by Beaux Riley
Milla ignited the stone. The lava below them began to flood out of what looked like a sewer system to the outside. The heat began to dissipate as the levels of the forge finally went down. Asa had a sigh of relief, kneeling over the still unconscious Aedrius.
“We need something to wake him up.” Said Asa. Aedrius groaned, sparking more relief for the group. “Hey, are you ok?”
“I’ve been better.” Said Aedrius.
“Milla, do you know how to get out of here?” Asked Asa. The dwarf nodded. She tapped the bottom half of master rune, bringing a wall with the same inscriptions behind her to glow. She grinned.
“I helped build this place, you know. This is a master rune stone. Works kind of like a key for all doors here.” Said Milla proudly. Asa lifted the barely coherent Aedrius over his arm and jumped the platform, barely making it to where the others were. They followed the dwarf down several winding staircases.
***
The battle was won. Cheering from the Zirris, the Ela’syn and even the tree elementals roared in victory. The armies were to begin their invasion of Imrosyn when a plethora of molten rock seeped from the walls of Imrosyn, forming a wall of fire. The soldiers retreated from it. Illoke and Stratus looked on in horror, only to see the display vanish as quickly as it happened. Neither could explain what had just occurred. The armies regrouped themselves, checking for wounded soldiers or those who had died from the battle. Illoke moved to the front of the battlefield. The lava was still burning into the ground where it fell. He dropped down to his knees and began to channel the ground beneath him. There was no reaction. He began again. No roots nor response from his magic casted made any kind of movement below him.
“What is happening here?” He asked himself.
“Nature has suffered enough of our requests today, father.” Said Caliya as she came behind him. “We will have to wait and break it down with the aid of my friends.” Illoke looked at his daughter. She was incredibly powerful now and resembled her mother so closely. It had been so long since he had seen the face of the long deceased Lady Dawnsent, that it brought tears to his eyes. He hugged her tightly.
“If the world needs to recover, I shall honor that.” Said Illoke. “The druidic ways are not for war, and we’ve used them for that. May the land forgive me?”
He turned his back to the fortress and they persisted to wait. An hour passed and to his surprise and others, the gates opened once again. The soldiers all readied themselves, preparing for another wave of enemies as only a handful of people walked out from the gates. Asa was no longer carrying Aedrius, who despite his looks, walked as proudly as he could. Milla was beyond showing triumph. No, her entire demeanor shouted that she was proud.
Illoke cheered, following the cheering of all the others. The threat of the Char was finally over.
Chapter 16- A story from Averia
Asa gazed at the onlookers. Soldiers covered in soot, both elf and human, stood before him. He was met with his father, who ran up and hugged him. Asa, with mixed emotions, held his father. He remembered the last time they’d actually acted like a family, which had been back during their early years in Saebel. Stratus was determined. It was until years had gone by and the truth that Sinesca was gone for good, that Stratus became bitter as he’d been for most of Asa’s adult life.
“It’s over.” Asa said with a tear in his eye.
“I know. I didn’t want to believe it, but not seeing her come out with you…I knew what happened.” Said Stratus. “Was there any humanity left in them?”
“They wanted nothing more than to bring their father back. Even to their deaths. My mother was dead to us when she left.” Said Asa. Stratus held two hands firmly on his son’s shoulders.
“I am nothing of a good father, Asa. But I see you’ve grown into a real leader. I am proud of you.” Said Stratus.
“I had a great teacher. Now I have a great deal of work to do with my people.” Said Asa.
“You aren’t returning to Saebel? This fight is finally over. You have no reason to hide.” Said Stratus with a sadness in his voice.
“I need to build the Paladine into something you can respect. Maybe one day, my people can be as revered as the Zirris.” Said Asa as he gripped his father’s shoulders and moved forward. Stratus watched as the other paladins, Aedrius and Milla stepped passed the old man. Stratus had much thinking to do regarding the Paladine and its place in the world. He could no longer hide that he was imbued with the Light as well. The world for him, would change.
***
A year had passed for the Paladine. As the land of Ethra began to change, they saw the discovery of new elementalists, including an entire generation of Light users that Kimura had not yet discovered. Asa and the others would spend the majority of their days travelling to Saebel to teach the mysterious ways of the Light to new people, or be visited in their home in Ela’syn by folks who did not believe them to be real. For so long of hiding in the shadows and being in disguises, it felt different for each of them to be able to go about their daily lives in peace.
It became easier for Kilo to live her life as well. As well as the lives of others. Talus and Milla had a child after he had recovered from his wound. It was the first happy thing to happen since the downfall at Stoneholt.
After learning that she was blinded, Asa helped her get about in their normal routines. He didn’t ever mention her inability to see after finding her in a bed in Ela’syn surrounded by countless doctors and healers. She and Asa had become officially a couple after so many years of the idea being hinted at. Whether it was love or that she wanted to be sure that she could prove she was as powerful as he was, she didn’t know nor care.
It was early morning, Kilo had bathed herself, now knowing every placement in her new house right in the edge of the Ela’syn city. She was proud that she didn’t need any help after her eyes healed, despite no longer having sight.
Kilo dressed, leaving Asa sleeping in the room that they now shared. She loved him, more than any other man she’d come across. She could hear him as she closed the door. His snoring was adorable. There was something now about him that seemed so much more attractive. Was it his disregard for her blindness? Or was it something else? She was afraid to let him see her face now. The black cloth that she obtained from Zimae was now always around her face. It protected her, and kept her feeling safe. It was moments like this, that she wondered if she became a mother, how would she act?
She walked the forest city in Ela’syn. They’d taken up residence here by Illoke’s personal request. Having seen that Midian was no longer safe and the unfortunate death of Zerick, meant that the temple was just another place in Ethra that was a tomb, thanks to the Char. She’d remembered some of the elves talking about how they’d erected a statue of Kimura and the leaders of the fallen monks. It upset her that she couldn’t see it. The pathway that she took didn’t require much aid, if any. She began to memorize how many steps it would take from her new home to the stairway into the palace. She had been counting them now for months and Kilo believed she was getting good at it.
“A hundred fifty steps to the palace.” She thought to herself. “Only a hundred up the staircase, and then another hundred to the library after I make a right.”
Kilo was greeted by the servants, royalty and occasionally making a passing by some of the other paladins. It was good that everyone was so happy right now. She wanted it to last. Ever since her fight with Sinesca, she continued to wonder if Asa had actually killed his family to save the land. She could have never asked him to do such a thing after learning that the Char were his mother and aunt. It had to have been a horrible blow to him. Though after a year, he didn’t seem any different. At least not at a passing glance, or in her case, his tone of voice was just as normal as it had always been.
As she finally ascended the massive staircase into the palace, she was met with Cray. His scent of strawberries meant that he’d been in Jaya’s personal garden again and he was in definite trouble.
Kilo laughed to herself at the idea of Jaya chucking shears at him on more than one occasion and almost stabbing him.
“Kilo! Hey, how are you today?” He asked cheerfully throwing his arm around her shoulders.
“I’m fine as always, Romsworth. What are you practicing today?” Kilo asked as she’d taken a brief hiatus from practicing the art of the Light. Her knowledge of the Zephyr actually came in handy now. She could feel things through the air and her hearing was impeccable.
“No, no practice today.” Said Cray. “I am actually off to Hitch Town. Time to visit the family and work on my arm; I just left the library to say goodbye to Liz.” Kilo gripped his waist and hugged him.
“You be safe.” She said. He returned the hug and then ran off. Kilo could hear his footsteps echoing down the staircase.
Kilo began her way down the hallway into the library. She heard two guards’ gauntlets clang as they saluted her. She waved off the gesture and pointed to her blindfold.
“You two will get it eventually.” The guards made a half laugh and opened the library for her. She stepped inside and promptly as she entered, the doors were shut behind her.
“Hello…little sis.” Said Kilo. She looked up at Kilo, noticing how much she’d grown in the past few years. She missed the look of Kilo’s eyes, seeing that the silver haired woman now walked everywhere with her staff acting as a cane of sorts, and a black cloth covering her eyes.
“I’m not little anymore, you know.” Lizoke said angrily, her tone making it seem she was being bothered by the blind woman.
Lizoke had been in the state’s eyes, a lowly librarian, and now, she was something so much more. She was called a paladin by the elves, the Saebellians and even some from lands that began to hear of the victory over the Char. Kilo tried to lighten the mood. “What are you reading there? Smells…surprisingly newer than the old relics you used to finagle out of Illoke. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.” Kilo said with a cute sound in her voice, almost taunting the girl.
“Listen, ‘body guard’, I am actually reading an interesting tale about Captain Laratus Red Hand.” Said Lizoke, feeling hurt by Kilo’s comment.
Kilo could not see the book, but took Lizoke’s word for it. “Apparently, there’s a whole market for writers in Averia. I might go there for a bit. Would you like hear about him?” Lizoke’s voice softened as she became more enticed by the tales the book had to offer. She skimmed for a moment, her finger crossing a name. It was ever so small, and something that excited her. This was a moment in time she wished that she could show Kilo what she discovered.
Kilo removed her blindfold. Lizoke looked in shock to see scars running across her eyes, now being fully healed. The iris in her eyes were a milky white and it was clear to the elf that Kilo was permanently blinded. Kilo found an empty chair, sighing as she slumped into it, next to Lizoke. She tilted her head in a comfortable position and closed her eyes, waiting for the ‘tales of Captain Red Hand’.
A ship sailed in the distance, right off the coast of Averia. Its sails were red, bearing the insignia of the Red Hand crew. Captain Laratus Red Hand had been a fabled captain in his time, just short of the signing of the Treaty of the Four Kings. It was now that his first mate, Ira Kai, would succeed him. Her crew was far from the usual, with people of all origins and several unusual races, from all over the world. Ira was a woman of mystery, and she was never known for her harshness, nor being weak. She was a rarity, a fair pirate. A single crew member, no, more of a passenger who had not yet gotten off the boat, stood out among anyone on the ship known as Red Maiden; He was a man by the name of Pate Illus the Third.
Lizoke closed the book, tightly and neatly setting it down on her desk. It was a newer copy of ‘Fables and Folklore’, which came from the Fallen Isles, off of the coast of Averia. Kilo sat in awe, realizing that Pate had made a name for himself. She knew that the others would want to know where the long lost member of the Paladine had been, and now they had their lead. They could bring Pate home.