Halen, The Azurian - Vengeance Part 3

“Mori no, he comes with us and the tiger. What is his name?” Halen felt numb, the wind had not abated, everything had turned greenish grey with the oncoming storm, his hearing felt muffled. He heard but it did not register, he just stared into the distance with his hands behind his head. He could no longer look at his dead friend.
“Blue child, speak! What is his name?” Another behind him prodded his back, bruising it.
“Dalton… and Eagan you killed” Halen growled out, two realities at war within him, his mind a muddled mess.
“Enough Mori, he comes. Bring Daisha and the blue child” The Eon who had saved him spoke harshly to the one who had prodded his back.
Halen watched, detached from reality as they picked up the dead Eon Daisha and Eagan carrying them on their backs. They moved so smoothly and gracefully, after a few minutes his tiger began to move with them as they headed out, Dalton a little bloody at the neck followed the massive jaguar with his head hung. It took a while for Halen to register how alert they were, and reality hit him: the Naga! He began to look around, reality coming back and with it a mixture of emotions. Rage, confusion, grief and fear. He needed to focus, Naga were dangerous… even to an Eon? He didn’t know, didn’t care to analyze it.
“What is your name blue child?” A deep baritone voice asked from beside him, Halen turned and suddenly realized there were more of them! There had only been four and now he could see up to seven maybe more. His mouth hung open, he needed to focus! This was the enemy, shaking with grief and rage Halen couldn’t answer, didn’t know how to answer. He was surrounded and there was no escape.
“You speak, I heard. Why not speak now?” Halen angrily turned to this giant man beside him, dark yellow eyes with a kind look reminding him of Penri’s eyes gave him shivers and snapped back his answer.
“I speak!” He glared at the Eon, knowing how foolish he was acting, this was the one who had saved his life, but his anger took control over rationality and after giving his most vicious glare, he snapped his head forward and did not look around. If Naga attacked, so be it!
“I am Silthra. Fear not, the wet tails have fled” A low chuckle came from Silthra, echoed in the few Eons closest to him; except one, the one called Mori.
The wind had not died down and it had begun to rain, after two hours of traveling soaking wet Halen was miserable. Silthra had not tried to engage him in conversation again, he’d spoken to none of them nor looked at any except Mori. Their hate mutual, feeding off one another and it dawned on Halen he must have been close with the one they called Daisha. Well, he had been close with Eagan! His mind would still not rationalize what was happening, they had neither harmed him nor his tiger, why could he not let his anger go? They felt so foreign to him, tall and lithe, mostly slender but they moved so differently. They never spoke on the journey; it was like they could communicate without speaking because they moved like they were on a Patrol.
Finally, they stopped but the wind had picked up and a sense of urgency came upon the Eons. They quickly moved into an open area where Halen vaguely registered buildings, unlike his peoples. Azurians built with stone, whitened mortar and in dryer climates in their Kingdom, with thick slats of wood for walls and roofs. Eons lived in huts made of grass and dirt, almost like they had shaped the ground into a home but it was not obtrusive, to the contrary it matched the landscape and if he had not seen Eons entering into these subterranean huts, he would have passed right over them, not recognizing what they really were.
As tall as the Eons were it was odd, they moved so easily in and out of these huts, most were quite spread out and the Eon who had saved him, Silthra led his tiger further into the clearing where another mound, much larger but still ‘part’ of the terrain. As they approached the front, he could see a narrow staircase that was quite steep but wide enough for even that monster of a jaguar to fit down. The steepness of the stairs answered his question, the dramatic drop in depth allowed them to easily move in and out without having to stoop. Down he and his tiger went, following Silthra and once at the bottom he saw the room was gigantic, huge and bowl shaped but clearly tall enough. No Eon stooped. He had little time to take it all in when a side door opened, and five Eons walked into the room.
Silthra whispered in his ear “Please, dismount. Chief Mataram is middle and his Elders” he said, clearly thinking this would be something Halen understood but he did not. Reluctantly he dismounted from Penri but stayed close to her, hand on her hand… she was purring?! This was a dangerous situation and Penri was docile and happy? It did not even dawn on Halen until that moment that Silthra had been at his height while mounted but now stood a foot and several inches taller than him. Giants indeed, thinking back to his father’s words, he hardened his resolve. He would not trust them, he only wished to return with his dead companion back to Evannar… from wherever he was at now.
Chief Mataram and his four elders, each showing signs of great age but still seemed hearty and hale, seated themselves on chairs brought by much younger Eons (Halen had to assume they were younger by their height, they were dramatically shorter than the others and left once they placed the chairs), once they had seated more came into the giant chambers. It had to have been at least 50 feet across both ways Halen thought and at least ten feet tall for no Eons head came near to the ceiling. He knew from his training, Eons fully grown were an average of seven feet tall. As he moved only his eyes, gauging them all, he belatedly noticed there were a select few who seemed taller than seven feet, but his thoughts were interrupted. There were around twenty in all in the chambers when the chief began to speak.
“Blue child we call you and blue you are, dark hair for one of your kind?” The chief asked almost conversationally. What was going on? Was he going to attend a dinner party next? Silthra nudged him.
“My name is Halen Gravlaw, I am posted at Evannar with the 3rd company. I ask you to release me and my dead companion back to our post. No further implications will occur if you comply” amazing his voice worked and he didn’t sound fearful! He only needed to keep up this charade and get he and Eagan home. Holding back grief he stood straighter fighting back tears.
Chief Mataram looked to Silthra who spoke after a few moments “Blue child speaks little, very young” Silthra turned and smiled at Halen, but he was outraged! How dare he say he was young; he was an adult by many years!
“Young? You look no older than me, don’t be insulting” Halen snapped at Silthra, contrary to what should have happened… every Eon began to laugh. Halen looked around astonished! How was what he said funny? Again, Halen looked over at Silthra and within his dark golden eyes was mirth but something more… Looking around at the Eons laughing, it was the greatest display of emotion he had seen yet. He was having a difficult time seeing them emotionless without souls…
“Quiet. You speak ignorance, typical of blue children. Silthra is sixty years old, you are no more than twenty five?” The chief spoke to everyone in the room then directed the last part to Halen, with a stern rebuke in his eyes.
“Me ignorant? I know who you are and what you are. Do you wish this to end badly? Release me!” Halen shouted; he was losing control over his closely guarded emotions. The room, the smell of wet earth and roots with all these yellow eyes watching him, immovable monoliths with no emotion evident on their faces, towering over him and his tiger was causing his own emotions to rage in his head.
“Peace child, you are ignorant, but we know this too. It is why your companion is dead and not you, correct?” Before Halen could shout out a hateful rebuttal Chief Mataram continued “We know you hate, we know what is said, we know and are not ignorant. Silthra saved you, even she agrees” nodding towards his tiger.
Looking over at Penri Halen instantly felt betrayed, how could she do that to him? At the same time, he felt incredibly guilty because the last part of what the chief stated was true... Halen had no response, he didn’t know how to feel. They could speak to Penri and in all the time they had been in that room, they must have been talking to her. Dropping his eyes, he could no longer look at any of them, slumping his shoulders. He knew he was wrong but didn’t know how to come to terms with it.
Tears coming to his eyes “She told you that?” He asked just above a whisper, not really asking anyone as he looked at Penri; this was all wrong. Eagan dead, he did not know where Dalton was, but he remembered the warrior who had spoken to him many months ago ‘they will kill you but her they will not’. Halen breathed and tried to settle his emotions as a strong hand gently gripped his shoulder. Halen quickly looked up…
“She told me” Silthra stated, with his dark blonde hair had stuck to his face from the rain, he actually did look young, in a strange sort of way and in his golden eyes there was nothing but compassion. Halen quickly looked away; they were supposed to be soulless! Yet all he had seen was compassion from the one next to him, indifference but not hate from the Chief and a strange sadness emanated from the others in the room. None of this was right!
“What do you want of me” he asked, resignation clear in his voice. Halen stood up straight and looked forward not really seeing much of anything.
“A life for a life. We will not kill you” the Chief took a moment to scan the room and spoke solemnly “No vengeance, he lives” Halen watched the Chief eye each of the other Eons in the room except Silthra. Slowly each Eon nodded, some it seemed reluctantly… had they gathered to see him be executed? Surely, they blamed him for Eagan’s actions since they were both ‘blue children’, Halen knew they would blame him because he blamed them for Eagan’s death. Chief Mataram stood and the elders who had yet to speak also stood, the Chief nodded in Silthra’s direction, and they all left the room. He was alone, except for the giant Eon next to him, shaking his head mentally Halen waited for what would come next. They wouldn’t kill him, but he could read so little from them, their emotions and intent hidden.
“Come, you stay with me. Careful” Silthra stated, and Halen turned his head to watch the Eon with guarded eyes. Silthra nodded as if nodding approval Halen was paying attention like something dire needed to be said… “the storm will battle us. You ride well?” Completely at a loss, Halen nodded. “Good, your Penri knows. She will follow. Come” and with that Silthra turned and headed to the entrance and the steep stairs they had come down earlier.
The storm will battle us? What nonsense was this? Eons were like clipped poets, Halen assumed he meant the storm would be brutal… you can’t physically battle a storm! They spoke plainly at times and other times cryptically with a sense of poetic silliness, Azurians were not like this. Halen waited at the bottom of the steep stairs because he noticed a strange cloth covering the entrance, it bulged inward as if an invisible giant hand pressed on it. Silthra was at the side of the entrance seeming to be doing something, he saw the ripple of the click more than heard it and the strange cloth was instantly ripped away by the force of the storm. Silthra held it tightly and bound it into a slot Halen had not noticed before.
Motioning for Halen to follow him, he mounted his tiger, and she leapt up the stairs into the storm. Halen did not turn to see how Silthra reset this strange cloth door, the storm was brutal. Looking around he could see the tree tops swaying and bending in all directions. He heard the snaps and cracks throughout the forest from the wind, the sky was grey with dark clouds as the rain sliced through the small clearing onto his face and arms. Penri lowered her head, waiting like Halen for their guide. Silthra came beside them and nodded once. Without waiting for a reply, he took off sprinting through the storm and into the forest.
Penri leapt forward running full tilt, Halen was frightened, he could hardly see with the rain cutting his vision short within five feet. He knew his tiger could run fast, but this kind of speed in an unknown terrain during a storm was foolish. He had no choice but to keep his knees gripped at her sides and hope she did not break one of her legs. The floor of the forest was mostly flat, fallen logs littered the floor and rocks but it was the little holes that could break a tiger’s leg. Halen watched Silthra running faster than his tiger, slowing and turning but never seeming tired or winded. It was humbling once again to see what he had learned of Eons to be terrifyingly true. Silthra was fast! And it did not seem at all as if he was running fast, Silthra seemed to jog, it was a disconnected sort of reality to Halen. He knew they were moving with great speed, weaving around the forest’s obstacles on its floor, weaving around the trees as they become denser… yet Silthra seemed to be on a pleasure run.
Halen did not know how much time had passed, ten or fifteen minutes he assumed when Silthra stopped by another mound like home. He again unlatched this strange cloth door that seemed to be water resistant and flexible without ripping with the force of the wind. Halen was genuinely curious what the Eons made this out of. Silthra quickly motioned for him to go inside, Halen was unsure if Penri was allowed but he would not allow her to stay outside in the storm. So, he stayed on Penri as he once again rode his tiger down a steep set of steps.
The room was similar to the other one, not as large by even a quarter but the room had more contours, like little bowls carved on the outside of the big bowl room. Having no idea what their homes were called, if they even had names for the rooms he saw or if anything had names. Halen knew that was unfair of him to say, even in his own mind. As he waited for Silthra to close the strange door Halen wrestled with his feelings. They hadn’t killed him or his tiger, they had not even treated him like a prisoner and now he was staying the night in the home off one. Nothing was adding up, everything he’d been taught was completely contrary to what he had witnessed. Starting with the Eon who had saved his life.
Silthra came down the stairs and went left towards a door. “Come, she stays here” Halen was so relieved, they cared for their tigers like it was their own family… he supposed Eons who could actually speak with animals should share a similar need to keep animals protected. So much Halen was trying to balance in his mind, based on what he was seeing and what he had been told. He dismounted from Penri and before he could signal her forward, she ran into the room with a yowl that sounded like she was quite happy.
The room was large enough for several tigers to sleep comfortably, the floor was covered in soft moss mixed with dried moss. Halen followed on leaden feet, came into the room and knelt to feel the moss. When he looked up Silthra was already unsaddling his tiger. Moving quickly forward Halen took the straps from Silthra.
“I can do it” He didn’t mean to sound harsh, but Silthra quickly stood up with an expression of hurt slightly marring his light bronze skin on his face. Without speaking a word, he left the room. Sighing deeply Halen began the chores he would normally do upon coming back from a Patrol. Removing the last of the straps, he lifted the saddle from Penri who had been purring the whole time. When he placed the saddle in the corner of the room, he rummaged through the saddle bags for the brush he kept, turning he went back to his tiger and began to brush her down.
What was he doing here? The storm was bad, he knew. Halen would never be able to navigate his way home, Penri might but he also knew she had followed Silthra’s every move through the forest. He guessed Silthra with an Eons incredible vision knew where to go and keep her from breaking a leg. If he went on his own trying to navigate home, she might get hurt. The storm would only get worse, this he knew from a previous storm that had come up from the Sea of Daggers that hit Evannar some months ago. These same storms hit his hometown most viciously because Demaev was situated a few miles from the coast, many times the storms were so destructive the citizens of Demaev would spend weeks fixing the damage to their homes and businesses.
Halen knew why he was here. Contrary to everything he knew, they cared for his safety or maybe the safety of Penri, but that safety extended to him as a result. He finished taking care of his tiger and just stood there watching as she walked in circles, growling a yowl that sounded like talking and finally plopped down on her side. She moved her head back and forth, rubbing her head through the moss and did something unexpected, she chuffed. Azurians were not entirely sure what the chuffing meant, normally tigers would chuff at each other. Sometimes it seemed to mean a challenge and other times… they really didn’t know. Halen had been trained to read his tigers’ body language as best they could. Maybe, just maybe he would ask Silthra…

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