The North (Closed)

[heartofcourage]

When Ezra was cared for and comfortable for the moment, Fiona slipped from the medical tent. She couldn't stay there, even if they were concerned for her broken bones and burns. She didn't want to be sit still, not when she felt so restless. Walking among the soldiers as they worked, she quietly watched as dragons were lined up and their riders beside them, ready for a pyre that would come by nightfall. She then moved to Hesperus, watching quietly as Markos worked.

"I'm sorry." She murmured as he came down with the horn that he had taken off for Tanya. "I hope that you can forgive me in time."

Standing there still streaked in blood, battered and bruised, all Fiona wanted was forgiveness from the man that she had taken a dragon from.

 

[KieranSoares]

Markos managed to lower the horn down without dropping it, heavy as it was and taller than himself. Once he landed beside it, a hand still on Hesperus's maw, he tilted his head at Fiona with a weak smile. "What's to forgive? We gave him peace that his broken mind couldn't achieve. I have done terrible things to you, yet you continue to show me nothing but kindness. My patron is at peace... and my ancestor Aegeus can now rest knowing the work he and Margaret began is finally done." Despite his words, there was a deep sadness there, having hoped to the end that Hesperus might've allowed them to help or at least send him off more gently. "Much like Reven remains in the mists to guide her Callers... Hesperus will take up his place there too until the Karides line ends. It is thanks to you that I might have a chance to know the real Hesperus in my dreams."

Markos looked back at the great dragon, a tear streaking down his face. "I saw glimpses... moments of honor and mercy. I cannot forget he was broken. I was a means to an end for him. But I have to believe that if Margaret and Aegeus once loved him as dearly as Reven, there was a good reason for it. I only wish he'd let us help."

Markos stepped up to the great wound in Hesperus's chest, reaching out to take a few loose gold-brass scales. "I will return a piece of him to Greece, to our former haven. And I will carry a piece myself to the end of my days." He turned to look at Fiona, his gaze softening. "Even if I think there's nothing to forgive... I do forgive you. I only ask two favors." He approached her and offered out two scales. "Take one to Margaret when we get you home. The other... It doesn't have to be extravagant... but put a memorial somewhere peaceful for him. I will do the same in Greece. Even if he resisted peace at the end, he was once dear to our ancestors and deserves a warrior's rest."

 

[heartofcourage]

"He'll rest in the glenn." Fiona said as Markos handed her two of his great scales. "And Margaret can rest with him in her shrine. She was there with me during the end of the battle."

"I trust that you'll tend to his pyre tonight." She murmured softly, looking at Markos as he seemed as emotional about Hesperus as she was. "I'll attend, of course. If they let me..."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I will see him to the other side... And you are, of course, welcome to attend." Markos took another step toward her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Once he is sent off, I am still at the North's command. The Karides are meant to stand beside the Blackstones. Once there is peace again... Perhaps I'll carve out my own place in this world finally. Inverness sounds like a lovely place to start."

He left the glaive and her axe for her, taking his own gear and the scales to put away. Diana approached to scoop up the horn and move it to camp. They would return soon with help to arrange the pyre.

 

[heartofcourage]

With a deep wince of pain, Fiona bent down to pick up her weapons to carry them back to camp. She paused when she saw Kennah approaching, Brogan on her back. She let out a sigh as he pulled to a stop and she gladly handed over the bloodied and worn weapons.

"My shield is somewhere around here. Nearly everything was ruined in the fight." Fiona said softly, stopping to show him the Invernessian axe that had practically saved her life. "Except this."

 

[KieranSoares]

As Brogan approached, he gladly took the weapons to spare Fiona the load. Taking the axe for a moment, Brogan inspected it with a surprised raise of his brows. "Well... I'll be damned. Not even scorched along the haft. Boar'll be proud."

The heavy wooden handle of the axe with its beautiful knotwork and designs was entirely unscathed, simply bloodied. The dragonsteel blade had taken a few chips from hacking at scale, but all it required was some light grinding. Brogan took out a spare bit of bandage roll and his canteen to wipe the blood away and he let Fiona decide whether she wanted to keep it with her or have him take it back in the saddlebags.

Brogan looked down at Fiona for a moment, his pride outweighed by concern. "I won't congratulate you on this one, love," he said softly. "I've seen you strugglin' leadin' up to this fight. It must hurt somethin' awful fer you to have had to do this." He knew there was no way to measure the pain of killing one of the very creatures Fiona had sworn her life to protect. "And there'll be a lot o' folks callin' you a hero 'r thanking you... I won't pretend t'know the depth of it. But I will say one thing fer my brothers an' I: we're proud of you. You took on a horrible task fer the common good, but you kept tryin' to pursue the peaceful option to the last minute."

He knew there was nothing to be said to comfort her, but he still wanted her to remember what it was all for. Sometimes it was the only thing that kept members of their family from collapsing into despair and trauma.

 

[heartofcourage]

“Have Boar clean them both.” Fiona said softly. “The glaive goes to Soma. I never want to see it again.”

“My sword will go to Tati when she’s old enough and my axe to Riley when I die.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'll see to it," Brogan said with a small nod. He didn't like the way Fiona seemed so far away, but he also knew her tendency to fight or run if she was pressured to talk before she was ready.

Kennah gave a quiet rumble of concern and Brogan patted her neck. "Well... If y'need us, you know where to find us, darlin'. We'll keep close watch while you all get some hard-earned rest. The reins are with Kate an' Soma now."

 

[heartofcourage]

Fiona gave him a nod as Kennah expressed her own concerns. The truth was she felt numb inside. What had happened was nothing short of trauma and she didn't want to deal with it. When Brogan headed off with the drake, she finally made her way back to the medical tent where Sam was being treated. One of the healers showed her to her husband and she thanked him softly before she went to sit at Sam's side.

"I love you." Fiona murmured as she reached for Sam's hand.

 

[KieranSoares]

When Fiona found Sam, his left leg from the thigh down was entirely wrapped and splinted. Adrenaline had kept him moving on a nearly-broken leg and damaged tendons, only for his knee to be the thing that finally gave out. He'd also suffered a few broken ribs of his own, but otherwise it seemed he was doing much better than some of the wounded. When Fiona arrived at his side, he immediately pressed a kiss to her hand and squeezed it gently.

"I love you too, darlin'," he spoke softly, his presence calm and balanced even after what they'd just gone through. "I think we're both done for a bit... Might have t'have surgery on my knee, an' I'm shocked either of us can breathe properly." Even so, he had one hand protectively over his fiercely aching side. He'd refused any painkillers til he made sure his wife and her officers were stable.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I can't be done." Fiona murmured as she sat beside him and leaned into his side. "There's too many that depend on me. Even if I'm injured, I can't stop."

She let her eyes close as she sat with him, just letting herself be for a moment.

 

[KieranSoares]

The last thing Sam wanted to do after such a vicious battle was argue with his wife, so he quietly put that conversation away for later. He knew her officers and Kate would bar her from fighting injured and most of the dragons would refuse to fly with her if they knew Alex's orders. Still, he knew she might find a way to be stubborn and useful.

Sam leaned his head against hers, keeping a firm grip of her hand. He closed his eyes and let the relative quiet stand, some of his calm giving way to grief at the horrible task they'd undertaken.

In the meantime, a very frazzled Soma had set to his plans for Edinburgh. He was too stressed and anxious- and frankly, haunted- by the fight to sit still. With the word gone out to the armies to gather and prepare for the invasion of Edinburgh as soon as possible, all he could do was go over his maps and plans again and again to keep himself under control. But something had broken loose in the young man's mind and some of the nearby Callers knew it. Soma had shown a talent for communicating with wild dragons as a Caller, as well as soothing and even putting them to sleep. But something new was building and it was violently rattling around Soma's mind.

When Kate arrived at Soma's tent- a common occurrence since they'd been working together closely on the Edinburgh plans- she found a broken stylus on his map table and Soma standing over a binder of notes and smaller maps, clutching the edge of the table so tightly that his nails were digging into it. He studied the map of Castle Edinburgh like his life depended on it, committing every detail to memory. His eyes were solid black. Adrenaline and shock had finally given way to all the bottled-up emotions from preparing for the fight with Hesperus. He'd done exactly what he'd promised his mother he wouldn't do: he kept it all to himself to spare her additional worry. To spare everyone additional worry.

Soma Ghis had suddenly proved himself in battle with a daring, skillful strike at Hesperus that could've killed him in an instant. But the aftermath of all the fear, worry for his mother, the shock of losing people he'd grown up around, Ezra being certainly paralyzed, Jani nearly killed again, and seeing his mother nearly lose herself... it was too much. And perhaps he had been hiding away some of the shock of losing his arm and being taken from his family still. It didn't matter. It was all coming to the surface now as tears streaked down his face from pitch black eyes.

 

[heartofcourage]

When Kate entered the tent, she paused and stared at her nephew. The young man was lost, paralyzed by something that he was battling from within. She quietly moved about and gathered a few items before she sat a stiff drink at Soma's side and sat down with her own.

"My dear, you will learn that you cannot carry everything on your shoulders forever. A good leader knows when to let go of the pain and the heartbreak and the worry when there are times of peace." Kate said softly as she took a sip of her drink. "Sit down, my love. We are going to have a talk, you and I."

 

[KieranSoares]

Soma's eyes turned toward the drink as they slowly turned back to normal. He didn't touch it, but sat down in his chair as she said. His shoulders slumped and he stared into the middle distance. "I thought I was okay," he whispered. "And then it all hit me at once. Just an avalanche of... Everything."

 

[heartofcourage]

"When I first had Brogan, I never thought that I would be able to cope with the world." Kate said softly as Soma slowly started to calm. "I told Kell that I would throw myself off the castle tower with Bo if I could. I had wanted so badly to have a child and a semi normal life. Everything came crashing down when he was born though."

"Our family has the ability to be the most stubborn, brooding mess that you have ever seen. When it all builds to be too much and comes forth...well, it is a storm of epic proportions." Kate took another drink before she looked at him again. "Soma, if you truly wish to be king one day, you have to learn that it isn't wise to bottle everything up. You have to find your release. We have a madness in us. We can't let it take hold."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Or else I'll be another Tamblin," Soma murmured, knowing exactly what she meant. "But what am I supposed to do? I don't like destroying things to get my anger out. I've never been a writer. I can't drown myself in creating things like Da; I'm not an artist of any kind. All I know is... strategy. Planning. Always trying to be one step ahead of people who would hurt us... I guess that's how great-grandpa went mad, isn't it? Paranoia... and too much pressure. But at least he had other talents, like being the greatest warrior Inverness had ever seen til grandpa beat him. Even if he was no better than Hesperus, using someone who wanted to help him to commit suicide... he was good at other things. I'm just some one-trick pony. I can understand anything on paper and figure it out in action, but I'm mediocre at best. Maybe I can swing a sword, but I hate it. It didn't even feel right attacking Hesperus."

 

[heartofcourage]

“You’re a dragon rider. You adore your dragon and take care of her. You always loved Vincenzo’s works and journals. You love to travel. There are many things that you have within your reach.” Kate countered. “And one thing we will not allow you to do is wallow.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"That's much easier to say when you have forty years of experience with life in general," Soma countered back. He had never been brave enough to talk back before he lost his arm. "I'm still a teenager. I've never done this... this nonsense before. And I don't know many other people my age who direct entire allied militaries. So excuse me if I need time to wallow and brood and think it through."

His words weren't venemous, only tired and overwhelmed. And the look he gave Kate- one of heavy burden and sorrow- told her he wasn't angry at her at all. "... Still. I'm not dumb enough to forget that you're trying to help. Thank you."

 

[heartofcourage]

“You’re right, of course. But you also forget that I have been in your shoes. My little brother lost his arm in battle when he was small. He also lost his Will to live when he lost his mate. Trust me, Soma. We have been here before. We can help.” Kate countered.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then if you know what to do, tell me. Because I don't. All I can think of is what we've lost and how I need to get us home. But I'm not sure it'll even feel like it was worth it when we get there. London wouldn't have been worth it if Shani died, or Avfairn and Jani. Darkwood wouldn't have been worth it if Qira died. Hadrian's Wall almost saw Schaller killed, and my mother had to give herself up so my already-broken grandfather wouldn't be tortured to death. Especially since then... it feels like we've sacrificed too much for what's on the other side. I want to go home to Inverness, but there's so much blood on my hands from sending people to their deaths..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Soma, listen to yourself. You are barely sixteen years old. You will die before your time if you keep this up. We all wish to go home and we all have had to play a part in this. I wish that none of you children had ever had this placed on your shoulders." Kate stood and made her way to Soma, taking him but the shoulders and looking him in the eye. "If we didn't think that the fight was worth it, we wouldn't have come this far. We have pride, yes, but we know that the fight is worth the outcome."

 

[KieranSoares]

"If Bo had died, would you really think that? Or Kell?" Soma asked quietly, looking up at her. "I know we asked for this. Bo and Shani, Riley and I, Loren, all of us... We asked to be part of the fight. I won't blame anyone else for that. And you've seen so many fights where you're defending against a ruthless attacker and you have no choice but to hold on til they're defeated. But when we're the aggressors... It feels like we're spending lives on something so much less valuable. If Inverness was already ours and Royer was attacking, it'd be different. But we're now taking it from someone else. I don't care about the Ferngills or the Royers. It's the civilians and soldiers who die for the sake of nobles' games."

 

[heartofcourage]

"For my game. I'm the queen of Scotland and I am responsible for those that die. They fight in my name. Soma, you need to understand that as long as you have a hand in war, there will be consequences. Men and women will die and you will be the one to send them to their deaths." Kate paused as she took Soma's face in her hands. "If you are not strong enough for this, I need to know now. It was wrong of us all to place this burden on your shoulders."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I have to finish this..." Soma muttered. "I just wish it felt... Less awful. But I have to get you home. I have to get Ma home. No matter what the cost to me or what Ma thinks, I made a promise."

Soma leaned heavily into Kate. He was taller than her now, but still light and slim. He had never been afraid to seek comfort from the women of their family. "I just need some help crossing the finish line," he muttered to his aunt. "Maybe when we get there and see all we fought for... It'll be a little better. Seeing Ma have the woods back, and Da be able to bring our people home..." He was trying to see a brighter side, but it would take time.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Listen to me, I know that you want this, but You don't have to do this." Kate said softly as she hugged her nephew tightly. "You don't need to do this. I have managed battle just fine on my own since before you were born. If you need to save yourself, I understand."