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Chapter Thirty-Six
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2024-10-29 19:42:56November, 2010
Seven months later
More than half a year had passed since the disappearance of her brother, and Nickole was still struggling to move on. It had been the hardest summer of her life. She had been quiet most of the time, spending less time with her friends than ever and preferring to remain isolated at home with her mother as often as she could.
It was not her fault - that was what everyone kept telling her, especially her mother. Nickole spent several days after Alex got separated from them trembling in her irrational, childlike fear that she would never see him again. That fear, however, became reality when the authorities were forced to call off their efforts waiting and watching for Alex to make his way out of the boundaries of the Dark Zone. Soon after that, to everyone’s horror and dismay, her brother was presumed to be d
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Miles away, deep within the Dark Zone, the mountains had grown cold with the changing of the seasons. A layer of snow had begun to make its way beneath the treelines.Alex Lee was hiking up the wooded hillsides. Seven months had passed since his accidental arrival in the Dark Zone, and he had come such a long way. He had long since repressed his desire to leave these territories. So many things happened to him over the course of the most extraordinary summer of his life. After his fireside night with Matheus and Rowan, Alex willfully complied with Delmar’s refusal to let him go and spent the next few days working on his basic swordsmanship. Though he never managed to hold his own in a friendly duel against Matheus, he certainly improved well enough to earn his respect.His first few weeks among the Ravennites in the Citadel were rough. Many of the people
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Rowan’s jaw dropped as she watched her weapon abandon her and Alex pointed his directly at her in triumph. She turned and looked at Alex over the point of his blade, an expression of astonishment and defeat on her face. Neither of them moved, but Rowan grew a wide smile and the two of them soon began to laugh. “You actually beat me!” Rowan gleefully exclaimed. “I can’t believe it!” Alex lowered his sword and lifted his eyes as though he was trying to think of something to say. “Ve’su-” he began thoughtfully, speaking the Ravennites’ tongue. “Ah’gala mahki.” He was certain that what he just said translated closest to, “You are a worthy adversary.”
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The cold air hit Robert as soon as he stepped outside. The gust gnawed at the flesh of his face. This is what the cold seasons felt like every year in these dreary hills, but he was no stranger to it anymore. Caine was already waiting for him outside the structure, just as his messenger had said. Robert glared at him through the columns of breath that escaped his nostrils. Caine absorbed his look and shot it right back at him. He opened his mouth to speak but was suddenly cut off when Robert put his hand up.“Don’t,” he snarled at Caine. “If you’re just gonna try to give me another pointless lecture, you can leave right now.”Caine narrowed his eyes at his ignorance. “I’m not here for myself,” he gave a sharp response. “I have more news from your brother.”
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Alex and Rowan returned to the Ravennites’ camp just before the sun had set. The temperature, though cold enough during the day, still dropped significantly. The Ravennites within the walls of their outpost were gathered by the firesides. Several were armed and guarding the wall on all sides. Alex had gone over to one of the large fire pits near the center of the campsite, where the Ravennites were preparing and cooking the meat of the game they hunted, which mainly consisted of deer. Alex collected two thin slabs of venison and headed to the small campfire that he set up near the wall. Rowan was sitting alone by the fire and looking down at her wooden pendant again. As Alex approached, he glanced at the charm. As usual, the first thing that caught his eye was the strange, red symbol at the top of the charm’s face that Rowan apparently could not see.Alex went to sit down next to Rowan. “
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Feeling himself growing paranoid, Alex groaned quietly and glanced back into the outpost. “What’s taking you so long, Rowan?” To his surprise, as soon as he had looked away, Alex heard another rustling sound amongst the trees, this one much closer than the first. He jolted his attention back toward the tree lines, breathing sporadically. It took a few seconds for his sight to properly readjust. Alex blinked his eyes a couple times to be sure that he was seeing this right: someone was standing at the edge of the trees, and they were looking right at him.The dark figure was tall and lanky, but also broad shouldered, standing absolutely motionless. Alex became just as still as he stared right back at the figure. It seemed like the environment all around him had gone completely silent; so silent that he could clearly hear his own low breathing. “Who-” Alex stammered, half-afraid
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Alex never felt himself hit the ground. Soon after his eyes had gone black, he regained his sight, but to his confusion, he could not remember where he had been before he was suddenly knocked out. Alex could not remember much of anything right now, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself gazing at some sort of vision.Nothing about his current surroundings felt real. Alex’s eyes were burning and his sight was slightly blurred. He was not sure where he was. The only thing he found himself looking at was a man standing a few yards away with his back turned to him. The man did not move, and Alex was unable to make out any of his features or anything in the distance, as his entire vision was cloaked by a bright light. The only thing he could see was that this man was holding something in his right hand. The object looked like a large sword, but instead of a blade, there were a series o
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Alex suddenly jolted awake, gasping in shock. He immediately remembered somebody blindsiding him and knocking him unconscious. He recalled a strange red light, but never felt anything hit him. He figured the Domineers had captured him as he tried to hurry back to the campsite.Alex tried to move, but realized that he was wedged into a tight alcove in the side of a dead tree. A quick look around revealed that he had not been taken anywhere after he was knocked out. He was still out in the woods bordering the outpost, but someone must have placed him in this tree. Who and why, he had no idea.As his senses quickly started returning to him, he soon became cold, as he had been lying out here for far too long. It was still nighttime, but the sound of the chaos in the distance was gone, telling him that the fight was over.
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Several miles away, at the Iron Furnace, Caine was isolated in his private quarters, which was hardly more than a large tent he built adjacent to the furnace tower. It was dimly lit by a single torch that stood on the ground near the back of the tent. Caine was standing in front of a single shelf hanging suspended on one of the beams supporting the tent’s frame. On it sat several old-looking wine bottles, all of which were filled with the clear-colored alcoholic drink.Caine poured the wine from one of the bottles into an old, aluminum cup and drank from it, wincing as he did so. One thing he learned from these outsiders when they established themselves in his territories was how to make wine for himself, which he had done over the course of the summer for when the colder months arrived. Though he had never quite grown accustomed to the taste, in the back of his mind, he felt a very distant sense of
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Robert Morenno and his personal guard stood on their hill aside the fight and looked on hopelessly. Caine was visibly afraid and seemed to know that the battle was already over. The arrival of Darowe’s forces was the last thing he expected. He gave his leader a serious look. “Morenno!” he urged him desperately. “It’s over! We need to retreat!” Robert did not respond to him. He turned his attention toward the bridge and saw Malachai and Alex fighting their way across. Suddenly, he reached over his shoulders and pulled two, curved swords from the scabbards harnessed on his back. With a furious glare on his face, he ran down the small hill and charged into the battle. Caine was shocked and bewildered by his actions. “YOU FOOL!”Malachai had completely forgotten how tired he was. All that mattered to him right now was finishing off their enemy. It had become enti
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The sun was beginning to make its ascent as the sky started to lighten. It was at that moment, when all the Ravennite warriors were being overwhelmed by the immense loss of hope, that a great sound suddenly rang throughout the mountains and over the Citadel. It was a deep sound, loud and echoing, originating nearby from the hills south of the plateau’s land bridge. Alex opened his eyes and gazed up curiously. All the fighting had suddenly ceased everywhere, and everyone turned their attention toward the source of the noise. There was no mistaking; it was the sound of a horn.As it rang up, Robert and Caine looked over to their left. The sound of the horn was originating about a hundred yards away, from the hills skirting the mountains surrounding the Citadel. Caine took a step back in intimidation. “Oh, no,” he muttered, a look of genuine fear on his face.
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Rowan had nearly four dozen arrows packed into her quiver before the battle, and she had just used the last one. Although she did not miss a single shot, the Domineers’ numbers were too great for her to handle on her own, but with her help, Alex was able to lead the Ravennites around him to stand their ground and keep their enemies away from the tower. Not knowing what else to do, Rowan decided that her best option was to make her way down to the tower armory and retrieve more arrows. The battle was not over yet.Even from across the distance of the plateau, Rowan’s attention was suddenly captured by a terrifying sound. She looked out with wide eyes across the battlefield and saw the Citadel’s gates being opened. She shook her head in terror, her arms beginning to tremble. It could not be true; the Domineers had taken the gates. Now Malachai and his men would be flanked and crushed, just
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On top of the tower, Rowan was shaking as she felt her restraint beginning to fail. She turned and ran back to Delmar’s map room. Altha noticed her run off.“Where are you going?” she asked, feeling worried for her. She could not believe how serious this plight had become. Even Delmar was struggling to defend his people against the onslaught of the Domineers. They were storming the ground and the long catwalks, and they had the Ravennites vastly outnumbered.Suddenly, like a blur in the corner of her eye, Altha saw Rowan rush forward and take a leap off the side of the overlook. “Rowan, no!” Altha cried.Rowan had retreated back into the map room, where she had left her bow and quiver when Delmar ordered her to take shelter. She grabbed her bow and slung her quiver full of arrows
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The battle had begun below. Wilson knelt by the cliffside of the mountain that stood to the side of the bridge leading to the Citadel. It was here, amidst the cover of the trees, that Wilson was looking out on the battle. For a while, it seemed as though they had the upper hand, but it hardly surprised him when the Ravennites defending the bridge suddenly turned the fight around, sending many of their adversaries over the edge. From the Citadel’s walls, Wilson watched volley after volley of arrows raining down on the Domineers. He gritted his teeth as more and more of his allies continued to fall. If they did not switch up their strategy soon, he feared that the battle would be lost before sunrise and their efforts wasted.It did not take long for the Domineers to realize their strategy’s utter futility. As the Ravennites continued to spear them one after another, the Domineers started scrambli
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The treelines began to lighten up before soon breaking apart completely as the Domineers closed in on the Citadel. The snow was still falling lightly and they were all shivering in the cold, but more than that, most of them found themselves to be itching for their scrape against the savage Ravennites. Robert Morenno had them all convinced that this would be the day they crushed them once and for all. He told them that they would avenge all those they lost at the Iron Furnace, and he told them, most importantly, that they would be taking no prisoners this time. They were going to have to rely on their advantage of numbers to win.The light of the torches all around the Citadel gave it away as the Domineers finished their approach and stopped several yards before the natural land bridge that Alex had described. Robert perched himself on top of a small rise of land at the edge of the treeline, joined by Caine
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The day had turned into night, and the night back into day without any signs of a Domineer presence approaching the Citadel. The Ravennites were able to breathe a sigh of relief for the moment, but after getting a brief, but needed respite in order to rest and regain their strength, Alex and the others spent almost all their time preparing the Ravennites for an impending battle. At Alex’s request, scouts had indeed been sent out to keep an eye on the perimeters around the front of the plateau, switching in and out consistently. He also took time to teach Malachai and his chosen team of warriors how to roughly execute a phalanx formation. It did not take long for the Ravennite craftsmen to make sufficient shields and spears as Alex had requested. They were not exactly iron forged, but they would work, and they practiced the powerful defensive line out on the land bridge several times. It took some getting used to, but Malachai’s men proved
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Alex walked over to the lookout point. He looked down at the many bridge-like appendages spanning from the tower to the outer wall. Beyond the walls, he stared out at the natural land bridge connecting the plateau to the mountains surrounding it. Alex nodded his head as he continued to formulate his idea.“What is it?” Matheus asked impatiently, trying to follow where Alex was looking. “What are you thinking about?”“Matheus,” Alex began. “Do you remember what I told you on my first day here, when you were introducing me to the Citadel?”He tried to think about what Alex was referring to, but his question was far too vague. “Not really, no.”“Look out there,” Alex directed their attention to the brid
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Alex’s mind was flashing back to his meeting with Robert only hours before. He recalled the sadistic and perverse manner that Robert intended to get the information he wanted from Alex. He could still hear that chilling threat replaying in his head.“Tick tock, Alex,” the voice of Robert Morenno echoed in his head. He could see him holding Rowan’s pendant in front of him. “Tell me where the Ravennites are hiding, or you can watch her die.”Alex was trembling as Robert’s ultimatum gnawed at his mind. He felt as though he was all alone now, with Malachai and Zak having been taken to a cell only moments before. Now, more than ever, he did not know what to do. He was torn between his loyalty to Rowan’s people and her own life. He despised this man for holding him by the throat with such brazen cruelty.
