Discover Top Posts Tagged with #handheldtiny

Wards of the Waning Colossus | Chapter Two

| ~ Chapter Two ~ |

The water, like the morning, was unforgivingly chilled as Galen splashed a few handfuls onto his face. It was the only surefire way he found to wake himself when he felt inclined to remain resting. Today, of all days, was one all subtly wanted to avoid, to pretend as though it were all just a dream. Each shadow presented silence as the light of day gave them their shapes.

Undoubtedly, other homes were experiencing this same silence, the same feeling that they wanted the day to pass like those shadows - in silence, forgotten until the next turn of the seasons. The tension was tangible. Every muffled sound felt like an avalanche.

Galen often lived in these quiet moments, able to move silently, even when Lira came to live with him all those years ago. It didn’t stop him from his work, and it didn’t keep him from preparing for the day.

It’s just like any other day, Galen told himself. You will go to the main square with all the others. Names will be called. Those called will go up. They’ll be called again, and then they’ll be allowed to return. One may be brought back, but I doubt it. It’s the Amdir family this year, and they don’t take us humans. Amdir giants don’t like long ceremonies either. They think it’s wasteful. We’ll be back before the kettle is done boiling.

The soft padding of feet told him Lira had come down from their loft. Her appearance was still disheveled, which was expected, but there was something else too that Galen noticed at a glance. Lira looked tired, faint darkness lining her eyes, and he wondered whether her nightmares or nerves for The Choosing were to blame. It wasn’t the first Choosing where Lira felt apprehensive, and she did seem a bit off these past few days. He’d asked her about her unease in years past, but the youth could only describe it as “a feeling.”

He elected not to pry. Galen knew Lira well enough to understand she’d come to him when she’d found the words. In the meantime, there were still herbs to grind and brews to complete, and so he continued his work as Lira poured herself a cup of tea. The teen curled in on herself as she wedged herself onto the window ledge, eyes cast to the forest.

“Galen?” her voice sounded small after nearly an hour of remaining completely motionless, eyes fixed on the trees through the window. “Is… there any way to skip The Choosing today?”

The question took him off-guard. “Pardon?”

“Skip? You know? Feign illness or something?” Lira brought the chilled cup to her lips, the only heat remaining coming from her hands clasped around the edge. She was still refusing to meet his gaze.

Galen thought for a moment about what Lira was actually asking, eyes skeptical. “Does this have to do with your dreams recently?” The teen’s silence felt like confirmation enough. He stepped up to the counter beside the window and continued his work, glancing at her every few spins of his pestle against the mortar. “To answer your question, no. There’s nothing that can be done. Attendance is mandatory, but there’s nothing to worry about. Today is like any other day.”

The subtle scrench of Lira’s brow and how she averted her eyes meant she was avoiding something. It felt like the air was tense around her, as if she was radiating a chill from her body. Galen reached out and grasped her shoulder and nearly drew back as he felt how cold Lira was to the touch through the callouses on his fingers. Concern crept over him. He instinctively reached for a blanket, but paused mid-step as the toll of the hollow bells radiated from the town square.

It was a call.

A summoning.

He turned back to his ward and, in that fraction of a moment, saw fear in Lira’s eyes.

Upper lip stiffened and jaw locked, Galen approached Lira and knelt, the mechanical knee catching on the way down and striking the ground with a hollow *clunk*. His hands found hers and a smile turned up the sides of his lips. She met his eyes for the first time that entire morning and, like the sun to snow, the chill began fading from her body, giving way to the warmth of his hands and his smile. Galen could feel a distinct difference in the youth.

“Lira, I promise everything is going to be fine. Okay? I swear it. And if anything should happen, I’ll protect you. Nothing’s going to happen to you as long as I’m around. Believe me?”

Lira nodded timidly, almost with uncertainty, as she echoed the words from the night before. “Yes, always.”

Pulling on clothes fitting the chill in the air, both Lira and Galen stepped outside as the shadows of their neighbors began to pass in front of their door. The air, tense with somberness, was only disturbed by the movement of the passing people. All wore travelers' cloaks and even possessed packs hiding on their shoulders, undoubtedly fearing the worst and hoping for the best. Galen wondered if he should’ve done the same, but banished the thought as soon as it arose.

We’ll be back soon enough.

Lira’s fingers clasped around his while keeping pace, a silent shadow observing the others around her. His leg, aching from exertion the day before, further pronounced his limp as he walked beside friends and neighbors, many of them with hollow or worried faces. Tibs and only a handful of others appeared unbothered by the events set before them.

The masses followed along the road leading from dirt to cobblestone streets, the homes now constructed of rock and stone, brick and mortar rather than wood and clay chinking the gaps. Galen paused only for a moment before the ground continued to slope to cast his view on the town. He could see fragments of the lake and the way it seamlessly accepted the forest by its banks. He watched the smoke peter out as fires were extinguished or left to fizzle and fade in preparation for The Choosing.

All around, whispers of years past filled the air like a morning fog, light and obscuring, bringing with it a sense of unease. Rumors of the families who took humans in the past lingered like a foul odor. Fear and unease were tangible. Parents held their children close. Old and young were ushered into the main square, but all eyes, regardless of age and clarity, remained transfixed on the field where the Colossus would appear. Approaching now, Galen had to admit that something did feel off in the air.

Charged.

Uneasy, more than he’d experienced in years prior.

Galen felt Lira’s hand grasping his with a vice-like strength, a subtle tremble threatening to shake his arm too. He squeezed gently and caught her eye as he leaned forward. Wordlessly, he smiled and her anxious features softened, but only for a moment. He wanted to reassure her further. Tell her everything would be okay. That they’d be home before the kettle cooled by the fire.

But the wind changed.

As if the earth itself was breathing in, air began to pull inward toward the field. It was a subtle draw like a coastal tide pushing and pulling the water around it. Tense. Charged. The wind sprung to life as it coalesced, swirling and sparking as the harnessed arcane energy pulled apart the air as easily as splitting the seam on a torn cloth. The air opened and crackled at the edges, swirling with a nebulous cloud around it. The seam that split stretched to the sky, grazing clouds from the perspective of all those below, and from that seam figures began to emerge.

Immense and human-like in their own appearance, the Colossus materialized before the gathering crowd. One. Two. Five. Seven figures stepped out of the arcane cloud as the sigils of magic began to fade, closing the tear they had created to arrive in Galen’s home town. Seeing them in their refined robes that glistened like silver and streaks of lightning was surreal, but not as much as seeing how many were in attendance on this day.

Seven.

The most I’ve seen is four, and that’s been years ago. Galen felt the crowd pressing in from behind him and so moved with the crowd, though suddenly feeling an odd reluctance in his own feet. He wasn’t sure if it was feeling Lira’s apprehension or the number of Colossus in attendance for today’s Choosing, but something odd settled in his stomach that was heavy and cold like a stone from the creek in the woods, making him wonder if this was the same unease that Lira was feeling.

The authorities and other peace keepers lined the streets, all hoping to keep the peace but knowing that this position of power held no sway over who would be called for presentation. Finally in position, Galen readjusted onto his unaching leg, the opportunity to clearly see the Colossus in attendance.

They could’ve passed for immense statues, easily fifty feet or more tall, except for the subtle turns of their head and the flicks of their eyes across the faces of the crowd. Four, obviously, were part of the guard. Most likely vassal house members summoned for protection, as if the Colossus needed additional protection for a ceremony among humans. Their helms gleamed in the overcast light and their weapons, short swords on their sides and a spear in their hand, shield affixed to their forearms, presented a more formal entourage than in years past.

Something’s different. Galen looked to the three robed individuals and recognized the older Colossus man as the head of the Amdir family, Velmor Amdir. The creases on his face looked carefully etched, each placed for a reason or purpose. Silver lined his pulled back hair along his ears and the crown of his head, though elements of his hair still clung to the blond-brown it once was. Galen had seen him in previous Choosing ceremonies when it was the Amdir family’s turn, though this commanding, quiet giant seemed to have a strange air about him which unsettled the man.

The other two, at least in Galen’s eyes, were clearly related to Velmor Amdir. They shared his blond-brown hair, almond shaped eyes, and set jaw. Each stood at his side like senteries, wordless and calculating, and further bolstered the sensation that something was different about today. The one guessed to be the elder of the two, a son, was on Velmor’s right while the younger, a daughter, was to his left. Both close in age and looked to be in their early to mid-twenties if Galen were to guess. Something about the daughter’s eyes, however, felt more penetrative than pensive like her father.

Without word or gesture, the crowd was brought to silence and the head of the Amdir house spoke, voice gentle but resounding like distant thunder.

“People of the valley. I am Velmor Amdir, High Lord of the House Amdir, First Seat of the Mountain Council, Warden of the High Holds, and the Unbroken Stone-Oath. Greetings. Salutations to all those in attendance with us today.” He and his children bowed, and the crowd responded in kind. A pause subtly acknowledged the fact that The Choosing was a mandatory event while also expressing gratitude for their submissive attendance. A statement allowing recognition of sentience and free will as well as the reason why subservience was preferred, even with the inherent risks of The Choosing. He straightened to his full height once more and continued the ceremony.

Lira flinched as she listened to the words, prompting her guardian to draw her closer.

“Don’t listen to the sound—listen to the meaning. The Colossus speak loud, but that doesn’t make them cruel.” She nodded, but her small fingers dug into his sleeve. Their attention was pulled once more to the High Lord of the House Amdir.

“Generations ago from afar, using our arcane eyes, we saw your people were being ravaged by beasts unfitting this land and took it upon ourselves to keep such creatures at bay. Guardians. Warriors. Mages. Saviors. Names generations before have given us. In gratitude, your predecessors instated The Choosing, an offering of payment with the lives that were saved so many years ago. Our lives for yours and a favor returned in kind. You’ve been gathered here today, as tradition dictates, for The Choosing, where a select few will be called for, seen, and brought forth for us to decide your fates. The sanctity and fairness of this ceremony symbolizes how, at any moment, everything can be lost, but in that everything can be gained.

“Marshals, do you have the names of those selected?”

“We do, Lord Amdir,” replied the head marshal, Brun. In his clearest voice, he stepped up onto the platform and unfurled the scroll, breaking the seal of the town council. “Would the following individuals please step forward and walk across the platform and stand to the side of the platform once you cross.”

All held their breath as the first names were called.

Tomas from Brakenford.

Elin from Southmere.

Kessa from Briarwatch.

Hadrin from Brakenford.

Orric from the High Barrows.

Name after name, person after person, each made their way through the crowd and maneuvered to the stage where they walked across when the marshals signaled to do so. Two marshals had to escort themselves across the platform as did one of the council members, another sign all were subject to The Choosing.

Galen began to feel the tension easing in his shoulders as the names were beginning to come to an end when he heard it.

“Galen of North Hollow.”

The blood in his veins froze, locking him stiff into position. He felt the eyes of his friends and neighbors turn to him, isolating him as they distanced themselves from him; all except Lira, who clung to his side harder. Disbelief numbed him. A tremble started in his core. Sound was distant until Lira’s voice broke through the feeling of freefall seizing Galen. It was a strangled, desperate sound as her knees buckled.

“Galen! No!”

Panic began to set in. Instinctively, Galen grasped Lira’s shoulder a little tighter and pulled her close before fumbling for her other shoulder to spin her to face him. He caught his paling features in the reflection of her eyes, something he hated to see as he recognized his own fear staring back at him. The guardian forced a smile he couldn’t feel as he caught Lira’s eyes.

“Lira, shhh. Sshhhh… it’s okay. It’s all right. Listen to me.” Tears were streaming down Lira’s cheeks, eyes unable to contain their emotion. She was shaking her head over repeatedly as if she could change the name by doing so.

“Y-you said… you said th-they wouldn’t c-call you,” she choked out. “You s-s-said…”

“I know,” Galen interrupted. Other names were still being called out from the platform. Galen could see two marshals approaching where others had parted, revealing him kneeling down in front of his ward desperately trying to calm her. His eyes flicked to anyone nearby who may take up the mantle to help him, but none came. Gazes quickly averted in an effort to distance themselves, as if simply looking at him would have their names be called next. Galen forced Lira to look at him as his hands and voice shook, smile still etched on his face. “Lira, it’s going to be okay. I just have to walk across th-”

“Lira of North Hollow.”

Time kept them suspended, each holding the other’s gaze as the information processed in real time.

Both.

Both of them had been called.

And now the marshals were at their sides, hands gently touching their shoulders and guiding them to the platform with the others. Galen’s heart shattered. Head bowed in momentary defeat, Galen’s knee squeaked harshly and he had to catch himself to keep from collapsing completely. Words - one of Galen’s talents - failed to form anything meaningful as the two of them were guided toward the wooden platform. Thought, like mist, came and went in swirls, obfuscating the path to something meaningful to say or do.

At the base of the platform, which seemed immense and towering like the Colossus themselves, Galen forced aside his disbelief and sent the prayer he had in his mind out for Lira to hear.

“Lira, we will be fine. We just have to walk across the platform. It doesn’t mean they’ve chosen us. They won’t. Stay close to me, and don’t look at them. We’ll cross together. Okay?” reassured Galen. They ascended the stairs, reaching platform after platform until practically flush with the rooftops. The marshals looked at the pair sympathetically as they gestured for Galen and Lira to cross.

“Stay close to me,” he hissed, grasping Lira’s shoulder. He looked out across the platform, the end almost extending far beyond what was possible, while his heart hammered with increasing intensity.

Exaggerate your steps. Make your limp obvious. They won’t want a cripple with a young child. Galen coached himself silently. He allowed himself one measured inhalation before daring that first heavy step. His mechanical leg clacked loudly at his command as he exaggerated each step, pulling Lira beside him. Perhaps it was the adrenaline or the fact he’d never been up here before, but Galen’s eyes, already keen, seemed enhanced in this moment.

The recently stained wood and replaced boards to honor the Colossus and the ceremony.

The terrified, silent faces of the others who were selected for The Choosing on the other side of the platform.

Some strange, fresh carvings in the wood which Galen hadn’t noticed until now, not that he’d ever had reason to ascend the platform of The Choosing before this moment.

Cloak draped over himself and her, the two of them paused on the halfway point just for a moment before hurriedly scampering off toward the others, who seemed to total fifty in all. That impossibly long distance stretched far beyond what was possible until, finally, they reached the end with the others. Lira, saying nothing, curled immediately into Galen’s side, arms wrapped firmly around his midsection.

Only now did Galen, heart still racing, dare to sneak a glance up toward the Colossus, which filled him with instant regret as his eyes met the Amdir daughter’s gaze. It was hypnotic and unnerving having such immense eyes focus on him. Was it coincidence? Or purposeful? He didn’t know. He didn’t want to know. It felt shameful, but Galen quickly averted his stare to the remaining five who were crossing the platform.

Why am I afraid? There are others. This is part of the process - The Choosing. The first humans considered it an honor. Why am I afraid? These are the Amdir! They don’t keep the humans they select in The Choosing.

Galen listened to the others as they prayed or muttered their thanks or dreads into the air before them. The whispering white noise was eerie, but not as much as Lira’s mutters which Galen only heard as the marshals approached the selected to read off the official names of The Chosen.

“This can’t be… it’s not possible.” Lira’s panic was evident as she gazed up at him, but there was something more. “Galen… I… I have to tell you something.”

“Those selected for The Choosing, if your name is called, you have been Chosen. When that happens, please step forward and move to the center of the platform,” called the head marshal.

Galen’s focus, torn, switched from the marshals to Lira. “What is it? Lira, we’re going t-.”

“To be chosen. We’re going to be chosen.” Lira’s interruption raised the hair on the back of Galen’s neck, but he attempted to shrug off the feeling.

“Lira, you don’t know that. W-.”

“But I… I do,” Lira whimpered. “Galen, I… I want you to believe me. I need you to. Please! We need to leave.” He hated seeing such panic in Lira. Flashes of her tormented by her nightmares filled Galen’s mind. But what could he do? She looked scared. Not just scared - terrified, as if the monsters in her dreams were looming over them.

Are they?

“Nalia from North Hollow. Tomas from Brackenford. Orric from the High Barrows. Rennic from Westbarrow. Selena from the High Barrows. Galen of North Hollow. Lira of North Hollow.”

Galen’s mouth parched instantaneously as his name was called, but it didn’t compare to the sinking in his gut as he heard the name of his ward after his own. More than that - disbelief. How did Lira know? Did she know? Or was it her own apprehension that accidentally predicted this moment. Galen had no time to ask as he and the others were ushered onto the main stage. In years prior, Galen had always felt his heart go out to the people on the podium whose names were called for The Choosing.

He hoped their hearts were with him and Lira now.

They don’t keep humans. The Amdir don’t keep humans. Someone’s name needed to be called and it was just our turn. They won’t keep us. They won’t. No matter what, I’m staying with Lira. If… if I’m chosen…

No.

I won’t be.

We won’t be.

“Galen?” He looked down at Lira’s tear streaked cheeks. “I’m sorry. I… I d-didn’t think it…”

“People of the valley. You stand in the shadow of your past and in the traditions born from it.” Lira flinched at the gentle, thunderous voice of Velmor Amdir which broke the silence looming over the crowd. The Colossus’s eyes drifted across the masses gathered and then fell to the seven who stood on the podium in front of them. “For generations, the Amdir have taken only what necessity demanded. We have never destroyed without cause. We have honored life, holding it in the highest regards. These traditions remain because of our code and our promise - to protect and guard your people - and so The Choosing has endured.”

Velmor looked to the three humans standing just beside Galen and Lira, making eye-contact deliberately before continuing. “Of those selected for The Choosing, know you are here because I hold to the tradition of my forefathers. Nalia from North Hollow. Tomas from Brackenford. Orric from the High Barrows. You three were selected by me, and by me you are returned to your homes and families, for payment is not required for fairness and good deeds. A good deed done in search of reward is motivated by selfishness, and I refuse to stoop to such levels.”

Nalia, Tomas, and Orric were guided back to the others as they wept and thanked the Colossus for their mercy. Now only Rennic, Selena, Galen, and Lira stood on the platform which was quickly vacating. Galen swallowed hard as he felt Lira’s hands clutching his own as if he were some kind of lifeline keeping her from drifting out to sea; not that he felt like the strong anchor he always tried to be.

The unease and how quickly the numbers dwindled gave a haunting realism to Lira’s words. Was it possible that the Amdir family would actually keep the four of them? Surely not. They would be returned just as the other three had been.

Please. Show mercy. Let Lira go if no one else.

Then the son, standing to his father’s right, spoke. His timbre mimicked that of his father, though softer and simultaneously more calculating than what Galen would have guessed for the young Colossus man.

“People of the valley. I am Eranth Amdir, Heir of House Amdir, Keeper of the Amdir Banners, The Young Hammer, and Hand of the Stonefathers. This is my first attendance to The Choosing, and I am honored to stand before you in hopes of one day taking up the mantle,” he began, glancing briefly at the four remaining humans before directing his attention back to the gathered masses. “The Amdir have been fair through years of service, though I feel compelled to address that fairness is not the same as softness - weakness. Perceptions of weakness lead to decay and can lead to the breakdown of our societies. As a strong house among the Colossus, it is my belief that mercy and strength go hand in hand.”

Eranth pointed to the older woman standing beside Galen, a column-like finger stretching out and nearly casting the platform in shadow. She trembled and clasped her hands, which only hinted at her middle age. “I return you, Selena from the High Barrows, to your family.” He pointed to the man, who Galen thought might’ve been about Eranth’s age. “Rennic from Westbarrow, I conscript you into service for the Amdir family, where you will assist and serve until dismissed.”

Shaken, Galen heard an inhuman cry erupt from Rennic as he collapsed to his knees, head cradled in his hands. The marshals were at his side in an instant like shadows, each muttering their apologies and astonished remarks as they both comforted their fellow human and lifted him to the other side of the platform to be prepared for departure. Murmurs of surprise and unease rippled through the crowd as well, creating a swell of noise that ended with all eyes on Galen and his ward.

It felt unprecedented, and yet all had seen this happen in previous Choosings. The shock undoubtedly came from the mere fact that an Amdir, for the first time in generations, had elected to take someone who was chosen. Other families had done this regularly, but only now did something feel different.

Galen heard Lira’s words once more.

We’re going to be chosen.

Galen? I’m sorry. I… I d-didn’t think it…

What didn’t she think?

Why was she crying?

Fear alone?

Or something else.

As Galen waited with baited breath, he heard something that sent a chill up his spine, but it wasn’t from the Colossus Amdir daughter standing in front of him.

It was Lira.

“People of the valley. I am Serida Amdir, Second-Born of the House Amdir, Lady of the Line, Keeper of the Fourth Hall, Speaker for the Rites, Arcanist of the Unmeasured, and Witness of the Folk.” The words spilled out of the teen in a hushed whisper that only Galen could discern, but he heard every word nonetheless. His heart rate quickened, unclear as to where this was coming from and unable to read Lira’s features as she kept her head down, eyes locked onto the carved sigils Galen had noticed when they first crossed the platform. It wasn’t unsettling to him. Lira had an active imagination and was able to remember things she’d heard after only a single time.

What unnerved him was hearing the Amdir daughter speak the same words moments later.

“People of the valley. I am Serida Amdir, Second-Born of the House Amdir, Lady of the Line, Keeper of the Fourth Hall, Speaker for the Rites, Arcanist of the Unmeasured, and Witness of the Folk.”

The tone and inflection was identical, leaving Galen speechless. Lira continued to shake like a leaf, gaze averted, as she continued to speak softly, mirroring word for word what Serida said as she addressed the crowd.

“This too is my first Choosing, and such a ceremony is indeed an honor to witness, let alone participate in. It is a humbling position and knowing the power of a name truly shows us how vast this world and the others are. I acknowledge my father’s reminder: the house of Amdir has shown fairness, restraint, and mercy. We are a strong house among the Colossus and must serve as an example to the other houses. I also acknowledge my brother’s sentiments: complacency and weakness are not acceptable when such dangerous foes are constantly testing our boundaries.”

It was an eerie echo as Serida and Lira spoke in tandem, Galen’s ward only speaking loud enough for him to hear as Serida addressed the gathered crowd. Nausea churned his insides as the man looked disbelievingly from his ward to the Colossus standing in front of them.

How is she doing this? They’re talking in tandem! How does she know what the Lady Serida is going to say?

“But…”

“Life is not fair.”

“Life is not fair,” stated the Amdir daughter just after Lira whispered the words. Galen forced himself to appear calm as his insides flipped within him.

“Lira, how are you doing that?” he breathed, words which seemed to make Lira shrink into herself and silence any further echo.

“Sacrifice is necessary to protect and provide for others. We have all made sacrifices, some with their lives and others with their means and abilities. For reasons that are my own, I conscript Galen of North Hollow and Lira of North Hollow in my service and the service of the Amdir family where you will assist and serve until dismissed.”

The world seemed to tilt. Galen’s legs nearly buckled as Lysa collapsed fully into him, sobbing uncontrollably. “No—no—no!” she cried, her voice cracking. The distinct murmur of surprise rippled throughout the crowd, hints of disapproval and worry in their voices.

“Who’s going to run the shop?”

“First year and the children are taking three? It’s not a sign of things to come, is it?”

“Poor girl. Off to serve the Colossus.”

“They usually don’t take one so young. Galen, maybe; but little Lira?”

Any thought, hope, or prayer Galen had of this being some shared nightmare vaporized as did his desire for someone - anyone - to intervene and prevent their departure. Questions muddled his mind. The surreal moments had stitched together forming the tapestry of what was to come.

Had this truly happened?

More importantly, what was next?

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Continue

#handheldtiny

Trending Tags

Recently Viewed Tags

#handheldtiny