weapons to tear at their ears, some screaming in pain, others writhing silently on the stone
pavement of the battlements, blood trickling from their ears and eyes. More and more Skraelings
clambered over the top of the wall, feasting well on the defenceless men.
Axis was powerless. The ward of protection kept the Skraelings from him but not his
men, who collapsed into uselessness and death as the Skraelings hooked themselves into their
flesh.
Axis turned back to the gates. The SkraeBolds had not moved, but frost ran from their
hands across the wood. The wood splintered, the sound a dreadful crackling accompaniment to
the SkraeBolds‘ music. Within minutes the gates would crack apart. Axis ran to the internal
battlements, looking down at the unit of men stationed inside the gates. The SkraeBold‘s music
hadn‘t yet reached them in force, though many scratched at their ears as they stared in horror at
the splintering wood.
Axis leaned down as far as he could, screaming at the men above the general hubbub of
battle and the sound of the cracking wood. Get back, he screamed. Seek shelter. As one the men
ran to look for defensive positions further into the town.
Axis turned back to the battle. Several of the IceWorms lay dead and split on the ground,
but a hundred paces further west one of the IceWorms reared its head among a hail of arrows,
wavered for a moment, then heaved obscenely, once, twice, a third time, and then spewed forth
hundreds of Skraelings deep into the town. Axis felt sick to his stomach. He prayed that the units
stationed among the twisting alleyways of the town would be able to contain the Skraelings, but
even as he prayed he saw a second, a third, and, horrifyingly, a fourth IceWorm rear their heads above the walls and spew forth their cargo.
Below him the gates splintered completely, then fell, tearing from their hinges in a
scream of tortured metal.
―Damn you, StarDrifter!‖ Axis screamed into the night, ―why are you not here to show
me what to do! Damn you!‖
The defences of Gorkentown were breached.
SkraeFear attacked StarDrifter in such a fury of razor-sharp beak and taloned hands, feet
and wing tips that had the Enchanter not managed to pull his head back he would have been
decapitated by the SkraeBold‘s beaked jaws. His ward of protection no use against the
SkraeBold, he was pushed to the ground by the force of the creature‘s attack, and felt lethal
talons pierce his flesh.
―Think that your pitiful wards are enough to withstand me, Enchanter?‖ SkraeFear hissed
close to StarDrifter‘s ears. ―Do you think that you are stronger than your son? Fool!‖
StarDrifter‘s body was wracked with pain as the SkraeBold‘s talons sank deeper into his
flesh, jerking and tearing as its claws clenched tighter. He fought to retain his grip on the power
of the Star Dance but the pain was so dreadful that his mind slipped. His vision blurred even as
the SkraeBold tore at his wings with his beak; there was nothing he could do against such an
attack. A grey mist gathered at the edges of his vision.
Then the SkraeBold hissed and writhed in surprise and pain and StarDrifter felt the grip
of its talons loosen. With a final supreme effort he pulled himself free and rolled to one side. A
woman was hunched over the SkraeBold, twisting an arrow into the base of the creature‘s neck.
The SkraeBold had its hands to the arrow, trying to pull it out, ignoring the woman for
the moment. StarDrifter launched himself to help her, crying out in agony as he felt his wings
flap uselessly behind him. He pushed himself forward nevertheless, grabbing the woman about
the waist and hauling her away from the SkraeBold. Any moment it would attack the woman and
she wouldn‘t stand a chance against its taloned malice.
StarDrifter, even as the SkraeBold had seemed within an instant of taking his life, had
suddenly realised how he could help…if he lived long enough. Half dragging the woman, half
leaning on her for support, StarDrifter stumbled towards the still burning circle of stone, sobbing
in relief that the Skraelings had delayed their attack until the stone had lit. All that was keeping
Gorgrael‘s creatures from the Earth Tree was the circle of enchanted flame.
―Do not breathe!‖ he croaked as he dragged the woman towards one of the burning
archways, ―do not breathe as we go through!‖ He clamped a hand over her nose and mouth as
they tumbled through, feeling the flames sear his flesh and feathers, tucking his tattered wings as
close to his body as possible—he did not want to go up as a living torch if his wings caught fire.
Still holding on to the woman he stumbled towards the Earth Tree. Raum ran towards
him, catching him by the shoulders. Relatively unmarked himself, the Bane‘s face twisted with
horror at the sight of the Enchanter‘s injuries.
―StarDrifter! Let me help you.‖
―No time!‖ StarDrifter muttered, close to collapse. He finally let go of the woman and
leaned on Raum. ―Quick. We have to get to the Earth Tree. There is a chance…a chance…if this
Tree Friend of yours truly exists…that we can put a stop to this slaughter and save both our
peoples and the Avarinheim.‖
Raum exchanged a stricken glance with Azhure. ―Help me,‖ StarDrifter cried, and
between them Raum and Azhure dragged him to the Earth Tree.
―Raum, I will need you to help me reach this girl, what did you say her name was?‖
―Faraday.‖
StarDrifter nodded, the grey haze closing in on him again.
Raum looked desperately at Azhure. ―Azhure, support him—careful! His wings are
terribly injured!‖
Azhure knelt behind StarDrifter and helped him into a sitting position, carefully pulling
his bloodied wings to either side of her. She could see that many of his wounds were open to the
bone.
The pain woke StarDrifter from his mental fog and, after a moment, he leaned back
against her, grateful for her support. ―Thank you,‖ he said quietly, looking at her. ―What is your
name?‖
Raum started to speak, but StarDrifter seized his arm and forced him to silence. The
Enchanter kept his eyes riveted on Azhure‘s face. His blood loss made him light-headed, but
there was something about the woman that called to him. Did he know her?
―My name is Azhure, StarDrifter.‖
―Azhure.‖ StarDrifter nodded and turned back to Raum, wrapping the Bane‘s hand in his
gently and placed his other hand on the Earth Tree‘s trunk. ―Give me your support in this, Bane
Raum, and help me to find Faraday. You know her, I do not. With her help, we will make Earth
Tree sing as she has not done in millennium.‖
Through their interlinked hands Raum felt the Icarii Enchanter bend his mind and will to
the Tree, loving it, calling to it, asking it for aid. Raum placed his own free hand against the
Tree, called on the Tree, the Horned Ones and the Mother for aid, and summoned Faraday. The
Earth Tree, rarely aware of what happened in the world of moving beasts, briefly turned her
mind from contemplating those mysteries she found buried deep in the earth with her roots and
those that ruffled past her leaves carrying the faint vibrations of the Star Dance and listened to
both the Icarii Enchanter and the Avar Bane. Tree Friend? Tree Friend walked? For a while she
contemplated this new mystery, then she drifted back into her slumber again.
Faraday, terrified, sat huddled in her chamber, holding tightly to Yr. Timozel stood guard
at the door, his sword drawn, showing no obvious doubts about his ability to hold back a hundred
of the Skraelings should they come swarming up the corridor. The attack on the fort and town
felt like it had been going on for hours, yet Faraday was dimly aware that only an hour had
passed since the Skraelings had launched themselves against the walls of Gorkenfort. The
screeching and wailing of wraiths, the shouts and screams of men, tore at her ears, and she buried
her head in Yr‘s shoulder. Yr‘s face was white and pinched, and her lips moved silently and
unceasingly as she prayed to the Prophecy that they all might somehow survive this terrible
attack. She rocked Faraday slowly back and forth, as much to comfort herself as to comfort the
girl.
Suddenly she felt Faraday stiffen in her arms and cry out softly, almost as if in pain.
―Faraday?‖
Faraday mumbled something very softly, and Yr felt the girl‘s hands clench at her back.
―Faraday? What‘s wrong?‖
Timozel turned from the door. ―What is it?‖
―Raum?‖ Faraday whispered.
Yr forced a smile to her face. ―It is nothing, Timozel. Faraday merely fears, as do I.‖
Timozel frowned, then turned back to his post.
Yr bent back to Faraday and pulled her head back a little so she could see Faraday‘s eyes.