章 5: Aquamarine

The pillars inside his chamber were painted with brilliant white. It had a dome ceiling with careful touch of patterned caramel and gold colors.

From the Wind Palace's tall and high windows, the dark-inked sky enclosing the floating Land of Dawn is still visible. The darkness remained contagious. All the villages, waters, temples, forests, mountains and valleys below the floating Land had also shared the curse of this darkness.

Lying beside me was Aldous who was still recovering from the fatal encounter.

"The tip of the spear has a poison formulated by Vexana, making him paralyzed," said Rafaela. "I have removed it. But for faster recovery, he needs rest."

"What a relief," I said.

Vale, after having a deep look at the window, slowly walked towards me.

"Vale. How did you know we're heading here?" I asked him.

"I was waiting for someone to come when I saw a strange light coming from the Minoan Mountains," answered Vale. "Aldous' Ultimate. It has a weakness. When he casted it, he became visible to the entire Land," he continued.

"Is that the reason why Cyclops and Moskov went after us?"

"Yes. And not only them. All heroes possessing aquamarines now know that Aldous is heading towards Wind Valley, putting both of us at risk. Surely, Helcurt must have known that Cyclops and Moskov are now dead."

I didn't say a word. Regrets now wrapped my conscience. If only I knew, we should have not used his Ultimate.

"How about their aquamarines? They died, right?" I asked Vale with curiosity.

It has been a natural law that aquamarines merge with heroes' bodies and souls. And when heroes possessing these aquamarines die, these crystal-like objects abandon the host body and float, just like Valir's aquamarine.

By default, all creatures in this world are born without aquamarines yet, as these crystal-like stones only develop once a creature discovers or unlocks his Ultimate, the peak of his skill. Once he found out his Ultimate, his aquamarine becomes whole, and he is called a hero. That explains why there are old and new heroes. Old heroes are those that have unlocked their Ultimate way before the others. And new ones? The opposite.

There is also no fixed time as to what age one must develop his aquamarine. And the more exciting part? Once you unlock your Ultimate and fully develop your aquamarine, you stop growing. Time, then, has no effect on you until you die. I unlocked my Ultimate at age fifteen, so I stay young, until now. Some discover their Ultimate at an older age, and remained at that age for the rest of their lives. Unless you are killed, you will stay in this world forever.

It seems to be unfair though. Aquamarines have become the measure of power in this world. The thing is, those with aquamarines enslave those without.

Minions, who do not usually have whole aquamarines, submit themselves to heroes for survival. They are often used to spy other heroes, gather resources for their master, or guard their properties. But without aquamarines, they do most of the dying. Some die due to old age. But most become casualties of war.

There are also those extraordinary minions who happened to develop aquamarine fragments, but unfortunately, never evolved into a whole one.

One thing I also do not understand is the rampant absorption of aquamarines. A hero may kill another hero, and if he succeeds, he gets the aquamarine of the losing one, making him more powerful than others. Some even traded aquamarines in the Truncheon Market, sold at the most expensive price. Surely, there is no other price higher than life, as aquamarines are remnants of fallen heroes.

But these precious gems remain mysterious. Even in the Magic Academy which was now destroyed by Helcurt, no book, nor Master of Magic can totally explain the full capabalities of these aquamarines.

"I have them," Vale answered, showing the blue aquamarine of Cyclops, and the lilac aquamarine of Moskov.

"What are you planning to do with it?" I asked even further.

"Take it. And absorb it."

"Why?"

"Why not? If I will not absorb it, maybe Helcurt will."

He is right. It is better that Vale took it than Helcurt.

"And by the way, why are you looking for me?" inquired Vale.

"Because Valir is dead," I quickly answered. "I was at the magical forest when fragments of smoke and fire dusts landed my arms. I touched it and casted Key Insight to see visions of those fragments. I found out it was Valir's and then I saw how Helcurt brutally killed him that very moment."

It took some time before those words sank in him. Vale now fixed his troubled eyes on me. It was turning whitish gold again, coupled of gusts of threatening winds now revolving around him.

An aura of anger, exasperation, hatred and regrets dominated the chamber. He was now breathing deeply and seemed to not contain it, when Rafaela gestured a healing touch that calm him instantly.

"Your Key Insight, can you cast it in here?" Vale requested, handing over a gold earring with a diamond-shaped hole. "This is one of Valir's earring. He gave it to me before he decided going to Land of Dawn. Maybe you can see the details of him in the Land prior to his death."

I pondered for a moment. So Vale knew that Valir was there? And why did he let him?

"I am not sure if this will work. My Key Insight can only see events that happened to things as I touch or see them. If this was given to you the night before he went to Land of Dawn, I certainly cannot see his trail inside the Land."

"But his earrings work as a pair. It was forged with magnetic concentrated enegy to help him control his bursting Arcane Flame while not in battle. He wore it all the time. And if he has the other one, maybe you can locate it, and see him as well," insisted Vale.

"Alright. I'll try it then," I said, as I took the earring.

I was now touching it and started to see visions connected with the earring. At first I saw Valir entering the Wind Palace. Later on, Vale came and the two began conversing with each other.

"Forgive me, Brother. It was never my intention. It just happened," Valir said.

"Not your intention? I'm no fool Valir!" Vale, upset.

"I am Fire and she is Water. There can be no compatibility between us. But... But I made a mistake."

"Damn your mistake Valir!" Vale, as he released a sharp, windblade that made a thin cut right across Valir's cheek, oozing a droplet of blood. "I trusted you. I treated you as brother my whole life. Is this how you repay me? Stealing the woman I love?!"

"I don't know... I don't know how it started, and ended up like this, Vale. The last time I knew I.. I just fall in love with her," Valir, standing firm in front of Vale.

"So you don't know how it started? Alright then. I'll remind you. It started when she asked me to defend alongside with her the Ocean Kingdom. But I have to refuse because I have also this Wind Valley to protect from Helcurt's allies. Then I asked you a favor to help her defend her Kingdom for me," narrated Vale.

"At first you refused, remember? But when you realized how I helped and saved you from the claws of Helcurt before your Fire Kingdom was totally gone, you changed your mind and you went as I instructed!" Vale recalled, in an impatient tone.

"For months and years we defended and won every battle of this Valley. My Wind Minions always took advantage of the winds, and kept on wiping out his forces. And so I heard that Kadita's Ocean Kingdom too, with your help. Eventually, Helcurt have decided not to advance in conquering both of our territories," continued Vale.

"Sometimes, I was jealous that you were always with her the entire time. Sometimes, I wish I was the one on your shoes with a Fire Kingdom gone so I can be with her fights and victories," Vale said, now drawing closer to Valir.

"I know... I know it was a mistake of me being not beside her during the war, Valir. But you took advantage of our friendship. You took advantage of you being a free hero now, with your Kingdom gone. And how about me? You know how much I care for her. You know how much I love her. Did you ever consider that, Brother?"

Valir did not immediately reply, but noticeable is his right fist, tightly clenched, with a ring of fire circling his wrist.

"Brother, I am sorry but I am not changing my stand. If you love her, so do I. But let us settle this the way we settle things. Since childhood, we often can't get along with each other, and when that happens, we always resort to one thing: a deal, using my pair of earrings. So brother, let's have a deal," Valir proposed.

Vale did not answer, and waited for Valir to speak and finish his own statement.

"I have here my pair of two earrings. I am giving you one of these, as a symbol of our deal, just like before. Tomorrow, I will go to the Land of Dawn and kill Helcurt. If I succeed in bringing you his aquamarine and my other earring, you must forgive me and allow me to love Kadita, the way it is now. But if I will not make it, then she is all yours," Valir firmly promised.

Vale seemed confused and obviously worried. His facial expression suggested that he could not decide.

"As I see it, all these couldn't have happened without the mad Helcurt terrorizing us. I have also discovered something about these aquamarines he's been collecting. I need to confirm it and must go there even if you will not accept this deal. So better accept it," Valir added.

"Deal," Vale replied.

Poor Valir, I thought. Then I continued casting my Key Insight and started looking for the magnetic frequency of the other earring. At last! I was able to trace it!

I began looking at its perspective, when I suddenly feel the ground shaking. I instantly opened my eyes, and to my surprise, Thamuz was already standing right in front of me! Khufra was holding Rafaela, and Hanzo was aiming his sword at the sleeping Aldous.

My eyes quickly looked for Vale, but he was gone.

"Two aquamarines from Cyclops and Moskov, and another from each one of you. Any last words?" threatened Helcurt, as he appeared before us.