I, Eternity

The Eternity Echo

LN snarled.

"I know, it's not fun, but if your memories make you lose control, we need these." Malendil said.

The clamps settled on. The instant they were clasped, LN's eyes glowed red. Magic-sucking chains would never again hold him!

"NE!" he shouted. The chains disintegrated as red lightning jumped from surface to surface.

"I will never again allow myself to be put into bondage!" He hovered an inch off the ground as the lighting began to envelop him.

"Oh, crap." Malendil muttered as she erected a barrier.

"Never again!" LN shouted as the lighting lashed out, blowing a hole in the wall. He rushed out. Into the night, leveling anything in his path, mindless. He left smoldering ruin behind him from the shore of the Rumare to the Ayleid ruin he found.

They were there. A small nomadic tribe was all that remained of them. He landed in the middle with a shockwave.

An old elf, visibly ancient beyond reckoning, hobbled up. The stink of magic, sustaining him for many centuries, was heavy in the air.

"What do you seek of me?" he asked in the Ayleid tongue. This served only to infuriate LN further. He said something, though what he said was lost to him as soon as he had uttered it. The Old Ayleid only chuckled, then laughed aloud. He was truly ancient. The LN of the past recognized him.

LN's fists clamped so tight his nails dug into his palms. The next second, he felt a pain in the back of his head and the world went black.

Gold scales.

"Uhhh." LN groaned as he sat up. "What happened?"

"You showed just why we won't be trying that again." Malendil said. She had already fixed the wall. He remembered it being destroyed, but not much else. LN figured he must have been out for days… again.

"Did I do anything violent?" he asked.

"You destroyed my wall, and nearly destroyed a nomadic tribe before I had to knock you on the head myself and step in."

LN began to remember. Nomads, Ayleids. He sniffed and the corners of his mouth quivered angrily.

"Ayleids…. The slaving bastards!" He said, and everything in the house shook.

"It's obvious from that alone that some very significant memories of yours involve them."

LN huffed. "I don't remember much. Just that it's bad."

"Obviously." Malendil replied. She handed LN a ring. "Try that on."

Warily, LN did. It was like a veil fell, like one of his perceptions was being blocked.

"What the hell is this?" LN spat. "It's blocking my power!"

"No it's not! Well, okay, yes it is." Malendil said. "But it's for everyone's safety. It brings your power back down to safe levels and focuses it. Until we improve your stability, please wear it?" Malendil asked. "I'm not asking this as anything but a concerned friend. If you don't do something, you'll soon hurt yourself."

"Did I hurt you?" LN asked.

"Almost, but I got a barrier up."

They stayed silent for a long time. LN still didn't know anywhere near the kind of power he had at his disposal. The prospect of him accidentally letting off a spell he wasn't ready to use made both him and Malendil think long and hard.

"Let's try to awaken another memory. The ring functions much like the chains, but without the psychological effects on you."

LN nodded and lay down. He closed his eyes and began to breathe, slowly and calmly.

"Let go of your physical self." Malendil said. "Reach out to the sky, the world, and Time…"

"Time."

Golden scales. Golden eyes and wings.

The last thing he felt was Malendil's hand gently squeeze his.

It was dark. His torch barely lit the darkness before him… It was very hot, stifling, but he didn't want to remove his armor. It made him vulnerable. He pulled out the small orb. A tool of the Slavers, converted to a weapon of his people's liberty. In the orb the face of his dear friend and leader appeared. She knew any sound would betray him. So she mouthed "How is it?"

He simply nodded and smiled. She did likewise, and cut the link. He put the orb away.

He pressed on, the bronze sword before him. He put the torch into a puddle. Now was the time to use his new power.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then they shot open. Everything was clear. There was a door in front of him. He glided noiselessly in. Inside of the massive room was the statue. Two Dragons, one standing over the other, clutching the fallen one's heart in it's jaws. The "victory," or as his people saw it, the betrayal, of Shor by Auri-El. This was where he needed to be.

Silently, he mouthed the words. A prayer to Shor. He crept into the small door behind the statue, the private quarters of the High Priests. One by one, they were all killed. Before he killed any of them, he took a small portion of their blood. That, and the satisfaction of destroying the Slavers where it hurt, were all he needed.

His eyes opened. Malendil was looking at him.

"I saw more. I was working with someone. There were Ayleids. I was killing them, feeding on them. Priests."

"You sound almost guilty." Malendil said.

"I don't know. I remember it feeling so right, but I was just murdering them. Killed them all in their sleep. On holy ground. I don't even know why I hated these people."

Malendil rubbed the back of his head. "It's nearly dawn. Go downstairs and get some rest." She said.