“So the side that is locked here is the extremist faction,” she concluded with a faint nod.
“Somewhat,” Neph agreed. “Before the Barrier, there were battles that lasted for decades, if not longer, and there were enemies that made Myth seem laughable. I understood fully when your Grandfather spoke of the ancient evils. My people still tell stories about them. War was right. They are here, and I know exactly where some of them rest.” He paused and smiled bitterly. “My people not only built Sanctuary, they were the reason it was built. The final straw for the Guardians was a battle that the Extremists wouldn’t back down from. They were literally ripping the world apart in order to kill their enemies. In an effort to save the innocents, the Guardians froze the entire battle in time. Delvay, as well as their enemies, were trapped in stasis, and eternally locked in combat. The ones trapped were the heroes of my people, our strength, and our legends. Without them we were lost and when the Guardians offered us refuge we took the bait. We took our heroes, too. I can only imagine how hard the Guardians must have laughed when they realized not only had we fallen for their trap, we did the heavy lifting for them and brought our fallen with us to be locked up for safe keeping.”
“Can they be awakened?” Jala asked and it was obvious by the look on her face she now saw the reason Kadan had thrown his armies away trying to hold the city.
“There is the tickler. When Veyetta fell, it was a fraud. The High Lady of Veyetta knew she couldn’t hold the city against Troyelle’s army.
The Veyetta had a trick similar to the Soulreavers, but rather than spirit they turned to shadows. The twist for the Veyetta was that they literally had to step from their mortal bodies to access that ability. I’m sure Lady Veyetta locked the bodies away with the intent to reclaim them once the storm had passed. Excuse the pun there, I couldn’t resist,” Neph grinned as Jala rolled her eyes and waved for him to continue. With a nod he sighed and pressed on. “My Grandmother was waiting for that exact moment, though. When Lady Veyetta called her people into the shadows, my Grandmother wove an extension of the stasis spell over Veyetta. If you break the bindings on the statues of our fallen you free the Shades of Veyetta as well,” Neph explained with a sigh and took another drink from the bottle, draining the rest of the wine. He leaned forward and sat it down with a solid thump on the table and smiled bitterly.
“So, if Rivasa finds them, we are all screwed,” Jala said with a sigh.
“Essentially. The only solace I have right now is that I don’t think the Rivasans have a mage strong enough to break the magic. However, they do have Magebreakers and draining the power might do the trick,” Neph replied. “The saddest part is, if I could wake just my people, Delvay would be whole again. My people have been failing for years and it was no surprise when my country fell. If I could somehow manage to wake them up, just the heroes, mind you, not only would my country thrive, I wouldn’t have to lead it. I devoted my entire time at the Academy to learning as much magic as I could in hopes of waking them, and now Rivasa may beat me to the punch and kill everyone in the process.”
“We have to get your city back,” Jala whispered. Her face had gone pale and she eyed the empty bottle with longing. “That’s what the black threads were. Everything Hemlock said makes sense now,” she mumbled and then looked up at him with a determined gleam in her eyes. “I’m sending Vaze to Delvay to gather intelligence. When he returns, we will move,” she announced.
“Jala, they hold a fortified city. You don’t have an army big enough to break through the walls, and after the last council meeting, I doubt anyone will volunteer to help us,” Neph said with a sigh.
“I didn’t say anything about taking an army,” Jala pointed out, her violet eyes locking on his. “Marrow says I am an army. When Vaze returns, I will prove it.”
“Valor is going to kill me,” Neph groaned as he leaned back in his chair to stare at the ceiling. He had been trying to figure out how to take the city back for weeks now, but he knew Jala didn’t have the military strength and he certainly didn’t have it with the few remaining Delvay he had. The idea of just Jala going was insane, though. He had to find a way to talk her out of it, and quickly.
“I can’t allow that. I don’t know my way around Delvay so you have to be there to guide me,” Jala returned with a smirk.
Chapter 8
The Darklands
Zoelyn staggered as her barefoot caught on another cobble stone. Pain lanced through her foot and it was only Seth’s hand on her arm that kept her upright. The image of her heavy boots propped in the hall beside Legacy’s door surfaced in her mind and she mentally cursed herself for removing them. Another rock bit at the bottom of her foot and she stumbled once more.
“Continue like this and I will carry you the rest of the way under my arm,” Seth sighed.
“I can’t keep pace with you, barefoot, without tripping,” Zoelyn replied in a voice that quavered like a child’s. She hated herself for the sound of it, but it couldn’t be helped. She was terrified to the core. The dead surrounded them on all sides, hovering just out of reach and watching them with an intensity that made her stomach roil.