The Return of the Fifth Stone

by Vincent Todarello

  “Very well,” I affirmed.

  “I must get back now. Remember the signal!” he called back as he walked down the narrow path through the cliffs.

  I continued covering my wings with soot and ash as Gelande instructed, and rested while waiting for the battle to begin. I watched as Scievah’s army took their positions along the palace walls and at battle stations. I could see the barrels that Gelande placed all around the area, in archer towers, beside catapults, and near the gates and doorways. Scievah had no idea. His additional men would be no match for Gelande’s firepower.

  But Scievah had his own tricks in store. I heard a distant drum beat and saw hooded men gathered in circles, chanting. Perhaps more dark wizards, I thought. One area was filled with cages; inside were several large ravenously hungry warbears. Drunken soldiers stood outside the cages taunting the warbears with roasted turkfowl legs, and the warbears roared in anger, shaking their cages. Then I saw some of Scievah’s men carrying what looked like large stone cauldrons up onto the palace walls at various places where they expected intrusions. They were filled with bubbling lava. I hoped Gelande knew of all these measures, and that his plan to get inside the palace walls worked.

  I thought about my father, and how I had been so happy when I saw him alive near the Sepulcre. I thought about Lunaris, and how she filled my heart every time I saw her. I thought about the care and knowledge that Patreus gave me after my parents were taken. I thought about how I would never see them again. I thought about the unknown; what was Eterna? Did it even exist? If so, would I see my mother there? My mind stirred and raced in a time when I needed to be calm and focused on the task of defeating Scievah. What would Scievah look like? Would this corrupted Divinae overpower me? Kill me? Would I even be able to work up the nerve to jump out and test my ability of flight again? I festered on such things, until my thoughts were broken by the distant horn of war reverberating off the scarp. It was the Conch of Aqos.

  #

  I looked out over the dark landscape leading up to the palace and saw our army gathered into various groups, preparing for attack. I looked closely and could see the figures of the Divinae; Felsson’s shape was unmistakable, and the glow and bubble surrounding Hemela and Luna were beacons of light in the darkness. I saw them all but Gelande, who was leading his men to the secret tunnels. I peered out over the ledge to try to see the others; Lunaris, Peitus, Patreus, Fiama and my father. But I could not distinguish them from the others at this distance. I prayed for their safety.

  Several groups of soldiers began to advance on the palace. Our archers lined up on the edge of the chasm and fired arrows across to counter Scievah’s archers. The chasm was no challenge for the Lapisians, but they needed a safe place to fly across. Many flew high in the sky, higher than where I sat, in order to escape the arrows. They made their way over the palace and began to fire arrows down from above. We had an advantage with air combat.

  When Scievah’s archers were thinned down enough, a group of our soldiers crossed the narrow bridge over the chasm leading to the main gates. They hammered away with no success, but many of Scievah’s soldiers on the other side retreated back up to another level in the palace, picking up weapons for close combat. Many were gathered close to Gelande’s barrels. Scievah’s forces were clearing away from the gates for safety. I saw them climbing up onto the walls and approaching the bubbling cauldrons of lava that sat near the main gates. They heaved them over, spilling red hot death over our soldiers who were closest to the gate. I cringed at the sight of this. Many of our soldiers collapsed, never to rise again. The silence of the scene from so far away and so high above was eerily frightening.

  The Conch of Aqos sounded again, and our remaining soldiers at the gate retreated back across the bridge. Scievah’s men fired boulders from the catapults. Our soldiers scattered and dove out of the way as best as they could. Then I saw lights glowing up in the sky; it was like the stars suddenly began to shine in a night sky whose clouds were swept away by the winds. But they were not stars; not down here in the depths of Uhaaretu. It was the Lapisians. They had massive arrows with flaming tips.

  There was a commotion behind the ranks in the palace. Gelande was there, in full flames, hacking and burning through Scievah’s men like a wildfire in dry brush. He made his way into the heart of a large group of soldiers. In the center of them were several barrels of illuminite. He raised his arms up and slammed his hands down upon them. In an instant there was a massive explosion of fire and debris only rivaled by the bursts of Blood Mountain. A moment later I heard the loud rumble as the sound reached me and bounded off the cliff walls. That was it. That was my signal.

  Without thinking about the madness of what I was about to do, I backed up, took a few running steps, and leapt out into the sky. I flapped my wings frantically, but nothing happened. I sank fast, bolting toward the ground below. Then I repeated my actions from when I fell from the dragon; I arched my back upward, stretched my wings out to the sides as far as they could reach, and screamed with effort to lift myself up. It worked. I caught the wind beneath me and began to soar. I lifted my head, bent my body upward and climbed. Slowly, I beat my wings in long swooping motions and climbed even higher. Soon I was back to the height I started, and then I began to take aim toward Scievah’s tower.

  I heard the thunder of Gelande’s explosions below as I soared above. I felt the force of the blasts as they shifted and rumbled the air around me. At one point I even felt the heat from below. I wondered how Gelande could even survive such terror, even if he was impervious to heat. As the explosions cleared, I saw him standing in the middle of the damage unscathed, like a rock out at sea with the waves crashing all around it.

  I soared over the Lapisians, whose flaming arrows ripped through the air and ignited more of Gelande’s barrels below. I kept my distance from the Lapisians and tried to blend into the night sky above. I fast approached Scievah’s tower. I aimed myself towards it, decreasing my speed by tipping my wings slightly so that I could land with my wits still intact, and ready to fight. I left my sword in its sheath, slung across my back and in between my wings. Its distinctive glow would surely have given me away if it were taken out of its leather. My heart raced with panic, fear and the rush of excitement as I approached. My emotions soared with my body, but I focused in order to make sure my mind was blank.

  As I moved in closer I could see the details of Scievah’s tower coming into view. Through the large window I saw a lavishly decorated room within. A fire roared in a stone cauldron in the center, and the smoke rose up into a chimney in the roof that funneled out of the tip of the spire above. I saw a dark, slouched figure pacing back and forth, frustrated. The glow from the room silhouetted him as he looked out the massive opening that served as a window to the war that raged below.

  I glanced down one last time to see our progress as Gelande’s explosions came to an end with another sounding of the Conch of Aqos. Parts of Scievah’s fortifications had crumbled, the main gates were blown off, and our men began to flood into the hold to battle Scievah’s men. Gelande’s men were already behind the most fortified areas, having come up through his secret tunnels.

  Scievah backed into his room, away from the window, and I approached from the side to hide myself. I glided down and onto the window ledge, planting my feet firmly and unsheathing my sword simultaneously. A vast improvement over my last landing.

  “Valdren,” I heard a deep, throaty voice speak. I looked around, unable to see where it was coming from. I squinted to focus on the shadowy, dark parts of the room, but my eyes took a moment to adjust upon seeing the contrasting bright flames in the center of the room. “I’ve been expecting you.” He spoke again, and my head swiftly spun around to locate the source of the voice. The flames in the center of the room seemed to mysteriously die down to a faint glow. “Looking for someone?” he asked mockingly. It was like he was invisible; his voice seemed to come from everywhere. My eyes found two short marble pillars with stones on them,
both about the size of a man’s head. The power stones. They were both jagged shaped and radiating with a serene glow. One pulsated red and orange, and the other green and yellow. They were magnificent and beautiful. “See something you like?” He laughed at himself, enjoying the sound of his voice.

  “Show yourself, coward!” I demanded.

  I put my hand out and focused my thoughts on the fire. It soon ignited as my thoughts dwelled upon it, like the campfire in the rain, only faster and more powerful. The flames grew and the cauldron lit the room once again. It was as I expected when fighting Hadlick; the powers could be used for certain things and not others. I was able to create fire for warmth and light, but not for harm. But Scievah was cloaked with invisibility somehow; he was nowhere to be seen.

  Then a cloud of dark smoke hovered beside the fire in the middle of the room and became dense. It began to take shape in the form of a slouched man in a hooded black robe, and soon Scievah stood before me. His body was thin and gaunt, as if sick with some kind of ravenous plague. His face was elongated; not ugly, but not handsome either. I expected a handsome and charming man of confident stature to be able to convince and persuade so many to his cause. Several talismans dangled from his neck and shimmered with corruption. They rested upon an embroidered design of his crest that adorned his ornate robe just below the neckline.

  I charged at him with my sword at the ready. He put his head down and turned from me while reaching his hand backward with his palm up. Suddenly I was jolted back, as if shoved by some invisible force that thrust outward from his hand. I flew through the air, landing on the polished stone floor. I watched as he walked toward the stones. I was no match for these kinds of powers.

  “You have incredible powers, yet you know not what they are or how to use them. Such a shame.” He feigned lament as he turned around. “Not just the powers of those with so called ‘true purity,’ or the Gift, but the power of the Fifth Stone.”

  He raised both hands up as he stood behind the two pillars that held the stones. One of his hands was malformed; burnt and curled into a shriveled black twist. It was the hand he used when he first touched the Firestone. He slowly brought his arms down above the stones as if he pushed down on them without touching them. As he did this, I felt a crushing weight press down upon me, holding me down and preventing me from getting up. My confidence drained and the weight soon bore pressure upon my resolve. I was defeated.

  “Imagine what can be done if they are touched,” he spoke about the stones.

  “I’m not interested,” I said.

  “Just what Ver’Deiro said, before I had him killed. I suppose your answer should have been obvious to me, seeing as though you don’t even yet have command over your own abilities.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked despite knowing it was exactly what he wanted me to say. I felt strangely outside myself in his presence. I knew he was trying to fuel my desires, but I felt weak and powerless before him.

  “You have just as much power as your ancient friends down there, who tear through my home and the homes of my men so recklessly and without care.”

  “You won’t convince me of your innocence, you corrupt demon,” I said, recognizing his attempts at moral relativity. “You would honestly try to convince me of your point of view and equate our attack on your fortified palace with your attacks on our peaceful celebrations? I am beyond your corrupt reach, Scievah.” My confidence began to build, and the weight upon me lightened as I spoke. “At least the king gave you the freedom to defy him. You persecute those who do not follow your oppressive rules of worship.”

  “Does the king not also take away your life if you do not follow his rules of worship?” he retorted, following his rhetoric with a sinister laugh. “I can give you life, Valdren,” he tempted.

  “My life is over. I will live on in Eterna,” I said.

  “But I can give you a life here, Valdren. The life you want. A life with Lunaris.” How did he know who she was?

  “With my help, you can see her again, live on forever with her, and finish your wedding properly.”

  “The prophecy says you will die by my hands. It is written. There is no other way.” I struggled to move as I spoke.

  “There is always a choice. The fates are not sealed by the king. He does not move us like stones in a game of chance. We are always free to defy him and do what is best for ourselves.”

  Scievah saw in my eyes that I was listening to him, not shutting him out as I did before. He found my weakness; my love for Lunaris. He was exploiting it, but the burden upon me, my shattered confidence, and the aching in my heart for Lunaris stopped me from doing anything about it.

  “Choose to be free from the enslaving shackles of your prophecy, and I shall see to it that you live on as would a king, perhaps even more.” He strayed from his seduction, tempting me with riches and prestige. “How do we even know the king exists?” he asked. I was confused by the question, wondering how he could doubt such a thing if the king sent him here to watch over his subjects. “Wouldn’t he have stopped me himself? He either does not care or he is dead, so why can’t there be another? Like you, or me?” He lifted his hands from above the stones, but the invisible weight still pressed down upon me.

  “I do not seek power,” I said. I told myself to keep such thoughts at the forefront of my mind and focus on them, so as to lift this burden from me.

  “No. You are a simple man.” He spoke as if he were agreeing with me, understanding exactly who I was and how to lead me into his corrupt grip. “Perhaps the idea of the loving embrace of a wife and children, and growing old on a farm in the south suits you.” He paced back and forth. I was powerless before him, longing for Lunaris. “It is an honorable life, Valdren. Good and right. I can give this to you.” I thought again of how long it would be until I saw Lunaris; sometime, somewhere in Eterna. I wondered if I would even see her there and if we would find each other. “I can help you defy the prophecy that condemns you to death, so that you may see your dreams unfold before you. If you strike me down, then you will die.”

  Scievah was persuasive, but my choice was clear at that moment. I was to die so that others could live on, so that Haaret could stay strong, and so that evil could be destroyed. It was my sacrifice. When thinking of this, I felt the weight lighten from above, and I was able to move. I did not move, however. I wanted Scievah to believe I was still immobile as he drew nearer to me in his attempts at seducing me. My sword was still in hand, and I was ready to strike.

  “Even if I join you, there will be others to take my place,” I warned. “The prophecy does not end with me. There could be others in the future.”

  “Yes, Valdren!” His eyes lit up with success. “You should not feel pressure to be the only one that can fulfill the prophecy. Besides, even if you kill me, there will be others to take my place as well, because the choice of impurity will always be in the hearts of men. Desires can never be stopped completely. Self elevation and acting upon your desires is not evil or impure. It is natural.” He drew nearer to me.

  “What about you?” I asked. “What of your ambitions? You will destroy Haaret if you keep going after the power stones.” I began to deceive the great deceiver, leading him into my trap, shifting focus to him and his desires rather than mine.

  “With your presence here, acting as a power stone, Haaret would stay stable as it is now. But, even still, I seek not the stones of Alapis and Aqos.” I didn’t believe him about his ambitions for the stones, but I dwelled on his statements about the power of the stones within me. “The other stones are too well hidden, and taking any more would harm Haaret beyond worth.” His eyes danced. I knew he thought that if I were here, alive on Haaret with the powers of a sacred stone, he could possibly take another stone without destroying the realms. “Now is the best of times,” he continued. “The Fifth Stone is here.” He needed me alive; it was the only way he could get the other stones without destroying Haaret. It was then that I knew he would not harm me.

/>   “And what if my powers fade?” I asked him sincerely.

  “They will not if you live on,” he answered arrogantly.

  “When I die then?” I pressed him.

  “I will see to it that you do not,” he reassured me. Suddenly I began to consider his proposal again. What was I doing? The burden came back upon me and I could not move.

  Then there was a violent rumbling and the ground quaked as I contemplated his proposal. It came to me then. Scievah was wrong. Even if the prophecy could be avoided, even if I lived on, I would be living on in impurity, and my powers would most certainly fade. The king would not have me live on as the Fifth Stone if I were corrupted by desires. The burden on me was lifted again, and my head was clear. The clarity was as if someone removed a blindfold from over my eyes. I was angry that I even considered such a proposal.

  My thoughts wandered to Lunaris and the others, but not out of longing. I thought of how much it would hurt them if I took Scievah’s offer, putting my happiness above the entirety of Haaret. I thought about how Lunaris said she would rather see me dead than corrupted by Scievah’s trickery.

  It was time to make the sacrifice I was destined to make. I balled my fist around the hilt of my sword and pretended to be frozen on the ground and immobile as Scievah approached. With it, I embraced my destiny. I embraced the prophecy.

  “My decision is made, Scievah,” I said.

  “What is your decision then?” he asked, confident that he had persuaded me. He approached me, reaching out his unwounded hand in accord. His eyes swirled with delight.

  “I remain pure!” I erupted as I lunged up from the floor and thrust my blade into his abdomen, just above his hips.

  He stumbled backward in horror with the blade still in his gut, shocked at my actions. Perhaps others had fallen to his deceit more easily throughout time, but my resolve was strong; even stronger than I thought.