Till Death Do Us Part

25. The Light in the Dark

"There must be something we can do to stop them," Gawyn said, running a hand through his dark hair. They were sitting in a war room, gods know for how long now, and tried to find a way out of their precarious situation.

"I've spent the last three days studying the archives. I've read every document dating up to three hundred years back and found nothing," Skylar said, massaging her temples. It's been a late evening already, and they still hadn't worked out any plausible solution. "There is plenty about the wards and the rituals to chase away the creatures of dark magic. But about magic itself? Not a trace."

"But they were forced out of Lamyria once because their cursed magic got out of control. They were banished to the Blighted Lands. How did we manage to do that if they were so powerful? There must be a way to counter it," Gawyn insisted.

"If there was, all the records about it are lost," Skylar replied quietly.

"I told you so," Colart grunted. "If there was a way to use the magic flowing through our lands, don't you think I'd know about it?"

"That's not good. I can fend off the Queen's forces. Pull them into traps and outmanoeuvre them. But another army at the back, wielding unpredictable magic we have no way of deflecting? I can't pull out a miracle from thin air," Gawyn said calmly, though his fingers were tapping impatiently at the table. "Do we even have their numbers?"

"Nothing certain, sir!" Dun replied. He was a Captain of the scouting teams on the border. "All activity from the creatures from the Blighted Lands ceased for the last three days. And there is something dark that is gathering on the horizon. It could be an army, or it could be magic. We can't be quite sure. We did not venture behind the border yet."

"We need more information," the General said.

Skylar nodded. "Captain, prepare the scouting party. Gather your best and most experienced people. We need them to cross the border and get intel on the forces that are gathering there. Ask about volunteers, though. I would hate to force anyone to walk into this cursed place. And tell them not to take risks. We will need all the soldiers we have soon."

"I'll see it done, Lieutenant." Dun saluted and left the room.

The silence fell over the chamber while everyone tried to come up with more ideas.

"Don't we have any Seers that we know about?" Aurora asked after a moment.

Colart shook his head. "The last I knew was your mother. And she never talked about it. Just some strange dreams sometimes and sensing the invisible currents that run under our feet."

"The King was one," Skylar noted and turned to Gawyn. "Did he ever tell you anything?"

"No." The General shook his head. "He only told me about his dreams. About the darkness swelling in the Blighted Lands and threatening to reach Lamyria. But nothing more."

"All right, I think there's nothing more we can do for now," said Colart with a sigh. "We still have four days to prepare for both armies. And we'll need all the rest we can get. Maybe the intel from scouts will shed some more light on our position."

Everyone nodded reluctantly, and they retired for the night.

***

"Wake up, Sky."

Skylar opened her eyes. She looked at Gawyn, but he was still asleep. She grabbed a dagger from her nightstand and sat on the bed, looking around, trying to pierce the darkness filling the quiet room. After a few seconds, she was sure no one was there.