The Huntsman of Adamos (Quartet)- draft

CH THE TEARS OF HEAVEN’S HOPE

Spring had taken hold early in the lower elevations, but winter was still frigid and harsh in the high mountains holding the Tear of Heaven’s Hope building site. It would be ready within the Lunar month, and then the wait for the planet to rotate into position to sling shot the ship around Aetheria Prime toward its destination, a tiny emerald and sapphire planet Fleur called Terrearth. The obsidian plate hull glistened in the winter sun and snow refraction. It would look ominous if he did not know what it was for.

Yurieth stood near the top of a snow-covered tree and looked over the valley hidden among the highest peaks at the border of his father’s and Lord Odini’s lands. It was on no map and there had been no way to reach it except by a single treacherous climbing path or by a flyer in good weather, but then Fleur had come and built her strange portals through a place he had never really believed existed. They had never been able to work this soon after The Day of Light Returning. He watched the thirty-one workers rushing around with preparations. Starting next week, the first one third of the children would be secreted away and put into the sleep sarcophagi. The choices made no sense to Yurieth, but it seemed Fleur had brought a list from the future to make sure no one was left behind. Adamos had made a list of those not yet located for Yurieth to discover and bring.

Yurieth noticed a youth running toward him, breath puffing through a scarf and fogging his winter goggles. The Huntsman was impressed by the young man’s speed and agility over the terrain as he slid to a stop on almost the exact spot where Yurieth had promised to someday propose to Fleur. The memory made his heart ache but what he had said to her later made it hurt worse. The first was before he knew what she was and the second before he realized the error of his pride. He wondered how he would ever be able to subvert his honor enough to admit to a shadowed one that he loved her. He watched the youth curiously as the boy pulled out a pair of training swords and quickly began to twist and move, feint, block, and slash. The dual wielder was using a style the Huntsman had never seen before and yet that seemed familiar. After about half-an-hour, the young swordsman sat down, drinking from a flask as he faced the valley. He pulled off his goggles and head-covering, a pale braid fell out.

Yurieth was shocked to see the swordsman was Fleur. Settling her water in the snow, she picked up the two swords and went through the sword movements again. He wondered briefly if the dance-like movements were as beautiful when she was killing the Xelusians who had come to steal her from Adamos territory.

As the swords flashed around her, he realized that she must be formidable opponent, and what he had seen in the battle the day she arrived and the fight in the market place was only a fraction of her skill. Suddenly, she stopped and stared at the treeline, just to the left below where Yurieth hid.

“Come out, Huntsman,” she called out, laughing, “I can smell you.”

Regis’s laughter bellowed out from below Yurieth. “I have bathed, Oracle, but, by the Light, you are difficult to sneak up on.”

The giant white-coated Huntsman of the House of Remus stalked from the forest followed by a youth. Regis was dressed almost exactly like Yurieth in a pale winter long coat. He flipped back his hood to reveal long, dark braids bound together and pale jade eyes. Fleur hugged them both, radiating happiness at their company, and Yurieth envied his brother huntsman and his ward, the Prince of Aetheria.

Xeus grinned up at his protector, “I told you, I told you we couldn’t sneak up on Fleur, even with your magic.”

“How is your training going, my prince?” Fleur asked as she released him.

“I’ll show you, my lady,” the prince said enthusiastically. Pulling two training swords like Fleur’s out, they begin doing the strange practice dance together, then they sparred with Fleur correcting Xeus’s positions as they moved and fought.

After nearly an hour, she stopped him, “Here, my prince, observe and learn.” She handed the prince’s swords to Regis and bowed, “Shall we dance?”

The prince’s protector eyed her suspiciously with a half-smile, half-smirk on his face, “Begging my lady’s pardon, but I still have bruises from the last time we danced.”

“Aww Regis, just a slow dance... What if I promise not to step on your toes?”

The giant warrior still shook his head.

“Please, Regis? Abrieth isn’t here for you to trip over.” She giggled and the males both laugh heartily.

From his perch, Yurieth wondered what he has missed as he watched Fleur and Regis spar in slow motion then Fleur and Xeus spar again. Yurieth realized she was using her magic to compensate for her lack of sight and wondered how much weaker her eyes had become.

“I’ll never get it,” Xeus complained, “I can’t fight without using my magic.”

“Don’t worry, my prince, it will come. It just takes practice. A wise warrior once told me the true warriors are not the fastest or the strongest or even the most skilled, true warriors are those who know love and are willing in their heart, to put themselves between others and all the powers of Darkness,” Fleur assured him. “As an oracle, I can promise you that you are a true warrior because of your heart.”

Xeus puffed up with pride, then asked, “Who said that, Lady Fleur?”

“The last Guardian, it is written on the wall of our guardsmen training center,” she stated. Regis nodded in agreement.

Surprisingly Xeus responded, “I’m hungry, Lady Fleur. Let’s go back.”

She smiled at him, “As my prince wishes.”

Xeus tapped her hand, laughing, “You’re it, Lady Fleur.” He sprinted down the trail, Fluer started to follow but Regis was holding the end of her braid. He chuckled as she swatted at him playfully.

“Really, Huntsman?!?” Then she ran after the prince with Regis’ booming mirth following her.

In moments, Regis was completely alone, he called out to the Huntsman who had been his friend and ally for his whole life. “Hello, brother.”

Yurieth leaped from his perch and landed only a few steps away. “Hello, brother.” They clasped each other’s forearms, then started walking down together to the valley together.

“You tripped over Abrieth dancing?” Yurieth asked amused and Regis laughed.

“Your Oracle was watching us spar and was calling our moves to the Prince. She challenged us and in the course of our duel, your brother was felled and so was I. It made the prince want to learn her sword style. The Oracle has taught him much and renewed his desire to learn the uses of military arts without magic. Your Lady is an amazing teacher.” Regis tone was admiring.

“She is not my lady, she is my brother’s betrothed and widow. She cannot be mine,” Yurieth hated how bitter his words tasted.

“Oh ho... Have you told your father this?”

“My father listens to only my mother, and neither care that she is a wielder of dark magic, they claim she is some kind of special oracle that has only existed once before.” Yurieth retorted.

“So, you would let that she once stood in shadow and can use their magic against them to dissuade you from the most amazing female we have met in centuries? My brother, I know your heart has not beat for nearly five hundred years but surely even you can see the prize she is?” Regis eyed Yurieth skeptically. “It is time you loved and were loved again.”

“Says the one who was never joined to another. My mother picked Roserae for me and I will not relive that battle again. I would rather find my own love this time.”

“Not if love finds you first, as I believe it has. You, my brother, are too cautious. You always have been, and you always take the long way around,” Regis chuckled at his friend’s dour mood as they walk out on the valley floor, both pausing to look up at the Tear of Heaven’s Hope.

“I like the scenery,” Yurieth retorted as he rolled his eyes.

“Heed me, brother. Scenery is overrated when compared to a single flower.”

“By the Light, not you too,” Yurieth groaned, making Regis chuckle again.

They watched Fleur and Xeus sword fighting as others surrounded them, many were amused at her taunting commentary when Abrieth joined the fray at the base of the ship destined to save their people and be their hope.

“Some flowers only bloom once, my brother, they are cut down, wither, and never bloom again,” Yurieth murmured regretfully.

Regis could only squeeze his shoulder.

Fleur rolled over in bed for the hundredth time, her kitten Diva hissed at her and stalked to the end of the bed.

“Sorry, little one, I... I need to work, I don’t know when they need to leave but it will be soon.” She had already planned to place the tiny gray feline in with the animals going on the Tear to save it.

Moving quietly, she dressed in the trousers, shirt and coat. She plaited her hair quickly and left her room, easily finding her way to the portal hidden at the back wall of the Winter Castle. There were so many little things on the Tear that she felt needed double checked. Most of the systems only had one set of back-ups, and she wanted to run a tertiary set of control cables for life support, navigation, and the landing systems. The ship would be on its own for most of the three-thousand-year journey. She trailed her fingers on the outside of the portal shelter and lined up with the entrance to the Tear in the map in her mind. One-hundred-twelve steps later, she flashed her oracle stone and the door opened. Only oracles or mages could open the ship when the doors were sealed.

Fleur connected the specialized cable to the rear of the navigation controls and crawled through the control conduits on the opposite side of the ship from the main and secondary conduits. As she followed the ladder down to the engineering level, she heard voices. She left the cable at the bottom and climbed back up, then through the service hatches and crawlspaces until she found them.

Adamos was standing in the section with the first awakening beds. She could hear Lord Odini and someone who wasn’t supposed to be in this time. Karstien felt tired and Fluer realized that Adamos had made her forget that he arrived from the future with Adamos and Odini after taking Oshay home. It hurt her heart that Karstien had not trusted her to know he was here.

From where his voice came from, it sounded like Karstien was leaning on a sleep sarcophagus, his tone scowling as he spoke, “Why... why her? Father had Asha check her genetic coding against the other high houses. She has traces of all of them, almost like... like she was made.”

“Grandson, I cannot say that what I will do is wrong, even though it grieves my heart. It must be done. Our little flower is a truly special blossom, she will be born to save our house, to save our people, to fight the Darkness and its servants,” Adamos declared. “The Tear is not our only hope.”

From his tone, Fleur could imagine Karstien pinching between his eyes as he spoke. “Grandfather, if she ever finds out... it will break her. She... She has suffered... so much. To know that she was... was just...”

“Just made to be a weapon,” Yurieth snapped from across the room. “You said she is a special kind of oracle, an antumbra, and now my nephew tells us the truth that she was bred to carry the genetic remnant of the high houses. An oracle’s power is fueled by love, but she wields darkness which is fed by hate. She’s...”

Karstien interrupted him, “The only thing Daisy, I mean, Fleur hates is the Darkness. Dark magic is just energy to her, like a different polarity. She says the intent is in the heart of the user.”

Yurieth snorted in disbelief, and Karstien stood up, angrily reminding him, “Fleur has a pure heart, she loves more than anyone I know. Even when she was completely broken by my brother, she still loved those around her enough to sacrifice herself to save them. This lie... this deceit will break her.”

“Fleur is already broken, she was made that way, so she couldn’t access her magic too soon,” Adamos said softly. “She needs love to power her magic, her will isn’t enough. She needs your love and you will love her, Yurieth. She was made for you, to bear your heir. Together, you and she shall...”

“And what of my brother, what of Kaleth?” Yurieth demanded, he sounded anguished.

“I will deal with my youngest son. Everything shall be as she remembers, he will do his duty, to jump start her magic and begin her change, their children shall be accounted for,” Adamos announced firmly. “Winning is the only thing that matters.”

“His duty?” Karstien gasped, “Father loved her. He would never falsely...”

Fleur’s whole world collapsed with the elder oracle’s next words.

“He will do his duty, just as Yurieth will, Karstien. The Devourer cannot be allowed to win, and our houses; Adamos, Odini, and Yophriel; shall fix the error of our ancestors. Or the universe will cease to exist.” Adamos retorted coldly, glaring at him.

Fleur bit her hand to keep from sobbing aloud. She was glad the emotions of those in the room below her were so violent that they hid her pain from Adamos. With the men raging at each other below, the older oracle wouldn’t sense her.

Karstien shouted at his grandfather for the first time in his very long life, “Do not tell me what happens if we fail, I have seen it. I have seen the death of everything I love through her eyes in the future, Grandfather. The Relic of Time brought a future her back, back from the hours before the final battle for all existence in a different timeline to warn us. She hugged me, and showed me everything. We let my father die the next day because we didn’t have a choice.” Karstien’s fist pounded on something hard.

“Grandson...”

“NO! You can’t imagine what it was like! A whole world was being harvested around us as Daisy held my dying father in her arms. I felt her soul break that day, worse than after she escaped my brother, but she put aside her pain and still fought to save all she could. She wore his blood on her dress over my unborn brother until evening. Days later, she sang my father’s memorial and then declared she wouldn’t for grieve him yet because there wasn’t time. We were at war to stop the Devourer, to fix your kingdom’s mistakes.” His rage flared like he was going to attack Adamos. “She suffered continually but she never gave up.”

“It is how she will be made, to never quit, to never give up but her duty is almost done, once she has Yurieth’s son...” Adamos announced but Karstien yelled at him. “No! She is my best friend; the mother of my siblings and you act like... like she’s disposable!”

She felt Yurieth step between Karstien and Adamos, “Easy, Karstien.” She sensed how they both looked at Adamos with a sense of pure betrayal.

Karstien gritted out, “She can never know, Uncle Yuri. If she finds out, she will leave us forever.”

“She won’t find out,” Yurieth vowed, he walked away from them and Fleur felt him making the choice to do as his father commanded. She could imagine the expression he wore; she had seen many, many times during the war. It was the look he got when he was resigned to do something he didn’t want to do.

“As you command, Father.” Then Yuri walked out and Karstien followed.

Fluer slipped back down through the conduits and climbed down. She heard Yurieth and Karstien talking three levels above the exit hatch. They had stopped in the scanner and navigation room.

“I can’t believe father and grandfather did that to her, that...” Karstien stopped.

“That we will have to carry on their deception. Oracles’ games are all about secrets and manipulation, they are about making people do what they want them to do without telling them the truth,” Yurieth sounded frustrated. “Do we... I mean Fleur and I, are we really that important?”

Karstien sighed before he answered, “Did she show you the things she and my father could do?” There was a pause and she imagined Yuri nodding. “Well, you and she could do, will do, more, Uncle Yuri... Without you both, we won't win.”

Fleur slipped away, climbed down to the exit, and ran to the portal building. Once through the portal, she went straight into the castle and up the stairs to the nursery, but this time she didn’t go in. She stood at the door, shaking like she was having some kind of seizure. He was there, sleeping, as an infant, she could feel his soul, so young and pure. She wondered how he had managed to hide the truth from her, but then he had always hidden things from her.

Adamos’ words played in her mind, ‘He will do his duty.’

She had loved him with everything she was, and she was just his duty. Her soul was hurting as bad as it had when Kaleth had died, the thought that he had never loved her was agony. The knowledge that Yurieth would never love her as she loved him and knowing even their friendship was a lie so the House of Adamos could win the war, made her heart feel like it was dying. She prayed she didn’t need to use her light because she knew nothing would happen. Her only hope to access her power was to think of her children.

Turning, she walked to her room, trailing her fingers down the ornately carved chair rail. She had no idea Yurieth could carve like this, he had carved the bows he made for her daughters, but the whole Winter Castle was carved more elaborately than the Stave Churches of Norway on her birthworld. She realized there were a lot of things about Yurieth she didn’t know, and she didn’t understand how the two men she loved could hide so much from her. Her mind reminded her of something Adamos said, he had said that he would make everything she remembered would happen, and she realized the Adamos had read her memories when he was soothing her nightmares.

Suddenly, she knew she couldn’t stay here, she couldn’t sleep here or Adamos would make her forget the truth she discovered tonight. It would be morning soon. She felt around her room and began stuffing everything in a chest. She would move to the build site so Adamos wouldn’t discover that she had learned their terrible truth. She would finish her mission, and if by some miracle she made it home, she would take her children on her ship, The Seeker, and leave Aetheria and the House of Adamos behind forever.

Her rage hesitated. If she went back to then, she would have to tell her children the truth, that their whole life had been a lie. The great love story of their parents was a farce and that their insane half-brother had been uncharacteristically truthful when he had called her a concubine, the whore of the House of Adamos. Fleur decided she couldn't bear that. Her resolve folded around her pain like a chinese puzzle box and her tears retreated. If this was what she was made for... to win the war... then she would and Yuri could find another to bear him an heir.

She would die to finish her duty and save the children of the Tear and her children in the far future. She was the War Oracle.