Did the nightmares come from his fear of turning into the tyrant Zin's old master had been? Or were they memories that had somehow bled into his mind?
He could not become that man. He would not become that man.
He had to do something good for the people of Rottwealth. Something that would earn their trust, show them he wasn't a tyrant. Prove to himself he wasn't changing into something evil. Make the villagers forget his past, what his parents had done. If they ever found out who he truly was . . .
Then, a smile spread across his face as the idea came to him. A genuine smile, unlike the one he had put on for show for the past few seasons. It was so obvious.
Ean sent a thought through the bond he had with Azalea. It was more a feeling than a thought, a desire for her to meet him. He received curiosity back. It tickled his mind and made his smile broaden. He enjoyed his bond with Azalea, regardless of how little Zin liked it. Azalea had earned his trust ten-fold, and it was about time that Zin started to accept her as part of their group. It would certainly help improve his mood if the two of them got along better.
He returned his mind to the matter at hand. No point worrying about things he couldn't control.
"Auz,” Ean said aloud. “I want to bring another creature out of the Abyss."
"What creature?"
"A Vunvuanima."
"Water spirit? To what end?"
"To whatever end I want." He could be just as cryptic as Auz.
"Elemental spirits are difficult to control."
"Yes, I understand that. Just have the runes ready for when I get to you."
"Fine."
Not going to fight him on this? That was a pleasant surprise.
Ean arrived at the Heart a moment later. Azalea was already there, leaning against the floating stone sphere that was Auz. Her pale blue skin seemed to glow, and bathed in the light that Auz gave off, her purple hair took on an almost pink shade. The Yulari really was beautiful in her natural form. It was a shame that deep down she didn't contain a shred of morality. She gave him her usual mischievous smirk as he walked in and stood straight.
"So what is this about, little master? Finally have the nerve to ask me on a date? The lighting here certainly sets the mood."
"Funny. No, I'm bringing something new out of the Abyss, and I wanted your opinion."
"Oh, that sounds like fun! Wait, it’s not another Yulari, is it? You’d better not be trying to make me jealous."
"No, not another Yulari. I want to bring out a Vunvuanima and let it free in the marsh. The area used to have one in the past or something similar that kept it clean. I think it will be a good will gesture to the village if I return the spring to its former glory."
"Well, I don't see why making the villagers happy needs to be a concern of yours, but having a water spirit around will be fun. Big old bundles of emotions, those elemental spirits. It might flood the village if it gets its feelings hurt. That could be interesting."
"I don't want anything like that to happen. I figured you would know the most about these creatures out of everyone here. How do I handle one?"
"Like you would an over-emotional girlfriend."
"I've never had a girlfriend, Azalea. You know that."
"That’s why I brought it up. It’s fun to point that out. You're how old now and you've never even--"
"Not important right now. How do I keep the Vunvuanima content?"
"By treating her like--"
"Azalea . . . "
"Ok, ok. A water spirit won't be like the Crux. It won't care about your power. You have to earn its trust. To do that, you'll have to give it two things. The first is to let it be connected to a constant flow of their element. Start by having a large jug or container of water for when it first arrives. Putting it in the marsh after that will be a good place to start to build its trust. Just to warn you though, it might still flood your entire village just to increase its home."
"Noted. What's the second thing?"
"Woo it."
"What?"
"You know, flatter it. Make it feel special. I wasn't kidding when I said you have to treat it like a girlfriend. Elemental spirits like to feel like the most important thing around. That's why you can't keep more than one of each kind very close together. They end up getting jealous of each other and can cause a whole lot of damage to an area when competing for attention."
"Alright. I think I can handle that."
Azalea let out a short laugh then shook her head. "Sure, you can, my dear. Sure you can. You get everything ready, and then we'll see how good you really are with making a person feel loved."
As Azalea smirked and walked away, Ean felt a knot of worry settle deep in his stomach. Just because he had never been shown much love growing up didn't mean he couldn't show it to someone, or some thing, right?
The knot began to grow. Maybe he would take a few days to plan out his idea a little more.
Chapter 3
Ean hadn't left his room all morning. It was as simple of a room as one could imagine, carved into the stone of the mine. Two lit torches made shadows dance off of the few pieces of furniture Ean owned: a straw bed, an empty bookshelf, and the desk with its chair he was currently sitting on. The desk and chair were recent additions, purchased from the friend of one of the miners. Ean really should learn their names, especially if he was going to leave the mine anytime soon and go out into the village. After all, if he could remember the names of the creatures at his command, how hard would it be to remember a few human names . . .
His hands tightened into fists, as they always did when he realized he was looking at people as a separate race than himself. It frightened Ean that he was slowly getting detached from the rest of his race. Was that what happened with Zin's former master? Zin had said that at one point, his master's main goal was the protection of the people. Then something had made him go down a darker path. Well, the first step away from that path was to do something for his people.
"The villagers are all gathered by the marsh," Jaan said in his native language. "They seem nervous and afraid."
"That's understandable," Ean said, looking up from his desk. "We make them nervous enough as it is. Having the whole village gather this close to the mine is sure to make them worry about what our motives could be. Hopefully after today, when they think of their 'neighbors,' fear will not be the first feeling that pops up."
"Fear is useful for keeping the weak in check."
"That is not what I want--" Ean growled as he started to rise. Of course at that moment, one of the legs of his chair gave out. Instead of getting to his feet, he fell backwards, slamming his elbows against the rough, stone floor.
"By the Abyss . . . " he mumbled, sitting up and rubbing at his elbows. "I just bought that chair."
"In the Abyss, a merchant that would sell shoddy items would be beaten. One that made something poorly on purpose would be killed."
"I'm sure the man I bought this from didn't do it on purpose. He bought it from one of the traders and it was already made when he bought it."
"Still, you should--"
"I have enough to worry about at the moment. You go make sure nothing happens outside. I'm going to the Heart to summon the Vunvuanima."
Ean got to his feet, brushing off the splinters of what was left of his chair. Surely the man hadn't sold him a faulty piece of furniture. Did the people of his village dislike him that much? Well, the whole point of this day was to improve their view of him. If they saw him helping the village, it would hopefully be the first step in building a friendly partnership with the people of Rottwealth.
And sturdier chairs.
Leaving his room, Ean made the short walk to the Heart. Zin and Azalea were waiting for him, neither one acknowledging the other's presence. The two of them could be so childish at times.
"Is everything ready?"
"Of course, milord," Azalea said while making an extravagant bow. "As difficult as it was for me to procure a chamber pot and fill it
with water, I was able to complete this most difficult quest."
Zin barked a laugh. "Only took you three seasons to do something useful around here."
"Watch it, imp. Plenty of room in that pot for a disgusting creature like you."
"You want to give me a bath? Well, seeing how the Nar'Grim use your kind as personal bathers, I suppose you must have had practice at some point in your life . . . "
Azalea's fingers curled and she reached for the imp. Rage surged through Ean's bond with the Yulari, more powerful than any other emotion he had felt from her.
"Enough," Ean said, stepping between the two as fast as he could. "For one day can the two of you not be at each other's throats? I'm nervous enough as it is without having to worry if you two will start fighting right in the middle of everything."
"You don't have to worry about me," Azalea growled. "I have no intention of being around those people."
"That’s because you are--" Zin began but Ean cut him off.
"Zin, I said that's enough. One more quip and I'll have you digging with the other imp. Understand?"
Zin's mouth snapped shut. If there was one thing Zin hated, it was manual labor.
"Good, now maybe we can--"
"I'm going to my room," Azalea said. "Tell me when it’s all over." Not waiting for a reply, she left without even a second glance at Ean. He thought of saying something, but it was better to just let the Yulari go. Her rage had diminished, and Ean felt a bit of humiliation drift through their bond as well. Zin's words had clearly bothered her a great deal. Best to let her cool off for a bit.
"You coddle her, you know."
"And I expect you to be the more level-headed one. The two of you are at each other's throats all the time. You, at least, should be able to ignore her insults and certainly not be the first to start a fight."
"I . . . yes, you are right. It’s just these living conditions. We spent so many years in Rottwealth before leaving and experiencing the rest of the world that it’s hard sometimes to be back. It reminds me of my time as a slave, both out in this world and down in the Abyss."
"I'm sorry, Zin. I didn't really see it like that. I know I've kept you busy down here, but if you need to get out more . . . "
The imp waved him off. "No, it’s not that I felt like your slave. Just . . . I have a few hundred years of bad memories, is all. You know, it’s funny. I actually miss the time we spent traveling. Sure, it was rough always being on the move, only having a vague idea of what we were doing and where we were going, and we always seemed to find trouble–"
"But we were free."
"Yes."
"Believe me, I understand Zin. I was brought up to be a healer, not a leader. This is all a lot more responsibility than I ever thought would be placed on my shoulders."
"Well, you are doing a good job so far."
It took Ean a minute to realize that Zin had complimented him and not say it in his usual sarcastic tone.
"Zin, thank you."
"Don't let it go to your head. Pretty easy to do a better job than my previous master. You haven't beaten or tortured anyone yet, and there is plenty that could go wrong with today's activities."
"True. Let's go see if I can not make a mess of things."
"Agreed. Is your pet rock ready?"
"Auz is not a rock. Auz is always ready."
"Auz says he is ready."
"Good enough for me. Let's find out if this is going to be a triumph or a huge mistake."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Placing his hand on Auz, Ean filled himself with the energy from the Abyss. His tattoos flared, a blue pulse of energy traveling along the twisting black lines that covered his body, making them look alive. "Go ahead, Auz."
A summoning rune appeared on the surface of Auz right above his hand in relatively the same size, emitting an azure light that mirrored the light coming from Ean's tattoos. He felt a tug as the energy he held was drawn into Auz. The summoning rune's light grew in intensity as more and more of his power flowed into it. All the while, he kept drawing more of the energy of the Abyss into himself to replace what was being taken. It felt like trying to stand in the middle of a rushing river–the force pushing and pulling at him, the chill of the power whirling around and through his body.
It infused him with power and confidence. Made him feel somehow more alive. It was intoxicating and addicting.
And knowing the dreams that were sure to follow, it scared him.
They were always worse right after he summoned a creature. In his dreams, he saw himself as a monster, bending those around him, torturing strangers and his friends in equal measure, letting loose horrible beasts to destroy whole villages and towns. Ean had no idea if his dreams were glimpses of Zin's former master or manifestations of his own fears. Either way, they kept him from summoning too many creatures and becoming more and more addicted to his own power.
"Focus."
Auz's voice brought him back to the task at hand. Moments later, a mirror of the rune appeared on the surface of the ground in front of the pot. It pulsed along with the rune on Auz, like two heartbeats perfectly in sync. Then, with one final surge, Ean activated the rune.
With a flash, the rune flared then disappeared. In its place, a circular hole opened up in the ground, a purple mist shrouded everything below a hand's breadth from the surface. Small flashes of light illuminated the mist as bolts of lightning danced around the edges.
Ean had seen dozens of portals into the Abyss. Had created them. But each time, the sight of a small doorway to another world filled him with awe. What would it be like to spend a day in such a chaotic world? How many different creatures lived on the multiple layers of the Abyss? Thousands? Tens of thousands? How many different intelligent species were like the Yulari or the Crux? Flipping through the Abyssmal Tome, a book that could reveal all of the secrets of the Abyss if he could actually read it, only gave him a taste of what the world was like on the other side of the portal. How many new creatures would he someday bring into this world?
Well, he was about to meet another one.
The first thing he saw was a shadow slithering around in the haze, rising and swelling larger with each passing moment. When it finally broke through the haze, it looked like a fountain of clear liquid had spouted out of the hole. The water broke into four separate streams, jetting forth in opposite directions. The streams extended into the air and broke off, like arms reaching out for the small pot of water nearby.
When it was completely free of the hole, the water sprite extended its body until it was tall enough to lean over the pot. Then it seemed to fill itself up and dip into the water. Even below the water, the form of the sprite was visible to Ean as it swam around. It had a slight glow that delineated its form, as tiny ripples were created as it moved about.
"An infant, newly spawned by the size of it," Zin said, peering down at their newest addition. “They get abandoned at birth, those not already born into captivity, so you probably saved its life.”
"Really?" It was hard for Ean not to feel disappointed. From the stories he had heard growing up, intermixed with the insults about his parents, the Vunvuanima that had first lived in their valley had been twice the size of the average man. "I was hoping for one a bit more mature."
"Auz cannot control what is summoned just as Ean cannot. Can create the runes, but without a name, summoning is random."
"Yes, I understand that Auz, but . . . I don't know. How long do they take to mature?"
"It’s completely random." Zin stuck a finger in the water and swirled it around. The water sprite started doing circles with him. "Having a good supply of its element will help it grow faster, but maturity-wise their growth is as random as their thoughts."
"Well, it is good that we can give it a better chance of survival than it would have had in the Abyss. Do you think it will be able to clean up the marsh?"
"If its kind can clean the cesspools of the sewers in the Quo’Li’Grun in the Abyss, then I'm sure
it can handle your little marsh. It might take one this small a while before you start to see any change."
"So, you're telling me that I'm going to release it into the marsh and all that's going to happen is that it will start swimming around?"
"Probably."
"You could have told me all of this before I invited the whole village to watch its release."
"How was I supposed to know you would get an infant? Maybe just knowing that a sprite has returned and will eventually clean up the marsh will put the villagers in a good mood." Pulling his finger free of the water, he gave it a little shake. "It is friendly at least. You should probably give it a name."
"What's a good name for it?"
"Most of the ones in captivity are named by the section of the sewers they are kept. I don't think that would be a good idea for this one. Give it a normal name. If it shoots water at you, then it probably doesn't like it. Or it might like it and spray you anyway. Like I said before, Vunvuanima are fickle creatures."
“Is it a boy or a girl?”
“We won’t know until it’s older.”
Ean knelt down in front of the pot and watched the sprite swim around happily in the water. A good name for the creature . . . Well, it was meant to transform the marsh into a spring, bring a little happiness to the villagers. Ean had also brought it about to help heal his relationship with the people outside his home, both for the actions of his parents and for his invasion of the mine . . .
"Zin, do you know the word for ‘heal’ in the language of the Abyss?"
"Yes. It’s actually close to my name. Sinar. It means to ‘heal or fix.’"
"Sinar," Ean repeated. "What do you think, little Vunvuanima? Do you like the name Sinar?"
The sprite stopped its swirling about and poked what Ean imagined was its head above the surface. Ean pointed at it again.
“Sinar,” he said, motioning towards the creature bobbing in the water.
Enemies and Allies (Bound to the Abyss Book 3) Page 3