[BLACK JEWELS FIC] Warlord of Glacia- 2/12
Title: Warlord of Glacia
Author: Jourdana Standish/queenmidalah
Fandom: Black Jewels
Pairing(s): Morton/Wilhelmina Benedict
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Mentions of violence; language
Word Count: 16,241
Summary: A tangled web is changed when a certain Warlord takes matters into his own hands; he finds himself fighting for his life instead of embracing death. He also finds love, but could lose it by a few careless words.
~~
Daemon Sadi snarled in frustration when he felt the tingling coming from Jaenelle's Ring of Honor. He hadn't yet learned how to interpret all the information that could be absorbed from the Ring. He recognized this particular sensation as a call for help, but had no idea where the call was coming from.
"Do you--," he said, turning toward Khardeen. The intense blankness in Khary's eyes, the sense of focused listening, stopped him from saying anything more.
"Morton," Khary said quietly. "And Karla." He lunged for the door.
Daemon grabbed him. "No. You're needed here." Something niggled at the back of Daemon’s mind, something that Saetan had shared with him about Morton but the buzzing from Jaenelle’s Ring of Honor was making it difficult to focus. On the rage filling him, forcing him to the killing edge was overriding a lot of other emotions and thought processes.
"That's not the way it works," Khary said sharply, breaking into Daemon’s thoughts. "When one of us needs help--."
"You all take the bait?" Daemon asked just as sharply. "You have a pregnant Queen who can't defend herself without risking a miscarriage. Your place is here. I'll take care of Karla - and Morton." He studied Khary. "Who else will have heard that call for help?"
"Everyone in the First Circle who lives in the western part of Kaeleer. The Ring has more of a range than if we were trying to reach someone on our own, but the alert wouldn't be felt beyond that. However, every male who felt that call for help will relay a warning through a communication thread to the First Circle within his range."
"Then relay this message to the First Circle as fast as you can: 'Stay put. Stand guard.' " Daemon paused. "And locate Jaenelle."
"Yes," Khary said grimly. "The Queens need to be protected. Especially her."
Satisfied, Daemon rushed out of the house and swore. He couldn't reach any of the Winds from here.
He started to run down the drive, then turned toward the sound of pounding hooves. Sundancer slid to a stop beside him.
*I heard the call,* Sundancer said. *You must ride the Winds?*
"Yes."
*I can run faster. Mount.*
Grabbing a fistful of Sundancer's mane, he swung up on the Warlord Prince's bare back. It was a short but harrowing ride. The stallion chose the fastest route to reach the nearest Winds without regard for what lay in his path. Daemon's legs were shaking when he slid off Sundancer's back.
Before he could say anything, the stallion pivoted and was gone.
*Fight well!* Sundancer said as he raced back to Khary and Morghann's house.
"You can count on it," Daemon replied too softly. Catching the Black Wind, he headed for Glacia. Along the way, he tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach of what he would find. Terrified of what was laying in wait, he dreaded the idea that he would have to deliver the news to his Queen and love that one of her beloved Sister’s was dead. Or that he would have to deliver the news to the woman that was essentially his sister-in-law that the man she loved as much as he loved her sister was gone to her forever.
~~
As an Arcerian alone, Kaelas had the ability to move from roof to roof effortlessly and without notice. Being a Red-Jeweled Warlord Prince and trained in the ways of human warriors by an Ebon-gray Jeweled Eyrien Warlord Prince, Kaelas was a silent and deadly threat. He witnessed Morton fall, sticks with feathers on them protruding from the Warlord’s body.
He sent out a small tendril of power at the depth of his Red to Morton. The first thing he sensed was the Lady’s shield, which was not a problem. Like all the males of the Lady’s First Circle, regardless of four footed or two footed, he had the ability to safely slip past her shield. There was a part of him that felt immediate relief when he gently touched Morton’s mind. The body was not dead, but he was weak. So weak that he didn’t respond to the faint touch of the kindred’s mind to his own.
Regardless of Morton’s living state, he was a Brother of the Court. And Brothers looked out for each other. Kaelas would take care of this two-footed Brother and ensure he got to Lady Gabrielle or the Lady. He suspected that Lady Karla was in danger and she would need to be protected once he safely got Morton to where he needed to be, then he would figure out the next step to take out the bad humans that had intruded on Lady Karla’s territory.
Looking in the opposite direction, he saw the Sanctuary that held the Dark Altar. Near it was a large, old tree that wouldn’t wake again. The pale humans would have cut it down and burned it in their fires. They wouldn’t need it now.
Using Craft, he opened the Sanctuary door, letting it swing as if it hadn’t been latched properly.
Leaping from the roof, he circled around the backs of the human dens, air walking so that he would leave no tracks. Just because the sight shield made him invisible was no reason to be careless. Playing "stalk and pounce" with Lucivar had taught him that.
Thinking of Lucivar, he remembered something else: never show your full strength to an enemy until it was needed.
His Birthright Jewel was the Opal. Morton's Jewel of rank was the Opal. Yes, that might confuse the winged males.
With a burst of his jewels, the tree exploded- causing wood and snow to fly. The Sanctuary door slammed open and the Eyriens began to scatter, looking for whatever caused it, all the while looking towards where Morton lay.
"What about that bastard?" someone called.
"Leave him," the Green-jeweled Eyrien said. "We’ll finish the kill later. He’s not going anywhere."
Moving in a stalking motion, Kaelas kept himself aware of where the winged humans were. Giving himself a burst of speed, he reached Morton and slowly approached. The Lady’s shield recognized him with a hum and gave way to allow him closer access.
Sniffing the air, Kaelas backed away in confusion. While Morton was not dead, he smelled wrong, much like bad meat that was poisoned to kill or incapacitate the kindred when a human wanted to hurt or gain a new pelt. Sniffing the air again, Kaelas now knew why Morton seemed so faint. He also knew that he should have been dead from whatever was causing him to smell of poisoned meat, yet he wasn’t.
He didn’t have time to decipher the implications of why Morton had not fallen to the Darkness. He couldn’t, and wouldn’t, set his teeth into poisoned meat even if that meat was alive. Settling an Opal shield around Morton’s arm to protect both himself and the human, he carefully closed his jaws around him. Using craft he floated Morton in the air and put a Red sight shield around him. He took off for the nearest place to catch the Winds. He had to hurry. Morton needed help as quickly as possible, but Kaelas also had some hunting to do. The winged Warlord Prince would know his fury, and then he would deliver him to Yaslana to ensure that witness had been made. For Karla, and for Morton.
Author: Jourdana Standish/queenmidalah
Fandom: Black Jewels
Pairing(s): Morton/Wilhelmina Benedict
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Mentions of violence; language
Word Count: 16,241
Summary: A tangled web is changed when a certain Warlord takes matters into his own hands; he finds himself fighting for his life instead of embracing death. He also finds love, but could lose it by a few careless words.
~~
Daemon Sadi snarled in frustration when he felt the tingling coming from Jaenelle's Ring of Honor. He hadn't yet learned how to interpret all the information that could be absorbed from the Ring. He recognized this particular sensation as a call for help, but had no idea where the call was coming from.
"Do you--," he said, turning toward Khardeen. The intense blankness in Khary's eyes, the sense of focused listening, stopped him from saying anything more.
"Morton," Khary said quietly. "And Karla." He lunged for the door.
Daemon grabbed him. "No. You're needed here." Something niggled at the back of Daemon’s mind, something that Saetan had shared with him about Morton but the buzzing from Jaenelle’s Ring of Honor was making it difficult to focus. On the rage filling him, forcing him to the killing edge was overriding a lot of other emotions and thought processes.
"That's not the way it works," Khary said sharply, breaking into Daemon’s thoughts. "When one of us needs help--."
"You all take the bait?" Daemon asked just as sharply. "You have a pregnant Queen who can't defend herself without risking a miscarriage. Your place is here. I'll take care of Karla - and Morton." He studied Khary. "Who else will have heard that call for help?"
"Everyone in the First Circle who lives in the western part of Kaeleer. The Ring has more of a range than if we were trying to reach someone on our own, but the alert wouldn't be felt beyond that. However, every male who felt that call for help will relay a warning through a communication thread to the First Circle within his range."
"Then relay this message to the First Circle as fast as you can: 'Stay put. Stand guard.' " Daemon paused. "And locate Jaenelle."
"Yes," Khary said grimly. "The Queens need to be protected. Especially her."
Satisfied, Daemon rushed out of the house and swore. He couldn't reach any of the Winds from here.
He started to run down the drive, then turned toward the sound of pounding hooves. Sundancer slid to a stop beside him.
*I heard the call,* Sundancer said. *You must ride the Winds?*
"Yes."
*I can run faster. Mount.*
Grabbing a fistful of Sundancer's mane, he swung up on the Warlord Prince's bare back. It was a short but harrowing ride. The stallion chose the fastest route to reach the nearest Winds without regard for what lay in his path. Daemon's legs were shaking when he slid off Sundancer's back.
Before he could say anything, the stallion pivoted and was gone.
*Fight well!* Sundancer said as he raced back to Khary and Morghann's house.
"You can count on it," Daemon replied too softly. Catching the Black Wind, he headed for Glacia. Along the way, he tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach of what he would find. Terrified of what was laying in wait, he dreaded the idea that he would have to deliver the news to his Queen and love that one of her beloved Sister’s was dead. Or that he would have to deliver the news to the woman that was essentially his sister-in-law that the man she loved as much as he loved her sister was gone to her forever.
~~
As an Arcerian alone, Kaelas had the ability to move from roof to roof effortlessly and without notice. Being a Red-Jeweled Warlord Prince and trained in the ways of human warriors by an Ebon-gray Jeweled Eyrien Warlord Prince, Kaelas was a silent and deadly threat. He witnessed Morton fall, sticks with feathers on them protruding from the Warlord’s body.
He sent out a small tendril of power at the depth of his Red to Morton. The first thing he sensed was the Lady’s shield, which was not a problem. Like all the males of the Lady’s First Circle, regardless of four footed or two footed, he had the ability to safely slip past her shield. There was a part of him that felt immediate relief when he gently touched Morton’s mind. The body was not dead, but he was weak. So weak that he didn’t respond to the faint touch of the kindred’s mind to his own.
Regardless of Morton’s living state, he was a Brother of the Court. And Brothers looked out for each other. Kaelas would take care of this two-footed Brother and ensure he got to Lady Gabrielle or the Lady. He suspected that Lady Karla was in danger and she would need to be protected once he safely got Morton to where he needed to be, then he would figure out the next step to take out the bad humans that had intruded on Lady Karla’s territory.
Looking in the opposite direction, he saw the Sanctuary that held the Dark Altar. Near it was a large, old tree that wouldn’t wake again. The pale humans would have cut it down and burned it in their fires. They wouldn’t need it now.
Using Craft, he opened the Sanctuary door, letting it swing as if it hadn’t been latched properly.
Leaping from the roof, he circled around the backs of the human dens, air walking so that he would leave no tracks. Just because the sight shield made him invisible was no reason to be careless. Playing "stalk and pounce" with Lucivar had taught him that.
Thinking of Lucivar, he remembered something else: never show your full strength to an enemy until it was needed.
His Birthright Jewel was the Opal. Morton's Jewel of rank was the Opal. Yes, that might confuse the winged males.
With a burst of his jewels, the tree exploded- causing wood and snow to fly. The Sanctuary door slammed open and the Eyriens began to scatter, looking for whatever caused it, all the while looking towards where Morton lay.
"What about that bastard?" someone called.
"Leave him," the Green-jeweled Eyrien said. "We’ll finish the kill later. He’s not going anywhere."
Moving in a stalking motion, Kaelas kept himself aware of where the winged humans were. Giving himself a burst of speed, he reached Morton and slowly approached. The Lady’s shield recognized him with a hum and gave way to allow him closer access.
Sniffing the air, Kaelas backed away in confusion. While Morton was not dead, he smelled wrong, much like bad meat that was poisoned to kill or incapacitate the kindred when a human wanted to hurt or gain a new pelt. Sniffing the air again, Kaelas now knew why Morton seemed so faint. He also knew that he should have been dead from whatever was causing him to smell of poisoned meat, yet he wasn’t.
He didn’t have time to decipher the implications of why Morton had not fallen to the Darkness. He couldn’t, and wouldn’t, set his teeth into poisoned meat even if that meat was alive. Settling an Opal shield around Morton’s arm to protect both himself and the human, he carefully closed his jaws around him. Using craft he floated Morton in the air and put a Red sight shield around him. He took off for the nearest place to catch the Winds. He had to hurry. Morton needed help as quickly as possible, but Kaelas also had some hunting to do. The winged Warlord Prince would know his fury, and then he would deliver him to Yaslana to ensure that witness had been made. For Karla, and for Morton.