Leon Pelgrim

Elf of Orange

Once, Neatherna was known as the most wonderful nation in the world. Now, the country is a fluctuating black mass, with only a dozen habitable sprouts of land where the remainder of its people live. Of a once utopian nation solely persists a stubborn tribe that for centuries has struggled to survive. As their world turns bleaker, a light is needed more than ever.

Chapter 1.

Don’t touch the water.

The words burned in Case’s mind, increasing his focus as he hurriedly skipped over the stepping stones that rose above the Darkwater. Panting, he placed his feet carefully, avoiding even one misstep that could make him plunge into the shifting pitch-black sea beneath him.

Touch the water and you’ll be deformed, or die.

His mother’s words, a constant reminder since before he knew what dying meant, before he could even speak. Cruel but necessary. He’d remembered them with the same importance of how to eat.

One of his opponents leapt in the air, traversing over stepping stones far quicker than Case ever could. The gray shadow landed on a stepping stone at least twenty meters farther, while Case had to be satisfied with reaching one three meters away with every jump. He had to use the smaller stones as well, as the larger ones didn’t stand close to each other. Another opponent turned toward him, readying a stone projectile and flinging it toward him with monstrous speed. The stone pierced the thin mist that had descended from the clouded sky above.

Case ducked. The stone brushed his brown hair but otherwise didn’t touch him. He looked up and quickly scanned his surroundings. Twenty of the gray shadows, some clearer than others, were leaping around the stepping stones connected to long stone pillars protruding over the Darkwater. All of them could jump farther than he could. The number seemed to dwindle, however. Some had fallen in the water already.

Case turned to the left. A clearer shadow, Eziel, jumped toward him, club in hand. Case readied his own wooden club, a heavy blunt stick made of oak, in defense. He knew what to do.

Eziel made his last leap and raised his stick in the air to attack him. Eziel almost crashed upon him, with a blow that would be impossible to block. Case nimbly stepped to the side, dodging the blow. Then he raised his weapon. He swung with all his might, hoping to knock Eziel into the water. His opponent had already prepared a block and could seemingly easily intercept Case’s blow.

Case grunted. That had been his best shot. He and Eziel exchanged several blows, Case fully having to commit to defense. Eziel found an opening and kicked him in the chest.

The kick sent Case flying over the water. He crashed into the side of another stepping stone. Something warm swelled up within him. With a quick reflex, he managed to grab the ledge with his right hand before falling down.

He frowned. How did I do that? Despite the unexpected rescue by himself, his hand still struggled to retain his grip.

The stone started to crack.

He bit his lip. Not this easy. Not this damn easy.

He strengthened his muscles, screamed as he reached his limit, and tried to grab the ledge with his left hand.

It worked. He pulled himself up and laid down on the small stepping stone, his legs hanging over the end. He breathed heavily as he tried to figure out how he had survived the fall.

A shadow loomed over him.

“I’m sorry, Case,” a voice spoke to him. It was Eziel, who sounded weirdly sad. “Can’t play easy today. There’s still too many of us.” Eziel pushed his foot into Case’s side.

Case didn’t have enough strength left to resist the powerful push. He grunted and grabbed at whatever he could, but there was nothing to grab.

“Damn it, Eziel!” He was forced off the small platform. As a last effort, he tried again to grab the ledge, but this time it slipped by him. His eyes grew hollow. He fell down the stepping stone and plunged down. He reached with his arm above him but grasped only air. This would be it. No! No! No!

There was no last-minute save. His body crashed into the Darkwater. The liquid darkness swallowed his body whole. An incredibly strong Neathernan could resist the corrosive sea for perhaps ten seconds before it would start to deform him, and ten seconds more would kill him, but Case wasn’t even close to that. He was weak. He knew he was strong-willed, but his body was weak. He’d always been direct with himself about that fact. As the Darkwater bit at his body, he pulled at the thick water desperately hoping to gain enough movement to search for the nearest stepping stone, the only thing in the Darkwater. No boat, no other material could survive in this water for long. Climbing a pillar would be his last minuscule chance of survival. He slowly moved through the darkness, each stroke hurting his body as he hoped to touch stone before his seconds would end.

There was no stone.

His time had ended. Already twenty seconds must have passed and his body would soon give up.

It didn’t. His body kept going. The Darkwater still hurt him, but not nearly as bad as he had imagined and prepared himself for. What in Areos is this?

Frowning, he continued his way. It must have taken him a minute to find a pillar in the darkness, yet his body’s strength hadn’t left him. He grabbed the stone column and began to climb. Cold air again touched his skin. Once he had fully left the water, clasping the pillar tightly, he gave himself a short breather. How in the world am I still alive?

All the leaping shadows, other Neathernans, had left the makeshift arena. Case climbed the pillar that was a few meters in height and reached the stepping stone. Feeling strong enough to move, he began to jump toward the nearest island; Center Hill.

“Case, is that you?” Eziel stared at him with an incredulous look. “You shouldn’t be alive. I searched for you to see if you grabbed a pillar in time. But you didn’t. You died.” Although Eziel was pretty muscular, it didn’t hide the hideous gray body all of them had. Their rugged, uneven skin was a painful reminder to Case of how the Darkwater had deformed the bodies of their ancestors. No one had any clue, however, why those thousand had survived while millions of others had died.

“I’m very much alive actually,” Case said matter-of-factly. He touched ground on the common black grass. The black grass where nothing could grow depressed him. Apparently, things were better when the grass was orange, before The Great Flood. Now, their only food came from carefully cultivated crops in the village of which they had little. The only water they could drink came from rain gathered in jars and cleansed by magic devices of Elves long extinct.

With strong steps he went toward the ten men that were all about his age, ranging between twenty and thirty. His brown leather clothes still dripped as he moved closer and could distinguish their narrowed gazes. Probably they tried to figure out how he had survived, or be wary of standing close to him. Most were fully dry, except for two that also had black bumps all over their body and face. Those bumps hadn’t been there before.

Uphill, a couple of the elders and men and women waited for them in front of the wooden walls that guarded the homes of Center Hill. They came from all twelve hills for this trial. Same as Case, they were the only kind of Neathernans left, an otherwise nameless race for they didn’t think themselves worthy of a name. History spoke of Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Humans living peacefully together in Neatherna, though naming the Elves in the same sentence was kind of an insult to the others.

The Elves had betrayed the others, so Case and everyone knew. They had destroyed the Great Barrier that once protected Neatherna, which let the mystical Darkwater consume the entirety of Neatherna, except for the hills in the middle where about a hundred Neathernans each could live.

Fucking Elves, he concluded again. Because of them, they’d been on their own, forgotten by everyone, with no manner to traverse the Darkwater, or to contact the outside world, if there even was one left. They knew nothing, except for survival.

Myra, a female Neatherna of sixty-two and the oldest, most respected elder alive, approached them. “You were supposed to return with only ten,” Myra spoke with a strict and raspy voice, affected by too much exposure to Darkwater. Her bony figure gave proof of her old age, and with that the reduced amount of food she would get.

“We thought we had done so, madam,” Luro, Myra’s son, said. “Eziel claimed that Case had entered the water and hadn’t returned. So, we concluded the trial was over.”

Myra turned to Case. “Seeing that he’s dripping, it seemed Eziel did not lie, not intentionally that is. Case, why aren’t you deformed, or dead?”

Case shrugged. “You tell me. I was in the water for more than a minute.”

All ten men turned toward him, and most muttered curses. Case kept his eyes on Myra, who blinked rapidly and tilted her head. He’d never seen her confused. A weird sight.

“You should have died,” she said harshly. “Yet you stand here… I don’t know what that means. But you’ve earned living, despite being weaker.”

Case nodded. “That’s what I figured.”

Myra nodded in return. She turned around. “Now, all of you come inside.” She ascended the hill toward the confused-looking crowd. Some of them didn’t seem happy to see Case. He knew why.

The trial of age should only have ten survivors and was meant to have the strongest survive. There wasn’t enough food for a growing population. His survival meant others might die. Most importantly, to him, his sickly mother, who was an elder. Everyone above forty-five was named an elder and would get severely reduced rations of food, leftovers, as they were mostly considered a burden for their race’s survival. Case’s father hadn’t even reached the age of fifty because of this. Now, Case would unrightfully take food and drinkable water from them. Maybe he’d live on leftovers the rest of his life. It would probably be short. But what could he do, but father children and let this dismal survival continue?

The Darkwater blocked all ways of living a different life. They didn’t know where it came from, let alone how to get rid of it. Yet he, and most of his generation weren’t content with the way things were, contrary to some of the elders.

“What’s that in the water?!” a loud voice erupted from up the hill.

Case turned around, and so did everyone around him. His heartbeat increased.

Something came from the water. Not a wave, nothing dark. But a light. A golden light. No, not golden, Case corrected himself. More reddish. An orange light. It bobbed up and down with the waves but was clear above it. A boat! But how can it withstand the Darkwater? Where even does it come from? There’s nobody besides us.

Behind him, Myra muttered. “Oh no, not him.”

In silence, they awaited the expanding light.

—

“A huge tsunami said to have a thousand eyes approached the land and crashed over it. Farms, villages, and even cities were swept away. Millions died.”

Chapter 2.

The boat moored on Center Hill’s beach.

Case gazed at it with an open mouth. A boat! It’s a boat! So we can traverse the Darkwater… The possibilities…

The longboat was perhaps ten meters long and mostly flat, though it looked sturdy. Its hull consisted of thick white wood, engraved with what seemed like runes that glowed orange. On it, stood a man. Not gray like them, but with pale, smooth skin and long golden hair. His build was slimmer than theirs, and his eyes weren’t blue like theirs, but brown. There seemed to be an orange glow around him as well. The man disembarked and stepped on the black grass of their land. He immediately put his hands on his knees and started to puff, looking exhausted. The orange glow from him and the boat faded.

Myra approached the man. “I hoped that you had died on your last killing trip,” she said coldly.

The man raised his palms and eyebrows. “Immortality doesn’t work that way. You should know that.” His voice was light, but his tone was grouchy.

“Why don’t you dive into the Darkwater, Galendil? And put that immortality to a stronger test?” Myra asked, sounding serious.

What’s happening? Case asked himself, fully confused. Myra knew this man, who was apparently immortal, and didn’t seem surprised at his arrival or the existence of travel over Darkwater. The other warriors around him seemed to have the same confusion as him. Uphill, the expressions of people in the crowd were mixed, Case found. Most were confused, except for the elders. They looked either unhappy or with a look Case had trouble discerning. Their eyes glimmered weirdly and their lips trembled. Hope. This man’s arrival gives them hope, and fear. However much of any. Another realization came to Case. Immortal… In history only Elves were immortal. But they are extinct.

“Can you at least give me a rest before asking me to kill myself? For Areos’ sake, Myra.” Galendil let out a big sigh. “Did I arrive just before, during, or after the latest trial of age?” Then he looked over to Case’s group. “Eleven? That’s weird. Aren’t there usually like twenty or more in the trial? What happened?”

“It’s of no use to you. Just leave,” Myra said.

If this man was an elf, of which Case was now pretty sure, Myra’s dismissal of him was very understandable. The Elves betrayed them. But, this man seemed to know about their ways and came from the outside world. His visit could be valuable.

“What’s happening here? What have you been keeping from us, mother?” Luro spoke up. Apparently, he was having similar thoughts to Case.

Myra sighed. “This man only means trouble.”

“Is he… an elf?” Deroan asked.

Galendil grinned. “You’re all quick to figure things out. I wonder what else goes around in all of those heads. You’re right. Yes, I’m an elf. The last one to be precise.” He spoke the words matter-of-factly, yet Case thought he caught a sadness hidden within them.

“Fuck your kind!” Kran said. Nobody, except Galendil himself, seemed to disagree with the sentiment.

Galendil sighed, again. He finally stood up straight, and Case could see he wasn’t as tall as them, being even shorter than Myra. Galendil would only barely be over two meters high. “What have you been telling them, Myra? Still the same lies?”

“Only the truth,” she said. “The Great Barrier that once protected the largest part of Neatherna was destroyed by your kind. You’re as responsible for the destruction of our country as the Darkwater.”

“Is that so? Next, you’ll claim that the Elves are responsible for the Darkwater as well. Even in old Neatherna that was an accusation never uttered until the end.”

Myra flattened her lips. “Old Neatherna… No. Even I don’t think the Elves are responsible for that. Its magic is too powerful for that. Elvish magic can be destroyed, not Darkwater.”

Galendil chuckled. Slowly, a faint grin formed on his face as he stared at Myra without blinking. “But it can.” Then Galendil looked over to Case and the other warriors.

Case’s eyes widened. Darkwater can be destroyed?! The words caused an uproar in their group and the crowd behind them.

“That’s impossible!” shouted Luro.

“We’ve tried everything!” added Eziel.

All of them now approached Galendil, who still stood next to his boat. Accusations, questions, and words of wonder were thrown at Galendil. The elf had his hands clasped in front of him and his eyes darted over the crowd while waiting patiently.

“Listen!” Galendil shouted with authority.

To Case’s surprise, everyone went silent. Galendil continued with a strict tone.

“You don’t know what you are, as well as you don’t know what happened here. Except for the true origin of the Darkwater, I know everything. I’ve explored the world. It’s still there, with civilizations large and small. I come here every twenty-five years, though not everyone might remember me or have seen me. There have even been times nobody joined me… But! There is a way to fight the Darkwater, I believe. A temple far from here holds the key. It’s from an extinct race that once faced a similar threat, and was defeated by it. Something sinister had taken hold of the jungle where they lived. I’ve reasons to believe they were close to a key to fight this enemy, yet perished before they could make it work. I’ve seen this temple with my own eyes! We have to go there and find whatever they invented!”

“No!” Myra bellowed. “You will not! You’ve taken my father. You’ve taken my husband. You will not take my son!” She was nearly crying, a feat Case didn’t think she was capable of.

“Mother…” Luro muttered.

Galendil looked downward and paused. “I know. This is not without cost… But, Myra, this is no way of living. The possibilities…”

Case saw the guilt in Galendil’s eyes, or what he perceived as guilt anyway. He had no idea if anything Galendil said was true, but he agreed with that last statement. This is no way of living.

“Why don’t you go get this key yourself?” Eziel asked with a stern voice.

“Oh wow, I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll just be on my way then.” Galendil lifted his eyebrows and grunted. “In all seriousness, the temple of Azzig is heavily guarded. I’ve got some… tricks. But I’m not strong like all of you. And it’s not just the temple, the road there is almost equally as perilous. The race of Elves ended same as the others of Neatherna. Though in contrary to Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Humans still live in other lands, fighting themselves or others more often than not. We’ll need to get past all of them. And there are… other things living in Areos. What I propose is no easy task. But with the ten strongest of you, we have a chance. More than ten and we might attract too much attention.”

“Why should we trust you?” Luro asked, seeming less confident than before.

Galendil sighed. It seemed a habit of his. “What else is there to do but trust me or die?” He let the silence hang in the air. Then he got another one of his annoying, confident grins. “If you don’t trust my words, look at what your elders made you. Why have they trained you in the art of war? You’ve got no enemies here.”

Deroan drew his head back. “Well, that’s easy. Only the strongest can survive because we have to keep our population low.”

“Strongest doesn’t mean most healthy,” Galendil said while holding up a finger. “You need to risk your life to determine the strongest? There are much better ways. And there are still too many of you for the amount of food grown here, I reckon. You don’t know it, but you’ve been prepared all your life for this.”

Nobody responded. Prepared? All our life? Case thought. They’ve been keeping this a secret from us?

After a few moments, Eziel broke the silence. “We can just take your boat and leave without you.”

Galendil shook his head. “It runs by small amounts of magic. You’re saying you can already use magic?” He opened his hand as if giving Eziel the time to respond. Eziel said nothing and only flattened his lips. Galendil continued. “Oh, you can’t? What a pity. Even if you could, you wouldn’t know where to go, over the Darkwater and beyond. So stop saying nonsense.”

Case cocked his head to one side. Already. He asked can you already use magic. Does that mean we’re capable of that? He kept his mouth shut. There were too many questions and the tension seemed to increase. Everybody seemed to feel it.

There was something else though. Fear and hope. Some of the elders had already shown it. But now Case and probably others felt it as well. Could they really change their situation? But they knew nothing. They’d done nothing. Case clenched his fists. Not yet at least. If they’d send their ten best, could something be done? The question remained unanswered. No one said anything. We’ve been here alone for so long. Our entire lives.

Another big sigh came from Galendil. “If only you’d know what our ancestors were capable of. Every one of you would march the world by yourselves.”

Myra furrowed her eyebrows. “If we were, or are, so powerful, then why did the Darkwater consume our country?”

Galendil stared blankly ahead, seeming to look for words. It took a few moments. “I don’t know.” Another pause. “However, we can go in search of answers, in search of what happened to our land, in search of a solution. I’ll stay with you tonight. Tomorrow, I have to leave again. The ten strongest and willing should join me. That is all I can say.” Galendil went toward the village without waiting for an answer. More questions were asked but all of them he ignored.

Case stood still in the black grass. A breeze passed through his short brown hair. We need to leave. To help our country. This is not living, not really. Besides, if we leave, there’s more food for the elders and the children. He had made his choice. However, he knew it was easier for him. He did not need to go with this possible madman. There were ten that had proven to be stronger than him. Only if one of them wouldn’t go Case might join Galendil. None of the others said anything. Tonight they’d think about what Galendil said, and talk with their loved ones. Case could only wait.

Morning arrived same as any other. In their small house, Case grabbed a clay bowl and poured some hot water into it, and added some vegetables. He gave it to his mother who lay in bed with her eyes closed.

“Mother, wake up. Here’s your food for today,” he said. The bowl was barely enough for one meal, yet his mother would have to get by with it the entire day.

Slowly, his mother’s eyes opened and the thin lips on her wrinkled face curled upward slightly. She reached out with a trembling hand and accepted the bowl. “Thank you. This is too much for me.”

Case looked downward. “Eat while you can, please.” He paused. “I might leave today, forever.”

His mother looked him straight in the eyes. “Don’t throw your life away.”

Case grunted. He was tired of the conversation that had taken the entire evening before as well. “I’m not. I believe in this.”

“It’s reckless and nothing good will come from it.”

Case clenched his fists. “I’D RATHER DIE THAN SURVIVE KNOWING I COULD HAVE SAVED YOU, SAVED GOOD PEOPLE, SAVED NEATHERNA.” He continued breathing heavily with his nostrils flared.

His mother smiled faintly, and even chuckled. “I know, son. I’ve known you would walk this path a long time ago. I wanted you to know your own resolve.” She hugged him. “Come back and give me grandchildren. Now leave. See if there’s space for you on Galendil’s boat.”

Case tilted his head to the side and froze. His mother knew him too well.

After a while, he grabbed his gear, said his goodbyes, and left the house where he had lived all his life, knowing he might return shortly, or never.

A clear sky greeted him outside. Everywhere people ran around. It seemed the whole village was awake, which was probably true. Most of them left for the wooden gate, and Case joined them. Once out, he could feel the low sun shining over the Darkwater. The Darkwater left no reflection, however, not even the sunlight seemed to be able to break its darkness. At the bottom of the hill, a group had already gathered with Galendil sitting on the side of his boat. Case descended the hill and watched which warriors had already gathered.

All of them. All ten of the warriors that were stronger than him and ready in their gear and with what little supplies they had. Case’s lip twitched. He had wished to join more than he had admitted to himself. Having to stay made him feel more useless than yesterday. However, not everyone was so agreeing with the group of ten.

“You’ve been brainwashed by this man!” Myra clearly hadn’t given up on halting the mission. “He knows more than he lets on. At least here we can live with all of us together. It’s not much, but it’s better than dying! What if this key doesn’t even exist, or what if it doesn’t do what Galendil thinks it does?”

Luro sighed. “It doesn’t matter, mom.” He had regained confidence after yesterday. “We go.”

“It’s dangerous!” Myra argued.

“We go.”

“You might die!”

“We go.”

“I won’t allow it.”

This made Luro pause. “I’m sorry to hear that. We go.”

Myra opened and closed her mouth several times, stumbling for words. She looked at her son, and would most certainly see his determination. She closed her mouth and hugged Luro. Then she stepped backward.

That was my last chance, Case thought bitterly, finding himself selfish for the thought. It did not matter. Everyone seemed to leave.

“Alright then, boys.” Galendil stood up. He closed his eyes. A second later he began to glow orange, then he touched the boat and the runes lit up same as when he had arrived. The elf beckoned the ten warriors to embark. Luro went first, grabbing the side of the boat and checking it for sturdiness several times over. Evidently, he feared going into a boat. It was unnatural for them to traverse the Darkwater aside from the stepping stones. Yet not much later, all ten warriors had entered the longboat.

“That’s it. I hope you said your farewells.” Galendil began to push the boat and looked back as if for the last time. He and Case met eyes. Galendil halted, his eyes still locked with Case. “You’re the eleventh of yesterday, right?”

Case nodded.

Galendil stared at him for a longer time. “You fell in the Darkwater.” It should be a question but sounded more like a statement. Case nodded again. After another uncomfortable stare, Galendil continued. “You were in for longer than you were supposed to, weren’t you?”

Case cocked his head. “How could you possibly know that?”

Galendil grinned. Another one of those confident annoying ones. Then he slowly nodded repeatedly. “You’re coming too.”

Case widened his eyes. “No… But… I’m weaker than the rest.”

Myra cleared her throat. “He’s right. He’s weaker than all of the others.”

Others protested as well. It didn’t make sense for him to join.

“Shut up, all of you,” Galendil interrupted them, sounding irritated. “I say he’s coming, so he’s coming.” Clearly, Galendil wouldn’t budge.

There still were some minor protests, but Case had already nodded to Galendil and approached the elf. He sat down with the others in the white boat, still surprised at whatever had just happened, but smiling nonetheless.

Eziel next to him clasped his shoulder. “I have no idea what’s going on, where we’re going, or what’s going to happen, but I’m happy that you’re with us.”

Case smiled, and nodded understandingly. Then all of them exchanged looks and nodded to each other. They’d be with just them and Galendil from now on. They all think the same as me, Case understood. If needed, they’d travel to the end of the world for Neatherna, if there was one.

Galendil pushed the boat away from the shore, then jumped in, still glowing. They left the hills of Neatherna behind. “So, this is different than any time this has happened before. Guess I had to make space for one more for this trip.” Then, he whispered softly so certainly only the ones on the boat could hear him. “Let’s hope we’ll still go unnoticed by those dark-eyed bastards.” He switched to his normal volume again. “Anyway, we’re off boys, to what lies beyond the Darkwater. Be ready.”

—

“It’s been seven hundred years since the Great Flood, but the earliest records of Neatherna go back two thousand five hundred years before that, far older than I am, mind you. Our nation used to be prosperous, with beautiful buildings and people living in tune with nature. A magical utopia. Races lived together there; Dwarves, Humans, Elves, and Orcs. None knew which were native to the land, and none claimed it to be them as it didn’t matter. The entire nation was a beacon of unity for those that had been oppressed. The nation’s ideals traveled across borders, inspiring common folk and bringing down tyrants.”

Chapter 3.

The professed endless black ocean ended. Case’s mouth fell open. Monstrous gray hills loomed on the horizon. Mountains… They exist. It wasn’t just him that was stumped, the entire group stared in silence. Galendil had his eyes closed. He did that more often than not and only spoke little. Probably however magic worked strained him. Another minute went by as they bobbed closer to lands unknown.

“Say, Galendil,” Eziel said. “We’ve traveled for an entire day. Far, but not as far as I’ve imagined. Why don’t we gather food in this land and travel back to Neatherna?”

Galendil let out a characteristic sigh. “This white wood is named Judal. It’s the strongest magical wood there is and crafting it this way took me years. Still, the Darkwater affects it, and one crack in it can be fatal to all of us. My magic and runes greatly help it, but I’ll be glad to see land again. We’re not out of the water yet.”

Case chuckled. Eziel grunted, and opened his mouth to speak.

“There’s another reason,” Galendil said before Eziel could speak, and immediately paused. “We don’t want to draw attention… There’re creatures out there that aren’t happy with us. If they find us, we’re in a pile of shit higher than any hill in Neatherna.”

Eziel closed his mouth again. For a moment no one said anything.

After a while, the eleven of them discussed theories among themselves, while Galendil kept silent. Thirty minutes later, the mountains had increased in size and small white peaks became visible.

Something else changed. The water. It became clearer. It was still Darkwater, but less black than before. This continued and a few hundred meters before the mountains, the water was amazingly clear. Case had never seen it in such quantity. There was something else in the water though… Small creatures moving around.

“Fish!” Deroan exclaimed. “There’s fucking fish in here! Animals!”

Gasps came from several of them and all of them went to a side of the boat to search for the fish mentioned. Case stared with wide eyes. How amazing. Such small living creatures.

An audible sigh from Galendil. Case turned to him. The elf laid back comfortably and had stopped glowing orange, so had the runes on the boat. “You can touch the water.”

Case froze. Galendil said the words as if they meant nothing, but to him they went into everything he was taught. Carefully, he reached out with his hand. He held his fingertip above the water and hesitated. Then he broke the surface and slowly put his whole hand in. Then he waited.

Nothing happened.

“For Areos’ sake! The water doesn’t hurt!” Kirn shouted.

“It’s just like normal water!” Eziel added. He grabbed a handful of water and put it in his mouth. Then just as quickly he spat it out. “It’s still toxic if you put it inside!”

Galendil sighed. “It’s not toxic, idiot. It’s salty. You won’t die from it but still don’t drink it.”

Case and the other warriors nodded. Luro grabbed more water and splattered it into the boat. Gren, who had avoided the water until now, got splashed upon and let out a shrill shriek.

Everybody laughed, then began to splash each other. Case joined them merrily. There’s enough water here to waste! In the corner of his eye, he noticed Galendil sighing, and a serious look on his face, but the elf left them alone otherwise.

They arrived at the mountains. A river flowed between them and Galendil used some form of magic again so they could sail upstream. Case’s eyes darted around, but there was too much to look at. Huge rocks. Green trees. Green! They had passed the early mountains and the land became flatter.

“Galendil,” Gaven said, “we are taught that all grass is orange. Yet here it isn’t.”

Galendil sighed, or maybe grunted softly. “Only grass native to Neatherna is orange. In other lands it’s usually green.”

The elf guided the boat to shore and disembarked. “Welcome to the rest of Areos, boys! Take your first steps on land unaffected by Darkwater.”

Case stared at the ground. There were so many small things… Small green leaves and blades of grass and other things. As if the ground was alive. He wasn’t the only one that stared this way. Their eyes darted around the canyon filled with green trees and bushes Case had never seen before.

Kirn was the first to disembark. He checked if the ground was sturdy, and then gave a thumbs-up to the others. Galendil sighed, but at last everyone finally left the boat and stood on land again.

“Right,” Galendil started, “there’s a path through these last mountains. Then we’ll be clear of them, at least for a while. We’ll travel west through Areos. The further west we go, the more dangerous it will get. Especially once we pass the Gate of Gur, if we even pass it. That’s our first goal.”

“Isn’t our first goal the temple?” Eziel asked.

Galendil moved his lips to one side. “Well, that is our final goal, or destination at least. Don’t even think about that for now. We have a long way to go and we need everyone’s full focus every step of the way. Now, I need to sit down.” Galendil literally immediately sat down. “I know this place is new for you, as annoying as it is. So take it all in. Get that curiosity all out of your system so we can be done with it. Meanwhile, I’ll take a rest. I’m exhausted from the trip… and you guys.” Galendil paused. “Just… be wary and don’t attract too much attention. Now, go.” Galendil waved them away with his hands and laid down in the grass with his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

The group scattered. Every man went to a corner or to inspect a tree. Case went with Dane to a small bed of plants with different bright colors. They kneeled at them and Case picked one up. It had violet petals on top. A flower! Case stared at it with open mouth.

A few meters further, he caressed the bark of a tree. Amazed, he stared at the thick trunk and the countless branches growing from it. He grabbed a sturdy-looking branch and began to climb, then looked around the area. The other Neathernans, beside Galendil, ran around. Some had entered the water, trying to move around without drowning. How does one even move in water? Case wondered.

He reached the top of the tree and gazed over the beautiful canyon, hardly believing where he was, and that this place existed.

A squeaky noise from behind him.

His heart palpitated. He turned around. A small gray rodent hurried away from its hole and crawled over Case’s foot. What in Areos is that?! Case instinctively took a step back, trying to get away from the animal. He misplaced his foot and fell three meters down from the tree. With a bang, he hit the soft floor. He scratched his head. Aside from the bruise to his pride, there were no injuries. The rodent scurried down the tree and away, now in full view of the others.

“AN ANIMAL! GET IT!” someone shouted.

Case was still standing up when ten men began to chase the quick animal as it scurried through bushes. Galendil seemed to pay no notice to the events and kept still in the grass.

After he had recovered, Case joined the hunt for the rodent, which some called a rabbit. Eventually, it hurried in a crack in the rocks too small for them. This left all of them disappointed, for a moment. They found something even tinier than animals or plants. On the ground crawled miniature creatures, many of them together.

“Shrunk animals,” Eziel said while he stroked his chin.

“These are called insects, idiot,” Deroan clarified.

The group now followed the insects. Case even found some flying ones with beautiful wings.

The interest in animals and insects left as quickly as it came. Case and five others had begun to climb trees and rocks and jump from one to the other. They’d never experienced such heights. More than that, falling on the ground wasn’t nearly as dangerous as falling in the Darkwater, though their skill made them nimble. Some of them still fell, from several meters high, or misjudged their strength and crashed straight into rock. Fortunately, it didn’t injure or really harm them. Our bodies are stronger than we think, Case concluded.

He strode on, and dipped a toe in the water, still feeling unsure about entering it.

A push from behind. He lost his balance and plunged into the water. He flailed his hands and legs around, trying not to drown. Then his feet found the ground, and he discovered he could simply stand in this part of the water. The men around him laughed as he recovered from his panic.

He looked upward and stared at the enormous cliff. Huge brown rocks covered by climbing plants that nearly hid them from the sky. A small red protrusion at the edge of the cliff hung over them. Case narrowed his eyes, then tilted his head while staring at the weird formation.

It moved.

It wasn’t a rock. It sway slightly, but not as a plant, as if it breathed.

“What’s that red thing?” Case shouted and pointed toward it.

The warriors next to him followed the tip of his finger.

The red thing loosened from the ground. Case’s eyes widened. It wasn’t an object, it was a creature. It had been crouched and couldn’t be more than half their length. It only wore a loincloth and its skin was dark red with scars on it and several tattoos in the form of an eye and it looked… wild. Vile. Case had trouble placing the creature. He’d never seen anything like it.

The creature turned to them. Its eyes were a bright green and visible even from this distance. It widened its arms and revealed several bony claws where its fingers should be. Then, the creature dug his claws into the cliff and descended the cliff. Toward them.

“Shit!” Luro said. “Everyone, get out of the water! It looks like it’s attacking us!”

Case’s heartbeat increased. He’d been so intrigued by the creature that he hadn’t thought about the possible danger. The creature now rapidly crawled down the cliff and Case hurried out of the water. He breathed faster. What do we do? We have no weapons!

He stepped onto land and quickly turned around. The creature was near them with only the river between them. It seemed to push itself from the cliff and launched into the air. Its claws reached out for Case who tried to find anything to defend himself.

There was nothing.

The creature with a mad smile was one meter away to crash upon Case and bury its claws in him.

Woosh. A breath of wind.

The creature squealed as it flew to the side chased by orange particles. Case turned to his right to see Galendil had woken up and glowed orange. The creature crashed down several meters away. It hastily got on its feet and scurried away through an opening in the canyon.

“Damn. Not so soon. We need to hurry,” Galendil said, sounding more serious than ever before. “Gather your things. Now!”

Luro frowned. “That didn’t look that dangerous. We can take it.”

Galendil grunted. “That, is called a nurl. And it was just a scout. It’ll hurry to its… flock, and soon there might be a hundred of them upon us. They’re worshippers of whatever created the Darkwater. They call it Ghalva. They wish for another dark tsunami with a thousand eyes that can engulf the world. Needless to say, they don’t like us as Ghalva’s prime target. We leave now!”

Case didn’t know what to say, nor did anyone. The playful mood from earlier had completely evaporated.

This was no playtime. This was survival.

With a grave expression, Galendil strode toward a different path that exited the canyon. Everyone followed quietly. Case tried to regain his breath while walking. What if Galendil hadn’t been there…

A hand clasped his shoulder.

“We’d have killed the pest if it wasn’t so cowardly.” Kran nodded toward him.

The gesture made Case relax. He nodded in return. They left the canyon behind.

Single file, Case hiked at the back of the group. The narrow path slipped through the mountains until it opened up to a verdant plain more beautiful than Case had ever seen before. They’d left the mountains behind.

“Enjoy these last moments of peace,” Galendil said as he strode into the field.

Two hours later, they came across a human merchant, which Case and everyone gathered around. After several uncomfortable stares and questions to each other about what they were, Galendil bought weapons from the slick-appearing merchant. Apparently, Galendil originally wanted to buy weapons in a village a day or two later. The meeting with the scout had changed that. They needed weapons now.

The weapons weren’t wooden as the ones on the hills in Neatherna. They were steel, which Case had never seen before. More and more he realized that basically, he had never seen anything before.

Galendil distributed the weapons according to what he apparently thought fitted them. He halted at Case, then handed him a longsword and looked him directly in the eyes. “Use this, for now.”

Case cocked his head, but accepted the weapon. How else was he supposed to fight, if not with a weapon?

The merchant reached into the saddle of his horse, probably to grab other trinkets. “Hold on, you lovely group of strong warriors. I’ve never seen such muscles in my life! And you all look so elegant. Oh, I bet there’s no one more beautiful than all of you. What I think you might be interested in besides weapons-.”

“No,” Galendil said and walked past the merchant, onward.

“No.” Luro followed Galendil, carrying a large two-handed sword on his back.

“No,” Gwuir said. He grabbed his bow and dagger and joined Luro and Galendil. The whole group prepared to follow them.

“No,” Eziel said, carrying a mace.

“No,” Dane said, carrying two short swords.

“No,” Deroan said, carrying a halberd.

“No,” Gren said, carrying a spear and a shield.

“No,” Kirn said, carrying a sword and a shield.

“No,” Kran said, carrying a longsword slightly longer than Case’s one.

“No,” Gaven said, carrying a bow and dagger.

“No,” Desmond said, carrying an axe.

“No,” Case said as the last one following the group. He ignored the human who had his palms raised and seemed baffled.

They left the merchant behind them and traveled west. Galendil kept a steady pace, only stopping at certain times to look around and, probably, see if there were any signs of nurls.

Only Deroan had the courage, or desperation, to speak. “Galendil, I’ve always wondered… All those stories about races living in old Neatherna and the rest of the world… Nobody mentions us. Where did we come from?”

Galendil didn’t halt his pace. “You’ll have to experience that for yourself before I can tell you.” He still sounded grouchy, then let out a long sigh. “It’s a shame, and goes against anything Neatherna stood for, but every race we encounter could be our enemy. And… there are other things out there. Worse things. Just as fighting above the Darkwater, every misstep means dead, and the end of our mission.” Galendil paused. “Either you return to Neatherna with a solution, or you die.”

Case grabbed the hilt of his weapon tightly, and looked at the men hiking in front of him. He should feel nervous, but he didn’t. He should feel fear, but he didn’t. He grinned. The same confident grin he found annoying on Galendil’s face. We’re a team. We’re strong. Let them throw anything against us. Anything. We will prevail.

The clouds were dark on the horizon and there was thunder in the distance. The flock of nurls would probably be on their trail. Case continued to grin.
—

“Around six hundred years before the barrier broke down, the greatest event in the history of the world took place, by which I mean my birth, though most people didn’t seem to give it much attention. And yes, I look quite good for being one thousand, three hundred twenty-seven, thank you, men. A hundred and fifty years after my birth, it began… The blue ocean wasn’t as clear as it once had been. Each wave that arrived grew darker. After years, the ocean was as black as a night without stars. Nobody knew why.”

Chapter 4.

Tall blades of grass brushed against Case’s waist. He chuckled softly. A day ago I’d have gasped at the fact that grass can grow this high. He was well aware that he was a newbie in the outside world, but wasn’t amazed as easily by any small thing. Occasionally, one of the many long flowers pricked his side. The flowers came in bright colors and made this shiny meadow appear as if a rainbow had spread across it. They’d been marching west ever since they’d been spotted by the nurl scout one day ago. Currently, there was no sign of the nurls following them, yet Galendil hurried them along as if they were on their heels. Case had no idea how much Galendil truly knew.

“How far are they behind?” Case asked Galendil next to him. Only Eziel and Gaven, the latter with bumps on his face and body, walked in front of them, making a path through the thick field.

“I wish they were farther away,” Galendil said with his usual grouchy tone. “Now and again, the wind informs me of their whereabouts. They’re about three hours behind, I’m guessing, but they move faster than us and know this area better. They’ll eventually catch up. We have one chance though; nurls can’t pass the Gate of Gur. If we get there before them, we might lose them. We need to keep up this pace though.”

Case grunted. He opened his mouth to speak. A loud voice in front of him interrupted him.

“Galendil! Galendil!” It was Eziel. He had turned backward and sounded panicked.

Galendil let out a sigh. “Yes, Eziel?”

“What if these white flowers are toxic to us who’ve never been in this area?!”

Another sigh from Galendil. “They certainly are. Toxic and deadly. That’s why you’re walking in the front. You’re expendable.”

Case chuckled, and so did some of the other men who heard the exchange.

Eziel tilted his head to the side. “That’s a joke?”

“A joke? But of course I’m serious, Eziel. Why wouldn’t I take a needless risk that could kill all of you?” Galendil lifted his eyebrows briefly and grunted.

“Thanks for catching all the toxins for us, Eziel!” Kran shouted from behind. “We’ll be sure to inform everyone in Neatherna that your sacrifice helped us cross a harmless field!”

Eziel grunted, seeming offended. “I thought it was a fair question… We don’t-“

“Shut up everyone!” Galendil called out. He stopped and lifted his head, listening.

Everyone turned silent, some raising their palms in confusion.

“No. No. No,” Galendil muttered. His eyes turned forward and locked onto a point. “Please say my eyes are betraying me.”

Case turned to where the elf was looking. The land deviated there and there was a small gray and red bump that grew wider farther back. “It’s only a hill. Basically, the only thing here I feel a connection with.”

Galendil cocked his head. “What did you say… No… It’s not a hill, Case. What is one of them doing here? Shit.”

Case frowned, and narrowed his eyes, focusing on the hill.

A rumble from the ground, a sound as if Areos itself gurgled.

The other warriors cursed, not knowing what was happening.

Case gasped. “What’s happening?” His eyes were still fixated on the vibrating hill.

Galendil grunted and looked around. “Something I thought for sure we’d avoid.”

The rumble coming from the hill continued and grew even louder. It sounded menacing.

The hill stood up.

Case’s eyes widened. Impossible. The front of the hill lifted from the ground, and Case could distinguish it now. It was a head. A head the size of Case’s entire body and an enormous face that had a hollow, sunken look. The sides of the hill were arms, which were slowly raised from the ground as well. Case stepped back with his mouth wide open. The ground trembled as whatever this hill was continued to stand up, now planting their hands in the meadow and pushing themselves upward.

“How did one get so close and why are they waking up now?!” The distress in Galendil’s voice was clearly noticeable.

“What even are they?!” Deroan asked, sounding as startled as all of them seemed to be.

“They’re a colossus,” Galendil said. His head twitched to the side briefly at the mention of the name. “So that weirdly still happens… They always remind me of a memory that seems just out of reach… Anyway, there aren’t many of these left. I firmly hoped we didn’t have to face one, but here we are. We’re in trouble.” He furrowed his eyebrows deeply, appearing to think of a solution.

Case’s heart pounded heavily as he stared in awe as the colossus began to show their full size. They now stood on their knees which made visible their torso which had the size of a house, and their arms were even longer. Their skin was gray with dark red patches across their body. Case narrowed his eyes. It’s not their skin that is gray. That’s their flesh and bones! He drew his head back, disgusted. The dark red patches were the only pieces of skin left, the rest was as if the colossus was starved, or even rotten. Something ached Case’s nose. The acid smell of the colossus had now reached him too as it drifted around them.

“Can’t we just run past them?!” Luro asked. He was the strongest of them, yet would certainly wish to avoid a fight like this as well.

How can we even fight such a thing? Case wondered.

Galendil grunted. His eyes were still fixated on the colossus. He seemed to wait for something.

The colossus had fully erected themselves. Case grabbed the hilt of his sword tightly. The colossus towered over them as if they were a rabbit to them. The colossus must be fifteen meters in height, blocking the sun and casting a large shadow over them. They opened their mouth.

A howl came from the colossus. A sound that sent a chill down Case’s back. The long, doleful cry made the grass wave toward them.

Galendil snorted. “I was afraid so. We can’t run. That howl… They seem weirdly angered by our presence… We have no choice. We have to either incapacitate this creature or kill them. How unfortunate that our first test is such a difficult one. Prepare yourself.”

Case unsheathed his weapon, and so did everyone. If they had to fight, they were ready to.

“We’ll get close to it,” Galendil instructed calmly but firmly. “But the colossus has a long reach. Don’t let it sweep you away. Work together, fools.”

The colossus strolled toward them. They were slow, but every step made the ground tremble slightly. Despite the danger, Case felt no fear. He trusted in his fellow warriors.

Luro nodded. “I can lead the charge.”

“Good.” Galendil kept his eyes on the colossus. “Gwuir and Gaven, fire arrows at them from the side. It won’t harm them, not really, but might distract them for a while. Deroan, take Kirn, Gren, and Case and organize a defensive position so the rest is free to focus on the attack. Luro, you’ll attack with Eziel, Dane, Desmond, and Kran. Now, keep your shit together and go!”

All eleven charged forward, scurrying through the tall grass toward their target. Case frowned. With his longsword, it would make more sense for him to attack together with Luro, but Galendil would have his reasons. Even more, now was no time to argue. The colossus moved toward them and would have them within their reach soon. Galendil followed from a small distance behind. Case’s breath quickened.

The colossus halted, let out a howl, and flung back his absurdly lengthy arm of at least nine meters. They swooped it forward and let it raze over the ground toward Luro’s group.

“Duck!” Luro shouted over the field.

The five attackers dove into the grass. The hand flew over them closely. But it left them unscathed.

“Forward!” Luro jumped up and charged toward the colossus’ feet.

Gwuir had gone to the left side of the colossus and Gaven to the right. They nocked an arrow on their bow and shot it toward the colossus’ chest. With near-perfect aim, they soared through the air.

They bounced off the colossus.

“Shit,” Deroan muttered. “Kirn and Gren, with your shields we might able to deflect a swing or at least slow it down. Lay down your other weapons. I can stab it with my halberd and hopefully inflict some damage. Case… help where necessary.”

Case nodded. He doesn’t understand why I’m in this group same as me.

Luro’s group had split into two and began to hack at the colossus’ feet. Case held his breath. If we can bring them to the ground, they might be unable to follow us.

The weapons cut through the red skin but didn’t seem to slice deep into the colossus’ flesh. Case cursed.

The colossus lifted their huge foot and waggled it from left to right. Luro and Dane were kicked in the air and fell down meters away. The huge foot moved above the two warriors as the colossus prepared to crush them. No! Get out! Case wanted to rush toward them, but they were too far away for him.

Dane stood up before Luro did. He jumped toward Luro, grabbed him, and quickly rolled out of the way. The foot crashed down right next to them.

“Its flesh is too thick! If we can’t harm them, we’re not going anywhere!” Deroan said, disgruntled.

Case understood Deroan’s worries perfectly. If we waste too much time here, the nurls will be upon us, and our entire mission, and Neatherna’s rescue, might be over. And that’s even if we manage to get past this monster at all.

The colossus howled again and swung its arm backward ready to attack, now against Case’s group.

“Prepare shields! Case, reinforce them!” Deroan readied his halberd.

Case ran to Kirn and Gren and pushed with them as they held their shields diagonally to bounce off the colossus’ hand.

The swing came, this time lower than before and through the grass. Case’s heart palpitated as he used all his strength to prepare for the impact.

The hand crashed into their shields. It broke their defense and made them fall backward. Case hit the ground. He stood up as quickly as he could to see if the others were injured.

Everyone was fine. Though they hadn’t stopped the attack, it hadn’t inflicted any damage on them.

The archers readied another shot, and send two arrows flying. These were aimed at the colossus’ head. Gwuir missed. Gaven didn’t. The steel arrowhead pierced the colossus’ cheek. The colossus shrieked back slightly and removed the arrow with his hands. They didn’t seem in pain, though they did seem irritated.

“That’s it!” Deroan exclaimed. He turned to attackers. “Luro, go for his head! That’s his weakness!”

Luro raised his hands in the air in disbelief. “Well, bugger that. Have you seen how tall this bastard is? Are you proposing that I throw my sword at it?!”

“No, you fool! Use your weapons to climb it!”

Luro cocked his head. “That sounds like an unreasonable and dangerous plan. I love it. Boys, let’s go!” He and the others attempted to climb the colossus from the feet up. They stuck their weapons in its flesh and moved upward.

The colossus howled again and launched another attack at Case’s group. Galendil had finally caught up, and glowed orange. Case felt stronger. The hand crashed into their defense again and this time didn’t break them apart. Deroan even got a small stab in. Unfortunately, it didn’t inflict a lot of damage.

Kirn frowned. “You guys felt that too?”

“Yep,” said Gern. “I felt invigorated.”

“See,” Galendil said matter-of-factly, “I’m not that useless.”

Luro’s group continued to climb. Then they were shaken or smacked off by the colossus. The whole routine went over several times, with Deroan instructing another defense, Luro scaling the colossus with the attackers, and the archers trying to inflict damage. The colossus kept howling and attacking them, without much success. Case felt fit to continue this for a long time. But that’s not what we need. We don’t have the time and we’re not getting anywhere.

“They’re an extremely tough opponent,” Deroan said with a frown. “But they’re making it easier for us by announcing each attack with a howl.”

Galendil moved his lips to one side. “You know, normally they never do that. There’s something different.”

Case stared at the colossus. There was something sad about them. Their expression didn’t match the anger they showed. Though it was their enemy, Case somehow felt pity for it as well.

“However,” Galendil continued, “we can’t hold this on for long. The colossus is… fueled by something. If we, or even just I, run out of energy, it’s done. But what can we change now?”

Case grunted. “That’s very inspiring.”

Galendil lifted his eyebrows. “Reality is what it is, Case. I guess your mother will die too. You weren’t able to save her.”

With an open mouth, Case turned toward Galendil. “What?! No!”

“I’m afraid so.” Galendil shrugged. “And Neatherna will just perish. This is it already. What a pity. Oh, well…”

Case grunted. He knew what Galendil was doing, but he could feel himself getting angry nonetheless. He huffed repeatedly. “No! No fucking way I’ll let that happen.”

Galendil grinned, his annoying characteristic one, and stared straight into his eyes. “Feed the warmth inside.”

Case clenched his fists. His chest heaved considerately. Something within him swelled up. As if there was the small light of a candle, and then it flared and set his whole body ablaze. Flames coursed through his veins. He looked at his hands with wide eyes.

They glowed in bright orange. He grinned broadly. I can do it too.

“Tell Luro and the attackers to move away,” he said with an authoritative voice.

Deroan tilted his head to the side. “But we need to attack!” Then he turned around and must have seen Case’s orange glow. “What the Darkwater…” Deroan did as instructed. Soon, the area around the colossus was empty.

Case let out a long breath. Instinct told him what to do next. He pointed his hands toward the ground where the colossus stood, then focused intently.

He released his power.

No flames came out. Instead, a constant orange flux rippled through the air and shot into the ground underneath the colossus.

Case grinned, almost madly. He’d never felt this power before. He knew what he could do.

He raised his hands.

A rumble came from underground. A different one than from when the colossus stood up, this one was deeper. At first, it was only a sound.

He raised his hands further.

It happened. Areos itself began to tremble.

He caused an earthquake where the colossus stood. The colossus tried to find their footing by stepping around the ground, but it shifted beneath them. Their weight brought the ground to crack. Case could feel it.

The colossus lost their balance and fell onto their hands and knees. Case grinned. Finally.

“Now, Luro!” Galendil shouted.

Case stopped. He let go out of the orange magic and fell backward. Kirn caught him, and gently put him onto the ground.

Next to Case, Deroan stood with an open mouth, bewildered. “Shit me backward. You can do that. How in Areos…”

Case wanted to reply, but was exhausted. He even had trouble staying conscious and watching the fight continue.

Eziel, Desmond, and Kran began to climb the fallen colossus’ arm. Though the colossus was crouched, they were far from beaten and would quickly get up. To Case’s dismay, it seemed like the climbers would be too slow.

“Damn this thing to darkness!” Luro shouted with an odd choice of words. “Dane, you’re light, come here!”

With a raised palm, Dane ran to Luro.

Luro grabbed Dane by his legs, which visibly increased Dane’s confusion. “You’ve got two fucking swords. Use them!” Luro roared. He lifted Dane in the air, spun around, and threw Dane in the air toward the colossus’ head.

Case’s mouth fell open. Everyone knew Luro was strong, but this was on a whole new level. How did he…?

Dane landed perfectly on top of the colossus’ head. He grabbed his two swords, then bore them through the colossus’ head.

The blades pierced the skull.

The colossus let out a shriek. They shook their entire body wildly, making all the warriors that had climbed on them, including Dane, fall off.

The swords were still stuck in the colossus’ head, and now the colossus moved erratically. Before, it was only possible to predict their attacks because of the howls and a pattern. Now that they moved randomly, they seemed even more dangerous.

Everyone got out of the way, and let the colossus rant.

They still did not fall down. It continued to attack them. Case grunted. He was too weak to move. However awesome he had found it to use magic, it had also depleted all of his energy.

The colossus swung their arm, and this time hit one of them fully. Deroan was hit by the hand and thrown in the air dozens of meters away.

Case gasped.

“NO!” Gren cried out. “Get your hands off him!”

Case had no idea where the anger from Gren came from, but the reddened warrior roared and charged at the colossus with seemingly newfound vigor. And there was something else… Case didn’t know if his vision was blurry from the exhaustion, but there seemed to be an orange glow around Gren’s legs.

Gren jumped toward the colossus.

Not a simple jump, but an insane jump. He jumped so high that he immediately reached the colossus’ waist. From there he jumped again and had reached the colossus’ head already. Gern roared again and stood ready to strike. There only was one problem.

“You need a damn weapon, idiot!” Eziel shouted.

Gren’s spear still lay beside Case.

This was dangerous. If Gren would fall far from this high, not even his strong body would prevent injury. Case grunted.

“Then give me one!” Gren shouted from above.

Eziel raised his palms, clearly not knowing what to do.

Some way back, Deroan had stood up, bruised but seemingly okay. “That idiot…” The words were almost too soft for Case to hear.

Kirn picked up Gren’s spear, which still lay on the ground. “Catch it!”

In the distance, Gren nodded.

Kirn prepared his throw. He flung the spear forward with amazing speed. It had enough momentum, but it lacked the proper aim and flew above Gren.

Gren roared and jumped. He managed to grab the spear in the air. Case watched without blinking. Unnatural… but amazing. Yet how can he land properly now?

In the air, Gren turned the spear so its tip was downward, then he fell through the air and rapidly descended upon the colossus. Case could swear orange particles were chasing Gren.

Gren bore the spear deep into the colossus’ skull.

The eyes of the colossus stopped moving immediately and went white. Their entire body stopped moving. The colossus’ body leaned forward and then fell toward the ground. It came down with a loud smack that flung sand up in the air.

The colossus was dead.

Cheers went up all around the battlefield, on both sides of the enormous corpse. Case tried to join them, but his body was too weak. He sat on flattened grass with his body hung forward.

A hand clasped his shoulder. It was Galendil’s. “I was right about bringing you.” The elf grinned, clearly satisfied with himself, then he looked away briefly and moved his lips to one side, not seeming quite as happy. “Now, let’s gather everyone so we can move on.” He helped Case to stand, and let everyone celebrate for a short while before bidding them to move on.

Deroan was the most injured but even he could still walk by himself. Nevertheless, he was supported by Gren, one of today’s heroes. How did he even climb the colossus that easily? Case wondered. With a thin smile, he watched how Deroan and Gren had taken a hold of each other and smiled at each other warmly. Case tilted his head to one side. I never realized they were such good friends.

They left the huge, smelling corpse behind and traversed the meadow further.

“Case!” Gaven called to him. “How in Areos did you manage to do that?”

Case scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know actually. It’s kind of like an instinct.”

“What can you tell us about it?” Gaven asked Galendil, surely figuring that the elf could tell them more.

Galendil sighed. “First of all, the magic within Case… it has something to do with the day of The Great Flood, I think. I don’t know precisely what it means that his body has no problem with the Darkwater.” His lip twitched, as if the fact troubled him as well as it pleased him. “Second of all, if you only noticed Case’s magic, then you haven’t been paying close attention. Your strength and speed are only a small part of what your ancestors left you. I already told all of you that but you didn’t listen.”

Luro increased his pace and started walking next to them. “Does that mean we can all use magic?”

Galendil sighed. “You have to find out yourselves first. I can’t force anything and it’s different for everyone.”

They asked more questions but were left unanswered. Instead, they went on discussing by themselves what it meant. All of them wanted to use magic and came to Case to find out how he did it. He tried to explain it but didn’t have clear instructions on how he did it, though he was pretty sure he could repeat the act somewhat.

Their daydreaming was interrupted by Galendil. “That’s enough for now. We’ve lost a lot of time with the colossus.” Galendil’s head twitched briefly to the side. “It now seems inevitable that that band of nurls will catch up to us before we reach the Gate of Gur. Save your breath and replenish your stamina as much as you can.”

Case swallowed. This had already been a dangerous enemy that could’ve killed them all, and even nearly killed one of them. What else is there? Case wondered as he again felt a strange warmth inside of him. They marched on and in the distance saw a hilly area. Green hills this time.
—

“First, the black ocean became a sight for travelers to admire, as this didn’t happen to neighboring countries and only Neatherna had this peculiar occurrence. Soon, however, it became apparent the water was toxic. Swimmers returned either sick or deformed. The degree of deformation increased as time went by, as if the water grew stronger. Researchers still braved entering the water, looking for an explanation of the appearance of this water, why it only could be found on the coast of Neatherna, and what to do against it. Then, some of them died. The water had fully turned against us. It became known as Darkwater. This was before The Night of Peril, when we still had our entire country.”

Chapter 5.

“The foul creatures must have passed the colossus.” Galendil sniffed and wrinkled his nose. “Their stench has grown stronger than the corpse we left behind.”

Case clenched his jaw. We left there only an hour ago. The nurls are too close. We can’t get to the Gate of Gur before they’ll catch up. They had to try though, he found. Maybe some misfortune would befall the nurls, or Galendil would find some shortcut, magic or whatever that might help speed them along.

Clouds hid the sun from shining directly upon them, yet its rays still managed to light up the meadow that finally ended. The twelve of them traversed the last of the tall grass together, and a few hundred meters before them loomed a range of green hills. Case could only see the front of these ordinary hills. He cocked his head. Are these really ordinary hills? It wasn’t like the hills were moving, or anything was on top of them. Yet some anomaly that he couldn’t explain prickled his mind.

“What’s with these hills?” Gaven, the one most connected to nature, had a deep frown on his face. “There’s something that I can’t quite place my finger on.”

“It’s weird seeing them, huh?” Galendil grinned.

Case continued to stare at the hills. What is it about them? It’s just a bunch of hills, not tall and not small. Not one of them looks peculiar.

“Wait,” Gaven said, blinking rapidly. “That can’t be natural. The odds of this happening have to be zero.”

Galendil chuckled. He seemed to be in a good mood today. Yet he didn’t say or explain anything.

Eziel raised his palms. “Well, what is it?! This is annoying me! I don’t see anything weird about them.”

This time Gaven chuckled. “They’re all exactly the same height.”

Eziel frowned. “Okay….”

“Gaven is right,” Galendil said, finally seeming willing to talk. “This place consists of hundreds of these equally-heighted hills and is called the Garden of Menethor. He was an extremely rich king that lived thirteen hundred years ago and … adjusted this place. He thought everyone was equal and wanted to represent this in his garden.”

Gaven moved his lips to one side. “To use nature in this manner…” His reaction didn’t make clear if he approved or disliked the concept.

“Okay, so this guy compared his people with hills?” Eziel tilted his head to the side, seemingly mocking the whole idea.

Gwuir shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows. “That’s not… You don’t get it. It’s a symbolization, idiot.”

Eziel lifted his eyebrows and shrugged. “I know I wouldn’t like to be compared with a hill.”

Galendil chuckled, which sounded weird as he usually sighed at everything Eziel said. “This took decades and thousands of workers to complete. Travelers from all over the world still come here to admire this place. To some, it’s mesmerizing and eye-opening. To others it’s… well, disappointing.” Galendil briefly lifted his eyebrows. “At one point all hills truly were of perfect equal height. Menethor had scholars measuring each hill. Over time, there may be miniscule differences. Areos’ magic works that way.”

Case and everyone nodded, understanding.

Deroan stroked his chin. “So this Menethor was extremely wealthy and yet thought everyone was equal?”

“Don’t start, Deroan,” Galendil said as if snapping. “Countless books, studies, and philosophies have been written about this place and Menethor. I’ll gladly debate the matter with you after Neatherna is saved. Let’s first get out of here. We need a miracle to avoid the nurls.”

Deroan nodded, then looked downward. Clearly, he kept pondering the topic.

“Galendil,” Luro started, “that nurl scout yesterday didn’t look like much. Aren’t we stronger than them?”

Galendil nodded. “Don’t underestimate their claws, but yes, we are stronger. Yet they’re with so many more that that difference is negated.”

“About that,” Deroan said, apparently he had let go of Menethor for now. Galendil turned to Deroan. Apparently, he found it worthwhile to listen to him. Deroan continued. “You said we need a miracle to avoid the nurls.”

“That’s right, I did. Depending on their speed they’ll certainly catch us before the Gate of Gur.”

Deroan stroked his chin, then nodded repeatedly. “Then let’s not wait for a miracle.”

Galendil raised an eyebrow. “Say what?”

“I’ve got an idea,” said Deroan.

The boulder chafed against Case’s back as he leaned to his right to gaze toward the path below, toward the narrow trail of solid sand that ran through the hills. Crouched, he could remain hidden while he could see if there were any approaching nurls.

There weren’t.

He turned his gaze upward. A few meters above him, now concealed from him at the other side of the hill, were the rest of the warriors and Galendil. They all waited silently for the nurls to approach so they could attack them.

Case was the only one that sat alone, though he saw the reasoning in that. Deroan and Galendil had chosen this place because it was hidden well from the path, as well as there were many boulders on the hills, which was crucial for their plan. It’d all depend on Case’s use of magic.

I’ll have to create another earthquake. He grinned. What an unreal thought. Yet he felt he could do so again. They had discussed when he should create one, and where. If he’d cause an earthquake at where the nurls stood, they’d simply lose balance and get up after. If he’d do so in the midst of battle, it’d cause the Neathernans as much trouble as the nurls. So they’d opted for a different route. Case would create an earthquake on the hill with the most boulders.

They’d loosened some of them beforehand and the earthquake should do the rest, in theory. The boulders would crash into the midst of the nurls, crushing them as well splitting their force in half. Then, Neatherna would attack from the high ground. They’d have time to fight the front group without being severely outnumbered. The nurls would still have the numbers, but Galendil established that each warrior of Neatherna should be able to take on a few nurls.

It was a sound plan, Case found. The big unknown in their plan was the thing unknown to them for many years: magic. They’d shown signs of magic against the colossus, but how much could they use it now?

We’ll just see. Case took a deep breath and again stared to his right toward the edge of the hill. There he found the head of Kirn protruding above the hill, staring directly at him. They met eyes. Kirn nodded deeply to him. Case pressed his lips together, then nodded in return.

That was the sign. They’re approaching.

Case let out another few big breaths and loosened his hands. I can do this. He crouched even lower, then pushed aside some blades of grass and gazed through them toward the path.

A horde of nurls approached.

Case resisted gasping. The enemy looked stronger than expected. A hundred of them seemed a small estimate. The earlier scout had already appeared vile, with its dark red skin and sharp bony claws, but now it became clear that the scouts were the smallest ones. The bulk of the horde consisted of nurls that were only slightly larger than the scouts, but much more muscular. Probably the soldiers, Case thought.

There were a few special figures as well. There were four huge nurls, approximately four meters high, that carried a huge white club in their bony hands. At the front walked two average-sized nurls, one of them with a neckless of bones around his neck and runes tattooed on his body. Next to him, stood a taller nurl that appeared female in shape. She wore a metal helmet and carried a long scabbard where a sword hilt with jewels stuck out. That has to be their leader.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Case sat back behind the boulder. His breath quickened. He had to wait for a while until part of the group of nurls had passed the pile of boulders on the hill. With his eyes closed, he focused on the fire within him. Before, it used to swell up without him having control over it. Now, he slowly let it flow within him and directed it as a creek did with water. He breathed heavily. The creek turned into a river. The water wanted to get out. Hold on for now. He continued to focus on the swelling power, trying to keep it under his control.

“Case!” a loud whisper from the left side of the hill, probably Deroan but Case couldn’t hear it properly. “Now!”

Case opened his eyes. He stood up, turned to the boulders to his right, and gritted his teeth, nearly losing control. He aimed his hands at the boulders and let out his power.

Orange magic flew toward the ground beneath the boulders.

A rumble from the ground.

In the corner of his eye, Case noticed that the group of nurls had halted and their eyes darted around the hills quickly, looking for their enemies.

Case raised his hands.

Areos began to tremble. Case grinned. It works again.

The tremors were bigger than before, and even noticeable where he stood, yet the boulders weren’t falling. Case raised his hands further.

The tremors increased. The ground of a larger area vibrated and the boulders visibly shook from the ground.

They fell.

The boulders made a grumbling sound and loosened from the ground. Then rolled toward the middle of the horde of nurls. Case held his breath. Please hit.

A direct hit.

The boulders crashed into the ranks of the nurls. One of the large nurls attempted to block one of the boulders, but it was smashed and crushed to the ground. A dozen of the soldiers were flattened. A cloud of dust shot into the air, sparking confusion and splitting the force into two even better than expected. Panicked shouts came from the nurls. Case smiled. The attack was a success.

“Neatherna! Charge!” Galendil bellowed from above.

Case’s fellow warriors stood up and showed themselves from the hills. They raised their weapons and shouted a war cry. A magnificent sound, Case found.

They stormed downward with immense speed. Not nearly feeling as exhausted as the first time he’d used magic, Case joined them, raising his longsword in the air and joining the war cry. The nurls below them nearly scattered. They tried to push away some of the fallen rocks, while others hastily formed a frail-looking defensive line under the command of their leader. Two brave nurls even began to climb the hill, sprinting toward them while screaming viciously.

The first was one met by Desmond’s axe, and cleaved in half.

The second went for Eziel, who slung his mace upward. He hit the nurl on his chin and sent it flying back toward the group of nurls that were scurrying around.

Case had his eyes on a nurl that raised his bony claws and jumped at him.

They crashed upon the defensive line.

Case swung his sword diagonally, right onto the claws of the nurl attacking him. A clatter of weapons around him. His sword caught the claws and threw the nurl backward. Other nurls were tossed left and right by the impact. Case’s lips curled upward as he continued to slash, hoping to find flesh. Then, he stopped smiling.

Though their ambush was successful, the nurls kept getting up and coming at them. Perhaps a few had died, but the others had rejoined the battle already. Case’s eyes grew hollow. There were supposed to be much more casualties. They’re tough.

The battle raged on. Weapons and claws collided. Occasionally a nurl let out a scream of anguish, probably dying, but on the other side there were wounds too. Case noticed that Kran had blood dripping out of his shoulder and Luro was thrown backward by the club of one of the large nurls. It was all Case could see. He was too busy fighting, blocking incoming blows and trying to find an opening in his enemy.

He began to sweat. He frowned. Though it was an intense battle, he wasn’t getting tired. Why was he sweating? Then he noticed the temperature had risen dramatically. He turned to his right.

The nurl with a necklace of bone, who Case now concluded had to be a shaman, had his arms raised and pointed his hands to each other. Between them, he was conjuring a ball of black fire. Case’s eyes widened. What in Areos is that?!

The shaman threw his arm backward and then hurled the fireball forward toward their Desmond.

Kirn quickly jumped before Desmond and raised his shield. The fireball hit the shield and exploded an impact. Kirn, Desmond, and Dane were thrown backward by the explosion. Case gasped. He tried to help, but two nurls attacked him and he had to defend if he wanted to live.

Luro and Eziel managed to narrow the circle of the battle and stood in front of the fallen warriors, protecting them. While this was successful, this meant they could barely attack anymore. Mostly they were dodging swings from the huge nurl or making sure they wouldn’t be flanked by some of the quicker nurls.

The battle seemed to stall. It went on continuously, and vigorously, but neither side was gaining ground. Case breathed more heavily. Weariness was starting to get to him. He noticed someone moving peculiarly on his right side.

It was Eziel. He lunged forward and attacked the nurl leader with his mace. She raised her now shining sword in defense. Eziel swung his weapon down, but the nurl leader parried it easily. It appeared she was stronger than the average nurl herself, and the sword had some kind of power within it. They exchanged blows several times.

The leader was stronger. She swung her sword sideways and knocked Eziel’s weapon from his hand. Case’s breath halted. He stepped back. I have to help!

The nurl leader slashed at Eziel. He ducked and managed to avoid the blow, but was then kicked in the stomach and fell to the ground. The leader raised her sword and her weapon descended upon Eziel, who had a hollow look on his face. Case’s mouth fell open. Stop her! He could do nothing.

“Nea-ther-naaa!” shouted Eziel. He pushed his hands in front of him. They glowed orange. Orange particles flowed from Eziel’s hands and created an orange barrier in front of him.

The nurl leader’s weapon crashed upon the barrier and bounced off. She attacked three more times, but the nearly invisible shield stayed intact.

Eziel can use magic too! It was hard for Case to believe, yet he was glad this had miraculously saved Eziel’s life.

“Move away from the rocks! Or we’ll be caught between them!” Galendil shouted. It looked like he was mostly reinforcing them from behind, constantly glowing orange.

Case grunted. They were losing more than winning. Together, they moved back up the hill and continued to fend off the attacking horde. All they could do was block the lunging nurls. Many of the nurls managed to scratch or slash at them. For now, there were no fatal injuries.

The heat increased, again.

Case turned to the shaman, who was preparing another black fireball, this one far larger than the previous one. Shit! Case thought. That one will end us!

“Everyone!” Deroan shouted. “I… I… I… When that fireball comes, move backward!”

“What?! No!” someone said. Case couldn’t clearly hear who amidst the fighting. Everybody seemed perplexed by Deroan’s announcement.

“It’s okay! Do it!” Deroan said, as if he tried to sound reassuring.

There was no time. The huge fireball, as large as a nurl, was thrown at them.

The nurls stepped backward. Case and most of the warriors did likewise and got away from the boulders and the nurls, as instructed. Deroan moved directly in front of the fireball. He’s going to sacrifice himself! Case thought bitterly.

“Now, let’s see if this is truly how it works,” Deroan muttered and then clenched his fists.

Case ran away with the others. He looked backward and saw Deroan raising one open hand toward the fireball. Then he closed his hand.

The fireball exploded.

The blast didn’t come in the direction of Deroan. In fact, it spread broadly across the hill and the path, creating a long wall of black fire.

Deroan put his hand down, then briefly raised his shoulders. He turned around and ran toward Case and the others. Behind him, the nurls were either burned by the fire or pushed back by it, seemingly afraid to cross it.

“Keep running!” Galendil waved them to go further. The fire continued to burn, even spreading further and almost encircling the nurls.

Case let out a long breath. They can’t chase us. We’re tremendously lucky.

They followed the narrow trail and left the burning wall behind.

Thirty minutes later, they were continuing at a normal pace. Case could still see smoke in the distance, but there had been no signs of nurls following them.

“I’ve seen that kind of fire before,” Galendil said from the front of the group. “It’ll burn for hours.” He paused. “We did not defeat them, but we might have lost them.”

Case stared downward. It seemed so did everyone. We aren’t as invincible as we thought… We’re lucky to escape unscathed.

A silence hung among them for a while, a dreary silence.

“Eziel…” Luro said, breaking the stillness, “I’m curious about something. Did you really… Did you really just shout ‘Neatherna’?”

Eziel grunted. “I was in the moment, Luro.”

“But just ‘Neatherna’?”

“Yes, Luro. I did.” Eziel sounded irritated.

“Okay. Okay. I just wanted to be clear.”

There came some chuckles from the group.

“We can laugh at Eziel, but he did conjure up something,” Desmond said. “Not many of us have done that. It seemed like it was less in this battle than the one before though.”

“Very true.” Luro nodded. “It’d have been nice having that jeweled sword if things went better.” He looked downward.

“Did you see Deroan though? Amazing,” Gren said with a broad smile.

“Galendil, where does our magic come from?” Kirn asked.

“I’m not sure,” Galendil said. “It’s not Elvish, not really… It’s strange. I know of its presence, but not its origin. Nor do I know of its potential.”

“Can you train us?” asked Luro.

A sigh came from Galendil. He hadn’t done that in a while. “I can teach you some of the old ways, when there’s time, but you have to teach yourself the new ways, whatever they are. You’re all different than me. After we’ve passed the gate, if we will, there might be time to teach you a few tricks.”

This got all of them very excited. What more possibilities do we have? Case wondered. They asked more questions, but it seemed magic was too complicated too quickly explain and Galendil didn’t say much about it.

“Galendil, where actually does the gate traverse to?” asked Deroan.

“It’s the only passage to Florend, the land destroyed by Ghalva,” Galendil said.

Deroan nodded. “Okay, but if we can’t pass it, can’t we just scale the walls at some point?”

“Well, that’s the thing, there are no walls at the Gate of Gur,” Galendil said matter-of-factly.

Deroan frowned. “What is a gate without walls?”

Galendil grinned. “You’ll see.”

They left the hills behind, and the green grass too. The ground slowly turned arid, and brown. We’re walking into a desert, Case concluded. Where will it lead us? What is this Gate of Gur without any walls? He swallowed. They’d taken a hit today. However, they were still marching forward and would reach the Gate of Gur. Forward, Case. Forward, Neatherna.
—

“When the council of the time was thinking of a solution, The Night of Peril came, the night that started it all, some say. The ocean came to life, and it rose, as if standing up. A huge tsunami said to have a thousand eyes approached the land and crashed over it. Farms, villages, and even cities were swept away. Millions died. The lowest part of the country had joined the ocean in the turn of a night. A quarter of our nation disappeared. That wasn’t the end of it. The water continued to rise.”

Chapter 6.

Case’s feet sank into the loose sand of the desert, nearly burying his shoes with each step. He grunted and puffed as he lifted his foot again and trudged forward. Progress had been slow in the desert and the burning sun in the clear sky. They had rested shortly during the night but had now walked since dawn, nearly four hours already. This last dune had to be the biggest yet. I’ll be glad to see it past us, Case thought while furrowing his eyebrows.

A minute later, he reached the top of the dune. Galendil and some of the others already sat down. Case dropped into the sand and let out a long breath. “I nearly miss the sight of Darkwater after all this, nearly… I won’t be doing that again shortly.”

“You won’t need to,” Desmond to his right said.

Case turned his gaze upward and saw why. A few hundred meters away, the ocean of brown sand finally ended. It came to an abrupt ended and turned into an enormous yellow river. Case narrowed his eyes. “Is that smoke coming from the river?” Across the entire length of the river, which went on beyond his sight, yellow trails of smoke drifted into the air. A smell bit his nose. Even here, a faint smell of sulfur coming from the river hovered around them.

“It sure is,” Galendil said, sitting on Case’s left with a few persons in between. “The water’s not boiling, but it’s highly corrosive.”

“A gate without walls.” Deroan nodded repeatedly.

Of course. Case finally understood and turned back toward the yellow river. Further down the river, to their right, a huge white gate guarded a narrow strip of land that ran across the corrosive river. There seemed to be no other point the river could be crossed. The Gate of Gur. Case bit his lip. We’re nearly there.

“How did the river get this way?” asked Kirn to Case’s left.

“Almost certainly, it’s made this way by Ghalva, or whatever the darkness is that also destroyed our land,” Galendil said. “Yet this happened hundreds or thousands of years before the Darkwater showed up… The force that did this to our country, it’s something ancient. I doubt it’s in the Elves’ history books of old. A corruption of nature. Perhaps even an enemy of Areos, though I dare not say if that’s the truth or not.

“The land surrounded by the river, Florend, if you can still call it that, is huge. It’d take weeks to travel from one side to the other. The temple of Azzig is near the middle of the country, where the capital used to be. But to get there, we’ll first need to pass the gate.”

“Who guards the gate?” Gwuir asked.

“The gatekeepers.” Galendil chuckled, seemingly enjoying his own joke. “They’re quite special, actually. Some say the gatekeepers are old remnants of Florend, and thus far older than me. But it could also be they reproduce in some weird singular way and this is just one of many generations. I’ve met all four of them several times. Well, they always show up with four that look similar to the earlier ones at least… Once, I realized that there could easily be more than them and that the others simply stay in hiding inside the gate. There are so many things with them I can’t figure out… It’s annoying as shit really… You’ll see what I mean. Despite all that, I consider them wise, and friendly, in general… Unfortunately, they’re more into recording history than telling of it, more into asking questions than giving answers.

“I’ve also placed a bet with myself, but they won’t let us pass if I tell you about that.” Galendil sighed. “You’ll see. You’ll see.”

Case frowned. “You’re speaking a lot but saying nothing.”

Galendil grinned. “This is how it has to be.”

“So,” Dane said. “if we need their approval, does that mean they’re stronger than us?”

Galendil moved his lips to the side. “In a way. I haven’t always managed to pass this gate.” He looked downward. He always refused to talk about previous groups that went with him. “If they truly wanted, they could certainly overpower us for a moment. A longer battle might be a different story, though killing them would have grave consequences. This gate exists for good reason. We’re not here to fight to the death. However, stay sharp. We’ll leave now.” He stood up and stretched his arms, appearing fit.

Kirn frowned. “Galendil, we didn’t need to come to the top of this dune, did we? We could’ve just crossed it on a lower point.”

Galendil grinned. “It’s good exercise for all of you, and I enjoy the view.” Though he should be more exhausted than them, he looked as fresh as if the day had just started.

Case cocked his head. The bastard… He’s been using magic to restore his stamina.

Galendil whistled an unknown tune as he descended the great dune. Case and the others followed quickly but at a slower pace. They walked directly toward the white gate.

The huge white gate before him looked nearly as big as a keep, an enormous structure that Case had only seen in old history books. The barrier’s angled walls consisted of judal mixed by an alchemist with metal, or so Galendil had explained. It made for a strong foundation unaffected by nearly all elements of magic, and weather. The towers on each side reached three stories high, and the arc had razor-sharp spires on it. The gate itself had immense bars engraved with runes, which probably made it unbreakable. Every entrance to the path traversing the yellow river was blocked by the gate. The water bubbled and the yellow smoke lay over the land as a thin mist hovering around them.

Before the Gate of Gur waited four silent figures. Their body shape was human-like, and they wore leather clothes. Two of them seemed female and the other two male. Only because of one thing Case could tell they weren’t human, or any race he had heard of. Their heads were those of animals.

It’s not like they wore them as some kind of sick helmet, no. Their eyes blinked and mouths moved as well. They were really their heads. From left to right, the gatekeepers consisted of: a male with the head of a rhino, a female with the head of an owl, another female with the head of a tiger, and the last male had the head of a rat.

Case shuddered. How nasty looking…

Galendil stepped forward. “So, here we are again.” His tone seemed grouchy already, even though the gatekeepers hadn’t said a word. “Let’s confer.”

The gatekeeper with the head of a rhino beckoned him in. “Let’s go inside. Tell me of your latest travels and this group.”

Galendil very audibly sighed. “Stay here. Rest for the next thirty minutes or so.” He followed the four gatekeepers and went into the right tower.

Case frowned. That was weird.

The magic within him stirred, as Case attempted to control it in small portions. It had been an hour since Galendil had left.

A creak.

Case let the magic within him fade.

A door opened and Galendil exited the right tower. He had his lips pressed together, and a surly look on his face. With his hands clasped on his back, he walked toward them while glancing sideways. He stopped at the place where they all sat on the ground. “I apologize for the delay. Smart of you all to sit down while you rest. I’m afraid the news I bring isn’t good news. We can’t pass the gate.”

Case gasped. So did some of the others. But we’ve come all this way! Case ran his hands through his hair.

“Impossible!” Luro sounded angry. “We’ve come so far and done almost everything right!”

Galendil nodded repeatedly and raised his hands in the air. “I know. I know. We’ve passed the colossus and those nurls, but this is our end. I’m terribly sorry, my men.”

“What about Neatherna?!” Gren cried out.

“Things will stay this way. I apologize,” Galendil said, sounding regretful. “What a waste of a man I am.”

“I’ve got an idea!” Eziel shouted. “We’ll swim past the gate!”

Case clasped his forehead. I swear… sometimes I wonder where it went wrong with Eziel.

Galendil stroked his chin. “That’s certainly an idea, Eziel. Unfortunately, that won’t be an option though. The water burns through our skin I’m afraid.”

Case cocked his head. Something is missing… More of their groups seemed to cock their head. There was confusion around them.

“That was a perfect chance to rightfully make fun of Eziel,” Luro said.

“Yet Galendil didn’t even sigh,” Dane said, raising his palms.

“It wasn’t that bad an idea…” Eziel tried to defend himself.

Deroan clasped Eziel’s shoulder. “It was, my friend. It was.”

“Hang on!” Kran said. “Galendil has never apologized to us. And now he did twice already?!”

“How come he didn’t sigh at what Eziel said?!” Case wondered out loud.

Galendil tilted his head to the side. “Surely, you do not think me that cruel.”

“Yes, we do!” Desmond said. “What’s wrong with you?”

“This can’t be Galendil! Or they put a spell on him!” Kran said.

A loud laughter from inside the right tower, but nobody showed themselves.

Galendil sighed, but not his natural one, more one of defeat. “To think they’d figure out this way.” His head suddenly twitched to the side, then again, but more violently. It swayed on all sides and Galendil’s body shuddered and changed color.

Case recoiled with a pinched expression. What in Areos is happening?

Galendil’s body changed further. Ten seconds later, it had turned into the rhino gatekeeper from earlier. “I still act too nice to impersonate you.” His voice had grown deeper, and less… stand-offish.

A shapeshifter… Case’s mouth fell open. Amazing.

Out of the right tower walked Galendil, again. Yet this time he had a triumphant smile on his face that bore immediate proof that this was the real one. “I knew you’d try this, Ryder. I’ve won a bet with myself. That’s another poderian steak for later.”

“How can you treat your men this way?” Ryder asked, seeming in disbelief.

“Oh, it’s just the way I work with my boys.” Galendil continued to grin, his characteristic one.

The other three gatekeepers walked out as well. Though they were similar in shape, they had changed drastically as well. The owl one had turned into a black shade, as if black smoke but thicker. The tiger one had a crystalline look, partly transparent yet shiny. The rat one looked as if made from mud. Their appearance seemed to constantly shift, as if their body functioned differently and it was difficult to keep in the same form or material. Ryder seemed an expert though, or putting in more effort.

Case moved his lips to the side. They’re probably keeping their shape for clarity for visitors. He tilted his head to the side. Or they’ve changed their gender and appearance in full, and are mimicking each other. We’ve got no way of knowing. He grunted. He could see why Galendil got frustrated when trying to figure out how the gatekeepers functioned.

Galendil turned to Ryder with a frown. “Did you have to say ‘What a waste of a man I am’ while impersonating me?”

Ryder’s lips curled upward slightly. “It seemed fitting.”

Galendil sighed. “Right. Well, boys, as everyone but Eziel can see, the gatekeepers of the Gate of Gur are four shapeshifters.”

“Who says only four?” Ryder interrupted. “What if a fifth one is there too, but just shifted into a minuscule form and is hiding somewhere?” He stared at Galendil with raised eyebrows.

Galendil’s mouth opened. Then it closed again. He shook his head, grunted, and looked away.

The shapeshifter grinned. He knows Galendil can’t be sure, and that that annoys Galendil, Case thought.

Galendil cleared his throat. “Anyway, they like their little tests… and use them to see who can pass and who cannot. Though it seems silly, remember, if we do not pass their test, our mission fails.” He gave a serious look toward them.

“We’ve got two more tests for you,” Ryder said. He seemed to be the leader of the group. “We’ll start immediately.” He cleared his throat. “You quickly found out I was impersonating Galendil, proving your wit and sharpness. Well, most of you at least. How well do you handle emotions when faced with yourself? How well do you know each other?” He turned to Galendil, then his body twitched same as before. Slowly, he changed his appearance again. This time into a… Neathernan. But not one Case knew. This one had many black bumps, yet looked fierce and muscular.

Galendil’s lips turn downward. “Really, him? I know he brought us close and it’s long ago but that doesn’t make the memory any less painful.”

Ryder, in the form of a Neathernan, bowed slightly, seeming to apologize. He turned toward the group. His body twitched again, but this time only slightly. Ryder’s body changed again. It stayed a Neathernan, but this time it did look familiar… It looked like… Eziel. Ryder had turned into Eziel.

“Of all of us to make a second version of.” Kran lifted his eyebrows.

Ryder, the spitting image of Eziel, slowly walked to Eziel, staring at him constantly. He stopped in front of him. “I don’t want to die.”

Case drew his head back. Such heavy words…

Eziel froze. “I… I don’t want to die either.”

“I want to go back,” Ryder said, in the same voice as Eziel.

Eziel got a pinched expression. “No… I don’t… I… We need to do this for Neatherna.”

Ryder jumped on Eziel, attacking him. It was so sudden that Case had to blink twice to realize what happened. They went to the ground and started to wrestle in the sand. Luro stepped forward, but Galendil held his hand out.

“Let them,” Galendil said with flattened lips.

Eziel and Ryder, who also looked like Eziel, wrestled and rolled on the floor. By now it was impossible to know who was who.

One of the Eziels pushed himself off the other and stood up. The other followed.

Damn, Case thought. I’ve got no idea who the real Eziel is.

Galendil sighed. “This is their test. We’ve to pick the real one.”

“Leave him behind!” the first Eziel said, pointing to the other Eziel. “He’s that elephant fellow!”

Case clasped his forehead. That one at least sounded like Eziel. If it was Ryder, it at least was the perfect impression.

“I don’t know how this shifting of shapes works, but don’t let him trick you! He’s not me!” The words from the first Eziel nearly sounded a plea.

Case pressed his lips together and nodded. Still seems like Eziel.

The second Eziel sighed. “That’s remarkable and all but…” He closed his eyes and held out his hand. It began to glow orange. Slowly, this Eziel conjured a weapon, an orange mace.

Magic… Orange magic that Eziel showed earlier too, Case thought.

The first Eziel dropped his hands and flattened his lips. He stared at the second Eziel with a long look. “So you can already use that.” He let out a long sigh, seemingly annoyed. His body twitched, and a few seconds later Ryder had turned into himself with the head of a rhino again. “You pass this test too, but that wasn’t glorious.”

Eziel shrugged and then relaxed. “Works for me.” The orange mace faded.

Case grinned. I didn’t know that Eziel already had such control over his magic. He must have practiced. Either way, it had made it clear beyond a doubt who was the real Eziel, though not in a very impressive manner.

“The last test,” Ryder announced. “If you fail this test, we will not less you pass, for that would be too reckless. Maybe by now, you’re not as afraid of us as Galendil warned you about, but let us show you how we have defended this gate for many centuries, how we have defended evil creatures from leaving Florend or others from gathering harmful soldiers here. You, all of you including Galendil, will fight Jilzeca.” The gatekeeper with a tiger head stepped forward.

Galendil beckoned them all to come to him. Once they were gathered, he spoke to them in a soft voice. “I don’t know what will show up. We’ve to be prepared for anything.”

A soft voice interrupted Galendil from continuing his speech. “Don’t worry about hurting me.” Jilzeca cracked her neck. “Make some room.” She clasped her shoulders and began to twitch immensely.

“Get some distance, now!” Galendil hurried them away from the gate.

Case blinked rapidly. What in Areos is going on?! He followed the rest and watched as Jilzeca transformed.

She turned into a green and black mass, a mass that swayed in every direction and expanded. It expanded and expanded. It stretched out into a long cylinder-like shape, one that continued to move up and down. It had to be six meters by now.

Jilzeca continued to transform. The mass extended until it was huge, already reaching over the arc. Then, it grew scales, and a mouth with fangs formed.

Case watched with wide eyes and an open mouth. Jilzeca had turned into a massive serpent. Its width had to be two meters thick while its entire body was larger than fifteen meters, Case estimated. Such power. Case couldn’t help but stare with wonder.

“This is why the gatekeepers are so successful in their job,” Galendil said, still seeming impressed. “They can take any shape, but these huge shapes cost a lot of energy.”

“We have to fight this?” Kirn sounded in disbelief.

“Well…” Galendil sighed. “It was a mistake of them to take this form.” He paused. “Case,” he said in a dry voice, then beckoned Case to go forward.

Case grunted, then nodded. He stepped toward the monstrosity, still staying at safe distance.

He closed his eyes, focusing on the fire within him again. He let it swell up as the other times before. Instead of letting it all out at once, he now let it come out in small waves. A thin orange flux flew from his hand and went straight into the ground.

A rumble from the ground.

Case raised his hands.

Areos began to tremble. First, the tremble was in a quite wide area. Case had gotten better control of the earthquakes though. He managed to narrow the area to Jilzeca.

The huge snake fell to the ground, not finding enough balance. On the ground, she slithered forward.

Case raised his hands forward.

Areos began to tremble differently, as if away from him.

Jilzeca continued to try to crawl toward them but didn’t actually cover any distance with her slithering. She let out a shrill cry, surely out of frustration.

With controlled breaths, Case continued to let his magic flow. In this state, he could do this for a much longer time. The cycle of Jilzeca trying to move forward and Case blocking her continued. It was a stalemate.

Five minutes later, Jilzeca halted. She did no longer attempt to move forward.

Case’s lips curled upward. We’ve won.

Slowly, Jilzeca began to shrank. Her time was up, it seemed. The body nearly folded into itself, and the scales faded. After a few more moments, only the woman with the head of the tiger remained, only now her skin was the brown and green of the serpent. Jilzeca had her hands on her knees and panted heavily. She squinted toward them.

Case let go of his magic, then relaxed. This had to be boring and frustrating for her. The ground stopped trembling.

Ryder stepped toward Jilzeca, then supported her. He turned to Case and his fellow warriors. “The earthquake itself is impressive… Other than that, this hurt my eyes to see.” He sighed. “However, you pass the test and have proven yourself of worthy strength as well. You’re all allowed to pass the gate and travel into Florend.”

Cheers from behind Case. They ran toward and celebrated with him. We’ll go to Florend! Case smiled broadly. He agreed that this manner wasn’t the most spectacular, but how much did that matter if they could save Neatherna?

They entered the gate. There were sleeping quarters within the towers and everyone was allowed to spend the night to recover from their exhausting trip so far.

A full night’s rest had done Case good. For the first time, they stood at the other side of the gate, ready to depart over the narrow strip of land toward Florend. The corrosive sea around him created a thicker yellow mist that bit at his nose and ached his eyes. Nevertheless, he was glad that they’d made it here.

“So you and Gren…” Jilzeca said to Deroan. “How different. Fascinating really. But after all, why not? Maybe… Maybe we should venture out more too and learn of these new concepts.”

Deroan nodded. “I’ll trust you to be the wiser for it.”

Galendil chuckled. “A gatekeeper venturing out… So you can change. That I’d live to see the day.”

“Of course shapeshifters can change,” Ryder said with a grin.

Nobody responded to his joke.

Ryder stuck out a hand toward Galendil. “May you find the temple, and then save your country.”

Galendil shook Ryder’s hand and nodded deeply, nearly bowed. “Thank you, Ryder.”

“Why don’t you join us?” asked Kran.

“Many evil beings lurk in Florend now,” Ryder said. “Also, many dangerous nurls, the ones that were there before we even built the gate. Most of these evil things are drawn to our presence. We can defend ourselves here and make sure others stay in, but we’ll only make your mission much more difficult or impossible. You’ll have to traverse to the temple yourself.”

They discussed some other topics, then said their goodbyes. Case was the last to leave them.

“Hang on, Case.” Ryder stepped toward him. The rest of the group had already left.

Case furrowed his eyebrows, yet he waited respectfully. “What is it, Ryder?”

Ryder halted close to Case. His voice was only a whisper, but his tone was graver than Case had heard during their entire stay. “Your power isn’t causing earthquakes. It’s something much more. Dig deeper. Find it. If you don’t, the mission will fail for certain.” Ryder nodded, then turned around.

Case was left stupefied. What did that mean? With a frozen expression, he turned around and followed the others. He still tried to figure out Ryder’s words as he advanced toward Florend.
—

“The council of all beings, and the rich dwarves, the powerful men, the cunning orcs, and the wise elves all came together. They tried to fight the Darkwater many times, but in the end only came to one solution; the Great Barrier. The source of its power I still can’t tell for sure. The barrier stood around the entire, remaining land, and only ended at the mountains of our neighbors. An invisible wall, ninety meters high that created spectacular orange rays over the entire country in the right sunlight. Once the Great Barrier had been put into place, about fifty years after The Night of Perils and three hundred fifty years before The Great Flood should you wish to know it, Neatherna again became a sight for races all over the world. The Great Barrier was known as one of the wonders of the world. It worked, for a time.”

Chapter 7.

“So that energy within us, you managed to detect how it would manifest?” Gaven asked Deroan.

A mosquito landed on Case’s arm. He swatted it. The conversation behind him had been going on for a few minutes, with Gaven trying to figure out more about magic. Case pushed away a low-hanging vine in the middle of the makeshift path that others in front of him had created. The jungle was a thick mess of trees and plants in bright colors that overran any empty space there otherwise would be, only small rays of sunlight managed to get through from above and he missed the smell of fresh air. Their journey had been like this ever since they entered Florend three days, with mostly Kirn, Kran, and Luro hacking a way for them to continue. It was clear that there once had been an old path here, but nature had nearly taken full control of it.

“Yes,” Deroan said. “When that black fireball was being created by that shaman nurl, I could somehow identify what kind of magic was being added, if that makes any sense. Then once it had been thrown at us, I could kind of dissect it. I could pick some of the particles needed to keep the fireball stable and shift them into a wide defense. When I did so, the fireball exploded but those other particles made sure the blast wouldn’t come my way. Stretching those defensive particles created the wall.”

A small pause. “That’s a powerful ability,” Gaven said. Case couldn’t see them behind him, but he imagined Gaven was nodding since he understood the difficult concept.

“Well, yes and no,” Deroan said. “No, because I can’t create magic. I can only shift how it works. Galendil says it’s an extremely rare power that he has only seen one or two times since The Great Flood, but usually, the person having it has… trouble understanding the power.”

“Literally what Galendil said was ‘the others were dumb’,” Case explained to Gaven.

Gaven chuckled. “Then we’re fortunate that Deroan has it. I wonder what mine will be. I hope something with nature, to be able to grow it, direct it or heal it for example.”

Case nodded. Everyone knew Gaven had an affinity with nature. Case took another moment to carefully scan his surroundings. A vivid mixture of blue, yellow, and pink flowers, creepers and vines made the sides of their path almost impossible to see through. He focused to see if there was any red visible. Red meant danger. Red meant nurls. They’d encountered four small parties of them in the last days, and beaten every one of them. They might also attack at the tail of their group, and he kept on the lookout.

There was nothing red at the moment.

“Well, everyone’s abilities are now coming out,” Deroan said. “Some simply have increased physical abilities, such as Gren. Others like Eziel can conjure weapons, and we have Case here… This madman can create fucking earthquakes.”

Case grinned. But what else can I do? He’d talked with Galendil about Ryder’s mysterious words. Galendil’s head had twitched weirdly to the side, as if he was surprised by the words. In the end, even the elf had no clue what Case’s real power could be, though he did again mention a link with the day of The Great Flood, the day of Neatherna’s demise.

A scream from the front of the group.

“Get this thing off me!” The voice came from Luro.

Instinct kicked in. Case sprinted down the path to see what was happening, and so did everyone around him. He ended up at a small clearing full of red and black flowers. It was surrounded by thick trees growing close to each other. Case cocked his head. The trunks of the trees to his left were covered with vines. Then he finally noticed Luro, and Eziel as well. Their legs were caught by vines and the two men were raised high in the air with their weapons on the ground. Case resisted a chuckle. If this jungle wasn’t so dangerous, this would be quite comical.

“Get them off, now!” Galendil shouted.

“Can’t we laugh at them for a while?” Kran asked.

Galendil grunted. “These vines don’t move on their own.” His voice turned grim. “One of the four is here.”

One of the four… Case grabbed his sword, not knowing exactly what went on.

Kran and Desmond moved forward to help before him.

“I don’t need my damn weapon!” Eziel shouted. He closed his eyes and conjured an orange sword in his hand. He screamed with fierce eyes and hacked away at the vines that had grabbed him. The vines were cut off and Eziel landed nimbly on the ground and ran toward their group.

“I don’t need a weapon at all!” Luro shouted, as if to outdo Eziel. He flexed the muscles in his arms and those together with his hands began to glow orange. He grabbed the thick vine holding him with two hands, clenching it tightly, and he grunted, nearly screamed as he pulled it to the both sides.

The vine snapped.

Luro fell to the ground, one end of the vine still in his hands. Case nodded repeatedly, impressed. In the past days, Luro had taken control of the orange magic he had briefly used against the colossus. Though he hadn’t gained speed or precision in his physical abilities such as Gren, his already amazing strength was enhanced several times.

Contrary to Eziel, Luro did grab his weapon after touching the ground. Then he returned to them as well.

The forest shifted. Whole trunks seemed to rattle as something approached.

“Only four of these… beings roam in the entirety of Florend. Either we’re terribly unlucky or it has sensed us somehow, probably both.” Galendil moved his lips to the side. He did not seem happy.

Trees bent to the side as through them came a crawling green mass as large as two houses. Thick vines and thin white stems slithered over each other, entwining each other and encasing this being. Or it is this being, Case wondered. Is there even something inside? Even though the creature had attacked them, Case was mesmerized by it.

“These majestic yet vile beings are called eraeni. They’re more plant than beast, yet they’re king among beasts in Florend.” Galendil spoke the words with a strange kind of appreciation.

“It truly is magnificent.” Gaven stared with his mouth open.

“Don’t be fooled by its beauty, Gaven,” Galendil said in a strict tone. “It has vines strong as steel and others vines sharp as razors. Either there will only be three eraeni left soon, or it kills us. Don’t hold back, boys.”

“How do we even fight it?” Desmond asked.

Galendil grunted. “It’s not known… There’s no guidebook to fighting an eraeni. Its vines regrow. Fire would be the most obvious strategy, but some of the thicker vines are filled with some kind of water that extinguishes every flame. Nobody has seen its center though. Most theories guess that is its weakness.”

“So we’ve to trim it down and get to the center?” Deroan asked.

Galendil paused. “Its vines regrow too rapidly to do that.”

Case frowned “So what do we do?”

Galendil nodded. “Yes.”

Dane raised his palms. “That’s not an answer! How do we defeat this?!”

Luro grunted. “We fight it.”

Galendil nodded again. “We’ve learned a lot since leaving Neatherna. Keep a stable defense and attack when you can.”

“Deroan, come up with a tactic,” Luro said. Though he was their strongest and acted as some kind of a leader, he seemed to trust Deroan’s mind for battle.

“Gwuir, look for an opening with your new ability. Gaven, join him,” Deroan spoke with confidence. “Desmond, Case, Galendil, and I will take care of-”

“Look out!” Gren interrupted.

A vine from the eraeni shot forward.

Gren jumped forward, glowing orange, and blocked the vine with his shield, protecting Dane. “It’s not waiting for us to get into position!”

More vines were swung at them. The eraeni roared. A deep rumble that made Case momentarily freeze.

“The rest, attack and follow Luro’s lead!” Deroan nearly shouted. Clearly, he saw the importance of getting ready immediately.

Off they went against the eraeni. The giant beast, if it could be called a beast and not a force of nature, slung his vines forward. Thick ones and razor-sharp ones shot past the charging warriors of Neatherna.

Case dashed to his right, narrowly avoiding a vine as thick as a leg. He grunted. An earthquake will do nothing here. I’m useless in this fight. He went to Deroan, who stood next to Galendil and with Desmond in front of him, the latter using his axe to cut away some of the vines.

“Think you can take my leg! Eat sword!” Luro shouted as he got closer to the eraeni. He glowed orange and swung his two-handed sword wildly, cutting off vines left and right.

“For him to be the one with the ability to enhance strength… How lucky.” Deroan looked to Galendil. “Did you know?”

Galendil grinned. “To tell you the truth, sometimes yes, sometimes no. Yet even Luro’s brute strength cannot defeat this beast.”

Case narrowed his eyes. Luro swung his huge sword again. The beast raised a shiny vine in return.

Luro’s sword bounced off.

Case’s eyes widened. The vines are that strong! No wonder it’s such a danger.

A shrill whistle.

The whistle of an arrow.

From the side, Gwuir had fired an arrow toward the beast. It went toward one of the vines, which would be pretty useless.

Gwuir glowed orange. Almost immediately, so did the arrow. Gwuir raised his left arm sideways.

The arrow followed. It moved in the middle of the air, now going directly toward the center of the beast where the strong vine used against Luro had been before.

The arrow found its way through. It ended somewhere in the middle of the eraeni.

A loud shriek.

Birds flew from trees.

We’ve hit it! Case smiled. Somehow they’d found a weakness in this being.

“Now, attack!” Luro shouted.

Desmond moved forward, hacking away at the larger vines with his axe, while Dane in the front sliced off the thinner ones with his two swords. Both men, together with Gaven, were the only ones that hadn’t used magic yet and found their ability. Nevertheless, they worked as hard as any of them.

Case turned to Kirn. The adventurer closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and started to glow orange. Then, he disappeared. More accurately, Kirn didn’t disappear or turn invisible, he just managed to cover his body and clothes in magic and blend in perfectly with nature. Case could see a vague distortion where Kirn was and it charged toward the eraeni.

It was smacked away. It seemed the beast could somehow sense Kirn, and there didn’t seem to be much use to the new ability for now.

Gren athletically jumped from left to right and attacked wherever he could. Eziel continued to attack the eraeni with different kinds of conjured weapons. Whenever he got disarmed or his weapon broke, he’d conjure up a new one just as quickly. It granted Eziel the opportunity to use a reckless fighting style, attacking constantly. They both sure look impressive, Case thought.

However impressive they might look, the eraeni was equally impressive. It had learned as well and kept its defenses up for Gwuir’s ranged attacks.

Kran shot forward, glowing orange over his full body. He had his longsword in one hand, and in the other… a mace. Eziel’s mace! Case realized. He picked up another weapon. Kran was the most versatile with different weapons, and attacked the eraeni by dashing left and right and only slicing off the vines he couldn’t dodge.

Kran lunged forward, shooting through the air with his steel mace glowing orange. He got to the strong core vines of the eraeni and swung the mace while mid-air.

A direct hit. The enhanced mace hit the strong vine. The vine cracked.

The beast let out another deep shriek.

We’re doing it! Case put his hands on his head and smiled broadly. We’re winning!

The beast roared. It sent out more of his core vines, it seemed. The Neathernans blocked them but were hurled in the air by the impact. The eraeni crawled forward, now standing in the middle of the clearing. It sent out vines in all directions.

“This fight isn’t done!” Galendil shouted. “As long as it lives, it will attack us with all its might!”

Case grunted. I have to try. He let out a long breath. He felt the magic within him and sent it out.

Areos rumbled. The area around the eraeni trembled. The beast continued to attack as before.

It doesn’t do anything! Case gritted his teeth. Dig deeper, fool! He let his orange magic spread through the ground. He had the feeling he hit something solid.

Nothing happened. The vines of the eraeni seemed to move slower, but Case doubted that had anything to do with his power.

Gaven, who had made many futile attempts to hurt the eraeni with arrows, jumped over and dashed through the slowed-down vines.

Case gasped. “Don’t get too close to it, Gaven!”

“I can calm it! I feel it!” Gaven shouted.

What is he doing… Case cocked his head.

“He can sense it!” Deroan answered his unspoken question. “He can sense his ability same as me a few days ago!”

Gaven managed to avoid more vines. He gritted his teeth and his hands started to glow orange. He put his hands on a bundle of vines near the center of the beast. “I’m your friend! We are your friend! Stop attacking us!”

The beast roared. It swung its vines wildly, as if desperate. The vines near Gaven seemed to back down, they even shrank.

“It’s alright!” Gaven continued to talk to the beast. “We will not harm you!”

The long vines of the eraeni went limp and were retracted. They no longer attacked the other Neathernans. They in turn stopped attacking as well.

Gaven smiled. “It’s good! It’s all good!”

The vines continued to shrank. The roar of the eraeni went softer and softer. Some of the vines turned brown and wrinkled.

Galendil gasped, a weird sound. “Oh no…”

The eraeni fell silent. It slumped onto the ground, no longer moving. Case smiled. We’ve won!

All of them celebrated. All of them except for two, Gaven and Galendil.

Gaven dropped to his knees with his mouth open and a hollow look on his face. He looked at his hands and shook his head, as if mad at his hands.

Galendil audibly swallowed. “Gaven doesn’t have the power to control nature.” He paused. “He has the power of decay.”

Gaven put his hands in his hair. “No! Not this power. Not this!” He almost seemed to sob.

Case moved his lips to the side. For one that wants nothing more than to nurture nature to have this cruel power…

The other warriors were celebrating and most didn’t seem to notice Gaven’s grief.

“Great job!” Kran patted Gaven on his back.

“Tremendous effort!” Kirn nodded repeatedly.

“You killed it!” Luro said while applauding.

They helped Gaven to stand. Gaven was still in a weird desolate state, yet he did seem content they hadn’t perished to the beast.

“I’m not always right.” Galendil grunted. “We’ve shown some of what we can do, but not yet all. More dangerous beasts and nurls will continue to cross our path from now on. We’re getting closer to the capital, where the Temple of Azzig lies.” He paused. “What awaits us there is stronger than an eraeni. It’s beaten me before. I won’t have it beat me now.” He cracked his neck, then continued on a barely visible path that went further east.

He’s already focused on the next battle, Case thought. He let out a long breath, and followed Galendil. So did everyone. Deroan went toward Gaven and hugged him. It seemed he said some comforting words too.

The capital of old Florend… It must be magnificent. Case paused. And dangerous if it has stopped Galendil before. He clenched his fists and focused on the magic within him. So are we. We’ll go forward and forward. To the end.
—

“The barrier had a downside. It was dangerous to create temporary openings in the barrier, as the Darkwater was constantly looking for a way to pass it and invaded whatever lowland it could find and infested rivers. Those that had lost their land to the Darkwater began to voice complaints and warnings. They argued that the barrier should be closed permanently. This was around the time I began to travel, which not many elves did… Other elves… Well… Anyway, those that wanted to close the barrier permanently got what they wanted. Neatherna, once a utopia for the world, became closed off to everyone. Things went bad.”

Chapter 8.

The jungle ended. A broken-down wall of brownstone stood before Case. We’ve made it… The capital. It must have been huge… Well, once, Case thought. Many parts of the city wall had crumbled and it lay overgrown with creepers. A piteous sight.

He let out a long breath, glad to see the green mess of the jungle behind them. “Does this mean the constant attacks will stop as well?” After the eraeni, they’d faced many nurls and other strange-looking beasts. They had to keep guards at night so they wouldn’t be killed in their sleep.

Case snickered. If only finding the temple of Azzig will be this easy. He and the others followed Galendil and entered the capital through the makeshift entrance.

Galendil sighed. “You’ll wish for them to return soon enough if we don’t go unnoticed.” He stepped toward the lowest point of the remainder of the wall. “The first of Florendel’s gates is at the very least a few hundred meters away, but there’s a benefit to a city that has fallen in ruin.” He pushed away a few very loose bricks, then climbed through the hole in the wall he had just created.

“Welcome to Florendel, boys. Keep your eyes open,” Galendil said.

“So this is a city…” Desmond muttered.

All of them gazed around the large ruins of Florendel with open mouths. So many buildings… Even after all this time. Case felt small amid the many brick buildings, each with two or even three stories. There seemed to be no end to them. Most had holes in them or were missing a wall, yet the houses, stores, and cobblestone streets made clear that a whole civilization used to live here. Case’s lip curled downward. It feels so desolate. So… broken.

“The temple of Azzig lies somewhere in the southwest.” Galendil walked into a street, clearly determining he had given them enough time to be amazed. “We won’t find many nurls here, probably. The streets are kept clean of them… Keep your eyes on every building, street corner… and up.” He grunted. “Yes, it’ll probably be from above.”

Case frowned. A flying beast? What’s in this city?

For the next fifteen minutes, they traversed Florendel. Galendil seemed to try to keep them in the shadows or buildings, but without roofs, there wasn’t much of the former and not much cover from the latter. They ended up at a long, narrow bridge of grey stone. Case moved his lips to one side. The river beneath it seems to have dried up long ago. Were things ever like this in the end times of Neatherna? There were steep walls on the sides where the river once coursed, and there was no cover below as well, except for the narrow shade of the bridge.

Galendil grunted. “I don’t like it, but we have to cross the bridge. It takes too long to go down and then back up again. Let’s be quick about this.” He began to glow orange, enhancing them. “Run, fools!” He sprinted off.

Case let out a long breath, feeling invigorated by Galendil’s magic. Then, together with the rest, he ran on the bridge. They needed to be fast, and prevent whatever enemy might spot them.

The first quarter of the bridge went by easily. Case didn’t even break a sweat. There came more holes in the bridge, however, and the path grew narrower. Halfway, others before him had stopped. Case frowned. Is the bridge broken?

Galendil stood motionless in the middle of the bridge. He sighed. “Guess we won’t get to the temple without facing him. Damn. Oh, well.”

Shit. Case looked around. He didn’t see an enemy yet.

“Is it that blob in the sky?” Deroan raised his finger and pointed in the air.

Galendil nodded.

Case narrowed his eyes, looking where Deroan pointed. A blob might already be overstating the size of what approached them. It seemed more like a black bird to him. It went straight toward them, as if an arrow.

“He won’t attack us immediately,” Galendil said matter-of-factly. “Gather your strength. Stick to what we’ve done in the last weeks, and then do it better. Either we defeat him, or we die.” He clenched his fists. “Don’t let this be the end of our quest.”

The black spot in the sky increased in size, nearing them. It doesn’t look big or menacing at all? Case thought, yet he couldn’t see any distinct shape yet.

The black creature crashed down before them. Dust shot up in the air and several bricks crumbled down. The smoke coming from the dust slowly faded. They could finally see the shape of their enemy for the first time. It was the shape of…

A man. Only a man.

The smoke cleared up. Case could now clearly see what they faced; a knight in full black armor with broad, white feathered wings. He wore a helmet with seven horns as if antlers, and wielded a long straight-headed spear that appeared crystalline and blue. A tingling shot through Case. It doesn’t look vile, but I sense something… Is that power?

“It’s a knight,” Luro said, coming to the same conclusion as Case. “It’s only one knight.”

Galendil nodded. “He is one knight.” He pressed his lips together. “He’s the lone guard of Florendel: Robialt. This knight… In the glory days of Florend, he was the most powerful knight the country had ever seen. He fought the nurls and other dark creatures when Ghalva started taking over this place. He was Florend’s chosen one to defend their country and gifted their most powerful weapon. For a time, he did more than an honorable job, or so the scrolls say. On one mission, Ghalva managed to envelop him in darkness and corrupt him. His white armor turned black and he grew wings. It made him more powerful than ever before, yet his soul had died. His body had changed into a puppet for Ghalva. Florend’s greatest defender became its greatest enemy, a leader of armies. The country didn’t last long after that.”

Robialt stood as still as a statue, though Case could see bright green eyes darting around the eye slits of the helmet, observing each one of them.

“You’ve fought him before. What kind of magic does he use?” Deroan asked.

Galendil sighed. “None. Well, I’m quite sure Robialt’s body is powered by some kind of magic, no one even knows what he currently looks like behind the armor, but he’s simply insanely strong, quick, and has a body that’s near impossible to wound.” He stepped backward and started to glow orange, enhancing them again. “Take your positions. When he’s done inspecting us, he’ll attack.”

“Shields to the front!” Deroan instructed with a loud voice. “Luro, support them with your strength. Eziel, conjure up anything-”

Robialt set his right foot forward and raised his white wings. Case’s eyes widened. They’re as large as his body!

“He’s already coming!” shouted Kran.

Robialt shot forward, going in a straight line with his mystical-looking spear raised toward Gren and Kirn. They raised their shields in turn.

The black knight got until one meter before the defensive line, then lowered one of his wings and dashed right.

“What in Areos!” Luro shouted.

Another dash from Robialt. He was now in their midst, dashing left and right quicker than they could react.

Panic erupted amid them. How do we handle this speed?! Case thought.

“Someone stop him!” shouted Dane.

It was too late. Robialt had reached the end of their group where the archers stood nearly defenseless. He lunged toward Gwuir who only wielded his bow, useless in close combat.

Robialt pierced Gwuir. The archer from Neatherna tried to dodge but his right arm got out of the way too late. The blue spear pierced Gwuir’s wrist. The spear left Gwuir’s body and blood shot out. Gwuir went to the ground, injured. Robialt turned to Gaven and swung the blue weapon toward him too.

Gaven let go of his bow and ducked sideways. He managed to evade the blow, but his bow was sliced in half and rendered useless. Gaven glowed orange and lunged forward, trying to grab Robialt and certainly attempting to use his power of decay.

Robialt nimbly dashed back over the bridge, out of reach of him.

“The bastard,” Deroan muttered. “He already disabled our long-range attackers. Our best weapon against his flying.”

“We can’t let him swoop past us anymore!” Case said. “Maybe if we make a strong front.”

Deroan nodded. “Let’s make a broader defense, but leave some in the back as well. He can attack us anywhere.”

“I’ll protect Gwuir.” Gren ran to the injured archer, who had already grabbed a dagger and looked defiantly upon Robialt.

Robialt stormed forward again, flying close to the ground with his spear sideways beside him.

“I’ll get him!” Luro glowed orange and sprinted to the front of the group. He swung his two-handed sword just as Robialt neared them.

The weapons clashed. A high soft ring resonated over the bridge.

Robialt was pushed back but still managed to deflect the weapon.

Case grunted. So a swing from an enhanced Luro is on par with Robialt’s strength… At least Robialt’s not more powerful, but what amazing strength.

Robialt flew off the bridge and attacked them from the side. They’d block one attack but soon there’d be another. They parried some strikes, but never managed to land an attack on the agile enemy. Moreso, Robialt’s technique was also the best Case had ever seen. No matter how many weapons they tried to attack him with, he managed to deflect them all.

The battle raged on, with neither side inflicting any damage.

“Bugger this!” Eziel shouted. He had already been glowing orange for a while, and conjuring weapons constantly. Now he clenched his fists and seemed to nearly emit orange energy.

Eziel has grown powerful… How long can he keep this up? Case wondered.

For now, it was certain Eziel could. He stuck out a hand and a whirl of orange particles manifested there. Eziel was making a huge weapon toward the direction of Robialt.

Case cocked his head. Is that still one weapon?

Eziel was holding some kind of shield where at least a dozen weapons grew out. Swords, halberds, and maces were sticking out in a grand manner.

“Let’s see you parry this, freak!” Eziel laughed madly, as if a man possessed.

As always, Robialt didn’t say anything in return. Yet the knight did halt and picked up a large brick. He flew in the air and raised the projectile.

Case frowned. Even if he throws it, Eziel can just deflect it.

Robialt raised his arm backward and threw the stone downward.

Not toward Eziel, but to the ground next to Eziel.

The stone hit the ground. Some of the stones of the bridge loosened. Eziel had to hop around to avoid falling down the bridge.

He lost his balance. The huge weapon was no longer aimed at Robialt. Shit! That was his plan, Case realized.

The winged knight swooped down. Eziel tried to swing his monstrosity of a weapon, but Robialt smacked it away with his gauntlet, leaving Eziel unprotected.

Robialt pierced him in the stomach.

“You bi-” Eziel coughed up blood.

Robialt released his spear and stepped back again before other Neathernans could attack him.

“Eziel!” Desmond ran toward the fallen warrior and tried to help him as best he could. Eziel was badly hurt.

“That seemed cheap by the surroundings,” Kirn said, seeming disgruntled.

Galendil grunted. “Accept it and move on! We’re still standing.”

“What do we do?!” Deroan shouted. “We’re running out of options!”

Galendil gritted his teeth. “Then we fucking make options.” He turned to Luro. “You, destroy the bridge.”

Luro blinked rapidly. “Destroy the bridge?! We’ll fall!”

“And then we get up again!” Galendil’s nostrils flared. “I don’t care if that’s inspirational or not. This battlefield doesn’t suit us, so we create a new one. Deroan, I’ll produce some telekinesis magic and you use it to form a shield to break our fall.”

Deroan nodded. “I can do that.”

Eziel cleared his throat. “Gaven can destroy the bridge!” he said with a raspy voice, not seeming injured enough to speak. “He has the power of decay!”

Galendil sighed. “It’s decay of living things, idiot. Shut up and focus on getting well.”

Luro shrugged. “Guess I’m the destroyer of bridges now. Kran, enhance my weapon.” Luro’s sword began to glow orange, and so did the man himself. “All or nothing, boys.” He raised his weapon, screamed, and hacked away the ground.

The bridge trembled. Bricks fell.

Luro hit again, and again.

The bridge broke.

The ground beneath Case gave away. What in Areos are we doing?! he thought as he fell into the empty river.

Two meters before he hit the ground, a soft cushion of orange magic caught him, then dropped him again. It gave him a slight bruise, but nothing major. All of them had come down without any harm, Desmond still supporting Eziel who seemed in grave danger but would hold on for now.

Robialt descended with a slow pace, staring at them without break and landing on the ground. Case moved his lips to one side. I get the funny feeling he respected that reckless move.

Galendil sneaked toward him. “Case,” he whispered, “do your thing!”

Case frowned. “He can just fly away!”

Galendil grunted. “Then do it better!”

Case raised his palms in the air. He grunted but then complied. If we’re in need of miracles, let’s create one. He raised his hands, and let the fire within swell up and swell up more. I need something special now. He released the orange magic from his hands and sent it downward where he stood. Underground, he directed it toward Robialt, hoping the black knight would notice the earthquake too late and would lose balance before he could fly away.

Areos began to rumble, and not a second later the area around Robialt began to tremble already.

The black knight looked left and right quickly, seemingly confused for the first time. Case smiled, and increased his magic. We’re not done yet. The ground around Robialt shifted and cracked, nearly anyone would fall now.

Robialt flapped his wings. He floated above the ground, unaffected by the tremors.

Case grunted. No! No! Damn no! He gritted his teeth and let the fire consume part of him.

The tremble increased but still didn’t affect Robialt. The black knight now stared directly at him and raised his weapon.

Bring it! Case thought, disregarding rationality.

The black knight stormed toward him, a flying menace no earthquake could ever affect.

Case screamed.

Something shot out of the ground.

Robialt was halted, hanging motionlessly in the air.

Case puffed, not even realizing what he had done at first. Then he did. A thick brown trunk had shot out of the ground and wrapped itself around Robialt. What in Areos, Case thought. He had grown a tree in this desolate place and bent it over Robialt. He could feel the tree as well, and he could direct it. He ensnared Robialt tightly, making sure the knight couldn’t fly away.

“Attack!!” Dane shouted.

An enhanced Gren was the first one to jump forward. He dashed nimbly around the rumble, as if they were stepping stones. He raised his spear against Robialt who could hardly move.

Gren hit Robialt’s arm. The blue crystalline spear fell.

Yes! Case smiled broadly. We can still do this! An awesome strength pushed against the clench of the tree. Robialt was trying to break free.

“I can’t hold this for long!” Case shouted.

The other warriors from Neatherna were in range of attacking the stuck enemy as well. They tried to hit him while Case used all of his strength to keep the knight from escaping.

Robialt was not yet defeated. He struggled constantly and still managed to block attacks with his strong gauntlet, and the hits they did get in didn’t pierce his armor.

“I’m running out of energy!” Case called out.

“We have to do something!” Kirn said. His camouflage hadn’t done much again, unfortunately.

Suddenly, there was a loud sigh of Dane. “Shit. Okay then… Luro, let’s do that again.”

Luro frowned. Then his eyes widened. “Are you sure? You weren’t happy about me doing it the last time.”

Dane sighed. “I’m still not. But we already changed tactics today… Now, let’s attack this bastard from above instead of the other way around.”

Luro shrugged. “Fine by me. Kick his ass.”

What in Areos are they talking about? Case thought. As long as they do it quickly, I don’t care.

Luro ran toward Dane, then grabbed him by the legs. Case’s eyes widened. No way, that’s what they’re planning! Just like against the colossus! Madmen.

While glowing orange, Luro hurled Dane with his two swords over Robialt. Dane soared into the air and went right in the direction of Robialt.

Case used his last remainder of strength to keep Robialt clutched just a second longer.

Robialt broke free.

Dane crashed down upon the black knight. His two swords dug into the wings and the armor underneath.

The black knight was forced upon the ground. His armor cracked.

Case gasped. We got him down!

Every warrior of Neatherna cried out in joy. If Robialt would have escaped a second earlier, they’d have lost him by now. Somehow they’d managed to turn around the tables.

Robialt made a fist and smacked Dane away. The swords fell on the ground with Dane.

“Shit!” Case said. “He’s still strong enough!”

Robialt leaned on his hands, grabbed his blue spear, and slowly stood up. He ran away from them, nearly limping.

“Oh no, you’re not!” Kirn ran toward Robialt, ready to strike him down with his sword.

The black knight flapped his wings. It looked clumsy, as if a hurt bird. Nevertheless, he flew into the air again.

“We’ll get him once he comes down!” Desmond shouted.

Yet Robialt didn’t come down, Case realized. The knight simply flew circles in the air.

“The bastard.” Galendil grunted. “He’s regenerating.”

Case narrowed his eyes. Galendil was right. Even the chunk of armor that was missing slowly reformed.

Deroan went toward Case, then stroked his chin. “Your magic… It’s not that powerful by itself… but somehow it manifests greater than perhaps any of us… I can’t replicate it or figure it out.”

Case grunted. “That’d have been nice. Now, what do we do?”

Nothing. They could do nothing. Gwuir’s bow had been destroyed in the fight as well and they could only wait for their opponent.

“Just one wound more would’ve been enough to kill him,” Luro muttered, clearly he felt wronged.

Galendil sighed. “That might be. But that’s why it’s a powerful enemy. Prepare yourselves.”

Dane and Desmond tried to figure out magic amid this waiting, yet they still didn’t seem able to figure out their ability.

High above, Robialt still flew in the sky, like a vulture waiting for prey that wouldn’t die.

“He’ll attack us recklessly now,” Galendil said. “He’ll be afraid to fight on the ground from now on, yet he won’t allow us to pass through Florendel. His regeneration also costs him energy. He’ll have one good attack left. From now it’s just a matter of who hits the other first.”

Two minutes later, the winged knight finally made his move. He swooped down with tremendous speed, which he had obviously been storing. With his spear forward he went right for Case.

This is it, Case thought. He readied his sword and breathed slowly, preparing to intercept the blow and strike before Robialt could.

Luro jumped in front of him, then Gren did too.

“Let us catch him for you,” Luro said.

Case bit on his lip. What luck to have this team.

Robialt was upon them. It’d be decided right here, right now, Case knew.

Robialt hit first.

The spear pierced Gren’s shield, then Gren, then Luro. It halted just before Case.

Case’s mouth fell open. He fell on his knees. “No! Not them! Not any of us!”

The black knight released his spear from Luro and Gren, who both immediately fell motionless to the ground. Then Robialt went for Case and smacked him away with the side of the spear. Case was hurled in the air and crashed into the side of the wall. His body hurt all over, as if half of his bones were broken by the two impacts. He could no longer move.

After that, Robialt seemed unstoppable. They managed to get a few scratches on Robialt’s armor, but the black knight ignored all of them and attacked recklessly.

Desmond tried to cleave Robialt with his axe, but the black knight dodged the attack and rammed his spear into Desmond’s neck.

Gaven jumped upon Robialt from behind, his hands ready to decay Florendel’s guard to dust. Robialt turned around and pierced Gaven’s chest, then let the brave warrior slide off his spear without either one making a sound.

Deroan had hurried to Gren, attempting to heal his fallen lover. He was stabbed in the back and fell into Gren’s arms in a large pool of blood.

Kirn used his camouflage to sneak up on Robialt. The black knight lifted his head, listening, then swung his weapon in a circle. Kirn’s belly was ripped open. Robialt finished him with his next strike, leaving Kirn to die invisible.

Gwuir send a dagger flying and changed its course with his magic. Robialt caught the dagger and hurled it back toward Gwuir. Gwuir was struck in the head and fell forward.

“No! No!” Galendil cried out. “Stop this!”

Dane, the hero with two swords, ran toward Robialt ready for battle. Even after so many of his fellow warriors had fallen, he seemed to remain determined to take down this enemy. He entered close combat.

Robialt disarmed Dane’s first blade.

Robialt disarmed Dane’s second blade.

Robialt stabbed Dane in the guts. Dane died.

Kran raised his enhanced longsword and swung it vertically at Robialt. The black knight dodged it. He swung his weapon, and cut off Kran’s hand. Then he sliced at Kran’s neck, nearly decapitating him. Kran fell to the ground with the others.

Case lay on the ground with open mouth, frozen. My brothers… Neatherna. No. It will end here. No. A tear fell from his cheek.

“I’m still here, you armored blackbird of shit.” Eziel leaned on a conjured mace. He swayed from left to right, still injured, though of course he smiled. He conjured a spear and aimed it at Robialt.

The black knight raised his wings and dashed toward Eziel. He easily dodged Eziel’s still spear and pierced Eziel through his chest.

Eziel coughed blood with the spear still inside of him. He grinned, looking pale. “Is that all you got?” His eyes closed and his head fell forward.

Only Galendil and Case were left alive. Case felt life leaving him. I won’t make it. None of us will make it. He looked downward.

“Don’t you dare fall asleep now!” Galendil shouted toward him. “I-”

Robialt stabbed Galendil.

Galendil stopped glowing orange, hanging on the spear, and grunted. “Case… however painful this is, hear and know this. My body will die here, but my magic combined with my spirit will live on. I’ll rebuild myself throughout the years. I’ll gain a new body, with a new name. And all those that knew me as Galendil will only know my new name. Yet you, Case, you’ll always know me as Galendil. I wish we’d gotten further… I wish…” He shed a tear, a genuine but also unreal-seeming tear. Galendil’s body slowly turned transparent, as if shifting into pure orange magic. “I’ll get another group of warriors. For Neatherna.” He stared intently at Case, and nodded. The conviction in his expression hadn’t left him even now. “One day.” He looked around him, looking at all the fallen warriors. He sighed, his characteristic sigh. The flux of orange energy in the shape of Galendil closed its eyes. Then it shot up into the air and went eastward.

With his last remaining strength, Case clenched his fist. One day. One day. He closed his eyes, and felt the rumble beneath the ground until his heart stopped beating.
—