Vyn rushes over giddily, but to the party, who don't know him, he seems like a crazed old man who has escaped an asylum. Meetle watches Vyn and loses concentration on his spell, slamming to the ground, painfully standing up, and rubbing his side.
"It is good to meet you all, young, eager spirits, I can see," Vyn sprouts a broad smile, making him look even creepier.
"Can we get this old dust bag back to the retirement home, please?" Kyra shouts out toward Lillian and Araval, who are in the process of rushing over anyway.
"Show respect to Grand Magister Vyn. Thanks to him, we have a destination for the first Primordial artefact," Lillian speaks sternly, her eyes meeting the gaze of Garrick, Meetle and Kyra.
"You found one? Where? When do we leave?" Garrick is eager, itching for the outside world. He trains, but it's not the challenge he wants. He needs something more 'real' to improve himself.
"It's an island far south across the Valandras sea called Hjalthor. It's a dangerous place, so it should not be taken lightly. Lillian and I will learn more about it tonight. You should get acquainted with Vyn; he'll be in charge of you when retrieving the artefact," Araval says with the same serious tone as Lillian. The games are over, and there is no space for failure.
"This old guy is coming along? A slight breeze will send him overboard, and he'll float away like a piece of driftwood!" Kyra views this development as her babysitting Vyn, but Lillian and Araval view it as Vyn babysitting them.
"A sharp tongue to match the sharp ears. I am indeed old and very frail, so I'll tie myself to the mast pole, so I don't fly away. That'll solve all the issues, right?" Vyn chuckles; he is old, has lived a good life, and doesn't take much notice of the insults that fly his way. He does, however, notice Garrick, who is deep in contemplation. Vyn says nothing but makes sure to remember the moment.
"You seem capable enough to handle the rabble. Araval and I will take our leave. We'll be at the Volmyr Library If you need our assistance," Lillian nods toward Vyn, who is busy asking Meetle to float again as they leave.
"Your birth parents were very talented mages. It is good to see you following in their footsteps. You were floating tremendously," Vyn speaks encouragingly and also really wants to see Meetle float again.
"My birth parents? I'd love to hear more about them. Mom and Dad don't speak much about them," Meetle speaks with a tinge of sadness in every word.
"Of course, but first, how about I show you the device that shows the location of the primordial artefacts?" Vyn is wide-eyed, nodding incessantly. He desperately wants people to see his creation, his pride and joy.
The party all look at each other and vaguely agree, guttural noises rather than actual affirmations, but it's good enough for Vyn as he summons the cosmic door, and they all enter. It lights up for them again, showing Vyn's talents. They have no idea what it does or means, but they know it is impressive work just from seeing it.
Vyn explains the process as they are all scattered around the room, inspecting everything, following the cogs turning, the gears and the pipes, and seeing where it all ends up. As their eyes follow the path, they end up at the centre console, the floating ball lifting high as they stare in wonder, revealing the gem beneath that powers the machine.
"You may have seen some gems before, but this is much larger to handle the task I require."
As Vyn speaks, he ushers the party to come and inspect the device in more detail. Meetlemire wastes no time shoving his face next to the gem as he looks around with amazement. Kyra stays a safe distance away, feigning boredom. Once Meetle has his fill, Vyn encourages Garrick to have a look himself. With apprehension, he walks close to the gem as the dull purple colour begins to glow, which takes Vyn off-guard.
"That's odd. Please take a step back; I must see why it started," Vyn's voice is tinged with curiosity as he leans in close as the gem glows brighter and begins to shake.
"Is that normal?" Garrick asks worriedly as he takes another step back.
The gem glows brighter as the shaking increases, causing the container it sits in to hiss with steam as it shakes, bolts flying off.
"This makes no sense; there's been a sudden influx of magic on such an incredible scale," Vyn's face drops as he realizes what is about to occur, taking a long look at his creation, like witnessing his soul withering before his eyes. "It's going to destroy it all," the gem glows so brightly that the party shields their eyes from the irritating shine while Vyn uses his magic to pull the party close and creates a dome to protect them from the impending doom.
"What the hell is happening?" Kyra snaps; the sense of helplessness doesn't sit well with her.
Before anyone else can say a word, the gem cracks and explodes, covering the room in a cloud of purple smoke as cogs, pipes, and other mechanical instruments whizz through the air, impacting against the protective bubble. Almost nothing is seen, just the sound of the death of a man's soul.
After the dust clears, Vyn dismisses the bubble and removes the smoke by summoning a small bag that opens and sucks it up, revealing the extent of the damage.
A symphony of destruction strums through the room. Most of the intricate machinery lies either broken or wholly ripped apart from its housing, but the worst part is the device itself, the floating ball, lying fragmented with the gem itself no more; just the dust that Vyn collected is all that remains.
Vyn looks upon the carnage, shell-shocked, as he falls to his knees, holding back tears. Meetle attempts to speak, but the door opens suddenly as Vyn weakly mutters, "Please leave me."
An uncomfortable aura hangs across the party as they slowly exit the room, accidentally kicking cogs and gears as they move. Garrick leaves last and turns to look at Vyn as the door closes, seeing Vyn begin to break down into tears—a man broken, much like his device.
"What the fuck was that about?" Kyra snaps as she pats down the dust that lay on her clothes.
"I have no idea. I should find my parents and tell them what happened; they'd want to know immediately,"
Meetle quickly runs for the door before stopping. "Jessolyn, why don't you and Symeera come with me, too?"
"Oh, sure, dear," Jessolyn, who has stayed silent through this all, clutching their daughter tightly, talks for the first time, clearly fighting to control her emotions after the incident nearly hurt their child.
Garrick and Kyra are left to their own devices, and while Kyra trains, using the limited time before the inevitable journey for the first Primordial artefact, Garrick is lost in thought, replaying the memory of the explosion in his head.
"Was it my fault? I don't even know what I did. It couldn't have been; If it were me, I would've hurt myself in the process."
Garrick's conversation with himself goes back and forth until he decides to try opening the cosmic door. It creaks and moans like the room is alive, and the cries bellow through the crack in the door.
Upon entering the room, Vyn is tidying up. He is hard at work, repairing the room, as the clang of metal and sparks fly past his face as he welds pipes, not with tools but with his magic. Vyn's spirit seems to have bounced back, his depression lasting no more than a couple of hours, but now he is focused, his smile returning as he fixes not only the room but his soul.
"Nice of you to stop by. I apologize for my earlier behaviour and for my device almost harming you and the party. Its instability was not accounted for."
"It's alright, don't worry about it, no one was hurt. I'm sorry your device got destroyed."
"I can rebuild it. It may take time, but I can't take the voyage to Hjalthor with you. It'll take all my effort to fix this."
Garrick shifts uncomfortably, and Vyn curiously raises an eyebrow.
"Something wrong?"
"I've heard the name Hjalthor before and don't trust going there."
"Oh? Hjalthor is dangerous, mainly the wildlands; the villages are tense, but a certain level of peace exists. I'll make sure to prepare you all for your journey."
"Thanks, Vyn, I appreciate it. I'll help clean up; I feel guilty like I caused it to explode."
Garrick picks up pieces of the device, grabbing a fragment of the Island of Hjalthor.
"Nonsense. You're not even magical; you couldn't-"
Vyn turns around to see Garrick's eyes glowing bright blue as the fragment of the device bursts with an orange colour, more vibrant than he, Araval, and Lillian have ever managed. Vyn sprints over to Garrick, grabbing his arm to release his grip from the device. Instead, he witnesses fragmented scenes of runes being carved onto Garrick. He stands like a bystander, watching the skin peeled back from Garrick, who screams more than anyone Vyn has ever heard, as Jarathus inscribes the runes with a runed dagger.
Vyn looks on, locked in place, unable to move or look away, even unable to close his eyes, forced to witness the creation of the Runecarved. A tear rolls down his cheek as a force pulls him back in time rapidly, hundreds of thousands of years, to where he stands in a massive crater spanning thousands of miles in an unknown place. Time changes and the crater disappears; he is pulled upward into space, watching a meteor plummet towards the planet. As it disintegrates slowly, leaving only a small piece, he watches from space as it collides with the Earth, causing the crater he stood in moments ago.
With force, he is pulled forward again, feeling his bones begin to crack, unable to move even a finger under the g-forces put upon him until he ends up back in the device room. Garrick drops the fragment, his eyes returning to normal. Both Garrick and Vyn pant with exhaustion, Vyn's hands trembling uncontrollably.
"...Runecarved...?"
The name pushes itself to the forefront of Vyn's mind as he speaks it without meaning or understanding what it means... but the fragmented memories paint enough of a picture for him to understand. Garrick recoils from hearing the name, the name Jarathus called him multiple times in captivity; the pain he exudes derives from that name and what it did to him.
Garrick's emotions rise as his eyes well up and his lip quivers, struggling to maintain composure.
"I... uh...-"
Even though just witnessing Garrick's memory causes excruciating pain and torment, Vyn doesn't shy away; on the contrary, he embraces Garrick, hugging him tightly like a father would his hurt child.
"I only experienced a fragment of your pain, but it is a burden no man should bear alone. I promise you, you can count on me to help you through it."
A surprisingly tender voice and warm embrace cause Garrick to break into tears. A pain he has bottled up and pushed deep down under his sea of emotions rises to the surface as he cries. He can't speak, think, or move; he only cries, something he sorely needs to do.
"You are strong and resilient, Garrick. I am proud that you have carried this burden the way you did, but I am here now and will ensure you overcome all adversity that dares come your way. I know this because I will be standing by your side every step of the way."
Garrick continues to cry, a violent release of emotions that doesn't harm anyone, not even himself, but instead helps and heals until he eventually passes out, exhausted.
End of chapter.