by Jeremy Dwyer
Blazer Darakizar then said: “The justice of the suns means burning fire.”
At this, the three (3) Blazers reached out their hands and drew water from the sea – streams of water actually lifted from the ocean below, floating through the air – and they turned it to blue flames in their hands. By these flames, they rose into the sky and then burned the Tidal Sovereign and the corpses of its crew to ashes. Victoria’s body burned the hottest of them all. Then, the Torches of Majesty soared away through the sky in blue fire.
~~~
Everyone on the Persistent saw the sudden attack that sprung from the darkness upon the crew of the Tidal Sovereign and the flames that engulfed the ship and the bodies of the crew when the Torches of Majesty set fire to it.
Judith and Ovid were both filled with great relief and wrote the account in their books.
“She’s cooked!” Brant said.
“I knew they were good for something,” Rayner said.
“The Torches of Majesty serve a dangerous master. Do not forget that. Though we shared an enemy in Victoria, we are still not their allies,” Lady Onora said.
“An ally for a moment may become a future friend,” Daven said.
“Be not deceived, Daven. An ally of convenience may just as easily become an enemy when convenient,” Lady Onora said.
“Whoever killed the rest of the crew did so under the cover of darkness, without being seen. My eyes did not fall upon them, so it remains a secret to me,” Guillermo said. This was a mystery he wanted solved, if only to have another tale to tell.
“Is the tiara gone?” Joshua asked.
“I don’t see a sign of it – it was probably destroyed in the fire,” Emerond said, looking at the now burning ship.
“The Hidden Paladins killed the rest of the crew and destroyed the tiara – that’s who attacked from the darkness,” Zoe said. Her powers of light – given by the Lujladia Ocean waters she drank – enabled her to witness the attack in the darkness and also to look closely at the fine particles that now floated through the air.
Some particles fell on Zoe’s hand and she examined them even more closely. “It’s been turned to dust,” Zoe said.
Emerond looked into her hand. He could see tiny diamond particles, as he had the ability to examine crystal at the smallest levels due to the powers given to him by the Kazofen Ocean waters he drank. He also saw something else, but it was unclear. “I see the diamond dust, and something else I can’t make out,” Emerond said.
“It’s metallic silver – I know by the way it reflects the light,” Zoe said, who could see it all because of her light powers, but she had a different perspective.
Judith and Ovid looked closely, but could not see any of the fine dust.
“Your eyes see what ours cannot. I will record what you said, but not that I saw it,” Ovid said.
Ovid and Judith both recorded Zoe’s statement about the tiara being destroyed and turned to dust, as well as her claim that the Hidden Paladins did it.
“No one else can have the tiara, then,” Romana said.
“The source of those storms is finally destroyed – I hope to never see another tempest,” Emerond said.
“I’m glad to hear you finally admit the danger and power of the tiara,” Romana said, recalling their earlier conversation – before the many battles – regarding Emerond’s doubts that the tiara could cause storms.
“I can’t deny the battles we fought – or the powers that she wielded in them. There’s no other explanation for those storms, or what she did with the ocean waters and their powers,” Emerond said.
Xal’Kativok/Xavier was disappointed to hear of the object’s destruction, but he did not let his facial expressions betray his disappointment. The power of the tiara would have been useful, both to wield and to understand.
Lavakara was quite pleased because Victoria was destroyed, but he did have his own misgivings about the destruction of the tiara. It might have proved useful, but he did not consider it any great loss.
“That means it’s time to go home. Set a course for Revod,” Emerond said.
“Not yet. We need to go to Emeth. Everything we’ve seen has to be written there,” Judith said.
“By the Sixth Tenet of the Chronicler’s Oath, this is what must be done,” Ovid said.
“And so it shall be done. Set a course for Emeth,” Emerond said. He was bound by this tenet, as were all others persons, whether or not they were Chroniclers of the Oath.
The crew of the Persistent then set their course southwest, toward the city of Emeth.
~~~
In the spirit world, the soul of Victoria opened her spiritual eyes to see only darkness.
“You are now in your eternal home,” a deep and terrifying voice said to Victoria.
“Who speaks to me?” the soul of Victoria called out in terror.
The deep and terrifying voice spoke to her, saying: “I am the Master of Spirits in the Maelstrom of Vengeance.”
“Master? Why did you abandon me in my moment of need and allow the enemy to strike?” the soul of Victoria asked.
“Abandon you? I was never with you, pathetic mortal! I am not the weak master of the waters that you served: he is banished from here by the dreadful powers,” the deep and terrifying voice said.
“Who are you?” the soul of Victoria asked, mystified and terrified.
“I am your new master. Some of those in the world of the living know me as Gadamalto. You shall know me as your eternal tormentor!” the deep and terrifying voice said.
The soul of Victoria then screamed and burned in eternal terror and agony under the power of this demon that she never knew before. There would be no salvation for her, as there was no true love or repentance in her. She had served Matatirot – but this was different from trading her soul to him – so she did not belong to that demon in the same way that others did. Thus, her fate was to burn in this world’s place of torture rather than elsewhere. Gadamalto saw to it that her torment was great, indeed.
~~~
On board the Everlasting Pain, everyone saw what had happened in the material world now that the tempest had ended and the darkness left.
Akantha sensed what had happened in the spiritual world.
“Higher spiritual powers have gathered. The demon was banished! That is how Victoria was defeated – he couldn’t protect her anymore!” Akantha said, having witnessed the shadows of the Guardian Angels striking at Matatirot.
Taesa looked out and fought back tears. She could not believe what had happened, but she knew that Victoria was dead. The woman had murdered so many and lied to Taesa, pretending to be a friend. She deserved to be gone, as far as Taesa was concerned. Still, the moment had its pain, and it was sharp, and lasting.
“The storm is over! And she’s defeated! That’s what matters,” Pradrock said.
“I can’t disagree with that!” Claudia said.
“The stars are falling back into place,” Farovaxen said, looking at the sky.
“With her gone, the tiara has no focus. The effects of the powers she gained from it don’t endure. The waters – and the world around – have returned to their natural order,” Pradrock said.
“Look! Her ship is in flames and the tiara is gone!” Va’Qileren said.
“Did someone steal it? Don’t tell me someone else is going to use that thing! Not again!” Akylas yelled, furious.
“No. Look around us!” Va’Qileren said.
“What do you mean?” Pradrock asked.
Va’Qileren held out his hand and a fine dust – some blue, some metallic silver – had accumulated on it.
“This is all that remains of the tiara – the dust of the blue stones and of the silver band that held them together,” Va’Qileren said. He could see the fine particles because of the fine control he had over light – the Lujladia Ocean waters that he drank gave him not just vision and light over a distance and around corners, but a clear view of even small things – and he knew immediately
what these particles were.
Pradrock looked at it and said: “There isn’t much to see, but I’m willing to trust your vision is better than any of ours.”
“Is everything over now?” Torin asked, as he could not see all that had happened, although he felt the returning warmth and the end of the ice storm. He could even sense that the suns were returning to their proper place. Like everyone else, he could hear that the screams had ended and feel that the aura of hatred had left, as well.
“The war is over, but the world is much worse for it. Too many died,” Claudia said.
“After all of these battles, the seas will be haunted like never before by the spirits of the fallen,” Akantha said.
“The aftermath of this will be no small matter. Those who survived the war will have to rebuild their lives,” Pradrock said.
“And we need to rebuild our relationship,” Caroline said to Taesa, holding both of her daughter’s hands with her own.
“I know we do – and I have a lot to tell you. There were some extraordinary places I went, and things I saw and learned. Things I never even knew existed. You need to understand it, and to believe me,” Taesa said.
END