Chapter 472: Chapter 469: Hopelessness

Chapter 469: Hopelessness

 

  21 years ago… deep in the Rupture Mountains…

 

  Mother Sabina was wrong and right about Mt. Pale-Stone. It was true, the place was devoid of any fauna, though there was an abundance of flora decorating the landscape. Various kinds of flowers and trees Aurelia had never seen grew all around the mountain. She was stunned by the vivid plants, trees larger than any she had seen, and flowers growing in large pristine patches. It felt as if she was waltzing through a dream and she wasn’t the only one who shared the sentiment. 

  The stoic hunters and the stringent priestesses all had glimmers of wonder in their eyes as they trekked up the mountain. Virella picked up whatever flowers she could get her hands on and soon enough the others followed suit. 

  Most of the 5-day trip had felt slow, each day Aurelia pushed the group to keep going with little rest. There was little time to waste, her mother’s vitality was weakening by the day. The sooner she could bring the selevine flowers to Ivory the better. Yet as she entered Pale-Stone she felt almost as if she had entered a different realm.

  Mother Sabina was wrong about the air, it was neither cold nor unnerving. It was clean and every breath felt as if her tired muscles were invigorated with newfound strength.

  As they reached the top of the mountain the trees gave way to moss-covered crags and beds of colorful wildflowers.

  “This has got to be it…” Aurelia muttered to herself. She glanced back at the group climbing behind her. “We’ve arrived.”

  Virella’s eyes lit up with hope. “Does that mean—!?”

  Aurelia smiled wryly, “Yes, we can take a break.”

  “Oh, thank the Mother Moon!” Virella gasped. She unceremoniously dropped her knapsack and rolled on the lush grass.

  The other priests and hunters did the same, though the hunters kept vigilant watch around the perimeter, searching for any potential threats.

  “Vi, come with me,” Aurelia called out without looking back.

  Virella blinked in shock. “Wha–? But you said—!”

  “Not you, Vi. Come on, I need your help.”

  She groaned but stood up to her feet. “~I’ll be right there.~”

  The air was crisp at the top of the mountain, not like the biting cold winds of Moon Fang. Virella made a mental note to herself to come back here whenever she needed a break from Evenfall’s bitter cold.

  “Where is it…? I can’t find it!” Aurelia muttered with rising anxiety.

  “Can’t find any selevine flowers?” Virella smirked.

  Aurelia glared at her. “You’re the Red-Green mage, you tell me?”

  “Aren’t they right over there?” Virella pointed to a large patch of pale silver-blue flowers.

  Aurelia rushed over, dropped to her knees, and leaned close to inspect the flowers in question. “...This is… this is it!” she said excitedly.

  Virella grinned proudly, “And that’s why I’m the best acolyte alive!”

  “Yeah, yeah, now help me get these in some jars.” Aurelia pulled out the small ceramic pots from her knapsack. 

  Virella knelt next to her and together they carefully plucked the flowers and placed them in the jars.

  “How many of these were we supposed to get?” Virella asked.

  “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Ivory said in order for my mother to fully recover the treatment would take several elixirs spread out through a six-month process.”

  “Sounds complicated,” she said sympathetically.

  “So long as it works I don’t care what it takes.”

  “In that case, we might as well grab as many flowers as we can.”

  “Mm,” Aurelia nodded. She channeled Green and waved her hand across the air.

  The soil rose from beneath them and half of the selevine flower patch broke off from the mountain and floated several paces above them.

  Virella crossed her arms. “Show off.”

  Aurelia cracked a small smile. “I’ll bring this over to the others and have them help us collect them. The sooner we finish collecting them the sooner we can get back home.”

  “Aw, can’t we stay just a little longer? The girls are tired from climbing up the mountain, we’re not used to this kind of travel like the hunters. The least we could do is have lunch first.”

  “Fine,” she relented. It was true they had all worked to get here and it was all for her. The least she could do was give them a break. “We’ll have lunch and stay a while, then we’ll leave.”

  “~Yay!~” Virella did a little dance of triumph.

  Aurelia laughed warmly at the sight. The stress she had been holding onto the last few months slowly slipped off her. She realized had been so worried about her mother’s health that she hadn’t had a moment to just relax. The duo walked back to the others and Aurelia gently dropped the large chunk of rock and flowers on the ground next to them.

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  The ground beneath their feet began to shake and Virella glanced at her best friend expectantly. “Auri, I think these are enough. I don’t think we need any more flowers.”

  Aurelia glanced around warily. “I thought that was you...”

  “Huh?” Virella blinked. “Wait, then who…?”

  The shaking intensified and the ground beneath them began to slide back in undulating waves. 

  “We’re being ambushed! Defensive positions!” the lead hunter shouted.

  The hunters quickly pushed the acolytes into the center and formed a defensive ring around them.

  Virella glanced at her friend panickedly. “Auri, what’s happening—!?”

  A deep rumble echoed through the mountain as the earth split apart. A hulking mass of pale green hide and bronze scales erupted from the mountainside. A pair of thick arms, each wider than a tree trunk, rose from the earth and clawed its way out. Its scale tail lashed out and ripped apart the landscape, the echoing blast sending boulders and debris flying through the air.

  “Take cover!” Aurelia screamed and formed a quick half-finished ward dome.

  Virella tried to help, but the falling debris ripped into their wards and shattered them. One of the hunters quickly grabbed them both and threw himself over them. Fist-sized chunks of stone crashed into the land, pulverizing several of the goblins, their panicked screams cut off in an instant.

  Aurelia opened her eyes and carefully looked around. Six of her party, 3 hunters, and two acolytes had been ripped apart by the stone shower. Bits of bloody flesh and bone were all that was left. The rest had fared only slightly better. The hunters had used their own bodies as shields to protect the acolytes; all but one had deep gashes and broken limbs.

  The acolytes tried to help them up but the hunters refused. The hunters all looked at each other and shared a grim nod. “Leave us!” “We’ll only slow you down!” “Get out of here!” they cried out.

  Aurelia gritted her teeth. She could taste blood pooling in her mouth from a gash in her inner cheek. She pushed herself to her feet and turned to face the source of the destruction. “Sisters, we are mageborns, we are daughters of the Mother Moon! Stand now!”

  Virella looked at her, trying to comprehend her words through her own shock. “A-Auri, what are you—?”

  “I’ll hold the beast off. Get everyone out of here!”Aurelia yelled.

  As the cloud of dust settled, a massive figure emerged from the wreckage. The acolytes screamed in terror. Aurelia slowly looked up and felt her blood grow cold. The creature was standing on all fours and yet it loomed over 30 meters tall. A long snout sniffed the air and its amber eyes blinked with inner eyelids in recognition. Its head slowly swerved in the goblins’ direction and its lips pulled back in a deep growl that reverberated in the air.

  “No… no, no, no…!” Virella shook her head and cried.

  The creature of myth had come to life as their nightmare.

  “Behemoth…” Aurelia mumbled, terrified.

  The behemoth scowled and the ground shook as it took a step towards them. Aurelia clenched her fists and channeled all the Blue she could muster. Mana surged into her veins, burning through her body. Electricity crackled around her arms and she hurled bolts of lightning through the air. The lightning splashed off the beast’s scales and hide harmlessly, like small pine needles falling on a bear.

  The behemoth raised its paw and stretched its claws. Aurelia screamed in defiance. Virella tackled Aurelia away as the paw swung down. The ground exploded in waves of energy and the two women flew back, tumbling down the mountain top, an avalanche of rocks behind them. Virella shouted in fear and channeled Green; small bits of rock formed around them in a small shell. Virella hugged Aurelia close and clenched her eyes shut, focusing all her will on holding the tiny stone defense.

  The thunder of the avalanche settled down and Aurelia spotted a small shaft of light peeking through a crack in the stone shell. 

  “Vi…” she whispered.

  Virella’s whole body shook incessantly with exertion and suddenly went slack. The shell crumbled apart around them.

  “Vi…!” Aurelia shook her friend, but Virella was unresponsive. Aurelia sat up and looked around anxiously, searching for any other survivors, but all she saw was dirt and rubble across the mountainside. Gone were the flowers and trees, the beauty of the mountain. All that was left was the behemoth.

  The massive beast’s eyes skimmed through the rubble and spotted the small green figures hiding underneath the wreckage. Its spiked tail rose behind it ready to strike.

  Aurelia trembled in fear. Pain stretched across her body from dozens of small cuts. Blood dripped from her forehead and obscured her vision. She looked up at the behemoth and felt her legs go numb. A deep endless feeling welled up inside her. Hopelessness choked the breath from her lungs. This was death and it had come for her.

  A small flicker at the edge of her vision caught her attention. She turned and furrowed her brow in confusion. Small bits of stone were floating in front of her. At first, they were pebbles, but soon there were small rocks, tufts of grass, shredded flowers, shattered chunks of trees, and even the droplets of blood on her skin. The world rose into the air and began to swirl all around… her?

  A soft touch landed on her shoulder.

  “Are you alright, Auri?”

  She slowly turned around, half-dazed, and frowned in disbelief. “Ivory…?”

  The pale youth’s usual playful smile was gone. His mirthful eyes were cold with a harsh inner light. His lilac irises had expanded, covering all the sclera but the edges. A faint silvery glow seemed to radiate from his body.

  The behemoth narrowed its amber eyes and lowered its tail at the sight. Its mouth slowly opened and a deep gravelly voice rumbled outwards. “SON OF ALEIRUNE… WHY…?”

  Ivory looked up with a calm gaze. “Hello, old one.”

  As he spoke, Aurelia felt her consciousness grow hazy. She fell over. Her vision dimmed and she knew no more.

 

 

 

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