There was dust and fire everywhere. A horrible scene of complete annihilation and destruction that stretched out before us like a decaying carcass. The storm above still raged on as if it was furious.
I stared up at the sky.
I got the slight suspicion it was not nearly as evil as it was several hours before. The tempest was now only a normal storm, no ominous hatred embedded into each bolt of lightning that shattered across the sky.
I tried to move and winched.
There was a pounding ache in my back and it made me grit my teeth with each small movement I made. When I surveyed the rest of my body, I found I was not nearly as wounded as I previously thought one would be after destroying an entire mountain. Sure - my skin suffered nasty cuts and bruises that made odd purple bumps over my body - but the most troubling was the consistent tremors that traveled through my spine.
Next to me, Jacob sat up from underneath a thick layer of dust and rock. He coughed as he wiped away dirt and shattered glass from his face. There were lacerations and deep cuts all over his body, especially across his head. Dried blood covered his entire forehead, crusted and slick with sweat thanks to the slight rise of temperature in the valley. There was a far-off look in his eyes as he surveyed our surroundings.
I followed his gaze and almost entirely forgot about the horrible pain in my spine.
Shards of electric blue and black lay scattered across the entire valley, shimmering and blazing in the morning rays of sun that managed to travel pass the dark storm clouds above. It was actually beautiful in its own terrifying way, a grim reminder of what we had to face the night before. There was no sign of the Ertheon except for an exceptional large hill of boulders and rocks. Behind us, sharp glass spires penetrated the heavens above - the only remains of the mountain we had destroyed. The shards looked dangerous and alien, still fatal to the touch.
"Damn it all! We have a problem!" The voice that belonged to Quîncîn yelled.
I jerked my head in the direction of the Lesphares - just to notice the rest of our group slowly recovering from the battle.
Everything was a blur.
How we managed to destroy the mountain. How I managed to save Ferîan and why we were able to fly so fast without the Ertheon turning our innards into mesh. I couldn't remember what happened after we narrowly dodged the rockfall nor how we managed to survive the gallons of falling shards. At that moment the only emotion I could somehow muster was that of utter relief. Grateful that - for the moment - my friends and I were at least out of harms way.
Well everyone except Ferîan.
My mouth tasted bitter.
The Lepshares was so still that for a moment I firmly believed he must have been frozen by his Northern-kissed powers. His skin was more ashen than any snow I had ever seen and lips, so dark they looked surreal against the white hue of his flesh. Golden ichor drenched his entire body - the body that Quîncîn was currently huddled over - desperately trying to stop the wound from further leaking.
The swearing Lepshares was the most wounded second to Ferîan. His beige wings were skewered and torn like cloth, his tanned skin cut in so many places that his flesh appeared shredded. There was a darkness in his eyes as he tried to close Ferîan's chest, the wound appearing more fatal by the minute.
Before I could blink, Angelus kneeled next to Ferîan.
The Defender looked utterly striking as always. His skin was peppered with bruises, skin golden with blood I suspected was not just his own. Dark crimson eyes were covered by a curtain of silky onyx hair and his entire being, rigid with concentration. Even though I oddly wished to see Angelus' expression, I somehow knew it would only cause me more harm than good.
Something deep inside me shattered as I beheld the three warriors, one unconsciousness and the other two stripped from their fury and strength.
Nothing more than mere phantoms of their previous brave selves.
"You okay Lex?! That was one rough fall..." A female voice suddenly questioned, forcing my attention away from the sorrowful sight and to the brunette left to Jacob and I.
Christa and Lex seemed fine enough, but the amount of blood that flowed from the deep gash across Lex's left shoulder troubled me.
"Yes I'm able to stand but-"
The blonde's eyes widened in panic.
"Oh god no!" She shrieked when she noticed the limp body of Ferîan and immediately ran towards the unconscious Lepshares. We soon joined her, my back screaming with each step I took.
When I collapsed next to Angelus, I couldn't stop myself from glancing at the Lepshares.
The Defender was so still it seemed as if he did not breathe at all. Cuts and bruises covered his perfect cheekbones and his skin gleamed with sweat. Angelus' lovely eyes were dark and focused on Ferîan so intently, I gulped down the feeling of dread that swirled in my stomach. A lot of emotion was contained in those red orbs. Anger, panic, anxiety, but most of all deep deep pain. I had never seen him quite so silent before and it hurt me far more than it should have.
A whisper of a voice so broken I almost did not recognize it, escaped Angelus' mouth as he stared down at Ferîan's unmoving face.
"We need to get him out of the valley as soon as possible."
He then directed his gaze towards Quîncîn. The Lesphares cringed slightly at whatever he saw in the defender's eyes and nodded. An unspoken conversation passed between the two warriors and I suddenly felt excluded.
"I will take him as far as I can manage." Angelus said, voice again that of a warrior and leader.
Utterly serious and focused - the one I had grown accustomed to.
"All right. I will lead them to the exit. We can meet there." Quîncîn replied, his tone empty of any sort of rebelliousness. I didn't know if I was happy or sad at the new development.
Not when I knew what most likely caused the Lepshares to change his attitude towards Angelus so drastically.
I turned my gaze away from them, afraid of what more sadness I would find and found myself staring right into onyx glass. A large shard protruded from the rocky ground and served as a mirror for the being that was my reflection.
I forgot how to breathe.
In the darkness of the glass I found a stranger staring back at me. She was elegant and graceful, hair unnaturally glossy and skin radiant even though it got bruised in battle. The biggest and most terrifying observation however, made my heart pound so loudly I thought it would burst right out of my suddenly too tight chest.
Large wings sprouted from the woman's back, great and gorgeous with alien beauty.
They resembled Lepsharian wings, drenched only in much more vitality than anything I had ever seen before.
They reminded me of the perfect sunrise - one that consisted of many colours, so bright each hue seemed to compliment the next. They all seemed to be derived from a stunning sea of summer colours. Every feather was a combination of morning shades, ranging from rosa to deep flaxen. If Angelus' feathers resembled the starry heavens when all in the realm was dark and magnificent - the woman's wings - my wings resembled the dawn that would later greet it.
My knees buckled and I just managed to steady myself before I fell to my knees on the rock floor. There was an odd tingling sensation in my lower back as the stunning wings started to disintegrate into bright particles right before my very eyes. The feathers disappeared on the passing wind, leaving me in such awe that I thought my heart would combust. A great relief then entered my chest as my soul seemed to return back to my body from a journey somewhere far, far away.
As if it was all just a dream I had finally awoken from.
Somewhere distances away, Angelus was speaking. His voice sounded muffled and unclear, like my hearing suddenly weakened.
"Good luck to the rest of you. Be on your guard. There may still be danger awaiting us up ahead."
It was Angelus' last words before he - with alien strength that still never ceased to amaze me - shot into the sky and sped through the morning sky, carrying the limp Ferîan in his arms.
I stared after him and suddenly became aware of just how tired I truly was. Each muscle cramped and ached, but the terrible pain in my back was thankfully gone.
At last, I could breathe again.
Even though we were all exhausted, there was still a long way to go before we could finally leave the valley for good. The thought of everything we had to go through the night before, made me even more anxious to escape its cavernous ridges.
I clenched my fists without realizing how deep my nails dug into my skin.
It was about damn time we left this horrible place behind us. For the sake of me and everyone else - especially Ferîan.
I stared at the desolation surrounding us and managed to slow my raging pulse.
I sincerely hoped we would never have to return to the valley ever again.
When the sun reached its peak, the end of our long trek through glass and fire finally entered our sights. I left both the storm and all my previous fears behind with each step I took, every footprint leading to the path of recovery. Recovery from both the Ertheon and the damage it did to my mentality.
After my soul had miraculously returned to my body, I could still not fathom why the feeling of loss still haunted the back of my mind. It was as if the emptiness of the divinity - that seemed to have governed my mind in my stead - seemed to eat away at my very being.
The thought made my blood chill.
Our party traveled quickly but cautiously over the razor sharp destruction. It was quiet, too quiet in fact that we could manage to hear the crush of each shard beneath our feet. There was an awkwardness between the five of us. A feeling I had not experienced in quite a while.
The silence made me wonder what exactly my friends thought of my transformation or if their unease just fit to the atmosphere that surrounded us.
"Trees. I-I can see trees!" Jacob suddenly exclaimed for the first time since we began walking and motioned into the distance. Sure enough, silhouettes revealed a large undergrowth through a layer of thick fog.
It was not just the enormity of the forest that made my breath hitch, but the way the new land seemed to call to me.
It was at first faint, only whispers on the breeze and voices through the fog. There was a feeling in my bones I could not shrug away. An ancient pull towards the country ahead of us that reached into my very soul and tugged. The soil beneath my feet pulsed with ancient vitality and the air tasted fresh and rich on my dry lips.
The voices became more urgent and it took about all that was left of my concentration just to focus on where I stepped.
When we reached the somehow invisible boundary that divided normal reality from the otherworldly, I immediately understood why no one had ever dared make it to this point.
The very air we breathed was holy and sacred. A country only mentioned in old epics and passing whispers.
The birthplace of all Lesphares.