Upon a Star: Karyana's Journey: Chapter 13

Kaina finds aid from an unlikely ally, while Demyan fights to be recognized for his birthright.

Chapter 13

Kaina's borrowed steed was charging down the muddy road as quickly as it could, leaving splatters of rain-drenched road dust on its grey-and-white hide. The rain was beating down hard against the rider who only wore a cloak and cowl over herself even as the wind made the rain pour on all sides.

There were several reasons why the ranger girl was pushing the horse Demyan allowed her to take to its physical limit. Those reasons had fangs, claws, and were pursuing them.

A pack of wolves had decided that venison wasn't enough for their evening meal and had decided to hunt for larger game. Kaina's mistake had been to stop at a water hole to allow her horse to drink, and had not noticed the predators' den a few leagues away.

Even now, Kaina was trying hard to keep the reins steady with one hand and her sword, now fully erect for battle and burning with magical fire in the other. Lowering the blade to ease the horse would end up with a large burn and an even more panicked mare. Concentrating only on the wolves would cause her to lose track of the road and probably take a branch upside the head from the nearby trees.

Even if she did swing her blade at the wolves, if she didn't get a clean hit, she would be in a vulnerable position, leaving her open to be disarmed, disembarked and, if the wolves were as ravenous as they appeared, dismembered.

She could hear the howls and grunts of the wolf-pack closing in, and there was only so much time to react. Kaina looked around for anything she could use to slow her assailants, trying to focus even as the rain was beating down on her.

The audible whistling of an arrow shaft, followed by the pain-filled grunt of one of the wolves felt like a miracle.

Kaina reined in her horse, making it buck and rear on its hind legs, as she finally found the confidence, and the momentum, to turn and fight. Gripping her blade with the same strength she displayed only a week ago at the ceremony, she didn't wait for the wolves to get close before swinging her sword in a wide arc, causing the magical flames of the blade to form a wide crest, even as she spun the horse on itself, the beast kicking a wolf square in the maw. The blazing arc of flame that seared forth seemed immune to the downpour, only stopping at the closest targets, setting fur ablaze in unnatural speed.

A few more arrows whistled past the young rider, causing three more wolves to collapse, the burn and the steel of the arrow tips ending their predatory ways.

Kaina was so tense from the battle that she barely registered the horse panicking and bucking, making her drop her sword, which soon receded back into its tinier form. It took everything for her to stay on the horse, but everything was not enough as the dismount was brutal. The panic caused her to pass out before she hit the muddy ground, her drenched armor making a loud splat as if fell in a grimy puddle.

----

"I hope you have a good excuse." the Viceroy spoke, his right hand holding his scepter in an accusing way, his left hand tapping against the throne's arm-rest. "You know as well as I do that the old Magelord's quarters are quarantined."

Demyan looked down for a moment. "I know, sire." he simply answered, though he had wished he could say everything that was on his mind right now. Though it would have probably looked like a complete lack of etiquette, and also caused several by-standers' ears to burn.

"And yet, not only did you go there, without my consent, but you brought a stranger from, uh…" the large man spoke, trying to remember something.

The man standing on the right side of the throne, a lanky scholar dressed in the colors of the Order, whispered to the Viceroy, before the noble continued. "…Warmcreek, yes. A student of that dispossessed alchemist? Sounds like rubbish."

The young man clenched his fist. "This is no rubbish, sire." he retorted. "I know who she is."

The Viceroy looked accusingly at Demyan, even as he gripped the armrests of the throne so hard that his knuckles whitened. "Then, explain to me, youngling, how you would know of such a woman? As I recall, you have never traveled outside of Citadel, except to pick up this sell-sword!"

"She is not a sell-sword!" came the young man's reply. "She was trained at the Academia and successfully completed the Selection."

It was the chancellor who responded this time. The older man, sitting at the left of the Viceroy, rose from his seat, his battle-tested armor making his lift slow, but his stance as dominating as that of any other captain. "My lord, I did receive a letter from the Academia, and have handed it to you on the day of her arrival." he calmly spoke to the noble.

"This does not tolerate her for being allowed into the late Magelord's quarters, Garret!" the Order's confidant retorted. "The artifacts and scrolls of the late Medai are not to be tampered with, or taken, and you…"

Looking back at Demyan, the mage pointed a bony finger at him. "Not only did you enter the Magelord's room and scoured through his tomes, but you let that girl run off with one of Medai's artifacts!"

The crowd sounded shocked and a volley of murmurs and whispers rose, as Demyan did from his kneeling position. "I did not let her run off with the celestial shard, sir, I gave it to her."

The Viceroy rose from his chair, looking furious. "You did what?"

The young man pointed at the now-furious noble with a defiant stare. "If you had known her like I did, you would know that she is no mere girl. Her fate is greater than any of ours!"

Garret turned to look at Demyan. "And how do you know such a thing? You have never even spoken to anyone of her before, and she has never been seen in Citadel." he replied with a tone that showed authority, but also some leniency. "You do know that if you are protecting a thief, you will be sent to the block in her stead."

Demyan let out a sigh. "For years, sir, I have been seeing her in my dreams. She, and two other girls." he answered, which caused the crowd to burst in laughter.

"Oh, this is rich." the Viceroy commented, after a bout of laughter. "You are telling me, the current ruler of Citadel, and this entire crowd of aristocrats and nobles, that you led a thief into our walls… because of a nightly fantasy? The madhouse seems more fitting for you than the prison, my boy."

The young man grit his teeth, before looking at the crowd. "You don't know anything about me!" he shouted with authority. "Ever since I could remember, my nights were filled with the shared knowledge of Lord Scyens, the All-Knowing!"

The look of shock on the Order's ambassador caused the crowd to slowly silence, even as the noble sat uncomfortably on his throne. "This is madness." he chortled. "No one has ever heard of the Planars' chosen ones since the late Medai won the battle of Dyurth Pass. I do not know what kind of stories your mother told you, but I will not-"

"A moment, sire." the Order's confidant spoke. "There has been rumors coming about from the Order over the past week. Rumors that the Arch ordered a promising young student, the apprentice of Vokram Niros, to travel to Wizardbane-"

"She was not his apprentice, but his slave." Demyan retorted.

"Silence!" the Viceroy shouted, slamming his scepter against the armrest. "You will not speak until questioned, do you understand?"

The mage waited for the crowd to stop ushering before continuing. "As I was about to say, there have been reports that Vokram Niros, who was named Mediarch last month, has perished in Wizardbane by spontaneous combustion. Also, that promising young woman was seen riding north-east towards Dyurth, then west to Gullreach; and at the same time, the former apprentice of the late Magelord has been appointed as Mediarch."
"And those are only the beginning of such oddities." The mage added, pointing at the young man. "It was said that, at the Selection ceremony, you were seen sitting with the Arch himself! Surely these are no mere coincidences."

Garret raised an eyebrow �" the only one that didn't have a battle scar on it. "Only the late Magelord was allowed such an honor…" he commented, before his eyes widened. "Surely… this can't be…"

The Viceroy put his scepter on his armrest and brought both hands together before lowering his forehead onto it. "Pure and absolute folly." he uttered. "The Magelord died sixteen years or so ago… and now, you claim that this boy, raised by a soldier and the late Medai's former handmaid, with no noble uprising, is the physical reincarnation of our Lord and Ruler, the true Magelord, the Planar Reveen? This is nothing but the desperate ramblings of a love-struck fool who harbored a relic thief!"

This time around, the crowd did not speak a word. The air was heavy with confusion and unease. It felt like time itself was not sure how to move.

"There is a way to prove it, my lord." The Order's confidant spoke. "If he truly is the Magelord to be, then…" Leaning towards the Viceroy, he whispered something inaudible to everyone else in the room.

The Viceroy's face grew somber. "Very well." he replied with an icy tone. "Young man, there was one spell that the late Magelord created in his life that no other mages were taught. A spell that has not been since or heard of since Lord Medai's death. A secret that only he knew, and that was never given to the Order of the Manaweave. Conjure up this spell, here and now, and we may begin to believe you. Fail, and you will be executed on this hour!"

Demyan looked shocked by the noble's threat, but it was a believable one. Not only that, but this was the only way to prove that Kaina was no cut-purse. Calming himself, he rose his left arm before him. "Appear!" he commanded.

The crowd looked mildly shocked as a war staff, similar to the late Magelord's, appeared in the boy's hand, solidifying itself from a ray of pure light into the shape of the jeweled object.

Gripping the staff tightly, the young man lowered the head of the weapon onto the ground, drawing a circle all around him. Connecting the drawing together, the staff's touch made the etching on the marble floor light with a silver glow, which caught the eyes of the Order's confidant.

"The one spell that Lord Medai created… the spell that lay waste to the dark armies at Dyurth Pass…" the young man commented before gripping the staff with both hands, raising it to a horizontal position as he closed his eyes.

As the first words of the incantation resonated in the silent room, Garret's eyes widened. From the drawn circle, silvery blades of energy swerved around the boy. "Eternal light…"

The staff's gems went aglow with mana as the weave accelerated, causing the ground around the circle to shimmer, as if the etching had created roots that reached into Medierth's primal weave of mana. "…ever true and undefiled…"

The Viceroy's eyes widened as the manaweft was quickly brimming, almost to overflow. "This can't be happening…" he muttered under his breath.

Demyan opened his eyes, which were now silver with mana, as his voice now resonated much deeper. "Grant the sinner before thee the majesty of thy judgment!" he commanded, shouting the last few words as he spun the staff back into vertical position, slamming the staff against the ground.

----

Xelnos's shadow spies let out a ghastly shriek before evaporating, leaving the obsidian-skinned titan momentarily blinded by the pure light that rippled through the throne room. The blast of energy caused the Planar-demon's mirror to crack, causing the inside view of Citadel's throne room to fade to blackness.

"Blast!" the ember-eyed Aspect of Destruction shouted, slamming his fist against the broken surface, making the rest of the mirror shatter into raven-black shards. "This was not supposed to happen until he achieved adulthood!"

The titanic force stomped about, crushing tormented souls underfoot, the screams and pleas making his temper flare. "Reveen… the fool must have spoken to him." he jeered. "The pieces are falling into place more suddenly than I expected. It's about time I intervened…"

Xelnos looked back at his devilish minions. Most were tasked with torturing those who lost their way and defied fate, and they were more than gleefully sadistic. Even so, none of them would survive a single cast of that darkness-dispersing invocation.

"Pison… hmph." the Planar-demon said to himself, the demons too busy at work to care. "That traitorous puppet can act of his own volition. He'll soon know I still hold all the strings. But for now, I have more important matters to fix."

Walking over to what looked like a foundry, Xelnos examined the raging form of what looked like the animated skeleton of a steel panther. "The Iron Cur…", he thought in silence as the beast's razor-sharp fangs were busy chewing on an unlucky fiend that had moved to close. The creature's organs had been replaced by pockets of lava and dark fire, making it appear even more sinister and deadly. "If that witch thinks her manaweave is powerful enough to take this unholy creation down, then it will be an absolute delight to see her body be ripped apart."
The beast snarled, the shrill of steel on steel making all but Xelnos clutch at their ears. "Go… find that gold-haired witch, and feed on her heart!" he ordered, as the beast reared itself to pounce, letting out another wail, causing the broken souls to create a concert of moans and wails that made the Planar-Demon smile.

----

Kaina woke with a start as she felt something cold and scaly brush against her leg. The panicked girl looked about, only to see the darkness of a cave, illuminated only by a handful of torches.

"Wh-what…? Wh-where am I?" she asked herself, before reaching down to her scabbard. Panic was making her nerves twitch, and the fact that she couldn't find the hilt of her sword was sending cold sweat down her back.

"Looking for this?" a voice said behind her.

The mousy rider quickly turned around and let out a gasp as she saw the tail of a large snake coil itself around, ending where the body of a fair-looking woman, dressed only to cover her buxom with cloth, began. The creature had long, golden hair, and was wearing more jewelry than anything Kaina had ever seen before.

In the creature's delicate hands was Kaina's short sword. "Wh-who're… what are you?" the girl whimpered.

"Hmm… for a ranger, you seem rather lost." the creature spoke, a slight lisp �" barely remarkable �" making the 's' sound slightly hissed. "And to have dropped your sword against a pack of forest wolves… not very impressive."

"Please, give it back to me!" Kaina pleaded.

The snake-tailed woman frowned. "My, what a polite creature. You didn't run, nor cower, and you even said 'Please'. You are not like the other adventurers I have met before."

The brown-haired girl looked confused, long enough to forget she was afraid. "What do you mean?"

"I could sense something strange about you." it replied. "It is like meeting a half-man: you do not know if the father or mother is the one that is human, but the traits of human and another race show. As for you, it feels like you are somehow human, but that something far greater is inside you."

Kaina's confusion was the only thing that kept her focused, even as the creature coiled around her loosely, giving her a foot of space all around her to move. "Y-you're not… you're not going to eat me… are you?" she asked nervously.

"Of course not." The creature replied. "I wouldn't want such a curious little creature to go to waste so soon."

Kaina felt the snake-woman's hands grasp as her shoulders, and quickly realized that the blade was not in its hands. Looking quickly around, she noticed the object in between two large coils and dove towards it.

The creature barely had time to react as its gullible prey broke from her grasp, and felt something burning against her chest. Looking down, she noticed the flame-enchanted blade the girl now held in both hands, the same fire glowing in her eyes.

"W-wait!" the creature hissed, backing itself from the blade's reach. "I just wanted to… to have a taste!"

Kaina's face grew serious. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't just cut your tail off…" she said, meaning every word as she tightened her grip on the extended blade.

"I'm sorry…" the creature spoke, placing its hands against the grotto's stone floor. "We nagas have a taste for mortal blood, and your shoulder was cut deep from your collapse…"

Kaina took a quick look at her shoulders and noticed a tight cloth bound to her right shoulder. However, the pain was nowhere present. "You brought me here, and treated my wound?" The creature merely nodded. "Than why do you want to hurt me?"

"The blood of a star… no creature has every tasted such a thing. Your blood has the smell of ambrosia…" the naga replied, raising her head, her body swaying sideways. "Just a taste… and I'll be your eternal servant!"

"The blood of a… star?" the young ranger asked. "What are you saying?"

The creature coil itself close, just an inch out of the girl's sword reach. "I can tell you and your sister are merely halves of a whole." the naga replied. "I could sense the Magelord's magic on your skin… and in your satchel."

Kaina looked down and noticed that her satchel was still attached around her waist. "You who have been twice-blessed… I know of your quest. You wish to be whole." The creature spoke, making the ranger girl let out a gasp. "Just let me have a taste, and I will share my secrets with you."

The mousy young woman let out a sigh, before sheathing her sword, the blade extinguishing and retracting itself as it vanished into the scabbard. "What makes you think I can trust you? You might just bleed me dry."

The naga sat on its own coils, looking at the girl. "If I wanted to bleed you dry, you would have never awoken from your rest." she responded matter-of-factually. "I am not as black-hearted as my kin. I may even have something for you, if you let me keep that blood-stained cloth you wear.

Kaina took a moment to think. The naga was probably right; unconscious and beaten down by the rain and the fall, which would have crippled her, Kaina would have been easy prey for the rest of the pack. "What about the arrows?" she finally asked. "Were you the one who saved me?"

The naga let out a sigh. "The wolves were terrorizing my nest, and had haunted my children in the past." she replied. "When you and your stead sped into my territory, I saw those wolves pursue you. You could say that your actions granted me my vengeance."

The brown-haired ranger looked away from the golden-haired snake-woman. "Alright. You said you would help me, and I will take your word. Don't make me regret it, or you will." she concluded, removing the soaked cloak, armor and undershirt, leaving the naga to get a good view of the girl's buxon and almost-ivory skin.

Kaina looked somewhat intrigued when the snake-woman swayed closer as she removed the cloth, showing a few puncture marks, as if she had fallen on her armor's studs. "Just a taste…"

The naga licked her lips, as if gazing famishedly at a piece of venison. "This won't hurt… too much." she uttered before closing in on the half-naked woman's arm, biting at her upper-arm, just a few inches from her neck.

The girl felt faint for a moment and dropped to her knees as the creature sucked on Kaina's wound. Seconds passed, the naga let out a gasp, even as her hands fled to her face. "Such purity… it's almost… unbelievable!" she spoke, the last word almost in a victorious tone.

The girl breathed heavily. "You got your taste, so please, help me…"

The naga quickly brushed her hands against the bite wound, closing it with a simple manaweave. "Do you even know what you are, child?" the creature replied, licking its lips. "The blood of one born of a star… there's nothing like-"

Before the creature could continue to speak, its coils stiffened, as its human torso broke into spasms. Kaina looked on as the naga gripped its sides, serpentine eyes twitched and closed hard. "What's happening?" both shouted, almost in unison.

It took a few minutes of uncontrolled spasms before the half-woman stopped hissing and screaming, as her insides and snake tail twisted and reformed themselves. Kaina looked on as the immense snake tail came apart, bare legs appeared from the emptying shell, as if the naga was shedding its reptilian self.

The now full woman breathed in and out deeply, feeling a strange sense of completeness. "I can feel it… dancing through my veins… it feels so warm inside…" she muttered, a blissful expression on her face.

Kaina walked over to the woman, who know looked a few years passed adulthood. "Are you alright?"

"Leara… of Myst." the woman spoke, her eyes opening. "I can remember my name…"

"Leara." Kaina said, before noticing that she was still naked from the waist up, while her host had no clothes from the waist down. "Uh-uhm… wh-why don't we get d-dressed… then you can help me?"

-
A few hours passed before Leara and Kaina exited the grotto. The former monster was now wearing a full-length robe to cover her new legs, and was having some difficulty walking with them. "I'm sorry for everything." she pointed out apologetically. "Ever since I asked the Planar of the Wild the right for retribution for my son's life, I've been this… abomination."

Kaina has scavenged through the former naga's hoard and had found a new set of armor �" seemingly made of the creature's shed skins �" and now wore a cloak that seemed to have been woven by an elf, as the fabric was light as leaves, yet sturdier than anything she wore before. "You weren't so monstrous, Leara. Maybe you should find yourself another husband. You can be happy, I'm sure."

Leara made a relieved smile. "Perhaps you're right." she commented. "So, where are you off to now, Starborn?"

"West to Shardfall… that's where my sister is heading." the ranger girl answered, before noticing that her horse was grazing in the thicket.

"Then I hope this shard will answer your wish." the golden-haired woman replied as she handed Kaina a small brooch with feather-shaped, diamond-like gem on it. "We will not meet again… well… at least, not here. I'll return to my home. If you or your whole travel south towards Lhos, find me at Eligius' Grove."

Kaina walked over to her horse, grabbed its reins and climbed on it. "I will make sure to remember." she noted, making the horse strut towards the road. "Farewell."

As the brown-haired girl raced off, Leara looked at the road, her hand waving as she grabbed a jade mirror from a pouch covered by her robe. Looking it in, she smiled.

"My lord Progeny, she is on her way." she spoke as the face of a young boy appeared on the reflective surface. "It won't be long before she reached Shardfall."

"Laurinya is not yet ready, but it will not be long." the boy answered. "For now, she must find it on her own."

The young woman nodded. "If I may, my liege… this body… would you allow me to become her?"

"You liked Ysalfa, and now Leara… very well." the Childlord responded. "You know what to do."

As the mirror's reflection faded, the golden-haired woman walked along the road, the grotto now a distant memory, for as she wandered away, the mouth of the cave vanished.

Author's Note

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