Elegy of Cinders & Storm

HE SPRINTED across the barren ridge, his bodily aches no longer on his mind, and soon skidded to a halt. Sirius watched in disbelief, his mouth agape, eyes shuddering.

A soul feeder had Theodore pinned beneath it, its shadowy form latched onto his chest, siphoning the last threads of his life. His face was pale, his body given up.

Sirius roared, his throat tearing from the sound, as he drew his wheellock pistol from his hip holster to fire violet bullets imbued with the lightning element, one of the eight Clockwork Harmonies. This drew the fiend’s attention away from his friend before he dashed forward to drive his broadsword through its shadowy head.

The soul feeder shrieked, thrashing from the sparks coursing through it before dissolving into ash.

“Theo!” Sirius shouted, falling to his knees, palms already glowing violet as he pressed them against the gaping wound on his chest.

His armor yawned open like the ribs of a broken beast.

Mana poured from Sirius in a reckless surge, the veins in his arms burning like fire. His vision swam in and out of focus as his hands trembled uncontrollably, but he forced more.

More. It had to be enough.

Theodore’s body shook violently, his aqua-colored eyes, once so bright with boyish optimism, were now dimming, cloudy with the weight of death. “I’m sorry,” he finally rasped, his voice brittle like glass. His hand clutched Sirius’s wrist with desperate strength, grounding him in this unbearable moment. “That’s enough, Sirius…” he spoke softly. “It’s too late.”

“No! No, don’t say that!” he cried, his tears finally spilling, trickling like streams down his face. “You’re not leaving me, Theo. You hear me? You’re gonna make it home.”

He weakly chuckled, then continued his last testament slowly. “Tell my family… I did my best. Tell them that… I’m sorry I broke my promise.” His breath rattled, became shallow. “That I did my best…”

Sirius shook his head, wanting to deny the inevitability taking place before him.

Not once. Not twice.

But this was now the third friend dying in his arms. And he pleaded all the same after Meilin and Rashid disclosed their final thoughts. “We’re gonna go to your parents’ restaurant like we always did after school! We’ll have hot butter flatbread and stew, remember? The kind your mom used to scold us for eating too fast.” Sirius’s voice cracked into a manic sob, words tumbling out, faster and faster. “We’ll play kickball in the fields again, hangout at the millhouse, and climb the cliffs until our legs give out. Just like when we were kids! We’ll laugh about this, you’ll see. Please! Please, Theo, please… Hang in there.”

Sirius pressed harder, shaking as if the trembling of his body might keep his friend tethered. Healing magic coursed from him in more reckless torrents, but the wound swallowed it like a bottomless pit.

Theodore’s chest constricted, his insides twisting when he coughed, but still managed a fragile smile. His eyes glistened, not with fear but with a quiet, fleeting joy. “Thanks… for reminding me… Sirius. Those days… You, Lucien, and me.” His lips trembled. “I was happy. I have no regrets… except that I couldn’t see my family one more time.”

“No! Fight!” Sirius’s voice shattered, his sobs turning ragged. He pressed his forehead to Theodore’s hand, clutching onto it for life. “Please stay with me, brother! There’s still so much we have to do!”

But the light left Theodore’s eyes, his hand falling limp in Sirius’s.

The proving grounds suddenly felt too large, too silent, and too dark.

Sirius stared blankly at the corpse, every breath clawing against him. His whole body trembled, not from exhaustion, but from dread, despair, a hollowing grief that threatened to crush him. At last, he bowed, pressing his forehead to his friend’s hand again. “I’ll bring you home,” he vowed through clenched teeth. “I’m bringing you home. I promise.” Gathering Theodore into his arms, Sirius pulled himself together and staggered towards the obelisk once more. Each step was heavier than the last, as though the weight of the world had joined Theodore’s body in his arms. When the light finally claimed his fallen friend, Sirius collapsed to his knees, hands trembling, chest heaving. “Never again,” he whispered, broken and desperate before looking up at the dull sky for a miracle. “Please don’t let another one suffer as Theo did… Help me save just one more.”

Ayanna.

Hamza.

Omari.

On and on it went. Healing, carrying, and praying. For every soul Sirius pulled back from death, another was in its clutches.

Boris.

Daphne.

Heidi.

Sirius’s body screamed at him to stop going back, but he refused. He wouldn’t abandon his friends. Not those who’ve passed on:

Scarlette.

Vivianne.

Zuri.

Nor those he had yet to save:

Celeste.

Dmitri.

Jaylin.

Lucien.

Mary Lou.

Trixie.

Not while his legs still moved. His will, still strong. He vowed to see this crusade all the way to the end until everyone returned home.

At times, soul feeders barred his path, lunging towards the expressionless Sirius. But his broadsword crackled with violet lightning as he cut them down, his wheellock pistol casting rounds that shattered them into ash. They were nothing compared to the true battle his heart fought with despair. But by the time he laid the final student—Mary Lou—at the obelisk, Sirius’s vision swam. He laid on his back, hollering in agony as his legs and back forced him down. He rolled, squirmed, stretched—whatever he needed to do to try and alleviate the sudden affliction. “No, not now… Not now,” he moaned. “There’s still one more… Lucien… Lucien!” He rolled onto his stomach, and started posturing on his hands and knees, grunting and panting as he reached for another stamina pill. “Hang in there, Lucien.” He planted his left boot on the ground and slowly stood up again. His body throbbed, but the pain diminished each passing second.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to carefully analyze the area again. His senses were sharper and undisturbed. “There you are, Lucien,” he exhaled in relief, opening his eyes, and gazed at a lonely hill in the distance. “Let’s go home.”