“I do not answer to you, Mystic King,” Evangeline said.
He was frightened. It was like he was not talking to Evangeline. It was like she was an entirely different person.
“Is that how you address a comrade now? A friend, Grand Sage?” he replied as though to mock her.
“Let’s be honest, you never considered me as a friend,” Evangeline suddenly said. “Nor were the others. We are together out of mere convenience for the deity of this world,” she said as she walked past him.
Still stunned, he turned to her, “What are you saying? It makes no sense, Evangeline.”
“It’s fine, Ravaen. I have already made up my mind now. This war will end in a Unibeltrasian victory,” she said in a disturbingly calm tone.
“Evangeline, I’m confused — are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Ravaen. For now, I worry about the outcome. So I need to make up my mind, on how I will start the plan to end all of this.”
“Then tell us. We want to end this as much as you do. But you know the chain of command — no, you know we are here for you. We will help you. Just tell us what you need,”
“I am independent of that command,” she suddenly turned to him as she cut him off. “I was granted the freedom to do what I must and I will make use of it,” she said as a sheet of pinkish maroon slowly started to cover her. “I will be leaving now, Mystic King. My army will take it from here.”
As she was fully enveloped by the sphere, she disappeared the next minute with it.
He did not know what to make of what they just had. He wasn’t even sure if he could call it a conversation at all. But he knew she was somehow in distress. He could feel it. The disturbing calmness that she exhibited after she razed an entire citadel, he was terrified of it.
He flew outside as his men continued to help the soldiers.
“Let’s go,” he shouted to his men.
The Falcons were confused so they paused with what they were doing. His lieutenant then flew to him, “Sire, we can’t just leave them here.”
“That’s an order,” he said then flew away.
The Falcons had no choice but to follow him and so they did. He continued to fly back where they came from when the lieutenant flew close to him again.
“Sire, why did we leave? We need to help the Orderians with what happened,” the lieutenant argued.
“I have more pressing matters to discuss with the commanders that need to be dealt with now. We need to go back to Termosad,” he said and flew ahead.
He gritted his teeth to the thought that Evangeline had not thought of them as friends. Maybe she was right with Aderon. But for him, there was a bond. Or was it just him?
He felt it when the war had just dawned on them. Now he worried that they might have had an enemy within their ranks. And of all the people that could’ve been a brewing traitor, it had to be the most powerful being in the entire world. He feared that Evangeline was turning into their enemy.
EVANGELINE APPEARED from her teleport orb in the middle of the sea. She turned to her right, then to her left and saw islands from afar. She spun slowly as she looked at her surroundings and saw she was where she wanted to be.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes and her hair slowly turned dark pink and her face dark purple like what had happened before, the day her parents were murdered. The dark purple that coated her face slowly covered her lower body and then, as she opened her eyes she released the most excruciating scream that echoed in all directions.
Waves of immense size grew as she released the power and anger she had been keeping.
She slowly began to calm down as she tried to collect herself. The dark purple disappeared and shed from her body and her hair slowly returned to normal.
She hugged her feet to her chest with her eyes still glowing pink. Tears ran down quietly as she thought of everything that had happened so far and the possible outcome that it might lead to.
She was slowly piecing together the enemy’s plan and it scared her. From the raids to the latest attack in the La’Sarien Forest. She was angry at herself for not having done enough. But what bothered her most was that an Orderian was behind all of it. It was one of her people. More powerful than any magister she had ever met. She was sure now that it was an outsider, but an outsider of orderian origin.
At first she was confused as to what this being was doing. It seemed random at first. A petty raid of possible treasure filled tombs and temples across all of Arumar. But she slowly saw a pattern.
The tombs that were raided had symbols from the past that her books already showed her. They were symbols of darkness. They were symbols used during the dark chapters in the history of the world that they have come to known their home.
Past warlords, criminals, leaders of rebellions and fallen kingdoms of the old, they were remnants of the Old and the Great Wars that she knew would still have significance to this day. But still she couldn’t see the point. Until the raid she just did.
The citadel of Oroz’Kram was used by the raider, the orderian outsider. She remembered what she saw on the walls of the room she burned. She saw its plan. She was dumbstruck, terrified for what she saw. The walls carved with plans, runes and rituals that could only come from one book; a book that was long lost by the first Grand Sage during their voyage to this world.
In Orderian legend, all their spells came from this one superior book of forbidden spells. The spell on the wall however, gave her the most frightening realization. But she was still not sure if what she saw was genuine.
Though she could sense this enemy was close, in the guise of this dark continent, close enough to the point where the enemy was almost ready — and she may not be prepared on how to deal with this threat.
She promised that she will find a way — she promised this to herself to find a way she could already see fleeting beyond the sunset. But darkness sometimes bring in new light, a new hope; and out of this hope, she slowly realized what was needed to be done. For in this darkness, she remembered the promise of a Unibeltrasian victory — at all costs.
She made up her mind at that she would have to be prepared to do what must be done.
End of chapter XVI
XVII: The Venis’ Accusation
Sevidon wasted no time. He had little to no sleep as he rode quickly to Tamara.
The enormous doors creaked as it opened the throne room where Empress Tamara and Prince Tamiron had been waiting for him. Tamiron looked at him as he sent a messenger on his way with the crest of the Kra’ens.
Tamiron approached him and said, “The Kra’ens are currently crossing the empire. They should be at La’Canilenoir’s southern part within the week and from then on, they would be moving much faster.” Tamiron then stopped in front of him, “So now begs the question, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the front?”
“This is a matter of importance that I cannot simply ignore. Everyone needs to know about this,” he said as he continued to look around. “Can we please have the room?” he requested of him.
Tamiron looked at his sister to which her eyebrows raised together, but obliged and cleared the room. They were alone now with Tamara. He immediately headed towards the wines and drank most of it from the bottle.
“Sevidon, are you alright?” Tamiron said, concerned of his odd behavior.
“I’m fine. I’ve just been riding to Tamara for several days nonstop,” he said as he felt refreshed from the wines.
“From the front?” Tamara asked.
“No, from Eiventolf.” he answered bluntly.
“Wait, how long have you been away from the front?” Tamiron confusedly asked.
“Several weeks. Again it’s because of something important,” he reiterated.
“So that’s why Aderon was furious. He won’t tell me why,” Tamiron said.
“He’s trying to keep everything in order apparently. He doesn’t want to appear disorganized,” Tamara made the observation.
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��I didn’t realize you guys were too much for him to handle,” Tamiron said as he walked towards the window as he held a piece of folded paper on one hand. “I’ll just let Aderon do what he thinks is right.”
“Aderon is the least of our worries,” Sevidon suddenly said as he got both of their attention. “What’s that paper?” he asked as he tried to calm his own nerves.
“This is from the south. The elven armies just crossed our borders. They should arrive not long after the Kra’ens do – which I’m sure is not the reason why you are here,”
He only grew silent and looked at Tamiron. He was hesitant to tell him, but he knew that he needed to know, they needed to know.
“So what is it then, and why haven’t you answered my question as to why you were in Eiventolf. And of all places, you chose to go to the Viris capital,” Tamiron said.
“I was there because I needed to find out about something,” he said.
“About what? Just say it,” Tamiron pressed on.
He could see he was already tired of waiting as to why he was there. He finally composed himself and said, “About Evangeline.”
“What is it you need to know about the Grand Sage, especially at the Viris capital, of all places, General? I’m sorry but I really do not follow,” Tamara confusedly asked him.
“Let me explain.”
“Please, be our guest. Because I’m pretty sure you being here does not mean well,” Tamara said.
He took a deep breath and bravely said, “I believe the raids that had happened in all of our kingdoms are not random. This is not a mere act of rebellion or any rebellious entities. But by one person to spur fear to the very much defenseless inner kingdoms,” he explained.
“And what connection does this have with Evangeline, Sevidon?” Tamiron asked.
“The recent attack in the Iron Kingdom held something very plausible for my cause. Graveloth told me about the attacker. He had glowing pink eyes with patterns in it. A powerful magic wielder.”
Tamiron’s eyes widened. “Are you saying —”
“Yes, I have already made up my mind that it was indeed, Evangeline who were raiding the tombs,” he said.
“Impossible, Sevidon. She couldn’t have done that. Let alone be in several far flung territories in the Arumar continent,” Tamiron raised his voice slightly.
“I thought of that too. That is why I went back to Eiventolf. In the past, the Viris elves were the first to make contact with the Orderians. And in that point in history, we have exchanged books and knowledge. Some of those books are still kept at the Grand Elven Library. Though I did not find out anything about the Grand Sage as to how she could be in several places at the same time. That place however held a threat to her, prompting her to teleport to the library,” he explained.
“She what? I’m sorry, but you are giving me a headache. What do you mean teleport? We have several high skilled magisters here in the palace as well and I have never heard them anyone powerful enough to do it,” Tamara said as she rubbed her forehead in frustration.
“Me neither. But she did, covered in a cloak as she hovered above me. The description that Graveloth gave, I saw it in her eyes. I called out her name and she turned. She knew me and I believe she knew why I was there,” Sevidon said as he looked at Tamiron who seemed to be awfully quiet now. “Tamiron, we need to act now. She destroyed our library and was whisked away by a maroon fabric-like thing that appeared out of nowhere and she disappeared with it. She knew I’m on to her. She could turn on us at any minute,” he insisted but Tamiron still wasn’t talking.
“General, I’m going to interrupt you for a moment,” Tamara said as she walked down from her throne, “how can you be sure that it was Evangeline who attacked the library in Eiventolf?”
“I called out to her and she looked at me. She is the only Orderian I know of that has patterns in her eyes. Both were colored pink as well. And her hands, her right hand to be precise, has a ring that only the Grand Sage is allowed to wear,” he explained himself to her. But he felt uneasy for he thought that they were getting nowhere.
Tamara and Tamiron looked at each other. They were uneasy at that point. She sighed and walked away and Tamiron was still silent.
“Do you not believe me?” he asked Tamiron, his eyes fixated into his. “Why won’t you believe me?”
Tamiron had had it and simply walked away.
“Answer me!” Sevidon shouted at him.
“Because it will not be worth it!” Tamiron answered back as he faced him. “Do you honestly think we would be a match for her? She is the most powerful person in the entire continent. Her army alone is full of wizards and magisters that are equally powerful compared to us. Lives are at stake.”
“Lives are at stake with or without her on our side, don’t you see?” he explained as he laughed from the absurdity that Tamiron showed. But Tamiron simply refused to listen which made his frustration grow.
“We need her and her power. Now more than ever,” Tamiron explained calmly.
“At what cost? She could turn on us any minute. The fact that she is not even at the camp nor her army most of the time is suspicious enough. Millions of lives are at stake. Not just the lives of the united armies, which we already lost hundreds, no thousands, because of this forsaken war, but the lives of innocent people in every kingdom,” he pleaded with him.
“Are you saying that the empire could never fulfill its role of protecting the inner kingdoms, General? Because I can certainly tell you right now the remainder of the imperial armies still in the empire is more than capable of defending the fatherland,” Tamara interrupted, as she felt insulted by what he said.
“That is not what I meant, your Grace. If you could only see what Evangeline can do, then I do believe that not even your brother can go against her. Imagine what an elite magister is capable of then,” he explained to her. “Your highness, with all due respect talk to your brother! As of now we don’t even know where she or her army is! Maybe they are still in the Shardon continent but again — we can never be fully sure now because of what she had done!”
“I know where she is and what she is doing,” Tamiron suddenly said then grabbed another piece of paper from a nearby table and he handed it to him as he walked away.
Sevidon began to read it and his face grew cold.
“We just received that two days ago. It happened a week ago. Ravaen contacted me first about this before he reported this to Aderon,” Tamiron explained as though he himself could not believe this.
“She’s out of control. That is the biggest fortified citadel in both continents! Yes, it’s a ruin but still fortified with heavy presence from the Xerxecians. And she just blew it up like it’s nothing?” he said, still in disbelief.
“As the report said, Evangeline grew impatient somehow. Which she never showed throughout their campaign,” Tamiron said further as he grabbed himself a drink as well.
“Tamiron, we need to confront her. We need to act quickly. These attacks will not stop. She will not stop. You know this,” he pleaded but it fell on deaf ears.
“I’m sorry, Sevidon. But I simply cannot act on this. Not in the current state that we are now. We need her strength,” Tamiron again tried to justify what he was trying to do.
“Your power is what we need, not hers. Yours is enough, your sister the queen knows that,” he pointed out but Tamara seemed to avert eye contact after that.
Tamiron looked at his iron hands for a moment, “I’ve already tarnished the purpose of these hands, my friend. Never again will I use these.”
“Tamiron, snap out of it! How many times do we have to tell you that it wasn’t you who did those awful things? What if she was the one who did this to you in the first place?”
“Maybe it was me!” Tamiron shouted to him.
He was stunned, didn’t know how to react to what Tamiron just said. He looked at Tamara who was dumbfounded as well.
“Maybe I was. I felt everything. I had no control, but I felt everyth
ing. I knew what I was doing, but powerless to stop it,” Tamiron said as he clenched his fists and took a deep breath, and then looked at him. “Never again,”
It was hopeless. He knew Tamiron had already made up his mind, and by the looks of his sister, he thought even she could not do anything now.
It was only a matter of time, and he blamed Tamiron’s cowardice for it.
“It will not end well for us if we let her continue,” he said as his voice was gripped. He tried to control himself as best as possible.
“She is still fighting for our side. Until then, we ought not worry of her,” Tamiron said.
Words that pierced through him that he will never forget. For the uneasy feeling in his chest would only get worse because of it.
“Can I talk as a friend, Tamiron?” he asked.
Tamiron only looked at him and nodded.
“You are making a big mistake trusting her.”
“General Sevidon, I do appreciate the audience that you have given us. As my brother still holds the title of Commander of the Unibeltrasian Forces, he can only think of the decisions that are best for the united forces’ goal. And that is to eliminate once and for all the Xerxecian threat,” Tamara suddenly said. “I, on the other hand, am the ruler of the Trasidar Empire and will take into great consideration this information you have given us.”
“I am pleased to hear that, your Majesty.” he said to give respect to her. It was not what he had hoped, but at least what he said did not fall to deaf ears after all.
“Prince Tamiron, with the current situation and the recent development at the front, I do suggest you go back to Termosad Camp immediately and assume your command once again. Your job here is done,” Tamara said.
“But—”
“That is an order from your Queen. It is for the best. And besides, certain trouble is now brewing within the chain of command of the top leaders of the united forces. Remember all of you have the bulk of the entire armies of the Unibeltrasian kingdoms. A feud from some of you will most likely result to a war,” Tamara said as she stood her ground firmly.
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