Creo chuckled at the very thought of him trying to cast a spell. “I assure you this is no laughing matter Mr. Naviae.” The Chancellor said angrily.
“Indeed sir, it is not a matter to be taken lightly.” Creo agreed. “However I had told you before that I am no mage.”
The phrase had ringed in the ears of the Chancellor like annoying buzzing of a bee or some other form of insect. It had set him on edge. “Fine then, if that is how you wish to play the game then this interrogation is over.” Chancellor Lars said smiling widely walking over to the window just beside his desk and looked outside it.
“To maintain the secrecy of the situation you will be transported to Levian where you will offer your services as an acolyte until the day of your execution.” Lars said menacingly.
“Transported to Levian and await execution!?” Creo jumped up from his seat and shouted. Levian, the kingdom of water; across the ocean from Lytos. Not exactly a better place to live than Lytos.
“Yes within thirty days of your arrival in Levian.” The Chancellor said. After a moment the same guards that had brought him to the interrogation showed up to remove him from the chambers. He struggled to break free from their grasp.
“Chancellor, I’m not a mage!” Creo shouted. “Let me go!”
“I’m sorry Creo I truly am. May Seraphim have mercy on you.” Lars said walking back over to his desk and sitting down to finish filing the necessary paperwork.
The guards had dragged Creo out of the office and down the stairs once more. This time they were taking him out of Headquarters. He had followed them all the way down the street until they had reached Creo’s home. One of the knights had knocked on the front door. The door opened and it was Marya, Creo’s mother who answered it. “Mrs. Naviae, it is by Chancellor Lars’ mercy that he has given you until dawn to spend these last moments with your son. We will be back for him at dawn.” The knight said before they had turned and walked back down the street towards Headquarters.
“Mom.” Creo said running up to hug her.
She had squeezed him so tightly that he couldn’t breathe. “My son, I’m so glad to see you.” She said crying. “Are you okay?”
“Lets get inside and then we will talk.” Creo said as they walked inside and shut the door behind them.
“Brahn! Its Creo he’s home!” Marya shouted to her husband in the back room.
Creo’s father immediately ran through the house and into the living room and hugged him as well. “I didn’t expect to see you again.” His father said.
“Believe me dad; I didn’t expect to see you two either.” Creo said.
“So what’s going on, why are you here?” Brahn asked his son with urgency.
“Its Lars, they said they were giving us until dawn to see him.” Marya said shaking as she began to cry again.
“They are transporting me to Levian and I will work there as an acolyte until I become a cleric.” Creo lied to his parents. He couldn’t bear the thought of telling them that their only son was going to be executed in a whole other kingdom a little over a month from now. That would be too difficult for them to hear. It was just best for everyone if they didn’t know the truth.
“I don’t understand, why Levian?” his father asked.
“The Chancellor said he didn’t want me in the kingdom to cause problems. Creo said. “They want to maintain secrecy.”
“Son, you can tell us. Are you really a mage?’ Brahn asked him
Creo shook his head, “Absolutely not, I would ever lie to either of you.” Creo said lying once again. He had literally just lied to both of their faces. It was for their own good of course.
“We believe you honey.” His mother said.
“Of course we do, you’re our own flesh and blood.” His father said.
“Finn came by and gave me my necklace. I thought that I had lost it.” Creo said pulling it out from under his shirt.
“Listen to me this is very important.” Brahn said. “Never lose this necklace it has been in our family for generations. With this we will always be there for you to protect you.” His father explained.
“Of course dad ill never let it out of my sight.” Creo smiled at him.
His father hugged him once more and for the moment Creo had felt safe again. “Creo would you like something to eat?” his mother asked.
“No thank you mom, I think I’m gonna go lay down for a bit.” Creo said walking up the stairs to his room; he had been exhausted from the events of the last few days. As we walked into his room and closed the door behind him, he had grabbed the picture of him and his parents off of his nightstand and sat on his bed. He has stared at the picture long and hard trying to imagine never seeing them again and it deeply upset him. He struggled to fight back the tears. Then he had thought about Finn, he knew that he couldn’t just leave things the way that they were down in the dungeons. He decided to get up and throw on a fresh shirt and pair of pants.
Creo quietly walked over to his bedroom window; opening it slowly, he climbed outside, closing the window behind him. He jumped from the side of the house down into the bushes below but was careful not to get snagged by any thorns. He knew that if he ruined his shirt, his mother would kill him. However, given the current situation, that would be the furthest thing from her mind. He made it out of the bushes and onto the street. Now his next move was to find Finn. Creo had one last day of freedom in Lytos and he needed to try and explain things to him before it was too late. He knew exactly where to find him; it had been their favorite spot.
Down the street, just before the docks, he noticed Finn sitting on a thick tree branch, staring down at the sea. “It’ll be dark soon you know.” Creo said.
Finn jumped out of the tree in surprise. “What-What are you doing here?” Finn asked.
“The Chancellor gave me one more day of freedom before they ship me off to Levian.” Creo said. “I’ll be an acolyte there from here on out.”
“So that’s their plan, to just send you somewhere else?” Finn asked smirking and shaking his head. “Ha forget and forgive, that’s a new one.”
“What do you mean Finn? Creo asked. “What are they supposed to do with me?”
Finn was silent for a moment, “The Praecepta is pretty clear, you should die for your sins.” Finn said angrily. “You are supposed to be executed.”
If only Finn knew that an execution had been the Sanctorum’s true intentions, but Creo wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. He kept that tidbit of information to himself.
Creo wasn’t surprised by Finn’s reaction to it all. He was a fighter at heart and wanted more than anything to be a Knight of Mercy. He would do almost anything to make sure it would happen. “So that’s how you feel?” Creo asked. “You want me to die?”
“Of course not, Creo!” Finn shouted. “But what choice do I have? Everything I have always dreamed of being is totally against you now.”
“I understand it’s your future, but we’re best friends.” Creo said. “Our friendship and feelings run deeper than words.”
“We were best friends Creo.” Finn said. “Now we are enemies, it can’t be helped.”
Creo could tell that he meant what he said, and it hurt. It hurt him more than he had been hurt by anything else in his entire life. One cruel lie had completely changed Finn from a friend to an enemy so easily. Creo still hadn’t seen it that way. However, Finn was stubborn, and he wasn’t going to see things differently.
“There’s something you need to know Creo.” Finn said. “You better listen well.”
“What is that Finn?” Creo asked him, already numb.
“The Sanctorum may send you to whatever kingdom they want but know this. When I become a Knight of Mercy, if I ever see you again, I’ll kill you myself.” Finn said.
“Finn, you don’t mean that!” Creo shouted angrily.
“I have never been so serious about something in my entire life.” Finn said calmly looking back to the sea.
“They are sen
ding me to Levian tomorrow morning; do you care at all?” Creo asked.
It was as if his friend was gone and replaced by a monster. He didn’t know this person and he was terrified. For Finn to say that he would kill his best friend was unbelievable.
“You know the law Creo; I have an obligation to the safety of Le’Freya once I become a knight.” Finn said.
“Finn.” Creo said as tears ran down his face.
“I swear to you Creo, if I ever see you again after today I’ll erase you from this world.” Finn said.
It was as if a dagger had pierced Creo’s heart. “Finn please think about what you’re saying.” Creo begged.
“Goodbye Creo Naviae.” Finn said one final time before turning his body away from his friend to gaze at the sea a while longer.
There was no convincing him now, his mind and heart were set. Creo had never seen Finn so serious in his entire life. His best friend was gone, and soon he would have no one at all. He turned and slowly began to walk up the street, he wanted nothing more than to return home in solitude.
Chapter 3
The next morning Creo awoke refreshed after the events of the past couple of days. He thought long and hard about his sentence. He had finally accepted everything. There was no way that he could prove that he wasn’t a mage, and he was just going to have to accept that he was going to leave his family behind only to be expected across the sea in another kingdom.
Creo walked downstairs to find his mother and father talking with General Baltier. He was there to take Creo to the docks. “Are you ready for transport Creo?” Baltier asked. Creo didn’t hold anything against the General. He was only doing his job and Creo and his parents understood that. Baltier and Creo’s father had been friends since they were infants but with Baltier’s job he hadn’t came around much anymore.
“Yes sir.” Creo said as he had walked over and said goodbye to his parents.
“Goodbye son, remember we will always be with you.” His father said to him one final time.
“I love you Creo. Goodbye son.” His mother said sobbing.
“Goodbye mom, goodbye dad.” Creo said as he turned to walk out the door behind the General.
***
Outside his home, Creo stopped for a moment. “General Baltier, I have a question.” He said.
“What is it boy?” Baltier asked.
“After I’m gone, what will happen to my parents?” Creo asked him.
“They will be given a full pardon, the Sanctorum normally doesn’t pardon people for these types of crimes but they deemed this a special case and released them.” The general said.
“Thank you.” Creo said smiling at him.
“For what?” Baltier asked.
“I know that it was you that got them the pardon.” Creo said.
General Baltier turned and kept walking down the street towards the docks. As they passed the tree where Finn was sitting the night before, it had made Creo think of him and the things he had said. It had still stung worse than anything he had ever felt before but he didn’t have time to think about that now. He had a boat to catch and it wasn’t necessarily a trip he wanted to take.
Once they had reached the docks they had saw a small row boat with a man sitting at the back of it. This must have been his boat to Levian. “You will put on these robes; they are the official robes of Levian’s acolytes.” Baltier said handing Creo a set of blue robes. “It is very important that once you get there to blend in and to not draw attention to yourself.”
“Alright I will.” Creo said as the general helped him into the boat.
The general leaned in close, “Once you reach Levian seek out a man by the name of Vaahn.” Baltier whispered to him. “Do you understand?”
“Yes sir, I understand.” Creo said nodding.
The boat had begun to drift away from the docks and in a moment it had been the farthest Creo had ever been from Lytos.
“Seraphim have mercy on the boy.” Baltier said as he turned away from the dock and back up the street.
“The fog is setting in.” the boatman said. Creo hadn’t talked to him very much at all. The man had given him the creeps and he had smelled of smoke and garbage.
He was right however; the fog had crept up on them quickly making it hard to see anything. Creo prayed that they had gotten their fairly quickly. He had always had a great fear of being on water, he could swim just as well as anyone else but he had hated it just the same. Lytos was still visible from their position; the boatman had stopped to look at his map for a moment due to the fog throwing him off track. Suddenly there was something in the sky that had caught Creo’s attention. It had looked like a large floating land mass. Creo rubbed his eyes in disbelief but it was still there.
He had looked closer at the floating land mass and he had seen a man floating in mid air just above it. He had asked himself if maybe it was some sort of spell allowing them to levitate like that. “Is he a mage?” Creo asked himself.
He looked back at the boatman whose mouth was gaped open in disbelief. No one had ever seen a floating island before let alone a floating man. Creo sat and stared at the short black haired man, he didn’t seem to be doing much of anything at all. He noticed that the man was wearing a long black trench coat and holding a peculiar staff in his hands. After a few moments he had thrown a black stone in the air above him.
“Harbinger of Death, I summon thee!” the man shouted. The wind had suddenly picked up rocking the boat in the middle of the water. Creo and the Boatman hung on for dear life. The sky had turned black and out of the darkness came a large magic symbol purple in color. Out of the clouds came a large three-headed dragon. It was as black as the sky that gave birth to it with enormous piercing red eyes.
“Why would someone summon Numina here?” Creo asked himself. “Who is this man?”
Creo noticed that the great beast was facing in the direction of Lytos and then he had put two and two together. “We have to get back, turn the boat around.” Creo said. The boatman was still staring at the large dragon in amazement and terror.
“I’m afraid we can’t do that, I have my orders.” The man said.
“Screw your orders!” Creo shouted. “Do you not see that thing?”
“Of course I do, do you want to go back to your death?” the boatman asked. “If that’s what you want then swim back yourself.”
Creo sat back and watched; surely someone in the kingdom would have seen that thing by now. He had sat and waited to see the evokers of Lytos summon Seraphim to protect them. After a few moments nothing happened. “What’s going on? Creo asked. “Why don’t they summon Seraphim?”
“A spell like that takes a lot of time and energy. The sudden attack must have thrown them off guard.” The man said. “There’s nothing that anyone can do.”
Creo grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and got up into his face. “What the hell do you mean!? Of course there’s something they could do.” Creo shouted. The boatman threw Creo off of him.
“Sit down and shut up before that thing hears us.” The man said sternly.
Creo watched as the mysterious man raised his hand in the air, “Ascend.” He said commanding the dragon to fly up higher. The beast had stopped once again and spread its wings. It had begun to gather magical energy in each of its mouths. Three large purple orbs had materialized outside the jaws of the three heads before combining into one great sphere of energy.
“Fire!” the black haired man shouted as the dragon released its attack and fired upon the kingdom of Lytos. After the energy orb hit there was a surge of energy and then an explosion causing a tidal wave in the water. The wave had thrown the boat quite a few feet but luckily they hadn’t tipped over.
Rising up from the side of the boat Creo looked up to see that the island, the dragon, and the mysterious man were gone. All that was left was smoke and fire and what was left of his home. Everyone and everything he had ever cared about was gone. They were obliterated within the blink of an eye.
He had half expected to wake up and that it was just some messed up dream. He didn’t wake up, it wasn’t a dream. Every little bit of the experience was real. He sat and watched the flames dancing on top of the water. He couldn’t cry nor could he speak. After a moment Creo had blacked out, numb from the overwhelming pain.
Chapter 4
“Wake up lad!’ a voice said inside Creo’s head. It felt as though someone was nudging him. He opened his eyes slowly and all he could see was the clear blue sky above him. He was outside; he hadn’t remembered falling asleep anywhere outside.
“It was all a dream.” He said aloud sighing heavily. For the first time in a long time he had finally felt relief.
“It was no dream lad.” A voice said.
Creo quickly shot up in surprise to find the boatman sitting in front of him. They were still inside the boat. The relief he felt suddenly shifted back into despair. “You’re real?” he asked.
The man in the boat began to laugh, “Well of course I’m real, you blacked out remember?” the man asked looking at Creo strangely.
Of course he had remembered, how could he forget? General Baltier had helped him into the boat and seen him off. A floating island appeared out of nowhere with a black haired man that had summoned a three-headed dragon. He could still see the remains of his home covered in flames. The same scene playing in his head over and over, it was torture. He leaned over the side of the small boat and vomited into the water.
“Are you alright lad?” the man asked. “You don’t look well.”
“Of course I’m not okay! My home was just destroyed by Numina!” Creo shouted angrily. He had never been so furious in his life. He didn’t understand why none of this had mattered to the man in the boat. He had just witnessed the kingdom of Lytos and its entire population being destroyed in one attack. To Creo it was some sort of madness.
“Calm down lad, I know it was a traumatic experience.” The boatman said. “Levian is just ahead; maybe you should go to the infirmary.”
Creo turned and looked behind him, the man was right. Levian hadn’t been too far ahead. It would only be a matter of minutes before they had arrived. He had wondered if anyone in Levian had seen the floating island or the dragon Numina. He had to get answers somehow, but being a wanted boy from Lytos he hadn’t expected to get any.
Aqua- the Unforgiving Sea Page 3