The Tainted
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Riviera. This "alternate ending"/"alternate story" and its odd pairing belong to me. Mine means mine, and so if I catch any large amounts of unauthorized "borrowing", I will break your head. :3 Have a nice day now…
The forest was silent in the early twilight of Riviera's deep autumn.
No wind stirred the leaves of the trees; no animals called out to one another through the growing dark. No birdsong filtered through the air.
Amidst this faintly ominous setting, the young man who had lain unconscious on the ground for several hours suddenly awoke.
He jerked up into a sitting position with a gasp, automatically clutching at the hilt of the lightning-bolt-shaped sword that lay at his side. Staring wildly around, he grew pale, realizing perhaps that he was not where he'd expected he would be.
"Where am I…?" he asked slowly, his voice plaintive in the stillness of the air.
He seemed to be little more than a young boy, somewhere in his teenage years, with a tousled shock of bluish-brown hair. He wore a long, sleeveless jacked tied over a white undershirt and an almost oversized pair of navy blue and light violet shorts, with worn black leather shoes and grayish-brown leather gloves. His forearms and calves were wrapped in white linen strips with practiced care; a travel-tattered blue cape was drawn around his shoulders, with a cream-colored scarf fastened loosely over it. The boy's gray-blue eyes surveyed his surroundings with unease, and he chewed his lower lip slightly before very slowly standing, stretching out his limbs to make sure that he hadn't broken anything during whatever had brought him out here.
Taking a deep breath, he began to talk in a low voice. "My name is Ein Legendra. I'm a Grim Angel of Asgard. The last thing I remember, I was traveling to the Maze of Shadows with my friends…" At this, Ein's voice trailed off; the words had begun to trigger his memory, and that was not the last thing he remembered. Far from it.
Cierra and Fia… had been captured along the way, had both urged their companions onward rather than have the others be snared as well, left to a fate unknown. Ein, along with his friends Serene and Lina and his familiar, Rose, had finally confronted Hector, the twisted Magus—one of seven who had ruled the heavenly city of Asgard for the past millennia—who had been behind a sickening plot to seize the lost powers of the gods at the expense of all the Sprites who made their peaceful lives here in Riviera… a plot that had already cost the life of Ledah, Ein's fellow Grim Angel and best friend.
During battle, Hector had cast some kind of spell that had hit Ein hard—and apparently he'd blacked out, because he couldn't remember anything else. And now he had awakened here, alone.
Ein was seized by a wild fear that his other companions who had made it this far might just have been used as sacrifices in Hector's unholy ritual to summon Seth, a legendary creature with the ultimate powers of destruction. Ursula, the guardian of Riviera, was already defenseless, her mortal body exposed to any threat—if Seth was summoned and the two collided, both would be destroyed, leaving the power of the gods open for the taking. It would be just like Hector to murder Serene and Lina to complete his profane ceremony… all of Serene's people had already been sacrificed in the same way, their souls used to erode the seal that kept Seth bound on the Other Side.
Not to mention Cierra and Fia… who knew what could've happened to them?
I have to stay calm. Ein took a deep breath and willed his hands to stop shaking. It was also possible that Serene, Lina, and Rose had been sent here in the repercussions of the spell, as well. And if that were so, his panic would only keep him from finding them.
Sighing deeply, Ein closed his eyes and strained his hearing. In the silence of this forest, he would be able to hear it if anyone was moving nearby.
There—opening his eyes, he turned to his left. It had been very faint, but he'd heard the faint crash of something moving awkwardly through the brush. With the animals both so silent and so used to moving through this kind of terrain almost noiselessly, that had to be one of his friends.
Either that, or it was one of the demons still roaming throughout Riviera. But Ein didn't want to think about that. He had to have hope that things would turn out for the best… or else…
Please, gods… let me find them…
Ein pushed his way through the scrub carefully, not wanting to break tree branches or trample plants. Even in his haste, he didn't want to risk damaging the forest, which would be plain bad luck on top of bad manners. If he had fallen instead of just appearing, it would have been the trees that had saved his life. Without branches to slow his fall, he would've been killed in a landing. And his body certainly did ache as though he'd been dropped from a height.
The soft murmur of a stream reached Ein's ears, along with the rustle he'd detected before. He was getting closer—it was much louder than it had been before. He could hear it easily without straining his ears.
Finally, he broke into a small clearing, protected by a large and gnarled oak tree that rested beside the bank of the tiny brook he'd heard earlier. Amidst the roots of that tree was a sight that completely stole his breath away.
It was Lina, the little archer who had been his stouthearted companion ever since the two of them had met in Elendia, the Sprite village… and with her, Rose, the winged black cat who had become his familiar slightly before he'd been sent out to Riviera.
Lina lay sprawled on her back along the knobbly roots of the old tree, one small, pale hand on her chest. Her bright yellow tunic was dirty, the laces of her soft leather shoes loose and about to come untied. She seemed unconscious, her bright carrot-colored hair in its double ponytails spread out around her, the black ribbons that held them up flecked with dirt. Ein would have thought she was dead if her chest hadn't been rising and falling slowly with her dreamlike breathing.
Crouched nearby, her wings shaking, her breathing loud and pained, was Rose. The little familiar's fur was disheveled, and somehow she'd lost the little green bow usually tied near the tip of her tail. Scattered around her were small puddles of blood, shining sickeningly brightly on the emerald grass.
Ein knelt before his familiar, scooping her into his arms. He saw it and felt it now: There was a deep and ugly wound along her belly, bleeding sluggishly as it no doubt had been ever since she and Lina had shown up here.
"Rose…" he murmured, holding her carefully to his chest. "Thank the gods I found you. What's going on? What happened to you? And what about Serene?"
Rose shuddered in his arms. "(You don't remember, do you?)"
Ein felt a cold shiver creep up along his spine. "Remember what? Rose—what the hell did Hector do to us?"
"(Serene isn't here, Ein… I don't think… I don't think she made it. And Lina… she won't wake up. Hector didn't take her soul, but I don't know what's wrong with her…)"
Ein felt his familiar's words like a hard blow to the stomach. "Oh, gods. I can't believe this. We have to get help—you look like you're hurt pretty badly…"
Rose looked up at him, and her bright green cat's eyes seemed unusually dull and clouded. "(Ein… I think… I think maybe it's too late for that…)"
Ein shook his head, feeling tears starting in his eyes. "No! I've already lost Ledah, and who knows what's happened to Fia, Cierra, and Serene! I'm not going to lose you, too!" He held her a little more closely, feeling her blood soaking his clothes and trying to deny the truth in it. "Don't give up, Rose!"
She didn't seem to be listening. "(Ein… promise me something, okay…?)"
The young Grim Angel nodded, feeling his throat constrict. "Of course, Rose. What do you need?"
"(When all this is over… when Hector's gone, and Riviera is safe again… put everything in a story for me, okay…? It's something… I've always wanted to do…)"
Ein smiled bitterly. "You're taking it for granted that I'll win… whatever Hector's doing now with Seth, I might not be able to, you know…"
Rose laid her ears back and glared foggily up at him. "(Don't talk like that… I know you can… you're the chosen one, Ein… Riviera's last hope…)"
Very gently, Ein leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'll do that for you, Rose…"
Her small body vibrated with something like a purr as she curled up in his arms. "(Thanks for everything, Ein… you've been a better master than most of my kind… could ever hope for… a better friend… than I ever thought I'd have…)"
"Rose? Hang on, please… I'm going to get you help, you understand? Don't give up yet! You can make it! I don't know what I would do without you! Please…"
Rose laid her black-furred cheek against Ein's chest and gave a little sigh. "(…Goodbye… my wingless angel…)"
"Rose?" Ein whispered, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. "ROSE!"
She didn't respond.
"Oh, gods, no, I can't bear this again…"
Soft light began to gather around the familiar's body until her small and catlike form was entirely engulfed in a white brightness that seemed to illuminate the entire forest, as far as Ein could see. When the light faded, Rose's body was gone, leaving only a small bracelet-sized black chain with a cat charm connected to it behind.
"Rose…"
In stunned silence, feeling tears starting to slide down his cheeks, Ein stared at his hands. Even Rose's blood had vanished as though she'd never existed in the first place, leaving his clothes unstained by anything but the soft soil of the forest.
Numbly, Ein turned to Lina. The vague awareness left to him told him that no matter what, he had to get her back to Elendia, where she might receive some kind of help.
It was the only duty he knew how to fulfill now.
---
Ein had walked for almost six hours, not stopping to do any more than breathe for a few seconds or drink from the brook he was following. He knew that sooner or later, it would join up with the large river that eventually led to the road that would bring him back to Elendia, and so he kept moving. Still unable to let himself feel anything for Rose or any of the others, he moved in a state of complete numbness, carrying Lina and keeping his mind carefully blank. He knew that once he let the grief flood his body, he wouldn't be able to function for the tears and despair that would engulf him. He'd best actually be in Elendia when that happened.
Even so, he knew he would have to stop and rest somewhere, so that he wouldn't collapse from sheer exhaustion. Despite his pace, it would probably take him the rest of the day and well into the night to make it into Elendia. The villagers would at least allow him to rest until he was able to go onward with the only goal he had left in life: Stop Hector.
Too much had been sacrificed to let the traitorous Magus' twisted dreams come to fruition.
He couldn't let it happen…
With a sigh, Ein sat against a tree, setting Lina down very gently on the soft ground and smoothing her hair. He had to find some way to help her, too, of course. If there were some way for him to contact Ursula, then maybe he'd be able to find the solutions to everything.
He prayed to the gods who seemed to have forsaken him that it would be so simple.
The fleeting memory of Rose's last words filtered through his mind, and he scoffed at himself mentally. 'Chosen one'… yeah, right. Cursed one is more like it. All the people I've ever loved… everyone I've gotten close to… they've all suffered so much because of me. Fia… Cierra… Serene…
Rose…
Ledah…
A slow movement at Ein's peripheral vision caught his attention, and he straightened where he sat, his muscles coiling warily. Whoever it was out there, they were very much not a Sprite. No Sprite he'd ever heard of carried such a large weapon.
It had to be some kind of demon…
The unknown person moved again, coming towards him; Ein's hand tightened on the hilt of his Diviner, and he sprang at them with a wild yell, slicing his sword forward. Whoever it was gave a surprised cry and tried to parry with the enormous axe or halberd they held, but Ein's strike knocked the weapon completely away, sending it to clatter on the ground, getting its blade caught in a treetrunk. Ein's momentum continued to carry him forward, and he tackled his assailant, pinning them beneath his body as he crouched over them, hands on their shoulders to keep them from rising.
He registered only mild surprise on his face when he realized who this person was, though the reverberations of shock shook him to the core.
"Malice," he whispered.
The third Grim Angel initiated by the Seven Magi and Hector's loyal follower, she was a young woman of around twenty years with crisp blonde hair cascading down her back, cut so that it hung into her face as well; onyx eyes that had once been blue a very long time ago; and features that could have been chiseled from white marble. There was beauty in her face, but it was a cold and forbidding beauty, like the statues of the valkyries that lined the Magi's courtyard. All the warmth in her had vanished with the deaths of her noble parents, long years ago. To become a Grim Angel, she had sacrificed everything—even her own future, with which her axe Diviner, Skadi, had been created. Unlike Ein and Ledah's sacrifices, which had left them deeply scarred but still willing to do what was right and follow the will of the gods, Malice's loss of her future had left her bitter and disillusioned; she followed Hector out of a sense that without him, she would no longer have anything left in life—not even her own free existence.
"You," she said flatly, staring icily up at Ein.
Breathing hard, Ein glared down at her, starting to shake and feeling his vision haze with the force of his anguished fury. "You killed Ledah," he whispered viciously, feeling angry tears began to spring into his eyes.
"That's right," Malice said, and smirked, tipping up her chin to display her bare throat. "Come on—avenge him. That's what you want, isn't it? Go ahead and kill me."
Ein's fists clenched, and he felt his fingers dig deeply into Malice's blue-cloaked shoulders. He couldn't deny that he'd been waiting for the chance to pay her back for all the souls of the Sprites she'd stolen. She'd made Serene suffer so much. And he would never be able to erase the awful memory of holding Ledah in his arms, watching his best friend die though he'd tried to stop the other angel's horrible wounds from bleeding with everything he had…
A dark voice within Ein's mind, cruel and laced with hate, whispered to him. Go on. Do it. She doesn't care. She deserves it. Just reach three inches for Einherjar, and slit her throat.
But instead, Ein drew and released a deep breath, clenched his lips, and shook his head.
Malice just looked at him, eyebrows upraised.
"No," Ein said softly, drawing back and releasing his hold on her shoulders. "I'm better than that."
"The hell you are," she growled, her flat angry gaze burning against him.
"I mean it," he told her. "Even if I killed you… even if I made you pay for everything you've done… it might make me feel better for a little while, but it won't bring Ledah or Serene's family and friends back." He eased back, picked up Einherjar, and stood, letting Malice sit up. "There's no point in taking petty revenge now. Hector's going to summon Seth, and I'll have to do something to save Riviera. I can't waste any more time than I already have to…"
Malice was silent for a while, refusing to look at Ein… then she caught sight of Lina and scowled. "What's wrong with her?" she demanded, pointing.
Ein sighed, feeling the air he exhaled rasp in his throat. "You know… I was actually hoping that maybe you could tell me."
Malice looked at him, a question in her cold eyes.
"Hector did something to her. I'm not sure what. He didn't take her soul, but no matter what I try, I can't wake her up." He closed his eyes. "He's already got my other friends. I need to hurry, I don't have time for any stupid crap with you—"
Ein caught himself midsentence, looking back at Malice with a new purpose in his eyes.
"Come to think of it, maybe I can make some use of you after all."
He gripped Malice's wrist and pulled her into a standing position, looking her up and down.
"You're coming with me."
The forest was silent for the space of a few seconds. Then Malice exploded.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, I'M COMING WITH YOU!"
"Exactly what I said. I can't trust you to go off on your own, and you have a lot more idea of what Hector's up to than I do. You'll be useful, and it's about time you fulfilled your Grim Angel's oath to the gods and did some right by them."
Malice stared at him, appalled, then tried to tug her wrist out of his grip rebelliously. "What if I won't come?" she said slowly and hatefully.
Ein's expression darkened, and he glared at her. "Don't forget that I'm stronger than you," he said softly, almost menacingly. "I could overpower you and force you to come with me, if I so chose. And if you tried to fly away, I could probably catch you before you left the ground. But I'm not going to overpower you, because you're going to come with me of your own free will."
"Why?"
"Because you've inflicted so much pain in this world that you have to balance it out with doing the right thing… even if it's only this once." Ein placed his hands on her shoulders and stared unblinkingly into her eyes. "Are you a Grim Angel or aren't you?"
Malice was silent.
Ein sighed, shook his head, and put Einherjar away, walking back over to Lina. "Okay. Fine. Have it your way. I can do this on my own, if you absolutely refuse to cooperate. I don't need you to be able to pass judgment on that bastard."
It was a stupid idea anyway. How desperate can I get, asking someone like her to come with me? Company would be nice… but she's too loyal to Hector. She wouldn't help me…
Everything that's happened must be going to my head…
The silence hung throughout the forest even after Ein had vanished into the trees, leaving Malice still standing stunned behind him.
:TBC: