Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Valsigian turned back to Eldrien, still kneeling, head bowed, Tiritharion still held high in offering. He took the offered blade, runes still glowing brightly. The weight of the blade was as light as Tyr had felt moments before, perhaps even lighter. The balance was just as exquisite as he imagined it would be. There was no doubt in his mind that this sword was meant for a blade master; it screamed lethality in every way. Only one who had dedicated their life to mastering the forms could appreciate the magnificent craftsmanship that would have gone into perfecting this weapon.

He turned the blade in his hands, inspecting every part of it, trying to commit it to memory. It truly was a work of art, deadly, but a masterpiece nonetheless. The Aureate within him beckoned as he continued his examination of Tiritharion. He obliged the call and embraced it once again. The world came alive to his senses just as it had before. The sense of loss he had experienced when he released it a few moments ago was replaced with wonder and excitement. Then he saw it, the reason why the Aureate had nudged him to connect again. The golden threads he had seen before were back. This time they enveloped his right arm and Tiritharion, swirling around the sword and his arm.

The image of a rune appeared in his mind. Its meaning was clear; it only meant one thing, Guardian. This rune was unique; it was one of the First Runes and held power of its own. First, Runes were not meant to be spoken aloud; they were only to be written. The correct pronunciation of a First Rune was a mystery since they were only ever written. It was forbidden to try to speak the name of a First Rune as mispronunciation could have destructive or deadly results for not only the speaker, but everyone who heard it.

He focused on the image of the rune in his mind. The Aureate nudged him again, guiding him, instructing in a way. He felt like he needed to form a connection to this rune, feed it some of that infinite power from his core. He reached out with the Aureate, golden threads of it connecting to the image of the rune in his mind. The moment he did, the threads that were swirling around his arm and Tiritharion connected to Eldrien as well. The connection was light at first, only touching Eldrien’s head. He looked up at Valsigian as he dropped his arms to his side. The moment the threads made contact with him, his eyes held a look of confusion and concern. As the connection strengthened, as more of the golden threads began to envelope the Ambassador’s torso and arms, an expression of acceptance and understanding bloomed on his face. He placed his hands above his chest, left hand closed in a fist, right forming a blade hand, and brought them together over his heart. The warriors salute, given from one warrior to another as a sign of respect.

The audible gasps from those in attendance in the great hall confirmed to Valsigian that they could see what was happening as well. He spared a glance at Tove and could see the reflection of the golden light in her eyes as she stared in stunned disbelief. He turned his attention back to the ambassador and the First Rune in his mind's eye, not wanting to lose focus. The connection between himself, Tiritharion, and Eldrien continued to strengthen; the golden threads of the Aureate swirled around the elf’s entire body now. He didn’t understand what was happening; he just knew that it felt right. He somehow knew that this was always meant to happen. The Aureate within him continued to urge him on, contended that he was letting it guide him.

The image of the First Rune began to flare in his mind. It pulsed like a beacon, drawing his attention, begging its name to be spoken. Valsigian froze; the teachings about speaking a First Rune’s name aloud rushed back into his mind. The warnings, the danger of speaking words of power out loud, assaulted his mind, washing over him like a tidal wave of fear and doubt. Then, a calming wave of emotion washed over him, like the tide pulling itself back into its depths. The Aureate felt as if it was reassuring him, soothing his fears, silencing his doubts. That feeling of certainty, of knowing that this was the right thing to do, settled in his core once again.

He looked at Eldrien, studied the elf’s face, his body language, looking for any sign that this was wrong. He only found acceptance and willingness in every outward expression. He stepped forward and lowered himself to a knee in front of the ambassador so that he could look directly into his eyes. What he saw there surprised him. He had expected to find the same level of confidence and determination that he had always known in the past. Now, there was only expectation and hope, as if he had known this moment would come and already knew the outcome. The elf smiled and nodded his head slightly, as if he knew what Valsigian was struggling with and was permitting him to proceed.

Valsigian continued to hesitate, unsure if Eldrien understood what he was permitting him to do. If he spoke the word of power incorrectly, it could potentially kill everyone in this room, or destroy the great hall, or both. “Speak the word,” Rakin’s voice broke the silence as all heads turned towards the old high priest.

“You know in your heart that it is the right thing to do. The Aureate will guide you in the rune’s pronunciation.” The priest took a step towards the men kneeling in front of one another. “This is your first test as a Knight Aureate,” he said as he pointed to Valsigian. “The First Runes are connected to the Aureate,” his arms gestured at both of the men and the golden threads surrounding them. “Only a true Knight Aureate can speak the words of power.” As soon as the words of power escaped Rakin’s lips, everyone in the room took a few steps back, fear overcoming their curiosity.

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The old priest’s face took on a look of warning. “Even then, they must be spoken carefully and with intent. They are meant to be used only in the rarest of circumstances.” Rakin’s expression turned to one of slight amusement as he stepped even closer. “Obviously,” he said in a lighthearted tone. “This is one of those times.”

Valsigian and Eldrien looked back at one another, their eyes locked. Eldrien reached up and placed his hands over Valsigian’s, where they gripped the hilt of Tiritharion. “I have faith in you, Valsigian,” he said as he nodded his permission once again. “Speak the word,” his voice was a hushed whisper only meant for Valsigian to hear. “This is what I was born for, trust in me as well.” He gave a reassuring squeeze of his hands, letting Valsigian know he understood the consequences.

Valsigian closed his eyes, focusing inward, as he begged the Aureate to guide him. He remembered what Rakin had just told him. The Aureate would guide him, that this was his first true test as a Knight Aureate. He understood that he held the life of not only Eldrien in his hands, but that of everyone in this room. He wouldn’t let himself be the reason that the people who came to see him knighted would die. The First Rune continued to pulse in his mind, beseeching him to speak its true name. He reached deep into his core, not surrendering, but imploring, “Please, tell me how to speak the true name of the Guardian rune?” His heart ached at the asking of the question; his emotions lay bare for the Aureate to see.

The answer came not in words, but in bright images burned into his mind’s eye. He saw the rune for Knight, followed by the rune for Aureate, then the rune for Eternity, and lastly the rune for Light. His confusion at the images was profound; any way that he tried to organize the pronunciation of these runes in his mind resulted in nothing but gibberish. He sent his feeling of confusion through his connection to the Aureate. It responded with the rune for First, followed by the rune for Alphabet. He pondered the meaning of the last two runes for a moment before realizing what they meant. Not “First Alphabet,” as he had initially assumed, but “First Letter,” as there was no rune for the word “Letter”. The Aureate was spelling the true name of the First Rune for him by using the first letter of each rune, K, A, E, L. The true name of the Guardian rune was “Kael.” The moment he came to the answer, he was overwhelmed by a feeling of happiness and encouragement from the Aureate.

Valsigian opened his eyes, his mind was calm, and his confusion was now replaced with confidence. He dug a little deeper into that well of infinite power, and the Aureate responded fully. The golden glow that surrounded his body, the sword, and Eldrien intensified. Those gathered in the great hall turned away slightly, shielding their eyes with their hands, watching through the gaps in their fingers.

He formed the word in his mind, studied it forward and backward. He had to be sure, there was no going back, there would be no second chance if he got it wrong. He took a breath deep enough to remind him that his ribs were still broken. He ignored the pain, focusing instead on the First Rune. Feeling the Aureate rise within him to encompass his throat, he could feel it guiding the formation of the word in his mind, “Kā-el”. As soon as he spoke the word of power in his mind, it began to take on a life of its own. Echoing and reverberating in his mind like it was bouncing around in his skull. The sound became more intense the longer he left the word unspoken. It became so intense that he felt he had to say the word, or the word would destroy him.

He felt the Aureate travel up from his throat and flow over his tongue, guiding the formation of the word. His lips parted as the back of his tongue came to the roof of his mouth. “KAEL!” he shouted, his voice sounding unnatural to his ears. It sounded… distorted. As if the word had been spoken by two different beings, neither one of them himself. One voice was deep and resonant, the other like a loud whisper, high and echoing.

The sound of the word reverberated throughout the great hall, bouncing off the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. Intensifying in volume and cadence, it began to shake the great hall. Dust and small pieces of stone began to rain down from the rafters. The massive timbers holding the roof up began to creak and shift. The sound then focused itself in one place, high up in the center of the vaulted ceiling, directly over Valsigian and Eldrien. Focusing itself into a mass of energy that became visible in the clouds of dust. It resembled pulsing, rippling waves, emanating from a central sphere of pure sound energy. It pulsed faster and faster, louder and louder. Everyone covered their ears in pain, crouching to the floor while also trying to take cover from the raining debris.

Then suddenly… silence. Everything stopped shaking, and the dust began to settle. All eyes turned up to that ball of swirling energy as they began to uncover their ears. Nobody was prepared for what happened next. Without warning, the energy whooshed straight down and struck Valsigian and Eldrien like a massive hammer blow. The concussive blast shattered the marble floor in a circular pattern where the two men were kneeling before radiating out to the walls, blowing the doors open, shattering the stained glass windows, and blowing them out of their sashes.

The sudden release of energy only affected the inanimate surfaces within the great hall. Not a single person was hurt or moved in any way as the blast wave moved through the hall. The damage to the great hall was mostly superficial; the structure itself seemed to be unharmed. The marble floor and walls were full of spiderweb-like cracks, and there was not a single piece of glass left in any window frame.

After quickly assessing themselves and realizing they had not been injured, everyone’s attention went back to the two men kneeling in front of one another. The golden glow that had just been surrounding them had vanished. Besides their hair being tousled by the blast of energy, they looked to be unscathed. That’s when everyone noticed it; they all gasped again, even Rakin.