Fiery the angels rose, and as they rose deep thunder rolled around their shores.

-William Blake

[[]]

We were ready to leave by midday. I showed Taurus the stream and he shot us a couple more ducks that Aldyth and I seared over the fire so that we could carry it in our packs. Neither of us had ever been very far from Gris, and by the time the sun was climbing down, the two of us were farther from home than we had ever been before.

Despite the knots in our stomachs, the excitement of the journey started infecting the both of us. We would crane our necks to see as far ahead as possible, and crouch down to point at the way the ivy climbed up a tree. Taurus was patient on the outside, but Aldyth and I could both tell that we were becoming a nuisance to the elf, so for a while, we just walked.

Finally I had to ask though, "Why have we never heard of these magics that the Cardinal Nations possess?"

"Yes, even the people of Gris cannot be that ignorant. We used to send a messenger to Alyvanter once a month to hear the news, and if not news, always gossip," Aldyth added. She paused and frowned. "And the stories of how the high Prince is cheating on his wife with the house maid is getting old, even for us."

The elf pursed his lips as if he were unsure what to tell us.

"Oh come now, Mr. Elf," Aldyth whined. "If we are to go the north Cardinal anyway, then why must we be bumbling fools about it?"

"The Cardinals value their secrets," Taurus shrugged. "Most of the Confederation would not think so highly of them if they were aware of how cardinals constructed their power."

I crossed my arms over my chest, though it was less a motion of defiance and more a measure to keep warm. The winter was finally catching up to us. Snow could not be much more than a week away. "The North Cardinal is closer to Gris than Alyvanter, yet no one I know has ever been there. Tell me Taurus, do they not allow visitors?"

"No they do not," he sighed. "Not for that last fifty years anyway. Their people disappeared into these mountains when rumors of the East started riding in. It's a mutual imprisonment. No one from the outside is to enter their lands, and none of their people are ever seen straying beyond their borders."

"But what is so bad about them that their entire Nation will just disappear like that?" I demanded. "We're going to find out sooner or later so you might as well tell us now."

Taurus shrugged. "Will I let you judge before you see? Maybe if I let you meet them first, you will not be so quick to judge their methods."

Aldyth and I shared a look. "If what you tell us is true, Taurus," she snapped and stomped up to walk beside the elf. He towered a whole head over her, not even including the ears, but that had little effect on her. "Then we are at war. Is it really the right thing to just not tell us? What if something happens? What if we need to know?"

Taurus pulled his cloak around him, almost as if be were trying to hide away his entire being. "They are not my secrets to tell child. You will be in grave danger if the Northerns find out you know about them."

"Well that is sorry for them, but they sound like a bunch cowards," I snapped in irritation. "They hide in their mountains and ignore all the chaos around them."

Taurus whipped around angrily and stared us down, his amber eyes narrowed and inflamed. "Speak no ill of the North Cardinal, the both of you! It was for the benefit of all that they stayed out of this war. They are the most powerful of the four. Do you understand!? If the East manages to overthrow them, then the war is lost. No hope will exist but that of a life of destitute."

"If they are so powerful, then why can't they overthrow the East?" Aldyth demanded.

Taurus fell silent, and casted his eyes down as if he were ashamed.

"Well? What is it?"

"What if it was your family? Hmm? What if it was someone you were raised with? The Cardinal Nations are bonded to each other like only family are. The North hesitate to join the war, as the South and West did before them. The only reason that the others fight is because the East struck first." Taurus trained his eyes straight ahead and strode off, leaving Aldyth and I scrambling to keep up.

The elf gained quite a large distance on us and by the time we caught up, he was standing on a boulder with one ear trained up toward the trees. "Something large approaches from above," he spoke as we came within hearing distance. "I know not what it is yet, but it's better we find shelter, just in case."

I was about to protest that he was avoiding the topic on hand when I heard a distant thunder moving in from the west. It was an unusual sound, like horses running on a blanket of soft soil in the sky. I looked up to find a layer of white clouds sheltering the earth above. Aldyth appeared to catch ahold of my thoughts and asked, "Could it be a storm?"

Taurus started running and beckoned for us to follow. "Unlikely," he lowered his voice. "We're much too far south for a storm to growl in such a way." He started murmuring under his breath in a foreign language, stretching out the vowel sounds in a way that made his words sound demonic. The wind picked up briskly and suddenly the pressure around us felt like it was rising drastically. My lungs felt like they were collapsing in on themselves and Aldyth's eyes were dropping when suddenly he cut off mid sentence. "Go! Go, run!"

A/N

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