soldiers. What lay before them was a battle they had waited centuries to fight. He yelled out to his men. He reminded them that this day was long in the making. Today, with this final victory, they could finally walk free again in the sunlight. Today, they would finally reclaim what had been stolen from them so long ago. Today, they would finally take back their home.
It was finally here, thought Prince Treyan. A chance for true glory. He looked around him. His men looked ready. They’d tasted what this enemy had to offer. The enemy was great. They were powerful. They had lived up to the billing. But they weren’t unbeatable. He smiled to himself. He had longed for a test like this his entire life. His father and grandfather, they had been great warriors. They had conquered every other major kingdom within reach. All but the Kreyforians. Every other great civilization in their desert had fallen to their might during their reigns. There was no one else within reach to defeat. No way left to truly test himself in battle, to prove himself. His father had mocked him. Treated him as if he’d been coddled. Yet, he’d spent every day honing his skills, preparing himself for an opportunity that it seemed would never come. Yet here it was, finally, upon him. And, so far, he was up to the challenge. Finally he could hold his head high. The foe he was facing was even greater than those his father and grandfather had faced. Much greater, and he was defeating them.
He looked at his love. She stood beside him. Her expression was one of concentration, resolution . . . iron determination. But she didn’t look as confident as the rest. He was surprised, considering that she was the most skilled of them all. He had seen what she was capable of, how magnificent she truly was. Her abilities on the battlefield were beyond anything he’d ever heard of. So why such a look of concern? Perhaps, he thought, this is what it takes to be so great. No false sense of confidence. No matter what, maintain one’s focus and fight with everything you have to the bitter end. Yes, he would follow her lead. He let go of his pride. He allowed any arrogance to fade away. There was still plenty to be proven on this battlefield. There was a lot more fighting to come.
Kiella sat in the cavern, looking out at the horizon, but focusing her attention on her ears. She listened carefully to the sound of any twig, any falling branch or leaf, anything that might give away the sound of Gekken nearing them again. It was still hard to hear anything, however, over all of the sound Shyrea’s body made as it rolled and thrashed about. Kiella did notice that it was getting quite light now. They had made it to morning. A few hours earlier, it had looked like she would never see this day. She had all but given up, but her gorgeous friend had come to her rescue yet again. She stared at Shyrea there, her body covered in her cloak, her hands and legs bound and her face covered by her hood which was tied down over her beautiful eyes. She knew it wasn’t even her inside there. Who knew who, or even what, was in there now? A Gekken? A forest creature? An eagle? A bug? She saw her friend’s body getting far too close to the rocks at the back of the cavern. It rolled fiercely as whatever was inside her fought with complete disregard for her body’s safety to try to free itself from the bonds and the darkness it was trapped in. Kiella rushed over and bound her even more tightly, wrapping more ropes around her arms and legs and torso, making it even more difficult for whatever was in her to gain any leverage to move. The body could no longer roll, and just moved around in a stationary spot, wriggling and writhing, still trying with what little movement it could muster
It was finally here, thought Prince Treyan. A chance for true glory. He looked around him. His men looked ready. They’d tasted what this enemy had to offer. The enemy was great. They were powerful. They had lived up to the billing. But they weren’t unbeatable. He smiled to himself. He had longed for a test like this his entire life. His father and grandfather, they had been great warriors. They had conquered every other major kingdom within reach. All but the Kreyforians. Every other great civilization in their desert had fallen to their might during their reigns. There was no one else within reach to defeat. No way left to truly test himself in battle, to prove himself. His father had mocked him. Treated him as if he’d been coddled. Yet, he’d spent every day honing his skills, preparing himself for an opportunity that it seemed would never come. Yet here it was, finally, upon him. And, so far, he was up to the challenge. Finally he could hold his head high. The foe he was facing was even greater than those his father and grandfather had faced. Much greater, and he was defeating them.
He looked at his love. She stood beside him. Her expression was one of concentration, resolution . . . iron determination. But she didn’t look as confident as the rest. He was surprised, considering that she was the most skilled of them all. He had seen what she was capable of, how magnificent she truly was. Her abilities on the battlefield were beyond anything he’d ever heard of. So why such a look of concern? Perhaps, he thought, this is what it takes to be so great. No false sense of confidence. No matter what, maintain one’s focus and fight with everything you have to the bitter end. Yes, he would follow her lead. He let go of his pride. He allowed any arrogance to fade away. There was still plenty to be proven on this battlefield. There was a lot more fighting to come.
Kiella sat in the cavern, looking out at the horizon, but focusing her attention on her ears. She listened carefully to the sound of any twig, any falling branch or leaf, anything that might give away the sound of Gekken nearing them again. It was still hard to hear anything, however, over all of the sound Shyrea’s body made as it rolled and thrashed about. Kiella did notice that it was getting quite light now. They had made it to morning. A few hours earlier, it had looked like she would never see this day. She had all but given up, but her gorgeous friend had come to her rescue yet again. She stared at Shyrea there, her body covered in her cloak, her hands and legs bound and her face covered by her hood which was tied down over her beautiful eyes. She knew it wasn’t even her inside there. Who knew who, or even what, was in there now? A Gekken? A forest creature? An eagle? A bug? She saw her friend’s body getting far too close to the rocks at the back of the cavern. It rolled fiercely as whatever was inside her fought with complete disregard for her body’s safety to try to free itself from the bonds and the darkness it was trapped in. Kiella rushed over and bound her even more tightly, wrapping more ropes around her arms and legs and torso, making it even more difficult for whatever was in her to gain any leverage to move. The body could no longer roll, and just moved around in a stationary spot, wriggling and writhing, still trying with what little movement it could muster
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