King Reynar and Salem did not move an inch, dumbfounded and out of breath.
"STEP ASIDE MAHAVHAR! THIS DOES NOT CONCERN YOU ANY LONGER!" Protested the king, holding his long axe with both hands. "IF BLOOD THEY WANT, WE HAVE PLENTY OF IT!"
Salem, the wizard, drew a stone from his left pocket. His hands were shaking. He was exhausted.
"FOR LONG YOU HAVE CAST US INTO THE SHADOWS! YOU'VE TREATED US LIKE WE WERE LESSER THAN YOU! AND WHEN WE BECAME THE KEY TO YOUR SELFISH CONQUESTS YOU TRY TO USE US LIKE WEAPONS AND TOOLS IN YOUR WARS! WE WILL NOT STAND THIS INEQUITY ANYMORE! NOT WHEN WE ARE STRONGRER!" Yelled back Salem. His cry gathered the scattered warlocks next to him.
"ENOUGH!" I beat my wings and screamed so hard, left and right.
Salem did not pay attention to my objections and charged towards me.
He pulled a sword from his stone, and grabbed another one. "MOVE ASIDE!" He cried as he pressed forward. "OR I WILL KILL YOU AS WELL!" Many wizards followed him in his charge. King Reynar did the same thing.
Peace be upon the worthy, worshiping time and again. From thou I came, and to thou I return. O' Mighty thou were, and Mighty thou will be. Forgive me for I have veered from thy path. Forgive me for I shall take thy justice by my hand. I prayed, and remembered how good that felt. Vharlan forgive me, I shall act one more time, one last time. You can do as you please with me afterwards. I have betrayed you.
I soared up slightly, embraced my body with my wings, my arms crossed against my chest and as I was about to unleash my anger on the fighting sides, my body froze and refused to move. I had no idea what was going on. I yelled and yelled but my body refused to obey.
"Let go." I heard Him whisper in my head. "Don't hold back. Let yourself go, ignite your shell and let me through." He said.
This was not the same voice I heard in my heard the first time. This was Him. I recognized His voice. I felt teardrops fall on my face, and I felt warm again. Is it you? I thought.
"FOR FREEDOM!" Yelled the Sahr.
"FOR JUSTICE!" Yelled the Vaalkai.
My body lightened brightly. Blinding the mad warriors and throwing them off once more. The light became brighter by the second, the land beneath them quivered and the skies darkened. My body was the only light to be seen.
I screamed in agony, my chest and my limbs were burning on the inside but I did not want it to stop. I felt His presence and I knew it was right.
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Yelled someone.
"FALL BACK!" The king ordered his men. And so did Salem.
Beneath me appeared what seemed like a dark bottomless hole that spread to twice my length on the sandy surface, swallowing everything around it. Some unfortunate sahr and vaalkai that were in its range fell inside it, screaming and frightened. Their cries could still be heard.
A great shock wave emanated and spread all over the battlefield, knocking everyone out of their balance, I stretched my entire body and let a greater scream than the one before it. Blood spouted out of my mouth and nose, my right wing broke, my horns grew bigger and bigger before breaking as well and fell into the pit underneath me. My hair grew as well, it kept getting longer and turned silver. Two consecutive and stronger shock waves spread over the land and the skies, and although my body kept breaking, I had never felt that strong before. When I opened my eyes, I couldn't see the battlefield but I saw everything. Everything that once was. Everything that was at that time and everything that will be. I saw the land spread wider and oceans split it. I saw times of harmony and peace. I saw times of despair and bloodshed. I saw faces, some I recognized and others I have never seen before and yet somehow knew all of them. I saw other beings aside from Valkai -now Men- and Sahr -now Wizards. I saw gigantic men-looking creatures, rise from the stone along with smaller ones.
"Of thy left horn, I woke Stone-Men, giants and dwarves. May they be wiser than their brethren. Thou shalt be their father on earth, until thy time comes and with it their own." The Great One said. "Of thy right horn and right wing, I woke fire and earth. Stronger than many, but kinder than all. Thou shalt be their father on earth, until thy time comes and with it their own."
I saw a ship sail across the oceans with the world at its tail. I saw the world fall and I saw many lift it up. I saw other creatures rise and others wither. I saw kingdoms grow and others shrink to nothingness.
"It is their fate. Unchangeable. Just like thine. Thy actions brought thou here and will get them there. But all is as it is because I made it so." His voice filled my entire being with great fear but also courage. "Now let go of all and be. Let go until thy time comes."
When? When is my time Vharlan? I thought.
"When is not now. When is not soon. When is yet to come. Now bequeath thy legacy to them." His last words echoed in my head, and the last faces I saw were on the battlefield.
The light shrank rapidly and so did the hole, and one last shock wave emitted from my body, this time the wave was carried with it all of my worries, to spread it far, as far as the eye could see, leaving behind it a snowy dust. I landed on the ground, slowly and gracefully while the skies cleared up.
My hair covered half of my body. I raised my hands to my face, turned them around, my red veins turned crystal blue. I tore off my remaining wing as if it never was a part of me. Be as you may, you are no longer a part of me. I stared at it like a foreign limb of some other creature.
I then looked around me and I felt like years have passed by only to see almost the same faces surrounding me. Pale and frightened like sheep. The cries and prayers stopped. Some struggled to stand on their feet and remained down.
"Enough." I finally said, only this time I didn't need to yell to be heard.
All men including their king dropped their weapons, the clanking of steel rang all over the battlefield.
I turned towards Salem with a warning face. "Lower your stones."
His followers did as I said, but he seemed unmoved. He is unalterable. I thought.
"You wanted your freedom. You have it. Leave this land to its people. Go find yourselves one, build your own castles and your own kingdoms. Be free of Men, become who you are. There are greater things to achieve aside from dominion." I told him.
"And you." I said as I turned towards Reynar. "You will no longer torment your mutants. You've seen what it brought upon you. If you want justice, first you work by it."
Salem was huffing, angry and determined to not listen. He looked around him, feeling forsaken by his people and his anger grew.
"Remember this day! The day Valkai and Sahr parted ways as Men and Wizards. And remember to never, NEVER, look down on what you deem lesser than yourselves!" He yelled before putting away his stone. He turned around and waved his hand to his followers to walk back and away from the battlefield.
Bequeath thy legacy to them. I remembered Him say.
"Hold it Salem." I said as I advanced towards him. He looked at me, with the same angry eyes. "May I have a word with you?"
"I don't think I have a choice do I, freak?" He spat.
"Now have you no faith in your own words? Someone who has been labelled wrongly for their nature shouldn't do the same to others." I counselled him.
He stood there, reflecting on his words and it was at that moment I saw remorse and pain in his eyes instead of blinding anger. He is hurt, not evil. I thought.
"You have a new beginning. Do not waste it on vengeance and grudges. This is a new age, for all of you. I see that your kin trust you as their leader, build a future for them. A future where you can prosper and live peacefully" I put my hand on his shoulder. He pressed his lips and nodded.
"What if they come after us? What if this war never ends?" He finally inquired.
"I am here for now to make an end to it." I reassured him.
He stood silent for a moment, looking at King Reynar and his army behind me. "Have you told him about Grigori and what you have done to him?" He asked.
"No, I haven't, but I will… It was necessary." I admitted.
He bowed and stepped away once again.
"One more thing. The Deity wants you to have this." I opened my right palm and the stone of Umbar emerged from it. "This is the jewel of Umbar. Keep it as a precaution but do not use it unless you are told so. This is your heirloom from this day to the day The Deity decides otherwise. Keep it safe. It is a dangerous thing and if it ever falls in the wrong hands you will pay greatly for it."
"If it's that dangerous I do not want it. I cannot keep such evil." He objected.
"You don't have a choice." I insisted. I reached for his hand and pressed the stone in his palm, closed his grip. "It is best if you keep it secret as well." I whispered in his ear. "Go east until you reach the end of the world."
He swallowed his fear and hid the stone in his pocket.
"Be the justice we need." He said before joining his people.
I smiled at him. One more. I thought.
"King Reynar." I called while walking to meet him halfway. "You know what might come after this. King Edward's men will want justice for their loss. His counselors will want to know what happened and you owe that to them. In no way you are to force your reign on them, or anyone in here. Rule those who chose to follow you, and leave the choice to the others. The land has spread wider, and the seas rose borders you cannot break, respect that or bleed fighting for land again." I advised him.
He simply nodded, still disturbed by my ascension.
"Can we trust them to keep this… this peace." He doubted.
"They will. And so will you. I will make sure of that for now." I asserted. "Your son." I added before he interrupted me.
"I have none. I buried him here today. He choose his path and so did everyone." Reynar declared loudly. "If it's my word you want, I promise you… we mean no harm to whoever means none to us."
"You are known to be wise king Reynar. Keep it that way." I said.
He nodded in agreement. Behind him, stood a young man, frightened as everyone else but somehow relieved. The hinged cheekplates from his helm were broken from the battle, the left one had injured his cheek. His eyes were blue and confused, but they carried kindness and strength. The second face.
"What is your name?" I asked him.
The king turned and looked at the man, and so did everyone.
"A… my name is Ankros, your greatness…" He replied hesitantly under the pressure of the judging eyes of everyone.
"Come with me." I said. "Please." I walked few steps away from unwanted ears.
He took off his helm, paid no mind to the king and followed me. And before I could say anything he whispered to me.
"When I thought my life was about to end with steel in my hand and blood on my face, I prayed for a miracle. 'I pledge my whole being to You, Great One, please end this. Don't let your subjects slaughter each other for nothing. By your own hand, which is greater than all, make an end to it.' And I never thought instead of death I'd see the birth of a new era. You are without doubt the answer to my prayer…" He confessed.
This is why You choose him. I thought. He believes in You. I smiled.
"How strong is your faith in Him?" I asked.
"Stronger than magic. Stronger than steel. My faith shook the land and darkened the skies. My faith in Him brought me to you and I suppose for a good reason…" He replied looking at the sky.
Ankros was a tall, strongly built man. His skin was of a glowing reddish-brown, and dark freckles covered his face.
"There's more to you than meets the eye, Ankros. I am sorry I have to burden you with this, but it is not up to me to decide otherwise. And if you find pride in this, I would be more than happy for you… you must be the greatest Man I have ever met." I said.
"Pride is not what I am asking for. Pride drove these people to war. It is righteousness and virtuousness I seek. And if I can be of use to reach that end, I will gladly help." He proclaimed.
"Will you come with me to meet your fate?" I inquired of the man.
"I thought you'd never ask." He smiled.