Chapter 32:

Hope Among the Ashes

Kalindra and the New Future

Silas approached from behind, took her hand and lifted it to the door.

“Face your fears and doubts as only you can, Leyade. You’re ready,” he whispered beside her ear.

Nodding, Elindra placed a claw over Leyade’s hand too.

“We’re here for you. We’re right behind you,” she said, raising a fist.

Leyade closed her eyes and focused on her friends’ warmth. Smiling, she nodded, turned the handle and stepped firmly into the room.

The village elders sat at the tables, looking more exhausted and gaunt than she remembered. Beside them were guards and villagers who had stayed behind. She recognised fellow rangers, a friend’s father and the village doctor.

At the sight of her, everyone fell silent and stared.

Leyade’s appearance had changed. Her uncertainty had given way to confidence and resolve. Her simple leather armour had been replaced with a better set after the battle had ruined the old one. Her cloak was unchanged, but beneath it hung a very special sword: a ramal glowing faintly within its sheath. She still wore her familiar braid, now decorated with ribbons Elindra had tied into it.

“Elders.”

Leyade bowed. Silas and Elindra followed her example.

“Leyade? Is that you?” the first elder asked.

He was an ancient elf, though still sprightly, wearing a leaf cloak like hers over robes in the greens and browns of the forest. He lifted his spectacles to look at her again in surprise.

“Yes, Elder Marwin. It’s me.” She smiled, then addressed the others. “I’ve come home, and I haven’t come alone.”

The elders and villagers rose to greet her. Some, like Marwin, embraced her warmly. Others shook her hand or bowed. But the feeling was shared by all.

A spark of lost hope had rekindled in their eyes.

“This is Silas Linarion,” Leyade said, letting him step forwards.

The half-elf bowed courteously.

“He acts as a link between the spirits and the peoples who live alongside them.”

Murmurs spread as they looked him over, though they offered only greetings.

“And this is Elindra, his companion.”

Elindra bowed too.

The elders regarded them in surprise.

“Forgive me for being so direct, Leyade, dear,” began an elderly elf with her hair in a high bun, wearing a clay-coloured robe and dark red cloak, “but have you found anything that can help us?”

Her voice was kind, but her desperation was unmistakable.

“Yes.” Leyade stepped forwards. “My companions and I have brought this.”

She showed them Kalindra, still sheathed.

They studied it curiously.

“That’s a weapon. We already have weapons. What makes it different from ours?” a guard snapped.

His armour was broken and burnt, and one arm was entirely bandaged. He was clearly angry.

Leyade took no offence. She knew the situation was to blame.

She grasped Kalindra and slowly drew it before the Council.

“What you see here is a ramal.”

The elders stared, stunned. Some even dropped what they were holding.

“What did you say?” asked the last elder, who wore midnight-blue robes, a lighter cloak and a rounded hat.

“That’s right. A ramal,” Leyade repeated, turning it in her hand for them to see. “And Silas can confirm it.”

Silas stepped forwards, remaining slightly behind her.

“Honoured elders, as a member of the Order of the Hand of Lerthes, I can attest that this is a genuine ramal, bestowed upon her rightfully and deservedly.”

He held up his medallion so they could clearly see the three-fingered hand depicted on it.

Everyone remained silent until the blue-robed elder spoke.

“That... is extraordinary.”

With renewed light in his eyes, he could say no more.

The Council members exchanged looks and smiled, perhaps for the first time in months.

“Then, Leyade, dear, let us explain the situation,” the elderly woman began. “Little changed after you left. The corruption seemed to advance slowly, and thanks to our guardian spirit, the damage was not too severe. But...”

She paused.

“We haven’t heard from her for several days, and the corruption is spreading faster. We fear something has happened to her.”

Leyade nodded and glanced at Silas. He considered this before asking:

“Who is Faelwenor’s guardian spirit?”

“Dilharia. The forest spirit who protects Faelwenor,” Marwin replied.

Silas nodded and inclined his head in thanks.

“All right. We’ll look for her,” Leyade said. “What is the situation now? What might we encounter?”

She approached the map spread across the table and asked them to show her the affected areas.

“This part is burnt,” the bandaged guard said, pointing. “Here and here, there are small monsters that do everything they can to stop you getting through, the little sons of...” He drew a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “We haven’t made it any further.”

“Dilharia should be here,” the elderly woman added. “At least, that’s where she was according to our last information.”

She pointed anxiously to a spot on the map.

“All right. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of it,” Leyade said firmly. “Silas and Elindra will help me with Dilharia.”

She took out her own map and marked everything they had told her before preparing to leave.

Before they could go, the elderly woman approached Silas and gave him an old medallion of polished, lacquered wood bearing an elven symbol of the forest. She closed his hands around it.

“This was the first gift given to the first priestess of Dilharia’s temple. If she sees it, she’ll know you’re on her side.”

Silas accepted it carefully and hung it around his neck.

“Thank you. I’ll remember that.”

He bowed formally and returned to Leyade.

The elf looked at the people still gathered in the room.

“Please, I need you to do something too.”

She opened the door before continuing.

“I know you’re tired, and I know you don’t want to abandon the village,” she began. “But this is dangerous, and I don’t want anything to happen to you. I need you to leave. I’ll come and find you afterwards.”

They did not look convinced.

“How can I abandon my village?” the guard retorted. “I’m no coward. I won’t leave just because you’ve turned up with some weapon.”

“Your village isn’t here any more. Your people have already left,” Leyade replied, ignoring the remark about Kalindra. “A village is the people who make it, isn’t it? Then if you want to protect yours, go with them and make sure they’re safe.”

She pointed firmly towards the door.

Marwin rose with a laugh and began walking towards her.

“Who would have thought I’d live to see this...”

He reached the doorway.

“Leyade Tíanladastra, the little girl who used to come crying to me because she couldn’t do things, telling me, ‘Go. I’ll take care of it.’”

Still chuckling, he approached her.

“I’m very proud of you, child.”

He turned towards the others, who stared at him, and beckoned them to their feet.

“Come along. We don’t have to keep fighting. Let Leyade, Silas and Elindra take over.” His voice rose. “We’ve given everything we have. There’s no need for regret or guilt. Let’s accept that it’s time to rest.”

People began following him, some more readily than others.

The elders wished the three of them luck. The doctor left every potion he had. The blue-robed elder gave Silas spell components, and little by little, the room emptied.

The guard was the last to rise.

Still reluctant, he finally yielded and walked towards the exit. As he passed Leyade, he lowered his gaze.

“Thank you,” he murmured, embarrassed.

Then he left.

Leyade, Silas and Elindra headed towards the first point on the map. The smell of sulphur grew stronger as they advanced. Vegetation had vanished. Ash and embers rode the wind, burning their skin on contact, while blood and scorch marks scarred the earth.

Leyade followed the map resolutely until she heard small voices ahead.

Two little greenish creatures emerged from the smoke, laughing. They had membranous wings, horns and claws, and carried a half-dismembered rabbit between them. The poor animal still moved, looking around in terror.

One spirit tore off its tail with a laugh. The other bit into its neck, making it scream even louder.

Elindra nearly vomited.

Silas clenched his fists.

Leyade drew Kalindra.

“Help me, Kalindra,” she whispered.

Then she charged.

The ramal struck one spirit, which exploded on contact with the blade.

The second tried to flee in terror, but Silas intercepted it. It lashed out with its claws, though he managed to dodge. He cast two magical projectiles that seemed to injure it, before Leyade finished it with Kalindra, making it burst into light.

The spirits’ blood was black. It spattered the ground and their bodies.

Leyade carefully picked up the dying rabbit and drew her survival knife. She would not stain a ramal with an innocent rabbit’s blood, even to ease its suffering.

Sorrowfully, she ended its pain and carried its body away from the scorched ground to lay it to rest.

“Come on. We have to end this.”

Silas nodded. From his shoulder, Elindra cast one last tearful glance towards the rabbit.

Then they continued.

They fought their way through smoke and flame. More spirits appeared with every step.

With Elindra’s support, Leyade and Silas moved swiftly among them. Invisible, Elindra breathed over their enemies to disorientate and slow them before biting furiously. Silas sent magical projectiles flying in every direction, wounding the spirits for Leyade to finish.

Kalindra traced patterns of light with every strike. Its edge sliced through the creatures’ skin, which dissolved like paper in acid. Black blood splashed everywhere, covering Leyade and lending her a dark, fearsome appearance.

“Do they never stop coming?” she asked wearily, searching for the rift as she knocked another little green spirit aside.

Silas struck one with his elbow, while Elindra hurled another through the air.

“They’re probably trying to wear us down. Exhaust their enemies so they can’t interfere,” he replied, ducking another attack.

Leyade raised Kalindra.

“I didn’t want to draw attention, but we can’t keep going like this.”

Holding the sword aloft, she cried:

“Let the light come to me!”

Brilliant light poured from Kalindra, piercing the thick smoke and illuminating the ground around them. The little spirits shielded their eyes and shrieked in pain.

Leyade beckoned her friends to run.

In the distance, a great explosion swept smoke and ash aside.

“Quickly! Towards the mountain, along the right-hand path!” Elindra cried, still invisible. “There’s a huge fight!”

They raced towards the foot of the mountain through a path bordered by towering walls of fire. Flames danced and crackled, and embers singed their skin and hair.

Then they saw her.

Before them, a woman who resembled a nymph made of flowers was fighting an enormous spirit.

She gave off an ethereal glow. Flowers covered parts of her green skin, and petals cascaded from her head in place of hair.

But something was wrong.

A dark, vapour-like mass stretched from her legs across part of her torso and one arm, shrouding them in shadow.

Facing her, a spirit identical to the one in Leyade’s sketch attacked with an enormous, three-tailed whip of fire.

It was pure flame.

Its body, its sword, its whip, its eyes...

It was like watching fire come alive.

“That must be Dilharia!” Silas exclaimed, pointing.

“But what’s happening to her?” Leyade asked.

“She’s being corrupted,” he replied. “And she doesn’t seem to have much time.”

Leyade paled in horror.

“We can’t stand here! We have to help her! Come on!”

She surged forwards, leapt over a rock and somersaulted, using her momentum to drive Kalindra into the spirit. It recoiled slightly. Immediately afterwards, a thunderous bolt tore across the ground, hurling stones aside before striking its legs.

“Don’t worry, Dilharia,” Leyade said.

“We’re here,” she and Silas said together.

“Leave this to us. You look after the barrier,” Silas added.

True to her role as a Guardian of the Veil, Elindra located the barrier protecting the village and appeared beside Dilharia to ask her to follow.

The spirit frowned at them distrustfully, ready to attack, but Silas held up the medallion the elderly woman had given him.

“Trust us,” he said, holding her gaze. “The village needs you.”

Dilharia hesitated. Then the shadows around her tightened, wrenching a cry of pain from her. At last, she nodded and withdrew with Elindra.

Silas and Leyade faced the fire spirit, ready to fight.

It roared and thrust its sword at Leyade, who barely dodged. With its other arm, it lashed its whip towards Silas. He moved aside, though the mere proximity of the flames scorched his clothes.

He cast a spell, creating several copies of himself.

Leyade ran in a zigzag to make herself harder to hit. Then she skidded low, aiming for its legs.

The spirit dodged and retaliated, striking her arm and burning it. She did not retreat. Enduring the blow, she used the close quarters to drive Kalindra into its side.

The spirit roared.

Its body began glowing, and the heat around it rose alarmingly. The flames swelled, then gathered into a single point.

“Get out of there, Leyade! It’s going to explode!”

Silas realised she would not make it. He cast a spell and hurled himself towards her, pushing her clear.

Leyade rolled aside.

Then the spirit unleashed such a powerful explosion that Silas was flung backwards into a wall. His copies vanished instantly.

“Silas!” Leyade screamed.

She sprang up and ran to him.

He stirred painfully. Luckily, much of the damage had been absorbed. Raising a hand, he touched her cheek.

“Don’t waste time worrying about me. We have to keep going.”

Relieved to find him conscious, Leyade shook her head.

“It isn’t a waste of time, Silas.”

She took his hand to help him up.

“I can’t just let you die. Who’s going to knock me out when I can’t sleep if you’re not here?”

Smiling, she tightened her grip and pulled him to his feet.

The spirit charged again, raising its sword.

He looked at her with a playful smile and spoke before she could finish or run.

“If we survive this, I’ll face my feelings. I swear.”

They both leapt aside just as the spirit’s sword pierced the wall.

The battle grew fiercer.

Leyade remained in front, leaping, slashing and dodging at speed. Silas supported her with lightning powerful enough to tear up the ground, and cast a spell that made her move even faster.

They worked together with precision until Leyade found an opening.

She gripped Kalindra and delivered one final cut.

“Cleanse the evil that covers this land!”

Kalindra erupted with light.

Its radiance slowly consumed the spirit, which vanished amid shrieks of agony, leaving only the enormous rift behind.

Silas approached the fissure and took out the notebook he had found in the ruins.

“When I tell you, drive Kalindra into the wall.”

He began casting.

Slowly, the sides of the rift drew together. Straining, he brought his hands towards one another as the edges closed until they finally met.

“Now!” he shouted.

Leyade ran forwards and plunged Kalindra into the centre.

Intense light streamed from the ramal and spread across the wall, erasing every trace of the fissure.

Exhausted and elated, Silas and Leyade rushed into each other’s arms. He embraced her and, before she could react, slid a hand to the back of her neck and kissed her passionately.

For an instant, Leyade froze in surprise. Then she returned the kiss.

They remained that way for a few moments before drawing apart. Leyade opened her mouth to speak, but Silas spoke first.

“Tell me later. We need to check on Dilharia.”

He took her hand, and they went to her.

The spirit was almost completely consumed. Darkness covered nearly her entire body. She barely breathed and could no longer open her eyes.

Leyade knelt beside her and gently took her hand.

“You protected the village, Dilharia. Thank you. Truly.”

With tears in her eyes, she looked up at Silas.

“Can we do anything?”

He watched the spirit for a few moments, then slowly shook his head.

Dilharia managed to speak.

“Kill me...” she pleaded weakly. “I don’t want to become a dark spirit.”