Chapter Two
The Children
Children. Lucien expected that if the music box were to be used, it would be by a man well into the prime of his old age. Someone who knew the way of the world much better than some orphan children, but apparently this situation was just as when he thought his wife and daughter would jump back from the illness after a few days, he was wrong then. And he was wrong about the music box.
"What is this world coming to?" he muttered to himself, looking through the old and dusty books that sat on his table. If he were wrong twice consecutively about important situations such as these, what else was he wrong about? Was the world really becoming such a confusing place that even Lord Lucien Fairfax himself didn't know what would come next? He took out the journal from which he first found out about the music box.
I found today, after trying myself to make a wish on the peculiar little music box, that it would not work with a normal civilian such as myself. After extensive research and a bit of exploration of my own, I then realized that only those with Hero blood throughout their body would be able to use this item as more than just a music box. I can only speculate, however that all Hero's have vanished with the Old Kingdom, making this magical music box all but magical. With the powers unable to reach, I have no use for this relic, and seeing as my stomach pangs with the hunger of a thousand Balverines with but a small rabbit to share amongst each other, I shall sell it to one of the more privileged fellows in town and buy myself a nice meat pie.
Lucien had read over this part of the journal several times, a small piece of paper always sat in the middle to keep the page. With every word, his heart fell a little more, tumbling far away from his hopes of resurrecting his wife and daughter. He had spent an entire day researching the Fairfax history, but gave up after reaching well beyond the Old Kingdom and not finding a single Hero in his bloodline. (He did however find several cases of insanity, but he did not let the fact throw him off course.) It had seemed all was lost, until one dark afternoon, Garth had unexpectedly knocked on the door of the study.
"Lucien, I may have found something to help get them back," Garth had a low, almost grim voice, even when he felt proud or joyful. The blue Will lines on his skin began to shine, lighting the whole room. He had been researching the Old Kingdom simply for pleasure, but always knew to let Lucien in on anything important. He had been the closest thing Lucien had to a best friend after his wife and daughter had died. Lucien shot his head up in surprise, knowing immediately that "them" meant Helena and Amelia. He pulled out a chair from the corner of the room, placed it in front of a long table that sat to the right-hand side of the room, and gestured for Garth to sit down. Lucien was trying to remain calm, attempting to keep from getting his hopes up, just in case they were to be shot down later. He sat down in the chair across from the one he had grabbed for Garth and sat down slowly, remaining to keep his flying emotions composed. Garth took a seat and waited for Lucien to speak.
"Garth, I appreciate you keeping me in on everything you find. You've been a dear friend to me lately… but I'm just not sure I can handle another let down. I just want to ask you one question before you begin speaking. Do you know whether or not this will actually work?" He hadn't meant to sound angry, but the thought of another heartbreaking let down made him so.
"I am almost ninety-nine percent sure that this plan will be successful, but it will take time. It will take a lot of time. There is much work to be done in order to make it happen," he replied, not at all offended by the anger Lucien had accidentally let slip into his voice. Lucien nodded his head for Garth to continue and paid close to attention to his words. Garth began, "Have you ever wondered Lucien, what exactly happened to the Old Kingdom? How did it suddenly vanish, taking everyone and everything with it? I began my research on the fall of the Old Kingdom and came across something I had never heard of before. It was called the Tattered Spire, and it is believed to have harbored all the Will power of the world. It took quite a bit to find out a lot about it, only a few history books mention the Spire to this day, but I did find that the builder was the last Archon of the Old Kingdom. In order to build the Spire for it to contain the Will that it did, the Archon needed to find three specific Hero's of the time: the Hero of Skill, the Hero of Strength, and the Hero of Will. How he found them I cannot be sure, but from what I understand, after the Spire was completely built, and the Hero's had been found, the Will it possessed was so powerful, it was able to grant the Archon one wish," Lucien's heart began beating after those two words. "Most believe that he had wished for a clean slate for Albion, that he had wished for all immorality to be wiped away. Unfortunately, there had been so much corruption in Albion at the time that his wish destroyed everything: the Kingdom, the people in it, and even the Spire itself. I believe that, by rebuilding the Spire, and finding the three Hero's needed, you will be able to make your wish to have Helena and Amelia back. It may be difficult to find, but I have found a few hints as to the general area," Garth looked to Lucien, awaiting a response. Several minutes of silence passed.
"We will set sail tomorrow," he replied. Garth began to leave the room when Lucien suddenly began speaking again. All he said was, "And thank you, Garth."
Lucien had been thinking about the Spire everyday since Garth had mentioned it. It would be a difficult task indeed, and it would take more time than Lucien liked, but having his family back was worth the risk. Garth had brought Lucien the books with information on the Spire the morning they were to set sail in search of its ruins. They had no luck that day and still haven't since, but Lucien would not give up, and Garth, being as information-starved as he was, wouldn't either.
Upon realizing that they would need a way to know for a fact whether or not they had a Hero, Garth used his Will on the circular symbol- it never ceased to remind Lucien of Helena- that lay on the floor of the study. Lucien was told that if he believed to have a Hero, they were to simply walk to the center of the circle, where a blue light would form all around them. After a moment, the light would either turn green or yellow, green being a Hero, and yellow being a civilian.
"Here is the book in which I learned this spell. If anything different happens, just refer to it, but everything should work out fine," Garth had told him.
That had been two weeks before receiving the news of the young children in Bowerstone Old Town. Could these mere children be the heirs of the Archons dated to the Old Kingdom? If they were two of the three Hero's needed, he would have to keep a close eye on them until he would be able to find the Spire, rebuild it, and locate the third Hero. Perhaps he would take them into the castle, allow them to live with him until the deed was done. He would still keep them after making the wish of course, Amelia would love little playmates running around, and Lucien knew that he would never have the heart to send two children out on the streets.
He began to hear speaking outside the door of his office, indicating that the children were going to be stepping through the door with their tiny, inexperienced feet at any moment. Lucien readied himself for what was to come. He remained composed, almost numb to any emotion. These children could be two of the Hero's he had been looking for, but then again, they could just be two orphan children, and the guard could have made a mistake. Either way, he knew he must find out for sure.
The children stepped through the door, frightened and interested looks on their faces. Lucien's heart began pounding. His throat began to close as the orphans stepped forward, the younger one hiding behind the elder, shivering a bit. Lucien stepped forward and began to speak through the boulder size lump in his throat.