Aia caught one of the servants before they fell. Leaning them against the side of a horse for support, she paused and took in the caravan of servants.
"We will rest here for a moment; if you need water then drink now. We will not rest again before the end of the chasm."
The priestess exhaled, deep lines furrowed her brow as she gazed across the span of servants and horses. The women and young children were on the stallion's backs. Most were pressed three or four per horse. They had to be tied together to keep one or another from falling off. The male servants–mostly boys between ages 15-18– were made to walk on the gravel.
"Why is this haste necessary!?"
They were becoming restless; frustrated and worn by the long march.
"'Tis not far now the other side. The lord has bid this for our own good."
"Because of a bit of rain and thunder?"
The boy's words came close to questioning the lord, yet none could blame him. Aia glanced farther back into the chasm. T'was dark and far to see without torchlight, but she could still hear the distant rumbling.
"I understand how difficult this is, sir Artorius left us with precious little knowledge for his decisions. But let us not be faithless in our fellow man. I believe he would not bid us haste without good reason."
Listening one last time to the far booms, Aia thought that the sky sounded sick. The thunder came like the wheezing of a terrible cough. Quietly, she prayed for Artorius' safety.
"Our moment has passed. Up now, rouse yourselves. We must reach the other side before day breaks."
The caravan marched another two or so hours before a noise broke out at the back of the line. Aia hastened down to see the ashen faces of the knights, and Artorius breathing rough and bearing the heave of sweat upon his brow.
"Sir Artorius, bless the Gods you've returned."
"Were that we could celebrate that fact, I surely would. But there's no time. Listen to me Aia, you're most familiar with this land, no?"
"I– I can't say. My village is farther to the east of here, but we should be approaching the Blackwood Forest now."
A grim pallor passed over the knights. Many grimaced to Aia's words. They appeared quite reluctant to proceed forward, yet none voiced opposition. Aia suppressed a chill, grasping at her arms to cover herself as an eastern draft wisped by.
"I need your help. We must find a high place– one tall enough to break the cloud veil."
"Why–"
"There's no time. 'Tis we must reach open sky before dawn. The wind has eased the storm behind us but it shall not last long."
Aia thought quickly under the pressure. She recalled old tales her grandmother had told her as a child.
"Mt. Ézan isn't far from here. 'Tis said that the summit shall always see the sun."
"Then that is where we must go. What is the location?"
"At the end of the chasm, it should be no more than an hour's journey due northwest."
Artorius looked to the sky– what thin strand of it could be seen betwixt the chasm's walls. T'was a blue deeper than the sea; daylight was still off for some time.
The caravan hurried onward to the other side when a murder of crows began to harass them. Although Artorius and the Drake Knights swatted at the fell birds, little could be done but hasten the march. But the corvids moved with queer intelligence and a disregard for themselves. They aimed for the torch bearers. Snuffing out one or another even at deathly cost. By the time the ground was littered with their bodies, the whole line was plunged into a pitch darkness. Only the laughing of crows was heard, and the scent of iron grew strong– as if Az was calling them.
The servants were afraid; Aia was afraid, and she suspected so were the Drake Knights. In that lonely dark only the dim light of stars could comfort them. But a grim bearing of black clouds stretched its misty fingers out as if to covet the stars. Although on occasion the clouds would drift eastward– as if pushed by a gale. They were relentless and terrible in their quest to grasp the thin sky above.
Aia put all her trust in those stars to guide her. For what else could a small priestess do if not have faith?
At last, when they reached the end of the chasm, they beheld the next line of mountains blocking the horizon like cruel walls. But gratefully, the light was a little clearer out in the open. Aia glanced about to see some of the servants were missing, and the Drake Knights were bloody. Artorius himself was soaked in corvid blood and sir Manéd appeared to have lost an eye. He clutched the wound with his free hand. Aia wondered, had the crows been so cruel unbeknownst to herself?
As she and the others caught their breath for a moment, Aia saw at her feet a little moth white as snow. T'was a tiny thing; small enough to rest on her fingertip. Yet it fluttered with unknown strength into the distant west. She lost sight of it as Artorius addressed her.
"Miss Aia, my lady, we must press onward. Pray tell where this mountain is."
Taking a moment to exhale, she then pointed to a peak that towered so high that the summit appeared to vanish from sight.
"There, Mt. Ézan… According to folklore my grandmother taught me, Greater God Sól had fought the Demon of Pestilence here, and petrified him in stone. If the story was true, the sun always shines on the peak of Mt. Ézan, ensuring he stays sealed."
Iorhaneb frowned.
"a story, you say…"
Artorius replied, "I understand your skepticism sir Iorhaneb, but we must try."
"'Tis of its essence, a coin toss my liege."
Artorius took one Solarian dollar– a coin marked with the profile of the late lord Joseph Titanus the First. He tossed it up and said, "it shall be heads."
In the dark, pale light reflected off the coin, giving it a gleam of hope. It landed heads.
"Well, sir Iorhaneb. 'Tis a good enough omen for me."
He walked on toward the mountain. The old Drake Knight let out a breath before following. Soon, all followed the young lord as if it were the only natural course of action. Aia heard the thunder boom behind them. A foul wind poured out of the chasm. She turned from it with worry and proceeded with the rest of the caravan.
Finally, when she looked to the sky, it looked a little lighter than before.