Thornblade Chronicles - Volume 1

Chapter 23

Eli felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around revealed the Bronze Foxes' members behind him. Sarah broke. Her face was blood-red as tears streamed down her face. She held Albert's gauntlets tight against her chest. That was enough to break Eli too. "I am so sorry," he wept. "The plan failed. I saw Curtis in his suffering and froze. If I had been stronger. If I had remembered to tell him the one fact. If I—"

Sarah dropped the gauntlets and hugged Eli tightly, sobbing into his chest. Eli returned the embrace, unable to say anything. He stroked her hair gently; it was the only way he could think to console her. The two held one another until they calmed down a little. Devon sheathed his sword as stars filled his eyes.

Charles smiled somberly, knowing they had won the battle. Excited that the mission was finally a success, he hugged Eli. "You saved us all," Charles laughed, holding back his tears. When they pulled away, Charles placed an arm around Eli's shoulder. "The Hero of Kevras, Eli!" he cheered, patting Eli's chest several times. Eli blushed and looked down.

"Albert was supposed to be the hero," Eli muttered. "I told him he was the key to victory," his voice became a little louder. As he looked up, he saw the sea of people crying, many of whom were cheering. "We could not have done it without all of you," Eli smiled, brushing the tears off his cheek. Charles shook his head.

"Eli, you are stronger than any of us. We all knew you would do it," he explained. "Three cheers for Eli!" The large group in front of them burst out in laughter as they cheered; the jumbled mess of sounds was enough to make Eli laugh as well.

"What now?" he asked.

"Now? We celebrate!" Charles joined. "Everybody!" he cupped his hands around his mouth. "We will reconvene in the courtyard at sunset! Please, bring something to the celebration! Be it food, decorations, or activities. Let us commemorate our freedom!" he cheered. The civilians nodded and cheered, excitedly walking away to prepare for the festivities. Charles began walking toward the inn with his friends behind him but stopped when he noticed Eli did not follow.

"Eli, are you coming?" asked Sarah. Eli looked at the castle, then back at Sarah.

"I will catch up with you," he nodded. His friends understood and walked away. Eli, on the other hand, returned to the castle and walked to Ilkama's body. Eli took the healing potion out of his pocket and looked at it. Guilty he had taken the life of the man who gave him his, Eli dribbled the elixir along the slash marks of Ilkama's two halves. He watched—intrigued and disgusted—as the halves connected and a scar replaced the wound. Still, Eli was thankful it did not bring him back to life.

The Hero of Kevras lifted Ilkama and placed him over his shoulder. Carefully walking around the unconscious guards, Eli walked toward the kingdom's entrance. Eli thought of their first memory while back in Mienardos: the day they hunted the Kasiya snakes. Guilty of killing someone he was once close with, Eli felt the man deserved better than what he had gotten. Determined to give Ilkama the proper burial he deserved, he rounded the corner of Kevras's entrance. Using the swords as shovels, Eli dug a grave in which he could bury his old friend. Though it took several hours, Eli was satisfied with his work. He carefully placed Ilkama in the pit before using his hands to cover it.

He placed Ilkama's sword at the grave head before walking further away and chaining Bursor with Repeiletus to create large rocks. Satisfied with one of the boulders he generated, he used Bursor to cut a stone from the ground. With the glyph still active, he began writing on it.

Here lies Ilkama

A childhood friend

who gave me life.

Eli placed the headstone behind Ilkama's sword and stood beside the grave, looking over it like a guardian angel. He held his hands and looked down. "I never told you that I remembered our first adventure," Eli said, already feeling the tears streaming down his face. "I cannot recall a lot from our childhood, but I remember that day very clearly. They were simpler times, and I miss them. I miss you. The old you, at least. I wish we could have been friends, just like those old days," Eli took out the photo from his pocket and stared at it before closing his eyes. Gripping the image, he wished to return to that time. When Eli opened his eyes, grief filled his heart as he understood it would never come. He had to live with knowing he took the life of the one person he remembered from his youth. "May we meet again in the afterlife, my friend," he whispered, walking away and back into the kingdom.