Xolrin’s Army
Howling winds swept along the million-year-old canyons where Von-wratha spent her life in unwilling solitude. Days, months, years and decades had passed since her exile from home and the destruction of the New Giria colony. Those days were burnt in her memory, and she could still clearly see those she brought into her own suffering. At every waking moment, she practised her telekinetic gifts while mastering to siphon life force from the creatures that strayed too close to her domain. Each creature’s agony was only a fraction of her own. Slowly, Von-wratha’s hatred ate away at her sanity, like a snake swallowing its helpless prey, into a pit of darkness forever. She was little more than a beast; she even forgot her own name.
In the dark safety of her cave, Von-wratha didn’t sleep to regain her strength. Her meditations allowed her psionic senses to perceive greater grounds around the Barrier Hills, once believed by Girian scholars to be void of life. She discovered many monsters that Girians would cower from – and she was the apex predator of them all.
Until one day.
Her advanced senses picked up on minds far across the great body of water where the canyons ended. Bronze coloured water-floating structures drifted across the blue surfaces in the hundreds, each manned by a hundred warriors in copper armour wielding bizarre weapons beyond anything she had ever known and directly above them was a large structure hovering in the air. Von-wratha’s eyes shot open. Her meditation was broken by this new revelation. Her dirty black-robed body was already in motion out of her dark cave to see this fleet with her physical eyes.
The smell of water slammed her nose as her head peered out to the blue horizon. She tossed back her black hood that obscured her vision. She felt her bare scalp and partially rubbed her grey skin, almost scratching it with her long claws. Her navy mane had fallen out many years ago. She had forgotten when, but her sense of vanity was replaced by her ability to disintegrate mountains with her psychic power. This was a satisfying trade-off.
The heavy floating structures travelled faster on the waters than she had thought possible. She levitated down over the piled boulders to the shores to await the fleet. She was significantly lighter since she began levitating, not just because her power had increased, but because her body had shrunk into a hideous emaciated form of its former self. Von-wratha touched her gaunt face, remembering her cheeks to be full and round, but now nothing more than skin wrapped tight around the bone. Her ribs protruded from the sides of her robes, her hip bones began piercing themselves through the skin, and her limbs were like long, dead tree branches. A monster. Her bare feet touched the wet sands. Her psychic aura pulsated red, preparing herself for this potential challenge. They couldn’t prepare themselves enough for what she was about to unleash. She began raising her arms until a telepathic message forced its way into her mind interrupting her attack.
Calm yourself, stranger. A female’s mind echoed in her mind.
Von-wratha’s heart almost leapt from her throat. A long silent part of her danced in her consciousness at the thought of sensing the first person after many decades alone. But that was swept away as quickly as it came.
The water structures halted. Von-wratha watched dozens of figures lowering themselves on smaller floating plates that swam closer to her shores. A shoulder-high female in a shiny copper suit jumped into the shallow waters along with her squad of similarly dressed soldiers armed with exotic weapons draped around their shoulders.
Can you speak with your voice? the muscular female asked.
Her face was pointed with elegant black eyebrows slanted up to her hairline, and her ears pointed towards the sky. Her eyes had small yellow pupils with whites around, and her black hair was gathered in a perfect topknot with small strands of hair hanging above her forehead. And she had five fingers on each hand, a rather discerning appearance, Von thought. She held herself as someone taller than her true height, but this was fading in Von-wratha’s deathly presence. She glared at this female, who was becoming uncomfortable with this situation. Good, she thought.
She stood her ground; her sharp lips were scrunched in a smirk. In a flash Von-wratha's mind was filled with strange written symbols and foreign words. Her brain felt like it had been tattooed with a complete dictionary. The disorientation lasted moments before the alien female spoke.
“I am called Irulan, lieuten-,”
“I don’t give a damn,” Von hadn’t used her voice in decades. It was as raspy as dry bones that were scraping against each other.
Irulan stepped back. Her copper-masked soldiers muscled forward around their leader. Von-wratha smiled at this.
Irulan’s chest puffed back up. “We come from across the wide seas in search of new lands to colonize in the name of our Farraleen Empire and glorious Emperor-.”
“Do you see these large hills behind me? They don’t give a damn. The water you stand in, it doesn’t give a damn. The wind that blew on this shore for eons, it does not give a damn,”
“We are an armada. You should give a damn,” Irulan said pushing her shoulders back.
“Should I? What can your armada do that this ancient land hasn’t already seen?” Von chuckled.
“This place hasn’t been destroyed. Yet,” Irulan’s purple plump lips smiled.
“Destroyed by a few warriors in fancy dresses?” Von-wratha said. Her gaunt face forced a toothy grin.
Irulan waved her hand to her soldiers and the first started walking towards Von-wratha with his weapons pointed directly to her head.
“Let me show you what I can do!” Von-wratha unleashed a torrent of energy orbs slamming into the chests and heads of Irulan’s people.
Irulan jumped backward. She watched with her mouth hanging agape as her seasoned soldiers fell into the sands to a mad hag in a black dress. Each red blast that shot from Von-wratha’s hands littered the shores with more bodies. Each life that was taken from her attack gave her more power to continue. She hadn’t eaten food in decades, but the life she consumed made Von-wratha delirious with joy – almost drunk with its power.
She sensed more soldiers arrive from the ships; they opened fire with their weapons on Von-wratha’s glowing red body. With a swift motion of her arms, she erected an energetic field around herself to prevent the weapons being discharged from striking her down. The pressure of their force began straining her focus on the psychic barrier and shrieks escaped her throat as her protection field became smaller. But this was not her time to die.
“Wait, stop! Stop everyone!” Irulan shouted, she shot her arms up into the air and threw herself in front of Von-wratha.
“Oh, come now, Irulan. Is this all that your armada can muster? You cannot even defeat an old female!” Von shot another grin towards her.
“It doesn’t have to be this way. You are obviously a powerful adversary…” Irulan began. She quickly signed to her soldiers to cease firing. Fortunately for them, they obeyed.
Von-wratha retracted her energy shield, and her red psionic aura dimmed, now emanating just above her skin. “Well observed,” her jaw locked tight as she spoke.
“What is your name, stranger?” Irulan asked rubbing her chin nervously.
A shadow slowly rolled over the shores. Von-wratha looked up to see the air palace hanging above all their heads. In one of the large glassed windows, several figures dressed similarly as Irulan stood watching the action below. One male, the tallest of them all, wore a sharp golden suit that represented his authority. His squared face was flat and emotionless, but there was a terrifying familiarity to it.
Irulan’s body went rigid; her eyes rolled back into her head, and she sealed them with her lids. Von-wratha watched with some curiosity at this private psychic exchange. She couldn’t be bothered trying to listen in on their conversation – this was too much fun.
Irulan’s mouth smiled suddenly. “My emperor would like to invite you to his flagship for a meeting,”
“Tell your emperor that many more of his soldiers will die by my hand before any of that happens. Go back to wherever you creatures came from,” Von said with a wave of her bony hand.
“No, the emperor was invited here,” Irulan said.
Von-wratha’s thin lips bared sharp and broken teeth to the figure above her. Her attention turned to two shiny copper disks that gently floated down to Von-wratha’s and Irulan’s feet.
Irulan stepped onto the disk. “Yes, many years ago, Emperor Xolrin was summoned here.”
~
Von-wratha stood in the centre of a two dozen large guards surrounding them in a large bronze hall of Xolrin’s flagship. Her eyes darted between every face in the chamber. Their stony stares were affixed to her. She could sense quiet communication among them, which she was adamantly unwelcomed to. The tallest and ornately dressed male stood several feet from her. Whereas Von-wratha could feel a hidden hesitation from every creature in the room, this male was utterly fearless in her presence.
“Xolrin, the god-in-form, I had heard a lot about you,” she said as her lip brushed against her lower teeth. A faint scent of blood dotted on her tongue when the floating palace shifted beneath her feet as the strong winds blew outside.
“I suspected word would spread of my existence once your people and mine had touched minds,” he said. He kept his eye on a silvery pad in his hand as his fingers tapped on its surface, “what had you heard?”
“Just a few lowly scrubs would whisper to each other on dirty streets, I wouldn’t know details,” she said. Her eyes were locked on him while she tongued her wounded lip, “You’re a lot smaller than I imagined,”
He gently placed the pad on the nearest surface. Slight humour danced in his eyes before turning towards her: “Interesting. Now, what are we to call you? Unless you prefer being called ‘stranger,’” Xolrin’s voice was deep, smooth and extremely self-assured.
“Not even the winds here know my name,” she said as her head lowered.
Xolrin glanced up from the pad and then handed it to Irulan, who stood attentive by his side. Xolrin exhaled with slight amusement showing on his middle-aged face. His salt and pepper hair shined under the light. His eyes were like Irulan’s, but his irises were flat, red and oddly hypnotic. His shoulders and neck made Xolrin appear taller, but his height matched Von-wratha’s.
“Poetic, but not very informative. In my culture, not introducing yourself is considered very rude,” he said.
“Introductions are just as important to Girians. But in my culture, your master can only introduce you to another master … like an owner showing off a pet,” Von-wratha’s lips curled in disgust.
“I see. Among the Farraleese, such concepts are alien to us. We are all free to talk to whomever, make mistakes and live our lives. Wherever we go, we bring those ideas to all primitive cultures,” Xolrin gave a small glance to Irulan.
“Spare me your speech, ‘emperor.’ If there was a lick of truth in your mouth, then why bring an armed fleet. I’ve known many people like you, Xolrin, your words charm the naïve ear, but then inject the venom in their weak veins,” Von-wratha said. She sensed there were many more eyes on her than what was visible - they even had weapons aimed at her head and torso. Her body involuntary twitched as each mind thought of her. She ran on pure instinct. Had the inner beast fully taken over, she wondered.
Xolrin gave an amused smile to Von-wratha. “I will speak plainly with you, then. Understand where we come from, stranger, the Farraleese are conquerors and have been for generations.”
With a flick of his hand, Xolrin’s guards scattered back to the walls of the flagship, but Von-wratha could still feel weapons at her back. He and Irulan turned their backs; Xolrin gestured Von-wratha to follow them to a workstation with moving light figures. The figures reached out with light arms to Von-wratha and then vanished into non-existence.
“Like all emperors before me, they have a vision of a new land to take for the empire. I had mine. It showed a land from across the seas that held a great font of power. Even now I can almost smell it,” he said.
“What makes you certain we have such a thing?” she said.
A corner of Xolrin’s lip curled as he looked at her shimmering hands and glowing red orbs. “I am certain. Its potency cannot be denied, and I must find it.”
“It sounds like you need a guide, Xolrin,” she said crossing her arms.
“Your Highness, I don’t believe that would be wise to-,” Irulan whispered.
“Quiet, lieutenant,” Xolrin didn’t even look to his subordinate and continued gazing at Von-wratha.
“Giria is as dead to me, as I am to it. I won’t serve!” Von spat.
“You won’t be. Consider this alliance could be a service to you and who knows, maybe your people might do the same for you this time,” Xolrin’s slender lips turned into a smile, but Irulan didn’t share her leader’s optimism. Her forehead wrinkled as she looked to the evil creature before her.
Von-wratha smiled at her disgust. “Giria is too great even for me to overcome…”
“Unless you had a strong army behind you,” Xolrin said.
“I made a promise to my enemies that I will return to Giria one day, but I hadn’t expected it would be in a floating palace,” Von-wratha grinned.
“A wise choice,” Xolrin’s smile widened. He waved to some of his soldiers and walked to prepare his invasion, leaving Von-wratha and Irulan in the workstation.
Irulan cleared her throat. “Tell us what we should be expecting, what sort of technology Girians possess and any military information you might know of. Oh, please don’t tell me you were some clueless commoner.”
A raspy laugh escaped Von-wratha’s thin throat. “They’ll fall like spiders under your weapons, they won’t have a chance.”
“Can you elaborate or are you going to just talk in riddles?” she said raising her brow.
“I can do better than that, I can show you where Girians keep their power,” Von said.
In blinding speed, Von-wratha seized Irulan’s mouth with one hand and gripped her topknot with another, forcing her down to almost losing her balance. Irulan’s eyes widened in fear. Her guttural cries barely escaped through Von-wratha’s long bony fingers, making her grin grow. She could hear orders being shouted from across the ship’s hall, dozens of soldiers surrounded the two and Von-wratha could almost feel the coldness of their armour through her dry skin. This didn’t bother her; it was only a spectacle. Her fiery orbs locked to Irulan’s, then unleashed a torrent of everything she had learnt and all she knew in one solid stream of psychic energy straight into Irulan’s resisting mind. Von-wratha felt the Farraleese female gripping onto her forearms as the psychic stream flowed, trying desperately to slap, punch and claw her thin nails into the Girian’s skin. She fought her physically and mentally, but Von-wratha was too strong.
Irulan’s eyes rolled into her head; her muffled screams quietened, and she began shaking. She tried calling out to Xolrin or one of her soldiers to attack, but Xolrin forbade anyone from interfering and just watched the show. Von-wratha’s toothy grin spread across her narrow face, baring her sharp teeth as she looked to Irulan’s terrified face. Then, something happened Von-wratha hadn’t expected; Irulan began drawing deeper memories from her mind. Memories of the Black Walls, memories of Oracle Charr’s and Matron Aeos’ torment, memories of the Academy, memories of her stolen youth and memories of the trails with Nalax … Nalax!
Maddening fury broke Von-wratha’s stream. She released her grip on Irulan, causing her to fall to the cold metal floor with a satisfying thud. Irulan found her feet. Her topknot now hung loosely on the side of her frazzled hair, beads of sweat soaked on her forehead and her straight nose had a small stream of crimson blood dripping to her lips. Von-wratha’s emaciated body hunched. Her toothy grin was now a gaping maw; her breaths were also short and filled with unbridled rage. A metallic taste welled in her mouth. Her blue blood dribbled down her chin causing some of the soldiers to hesitate. Xolrin glided over to his first lieutenant. “Report!”
Irulan attempted to straighten herself. Xolrin put his five-fingered hand on her shoulder. “We … I have ascertained where the city is and their forces… and their source of power comes from somewhere else-something else.”
“The astral planes, perhaps? So, the myths were far more than just stories, but we shall study this extensively once the city has been taken. What else have you learnt?” Xolrin questioned.
Irulan wiped the blood from her lips without ever looking away from Von-wratha. “Her people are not from this world; they are from another entirely. Perhaps from one of the astral planes, which would make their psionics far superior to ours, but their civilisation is little more than bows and arrows.”
“Giria is all we ever knew, it has always been here,” Von growled.
“I see,” Xolrin looked to Von-wratha wearing a dead expression, “do with the citizens what you will, but I want that fountain of power that your people possess.” He swept away from the workstation accompanied by his guards, leaving Von-wratha and Irulan once more.
“The emperor would’ve t-t-taken your head for that.” Irulan stammered, “You're fortunate that he needs you for his campaign, but don’t believe that your luck will remain.”
Von-wratha said nothing; she licked the blood from her lips and allowed the metallic taste to sit on her tongue.
“You’re nothing like what you were before …” she looked down to Von-wratha’s protruding ribcage, “you truly are a monster, Von-wratha.” Irulan said, and in an instant, she rushed out of the workstation.
She hadn’t heard her name spoken aloud in uncounted years, but no part of her felt even remotely close to the Girian youngling that sat on the sill of the Academy. That person had been dead for a long time. “I was Von-wratha.”
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