Wayward: Chapter 3 - Sol Sol panted as he calmed down. He slowly unclenched his fists and wiped off the blood on his palms that his claws had caused. He flexed his fingers and used some healing magic on them. The elf, Eraus, had fled. He had managed to get a fire spell on him, but it didn’t seem to hinder him. Rage and sorrow burned in his soul. That monster had killed his only friend and he swore to all the gods that he would pay. The realization that Rusty had really died hit him like a boulder. His stomach sank as he fully came to terms with the fact that they would never again hear his laugh, enjoy walks in the courtyard, or finally make the cake they promised they all would together. Tears bubbled up. They stung his eyes, and the heat burned his ice cold face. He let them sit there, too upset to wipe them away. He walked over to Gelefont and set himself next to Rusty’s corpse. His face still held shock, even in death. Gelefont was gripping his collar, crying into his shirt. While his sorrow was a cold and empty melancholy, Gelefont’s was bitter and overwhelming. Her sobs shook her entire body, and her wails were piercing and filled with a profound loneliness. He could tell that each sob was physically painful. The sadness built up until she could no longer store it and she had to let it out in a choke. Sol placed his hand on her shoulder and she managed to tear herself away from Rusty. Her face was red and puffy, and he could see exactly where each tear had traced it’s path. They spoke not a word, for what could they say? Sol finally took it upon himself to break the silence. “We… We should stay with him until the raven comes.” Gelefond shook a little. “Yes. His soul needs to feel our presence. I can hear him a little. He is happy we are here,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper. It cracked and it sounded like she was doing her best to avoid a total breakdown. After a few minutes, the raven came. He had seen one only one other time, when his father died. The ravens were workers of Death, and their job was to deliver messages concerning a person’s hourglass, which told how much longer they had left to live, and to collect the soul from a dead body. The raven was tall, much taller than Sol, meaning it was well over six feet. It wore a hooded cloak, which was a charcoal grey, and various ornamentations all over its body, the most notable of which was an oversized silver pocket watch that was evidently broken, since it did not tick, and it claimed the time was noon, even though it was mid evening. The raven spoke in a high pitched croak. “Hello, which one of you is Rusty Dreeson?” The two looked cautiously at each other. Could the raven possibly be serious? Gelefont made an odd choking sound. The raven put its tall grey arms in the air, as if to surrender. “I am so very sorry,” it croaked. “ I was trying to lighten the mood, but, uh. You were his friends, weren’t you? Oh my gods, I really am sorry. Uhh, the name’s Scratchit, haha… I would, well, do my usual introduction as the prettiest girl Death’s ever seen, but that doesn’t feel appropriate. So, uh, I’ll just take his soul, then.” Scratchit began to tease a silvery blue wisp out of Rusty’s chest, and once it was mostly exposed, she seized it and yanked it out of his body. She folded it up, delicately and placed it in the bag. She bowed her head. “I apologize that your friend was murdered, and I hope you succeed in your future endeavors. Sol nodded. “Thank you for your compassion, Scratchit. Rusty was indeed a good friend of mine, but I take solace in knowing he will be well cared for in his afterlife.” Scratchit laughed, nodded, and took flight, her jet black figure disappearing in a puff of smoke to Death’s realm. Gelefont stood up, more solemn than Sol had ever seen her. “We need to kill that stupid little elf.” Sol finally took in the unbridled power that Gelefont possessed. Her hooves were stained blue with Eraus’s blood, and some was splattered on her uniform top. She looked, quite frankly, frightening. Her fists were clenched and her jaw was set. Sol then stood up with her. “Kill might be just a little strong, but I understand what you’re going for. I want him to suffer too.” Sol started walking the trail back toward the school. “I’m going to show this to Mom. Then I’m going to find Eraus.” “I’m going with you.” “I would expect nothing else.” CONTINUED IN NOTES
And so the siblings walked to their former home, each step they felt bolder. Each breath they felt more powerful. Sol felt the magic of the crown seeping through his bag. The silence of the trail was only broken once they got inside. The two presented the crown to their mother, to which she was unsure about, “I really don’t know,” she said in her proper, high pitched voice. “I’ve never seen, read, or heard about anything like this. All I can tell you is that it’s incredibly old, magical, broken, and Elvish in nature, but I’m sure you already gathered all of that. I’m sorry, but I have no clue as to why anyone would kill over this. It doesn’t seem to be imbued with any spells.” Sol sighed and placed it back in his bag. “Thanks, Mom. Me and Gelefont are gonna find someone who knows what this does, so we’ll finally fulfill your wishes for us to adventure, I guess” Hiralyn smiled. “Of course you will,” she sighed wistfully. “You just have to promise me that you’ll come back home eventually, alright?” Sol endured a kiss on the forehead from her. “Yes, Mom, of course we’ll come back home, now, me and Gelefont have a train to catch, so goodbye, and I’ll see you later!” Sol cried as he bolted to his room to make sure he had packed everything he needed. Everything was there, from clothes to money to emergency rations, he was completely prepared for whatever the world could throw at him. As he bid farewell to his room and most of his belongings, he felt odd. The emotions that brewed in his heart were indescribable. He was excited to be free, but felt unshakably hollow. He had spent all of his life on these grounds, and as he thought about it, he hadn’t left the property at all. Twenty years of memories dwelled here, and he wouldn’t see it again for, quite possibly, ever. “I know what you mean.” Sol whipped around and found Gelefont standing in the doorway. “WHAT THE- oh.” He sighed and grabbed his bags. “I really wish you would, one, not listen to my thoughts, and two, announce your presence instead of creepily watching me from the shadows.” “Okay, but the train’s going to leave! We have no time for reminiscing! So get your tailed butt out the door and on the train.” Sol frowned at his sister’s blunt style of speaking. It had always annoyed him, especially her constant comments on his tail, she had one too! But instead of his usual complaints, he decided to shut up and go to the station outside. The entire reason they had a station was to bring in the new students, so it was almost never used to leave except for graduations. The conductor was skeptical of their tickets, but since they had the money, he let them on. The train car was surprisingly comfortable, and watching the school pass by was almost freeing, like a weight Sol didn’t know was there had lifted. “Did you take your jewelry?” Sol asked Gelefont absently. “Yeah, I still don’t know why you asked me to bring it though, I never wear it and it’s kinda heavy.” Sol sighed and tore himself away from the window. “The money we have isn’t universally accepted, and some places use barter, or we can sell it for the currency in that region.” Gelfont nodded. “I’m gonna pretend I know what that means,” she chuckled as she pulled out her paper and pencils. “What are you drawing?” Gelefont shrugged. “I dunno,” she said as she stared at the creature she had scribbled on her paper. “I think it’s something I saw in a textbook once. Thought it was funny looking, so I tried to remember it.” Sol glanced at the paper and immediately recognised it. It was a plush worm, a pack animal bred exclusively by high elves, who considered them as sentient, even though they have about the intelligence of a sheep. “Oh! That’s a plush worm! They-” “I don’t care what they are, they’re funny looking and that’s all I need. Now it’s late. G’night.” She leaned on the side of the train and closed her eyes, leaving Sol mid explanation. He was half elf, and didn’t really need as much sleep as other creatures, and he was tired, but he would sleep after he arrived at The Bellows. The Bellows was an enormous city, stretching farther that the eye could see. He had read about it thousands of times, imagining that someday he would travel there and explore its library, which didn’t actually have a name, but was referred to by locals as Knowetall Hall. He thought that pun was absolutely stupid, but he couldn’t argue with its accuracy. Countless centuries of information, poetry, and literature were safely stored within its walls. The books were all magically protected, had copies, and backed up on a magical system that could duplicate any of the books if need be, so it was undoubtedly the most secure library in the world. He let his mind wander around the topic, and before he knew it, the rumble of the train had sent him to sleep.
