On Death – Excerpts from Wielding their last gift

...before their Death the Eternals used to be equal, that is no longer the case...

...to channel the gift of Death is to be overwhelmed by its power, only accomplished wielders should attempt such an act, while readying themselves to call upon Life before they lose theirs...

End of the year / First day of the Bleak week 782 ADM – Eternal Empire – Modona’s upper district – Back hedge of the Merentah domain

Two children were traipsing through the moonless night. Their path only lit by the faraway lights of their home, and the city beyond. The light crunches of snow that followed their footsteps could barely be heard over the ringing of the city’s bells.

One of them almost tripped on a bush.

Alice grumbled, “Aren’t we far enough for you to switch your light?”

“Not until we are on the other side, they could see it,” Answered Ulysse in a whisper.

The two kids eventually reached to hedge wall, it stood over two meter high and had gleaming spears of wrought iron standing as dangerous obstacles to would be climbers.

“Where is uncle Ro’? The Linkstone said he was at the hedge.”

“Shake it, Ro’ should feel it if he is close by.”

Alice’s arm disappeared in her pack, after a minute a clatter it came out with the stone and a lone pink sock. It promptly fell to the ground when Alice shook her arm, and she didn’t seem interested in picking it back up.

She stopped shaking it, waiting for it to shake back. And shake back it did, the Linkstone suddenly jumped in the air before slamming back on her hand a few times.

Alice yelped, “What’s happening! It never shook so hard.”

That wasn’t Ulysse’s first time using an enchanted item during the long night, they always seemed a bit more powerful. This was the biggest change he had ever seen though.

“It’s the long night, enchantments are unholy so...”

A small sound made the twins look to their left where a rope had been thrown over the barrier. Soon a brown tuft of hair rose hover the spearheads. It was uncle Robert.

“Come on kiddos, we are going before the guards, or worse, your mother can see me.”

“Hu, what about the spearheads?” Ulysse asked.

“I’ll lift you over them. Get climbing now.”

Robert gave his nephew a reassuring smile.

Ulysse grabbed the thrown rope tightly, tugging on it a few times to check its solidity. Satisfied, he put a foot on the fence and pulled himself up one step at a time. Ulysse’s arms were starting to burn when he reached the two-meter mark, here Robert grabbed his nephew’s collar and helped him climb up.

As Ulysse was lifted over the fence’s pointy ends he saw the uninviting back alleys, behind the estate, the houses felt crowded. A feeling made worse by the almost complete lack of light, some still bled through the neighboring windows, likely coming from the inhabitant’s fireplace. Yet those were not the only light, one of these seemed to be slowly approaching, growing stronger with time. Ulysse’s eyes widened and he tapped on Robert’s shoulder.

Ulysse whispered hurriedly, “Uncle, someone is approaching!”

Robert checked behind his shoulder, it seemed like they were almost here. Yet he kept his calm.

“I’m going to hide us, it will feel weird, but you can’t make a sound, ok?”

“O...”

Ulysse didn’t have time utter a single word before he was hugged close by his uncle. Robert’s eyes shone with black light that seemed to spread around them in a way not unlike mist. It bore a deep feeling of unease, and at first Ulysse felt suffocated as if his every breath would lead to his Death. It was only when a trio guards approached, that he truly stopped breathing. They were bearing simple eight branched sun crosses made of iron, a sign that they were working for the church. Likely looking to imprison the homeless, or anyone still outside after the curfew really.

The trio approached them while seemingly oblivious to their presence. They kept chatting and laughing at rowdy jokes. Walking slowly the guards didn’t care for Ulysse who was growing increasingly uncomfortable. A creeping, unnatural cold had seeped into his bones, he felt tired, so tired.

He blinked and suddenly, the zealots were leaving the alley. Robert released his fog of Death and let Ulysse go. He dropped to the ground, numb and trembling, black spots were creeping on the edge of his vision.

“...tell me you have brought...”

“...Ulysse, potions...”

“...Listen to...”

He blinked and felt someone shaking him, something hard was put to his lips and a liquid poured through. Its mere touch revitalized him, and he desperately grabbed it. Greedily gulping the rest, a warm sensation spread through his body, reversing what had been done.

“What happened.” Ulysse said, his voice much firmer than it should have been.

Before him, Robert’s face had become as pale as a Merentah, while Alice, who had somehow made her way to the other side, sported a few tears which she hurriedly wiped off when he looked at her.

Robert spoke, “By the gods Ulysse, I’m sorry, I messed up. I didn’t think you would be affected so quickly.”

“Affected? You mean the cold, was you?”

“Yes, do you want to go back home? Maybe I shouldn’t have brought you out.”

Alice was outraged, “No, uncle you promised!”

Ulysse put a placating hand up, “I’m ok you two, we can continue.”

Robert seemed hesitant, for good reason.

“Have you packed more potions?”

“Yes,” Ulysse had packed well.

“Odette won’t hear anything about this incident?”

“No!” “She won't!” The two children answered at the same time.

“Fine, I’m already too deep in this mess.”

After that, the two mischievous children followed their uncle through the back alleys of the upper district. Going slowly to let Ulysse recuperate.

Given the previous events they didn’t even try to scamper of to interesting sights, staying close to, and obeying Robert. For good reason, as neither of them wanted to be spotted, or run Ulysse’s potions dry before they even reached their destination.

That didn’t stop Alice from chatting with her uncle.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“What! Are you really telling me you ‘kill’ all traces of your presence?”, Alice was shocked at her uncle’s explanation.

Robert answered, “That’s pretty much it yes, although it’s actually one of the more complex uses of channeling,” He looked a little proud of himself.

Alice awed, “Can I try it too?”

“Why do you even ask? Didn’t your preceptors tell you about Death?”

She sighed, before making an exaggerated imitation of priest Xavier, “Young lady, to channel Death is to seek it, only masters may touch upon this utmost power.”

“Why can’t you channel Death?” Ulysse asked from behind.

Alice smirked, “Cause it kills you, duh!”

Ulysse ignored her pointless remark.

“No, seriously, why can uncle do it but not you.”

“I have chosen to engrave a peculiar emanation of Death,” Robert explained, “Most call it ‘The killer of harm’, I can control it to make myself almost immune to certain kinds of harm, including the damages caused by channeling Death. But only one at a time.”

“Wow,” Alice said, “That’s so cool, do you think I could get the same one? I’d look cool with blackened eyes too!”

“I hope you never get to, engraving an emanation requires you to be well acquainted to the Eternal’s concept, Death in this case...”

Robert stopped talking, lost in thoughts he looked pained, weary.

He seemed to warm up a bit when he looked at them and gave a small smile before taking back control of his expression.

“Come on kiddos, we are almost at our way out.”

A few turns in the tight alleyways later and the small group reached their exit.

Though it did not look like one, in fact, the dead end looked the complete opposite of an exit. With its unpainted wall of rough gray stones, and the discarded trash.

“Is that a Sophian promenade?”

Ulysse remembered clearly the book he had read months ago. And was quite excited about it.

Alice rolled her eyes, “Ugh, just like you to be excited by a piss-smelling wall.”

“Actually, Ulysse is almost right, It’s not a ‘Sophian promenade’. Though it was certainly inspired by them.” Robert answered.

“How do we get it to open?”

“Well, the mechanism is a bit simple compared to true Promenades.”

Saying that, Robert crouched to the ground, his finger tapping along the pavement as if he was counting the stones. He stopped on the ninth, putting his hand flat against it then channeled a bright blue glow, clearly unpracticed. Ice slowly spread from his hand, freezing it solidly to the stone. Then Robert slowly lifted his arm, revealing a small hidden lever.

“Ladies first,” he proclaimed.

Alice giggled, rushing to switch the mechanism as she crouched next to Robert.

Almost silently, with the barest of grinding sound a square portion of the floor gently started lowering. Ulysse watched with rapt attention as the pavements slid from their fake joints. The platform of stone went two meters down before stopping abruptly.

“Ho not again.”

Robert barely had time to grumble before the platform dropped the last meter in a sudden screech of rusted metal, arresting itself before the entrance to a tunnel. The fall, though it was thankfully short, sent the trio stumbling, the children were barely avoided a fall on the ground thanks to their quick uncle.

“For my defense, we didn’t build it. It was already that way when found.”

“More like you got too fat and broke it.” Alice joked.

That was unlikely given Robert’s thin figure.

Robert didn’t seem impressed, “Language kiddo, or I'll leave you alone out there.”

The twins were ushered into the tunnel’s entrance, it seemed to stretch infinitely in pitch black darkness. The air felt strange to breath, still and damp with a slight smell of mold.

Ulysse’s foot bumped on something hard but light in the dark, it moved with the sound of clutter. Ulysse stopped and took a step backward, plunging his hand inside his pack. He couldn’t find his lamp, having packed way too many things so he muttered a word of power.

“<>”

The word pushed his mind forward, connecting – linking him to his enchanted lamp. Now that Ulysse could feel where it was, it became trivial to put his hand on the lamp. He pulled it out of the pack, and with a slight effort of will, light flooded the tunnel, stronger than usual, but far from blinding. It quickly revealed the obstacle in his way, a bag whose rough textile exterior followed the sharp shapes of its contents.

“Careful with that Ulysse, I have weapons in there.” Robert said.

The man was busy with the closing mechanism that stubbornly stayed open. That is, until Robert gave a hard kick on the platform’s edge, somehow solving the issue, it whisked back up with only a slight screech of metal.

Looking satisfied, Robert passed the twins and picked his bag up before pulling it open.

“Alice, you already have the best kind of sword you could wish for.” Robert turned to Ulysse, “Since you don’t have one, I picked up an old shortsword of mine.”

He handed it to Ulysse, but when the young man tried to take it, he found it gripped tightly by his uncle.

“To be clear, I know you’ve trained hard but if something bad happens, and you can’t heal yourself... you are only to use it as a last option.”

Ulysse nodded, though a bit hurtful it made sense. Robert released the sword, and his arm went back to his bag to fetch... something else.

“I also want you to have this, to defend yourself and your sister.”

He pulled out a small crossbow together with a quiver filled to the brim with sharp tipped bolts.

“I’ll make good use of it, uncle.” Ulysse intoned joyously.

“Do you even know how to use it?”

As it turned out, Ulysse’s books on crossbow schematics and tales of mighty hunters had not prepared him for how hard it was for a child to reload a crossbow. It was however insultingly easy to aim once done, and the small package hid an unsuspected kick, able to stick bolts inside the wall's softer parts. Ulysse wouldn’t become an expert marksman anytime soon, but it would suffice, Robert was satisfied.

The trio shared a few of their supplies for the trip, Alice earning a few disapproving words from Robert at how light he had packed. Ulysse was the opposite, having packed far too much clutter, and he was adamant all of it was necessary.

“Am I really the only one who brought a picnic blanket?!”

Once the preparations were done there was only one last topic for Robert to cover.

“No Alice, you won't be fighting with me, I have agreed to find you something small and not too dangerous, and I will. But unless I tell you so, you are not to approach me, especially if it looks like I'm in trouble. I mainly channel the fall Gods, Vengeance, and Death. I can't stress how dangerous it is to be close by.”

The twins easily agreed having already witnessed an unintended effect of Death.

With everything sorted, the trio shouldered their gear and started walking through the damp underground passage.

***

An hour later – The Exit

It wasn’t light that marked the end of the underground promenade. Instead, it was the ringing of bells slowly making themselves heard once more as the trio climbed back up, the thick roof of stone above their heads growing ever thinner.

The exit was, in Ulysse’s opinion, much more disappointing than the entrance had been.

The promenade’s exit wasn’t hidden, just isolated. There were no mechanisms, and in fact, it might not even have been the intended exit. The tunnel ended abruptly in a small pile of rubble, opening to rocky terrain and a vast forest of pine trees.

Yet in the long night what should have been a nice patch of forest felt eerie to the young man. His lamp barely lit a dozen meters around him and left crooked shadows behind the trees. Ulysse imagined twisted things hiding in wait, ready to pounce.

Robert said, “We’ll be camping inside the tunnel for now. Start setting up your camp, no fire though. I don’t want anything to see or smell us.” He dropped his pack near the entrance, “I’ll go see if there is anything out there. It should be clear if the Inquisition did its job, but we are never too sure.”

The man jumped outside, it the last the twins saw of him before dark fog spread from him and he disappeared.

His voice came from the same place, “Don’t go out, I’ll be back soon.”

Ulysse’s eyes narrowed, staring at his uncle’s last position.

I can’t see him, but I can hear him, is there another way?

He didn’t think he could smell him either, though that could be explained by other factors. However, there was something else, the snow-covered ground had regular indentations in it, as if pressed down by something. Footsteps!

Ulysse said, “Ro’, we can see your footsteps, you are not invisible anymore.”

“Dammit, I just hate the snow.”

That didn’t stop Robert from continuing on his way, and soon the traces of his passage left the light’s radius.

“Come on bookworm, help me out with the camp.” Alice said, waving her brother to move back in.

Together they spent the next ten minutes pitching a tent, it didn’t look like what it was supposed to, an end was higher than the other and they had given up on one of the corners, letting the tarp lay flat against the ground.

It still managed to feel cozy thanks to all the blankets Ulysse had packed, he was eventually forced to share some of them with Alice who had started shivering due to the frigid temperatures. Ulysse’s magic lamp found its way on a small rope dangling inside the tent, it’s light turned down to the minimum so it wouldn’t be seen from outside.

Then the two of them settled with only their head outside, resting on small pillows they watched the entrance. Waiting for their uncle to return was not easy, they fought yawns and closing eyes will all their might. But eventually the children succumbed to sleep.

When Robert came back, limping and with black veins, he was glad the children did not have to see him in this state. He sat down with his back to the wall, throwing a few blankets over himself and starting to channel Life in order to slowly recuperate.

He surprised himself with his next action, doing something he had not for a long time. Loss was just as likely to make one a zealot as a non-believer. His hands joined, fingers bending in the shape of a sideways 8, for the eight Eternals.

Robert’s words came slowly, with a hesitation born from lack of practice, “Hey, Life, Death, I know that I wanted to... exact Vengeance upon you all, that I haven't been your greatest faithful in a while. I still do in a way, but I hope you can show Mercy to those kids. I have grown to love them as if... they were my own... Alice has the courage of Fire burning in her Body, and Ulysse a sharp Mind of Ice. They are so similar to... mine.”

He blinked away a few tears that had begun to run down his eyes.

“That’s it. I called each of your names and told you about my problems. I hope you will be there if needed.”

He parted his hands, closing his eyes to sleep.

“Shit! almost forgot.”

His hands joined back together.

“Always.”

No answers came, but was it not the core principle of faith to believe in the Eternals no matter what, to believe that providence would come in time, and that all followed the plans they had set.