Guardian(Part II): Soulborne

Chapter 9: Connor

Ruth and I stared at the enormous crack in the ground left from the duel between Eris and Artoreus, with a better understanding of just how powerful they both were, now. We were lucky to have someone such as Eris on our side, and not fighting against us. We were also lucky that the Camnorish forces had stopped attacking for the day because of Eris' victory. With her help, Ruth and I had healed the wounded soldiers from the battle this morning. Since the Camnorish soldiers didn't use black blades, the wounds that their weapons inflicted could actually be healed by our powers, so the duaren soldiers that were wounded and survived, were ready to fight in the morning.

"So, I guess we know why Finn is so powerful, now," said Ruth. "Because his mother is."

"So is Artoreus," I reminded. "It's a good thing Eris sent us back to the inner wall, or else we might be dead."

"I have a good idea of who else could stand a chance against the Archdemons," Ruth said, turning to walk back into Eitheim. "It's too bad Commander Jonas sent him to Illondas. Do you think he's alright?"

"I'm sure he is," I hoped, following her through the portcullis. "Anything that attacks Finn has to try really hard to kill him. Especially with his brother with him."

"I know," Ruth agreed. "I wonder if he's made it to Quorias, yet."

"No, he might still be a few days out," I answered. "If he and Haemon are still doing what the Commander said and staying out of the air, that is."

As we began to walk through the streets of Eitheim, my holo device began to vibrate. I turned it to face it upward and answered it, seeing that it was my father who was calling me.

"Hey, Dad," I greeted.

"Connor," said Dad. "We must speak."

"Shoot," I said.

"There are people in Valedon demanding Finn MacHilles' head for the deaths in Dormanine," Dad reported. "I'm faced with a riot outside the palace! Where is he?"

"We've been over this," I reminded. "I'm not giving up my friend, to anyone."

"We could be facing a rebellion, Connor!" Dad shouted.

"Against you," I growled. "You know I can't be involved in that! We already have a war here!"

"It's my job to stop the people of this country from killing each other," Dad reminded. "And if Finn doesn't face justice for what he's done, then that's exactly what will happen. Now, please!"

I thought about what Dad had said for a moment. Nothing he said was a lie. There were people outside of Valedon's palace, but I had doubts that it was because they wanted Finn to die. Dad had just assumed that was the reason. As far as I knew, Dormanine was hundreds of miles away from Valedon, so the people there may not even care about what happened in a small village such as that one. I knew I wouldn't be able to convince Dad of that, though. I looked to Ruth. She agreed.

"My lord, tell them that there was an investigation, and that you determined that Finn acted in his own defense," she suggested.

"The men were unarmed," Dad reminded.

"They must not have been," I denied. "Because no Guardian would kill seven people just because they could! Especially Finn!"

"How am I supposed to explain that to these people?" Dad demanded.

"I can't help you, I'm kind of in a war," I snapped. "Bye." I shut off the holo device and put it back in my pocket.

"I can't believe this," I sighed. "Why is he doing that?"

"I wish I had an answer," said Ruth, with a hand on my shoulder. "We'll have to warn Finn never to come back to Valedon."

"Yeah," I agreed. I raised my holo device again to call Finn. The device began to vibrate, then a holographic projection of both Finn and Haemon appeared above it. Their legs were moving like they were walking, though it looked like they were walking above the ground.

"Hey, guys!" Finn chirped. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, you know," Ruth jested. "Fighting a war."

"How's that going?" Haemon wondered. "Are two you alright?"

"Yes," I promised. "What are you up to, Finn?"

"We're assessing the warding of the walls in..."

"No no, don't say," I interrupted. "In case my father asks, I want to honestly say I don't know where you are."

"Because he still wants to kill me?" asked Finn.

"Well, according to him, half of Chardan wants to kill you," Ruth corrected. "He says there's a rebellion brewing in Valedon over... Dormanine." 

"What?" Finn gasped, and he and Haemon stopped walking.

"You're kidding," Haemon hoped. "That whole incident was attacking and defending. Those men died because they had no idea who they were trying to kill!"

"It's complicated," I reminded. "The bound blades your mother told us about disappeared after they died, so it looked like they were unarmed, and you were standing over them covered in blood. It's not hard to jump to conclusions, even if they're the wrong one."

"Well, the only reason I killed them was because I would have been killed if I didn't," Finn insisted.

"Finn, we believe you," Ruth promised. "But no one else seems to, other than your mother, and Haemon."

"Wherever you are, stay out of Chardan," I warned. "Unless you have no other choice, don't ever come back here." Finn was silent for a moment. I understood his distress about having an entire country call him a murderer when he was only acting in his defense, and having no way out of that situation. He seemed less guilty about the act itself, which gave me relief, but he would remain nothing but a murderer to all of Chardan, his home. He hung his head with sadness.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll stay away. I have to get back to my assessment, guys, so good luck against Camnora."

"Thank you, Finn," I said. "Be careful." The hologram of he and Haemon disappeared, and I put away the holo device.

"What we said isn't the worse we could have told him," Ruth assured.

"No, it doesn't get any worse than this," I disagreed. "We may very well never see him again, at least not until this war rolls over."

"When do you think that will be?" Ruth wondered.

"It's hard to tell," I answered. "But I don't think Heinrich will stop until Chardan's his. All we can do for now is keep innocent people from dying, just like what has always been expected of us."

"You're right," Ruth agreed. "The way I see it, there's only one way we're surviving this, and that's just to keep fighting, until we can't fight anymore."

As much as I agreed with Ruth, I still didn't want to. I had always thought I would die fighting some monster from the deepest, darkest depths of Hell, yet here I was fighting against human soldiers. It was becoming harder and harder for me to tell who our true enemy was. The Camnorish forces had the backing of the Abyss, but there were no demons participating in the battle itself, other than Artoreus. Now that Artoreus knew of Eris' involvement in this battle, though, that would surely change. In the morning, we would be in for a much bigger fight. I suddenly felt Ruth's hands on my face.

"We will survive this," she swore, then she leaned forward and kissed me. "And the people in this city will survive because of our efforts. Because everyone fights."