Ranulf Ilyien (ignis_quaedam) wrote in caeleste, @ 2010-01-13 23:12:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | ithacles, koe tidraq, ranulf ilyien, sabev kimyxa, shine everlight, the exiled, vedette uthral |
Harbingers [Sabev, Ithacles, Vedette, Koe, Shine]
They were in the foothills of the Central Mountains - not high enough for the cold to be painful yet, but high enough that Ilyien could feel the difference. Cold was to phoenix as mud was to fleshlings - wearying after a time, and difficult to shake. In the silver glow of the winter moon, it had been impossible to miss Sabev's discomfort. Surely, she couldn't have learned of how mountainous areas could drain their kind -- not after such a sheltered life as she'd led. She must have known, of course; she would have been taught at some point about the chill of other regions of Caeleste before she left her city walls. But knowing and knowing were two things entirely. The Guard still recalled - even after the Risings between now and then - the first time he spent the night in the mountains. He had done it alone.
And so, not so long after they'd made camp and finished their meal, not so long after most had bedded down for the night, Ilyien drew Sabev silently to his side. As he suspected, she was burning too hotly, overcompensating for the weather around them. It was better, he told her without words, to keep a lower, more stable temperature -- which cost less to them and still provided some measure of relief. She would learn it for herself soon enough. For just then, however, he set his arm around her and shared his warmth. As intimate as the gesture seemed, for Ilyien it was an extension only of duty, of honor. He could not allow her to suffer needlessly. Sabev seemed to understand, or perhaps it was just exhaustion -- but whatever the cause, she'd dropped into a grateful curl against his side and into sleep almost immediately.
His was the second watch of the night. There were enough warriors in the party that it was not necessary for him to take any other shifts, and the rotating schedule allowed a full night's sleep between watch nights. Ilyien could have chosen to take a few hours rest before his shift began, but tonight felt... different. As the moon crept higher in its orbit, then began its shift toward the opposite horizon, a tugging presence grew in his mind. He could not place what it was -- but it was terribly familiar, even for its faintness. He turned the sensation over and over again, examining it as a child would examine a puzzle - with equal amounts of frustration. But the awareness would not be named before the appropriate time. Only after the barren branches all but obscured the moon overhead did Ilyien understand what the feeling meant.
They - he and Sabev - were not alone.
The eagerness that swelled in his chest at the recognition of his own kind was nearly enough to push him to his feet. Were Sabev not sleeping soundly beside him, he would have moved, would have saddled and rode out to meet the approaching phoenix. As the minutes ticked by, he could finally make out the number of them - four, to be exact, all males. And all, he realized minutes later, Guards. They were his brothers. And from the as-of-yet tenuous connections he made with them through this distance, he understood their intent: they had come to find him. Him alone.
That got him on his feet. He was grinning as Sabev lifted her head. "Do you feel them?" he asked her silently. But he could see from her expression that she did. Offering his hand, he helped her stand before he turned toward the closest elven guard. "Four men approach from the south," he said. "They are colleagues of mine."
The elf seemed ready to argue, but in that very moment a short-range scout ran on silent feet to the Thunderbolt in front of the Guard. His news was the same - four soldiers riding with intent toward the camp. As the Thunderbolt turned to look at Ilyien with an expression that read, How did you know that?, Ilyien himself found questions of his own. How did the four know his location? Ilyien had long ago ceased reporting to the Praetor. And why now did they come looking for him? There could be only one answer: one of the Guards was an Ascendant -- if not a Psion.
"I'll go out to meet them," Ilyien said. But even as the words left his mouth, the sure and steady sound of hooves on rocky ground sounded at the far end of camp. Odd indeed that they would ride with such urgency in the night. His initial excitement had quickly faded. Something was amiss. He had never before been sought out - not even at The Breaking.
Ilyien turned on his heel and started immediately for the other side of camp. Their side of camp.