章 1: (Part I) Storms
As the boy's consciousness slowly returned to him, the door to his chambers materialized in his vision, ajar and bleeding torchlight into the room as an imposing figure quickly headed his way. Stopping at his bedside, the figure grasped the boy's shoulder firmly as a calm yet assertive voice filled his ears.
"Shay, wake up. You need to listen carefully, I will only say this once. Grab your saber, and head out towards the church. Find your mother, and your sister. Once you've done that, head north, and escape through the forest."
Looking up at his father groggily, Shay was only vaguely aware of the solemnity coloring the man's words. As he took his son's hand for the final time, he looked the boy in the eyes, placing in his open palm a beautiful cerulean jewel.
"Do you understand? Time is of the essence, son. This is the treasure of our royal line, and the time has come for me to pass it on to you. Adorn your weapon with it, and escape. You will survive this."
"...?"
By the time Shay had finished processing this, the current King of Eluria had already made his exit. Quickly jumping out of bed, Shay began to notice the distant sounds of battle. Hurriedly dressing himself he took his weapon of choice off the ceremonial stand and hesitantly placed the breathtaking jewel in the saber's ornate crossguard, attaching it to his belt before standing up.
What's going on? Who could possibly attack the inner capital like this?
Resolving to keep his thoughts together, Shay internally said goodbye to his father and fulfilled the duty laid out for him, making his way out of the palace and towards the emergency meeting spot.
The occasional arrow struck the stone beneath Shay's feet as he rushed through the courtyard to find his mother and infant sister. The royal church was easily visible from the palace, the Spirit decorating its spire silhouetted by the moon peeking through the clouds. Arriving after a quick sprint through the palace garden, he knocked on the grandiose church doors.
"Shay? Is that you?"
His mother's voice was both solemn and worried, as she seemed to have a working understanding of the situation. Opening the door enough for her to see his face, Shay's eyes found the woman cradling his sleeping sister.
"Yes, it's me. What's happening? Why is the palace under siege?"
"...One of the lower familias has betrayed us. They've staged a coup, probably with the backing of the Empire."
"The Empire!? …what could we do against an enemy like that?"
The woman's eyes darkened.
"That comes later. Right now, we need to leave."
—But dad! ...oh. …Is that really all that can be done…?
Tears threatening to cloud his vision, Shay allowed himself the realization he had forcefully stymied before. In giving Shay the jewel, his father had truly passed the torch. There was no other choice, given the circumstances. Recognizing the weight of his new burden, Shay forced himself to stay calm.
"...Okay. Keep your hood up and your head low, and we'll head north to escape into the forest."
Shay looked back to the palace for the last time as his mother hastily made her way to the door, cradling his young sister in her arms. Quickly making their way to the north after leaving the castle, the group stumbled upon a grisly scene.
The streets were so stained and vile it was as if they had been paved with entrails. Townspeople and militiamen alike had been torn to shreds, blood soaked cloth and weapons strewn about. His mother slowed down, clearly sickened, while Shay tried to coax her along. He focused desperately on the task at hand, trying not to imagine what had happened there. He had never seen war before, but he could've never imagined it would be something this merciless and chaotic. It looked as if the people there hadn't been slashed so much as torn apart at the seams. As that thought crossed Shay's mind, he saw something that made him stop in his tracks.
"..."
A group of small, green, scrawny creatures were scraping at the remains some distance in front of them.
…goblins?
This was beyond belief. They had just left the castle walls and were still well within the city. Shay had never heard of a monster making it inside the city at all, let alone this far.
I thought we were facing a coup, where the hell did monsters come from!?
He turned back to his mother, making sure to avoid sounding panicked.
"We're changing directions."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the warning cry of a kobold pierced the air. They had been spotted, the silhouette of that howling monster against the moon burning itself into Shay's memory. He ushered his mother into the adjacent alley and tossed his saber to her as she looked back incredulously. Wasting no time at all, he picked up a bloodstained spear from the ground as he turned back to her. Figuring that it wasn't worth whispering anymore, he put his urgency into the words.
"Leave, now! I'll meet you past the forest!"
Shay's mother wanted nothing more than to stop her son from being reckless, but the child in her arms would not afford her that luxury. As the monsters drew near, Shay could only pray that he could lead them away from his family.
Tiny spots of moonlight found their respite on the forest floor as frenzied howls disturbed the otherwise peaceful night. Leaves rustled and brushes shook as the remaining monsters pursued their prey.
Shit, I hope mom kept moving, I wasn't planning on leading the monsters all the way here. I ended up outrunning the goblins too, which means they're unaccounted for now.
Despite his failings as a decoy, Shay was now more thankful than ever for his Falna as he dashed away from his pursuers. There were a decent number of people with blessings in Eluria, most notably the guards and militia that would usually protect him, but Shay had waited to get his Falna until he was older and had proven some skill in combat techniques, thinking it would make for better training. The downside of his patience was the current predicament.
They're gaining ground fast! I can't believe I thought I'd have the upper hand against kobolds in a forest…
Due to Shay's underdeveloped Falna, the fastest of the three remaining kobolds was about to get within striking distance. As it did, Shay jumped to the side, turning around and swiping with his spear, and made a lucky connection with its torso incapacitating the beast as he dodged. Now down to two pursuers, Shay was beginning to relax enough to feel his exhaustion. Deciding that this needed to end soon, he slowed down enough to use the next tree as a springboard, reversing his momentum and thrusting his spear into one of the unsuspecting kobolds. The last immediately reacted, swiping at Shay only for its claws to sink into its brethren as the boy's spear found its mark from beneath the impromptu shield of flesh.
Being thoroughly exhausted, Shay removed the spear and let his thoughts wander as he walked away.
Where would mom have gone? Should I try and find her at the nearest town, or would that be too obvious? And who would've let monsters into the city? Well, I guess that one's pretty obviously the revolutionaries who staged the coup, but more importantly how? And… what about dad?
Okay, one thing at a time. Let's aim for the nearest city.
A mangled pile. Flesh so torn and twisted it was difficult to tell where daughter ended and mother began.
Shay's soul became clouded. He knelt over the saber that was supposed to protect his family, staring as the reflected moonlight was distorted by smears of blood.
…
His country was ravaged.
His father had likely been killed.
His family had been torn to shreds.
Shay was a husk that could no longer summon his mind as he wandered aimlessly through the forest, carrying the saber that had betrayed him. His being was so vacant that he couldn't even tell if he was waiting for rescue or for the solace of death. He continued to wander aimlessly.
After some time, he stumbled upon a lake. If he had his wits about him, Shay would've been in awe. The water's surface had an ephemeral beauty to it, where the moonlight reflected perfectly off its pristine surface, and there was a soft glow emanating from the shoreline. Shay knelt near the edge for a time, before solemnly laying his bloodstained saber to rest at a depth just enough to submerge it fully. Shay stayed at the lake's edge for some time, staring at the beautiful cyan gemstone in his hand as he waited for nothing in particular.
The night was well underway when the weather began to shift. It began raining heavily, and before long, bouts of thunder set the sky rumbling. Not moving from the spot, Shay sat as his thoughts spiraled, matching the escalating winds. Lost in the storm, Shay's soul was praying to be found. He wondered what he could have done better, how he could have prevented this.
If only I hadn't abandoned them… no, I couldn't have faced that horde alone while protecting them.
If I had been more aware… no, no one would've expected them to sacrifice citizens to monsters for the sake of the coup.
If I…
Was there even anything to be done? Or was this just an inevitability of fate? In the chaos of the storm, Shay struggled to find an answer. The trees swayed and the surface of the lake was now violent and distorted. As his despair turned to fury Shay clutched his hand, wincing as the precious treasure of Eluria fragmented in his palm. Watching in guilt-ridden disbelief as blood dripped from his hand, Shay felt a white-blue energy dance its way through his body. Shrouded in the cloud of blood now forming in the lake, Shay caught a glimpse of his saber being covered by the roiling sediment as the last reflections of moonlight on its surface were blotted out.
Ah…
Shay was given a revelation.
Strength…
He could have been stronger.
Strong enough to take on all of those monsters without leaving his family to die. Strong enough to fight in his father's place. Strong enough to stop the coup entirely.
The winds died down suddenly. Shay opened his eyes and saw the stars above him. He had found his answer in the eye of the storm. As the wall of rain passed over him again, Shay felt a kind of energy that he had never felt before. From outside his hopelessness he sensed the same white-blue energy beginning to dance its way across his skin. It invaded and cleansed his muddied soul, and from the renewal of Shay's soul came a renewal of his will. Alongside this new energy, Shay made a vow to himself.
Meaningless envy…
Manufactured conflict…
Pointless sacrifice….
I'll conquer it all.
This endless cruelty, I'll pierce through it.
I'll get strong enough to fight back.
And then I'll be back for Eluria.
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