The Storm Spire came into sight long before Rayla actually reached the base of it. As she approached the Spire, she went over her plan. So, I need to get to Callum. Technically, I have five days left of my time off. Callum wrote it was a two-day flight to the Aero temple… She did a mental calculation. I can ride longer than he can fly, but he can pass obstacles like cliffs and ravines whereas I need to go around them… I'll have to check a map to see what route to take. But if I'm lucky, I might just make it!
As she reached the base of the spire, she searched for any sign of the Dragonguard. She hoped that Pincaelo would be on guard duty, but as she reached the Spire, it appeared she had no such luck. No doubt the Dragonguard had spotted her, but she couldn't relay a message from this far down. It doesn't matter, she thought. My shadowpaw is too tired to continue today anyway. She released the beast from its saddle and scratched it behind the ears. It gave her a mournful look. "Aw, look at you. You did great! Thank you so much for bringing me here so fast!"
The shadowpaw gave a grumpy noise, but it seemed to enjoy the scratches. Rayla smiled and grabbed some jerky from the saddlebags. "Here you go. You'll need your strength. We're going on another long trip tomorrow." The beast hungrily attacked the jerky and gave no other inclination that it understood her, seemingly content with the food she gave him.
Rayla sighed and started the long climb upwards. After half an hour of climbing stairs, she came to the first checkpoint. She wasn't surprised when she saw that Bosor was waiting for her. "Hey Bosor," she said casually.
Bosor looked stoic, his expression unreadable behind his helmet. "You have returned sooner than expected."
"Aw, do I hear disappointment in your voice?" Rayla teased him. She didn't dislike Bosor, but he was stuck-up at times in her opinion.
Bosor shook his head and motioned for her to climb the steps with him. "T'is a good thing that you are here. There has been some strife within the Dragonguard."
As soon as he said that, Rayla was all business. "Really? What happened?"
"I loathe to badmouth a fellow Dragonguard, but… Orris has been stirring up trouble on multiple occasions."
"Oh for Garlath's sake… What did the scunner do this time?" Of course Orris had to do somethin' while I'm away on a holiday!
Bosor continued walking up the stairs as he briefed her. "It was mostly just talk. He places himself above the others of the Dragonguard because he feels he is the better warrior. I am the only one he fears and respects, but towards the others, he's demeaning or downright hostile."
Rayla grimaced. "That bastard! Anythin' else?"
When no reply came, Rayla looked at Bosor. His stance showed his uncertainty in continuing. "He… suggested you've done various….unsavoury things with the en- with humans."
It took Rayla a while to process what Bosor said Orris was suggesting. "Wait, he did what? He was talkin' about me and Callum?"
"Well…" Bosor was hesitant to go on. Unfortunately for him, Rayla was now getting angry.
"Spit it out! What did he say!?"
Bosor sighed heavily. He knew that a storm was coming when he saw Rayla approach the Storm Spire. "He said that you were not worthy to be captain of the Dragonguard, because you have a relationship with that human. He also accused you of selling our secrets to the enemy for 'hugs and kisses', because you were so undesirable you couldn't get a proper elf mate yourself." When Bosor did not hear a response, he turned to look at his captain. Rayla was standing on the stairs, frozen midstep like a statue, her face unreadable.
"A'm goin' to kill him," she finally said and took a few resolute steps upwards. "A'm gonna skin that bastard alive, then throw him off the Spire and stomp on what's left of him!" She sprinted forward but was stopped by Bosor who grabbed her arm as she passed him.
"Wait. You haven't heard the worst part…"
Rayla's eyes widened slightly. "The worst…!?" Worse than that!? "Well, please do tell me what the worst part is then!"
"A few days ago, the prince of Katolis came here to visit you, unannounced. Orris was-"
Rayla grabbed Bosor to steady herself. "Callum's here!?" Her heart couldn't believe it. He was here! Oh, please, let him still be here!
"Yes, the prince is here, but Rayla. Orris challenged him for a fight as he arrived, unprovoked. The prince fought back. In the fight, they both tried to kill each other."
This sent Rayla's mind reeling. "Oh no…No, that's bad! A foreign prince attackin' a Dragonguard…" Her happiness was suddenly replaced with a large knot of worry in her stomach.
Bosor saw what was happening and tried to ease her out of it. "Don't worry. Most of the Dragonguard vouched for Callum. It was clear that Orris was provoking him. To that end, I've pulled him off guard duty until you returned, so that you could decide what to do with him."
Rayla let out a sigh of relief. "Right, so the Dragonguard won't make an issue out of it?"
Bosor shook his head. "No, and neither will the king and queen, though the king did request you take the incident seriously and handled it with care."
Oh, I'll handle the scunner with care alright, she thought as she cracked her knuckles. "Alright. Okay, I think I understand the situation. But Callum is waiting for me upstairs?" She asked the last part hopefully.
Bosor gave her a disapproving stare. "...yes, the human prince is waiting in the Spire, though he doesn't know you've arrived yet."
"Alright then, let's go!" And with that, Rayla set a quick and steady pace, one even a warrior such as Bosor had trouble keeping up with.
-/-/-/-
Callum was sitting outside on the Spire in the afternoon sun, sitting cross-legged on the floor, sketchbook in his lap. It was his most prized possession and the only thing keeping him sane while he waited for Rayla to come back from her holiday. Catlyn was hovering nearby, a fact that he had gotten used to these last few days, but it still annoyed him at times.
"So...are you going to let me see those?" Catlyn pointed to the book with her dagger. She had been playing with it out of boredom.
"No! I've told you; they are private." Callum closed the book halfway, hoping it would stop her from peeking. He wasn't viewing anything sensitive anyway, just some pictures of Rayla doing fighting moves.
"Rayla showed me hers…" she replied, looking at her fingernails.
"What!? Why would she…. Ugh. Look, I get that this all seems very interesting to you, but I just want some privacy, alright?" Callum gave her a frustrated look.
Catlyn still didn't look at him, her gaze fixed at the bridge behind him. But her lips curled into a mysterious smile like she knew something he didn't. "You know, I think it's going to be a lovely afternoon today. Would be perfect for a romantic reunion, wouldn't you say?"
Now Callum had lost her completely. He frowned. "What on earth are you talking abo-"
"Callum!"
Callum's head whipped around at the sound of that voice. On the other side of the bridge leading to the Spire, he could see a small figure rushing towards him. A familiar, slender figure with white hair and purple eyes. "Rayla!" He got up, dropping his book on the ground. He took a few shaky steps in her direction, not quite believing that she was here after being away from her for over six months.
"Oh Callum, Callum! I'm so glad you're back!" Rayla crossed the distance and rushed towards him, wrapping her arms around him.
Callum returned the hug intensely, feeling safe and home in her arms. "I'm here, Rayla, I'm here." The world around them seemed to disappear as they were only mindful of each other. Their hug lasted for a long time, Rayla softly stroking Callum's back, while Callum used his hand to gently stroke her in the back of the neck. Rayla found she liked this and leaned back into his hand.
They were brought out of their hug by the sound of a Dragonguard snickering at the display. As Rayla turned her head without letting go of her human, she saw Catlyn looking at them, smiling broadly. Rayla made a face. "What are you lookin' at?"
Instead of apologising, Catlyn just laughed. "Alright, I'll give you two lovebirds some privacy!" And with that, she moved back inside the spire, glad that the prince was now safe in the hands of her captain again.
Rayla looked back at her lover. "Some people, right?"
Callum just laughed. "Yeah, some people…" But he found that he didn't mind that their display was public for one bit. He kissed her then, and Rayla responded just as passionately. "I've missed you so much…" he whispered to her mouth.
"I've missed you too, my sweet prince." Her eyes were half closed as she kissed him on the cheek and hugged him again.
Eventually, after a long time standing outside and just being together, they decided to get inside so they could tell each other all about their half-year apart, at least, the bits they never bothered to put to paper. However, as they moved to the entrance, Orris was standing there, leafing through Callum's sketchbook with a snarl on his face.
"Is this true, captain?" he said as he spat the word. "Are you really together with this...this scum?" Orris was seething. He looked like he was going to rip the book in half.
Callum was nervous, not because he thought Orris would beat them up, but because that book meant the world to him. Rayla, however, looked like she was going to explode.
"Orris, yer in trouble. Bosor told me all about yer little stunt when Callum arrived."
Orris didn't look surprised. "Of course Bosor would tattle on me, the goody-two-shoes. Look, I did what I had to do to protect the spire from...from human filth like that there!" He said as he waved the hand holding the book in Callum's direction. "And seeing these pictures in the book… Frankly, it's disgusting! How can they call you Rayla of Xadia when you are in love with the enemy!?"
Rayla clenched her teeth. "Ya got some nerve. Callum did na do anythin' to ya to deserve yer ire, yet yer treatin' him like shite! Between da two of ya, yer the real bastard!"
Orris was taken aback by that, both by her words and the fury in her eyes. "You...can't be serious!"
"Oh, but A am Orris. Now give Callum his book back. We'll talk later!" She gave him a glaring look that brooked no room for argument.
Orris hesitated, then weakly threw the book in Callum's direction before storming off.
Rayla watched him go, before bending over to grab the book and handing it to a stunned looking Callum. "Sorry 'bout that. He's a handful. Needs to be handled sooner rather than later."
Callum nodded. "What happened to him that he hates humans so much?"
She shrugged. "Who knows," she said as grabbed his hand. "I really don't want to deal with this right now. I want to be with you." She gave him her best smile, which was impressive, given the tirade she just gave her fellow Dragonguard.
Callum saw her smile, a slight tremble in her lips, like she was really putting up a brave face and he wondered what she had gone through these last six months. What hasn't she told me in the letters? He felt her fingers slip between his, the missing finger still feeling odd, but slightly comforting as well. "Let's get inside."
-/-/-/-
A few days had passed since Viren left the temple in Valros behind him. He travelled south along the shores of the Tempest Sea, a relatively small stretch of water that lay in between Neolandia and Del Bar. The transition from one country into the next wasn't quite clear. There were no checkpoints. When the pentarchy was united, there was no need for them, and when it crumbled there had been no one to enforce them.
Despite this, it did become noticeable gradually when Viren entered Del Bar. As soon as he had left the beaches behind him, the climate became colder. The hot sun made way for cloudy skies, and the land was either large swaths of forest or seas of green grass. Del Bar looked like a place where very few humans lived, but Viren knew that the opposite was true. You just had to know where to look for them.
He travelled onwards on a smallish, muddy road going further south towards the capital. It was on the third day of his travels that he saw his first sign of life. Or rather, it surprised him unpleasantly as three bandits stepped from behind the trees and surrounded Viren and his horse.
"Good day to ya, sir. What a fine day to travel, init?" A simple looking man with an unshaven face looked at Viren and smiled. His teeth were yellow and stained. Viren thought that personal hygiene was probably not high on the list for this one.
"Ah...yes, I suppose it is a fine day for a ride," Viren said as he eyed the three strangers. He immediately knew that he was in some danger. The one on the left was holding a club, and the one on the right was holding a crossbow. The one who greeted him didn't appear to have any weapons, but Viren deduced that meant he probably had a dagger hidden underneath his cloak somewhere. "Is there a particular reason for bothering an old man on his journey?"
"Yes, there is, sir! You see, Del Bar is in a bit of a pickle. Ever since da king lost his life, roads are a bit unsafe ta travel. We simple folk have taken it upon ourselves to make sure that no accidents happen to innocent travellers such as yourself." The man gestured towards Viren with his toothpick.
"Well, I must say, that is mighty generous of you." The sarcasm was dripping off that statement as Viren fingered his staff, getting ready to do a show of power, if necessary. "Might I surmise that this generosity comes at a certain...price?"
"You, sir, are an extremely educated man!" The man returned with equal sarcasm. "Indeed, to ensure we all get fed properly so we can fight da forces of evil, we require toll from passersby."
"And how much would that amount to, dear sir." Viren figured that if worse came to worst, he could use the trickle of power left in his staff to scare them. He didn't know if he could cast a harmful spell with it though. He didn't even know if he was up to casting something like that after months of not doing dark magic.
Now all three of the persons seemed to be grinning. "Just all da gold on yer person, sir."
"Ah, I see. That is going to be a problem," Viren replied calmly and collected. The grins immediately faded, and he saw the person with the crossbow slowly bring it to bear. "You see, I am a dark mage on the run from Duren." When he saw their confused looks, he added; "I took a bit of a detour through Neolandia, that's true, but I have urgent business with the council in Barukhold and I really, really hate to be held up by the likes of you." Viren extended his staff and brought it to bear. The bandits seemed hesitant now, looking at their leader who was sizing Viren up.
"...naa.. Yer lying. Yer just trying ta scare poor folk like us!"
Viren shrugged. "It does not matter to me one way or the other. But tell me this, would you rather be a rat, or a slug?" He swallowed, trying to hide it, and incanted, pointing his staff at the leader while keeping one eye trained at the crossbowman, ready to dodge as he took aim. "Snoisulli gniwolg."
The trio gasped as Viren's eyes glowed a dark purple and black tendrils extended themselves from out of the staff towards the leader, who hurried backwards. "Shite! It's da real deal! I'm sorry sir! I dinna mean no harm!" the leader pleaded as the tendrils seemed to move around him slowly.
"Oh really? It did look like you were going to take a poor man's gold."
"I-I-I'm sorry sir! I should've known better!" The sound of boots confirmed that the other two bandits chose not to confront the dark mage, having fled back into the forest.
Viren gritted his teeth. "Then know better now. Spread the word to your ilk. If anyone crosses my path, it will be their undoing!" The tendrils retracted themselves, though the glowing eyes remained.
The bandit leader took a few shaky steps towards the trees. "T-Thank you, sir! I-I will!" And with that, he ran away.
Once everything was quiet, Viren dropped the spell. He gasped. He felt the corruption run through his system. As he touched his face, he felt that more cracks now scarred it. It was probably ashen grey again, he thought as he wondered if his eyes were still normal, or if they had turned black as well. "Even the simplest of spells is corruptive…" he muttered as he felt dizziness trying to overtake him. He shuddered to think what a proper harmful dark magic spell would have done to him. His best bet right now was to reach civilization, quickly. He pulled out a cloak to cover his features and trod on towards the capital.
-/-/-/-
Rayla led Callum to her room to avoid the prying eyes of the other Dragonguard. She sighed deeply as she closed the door behind her and turned around to face him. Callum stood there awkwardly.
"So…" he said.
"So…" she said.
An awkward silence ensued where neither one of them was ready to cross the distance.
"Okay, this is insane." Callum blurted out eventually. "Why is this awkward!?" He moved closer to her and took her hands, which made her smile.
"Probably because we haven't seen each other in a very long time." She swung their hands left and right in a playful motion.
"But we were smooching not five minutes ago!" he exclaimed, still not quite understanding the atmosphere that hung in the room.
Rayla thought for a bit. "Maybe because back there we didn't think about things? I mean, right now I'm thinkin' 'bout how long it's been since I last saw you. So much has changed. Are you really still the same person? Am I?"
Callum's eyes widened a bit. "Wow, that's heavy." He looked a bit frightened at the prospect of her having changed.
She saw his fear and stepped closer to him, her hands now on his chest, making soothing motions. "Don't worry, dummy. To me, you're still my sweet human prince." She placed her head against his until she saw him smile again.
"Oh, that's a relief. A-and to me you're still my dear, sweet moonberry." He grinned at her stricken face.
"Callum! That's awful! I told you to cut it out with the nicknames!" She swatted at him, but he easily dodged her, laughing at her reaction.
"But you love moonberries!"
"Yeah, to eat them, not be called one!"
Callum just laughed. "I guess I'll just keep trying until I find a nickname that sticks."
Rayla snickered but gave up on the subject. She sat down on the bed and petted next to her. "Come, sit. I want to hear all about how school was for you!"
He gave a nervous laugh but sat down next to her anyway. "Right, school, well, let me tell you all about it!"
For the next few hours, the both of them caught each other up to speed about what had been going on in their lives, and, for the most part, what they didn't write in each other's letters.
Callum came clean about the bullying, which Rayla had already suspected, and Rayla told him about her trouble with leading the Dragonguard, especially Orris. She also confessed that she had some sort of a breakdown a few weeks ago, partly because she wondered if his heart was still in the letters he sent.
Callum begrudgingly admitted that he found it hard to keep writing long love letters as time went by, but he had hoped to compensate by sending more sketches, something he was good at and passionate about. He thought that by showing her the places he lived and trained, she could feel a little bit closer to him. This made her blush as she thought of her doubts back then. He is so thoughtful! I completely misinterpreted that! Slowly, the awkwardness began to fade and they scooted closer, leaning into each other.
"I've missed you, you know that?" Callum said as his fingers ran over hers.
She giggled. "I could have guessed that, dummy." She kissed him on the cheek. "And it's the same for me. It's so good to have you back here." Suddenly, the smile faded a bit. "Will you be stayin' long? I don't know how much time off they gave you from your studies."
"Euh…. how do I put this." Callum sat up straighter and scratched the back of his head. "I graduated as a master, technically… I think?"
Rayla's eyebrows shot up. "You 'think'?"
He swallowed. They were getting close to discussing….that. "Well, I did some kind of exam, where I had to create a storm. And I aced it!"
"You created a storm!?" She got excited. Rayla always had an appreciation for Callum's magic. It had saved her on multiple occasions.
"Yeah. I now have these chest markings… Wait, here, I'll show you!" He stood up and pulled off his shirt.
Rayla gave a whistle as she eyed his markings which covered a large portion of his chest. The eye in the centre looked intimidating. "That's a lot more than I've ever seen a moonshadow elf walk around with. And it's all part of the spell?"
Callum nodded. He secretly liked that she was admiring his body. He had always been lean and skinny, never muscular, so he had never really felt the pride he felt now. A jolt of electricity went through his system when Rayla suddenly walked up to him and touched his chest, rubbing her thumb along the intricate lines of his markings.
"Is this the same paint we use?" she asked, referring to the markings the moonshadow elves had on their faces.
"Y-Yeah, Master Thorus said something like that, I think." He shivered as her fingers followed the patterns on his chest. Suddenly, she looked up and their eyes met.
"Oh, sorry! I-I didn't want to make you uncomfortable," she stammered, a blush on her face.
"You didn't!" he said hastily. "It...it actually felt pretty good! I mean...it's okay, I think?" Callum didn't want her to stop, but didn't want this to be awkward either.
Rayla caught on to this. "Well, perhaps later I could….I dunno, give you a massage or somethin'?" Her voice was heavy and alluring, though a bit shaky. She was nervous too. "I mean, if you wanna..."
Callum swallowed, and he felt a knot of guilt settle in his stomach. He still hadn't told her why he had left the Aero Temple. "Rayla...there's something I've got to tell you."
His serious, concerned tone of voice caught her completely off guard and snapped her out of the moment. "Oh, alright?"
He put on his shirt and sat down on a chair in front of her, as she sat down on the bed opposite of him. "My master and I had a fight before I left. I...I had just completed the trial. Aced it. He complimented me on it. He said that he would make me a master, or at least give me a temporary master status so that I could join in on discussion panels with the other teachers. But...but then…" He swallowed hard.
Rayla leaned forward and put her hand on his knee. She could feel him tremble. "Callum… What did he do to you?"
Callum looked up. Rayla saw fear in his eyes. His head looked sweaty. It's more of what I've done to you, Rayla, he thought as he looked away. "He...he didn't do anything. Well, he treated me roughly like a student but that is really beside the point." He sighed, his head hanging down. "I...I cheated on you, Rayla. There was a girl. An elf girl."
As soon as those words left his mouth, a cold sense of dread settled in Rayla's stomach, a fear she had been silently harbouring, given life at this moment. No….he… he can't…
"She spent a lot of time with me these last few weeks. She was the only elf that was nice to me and gave me hugs. We-" He swallowed. "We watched the stars together one night and-and Thorus caught us cuddling after I came back from the trail."
Rayla leapt to her feet. "You cuddled with her!?"
"It was her idea…" Callum replied weakly, barely daring to look her in the eyes. She looked furious.
Rayla started to pace the room, gesturing with her arms. "A can't believe it! So you're gone six months and ya just decide to smooch the next best elfin that ye come across?"
"Well, I have never actually kissed her…" he stammered.
She stopped and looked at him. He looked genuinely afraid. A part of her was glad of that. She felt betrayed. But she also knew that this was her first impulse, and she didn't quite understand how Callum could cheat without kissing someone else. "Ya didn't smooch?"
He shook his head.
She looked at him for a long time, deciding if he was telling the truth. "So, what did you do then, Callum? You... " She swallowed. "You cheated. You said you did." The initial fury began to subside and Rayla felt tears prick in her eyes.
Callum mumbled a bit, trying to gather his thoughts vocally. "Well..I mean… I cuddled with her often? And...and I guess I was close to her, a-and when Thorus found us, he said I was cheating and-and-" Callum was on the verge of crying. He had seen the look of betrayal on her face and he felt how much he had hurt her. He felt so guilty! Thorus had said that he was cheating and Aireli confirmed that she wanted to do romantic stuff. Callum just didn't understand how he was naïve enough to go along in all the hugs and cuddles he shared with that girl. How could I have been so stupid!
Rayla was trying to remain calm. She had a hard time following Callum's train of thought. When he said he cheated, he confirmed all the worst thoughts in her mind, of him sharing intimate moments with another elf. She felt anger and disgust at the thought of another elf kissing him and caressing him. However, the way Callum brought it, it sounded like he didn't do those things, at least not the kissing part. So why does he feel guilty? "So...you cuddled with her? That's the most you did with that girl?" she asked for clarification.
Callum nodded weakly. "I'm so sorry, Rayla. I know it's stupid to ask for forgiveness, but please, I don't want to lose you!" He was sobbing now, the guilt eating away at him.
"Well...it's not right for you to do that…" she replied at length.
Silence followed for a bit. She didn't quite know what to say, but she remembered she had something to tell him as well, but more importantly, something she had wanted to ask him. After a while, she broke the silence first. "There is a way you can make up for it."
-/-/-/-
Barukhold was a formidable city. Large stone walls surrounded it and seemed to lock the city in place against the mountainside. Most of the buildings were stone with thatch roofs, giving the city a gritty look. There was no snow in this season, but the temperatures were definitely only slightly above freezing this close to the mountain. The people wore furs and looked hospitable enough, but they did give Viren a wide berth as this cloaked stranger made his way through the crowds, pulling his horse behind him.
Viren was frustrated. Upon entering the city, he had immediately gone to the palace. However, upon arrival, he could see that it was deserted for the most part. There was no royal staff and no sign of this council of Ziard. Instead, a lot of poor people seemed to occupy the various large rooms, and one of the dining rooms he had once graced with his presence was now converted to a large soup kitchen. All the expensive furniture and decoration had vanished. This perplexed him.
He had asked around, of course, but strangely enough, he had gotten vague replies. Nobody knew where the council was, and the guards replied that if Viren didn't know where the council was, then the council didn't want to be found by him.
At the end of a long day, he sat himself on a bench near a town square, unsure of how to proceed. There were spells he could use to locate someone, but he didn't know if he had it in him to cast more dark magic spells. He didn't have the ingredients anyway.
It was getting dark when a stranger clad in brown furs approached a desperate Viren. He looked up at the stranger, but couldn't see his face in the darkness. "What?" he said briskly. "Is there something I can help you with?"
The stranger said nothing for a while, then; "Lord Viren, previously head mage of Katolis?"
Viren was surprised. "Ah, yes! Yes, that is me! How did you-"
"The council has been expecting you. Follow me." And with that, the fur-clad stranger turned around and walked away.
Viren stumbled to his feet, grabbed his horse by the reins and followed him, hopeful that his journey would soon come to an end.
-/-/-/-
Callum perked up, the knot in his stomach twisting. "Really? H-how can I make it up to you?"
She looked up into his eyes. "You could help me get Runaan back. My parent's as well."
He paled, unsure of what she was asking of him. "Rayla… they're dead…"
She smiled sadly. "No, they're not. When I had that breakdown I told you about, I didn't just visit my home. I also went on a mission." Feeling restless, she stood up and walked to the mirror. She stared into her own eyes, trying to relive the memories within them. "I discovered that Runaan was still alive and that Viren had him captive somehow."
"What!? That other assassin?"
Rayla turned, her eyes boring into his. "He's my da, Callum! Or he pretty much was when my parents weren't around to take care of me. He taught me everything I know… Me and Ethari found out he was alive when we saw his flower in the pond. It never sank, it was just floatin' in there somewhere between the bottom and the surface. So we figured Runaan must be floatin' between life and death himself."
When she heard no reply from Callum, she continued. "I went to Neolandia, cause I knew Viren was out there somewhere. On the way, I ran into that knight-friend of yours, Soren. He was lookin' for Viren as well."
Callum had stopped sniffling and was listening with rapt attention to Rayla's story. He wondered why Soren would go out on his own, so far removed from Ezran, but he figured that it was all part of Rayla's story. He motioned for her to continue.
"So, with his help, I found Viren's base rather quickly. Not that they are actually hidin' where they are, mind you. It was us that had to do the hidin', on account of the entire country being under the control of this cult. We snuck in and found Viren's study… and then Viren found us."
"... so what happened?" Callum sounded very concerned. He was glad that Rayla seemed to have made it back in one piece, but it looked like she was carrying a big weight. Something happened there… he thought. He hoped that she would be honest with him as well.
"At first I thought that he would attack us, especially when Claudia came in and cast a spell on Soren, but it turned out he thought he could use me… or use my information or whatever." She felt guilty herself for even talking with Viren about Xadia. It had been the safest way out of the situation, and she had gotten what she wanted. But had it been worth it? "We ended up talkin' about the war between the human kingdoms and Xadia and why he fought against us." She looked up. "I killed him, you know? I killed Viren when I threw him off the Spire...I-I killed a person."
Callum was confused. "Wait, but, you said you talked to him?"
She nodded. "Apparently, Claudia brought him back. It must have left some scars. He looked worn, thin...tired. It was like the fight was out of him. Doesn't change the fact that I killed him in the first place though. I don't know how to feel about that."
Seeing her distress, Callum said nothing but put a hand on her knee. He felt tears fall on the back of his hand as she snivelled and wiped them away.
"I guess I'm a true assassin after all. Who knows, with the Dragonguard, maybe I'll finally get good at it. Killin', I mean."
"Rayla…"
She looked at him, ready to defend herself against whatever argument he had to make her feel better.
But Callum knew she would do that, so Instead, he talked about his own discussions at school. "I may have killed some soldiers, back in the battle. I blew a couple off the side of the mountain and hit some others with Fulminis. I was so busy with the battle and getting to you afterwards, that I never checked but... I don't think all of those soldiers got back up again."
Rayla's hardened face softened somewhat. Eventually, she said: "How do you deal with that?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it helps that I never recognized the soldiers, and I don't know what became of them afterwards. I've asked Ezran about it in a letter, but he just responded that in a battle, sometimes people die, and that's just the way it is." He gave a slight snicker. "I think Opeli had a hand in that letter though. Or Ezran is a lot wiser than I give him credit for."
Rayla brightened up a bit. "He's a smart kid… I don't think I could do it again though. I don't want to kill anyone, not ever again."
"Do you even have that choice, as a Dragonguard?" Callum didn't want to ask her that, but he figured it was a fair question.
"I-I don't know? I mean, we don't have to kill intruders. We could just, you know, capture them?" Rayla couldn't recall a time when she had felt more unsure of herself.
"Well, let's hope you don't have to do that then. I've seen you disarm enough opponents to know that you can work your way around killing people." Callum gave her a reassuring smile.
Rayla smiled back at him, the feelings of betrayal forgotten for the moment. She squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Callum."
Callum, for his part, wanted it to be like this. To be in this moment she was happy with him after he'd already confessed. But he knew that she wanted something else from him as well, and he hesitantly prodded for her to continue her story. "So, about Viren?"
"Ah, yes, right. He wanted to know how Xadia stood against the other kingdoms, if there was a risk of attack. I-I'm glad I didn't know that stuff. We of the Dragonguard hear some political discussions here at the Spire, but some stuff is also decided at the dragonmoot. Anyway, I-I couldn't tell him much." She looked at Callum. Her eyes were big, like she was pleading for him to believe her.
This made Callum realise something. "You feel guilty about this."
She nodded. "Do-do you think I have betrayed Xadia by tellin' him stuff? Even if it was just general knowledge?"
Callum thought for a bit, really considering the question, then shrugged. "It really depends on what you've told him and if he's going to use it against us. In his case, I would say he probably will?" He gave her a weak smile, but his honest answer tore right into her soul.
"Oh no…" she whispered.
"Hey, it's alright! I'm sure everything's going to be fine!" He reached over and shook her shoulder. "Did you find Runaan at least?"
Again, she nodded. She reached over the table, grabbed a pouch and opened it, looking inside. She then took a coin out of the pouch and showed it to him.
Callum sucked in a breath as he saw a trapped elf in the coin. He faintly recognized the elf as the assassin he had seen on the castle battlements almost a year ago. "That...that's him, isn't it?"
"Yes, it's Runaan. And…" She grabbed a few other coins and laid them out on the table. Callum stood up to look at them. Five other faces looked up towards them. Rayla then pushed two coins towards him. "My ma and da…"
The faces looked confused as they regarded Callum. He saw a faint resemblance with Rayla and the vision he had seen before the battle at the Storm Spire, but the faces were very small and it was hard to make out any details without looking closely. "Are they stuck in there?"
She shrugged. "I dunno. Viren said that he had trapped them so that he could use them later, and that he hadn't bothered to find out how to get them out. I-I had hoped…" She swallowed nervously, looking in his eyes with some desperation in her own. "Can you get them out? With your magic, I mean?"
Callum involuntarily took a step back. "Rayla…" His first impulse was to say yes and help her, but looking at the coins he found that he really didn't know how to approach this problem. Nothing he learned at the Area Temple talked about spells that could imprison or release someone. The only magic that had that kind of power, as far as he knew, was dark magic, and he had sworn never to touch that stuff again. He thought that if his confession didn't break her heart, this would. "I don't think… I can help with that."
-/-/-/-
The stranger had led him to the edge of the city and started to climb a narrow mountain path. "Leave the horse." he had said.
Viren sought for a post to tie the horse to, but when he found none and saw that the stranger had already gone ahead, he just grabbed his personal effects and climbed on after him.
The path led them further up and soon they could see the entire city behind them. Viren was puzzled. Wasn't the council supposed to be in the city? "Stranger, where are we going?"
"To the council," was the gruff reply.
The stranger hadn't talked to Viren during the ascent, and this bothered him. However, Viren had no other lead to find this council. He had to take a gamble and trust this man, without having any proof of his intentions."If you're lying to me, you will soon regret messing with a master of dark magic." Viren warned him.
The stranger stopped climbing and turned. The eyes were still not visible, but a strange smile appeared on the stranger's face. "You are spent, Viren. You have not cast proper spells in months. I very much doubt that you are capable of conjuring a simple mote of flame."
Viren gritted his teeth and looked at the stranger, then narrowed his eyes. Only now did he see that the stranger's skin was greyish, a crack having formed on his left cheek. "And I suppose you would know about dark magic as well, then?"
The stranger said nothing but just kept smiling. Eventually, he turned and resumed his climb. "The council will explain, Lord Viren. Be patient." And with that, they continued.
After another half an hour of climbing, they reached an entrance into the mountain. A long, dark tunnel was chiselled out. Two statues of big, burly men with axes guarded the entrance. The stranger gestured inside. "The council awaits."
Viren gave the stranger a wary look and thought of threatening him again, then thought the better of it. He stepped inside the tunnel. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he found that there was some light. Oil lamps had been placed at various intervals, being held in the open hands of even more statues. All the statues and the stonework gave the cave a very gothic feeling. Viren walked deeper into the cave and pretty soon he entered what seemed to be some kind of room with various doors. The room just contained some benches and crates. A bookcase stood in a corner, containing just a couple of books. He was tempted to inspect them but figured that could wait. I have more pressing matters right now.
He looked around. There were two doors on the left and on the right, and one large double door to the front, leading further into the mountain. He heard a faint chanting coming from the room. He strained to listen but could not make out the words, just the deep tones of voices. The council, perhaps? He moved closer to the door. As he stood close enough to touch it, the doors opened by themselves, startling Viren. He took a step back, grabbing his staff tightly and taking a defensive stance.
As the doors opened further, light flooded from the doorway, causing Viren to shield his eyes. Once they adjusted, the open doorway revealed a giant, dome-shaped room. Pillars were carved out of the walls of the mountain, looking prettier than they had any right to be in this place. A large, red, circular carpet graced the central portion of the room, and a raised, stone platform surrounded it with eight figures standing in a large circle on top of it. The ceiling of the dome seemed to have various murals engraved in them, depicting fantastical scenes of humans, elves and dragons. The light in the room came from four small, glowing orbs that floated near the ceiling.
Viren took a deep breath to steel himself and walked into the room, trying to appear just as confident as when he had addressed the Pentarchy all those months ago.
A deep voice boomed through the room. "Welcome, Lord Viren. We have been expecting you."
-/-/-/-
Rayla seemed frozen in place for a second. Callum was afraid he had broken her. Her expression was one of shock. Then, with a very soft voice, she spoke. "Why not? You… you're a master of the sky arcanum, right?"
He shook his head. "I don't think that is going to help. I've studied the sky arcanum a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean that I know almost all the spells that use the sky arcanum, not that I can cast all of them, but I know what they are and…" He was rambling and tried to stop himself. "Point is, they all deal with air, making it blow and making it hot or cold. Imprisoning something inside an object has nothing to do with the sky arcanum at all!"
Rayla's shoulders sagged, but she rallied. "What about some different arcanum? Isn't there something in elven magic that, you know… maybe could trap people into a coin?" She eyed the coins. As she said that, she knew that she was grasping for straws.
"You would know that better than me. Honestly, the only magic that I know of that could do stuff like that is the star arcanum."
Rayla immediately perked up. "That's great! So all we have to do is find a spell and-"
"That's impossible, Rayla, I can't do star magic. I just can't!" He tried to stop her from getting too much hope.
Rayla was smiling nervously at him. "No, it's not! You just have to try real hard… You connected to the sky arcanum, why not another one?"
He grabbed her shoulders. "Rayla, I talked to Thorus about it. I wanted to use the star arcanum to project into your dream. But Thorus said that the only way to fully understand the star arcanum was to live a very long time. He reasoned that short-lived creatures could probably only understand it after they died, because that would get them some sort of an outside perspective of life."
"Oh…" Rayla bit her lip as she looked away. She swallowed, hesitating only a moment before asking a question she had hoped she didn't have to ask him. "Then… Then what about dark magic?"
Callum stiffened. "Rayla… you can't ask me to-"
"And why not!?" She suddenly jumped up, her hands balled into fists. "They're my ma and da, and my mentor! I need them back!" She looked frantic and Callum was afraid she was going to start hitting things soon, or worse, him. "You know how to cast dark magic! I saw you do it!"
"Yeah, and it nearly killed me!" he countered. "We both agreed on this. Dark magic corrupts. It's wrong to use it. It's too dangerous to use it!"
Rayla felt like she was falling apart. First Callum was confessing that he cheated on her and now he refused to help her. "Well...you….agh!" She hit the table, causing the coins to jingle, the faces on them looking scared. Rayla pretended not to see them. She was furious on the inside, and beneath that was a big layer of hurt. Six months of being apart had taken their toll, and she felt the last bit of patience she had, being ripped away by Callum's blatant refusal to even consider helping her undo the spell or curse or whatever had trapped her loved ones. She couldn't deal with this right now. "Get out."
His eyes widened. "W-what?"
"GET OUT!" She grabbed a mug and threw it at him. Callum deflected it and it crashed on the floor in several pieces.
Cold dread gripped Callum's heart as he saw her rage at him, thinking that she could only mean one thing. "Rayla… do you really want me to-?!"
"Yes! GET OUT! Are ya deaf, ya scunner!? Ya gut-for-nothin' filthy five-fingered piece of shite!?" Rayla was screaming at the top of her lungs. Pent up frustration and boiled up emotions made their way out. A red haze had come over her, one she normally only had felt when she was in combat.
Callum pressed his lips tightly together. He had said what he needed to say, perhaps even said too much, he reasoned. He stood up and quickly left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Rayla stared at the door, slowly realising what she had just done. I called him that….I threw stuff at him…. Part of her was too stubborn to admit that she may have overreacted. Another part of her was simply glad he was gone for now. And another part wanted nothing more than to run after him and hug him for all he was worth. Torn by these emotions, she sank to the ground and cried.
-/-/-/-
It was raining outside, but Callum didn't care. He ignored the friendly greetings of several Dragonguard he passed. He even ignored the seething look Orris gave him. I just want to get away from here for now. As he looked up, gentle rain clouds were floating past. He frowned. He felt like creating a storm.
He drew three sigils in the air, then spread his arms and incanted a spell. "Tonitrua Pluviam Maximize." Suddenly, the rain clouds turned darker and flashes could be seen from within. The slight drizzle that was falling down on the mountain turned into a downpour. Yes, this feels more like it, he thought. He stepped to the edge of the platform and jumped off, incanting his mage wing spell on the way down. He swooped away and veered off into the distance, leaving the Storm Spire behind him.
As he flew, he thought of what had happened. He tried to make sense of it, at least. She hadn't been mad at him when he confessed he cheated. It was more like she doubted he had cheated at all. And did he really? After all, it was just a bit of cuddling. But he also knew that cuddling with someone else was grey territory at best, and Rayla could very well consider that to be cheating, regardless.
And then there were those coins. Her parents are alive! And so is that assassin… He understood her desire to get them back. He had lost his step-father, and he would do anything to get him back if he got the opportunity. Anything...but dark magic.
When Callum had used dark magic for the first time, he had felt the corruptive power. It had been so easy to cast the spell. It had taken next to no energy at all, which was completely different from the sky arcanum, which still drew power from the caster. But the corruptive energy of dark magic had left its mark on Callum, and he had passed out into a feverish slumber soon after. The visions he had were about magic. He felt like he had a choice. Become a dark mage, take the easy path and just take and use the magic power of other creatures. Or choose a harder path and become something no human had ever been before.
He had chosen the latter, and while he understood the terrible pain Rayla must be going through right now, he resolved that she had no right to ask him -no, force him to use dark magic, even if it was for a good cause.
Tired of flying through the rain and thunder, he chose a spot in a nearby forest to land and cool down a bit. As he undid his wings and slumped against a tree, he thought of what would come next. So, are me and Rayla still a thing? He found that he had no clear answer to that. Maybe the only reason she didn't get mad about the cheating part was because she wanted something from him in the first place. Another knot of guilt and sorrow settled in his stomach at the thought of Rayla breaking up with him. He felt water running down his cheeks, and didn't know if it was the rain or tears that were streaming down.
Dammit. Dammit, all to hell! This is all so wrong! He buried his face in his hands and tried to think of better times. Of when he and Rayla first entered Xadia, how she had shown him all those different things. They were laughing together back then. He thought of their moments together in her room in the Spire, of the cuddling and kisses, but also of the games and the calm he felt of just being together. He thought of their first, somewhat awkward kiss in the oasis, and then later a more passionate one as they traversed the desert.
He sat there for a long time, so engrossed in his memories, trying to escape reality, that he didn't hear a figure creeping up to him.
"Callum?"
Callum sat up straight and looked around to see where the voice was coming from. It was a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. In front of him, in the dim light of the storm, stood Claudia.
"Claudia!? What are you doing here!?" He scrambled upwards, both surprised and on guard. He remembered which side she chose in the long run, but ever since they left the Cursed Caldara, he hadn't seen her or confronted her personally.
Claudia looked at him with concern in her eyes. "I'm looking for you, dummy. What happened? You look like you've been through hell!" Her tone was jovial as she tried to make conversation, lightly bouncing on the balls of her feet, her hands clasped behind her back.
Callum thought he probably did look like that, but he ignored her concern, stepping further back to create some space between them. Claudia looked hurt as he did but made no further movements. "What are you doing here, Claudia? You are no longer welcome here!"
"I-I just wanted to see how you were doing. It's been a long time since we spoke, and... We didn't exactly leave on the best of terms."
"... no, we didn't. You betrayed us, Claudia. And you betrayed Katolis!"
"I did not!" She frowned angrily at him. "My dad ruled Katolis, so I fought for our side. For our human side! I still don't understand why you chose the elves, Callum."
Callum dropped his guarded stance, as Claudia had made no hostile moves. He seemed perturbed that Claudia still couldn't see reason. "I didn't choose the elves, Claudia, or the humans. I chose peace! And we have that now!"
"Yes, you do. So does Duren. Meanwhile, countries like Neolandia, Del Bar and Evenere have to try and work things out with the constant threat of being wiped out by the dragons." Claudia said this matter of factly. She stood up straight, hands clasped behind her back. Please, see reason, Callum. I don't want to have to do this…
Callum made a sweeping gesture. "All those countries can join the peace treaty if they want to. All they have to do is-"
"- give up dark magic, I know. Thing is, without that, and without trade, who will heal the sick people, Callum? Who will give them food when they're starving? You? Katolis, who barely has enough for itself? Xadia?"
Callum crossed his arms. "I didn't say it would be easy. But it's the better path. The harder path usually is."
Claudia sighed. "Okay, I guess I can't change your mind about that… Truth is, I came here to ask for your help."
This caught Callum off guard. "Oh? What kind of help?"
"We have some difficult spells that we can't figure out. We hoped that someone who's also talented could perhaps take a look at those spells, see if we're doing anything wrong."
"What about your dad, isn't he a brilliant mage?"
Claudia lowered her eyes. It seemed like Callum had struck a sore point. "He's gone… he left for Del Bar. Said I had to figure things out by myself…"
"Oh…" Callum now felt sorry for his hostility. So far, she had made no threatening movements and looking around, it seemed like she came here by herself. Which Callum still found weird, but at least he didn't feel threatened. She also didn't have a staff with her, so there was no chance of her casting a giant-orb-of-death, as he had seen at the battlefield. "Well...what kind of magic are the spells?"
"Dark magic." Her eyes met his. She gave him a hopeful look.
He groaned inwardly. Do I really have to turn down two people because they ask me to do dark magic!? What is up with today!? "No, not a chance. I'm not doing dark magic anymore."
Claudia gave him a long look, then sighed. "Alright. I didn't come here to fight anyway, just to see how you were doing…"
"Well, that's good. Then me and the Dragonguard don't have to kill you." He had meant to make it sound like a joke, he really had, but by the looks of it, it startled Claudia that he would utter a sentence like that.
"Yes, well, good for me, I guess."
"Yeah."
"Okay."
They stared at each other awkwardly.
"So, can I at least get a hug? For old time's sake?" Claudia asked hopefully, leaning forward a bit, trying to be playful.
Ah, sure, what the heck. Callum smiled at her. He remembered the friendship they'd had, the crush he'd had on her. "A hug would be nice."
As Callum moved forwards with his arms open, Claudia moved into them and wrapped her arms around his neck. As her hands moved from behind her back, Callum saw out of the corner of his eye that she was holding a strange large feather. Before he could ask her about it, he heard her whisper into his ear.
"Enim eb ot demrahc eb."
Author's Note:
New one's up! And on time again! I've cut a lot of the fat off the story to keep the updates manageable, so that each chapter isn't 10K+ words long, but this one came pretty close regardless. The first story only had chapters of 5K - 8K words, but this story so far seems to consistently go past that. Which is great! I love a long read as well! But writing 10K+ words, proof-reading them AND having a life and full-time job next to that is a bit too much pressure for me in one week.
I think some of you already predicted the happenings of this story. As you can imagine, things will only escalate from here on out. It's going to be an exciting ride for the last three chapters!
Thank you all for the reviews! As always, they keep me going, so please, keep them coming! I love hearing your thoughts on this story, and the Dragon Prince in general!
Review responses:
Mdauben: Well, this chapter should answer this nicely!
Rainbowhawk1993:
Well, I hope it lived up to your standards, though I think this didn't go how you would have imagined it.
Nothing good I imagine. Rayla's in quite a pickle for this one.
2nd review
She was actually close behind!
Well, Callum would want to go down with a fight! Claudia however had other plans….
Ayup.
Also, thanks for the video! I liked it! Great fan of LP here!
Dragon Lord Draco: Yeah, things are going to hit the fan these next few chapters. She will probably debrief with the dragon king in the next chapter.
Mateusz Weryski: Oh, don't worry, I'm not one of those writers who is going to write a tragic "bad ending". However, Eye of the Storm is going to be a bit like "the Empire Strikes Back". Lots of setbacks, lots of drama.
ImGolden: Thanks!
NightOwl: Hehehe, those are some awesome speculations. I'm sure this chapter answers a few of them. Well, Rayla did get mad at him, but I think she didn't really get the time to think things through. She might regret her words later on.
Thanks for your concern! Covid sucks, but me and my loved ones are still alright, so that's a blessing right there.