Chapter 47
Ariel
She had watched the entire scene from a distance, hidden in the smoky haze. The fleet of war ships had been sent back to Sparlan Citadel, but the king’s ship hovered in the air, miles from the summit of Mount Avondale. She used magic to view the activity, and she had seen Leonosis carried away by his brother. When the sky ship from Hamill Keep eventually sailed back down the mountain, she decided to make one final attempt to reclaim the power she had lost.
There was a sense of relief that Draggah’s hold over her seemed broken. She knew that she could do whatever she wanted now. She had seen her master fall, watched him die, without lifting a finger to help him. Draggah had promised to give her the life she'd always wanted when her father had made it clear that she was simply a commodity to be traded away for something he wanted more. Somehow, despite her fears and resentments, she had gathered the strength to strike back at the people who had brushed her aside once her brother was born. She had summoned the demon and harnessed his power, at least until Leonosis had changed everything. And contrary to the demon’s promises, she had come to realize that he never intended to place her in power. Still, she had held on to the glimmer of hope that Draggah gave her, hoping she might somehow find a way to get what she wanted, even though she was too frightened to resist the demon. Now that Draggah’s defeat was certain, she had only one prospect left. She needed to know if her husband lived or not.
The ship moved slowly over the ash-covered perimeter of what had once been Avondale’s walls. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but there had to be something close by, some evidence of Leonosis, either alive or dead.
She saw the hole that Tiberius had dug out of the ash and sent her guards down to investigate. It was only moments before Leonosis’ body was hauled out of the ash. He looked dead, but when they got the body onto the ship, she found him alive. The sailors carried him back to the king’s stateroom, and Ariel sat on the bed beside him. She used a sponge to dribble water into his mouth. Soon his swollen tongue was licking the chapped lips eagerly.
As the ship sailed back to Sparlan Citadel, Ariel nursed Leonosis back to health. He didn’t wake up for three days, and when he did, he was weak. Ariel stayed by his side, waiting to see if the demon still controlled him, but he was free and still King of Valana. Ariel could work with that, she thought. It wasn’t magic, but it was a start.
Epilogue
Rafe never woke up. His body was healthy, but his brain had been damaged in the fight. Tiberius was distraught, but Olyva was at peace. The day after they returned to the camp at the bottom of the mountain, Tiberius and a group of the earl’s war band, along with Earl Ageus, returned to the mountaintop. The earl was devastated, but there was nothing he could do. Tiberius returned for Leonosis, but even before the ship lowered him down, Tiberius knew his brother was gone. There were tracks all in the ash, and not just his own, yet no tracks led away from the ash cave. Someone else had returned for the king, and Tiberius had a feeling he knew who that was.
That night, they returned to the camp, which had continued to swell as citizens who had escaped the city before the volcano’s eruption slowly made their way down the mountain and found the new settlement. Earl Ageus pulled Tiberius aside and Ti couldn't help but notice the pain his father's features. The earl was healthy, but the loss of Avondale and the devastation of the mountaintop weighed heavily on him. Still, it was clear that the earl wanted something from his son, and Tiberius felt conflicting emotions as they talked.
“We can't rebuild,” the earl said. “There's no water on the mountain anymore.”
“You don't need to build up there,” Tiberius said. “The camp is in an ideal place. Olyva picked the perfect spot.”
“She did well, but our work has just begun, Tiberius. Avondale needs you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You should take the earldom. Lead our people to rebuild and regain what we have lost.”
“That is your job,” Tiberius said. “Not mine.”
“It is your birthright,” Ageus said, anger tinting his voice. “Why do you resist it?”
“I’m not resisting anything,” Tiberius said. “But you are well with many years left to serve. Let one of my sisters rule when the time comes. I can't stay.”
“Why? Because Grentz’s son was struck down? Surely that is even more reason to stay. As earl you honor his sacrifice.”
“I can only honor his friendship by being true to who I am. Look around you—the world is wide open to us now. Don’t you feel the urge to explore it? To discover all the wondrous things we thought were lost?”
“No,” Ageus said. “My place is here, with our people. As is yours.”
“I’m not staying, Father. After Lexi and I have rested and done all we can for Rafe, we are leaving.”
“What if we need you?” the earl asked.
“
If
a time comes when you need me, I will return.”
“I can’t say I approve.”
“I didn't think you would, but this is your chance to shape Avondale’s future, perhaps even the entire kingdom. I would only get in your way.”
Tiberius knew that wasn't entirely true. If he stayed, his father would use Tiberius’ power to elevate his own position among the other cities. He wouldn’t set out to abuse his son’s magical abilities, but in time he would insist on more and more from Ti. If Tiberius stayed, he would wither under his father’s demanding rule. And Tiberius harbored no illusions about Ageus stepping down from his place as earl. Now that his father was healthy again, the earl would never willingly give up his power.
“Is there nothing I can do to change your mind?” the earl said, his irritation with Tiberius all too clear.
“No, Father,” Ti said.
“I could order my men to keep you here,” he insisted, the shadows of his former abusive authority suddenly taking shape around him.
“Yes, you could,” Tiberius said. “But this is a new world, and I am no longer your meek third child. I’m a wizard of the Fourth Order, and I will not be held against my will.”
“You would turn on your own people?” Earl Ageus demanded.
"Isn't that what you are doing to me?" Ti asked in a voice he hoped was calming. "Don't make my decision out to be an insult to your honor. I have a destiny that is greater than Avondale or any of the nine cities. I must find what we have lost and return the magic of the Four Orders to Valana, ensuring that magic is practiced for the good of all mankind, not just Avondale."
"You wound me with your criticism," Ageus said, but the fight had gone out of him.
"That was not my intention," Tiberius said. "You're my father, and I love you."
The earl frowned as he nodded. "And I love you, too, son."
That was the last time Tiberius spoke with his father. After that night the earl threw himself into the work of rebuilding the city he had lost. And he was always too busy to see Tiberius in the days that followed. Lexi did her best to comfort and encourage Tiberius, but grief at the realization that he wouldn't have a better relationship with his father was agonizing. As was watching Rafe's failure to recover.
A few days later, Tiberius and Lexi found Olyva at the edge of the camp. She had spent most of her days there, much the same as she had been shortly after being touched by the Hosscum trees. She would stand unmoving for hours at a time, her face turned toward the sky, her arms outstretched to soak up the sunlight. The light above the mountain was still weak and more of a dingy white than the golden amber that filtered down on most of the blighted lands. Still, Olyva seemed to draw strength from it, and on the fourth day after their battle with the demon, Tiberius discovered why.
He saw the grove of trees as they approached Olyva. She wasn’t moving, and the trees didn’t appear to be moving, but they hadn’t been there the day before. Tiberius felt a lump of fear in his chest. His eyes stung with tears, and he gripped Lexi’s hand.
“Are you calling those trees?” he asked Olyva.
She lowered her arms and looked at Tiberius. There was sadness in her look, but not fear.
“I did,” she admitted. “It’s time.”
“You’re going to become a tree then? You’re just going to desert Rafe and the rest of us.”
“I think you know me better than that,” Olyva said.
“So what are you going to do?” Tiberius said. “I don’t understand.”
“I want you to bring Rafe to me,” Olyva said.
“No,” Tiberius said loudly. “No.”
“Ti,” Lexi tried to calm him down.
“You’ve done all you can for him,” Olyva said. “He’ll never be the man you knew. He’ll just waste away and die. Is that what you want for him?”
“No,” Tiberius said, the tears flowing down his face. “But you don’t know he won’t wake up. He’s strong.”
“He is, and that is why he’s still alive. But now, he can have a different kind of life. He can be with me. You know I’m changing. I can’t stop that now.”
“I can’t let him go,” Tiberius said.
“You don’t have to,” Olyva said. “He will still be Rafe—he will still be here. He’ll just be changed.”
“Come on, Ti. It’s for the best,” Lexi said.
Tiberius wanted to scream, to rage, to burn down the Hosscum grove that was inching its way slowly toward the camp, but he knew Olyva and Lexi were right. And Ti didn't want to control his friend's life any more than he wanted his father to control his. He knew he could stop Olyva from taking Rafe, but he couldn't bring his friend back, despite all his magical power. Rafe had sacrificed himself for Tiberius, and now it was Ti's turn to sacrifice what he wanted so that Rafe could be with Olyva.
He sat with his friend the rest of the day, then just before sundown he helped carry Rafe to the grove of Hosscum trees. Olyva was already waiting inside the grove, standing with her feet among the tangle of crawling roots. She looked happy to see him. The men, all officers from the earl’s war band, laid Rafe in a small space between the roots that seemed to be just the right shape for his body. Then the other men hurried away, and it was just Tiberius, Lexi, Olyva, and Rafe.
“I wanted to say thank you, Tiberius,” Olyva said. “You and Lexi befriended me, helped me, accepted me when I changed, and believed in me always. I can never tell you how much that means to me.”
“You are the bravest woman I’ve ever known,” Lexi said.
“He loves you so much,” Tiberius said. “This is what he would want. To be with you. It’s what he always wanted. Not the fighting, not to explore the blighted lands. He wanted to make his father proud and he did. He wanted to be the champion of Avondale and he was. He wanted to lead the earl’s war band and he did. And he wanted to be with you forever, and now he will.”
“We aren’t dying, Tiberius. You of all people know this is true,” Olyva said.
“I do. But I will miss you both terribly.”
“We will always be here, at the foot of Mount Avondale, living as one.”
“Will you be part of this grove?” Lexi asked.
“No,” Olyva said. “We will start our own grove. And maybe one day more people will join us.”
“You will be protected,” Tiberius said, “and remembered.”
“Thank you,” Olyva said. “And will you be the Earl of Avondale after your father?”
“No,” Tiberius said. “Lexi and I have decided to explore the blighted lands. My father is fit and well; he can lead the survivors. Our future is out there. There’s so much to learn.”
“Then I wish you the best of luck in your travels,” she said. “And my hope is that you return to us often.”
“Goodbye,” Lexi said, hugging Olyva.
“Farewell,” she replied.
“Goodbye, Rafe. You were … are, my best friend," Tiberius said. "We did it. We saved the kingdom, just like we always dreamed. Your story will be remembered, I swear to that. And I will come back, I promise.”
Lexi took his hand, and they backed out of the grove of trees. Night fell suddenly, and Tiberius stayed nearby through the night. When morning came, the grove of trees was gone, and in their place were two new trees. The trees grew close together, their branches entwining as well as their roots. Tiberius went to the trees and put his hands on the trunks. One tree was slender and tall, the other broader and very straight. There was no breeze, but as Tiberius stood by the trees, the leaves swayed gently, the leaves rustling and the branches creaking.
“I’m glad to see you on your feet again, old friend,” Tiberius said. “I guess Olyva has filled you in on our victory. We lost the city but won the war, at least for now. Someone has Leonosis, but that’s not our concern, is it? We’re finished saving people. Now we can just live our lives.”
“That sounds good to me,” Lexi said, slipping up beside Tiberius and wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Tiberius said. “The world is wide open, and there's nothing we can't face together. Let’s go see what wonders are waiting to be discovered.”
The End
Author's Note
I want to thank all of you who have read this series. Avondale and the Kingdom of Valana, including the blighted lands, became a much richer world than I ever anticipated. I fell in love with the characters, relating with their struggles and journey into the unknown. There is so much to discover and explore, so perhaps one day I'll return to their world and see what Tiberius and Lexi have been up to, but in the meantime I have many more tales to share with you. I appreciate your support and encouragement. And I hope you'll join me in the stories that lie ahead. Thank you again for making my dreams come true.
Toby Neighbors
August 14, 2015