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The sounds of waves crashing filled my ears and a late afternoon sky filled my eyes. I could smell the ocean and feel the sand beneath my body. I sat up and found myself where I left off in the dream. However I couldn’t help but dread as I found myself without Harbinger again.
I assessed myself once more. Sure enough I still had the circlet upon my head, four fingers on my right hand, and none of my markings. I looked about and found no one in sight. The eerie quiet echoed about me and I knew I had to get moving. Heironious’s courts were the highest point in the Kingdom and that was where He’d be, or so I assumed.
Not wanting to confront Him immediately, and needing some time to truly humble myself to forgive him, I walked the forest path. The quiet was almost unbearable. Yet in time, I discovered why the silence went on.
I saw someone laying on the ground. I recognized her as an Angelic, in which I rushed over and was shocked. Who I thought was sleeping peaceably, was nothing more than a dead kin. Her presence looked as though she was resting, but the decay marked her death.
Quickly I continued my trek along the forest path. More bodies began to litter the ground. I began to recognize many and soon came upon hundreds of dead Angelic that I had to stop. This was an abomination! I looked to the Golden City high on the mountain and in my mind cursed Heironious for the evil He allowed, blaming Him for all my friends deaths!
As I cried out of sorrow and anger, a different thought came to mind. How could I have thought He was responsible for this? If there was one thing that rang true in my mind, it was knowing how much Heironious loved us. He loved all his angels! For the first time since my banishment, I felt pity for Him. Erythnul must have turned on Him and now He was in need of my help!
I wiped the tears from my eyes and with more fervor took to the skies. I flew up and out of the trees and began my ascent to the Golden City. More bodies could be seen from above and soon the celestial creatures that once roamed free littered the world below with my fellow Angelic. I began flying over the great lake at the foot of the city, bodies floating in the water. It was there that I heard something.
“Araja! I’m over here!”
I whirled around trying to locate the voice. “Hello?” I replied. A smokey, cloud like figure was making it’s way toward me. I held my ground, flapping my wings and hardening my eyes at whatever was approaching me.
“Who are you,” I demanded, my voice flat as I tried to be brave.
“It’s me, Isaac,” the figure claimed. I looked on in disbelief, but soon the personage was before me and held the distinct features of Isaac. How I wish I could have hugged him! “Come back with me,” he pleaded, “We need to get that circlet off of you before Sven reforms.”
My mouth quivered a little. Go back? I thought, After all the effort to get here!?
Isaac puffed a little as though he had just ran a great distance in a physical body. “This is not where I would have expected Sven to have taken you,” he said as he looked about, “I guess I should have assumed- Araja, are you alright?”
I shook my head. “I can’t go back,” I said, my voice betraying my stoic efforts. He looked at me confused. “I was told to come here. Sven is very much apart of me now and the only way to free myself is to find Heironious and forgive Him.”
The ghostly Isaac gave one of his incredulous looks. “There are very few things that beings ‘have’ to do in this life,” he began, “Heironious might be the path before you, but a friend taught me that there’s more than one way of doing things. Now let me examine your circlet and see what I can do for you.”
My friend then looked about the contraption on my head as I continued to explain myself. “I’m sure you’ve noticed all of the dead Angelic below-”
“Are you sure they’re dead?”
“Yes. And because they’re dead, that is another reason I need to see Heironious. I fear He needs our help. He loves us too much to sacrifice us,” I elaborated, “Now you speak of more than one way, but a Giant from a city I came from sang a song that went like this,” the words came from my mouth once more as though I had known the song all my life ending it with the same promise of being free and no one being able to control me again.
“Hmm, I don’t know if advice from a Giant is that reliable.”
“It’s the best option I’ve got. Unless you have some other idea that we can swiftly obtain, we need to make haste to the city.”
There was a moment of silence.
“Well, from the looks of the circlet, it really has fused with you. And I can’t say I have a better option at the moment. Can you tell me what all you remember since you last saw me?” Isaac said.
“Sure,” I replied, beginning to fly toward the Golden City once more. “Though it’s hard to say. I know we were in France, then I was in a place called Athvala. Ever heard of it?”
“Nope.”
“Well, I was there, but now I’m back.”
“That sounds uneventful.”
“It wasn’t,” I said as the events flooded my mind. How I wish I was just dealing with the mark versus the circlet.
“Well, this is what happened in your absence,” Isaac began. He then went to regail about soul trapped beings destroying Dijon, though he got me out of there in time. He then met some black dragons and they captured me, being the cause behind the circlet on my head. He then obtained a new body through his deity the Raven Queen, met back up with Cortanna (who’s part silver dragon now?) in a city named Pride, which was where I came from!
He continued on talking about Kedra and some good succubus name Penelope. He then ended on Kedra using some great power to save the town and at the same time trying to kill him. My head hurt. It was so farfetched and different from what I knew, that I figured the dream had taken a turn for the worse.
“If you had a body, how are you here?” I finally asked.
“Well, Kedra knocked me out with some spell. I’m not... exactly dead. I think whatever is happening here has something to do with the time I was haunting you as a ghost,” Isaac answered. He then looked at me with earnest eyes. “I woke to hearing your voice calling my name. So I followed it and here you are. I’m glad to see you’re alive. I was beginning to worry I would never see you again.”
I smiled a quick smile at him. Of the companions I first met up with, he was the only one who seemed to care. Part of my heart cringed. What if he loved me and only now I was seeing it? I brushed that thought aside. He was a ghost... he was my best friend.
“It’s good to see you again too,” I managed to say, though my smile had faded.
“So remind me, why is it Heironious is the only option?”
“I’m sure he’s not the only option Isaac. But there’s little hope for me now. How I see it, I only have two paths before me: face Heironious or remain a slave to Sven. Both present likely chances of death, but with my ex God, I might be able to survive,” I explained.
“Right...” Isaac muttered. I could tell he was not thrilled by the idea of my death, but it was something in the making for too long. Whatever fears I had about what would become of me after my death held no weight in my mind. Part of me was ready to receive it... even though I knew that would mean never seeing Isaac, Gemmel, or Harbinger again. At least I would be able to say goodbye to Isaac. May Harbinger forgive me for abandoning him...
“Isaac,” I called out, my voice far away, “do you think it truly possible for Heironious to have willfully been corrupted? Or do you think he was tricked?” I asked.
"Its impossible to say if Heironious was willful or not. I personally think the better question is 'Does it matter?'” he replied. I shrugged.
“I suppose it doesn’t. I still find it hard to believe it possible. Deities may be stronger than us, but aren't they frozen in time? Set in their ways and personality with no option to change their minds?” I asked, not really expecting an answer, “I don't know... I guess I’m scared I'll be disappointed once more, but what's another scar under the skin along side all the others?"
“Regardless of his intentions, the results of his actions are the same,” Isaac stated. He then looked at the bodies littered below, “If it is any small comfort, I think Heironious won't have much time left to continue disappointing you."
“Yeah... it would appear Erythnul had turned on Him. He loves us too much to sacrifice us.”
“Oh? I had assumed something else killed them all. Never thought Heironious would do that-”
“Not Him!” I hissed, “though that’s a haunting notion that something else is here to kill Heironious.”
“Right, right. The whole body merging together is confusing. Let alone I still don't see why Erythnul would do that either. They're technically his followers if he's manipulating Heironious. Unless Erythnul has become powerful enough to discard Heironious as an ally,” Isaac mused. That idea struck me! The God Wars!
“It could very well be! While I was in Athvala, there was a war that had happened among the Gods and from the sounds of it, Heironious was killed, but nothing was said about Erythnul. I’ve suspected that maybe they had separated...” I trailed off as I tried to remember specifics, “there was something terrible that I think involved the mark... I guess what I’m getting at is Harbinger always suspected his Gods to not be dead, but I never thought that Heironious might have secretly survived! I suppose we’ll find out shortly once we get to the Kingdom.”
“Was this war something Harbinger started?”
I looked at Isaac and a small chuckle escaped me. “No,” I said, a warm smile on my lips, “Though I’m sure if he wanted to, he’d have little trouble. The war was specifically between the Gods. Harbinger was a Goliath I traveled with,” and loved... but I spared Isaac that detail, “Many deities had died and yet our focus was on a mark. Go figure.”
“That reminds me!” Isaac said excitedly, unbuttoning his shirt, “Nerull died and I no longer bear his mark!” he exposed the part of his chest I last saw Nerull’s mark on.
“What? Their mark disappears if they die?” It would make sense why Tornar’s mark of Erythnul was just that and not combined with the forced of Heironious... if He was truly dead.
“Not really,” Isaac replied as he buttoned his shirt up again, “The Raven Queen overthrew him and in turn I now bare her mark-” what is up with Gods and their marks? “So she essentially removed his brand from me. But I do find her more agreeable when it comes to deities.”
All conversation stopped as we flew into the Golden City. The streets were filled with dead Angelic and I did my best not to look, fearing I’d see more of those I knew. Soon we landed in front of the doors to the throne room. They were closed but I willed them open, certain He’d be inside.
Sure enough, there He was. Dressed in His holy robes and sitting upon His throne, head in hand. He was still the very image of Heinul who I saw long ago in a tree. My blood boiled as I looked at the corrupted being. However it appeared He was weeping...
“Welcome my child,” the strange, dual voice called out. He slowly lifted His eyes to look at me. I felt bile work up as my heart sank. “I cast you out, intent on destroying you if you ever returned. Now here you are brave in the face of death, I presume with final words before I send you to join your brothers and sister?”
NO! I screamed in my mind. It was too late though. He confirmed that He had killed them, ALL of them! How had I been able to think He need my help? Am I just that naive and trusting to give evil the benefit of the doubt? I felt my hateful words begin to form on my tongue when in my mind rang:
Forgive your old foes
Bear love for the traitor.
I curled my lips in my anger, but it seemed the answer was before my eyes. Forgive Him, I pleaded within myself.
Why? He has no intentions to change!
But you will finally be at peace, I debated. If that is what it takes to rid you of the circlet, what have you to lose?
My arms were shaking and my vision blurred with tears. To let go of my hate toward my creator felt impossible, but if I had to choose between the two roads before me, my anger would surely end in my death. I took a few deep breathes before kneeling down, head bowed, and bracing my hands on my knees. I then felt my anger deplete with each word I spoke in humility.
“Heironious... there are many things I don't understand, and if you're to kill me, perhaps it's best,” I began, my voice heavy, “I can't bare living in a world where you've fallen so far that you'd kill your own angels. That you would side with Erythnul! I don't understand what Meryth became or why she was who she was when I saw her as someone so innocent. I refuse to believe you did this all willfully and because of that... I forgive you,” the words were bitter, but warmth ignited in my heart. He had made a mistake and I couldn't hold it against Him. Then with more fervor I repeated myself, looking Him in the eyes, “I forgive you!
“I know I've said hateful words in my anger and I am sorry. I am so very sorry. Just come back, please! Don't let Erythnul rule over you like his mark does to those mortals below." The tears fell from my eyes in hot waves. It felt like I was about to enter into eternal darkness, yet I continued to hope most passionately that my deliverance was nigh.
Instead I heard the exasperated sigh of Heinul.
“You poor child. You think you understand everything-”
“I just said I didn’t!” I snapped, but quickly closed my mouth to prevent myself from sabotaging whatever was to happen.
Heinul stood before me and took my hands, lifting me to my feet.
“Had you ever thought about what your brothers and sisters must think? That if any of what you believed to be true about me, that they would have felt similarly and sought after you? To have helped you in your plight against me?”
I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head. I was selfish like that and typically only thought about my own pain and suffering. My ex God then lead me to the front door of his court, where one could see the rest of the Kingdom... and the bodies that dotted the view.
“They understood the dilemma we yet face. Each one that yielded up their life gave us another day to fight the threat,” His voice caught, and as He continued to explain to me what was taking place, my hatred continued to peel away, “By nightfall I will be no more. These lands might be filled by some other being, similar to how the Raven Queen overtook Nerull’s realm, but I suspect it will become polluted and befouled by the creature whose tendrils have been laced into our body and soul.”
Heinul wiped a finger along my circlet and looked me deeply in the eyes, “That is why we first became bonded, to fight this parasite. And the mark, we had hoped would stir mortals together to help us fight this evil, but we failed. We all failed.”
I then noticed upon His head a circlet of His own. How? I wondered as my heart tore. All my anger had blinded me to the real evil. Because of that, I had to wonder if that was why we failed. Could I have been the key stone that tipped the tides into Sven’s favor?
“As much as it pains me, we both need to come to our rightful end. The parasite is too much apart of us and neither us can live because of that. So shall we?” Heinul asked, tipping His head toward me. This was it. This was my end, or perhaps the ritual that would free me forever from possession...
I looked to Isaac. His eye stared at me, his mouth partly ajar. I gave a weak smile for I wished he didn’t have to witness this. There was hope I’d survive somehow, but I knew it then that I was to die and become part of the nothingness for eternity.
“You will be missed Isaac,” I said to my friend, “Thank you for always being there. You were always so good to me despite my childish fits,” my smile became endearing as my emotions overcame me, “Give Sven hell for us and may your new deity always be true to you.”
I reached out with my right hand instinctively, wanting to grasp Isaac’s hand or shoulder, but seeing he was some form of ghost, I felt stupid knowing there was nothing to grab onto. So I maneuvered my hand to Heinul’s circlet.
“This is your choice then?” Isaac asked with a firm voice. I looked back to him and gave a nod. Isaac's lips trembled a moment before he went on, his face grave, “Goodbye then Araja. I will think fondly of you from time to time.” A single tear from each eye then spilled over and down his face. I don’t know if I ever stopped crying, but I gave him one last smile without saying ‘goodbye.’ I would have rather said, ‘see you soon,’
I turned my attention back to Heinul and with the setting sun He imbued in me strength. He then counted down from three saying, “Dhroo... Dwa... Aj,” and with a great jerk we pulled the circlets from our heads.
The pain was familiar, I had felt it before, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next. I saw my unconscious body being hauled away by 6 black dragons. They put me in a room and were handed a circlet to put upon me. Scary enough, the men who presented the circlet were Harbinger and Bal Vyr! They too wore circlets of their own. It then dawned on me and made sense how all of us were placed together in the metal bowl. While we were under Sven’s possession, we were part of some alternate reality! The mark must represent the influence Sven had over us. The larger it was, the more infused we were with him.
Heinul had long collapsed when I looked to Isaac. My life force was almost gone and I needed him to save him!
“Save... Harbinger... please,” I managed to say before my light went out forever.
The End
But wait! There's more! Alas, as I have begun work on writing Araja's true tale, I have subjected her to another campaign! I had not intended to continue recapping her story, but there have been some amazing character development for her DnD tales, that I felt compelled to start up again! The entries are likely to be more journal-esque due to not wanting to invest so much time into recording sessions and recapping with 90% accuracy to what went down (though I will admit, I can never be as witty or creative as the players I play with). However, to those of you who've enjoyed the read, I hope you find her alter endings and continued tales enjoyable.
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