The next morning Lena found herself in the great hall looking for some breakfast. She was having weird dreams about ghosts and the Shadruul the night before, and she was glad that daylight had finally come to restore some normality to her mindset. Or at least whatever normality she could get from the weird kingdom her father ruled.
Breakfast in Mireholm had been the least eventful meal of the day since they’d arrived here, but it was still quite a spread that was offered. One table was set out along the wall, and on it was all manner of fruit, baked pastries, and oats. Her favorite was the Sunrise Stew, or so the chef had called it. It was a mix of oats, eggs, honey, leeks, and carrots. It seemed like an odd dish at first, but after their bland travel rations the stew tasted amazing and kept her full most of the day.
She grabbed a bowl and started ladling some up when a sudden voice made her jump. She spilled some soup onto the table and made a mental note to apologize to the staff later.
“Good morning, dear,” said Umbra from behind her. She turned to see her father smiling at her. He was wearing his usual golden robe with droopy sleeves.
“Hello, Father,” she said back, turning to finish getting her soup. “To what do I owe the pleasure? Found anything out for us?”
Umbra’s smile faltered a bit. “No. Unfortunately every time I try and seek a vision of this man you all saw, it’s cloudy. I’m working through it and will likely have something for you within a week.”
“A week?” asked Lena. “We definitely weren’t planning on staying that long. We have to get Veronica back to her grandfather in Graeton. I have to get back to my business. Graeton needs its healer back. Poor Tobi needs to rebuild his tavern.”
Her father threw his arms wide as if he understood her plight. “I know, dear. I’ve had so much more control over my visions. It’s surprising to me that something is blocking them. It’s not intentional, I assure you.”
“Really?” Lena snapped back. “You're not keeping me here longer to wear me down to join you in your dark quest?”
Umbra looked offended at this. “Dark quest? I have spent a thousand years trying to prevent the very thing that has happened to this land. It has taken a lot of study of both Solana’s and Baladin’s magic, and I’m sorry to inform you, but Virmorphia is far superior in fighting the dark. I just wish I would have realized how to control it before…” Umbra trailed off, realizing he was saying too much.
Lena narrowed her gaze at her father, turning from the table, her Sunrise Stew set down and forgotten. “Before what, Father?” she asked him, a hint of acid in her voice. “You couldn’t control the dark magic? What did you do?”
For the first time in her life, Lena saw her father’s face turn flush with embarrassment. “I… it took a long time to learn to control the magic. I created the scourge to try and run tests. Solana’s magic had no effect on…”
Lena felt her hand clench into a fist. “You created what?” she yelled at him. She wanted to grab a knife from the table and attack her father, but thought better of it. She needed to hear more of what he had to say.
Umbra just hung his head. “It’s true,” he said shamefully. “I had visions for decades about the terrible scourge that was to come and wipe out the land. I had to stop it. It drove me mad, what the world would come to unless I was able to save it. I worked tirelessly to create the scourge in a controlled environment. I spent all my time trying to use Solana’s magic to cure the disease. My endless work drove your mother mad. We didn’t hardly talk for years.”
“And that’s why you left?” said Lena, trying to understand.
“No,” said Umbra. “It wasn’t until I started delving into dark magic that she’d finally had enough. She threatened to destroy all that I’d worked for if I didn’t stop what I was doing. I had to stop her, and being relatively new to Virmorphia, I… I just couldn’t control it.”
Lena’s face fell. She grabbed him hard by both of his shoulders. “Did you kill my mother?” she asked him.
“No!” he yelled in panic. “No! But in my rage to stop her I… I don’t even know exactly how it happened. The entire kingdom. It just kind of… ripped apart and relocated. In an effort to get away from her and complete my work…”
“And you ripped off an entire copy of the kingdom? An exact copy Zelira?” Lena asked, shocked that such a feat could be possible.
“Somehow… yes,” said Umbra. “We landed here. Just the buildings though. The people… somehow I just took half of them with me. Luckily it missed your mother, and I got Amazadan.”
Lena looked sorrowful at the mention of her father’s friend and top general. “That’s a whole other story, yeah? We fought Amazadan at Mournfall Lake. He didn’t meet a good fate, and that was before we even got there.”
Umbra slowly shook his head. “My studies of Virmorphia and the scourge continued here in my accidental kingdom. My dark island of mistake. Mireholm. Amazadan stood by me through all the…tests.”
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Lena gave him an odd look, and then her eyes went wide. “Tests? All those dead elves in the lake? They died of the scourge? You exposed them and then failed to cure them? And you just… dumped them there?”
Umbra nodded. “I've done so much damage, Lena. I didn't mean for the disease to get loose. And the timing was awful,” he said.
Lena pressed her fingers into her eyes. “You created the scourge? Are you fucking kidding me? All this time you set out to stop it and you… you're the one who invented the damn thing. You created this mess. You created the need for dungeon kingdoms! Turned yourself and the other rulers into Dungeon Lords!”
A tear rolled down Umbra's face. “That's why I have to set all this right, Lena. No matter what the cost. I've learned to control the Virmorphia. I've learned how to hone my visions. I eventually found the cure for the scourge,” he told her desperately, as if this made all of his actions right. “I know I’ve messed up, but it’s time to right that wrong. In studying dark magic, I’ve come to another realization. Virmorphia isn’t strong enough alone either. It takes a combination of that and Solana’s light to do what we need to do.”
Lena’s face contorted in rage. “You’ve studied the way of Solana’s Light for a millenia! You don’t need me!”
Umbra shook his head. “On my path, I’ve sacrificed things to… my new ways. I’m no longer able to wield the light.” He raised his hand and purple magic ignited from it. The veins in his face started pulsing with the same purple glow, as if the dark magic was running through his blood. “Nothing strong anyways. Nothing beyond simple party tricks. The Virmorphia has consumed me.”
“What the fuck?” came a yell from across the room. They both turned to look and Tobi stood at the entryway to the hall, Mathias and Thora standing behind him. The dwarf’s jaw was open, and Lena knew what he was thinking. Seeing Umbra wielding the dark purple magic that burnt down his bar set something off inside him. It had become a vendetta against anyone who wielded the dark art form. “You back away from Lena!” he roared, grabbing his axe from his back.
Umbra dropped his hand and extinguished the magical light. “Calm down, young dwarf. I’ve no intention of harming my daughter. I’m simply trying to get her to see the way forward. I need her light magic to…”
“How do you think I’d ever help you?” Lena screamed at her father. Tobi backed down, realizing that Lena could handle herself, even against her powerful father. “After everything you’ve done? You released the scourge on Evania! You allowed Cosimir to rise to dominance! You… yah!” Everyone stared in shock as the normally composed Lena dissolved into a screaming rage.
“Did you just say that Umbra released the scourge?” asked Mathias as he and Thora moved closer.
“Yes!” yelled Lena. “He had a vision and set out to destroy the scourge, but he invented the damn thing in the process! It was a self fulfilling prophecy. Amazing that someone who can foresee the future couldn’t foresee the destruction he’d cause.”
Now Umbra’s face was the one to contort in rage. It was clear that his daughter had touched a nerve with him. “Don't you dare accuse me!” his voice boomed. Tobi raised his axe again, becoming alert. “Everything I've done,” Umbra boomed, his face starting to emanate purple again, “everything I've sacrificed, was all for the good of Evania! I was tricked into causing destruction, and now I've found a way to fix it. You will help me whether you want to or not!”
Lena scoffed at this. “We're leaving, father. Now.” She walked away from the table, secretly wishing she would have grabbed her Sunrise Stew first because the smell was making her stomach rumble.
She reached her friends and they all turned to leave when a mad cackle sounded behind them. “You can leave the kingdom,” said Umbra, still chuckling wildly, “but you can never leave the veil.”
The words hit them slowly, and then they turned around to stare at the mad king. “I control who stays and who goes. You forced your way in, now you're my guests until I say it's okay for you to leave.”
“You mean if you let us leave,” said Lena, her heart sinking.
Umbra sighed. “I love you, Lena. I'm sorry that you think so little of me now.” A silent stare between the two elves followed for an uncomfortably long pause before Umbra spoke again. “I will still get you the information you want on your visions, but I will also get your compliance to help me save Evania.”
Lena’s nose twitched in disgust. “Enough is enough. We're leaving.” At that she ushered her party along with her hands and they all left the room.
Umbra was left alone by the table of food. He stepped up and examined the table, seeing his daughters untouched bowl of stew. He grabbed a spoon and ladled some into his mouth. “Well,” he said to himself, sighing, “I've come this far. No sense stopping what I need to do.”
—
“Don't you think we should find Faro and Veronica first?” Thora asked timidly, afraid to interrupt Lena in the mood that she was in. They had marched straight from the keep, through the deserted streets of Mireholm, and right out the front gates. This time the green fields and gardenias didn't seem as welcoming, though the smell was still nice. Now, standing at the barrier wall where they had come through the veil, Lena stood before it, determined. The others stood back in fear of what might happen if they tried to cross it.
“No,” she said sternly. “We see if we can get out, and then we will go back for them.”
Thora, Mathias, and Tobi all looked at the wall with deep concern. From where they stood, beyond the wall looked like more of the same green pastures and flowers. They knew, of course, that this was an illusion as they had been in the deserted wasteland on the other side just a little over a week before.
Lena pulled the bow from her back and quickly strung an arrow she had made during their downtime in Mireholm. She aimed it high in the air and let it fly. The arrow whisked forward through the air. They all watched as it continued in its intended arc until it stopped abruptly in the air above the wall and fell straight down. The odd thing was, it also looked like the arrow kept going on its intended path.
Thora gasped. “You saw that fall, right?”
Lena reslung her bow on her back and slowly walked towards the wall. “Yes…” she said, her voice trailing off as she approached the wall. Without hesitation she pulled herself up on the short wall and stood up.
Nothing happened. She could hear a loud humming coming from right in front of her, though could see nothing. Cautiously she stepped forward, and from down below it looked like she ran smack dab into a solid wall. Lena stepped back and rubbed her forehead, but they also saw an image of her continue to walk forward into the distance. They all stared in awe as Lena’s copy walked off into the green pastures beyond the wall.
The old elf turned on the wall and looked down at her friends. “We’re definitely trapped here,” she said, still rubbing her face, “and this whole damn place is one big illusion.”