12-25-2021, 08:13 PM
Time telescoped in that way of battle meditation. Muscle memory took over, his arms and legs and hands moving in direction to his focused mind in the same way an accomplished pianist's fingers danced over the keys. It was beyond mechanics, beyond thought. It was thought translated into action without translation.
Small cuts and scrapes- if they happened- did not register in the brain. Only the sweat that stung at his eyes pierced into his awareness, and then only for him to swipe it away as the fighting continued.
And somehow, from one moment to the next, it seemed it was over. The mounds of bodies and limbs still betrayed some life and movement, but they appeared to be spasms and death throes. Still, he held his carbon steel blade at the ready, open for movement, for anything to indicate the threat still existed.
The quiet was deafening, their breathing the only sounds above the scraping of exoskeleton and ground.
Movement drew his eye. Patricus had left their protective bubble to retrieve his hat. Foolish, Armande thought. But the man's words called him over. Carefully watching for any further danger- and knowing that his dear Valeriya would be more than up to the task- he walked to Patricus and looked at what was before him. Not the skeletal remains of a body stripped of flesh and muscle. No, it was the object in his hands.
It was manufactured, of that there was no doubt. And it gleamed like metal but had an air of ceramic to it. And it was incomplete. Or rather, it appeared to be something part of a larger whole.
Armande considered Patricus' words. Including the whispers. The Key of Cunning. And for some reason, he thought of the faces on the cherubim. Cunning. The man's face? Did that mean the bull and the eagle and lion were nearby? His eyes rove over the landscape. Were they here?
It would take some planning to find them, if they were.
The pillar though..."Do you remember how large the pillar was?" His eyes swung to the eyes of Valeriya. "Does anything of this look familiar to you, Valeriya?" He turned to Rowan. "Rowan? What do the Eyes see?"
The landscape was sere and flat and finding either a pillar or the other keys would take time. The Eyes could see beyond and read tapestry of fate. It had called them here. Perhaps now, it would provide them the next step.
Small cuts and scrapes- if they happened- did not register in the brain. Only the sweat that stung at his eyes pierced into his awareness, and then only for him to swipe it away as the fighting continued.
And somehow, from one moment to the next, it seemed it was over. The mounds of bodies and limbs still betrayed some life and movement, but they appeared to be spasms and death throes. Still, he held his carbon steel blade at the ready, open for movement, for anything to indicate the threat still existed.
The quiet was deafening, their breathing the only sounds above the scraping of exoskeleton and ground.
Movement drew his eye. Patricus had left their protective bubble to retrieve his hat. Foolish, Armande thought. But the man's words called him over. Carefully watching for any further danger- and knowing that his dear Valeriya would be more than up to the task- he walked to Patricus and looked at what was before him. Not the skeletal remains of a body stripped of flesh and muscle. No, it was the object in his hands.
It was manufactured, of that there was no doubt. And it gleamed like metal but had an air of ceramic to it. And it was incomplete. Or rather, it appeared to be something part of a larger whole.
Armande considered Patricus' words. Including the whispers. The Key of Cunning. And for some reason, he thought of the faces on the cherubim. Cunning. The man's face? Did that mean the bull and the eagle and lion were nearby? His eyes rove over the landscape. Were they here?
It would take some planning to find them, if they were.
The pillar though..."Do you remember how large the pillar was?" His eyes swung to the eyes of Valeriya. "Does anything of this look familiar to you, Valeriya?" He turned to Rowan. "Rowan? What do the Eyes see?"
The landscape was sere and flat and finding either a pillar or the other keys would take time. The Eyes could see beyond and read tapestry of fate. It had called them here. Perhaps now, it would provide them the next step.