Nostrum: Tales of Valor

Dividing Destiny

As Hael and Ordaite engage one another, Yuler darts out of the way and towards Marne, who continues to turn about on the ground. Pulling a vial from the stock he carries, she pops the cork and stuffs it in his mouth. As it begins to take hold, his tossing stops and he sips from the vial peacefully. Ensuring he is alright with just the one, she grabs another from his coat and sprints across the field, narrowly missing having her head taken off by the chomping of Ordaite's fanged mouth. Once she has made it over, she looks about for Lee, where she discovers him now standing upright, but still bleeding and leaning against the wall.

"Lee, take this!" Passing off the vial, she looks back to the fight, now knowing that there are only two vials remaining, and Hael is taking a beating. Pulling her sword free once more, she sprints in battle and slashes at the heels of Ordaite. With each swing she brings about more blood, painting the blackened flowers red once more. As Ordaite turns away from Hael to see what has caused his injury, a swift bite is planted against his neck. High Priest shrieks out in pain and claws at the face of Hael, which begins to bleed profusely as well, though the efforts are in vain. As Ordaite attempts to gouge the already blinded eyes of the beast. Hael screeches along with him but ultimately manages to break free of his talons. With a quick whip of her neck, Ordaite is sent spiraling into the fortifications at the door. As he attempts to stand once more the ground begins to shake violently. Hael charges at him as he picks himself back up and slams her front paws into his torso, pinning him to the large boulders as she gnashes about, taking chunk after chunk out of his face and neck.

Yuler looks back to Marne, who limps back into battle in a still recovering state. Then to Lee, whose recovery seems nearly completed. As all three of them find themselves standing among one another, a loud cracking sound is heard. Turning back to Hael and Ordaite, they find that High Priest has managed to break one of Hael's front legs. She squawks with pain before separating herself from him and limping a few yards away. As she does this, Ordaite sees his opportunity and charges, pounding on Hael in her weakened state. Taking note of this, the others wrap around to the rear of Ordaite, and each takes their blade by the hilt, pointing them at the back of the beast.

"One!" Shouts Yuler.

"Two!" Winces Marne.

"Three!" Heaves Lee.

With this, the three of them disarm themselves and send their swords hurling toward the beast. As each blade sticks in Ordaite's back, he roars and turns on them. In doing this, Hael manages to bite at his ankle and knock him off balance. As Ordaite slams into the ground, Hael whips him around, using her body as leverage to do so. Within moments, Ordaite is sent flying through the air, where Hael beats him against the ground and columns that surround them. After four repetitions of this, she releases him. Ordaite crumbles to the ground and grumbles where he rests, too weak to move, but far from dead. Hael limps over to him, grabbing him by the neck once more with an intensifying growl. As she lifts him up once more, another loud cracking sound is heard, but it does not stop. The cracking becomes more and more intense as Ordaite struggles to free himself from her jaws, before stopping all together. A loud pop is heard and his body falls completely limp. A pool of blood spills out from the open wound as Hael releases him. Once she has done so, she begins to shrink in size, leaving behind large clumps of fur as she does so. The crowd surrounding them falls silent.

"Hael? Hael!" Lee calls out, climbing over the beast to reach her faster and extracting his sword in the process. Once he is at her side, he once again offers her his coat and the vial within it. As Hael sips at the contents, her injuries become less and less severe and the wounds across her face begin to heal over, allowing the cataract eyes to show through once more.

"Thank you."

Seeing that Hael lived, the crowd begins to cheer once more. So loud, in fact, that Farrow struggles to silence them.

"Calm yourselves, please! Men, it's time for you to fulfill your duties." At Farrow's side and three stories up, the group watches a cluster of five men walk out of view.

"Must be the ones doing the cleanup work." Lee assumes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the slayers of Ordaite!"

The crowd cheers yet again, offering thanks and clattering mugs together as they do so.

As Marne and Yuler pull their blades free as well, Yuler pauses for a moment and examines the creature beneath her. His eyes remain locked on the sky overhead. Looking deeper into the large pupils, she finds the moons to be the last thing he wanted to see. Gazing up herself, she spots a sliver of red peeking out from behind the foremost moon, slowly slipping out from what conceals it.

"Something the matter?" Marne asks, placing a palm on her shoulder and cradling his ribs.

"It's nothing. Just... nothing."

"Come, friends of the rebellion!" The group looks back to the opening as the fortifications are once again hoisted into the air. "There are many more celebrations to be had!"

As they step outside of the garden, the five men they had seen pass them, each offering a bow and gratitude. Once the gardens are behind them, they witness one of the men extracting a book from the clutches of Ordaite. Then, the doors shut.

"Come." Turning away, they spot Farrow at one end of the hall. Following him, they are led to a round room, filled with books from the floor to the ceiling. Farrow moves towards a desk in the center of the room, where he places half of the book he had been carrying with him. As he does so, the others circle him, awaiting him to speak. "This here is The Bethel's library. Every book you see, every note, every scroll, all of it, is what made this place what it once was. With each of these texts comes forbidden knowledge, stories, and lies. Lies that led to the world we now know."

"This... all of this... is what you plan to destroy?" Yuler looks about herself, feeling dismay at the thought.

"Not only the books, but the building itself. It must all come down."

"You intend to destroy your own headquarters?" Lee questions, seemingly baffled by the idea.

"Indeed. Ah, here it is." Farrow turns back to the room's entrance, where four of the five men now stand. As he awaits their word, the fifth arrives and passes something off to him. Farrow studies it for a moment before turning back to the party. "At long last, The Tome of Fandor is complete." Farrow moves back to the table and lays the pieces side by side. He then presses them together. In doing so, a bright blue light spills out from between the pages, illuminating the otherwise darkened room. "With this book, any ailment, any amount of destruction, any ill-doing that comes to The Bethel, or those under it, can be undone."

"Sounds like something you should hold close." Lee exclaims, raising a brow in Farrow's direction.

"Ordaite thought so too. That is why it must be destroyed."

"What?" Exclaims the group in unison.

"That book could rid the world of beasts." Shouts Marne, now standing with his fists clenched at his sides. "It could truly purify everything!"

"Ah, but not in the eyes of The Bethel." Farrow assures, now sifting through the pages, which seems to glow with the same blue light that it once let off. "You see, The Bethel split this book to avoid those very things from happening. Threw half of it to the High Priest, and entrusted the second to the High Priestess. Both have failed to keep it from me now, so it seems only fitting that we respect their wishes."

"Why, after all that has been done, would you not then use it to betray their wishes?" Hael wonders. "Why keep the world in such a state? That book could cure me of more than blindness."

"Because," Farrows slams the book shut and tucks it beneath his arm, "not all curses are my responsibility to fix, and not all blessings are meant to be stripped." He looks to Hael as he speaks these words. "I understand that you may view your abilities one way rather than the other, but I do not, Nostrum Hael. You have done your part. It is now my turn to do mine. So, please, come. Allow me to correct your sight."

Hael stands defensively but begins to soften at these words. She then feels the hand of Lee on her forearm.

"None of us may understand this man's intentions, but we did make it this far, my dear. Go."

With this, Hael nods, stiffens her back, and follows the scent of Farrow as the pair of them leave the room. Following them out, the five other men vanish into the hall, leaving the three that remain to their own devices.

"What now? How can we allow such a thing to remain in his hands if he has no intention on utilizing it?" Marne questions, now pacing the floor.

"Perhaps... it isn't that he doesn't want to." Offers Yuler, who rests against the desk. "Perhaps... he doesn't know how."

"If he doesn't know how, how can we entrust that he knows how to utilize it for blindness?" Marne questions once more.

"Perhaps, boy, it is because blindness is an easier thing to cure than the world as a whole." Lee sips from his flask as he speaks these words, displaying an obvious level of nervousness himself. "The worst he can do is fail to fulfill his half of the bargain. Yet... we must trust that that is not the case here."

"Just give him a chance, Marne." Yuler smiles at Marne as she says this, trying to offer some level of comfort with her words. "Afterall, he is your fath-"

"He is NOT my father! My father would have searched for us. He would have found me and Belial before... before-"

"Before he died." Lee sips from his flask once more, then seals it and licks his teeth. "I know the feeling."

"How could you possibly?"

"You believe yourself to be the only one with an absent father? Hm?" Lee glares through Marne as he speaks these words. "Keep your lips locked up if you wish to continue helping us through this, boy."

Marne scoffs and plants himself against a bookcase, folds his arms over one another, and taps his fingers. As he does this, Yuler approaches and brings with her a chair from one side of the desk. Sitting in it, she takes one of Marne's hands in her own and speaks to him.

"What is it that truly bothers you about your... about Farrow? What is it that brings you such displeasure?"

Marne pauses for a moment, then sighs and looks to Lee, ensuring that he is either too drunk or distant to hear what is being said.

"My father took me and Belial to this world to be with us. To ensure we would have a father in the future.... In his own right... he was a hero. But... this man, the one claiming to be my father, the one who holds the answers to every problem that has ever arrised... he is no hero."