Necromancer’s Sorrow: (Series Finale)

by Pablo Andrés Wunderlich Padilla

  After careful scrutiny, he saw that his whole existence stretched before him without any apparent sequence with memories and events spread out everywhere. From the day his parents had conceived him to the day he was born and came kicking into this world to when he was growing up seeking his mother’s love of which he never seemed to have enough.

  “—damaged without repair.” He heard in Mégalath’s deep voice.

  “Everything has a price, Mégalath,” he heard the other voice say. “Everything in this universe obeys the laws of equivalent exchange, where something must be exchanged for something else. Do you understand?”

  “I understand,” Mégalath replied. “What little is left of me, use it for him.”

  Mérdmerén’s memories, previously confused, began to organize themselves in stacks. His vision, which before had been only his memories, began to focus so that he was able to see a grey sky of ever-changing clouds. Suddenly, he found himself face to face with a magnificent dragon. It did not surpass Mégalath in size, yet its elegance, vitality, and the radiation of those deep eyes were so unforgettable that they took his breath away.

  “Welcome to Tempus Frontus, the Border of Time, Mérdmerén. Few living beings have set foot on these sacred lands guarded by me, Nordost, Dragon of the Metal Scales.

  “After defeating Mórgomiel for the first time during those first Times of Chaos, when he murdered many gods and dragons with Wrath the Godslayer, Tempus Frontus was created by the joint forces of those who wished to make a contingency plan for when Mórgomiel returned. When he was beaten, he cunningly scattered the pieces of his armor and now he has recovered them.

  “The evil one defeated the Summoning even before it had formed. His cunning is so great that he convinced ArD’Buror, Fluenthal, and Mythlium to betray their siblings and he succeeded. That meant that four dragons of the five essences died: Kágalath, Róganok, Folfiri, and Fluenthal. Now, the only remaining dragon is Mégalath.”

  Mérdmerén had noticed that the dragons spoke perfect Mandrakian, thinking that the beasts with their magic would certainly be able to speak many languages.

  “Mégalath was struck by Wrath the Godslayer when the God of Chaos tried to kill him to absorb his energy. The wound was more than superficial.”

  Mégalath explained, “Wrath the Godslayer and Górgometh’s infinite cruelty know how to wound deeply. Their wounds are not only superficial ones that graze the flesh, some graze your soul as well. Wrath contaminated me with its energy, its nightmares, while Górgometh managed to put a spell on me. Soon, I will begin to turn into a creature of hell and inevitably, I will be a part of their army. That is the nature of the poison they have infused in me.” There was a look of defeat in his eyes.

  Mérdmerén managed to take a proper look at their surroundings to see where on earth they were. The world was brownish-yellow and there seemed to be nothing on the horizon while over the sky, a thin layer of gigantic clouds changed their shape at an alarming speed. When he looked closely at where they were, he realized they were standing on a structure so tall that he could barely make out the ground. The platform they were standing on was the same brownish-yellow as the rest of the surroundings. On this platform was a gigantic arc with a violet vortex gyrating within it. But there was more. There was a long narrow altar that was made of something like marble and on it was a body that didn’t seem to be breathing. Both body and altar were surrounded by blue energy that emanated peace.

  Nordost raised his elegant neck so that Mérdmerén could see the spot where one of the thousands of scales was missing from that thick natural shield. “That is why Mégalath told you to plunge the Dagger of Stern, which was made from one of my scales, into his flesh.”

  I’m talking to dragons, he thought. I’m going crazy… and it doesn’t seem at all unbelievable to me.

  “How so?” When the King of Mandrake spoke for the first time in this dimension, he found that his voice reverberated with a prolonged echo. He also found that he had to shout at the top of his voice to be heard by the grand beasts since his voice sounded like a thin whistle compared with their thunderous ones.

  “When you plunged the Dagger of Stern into Mégalath, he knew he was about to make an exchange that would endanger his life. The exchange was a massive increase in his strength for as long as he had left to live. And so, his life was cut short. He does not have much time left.”

  “I have decided to give my life to defend yours,” Mégalath explained. “It’s the price I will gladly pay for my treachery. Besides, I am contaminated with the poison of Chaos and my life is in danger. I am prepared to give what is left of my essence.”

  “What?” the human asked in surprise. “You have to leave just like that? Isn’t there some remedy? Isn’t there a magic cure or something like that?”

  “The wound I have sustained is too deep. The page cannot be turned back, Mérdmerén. Either I give myself now or there will come a point when my soul will become corrupt and, therefore, useless.”

  Mérdmerén was not happy. He had only just gained the alliance of the dragon who had helped to repel evil. And now he was leaving? This did not bode well at all. He jabbed a finger at the altar. “And what about that body over there?”

  “Everything in its own time, Mérdmerén of the Kings,” Nordost said. “Now we must witness the blinding moment when Mégalath delivers the rest of his essence to invoke the spirit of a powerful ally.”

  At last, things made sense to Mérdmerén. Mégalath’s death would not be in vain.

  Chapter XXXIV — The Universe in You

  Teitú, Luchy thought. I need you to search through my thoughts and memories. I need you to see what I’ve seen so that you understand what my memories can tell us about where Manchego is.

  Teitú’s light changed from a creamy pink to a dull blue.

  All right.

  When he gained access to Luchy’s memories, his light changed from blue to purple to an intense crimson and then from crimson back to purple and then again back to crimson. It was thanks to Mother, the seraph now saw, that Luchy had been able to witness the sequence of events that had led Manchego to his demise. The betrayal by Mythlium, Fluenthal, and ArD’Buror, the murder of the other gods, the defeat of Róganok, and his brutal death. And then she had seen Manchego floating, freezing…

  It can’t be! It can’t be! Manchego!

  Teitú’s light turned opaque again. He longed to go back to dwell with the spirits.

  She heard Alaris’s thought. I won’t let you go back! At once, the three of them were back in the tangible world.

  Teitú found himself out of the Interim. His light was beginning to turn crimson. He was angry with Alaris for separating him from his loved ones.

  You’re right, I’ve been pleasing the dead for too long. They, my distant relatives, haven’t stopped mourning for centuries. The truth is that Thórlimás was destroyed by the Black Arts centuries ago and will never return. Alaris has shown me that more of my ancestors live in Allündel and that gives me hope. But here, I’ve learned a lot about my existence, my past, who I am, and how I came to fall into Manchego’s hands. I was one of the last seeds, one of the last children of Tutonticám who managed to escape from the utter destruction. It was the witch Ramancia who found me many years ago and kept me until it was the right time to blossom. The moment was when Manchego appeared at her shop so many years ago and in him, she perceived that radiant energy of his soul.

  Meanwhile, Flóregund and Mojak were approaching the travelers, understanding immediately that the conversation between the girl and the seraphs was being carried out through thoughts. Mojak remained impassive while Flóregund, being young, was trying to understand what was going on and what they were talking about.

  Teitú’s color changed to blue. It’s my fault that he disappeared! I let him be betrayed by his people! he wailed.

  It’s not your fault, Teitú, Alaris thought. You had to find your own way and become an independent seraph. That’s exactly what you
did by going back to what you knew as home. Now that you’ve grown up, a great responsibility falls on you, a mission that can only be carried out with your help.

  Finding Manchego, Teitú said. For three years I was his slave, doing what he wanted, thinking what he wanted to think, growing with him, but never worrying about myself. That’s why I left him. I could no longer bear being anybody’s slave. I needed my freedom. And now I have it, I can see that perhaps it would have been better to postpone my fit of temper. Alac needed me and I failed him.

  But he’s still alive, thought Luchy. And I can only find him with your help. It’s only with you that I’ll have the strength to. Because only you know Manchego as well as I do. You searched in his soul for so long that you’ll know how to find him.

  All right, then! For Manchego!

  No, Luchy thought. For the universe. You know that Mórgomiel is carrying on with his plan while we’re in the dilemma of finding the single entity that can beat him. That’s why we need to make haste.

  To succeed in that and provide you with strength and all my support, I’ll have to connect myself to your soul with just as powerful a link as the one I had with Manchego. I have to become your slave, said Teitú.

  No, you won’t be my slave. We’ll be partners in this supremely important mission, Teitú. I promise not to make you do anything you don’t like, but I will need all your support when the moment comes.

  All right. Prepare yourself for the connection.

  “What do I have to I do?” Luchy asked aloud.

  I’m not sure. Take me in your hands, maybe it’ll make the process easier.

  “Very well.”

  Luchy felt Teitú between her hands. The rosy seraph was a delight on her skin, so warm and so unique.

  Close your eyes and try to think about nothing, Teitú thought.

  Luchy followed his instructions. She thought of nothing and at once felt that nothingness being replaced by a light floating in the distance, like seeing a sun in the center of the infinite. She began to feel like she was floating toward that solar sphere, summoned to its core with eternal conviction. She felt a primitive happiness welling from the center of her heart, the fingertips of her existence stretching toward that perfect sphere of brightness.

  The image turned black and with a painful flash, she felt that something was occupying space in her mind, an alien presence that burst into her existence, pushing her own identity to one side to make room for itself within her mind and soul.

  The pain was followed by a mental stabbing sensation and a burning that coursed throughout her body. She fell forward, holding her head as if it were going to explode.

  Flóregund reacted at once. With a leap, he tried to go and help the girl but was prevented by Mojak’s powerful grasp on his cloak that brought him back as if he were a puppy. The leiwas gave him a blazing glare.

  In pain, the elf watched the girl writhing on the ground. Then, she stopped moving. She was breathing calmly and above her floated the seraph they had rescued from the Interim. The elf understood nothing, but he knew that something on a grand scale had just happened.

  Luchy opened up her thoughts and met the entity that was occupying space in her mind. At first, she knew that her mind was trying to prevent that presence from doing anything of the sort—an innate defense mechanism trying to maintain the integrity of her mind.

  What she was about to witness was something Manchego had never managed to understand. When Teitú had entered his mind all those years before, the Naevas Aedán had been no more than a newborn and hence had not lived and had no experience, emotions, memories, or passions. Now Teitú was a full-grown Naevas Aedán who had lived and survived the iron union with his first master and then returned to his land of origin to share with the spirits of his ancestors and had learned much from them.

  Luchy could enter Teitú’s personality and memories fully as though they were her own. In the same way, Teitú was able to search in her soul as though it were his own mind.

  They both understood one another profoundly and for Luchy, it was incredible to be able to immerse herself in Teitú’s memories of when he was Manchego’s guide. It allowed her to get to know Manchego from another angle, to feel his happy and sad moments, to see how miserable he had been in Kanumorsus when darkness had swallowed him up. In the same way, she was able to witness all the events that had enabled him to grow and become the God of Light: the pain he had felt when Mórgomiel had defeated him in San San-Tera when he had barely reincarnated as the God of Light, the burning he had felt when he had been trapped in Tempus Frontus, the sorrow he had felt when he had visited the past to see Luchy and found his heart broken into a thousand pieces.

  More and more memories, feelings, and thoughts invaded Luchy’s mind and soul until a bright light filled her existence and she felt as if from nothingness, everything had clarified and opened up. She saw the world as never before, knowing that all this was thanks to the wonderful relationship she had established with Teitú.

  This is amazing! Is this what Manchego lost when you left him?

  Yes. When I separated from his mind I tore away that part. I left him alone…

  This is awesome, dizzying! Teitú, come on. That’s enough of wondering at what deserves to be wondered at. We both know where Manchego is and there’s no time to be lost.

  All this time, Luchy had been stretched out on the ground asleep, communicating with Teitú and learning about him and the destroyed culture of Tutonticám. Thanks to her memories and what Alaris had told him, Teitú, for his part, had learned that Naevas Aedán were living with the Lï in Allündel and that discovery awoke in him a longing to go back there and visit them all. He would tell them everything he had learned about forgotten Tutonticám and Thórlimás, thanks to the spirits of the dead.

  Luchy got to her feet. The look on her face had only changed infinitesimally, but it was still enough to be perceptible to both Flóregund and Mojak. In her elven garments, a magnificent elemín sword at her waist, and the Naevas Aedán who now belonged to her by her side, Luciella now, more than ever, looked like a real princess.

  Flóregund felt the urge to kneel and worship her as if she were a queen or something of the kind. He knelt. Without knowing exactly why he did so, he unsheathed his sword and placed it in front of his knees, then touched his forehead to the ground and said, “From this day forward, Princess Luciella of the Holy Comment, I, Flóregund of the House of Nina, the Princess of Yore, swear to be your guardian and personal escort, to sacrifice my life for yours and to devote myself entirely to your purpose. Today and forever. May Lumibel and Alambam be witnesses to this, may Nimyaya support me always, and may those entities keep me tied to you until the mission is fulfilled or else death frees me from this contract.”

  Luchy was left open-mouthed, but it did not surprise her as much as what came next. Mojak knelt as well, placing his mace in front of her and putting his forehead to the ground.

  Through Alaris, he said, You can count on me in the same way. May this promise join me to your side today and forever, until this mission is fulfilled or death frees me. May Mother hear my words and make me responsible for this promise, today and forever.

  Luchy took a deep breath and shed a couple of tears. The only thing in her mind, now that she had rescued Teitú, was finding Manchego. She knew where he was and that was where she was going.

  Wait! What about me? Luchy recognized Alaris’s thoughts. How could she have forgotten the faithful companion who had helped her find Teitú?

  We’ll provide you with a safe-conduct to one of the temples of Nimyaya, Luchy told him. From there you’ll be able to find your way back to Allündel. Unless you want to come with us to the end of time to rescue the God of Light.

  Um, I’d rather go back to Allündel. Thank you.

  “Thank you, my dear gentlemen,” Luchy said to Mojak and Flóregund. She hugged them, first Flóregund and then Mojak. Although, hugging Mojak was more difficult given his size. The elf was red-fac
ed after the hug, unable to hide his admiration for the young woman.

  “The mission to rescue the God of Light begins now. We’re going to Kanumorsus, where we’ll have to cross one of the portals to go on to the world called the Terigión.”

  Wait, Mojak thought. Aren’t you going to introduce us?

  “Ah! Teitú, this is Mojak. Mojak, this is Teitú. From now on, Teitú will be our translator. All right?”

  “Yes! But what about me?”

  Luchy rolled her eyes. “And this is Flóregund, an elf from Allündel. Ready? Can we go on with the mission, please?”

  Delighted to meet you, Naevas Aedán.

  Delighted to meet you, Mojak. And you, Flóregund.

  Chapter XXXV — Sweet Revenge

  Górgometh appeared in the space near Eorta, the world that, so far, had served as his base for operations. Mórgomiel, riding the creature of black smoke, was smarting over everything that had happened lately. He was full of hatred and a longing to murder all those who had humiliated him in that battle that had been supposed to be a surprise attack intended to cause a reaction in the enemy but had ended up in his total defeat.

  “Mégalath!” Mórgomiel raged. “We should have killed him when we had the chance.”

  “Filthy damn lizard. How did he manage to become so much more powerful and whip us like that? We’ve lost a lot. Too much.”

  The humans beat you and humiliated you again, Argbralius thought in Mórgomiel’s mind. They exposed you as an inefficient god. You’re incompetent, Mórgomiel. You’ve got to do something about this. It’s just not good enough.

  Mórgomiel longed to murder the human who was still there inside him, strangle him and see his eyes burst from the pressure he would bring to bear to starve him of air. But the human was lost in the farthest crevices of his soul and there was no way of kicking him out. If he argued with him or let himself be swayed, Górgometh would notice. He could not afford to lose the respect of his most powerful ally.