“Yes, my liege,” the general spoke back.
After a short while, Erendar clasped his hand onto the face of the kneeling Der’ Tanellian. Through the man’s eyes and nose spilled a wispy, cloudy, whiteness. The man let out a choke of air as Erendar clenched tighter and tighter. The wispy energy channeled up Erendar’s arm and into his chest. The man’s skin sunk in, and his bones were now hyper-visible on his sunken-in body. Steam rose from Erendar’s hand, and without remorse Erendar removed his grip from the face of his general. The general, with the sound of cracking bones and ligaments, fell to the red velvet rug without a lick of life remaining in him.
Erendar shut his eyes and moaned as if he had taken a bite of wonderful food. “May your soul be at rest with the God of the Soul, because you certainly weren’t worthy of living life here.” He adjusted his vambraces, marched up the velvet-covered steps, and reclined in his throne. Multiple guards in golden armor charged the body and carried it off out of the throne room.
Without looking to his left, he spoke to his brother standing below his mighty throne. “Gargonath,” Erendar’s voice boomed. “You certainly have shown a change in spirit since your brother’s passing. Do you really miss Aderan that much?”
Gargonath spoke back, “Certainly I do, yes.”
Erendar replied, “As do I, but not for the reasons you do, I presume. In his absence, you assume his role. Even though you are no Elementalist, perhaps someday you will be able to be as we were, one of the gods. For now, I grant you the power to hold his place.”
Gargonath was displeased, but would not voice it.
“I can feel your discontent, Gargonath. I can feel everything within your spirit. If you are in my presence, I will be able to feel you there. Do not worry. In time, you will be where Aderan once was, and where I am now.”
Gargonath said out loud, “All I know is: this man, a citizen of Der’ Tanel, ran from the sight of not one, but two rival Elementalists. Aderan had been killed by one of them, mind you. It was not a mission to salvage the lost souls of other nations. It was an attempt to split our people’s souls from their bodies in a suicidal attack on Darthia. Your expectations are unfair, brother. And now we have lost a valued war general and a cherished member of our culture. I am sickened by what we have become, brother.”
Erendar was quick to remark, “You and I both know, tolerating weakness is not acceptable in the Brotherhood—in our nation. Aderan died with that philosophy in mind. I am doubtful he dreamt of returning home when he met with battle against the Light and Shadow Elementalist. He died for the Der’ Tanellian cause, the Brotherhood’s cause. It’s what we believe in, is it not?”
Gargonath retorted, “There’s a difference between a mission bound to fail and a mission that will be better led another day.”
Erendar rose from his throne and stepped down with grace toward his brother. “Do not have your mind twisted in false ideologies, brother. You are an equal ruler now, here. I need your eyes open, to see the world with reason, not with discontent for practicing the very thing we preach.” Erendar placed a hand on Gargonath’s bony cheek. “If for nothing else, Aderan fell at the hands to those of the gods—an Elementalist. A worthy death at least.”
“Do we know which Elementalist it was that killed him?” Gargonath returned.
“No. But I assume it was the Elementalist of Light. The New Inheritance is just a boy; he doesn’t understand the world or his shadow powers yet. That would be an incredibly unlikely scenario,” Erendar said, turning his back to Gargonath. He began to admire the flame in the torch. He continued, “Aderan gave his life in an attempt to snatch up the Shadow Elementalist for our cause. He will truly be a hero in all of our history books.”
The guards walked three more Der’ Tanellian individuals in. The three citizens were linked by wrist and ankle cuffs. As they approached their ruler, the guards kicked at the back of their knees, forcing them to kneel before Erendar.
Erendar’s eyes were shut. “State your business,” he demanded of them, uninterested at the sight of them.
The three individuals looked to one another; none of them had the courage to speak.
Erendar opened his eyes and spoke again, “You must be in custody for radical ideologies, are you not? That is a form of treason, as you know.”
One of the three prisoners spoke out. “You are corrupt, Erendar! You promised a better world to me, to all of us!”
Another barked at Erendar, “My family lost several members in this war! Stop this madness now! No nation wants to be brainwashed by you!”
The final yelled at Erendar, “You warmonger! You seek power, not our people’s betterment! You silence our words and don’t allow the people to have a voice!”
The first shot another declaration: “We cannot be silenced! We will expose your corruption!”
Erendar grinned. Over time, the grin became more and more menacing.
He then slowly walked to the three prisoners kneeling before him. Erendar hushed them. “Shhh,” he said, pressing a single finger to his own lips.
“Do you not see, Gargonath?” Erendar spoke over his shoulder to his brother. “People who don’t know any better must be taken care of. They must be educated. They only lack understanding. That’s all.”
Gargonath grimaced.
Erendar lifted his hands above the kneeling prisoners. His hands trembled slightly, and wispy white clouds were now spilling from them. The prisoners’ orifices began to excrete the same wispy energy, and their eyes glowed white. Erendar’s eyes also glowed white.
Erendar spoke in an echoey voice, “Unified we stand.”
“Unified we stand,” the three prisoners repeated without any hesitation.
“The world seeks destruction of unity.”
“The world seeks destruction of unity,” the prisoners repeated.
“We shall purge the world of greed.”
“We shall purge the world of greed.”
“A new tomorrow, Der’ Tanel will rise.”
“A new tomorrow, Der’ Tanel will rise.”
“The world will beg for forgiveness in the end.”
“The world will beg for forgiveness in the end.”
“We will have them under our new world order.”
“We will have them under our new world order.”
“Buhk na ve Deh meh lah.”
“Buhk na ve Deh meh lah.”
“Long live the Brotherhood.”
“Long live the Brotherhood.”
The three prisoners regained normal consciousness. Erendar motioned his guard over to his position. The guard handed Erendar a key; the Der’ Tanellian Elementalist trudged forward and unlocked the shackles of the prisoners with his own hands.
The prisoners rose to their feet, freed, and bowed before their leader. “Thank you so much, our dearest leader,” One of the prisoners said to Erendar.
“Go on now,” Erendar spoke encouragingly with a gentle smile. They were quickly escorted out of the throne room without any struggle or contempt.
Erendar looked over his shoulder at his brother, Gargonath.
“You see, Gargonath, there is darkness in the hearts of all men. In all ranks. No matter how pure, there is still a desire for an unrighteous choosing in all things agency,” Erendar spoke. “Shadows are an entity with the intent to consume all they touch, held at bay by the light. Even with all the light in the world, the shadows are never gone—only small. Everything has darkness within it. Within the body, the mind, and the soul,” Erendar, the Soul Elementalist said. “It is through the shadows that we can slip by unseen, it is through the shadows that we can move through the peoples of all nations, it is through the shadows that we will create a unified world. With the Shadow Elementalist, we can interact with the souls of all beings on earth—by my hand—moving through the shadows of the world with the aid of the Shadow Elementalist. We simply must persuade him to join our cause. And I have a way that we can do that—the boy will not see it coming. It is ti
me to make our movement a fully recognized reality. It is time to make use of the Shadow Elementalist to change the minds of all peoples of all nations. If the Shadow Elementalist should deny this godly task placed upon me and the people of Der’ Tanel, then he shall be removed. So a new Elementalist can come from an orb in the world. Much like his father before him. It is critical that we have a Shadow Elementalist on our side. Our brother Aderan, as you know, could be extreme, and ignorant in his emotional states of rage. This situation requires . . . composure. Calculation. Persuasion. Coercion. I shall convince the New Inheritance to join our cause. So we may manipulate the masses of Earth for a greater good they know not of. . . yet.”
26: An Unlikely Encounter
It had been several weeks now since Lenthean emerged from the Everforest healed and renewed. He was torn and conflicted. On one hand, he could return to Darthia from where he came and be revered a hero. Or on the other, he could dive into more dangers and travel alone to Der’ Tanel. But what was the point? He couldn’t stop a world power. His confrontation with Aderan was evidence to that.
With Valdorath gone, Lenthean was lost. Not with his navigation, just within his own internal compass. What to do, where to go. Sure, he was healed. But what now? He had to process everything. Taking it all in, it was a lot for him. Never had he seen such violence as he saw in this war. It was a rude awakening to the harsh reality of this conflict of Der’ Tanel versus all nations of the world.
He was buried in guilt. In all of his efforts, he could not save the lives he had hoped to save. If he had just done something different, or known a little bit more than he had, he could have changed the outcome. So he believed, anyway.
The boy had felt hatred toward himself as of late. He felt worthless. He felt guilty for another reason as well . . . He wondered what it would have been like had he listened to Valdorath in the first place. Just stayed out of it. That way he wouldn’t have to carry the emotional weight of not being able to accomplish his goal. I’m blessed with such an awesome power. Yet, I’m powerless against the enemy, he thought.
Additionally, being on the brink of death only to be saved by Valdorath and Prince Gael of Darthia was a rush. Such horrendous carnage. He remembered the agony, the screams. It was terrifying for him, to say the least. He felt sick to his stomach. He wondered how people could manage to be so cruel to one another. Why was the world this way? Why the violence? Why? And then he remembered Nana, the old woman living in the ghettos of Darthia. Boy, was she a blessing for Lenthean. She was so kind and dear, and no one else thought to see past Lenthean’s surface but her. She took him in when he had nowhere to go, and he was to always remember her for that. Mom and Zuthar—it had felt like ages since he last saw them. How he missed them. Mother and her kind spirit and overprotective nature. . . Uncle Zuthar’s meat shop on the dirt street corner. . . The brown wooden town with unpaved roads.
Home.
As pleasant as his current surroundings were, he longed for home. He reminisced about it while he reclined in the tall, everglade-green grass. The sky misted down a gentle, cool rain, and sun rays splashed through gaps in the clouds off in the far distance. His view was one of rolling, green fields, and behind him was the Everforest. Barely as vision slipped away in the far distance was the city of Darthia, a faint set of blocks in the cloudy horizon. It was here in the open plains under the falling rain that he could ponder the life he had lived the last few weeks, but his food rations were nearly empty, and it was soon that he would have to leave his comfortable resting place on the outskirts of the Everforest.
Lenthean noticed a set of figures approaching from a distance in the field. The individuals were on horseback, but it didn’t appear to be Lucy and Valdorath. The figures were draped in black and looked as if they were not in a rush. Lenthean did not feel any fear or discomfort at these approaching figurines. The boy didn’t fret for his life in his current predicament. He found he was quite comfortable dealing with an approaching group from the distance.
In his field of vision, details slowly unfolded. The figures were male, the horses were black, and the leader of the bunch as well as their mares were large for their perspective sizes. The individual stopped the slowly trotting horse near Lenthean as the boy confidently stood. The fellow hooded members dismounted as well.
“It took me quite some time to find you, Shadow One,” a deep, familiar voice spoke.
The male figure stepped off the horse and removed the hood from his bald scalp. It was Kethar, the Bounty Hunter, with none other than his loyal goons.
Lenthean’s heart finally did fill with adrenalin, and an instinctive fight reaction ensued.
“Woah, there, Shadow One,” Kethar raised his arms at the boy and stepped one pace closer to him. “It’s quite all right, I’m not here to hurt you. Not this time.” His deep voice jogged many of the boy’s memories.
Lenthean demanded to know, “How did you find me? How did you break out of Darthia? You were in jail. I stopped you, right in front of the queen.”
Kethar’s scarred, bald head tilted slightly sideways. “Why, I was set free.”
“By whom?” Lenthean demanded.
“We all have our ways, don’t we, Shadow One? There are plenty of folk that want to see you join the Brotherhood. Even from the inside.”
“And who might they be?” the boy pressed.
“That is not of matter right now. Surprisingly enough, boy, that is not why I am here today.”
“Oh, really? Then why are you here?”
Kethar frowned before speaking. “I believe in . . . a mother’s love for her child. And that right should never be taken away from either party—the mother or the child.” He toyed with a locket of sorts in his hands.
“What does this have to do with you being here today?” Lenthean pressed.
Rendall, Kethar’s main henchman, spoke out, “We have a truce! An agreement of sorts!” Rendall laughed nervously.
Kethar added, “I propose a truce, Shadow One. Since you do not seek to separate yourself from your Shadow Orb, we can have a scenario where we can all still win. We are more than happy to accept riches over Elementalist power. Besides, a life of riches has a lot less obligation than that of an Elementalist, does it not? You would certainly know, Shadow One.”
“I am not interested in any of your deals, Kethar,” Lenthean fired back.
“Well, you might be interested in this one. I would reconsider your tone, boy.”
Kethar’s tone was genuine for the first time Lenthean had ever heard before. What was Kethar’s message?
Kethar continued, “The Brotherhood has done . . . an unspeakable thing. Something I could not fathom doing to even my worst enemy.”
Lenthean continued to listen with eagerness; his heart raced.
“Shadow One, let me be your guide. Allow me to take you to Der’ Tanel, and I will deliver you there safely. I will gather my reward and will be gone. You will never see me again. You get what you want, and I get what I want.”
Lenthean shook his head in utter confusion. “What in the world are you talking about? What you’re saying makes no sense. Spit it out; what have they done that is so horrible?”
Kethar looked down, before looking back up at Lenthean. “Shadow One, they took your mother.”
27: The Bargain
“YOU LIAR! You take me as a fool?” Lenthean shouted at Kethar.
“Now, now, I’m only the messenger here, Shadow One,” Kethar defended.
It was impossible. There was no way they found her. There was no way. That tiny place in Fredrickstown? How? How could they have found her after she successfully hid for more than two decades?
“It . . .” Lenthean started. “It’s . . . It’s impossible!”
Kethar motioned to one of his henchman other than Rendall for something. The goon fiddled through his bags quickly and lent Kethar a piece of paper.
“Some parchment for you, Shadow One,” Kethar said, handing him the paper.
Le
nthean rolled the scroll open and read the following.
To a fellow friend,
I am pleased to inform you that your mother, Ayla and I, are hosting a grand feast in your honor. Your presence is requested at once on the behalf of the Brotherhood of Der’ Tanel. Your bravery in battle has earned you the highest rank of honor the Der’ Tanel military has to offer. Please respond to this request at your earliest convenience.
Signed,
Erendar Eredas
Soul Elementalist
Der’ Tanel Brotherhood
The note crumpled in Lenthean’s hand. He squeezed it tighter and tighter until the paper began to tear from itself. “It was you, wasn’t it?!” Lenthean pointed at Kethar.
Elementalist: The New Inheritance Page 17