Elementalist: The New Inheritance

by Seever, Tyler

  The town was frozen as they made their way through the city to the epicenter. As they moved forward, the massive city gates shut behind them, and the crowd of civilians followed. The crowd formed from all across the city, growing larger and larger around the escorted group. Prince Gael spoke, “This is the great City of Darthia, Shadow Elementalist. We are so honored to have you here with us.”

  Lenthean had never felt like this before. Everyone was watching him—everyone. Even the smallest of children.

  “Make way!” Prince Gael announced, pressing citizens aside to guide Lenthean up to the queen’s throne room. The city was massive. They passed alley after alley, town square after town square, pulling in bigger and bigger crowds. The citizens all came to witness Lenthean and Valdorath pass by, but they all did so in relative silence.

  Gael commanded the knights at the top of the white stairs to fetch the door for them into the throne room. Prince Gael turned. “New Inheritance, Old Inheritance . . .” he spoke. “You could not have arrived at a more opportune time. Please, step inside. The queen waits.”

  The prince waited for Lenthean and Valdorath to step inside the castle. They did so, Valdorath rather reluctantly. Lenthean became more uneasy with his decision to go to Darthia as he stepped through the castle doors. Marble floors, blue carpet, a large chandelier, and a round staircase on the left and right leading up to the next level. The walls were of extremely intricate design, with massive paintings of royalty resting on them. They walked up the left staircase with the group of guards still guiding them.

  Valdorath remained silent during all of this. Lenthean wasn’t sure what to think. They escalated from floor to floor, finally finding themselves at floor number four. Massive pillars atop the last set of stairs led to a torch-lit door with hanging metallic handles.

  Prince Gael whistled and motioned guards from the group to pull the door open. They did, and the group entered.

  At the end of the long hall, a queen sat at her throne in elaborate attire, servants tending to her every will—or so it appeared. She stood from her throne as the group made way toward the queen. “Mother,” the prince said.

  The queen was pale white with a royal bust and crown on her red hair. Her dress was patterned brown with white flays under sleeves. She aimed her gaze down at the prince harshly. “My queen,” the prince corrected. “The Old Inheritance is here . . . and the new . . . They can help us. . .”

  “How DARE you bring this monstrosity into my city?!”

  “My lady,” the prince spoke. “We don’t have much of a choice…”

  “So this is what you have devised?! We are on the verge of collapse at the hand of the enemy, and you want us to self-implode before they can get to us?!”

  “My lady—” Gael tried.

  “NO! I’ve heard enough already! Some plan . . .” She spat at him. “You’ve already exposed him to us. Take them out of my city, before he does something nasty!” the queen shouted in disgust. She spun around and sat back on her throne.

  “But we have the Elementalist of Light here with him. . . They—”

  “They worked together before, too,” she shouted back at him. “This duo is no different. Especially if this boy is the son of Quynn Argerod. The God of Shadows makes me ill, bringing your genealogy back in here. Leave now, Shadow Elementalist. The City of Darthia wants nothing to do with you.”

  “Your highness. . . ” Lenthean tried speaking with her.

  The queen’s nostrils flared with rage as she gazed at him from her throne.

  Lenthean continued, “I know not what my father did. I’ve come to learn what I am only in the past week. I seek no harm to you or your people. I want to make peace between you and Der’ Tanel.”

  “HAH!” the queen mocked. “Are you working with them too?! Why am I not surprised?”

  “I am not, your majesty. I have come to you first!” Lenthean continued. “I’ve only heard about the recent wrongdoings of Der’ Tanel from Val—The Old Inheritance. He has taught me more than I have ever known. I didn’t even discover my abilities until I met him.”

  The Queen arrogantly chuckled. “Are you suggesting I trust you based on the Elementalist of Light’s perception of you? And his words hath swayed you before the chance to see the darkness presented itself to you?”

  “Yes! Actually, that is true!” Lenthean answered.

  She turned her attention to Valdorath.

  “Seeking to correct your mistakes, are we, Elementalist?”

  Lenthean looked over his shoulder to Valdorath.

  “What am I supposed to believe, then?” she questioned. “Valdorath, this Elementalist of ‘Light,’ helped your father open the portal to the underworld and let a demon loose in my city. I’m beginning to think he’s with the Der’ Tanellians. Trying to overthrow me and my people from the inside out. Here he is again with another Shadow Elementalist, one of the same lineage too.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Valdorath shouted at the queen. The guards readied their polearms at Valdorath.

  “HOW DARE YOU!” the queen roared.

  “You dare bring this dark one into MY throne room in the city where you and Quynn were responsible for the the deaths of thousands of my citizens?! My people are terrified, STILL! The creature you set free was not of this world… An unholy abomination of the underworld. . . You are no Elementalist of Light. . . You are of the underworld. . . Concealing yourself with the powers of the goddess. . . Shame on you.” The queen smacked Valdorath’s cheek with an open palm.

  The old man rubbed his cheekbone and wiggled his jaw. “We did not seek for it to attack any of us—any of you,” Valdorath defended. “We did what we had to do. And it worked! The Der’ Tanellian forces fled!”

  “At the cost of lives of my people.”

  “And your people would have died at the hands of the enemy,” Valdorath said.

  Lenthean interrupted. “You were a part of this too, Valdorath? This demon breaking free?”

  Valdorath turned to Lenthean. “Your father and I took part in defending Darthia nearly twenty years ago. We were just trying to fight the Der’ Tanel forces, but the demon we set loose broke free.” Valdorath turned to face the queen once more.

  Lenthean thought to himself, Perhaps this is why he didn’t want to venture to Darthia. . .

  “We sought to control the beast, and Quynn lost control of it. But in the end, the lives lost from the demon attacking your people were far less steep than what would have been if the Der’ Tanellians had broken through the gates. Had you let us open the portal sooner, your husband, the king, may have lived to tell the tale.”

  Prince Gael spoke, “My queen. I really think they can help us. We don’t have much of a choice in our current. . . predicament.”

  Her lip trembled as she eyed Gael.

  “You read the passenger pigeon’s mail yourself, my queen. Our scouts have confirmed it. We could use the help of two Elementalists. Der’ Tanel is on its way.”

  Lenthean’s stomach sank instantly.

  12: A Glooming Threat

  Prince Gael had coerced his mother, the queen, to give Lenthean and Valdorath a night in the castle suite.

  Lenthean overlooked the city from his suite. The stars and moonlight trickled down the patterned rooftops. Torches that were once lit were being put out as the hour grew old and weary. The room was lit by candle, adorned with a fancy rug and bedding.

  He could see the whole city from here; it spanned as far as he could see, in all directions. The back end of the city met with docks porting forward to the ocean sea. The cool breeze trickled into his room, making the flames of the candles flicker, so he closed his stained-glass window and latched it shut. He reclined to his bed and crawled under the heavy burgundy covers.

  Did I make a mistake? Lenthean thought. Sure, the queen had allowed them to stay, but what for? She would not say. Was this to keep him calm so they could put him away with ease? Valdorath was separated from him, not by choic
e. Lenthean pondered. Der’ Tanel is on its way. Would war meet the city? It couldn’t.

  Peck. Lenthean heard the sound clearly. He sat up from his bed side.

  Peck. Peck. Lenthean wondered what the tapping sound on the window could be. He unlatched and opened it, the metal scraping against itself with a squeaking sound. An owl sat on the windowsill. It angled its head sideways at Lenthean. “What?” Lenthean asked aloud. The owl turned sideways, revealing a pouch with a letter inside it. He tugged at the case and a yellow paper slipped out.

  This letter is addressed to:

  The Mistress of Darthia,

  Greetings.

  Your orders are in defiance to our great royalty, the Brotherhood. Your intolerance to our great nation has left the Brotherhood no choice, but one you and your people have selected yourselves. Your failure to surrender will result in your immediate termination. As a service to you, we urge an immediate surrender at the hand of the great and powerful national army. They will meet the gates of your city, Darthia, two days from now by sun’s eve. We expect your cooperation to withhold all militarized action, else it will be met with violent and crushing force. Additionally, we expect a passing of all city ordaining rights to our great leaders, the Brotherhood.

  The Brotherhood is here. Together we conquer. Together, we will be set free.

  Sincerely,

  Erendar Eredas

  Lenthean read the letter in shock. He had to tell the queen. He took to the door and hurried through it, stopping when he encountered Prince Gael. The prince stood at the door, as if he was expecting Lenthean’s entry.

  “Prince Gael! I got this letter! And I—”

  “We’re well aware of the situation, Lenthean. We don’t need to disturb the queen on this matter anymore. She has endured a lot today.”

  “The letter is demanding Darthia’s immediate surrender! Or else, they’ll—”

  Lenthean was cut off. “We meet the same fate whether we surrender or not, Lenthean. Der’ Tanel is relentless in all it does.”

  Lenthean stood, paper in hand.

  “You don’t know very much about Der’ Tanel, do you?” Gael asked him.

  “No. I don’t,” Lenthean admitted.

  The prince walked right past Lenthean into the suite. He then began to stroke the owl that was perched on the windowsill as he overlooked Darthia.

  “Aye. There it is.” The prince pointed. Lenthean came to look through the window.

  “Do you see that storm? With all of that lightning?” Northward on the vast horizon, lightning cracked through the sky, splitting it like glass. It looked to be a tremendous storm of lightning.

  “Yes, I see the storm,” Lenthean confirmed.

  “That’s no storm,” the prince said.

  Thunder boomed.

  Lenthean turned to face the prince.

  “That is one of the brothers from the Brotherhood—Der’ Tanel’s leadership.” The prince pointed to the letter in Lenthean’s hand. “He, unlike his other two siblings, participates in every invasion. He is deemed the warchief by their eldest.”

  The prince paused, looking back to the lightning storm. “Erendar Eredas, supreme ruler of Der’ Tanel. His two brothers, however, rule with him. Gargonath is the only one of the three without an Orb of Power. That storm there”—he pointed at the clouds once more—“is manufactured by the youngest Eredas brother. . . the Elementalist of Lightning. His name is Aderan

  13: Inside Der’ Tanel

  “There is something you need to know, Lenthean. Once upon a time, the three brothers were my friends,” Gael explained. “They were immigrants in the city of Darthia. And they ran a gang. In my youth, I found myself to be a part of it. In secrecy, of course.”

  ---

  “Careful with the loot!” The Der’ Tanellian spoke to his eldest brother. “We don’t want it damaged . . .”

  “It’s all right, Aderan,” the eldest brother replied. “We will have more than enough to give when we get back to Der’ Tanel.”

  “It was a good raid, Erendar.” The young Prince Gael spoke to the eldest brother. “We did well, and we were not caught.” Erendar turned his light purple eyes to meet Gael’s.

  ---

  “Erendar and his two brothers looked Der’ Tanellian,” Gael said. “They really did. Tall, pale, pointed ears, all of it. They lived in Darthia as refugees, escaping the oppressive rule their country had. It’s been that way for decades.” Gael continued, “It didn’t seem much better here, though. Racial tensions were high amongst the humans and Der’ Tanellians. It was hard for them to conceal themselves with their racial features. Their purple eyes, pointed ears, light skin, white or blonde hair . . . there was no question that these three were Der’ Tanellian boys. They all commanded an intimidating presence. I had never seen anything like it in my life. They were all destined for something great; I just didn’t know what it would be at the time,” Gael finished.

  ---

  “You’re coming with us to Der’ Tanel, aren’t you?” Erendar asked Gael.

  “Most certainly. I look forward to giving back to your people once again,” he assured them. Erendar smiled. The skin of his face wrinkled on his striking bone structure, as that of many Der’ Tanellians did.

  “Good,” Erendar said. “Gargonath,” Erendar asked for his middle sibling.

  “Yes?” Gargonath replied. He was large for his age. He was their brute, lifting heavy things, blocking opponents. He wielded a large two-handed sword when performing crime in Darthia. It was all in the name of the poverty-stricken, dictator-run country of Der’ Tanel.

  “Ready us for tomorrow’s exit. We’re going to make way for Der’ Tanel, now that we’ve ransacked the wealthy of Darthia.”

  Aderan, the youngest brother, had a firm, high-pitched, raspy voice. His eyes were the most vibrant of his siblings, and had more of a wiry look to his frame. “To the Brotherhood!” he spoke, hoisting a fist over the wooden table.

  “To the Brotherhood!” Gargonath put his fist against Aderan’s.

  “To the Brotherhood!” Prince Gael put his fist in as well.

  “To the Brotherhood.” Erendar spoke softly, placing a powerful, gloved fist to the center.

  ---

  “They accepted me as one of their own, you see,” Gael spoke to Lenthean. “I would often steal from my mother, the queen. I took the most royal and valuable possessions. I didn’t see why it was fair for someone to have status like hers—wealth on her level. Any royalty’s level, for that matter. I joined the three brothers in their self-formed gang, the Brotherhood. They often gave back to their people. They were heroes in their culture. Crime bosses that defied their oppressive king and spoke for the people. They were cultural phenomenons over there. And I followed suit when I discovered them performing crime in our city. I was rebellious in my youth. Further, I followed them in hopes to promote their message: bring the poor in their country to an equal state. Much like them, I didn’t think it was right to have rulers breathing down the necks of their people. But to have a leader for the people, and only the people . . . that was something I could get behind. I also thought it was a great way to end all the wars their royal bloodline had put them through by giving the plebeians of their country a chance at success.”

  ---

  “We made it.” Erendar turned back to Gael, Aderan, and Gargonath; all followed him on horseback. Der’ Tanel was only minutes away now, Gael’s first time seeing the city. The structures were massive. An array of charcoal black and grey stone adorned the structures. The people all dressed in old, torn fabrics. The males walked in boots, dark cloth, and leather clothes, also beaten and tattered. The females wore battered dresses and torn pants. The crowd roared with intent. It echoed as thousands upon thousands of people met at the capitol building to protest their king.

  “What is this?” Gael asked.

  Erendar did nothing but look back to him and smirk. They trotted into the city on horseback. As the four made way into the city, the crow
d was chanting:

  “No more king! No more king! No more king!”

  The king’s age was apparent; a short, white beard complimented his long, white hair. His pointed ears had begun to arch backward with his age. When he lifted his arms, the sleeves of his royal robe slipped down to his elbows. “PLEASE! PLEASE be at PEACE with your king!” he commanded his people.

  “Down with the king! Down with the king!” the people chanted.