PREMONITION
by Chris Wraight


SUMMONED BY THE commotion above her, Athien climbed from her cabin and on to the heavily pitching deck. The air was clear and cold, spray flying into the faces of the elf crew as they steered the mighty Hawk Ship Riallanthros through a powerful swell. Telaris caught sight of her from the prow, and a grin broke across his normally severe face. He had the haughty, graceful looks of all of his kind, a true son of Ulthuan, but today they were illuminated with an open pleasure.
'Cousin!' he cried, his long hair whipping across his brow. 'You should see this.'
Athien made her way to the high prow unsteadily. Ahead of them the ocean swept away in contours of choppy brilliance, the waves crested with diamond bright foam. Telaris kissed her in greeting and passed her his bronze bound spyglass, the sun glinting sharply off the polished crystal lenses.
'Take a look,' he said.
She held it to her eye, sweeping across the horizon, and there it was: a low smudge of green against a piled mass of white cloud. Land, after so many days. She felt her heart leap with joy.
'How long?' she asked, her voice giving away her yearning.
Telaris laughed, and took back the spyglass.
'A while yet,' he said. 'I need to find the river, the passage to the heart of the hidden land. But my hopes are high. All being well, we'll be raising our tents before the week's end.'
Athien's eyes were bright.
'I long for it,' she breathed. 'Elthin Arven, the endless forest beyond the seas, to see it as it really is...'
Athien looked up to see Telaris regarding her with fondness. But there was something else too: that faint trace of reserve. She knew he doubted the wisdom of bringing her on the expedition. She also knew he regarded her as a dreamer, a booklover and a gatherer of dangerous fancies. If it hadn't been for old Ferien and his endless insistence, he'd never have agreed to take her along.
'We'll be there soon enough,' Telaris said, his mind moving back to the burden of command. 'Stay at the prow for as long as you wish. The land will soon be visible even without the glass.'
He left her alone, the sun, spray and salt set against her face. She settled into a comfortable position, enjoying the sure surge of the Riallanthros as she ploughed her way through the sea. Telaris could be a pompous ass at times, she thought. Not that she could entirely blame him: she was young, a mere child by the reckoning of her people, cloistered in the narrow halls of Tor Yvresse her whole life. She was hardly the great warrior or mage who would be useful on a daring expedition to the hidden reaches of Easternesse, the vast land of which the Asur knew so little. But she had hidden talents. Her archery was far better than Telaris realised, and Ferien hadn't spoken on her account for nothing.
'You see things deeply,' he had told her as they sat in his chamber discussing Telaris's plans. 'It'll do him good to have you along. He might just learn a thing or two.'
She recalled the words with pleasure. Most of the time, it was hard to feel anything other than superfluous amongst Telaris's grave, competent companions. They tolerated her presence for the sake of their commander, but she knew that sooner or later she would have to find some useful role to play on the expedition. There was little enough space on the ship for all the stores they needed, let alone wide-eyed passengers with more curiosity than sense.

THEY BEAT THEIR way east for the next few days, and the weather changed from fair to stormy. A difficult passage around a jagged headland, iron grey in the driving rain, was the worst of it. Telaris drove the ship and crew hard, anxious to find the passage he had been promised, doubtful of his charts and half-reliable testimonies. None of the Asur had ever sailed so far to found a colony. Maybe it was the rumours of a subtle change in the far north of the world that prevented them, whispers of a distant terror growing across the savage plains of ice. But the glittering halls of the princes were thirsty for knowledge of the distant places of lore and legend, and also for the spoils of conquest. The rewards for courage were high, as were the penalties for defeat. At times Athien thought Telaris wore the strain of it on his face. She knew he would rather die than fail.
They sailed more easily once the storms had passed, skirting close to the tree-lined shore, the eaves of the limitless forests gloomy and mysterious. Athien found herself gazing at them for long periods. The twisted branches seemed like the tendrils of some vast, ancient being, all-knowing, all-powerful, suspicious of interlopers and hostile. When night came, a shudder would pass along her spine as the Riallanthros, rocking gently on the calm water amidst the deep dark, strayed too close to the shadow-clad shallows. When her unease rose too sharply she would bring out the amulet her mother had given her on leaving, a golden spiral around an amethyst core. It reminded her of the pleasures of home, of all the beauty of Tor Yvresse. Even in the weakest light a fire seemed to kindle in its heart. It was not magical, nor particularly valuable, but she cherished it, and it banished the mysterious foreboding of the trees.
Telaris shared none of her flights of imagination, and delighted in the progress of the ship. His first triumph was the discovery of the predicted estuary running south from the coast. His second, a few days later, was arriving at its confluence with two other broad, fast flowing rivers, each capable of accommodating the draught of even the heaviest warship. In the distant south-west a range of mountains reared their heads skywards. There were strange outcrops of weather-worn rock scattered amidst the grasping branches, the stone a striking white in the direct light of the afternoon sun. Telaris nodded with approval when he saw them.
'A good site,' he mused. 'See how the rivers converge? This place must be at the head of a wider network. These tributaries are mighty indeed.'
'We disembark, then?' asked Athien, the familiar unease coming over her again. There was something about the place that she didn't like, but it was hard to say what, since it looked more or less the same as the other miles and miles of forest they had passed by.
Telaris nodded, consulting an ancient looking chart as he did so.
'The accounts of this region are vague. We must go with the evidence of our senses. I can see the potential here. A stronghold in such a place could govern the land about it for many leagues. Then there is the trade. Think of it cousin; one day, Asuryan willing, we'll be the masters of a city here, beholden to no one but ourselves, princes of all within our considerable gaze.'
Athien failed to smile. Her heart was still heavy with misgivings.
'Well,' said Telaris, frowning, 'if you're going to sulk you can go below. I don't want anyone getting under our feet.'
Within the hour, Athien saw what he meant. The ship's boats were lowered swiftly, and under Telaris's direction the crew rowed back and forth between the Riallanthros and the shore until the sun was low in the sky, carrying piles of stores, barrels, planks, weapons, tools, crates and cages full of bleating, clucking and snorting animals, and a thousand other necessary items.
By nightfall the camp had been put in some kind of order, the tents distributed around a blazing fire and stony faced sentries standing guard under the branches of the nearest trees. Asrel, the young mage Telaris had chosen to lend magical support to the expedition, led a simple ceremony of thanksgiving, his clear voice ringing as prayers to Isha, Kurnous and Asuryan were recited. Then, as dusk fell, the fires were stoked and the feast was laid. They ate with relish, songs and laughter rising high into the cool air. Athien's mood improved with the wine. As the night deepened and the party began to drift to sleep, Telaris got up and wandered down to the river's edge, the dark water suffused with the ivory light of the moon. Athien joined him, and together they surveyed the peaceful scene.
'This is magical, is it not?' he asked quietly, his eyes alive with pleasure.
'It is, cousin,' she said. 'I'm glad you brought me here. I won't forget it.'
Telaris looked down at her, and laughed. He ruffled her hair affectionately as he used to when they were children.
'Good,' he said. 'I feel sure great things will happen to us here.'

* * *

THE SUBSEQUENT DAYS were full of activity. The ancient trees around the site were felled and stakes were raised along the perimeter of the planned colony. Tents were replaced by wooden frames, and plots for crops marked out. The burgundy and gold standard of Telaris's family was hoisted over the makeshift camp: a sea serpent coiled around a spear, crowned with the rune Menlui, the sign of water. Soon the place began to resemble a proper settlement rather than a resting place for brigands.
Athien, as was her wont, took to walking into the forest with her scraps of parchment, recording anything of interest she found. She gradually ventured further from the compound, pocketing strange plants and tracking elusive animals far into the interior of their labyrinthine domain. She knew Telaris was uneasy with her travelling far in such unknown, uncharted country, but there was too much to do for him to spare her an escort, or for him to spend all his time checking on her. Besides, she was no fool. Despite what he thought of her she was more than capable with a bow, and took a full quiver with her on every outing. Her returning gifts of fresh game, sharply shot in the dim light of the thick forest, were appreciated.
Her forays into the wild provoked discord nonetheless, particularly with Telaris. One evening Athien stumbled back to the camp after a whole day trekking through the wildwood to the north, her hair dishevelled and her clothes caked with mud, just as the fire was being kindled. He was angry, his eyes rimmed with red. He looked exhausted.
'Where have you been?' he asked quietly, his voice thick with irritation.
Athien looked back evenly. 'Exploring, as I came here to do.'
'You shouldn't venture so far, not without telling me where you're going.'
'You can't...' began Athien, wearily preparing herself to test wills against her cousin, but she was halted.
An unearthly screeching noise filled the air. The whole company stopped what they were doing. The wailing rose and fell, echoing strangely on the chill breeze. It stopped. Then, just on the edge of hearing, another voice rose, apparently in answer. Telaris listened intently. After a moment, the night reverted to its normal condition with the creaking of the trees, and the gentle slapping of the river against the new wooden jetty. The workers stood immobile for a few moments, before gradually resuming their tasks.
'There are things out there we know nothing of, Athien,' said Telaris at last, wearily, his voice full of care. 'I can't command you, but stay close to the camp for the sake of your parents, who entrusted you to my care.'
Athien's fight had left her. Numbly, she nodded, and went to the fire to get warm. Telaris stalked off to assist with the construction of the half-completed watchtower. Moodily, Athien poked the burning branches with her boot.
The next day she stayed inside the compound, helping to weave rush mats for the interior of the wooden huts being raised all around her. She laughed and joked with her companions as she did so, but her spirits were low. Already the memory of the night noises had faded, and under the sun the forest once more seemed a place of wonder and mystery. By the end of the week, her confidence further bolstered by the new, sturdy walls raised around the community, she was ready to creep off at dawn to explore once more. She went quietly, collecting a hunting dagger in addition to her favoured bow, avoiding the disapproving stares of the guards as she went.
As the light strengthened and no retrieval party came after her, she relaxed. The forest was cool, the mists of the night lingering around the boles of the giant trees.
The canopy was alive with the noises of birds, the earth under her feet black and moist. There was a joy in being under an unfamiliar sky, and this strange new world had a unique beauty, a savage, feral quality, which drew her ever further in. She wandered far, barely noticing the direction she took. The shadows of the forest began to close in around her. In the deeps of the valleys the air became heavy and thick, filled with clouds of tiny insects. Athien found herself pushing hard against tangles of briars to make her way, and her hands and face quickly bore the lattice of a thousand tiny scratches.
Then she heard it: a sudden flurry of leaves falling and a shuffling of feet. Her heart leapt, her hand reaching for the dagger concealed within her clothing. She drew it quickly. She remembered the strange noises of the night. Telaris was right; it was foolish to stray too far. Trying to gauge how far she'd travelled, she turned and began to walk back the way she had come. Every so often she would pause and listen. It wasn't just her imagination; there was a presence in the trees, one that stopped when she did, and moved when she moved. However hard she screwed her eyes against the jumble of foliage, she could make out no sign of her pursuer. She picked up her pace, marching briskly back along the paths she had ambled down minutes earlier. Even as her feet crunched through the leaf litter, even as her mind told her to concentrate, she couldn't help but notice the sounds around her. Something was travelling with her, something unseen.
She turned her head quickly, trying to see where the noise was coming from. It was all around her now. She started to run, scrabbling at the creepers draped in her path like animal traps. Fumbling and crashing through the undergrowth, and with a sudden pang of fear, she realised she might be heading deeper into the forest. Then she saw the river, just ahead. Relieved, she made to call out for Telaris, just as her feet got caught in the undergrowth, sending her crashing through the brambles to the floor. Winded, she lifted herself from the earth on to all-fours, leaves and twigs falling from her. She looked up, straight into the gaze of two brown eyes. Her heart stopped.
The eyes gazed back, unblinking. They were a few paces away, screened by the leaves. She could just make out a face: heavy features, dark, filthy, obscured by shadows. Long, straggling hair framed it. Was it even a person? It was surely no animal. It didn't move. Athien gradually became aware of her body again. Her breathing restarted, her heart beating hard in her chest once more. Slowly, gingerly, ready to bolt at any moment, she climbed to her feet. As she did so, the branches shook with a sudden flurry and the face disappeared.
'No!' cried Athien, without thinking.
It was gone. She fumbled around for a few moments, but it was no use. Clearly, whatever it was could stay hidden if it wanted to. She brushed herself down and tried to calm her breathing. She needed to get back to the camp, however cold a welcome she was likely to get from Telaris. Having got her bearings once more, she travelled quickly, and before long the compound was in front of her. As she passed under the newly completed watchtower, she realised she had dropped the dagger. She looked over her shoulder, back the way she had come. The forest gazed back at her with a malign indifference. She shuddered, and went inside. It could stay there.
Telaris was waiting, his face a mask of suppressed anger. But when he saw her disarranged state, his expression mellowed a little.
'What happened?' he asked.
Athien shook her head.
'I don't know,' she said. 'There's something in the forest. I saw it. It saw me. We're not alone.'
As if on command, the weird screeching noise started again from the trees. It was closer. By daylight, the effect was even more chilling. All the workers put down their tools and listened. The answering cries were closer too, and there were more of them. One sounded like the bellowing of a great bull, distorted and corrupted. After what seemed a long time, the calls ceased, the dying echoes fading into the silent walls of the valley.
Telaris looked haggard.
'Keep working!' he yelled at his companions. Slowly, they picked up their tools.
'Can we go back to the ship, cousin?' asked Athien weakly. 'There's something wrong with this place. I can feel it. We'd be safer on the water.'
Telaris shook his head.
'All the stores have been landed,' he said. 'We've finished the wall. You're safe here. We can't give up after a few animal noises. We'll stick it out.'
He turned to her with a bleak expression.
'We've sharpened the swords, though. Get one, and learn how to use it, and don't leave the compound again.'

FOR TWO MORE days, the noises increased, especially at night. Athien slept fitfully, her dreams of the eyes in the leaves broken by howls and bellowing from the hills around the camp. Even the guards, their grey eyes used to the rigours of war, fingered their spears fitfully as they paced the walls of the stockade. Telaris ordered the animals to be brought inside the walls, and the boats were drawn up from the river's edge.
On the third night, the forest around them was ringed with tiny lights. Walking on the ramparts under the stars, Athien went up to one of the guards, his long face sheathed in a close fitting helm.
'What are they?' she whispered, peering out into the gloom at the twinkling points.
'Eyes, my lady,' said the guard, a grim tone to his voice. 'There are things waiting under the trees. I should stay by the fire.'
Athien gave him a horrified look, before rushing down to Telaris's quarters, pushing her way roughly past his attendants.
'They're here,' she blurted. 'What are we going to do?' Telaris looked careworn.
'You think I don't know that?' he asked wearily. 'Don't concern yourself. Perhaps the creature you disturbed in the forest has come back to find you.'
He gave a wintry smile. Athien hesitated. The brown eyes that haunted her dreams had little in common with the glistening, bestial orbs waiting in the night. Before she could reply, the master of the garrison entered, bowing brusquely.
'We're ready, my lord.'
Telaris nodded.
'Stay here, Athien,' he said, sharply. 'Now you'll see what we're going to do.'
Then he was gone. Athien rushed after him. The warriors of the company were assembled before the gates. Blades were drawn in the blood-red light of the fire. Archers had been stationed on the walls, the mage Asrel amongst them, his fingers crackling with energy. Telaris looked around, and raised his long sword in the air.
'Brothers, now is the time to cleanse this place! No sheltering behind these walls of wood. Follow me, and drive the foul beasts back into the hills!'
The company around him gave a roar of approval, and the gates were cranked open. Beyond, the shadows were alive with howls and unnatural movement. Asrel threw a swirling ball of blue light into the night air, its explosion illuminating the clearing with a blinding luminescence.
The warriors charged from the compound, a hail of arrows preceding them from the walls. Barks and screams emerged from the trees. As the unnatural light faded Athien made out the scurrying and limping of dark forms. She raced up a ladder to the ramparts to get a better view.
It was hard to see clearly what was going on. Telaris was at the forefront of the attack, his sword whirling. There were monstrous forms in the shadows, some horned, and all cloven hoofed, their warped and distended faces mad with fury. The warriors were amongst them, their blades flashing in the dark. Asrel cast targeted bolts of preternatural energy wherever the beasts clustered, scattering the grotesque creatures as they tried to rally. Athien saw a young straw-haired lad, as meek as milk during the voyage, tear into a huge bear-like beast with knives in both hands, bloodlust high in both. A tall spearman was borne down by a grotesque mule-headed figure. A troupe of swordsmen cut the legs from a great centaur-like monstrosity, its eyes flaming and its axe swinging even as it was hacked apart. She felt a sudden rush of fury.
'Asuryan!' she cried, seizing a sword clumsily and plunging down the stairs to the open gates below. But she was too late. She arrived to see the last of the living beasts staggering back into the depths of the trees. The ground was heavy and sodden with blood. Some of the warriors made to pursue their quarry, but Telaris called them back.
'We can't follow them,' he said, leaning heavily against the gore streaked trunk of a tree. 'They'll gather again in the deep forest. But at least we've taught them our swords are sharp. Perhaps that'll be the last we see of them.'
Athien looked around. Amidst the foul stench of the beasts' carcasses, the bodies of her kin lay immobile in the grime. Many of those who walked did so with a limp, or cradled a broken wrist or forearm. Ashamed of her failure to join them, she felt a fresh surge of anger. But this was no time for self-indulgence: Telaris was exhausted and the warband was aimless. Collecting herself, she turned to the battered warriors.
'Brothers, let us gather the dead and see to the wounded. We must close the gate and stoke the fire before the beasts know our weakness.'
With a heavy heart she turned to the task ahead, and those around her did likewise. Her fear had turned to sickness, her joy extinguished.

IF TELARIS HAD truly believed the beasts would leave them alone, he was wrong. The next night they were back, and then the next, their serried eyes glinting in the darkness. Over and again he led his swordsmen into the night, driving the creatures from the stockade and back into the trees, the tireless Asrel casting spell after spell in their support. Athien at last had a role to play, standing on the ramparts with her bow prepared, firing arrows at the hearts of the foul invaders, each one sent with hate over the slender walls of the colony. The happy glint of wonder in her eyes was long gone and she burned with a zeal that surprised her. Never again did she ask to retreat to the ship, still moored in the middle of the great river. This was their land, purchased with blood, and no stinking beast of the wilds would drive them from it.
As the moon sank towards the earth on the third night of fighting, the attackers were once more banished from the compound's edge, again leaving the bodies of defenders behind them in the saturated earth. When all was done to succour the wounded, Athien sought out Telaris. He lay, weary as death, on his couch.
'We're killing three of them for every wound they cause us,' he said, a coarse pride in his voice, 'but is it enough?'
Athien laid a cooling hand on his brow.
'It is,' she said, smiling. 'We can hold, as long as the walls do. They must lose heart in time, but we'll never lose heart in you.'
Telaris gave a weak smile, and slipped into an exhausted sleep. Athien stayed beside him for a moment before feeling the dead weight of fatigue slide over her too. Pulling a blanket around her shoulders, she fell back into her chair, her eyes closing.
And then it happened: the warning horn, the shouts from the compound, the clash of steel and bronze. They were back. Athien started from her slumber and looked to Telaris. He was awake in an instant, his face pale, his eyes alive. He flung off his blanket and tore out of the chamber, his body suddenly animated and alive. Athien followed him, wiping her eyes and fumbling for a bow.
'Sword kin! To me!' roared Telaris, the guards on his heels as he sped across the compound, hurriedly pulling on their helms and reaching for their weapons. As he gained the gates there was a crack, a roar from outside, and the hideous sound that Athien had feared for two days: the sigh of wooden stakes keeling over under pressure. As if in a dream, she saw the posts lurch crazily, and then topple. Beyond, all was madness: horns, hooves, fangs, leaping flames, and tattered banners swaying to the rhythm of drums. There was screaming and a frenzy of bloodlust, and the beastmen erupted into the stockade in a single wave. Telaris did not falter, plunging into the horde like a spear-tip into water, slashing a swathe either side of him as he went. His bodyguard was with him, their bright helms and swords flashing in the lurid red night. A vast, bull-headed monster crashed its way through two swordsmen. Telaris swung towards it, ducking under a ferocious swipe to plunge a dagger deep into its barrel-wide midriff. A malformed goat-like freak leapt over the falling bull's shoulders, cut down by a brace of arrows in its throat, and swept under the hooves of the onrushing herd.
Athien felt her heart beating heavily, her palms slick with sweat as she scrabbled for arrows to join the defence. Her fear ran strong, there were so many of them. If Telaris could hold the line... but then a shiver seemed to pass through the ranks of frenzied Chaos spawn. They fell back, making a corridor between their number. Telaris cried aloud, exhorting his companions onward. But then his voice died in his throat. A pair of twisted horns rose against the flames, monstrous in size and girth. Something was striding through the press of beasts, something terrible. It came forward, and all were frozen before its advance. A baleful flickering illuminated the object of the beastmen's awe and fear: a grin, a wicked grin with lines of knife sharp teeth ranged across a sickening, long, horse face. Its shoulders were broad and bunched, its fur-clad legs long and cloven hoofed. Clad in bloodstained rags, it carried a scythe in its brutal arms. Athien understood the reason for its appearance. The pretence was over. The colony's doom was sealed.
She shot a panicked glance towards Telaris, her cry of warning lost as the beastmen took up their maddening yelping once more. He was pale, drained, his face streaked with blood. But he stood his ground, and his eyes yet burned with the stubborn fire she knew so well. He would wait for his doom and meet it, and there was no power in the world strong enough to deflect that. The beast approached, and its shadow fell across him. The scythe swung.
'For Isha and Kurnous!' cried Telaris, bringing his sword to meet the blow, and the metal clashed in a shower of sparks.
As if released from a spell, the beastmen charged in around their leader with a horrifying roar, the defenders surging to meet them. Steel clashed on steel, the night air ringing with cries of defiance, madness and agony. Asrel, looking exhausted from his earlier exertions, had joined the fray, his eyes glinting savagely, strands of lurid energy streaming from his fingertips as he attempted to pick out the beastlord amongst the confusion. Telaris danced around his opponent, trusting to speed rather than bulk. The monster lunged after him time and again, each blow missing by a hand's breadth. Telaris's strokes were cleaner. He blooded the beast twice. Athien roused herself, cursing her slowness. She ran up the remaining ladder and curled her leg around the rungs to make a platform. Pulling the string tight, she let fly the first of her arrows. It flew spinning deep into the morass of fur and horns. A strangled yell told her it had found its target, and she smiled grimly. Two more followed. Others joined her on the walls, and the air filled with the whine of yew and sinew.
But the numbers were too great. The flaxen-haired youth was brought down at last, two tusked horrors dragging him into the mud. Even as he stabbed at them in defiance, his struggle ended with a sickening crunch of bone. The guards were driven back from the watchtower and towards the fire, their white cloaks and silver mail bloodied, sullied and ruptured. The bolts of magic from the ramparts ceased, Asrel's bloodied figure at last overwhelmed by the endless forms swarming up the wooden walls. Telaris fought on, desperately rallying his troops around him, fighting furiously against the towering lord of the beasts. As if defying the pull of the earth, his sword still thrust in glittering arcs, and his body still rose into the air to meet the curve of the scythe. But he had to fall back as his companions were cut down around him. The arrows flew, but it was not enough. With a gurgled roar of triumph, its back bristling with feathered shafts, the beastlord raised the scythe one more time. Telaris was off-balance. Athien felt the scream of warning clog in her throat. The blade fell. He crumpled into the gore trodden earth.
Athien cried out, tears of rage stinging her eyes. A wave of grief and horror passed through her. The beastlord raised its obscene arms to the night and bellowed to the stars. She drew a sword from beside her, a madness rising. Death was certain for all of them, but there was still vengeance. With a prayer to Khaine, her first, she made to leap into the slaughter below.
But then, confusion. There was something else in the compound. A ripple of indecision passed through the ranks of the braying horde. Their champion hesitated, and then turned, his roars silenced. The surviving defenders felt it, and raised their swords once more. Her own blade in hand, Athien halted, a flicker of desperate hope kindling. There were obscure forms, dozens of them, in the shadows. They were at the back of the beasts, hacking with axes, plunging into the heart of the marauding mass.
'Sword kin!' she cried, collecting her wits. 'With me, for Telaris and Ulthuan!'
Battered they may have been, but the elf defenders rose up as one. The beasts were suddenly consumed with doubt. From the edge of her vision, Athien saw their lord stagger and fall, the axes rising over his prone body. There were figures all around them, leaping from the darkness, clad in rags, their shaggy hair streaming in the firelight like flails. Athien charged into the fray, filled with a sudden, savage elation, her sword ringing as it fell against the filth and horror before it. She was no sword-maiden, and her unpracticed blows were wild, but the blood of Isha and Kurnous ran in her veins and the look in her eyes would have set back her old tutors in Yvresse if they could have seen it. Swords and axes rose in unison, and the thick blood of the beasts ran freely with that of the fallen defenders. The twisted horrors scattered against the furious assault, creeping and yelping as they sought refuge beyond the gates. But they were caught between two foes, and the blades pursued them with bitter intent. The butchery began.

MUCH LATER, SWEAT-STREAKED and weary, Athien leaned on her sword. The sky was grey in the east, the fire a smoking pile of angry embers. She looked around. With a pang of grief, she saw how many had died. If it had not been for their strange allies, none would be alive to bury them. Now they were slipping back into the trees, merging into the land like spectres, all but one. He stood before her, his brown eyes as steady as before, his tanned skin stained with blood. He was not as tall as her, but was broader, and had a calm solidity.
There were no words they could exchange, but when Athien looked into his eyes once more she saw the intelligence there. They were not animals, then, not like the rabble they had driven back into the shadows.
He put his hand out. It cradled her dagger. She nodded, and took it back. The gesture demanded a response; her mind searched for one. With a lurch of reluctance, she reached for her amulet, unclasped the chain, and gave it to him in turn. It seemed the proper thing. He bowed, accepted it, and turned it over in his hands, regarding it with a steady, attentive gaze. Even in the weak light, its amethyst heart was ablaze.
Then he came closer. She could smell his strong odour, the scent of the forest. Once more she found herself transfixed by his gaze. She didn't pull away this time, but returned it. He was trying to tell her something, something about the place. His eyes left hers, and he looked around, to the rocky outcrops, the river and the clearing in the trees. Slowly, she began to grasp the sense of it: the land, they wanted it. These strange newcomers were the true invaders. Telaris had seen it. A stronghold in such a place could govern the land around it for many leagues, he'd said. And they knew it too.
But could such... savages really raise their own settlement here? She felt her mind exploring the strands of possibility. You see things deeply, Ferien had said. And now she sensed, albeit as a mere glimpse reflected in the brown eyes before her, the destiny of the strangers, their strength and their resolve. She knew that more of them were coming. If they could see off the beastmen, they were neither as weak nor as backward as they first appeared. She looked back at the figure before her, and smiled resignedly. His impassive gaze seemed to promise so much. She wanted to talk to him, advise him, teach him, but there were no words.
She heard her name being called, apparently from far away. It was Telaris. Hope leapt in her, and she made to run back to the compound. She turned as she did so, but the strange figure was already loping off into the trees. He was gone in a moment. Athien paused, her mind in two places, but it was no good, she couldn't follow him. She hurried instead inside the ruined walls, the compound busy with the guards tending to the wounded and dousing the few remaining fires. Telaris lay against the shell of the watchtower, propped against the charred wood. An ugly gash traversed his forehead. His shirt was brown with his own blood. Athien rushed to his side, clasping his hand to her cheek.
'I thought you were dead, cousin,' she whispered, the tears rising in her at last.
Telaris winced.
'I too, for a time,' he croaked, 'but I'm told we had allies in the forest. You should have wandered around up there more often.'
Athien laughed, her eyes moist, the relief and the lingering grief taking their toll. Telaris looked around the ruined camp and sighed deeply.
'Well, we've survived,' he said grimly. 'Once the dead are buried, we can rebuild the wall. I feel sure the worst is over.'
Athien shook her head, stroking Telaris's hand tenderly.
'No, cousin,' she said softly, 'this place is not for us. We're not the only invaders here. You've seen the others. I don't know where they're from, and they may appear weak now, but I've looked into their eyes. I've seen their intention, and their intention is to rule.'
Telaris shook his head.
'The savages?' he asked weakly. 'I cannot believe it. We have a task to perform: to found a city, a colony for the glory of Asuryan. I won't return before I accomplish it.'
'The task will be fulfilled,' said Athien, with a sad certainty. 'There will be a white-walled city here, and no doubt a mighty realm around it. Ships will ply the waterways, and the forests will give way to roads and fields, just as they do in Ulthuan. But we won't build it. They will. Search your heart and you will know the truth of it.'
Telaris met her gaze for a moment, the flame of defiance in his face. Then it faded. He looked around: the walls were torn open, the dead lying where they had fallen. The sea serpent banner fluttered weakly from its splintered staff. Those that still walked did so with effort. The colony was rent apart, its spirit dissipated. His eyes lowered.
'When the camp is in order,' he said, his voice strained, 'we'll begin to load the ship.'
He looked broken. Athien stroked his cheek lightly, knowing how deeply Telaris felt the pain of defeat. But he would recover, and there were pressing tasks ahead for all of them. She rose, and began to direct the treatment of the wounded.
As she went, she knew she was being watched. Somewhere, high in the hills above the river, brown eyes were regarding her, brown fingers clutching an amulet tightly, its artistry far beyond his people's skill or knowledge, for now. She paused for a moment, looking around at the tree covered hills. The fast rising sun had gilded the branches with a skein of gold, the river glowing a deep green under the overhanging boughs. For all the terrors within, it was still a paradise.
Make good use of it, she thought to herself, as if addressing her unseen observer.
Then she turned, and walked down the path to the ship.