Elpis

by Aaron McGowan

  At the same time, Terico and Delkol both filled their blades with orange Nexi energy. Terico slammed his blade against Delkol’s, and they both flew downward. Delkol held strong, but Terico forced himself to continue pushing down on Delkol, flying toward the earth as fast as he could.

  Delkol grinned. His shroud spread to either side of him, the sharp, hairlike feathers separating and turning golden. Even while guiding hundreds of spirits toward Terico, he still had the strength to activate his shroud of razor-sharp blades. Delkol launched the feathers at Terico, a dozen of them zipping clean through Terico’s armor and body in an instant.

  Screaming, Terico pushed himself back, away from Delkol, and straight to the swarms of spirits behind him.

  With orange Nexi energy built up in his arms, Terico threw his two Elpis stones away. Terico launched one stone dozens of meters to his right, the other he sent flying far to his left. Terico’s transformed state held, his mind still connected with the two Elpis fragments.

  “The Elpis!” Delkol screamed.

  At the same time, Terico collided straight into the spirit masses, all of which thrust their weapons at him. In an instant, Terico’s entire body was punctured with ethereal swords, lances, arrows, axes, and knives. The weapons afflicted his spirit with deadly wounds, so it was his soul that was tearing apart and dying. The pain was still there, however. The all-encompassing agony was akin to an explosion from every pore of his body, but Terico accepted it.

  He was about to have his revenge.

  Delkol blasted toward the Elpis stone tumbling away to his right, his eyes wide and his outstretched hand trembling. As the spirits continued to stab at Terico’s soul, Terico kept his eyes fixed on Delkol, able to see him through the vaguely transparent spirits with his heightened vision.

  Just as Delkol’s hand and face neared the glowing fragment, Terico activated the red Nexi energy inherent to the Elpis. The fragment released a massive detonation—a fiery blast that exploded directly into Delkol’s arm and face. The flames melted Delkol’s arm away and disfigured his bleeding face and torn-open neck. At the same time, the massive shockwave sent Delkol flying backward—straight toward the other Elpis fragment.

  Terico activated the green Nexi energy within the stone, causing vines to wrap around Delkol’s body and bind him tight. With what was left of his energy, Terico shot out of the multitude of spirits, directing his flight toward Delkol. Though skewered with at least twenty glowing, transparent weapons, Terico pushed himself toward Delkol, filling the blade of his sword with all the silver and gray energy he could muster.

  Gray feathers flew within Terico’s blade, and Terico suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion—as if he had never slept in his entire life. His spirit was dying, and as he stared down at Delkol—the man’s bound form steadily drawing closer—Terico wondered if it had all been worth it.

  Terico slammed his blade into Delkol’s chest, and immediately silver feathers began tearing Delkol apart from the inside. Delkol screamed, blood flying from his mouth and neck. The poisonous energy within Terico’s sword flooded into Delkol’s body, and Terico continued to fly downward.

  As Terico and Delkol neared the ground, Terico found his energy entirely wasted. He let go of the sword and let his connection with the Elpis fragments slowly dissolve. Terico fell back, separating from Delkol, who continued to plunge toward the earth.

  For a moment, Terico felt like he was floating in the air. The wind rushed all around him, and the sky was a vast, infinite blue. Delkol’s army of spirits had faded away, leaving nothing but an empty sky. An endless expanse. The very embodiment of limitless possibilities.

  He reached up toward the sky, wishing for something to hold on to. Anything to keep him from falling.

  There was nothing.

  Terico crashed against the hard earth, landing flat on his back. His body filled with a jolt of pain, but by this point Terico had grown entirely numb to it all.

  The weapons that had impaled him faded away, leaving behind a shattered, dying spirit.

  He lay still, perfectly still. His transformed state was slowly dissipating, his connection with the Elpis tenuous, fleeting.

  He was too tired to feel anything.

  It’s over, he thought, and he closed his eyes.

  With the only hand he had left, Delkol gripped the sword sticking out of his chest. The blade dug into his palm, and thick blood slowly dripped down his forearm. He couldn’t feel anything. Just the overwhelming beat of his heart, pounding pain into every fiber of his being. It might not have even been his heart, actually. When he concentrated on it enough, he realized his heart was beating very slowly, weakly.

  Delkol stared up at the sky, barely able to see anything. He wanted to scream, but it hurt to even breathe. It was too difficult to look to either side of him, and everything was a bright, painful blur anyways. He doubted he would see anything but bloody corpses, but if there was a chance the other two Elpis pieces were nearby...

  He slipped his weary hand into his pocket, pulling out his two Elpis fragments. There was just enough strength inside Delkol to maintain a connection with them. He gripped them tight and tried to heal himself—any part of himself.

  It was a useless effort. Over the course of his fight with Terico, he had drained himself of energy. Perhaps if he hadn’t summoned the army of spirits, he would have enough strength to pull this sword out, at the very least.

  But he had wanted to be sure. He wanted to ensure Terico’s death, no matter the cost. He couldn’t hold back—not even the slightest bit. He had to give his all.

  Perhaps he went too far. Perhaps he had become too determined. No, Delkol thought. No. No. No! I never wavered! I gave my all, each and every day!

  He felt the last of his energy fade away, his connection with the Elpis finally severed. His body reverted back to its normal state, a painful transformation that did nothing to heal Delkol’s wounds. The poison of the gray Nexi sunk into every organ of his body, the agony accentuated by his use of the fragmented Elpis.

  If I had all the pieces... I’d live.

  They were so close. In mere walking distance!

  He struggled to sit up, but he couldn’t even move. The poison weakened him, and the wounds Terico inflicted on him were killing him on their own.

  No! Delkol tried to scream.

  This world was robbing him of the one thing he ever aspired toward.

  I’m so close... So close!

  He could see his father looking down at him, deep concern etched in his eyes.

  One day you will regain the land of our forebears, Father said. This continent needs a strong ruler again. One who can bring peace and stability to the world. One who has not only the royal blood of the great ones, but the will and might to instill both fear in his enemies and reverence in his subjects.

  The Fiefs line has become corrupted over the centuries, Delkol. The Shires are a part of that royal line, but in our separation we have maintained our integrity. One day you will claim the throne of the Fiefs Kingdom, and the land will become one again.

  A strong kingdom... with an inspiring king.

  Delkol’s eyes burned in the light of the sun. He set down his Elpis fragments, and with a weak, shaking hand, he forced what was left of his eyelids shut. He let his hand linger, feeling the cross-shaped scar across his right eye.

  Brother... Delkol thought. You have the strength to finish what I’ve started.

  It was you who gave me this scar. With that strength... scar this entire land.

  Then once this kingdom has been humbled, take what is rightfully ours.

  Slowly Terico felt life fading away from him. The pain lingered on—in fact, it seemed to intensify—but he could tell he was passing away. He still had a faint connection to his two lost Elpis fragments, deep in the recesses of his icy, pounding mind. His body was still in its transformed, demonic state... There was still time.

  It was difficult, but Terico fought through the pain of the Elpis, s
truggling to access the healing energy once more. The remaining Elpis pieces were close... There was still hope for him, and for everyone he had lost.

  It was impossible to scream, and barely even possible to move, but Terico could still feel the Elpis’s power. He shut his eyes as hard as he could, concentrating on its healing energy. His body seared with pain, but inside—deep inside—he could feel something. It wasn’t cold, wasn’t hot. Just the sense of things melding back together. As if the healing energy was filling in the punctured holes in his soul, keeping it alive.

  Terico’s body and armor transformed back to normal, and he lay on the earth. Motionless. Barely breathing. Knowing his time was short. He had exhausted every ounce of his energy, and now his connection with the Elpis was thoroughly dissolved. His spirit was intact, but it was too late to save his body. He had used the fragmented Elpis far too much, and now he paid the price of its poisoning effect.

  Perhaps if he had gained the full Elpis, everything would have been different. Any attempt to move was hopeless at this point, and it took all of Terico’s effort just to think of anything besides the pain.

  Delkol is dead, Terico thought, and for that he could smile—if only in his mind. Delkol would never again kill an innocent victim. The world was a better place without him, and the blood spilled in Edellerston was at last atoned for. Delkol received his just punishment, and Terico was glad to be the one to deliver it.

  He knew though that deep down, nothing had really changed. It was good that Delkol died, but that didn’t bring back Terico’s parents. It didn’t bring back his friends. It didn’t bring back Suran.

  Could the full Elpis have done that? Terico already had his doubts, but now it felt even more certain that some things simply couldn’t be changed. And what if his loved ones were happier where they were now? Even if bringing them back to life was actually possible, would it have been the right thing to do?

  Suddenly all of Terico’s wishes felt strange, complicated. What had he been working for all this time? What did he ever hope to accomplish in his life?

  It was all over, and Terico wasn’t even certain if the path he walked was the right one. What would become of him now?

  Was his revenge worth it? Was killing Delkol worth dying for?

  Terico felt the life fade away from his body, and through his closed eyelids he could make out a white silhouette. Slowly, ever slowly, the pain inside of him dissolved, and the pounding in his head dissipated. The agony he had become faded away, bit by bit.

  And as the pain disappeared, Terico found his vision improving. The white silhouette turned blurry and gained its color.

  Through tear-filled eyes, Terico looked up at Suran. She smiled at him, the same smile she always gave. Back when they were in Edellerston.

  Suran bent down and took Terico by the hand. Terico sat up and let Suran lift him up. She helped him to his feet, and it took a few seconds for Terico to grasp where he was.

  An entirely different world. A field free of corpses, free of blood, free of agony.

  His heart had stopped beating entirely, and Terico realized he wasn’t even breathing anymore. He was a spirit, and this was Suran’s spirit holding his hand.

  Suran pointed ahead, and Terico found other spirits appearing a couple meters away. Jujor and Febraz were there, and so were all the people Terico knew in Edellerston. Suran’s parents, as well as Terico’s classmates, his associates, and his neighbors.

  And at the very front stood Terico’s father and mother.

  Terico turned back to Suran and squeezed her hand. Her smile turned into a silent giggle, and Terico found himself smiling as well.

  In a way, he had gotten precisely what he hoped for.

  Lanek dodged the burst of swamp material Lynx fired at him, then jabbed his rapier toward the masked boy’s arm. Lynx took a few steps back, taking a couple heavy breaths. Lanek also felt weary, but was determined to kill this boy—even if it was the last thing he did.

  “Fall back, Lynx!” a deep voice ordered. “Gather all the Brotherhood you can.”

  Lanek looked past Lynx to find a large man with a bandana and vest, and a series of green Nexi embedded in his arms. This was Augurc Shire, Lanek realized. There were a number of vines sticking out of his arms, and wrapped amongst them was a young, unconscious woman. The vampire who came with Terico... Areo, Lanek recalled.

  Lynx muttered something unintelligible beneath his mask and the chaos of the battlefield. Lanek rushed for Lynx, not willing to let him get away.

  In one swift movement, Lynx turned around and sprinted off, quite a bit faster than Lanek could hope to keep up with. At the same moment, Lynx tossed back a red Nexi stone, letting it arc right back to Lanek.

  Immediately Lanek swung his rapier against the stone, hitting it in mid-air. The stone flew off to the side and exploded a couple meters away. The blast knocked Lanek to the ground, but he had hit it far enough to keep the flames from reaching him.

  Lanek pushed himself back to his feet and ran in the direction Lynx dashed off to. All around him, Shire and Fiefs soldiers fought to the death. Amongst them he saw eigni, vampires, a dragon, and even Brotherhood members, but the boy in the smiling mask was gone.

  A couple Shire soldiers got in his way, and Lanek dealt with them as fast as possible. But once he was running again, Lanek could find no sign of where Lynx disappeared to.

  Members of the Brotherhood started to retreat, slipping back outside the city walls. Many of the Shire soldiers followed, and in turn the Fiefs soldiers pursued, not about to let their enemies escape so easily. A number of eigni used their dark blue Nexi stones to create a giant sea serpent made of water, which they caused to fly amongst the fleeing Fiefs troops alongside Kitoh, still in his dragon state. The tide was turning on the battle, but Lanek hadn’t found the revenge he was looking for.

  I’m sorry, Suran, he thought. Perhaps it was pointless in the first place, but I needed something... I needed some way to rectify this...

  Perhaps there was no way to make things right. Suran was lost, and the world would never be right again.

  Lanek ran with some Fiefs soldiers, following them outside the city gates. He soon found himself standing amidst a sea of corpses. Many still had arrows sticking out their backs or torsos, while others rested as burnt, smoking remains—the victims of fire Nexi. Others still lay strangled in vines, while others rested with the deep, bloody wounds of the sword.

  Walking to a small open area, Lanek couldn’t help but wonder how it all came to this. The power struggles this world had to endure... How much blood was spent this day, Lanek could never imagine.

  Amidst the fields of decay Lanek found a boy with dark blue hair, lying lifelessly, about a dozen gashes spread across his armor and deep into his body.

  It was Terico, Lanek realized. Lanek bent down and checked his pulse, but there was nothing. There was no heartbeat and no sign of breathing.

  Lanek searched the area and found Delkol’s fallen body as well, lying perhaps ten, fifteen meters away. He was clearly dead.

  So Terico was successful, Lanek thought, but died in the process. A number of emotions passed through Lanek’s heart, but he felt too numb and hollow to let them linger for long.

  He checked both Delkol and Terico’s bodies for the Elpis fragments, but didn’t find them in their hands or in any of their pockets. Lanek searched the area and eventually came across two of the pieces, hidden amidst the field of corpses far away from one another.

  Lanek continued searching until his eyes grew sore, but there simply was no sign of the other two fragments. They were gone.

  The days passed, and once the battlefield was cleansed everyday life in Setar resumed just as it always had. Lanek mused that most of the populace was entirely unaffected by this brief war, but he decided that was for the better.

  It was a bright, hot day, and Lanek busied himself with fixing his airship. Its crash left it a complete disaster, but he didn’t want to just give up on it. This wasn�
�t just his airship—but his parents’ airship, and Suran’s airship. Though he didn’t particularly enjoy it, this was a time for him to get his hands dirty.

  Once evening fell, Lanek stopped his work to take a rest and look up at the stars for a while. It was something he would do with Suran from time to time. She told him that it was something she would do with Terico, as well.

  Perhaps they could have been happy together, Lanek thought. He had always been reluctant to let anyone grow close to his beloved sister, but over the past few days he found himself realizing that Terico probably would have taken good care of her. Perhaps if Delkol had never set his sights on Edellerston, things would have worked out nicely for Suran and Terico. Just imagining how life could have been for them... it filled Lanek’s heart with misery.

  The sound of approaching footsteps broke Lanek’s train of thought. He stood up and found himself face to face with Rilv, the head royal servant who dragged him and Suran into this unfortunate venture in the first place.

  “Good evening,” she said. “I have answers for your questions.”

  “I’m surprised you came to me personally,” Lanek said, folding his arms.

  “It is the least I could do, after you retrieved half the Elpis,” Rilv said. She glanced to the right a moment. “I could also use the fresh air.”

  Lanek had asked to be informed of anything Rilv learned concerning the missing two pieces of the Elpis, as well as anything regarding the location of Terico’s associates.

  “The two pieces of the Elpis you found are still hidden in the castle, where only I can access them,” Rilv said. “They are being kept under constant watch, as you can imagine.”

  “But the other two pieces?” Lanek said.

  “It is likely that Augurc has them,” Rilv said. “Once it became clear that Delkol was killed, Augurc hurried to the location his brother had fallen to and retreated with the two Elpis fragments. He was in a hurry to leave—otherwise he probably would have searched for the other two pieces.”