by Ian Rodgers
“Th-these burns are the mark of my folly… I tried to help him fight off the monsters assaulting the World Tree, only to be shown how utterly helpless I was before the might of the Void,” the Dryad wept. “H-he saved me… at the cost of his own life… I will never forget his kindness.”
As Dora began to attempt to heal the terrible wounds on the Dryad’s body, the wooden woman reached out and grabbed Dora by the front of her robes, pulling her closer.
“Please, don’t let anyone else die,” the dryad begged. “Don’t let the Void consume your world, too…”
The Healer who’d been chasing after her finally made it to the dryad’s side, and she began to apply some more Light magic onto the cursed burns alongside Dora.
Feeling awkward just standing there, Gaelin got down on one knee and looked the woman in the eyes.
“We won’t fail. I promise.” I bobbed in agreement, and reached out with a tendril to pat her on the head reassuringly.
The dryad smiled happily at us before wheezing painfully as another bout of pain flared through her body. She collapsed, unmoving upon the floor, and the Healers conjured up a stretcher made from solid light that they loaded her onto.
“Please forgive her, the pain makes her act out at times,” the dryad’s Healer said apologetically.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about,” I said, waving her off. “Just make sure she’s feeling better.”
The Healer bowed her head towards me in thanks before hurrying off, pushing the floating stretcher laden with the dryad out of the cafeteria.
That left the three of us standing there, whispers wafting around the room while curious gazes observed us.
~(o)~
“And where do you three think you’re going?”
As Lady Shyla’s voice rang out, Gaelin and Nora both flinched and froze in their spots. As I was riding on the halberdier’s pauldron, I came to a halt along with them.
“Um, hello, Lady Shyla,” I said, waving a tendril at our mentor awkwardly. “This, uh, this is not what it looks like?”
“Really? So, you three aren’t sneaking out of the Hospice via the teleportation arrays and trying to return to Erafore?” the legendary Healer asked, an eyebrow raised at us in disbelief. “And you aren’t doing this because of what happened in the cafeteria yesterday?”
“She was right, though!” Dora protested. “We can’t let the World Rebellion destroy our home! Our friends and family are still there!”
“We thank you for the training and help you’ve given us, my lady, but we can’t stay in the Aether any longer. We have to go back and confront the Void on our own turf,” Gaelin declared firmly. Lady Shyla looked at us with a weary expression before sighing heavily.
“The three of you are such fools,” she stated. “The Void, and by extension the World Rebellion, have rules they must follow whenever they try to conquer a world. One of those all-important rules is that they cannot act towards the destruction of reality unless the Chosen Ones destined to fight them are on the world as well. Therefore, as long as you are here, the World Rebellion cannot act.”
“How do we know they’ll actually obey?” Dora retorted. “Isn’t the Void capable of annulling anything that stands against it?”
“Aun and Zard were equals when both were active, and the Rules of Reality were written by Aun to limit both himself and his brother and are intrinsically tied to their very beings. Zard cannot break the rules any more than he could escape his prison, or his own minions will pay the price. If the World Rebellion did try to act against Erafore, the Powers That Be would wipe the perpetrators from existence,” Shyla explained. “Why do you think the World Rebellion only began to act openly when you, Jellik, were born?”
“Me?” I asked in disbelief. “Are you saying I’m to blame?”
“No, not at all!” the Healer hastily tried to amend. “What I meant was, when Princess Liliana Roan’s Bloodline Trait Miraculous Mystery activated and gave you a mind and soul of your own, that was the exact moment you became a Chosen One. Furthermore, that was the start of when the World Rebellion was able to begin to operate freely on Erafore.”
“So the Chosen One’s presence accelerates the destruction of a world, despite them being the only thing capable of stopping said destruction?” Gaelin asked in bewilderment. “How does that make sense?”
“To us mortals, it doesn’t,” Shyla agreed with a grimace. “But this is a deal between entities so old they existed before the War in Heaven, which sundered the Afterlife. It is as unbreakable as it is uncompromising. As such, the best I and my companions can do is train you here in the Aether so you can become strong enough to fend for yourselves back on Erafore.”
“Why don’t Chosen Ones just stay in the Aether, then?” I asked, before the answer hit me. “Oh, right. The spawn of Typhon.”
“Yes, they are in charge of hunting down Chosen Ones who try to flee their duties. And, if Typhon’s brood do manage to kill a Chosen One, then Fate has to choose a new hero, who will inevitably cause the World Rebellion to resume their actions. It is a temporary solution at best.”
“Well, then send us to Barron! Let us finish our training!” Dora pleaded. “I’ve learned so much from you, and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that. But I want to do more! I want to fight! Please, Lady Shyla!”
The cursed Healer stared at Dora’s resolute expression, then glanced at Gaelin and I. Both of us were also firm in our convictions, and agreed whole-heartedly with Dora’s statement. We needed to learn how to fight and kill the Void’s minions. We needed to finish our training so we could protect Erafore!
“I suppose there is not much left for me to teach you,” Lady Shyla said to Dora after a long pause. “Your Healing ability has already reached A-rank, and your manipulation of Light magic is at S-rank. Combined with the knowledge Lady Dramhyda and myself have given you, I admit there is little more I can offer.”
“As for you, Mister Arcros,” she began, turning to me and Gaelin, “your therapy hasn’t gone as well as I’d like, but at least you can control your outbursts better. I wish I could do more for your Berserker armor, though. And Jellik, Grandmaster Storj has praised your talents in alchemy profusely. Plus, from what I understand, you’re skilled as a leader. Or, at the very least, skilled at keeping the other two in line.”
“That was the best way to compliment one person while insulting another I’ve ever heard,” I said in response. “Thank you, I try to keep these knuckleheads alive.”
“You say that like you’ve never done something stupid and had to be rescued from it,” Dora said to me with a roll of her eyes.
“And that’s what you guys are for! I keep you two safe from your mistakes – while also making fun of you for them – and you two do the same for me! See? We make a great team!” I said excitedly, wobbling back and forth.
Lady Shyla giggled at that. “Reminds me of the speech Barron gave me when all six of us first teamed up together. He said, ‘I’m not your nanny, so instead of fixing your problems, I’ll laugh at you until you fix ‘em yourself.’ A true leader, he was.”
We all snorted at that. “Going to have to add that little tidbit to the history books,” I snickered.
“So, all of you are certain this is what you want?” the Living Saintess inquired, and we all nodded. “All right, then. Here.”
She handed me a black marble. “This is the portal to Quilloth, the Elemental Plane of Darkness. It will take you to a location close to Barron’s hideout. Your objective is to find it.”
“Can we get a little more?” I asked. “Perhaps some directions, maybe a clue or two?”
“Of course,” Lady Shyla chuckled. “You’ll find Barron on a black comet that endlessly circles the largest rabbit hutch in all of the Aether. That is your clue.”
“Despite being cryptic as all get out, it is more helpful than any of the directions the other Six Heroes we’ve met so far gave,” I said, depressed by that fact. Gaelin snorted in amusement and Dora shook her head
, a grin on her face. Shyla coughed awkwardly and looked to the side, embarrassed.
“Well! If you’re going to go, you might as well do it now…” the Healer began, only to pause as a chirp echoed through the hallway. The Celestial Dove appeared, flying towards us, a look of indignation in its eyes.
“It’s mad we’re leaving without saying goodbye,” Dora guessed, her familiarity with animals giving her a hand on understanding the divine avian’s mood.
It flapped its way over to Gaelin, tweeting at his face. With great force of will, the halberdier did not try to punch or swat the bird away. Instead, he clenched and unclenched his fists before looking down at his feet.
“I figured out why you keep bothering me,” Gaelin announced, looking back up at the Celestial Dove after taking a deep breath. It tilted its head in response.
“You’re the god of flying creatures. Doesn’t matter if they’re birds or bats, dragons or griffons. If they fly, they belong to you. And ever since I obtained my Shapeless Raiment, I too have been under your domain.” Gaelin folded his arms, daring the bird to contradict his statement. The Celestial Dove just continued to hover silently in front of his face, so he continued.
“I love to fly,” Gaelin admitted. “I love the sense of freedom the Shapeless Raiment grants me as I soar through the clouds, watching everything that seems large on the ground shrink to the size of toys. And that love is why you’re so attached to me, isn’t it?”
At that, the Celestial Dove flew over and perched atop his helmet, and we all giggled as the rainbow-winged dove puffed up its chest, taking credit for Gaelin’s love of flying.
The halberdier rolled his eyes, before continuing. “Yes, it’s hard distancing my anger from what other birds did to me and my friend in the past, but I still love being free and flying more than I hate your kind. So, with that said, I won’t actively hunt you or your kin down. Doesn’t mean I won’t defend myself, though.”
The Celestial Dove chirped loudly and happily, flying off of Gaelin’s helmet and circling him for a bit before fluttering over to Lady Shyla and landing on her right shoulder. The Living Saintess smiled widely at Gaelin.
“I’m glad you’ve managed to come to terms with the Celestial Dove, and yourself,” she said, proud of his self-revelation. “And it seems I’m not the only one.”
Dora giggled and pointed at Gaelin’s head, where three feathers, each one the color of the rainbow, sat upon him. He reached up and pulled them off, before handing one to me, and another to Dora, keeping the last one for himself.
“If you ever need help from a bird, show them that feather, and it will allow you to ask of them a single request,” the legendary Healer explained. “The feather will turn to dust afterwards, though. Still, a gift from the Celestial Dove is a boon few ever have the chance to receive. Use it wisely.”
“Thank you,” all three of us said in sync, bowing slightly towards the Living Saintess and the Celestial Dove.
That done, I threw the black marble behind us, where a whirlpool of black ink appeared. The vortex to the Elemental Plane of Darkness felt sticky to my magic sensitive body, and was unpleasant to look at with my senses. But, we stepped up to it all the same, and jumped through it, excitement and anticipation welling up in our souls.
One final hero to find. One final task to complete. And then we’d be ready to return back home!
Chapter 16: From the light comes the darkness
Traveling through the portal was like wading through mud. The magic of the vortex clung to the skin and soul, and there was always a strange smell in the air, despite there being no air or way to smell things while traveling via dimensional rifts.
Yet the feeling of being dragged through sticky sludge remained, and when the portal finally spat us out at our destination, all three of us were choking on non-existent stenches and scrubbing our bodies to get the sticky feeling to go away.
“That was one of the most unpleasant experiences I’ve had,” Gaelin gasped out, on his hands and knees as he panted heavily.
“Oh, yes, that was awful!” Dora agreed, shuddering in disgust. “The way the dimensional energies coiled around us…”
“The Element of Darkness does oppose that of Light, and being divinely appointed Chosen Ones it makes sense that Quilloth would make its displeasure about us coming here known,” I pointed out, shedding a layer of my gelatinous body in an attempt to get rid of the grimy sensations. “Doesn’t mean it’s any less weird or uncomfortable.”
After composing ourselves, we stood up and looked around, examining our landing site. We stood on ground that was a luminous purple stone of some kind. It was smooth, but pocked with craters. Interestingly, within the craters bloomed salmon colored flowers that hummed as the wind blew past.
Above our heads, though, was a stunning view. Quilloth was the realm of the Element of Darkness, but it was nothing like I expected. Instead of endless gloom and shadows, the heavens were lit up by a multitude of shining and glowing objects that filled the infinite dark emptiness with motes of light.
‘It’s like looking up into space,’ I thought to myself in awe. Each ‘star’ was actually its own planetoid, however, which glowed faintly, providing the illumination for the rest of the vast plane.
Like Luminoth, the ‘sky’ was littered with countless floating objects, but here in Quilloth, they came in different sizes and shapes. One celestial body looked like a red cube, while another resembled a green cone. These planetoids were all different sizes, much like the golden discs of the Elemental Plane of Light. The one we currently stood on, for example, wasn’t all that big, probably only slightly bigger than the island Celbrem had left us on back in Aerum.
“It’s beautiful,” Dora breathed out in awe, and I could only bob in agreement. Gaelin nodded, before scratching the back of his head.
“What were the directions again?” He asked me, and I wobbled back and forth in thought.
“Um, we can find Barron on a black comet that orbits the largest rabbit hutch in the Aether. I am going to assume this means that we have to find a planetoid covered in rabbits. That should be our first objective,” I said.
“Interesting. I wonder what kind they’ll be? Large and vicious? Or perhaps cuddly and docile?” the halberdier mused. “Personally, I hope for the latter, but given how this is the Elemental Plane of Darkness, odds are more likely that it’ll be the former we run into.”
“Know about any interesting rabbit type monsters, Jellik?” Dora asked me.
“Well, besides Dire Rabbits, I know there are Horned Rabbits, also known as Jackalope. Those live primarily in the Valley of Horns, though, so I’ve never seen one,” I said, thinking it over. “Besides that, I think there is a species called a Moon Rabbit that lives in Distant Qwan, but again, I’ve never been there, so I can’t say I know more than what a few bestiaries have recorded.”
“I ran into Horned Rabbits once,” Gaelin said. “Tasty, and not all that tough. Preferred to run rather than stay to fight an opponent. Soft fur, though.”
“Well, Dora, you heard the expert,” I replied with a chuckle. “soft and tasty. That’s about the sum of our experience with rabbits. Unless you’ve seen any before?”
“Back when I lived with my mother in Far Reach, we would occasionally have hares trying to eat the crops, but that’s it. And the Cracked Land is no place for herbivores,” she replied.
“Hmm. Well, I guess it’ll be exciting to see what new kinds of monsters live out here!” I said, trying to find the silver lining. Dora and Gaelin both rolled their eyes at me before turning their gazes up at the sky.
Gaelin’s Shapeless Raiment fluttered to life and formed a pair of purple wings that lifted him into the sky. Dora pulled her Witch’s Staff from her Bag of Holding, while I happily bounced into the air, and stayed there, using my Fly spell.
We then shot off into the heavens, only to immediately start spinning around helplessly.
“Whoa! What in the Hells is going on?!” Dora cried o
ut. “Why can’t I steer this thing properly?!”
“What the heck just happened?! Everything feels weightless!” Gaelin exclaimed, his Shapeless Raiment flapping around, moving him in circles.
“This reminds me of when I was in Hydrum,” I mused, slightly more stable due to my shape and prior experience with a realm that had three dimensions for travel. “Things felt weightless there, too.”
“It appears that the individual planetoids all have their own objective gravity, but beyond a certain point, there’s nothing,” I informed my friends, watching in amusement as they flailed about, trying to right themselves.
“Just pretend you’re in the water! Try and swim!” I shouted at them. Gaelin was the first to get control of himself, his Shapeless Raiment forming into fins, rather than wings, and that appeared to help him with orienting himself in the zero-gravity environment.
Dora was having a harder time. Her broom-shaped artifact worked best when there was a defined ‘up’ and ‘down’ for the purpose of directions. But she eventually managed to trick the artifact by using her mana to convince it that ‘up’ was whatever direction she was currently facing. It took some wiggling, but she did it!
“That was annoying,” she muttered. “Now, where to?”
“Obviously, the first step is to find a settlement. Hopefully, anyone who lives in this plan should know where the largest collection of rabbits in all of Reality is,” I informed her.
“Well, not like we have any idea where there might be a village or town in this place,” Gaelin pointed. “Where do we start looking?”
“Let’s try and find the biggest planetoid around. Something big enough to hold a couple dozen houses or so,” Dora suggested, and I bobbed in agreement.
“Sounds like a good place to start,” I stated, and peered through the Elemental Plane with my magical senses, trying to find a large concentration of life force. “Hmm, I’m detecting something up ahead. Maybe a couple dozen miles or so? There’s a lot of living creatures in the direction.”
Following my pointing tendril, we began to fly through the cosmos-like realm of Quilloth. We passed by a colony of horse-sized, four-winged bats, and saw a strange, cosmic whale-squid that was devouring an entire planetoid off in the distance. We decided to steer clear of such a vast monster, and changed directions so we wouldn’t run into it.