Arine

 

I knew Eli’s wasn’t gonna like what I had to say, and even I really didn't like the idea of what I was about to suggest. But it couldn't go on like it has for the last couple of days. I missed the Eli I used to know. The loveable, bubbly, and sometimes dopey green-haired girl, who quickly became my best friend.

I couldn't bear to see her so lifeless anymore, and I wasn’t the only one. It became a daily occurrence for me to meet with Eli’s friends after school. We talked, shopped or even just walked through the park; and while it did give all of us some form of relief, there was always something missing. And that missing part was laying in bed, crying her eyes out if she wasn’t occupying herself with dissociating away from her cruel reality and losing herself into another world.

I’ve lost count of how many times I heard her cry, wanted to comfort her but was then reminded of the fact that I would only make matters worse. I could do nothing but stand behind her door and listen to her cry, and it was making me hate myself for what I did. Because, after all, it was my fault that Eli was in this situation now and the helplessness was slowly killing me.

When I saw Eli at the moment, with the brief smile that laid upon her lips while the spirits danced around us, I knew I had to act. A miracle wasn’t going to happen, and I wanted Eli back, and I wanted her back now! 

That was when it hit me. If Zallas was grieving her sister, maybe I could help activate her connection again. After all, I was a spitting image of her, if Jenna was to be believed.

She might not be interested in reaching out to mortals again, but if someone who looked Like her sister just stopped by her shrine, shouldn’t that pique her interest? Would it work? Was it even a good idea to trick a goddess? I stopped my wandering mind right there. This could go wrong in so many ways, but if and only if, she was able to help us, it would all be worth it.

It took a while for me to muster the courage to tell Eli about my plan, which again, I wasn’t too sure of it myself and I had a feeling Eli would be absolutely against it, so I couldn’t back down. It needed to sound like this was a foolproof plan, otherwise, Eli would never agree and she would be stuck in this nightmare forever.

“Are you sure? That sounds pretty dangerous, what if-”

“No if’s. It’ll work! And I had far worse. I was abducted by Jenna two times now, remember?”

“Yes, but -”

“Stop, do you want your body back or are you happy crying yourself to sleep every night? And don’t try to deny it, I’ve heard it many times now.” And it never got any less painful to see her in so much pain.

“We don’t even know where Zalla’s temple is, or if it still exists even? After all, that was hundreds of years, moons? ago.” She was still searching for excuses but her resistance was waning, all I needed to do next was persuade her mom. If she agreed, Eli would have no more excuses.

“We just ask your mom.”

“Uhm. Oh, I don’t -” I wasn’t gonna let her finish, I grabbed her arm again and together we wandered back to the others. The queue in front of the airship was fairly small now and it took only a couple of minutes before we could board.

Back on the ship, Eli rushed to her quarters to hide again and I waited for an opportunity to talk to Eli’s mom. I knew Lyn and the gang would be all in to help, but I wasn’t gonna put them in danger, after all, it was my fault what happened to Eli and I will be the one to make it right again.

The perfect opportunity never did arrive, but there was a moment when only Eli’s mom and Mr. Sirus were talking, with none of the other girl's insight. 

“Uhm, excuse me?”

“Oh, Arine, what is it? I’m so happy you were able to get Eli out of her room. I was worried she would never leave that damn room again.” I suddenly felt really unsure of myself with both their eyes fixated on me, but I had to do this. Taking a few deep breaths, I prepared myself.

“About that, I think I might have an idea of how we can get Eli’s body back.” They didn’t say anything instead, their stares got more intense while Mr. Sirus eyebrow rose.

“Okay, this might be a bit risky but Eli is the next priestess of Zalla right? So maybe she can help us and, ” Eli’s mom was about to interfere but I signaled to her that I wasn't done yet so he let me speak, “I know the connection is kind of lost, but it’s because of what happened to her sister right?”

Eli’s mom tilted her head a bit, while Mr. Sirus' eyes narrowed. I guess they had an idea of what I wanted to get at. “So what if a person who looks just like her, tries to contact her at her shrine? Wouldn’t that catch her interest?”

Eli’s mom immediately picked up on it, “I see, yes that could work, but are you sure you want to do this? Zalla was regarded as a caring and loving goddess, but one who was easily led by her emotions. There is no telling what might happen if we deceive her in this.”

Sadly, so did Mr. Sirus. “No, no way. I won’t allow it.” That earned him shocked stares from both of us. “Just think of all the things that could go wrong! What if someone gets hurt? What if you get hurt? Again?”

I always had a feeling that Mr. Sirus was a bit protective of me, but now he was overdoing it. “So what? What could she do to me that Jenna didn’t already? Change me? Abduct me into another world? Force her will on me?”

“Sirus, she has a point. I doubt there is really anything that could get to Arine anymore.” Thank god Eli’s mom was on my side. 

“And if we can get Eli’s body back, I don’t care what happens to me, it’s my fault after all...”

“It’s not your fault dear, it’s Jenna’s and Jenna’s alone.”

It was nice hearing it from her but still, “Well, I still feel responsible.” Mr. Sirus was still not convinced and I wasn’t sure if he ever would be, so there was only one more thing to be said, “I will make it up to her and you can’t stop me.”

“Fine, fine. I guess Mara is right, you did go through quite a lot, however I won’t let you go alone. Mara and I will accompany you.”

“You can’t..., wait what?”

“You heard that right, I will allow it under one condition: we will both accompany you and make you sure you’re safe. If I or Mara at any point feel like this gets too dangerous, we will stop it right then and there, is that clear?”

“Yes, yes, yes! Thank you so much.” In the blink of an eye, I had them both enwrapped in a hug, well as good as I managed, since they both were quite a bit taller than me, “Oh, and please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want them to get involved in this.”

“It is dangerous enough as it is, you don’t have to fear bringing any more people in than necessary.” Coming from Mr. Sirus, that sounded quite ominous but if that was the best I would get from him, so be it.

“I’ll go tell Eli.” And with that, I raced toward Eli’s cabin and I might have knocked over one person… or three on the way, but who cares? Eli was about to be Eli again! My excitement was through the roof and any doubt was discarded. It will work, it had to, or would I single-handedly fight this goddess, if that’s what it takes.

“EELLIIIIIII,” I shut the door behind me while Eli was about to fall off the bed.

“Ouch, was it possible for you to be any louder?”

“You’ve slept enough the last few days, your mother agreed!”

“Wait what... how, I- really?” 

After the initial shock was over, I told her all the details, Mr. Sirius and Eli’s mom would let me in. There were sure to be some more that they wouldn’t tell me, but I didn’t care, after all, tomorrow everything would be fine again. There would be no more crying and we could all go back to our normal day to day life. Well, as normal as you can get. 

I was also sure that, no matter what, I made the right decision. While Eli still had some doubts, she became more and more her old self. She opened up again and soon she wouldn’t stop talking, especially about all the stuff she wanted to do, how much she was looking forward to spending time with us again, and of course, she insisted that once we were back, there had to be another shopping trip. 

Back home, after we said our goodbyes to the others, Eli headed straight to bed. Admittedly it was quite late and tomorrow was a big day. For a moment I thought about maybe I could sleep by her side tonight, but dropped the idea quickly. She was still uncomfortable with physical contact and I couldn’t hold it against her. One positive thing though, I didn’t hear her cry tonight when I was readying myself for bed.

Pulling the blankets over my head, I was about to visualize all the possible things that could happen tomorrow, when a knock on the door interrupted me from falling asleep.

“Arine, ” a hushed voice said, “are you still awake?”

“Huh?” I replied back in my groggy state.

“I want to talk to you, meet me in the kitchen.” It was Eli’s mom, but of course, who else would it be? I tried my best to shake the drowsiness off and made my way downstairs, where three figures already waited for me.

“What’s going on? We’re still going tomorrow aren’t we?” Seeing Mr. Sirus besides Eli’s mom didn’t faze me too much, but having Olaf sit there made me a bit nervous. It was never a good sign when he was involved.

“Of course, don’t worry.” she replied back while giving a small nod to Olaf, “we’re just here to make sure you’re as prepared for tomorrow as you can be.”

It was now Olaf’s turn to speak, “As you are already aware, the city of Runegard has been abandoned a long time ago. Many creatures, especially those who live off lost memories have made it their new home.”

“Uhh, yes. Memory...eaters, was it?” Creatures that lived off the memories that still lingered in the air, of those who were long gone. It didn't matter if they died or just left, as soon as a place became abandoned, they were sure to make it their new home. They were also pretty shy and would avoid humans at all cost, so normally they’d be no threat, but if you accidentally walked into one, it would slowly erase your memories.

“Sleepers.” Mr. Sirius corrected in his teacher's way. Sometimes I wonder, are there people that were born to be teachers? Because if they are, Mr. Sirius was definitely one of them. 

“Anyway, ” Olaf continued, “those aren’t our main concern. we have to face the reality that Jenna might expect us to make such a move, or at the very least has set some traps for us. So you'd better be prepared.”

This sounded… strange? Weren’t Mr. Sirus and Eli’s mom coming with us? They could easily deal with anything Jenna might throw at us right? Hell, she nearly killed Jenna the last time they met so what was this about?

“The look on your face tells me you have a few questions,” Olaf was going on, while stroking his beard, “Yes, Mara and Sirus will indeed accompany you on your journeys to Runegard, however, that is where your paths will split.”

“I… don’t understand?”

Before Olaf had a chance to go on with his explanation any further, Eli’s mom already interjected, “Let me explain. One reason why the people of Runegrad left, besides her goddess abandoning them, was that in her grief she released a barrier that grew over time. At first, preventing the people from entering the shrine room, then the temple and after many years, preventing humans from entering the city completely.”

That was new. “What does that mean? Won’t we be able to go after all? If we can’t enter the city, how will we-”

“We can’t enter the city, ” she said, while gesturing toward Mr. Sirus, Olaf, and herself, “Eli will have no problem entering.”

“And what's with me? I won’t let her just go alone into freaking Ghost town. And why is she able to go when we aren’t? This doesn’t make any sense, It’s-”

“I know, you’re confused, but if you would just let me finish, there’d be no need to get upset.”

“Sorry.” I hadn’t even noticed before but my heart was racing, it took a few moments until I could breathe normally again. Just the slightest possibility of this not working had me on edge already, I hoped everything would be going well tomorrow.

“As for why Eli can pass through the barrier, it is quite simple. She carries the essence of Zalla, the essence she inherited from me at birth, and the one that connects her to Zalla’s.” I had more questions, but this time, I shut my mouth and waited for her to go on, “As for you, we aren’t sure. You carry the essence of Zere’s, it might be enough to pass through the barrier, ” she paused for a moment to share a look with Mr. Sirus before continuing, “if that turns out to not be the case, we might have another Idea, though we’d rather hope we won’t have to use it.”

There was a moment of silence between all of us. I didn’t know what they had in mind but it was obvious no one in the room wanted to talk about it, and oddly enough, I felt the room getting ice cold. Was this some kind of premonition? 

Olaf was the one to break us all form our trance, “Before we leave again I want you to have this, ” he rummaged around his old leather bag a bit before pulling out a sealed parchment that looked like it had seen better days and handing it over to me with a smile on his face, “ This is an old spell I carried around with me for over fifty years now. I never had the chance to use it, but should you two get in trouble tomorrow I want you to open it and activate the spell written on it.”

“What is it?” I was so occupied, inspecting the ancient-looking piece of paper that I barely noticed when Mr. Sirus and Olaf prepared to leave. “You’re going already?”

“That spell is very powerful, but only ever use it if there's no other way, ” Olaf called after me cryptically before he and Mr. Sirus vanished into the night.

“I think it’s best for us if we too head to bed, don’t you think?”

“Uhh, right. Yes, Ms. Eli’s Mom.” I heard a small chuckle from her and together we went up the stairs, me never once losing sight of the paper scroll, tightly secured in my hands.

“Good night Arine, we’ll speak tomorrow.”

“Good night.”

---

The next morning I couldn’t stop my excitement. The somewhat haunting word’s from yesterday were all but forgotten, today we would get Eli her Body back, and to celebrate, I woke her up by stealing her blanks.

“Noo, it’s cold. Give it back to meeeeee.” She probably didn't even realize this, but even in this frame, it was so undeniably cute, how she was clinging to her comfort plush, just so she wouldn’t need to get up.

“And the shark is next,” I said before I snatched it away from her.

“You’re a monster, you know that?”

That earned a shrug, “Get dressed already, we’re having breakfast and then will meet up with Mr. Sirus.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I let her grumble a bit more before I made my way downstairs, the sweet aroma of breakfast filling the air. 

I talked a bit more with Eli’s mom, mainly about school, my grades, and if I’m looking forward to our semester break. The last topic hit me, it was Eli’s big, the day everything would be alright again, only nothing was alright. I quickly changed the subject again, as to not break out in tears again, the thought of how everyone would leave to… spend time with their family hurt too much.

Luckily, Eli soon made her way downstairs stairs too. It was the first time we were eating together in days. I know it was that long technically speaking but it felt like months. Eli, of course, wasn’t completely up to her usual self, but there was still a steep improvement to her grave mood from before. 

Soon after, we meet up with Mr. Sirus and were once again on one of the many Airships. This time, heading north and with several transfers until we ended up on a small railway road on the coast of the continent. It was late evening when we finally arrived in Caveswood, the last town we would see for quite a while from now.

“I’ll suggest we make a quick break here, search for something to eat, and then, we should hit Runegard close before midnight.” Came from Mr, Sirus, getting a groan from Eli in response. But to be honest, I wasn’t faring much better. Sure, I knew the endlessly long trip that was ahead and while the beautiful landscapes, from the dark mountains of Eklave, to the fairy forest of Trella, made it more than worth the trip already, getting ever so closer to Runesgaerd also meant the true danger was slowly approaching. 

Until now our journey was mostly just waiting for the next ship to arrive and occasionally travel through half a Town to get to the next station, but now that would change. The next station was a trip through Bone desert and neither I nor Eli were in the mood to ask why it was called that.

“That’s a good idea, ” Eli’s mom said while staring at us two intently, “nevermind, let’s find a restaurant.” 

Turns out, finding a restaurant in a City, that is, essentially, at the end of the word, isn’t the easiest task. Probably had something to do with the fact that less than a thousand people called this little Town their home. In the end, we managed to find a small family-owned restaurant, it offered mostly the same stuff that we were used to from Alos, but a few original creations. Eli and I didn’t feel too adventurous when it came to that right now, who we ordered some ordinary pizzas, while Eli’s mom ordered a salad and Mr. Sirus… Well, I don’t know how to describe it, let’s just say it had some interesting fish in it.

The Dinner was okayish, not the best I ever had but for the fact that this town was so far off it wasn’t bad either. When it was time to pay, the waitress gave us a strange look. It wasn’t the first time either, I had noticed the staff and a few fellow townspeople looking at us since we entered the city. But they probably never get many visitors so I’d say it was to be expected and nothing to worry about.

“You’re not from here are you?”

“No, we aren't. ” Mr. Sirus answered for us all

“You don’t belong to them do you?”

“Them?” Sirius while we all looked at each other with worry, “I don’t believe so but would you mind telling us a bit more about… them?”

“Nearly a month ago now, there was some kind of caravan. Many, many people dressed in black and red robes, and they wouldn’t talk to anyone in town. Some people say they saw them carried something into the bone dessert but since none of them has been seen again.”

Black and red robes, this was a bad omen. Eli seemed to notice too and Mr. Sirus pressed on, “and nobody has seen them since?”

“No, no one. But ever since they’ve been gone people report strange things happening in the bone desert.”

“Strange things? What exactly do you mean by that?” It was hard to ignore the burning tension that now lay in the air. Everyone was on edge but especially Eli’s mom, she had this intimidating look on her face again.

“Well, for once I heard that many of the animals living there suddenly died. But that’s not even the worst part, Jacob one of our hunters was the first to arrive at the scene.” She stopped for a moment to compose herself “he said, that every one of the cadavers had bite marks on them. All in the very same spot, biting out their hearts.”

This sounded bad, exactly like one of Jenna’s twisted creations to be precise, and the thought of quitting came to mind but was quickly cast away. We’re already that far, there's no turning back now, I just hope Mr. Sirus, Eli, and her mom will think the same.

We chatted some more with the waitress, she told us about even more incidents and when we mentioned that we’re headed to Runegrad, many more eyes joined our conversation. It didn’t take long for the news to spread and soon we even the mayor joined us.

It was quite obvious how desperate they were, a lot was going on and none of the townsfolk had any trace of magic with them. they were powerless against whatever lurked out there and now, with two reputable mages showing up, it was only natural they would ask us for help. 

We made up some story as to why we were headed to Runegard, no one had to know the truth about Eli after all, and agreed to investigate wherever was going on there. We got some more useful information, in particular how to survive long enough to even get to Runegard and said our farewell, beginning our journey into the white waste that marked the end of the world.

All was going well, we made quick progress and danger seemed to avoid us at all costs. It was even going too well. And then it happened. On second Eli and Mr. Sirus were deep in conversation about what kind of new spells she could try once this was over and the next, the sky vanished.

“What, Eli are you alright?” I turned around and to my relief, I could still see her behind me.

“Yes, but where's Mr. Sirus and Mom?” I looked around and in fact, there was no trace of them, instead, I found something else.

“Eli?”

“Yes?”

“Take my hand.” She did and I pointed at the ruins lying beneath the cliff that suddenly lay before us, “that has to be Runegard.”