Chapter Five - Wounds That Don't Heal

Chapter Five

Leo

The silence around us was crushing. It felt like not even the wind dared to move. I kept expecting him to wake up. Maybe if I nudged him a little harder, he’d cough and call me an idiot or hit on my sister. Maybe if I shook him, he’d tell me I was being dramatic.

But Oliver’s body was still. I think that the lump in my throat will never go away.

Soldiers roamed the fields looking for what I overheard as “Monster Cores”. Most of them also succumbed to some sort of grief. It was weird that whenever a monster died it evaporated into dust, but the ‘human’ bodies, or whatever they are called in this world perished the same as on Earth.

I took another long look at his unmoving face, time had seemed to simultaneously speed up and slow down. Years of memories were brought to a screeching halt. Oliver was nearly unrecognizable this way. No longer would we hear his voice, his laughter. His eyes that so often regarded us with kindness and comfort were now closed forever. Was it mere moments ago that he was attempting to lighten the mood despite all that was happening?

Guilt clawed its way down my throat and settled at the pit of my stomach in a way that made me realize it would never go away. If only he hadn't saved me. If only I had been a step ahead. If only I were stronger, faster. Day one in this hell hole, and I have already lost someone so dear to me. Tears fell down my face until they dried up and my eyes burned, I felt nauseous.

"He was an idiot, our idiot," I whimpered to Drew, wishing my friend would say something to nullify the complete silence we sat in. Instead, he stood up scowled at me, and walked away. I sat a moment longer, but I could hear the patter of anxious footsteps approaching me from the side.

"I'm sorry about your friend," The Lady who had tried to heal Oliver during the battle said. It was apparent that she was trying to comfort me but didn't know how. I didn't answer. I could already feel my throat choking up again. Simply nodding my head was all my heart could take. I shifted my eyes between hers and her features, and she shifted uncomfortably.

Her auburn hair fell just past her shoulders, she was average height for someone from my town, but her eyes were something I had never seen before. They were dark with a hint of red. My lack of

response was enough to stop her from saying any more. I didn't want to speak to anyone. Oliver was dead, and that happened because of me. My mind flashed back to before Drew, and I entered the portal.

How much Oliver didn't want to be left alone again, only for him to leave us first. That hit hard. Oliver risked everything to help Drew and me. I doubt I will meet anyone like that again. A brother.

"Tsk." I got up, wiping the tears from my face. The fire witch stepped back, I wiped a final tear off my cheek and pushed past her.

It took me a second to realize the carnage of what happened to others. The soldiers around me had lost group members as well, their faces showed the look of defeat even though we won. I noticed a few were crying silently, while the others attended to the wounded. Those who were not mourning, or searching were whispering about Drew and I.

"Green lightning!?" One of the soldiers said.

"HE CAUGHT A SWORD, JEREMY!" I heard another say. They hushed their tones as I stumbled past them towards Drew. He had grabbed a spare shovel from the group's horse caravan and was digging on top of a nearby hill under a lone oak tree. I grabbed a shovel as well. We dug Oliver's grave together and in silence. The wind ripped at our clothes, leaving cold hollow bites on my skin.

After what felt like hours of digging, together we lowered Oliver's body into our makeshift grave. I took one last look at our friend.

"I'm going to miss you, buddy. I am sorry, so sorry," I felt the tears coming back, I wanted to say more but all I felt was this void in my chest.

Drew’s jaw clenched so tightly I thought his teeth might shatter. His fists trembled at his sides. I waited for him to say something, anything. Then he exhaled sharply, turned away, and kicked the shovel so hard it cracked in half.

"He shouldn't have risked his life. It was stupid." Drew muttered, wiping the last of his tears away. I felt a pang of hurt. Did Drew blame me? Before I could ask him, we were interrupted.

"Ahem," squeaked a small voice behind us. "The alliance is heading for the nearby town" The witch shuffled her feet uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry for the late introduction," The commander who stood behind her walked towards us, his arm was gone. I guess magic couldn't fix everything, even in this world, "I'm Captain Willow, and I owe you my life. Thank you for saving all of us, and we are sorry for the one you lost." He spoke.

Drew and I nodded in acknowledgment.

"It's pretty obvious by your outfits that you two aren’t from around here. You can accompany us if you would like!" she smiled.

Drew and I stared at each other, then we gave a slight nod.

I stepped forward and stuck out my hand, still unable to muster a smile, but she was nice, and it wasn’t her fault. "I'm Leo, and this is Drew."

Her face reddened; what was up with this girl? She shook my hand super-fast while avoiding eye contact.

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"I'm... Uhm... Grace, we are about to depart. I know it's not a lot of time to mourn,” she paused and shifted uncomfortably as she peered at the freshly packed dirt behind us, "But the hills aren't safe. Please come." She twirled and trotted along down to the remaining soldiers. Her black robes flapped behind her. Drew followed close behind. I turned towards the oak tree that hung over our makeshift grave.

"I'll get strong, so no one needs to save me ever again. Thanks, Oliver." My feet turned and stomped off down the hill towards the caravan.

After walking for some time in silence, I finally got the nerve to ask Grace some questions."So, Grace. Where exactly are we?" She glanced at me as if surprised I didn't know.

"Currently, we are in the hills of Kolinas, but there are a couple of small farming towns and cities in this area," Grace explained as the group began to enter a forest on the edge of the hillside. We walked attempting to avoid uneven rocks and roots scattered along the ground. Echoes of horse clacks and murmuring soldiers passed through the beautiful forest. “Then if you travel out of Kolinas, you get to your country, Lucidus.”

"Our country?" I asked.

She brushed her hair over her ear and gave me a puzzled look.

"Yeah? Isn’t that where you guys are from?"

"N- “

“Yeah, we are,” Drew interjected. I don’t really understand why he would want to keep where we come from a secret, but it's probably best if I don’t go against him. She studied us but obviously decided not to press any further.

The terrain we were walking on slowly started morphing into something more akin to a path, which was nice because the awkward terrain had started to hurt my feet. I couldn’t remember the last time I had walked further than that from my house to the corner store that was on the opposite side of town, just to get ice cream with my sister when I was younger.

Thinking about my sister made my head swim, I could feel a pit drop lower and lower into my

stomach every time she crossed my mind. Would I see her again? Hopefully, she had landed somewhere with no roaming orcs or powerful witches.

The garrison? Group? Whatever it’s called, Drew and I chatted among ourselves. I don’t know how many of them could focus on conversations with the constant clinking of their armor. That’s something they don’t show you in the movies. Drew seemed to be thinking the same thing,

“Loud as hell” he muttered

"I saw your magic fireball; it was pretty impressive”. I had so many questions I couldn’t wait to ask.

Grace's face blushed. She pushed back her shoulders proudly as she walked. I could sense a slight aura coming off her. She was the first person I had noticed with any sort of aura at all. It was like the air emanated heat in particles surrounding her body. I squinted my eyes to try and make out anything like I had seen in manga and fantasy novels, but nothing. But I could feel it.

Grace caught my stare and smirked. “Like what you see?”

I blinked, caught off guard. “Uh, no. I mean, yes? Wait—no, not like that, I just—” I slumped my shoulders in defeat. “Is it rare to be able to use magic?" I questioned.”

Grace glanced at me. Her ember eyes sharp yet thoughtful. “Magic comes from Aether. It’s, well, it’s everywhere. In the air, in the ground, inside of us. But only those born with an affinity can actually shape it.”

I raised my eyebrow. “Shape it? Like how you threw a fireball back there?”

She nodded, adjusting the strap on her travel pack. “kind of, but throwing a fireball takes a lot of skill. Even with a Fire Affinity, generally you don’t start out being able to do that. At first, all you can do is summon a flicker of flame in your palm with a chant. Same with Wind, you can stir a breeze, but you can’t make a storm. Earth, Water, its all the same. You need control before you can do anything useful.”

“So it has like...rules? Drew interjected; his voice tinged with skepticism.

“Obviously,” Grace deadpanned, “You guys didn’t learn this where you are from?” I shrugged.

“You can’t just wish for fire and expect it to work. You have to channel Aether from inside your body, through your veins, and then release it using an incantation or gesture. The stronger your AetherSoul, the faster and stronger your spells.”

I frowned, rubbing my palm. “But what about Drew? Back there… he was fighting like a lunatic, and it looked like he had lightning around him. I don’t remember him ever practicing magic.” I laughed.

Grace’s steps slowed for a moment, then she turned toward Drew with renewed curiosity.

“That wasn’t normal.” Her eyes narrowed. “What did it feel like?”

Drew shoved his hands in his pockets, his face twisting like he wasn’t sure he wanted to answer. “I don’t know, it just happened.”

Grace hummed, studying his for a second before shaking her head. “I’ll have to test you two when we reach Veridiem. It’s obvious you both have affinities, maybe you’ll be able to summon a bit of Aether. Not enough for a real spell, but maybe enough to make it flicker in your hands.

I exhaled; magic was. Real. Grace started up again.

"Most people are able to use some magic, but it takes a very long time to be able to use attack magic. Because of that most people just know basic spells for living. Mages are quite rare in alliances. Most of the time, a mage, or someone who has high magical potential, has an affinity with one of the four major elements. Very rarely has an affinity to more than one..."

Grace stumbled on a tree stump and fell face-first to the ground, her foot had caught itself over a maniacal tree root. She shot up, her face bright red.

"Nice one, Grace! Glad to see you're still clumsy as ever," Someone chirped in from the back of the group. The laughing quickly died out as she shot her ember eyes towards them.

"Who said that? What a bunch of cowardly men, you can't even face me," She yelled back, waving her arms rapidly, "Anyways," She turned back to us while brushing herself off. "I can test your affinities when we reach the town," Grace beamed.

I couldn’t help but smile at how easily she laughed off embarrassing herself. Our eyes caught each other, and she quickly averted hers.

Reality quickly set back in when I looked at Drew. He had been completely silent the entire journey since leaving the battlefield. I understood how he felt. My heart ached. The kind of ache that I know will never recede. I also had no energy; it was as though my body had been completely drained of power.

Grace had given us some hard bread and beef jerky looking stuff earlier, Drew and I quietly nibbled on it as we walked. Grace sensed that talking was done and stopped to wait for her companions. I could hear threats of her blowing someone's face off with a fireball and the sound of laughter as they walked. I clasped my hand around my only other friend's shoulder, attempting my best to fake strength.

"Are you going to be okay?"

He turned his eyes towards me, peering into my heart, and my facade dropped immediately.

"It was a mistake coming here, Leo. I get your sister is in trouble, but we could've been fine back home, just the three of us."

I couldn't believe I was hearing the words that were coming out of his mouth. Regardless of my sister, we were practically dragged here.

"Drew, how could you say that? I spoke, "Even if we didn't want to be here, there was no way we could have gotten away from the vortex. Did you forget all of that?"

"No, I didn't. I'm sorry Leo, forget I said anything," Drew scoffed. What was wrong with him?

"Leo, Drew," Grace ran up to match our pace, smiling. "Welcome to Veridiem.”

While I mourned the loss of one of my two best friends, I looked around and knew that my journey was far from over. I had to find my way back home, and to do that we needed to explore this world and find the bastard that brought us here.