Chapter Eight

The Dark Zone had become an incredibly divisive territory since the Ravennites’ resurgence against the Outsiders. After Ramon’s efforts to strike back at the Ravennites, following the death of his brother at the Citadel, had all but failed, he spent much of the later months of the year isolating the last of the Domineers in the east of the Dark Zone. He knew that the Ravennites would be coming after them if they perceived the slightest opportunity to run them out of the mountains for good, so Ramon did his best to establish a defensive circle around himself. His fortifications proved effective enough, until the Runners were formed and began to decimate his defensive strategy little by little.

Over the course of the following winter, Ramon was losing his men’s morale faster than he could rebuild his defenses. In the far eastern corners of the Dark Zone, he had established his new base at the top of a cliff overlooking a valley below that rested adjacent to the bordering mountain ranges separating the northern and southern regions. The majority of the Domineers had set up their camps on and around the mountain cliff as well as in the valley just below.

Ramon Morenno was standing by the edge of the cliff and looking out toward the mountains in the distance. The morning sun was rising over the hills, painting the sky with a blood red canvas. This was how the sun ascended every morning lately, casting its light upon the clouds and bringing with it cold winds from the east, as if it were a prelude of something to come. 

Caine had told weeks ago about the old folklore of his ancestors, the mysterious tribe of the Seluitah. There was one legend in particular that of which Caine had become increasingly wary; a recurring natural event that, according to him, transpired in a cycle. Absurd superstitions, that was all he thought of it as he smirked to himself and shook it off. Still, these red sunrises were telling him that a change was coming to the atmosphere; low pressure in the air, and it was usually the foreshadowing of a storm.

“Ramon?” a voice spoke up behind him. Ramon turned around to see a single young man approaching him from the camp.

Ramon knew what this man was here to tell him. “What’s the word from the messengers?” he asked in a deep tone.

The man stopped before Ramon and nodded his head slightly. “Rand’s party dispersed early this morning,” he replied assuredly, “but they have not reported back yet.”

“Don’t worry,” Ramon said. “We won’t hear from them for some time; tomorrow at the earliest.”

“Understood,” the other man responded with a compliant voice. “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly are we expecting them to retrieve?”

Ramon walked away from the cliff, with his comrade next to him, as he finally shared his intentions. “We made a grave mistake,” Ramon began grimly. “I understand that now. We made the mistake of attacking the Ravennites when we thought we had them cornered. I never imagined they’d be able to repel a full-scale assault the way they did.”

“It wasn’t your fault, though,” the Domineer warrior interjected. “I was there, Ramon, that night at their fortress. We broke through their defenses, we had them beat in no time, but they had back-up; there was a massive ambush waiting for us. That was the only reason we were defeated, and most of us barely escaped with our lives. The savages were throwing us off the cliffs around the plateau. But it could have been prevented had Caine been able to talk Robert out of the attack.”

For a moment, Ramon halted and looked as though he might snap into anger. He almost began hissing along with his breath. “My brother,” he muttered tensely. “My brother’s blood was spilled by those animals and you just slandered him!”

The man’s jaw fell as he struggled hurriedly to find the right words to say. “N-no,” he breathed hoarsely. “What I’m trying to say is, do you really think we can put our faith in the Ravennite defector?”

“Absolutely,” Ramon answered with conviction. “He’s the only one I would trust to see his mission through. That was why I sent him to aid my brother in the first place.”

“What mission?” the Domineer asked curiously. “I know that he led a team back out into the Ravennites’ territory about two months ago, but what are they doing?”

Ramon cleared his throat as he prepared to explain. “I don’t know what he’s doing.” The man by his side was confused as Ramon continued to speak. “I authorized Caine to take whatever he needed to establish a base back in the south while we sever all contact with him for the time being. There he is attempting to organize what will act as the backbone for our final counterattack against the Ravennites.”

His comrade raised his eyebrows. “Counterattack? You plan to engage the Ravennites on their own front, even in our depleted state?”

“Depleted?” Ramon scoffed. “We’re simply regrouping and reorganizing. I trust Caine to do his part.”

“But what is he doing?”

“I told you already,” Ramon responded, growing annoyed. “I don’t know. I gave Caine every liberty he needs to step us in the right direction, and last night, he was to send back his report. That is what Rand is out to retrieve.”

“I don’t understand,” the Domineer persisted. “Why didn’t we just establish communication with Caine? It seems stupid to allow a Ravennite, defector or not, to roam freely around the mountains with no supervision at all.”

Ramon put a hand up to silence him. “It’s too risky,” he replied in a stern tone. “You were at the Citadel, weren’t you? Don’t you ever wonder how they managed to call for reinforcements?”

The man was a little speechless at first. “It was an ambush. That’s what the men were saying.”

“No,” Ramon snickered. “It was Darowe. His people marched from the south when they learned of my brother’s attempts to defeat the Ravennites. They found out because they were latching onto our trails of communication like parasites. It was too big of a risk to establish communication with Caine during his mission. I couldn’t take the chance of the Ravennites compromising my plans, so we both remained silent all this time; until this morning, when we sent Rand’s company to escort a messenger sent directly from Caine’s camp.”

Ramon’s compatriot was still feeling uninformed. “If we never had any contact with Caine since he departed, then how did he know to send out a messenger, and how did we know when and where to find him?”

“Because before he left,” Ramon explained further, “Caine and I planned to maintain our silence until the first new moon of this month. That would give him more than enough time to make progress on whatever he’s doing, at which point he was to send a messenger back here to deliver his report, and it may be the tipping point that could end this war with the Ravennites once and for all!”

The Domineer was quite impressed with Ramon’s intentions. They played a risky game by sending Caine out into the dark all this time, but if what Ramon said was true, then it seemed as though the Domineers would soon be taking the fight right back to their enemies, to avenge those that they lost at the battle for the Citadel. All they had to do now was wait until Rand’s party returned with Caine’s messenger. The biggest question, however, was still hovering around in his mind; what was Caine really up to in the southern territories of the Dark Zone?