Divided by Hostilities (Chapter 28)
Thursday, July 9th, 2015 01:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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mindcrackloveChapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Zisteau stepped back to get a proper view into the tunnel. Above him, five figures crowded at the mouth, looking down on him. He recognised Pyro, the Daedalian man Beef, another man he recognised as one of his citizens – he wore a brightly coloured coat under his armour - , another man he had seen before when he was in Daedalia, and someone he could not recognise.
“Careful,” Zisteau said hoarsely. “It will hear you.”
He saw their faces as they noticed the creature ripping through the tunnel behind him. Their eyes widened. Beef and Pyro recognised it, but for the other three the sight was a new one.
“Wow. Bigger than I expected,” said the one with goggles. Zisteau strained to recognise him. He knew he’d seen him in Daedalia, but why did he stick in his mind?
“That’s just its paws,” the unfamiliar one said.
“Come on. We have to rescue Zisteau,” Beef said. “If we drop some ladders down there will you be able to climb up?”
“Yes, but hurry,” Zisteau said. The creature had widened the tunnel enough to get its head in. He could see the half-moon glowing. A roar echoed through the cavern, and Zisteau saw the men shrink back.
A few ladders fell to the ground in front of Zisteau, and he picked them up gratefully. Affixing them to the wall as he climbed up towards the tunnel, he made the mistake of looking back down. The creature’s head and forearms burst out of the tunnel below, scrabbling at the ground to get a grip. A surge of terror filled him.
“Hurry!” someone above him called. Zisteau steadied himself on the ladder. The creature was emerging from the tunnel, now wide enough to accommodate its entire body. Zisteau shook as he placed the next ladder. His brain screamed at his body to move faster, but every muscle was shaking. The creature was on all four feet and walking towards him – he could hear its footsteps – and he knew its legs were long enough to reach him. Zisteau steadied his hands against the next ladder.
“Faster, come on,” someone said faintly. “Zisteau – please!”
Zisteau placed another ladder and he was high enough to reach the exit. He reached up a trembling arm and several hands grabbed it, hoisting him up into the entrance where the five men let out small cheers of triumph.
“You did it!” said Beef. “We should run now.”
Get the book. Don’t leave without the book.
“I need to – Aaah!” Zisteau was cut off as a large paw swiped at the entrance, its claws narrowly missing Zisteau. Instead, they connected with somebody else. Beef yelled as his chestplate was ripped off his body. The armour clattered to ground and he slipped, gripping the ladder in terror. Before he could move, another claw connected with his exposed back. Beef screamed as the claw dug deep into his back, tracing a deep red line down his spine. He gasped at the pain. Pyro and the one of the other men reached down to pull him up by the arms. Beef stumbled forward, blood dripping from the gash. Zisteau inhaled sharply.
“We have to go,” Beef panted. “How – how bad is it?”
Pyro glanced at the clean red rip down Beef’s back and cringed. “We need to get a bandage or something on it.”
Zisteau looked back. The creature was drawing back its arm for another swipe.
“We have to run! We have no time,” he said hoarsely. He grabbed Beef’s arm and dragged him as the six of them scrambled up the tunnel.
“Okay,” Zisteau said, stopping. “It’ll have to widen this tunnel if it wants to get to us. We have a little time.” He took off his chestplate and cast it aside, then pulled his shirt over his head. Ripping it open with shaking hands, he gave it to Pyro, who bound it tightly around Beef’s back. A stain of blood soaked through the fabric almost instantly.
“Better than nothing,” the goggled man said.
“We better run,” Zisteau said. He put his chestplate back on, and helped Beef to his feet. A roar behind them filled him with fear.
“Hurry!”
Everyone got to their feet and continued the scramble up the tunnel. A crash and the sound of falling rocks resounded through the tunnel. Beef stumbled.
“Keep going,” one of the men urged - Zisteau did not pay attention to whom – and caught Beef by the wrist, pulling him upright. Zisteau glanced behind himself to see the creature’s large head glaring them down from the other end of the tunnel. He resisted the urge to take out his bow and aim for its other eye again.
The group arrived, breathing heavily, at the top of the tunnel. It opened into the largest chamber. Although Zisteau remembered it as being full of dragons when he came through, the chamber was empty and silent. The walls were coated with the cooling lava and many areas of the walls seemed to have fallen in. There was rubble and boulders strewn on the floor, along with the charred corpses of a multitude of dragons, and ash and smoke hung in the air.
“There’s something different,” Zisteau whispered. The whisper bounced around the chamber.
Pyro and Beef nodded. “We noticed too. Look up.”
Zisteau looked up as another crash resounded behind them. He gasped as he saw the circle of black, smoky sky far above them, the window of the mountain’s eye blown clear by the force of the eruption.
“There was an eruption,” the goggled man said. “We believe it happened just before we went through that portal thing.”
“To be honest,” the unfamiliar man said, “We weren’t exactly sure you were alive.”
“Yes but he is,” Beef said hurriedly. “We should go.”
“When we came through here,” the goggled man said, “we put up a ladder. Just over here.” He gestured to the ladder leading down towards the floor.
The party filed over to the ladder and began hurrying down it, one by one. Another crash sounded at the tunnel, and Zisteau turned to look. The creature had widened this one enough to get its head and forelegs through, and was now struggling to pull itself up onto the ledge. The flames that once burned off its surface were extinguished, yet the power in its rocky body was still evident. He pressed the fear in his throat back down and turned to the ladder.
“Come on, Zisteau!” the goggled man said.
“Yes go on, Zisteau.” The low, loud voice hit Zisteau in his gut and he turned back to the creature.
It was speaking for the first time since he’d injured it.
“Go with them. Believe they care about you, and are doing this because they want to.” It laughed.
“Who would want a man like you as their king? I am surprised they even have come back to rescue you. But, once they get you back to their world, they will execute you, I expect.”
Ask about the book.
Zisteau broke. “There is a book somewhere, isn’t there? That explains everything?”
The creature laughed, and Zisteau could tell it had been waiting for this question. “Ah, yes. The book. You will never find it, not whilst I live.”
“Then die!”
The cry from behind caught Zisteau by surprise. He turned and saw the five men standing behind him, back on the ledge. Millbee had yelled. Each man stood with his weapon raised.
“We know that one man can’t stand up to a force as powerful as you,” Millbee said. “That is why we are here.”
He raised his sword. “Zisteau, get back.”
An arrow flew from the goggled man’s bow and struck the creature’s second eye. It roared in pain, thrashing its head as it struggled to drag itself out of the tunnel. Rocks broke free as its belly slid out onto the ledge, bringing its bleeding head closer to Zisteau. He stepped back whilst looking in the hollow, broken eyes.
“Thank you,” Zisteau said. “Uh…”
“Vechs,” the goggled man said. “It’s Vechs.”
“Now be careful,” Zisteau said as the others moved closer, swords drawn. “I don’t want it to trigger an eruption again.”
“The creature caused that?” Pyro asked.
Zisteau nodded. He anticipated the creature saying something now, gloating about its power or laughing, but it was silent but for the groans of pain as its eye socket bled out. With a grunt, it tried to pull itself further out of the tunnel, but did not budge.
“It’s stuck,” Vechs laughed, inching closer. “Look at this stupid creature.”
“Look at this,” Millbee was saying. He stood barely a foot from the creatures flank and was cautiously poking it with the tip of his sword.
“Stayed in its cave down there, getting fat,” Pyro said. “Never thought that escape might not be an option with tunnels this small.”
“It made a good effort though,” the unfamiliar man said, then leaped backwards as the creature’s head swung around to snap at him.
“Even though its stuck, it’s still dangerous,” Beef warned, as the three moved closer to the creature’s side.
“Aw come on, this thing’s harmless.” Vechs jabbed a sword at the creature’s side. It cracked through the rocky exterior and dark blood leaked out, blood Zisteau now noticed was a sickeningly dark black. The creature grunted in pain and tried to turn, scrabbling at the ground uselessly as its forepaws failed to find traction.
“Be careful,” Zisteau said. The others had lost their sense of caution now, and had started to jab at the creature’s side with more courage. Beef, Pyro and Zisteau watched as the creature howled in pain, its side stained black from the multitude of cuts.
“You told us it would be scary,” Vechs said. “Terrifying.”
“This isn’t it,” Zisteau said. “With enough room to move, with sight, it is terrifying. And when it speaks…” He shivered, wondering why the creature did not speak now.
“Whatever the case, I think it’s well past the stage of terrifying. It’s just pathetic,” Millbee said. He jabbed the creature’s side viciously, earning a low groan of pain from the creature. It put down its head, resting it between its two forepaws, and closed its eyelids over the hollows of its eye sockets.
Pathetic, Zisteau thought. He looked at the creature. This was not how he’d imagined it going out. He’d thought of a glorious battle, and if the creature were to die, it would die to a valiant blow to the heart. Not bleeding out slowly, stuck in a tunnel. It never even got to leave the mountain…
Zisteau stopped his train of thought. Was he feeling sorry for that horrible creature? He kicked at the ground and looked up to see that Pyro and Beef had joined in with the others, finally realising that in this state, the creature could do nothing to harm them.
Zisteau had imagined a speech as well. The creature loved to talk, and he knew that the creature should be showering them with venom and hate in the form of words right now. Something was wrong.
“What’s wrong?” he said aloud, not thinking.
The five others turned to him.
“Nothing?” Vechs said, as a question. “I’m pretty sure it’s dead. Or it will be, very soon.”
The book… get the book.
Desperate, Zisteau walked towards the prone head of the creature. Its head was terrifying up close, as tall as Zisteau.
“Please tell me about the book.”
There was no sound. Zisteau’s heart thumped. Was it dead?
“The book! There is a book!”
“Zisteau, what the heck are you talking about?” Beef said. “What book?”
“I don’t know. I just have this memory… of a book. And the creature still has it.”
The creature opened its mouth. Zisteau stepped back automatically at the warm breath of the creature. It exhaled and something fell from its tooth – a small, thin book. Zisteau got on to one knee, cautiously picking it up. He dusted off the soot and looked at the cracked leather cover.
“This is it?”
The creature closed its mouth. Zisteau watched as its broken belly stopped rising and falling, and there was silence. Zisteau felt something escape his body, and felt faint like he was losing blood. Something in him collapsed, and he fell to his knees.
“Zisteau?” he heard from far away. A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.
“Zisteau get up,” Vechs said, his voice echoing weirdly around the volcano’s cavern. “It’s dead! We did it!”
Zisteau nodded, still dazed. “We should go back now.” But he kept looking at the creature, at the body that would lie in this cavern forever to rot, along with the memory of this world.
“Aureylian.” Pause said, his voice croaking. It hadn’t been used in a while. He looked up at the ceiling of the hospital – as that what this wing of the refuge building was now known as – and thought of Beef. He had been thinking of Beef for hours, but who was to stop him? His chest hurt.
“Yes, Pause?” Aureylian’s voice was weaker. The medicines the nursing team gave her had soothed the cough, but her voice still sounded pale and deathly.
“I wish you still knew things. I wish you had the power to tell me if… If Beef’s okay.”
Aureylian nodded. “I understand. I can’t help that they’re gone, but if I had any way of telling you how Beef is, I would.”
“I know,” Pause said. There was silence as he studied the grain of the wood on the ceiling. “I’m – I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”
“It’s okay,” Aureylian said. She was silent for a while as well, then said. “I don’t know if I will ever go back to Ancor. I don’t feel like I belong there. Even if it’s ever safe for me to go back. I like it better here.”
“You have nobody there,” Pause pointed out. “And… and I think you’ve made friends here.”
Aureylian nodded. “I have.”
Pause enjoyed the comfortable silence, and studied the ceiling again, aching with worry over Beef, until he fell asleep.
Zisteau had merely observed on the way across Ancor to the portal that led home. As a group, they had decided on putting out the portal that led to Kaio. Zisteau had felt a dull ache as the path to his birthplace was sealed up once again, doused by a simple bucketful of water. As the roaring flame dissipated in a swirl of smoke, he wondered if he would ever see that place again. Perhaps Aureylian knew how to reopen the portal. Zisteau had shoved that thought away. Kaio was dead now.
So to pass the time, and keep his mind off that, as they walked across the crystalline land Zisteau observed. He observed how unfulfilled Beef seemed, how little he cared that it was all over and done with. He walked slowly, the pain from the wound in his back causing his to grimace every now and then. He observed how two of the men, Vechs and the other man, seemed to care only about talking and laughing. It must be over now, Zisteau thought. What exactly was over eluded him, but the creature’s death felt like some kind of door closing. He felt the dry leather of the book tightly held under one arm. He didn’t want to open it until he was alone.
When they arrived at the large outcropping of crystal upon which perched the portal back to their world – their home, Zisteau felt almost too weak to scramble up the jagged formation once more. Stowing away the book, he wearily hoisted himself up the crystals as the others aided Beef. Zisteau reached up to grab at a protruding crystal, but, surprisingly, the tip broke off in his hand. He put it in his pocket, then swung himself up to the flat area at the top.
Once the six men stood at the top, Zisteau took a quick look around Ancor again. Maybe he would never have to come back here again.
“Let’s go then,” Pyro said, and one by one the men stepped into the fire. Zisteau hardly felt the pain as he went through.
His city was gone. Not literally gone, as the skeletons of houses and buildings still remained, but the people were gone, and the streets were hollow and dead. He knew instantly that fire had destroyed it, and thought back to what the creature said. Sickened, he looked around at the black, ash-filled city.
“It’s burnt?” Zisteau asked.
“Oh, yeah. We forgot to tell you,” Beef said. “It burnt down. We don’t know how the fire started, just that it spread. Very quickly.”
“Where are all the people?!” Zisteau asked in horror.
“They sought refuge in Daedalia,” Beef said. “They’re living in some sort of refugee thing.”
Zisteau nodded, dazed. He looked at the empty wreck of his palace. He did not miss it much. He was relieved that his people were safe.
The six walked through the city. The stronger men fought off the hordes of monsters that crept out of the shadows as they approached the gate.
Pause had made himself sick worrying about Beef. He supposed that wasn’t healthy, but there was little else to do. Even though they’d only been gone a few hours, Pause couldn’t keep himself from entertaining the idea that Beef might not return. After his little talk with Aureylian, he had slept, but it was a fitful sleep full of worry and anxiety. And the dreams he’d had all, all full of blood and fire and fear, did not help him.
A man ran into the low building, eyes wide. Pause did not recognise him; he was a Daedalian.
“They’re back,” was all he said, before leaving again.
Pause sat up. Did that mean what he thought it meant? He looked over at Aureylian, sleeping. He did not want to wake her, but he also did not want to leave her. He tapped her shoulder.
“Yes?” she said groggily, waking.
“I think they’re… I think they’re back.”
“Oh my god.” She sat up and coughed. “Did they find Zisteau?”
“I don’t know,” Pause said. He hesitated. “Let’s go find out.”
Pause saw Beef before Beef saw Pause; he was walking slowly with the five others. Five others. Vechs and Millbee were supporting Zisteau, who looked drained and dazed. Pause was grateful, for some reason, but this faded away into his relief that Beef was safe. He looked pale though; he was walking slowly with a pained grin on his face. Pause walked swiftly out of the gate, moving through the crowds that milled about. The gate seemed to stand permanently open now; the border between Guude’s kingdom and the outside world blurring. Pause went to Beef, who saw him and attempted a brighter smile.
“Beef,” Pause said, embracing the man as tightly as he could. It felt so good to know he was safe. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
Beef winced. “I’m not completely okay.”
Pause felt his heart skip a beat, but attempted to smile over his falling mood.
“It’s okay, just a cut,” Beef said. “But I think I’ll need rest.”
Pause pulled away, but changed his mind a second later and moved his face close to Beef’s to kiss him. He moved back after several lingering seconds and looked Beef in the eyes.
“I know it hasn’t been long,” he said softly, “But I need you to never go to that place again.”
“We closed the intersection,” Beef said back, just as quietly. Pause smiled, and hugged Beef again.
“I’m glad. I never want to see that place again.”
“We found Zisteau. Somehow, that creature didn’t kill him.”
“What happened to it?”
There was a pause. “We killed it.”
“Beef! I’m so glad. Was it hard?”
“Well, no. It was kind of… stuck. And couldn’t see.” Beef looked down sheepishly. “There was nothing heroic about it, Pause. I didn’t feel good about it dying, like I thought it would. I’m just glad it can do no more harm.”
Pause started to say something, but Beef interrupted him with a wave of his arm. “Everyone’s gone in the gate. We should too.”
“Oh, right.” Pause looked back. Putting his arm around Beef’s shoulder, he walked with him back into the city.
Aurey woke to the face of Zisteau above her. She let out a little shriek.
“Sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Oh, sorry,” Zisteau said. He looked around. “I wanted to come in when there weren’t many people here.”
“I see.”
Pause had become well enough to leave his bed in the hospital wing, but the gash on Beef’s back was nasty enough that Jsano had insisted he be treated for a few weeks. Despite that, Beef left his bed often, (much to Jsano’s annoyance), to go out with Pause and talk under their old tree. Aureylian knew it was healing both of them much better than medicines could do. Most of the burns patients had slowly left the hospital wing too, and Aureylian was one of the last left. The smoke had affected her more than she’d realised at first.
“I know you don’t have your powers anymore,” Zisteau said, “But I still trust in your advice.”
Aureylian nodded.
“I don’t think I can be a king anymore,” he said quietly. “Even if I were to rebuild Abattia.”
“Why not?”
“Aside from people not trusting me anymore,” Zisteau said quietly, “I lost the part of my soul that was that creature’s when it died. I figured it out. Something in me has changed, Aureylian. I hope you believe that.”
“I do,” Aureylian said.
“I think it’s written in this,” Zisteau said, holding out a singed, decrepit book. “Problem is, I can’t read it. I forgot Old Kaioan long ago.”
He dropped the book in Aureylian’s lap, and she opened it. The torn pages were covered in scrawled writing, in what she recognised as Old Kaioan – the predecessor to Ancoran.
“I am a little fluent in this. Not as much as Beef, though. Where did you get this?”
“The creature gave it to me. I don’t know why.”
“Oh?”
Zisteau nodded. “It’s surprising. And did you say Beef can read this?”
“He might. Ask him sometime,” Aurey said. She smiled a little.
“Anyway, the part of me that’s gone – that was that creature’s – it was the biggest part that hungered for power. I don’t want that anymore. I don’t want to rule.”
“You would give up all your land to Guude, if he so wished to have it?”
Zisteau nodded. “I’m tired of taking.”
“Well then,” Aureylian said. “Why don’t you tell Guude that?” She handed the book back to Zisteau. “And ask Beef about this.”
“Thank you, Aureylian,” Zisteau said. He smiled at her. “For everything.”
“No problem,” Aureylian said, sinking back into her pillow.
Zisteau turned to leave, but turned back as he remembered something.
“Do you think you’ll ever go back to your world?”
Aureylian paused, her face falling for a second. “Do you think I should?”
Zisteau was surprised. Aureylian was hardly ever the one asking the questions of him. “No,” he said sincerely. “I think we need you here.”
“I have nothing to go back to,” she said.
“If you’re staying,” Zisteau said, stepping towards the bed, “I want you to have this.” He dropped the shard of crystal into her hand. “It’s not much, but it might help you remember Ancor.”
“Thank you,” Aureylian said, smiling at the crystal as it shimmered in the light.
Pause sat with his back against the huge oak, Beef lying in the grass beside him. The sun was going down, and the monsters would be coming out soon, but Pause cared about nothing more than the face beside him. It was cold, too, but he was content.
Pause shifted his position to lie beside Beef, sharing his body warmth as they stared up at the purple sky through the shifting leaves. Stars slowly faded into existence, winking between the leaves as the moon travelled between them. Pause moved closer to Beef.
He was finally sure that this time of happiness would last.
“I can’t be a king anymore,” Guude said. Zisteau looked at him in shock. He’d been called to Guude’s chamber, the last place he expected to be. Despite the tentative friendship forming between him and Aureylian, Zisteau felt more of an outcast than ever. His history as a ruler overshadowed any friendliness he exhibited now, at least to his people.
Although, they weren’t really his anymore. The refuge centre near the Daedalian gate was slowly shrinking as the well Abattians found homes: renting in the city, living with Daedalians and even buying land to build their own homes. Perhaps they were Daedalians now, and with Zisteau’s decision to end his monarchy, they might very well have to stay Daedalians.
“Why not? You’re a good king!”
“Maybe I’m, well, morally good,” Guude said. “But I’m not up to the job anymore. It’s too stressful, and I make bad decisions.” He paused, and chuckled. “I know now is not the best time to realise that.”
“But who will be king of Daedalia?” Zisteau said. “The people need a leader.”
“Well, I was thinking,” Guude said, “and this is going to sound crazy, considering our history, but since you don’t have Abattia anymore, how would you like to rule my kingdom?”
There was silence. Zisteau shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. I don’t want to rule anyone anymore. I have had enough.”
Guude stared at him. “Really?”
“It would take a long time to tell you why,” Zisteau said. “But I have reasons. I can’t be a king anymore, and that’s the way it is. You’ll have to keep going, my friend. Unless you have an heir.”
“I do not,” Guude said. The two men sat in silence, looking at their hands.
“We need to find someone worthy of being a ruler,” Guude said after a while. Zisteau nodded, and stood up.
“Please let me know what you end up deciding,” he said. He shook the other man’s hand cordially. “I best be off. I have something important to do.”
“Goodbye then, friend,” Guude said.
Zisteau nodded, and slowly walked out of the palace into the starry night.
“Why are you still here? It’s nearly midnight,” Zisteau said as he approached the figures. Pause and Beef were lying on the grass by their tree, and he felt a little regret at having to interrupt their solitude, but he had been desperate to know what the book said for days. As he approached, Pause sat up.
“Zisteau? How are you?” Pause said.
“I’m well. Beef, I need to ask you a favour.”
Beef sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. “Nearly fell asleep there for a second. Hello Zisteau. What do you need?”
“Aureylian told me you can read Ancoran. I have a book here written in Old Kaioan – very similar to Ancoran. Do you think you could…” he paused, looking at Beef. The other man seemed eager.
“I can try to translate it,” he said. “If that’s what you want.”
“Yes,” Zisteau said. “Thank you so much.” He handed the book to Beef.
“Oh! This is the one that – “
“Yes,” Zisteau said. “The creature gave it to me.”
“I’ll translate it for you.”
“Thank you.”
Dear child, I see terrible things in your childhood. There will be fire, dear, a terrible disaster caused by the embodiment of evil, born deep within the earth. There will be bloodshed, fire and poison spread throughout this land. It will not be safe for you or the people of Kaio anymore.
There is a saying in our world, my child, that you may have heard your elders say before, and it is this: ‘The task of undoing any great evil cannot be thrust upon one man’. What this means is that when the hardest times come you cannot work alone. When that creature comes, that amalgam of hate and fury and contempt, you must stay close to those you trust.
Child, I am afraid to say that I will not survive past your birth. The power of foresight is a wonderful and terrible thing, and I am afraid yet delighted that you shall also bear such powers as mine. You will see things that will give you the greatest of hope for the future, and things that will shock you to your knees in fear. This is what will make you a good ruler, my child, but it is what you do with this knowledge that will make you a great ruler.
My child, in our universe, our bright, infinite universe, there exist three dimensions. This lore has been passed down for generations of Kaioans, and most believe it to be the absolute truth. The first dimension is ours, of Kaio; the world as we know it. The second dimension is also infinite, but contains within it a multitude of worlds. They call this the Archis. Archis holds infinite worlds, each unique and spectacular. Most never get to experience the Archis, and those who go there do not come back. It is easy to get lost in any one of those worlds.
To reach Archis, one must pass through the internal dimension Ancor. Ancor is what some call the mortar between worlds, some call the bridge, and some call yet other names. Ancor exists between Kaio and the Archis. There is talk of it being a beautiful place, and some say that people have stayed and settled there on their way to or from Archis. It is such a beautiful place that they say people who end up there forget hardship, forget pain, loss and sorrow and sickness and war and death. They forget Kaio, forget their past. Ancor is a suspension of reality.
To reach Ancor, and to reach any of the Archis worlds from Ancor, one must know the secret of intersections. Intersections, my child, are places where the fabric of Ancor’s dimension intersects with the fabric of Kaio, or the Archis worlds. These places can be set aflame with any ordinary flint, and once aflame remain burning until extinguished wth water. (If you are ever in need of closing an intersection for good, my child, you should know the secret: intersections can be blocked off with obsidian, as this material reacts violently with the intersections, causing them to self-destroy. I hope you shall never need to use this information.)
Most do not know these secrets, and most that do choose not to share their knowledge. I trust you will use this knowledge wisely, just as a great ruler must.
Child, I am entrusting this diary to your caretaker, Kiri. She is a close friend of mine and shall raise you until you are old enough to become the ruler of Kaio. I cannot say for certain, but I trust she will raise you well.
Dear child, there is a place somewhere far from here where you may rest, and stay in the comfort of friends until your very last days.
I love you, and all that you will do, my child.
Eva.
Beef finished reading his translation and looked up. “I-it’s not the greatest,” he said, “there were some words I-I didn’t exactly…”
Zisteau was crying.
“I’m sorry, do you want me to go?” Beef asked. He went to stand up.
“No, no, please stay,” Zisteau said. “And thank you. It was a fantastic translation.”
“Thanks,” Beef said. He closed the diary over the folded sheet of paper containing the translation, and placed it in front of Zisteau. “Maybe you should learn Ancoran? I could teach you.”
“Thank you for the offer,” Zisteau said. “That would be… wonderful.”
Beef nodded. “You’ve changed, Zisteau.” He paused. “Even though you don’t have your powers, and… and you might never go back to Kaio, I think your mother was right.”
“Right? How?”
“You would have made a great ruler, had you not been corrupted. You are going to make a great ruler.”
Zisteau nodded shortly, and looked back down at the diary. “Thank you. You may go now.”
Beef said his goodbye and opened the door, shutting it quietly behind him. He weaved his way through a short hallway and out the front door of Guude’s castle, where the sun was just rising.
“I thought you should know,” Beef said, sitting on the bed opposite Aureylian. She was getting better now, and could sit up in her bed. Beef could also hear the sickliness in her voce slowly dissipating.
“Know what?” She cocked her head slightly.
“While I was translating Zisteau’s mother’s diary, she said something I thought might interest you. Ancor was never meant to be a place to live. It is a place between worlds, she said. She called it… mortar. Or a bridge. Or something in between.”
“Between worlds?”
“Yes,” Beef said. “It kind of makes sense, actually. Ancor is big, but there’s not particularly anything there. No buildings or anything.”
Aureylian nodded. “We never built. We slept out in the open, it was warm and safe enough. We never had to do anything, really. Not like here.”
Beef nodded. “That makes sense too. What she said was, well… people who went to Ancor always forgot hardships. They forgot their past too. It was like some kind of limbo that had no consequences.”
“Did they all come from Kaio?” Aureylian asked.
“I think so. I don’t know if anyone from the Archis knew how to make intersections.”
“The Archis?” Aureylian rolled the word over her tongue like a familiar taste.
“That’s what Eva called our world. And all the other worlds. All the ones you went to, Aureylian. They’re all part of the Archis. She said there were infinite worlds within it.”
“Wow,” Aureylian said softly. She looked down. “I forgot.”
Beef’s eyes widened. “Does this mean you were originally from Kaio, but you forgot, in Ancor?”
Aureylian shook her head. “I was born in Ancor. Maybe my parents were Kaioans then.”
“Maybe,” Beef said. He stood up. “I hope you’re better soon.”
“I hope so too,” Aureylian said, and smiled. Beef left the now-tiny hospital and walked through the twilight towards his house, where the bright yellow windows indicated that Pause had already turned on the lights.
--
Aureylian stood nervously in the king’s chamber. It wasn’t often that she felt nervous in here, not with Guude, but now she stood before both Guude and Zisteau who looked at her gravely. Her cough and general health had healed enough over the past few weeks that she could leave the hospital; a building that was fast falling into disuse as patients were discharged.
She couldn’t guess as to what both kings might have summoned her here for; she was aware that Guude and Zisteau had become close friends. She had observed the remarkable changes in Zisteau’s behaviour that she suspected had something to do with that creature’s death.
“I think you’re ready,” Guude said from the other side of his table. “Sit down.”
Aureylian sat down across from Guude and Zisteau, feeling anxiety running through her veins. She was afraid for what might come next.
“Aureylian,” Guude began, “Zisteau has already told you, I believe, that he does not want to run a kingdom anymore.”
Aureylian nodded. “I understand that. Even after reading the diary.”
“The thing is,” Guude said, “I have also been thinking about... abdicating for quite a while now. I think, in the interests of the Daedalians, I step down.”
Aureylian leaned back in her chair. “Do you have an heir to continue your line?”
She waited for their inevitable questions, but none came.
“No,” Zisteau said, shaking his head. “We, together, decided that somebody new should become the ruler of these lands. Not of Daedalia, not of Abattia, but of something wholly different. Both kingdoms, combined as you suggested.”
“We decided,” Guude said leaning towards Aureylian, his eyes suddenly filling with an old gleam they had not seen in a long time, “that you are the perfect queen to lead this new world.”
Aurey blinked back her shock. “Me?”
“We’re not joking, Aureylian,” Zisteau said. “You express qualities that we believe are those of a really great ruler, even without your powers.”
Aureylian had already stood up, pushed back her chair, and walked around the table to embrace both men. “You really mean it?” she asked, pulling away from Guude.
“If you really want to,” he said. “And think you’re up for the task.” He chuckled a little. “It’s not easy,” he warned.
“I know,” Aureylian said seriously. “I think I can do it.” She wiped tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. There was no reason to worry anymore; this was the beginning of her real life and she could see it now, even without any silly powers of vision.
There was a knock on Beef’s door as he was making dinner, and he hurried downstairs to open it. Before him stood Aureylian, red cheeked and excited. She stepped inside at his request.
“Hi,” she said. “Is Pause here?”
“Of course he is,” Beef said, stepping aside to let her up the stairs. He followed, surprised at her eagerness.
Once they were all in Beef’s dining room, she turned to the two. “Guess what?”
Pause shrugged. “What?”
“Guys, I’m going to be the queen.”
“The queen? Of what?” Pause asked. Aureylian sat down.
“Of something new. Guude and Zisteau have both decided to step down from leadership, but they want this area to continue to thrive. They already decided their kingdoms should join.”
Beef and Pause stared at her, open-mouthed.
“And you’ll be the queen?” Beef said.
“I agreed to. They both wanted me to, so how could I say no? Neither of them have an heir.”
“You’re… so you’re never going back to Ancor?” Beef said, stunned.
“No,” Aureylian said. “I am going to settle down here. For good.”
Pause and Beef stood up again, coming to her side of the table to congratulate her.
The three hugged tightly as the last rays of the sun disappeared below the horizon.
///Epilogue///
From the centre of the kingdom of Pluvia a blossom grows, a crystalline flower with petals of softly shining mineral. The spears of crystal radiate outwards from a central point, where a stone fountain marks the very first shard that was planted five years ago. The fountain also bears an engraved list of names: the names of men who died in war. Queen Aureylian planted the first shard during her coronation ceremony, a simple outdoors affair in which she declared this old no-man’s-land and all of the land surrounding it the new kingdom of Pluvia.
Around the crystalline flower, contained by men trained to prune its spiked petals before it spreads, pretty green gardens form a central, circular park for the city. The rest of the city is a circle as well; streets are concentric rings joined by smaller spokes. The queen resides in a small but elegant palace nestled amongst the houses. One of her main priorities in creating her kingdom was that it was to be beautiful, and another was that it should be friendly. The city lies on ugly ground, where battles were once fought between the two old kingdoms, but Pluvia hides this and forgets dark memories in her beauty.
Of course, there is still room made for remembrance; there are small graveyards in the city’s outskirts that remember the battles. Men visit the well-tended graves each day to mourn their loved and lost ones. Some graves lie unvisited, but others still lay flowers; the most-visited graves are those of the most recent war, between the two old kingdoms.
What was once called Abattia is now a district of Pluvia’s city; the old, burnt corpse is largely gone, with nothing left but another, smaller, memorial: a stone with a plaque marking the site of the old palace and the place where Ancor intersects with this one. The intersection is never used anymore; there is no need for it to be.
Old Daedalia has also become part of Pluvia; the old houses still remain, but the palace is gone. This district is noticeably different in its construction and layout, but it is just as much a part of Pluvia as any other district.
The walls of both cities are gone; every last barrier that separated the two is now lost in Pluvia’s memories.
-
Down one of the curved outer roads, two men walk with joined hands. From their house in Old Daedalia, they travel a well-worn path to a bar a quarter of the distance around the circle. It is lit up tonight, and packed with people. The men enter the bar and make a straight line for the regular table.
“Hey, look who’s here!” a man says, putting down his cup. He stands up to greet them.
“Hey, Millbee,” one man says.
“Hey Pause, hey Beef,” Millbee replies. “The others should be here soon.”
They order drinks, and, sure enough, a small party of men arrive several minutes later. Seth and Vechs pile into the booth, squashed against the wall by Arkas and Pyro. They don’t mind though, as Pyro points out. Zisteau pulls up a chair and sets it at the end of the booth, leaning into the table so he can hear the conversation.
Drinks arrive, and the group of men chatter and laugh until darkness settles over Aureylian’s kingdom like a blanket.
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Date: Thursday, July 9th, 2015 04:25 am (UTC)This was a wonderful, wonderful ending to a fantastic story. Congratulations on finishing it, I loved the ending, and parts of this were absolutely chilling, like the death of the creature and how they realized there was no glory in putting it down.
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Date: Thursday, July 9th, 2015 04:39 am (UTC)now if kurt comes back and sms happens I will literally die because of you, also I'm very very happy for zisteau's character development and the beefunpause ship and fuck I'm SO DAMN HAPPY YOU HAVE NO IDEA YOU HAVE MADE MY NIGHT JIMMY AND I SHOULD STOP NOW, FUCK. EVEN WHEN I'M HAPPY I CURSE A HELLA LOT, WOW.no subject
Date: Thursday, July 9th, 2015 04:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, July 9th, 2015 04:40 am (UTC)Wow, Tac. And thank you so much <3
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Date: Thursday, July 9th, 2015 04:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, July 9th, 2015 04:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, July 9th, 2015 04:44 am (UTC)*claps faster*
*applause coming out of no where*
*standing ovation*
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Date: Thursday, July 9th, 2015 04:45 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: Saturday, July 11th, 2015 06:34 am (UTC)