Theurgy: The Journey's Dawn (Book One)

Chapter 25 The Outpost

It has been a few days since the attack from that pride of Nemean Lions. They were lucky that there were relatively few injuries amongst their crew. Nemean Lions are known for their ferocity and high body counts. They are a challenging threat, even for knights, with their nearly impenetrable hide. There would be no question why a regular guildsman died, and two more maimed beyond belief. And a young girl was impaled through the chest by the spines of the leading Manticore in a display of cruelty. They did their best to console the mother, who grieved all night until they had to bury the girl. This was the best they could do for a funeral. Carrying the dead was itself a walking death flag and could summon things much worse than a pride of lions. Custom was to burn the body in a pyre, but doing so in the wilderness is far too arduous. At least now they know that the body will be at peace and return from which it came.

The guildsman rode off silently, the mother's reasons for continuing on smoldered, and the hope she once had replaced by sickening dread. They hoped to find a doctor soon to treat their injuries. She thanked them for saving their lives and wished them the best on the rest of their journey before riding off into the north, back to Liontari. Every word she uttered seemed to crush Lyse, who was silent as still night since what had occurred. His hands felt stiff, and his face in a constant blankness that hid any emotion he could portray. He talked to no one. Not his friends nor his mother could be greeted in the morning or throughout the day. This was quite understandable, and they knew full well that this was not something that can be solved with a simple chat. They all felt in tatters after what had occurred. But Lyse was the most obvious amongst them. He worked in silence, and ate in silence. They wondered if he even sleeps, as he tends to stare at the fire for a long time before settling in his tent. They were all worried by the second night, and they even attempted to talk to him, but when they did, they might as well be talking to a wall.

"I'm fine, I swear," he would say. "I'm . . . I'm just thinking."

He said this with a smile, a brief smile unsupported by the look in his eyes. It didn't take geniuses to recognize a fake smile. By the second night, when they thought he was asleep, Elena approached Edlund and Celia by the fire, leaving Gray in his tent. Celia had been mostly silent as well. She was the one who tried to comfort the mother that night, but nothing she said could stop her from grieving or make the current situation in her voice. Her guilt was far more apparent than Lyse's, which was the root that Elena was trying to get to.

"Why don't you just talk to him?" Eleena asked, earning a pointed stare from Celia.

"What can I say?" she looked on distraught. "That was not his fault, not mine. How am I supposed to look him in the eyes and tell him that this couldn't have ended any differently? If he did go when he did, he would have been swarmed by the lions and possibly have died before we got to him. And the girl would still die. He could have been killed, and I'm not going to let that happen. If we started closer together, the same would occur."

"But he's destroying himself," Elena warned her. "He blames himself, I can tell. And you can too, can't you?"

Edlund sighed, stoking the small flame with a stick. But his tone was considerate. "Typical of Lyse. He always put the responsibility on himself. I tried talking to him, but he just gave me that smile. Are you sure you can do nothing, mother? I don't like seeing Lyse like this."

Celia pondered for a few moments. The troubling thing was that she never did have to counsel Lyse on anything. Never. Sure she chastises him whenever he and Edlund got into mischief, but he was always absurdly quick to admit his wrongdoing. Unlike Massia, in that way, where she would deflect upon her friends or even her brothers at times. It may be true that Lyse is harder on himself than she could ever be, and the recent events only show that she is supposed. She does need to talk to him; she knows that. But Celia is unsure how to. She knows only one way to speak to Lyse.