Chapter 3

Blood in the water

A hell it was indeed. First, that strange woman casually taking off her source collar, then a blast, fire, smoke, blood and Voidwoken.

At first Elane had no intention of escaping. She could drown with the vessel for all she cared yet when she got back to the hold with the rest of passengers she couldn't find the strange scholar amongst them and got worried. Realizing it was futile to try to wake unconscious Sourcerers as they remained unresponsive, she decided to look for the missing elf and an escape route for the others. However unexpected that was, she succeeded at both tasks, assuming the strange undead who used to wear the face of said elf counts. Everything was relatively under control when the last escapee boarded the lifeboat. Then, a rumble, a crash and creak and the ship was split in two with Elane trapped among the wreckage. A bitter feeling of déjà vu enveloped her as she was falling into the dark, furious sea.

It's just like the last time. Falling into the abyss, embracing death only to be pushed away. Indeed, there was a time when I yearned for death, I still do, yet now I know it's an unattainable dream. I am cursed. I was always told elven lifespan exceeded those of any other race yet I knew that blades, storms and fire could cut those lives short. I mourned my parents death, it wasn't sudden. They were growing older, weaker. Some said they lived a good life and so did I. They left everything for me, they prepared me for this. I grew so much from the time I was but a forest-dwelling urchin. Still,I was not ready. The sudden realization of loneliness, of their absence crushed me as they were my everything. They were family. I could not picture myself without them. For who was I? What was I? These thoughts have driven me to a sea cliff. Far above the raging sea. Life was pointless, the world was pointless, there was no one I could turn to. And so I fell, down at the sharp rocks and roaring waves. And I awoke. Laying at the shore with clothes torn and wet but I was alive. Cold and soaked of course, a few seaweeds stuck in hair but I was fine. No injury, no blood. I cried to the heavens. What were I? That shouldn't be possible! Why can't I just die?!

And so she was laying on a shore again, looking to the sky above, unharmed.

In time she learned the extent of her curse. It was circulating in her blood. There was no wound she could not recover from. As long as she bled she couldn't die. Limbs and organs could be torn from her and still, they would turn into blood and regrow. Having no idea why, she assumed it was just her birthright. She suspected ,at first, that it was the Source within her but her abilities didn't disappear when the collar muted her. She was destined to a life of everlasting pain, for pain she felt as the limbs were torn or cut or crushed and regrown. She'd give just about everything to be a ''mortal" that strange elf called her.

In a sudden jolt of panic she moved her hand across her hair. The ornaments were still there, a sigh of relief escaped her dry lips as they were her anchor to a happier past, happier memories.

Finally standing up she carefully scouted the horizon.

"Am I the lone survivor?" she asked herself.

Then she recalled a voice calling to her in the depths. A voice she didn't recognize. A frown appeared on her face as she tried to remember. Standing in the water ankle deep, she glanced at the surface of the sea. It took her a while to recognize a strange blurred shape floating nearby as a person. She gasped and hurriedly dragged it to the shore. It was Vermil.

He began coughing and spitting seawater as soon as he felt the air on his face. After a while his breath steadied and his pale face regained color.

"Good to see you alive," the elf said while wringing her tunic.

"And vice versa. Where are we?" he asked, looking around. "Joy?"

"Undeniably, Braccus Rex's statue looms in the distance," she noticed, tilting her head in the direction of the mentioned statue.

"I thought the Divine Order would get rid of any of the traces of the Source King," he replied, surprised.

Elane just shrugged in answer. There were many things the Divine Order could do better. She took off, wandering further into the sunny isle. Vermil, soon up on his feet, followed.

The island itself was quite charming. The lazure sea washed the shore gently. The sand was soft and warm and the greenery complemented the view. The only things clashing in this scenery were the wreckages of countless ships...and Voidwoken. They made it to shore not far from the place when Elane had awoken and they were out for blood. As the two emerged from behind a large rock and into a sandy headland they noticed these cursed creatures as they chewed on a dead magister's corpse.

Without a second thought the elf leaped into action. Armed with a broken sword she had found while making her way out of the sinking ship, she pushed the blade, hilt deep, into the monster's trunk making it trash around in spasms. She heard an incantation, too well known, behind her and suddenly the other Voidwoken was enveloped in a swarm of bloodthirsty mosquitoes. Soon the fight was over.

"I thought these bloody collars were supposed to keep these things at bay!" she exclaimed in frustration.

"Easy there," he hushed. "We should focus on finding others."

"You think others survived? Have you seen them get to safety?" the elf asked.

"No, the wave turned the boat over, we all fell into the sea," His tone was a grim whisper that suddenly changed into a hopeful, even cheerful one, "But we can still hope some of them made it! Now, better stick together for a while, watch each other's backs and so on."

"Seems sensible," the elf nodded and the two moved forward.

The ancient sandstone walls of Fort Joy finally came into view. Few magisters were pacing on top. The two escapees watched them from behind a thick bush, hidden, wondering what to do next.

"I think we should risk it and take a look inside the fort. We really have no other choice," Vermil pondered.

Elane tightened her lips into a thin line. She did not like the feeling of the place.

"You go. I'll look around for a bit more."

"Not a fan of the crowds, are you?" he inquired.

"Precisely."

"Fine," he said as he stood up, "Just don't get yourself into trouble."

Elane waved him goodbye and wandered off in the opposite direction. She found herself tired and uncertain. Giving up seemed like the only rational choice but this place seemed less than fitting to sit here and rot. She was unsure of this whole 'cure' offered by Divine Order. She had no assurance it would get rid of her damned curse. The whole journey through the continent left her somewhat curious about the world. It was as if she was young again.

She walked barefoot on the warm earth, felt the wind on her face and warmth of the sun on her skin. She was, in fact, living, despite her strong belief that her heart stopped beating the moment her parents died. All her life she tried to be safe, avoid pain and suffering as much as possible. However, adventure called. Being out in the wild already, she could use this chance to try and find answers about her and the condition she was suffering from.

She followed an unfamiliar path as she saw a shadow of a small creature run past her and into a curtain made from colorful vines. They swayed faintly. Intrigued, she approached the vines and parted them with both hands. They hid a passage bathed in an eerie blue light emanating from fluorescent plants. A few steps beyond the entrance led to an opening, a charming glade in the centre of which she spotted someone.

Hunched over a corpse was a figure covered in cloth from head to toe. She creeped closer, careful as not to make a sound. Meanwhile, the creature was so occupied with pulling at the corpse's face he did not even notice the elf approaching.

"Bugger," he breathed after another failed attempt of tearing the face free. "I wonder, does the beard act as some form of anchor.."

She leaned over, her head being inches above the creature's cowl.

"Still facing reality skull on?"

"Gah! No! Stay back! Don't-" The ungodly scholar jolted away with his hands raised protectively, falling onto his back in the process. Elane only tilted her head.

"Oh," he said as he began to gather his composure and what was left of his pride, "I must admit, I'm surprised. Perhaps you're more buoyant than I suspected."

"Oh, I am full of surprises," The elf smirked, extending a hand to help the skeleton up. Hesitantly, he accepted it.

"Undoubtedly. Most mortals I've encountered greeted me with torches and pitchforks. You were civilised enough to not lunge at me the very moment you saw my skull. A remarkable indication of intelligence, really."

"What brought you to this damned island anyway? I thought you could walk to Reaper's Coast."

The skeleton sighed, heavily.

"It seems the human that stole my mask was rather more resourceful than I gave her credit for. I chased her here, but she rather seems to have 'given me the slip'," he turned back to the body, prodding at it's face, "and the idea of being chased across Rivellon by every idiot with a torch does not appeal."

"Sounds like you need a body...um, a boneguard? You know, someone to keep those simpletons at bay," that remark left her surprised, it's been a long time since she had the strength to joke out loud.

If he had eyes he would glare at her but after a few minutes of thought he nodded. "Indeed, it might be...advantageous. I cannot simply sit about waiting for the rest of you to die so I may continue my business in peace. No, I might be an Eternal, but my patience has its limits."

Elane crouched nearby, her ears twitching at the sound of the word 'Eternal'.

"In fact, I may be the only Eternal. My people seem rather...absent. At least from this realm."

"An 'Eternal'? What do you mean by that?" her gaze was fixated on his strange, angular skull.

"We were a race that existed before the idea of 'race' was needed. We were all one. I could ask you to imagine an Eternal as a creature of incredible intelligence and skill, but I fear the limits of your imagination would not do us justice. We studied the mysteries of the universe. We created works of great art. We-" his tone broke mid sentence only to return with a great pain echoing painfully in Elane's heart, "...we disappeared."

When he spoke again the sound of a stern resolve followed.

"But I will find them. Wherever they are, I will find them. We will have our world again."

"But how come that you're still here if your people have vanished?"

The skeleton waved his bandage-wrapped hand impatiently.

"Well that hardly seems relevant but if you must know, I was...inconvenienced for a time. Several centuries, in fact. Or perhaps millenia...one tends to lose track. I was sealed in a tomb-"

Elane raised her hand, interrupting.

"A tomb? Did you die?"

"No, your people are prone to death. Mine are not.."

"But you're…"she began, unsure how to bring the issue of his lack of everything up.

"Oh don't start. How would you look after aeons in some ghastly crypt?"

"This is a surprisingly good question..." she murmured then nodded hastily. "You can count on me from now on."

"Splendid, you seem more...at ease in this world than I. A guide would certainly be useful. Before we depart, do you happen to have a name or referring to you as a 'mortal' is enough?"

Brow raised, she got up slowly. "It's Elane."

Fane clasped his hands together, "Very well, let's be off!"