Konrad

Konrad learned the hardest lesson about leadership during those hours in the Echo, giving instructions to his friends one by one and saying farewell, knowing he was asking them to go into danger. If it weren’t for the friendship, selflessness, and words of advice and support of each one of them, he never could have done it.

Alice entered after Malan and Konrad considered sending her off somewhere safe on a useless errand, but she immediately warned him against doing exactly that, letting him know in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t stand for it. He finally revealed her part in the plan and she was satisfied giving him a kiss before she left that could still feel warming his cheek.

Briarstone was next, then Renau, followed by Rolo and Athir. Each solemnly listened for their instructions, promising that they would not let him down.

There were no visible days or nights in the Echo, but Konrad felt that it must have been well past nightfall when Otto finally entered the domed building.

"How are you feeling?" Konrad asked.

"I feel like someone turned me inside out and scraped everything away, then buttoned me back up. I spoke to the girl out there, Issie, and she said it was the same for her." Otto’s voice was so much like their father's: gruff and emotionless, hoarse from disuse.

"But she didn’t die," Konrad said. He had been keeping the words unspoken, fearing that saying them aloud might make them more real, but Otto was his brother, and he couldn’t let him fade away. In many ways, Konrad felt guilty that he’d not been able to find and help Otto in time, like he promised he would.

"I’m not going to die; we have a job to do. What do you need from me?"

"You’ve done enough already. More than enough, perhaps you should go home to Fallow Vale."

Otto clenched his fists, and Konrad thought he saw a shadow of the stern features of the Father cross his face. "I’m still the same person you fought in Portia; don’t forget that. After everything I’ve been through, I deserve the chance to see this through. You said I needed something to believe in, this is what I need."

Athir had filled Konrad in on what she knew of Otto’s life since being chosen. The journey had been dark and lonely, full of fear and madness.

"Did Athir really cut your throat?" Konrad asked. He hadn’t meant to, but the puckered scar was clearly visible.

"She caught me at a bad moment," Otto muttered.

"There’s been a couple of times I thought she was going to do the same to me."

"We were only children then; I’m sure she could do much worse now."

Otto smiled, and for a moment Konrad caught a glimpse of a young man in the hollowed-out shell.

"Let me help you. I need this," Otto said.

In truth, Otto was always a crucial part of Konrad’s plan; he just needed to know that his brother wanted it. The last thing he wanted was to put more of a burden on him.

"I need you to track down the champions of the Father who are left and capture them."

"There are three left; I’ll start with the Fist," Otto said, his eyes glinting.

"No, not the Fist, just the others. Issie has agreed to help you."

"Who’s going to deal with the Fist?"

Konrad let the silence speak for him.

"You can’t tell me. What your asking me to do is just a small part of the plan, isn’t it?"

"Yes."

"I’m not going to be there to see the end, am I?"

"No."

Otto hung his head, and the silence extended for a moment before he spoke in a low voice. "I knew it was you as soon as I saw you in Portia. You were like a child, running around, having adventures, and looking for quests. You even fought like a child, powerful but impulsive. You’ve changed a lot in a short space of time. What happened?"

"I saw problems everywhere I went, a lot of unfairness, and a lot of truth tangled up in lies. Then I found out that I was a part of the problem."

"You can depend on me to do my part."

"You’re going to need this." Konrad started to unclip the black sword from his waist, but Otto stopped him with a gesture and a gentle shake of his head.

"No more swords for me. When this is done, I’m going back to Fallow Vale; perhaps we can make up for lost time."

"I’d like that," Konrad replied, his throat tight as he embraced his brother.

Otto passed Serena on his way out and gave her a respectful nod as Konrad scrambled to his feet to greet her. Serena had always given him a feeling of awe; her composure was always absolute.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"It went well; everybody knows what to do."

Serena placed a cool hand on Konrad’s forehead, and he felt a calmness spread through his body. "You’ve taken on quite a burden; will you be able to see it through?"

"I have to, but I need you to do something, and I’m afraid to ask."

"I know what you want me to do."

Konrad felt his carefully constructed plans crumble around him. "How could you know? If it’s that easy to figure out, we don’t stand a chance."

"Relax Konrad. I know because I am a witch and I have eyes and a brain. It’s a good plan."

"It’s dangerous; I don’t want anything to happen to you."

"I’ve made a few more friends since you saw me last; I’ll be fine. Come, Renau is waiting for us at the gateway. Everyone else has gone."

Coming back to the mortal realm after so long in the Echo was like breathing for the first time. Serena and Renau walked arm in arm down the long stone quayside towards Portia, while Konrad and Spirit went back to the huge floating island of Mir.

He didn’t see another living creature as he walked to the summit of the island. Most of the inhabitants had been evacuated to the mainland as per his instructions, leaving only the troupe of elven arcanists.

The view from Rickan’s tower was breathtaking. The sun was setting in the southern ocean, and the whole of the Lost Coast unfurled like a tapestry before him, picked out in gold and red. A deep tremor sent exotic birds flapping out from the trees, and the enchanted island began to float gently out into the ocean.

"Lyran, Avram, Casovan," he called.

"I’m surprised to hear from you," Lyran said, materializing in the air before him. Boosted by her ancient power, her form was full and rich, with no hint of the etherial figure she had been.

"Lyran, you should really ask permission before you float around here; you know, this is my island now; I have an image to maintain," Avram complained.

The small god of shadows was larger and more corporeal than he had ever been, but he still paled in comparison to Lyran.

"Where’s Casovan?" Konrad asked.

"Hiding," Lyran said.

"I know he’s the Prior," Konrad stated.

"He’s not happy with you; you should have helped him; he had to rely on outside contractors," Avram said.

"Can you take me to him?" Konrad asked.

The two small gods exchanged a furtive glance. "Do you want to do it, or should I?" Avram asked Lyran.

"I think Konrad should choose," Lyran replied.

"Choose what?"

"The only way we can take you is for one of us to inhabit you. You’d have to willingly give up control of your body. When we get there, you can have everything back," Lyran explained.

"So who do you want, me or the tree?" Avram asked.

"Avram," Konrad replied without hesitation, ignoring the hurt look in Lyran’s eyes.

At the base of Konrad's skull, where the slumbering cold bite huddled among the sprawling roots of Lyran’s sacred power, he felt a new sensation like someone tapping on a wall searching for a hollow spot.

"You have to open up, Konrad." Avram’s voice was muffled.

Konrad had a hard time convincing himself that he wanted this, but his friends were out there doing their best and he needed to do the same.

Konrad blinked, and he was somehow watching the world from behind his own eyes. He tried to move his hands but couldn’t; in fact, his body was jumping up into the air and stretching his arms to the sky, but he wasn’t controlling it,

"Avram, stop playing around, or you’ll throw him off the tower. They break very easily," Lyran snapped.

"Okay! Wow, I’ve never ever gotten to do this, you know." Avram said the words, but they came out of Konrad’s mouth in his voice. The feeling was unnerving, to say the least.

"He has a whole lot of junk back here; I could clean it up a bit."

"No!" Konrad screamed wordlessly.

"Okay, okay, no need to shout," Avram replied.

Lyran held the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Let’s just get this over with."

-

There is a place between the realms that only the old gods remember, and only the small gods can fit. Here in the dark void is a great cosmic soup, and in between the bits of bouncing rock, electrons, particles, and energy, an old god is hiding.

Panic threatened to overwhelm Konrad’s senses; the space was too unimaginably vast for his mind to comprehend. He tried to take a breath, but there was no air. He didn’t feel like he was suffocating, but his body couldn’t come to terms with the fact that it wasn’t allowed to breathe. With a supreme force of will, he forced himself to relax, floating weightlessly as if he were submerged in the ocean but without the comforting feeling of water around him.

Three figures stood suspended in the empty cosmos around him. Lyran had her arms crossed, Avram looked sheepish, and Casovan appeared murderous. His transformation into the Prior was not an improvement; the Prior was old and fat, with gluttonous jowls, and gazed down his hooked nose in eternal disapproval of all he saw.

"What’s he doing here?" Casovan seethed.

"Can you give us a moment alone?" Konrad asked without taking his eyes off of Casovan.

"I can stay if you like; take you back?" Avram suggested.

"Casovan can help me get back," Konrad replied.

"You would trust me to inhabit you?" Coasovan asked, his small eyes narrowing.

"After what I’m going to tell you, you won’t have a choice," Konrad replied.

Lyran looked as though she was about to make a comment, but instead she pursed her lips and popped out of existence. Avram waited for a moment, then clearly realized he was not welcome and also disappeared with a huffing noise.

"The priory, why did you do it? It’s causing mayhem," Konrad asked.

"Some priests have their fathers ruffled, and a few temples get burned. I call it "the cleansing." People jumped on board quicker than I thought; it turns out nobody really likes the idea of Father, Brother or Mother."

"So now you’re hiding here, was it worth it?"

"I don’t hide from anyone; I’m waiting."

"Your Priory has no champion; Issie’s in control, and you’re too scared to leave here in case the Father sends someone to hunt you down with the white sword."

Casovan’s face pinched in distaste. "I’ll get another champion soon; I have more than enough power."

"The next choosing is years away; those fanatics will burn the continent down before then, and the Father will chip away at your followers one by one because that’s what he does."

Casovan momentarily lost his composure, and the eyes of the Prior flashed with anger. "Then help me! You're supposed to be my champion, get rid of that obstinate, disobedient girl and lead my new temple."

"Never."

"Then I’ll cut you off; see how you like that."

"I’m more use to you alive."

"What could you possibly have that I could want? You’ve exceeded expectations; that’s true, but champions have to be prepared to get their hands dirty."

"If you agree to my terms, then I will get rid of the Father for good."

To say there was silence would be an understatement. In this place, the endless vacuums of eternity pressed in on Konrad’s senses while he waited for Casovan’s response. His plan didn’t just need Casovan; it wholly relied on his participation, just like it did all of his companions.

"You would kill a god?" Casovan whispered.

"He’s done it enough times," Konrad retorted.

"What would you need me to do?"

"I need you to distract him."

Casovan gave a cruel bark of laughter. "It’s suicide. Think how easy it was for you to come here. If I go to the divine realm, he’ll just bring one of his own champions there, and that Faelen blade will cut me out of existence in a second."

"Trust me, he’ll want to talk to you."

"And why is that?"

"Because at this point, the only thing he wants more than you is me and my friends, and you’re going to give us to him."

"What do I get out of this?"

"It’s going to be very quiet up there when he’s gone."

"I see. Very well, you have a deal."