New episode - season finale: 3.14 - "Hope" - part 2
go back to Episode 3.14 - Hope - part 1
~*~
The afternoon sun shone down on Aydindril, city streets still swarming with red-caped soldiers. Others were milling around their camp, cleaning weapons, sitting in front of a fire, dragging one of the camp followers off to a tent; the picture perfect of a victorious army at rest. Even the few guards posted around the camp seemed interested in anything but guarding.
Two red-caped men were standing at the west end of the camp, talking animatedly. They didn't see the group of people sneaking past them, led by Darren and a Keltish commander. The group consisted of four of Darren's men, still wearing the red cape of the Blood of the Fold, a dozen Keltish swordsmen, a score of Galean archers, a dozen Resistance fighters and six Mord-Sith. The Mord-Sith were in the rear, ready to strike but with a small distance between them and the main group. They reached the seemingly impenetrable wall around Aydindril and hunkered down at Darren's signal.
~*~
Richard stood amidst the soldiers of the Midlands, waiting for the last runner to let him know everyone was in position. Denna was leaning against a tree, seemingly unconcerned. Their gazes met and for half a heartbeat insecurity flickered in Denna's eyes.
Chase came out of the tree cover from the direction of their camp and stepped up to Richard. "Emma sends her best. She says, no more spice soup for you if you don't come home in one piece."
Richard tried to give his friend a genuine smile but failed miserably. "I'll do my best, Chase. She should be more concerned with you coming back unharmed." He looked into Chase's eyes. "I have a favor to ask."
"Of course, Richard. I'll stay at your side and have your back."
"No, Chase, that's not it. You and your men are needed to protect Queen Corah's flank. No, I want you to take Denna with you," Richard said.
"Her?" Chase asked incredulously. "You've told me what she's done. How can you allow someone like her to fight on our side?"
"Denna wants to change, Chase. She already has started to change. All she needs is a chance, someone to believe in her, and she's a good fighter. Give her that chance, please."
"Fine," Chase finally said, reluctantly conceding to Richard's obvious conviction. "For you."
Denna rolled her eyes in annoyance at the conversation but she followed Chase without her trademark snarky comment.
~*~
Richard walked through the ranks to the front of the allied army, still mostly hidden behind the tree line. He stepped forward flanked by General Baldwin and a handful of other commanders, his hand resting loosely on the hilt of the Sword of Truth.
"I am Richard Cypher, the Seeker of Truth." His voice rang out over the Blood of the Fold camp and into the city.
Some red-capes scrambled for their weapons, some simply looked up, unimpressed by the few men suddenly facing them.
"We are here to see that justice will be done. General Brogan committed unspeakable crimes against the people of the Midlands, in Ebinissia where he had innocent children, women and elders tortured and killed. Not only that he went further and committed the most heinous crime possible. He murdered the Mother Confessor, the source of good and justice in the Midlands. He murdered the future of the Midlands," Richard said forcefully.
His words were met with scattered shouts from the opposing army.
"The witch deserved to die!"
"Magic is evil!"
Richard set his jaw, ignoring the dissenting voices. "Tobias Brogan will pay, but you are as innocent as the Mother Confessor was. You are only guilty of believing his lies. Stand aside and you will be spared. Stand in our way and you will suffer the consequences." The sword started to glow under Richard's grip.
~*~
Taking the angry shouts coming from the front gate as his signal, Darren pulled a big key out of his vest and thrust it into a tiny, natural looking opening in the city wall. The sound of stone scraping over stone seemed overwhelmingly loud to the group of infiltrators, almost drowning out Richard's voice.
"We don't want to hurt you, but we are going to bring Brogan to justice."
Darren motioned his group inside. They silently split into two groups, but before they could part ways, the sound of heavy footsteps came closer. Two of the Mord-Sith slunk into the shadows of a corridor.
The men stared into the darkness. A high-pitched hum was heard, followed by two gurgling sounds. Moments later the Mord-Sith returned, sheathing their agiels.
The commander of the Keltish soldiers gave them a short approving look. "Let's go. We have a battle to fight."
~*~
"Magic must end!"
"Death to the Seeker's evil!"
The shouts grew stronger and more numerous, and a number of red-caped soldiers started running towards Richard with their swords drawn. They stopped in their tracks when Richard's allied forces left the cover of the forest, appearing all around them. Once the initial shock faded, they quickly recovered, continuing their advance in a more cautious and ordered way. Others in the back made moves to retreat behind the imposing walls of Aydindril, only to be stopped by more red-capes pouring out of the city gates.
Richard raised his arm to give the signal to attack when a Mord-Sith left the ranks and walked past him, coming to a stop less than fifty paces from the nearest enemy. As she advanced, the formfitting red leather seemed to melt and change into flowing white fabric. The Mord-Sith's braid loosened, dark hair spilling over her shoulders with one shake of her head.
Zedd stood half hidden behind a tree and raised his hand as soon as the apparition in white opened her mouth, sending out a small wave of magic to amplify her voice.
"I am the Mother Confessor Kahlan Amnell."
The advance stopped completely. The enemy soldiers stood with their mouths agape, too stunned even to whisper. Richard's expression was frozen with shock and confusion. Darken Rahl let out a low whistle to cover his surprise. Cara's face showed open admiration, coupled with the half-smirk she always showed when Kahlan did something particularly gutsy.
~*~
The doors to the council chambers burst open and a red-caped soldier rushed in, face flushed, eyes wide in shock.
"General, General, she's back. She's back," he panted heavily.
Brogan looked up from the platter of freshly cut fruit he had been sampling, visibly annoyed at having been disturbed.
"What are you talking about, man?" he asked, rising threateningly from the Mother Confessor's seat.
"The Mother Confessor. She's back. She's speaking, right in front of the gate."
Brogan's hand reached for his sword as he stormed out of the room.
~*~
Kahlan stood tall in front of the sea of red capes staring at her. "I am the voice of reason, truth and justice in the Midlands. I can not be silenced by a simple axe. And I will be heard."
Silence fell over the disorganized camp of the Blood of the Fold, stretching through the city streets.
"People of Aydindril, what has happened to you?" Kahlan's voice rang out clearly, tinged with sadness. "What was once a community of kind, compassionate people has been torn apart by fear and mistrust."
Windows slowly creaked open, faces peering out in curiosity. A few people even stepped out of their houses, looking around for the source of the voice.
"Take a look around you," Kahlan continued, her voice growing strong with conviction. "Soldiers on every street, neighbors turning on each other, innocents being executed. Children dragged to the dungeons, simply for the crime of being born different from the rest of you. Is this the change you wanted?"
More faces appeared in windows and doorways, some wide-eyed with hope, others darkened by shame.
"How many of you know someone who has been arrested? How many of you live in fear for the safety of your family, your friends? Is this the life without magic you anticipated? Where is the joy and peace you were promised?"
A small child toddled out onto the balcony of one of the nicer houses in Aydindril, and her mother scooped her up, listening intently to Kahlan's words as she clung to her child.
"I know the true heart of the people of the Midlands - of my people - a heart not blinded by irrational fear and lies. You must find this heart again, or suffer under the tyranny of a selfish liar.
~*~
Darren, most of the Resistance fighters and two Mord-Sith walked stealthily through the dimly lit corridors below the Confessor's Palace. They drew steadily closer to the dungeons, dispatching solitary guards along the way before they could raise an alarm.
~*~
A heavy wooden door opened and two red-caped figures stepped out on the ramparts. To their left they could look down on the streets of Aydindril, to their right on the camp of the Blood of the Fold. The men were immediately intercepted by a guard in red pointing his spear at them.
"Watch change, my friend," one of the newcomers offered with a friendly smile.
"You're not part of my unit," the Blood of the Fold soldier replied suspiciously. Before he could say more, an arrow sank into his heart.
"We don't have time for this," a Mord-Sith said, handing her borrowed bow back to a stunned Galean soldier. "The gate has priority."
One of the men looked down aghast at the dead enemy. The other shrugged his shoulders. "She's right, Bryan. There's no time for subtleties, and I'm tired of hiding." He removed the red cape and threw it almost negligently over the dead body, revealing the studded blue uniform of the Home Guard. He picked up the spear and they moved on.
~*~
The red-caped soldiers looked around uneasily. More and more windows had opened and more citizens were standing in the streets, sometimes in groups of two or three, murmuring among each other.
"Open your eyes, people of Aydindril, and you will see that Brogan's promises are empty. Magic is not evil. He is.
Some of the soldiers flocked together in the central square in front of the dais and the blood-stained executioner's block.
Kahlan's voice reached them as strong and clear as if she were standing amongst them.
"Yes, magic can be used for evil. But it is also a powerful force for good," she called out passionately. "Magic can be found in the simplest of things - the changing of the seasons, the birth of a child, the touch of a loved one. A world without magic is a world without life. Life itself is magic."
Brogan stormed onto the balcony looking out onto the central square.
"Fools!" he shouted furiously. "Don't let yourself be blinded by the Keeper's tricks! Attack!"
Galvanized into action by his words, the men formed units and rushed towards the city gates.
~*~
"Take them down! Wipe out the Keeper's evil!"
Brogan voice reached the plain outside of Aydindril almost like an echo but it was enough to propel his people into action, while Brogan himself retreated back into the safety of the Confessors' Palace.
"So be it." Kahlan's face hardened as she raised her arm high. "Army of the Midlands, attack! Show no mercy!"
A throng of men in dark blue armor rushed forward with swords drawn, shouting, "For the Midlands and Kelton!". They were flanked by Resistance fighters shouting, "For the Seeker and freedom!" Both groups quickly formed a protective half-circle around the Mother Confessor, keeping the enemy at bay. Meanwhile Galean archers picked off red-capes from their vantage points in the trees one by one before they got a chance to form a defensive line.
~*~
The group on the ramparts reached the area next to the gate. Two of the Home Guard led most of the Galean archers to the other side, taking aim at the Blood of the Fold's soldiers from behind.
The rest entered through the strong iron-wrought wooden door and spread out. A Resistance fighter pulled locksmith tools out of his pack and started to work on the closing mechanism of the gate.
~*~
Blood of the Fold units stormed out of the gate, only to be met by the swords and arrows of the Mother Confessor's army. The fighting pushed back and forth with the red-capes slowly being forced to give ground.
Cara stepped up next to Kahlan and touched her arm softly. "Nicely played, Mother Confessor. If that didn't set their heads straight, they truly are lost."
Before Kahlan got a chance to respond, Richard rushed over and pulled her in a warm embrace, the awkwardness of the last couple of weeks momentarily forgotten in his relief. He quickly let go of her when Dennee's voice called out from behind him.
"I was with the healers when someone rushed in, proclaiming that the Mother Confessor lived," Dennee said in amazement. "I didn't believe them."
Kahlan smiled, hugging her sister tightly. "It's a long story, Dennee. Zedd or Shota will explain everything when we have time." She pulled back, her eyes meeting those of her companions. "Right now, we have to fight our way into the palace. Brogan needs to be stopped. With him out of the picture, maybe his followers will surrender."
As if to mock her words, shouts rang out over the din created by clashing swords and the cries of dying men, "Get the Mother Confessor! Kill the witch!"
"Impressive entrance, Mother Confessor," Darken Rahl said with a half-smile, coming up from behind, flanked by most of his Mord-Sith. "Let my Mord-Sith carve you a way to the palace. Brogan's men will be too busy fleeing to pay much heed to the woman in white."
"Less boasting, more action, Rahl," Richard growled, drawing the Sword of Truth.
Kahlan was a step behind him, but Cara held her back, pulling the daggers from her belt. "You'll need these," she said, offering them to Kahlan by the hilt.
Cara was rewarded with a bright smile as Kahlan took her weapons, and they both rushed towards the closest cluster of the enemy. Cara's agiels hummed aggressively in her hands as they bypassed a squadron of Keltish swordsmen engaged in one-on-one battles.
~*~
In the bowels of the Confessors' Palace, Resistance Fighters and Keltans were engaged in battle with Blood of the Fold guards. They had met a big contingent of the enemy, obviously on their way to join the battle outside.
~*~
The Galeans on the wall kept picking off red-capes. Their compatriots had left their perches in the trees as soon as the battle lines had begun to blur and shift and had joined the front troops. Wielding short battle axes with half-moon shaped blades on both sides, they hacked down every Blood of the Fold soldier in reach, pulling a small amount of attention from the Mother Confessor and her group.
Darken Rahl gutted an officer with a triumphant sneer, six of his Mord-Sith at his side. Their agiels screeched gleefully with every man sinking to the ground. Rahl lopped off a head, overbalanced and would have been killed by a sword to his back if not for the quick reaction of his faithful Mord-Sith.
To the right of the battlefield, Chase fought at the head of his group of Resistance fighters. He alternately swung his big battle axe and threw knives with eerie precision. Denna was a step behind him, dispatching the enemy with her dagger as naturally as if it were an agiel. Suddenly she saw a crossbow bolt coming straight at Chase. It would have hit him in the eye, but Denna redirected it with her dagger.
The momentum of the bolt took the blade out of her hands. She ducked under the spear thrust of a red-cape, kicked him in the groin and wrestled the weapon out of his hands. She whirled the spear around and rammed it right through his throat. As she pulled the weapon back, the soldier slumping to the ground, she caught Chase's gaze. He gave her an appreciative nod.
~*~
Queen Corah used the key to open her Rada'Han the moment the last rays of sunshine sank behind the western wall of Aydindril. She changed into the Calthrop, towering over the five people standing next to her who had also changed. They made for a fearsome sight: elongated jaws with prominent incisors jutting from their mouths, bodies rippling with muscles, claw-like hands tipped with razor-sharp talons. With a united roar, they stormed forward and joined the fray. Having been warned, their own people and the Resistance gave them a wide berth, but the Blood of the Fold had no idea what they were now up against.
The focus of the battle shifted; even Rahl and his Mord-Sith turned their heads. Kahlan and the others used the momentary distraction to run towards the gate and slip into the city almost completely unchallenged.
Richard turned around to make a head count and found Shota at the other side of Zedd. Zedd was throwing back four Blood of the Fold soldiers with a concussion wave. Anger at her presence flashed over Richard's face, but he quickly shrugged it off and turned to Kahlan. He opened his mouth to ask something but Kahlan was already running in a narrow alley, shouting, "This way, there's a shortcut."
A score of red capes ran at them, screaming. Zedd turned around. Wizard's fire streamed from his hands and engulfed all of them in an inescapable ring of flames. He then moved an abandoned wagon in front of the entrance to the alley to discourage any pursuit and hurried to follow the others.
~*~
Deep inside of the palace, the last of Brogan's men fell dead to the stone floor, giving way for Darren's group to storm into the dungeon proper. Every single one of the numerous cells was occupied, but not only with one prisoner. Up to eight people had been forced into rooms meant to hold one. Women and children, grandparents, some dressed in rags, some in the finest silks.
Keltans and Resistance fighters alike began to open the cells. They pulled waterskins from their backs and offered them to the prisoners.
One of them pulled Darren in strong embrace. "I knew you would come for me."
Darren's carefully schooled expression turned into a bright smile, and he returned the hug heartily. Pulling back slightly, he raised his hand to the cheek of a man with unkempt dark blonde hair and deep brown eyes. "Are you alright?"
The man in Darren's arms smiled, reaching up to cover Darren's hand with his own. "Just a few bruises, my fearless warrior," he said affectionately, before his expression sobered. "But there are others who were not so lucky."
~*~
They reached the central square with the Mother Confessor still in the lead, and the First Wizard bringing up the rear. The gates to the Confessors' Palace were closed, a score and a half of red-capes guarding the entrance. Kahlan and Cara exchanged glances. Dennee took up position on Kahlan's other side, while Richard came up next to Cara. Zedd was next to Richard and Shota at Dennee's side.
They stepped forward as one entity. The guard contingent seemed to freeze in mid-breath.
The Sword of Truth sang hungrily in Richard's hand and his voice rang over the square. "Put down your weapons and run. This is your last chance."
Two red-capes in front drew their swords and stormed towards Richard. Shota quickly reached into a pouch hanging from her belt and flung something at the men that looked like ashes. Her voice rose to a chant. The men instinctively raised their arms to protect their faces, but in vain. The moment the gray powder touched their skin it burst into flame. Shota kept on chanting. A light breeze encircled the two men and moments later nothing but two small piles of ash were left of them. Incensed by their comrades' gruesome death, the other guards attacked.
Kahlan ducked a sword thrust and buried one of her daggers deep in the sword-wielder's gut. She twisted the dagger and sliced his stomach open. One of Cara's agiels swished by her right ear, and a blood-curdling scream ensued. A red-cape sank down on the hard-packed ground, an agiel to his ear.
The Sword of Truth cut through a spear about to pierce Dennee's back, and Richard smoothly dispatched another opponent with a mighty kick.
~*~
The flickering light of dozens of torches illuminated the battlefield outside of Aydindril. The Blood of the Fold had been reduced to various-sized clusters cut off from each other, fighting for survival. A group of Resistance fighters, Keltans and Galeans entered through the city gates.
Queen Corah and her smaller brethren were in the midst of the fighting. Corah had just taken down three red-capes with one sweep of a powerful, plate-sized claw when a Galean axe-man stumbled in her path. One of the smaller Calthrops companions pulled the man out of the way and another redirected Corah's attention back to the Blood of the Fold with a loud roar.
About twenty paces away, Chase and Denna fought together as if they had years of practice, grim expressions on their faces that contrasted with the lively sparkle in their eyes whenever an opponent went down.
~*~
Lunetta sat on a stone bench in the very cell that had not too long ago held the Mother Confessor. Two young red-capes stood guard at the foot of the staircase leading up to the guard room. At the same time fascinated and repulsed, they stared alternately at her or past her. There were four more guards evenly spaced in the relatively small area, all in all just big enough to wield one's weapons without endangering a brother-in-arms. They all were alert but didn't pay Lunetta the open attention their younger comrades did.
A faint sound from the outside reached weakly down in the cell. Lunetta stood and stepped up to the bars in an effort to hear better. One of the young men involuntarily took half a step backwards when she fixed her gaze on him and ended with his back against the cold wall. He exchanged an uneasy glance with his comrade.
The four older guards snapped to attention, instinctively reaching for their weapons. The sounds could now be identified as men fighting and dying.
"Keeper be damned, that's too close to be outside," one of the older guards said. He was tall with broad shoulders and silver strands in his hair. An old scar running along the right side of his face identified him as a veteran soldier.
Lunetta grabbed the floor-to-ceiling bars of her cell, worry clearly written on her face.
"We should be out there," he said, "protecting our general instead of guarding this vile creature."
"General Brogan's orders were clear," one of the younger men said. "The witch is to be guarded at all times."
The sounds of battle got louder and louder, even the fact that they were deep down inside the Confessors' Palace, surrounded by thick, solid stone walls didn't keep out the shouts from outside.
"For the Mother Confessor and the Midlands!"
"Freedom and the Seeker!" rang down to them.
"That's enough," the veteran soldier sneered. "I'm going up there. I'll ram their 'Mother Confessor' shouts so deep down their throats they'll suffocate on them. "
"What about her?" another guard asked, giving Lunetta a wary glance.
"What about her? Even the Mother Confessor didn't escape from this cell. That damned witch can guard herself," one of the younger men said with false bravado.
"I'm with you," the other young man agreed. "Fighting is better than being stared at by those soulless eyes."
One by one the others agreed and they marched off, leaving Lunetta alone in her cell.
Lunetta waited until they had disappeared from view before she held her hand over the lock of her cell door and started a soft chant. With a soft "click", the door swung open. She walked out and grabbed one of the torches down from the wall.
"I'm coming, brother," she murmured under her breath as she cautiously ascended the stairs.
~*~
Close to the gate, Darken Rahl sheathed his sword and ordered the Mord-Sith surrounding him. "Take out the trash, would you?"
A crossbow bolt flew towards him. It passed the outer ring of Mord-Sith. A young Mord-Sith in brown leathers reacted and threw herself in its path. It had been aimed at Rahl's heart; instead, it embedded itself in her throat.
A second bolt followed the first, fired from a different angle. It was intercepted in time, but a red-cape thought dead brought one of the Mord-Sith down and severed her head with an axe before succumbing to the bite of half a dozen agiels.
Cries came from the city.
"Retreat!"
"Close the gates!"
The fighting continued and the gates stayed open. A hail of arrows from the wall flew right into the sea of red-capes trying to fall back into the city.
~*~
The area set aside for the Minders and the other healers who had arrived with the Galean and Keltish forces was illuminated more brightly than the rest of the camp by the reassuring blue glow of dozens of night wisps. They floated among the numerous wounded lying on the hard ground, and the tents already overflowing with the injured, bringing what calm comfort they could. A stretcher was carried in, its occupant transferred to a blanket on the ground.
Kur knelt next to the man, the crossed swords of his coat-of-arms barely visible under the blood coating his leather. Kur put two fingers on one side of his throat. He slowly shook his head and closed the man's eyes gently. He signaled two of the other helpers to carry the body away and turned his attention to the next injured, murmuring sadly under his breath.
~*~
The double doors to the council chambers burst open, propelled by a light concussion wave. Three rows of Blood of the Fold soldiers stood in a half-circle around their general, weapons at the ready.
Tobias Brogan slouched in the seat of the Mother Confessor, barely visible behind the wall of guards. "I've been expecting you." He said in an almost bored voice.
Kahlan looked past the guards and made visual contact with Brogan. Her blue eyes were ice-cold and her voice rumbled dangerously, pronouncing every word like a deadly curse.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Chair."
~*~
The night was now so dark that the torches were less illuminating the scene than they were forming pinpoints of light in an area dominated by shadows. Dahlia and Nicci were fighting next to one of the six-foot torches, just far enough away to avoid being blinded by it. Nicci's dacra swished through the air as Dahlia's agiel whined, simultaneously cutting down the last two of their opponents.
Looking around, they saw Darken Rahl and the other fighters still busy taking down the remaining pockets of the Blood of the Fold. A hail of arrows and crossbow bolts suddenly came out of nowhere, taking the allies by surprise. Moments later, the open plain was illuminated by what seemed like hundreds of torches coming from all sides.
About half a dozen torches headed towards Dahlia and Nicci. For every man carrying a torch, there were two without one. They were fast and appeared well trained. They didn't rush. They didn't talk. They didn't try to taunt them.
Dahlia took a defensive stance, holding her agiel like an extension to her arm. Her opponents fell one by one to her carefully channeled rage, jabbed in the throat, the groin, the inside of a thigh.
Nicci stepped closer to the massive torch and pulled it out of the ground. She swung it towards their attackers, leaving a spray of sparks that landed on the red capes and strands of hair. Some of the sparks died down quickly; other ignited and set the rest of them aflame.
Dahlia and Nicci looked around. Now, the allied forces were the ones between a rock and a hard place. The still fighting clusters of red-capes had taken heart from the sudden arrival of reinforcements, and the allies suddenly found themselves pressed from all sides by what seemed to be a far superior force.
Nicci dragged the corpse of a soldier right over the flames of the only torch left burning and suffocated it. Just candledrops before, the allies had seemed victorious; now it looked as if they were only mere moments away from complete defeat.
The clouds above opened and the moon suddenly shone down on Nicci and Dahlia. A group of ten torch-bearing soldiers detached themselves from the main group and started advancing towards them.
Dahlia looked at Nicci, a thoughtful expression on her face. "You said without the collar, you could defeat them all."
Nicci looked back at her, a curious expression on her face. "Easily."
Dahlia hesitated for a moment, then reached into her corset, pulling out a dark red band. At the end of the band dangled a key. For a moment she just held it. The enemies were only thirty paces away. Dahlia pressed the key into Nicci's palm.
"Then do it."
Nicci didn't waste any time. Almost faster than the eye could see, she brought the key up to her neck. The lock opened with a faint "click", and the collar dropped to the ground with a soft thud.
"I need a couple of minutes." She said curtly.
Dahlia nodded, turning to face the oncoming enemy. Nicci knelt, using her dacra to scratch the first lines of a grace into the ground.
~*~
Back in the reception hall, the first row of General Brogan's guards advanced on Richard and the others. As Kahlan parried the first attack, she spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. Brogan was backing away toward one of the concealed doors.
"Zedd, it's Brogan, stop him!"
Zedd raised his right hand to throw two guards back against four of their comrades, knocking them all to the ground. His left hand shot a wizard's web around Brogan, immediately immobilizing him.
Kahlan advanced steadily, step by step. She didn't even try to confess any of the soldiers; they were either swatted away as if nothing more than a fly, or killed with dispassionate efficiency.
Lunetta slipped in from a side door and froze, hidden in the shadows, watching and waiting. Worry was etched on her face when she saw her brother helplessly struggling against the wizard's web.
Cara's sole focus seemed to be on Kahlan. She had her back and her left flank. Her agiel crushed the windpipe of the closest red-cape. She took his sword from his dying hand and threw it. It passed Kahlan's face with only inches to spare, flew past Dennee's shoulder and embedded itself in the heart of a soldier about to cleave Dennee in two with his battle axe.
Cara turned around and took down another threat to Kahlan, oblivious to the look of stunned appreciation on Dennee's face.
Finally, there were only two guards left; both quickly fell under the triumphant song of the Sword of Truth. A sudden calm fell over the room. Kahlan bent down slowly, her eyes locked on Brogan as she slipped her daggers into her boots.
Brogan laughed, a dry, hysterical laugh. "You think you've won. You're wrong, Mother Confessor. This fight is bigger than any mere man. And the war has only begun."
Cara snorted her disdain, Zedd huffed and Kahlan's already cold smile turned dark and dangerous as she stepped up to the immobilized man. Her gaze burned into his and despite his outer bravado, there was a flicker of fear Tobias Brogan's eyes.
"For you this war ends now, as will your life." Kahlan's voice was cold and succinct as she raised her free hand and closed it around his throat. Her eyes turned black. Her power shot in ripples right into Tobias Brogan, soundless thunder charging the air. His eyes swirled black as well and despite the wizard's web he collapsed to his knees.
"Command me, Confes-"
Suddenly a dagger erupted from his throat, and Tobias slumped to the floor. He was dead.
Kahlan's gaze shot behind Tobias, and the rest of her allies quickly followed. Lunetta had emerged from the shadows in the back of the room, her dress dirty and wrinkled from her stay in the dungeon, her throwing arm still raised high.
She turned to flee, her hand already poised on the door handle, but Zedd raised his hand and sent a concussion wave towards her. Lunetta's head collided heavily with the hardwood door and she sank to the floor, unconscious. Shota walked over, her hands raised defensively. Looking down, she nudged the unconscious woman with her foot, rolling her over onto her back.
"You will live. You have too much to answer for to be granted a merciful death just yet," Shota said with venom in her eyes.
On the other side of the room, Dennee stepped closer to Cara, locking eyes with her. "You saved my life. I owe you one, but don't think that this will make us even."
Cara smirked at Dennee. "I wouldn't dream of it." Then her expression became more serious. "I don't see how we ever could be."
~*~
Tonight, there were no crickets chirping or owls hooting into the forest. Tonight, the only sounds that filled the air were the clashing of steel against steel, the splintering of wood, the cries of people injured or dying, the almost imperceptible crackling of flames. The heavy cloud cover that had been hung over the battlefield through the first part of the night had broken open and now stars were staring down on the still raging battle. As if commanded by a greater force, the moonlight fell right on Nicci standing in the middle of a finished grace.
Only a few paces away, Dahlia was fighting off about a dozen red-caped soldiers. She took the first one down with a hit to his heart, ducked the sword attack of a second, coming back up to ram her agiel in the groin of a third. She took down another with a roundhouse kick to the middle.
Nicci raised her arms towards the sky, still chanting. The air around her rippled violently and suddenly everyone wearing a red cape dropped to the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut.
The men advancing on the two women had also fallen, their torches lying discarded in the grass. Dahlia turned around and found Nicci sprawled over the grace, unconscious. For a long moment, she looked at the Rada'Han lying on the trampled grass.
~*~
The beleaguered allied forces froze and stared down at their enemies. Chase and Denna were the first to bend down and check for life signs. They didn't find any.
One of the Resistance fighters next to Chase raised his sword in triumph and shouted. "Victory!"
Single voices rang out from all over the battlefield. "Long live the Midlands!"
"Creator be praised!"
They were taken up and repeated by dozens of voices, outside and inside of Aydindril, blending into each other in a strange combination of dissonance and harmony.
"Hail the Mother Confessor! Hail the Seeker!"
~*~
In the office of the Mother Confessor, a massive fireplace, stocked with large logs but unlit, took up a considerable part of one wall of the room. On the right side of the fireplace was a set of comfortable chairs and a low table laid out with a variety of food. Zedd sat in one of the chairs and talked quietly to Richard and Dennee, explaining between bites about the death spell he and Shota had performed on Kahlan.
On the other side of the fireplace stood a wooden desk, weathered by hundreds of years of use and littered with papers. The chair behind it looked just uncomfortable enough to want to get out of it after a long day of work. It was empty.
Kahlan stood on the miniscule balcony that looked down on the central square of Aydindril. It was high enough for her to get a glimpse of the ongoing clean-up efforts on the former battlefield, unhindered by the mid-morning sun that was not yet high enough to shine into her eyes. She had changed from the blood-stained white dress into her green traveling outfit, her daggers securely tucked into her boots. Her hair was slightly waving in the breeze.
Kahlan looked as if her thoughts were miles away.
Cara came up next to her; there was just enough room for the two of them on the balcony. She let her hand rest on the small of Kahlan's back and Kahlan turned to her with a smile, leaning into the touch. Their eyes locked, and their heads tilted toward each other as if of their own accord.
The sound of the door opening and closing inside the office made Cara look away. Her eyes wandered to the columns of smoke drifting up from their former camp, where the Minders were still busy treating the injured.
"Looks like the battle has been won," Cara remarked, her hand remaining firmly in place.
Kahlan's gaze followed hers and she sighed. "This battle, at least."
They fell silent again, thoughts racing through their eyes as they continued to survey the landscape.
"What do you think Brogan meant, 'the war has only begun'?" Kahlan asked, dread creeping into her voice.
Cara turned her head to look at Kahlan. Their uneasy expressions said more than a thousand words. Cara let her hand slide from Kahlan's back, slipping into Kahlan's own and squeezing in silent reassurance. Kahlan's lips turned up softly, her eyes shining with gratitude for the simple comfort. As one, they turned back to the others.
~*~
"That is powerful magic, indeed." Richard said with amazement.
Dennee nodded, wide-eyed. "To make everyone believe a person is dead... I thought magic that powerful had died with the wizards of old." Her brow furrowed in confusion as a thought struck her. "How is it that Kahlan could walk into a camp full of people who know her, without being recognized?"
Shota snorted. "It wouldn't be truly powerful magic if it could be broken that easily, now, would it?" she said dryly. "The spell was directed at Kahlan. We used her essence, her belief to give it power. Part of that power was that unless she openly declared her identity, no one would be able to recognize her - no matter how well they knew her."
Kahlan glanced over at Cara and smiled. "Almost no one." Her gaze turned to Zedd. "How did Cara know who I was?"
Zedd smiled back at the two women who were still holding hands, seemingly without being aware of it. "There is only one thing that can overcome a death spell, without that spell being deliberately broken by its subject. Something must have given her hope. Next to love, it's the most powerful force in the world."
Kahlan's smile widened as she glanced at Cara and squeezed her hand. "The night wisps."
Cara cast her eyes downward, a small smile playing at her lips.
"Night wisps?" Dennee asked, surprised. "There were a pair of night wisps close to the infirmary tents. They fluttered around me but they made no sense. They were going on and on about hope and the future looking bright, and at the time it was the last thing I wanted to hear."
Richard gave Dennee a sympathetic smile. "I saw them too," he admitted. He cast a short glance at Cara and Kahlan who were still looking at each other, and took a deep breath.
At that moment, a firm knock sounded on the door to Kahlan's office. Shota moved to open it and Cara took a step forward, her left hand dropping Kahlan's in favor of resting on her agiels. The door opened and Darren entered, now wearing the full regalia of a commander of the Home Guard. Cara relaxed, but only slightly.
"Mother Confessor," he said, clapping a fist over his heart. "Brogan's sorceress has been secured. I left half a dozen of my most trusted men to stand watch over her. Here is the key to her Rada'Han," he finished, holding it out to Kahlan.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Darren," Kahlan said, gently squeezing his hand as she accepted the key. "You've served me well, and I thank you for it. Now, put your duties into the hands of your second. Go and be with your family for the rest of the day."
A broad smile grew on the man's face. He saluted again, turned on his heels and left.
"A wise judgment, sister. Today is for friends and families, a day to celebrate," Dennee said with an encouraging smile, reaching to squeeze Kahlan's left hand. "Tomorrow, we will start anew."
Cara quirked an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. "It won't be that easy," she remarked.
Richard nodded his agreement. "We may have defeated Brogan's army, but to be victorious over his beliefs will be harder. We still have a lot of work to do."
Zedd also smiled. "That we do," he began, looking pointedly at Kahlan, "but at least we are all alive to do it."
*****
The END
~*~
The afternoon sun shone down on Aydindril, city streets still swarming with red-caped soldiers. Others were milling around their camp, cleaning weapons, sitting in front of a fire, dragging one of the camp followers off to a tent; the picture perfect of a victorious army at rest. Even the few guards posted around the camp seemed interested in anything but guarding.
Two red-caped men were standing at the west end of the camp, talking animatedly. They didn't see the group of people sneaking past them, led by Darren and a Keltish commander. The group consisted of four of Darren's men, still wearing the red cape of the Blood of the Fold, a dozen Keltish swordsmen, a score of Galean archers, a dozen Resistance fighters and six Mord-Sith. The Mord-Sith were in the rear, ready to strike but with a small distance between them and the main group. They reached the seemingly impenetrable wall around Aydindril and hunkered down at Darren's signal.
~*~
Richard stood amidst the soldiers of the Midlands, waiting for the last runner to let him know everyone was in position. Denna was leaning against a tree, seemingly unconcerned. Their gazes met and for half a heartbeat insecurity flickered in Denna's eyes.
Chase came out of the tree cover from the direction of their camp and stepped up to Richard. "Emma sends her best. She says, no more spice soup for you if you don't come home in one piece."
Richard tried to give his friend a genuine smile but failed miserably. "I'll do my best, Chase. She should be more concerned with you coming back unharmed." He looked into Chase's eyes. "I have a favor to ask."
"Of course, Richard. I'll stay at your side and have your back."
"No, Chase, that's not it. You and your men are needed to protect Queen Corah's flank. No, I want you to take Denna with you," Richard said.
"Her?" Chase asked incredulously. "You've told me what she's done. How can you allow someone like her to fight on our side?"
"Denna wants to change, Chase. She already has started to change. All she needs is a chance, someone to believe in her, and she's a good fighter. Give her that chance, please."
"Fine," Chase finally said, reluctantly conceding to Richard's obvious conviction. "For you."
Denna rolled her eyes in annoyance at the conversation but she followed Chase without her trademark snarky comment.
~*~
Richard walked through the ranks to the front of the allied army, still mostly hidden behind the tree line. He stepped forward flanked by General Baldwin and a handful of other commanders, his hand resting loosely on the hilt of the Sword of Truth.
"I am Richard Cypher, the Seeker of Truth." His voice rang out over the Blood of the Fold camp and into the city.
Some red-capes scrambled for their weapons, some simply looked up, unimpressed by the few men suddenly facing them.
"We are here to see that justice will be done. General Brogan committed unspeakable crimes against the people of the Midlands, in Ebinissia where he had innocent children, women and elders tortured and killed. Not only that he went further and committed the most heinous crime possible. He murdered the Mother Confessor, the source of good and justice in the Midlands. He murdered the future of the Midlands," Richard said forcefully.
His words were met with scattered shouts from the opposing army.
"The witch deserved to die!"
"Magic is evil!"
Richard set his jaw, ignoring the dissenting voices. "Tobias Brogan will pay, but you are as innocent as the Mother Confessor was. You are only guilty of believing his lies. Stand aside and you will be spared. Stand in our way and you will suffer the consequences." The sword started to glow under Richard's grip.
~*~
Taking the angry shouts coming from the front gate as his signal, Darren pulled a big key out of his vest and thrust it into a tiny, natural looking opening in the city wall. The sound of stone scraping over stone seemed overwhelmingly loud to the group of infiltrators, almost drowning out Richard's voice.
"We don't want to hurt you, but we are going to bring Brogan to justice."
Darren motioned his group inside. They silently split into two groups, but before they could part ways, the sound of heavy footsteps came closer. Two of the Mord-Sith slunk into the shadows of a corridor.
The men stared into the darkness. A high-pitched hum was heard, followed by two gurgling sounds. Moments later the Mord-Sith returned, sheathing their agiels.
The commander of the Keltish soldiers gave them a short approving look. "Let's go. We have a battle to fight."
~*~
"Magic must end!"
"Death to the Seeker's evil!"
The shouts grew stronger and more numerous, and a number of red-caped soldiers started running towards Richard with their swords drawn. They stopped in their tracks when Richard's allied forces left the cover of the forest, appearing all around them. Once the initial shock faded, they quickly recovered, continuing their advance in a more cautious and ordered way. Others in the back made moves to retreat behind the imposing walls of Aydindril, only to be stopped by more red-capes pouring out of the city gates.
Richard raised his arm to give the signal to attack when a Mord-Sith left the ranks and walked past him, coming to a stop less than fifty paces from the nearest enemy. As she advanced, the formfitting red leather seemed to melt and change into flowing white fabric. The Mord-Sith's braid loosened, dark hair spilling over her shoulders with one shake of her head.
Zedd stood half hidden behind a tree and raised his hand as soon as the apparition in white opened her mouth, sending out a small wave of magic to amplify her voice.
"I am the Mother Confessor Kahlan Amnell."
The advance stopped completely. The enemy soldiers stood with their mouths agape, too stunned even to whisper. Richard's expression was frozen with shock and confusion. Darken Rahl let out a low whistle to cover his surprise. Cara's face showed open admiration, coupled with the half-smirk she always showed when Kahlan did something particularly gutsy.
~*~
The doors to the council chambers burst open and a red-caped soldier rushed in, face flushed, eyes wide in shock.
"General, General, she's back. She's back," he panted heavily.
Brogan looked up from the platter of freshly cut fruit he had been sampling, visibly annoyed at having been disturbed.
"What are you talking about, man?" he asked, rising threateningly from the Mother Confessor's seat.
"The Mother Confessor. She's back. She's speaking, right in front of the gate."
Brogan's hand reached for his sword as he stormed out of the room.
~*~
Kahlan stood tall in front of the sea of red capes staring at her. "I am the voice of reason, truth and justice in the Midlands. I can not be silenced by a simple axe. And I will be heard."
Silence fell over the disorganized camp of the Blood of the Fold, stretching through the city streets.
"People of Aydindril, what has happened to you?" Kahlan's voice rang out clearly, tinged with sadness. "What was once a community of kind, compassionate people has been torn apart by fear and mistrust."
Windows slowly creaked open, faces peering out in curiosity. A few people even stepped out of their houses, looking around for the source of the voice.
"Take a look around you," Kahlan continued, her voice growing strong with conviction. "Soldiers on every street, neighbors turning on each other, innocents being executed. Children dragged to the dungeons, simply for the crime of being born different from the rest of you. Is this the change you wanted?"
More faces appeared in windows and doorways, some wide-eyed with hope, others darkened by shame.
"How many of you know someone who has been arrested? How many of you live in fear for the safety of your family, your friends? Is this the life without magic you anticipated? Where is the joy and peace you were promised?"
A small child toddled out onto the balcony of one of the nicer houses in Aydindril, and her mother scooped her up, listening intently to Kahlan's words as she clung to her child.
"I know the true heart of the people of the Midlands - of my people - a heart not blinded by irrational fear and lies. You must find this heart again, or suffer under the tyranny of a selfish liar.
~*~
Darren, most of the Resistance fighters and two Mord-Sith walked stealthily through the dimly lit corridors below the Confessor's Palace. They drew steadily closer to the dungeons, dispatching solitary guards along the way before they could raise an alarm.
~*~
A heavy wooden door opened and two red-caped figures stepped out on the ramparts. To their left they could look down on the streets of Aydindril, to their right on the camp of the Blood of the Fold. The men were immediately intercepted by a guard in red pointing his spear at them.
"Watch change, my friend," one of the newcomers offered with a friendly smile.
"You're not part of my unit," the Blood of the Fold soldier replied suspiciously. Before he could say more, an arrow sank into his heart.
"We don't have time for this," a Mord-Sith said, handing her borrowed bow back to a stunned Galean soldier. "The gate has priority."
One of the men looked down aghast at the dead enemy. The other shrugged his shoulders. "She's right, Bryan. There's no time for subtleties, and I'm tired of hiding." He removed the red cape and threw it almost negligently over the dead body, revealing the studded blue uniform of the Home Guard. He picked up the spear and they moved on.
~*~
The red-caped soldiers looked around uneasily. More and more windows had opened and more citizens were standing in the streets, sometimes in groups of two or three, murmuring among each other.
"Open your eyes, people of Aydindril, and you will see that Brogan's promises are empty. Magic is not evil. He is.
Some of the soldiers flocked together in the central square in front of the dais and the blood-stained executioner's block.
Kahlan's voice reached them as strong and clear as if she were standing amongst them.
"Yes, magic can be used for evil. But it is also a powerful force for good," she called out passionately. "Magic can be found in the simplest of things - the changing of the seasons, the birth of a child, the touch of a loved one. A world without magic is a world without life. Life itself is magic."
Brogan stormed onto the balcony looking out onto the central square.
"Fools!" he shouted furiously. "Don't let yourself be blinded by the Keeper's tricks! Attack!"
Galvanized into action by his words, the men formed units and rushed towards the city gates.
~*~
"Take them down! Wipe out the Keeper's evil!"
Brogan voice reached the plain outside of Aydindril almost like an echo but it was enough to propel his people into action, while Brogan himself retreated back into the safety of the Confessors' Palace.
"So be it." Kahlan's face hardened as she raised her arm high. "Army of the Midlands, attack! Show no mercy!"
A throng of men in dark blue armor rushed forward with swords drawn, shouting, "For the Midlands and Kelton!". They were flanked by Resistance fighters shouting, "For the Seeker and freedom!" Both groups quickly formed a protective half-circle around the Mother Confessor, keeping the enemy at bay. Meanwhile Galean archers picked off red-capes from their vantage points in the trees one by one before they got a chance to form a defensive line.
~*~
The group on the ramparts reached the area next to the gate. Two of the Home Guard led most of the Galean archers to the other side, taking aim at the Blood of the Fold's soldiers from behind.
The rest entered through the strong iron-wrought wooden door and spread out. A Resistance fighter pulled locksmith tools out of his pack and started to work on the closing mechanism of the gate.
~*~
Blood of the Fold units stormed out of the gate, only to be met by the swords and arrows of the Mother Confessor's army. The fighting pushed back and forth with the red-capes slowly being forced to give ground.
Cara stepped up next to Kahlan and touched her arm softly. "Nicely played, Mother Confessor. If that didn't set their heads straight, they truly are lost."
Before Kahlan got a chance to respond, Richard rushed over and pulled her in a warm embrace, the awkwardness of the last couple of weeks momentarily forgotten in his relief. He quickly let go of her when Dennee's voice called out from behind him.
"I was with the healers when someone rushed in, proclaiming that the Mother Confessor lived," Dennee said in amazement. "I didn't believe them."
Kahlan smiled, hugging her sister tightly. "It's a long story, Dennee. Zedd or Shota will explain everything when we have time." She pulled back, her eyes meeting those of her companions. "Right now, we have to fight our way into the palace. Brogan needs to be stopped. With him out of the picture, maybe his followers will surrender."
As if to mock her words, shouts rang out over the din created by clashing swords and the cries of dying men, "Get the Mother Confessor! Kill the witch!"
"Impressive entrance, Mother Confessor," Darken Rahl said with a half-smile, coming up from behind, flanked by most of his Mord-Sith. "Let my Mord-Sith carve you a way to the palace. Brogan's men will be too busy fleeing to pay much heed to the woman in white."
"Less boasting, more action, Rahl," Richard growled, drawing the Sword of Truth.
Kahlan was a step behind him, but Cara held her back, pulling the daggers from her belt. "You'll need these," she said, offering them to Kahlan by the hilt.
Cara was rewarded with a bright smile as Kahlan took her weapons, and they both rushed towards the closest cluster of the enemy. Cara's agiels hummed aggressively in her hands as they bypassed a squadron of Keltish swordsmen engaged in one-on-one battles.
~*~
In the bowels of the Confessors' Palace, Resistance Fighters and Keltans were engaged in battle with Blood of the Fold guards. They had met a big contingent of the enemy, obviously on their way to join the battle outside.
~*~
The Galeans on the wall kept picking off red-capes. Their compatriots had left their perches in the trees as soon as the battle lines had begun to blur and shift and had joined the front troops. Wielding short battle axes with half-moon shaped blades on both sides, they hacked down every Blood of the Fold soldier in reach, pulling a small amount of attention from the Mother Confessor and her group.
Darken Rahl gutted an officer with a triumphant sneer, six of his Mord-Sith at his side. Their agiels screeched gleefully with every man sinking to the ground. Rahl lopped off a head, overbalanced and would have been killed by a sword to his back if not for the quick reaction of his faithful Mord-Sith.
To the right of the battlefield, Chase fought at the head of his group of Resistance fighters. He alternately swung his big battle axe and threw knives with eerie precision. Denna was a step behind him, dispatching the enemy with her dagger as naturally as if it were an agiel. Suddenly she saw a crossbow bolt coming straight at Chase. It would have hit him in the eye, but Denna redirected it with her dagger.
The momentum of the bolt took the blade out of her hands. She ducked under the spear thrust of a red-cape, kicked him in the groin and wrestled the weapon out of his hands. She whirled the spear around and rammed it right through his throat. As she pulled the weapon back, the soldier slumping to the ground, she caught Chase's gaze. He gave her an appreciative nod.
~*~
Queen Corah used the key to open her Rada'Han the moment the last rays of sunshine sank behind the western wall of Aydindril. She changed into the Calthrop, towering over the five people standing next to her who had also changed. They made for a fearsome sight: elongated jaws with prominent incisors jutting from their mouths, bodies rippling with muscles, claw-like hands tipped with razor-sharp talons. With a united roar, they stormed forward and joined the fray. Having been warned, their own people and the Resistance gave them a wide berth, but the Blood of the Fold had no idea what they were now up against.
The focus of the battle shifted; even Rahl and his Mord-Sith turned their heads. Kahlan and the others used the momentary distraction to run towards the gate and slip into the city almost completely unchallenged.
Richard turned around to make a head count and found Shota at the other side of Zedd. Zedd was throwing back four Blood of the Fold soldiers with a concussion wave. Anger at her presence flashed over Richard's face, but he quickly shrugged it off and turned to Kahlan. He opened his mouth to ask something but Kahlan was already running in a narrow alley, shouting, "This way, there's a shortcut."
A score of red capes ran at them, screaming. Zedd turned around. Wizard's fire streamed from his hands and engulfed all of them in an inescapable ring of flames. He then moved an abandoned wagon in front of the entrance to the alley to discourage any pursuit and hurried to follow the others.
~*~
Deep inside of the palace, the last of Brogan's men fell dead to the stone floor, giving way for Darren's group to storm into the dungeon proper. Every single one of the numerous cells was occupied, but not only with one prisoner. Up to eight people had been forced into rooms meant to hold one. Women and children, grandparents, some dressed in rags, some in the finest silks.
Keltans and Resistance fighters alike began to open the cells. They pulled waterskins from their backs and offered them to the prisoners.
One of them pulled Darren in strong embrace. "I knew you would come for me."
Darren's carefully schooled expression turned into a bright smile, and he returned the hug heartily. Pulling back slightly, he raised his hand to the cheek of a man with unkempt dark blonde hair and deep brown eyes. "Are you alright?"
The man in Darren's arms smiled, reaching up to cover Darren's hand with his own. "Just a few bruises, my fearless warrior," he said affectionately, before his expression sobered. "But there are others who were not so lucky."
~*~
They reached the central square with the Mother Confessor still in the lead, and the First Wizard bringing up the rear. The gates to the Confessors' Palace were closed, a score and a half of red-capes guarding the entrance. Kahlan and Cara exchanged glances. Dennee took up position on Kahlan's other side, while Richard came up next to Cara. Zedd was next to Richard and Shota at Dennee's side.
They stepped forward as one entity. The guard contingent seemed to freeze in mid-breath.
The Sword of Truth sang hungrily in Richard's hand and his voice rang over the square. "Put down your weapons and run. This is your last chance."
Two red-capes in front drew their swords and stormed towards Richard. Shota quickly reached into a pouch hanging from her belt and flung something at the men that looked like ashes. Her voice rose to a chant. The men instinctively raised their arms to protect their faces, but in vain. The moment the gray powder touched their skin it burst into flame. Shota kept on chanting. A light breeze encircled the two men and moments later nothing but two small piles of ash were left of them. Incensed by their comrades' gruesome death, the other guards attacked.
Kahlan ducked a sword thrust and buried one of her daggers deep in the sword-wielder's gut. She twisted the dagger and sliced his stomach open. One of Cara's agiels swished by her right ear, and a blood-curdling scream ensued. A red-cape sank down on the hard-packed ground, an agiel to his ear.
The Sword of Truth cut through a spear about to pierce Dennee's back, and Richard smoothly dispatched another opponent with a mighty kick.
~*~
The flickering light of dozens of torches illuminated the battlefield outside of Aydindril. The Blood of the Fold had been reduced to various-sized clusters cut off from each other, fighting for survival. A group of Resistance fighters, Keltans and Galeans entered through the city gates.
Queen Corah and her smaller brethren were in the midst of the fighting. Corah had just taken down three red-capes with one sweep of a powerful, plate-sized claw when a Galean axe-man stumbled in her path. One of the smaller Calthrops companions pulled the man out of the way and another redirected Corah's attention back to the Blood of the Fold with a loud roar.
About twenty paces away, Chase and Denna fought together as if they had years of practice, grim expressions on their faces that contrasted with the lively sparkle in their eyes whenever an opponent went down.
~*~
Lunetta sat on a stone bench in the very cell that had not too long ago held the Mother Confessor. Two young red-capes stood guard at the foot of the staircase leading up to the guard room. At the same time fascinated and repulsed, they stared alternately at her or past her. There were four more guards evenly spaced in the relatively small area, all in all just big enough to wield one's weapons without endangering a brother-in-arms. They all were alert but didn't pay Lunetta the open attention their younger comrades did.
A faint sound from the outside reached weakly down in the cell. Lunetta stood and stepped up to the bars in an effort to hear better. One of the young men involuntarily took half a step backwards when she fixed her gaze on him and ended with his back against the cold wall. He exchanged an uneasy glance with his comrade.
The four older guards snapped to attention, instinctively reaching for their weapons. The sounds could now be identified as men fighting and dying.
"Keeper be damned, that's too close to be outside," one of the older guards said. He was tall with broad shoulders and silver strands in his hair. An old scar running along the right side of his face identified him as a veteran soldier.
Lunetta grabbed the floor-to-ceiling bars of her cell, worry clearly written on her face.
"We should be out there," he said, "protecting our general instead of guarding this vile creature."
"General Brogan's orders were clear," one of the younger men said. "The witch is to be guarded at all times."
The sounds of battle got louder and louder, even the fact that they were deep down inside the Confessors' Palace, surrounded by thick, solid stone walls didn't keep out the shouts from outside.
"For the Mother Confessor and the Midlands!"
"Freedom and the Seeker!" rang down to them.
"That's enough," the veteran soldier sneered. "I'm going up there. I'll ram their 'Mother Confessor' shouts so deep down their throats they'll suffocate on them. "
"What about her?" another guard asked, giving Lunetta a wary glance.
"What about her? Even the Mother Confessor didn't escape from this cell. That damned witch can guard herself," one of the younger men said with false bravado.
"I'm with you," the other young man agreed. "Fighting is better than being stared at by those soulless eyes."
One by one the others agreed and they marched off, leaving Lunetta alone in her cell.
Lunetta waited until they had disappeared from view before she held her hand over the lock of her cell door and started a soft chant. With a soft "click", the door swung open. She walked out and grabbed one of the torches down from the wall.
"I'm coming, brother," she murmured under her breath as she cautiously ascended the stairs.
~*~
Close to the gate, Darken Rahl sheathed his sword and ordered the Mord-Sith surrounding him. "Take out the trash, would you?"
A crossbow bolt flew towards him. It passed the outer ring of Mord-Sith. A young Mord-Sith in brown leathers reacted and threw herself in its path. It had been aimed at Rahl's heart; instead, it embedded itself in her throat.
A second bolt followed the first, fired from a different angle. It was intercepted in time, but a red-cape thought dead brought one of the Mord-Sith down and severed her head with an axe before succumbing to the bite of half a dozen agiels.
Cries came from the city.
"Retreat!"
"Close the gates!"
The fighting continued and the gates stayed open. A hail of arrows from the wall flew right into the sea of red-capes trying to fall back into the city.
~*~
The area set aside for the Minders and the other healers who had arrived with the Galean and Keltish forces was illuminated more brightly than the rest of the camp by the reassuring blue glow of dozens of night wisps. They floated among the numerous wounded lying on the hard ground, and the tents already overflowing with the injured, bringing what calm comfort they could. A stretcher was carried in, its occupant transferred to a blanket on the ground.
Kur knelt next to the man, the crossed swords of his coat-of-arms barely visible under the blood coating his leather. Kur put two fingers on one side of his throat. He slowly shook his head and closed the man's eyes gently. He signaled two of the other helpers to carry the body away and turned his attention to the next injured, murmuring sadly under his breath.
~*~
The double doors to the council chambers burst open, propelled by a light concussion wave. Three rows of Blood of the Fold soldiers stood in a half-circle around their general, weapons at the ready.
Tobias Brogan slouched in the seat of the Mother Confessor, barely visible behind the wall of guards. "I've been expecting you." He said in an almost bored voice.
Kahlan looked past the guards and made visual contact with Brogan. Her blue eyes were ice-cold and her voice rumbled dangerously, pronouncing every word like a deadly curse.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Chair."
~*~
The night was now so dark that the torches were less illuminating the scene than they were forming pinpoints of light in an area dominated by shadows. Dahlia and Nicci were fighting next to one of the six-foot torches, just far enough away to avoid being blinded by it. Nicci's dacra swished through the air as Dahlia's agiel whined, simultaneously cutting down the last two of their opponents.
Looking around, they saw Darken Rahl and the other fighters still busy taking down the remaining pockets of the Blood of the Fold. A hail of arrows and crossbow bolts suddenly came out of nowhere, taking the allies by surprise. Moments later, the open plain was illuminated by what seemed like hundreds of torches coming from all sides.
About half a dozen torches headed towards Dahlia and Nicci. For every man carrying a torch, there were two without one. They were fast and appeared well trained. They didn't rush. They didn't talk. They didn't try to taunt them.
Dahlia took a defensive stance, holding her agiel like an extension to her arm. Her opponents fell one by one to her carefully channeled rage, jabbed in the throat, the groin, the inside of a thigh.
Nicci stepped closer to the massive torch and pulled it out of the ground. She swung it towards their attackers, leaving a spray of sparks that landed on the red capes and strands of hair. Some of the sparks died down quickly; other ignited and set the rest of them aflame.
Dahlia and Nicci looked around. Now, the allied forces were the ones between a rock and a hard place. The still fighting clusters of red-capes had taken heart from the sudden arrival of reinforcements, and the allies suddenly found themselves pressed from all sides by what seemed to be a far superior force.
Nicci dragged the corpse of a soldier right over the flames of the only torch left burning and suffocated it. Just candledrops before, the allies had seemed victorious; now it looked as if they were only mere moments away from complete defeat.
The clouds above opened and the moon suddenly shone down on Nicci and Dahlia. A group of ten torch-bearing soldiers detached themselves from the main group and started advancing towards them.
Dahlia looked at Nicci, a thoughtful expression on her face. "You said without the collar, you could defeat them all."
Nicci looked back at her, a curious expression on her face. "Easily."
Dahlia hesitated for a moment, then reached into her corset, pulling out a dark red band. At the end of the band dangled a key. For a moment she just held it. The enemies were only thirty paces away. Dahlia pressed the key into Nicci's palm.
"Then do it."
Nicci didn't waste any time. Almost faster than the eye could see, she brought the key up to her neck. The lock opened with a faint "click", and the collar dropped to the ground with a soft thud.
"I need a couple of minutes." She said curtly.
Dahlia nodded, turning to face the oncoming enemy. Nicci knelt, using her dacra to scratch the first lines of a grace into the ground.
~*~
Back in the reception hall, the first row of General Brogan's guards advanced on Richard and the others. As Kahlan parried the first attack, she spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. Brogan was backing away toward one of the concealed doors.
"Zedd, it's Brogan, stop him!"
Zedd raised his right hand to throw two guards back against four of their comrades, knocking them all to the ground. His left hand shot a wizard's web around Brogan, immediately immobilizing him.
Kahlan advanced steadily, step by step. She didn't even try to confess any of the soldiers; they were either swatted away as if nothing more than a fly, or killed with dispassionate efficiency.
Lunetta slipped in from a side door and froze, hidden in the shadows, watching and waiting. Worry was etched on her face when she saw her brother helplessly struggling against the wizard's web.
Cara's sole focus seemed to be on Kahlan. She had her back and her left flank. Her agiel crushed the windpipe of the closest red-cape. She took his sword from his dying hand and threw it. It passed Kahlan's face with only inches to spare, flew past Dennee's shoulder and embedded itself in the heart of a soldier about to cleave Dennee in two with his battle axe.
Cara turned around and took down another threat to Kahlan, oblivious to the look of stunned appreciation on Dennee's face.
Finally, there were only two guards left; both quickly fell under the triumphant song of the Sword of Truth. A sudden calm fell over the room. Kahlan bent down slowly, her eyes locked on Brogan as she slipped her daggers into her boots.
Brogan laughed, a dry, hysterical laugh. "You think you've won. You're wrong, Mother Confessor. This fight is bigger than any mere man. And the war has only begun."
Cara snorted her disdain, Zedd huffed and Kahlan's already cold smile turned dark and dangerous as she stepped up to the immobilized man. Her gaze burned into his and despite his outer bravado, there was a flicker of fear Tobias Brogan's eyes.
"For you this war ends now, as will your life." Kahlan's voice was cold and succinct as she raised her free hand and closed it around his throat. Her eyes turned black. Her power shot in ripples right into Tobias Brogan, soundless thunder charging the air. His eyes swirled black as well and despite the wizard's web he collapsed to his knees.
"Command me, Confes-"
Suddenly a dagger erupted from his throat, and Tobias slumped to the floor. He was dead.
Kahlan's gaze shot behind Tobias, and the rest of her allies quickly followed. Lunetta had emerged from the shadows in the back of the room, her dress dirty and wrinkled from her stay in the dungeon, her throwing arm still raised high.
She turned to flee, her hand already poised on the door handle, but Zedd raised his hand and sent a concussion wave towards her. Lunetta's head collided heavily with the hardwood door and she sank to the floor, unconscious. Shota walked over, her hands raised defensively. Looking down, she nudged the unconscious woman with her foot, rolling her over onto her back.
"You will live. You have too much to answer for to be granted a merciful death just yet," Shota said with venom in her eyes.
On the other side of the room, Dennee stepped closer to Cara, locking eyes with her. "You saved my life. I owe you one, but don't think that this will make us even."
Cara smirked at Dennee. "I wouldn't dream of it." Then her expression became more serious. "I don't see how we ever could be."
~*~
Tonight, there were no crickets chirping or owls hooting into the forest. Tonight, the only sounds that filled the air were the clashing of steel against steel, the splintering of wood, the cries of people injured or dying, the almost imperceptible crackling of flames. The heavy cloud cover that had been hung over the battlefield through the first part of the night had broken open and now stars were staring down on the still raging battle. As if commanded by a greater force, the moonlight fell right on Nicci standing in the middle of a finished grace.
Only a few paces away, Dahlia was fighting off about a dozen red-caped soldiers. She took the first one down with a hit to his heart, ducked the sword attack of a second, coming back up to ram her agiel in the groin of a third. She took down another with a roundhouse kick to the middle.
Nicci raised her arms towards the sky, still chanting. The air around her rippled violently and suddenly everyone wearing a red cape dropped to the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut.
The men advancing on the two women had also fallen, their torches lying discarded in the grass. Dahlia turned around and found Nicci sprawled over the grace, unconscious. For a long moment, she looked at the Rada'Han lying on the trampled grass.
~*~
The beleaguered allied forces froze and stared down at their enemies. Chase and Denna were the first to bend down and check for life signs. They didn't find any.
One of the Resistance fighters next to Chase raised his sword in triumph and shouted. "Victory!"
Single voices rang out from all over the battlefield. "Long live the Midlands!"
"Creator be praised!"
They were taken up and repeated by dozens of voices, outside and inside of Aydindril, blending into each other in a strange combination of dissonance and harmony.
"Hail the Mother Confessor! Hail the Seeker!"
~*~
In the office of the Mother Confessor, a massive fireplace, stocked with large logs but unlit, took up a considerable part of one wall of the room. On the right side of the fireplace was a set of comfortable chairs and a low table laid out with a variety of food. Zedd sat in one of the chairs and talked quietly to Richard and Dennee, explaining between bites about the death spell he and Shota had performed on Kahlan.
On the other side of the fireplace stood a wooden desk, weathered by hundreds of years of use and littered with papers. The chair behind it looked just uncomfortable enough to want to get out of it after a long day of work. It was empty.
Kahlan stood on the miniscule balcony that looked down on the central square of Aydindril. It was high enough for her to get a glimpse of the ongoing clean-up efforts on the former battlefield, unhindered by the mid-morning sun that was not yet high enough to shine into her eyes. She had changed from the blood-stained white dress into her green traveling outfit, her daggers securely tucked into her boots. Her hair was slightly waving in the breeze.
Kahlan looked as if her thoughts were miles away.
Cara came up next to her; there was just enough room for the two of them on the balcony. She let her hand rest on the small of Kahlan's back and Kahlan turned to her with a smile, leaning into the touch. Their eyes locked, and their heads tilted toward each other as if of their own accord.
The sound of the door opening and closing inside the office made Cara look away. Her eyes wandered to the columns of smoke drifting up from their former camp, where the Minders were still busy treating the injured.
"Looks like the battle has been won," Cara remarked, her hand remaining firmly in place.
Kahlan's gaze followed hers and she sighed. "This battle, at least."
They fell silent again, thoughts racing through their eyes as they continued to survey the landscape.
"What do you think Brogan meant, 'the war has only begun'?" Kahlan asked, dread creeping into her voice.
Cara turned her head to look at Kahlan. Their uneasy expressions said more than a thousand words. Cara let her hand slide from Kahlan's back, slipping into Kahlan's own and squeezing in silent reassurance. Kahlan's lips turned up softly, her eyes shining with gratitude for the simple comfort. As one, they turned back to the others.
~*~
"That is powerful magic, indeed." Richard said with amazement.
Dennee nodded, wide-eyed. "To make everyone believe a person is dead... I thought magic that powerful had died with the wizards of old." Her brow furrowed in confusion as a thought struck her. "How is it that Kahlan could walk into a camp full of people who know her, without being recognized?"
Shota snorted. "It wouldn't be truly powerful magic if it could be broken that easily, now, would it?" she said dryly. "The spell was directed at Kahlan. We used her essence, her belief to give it power. Part of that power was that unless she openly declared her identity, no one would be able to recognize her - no matter how well they knew her."
Kahlan glanced over at Cara and smiled. "Almost no one." Her gaze turned to Zedd. "How did Cara know who I was?"
Zedd smiled back at the two women who were still holding hands, seemingly without being aware of it. "There is only one thing that can overcome a death spell, without that spell being deliberately broken by its subject. Something must have given her hope. Next to love, it's the most powerful force in the world."
Kahlan's smile widened as she glanced at Cara and squeezed her hand. "The night wisps."
Cara cast her eyes downward, a small smile playing at her lips.
"Night wisps?" Dennee asked, surprised. "There were a pair of night wisps close to the infirmary tents. They fluttered around me but they made no sense. They were going on and on about hope and the future looking bright, and at the time it was the last thing I wanted to hear."
Richard gave Dennee a sympathetic smile. "I saw them too," he admitted. He cast a short glance at Cara and Kahlan who were still looking at each other, and took a deep breath.
At that moment, a firm knock sounded on the door to Kahlan's office. Shota moved to open it and Cara took a step forward, her left hand dropping Kahlan's in favor of resting on her agiels. The door opened and Darren entered, now wearing the full regalia of a commander of the Home Guard. Cara relaxed, but only slightly.
"Mother Confessor," he said, clapping a fist over his heart. "Brogan's sorceress has been secured. I left half a dozen of my most trusted men to stand watch over her. Here is the key to her Rada'Han," he finished, holding it out to Kahlan.
"Thank you, Lieutenant Darren," Kahlan said, gently squeezing his hand as she accepted the key. "You've served me well, and I thank you for it. Now, put your duties into the hands of your second. Go and be with your family for the rest of the day."
A broad smile grew on the man's face. He saluted again, turned on his heels and left.
"A wise judgment, sister. Today is for friends and families, a day to celebrate," Dennee said with an encouraging smile, reaching to squeeze Kahlan's left hand. "Tomorrow, we will start anew."
Cara quirked an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. "It won't be that easy," she remarked.
Richard nodded his agreement. "We may have defeated Brogan's army, but to be victorious over his beliefs will be harder. We still have a lot of work to do."
Zedd also smiled. "That we do," he began, looking pointedly at Kahlan, "but at least we are all alive to do it."
*****
The END