by TurtleMe
I wanted to look away from those large, strange eyes, but I found I could not.
“What do you want?” I finally asked.
“Similar to last time, I need you to grant a few of my men access into the castle—as well as Xyrus City.”
I laughed.
I laughed at an asura who was likely capable of wiping away my existence with a flick of his finger, but I couldn’t stop myself. The idea was ludicrous, absurd. Finally, my laughter subsided, and in its wake, the silence felt cold as a grave.
Suddenly, Agrona snapped his fingers as if he’d just remembered something. “I forgot you always need that little extra push, King Alduin. How about this, then—your daughter will die if you don’t. Not only will she die, she’ll also most likely kill quite a few people around her in the process.”
“W-what?”
Agrona tapped his sternum, over where a mana core would be. “You know those corrupted beasts that have caused so many problems for you? Well, just like them, your daughter’s core has been poisoned.”
Anger flared up within me and I grabbed Agrona by the collar. “What did you do to her?”
“I didn’t do anything,” he said mirthfully. “Ironic as it is, you can blame your daughter’s boyfriend for this.”
It took me a moment to realize what he meant. The elderwood guardian’s beast will, which my daughter had assimilated with—it had been poisoned… and it had poisoned her.
The strength left my hands and I released Agrona, then let myself fall back onto my chair.
“I’d give you a demonstration, but that might cause problems for our little plan. Besides, I think you know by now that I don’t lie.”
I shook my head, trying to force the memories out, and continued down the hallway.
I stopped in front of another room on the same floor. It was currently occupied by Arthur’s mother and sister. A mixture of emotions rose in me as I stared at the closed door. I pitied them. The Leywin family had all served at the Wall, fighting against the beast horde. What happened to Arthur’s father was truly unfortunate, and I pushed adamantly for Trodius Flamesworth’s imprisonment for his actions.
However, I couldn’t help but blame the young Lance. I had cared for him like family. He was so close with my father and daughter. I’d always considered his role in our lives a blessing and been grateful that he was there to look out for Tessia. How many times had he helped her?
Yet, if it wasn’t for Arthur—if he hadn’t given Tessia that core...
I rubbed my temples, letting out a shaky sigh. I could not change the past, and there was no purpose to lingering on my regrets.
My steps grew heavier the closer I got to the teleportation room. It was as if my boots were made of lead. I looked back over my shoulders every few steps, guilt and fear dragging me down.
The usual soldiers that stood guard on either side of the gate were absent as planned. It hadn’t been hard to arrange; no one was allowed to travel through the gate since most of the Lances were at Etistin.
Exerting mana throughout my body, I heaved open the thick iron doors. Taking one last look around in case anyone was nearby, I closed the doors behind me.
The circular room appeared a lot larger now that it had been emptied, with the only real features being a podium that held the control dock and the ancient stone arc carved with incomprehensible runes.
Without wasting any more time, I stepped onto the podium. My hands trembled as I raised them over the control panel, and for another second, I hesitated. What I did now would change the entire course of the war, but for me, there was no other choice but this.
Shutting my eyes, I pushed down on the panel. Immediately, I felt mana being sucked out of me, but I held firm until the runes began glowing.
A pristine golden radiance emanated from the mysterious carvings, then a multi-colored light enveloped the inside of the arc to form a portal. The quiet room was filled with a deep hum as the ancient relic came to life.
Minutes passed, but no one arrived.
“Where is he?” I whispered, running a trembling hand through my hair as I paced back and forth within the room.
I continued cursing under my breath, doing anything to keep myself from thinking. I couldn’t think. If I did, I would only doubt myself.
No. I’m doing the right thing. For once, I was doing what was in the best interest of my people—my people. Agrona wasn’t wrong; humans had been capturing both elves and dwarves for centuries. I had almost lost my own daughter to human slavers. It wouldn’t matter if Agrona won the war.
I shook my head. No. No, Agrona is still a demon, I can’t forget that.
But the humans had always had the upper hand. With my father taking command of the war effort, I thought that would have changed, but it hadn’t. In fact, it was my father who had abandoned Elenoir in favor of the human kingdom.
Now I would be the one to save Elenoir. With my actions, I would keep my people safe.
Looking down at my hands, I noticed that they were still trembling. Was I just lying to myself? Was I just trying to justify what I was about to do?
It didn’t matter. At the very least, I needed to save Tessia. What kind of father would I be if I couldn’t keep my only daughter safe?
Anger and despair bubbled inside me as I realized how my emotions had been toyed with by Agrona’s words. He was right; Tessia was that final push I had needed.
A deep thrum drew my attention to the teleportation gate. They’re here!
Within the multi-colored glow of the gate, a silhouette came into view, slowly growing clearer until an actual figure stepped through. The creature was nearly seven feet tall, though the two serrated horns that grew from his scalp made him feel even larger. He scanned the room until his scarlet eyes found me.
“Are you the elf called Alduin?” the man asked in a deep, resonant voice.
I drew myself up to my full height, and said, with only a slight tremor in my voice, “Yes, I am.”
He held up a glass vial filled with murky green liquid.
I stepped forward and reached for the vile, which could only be the antidote to the corruption growing within my daughter’s mana core, but stopped short when a smoky black flame erupted from him.
I reeled back, suddenly afraid that Agrona would not uphold his promise. “That’s mine! Agrona and I had—”
His hand had closed around my neck before I even realized he’d moved. His grip became tighter and tighter, choking off my windpipe as he lifted me from the ground. “Lord Agrona has shown mercy by lowering himself to even communicate with a lesser like you.”
My body fought back instinctively; mana circulated through my limbs and into my hands as I tried to pry open his grip, but I couldn’t focus—my head swam and dark spots danced across my blurring vision. When he finally let go, my body buckled forward and I slid to the floor in a heap, gasping for breath through my aching throat.
“This Commander Virion of yours does not suspect anything, correct?”
I quickly nodded my head. “I told everyone that I’d be in charge of leading the evacuation of Elenoir.” My voice came out in a croaky whimper.
“Then bring your blood to this room and exit through this portal,” he stated. “I will have left the vial here by the time you return.”
“M-my blood?”
“What your people call ‘family,’” he said impatiently. “Also, bring Arthur Leywin’s mother and sister along with you.”
I stood shakily to my feet. “What? Why?”
His sharp gaze was all that was needed to drive his point home—that this wasn’t a negotiation.
“Okay,” I breathed, turning to leave. I pushed open the doors slightly, but stole a quick glance back at the creature before taking my leave. I had brought a demon into the very home of Dicathen’s leaders—a retainer, perhaps even a Scythe. Prying my eyes away from his looming figure, I stepped out of the teleportation room. “I’m sorry, Father.”
236
&nb
sp; Treason
ARTHUR LEYWIN
“We have our orders here, General Arthur,” Varay stated, piercing me with an icy glare. “We are to continue engaging the Alacryan troops.”
Trying—and mostly failing—to sound respectful and calm, I said, “General Varay, surely you’ve noticed by now that the enemies we’re fighting can’t be the Alacryans’ main force. They’re disorganized, desperate, and a lot of them are even malnourished and downright ill!”
Varay stood firm, masking her emotions. “Have you forgotten that we are soldiers? It’s not up to us to decide what we do with this information. I’ve already sent an update to General Bairon and the Council. We will act according to their orders, but for now we will continue to do as we are told.”
“Then let me and my bond go back to Etistin—no, the castle. I’ll talk to Commander Virion and come up with a—”
“Aren’t you out here because you didn’t want the responsibility—didn’t want to make the tough calls?” the general cut me off. “You wanted to be a soldier because you didn’t want to carry the burden of making decisions.”
My mouth opened, but no sound came out. She was right. I had chosen to be here, to fight mindlessly and not have the weight of other people's lives on my shoulders.
I gave General Varay a stiff bow before turning to walk away.
My thoughts wandered until I found myself back at the isolated area where I had set up camp. There, I spotted Sylvie replenishing her mana. One eye opened slightly, sensing I was near. “How did it go?”
“Nothing’s changed,” I grumbled, sitting down on a large rock next to her. “We’ll continue fighting them.”
“Well, prisoners or not, we still can’t let them advance,” Sylvie said with a wave of empathy.
“But this”—I gestured to the thousands upon thousands of soldiers below, resting, and the thousands more out in the field, fighting—“is overkill. We have way more troops than necessary if all we’re up against is a horde of uncoordinated and desperate prisoners.”
“True,” Sylvie agreed. She got up and stretched her human limbs, then glanced at me slyly from the corner of her eye. “So, what are we waiting for, then?”
“What?”
“Please, Arthur,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I could read your thoughts even without our link. I know you’ve already decided to leave.”
Again, I found my mouth hanging open but no words spilling out. Shaking my head, I gave my bond a warm smile and tousled her wheat-blonde hair. “Then don’t say I didn’t warn you. We’re technically committing treason by disobeying orders and leaving during a battle.”
Sylvie’s body began glowing as her form shifted into that of a towering black dragon. “This isn’t the first time we’ve committed treason, and it probably won’t be the last.”
“I raised you so well,” I chuckled, hopping onto my bond’s broad back and grabbing hold of a black spike, my spirits lifted. Despite what I had lost, I was still surrounded by people I cherished dearly, and it was my duty to protect them.
We shot up into the sky, quickly clearing the hills that stretched out from Etistin Bay.
‘Did you want to stop in Etistin before making our way to the castle?’ Sylvie asked.
There’s no point. Bairon isn’t the type to listen—especially to me—and the castle severed all links to the other teleportation gates. The only way there is to fly, so we don’t have any time to lose.
I had expected General Varay might come after us, but after the first thirty minutes had passed, I knew we were in the clear. In the meantime, I let myself drift off to sleep, enjoying the peaceful, quiet journey after the chaos of battle.
Scenes of my previous life began to resurface, as they so often did now, carrying with them the emotions of another life. I remembered the feelings of confusion I had towards Lady Vera when I heard her talking about the rigged matches with that man in the uniform. A part of me had been angry at her for not trusting that I’d be able to win the matches by my own strength. I never confronted Lady Vera or asked any questions, even as I continued to compete in matches where my opponents would withdraw or yield immediately. Who was I to question my mentor’s decisions? She had given me a new life. Because of her training, I had the opportunity to become king.
While my pride had been hurt that Lady Vera hadn’t trusted in my abilities enough to let me fight squarely, I had accepted the hollow victories. Then came the day of the final rounds. I, along with every other contestant that had won their state’s tournament, had traveled all the way to the capital city, Etharia, for the chance to become the next king.
There was no consistent schedule for when the King’s Crown competition was be held, though. It was purely at the discretion of the Council, who would come to a vote when they thought the current king wasn’t performing to their expectations. Losing a Paragon Duel against another country, incurring a debilitating injury, or simply getting too old—a vote could be called for any of these reasons.
The king before me, King Ivan, had lost an arm in his last Paragon Duel, which incited the King’s Crown competition I had competed in. The victor of the King’s Crown gained the opportunity to fight the current king, and if the challenger won, he or she would become the next king. If the king won, he would remain in his position until the winner of the next King’s Crown came to challenge him. Once the Council had deemed the king unfit, this vicious cycle would continue until there was a new king.
I vividly remembered the palpable tension as we waited. During the final stage of the King’s Crown, it was legal for contestants to deal lethal blows to their opponents; all of the contestants, including myself, had known that they could die that day.
The faces of those I had fought against were clear in my mind: young and old, small and large, every fighter at the top of their class. Most importantly to me, none of them had been bribed by Lady Vera to forfeit the match. I had tried to convince myself how great Lady Vera was, reasoning that she had purposely cleared the road of obstacles for me not because she didn’t trust in my abilities, but because she wanted me to be at my best for the final rounds.
If only I had known then what that day would entail. What would I have done differently if I had known the truth about Lady Vera?
‘Arthur!’ Sylvie’s voice pierced my dreams, snapping me awake just as she swerved to avoid a giant arc of lightning. Another arc of lightning followed, piercing through the clouds from below.
By this time, both Sylvie and I knew who was responsible.
“Bairon!” I roared, amplifying my voice with mana as I jumped off of Sylvie. “What is the meaning of this?”
A figure rose from the rolling hills of clouds below us, along with several soldiers mounted on giant armored birds.
“You disobey direct orders and run away from battle, then ask the meaning of my actions?” Bairon boomed, his voice rolling like thunder through the sky. “I advise you return to your post, Arthur. I will not ask nicely again.”
“Nicely?” It was Sylvie that replied, the husky voice of her draconic form dangerous with suppressed anger. “You attacked us from behind, throwing spells that could crush entire buildings—at a Lance and an asura?”
There was a moment of hesitation before Bairon answered. “We are at war, and your human bond has chosen to take orders rather than give them. I’m merely enforcing my duty to my subordinates.”
“Enough!” I snapped. “You’ve received the updates from General Varay. The enemy forces that we’re engaged with at the bay are all prisoners of Alacrya—half-starved slaves. We need to reorganize our troops and scout out the enemy’s main force before—”
“Those decisions are up to me and the Council to make,” Bairon interrupted, drawing in closer, his soldiers surrounding him. “Your opinion has been made known and will be considered in due time, but you’re not in a position to give anyone orders.”
My jaw clenched so hard I could hear my teeth creak, but I was more frustrated at myself than
at Bairon. It was true that I chosen to run away. Even now, I would hesitate to take a position of leadership, but I couldn’t just stand by and watch as we played right into Agrona’s hands.
“Please stand aside. We’ll only be aiding the enemy if we spend our energy fighting here. Let us go to the castle. I’ll get Commander Virion’s approval as soon as I arrive if that’s what you want,” I said, forcing myself to calm down. “Let’s go, Sylv.”
The mounted soldiers fanned out, preparing their spells, and Bairon floated up to block our way, aiming a lightning-clad hand directly at us.
“I assure you that this one won’t miss, General Arthur. This is your last warning to get back to your post.”
“You don’t know when to quit, do you Bairon? Just like your brother,” I snarled.
Enraged, Bairon soared toward us, his entire body engulfed in lightning.
Bringing up Lucas might have been a low blow, but it was obvious that this show of power had less to do with me leaving my post and more to do with Bairon proving he was superior to me.
Sheathing myself in mana as well, I conjured an arsenal of ice lances, taking advantage of the moisture from the clouds below.
Sylvie unleashed a beam of pure mana from her maw, directly at Bairon, while I launched the ice-spears at the mounted soldiers.
The formation broke as Bairon’s soldiers swerved to avoid my spell. Bairon himself had to stop to defend against the wide cone of pure energy, giving us a brief window to break through their line.
Sylvie. Go! I grabbed hold of her leg as she flew by me, pulling us past Bairon and his soldiers before they could react.
As we pulled away, racing through the sky, Bairon launched his cape at us. It was a magic artifact, no doubt, because the cape soon dispersed into a large net composed of metal wires that he was able to control with his lightning.
Human form, now! I ordered.
My bond’s body shrunk to that of a little girl just as the net surrounded us. Sylvie formed a barrier of mana that caught the net, but it gave the other soldiers enough time to regroup.
