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Chapter Twenty-Five
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2024-10-29 19:42:56“What are you doing here?” Delmar said as soon as Alex had left. The ceiling of the map room creaked above him. It was as if something was moving around up there. Suddenly, shrouded by the dim light in the corner of the room, a dark figure dropped down from a small, inconspicuous opening in the ceiling. The figure was tall and lanky. On his back, the hilt of a large sword was held in a leather harness.
Ranger stepped forward from the darkness. “I hope you know what I’m about to tell you,” he breathed in a low, serious tone. Delmar gave an aversive nod. “First, the following conversation never happened.”
“Fine. Just get on with it.”
Nodding his head, Ranger continued to speak. “I’ve been watching that boy ever since he arrived here. I can’t explain it, but lately I’ve been experiencing a few less than welcome perc
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Below the towering Citadel, Alex sat on the mattress with his back leaned against the corner post of his tent. In his brief moment alone, Alex had fallen deep into thought. He rubbed his hands along his face. He was not sure what he was doing anymore. This whole place, there was something off about it; something unsettling as if it was in the air around him. He had felt this way ever since he accidentally wandered into this mysterious territory. It was like walking onto an alien planet, as if this place had some sort of invisible dome shielding it from the eyes of the rest of the world. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by someone calling his name. “Alex?” came Rowan’s voice from just outside. She carefully lifted the flap out of the way. “Are you okay?” Alex did not move, but simply nodded his head tiredly. Rowan entered the tent and let the flap fall back into place behind her. “It’s not much, I kn
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As the two of them continued to walk, they found themselves heading away from the plateau’s center and before long they came up to the lake that Alex had seen from the overlook. It was much larger in person. The water was clear and blue and gave off a cool, soothing vibe as its surface rippled in the light, spring breeze. Rowan knelt at the bank and placed a hand in the water. “How old is your sister?” Guessing they would stop here, Alex sat down by the edge of the water. “She’s twelve,” he answered her. “Two years younger than me.” Rowan continued moving her hand around in the water. “I’m sure she’s lovely.” Alex shrugged. That was something he had never really taken the time to think about, especially regarding his sister. However, it still made him recall how many
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Not long after Ranger left his presence, Delmar fell deep into thought. Things were difficult enough already within the walls of the Citadel as he tried to keep the remnants of the Ravennites together in spite of all the fear and doubt that clouded their future. It did not help knowing that many of his people were still in hiding all throughout the Dark Zone, helpless and exposed. Now there was this boy; the Outsider. Ranger’s behavior was changing, too. Delmar had no idea who he actually was nor did he care. He knew Ranger was not the man’s true name, and that was the only clue Delmar needed to know that he was running from someone. Under normal circumstances, Delmar would not have permitted any Outsiders to seek refuge within the borders of the Dark Zone, with or without his knowledge, after the Domineers’ actions against them under the influence of the Morenno brothers. The vast majority of the Ravenni
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“What am I doing?”The day wore on and night came with the warm, soothing breeze of the zephyrs from the west. Alex struggled to drift off to sleep on his ragged, dirty mattress covered by a single thin sheet. The Citadel had gone quiet and all Alex could hear was the soft chirping of crickets in the distance. This was the most peace he had felt in the past thirty hours, yet it seemed like an eternity.He still had no idea what sort of fate lay in store for him here, but bigger questions remained on his mind. Though he couldn’t sleep, Alex closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander. He did not know what to think of these people. No one had given him an actual explanation of their seemingly dire situation, but Alex could see just from looking around how devastating an effect it was having on them. He remembered his first encounter
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Alex backed up a step and turned around. He let out a loud gasp of panic and he realized now that there was no chance any of their enemies could ever breach the Citadel’s wall here. Just in front of him, the ground suddenly dropped away into a steep cliffside. The cliff dropped so far down that Alex could not see the bottom in the middle of the night. One more step back and he would have fallen right down into the abyss below. The sudden sight scared him so much that could feel his balance faltering.A hand quickly pressed on his chest and pushed him back against the wall. Alex caught his breath and saw Rowan just beside him, holding him back. He looked over at her with wide eyes of shock as he breathed heavily.Rowan stared back at him. “Watch your step,” she said calmly.Alex was baffled by her s
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“Holy God…” he muttered, his mouth hanging open. The sight he saw before him looked like something that could only come from some sort of fictional story. Previously, the two of them had hiked down into a low trough between the mountains. At this point, just past the large cluster of brushes, the trough had suddenly opened up into a natural basin of some sort. Alex had never seen anything like it before. The large opening at the tree canopy level allowed the light of the moon and the stars to pour into the area. The effect this change of light had on Alex's eyes made his surroundings appear much brighter, allowing him to examine this basin with clarity.Two small, river-like tributaries flowed from the walls of the encircling hills like a spring; one poured forth from Alex’s left, the other at the side of the basin opposite from where he stood, and the two of them flowed downward a
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As he entered, the light of the nighttime sky and the unnatural reflections of the Oasis’ environment quickly evaporated from Alex’s peripheral vision. He could barely see his hand in front of his own face. Looking up, the immense clusters of mountain laurel were so cluttered that they formed a natural roof over the small, rocky passageway, completely blocking out the light. Alex was growing uncomfortable as he stared as hard as he could into the darkness, trying to find his guide.He followed the narrow path for over a minute and soon the rock had expanded away from him. He realized that he was now outside of the Oasis, but the trees and plant life around him were so dense that his sight was still reduced to nearly nothing. And worst of all, Rowan was nowhere to be seen.“Rowan?” Alex quietly called out as anxiety began to grip him. The
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When Alex opened his eyes, he realized that he was exactly where he had been that night; lying on his patched mattress in his oversized tent. The events and images of that night were the first things to begin flashing through his waking mind. Though he woke in the same place in which he had fallen asleep just the evening before, it felt like he had been away from here for an eternity.What happened last night, Alex asked himself. He could recall Rowan waking him and sneaking him outside the Citadel walls. As soon as she had taken him off of the high plateau, Alex felt as though he was walking into yet another world, seemingly separate from the real world around him.Right now it all felt like an elaborate dream. Maybe it was a dream, he thought. Alex hazily remembered everything Rowan had led him into last night; from his astonishing close call on the cli
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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.
