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Kept Silver-Eiddoel's Ending
This scene starts after Estora appears in the Blackveil Camp. I didn't want to put the entire thing in there, when you had already read it. Hope you guys enjoy...I just couldn't let Eiddoel die. I liked him too much!
Mornhavon strode through the chaos, reveling in the death and destruction. Finally, he spied his prize. His wraith had done as he had bid, and she was now fighting alone, her husband and guardians not even realizing the danger she was in.
Karigan glanced up, feeling the dank sense that came with Mornhavon's presence. “He is here!” She shouted, shoving her sword into the groundmite in front of her, and yanking it back out.
“Galadheon,” Mornhavon bowed mockingly. “We have unfinished business, you and I.”
The Green Rider kept her guard up, following the possessed Eletian's movements.
“Not speaking to me? Why? We have so much we could say.” Mornhavon clucked his tongue. “There is the subject of your King, your Husband, and of course, your babe.”
Karigan stepped back, her face ashen, her sword still at ready. “You will not survive this night.”
Mornhavon tilted his head. “Odd, I was thinking the same about you,” he hissed, an obsidian sword materializing in his hands. He launched himself forward, and their blades met in a shower of sparks.
Karigan grunted, digging her feet into the mossy cobblestones. She spun away, slicing her sword through the air, meeting Mornhavon's blade again and again. She was tiring quickly, and with the babe, she could not move that quickly. She faltered, and Mornhavon scored a blow against her arm, causing her to fall to her knees, crying out in pain.
Suddenly Mornhavon's gaze grew wide, and he froze. Karigan stepped back, seeing her King behind the possessed Elt, completing an arc with his sword.
The Eletian that Mornhavon had been controlling fell to the ground, minus his head. Zachary stood over him, triumphant, thinking he had won. He had heard Karigan screamed and his heart had stopped. He attacked without thinking. Zachary turned, to be confronted by the shadow of Mornhavon. He had escaped the Eletian before he could be trapped in his death.
"You are mine, Sarcoridian King," Mornhavon spoke, his apparition looming over Zachary.
The King stepped back, his sword at ready, and he hacked feebly at the incorporeal form.
"NO!" Karigan screamed violently. The Alluvium had promised! If she married Eiddoel she would prevent Zachary's possession. They promised! Groundmites seemingly appeared from nowhere, advancing on her.
She wrenched herself from her knees, violently striking out with her sword in an attempt to get to Zachary. The groundmites increased their attacks, falling by large numbers at the combined strength of the Riders and Eletian forces. Still Karigan fought for ground.
"I will make you an Emperor," the sibilant voice hissed, enveloping Zachary in his clutches.
"Karigan!" Zachary screamed out, his eyes finding her in the chaos.
"Zachary!" Karigan slew her last foe, stumbling towards the prone form of her liege.
"Karigan?" Zachary coughed.
She reached him, grabbing his shoulders. "You have to fight him, you have to,"
The blast of magic knocked her back several feet and she groaned.
"You are very gullible Galadheon," Mornhavon-Zachary rose to his feet smoothly with an unkind smirk foreign to the monarch's face.
Karigan winced. She glanced around, there were groundmites at her back, keeping her fellow soldiers from reaching her and dimly she could hear Eiddoel shouting her name.
"Leave him Mornhavon," she demanded, readying her saber.
"You are not in a position to be making demands, your monarch has no means to expel me, and I'm not like that weakling Shawdell, I have not tied myself to him magically. The only way I leave this body is if it is cold."
Karigan choked on her emotions, wanting to break down. "What do you want?"
Mornhavon-Zachary barked a laugh, circling her. "What do I want? I want Sacoridia, I want the babe you carry, I want you."
Karigan turned with him, keeping her saber between them. His words caused her to shiver.
"So many memories this King has. So many...fantasies," Mornhavon, for Karigan could not consider this thing to be Zachary, savored the word, his eyes predatory.
"Shut up," Karigan hissed.
"Come come, Rider, aren't you the least bit curious? Do you know that the King used to 'entertain' himself nightly to the thought of your lithe body? To the idea of a different kind of 'sword play'?"
Karigan felt sick to her stomach. "What do you want, Alessandros?" She asked, calling upon Hadriax's memories.
Mornhavon stiffened. "Do not call me that!"
"Why? It is your name, the name by which my forebear called you, isn't it? I remember, Alessandros. I carry Hadriax's memory within me as if they were my own," Karigan threatened. Perhaps if she could imbalance him, she might find something to expel this demon. She called her magic forth, creating an illusion of Hadriax standing before him.
"Be silent! Hadriax is long dead! Galadheon! Betrayer! He left me! You have no right to invoke him!" Mornhavon spat.
"Do I not? Do you remember, Alessandros the days of our youth? When we would play ball, tossing them into the fountains of the Palace courtyard, just for an excuse to wade into them, despite the threats of our nurse? You were once my best friend, happy with the mission of subduing Sarcoridia. You became crazed in your desire for etherea, for your father to finally accept you. Do you not understand, Alessandros? You never needed it! You were a good man, kind and fair to the people of Arcosia; they would have never rejected you. Neither would I have, but you became a harbinger of death, and I could not let you destroy this land then, and neither will I allow you to now."
"Please," Karigan pleaded, hoping to reach the last vestiges of humanity that the Hadriax portion of her believed was still there, "please pass on, join me in the next world. Let me be with the friend that I knew and loved well."
For a moment the world seemed to slow as Mornhavon paused, a vulnerable look on his stolen face.
"Please," Karigan whispered.
"Galadheon!" Mornhavon the Black hissed, waving his arm.
Karigan cried out as the glamour was ripped from her.
"Hadriax is dead! He is a betrayer, and you prey upon my memories of my friend! I loved you well, Hadriax," the spirit transformed Zachary's face, hideous with hate. "I loved you well, though now I can love you again, can't I Galadheon? You will serve me, as Hadriax did, though perhaps, a little more personally?"
The leer on his face made Karigan sick. "Never," she vowed.
"I," Mornhavon paused, surprise registering on his face. He jerked his hands, moving slowly, stiffly, as if he was having a hard time controlling his limbs.
Karigan's eyes widened as she realized that Zachary was fighting him.
"It seems that your King," Mornhavon's voice was a strangled echo of his former strength, "does not like what I have planned for you."
"Fight him, my lord, fight him!" Karigan encouraged. She stepped up, bring her saber into a tense fighting formation. Her steel clanged against her lieges. She began alternating magical and physical attacks, hoping to distract the spirit further.
It seemed to be working, as some of her blows met their mark.
"Forgive me, Zachary," Karigan said, trying to prevent her saber from doing any real damage.
Mornhavon, further driven back by Karigan's attack, lept forward, impaling his borrowed body on the Green Rider's sword. "No!" Karigan screamed.
Blood dripping from his mouth, Zachary smiled. He felt his body return to him at last. "It is well, Karigan," he said in his own voice.
"No, no, no!" Karigan pulled her saber back, letting it fall to the ground. She caught Zachary's frame as the ghostly form of Mornhavon swirled about them in anger.
"I remembered," Zachary coughed, more blood staining his chest, "I remembered what you and Lil did to deposit him in the future. He could not survive in a dying body."
"We will find a mender Zachary, you will survive this!" Karigan promised, looking around through tear-filled eyes for help.
"Nay, fight him, now. He is weak, it is your only chance!" Zachary pulled on his waning strength, shoving her away from him.
Karigan looked up, the form of Mornhavon hung heavy in the air.
There are more bodies for me to take, shall I pick your husband, Betrayer? Your Weapon friend, Fastion? Or one of your precious tienden?
Karigan was unsure, how was she supposed to stop him. Active for the first time since the battle, the babe in her belly gave a kick and the Green Rider felt her inside's tear. Her legs were wet with fluid. Not now, she thought. Karigan touched her stomach lightly. Knowledge filled her and she turned around, heading for a large pool, a statue of a woman with outstretched hands in her center.
Running Galadheon? Your king lays dying, and your babe is coming, who will save you now?
Karigan sank into the murky water, words bubbling from her lips as the pain increased in her abdomen. The babe twisted and kicked in her womb, causing her to choke. As she struggled with the words of the spell, her labor pains increased. At last, the spell wound its way around her, reaching a climax and she screamed out the last of the words.
"I release you!"
The pressure abated in her womb and through the darkness clouding her vision Karigan saw a pure white light emerge from her abdomen and rise to the outstretched hands of the statue above her. It pulsed, once, twice, finally illuminating all of Blackveil. The last thing Karigan heard before she succumbed to darkness was the unearthly scream of Alessandros del Mornhavon.
Strong arms encircled Karigan, pulling her from the water of the pool.
"Eiddoel?" Karigan croaked, her throat scratched and sore. She could not open her eyes and everything she was ached.
"Yes," her husband comforted, rising with her in his arms.
Finally, she could crack her eyes. The light pulsed above her, a beacon of hope, her child. Eiddoel kissed her forehead, lending her some of his strength, and she nodded in thanks. Eyes widening, she lifted her head.
"Zachary!" She cried, struggling in Eiddoel's arms.
"Be still, beloved," something in his voice caused Karigan to cease, and she looked into his eyes.
"No," she echoed, her heart breaking.
"I'm sorry," Eiddoel murmured, setting her to her feet gently.
Karigan swayed, the body of the man she loved lay prostrate beneath a black shroud, stone faced Weapon's around him. She took a step, and then another, each step accompanied by a course of tears. Fastion, his own face dark and wet, caught her before she fell.
"He died well, Highness," the Weapon said, addressing her formally.
"He died by my hand," Karigan choked out, "my life is forfeit," she sobbed. It would be well, as she did not think she could live with this pain.
"No, my lady, for he died that we all might live, that Sarcoridia would survive. You and he have sacrificed enough for our home," Fastion looked up at the pulsing light.
Karigan's hands unconsciously caressed her too flat stomach, the tears renewing their pathway down her face. She turned and buried herself in the strong, comforting arms of Eiddoel.
"Look around us, Beloved, look at what we have wrought. Look what our child, the Light of Laurelyn, has accomplished," Eiddoel spoke into her ear.
Karigan raised her head and glanced around through her tears. Argenthyne shone as if it had never been touched by Alessandros’ evil. The moonstones of the Avenue of Light shone with a brilliance that hurt her eyes, and above them, Blackveil's sky was bluer than any Eletian's eyes.
"All has been restored, and Mornhavon is defeated," Eiddoel said, his arms tightening around her.
Karigan nodded, falling against his shoulder in tears again. At such a cost. She thought.
"You have done well, Your Majesty," Karigan curtsied low before the recently crowned King Amberhill. He grimaced, adjusting his collar.
"Thank you, Highness," he said, motioning for her to be seated. "You are well?" he inquired politely.
"Yes, many of the Elt have returned to Argenthyne, and it is thriving. The D'yer Wall, as you might have known, with the fall of Mornhavon, adapted itself, its barriers being transformed into gates, so that many might travel through."
"Yes, it had been reported, dash it all," Amberhill removed his crown, tossing it to his desk.
Zachary's desk. Karigan thought, a lump rising in her throat, unbidden.
"I would rather we speak as we used to, Karigan," Amberhill said, referring to the time they had met, long ago on a road in the North Woods, when she was still on her first Messenger mission. He had still been playing the part of the Raven Mask then.
A small smile graced the Green Rider's features. "Did we not do that with sword point, Majesty?" she teased.
Amberhill chuckled. "I'm glad you are here; it’s nice to be able to relax. It has been hard, there were so many casualties," his voice dropped off, the names of the dead between them.
Zachary. Laren. Donal. Willis. Ben. Tegan. The countless others that had perished at Mornhavon's whim.
"How are the nobles adjusting?" Karigan asked, her throat tight with restrained emotion.
"There was a fair amount of squabbling. Thank the Gods Zachary had enough foresight to write his will before he went into battle. Though naming me was a surprise."
"Oh?" Karigan asked, her thoughts absorbed with the former monarch.
"He stated that since my nocturnal habits, as he called them, brought me close to the people, and having known, ahem, poverty and strife, that I would be well equipped to handle the stresses of being King," Amberhill sighed, tugging on his tunic.
Karigan laughed, she could imagine Zachary saying those very words. "And Estora, how is she settling in?"
A blush covered the new King's face. It was well known that the King and new Green Rider were well suited to each other. Estora had even agreed to uphold the original marriage contract. "She is doing well, has taken over a lot of Rider duties, assisting Mara, er, Captain Brennyn."
"I'm glad," Karigan said genuinely.
"How fares the Elt city?"
"The city is flourishing, the restoration is almost complete, a lot of works thought to be lost were found hidden in some catacombs. There has been much rejoicing," Karigan smiled, thinking of her new home.
"And you? How are you?" Amberhill pinned her with his knowing stare.
The Green Rider sighed. "I am doing well. It hasn't been easy, but with time, I will be all right."
"You must miss him," the King stated.
Karigan's eyes darted around the familiar study and her heart ached. Even now, after so many months, and a change in decor, she could still smell Zachary's scent. "I do," she whispered, "but it was not to be," she finished sadly.
Amberhill nodded. "When you wrote requesting an audience, I was intrigued; I didn't think you would ever come back to Sacor City."
Karigan stood. "I have a request. So much time has passed, and we were ill prepared for the War with Mornhavon. We as a people have forgotten much of our heritage, our abilities with magic. I want to establish a library. A library made with D'yer stone and craft. I want documentation of all our history, our knowledge, and about magic. It will be written on tablets of stone, so that no fire could ever cause this knowledge to be lost," Karigan took a deep breath, continuing, "it will be a memorial to those whose lives could have been saved, had we remembered our past."
"Yes," Amberhill stood, enthusiasm etched upon his face. "It will be done. The Hillander Library. The Eletian's have agreed to share their knowledge?"
A wry smile graced Karigan's face. "They owe me."
The King laughed. "I suppose they do."
"Majesty," Karigan bowed.
"Karigan?"
She paused on her way out. "I'm sorry for all that you suffered. If there is anything I can ever do, I will."
"Thank you," Karigan bowed again, taking her leave.
"She has changed," Fastion commented, stepping from the shadows.
"For everything that she has been through, how can we expect her not?" Amberhill asked, picking up the golden crown of his office.
Fastion nodded, stepping to a window. Below he could see the Green Rider, now a Green Rider Princess, step out of the castle and into the waiting arms of her husband. Time repaired all wounds, and in time, all things would fade.
FIN
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