A Day of Fallen Night (The Roots of Chaos)

Ninuru raced towards the city, her paws kicking up dust. Tunuva held on to her fur with one hand, the saddle with the other, as they followed Jeda. Siyu clung to her waist. Other ichneumons ran behind them, each carrying a warrior. All of them thundered past Lake Jodigo.

To the west, wyverns flocked. A distant black cloud marked the pyre that was Jotenya. No sign yet of Dedalugun.

Ahead, Esbar made straight for the Godsblades.

For weeks, Kediko had refused to fortify Nzene. Only when the Lasian ambassador to Carmentum had arrived at his court, months after Tunuva had first warned him of the threat, had he finally seen fit to act. High walls had been constructed, blocking the narrow passes between the mountains. In front of each one, a ditch bristled with sharpened stakes and kindling, and behind, rows of towers had been raised for archers.

Apparently, Kediko could be resourceful when it pleased him.

Thousands of shaken and injured survivors were waiting to enter through the only wall with a gate, beside Mount Dinduru, largest and most sacred of the Godsblades. At any other time, they might have stared at the sight of so many ichneumons. Instead, they made way without protest.

‘State your names, and your business in Nzene,’ an official shouted down from a tower.

‘Esbar uq-Ispad,’ Esbar called back. ‘I bring warriors for the High Ruler, at his invitation.’

Gashan must have told the official that name. With a nod, she motioned to the guards on the ground, who stood aside as one for the ichneumons. Tunuva rode Ninuru through.

Nzene was preparing for war. Heat fanned from the ironworks. Mounted warriors held lances and war shields, gilded with the pomegranate of the House of Onjenyu. Some people were making for the mountain caves, or barring themselves into their homes, most of which were tile and stone. Far more prepared to fight for the city, grasping all manner of weapons, from swords and bows to any tool they could turn to their advantage: sickles, hammers, hay forks. Some had shrewdly painted their skin with clay, to stave off fire.

Esbar marched them up to the palace. Gashan Janudin awaited them with folded arms, her masked ichneumon at her side. Barsega had run far ahead to reunite with her little sister.

‘Prioress,’ Gashan said.

‘Royal Treasurer.’ Esbar stopped in front of her, mirroring her stance. ‘You called.’

‘The High Ruler of Lasia called.’

Esbar nodded to the ichneumon. ‘Barsega managed to find you, I see.’

‘She was always faster than your Jeda.’

‘But not half as good at menacing growls,’ Esbar said, giving Jeda a stroke. Jeda growled.

Gashan looked her former rival in the eye, her lips twitching into a smile. She wore the white cloak of an initiate over her armour.

‘Esbar, I know you and I have never precisely been friends,’ she said, ‘but I ask all of you to stand with me now, to defend the Domain of Lasia, as the Mother once did.’

‘For that,’ Esbar said, ‘I am willing to forget the past.’ She grasped Gashan by the arm, and Gashan gripped hers in return. ‘Tell us what’s happening, sister.’

Gashan beckoned. Leaving their sisters and ichneumons in the Inner Court, Esbar and Tunuva followed her.

‘Dedalugun will be here soon,’ she said. ‘I did my best, but Jotenya was too exposed, in the marchlands – when its wall fell, the battle was lost. The Godsblades offer more protection.’ They rounded a corner. ‘Many people have risked the copper road, hoping to reach the Spindles in time, though I hear there are wyrms there as well.’

‘There are,’ Tunuva said.

‘Everyone else is trapped here, on the streets – about two hundred thousand people.’

‘The High Ruler praised his army when I met him last. How many soldiers are here?’

‘Four and a half thousand. The others are fighting across Lasia.’

‘Which means you don’t know if they’re alive or dead. They’re probably dead,’ Esbar added, pursing her lips. ‘Can you assure me that the High Ruler approves of our presence?’

‘His Majesty has remembered the importance of the ancient bond between his bloodline and the Priory.’

‘It only took the end of the world to remind him,’ Esbar said under her breath. ‘Take us to him, Gashan, if you would. I wish to hear this revelation from his own mouth.’

‘I have a revelation for you first.’ Gashan faced them both. ‘Something may be about to stop all of this.’

‘What?’

‘I’ve been combing the library for any knowledge that might help us. I found an ancient tablet in the royal archives. I believe it is from across the Eria, brought here by Suttu the Dreamer.’ She showed it to them. ‘It took me some time to interpret the script – portions of it are worn off, as you see. But it speaks of a comet, which has passed this world before.’

The tablet was round, made of clay. Esbar shook her head. ‘How will a comet help anyone?’

‘It is due to come again soon – now, at any moment. Surely the timing has significance.’

‘That sort of thing was always your area.’

‘Wait,’ Tunuva murmured. The stone was turning colder. ‘Ez, Canthe spoke of a comet. She claimed it was the source of her other power – sterren. That magic weakened my fire in Carmentum. What if it can do the same to the beasts of the Dreadmount?’

Gashan raised an eyebrow. ‘Who is Canthe?’

‘No one you need to worry about,’ Esbar said, giving Tunuva a nod. ‘Gashan, have you told Kediko?’

‘No.’ Gashan tucked the tablet away. ‘He believes in the significance of the celestial bodies. I feared he might not prepare Nzene if he thought an answer would fall from the sky.’

‘So you did notice his flaws.’

‘Not now, Esbar,’ Gashan said curtly, marching on. ‘What is this about another magic?’

‘Not now, Gashan. If a comet does come, so be it. If not, we will need to fight for our lives.’

Kediko Onjenyu was dressed for battle, but seated in comfort, with a goblet and a bowl of fruit. Seeing Esbar approach, he winched his features into his usual smile, but Tunuva saw what two years of chaos had done to him. His war crown failed to conceal his grey hairs.

‘Leave us,’ he told his servants, who departed. ‘Esbar. I hear you are now Prioress. Congratulations on your promotion.’

‘Congratulations on your survival, High Ruler. We are honoured to have spent the last two years keeping wyrms away from your fine palace,’ Esbar said, with a tight smile. Kediko broadened his. ‘At your invitation, I have brought my daughters to Nzene, to fight for the House of Onjenyu – but before we raise our blades, I wish to reassure myself that you have not mistaken this for an invasion. I understand our presence has unnerved you recently.’

‘If I gave Tunuva that impression, I apologise. You are welcome here. After all, we are all humans, born of flowers, bound together in the shadow of the Dreadmount.’ Kediko drummed his fingers on the throne. ‘I relish this opportunity for the Priory to prove its prowess.’

‘I believe we have proven our prowess already, in several of your cities,’ Esbar said, her smile turning dangerous. ‘We drove Dedalugun away from Jrhanyam.’

‘Driving him away is one thing. Slaying him would prove my doubts wrong, once and for all. If you cannot slay a wyrm, what edge has the Priory over a conventional army?’

‘Will you be joining us?’ Esbar asked, still with that smile. ‘I hear you were a fighting man in your youth.’

‘I would. Gladly,’ Kediko said, ‘but I would hate to take that Mother-given duty from you. After all, you have waited all your lives for something to protect me from.’ He sat back. ‘Good luck to you, Esbar.’

Before Esbar could kill him, Gashan led her away.

‘I swear by the Mother,’ Esbar bit out, ‘I will humble that smiling fool if I have to personally chew Dedalugun to death, picking off each scale with my teeth. I should let him burn.’

‘He wants this, Esbar.’ Gashan steered her up the stairs. ‘He wants to goad you into slaying Dedalugun.’

‘I would hate to disappoint.’

On the terrace, they looked out across Nzene – the sky, the tarnished platter of the sun. Tunuva reached for Esbar, and Esbar looked at her, her eyes speaking a lifetime of words.

Dedalugun would fall. If not, they would die together, under the Lasian sun, doing what they had been born to do.