It wasn’t long before I awoke, Amoria’s hands pressed firmly against my chest, her face twisted with frustration and worry in her attempts to heal me. She met my eyes. “Gods,” she said, “He’s awake, he’s awake!”
A trudging of many footsteps raced my way as I turned my head wearily. My heart fluttered… Familiar faces alongside Amicus flooded my sight.
“Tarrien… and Halcyon,” I said, his name with a little more excitement than I meant, a small smile lighting up my pained face.
Halcyon fell to a knee at my side, his dark hair falling over his shoulder as he put his hands on my shoulders. “I… yes, I’m here. You’re okay, thank the Gods!” he almost whispered.
“Are… are you real?” I asked.
He looked at Amoria confusedly. “Don’t ask,” she said.
“It’s… nice to see you,” I said.
He smiled, resting just one hand on my shoulder now.
I looked to Amoria, who was still healing me. Her clothing was burnt at her shoulder, and what looked like burns coated her skin up to her right cheek… The frustration on her face was perhaps pain.
“What happened?” I said.
“It doesn’t matter…” she said.
Tarrien knelt next to her, holding his arm around her, “Just tell him, love.”
She sighed, “The spell was terrifying. Whatever you did to it caused it to grow wildly unstable. A greater spell with your power magnifying it… we—barely escaped. I… got caught up in its effects, only slightly, though still.” She said, “It was magnificent, but… terrifying.”
“And Terror… is he dead?”
“The light enveloped everything,” she said. “It became a molten, hellish landscape… nothing could survive that.” Her brow furrowed.
A flash of relief came over me, and as her spell completed, I felt some of my stamina restored, though my exhaustion was still evident. In any case, at least I could stand.
“I can heal you when I’ve recovered more,” I said.
“I’m fine; we’ll worry about that when étienne is dead.” She said
There was an awkward silence between everyone as they looked upon me. Had I somehow assumed a leadership role? I’d become frustrated, be it from expectation or exhaustion; I didn’t know.
“So what should we do next?” I asked, looking around. We had settled within the structure, it seemed. An oddly open room, no décor, just emptiness.
“étienne is likely in the structure’s upper corridors, searching for whatever this power is,” Tarrien spoke up. “I’m unsure if we should take much time to regroup.”
“We should move now,” Halcyon said, a tad angrily, “He’s obsessive; we cannot dawdle.”
“I agree.” Amoria said.
“What happened… after we fell.” I asked.
There was a stiff quiet as Halcyon and Tarrien hesitated to speak.
“I… would thank the gods, but in truth I have only Halcyon to thank. I’m afraid I was useless against him.”
Halcyon crossed his arms, a guilty look upon his brow.
“étienne used our injuries against us, our blood. Before I knew it, I was unconscious… and, well, you should tell the rest.” Tarrien said, looking to Halcyon.
He exhaled, “He is…quite versed in blood magic. The knights that lay injured served only as food and fuel to him. Contact with anyone’s blood allows him to exert full control over them; he’d have killed Tarrien had I not stepped in.”
Tarrien seemed thankful but downtrodden.
“I was able to sever his connection to Tarrien’s blood, allowing him to survive… but leaving me to fend for myself.”
“Halcyon…” Amoria said with a disapproving tone.
He dialed back, “I don’t regret it, if I must say.”
“I know.” Tarrien said, letting him continue.
“I believe he had hoped to finish us quickly, given the way he separated our group, but his blood magic had little effect on me. He grew agitated as I dismantled each spell, but eventually, he was able to manage a greater spell.”
Amoria’s face grew pale. “He can wield greater magic?”
“As if he wasn’t already terrifying.” Tarrien mumbled.
“Blood magic takes flawless control. To even manage a greater spell would take uninterrupted concentration. He overpowered me, I hate to admit, and bound me.”
“I thought you said blood magic had little effect on you?” I questioned.
“Greater blood magic is a force all its own.” He said. “After he bound me, he retreated to the structure’s upper heights. Though, once the spell’s effects wore off, I was able to wake Tarrien, and we decided it would be best to scale our way down here… reunite with one another.” He looked at me for a moment and then looked away.
“We have to beat him,” Tarrien said. “We don’t have a choice.” His voice was downtrodden.
Amoria stepped closer to him, grabbing his arm lightly. “He’s right… and as Halcyon said, every moment we ‘dawdle,’ he only gets closer to his goal, and ours.”
“We’ll succeed,” I said. “We have too.”
Amicus spoke up, “I am sorry to interrupt; I didn’t know if it was my place, but this room… Is there something strange about it?”
Amoria glanced around the area, her brow furrowed with questions. “Yes… I can’t quite tell what it is, though. Tarrien?”
“I… feel something, but…”
There was an odd energy in the air. Magical in nature, but quite ancient and faint. Barely detectable by a modern mage.
Amoria began to scan the area, looking for signs of magic sigils and runes. “Ah… I think I found something.” She said, each of us approaching. She felt at nothing but a blank patch of old stone.
“I see nothing,” Halcyon said.
“No…” I stated, “There’s something… Can you activate it?” I said to Amoria.
“Yes… conserve your energy; I can handle this.” She focused for a moment, gathering the ambient magical energy around her like stars in the air. Within seconds, the floor came to life with runes and magic symbols, spreading to every corner of the chamber, and the floor began to shake, causing us all to stumble.
“What did you do…?” Amicus questioned.
“It’s… an elevator,” Tarrien said as the platform began to rise slowly through the structure.
“Yes,” she smiled, “It's complex. I can’t recall any modern practice that can raise a surface this large. It’s beautiful…” Her love of magic showed in the way she grinned. “It's going to lead us to the upper region of the structure.”
The platform rose through the levels with surprising speed, the chill wind whistling with a musical comfort the higher we went. The wonders Old Kygar must’ve produced in its golden age, I could not help but imagine.
It would be some time before we reached the structure's upper heights, and each of us felt now would be a good time to rest. Amoria and Halcyon sat side by side as she ensured the spell raising the platform would remain steady. I could see the sweat run down her face as he held her tight… it must’ve been quite difficult.
Halcyon seemed to be avoiding me, for whatever reason, I wasn’t sure. I knew that look he gave me when I woke, though. He had shown me… something, whether he wanted to or not. Still, I could only find myself wishing he’d sit with me, as who knew what horrors awaited us above.
Just as my thoughts began to race, Amicus sat down gently beside me. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was getting tired sitting by myself, and you look like you can use someone to talk to.” He smiled. “What’s wrong with your friend?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure.” I shrugged.
“Sounds frustrating,” he laughed. “I’ve been there before.”
“Have you?”
“Oh yes,” he laughed again, “There’s much drama at the Circle… especially among the Knights Arcana.”
“With ‘Knight Commander Prince Tarrien’ running them.” I said dramatically.
“Just between you and me,” he whispered, “he doesn’t see everything.”
We both chuckled.
“In truth though, I’ve never had what it seems like the two of you have.” Amicus stated.
“I don’t know what we have.” I said.
“How did the two of you meet?”
I recalled the rain that day when I first set foot back on Numios, sights set on Kygaron, and the savages I encountered when I found him. “I came upon some hunters not long ago. Vampire hunters, I suppose,” I stated.
He seemed to listen intently.
“Savages, I thought of them. They were trying to kill him. If you’d seen the state he was in, you’d have done the same.”
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He nodded. “I’m not always the most courageous, but I hope I would.” He smiled. “Did you… kill them?”
“No,” I said. “However tempting it may have been at the time. They tortured him mercilessly… I couldn’t stand for it. I blinded them and used their confusion to take him and put some distance between them and us. He was scared for a while, but his wounds healed quickly. And we’ve been together since.”
He smiled.
“I suppose it hasn’t been very long just yet… but it feels like ages with what we’ve gone through.”
“It sounds like something out of a story.”
We both laughed a moment; it truly did feel like Halcyon and I had adventured together for quite a while. “You know… he has quite the disposition.”
“He seems uptight,” Amicus stated with a grin.
“He’s very particular. The night I had saved him, we found lodging in the village of Elm.”
“At Elm’s Leaf Respite?”
“That one exactly…” I said.
“I hear the innkeeper there is quite the piece of work.”
“You and Halcyon would agree then. If looks and words could kill, the ones exchanged between the two of them would topple nations.”
We earned glares from the others as we both laughed and snorted, only adding to our glee. Halcyon’s glare seemed one of anger, which quickly softened… and again, he could not hold my gaze.
“By the way, I must thank you again for this armor.” Amicus said, “The armor issued to us knights is sturdy, but this… this is something else entirely.”
“I figured if you were going to protect my sister, it was the least I could do,” I said. “It’ll stop both blade and spell… and the occasional teething of thralls.”
Halcyon strode over suddenly, startling Amicus and me.
“Well… I’ll let you two be.” Amicus grinned awkwardly and bowed gently as he stood up and left.
“Do you have a moment?” He asked.
“I suppose,” I said wearily.
He sat down beside me stiffly, though surprisingly close. His posture was like a statue, as if he was hesitant. Such energy was taxing to be around… Was it truly so hard to be around me, I thought?
“I am happy you are okay…” he said bluntly. “I was worried—about you, after you fell.”
I could hear a tension in his tone, “I am alright.” I said. “You don’t need to worry anymore.”
He relaxed a little, if only at the realization. “I understand.” He said.
“Do you think we can do this?” I asked him.
“Who knows. It is… anyone’s guess. I doubt étienne has shown us even a fraction of his full power.”
Who knew? There was so little we understood up to this point. Everything, every detail always cloaked in some sort of mystery.
“That being you fought… Amoria said it called itself Terror, correct?” He asked.
“Yes.”
“Could he be the being we saw when we first encountered étienne? The one that stood beside him?”
It had only just dawned on me, in the wake of what happened back then, as we had barely escaped with our lives; I had forgotten. “Gods… yes, I—maybe!”
“Terror…” he thought to himself, pinching his chin in frustration. “There’s something at the back of my mind, damn it; I wish I could figure it out.”
“Do you know of him?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” he gave up, grasping his forehead.
The elevator continued its rise; we passed large windows, giving us brief glances of just how high up we had made it, and likely so much higher to go. Amoria continued to sit, struggling, but powering through.
“I must admit something to you…” Halcyon said.
“What is it?”
“I have wronged you… in some way. I know that.” He said.
I looked at him, waiting for his next words. Glimpses back on his illusion came to me as he lay dying, begging me not to leave him… that he needed me. I knew better, in this moment, but still, he gave me the same look as he spoke.
“I do not wish for there to be tension between us… of any kind. Could we be… cordial again?”
“Cordial?” I said. A twinge of resentment in my tone.
“Yes…” he nodded. “I know what we shared, but perhaps it was a mistake on my part. In any case, I do not wish to see you suffer or resent me.”
A mistake, I thought. “I do not suffer…” I said.
He smiled.
“In fact, I agree. Perhaps it was a mistake.”
He sighed in relief, almost happy to hear me say it. “So we can go back to how we were?”
“Absolutely…” I stated.
“Great,” he said.
There is… a rage that you stifle and fail to contain in moments such as those when feelings go unheard or unreciprocated. He meant well, I tried to convince myself. It would be okay; we could be normal again. It was not normal that I wanted. But… to be seen as more by him, perhaps I had hoped for too much.
“I think we can both admit we should focus on the coming battle now, though.”
It was like stabbing a knife into my chest… “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
From afar, Tarrien’s voice yelled to us, frantic, “Sebastien… come, it’s Amoria!”
We ran over quickly. “What is it? I asked. She was sweating profusely, a vein bulging in her forehead. She panted, almost breathless.
“She’s overheating… I’ve tried ice magic, water, and nothing is working.” Tarrien said.
“She is burning magic too fast.” I said. The symptoms were evident as the spell likely would require multiple mages to accomplish; she was reaching her limit.
“Your abilities! Can’t you do something to help her?”
I… could, maybe. Should I?
“Sebastien!” Halcyon whispered. He knew I was hesitant; I could see it in his gaze, but flashes of Amicus’s healing made my heart race. I could hurt her if I tried to help.
“I… can’t.” I lied. Halcyon placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
Tarrien’s eyes flooded.
Amoria looked at me, glaring angrily. “I don’t need help… I will not give in to weakness.”
Her words cut me… I knew what she meant. She brought her focus back to the spell.
“I… I can funnel my energy into you,” Tarrien said to her, removing his gauntlets and placing both hands on her shoulders.
“No!” She shouted angrily.
“I will help you! And that will be the end of it!” He yelled. Magic began to flow from his arms and into her. Her breath steadied, her struggle easing, though only a bit. “I… am sorry if I asked too much of you,” Tarrien said to me. “I thought you could do more.”
“I’m sorry…” I said.
Amicus passed me, “He’s only upset,” he whispered. “Don’t take it personally.” He stood back at their side, and Halcyon pulled me away.
“Let them be,” he said. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“But I do… don’t I?” I said. “I could help. I could restore her energy; I could do… something!”
“No… you can’t,” he said. “We all have limits. And it almost never serves us well to push them.”
“But…” I stuttered.
“What…” he asked.
I glanced at Amicus, who still stood next to the two of them. Halcyon took notice.
“The knight? What does this have to do with him?”
I took a moment, stilling myself, “When we were attacked by the Dread Maw, and the beast destroyed our camp… Amicus was hurt.”
“Hurt?”
“Yes,” I said, rubbing my arm awkwardly. “He… was dying.”
Halcyon glared at Amicus and then back to me. “And you—healed him?”
“He was right in front of me, I… I could see the life leaving his eyes, Halcyon.”
“You went against your morals.” He stated with disappointment. “And the knight… how does he feel about this?”
I hesitated. “He doesn’t remember…”
Halcyon pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can understand that… in the moment, perhaps you felt persuaded. But it was a mistake.”
“A mistake!” I questioned.
“You went against your morals!” he said. “Your better judgment! You made an excuse.”
He was right; it was horrific what he suffered when I healed him. But could it have been worse than dying? Could it have been worse than having such a young life cut so short? “I… don’t regret it.” I said. “But I don’t think I’ll ever do it again.”
“Good…” he stated.
“But it wasn’t a mistake.” I said. “And you don’t get to tell me what’s against my morals.”
I’d guess he could feel my gaze piercing through him; his usual stiff appearance became awkward, though he quickly regained his composure. “It is whatever you say. Perhaps morals can sometimes be gray. Even when we wish they were not.” There it was, always a deeper meaning to his words…
But an ominous rush soon fell over each of us, a familiar grim feeling. I glanced at Amoria’s group as static filled the air. “Move!”
A bolt of red lightning crashed down on top of them, shattering the area upon impact and sending them flying in different directions. “NO!” I screamed.
Halcyon gripped my arm, diving out of the way; another slammed down just shy of us, leaving a small crater where we were.
“What is this?” I yelled.
“It’s étienne!” Halcyon answered, looking upwards into the dark. At the mention of his name, his laugh echoed through the air.
“Still you seek me!” he said. “Like cat and mouse,” he laughed again. “It has grown ever so boring. I’m afraid it is over now.”
With Amoria’s spell having been released, the platform began to grow unstable; its rising having slowed down significantly.
“We're going to fall soon!” Halcyon yelled, as we stood to our feet, “Can you take over for her?”
“I… I don’t know.”
From above fell corpses, slamming grotesquely onto the platform around us, distorted and twisted beyond recognition. Their bones, broken and shattered, cracked back into place... their skin covered in wounds and gashes, festering and constant.
“Are these… thralls?” I questioned.
“Y… yes,” Halcyon said wide-eyed, “Go… get Amoria, now! I’ll hold them off as best I can!” Quickly, one lunged, going immediately for his throat, but he caught it by its maw. “Now! Go!”
Some distance away, Amoria lay passed out next to Amicus, and Tarrien was fighting to defend her. “Amoria, wake up!” I said, holding her up. Her body stayed limp, though, and the platform had almost slowed completely. My heart began to race!
Again it was happening, morals be damned if I couldn’t save those I care for. I did not have the energy to hold up this entire platform; only she could do that now. I held a hand above her head. “Wake!” I shouted.
She gasped for air as her eyes burst open. “What… what happened!” she screamed.
“Amoria, the platform!! We need you to continue the spell!” I said.
She grasped at her temples, wincing as she stood… but each of our feet began to rise off the ground. For a moment, the air stilled, and a rising feeling washed over my body.
“Oh Gods…” I whispered, my words getting stuck in my throat.
The platform began to plummet, and with no magic to stabilize it, it began to lean slightly. Halcyon held the thralls at bay with his blood magic, but his face grew fearful, as did Tarrien’s as he clutched Amicus over his shoulder.
Amoria whispered ancient words, hand outstretched to each of us, and slammed a hand onto the platform. I recognized it as a rather simple spell,
“Genius, Amoria!” I smiled. Her spell activated, creating a center of gravity on the platform.
Each of us slammed down into it as it now attracted us, and Amoria quickly began to recast her spell. The force of her gravity spell focused even more intensely upon the thralls, holding them down, as they wailed helplessly in place. “Ignore them for now!” she said, “They won’t be able to move.”
“Oh, come now! This won’t do, this won’t do!!!” Etienne’s voice echoed again. Static filled the air again, and the darkness above illuminated a sickening red.
Not again! “Protect,” I shouted. A bolt of blood-red lightning crashed down upon my barrier, continuous and heavy.
“Sebastien!” Halcyon said, racing to my side, supporting me as I fell to a knee. I looked to Amoria, who had not even flinched; she was but seconds away from completing her spell. Tarrien again stood supporting her with his magic, and Amicus had just awoken, a face filled with abject horror.
“Can you hold this?” Halcyon asked.
I could feel the weight and power of étienne’s lightning cracking my barrier second by second. “I… I don’t know.” I said.
He looked up for a moment, regarding the lightning, “…this is blood magic.”
“It is…?”
Halcyon held a hand out toward it. “I think I can help… let me try.” With focus, a vein seemed to bulge out of his forehead, and just as the lightning was about to overtake my barrier, it lightened!
“You did it!” I cheered.
“Yes!” He smiled.
Amoria’s spell completed, and the platform stopped harshly, and then slowly began to rise again, though still with some resistance as we pushed against étienne's magic.
“Perhaps together we can push it back!” Halcyon said.
“Right,” I channeled my ward into a repellent force, which pushed back against the lightning.
“Now!” Halcyon shouted.
With all our might, we pushed back against it, and eventually the lightning reversed in on itself, changing direction. An explosion radiated from above, and afterwards some small shards of rubble fell lightly upon us.
My breath fell heavy again, and now the platform continued rising at its normal speed. So quickly I was growing useless; how would I retain the energy to fight étienne?
Halcyon helped me to my feet again. “Perhaps that will buy us a moment, but I’m afraid Amoria is reaching her limit, as well as Tarrien.
We moved to their side; Tarrien's skin had grown pale. “Knight Commander, let me take over.”
“You are not up for this task, Amicus; the strain is too much!”
“It is my duty…” Amicus said, “Now respectfully move aside!”
Tarrien eyed him angrily but conceded. “I will take back over the moment you feel faint.” He said.
Amicus took off his gauntlets and took Tarrien’s place, who sat upon the ground breathless and weak. “I’m sorry… love.”
“No…” she said, “Save your sorry for someone who needs it. You’ve done all you can.” Though her words were cold, Tarrien smiled gently.
“Of course, love.”
After a while longer, the platform stopped. “This is as high as I can take us.” Amoria said, “I’m afraid I’m spent.
Amicus took a deep breath, wiping sweat from his forehead, and almost stumbling as he put his gauntlets back on. Tarrien patted his shoulder. “Good man…” he said.
We had stopped just shy of the highest point of the structure. Large archways around us led out into a living area not unlike the one where we had fought Terror, but more vibrant and richer, as if its inhabitants never left. It was, itself, like a large chamber city with ornately carved and massive arched windows viewing the lower depths.
“Where are we?” Tarrien asked.
“The Pinnacle…” Amoria said. “Though… I’m afraid that’s all I know.”
If only the spell had revealed more, I thought.
“étienne is near.” Halcyon said.
“Are we ready for this?” Amicus questioned.
There was no choice, not now… “The power he seeks is here.” I said. It almost sang to me, pulling me to it. “Come now… we must continue!”
A faint whisper caressed my ear, a beckon, a plea, having fallen unnoticed by all but me. “Come to me…” it said. “You have naught to fear.”
With events pushing toward the inevitable, and each of them are exhausted, a secret shall be revealed. What do you think it will be?
