Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering, only my own characters.
CHAPTER 45: False Hope
An exceptionally strong wave rocked the deck head, sending the hammocks swinging in a crazy dance. None of the sailors woke up; they were used to life at sea and sleeping through the rocking of the ship was nothing new to them. Charles, however, did wake up. His hammock had been the closest to the bulkhead and the powerful shock sent him crashing into the wall.
Wincing in pain, he rubbed his throbbing elbow while mentally cursing himself for choosing the hammock closest to the bulkhead in order to remain as far from Erik as possible.
;Pretty childish of me, really. Can't let that wanker(1) get to me like that;
Out of habit, he did a quick reading of the mana around him, checking on the status of the other Keepers. Erik and Khell were fine, but he couldn't get a reading on Arrathir. Worried, Charles broadened his search, trying to find his friend. He didn't find the Keeper, but he did detect Eva up on deck.
;Why would she be there in the middle of the night?;
Charles stiffened. Along with Eva's mana, he could detect a lot of miscellaneous mana. So many different mana types concentrated in one spot could only indicate one thing: a mana duel had taken place. Charles' blood froze. If Eva had partaken in the duel, chances were Arrathir had as well, and since he couldn't find any sign of him, the Keeper must have lost.
Getting out of his hammock, Charles bounded up the stairs to the deck. When he got there, he was astonished to find it deserted. There wasn't a sign of Eva or Arrathir, yet he could feel Eva's mana right in front of him. Taking a few steps forwards, he jumped in surprise as Eva appeared out of thin air right in front of him. She was weeping over Arrathir's immobile body and forlornly stroking his rat ears. Charles took a step back and Eva disappeared, along with Arrathir.
;Chiburuu, what the Hell is going on?;
;It's rather remarkable, Cannon. There's some kind of invisibility spell around the area. The Planeswalker who dueled them must have cast it in order to avoid detection;
;Then how come nobody heard anything? I'm sure if a duel had taken place, all the noise would have woken someone;
;The spell must be sound-proof as well. Since the summoner who cast it was defeated, it is running on residual mana, but once its energy is used up, it should dispel;
As the spirit was talking, Eva reappeared in front of them.
Charles stepped tentatively forwards and placed a reassuring hand on Eva's shoulder. She turned to him, her eyes full of tears and sorrow.
"He's gone," she whispered "Arrathir is dead."
"That's impossible," said Charles "One, he's a Planeswalker, and two, he's the Keeper of Black Mana!"
"Arog let his life essence go," said Eva.
"Arog?"
"Arog Dunham, the summoner we fought."
;What is she talking about?;
;A summoner's life essence is what gives them their power. When two summoners duel, the winner absorbs the loser's life essence, thereby gaining his powers;
;Like in Highlander?;
;If you will. The point is, if the winner chooses not to absorb the life essence, then it simply floats away and is lost forever. This is rarely done, seeing as it is seen as dishonorable and as well, no summoner would pass up the chance to become more powerful. In this case, Arrathir's life essence can never be recovered. If the summoner had absorbed it, after his defeat it would have gone back into Arrathir's body;
;But he's the bloody Keeper of Black Mana! How can he die?;
;Cannon, even Planeswalkers are bound by rules;
"No!" yelled Charles in disbelief "Come on, Arrathir, snap out of it!" he yelled, shaking the Keeper's inert body.
"Charles," said Eva sadly "There's nothing you can do."
"No," said Charles "There's a way. There's always a way!"
;What if we time-traveled again?;
;It wouldn't work, Cannon. If we'd done that, Arrathir would be alive right now;
Charles screamed in frustration, punching a hole through the deck in his angst. Grabbing Arog's body from its resting place by the mainmast's stump, he threw it angrily into the ocean, the body breaking the surface with a splash and quickly vanishing from sight.
He grabbed the railing to steady his trembling hands. Before the Awakening, he'd always been a calm person. Being somewhat of a recluse, he'd always tried avoiding confrontation, except when absolutely necessary. However, Arrathir's death had shocked him in two ways: first was the shock of discovering his friend was dead, and second, it was a brutal taste of reality. He'd always assumed the Keepers of Mana could never die, but now that this illusion was shattered, it made him realize just how vulnerable he was, especially under the given circumstances.
"Eva?" said Khell, coming up from the deck head "What was all the noise?" Seeing Arrathir's body, a look of panic crossed his face. "His mana is gone!" he exclaimed "What happened?"
While Eva related the story to Khell, Captain Quales came out of his cabin.
"What is going on here?" he demanded.
"Well, captain," said Charles "We found Magra Thea's killer."
"Who was it?" asked Quales, his eyes flaming.
"Arog Dunham," said Cannon "What did you know about him?"
"That he was supposed to be manning the bar tonight!" roared Quales as he bounded up to the deck, where the wheel was spinning freely as the ship drifted at the mercy of the currents and wind. With a strong hand, he grabbed the wheel and steered the ship back on course.
"How long have we been drifting," he asked Charles, who had followed him.
"I wouldn't know," said Charles "Half an hour, maybe."
"Blast!" said Quales "First the bloody storm and now this! Hopefully, we haven't been thrown too far off course. I'll check our position once the stars come out."
"So, about Arog?"
"New lad," said the captain "One day, he just popped up and asked for a post. Didn't have much experience, but I was shorthanded and he seemed eager, so I gave him a shot. Kept to himself mostly, but he worked hard. So you're saying he was the one trying to kill your friend?"
"He succeeded," said Charles grimly "Arrathir is dead."
"I'm very sorry," said Quales "I didn't know summoners could die. I thought your kind was immortal."
"Even we cannot escape death when it comes knocking," said Charles.
"Rest in peace, Arrathir Quinn," said Khell, placing his hand over his friend's face "Your sacrifice was not in vain."
"You knew him for a long time, eh?" Eva asked him as he got up.
"Yes," said Khell "I still remember the first time we met. He was different in those days. A lot more innocent and carefree than he was now. I guess the knowledge of being a Keeper of Mana would change anybody. So how did you meet him?"
"At a Magic tournament," said Eva "He damn well near made me miss registration and then he was my first opponent. You should have seen him; he was so nervous his entire gameplay fell apart, at least until Chikuro took over. He saved my life when Anima attacked with her Slivers. It wasn't your knight in shining armor, but it was still brave of him. He could have left me to die, but he didn't."
"It hurts, doesn't it?" asked Khell "Talking about him?"
"No," said Eva "It reminds me of all the good times I had with him." Tears began sliding down her face as she remembered. "After that, he took me in, taught me to summon, and helped me through my grief from the death of my parents. I can't believe he's really gone," she sobbed "He's been the only person I could depend on since that day. I don't know how I am going to survive without him."
"Without whom?"
They turned to see Erik standing by them, looking bored, as usual.
"Arrathir is dead," said Khell "This time, we cannot save him."
"Quinn is dead?" asked Erik in disbelief "We couldn't be that lucky."
Next thing he knew, Erik was flat on his back with Eva on top of him, hitting his face as hard as she could. Eva's was seething with rage, her eyes flaming and the fiery aura had reappeared around her. Her mouth was twisted in a furious grimace and she was shouting incoherently at the Keeper. She grabbed Erik by the throat, her mana burning him as she began to throttle him.
"Eva! Stop!" yelled Khell, trying to get her off Erik, but she had an iron grip on the Keeper and refused to let go. It took the combined efforts of Khell and Charles to free Erik.
"You crazy bitch!" he yelled as soon as he'd recovered his breath.
"You fucking bastard!" she yelled, trying to get out of Khell's grasp "How can you be so insensitive? You may not have liked Arrathir, but some of us did! Show some fucking respect and tact, you heartless son of a bitch! You think you're all high and mighty because you're a rich asshole, but guess what? All your money won't help you now! Welcome to reality! I pitied you at one point because I thought you were afraid of your powers, but now I see you for what you really are: an insensitive, selfish bastard! Fucking die and do us all a favor! We'd be better off without you, always whining and bitching! You're a pitiful excuse for a human being and I hate you!"
Everyone was stunned by Eva's outburst. An awkward silence followed her rant. As Erik got up, Khell made the mistake of loosening his grip on Eva. She immediately tore free and ran at Erik, kneeing him in the crotch. The Keeper went down like a sack of potatoes, while Eva continued kicking and insulting him.
"Stop it!" yelled Charles, grabbing her and pulling her away from Erik "He's got no idea what he's doing!"
"He's…glad…he…died!" grunted Eva as she struggled against Charles.
"Eva, look at me," said Charles "Look at me!" She turned her face to him, still trying to get loose. "Beating the shit out of him, as much as he may deserve it, will not bring Arrathir back. We have more important things to focus on right now. What do we do with Arrathir's body? Do we bury him at sea, or wait until we reach Shiv?"
"Neither," said Eva "He's not dead. I just know there's a way to bring him back."
"We all wish it were so," said Khell "But it's impossible."
"Charles," said Eva "Can you put his body in stasis to preserve it?"
"Eva," said Charles "Arrathir was a terrific guy and a good friend, but there's nothing we can do. Clinging to false hopes won't help you."
"If there's even a small chance of saving him," said Eva, a solitary tear running down her cheek "I have to try. Please, Charles, I beg you. Just give him a chance. It may be a false hope, but at least it gives me some hope. It's all I've got. Don't deny it to me. My whole world has been shattered and I need some reassurance that there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel I'm in. Please."
Charles started into Eva's emerald orbs, which were brimming with tears of pain. He saw desperate hope in her eyes; a hope so great it consumed her very soul. Of course, he knew there was no hope, that it was all a product of Eva's intense denial of Arrathir's death. Even though she knew he was dead, her heart wouldn't let her give up.
"All right," he sighed.
Eva's face immediately lit up and she embraced Charles warmly.
"Thank-you," she said "This really means a lot to me."
"It's the least I can do," said Charles "For you and for Arrathir."
;Cannon, what are you doing?;
;Look, this hope Eva's got, I don't want to be the one who destroys it. If it makes her happy, what hard could it do?;
;It does not do good to dwell on dreams. This false hope could lead her to believe Arrathir will return and this could have severe psychological impacts. She could go mad. Don't let your personal feelings cloud your judgment;
;My judgment is clear, Chiburuu. I'm just doing a favor for a friend;
;I have a very bad feeling about this;
"I object!" said Quales.
"Captain, between us, you're not in a position to tell us what to do," said Khell. He and Charles were carrying Arrathir's body down to the deck head for storage.
"I will not have a dead body kept on board!" insisted Quales "It will bring bad luck to us."
"And I won't have you questioning my decisions!" said Eva "Do you forget the power I wield?" Her left hand burst into flames and she waved it threateningly in front of Quales' face. The captain grumbled something and stomped off to his cabin.
Eva strode to the prow and looked out over the water. The sun was rising on the fourth day of their voyage, but it felt like they had been on the Silver Drake forever.
"Eva?"
She turned to find Charles standing behind her.
"You OK?" he asked.
"Much better, thanks," she said "I know you probably think I'm being stupid, thinking I can save Arrathir, but I can't give up so easily."
"Well, at least you have something to hold onto," said Charles "Something to keep you going when everything seems lost."
"What keeps you going?" asked Eva.
"I really don't know," said Charles "I don't even know why I'm doing this. Arrathir just sort of came up, out of the blue and said, 'Hey, Magic: The Gathering is real and you're the reincarnation of a million-year old Planeswalker.' I'm beginning to see his point. Why are we doing this? Why are we killing all these people? In the name of what? Justice? Peace?"
"We have to do it for the good of the Multiverse," said Eva "We've only used our powers to defend ourselves when attacked."
"Why?" asked Charles "Who is so hell-bent on stopping the Awakening?"
"I'm as clueless as you are."
"Whoever it is, they've succeeded," said Charles "Arrathir is dead."
"So what happens now?" asked Eva "Will Chikuro be reborn in another body?"
"Could be," said Charles "But I have no idea how long that would take. I suppose we'll have to follow with out original plan and find the Keeper of Red Mana."
"And then?"
"Only time will tell," said Charles "The future is unwritten, so let's make a good ending to our story."
To be continued…
Author's Note: Day two of the mini-one-update-a-day challenge.
I'm very excited about the upcoming plot since I already have most of it written up, about to the awakening of the KoRM. Also, for those of you not aware, The Awakening is going to be published as a webcomic in manga form on ComicGenesis. We're still in the beginning stages, but I'll let you know as soon as the manga is ready. It will be drawn in traditional right-to-left format, but don't worry: we'll include a reading guide on the site.
Until next time, Ja ne!
(1) To wank is British slang for masturbating, therefore, literally, a wanker is someone who does it a lot. Contextually, a wanker is an idiot, a jerk.