The Sage's Reign

by Shakyra Dunn

  “As nice as that would be, we came here for an unrelated reason,” Solus implied. “We came to search for Lunious, retrieve Leilana’s grimoire, and then we have to leave.”

  “But we won’t have another chance like this!” Sien interjected. “We could get answers from the leader and convince him of another way to bring peace to Adrylis without bloodshed!”

  Leilana shut her eyes, inhaling slowly. This arguing was beginning to grow senseless. She almost wished that she knew the right way to ease Sien’s anger without potentially wrecking a second bond. Maybe Solus was right—she needed to sink down to Sien’s true bliss and make her laugh. Until then, she’d have to deal with the incessant behavior.

  “It’s far too dangerous to take on a task like that, infiltrating a base surrounded by members of the Order of Helix. We’d be killed. I know that you think it’s the best option, but what help would we be to Remiel if we were to perish prematurely?” Sien flinched at the remark. He did have a point. They wouldn’t be able to handle any situation involving Rem if they couldn’t be there in the first place. Without them, he would have little chance at survival, and vice versa.

  “That’s what I thought,” Solus snarled, leaving Sien to bite her tongue. “Now, infrequently do I request this—follow my lead. And try not to do anything too reckless in the process. We have goals in mind, and I expect you to uphold them for the sake of our prince. Leilana, have you sensed Lunious?”

  “No,” she admitted. “I’ve been trying to wrap my head around it ever since we arrived. It’s like he’s wearing a mask. There are so many other members of the Order of Helix out here that it’s hard to pinpoint his aura.” At that moment, she watched Solus’s face change into one of distaste and he reached for his sword. Something was bothering him. “What’s the-?”

  Fingertips gingerly grazed her shoulder. Chills ran down the back of her spine at the close contact, and she almost swore that her heart stopped. No. It couldn’t be.

  “Well now, you’ve shown up to collect rather late, haven’t you?” Lunious’s slimy voice piercing her ears was all too haunting.

  “Step away from her,” Sien warned, bow and arrow already pointed at the man. “We could end all of this without a fight, and no one has to get hurt.”

  “Oh, are you certain of that?” He pushed Leilana aside, and she immediately dashed over to her allies, taking up her staff. Lunious held up his arms as if offering a challenge. “You are willing to expose yourselves in front of people that desire to kill your king?”

  “That is not why we are here, and you know it,” Leilana retorted. “My grimoire. I will have it back now. I’ve let you borrow it long enough.”

  Lunious scoffed at the proclamation. “Ready to be bound to your little book again, I see. I take it that your loss wasn’t enough to bring your head out of the clouds.”

  “No, in fact, it made my need to fight stronger,” Leilana explained, her grip on the staff tightening. “I was given this life, and I was given my grimoire. I was given the opportunity to become a Warlord, and the chance to travel, to unravel. I can’t keep depending on what was handed to me—only I can carry out the duty set for me with my own hands. I will give back.”

  “So, that is your answer. To fight with the knowledge that you must carve your own path, to return the favor to those that have brought you to this point. I must admit, it’s admirable coming from such a feeble mind.” He stretched his hand forward, a lengthy blade conjuring in his grasp. “But your journey will reach its end here, Leilana Erovina.”

  Lunious swung his blade, a fierce sweep of wind thrusting forward, knocking Leilana off her feet. Lunious charged at the girl, and Sien drew back her bow, an arrow grazing his cheek. Solus grabbed Leilana by the arm as she was regaining herself, pulling her back to the grounds of her own broken mind. She gave a nod as thanks, blocking Lunious’s incoming strike with her staff, managing to underhand him due to the close contact. The blade vanished from his grasp, and Leilana went for an opening to jab through his defenses, but before she had seized the chance, the blade reemerged and struck her across the arm, the gash cutting deep. Sien was prepared to assist her, but Leilana held up a hand, stopping the girl in her tracks. The searing pain of the new wound didn’t compare to the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

  Six months. Six months she had been waiting for this opportunity, facing Lunious again with new footing. She was no longer just a typical mage, nor was she on the path to becoming a primed Warlord like her brother. They were versed in two different fields—Ennis always was the better fighter, not only because of his training but due to his natural strength as a boy. He was more capable of pushing his body to further limits. So were Solus and Rem. She and Sien were at disadvantages from the start, and yet, here they stood against all odds, fighting for the same goal.

  Solus had his ribbon interlocked around Lunious’s neck as a distraction, dragging him to the ground, the man’s startled gasp catching the attention of the members of the Order of Helix around them. Lunious smirked through his pain and kicked Solus in the knee, the audible pop muffled by Solus’s cry of pain. The instant that Solus reacted, Lunious shoved him away. Sien went to his aide, running her fingers along his wound to dull the pain before healing the joint. Leilana slammed her staff against Lunious’s back and chest, observing his movements to determine a possible weak spot. Lunious seemed to take the injury in stride, for he still had the momentum to punch the girl in the jaw when the attacks slowed for even a second.

  Leilana connected with the dirt, running her fingers through the blood and grime mixing in her open wound. She winced at the contact, sweat rolling down her face. The right side of her face was throbbing, a touch of blood on her cracked lips. She spat on the ground and wiped her face as clean as she could with her sleeve, the metallic taste still on her tongue. The brief respite turned out to be her undoing when Lunious pressed a foot to her back, shoving her to the ground.

  “You know, I used to hear all about you when you were still in training. Ennis wrote of you in his letters, ones that he kept hidden. He didn’t want people to know that you were rising to the occasion.” Three slips of paper fell into her view, the corners ripped, stained and folded down the middle. Leilana’s eyes went void. The words that she could make out were written in Minsuran.

  ‘Life. Existence. Growth.’

  The start of each passage had a theme reflecting a Warlord’s pilgrimage. To exist, you needed to live, taking your first breath. And to grow into someone worthy, you needed to live. Both could only be achieved through existing. It was an endless cycle.

  “He knew that war was coming; I bet that he never expected his younger sister to rise and claim the mantle that he’d left behind. He expected you to wait for him to return for you. Do you know what that means, Leilana? He didn’t see your potential. He didn’t believe in you.” He slammed his foot into her side. “He expected you to grow up and remain obedient. Weak. Defenseless. How does that make you feel?”

  He had tried this method before. He used words to tear her confidence apart rather than physically breaking her down. It was a key ploy in his acts of manipulation. This was how he could win over Rem and Solus in Kalonia—it was easy to convince them that he was on their side, but they never considered what his true intentions were because the idea that extra help was right in front of them won out.

  “It’s not going to work this time,” she snarled. “Nothing you say will make me turn my back on him. Nothing. This will be your end.”

  She punched his leg, striking his left shoulder with the staff once he’d lost some momentum to hold her down. As he stumbled, Sien launched an arrow, striking him through the arm. Solus grabbed his wrist with the ribbon, and the moment that Lunious had whirled around, Leilana struck him across the face, watching him fall to the ground before jabbing the staff into his back, shattering his spine.

  “It’s over,” Leilana hissed, keeping her weapon jammed into his body. “Where is it? Talk while you can. The
re will be no second chances.”

  “The war,” he coughed, blood spewing from his mouth. Leilana nearly cringed at the liquid hitting her feet. “It will take all of your lives… there will be nothing left of Adrylis…”

  “My grimoire, Lunious,” she pressed on.

  “You will never be able to reclaim it,” Lunious hissed. “It is in the hands of the Order now.” With no words left to say, he slipped away. The idea of killing the man came so easily, but it gave Leilana a distasteful urge all the same. She couldn’t hold it together long enough and retched on the dirt.

  “I was hoping he wouldn’t say that,” Solus admitted. Sien took to mending Leilana’s wounds, rubbing the younger girl’s back as she spat the last of her physical virtues onto the ground. “It seems that we’ll be going after the stronghold after all, Sien.”

  Sien smirked. “Excellent.”

  Leilana rested a hand on Sien’s shoulder, working to regain composure. “Not that excellent. We have a lot to prepare for. We have literal minutes to fight for our lives.”

  “And it would be wise not to waste them,” Solus implied. “Keep on your toes. We may not walk out of this unscathed, and we don’t have Rem to assist us. That could be a blessing though, knowing that their sights are set on him. Are you both prepared?”

  “Now that we are in motion, I will have my grimoire back at any cost.”

  The Order of Helix members had long since cleared out, not a single person left to observe the ordeal. They were already planning for their arrival. Now it was time for them to do the same.

  By the time that Rem had reached Ocula again with bated breath, the sun was blaring from the light of high noon. Bitter silence in the air was stiffening, not a person in sight. Maybe his friends hadn’t arrived in town yet, but that still didn’t explain why the Order of Helix suddenly went into hiding.

  “Something’s wrong.” The sudden voice startled him, and he covered his mouth with both hands to keep from yelling in surprise, just in case that other unexpected guests were roaming. He whirled around to find Amiria standing a few feet away, her arms behind her back. He stomped his foot.

  “Amiria!” His voice was hushed. “Did you follow me all the way back here?” Then he raised an eyebrow, marveled b the coy smile lining her rosy lips. “Wait, how did you keep quiet without me noticing?”

  “Another story, another time,” she replied.

  “I’ll hold you to that,” he stated. “So, what’s with all the silence?”

  “I’m not sure,” Amiria began. “It’s never this quiet, and I don’t think there are any meetings that would steal the attention of every stationed member at once. That aside, I can sense Leilana’s aura. It burns bright and flickers away. I’m not sure what could be going on, but all the signs point to trouble.”

  Rem took off before she could give any more insight, and she drew in a breath, releasing it in the form of a puff of white smoke, clenching her teeth together when the chill of autumn wind decided to grace her with its presence. The air was cooling rapidly, and the tense atmosphere did little to quell any lingering concerns. Sometimes Rem could be so reckless, but what fighter remained composed at every turn? His friends were potentially in danger, and he was left to make amends while he had the chance.

  “Wait, Prince Remiel!” she called. “You can’t go off by yourself! It’s too dangerous!” But Rem didn’t stop moving, her words distant to him. She broke into a run after him, stepping in front of him with both arms extended, as if to shield him from the city’s boundaries. “The Order of Helix will have your head if they catch you running around!”

  “I have to start somewhere!” Rem retorted, shoving past her, causing her to stumble.

  “It is foolish to go rushing into a stronghold with nothing to show for it,” she warned. “You will die if you challenge them on your own!”

  “I can’t allow more to be taken for my sake, especially not the lives of my friends!”

  “I can’t allow you to run headfirst into your grave,” she countered.

  Rem straightened his back. “I will not sit back and let things unfold like this. It is my duty as this country’s king to see things through and to end this crisis. If this first step is what it takes, then I will resolve it.” Amiria always found herself befuddled by his ‘noble tactics’—he became a completely different person whenever his birthright shone. “I don’t have time to wait for an ending, and I can’t let them wait for my arrival. Stand with me or against me, Amiria. You only get one chance.”

  One chance. One chance to act as a guide to the sitting royal of Adrylis and aide him in his plight. This was the first time he had asked it of her outright. He wanted her there, but not if she was going to hold him back from the goals that he set for himself. She wondered if he was this way around Leilana. Maybe he wasn’t as open with her, though, when it came to expression. Leilana did have a bitter streak behind her behavior, and it ran in increments.

  Resting a hand on her chest, she lowered herself into a bow, the loose strands of her long hair slipping over her shoulders. “I am at your command, Your Highness.”

  He took her hand with both of his own, grasping her attention again. “I may have the title, but you don’t have to treat me like a Prince. If we’re going to work together, I’d like you to be less formal. Call me Rem instead of ‘Prince Remiel’ or ‘Your Highness.’ Ever since you found out the truth, you never said anything else. I want you to be comfortable.”

  Lacing her fingers around his hands, she reclaimed the warmth stirring in him. So much life that he carried, so much potential stirring through his soul. “All right then, Rem.”

  “Now you’ve got it.” Amiria kept her hand extended towards him a few seconds longer before dropping her hand to her side again. “Let’s go.”

  She grinned. “Right.”

  The largest building in Ocula, blanketed under the afternoon sky, visible the moment that any outsiders set foot in the town. It was the only place where the stronghold could have been located. And naturally, from the outside, there was nothing but guards waiting for them to stroll up. Instead, the trio remained perched behind another building, overlooking the area. Solus peered out, his eyes narrowing. The mages stood stalwart and expressionless with straightened backs as if they were stone statues.

  “Are we in order, Sien?”

  Sien was already prepping an arrow to be fired, making sure that the string on her bow was still tight. A single flick across the thick material confirmed her praise. “Ready and waiting.”

  Solus laid a hand on her shoulder to ease her tension while she took up a proper stance, perched on one knee. “Take fire when you feel adequate.”

  She squinted, eyes on the prize, the arrowhead glistening under the afternoon sun. One shot was all that it took. It seemed so simple, but two arrows firing into targets would prove difficult unless the line of the shot was accurate. She sighed, lowering her weapon. “I’m not sure I can handle this.”

  “It’s all right to feel nervous,” Solus stated. “You only get one shot, but don’t feel like the weight is all on your shoulders if you miss—I’ll pick up the slack.”

  “That’s the last thing I want.”

  Sien straightened her back and fired, striking both men with near precision. They fell to the ground, one of them dead on impact, the other choking on the blood filling his lungs before movement ceased. Solus stared at Sien in shock as she rose to a stand, grabbing the two bodies by the collars of their hoods, dragging them behind the building. She reemerged a minute later with blood on her hands, a touch on her skirt as well, though she didn’t seem to mind. Her expression was void as if used to the bloodshed, but her reactions were bordering on confusion.

  Solus crossed his arms. “You know, a simple ‘no’ would have sufficed. I know when I’m not needed.”

  Leilana swallowed, unsure of how to approach the situation now that things had unraveled again. Before she could question it, Solus lightly shoved her ahead, knowing that
time was of the essence, and other members would be quick to join them.

  The first floor of the building was filled with freshly polished metallic floors, not a single light around to illuminate their dim path. Solus struck a match from a box he’d purchased in Sankuri, holding it up and gesturing to his companions. There were no words that passed between them, each connecting footstep hollow. Leilana was immediately struck by the scent of fresh antiseptics when they rounded a corner. Several rooms were lining each side of the corridor, all the doors shut, the curtains pulled away to reveal glimpses of the interior.

  Flickering lights, static and cracked ceilings. Empty beds with blankets tossed halfway off or on the floor. Blood-stained sheets and overflowing water. This place seemed more like a hospital than a stronghold. Where had the people that used to reside in Ocula gone by now? Were they driven out, or even killed? How long ago did Ocula lose its pride to those that once built the realm? There were so many questions that ran through her mind, no answers ever coming to fruition.

  “Where do you think we should start?” Sien piped up.

  “It’s not a matter of where we begin, but how we are going to progress when we get to a good stop,” Solus pointed out, eyes landing on the burning match. The flame was halfway down the stick—soon, it would flicker out and he would have to light another to keep them on a set destination.

  Leilana observed the sight from afar, lowering her head. If she had the Lasette, there would be no need to pass the lead role to Solus. He’d put in a lot of extra work over the months to carry everyone, even if he and Rem tended to split their duties. Everyone here had a set role: Sien acted as their healer and grade-A entertainment, Rem kept everyone motivated through his fervent banter while being the acting force towards Adrylis’s recovery, and Solus was the mellow guide that acted as the glue holding everyone together. There was little room for her aside from navigating them to the Orb of Concord. Sure, she wanted to become the next Warlord for Linmus once everything was in order, but until then, she could only fight and carry out what duty she was given by Rem. After that, she could return to her pilgrimage.