Swarm
One of the stories I've worked on that I've actually come to a completion.
It is a bit of a long one, but I hope you enjoy it.
Feedback is always welcome.
Prologue:
In this world there is a guild who vows to protect this land and all its inhabitants.
They stand for justice, peace, and protection of the innocent. They are few, but they are strong; they are the Mage Rangers. These elite warrior train in the four basic classes, although these too split into various fields. They are healer, archer, warrior, and warlock. Each member is required to master one of these classes but also be skilled in another. After training is complete, members are paired off in groups of two, taking into consideration their class, gender, and species so as to form the best possible team. These groups are then assigned regions to use their abilities to help the people of the area with any problems too dangerous for them to handle. This includes rouges, bandits, corrupt rulers, demonic presences, and, most often, monsters.
With his training finally finished, Edmund was officially admitted into the Mage Rangers as a healer with a rarely seen second mastery in archery. He was very confident in his healing abilities and knew that the traveling lifestyle of a Ranger would allow him to pursue his interest in herbalism. Although he was a bit skeptical about having a partner, he was eager to meet him. He was expecting a warrior of some sort, someone who would be injured easily in combat. And his expectations were met. He did indeed gain a warrior as a partner, but there was a catch. His new associate was not only a female, but was also one of the lizard-folk of the Eastern shores. Now Edmund did not harbor any dislike for her kind, he was just uncomfortable with change and this was a rather large one from being raised around so few non-humans. She was about half a foot taller than him, with gleaming red scales and shimmering green eyes. Her body structure was about the same as a human woman, except she was bit more muscular and had a long slender tail. She was clad in sturdy steel armor plates and carried an extremely large claymore decorated in glowing runic symbols. Edmund felt a hot rush flow over his being, but he just passed this off as awe from seeing his first scale-walker. During a brief introduction, she said her name was Kaletrasi Bloodscale; Edmund bowed and addressed himself as Edmund Greenmoon. After their meeting, they were brought to the council and given their area to protect. It was a region in the far North; through his studies, Edmund had learned that this area was heavily wooded with harsh winters and gentle summers. A wide smile slowly crept across his face as he left the guild hall. With assignment in hand and a comrade at his side, Edmund's adventure could finally begin.
Chapter 2
Upon leaving on assignments, groups were allowed a one week grace period to put all their affairs in order and prepare for what was to come. Edmund spent this time organizing his supplies, repairing his weapons, and preparing accommodations for their arrival in the North. Kaletrasi, who preferred to be called Kale, spent this time drinking, celebrating, and practicing her fighting techniques. The night before their departure, Edmund had to drag Kale from a local pub for she had drunk a bit too much that night. He typically avoided drinking, but seeing as it was their last night in town, he decided to go with Kale. As she hung draped over his shoulder, a goofy grin crossed her maw. He began singing a song to himself. It was a short little song that his father taught to him when he was young. The song was based off the tale of a mysterious woman who was seen only at night and would leave as soon as daylight rose. He was getting quite into his little limerick, when he turned his head and realized that Kale had been watching him with a wry grin. The blood that quickly flushed his dark brown face was clearly visible, despite the black of night. She had begun to sober up when Edmund ended his tune. When his singing ceased they began to talk and get to know each other, because they would be working together for quite some time or at least until one of them expired. They soon for themselves at the door of Kale's modest home. She gave a slightly slurred goodbye and retired into her house. Edmund turned away and looked up towards the sky; the moon had risen to its peak and gleamed like a jewel in the sky. On this, the last day of his stay in his hometown of Wolfhaven, the night sky never looked so beautiful.
Chapter 3
As is procedure, the guild provided the duo with transportation, a carriage that was driven by an enchanted stone horse. This allowed travel to be constant, affordable, and easy to continue if caught in a battle. They were given a large, menacing beast with bright blue lines like veins running along its body Edmund arrived early so he could have everything ready for the departure. He loaded supplies, polished the weapons, including Kale's oversized claymore, and brought the coach to the town's exit. She appeared shortly after Edmund had fallen asleep inside the cabin of the carriage. Seizing a perfect opportunity to frighten her new friend, Kale crept slowly into the cabin and approached her sleeping prey. She positioned herself a few inches away from his face, breathing lightly as to not awake him too soon. She let out an ear piercing roar that shook the entire carriage. Edmund woke screaming, grabbed the figure atop him, and quickly subdued her on the floor. He held the intruder firmly on the ground until he could flip her over and see who had broken into his new home. To his surprise, he had apprehended Kale who was smiling and apparently was impressed with the healer's physical ability. After a good laugh over the situation, they set off to the North towards the city of Earthfall.
About a week had passed since they first left the small town. All had been relatively quiet, other than the occasional goblin raid. The forest itself seemed to hold no danger; however, a few of the creatures that roamed the woods would soon disprove their thoughts.
One night as they sat and conversed with each other by a small fire, the duo learned more of each other's past. Kale learned that Edmund had had some training in the sub-field of assassins through his archery training; this would explain his earlier actions and also why he had an assortment of small knives. Edmund, on the other hand, learned that Kale was a skilled warlock as well as a warrior who loved to mix these two arts. Their chat, however, was interrupted by a loud guttural moan from the darkness which surrounded them. They quickly gathered their equipment and prepared for battle. The moaning seemed to grow louder and louder; its creator remained cloaked within the darkness. Edmund pulled out his bow, Spark Stone. Passed down generations of his family, this bow harnessed the very power of lightning. He drew back the taught string and fired an illuminating bolt, piercing the dark wall that encroached upon them. What they saw next was terrifying. At least ten Kigelels surrounded them; all snarling and writhing like demons. The two Rangers moved towards the fire, back-to-back, as the creatures closed in. Suddenly, the sounds ended; just as abruptly as it had started. A few moments passed, when without warning a small Kigelel leaped from the brush and extended its tooth riddled mouth. Kale grabbed the hideous beast with one hand, then dispatched it by running her claw threw its chest. It dropped to the ground with a quiet thud; with its green blood sparkling in the fire light. Two larger Kigelels then jumped from the branches of a high tree, screeching on their way down. Edmund drew his stone bow and fired a bolt of blazing white lightning through one of the Kigelels before it could touch the ground. Kale had been ambushed by three more which had injured her left leg. She stood, although unsound, and swept her massive claymore through the monsters; their blood spraying and coating her body. Edmund had taken out the second beast with two shots, and then turned his attention to Kale who was now surrounded by the last four monsters. Before he could raise his bow once again, ice ripped through the ground and impaled two of the Kigelel. As the surviving two turned to flee, Kale opened her maw and released an enormous blast of fire which set the beasts ablaze. She then stood before the burning bodies and spit before passing out from her massive blood loss. Edmund rushed over to her to examine the extent of her wounds. A large bite had punctured her armored hide and stolen a chunk of flesh and left a hole which allowed blood to freely flow from it. Edmund kneeled and placed his hands over the bite. A white and blue aura began emitting from his hands and, slowly, the tissue began to regenerate. After a few minutes, the wound was fully healed and he brought Kale back to the coach to rest. Edmund climbed atop the carriage with Spark Stone at his side and waited to handle any more trouble they may run into. For the rest of the night, all was quiet.
As the moon was reaching its peak, Edmund slowly succumbed to his tiredness and began to slumber. However, his rest was brief, for he was awakened by the rustling of nearby bushes. He quickly rose to his feet, drew his bow, and scanned the area, but found nothing. Then he heard splashing from the coming from a little ways away from where they set up camp. He dropped down and stealthy advanced on a secluded lake. He snuck through the low shrubs until he could see the lake and a swift jump delivered him to a high branch of a thickly leafed tree. From his perch he could make out a red figure swimming beneath the water's surface. Suddenly the figure exploded out of the water, the falling droplets twinkling like crystals in the light of the moon. For a brief instance Edmund was in complete awe. Beads of water made her scales glitter like thousands of tiny stars. This combined with her graceful form rising from the shimmering water put him in a daze. He looked away quickly, ashamed of his staring and rushed back to the carriage where he returned to his spot atop the roof. A few minutes later, Kale came striding through the brush wearing a simple cloth shirt and pants, no longer stained with green blood and looked up at her watchman. She gave a quick wave and returned to the inside of the carriage to finish resting. Edmund watched her go in, and then he began thinking of what had just happened. He was by no means a lecher or anything of the sort, and yet, he simply did not want to look away from the sight before him. He was just, just awe struck at her body's form. He sighed, cursed himself under his breath, and then laid back to fall asleep beneath the stars.
Chapter 4
He was roused from his slumber by the early rays of the rising sun. He stretched and yawned, recollecting what had occurred last night. It was then that a terrible realization hit him; what if Kale had seen him in his dazed state in the tree? He could not recall. He knew that she rose out of the water and looked about, but he wasn't sure if she had seen him hiding. A cold shiver went through his body at the thought of what she might do if she had actually seen him. His mind raced through all the horrible results: Kale killing him immediately, or having his reputation smudged forever and becoming an outsider, or, even worse, being expelled from the Mage Ranger guild! Edmund was snapped out of his hysterical panic by the sudden jolt of the moving cart. He took a few deep breathes to regain his composure, jumped down to the door of the cabin, and went inside. The inside of the carriage was much roomier than one would expect; although it did only hold two cots and a small cooking oven. There was a window facing the pulling creature, to see where one was being led, a shelf which held various books of all kinds, and a chest to store weapons. When Edmund walked in Kale laid spread out on her cot reading a book over the native flora and fauna of the North. Trying entirely too hard, Edmund causally walked to the window to sit. On his way, he tripped over a sword that was left on the floor. He coughed into his fist and quickly trotted to the window, hiding his intense blush. Kale laughed quietly at his clumsiness while flicking her tail around her legs. She watched him, hiding her face behind the book, as he shifted constantly in the small seat in front of the window. She was pondering why her companion was so tense. After a few minutes of thinking, she finally stood up and strolled over beside Edmund. She placed a hand on his shoulder, but before a single sound could leave her mouth, Edmund screamed and fell on the ground. His expression went from shock to horror to embarrassment in a matter of seconds. He quickly got up and left out the door before Kale could question him. She shrugged and returned to her book, leaving the mystery for a later time.
Edmund sat on the side of moving cabin and held his hand across his face. He was furious with himself; he knew that he would have to answer for his bizarre behavior and soon he assumed his panicked state once again. He climbed up onto the roof to calm down and think his situation through more clearly. Edmund watched the clouds slowly drift across the endless blue sky and, the cool summer winds whipped around him as he lay down on the roof, the morning sun's rays warming him to his very core. It did not take very long for sleep to once again overcome him. After fully awakening he realized that the sun had traveled far across the sky and was close to setting. It was then that he noticed Kale lying beside him. He moved to leave the roof but was stopped; Kale's tail was firmly wrapped around his waist. He was trapped. The awkward silence to follow was broken by Kale's interrogation of Edmund's recent behavior. Being the honest person that he was, Edmund immediately told Kale what he had done and how ashamed he was of doing so. He bowed his head in anticipation of the strike that he assumed was coming. Instead, she tilted her head to one side, smiled gently, and gave him a small kiss on his check. She said she appreciated his honesty and was flattered by how he awed at her body, something no other male had every done before. Edmund sat there, dumbfounded by her reaction then gave a smile himself. Kale then leaned in close to him and grinned, revealing her mouth full of glistening sharp teeth. She hissed out a warning for him to not get into the habit of watching her though, because next time he would not be so readily forgiven. Edmund nodded slowly, looked into the seemingly never-ending sea of trees, and then looked back at Kale. She was lying on her stomach staring blankly at the dirt path ahead, sleep clearly trying to overtake her. The darkness gave her eyes a faint emerald glow and the moonlight illuminated her ruby scales. The ridge of black spines that traced her back up to her head would have been invisible if it weren't for the reflection of the white moonlight. Another rush of heat went over his body followed by a chill through his spine. His eyes drifted slowly back to Kale and deeply drank her image. Her eyes, her body, her very existence sent shudders through his entire being. He had never felt this way before; he had never had this strange yearning in his heart. Edmund slowly moved his hand, inch by inch, towards her. He carefully rested his hand on her back and gently rubbed her. He did this until he too was overtaken by sleep, and yet the entire time he did not notice the smile that grew on the sleeping lizards face.
Chapter 5
By morning, they had reached the end of the forest and the city of Earth Fall was within sight. The sun had just risen above the enormous towers that littered the city. Earth Fall was a bustling center of trade and commerce. Carved out of the side a mountain by ancient creatures of unknown origin, it attracted all sorts of merchants and travelers. Upon reaching the city gates, one would meet hundreds of rows of shops and inns. This was an incredible sight to all who came, especially the young Rangers. Edmund and Kale sat awestruck as they moved down the seemingly endless strip of stores, pubs, and inns. After a few minutes of traversing the maze of buildings, they found the house that Edmund had bought before they began their journey. They spent the day unloading their equipment, storing the stone horse, and settling down in their new base of operations. It was a very nice house to get in all respects; it was in the city's main district, sturdily built unlike others, and was quite large with two levels, two bedrooms, a study for books and such, a kitchen, a den with a fireplace, and even a basement for training Once all the work was completed, Edmund collapsed onto the couch and drifted off into sleep. Kale, on the other hand, unable to sleep, casually strolled through the house, inspecting each room like a prison warden. She eventually found her way to the roof. The gleaming moonlight and creeping shadows formed a monochrome portrait of the cityscape which was laid out before her. She looked into the black void of night and began to cry. She fell against the chimney and curled into the fetal position, her whimpering muffled by her knees. This went on for a few minutes in the still darkness until she sniffed several times and then let out a little sliver of fire. The flare dissipated quickly and the night was once again returned to its solemn, dark silence. Kale stared at the black tar that coated the roof, and then she pulled a silver locket from underneath her nightgown. She slowly unlatched it and then gazed lovingly at the aged picture within. Two scale walkers were standing side by side, the shorter of the two cradling a small newborn. It was no more than two feet long and had the most striking green eyes. More tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she reminisced about her family. Her parents loved her very much and she loved them twice so, for they were all she had. One terrible day however, her parents were killed by a group of roving bandits and she was orphaned and left alone. It was this horrid event which caused her to pursue a life as a Mage Ranger. It was not easy though; her life had been one big struggle with many patches of crushing loneliness, which is why she enjoyed herself so much at pubs; they were welcome escapes from her memories. Kale inhaled deeply and then let out a long sigh. Loneliness gradually began to creep back into her mind, as it always did every so often. Here in this new city, she knew no one, had no one, she was once again alone. However, this time it faded away as quickly as it came. She smiled as memories of Edmund appeared in her head. In the time she had known him, he had shown himself to be shy, clumsy, and, most of all, kind. She laughed at the many times he had done something to make his dark cheeks blush in front of her. She rose and dried her face. The moon rested high in the sky as she walked with a new pleasant step back towards the door.
Edmund unwillingly woke to the first rays of the morning sun. He stood and stretched, and that's when he noticed that he had fallen asleep on the couch in the den and the sound of papers rustling on the upper story. He ascended the stairs and found Kale, holding a steaming cup of coffee and examining various maps and charts in the study. They exchanged casual greetings, and Kale laid out a map displaying the location of the mission they had been assigned; a small town in the country was having a problem with its livestock and townsfolk disappearing.
The journey itself would take about two days. It seemed as if it would be a pleasant trip. The area through which they were traveling was mostly cultivated woods lands used for lumber and farming. All the creatures that could pose a threat would have been driven out long ago. This pleased the duo. After their last encounter they were glad to have a peaceful ride. They agreed on the best route to take and then proceeded to dress and gather their equipment. They were all packed just before noon and set off. As Edmund turned to lock the door two red, scaled arms reached around his neck and green eyes gazed into his. Edmund was surprised and a bit frightened his breath quickening and his face flushing. She grinned a toothy grin and laughed, and then walked away and sat in the carriage. Edmund took a deep breath, laughed nervously, and began walking towards the carriage as well. He didn't know what Kale was doing or what she was thinking and this bothered him greatly considering how many times he had recently intruded on her privacy. He did not know if he had insulted her in some way, or if he had instigated some kind of negative reaction from her. He had enjoyed the weeks he had spent with Kale, but whether or not she felt the same way weighed heavily on his mind. Since the beginning of their partnership, he had embarrassed himself many times in front of her. Edmund was greatly disturbed by this, especially because of the strange feelings he had for her and his desire to not have her leave him. He had been a loner for most of his life, sadly not by choice. For some reason, stayed around him for very long and he worried this would be the case with Kale if his streak of luck continued. He threw his head back and sighed as he opened the carriage door and went in. Kale had already taken a cot, appearing to have fallen asleep in the short time it had taken Edmund to come in. He let go a melancholy breath and then went to the window to get the beast started. The carriage or mobile camp as Edmund had recently dubbed it, jerked to life and proceeded down the path. He moved to his cot near the door, sat down, sighed once again, and then looked at the sleeping dragoness across from him.
What did she think about him? Did she trust him? Does she get the same feelings he gets when he is around her? He laid back and closed his eyes as these thoughts buzzed in his mind. Soon, the buzzing became louder, much too loud to be in his head. He reached out the window and stopped the stone horse, and then walked outside to see what was going on. Edmund looked up, and was immediately filled with a horror that exceeded any he had felt before.
Chapter 6
One of the most violent and dangerous creatures that exist in this realm were the Vecspars. These insect-like creatures are around the size of an adult mule. They travel in huge groups that can reach the thousands and they never travel alone; in fact, they are often referred to simply as "The Swarm". Vecspar swarms are mostly composed of drones and are led by a queen and travel across the land devouring everything in their path. Each one is equipped with four incredibly strong legs and a stinger a few feet in length. These nightmarish creatures are a danger to even the most experienced Ranger, and now they blanketed the sky over Edmund's head.
Edmund stood speechless as the sky was blackened with the bodies of thousands of buzzing Vecspars. He stumbled back in the cabin and shook Kale awake. She looked out the window and uttered a loud curse and raced towards the weapons chest. They quickly, but clumsily, armed themselves and stepped out the door. The Vecspars were already laying waste to the trees around them; a single tree being stripped of leaves, branches, and bark in a matter of minutes. Kale, ready for a surprise attack, held her claymore up and watched the skies carefully. It was a futile effort though; she was knocked down by a heavy hit to her back by a drone. Several more flew down and began to crowd around her body, jaws gnashing. For the first time, Edmund heard her scream. She was backed against a tree, her claymore lying in the grass a few feet away. She let out another scream and slammed her hands to the ground as huge spikes of earth shot from the ground and impaled her attackers. However, these were quickly replaced by even more. It was at this point that Edmund saw that if they continued to fight like this then they would both die. He fired off several bolts into the sky and only two of the vile beasts fell. Edmund was getting desperate, Kale was trapped behind her wall of spikes by at least a dozen of them and more just kept coming. He was losing his will to fight and began to believe he was going to die, hoping that his end would be quick. Then he heard her scream his name. He looked over to the tree being swarmed by those bloody Vecspars, Kale was screaming for him to help her. He stared blankly at her, and warm feeling slowly began to wash over him; the same feeling he had gotten when he first saw her. It was then that he decided what he was going do. He stood up and began walking to the center of the field where they were attacked; all the while he spoke aloud as if he were talking to the Vecspars swarming overhead. He asked them why he was doing something as insane as what he was planning, and then he answered himself knowing he would not receive a reply. He smiled even wider and shouted that love makes one do stupid things and he could deny his feeling no longer. He was in love with dragoness under the tree. He pointed exaggeratedly towards her and looked on with regret for a moment, but then he turned and continued his rant. He asked how much he loved her; and answered himself again by saying that he would gladly die to protect her. He laughed and smiled as he reached the spot directly under the largest part of the swarm. He looked up and the writhing dark mass above his head. The fond words of his master rang out clearly in his head, muting out the buzzing around him: live long, fight hard, and die smiling. He gave one last, wicked grin and a short laugh; he raised Spark Stone over his head, and broke his hand crafted, family heirloom bow in two. The energy within exploded outward as thousands of arcs of lightning, reaching up to the sky and engulfing Edmund in a bright blue light.
Kale backed against the tree terrified, a wall of gnashing mandibles was all she could see through her stone cage. She unleashed several focused electric bolts into the wall, killing a few, but not nearly enough. However, as the creatures fell dead, she could see Edmund on his knees near the carriage. She screamed his name, praying that he was still alive. He looked over towards her, then stood up and began walking to the middle of the field. She thought he had lost his mind, talking to himself and then pointing at her and laughing. He finally stopped and held his bow above his head. Before Kale could think of a reason for his actions, he snapped his bow and was swallowed in a brilliant blue light. Hundreds of arks of lightning leapt from his body and began dancing among the black cloud of insects. First only a few fell, then tens, then hundreds fell at one time. Within a few minutes, nearly the entire swarm had been killed, including the queen. The few stragglers whom had escaped fled in every direction. Without their queen or the swarm, they would not be any kind of problem any longer. She placed her hand on the ground and retracted the spikes then stood up and surveyed the battlefield. The ground was coated in a layer of burned husks, each one fragile and brittle. A simple touch could reduce them to dust. She walked slowly, trying to avoid the Vecspars as best she could. Soon, she reached the only spot where no blacken shells lay, a clear circle of grass in the middle of the field. In this circle lay Edmund, his limp body smoking. She approached slowly, an apathetic expression on her face. She kneeled down and turned his body over. His faced was smudged with soot, his clothes and cloth bag were singed and burned, his hands were burned and each had identical glowing runes, and his bow lay underneath him, broken in two pieces. She sat there, staring down, waiting for him to wake up and laugh. But he didn't. He remained motionless in her arms.
Chapter 7
She sat there on the ground, holding him for quite some time before actually moving. She carefully lifted him off the ground and slowly walked through the field of ash, shells crunching with every step. She stepped into the carriage and laid his body gently on the cot. She then proceeded to gather their equipment from the field and check the harness of the horse. She dragged her battered claymore inside and tossed it into a corner. She set the horse into motion and then sat beside Edmund's body, stroking his scorched hair. His face still held no signs of life, just the same blank expression.
As Kaletrasi sat beside him, time seemed to slow down around her; what was merely a few moments appeared to be an eternity. Minutes seemed to stretch into hours and hours into days. She occasionally left his side to eat what little food she felt necessary to stay alive, but her time was most often spent sitting, running a hand over Edmunds head, waiting for him to awaken. It crossed her mind every so often that she could be stroking the head of a dead man, each time her mind would drift towards what the funeral would be like or, on a few desperate occasions, where she could find a necromancer. However, she quickly banished the thoughts and returned to looking at Edmund's body. It took close to a week to reach the city of Earthfall. Upon arrival she was greeted with a small gathering of the local mercenaries, Mage Rangers, and residents who had heard of their exploits. However, their cheering quickly went silent when she brought out Edmund's limp body. She passed by them without saying a word and shut the door. She went up to his room and laid his body there, then, for the first time since the battle, she fell to her knees and cried. All the sadness and anger that had been welling up was finally being released as she wept on the side of his bed. She wept for his death, for her loss, for the soul crushing loneliness she was sure would follow; she wanted him to comfort her, to hold her and make the depression leave, but each time she looked up he was exactly the same, motionless. Her depression quickly turned to anger. She grabbed the sheets snarling, then reached for a chair and smashed it to pieces on the floor, then threw the nearest sword into the door and collapsed on the floor, her hand gripping the back of her neck. After a few minutes of sitting, she wiped her tears and walked to the study to prepare funds for the upcoming funeral.
Chapter 8
The void around him shifted somehow, but remained dark. The first sensation to return was hearing as he drifted through the emptiness. He could slowly begin to hear birds chirping and people talking and wagons against cobbled road. Then came touch; he began to feel a sense of place. He could feel the bed and his supine position. Finally, his sight returned. The void began to fade, and color rushed back, blinding him for a few moments before the light softened and the room came into focus. Weakly, he lifted his torso up for the first time in three weeks although he had no idea how much time had passed. He looked around and became alarmed. The chair was broken and a sword was through the door. Edmund forced himself up. With every part of his body in intense pain, he grabbed a sword from the side of his bed and limped out the door.
The house was a mess. Dishes were left out and broken across the hall. The map room was cluttered with scrolls and other papers were tossed about, lying scattered all over the room. There were holes in the wall and the hallway table had been turned over. Then he heard papers shuffling and someone curse quietly. He hobbled as quietly as he could into the room at the end of the hall, Kale's room. She was sitting at her desk, her head in her hands crying over an official looking letter. Edmund tried to speak but no sound came, so he shuffled over beside Kale and began to shake her shoulder weakly. She looked up, her eyes bloodshot and filled with tears, and stared at Edmund's tired, worried face. She slowly lifted her hand and rubbed his face, her eyes wide in shock. Edmund held her hand, terrified by her expression, and once again tried to speak but once again, he uttered no sound. She stared emotionless and wide eyed, and then tears began forming in the corners of her eyes. She stood up and faced him, her hand still on his face. She threw her arms around his neck and started crying, saying his name incoherently between her heavy sobs.
Edmund sat quietly on the bed, Kale lying down with her head in his lap, her crying finally beginning to wane. He stroked her head and neck as she explained to him what happened after he broke his bow and what had transpired during the three weeks he had been comatose. She recalled the events, at times seeming to relive them, but also revealed her own emotions during each event. Edmund listened intently, and took note of Kale's true feelings, particularly during the end of her story. As Kale finished, she began to tear up again, memories of Edmund's supposed death flooding back. He lifted her head from his lap, and before she could say a word, he kissed her. He parted from her after a few moments then held her head against his chest.
He caressed her scaled head, wiping the tears from her cheeks, and hummed the same tune he had the night before they set off from Wolfhaven. She smiled softly and wrapped her arms slowly around his waist. He rubbed her head until he thought she had fallen asleep, then quietly began rising from the bed. Suddenly, just as he had stood up, he was pulled into the bed and under the sheets. Kaletrasi stared at him with her luminescent emerald eyes, and licked his cheek. She pulled his body close to hers and settled again into sleep. Edmund stroked the spines along her neck as they both succumbed to slumber.
They awoke in each other's arms. Edmund, having regained some of his strength, sat up in bed, Kale still lying against his chest. He was gently stroking her neck as the runes on his wrist came into view. Upon closer examination, he found the runes were seared into his skin. He raised a hand and clenched his fist, emitting a large amount of electric discharge. She watched in awe, and then glanced toward Edmund who looked strangely content. He glanced down into her dazzling amber eyes and kissed her as sunlight of a new day flooded the room.
Thanks to their exploits in defeating an unnaturally large swarm of Vecspars and saving the entire Northern area from possible destruction, Kaletrasi Bloodscale and Edmund Greenmoon where given the highest honors Mage Rangers could be granted. However, because of the serious injuries inflicted on both, they were given mandatory leave of action to heal and regain their strength. They enjoyed the time they were given to be together, but as days passed, neither could rid themselves of the feeling that something unnatural was swarming.