you were telling me of earlier?" Cayna said.
Gwyn shook his head. "No, those are the direct infected of the Children of Sariel. These are the second in line of infection. They go by several names depending on context. The shade-children are what humans have more commonly known as the traditional vampires. Among their own kind, they are known as the Dukes of Blood. They are vassals of their shade-parent and are given dominions to oversee for their master. They are responsible for gathering tributes of blood and disseminating it to the population under their domain." He said.
"Tributes? Made by who?" Cayna said.
"The Dukes of Blood farm the blood from both the willing and unwilling." Gwyn said. Some come seeking eternal life and pledge their blood to the dukes in order to attain their immortal life and gifts. They are willing to pay the price of their humanity to join the ranks of the vampires."
"Why would anyone do such a thing?" Cayna said, looking down at herself and her changed body. Would she wish this for herself if her life would have been a happy one? Perhaps she understood more than she thought.
"Fugitives with nowhere to turn can find refuge here and serve the vampires. They never say no to blood. Some come because they are afflicted with the ailments of their mortality. Disease and disability, aging and even the lack of divinium in their godnotes. Becoming part of the blood brood grants power far beyond the powerless at the bottom of society." Gwyn said.
"What about the unwilling? How does that happen?" Cayna said.
"Not the way most people think. The vampires are not in the habit of kidnapping humans of other kingdoms like in darker days. The most common unwilling blood offering is the captured and condemned criminal." Gwyn said.
"Criminals? Why?" Cayna said.
"It is a layered solution to several problems." He said. "It actually works to the benefit of the human nations to send tributes to the vampires. A plentiful blood supply to the vampires means that they will not return to their body snatching ways. Who cares if society loses those who longer wish to abide by said society's rules? Plus they don't have to use resources to contain and feed the criminals. The vampires do all of that, in return for an easily obtainable supply of blood."
"That's terrible. How can people do that to each other?" Cayna said, horrified.
"I would not judge too quickly. Though this may not be every case, certainly humans have sent innocents to this horrible fate, most of the criminals sent to the realm of Scythis are of the most dangerous and degenerate persuasion. Rapists, murderers, traitors and insurrectionists. Fiends of violent nature." He said.
"But how is that right?" she said, not accepting it. "Those are still people."
"I only share their reasonings, though I cannot say I wholly disagree with them." Gwyn said. When he saw Cayna's incredulous face, he gave her a solemn look. "You will learn soon enough what it is to be a ruler. You are the first matriarch of the lycan clan in centuries. The path to rule is built on the decisions of the good of all. It is always a bloody path. As a ruler, you will be faced with many choices. What is right, what is just, what is for the best of your people and how to deal with betrayal. The ruler must weigh all of these. You will not please everyone. Often, no one will be pleased at all and you will have to assert your dominance to remain in power."
"I don't want power, I want to be free." Cayna said. Gwyn gave her a pitying look.
"Dear Cayna, to have power is to wear shackles of responsibility whether you desire it or no. Though I will say this. Seeking power for power's sake is folly. You have a good heart and that is well with you." He said, making Cayna blush at the compliments.
"Thank you." She said.
"Your good heart is still naive however and needs to be reforged into something stronger and more resilient. To be a ruler, benevolence and wrath are often close together. You will use them both to hold on to your throne." He said. She nodded, thinking she understood. With Gwyn at her side, she thought it would be possible. This made her thoughts turn back to Gina's words.
'He is not your friend. Gwyn is death.'
She didn't want to believe that, even after seeing his dark form and power. Though now that she thought of it, he has never once called her his friend if she was remembering right. Perhaps that was coincidence. Not everyone was very open about their feelings. Some things went without needing to be said. Doubt of all these things lingered in her heart.
"Ahead! Nightrest!" Gelena called from up ahead. Cayna and the rest looked ahead but she couldn't see anything but the clouds. How were their gazes piercing them?
They began to descend, making Cayna's stomach flop again. They broke through the clouds and below them was indeed a dark land. It seemed that the whole land was charred black by an ancient, world ending blaze. Something so completely destructive that nothing ever grew back. There were not even traces of trees or fields. It was a land of black stone and earth. Cayna had never imagined anything so terrible.
Almost directly below them was an opening in the ground where an series of bright lights blinked. As they descended, the entrance of Nightrest came more into focus and Cayna found it was nothing like what she expected.