Episode 11: Swan Song
25th of Umbralis
Jeremie walked with his eyes glued to the map, examining the path before them. He declared they had to cross Vulcan's Bridge, which was a very long bridge of dwarven make that was built to keep travelers from entering the Ravenbow Canyon. Humans claimed that it had always been there, and many people had lost their lives trying to cross its sands. Aelita claimed to have heard a different story—that the desert had once been the site of a large elvhen city, which translated into the common as Ravenbow, thus giving the canyon its name. When the humans invaded, an elvhen magician summoned a powerful demon that even the elves admitted was wholly evil—here Laura said that if the elves considered it evil, it was likely an Archdemon, an abnormally powerful demon that could control the Beyond—and it possessed him. Black fire rained from the sky for weeks before the possessed magician destroyed the entire city and the surrounding area. The only thing that had remained was an Eluvian, the glass hexed as black as the demon that had touched it.
Aelita said that though the land was still cursed, it favored the elves and rarely killed the wilders that passed through its sands, though she admitted reluctantly that it had been in the Ravenbow Canyon that Edna had lost her first apprentice.
Although Aelita insisted that the sands of the canyon would not take their lives so long as she was with them, Laura mentioned that when she walked towards the sands, she could feel murderous intent. Jeremie glanced between Laura and Aelita then took the neutral answer that sided with Laura, stating that it was faster to take the bridge—the bridge would get them into Replika and en route to Cortex in two days, whereas the canyon would take at minimum eleven days.
But when the Heroes reached the bridge, they learned that everyone from families to caravans were being denied access to the bridge. A Ranger—an abnormally tall elf with feral-looking vallaslin—stood intimidatingly before the bridge. The Heroes approached him. "We need to cross Vulcan's Bridge." Jeremie said firmly.
The Ranger did not back down. "That's too bad. No one is allowed to cross the bridge at this time." His voice was scratchy, almost like he had been shouting for a long time.
"That cannot be! The King demanded this bridge never be blockaded, especially in a time of crisis!" Laura defied him.
The Ranger glared at the Fair, and he asked, "You and your motley crew are looking for a quick way out of Lyoko, right?" He asked. "You and every other refugee in this dump. The answer is always the same—no! Wait here and we'll inform you when the bridge is open again, or leave and find another way around. But no one crosses Vulcan's Bridge until I say so."
"But I have family on the other side!" Ulrich lied. "Doesn't that mean anything?"
"I've heard claims like that a thousand times already. You're too late." The Ranger refused to hear another word, and he waved them away.
Laura seemed stressed as she said, "Now what do we do?"
Aelita folded her arms. "I don't see any way around it. We must travel through the Ravenbow Canyon."
Laura shook her head. "Whenever I go near that place, this dark feeling spreads down my back! If we travel through the canyon, only misery will befall us!"
Ulrich shook his head. "What do you foresee befalling us if we hang out here until the bridge is open again?" When Laura hesitated to respond he finished with "That's what I thought."
Jeremie crossed his arms. "I guess we have to go through the canyon. Hopefully it's just the Veil being thin that's making you nervous."
About a kilometer south was the path that lead down into Ravenbow Canyon. It was a zig-zag trail consisting of long runs of shallow sloped straight-aways with hairpin turns at each end. Looking down into the canyon from the top, Aelita remarked that it seemed like a staircase meant for giants. The straight sections looked wide and shallow enough for the Heroes to walk down comfortably, though the turns looked much less inviting. Jeremie waved the group onwards and took up his position beside Laura. "The Veil is thin in some places but inconsistently. It's like being around a fire but not in one." Laura said, though the further into the canyon they moved the colder it seemed to become.
Rorkal didn't seem to enjoy walking down the craggy slope though, and Aelita walked next to him with her hand rubbing his neck. There came a clanking sort of sound from behind them, and when the Heroes turned, they saw three of Xana's roach constructs. "Looks like Xana expected people to try to go the long way." Yumi said and she spun her bo staff. Ulrich drew his katanna and Odd prepared his bow, then the three seasoned fighters attacked simultaneously, easily killing the constructs.
"We should be careful from here on out. That was too easy." Jeremie said. The others nodded, and they proceeded carefully down the slope. Rorkal seemed the most on edge, even with Aelita trying her best to keep the animal calm. When the clanking sounds started again, he reared back and charged off, startling Aelita back several steps.
Three block-shaped constructs appeared, climbing over the side of the slope. They seemed to target Yumi, though she spun her staff rapidly enough to stop their lasers. Ulrich jumped quickly onto one of the blocks, stabbing it in the symbol on one of its faces. The other two blocks took this as a sign to target other party members, namely Odd and Aelita. Odd climbed to the top of a rock a head taller than himself to get a better vantage point, whereas Aelita constructed herself one to serve as a shield while she began to cast a complex ice spell. Before she could finish, the block had destroyed her shield with assistance from four hornet-like constructs swooping down from the sky.
Aelita announced their presence, and the others looked. Odd cursed and said, "Dammit. Swooping is bad." Before Aelita could respond the block that had destroyed her barrier had frozen her feet to the ground. She tried to melt it with blood and lightning but it appeared that the ice was magic-resistance—even a rock couldn't break it.
Yumi ran towards Aelita to offer her assistance in breaking the ice, but the blocks and the hornets targeted her again. Their lasers struck her four times, and she fell to the ground. "YUMI!" Ulrich shouted, and Laura ran to her side, trying to heal the hot burns and bleeding wounds.
Aelita watched the scene unfold from her horribly exposed and fixed position with a grim smile. She might be immobilized but she was still a threat and the constructs had forgotten about her. So while Jeremie concentrated on hiding behind Barricade and pushing into the blocks fire, she quietly summoned a spear of ice and launched into the nearest block. Jeremie advanced close enough to the other block and lunged out from behind the shield to kill it just before it could fire on the frozen-in-place Outcast.
At the same time, Odd focused his effort on the hornets. They dodged every arrow, causing him to utter a different swear after each shot. Suddenly choosing to ignore Odd, the squadron of hornets targeted Jeremie as a crab climbed up the side of the cliff—though this crab construct seemed to be different in the fact that it was armored, its joints now protected and the only weakness was its exposed symbol. Ulrich heard its heavy footsteps and finally turned away from focusing on Laura as she tended to Yumi in the field. He charged recklessly, his anger at Yumi's injury combining with that over his inability to take revenge on the blocks that had inflicted her wounds overcoming any sort of battle plan. The crab swatted Ulrich into the cliff, and while he was still conscious he was obviously pained.
Aelita focused on the earth and tried to knock it off the cliff as it stalked closer to the Wise Man, but it maneuvered like a master and pushed him closer to the edge. Jeremie blocked its first few lasers with his shield, but the hornets struck his hand and sent it falling towards the sand below. He shouted for Laura to set fire to the hornets, and she created a fireball that seared two of them. The Wise Man tried to use the opportunity to run under the crab but it kicked, forcing him back towards the edge.
The armored crab struck Jeremie's shoulder with a laser, and now he was but a hair's width from falling. Ulrich stood and charged, climbing up its leg and stabbing the symbol on the crab's exoskeleton. Jeremie clutched at the burning hole in his shoulder as he dodged more lasers while also trying to avoid falling over the edge. Ulrich jumped off the machine as it staggered drunkenly and reached under the armored crab to grab Jeremie's hand. One of the monster's legs went over the edge and it began to drag the whole construct down. Laura and Aelita screamed Jeremie's name as it looked like he was about to fall, and the Fair—being the only one of the girls who was mobile—rushed towards the Mercenary.
The weight of the crab forced Jeremie back, and he screamed as he fell over the edge. The terrified screams turned into pained shrieks, and Ulrich and Laura rushed over to the side to see that Jeremie had frozen in midair. The Mercenary and the Fair looked over to Yumi, hoping she had regained consciousness and saved him with her telekinesis, but she was still unconscious. Aelita held her hand out, apparently having grabbed hold of his blood.
The Outcast yanked her hand back, pulling Jeremie up and setting him down a safe distance from the edge. Laura dropped down beside him and tried to ease the lingering pain from the blood magic. Odd and Aelita killed the last two hornets, after which Ulrich helped Aelita break the ice holding her to the ground. Ulrich lifted Yumi off of the ground, but Laura stood and stormed over to Aelita. "You used blood magic on Jeremie! Have you gone mad? You could've killed him!" The Fair shouted.
"He would've died if I had done nothing!" Aelita protested.
"Do you think him stupid enough not to grab onto to something?" Laura pushed her. "How dare you touch him with your witchcraft?!"
"Enough!" Jeremie shouted, his limbs twitching ever so slightly as he stood with Odd's help. "We will discuss this tonight." He looked between the girls angrily, but he looked softly at Laura and asked, "Will you tend to Yumi? She's going to need all the help we can offer."
Laura looked at Aelita angrily, but she looked at Jeremie kindly and nodded. "Of course, love." Laura walked over to Ulrich to resumed healing Yumi's wounds. The Heroes began to walk down the slope. Aelita looked nervously to Jeremie's face, which seemed upset and yet far away.
The teenagers had finally caught up with Rorkal, and while Aelita had calmed him down, Ulrich and Laura had carried Yumi into the aravel, giving the Fair time to bandage the wounds her magic couldn't rapidly heal.
Nighttime had fallen now, and the air had chilled considerably since the sun had set. The Heroes started dinner, and gathering his nerves, Odd asked, "Will Yumi be alright? She took a lot of damage in that fight."
Laura shot a glare at Aelita. "She'll be fine as long as Aelita doesn't touch her."
"May the Destruction Mother take you herself, you worthless piece of shem-meat." Aelita said flatly. Laura stuck her tongue out at her, and Aelita returned the gesture.
"Ladies, you're being petty." Jeremie warned. He folded his arms. "But we do need to discuss what happened today."
Aelita narrowed her eyes. "You're alive and so are we. I don't understand what we need to discuss."
Jeremie furrowed his brows and stood. "I'm not entirely convinced you understand what you've gotten yourself into."
Ulrich shot up. "You ungrateful little shit! Aelita saved your life, and you repay her by antagonizing her over her choice of magic?" He demanded.
"Blood magic is evil, Ulrich! Nothing good ever has or ever will come out of it!" Laura said, "The only things that come out of blood magic are pain and suffering and demons!"
Aelita shook her head. "It is only if the magician wielding it is incompetent! I know the risks! It's worth it!"
"It's worth it, Aelita?" Jeremie questioned. "It's worth your life? It's worth all of our lives?"
She stormed over to him. "It's my soul on the line! No one else's! I didn't ask to involve you!"
Jeremie mimicked her pose. "I cannot allow you to keep hurting yourself and others in this way!"
"By the Creation Father, you're not my fucking mother!" Aelita shouted.
"Maybe if your savage parents hadn't abandoned you, you would've known not to accept the proposal of a demon!" Laura argued hatefully.
"Demons are just spirits, like honor or joy! It's not their fault they are what they are!" Aelita protested.
"Yes, ignore the mountain troll! It's not his fault he's going to eat you!" Laura shouted.
Ulrich glared at her. "Shut up, you tart!"
Laura shot up. "What did you call me?"
"A tart! You're a tart, milady griffon lips!" Ulrich insulted, and by the expression on Laura's face, she was a moment away from incinerating him.
They shouted over one another for a while, before both sides realized they were evenly matched and realized there was only one way to finally settle this grudge match. All four simultaneously glared at Odd, who had been watching them argue silently. He seemed awfully confused that the arguing had suddenly stopped. "Well? Whose side are you on?" Laura demanded.
"I—what?" Odd asked.
"What do you think about blood magic, Odd?" Aelita asked, gentler than Laura but still sharp.
Odd blinked. "I… I think…" He was silent for a moment. "I think that I need to hunt. Explore maybe." There was another silence. "I'm leaving. Uh, bye." He stood, grabbed his bow and quiver and ran away from the campsite.
The teenagers glared at each other for a long time before they arguing started again.
Yumi sat up slowly, her head pounding after several hours of unconsciousness. She looked around, realizing she was in the aravel. She sighed. She rubbed her head, feeling the cloth bandages wrapped meticulously around her skull. The Colonist tried to remember what had happened, but everything was fuzzy. She remembered ice, and her skin burning like fire…
Her train of thought was cut off by yelling. It didn't start quietly at all but came out of nowhere, suggesting her hearing had only just returned. Yumi grabbed her staff and used it for support as she hobbled out of the aravel to investigate the noise.
She didn't know what she was expecting. From the sound, she must've thought that they were being attacked again. However, it was just Laura, Jeremie, Ulrich and Aelita, and as she listened in, she learned that it was about blood… no, blood magic.
The Colonist groaned. Oh, how she hated blood magic—not the magic in itself but what it had done to them. Everywhere they went they were haunted by this vague idea of a demon that had seduced Aelita. It had torn a rift between Jeremie and Aelita and Ulrich. It had built a bridge between Laura and Jeremie where one should not have existed. It was tearing them apart and Yumi, for one, was sick of it.
"ENOUGH!" Yumi shouted at the top of her lungs, scaring the other Heroes and almost causing the very earth to quake in fear. She stormed over to the campfire and drove her bo staff into the earth. "Look at what you're doing! Do you think this is the best way to solve our problems? To just shout at one another until either violence breaks out or one side gives up?"
Ulrich started to protest. "But they—"
"Shut up!" Yumi ordered. She looked to the younger Heroes. "When we started this journey, there were seven of us. Now William is dead, and it is more important than ever to stick together. So let me clear this up right now, to save us from future debates."
Yumi looked at Aelita with a soft expression. "Aelita, I understand where you're coming from, I do. I understand survival, and how isolated you must feel." She shook her head. "But once you had freed yourself, there was no need to keep practicing blood magic. You know at least a dozen other kinds of magic; I've seen you use it!"
The Colonist then looked at Laura. "You're my princess, and I respect you, Laura. And I know where you're coming from. Demons hurt people, and blood magic causes a lot of suffering." She folded her arms. "But blood magic isn't the only evil in this world. You do things simply to hurt people, and that can be just as dangerous as a possessed magician."
Yumi looked at the boys now. "Laura and Aelita have never gotten along. I don't expect them to now." She furrowed her brows. "But the two of you used to be friends! You would've died for the other! Now you're just… just being petty!" She looked at all of her friends. "This issue will not be resolved tonight or anytime soon, not until we all either accept Aelita for who she is, or if she decides to give up this thing that keeps hurting us. But we will stop fighting about it, understood?"
The other Heroes seemed angry at first, but then they sighed and agreed. "Good. Then go to bed and think about what I said. I can't trust any of you to keep watch tonight." The teenagers began to argue, but Yumi pointed at the tents. When they had gone, she sat and watched the fire as it flickered like her anger. Yumi grabbed a bit of dry grass and tossed it into the flames, watching it turn to ash. He sighed heavily, thinking about what she'd said and what had happened in the past.
Had she done the right thing? She hoped so. So much had been going wrong, and the shiver that crawled like a spider up her spine told her that they were not yet out of the proverbial woods.
Ulrich and Laura fumed silently in their tents, though for radically different and yet eerily similar reasons. For Ulrich, he couldn't believe that Yumi would be so mad as to yell at him for trying to defend Aelita, whom he knew Yumi considered a friend. Nor could he imagine her suggesting that Aelita give up a potent weapon that they could end up needing in the future. Laura, for her part, couldn't believe that Yumi would even hint at acceptance of witchcraft. Even if not for its own sake, couldn't the Colonist see how much this was hurting the group's unity and ability to fight. All the power in the world was for nothing if you couldn't count on using it in the future and that's part of what made blood magic so dangerous. Reliance on a demon that would destroy everything the moment that power would be needed most because that was when the 'host' was the weakest.
Jeremie was lost in his own thoughts again, though at least he wasn't crying this time. No, he could once again feel the sensation of his blood holding his body in the air. It was like every square inch of his body was being prodded by needles and yet… Was it too much to pay for being alive? The fall would have killed him and the momentum imparted by the falling monstrosity took him out of arms reach of anything on the wall of the cliff. It was impossible to ignore the pain, it was impossible to ignore the vague sense that something otherworldly was enjoying the pain of blood magic. But, as his eyes looked to the sword he carried into battle and he felt the heavy weight of the life that blade had taken settle again on his soul the question wasn't: Could good ever come of evil? It was more like: Could good come from something designed by evil?