by S. K. Ng
Ray stood speechless. He had never expected this to happen. Neither did Clover. Then finally, he nodded to Dawn and handed the document back to her. She bowed and excused herself. Ray and Clover bowed back, and then turned to look at each other with a slight expression of puzzlement.
A few moments later, Ray and Clover realised that there were three Ordered Elementhars walking towards them. One of them was a face Ray had not seen for many years. It was Funnel Polt. The three Ordered Elementhars walked right up to Ray and Clover, took in a deep breath, and then exhaled, and in doing so, their entire bodies erupted into flames. The three flaming figures then bowed, and stayed in a bowed position; waiting for Ray and Clover’s response. Ray and Clover set their own bodies to flames as well and then returned the Ordered Elementhars’ bow. After the exchange was over, they restored their bodies to normal.
“Blessings _ do we have yours of these, Master Ray Iddell?” Funnel asked.
“Blessings _ you have mine of these, Master Funnel Polt!” answered Ray.
“Remember _ you do of this of me, Ray?” asked Funnel.
“Remember _ I do of this of you, Funnel,” answered Ray.
“Remember _ I shall make my novices do of this of our family, and of our memories, Ray; on this you have my word!” promised Funnel.
“Gratitude _ you have mine of this, Funnel,” responded Ray.
“Gratitude _ no, it is you who have ours of this! Farewell!” said the three Ordered Elementhars in a unified and unemotional tone, set their bodies to flames once again, bowed, restored their bodies to normal, turned around and left.
Ray and Clover set their body to flames, bowed in response and then restored their bodies to normal and watched the Ordered Elementhars as they left.
“Fire Elementhars _ master, of us, are they the ones who were selected by the Grand Order to restart our order?” asked Lance as he and Spirit strode up to Ray.
“Yes,” replied Ray.
The Fallsian sun shines brightly overhead in the cloudless sky as Ray mounted his horse. He feels elated in a certain way. The Shadow Deathmerchant Clan has been destroyed. The Chessmaster has been identified, and vengeance and justice has been done upon him. Ray’s quest for vengeance has been completed. And now, his order will be restarted. He has just given his blessings to the three Elementhars who are tasked to do it. He knows that one day soon the Order of Fire Elementhars will come into existence once again; and that the teachings of his master and the masters before him will continue to survive. He also knows that he will never return to the Grand Order, for the feeling of betrayal and disappointment that he feels towards them can never be forgotten. But at least with this, the Grand Order can be whole again, and it can be whole again without his involvement. This way, there is closure for both him and the Grand Order and both parties can now learn to heal old wounds. This is a true and final parting of ways. And it is a parting of ways without animosity. A final and clean cutting of the bonds, so that each may go and grow as each sees fit.
THE END
FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE
After traveling the mysterious realm of Farhayven for 15 years, Master Elementhar Ray Iddell has returned to the Kingdom of Free Falls. He is a master demon–hunter of the Order of Fire Elementhars and he is not alone. Ray is accompanied by Spirit the White Wolf, a fearsome and loyal polar wolf. Ray’s return is with a resolute purpose, which is to force upon the High Council of Elementhars an ultimatum. Ray wants the high council to avenge the massacre of his order 15 years prior. The council had earlier on refused, citing that the true responsibility of the Elementhars was to hunt and eradicate demons only. Ray had strongly disagreed. He had required that the massacre of his order be avenged. He still does. The target of his vengeance is the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan, an elusive clan of professional assassins. But more importantly, he wants to kill the person who had hired the clan to massacre his order, for he is the one who is truly responsible for this cruel transgression. Along the way Ray meets Lance, Clover, Serene and Rod; and gets drawn into the Fallsian Military. Will Ray succeed in getting his revenge? Will the high council finally agree to help him? Will he manage to uncover the identity of the person who had hired the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan to massacre his order? Or will Ray fail and his order be left unavenged?