Brian Rathbone - Regent

When the rain subsided, Sinjin almost wished it hadn't as it had at least given them a meager bit of cover. Now all that stood between them, the demons, and the giants was an open expanse of rock. The distance between them was difficult to gauge, but it was shrinking. The demons seemed tireless, and Sinjin felt as if he had jellyfish instead of legs. The light of the overcharged herald globe still shone brightly, and there was no hiding. The awaiting city still looked to be hours away.

"Never before has my will been so tested," Brother Vaughn said. "It would be so much easier to just give up."

Sinjin simply grunted in response, unable to form the words. Seeing someone he admired as much as Brother Vaughn falter was enough to shake Sinjin's confidence to the core.

"Please don't let the dark things get me," Trinda said, and her words spurred them both on. "Let me down. You need rest. I can walk as fast as you are carrying me."

Sinjin couldn't deny it; his pace had slowed, and not just because of how slowly Brother Vaughn was moving. He was exhausted, his will nearly spent. He lowered Trinda to the stones and put his arm around Brother Vaughn. Trinda, the better rested of the three, led the way, the gleaming herald globe in the palms of her tiny hands.

Brother Vaughn stumbled and Sinjin could not keep them both from falling. Neither was hurt, but neither attempted to rise. Each breathing rapidly, they took an involuntary moment to rest. Trinda watched with a worried eye and urged them to hurry, but it was too much to ask. Even when Sinjin did manage to regain his feet, he could not get Brother Vaughn from the stones. The older monk tried to stand but lacked the strength. The time was costly. By the time Brother Vaughn regained his feet, the demons were within bow range. Sinjin did not see any bowmen, but he was looking at the situation based on his training, and he knew they were perilously close.

Trinda was crying now, and with every step, she urged them to hurry. She knew as well as Sinjin that they would not make it to the city ahead. It was a goal beyond their grasp. Once, he'd tried to imagine what would happen if they did reach the city, but it had become a nightmare, and he tried to keep his mind within the confines of the current problem. To each side stood a possible route of escape, but Sinjin did not know what awaited them in the darkness below. All of them had seen movement down there, and he didn't think crabs were the only things living within the darkness. For a moment Sinjin wondered how anything could live in here at all. Then a fading rumble of thunder reminded them of the rain.

The sound of demons running, their crude armor creaking and their booted feet striking the stones, was the only warning they had that the attack had begun. Sinjin had somehow expected them to slowly catch up, but the demons had been keeping a burst of speed in reserve, and now they rushed forward. Acting on instinct, Sinjin reached out to the energy around him, energy that he knew existed and that his parents could access. He, too, should be able to access it, he presumed. Trying to remember to breathe, he reached out with his fingers and tried to grab on to it with his mind, as his mother had always said. It had been a long time since he had tried to access Istra's powers, but never had he tried when his life depended on it. That was how his mother had come into her powers, and perhaps that was what it would take for his abilities to manifest. Given his encounter with the assassins, it seemed unlikely, but there was nothing else he could do but try.

Crying out and thrusting his arms forward, Sinjin released the accumulated charge. A small spark leaped between his outstretched fingers, and there was a light crackling sound, but his efforts yielded no other effect.

Trinda just stared at him and said nothing.

His face flushed and his pride deeply bruised, Sinjin turned to her. "Is there anything you can do? I'm sorry. I failed."

"You tried," Trinda said with a shrug. "I have a little more now. I'll try too."

Before Sinjin or Brother Vaughn could say another word, Trinda cupped the herald globe, and it grew steadily brighter until it shone like a star, and she threw it as hard and as far as she could. The herald globe sailed high, higher than a girl of Trinda's size should have been able to throw, and Sinjin understood that Trinda's powers continued to manifest, even if his own did not.

Shielding his eyes, Sinjin supposed it would buy them a moment when the demons would be blinded, but without a light to guide them, he wasn't certain how much good it would do them. He didn't have to think about it long. The herald globe ended its flight, and even from a distance, it seemed as if the globe exploded before it ever struck the glossy black stone. A massive burst of energy radiated from it, leveling the demons and sending a wash of angry air over Sinjin, Trinda, and Brother Vaughn.

"By the gods," Brother Vaughn said. "What did you just do?" Then he seemed to recall himself. "Never you mind that question, dear. You saved us. That's what you did." Still, when Brother Vaughn found a still-slightly glowing and perfectly preserved herald globe at the center of an area where even much of the black rock had been blasted away, he retrieved it with cautious awe. "Come. We must leave this place. Quickly."

For Sinjin, reaching the end of the stone bridge was like waking from a bad dream only to find himself in a new nightmare. More howls came from behind, and he grunted with exertion as he did his best to give Brother Vaughn a boost. His strength was fading, and Brother Vaughn had to find what toeholds he could to complete the climb. Trinda was much easier to lift, and Brother Vaughn was there to reach down and grab her, but that left Sinjin standing alone at the bottom of a nearly shear face. Down low, the face was smoother and devoid of toeholds. Brother Vaughn took off his outer robe and held it down to Sinjin. With a running start, Sinjin jumped without a great deal of confidence, but fear and adrenaline brought him close to success. With his second jump, he got a grip on the robe. The sound of tearing cloth was nearly as frightening as the sight of Brother Vaughn nearly going over the edge, but the robe held and Brother Vaughn regained his balance.

Even with the robe to hold on to, it was a difficult climb. When Sinjin finally reached the top, he slid down into a heaving and quivering mass.

"I'd let you rest, m'boy, but we've got to go," Brother Vaughn said, and Trinda showed her agreement by pulling on Sinjin's shirt, her eyes pleading.

Sinjin knew they were right; he could hear more demons coming, and he knew they needed to move, but he could not get his body to respond. He felt Brother Vaughn grab his jacket between the shoulders, and he tried to stand, but he leaned heavily on the already abused monk. Trinda eyed them both with doubt, as if she expected them to collapse at any moment. Sinjin did his best to prove her wrong and, after a few minutes, was able to walk on his own, though he and Brother Vaughn stayed side by side in case either needed help. Trinda walked ahead of them without complaint. The herald globe glowed brightly, as if it had been charged in the sunlight, though not as brightly as it had been when Trinda had fed it her energy.

"Did you give it more?" Sinjin asked Trinda when his strength began to return.

"A little." She shrugged.

"And was it easy to give it just a little and not everything you had?" Sinjin asked, and Brother Vaughn looked up, awaiting her answer.

Trinda just gave him an annoyed look. "I didn't have very much." Her look made it clear she wanted no more questions about that.