A Born Fighter

By Tessa Hastjarjanto

---

Today's writer is Tessa Hastjarjanto. Tessa is a writer from the Netherlands with several self-published books under her belt. She also hosts the blog Naratess where she talks about her books, how living with chronic pain impacts her writing process, book reviews, and her undying love for fountain pens.

You can find out more about Tessa on twitter: @Endalia.

This story was published for our Summer of Short Stories (2019) event.

---

The air in Orr was filled with as much mystery as the island’s history. Tenise developed an interest in Tyrian history after discovering her Elonian heritage. However, all she could do was research since both places had been off limits. Orr’s islands were pushed back to the surface by Zhaitan, but the gate to the Crystal Desert was still shut. 

Today, that was going to change. She had volunteered to join the Pact in their reconnaissance mission to Orr. Tenise was excited when she heard the Cathedral of Eternal Radiance was her destination. The old gods fascinated her, and exploring Lyssa’s temple was a dream come true. Instead of just reading about Lyssa, she could experience it up close. Wander the temple, like the priestesses, she would imagine going through the rites of old.

The Pact cleared the way to the village of Wren for her team of Priory scholars. Tenise‘s experience as a guardian made her a perfect escort for a group lacking in battle experience. It wasn’t the most interesting job, but it paid the bills and she got to use her hammer. Being in Orr would bring her closer to Zhaitan too. If only she could take a swing at him.

She wanted to take revenge for what he had done to Lion’s Arch and Claw Island. Many of her friends fell during the battles, and although she did her part in the Battle of Claw Island, it wasn’t enough. She wanted to avenge them and make sure no one had to see their friends fall victim to a dragon again. Saying goodbye to Tybalt was the hardest thing she ever did.

By joining the expedition, she might satisfy both cravings: her craving for justice and her craving for knowledge. It almost scared her how much she enjoyed pounding away the Risen, but there was one type she feared: the Risen chicken. As soon as they entered Malchor’s Leap, she noticed them—and they noticed her. Five Risen chicken chased her around the area as Tenise tried to keep them away from the scholars. They all laughed at her, not realising how much pain the chickens could actually inflict on them.

Just one more day and the escort would be over, then Tenise would be free to do what she wanted. Hopefully, another group of soldiers would pass through the Garden of Ilya on their way to hunt Zhaitan. For now, these bullies were her duty. If she was twenty years younger, the bad attitude of the scholars would’ve gotten to her, but time had made her a wiser person. It was something they still had yet to learn. It wasn’t her place to teach them herself, but she would make sure their superior in Wren would hear about it.

Tenise could see the looming structure of the Cathedral of Radiance from Pagga’s Post. The people of Orr never did things half-assed.  She imagined what it would be like, to live in the thriving civilization of old: one of grandeur and deceit. Would the splendor be worth the intrigue it came with? No, Tenise decided. Straightforward was better.

The next morning, Tenise rose early to wake up the scholars. All of them had been drinking and were hungover. Surprisingly, she had the biggest headache. Risen chickens were hard enough to deal with, but grumpy, stubborn scholars were something else. They constantly insulted her, played pranks on everyone not in their group, and treated her more like a servant than someone in charge of their protection. She preferred the chickens. Them, she could kill.

Tenise and two Pact soldiers herded the scholars towards their final destination: the village of Wren. Two groups of Risen tried to block their path, but Tenise welcomed any distraction. She even let one of the Risen come too close to the scholars to scare them a little. One of them got hurt, a superficial scratch, but to them it was the end of the world, and they feared they would turn into a Risen like the others. The whining wasn’t worth playing with them again, and next time she killed all the Risen before they got close.

They reached Wren before noon. Everyone was excited about the cathedral. Pact soldiers and senior Priory members were already on the site, exploring. She took a break and had lunch instead of going up. The structure had been there long enough, it would be there tomorrow. She wanted to rest and meditate. Right now, it was filled with nasty comments from ungrateful scholars.

Everyone received their assignments the next morning, except Tenise since she was a hireling. She listened to the briefing, deciding what she would do afterwards. While the main squad headed up the ramp, Tenise opted to scout the surrounding area. Most of the terrain was in ruins, but she knew ruins also had their secrets. The civilization of Orr might have had more than others. The priestesses of Lyssa might have hidden their treasures here away from public eyes.

After leaving camp, she crossed the ramp and walked along the perimeter of the temple, hoping to find a broken wall. She held her trustworthy hammer in her hands; it was the only weapon she used nowadays. It was powerful enough to keep Risens at a safe distance, or at least stun them hard enough. 

She noticed the Risen’s absence in the area, as if they knew not to come there. Tenise wondered if maybe their respect for the dead went so deep, they kept their distance from the temple. A Priory scholar gave a short speech about the Cathedral of Radiance when they’d arrived, and what kind of rituals the priestesses did. The dead were buried just outside of the cathedral — in a crypt — so they couldn’t originate from there, but the Risen were everywhere. Maybe it was just a matter of time before the undead Orrians wanted to take back what was theirs.

Tenise wasn’t a sentimental one, even though she spent most of her life trying to figure out what exactly happened to her ancestors. It was the need to know which kept her going, rather than a grudge against Palawa Joko: something other Elonian descendants had inherited from their parents.

A spark in the distance drew her attention. Purple flashes coloured the sides of the anthracite wall. Tenise ran towards it and found a pile of crumbled stone hiding a slit into the temple. The purple flashes were irregular, followed by grunts of the undead.

Once inside, she saw a sylvari wearing the recognizable Priory robes surrounded by three Risen. She launched herself at the closest one, knocking it to the ground. Her hammer landed on its legs and crushed them. A few more swings were enough to make sure he wasn’t getting up again. The sylvari mesmer wielded a scepter and focus, creating clones to distract the Risen. 

The second one ran after a clone, which gave Tenise another opportunity to jump them from behind. He was dead before he came close to the sylvari’s clone. Just as Tenise turned around, the last groan faded, and they were alone.

“Thanks,” said the sylvari, who leaned forward to catch their breath.

“No problem.” Tenise swung her hammer once to rid it of any bits of undead. They were stickier than she thought. That would be another night of polishing her hammer.

Exhaustion was visible on the sylvari’s face.  She still had trouble reading sylvari, but it was obvious this one wasn’t feeling well. Their eye colour was muted, and their skin drained and pale. The flowers in their hair weren’t blooming either.

“It seems I came at the right time.” Tenise raised an eyebrow. She knew most scholars didn’t have her stamina, especially the young ones, but this was different.

“You did. Thank you. My name is Cuinn, Priory Explorer,” they said before they sank to the ground.

“Here.” Tenise threw them a provision she had stolen from camp. “I’m Tenise Williams, a volunteer of Lion’s Arch. Why are you stationed here? I thought all Priory members were sent to the cathedral.”

“You’re right, except me. I’m the only one with a different assignment.” Cuinn caught the food and wolfed it down. The taste of food gave them renewed energy, and their flowers opened a bit.

“Why don’t you have other Pact soldiers with you? They gave me strict orders never to leave the premises alone. As if I need protection,” she scoffed. Tenise crossed her arms. It might be desertion, but she couldn’t forget the behaviour of other scholars.

“I don’t know. They just didn’t. So why are you here?” Cuinn’s voice wavered.

Tenise shrugged. “The same reason I’m always alone. I have trouble following orders, as you can see.” She winked at them. 

Cuinn smiled in between bites. 

“Do you mind if I hang around a bit?” She sat down next to them, not waiting for an answer. The hammer clattered loudly as she dropped it.

“Not at all. I’m glad to have company. Ever since we arrived, the other Priory members shunned me.” 

“So sending you here was just a way to bully you.” Like they did to me, Tenise thought.

“Maybe? I don’t know. I never should’ve left the Priory library. It’s not like I wanted to be here in the first place,” Cuinn grumbled.

“Who told you to go?” This was why Tenise never joined any of the Orders. She loved her freedom.

“My superiors. I finally graduated from being a novice, but once you’re an explorer, you have to do field missions. They thought it was exciting for a newly appointed explorer to go to Orr and research amongst the undead.”  Cuinn shook their head.

“It’s funny how those people always project their own ambitions onto others, isn’t it?”

“Hardly. It hasn’t even been two years since I awoke from the Dream. I’m still getting used to living, and that was hard enough without people wanting me dead.”

Tenise nodded in agreement. “We’re lucky we have at least a decade to get used to the world before the world starts expecting things from us. I can’t imagine what it’s like for you.”

“I wish my mentor was more considerate.” Cuinn pulled up their knees and curled up.

It was hard to watch. Tenise felt sorry for them, but she couldn’t express pity without them feeling even worse. It was a delicate situation. “Do you know why I came here?”

A low noise came from the ball of blue fabric and indigo leaves. 

“The old gods are a fascination of mine, but it’s the people who are at the center of most stories. The other scholars might be up there, looking at the temple, but it’s these places out here where the real tales are told.” Telling stories had always been a favourite pastime of Tenise’s. Cuinn’s head lifted, and Tenise could see a curious eye staring at her, asking for more.

“The stories told by one person are more interesting than the rituals they practiced for years. A handmaiden who hid the secret treasure a lover gave her before he went to war. A scholar hiding a journal with forbidden knowledge. I prefer these stories over boring burial rites.”  Tenise hoped her explanation would show the sylvari coming here wasn’t a bad idea.

Cuinn rested their head on their arms now, listening to her story.

“I’m sure we can find something here and show those scholars you not only survived their bullying, but you also made a great discovery,” Tenise continued.

“But is it enough?” Their voice was barely audible.

A sound echoed further into the cave. Tenise turned her head to see what it was, but the darkness obscured her vision. She summoned a spirit sword to attack anything which might emerge.

Cuinn rose to their feet, scepter out, fingers trembling. Their fear was still present. 

There wasn’t much Tenise could do to give the sylvari confidence in battle, and if they were going to stay on Orr, fighting was inevitable. They had to learn how to fight the undead off. Every victory was a building block for confidence.

Three Risen pirates appeared from the darkness. Tenise’s spirit sword was already slashing away, but their enemy had weapons. One of them easily parried the sword’s attacks.

“How did they come in here?” Cuinn gasped.

“I don’t know. There must be water down there. Don’t ask questions now, kill them before they kill you.” Tenise grabbed her hammer and leaped onto the undead pirates, knocking them back. She stunned the other two, hoping  Cuinn could distract them while she took care of this one.

A flash of purple passed her, spawning an ethereal clone of Cuinn right beside her. Tenise grinned. Cuinn learned quickly enough. The pirate went down after a few more blows of her hammer. She then turned her fury upon the other two. However, when she turned around, only one Risen was still standing. Tenise was proud. Together they finished off the last pirate.

Tenise put her hand on Cuinn’s shoulder. “You did good, kid.”

Cuinn wiped away the cold sweat from their brow. “They frighten me.”

“Me too. I guess the undead have that effect on people. They shouldn’t exist but do. They remind you of someone from the past, maybe they are that person, but they are not. Whoever they are now, they’re the Risen: a dragon’s minion.” Tenise turned one of the pirates over. His face was half rotten, eaten by fish, and his corpse was already decomposing without the dragon’s magic. Tenise noticed the uncomfortable look on Cuinn’s face. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I don’t know, there’s this voice in my head. I want to ignore it, but it’s getting harder to do so.” Cuinn kept their eyes shut and shook their head.

“What’s it saying?” Tenise asked.

“I’m not good enough. The world is better without me in it. I shouldn’t exist.”

“If you shouldn’t exist, you probably wouldn’t. We all have our part to play, and you still have to discover yours.”

“What about them? You just said they shouldn’t exist.” Cuinn started shaking and sunk through their knees.

“That‘s different. They were created, we were born.”

Cuinn looked confused.

“Well, sylvari are different. But you‘re awakening was intended. Do you remember your Dream?”

“Not very well. I remember green of the Maguuma, and I was fighting others. The rest is blurry. The voice I hear in my head now is the same one that spoke to me in the Dream. I talked to the Pale Tree about it, but it was too vague. We couldn’t make out what my purpose was. She said maybe the Priory could help me, or at least have the resources to find it out on my own. Then my mentor sent me here, in a place where I had to fight, hoping it would clear things up. I wish I knew what I was meant to fight for. Do you know what your purpose is?”

“I feel—one day—I will be back in Elona. Back to where my ancestors used to live. For now, I plan to learn everything I can.” It might have been a lifelong wish, but her gut was telling her it was true. 

“How do I find mine?”

Tenise pointed at the corpses of the Risen. “You may be on your way already. Your colleagues are upstairs dusting old relics, but you are the one fighting Zhaitan right now. Maybe you awoke just in time to prepare to help defeat the dragon, even when your Dream didn’t show you facing him yourself.”

“If you hadn’t come, I would have been dead.” Cuinn’s voice wavered again, and dropped her scepter.

“You don’t know that. Your clones are powerful tools, and these guys aren’t that smart. You could’ve fooled them easily and taken them down from the shadows. You‘re already growing in your fighting skills. Stick with me for now and I’ll turn you into the best fighter in the Priory.”

Tenise threw Cuinn a sword, one the Risen had used. “Use this in close combat, and your scepter when they’re far away.” She got up and grabbed her hammer. “Let’s see you wielding it.”