Chapter 43 Sariel
SARIEL
W hile there were additional roads to the far north and south, the main passage through the Sapphire Mountains was known as Nature’s Path.
A river had once flowed through it, in a time so distant Sariel barely remembered when it had been ankle-deep.
The unseen shifting of the mountains had slowly dried it up, but the passage remained, taking travelers through the tallest and harshest portions of the blue peaks before the road deviated from the natural flow into the carved paths leading down from the mountains and to the verdant grasslands beyond.
Guarding that passage were the supposedly impregnable Twin Gates.
“These reports are baffling,” Isabelle said as her marshal, squadron leaders, and allied kings and queens gathered around her map table.
The spires of the Sapphire Mountains rose to either side of them, so that it felt like they walked through the heart of a canyon.
“Where are the Astral Kingdom’s armies?”
“Perhaps they are skirting north and south, avoiding us to invade our own lands in retaliation?” Oscar suggested.
“And leaving their own homes unprotected?” Isabelle shook her head. “No, I refuse to believe that. They have been much too complacent about the threat of the protectorate. Something is wrong.”
“It’s not completely unguarded,” King Allan said. “By their banners, General Sid has come to helm the defense.”
“If Sid is here, then so should the kingdom’s army,” Isabelle said, still unconvinced. “Instead, they field a mere two thousand within the Twin Gates.”
“Two thousand may be more than enough,” Sariel interrupted. “Do not underestimate the danger. Our numbers mean nothing if our soldiers cannot bring their swords to bear against their foes.”
“Hold faith in me,” Isabelle said. “The gates will fall. I only seek to understand the mind of my foe.”
Little chance of that , thought Sariel, but he bit his tongue and kept quiet.
There would be no explaining Eder’s ever-living nature to such a group.
They believed his brother a mad priest seeking power and a throne.
Eder was many things, but Sariel knew it went beyond a goal so basic.
He sought something from the kingdom he built, but what, Sariel did not know.
“The gates are pure iron, layered and reinforced,” Prince Druss said. He crossed his arms and frowned at the map of the east. “I hold faith in you, Isabelle, but even our battering rams cannot break them open. How shall you?”
The queen grinned at her vassal.
“When I pray, the goddess provides.”
Sariel, Faron, and Aylah stood together and watched, along with thousands of others, as Queen Isabelle approached the western half of the Twin Gates.
It was an imposing fortress, its gray stone walls stretching from one side of the canyon to the other.
The gate itself was monstrously thick, solid metal, and with its outer surface carved into the visage of a viper baring its fangs, the family crest of the original builder, forgotten to time.
A matching gate guarded the eastern entrance, and between was an enormous camp purposefully placed where a small stream exited the mountains to ensure a constant supply of fresh water.
“Neither gate has fallen since the shattering,” Faron said, scratching his chin.
Sariel winced. “I am aware.”
His brother grunted.
“Right. Sorry.”
“I remember the siege like it was yesterday,” Aylah said, lurking just behind them.
Unlike the two brothers, she was not dressed for war.
As she had since being rescued, she refused to fight for humanity and was content to remain behind with Rowan in the surgeons’ tents.
“Three days of assault with our battering rams failed to break it. We ended up using ladders and siege towers to overwhelm the walls instead. Even with our greater numbers, the losses we suffered were horrific.”
Sariel leaned against his sword, which he’d thrust into the hard ground, and watched the queen kneel just shy of arrow range.
“We’ve brought the materials to build both rams and towers in our wagons, but she’s not given the order. What trick has she planned?”
Faron shrugged.
“You act as if I can read her mind. I’m here to watch and find out like the rest of you.” He frowned. “Though there might be someone who knows.”
Priest Reglia walked along the front line of soldiers, looking fine in his white robes.
Bells softly chimed with his movements. An endless prayer flowed from his lips as he placed hands on those who knelt and brushed fingers along their foreheads and hearts.
When he neared, Faron crossed his arms and gestured for Reglia to come closer.
The priest whispered something to the last soldier he prayed over and then accepted the request.
“I suspect you three desire no prayers to Leliel,” he said.
“I’d prefer answers over prayers,” Sariel said. “Know you what the queen plans?”
Reglia turned to the fortress. Isabelle had settled onto her knees and lifted her arms above her head, a lone figure between the two armies.
“I do, because it was mine,” the priest said.
“Then we can blame you when this goes wrong?” Faron asked, only halfway kidding.
Reglia’s returned smile lacked any comfort.
“Isabelle is chosen by our goddess and meant to lead us to victory over the wretched Church of Stars. I merely told her if this was true, then it is time she prove to all the world the power of the goddess and the inevitability of our victory.”
That sounded more like the priest had devised a test for the queen than any actual plan. Sariel disliked it, as he did the priest’s careful, practiced smile.
“You are here to guide and offer Leliel’s wisdom and grace to the people,” Sariel said. “I pray you are not overstepping your role, priest, nor playing games with those in power.”
Reglia gestured to Isabelle, who had lowered herself with her face to the dirt.
“This is no game, Godsight brothers. Either she is who she is, or she is not. And if the goddess is truly with her, then let us not put limits on the power she may bestow.”
Sariel could tell the queen was praying, but she was too far away for anyone to hear. Curiosity won him over. He enhanced his senses with a bit of radiance so that her words flowed over him as if he were standing beside her.
Be with me, Leliel, beloved goddess of dawn and dusk. Be with me, Leliel, and look upon me with your loving eyes.
The line of soldiers grew wider, more and more trying to catch sight of the queen.
She’d given orders to Marshal Oscar and all her squadron leaders for the army to be ready to assault the Twin Gates at a moment’s notice, but few looked prepared for actual war, even if they wore their armor and brandished their swords.
“Hey, hey, Faron!” a familiar voice shouted behind them. Both brothers turned to see Bart pushing through the crowd. Reglia took the opportunity to bow low and depart.
“Be ready for battle,” he said as he resumed walking the lines and praying over soldiers. “The goddess expects great things of all of us, but you especially, I think.”
“What are you yelling for?” Faron asked Bart once he reached the front line. “Hoping I’ll lift you up on my shoulders?”
The young man blushed.
“Just wanted you to make me some space,” he said, sliding in beside Faron. “And let you know Iris isn’t too happy being ordered to remain behind.”
“She’s a fine asset in open battlefields,” Sariel said, knowing his brother’s reasoning. “A close-quartered battle within the fort is another matter.”
“Yeah, I tried explaining that to the coyote, and she didn’t seem to agree.” Bart winked. “Rowan’s watching her now. Iris seems to get along with her for some reason, which is lucky for me.” He turned his attention to Isabelle, his good humor turning subdued. “Is she praying?”
“To the goddess,” Sariel said, trying hard to keep sarcasm or annoyance from his words. “Apparently she will come and open the gates for us.”
“She did at Vendom,” Bart argued.
“Our army did that,” Sariel argued back.
“Does it matter?”
“Silence, both of you,” Aylah interrupted. “Can you not sense the gathering?”
Isabelle’s power was swelling within her, her innate radiance building into an unseen ball inside her chest. It pulsed gold, and while at first it was visible only to their blessed eyes, the light soon leaked out of her in gentle waves.
Murmurs spread through the army, whispers both fearful and hopeful.
Bart, meanwhile, bowed his head and joined in her prayer. He did it quietly, trying not to draw any attention to himself.
“Be with me, Leliel, so in my fear and weakness, I will be strong.”
He did not know, but his words were perfectly synchronized to Isabelle’s, a fact that unnerved Sariel. He clutched Redemption more tightly and watched a few arrows sail out over the walls of the Twin Gates. They fell harmlessly short.
“Isabelle…” Sariel said as the power flared, the brightness rivaling even that which he and his siblings might produce.
“She’s beyond us, isn’t she?” Faron whispered, sounding in awe. “I never thought it possible.”
Isabelle rose from her prayer, her arms spreading wide. Ethereal wings burst from her back, twelve now, layered and spanning dozens of feet. Her spine arched as if she were in pain, and her voice cried out to the heavens with such power the mountains themselves vibrated in echo.
“Make way for the goddess!”
A pure beam of golden light shot from her chest. The light of its radiance was blinding, but Sariel refused to look away.
It struck the massive iron gate. The metal groaned.
The stones of the surrounding walls cracked and shifted.
The power pressed onward, refusing to give, and to Sariel’s shock, the metal itself warped and changed.
It wasn’t just striking it with a physical force, but a second, overwhelming desire, to be weak, brittle, and thin.