The Broken Song

Chapter Six

So, for the past few days, Ori and her companion, a skeletal raven by the name of George, had followed this tiny creature into the heart of Ashenn Renaar.

Ori had heard whispers of the strange pestilence the moment she landed in Avarra. Guided by instinct alone, she liked to listen to the whispers of her heart, allowing it to find her adventures rather than planning ahead. Her friend, Sahn, liked to say it was the Creator's voice guiding her to where she was needed most, but she wasn't so certain of such things. Though she liked many of the teachings of the Path of Light, she remembered her mother's words most of all. It isn't wise to lose yourself to anything that claims to know 'the truth.'

Even still, it was difficult to deny her odd sense of timing. The pestilence was just beginning to spread beyond the border villages, and, though it stumped the most experienced of physicians, Ori had known the cause almost immediately.

The Breath of Illyria.

She had first read about the pestilence only a few months previously, in a dusty old book shoved into a forgotten corner of the library in Tellada Virnam. It was tucked away in a stanza of an epic poem about the Betrayal of The Fire Princess. Ori only remembered it because Ell'Anna, the Fire Princess of Arroch, was her favorite historical figure. She read everything she could find on her and had memorized the epic poem. The symptoms were exactly as the poet described them, and according to the text, The Breath of Illyria had been contained only with the help of the most powerful gods and hidden deep within Ashenn Renaar where none could find it.

But it seemed someone had known where to look.

"Typical," a voice suddenly spoke to her left. Ori whirled around, her magic snapping to attention in the blink of an eye. Two spectral claws reached out of thin air to grab the newcomer by his shoulders and wrench him off his feet. Despite the hostile greeting, the man dangling in the air merely chuckled softly, his usual smile kind as he looked down at her. "I invite you to tea, but instead, you choose to adventure into one of the most dangerous places in all the worlds. You never cease to amuse me, Orianna."

"Sahn!" Ori shouted as she released him quickly, lowering him back to his feet.

Her friend dusted off his shoulders calmly and continued to smile at her. Sahn Ikhari was one of her closest friends. She had met him on her very first adventure. Alone and far from home, he had crossed her path at a very fortunate moment and had offered her his aid without asking for anything in return. Indeed, without him, Ori sometimes wondered if she would have survived that first adventure on her own.

Sahn was a tall and lithe man with androgynous looking features that were perfectly sculpted, slanted brown eyes that always twinkled with warmth, and dark chestnut hair that fell gently to his shoulders.

At first glance, one would hardly consider Sahn a threat. He looked firmly out of place here in Ashenn Renaar with his fancy garments made of the finest materials money could buy, a black frock coat with golden buttons, a silk white shirt underneath, and an elegantly carved cane that served only his sense of style. Indeed, a passing glance and it would be easy to underestimate Sahn Ikhari. But that elegant façade, that warm smile, and that slender physique belied agility and strength that was almost impossible to match.

"It has been too long, Orianna."

With a laugh, she embraced him, enjoying the sight of seeing one of her closest friends in a place she least expected to find such a rarity. "It's only been a year, Sahn."

He gave a quiet tut with his tongue. "A year for me is nothing, but for a mortal, they shouldn't be dismissed. I only get so many with you, dear Orianna."