“I can’t fault you for what you did,” Taren replied tiredly, “since apparently it was for the greater good…but why did you keep so much from me? Why not explain the need and then trust me to make the right decision?”
“Would you have done it?” Arys countered, calmly.
Taren sighed, closing his eyes. “I want to say yes…but, truthfully? I don’t know.”
Arys nodded as though she had had expected this. “I wanted to tell you everything,” she said, her voice rich with emotion, “I nearly did so many times…I needed your help to figure out what to do...but then you and Myrnai…well, I didn’t know what you would choose and I couldn’t risk it.”
She glanced at their clasped hands, and then looked into Taren’s eyes. Her voice was earnest. “I won’t lie to you and say I knew you would find happiness. But I hope you can believe that I wanted you to.”
Taren reached toward the apparition, as though touching her would somehow help him believe her words. But she was farther away than she seemed. He let his hand drop back to his side.
“My time is nearly spent,” Arys murmured. What did that mean? Ky’ara wondered. Was Arys glowing?
“A physical being cannot stay here for long…my body has been eroded by the centuries spent here in the Dreamworld,” Arys explained and Ky’ara realized sheepishly that she had been broadcasting her thoughts again. The druid turned toward Ky’ara, “Remember what I told you—if the Destroyer is allowed to Transition one more time then this world will be beyond hope. Don’t let that happen.”
Ky’ara nodded, still determined to find another way.
“Goodbye Arys,” Taren whispered, pain showing clearly on his ordinarily closed face.
The light around her faded, and then she was gone. Ky’ara took Taren’s other hand as she turned to face him.
“Come,” she said softly, “let’s get back before Joran wakes up.”
Taren nodded, and Ky’ara willed them both back to their bodies.
* * * * *
She opened her eyes and hurried down the stairs and out the door to where the others were waiting, then stopped short. A tidy camp was set up against the wall, with a fire and a rabbit turning on the spit. Sunlight streamed down through the tree tops.
“I should have mentioned,” Taren said, coming up beside her, “you’ve been in there for nearly a week.”
Her stomach growled loudly.
“Bet now you wish I didn’t keep my promise quite so faithfully, huh?” Joran chimed in from her other side.
She turned to respond exasperatedly, only to find herself staring straight at a chunk of meat on a stick.
“I figured you’d be hungry,” Joran said slyly, putting the stick into her hand. The corner of his mouth twitched up when he saw her astounded expression. “Eat first, and then you can tell us all about what happened…clearly it was something extraordinary, if it held your attention that long.”
She accepted the food and went to sit by fire. It was still early morning and despite the sunshine, the air was chilly. The charred meat did little to satisfy the hollowness in her stomach, but after finishing the piece and washing it down with a handful of berries and some water, Ky’ara related most of what she’d learned.
“Wow,” Joran remarked when she had finished, “You really are expected to save the world, aren’t you?”
She just nodded tiredly, staring off into the distance. Was she up to the task? Destiny seemed to think so. A’kiina had too, though Ky’ara still didn’t understand why.
“We’d better get back,” Taren said, “Lauryn and Sukylar are probably wondering whether we’re okay…if we hurry, we may be able to get back to where we left the horses before dark.”
The trip back across the lake was uneventful. Sun reflected off the calm, clear water. In the daylight, the ruins of the outer city could be seen deep below the surface. There was a sense of reverence in the way Taren rowed, his head bowed beneath the weight of painful memories Ky’ara could only imagine. They were passing over a place where hundreds of his people had died. A place he’d last seen moments before being taken from everything he knew and being thrust into an unfriendly future. How hard had it been for him—and for Joran—spending a week camped among these ruins? That he’d been willing to do that, for her was gratifying.
* * * * *
Taren dug the oars into the water, pulling them back, pushing forward, digging in again. The rhythm of the movements was soothing. The boat glided through the water, passing over the graves of his former life. Waiting in the ruins of the Druids’ Keep, wondering day in and day out whether he had once again lost everything...it had been terrifying. It had also given him perspective. He’d held so long to the injustice of it all—his five hundred year-long imprisonment, the theft of everything he’d known and loved. Even when he’d insisted he had come to terms with it, some part of him had still deeply resented its occurrence.
No longer.
He had changed. Facing the possibility that Ky’ara would not come back, spending days consumed by the fear that he’d lost her to the same force that had taken everything from him the first time…it had changed him. Hardened him. His resolve, once crumbling and uneven like a wall built too thin and beaten down by time and weather, was built anew. Speaking to Arys and finally confronting what she had done to him had made him realize how little could be gained by dwelling on the past. It was time to face the future. There was a storm coming. A fight they couldn’t win but had to fight anyways. And he was here by Her side only because of what Arys had done to him. It was not a sacrifice. It was a blessing.
They reached the opposite shore and disembarked. Taren lingered just a moment, hand resting on the boat that had taken them to that place. He drew a deep breath, and then pushed it back onto the lake. It drifted peacefully, drawn in by an unseen current. Ky’ara took his hand, and together they headed back into the forest, leaving the ruins of Eléirathös to face the darkness ahead.
He didn’t look back.
Epilogue
I write this history, not with the intent to justify what I have done, but with the hope that someday it will aid those who must rectify my mistake. The long years battling this power that I unleashed have given me perspective I did not have when first I set on this path. I do not know what yet will come of this world; I can only pray Destiny sends one more worthy than I to complete the task I so misguidedly took upon myself. In the books I have commanded written for the instruction of our order, I discuss at great length the principle of opposition. It was this principle I failed so utterly to understand when, as a girl, I sought to right the wrongs of the world.
In my desire to help, I neglected to first think through the possible outcomes and it was my undoing. I used the power bestowed on me to collect and focus the Good energy of those around me. I wanted to create an object so purely good it would exude the power of Light and eliminate the problems I saw plaguing the world around me. I didn’t foresee the void this would create. And when I felt Death draining my life to fill that void, I panicked. I clung with all my might to the power within the crystal and refused to pay the price that was owed for its creation.
I cannot say for certain, but after contemplating that day I can only surmise that my failure to accept my fate caused the creation of the darkness now known as the Destroyer. The Universe had to balance itself, and when I refused to cooperate, it found another way to even the scale. The evil that I inadvertently unleashed spread throughout the land, wreaking havoc and sowing discord in its path before settling in the heart of one man, guiding his actions and twisting his thoughts into mindless hate.
A vessel of Darkness to match the vessel of Light.
This Darkness, though, is mutable. Whereas the crystal‘s power is unchanging, the evil that sprung into existence to counter-balance it is constantly fluctuating. Its strength seems disproportionate to the Light within the crystal and I believe it is growing. If what I fear is true, then the day I disturbed the balance I may have i
nitiated a chain reaction that could lead to the eventual destruction of not only this world, but all others as well.
This must not be allowed to come to pass.
For this purpose I have created the order of the Druids. Through our studies we have discovered a great deal about the purpose and function of magic. By better understanding its principles we hope to find a way to prevent this Cataclysm. Already our work has brought us discoveries that have helped us force the Destroyer into hiding. We have united the kingdoms in hopes of controlling the chaos and for a short time now we have had peace. But I fear it will not last.
My children are dedicated to continuing this fight until my error has been atoned for.
I fear it is an impossible task.
~Abridged from The Journal of the First
Here ends Book 2 of the Crystal Trilogy.
Book 3: The Druids’ Legacy will chronicle the rebellion’s invasion of Tirem and Ky’ara’s efforts to prepare for the final struggle between Light and Darkness.
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