The Final Lesson, page 12
part #1 of The Final Lesson Series
She scoffed under the guise of a breath, her eyes already starting to fall shut. Since when was Rem’s body so warm? Or maybe the sun was a little higher up and shining down on them?
“Are you really going to criticize my potential based on my height?”
“Well, height does play a factor in how you fight. If you’re tall, it makes you a little more sluggish, but then you can put more power into your swings, and you gain range. And when you’re short, you-” He paused when she suddenly rested her head on his shoulder, her hair brushing against his face. He cleared his throat, rolling his eyes. “You, uh… you feeling okay? Moving too fast for you?”
“No,” she replied, carrying less energy than she previously had.
“Uh, which one are you saying no to, exactly?”
“The second one,” she settled with, nuzzling into his shoulder. The gesture sent quivers down his spine. He was used to carrying people. He had carried soldiers off the battlefield after Linmus’s destruction, carried children about the kingdom while playing… but this sensation was different.
He was bringing a single girl to safety. Solus was right, she was going through her own tribulations early on, but so were they in losing their kingdom. Their meeting was coincidental. That was the only relationship between them, and he wasn’t going to bring himself too close to her. After all, they had already decided on leaving her behind to develop in a better place.
He leaned back his head, a slight fluctuation of heat rushing down the back of his neck. He stopped short, setting Leilana on the grass before resting a hand on her forehead, confirming his thoughts. “Hey, Solus?” he called, “Solus!”
Solus glanced back from further ahead. “Something wrong?”
“I think we might have a new problem. How close are we to a rest stop?”
“I’m going to check up ahead!” Solus replied, “Can you handle yourself for a few minutes?”
“Who do you think I am?” Once Solus went off on his own, Rem sighed. Leilana met his gaze, retaining her typical stalwart expression, which came to show him that she either felt nothing or cared even less about herself than she seemed to let on. “I’m going to ask again. Are you feeling okay?”
“Fine,” she responded with a shrug.
“I don’t like being lied to, Leilana, and you’re already high on my list of ‘what do I feel about you,’” Rem warned, pointing a finger at her. “You have a fever.”
She blinked a few times. “No wonder I feel so tired.” His eyes narrowed in discontent, closing his lips shut to avoid any means of disrespect.
“I found a cave up ahead!” Solus proclaimed upon returning to his companions. “We should be able to rest there. What is going on, exactly?”
“Leilana has a fever. I think it’s stress related to the pilgrimage, and Paluna, all that jazz, we know the story, why repeat it?” Rem knelt to the girl and allowed her to climb onto his back, struggling to raise the second time, his legs aching from the constant movement. “Where’s this cave?”
“It’s further ahead-” Solus shook his head. “I can’t keep silent. Rem, are you sure that you don’t want me to take over? I can carry her for you.”
“It’s fine, Sol, I can handle things,” Rem replied, walking past him before stopping short. Leilana peered over at Solus herself, blinking a few times at the concern reading in his eyes. “Um, lead the way.” Solus playfully rolled his eyes.
The gears in Rem’s mind creaked and curved in numerous directions as he blankly stared at the cave entrance, his back to Solus and Leilana. His shift was strenuous, but he knew of the risks in the area thanks to Solus’s intel. The only sound filling the tight space was Leilana’s labored breathing as she laid asleep. Solus hovered over her, pressing a torn rag to the girl’s forehead to ensure that it wouldn’t slip off in midst of her slumber. The afternoon sky gradually became shrouded in grey, miniscule electrical sparks surging from the veil coating the cave’s entrance. Rem grinned in satisfaction at his work; at least he had beaten the rain. He returned to Solus’s side once he was certain that his barrier was secured for the night, crossing his legs and shifting his weight to his hands after leaning back.
“So, how’s our captive faring?”
Solus kept his lips pursed a moment longer, laying a hand atop the girl’s head before stating, “Her fever isn’t high, so it’s likely that she’ll be able to sleep through the night. Not a bad call on stress as the primary cause. Resting will be enough to carry her to Kalonia with us.”
“I see.” Rem outstretched his arms as he laid back, gazing at the stalagmite-crafted ceiling. “Well, I guess it’s not a bad thing. She’s not the only one that could use a little break.”
“Solus,” Leilana suddenly called, leading both men to turn, watching as she rose to a sit.
“No, it’s all right,” Solus stated, resting his hands on her shoulders. “You don’t need to get up.”
“Do you know anything about a boy named Lancett?” Solus lost his focus on keeping her from pushing herself, and she brought herself to a full sit, resting a hand on his. “He’s… he’s around your age… he was with me in Paluna…” She blinked a few times. “O-Or maybe you met a girl, her name’s Amiria. She has long hair, it’s a unique shade of lavender-”
Solus sighed, grasping her hand now. “I did run into a girl. When I found her, she was preparing to kill you. She had a dagger to your chest, and she was going to stab you in the heart. There is no doubt in my mind that if I hadn’t been there to stop her, you wouldn’t be here.”
Leilana glanced down at his hand to keep herself from tracing his eyes, to uncover some form of a lie beneath the surface of his words. There was no way that Amiria was capable of something so sinister. But he had no reason to lie to her.
It wasn’t a dream.
“Lancett went after her,” she whispered to herself, a slight grip on her hair, her eyes brimming with tears. He had abandoned her, but she supposed that it wasn’t in vain. He was far closer to Amiria than he was to her, and even if he weren’t, Kindall had been. Lancett didn’t take Amiria’s betrayal lightly, and he seemed adamant on the idea that it was his duty to bring her back under consideration of his dead friend. There was some form of morality seeping through the cracks.
Solus was unsure of how to comfort her, the details of her expression lost on him. They didn’t know each other well other than a first name basis, and yet, he felt compelled to try and stop the tears before they could fall. He was far used to cheering up someone who cried, having known Remiel’s pains, rare as they were to come to the surface. He settled with continuing to hold her hand.
“You should get some more rest,” Rem piped up for Solus as if reading his thoughts.
Her tired eyes were already falling shut, and both boys knew that she had been fighting the ordeal for some time, but no pain compared to her lust for information. “But I…”
“It would be better if you didn’t reflect on what happened,” Solus explained, “It’ll make things worse. Please, get some sleep.” Leilana wanted to retaliate but found herself resting her head, drifting off moments later. Solus was relieved that she heeded his words, even with newfound information.
Maybe Lancett was safe, and they could take pride in at least one of them being in good hands.
Drip. Drip. Drip. Raindrops hitting the cavern nook became a routine reverberation, and it was driving Solus senseless to merely endure. There wasn’t much that he could do in his mundane state. Rem had fallen asleep after finishing his shift, having hardly done so in the last few days, and Leilana was sleeping through the hours with ease, her fever fluctuating in temperature now and again, but time could heal the ailment. That left him with silence from his companions and only the rainfall to keep him company. Even thinking things over seemed to be too far out of his normal variety of distraction.
He wasn’t sure of the time outside anymore now that the sun was eclipsed by the overcast clouds, and he decided to use Leilana’s radio to uncover any details that he could; time, location, maybe even information on what was occurring in Linmus, recalling that Leilana mentioned hearing about the terrorist attack on the kingdom through the device.
He flipped through the dial and adjusted the volume and antenna as much as he could, but through the static and warbled noise caused by the rain and the lack of power in range, he didn’t have much luck. He narrowed his eyes in disappointment before deciding to try again. A few minutes went by before he could make out even the most insignificant of voices behind the static and he pulled the radio further into the cave, taking a seat at the far end. He turned the dial a bit to the right and the voice of the announcer came to fruition.
“-Statement from Laikros Olen, a former knight of the round detailed the tragic event.”
“The night of the fall of Linmus, the assailant reportedly set fire to his own room and lured out servants before decapitating them with a thin blade. Once any witnesses were out of the way, the assailant moved on to every room, scoping out any potential subjects that could forewarn the unsuspecting King and Queen.” Solus narrowed his eyes in thought.
“Sol?” Solus glanced over upon hearing Rem’s voice, managing a grin. Rem was sitting up, rubbing the residue of sleep from his eyes. “What are you listening to over there?”
“I borrowed Leilana’s radio. I was curious to see if there was any news on Linmus.” Rem crawled over to Solus and took a seat next to him, lying on his stomach and supporting his head by resting his hands under his chin.
“Anything useful?”
“So far, it doesn’t seem any different from rumors around towns we’ve crossed on the way here. Apparently, they got a statement from Laikros Olen.”
“Old-Man Olen, fighting for justice up until the end,” Rem mumbled, nodding. “Makes sense that they were able to track him down.” Rem could still see the man’s face, his clean-shaven face and patched left eye covered by his long white hair most evident in his memory.
Solus was still tuned in to the broadcast, trying to pick through any valuable information, but there was little that seemed to stand out that he hadn’t already heard or saw for himself. They had already moved on to infomercials about new drinks and snacks that would be making a debut in the city of Kinsley. The world seemed to love talking about that place in a high light far more than they even considered speaking of Linmus, and that place was the kingdom itself.
“It doesn’t seem like Olen has let on to the press about you being alive,” Solus stated while turning off the radio. “That’s a good sign, at least.”
“Let’s just hope that it keeps up for a while. The last thing I need is some rumor going around about the walking dead Prince of Linmus.”
Solus chuckled. “I admit, that would be a worthy story. I think I’ll create that in about five years as a sequel to our current tale.”
“Can we get through this one first? And did you just imply something?"
Solus playfully rolled his eyes. "Moving on."
He abruptly paused when a diminutive whimper passed through his ears, his attention rushing to Leilana. The girl was tossing and turning in her sleep, grasping the thin blanket in her hands, sweat rolling down her face. Rem was quick to rush to her side, rubbing her back to ease her. A pale aura was engulfing the girl’s body.
“There is more to magic than you can comprehend.”
The meticulous affliction of a man rang through Solus’s ears, catching him by surprise. His gaze landed on Rem, who didn’t seem to acknowledge the new encouragement. Next, he found himself watching the barrier surrounding the entrance—the electrical sparks were becoming less tangible due to the rainfall striking it. Rem’s spells weren’t skilled enough to hold for extended periods of time just yet.
The Lasette flew open, the brass concealment smashing against the ground, drawing silence. Solus and Rem were both stunned by the involuntary lock-picking as if the grimoire itself had a mind of its own. Leilana moaned, reaching out her hand, her fingers fervently twitching. Solus and Rem glanced at each other before their eyes landed on the grimoire again, uncertain of what the meaning of this situation revolved around. Never had the Lasette opened to them, even by accident. And they were both certain that Leilana had regained little influence over the situation.
One by one, the pages turned until each of the thin papers lining the book was flipping at an increased speed.
“I’m not getting this,” Rem admitted. “Why and how is the book acting on its own?”
“I feel the same.” Solus rested a hand on the grimoire’s open page once it had ceased. There lied the image of a crystalline orb shrouded in a magenta shade. “Maybe it’s a sign that there’s something we’re meant to see.”
Rem leaned in closer to him to try and examine the words for himself, his nose scrunching in disappointment. “What am I reading?”
“I’m not certain,” Solus replied after looking the scrambled words over a few times.
The letters were twisted in an odd fashion, some upside down, others turned to the right. It left Solus in a conflicted state on how to translate. He had studied several languages over the years in preparation for a time like this, come to comprehend the differences of others based on affliction, patterns, and even phrasing. But never had he stumbled across such a complexity.
“I feel that what lies in this grimoire is a dead language.”
Rem raised an eyebrow. “A dead language? What, can only the dead read it?”
Solus stared at him in disbelief before placing his thoughts in a place where he could translate ‘Rem speech.’ After considering what the boy could have meant, he gave a nod. “I suppose that’s not far off, but that wasn’t what I was jumping at. A dead language is a combination of words and dialogue not commonly used anymore. It may have understood by olden Arcana and Maesters, but times have changed, and as we evolve, so does everything else, including the way that we address linguistics.”
“Oh, wait!” Rem piped up, “I remember symbols on the book cover that looked like this!”
Solus took note of this before marking the page with his thumb to hold it in place, leaving a noticeable indent to leave the book open just enough. He could always correct it later for Leilana’s sake—he didn’t want to end up getting chewed out for potentially wrecking her grimoire. He examined the cover, squinting his eyes. Rem ran his fingers along the symbols for himself.
“See that? There’s twenty-six symbols lined up in an order, just like in our alphabet. I think that may be the book’s language!”
Solus recalled Leilana’s gestures and phrasing before connecting the words and symbols, giving a small nod. “I understand now. So, she hails from a country that speaks Minsura.”
“You do know it then?” Rem asked.
“I’ve heard of it in passing, but never much aside from the name. Definitely a dead language.”
“Does that mean that we’ve come to a dead end?”
Solus chuckled. “Certainly not. I have an idea. It will be time-consuming, but effective.”
He handed the grimoire to Rem, stepping towards the soundly sleeping Leilana. He rested a hand on her forehead and wiped away some of the sweat with his sleeve, finding that her fever had broken. That was a relief; the worst had come to pass. He cautiously stepped away after claiming her tote. He closed his eyes to manipulate himself from thoughts of invasion of privacy until he grazed her journal. He slipped his fingers through the bag a second time to uncover a calligraphy pen, then began to recreate the symbols on the book cover on a sheet of paper, writing the translation of each letter from their own dialect above the symbols. Once he had finished, he returned to his marked page and thoroughly examined the description above the image.
Something about the orb’s image stirred up old memories, and Solus wasn’t sure why. This was the first time he had seen it, but the energy resonating in the image alone struck a chord with him.
“Now that I think about this, can we translate a dead language with just the book cover’s alphabet alone?” Rem inquired. “I don’t want to wake Leilana, especially if we end up struggling to try and comprehend all of this.”
“We’ll do what we can,” Solus replied, “even if we have to translate one letter at a time.”
“But won’t Leilana be mad if she sees us reading the book?”
“The life that we are blessed with is full of hazards, Remiel. That is why we are born and raised in a concrete manner—to live for a mistake or two in the long run.”
Rem’s eyes narrowed, his expression conflicted. “Are you specifying that you’re afraid of her waking up too because you don’t want to face her wrath?”
Solus began to scribe the words and translate each individual letter, writing them down in the journal. Quite a few minutes had elapsed before he prudently tore the first lengthy page from the journal, making sure that the crests along the sheet were even and that noticeable tears weren’t made. Maybe Leilana wouldn’t catch on.
“All right, here we go,” Solus began, beholding the paperwork. He had jotted down the words in a hurry, so his handwriting looked a bit scrambled and even jumped out of the lines at times, but what’s done was long done.
Rem rested his palms on the ground and leaned back in his spot, knowing full well that he was in for a lecture. “Whatcha got?”
“This picture inside of the grimoire is the Orb of Concord,” he read the large letters at the top of the page first, written in a bold face with the pen as thoroughly as he could manage. He inhaled before interpreting the translated passage aloud for Rem.
The Orb of Concord is a collection of crystal shards merged together by the lost souls of Warlords. It is said that those who amass its energy carry the will of these Warlords and are granted not only the powers that they possessed, but the knowledge cradled in the weight of each generation that they walked in.
Solus paused, glancing at Rem, who was now staring at the ground, taking the passage into consideration. There were questions; Solus could tell that Rem was considering asking them. But neither of them truly knew what answers would lie beyond the grimoire that the girl they met by coincidence wielded with ease. Rem met his gaze as if ushering him to continue granting him the knowledge he craved. And so, he did.
