Interlude Five: The Horde


    Arcadia is scared. That is the simple truth that Jade has to deal with. All the Arcadian Guards are forced to do double-shifts as they try to stop the growing dissent and fear. But the Guards are scared, too.


    And Jade is no exception. She barely escaped the battle alive, and she’s sure that if this happened again, she would be killed. The horde—as their captain called them, according to someone who’d overheard them—was just too strong. She could take on one, maybe two in a battle, but after that, she was exhausted and they would overwhelm her. Jade was a great swordsman; but even she couldn’t do it.


    It seemed like the Royals and Guards did not know what to do anymore. Torr and Jin were both trying to lead their respective Guards as best as they could, but with the unrest of the citizens and the feeling reciprocated even in the guards, they were stressed.


    And the Magefell Royals, especially the Queen, was just as lost as Jade, Firstly, she had to deal with all the refugees from the destroyed city. There were about five hundred of them, and trying to fit them all in Arcadia was tough. Some of them were forced to homelessness. Next, and most importantly, Queen Maeve had to decide what to do about the Horde. They hadn’t moved since they’d destroyed the city, and, according to their leader, they wouldn’t try to destroy any more cities on the way to Magefell, but was he trustworthy? And should they try to intercept them anyway to help Magefell? The political implications if they refused could cause a war, but if they accepted, they could be wiped out.


    Tense was the word to describe Arcadia, and Jade was in the middle of it.


    — — —


    “Two out of five Guards dead in a few weeks is a bad track record,” Guilia says. “I miss them, but we’re dwindling rapidly. We can’t guard Erenfeld with only three guards. What will we do?”


    “For now, there is nothing we can do,” Torr responds. “Until this problem with the Horde is taken care of, we can’t ask for anything from the Queen and no one will want to be recruited to the guard at this stage.”


    “I still can’t believe it’s just us,” Jade says. “The Headquarters feel so…”


    “Empty,” Guilia finishes. “Where is Chrome’s laughter and brightness? Where is Demien’s arrogant personality that annoyed us?”


    Jade walks to the wall of the Headquarters where the names of every Guard who had worked for Erenfeld, deceased or retired, was located. There are twenty-five names—the Erenfeld Guard had only been created about a hundred years ago—and at the bottom, theirs is already there. Chrome and Demien’s. Next to them are three words: killed in battle. While Demien hadn’t truly been killed in battle, it is a formality to put it there.. Jade envied those who were able to retire. Most likely, she would be killed in battle too. It was just the most common for a Guard, and , in these times, it only grew more and more likely.


    “We must go to Arcadia,” Torr tells us. “The Queen has called us for a meeting.”


    “But we can’t leave Erenfeld! They’ll be undefended,” Jade protests.


    “The Horde will not attack for now,” Torr says. “They’re far enough away that even if they wanted to attack, we have time to go to Arcadia and back. Don’t worry, Jade. It’ll all be fine.”


    She bites her lip. “Okay.”


    “Are we going to decide about the Horde?” Guilia asks.


    “Well, I assume that Queen Maeve has already decided something, but we’ll be taking her orders, yes-”


    “Well, then what are we waiting for?”


    — — —


    Jade has never felt so creeped out as when she rode to Arcadia. She is constantly aware of the shadows and the movements and crackles in the forest. Each snap makes her twist her head, and she isn''t in the forest, she is on the path. Every bush seems like it wants to jump out at her. Subconsciously, she urges the horse to go faster.


    Guilia is clearly nervous too and she also prods her house to go faster. Torr, meanwhile, keeps a constant watch but at least he keeps a semblance of calm.


    We’re met in the city by Jin, who had bags under her eyes, and as soon as she sees us, she yawns. Jade feels pity for her.


    “Hey,” She says, hugging each of them, before leading them to the Arcadian guard Headquarters. “How’s Erenfeld?”


    “Strange, but resilient,” Torr responds. “I’ve heard things here are pretty bad.”


    “See for yourself,” Jin points down an alleyway, where a man in a wolf mask is speaking to about fifty people.


    “We must bow down to them,” The man screams. “They are here to lead us to the truth, and we must serve them.” The fifty people cheered and waved torches. “We must show this city who they truly are.”


    “There are people like this all over the city taking advantage of the stress,” Jin explains. “Every day, more people join their cause. They torch houses, kill others, rob them, sometimes even rape them.”


    “So should we break these apart here?” Torr asks. Jin nods.


    “Yes.”


    “HEY!” Torr screams at the preacher and his followers. “Spreading blasphemy?”


    “See the unbelievers,” The man told the people listening to him, eyes wide in madness. “We must show them what it means to follow the Horde!”


    “YEAH!” The followers yelled, drawing knives or daggers. They rushed at the Guards.


    “Don’t kill them,” Jin warns.


    Jade nods as she turns to the first citizen and disarms him quickly. She hits him in his head with the butt of her sword, knocking him out, and she immediately moves to a second follower, who swings at her. Ducking, Yue lands a blow on his stomach, making him double over in pain.


    The third follower is just as easy as the other two, as is the fourth and fifth and six. They are very inexperienced and Jade has no hard time beating them all. In the end, when she finally punches the last one in the face, causing him to fall over, she breathes a sigh of relief.


    “I hate this,” Guilia says. “We’re hurting the citizens we’re sworn to protect.”


    “We must,” Jin responds. “It is for their own good.”


    “Why is this happening in Arcadia and not Erenfeld?” Jade wonders.


    “Mob mentality,” Jin says. “Because your village is so small, it is normal that an idea won’t spread so quickly. In a big city, a small idea quickly grows into a mob, and mobs easily influence those outside of it, causing them to think like the mob.”


    “We need to get rid of the horde,” Guilia groans, sheathing her sword. “We just need to figure out how.”


    — — —


    “The meeting is in two hours,” Jin says at the headquarters. “Until then, we have time to relax. We might not have time to after what Queen Maeve says.


    “What do you mean?”


    “If she decides to fight them, we won’t relax until we die, and if she decides to let them pass, we’ll be faced into a political struggle with Magefell that will affect Arcadia internally.”


    “What do you think we should do then, Jin?” Guilia asks.


    “I don’t know,” Jin admits. “We can’t fight them, because we’ll all die, but if we let them pass and magefell wins, they’ll want to fight us, and we can’t beat the Vanguard and Mages. If the horde beats Magefell, I don’t think they’ll stop there. Whatever happens, we will be targeted by something. We need to do something that protects us but doesn’t cause anger in Magefell.”


    “What if we go help Magefell?” Jade says. “We could send our Soldiers to Magefell and maybe that would help them.”


    “Then how would we be protected? If we send our Soldiers, we’re only left with us guards, and we can’t protect all of Arcadia alone, not in these times. I’ve been forced to use soldiers to stop the followers. But you might be onto something. We’ll just have to trust Queen Maeve to make the right decision.”


    Torr grunts in acknowledgement. “Have you lost any guards to these followers?”


    “One,” Jin nods. “They beat him to death while he was undefended, screaming about how they were doing the Horde’s will!”


    “I bet they don’t even know about the human leader,” Guilia says.


    “Most of them don’t,” Jin agrees. “But even if they knew, it wouldn’t stop them. In their mind, this destruction is for a reason other than they deserve to rule.”


    “I’m worried about Erenfeld,” Jade admits. “We’re a small town, and if the Horde decides to attack there…”


    “I doubt they will.” Jin responds. “They only attacked to show us their power, and if they truly wanted to destroy, I think they’d go for Arcadia the city immediately.”


    Jade bit her lip, thinking of her parents and brother. “I hope so.”


    “Don’t worry, Jay,” Guilia reassures her. “They’ll be fine.”


    She nods and the conversation draws to a close. Jade closes her eyes to rest, and falls asleep.


    — — —


    “Wake up! It’s time,” Jin says, shaking her.


    Jade sits up, her mind focused from the power nap.


    “I’m ready,” She replies.


    Jade stands up and buckles her sword. Stepping outside with Jin, she finds Guilia and Torr waiting for her.


    “What a nap you took!” Torr laughs. “An hour is more than enough.”


    “I was having a great dream,” Jade teases. “And then I woke up and saw your face.”


    “And it reminded you how good life is,” Torr says. “Pity you couldn’t see Zade’s face, though, right, Jay?” Jade blushes and Torr barks a laugh. “Don’t worry. We all miss him. But at least he doesn’t have to face the horde.”


    “Yes, at least that,” Jade agrees.


    Something appears in front of them. Zade, shining in blue light. Jade gasps as she stares at him. He must’ve sent another message to her.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    “Jay, what’re you looking at?” Torr asks.


    “You can’t see that?” Jade responds.


    “See what?”


    “Never mind. Just leave me alone for a minute.”


    Zade looks straight at her, and Jade gapes as she sees him. He looks older, harder, more mature. It hasn’t been that long since she last saw him, but he looks like he’s seen everything. Jade wonders if she would look the same to him.


    Plus, she had to admit that he did look cute.


    “Hi, Jade. It’s me, Zade again,” her best friend says, smiling at her. “But you probably know that. How are you doing? Is everyone holding up okay? I fought in a battle today! I’m not joking, I swear.” He chuckles and Jade gasps. He fought a battle? In Magefell? How was that even possible? Magefell was impenetrable! “It was horrible. There were these monsters like lizards and these others that I can’t explain. There was so much death.” Jade sees the hurt in his eyes and wants to comfort him, but she can’t help the feeling of confusion in her. Lizard monsters? She’s never heard of anything like that before!


    “Anyway, we did win the battle. After that, I had to fight a mage who wanted to kill me. He was a High Mage, Jay!” At that, Jade almost feels like he’s lying, except she can see he truly believes it. It is hard to take it at face value. Monster and HIgh Mages? What was happening there? “And now there’s a God who wants to use me to fight another God and this Cult and I’m just letting the current take me.” This was the final straw, Zade had to be going crazy. A Cult made sense, Cults always stirred up trouble. But a God recruiting Zade? That was fantasy, pure fantasy. It couldn’t be happening.


    “As you can tell, so much has happened since you left, but one thing is the same. I still miss you. Every day. The only time I was glad you were gone was during the battle, because at least then you would live. I promise, I’ll come visit you if I ever can.” Jade smiles, wanting to hold him, to be there for him.


    “I miss you too,” She whispers.


    “You should see the friends I’ve made here.” Zade continues “There are so many! A few of them died, killed by that one Cult I was talking about. There was one boy named Astil. You would’ve really liked him.” Jade watches as a tear falls down Zade’s cheek and she wonders who Astil was.


    “Everything’s calm now, but it’s fake. The city isn’t broken, but it is bleeding. Now we have to fix it, and who knows how long that will take.”


    “I have a lot to tell you, but I feel like I can’t tell you it all now. Just remember that I still think about you every day, and one day I will return.” Then Zade disappears, and Jade is left wondering what he was talking about.


    There is so much that Jade does not understand from what Zade was talking about, and she desperately wants answers. But she doesn’t know if she’ll have them. Her best bet is asking Jin and Torr. So, when she rejoins her fellow guards, she tells them what happened, everything Zade said.


    “I haven’t heard of any battle,” Torr admits.


    “Me neither,” Jin says. “I haven’t heard of any Cult or Gods in Magefell, and definitely no lizard monsters. I could look into it and we can also ask Queen Maeve. Are you sure that was what Zade said?”


    “No, he was telling me how he didn’t fight a battle,” Jade replies sarcastically.


    “You’re right,” Jin replies.


    “Is the entire world at war?” Guilia asks. “I feel bad for Magefell. They’re going from lizard monsters and a cult to the Horde.”


    “They’ll still be recovering when the wolves attack them,” Jin says. “That isn’t good.”


    They reach the Royal’s house, where a guard leads them into a sitting room. Queen Maeve is already there, along with several Guards and Soldiers.


    “Sit,” Queen Maeve gestures towards them. “This will be a quick meeting.” Once they’ve sat down, she begins. “As you all must know, I have decided what to do about the Horde.


    “It was a tough political decision. I was not sure what I should do, and I’ll spare you all the details, but in the end, everything grew more complicated when I heard what magefell was going through.”


    Jade cocks her head, interested.


    “Apparently, there was a Cult who brought monsters to Magefell and they almost destroyed the city. My husband, thankfully, is alive, and the city seems to have survived the worst of the onslaught, although there are plenty dead.”


    “That’s horrible,” One of the Soldiers breathes. “I have a mage friend. Is he alive? His name is Fenrou.”


    “I do not know,” Queen Maeve says. “But you might have a chance to know.”


    “How?”


    “I and the King have decided to stay on the middle ground of the political decision. We will let the Horde pass…” Murmurs begin immediately but she silences them. “BUT I will also send aid to Magefell. Not enough that we suffer, but enough to show our goodwill. Whoever leaves will leave today . I want one hundred soldiers and twenty of the Guard from all over Magefell. You will go by ship, obviously, so you should arrive in a little over a week. Does anyone here want to volunteer?”


    For a second, there is silence, then the man who has a mage friend raises his hand.


    “I will go.”


    Robin, who Jade didn’t notice was here until now raises her hand now.


    “It would be an honor to join this group.”


    “Thank you both,” Queen Maeve says. “Anyone else? We will need plenty of volunteers. I would hate to coerce you.”


    A woman volunteers, then another, and another, and soon ten soldiers are already chosen. No other guard here seems to want to go, but there are only about twenty here.


    “Hey, Jade,” Guilia whispers. “If you go, I’ll go with you.”


    “I hadn’t even thought of that,” Jade lies. She had thought of going, but she hadn’t taken her thoughts seriously. Now, though, she felt the urge to leave and find Zade. He wouldn’t be expecting it, and she would finally get to see him again.


    “We’ll go,” Jade says, raising her hand with Guilia.


    “What?” Torr asks. “You can’t leave me here alone to guard Erenfeld.”


    “We will provide you with temporary guards in their absence,” Queen Maeve reassures him. “Thank you, both of you, for taking this opportunity. Anyone else?”


    — — —


    “I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Torr protests. “You shouldn’t go to Magefell. I understand Zade is there, but this is your home!”


    “It is,” Jade reassures him. “But I feel like I need to do this. It’s important to me.”


    “You might not return! You’ll have to fight the Horde there!”


    “I know, but I’m ready for that possibility. If I die, at least I died for a good cause.”


    “JADE! GUILIA!” Jin says, walking up to them. “You have six hours to say goodbye to everyone and return here, so I would advise you to go to Erenfeld quickly.”


    “Yes, ma’am,” Jade replies. “Shall we go?”


    During the trip to Erenfeld, Torr was sullen, clearly distraught.


    “Torr, why are you so sad?” Guilia asks. “It’s okay.”


    “I’m supposed to protect you!” He explodes. “And now you’re going to a place where I can’t go, and I won’t be able to protect you and you’ll probably all die there and I hate it, because I vowed to protect you with my very own life.”


    “You could go too!”


    “I have a duty to Erenfeld.”


    “Torr,” Jade says, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I understand you. I know what you have promised. But we’re all adults. We take care of ourselves. We can protect ourselves.”


    “Chrome and Demien couldn’t,” He chokes out, a single tear falling down his cheek and Jade sighs.


    “You feel guilty for that? There is no reason to. Both Chrome and Demien died under my watch, because of me. If anything, it’s my fault.”


    “I should’ve been there for both of them,” Torr grumbles.


    “I watched as the monster killed Chrome!” Jade exclaims. “I saved someone at the cost of Demien’s life. How can you possibly say this is your fault?”


    “It isn’t your fault either, Jay,” Guilia reassures me. “This is all the horde’s fault.”


    “Exactly,” Jade says. “Don’t beat yourself over this, Torr.”


    Torr furrows his eyebrows but nods.


    “I just wish that I could’ve done something. I would’ve rather been the one to die.”


    Jade doesn’t know how to respond to that, but she doesn’t think Torr is looking for a reply, so she stays silent. Guilia gives Jade a sad glance and then stares ahead at the open road.


    Eventually, Erenfeld comes into view. Jade needs to find her parents and brother. Hopefully, they won’t be too shocked.


    — — —


    “Oh, my baby!” Her ma grabs her, tears already forming. “You’re leaving us?”


    “I’ll be back,” Jade reassures her. “I’ll be back in a few months at most. This is not goodbye.”


    “I always knew you were strong,” Her da says, hugging her. “Don’t die out there. And give Zade a kiss for me, after you’ve given him your own.” He winks and she rolls her eyes.


    “I’m not going there for Zade, da.”


    “Of course not,” he grins.


    The final person she says goodbye to is her brother. He tries to look nonchalant and calm, but fails as he hugs her.


    “Have fun with Zade,” He tells her, face broken in sadness.


    “I’m not going there to find Zade!”


    “Sure, you’re going there to fight monsters,” He winks. “Your secret is safe with me.”


    “What secret?”


    “Exactly.”


    Jade stands up and looks at her family. She hasn’t been away from them for longer than ten days, which was when she took the trip to Magefell with Zade.


    “I’ll see you later,” She says, hefting her bag, carrying only her necessities.


    “You better come back.”


    “I will.”


    — — —


    “That was a sad goodbye,” Guilia tells her. “My family was not happy to see me go. My boyfriend is positive I’ll die there.”


    “Optimist, huh?”


    “Of course,” She smiles. “We all are.”


    Torr leads them to Arcadia for the second time that day, and his usually calm and rocky face looks ready to burst into tears at any moment now.


    “Thank you for taking us there, Torr,” Jade says. “It means a lot.”


    Torr nods but doesn’t look her way or respond.


    They are carrying four horses, one for each of them, and one for the two packs: Jade and Guilia’s. They will probably take more than one ship to Magefell, considering there will be one hundred twenty soldiers and guards, plus packs. Three ships at most.


    At Arcadia, they are met by Jin, who leads them to the edge of the city where they will head out. Seventy of the one hundred twenty are already there. Jin is not going, but she’s there to say goodbye.


    Robin is already there and she meets Jade with a warm hug and a firm handshake.


    “It is good to see you sister. My blood boils to be longside you in the coming battles.”


    “My blood boils too,” Jade responds. She''s starting to understand the traditions of the Snjornins. Robin looks pleased with what she said and smiles.


    “We will destroy the Horde and use their skin as our boiling pots.”


    “Does that even work?” Guilia asks.


    “Of course it does,” Robin frowns. “What do you use your enemies’ skin for?”


    “Usually, we leave it on the body.”


    “What a waste,” Robin scoffs. “Let me guess, you don’t use their hair either?” She laughs.


    “No, we don’t.”


    Robin gapes. “I thought you were civilized!”


    “Hey!” Guilia protests.


    “I mean no offense, I assure you,” Robin says. “I just thought you would use their blood to spice your drinks.” Guilia’s eyes widen and Robin laughs. “I am kidding. We do not use the blood. That is sacred, but we do use the hair and skin.”


    “Snjornins are wild,” Guilia whispers to me as Robin turns away.


    “I heard that,” Robin says, and Guilia turns white. “I take offense, and shall be forced to duel you to the death.” She laughs again. “That was another joke. So funny, right?” Guilia forces out a laugh, clearly terrified.


    “Yeah, so funny. Ha ha.”


    There are about one hundred soldiers now. They will walk to the pier in the city close to Arcadia and there they will load the boats and leave. But they need to have everyone here first.


    More and more people arrive until finally, it seems like everyone is here. Jade sees the man whose friend is a mage in the crowd, looking excited to leave. Most others just look apprehensive, like they would rather be somewhere else.


    Jade doesn’t know what to think. Happiness and guilt are warring in her mind.


    A man walks to the front of them and begins to speak.


    “Say your goodbyes now, if you must. My name is Captain Kanad, and I will lead you to Magefell. We leave in five minutes.”


    Jin wraps Jade and Guilia in a hug at the same time.


    “I’ll miss you so much. Come back safe, please,” She says.


    “We will,” Jade reassures her. “We’ll be back before you know it, with plenty of stories to tell.”


    “And tell Zade what you feel. I’m sure he needs to hear it,” She smiles.


    “I didn’t say I felt that way.”


    “Oh, but I know.”


    Torr was last and after hugging Guilia, he hugged Jade fiercely. For a second, he couldn’t breathe, then he let her go.


    “If you die, I will chase you into the afterlife and kill you. I promise.” He says. “Come back safe. I don’t want to see you injured. Please don’t make me fail in protecting you.”


    “This is not a permanent goodbye,” Guilia tells him. “We will be back. We’re only going to fight cannibalistic massive wolf monsters who love to kill humans. We’ll get you something from Magefell, something nice.”


    “I don’t need anything nice. I just need you back.”


    “Thank you, Torr. You’re the best Guard Captain we could have.”


    Torr finally let the tears run down his cheek. “Have a safe trip and a safe battle.”


    “Safe battle? We’ll try,” Jade laughs.


    Torr smiles. The man returns to the front of the small army.


    “OKAY,” Captain Kanad screams. “We will be leaving now. No more goodbyes. Now we will march.”


    Jade and Guilia stay at the back of the army as it begins to march. Robin joins them and Jade looks back at Torr and Jin. They wave at her and she waves back, smiling to reassure them, Torr doesn’t look reassured, though, just scared.


    Jade looks forward and sideways, at her friends who are coming with her.


    “Ready, Guilia?” She asks.


    “I’m ready. I just don’t know if my body is,” Guilia laughs. “Girls trip, right? That’s all this is?”


    “Exactly,” Robin says.


    “As they march, Jade thinks about what will happen. She will have to face monsters stronger than her that only want to kill her. She will be forced to fight for a country that she has never lived in, that she feels no patriotism for. She’s nervous, a little scared. Fighting those monsters is the hardest thing she’s ever done, and she doesn’t really want to do it again.


    But Zade is at Magefell, and she can’t wait to see his face when she appears in front of him. She misses him, just like he misses her, and now she finally gets to see him again. And for that reason, she’s also excited and happy to go.


    She’s also sad to leave Torr and Jin and her family. She needs to come back for them. She can’t leave them here without her. She doesn’t know how that will fit in with Zade yet, but whatever comes will come.


    Jade is nervous and scared, and sad, but she’s also excited and happy. All those emotions war in her head, but there’s one thing she can’t stop thinking about:


    Jade is going to Magefell.


    She is going to see Zade.