Ch 72: The Prince Of Hope

The first gray of morning was just starting to crawl over the horizon as Calder looked down at the ground stained with the blood of his father’s Air Sorcerer. He knew he should be exhausted, but sleep was something he had grown used to going without.
He and Astasha had spent the last several hours trying to find how their combined power worked, but to no avail. Over and over they had tried to recreate the blast that had knocked back their enemy and seared the flesh from its bones, but each time their hands touched, nothing happened.
The only times they had used it successfully, they had been under threat of death by a demon… perhaps that was the only way for it to work. It didn’t matter now, though. He still had to find a way to rally his troops, to convince all those who were about to gather, that they stood a chance against the most deadly army to ever exist.
Tasha had gone with Helia to check on Zephyr, leaving him alone with his thoughts, and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, his fears.
“It wasn’t easy, but everyone should be here soon.”
He didn’t look up as his Captain approached, only nodded.
“Thank you.”
“Aye.”
They stood there in silence for a moment before Calder at last turned to his friend, his brother, the man he trusted more than anyone, save Astasha.
“Talib, you’ve always played the odds. Do you think we have a chance in hell of coming out of this alive?”
The Captain seemed to consider for a moment. “I’d not bet on it.” Once again he simply nodded at the response, but Talib continued. “I recall saying the same thing when you asked me that in the North though. I thought you had lost your damn mind, thinking we could take the isle. And there were a few times I was certain we were doomed. But you always had a plan, even if it was bat shit. And they always worked, because you refused to believe that they wouldn’t. So, we may not have a chance in hell of surviving, but if there was anyone I’d bet on finding us a chance, it’d be you.”
Talib slapped his hand on his shoulder once as the two exchanged a look, Calder slowly realizing what it was he had to do.
Light crept into the sky as soldiers and sorcerers began to gather. There was a tense and hushed air about everyone as they did, but the Prince simply stood in silence, his head held high as he watched his army amass.
Kashor and his son were the first to come and stand behind him, bowing their heads to him as they did. Then Emera, Gellert, even the twins took their place in support of him.
He was honestly surprised to see the Sorcerers of the Moon Garden there, and even more surprised when Belvana joined the others at his back. He tilted his head to her in appreciation and she bowed hers slightly in acknowledgement.
Soreno, of course, stood at the front of the crowd, his arms crossed, an almost amused look on his face.
It was Astasha, Helia and Narelle who were the last to arrive, Olander following closely.
As Tasha took her place beside him, he noticed how she held herself, how her eyes scanned over the crowd before them. She looked every bit the part of a Princess, but even more than that, like a Sorceress ready to command her army. Whatever fear had consumed her earlier was gone, replaced with a fierce determination that he couldn’t help but admire.
He took her hand and she looked up at him, his soul filling with the fire of her belief in him. And then she turned to look back out at their army, Calder doing the same as he took a deep breath and raised himself up to his full stature.
“I know that many of you here are longing to return to the comfort and safety of your homes.” His voice carried over the crowd, his eyes moving from one to the next, capturing each and every person present in his gaze. “You are afraid, as you should be after the events of yesterday. We do not march upon just any enemy, but one we have never seen the likes of. I have faced it, this demon, and I nearly lost my life. You are here under no oath, so should you choose to turn from this battle and leave, I would not blame you.”
There was a slight shuffle of the crowd, unease and uncertainty clear amongst them.
Calder made sure not to single out any of those he could sense wavering, but he waited for them to consider before continuing.
“Alas, there is one thing you should all know… there is no hiding from this enemy. You may run to your homes, take shelter where you think you will be safe. But it will not save you. This demon does not seek to take our land or vie for the throne. It seeks utter darkness and death and destruction, and it will not stop until it has seen its goal fulfilled or we have seen its demise. It seems an impossible task, I know. We have not the manpower, nor the time to wait in the hope that the King’s army might soon be allowed to join us. But it is not impossible, for I have seen that bastard burn. I have witnessed the power to stop it, for I wield that very power. *We* wield it.”
He looked over at Astasha as murmurs began to course through the throng, a curiosity beginning to kindle.
As his eyes took in the woman beside him, he focused on his need to protect her, his desire to see her safe, and belief that he could do so. He thought about his father, his people, the kingdom he was born to lead. He knew it was his duty to shield them from the horrors they faced, all of them, and shield them he would.
The feelings flowed from him into Tasha and hers back to him. He didn’t need to look to know the power was slowly igniting between them, a glow building from their clasped hands, growing as they at last found what it was they had been missing all night… the belief that it would work, the hope that there was a way to see their pain and suffering at an end.
Something crept into him, not a sense, but a knowledge; he and she were one, two halves of the same whole, born to find one another, the protector and the caregiver, destined to this very moment. Her thoughts became his own, and his hers, and together, they focused all their energy on the ball of light that was now so bright it was almost consuming.
And as one, they released it, sending an explosion of power out around them, knocking back all those gathered, blinding and brilliant and full of hope.
There was nothing he could compare it to, the feeling inside as his vision cleared and his chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. And from the look on Astasha’s face, it was the same for her.
They were separate entities once again, their thoughts their own, though he could still feel her emotions, feel the ecstatic joy within her as they both realized they had done it. They had unlocked the weapon that could bring them the victory they hadn’t thought possible before.
Calder at last turned back to the crowd before him as they all fought to comprehend what it was that had just happened as they recovered from the blast.
“Only the power of light can destroy the darkness and behold! We are its keepers!” His voice rang out. “I stand upon ground stained with the blood of our brother, but he shall be avenged!” Ripping open his tunic he revealed the scar over his heart. “I bear the mark of the damned, but I have found my freedom and I will not surrender it! You have all been trapped by fear and doubt sewn from our enemy. I give you hope now, to shatter your bonds and know, we will ride to victory! So tell me, who still stands with me?! Who will help me rid our land of this darkness once and for all?!”
“I will. I stand with our Prince, now unto my death.” Talib’s voice boomed behind him before it was joined by the battle cry of Kashor and his son, echoed back by their men in the crowd.
“As do we!” Shouted Emera as her clan banged their armor in response.
More and more joined in until the air was filled with the sound of warriors ready to march to war.
He could feel Astasha take his hand again as her voice rose over the crowd. “All hail the White Dragon! All hail the Prince of Hope!”
The cheers and chants and cries grew to a crescendo as Calder looked over their army, and for the first time, he truly believed there was hope after all.
Pulling his sword from its sheath, he raised it into the air.
“To victory!”
And as every arm and voice rose with his, there was no doubt the enemy could hear its doom.