Ethereal Ascendant

by Luke DeSalvo

  “And you will not take it away from me!” She barked at the specter and then manifested a sword in her hands that doubled in her height.

  “Everyone,” Xerrast warned the crew. “Run! Follow me, please, I know you don’t know me, but you must trust me. I’m the brother of the scion. I have a ship waiting, run for this will soon become ugly.”

  Codiac turned to regard Suzette, the party leader.

  “We should do as he says,” She agreed with a nod.

  The elf ran, as quickly as he could, which was not too quick due to his recent blow with a specter, but it made the him easy to follow.

  The party obeyed the command and were left sprinting as the two etheric beings, both fairy and specter began to clash. Flames shot as the scythe parried with large swooping sounds, moving quicker than the eye could follow.

  That was the last thing Suzette saw as she headed straight out of the clearing with Codiac and the others trailing behind. Sounds of pistols begin to ring, as Xerrast was carving a path from the now charging skeletons.

  Many dropped, but it was useless. There simply were too many of them.

  Codiac released Alexandra and began hacking at the skeletons in the way, killing many at a time, with a mimicking Suzette beside them.

  Aurora and Ildarachi successfully dodged the skeletons, attacking only in necessity in disciplined strokes to clear a more pursuit able path and were trailing behind the others only a few yards.

  It was Kaeltrys’ turn to be on the offensive and he darted in the center of the party and took a stance.

  “Move!” He called forward. The elf and the others darted to the sides clearing a line of sight for the archmagician.

  Energy surged from Kaeltrys’ being his aura shimmered blue and his eyes went white. With both hands he released a large blast of chi that was so destructive it lit the undead to flames as it cleared a path for the comrades.

  After the display, he was left panting for a moment, before Codiac grabbed his arm.

  “Good job,” He said with approval. “Now C’mon!”

  The party ran as fast as they could to the edge of the forest with the skeletal horde just paces behind them. They ran for what seemed like a lifetime, hacking, slashing, spells bursting in eruption and sure exhaustion kicked in, leaving them hoping the sun would come up, but knowing it was still hours away. It was a torture ride, an unending nightmare outrunning these things knowing that a moment’s hesitance would be the end of their lives.

  They continued in this fashion for many miles until they reached the coast, a tiny graveled beach was before them with the ocean laying behind and the moon overhead, Half waned beginning its decent. In the shimmering ocean and amongst the hectic waves laid a ship anchored down in its murky depths.

  “We must swim!” Xerrast shouted.

  “But, what about the sirens!?” Codiac retorted.

  Suzette grabbed Codiac’s arm.

  “Better than this!” She motioned behind them. Already the army of undead were upon them, making their way to the beach and without further notice the party plunged into the ocean the salt stinging their eyes as they swam for their lives.

  Codiac’s heart raced as he made many strokes through the ocean, with one head turned, he looked back unto the Vael and saw that the undead were unable to leave the forest. Instead of pursuing they stood at the edge of the beach by the hundreds as the party made their escape through water.

  Now, instead of the undead, all there was to worry about were mermaids, or worse, sharks. Not wanting to gaze deep into the depths of ocean, Codiac prayed loudly in his head and kept swimming, faster, catching up to the nets of the ship and climbing aboard with the rest of the crew.

  When all members were accounted for and left catching their breaths Codiac turned to Suzette and cried:

  ”What happened there!?”

  Suzette coughed out some water and smiled almost in the defiance of death.

  “We survived the Vael.”

  Codiac looked around to the others, all laying down panting, in sheer exhaustion. Kaeltrys looked dead with his eyes closed, it was Xerrast who stood on his feet first.

  “Welcome,” He said. “I’ll take you to the scion now, you can trust me.”

  Chapter 21

  “Do you remember? It was the last we kissed…”

  Xerrast Aya

  A Bounty Hunter

  Ildarachi woke abruptly to his swinging cot, tossing and turning from the vast waves from outside the ship. He was sweating with a heart throb, claiming panic attack, from the echoes of a nightmare. The hellish visions kept revealing a female elvish priestess, sand blond hair with emerald eyes kept whispering to him in his sleep.

  “You’ll do it,” her image would say, dancing before him in mind night in twirling motions.

  No matter how motivating the dreams were they still gave him an utter chill, an emptiness about him for he had no answers on what he would “do”. It was almost as if a grudge, a twinge of guilt hanging about the air, when he would wake up with a sudden jerk to a nice, but more harsh reality.

  Three days out of sea could drive any man crazy, he thought out loud, then snickered. No, it has been insane ever since Malifer took over his body, being possessed by two identities, never knowing which would consume him most. He had not been sleeping much ever since the ordeal, the forest left him with a vague dreamlike haze of what he was before as if it never happened. Just one of the many bad dreams, burning from his mind.

  Ildarachi turned below his hammock to see Aurora lying still in hers.

  A peaceful image, she lay there beautiful, long lashes guarding her closed eyes. It was this picture of her that always fought off the dreams of insecurity. Bringing him always to a lighter existence.

  The sea nights gleamed with peaceful essence, a calm before the storm, he once read. Ever since the transmutation went horribly wrong he had been on the run ever since, trekking many miles for a new sense of victory, but what if the dreams were true? There was a subtle change to his breathing patterns that often made it feel as if he were winning the struggle on his soul. Ever since, he had been on board, however he dreamt.

  This was the scion was manipulating his dreams, no doubt, the lone gunman’s sister, Clairvona Aya, or so-called Sleet based off her first miraculous performances on Systralas. Maybe it was time to talk to his companion, Xerrast about this obscurity.

  The elf hardly talked to anyone, instead preferring to be locked away in his chambers, to see no one. Although, when the Ildarachi would check the slumber quarters of the ship he found no Suzette or Codiac. He decided to take this as a hint, a calling for an audience with the elf could prove most useful, especially if he was already distracted.

  Jason neatly set his feet on the ground beside Aurora, kissing her cheek solemnly. She stirred a little, then rolled over back to her sleep, as she often did, back to the dream as if nothing ever happened.

  Ildarachi smiled and made his exit, clinging to the sharp gust of wind from the open sea that surrounded the small wooden deck. He could taste the salt in the air, so foreign from his own hills and plains of Layeth.

  It was cold he soon decided, and he made his way up the ladder to Xerrast's quarters to hear screaming inside.

  “Amethyst Spy!” Codiac's voice sounded.

  “Codi, don't!”

  The sound of his beam saber in materialization turned Ildarachi to hasten his pace, quickly reaching the roof top for the quarter doors.

  There was a shuffling of movement, and the sound of a table being flipped over. Some more shouts and cries pursued until Jason heard a body slamming against the ground. Ildarachi hurried to investigate, pulling the doors open quickly to find a Xerrast pinning down a helpless Codiac with Suzette left to her own horrors.

  “What happened here!?” Ildarachi asked abruptly, entering the room quickly.

  Xerrast let loose of his grip and made his way up to his feet, soothing back his sand blond hair while doing so.

  “Ah, you're h
ere,” He breathed. “I've been expecting you, come,” The elf positioned the furniture back to its upright position, first the small wooden table, the red cushioned chairs.

  Suzette attended to a stunned Codiac but kept her gaze on the Jason, looking as if she needed to explain, but could not find the words.

  “It's the dreams, isn't it?” The elf said, relaxing into his own seat.

  Codiac suddenly stirred from his daze.

  “How can we trust you!?” he cried, sitting up straight.

  “It might as well as have been you that killed all of them!”

  Suzette embraced the anguished knight in a quieting attempt.

  “There, there,” She said quietly. “He already said it wasn't him, ex member or not, he did save Aurora back there.”

  “So, you are a member of Amethyst Divine?” Ildarachi inquired, he moved to make a seat, pinning the elf helplessly to the subject.

  Xerrast said nothing at first, just eyed the trio in a maddening gaze before clearing his throat.

  “Yes, I was once an Amethyst Divine agent, and a lone wanderer, until the owls came, of course,” He replied coolly. “For now, my sister takes precedence. She always has, I was connected to her in the womb. I felt the power also. It’s time to act on it,” Xerrast then took his gaze off Ildarachi and returned them to the battle scene that ensued not long previously.

  “Suzette, why don't you give the young man a breath of fresh air?”

  “Yes,” She agreed, standing the wobbling warrior to his feet and practically carrying him out of the darkly lit room.

  The stars shined overhead, revealing a nearly full moon overlooking them, shining in brilliance.

  “Shall we?” She motioned for the ladder.

  Codiac weakly nodded and they quickly made their exit onto the rocking deck to not say a word. They eyed each other in the beautiful ambiance only the ocean could provide, Suzette even dared a smile.

  “You're starting to look at me, like she did,” Codiac said, returning the grin.

  “Who?” She asked, edging closer to him.

  “Brittaney,” Codiac broke his gaze. “Amethyst murdered my whole family. Save for Kaeltrys, I have nobody now. Even my father...” He trailed off and found his way to the railing of the deck, Suzette quietly pursuing him with a lack of words.

  “I'm sorry for your loss,” was all she said, leaving them to the silent empty stare of the sea, shimmering before them.

  “You know, we were on top of Systralas there for a while,” Codiac breathed, never keeping his gaze off the ocean. “I should have known better.”

  Suzette bit her lip before continuing, edging ever closer.

  “Codi, it's not your fault,” Suzette forced a gaze out of them, “Systralas is in chaos and sometimes She just produces death entirely. There are big things at play here, right?” She asked out loud and searched for a response.

  It was then when Codiac approached closer, leaning onto the rail of the ship. “You know-“he began before being cut off by a smooth wave that splashed up on the deck. The waves stopped, almost as if something had caused it. With hesitance they glanced at the ocean and below in the murky waters swam a white pale object. It darted under the ship and back before them, pacing in maddening circles. A siren.

  The mermaid surfaced from the water and smoothed her wet hair, moving the strands to the side of her face. She looked serene in the moonlight, fin, dove out of the ocean, making a waving motion before them as if to say greetings.

  “Codiac, don’t look!” Suzette shouted, but it was too late. The young man looked beguiled staring at the mermaid.

  You are my champion, she said, blowing a kiss.

  Codiac said nothing but kept his eyes on the mermaid silently in awe. The siren then turned her eyes on Suzette and smiled, swimming closer.

  Dreamer.

  “What?” Suzette dared asked.

  The siren continued her smile, saying nothing just circling in the waves beyond. Suzette froze in a panic. This thing could easily have Codiac thrown off the deck by himself to an early grave, she thought, searching for an easy solution to stop the spell. Suddenly, and quickly, her warrior instincts came back to her and she reached to her side and produced a dagger. Without hesitation she threw, and her aim was too high as the knife skimmed the top of the siren’s skull.

  A large wail came out of the mermaid. Piercing their eardrums, shaking them to the core, before the creature dove deep into the dark waters below.

  The spell was abruptly broken and Codiac was left with an alarmed Suzette at his face. The sudden realization of the ordeal hit when he searched Suzette’s panicked stricken face said that he may have just barely made from the trial with his life. Yet, here he was unscathed.

  “Guess I still am a champion out there for someone,” He said quietly under his breath.

  Suzette eyed him in disbelief.

  “Are you kidding me!?” She cried, stirring him back to his wits. “That confirms it! Dreamer!? You are a dream mage!” She exclaimed pointing a finger at his chest. “That explains why you’ve been in my head all this time.” She paused and looked down, taking her hand along with it.

  “You’re in my dreams.”

  “Perhaps,” Codiac said turning to regard to the young Guardian's mesmerizing gray-blue eyes. “But, what does that make you?”

  Suzette just stood there shocked. This was breaking the law and she was a Guardian meant to destroy dream mages onsite. They were the hardest of missions, some claimed that this was a Guardian’s sole purpose in life. Would she have to kill him? Her heart was broken, she fidgeted, recalling the recent past with the young man in the woods. The two in arms, she thought she was falling for him, yet she felt her way to her sword.

  “I am a Guardian!” She said without hesitation, unsheathing her weapon.

  “And a dream mage!” Codiac cried.

  This stopped Suzette in her tracks. It was haunting, but she realized it all in a gasp.

  “The Guardian operation was to install this feature. To unlock the unconsciousness completely was forbidden, but too many wished for it. Including the empire. There had to be a way to do it for subject monopoly, thus the Guardians were born to combat both realities.” Codiac stated.

  “What does that make us?” Suzette asked in a hush whisper.

  “We’re already a part of each other!” Codiac shouted. “There’s no going back!” He pleaded, this time quieter. “This meeting is era changing, Suzette Monroe, and you’re already a part of it. There’s no going back.” He repeated somberly.

  Suzette smiled as she sheathed her weapon. For the first time in her young life, the guardian felt purpose, as if finally, all that she had spent sweating, bleeding, killing, crying, all paid off now. It was a huge relief on her shoulders and she felt herself turn, walking closer to the rail and taking a quick glimpse of the sea, glittering by moonlight.

  “What is this strange magic?” She questioned. Codiac said nothing but approached her. “It’s almost as if we were the ocean, aren’t we?” She asked.

  “And then some,” He replied, eying the waters suspiciously.

  * * *

  “But why does my task differ from everyone else’s?” Jason inquired. “Who do I have to leave Systralas?”

  The elf remained motionless before stirring for a glass of wine. He had produced a small bottle and the container was already half empty through their small talk and, Xerrast frowned slightly then poured the liquid contents into the glass.

  “Your presence is not required in this galaxy any longer.” Was all he said before taking a sip.

  “You can cut the act,” Xerrast stated the last word loudly before setting down the glass.

  “Amethyst must fall though, even us elite members know that we are not worthy for the command of an entire universe, but you Ildarachi, not Avilya, but simply you, are meant to control our destiny in this dimensional pull towards the bliss of the seventh season.”

  “You make it sound so simple,” Ild
arachi snorted before too sipping on his own glass of red wine.

  “We'll take you home,” The elf said quietly. “We'll take you home,” He repeated only after retaining the Jason’s attention.

  “Just no more transformations, not until you're cured, ok?” He finished, finishing his cup as well in a fashionable form. He looked beautiful sitting there, green eyes widened for a response

  “Fine,” was all Jason could manage in a winded gasp.

  The exhale of air from Ildarachi produced a wild smile on the elf’s face.

  Chapter 22

  “The heroes made it out of the Vael alive, but the spider queen was always watching.”

  Clairvona Aya, Sleet

  Scion of Systralas

  When the companions landed on the shore of Desnal, all sighs were let loose of the significance of the harbor and its town. A stone worked structured place, meant for military actions, with high end catapults armed and on the go over the towering hill base. It was a fortress compared to the slums of Aquaron, the adjacent harbor city of human territory, and the sea foam of the morning was beginning to rise on the sand line. Boulders of all size, limitless, stretch along the shore to only be met with concrete walls preceding them.

  There was a large long dock with miles of expansion filled with dozens of ships all varied in sizes and shapes, some ships had whole towns upon them and it created a marvelous sight on enthralling party spectacles. When their very own ship was anchored, everyone was hesitant to walk after such a bumpy adventure. With their sea legs slowly becoming unfamiliar, the party left the ship and began their short walk to Desnal.

  They made way to the center of the town, past the vast marketplace selling goods from all around Systralas. They ranged from fine smelling meats, clothing attire, electronics, housing ornaments, and trinkets varying in size.

  Aurora, still in her mud stained clothing was ordered by Suzette to buy some regular attire and meet at a local tavern just a mile walk.