A legend of brothers [Attn: Kiellan & Daelar]

[Sean]

Though a basic primal fear warned of danger, the thick miasma around Valadin’s mind coaxed him into becoming the sort of gull that in his youth he’d laughed at. The strident wariness that had carried him through years of slavery and saw him safely to the Grey Tower’s fold now failed. The question remained what could have disarmed him so?

Each footfall echoed into the sheerness of the mountain which seemed to continue upwards for an eternity. “Can’t say I know more’n the basics,” Val started to say, now paying Kiellan more mind than his study of the surrounding pass; they had Daelar for that. Seeing the young man begin to wilt with disappointment, he quickly added, “Ah, but maybe we can work some things out together. After all I’m sure ent every great channeller had to learn things under a master—some things ya jus’…figure out.”

A nearby deposit clanged against Val’s scabbard sending a cascade of noise lighting into the air as the piles of stones tumbled down the way that the group had come. Other than their voices and the sound of their boots it had been the only thing they’d heard for what seemed to be ages.

Just then an idea came to Val. “Well we’re lookin’ fer the others right? Y’see all o’ these caves leadin’ into the heart o’ the mountain right? I bet if ya listen well ‘nough, might be able to find out exactly where the patrolman’re.” Or their corpses, he wanted to say, but the thought was smothered by the cloud of indiscretion about Val’s thoughts.

Another wave of uneasiness passed through him, but the cautioning instinct went unheeded as he motioned Kiellan over to one side of the pass. “Keep watch, Dedicated,” Val called to Daelar without looking back. Even the earlier tension between the two had passed. Dunt be stupid. Somethin’ ent right, the inner voice said, but there was no time for unwarranted fits of panic; Kiellan needed him.

Saidin hummed to life as Valadin reached for it though did nothing with it. The Power burned wonderfully at his insides. The song blared to life, a chorus of rock, earth, and the mighty rumble of the mountain filling him as his senses tried to discern a clear picture of the network of caves they’d only seen from afar.

Immediately it became evident that the mountain range was larger than they expected. Murky as the impression was Val began to understand the vastness of that which they had aimlessly traveled upon. His sight was limited to only few miles downward, but in that stretch of distance he found several dozen caves some of which were linked to others that spiraled in meandering paths leading deeper into the mountain. Straining a few moments longer before letting go of the Flow of Earth that he’d used he gestured for Kiellan to put a hand upon the rock. “Tell me what ya see. If ya listen…it’s there.”

[Julio]

Daelar had absentmindedly been listening to Kiellan and Valadin talking of earthsinging. As Valadin told Kiellan to look for something in the caves, Daelar walked up to him. "Valadin, there are tracks leading to the caves. Some horses, and some not very coordinated men. I wouldn't be surprised if that's where the patrolmen are."

They followed the tracks, which led to a cave entrance about six feet high. The inside, though, was enormous. Daelar seized Saidin and formed a globe of light. He really disliked the globe of light; he was not very good with air or fire, and vastly preferred an earth lamp. Earth lamps weren't very easy to carry around, though. He would have preferred a torch, but he didn't have any on him.

The cave was dazzling. Quite literally, in fact. Paths seemed to have been worn smooth all over the cave, as if it was much traveled. Columns of stone stood everywhere, as well as detached stalactites and stalagmites. Everything, the columns, walls, ceiling, and even parts of the floor, was covered with crystals. The light was reflected off of all of the crystals. Beautiful! Really, it's no wonder this band chose this cave.

He looked around, gazing in wonder. He turned, looking toward the entrance to the cave, and froze. "Valadin and Kiellan. We have company."

Five men stood just inside the cave. Four of them looked normal, if grim soldiers. The man in the middle, though, looked ferocious. And not a normal warrior ferocious, but more a wolf, or even a bear. His eyes glinted black, and he had a bear skin coat. Whether he was actually as bulky as he looked or it was his coat, Daelar couldn't tell. Without looking away from the newcomers, he spoke to Valadin and Kiellan. "Well. I suppose we found the leader of this band. What do we do now?"

[Sean]

Note: I do want to reach a conclusion on this so…just a heads up. Maybe another posting round or two? Everyone cool with this?

Daelar’s question was one Valadin had been posing to himself upon the unpleasant discovery that they’d been cornered. The fog that had surrounded his mind faded abruptly nearly dazing him with the sudden clarity of thought. Without a thought his sword jumped free of its sheath with a metallic hiss that echoed into the cave’s depths as Unfolding the Fan became a low guard stance.

“Five ent bad. We took far more outside,” Val replied, muscles alive with the anticipation of violence. The Void brought sweet focus to his senses. Saidin lay just beyond that awareness, but for now he avoided the addictive seduction of the One Power. “We charge they might brea—”

As the words died on his tongue the cave entrance darkened as the though deepest shade of night fell upon the day. The warrior in the middle grunted something incomprehensible from Val and the other Dedicated stood, but the other warriors armed with hatchets and weapons pillaged from others misfortunate enough to meet them in their abode advanced. Cool certainty fixed Val’s feet as the image of taking the first man in the chest showed him the path to victory; they needed only to inflict a deep enough wound for the whole troupe to lose faith. While he considered these things shadows about the cave stirred and more armed warriors emerged from the gloom, their pale wraith-like faces fixed into feral expressions as they regarded the three young men.

The knowledge that they might all die in these mountains glanced off the Void’s exterior leaving only the determination to win, but it was a stubborn idea never drifting far from consideration. A war cry heralded the beginning of the bloodshed, but it was only when the one of the original five savages’ chest exploded as an arrow lanced him through the chest cavity that Valadin realized the cry had sounded at his back.

Donan’s cry shook the cave walls as he erupted into a chaotic blur of violence, tackling a man who had been hidden at the Dedicated’s backs into the ground. Melita joined the giant guardsman’s blood curdling roar with one of her own as she drew knives from the folds of her rags and leapt over a row of stalagmites to confront a warrior who was just bearing his weapon to bear.

Val waited for others to come; their patrol had been nearly a dozen men. He prayed to the Creator that they would come, but his pleas were callously ignored as no more men or women jumped miraculously to their rescue. A dark anger filled him. It wasn’t the blind fury of a wounded animal, but the malicious sincerity of one who meant to inflict a very specific sort of harm upon his foes. Cutting a look towards Daelar he nodded at the man. Now Valadin knew the earlier accusation of his fellow brother had been foolish. Saidin was the only way they would live through this.

Saidin filled him in a rush and he welcomed the madness of the battle surrounding him. No command mattered here within these enclosed walls of earth; only strength. And he had much to burn.

A Flow of Earth smashed a nearby deposit into shards of rock that whistled through the air with such speed that when the fragments struck the makeshift armor of these mountain madmen it burrowed through the material. Several men fell, writing in heaps of pain while others ducked out of the way.

Now the path was clear. The leader was alone. “Daelar! Kiellan!” His voice was raw with the might of the Power. The cave shook with Saidin’s fury as Val Wove Fire and Air, losing a ball of fire towards the cave entrance.

Surprised cries sounded as the flaming sphere sailed towards the leader, some being too slow to avoid its path found their lives cut short, but something happened. Suddenly the beast-man was not where he had been standing and the darkness that shadowed the cave’s entrance devoured the fireball. Saidar, Val determined as the telltale prickle at the back of his neck signaled the return of Daelar’s female channeler. Around them the enemy was recovered from the sortie. Melita cried out loud as her knife finally found the throat of her victim.

None of it mattered. That much could be seen through the Void. The beast-man crouched on all fours, fur pelt about his shoulders bristling as if it were the coat of a living creature. Whatever this man was, his movement had been too fast to follow in the dimly lit cave. They needed to get to open space to regain advantage. But how?

Note: Any last minute heroics anyone? And if I overstepped something just let me know in a PM and I’ll correct my post.

[Teddy]

Kiellan nodded at Val. Of course he would follow his fellow Dedicated. He had promised he would, and Kiellan didn't break his promises. He unsheathed his daggers, and took his starting position, one knife close to his chest, the other one further out. When he stood steady, he seized saidin. Surprisingly, he didn't feel as afraid as he had before. The fear that had bothered him for so long seemed to have left his mind, chased away by the sight of the reality of the situation. Some remnant of it was still there, of course, but only enough to keep him on his toes.

He quickly surveyed their surroundings. The cave was littered with rocks and pebbles, and the ground was steady. It was a perfect environment for Earth Singing. Just for a second, he allowed himself to be entranced by the Song, just long enough to become aware of everything around him. Yes, this was as good a place to make a stand as any. And he wasn't alone. With the three of them, they weren't as outnumbered as before, and they had one huge advantage: they could channel. True, Kiellan preferred to stay true to the Three Oaths, but those allowed for the Power to be used as a weapon in defense of his life or that of his brothers'. And it might just come to that.

His face dropped as he saw more men enter the cave, but only a little. This was no time to get demoralized, no matter how bad things looked. Despairing would help no one. It wasn't even that much of a surprise, considering how many men they'd fought before. What did surprise him was the arrow that suddenly came from behind. At first, Kiellan thought they were surrounded, but when he saw the arrow penetrating one of their attackers' chest, he turned around in shock. And there, leaving the safety of the darkness, he saw some of the men he had thought lost before. Or well, one man and one woman, but it was better than anything Kiellan could've hoped for.

Their bloodlust inspired a similar feeling in Kiellan, and he saw the same thing in Val's eyes. Two of their guard had survived, yes, but the absence of the rest probably meant they had been the only ones. Their assailants, those... he wasn't even sure if he wanted to call them human anymore, had killed ten innocent men, ten men Kiellan had traveled and laughed with. For that, they would pay.

Val's permission to channel made a smile appear on Kiellan's face. It wasn't a happy smile. It was the smile of someone who knew he was about to kill, and had accepted that. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he noticed the similarities with one of his visions from his Raising, but he didn't care anymore. As much as he had feared this moment, these men deserved everything that was coming to them.

Instinctively, he wove Earth and Fire. The weave he formed was one of the first he had figured out from the books, and it had been one of his stronger ones as well. As he released the Grenade, the ground exploded near the enemy group. Some of the men that had been standing in the wrong spot were blown away, although it was still a couple of feet away from their leader. Kiellan saw an arm flying through the air, no longer attached to anything, but he didn't care. Another weave came to him, and he wove Earth into a violent, unsteady weave, and released it. The ground began to shake near the entrance, but with that came pieces of the cave's ceiling. He quickly dispelled one of the weaves, and sent a larger rock into the enemy group only to let it explode in their middle.

The cave was trembling under their use of the Power, and they clearly needed to get out. Luckily, their enemies seemed to realize this as well. Their leader pointed to the ceiling, and grunted something incomprehensible. Quickly, his group moved backward, out into the open air. Throwing a fireball out of the cave opening, Kiellan followed them.

OOC: Two more posting rounds sounds great!

[Julio]

As Valadin drew his sword, Daelar seized Saidin and entered the void. He felt his hands tingle as he started a weave he had recently come across, but decided not to use it. He watched with apprehension as the room filled up with enemies, and with surprise and some relief as a couple of the guardsmen came in, obviously still alive. In the back of his mind, he was thinking of the Seanchan. Were they any worse than these people? Were they better? This was irrelevant. The Seanchan were not here, were not attacking. These enemies were.

Quickly, Valadin and Kiellan smashed many of their enemies, clearing the way toward the leader. Not too soon, either. The cave was shaking, a few stalagmites collapsing. Daelar sensed no water nearby, and anyway didn't want to further damage the structural integrity of the cavern.

As the enemy leader moved back, out of the cave, Daelar knelt down, putting his palms on the cold stone floor. He channelled, a weave of water, spirit, and earth. A skin of earth crawled up his arm, stopping about his elbow. Daelar flexed his hands: they moved just fine. They felt a little heavier, but not much. This stone skin wouldn't make him stronger, but it would make his punches and other strikes more damaging. More importantly, though, he could now easily stop a sword.

Daelar raced toward the newly cleared exit, hearing the other patrol members following him. The cave was still crumbling, stone crashing in many places. Anyone left inside would die. As he neared the exit, he noticed one of their enemies lying injured on the ground. His comrades were obviously dead, but this man was very much alive. It looked like he had nothing more than a large lump on his head. Daelar paused for a moment, then lifted him, carrying him out. He wove a weave he had learned recently, spirit and water. It would put this man into a deep sleep for a few hours, or until woken by the counter-weave.

These beasts left their slightly injured comrades to die. They didn't deserve to live. Daelar turned to see the others already in the melee. Donan had been cut off from the others, and a man was running around to stab him in the back. Daelar leapt forward, rage adding to his speed. He reached the man before he had flanked the borderman. Daelar shot his fist out, a quick punch to the head. He followed it immediately with a reverse punch to the solar plexus. With each strike he heard bones cracking, his stone skin adding a deadly element to his punches.

He moved beside the borderman, kicking one of his opponents. "It is good to see you alive. Let us both stay that way."

The borderman grunted in answer. "It's good to be alive, an I like yer idea."

[Sean]

Death cries were accentuated by the thunder of explosions and the ominous rumbling in the background of the battle. The Void was eloquent in its attunement to Battle Song. Saidin roared, its booming beat mixing chaos and fury into the melee’s chorus as the three Dedicated brought swift and cruel demise to the enemy. No time for regret. No time for fear.

Steel buried itself into a man’s edge, the guttural sound of his expiration thwarted by the velvet life spilling from the fresh opening in his neck. As one fell away another came, face masked by the animal skull of some poor beast ripped from the world by the savagery of men. Valadin was happy to return the barbarism several fold, Weaving Fire and Air together in a tight thread, birthing a streak of blinding Earth Lightning. A hum preceded the thick smell of a burned human corpse, but already the dead man had been forgotten. Some corner of his mind screamed in horror. When had it become so easy to take a life?

The question shook the peace of the Oneness, but Val fought on, never losing a step in the whirling, death-dealing dance of his. Numbers came and he ended them all. Whether by the One Power or the sword none that faced him lived to tell of it. It was an exciting and terrifying experience comparable only to the first struggle for dominance against Saidin. Nothing existed beyond the violence and soon the soothing serenity of the Void was overcome by the drunken lust for blood that was the Battle Fury. Another splash of blood born of his blade stroke felled another man and Val whirled to face the next enemy only to find it was Kiellan with Daelar not far off, Donan at his flank. Blinking and breathing after what felt like ages, exhaustion swept through him like a wave, nearly taking him from his feet.

Steadying himself, the face of the leader and the movements that were beast than man came to mind. A look towards the exit revealed that the darkness which had blotted out the daylight beyond had disappeared…so had the strange men.

After existing for so long between the strike of his blade or the time before Weaving another form of destruction through the One Power Valadin fought to suppress the desire to rage on. It had been so fulfilling to have the restraints removed! If only he could live in that place forever! He would give up everything!

“Donan. Melita.” Valadin growl, voice thick with unfettered malice, “The others. Where’re they?”

There was no need to see their faces; their silence offered enough of an answer. Saidin lashed out, a Weave of Earth shattering a nest of stalactites in a spray of rock and debris. The faces of the men…his men played through his mind. Some had families while others knew nothing other than the mountain guard. All of them stricken because he was unprepared. If we hadn’t been weak, this wouldn’t’ve ‘appened, a voice whispered and the temptation to agree with it was hard to resist. A spot of moisture fell between his boots and then Valadin was striding towards the exit.

“Time to return home,” he called over his shoulder. Slamming the sword in its sheath as the One Power was summoned brought to mind a patrol in the Blight. Mistress Ubriel hadn’t lost any of her party; they’d all survived. Spirit and Fire punched through the Pattern’s fabric before him instantly bringing forth a silver gateway. Beyond the doorway stood the Traveling Grounds of the Grey Tower.

The nightmare was finally over. Mastering himself enough to gaze upon Daelar, Kiellan and the guardsman he allowed the weak smile its place upon his lips. Nothing could hide the graveness in the expression, but for them he tried to keep the feral mixture of misery and bloodlust from being too obvious.

“We survived. Let’s share a mug fer those that dint.”