Callum could finally see something on the horizon. Not land, exactly, but a sort of glinting turret rising above the waves. He tucked the arcanum cube away, no longer in need of a makeshift compass to direct his winds. "Anyone else seeing that?"
"I could see it even before you," informed Lain. "Moonshadow Elf eyes ignore the curvature of the Earth."
His wind spell almost stopped working. "What?!"
Tiadrin elbowed Lain with a laugh. "He's kidding, it's an old myth for messing with other elves. I do see that spire we're headed towards too, though. Gotta be twenty feet tall."
Rayla joined in. "More like forty, isn't it?"
Lain huffed. "Your eyes officially cannot compete with mine and your mother's. Thirty five feet at best."
As nervous as Callum had been about Rayla's parents, he found them easier to be around than he expected. He listened with a smile, grateful for an easing of the tension that seemed to ebb and flow with the tides on the sea. Runaan was sitting off to the side, silent as he gazed ahead. There was an uneasy peace between them, but Callum would take it. Ezran got along with Runaan better than Callum could, and he again figured it helped that Ezran had a more forgiving nature, a soul untainted not from pain, but darkness.
Zym also insisted on playing with Ezran to pass the time, and the young dragon's presence melted the heart of every elf no matter how jaded.
Tiadrin put a hand on Callum's shoulder, the spire becoming more and more clear. "Whatever is ahead, we're with you."
Runaan turned to Callum and nodded. "We are aligned on this mission. Whatever use I can be, I am sworn to it." His arm was still in a sling, but Callum got the sense that even if he personally detested him, Runaan would give his life for their mission, for Rayla, for everyone in Xadia if asked.
Callum nodded back, solemnly.
Considering what he planned to do, he was glad Runaan wasn't at his strongest.
The Key of Aaravos in Callum's pocket twitched, sensing they were close, trying to pull itself there. Callum patted his pocket, frowning as he could make out a ship anchored near the spire, stomach dropping.
"We're too late!" Rayla gripped the railing of the deck, face green again, though Callum doubted it was only from seasickness. Even though Callum wasn't out to stop Aaravos from breaking free, and he sort of wanted what Viren and Claudia did, the sight of what could only be Viren and Claudia's ship sent his own stomach into knots.
I no longer desire that sort of life. I wish to be part of the world again. I wish to spend time with you. The others won't interfere with that. You'll see.
Aaravos had likely planned on them getting there first. Callum would have to, once again, trust Aaravos blindly, hoping that Viren wouldn't be able to kill him or anyone else on sight. Even after what he'd done so far, it was hard. Some part wanted to yank him back from the unknown.
Ezran nudged Callum as they got even closer, two specks of color standing out against the white. "Look, green and violet. It's like Earth magic and Dark magic."
Every second before they disembarked seemed to drag on despite their haste. Callum's uneasiness could be excused as just nerves from going down below into the most secure and complex prison in the world, but he still wondered how no one else heard the frantic beating of his heart, no one noticed the way he suddenly felt uneasy on his feet.
Was this actually the brink of goodbye?
"Rayla?"
She was staring at the two imprints, Dark magic and Earth magic, human and elf. She took his hand in hers, giving it a squeeze and then looking at him, determination in her eyes.
Moon opals really were the prettiest.
"We'll stop this together."
Callum nodded, rereading the ominous inscription warning all who would dare enter. "I wonder what trials and perils await us."
-BREAK-
Slide to the right
Slide to the left
"You should have let me die," grumbled Viren.
Terry and Claudia had no issues with their current trial room, getting into the groove of the music, dancing side by side with laughter. The floor beneath their feet glowed with different colors, pulsing out from where their feet touched it, tracing their steps. It seemed absurd to Viren that such complex magic reverberating around them sounded like… this. Terry glanced behind to Viren, grinning. "Didn't you want to live life to the fullest?"
Take it back now y'all
Cha cha now y'all
"Remember the poison room?" Viren cha cha-ed obediently. "All the vials of poison and you have to pick the right ones to not die based on a riddle? I liked that room better. Or how about the spike trap room? The fire and salt puzzle?"
Claudia also glanced back at Viren. "Could you cha cha a little smoother, dad? Just follow Sir Sparklepuff!"
Sir Sparklepuff chittered and danced spiritedly. Apparently, he'd been infused with Aaravos's tiny, tiny, fun loving side. Viren put more of his hips into his dance, expression sour until the song ended. "What was the point of that?!"
Terry shrugged. "Maybe it was meant to stop people who can't follow simple directions or with no sense of rhythm from setting Aaravos free."
A door opened in front of them, leading even deeper down. Claudia grabbed Terry and Viren's hands. "Come on, we must be almost there!"
They passed through and all of them stopped for a moment, staring at a large building in front of them that took up their entire view, still contained within the spire. Viren shook his head. "We aren't close. Be on guard."
It was like a temple, though to whom none of them knew. Viren guessed it was a labyrinth within a tower of trials. It looked nothing like Aaravos's prison, white and imposing rather than the silver and elegant cage Viren had caught glimpses of. He squinted, trying to find any sort of symbol that might tip them off as to what was ahead, and something caught his eye, engraved above the arch of the doorway. "It looks like the ocean arcanum."
Claudia gestured around them. "I mean, we are in the ocean, right? We've just been making our way down to the bottom."
Terry made a face. "I gotta admit, I don't like being so far down. I'm an Earthblood Elf, not a middle-of-the-ocean elf."
Sir Sparklepuff ran ahead of them, making excited noises. He perched in front of the entrance, butterfly wings spread out. Viren put a hand on Sir Sparklepuff's head, sighing as the creature grabbed his hand to hold. "This may be a final trial. It doesn't look like what Aaravos was contained in, but I could never see outside of his study." He frowned. "It could even be a Nexus. I don't know. I hate not knowing."
Getting impatient, Sir Sparklepuff tugged on Viren's wrist.
"It's been 300 years, huh buddy?" asked Claudia, kneeling by Sir Sparklepuff. "I don't know if he can hear us through you, but we're almost there."
They couldn't feel any of the ocean's currents or internal waves within the structure, but Viren felt seasick himself. Aaravos was masterful at twisting arms to get people exactly in the position he needed them in, making offers that couldn't be refused. Aaravos didn't even have to be in the room for Viren to feel his graceful fingers tugging strings around him. Even if Viren wanted to give up his own life rather than break Aaravos free, Claudia had ensured they were doing this or else.
He wanted to live.
Though he wasn't sure how much life he could squeeze into that of a fugitive.
Viren told himself to get a grip, hoping the old, failed mantra might serve him once again. It didn't. His face was still drained of color as he crossed the threshold of the final trial.
He flinched at a hand on his shoulder, turning to see Terry beside him. Terry squeezed his shoulder gently. "It's almost over. We're with you."
The temple doors opened with an echoing boom. They stepped inside to a huge chamber of tiled squares and large marble blocks set in tracks on the floor. Upon closer inspection, many tiles appeared to be buttons, perfectly set for the blocks to be slid on top of them.
The ensuing puzzle took hours.
Viren realized halfway through that they were dragging blocks around to press switches to change the patterns on the floor to create the symbols of the six primal arcanums. Even with that knowledge, it felt as though they barely solved it before any of them passed out, the ceiling too low for anyone to fly and get a real vantage point, the solutions only coming after stubborn trial and errors as the symbols required specific orders to be put in.
At last, the final arcanum, Star, lit up around them.
Claudia gasped, holding Viren and Terry's hands.
The middle of the floor opened up to reveal a square trapdoor several meters across.
A platform rose up out of the floor with a large cube sitting on its corner. It was like a spinning die had been frozen in place, the cube balanced perfectly so all six sides were visible. Each side had the symbol of an arcanum on it, representing all primal sources. The temple room lit up, glowing white, seeking primal magic.
The Ocean side flickered blue and then lit up, seemingly surrounded by so much of the Ocean arcanum that it counted as exposure to it. The Earth arcanum side lit up next, Terry glowing slightly green. "Look, it's sensing our magic!"
Sir Sparklepuff leapt up onto the cube, running around the top as the Star arcanum lit up. He chittered happily, wings pointing up attentively.
Claudia and Viren exchanged glances. Viren's jaw clenched. "We don't have anything, and we're missing the Sun, Moon, and Sky. We may have just buried ourselves here at a dead end."
"No!" Claudia ripped open her satchel, pouring everything from it out on the floor, searching for magical components to complete the representation of all six primal sources. She threw objects and vials out on the ground, desperately even holding up a feather from a creature who'd had the Sky arcanum, a moon opal shard she'd never found a use for, but nothing else made the cube light up beyond its three sides. Her corrupted sunfire staff and the silver and purple ancient staff did nothing either, tainted beyond repair.
Claudia buried her face in her hands as Terry knelt beside her, arm around her shoulders. "We might have time to go and come back, now that we know what we need."
"Dad only has a week left!" Claudia wasn't done with going through everything they had, diving for Terry's shoulder pack, holding back tears as she threw everything inside of it to the ground.
The door to the temple opened again.
At once, several things happened.
"Hold it right there!" shouted Rayla.
Callum, Ezran, Soren, and the Moonshadow Elves all rushed into the temple, racing towards Claudia, Viren, Terry, and Sir Sparklepuff.
As the group entered the room, the cube pulsed, sensing their magic, colors lighting up brightly.
Rayla and Callum glowed lunar silver and sky blue, matching the cube. All that should have been left to lock Aaravos away, the sun, the mightiest star, lit up as well. Bait croaked in Ezran's arms with confusion aa he too glowed yellow, not of his own volition.
The cube, a larger version of Callum's Key of Aaravos, disappeared in a burst of white light. Any shouts that were made were drowned out by what seemed to be an earthquake. The entire spire shot upwards.
The complex containing Aaravos's prison broke the surface of the ocean with a giant wave, water racing off to the shores of the sea like a tsunami. The upper floors of the tower collapsed into ruin with another huge wave, taking the ceiling of the temple building with it with such force it resembled a volcanic eruption. It made room for the miniature world kept at the bottom of the prison to rise up through the floor, shattering the marble floor into chunks. Both ships that had been anchored near the prison capsized in the chaos.
All anyone had to stand on were large chunks of debris and they all screambled to get on them, Viren, Claudia, Terry, and Sir Sparklepuff on one fragment of a ship, everyone else on another.
It was clear to them that this prison was made to never be unlocked.
Neither Callum or Viren had ever known what lay outside of Aaravos's study. Callum had seen a bathroom and he figured there must have been a bedroom, but the rest was a mystery. As the prison actually containing Aaravos himself broke the surface, they could gauge it was approximately the size of a house and yard, encased in a glowing sphere of white.
It too, collapsed open like a flower blooming. The magic made to hold for eternity fell away.
Aaravos's dwelling was beautiful, as far as prisons went. The silvery structure and the high, ornate windows would have been the envy of most people to live in. The space outside the modestly sized building were gardens, apparently cared for by Aaravos himself.
After a year or two, it certainly would have felt cramped. 300? Unbearable.
Aaravos was not satisfied with merely using the door to his study to exit his prison. Like the rest of the tower meant to keep him locked away, he blasted the walls and ceiling off into the ocean, standing amidst the gardens and glinting debris with his arms spread wide, taking in the sunlight with a smug smile.
"I must thank you all for setting me free." He tilted his head in Callum's direction, deep voice carrying to address everyone else with Callum. "You made me your villain, and in your rush to stop me, helped release my bonds." He laughed, doubling over for a minute. "Quite the turn out, is it not?"
He voiced the last line seemingly to the winds.
Not so.
Yet another huge disturbance broke the ocean surface, this once taking the form of blue and white with highlights of yellow. The creature rose up high, red eyes on them, majestic fins on the side of her head pressed back with fury, a roar tearing itself from her throat.
All but Aaravos flinched. He stood still, hands behind his back, smiling with bemusement.
"Domina Profundis!" Ezran shouted.
The great dragon leered down at them all, hissing. "How dare you set the fallen one free!"
"Wait!" Rayla waved her arms frantically. "We're with the Dragonguard! We were trying to stop them!" She pointed over to Claudia, Terry, Sir Sparklepuff, and Viren.
She narrowed her eyes, catching sight of Zym with them as he his behind Ezran. It was enough proof in the heat of the moment. Domina turned to Viren and the rest of his party and without waiting a moment, sent a blast of magical hydropower at them, strong enough to destroy anything underneath it.
Even though they were on opposing sides, the others gasped.
Aaravos hadn't moved, watching Domina like he was watching the clouds. "Unlike you, I am loyal to those loyal to me."
The bright blue beam of deadly magic ceased to reveal the four of them still on their floating makeshift raft of shipwreck, all of them unharmed, shielded by Aaravos's magic.
Domina splashed her tail angrily. "You are loyal to no one but yourself!"
"You know the thing about knowing others who are thousands of years old?" Aaravos shrugged. "The bad blood never gets better. All you do is fight each other, the tallies getting longer and longer."
"You were responsible for disaster after disaster." She leaned down, head level with his, eyes locked onto his. "The entire world is against you now. You may be free, you may be able to withstand one dragon's power, but you will never be beloved again."
She finally got under his skin.
Aaravos's face twisted with wrath, but he remained still. He glared at her, defiant, fists clenched. His expression alone could have sent a person falling down, begging for mercy. "Oh how the undeserving are blessed. Thank this boy for your life, which I spare."
He turned to Callum.
So did everyone else.
"Callum?" asked Rayla next to him. "What does he mean?"
This was it.
Callum took a step forward and Rayla grabbed his wrist. "Are you possessed again?! What're you doing?"
Rayla's grip on him and her words would have made him need to stay with her at any other time. Callum squeezed her hand. Her shock and the beginnings of feeling betrayed were starting to settle in on her face. Callum's heart skipped a beat and he swallowed, resolved as he'd been since the day he suggested running away with Aaravos.
He couldn't bear to remember her like that.
As if it could make up for the years apart, as if it could make up for the days back together when his own muddled pool of pain was too deep, as if it could make up for what he was about to do- he kissed her. Callum embraced her fully, hugging her tightly to himself, kissing like he never had before, relieved when she returned it.
But the moment had to end.
"This is to keep all of you safe," he murmured against her lips.
Callum let go of her hand and turned back to Aaravos.
"No!" Rayla dived for him again but it was as if she'd hit a wall, unable to touch him, shielded as one of Aaravos's protected ones. Her parents also tried to bring him back, none of them able to touch him or give chase.
Soren also spoke up. "Callum, no! The mirror is gone, he doesn't have to have anything over you!"
Claudia was staring as if she was seeing Callum for the first time. "Huh?"
Ezran watched in silence, resigned.
Claudia, Viren, Terry, and Sir Sparklepuff had already moved to stand with Aaravos, and Callum made his way over, turning to everyone else. Once they were within close earshot, Viren whispered to Callum urgently, "Don't. Whatever he offered you, don't."
The concern and candidness of his advice might've touched Callum in the past. It still gave him a moment of reflection, comprehension dawning inside that things weren't as they seemed. Did Viren regret following Aaravos? Then what was he doing there? Such questions would have to be answered later.
"I'm not joining Aaravos." Callum's voice rang out with a declaration, facing all of his friend's shocked faces. "Aaravos is joining me."
"Humans are all the same," Domina growled. Though she knew it wouldn't do any good, she swiped a talon at them, roared and unleashed another blast of magic, but no matter what she did, Aaravos's shield around them and their footing stayed fixed in place.
"Don't hurt him!" Ezran shouted. Though he was addressing Domina, Aaravos also inclined his head to Ezran once the waves and dragon settled back down, enough for him to see Ezran.
Aaravos put his arm around Callum's shoulders. "This one is special, and no one but me seems to understand how much. Typical, really." His expression softened. "I'd never hurt him." With that, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
They vanished and Callum's world went dark.
-BREAK-
Callum groaned, rubbing his head. He was on some kind of hard surface, probably the ground. He shakily tried to stand up as his eyes remained unfocused from the shock of teleporting somewhere. The vague impressions and colors he got suggested to him that they were in a cave somewhere, close enough to the mouth of it for sunshine to come through. As he blindly reached out, someone much taller than him swept him into a hug.
"Are you alright?" The deep voice had gotten to be so familiar by now. Aaravos. Aaravos, who was corporeal, free, and actually in his arms. Callum trembled as he woke up more, letting Aaravos hold him. He got the impression the hug was possibly even more for Aaravos's benefit than his. Sir Sparklepuff chirped beside them, leaning on Aaravos. "Traveling such a distance by magic is quite draining. Even I don't do it unless absolutely necessary."
A moment passed and another voice dragged Callum out of his tired, comfortable hug.
"I think I'm missing something here," said Claudia.
Viren had no reservations about striding over to them, glaring at Aaravos. "Let the boy go."
Aaravos let Callum free from the hug and drew himself up tall. "Does it look like he's running? He came with me of his own free will."
Viren turned to Callum instead. "You have every reason to hate me, but you need to leave." He was almost pleading. "Don't make my mistakes."
Heaven knew Callum wanted anything but to make Viren's mistakes.
Callum shook his head, old anger flaring up inside of him at Viren. "We have plans and it's not what you think. You're the ones who need to leave."
"No. We aren't." Claudia hesitated, glancing at Viren. "We can't. I don't know what you're doing here, but we needed Aaravos free for something really important."
Aaravos gave them a slight bow. "When the stars are out tonight, I shall keep my promise."
Callum stared, open mouthed, between Aaravos and the others. His risk was calculated, and now he felt bad at math. "We aren't leaving? I didn't agree to this!"
Viren folded his arms. "With Aaravos, you rarely know what you're agreeing to. I told you to run for a reason. Whatever you thought was important enough to come here about, you're wrong."
Aaravos put on a fake offended expression. "Are you not happy to see me? That's too bad. I am saving your life, after all."
"If you think I'm going to go along with your next scheme, forget it." Viren was firm, stepping closer and bristling. "You cannot buy my loyalty with a gift of more years to live. I refuse to continue my previous path. It's not worth it."
Callum blinked. It was either a very good act, or…
"Dad!" Claudia grabbed his hand, urgent. "Don't say things like that! Not after all we went through."
Aaravos clapped his hands together. "I believe we're all getting off on the wrong foot, so let me explain. Callum, neither Viren or I have plans to continue our conquest." It was Viren's turn to stare at Aaravos. "Though I won't force any of you to stay, if you truly prefer the life of an unprotected fugitive after helping set me free, do what you will. I have an offer of my own to make all of you."
He took Callum's shoulders, standing behind him and gently turning Callum to face Viren, Claudia, and Terry.
"They are not your enemies, Callum.
—they're our students."