Whirlpool's Betrayal, Chapter Ten
Okay, I decided to change Dmitri's name to Dmarius. This chapter is supposed to answer a bunch of questions, but raise some more, which should be answered next chapter. Here goes!
Chapter 10
“No way!” Viranei struggled against the king’s grip. “You can’t be Saro, I held his dead body in my arms. I killed almost everyone I knew to try and avenge him, he’s dead! Dead and gone!” She broke free from his grip and took a few steps backwards. “There’s no way your body could have revived itself and moved to Ailex from esper lands and become king.”
“What!?” The shabbily dressed girl exclaimed in shock. The remaining king looked to her then back at the guards.
“Brother,” he called out to the king who called himself Saro, “I think we should dismiss everyone from the room except our inner guard, ourselves, and these travelers.”
“Yes, you’re right brother,” he didn’t take his eyes off Viranei as he spoke.
“Guards, you heard my brother. Those not in the inner guard please escort the messengers from the orphanage to the audience chamber.”
“Wait!” The girl called out. “You can’t do this! We’ve had to cut down to two meals a day, we can barely take any more children in and we’ve waited months for an audience!”
“Forgive me,” Saro turned to look at the girl, “but these travelers are the ones who may end this war. Once the war is over there will be more funds left over for your orphanage.” The girl glared at him, but turned to leave. After they left and the doors were closed behind them, Saro walked back up to Viranei and took her hand.
“Vi, how can I convince you that it’s me?”
“I’m sorry.” Viranei looked down. “I would love to believe it’s really him. But I can’t. If I’m wrong, and this is a trap, I won’t be the only one suffering for it. I have to be cynical, for the companions I’ve sworn to protect.”
“I understand.” He let go of her hand and started to turn to walk away, before stopping and turning back. “There was a bridge.”
“Huh? What’s he talking about? Viranei?” Jani asked, but Viranei remained silent. Dmarius saw a glimmer of something (was it hope?) pass through her eyes. Saro spotted it too, and smiled as he continued.
“Our teacher used to take us up to the mountains to practice our explosive magic together. It was deserted there, just perfect for our explosions. On the way, there was a bridge. Right before it, there was a wooden archway with an emblem of a four leafed clover. The bridge was all old, and it didn’t have any railings or anything. You hated that bridge. Whenever we’d cross it, you’d have to have both me and our teacher right next to you. Teacher thought you needed us both for emotional support, and that’s what you wanted her to think. But I knew, I knew that you wanted us close so that you could grab both of us if the bridge gave out. Since teacher’s demon form could fly, you’d be able to save me. You weren’t worried about what would happen to you if the bridge gave out, just about me.”
“Saro,” Viranei’s voice shook as she spoke. “You have no idea how much I want to believe that you’re Saro. But it’s too impossible. How would you be able to get to Ailex?”
“Darim took me. He-“
“Wait, what!?” Dmarius exclaimed. Darim was the third knight of the Knights of Nine. “Viranei, you and your friend know Darim?”
“How would you know him, Dmarius?” Viranei asked.
“I’m the ninth knight of the Knights of Nine, they’re the ones who sent me on my mission.”
“That’s impossible!” Viranei’s eyes were wide with shock as she spoke. “I’m the ninth knight of the Knights of Nine, and they’re all dead! They died five years ago.” There was a brief moment of silence as Saro, Dmarius, and Viranei all looked at each other. Everyone else stood back, watching things unfold.
“I think,” Dmarius spoke up, “the three of us should all tell their stories about what happened five years ago, when Saro and the Knights supposedly died but I joined the Knights of Nine.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Saro nodded. “But everyone in this room is going to be pulled into the conflict between human and esper. Nothing said here can be shared unless we all agree it is best. Is everyone willing to take that step?” As Saro looked around, everyone nodded at him. “Very well,” he said as he turned to Dmarius, “Would you mind going first?”
“Of course not.” He sighed and pulled his memories to the forefront of his mind. “I’m not sure if you know Saro- I’m going to call you Saro, just to make things easier, even if you aren’t him.” He said quickly as he spotted Viranei about to protest. “Like I said, you probably don’t know, but Ren is my cousin. If the rumors are true and the rest of the royal family is dead, I would be heir to the throne if Ren dies. However, that point is moot since Resopmo took over as leader. My father was the one who assassinated the previous esper king. He was executed and my mother and I were exiled. I was only a baby at the time.
“Like every esper child, I was sent away to school. I was passable at fighting, but I knew I wouldn’t have the mettle to take a life. I had a friend who was the same way. Her name was Kira, and she was also from the royal family, although she didn’t know about my background. We trained together, but we knew the both of us would die.” Dmarius coughed as the memories flooded back to him. He didn’t want to cry, but tears were welling up in his eyes as he spoke.
“When the last one in our class turned fifteen, Kira used her family’s influence to have us paired up to fight to the death. She pretended our friendship was a joke, that I meant nothing to her, and that the Kira I knew closer than a sister was all a lie. I believed her, and I mortally wounded her. As she lay dying, she told me that her behavior during the fight was just an act, and that she loved me beyond what she could express with words. She gave her life, allowed me to hate her and kill her, so I could survive.” He couldn’t help himself anymore, and brushed away the tears forming in his eyes. “If she hadn’t saved me, I would have died. I’m telling you this so you all understand how dire my situation was. My mother, Xiro was her name, knew nothing of Kira’s plan. She was working on her own way to save me, the last bit of family she had left. She went to the Knights of Nine for help. The first knight of the Knights of Nine, Miina, was very close to my mother. Miina later told me they had a plan to save me, but it went awry. I’m not sure how, but my mother ended up sacrificing her life to save some one else. That must have been you, Viranei”
“Yes, that makes sense.” Viranei nodded. Dmarius sighed and continued on.
“The Knights of Nine told me that their fifth knight had recently passed away and their ninth knight had gone missing. Miina trusted me because of my mother Xiro, and allowed me to join as the ninth knight. I’d been working for them for around five years when they sent me on a mission to Ailex to deliver Lyon a message, which I still have for you, by the way,” he said with a nod towards Lyon. “About two weeks ago, I met up with Jani, Viranei, and the others. And now here I am.” He spread his arms wide as he finished.
“I’ll go next then.” Viranei started as Saro nodded at her. “As you all probably know, I had a friend named Saro. Like Dmarius and Kira, he would have never been able to take a life. My teacher was called Khally, and she was Miina’s youngest sister. She noticed I was unusually skilled at combat, and asked Miina to personally train me. Miina and I grew close, and she trusted me enough to share with me her dream of ending the war. I wanted to join her, to help her create a world where Saro could live in happiness. So when the Knights of Nine were formed, when I was twelve years old, I joined as the ninth knight. They wouldn’t let me do anything too dangerous. If I killed, I would have completed the transformation into an esper, which would have aroused suspicions.
“I should probably mention now that Khally was researching magic using the soul as an energy source. She couldn’t find willing test subjects, so one night, and this was before I was born mind you, she experimented on Miina while she was asleep. She sealed Miina’s soul so she could never use magic again. The king was so impressed he allowed her to use condemned prisoners and freshly killed bodies of those who failed to become espers as research subjects She discovered that using objects properly charged with healing energy, she could transfer the soul’s energy from a fairly healthy person to a dying person, saving the dying one but killing the healthy one. Miina’s other younger sister, Raja, the fourth knight, found out and let the rest of us know.”
“When I was almost fifteen, I was sent on my first major mission with the Knights of Nine. Like this supposed Saro somehow knows,” Saro winced at her words, but Viranei didn’t seem to notice, “I am skilled with using pyromancy and aeromancy to cause explosions. Gilix, the seventh knight, had received information that two crystals that could block esper auras were being transported nearby. In order to get into human lands, to be able to negotiate peacefully with the humans, we needed those crystals. I was supposed to explode an abandoned building as a distraction, so some of the guards protecting the crystals would come to investigate. Unfortunately, once I detonated the explosions, I discovered some one trapped inside the building. I went in to rescue them, and when we were both safe, guards arrived to question us. The man I rescued told the guards that he had seen me explode the building, so they tried to arrest me. I was scared, so I fought back. The fifth and sixth knights, Pertrias and Mari, stole the crystals and went to see how I was doing. The guards saw them with the crystals in their hands and attacked. They were able to kill the guards, but Pertrias and Mari were wounded badly.
“When we arrived back, our healer, the second knight, Kurin, did what he could. He said Mari would fully recover, but Pertrias was so injured he would have to be bedridden his entire life. The Knights of Nine knew of my plight with Saro, and Pertrias decided he would use his soul in the soul transfer to save him. I told Saro, and though he was reluctant, he agreed. The next day was our last day of class before I turned fifteen. As I was the last one to turn fifteen, we were to fight to the death the next day. There were no classes until late evening. I spent the day searching for Saro, to spend time with him in case our plan failed. I couldn’t find him in any of our usual spots, but when I arrived at the training grounds, I found Saro’s dead body. Like I told the others before, I flew into a rage and killed my entire class except Ren and his friend Myshu. My teacher found out and tried to kill me, but I mortally wounded her instead. Before she died, she used her own soul’s power to crush my lungs. I was slowly suffocating, and was just about to pass out, when I saw Ren standing over me, holding one of the objects Kurin prepared for the soul transfer. I don’t know if I lost consciousness or died or what, but there was this blinding light and I saw a woman with short black hair wearing a white dress. She looked confused, and told me she was going to use the soul transfer to save her son, not some girl she’d never seen before. She realized she had no choice but to transfer her soul’s energy into me now, but made me promise to protect her son if I ever found him. She told me he was tall with black hair and one blue and one green eye.
“After that, I woke up. It was dark, and there were dead bodies all around me. Breathing was also a lot harder, it still is for me today, a nice parting gift from Khally. I transformed for the first time and discovered my esper form had wings. I decided I would kill Ren, figuring he had to be behind Saro’s death and there was no way I would find the woman’s son. I succeeded in breaking into the castle but was captured before I could hurt Ren. Ren’s older brother, Breeze, decided to pardon me and take me under his wing. He was the one who informed me that the Knights of Nine were found and executed. I began working with him to dethrone his brother Laurd and end the war. We moved into human lands and met my companions you see here, with the exception of these two,” she pointed at Jani and Dmarius. “About a year ago, we succeeded, but Breeze was killed. We were stranded without information from esper lands until a couple weeks ago, when I found Dmarius. He matched the description the woman gave me five years ago, so I figured it was time for me to fulfill my debt and protect him from harm on his journey. That is all.” Her eyes darted around the room at each person, seemingly asking them if they had any questions.
“I see.” Saro said. “So now it’s up to me to tie everything together. I grew up with Viranei, and in my training I grew skilled at barrier magic, healing magic, and fighting with a short sword. However, my classmates all surpassed me in combat. There was no way I’d be able to kill them. When Viranei told me Pertrias was willing to give his soul in the transfer, I decided to accept, since it was my only chance at life. The day before the fights were to take place, I was headed to school when Darim, the third knight, stopped me. He explained there was going to be a change in the guard that day where the bodies were brought out. Darim further explained to me that Miina discovered from Khally’s notes that a body would appear dead for several hours after the soul transfer. He would bring my seemingly dead body just out of esper lands, where the bodies of those who failed to become espers and had no family were dumped. Since the guards would be busy with their switch, we had a better chance of them not noticing Darim, as an unauthorized person, bringing a body. We had to act quickly, performing the transfer now and leaving my body while Darim informed the rest of the knights he was leaving. I mortally wounded myself with my short sword and Darim performed the transfer. Like you said Viranei, there was a bright flash of light and I felt Pertrias’ presence, even though I had only met him a couple times. He wished me luck and faded away. When I woke up, Darim had carried me past the dumping grounds for bodies and we were almost to human lands. Darim had borrowed one of the crystals from the knights to block his aura, and my aura wasn’t demonic since I hadn’t killed another. We made our way to Ailex and somehow, I don’t know how he did it, but Darim was able to get an audience with Lyon and his advisors. That’s when we found out that Lyon and I looked almost exactly the same, like twin brothers. Darim let Lyon know about the Knights of Nine, and their mission to stop the war. Lyon and his advisors decided they would work with us in an effort to bring peace. It was decided that I would stay and become Lyon’s body double, and Darim would return to the esper lands to let the rest of the knights know that the humans were working towards peace. I’ve stayed here ever since, working to promote peace between humans and espers. Darim came to visit me once about three years ago, and he informed me that you, Viranei, had run off and were nowhere to be found. I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never see you again, when a messenger bearing the seal of Mius came to warn us about a demon attack. The description of one of the demons matched you exactly. After Lyon and I debated the best course of action, we decided to order the guards to bring you right to us. And here you are!” He finished, smiling at Viranei. “I’ve been waiting so long for news about you. Now are you convinced I’m Saro?”
“I can’t.” Viranei shook her head. “I really want to, and your story makes sense, but I just can’t get rid of the doubt I’m holding. I wish I could believe, I really do. I’m sorry.”
“I see.” Saro sighed and looked down. “If there’s anything I can do to make you believe-”
“There isn’t, at least I don’t think there is, I’m sorry.” Viranei looked truly sorry. Dmarius tried to think of something, anything, to get their minds off Saro’s identity.
“Um, guys,” he said sheepishly, “we should probably open the message now.”
“He’s right.” Lyon spoke up and walked over to the group. “Dmarius, your name was? Could you hand me the message? I think you’ve all figured out by now that I am Lyon.”
“Of course.” Dmarius pulled out the message and handed it to the monarch who took a moment to look at the seal.
“Hmm, the Knights of Nine have used this seal before. It seems legitimate.” Lyon mused as he ripped the letter open. “Wow, this handwriting is impossible to read. Here goes. Dear Lyon, if, by chance, you’re the one reading this letter, please hand it to Saro. Well, okay then.” He took a few steps towards Saro and handed him the letter. “Here, you read it.”
“Okay,” Saro took the letter and stared at it, reading ahead. “Well, this is interesting, here goes.” He cleared his throat and began, “Dear Saro, I’m now assuming it’s you reading this letter. I can’t tell you very much in case the message is intercepted, but I am the first knight.” Dmarius felt his heart beat faster. The writer had to be Miina, his boss and the leader of the Knights of Nine. “I’ll be brief,” Saro continued, “there’s something about you that you don’t know, something that could be dangerous if you fall into the wrong hands. You need to go where you feel safest and wait for us. We are leaving some time after the messenger with this letter to meet you near Aliex. I need you and Lyon to prepare your guards to be on the lookout for us and not kill us on sight, since we only have two crystals and the messenger is using one. The messenger is the one who replaced Vi in our little group after she disappeared. If he’s the one we sent you, he should have one blue and one green eye. Anyone else who isn’t with him, you should immediately distrust. The messenger doesn’t know this, but he’s special in the same way you are. Your number one priority is to not let yourself or the messenger be captured. By whom, I’m not sure yet. Your number two priority is to not let yourselves get killed. Your number three priority is to find Vi. If our theories about her are correct, she’s currently more powerful than she realizes, and will be an important tool in bringing peace to the world. Use whatever resources you can to find her; unless something horrible happened to her she should still have the three identifying objects on her person. Asides from that, we should see you soon. We all still have the unmistakable mark, so we should be easy to find. Best of luck to you, you’ll be needing it.”
“Whoa,” Dmarius took a step back, “what does she mean, ‘special?’ Does she mean my bloodline?”
“That seems unlikely,” Saro started, “my parents were human, and as far as I know, they weren’t anything special. Miina, well, I’m assuming the writer is Miina, she said we were special in the same way. Um, what’s wrong Viranei?” Viranei silently walked towards Saro and held out her hand for the letter. He said nothing and handed it to her. She looked at it for a second, then lowered it and stared at Saro.
“This,” her voice was shaking as she spoke, “this is Miina’s handwriting. She addressed this to Saro. She was expecting Saro to be here.” Before anyone could say a word, she ran to Saro and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him closely. “It’s you! It really is you!”
Chapter 10
“No way!” Viranei struggled against the king’s grip. “You can’t be Saro, I held his dead body in my arms. I killed almost everyone I knew to try and avenge him, he’s dead! Dead and gone!” She broke free from his grip and took a few steps backwards. “There’s no way your body could have revived itself and moved to Ailex from esper lands and become king.”
“What!?” The shabbily dressed girl exclaimed in shock. The remaining king looked to her then back at the guards.
“Brother,” he called out to the king who called himself Saro, “I think we should dismiss everyone from the room except our inner guard, ourselves, and these travelers.”
“Yes, you’re right brother,” he didn’t take his eyes off Viranei as he spoke.
“Guards, you heard my brother. Those not in the inner guard please escort the messengers from the orphanage to the audience chamber.”
“Wait!” The girl called out. “You can’t do this! We’ve had to cut down to two meals a day, we can barely take any more children in and we’ve waited months for an audience!”
“Forgive me,” Saro turned to look at the girl, “but these travelers are the ones who may end this war. Once the war is over there will be more funds left over for your orphanage.” The girl glared at him, but turned to leave. After they left and the doors were closed behind them, Saro walked back up to Viranei and took her hand.
“Vi, how can I convince you that it’s me?”
“I’m sorry.” Viranei looked down. “I would love to believe it’s really him. But I can’t. If I’m wrong, and this is a trap, I won’t be the only one suffering for it. I have to be cynical, for the companions I’ve sworn to protect.”
“I understand.” He let go of her hand and started to turn to walk away, before stopping and turning back. “There was a bridge.”
“Huh? What’s he talking about? Viranei?” Jani asked, but Viranei remained silent. Dmarius saw a glimmer of something (was it hope?) pass through her eyes. Saro spotted it too, and smiled as he continued.
“Our teacher used to take us up to the mountains to practice our explosive magic together. It was deserted there, just perfect for our explosions. On the way, there was a bridge. Right before it, there was a wooden archway with an emblem of a four leafed clover. The bridge was all old, and it didn’t have any railings or anything. You hated that bridge. Whenever we’d cross it, you’d have to have both me and our teacher right next to you. Teacher thought you needed us both for emotional support, and that’s what you wanted her to think. But I knew, I knew that you wanted us close so that you could grab both of us if the bridge gave out. Since teacher’s demon form could fly, you’d be able to save me. You weren’t worried about what would happen to you if the bridge gave out, just about me.”
“Saro,” Viranei’s voice shook as she spoke. “You have no idea how much I want to believe that you’re Saro. But it’s too impossible. How would you be able to get to Ailex?”
“Darim took me. He-“
“Wait, what!?” Dmarius exclaimed. Darim was the third knight of the Knights of Nine. “Viranei, you and your friend know Darim?”
“How would you know him, Dmarius?” Viranei asked.
“I’m the ninth knight of the Knights of Nine, they’re the ones who sent me on my mission.”
“That’s impossible!” Viranei’s eyes were wide with shock as she spoke. “I’m the ninth knight of the Knights of Nine, and they’re all dead! They died five years ago.” There was a brief moment of silence as Saro, Dmarius, and Viranei all looked at each other. Everyone else stood back, watching things unfold.
“I think,” Dmarius spoke up, “the three of us should all tell their stories about what happened five years ago, when Saro and the Knights supposedly died but I joined the Knights of Nine.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Saro nodded. “But everyone in this room is going to be pulled into the conflict between human and esper. Nothing said here can be shared unless we all agree it is best. Is everyone willing to take that step?” As Saro looked around, everyone nodded at him. “Very well,” he said as he turned to Dmarius, “Would you mind going first?”
“Of course not.” He sighed and pulled his memories to the forefront of his mind. “I’m not sure if you know Saro- I’m going to call you Saro, just to make things easier, even if you aren’t him.” He said quickly as he spotted Viranei about to protest. “Like I said, you probably don’t know, but Ren is my cousin. If the rumors are true and the rest of the royal family is dead, I would be heir to the throne if Ren dies. However, that point is moot since Resopmo took over as leader. My father was the one who assassinated the previous esper king. He was executed and my mother and I were exiled. I was only a baby at the time.
“Like every esper child, I was sent away to school. I was passable at fighting, but I knew I wouldn’t have the mettle to take a life. I had a friend who was the same way. Her name was Kira, and she was also from the royal family, although she didn’t know about my background. We trained together, but we knew the both of us would die.” Dmarius coughed as the memories flooded back to him. He didn’t want to cry, but tears were welling up in his eyes as he spoke.
“When the last one in our class turned fifteen, Kira used her family’s influence to have us paired up to fight to the death. She pretended our friendship was a joke, that I meant nothing to her, and that the Kira I knew closer than a sister was all a lie. I believed her, and I mortally wounded her. As she lay dying, she told me that her behavior during the fight was just an act, and that she loved me beyond what she could express with words. She gave her life, allowed me to hate her and kill her, so I could survive.” He couldn’t help himself anymore, and brushed away the tears forming in his eyes. “If she hadn’t saved me, I would have died. I’m telling you this so you all understand how dire my situation was. My mother, Xiro was her name, knew nothing of Kira’s plan. She was working on her own way to save me, the last bit of family she had left. She went to the Knights of Nine for help. The first knight of the Knights of Nine, Miina, was very close to my mother. Miina later told me they had a plan to save me, but it went awry. I’m not sure how, but my mother ended up sacrificing her life to save some one else. That must have been you, Viranei”
“Yes, that makes sense.” Viranei nodded. Dmarius sighed and continued on.
“The Knights of Nine told me that their fifth knight had recently passed away and their ninth knight had gone missing. Miina trusted me because of my mother Xiro, and allowed me to join as the ninth knight. I’d been working for them for around five years when they sent me on a mission to Ailex to deliver Lyon a message, which I still have for you, by the way,” he said with a nod towards Lyon. “About two weeks ago, I met up with Jani, Viranei, and the others. And now here I am.” He spread his arms wide as he finished.
“I’ll go next then.” Viranei started as Saro nodded at her. “As you all probably know, I had a friend named Saro. Like Dmarius and Kira, he would have never been able to take a life. My teacher was called Khally, and she was Miina’s youngest sister. She noticed I was unusually skilled at combat, and asked Miina to personally train me. Miina and I grew close, and she trusted me enough to share with me her dream of ending the war. I wanted to join her, to help her create a world where Saro could live in happiness. So when the Knights of Nine were formed, when I was twelve years old, I joined as the ninth knight. They wouldn’t let me do anything too dangerous. If I killed, I would have completed the transformation into an esper, which would have aroused suspicions.
“I should probably mention now that Khally was researching magic using the soul as an energy source. She couldn’t find willing test subjects, so one night, and this was before I was born mind you, she experimented on Miina while she was asleep. She sealed Miina’s soul so she could never use magic again. The king was so impressed he allowed her to use condemned prisoners and freshly killed bodies of those who failed to become espers as research subjects She discovered that using objects properly charged with healing energy, she could transfer the soul’s energy from a fairly healthy person to a dying person, saving the dying one but killing the healthy one. Miina’s other younger sister, Raja, the fourth knight, found out and let the rest of us know.”
“When I was almost fifteen, I was sent on my first major mission with the Knights of Nine. Like this supposed Saro somehow knows,” Saro winced at her words, but Viranei didn’t seem to notice, “I am skilled with using pyromancy and aeromancy to cause explosions. Gilix, the seventh knight, had received information that two crystals that could block esper auras were being transported nearby. In order to get into human lands, to be able to negotiate peacefully with the humans, we needed those crystals. I was supposed to explode an abandoned building as a distraction, so some of the guards protecting the crystals would come to investigate. Unfortunately, once I detonated the explosions, I discovered some one trapped inside the building. I went in to rescue them, and when we were both safe, guards arrived to question us. The man I rescued told the guards that he had seen me explode the building, so they tried to arrest me. I was scared, so I fought back. The fifth and sixth knights, Pertrias and Mari, stole the crystals and went to see how I was doing. The guards saw them with the crystals in their hands and attacked. They were able to kill the guards, but Pertrias and Mari were wounded badly.
“When we arrived back, our healer, the second knight, Kurin, did what he could. He said Mari would fully recover, but Pertrias was so injured he would have to be bedridden his entire life. The Knights of Nine knew of my plight with Saro, and Pertrias decided he would use his soul in the soul transfer to save him. I told Saro, and though he was reluctant, he agreed. The next day was our last day of class before I turned fifteen. As I was the last one to turn fifteen, we were to fight to the death the next day. There were no classes until late evening. I spent the day searching for Saro, to spend time with him in case our plan failed. I couldn’t find him in any of our usual spots, but when I arrived at the training grounds, I found Saro’s dead body. Like I told the others before, I flew into a rage and killed my entire class except Ren and his friend Myshu. My teacher found out and tried to kill me, but I mortally wounded her instead. Before she died, she used her own soul’s power to crush my lungs. I was slowly suffocating, and was just about to pass out, when I saw Ren standing over me, holding one of the objects Kurin prepared for the soul transfer. I don’t know if I lost consciousness or died or what, but there was this blinding light and I saw a woman with short black hair wearing a white dress. She looked confused, and told me she was going to use the soul transfer to save her son, not some girl she’d never seen before. She realized she had no choice but to transfer her soul’s energy into me now, but made me promise to protect her son if I ever found him. She told me he was tall with black hair and one blue and one green eye.
“After that, I woke up. It was dark, and there were dead bodies all around me. Breathing was also a lot harder, it still is for me today, a nice parting gift from Khally. I transformed for the first time and discovered my esper form had wings. I decided I would kill Ren, figuring he had to be behind Saro’s death and there was no way I would find the woman’s son. I succeeded in breaking into the castle but was captured before I could hurt Ren. Ren’s older brother, Breeze, decided to pardon me and take me under his wing. He was the one who informed me that the Knights of Nine were found and executed. I began working with him to dethrone his brother Laurd and end the war. We moved into human lands and met my companions you see here, with the exception of these two,” she pointed at Jani and Dmarius. “About a year ago, we succeeded, but Breeze was killed. We were stranded without information from esper lands until a couple weeks ago, when I found Dmarius. He matched the description the woman gave me five years ago, so I figured it was time for me to fulfill my debt and protect him from harm on his journey. That is all.” Her eyes darted around the room at each person, seemingly asking them if they had any questions.
“I see.” Saro said. “So now it’s up to me to tie everything together. I grew up with Viranei, and in my training I grew skilled at barrier magic, healing magic, and fighting with a short sword. However, my classmates all surpassed me in combat. There was no way I’d be able to kill them. When Viranei told me Pertrias was willing to give his soul in the transfer, I decided to accept, since it was my only chance at life. The day before the fights were to take place, I was headed to school when Darim, the third knight, stopped me. He explained there was going to be a change in the guard that day where the bodies were brought out. Darim further explained to me that Miina discovered from Khally’s notes that a body would appear dead for several hours after the soul transfer. He would bring my seemingly dead body just out of esper lands, where the bodies of those who failed to become espers and had no family were dumped. Since the guards would be busy with their switch, we had a better chance of them not noticing Darim, as an unauthorized person, bringing a body. We had to act quickly, performing the transfer now and leaving my body while Darim informed the rest of the knights he was leaving. I mortally wounded myself with my short sword and Darim performed the transfer. Like you said Viranei, there was a bright flash of light and I felt Pertrias’ presence, even though I had only met him a couple times. He wished me luck and faded away. When I woke up, Darim had carried me past the dumping grounds for bodies and we were almost to human lands. Darim had borrowed one of the crystals from the knights to block his aura, and my aura wasn’t demonic since I hadn’t killed another. We made our way to Ailex and somehow, I don’t know how he did it, but Darim was able to get an audience with Lyon and his advisors. That’s when we found out that Lyon and I looked almost exactly the same, like twin brothers. Darim let Lyon know about the Knights of Nine, and their mission to stop the war. Lyon and his advisors decided they would work with us in an effort to bring peace. It was decided that I would stay and become Lyon’s body double, and Darim would return to the esper lands to let the rest of the knights know that the humans were working towards peace. I’ve stayed here ever since, working to promote peace between humans and espers. Darim came to visit me once about three years ago, and he informed me that you, Viranei, had run off and were nowhere to be found. I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never see you again, when a messenger bearing the seal of Mius came to warn us about a demon attack. The description of one of the demons matched you exactly. After Lyon and I debated the best course of action, we decided to order the guards to bring you right to us. And here you are!” He finished, smiling at Viranei. “I’ve been waiting so long for news about you. Now are you convinced I’m Saro?”
“I can’t.” Viranei shook her head. “I really want to, and your story makes sense, but I just can’t get rid of the doubt I’m holding. I wish I could believe, I really do. I’m sorry.”
“I see.” Saro sighed and looked down. “If there’s anything I can do to make you believe-”
“There isn’t, at least I don’t think there is, I’m sorry.” Viranei looked truly sorry. Dmarius tried to think of something, anything, to get their minds off Saro’s identity.
“Um, guys,” he said sheepishly, “we should probably open the message now.”
“He’s right.” Lyon spoke up and walked over to the group. “Dmarius, your name was? Could you hand me the message? I think you’ve all figured out by now that I am Lyon.”
“Of course.” Dmarius pulled out the message and handed it to the monarch who took a moment to look at the seal.
“Hmm, the Knights of Nine have used this seal before. It seems legitimate.” Lyon mused as he ripped the letter open. “Wow, this handwriting is impossible to read. Here goes. Dear Lyon, if, by chance, you’re the one reading this letter, please hand it to Saro. Well, okay then.” He took a few steps towards Saro and handed him the letter. “Here, you read it.”
“Okay,” Saro took the letter and stared at it, reading ahead. “Well, this is interesting, here goes.” He cleared his throat and began, “Dear Saro, I’m now assuming it’s you reading this letter. I can’t tell you very much in case the message is intercepted, but I am the first knight.” Dmarius felt his heart beat faster. The writer had to be Miina, his boss and the leader of the Knights of Nine. “I’ll be brief,” Saro continued, “there’s something about you that you don’t know, something that could be dangerous if you fall into the wrong hands. You need to go where you feel safest and wait for us. We are leaving some time after the messenger with this letter to meet you near Aliex. I need you and Lyon to prepare your guards to be on the lookout for us and not kill us on sight, since we only have two crystals and the messenger is using one. The messenger is the one who replaced Vi in our little group after she disappeared. If he’s the one we sent you, he should have one blue and one green eye. Anyone else who isn’t with him, you should immediately distrust. The messenger doesn’t know this, but he’s special in the same way you are. Your number one priority is to not let yourself or the messenger be captured. By whom, I’m not sure yet. Your number two priority is to not let yourselves get killed. Your number three priority is to find Vi. If our theories about her are correct, she’s currently more powerful than she realizes, and will be an important tool in bringing peace to the world. Use whatever resources you can to find her; unless something horrible happened to her she should still have the three identifying objects on her person. Asides from that, we should see you soon. We all still have the unmistakable mark, so we should be easy to find. Best of luck to you, you’ll be needing it.”
“Whoa,” Dmarius took a step back, “what does she mean, ‘special?’ Does she mean my bloodline?”
“That seems unlikely,” Saro started, “my parents were human, and as far as I know, they weren’t anything special. Miina, well, I’m assuming the writer is Miina, she said we were special in the same way. Um, what’s wrong Viranei?” Viranei silently walked towards Saro and held out her hand for the letter. He said nothing and handed it to her. She looked at it for a second, then lowered it and stared at Saro.
“This,” her voice was shaking as she spoke, “this is Miina’s handwriting. She addressed this to Saro. She was expecting Saro to be here.” Before anyone could say a word, she ran to Saro and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him closely. “It’s you! It really is you!”