Chapter 10

With a final flare of light, the darkness once again encroached upon the companions. Breathing heavily, Aurille was the first to stand, assisting Armenthos to his feet. As their eyes gained their night vision back, they spotted where Amethyst had once stood. In his place, a small amethyst gem lay on the ground, it's beautifully carved surface reflected the moonlight above. It hissed as it cooled, sending out small plumes of smoke that quickly dispersed.

Reaching down, Aurille picked up the cooling stone and studied it carefully. It began to emit a white light, a single beam tore at the heavens, rendering the clouds apart. From the within the stone, the joyous cries of hundreds of children erupted, their imprisonment had finally ended, they were free from the cage of the gem. The souls of the children escaped from the amethyst, circling around the pair before travelling up the beam of light, disappearing out of sight in the face of the moon.

Gradually the light faded from the gem, until a solitary spirit remained, who drew level with Armenthos and Aurille. "We cannot express our gratitude, we shall carry your heroic deeds to the heavens so that you shall live on for eternity. Some guidance I can give you, for the time for change is coming and slowly the fog of the future is being revealed; The Children and Diclarious. I hope those names can help for they are the only that we can see. One last thing, great wheels of destruction are turning, set in motion thousands of years ago. I bid you farewell and may the eudemons forever be by your side."

With this, the spirit rose through the air, joining his fellow prisoners on their journey to the final gate. The light left the gem, cracking the gem down the middle, leaving the surface tarnished. Silence rained in and the pair reflected upon what they had just witnessed. It was Aurille who spoke first.

"Looks like the children who were in the tower are finally free and able to join the Goddess."

"Yes, the suffering for them is finally over; however, I think ours is only just going to start.  Wheels of destruction, couldn't he have thought of something a bit more original to say," replied Armenthos.

Sagging in pain again Aurille, Armenthos sighed and reached for the ground to pick up his backpack.

"Let me see your wound."

Brushing aside her caring hand, he replied, "It's nothing, I've got a potion in my bag that will sort it out." Rummaging around he pulled out a bottle, uncorked it and poured some of the blue liquid onto the wound, which closed over. Passing it to Aurille she did the same to her arm observing how the skin folded back and within seconds the wound couldn't be seen. Finally, the pair stood up and walked over to the girl, who seemed to have once again passed out. Smiling, Aurille reaches down and hoists the child over her shoulder and not wanting to stay for much longer, the pair turned and walked away down the path towards the edge of the wood, Armenthos' eudemon had emerged from behind some rocks bounding up his shoulder and resuming it's place in his hood.

However, one thing bugged Aurille more than anything.

"That potion, wha...?"

"Quark's Instant Acidification"

"Oh..."

So ends Book 1 of Arc's Children.

The story continues in Book 2 ----

"Trials of the Sands, the Southern Empire"

Please stay tuned!

Armenthos

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