Light spilled into Bianca's field of vision as her eyes fluttered open. The familiar sensation of the sheets beneath her told her she was in a small bed, and the smell of incense and sight of old, wooden beams eased her mind. She was in the temple of the Christ. Her clothing changed from her brown and gray tunic and breeches to a modest white gown and white shorts. She was tired, weak, but still very much alive. Gods above, what she had just been through. Banished from her tribe, captured by Elves, entangled in some mission by a guild, and rescuing Sha'ani.
Sha'ani!
"Sha'ani!" Bianca shouted as she swung her feet off of the bed and tried to dart for the door only to be stopped in her tracks by the sudden pull of a metal chain around her wrists and neck. Bianca grabbed the chains and held her arms up: noting the black bands around them. The same band was around her neck, and freezing cold to the touch.
"Seastone." Jardur's voice came from a corner of the temple chamber as he stepped out of the shadows, smirking as he eyed Bianca up and down. "Cuts off the flow of magic in the human body. Go ahead, try a spell."
Bianca threw a punch at Jardur, willing a burst of flame to burn the bastard. Nothing. She tried again. Nothing. "Ignis!" She roared, but that was all she did. No fire erupted from her mouth. Only the sound of her voice. "What have you done to me?" Her voice quivered as she sat back down onto the bed.
Jardur crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Shall I give you a detailed explanation of just how utterly fucked you are?" He arched an eyebrow. "Let me explain your situation. The Faeries want your head, and the heads of the rest of the survivors from the incident with Sha'ani. The humans want your head to appease the Elves so we don't end up going right back into a war we just got out of a decade ago. The Elves–"
"Let me guess, they want my head?" Bianca sighed, still struggling in vain against the chains and seastone bracelets that kept her magic firmly locked inside her body.
"Actually, it's more like they want you flogged, tortured, crucified," Jardur extended his fingers, one by one, as if counting. "Oh, and then they want your head." The assassin shook his head and sighed. "Damn, kid. You really got yourself in a situation here."
Bianca still tried to slip her hands out of the cuffs, but to no avail. "Listen, you gotta get me outta here."
Jardur arched an eyebrow. "Why in the hell would I do that?"
"I can pay you. I have tons of gold stashed away–"
"All confiscated as evidence. Elbafan soldiers took every coin."
"I can work for you!" She pleaded.
"I'm in a guild of mercenaries, and I'm an assassin. What are you going to do? Polish my sword?" Jardur laughed.
"I," Bianca started, then she got an idea. She pulled at the stitching of her gown's neckline, opening it slightly to reveal the upper part of her breast. "I'll… sleep with you." She lowered her voice, an attempt to seduce the man.
Jardur threw his head back and laughed. "After you turned Verunil to paste, I'd sooner take my chances trying to fuck a tree stump!" Jardur was soon interrupted by the sound of a door slamming shut, and footsteps fast approaching her chamber.
"Of course. Absolutely. I'll inform the prisoner of her situation immediately!" Bree sang as she stepped around the corner. She was smiling, but that smile immediately turned to a scowl as soon as her eyes met Bianca's.
Jardur held out a hand. "Boss, hold on."
"I just wanna talk." Bree's hand grasped the handle of the axe that hung from her hip.
"Boss, calm down."
"Oh, I am calm! This stupid bitch just killed our only lead to find Prince Nazair, was the center of an international incident, and may or may not have just started another war. Why wouldn't I be calm?!" Bree's eye twitched as she spoke.
Bianca stood up. "Prince Nazair?"
"Shut the fuck up." Bree spat.
Jardur rolled his eyes. "Nephew of Queen N'fube of Forswaron. He's been missing for the past three months." He elaborated.
"Right, and our only lead is now a smear on a fucking courtyard floor!" Bree shouted in response.
Bianca didn't back down. She surged forward as far as her chains would allow. "I don't regret it!"
"Oh, you're going to, you little–"
"That bastard raped my sister!" Bianca shouted, loud enough to echo and rattle the windows behind them. "He got what he deserved, and I'd do it again!" Her voice was fierce. Bree grimaced and reached for the collar of Bianca's gown and hauled her closer.
"Jardur," Bree said through gritted teeth. "Kindly remove Bianca's chains. Keep the seastone intact, though." She threw Bianca down on the bed, and walked backwards towards the door.
Jardur shook his head. "You got some plan, boss?"
Bree sighed. "Not gonna mince words, kid. Your sentence is going to be death no matter where you run. I'm gonna give you a chance to keep your life a little bit longer."
The man clapped a hand on the chains binding Bianca to her bed. In an instant, the metal froze and began to crumble, leaving the seastone bindings in place. "You're the boss." Jardur shrugged.
Bianca rose up from the bed and looked back at the pile of metal shards and ice. This Jardur was exceptionally powerful, so why didn't he stop her from attacking and killing Verunil? She took a look out of the window. It was morning, sometime right before noon. "So, what now?" Bianca dared to ask.
Bree tilted her head towards the door. "Follow me." With that, Bree opened the door and led Bianca out and into the courtyard. Soldiers stood at every entrance to the chapel, the gaps in the ruined walls leading to the countryside, and near every room housing the monks and nuns who made their home here. Each soldier was armed to the teeth, and as her eyes glanced up at the roof of the chapel she saw archers with their arrows trained on her every move. There truly was nowhere to run.
"Bianca!" Sister Giselle's voice rang out as she stood behind two guards who blocked the road towards the outer yard. She was crying, trying to force her way past the men to run towards her.
Please don't cry over me.
"Out of my way. Excuse me, I am the abbot of this temple!" Father Lankfort came striding across the grounds, three guards pursuing him. "Brialla Nivenor, this has gone too far. I will not tolerate this display in the house of God!"
What are you doing, old man?
Bree arched an eyebrow as she looked up and down the robed abbot. "I'll leave your God alone once we get something settled, okay? Soldiers, escort the good abbot back to his books." With that, a soldier clapped a metal hand on Father Lankfort's shoulder and pulled him back, turning his body around and forcing him into the company of two other men. One pushed him forward, tumbling the abbot to the ground in an undignified manner.
Bianca threw a punch at a moment's notice, connecting with Bree's face and sending her staggering back. "You fucking bitch! Don't you dare treat him like that!" Biance turned and ran towards the soldiers who had pushed Father Lankfort down when an arrow soared through the air and buried itself in the ground right between her feet. Bianca turned and looked at the archer who had released the arrow, the man known as Magnus from the manor before.
He was preparing to notch another arrow when Bree held up a hand, stopping him in his tracks. She wiped a small trickle of blood from her lip and spat on the ground. Bianca clenched her fists, staring down Bree as the latter pulled a small key from her breastplate and held it up for Bianca to see. "Men, if she takes this key, she's not to be harmed." Bree tossed the key down in front of Bianca's feet and gave a sarcastic smile. "Take it."
Freedom at last. Bianca knelt down to grab the key she assumed would unlock her seastone bindings and let her use her magic again. It was almost too easy. The instant Bianca touched the hoop of the key, however, something solid struck her stomach and knocked the wind out of her lungs. She gasped for air as her body careened towards the side of the chapel, slamming into the stone and spilling blood from the back of her skull and shoulder.
"I said," Bree began, standing over the key on one leg and the other raised up as if she had just kicked something. No, she had kicked something: Bianca. "Take it." She grinned. Bianca's vision was dazed, and her head began to bleed. She could barely focus on Bree. The sheer power of her kick was enough to send her flying. How she could even stand against this woman was anyone's guess.
Still, Bianca stood. She rubbed the back of her head and flicked the blood from her hand. "Oh, I will!" Bianca charged wildly, extending her arms as though to catch Bree. Yet it was to no avail. Bree instantly sidestepped the attempted tackle and sent another kick into Bianca's ribs.
Bianca careened to the side, falling and rolling on the grass and stone courtyard. The pain in her flank was immense, but not enough to keep her down. She swung a right hook for Bree's chest, only to be blocked by the Faerie woman's knee. Yet just before Bree could kick once again, Bianca dodged the oncoming assault and swept her leg, taking out her opponent's footing.
Finally, a hit. Bree fell to the ground, but just as quickly, recovered before flipping and slamming the heel of her foot into the ground mere inches from Bianca's face. "Not bad. Guess you didn't just waste space in that village."
"What would you know of what I did in that village?!" Bianca shouted, throwing another punch as her opponent leapt out of her range. They were right back where they started. Bianca reeling from Bree's sheer strength and the Faerie woman looking down on her.
"I know you pissed them off enough that they don't want you around," Bree said with a smirk on her face. "Oh, wait, they want you dead. That's right. You got one of their best hunters passed around an Elvehn bedroom like an Aldhicus whore."
Bianca's blood boiled. "Shut up!" She screamed, and charged for Bree again. Her vision reddened with fury. The same blood red flames that encapsulated her sight as the night of Sha'ani's rescue. When she had pummeled Verunil into the ground and left him a crimson mess on the cobblestone below. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Bianca attacked wildly. There was no method to her strikes. No system or technique. She was lashing out with blind fury. Punching and kicking with abandon as though the air itself were her enemy.
Bree chuckled. "Right, time to wrap this up." The Faerie grabbed one of Bianca's punches and threw her over her shoulder. Her legs crossed around Bianca's midsection, and her bicep held her head in place. She was trapped, on the ground, and Bree prepared to strangle the life out of her. "Just a few more seconds and it'll be over. You put up a decent fight, but you gotta die here before we end up in another war."
"I… won't…" Bianca struggled for even the faintest breath. Bree's hold was too tight, on her stomach and her throat.
"Let's say you did beat me. What then? You think after everything that's happened, they'll ever want you back? You betrayed them when you took those jobs for the Elves. You're the reason Sha'ani was tortured and violated by those men, so stop resisting and just let it happen," Bree grunted, tightening her grip.
"I have to see… her…" Bianca's voice was strangled.
"Just give up!" Bree continued to strangle Bianca, and the light began to fade from Bianca's vision. This couldn't be the end. Bianca had to see her sister again. Had to know she would be okay. She gripped Bree's arm tightly, trying to force it just a little further from her mouth. "I'm not some bandit or wild beast you're used to struggling against. You have no idea what a real fight is."
For someone who was so experienced, Bree certainly seemed to talk a lot. Yet in that moment, Bianca knew that would be her greatest weakness. Bianca snarled, wrenching her neck ever so slightly from Bree's grasp as her eyes aimed at the space just above Bree's forearm, and opened her mouth as wide as she could. Then, in a split second, her teeth sank into the Faerie's flesh and tore blood and skin from Bree's arm.
Bree howled in pain, crimson flowing from her arm, her hold on Bianca's neck loosening. However, that wasn't enough. Not yet. Bianca ripped the axe from Bree's belt and slammed the side of it into her face with a rapid twist of her body. The axe cracked against Bree's antler, sending her staggering back. Bianca struck the wooden and stone weapon against the ground as hard as she could, severing the weapon's head from its shaft.
Bree reeled, clutching her now bleeding face and forearm. "You fucking bitch! How–"
There was no dodging Bianca's next assault. She charged for Bree and wrapped her arms around the Faerie's torso and sent her hurtling to the ground. Bianca straddled her opponent, grabbing her by the antlers and violently shaking her head. She struck the ground with the back of Bree's head over and over. "Stop!" Bree grabbed Bianca's face, but was only met with the half-Elf's teeth as she caught the Faerie's fingers in her mouth.
Bree shrieked, blood dripping down her arm and into her eyes. "Jardur, get her off! Get her off!" Bianca's eyes were wild with fury, clenching her teeth harder as bones began to crunch and pop in her mouth.
Jardur laughed, standing to the side with his arms crossed and an amused look on his face. "You wanted this, boss. Made your bed, now get fucked in it." The assassin shrugged.
"Take the key! Take the fucking key!" Bree howled in pain.
Bianca finally let Bree's hand go as she snarled. "Keep my sister's name out of your mouth, you cunt!" She punched Bree's eye one final time before rising from the ground. She looked at Bree one final time, the Faerie a bloody mess on the ground clutching her face and shielding herself from Bianca.
Stay down.
Bianca limped towards the site of where the key once rested, seeing it just between the grass and stone. The guards around her, for all their weapons and arrows, gave pause as she approached. Some even took a step back as she walked. Bianca knelt down, but fell onto her backside as her fingers grabbed the key. She began unlocking the seastone braces on her wrists and neck. The black bands broke apart as they fell from her body, and Bianca could feel the energy flow inside of her body again.
"I won the damn challenge, now let me go!" Bianca shouted.
Jardur shrugged. "That you did, little lady. Let her pass, men."
"Wait," Bree's voice came from behind Bianca, albeit weak. "Wait."
"Boss, you got your arse handed to you. No need to add insult to injury." Jardur tried to reason with the Faerie. Bianca turned to look at her former opponent. Blood trailing from her arm, eye, and side of her face, she had certainly seen better days. "Boss–"
"Shut up, Jardur!" Bree screamed. Her fists clenched, and the ground beneath Bianca began to shift. The rocks began to crumble, and the grass grew wild and out of control in an instant. "If she walks, this country could go to war again. Again! Maybe you're too young to remember what it was like, Jardur, but I'm not! I won't let that hell engulf this country again! Not while I can do something!"
Rocks and vines began to take shape in the form of a construct behind Bree. It took on a face, and began to grow to the size of a small building. What was this magic? The eyes of the being began to glow, and vines grew down to reach the base of Bree's neck as her eyes glowed alongside the golem's. Bree extended an arm, and the golem did the same as it grew ever larger.
Bianca reared back her arm to deliver a punch filled with flame. Yet what could she do against something like this? Bree's eyes were filled with murderous intent as the titan-like being grew ever larger until it towered over the temple. The soldiers panicked, running from their stations as priestesses and monks scurried to get away from the scene. "Stop this! You're going to hurt the people inside!"
"Boss!" Jardur drew his sword.
"I won't let you plunge this country into war!" Bree's voice sounded as though it were joined by a chorus of others. "Fàs na talmhainn!"
"Boss, stop!" One final plea from the assassin, but in that instant a wall of flame surged forward and severed the vines from Bree's neck. The Faerie fell forward, unconscious as the golem came undone, its pieces rejoining the earth below.
The soldiers stopped running as the wall of flame subsided, and they soon found themselves joined by two individuals. One was a woman with green skin, red hair, and tusks dressed in blue and gold robes of the College of Autumn's Gate. An Orc, but Bianca had never known Orcs to study magic.
Yet at the sight of the next figure, all soldiers, priestesses, monks, and any civilians bowed in her presence. Even Jardur bent the knee as the woman approached. Long, crimson hair tied behind her head with a silver circlet adorning her, a tartan kilt and red jerkin with a wolf's pelt hanging as a cape, and boots made of fine leather. Her skin was like ivory, and her eyes were as green as emeralds. She wore a long, double-edged sword at her side, and her eyes were fixed upon Bianca as she approached.
"Thank you, Professor Stone-tooth. I feared Bree would cause more casualties than necessary in her little game." The woman's voice was calm, but commanding. Her steely gaze never left Bianca as she reached a hand towards the mercenary. "Bianca Miles, is it?"
Bianca hesitated, but something told her it would be in her best interest to respond to this woman. "Y-yes. I am she."
The regal woman nodded and smiled. "I am Ysolda War-Bear, Bianca Miles. Protector of Autumn's Gate, and High Queen of Elbafas. Your High Queen. It is wonderful to meet you."
This woman is the High Queen?
"Miles?" Bree spat as she rose up, clutching the back of her neck. "Did you say Miles?" She asked.
"Yes, she did!" Bianca snapped back.
"Calm yourself, Miss Miles. Yes, Bree. This woman is Benjamin's child, if I were to guess."
They know my father?
Bree said nothing, only sat back down and looked at the ground. Something told Bianca that there was something about her father that struck some kind of nerve with the Faerie. "Oh, shit…"
"Bianca Miles, may I speak with you in private? I must discuss something of great importance regarding your sentence." Ysolda spoke, and beckoned Bianca to follow her.
***
The discovery of seastone was a bit of a blessing and a curse at the same time in modern history. Seastone acts as a dampener between one's connection to the aurora that we pull magic energy from, and thus can prevent one's body from harnessing magic in even the simplest form. Found off the coast of Tui Lai some fifty years ago, seastone has been used to keep prisoners of war from utilizing magic as a means to escape justice.
However, it has also been found to be used by Elvehn as a means to keep Faeries and other slaves in line. Magic is sacred in Gaol, and unfortunately those who can find ways to cut off its usage to others will find ways to exploit such means.
-From the desk of Lambur Stone-tooth of the College of Autumn's Gate