Jerrika backed away from the being who had just enveloped her enemy in fire, who had called her "pure" and "Ondrea's daughter" inside her Zalez, and who was obviously larger than she had ever anticipated finding a sentient being inside Sentinel. A giant Shadow Eater? A huge water creature that could speak inside her mind? The scales she had touched did not remind her of a Salimantor at all,  it filled the whole of the cavern.

Relief at Quildor's retreat now turned to fear at what may have caused that retreat. "Who are you?" 

"I am Talisman."

Jerrika felt Losira leap in unexpected awakening within. "Talisman?" She had found the Talisman and it was alive?

"I am Talisman. I have arisen."

"Arisen?" Jerrika had no choice but to repeat it, as she tried to focus her thoughts. There was no way her poor mind could believe this was happening to her, or comprehend what she should do. Although a specific form for the Talisman had never been decided upon, she had always pictured it to be some kind of key or locket, she wasn't sure, but a large sentient creature with scales and fire wasn't what she had determined she was looking for.

"I will show myself. Please follow me." Jerrika felt compelled to do as it asked, one for curiosity sake and one out of duty.  

Could it be a trap? She'd seen the witch blubbering on the floor of her chambers. Ondrea had been freed, and Nimiane, powerful and revered, was also traveling the sacred roads of duty and healing. Could one of them be providing this distraction? 

The answer was yes. 

Jerrika followed the sounds of retreating slither and thump as the enormous creature plowed its way down the center of a tunnel away from where Quildor had been last seen. One thing she did know was that this creature meant her no immediate harm, and it was no friend to her enemies.

******

Korlon had healed Kara's immediate need, the slice that had rendered her blood loss extreme. But he had not replaced the loss, and she remained in grave danger. He was not apt at travel with another being for any particularly great distance. The inclination to take her to Valdemar was great, he knew the city, the healers, and the leaders there. Instead he found himself in the abandoned Aerie outside of Quildor's damaged castle, his reserves depleted. He laid Karaon the ground and assessed their surroundings.

He'd already seen the initial damage to the castle and the village, but now, it was even worse. Smoke and flame filtered through broken windows and people scrambled to put out the fire. Rocks and stones overturned that had once made up the walls of the castle, were now plunged into disarray. Soldiers were racing in an unorganized fashion, the yells of men shouting orders and commands to each other and to their subordinates deafening. Screams of women and children were confused and afraid. This was not a good place to stay, but Korlon realized he needed to take more time to heal. He was concealed, but obviously whatever was taking place would soon engulf him as well. He didn't have much time.

The dress she wore was different, definitely not made in Aquaria. It resembled the female clothing of the villagers. Anger coursed through him that the Foeman had taken her, and clothed her, possibly more...

He knelt once again, smoothing her hair out of her face with a gentle finger, a hand full of memories. His eyes clouded for one second. He focused not on the almost tragedy of losing her a few moments before, but on the task of saving her life right now. He checked her pulse, found it after some time, weak. His own heart raced as if trying to give her strength he no longer had to give.

Her hair had been braided, although he had to wonder by whom, as hair styles had never been Kara's forte. A wave of jealousy tore through him as he thought of the Foeman again. Had he run his hand through that silky hair?

He touched her throat where the wound had been and felt her pulse, then placed the other hand on the ground, rubbing his fingers into the dirt. He closed his eyes.

Where Korlon had learned to do this he wasn't sure. The woman who had been the closest thing to a mother that he had was Mathilde Aquaria Valdemar. Mathilde had been a healer. He'd mostly seen her use herbs, but she'd been one to tell him there was healing in the soil and the rock as well.

Now he drew on the sensation he'd had before as he used his own energy to heal the deadly wound Kara sustained. He couldn't allow her to die.

After a few minutes, the sounds of rushing around him receded. The sensation of texture within his hands disappeared and the warmth of the air and breeze tempered to unawareness. Korlon allowed his mind to drift, to surge ahead along the waves of pain that Kara was projecting. Her mind was alight with images and feelings, too many to sort out. But it was familiar to him, and he gently insinuated his healing energy into the places that were weak and feeble. Those sparks within her that were too infirm to respond, he buoyed up with his own energy against the damage that had been done to her. 

He could feel it drawing from the earth beneath his bare skin, and pressed himself further into it, while still allowing it to transfer into her. 

On Aquaria, not long before this tragedy, he had been about to teach her the ways of Zalez, the planetary gift of mind communication. Most of the undersea dome inhabitants did not have much aptitude for it. But Kara always had, although he had been careful not to encourage her at a younger age. Now he sensed she had not only entered the world of Zalez, but had forged ahead along paths he was unfamiliar with. This would be the Foeman's doing.

Korlon knew when he roused that it had been a long time, perhaps many hours that he had sat beside Kara willing her to live. His muscles were cramped to the point that he couldn't move them easily. His neck was stiff, his arms aching. He opened his eyes and found that darkness and an uneasy quiet had fallen around them.

He rose on an elbow, a knee, and finally straightened, leaning heavily against the low broken stone wall of the Aerie. He could see out to the ocean from his vantage point, but it was dark and misty, no storms disturbed its tranquillity. Upon the upper ramparts of what was left of the Castle, the glowing embers of fire were smoldering. A large contingent of soldiers was in formation and a huge Salimantor in uniform had his back to the Aerie but had to be addressing them. Were they preparing for their war to retrieve the scepter?

High above, with the backdrop of Sentinel rising in the darkness, a glowing red and black figure stood alone. Moonlight reflected the bald pate of Quildor, and without having ever seen him, Korlon knew who it was, and what he contemplated. He'd been amassing his advantages for nineteen years. Now they were gone! Ondrea! Adara! Jerrika!

Quildor's only recourse was to march on Valdemar. Korlon realized this without fear, knowing the route Quildor's army must take, and realizing they were not prepared for the swamps of Niran and Parlan, the dry desert, the long trek through snow-capped mountains, and the devastation of finally arriving to find Valdemar well fortified, strong in human forces and earth magic and unhampered by the effects of melds and unnatural assimilations.

It was a night for contemplation.

Korlon looked back at Kara now sleeping with ease and breathing on her own. The Harpyiae link had served her well. He had simply channeled it. She was healed physically. But his troubled eyes sought her lovely features now closed to him, and he wondered what emotional damage had possibly been done while she had been held captive by the Foeman. His grip tightened into fists of rage at the thought of that angry dark Foeman violating her in any way.

Korlon needed to contact his father, and his mind would have been in tune to his father's as long as they weren't separated by too great of a distance, and through too much water. A sea arrow could possibly reach Aquaria if he could climb to a higher point above the Aerie, and remain concealed from the many guard's roving eyes. It was likely that Quildor's own Zalez could sense the strangeness of Korlon's presence. That had happened before when Korlon projected nearby.

He couldn't contact or send a message to his father, and one to Taan was out of the question. He'd never tried to reach Galantyne alone, as his main concern and contact inside Aquaria was lying beside him on the ground. He thought about trying to contact Kahlest, he had a rapport with her, and his mind reached out to her through the mists and the darkness toward Valdemar.

"Kahlest." He whispered her name in his mind and flung it as far out as he could, but realized as he did, that he was very weak, and his thoughts didn't even travel past the swamps. It would take more energy than he had to get that far. His spirits also plummeted. They would need to move, but there was no way he could move Kara again the way he had before. He had no stored energy inside to draw on, it had taken everything he had to heal her. Even a short distance wasn't possible. He literally had expended himself.

He believed that with time and contact with the planet's rough surface he would be restored as would she. But right now time was not available, and neither was a safe spot. They couldn't remain here much longer without being spotted. This place would soon awaken. 

Disappointment wove its way into his heart. He had found Kara, and had saved her life, but was now unable to protect her for long enough to get their strength back. He hung his head, not in defeat, but in the misery of frustration.

*****