Elemental Ascension, page 22
Gasps and mild chattering surrounded them. She squeezed the Oracle's shoulder blades until he took the hint and collapsed on his knees.
“This man, the one you all feared would read your thoughts and use them against you, is that very God masquerading as Zarro's advisor,” she explained, “and what I'm sure we would all like to know, before we serve justice, is how you escaped Akasha and survived for so long in the Lingerverse.”
Many of the Guardsmen nodded and chattered amongst themselves, and some threw their fist angrily in the air and called for the Oracle to be punished immediately.
“Lock him up!”
“Murderer!”
“Traitor!”
Those still following him scowled, but held back their comments and awaited his admission of guilt. Curious by Deerbolt's outburst, it confused them to hear they were potentially the bad guys in all of this, despite their leader being the only man they'd ever trusted enough to take orders from. He'd misled them. He'd driven them to commit crimes nobody had registered as such—all in the name of protecting the Dragonborn flame and its egg.
Deerbolt drew her longsword and held it to the Oracle's neck, tugging back his hair with her balled fist. He struggled and grumbled.
“Talk!” the men demanded.
“Who freed you?” Deerbolt asked.
“You can't kill me, only this body.”
“You want your followers to watch you die? To lose respect for you? Tell me who!”
She ragged his head to the side and pressed the blade tighter against his skin, drawing a thin line of blood.
He raised his tied wrists. “My sister!”
Deerbolt snapped her head to Ash, who scowled. Both of Universal Energy's sisters were imprisoned alongside him. To free him, one of them must have also escaped. The question stood.
“You lie,” Deerbolt said. “Killing this body will push back your cause.”
“You lie and you die!” one man shouted, and a few around him joined in the chant.
Deerbolt hushed them. “Your siblings are locked up. Tell us the truth; how did you escape Akasha? Was it your father?”
“No,” he grunted, shuffling uncomfortably on his frail knees. “Lower your blade. It was my mother, the God of Ascension.”
In unison, everyone in the square gasped.
Then, silence.
“There is no such God,” Ash insisted. “A God of Ascension would total six Alchemical rulers—seven including your father, the God of Magic.”
“How can it be we did not know of a sixth?” Riley asked Ash, who shook his head in response.
There would be scripture, he thought.
The Land's texts had always described the Gods being gifted to Human mothers, who birthed and fed them until they were old enough to return to Akasha with their father. He took them away knowing no Human woman could ever understand or meet their Alchemical needs. They were too strong, and too dangerous. Who those women were remains a mystery.
Perhaps even the God of Magic himself has forgotten? Ash pondered.
“The God of Ascension is your mother? Who is she? Where is she?” Riley quizzed.
The Oracle struggled to his feet, unable to use his wrists to support his weight. Once steady, he raised them.
“Free me, and I'll tell you everything you need to know about her. She is powerful—too powerful.”
“More powerful than your father?” Ask asked.
The Oracle raised his restraints higher. But Deerbolt laughed and shook her head. If he was lying, the men of Dragonborn would hold her responsible for freeing him.
She asked, “Upon your release, what would you do?”
“You'll never have to see me again. I'll return to the mainland and live amongst the Humans.”
“So you can corrupt other law-abiding Astrals, or hop from this Oracle to one with greater influence and begin this ordeal again? No!”
Men in the crowd shouted, “Aye!” and cheered with Ash for the Oracle to be punished.
“We can't risk you escaping—you want to inhabit that Dragon's body yourself. Tell me, what of its soul then?”
“A return to Akasha,” the Oracle lied.
Everyone there knew its soul would go straight to the Lingerverse. But, there was no way to really know exactly what would happen; if its soul merged with the God's, there would be no stopping his reign of terror upon the Land. It crossed Ash's mind.
“Enough!”
“Kill him!”
Deerbolt hushed the Guardsmen. None of this mattered if the majority couldn't agree on a course of action. They were guests on the island, there to help two innocents to heal and live a better life. Ash cast his glance through the crowd to where Kite and Reverie stood hand-in-hand, silently, beside Sarronious. Reverie's eyes were tear-filled. Kite still gripped his bow tightly. Rightly, he did not trust the fight was over yet and had to protect his pregnant wife. Sarronious hadn't taken his eyes of Captain Deerbolt since they entered the square, and Ash's stomach tightened with jealousy. He gave him a nod to thank him for his efforts—some in the village had been killed, many bled. Sarronious included. Across his chest, a thin red line soaked through his shirt, and a trickle painted his left cheek from a wound on his forehead.
“If there is a God more powerful than the God of Magic, we'd have seen her by now. We'd know of her Alchemy. Why haven't we seen or felt her?” Riley asked the Oracle. “He's lying, Ash. And everyone knows their mothers were Human.”
“Aye!”
“Snake!”
“Liar!”
There was nothing more Ash could do to probe the Oracle. Faced with being made Human and a death as final, the only way to gain solid answers was to extinguish the flame and kill all Alchemy.
“My fellow Guardsmen,” Ash began, raising his sword to draw their attention from the Oracle's crumpled frame to his own. “My name is Ash the Elemental, and ten years ago, the Oracle banished me from the Isle of Dragonborn for being a Tetrad. Familiar faces will know I am a Salamander; until now, I did not know of my true inheritance.” Ash pointed the sword at the Oracle. “I was loyal to the Guard and had no intention of extinguishing the flame. The guard was all I had.”
Sensing his vulnerability, Deerbolt wanted to step forward and comfort him, but she resisted. A public display of her affections right now wouldn't help his cause. They needed to see his independence and strength despite all the Oracle had done to him.
“For ten years I've suffered. Cursed to live a degenerating existence in Open Country amongst thieves and outlaws. I have been chased, and starved, withering away until my Salamander Alchemy offered barely a flicker in the darkness. I stand before you as a dying man on borrowed time.” Ash removed the key from his shirt and knelt beside the egg. At the proximity, it illuminated, sending a wave of awe through the crowd. They stepped back, gasping and chuntering.
“What is this Alchemy?” one man asked, fearfully.
“It unlocks this,” said Captain Deerbolt, retrieving the book from Ash's satchel and holding it high above her head. “It's one of a kind. It belonged to a Tetrad.”
Ash turned suddenly to face her. Raven was a Tetrad?
Banking his shock, he said, “I believe I came here to free you of Zarro and the Oracle's imprisonment. They've been using you for so long to prepare for the God of Universal Energy—him!—to inhabit the egg and rule the Land. I was tasked by an Oracle on the mainland to help a poor, innocent couple to expel an unfair curse.”
Kite released Reverie's hand and allowed her to weave through the crowd until she took Ash's. He squeezed her palm and pulled her to his side. Her gaze found the egg and she smiled, placing her free hand on her stomach.
“This is Reverie—she's willing to offer the egg her unborn child,” Ash told the Guardsmen.
“The egg hasn't hatched so far,” one man shouted. “What makes you think it will hatch for Reverie?”
“She's innocent,” Deerbolt answered. “Pure of heart.”
“You came here for your own benefit too,” said another, scowling.
“Did Zarro tell you that?”
The man shrank into the crowd. One of his supporters, Ash assumed.
“Aye,” Ash told the man, “I came here hoping I could save my life. I'd like to restore Kite's sight first,” he added, nodding at Kite in the crowd, who lowered his bow. “At heart, I am still a Guardsman.”
“But you possess the Alchemy to extinguish our flame,” the man argued. “Why would we trust you?”
“Aye, he does,” Deerbolt interjected, “and he could have used it up there in the temple, where your egg rested. He chose to wait and to ask you all how you'd like to proceed.”
Ash began, “This egg is alive now only because I took it from the Oracle's possession. He planned to relocate it, but hadn't given thought to how he would transport the flame, too. I'm feeding it with this,” he said, sitting the bowl beside the egg but continuing to douse the surface.
“I wouldn't have let the creature die,” the Oracle interjected, “because I need it.”
“Irrelevant,” Riley shouted. “A few minutes more and that Dragon would have died.”
Ash hushed him, and Riley stood down. “So I put the question to you, men. What would you have me do now? Here I stand, capable of preventing the Order from continuing in the Land's government by extinguishing the flame and killing the Dragon. That book,” he said, gesturing at Deerbolt, “holds instructions only I can perform—at least, so I thought,” he grumbled, glaring at the Captain for withholding Raven's true nature from him.
“What would that gain?” the man asked, “other than fewer taxes?”
“You haven't been back to the mainland in a long time, have you?” Sarronious spat, startling him.
The man moved away as Ash said, “The God possessing the Oracle would be made Human, and therefore, mortal.” He raised his brow.
The man studied Ash, then whispered to his comrades. Tempting though this seemed, he was sure they would rather spare the life of the Dragon for its potential. Thankfully, they had a backup offer.
“Or,” Ash said, “we force this God to heal Kite, and in return he will offer his unborn baby to the Dragon egg. If it hatches, you will promise to raise and protect that child alongside its parents. After all, being chosen as the next Dragon Rider would make them the Land's saviours—the only soul the Dragon deems pure enough to lead us past the Order's reign.”
Another man suddenly asked, “But what of you, Tetrad?”
Ash shrugged and replied honestly, “My days are numbered. I've made my peace with that.”
He cast a sideways glance at Deerbolt, but purposely avoided direct eye contact. The thought of leaving her to the Land as he moved on to the Lingerverse, or Akasha, was too difficult to bear.
“If the Dragon refuses the child, then what?” the Oracle groaned, prompting Deerbolt to squeeze the back of his neck until he squirmed.
“Aye!” one man shouted, and soon others followed.
“Then at least my friend's sight would be healed, and the Oracle imprisoned. We will take our leave, and you will never have to see any of us again. Govern yourselves; protect the egg until a soul worthy of its return arrives on the Isle of Dragonborn.” Ash paused and, when nobody responded, he asked, “Do we have a deal?”
“It would not banish the God of Universal Energy,” Deerbolt reminded them, “but he will be unable to do further harm if he's behind bars.”
“Will you comply?” Ash said, nudging the Oracle's ribs with his boot.
He grumbled 'Aye', so Riley widened his eyes at the man who seemed to have taken the role of spokesperson for the group. Agree, he willed him, frantically nodding, for those unwilling to follow Zarro's original orders.
◆◆◆
Riley escorted the Oracle to Crane and Cage's quarters, and after a few words with the Guardsmen, Kite and Reverie followed them. As it was a Seer—Echelon, Shaman of the Deeds—who cursed Kite several months ago to lose his sight, they determined a Seer like the possessed Oracle could undo it. Ash told Kite to take his bow and arrows, and keep them pointed at the Oracle until he complied. It wasn't difficult to know where in the room he was. Kite's exemplary skills and lack of sight heightened his other senses, and he heard the Oracle's shuffling feet and heavy breathing. He could also smell the oils on his skin, and feel his body heat whenever he passed close by.
“I need a Necrosis flower,” the Oracle told him as they climbed the stairs to their apartment.
Craven and Cage directed Sarronious to a place not far into the jungle where they grew, and within an hour, he had retrieved a bunch. They couldn't be sure how many flowers Echelon used originally. Sarronious thought it best to overestimate. After Kite had explained the deal he made to the Oracle, the God of Universal Energy temporarily allowed him to regain control of his body in order to perform the ritual. But, in the background, Reverie could see the God was still present, watching and studying their actions. It unsettled her, more so than the new curse, which involved Reverie once again touching the cursed petals. This time, the Oracle enchanted them to give sight rather than steal it.
While the couple, the Oracle and Riley performed the ritual behind the closed door, Ash and Deerbolt gathered the Guardsmen to discuss the egg.
“You should be up there,” Deerbolt told Ash, smiling.
“I know, and I wanted to be with them, but the egg needs my Alchemy.”
She grinned and led him to the square where the men were waiting. Ash still carried the bowl, resting upon the Oracle's folded robes, and occasionally he flicked a flame at the egg which was surrounded by inquisitive Guardsmen. Some stroked its surface, then pulled back and hissed when it burned their skin. Others kept their distance, afraid the Dragon would hatch or the mere presence of unworthy souls would kill it—a rumour Zarro had started a few years ago to keep them from prying into the egg's location, or discovering his intentions.
The spokesman greeted Ash, and immediately quizzed him about his book and the glowing key. When Ash was close enough to the egg, it seemed to reach out and float a few inches from his chest, similar to when Ash had unlocked the book for the first time.
“Is it sentient?”
Deerbolt answered for him. “We don't know but another Tetrad gifted him the book and the key so he could harness the skills of the other elements.”
“I'm a Salamander by day,” Ash told them, “which is why it's so easy for me to keep the egg alive. This flame was transferred from a pit in the temple, and there were four pillars there with Elemental symbols and crystals. In the book, there are incantations I can perform to activate each one in a particular order. Once I've done that, I can bring their collective energy together and that will extinguish the flame.”
“Why did you bring the egg here, then?” the man asked.
“Some of the Oracle's men got away from us, and I was afraid they'd return to the temple and move it.”
Deerbolt added, “We also wanted to show you how real it is, and let the Oracle face you himself.”
“But he's not really the Oracle. He's a God masquerading as the Oracle.”
“Aye,” she said, “and I'm sure we don't have to stress how diabolical it would be if he achieved his goal.”
“To transfer his soul to the egg?” the man asked.
Ash nodded. “The God of Universal Energy—the cruel, destructive influence the Astrals of the Order worship—would be the single, most powerful creature this Land has ever seen. His father gave the Dragons the Gods' power for a reason. They were too reckless to rule us. Of them all, Universal Energy is the worst.”
The man turned to discuss Ash's story with his comrades, and they agreed the Oracle should never be allowed to roam the island without supervision again, especially if they were unable to banish the God from his consciousness. Ash relayed what happened to him on the wall that night, and how the Oracle convinced the Guard to banish him from the island, cursing him to die.
“If he can remove Kite's curse, can he not remove yours?” the spokesman asked.
Ash sighed. “He will claim not.” He wished it was that easy. “I've tried many times,” he said. “Oracles across the Land over my ten years in Open Country have attempted to lift my curse, but I'm afraid I can only be saved if Alchemy itself no longer exists. Kite's curse, though unpleasant, isn't life-threatening. It's torture in another form. To curse someone to death is something else entirely.”
The man couldn't console Ash but he understood. Some curses weren't meant to be lifted.
“If the Oracle is successful, Kite's blindness will be returned to Echelon,” Deerbolt explained.
“Where is he?”
“We don't know. Probably the Gravelands.”
“It's brave and noble of you to return to the Isle of Dragonborn, Ash. We could have shot you on sight.”
“I think a small part of me prayed you would,” he admitted.
“Aye, it would be a kinder fate,” the man agreed, then gestured at the egg. “So, what are we going to do about the Dragon?”
Deerbolt smiled. “Allow Kite and Reverie to try. They are willing and grateful for your help. Imagine if the Dragon accepts their baby's soul!”
“Would any harm come to the child?” Ash asked the Guardsmen, who confirmed it wouldn't be painful or fatal for the unborn baby to bond with such an incredible creature.
“Of course, we haven't witnessed something so magical in hundreds of years. We are looking forward to the miracle.” He bent to examine the egg and said, “But, we are realistic, and won't get our hopes up.”
“Aye, good idea,” Ash said.
Deerbolt turned to Ash and asked, “Do you think its true about the God of Ascension? Surely, we would know of her power or have seen drawings of her? Scripture speaks of Human mothers.”
Ash put the bowl down for a moment and took Deerbolt by the shoulders. “Why didn't you tell me Raven was a Tetrad? He could have travelled with us, trained me himself.”
She lowered her gaze, ashamed she had withheld such a secret, but it wasn't her secret to reveal. She explained as much to Ash.
