A Gleaming Path

by Jeffrey Pawlak

  Raissa lifted the Radia of Hope from the pedestal, staring into it with wonder, just as Alamor did.

  Both Radia were finally theirs. After so much struggle, they finally had obtained the two sacred sources of Serenity that could hopefully rid their world of Baldaron’s baleful magic.

  When she and Alamor turned, they saw that Amanyra was no longer alone. Two men stood with her. They were dressed the same: white cloaks with silver fastenings, indigo garments beneath, the symbol of a diamond with leaves falling within the edges woven in white upon their tunics. They bore the same physical features, save for that one’s head was shaved, and the other with thick, sepia hair tied in a braid.

  Ilios and Iras had joined them in that corner of the Hallowed Plane. All three Sages of Loyalty—Ralu’s and Xogun’s very first disciples—faced Alamor and Raissa.

  “We had hope that your feats would not end with obtaining Xogun’s Radia,” Ilios said. “We are most pleased to see that you have proven worthy to possess both of our masters’ Serenity.”

  “What you two have accomplished here is a monumental event across all planes of time and existence,” Iras added. “Ralu and Xogun may have entrusted us three to watch over their Serenity, but we were only keepers of it. You two are wielders of the magic that will triumph where all other powers, energies, and abilities would falter.”

  They were subtle, but Raissa was certain that she saw smiles reach across Ilios’s and Iras’s faces. There was genuine joy behind them, perhaps thrill from seeing their centuries-old duty finally realized.

  If Amanyra shared the same emotions, she did not reveal them. Her stolid expression did not flinch.

  “My brothers are here for more than just to commend you two,” she said. “They have joined me to bear witness as I tell you what only the Sages have ever known, and what we have never revealed to the mortals who visited the Hallowed Plane.”

  Amanyra tapped the end of her staff onto the Hallowed Plane’s depthless, white floor. A dark shimmer pooled beneath her feet. It flowed from where she stood, like the current of some inky, black river that swallowed up anything in its path.

  It expanded as it ran across the Hallowed Plane, like a chasm through the earth. Startled when it came near, Raissa and Alamor jumped out of its way, although they quickly realized that it was merely an ethereal image.

  They watched it with just as much suspicion as they did curiosity. At first, all that the void showed was utter darkness, but lights eventually began to twinkle within the gloom. Faint veins of color and distinct shapes slowly emerged.

  “In being worthy to wield the Radia, you completed trials which proved that you two possessed truly incredible will and faith,” Amanyra said. Her voice rose, signaling the importance of what she intended to proclaim. “To earn the right to meet with Ralu and Xogun, who will help you channel the full extent of their Serenity within the Radia, you must still prove your truth, just as Ralu foresaw in her final moments. Before you attempt that, you should know the truths behind magic.”

  Raissa only glanced at Amanyra for a split second while the Sage spoke. When she looked back at the void, it had become filled by dazzling sights. It was like a view into the infinite cosmos. Blazing stars spread their light wherever they could reach, fiery comets streaked throughout the universal depths, and other celestial bodies radiated within this look across space and reality. Some simply hung within the darkness and glowed; others pulsated violently until they disappeared in a burst of light. When the light faded, smaller, similar shapes appeared, taking the place of the celestial body that disintegrated and beginning the cycle anew. Whorls and streams of color—some bright, others bold—twisted about the stars and comets, their chromatic currents twinkling as if filled by clusters of diamonds.

  Two objects within the wondrous display caught Raissa’s attention. They moved gracefully about the empyreal realm as they exuded golden auras. The more that Raissa watched them, she discerned they looked more like figures than objects. The shapes, the limbs—they resembled humans.

  She could not study them any further before Amanyra continued.

  “Here in the Hallowed Plane, we Sages are able to view glimpses into all worlds, dimensions, and eras of time,” Amanyra said. “It is through this act which Ralu, Xogun, and all other Sages who followed them learned of the origins of our homeland, Tordale. Long before our kingdom was formed, the universe was home to a group of mighty beings who knew incomprehensible power, and none of the limitations which flaw mortals. These beings were exempt from the laws of time and matter, for they were the ones who created those laws in the first place. They held dominion over the many elements and energies that form existence. It is unlikely that they even had minds or emotions in the way that we as sentient beings understand. Instead, they acted through a supreme cognizance that only sought to guide the fullest use of their powers.”

  “Sort of like instincts?” Alamor asked.

  “Perhaps,” Amanyra answered. “But infinitely vaster than you or I can comprehend.”

  The view into time and space seemed to narrow, fixating on the figures that Raissa watched before. With a closer look at them, she was certain now that they bore the forms and proportions of humans. She could not assign a gender to either, however. No matter how closely she studied them, neither appeared to be distinctly man or woman. In fact, within the auras of gold light that surrounded them, some their bodily features occasionally morphed, constantly in flux.

  “These beings did not have names that we Sages could learn, both for their kind and their identities,” Amanyra said. “We Sages eventually decided to call them the Ultimals. There were many of them, but none more powerful than the two you see before you, Bayaal and Unaya. Their particular energies were used to bolster all which comprised the universe, supporting the foundations of worlds and creating new realms of existence.”

  A new shape materialized within Amanyra’s conjured scene. It was a mass of crimson essence, crackling and flaring from the inside out. Its shape—if it could even be described as that—was like a conglomeration of many twisting arms, all ending in jagged digits, like a crown of blades. Those arms repeatedly groped for anything nearby. When they took hold of something, whether it was a star, a comet, or another celestial body, they tore it asunder until the object was no more.

  “The only Ultimal who was as mighty as Bayaal and Unaya was Anatsu, who kept their acts in check. While Bayaal and Unaya created and strengthened, Anatsu destroyed. Sometimes, that more so meant deconstructing, separating the many parts which made up something great and liberating them, but in most cases, it meant total eradication from time and space.”

  “Was Anatsu an evil Ultimal?” Raissa asked.

  Amanyra’s eyes darkened. She seemed to be conflicted by Raissa’s question. “We Sages have never been able to determine that. As an Ultimal, Anatsu’s destruction may very well have been out of malice; it is also possible that it was done to ensure balance across the universe. Whatever Anatsu’s intention, the other Ultimals were not fond of it. They sought to spread their energies without fear of their efforts being wasted. That was why they all banded together to combine their energies into one creation—what would become our world, Tordale.”

  The depictions of Bayaal and Unaya were suddenly joined by a multitude of other Ultimals. They came in all manner of shapes and forms. Some were amorphous masses of light and color, while others vaguely resembled earthly creatures, elements, or landforms.

  One by one, they appeared to cast their essence down onto a single point in the vast universe, all guiding their unique powers for the same purpose. Upon that point, images of a continent flashed by, offering glimpses at the many regions of Tordale.

  “Each Ultimal added their own energy to Tordale, creating the land, the oceans, the skies, the elements, wild creatures, sentient beings, the many emotions which lifeforms live by, and all other constructs that make up the world we have known,” Amanyra explained. “Where Bayaal and Unaya created humans
, other Ultimals created the races we share Tordale with—the Aesur, the Baroso, the Bachus, the Onda, and those which have not yet been discovered by Tordalians. All mortal beings were the manifestation of balance, for they were made in the supernal image of the Ultimals, but burdened by such limitations like age, health, and knowledge.”

  “But Anatsu did not recognize this combined effort by the other Ultimals. Anatsu saw it as a grave overreach of their powers, and sought to destroy what they created. When the other Ultimals stood in defense of the world that they shaped, Anatsu did not relent.”

  In the ethereal scene, the representation of Anatsu expanded. Its arms grew longer, and multiplied in number. The other Ultimals threw themselves against it, ardently defending their beautiful creation, but none could match the immense power of Anatsu. Its hideous limbs captured the Ultimals, and its blade-like digits rent them until they were no more.

  “As each Ultimal was destroyed, they committed a final act in defiance to Anatsu,” Amanyra said. “Before they were unceremoniously torn from existence, the Ultimals released their energies into Tordale.” As Amanyra detailed this part of the world’s distant history, two figures became the focus in the battle against Anatsu. One looked like an airy, cloudy wave, its finer details and contours resembling a host of wings. The other was a winding, aqueous stream, like a great tentacle of pristine water. “The energies that the Ultimals directed into Tordale became what we mortals came to know as magic. The Ultimal called Daikon, who created the Aesur, granted their race the power of Airtaming. Meanwhile, there was Toja, who created the Onda, and gifted them with the magic of Waveweaving.”

  Although Daikon, Toja, and nearly every other Ultimal fell to Anatsu’s rampage, two still challenged it. Bayaal and Unaya stood firm, holding back its advance even when they were the very last of their kind who helped create Tordale. Just when it appeared that they too would be overwhelmed by Anatsu, the golden radiance around their bodies magnified. It spread in all directions, engulfing the epochal event.

  When the golden light dispersed, and the view into the cosmos returned, Bayaal and Unaya were no longer there. Neither was Anatsu.

  But Tordale still lay within the universe, untouched by the legendary conflict between Anatsu and the other Ultimals.

  Amanyra no longer spoke with the same, resolute volume as she did before. Her voice lowered, sobering as she recounted the ending to this event from eons ago. “Bayaal and Unaya did not survive the battle, but their resolve to protect what they created was so great, greater than that of any other Ultimal, that it gave them the strength to strike down Anatsu in their final moments. They too cast their energies down into Tordale, as did Anatsu. All of them hoped that new participants, the wielders of magic, would continue the battle in another age.”

  Raissa’s eyes broadened. Amanyra did not need to speak any further for the realization to come to her. She looked to the Sages of Loyalty, who stared back at her stoically, as if waiting for Raissa to declare her understanding.

  “Bayaal’s and Unaya’s energies became Serenity,” Raissa said. “And Anatsu’s became…Scourge. That is why Serenity is magic that protects and heals, while Scourge only corrupts and destroys…”

  Amanyra nodded wordlessly. She tapped her staff onto the Hallowed Plane’s floor again, and in the blink of an eye, the ethereal window that showed the history of the Ultimals vanished.

  “What I have just told you is history that no living being in Tordale is aware of,” Amanyra noted. “You have only been granted this knowledge because you two have already proven the will and the faith that the Legend of Light dictated. Use this knowledge wisely to achieve the truth that will be the key to saving Tordale from Scourge’s return.”

  “There is something I must ask about the Legend of Light, if I am allowed,” Raissa said.

  “You may utter any question that comes to you,” Amanyra replied. “But I cannot answer all.”

  In spite of Amanyra’s blessing, Raissa was still nervous. What she meant to ask was a bold question; it did not help any that she was directing it to one of the Sages of Loyalty. “Alamor and I have earned the honor to possess the Radia, but our own Serenity is not great enough yet that we can harness their true power.”

  Ilios interjected before she could finish. “Remember that no one could use the Radia to their whim. Ralu and Xogun intended for them to be used by only the most worthy mortal beings, the Echoes of Light.”

  Raissa sensed that Ilios’s interruption was not intended to chide. It was merely a reminder that she must regard the Radia with nothing but only the utmost reverence. “I understand all of that,” Raissa said. “But what I don’t understand is why we must prove ourselves even further to fully wield the Serenity in the Radia. Why do Ralu and Xogun not allow us to use the Radia right now?”

  Neither Ilios nor Iras appeared to have an answer for the question, or they simply felt that Amanyra was best suited to address it.

  She stared at Raissa silently, still as a statue. Raissa began to fear that she might have angered all three of the Sages of Loyalty.

  Amanyra’s gaze eventually softened. She actually appeared to release a sympathetic sigh. “That, unfortunately, is one such question that I cannot answer, young Princess of Tordale. It is not for me to say what Ralu’s and Xogun’s reasoning might be. All that I can tell you is that, in your current states, there is more you must accomplish before you are capable of controlling the Serenity that Ralu and Xogun bestowed upon your world. The only way you may do that is to live up to the rest of the feats proclaimed in the Legend of Light, and then prove such before Ralu and Xogun.”

  “Then, can you take us to them?” Alamor asked.

  “Even if we could defy the Legend of Light, that act is beyond my own power, as well as my brothers’,” Amanyra answered. “We are able to return your corporeal bodies to your world, but we are not able to move corporeal beings through this realm.”

  “What about Ralu and Xogun, though?” Alamor pressed. “Can’t they bring us to them? Or can’t they come to where we are now?”

  “They can do neither,” Ilios spoke up.

  “But how can that be?” Raissa questioned. She was more baffled by the answers than she was exasperated. “Ralu and Xogun were the greatest Spiritcasters who lived, the greatest heroes who ever lived. How do they not have the power to do any of that?”

  “Because you two have their power now,” Iras said.

  Both Raissa and Alamor went silent. The confusion, the frustration, they both evaporated as a fantastic truth slowly dawned upon Raissa.

  Alamor’s eyes eventually fell from the Sages of Loyalty. He reached into the pouch at his side. He pulled free the Radia of Gallantry, and cradled it in his hands just as Raissa cradled the Radia of Hope.

  For the first time since she appeared there in the Hallowed Plane, Amanyra smiled. It was as bright and as sincere as a human, whether mortal or Sage, was capable of. “You both must remember that all souls who rest in the Hallowed Plane were once mortal, too. Although our powers and our responsibilities may have changed, we are still the same beings who once existed in your temporal world. Our physical forms perished, but we exist through our minds and hearts. Our souls continue to exist here in the Hallowed Plane. We are not omnipotent, nor are we infallible—you two saw that when Alamor matched Ilios and Iras in combat. This is true even for those who you consider the mightiest—Ralu and Xogun. Their Serenity was not solely connected to their mortal bodies. It would have remained with them when they ascended here to the Hallowed Plane had they not chosen to leave it behind in the world you came from. They possess very little if any of their magic, any longer. You two now possess it. They wanted it that way; they knew that their magic could be put to greater use in the hands of mortals than in the Hallowed Plane.”

  All at once, Raissa felt another profound realization hit her. She was in awe of the understanding that Amanyra brought to her. “Ralu and Xogun created the Radia because that was the only way they could
continue to protect our world, wasn’t it?” Raissa asked. “They wouldn’t be able to use their Serenity from beyond the Hallowed Plane…because no Sage can.”

  Amanyra nodded. “Just as there are laws and limitations in the realm of mortal beings, there are also laws and limitations within the Hallowed Plane. Souls who dwell here cannot interact directly with the world we once inhabited. We may watch over it, we may welcome those mortals who reach out to us, but we cannot reach out to them in their world. If we could, there would be no meaning for death. Where there is no meaning for the death that takes you into the afterlife, there is no meaning for the preciousness that mortal life has in all temporal beings. That is how Bayaal, Unaya, and the rest of the Ultimals wanted it to be.”

  Raissa noticed Alamor quietly put away the Radia of Gallantry. He looked up at the Sages of Loyalty, an expression of rising determination coming to his features. He did not say anything, however. Instead, he let his mask of conviction speak for him.

  “Just as my brothers were confident that you would one day claim Ralu’s Radia, I can say that I am confident that you will prove worthy of meeting with our great masters,” Amanyra said.

  She tapped her staff onto the Hallowed Plane’s floor, harder than the previous times. In another moment, the Hallowed Plane began to disappear around Alamor and Raissa.

  * * * * *

  “I’m still not sure this was a good idea.”

  Joth stood with his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on the entrance to the Sandstone Mausoleum. Even as he spoke, he did not turn to face Tiroku.

  “Accompanying them and deliberately keeping them off a certain path would only raise questions,” Tiroku replied. Unlike Joth, the Champion of Light stood relaxed, looking out over the sun-drenched ridges without any concern in his features. “Alamor and Raissa are far too smart to ignore such a ruse. They would see through it and grow suspicious of you in little time.”