Chương 6: Stars of Sylune

She woke with a start, feeling something was going to happen. She looked up at the sky, and gasped at the sliver of the moon overhead. Something seemed strange and utterly clear, the edge of the bright moon too sharply defined, and the stars in the sky were all looking down at them. There was magic all about them, gentle and sharp at the same time, woven of silver and moonlight and moonfire and starfire.

"There is a light in the darkness. Our Lady in Silver walks the night, not the day, There to guide us on our way. The Moon cries silver tears along the Shining Road, The Court of Stars sings in the silence, Where the dark would be deepest and strongest. From the evening to the dawn. Walk through the darkness, follow the path From light to light, And sing to the Day once more!" The Salute to Sylune!

Magic was dancing around them, drawn to this moment of Light in the darkness, as if something long awaited had finally returned. The Stars were wheeling in the sky in just a moment of clarity and focus that turned the night into a moment of joy and wonder that was nearly overwhelming. And then it was past, Highmoon come and departed.

The slight arc of the moon, which had not been seen in its full glory for hundreds of years, was back to normal, the sky was dotted with clouds, and the stars were just points of light in the night.

"What, what was that?" Tiya whispered. -I am sorry, that was probably foolish of me. I hope there are others who still remember the Salute to the Goddess of Silver Magic. - Deuce sighed, but his happiness was evident, regardless. -The Silver Magic is still there, even without Her. Even with whatever force has sealed all of the gods away from here, that little crescent of Her moon has kept it alive! -The Moon and Stars are with us! The Sun Rises in the Morning! The Wind Breathes at Dusk! -Heaven is with us!

We are not abandoned, and we will break the gods free from whatever has Sealed them from us, Mother! - Tiya squeezed him tight, her eyes still wet. This was why she had endured the ridicule of her friends and everyone around her, and taken her son to term. Heaven had not abandoned them, because that was not something Heaven did. It was not right, and Heaven did not do that which was not right.

Heaven was there, Heaven was waiting, and the only reason the gods of Heaven did not answer them was because they could not, not because they WOULD not. Something had cut them off! The Salutes had cracked open her heart like nothing she had imagined. Just simple prayers, salutes, things of respect given the gods for what they did, and returned as guidance to the mortals below. Who knew how many voices had once arisen in those Salutes, and even now, centuries later, their echoes still held so much power?

Who, who had denied this to the people? Her bare fist clenched so hard in outrage, unable to shake the truth of the moment.

"I'll do everything I can to help you, Deuce," she whispered fiercely. -Thank you, Mother. That means more than you think, - he replied softly to her. -But this will not be easy at all. There are many powerful forces who do not wish the gods to return, and we can probably start with those that are still here. - That... made complete sense to Tiya. Who more logical to know what had happened to the gods then their peers and rivals. -Are you saying that the goddesses who remain are responsible for all this?

- she asked, feeling her heart skip a beat at the ominous idea. The goddess Eryl, the Storm Queen, Patron of all Amazons, was the major faith of the whole Empire! While there were others, She was definitely the strongest of the Goddesses left behind, and her martial discipline and zeal had allowed humanity to continue, and perhaps even grow stronger, after the other gods had vanished. -I do not know, but it is likely.

Eryl has always desired to dominate the Pantheon, and with all Her male competition gone, now She does. Ruilvei, Jynx, and Rue have risen sharply in prominence, with all their competitors gone. Queen Voyd seems crippled somehow, which is fortuitous for all the others, and there's this new Saint Celese who seems to be trying to take on Mother Amana's Healing role. I think She's another of Eryl's daughters... but I am not sure. -"Is this so bad?" Tiya asked seriously.

"I mean, it is not a bad life we have left behind, is it?" His reply was a mental sigh, which conveyed no irritation, nor resignation, but sad resolve. -There is no active force of Good here, Mother. I do not know any more than you, and what you have told me, only what I can infer. -But I do know that corruption is endemic without Good to offset it. I can tell it by the magic used by the Legion's Witches. That corruption is reaching into the hearts of power and twisting them there, above where we can see.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. -And I am very, very certain that Bone Keep up north did not gain its name until after Skulos and Harse were both locked away. - Tiya did not know the truth of the matter, but nodded.

"That's true that nobody says the Bone Keep saw any undead until after the gods left. Some blame them for the dead being unable to stay in their graves..." -Which is probably totally true. Harse judges all the dead, and sends them on to their fates. Skulos receives the dead and ensures that all things die in time, and especially makes certain those judged receive their punishment. -If there is no one to Judge the dead and to send them on, then where can the spirits of the dead go, Mother?

-"Does not the Godwitch hold power over the dead?" Tiya asked, shocked. -Being able to command the dead and undead does not make Her the Goddess of Death. Her Eminence is Black Magic and Witchcraft. Necromancy is the power of Death, and its Eminence was held by Skulos. Her people might wield necromancy, but that does not make Her the Goddess of Death! -And, in any event, She is also no Judge of the Dead, as she would exploit all souls to gain power for Herself if She was able.

If the spirits of the living cannot pass on, what matters death? They are still doomed here with us, their spirits in torment as they cannot pass on to where they should. Judgement of the Dead is a terribly important job, and why Harse is the Ivory King. - Tiya had only heard tales of the Bone Keep. That wasn't it's real name, of course, but that was what it was called now, for the undead had been assaulting it every night, for over a hundred years, and its proper name was long forgotten.

Legions were rotated through there to be blooded, at once losing the weak, learning to face down terrifying foes, and getting combat experience night after night, albeit against a horrifying and untiring foe. The Legions and recruits who returned from Bone Keep were thinner but elites, men and women who had been blooded far harder and more harshly than any campaign could give them, and so strengthened the Legions across the Empire with their endurance and toughness in battle.

Few talked about the walking dead they fought there, their eyes flat and cold, only offering tales if talking to another of their kind, or if they learned others were going there. Then they'd dispense their wisdom in cold, flat tones, the same voice you'd hear when sending soldiers to their doom if they didn't listen, and so those frightened soldiers would listen with everything they had.

"You think Bone Keep is important?" she asked at last, unable to keep a shiver out of her voice. The thought of fighting the undead every night, night after night, was horrifying. -Not the Keep itself, although such a place is a great opportunity. Constant battle is a constant Karmic Buffet. The reason the legionnaires who come out of that place are so respected is because they are Levels higher than those who do not serve there. All the men have hit their Level Caps of Four.

All the women are Sixes or higher, if they have the Stats for it. The Empire is using the Keep as an anvil and whetstone to strengthen the steel and edge of its armies and people, a place of conflict its enemies may not have and do not equal. -The danger is what the increasing number of undead represent. If they are indeed the spirits of the dead, unable to pass beyond and find rest, then that number is only increasing, mother.

And it will never go down without special means being taken, which involve utter destruction of their souls. - She could feel the bitter truth in his words. Instead of passing beyond, to whatever Doom or Reward awaited them, the spirits of the dead would endure forever, and rage against the living in their pain and anguish. They would kill the living, and add to their numbers, which would grow and grow and grow as the living continued to die... Tiya swallowed as she realized the implications.

"The dead... they will eventually kill all the living, then?" -Unless their souls are burned away in vivic fire, yes. Which is both utter doom and a surcease from their pain, a complete travesty of the cycle of Life and Death. In the end, we will have to slaughter the souls of everything that has died, all of our ancestors, parents, and forebears, if we wish to live. - Tiya twitched again, despite herself.

"That is horrible..." she finally got out, hoping against hope that was not the situation. -We weren't able to tell by the stories, but logically, there are ever more dead, and so the realm of the dead up there should be expanding. I would happily bet you all the money I do not have that every year, the dead rise up at dusk ever so slightly closer than they did the year before, and so they have less distance to travel and can attack the Keep there for a longer and longer period of time.

-Moreover, Bone Keep should be far from the only place the dead are pushing down from, but we simply haven't heard of other areas because the knowledge is being kept from us, both by your superiors and the fact all the Empire's neighbors are hostile to it. - Tiya blinked. The dead were coming down from the north, but the north existed in more places than beyond Bone Keep... only nobody from the Empire went to the North, safely warded by the Hoarcloak Mountains there, home to great beasts and dangers and...

She flinched.

"There have been many attacks by great beasts and the beast-men tribes of the Hoarcloaks, moving south..." Deuce sighed inside her mind again. -Fleeing the undead. Not even the strongest creatures there can win over the endless tide. The undead are limited only by how unfriendly the terrain is... and where the anthros live is going to be the friendliest terrain, relatively speaking. They are being pushed out by the expanding numbers of undead and the lack of prey that once roamed the northern tundra.

-"How long do we have?" Tiya asked, her teeth clenched at the mental image. -The undead are limited in their threat by how far they can travel in one night. As more die, they area they occupy increases, and they can push further and further south if they seek to. -How long we have depends on how many undead it takes to claim each increasing amount of territory, and if we can shrink their numbers permanently, and how many beings die. It is a lot of area, and a lot of ground to cover. We have time, Mother.

- Tiya nodded firmly.

"Right! What do we have to do?" -Find a place where there are old evils nearby that need to be disposed of, and get you to Seven. Once that has been done, our options and time available expand."

"These are old hills with old powers in them," Tiya nodded at his words.

"Some of them are very strong, and others are simply vicous." -The vicious and the malicious generally don't like it when such is returned to them, and the Land has always had an appetite for those that think themselves eld and beyond morality. - Deuce's voice was filled with complex notes of schadenfreude and grim truth.

"Life favors the young and the living!" Tiya agreed with grim spirit.

"But, uh, it's okay if we go at least a few days further south, right?" -We'll go as far as we need to go, Mother. - he assured her calmly. Tiya smiled, pledging to herself to go at least a week before seriously looking for a place to hole up.

With a touch of a baby's hand, the scarring of the Imperial Brand fell away from the gelding's flank, replaced by smooth brown hide that bore no hint that the horse was once Imperial property. Tiya smiled and inspected the restored hide carefully, making sure no overly anal inspector could see that it had been there, and smiled in approval. -I can conceal my ears, have no fear, Mother, - Deuce told her, as they picked their way down a hillside towards the small village below. -But be wary.

I sense no welcome for strangers ahead of us. - Tiya knew the attitude, as it was quite the same as the clan holding where she had grown up.

"They have a tavern, so a place to eat and drink, and that might mean we can buy some supplies, which they'll doubtless try to overcharge us." That wasn't going to impress her, as her horse was absolutely fine with eating conjured manna, and some spices and different cooking styles were enough to spice it up for her, not much different than eating mystery meat in the legions...