Chaos and uncertainty remain in the aftermath of the Balisekt War. With the Lands of Order in such a fragile state, the tribal races turn to Tranquility, their holy land, for guidance and stability. However, war has left the Temple more shaken than...
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"Fighting the Thorns was like battling a nightmare. We saw no enemy, heard no voices, felt no attack. One by one, we simply died, as though stricken with an unnatural plague. I survived, but only because I was spared. They wanted me to tell the tale, to spread their legend, to let the whole forest know what happens when you cross the faeries."
Jahleen, Bandit Lord
Were it not for an insect landing on his nose and disturbing his slumber, Sunrise would likely have slept for several more hours. The sun was high overhead, pushing its golden beams down through the leaves and creating small pillars of light all around him. He groaned as he stretched his muscles. He hasn't slept this late in the day since he was a child.
He was leaning against a wide tree with his back to the fields of Meadowgold. It wasn't a particularly clever hiding place, but he had been too tired at the time to come up with something better. Traveling all night through the Wilds had taken its toll on him, and it caused him to sleep harder than he normally would. Much of the day was already gone, but he wasn't on a set schedule.
His bones popped as he stood. It was far from a comfortable position to sleep in. He shook his left leg, trying to force the blood to start flowing through it again. His nights sleeping at the campsite had made him long for a real bed, but this made him long for the campsite.
Now finally rested, Sunrise set his sights once again on the intention of the journey; it was time to seek out Lady Viyana. He was going ahead with the plan, though a moment to rest had put the foolishness of it into a better perspective. He knew the agents of Tranquility had already searched Meadowgold, so the humans no doubt knew that he was wanted by the Temple. Even if he made it through the village without being spotted, he couldn't be sure that Viyana hadn't been compromised.
He'd left her at the battle without a single word. She didn't know his side of the story. When Firefly used her powers to save the Grand Seryan, Viyana was already out of the Temple. After their escape, the Lady of Meadowgold was nowhere to be seen. She hadn't witnessed any of the events that led to his exile, and Silvermist's followers had likely told her all manner of falsehoods.
Sunrise's mind went over his options as he packed up his belongings. He rolled the animal skin and prepared to wrap it with a belt when he heard the foliage behind him rustling. He jumped back to his feet but wasn't able to turn around before a rough piece of burlap suddenly obscured his vision. The bag over his head was large enough to envelop most of his body, and he soon found his arms pinned to his sides within it. With hands grasping his shoulders, Sunrise was pulled backward. Disoriented, he expected to feel his back slam onto the forest floor, but more hands were there to catch him. He could hear hushed voices calling out to one another as his entire body was lifted off the ground.
"Let me go!" He struggled; trying to wrestle free of their grasp, but his captors only met him with a more restrictive hold. They carried him through the forest, but he was too disoriented to discern his bearings or determine the direction. He hadn't gotten a look at any of the assailants, so he had little to go on for discovering their identity. Of course, his first thought was that the acolytes had finally found him, but this tactic seemed strange for them. The whole forest knew the Temple was searching for him, so there would be no need for such secrecy.
