Chapter 7: Consequences

  Corin and Nanaua were surrounded on every side. The tree-like humanoids silently observed the two furtives along with the large grey wolf.

  “I am sorry that we did not tell you what had occurred with the Onsiel and the Goddess.” Corin addressed the crowd.

  “It had never been our intention to cause such events to unfold.” He continued. “We merely sought a way to fight against the Titans.”

  Ciana stood at the center of a perimeter formed by the forest elves.

  As soon as Corin and Nanaua had finished speaking with Casim, they all returned to the thicket. Corin had been unsure of whether or not the forest elves were privy to what had been discussed with the Onsiel, but their icy reception made it clear that they knew. Now they found themselves attempting to explain what had happened.

  “Your story is so incredible that it is almost impossible to believe.” Ciana was the first one to speak. “An Onsiel is a rare occurrence by itself, but a furtive Goddess? An army of furtives that are amassing to fight against Titans? That all would have seemed impossible to believe, but events elsewhere seem to give credence to your words.”

  “What do you mean?” Corin replied.

  “Before your arrival here, we had received word of an oddity.” Ciana began. “Five Giants, Beryl, Balino, Besal, Barmoro and Bolno had formed a line at the end of the Karinka valley and had been waiting for something. We now know what it was.”

  “The furtive Legion.” Casim spoke up.

  “Yes.” Ciana said as she looked at the furtive. “It seems the Giants knew of the incoming furtives and waited for them. There was a conflict between the two sides.”

  Corin's heart dropped when he heard this.

  Was Livia there? What happened?

  “The beginning of the war.” Casim said. He didn't speak to anyone in particular.

  “What happened?” Nanaua asked immediately, her voice tinged with concern. “Did the furtives win?”

  “It seems that way.” Ciana replied calmly. “The furtive army marched out of the valley, but the Giants have not been seen again.”

  “Incredible.” Nanaua muttered at the revelation.

  Corin was awestruck. An army of furtives fought against a group of Giants, five strong, and came out victorious.

  “Incredible.” He muttered.

  Where you there Livia? I should have been there as well… But that's no use now.

  “Do you know where this valley is?” Nanaua spoke. “Could you guide us there?”

  “We figured you would ask that.” Ciana replied. “The Karinka valley can be reached in six days.”

  Corin's heart began to race. He did not think he would be this close to Livia now. He wanted to get up and begin running right this instant.

  “Under normal circumstances.” Ciana added.

  Corin turned to look at her.

  “What do you mean?” He snapped. “What is it? Some sort of danger? A Titan? A Giant? Whatever danger might lie in wait we can avoid, we're damned furtives! That's all we do!”

  Ciana for the first time seemed concerned when looking at Corin.

  “It's more than that.” Ciana replied. “Two of our other villages have already been destroyed. Within two days or even tomorrow we expect the Giant Bosphor to arrive here and lay waste to this village.”

  “Giants destroy furtive settlements all the time!” Corin replied exasperated. “There’s nothing new or alarming about that.”

  “It's not just here. The trees have warned us that it is happening in many other places.” Ciana replied. “Giants are deliberately targeting any furtive settlement they can find and destroying them.”

  The revelation sent a shiver down Corin's spine.

  “What? What do you mean? You mean to say that Giants are deliberately targeting furtive settlements?” Corin asked, perplexed.

  The potential answer to that question had so many ramifications that Corin could not even begin to imagine them.

  “I’m afraid that is the case.” Ciana replied.

  The excitement that Corin had felt only moments ago vanished.

  “But it goes beyond destroying settlements. The Giants are killing all furtives they come across. Entire towns have been wiped out in mere moments and those that escape are being hunted until all furtives are dead.” Ciana finished.

  “Corin, Seingen!” Nanaua yelled.

  “I know!” He replied as he looked toward the distance.

  “Ciana, can you guide us to Seingen? Do you know if it has been attacked?” Nanaua asked.

  “I don't know which villages have been attacked. But I can help guide you to Seingen if that is what you want, or I can guide you to the furtive army. But if we move towards Seingen we may lose our only opportunity to meet with the furtive army.” Ciana replied.

  “You would do that for us?” Corin spoke up. “Even after what we did?”

  “It's clear this situation is beyond what you intended.” Ciana replied. “Whatever your intentions were, the outcome seems to have been beyond your control. Besides we have questions from this Furtive Goddess and it seems our interests are best aligned for now.”

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  Corin looked at Nanaua. He could see the pain in her eyes. The two of them had worked for so long to get to this point. But he knew what needed to be done, and so do Nanaua. She turned to Ciana.

  “We have to go to Seingen as fast as we can!” Nanaua told her.

  “Casim what will you do?” Ciana asked the furtive who had been quiet for a while now.

  “I can't go back to the Furtive legion.” He spoke. “I don't know how to reach my home on this continent. I planned on returning to the tree in which I was seeking shelter.”

  “An Onsiel could be a valuable ally in this time.” Ciana spoke to him.

  Casim looked horrified, he moved his gaze away from Ciana.

  “I do not…” he began. “You would still trust me? After what I did?”

  “If you so wish, there would be a place for you in our thicket.”

  Casim looked around to the other forest elves. They met his glance with understanding.

  “I will stay.” He began. “I will stay and I promise I won't run away this time. If a Giant were to threaten the thicket I promise I will help, even if it costs me my life.”

  ***

  Corin and the others raced back to Seingen. They had been on the move for three straight days now. The only thing on their mind was to arrive as fast as they could. But their hasty trek came upon an unexpected issue midway through the fourth day.

  “Wait!” Ciana muttered. She stopped moving.

  “What is it?” Corin asked. “Why are we stopping?”

  “There is an issue.” Ciana calmly replied.

  “With what?” Nanaua spoke up.

  “The trees at the end of the forest.” Ciana began. “They have gone silent.”

  “Is it a Giant?” Corin asked although he already knew the answer.

  Ciana’s glance let him know what he already knew.

  “Damn! There must be a way around him!” Corin began. “He can't be everywhere at once.”

  Ciana looked at Corin. She seemed as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

  “Well is there?” He followed up.

  “Our best course of action is to wait.” She replied. “Once the Giant moves out of the way we can proceed.”

  “Wait?” Nanaua began. “Corin has to be right, there must be some other way around.”

  “There's a river that runs next to this forest. We won't be able to go around him.” Ciana replied.

  “Does that river encircle the forest? Can't we maneuver around him otherwise?” Corin added.

  Ciana hesitated once more.

  “I think waiting is our best option.” She added.

  “Is there another path?” Nanaua asked.

  Ciana avoided their gaze.

  “Yes. There is.”

  “Please take us, we need to hurry.” Corin asked.

  “I will take you.” Ciana said, finally meeting his gaze. “But I warn you. Do not stray from the path I set.”

  Corin was confused at Ciana's suggestion, he had no time for diversions.

  “I will not.” He replied.

  “You have been warned.” Ciana replied. “Let's go.”

  The three of them followed Ciana as she wove deep into the forest. They navigated deep into the forest, adapting to the much thicker brush. This path made moving a lot more difficult for them, but Corin did not care. He had only one priority and that was reaching Seingen. The only thing that eased their trek were the shallower banks of snow, signs that winter was finally retreating. This made their return trip easier than their initial journey to the Forest of Tall trees.

  Now after many hours Corin could see that the forest began to thin out. It was a welcome sight.

  Ciana stopped once more. She turned to Nanaua who led the way with Kaha.

  “Do not stray from the path I follow.” Ciana ordered.

  Nanaua seemed annoyed at this point by Ciana’s consistent insistence.

  “We can defend ourselves.” Nanaua replied as she struck the ground with the end of the pike.

  “You misunderstand me.” Ciana said.

  She continued ahead.

  The group arrived at the clearing and now only Corin realized why the forest began to thin out. Large depressions on the ground signified that a Giant had been through here recently. A large number of trees had been torn from the ground, or had just been smashed where they stood.

  “Be wary. There might be golem stragglers.” Ciana announced.

  It did not take long for her warning to come true. From beneath a destroyed tree a loud roar came. Nanaua reacted and moved her pike through the air, smashing into the icy creature leaving behind a cloud of ice crystals.

  “Is this why you were so concerned for us?” Nanaua said.

  “No.” Ciana said as she continued along without looking back.

  The group continued along the wreckage of the forest, with Ciana leading, followed by Nanaua and Corin.

  “Why would a Giant want to destroy this forest?” Corin asked.

  To him this did not make much sense. Giants were prone to destroying, but there always seemed to be an objective, a target that they wanted to destroy. The only exception had been Bellum. But here Corin saw nothing of the sort.

  If Ciana heard Corin she did not reply.

  As they continued walking for a bit Corin saw Kaha move to a fallen tree and chew on something. The wolf pulled as if he was trying to pry something free from underneath the trunk.

  Corin walked over to help the wolf.

  “Let me help you there.” Corin said.

  The wolf turned around and his grey face was matted red. Sticking out from the tree Corin saw something that he could not identify. Nanaua stopped and went to see what Kaha had been focused on.

  Ciana turned around to see why the others had stopped moving. She reacted instantly.

  “No! Don’t stop!” She urged them.

  Corin did not hear her. His face was focused on what was in front of him. Protruding from the bottom of the tree was a humanoid arm, with its hand dangling. Corin turned to look at Kaha once again and noticed that what covered his face was the blood from the dead human.

  “What is it Corin?” Nanaua asked as she saw his face.

  She followed his gaze to look at the mangled arm.

  “Are there more?” She softly asked. She turned to Ciana now.

  “Are there more of them?” Nanaua asked again.

  “It doesn't matter.” Ciana replied. “You can't help them. They were attacked yesterday.”

  “Where?” Nanaua shouted.

  “Did I not tell you to follow me? Did I not say-” Ciana began.

  “Where?!” Nanaua shouted. “Where are they?”

  “The area is dangerous, we should do what we can to stick to-” Ciana continued.

  “I do not care!” Nanaua shouted.

  Ciana was quiet.

  “Fine.” Ciana replied. “Continue heading west and you'll find the village.”

  Nanaua instantly left and Corin followed.

  “It's too late now.” Ciana said as he stood up.

  “There might be survivors.” He said as he left.

  The two of them hurried as the destruction around them intensified. Now there were more than just trees destroyed. Corin could see stones, straw, and remains of various furtives strewn about.

  A loud yell came ahead of them. There were two golems standing on the edge of what seemed to be the remains of the town.

  Nanaua yelled, throwing her pike straight at one, pulverizing it in an instant. She ran at the other and knocked it to the ground. She pounded it with her fists until her fists hit only the mud beneath her.

  Nanaua panted as she looked at the ground beneath her.

  Corin saw the destruction of the town. It was complete. Even after most clashes some structures were left standing. There were none in this case. This was a deliberate attack. Remains were strewn about. Humans and gesherin. Corin could not see an intact body anywhere.

  Nanaua and Corin scoured all over, to see if there were any survivors.

  “Is anyone here?” Corin called.

  There was no response.

  Corin stepped on something. He slowly knelt down and grabbed the item. It was hard and covered in mud.

  He picked it up and cleaned it. What he held in his hand was a small toy, of a warrior holding a spear.

  His gaze was fixed upon the small warrior.

  “Come on now.” Ciana said, approaching the two. “There is not a lot of daylight left.”

  Corin stared at the small figurine. His mind wandered. He could not help but imagine the child this belonged to. Corin wondered if his death had been painful.

  Corin felt a hand on his shoulder.

  “Corin, let's keep going.” Ciana said. Corin heard her voice but he could not stop staring at the small figurine.

  “When I was a child,” Corin spoke. His gaze fixed upon the figurine “my brother carved a small figurine very much like this. It was one of my favorite toys.”

  Ciana was silent. She did not know if there were words that could ease his pain.

  “Was there nothing we could have done for this village?” Corin asked without looking away.

  “No.” Ciana firmly said. “We were too far. There are too many villages like this one Corin. You won't be able to save them.”

  “Of course… I don’t even know why I bother. I don’t even know what we’re trying to do.” He replied, still fixated upon the small toy.

  “This world was a cruel place before you ever stepped foot in it.” Ciana said. “Every atrocity committed by the Titans is not yours to shoulder.”

  Nanaua knelt in front of Corin and put her hands on his.

  “She is right, Corin.” Nanaua spoke now. “Even before Jokasta had been freed, Titans would slaughter furtives without thought. All we can do now is move ahead and try to protect what we can.”

  “But why?” Corin replied, barely audible.

  “Because when we see an injustice we cannot let it go unchallenged Corin.” Nanaua told him. “The same fire that stirs within me, that calls me to action, is the one that burns in you. It not only propels us forward, but it causes our soul to hurt whenever we see an injustice. But the only thing we can do to douse that flame is to challenge the injustice we see. Whether that injustice comes from the Titans or from a so-called Goddess does not matter, we have to continue moving, even if no one else will stand with us.”

  Nanaua stood up and extended a hand to Corin. He could not take his eyes off the figurine.

  “We’re needed elsewhere Corin.” Nanaua said. “Seingen.”

  “Seingen.” Corin said, understanding now.

  “That’s right.” He said as he took Nanaua’s hand. “Let us continue.”

  As he moved out he tucked the figurine in with his belongings.