Once the light faded, Raven was nowhere to be found.
"I can't believe he caught me offguard so easily," Grace fumed, her halo flaring with annoyance.
"It seems to me that he took all of us by surprise," Sarai calmly remarked. "but I wouldn't call his method "easy".
"Not to be a pest here,...but do you have any idea where he might be?" Sazzi snapped, making every attempt to refrain from total panic.
"No!" Grace roared, spinning around to face her. "as a matter of fact, I don't! You might start looking for him though, if it isn't too much trouble."
A blast of red-violet light, and an ear-splitting concussion, set them both back several meters, along with the ground mist and debris that continued to clear for almost 300 more. Sarai hovered calmly at the center, threat gleaming in her halo.
"Have we had enough?"
"Point taken," Grace mumbled, spitting her hair from her mouth, and adjusting her dress. Sazzi looked out from under her long, platinum eyelashes.
"I'll start looking," she whispered.
"Actually," Grace said, getting back to business. "I don't think we're going to have much luck. I don't even feel him anywhere."
"I noticed that," Sarai said. "I thought I might just be missing something."
"If you are, we're all missing it."
"Then he's either hiding, or he isn't even in the celestial realm anymore," Sazzi added. "but that doesn't seem possible, he was in no condition."
"I'm guessing the former," Grace said, ending her present scan. "but possible is always in revision, and blackbird loves to rewrite the rules." She smiled in spite of herself. She admired anyone who refused to "play nice", and Raven had epitomized that quality from the first. Though she had to admit to being a tad miffed at the moment, and very worried.
She carried his near lifeless body to a large, flat rock, and settled him down carefully. She had no idea why he would not awaken, or why the weapon had summoned her, but by her oath of service, she was bound to protect him at any cost. Finding him in this condition, she thought it wiser to take him to a safe place for the time being.
Moving her hand slowly over him, she sensed something amiss, something almost there, but not quite. There were no visible wounds, save those acquired in his earlier encounter with her. But there was a quality in his halo that felt like a wound, it was a quality she remembered from centuries past.
"Shed`ahn," she whispered.
*Darkness,...dreamlessness,...the perfect state of nothingness. Timeless drifting,...no direction,...no concern,...a deep, black, blissful slumber.
Shattered by light,...the enemy,...the awakening,...deliverance of pain,...regret,...the all-consuming hunger of emptiness,...loneliness, vast,...endless.
Breathe!,...gasp for precious air,...rip through the membrane, tearing,...breathe!
Thumping,...a rhythmic code, pounding,...pumping,...surging liquid,...thick, warm, salty,...life*
The Sentinel moved away quickly, as a spherical light exploded around him, shattering the rock he lay on, and kicking up a huge dust cloud as it slammed against the arid ground.
A wide sweep of her arm blew the dust away, revealing the holy one wobbling back and forth in a pile of rubble that had been 15 tons of granite a moment before.
"Shed`ahn? Are things well with you?" she inquired, kneeling beside him, obviously relieved to see him awake.
"You can't be serious," he coughed, spitting dust and gravel. "I have no idea where I am, feel like I could vomit for a year or two, and my chest is killing me,...umm,...Shed`ahn?"
"Forgive me, I am ignorant of your name." She pointed to his chest. "Shed`ahn,...shadow." He closed his eyes. The dull, pounding ache in his chest would haunt him forever. But it was done, and there was no turning back.
"Yes, I'm familiar with the word. My name is unimportant, you can call me Shed`ahn. I think it's more than appropriate," he said, softly. "..., you can see the shadow?"
"No," she said, pointing directly to the plexus, the center of power, where the weapon had penetrated. "I can see the wound, though it appears as a shadow, I know it for what it is. I've seen such as this before, though it's been centuries now. I recognize it for only that reason."
As his vision cleared, and the chainsaw in his head slowly ran out of gas, he knew exactly where he was. Not far to the west, was the Stand.
"Why did you bring me here?" he asked, stretching his wings out with a groan.
"I saw this place in your mind,...when the blade summoned me. It seemed a destination, so I brought you here. Was I in error?"
"No,...no, you weren't in error at all. This is exactly where I was heading. And the others?"
"The three holy ones?"
"Yes, how did you get away from them?" He knew full well they wouldn't have simply stood by and let this Sentinel carry him off, just as he knew she wouldn't stand much chance of getting away from them carrying him.
"I approached by way of stealth, they saw nothing. Two were hidden, one was nearby. I covered you, and brought you here, thinking you in danger."
"Only from myself," he sighed. She frowned, perhaps she had acted in haste.
"Was this inappropriate?" she asked, concerned that she had overstepped her authority.
"Not in the least,...in fact, you saved me a lot of trouble. I was coming here anyway, and it would have been difficult to get away if not for you."
She nodded curtly, still a bit skeptical.
She had changed considerably in appearance, only her face remained the same. She no longer wore the armor of metal and marble, this was her true armor, the armor worn by her caste. It was as legendary as her tribe.
Her kind had been among the first to guard the throne of light; the seat of power within the hierarchy. In the twilight wars, they had stained their armor with the essence of thousands of enemies. The enchanted metals of the armor retained that essence, dying it a permanent black and red. The armor came to be known as Nev'a~ii s'Ual: "Black and Blood", for that reason. Despite it's name, and history, it was beautiful.
"May I ask why you choose to come to such a desolate place?" she asked, carefully.
He looked in the direction of the Stand. She frowned again, shaking her head disapprovingly.
"The Ki~s'ueth? The holy ones go there for only one reason, please don't tell me you go there to join them?" she pleaded, jumping to her feet. The Ki~s'ueth -- the Valley of Death -- was not where she wanted to see him end up. She had seen angels go there to die for many centuries, and found the thought of this one becoming a part of that personally distressing. She began to pace nervously.
"I am going there to join them, but in a different way." He scooped up a handful of stone fragments and crushed them like breadcrumbs.
"Different?," she said, looking understandably perplexed.
"For a time, I want nothing more to do with life,...in any realm. I go there to sleep until an absent soul returns home. I go there for the Ixan s'ueth~N'ovar."
She looked at him in astonishment, this one was full of surprises.
"The Ixan s'ueth~N'ovar is a very old ritual from my own tribe. How is it that you know this rite?" She was amazed, even among her own tribe, knowledge of this ritual was rare.
"I tend to wander in my search for understanding. The legends of your tribe fascinated me, and centuries ago I was fortunate enough to be granted an audience with several elders."
"I'm quite certain they considered it their fortune to converse with a holy one. My tribe reveres the hierarchy. We believe their cause is just, and we have sworn an oath, as a nation, to serve them when, and where we can. It isn't often we have any contact with them in our own realm, but when it does occur, the elders consider it a very good omen, as do we all."
"Yes,..." he squirmed. "they did make something of a production of it."
"You were uncomfortable?" she said, disbelievingly, her eyes flaring a brilliant aqua.
Damn, not again. No wonder pride was frowned upon within the hierarchy, you were always stepping on someone's toes.
"Well,...it wasn't that,...exactly. I understand the importance of tradition, and ceremony, but I was just an angel, and we're supposed to be humble," he finished, hoping it would be enough to placate her, it was, after all, the truth. He could do humble, he just wasn't very good at it sometimes, and it could be damned inconvenient.
"Yes, I understand now. We know something of the moral structure of the hierarchy, and I'm sure such a welcome would have made you somewhat uneasy in that respect," she replied, satisfied with his answer. "did they give you a name? This is also tradition."
"Yes, they did,...Shëz`zah re'Sho~," he recalled.
"Storm~Singer," she said, with an approving smile. Her expression changed quickly. "So, you go to perform the ritual of the dreaming death?"
"Yes," he said, as he tested his unsteady legs. Her hand was there instantly to assist. "for a short time,...half a mortal lifetime."
"Ven'al s'Gua," she said.
"Yes, the "wink of an eye". He smiled, shaking off the dust. "I need your help with something."
"Anything," she said, quickly.
"I'd like to perform this ritual properly, but I don't have the robes for it. I could just make some, but I would prefer to have the real thing,...if you know what I mean?"
"You honor my tribe in keeping with our tradition this way, I will fetch the robes Shed`ahn." Yes, this one was definitely full of surprises. She bowed her head slightly, and streaked away across the plains in a spectral flash.
Looking down at the weapon, he remembered his time with the Rev a'Arr~Te'sho tribe. The mystical qualities of the myrliss blades, the oath of service, and many of the abilities possessed by their warriors. Their moral codes, social structure, tribal lore, and many rituals.
He remembered it all very well, and was one of the very few who knew anything about the tribe. Some things were worth remembering, you never knew when you might need them.
Scanning the plains, he also remembered this place. In some very fundamental ways, it reminded him of the Watch as he left it. But even that desolation fell short of that within his own soul at the moment.
The Sentinel returned with a large bundle of black and blood-red cloth, to find him nearing the Stand.
"Your robes Shed`ahn," she said, handing him the bundle.
"Thank you,...uh,..." he stuttered, suddenly realizing something. "I'm afraid I don't know your name."
She looked shocked, almost embarrassed.
"Forgive me, I've been remiss. My name is Déi~Shei'r," she said, quickly mending what she considered a serious error.
"Relax," he said, with a smile. "I've never been one to stand on ceremony,...quite the opposite in fact. It's an honor to meet you Déi~Shei'r."
"As you say, Shed`ahn,...or would you prefer I call you by another name?" She spoke rapidly, with a nervous edge to her voice. She obviously considered the name issue a serious breach of protocol.
"Shed`ahn is most fitting for the time being, and please relax. Protocol is the last thing on my mind at the moment."
She nodded, visibly relaxing. It was difficult to read her as she had no halo to give away her emotional condition, it was all tightly contained within her armor. He understood the reasoning for it though. The halo could only mask it's intentions to a certain extent. In combat, it could be read by the very skilled, giving a decided advantage.
"Déi~Shei'r,...doesn't that mean, Blood Flower?" he asked, vaguely recalling the words. Her expression made it clear that she was flattered, almost coy about it.
"In the basic dialect of my tribe, that's exactly what it means. In the dialect of my particular caste, the derivative is spelled slightly different. The addition of an accent between "Shei" and "r" alters the generic nature of the first syllable, "Dei", referencing a specific flower. It means; "Blood Orchid".
Throughout the tribes, "blood" was a word more closely related to "soul" than it's literal meaning. This was common within warrior nations, since their entire existence was about defense and honor, fighting for a cause, living and dying for what they believed. In many cases, the words: "blood", "soul", and "heart", were interchangeable, or even the same word.
He tried to hide his smile, it wasn't everyday you had to opportunity to embarrass a Sentinel. If armor could blush, her's would have,...several times, by his accounting. Beneath the long, dark, copper and gold tresses that hung across her face, he could see her eyes blinking quickly, and turning away constantly.
"It's fitting," he said, not really intending to embarrass her further, but expecting it anyway.
Reaching the rim of the valley, he found himself unmoved by the graveyard below. It was nothing like the first time he'd been here, the first time he saw Sarai's true face. He wasn't even sure that she could move him at this point. Déi~Shei'r stood rigid, arms folded across her chest, looking over the valley.
"The Ki~s'ueth sits at the boundary layer between two domains. At one time, it was a flat plain as far as one could see. Then, there was a great conflict here during the twilight wars. Many, many angels fell here, as well as those you call the fallen. The forces they used against each other opened enormous wounds in the land, forming this valley. When the battle was over, the slain lay piled in vast numbers. The outcry of the departed souls was so great that the entire valley wept in pain and sorrow. From that time on, nothing can live here, the valley itself won't allow it,...in memory of those who gave their immortal souls for the realm." Sparkling tears ran down along the satin smooth surface of her mask, her words, swept away into the valley.
"I remember the story, but for me, it's only that. I can't even imagine what it's like to be a part of that history" he whispered. He turned to her, touching her arm. "for millennia your tribe has fought, and sacrificed for this realm. Yet, you ask nothing of us. You commit yourselves to our service, still asking nothing. The cost seems almost incomprehensible, to devote your immortal existence so completely to the cause of another." He shook his head, the tribes were remarkable. Without a doubt, the hierarchy would have fallen long ago if not for them.
She looked at him, watching him for a long moment, considering his words before speaking.
"Shed`ahn, what we do, we do without considering it a sacrifice in any way. To our souls, we are warriors. As far back as our tribal history can recall we've been nothing less. To deny our pledge of service to a conviction we share, is to deny our very nature. We take much pride in who and what we are, and in the choices we've made personally, and as a nation. To us, the sacrifice would be to live any other way."
"Yes, I understand that completely. I know about denying one's nature,...Ki'u~e'jlah." She smiled once again at his knowledge of her language, nodding in agreement.
"The hidden heart," she translated. "Something concerns me Shed`ahn, something about this place, and the ritual."
"What's that?"
"As I said, the valley will not allow life to exist here for more than a few weeks. How will you survive for half a mortal lifetime?" The look on her face was grave, leaving no doubt as to the depth of her concern.
"S'ueth a' ti`e D~Viag'o," he said, with a wink.
"Death comes for the living? You speak in riddles Shed`ahn." She was understandably confused by his ambiguous comment, but the answer was relatively simple. The Stand wouldn't allow life per se, but angels could enter somnus; a sort of sleeping death, leaving the body in a state of abeyance as close to death as life would tolerate without letting go completely. In a limited way, it's what he had done in the alley. The Ixan s'ueth~N'ovar went even deeper. He was certain the Stand would overlook him. Déi~Shei'r wasn't as easily convinced. And there was another problem.
"I refuse to leave you to sleep alone in this forsaken place!" she strenuously resisted.
"I'm not having this on my conscience too, I already have enough to regret and I'm not adding you to that list! What could possibly happen to me in this place anyway?" he argued. She wasn't about to accept any of it and he knew it. She'd stand by him until she dropped if she had to, and he wasn't going to let that happen.
"This is not the point Shed`ahn, I am sworn to this,...to my death if need be, but I will stand watch over you, and there will be no discussion about it." She turned away to face the open valley, folding her arms in what could only be described as a pout.
"Déi~Shei'r,.." he began. She turned to him, placing a single finger to his lips to silence him.
"Shed`ahn, you have shown me a kindness and consideration that I find myself wholly unused to. You've shown concern and respect for my tribe and our ways that I would never have expected from a holy one. The thought of you alone in this place for any length of time is intolerable to me,...I will not leave,...I will not, and you cannot ask this of me."
He sighed, this is what happens when you're nice to people.
There was a way though. Grace had told him of an enchantment prayer that appealed to the soul of the Stand to allow an extended homage to those who had fallen here. It wasn't quite as simple as it sounded, but nothing ever was. He would also be judged by that soul as it determined his worthiness. The soul of the Stand was not a single soul, but the souls of every angel who had fallen within the sterile walls of the valley, combined into a single entity. It would force him to live every moment of the battle fought here.
But he had no intention of telling that to Déi~Shei'r.
"Ok, Déi~Shei'r,...I know of a way."
"Yes?!" she said, her eyes aglow. He changed into the ceremonial robes as he explained to her, leaving out a few "minor" details here and there.
"So you'll have to stand away a short distance," he explained. "since it tends to get intense around the one who says the prayer. I'll be fine in the center, so keep your distance,...no matter what. Understand?"
"I understand Shed`ahn, I will hold my place," she agreed, satisfied with his decision.
He wasn't completely certain he had the strength for this. He still felt like his heart was being ripped out slowly, and his halo was still weak, but this was the only way he could get around the situation.
"I'm going there," he said, pointing to a small stand of rocks jutting from the dead ground at a steep angle. "you stay here."
"Understood."
Being made for a Sentinel, the robes were far too long to leave walking as an option. They were comfortable, but he looked like a black and red flag waving in the cold winds.
Reaching the highest of the stones, he pulled together everything he had left, hoping it would be enough. Grace had warned him about the horrors this prayer invoked, and exactly how dangerous it could become if he was found unworthy. He had come to a point where he wondered if his convictions would ever stop being tested.
The prayer was reasonably simple, performed as a whisper -- the words spoken silently through the halo.
The Stand answered him with a terrifying immediacy.
Surging up through the ground around him like a geyser of phantoms, it came screaming. The war cries of nearly one million souls in chorus was deafening. They tore at him like a pack of ravenous dogs, smelling the blood of his wounds. He closed his eyes tightly, clamping his jaw shut to keep from crying out. But they were already behind his eyes, and they brought the horror with them.
The war was beyond anything his imagination could envision. The carnage, beyond measure. They fell by the thousands, like birds struck by lightning. Everywhere he looked, bodies hit the ground wetly, coughing their essence into the bloody soil as life was torn away from them, wailing in defeat. Blasts of angelfire raped the plains repeatedly, leaving open wounds everywhere. Weapons of light and dark cleaved limb and wing to the outraged screams of dying souls, until they covered the ground as far as he could see. Sentinels moved through the ranks of the fallen like machines of death. They worked with such efficiency that their kill ratio was easily hundreds to one.
The dead clung to him like a cancer. They huddled around the light of his living soul, begging for mercy, salvation from an eternal torture.
"Shad`ahn!" Déi~Shei'r shouted through the wailing maelstrom. Torn between her oath and his warning to keep her distance, she was frantic.
Surely this wasn't right, it couldn't be right,...
Giving in to her warrior heart, she hurled herself into the vortex, to no avail. She was slapped away like a crippled child, slamming into the ground before she could regain herself. Several times she tried, with the same results. There was no getting through, Shad`ahn was on his own.
Lightning ripped thunderous gaps through the air, striking the swirling mass of souls, but even the thunder was consumed within their combined voices. It continued to strike, carving trenches in the ground, shattering the air with it's white-hot fury.
Then, from the eye of the hurricane, she heard a single voice pierce the cacophony.
"I AM!"
A dazzling light sheared it's way through the twisting nightmare of specters, as the chill winds were called together to a single point. The torrid hurricane spun off balance, faltered, and flew apart, riven by the gale. Forced to her knees by the concussion, Déi~Shei'r looked up in time to see Raven fall hard against the stone, his wings hanging limp over the sides.
"Shad`ahn!" She was there in the next heartbeat. Carrying him to a section of ground that was still intact, she held him in her lap.
"Shad`ahn,...please,..."
She was speechless, he had done this for her, because her oath would not let her leave him. For the first time in over 26 millennia, she questioned that oath. This couldn't happen, she wouldn't allow it.
Casting off her armor, she enveloped him within the light of her own spirit. This was unheard of. It went against everything she knew,...and she didn't care.
She could feel only the slightest trace of him somewhere in the dark, but it was enough, she would find him no matter what it took. As she searched through the shadowy hallways of his soul, moving like an apparition through a haunted castle, the memories of his life became hers.
There were no words to describe it, nothing she'd ever experienced could remotely match the euphoric sensation as his light merged with her own. She didn't understand what was happening around her, had no idea what to do next, but like a warrior, she followed her instincts, giving herself completely to the moment.
His eyes opened slowly, increasing the throbbing behind them. At least the sky was kind enough to provide a thick, dark covering of clouds to block the light.
Beside him, wrapped in the oversized robes, was a woman. She lay curled up next to him, her long, coppery hair covering her face. Carefully moving a few strands aside, he could just make out the black and red markings,...the same markings Déi~Shei'r wore.
Maybe his eyes weren't open after all.
She stirred, opening a pair of glistening turquoise eyes.
"Déi~Shei'r?" he whispered.
Her whole face smiled as she nodded. He tried to speak again, but she quickly held a finger to his lips.
"Please Shëz`zah, not yet,...give me a moment more,...just a moment," she breathed. He squeezed her hand and said nothing.
The winds seemed calmer somehow. The Stand had been forever changed for him, he would never be able to think of it in the same way again. He had seen it's true face, it's true heart,...maybe nothing would ever be the same.
"Shëz`zah,..." she whispered, moving her lithe body against his. "for centuries have I seen life from safe within my armor,...never daring to think for even a moment what I might be missing,...I thought myself invulnerable, content within my belief and servitude,...but this,...this "flesh",...I have no words,..."
He slipped his arm under her, pulling her up closer. Here, in this place, flesh was manifest, a facsimile. True flesh possessed qualities unique unto itself, qualities that could not be duplicated. But she didn't need to know that.
"Why Déi~Shei'r? Why this,..." he asked, running his hand over the silken skin of her lower back. "This is my way,...the way of all Sentinels. I have been guardian of temples, gardens, and statues,...buildings, places and things. But never have I been sworn to an individual. My armor becomes a part of that which I protect,...now, I protect you Shëz`zah. In our union, my armor has become your flesh. Do you see?"
He could hardly help but see, with her wrapped around him as she was.
"I understand,...I understand completely." In some very rudimentary ways, it was the same for him. "why "Shëz`zah"?
She smiled, sliding her hand over his chest, to the dark wound at his plexus.
"From within, I have seen you for who and what you are. You are not this," she said, resting her hand on the wound. "you are not the shadow,...the elders were wise in their choice,...you are Shëz`zah; the Storm. And as well, the song within it. The beauty and motion of both,...the flow and intensity of emotion. I would never have understood these things from within my armor, but now, I see clearly."
"Li'nev~O'van `re," he whispered to the sky. Again she smiled.
"Yes,...behind the mask." She snuggled closer, lost in a warmth she'd never experienced. "Will the Ki~s'ueth accept us now?"
"Yes," he answered, not wanting to go any further with the subject.
"Shëz`zah,...I struggle for the words to express these feelings. That you would willingly go through such torment for me because of my oath to you,...I didn't understand; wouldn't have, even with an explanation,...you knew, yet you did this anyway. I can never repay it,...for that, and everything more you've given me,...and asking nothing of me,..."
"Consider your own words, Déi~Shei'r. I can't see this as a sacrifice. This is my way, and the way of angels. Would you have me do otherwise and deny that? Above all else, I must be true to my beliefs,...what my heart tells me, just like you. It was no sacrifice. You owe me nothing more than to accept the experience, and take from it anything you find of personal value."
"What I've found is beyond value," she sighed, holding her ear against the beat of his heart, tears rolling silently from her eyes.
"Are you ok?" he said, running his fingers through her glossy hair.
"I know why you've come here Shëz`zah,...I've seen it in your heart." She clung to him tighter. "How do you go from day to day,...even moment to moment, this way? What is the emptiness I've seen spreading through you? How can you even feign a smile with this inside you?"
"Love," he said, simply.
She jumped up over him, looking down with what was possibly the most confused look he'd ever witnessed.
"Love? Love Shëz`zah? You aren't serious?" she said, shaking her head, her hair whisking back and forth across his face. "That emptiness, that darkness is love? Perhaps it's simply that I am ignorant of love, but is love not supposed to be a light that shines from within? A light that fulfills?" She was utterly bewildered. How could this possibly be love,...of any kind?
He had to smile, he fought it, but it was useless. Her childlike innocence was priceless. The thought of ruining that was almost enough to keep him from an explanation. Not that she would allow that to happen of course.
"My confusion amuses you?" she pouted.
"No Dei~Shie'r, it isn't that it amuses me, and I apologize if it seems that way. How do I explain love? The greatest enigma of all, and the most necessary to the soul itself." She climbed up and planted herself firmly on his chest.He was obviously going nowhere until he explained. "Ok, let me try this," he started. Working his arms out from under her legs, he pulled the robes up around her.
"No matter how much I explain, there will always be more to learn. Love is a living thing, it evolves, grows, and changes constantly within every new occurrence, it's never ending. It's a core emotion, basic to every soul. It's complexity comes from the fact that it spawns so many other secondary emotions, and variations of those emotions. It spans a wider range of feelings than any other emotion by far. It is a light Déi~Shei'r, but like any other light, it can cast a very dark, very deep shadow in it's absence."
"The darkness in you?" she said, tilting her head to the side.
"The darkness in me,..." he confirmed. "Part of my soul is missing,...for now. Until it returns, I'll sleep."
"If I could,...if I were,..." She shook her head sadly, turning her eyes down.
He pulled her down against him, wrapped his wings around her, and lit his halo. She nuzzled against his neck, breathing him in, loathe to move.
"Déi~Shei'r," he whispered into her ear."you can't fill that emptiness in me, that place belongs to another soul. You have your own place in me,...and you'll always have that place. This is the way of souls, the way they grow and strengthen. But one can never replace another. Don't think I haven't been changed for the better by this. You say I've given you so much, but you've given equally of yourself,...there is always a balance struck between souls."
"How is it that I am so many times your age, yet I lack experience in things so basic to life?" she breathed against his neck.
"Life is your answer. It fights for every moment of it's existence, it adapts, and spreads into every space it can find purchase. It expresses itself with infinite variety. It succeeds because it doesn't specialize. You've sworn yourself, your total existence, to the way of the warrior,...a specialization. In following one path, the offerings of others are overlooked. Walking a single path takes such discipline because it goes against the basic tenet of the soul; to experience and learn, to expand,...to emulate life. It constantly seeks more,...always more."
"I feel as though I've been blind all this time, never seeing beyond my beliefs,...never thinking to look for more. Thank you for giving me sight Shëz`zah, I promise you this gift will not be wasted." She hugged him closer.
"Welcome to life," he whispered, kissing her on the forehead.
"I could remain here,...just like this, and never want for more,...but you've come here for a reason, and I feel I'm keeping you from it. I don't want that Shëz`zah. Please,...let me go." She felt an appalling emptiness in those words, just like the emptiness she'd seen in his soul.
She was right, it was time. He had come this far,...just a little farther. He opened his wings, closed his eyes, and let go. She took a deep breath, and pulled away,...but not completely. She leaned down over him, covering his mouth with hers. An exchange of breath,...for a moment,...an astral shift,...and he was alone.
"You'll sleep there Shëz`zah?," she inquired, looking across a small gap to the spire Raven had chosen.
"It's all pretty much the same,...it'll do," he shrugged. But it wasn't, not anymore. The bones of the dead looked different now. They weren't just a collection of lost souls, there was something more to them, but he couldn't define the change.
"Your armor," he said, looking at her, back in her encasement. "it's missing something."
"Yes," she said, looking at the ground. "flesh is preferable, but it makes poor armor. Perhaps something of yours as an adornment?"
He reached out for her hand, which she offered without looking up.
"Not like this Déi~Shei'r,...look at me,...please."
She did as he asked, with great difficulty. As she looked at him, the shadow of something much older than his years moved across his eyes, and she found herself unable to look away.
He took her hand, turned it palm up, and rested his lightly over it.
~...Déi~Shei'r,...~
She heard her name in her head, almost the same way her weapons spoke to her, then felt something warm in her hand.
He closed his eyes, releasing her.
A dark, red liquid filled her palm.
"Hold it to your heart," he told her. Again, she did as he asked. The liquid stayed within her palm as she held it up to the center of her breastplate.
A flood of blue-violet light surged through her armor as the essence in her hand made contact. Her eyes widened as she was overcome by the heated rush circulating within her. She closed her eyes, letting herself be swept away by the feeling of it,...of him, until it finally subsided to a warm, steady glow echoing within her.
"That will stay with you,...always. And so will this," he said, tapping a finger to the sigil at the center of her breastplate. Looking down, she found the deep red image of a blood orchid etched within the sigil.
Her inexperience was seriously taxing her patience, she wanted,...needed to say something, but the words were nowhere to be found. She took his left hand in hers, raising it to her face. Wrapping her index finger around the base of his little finger, she smiled through gathering tears. Releasing his finger, he found a thick, copper ring around it.
"And this will stay with you Shëz`zah,...as I will,...by my oath, and my wish."
"Déi~O`vah'r," he whispered.
"Beautiful Orchid?" she said, demurely.
"Very."
They left the moment as it was, for better or worse, it was all they could do.
Grace stared into the portal before her, transfixed by the vision within.
"Always a surprise," she whispered.
"Grace?"
"Yes Sarai, I found him."
"I should have thought to look there," Sarai said, coming up next to her sister. "any ideas as to why he's there and what he's doing?"
"You wouldn't have found him if you'd looked there before this moment, I'm fairly certain that Sentinel has kept him under stealth until now, that's how he got away from us.
As for what he's doing,...judging by the ceremonial robes, I'd say he's gone to sleep. Or more accurately, a death sleep, something like somnus, but this appears to be deeper."
"It must be, I can only feel the slightest traces of him, and even those are sporadic. He wasn't kidding when he said that he wanted nothing more to do with life."
"Not in the least." She let the pieces fall into place as she watched the long black and red robes whipping around in the winds. It was fairly clear to her that blackbird had engineered most, if not all of the events leading up to this moment.
"How can he possibly maintain the shadow this way, not to mention being able to watch over the one?" Sarai wondered aloud.
"The first is easy. With the strength of an archangel's soul, he could afford to give more to the casting, resulting in a more self-motivating shadow. With the proper memories, motivations, and arrangements, he wouldn't have to do a thing but wind it up and let it run,...so to speak."
"I see,...and the other?"
Grace looked out over the plains of the Stand, shaking her head. Something was missing. There wasn't any way he'd abandon the songbird, but his soul was asleep at the edge of death, it wasn't possible for him to watch over her in that condition.
The answer came from within the wings of the storm overlooking the valley.
"There," she said, pointing to the far horizon. Sarai extended her vision through the portal.
"Are those,...?"
"Kindred," Grace whispered, as she watched the skies fill with thousands of ebony wings. "his eyes and ears on earth."
Sarai looked on with amazement as a whirlwind of ravens, blackbirds, crows, and like colored birds circled around the sleeping archangel.
The winds gathered speed, quickly becoming a tornado of black feathers and raucous calls.
A dark portal formed just before his plexus, a gateway. His companion spirits poured through it by the hundreds, on their way to the other side, until the sky fell silent once more.
"Always finds a way, doesn't he?"
Grace smiled. "Doesn't he just."
~...I guess it's better than having him become a permanent part of the Stand,...~
"Yes," Sarai agreed, turning to answer Sazzi as she faded into view. "he may even find some peace."
"And he'll be safe with the Sentinel nearby," Grace added.
With languid eyes, Sazzi blew a kiss into the portal and faded away.
~...the skies will weep when his shadow finally departs,...~
"Hopefully she won't flood the state," Grace quipped.
"I'd worry about the country, she's taking this very hard," Sarai remarked.
"Understandable, I'm sure this will hit me full-force in a day or two," Grace sighed, acutely feeling the loss already.
Sarai hung her head in silent prayer,...and faded to black.
~...take care of yourself Grace,...~
~...and you Sarai,...~
"Was there no way to avoid this?" a familiar voice said from behind her. It was more of a sad observation than an actual question, but she had a definite answer for it nonetheless.
"Of course there was Tavin,...the songbird could have listened to her heart," she answered without hesitation.
"Yes,..." he replied. ~...of course,...~
"Do you think he'll ever go back to humanity?" she wondered.
"For a long time I've watched this one. He has a great love of humanity. I believe once the one returns home, he'll find himself again. Reason is difficult when you're missing a large part of your soul," he answered, in his typically sedate voice.
"So it is,..."
"It's nice to see you again Grace,...blessings to you," he said, as he faded from sight.
"Likewise Tavin," she said with a smile.
She watched the portal for awhile longer before deciding it was time to let it be. Hopefully Tavin was right, as he often was.
"Sleep well blackbird, you've earned it. Lord knows it cost you enough."
She closed the portal, wrapping the darkness around her.
She watched him fall asleep, feeling the light in him fade until it was no more than an intermittent spark, though she still felt his gift as strongly as before. She recalled a prayer often said over those who entered the Ixan s'ueth~N'ovar, deeming it appropriate.
(I will remain,
-Though slumber hold You,...
dark and deep.
-Though time escapes You,...
while your sleep.
-Though Soul no longer,...
Light may shine.
-Though memory,...
will fall behind.
-Though shadows lead You,...
through each day.
-Though Heart lay silent,...
hold Death at bey.
I will remain the watchful one,
and see You through,
what Dreams may come,...)
He would have to tell her sometime, that even so near death, an angel could still hear the prayers of others,...sometime.
She stepped out of her apartment building into the wind and rain that had been prevelant for several days. Gusts of cool air swam around her, playfully tossing her hair across her face. She crossed the street, carefully avoiding the flowing water in the gutter, heading for her car. As usual, she paid no mind to the crows perched atop the buildings and power poles.
Though somehow,...they almost seemed to be watching,...
