The Auric Insignia Read online

  - Some weather we are having.

  - If you mean shitty, then yeah, I agree.

  - I admit, I prefer a sunny day myself as well, everything just seems so, alive. Granted, if we didn’t have rain once in a while, none of us would be here, alive.

  - Balance, right?

  - Right.

  They were standing in the only room, where a table, covered in dirt and dust after many years of neglect, dominated the center space. The remains of a decaying bed, made of a more feeble wood than what had been sued to craft the table, lay in the corner, fading blankets hinting at their former brilliance.

  - He was a poor man, too weak of body to sustain both himself and his wife, let alone a possible child. Those were different times, fear and superstition was more prevalent, opening up opportunities for those who couldn’t afford to decline.

  - So he became a guard? positioned at the edge of evil, as he knew it.

  - A felicitous summation. He and his wife moved here and in return, the townspeople of Brightseed payed him a monthly fee. Being prone to stand on the platform from earlier, as a way to clear my head, it was only a matter of time before I saw the pillar of smoke rising from this peak.

  Plista walked around the table, the top reaching his shoulders, making it look like they were standing in the house of a giant, even though Roarke noted he had had to duck in order to clear the doorway. Plista’s armored complexion made it hard to see his feelings but Roarke felt a sadness emanating from the Kappa standing across the table from him.

  - Balance does not always seem fair, it is not kind, but nor is it evil, but, it is what I have sworn to uphold.

  - Still, sometimes life just sucks.

  - Brusque and veracious words.

  - Should we be going? We don’t want to get too far behind.

  - You are right. Goodbye Brown, I go, in hopes of fulfilling our dream of a better world, for us and more importantly, for all of those to come.

  Roarke followed in silence behind Plista as they walked outside, only to be greeted by the full force of the elements.

  - Thank you Roarke, for sharing this brief moment with me.

  Roarke bowed his head in response and the small figure left him, walking off the edge, only to slowly, hovering, descend to the winding road below them. Roarke stood quiet until Stari came gliding down from wherever she had been waiting. Seeing his solemn visage, she swallowed the jeer she had prepared and they descended in reticence as well.

  ***

  The master’s will is my command

  She sat in silence. High stone walls surrounded her, decorated with tapestries in black and green that were a far cry from the log cabins of her hometown. The room lacked windows and instead got its light from lamps burning gas, situated in rows on the walls. The gas that was processed and harvested in the nearby swamps, gave off a pungent odor that intensified when burned, filling and dominating the room with its presence. The smell was not something one got used to, she had smelled shit, rotten flesh and spoiled fish, all smells that, in time, was filtered out, lessening their impact. This stench refused to be ignored, continually attacking the senses, sticking her eyes and burning her throat on the way down.

  Steps echoed down the corridor leading off from the room, stopping before the black lacquered door that stood between them. The large bronze handle dipped and the heavy door slowly creaked open to reveal a slender shape standing in its place. A scrawny man in his fifties, lacking both ears and the better part of nose, giving him a ghoulish appearance that would have shocked her at a different time in her life, but that now didn’t faze her at all.

  - My lady, the lord will see you now.

  She rose without a word and followed the man back the way he had come. The walls were filled with the mounted heads of animals, eerily lit by the burning lights placed in between. All the heads came in pairs of two, one male and one female, without fault. She walked passed animals of every kind, small and large, prey and predator alike. They moved at a slow pace, the man struggling, probably with an old injury that had not healed correctly, impeding on his stride and tempo. They kept walking on beneath the ever watching eyes of the dead above, coming up on a big door, bigger than the one they had entered the hallway through. Above the door there were four mounted heads, the heads of two cruel looking dogs, frozen in a ferocious snarl, and above them were the heads of two humans. Dead eyes positioned to look down upon any who entered through the door underneath their final resting place. Stiff muscles and taut skin gave an unsettling feel to their empty expressions, pale due to the lack of blood.

  She didn’t know who they were, or rather who they had been, but it was inconsequential. What mattered was what they symbolized and embodied.

  - Wait here, my lady.

  The malnourished man opened the black door just enough for him to vanish inside, closing it again after himself, leaving her alone. He returned after a short while, opening the door and gesturing for her to enter. Once he had let her in, the servant bowed, only to leave behind her, on some unsaid command, closing the massive door with a final clang as the metal components fell into place. Silence ensued, not knowing if she should continue onwards or wait for further commands. Standing by a large window, looking out over the marshes that stretched on for miles and miles, was the one she had traveled to see. He was roughly the size of a full grown man even though he was far from human. Hiding his trim, sand colored fur, was a snug shirt in oil black, that in turn was covered by silk vest, dyed a dark, plum purple. Where once there had been a tail, only a stump remained, barely visible under a pair of dark pants. Covering his feet were a pair of boots, oddly shaped to accommodate the elongated paws they encased.

  - Marielle, Marielle.....

  His voice danced in treble, telling of the broken psyche within.

  - My servants tell me you entered the town alone.

  - Yes, my lord.

  - Well that wasn’t your mission though, was it!?

  His outburst reverberated before dying out, fading into the surrounding stone walls.

  - No.

  - No, what!?

  - No, lord.

  He whipped around, spasming and jerking, madness in his eyes. His ears, or what was left of them, twitched back and forth, making his scarred face a frightening sight.

  - What was your mission?

  - Gota said....

  His face erupted into an expression of anger and utter blind devotion. He launched himself at her, grabbing her and pushing her up against the wall. His big mouth right next to her face, putrid breath spilling out from the rotten human teeth, unnaturally inserted in place of his normal ones.

  - You are not worthy to speak the master’s name, no one is!!

  - I..

  - The master!

  He twitched again and released her to the floor, his madness once again submerged, if ever so slightly.

  - What was your mission?

  - The master asked me to.....

  - Gave you the privilege!

  -..To monitor the northern outskirts and catch the Kappa threatening our borders.

  - Yes, and how did that go?

  - I failed, the one I was hunting managed to escape back through the Blackhorn pass, taking a human with them.

  - What!?

  - A human, Roarke is his name, has vanished, his cabin north of the village stands abandoned.

  Her host started walking back and forth, shaking and talking to himself.

  - The master was right, and why wouldn’t the master be, stupid...!? The master knew it would come to this, the master knows all. The master knows best, oh yes, the master knows best!

  - Lord, what would you have me do?

  Freezing in his step, standing in front of the window once again, he broke the silence with a laugh. A maniacal laugh, fueled by the unflinching conviction of a madman. A laugh that, bundled with the pale light shining down on the marshes, painted him like a demon sprung to life from a nightmare.

  - The master’s order
was very clear, this is a trial, yes, a trial, yes. A trial of Racka’s loyalty and Racka won’t fail, the master’s most loyal!

  Marielle waited for the order to come, directive wrapped in a cloak of mania and dementia.

  - Kill them.

  - I’m sorry, my lord, kill who?

  - All of them! Go to Brightseed and kill them all! Let this thankless wretch be met with carnage, let this traitor of a human be met by the torn mangled bodies of everyone he has ever known! Break bones, tear flesh and tendons, impale their heads and mutilate their genitals! Rape and murder, slaughter the people of Brightseed and then, then put the houses to the torch. Show this Roarke that disloyalty towards the master will not be tolerated.

  - But lord, I’m alone and even with Braise and Rugeux, I don’t think I can do it on my own. They are bound to be on the edge, likely having found the bodies of the smith and his wife by now.

  Racka turned around and faced her with an evil smile consisting of an assortment of human teeth, varying in color, size and level of decay. His grotesque appearance, enough to send a chill down the spine and to make the hair on the back of the neck stand up on any normal human, did nothing to unnerve Marielle. She had been given resolve and purpose by one higher than this, abomination, purpose that left no place for fear, or mercy.

  - Bring the hounds, bring all of them, bring the pack.

  - The master’s will is my command.

  She bowed and proceeded to make her exit to the progressively deranged laughter of Racka, the master’s most loyal, echoing off the walls. She walked down the corridor, through the room where she had waited, down through the levels of the dark keep. When she walked outside into what would have been fresh air, if not for the foul stench that lay like a curse over this place, a servant approached her. A timid looking woman, garbed in rags that Marielle wouldn’t have deemed worthy of scrubbing the floor with. She was younger than the old man who had guided her before, but showed similar signs of mutilation. Missing her left breast and seemingly all her teeth, she made the impression of being a broken soul.

  - Will the lady want the hounds she came with?

  - Yes, and all the rest as well.

  Marielle’s request was met with a silent gasp of fear from the woman and her eyes appeared to plead not to have to carry out the order.

  - Are you deaf as well as toothless? Open the big kennel gates or lose the last remaining part of your womanhood.

  The meek woman, having had her wordless wish spat on, bowed her head, dead eyes fixed on the ground. As she hurried off to do her duty, Marielle called on the small stable boy who was feeding the horses nearby.

  - You there, ready three of your fastest steeds, I must ride without rest!

  - Yes, my lady.

  Marielle started fastening her gear, readying herself for the long journey ahead when she heard the screams. Screams of pure horror as the weak servant woman fell victim to the unbridled frenzy of the full pack unleashed, having sensed her weakness. A cloud of sound left the courtyard that evening, a dissonance consisting of the drumming of hooves, the baying of hounds and the gnashing of jaws, as the future doom of Brightseed set off.

  ***

  Say something

  - Wait, there’s something wrong.

  Marel had stopped to smell the air, something bothering him.

  - Ippan, there is something there, do you smell it?

  Ippan took a deep breath and analyzed the results, nodding when he found the element Marel was referring to.

  - What is it, is it an enemy?

  - No, it’s..., it’s something burning.

  - A forest fire!?

  - No, I don’t think so, it’s hard to say. The scent is from dry wood, I think, like I said, it’s hard to say.

  - Dry wood, like from the town? We have to help!

  - No, Roarke, what if it’s a trap, and even if it wasn’t, Ippan and myself can’t exactly blend in.

  As they were talking, Vaya, Korri and Plista caught up with them, concern painting their faces. Coming up to one another, Korri spoke first.

  - Do you smell it too?

  - Yeah, but there is something not quite right, Ippan noticed it as well. We think it might be the village burning.

  - If they need help, do we give it and risk exposure and confrontation, or stand by, not helping in a time of need, with all the consequences that follow.

  Before anyone could answer Plista’s dilemma, both Refaz and Stari joined them, one from the air and one on foot, but both out of breath from their hastened pace.

  - Ama and I was scouting, investigating a smell from the settlement, something has happened, I think it’s bad. Ama stayed behind in hiding whilst I ran back here. We didn’t want to go too close and risk being seen.

  Refaz stopped to catch his breath whilst Stari continued on.

  - There are faint smoke rising from the houses, it looks fucked up from above. I didn’t see any movement but I was flying pretty high and far away, to avoid detection.

  The ominously vague descriptions intensified Roarke’s worry, and his mind began creating one horrible scenario after another.

  - We have to check it out, right?! Korri?

  Korri looked into his eyes like she was weighing his pain against the risks.

  - I’m going anyway, join me if you want!

  Korri turned to Plista in hope of comforting wisdom.

  - It may not be the wisest action, but compassion isn’t always logical. I say we go, it is what Brown would have done.

  Korri and Vaya agreed, with Marel and Ippan solemnly explaining that one couldn’t very well complain about boredom and then avoid action when it arose.

  - Let’s go then, Ama is waiting closer to the village.

  They all set off at a brisk pace, traveling through the forest in such a way that would have brought back memories to Roarke of him and Korri, running from Brightseed, rather than towards it. Roarke’s thought-stream however, was filled with nightmarish images, making him travel in silence, the joyful banter with Marel and Ippan seeming like of another lifetime. Having decided to circle around Brightseed, giving it a wide berth when the time came, in order to avoid unnecessary exposure, they traveled for a good hour at running speed before reaching the beginning of the outskirts of the small town. Now they were so close that even Roarke could smell the air and find the scent that had rallied them. Like Marel had said, a smell of dry wood mixed with something sweet, something acrid, something that made Roarke’s throat feel tight.

  - Ama, where are you?

  Realizing Ama had left his spot, Refaz ventured on and kept on running, eventually breaching the treeline, with the others following behind.

  - Ama!? Answer, you blasted cur!

  Were once there had stood houses, homes and shops, only charred ruins remained. The group advanced cautiously across the scorched earth, no one uttering a word. They made their way further in, deeper, until they got to the open square that had been spared from the flames. Now Roarke saw where all the people had gone. In contrast with the burnt grass, the gravel under his feet felt damp, sticky, sticky with blood. Scattered over the square were bodies, most of them naked or in nightgowns that had been ripped to show shredded breasts and eviscerated stomachs. Arms ripped from their sockets lay strewn about, their flesh having been chewed off. Signs of struggles were evident, hands had dug into the ground in desperate attempts to escape their monstrous attackers. Roarke felt confusion mix with rage, making his body shake. In the middle of the square was Ama, standing motionless by a pile of bodies.

  - Ama!

  Ama didn’t react to Refaz’s calls, so the group closed in, everyone visibly affected in their own way. Next to the pile was a pike, a black spear, shoved into the ground, and on top, a head was impaled, the head of Gumma.

  When Roarke recognized her face, he shuddered, groaning with pain and hate as he fell to his knees in the red dirt. Gumma’s eyes had been gouged out, and in her mouth, shoved in, was a torn off manhood. Lying next to th
e black spear was the corpse of a naked man, it was Galt, the portly guardsman, who was missing his genitalia. On his naked skin, text had been carved in, a grim message cut into the blood drained flesh. Whilst Korri and Vaya went up to see to Roarke, Marel walked up to the the body, to read its message.

  - “Treason towards the master is not tolerated, Roarke, and will be punished. She screamed when they had their way with her”.

  Marel spat on the ground as if the cruel words had left a bad taste in his mouth. Korri put a hand on Roarke’s shoulder.

  - Roarke?

  Roarke’s vision was red, the crimson liquid on the ground staining his mind, allowing no escape. The words spoken around him was a muffled mixture of noise, far away, inconsequential. Vaya left Roarke in Korri’s care and rose to join the others.

  - Such needless slaughter, such evil, these people didn’t deserve this.

  Plista walked with sorrow in his step, approaching Ama.

  - Ama, we both know who was behind this, this is the work of...

  -...Hounds. The air is rank with their smell.

  Refaz caught up with was what happening and spoke up.

  - You knew?! You knew didn’t you?! You knew before, when you told me to go back to the others! And what were you hoping to achieve, huh!? Where you hoping to catch Racka standing around conveniently for big brother to come in with some stern and wise words. Don’t you get it, it’s too late for that!