Eluan Falls: The Inheritors of the World

by Dane G. Kroll

  “I want to see more,” said Marina.

  “We’ll look for another show.”

  “Can you do it?”

  “Me? I haven’t had Tamor Blood in years,” said Abigail.

  “Please,” begged Marina. “I don’t want to see a show. I want to see it, for real. I want to look at every movement. Showmanship is one thing, but the raw power is what I want to see. You said lots of people in the Capitol can do it. I don’t want any surprises when I get there.”

  Abigail considered her request. She was the one who introduced this information to Marina. It should be her that sees it through.

  In no time at all, they found themselves at a bar. Abigail ordered a cup of Tamor Blood. The drink sat in front of her. She watched its red texture swirl in her cup.

  “Are you going to drink it?” Marina asked.

  “Give me a second,” said Abigail. “I haven’t done arcan in a while. I have to prepare myself.”

  Abigail quickly grabbed her drink and swallowed it in one gulp. She took in a deep breath afterward. It burned all the way down.

  “How long until it starts working?” Marina asked.

  “Shouldn’t be long. Since I’ve done this before I know what I’m feeling for. I can utilize arcan sooner.”

  “Why did you stop?”

  “Stop what?” said Abigail. Her mind was beginning to spin.

  “Stop arcan?”

  “I don’t know,” said Abigail. “It was a rebellion thing. Nikali was getting into it. None of the royal class really approves of it. It’s beneath them. I thought it was fun. I drank a little with Nikali. We would then go running around the palace pulling pranks on people. Then Alexus found me trying to move my bookcase with arcan. It was so heavy. I thought I could do it easier that way. I was wrong. I barely got it to budge. I think I just blew some dust off of it. But Alexus barged in. He saw what I was doing, and said to never do that again.”

  “He didn’t like arcan?”

  “Not really. He never really mentioned it before. I think even when he was scolding me he never said the word arcan. It was that far beneath him, he never wanted to be associated with it.”

  Her words trailed off. The memory of Alexus was starting to get to her. It was clear in her face.

  “I’m sorry,” said Marina. “I shouldn’t have pried so much. I didn’t realize it would bring up memories of Alexus.”

  “No, it’s okay. I’m going to have to get used to the idea of talking about him. He was a good man. People like talking about him. It’s fine.”

  They sat for a couple of moments in silence: Marina with no idea what to say, and Abigail staring off into nothing.

  “Here we go,” said Abigail. She did a quick stretch to warm up her senses. Marina sat up in her chair, excited to see what would happen next.

  The cup Abigail had drunk from began to lift into the air. It floated in front of Marina, holding in place.

  “That is amazing,” said Marina. She reached out and touched the cup. It pushed back, not wanting to move.

  “It’s the minerals in the drink. It’s the source of the arcan ability. The only plants with these minerals are the cincada tree. Most people just call them tamor trees now. They grow sporadically throughout Eluan.”

  “Can you do anything else?”

  “I can’t, but others have been able to connect themselves to animals and the people close to them. They can feel their emotions. I heard of one guy actually being able to project his emotions on to others. It’s rare. I’ve never seen it myself. If you’re really deep in arcan you can start fires. You have to know how to move stuff properly,” explained Abigail.

  “It’s said when the soldiers go up against the avadons, they have to fight back high levels of fear. Many men run away the first time,” said Marina.

  “That very well could be the same thing,” said Abigail. “I’m sure there is more studying that can be done.”

  “Why don’t more people use it?”

  “Because it’s impractical,” said Marina. The cup began to lower. “It uses a lot of energy and tamor blood. You’d have to nearly overdose to really get anywhere, and it gets addicting. It’s not something that would be smart to use for too long, unless of course you are artistic or a beggar. Their dreams are more important than their health.”

  The cup finally dropped back to the table. Abigail looked exhausted. Her eyes drooped lower. She breathed heavier.

  “Thank you for showing me,” said Marina. “It’s put me at ease about it.”

  “You’re welcome. I want to help. I know how it is to be a stranger in a strange land. Any new thing can be scary. Just take it one step at a time. Plus, you’ve got some great people looking after you.

  “Whoa, that took out a lot more out of me than I thought it would. I am getting old. Can we start moving again? I need to get my energy back up.”

  “That would be fine,” said Marina. “I actually want to talk to you about something else.”

  Heric, Forman, and Nikali were being escorted through the detention center of Myrus. The building was small, but built to be a maze. A rich senator originally designed it as a tourist attraction. He began losing money and sold his building to the state. Military officials decided to use it to hold criminals. Its maze design prevented escapes and break-ins from their friends.

  After many twists and turns, the officer presented to the three men a locked door. He unlocked it and let the men in. The officer closed the door behind them. He waited outside.

  The soldier sat in the corner of the room. He only had a bucket for accommodations. His clothes were soiled with grime. He may have been under protection against the outside world, but they had abandoned him otherwise.

  “Who are you?” the soldier griped.

  “I would suggest better words and tone when addressing the Heir Caning,” said Forman.

  The soldier gave a questioning look. Then he began chuckling. It was soft at first, but grew louder and more powerful. By the end he was genuinely laughing.

  “Is something funny?” Forman demanded.

  “Have you come to reward me for my heroism? Is somebody behind the door with my medal?”

  “You are not being rewarded for your brutal actions,” said Heric.

  “That’s Myrus for you,” said the soldier. “It builds you up with these stories, then the rest of the world tears you down.”

  “What is your name, soldier?” Forman asked.

  “I am Officer Brin Heath of the Myrus Carion Guard.”

  “Good. Now tell me Heath, what happened? What did that man say that made you cut out his tongue?” Forman asked.

  “He said the end was coming for the Eluan Empire,” said Heath.

  “Is that it?” Heric quipped. “This man deserved to die in a public square because he said the end of the Empire was coming? An act of dissent yes, but your brutality was unnecessary.”

  “You must have heard him,” said Forman. “What were his words exactly?”

  Heath sat silently, thinking to himself. He bobbed his head as if correcting himself.

  “Your actions will be corrected. This world was never meant to be one. When the new Heir arrives, Myrus will be the first to feel freedom. Eluan will fall.”

  “That was it?” Forman asked.

  “Yes,” said Heath. “It sounded like a genuine threat to me. I made a decision to punish him for his treason.”

  “Next time, keep them alive. We would like to have more answers,” said Forman.

  “Yes, sir.”

  The three of them left Heath in his cell. They gathered outside the door with the guard who led them through the building.

  “What do you think it means?” Heric asked.

  “It sounds like they have more power than you thought,” said Nikali.

  “And how do you figure that?” Forman asked.

  “He said, ‘when the new Heir arrives.’ That would have to mean that they have somebody already in line to take Uncle’s throne that i
sn’t Heric.”

  “There is no way they could have that kind of support,” said Forman.

  “Not everybody is a fan of the Eluan Empire,” said Nikali.

  “Anybody that powerful would be stupid to fight against the Empire. They don’t have the numbers,” argued Forman.

  “Sometimes it isn’t about the numbers, but about the desire.”

  “Do you have any idea who it could be?” Heric asked.

  Nikali stayed quiet. He wasn’t ready to reveal Alexus as a traitor. He wasn’t even sure Alexus was connected to Myrus. Nikali knew of many people grumbling about the Empire. It was nothing new. This could be an entirely different matter. The only thing that bothered him was the mention of a new heir. His mind kept returning to Abigail.

  “No idea,” said Forman. “But I’ll look into it.”

  “What about him?” Heric asked.

  “He knows the message. There may have been some people who remember it, but most probably forgot once Heath started his attack. We need to end this now.”

  Heric was hesitant, but he reluctantly agreed. They couldn’t let this message spread through the men in their military. Heath would surely tell the story of what he heard. He would pride himself on helping protect the Empire despite their objections.

  Heric turned to the guard, “It’s his last meal tonight. Make sure he goes peacefully while he sleeps.”

  “Understood, sir,” said the guard.

  The three men left for the city while the guard returned to his duties, gathering a bit of poison for the prisoner.

  Chapter 33

  Hector Roam sat outside his small guard house looking out at the view he had. Insabal’s Canyon covered a lot of what he saw. He could never get enough of looking out over the edge into the open air and mist that swirled down below.

  His new post had only started a few days ago. It was a new position that involved very little work. All he had to do was turn back the occasional merchant or traveler.

  Out beyond the canyon was the Louson Kingdom. Roam would often imagine crossing the bridge himself just to say he had done it. He could be one of the first.

  As he looked out across the bridge, his mind endlessly looping over thoughts of his adventures, he began to see movement in the trees. It was too far away to tell exactly what it was.

  The Louson trees shook. Their branches swayed in the sky. There was no wind that Roam could detect. He ran to the edge of the canyon to get a better look. It did not do him much good. The forest on the other side was still too far away.

  Figures began to make themselves noticeable. People were coming through the trees. It looked like an entire raiding party. The rumbling finally hit Roam’s ears. Their footsteps echoed against the canyon’s walls.

  Hector Roam panicked. It was clear from the noise that he was in no way capable of fighting off the coming army. As fast as he could, he saddled up his horse. His horse was just as frightened as he was.

  The sound of the invaders grew louder. Hector Roam and his horse took off. They left their post behind. They had to deliver a message to anybody who would listen. Danger was coming.

  Chapter 34

  The halls of the senate housing were quiet. The sun was just then beginning to go down. The city of Myrus was still going strong. There would be shows continuing into the night. Many of the visitors to Myrus were out and enjoying the entertainment.

  Heric was thankful for the silence. His entire trip to Myrus had been turned upside down. There was no longer any time to enjoy the entertainment that the city had to offer. He had to be on his way to the Capitol sooner rather than later. Seres would be leaving in a couple of days. Heric wanted to make sure he was going. In the meantime he had to find a representative to aid in finding the Myrus underground. He already had somebody in mind, but it would have to wait until the next day. For the moment, he had an apology to make.

  He knocked on the door of one of the rooms. There was rustling from the other side. Heric waited patiently. He would rather have just disappeared, but he had to deal with each situation himself. He did not know how Marina would take them leaving so soon. This was her first time in Eluan, and this was his first promise he was breaking. They would have to return some other time.

  Those thoughts tore at Heric. He laughed at himself for seeing a future for Marina and him. She would be there for him. He knew it. But he couldn’t help but think about Abigail.

  “Abigail?” Heric said. He was stunned when Marina’s door opened. Abigail had answered it. She looked at him with the look of a heart breaking.

  “Hello, Heric,” she said.

  “What are you doing in Marina’s room?”

  “I’m staying here, now, with her” she answered.

  “Then where is Marina?”

  “She’s in the bathhouse with Kastor and Tyeche. She’ll be back soon. You may come in and wait for her.” She opened the door to invite Heric inside.

  He was hesitant, but would not turn Abigail down. She ushered him in with her arms wide presenting the room. He looked all around. He could see Abigail’s stuff layed out in nearly every inch of the room. It mixed with Marina’s.

  “What is going on?” Heric asked.

  “There is something I need to tell you,” said Abigail. “A lot has happened today.”

  “You have no idea,” Heric mumbled. Abigail ignored him. She was used to Heric’s side comments.

  “Marina asked me to be her confidant.”

  “And you said ‘Yes’?”

  “She needs help. She doesn’t know how to speak Eluan fluently yet. She still needs to learn our customs. She is just barely gaining an understanding of arcan. She is alone. I can help her.”

  “You have only just met her. The trust a confidant has in another comes from years of knowing each other. You can’t do this.”

  “I had to,” said Abigail. “What was I supposed to do when we returned to the Capitol? I lost everything back in Louson.” Tears began to form in her eyes. She fought them back as best she could. “Alexus is dead. I have nothing, now. As hard as it is to say, I was never his daughter. I was just his servant.”

  “Nothing would have changed,” said Heric. He looked all around the room to see if anybody else was around.

  “We’re alone. You can talk freely,” said Abigail.

  “I would have taken care of you,” said Heric. “You would not have been thrown out to the streets.”

  “Is that it? I would just get a free ride? My name would have been tarnished. They see the Heir Caning taking pity on the Prial girl. They would have assumed I was lying in bed with you.”

  “You were lying in bed with me,” Heric said, matter-of-factly.

  Abigail glared at Heric. Her eyes burned right into him. He immediately regretted what he had said.

  “That is not how I meant it,” said Heric. “I care about you. I love you. I would never let any harm come to you.”

  “Helping me for no reason would have been hurting me,” said Abigail. “I know you don’t see it, but the Royal Council would do anything to rid the palace of me. I’m a constant reminder of the past, and what they had to do against Prial. Some are proud and want to finish the job. Some are disgusted by it.”

  “Why haven’t you told me this before?”

  “Because we were happy,” she said. “I could put up with the hateful looks, the slurs and the rude gestures if I knew I would be seeing you later. That’s gone now.”

  “You could have just left,” said Heric. “You could have stayed in Louson where nobody knows about Prial. You could have stayed here. You still can. You can just leave all of this behind.”

  “Then I wouldn’t be near you anymore,” she said. Heric wrapped his arms around her. He felt her warmth and missed the time before.

  “I’m sorry for all of this,” said Heric.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “No, it is. It’s because I’m the Heir. The world expects me to do things that I don’t want to do. I can only f
ight it for so long.”

  “What am I going to do without him, Heric? I miss him so much. I miss you.”

  “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get through this.”

  “You’re going to marry, Marina. You’re going to marry her, and I’ll have to watch. I’ll be right by her side, telling her what to do. I can’t do it.”

  “You can do it,” comforted Heric. “You knew you could do this when you made the decision. I believe in you. I don’t want you out of my life, and you don’t want me out of yours. I’ll make sure Marina takes care of you. We can still talk. We can still be together.”

  “Not like before,” said Abigail.

  “I know. I know. I’ll figure out something,” said Heric.

  They remained in each other’s arms, silent. They both knew it was there last chance to be together before their new lives caught up with them.

  Then the door creaked open. Heric and Abigail ripped away from each other. They kept their composure as Marina and her two guards walked in.

  “Heric, you’re back,” said Marina. She ran to her future husband and embraced him with a kiss. Both, Kastor and Tyeche, greeted Heric with a salute.

  Abigail wiped away her tears. “He just showed up a little bit ago. He was looking for you.”

  “Is something wrong, Abigail?” Marina asked.

  “It’s nothing,” she said. “We were talking about Alexus.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Marina. “You can go if you like. There is no need for you to be here at the moment.”

  “Thank you,” said Abigail. “I will see you all later when I am better composed.”

  “Actually I need to tell you all something,” said Heric. “I have to cut this trip shorter than I wanted. Something has come up and I have to return to the Capitol as soon as possible. I’m sorry for the sudden change in our plans. We’ll be leaving in two days.”

  “Two days?” said Marina. “That is not enough time to see the entire city.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “Very well, I am a prisoner of your whims, my darling fiancé. We will leave for the Capitol in two days.”

  “Thank you,” said Heric.

  Abigail bowed her head and left for the door. Before she was gone she looked back at Heric. He looked back at her. Never before had they felt so far apart.