After that decision became firm and irrevocable, focusing on finding a way felt weirdly easy. I quickly realized that just trying to escape would be the more difficult, or even impossible route. There were two mages - Sharish and his brother, and a third man whose abilities were unknown to me. But even if he wasn't in possession of any magical ones, he was still dangerous, not seeming to hesitate in carrying out any of Sharish's wishes, however inhumane. Alone, I stood little chance, all the more if Sharish had some way of only allowing me to use a part of my magic essential to perform the ritual.
So it had to be eradicating them all and destroying the notebook containing the secrets of the cursed spell... The sheer idea of it sent shivers down my spine, but it was either me, the Disciples and the human race or those three men... It was cruel to decide between life and life, I had no right to make such decisions, but they left me with no other choice...
At first, I couldn't think of any spells capable of achieving that in one instant, leaving them with no opportunity to strike back... But it didn't take long for it to hit me...
The ritual...
It was the very spell Sharish wanted me to perform, so I would have complete freedom with it... All I had to do was ignore the corrections made to the spell that made it less destructive than in Ilmer... It would easily slip out of even my control, and this whole place would be turned into a ruin in an instant, probably... killing us all in the process...
... was there... really no other way...?
If I failed to stop them here, I would put thousands in danger... But... that also meant the end of me... that I wouldn't come home... wouldn't see any of my loved ones ever again... die here alone, leaving them to deal with the pain and grief... Was I... capable of making them go through this for the sake of the human race...? They were significantly more important to me... But if I didn't...
... I clenched my fists in helpless anger.
Sharish was right...
... I was a tool after all...
~
The descendant of the Caydranth lineage was overjoyed to hear that I've changed my mind. He promised to prepare everything we might need till the next day and left me alone for yet another twenty four hours.
He was much less overjoyed to hear that the capture of the Disciple of Sariarin the Black Dragon failed miserably. What made him temporarily calm down was the report that his subordinate named Tavris managed to assassinate the king of Earlindon himself... By then, I had no more doubt that these men couldn't be allowed to do as they pleased any longer...
I didn't sleep that night... I wanted to use the time I had left to think about the Silivren Forest, Ertralia, master Arakiel, Arneth... I tried to recall the most beautiful memories I've made with every single member of our camp. The bonds I've established with the forest's animals. With the Guardian... The memories of solitary trips to the southern borders, where I could just spread my wings and fly above the waters, sail on the sunny winds towards freedom...
That thought reminded me of something... I walked up to the window, hoping that the limited view from it would allow me to find it one last time. I smiled a little, recognizing the stars of the Scygiya constellation almost immediately, its 'wings' glimmering softly above the Serelath Valley. It was a symbol of freedom, because birds were the most free of us all. I had to wonder what it was that made them so free though... it couldn't have been the wings, could it?
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
After all here I was, a winged creature, about to end its life in captivity...
~
The next morning, even before breakfast arrived in my room, I 'witnessed' yet another conversation...
From the tone and slightly higher level of respect Sharish spoke in, I deduced that the man who paid him a visit in the room with the fireplace was his brother. The topic was the third Disciple, the one who apparently resided in the mountains far north... And the fact that Sharish's brother so easily accepted a request to bring him here for negotiations or use brute magic to force him gave me goose bumps yet again. Someone with such a gentle voice and polite attitude shouldn't have been so carefree about torturing people like this...
The possibility of the younger mage not even being in the stronghold anymore weighted my heart down when Sharish opened the door to my prison for the very first time since the start of my captivity. There was nothing to be done about it though... And I wouldn't have to worry soon anyway...
I allowed Sharish to put shackles on my wrists, ignoring how warm they felt. I was sure they were covered with spells as well, making bringing me to the site of the ritual without 'accidents' possible. I took the notebook and followed him through the halls of the stronghold. He lead me through countless of them, heading for what seemed to be the northernmost chamber on the ground floor.
It wasn't too impressive... but still made the blood in my veins almost freeze solid.
The room was spacious, five small columns supporting the ceiling around the middle part, where a ray of light fell in through an opening above our heads. In between them, illuminated by the sun stood a rather big, copper incense bowl. As we approached, I noticed a few things in it... A small amount of dirt with a tiny seedling. The bottom of the bowl was full of water, making the poor plant almost drown in it... and it looked like a hornbeam too, one of my favorite trees... A small, ornamental misericord accompanied the little tree, half-covered by the dirtied water.
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a tall, broad-shouldered figure in the shadows to my left. It was surely either Sharish's brother or his subordinate, not that I would be able to tell even if I could recognize the features. I stopped right by the incense bowl.
"Should you try anything suspicious... me and my friend there will make sure you regret it," Sharish warned as he slowly undid the handcuffs, almost making me gasp at the sensation of magic freely flowing through my veins again.
"I won't..." I muttered. I was sure he wouldn't be able to react quickly enough to the small changes in the words I was supposed to chant when he wouldn't see me do anything beside concentrating on the ritual... Besides, he probably didn't even speak illathan... "One more thing though," I gave into my curiosity one last time despite the pointlessness of it. I opened the notebook and I raised the narae pendant for him to see. "What is this? Is it somehow connected or was it just randomly placed between the pages?"
Sharish shrugged in response. "I found it next to the notebook among the ruins of Ilmer. I attached it because I thought it had some sort of relevance, but I guess not?"
"I found nothing of the sort among the notes..."
"That's fine by me."
I sighed, then took a deeper breath before running through the text one last time to make sure I wouldn't mix anything up.
There were exactly two spots at which I wanted to change the ameliorated spell. One was responsible for suppressing the destructive power, which I intended to completely ignore for my own convenience. Second... was the part causing the actual transfer of my powers to Sharish. I wasn't going to risk it in case he survived through some kind of miracle... My magic wouldn't be passed on to anyone. I wanted to try and seal it within my sirath, and if it didn't work, the crystal would probably burst, dispersing my power into infinity... or so I hoped...
I lifted my gaze from the black letters upon noticing Sharish picking up the misericord from the water. Without even wiping it clean, he cut through the skin of his palm, not deep, but just enough for a few droplets of blood to flow out and fall into the bowl. He then handed the blade to me, so I mimicked his actions, the emerald embedded into the guard of the weapon sparkling at me innocently. The mage then stood on the opposite side of the bowl.
I dedicated a moment to say a silent prayer and think of everything and everyone I held dear in my life one more time... I really hoped they wouldn't be affected by all this too much... or that the news about my fate never reached them... With one last thought of the Silivren Forest's calming green, my lips started to form the words in the language of my kin, sealing the fate of everyone in the Shinestone stronghold.
All beings have the right to make wishes... Be it mortals, spirits, deities, or simple people seen as deities...