Private Tales The Legend's Heir

[Solgrin]

Her magic was strong. The Gem was strong.

Over the last few weeks that was a lesson he had learned. They had performed minor feats, small mystical arts that would be helpful in a fight. They had never attempted anything big, influencing the world around them. Yet it was exactly what they needed now.

"We need to create a blizzard." The words fell from his lips.

By his estimation it would not be that difficult. Her magic allowed her to create and manipulate, and in this case they would not need to create the blizzard itself.

Instead they would take what was already above them. The dark clouds, those that did not quite stand ready to snow but could with just a little bit of a push. The task was still monumental, but...if they succeeded it would at least dissuade Civel from trying again for some time.

Whatever else the man was, he wasn't a fool.

 

[Serafina]

Serafina's lips thinned into a grimace but there was a hard set to her jaw which spoke of determination. They hadn't tried anything quite so large intentionally yet but she knew it was within her to do that and far worse. If it would protect them for a time longer and ensure that none of those horrific... attacks happened to her mind again then she would give it her all. Taking a deep breath she nodded.

"Let me eat first," they had been helping with the cooking earlier in the day and it was pretty close to ready now; they had timed it well with the groups return. It would be essential to have as much energy as possible in her before they attempted the spell.

"Aye I'm starving too," one of the others said with a chuckle and Sera smiled then led them back into the main mess.

"Do you know the mages personally?" she asked Sol as they sat down with their portions of pie and potatoes.

 

[Solgrin]

He nodded. "Good idea."

They'd seen the effects of her magic on an empty stomach, and none of them were all that interested in having such a repeat performance.

This task specifically she would need to be at her best. Anything less and she may well wind up as a corpse. Lips thinned for a few moments, and he dispeleld such thoughts as they made their way towards the mess. As Serafina gathered her food Solgrin drew plots in his head.

He thought of where they would have to bring the storm, how they could set it, what conditions would be after.

He was so lost in the thought that he hardly heard her question.

"Hm?" Solgrin half said, then drew himself out of his own mind. "No, not personally. Aside from Civel, but I know the city they're from."

Too well.

 

[Serafina]

Sera wanted to know about the mages, the lands they were from, anything that could be useful in fact. Yet she could see from his vacant expression it wasn't what was on his mind in that moment. A faint smile graced her lips and then she lowered her eyes and went back to her meal in silence to give him the time he needed to think. All she had to do was provide the energy after all, he was the one who had to formulate the spell and direct it. The least she could do was give him time.

So it was in silence she finished her meal before scrapping back her chair and standing up.

"I'm going to get some warmer clothes, I'll meet you in the courtyard?" she suggested then turned and left the mess. The dark was really setting in now and with it the cold. Who knew how long it would take them to make this storm come into being; it was best to be prepared.

It wasn't long before she was stepping outside under the blanket of stars, pulling on her mitten. She had ditched the dress for fur-lined breeches and her thick winter boots. Her fur coat came down to just below the knees and she had it done up high so that she could duck her nose into the warmth of it if the wind picked up. All in white even in the dark she blended in to the blanket of snow.

"Do you want us to do it in here or beyond the walls?"

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin stood quietly in the small Courtyard, waiting for two others of the bandits to join them. Maia and Arn quickly moved into place, both of them dressed in sheer black that would see them blend entirely within the night. "You know what you're doing?"

Both of them nodded quietly.

He was exhausted from the climb today, tired from having made the trek, but he knew that it would be their only chance to strike. Solgrin nodded to them, to himself, and then finally looked at Sera with an answer.

"Beyond, a bit far actually." He told her. "We need it to come down right onto the pass."

Maia and Arn would make it back, but they needed the cover of the storm. "We'll hike down a bit, if you get tired, tell me okay?"

He already figured he'd have to carry her back.

 

[Serafina]

Sera nodded and then then wrapped her arms about herself and set off after him outside of the gates.

She hadn't actually been allowed to leave the protection of the walls since she had arrived. It was oddly liberating in a way to pass beneath the gatehouse now and step out into the world. Everything suddenly grew a lot more real and a lot less safe. She took a subtle step closer to the Bandit Chief but otherwise kept her head down and focused on the hike. Her mind wandered often to how exactly they were going to pull this off. It wasn't that she didn't have the power in her - her greatest problem after all was not giving him too much - but she was still worried about the consequences to them both.

Solgrin had been right that the storm was already there in the air about them just waiting for a nudge. No stars were out to guide them and it plunged the world into an odd black and white painting. Eventually they came to a stop quite some way down the hill and Sera let out a breath. Her cheeks were flushed but she didn't feel too tired.

"Are you ready?" she turned towards him. The moon broke through the clouds and through his face into sharp relief. So tired, so worried, this Bandit chief. It was instinct to send him a bit of energy to help him before they started.

When he nodded she closed her eyes and let the power in.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin looked down at the camp below for a few second, his fingers tightening as he waited just a few more seconds for Maia and Arn to crawl into place.

They were crucial for this.

Civel was smart, perhaps the most intelligent one among them all. Nasaar had been clever, Marius a schemer in every sense of the word, but Civel had always been the most intelligent of all of them. The man could plan, something Solgrin was intently aware of now.

That was why he needed to throw a wrench into the man's plan, a torch into the hayfield. It was the only way that they would survive.

When he finally gave his nod, when he felt Serafina's power flood into him it was like a wave of ecstasy and delight. It washed through his form, his fingers tightening, his mind broadening.

It was familiar...yet somehow more.

Almost seconds after she opened herself to his control snowflakes began to fall. Small specks of white dropping from the sky at first, and then a lash of wind. Slowly, the gray clouds above became a storm, a wash of cold, white, and frost.

Even as he used her powers Solgrin reached out, wrapping an arm around Serafina and dragging her closer to himself as the storm truly began.

 

[Serafina]

Her magic exploded through them both.

His touch, that subtle caring hold, drove her abilities to a whole new pitch. Whilst Serafina might have just been a source of energy at her core, her ancestor had never intended for his bloodline to have had no power. Emotions were a key part to her real strength. The person who owned the gem and her would never have the true power she wielded until they had her heart.

The snow thickened to the point she could see nothing more than him in front of her. It swirled angrily like a swarm of buzzing bees and the wind suddenly let out a low, deafening howl. Sera glanced up at him from under the shield of her hood and smiled. Stray flakes landed on her nose and eyelashes and her cheeks were turning a rosy red. Beneath her frosty appearance though her skin was practically glowing.

"I have an idea," she felt drunk on the magic, on him, on this new feeling as she weirded the Source. "The mountains... are on the brink. A little tremor would send an avalanche."

 

[Solgrin]

"No..." The word was a struggle to pass by his lips.

It was a good suggestion, a good plan, but there was a problem.

"Arn." There was real struggle in Solgrin's voice, his lips thinning for a moment as he held the power she fed him. Shaping the winds, the cold, the ice...all of it was pushing him to his very limits. It was almost as if his body was about to burst. "Maia."

He would not kill them.

He would not bury them beneath a tomb of snow. "They're below."

Solgrin's voice came through gritted teeth, his fingers tightening as he drew himself up and took a deep breath. Maia and Arn had gone below, under the cover of snow and storm, hidden away in the darkness of night.

Their task was a simple one; slaughter the two wizards as Sera and he brought back the snow.

 

[Serafina]

The power was a drug Sera oh so wanted to lose herself in, but no matter how hard it buffeted her or how deep it dragged her under, the truth remained that she had a very human heart. As soon as Sol told her the others had gone below she managed to stem the flow of power enough that it didn't threaten to take them both over. Her jaw tensed and her face pinched with pain but she managed it and the pride in her eyes was clear.

The pair stood in the eye of the storm itself; it had been impossible to keep the blizzard directed purely downwards and it now encompassed almost three miles in every direction. Snow fell in thick flurries obscuring their footprints down the side of the mountain and covering every patch of earth that had been uncovered during the day. Not only did it replenish the snow the mages had melted but it doubled it. The two bandits would have a hard climb back though not impossible.

"I... don't think... I can keep... going..." Sera warned. Her body was already growing cold despite the layers and her legs shook with the effort of staying upright.

 

[Solgrin]

"It's enough." Solgrin said through gritted teeth.

Arn and Maia were good, that was why they were a part of the band. He was sure they had done their task now, left blood in the snow and already made their way from the camp. If not? Well they had been given time enough.

He would not risk Serafina.

"Cut it off." He told her. "It's alright."

Without or without blizzard he was confident in his people. Maia and Arn would get out. Fingers tightened on her, and he let the storm go wild for a few seconds as Serafina's magic slowly began to cease it's flow through him.

They still had to make it back themselves after all.

 

[Serafina]

Sera screwed her eyes shut tight as she tried with all her will to dam the sea of magic inside of her. A keening noise left her throat as it threatened to over run her and then --

She went limp in his arms with a sudden gasp. She had... she had done it. She had managed to close off the flow of magic when it had grown so big she could barely tell herself apart from it. A residual part of it still lingered inside of her which Sol drew out nice and slow but in truth he needn't have bothered. Even if their magic had started it the elements had run with it and the storm was in full swing and might even last for days yet. They had done what they had wanted; they had brought more time.

"M..kay... I'm...O..." her head lolled back and her eyes fell shut.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin caught her in his arms, immediately pulling her close and tugging her beneath the heavy set of his cloak.

For a few seconds after he watched the storm, a frown on his face as he looked through the haze of white. He knew he would see nothing, likely would see nothing for some time, but he still did it nonetheless. A breath filled him, and then he slowly tugged Serafina into his grasp.

With a heavy snow filled step he trudged forward.

It would be a long walk up the mountain.

The path that they had come down on was almost completely covered in snow, and the journey took near twice as long as it had before. It was a work of will and determination that carried him forward, simply walking step by step until finally the lights of the Fortress came into view.

Even through the storm he could see it, and with a waved hand signal that had been set in place he motioned for them to open the gates.

 

[Serafina]

It was Einar who met him at the gates. Out of the Bandits it was he who the storm bothered the least though from the set of his jaw it was clear he wasn't particularly enjoying the brush with weather from home. The sound of the storm even this high up meant he had to raise his voice to be heard.

"Here, let me," he stepped forward in an offer to take Sera from his arms. It was clear his chief was just as tired from the magic as she was and there was still three staircases to her rooms. He didn't presume to just take her however; the news had spread throughout the band about this morning and Einar knew how possessive Solgrin could get.

"It worked, the storm'll be going for days at this rate. It should buy us a few weeks if the others succeed. I'll stand watch tonight," his eyes were used to the terrain, if anyone would spot the two coming back it would be him.

 

[Solgrin]

He nodded his head. "Grab some of the others."

Solgrin would be fucked leftways if he was going to allow something to happen now. There was always a chance that Civel had some plan or plot to get by even this, though he doubted his pet mages would be able to do much.

Especially with their throats slit.

"Arn and Maia are coming." He told his friend. "Make sure that they get some food in them, something warm."

There was no assurance that they would come of course, but he had confidence in his people. Both of them were skilled, both of them were survivors. "Let's get inside."

Solgrin said as he gently gave Einar Serafina and pulled his cloak tighter.

 

[Serafina]

Einar took the girl into his arms and nodded solemnly to his words.

"Aye," and then he turned and led the way inside. Sera's head lolled back against the Northern's chest in her unconscious state. Her skin was an almost deathly white but she was breathing well and the fever that came with over extending herself hadn't appeared yet. Einar was shouting for the group he trained with most as soon as they were inside but it was Violet who appeared first - with a scowl for Sol and a worried look for her friend.

"MARIA!" she turned back into the mess to find the healer who Violet all but dragged back with her, looking more than unimpressed. When she saw Sera though she grimaced.

"Stop fussin' woman," Einar huffed at the medic and nearly had his head taken off. "I'm takin' 'er to bed, move out me way both o' ye!" he started striding up the stairs with Violet trailing behind. Maria, however, hovered to look over her chief.

"They'll be alright."

 

[Solgrin]

"We all will." Solgrin said with a nod.

They had bought themselves time, but the fact that Civel was now on their tail and Nasaar was also close by...they would have to plan some more.

He had thought they were just dealing with one for now, but it was two. Civel and Nasaar wouldn't work together, at least not willingly, but they could play off of each other well enough. The next steps would be dangerous, very dangerous.

Fingers tightened for a moment, and then he nodded to Maria. "I need sleep."

He was tired, worn.

"Help Einar on the wall." He needed the people he trusted most up there. Especially tonight.

 

[Serafina]

"I'll go check on her then go," Maria nodded to him then started up the stairs. Einar passed her a few minutes later and clapped Sol on the shoulder.

"She'll be alright, Violet will stay with her. Get some rest man," he even offered a rare smile before ducking out into the snow. The blizzard was certainly showing no signs of stopping any time soon for the man was lost in the swirls in seconds, even before the door shut behind him with a thud.

Most of the Bandits had drifted off to bed or had volunteered to help on the walls to do something with their occupied minds. Everyone would be worried until the others returned.

* * *
​

The world was white when Sera opened her eyes the next morning. The blizzard hadn't eased an inch which made it hard to tell what time of day it was exactly. Judging by the fact she was alone she thought it must be later on in the day. Groggily she sat up and swung her legs out of bed. They trembled slightly when she put her weight on them but she managed to get to her feet and throw on the heavy robe before making her way downstairs.

It was practically empty; those who had watched all night had fallen into their beds and those who had managed to sleep now took the wall. Sol was on his own by the fire fast asleep when she found him. A small smile tugged at her lips and she gently lifted a blanket from one of the benches and draped him in it, pressing a soft kiss to his temple then turning to build up the fire some more.

 

[Solgrin]

Maia and Arn had in fact returned a few hours after after Serafina and Solgrin.

The journey had taken them some time, and Arn's arm had been badly scorched during their attempt on one of the wizards. Both of them had come back though, alive, if not entirely whole. Despite a request put out before his rest, no one had woken Solgrin.

As the storm raged outside the Fortress seemed to sleep, save for the few that were still wandering around. Serafina got some nods, some tired hellos, but most people seemed more concerned with what was outside of the fortress than anything else.

When she pulled the blanket over Solgrin it did not stir him, his body worn from the climb back up the mountain.

 

[Serafina]

"He actually looks like a person when he's asleep," Violet commented as she popped a date into her mouth. Sera glanced over her shoulder and put a finger to her lips; he needed sleep and she didn't want him disturbed. Once the fire was going nicely again she made sure the blanket was still secure about him then all but dragged Violet outside.

"What is your problem?" She hissed. Her friend had been off with her since yesterday and Sera was tired of it. Violet folded her arms and leaned against the wall.

"My problem is you seem to have forgotten we're here against our will. He took us from our home Sera, and he isn't ever going to let you go but now you look at him like... like a dog does its master," Seras cheeks flushed with indignation. Her friends words hurt for multiple reasons, not least because a part of her knew she was right.

"So you want me to live miserably for the rest of my days? This is my life now, Violet," she rubbed at her eyes. Perhaps she had got out of bed too early or maybe the conversation was just that draining. "It's none of your business who shares my bed, like it is none of mine who shares yours," Violet flinched and had the good sense to blush; Sera wasn't the only one who had formed an attachment to one of the crew. She was about to say some witty retort but Serafina had had enough and pushed past her to make her way back to the library knowing her bed would not bring her sleep in this temper.

 

[Solgrin]

Solgrin eventually woke up.

His hands came up to rub at his face, doing his best to try and shake off the weary tiredness that clung to his features. He shook his head, motioning towards one of the men who had cleared been put up here to alert anyone in case he woke.

The Bandit Chief said a quick word, was met with some news, and then he nodded his head. "Thank you, go get some rest."

Rubbing at his face still Solgrin pulled himself up from the chair.

He could still hear the storm raging outside. The howling of icy winds echoing throughout the entirety of the fortress. His head shook for a moment, and then he slowly made his way to the mess hall. After getting some food and much needed tea he asked after Serafina, then eventually ventured down into the library.

 

[Serafina]

Violet had wisely chosen not to follow Serafina and so she had the library to herself. She had only seen one other Bandit use it during their time there and so, in a way, it felt like her private room. As such she had made a few changes to the place; mended and restuffed chairs, brought down blankets and warm fur rugs as well as a stash of food for when she got hungry.

When Sol arrived she was curled up in one of the large armchairs nibbling on some cheese and crackers. She hadn't bothered to get dressed and was bundled up in her robe and a series of blankets. When she heard the door go she looked up off of the page she was on, more than ready to tell Violet where to go, but smiled instead.

"You're up, how are you feeling?" She uncurled herself and carefully set the book to the side.

 

[Solgrin]

"Well enough." The weariness of his body would dissipate eventually.

It was almost a relief in a strange sort of way. Solgrin rarely felt any sort of pain, any sort of...anything really when it came to hurt. The curse that sat upon his soul prevented such things, yet the tiredness clung to him like it would any man.

The feeling was a strange sort of return to normalcy. "You should choose some of your favorite."

He told her as he sat in one of the other chairs.

"We'll have to leave eventually." Probably sooner rather than later. "Taking some of them with wouldn't be impossible."

Two or three, he thought.

 

[Serafina]

"It's a good idea."

Maybe she could narrow it down to ten or so, thought Sera.

Her eyes lingered on her current to be read pile before standing up and fixing a plate of food of cheeses, cured meats and a bit of bread. She walked over and offered it out to him. Food was the quickest way to help with the magical drain on someone's body and whilst Sera might have been the source, Sol still had to use it, mould it, direct it.

"I wish we didn't have to leave," it was a sentiment she felt on many different levels. She had become comfortable here with the new life he had given her and leaving it would... shatter some of the illusions that had been created. Out there she would become what she always had been; a tool to be used. Sol would press on with finding the last two pieces of the gem and then he would push her on to carry out whatever it was he thought he needed to to be free.

 

[Solgrin]

For a few seconds he paused. They both knew his plans, and he would never deny them. Yet there was something else looming over them now. "It's not safe anymore."

The truth was that it never would have been.

They would always find her, they would always eek out a way to hunt her down. That was a truth that he couldn't have denied if she had asked. Now though, now it was even more pressing. Civel knew, Nasaar knew, and Marius was not far behind.

He had always been clever.

"Perhaps you'll reclaim it one day." Solgrin told her. "When things are done."

It was not as though the fate of this place would matter to him then.