Ruinous Return

Lyn chained several arrow-shot teleports until she arrived at the coast. Ghomar was a supercontinent, with oceans in all directions and no other known lands. The globe had been circumnavigated, and the only regions left to explore were the arctic regions. Some of the coasts were smooth, placid beaches. But not this coast. Trisk was notorious for having rocky coastlines that were difficult to navigate.

She raised her wrist and channeled mana into the bracer. The three-dimensional map appeared. It's inside a cave on the cliffside. Shooting a few more arrows, she arrived at the top of where the cave would be. Looking over, she saw the two-hundred-foot drop to the ocean that surged up and crashed against the rocks. She looked at the map again. Alright, so I jump and then angle inward. She raised her arm to the sky, and incanted the lightning spell once more to signal to any hero cores that were roaming around of her location. The beam arced into the sky before exploding against the atmosphere, creating a stunning aurora-like display of arcing blue energy.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped off the cliff edge and felt the exhilaration of falling – for a moment. The Cloak of Safe Falling incorporated into her armor billowed out, and she gripped the hem of it, guiding her glide.

She had to go so low that the spray hit her legs, but she angled in towards the cliff and landed on a sodden, rocky platform. Water sprayed up behind her, and she began following the shallow crevasse. After a few moments, she came across the doorway. This one was created out of bronze. This door marks the dungeon of Fenoscion, High Priest of Aelor. Threats within – Aelor's Challenge. Reward – artifact, mana core.

That gave Lyn pause. She had never before encountered this type of dungeon challenge. For the first time since she had come back and embraced the mantle of Destroyer whole-heartedly, she felt the twinge of fear flutter in her heart for a brief moment. The fear of the unknown. Right. Well, backup plan, then. She pulled out an arrow and wedged it inside a crevice. She had no clue if teleportation would work between a dungeon and the outside – but she wasn't going to risk it. Switching Cataclysm to its spear form, she grabbed one more arrow with her other hand and walked through the purple film.

As soon as she entered, she saw the usual – square room with a square pedestal. She set the arrow down next to the doorway and walked over to the square object. Alright Lyn. Time to rise to a god's challenge. She placed her hand on the object.

"You should've seen it! An enormous blast of lightning! It went all the way to the roof of the world!" Gael hollered out as he took another long chug of his ale.

Bolvon smiled, "We have an amazing goddess, truly." He said as he also picked up his tankard.

"No, it's more than that!" Gael replied as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Lyn – erm, Lady Rivers. She's fucking…just amazing."

"In bed?"

"That too, but I meant power. Have you looked at the mountains? Fuck, the whole Valley is a fortress. And no one has had to do shit-scooping duty in the latrines."

Vael nodded, "And even better," she said as she tilted her wine glass, adoring the way the red stuck to the sides before slowly dripping away. "People are getting along."

"Pfff," Gael waved his hand. "Who wouldn't? Life's never been better around here."

Bolvon leaned back in the booth seat and let out a deep sigh of contentment. "Yeah, life's good. Our goddess has truly blessed us."

Vael punched him lightly on the shoulder and gave him a small smile, "We've done our part, also."

Gael nodded as he reached over and drained Bolvon's mug. "Ain't that the truth." He stood up, "I'm grabbing another round!" He staggered over to the busy bar.

Bolvon looked at Vael, "I'm planning on going through with it."

She looked back at him with an appraising eye, "I have no objection. Just make sure that Lady Rivers allows for it."

"I'm going to ask her to officiate it."

Vael chuckled, "Brave of you."

Bolvon smiled and pulled out the punch-dagger with the invisible blade, "She has blessed me with a gift. And you two. We are her chosen."

"Chosen what now?" Gael asked as he came back, slid Bolvon his mug, and put an arm around the Shadowstalker.

"Chosen by the goddess," Bolvon replied as he sipped the frothy beverage. "She has gifted us items of extraordinary power."

Vael and Gael shared a chuckle. Vael sipped her wine, "Well, if you wish to serve your goddess wholly-"

"I…" Bolvon sighed and took a deep swig of his ale. "I'm not into women-"

"That's obvious," Gael said.

"If she asked me to serve in her bed chamber, I would do it. Our goddess deserves all our admiration and affection."

Vael laughed gently, which stuck out to Bolvon, as she rarely laughed. "You have no idea what you're missing out on. The way her talons gently caress your skin, making you think you could die at any moment, only to then feel ecstasy? It's phenomenal."

Gael nodded, "Aye. No offense, Bolvon. I love you, and being with you feels great…But Lyn?" He let out a deep breath and drained his mug. "You don't fucking know what you're missing out on."

Bolvon smirked. But something stood out to him. "You both are calling our goddess by her first name quite a bit."

The twins shared a look, and for a brief instant, Bolvon saw fear flash across their faces. Vael cleared her throat and replied, "She likes to be called that in the bed chamber. I must have forgotten myself in my cups."

Liar, Bolvon thought. He'd been raised with these two, he knew the tells. There's something they know about Lady Rivers that I do not. He looked askew at Gael, A few more drinks in him, and I can take him upstairs and get it out of him.

As if reading his mind, Gael pushed the mug of ale in front of Bolvon, "I think I've had enough."

Bolvon frowned. Fuck it. Confront them. He leaned over to Gael and whispered, "I want to know. Tell me what you two know that I don't?" Gael gulped, and Vael's face went pale – paler for even Duskari. What are they so scared of?

Gael grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him out of the booth. "Let's go for a walk. It's a nice day."

Bolvon nodded and went with him. Glancing back, he saw Vael staring daggers into Gael's back. They walked out of Lynhold and into the surrounding forest. After about fifteen minutes of walking hand-in-hand, Gael sat down on a rock. He patted the rock next to him, and Bolvon sat down. "What do you both know that I do not?"

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Gael ran his hand through his hair and let out a deep breath. "Fuck…You have to promise this stays secret. If Lyn found out I told you, I think she'd kill me. And you."

Bolvon felt his heart race. He gulped down the knot that had risen in his throat, "You can tell me. Your secret is safe with me."

"Lyn Rivers, the Destroyer…she was a hero in a past life."

As she put her hand on the pedestal, the room went dark – as usual – and the object sank into the ground. The walls fell away, and the world warped and shifted. Lyn found herself standing in a large field. It was full of bronze and gold grass, with a large, white sun overhead.

A figure phased into existence in front of her. A man, dressed in white and gold full plate, wielding a very, very familiar sword. Aelor'An'Alar, the artifact blade that came with the Paragon core. The first artifact the heroes encountered on Ghomar, that James got right after he touched the statue – along with the armor. The voice that came out was ethereal and otherworldly and spoke in Elenthir. "You who seek the favor of Aelor's High Priest, face your sins and be judged!" As he said this, three sets of angelic wings – one set silver, one set gold, and one set bronze – sprouted from his back.

Lyn felt her mouth go dry. She could feel the warm breeze across her face, and felt…exposed. As if someone was staring at her in a crowded place. It felt creepy, just like when Volio leered at her. But it was more than just a feeling of being creeped out. She felt…uncomfortable. As if she was standing in a room with every person looking upon her, judging her.

The Destroyer core bubbling and hissed, and the soothing heat filled her body, surging down her mana channels in revolt against these feelings. It reassured Lyn. You're the Destroyer now. No one can judge you. Aelor isn't around anymore. This is just a test by someone long dead. The mana surged down the shaft of Cataclysm and into the spear tip. She willed the blade to widen even more, so that the weapon would function as a glaive. "Gothron i gwanno / min enni / na rem in edin nin: / na nin togwath, athano hain thron, gwelu, throneth, a nîn rath; / na nin inath, cirad nin hoth; / na nin inedhil, athano nin thîr a cirad nin; / na nin rhaw, hathol han uin del."

The internal spell strengthened her body, reaction time, muscle mass – her go-to combat preparedness spell. She felt stronger than ever before. A benefit to pushing her limits with those world-altering, mountain-shaping spells was that she had exercised the mana core. It was more potent than ever before, and she felt invincible in that moment. "Come on!" She shouted at the angelic being. "Let's fucking do this!"

The angelic figure manifested a helmet atop his head and shouted out in Elenthir. "For Aelor!" as he flew forward. Lyn held her weapon at the ready, waiting for him to get closer.

James felt an odd vibration along his hip. He put Tovol down and held up a finger, "Give me a moment, and we can play more." The boy ran off to play with his brother and Zebed's children. The emissary had asked if his boys could stay in Kor's Hold for the duration of his voyage, to play with James' kids and – with luck – they would become friends to keep a fruitful partnership between Khrelardia and the Free City of Bashinol.

James pulled the sheathed blade up to his chest and closed his eyes. What do you want from me?

He felt the blade vibrate in sync with his mana core, and he heard the fragmented, remnant voice of Aelor resonate through his head.

Challenge.

His vision went white, and he found himself not in his own body, but running headlong across a golden field. A figure was in front of him – a Duskari woman with white hair, blue eyes, and wielding a glaive-version of the mana-blade that the Demonic Dragon's humanoid shape had held. He stopped mid-charge and looked around. Where am I?

The figure in front of him braced herself and shouted something in Elenthir. He only picked up a few words. "Stop." "Scared." "Fight."

What's going on? He looked at the sword in his hand. It was the same blade he had held a few moments later, but he was dressed in resplendent plate armor, and he felt an odd tugging behind him. He took off his helmet and glanced back. Wings?

The woman in front of him paused and spoke. "James?" She spoke in English.

James looked back at her, "Who are you? How do you know the language of the heroes?"

The woman put the glaive haft down, "Please, who else would it be? Did you even read the letter from Volio?"

No…It can't be. James felt his heart sink. This Duskari with draconic features, and a pair of horns that graced her with a regal appearance… "Lyn?" Her voice sounded different, but the sarcasm was unmistakable.

"Damn right. What are you doing here?"

"I don't know," James muttered as he sheathed the sword. "Where are…we?"

"I went into a dungeon on the coast. A guy named Fenoscion, the High Priest of Aelor. I was going to be fighting an angel, but then he stopped mid-charge, and it's you. But it wasn't you before the helmet was put on."

James looked down at the hilt of the sword and felt it vibrating. "I…I don't know how I got here." He closed his eyes and focused on the mana core in his chest. He couldn't hear the voice of Aelor. "The sword…" he pulled the blade once more and held it up to his chest. "I think it brought me here."

Lyn strode towards him, "You fucker."

"Wha-"

"You took the credit!" She got closer.

James began backing away, "Hold on, I can exp-"

Lyn closed in fast and blasted him back with a rapid jab to the chest. James was launched a few feet, and the wings fluttered on their own to keep him upright. He gasped at the pain, as Lyn shouted. "You took my glory!" She had tears streaming down her face. "I fucking sacrificed my life to kill the Demonic Dragon. And you fuckers didn't even give me the credit. You could have…Fucking…At least remembered me!" She dropped the spear and put her clawed hands to her face, and he could hear her sobbing. "Everyone forgot about me…No one remembers…All my hard work…j

James felt his heart sink. Taking credit for the kill was Cecily's idea, but it made perfect sense to him at the time. And a few of the other heroes agreed – giving credit to someone already dead was not advantageous. Splitting the credit, and saying James got the killing blow, well, that just sounded better to everyone. Instead of admitting cowardice. "I'm sorry," James whispered. He dropped the sword. "We…It was fucked up." He shook his head, feeling guilt encompassing his whole being. "And the spell was going too far."

Lyn looked up at him, eyes still streaming. "What spell?"

James turned away, "Fuck." He slammed his foot into the ground, "Fuck!" Why me? Why do I have to explain it?

"What. Spell." Lyn said as her tears stopped.

"We…fucking did a mind spell to all Ghomar, okay? It was Cecily's idea. And we all went along with it."

"What did it do?" she asked as she picked up her weapon.

James felt panic. Fear closing in on all sides. Just like how the upper classmen used to circle up around him in front of the lockers and brow-beat him with insults and even physical assaults. All because he liked fantasy and reading books. No. I have power now. He held his hand up and the blade raised itself off the ground and into his hand. "It is an irreversible spell," he stated. "All memories of you are a blur. People know there was a Scout hero, but nothing specific about you remains. Only the heroes' memories were unaffected."

Lyn's voice changed, and James felt a deep fear course through him as the Demonic Dragon's voice spoke instead of this Duskari woman's tone. "Why?"

"Because we wanted the credit, okay!" James yelled. "I just wanted to be the hero that saved the day. You were dead, we thought you'd be back on Earth with the rest of the people that died! No one thought you would come back!" He felt righteous justification rise and replace the fear. The sword thrummed in his grip. "How could we expect that to happen? That you'd come back with the power of the Demonic Dragon? It didn't harm anyone!"

"What about my pride?" Lyn growled. "What about my valor? My legacy? You…you're a fucking coward."

No, I'm not.

"You all are fucking cowards!" She shouted as a helmet emerged from the armor and encompassed her head. "You betrayed my memory! Betrayed me!"

"No I'm not! I-"

"You ran away! I fucking stayed and fought, while you all ran. You fucking shacked up with some lady and ignored what we were sent here to do." She slammed the weapon she held into the ground to her right, and James felt a shiver of pure fear through his spine as a rift ten feet wide and fifty feet long opened from the force of her blow. "I trained. I cleared dungeons. I got strong." She pointed the blade at him, and the icy grip clutched his heart. "I'm going to rule this world and make it a better place. I will leave my name on this world."

James was about to respond when his vision flared white, and he was once more back in his own body. He heard the giggling and laughing of his boys and looked over to see them playing with small toy-soldiers along with Zebed's kids. He felt the cold sheen of sweat covering his body, and the thrumming of the sword faded. The voice of Aelor tried to whisper something to him, but he couldn't hear it. His own fears and anxiety drowning it out.

She's back…what in the fuck do I do?

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