Warper: Echoes of Etangria

by Riley Tune

  Asa moved a foot closer to me. With ease, I warped his staff away across the room. “Speaking of mothers,” I said to him as I warped, spun low and slashed at the back of his knee. He dropped down on said knee, unable to stand on it anymore. Cloud warped in front of me and unleashed a flurry of kicks and punches.

  All I dodged with ease, as I warped away. “I think I’ll kill yours,” I continued as Asa pushed himself to his feet only to fall back down again. “I’m sure the Queen knew of your little trick. To plant Cloud among us, for her to kill Jolin, making it easier to for Galcon to claim Thera. Her time will come.”

  Cloud warped again. She was a decent fighter hand to hand, and had I been a normal guard she would have posed a threat. She would have likely killed me and snapped my neck like she had the others in the palace.

  As she attacked me, I caught one of her arms as she punched, threw it over my shoulder and flipped her to the ground. Quick as ever, she warped as she was falling and reappeared standing next to me, and sent a punch to my stomach.

  It hurt more than I had expected it to, but I didn’t need to wash the pain away with my power. She punched once more. I leaned back some and sliced her arm in four sweet spots. She screamed out in pain as her arm fell to her side.

  “You know Cloud,” I said as she warped away from me to regain herself. “You trapped yourself in here with me, just as much as you trapped me in here with you. You can't warp away now.” The error of her plan seemed to make her head jolt to the window.

  Asa himself was crawling to the door trying to unlock it. It was almost comical, how much of a fight these two didn’t put up. I warped to where Asa was, and grabbed him by his hair, and slammed his face into my knee.

  He fell back to the ground and put both of his hands to his nose as blood seeped through his fingers. “Mr. Lox ?,” I turned my head and was actually surprised to see Jolin stirring. I warped to him and stretched out my hand.

  He grabbed it and pulled himself up, as he touched his neck. “I see you have discovered that treachery was in our midst.” I nodded. “I will not have them killed. They will stand for their crimes and be punished.”

  “What?” I said in surprise. “I am a King. I must lead by example,” he said.

  Just then I heard a crash. I jerked my head towards the noise, and saw that Cloud had removed one of the bookshelves she had used to block the window. In a second she was gone. Warped away into the night.

  I moved to catch her, but Jolin stopped me. “Let her go,” he said as he looked away. His voice sounded low, and tired. He took a breath. “I loved her. Her time will come, but,” he paused. “Just. Just let her go for now.”

  “What about him?” I asked. Jolin smiled, and for a moment I could see his old self. “He, Mr. Lox, will not get off so easy. All of Thera will witness his shame.” With those final words, Jolin delivered a swift kick to Asa’s stomach and he howled in pain.

  24

  Jolin and I rode in a carriage through the streets of Thera. The carriage actually belonged to Noel Walden. It was as nice on the inside as it was on the outside. Soft golden chairs, that felt like they curved to your body so no matter how you sat, you were always comfortable. “Your carriages are made this way?” Noel asked us as we moved through the streets.

  “I barely even ride in carriages anymore,” I replied to him. “The carriages of Thera are just fine,” Jolin said as he slouched back in the seat. “Just not this fine,” he finished with a smile.

  “I trust you will hold up your end of the deal,” Noel Walden asked as we turned down another city street. Jolin just nodded his head, as his eyes were closed.

  As his head was leaned back, I could see the bruising around his neck from where his former lover had choked him. “You will get everything as promised. It turns out Jolin and Remy had come up with their own plan of action, once they couldn’t figure out a way to halt the war. “

  Noel had originally wanted Thera under his rule, but Remy figured that Noel would easily trade one kingdom for another, so why not Galcon? With their combined efforts, Thera and Walden would emerged victorious over Galcon, and once their armies fell, Walden would be able to claim Galcon for their own.

  Jolin’s part of the deal was to give up a small percent of Thera lands to Walden. In the coming days, Walden’s kingdom would explode in size. I only hoped that he wouldn’t become too powerful for his own good.

  As he sat in the carriage with us, bronze crown on his head and with fingers fully covered in bronze rings, King Walden looked at ease. Despite that, I knew all too well what could happen when men sought too much power. They became consumed with it. I just hoped this wasn’t the way King Walden would go.

  I looked out of the carriage as we rode through the night. Many bodies, Clipasie and human alike, still covered the streets. Buildings were still burning, and people slowly were returning back to the city. Any remainder Galcon men were being rounded up and executed, and Asa was currently locked away in a cell that even a warper would have a hard time escaping from.

  The carriage had finally stopped. I didn’t even waste time opening the door. Instead I used the opening I could see through, and warped. I found myself standing in front of a large home. It had three floors, and stone columns in the front of an oval shaped door.

  According to Jolin, Remy had the idea to escort my mother and the twins to one of his family’s many homes in the city. One home in particular, had a special room designed inside to be a shelter if war came about. This room was said to have special reinforced doors, and plenty of food and water stored inside.

  According to Remy, up to eight people could live in there for days without even coming out. Jolin banged hard on the door and shouted, “Vida is scary.” I looked at him in surprise. “We had to come up with a passphrase to use, so he would know it was safe to come out of the room,” Jolin said with a slight smile.

  “And that’s what you came up with?” I asked him. “Not me,” Jolin said as he shook his head. “It was Remy’s idea.” I held back a laugh, and made a mental note to share this with Vida when she returned.

  A part of me, knew she could have been caught, and could have even been killed, but for some reason I knew she was okay. It was like I could feel it. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew I’d be seeing her soon. She was a survivor.

  The door to the home opened and Remy stood before us, wearing a long black scholar's robe with a large blue book in his hand. He nodded at Jolin and me. “Vida is scary,” I said back to him. He grimaced as he scratched his head. “Well,I couldn’t think of anything else.” he said as he laughed a little.

  He leaned and looked around. “Where is Vida?” Remy asked. All of the laughter faded from his face. “Is she,” he paused. I shook my head. “No, she’s fine,” I said. “She had to stay behind in Rewling with Craydon.”

  I explained to Remy what Jolin already knew. About how time passed differently in Rewling, and that I had to make the trip here alone. “Understandable,” Remy said. “I’ll get the others.” He disappeared for a moment and the next face I saw was my mother’s. She flung the door open and hugged me so tight I thought she was trying to kill me.

  “Lox. You’re okay.” she said as she continued to squeeze me. “My babies are all fine.” I freed myself from her grasp and looked at her. Her face was normal. She didn’t look tired, or like she had been crying. Compared to when I last saw her, she appeared to be almost a different person.

  She had finally changed her clothes, too. She was wearing some sort of thick shirt, and black trousers. Before I could even ask, she shouted, “Kula, Luka.” I heard their feet running through the house, and in a second they burst around the corner and hugged my legs.

  “Lox,” they both kept saying over and over. “We missed you,” Kula said as she looked up at me. I dropped down and gave her a hug and kissed her cheek. “What about me?” Luka said as he slapped my shoulder.

  I released Kula and wrapped my arms around Luka.
He was warm. Very warm, and as I gave him a kiss on his cheek my lips could feel the intense warmth on his face. I stood up and looked at them both.

  My twin siblings. They had no idea, what they would eventually become, or the power they would wield. Luka’s warmth was a firm reminder of things to come. “When did they wake up?” I asked.

  “A day after you left,” my mom said. “That, thing they were stuck inside, kind of just, absorbed into them. It was disgusting really, but they seem to be fine.” my mother said as she rubbed their heads.

  My mind was racing. If the orb that encased Kula and Luka, was created from The Grim God's power, then that meant that the twins, or the powerful people they would become, actually wield a portion of his power. As much as my essence is from The Keeper, theirs is from Grimsby Glen.

  This thought made me worry. Not for them, but for the other people. The reports had said that many people across the kingdoms had fallen ill to these orbs. While some died, others were put into a sleep like Kula and Luka. If that was true, the Prime Sovereignty, was going to have a lot more gifted people running around soon.

  “Remy,” I heard another voice call through the house. It was a soft feminine voice that I didn’t recognize. I looked up at him and so did Jolin. “Mr. Remy, who is that?” Jolin asked.

  “On our way here, I spotted a young woman in need of help. I instructed our driver to stop and I let her come here with us.”

  When she came to the door she leaned on Remy and looked at us. “Hello, your majesty,” she said with a slight bow. Jolin nodded at her. She had curly red hair, round lips, and pale skin. Standing the same height as Jolin, she was considerably shorter than Remy and myself.

  Her burgundy robe seemed too big for her, because she kept pulling it up so not to step on it. “This is Zahra,” Remy said. He kissed her on her forehead. “Go get some rest,” he said to her and she kissed his cheek and walked away.

  Jolin smiled. “Well your love life has changed a lot in a few days.” Remy blushed. “Just make sure she doesn’t try to kill you, Mr. Remy,” Jolin added. Remy grimaced. “I’ll explain later,” I said.

  I began to wonder, could this Zahra, be the mother of this Rune that apparently becomes Remy’s son? I shook the thoughts from my head. I didn’t need to think about that. I knew too much of the future already, and the only part I needed to truly worry about was my becoming a vessel or not.

  I yawned some and leaned on the frame of the door. “I second that, Mr. Lox. Having a lover try to kill you really takes it out of a man,” Jolin said as he stretched. “We could just stay here tonight,” Remy said as he looked us over. “Because you two look horrible,” he said as he slouched down to look at Jolin’s neck.

  “We have plenty of room in this house. It has five bedrooms alone. Or was this the one with six?” Remy rubbed his chin as he looked in the air. “Either way we have enough room,” he added. I glanced at my mom who was moving side to side as Kula and Luka pulled on each leg.

  “It’s fine with me.” She looked down and raised her voice to them, “easy you two.” Instantly the shaking of each leg stopped. She turned and walked away with the twins into the inner part of the home.

  I was surprised to find Jolin had dashed away and was already speaking to King Walden from the back of the carriage. After a few moments, King Walden leaned out of the carriage and waved to us at, and then retreated inside his carriage and shut the door.

  Jolin turned and walked towards us as the carriage began to drive away. “King Walden will be back in the morning to pick us all up. He will work out the details tonight, but there will be a speech of sorts tomorrow morning in the square of Thera.”

  “A speech for what?” I asked. “To talk to the people, those who survived anyway about the war and things to come. Damage control, Mr. Lox. Damage control.” This made sense. If this sort of thing happened and I wasn’t one of the few people who knew what was going on, I’d have questions, too.

  I’d likely try to get my family and leave Thera, so addressing the people of the city was a good idea. King Walden was proving to be useful already, it seemed.

  I shut the door behind me, and followed Remy and Jolin through the house. I had been in various other homes owned by Remy and his family, but this was the first that actually looked like a home. All the rooms had furniture, there was some random trash here and there, and even dust in some spots.

  The previous homes I had been in were all very clean, and used mostly for a base as we tried to figure out how to kill the emperor. I walked past one room and was happy to see that my mom, Zahra, and the twins were all sitting at a table eating some sort of dessert.

  My mom hadn’t touched hers, though. Instead she was drinking a dark steaming liquid. Kula, Luka, and Zahra however were all eating hearty spoonfuls of whatever the creamy white and red treat was.

  Remy finally found a seat in a large living room. He sat down on a round gray chair beside the burning fireplace, while Jolin and I fell into the couch. “It’s not the palace, but it will do for the night,” Remy said as he rubbed his eyes.

  “So, Lox, your trip to Rewling. What-” Remy stopped talking as a large shimmer in the air appeared before us. He tilted his head as I leaned forwards. Jolin took in a deep breath. “What now,” he said as he groaned.

  As the shimmer became more pronounced, the air in the room seemed thin and for a second it was hard to breath. Two people came crashing through the shimmer, and rolled on the ground.

  “Vida,” I yelped as I jumped up and grabbed her off the ground. “Easy, Warps,” she said as she let me help her up. I hugged her so tight that she had to hit me to push me off. Jolin and Remy were both standing now, and looking very confused.

  “Who is this?” Remy said, as he pointed to the boy on the ground. I glanced over to the other person on the ground. He was badly beaten and bleeding almost all over. He had easily over four dozen cuts on his body, but they were slowly healing. Well, at least some of them were, the rest were bleeding with no end in sight.

  He coughed a little bit as his hand began to glow. Remy took a step back from him. I looked down at the boy on the ground. As I had assumed, it was in fact The Keeper, and he didn’t look like he was going to make it.

  25

  I looked to Vida with my brow raised. “What happened?” She shook her head as she tried to catch her breath. “It all happened so fast. After you left us, Craydon, Halo, and I found a ship pretty fast. We had to deal with some Rewling warriors, but we made it out. Then that Lantra thing showed up.” I felt myself gasp, a little.

  “It was there, and then something happened. I heard the word Etangria in my head from him, and then he flew off and vanished,” said as she knelt over The Keeper and helped him to a seat. The Lantra must have known, somehow, what was going on in Etangria between the gods, and myself.

  “Then as we were on the way here on our ship, a haze began to form in the air and I thought it was you about to appear.” She swallowed a little. “Instead he comes falling out, looking like he had just been beaten, almost to death. He could barely stand. He told Craydon and Halo that he was a friend and that he needed my help.”

  She looked at him. “Apparently, he did, so I told Craydon to make it to Thera when it was safe to come and find us. Then I was warped away and next thing I know I’m rolling on the floor in here with you.”

  Jolin walked over to The Keeper who was slowly coming too. “What happen to him?” he asked as he looked at us with his face twisted and voice a whisper. Judging from his low whisper Jolin was just as worried as I was. He didn’t know about the fight between the two Gods as I did. A fight that Nasium Suro clearly didn’t win.

  Before I could answer The Keeper raised his hand. “I’m okay, Jolin.” he said slowly as he stood up. “Hello Remy,” he said as he looked at Remy who in turned looked at us with his brow raised. As far as he knew, this strange boy was just another warper.

  “Who is this?” Remy hissed at us
. “I want the truth. How can he Warp Vida here, and then heal wounds, and have a glowing hand?” I moved to answer, and then heard a sound behind me. “Lox, is everything okay?” My mom asked me from the entryway to the room. I bit my lip.

  “Yeah mom. We are just handling some things. Can you give us a minute?” I asked her, but before she could agree or disagree, The Keeper spoke. “No. She needs to stay. Your mother should be here for this.”

  My mom walked in some. Likely confused who this child was that spoke with such a power that we all were listening to him, even Jolin the king. The Keeper moved his glowing hand and a wave of fog exploded from him, spread through the room and began to move through the house.

  Then something happened to everything except us. The fire in the fireplace froze. Literally, the dancing flickering flames simply remained still in one place. The noise I had previously heard from the other room suddenly stopped too. What had just happened?

  I looked around. I could still move. So, could everybody else in the room. “We are moving beyond time now,” The Keeper said. “Much like the fog of Rewling, that fog I just created can alter time.” The Keeper sat on the floor in front of us and crossed his legs.

  “It’s better if you all sit.” My mom and Remy didn’t move as the rest of us moved to sit down. Taking orders from a child was still hard for them to do, while the rest of us knew this child for what he really was. Something close to a God. As he spoke, the wounds on his body continued to heal slowly.

  Then next moments were those of clarity for my mom and for Remy as well. Vida, Jolin, and I sat quietly as The Keeper started from the beginning and included Remy and my mother on who he truly was, and the finer, untold details of how we all came to know each other. After being told they were in the presence of their God, my mom and Remy both finally sat down.