Fracturing Alliances

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It's implied and it gets explicitly said much later,
but I think it's better explicitly said earlier on
Brun made summer and Heisyn winter,
so they can control fire and ice respectively
Other things too but for now
that's all you need to know lol
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     It was the first time they traveled in complete and utter silence, save for the quiet trots of Summer and Oliver. They stopped and hitched the horses once the shrine’s ruins were visible over the horizon, with Linias’s unease painted plainly as opposed to his usual stoicism.

“Can you use your vines or anything like that to get a view?” Revi was the first to speak.

Linias looked to his Master, who too was waiting for a response from him. He inhaled. “No, the ground is too burnt. If I grow something through it they’ll see it and get suspicious, I can only see some of the perimeter. There’s…seven Seronites standing guard, all on rotation but none of them are standing by the temple. There could be more inside though.”

Despite the fact that she didn’t see him grow anything to begin with, she trusted that he had his ‘mage ways’ of knowing that information.

“I say no.” Myrin immediately jumps in. “I still agree with Linias, it’s still not worth it. Knowing that doesn’t make much of a difference, we’re still basically going in blind.”

“And I’d still rather take that risk! If my clans in that temple and I chose to not even try to save them I’d never forgive myself even if there’s fifty or even a hundred Seronites in there.”

Linias regrettably knew Haetia’s opinion on the matter even with the slight information, but still he waited for him to voice it.

“Anything that throws a thorn in whatever their plans are.”

Myrin glanced at Linias then held back a grimace, already in the motions of mentally detaching himself from what he believed to be a horrible idea from start to finish.

And reluctantly, Linias obeyed his Master’s wishes.

“...Then, it’s better we go from the East. They’re more dispersed and there’s more debris to hide behind.”

Since the horses would only bring more attention to themselves they left them where they had initially stopped and continued on foot.

     Being the only one with any wide range of visibility, everyone followed Linias’s lead in close, crouched, and cautious steps. The more they tread into the ruins, the more frequently did they have to stop and hide behind the closest set of debris until they ended up going in pairs from cover to cover, with Linias expectedly with his Master and Revi begrudgingly with Myrin.

There was only the one entrance to the ruined temple located at the very front, and the fact that it was left unguarded aside from the patrols set off a thousand more alarms in Myrin and Linias both. But orders were orders–at least for the servant.

They slipped through a miniscule opening between the double doors so as to avoid any potential creaking of its old hinges and closed it just as quickly and quietly once they had all made it through.

The temple was much more elaborate than it had originally appeared from the outside with rows and rows of towering columns and balconies to match, charred black all the same. Located at the end of the hall was a room wide staircase that only served as an elevation for the floor on which the dilapidated shrine stood since it didn’t lead to the second story.

It barely calmed Linias down to see the ruins left almost entirely as is, meaning that the Seronites hadn’t – or weren’t yet – entirely settled in the area and such their numbers were likely small. What didn’t help ease his nerves however was the fact that one of Revi’s clan members was standing out in the open, hovering over a parchment covered table at the top of the stairs.

No restraints. No one standing watch. Just as if they belonged there.

On the other hand, Revi shouted as soon as she caught sight of them, completely overlooking Linias’s motions for her to keep her voice down.

“Andrae!? You’re alright!”

The fire elemental rushed forward and nearly toppled her fellow clans member over in a hefty embrace, violently patting them down and shaking them in the process as if to verify if they’re real.

“You are you right? No mind control or anything?”

“If I wasn’t I wouldn’t have let you almost give me a concussion like that.” Andrae rubbed his temples.

He looked almost no different from Revi save from being a man. Same charcoal skin tone, the same scarlet hair just a bit more on the orange end, the same scaled clothing, and more yellow toned eyes. He was also thinner than her but still had his own share of slight brawn.

“Then where are the others? Don’t tell me–?”

“No everyone’s safe-if anything we thought you might’ve…you know.”

As they spoke Linias remained wary and on edge, eyes drifting around the room as he studied his surroundings for any hint of potential danger. The fact that there was just the singular entrance and exit was worrisome enough, let alone the fact that there could very well be hidden passageways they don’t know about given the structure’s age. He didn’t realize how much he had relied on his ability to see through vegetation, and now with the lack thereof he was more paranoid than ever. His hand remained lingering by the bark on his hip with a lean towards his Master who’s chronic inability to remain close already started to kick in.

Myrin had a similar thought process regarding possible passageways so he took to investigating by the corridors below the balconies in the meantime.

“Why are you with the Seronites then?! They kidnapped you guys–!”

“Revi, do you even know what they’re trying to do? If they fail, our small home freezing over would be the least of our worries! That kid they’re trying to catch will kill all of us! Not just the clan but–” In the midst of his sentence, his eyes landed upon Haetia. “That’s–That’s him!! You were with him this whole time!!?”

“Slow down Andrea I have no clue what the fuck you’re talking about!”

Myrin dusted the dirt off the stone, following a gap between the slabs that slowly led around in the shape of a rectangle.

In the eerie silence of the surrounding area came what Linias believed to be some form of rustling but quickly became clearer and clearer.

Clatters.

The distant and encroaching clatters were barely recognizable but recognizable nonetheless. Armor, and an abundance at that. Originally it sounded as if it was just coming from the outside, but the faster it approached the clearer it became that the noise was also emitting from below.

His immediate instinct was to grab his Master and leave but the instant he moved to do so a wall of soldiers burst and flooded through the double doors and the platform Myrin had just uncovered, surrounding each of them with blades in a matter of seconds – their numbers far too great for Linias to try and force his way to Haetia.

The only other plan he concocted relied on Myrin and his ability to charm yet rather than simply surrounding him like they did the rest, they seized and gagged him. Even if from appearances alone one could tell he was a siren, it all was still too coincidental, too perfect that Linias was convinced that this was a planned trap just as he had feared from the very beginning. If he had just trusted his instincts they wouldn’t be in this situation–his Master wouldn’t be in this situation.

For once the retainer struggled to remain calm and composed. Breaths quickened, his limbs twitching as they fought against trembles.

The only thought storming through his mind was Haetia and what he could do to save him. He couldn’t reach him and trying to wasn't an option either

The Seronites by Myrin parted and closed like a wave to let someone–a woman–pass through. She was clad in a long military coat which carried the same colors as the rest of them, albeit with more red than black. Their leader, she had to be. There was no other way they could’ve coordinated together to corner them like this otherwise.

Following behind her was a serpentine tail with the same scales decorating her body judging from what little of her skin showed.

Short platinum hair, thin pupils, sharp chartreuse eyes. A drakaina. In a different situation Linias would’ve contemplated the importance of an endangered species leading a group like this but that didn’t even cross his mind currently.

The drakaina stood at the height of the stairs, not too far from Revi who had her own fair share of swords at her neck although her clans member remained free. She observed each of them individually, as if priding herself on prey well caught.

And finally, she spoke.

“The siren and the lost fire elemental. Myrin and Revi, if I recall.” Coarse and cutthroat. Her tone alone made Linias wonder why she didn’t have them killed immediately. “A stroke of fate if I’ve ever seen one. I had only hoped for the Host and his servant. I’ll speak with you both individually later, for now I wish to focus on the whole reason I rushed to arrive so soon.”

Her uncanny glow landed on Linias. “You. What’s your name? I’d prefer to be as respectful as I can, if you would allow me to.”

Linias forced his boiling dread down, painting the best abrasive glare that he could manage.

She sighed then gestured to the soldiers surrounding Haetia who brought their blades ever closer.

“Linias!” He burst immediately. “It’s Linias.”

She gestured to them again and they marginally relaxed their weapons. “I don’t want to threaten you like that again, Linias. So answer when I ask. I’d believe you to be smart if you managed to get this far, so I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that I’m the leader of the Seronites. My name is Drosera, and I’d like to ask you to aid in our cause.”

“Fuck no.” The retainer didn’t hesitate to answer even for a blink.

“The only reason I can imagine you saying that is because you don’t know what he is, dryad.”

Linias held back a reaction to gauge if she was only trying to goad him into admitting such, but she remained ever confident in her claim, and the fact that the others dropped agape didn’t help his cause.

“My soldiers have reported seeing one of the Host’s companions instantaneously grow vines and branches without so much as a slight of the hand, and with enough knowledge on the magical arts, as rare as that is these days, one would know that that’s nearly impossible for any man or mythical. Unless, you were of the fae types though only dryads and treants could do it to the extent that’s been displayed by you. Need I mention the scorched dryad sanctuary by the Host’s original haven as well?”

At the words the servant flinched but he tried to shift the emotions elsewhere, muffling whatever memories they brought up with it. Yet the damage was already done, if she really was just theorizing that small recoil all but confirmed it for her.

Drosera’s eye contact didn’t break for a second.

“It’d make sense for those fanatics to procure a dryad to watch the Host. How else to ensure his safety? And to neglect to tell you anything about him to ensure your cooperation.”

The drakaina clicked her tongue. “Then I will tell you. Those fanatics wish to have that child merge with Heisyn and glaciate this world. It’d kill everyone and everything, and that includes whatever dryads are left or the animals and foliage you hold so dear.”

“And you expect me to believe that?” Linias quickly scavenged his wits and let his duty take front. “Every other person alive wants to have a dryad at their disposal. You could make up anything you want to get me to turn over.”

“The area you lived in, Gwyneira, had you not noticed it grew colder with each passing day? That other surrounding locations had become affected as well? Your friend’s fire clan was preparing to leave for that very reason. Or those ashen monsters turned from humans, Shells we call them. Do you think that they resemble him out of sheer coincidence?”

“No matter how fabricated or candid you are, my answer remains the same. Fuck. No. I’ve served him my entire life and throwing spiked words at my face won’t change my mind about my duty now or ever.”

Drosera’s frigid gaze narrowed. “Evidently you need more time to understand how little you truly know.” She raised her hand. “Seize them and throw them in separate cells.”

He was out of time.

From the moment they were ensnared Linias knew that he couldn’t get all of them out of this unscathed, but if anyone had to escape alone it had to be his Master–Haetia.

Linias was the first person the prince had looked towards for help as the soldiers closed in. The first time he’d ever seen Haetia with a gaze that wailed in utter helplessness and fear.

It was a last resort that Linias prayed he didn’t have to use but with no way to escape he was left with no other option.

They moved to capture the rest of them in what felt like flashing images. His limbs moved on their own, his vines sharing his will as they forced through what bodies they could to give him a clear shot. He had little time to aim but that fraction was all he needed.

The dart left his hands and landed at the base of Haetia’s feet. A rift barely the size of the lid of a barrel opened; in the same instant Haetia plummeted through.

The last thing he saw of his Master was his outstretched hand before his body eclipsed below the ground, and an echo of a disembodied cry followed.

“LINIAS!”