The dream flickered, and Utgar saw himself, younger, before Runa had entered his life. It was a memory, one he had long suppressed. Utgar didn\u2019t want to watch, but he was still too deep in sleep to wake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s them or us, Utgar.\u201d The voice echoed to him from the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the dream, Utgar turned, and saw Vraen, a friend in a world of hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThem or us,\u201d Vraen repeated, coming closer and putting a hand on young-Utgar\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Utgar looked down at the blood splattered across the sand. His arms were dyed red; his chest splashed with gore. Blood pounded in his ears, and his breathing still came quickly. He looked up at Vraen, and thought he saw a flicker of something close to fear pass over his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThem or us,\u201d Utgar repeated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Utgar finally wrenched his mind from sleep. His breathing was quick, even as it had been in the dream, but thankfully no blood coated his arms. He closed his eyes, trying to rid them of the memory he had seen. He could still see Vraen\u2019s face, watching him, that hint of fear still upon it. That look had haunted Utgar ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Runa. Think of Runa.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Utgar\u2019s breathing slowed. His muscles relaxed; his fists unclenched. He opened his eyes, and took a deep breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had made good time through the night, but a few hours before dawn his exhaustion had caught up with him, and he had been forced to sleep in the shadow of a large boulder. The Strip was littered with such boulders, and along with the canyons which gouged their way across the surface, navigating the harsh landscape was no simple task. But it would take a lot more than uneven terrain to keep Utgar from his daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He stood, taking a deep breath as he did so. The air was clearer here than in the desert. Less filled with sand, and not quite as sulfur-tasting. But it still reeked of heat and dust, and Utgar coughed as the foul air filled his lungs. He took his waterskin, which he had filled before he left, and took a measured drink. He couldn\u2019t afford to waste his water. It was all he had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m coming, Runa,\u201d he whispered. He replaced the waterskin behind the breastplate of the soldier, which he still wore, and stumbled down a slope into the nearest canyon. It ran due west. Towards Srung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Utgar had stayed well away from the Strip ever since Runa was born. He had seen enough of it for a lifetime, and he had no desire to see it again. When he had roamed it, it had been an unforgiving land, ruled by marauding groups of bandits and raiders. A few kyrie had tried to erect villages and form clans, but they never lasted longer than a few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It didn\u2019t take Utgar long to realize that the Strip had changed. As he crested the lip of a canyon, he saw far off in the distance a village. It was large, with a palisade of bones and rock surrounding it. Whoever lived there must be powerful indeed, to be able to thwart the raider attacks which would have surely come. No sooner had Utgar thought this though, than he realized that he hadn\u2019t seen a single raiding party, nor a hint of bandits. The Strip seemed virtually deserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Realizing this, Utgar turned on the spot, scanning the horizon. Nothing moved. No \u2013 a speck of motion caught Utgar\u2019s eye as he turned. He tried to find it again, but the barren rock was lifeless. But he had been sure he had seen something: a kyrie, far off, seeming to watch him. Utgar scanned the desolate landscape again, but there was no one there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Utgar shook himself. He couldn\u2019t waste time wondering what had happened to the Strip, or where all the raiding parties had gone. He had to somehow get to Runa before the soldiers made it to Srung. Somewhere deep within his mind, logic told him it was impossible. The soldiers could fly twice as fast as he could run. There was no way he would catch them before they reached Srung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Utgar ignored his logic, got a firmer grip on his axe, and plunged into the next canyon heading west.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Utgar didn\u2019t see anyone until after midday. It was then, upon rounding a bend in a canyon, that he almost walked straight into a group of soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They didn\u2019t see him, and Utgar was able to scramble backwards and hide behind a rock just in time. He found a space near the base of the rock where the sand had blown away, and looked through it, his heart pounding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were only three soldiers. They were clearly resting. Two were drinking from waterskins; the third was tugging at his wings, trying to rid them of sand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One put down his waterskin, having drunk his fill. \u201cBack and forth, back and forth; when will Ahnvad make up his mind?\u201d He glanced at the other two. \u201cI\u2019m tired of flying around this forsaken land.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo am I,\u201d said the wing-cleaning kyrie calmly. \u201cBut orders are orders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBlast the orders,\u201d the first kyrie muttered. \u201cI have a family I haven\u2019t seen in two months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAhnvad has a family too,\u201d the wing-cleaning kyrie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first kyrie gave a bark of laughter. \u201cLike that could be called a family. Hah! Does it count if your family would run away given half a chance? Does it count if they\u2019re kept under lock and key?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThose are just stories,\u201d the other kyrie said delicately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell I have no trouble believing them,\u201d the first kyrie said. \u201cAhnvad.<\/em> Bah! I\u2019d rather have guard duty in the moldering ruins of Montfre than take another order from him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat could be arranged,\u201d said the third kyrie, who had until now been silent. He had an oily voice. The first kyrie looked down at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat? Are you going to report me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course not,\u201d the oily kyrie replied. \u201cBut Ahnvad has spies everywhere. If you aren\u2019t careful, you may very well find yourself assigned elsewhere. Even to Montfre. Then you\u2019d be even further from your family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAhnvad doesn\u2019t scare me,\u201d the first kyrie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat makes one of you,\u201d the wing-cleaning kyrie observed. \u201cLook, I\u2019ve been stuck in this wasteland a lot longer than you have. You don\u2019t want to defy Ahnvad. You\u2019ll regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s he going to do?\u201d laughed the first kyrie. \u201cKill me? He answers to the emperor. He can\u2019t just do anything he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, he can,\u201d said the oily kyrie. \u201cAnd he does. The emperor doesn\u2019t care one whit what happens in the Volcarren. Ahnvad might answer to him in theory, but down here, he\u2019s in charge. If you mess up, if you do one thing he doesn\u2019t like, you\u2019ll regret it. Trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Utgar had heard enough. He backed away slowly. Soldiers and Volcarrens generally stayed away from each other, but each would easily kill the other if they could get away with it. Utgar had no desire to be found by the soldiers, alone and walled in by a canyon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, luck was not with Utgar that day. As he backed away, hidden by the rock behind which he had crouched, one of the soldiers rounded the corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a moment they stared at each other, soldier and Volcarren. Utgar felt a wave of cold flood through his body. He had hoped to avoid this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The soldier reached for his sword, but Utgar was on top of him before he had even gripped the hilt. Utgar clamped his hand over the soldier\u2019s mouth, hoping to avoid having to fight the other two, but he wasn\u2019t quite fast enough. The soldier let out a strangled cry before Utgar silenced him. Pulling his long knife from behind his breastplate, Utgar slit the soldier\u2019s throat without a second thought, and quickly moved backwards as the other two soldiers ran around the corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They let out cries of fury as they saw their dead companion, his blood on Utgar\u2019s blade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ll pay for that!\u201d the wing-cleaning kyrie said. He pulled his sword and ran at Utgar, brandishing it wildly. He was completely exposed, but then perhaps he thought he could intimidate Utgar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was wrong. Utgar waited until he was close enough, then darted forwards and stabbed him cleanly through the gut, where his armor was weak. Then he leapt back, pulling his blade free as he did so. The kyrie fell backwards onto the ground, crying out in pain and trying to staunch the flow of red from his stomach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The third kyrie, the oily one, wisely stayed back. He began to circle to the left, trying to come at Utgar from the side. Utgar knew the smart thing to do was to circle to the right, and keep the soldier in front of him. It was far better to be attacked than to do the attacking; the attacker was always the first to make a mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Utgar also knew he didn\u2019t have time to wait. The soldier could fly, and could easily escape and return with help. Utgar had to kill him before he could consider that option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He lunged forwards suddenly, watching the soldier\u2019s blade, ready to pull back in an instant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The soldier moved forwards and to the side, so that Utgar overshot him. Utgar tried to turn to face him, but the soldier moved forwards, slamming his shoulder into Utgar\u2019s chest. Utgar was knocked to the ground, and his dagger flew from his grasp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The soldier was on him in an instant, his blade slicing down towards Utgar\u2019s unprotected chest. But Utgar had been in far worse situations than this, and knew what to do. He kicked his legs out, striking the knees of the soldier. The soldier lost his balance, and fell forwards, causing his sword to change trajectory. Utgar slid to the side, just as the sword embedded itself in the sand where his head had been moments before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It struck stone, and for a moment, the ringing filled Utgar\u2019s ears, and the quivering blade held his gaze. A flicker of fear woke within him, a hint of anger, a small cloud on the blank expanse of the calm in his mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The soldier rolled, trying to get a hold of Utgar. Utgar saw him coming just in time, and grabbed him about the shoulders. They grappled, the soldier trying to get at Utgar and simultaneously pull his sword from the ground, Utgar clinging on, trying to get to the soldier\u2019s throat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Utgar won. His hands finally found the soldier\u2019s neck, and clamped around it, squeezing mercilessly. The soldier scrabbled at Utgar\u2019s hands, but he couldn\u2019t get a grip. He tried to buck Utgar off of him, and when that didn\u2019t work, rolled, trying to scrape him off. Utgar clung on. Sand flew in his face and filled his mouth as the soldier rolled, but Utgar only held on tighter, and tighter, and tighter\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a few moments he realized that the soldier had stopped moving. Utgar released his grip, shoved the soldier off of him, and sat up, his breathing heavy and quick. He wasn\u2019t calm anymore. He felt hot, flush with blood and heat. A cold sweat prickled his skin at the familiar sensation. He glanced at the three dead corpses around him, and closed his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Them or me,<\/em> he thought, the words slow and measured. It\u2019s them or me.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Slowly, his breathing returned to normal. Utgar opened his eyes, saw a pile of clean sand nearby, and wiped the blood from his knife on it, before returning it to behind his breastplate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He stood. He already had armor and enough provisions, taking more would only slow him down. So he left the three kyrie where they had fallen, climbed out of the canyon, and continued his journey west. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m coming, Runa,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The dream flickered, and Utgar saw himself, younger, before Runa had entered his life. It was a memory, one he had long suppressed. Utgar didn\u2019t want to watch, but he was still too deep in sleep to wake. \u201cIt\u2019s them or us, Utgar.\u201d The voice echoed to him from the past. In the dream, Utgar … Continue reading Chapter Three<\/span>