Seers of Verde: The Legend Fulfilled: Book One (33 page)

18

The Nuven convoy paused as it crested a hill overlooking Verde City. Concern was etched on every one of the thirty faces as they watched heavy smoke billow over the southern edge of the city. Even from this distance they could see people streaming out in a desperate attempt to escape.

Elder Xander Vonn called for the attention of one of the Defenders who were escorting the Council of Elders. “Is that the Nuven section of the city that is burning?”

Ossin Needhan frowned as he watched. “Yes, Elder. It looks like the entire Nuven part of the city is on fire.”

Xander shook his head at the tragic sight. “It looks like the Verdans didn’t wait to hear our peace proposal. The Seers knew we were coming, but obviously even they don’t have the power to control their people.”

Ossin looked at his circle brothers and gestured for a second circle to approach. All the Defenders who had been chosen to accompany the elders to Fortress Bryann were looking at him intently. He knew what they were thinking even without asking.

“With your permission, Elder, the other Defenders and I want to help our kin who are in trouble down there,” Ossin asked the tall, white-haired man. “Perhaps we can prevent any further loss of life.”

Xander paused and looked at the eager warriors who were waiting for his approval. He had a terrible feeling only twenty Defenders would be unable to lend much assistance. The damage looked to be too widespread.

Only now did he regret not allowing more active Defenders to accompany the elders on their mission to try to ease tensions between the Verdans and Nuvens. Xander had not wanted to give the appearance of a powerful, armed force marching on the city and fortress.

Grig Vonn seemed to know what his brother was thinking. “It won’t be twenty Defenders helping our people down there, it will be thirty,” he said defiantly, throwing his long beard over his shoulder. “We Elders might be slower, but we are still Defenders.”

Xander smiled at his brother. “Yes, we are Defenders and sworn to help those in need.” With a quick wave for the others to follow, he spurred his horse into a dead run toward the frightened Nuvens who were fleeing the city.

As the Defender convoy drew near, it became apparent their fellow Nuvens were being attacked. Woman and children were running for their lives ahead of a battle line of men armed with crude clubs and knives. They were desperately trying to fend off a horde of Verdans who were wielding swords and throwing javelins.

Ossin rode up alongside Xander and shouted instructions. “Please, sir, help the women and children to safety. We will fend off the Verdans.” The Elder frowned, but didn’t challenge the Defender leader. Xander shouted a reluctant “aye” and signaled for the other elders to follow him toward the mass of escapees.

The twenty Defenders spurred their horses around the flank of the attackers and charged into several hundred Verdans screaming high-pitched war cries. The Nuvens who were defending their women and children shouted for joy.

Encouraged by the Defenders who were coming to their assistance, the Nuvens fought even harder and halted the attackers’ advance. The onslaught of the charging Defenders on horseback caught the Verdans, most of whom were untrained in warfare, by surprise.

The horsemen swept through the attackers’ ranks, killing and maiming many as they cut the group into two parts. Whirling around before their enemy could regroup, the Defenders charged again, causing the back half of the Verdans to retreat in terror back to the city.

Ossin took quick stock of his troops. Only three Defenders had fallen during the first two charges. The remaining seventeen plunged into the first half of the Verdan force who were now in a deadly standstill as they clashed in hand-to-hand combat with determined Nuvens.

The slaughter was on as the Defenders slashed and cut through the Verdan ranks with deadly efficiency. Emboldened even more by seeing the success of their rescuers, the other Nuven fighters grabbed weapons dropped by dead or dying Verdans and pressed the fight. A loud cheer broke out when the two groups of Nuvens met and the last of the Verdans fell. However, the gaiety was cut short with a warning shout.

From the gates of the city, a troop of Sankari charged toward them. Ossin checked the number of Defenders left able to fight — fourteen. Without being asked, six sturdy Nuven youths quickly mounted the horses left by the fallen Defenders and joined their ranks.

Ossin ordered the Nuven men from the city to retreat slowly and act as a buffer to give their women and children more time to escape. The Defenders and the other youths turned their horses and met the attacking Sankari at full gallop.

The two groups met in a deadly crash of horseflesh, metal, and human bodies. The six young Nuvens were knocked off their horses with the first pass, but only two Defenders fell. The remaining Defenders instinctively formed a circle to protect themselves. Ossin and the others fought bravely, but fell to the superior Sankari numbers.

With bloodlust still coursing through them, the surviving Sankari charged toward the escaping Nuvens. However, another group of horsemen raced to face the attackers.

Without a second thought, Xander Vonn, along with most of the other Elders and a few volunteers, met the Sankari head on. Surprisingly, only five of the Nuvens fell after the first charge. Xander and the survivors turned their mounts, fiercely called out the Defender war cry and bravely met their deaths.

Surprised by the tenacity of these old men and commoners, the Sankari were slow to regroup. As they started to steer their mounts toward the escapees, the attackers were jolted by a fearsome sight.

Armed Nuven men, almost a hundred strong, formed a defensive line between them and their escaping loved ones. They shouted defiant threats at the mounted Verdans.

With a loud oath, the Sankari captain gathered his surviving troops and ordered them to charge the Defenders. The Nuvens held their ranks while watching the oncoming horsemen with tense expectation

When the Sankari reached within thirty meters of the Nuvens, a tall woman with two white braids hanging to her waist stepped out in front and raised her hand. At Nyrthka Vonn's signal, a hail of arrows filled the air, raining down on the attackers.

The air was filled with the screams of wounded Sankari and horses. Not realizing most of their fellows had fallen, the few unscathed Verdan warriors continued coming. Turning toward her fellow Nuvens with an eerily confident smile, Nyrthka called out another order just as the horsemen were almost upon the Defenders. This time, a swarm of javelins cut down the remaining attackers.

The Nuvens swept upon the fallen Verdans. The wounded were killed without mercy. The usable weapons were gathered up and the surviving horses captured.

Nyrthka searched through the bloody battlefield, picking her way among the mangled bodies of Verdan and Nuven alike. She finally stopped when she found her brothers lying next to each other.

Xander Vonn lay sprawled out in the grass, his hand still gripping the javelin that had pierced his chest. Grig’s face was frozen in a fierce grin of a triumphant warrior. Both brothers died gazing at the other.

Stifling a sob, Nyrthka knelt by her siblings, tenderly closed their eyes and prayed. “May our ancestors welcome you into their midst. You both lived honorable lives and died as any Defender would wish to, protecting your fellow Nuvens. I will miss you my brothers. I fear we could use your wisdom and leadership in the days ahead.”

“May the ancestors welcome you, brothers,” a deep voice intoned behind her. A hundred other voices repeated the response. Nyrthka, the lone surviving Elder and only woman to achieve Defender status, arose. Shaking her head sadly as she viewed the carnage, Nyrthka and the others turned to join their fellow Nuvens.

19

The young women gathered around their sister Seer like excited schoolgirls desperate to hear a secret. Even the normally dour Lanella could not contain her curiosity about what had happened during Verinya’s daylong adventure with the Defender Aron Nels.

Not accustomed to such attention, Verinya only shook her head with faked disappointment and let out a heavy sigh. While she trailed Aron up the mountainside, the Seer imagined what she would tell the others upon her return to Temple Darya. She fully expected to boast of snaring the Defender with her charms.

Verinya had been excited to have the chance of being the first Seer to seduce one of these mysterious, unreadable Nuven warriors. But against all her training as a Seer, Verinya was resolved not to tell the others about the private moments she had spent with Aron.

A bond had been created during that beautiful afternoon of lovemaking. No words had been spoken, but their souls had blended together, just as their bodies had during their time together.

When relaxing on the blanket and enjoying her afterglow, Verinya was startled by a vision of someone tracing her face gently with a hand. Without opening her eyes, the Seer realized she was watching herself through Aron’s eyes. The Defender was lovingly touching and caressing her.

Forcing herself out of the vision, Verinya opened her eyes. Aron greeted her with a heartfelt smile and soft kiss on her lips. There was no mistaking his devoted expression.

Now after returning to the temple, her fellow Seers pressed her for details. “I’m afraid to admit the Defender had to rescue me,” she said, frowning, in an attempt to feign disappointment. “I was able to follow him up the mountain for a short time, but he moved so fast I could not keep up.”

The other Seers gasped with surprise, then a few giggled at her apparent embarrassment. Lanella frowned. “Verinya, you got lost, didn’t you? Oh, don’t tell me the Defender helped you back to the temple.”

This was the reaction Verinya had hoped for. The Seers would assume the worst, and she would only have to confirm their suspicions. Verinya nodded shyly. “Yes, I wandered through the foothills for many hours before the Defender found me when he was coming home. I was very tired and thirsty.”

Lanella glared at Verinya for a moment, let out an exasperated huff and walked away. The four other Seers waited until Lanella was out of the room, then peppered Verinya with questions and laughed at her story of being saved by the Nuven she was trying sto educe.

“Well Verinya, at least you have gotten closer to any Defender than we have,” Rakir said, her eyes sparkling as she smiled. “I don’t think being rescued by one of them was exactly what Lanella was hoping for.”

Verinya shrugged. The less she said, the more likely the others would fill in the details of the story with their imaginations. After a while the other Seers grew tired of badgering her. They hugged her sympathetically and brought her some food and drink, which she was grateful to consume after her “exhausting” experience.

¶ ¶ ¶

Aron’s circle brothers stared at him in disbelief. He had returned to the temple with no fresh game after a day of hunting in the mountains. If it were any other Defender, they would have understood. They all had hunted with Aron and knew of his prowess. If an unlucky grazer or fat rodent wandered across his path, the animal was destined to become the next day’s meal.

Egan Pozos studied Aron carefully. It was clear he was not telling them the whole story. “If you did not bag anything, then what in the name of the ancestors were you doing out there?”

Aron shrugged. “I didn’t see any game that interested me today.” He then flopped face down on his cot. One of his arms dangled loosely over the edge.

Egan was not satisfied. “If you didn’t drag anything back with you, then why are you so tired?”

Aron half-raised his head off the cot, squinted at Egan then plopped back down with a tired sigh. A hearty laugh made him tense up.

“You didn’t go hunting, did you?” Egan shouted. “I suspect you’ve been wenching.” When Aron didn’t move or respond, his Defender brothers exploded in laughter and pelted him with dried fruit and hunks of cheese.

“And to think we were getting worried about poor, shy Aron not bedding one of the local girls,” Egan said, guffawing. “There’s only one thing that can tire a man out like that, my brother, and we’ve all experienced that.”

Aron’s circle brothers demanded to know which merchant’s daughter had been the “lucky” girl, but he refused to move, let alone answer them. The others soon started to speculate, hoping to pester a confession from him.

They accused him of sneaking off with the tavern owner’s toothless oldest daughter — the one who made it known she wanted to bed a Defender. Aron just groaned and shook his head. Not placated, they then suggested he had been with the baker’s sister, a large, round woman who proudly displayed her prominent bosom with low-cut blouses.

Aron raised himself up on one elbow. “Yes, I was with both of them at the same time. Now are you happy?” His circle brothers laughed at his joke, then grew tired of questioning him. It was evident Aron was not going to reveal a name, at least not this night.

¶ ¶ ¶

Before they returned to Temple Darya, Aron and Verinya promised each other they would wait three days before seeing each other again. Both were well aware they were taking a huge risk to be together.

If the Elders discovered Aron had been with a Seer, he knew they would take severe steps to dissuade him from seeing her again. Although the Seers would have encouraged Verinya to keep seeing Aron, they would have demanded she cultivate him for valuable information.

This had been the longest three days Aron had ever spent. It seemed as if time stood still. He longed to be with Verinya. She was in his every thought. To make matters worse, Tevan went to the marketplace daily and always met Verinya. He would come back chattering happily about her.

Aron tried to keep himself busy with patrol duty and sparring sessions with other Defenders, but his thoughts were constantly of her. Verinya was not faring any better. She gladly met Tevan, who was always delighted to see her, but she longed to be in Aron’s arms.

Three days later, when Tevan came back from the marketplace, he had a surprise. Giggling, he pulled something from his pocket and handed a small package to Aron. The Defender opened the small box and saw a note. It was not signed, but the message was clear. It contained directions to a secret rendezvous.

Seeing Aron’s smile, Tevan laughed and thumped his kinsman on the back. “Vera say you like. She gave me sweets.”

Aron nodded at Tevan. “Yes, you did well, Tevan. Thank you.”

That night after last meal, Aron found Verinya in a secluded corner of the temple’s large garden. The two wasted no energy with words, but embraced as if they had not seen each other for three lunars. Due to the darkness, the lovers could not see each other well, but their hands and lips reacquainted themselves with each other.

It was the middle of the night until they were finally satiated. As they departed with a passionate kiss, the lovers vowed to wait only a day until their next meeting.