Elementalist: The New Inheritance

by Seever, Tyler

  “My boy, I’m only a messenger. I want to make sure your mother is safe! I only seek religious enlightenment in the shadows . . . or riches . . . or . . . I’m telling you—I. . . ”

  “DON’T YOU DARE SAY, MY BOY!”

  Lenthean’s fist met Kethar’s face in a flash. Before any of his goons knew it, Kethar was pinned to the grass, and Lenthean was pummeling his bald head into the ground with his fist. Kethar’s nose was pouring with blood already as were his eyebrow and cheek bones. Kethar’s goons grabbed Lenthean by his arms and yanked him back. Lenthean fell against a tree, not slowed or calmed at all.

  “My lord!” Rendall exclaimed, pulling Kethar up from the ground. Kethar looked dazed as he wiped the excessive blood from his nose.

  Lenthean shouted at them, “I’ve had it! I’ve had it with all of you! The nerve you must have—the greed you must have!”

  “Woah . . . Hey . . . Easy . . .” one of Kethar’s goons spoke to Lenthean.

  “YOU CALM DOWN!” Lenthean spat at the goon.

  “Our lord, Kethar has rubbed you the wrong way in the past, but his intention is pure today, I promise!” Rendall attempted to reassure.

  Lenthean shot a glare at Kethar.

  Kethar cleared his throat and held onto his nose. “Shadow One, I will take you to your mother. Safely. Otherwise, they will take you as a hostage. I know the Brotherhood; I have worked with them for years hunting the Shadow Elementalist. If it is for nothing else, I will deliver you safely and not ask for a reward until it is proven that I was not responsible for your mother’s kidnapping.”

  “How am I supposed to believe you? How did you end up with the note anyway? You must be involved if you are the one who ended up with this note,” Lenthean said.

  “Shadow One, it was anonymously delivered during your recovery from your face-off with Aderan Eredas. At that time, we had all been freed from the Darthian prison system; cloaked by the commotion of war, we were able to be free without notice. And as we sought you out, you had left under nightfall. Since then, we have been on your trail. And now here we are. Please, let us take you there. I plead with you, Shadow One,” Kethar explained.

  Rendall spoke up, “Yeh—yeah! We know you don’t trust us or Der’ Tanel, but we have a rapport with the Der’ Tanellian folk! We can get you in!”

  “Lad,” Kethar sought Lenthean’s attention. “No one deserves to lose their mother. Let me take you. And if you learn that it was I who took her, then may I die by your hands.”

  Lenthean calmed down, but only slightly. “I would not kill you,” the boy said. “Even though I know it would be easy.”

  Kethar finished, “We want our riches, our empowerment. But a mother’s love triumphs all of that. And we figure we could help you while helping ourselves. Am I right? Let’s drain those Der’ Tanellians dry of their gold piles and you get your mother back. What do you say?”

  Lenthean met eye to eye with each of Kethar’s goons.

  Both parties waited in silence. Kethar and his goons were eager to hear Lenthean’s rebuttal, if any, nearly leaning on their toes for the next set of muttered words.

  The boy looked down at the note, which had been ripped in half. He recognized his mother’s handwriting, which he had not before this moment. “Lenthean. Please come see me. I love you. —Mom”

  Lenthean looked back up at Kethar. The boy then extended an arm for Kethar to shake. They did shake hands, and Lenthean yanked Kethar close, whipping Kethar’s bulky head back. The goons gathered around closer to prevent any violent commotion from Lenthean. All Lenthean said to him was, “Look me in my marked eye.”

  Lenthean pointed to his left eye, the one with the thin, black, Elementalist marking.

  Kethar followed the boy’s instruction.

  Lenthean warned, “If I learn that it was you who took my mother or let harm befall my family, let it be clear, I will not murder you. I will make you experience fear and darkness like you have never witnessed before. And mark my words: you will be a shadow fanatic no more. Are we clear?”

  Kethar, surprisingly, nodded in fear at the youth, and Lenthean freed his grip.

  Rendall held Kethar up by the shoulders.

  Kethar spoke. “Well, Shadow One, we have a deal. Let us make way for Der’ Tanel.”

  28: Onward to the City of Der’ Tanel

  Lenthean still did not know how to feel about his decision, but he was committed to it nonetheless. It was potentially a trap, but he didn’t care. Lenthean needed food and supplies. Not only that, if Kethar’s claims were true about Lenthean’s mother being captured, the risk was entirely worth it in the boy’s eyes. He had already traveled one and a half days on horseback with them, and they had set up camp. They were traveling north, directly to Der’ Tanel from the outskirts of the Everforest. Their journey to the Der’ Tanel capital was swift and placed much pressure on the horses that transported them.

  The men all huddled around some rocks and attempted to start a fire. The boy remembered his time with Valdorath and the ease the man had making a fire just by igniting it with light. It gave more perspective to the boy on just how simple common living was. It was easy to forget when he had powers such as these, as did Valdorath.

  A soft elbow to Lenthean’s shoulder woke him from a daydream. Kethar asked, fumbling through his robe and making a silly face, “Do you want . . . a squirrel tail for dinner?” His goons laughed at Kethar’s poor attempt at humor. Kethar pulled a dead squirrel from his bag and began skinning it for dinner.

  Lenthean grimaced.

  Kethar asked, “What, you don’t like squirrel tail?”

  “Well, I can’t imagine it’s the most nutritious,” Lenthean said.

  Rendall jumped in. “Are you joking me, Elementalist? Squirrel tail is some of the best meat around—a delicacy! And no one is smart enough to give it a try!”

  “Blegh,” Lenthean said.

  Kethar’s voice boomed back in as he motioned to another one of his goons. “Hey you!” he said. “Give the kid your squirrel tail; you’ve had your share over the years.” The partner pulled the charred tail off the stake and handed it to the boy. Lenthean held onto it with just the edges of his two fingers.

  “Well, try it!” Kethar said.

  “Yeah, try it!” Rendall agreed.

  Lenthean reluctantly opened his mouth to take a bite.

  “WAIT!” Kethar shouted at him. His voice made Lenthean jump in place. Kethar’s index finger was raised as he searched his mind for what he wanted to say to Lenthean.

  Kethar scoured his robe for something and pulled out a shaker of sorts. He held it just above the squirrel tail and began to shake. “You can’t eat a good squirrel tail without some seasoner’s salt from Garronsville.”

  “Psh,” Lenthean said, chuckling softly. The group laughed too.

  “Oh, how I miss Garronsville!” Rendall exclaimed.

  “Ah, yes, as we all do. That is where we stem from, kid.” Kethar explained. “It’s not far from where we found you, by Fredrickstown.”

  Lenthean smiled. “Yeah, I’m from there,” he said.

  Kethar pointed to Rendall. “And that explains why we found you on that hillside just over the Fredrickstown boundary!”

  Rendall added, “Yeah! And within range of Denduthal’s city walls!”

  Kethar asked Lenthean, “Have you ever been to Denduthal? I imagine growing up in Fredrickstown you must have paid a visit or two as a child.”

  “Nope, never been,” Lenthean said.

  Kethar turned back to Rendall and his goons on the other side of the fire. “It’s a sight indeed, is it not, boys?”

  “Oh, yeah,” the group agreed.

  “The City of the Great Staircase . . . that’s what Denduthal is referred to, anyway.” Kethar said.

  “I know. I have heard it referred to that before,” Lenthean said.

  “Maybe one day you’ll see it. The stairs go higher than anywhere else in the world—the height of a mountain, truly. At the top is the t
hrone room. Of course it was conquered as soon as the Brotherhood took control of Der’ Tanel. Previously the Der’ Tanel monarchy tried everything in their power to invade that place. They were successful only when the Brotherhood stepped in.”

  Rendall added, “Ye—Yea! Perhaps it was a good reason Denduthal fell to Der’ Tanel. The old king of Denduthal was a dud!”

  Kethar agreed. “Oh yes, he was egotistical, that’s for sure. He put himself above everyone else, literally! So the Brotherhood came in and equalized him. I suppose that’s one area in which those Der’ Tanellian leaders got it right.”

  Lenthean listened to Kethar’s words.

  “Here, give me a bite of that tail, would ya?” Kethar requested of Rendall. Kethar took a bite. His lips smacked in a loud fashion as he ate.

  “You’ve got quite the slugger, kid,” Kethar joked with Lenthean. He nudged him lightly with his large fist. Lenthean smiled and pulled himself back up. “I’ll be surprised if I have a nose by the end of this trip,” Kethar grinned and pointed at his swollen, purple nose.

  Lenthean did in fact laugh out loud, as did Kethar’s goons.

  Kethar continued, “So tell me, where is your, um, your white-haired friend?” He did a twirly motion with his fat finger at his head, suggesting hair with his nonverbal cue.

  Lenthean looked up, “Oh, him? Nah.”

  Kethar motioned to the group, “Hey, come on, you can tell us.”

  Rendall encouraged the boy, “Yeah, go ahead!”

  The group encouraged Lenthean.

  Lenthean looked down at his boots in the night grass by the crackling fireside. “I don’t think he’s much of a friend.”

  Rendall asked, “Well, why?”

  “He just . . . I don’t know. I don’t think the guy likes me all that much. He’s just rude and says he has my best interests at heart but in the end he shows me that he couldn’t care less about me—he looks out only for himself.”

  Kethar was in shock. “Hmph,” he said. “Darn shame. You’re pretty all right in my book, kid. You’ve got a backbone, I’ll give you that at least,” Kethar said, nudging him again. “Well, get some rest, kiddo. We have a long day tomorrow if we want to make it to Der’ Tanel in one day. Roughly forty leagues or so to be exact. But on horseback, we should be able to make it by day’s end.”

  Lenthean nodded as he watched Kethar’s burly goons pour water on the fire, putting it out for the night.

  29: Face to Face

  “Ah. There she lay. Do you see it, Shadow One?” Kethar said, looking over his shoulder at the boy on a horse with one of his henchman.

  The sun had nearly set, but there it was: Der’ Tanel, the famed city that had been waging all of these wars. The city walls were massive, absolutely massive—much larger and more marvelous than Darthia’s. The walls were so tall the boy couldn’t even see if there were guards atop them. But the city seemed lifeless. The air was mostly silent. Even in the dead of night, Darthia was bustling and full of noise. Der’ Tanel, however, had only the sounds of the horses trotting toward it and the gentle, cold winds skimming the landscape.

  “You ready, men?” Kethar asked. “Let’s move.”

  The group approached the city gates, and the horses halted. Now the night sky was orange and black with color as the sun vanished into the sunset.

  “DERK MA KAHL?” They heard a strong female voice shout from above the gates atop the city walls.

  Kethar looked over with his bald head at Lenthean. “Follow my lead, Shadow One. Else this will surely get ugly.”

  Lenthean felt a lump in his throat but nodded to show his agreement.

  “It is I! Kethar! Bounty Hunter! I have brought the New Inheritance as a willing participant for the Brotherhood in their mighty cause!”

  The response was delayed.

  “Show us the boy!” the female guard shouted back in Lenthean’s native tongue.

  Kethar looked back over his shoulder.

  Lenthean sat still for a moment.

  Rendall’s nervous energy chimed in. “Quickly now!” he urged Lenthean under his breath.

  Kethar instructed Lenthean, “Now’s not the time to delay, Shadow One. Quickly.”

  Lenthean had a moment of hesitation. But ultimately, he felt it was right. He rolled his robe up his right arm to reveal his Shadow Elementalist markings and lifted his head to show off his left marked eye.

  The sounds of the horses shifting and snorting in the silent night were all that could be heard. The guards were taking quite some time to react to Lenthean’s markings.

  Still, they waited.

  What was taking those guards so long?

  Lenthean, Kethar, Rendall, and the men all looked at one another. Rendall asked, “What is taking them so long?!”

  “Shh!” Kethar quickly hushed.

  The massive brown gates of the city trembled.

  The humongous wood doors suddenly swung forward into the city. What lie inside? Lenthean peered eagerly into the city that he had heard so much about.

  A cobblestone path. Each side of the street lined with soldiers in royal gold armor. Flag bearers of red stemming tens of feet above each of their pointed gold helms as far as the eye could see down the steep city corridor. All of the many guards then tilted their flags forward above the path. One by one they did this all the way down until it faded into a vibrant red corridor.

  As if the view couldn’t get any more spectacular, in an instant, every soldier turned their heads to look to Lenthean and Kethar’s men. Lenthean’s jaw had dropped with how absolutely coordinated and structured the Der’ Tanel guards were with their movements.

  A woman in a helmet approached on foot. She was incredibly tall, even without the prominent gold helmet atop her head. Long, red cloth stemmed from the crown—her helmet was unique from any other in the ranks. Her hair was long, past her midsection and swinging from under the hood of the helmet; thin and loose, it was so blonde it was nearly white. She removed her helm and unveiled her face to the men. It was prominent and structured, attractive in its own right. She had the distinctive Der’ Tanel racial features of sharp ears and a pointed nose. Her eyes were yellow like the morning sun. She was young; she couldn’t have been more than five years older than Lenthean. Her voice was strong and commanding. “Der’ Tanel is pleased to have you, Lenthean, Shadow Elementalist. We have been expecting you.”

  Kethar looked over his shoulder at Lenthean, baffled at the sight, just like the boy was. Lenthean’s jaw was still dropped; he had to gain his composure. “Thank you,” the boy stated in an almost confused manner.

  The woman spoke to Lenthean, unblinking. “I am Grand Admiral Song. I will escort you straight to our royal quarters. If you so choose, our beloved leader desires to see you this evening. He has been expecting you.”

  “Then take us to him,” Lenthean said. As spectacular a sight as this was, Lenthean knew he could not be distracted. He must focus. He was here for one purpose: his mother. Where was she? He had to know. And he had to know now. And he knew he had to get to the bottom of it. He was going to confront their leader head on and demand her release. The boy remembered his last run-in with one of the Der’ Tanel leaders not going so well, but the boy didn’t care. He would do anything to save his mother.

  Grand Admiral Song raised an open hand and motioned for the group to follow. She turned and walked through the city gates on foot, and the horses slowly trotted behind. Trumpets began to sound off. Grand and proud, triumphant trumpets rang through the city night. An entire quartet of instruments settled behind the guards who lined the city streets. They played loud, boisterous music as the men trudged by horseback down the city corridor.

  Shortly thereafter, citizens of Der’ Tanel, old and young, littered the streets to catch a glimpse of Lenthean. Even if it was just for a moment, they fought their way behind the guards. Children were being lifted; the women were waving and throwing bouquets of flowers at him. The boy was literally pelted with gifts and admiration. The people c
heered and roared for the mighty Lenthean in both the boy’s native language and the Der’ Tanellian tongue. Lenthean could not help but be amazed; he didn’t know how to react. He continually removed petals of flowers and pieces of colored confetti from his black hair. As they made their way through, Lenthean repeatedly ducked and swayed around the dangling red flags with the golden eagle embroidered on them.

  Lenthean drew a comparison to his past. How stark a difference this was. The people of Darthia had pelted him with tomatoes, spat at him, and imprisoned him after he had put his life on the line for their sovereignty. And here he was, in the heart of the enemy, being revered as a hero of legend from the moment he arrived. This was indeed a change.