Elara's funeral will be in two weeks...
Elara's funeral will be in two weeks...
Elara's funeral will be in two weeks...
The message rang without interruption in Darian Vaughan's grieving head. It twisted his brain and thoughts with no remorse.
A funeral, and in no less than two weeks? How was he to prepare, both mentally and physically? Darian had never been to a formal gathering. He didn't know how to act, whom to speak to, or what even to wear.
Extending a quavering hand out, he pushed open the large glass twin doors and was met with a crowd of visitors. From the corner of his eye, multiple military personnel were trying to block the doors. They shouted at the citizens to stop but frowned once faced with the realization that no one would listen.
"Looks like the crowd isn't going to stop anytime soon." An older lady remarked as she walked past Darian, whose shoulders twitched at the sound of her voice. It wasn't an evil voice. Instead, it was calm and serene, like an ocean full of wisdom and magic.
"Y-Yeah…" Darian managed. The lady, who had soft grey hair and big blue eyes, shifted her gaze toward the silent Emory. Using her hand to cover her gaping mouth, she commented.
"Oh my. What an adorable baby!"
She wore a light blue cardigan, matching pants, and had a pearl necklace hanging just below her chin.
Emory's crimson eyes surveyed the woman as she bent down to rub his cheek. After concluding with the admiration of Emory, she looked up at Darian and asked. "Are you also looking to leave?" Darian nodded his head.
"I see. Well, the exit is full. We won't be able to go home anytime soon." A soft sulk left her lips. Subsequently, a cheeky grin surfaced. "That means we can leave through other methods."
Darian's interest was piqued, and he momentarily forgot his previous mourning. Two eyes widened as he reciprocated. "Other methods?"
The lady smiled, "Yes, my dear. The door isn't the only way to leave the hospital." She spread her arms out, the light blue cardigan stretched alongside her movements. "Hold very still," she ordered Darian.
A faint, sky-blue aura began circulating the old lady; her body started to glow an oceanic hue. "E-Excuse me…" Darian's eyes wavered as his mouth twitched. The lady replied calmly, "I said hold still."
The ground beneath them liquefied, as if it became a pool of water. In a second, Darian, Emory, and the old lady fell to the ground and reappeared a block away from the hospital. Not being able to process what just happened, Darian's mouth involuntarily dropped.
There was no pain associated with their mysterious departure. It was just a fuzzy, wet feeling. Looking at his clothes, Darian didn't notice any dampness. Despite wanting to ask a million questions, no man's mind would be functioning properly after the death of their spouse.
The woman relaxed her body and exhaled, "Maybe these powers aren't a curse." Her eyes softened as the tone she used became delicate. Her gaze fixed over at Darian, and she motioned for him to bend down so they could be face-to-face.
She muttered to herself, making sure Darian didn't hear anything. "Now, to do what I came here for."
After noticing her gaze, Darian felt a hand faintly rub his cheek; he looked into the woman's eyes. Smiling, she spoke in a voice that reminded him of Elara. "Are you okay, my child?"
Uncontrollable tears began falling from Darian's eyes and slid down his cheek. Why did a simple question invoke such pain that fast?
His face was turning red, and his mouth quivered. "...No." He choked out. The woman's expression became more relaxed as she kissed him on the side of his face. It was a light kiss filled with motherly-type love.
"The world hasn't been nice to you, has it?" Darian shook his head, tears flung from both sides. She had noticed that he had lost someone dear to him.
"It's okay. It's okay to be sad." She ran her hand softly through his hair. "Just remember to be grateful. You have been blessed with a beautiful baby boy."
Darian nodded.
"You will be a great father, little one. Just remember to pray to the one who blessed you with all this."
Darian muffled a question. "Who?"
The lady's tender depiction eased. "You will know in due time. All I can do is give you an indication." Walking backward, she locked eyes with Darian for the final time. "I realized this far too late, and I hope you—and your child—will not make the same mistake as I."
"Mistake?" Darian was confused.
"I am a villainous being. Someone who took too many innocent lives. Only after my sins were revealed was when I understood life's true meaning. It was hidden in plain sight, yet I simply chose not to care for it. That is, until now."
Then, with a grief-like tone, she whispered the final words of her sudden 'life lesson'.
"All hail the Archon of Authority."
That was the last thing she said to him before descending back into the ground. Emory, for the first time since his birth, cooed for a couple of seconds.
Darian spent the next couple of minutes quietly sobbing in the corner of the street.
. . .
All hail the Archon of Authority.
Darian repeated the sentence that the older lady said to him. Archon…? Authority…? But after several seconds of pondering, he decided to momentarily forget about it.
Despite the old woman's warning him to thank this 'Archon of Authority' figure, the pain of losing Elara was too much on his heart. He didn't have enough space to include another figure to pray to.
I hope you understand. He apologized to the old lady in his mind and moved along home. Maybe in due time I will pray to this Archon, but right now, I won't—I can't.
After leaving the hospital, Darian and his newborn companion embarked on their journey back home. The bumpy road jostled Darian's cheap stroller, tipping it now and then.
''Darian, hold on to the stroller tight''. "Wha-" Elara's voice! Jerking his head left and right, Darian tried to locate where his wife was.
Emptiness.
All that was to be seen were the regular streets of Trila.
"Elara!" Instead of receiving a reply from her, Darian alternatively got questionable looks from passersby who saw him call out to nobody.
Oh yeah... Why couldn't her death process in his mind?
The further they traveled down, the clearer the poverty became. In Trila, poverty and crime were not uncommon characteristics of the capital city. Focusing on the attention left, Darian was met with a couple of children begging on the streets.
They were ragged and wore torn tunics.
Reaching into his pocket, Darian pulled out a five-dinar bill and walked towards the children. The kid's eyes lit up as they stumbled toward him. "S-Sorry, this is all I have." They didn't care and accepted the money with immense gratitude.
It put a smile on Darian's face to see those children elated. They giggled and thanked him with glee. Cheeks tinted with red and eyes beaming in the sun.
Darian would often go on walks with Elara, and whenever they spotted homeless people, she would always give them any form of money. It happened so often that even he, someone who didn't give money often, became accustomed to generosity.
As he continued his journey, he thought to himself, The government should do something about all this homelessness.
While Trila was known for its fleeting fish markets and its complex underground railway, the issue of poverty was a stain in its reputation. Theales, the country as a whole, did not emphasize solving its poverty situation. Often making excuses and/or ignoring protests.
Trila did try, but due to more of the power being in the hands of other authorities and not the High Chancellor and her ministers, it was hard to tackle the issue.
The two powerful kingdoms that neighbored Theales were just as bad. Lebrad and Gliasia, while both boasting incredible knowledge and immense military forces respectively, struggled when dealing with the poverty situation.
While on the topic of the three nations, Gliasia was the kingdom with the worst relationship with Theales. Years of bad blood between the kings and queens meant war could erupt any second.
Then, just three mere days ago, disaster struck Theales. Its crown queen, Empress Thala Selwyn, was brutally assassinated by terrorists who infiltrated the palace. The result was the sole leadership that was left to Emperor Magnus, who immediately suspected Gliasia.
With thick tensions surrounding the mysterious island of Preole Grye, a small piece of land south of the Western Cradle that was taken from Gliasia by Theales, Gliasia had always been thought to wage war on its neighbor.
However, no war had taken place. Instead, Gliasia's monarchy went into shambles. Their former monarch, Emperor Quinton Maxi, was murdered, and a new leader emerged: Edmund Evermoor.
Magnus knew a war with a big kingdom like Gliasia would be a bloodbath, so he stopped his attack. Instead, he sent Theales' Secret Police to sneak into Gliasia and Lebrad. Their job was to collect information about who was behind these deaths and why.
The sudden homicide of the empress hit Theales drastically. The economy tanked, and even the fish markets, which usually boomed, crashed.
Citizens of Theales started pointing fingers at the Elevated—those with special powers—blaming them for the queen's death.
Protests to eradicate the Elevated became rampant. People who once protected this nation during the 4th Era Great War were now targeted.
Fortunately, Magnus surprisingly came to their defense and dismissed any accusations. Murders still became extremely unrestrained in Theales. So severe that it caused the military to take action and deploy inside the country itself.
Weapon shops opened on each block. Every man, woman, and child now had some kind of protection. Who knows if they get attacked next?
Theales has become a kingdom infested with murder.
Darian pushed Emory's stroller past Fisher's Market, which used to be a bustling metropolis. While it was a place infested with scamming and social class divisions, it was still a staple of Theales.
It's all empty... While surveying his surroundings, Darian couldn't help but remark on the significant absence of the public. The wheels on the stroller began spinning once more as they left the area and approached the municipal living precinct, where Darian and Elara lived.
A piercing shriek howled just near the area. Darian's back muscles tensed while his eyes darted to where the sudden sound came from.
Emory, however, stayed as quiet as can be.