\n Be forewarned, there are mature themes and naughty language below.
\n– \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 –
\n The bottom of the chasm seemed a million feet away, but in truth, it could only have been a hundred or two\u2026 maybe a few more.
\n N\u00eeda landed softly, as if on a cloud, but collapsed to her knees anyway. She wanted to sob into her hands, but she was numb. Spine straightening with resolve, she realized that she was trembling so hard her teeth chattered.
\n \u201c…help me\u2026\u201d
\n \u201cGods be good, Gods be good, Gods be good, Gods be-\u201d
\n \u201cDonna? Donna, are you here? I can\u2019t see you Donna, I can\u2019t see anything!\u201d
\n N\u00eeda tried to shut out the voices; the cries of pain, the raspy dying breaths, the shuffling of wounded feet in the rubble. She wanted to cast a fly spell upon herself and rise out of this grave, to fight and live another day, to atone for the wicked, vengeful angel she had been, to make certain that Terendelev\u2019s death was not in vain.
\n She could not. She was too weak, too shaken. And as she looked up, she saw that the gash had sealed itself up – there was no light above.
\n N\u00eeda had enough presence of mind to conjure a globe of light, illuminating the scene before her. She immediately wished she hadn\u2019t.
\n Broken bodies lined the rubble-strewn chamber, but the worst were the faces she knew. Three young priests who, like Jovi, had taken their full oaths just this morning, were dead. Their limbs crushed and scattered. N\u00eeda would have lost her breakfast, had she been feeling well enough to eat.
\n The four she had saved were climbing to their feet now. One was an older woman, perhaps fifty, in common roughspun and wooden clogs. A second was a child no more than ten, with big blue eyes and the dusky complexion of a Varisian. She grabbed the hand of a hulking young man with similar features but whose eyes were nearly black. The fourth was a man somewhere around six feet tall, who wore a fine breastplate with gold-chased embossing, and had eyes like emerald fire.
\n \u201cAthynacious Bernard,\u201d he said, instantly recognizing N\u00eeda as his savior. \u201cThank you, ma\u2019am.\u201d
\n \u201cN\u00eeda. I- I\u2019m Celen\u00eedaneth Loshenthenniel, Arcanist Regiment. Of the Silver Legion.\u201d
\n He smiled wanly. \u201cEveryone who is injured\u2026 let\u2019s gather them close together and I\u2019ll see what I can do.\u201d
\n \u201cYou\u2019re a priest?\u201d
\n \u201cServant of Iomedae,\u201d Athynacious nodded. \u201cI\u2019ll do all I can.\u201d
\n With the help of those who remained able-bodied, they spread out across the chamber and freed those trapped beneath stone and wood, pulling the survivors together in the center of the room. N\u00eeda was surprised to find that Lord Henrietta was one of those still alive.
\n \u201cThe ring,\u201d the Lord managed, blood frothing at her lips. \u201cAlmost saved me.\u201d
\n It was a ring enchanted with the spell, Feather Fall, that had saved N\u00eeda and a few others. N\u00eeda was familiar with it and as she knelt beside her mentor, the woman\u2019s heavy head in her lap, she wondered aloud why it had not stopped her from hitting the ground so hard.
\n \u201cWasn\u2019t the fall\u2026 was the rubble. Crushed my hand.\u201d Every syllable was an effort, but as was her way, Henrietta would not stop talking until she had said all she wished. \u201cBroken ribs. Leg too, I think. Can\u2019t feel it. Don\u2019t know how\u2026 how I am\u2026 still here.\u201d
\n \u201cMy Lord, hang on for a minute more. This man here, he\u2019s a priest. He is going to call down the power of Our Lady. The Inheritor\u2019s very hand will heal you, please, just- just hold on.\u201d
\n Henrietta coughed, wincing. A fresh drop of blood trickled from the corner of her lips. \u201c Too late for that, for me. Back is broken. Won\u2019t walk. Won\u2019t\u2026 can\u2019t\u2026 but, my sword. P-put my sword in my hand, N\u00eeda\u2026\u201d
\n Even as Athynacious\u2019 holy power washed over them, N\u00eeda obeyed Lord Henrietta\u2019s request. She could see a softening of agony on the old woman\u2019s face, but her breathing was no less labored and it was obvious that she could still not move her legs. Her chest was still rising and falling, but it was shallow – so shallow. When N\u00eeda pressed the hilt of the ceremonial sword into her hand, she found that the Lord\u2019s fingers did not seem to work right either and she had to wrap her own around as well, to hold the weapon.
\n \u201cNot\u2026 a mouse,\u201d Henrietta said, her eyes glassy. \u201cYou\u2026 fight. You\u2026 you\u2026\u201d
\n Her last words were lost in a weak spell of coughing. When at last the Lord of the Silver Legion lay back, a final exhalation passed her lips and she moved no more.
\n \u201cMy Lord? My Lord, no!\u201d
\n N\u00eeda refused to let the tears consume her again, and folded Henrietta\u2019s hands upon her chest.
\n Athynacious was praying over other corpses and N\u00eeda echoed his words. \u201cMay Iomedae\u2019s Glory guide you into the afterlife. No matter which God you venerated in life, may you find peace and be reunited with your loved ones in the beyond.\u201d
\n \u201cYou fought the good fight, my Lord.” She continued, a small eulogy for the Lord alone. “Yours was one of the finest reigns in our history and it will not be forgotten. A valiant end for you, who trained so many to help destroy the evil here.\u201d
\n \u201cDo you\u2026 want to make a cairn?\u201d
\n N\u00eeda stood, brushing off her dress. \u201cI do. But\u2026 there are those left with use who will need more help than we can give, and quick. It doesn\u2019t look like there is much by way of food amongst us either. We haven\u2019t the time or manpower to\u2026 do that. But we could give them all a clean burning.\u201d
\n Athynacious paused, considering. \u201cLet\u2019s do that. Then we\u2019ll try to find a way out.\u201d
\n An hour later, ten people marched slowly out of the chamber. N\u00eeda walked just behind Athynacious, with the other unarmored civilians between her and the man bringing up the rear. He had been the strongest of the other survivors, and the one most suited to donning the Lord\u2019s ceremonial armor. His little sister rode on his back, despite N\u00eeda\u2019s contention that that was a dangerous place to be. The young man would not listen to a word any one had to say where it concerned little Marcy.
\n N\u00eeda wondered if they would ever see the surface again\u2026 and if she would ever forgive herself.
\n They had given all the bodies in the chamber a clean burial by fire.
\n All except Jovi, whom she hid behind some rubble and left to rot.
\n– \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 –
\n
![\"Signed,](\"http:\/\/jeezjosie.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/signature.jpg\")
\nNote: Image is “King Jagiello Statue Central” by (Mulligand) from SXC.hu; edited by me<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"