“Who’re you calling dim, you useless whelp?” Black Raimie glowered at the human.
It gasped and threw a hand over its mouth. It proceeded to run through a list of vague and obscure profanities, plausibly in a test of its voice.
“I approve of these nicknames,” Bright asserted solemnly even with the smirk on its face to contest its sincerity.
“Obviously there’s more to you two than I’d originally thought.”
How had his pair of shadowed and glowing figures taken on his visage, and why could they speak intelligibly to him now?
Dim broke off its trail of curses in response to Raimie’s proclamation to gaze incredulously at the human.
“Well, of course there is! My power alone would dwarf –zzz-…”
It buzzed loudly in what must have been a frustrated scream but sullenly plopped to the floor rather than pitching another fit. Bright pursed its lips and leaned forward to peer deeply into Raimie’s eyes. Whatever it was looking for, it quickly gave up trying to find, sitting back and crossing his arms.
“Apparently, something is preventing you from hearing us fully. We’ll have to make do with what we’re allowed to convey. Identity seems a forbidden subject, but maybe we can answer other questions.”
Raimie was strangely eager to engage with these mysterious figments. Now that he knew they were his familiar anomalies and that their attempts at communication might finally be fulfilled, he overflowed with curiosity and questions, but he also knew that, at any moment, the door to his tiny alcove might open with a summons. It wouldn’t reflect well if a stranger walked in on him talking to thin air. For now, he’d focus the conversation on the most important subjects.
“Bright. Dim,” he nodded at the figments, pleased when neither further protested their names, “I’m eager to uncover who you are and what your purpose is with me, but unfortunately, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to take the time to fully devote my attention to you. I swear to both of you that I’ve every intention of unraveling those mysteries, but I think the limited time we have right now might best be spent hashing out a working agreement between us. What do you think?”
Bright and Dim exchanged yet another glance, wordlessly holding a private conversation. For the first time, it was Dim who answered.
“We don’t like this idea, but we understand the reality of the situation. Since when has reality been pleasant?”
“Excellent!” Raimie said, trying not to appear too pleased. “In that case let’s discuss keeping me alive.”
“That was always part of our plans,” Bright said as if asking a question.
“For now,” Dim added once again.
“In that case, I’m begging you. Look, I’m on my knees,” Raimie rose to a kneeling position. “Please leave me be for now. You can hang around when I’m alone or if you know I need your advice, but can you stay invisible otherwise? I won’t pretend to understand what guided your appearances in the past, but if I’m ever in a situation where my survival requires my undivided attention, I’ll be dead because your coalescence steals a minuscule portion of my focus while I attempt to ignore you. You’ve already nearly killed me once during my first trial! I don’t know how many other close calls I’ll get.”
They took the criticism with surprising serenity, gravely taking in every word.
“That seems like a reasonable request for now,” Bright agreed, “but we’ll definitely need to discuss it again in the future.”
“Sure, kid. We’ll give you some space,” Dim darted a cautionary glare at its antithesis. “What else is on your mind?”
Raimie extended his legs in front of his body and shifted awkwardly.
“How do I phrase this?”
He solemnly folded his hands in his lap.
“Do you have to look like that? Like me, I mean?”
“Is this more to your liking?” a black-robed Eledis asked him.
Raimie yelped and smacked a palm over his eyes to block out the dual images of his grandfather.
“No! Please, not him!”
“What would you prefer?” one asked.
“I don’t know! Obviously, you’re using familiar visages in an effort to keep me from fear, but that approach is NOT working. What do you two actually look like?”
“Are you sure about this?”
He nodded frantically, certain their natural appearances couldn’t be any worse than that which they’d adopted.
“Look,” Bright commanded.
“See,” Dim enticed.
Raimie peeked through his fingers, and his hand dropped nervelessly to the stone, lightly skinning the knuckles. To the left, white light and a rigid peace spilled into the room. On the right, a miasma of darkness pooled in the air, screaming pain, fear, and insanity. Between the two, a miniature war played out violently. Light pushed dark back temporarily before it grew shadowed protrusions and retreated from them, allowing the dark to advance.
He was dragged onto that battlefield, strung between the combatants. His soul ripped apart as the two forces scored and shredded tiny pieces off to consume in their ever present need for resources. In the distance, a young man keened with pain and grief, but any desire Raimie might normally have to help was decimated by his own personal hell.
In the blink of an eye, he was returned to a small cave opposite a wooden door and two other Raimies staring back with fascination.
“Interesting,” Bright said before both it and Dim popped out of existence.
A bulky, heavily armed Zrelnach warrior burst through the door, sword point leading. He scanned the room and, detecting no possible threats, glanced questioningly at the human.
“Sorry,” Raimie smiled sheepishly despite his shock. “Bad nightmare.”
The warrior huffed and sheathed his sword. He made to leave, but Raimie shot to his feet and latched onto a sleeve.
“Wait!”
The Zrelnach froze for a millisecond before glaring first at him and then his offending hand. Raimie released his hold reluctantly.
“I’m sorry, master,” he said, bowing deeply. “I was only wondering if you knew where my father was and if I might see him.”
“The crippled archer?” the warrior asked. “Yes, I know where he is. I’ll send someone to retrieve him.”
Raimie almost tripped in his haste to get to the door before it closed and blessed his good fortune upon confirming that the female from the night previous still stood guard. He couldn’t be alone at the moment. Whatever that was at the end of the conversation with Bright and Dim, that miniature war played out before him, he never wanted to see it or go near it again.
The female seemed a bit wary of him sitting in the door frame in order to keep the entrance open, but when he showed no intention of attempting escape, she relaxed.
Raimie shifted back and forth, attempting to find a comfortable position. He stretched one leg flat with his foot brushing the opposing door jamb and bent the other in half with his knee level to his chest’s midpoint. Leaning his head against the wood, he closed his eyes. After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, he began humming an old folk song, shaking his raised knee from side to side.
His guard coughed, and Raimie slit one eye open to catch her bemused expression.
“If you have a problem with my humming, you could always join in,” he murmured. “You might be able to drown out my off-key droning if you have a nice enough voice.”
He picked up where he’d left off, and for a while, his was the only noise to fill the space. Just as he was beginning to despair, she added her voice to his. The refreshing sweetness of her alto mixed well with his baritone, and he was glad he’d made the suggestion.
At the second stanza, the female switched to singing the words. He considered joining her, but his hum carried her sung lyrics from one stanza to the next. The end came, and the silence made the beauty of the song all the more poignant.
Raimie stood and bowed.
“You possess a beautiful voice, mistress. T
hank you for transforming my bumbling noise into blissful music.”
He stole a glimpse of the wide smile adorning her features. As she began to reply, Eledis’ booming voice belted down the corridor.
“Raimie! I’ve brought your father to visit!”
Her face fell back into the passive guard’s mask, and Raimie rolled his eyes at his grandfather’s timing.
“Hello, father! Eledis!” he greeted over his shoulder. “Come on in.”
He cleared the entrance for the wheelchair, holding the door open with difficulty. Eledis pushed Aramar inside, and Raimie let the door fall closed.
“I asked for my father, not you,” he said.
“And you got both of us. What a bargain!”
Raimie couldn’t help laughing which quickly wiped away the irritation at his grandfather’s unexpected addition.
“You’ve no idea how happy I am to see you,” Aramar said, clasping one of Raimie’s hands between his own. “I wasn’t sure I’d have a child come the morning. How on earth did you pass? I know it wasn’t from any martial training Eledis or I provided, much to my chagrin.”
“I’m not the type to allow you to train me in anything I didn’t want to learn, now, am I?” Raimie asked with a lopsided smile. “You gave me much more valuable lessons such as the fact that my mind is my most useful asset and I should use it when I’m forced to face a more powerful enemy.”
Aramar narrowed his eyes.
“You cheated, didn’t you?”
Raimie began nodding, but he stopped halfway through and shrugged.
“Well… I’m not sure if it qualifies as cheating. I took Shadowsteal as my weapon.”
Aramar burst out laughing. He doubled over and clutched his abdomen. When the chortling passed, he wiped tears from his eyes.
“The Council will certainly need to reexamine their rules once they find out how you won because I believe you’re right. I don’t think using a weapon that makes its wielder undefeatable is necessarily covered within the purview of the trial’s forbidden magic.”
“That’s why I pushed Eledis so hard last night,” Raimie explained. “I needed his influence to start the trial as quickly as possible in case I was cheating by using Shadowsteal. I figured I could sneak the weapon by if the ceremony was rushed.”
“And he waited until the last second to ask for it so that I wouldn’t tattle,” Eledis added. “Or am I wrong?”
Raimie had the decency to look chagrined.
“Sorry. You’ve been very out of character lately, almost as if you’ve forgotten your family in pursuit of this new obsession. I couldn’t be sure how you’d react to me breaking the trial rules.”
“Don’t apologize to me! You were doing what you thought was right and in a way, acted out of self-preservation. I can’t fault you for that.
“Now, let’s have it all out,” Eledis continued. “We’ll need some detail if the Council decides to serve punishment for ‘breaking’ their rules.”
“They can do that even now?!”
“Indeed, but I don’t think that they will. One of their own declared you fit to move on to their second trial. They’ll feign ignorance to save face, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be prepared for a worst case scenario. Was this all your plan?”
“I had the initial idea,” Raimie conceded, “but Kheled fleshed out the details with me. He explained the whole process of the trial and got ahold of this cobbled together outfit for me. I thought it might elicit some sort of reaction from you.”
He gestured to his clothing which he hadn’t been able to change yet.
“Wait, who’s Kheled?” Eledis asked.
“An extremely talented Eselan healer. He saved my hands,” Raimie replied, showing off the gauze covered ends of his appendages.
“And our lives,” Aramar added. “He rescued us from Teron when that monster attacked us outside Fissid.”
“He must be a talented Eselan indeed!”
“He’s been a big help,” Raimie confirmed, “although I’m curious why he hasn’t gotten dad out of that chair yet.”
A look of horror took hold of Aramar’s face, and confusion passed over Eledis’ features followed by understanding. The old man folded his arms over his chest.
“You haven’t told him?” he muttered the question in a deadpan monotone.
“I’ve… I’ve been looking for the right time,” Aramar stammered. “Please don’t. Let me-”
“Your father is paralyzed from the waist down. He’ll never walk again.”
Raimie’s jaw dropped open, and his gaze shifted from grandfather to father. He swallowed, and his mouth twitched into an uneasy smile.
“No…” he drawled out, “dad would have said something…”
But Aramar looked sick, like he’d been punched in the gut, and such an injury would certainly explain his father’s strange behavior since coming to Allanovian
“When?” Raimie asked, afraid he already knew the answer.
“When he fought Teron to save you.”
“I- I don’t…”
He’d failed. Again. If mother could see him now, how disappointed would she be?
Raimie dropped to the floor. With his chin buried in his chest and his hands over his head, he felt safe. Maybe if he crouched like this for a good period of time, he could ward off the self-recrimination and hate, long enough to process the news.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry.”
“Did I break him? It’s been so long since the last time that I’ve forgotten what it looks like. The spell’s kept this from happening for how long?” he heard Eledis ask before his world shrank to a single point.
In the faded background, Aramar shouted at Eledis before approaching to murmur reassurances, but Raimie didn’t care. All that mattered was his failure. He’d hoped his safe place would shunt the guilt away, but that delusion was blown apart as the remorse lashed against him and crushed him beneath its weight in a vicious cycle. Time lost its meaning as he rode out each wave.
Something about this was familiar, although it was missing a specific quality. Where was the comforting presence that held his hand when fits such as this took over?
A palm impacted his cheek, and his head flew to the side. The world expanded, and time grabbed hold once more.
Kheled shook his hand off the side. He’d turned partially away from Raimie and was mouthing mild expletives. Noting the young man’s attention on him, he leaned over Raimie.
“Please don’t make me do that again,” he said shortly. “I hate this type of pain.”
Raimie rubbed his stinging cheek with one hand.
“Why do people keeping slapping me?” he complained. “There are other ways to get my attention like shaking my shoulders.”
“I tried that hence why you’re flat on your back.”
“Oh.”
Raimie climbed to his feet, brushing said back off.
“What can I do for you, Khel? Also, where did my family go?”
The mention of family brought his father to mind, and the pull to return to his safe place and stay there threatened to yank his attention away. He made himself focus on Kheled.
The Eselan distractedly rubbed his hand, eyes fixedly refusing to meet his.
“Aramar and Eledis have been temporarily exiled from Allanovian for the very reason I’ve been sent for you. The Council is ready to administer your second trial, and they’ve asked that I escort you,” he explained.
“Wonderful,” Raimie replied sarcastically. “I suppose it’s only fair that they return the favor and rush the trial that’s so wrapped in secrecy that I can’t prepare properly for it.”
Kheled flipped toward the door, threw it open, and disappeared to the left before Raimie understood that he was meant to follow.
“All right, all right! I’m coming!” he chirruped while sprinting to catch up.
He slowed to a fast walk once he’d reached Kheled’s side.
“Going to the same cave as
before, huh?” he asked breathlessly.
Kheled’s hands clenched into fists, and he sped up, forcing Raimie to trot in order to keep up.
“Do you have any advice to share this time?”
“I’ve already told you everything I can,” Kheled hissed through clenched teeth.
Raimie stopped, forcing the Eselan to halt as well.
“Have I somehow offended you?” he asked.
He projected bravado and wounded pride, but the fear of losing the only person he’d thought of as ‘friend’ in years twisted his guts into knots.
“Raimie, I’m furious, but not with you, and I can’t explain right now either,” Kheled said shortly and quietly. “Come with me now, please. Let’s get this over with.”
Raimie narrowed his eyes, judging the veracity of Kheled’s admission.
“All right.”
As impossible as it seemed, the observation ramps on the outskirts of the arena were even more packed than they were during the first trial. The majority of Allanovian had emptied to watch the human fail. As before, the terror of so many people watching and judging threatened to send Raimie running. He halted and licked his lips.
“Good luck,” Kheled whispered from behind as he melted into the crowd.
That one encouraging phrase was enough to bolster Ramie’s confidence and resolve, and he strode jauntily to the spot where he’d passed the first trial the night previous.
Bowls of incense burned around the cave, standard practice to cover the acrid smell that was always present in a healer’s workspace. In addition to that, discolored sand at his feet marred the perfect beige of the arena where the blood spilled from his rib and shoulder had yet to be properly scoured. He ripped his eyes away and pushed down the worry of adding more injuries to his already battered body.
The single female on Allanovian’s Council rose from her seat at the end of the table.
“We are gathered today to administer the final Zrelnach test upon this human, the one who is named Raimie, son of Aramar, amongst his own kind,” she began. “We’re here to see whether it is worthy to be known by name among Esela, to be recognized as person and not object, and to judge whether we may follow such a young child into certain battle.
The Undying Champions (The Eternal War Book 1) Page 19