Savior of the Damned

May 17th

“We have to get your Sight working better,” Torin said as Phaedra lounged on the bench under the upper deck of the ’ship. She had ducked underneath to get away, not sure what to think. So many thoughts whirled through her mind that she needed a moment to orient herself.

“If you’ve got suggestions, I’m all ears,” she said, voice flat.

He glanced at her. “I think when Temple taught you to control it, they really just blocked it. If you can control it enough to suppress it, it shouldn’t be this difficult to relax that control. And being linked up to Aurelius should have amplified your abilities, but they haven’t.” Something crossed his face. “May I touch you?”

Phaedra eyed him. “Why?”

“Because I want to see if there is a block first off. And if there is, I want to see if I can undo it.”

Phaedra hesitated. “Sure.”

Torin shook his hands and approached her, hands hovering over her face. “I’m sorry,” he said as he made contact. His hands were cool and soft, and his touch was so light she wasn’t entirely sure he was doing it at all. While he carried the same cutlass she and the others did, the lack of callouses told Phaedra how often he used it. She closed her eyes as she considered that, surprised at how much she missed casual affection. It’s been so long since anyone has touched me.

“Yeah, that’s what they did. I’m going to remove it.”

Phaedra opened her mouth to speak, and suddenly she was getting information from everywhere. From Torin and Luca, the latter who was lounging just out of sight. From Aurelius, through their bonds. From everyone on the ’ship, so close she could taste their individual feelings. The information overload caused her to gasp, and she felt something trickle down her face.

Torin removed his hands, leaving Phaedra feeling empty, and he pressed a cloth to her nose. “Sorry,” he said as Phaedra looked at him. He looked sheepish. “I didn’t think it would cause a nosebleed.”

Phaedra took the cloth and applied pressure. “What do you mean?”

“Sometimes the sudden influx of power can cause a hemorrhage. Nothing serious, and it shouldn’t keep happening. Just have to learn actual control now.”

Phaedra reached up with her free hand to scrub at one ear. There was still an intense flood of information, just not to the same degree as a few moments prior. “It’s still overwhelming.”

Torin’s mouth twisted into what looked like sympathy as he took the handkerchief. Phaedra reluctantly let it go, and he pocketed it. The bleeding had already stopped. “Practice makes perfect.”

“Why did you remove the block?”

Torin’s face fell. “Because I didn’t want to go back empty-handed.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” He turned to walk away.

“Torin?” He stopped and looked at her, looking confused. “Thanks. I never would have figured that out on my own.”

Confusion was swapped for surprise, and for the first time, she saw a genuine smile blossom across his face. “You’re welcome,” he said, and then turned and walked away.

Phaedra sat on a bench and thought. There wasn’t much blood on the yellowed piece of cotton he had walked away with, which made her wonder. She considered the implications. Her blood was on it, but it was his handkerchief, and tied them in a roundabout way. It could act as a link between them if he knew how to do it, which he probably did. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to have it, though thinking about that made her feel guilty. In some ways he was just as much a victim, and he didn’t enjoy his role as mass murderer. That much was clear. Phaedra had worked alongside him long enough to pick up on that. But would that absolve him should he get away? Would it absolve her if she freed them and they fought back should she manage the impossible?

Phaedra groaned and put her head in her hands. She couldn’t afford to think about such things. First, she had to find the Godstone and get her and Demeter out. But what about Torin and Luca? She paused as she went to stand up and sat back down. What about them, indeed?

Too many questions, and not enough answers. Phaedra grumbled and stood up, scrubbing at her face. She needed to get her mind off what she was ruminating on. Striding off, she went to find Torin to ask him if he could help her work on the exercises. She wasn’t sure how much she could trust Temple’s techniques now.

***

“Did you find it?” Aurelius asked, sitting down. He idly traced circles on the desk in front of him, his head rested on his other hand. Phaedra swallowed at the sight.

“No,” Torin said.

“And why not? Was it there?”

Phaedra could feel the tension in the room, see it in how taut Torin’s shoulders were. “It seems it was but had gotten moved.”

Aurelius flicked his eyes to Phaedra. “Leave.”

Phaedra looked at Torin, his head down, and walked out. As soon as the doors slammed shut, she parked against the wall next to them. There wasn’t a sound to be heard at all. She had no idea how much time had passed when the doors opened again, and Torin stumbled out. He was ashen faced, with deep cuts in his back staining the shredded cloth bright red.

“What the hell?” Phaedra asked, as she caught him. “What happened?”

Torin clutched at her collar but shook his head. “Infirmary,” he choked out. “Please.”

Phaedra helped him to his feet, trying to loop her arm around his waist below the cuts. The blood soaked through her shirt sleeve instantly, and she grimaced at the feeling.

In the infirmary, someone came out to tend Torin’s wounds. Phaedra watched as the person worked some kind of magic over his back while he sat there, eyes closed and breathing ragged.

“I thought healing magic died.”

The woman looked at her. “It did. This isn’t healing magic. I have limited ability to stitch the Resurrected back together. Torin will be right as rain in a few days.”

Torin went to stand up and wobbled, so Phaedra looped her arm around his waist again. “I’m going to assume that there won’t be more orders until you’re all better,” Phaedra said.

“Pretty much.”

She looked at him. He wasn’t ashen anymore but still pale, and she could see him visibly gritting his teeth. “I’ll help you back to your room.”

Phaedra navigated the halls with Torin leaning on her. His breathing was labored, but the issue seemed more the physical impossibility of movement versus exhaustion.

She didn’t let him go until they were in his room. She turned to leave, when he reached out and caught her wrist. “Not yet. I want to talk to you.” He turned around and slid the ruined cloth off. Magic quickly took care of the bloodstains on his skin, leaving fresh pink scars behind. Phaedra looked at Torin’s back, gasping at the sight of the older scars crisscrossing his skin. He had been whipped, judging by the thick raised scars mounded on his back. On one shoulder was a stylized eye with the sign of Scorpio in the pupil. “Cristiano believes physical pain helps drive lessons home,” Torin said as he headed over to the armoire in the room. Phaedra looked away from the ruined mess of his back.

“That’s just cruel,” she said.

“Also, sadly effective. I didn’t repeat many mistakes because I knew he’d take a pint of blood and a pound of flesh.” Torin turned around, shirt in his hands, and Phaedra winced at the scars that crossed his chest and arms. “I was the result of his own experiments. A perfect pupil, who mastered the magic he wanted to sell to the highest bidder. Aurelius took me as a thrall and Cristiano got front seat to watch the world burn.”

Phaedra swallowed as Torin pulled the shirt on and buttoned it. “You deserved better.”

Torin gave her an odd look. “Thanks,” he said, running a hand through his hair as he looked away. “I don’t often show people. But you helped me back there, so I figured I owed you an explanation.” Torin wasn’t looking anywhere near her, instead he looked at the floor to his left.

“I’m getting us out of here,” she whispered. “I’m not standing idly by while he grinds the world and everyone up into dust.”

The weight of the world settled onto Torin’s shoulders as he looked at her, his face devoid of emotion. “There is no escaping hell. Death is a mercy we’ve all been denied.”

Phaedra’s eyes landed on the scar on his throat, watched him swallow, and set her jaw. “I’m getting us out no matter what. And I’m taking everyone who wants to go with me.”

“We have things to sort out before we head out again,” Torin said, putting on a new vest and buttoning it.

“You don’t believe me.”

Torin looked at her with dead eyes. “Let’s go collect Luca,” he said, brushing past Phaedra and leaving her to wonder where she stood with Torin.

Chapter 16: Eldren

June 20th

Eldren scrubbed at his face and leaned forward, his head hanging down. “Nothing?”

“The other elven protectors aren’t wanting to give up the remaining locations.”

“Why?”

Merethyl’s expression was serious. “Someone told them one is going to one of the Resurrected.”

Eldren punched his knee. “We have a rat in our midst.”

“I think you’re right.”

Eldren sat back and exhaled. “What now?”

“We have to tell Orso. But this isn’t something we can use the radio for. Too many prying ears.”

“I was thinking the same. Time to head back to Harbor City, then?”

“The faster we get there, the better.”

“I’ll let Simone know.”

***

Eldren held his breath as Orso examined the ’stone he and Merethyl had turned over to him. “It’s not the one we need,” he said.

“What now?” Eldren asked.

“We find the others,” Orso said, words resolute. “No matter what.”

Eldren thought about Phae and felt dizzy. “There’s a couple of problems with that. Phae is alive, but she’s on Aurelius’s side right now.” Eldren’s vision swam, and for a second he thought he was going to pass out. Shaking his head, though, he forged on. “Also, someone dropped that she both is alive and is getting one, and now the elves are hesitating in revealing the other ’stones locations.”

Orso pressed his lips into a thin line. “This is a problem.”

Merethyl cleared her throat. “Who all knows about this?”

Orso thought. “Abraham. You two. High Council.”

Eldren gasped as he remembered Lavorna. “I ran into Lavorna the day Sanctuary fell,” he said.

Orso looked at him. “Go on.”

“The radio needed repairing. The crystal had cracked, but there was no reason for it to have. There was no source of damage I could see, and it seemed suspicious. I didn’t say anything because . . . because . . .” Eldren trailed off as Orso gave him a sympathetic smile.

“It’s alright, Eldren. A lot has happened. No need to justify forgetting in the face of everything else.”

Eldren couldn’t help but feel morose. “What are we going to do?”

“I hardly hold any sort of authority here, but Abraham is on sub-council. I’ll talk to him, and we’ll figure out a way to convince the elves that we need to go through with this.”

“The problem isn’t that Demeter is more qualified,” Merethyl said. “They both meet the criteria to wield the ’stone. But because Phaedra also meets the criteria for the Empress ’stone, it’s an issue that Aurelius got his hands on her, too. The elven Families need assurance that Phaedra isn’t going to betray us all.”

Eldren scoffed. “Phaedra wouldn’t betray us.”

“She might not have a choice,” Merethyl said, voice quiet but firm. “She only technically has free will right now. We know enough about the magic binding her to know Phaedra can’t just walk away. She did not have a choice. I need to talk to the Families, see if I or someone else can sway them at all.” Merethyl paused, opening and closing her mouth a few times as if she didn’t like what she was going to say next. “I need to go back home, to talk to them and see if I can convince them that Phaedra is humanity’s best bet.”

“Go there and see. I have Simone on standby for when you get back.”

Eldren looked at the ’stone on Orso’s desk and remembered the heart underground, so similar to the one they had taken from the half elf in the village. “Before we go,” he said. “I think I need to show you two something I found.” He drew out the crystal pendant so much like the one they had brought back. Orso looked shocked, as did Merethyl.

“How did you find that?” Orso asked.

Eldren swallowed. “When Phaedra sent me into the tunnels, I remembered what that elven merchant told me about something to help.”

Merethyl reached out to touch it. “It’s a Godstone alright,” she said. “It’s the Emperor ’stones. And it seems to have chosen you.”

“How do you know?” Orso asked.

“Because you can see the caterpillar in it.”

Something that looked like relief crossed Orso’s features. “This is good news indeed. Go talk to the elves and report back as soon as you can.”

Eldren walked out of the office. His thoughts were heavy, a deep ache that no painkiller could hope to touch. “How long will this take?” he asked as they walked away from Orso’s office.

“First, I have to send a message through a pocket and wait for a return message. I’ll come find you when they tell me what to do next.”

“Don’t forget to ask about the underground passage under that other Temple. They did all say they’d cooperate, right?”

“They did.” Merethyl’s mouth twisted into something bitter. “Not everyone was on board though and made it clear it was against their better judgement.”

“Wonderful.” Eldren tapped one foot, thinking. “I’ll be in the gardens in the back.”

“I’ll catch up with you soon.”

Eldren parted ways with Merethyl and headed towards the back of Temple, where the private gardens were. There was an area back there that was a small pocket, and he wanted to see if his message had gotten through to Phae.

In the back of the garden, up against the wall, was a tree with a hole in the trunk. Eldren looked around, saw he was alone, and reached in as he thought of Phae. Her brown eyes, golden hair, and easy smile came to mind in an instant. His chest hurt as he groped around. There. Right there. He withdrew his hand, and it was the locket he had passed onto her. Tears sprang into his eyes as he clutched it tight to his chest. It took forever for him to unclench his fist enough to look at the locket again, and he hesitated before popping it open. Inside was a folded scrap of paper. Eldren withdrew it, and in Phae’s elegant penmanship was a simple note. But those few words said everything he wanted to hear. Tears rolled down Eldren’s cheeks as he read the note over and over again, his breath hitching in his chest. Phae was the reason he had made it this far, because she had been willing to take that risk on him. She deserved nothing less than the same from him.

“Are you okay?”

Eldren looked up to see Merethyl. He wiped at his eyes. “She responded,” he said, passing the note over.

Merethyl read it and handed it back. “You’re sure it’s her?”

“It’s her handwriting. I’d know it anywhere.” He wiped at his face again. “I was so afraid I had lost her forever.” A few more tears ran down his face, and he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe them away with.

Merethyl sat next to him and leaned against his shoulder. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you find her and help get her free from those bonds.”

After a while, the tears dried up. The pain receded to a dull ache, something he could ignore and suppress again. “Where to now?”

“They want to talk to you, and I think if we bring them this note, it will help.”

“Did they change their mind?”

“They might. They just want to meet you and talk to you about Phaedra to make sure they can trust her.”

“Is that where we go next?”

“Yes.”

“With an airship?”

Merethyl looked at him. “You get to go home, Eldren. See what it is you lost all those years ago.”

Eldren felt the blood drain from his face. The temptation to go there and not come back was overwhelming. But he couldn’t leave Phae behind. “Where to then?”

Merethyl stood and offered Eldren a hand up. He looked at her, surprised, but took it, standing up as well. “We go through a fairy circle, of course.”

“Here?”

She side-eyed him and walked away. Through Temple they strolled, Merethyl leading him out of Temple and down to the wet docks of Harbor City. Fishmongers hawked fresh caught ocean life in multiple languages, words shouted Eldren couldn’t understand. In between them were people who sold wares from overseas, also yelling in foreign languages. Eldren looked at the fabrics and mechanical creatures with a dim fascination as he kept walking.

Merethyl led him down onto the beach and under the dock, where there was a small circle of mushrooms. She stepped into the center and held her hand out. Eldren looked at her, dressed in the same green vest, brown slacks, and white button-down shirt she always wore, and took her hand and stepped into the circle.

There was a moment of unreality as he closed his eyes and when he opened them, everything was different. He was still on a thin strip of beach with docks overhead, but he could hear unfamiliar noises. It almost sounded like a carnival.

“It’s the Founding celebration,” Merethyl said as she stepped out of the circle. “The festival is in full swing.”

This world was much different from the one back home. Elves were everywhere in a city that was so different and yet so much the same. People danced in the street, children ran in and out of the crowd with various sweets clutched in their hands. Eldren gawked at the spectacle, feeling both empty and a sense of longing to fit in. “It’s so different here.”

“Many of the people here have only the barest knowledge of what you have faced for so long, if they know anything at all.”

Tears sprang to Eldren’s eyes again as they navigated through the crowd. All he had ever known was war and death. His parents hadn’t come back here because they had wanted to help the people on the other side of the veil and paid the ultimate price. Eldren’s chest tightened as he considered what he could have had instead. Was it worth giving Phae up for, though? “If it’s such a paradise here, why get involved?’

“That’s what all the discourse was about. Why should we help indeed?” Merethyl’s words were bitter. “But staying out of it doesn’t guarantee protection. And you deserve better.” She glanced at him; her expression was neutral. “It wasn’t until his poison started to seep over to here that people took notice.”

“What do you mean?”

“This world is linked to the other one, and we can’t exist without the other. Things ebb and flow, but he’s upset the balance. We can’t afford to stay out of it anymore.”

***

“So, he got his hands on someone with Seer blood,” the elf in front of them said, stroking his neatly trimmed goatee. Elder Balmayar had been the one Merethyl went to, not stopping until she found him. The Elder wasn’t particularly tall or short, but had a commanding presence, nonetheless. He had long black hair and a narrow face that seemed to smile more than frown. The Elder had led them to his office. It was decorated with crystals, small mechanical things Eldren wanted nothing more than to examine and take apart, and dried bouquets of flowers.

“Yes. And one of them was trained to use it. At least somewhat.” Merethyl glanced at Eldren, who nodded.

“I thought humans lost that training,” Elder Balmayar said. “We’ll tighten up the shielding on the other ’stones. That’s not an issue.”

Eldren hesitated. “What is the issue, then?”

“We don’t know how much we can trust your friend.”

Eldren bristled, but Merethyl put a hand on Eldren’s arm.

“We got a message from her,” Merethyl said.

Eldren produced the note and passed it over. The elf looked at it, then at Eldren. “I understand you trust her. Bonds forged in a fire like yours are hard to break.” He gave it back. “I don’t know if your word carries enough weight, however.”

“Elder,” Merethyl said. “There has to be something we can do.”

He looked at Merethyl and then Eldren. “You’ve been working under Orso, yes? His word would be enough, I suppose. He was the one who organized for your care, after all, and if he cares enough about elves to put you in this position to begin with, that’s good enough for me.”

“Can we get the rest of the artifacts based on that?” Merethyl asked.

Elder Balmayar grumbled. “I have to run it by the Families, of course. But since they all agreed to help Orso, in exchange for everything he’s done for us, I don’t think it will take long.”

“We don’t have time to waste.” Eldren gritted his teeth as he thought of all the lost time sitting around.

“Of course not. The fate of the world is at hand. But I can’t rush this, and neither can you.” Elder Balmayar looked at Merethyl. “Why not show him around? The murals were just touched up. Perhaps you can show him.”

“Of course, Elder.” With that, Merethyl led Eldren out and started down the hall to the left of the office they were just in.

“We don’t have time to look at paintings,” Eldren said.

“We also don’t have a choice.” Merethyl walked next to him, serene as always. “Humanity’s impatience has worn off on you,” she said, directing him deeper into the building. “A rest is good for the soul and can help refresh resolve. Perhaps I can tell you the story behind the mural.”

Despite Eldren’s grumbling, Merethyl was a superb storyteller. “Okay, I guess.”

Merethyl led him to a mural that went on and on. It was a kaleidoscope of colored stones that made a picture extending down the never-ending hall. The stones formed symbols where they stood, which looked to represent outer space and the world. As the mural moved down, though, he could see a lush green landscape with animals, elves, and even dwarves. She pointed to the section of mural in front of them. “In the beginning, the worlds were one. But as humans and elves aged, they clashed, and the elven gods bartered for safety. Humans didn’t have gods back then and worshipped the old elven and dwarven ones. The elven gods gave humanity the Godstones in exchange for separating the worlds. Total separation wasn’t possible, however, and so things would ebb and flow. It was the way of things, for a time. When one side of the veil lacked, the other prospered, going back and forth. It helped temper the impulsive humans, and they forged bonds with the elves again, trading goods and knowledge back and forth.”

Eldren stopped. “Wait. If Aurelius is killing—”

“We are prospering right now, but if Aurelius finishes the job, we will follow. You can already see the corruption that’s been spreading, feeding on the bonds between our worlds.” She shook her head. “His actions have done so much damage in a brief span of time.” She glanced at Eldren. “Relatively speaking.”

Eldren looked at Merethyl. “Why did it take so long to help?”

“Because the Families of old remember many of the events of this mural.” She reached one hand out and touched it for a moment. “All the oldest Families tell this story to the youngest, but it has taken on a life of its own. Some Families feel that letting humans sort out their own troubles will save us in the end, but that’s not the case. It’s true we are prospering right now, but not all is well just below the surface.”

“What do you mean?”

Merethyl paused. “Our magic is flickering. We don’t know why. The healing arts have all but died, and others are weakening. Our Seers are dying out, too, and the ones that are replacing them don’t have the same skill level or experience needed.”

“Just like with humans.” Eldren set his jaw. “I see why elvenkind is helping us now.” Merethyl glanced at him, but he ignored it. “The first thing humanity lost was the healing arts.”

“Our remaining Seers and Oracles paint a terrible picture of the future. Destruction, chaos, the end of the elven world as well as the human one.”

“Why can’t your gods step in again?” Eldren asked.

“Because they’ve been silent. Prayers, incantations, nothing can break past whatever is silencing them.” Merethyl looked up at the mural, which stretched floor to ceiling and farther down the hall than Eldren could see. “Whatever happened, we’re on our own.”

***

Eldren wandered the halls, unable to sleep. The weight of everything felt like it rested on his shoulders. He couldn’t get his mind to quiet down, and after tossing and turning for hours, he got up and decided to poke around. He felt like he was tumbling down a well of madness, unable to slow his descent into Hell. All he could do was cling to scraps of information as fell, though those same scraps always seemed to make things more confusing and not less.

He found himself in the mural hallway and walked along it, looking up at the floor to ceiling mosaic that depicted the history of the elves. For part of it, there were just as many humans as elves, but as he walked along there got to be fewer and fewer until it was only elves and mythical beasts. At the end was a scene with a cluster of elves gathered around three glowing crystals. Three in the center held another one up, with all of them looking at it. Eldren blinked and peered closer at the crystal. It looked like the larger ones that powered the ’ships back home. Eldren caught himself thinking of Phae, of Temple, of how different it was, and his chest tightened with a painful force that took his breath away.

“I wondered if you would be able to sleep.” Eldren looked up to see Elder Balmayar from earlier walking towards him. “That’s where the mural ends. With the discovery of the crystals that power our machines.”

“They look like the crystals back home.”

The Elder looked at him. “The ones on the other side of the veil are different, though I’m not sure I can explain.”

Eldren huffed. “I’m an engineer. I doubt it’s all that complicated.”

“Have you made any crystals?” The Elder wasn’t judgmental, so much as curious.

“Just small ones.”

The Elder shuffled his feet as he looked lost in thought. “Follow me,” he said, leading Eldren away. Eldren quickly got lost following the Elder. Still, Elder Balmayar led him through the halls, coming to a room that was indistinguishable from any other room. He unlocked the door and beckoned Eldren in.

Eldren stepped through the doorway and saw crystals all around him, glowing a faint green glow. “Storage room?” he asked.

“The mural holds up the first one ever created, and they were what helped change everything.”

“Why are you showing me this?”

The Elder hesitated. “The crystals we use differ from the ones that humans do. I don’t know what the difference is, and humanity has tightly guarded that secret.” He hesitated again. “Our Seers have said that part of the problem is the source you’re using. That’s where some of the imbalance between our worlds lie, according to them. We have to stop Aurelius, as he’s the largest threat right now. But fixing the source of power on the other side of the veil is part of the puzzle as well. We must defeat Aurelius, but we also must right the balance, and that’s far more complicated.”

“I’m not sure how to even tackle that.”

“There will be time later. I figured as long as you were here, I’d explain this much. If humanity goes down, we will too. It’s just a matter of time if Aurelius succeeds.”

***

“The Families all agreed to help.”

Eldren looked up at Merethyl. “Oh. Oh good. I thought it would take longer.”

“Elder Balmayar must have gotten through to them. He had to have told them something important. Reluctantly, of course, but balance has to be restored.”

Eldren thought about what he had talked to Elder Balmayar the night before about. “Do you know how the elves make their crystals?”

“We harness Wind Spirits. Why?”

Eldren bit his lip. “No reason. I couldn’t sleep last night and talked to Elder Balmayar. He thinks part of the issue is the way humans make crystals. But I‘ve only made minor ones, and nothing Temple uses a lot of.” Eldren thought of all the crystals Temple had supplied. No vast storage rooms as far as he could tell, and no one knew the magic that went into creating them. They just told him the methods he used to create the little ones didn’t work on a grand scale.

“We can solve the problem later,” Merethyl said. “We can only focus on so much at once, and Aurelius has to take precedence.”

“You’re right. Let’s go back.”