Elemental Ascension, page 3
“Come with me,” he told them, “for your safety.”
Reverie scowled and yanked her arm free. “We'll take our chances. If you will excuse me, the Oracle and I—” She turned to locate the old man, but he was no longer at the table.
“Look around,” Ash said, lowering his voice to a growl.
He gestured over his shoulder at the attention they'd attracted. Men were drawing their longswords and downing the remaining ale in their tankards.
“You have an audience.”
Reverie followed his motion. “Kite and I are used to other Alchemists staring.”
“Oh, it is not your husband's love for a Human they are staring at. There are souls here who know more of the Oracle's song than you. Myself included.”
To identify the mysterious strangers and speak to the outlaw she recognised from the poster, the Captain made her way toward the threesome. Her First Mate drew his longsword too and followed her through a mass of merry patrons. Ash didn't want to be anywhere near the Lawful Hand when the Captain's intent was revealed.
He was positive he already knew what was going to happen, though. People were about to die.
“You need to trust me,” Ash said. His eyes were wide. He bounced impatiently on the spot, then groaned and flung open the door. “You'll thank me later.”
“What do you think you're—”
Ash pushed Kite and Reverie into the chilly street and slammed the wooden door behind them. They had thirty seconds, and his gaze darted across the market square.
“There. The alley. Go!”
“What's going on? Who were those people?” Kite asked.
Reverie led her husband away, realising how serious their situation was through Ash's firm and concerned expression. They broke into a sprint and hid in time for the tavern door to fly open. Ash was leant beside a burning torch with one boot against the wall, rubbing his gloved hands together and whistling a sea shanty. The marketplace being so high up, any breeze could be biting when the sun went down, though during the day it was pleasant.
He jumped as the door smacked the stone beside him and yelled, “Oi, watch it!”
A bunch of drunken tradesmen stumbled off down the hill, swinging their blades and missing Ash as he lingered in the shadows. But the Captain, her First Mate, and two other heavily armed men surrounded him. As they moved into the light of the window, Ash noticed the First Mate had a second shadow, and it moved against his own—an Astral, most likely of the Order.
Prior to following Ash outside, the Astral had selfishly invoked the use of a tortured spirit, pulling it from the Lingerverse—a terrifying void between the Land and Akasha where lost and cursed souls roamed—to feed his own power and do his bidding. From the shadow's sporadic movement, the Astral's dominance weighed heavily on the soul's remaining energy. If he held it against its will much longer, it would dissipate from existence completely.
Astrals were a powerful breed of egotistical energy-suckers. Such Alchemists considered themselves Demi-Gods, and therefore dominated most of the Land's towns and villages as the government they called 'the Order', under the watchful eye of the God of Universal Energy. In truth, their God had long since been imprisoned with his siblings (if you believed the ancient creation stories) and his followers were rogues and pillagers who unlawfully taxed and stole from peasants, despite owning most of the west coast's castles and monuments. They despised all magic besides their own, including that of Elementals like Ash and of Seers like Kite, and all who took a pilgrimage to its birthplace, the Isle of Dragonborn, intent on pledging their service to the Guard.
Through an Astral's eyes, any magic beneath their own was a loathsome handicap, so they made it their purpose to cleanse the Land of its influence. In its place, they imagined they would rule like Dragons once did. Recently, however, resistance as riots and protests against the Order had been on the rise.
Beside the Astral stood the Captain. Her dagger's hilt was engraved with a tight spiral, which Ash recognised as the Order's seal. With their knowledge and experience, it wasn't unusual for Velocals to aid the Order, either. Mostly, under false promises. If this Captain truly understood the Oracle's song, she would have Ash, Kite, and Reverie killed. If not by her own hand, then by another in the name of her government.
Twin dagger-wielding henchmen brought up the rear, both light on their feet and eager to plunge head-first into an unnecessary conflict. Ash thought they were Humans like Reverie, fleeting when hindered by responsibility, but appreciative of the Land's beauty. Ash couldn't understand why potentially decent brothers, though not quite Velocals, would support the narcissistic Order.
They have their hand in everything, these days.
But no matter Ash's opinion of his foes, without his Elemental abilities at full strength, he was greatly outnumbered.
“What was your business with the Oracle?” asked the Captain.
Her enormous emerald eyes met Ash's brown, daring him to avoid the question. Ash shrugged and told her the Oracle's business was his own, but at the snap of her fingers the twins were on him. With force, they pinned his shoulders to the wall and raised daggers to his exposed throat in perfect, practised unison.
“Let us not play games, Ash the Elemental,” she said, pulling his poster from her pocket.
The corner of Ash's lips upturned. “The resemblance is uncanny,” he remarked. “Though, I think they got my nose wrong.”
“What of the peasant girl and the blind man?” she growled.
“I spared them from death. We both know the Oracle does not respond well to interruptions.” Ash yanked himself free of the twins and adjusted his doublet. “They were beggars, pathetic thieves. I saved their lives. They're welcome.”
On the Captain's nod, the twins lowered their weapons and stepped back. The First Mate's shadow was fading as Ash's story seemed probable, but the Captain's eyes were still narrow and suspicious. Ash exhaled a sigh of relief on behalf of the spared soul, who would soon be allowed to return to his unfinished business.
“I'm Captain Lehana Hazel of the Order. This is Aldwin, my First Mate, and two of my deckhands,” she said. “Tell me, which way did the Humans go?”
She had a brogue accent, suggesting a north-western origin. Ash thought he recognised it from out by Serpent's Sea or further north to the Gravelands.
“A Velocal in leadership within the Order? What did you do to gain such favour, I wonder?” He grinned, then added, “What's in it for me?”
Lehana Hazel laughed and, in a movement too swift for the eye to see, whipped out a dagger of her own and poked the tip against Ash's groin.
“How about I don't hand you over for the fruitful bounty on your head? Or, even better, for offending me so?”
He nodded, feigning fear. “Aye, deal. They went that way.”
Ash pointed uphill at a path which eventually led to the border of Open Country. Only bandits, outcasts and desperate travellers moved there. It authenticated his lie.
“You two, check it out.” She jabbed her thumb in the direction Ash had mentioned and sheathed her dagger, fluttering her lashes. “See, that wasn't hard now, was it?”
The twins sheathed their weapons too and jogged uphill away from the alley. They checked every doorway on their ascent. From the determination on the Captain's face, their hunt would continue through the night, leaving scarce opportunities for Ash to smuggle Kite and Reverie aboard the Cerulean Grace. Eventually, they'd be discovered, and through further interrogation, they'd decide to turn him in, too.
The twins were a few hundred feet ahead, leaving Lehana and Aldwin temporarily vulnerable. Ash waited until Aldwin had wandered to investigate downhill, then conjured his first Salamander Elemental incantation in weeks. He used a nimble but fluid circular motion to whip the torch's flame from the wall into a cone—designed to nip and poke, torment, and anger a foe, as it temporarily trapped them within. Before Lehana could scream, Ash flung the searing tornado across the square and held his breath as it completely encompassed her instead. Her shrieks pierced the air, scattering two rats and a flock of seabirds all at once.
Ash gasped. He hadn't intended to engulf her, nor kill her, which he expected this would.
Where did that come from? He stared at his palms.
Aldwin set off running and bellowed for the twins' help, so Ash drew his sword as his attacker uttered a dark incantation to re-summon the enslaved spirit. Metal could not penetrate it. To separate the Astral from his ghostly captive, Ash would have to shock the host's system into letting go of the soul and its energy. Their swords clashed first.
The twins arrived at the dying Captain's side. Regardless of Ash's strength, the tornado would cremate every limb it touched. He stole fleeting glances at her torture with a guilty knot in his abdomen. There was little they could do to ease her suffering besides kill her themselves now.
The distraction caused Ash to step too close to Aldwin's shadow as he swung relentlessly at Aldwin. The breath was sucked from his lungs. Now, he was suffocating. Adrenaline drained from his bloodstream as the spectral warrior ingested each joule of energy as effortlessly as its Astral master breathed air, feeding it to Aldwin to fuel the fluidity of every swing and pounce. The soul fed on Ash's motivation, inspiration, and his few happy memories in an attempt to replace what Aldwin had already stolen from it.
Ash teetered on the edge of consciousness. He dropped his sword and clawed at his throat, certain his lips were turning blue. Painful pressure built behind his eyes, and his temples pounded; he was drowning beneath the unrelenting force, clawing for a place in the physical world.
Neither man saw the arrow coming. Black as the surrounding shadows, it soared through the marketplace and pierced Aldwin's chest with a shooo-uck, knocking him off his feet. The distance forced the spirit to release its choke hold. Pacifying air re-filled Ash's lungs. He collapsed in the dirt, slowly feeling his energy rebuilding.
Confidently, Ash's saviour appeared as if from nowhere and eliminated the twins with two skilful arrows fired in a single shot. In unison, their heads hit the ground seconds before Ash's Elemental magic wore off and the Captain was left to writhe in what remained of her clothing. Her screeching sliced the night air, gaining the attention of the remaining patrons inside the tavern.
The cloaked stranger passed Lehana Hazel and released an arrow to put her out of her misery.
Ash thanked them and pinched the bridge of his nose to alleviate the pressure in his skull. It was reckless to use so much of his energy in a single attack, but they'd left him no choice and he hadn't meant to encase her. His body's corrosion was accelerating; he could feel the old curse wriggling through his veins, causing his limbs to twitch and his balance to waver, so he assumed it caused his incantation's rogue intent.
He called for Reverie and Kite to come out of hiding, but only Reverie reappeared. His eyes examined the hill for traces of her husband until the stranger lowered his hood.
“But... you're blind.” Ash gasped and shuffled back.
Kite hid his weapons beneath his cloak and waited for Reverie to wrap her arms around him. She cradled his torso with such relief that Ash was instantly jealous of their unique bond.
“I could hit a bullseye before I could walk,” Kite said. “Hitting one with my eyes... uhm... closed? Oh, come now!” He smirked.
“But in the tavern, your wife led you.”
“It would have been foolish to reveal our strengths to the Oracle.”
Reverie aided Ash to a stance and dusted him off, then they hurried downhill together to the dock, all the while looking back in fear of being followed.
They reached the Cerulean Grace at the first sign of sunrise, but it would be at least twelve hours before Deerbolt's crew could sail her. Ash suggested they get out of the street and climb onboard before any of Lehana Hazel's crew or other angry locals spotted them.
“Not yet,” Reverie said, tugging Kite to her side. “What happened at the tavern? Who are you, and who were those people? What do they want with us?”
Frustrated by her lack of appreciation, Ash took a long, patient breath and gestured they move behind a stack of empty wooden crates alongside the ship. In the water, a shoal of multi-coloured fish swam out to sea. For a moment, Ash wished he was care free and among them.
“My name is Ash. I'm a Salamander Elemental,” he said. “The Oracle did you no favours; that song is of Dragonborn and it should not have been sung off the island.”
“That woman was of Dragonborn too, then?” Reverie asked.
“No. Honestly, I don't have time to explain just now. If you board the ship with me, we can talk when we're out of danger.”
Reverie glowered. “You're a stranger—an outlaw, right? I saw that tattered poster in her hand. What's in this for you?”
“Redemption.” Ash gestured at Reverie's stomach. He strained his stiffening neck from the day's antics. “I overheard your story. The Oracle could have helped you, though not completely. He chose, instead, to encourage a war. That song was intended for me—he knew I was eavesdropping. I owe you a debt because I put you in danger. Although I saved your life, I believe it's my duty to get you both, safely, to the Isle of Dragonborn. There is an Oracle and Guardsmen there who can help you... both of you.”
“How do you know of our Oracle's visions?” Kite asked. “You're a Salamander, not a Seer.”
“Another Oracle told me when he read my fortune three days ago,” Ash told them. “He said if I do this, my mistakes will be forgiven. Maybe you should've asked him for help instead of that grumpy old man.”
“Do you believe him?” asked Reverie.
Ash paused and exhaled, considering his options. Finally, he shrugged. “After everything, I have no reason not to, and nothing to lose if he's lying. You're my last chance and you need help, right?”
“Why did the Oracle sing for you?” Kite asked Ash.
“That song is performed in the oath ceremony. It is how Guards swear their allegiance and promise they are not of an Elemental birth.”
“Why Elemental?” she asked.
“Because, there is fear an Elemental will one day extinguish the sacred flame and with it, Man's magic in its entirety. The Guardsmen believe with the deliverance of an innocent, unborn child to symbolise purity, that child can be born alongside the fifth Dragon as its rider, a ruler: the saviour of the Land.”
Kite was taken aback and for a moment, both he and Reverie glared at one another.
Finally, he said, “You want to extinguish the ancient flame? You want to use our unborn baby to hatch a long-lost, mythical egg?”
Ash tugged down his glove to reveal his Salamander brand on the back of his hand; a perfect, uncoloured circle identifying his easy manipulation of fire, and only fire. Not all Elementals bore the same mark. Some manipulated other elements, like the Undines and water. Their mark had a horizontal line down the centre of the circle instead, whereas a brand surrounding a small dot represented Slyphs, who manipulated only air. The fourth and final variation had a cross through the circle. It identified Gnomes, the earth Elementals.
“It will take more magic and energy than I have left in me to extinguish that flame,” he replied honestly. “They need an Elemental with a mark that looks like a target. I have no way of knowing if your child will be a match for their... needs.”
“So, you're not a threat to them, then?”
Reverie added, “Or us?”
“I'm incapable of what the Oracle suggests; he was trying to wind me up.”
“It worked.” Reverie raised her brow. “You're here.”
Well, the banishment of magic would mean the banishment of my curse, Ash thought.
With his body deteriorating at its current rate, Ash knew he would also be dead long before any prophecies to remove the Order from power could be fulfilled by his hand anyway (even if he was capable!). He believed the Oracle saw potential for an ancient theory to be tested, however, with the presence of Reverie's baby on the island. No doubt he'd sent hundreds of expecting couples before them on that same quest and wound up other Elementals similarly, claiming they were destined to do so and singing that song.
This time, though, the tavern's Oracle was not the only one to encourage Ash's involvement. And this made Ash curious.
He tucked his boots in as a deckhand walked by. He hoped the boy hadn't heard their conversation above his whistling or recognised him from his accident earlier that week.
He lowered his voice to a whisper. “It would take a very rare Elemental with the ability to manipulate all four elements to extinguish that flame. Tetrads are born Salamanders like me, but they learn additional skills in adolescence. On the Isle of Dragonborn, Salamanders are observed, and so few of us are ever welcomed in as Guardsmen.” Ash inhaled deeply. “When I pledged, I did not sing that song. I'm the only one in history.”
“Do you want to extinguish the flame or something?” Reverie asked him.
“I am a weak, but very normal Salamander. I have little interest in the flame's fate and less of a belief in such prophecies. They accepted me because I already had a friend there who could vouch for me. He died of disease a few weeks later.”
“If you are useless to them, why send you?” she asked without thinking.
Ash scowled, then said, “Because I have nothing to lose either way, and I know the territory. I used to live and work on that island. The Oracle must believe you're carrying a special child.”
“We don't want to extinguish the flame either,” she said, “and I certainly don't wish to place such a burden on my unborn child. A rider of Dragons? Nonsense!”
Ash placed his shaking palm against her stomach without asking, hoping he'd somehow be able to feel such a prophecy, despite being an Elemental and not a Seer.
“They'll assume the opposite when they see you. I promise they can heal your husband if you're willing to risk it, though.”
