STAGE TWENTY-EIGHT: EXCHANGE"Let"s leave Ahrin Aethelmaer alone. He"s trying to open a portal to Phrein on his own. If he succeeds, then good. If not, it"s not our loss." Galun, the second prince of Phrein, boldly stated in front of the phreinian emissary to Hawsdark. "He may be a far descendant of the Celestials, but I don"t think he can do much. And since I don"t plan on waiting for him, I"d rather do things my way."
Impatiently, Galun stood up and headed to where his prized captive is held. His phreinian guard opened the iron doors for him, revealing a chained Freyja against the wall. Both hands and feet are shackled with aurreinforced iron, and a ball of darkness that constantly suppresses her white aura is just a few meters from her.
"I have only seen you in portraits, Lenfiare." Galun felt b.u.t.terflies in his stomach. Right before him is a name he has been hearing ever since he was born 500 years ago. Everyone in Phrein knows about her, the Lenfiare that was exiled to earth. When he decided to capture her, Galun was overcome with fear. But looking at her now, in this helpless state, he couldn"t help but feel betrayed for even thinking that she"s a threat. Galun chuckled.
"So, I finally meet the infamous Lenfiare." Galun stood eight foot tall, sneering down at her.
"You"re quite rude to not introduce yourself before the Lenfiare, phreinian." Freyja smirked, meeting his eyes with her piercing golden orbs,
"You have a surprisingly sharp tongue. Fine, before you, is the second prince of Phrein. Reini Galun. Remember that name, because that"s the name of the one who will end your arrogant bloodline."
"Tsh." Freyja smirked, which agitated the prince. "Really? Then why am I alive right now? You know you can"t kill me." She was absolutely right. The Celestial core inside of her is too precious to let go. Freyja knew this. They will extract the celestial core, and they will kill her once it"s over.
"Watch your words. You are nothing but a human right now."
"You are opening dimensional barriers, I see. I must commend your efforts, although your dimensional cracks are nothing but cheap imitations of celestial powers."
Her words earned her a kick in the stomach. Freyja swore she had a broken rib or two, just from that.
"Are the phreinians really that desperate, that they prey onto the weak just because they are frustrated? Because they too, want to feel strong?" She spat.
Galun took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Lenfiare, do you believe that humans are cattle to phreinians?" He asked. Freyja smirked, and she glared at the phreinian prince with proud eyes.
"Of course. Just like how celestials should have treated phreinians as cattle."
Her answer earned her anothe stinging slap that made her cheek bleed. "You don"t know your place." The agitated Galun pulled her chin up. "You are an incomplete celestial, and right now, a totally helpless human!" Again, he slapped her on the other side of her cheek, leaving the girl speechless.
Freyja, desperately struggling for consciousness looked at the shining black aura orb, the ultimate weapon Phrein has against celestials. The orb can nullify celestial aura in an instant. But it shouldn"t have been the case if she was stronger. The orb may be effective against normal celestials, but stronger celestials should have no problem breaking it.
Freyja held her tears back. She was weaker than a normal celestial at this rate. And now, she is an ordinary human being— the one thing that frustrated her the most, ever since she woke up in exile.
"Humans eat pigs, enslave animals. Water sprites prey onto fishes and whales and elves eat the leaves and trees and gra.s.s. They nourish them so that they could consume them. Now, why can"t phreinian"s nourish and eat humans as well? Think about that, celestial."
And with that, Galun left Freyja by herself, to prepare for the extraction of the celestial core within her. Galun didn"t want to underestimate her by stalling. He needed that core as soon as possible.
Freyja"s fists clenched as she watched them leave. She has an answer, but she couldn"t speak. Because at the moment, like the pigs and trees and fishes that Galun spoke of, she"s nothing but a prey.
~ o 0 o ~
"FREYJA!"
"STOP! Where the h.e.l.l do you think you"re going in that state?" Alaric tried to hold Kirin back, but he was too strong for him. They had been searching for Freyja since she was abducted, but for two days, they couldn"t find a single helpful clue. They headed back to the deserted village nearby to rest and find shelter. However, Kirin was stubbornly against the idea.
"I don"t give a s.h.i.t. I"ll have to go to Freyja!" They searched for her, non-stop. But despite the harsh cold taking their strength and stamina away, Kirin refused to rest, even for a second.
Now, it was Keon who tried to pacify Kirin. "Kirin! Get a hold of yourself! Calm down!"
"HOW DO YOU THINK CAN I CALM DOWN!?" He shouted, shoving his brother aside. Keon summoned his rune beast to block Kirin"s way. At once, the younger brother delivered a strong punch straight onto Kirin"s face, stunning him. "Don"t act all c.o.c.ky you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Keon glared at Kirin, his body trembling. "Do you think you are THE ONLY ONE who wants to jump there and die!? OF COURSE NOT!"
Kirin fell silent.
"If you want to save yourself from the guilt, from the frustration then go after her, die and accomplish nothing! But if you truly care for Freyja, you have to understand that being rash would just make things worse!" Keon grabbed his brother by the collar, his fists clutching in anger. "So, don"t act like you"re the hero because you"re not going to be one at that state! Freyja…."
Keon took a deep breath before continuing, "…Freyja cares for you more than anything. She"d rather die than lose you, can"t you even understand that?"
Alaric pulled Keon away From Kirin before he can actually hurt his brother. And Kirin too, knows how hard it is for Keon to say what he just did. He turned his back, walked to his bed, sat down, with his palms on his forehead. "We don"t even know where she is."
"We don"t but I have a bit of a clue. I think." Alaric"s words intrigued them. "I gave Freyja a runestone. It holds a unique element exclusively used by the Fullmar family, like an insignia. If she"s carrying it with her, then maybe, I can try to locate her to match my rune."
"Then why didn"t you do that earlier?" Keon asked, feeling hopeful all of a sudden.
"I did! But there"s just a lot of noise around with the blizzard. It"s a faint signal, like listening to a whisper. You can only hear that if the conditions around you are quiet enough, get it?"
"So, we wait for this blizzard to calm down and hope for good "conditions", is that what you"re trying to say?" Kirin joined in.
"Yes, that"s exactly it. And because Freyja"s white aura is suppressed, my runestone"s aura will most likely be louder than before." Alaric explained. "It"ll take some time for me to locate her. But I"ll give every drop of my aura to reach her, you know that Kirin."
With that, Kirin finally agreed to the only chance they have, and waited for the blizzard to subside.
It did.
And once it did, they headed out again.
For almost four hours, Alaric meditated standing in the middle of the snow-covered field, while Kirin and Keon watched his back. He needed silence more than ever. He heightened his senses with his runes, every single signal matters. Such a feat is impossible for an ordinary rune master, but Alaric proved he was far from ordinary. He opened his eyes, finally, alerting the Aethelmaer brothers.
"Did you see her?"
Alaric nodded, sweat dripping down his forehead despite the cold. "I hope so. But yeah, I sure hope that"s it." Alaric looked far to the west, pointing his finger to that direction. "I think, there are four layers of barriers around their hideout. But the spell structure feels familiar, I think we can better break it this time." Alaric explained.
"Are you sure?"
Alaric nodded. "I can open a hole for a few seconds. Then, we have to go inside as quick as possible. We know that without Freyja, we cannot beat those phreinians head on. That"s why we have to go in as subtle as possible, and s.n.a.t.c.h Freyja away. Until we find a way to return her white aura, we shouldn"t confront them."
"I agree. That"s the most logical plan. Alaric opens the barriers, and I will act as your distraction since I have my rune beasts to fly around. Then, you can go to her ASAP Kirin. But remember this, we have to escape… not fight."
"Alright." Kirin agreed.
~ o 0 o ~
Easier said than done.
Kirin, Alaric and Keon found themselves in front of yet another barrier protecting the phreinian hideout. They could sense the weather turning harsher again, which makes this their first and most likely, the last chance to save Freyja.
Wasting no time, Alaric froze the contour of the barriers, while Kirin and Keon simultaneously attacked, to crack it open. Immediately, the three of them jumped inside.
Not for long, and Alaric found the 2nd barrier. Again, he froze it, using every bit of his aura, while Kirin and Keon break it open. But unlike the first barrier, it took them quite some time to even scratch it, before they were able to make a tiny crack.
Alaric, suddenly collapsed.
"Alaric! What happened!? HEY!" Keon was shaking the rune master, but he won"t wake up. Sensing the barriers, and freezing them into visibility is pushing his limits. "Alaric! Hey!"
Kirin bit his lip in frustration. It was clear, they can"t get inside at this rate. He channeled quite a bit of aura into his aura sword, and pierced the barrier through the tiny crack. Finally, it opened up a hole, just enough for them to get inside. Keon carried the unconscious Alaric on his back, as they headed further into the phreinian"s second layer of defenses.
"Unbelievable, there"s someone other than the Lenfiare who can break the barrier?" A deep voice said. A phreinian revealed itself. Like most phreinians, it stood around 7 feet tall, with light grey skin and clad in thick velvet robes and leather belts. "It took us three years erecting the barrier, and they destroyed it in such a short time. Who are these people? Are they Celestials?" The phreinian thought, not wanting to show surprise on its face.
"Keon slowly laid Alaric on the ice sheet, covering him with a bit of aura to protect him from the cold. Then, the Aethelmaer brothers summoned their dark aura, and conjured swords and daggers, ready to fight their way in.
The phrenian couldn"t hide his surprise any longer, the moment he saw the aura of the brothers, especially Kirin"s. He recognized immediately that Keon belongs to the Aethelmaer clan, just the same that he recognized Kirin"s true ident.i.ty right away. The phrenian has been a mage serving the phrenian royal family for so long, he has seen the Celestial"s phantom personally as a small child. "Now I see why Galun wanted me to get him."
Kirin and Keon attacked, but the phrenian just stood on the defense, retreating closely to the third barrier. "You can kill me, but you can"t break the barrier without that runemaster." The phreinian said in all seriousness. "But I am here to offer a deal to you, Lord Leriouge."
Kirin was stunned, he almost dispelled his dark sword. He turned even paler, he couldn"t even look at Keon who is obviously catching up on what is happening. "Where is Freyja!?" Kirin shouted, cutting him off.
The phrenian sighed and conjured a mirror, showing Freyja and the phreinians far inside their hideout. Kirin and Keon couldn"t believe that they were seeing. Freyja was in shackles, chains, her pale body covered in cuts, bruises, and her face b.l.o.o.d.y and swollen. "Y—YOU!!!"
"As you see, the Lenfiare is nothing but an ordinary human without her white aura. She may be stronger than your average human, but human, nevertheless." The phreinian said. "Although it"s a shame that we couldn"t pull out the celestial medallion from her chest as it fused with her body, but we"re willing to offer you a dea—"
Kirin didn"t let him finish. He jumped and attacked the phreinian with his aura sword, catching it off-guard. Green blood gushed from its severed hand. But the phreinian was able to retreat into the 3rd barrier, leaving him invisible again. "—It would be wise to hear me out first. We have no use for her anymore, but we need YOU, Leriouge."
"Kirin, let"s hear what he has to say." Keon said, stopping his brother from going on rampage.
"FINE!" Kirin shouted, "What do you want!?"
"We will release the Lenfiare. But, we need you to come in exchange."
"Is he talking about you, Kirin?" Keon glared at his brother, and Kirin nodded. "So, what is your decision?"
Keon grabbed Kirin"s hand. "Stop. We"ll never know if he"s really planning to release Freyja." Keon was trembling. But Kirin took a deep breath, and he shoved his brother away from him. "At least, I can go in. You want to save her, don"t you?"
"But Freyja will… if she knew that—"
"Either way, I will go in. I will drag her out myself if they won"t release her."
"They"re phreinians, Kirin. Let"s wait for Alaric to wake up and—"
Kirin used his aura, to push his brother far away from him. "What the h.e.l.l are you doing!?"
"KIRIN!"
As Keon watched his brother go further, a pathway was suddenly opened before him. Kirin went on his way, walking, until he completely disappeared. "Kirin!" Keon tried to chase after his brother, but the path was gone, and they were back to the empty snow-covered plains where they started.
~ o 0 o ~
"You"re releasing me?" Freyja couldn"t understand why, but the phreinians unshackled her. They weren"t answering why, but Freyja knew this is too good to be true. With four phreinians accompanying her, they led Freyja not outside, but to a room. There, Galun was sitting, by himself. "Now what are you doing?" She asked.
"I"m releasing you, that"s what." Galun said plainly.
He was serious about releasing her, since the elite phreinian mages could not understand why they can"t extract the celestial core inside her. But with Kirin, their plan may work. But of course, he is not planning to let her free for good. She is still a prized kill. The only option for the phreinian prince is to convince Kirin that she"s free, and then he"d kill her as soon as they get Kirin to cooperate.
Galun summoned a dense aura string, and wrapped it around Freyja. "What!?" Freyja struggled, but without her aura, she couldn"t break an iron chain, let alone one made from aura. Galun then summoned an aura knife, inscribed with glowing phreinian text. "This should do." Galun thought, aiming at her.
But even before the knife could stab her, a similar aura knife came flying at him. Galun evaded, leaving the bound girl on the floor. "Who"s that!?"
The aurropes binding Freyja suddenly disappeared. Then, before her eyes, another phreinian appeared. "Don"t ask, just go with me." The mysterious phreinian suddenly grabbed her hand, and flung Freyja over his shoulder before dashing out of the room. Galun immediately ordered his soldiers to go after them.
"I know it"s hard, but you have to trust me, Lenfiare." The phrenian said, running away from their pursuers. Galun"s underlings were able to block their path, but the mysterious phreinian was fast enough to breeze through them. Like Galun, Freyja noticed that he is wearing a circlet around his head, and clad in robes that seemed to fit only the royalty. His hair was grey with streaks of blue, and he is only six foot tall— short, for phreinian standards.
Even so, this phreinian was quite skilled.
"They"re coming from the stairs!" Freyja exclaimed, pointing to the incoming pursuers from all sides.
"Hold on tight, Lenfiare." Cornered, the mysterious phreinian shattered the gla.s.s from the window beside them and immediately jumped outside, with Freyja tightly holding onto him. She winced, feeling the air against her face. The moment she opened her eyes, they were already outside the headquarters.
"Your friends are near the barrier, relax." The mysterious phreinian said as they reached the gates. He put Freyja down, before concentrating his aura into the barrier. Knowing the barrier"s structure and composition, the phreinian was able to create a hole in the barrier much easier, unlike Keon, Alaric, and Kirin in their earlier attempts.
He wasted no time and carried Freyja on his back again, rushing further and further away from the phreinian hideout.
"FREYJA!" Keon and a groggy Alaric called, seeing her. But the phreinian did not stop. He continued running away, with Freyja still on his back. "Follow me, we have to get out of here now."
"Where the h.e.l.l are you taking her!?" Keon summoned his rune beast. Together with Alaric, they followed the phreinian and Freyja, as fast as they could. After some kilometers, they reached a small, inhabited town far east.
"You should be safe here. But I won"t be too relaxed." The phreinian looked around and he gently put Freyja down before fixing his robes.
"Freyja!" Keon and Alaric caught up. Keon rushed to her side, and hugged her tight. Freyja winced from the pain. "It"s okay, let"s get you treated." He said, eyeing her from head to toe.
"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! What are—" Keon was about to attack him, but Freyja stopped him.
"Stop Keon, he"s the one who helped me escape! I"m pretty sure Galun is not planning to let me live." She explained, standing between them. Keon stepped back.
"But before that, let"s go find a place where we can treat Freyja"s wounds. How about that inn?" Alaric pointed to a small inn. Agreeing, they all headed inside.
~ o 0 o ~
Freyja could feel her white aura slowly coming back again. But Alaric and Keon insisted that she not use it first and let Alaric heal her injuries. "So, tell me, why did you help me?" She confronted the mysterious phreinian.
"You"re right, Lenfiare. Galun will never let you live." The phreinian said, wearing his hood over his head, almost covering his face. "It is amazing to see how your guardians protected the celestial core despite the orb suppressing your aura."
Freyja took a peek inside her shirt, and indeed, the medallion was half-buried in her chest, as if it has become a part of her body.
"You are a phrenian, why did you help me? You are also the one who gave me that map, right?" She recognized him from his voice. "And judging from your appearance, you are a n.o.ble— no, perhaps someone with higher status. What do you want from me!?" Freyja instinctively stood up.
"Never in my life, have I thought that I"d be carrying the Lenfiare of Celestia on my back. That"s quite scary to be honest." He started with a sigh. "But I have my reasons. Please listen to me."
Freyja fell onto her knees. The wounds on her body started hurting again. Alaric lifted her shirt up, and saw bad bruises and wounds. "Freyja! Don"t move, you are badly injured. Let me finish, alright?"
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Freyja caught the phrenian staring at her so intensely. But when she pointed it out, he immediately looked away, startled. "No. I"m sorry. It"s just the first time I"ve seen a celestial. You look so much like an ordinary human, well, that"s probably because you"re not yet fully awakened." He explained. "They really did a good job hiding you, and sealing your memories and aura." He said. "Oh, that"s right, I haven"t introduced myself yet. I am Reini Alyon, fifth prince of Phrein."
"Prince… of Phrein? What do you want with me!?" Out of impulse, she shot a hateful glare at the prince. But, she shook her head and apologized soon after. "Oh, I"m sorry…I just…"
"It"s expected."
"I can"t lie. I still find it hard to trust you, but. The sins of your kin don"t mean it"s yours, right? It"s easier said than done, but at least know that I have those things in mind."
Alyon was quite shocked, and relieved. "I understand. That"s plenty already, Lenfiare. Even I, wouldn"t trust myself if I were in your place. But right now, we share the same goal, and as much as I hate to ask for the help of a celestial, I have to. That"s why I helped you. Because I need you to help me."
Freyja, Keon, and Alaric fell silent.
"Three years ago, I was exiled by my brothers Galun and Weila, for going against them. That"s when they stole the celestial orb, the one that suppresses your power, and the ultimate treasure of Phrein. I am here to destroy that orb for good."
"Why would you want to do that? That orb is your ultimate weapon against Celesta, right? With that, you can do whatever you want with me, kill me."
"True. As you are now, I can do that. But even if we do, it won"t end the crisis in Phrein right now. For a thousand years, Celestia lost its power over Phrein. And yet, the chaos in our land grew worse. The royal family of Phrein started brutally fighting, as you can see. And I"m sure that you know, that the suppressor orb is not foolproof. Had you been in your full capacity, it wouldn"t have had much of an effect."
He was speaking the truth.
"And you are all aware how soul orbs were made, right?" He continued.
"That"s right. It needs sacrifices. A lot. The stronger the power it is meant to suppress, the more live aura it needs to consume. That"s why as powerful as it is, it"s practically considered taboo." Alaric explained.
"Correct, runemaster. Thousands of lives in Phrein were sacrificed to make that orb." Alyon paused, remembering how his own family, his mother and little sister were both part of those sacrifices. But he clenched his fists and decided to keep such a delicate detail to himself. "And while its being used to suppress your aura, it continues to take lives of my people."
"Yes of course, that"s the deal with binding soul orbs." Freyja said, though still trying to process Alyon"s reason.
"It"s just that, I know for a fact that killing you with that much sacrifice on our end will not benefit us at all." He said, showing his intentions. "So, I need your help to destroy that orb, and drag Galun and the phreinians back to Phrein for judgement."
Alyon"s story made sense. But it was far too difficult for Freyja to trust a phreinian, even the one who saved her life. Freyja wanted to find out more. "So, Galun wants to extract the celestial core and kill me afterwards?"
"Of course. Killing you and dragging the core back to Phrein is an achievement that would surely give the throne to him. And he promised phreinians to conquer other realms and expand our territory. It"s something Phrein really wanted for a long time now, that"s why he gets support."
"Then how about you?"
"Of course, I also want to do that. But at this rate, we"ll all disappear even before we can even think of conquering other lands. You understand what I"m talking about, don"t you, Lenfiare?"
Freyja didn"t want to admit it, but she did admire the resolution of the phreinian prince. "Are you sure about this?"
"I see no reason to go on a war against celestials. But remember this, should you do anything to hurt my people, I will definitely wipe you out. Not with some orb, but with our own strengths."
Freyja fell silent. At a time like this, she really wanted to hear what Kirin has to say too. She looked around, noticing that he"s still hasn"t come back. It"s making her anxious.
"Kirin is taking a long time. I wonder where he went?" She uttered, amidst the tense conversation they just had. Freyja grew more and more anxious, every minute that pa.s.sed. Keon and Alaric panicked, not knowing how to break the news. Keon clenched his fists in frustration. He knows that Freyja will do the same reckless thing just to get Kirin back. That"s why they opted to keep it a secret from her, at least until she recovers.
"Kirin… that silver haired man, with green eyes. Is that what he looks like?" Alyon asked, surprising the three.
"Hey you—!" Keon tried to stop him, but it"s too late. Freyja, had already taken interest in his revelation.
"Yes, that"s him! Where is he?" She said, cutting Keon off.
"Freyja, let"s—" Alaric tried to distract her again, but there is no stopping Freyja.
"Tell me, where is KIrin!?" She felt her heart pound, nervous, suddenly warped with fear.
"The man with silver hair and green eyes," Alyon said, "I saw him, held captive by Galun. He traded himself, in exchange for your freedom, Lenfiare. That"s exactly how I was able to take you away from Galun."
~ o 0 o ~