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Dangerous things like to hide in the shadows. Things that had tales about them, warning of their habits and how to avoid them; others had only been seen by an unlucky few, which didn’t survive to warn others of their presence. Na’ane was well aware of their presence, but she feared cold steel more. The creatures in the darkness were predators by nature, while her pursuers had chosen to be murderers, making them a whole different kind of evil.
“It must not be much farther now,” she reassured her escorts.
“I’m sick of hearing you say that,” said one of the two mercenaries.
Na’ane’s group had begun their journey with six Artisans of different races, including herself, and eight human mercenaries that were handsomely paid to protect them on their way to the mysterious Swamp City. With the Azadi expanding, ruthlessly claiming more and more territories as their own, many Artisans had decided to abandon their use of magic and hide their talents, out of fear of execution; others attempted to hide so they could continue to hone their gift of magic in relative peace; A handful few, like the Na’ane and her friends, who still had some fight left in them, decided to join the rebel resistance, to give the Azadi a real reason to fear magic.
Sadly, both the road and the Azadi had claimed lives along their travels, and now only Na’ane and two mercenaries remained, and it was only thanks to her negotiation skills that they continued to follow her into greater dangers, expecting a big compensation for all of the unforeseen near-death experiences they had along the way, which would be paid by Na’ane’s “friends” in the rebel ranks.
Not a complete lie. Not from a certain point of view, at least. She did expect to be welcomed into the resistance, and upon joining them she could persuade someone to give to the mercenaries the hypothetical reward. Why, a Venar would certainly accept her gambling as genuine honesty.
The forest that they were blazing though had given way to the water and the mist. They now made their way through a swamp, and if the torn map that Na’ane had snatched from one of her dying friends were as accurate as they had hoped it to be, their destination shouldn’t be much farther off. Unfortunately, Na’ane’s insistence in pointing that out in order to keep morale up was doing the exact opposite.
“I’ve been wondering…” said one of the mercenaries. “If you had friends in the resistance all along, why couldn’t they go fetch you and yer friends?”
“They are fighting a war. That doesn’t leave many people to shepherd new recruits from all around the world.” She responded, a little too quickly.
“Alright, fair enough,” said the other. “But apparently your “friends” don’t like you enough to give you a map to them, you really sure they are going to pays us for delivering you to them?”
Na’ane looked at him with indignation. Or, at least, fear masked as indignation. The Azadi and the feral creatures of the swamps were enough problems, on top of that, they hadn’t eaten in a couple of days and the relentless pursuit of the latest Azadi scout group didn’t leave much time for rest. Na’ane couldn’t afford her hired bodyguards turning on her now.
“Yeah, that right. I know that piece o’ paper wasn’t given to you lot by some rebel recruiter, you bought it on the road, from someone who only claims the resistance has an outpost here. How you know they were telling the truth?”
A scream came from behind them, distant but still audible, as well as the horrifying shriek of whatever creature they managed to avoid by blind luck. The Azadi didn’t seem to be so fortunate.
“Thankfully the creatures of the swamp appear to be more helpful than you are,” said Na’ane. “Something just gave us back the time you cost us with your lack of trust.” Na’ane continued her march. “Let us be gone, before it decides that the Azadi aren’t satiable enough.”
Na’ane and her hired blades continued to make their way through the swamp. Only once more had they head the battle cry of another of the swamp’s mysterious feral dwellers, but its shriek had been cut short. It seemed that the Azadi were more attentive now, and their swords were ready.
“Blast and damnation!”
The cursing came from the hired blades, along with the sound of splashing water. Na’ane turned back to her mercenaries and saw one of them helping the other get up. He limped and held to his brother in arms to avoid falling again.
“My damned foot! Great, just great! This shit ain’t worth it, mate.”
“Do not let the adversities bring you down.” Na’ane attempted to keep morale up. “We are nearly there.”
“That’s what you’ve been saying for two days! I lost all but one of my friends, nearly lost my life more times than I care to count, and now my foot. What use is a blade if I can’t stand up to use it?”
“Once we arrive at the Swamp City, my friends can he-“
“By the Mo-Jaal’s infested intestines, lady! Enough of your empty promises! I’m done with you and I’m done wi-AAAH!”
The anger in the mercenarie’s face gave way to a distorted expression of pain, followed by the empty stare of the newly dead as the blade penetrated through his back and came out of his chest. His brother in arms barely had time to reach his own sword when an Azadi scout decapitated him with one swift strike.
“Stay away!” said Na’ane. A threat? A plea? She wasn’t sure herself.
“Take a look at what we got, boys!” Shouted one of the scouts. “What do you think this one is?”
“Another filthy Zhid!” said the one to his left.
“Nah, nah, look at her face, there’s no fur!” said the one to his right.
“If it weren’t for the orange in her face…” said the one at the back, trying to pull his sword out of the mercenarie’s corpse. “I’d say she’s a Dolmari.”
“Could it be…a half-breed?” wondered the fifth, with both disgust and amusement. “By the Goddess, I did not dare believe you Magicals would dare to stoop so low as to get yourselves mixed up. I think we might get a good compensation for taking this one to one of the camps.”
“You’ll take me nowhere!”
Fear, desperation, all things she had believed she had grown costumed to during her long journey to the swamps, they seemed much greater now that she was alone, outnumbered and without any supplies. But by being cornered like that, those feelings seemed to drive her to make one final push.
The movement of hidden creatures was very perceptible as they fled the area, for they felt the water offered protection no longer. The water which reached the knees of the Azadi scouts quickly lowered as a great quantity focused on one spot. Making use of her magical talents, Na’ane concentrated the water before her, and pushed it violently towards the Azadi, knocking all but one of them down with a great wave.
As they tried to get up, vines wrapped themselves around their bodies, pulling them back into the water. The strongest of the scouts, who resisted being knocked down by the wave, rushed towards Na’ane, fighting the vines that grabbed him and attempted to pull him to a watery death with his fellow Azadi, losing his sword in the process.
Na’ane tried to call forth another spell, but the scout tackled her, knocking her down into the water. He held her submerged and the vines stopped their attack as Na’ane’s focus on her magic dwindled, fighting against the Azadi to get out of the water.
Though the spirit may desire to continue to fight indefinitely, the body is much more limited. Bubbles made their way to the surface as the water of the swamp invaded her lungs. Her conscience began to fade, but not before she felt the Azadi losing his grip on her as a figure, blurred by the water, attacked the brute. Then the darkness came.
“Carefully! Carefully!”
There was no more need for carefulness. She had taken all the precautions for that journey, and yet the void still managed to claim her. Too late for more carefulness, no?
“She’s not breathing!”
There was no more need to. Her body was gone. The Stars were gone. All there was left was her conscience in the dark.
“Stand back, all of you!”
There were others? There was nothing but the void of death. No, there was something, a sensation, a feeling. It was touch. She could feel something pressing on her chest, even though she had no more body, it was something strong, continuous. The feeling on her inexistent chest stopped, followed by another kind of touch. A touch on her lips. That touch filled her being with warmth, with air, with hope, with light, with…
Life.
Na’ane coughed, breaking the contact of their lips. Water left her lungs and she could breathe again. The focus returned to her eyes. Above her, the once cloudy sky had begun to open, the joyous rays of sunlight descending upon her and the one between her and the sky. The one holding her was surrounded by light, not only by the radiance of the sun, but one that seemed to be her own.
“It’s okay,” said the human woman. “You are going to be fine.”
She sounded so sure of it, how could it not be true?
“Were you…” Na’ane began. “Were you…kissing me?”
The human woman holding her, who seemed so serene and comforting, turned red. The clouds continued to move, covering the sun once more.
“It’s a miracle…IT’S A MIRACLE!” The young human boy behind the beautiful red human woman exalted. “Raven has raised the dead with the kiss of life!”
“Brynn, no.” Said the woman. “I just performed CPR, I didn’t-“
“IT’S A MIRACLE! RAVEN HAS RAISED THE DEAD! RAVEN HAS RAISED THE DEAD!”
The woman sighed exasperated as the boy ran to spread the news of her “miracle.”
“Chawan, could you please?” The woman asked.
“No worries, I’ll get him under control.” Said the large man behind her.
“You’re safe now.” The beautiful human woman said to her in that comforting voice once more. “You’re going to be okay. Hey, hey, hey, stay with me!”
What a strange thing to ask for. Of course Na’ane would stay with her. She didn’t want to be anywhere else but by her savior’s side. Right now, in her savior’s arms, she could rest.
The next time Na’ane opened her eyes, the view was much duller. She found herself on a bed, in what seemed to be a wooden cabin. What happened? Had she dreamed of the beautiful luminescent woman who saved her with a kiss?
The door of the room opened and the woman who saved her stepped inside. She smiled widely upon seeing Na’ane, and she couldn’t help but smile too.
“I had a feeling you’d be up. How are you feeling?” The human woman asked.
“I’m fine. A little hungry, but other than that, I’m fine.”
“We can get that problem resolved too. But I need to ask: what were you doing out there? You nearly got yourself killed.”
“My friends and I wished to join the Rebels.” Na’ane answered.
“Your friends? Were there more people with you?”
“Yes, but many were lost on the way. We were told the Rebels had a base somewhere in the swamp.”
“That was quite the risk you took, and you also nearly lead the Azadi here. If I hadn’t been there to save you, you could have compromised us all.”
Na’ane’s eyes widened. The human spoke the truth. If that one scout had gotten away…
“I didn’t mean to! I was…I was…”
“The important thing is that I took care of the one you couldn’t kill. Our location is still secure, and you are safe and sound. It was a close one, but I suppose everything worked out well in the end.”
There was an awkward moment of silence. Na’ane stared at the human woman with penitence, gratitude and a little bit of adoration. It took a little while for her to notice it was making the human uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry. I am Na’ane. I’m an Artisan”
“I saw it. That was quite the performance you pulled there. Pretty cool, I must say.”
“Actually there was no cold spells involved. But if you wish, I could make a demonstration.”
“Oh no, that’s not what I meant. I meant that it was impressive, great.”
“You have a funny way of saying things. Are you an Artisan as well…Raven, was it? I never heard of magic that could save a life with a kiss.”
“Actually, you can call me April, and I’m not an Artisan, I just performed CPR. I guess they still haven’t thought of that here in Arca- I mean, around here.”
“Whatever it was, I’m grateful that you did it…April? April Ryan?”
“Oh, here we go.” April sounded exasperated.
Na’ane stood up, reaching to and grabbing April by the shoulders.
“By the Stars, I never dreamed…It is a great honor to meet you, and to have been saved by you, and to have been kissed by you!”
April’s face turned red again, and she averted her gaze as she tried to repress a smile forming in her lips.
“It’s always nice to meet a fan.” She said, following it with an awkward laugh. “That was…a joke. You know what a joke is, right? You know, for laughing.”
“Yes, I know, and I’ve also been told of your strange ways from Stark. What is it like?”
“Sorry Na’ane, I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Very well.”
“So…welcome to the Rebels, Na’ane.” She took one of Na’ane’s hands and shook it. The Magical woman didn’t seem to know what the gesture meant, but her grip on April’s hand was strong. “There you go. It’s official now. Very good. Wow, this is the longest handshake I ever had, you can let go of my hand now.”
They left the cabin, as April had to get the new member up to speed with the affairs of the resistance. Na’ane looked up, the sky remained clouded, but as she looked back to April, the world seemed to turn brighter than on the sunniest day.
“Where to first, April-an?”
“It’s just April. Unless that means something in your language?”
“Oh, it’s an expression of…” Of deep fondness, admiration, passion, of…”it expresses respect.”
“Respect, huh? Well, respect is always welcome. Come on, new partner, you have some catching up to do.”
As they walked side by side, April pulled Na’ane closer, with one arm over her shoulders as she gave Na’ane the great Swamp City tour. Na’ane paid attention to every word, to her strange way in which she talked sometimes, and for the first time in a long while, right there by her savior’s side, she felt safe.