Ethan opened his eyes in complete darkness. As soon as he tried to move, pain shot up through his stomach area. He touched Calaren Hearth-Bringer’s ring on his finger and felt the energy left in it. Damn it! Not even ten percent remaining! The ring must be working only to protect Lore and I from the toxic air now. No wonder it didn’t protect me against collisions with sharp objects inside the machine. Neither will it help me heal my physical wounds.
“Urgh, it hurts so much, and this damn darkness doesn’t help either,” said Ethan as he tried to sit up.
“Darkness is the great equalizer. It’s light that discriminates. At least that’s what Father says,” said, Desdemona.
“He didn’t have any dealings with the Anon royals before, did he?” Ethan asked jokingly.
“Well, there was this one time at the Battle of Behemoths where he barely escaped death at your uncle’s hand,” replied Des.
“It must have been Uncle Ori who let him escape. He would be long dead if it were Uncle Ran,” said Ethan grimly. “By the way, I’ve been wondering, why have you always been so kind to me? Given the history of our races, you should’ve been hostile, yet…you have been nothing but helpful.”
“I guess it’s just my nature, and maybe because I know the truth.”
“What truth?”
“Ok, story time!” Des said excitedly. “Yes, it’s because of the Anons that we are trapped inside Sanctuary. However, we have always lived under the shadows of the Creation Elementals. Father says long ago, the Creation Elementals treated us as equals. In time, though, they started to fear us. So, they exiled us underground while they reigned above. They only accepted us after the Anon victory seemed imminent.”
“So, you are nice to me because you think the Anon attacks helped Destruction Elementals regain their status in Elemental society,” stated Ethan.
“Oh, hell no. Anons killed my mother. So, a part of me will always hate Anons. But my mother, who was a Creation Elemental, would’ve never met my father if it weren’t for the Primordial Wars. Also, you are not your father. Why would I hate you based on your father’s actions?”
A stunned Ethan looked in the direction of Desdemona’s voice. He had never imagined someone persecuted by his family would allow him such understanding. Unknowingly, he stretched his hands in search of Des.
However, Desdemona reached out and touched his hand first. She took his hand in hers and said, “I don’t want to hate you out of fear. I always wished that people would give each other an opportunity to work things out. If Creation Elementals accepted us Destruction Elementals from the beginning then my parents could’ve met earlier, and I could’ve spent more time with my mother. Alas, that didn’t happen. So, I guess I’m trying to do the right thing now by giving you a chance. I mean, to be honest, you seem just as much a victim as us. You know, with all your Veiled One powers being gone because of your uncles and all. Are my ramblings making any sense, or should I shut up?”
Ethan smiled and squeezed Desdemona’s hand. “You are the only one that makes sense. Thank you for being genuinely nice to me. Also, you are right. I’m tired of all the secrets, lies, and politics. The reason I hate darkness is because I feel like I have been trapped in it my whole life. I believed the wrong people for the wrong reasons. The light helps unmask these people. So, I wish I had more illumination in my life.”
“Yeah, but darkness has its advantages. You need it for rest and rejuvenation and to protect yourself. Sometimes you need to hide to survive, and that’s when darkness really comes in handy. For example, if the Anons knew about Sanctuary, they would kill us all. So, we need to hide in the darkness of the underworld for survival.”
“You have a point there.”
“You are not going to tell them about us when you get back, right?” asked Desdemona while tightly squeezing Ethan’s hand.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
”Really! Thanks a lot. I knew I could trust you. Tell you what, let’s make a deal. You who love light and I who love darkness will work to build a world where both are equal. Then there would be no fear of darkness or misuse of light.”
“Done.”
“Great, now that your conversation is over, will one of you please clean Lore’s diaper! It stinks!” said Leo, who had been patiently holding his nose while waiting for Ethan and Des to finish talking.
***
The royal palace of the Anons had many elaborately designed rooms. However, the room Emanuel was currently using was empty. It was a clean room with dark drapes on windows to not let any daylight in. In the middle of the room, a fire was burning under a portrait of Ethan held up in the air by magic. A few hours had passed since Emanuel felt Ethan’s life force dwindling. Since then, he holed himself up in this room, casting protective spells over Ethan’s essence. Finally, after hours of effort, Emanuel could feel Ethan’s life force coming back to normal.
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“Ancestors! For how long are you going to ignore me! I know I have bound you against your will, but it was all to protect you! If the other Veiled One ancestors got a hold of you, they could’ve seriously damaged your spirits! However, it’s no longer just about me. Ethan is in grave danger. Edwin, at least you should help me find him. Please!” pleaded Emanuel.
Suddenly, the raging fire under Ethan’s portrait burned low. Frost appeared all around Emanuel and the room grew exponentially darker. Then Edwin’s ghostly voice rang out. “What have you done, Emanuel?”
“Me! What have you all done? Why have you been so unreachable?”
“So, it is not enough for you to drain us dry! Now we have to be on your beck and call, too!”
“Edwin, it’s not like that. If I didn’t bind you all to our portion of the ancestral plain, the other dead Veiled Ones would’ve harmed you!”
“Rubbish! The Pathfinders before us made the same mistakes and were made powerless as punishment. However, even they were not tampered with after death. The rest of the dead Veiled Ones let them rest in death. But you didn’t even give us that peace. You are continuously draining us and using our powers as your own. You don’t even share it with the rest of the clan.”
“Why should I? You all treated me horribly! Always made me feel like an outcast. So, why should I share my powers with others?”
“Forget about others. You didn’t even tell me you were doing this. We had to approach the Hearth-Bringers for help in regaining our powers when you could’ve shared the ancestral powers under your control. You forget it is not your power, Emanuel. It’s the power of the ancestors. It should be wielded now more than ever by all living Gainsworths with dwindling powers.”
“No! It is mine because I came up with the spell to channel the ancestors’ energy. Just like in time I’ll find out a spell to return the powers of all Gainsworths. Having the Hearth-Bringers, especially that kid Leo, on our side would’ve made things easier and faster. No matter, though; I’ll still figure something out by myself. For I am that talented and powerful. Anyways, I didn’t call you here to discuss the morality of how to use MY power. You must know by now that Ethan was kidnapped. I need you to find him ASAP.”
Edwin remained silent for a long time before answering, “We can’t.”
“What nonsense is this! Are you going to keep your son in danger to get back at me?”
“Emanuel, we really can’t.”
“Don’t make me force you!”
“You are not understanding, Emanuel. It is not like we haven’t been trying. Ever since Ethan and Lore were kidnapped we have tried to locate them. However, a power much superior to ours is blocking the attempts to find them.”
“A power more superior… Do you mean other Veiled One ancestors are interfering in this?”
“No, it is not them. The one I speak of is far more powerful than all of the Veiled Ones combined, living or dead.”
***
Back at Ragonia, Leo was being forced to help Ethan change Lore’s diaper. Meanwhile, Desdemona was cooking dinner. By now Leo had used the fireflies to relight all the dead light crystals in the area. So, the triumph of the children over the machine was in full display. The huge machine that killed hundreds of people now lay destroyed behind them.
Leo smugly looked upon the machine before turning back to see Lore’s dirty diapers. “Why do I have to do this? Just ask Des for help like usual.”
“I don’t need anyone’s help.”
“Awesome! I’m off then!”
“No. You are not. We need to talk.”
“Can’t we talk later?”
“No!”
“Fine. You win. What do you want to talk about?” asked Leo, making a disgusted face.
“So, you said the Gainsworths are losing powers because of helping the Anons destroy Areliam. I can help reverse it by helping you save Areliam. Correct?”
“Yes! Absolutely!”
“You also said Emanuel Cursebinder is draining the Gainsworth ancestors to stay in power and Uncle Ran knew about this. Did my father also know about this?”
“I don’t think he did, but I’m not sure.”
“I knew my father far better than you. So, believe me when I say he would’ve never gone against Uncle Ran. He would’ve remained quiet even after knowing everything because he could never win against King Ran. Yet, you think we children will be able to win against the king of Anons! I mean, we barely survived that machine back there. Also, even if we do win, what guarantee is there that the Gainsworths will regain their power? If it was so easy, then why didn’t the Pathfinders ever recover their power?”
“Wow! I’ve never seen you talk so much about anything. So, that means you are serious about joining me in making everything right again,” said a hopeful Leo.
“Just answer my questions,” replied Ethan while crossing his arms.
Undeterred by Ethan’s suspicions, Leo spoke confidently. “Look, no one said it was going to be easy. However, we can do it. What other choice do we have? Just wait till the Anons bleed all of Areliam dry? Someone has to do something sooner or later, and that someone is us! Both the Pathfinders and the Gainsworths will gain back their powers after we set Areliam back in balance.”
“How are you so sure?”
“I’m the first Pathfinder in generations to gain teleportation powers and the Gainsworths still hold a lot of power. You were gravely injured. Some of the wounds didn’t heal even after using up all the potions. However, your ancestors must have cast more protective spells on you to have you up and running so soon. It means they want you to help us too, right?”
“Do you even have a plan?”
“Yes! We are going to go to Kracten after reviving Ragonia. There is someone who will help us there.”
Upon hearing this, Ethan let out a long sigh. “Leon Hearth-Bringer, I never liked you, nor do I trust you. I’ve followed you this far because I promised your father I would and because I have no other choice. Still, I want to believe you. I have suspected things have gone wrong for a long time. If I can help fix it, I will. However, all this will fall apart without a solid plan. So, I’ll help you heal Ragonia and accompany you to Kracten. You have until then to come up with a solid plan. If you do not, then I’ll return to my family and keep helping them instead.”
“Ok, but what will you do if I do come up with a plan to make everything work by then?”
“Then I’ll help you till the end, come what may.”
“Either way, you won’t disclose Sanctuary’s location or divulge our secrets to the Anons, right?”
“Correct. However, there are other things we need to discuss.”
“Whatever it is, it has to wait until after dinner, ’cause I’m starving. Now, let’s eat something. We’ll figure out the rest later.”
“Ok.”
“Alright. Des, is dinner ready yet?” asked Leo while looking around for Desdemona, who seemed to have disappeared into thin air.
