Erin had been gone almost a year and a half now.
No sign of her, except for a small sticky note in the kitchen saying, "Thank you." Right after she left and supplies missing. I think the loneliness has started to get to me. I haven't been in contact with anyone. I saw Gem in person three times since the trial not counting when we broke my sister out. Fwhip once. I'm glad they cured Gem...but I still wish I had gotten back at Fwhip in some way. Any way. But maybe without the expense of an ex-friend's, I guess, life.
The city was slowly starting to get worse. People were leaving and moving to the mountain villages. No one even tried to grow a harvest, and Gem kept sending food for the kingdom every few months. There have been a few other incidents as well...
Some people were obviously not happy with my rule...especially now.
I was leaned against a pillar in the throne room, putting pressure on a cut on my upper arm. Three elven bodies dressed in black with masks on were scattered around the room, pools of blood underneath where they had been impaled by my ice. Now I had to get rid of them.
This was the third attack. I knew they were from the same person or group. They wore the same exact outfits, and some sort of symbol was engraved on all their weapons. Some sort of wolfish animal inside of a circle. I swear I had seen it before, but I don't remember where...
After I had disposed of the bodies, I was down in the entrance hall.
I was fiddling with the communication device Gemini had given me, since ravens (and owls) had a hard time getting into Rivendale when there was a storm. Aka when I was moody.
It was for emergencies, like if we had run out of food. I would use the letter keypad to write a quick note and it would send to their device in a few minutes. Don't ask me how that works, I still have no idea. I had used it less than a dozen times in the last year and a half, but I normally kept it on me.
But I had taken it out to check if she had sent me anything, and it decided not to turn on. I knew the thing didn't need batteries, and there was no place for a cord to plug in. My guess was it was too cold to work. I had started to bang it on one of the tables in the entrance hall to get it to turn on when the doors burst open.
"SCOTT!" Shrub shouted.
I jumped and stared at her, my mouth hanging open. I hadn't seen anyone besides the people trying to murder me in months. Fwhip had completely dismissed my council. Shrub was wearing a large coat, and I saw her clutching the Xornoth crystal in one of her hands. I also saw the emperor crown on her head. She had gotten it a few months ago after Joey's year long reign.
Shrub turned bright red when she saw me. "Uh...hi Scott." She said slowly. I opened my mouth a few times to say something, but I was absolutely speechless. "Sorry. Did I scare you?"
"I- I-" I stuttered. "Why are you here?" I finally asked quietly, glancing at the crystal.
Shrub actually ignored this and was staring at my upper arm. I had rolled up my sleeve and wrapped the cut. I didn't know how to treat it, so I decided just to cover it and leave it alone like the rest of my problems. "What happened?" she asked.
I glanced down at it. "Nothing. What are you doing here?" I asked, starting to get annoyed.
"I-" she started. "I think Xornoth's coming back." She said, holding out the crystal.
I stared down at it. "What the hell are you talking about?" I asked her.
"I've been having these strange dreams, and I swear whispering has been coming from it. I- I don't want it." She closed her eyes and held it out for me to take.
I took a small step towards her, and took the chain without touching her hand, pulling it from her palm. "I don't know what you're talking about." I finally said. "He isn't coming back, Shrub."
"But- But he has to be!" Shrub cried in desperation. "I've been searching for a way back and I was positive I'd be able to when we defeated him, but I can't! Maybe if we haven't actually gotten rid of him, there's still a way that my people are still there!"
"Gemini's magic was pretty solid on this. Your- your people may be gone." I said quietly.
Shrub looked like someone had slapped her across the face, and her lower lip trembled. "No- No I can't be the last one..." she said.
"Shrub I-" I started, but Shrub cut me off.
"It was nice seeing you, Scott." She said flatly and sped walked out.
I just stood there, staring at where she had been. I hadn't meant to make her upset but if she couldn't find them, someone would have had to break it to her soon.
Then I looked down at the crystal. I hadn't seen him- it for so long... I slipped it over my neck, and it rested against my chest... If only Erin was here...
I decided to take a walk that evening. Just to clear my thoughts. Turns out that walk just made me more confused.
I had stepped out the doors and had started walking around the pathway that wrapped around the palace. I had gotten used to watching my step on the sleet covered roads, but I slipped when I looked up. Seven somethings were floating in midair right above the hill the Rivendale festival had taken place over two years ago.
I scrambled to my feet and sprinted up the steep path, slipping and skidding, to the large flat piece of land. I stared up at the sky. At different levels, ranging from 20 to 50 feet in the air, were at least seven large ice sigils hanging in the hair, held up by nothing.
That really defied the laws of physics. But then again, I could essentially shoot ice from my fingertips. I stared at them until my neck started to cramp. I really needed an explanation for this one. So why not go to the place that had become my refuge in the last few months? The Ancient Elven Library. If that place didn't have answers, nowhere did.
So, I spent the next couple of hours trudging through the mountains on my usual path to the library. I could have flown but...
When I arrived, I reckon it was getting close to midnight, but what's just one more night without sleep, am I right? The door creaked when I opened it like it always did, and I walked a few feet into the circle of runes. "Knowledge is more powerful than power itself." I recited, and the staircase opened.
I jogged down the stairs and into the library. As you can imagine, just like every other place I've spent my time, it was covered in frost. Books were scattered across the ground because I haven't bothered to put them back.
I had spent so much time here trying to cure whatever this ice thing was. Nothing. Yet. I don't recall coming across anything about floating ice sigils, so I just picked up my ice search where I left off.
I didn't find anything. Nada. Zilch. Except for one thing...the sigils had a marking on them. Similar to a four-pointed star with intricate lines and patterns throughout. Aeor's mark. "WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT WITH ME!?" I shouted and threw the book at one of the bookshelves in frustration. What had happened in the ice palace with Aeor had haunted me for so long...I looked up at a large thud as a thick and dusty book fell from the shelf.
I leaned down and picked it up, blowing the dust off the cover. "The Book of Prophecies?' I murmured aloud to myself before flipping to the first page. This book wasn't in print, but in very faded handwriting that was extremely hard to read. It was English as well, which was strange. Not many books here were English. So, I sat down and began to read.
Kindred Spirits will find each other and unite in this world like they do in every world.
I guess that could mean when we banded together to defeat Xornoth, but we're not so kindred anymore.
A dark possession will consume the most vain of rulers. Joyful spirits turned evil in the promise of power.
That one must be about when Joey and Sausage turned.
A prosperous land shall be laid to waste. Streets will run red before spires are toppled.
I gulped. That one doesn't sound too good. Let's hope if these were accurate, they weren't in my lifetime...
There will emerge a great Northern Palace unlike anything the world has ever seen.
Lizzie's palace is the most north, I guess. And it is pretty spectacular. I think Joel called it an architectural wonder at one point.
A great betrayal will wrench the hearts of rulers until a rain falls to cleanse the pain.
Don't recognize that one. Unless it means me. Then of course I recognize it.
An heir born to the ocean empire shall be rare and exquisite, an amphibian of great power. The blue axolotl.
That one turned out to be Lizzie.
Two twin souls trapped in an endless battle since the beginning of time. Order and disorder. Light and dark, hot and cold. One cannot exist without the other, for if one soul dies the other is sure to follow.
The book actually slipped from my hands, and I turned the page desperately, but the next page was completely blank. "No, No there has to be more!" I said to myself, flipping through the rest of the pages. But the writer had stopped there.
This surely had to be about Aeor and Exor...but the line about hot and cold...does this mean if we had destroyed Xornoth I would have...? My heart rate went up just thinking about it, and I could feel an anxiety attack starting. My hands were shaking as I reread the lines over, and over again. What would happen if the crystal broke? Would it kill me? Or would Xornoth escape?
I rubbed my face with my hands and tried to stop myself from hyperventilating. Thank the gods Shrub had given me the crystal. But then a thought hit me. Did he know?
I pulled the crystal up to eyelevel. He told Erin not to kill me...was this why? Or was there another part of the plan he never got to finish?
I couldn't keep this to myself. Not this time. So, I was going to leave Rivendale for the first time in almost a year and a half... But one thing is for sure. I'm not letting this crystal out of my sight.