Janet Norton - On the Other Side. The Fall

© Janet Norton, 2018

ISBN 978-5-4485-9263-8

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

The Thunder Fort guards seldom left the frontiers of the mountains that hung in the air at the border of Basileya, kingdom of the Eferya people. The observation towers of the fortress overlooked the southern forest and overgrown fragments of the bridges that once connected the two Ena lands when they were a single whole. The Basileya border, guarded by Eferya from the Thunder Fort, ran along the mountains and ended in an abyss which, after the bridges were destroyed, could only be crossed by using wings. The abyss that hung over the cloudy barrier bed was not the only thing dividing the two territories and the Ena people who lived in them – centuries of internal war had also separated them from each other. In the southern forest on the other side of the abyss began the land of the Arya people, with whom the Eferya had only their fears and superstitions in common.

Almost equally they all revered the barrier, over which all the kingdoms and empires of the Ena spanned. The floating layers of earth hung above the grey barrier surface without touching it. The Ena were also afraid to touch the barrier because, despite their differences in language, the dangerous world of the Shadows on the other side had been described in the legends of all their people. For the Ena, the fate of being in the world of shadows and passing their so-called Trial was considered a terrible punishment, practically equal to death, because no one who crossed the barrier could ever come back. Leaving for the Light seemed preferable, despite the fact that since ancient times many of the Ena doubted whether the deceased really joined the single Source of Light as opposed to just disappearing from the living world once and forever. The cause of these painful doubts remained unchanged for centuries for all of the Ena people, it was the Mist.

No matter where the Ena lived or what Rulers they served, they were all afraid of the Mist. The Light of life perturbed the Mist in all its forms. Only when battling the black beasts, the Mist’s creatures, did the Ena forget they were separate Eferya and Arya peoples, and could, therefore, join forces to battle these monsters. The monsters attacked their villages and cities with increasing frequency, destroying crops and farmlands. Unwilling to act like the monsters, the soldiers of the two armies tried to adhere to the rules of combat and the treatment of prisoners. In the event of an accidental conflict with the Mist’s threats, they had to stand shoulder to shoulder against the black beasts and only then turn their weapons or magic against each other. Of course, there was always great risk of death from a stab in the back, because neither the Eferya nor the Arya considered each other the noble Enas. Therefore, none of the soldiers flew alone beyond the frontiers of the fortress without permission from the Thunder Fort commander, and any absence without notice was punished severely by labor in a mine located north of the mountain.

Commander Raniero did not go easy on his subordinates, following his own rules which were often stricter than those the statutes prescribed for Eferya soldiers. Alistar, his deputy, vigilantly ensured the commander himself observed the statutes, but often without any success. Alistar considered Raniero to be overly self-confident and questioned his commanding abilities, and, therefore, tried to assert his own opinions based on the rules. Despite his self-confident nature, Raniero always listened to Alistar’s opinion, although he still got his own way in most situations, trusting his instincts and feelings. The friendship that had developed over the years of joint service helped them to find compromises for the sake of the Thunder Fort. But Alistar would continue to resent some of Raniero’s decisions, even after it was too late to change something…

“I would like to see your report to the General after this sortie! It would be a different story if you were just a soldier who was sent to exchange a captive in the lands of the Arya! Has anyone ever heard of a commander voluntarily risking his own life and limb?” Alistar could not hold back, continuing his dispute with Raniero that had begun back in the fortress. The Eferya group left the fortress heading toward the southern forest. Alistar was angry with Raniero, who was flying slightly ahead and had decided to personally lead the group despite all the dangers inherent in the mission. Raniero replied in a calm, confident tone.

“ I am a simple soldier. Not much changes about this position in the service, just the burdens, for example, boring deputies,” he added without hiding the smile in his voice, glancing at the displeased Alistar.

“Any other deputy would have reported you to the capital long ago!” Alistar began, when suddenly the silhouette of a majestic structure appeared among the dark mass of trees with tall columns and a huge dome. After surveying the area in front of the temple, Alistar continued fuming, but on another issue.

“I told you there would be more of them!” Alistar said angrily, examining the group of Aryas in front of the temple who clearly outnumbered them.

“I told you to stay at the fortress,” Raniero replied, squinting his eyes while partly looking at the Arya. “If anything happens to me, you’re supposed to run the fort, and yet you’re here. This is not going according to the statutes, in fact…”

Alistar restrained his anger, but still silently raged over the reason that Raniero had picked for his sarcastic comment. Alistar had long promised to report Raniero to the capital, but over time this became nothing more than a comic threat. In addition, despite the statutes, Alistar did not want to wait for the bad news in the Thunder Fort, so he decided to tag along so that, if needed, he could protect the reckless commander, since reasonable arguments didn’t seem to work on him.

Standing in front of the entrance to the temple, the Arya soldiers frowned at the approaching Eferyas, and kept a close eye on their every move. Armed and holding torches in their hands, they were tense and in a warlike mood. And some of them, as Raniero had guessed, were guarding someone who was inside the temple. Gesturing a command for the group to land, Raniero was the first to dive down to an open stretch of land in front of the Aryas and he stared at the captive with a gloomy look. Fear was frozen in the coloured eyes of the captive Ena, and his greying hair seemed to have further whitened. At the sight of Raniero, the plump Eferya became nervous and tried to get up from his knees, the position he was placed in anticipation of the group from the fortress, but the Aryas standing on either side prevented him from doing so.