Elementalist: The New Inheritance

by Seever, Tyler

  “I bring news, my citizens!”

  “Down with the king! Down with the king! Down with the . . .” The chanting slowly faded away.

  “My people of Der’ Tanel! It is my great honor this day . . .”

  The four of them dismounted their horses. “Step aside,” Erendar said to some of the observing Der’ Tanel citizens. Aderan, Gael, and Gargonath followed closely behind. They slipped through the crowd, inching farther and farther toward the forefront of it.

  “. . . to announce to you that I—I have obtained a mighty power!” The old king’s voice channeled in the chambers of his stone city. “Today, this mighty day, I behold the power of the GODS!”

  The group of four inched closer and closer, finally making their way to the front of the audience that was watching intently as the king spoke.

  “What?!” Aderan’s raspy voice exclaimed under his breath. The crowd grew weary and began to murmur among themselves.

  An assistant walked through the castle doors to meet the king on the overcast day. In his arms, he held a pillow of vibrant red. Resting on it was a sphere—a glowing, sparkling, white-blue sphere. The assistant carried the sphere by the pillow.

  The king turned to hold the large, glossy sphere in his elderly hands, adorned with rings. “Behold!” he announced, turning to the upset crowd. “Today, your king becomes one of the MIGHTY GODS!” The crowd gasped at the orb. With a swift hoisting up of his arms, he held the sphere directly above his head. Lightning from the sky came thrashing down into the sphere. The sound was ear-splitting. The crowd panicked and knelt low to avoid being struck by lightning.

  Erendar, Aderan, Gargonath, and Gael all watched in disbelief. “It’s an orb, but how?! How did that old man get an orb of power?!” Aderan exclaimed to the others. Lightning still beat down on the orb resting in the king’s hands.

  That’s when the lightning ceased to strike, and an echoing DING sound rang through the crowd. The king fumbled backward and the orb tumbled behind him, free from his hands. Gael unplugged his ears to find Erendar, the eldest brother, had thrown a knife at the orb of power, knocking it from the king’s hands. The king turned around and shouted at him with a pointed finger, “YOU THERE! HOW DARE YOU DEFILE YOUR KINGLINESS?!” Erendar paced up the steps quickly toward the king and firmly grasped the king’s wrist.

  “GET YOUR PEASANT HAND OFF OF ME!” the king demanded. Royal guards surrounded Erendar and the king.

  Erendar twisted the king’s fingers backwards, bending the wrist into an unnatural position. The king yelped out in pain as the elder fell to his knees. “DROP THE ROYAL KING’S HAND!” the guards shouted at Erendar Eredas.

  Erendar stared down the now-kneeling king with vicious intent. Silent and composed control was in his eyes. “You will be king no more.” Erendar said.

  “Agh!” the king yelped as Erendar continued to force the king into submission. Erendar let the king’s hand go free; the old man clamped onto it with his other hand. Erendar pulled the glove off his right hand, holding it high and mighty in the air with his fingers extended like claws.

  That’s when Gael saw it. Light blue markings on the eldest brother’s forearm indicated that he was an Elementalist of his own.

  “Your soul is mine, king. May you meet your fate in the underworld where you belong.” Swiftly, Erendar clasped the face of the defeated king. Erendar’s eyes glowed white, as did his mouth. An unnatural echo possessed his voice; it was almost a screech. The king’s eyes began to glow. The guards and civilians backed away at the sight of it. Erendar tugged back with all of his might, holding a white wisp of force latched around his hand like tentacles. It beat like a heart. The king’s skin blackened, and he fell to the ground with a crunch.

  “It is done, my friends. IT IS DONE. FOR YOU!” Erendar turned around and held the white see-through blob in his hand. “Behold, the Brotherhood is here to redeem you! We are sent by the gods to stand before you here today and say there is hope for all of us!”

  The crowd watched in shock.

  Erendar pointed to his brother, Gargonath, “Brother! Give these people what they rightfully deserve!” Gargonath swiftly unbuckled all of his multitude of packs and tossed them to the nearby pavement. With a clank, various silvers and golds of all types of jewelry splashed on the ground. The crowd gasped in disbelief.

  Erendar continued to announce, “This is the day the Brotherhood ends your oppression! Today marks a new day, a day where the people of Der’ Tanel become unified as one whole!”

  “YEA!” the audience exploded into applause.

  “NO MORE will you have wretched tyranny steal from you!”

  “YEA!”

  “THIS MONARCHY HAS FAILED US! THE BROTHERHOOD WILL RESTORE THE GREATNESS OF DER’ TANEL! ONCE AND FOR ALL.”

  “YEA!” The people flurried into a riot of cheering, applause, and fighting for the riches that had fallen to the earth.

  ---

  Gael spoke to Lenthean. “I knew not of their plan. Only at this point, I discovered I was a pawn in it. I thought they wanted what was good for their people. But killing their king . . .That’s not the way I like to see it happen.” Prince Gael shuddered in his seat. “The God of the Soul, the God of Lightning, the God of Fire, and the God of the Shadows are the very gods the people of Der’ Tanel swear allegiance to, and always have. Their entire religion and philosophies are built around them. It’s no surprise the people took to their new leaders so quickly.”

  ---

  “It is through us, the Brotherhood, that we will restore what was once rightfully yours. The world will revel in your name. Der’ Tanel, THE GREAT, THE MIGHTY, THE WONDROUS COUNTRY OF RICHES AND FAME,” Erendar announced.

  Erendar now stood beside his two brothers, Gargonath and Aderan. Erendar turned to step over the crippled body of the fallen king. He snatched the Orb of Lightning, which lay sizzling and sparking behind them. He held it high with one arm.

  “It is with great honor that I announce two great and powerful Elementalists will lead you to victory and unify the world! The Elementalist of the Soul and The Elementalist of LIGHTNING!”

  The crowd erupted into more thunderous cheers and applause.

  Erendar casually tossed the Orb of Lightning over to his brother, Aderan.

  Aderan eyed it briefly before bursting into a fit of laughter. He held the orb against his chest, and bolts of lightning spat from the orb’s shell. The electricity wrapped around his limbs like sporadic tree roots. His laughter grew more intense and hysterical as bolts of lightning flared from his eyes, mouth, and nostrils. The orb sunk into his chest like liquid water. Lightning struck him repeatedly from the sky, and the clouds above began to funnel. The sound was intense. The light was intense. The blasts pounded the old king’s guards, electrifying them to death instantly.

  At this moment, the young prince made a run for the exit of Der’ Tanel.

  ---

  Gael was concluding his story to Lenthean. “Over the last ten years, these Der’ Tanellians—this wicked Brotherhood of three brothers—they have completely brainwashed their people. These people are now willing to die for their royal rulers. Aderan offers his civilians as ‘tribute’ to the God of Lightning and uses them for target practice to become a better combat fighter using electricity.”

  Lenthean gasped in disgust.

  Gael continued. “They believe their rulers are hand picked by the gods—these thieves of power. They stole those orbs from what the gods originally intended, a perversion of the gods’ power. Worse—the people believe them outright. They have restored their new economy into a socialist utopia, where everyone has equal share and provision. And their ultimate goal is to ‘cleanse and save the world’ from the barbaric and stale foreign leaders.”

  The prince leaned closer to Lenthean. “They seek to take over each and every one of us for total power of the world. They see it as a divine and god-given task to liberate all the peoples of Zanvia . . . through submission. And their people are fed the l
ie that it is for our greater good, Lenthean. Devout racism is rampant in their country from the decades of war. We must defend our people at all costs. We know not what their leaders have planned for us after our defeat. And worst of all, they know about your existence now. They know the Shadow Elementalist has returned under the line of Quynn Argerod. They suspected you would come to the aid of Darthia.”

  Lenthean witnessed the prince speak with more and more intent.

  “I don’t know how Erendar obtained the Orb of the Soul,” Gael said. “I saw them give Aderan the Orb of Lightning, obviously stolen from its intended owner. It’s clear to me that they will do anything to get an orb to push their agenda. Especially with only four known Elementalists on the earth at this point,” Gael said.

  “Lenthean, Aderan will come and present you a choice: A choice to aid the Brotherhood in their plans of world domination, or death for choosing to stand with the free peoples of Zanvia.”

  There was a long pause from the boy.

  “Lenthean, Aderan is coming for you.”

  14: An Unexpected Event

  Lenthean sat in his room alone, pondering the prince’s story. Aderan is coming for you. That’s all Lenthean could hear.

  Aderan is coming for you.

  Aderan is coming for you.

  Aderan is coming for you.

  He felt fear strike his heart. Fear of not knowing what would happen. Would Aderan try to kill him? Would he try to recruit him? He really didn’t know, and that was terrifying. There is no way in his current state that he stood the slightest chance against a full-blown Elementalist. Or, so he thought . . .

  The wooden door to the room of his suite swung open. Valdorath and two guards stepped into the room. The guards were there to observe the conversation, making sure nothing would happen between the two.

  “Lenthean,” Valdorath said, “we need to leave. I am sure the queen will be on board with our decision to depart. Now is our last chance. Der’ Tanel is coming. The whole city is preparing for battle. There’s no way you will survive.”

  “I can’t leave,” Lenthean remarked.

  Valdorath grumbled and rolled his eyes. “Shadowling, you need to leave. Unless you find death so inviting.”

  “I feel like I don’t have much of a choice, Valdorath. My dad really let this city down. I need to clear his name and defend these people at all costs.”

  Valdorath’s tone got more frustrated. “Look, kid, your father and I opened that portal to save the city. This has nothing to do with your father not doing a good enough job for this city. It took the two of us to open that portal, so when you say your dad let down this city, you’re saying I did too.”

  Lenthean sat on the bedside and listened.

  “The situation was very grim. The Der’ Tanel army fled at the sight of the horrific demon, so our plan worked after all. Just not the way we had intended, unfortunately.”

  Lenthean responded, “That doesn’t change the fact that you two set a demon free into the very city you were trying to save. They need to know: the only two Elementalists that have ever stood up for them are not out to seek their destruction like Erendar and Aderan are.”

  Valdorath barked, “These people want nothing to do with you ANYWAY! Don’t you see? They hated your father to begin with, they hated me to begin with. They see an Elementalist as a mere man tampering with the power of the gods! Even with the gods ordaining you an Elementalist of Power! And the people will hate you too, just like they hated your father. We have done this song and dance, Lenthean. We tried to stick up for these people. In the end, the outcome remained the same.”

  The guards snatched Valdorath by the shoulders and started pulling him away from the door frame.

  “Wait!” Valdorath said.

  The guards stopped, at least momentarily.

  “If you’re going to do this, Lenthean, you need to speak to Arrogan, the God of Shadows. Demand he give you your Elementalist armor.”

  “Elementalist armor?” Lenthean questioned.

  “Just get it from him. You’ll need it if you’re going to fight anyone. Induce a nightmare to speak with him again,” Valdorath finished, and the guards pulled the old man away, shutting the door behind them.

  Lenthean was puzzled. Elementalist armor?

  That’s when the bells of the city rang loud and thunderous, booming through the city with the sound of men shouting below. Lenthean jumped to his feet and peered out the window. Men rushed to the front gate to defend it. However, there were a group of four horsemen charging up the main streets on horseback, slicing through guards and civilians. They were headed right to the castle.

  ‘HEEYA!’ Lenthean heard the horsemen shouting to their horses. They were killing a lot of people.

  Lenthean charged his bedroom door and found it was locked from the outside. He tugged on the handle and yanked it to no avail. He rushed back to the window only to find the horsemen at the base of the tower that he was in.

  The four horsemen began hurling grappling hooks with rope up the to the window sill. They climbed from their horses up the rope toward his bedroom suite.

  Lenthean panicked and scrambled frantically. He scoured the room for something to defend himself with. All he found was a candlestick holder; grabbing it, he readied for a fight. The men scurried the tower as quickly as they could. The Darthian forces of the city shot arrows up at the four armored soldiers making way for Lenthean’s location. Two of the climbing soldiers shot back at the guards with crossbows. Lenthean could see the spearman guards rushing to his aid at the castle’s front doors while the archers shot up at the invading climbers.

  Lenthean backed up against the wall and firmly latched onto his weapon. His blood pumped as he squeezed the candlestick holder tightly. He wasn’t afraid to defend himself like he used to be. An armored glove extended itself into view from the window and latched on. The man climbed in. He rolled his legs over the sill; with a thud, his metallic boots bashed the stone floor.

  Standing before Lenthean was Kethar, the bounty hunter.

  Shortly after, his three other goons stepped into the locked room with Lenthean. Kethar’s sidekick Rendall stood next to him. All of the men were clad with thick silver armor like before.

  “You were certainly hard to find,” Kethar’s deep voice boomed. The four men trudged toward Lenthean.

  “Come with us, Lenthean. The Brotherhood could use someone like you.”

  “BACK OFF, Kethar,” Lenthean shouted.

  “Are you going to hit me with your candlestick holder?” Kethar mocked.

  “I’m not the same kid you met before. You don’t know what I’m capable of.” Lenthean inched to his left, firmly pressed against the wall.

  Kethar’s eyes widened. “The God of Shadows has given powers untold to you. Darkness consumes all things. By the god’s might you will be mine, New Inheritance. RAH!” Kethar rushed the boy.

  Through instinct, Lenthean shot his arms into the air. His open palms were like a star, and the boy quaked with power. To Lenthean, it felt like he was supporting weight on his arms, even though nothing was there. However, all four men had black shadowform hands latched onto their shoulders from behind them, preventing them from moving any farther. Lenthean held the grip on them with their shadows, refusing to let go of the invaders.

  Kethar turned his bald head around, acknowledging that he and his men were stuck from Lenthean’s shadow grip. He smirked and spoke, “The shadows will consume you. Let them consume me, Lenthean. I can free you of this curse.”

  The boy blinked twice. This spoke volumes to him.

  “You can give me your orb. I can take your power from you, if you choose. I will gladly take it. And you will be free.”

  Lenthean still held all the men stuck in their tracks. The sound of guards rushing up winding stairs began to form. “You will be free, New Inheritance. No more blackness. No more fear. And you would never see me again.”

  Lenthean legitimately pondered the offer.

&n
bsp; He stared down Kethar. Kethar said, “Well, what will it be, New Inheritance? We don’t have much time.”

  Lenthean questioned Kethar. “On one hand you say come with me. On the other, you say give me your orb.”

  “That’s right,” Kethar said.

  The boy continued, “How do you expect me to trust you? How do I know you won’t turn me in for wealth?”

  “The power of the gods will give me power in all things. And I can become wealthy through the orb. It is no different to me. In the end, my men and I desire wealth.”

  A stand-still.

  “Just give it to me.”

  Lenthean stood still.

  “Give it to me.” Kethar’s deep tone grew impatient.