The Red Glaive

Faraway, the trees were still burning. The thick black smoke stung at Niko’s nostrils and made his chest burn. Niko stumbled and fell to his knees as he felt his lungs try to expel the smoke within them by coughing violently.

The blade, borrowed, clattered against the dirt. Glaive Garvin Dews had given it to him. “Kill it,” he had said as Telfer tended to the massive puncture in his leg. Garvin couldn’t walk, and by the look of it, it would be a very long time before he would be able to walk with out assistance.

The winds had been kind and they had made it to Dillen in only three days. Garvin had been waiting for them in the harbor. They left straight from there.

They had been on patrol on the Night Road. The last time Niko had gone out all he had seen were a few spawns around the edges of the Night Road’s pillars. That had been in Somniare, where devils weren’t as common. They were in Mollia now. This time, they had been lured away from the Night Road with claims that a woman had been dragged away by a shadow a few minutes before they had arrived at that outpost.

Garvin had suspected she had been lured away by a spawn’s gaze, which had a mild hypnotic effect, and hoped they could at least retrieve her body before it was mangled beyond recognition. Anything to bring relief to her distraught groom-to-be. What they came across was something far more menacing than a spawn.

After spending hours in the library, Niko recognized the devil as soon as they came across it feeding on the woman’s body. A Rotwing Stinger. A type of ghoul. It almost looked like a person, only its flesh was decaying and nearly black. Instead of arms it had rotting bat like wings, how it flew with such wings was always a mystery. Its face, it was hardly a face at all. More bat than human but with just enough characteristics to distinguish the hate in its violently red eyes. Worst of all, it had a tail, with a deadly stinger - about an arm’s length long - at the very end. A stinger that had pierced clean through Garvin at the thigh.

“Kill it,” he had said giving Niko his glaive sword. A blade so fine it could slice through anything as if it wasn’t even there, though it wasn’t loyal to Niko so when he carried it it felt like heaving a sword ten times the weight.

There was someone standing beside him, that made him stop. When he looked there was nothing there. He wasn’t afraid when it happened, though he it made him nervous thinking more about what it could’ve been.

“Kill it,” Garvin had demanded of him. Niko chased after the devil, but he was terrified. He wondered if Caius had felt the same when he chased after the devil as it fled. It was already horribly wounded, but it could regenerate if given enough time. Caius wouldn’t give it that time. He set it ablaze, even as it fled, so it couldn’t clear the canopy instead setting it on fire as the wounded devil brushed past screeching.

But Caius’ fire wasn’t normal fire, just Niko’s ice wasn’t regular ice. His flames began to die out as he got farther and farther away. Even then, the smoke was punishing.

“Kill it.” Garvin’s words echoed in Niko’s head repeatedly. All the fire in the world wouldn’t kill the devil. Only the sword Niko carried could accomplish that.

So Niko followed the flames as the sound of the devil’s horrid screech as it filled the night sky.

When Niko finally found Caius, everything had gone remarkably silent. Caius stood expressionless over the charred remains of the devil on the ground. It was still alive, breathing softly, it’s eyelid less eyes glaring hatefully at Caius who only stared back.

Its limbs started expanding, growing back, but the skin remained charred. Before it could recover fully Caius silently raised a hand and a torrent of white hot flames exploded out his hand engulfing the devil. Through the roar of the flames it shrieked and writhed in pain.

As Niko approached he could see the flames dancing in Caius’ eyes.

Caius finally quelled the flames and the devil stared back him hatefully. “Caius.” Niko said timidly, he wasn’t sure why he felt so afraid.

Niko offered Caius the sword which he took without a word. With the same silent deposition, Caius walked over to the devil and stabbed it through the heart.

And it screamed, sounding chillingly human this time, before it stopped moving. It’s body hardening, before turning to stone then crumbling away into ash.

“Garvin needs you.” Niko said.

Telfer was still by Garvin’s side. His gift allowed him to manipulate water also allowed him to manipulate the water within Garvin’s body. He used it to keep him from bleeding out. Though Telfer wasn’t exactly the best at using his gift to fight, he’d make an excellent medic. The vast majority of the Glaive Medics came from the Leviathan’s gift.

“They still haven’t taught you your herbs have they?” Garvin said surprisingly calm, but Telfer was quiet, focused on moving the blood in his thigh from one side of his ruptured artery to the other. Despite doing his best, blood still managed to trickle out of the gaping wound. Big Red, Queen, Brute and Garvin’s black glaive stallion stood around them as if standing guard. “There’s your friend.” Garvin said when he saw them approach.

Telfer looked up, when he did blood began to leak out on to the ground. “What do you need?” Caius said coming to his side. Garvin’s sword vanished from Caius’ hand.

“I don’t know the poultice.” Telfer said. It was a complicated mix. Even Niko couldn’t only recall three or four ingredients on the top of his head. “Even if I did I don’t have any of those ingredients with me.”

“You don’t carry any?” Niko said to Garvin, how laughed and shook his head.

“All I carry of that womanly shit are poppy tears.” Garvin said. “You,” He nodded to Caius. “Cauterize it. I don’t need the corruption growing.”

Caius’ glanced at Niko then at Telfer. “Just start a flame, the hottest you can make it. I’ll guide your hand.” Telfer said. If he was nervous he didn’t show it.

Caius held up two fingers. Fire shot up, red-hot orange at first, then Caius shrunk it the flames going from orange to yellow before finally fading into burning hot blue fire with a white core. Small as it was, it roared loudly.

Telfer took a hold of Caius’ hand, as he did blood began to pour out of Garvin’s leg. “Wait!” Garvin shouted as Telfer moved Caius’ hand closer to his leg and both of them froze. Garvin dug in his coat and pulled out a vial of poppy tears and drank it all, then he yanked Queen’s reins and put in his mouth. “Go ahead.” he said as he bit down on the leather strap.

Despite the poppy tears, Garvin still screamed and the scent of burning flesh filled Niko’s nose. It only took a few seconds, but it was enough to make Garvin pass out from the pain.

When they were done there was smoke coming form the wound, but at least there was no more blood and no exposed flesh. Telfer sat back exhausted.

“We need to get back to the city.” Caius said. “Or at least make it back to the Night Road where we can light a signal fire. More devils will come if we stay out here.”

“We don’t have to.” Niko said as the sun poked over the horizon.