Bloodsword: War of the Leaf

Chapter 8: By the Sun's Fading Light

"Now that we're here, . . ." Lax began before Kora shushed him.  The small party sat on the warm sands of a southern Meridian beach.

Standing a bit apart from the rest, Tev stared out over the crashing waves of sapphire blue, remembering the last time that he strode the deck of a ship.  And he found himself chuckling.  It was that very voyage that launched him on this whole adventure!

Abruptly the tall human sobered.  'And we still have further to go before this voyage is over.  Just a bit more now, across the waves, before we're somewhere safe from the Mardish.'

Summoning the blood magic came easily now, almost instinctual.  Letting it curl around him, he slowly walked to the water's edge.  With the warm waves lapping at his feet, he reached out with his left to let several drops of bright red blood drop into the surf where they instantly dissipated.  As the last one struck the water, Tev used his bloodied hand to draw a boat, willing a small ketch to form.

A gasp behind him from Kora made the human look up in surprise.  But he quickly pushed that surprise aside with a smile as he watched the water burble and writhe before letting first the main mast, then the secondary mast push their way up out of the water.  Heart beats later a fully formed ketch, a two-masted sailing vessel, sat at anchor just offshore, bobbing slightly in the surf.

Nodding in satisfaction, Tev turned to call over his shoulder.

"All aboard for the Empire of the Sun express!"

It was a joy to be at sea again.  Tev smiled dreamily as he handled the ketch's tiller, expertly guiding the small vessel unerringly northward.  It was in the middle of summer, prime sailing weather on the Meridian, and they were making good time.  Another five days and they would be pulling into Keverian, a well-known Solavar port close to the trade routes into the human holdings.

The small vessel, created with a hold full of supplies, was luxury to the small company compared to what they had to endure to reach the southern beach.  And so most of them were currently sleeping with bellies full of food and good ale, catching a bit of sun on the deck before it sank below the horizon.  Tev let his gaze flit over them before returning to the horizon.  'Five more days and then the T'sar can start in its full glory,' he thought with a grin.  'For I'll be with my people, using the Sword of Blood to protect from the two empires that have enslaved and slaughtered them.  Just as they've tortured and twisted Quelaezaun all these years!'

It was some time later that, just as the sun was sinking below the horizon that Tev, dozing at the tiller, heard a strange sound.  Instantly rousing, he looked up and around.

"What?" he began, eyes wide as they searched the darkening sky.  "What was, . . ?"

With a loud crunch, a big form all in silver dropped onto the ketch's deck, a familiar medallion embossed onto its chest.  And an equally familiar weapon was already aimed at his head.

"Don't move," came the clipped Solavar tones as several silvery crescents whoosed by overhead.

"Or I will kill them all!"

Tev grimaced as he slowly moved away from the tiller, his hands slowly rising into the air as several more Silver Hawks dropped heavily onto the small vessel's deck.  They then moved swiftly to bind first his hands then those of his still groggy friends.

"What do you plan to do with us?" he asked quietly.  But instead of an answer, the first Silver Hawk stepped forward to smash an armored fist into his face.  Dazed, Tev dropped to the deck.

"That is no concern of yours, human," the Silver Hawk bit out as, without a hand on the tiller, the small ketch lurched to the side.  At the same time the sea seemed to come alight with a pearly white illumination.  Then a second blow came out of nowhere to smash heavily into the side of his head and Tev fell into the uneasy darkness of unconsciousness.