The Shattered Path

Chapter 6 - The Radiance

The sun demanded a toll in sweat from every man in the procession. Uth Garenthil rode at the front, in his full glory, four mounted soldiers following a suitable five paces behind, yellow banner with the black lion held high. The fifty Ravyn's Might marched ten paces further behind and the one-hundred Saroken soldiers followed close behind them. A dozen wagons loaded high with canvas-covered supplies followed at the rear, raising a billowing cloud of dust over the dirt road.

Aerham and the other three Initiates rode alongside the soldiers. Each had been given charge of a group. Gendis was in charge of all of the Ravyn's Might and Aerham had been given command of fifty of the Saroken soldiers. The other two Initiates, Madea and Urnal, had split the remaining fifty, each complaining because they had been given less. Neither of their fathers had been a Brother of the Sun, merely nobles in Saroken of little renown. It seemed that Aerham had received a larger force under his command since his father was a Brother. He wasn't sure about Gendis' father, but he suspected he was somehow involved in politics in Saroken.

Aerham had never heard of any other armies doing such a march. Perhaps, that made sense. In truth, it wasn't only for training; it was a diplomatic mission. As long as they did their job protecting, it would be easy to forget the Fortress of Light and Wall of Light were there at all. So, every two years, the Brotherhood went on a one-month march through Minogradia and Saroken to remind the people that there was a fortress protecting them. The procession had stopped at his father's estate every time and he had been awestruck by the Brothers in their shining armor. Some had fantastic tales of the battles in the frontier. He fell asleep every night imagining his turn to sit at a feast and recount his heroic deeds. That day would come. And soon. He just knew it.

Aerham turned in the saddle to look beyond the cloud of dust settling in the wake of the march. The white stones of the Fortress of Light seemed small between the looming mountains. The Wall of Light extended to either side, protecting the valley. He wished he could see the fortress from the other side; the frontier side. That side of the Wall of Light and the outer wall of the fortress had been plated with lorrum. His father's sword was lorrum, too, so he was familiar with the metal. Lorrum was said to be magical. His father's blade could rend metal and maintain its edge, but its silvery shine was the most obvious quality. The frontier side of the fortress and wall gleamed like a great, seamless mirror. He had been tasked several times as a Learner to polish parts of the wall, but he had never seen it from a distance. Polishing the Wall of Light had been one of the few learner tasks he had enjoyed. It was monotonous and hard work, but it felt like he was embracing history and the stories he had grown up hearing.

Riding alongside the soldiers left Aerham feeling like a great general in the stories. He was in charge of soldiers! For a good while, using his mount as inspiration, he pretended that he was Bastiaen, the emperor of ancient Veraan who had gone to war with both Boris and Ikaen on the Plains of Raht centuries before. Maybe that had been a poor choice for his fantasy, since the battle had ended in a disastrous magical conflagration which had turned the plains into the present-day Sea of Raht. Regardless, it was exhilarating to lead soldiers, even if it was only to the next town.

As the march continued into Saroken, the mountains shrank behind them. Aerham found himself losing interest in the scattered copses of trees and open fields, instead watching the swift waters of Blood River to his right. The brown waters had once had another name, Hetag's Flow. The river flowed through the west side of the valley, passing through a grate in the Wall of Light, and then snaked through Saroken to reach the Shimmersea.

When Aerham thought about the river, he thought about why the river's name had been changed to Blood River. In his lessons, he had learned about the Great Battle, as the Brotherhood called it. Centuries ago, Ravyneira herself had come to the fortress, bearing a warning of dark forces approaching. She brought five hundred of her followers, all great soldiers. Using her powers, she fortified the Wall with lorrum plates. Dark creatures laid siege to the fortress for two weeks. Reinforcements rushed from Minograd, the empire that had once consumed both Minogradia and Saroken. As those reinforcements traveled along Hetag's Flow, the waters had been red with the blood of the fallen, earning its present-day name.