Alone in the Dark

Proof of Death

 Rael sat at her desk, staring blankly into space, one hand over her mouth as she yawned tiredly. It had been a couple days since she had sent a reply to the Rogue's counter offer back to Nerini, and she had heard nothing.

Her owl had returned with no message attached, preening silently as she tried to figure out what that could mean. Nerini wasn't the most reliable of communicators, only sending word when she felt like she had anything useful to say, but Rael didn't like this silence. There wasn't a lot that she liked these days, to be honest.
The day had grown long, and she had ended a council meeting hours before, unable to concentrate on the task at hand and stared into the fire while willing her friend to walk through the door with Kannein laughing about the grand adventure the two of them had just had. Rael wanted it to be something exciting and death defying, but in a way that reaffirmed their infallibility and youth, as opposed to making her feel vulnerable and old.

Rael shook her head, knowing the days of their carefree adventures and missions had long since passed. Still, she longed for a time when they would all return at the end of a couple weeks and share stories and laughs and talk long into the night about other long forgotten treasures and myths that Nerini had convinced them were real and worth searching for.

She started as the door opened suddenly, admitting Ocia, leading a soldier looking fresh from the road, wearing the colours of the O'Vara family. Her heart leapt into her throat before she recognized the man as Kannein's second in command at home, the grim-faced warrior who had been around even when she was a kid.

"Regency, from the village of Sythe." Ocia said curtly, showing the man in. "He's rode straight for three days to make it here."

"Forgive the filth from the road, Regency" Thaner murmured, dropping wearily to his knees, holding an odd-looking bag in his hand. "But I was told to come straight to you."

"Do not worry about it." She intoned, unable to tear her eyes away from that bag as the man stood and place it on the table in front of her. "What's your message?"

"Lady Nerini sent me to tell you that she's found and fought the enemy, she's seen what they are now." He glanced at the bag, then back to her, his expression the same grave look he used to have when teaching them the finer points of sword fighting. It always seemed to bolster them and keep them in line when they wanted to lose their cool. "They use a type of magic to give them speed and size and move like the shadows themselves. They have the strength to rip a horse's head off or rip a boy in half and they also appear to feed on our blood."

Rael gripped the back of a chair, nodding and leaning heavily against it as she tried to digest those words. "Is Nerini alright?"

Thaner nodded, though rather unconvincingly. She could tell he was unimpressed by something. "Yes. Well... she's alive. I left her to be patched up by the village healer and made for the road immediately. She wanted you to know about this."

After a long pause, he motioned to the bag and let out a slow breath. "And about the fact that that they're mortal."

Ocia frowned and opened the bag. The woman looked in before her skin tone paled with something that looked oddly similar to fear. The steadfast general looked shaken as she took a step back and looked to Rael. "Regency, you need not look at that."

Rael drew herself up, shaking her head. "Yes I do, its proof of death."

She steeled herself mercilessly as she stepped to the table and pulled the bag open further, exposing the head and hand of something unidentifiable.

Whatever the thing had been, it was grotesque, and she did not know if it its appearance could only be attributed to the decay while travelling in the cold of winter. Still, a wave of relief washed through her and Rael let out a breathless laugh. "Oh, my... I thought it was Kannein... it's just... it's just a monster."

The relief washed over her in such a way that she didn't feel the brunt of the terror that Ocia had displayed. The monster was truly out of a nightmare, but a scarier one would have been if Kannein was dead.

Rael shook her head and laughed as she turned away from the table and walked to her desk. She drained a glass of water as she fought a conflict of emotion at the news. There was still hope, but with whatever that creature was, the thought that her love had been in their claws for so long was a chilling prospect.

Rael refilled the glass and brought it back to Thaner, who watched her curiously.

"Regency." He mumbled, accepting the glass with a bow before clearing his throat. "I wouldn't have ridden down here with My Lord's head in a sack."

She gave him a weak smile and nodded, the truth of it making her feel silly. "I know. I know, I can't tell you why I thought that. But..." She shook her head and leaned heavily on her chair, closing her eyes for a long moment. "Go rest. You've earned as much time as you want."

Thaner nodded, offering her another bow. "I'll take a day to rest my horse, then I'll start back up there, I think she's finally on the trail, and I want to be back there, when she finds the nest, if at all possible."

Rael nodded silently at his words and inclined her head to another bow. With a look of exhaustion, Thaner turned and left the room. Rael was silent as she watched him leave. Then, she turned to regard Kannein's second in command and probably the most trustworthy companion she had in the capital at the moment.

Rael raised a brow when Ocia finally looked up to her from inspecting the contents of the bag. "Find someone who can preserve that and send it to Alliance. I'm going to send word to Sellexu, and then I must speak with the Privy council before lunchtime tomorrow."

"Yes Regency." Ocia nodded and bowed to her once she had secured the bag. The woman offered a grim look to Rael before walking out of the room. As Ocia went, she appeared oblivious of the disgust on her features and the fact that she held the bag unnaturally away from her body. Not that Rael blamed her. There was logical worry that with the warmth of being indoors, it would begin to thaw and possibly melt through the cloth that appeared to merely be an old cloak.
Rael shivered as she remembered the contents, finally allowing herself to contemplate the meaning behind such a creature, and what it meant for Aupana. For Aupana's allies. For humanity as a whole.

Nothing she had ever learned had prepared her for such a creature, and she didn't know where she should turn for answers. The only person who had appeared to believe that such things could exist was now trying to hunt out more of them.

Rael wanted her friend to be safe, though she fought with the desire for her love to be found. At the moment, she couldn't have either, but she could only hope that Nerini would be successful in ensuring both of Rael's wishes.