Chapter 30

The Docks of Lazzure

Aren

Aren looked nervously down the dock at all of the guests who had gathered. It was a beautiful day for something such as a wedding, warm, but not overbearing, and a gentle breeze as the clouds provided shade. He couldn’t remember seeing quite so many important emissaries and merchants in the same place at the same time, which again led him to the conclusion that his father had somehow known he was coming days in advance. He scanned the guests for his allies, his nerves fraying with each row that went by. Aren looked to several different groups, hoping to find some sign of his friends in disguise. His eyes darted quickly to the Lazzurian theater guild, he figured a troupe of actors would be an easy place for his friends to blend in. The unfortunate conclusion Aren eventually came to was that if his friends were easy enough to be seen by him they certainly would be noticed by his father and the Sacrotians who had gathered.

Guards were lining the entire outer edge of the dock where the wedding would take place. Ships were docked and decorated lining the long path to the gathering point, which would only make escape trickier. On top of all that, more ships sat anchored just off the dock to watch the festivities. Truly the whole of the great city of Lazzure had shown up for the occasion. Aren could feel a nervous sweat forming on his brow as he looked at every possible idea he had seemed covered. Worst of all, Moren stood right next to Aren, gazing across the same crowd vigilantly.

In a desperate attempt to understand a piece of the puzzle, Aren leaned over to Moren and began to speak. “So how exactly did you end up in this situation? I thought it was always the will of the forest to stay out of the affairs of the other kingdoms. This seems like pretty direct meddling to me.” He tried to size up the man as he waited for a reply. Moren was a little shorter than Aren was, but the man had an air around him of strength.

Moren let out a deep and heavy sigh and shrugged his shoulders. He turned his head to Aren and locked eyes. “Not willingly to be honest,” he replied. Aren thought for a moment, but the answer made little sense with the information he had. He tilted his head in confusion and looked to ask more, but the huntmaster had already turned his attention back to the crowd. Aren assumed this cryptic response must have meant Moren was being blackmailed in some way. After a few seconds of thought Aren turned back to ask more but was cut short by the blaring of trumpets. Both men straightened up and looked down the long stone walkway that led to the main dock. It appeared that the wedding was about to begin and for better or worse, Aren didn’t know if his friends were with him.

In the first group marching down the walkway came the High Arbiter. He stood singular and proud several paces ahead of anyone else. Aren couldn’t help but be annoyed. Though he was against this wedding, he still marveled at the sheer arrogance of his father making it seem like the day was about himself and not Aren and Ursania. After what Aren thought was an egregious amount of time waving and grandstanding the High Arbiter finally walked and stood next to his son. He of course stood in the middle ready to be the officiant for the ceremony. Once he took his place the music stopped and the crowd hushed, waiting on their leader’s words.

“People of Lazzure, people of Sacrotia,” the High Arbiter began, “Thank you for joining me on this most significant of occasions. This is a splendid day for our kingdom, yes, but I say most selfishly that it is a proud day for my family and myself most of all.” He put his arm around Aren, who had to resist the urge to cringe. “We also cannot forget that this is a significant day for Sacrotia as well! Our most noble guests, no, our most noble family to be here to share in the bounty!” Aren rolled his eyes at this and felt his father’s grip tighten on his shoulder. Under his breath, the High Arbiter urged, “Wave and smile son, play the part.”

Aren smiled and waved as he was told if only because relenting to his father here might mean the process would go a little smoother and faster. After a few moments, music began again, but this was very different from the previous trumpets of Lazzure. Loud, thundering drums began to pound. Aren felt he could feel the whole dock shake from the beat and it could only mean one thing, the approach of his bride-to-be. He gazed down the walkway and saw the red and gray Sacrotian banners begin to approach. Aren thought it looked quite like an incoming regiment of soldiers which seemed fitting to him. Aren felt his heart rate grow quicker and quicker as they approached and couldn’t help but think, “Where are Sani and the others,” again and again in his mind.

The High Arbiter leaned in once more to whisper to Aren, “You did worry me for a little my son, but in the end, you made the better choice.” There was a heavy pause as though the High Arbiter was expecting Aren to respond in some form. “This may not be what you would have chosen, but this is what the tides dictate. You’ll learn once again to follow the will of the tides rather than to swim against them.”

Reaching a limit in his composure Aren pushed his father’s hand off his shoulder and if only for a moment locked eyes with his father. “Don’t tell me it’s the will of the tide, I’m no fool, I know who controls the tide.” The High Arbiter smirked and raised an eyebrow. “I’m not as foolish as you seem to think I am, I know what you are and I always have.” After all, this secret about the High Arbiter had been one of the first secrets of Lazzure that Aren’s mother had shared with him.

After a tense glare, Aren turned forward, regaining his composure and deciding not to antagonize his father further. As he looked forward Aren now saw his bride clear as day. She was passing the last row of guests, mere seconds from him. She wore a dress of Sacrotia’s slate gray with red pin lining looking like trails of blood running down the edges of the dress. Aren took in a deep breath and gulped down his feelings. He started to work on resigning himself to a long tenuous life of a loveless marriage of politics. He’d spend his days counting coins, following in his family’s miserable footsteps, letting down his mother’s dreams of a happy life. He could feel tears beginning to well in his eyes as his hope melted away.

As the seconds lingered for Aren, a large flash of light lit behind the wedding party, catching the attention of all of the guests. As Aren turned to see what was going on his heart skipped a beat. Standing atop the elevated wall that formed the back edge of the dock were Sani, Vella, and Kraevos. Kraevos stood triumphantly with his arms outstretched, a great and mischievous grin on his face. Sani and Vella on the other hand were kneeling, looking as though they’d been dropped without warning. As the two women stood up Kraevos began to speak, woefully oblivious to everyone staring at him. “Well, neither of you is vomiting, so I would say that is a marked improvement from the last time. You’re getting used to this quite fast,” he said with a laugh. He looked forward to Aren and focused himself on the task at hand. “It even appears that we made it in time, I don’t see a ring on Aren’s finger or the bride's.”

All around Aren guards began moving. Ursania stepped back and was surrounded by whatever Sacrotian soldiers had been in her escort. Aren on the other hand sprinted forward ahead of the mobilizing Lazzurian guard to reach his friends. Barreling into Sani and Vella, he grabbed them in a bear hug. “Gods above am I glad to see all of you,” He let the women go as he saw Sani gasping for air from the embrace. “Cuttin’ it a little close though, I wasn’t so far off from sayin’ I do.” He turned around, now in line with his allies to gauge the situation ahead. “So what’s the exit plan then? You got a ship waitin’, another portal or somethin’ else?”

Aren’s questions were met with a shrug from Sani and a hesitant “Ummm…” from Vella.

Again Aren could feel his pulse quicken and his nerves spiked, “So you’re tellin’ me that the three of you showed up to this without the tiniest shred of a plan?”

Both Sani and Vella reached for their weapons and Kraevos replied with a giddy energy, “Yes actually, that sums it up quite well. After all, no plan survives meeting your enemy and here we are.”

Aren took in a deep breath and felt happy for the first time in the past few days. “Would have been too simple to have a plan,” he said with a chuckle. He ran his fingers back through his hair, pushing it back and messing up the fancy haircut he’d received, and then grabbed the arms of his suit and ripped the sleeves off violently. Dropping the cloth to the ground he saw Sani looking at him curiously. “What? Not like I could fight in that thing, too constricting. I’m such a graceful fighter, I need my mobility.” Sani laughed and Aren continued to find joy in the increasingly desperate situation.

By the time Aren looked up he saw the Lazzurian guard had formed ranks and the High Arbiter stood in the middle. Seething with anger the High Arbiter raised his hand. Water began to flow up and onto the dock, collecting at the High Arbiter, forming a long curved saber at his hand. “I really had hoped you weren’t going to do something quite so stupid son, for a moment I thought you would be wed and we would be a family again.” He moved his arm through the air, slashing in front of him with the saber. A clean cut was made in the stone dock. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting this though. If I have to kill each of your friends to make you submit to the will of the tides, then so be it!” With another wave of his arm, the blade’s edge danced out toward Sani, who launched to the side, narrowly avoiding it. The water began to collect again at the High Arbiter as he gathered for another strike, “It’s long overdue that you learn to do as you’re told!”

This time the High Arbiter rushed forward, his whole body being pushed by water at his feet. The blade at his hand shifted to a lance and he thrust toward Aren. Moving in a flash Kraevos stood in front of Aren and with a snap of his wrist let loose a bolt of lightning that crackled and twisted through the air, slamming into the wave of the High Arbiter. The lightning shot up the liquid and hit home, surging through the High Arbiter himself, and dropping him to his knees. “Time to go!” Kraevos yelled as he began to sprint past his foe. Aren felt the surge of magic in the runes on his body, letting it flow as his form shimmered silver and he began to charge forward, barreling through any guard in his path. Sani Grabbed seeds from her bag and let them fly through the air. As each landed vines began to grow, tangling guests and guards alike, keeping them in place. Vella ran, staying close to Aren, fighting off any who managed to roll out of his charge.

With a defiant yell, “Get back here!” from the High Arbiter he rose up again, clearly hurt, and began to collect a larger wave at the back of the dock. Kraevos stopped and turned, energy coursing across his body. He intertwined his hands as the energy collected at his fingertips and let loose a thrashing ball of lighting toward the High Arbiter. The High Arbiter let the wave crash behind him, retreating to the water rather than be hit by Kraevos’ attack.

As the four ran through the now pinned crowd it appeared they might have an easy escape until Aren stopped dead in his tracks. As Sani nearly ran into his back, she saw why. Though the guards were held by Sani’s attack, neither Moren nor Ursania had been immobilized. The two stood, shoulder to shoulder, waiting to attack. Moren looked with a deep frown on his face at Aren until a flash of magic ran through him. He twisted in pain as the red energy ran up his spine, dropping to one knee. As he stood back up a flickering green aura began to cover him. Ursania stood her ground, unfazed by what was around her. She hunched forward into an unnatural pose as a deep red mist began to pour from her mouth, her eyes turning the same crimson.

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In the blink of an eye, Moren charged into Aren, and the two locked hands, each trying to overwhelm the other. Sani placed her hands on the ground, working the vines around her to constrict Ursania. Before a vine could reach her though, she leaped high into the air and landed on top of Sani, pinning her to the ground. As the red mist continued to pour out of her, she began to speak, though it wasn’t the voice anyone else expected. “Did you really think I would make it that easy for you to leave?” an all too familiar voice asked Sani. Vella charged from the side, swiping at Ursania, who again leaped unnaturally out of the way. As Sani stood back up Ursania spoke again. “Quite the motley crew that you have fighting your battles now Kraevos, are these really the best Dracyr could get?”

Vella and Sani both looked at her, unsure what was going on, but something did not seem right. Ursania grabbed a halberd from off the ground near some of the pinned soldiers and began to slash furiously at Vella and Sani, who both began to dodge, neither finding an opportunity to strike back. Ursania was contorting and twisting in ways that a human shouldn’t have been able to, which left scarce few openings. “Come on now,” Ursania said sadistically, “This’ll go a lot faster if the two of you stop jumping!”

“Finally, the voice hit Vella and she knew at least in part what was going on. “Kraevos,” she yelled out, she knew the mage had to be around, though he was likely still occupied with the High Arbiter. “I’m not sure how, but Emeria has control over this woman!”

With another unnatural lunge, Ursania swung the halberd down, shattering the blade on the stone dock. She threw the rest of the weapon aside and looked toward Vella. “Well, you’re quite perceptive whoever you are. You’re the first person in a while to figure out my little puppet here.” Ursania ran her fingers across one of the many cuts on her body and licked the blood from her fingers. “It’s funny how you normal people bleed though, it just feels odd. It even tastes different when I haven’t mixed with it.”

At this point, Kraevos caught up to his allies and let loose another bolt of lightning at Ursania. Her whole body hunched forward, ducking the attack and she rolled to the side. As Kraevos walked he began to collect the energy for another strike. “What do you mean Emeria is controlling her?” he asked Vella as he approached.

“I’m not sure how,” Vella began, “But Emeria is in control of her body. That’s her voice coming out. Not to mention, no person can move like that, there’s something bad going on.”

Kraevos watched Ursania as she moved, dodging strikes and rolling in ways that the human body couldn’t. He stared at the red mist coming from her mouth and came to a ghastly conclusion. “I don’t like this look of this at all, this is a most foul magic at play.” He motioned for Vella and Sani to move in close to him. “I need you to subdue her, just get her to the ground, I need to be able to examine her quickly.”

Further down the dock Aren and Moren traded blows, neither man giving an inch and neither seeming to achieve much. “You know,” Aren said as he swung wildly, “Your heart doesn’t really seem to be in this, you just give up and we can all move on here.”

Moren took the strike and then swung back with his own, “Not really a choice I have my friend, I’d help you if I could.” As he finished speaking a red jolt of energy shot up his spine, causing him to yell out in pain.

With the pause from his opponent, Aren was able to finally able to gain the upper hand. Grabbing Moren by the wrists, Aren began to spin, picking up speed. “That’s too bad for you then,” he said as he released, sending Moren flying off the side of the dock, into the deep waters. Catching his breath for a second, Aren surveyed the dock, his father was gone, the guards entangled and Moren was now in the water, his bride on the other hand was fighting fiercely with the rest of his friends. Aren charged toward the conflict, watching Ursania dodge all around Sani and Vella.

As Aren reached his friends, Ursania grabbed a sword and swung toward him. The blade shattered on Aren’s chest, the magic runes still thrumming with energy as he wrapped his arms around her. “Now what kind of marriage are we gonna have if you try to stab me on our weddin’ day? Not a very long or happy one I suppose.”

Kraevos ran up to Aren, “Hold her there, I need to look at her.”

Aren held tight, “Not like I was just gonna let her go.”

Kraevos began to wave his hands, glowing blue with magic over the held woman, and let out a gasp as he saw red runes appear all over her body. “Gods above and below, this is awful,” Kraevos said in surprise. He locked eyes with Ursania, “What kind of foul monster are you to do this to someone?”

“Let this body go and I’ll show you exactly what kind of monster I am!” Emeria yelled out through Ursania. She struggled but failed against Aren’s iron grip.

Vella and Sani both approached, gathering breath after their fight. “So what is it Kraevos?” Sani asked, looking at the runes. “I’ve seen a lot, but I’ve never seen runes like this before.”

“It’s a binding,” Kraevos replied, “A most foul and awful one at that. Binding in itself is the most unforgivable of magic, to take the will of another and force it to your own is a twisted thing. I’ve seen it on the living before, but never on the dead like this.”

“Hold up,” Aren blurted out, “You mean she’s dead?”

Ursania looked back to Aren, “That’s right sweety, all dead, just a nice puppet to play with.” Emeria said through her, “Don’t you want to kiss your bride now?” Aren had to fight hard to keep back the urge to vomit at the thought of what might have been.

“Yes, like she just said,” Kraevos continued, “She’s dead, well, the body is dead, or it would be if it weren’t for the bond. The only thing that has kept her from being dead is this horrific magic. It’s like she found a way to push the person out and keep the body as an empty vessel. Whoever this was, she is long gone and now there’s just this. Even I’m not sure how to break this bond.” Kraevos rubbed his temples, honestly befuddled for the first time in centuries.

Aren sighed, “I know it’s grim, but if the person is already gone, don’t we just kill it?”

“That wouldn’t be enough,” Kraevos replied, “As long as the magic is intact the body would continue to be a vessel and would follow its master’s will. Unless we can break the bond we will have to keep dealing with this Ursania.”

“Wonderful isn’t it?” Ursania said with a sadistic grin. “I came up with this one all on my own. You have no clue how many nights I spent in the dungeon perfecting this. Takes a lot of blood magic to do though, I had to infect so many people with the plague to gather the energy.”

Aren put a hand over Ursania’s mouth, cutting short her words. “That’ll be enough out of you,” he said.

“Anyone have any guesses, I know this isn’t exactly common for me, but I’m a little stumped,” Kraevos admitted in complete shock. As Sani and Kraevos looked further at the runes and went back and forth Vella too began to ponder the problem. Everyone who’d dealt with magic had some experience in runes, but this was way out of her league. She sat for a moment, thankful for the albeit brief pause, and looked across the dock. As she did she opened her bag and grabbed Precia’s book from it.

“Kraevos, look at this,” Vella said, cutting off the other conversation. “She looked down at the book and saw words glowing in the same red hue as the runes on Ursania. “This looks like some kind of spell,” she said, holding the book up to Kraevos.

“Vella that page is blank,” Sani replied.

“No, it’s not,” Kraevos said excitedly, “What do you see Vella?”

“Well, it’s a bunch of words, they look similar to the runes on her,” Vella replied.

“Excellent,” Kraevos grabbed Vella and put her right in front of Ursania. “Do exactly what it says.”

“But how do we know what it does?” Vella asked.

"We don’t,” Kraevos replied simply, “But right now that’s the only option we have, so I suggest we put our trust in that book.

“Ok, I’ll try,” Vella said. She held the book open in one hand and followed what it said. She placed her hand on Ursania’s back, feeling the woman exerting all of her strength to try and break free. Vella took in a deep breath and felt the magic flow through her, focusing on trying to erase the runes, “Eximos!” she yelled out. With a flare of red light, the runes on Ursania’s flesh blazed brightly for a moment and then began to disappear. As the last ones fell off her body went limp in Aren’s arms and he dropped her to the dock.

“Wow,” Sani muttered out, “Good job kid,” she said, patting Vella on the back.

“I should say so,” Kraevos added in, “Now I suggest that we get a move on as we’ve likely well overstayed our welcome. I certainly don’t want to give your father the time to regroup,” he said looking toward Aren.

Aren looked across the dock, scanning for his father or Moren and finding neither. They all began to march down the dock, incurring the odd curse of still-trapped guests as they went by. As a wave of calm began to wash over the four of them Aren spoke and broke the silence. “Alright, go ahead, get it over with,” he said to Sani.

“As bad as I thought the suit was in the images, it is so much worse in person, I think you actually improved it by ripping it up!” Sani began, laughing with each remark. “And your bride, wow, a new low. You know I’ve heard of a lifeless marriage before, but I’m pretty sure marrying a corpse is taking it a bit too far.” Aren sighed as the others laughed. Even though he was having a hard time not laughing at the situation he was escaping. His heart at least was lightened by being back with his friends.

As they reached the end of the dock the sky began to fill with clouds. Aren was about to speak when a crashing sound filled his ears as something hit the last bit of the dock behind him. As he turned a wave hit Sani, Vella, and Kraevos and sent them back onto the beach. A second wave hit, pinning Aren down on the edge of the sand. Aren looked up to see his father, rising from the ocean, coming toward him.

As he landed, the High Arbiter spoke, seething with rage, “How dare you do this to me, to your father!” Another wave crashed down on top of Aren, pushing him deeper into the sand. Each time Sani, Vella, and Kraevos tried to rise another wave crashed into them, pushing them further back onto the beach and keeping them away from Aren. “All you had to do was listen to me, just this once.” With each few words, another wave crashed onto Aren, like another punch to the gut. “The riches I would have had, the trade would have been mine, this whole continent, even Aroster. I would have had everything if you just could have listened, you petulant little whelp!” You are going to suffer dearly for what you’ve just cost me!” The High Arbiter raised his hands above his head and the water behind him began to form into a singular tall spire. “I’m going to kill you for this!”

With that, the spire came crashing down toward Aren. With every bit of strength he had, Aren pushed out and rolled to the side, pushing off the sand and launching himself at his father. With a momentous throw, Aren launched the High Arbiter into the air towards the beach. He crashed into the sand, bloodied by the impact. As the High Arbiter rose to his feet Aren began to charge after him. The High Arbiter raised his fist to form his magic, but nothing came to him, Aren crashed full force into him, grabbing him by the throat. “You know, I’ve dreamt of this for years, you salty old monster.” The High Arbiter raised his hands again. A watery blade began to form near the edge of the beach, but it stopped at the edge of the ocean. “I’ve had my suspicions as to why your whole darn palace is on the water and to why you never went anywhere but I guess that answers it. For all your power on the ocean you’ve got nothing on the land do you?”

The High Arbiter chuckled as blood trickled down from his mouth. “You’re more clever than I’ve ever given you credit for, boy.” He swung a fist into Aren’s chest. The only sound was a dull thud followed by the cracking of bones on metal.

“Not a smart choice, you see, unlike you, I trust other people. I have friends, a family even and they look out for me. Sani over there is the kind of family you never were to me, she gave me this gift.” Aren dropped the High Arbiter and he fell to his knees, gasping for air. “I think it's only right that I use the strength I got from my real family to get rid of you!” Aren wound up and swung with all his might, landing his fist right into the face of the High Arbiter. The force sent the High Arbiter flying back to the ocean, skipping twice along the surface like a stone.

“Good riddance,” Aren said as he turned to see Sani, Vella, and Kraevos. “So, we going to Horath or what?” he asked. Sani grabbed onto Aren and gave him a big hug, only releasing him so that they could head off to their next destination.