The Sage's Reign

by Shakyra Dunn

  “Solus?” He glanced down to find Leilana gazing up at him, concerned about why he was waiting things out. He trekked down the hill, stopping just short of her. He had to look down to meet her eyes. He was so much taller now, especially when compared to her diminutive size. He took her by the hand, kissing her forehead after brushing away her bangs with his free hand.

  “Everything will be all right,” he repeated. “I promise.”

  Leilana tried to smile, but her concern was too overwhelming for it to be genuine. She wanted to believe it. But all that was left was to see.

  Linmus rang true to its new name, ‘City of the Dead.’ The marketplace was littered with vermin once known as citizens. Moans and groans overtook the silence, a jaundice sludge coating their bodies. The teeth in their mouths were rotting to the core, their eyes rivaling the color of their skin. They had no set path, only ruin in their wake. It was as though these happy people, protected by the royal family, were left to become inhuman.

  Solus felt sick to his stomach. Kinaju had to be wrong. There was no way that he was capable of harming so many people. Leilana swallowed at the sight of a citizen dragging his snapped leg across the ground, limping before falling over. Everything about the kingdom was closed like a clam, and they would have to pry it open to stake out Hinju and right the wrongs.

  “Now you’ve seen it,” Kinaju told them. “What time has done to this place. There is no turning back.”

  Leilana opened the Lasette, skimming over the passages. Her eyes were dashing across the pages while she read, the words blurring together. She couldn’t uncover a life restoration spell. The Holy Triangle she had used to rain justice down on Rula and purify him was going to be ineffective. Then again, she doubted that the Minsura clan could have anticipated Necromancy. They didn’t even believe that magic had the potential to sustain their livelihood.

  “Where’s this safe passage to the castle that you referred to?” Solus managed to ask Kinaju. “The sun is rising. I’d rather not be out in the open for too long.”

  “Stay close to me,” he replied. “I’ll show you the way.”

  As they walked, Solus found himself gazing down every corridor. So many memories were held beyond each wall, every street, each section of the city. Once upon a time, this place was home, and now it was ravaged of all bliss and wonder, void of life. All because of his failure. Gravel crumbled under his shoes. Rapid footsteps from behind didn’t fall in line with his own, and one glance to his left allowed him to catch sight of a small boy with short dark hair running past him. The boy stopped short, his shoes skidding as he whirled around, looking up at Solus before holding out his hand towards him, a bright smile on his face.

  “You look like you could use some fun.”

  Solus’s lips parted, but he managed to smile as he stepped forward, walking past the boy’s lingering entity, resting a hand atop the child’s head before he vanished. For a moment, it felt real, like he’d never left. The time they spent together seemed so short now, and here he was again, alone. He looked to Leilana, merely watching the girl’s back. Rem was still there, waiting, even if he was no longer physically around. He carried himself through others now.

  “I’ll make things right, Remiel,” he whispered. “Somehow.”

  Kinaju brought them down an alleyway. There were multiple shops in the vicinity, but all of them were either run down, closed, or even broken into. Leilana was eyeing what used to be a pastry shop, for rotten pieces of bread were still on the ground, emanating a foul odor that almost made her stomach turn. Kinaju didn’t bother acknowledging it and instead made his way to the center-point of the alley, knocking once on a nearby wall.

  “Take a listen.” Leilana decided to act when Solus glanced over at Kinaju, unsure of how he wanted to approach the situation. She mimicked his action of hitting the wall after pressing her ear to it. The knock echoed back, which meant that the sound was traveling down a hollow pathway. She could even hear a light wind from the other side. “That’s where we’ll be headed. There’s a path that will take us underground through the sewers, and we can emerge near the castle once we exit the tunnels.”

  “The sooner that we reach the castle, the better,” Leilana stated. “How do we open this?”

  “Leave that to me.” Kinaju pressed his hands to the wall, closing his eyes to secure his focus. Solus grabbed Leilana’s arm, pulling her back a few feet to avoid any potential turmoil. It took a few forceful shoves, but Kinaju moved the wall aside as though it were a stone door. He stood up straight, dusting off his hands. “All right. Let’s move, people, we’ve got a lot of waterlog to push through.”

  “Goodness, he’s strong,” Solus breathed, resting a hand on his chest.

  “I don’t like where this is going,” Leilana mumbled.

  Solus shrugged. “Just stay close and stick together. After all we’ve dealt with, we can handle a little water. It’s not as though we’ll drown.”

  Leilana took Solus’s hand, and he marveled at the gesture. “If we do drown, I want to at least have a chance. We’re all going to make it this time. No exceptions.” They walked through the passage hand in hand, and Kinaju closed the door behind them.

  Water was still running through the open passageways, echoing as far as their ears could reach, but wading through the sewage to cross to the other side of the claustrophobic tunnels was becoming a hassle. Wet shoes were far from comforting. Kinaju was leading the party, using a lantern to guide them down the damp and dully lit area. Down every corridor, there was dry land awaiting them, but they always seemed to come to dead ends or rats that ran rampant and sought to nibble on their skin. None of them were sure what path sounded more irritating. There wasn’t even a ladder or stairs to break past the norm, only water filling the underground corral.

  They must have gone through a dozen different corridors and an array of similar structures before Leilana finally piped up, “Are you sure that we’re going the right way?”

  “Of course we are!” Kinaju retorted. “Don’t ask questions!”

  “All right,” Leilana replied. “Then I’ll make a statement. We’re going the wrong way. We’ve been traveling in circles this whole time.”

  “You don’t know that,” Kinaju mumbled.

  Leilana observed the area, her gaze locking on a corner near an open corridor. “I remember seeing that disjointed pipe hanging off the wall, leaking onto the ground. We passed by it a couple of times. I also remember a chipped wall to the left of here.” She pointed to the wall without looking over, which Solus did in her place. Sure enough, an indent was visible on the wall. “We’ve been walking for hours, and I don’t think that we’re anywhere. Is there something that you’ve forgotten, Kinaju?”

  “No, I’m positive this is the way!” he tried to reason. When he received looks of disappointment, he lowered his head, sighing. “It’s been a long time since I’ve used these tunnels, so maybe I’m a little foggy. I’m sorry. Everything kind of looks the same to me right now. I might be tired.”

  “It’s fine. Why don’t you try letting us figure out the way?” Solus suggested. “We might stand a better chance if we all work together.”

  Kinaju nodded in agreement, passing the lantern to him. “Where should we start?”

  “I recommend we start where we last were, down that corridor in front of us,” Solus continued. “From there, we can follow the straight path, and instead of going to the left once we reach a fork in the road, we can make a right and see where it leads us.”

  Their shift to the right after reaching said fork in the road was as dimly lit as the left, but it was enough for Solus to lower the lantern, his hand brushing against the wall as a temporary guide. Leilana observed thin scratches lining the stone walls, likely carved using a blade, wondering if they were used as some sort of path marking. Solus didn’t seem to know much about the passageways, so they were bound to be reformed.

  At the end of the corridor, they found flowing water canals seeping into m
urky sewage grounds, sealed off for passage with a heightened wall extending upward. Their own little hill crafted to act as a dam and keep the area a tad cleaner. Shame that it hadn’t stretched to the entrance. Perhaps the craftsmanship truly was done on a whim.

  “There doesn’t seem to be anything but a wall to our right from here,” Solus specified. “I suppose that we should travel to the left-”

  “I told you, I’m hearing others! I don’t think we’re alone.”

  Leilana froze in her tracks at the unfamiliar voice coming from the nearby corridors, and Kinaju pushed her forward to keep her out of sight, peering out from the other side of the wall. Approaching the corridors were two Maesters, one with a pistol hooked at his side, the other carrying a staff. The Order of Helix must have been on patrol. It wasn’t uncommon—they were always on the lookout. Hinju was on the prowl for any opposers to his kingdom. Now that the Prince’s team was around, any sight of them would blow not only their cover, but his own, and he couldn’t take any chances. He held up his hand, gesturing for his allies to move forward, quickly. Solus didn’t hesitate to lead Leilana away, glancing back at Kinaju when he found that the younger man didn’t move. Kinaju met Solus’s gaze and gave him a heartfelt smile.

  “I’ll distract them,” he mouthed to his older brother. “Go.” Solus shook his head before taking off after Leilana, guiding her down the northernmost corridor and disappearing beyond the passageway.

  “Think that he’ll be okay?” Leilana asked.

  “We must put faith in him,” Solus admitted.

  Somehow, those words made him feel all too hypocritical. Just the other day, he was unsure about trusting Kinaju because of the aura he was exuberating, the underlying deceit in his words, and now he spoke of faith, trust, understanding, all towards this boy he called brother. Still, Kinaju had carried them this far. Getting to the castle from this point on was going to be pure luck and stealth. If there were a few members of the Order of Helix already sweeping the area, there were bound to be more lurking about.

  The corridors were changing appearance the further that they trekked through the extended hall, the grey plastering shifting to a metallic overview. Leilana walked in front, using her grimoire to conjure up a burning flame as a guide through the darkening passage. There was no exit in sight, even as the scenery continued to evolve right before their eyes.

  “I think we’re lost,” Leilana concluded.

  “Why don’t we go back and try shifting to the right this time?” Solus suggested.

  Leilana rested her hands on her hips. “This is hopeless. There’s only so much blind walking we can do before we end up getting six feet under. We need to come up with a different approach. There’s got to be something more that we can do.”

  Solus crossed his arms, blowing some hair out of his face as he stated, “Well, we certainly can’t charge into battle while trapped underground in unknown surroundings, can we?”

  “Do we have the time and capacity?” she retorted. “I think that we can afford a breather to process what to do. Kinaju probably couldn’t give us that much of a window to begin with.”

  “That’s-”

  Rapid footsteps clamoring against the metallic plating silenced them. Solus pulled the ribbon from his hair to wrap around his wrist and drew his rapier, stepping from the closest corridor and gesturing for her to continue moving without him. Leilana opened her mouth to reject the offer, but a single glance made any words forming in her mind amount to nothing.

  Solus fended off the magic particles, knocking them back at his attackers before attempting to break into a run in the opposite direction. Before he could get too far, a flaming wall manifested in his path. Solus stumbled while catching his balance, the flames centimeters from his body. Sweat rolled down his face at the close call, and he whirled around, glaring at the Maesters, extending his blade in front of him again, the weight increasing as he thought of the growing heat pinning him between a rock and a hard place.

  One of the Maesters pulled out a silver stone, holding it up, summoning forth a grey-furred wolf with blazing amber eyes. The beast snarled, and when it leaped into action, Solus sidestepped its strike, cutting through the wolf’s back. It rolled over before shooting to a stand, its fangs chomping down on Solus’s rapier when it reached him. Solus attempted to wiggle away from the situation, shaking his weapon in an unmatched game of keep away, but the polished steel cracked under the pressure, shattering the moment that he broke free.

  Out of sheer frustration of losing a second weapon, he slammed the remaining half of the rapier on the ground to break it apart, stabbing the wolf in the heart with the splintered steel when it pounced on him, throwing the wolf into the fire, where it quickly burned away with a weak whimper, leaving behind the stone it emerged from, a crack residing in the center.

  Leilana conjured a barrage of icicles from her grimoire, which pierced through the flames. Solus stepped to his right, an icy blade rushing just past his nose, striking one of the Maesters and knocking him to the ground in his place. With open spaces in the flames, Leilana set down the grimoire and outstretched both hands to lengthen the gap, mumbling Minsuran incantations as a stream of ice dissipated the barrier.

  Solus was continuing to fend off the Maesters, dodging an electrical strike by rolling out of the line of fire, slamming the hilt of the broken blade into the back of one of their necks, striking the other in the face, stabbing them both in the heart once with the polished metal, a means to an end. Once he was certain that his opponents were incapacitated, he instinctively rested his hands on their heads, and within seconds, their bodies rose from the ground. He almost smirked as he gestured for them to follow him, racing up to Leilana. She looked over the Maesters for herself rather than at Solus. Their eyes were void and lifeless, and she couldn’t pinpoint their auras. They were bending themselves to Solus’s orders and they couldn’t have any say no matter what willpower remained in them. It was almost tragic for her to imagine, being slaughtered and forced to do someone else’s bidding after death rather than seeking out peace in whatever afterlife existed.

  This was Necromancy.

  She swallowed. “You didn’t have to kill them.”

  Solus wiped some blood onto his pants, avoiding her gaze. “They were going to kill me, or they were going to give away our location. I didn’t have much of a choice.” He took her hand, leading her off in their only set direction.

  Leilana was normally taken by the warmth of his hand, but in seconds, his touch became so distant. Solus was never this merciless about fighting to live. He was always willing to lay it on the line if it meant protecting someone else. He only killed if necessary, and now, he had put two people out of their misery without a true need. He seemed like a different person, much like he was under the guise of possession and misguidance. Something residing in him that she couldn’t uproot was tugging at his aura, dragging him through a never-ending darkness.

  Guards from the Order of Helix began to swarm the sewers, moving in from either side. Someone must have called for backup. Solus quickly veered Leilana down a passageway off to their left at the sight of new opponents. She looked behind her to find the Maesters and Arcana approaching their corridor, running after them.

  “Don’t look back,” Solus warned, tightening his grip on her hand. “We can’t think about it. We have to figure out another way.”

  There were too many catching up. Eventually, they wouldn’t have anywhere left to hide, and then neither of them would have a chance at reaching the castle. Leilana freed her hand from Solus’s, and he whirled around to face her, asking after her. She covered the Orb of Concord with her left hand before swinging out her right hand, casting a barrier. Solus ran forward, trying to pierce through the wall, banging on it. She glanced back at him and smiled.

  “Run,” she told him. “You need to get to the castle and stop Hinju.”

  “This is ridiculous!” he hissed, slamming his fists against the barrier. No matter how much forc
e he put into his attacks, the barrier wouldn’t let up. It rivaled the strength in Rem’s; she had developed the power of the royal family in manifesting the Orb of Concord. “You can’t expect me to leave you behind! Leilana!”

  She ignored his pleas, forcefully pushing the guards back, the Orb of Concord emanating a vindictive crimson aura. Clenching her hands together and shutting her eyes, her deepened focus slipped through the cracks of her soul. Their heartbeats rang in her ears. Fast. Slow. Paced. They all held such different emotions in her presence.

  Kill them. Kill them. You wish to be a hero yourself, do you not?

  You want to defy the odds. Save the prince, free the kingdom. You are capable of it. All that you must do is open your heart to what you are able to truly conjure.

  “Leilana!” Solus cried out again. “Don’t do this!”

  She raised the bangs covering her left eye, blood seeping down her cheek from the burning wound. “Vinticious Kiria (Blessed Shadow)!”

  An array of thorns entrapped the guards in her path, wrapping around their throats, lifting those that were ensnared by her power off the ground. With one sweep of her hand, the vines shifted left, snapping their necks. Those that remained untouched blasted ice spells, encasing her arms and legs. Leilana snarled, curling her hands into fists, the ice melting from the friction of the flames consuming her. She thrust away the shards, which struck the barrier behind her. Solus stumbled, falling to the ground, a hand over his racing heart.

  Leilana was breathing heavily, stepping forward, her fingertips curling, relinquishing a magenta-shaded energy burst upon the guards. One by one they fell, essence and liveliness sucked dry. Solus crawled to the barrier, placing his hands on the thinning magical veil, his muscles tensing.

  Leilana didn’t kill. Senseless murder was beneath her. Even sensible bloodshed was too much for her to bear. The Orb of Concord was changing her, much like it had Rem.

  He lowered his head, unable to watch anymore. She made the request for him to seek out Hinju, but he carried no proper strength, no momentum without some sort of underlying threat. If he ran away and something had happened to Leilana, all of Rem’s work would have been for nothing. This wasn’t the first time he was thrown into a fix—Rem was close enough for him to touch, and he still couldn’t bring his best friend back to his senses enough to save his life. Now that the duties left behind by the fallen prince were split into two, the slightest mistake would seal Adrylis’s fate. There were too many consequences at hand.