One of them was gone. Murdered, if the messenger was to be believed.
Certainly not the Homecoming any of them had expected.
Lyta's fingers slipped on the rocky outcrop and she uttered a quiet curse as tiny bits of stone tumbled to the ground below her. Her chest hammered in her heart but she ignored it and focused on finding a better purchase on the rockface. Eventually her fingers found purchase and she pulled herself up to the next ledge. She hated how her arms quivered with the effort. When she had been a youth she had raced her brother up the mountains that made up the edge of their peoples territory on the Steppes. She would have hopped from one rocky outcrop to the next without a second thought, trusting in her body to keep her safe. Since carrying the duty of the Dreamstone, Lyta had been able to rely on that body less and less. It had started as naps in the day which she had put down to a poor nights sleep here and there. Now she could be midsentence and would suddenly collapse as the stone dragged her into the Dreamscape where it preferred to play. The more exhausted she became, the less she found the energy to keep her body in shape and so her muscles withered. Her body became weaker. It had happened to all the Guardians of the Dreamstone before her but even the warning hadn't prepared her for how it would make her feel.
Vulnerable.
The word felt more dangerous now one of their own had been killed for his stone. What would Lyta be able to do to physically defend the stone being taken from her?
"My Lady..!"
Lyta cursed again as this time her foot slipped and in doing so knocked the other from the barely passable foothold. Both boots scrambled against the rock face as they sought for a hole or an outcrop on which to gain purchase but nothing suitable felt within reach. She glanced up to the next handhold. If she could get there... Gritted her teeth and ignoring the screaming protest of her arms she swung her hips then heaved herself upwards. Both chalked up hands grabbed the larger ledge and her feet were finally able to find suitable holds. Knowing that if she stopped she would lose her confidence, she ploughed on to the ledge she had set as her target.
"See? I'm fine, Brom!" she called, turning to sit with her legs dangling off the edge. The member of the Vanguard who had been assigned to her today did not look convinced. Indeed it looked very much like he intended on finding a route up to her in order to carry her back down over his shoulder if necessary. Really, if Solomon was going to insist on guards he would have to remind them that they were not prisoners. With a sigh she left him to that puzzle. Lyta had picked this spot specifically because of the challenge of the climb. Instead she took out a waterskin and had a well earned drink.
Certainly not the Homecoming any of them had expected.
Lyta's fingers slipped on the rocky outcrop and she uttered a quiet curse as tiny bits of stone tumbled to the ground below her. Her chest hammered in her heart but she ignored it and focused on finding a better purchase on the rockface. Eventually her fingers found purchase and she pulled herself up to the next ledge. She hated how her arms quivered with the effort. When she had been a youth she had raced her brother up the mountains that made up the edge of their peoples territory on the Steppes. She would have hopped from one rocky outcrop to the next without a second thought, trusting in her body to keep her safe. Since carrying the duty of the Dreamstone, Lyta had been able to rely on that body less and less. It had started as naps in the day which she had put down to a poor nights sleep here and there. Now she could be midsentence and would suddenly collapse as the stone dragged her into the Dreamscape where it preferred to play. The more exhausted she became, the less she found the energy to keep her body in shape and so her muscles withered. Her body became weaker. It had happened to all the Guardians of the Dreamstone before her but even the warning hadn't prepared her for how it would make her feel.
Vulnerable.
The word felt more dangerous now one of their own had been killed for his stone. What would Lyta be able to do to physically defend the stone being taken from her?
"My Lady..!"
Lyta cursed again as this time her foot slipped and in doing so knocked the other from the barely passable foothold. Both boots scrambled against the rock face as they sought for a hole or an outcrop on which to gain purchase but nothing suitable felt within reach. She glanced up to the next handhold. If she could get there... Gritted her teeth and ignoring the screaming protest of her arms she swung her hips then heaved herself upwards. Both chalked up hands grabbed the larger ledge and her feet were finally able to find suitable holds. Knowing that if she stopped she would lose her confidence, she ploughed on to the ledge she had set as her target.
"See? I'm fine, Brom!" she called, turning to sit with her legs dangling off the edge. The member of the Vanguard who had been assigned to her today did not look convinced. Indeed it looked very much like he intended on finding a route up to her in order to carry her back down over his shoulder if necessary. Really, if Solomon was going to insist on guards he would have to remind them that they were not prisoners. With a sigh she left him to that puzzle. Lyta had picked this spot specifically because of the challenge of the climb. Instead she took out a waterskin and had a well earned drink.