Lykandir: Ghost Ships (excerpt)

 

THEY FLEW, by pre-arrangement, northeast at first and negotiated the small strait created by the proximity of the mainland to the island at it northernmost point, maintaining lift that was a low profile but high enough to not cause ripples on the water.

Swinging thereafter directly to the east, the ship captains maintained a trajectory that kept the spit of land in sight, clambering upward for a bird’s eye view, and saw the small stone building nestled into the rise. The barracks appeared unattended; not even a trail of smoke wafted into the early morning air.

Shifting south, the invisible vessels tracked the land’s line and, based on the map Kilian drew for them, headed for the jutting spur that was the most eastern point of all Lykandir. There was, as the mage had revealed, a generally level, if rock strewn, area hidden from the rest of the isle by boulders that had folded into immovability an age ago. It was windswept and hostile, apparently, and no mage or soldier had built a cottage in the area. Yes, he had stated, it would prove as hostile for them, but he guaranteed no one would see them.

The Mage Keep itself was out of sight; situated to the west. It meant climbing far higher to view it and that, as Torrullin had murmured, was tempting the fates. Given how contrary the wind was this day, he was right in every way.

As the twenty-second minute commenced, the first ship touched down. It immediately reassumed solidity of sight, although no soldiers or sailors could be seen on board. A ghost ship. They were all as ghosts in this present. No outcry sounded. Kilian was right; no one kept even spurious presence here.

The rest of the fleet landed and rematerialized. That had as much to do with safe landing - they needed to see each other - as it had to do with the difficulty of maintaining a shield in gale-force conditions. The wind howled.

By touch, the soldiers soon formed up, many stumbling on the rocks, although their mates could not see them in their ignominy. Kilian could have told them that more rocks were now present, uncovered no doubt when the ocean heaved onto land in its initial restart, but as no one was permitted to speak, they remained ignorant of that fact. Again, by pre-arrangement, they immediately headed for the boulders and started climbing. Small sounds gave them away, but it was also a truth that the wind snatched those tell-tale noises away.

Hearts thundering, feeling as if the world had ended, they attained the higher ground on the other side, and there they squatted in terrible silence only the wind called a lie.

LYKANDIR: The Measured World