Chapter Text
Aréel woke in a small, pitch-black room. He was not restrained, but there were no windows and no doors. Just seamless, black nothingness.
He didn’t remember anything but flashes of light and pain.
Pain.
Burning, searing pain. The kind of pain that cut through his memories and destroyed his self.
Or so he assumed.
He suddenly had vague memories of things he recognized as colors and sounds. Shapes. He didn't know how he knew what they were, he just does.
He remembered a room so suddenly and vividly that he almost believed that he’s there. Aréel opened his eyes only to slam them shut again to block out the darkness with the memory of the room.
His room, something in him whispered.
Aréel looked around the room. It’s small, but not as small as the black space he’s enclosed in, now. The walls are made from birch trees that he helped his Amya- his mother- shape. A hammock made of intertwining silver vines and red grape vines. There was a circular hole in the wall that was covered on the outside with what he recognized as hanging willow leaves. Aréel turned to see an archway covered by more willow leaves. He wondered what was behind it and found himself in another memory. He saw a counter and a table. He saw a woman with bright silver eyes and long, silver hair. She wore it plaited behind her, and Aréel saw that she had pointed ears. His hand traveled to his own ear, and he fingered the pointed tip of his cartilage.
My Amya.
Aréel smiled to himself as he watched his mother bustle around what he recognized as their kitchen. He turned as he heard a slam and saw a man with dark viridian eyes and wavy, chin-length ash-blonde hair. Something dark swelled up from inside his stomach and he pushed the memory away.
The memory was replaced with another of a young silver-haired boy laughing and swinging over and around the high branches of Aréel’s house. The boy wore his hair plaited, like Aréel’s Amya, but his eyes shone bright emerald green. The boy paused as a high whistle pierced the air and then turned to slide his way down the walls so that he met up with Aréel’s Amya at the entrance of their house.
Is that… me?
The memory changed to the same house, but Aréel was older and accompanied by a tall, dark haired Eldar with ruby red eyes. They didn’t glow as much as Aréel’s did, but the glow of strong magic was there. Aréel was struck with how happy they both looked. The memory was quickly replaced by many more that consisted of both Aréel and the dark haired Eldar. The quick flashes solidified to a scene that showed Aréel and the Eldar he remembered now to be named Dŭrdae laying side by side in a field of dog violets and bird cherries. They were holding hands and looking up at the stars. Dŭrdae turned and lifted their clasped hands. Aréel felt both a great warmth and a great sadness well up inside of him, and blood rushed through his ears.
The memory splintered, and Aréel was bombarded with light and pain. It grew and grew and grew into a tidal wave of desperation and torment. He heard screams, but he couldn’t tell whether or not they were inside his head. The wave rose and rose, and then it came crashing down.
Darkness.
……………
When Aréel woke, he did so slowly, as if his soul was being lifted slowly by Yami to the realm of the living. Aréel opened his eyes sleepily and quickly shut them again with a soft groan. There was too much light.
There was too much light.
...Light?
Aréel opened his eyes again, squinting. He laughed a little humorlessly. How long had he been in here? There was a tiny sliver of light on the left side of the wall, and it felt as if a swarm of bees had taken offense to the color of his eyes.
Aréel sat up slowly and stared at the sliver of light.
He could vaguely recall that he’d been sent to a prison for something he hadn’t done. The memory was covered by bright, bright light and pain, so Aréel decided not to try and remember.
It could be a door.
The question was whether it was worth it to try and leave. If he remembered correctly, he’d been sent to the highest security prison the Eldar had. Dinband was situated on a rock in the middle of a boiling lake. It would be impossible to swim, and he had no idea if he could still shift into anything that flew. It had been years since he’d exercised his kite form. And that was before he’d been sent to the prison; who knew how long he’d been in here?
And yet,
If his only other alternative was sitting in the dark in a room that he could feel suppressing his magic, would it be so bad to try and escape? Aréel stared at the sliver of light and drew in a deep breath. He released it slowly and stood.
Maybe not as bad as dying of starvation.
Aréel stepped the half-a-foot to the light and pressed on the wall next to it gently. The stone swung outwards and Aréel took a moment to marvel at how well balanced the door was. He listened closely for footsteps before he tentatively stepped out of the room.
Black, crackling magic burst from the room and Aréel fell to his knees, gasping as it took over him. It crackled through him and left him shivering. He couldn’t tell if it was from the rush it gave him or if he was just shaking.
After a minute, Aréel stood shakily and cast a location spell directed at the entrance of Dinband. A will o’ the wisp flickered to life in front of him. The blue light drifted quickly away, and Aréel trotted after it.
Aréel arrived at the entrance of Dinband half an hour later, and the blue wisp snuffed itself out. He stared out at the water and sighed. The water was certainly boiling. Bubbles emerged from the depths and the air was heavy with water. Aréel could already feel the water gathering in his hair.
Here goes nothing.
Aréel closed his eyes and slipped his mind into his soul-space. He glided around the silver shard and concentrated. The shard started to shift, painfully slowly, and then suddenly it slipped into place. Aréel’s eyes snapped open and he tilted sideways, disoriented for a moment. He shook his head and ruffled his feathers. He could feel himself start to grow heavy with condensation. He should get above the steam if he could. Aréel hopped to the edge of the high pier for sky boats and leaned over it until he dropped. A lone swallow-tailed kite rode the updrafts of the water vapor above the clouds.
……………
Aréel flapped his wings and twisted his tail feathers to the right. He caught another updraft and sailed upwards on the spiral for several minutes before angling himself back towards the silvery edge of shore that he could finally see in the distance. It had been hours, and he was exhausted. He hadn’t had to work his wings for so long and he was sorely in need of a rest. Aréel wearily touched down and promptly lost his shift. He collapsed on his side and took a moment to just breathe. After a few minutes, He dragged himself over to the lone stand of palm fronds and curled himself into a ball underneath them.
When the sun rose the next morning, Aréel woke up feeling well rested. His magic reserves were full, and he sat up leisurely to stretch out his muscles. He stood and cast a simple spell to rid himself of sand. He realized that he was wearing familiar clothes and wondered why whoever put him in Dinband hadn’t robed him in the blood red color of a prisoner. He was still wearing his soft gray tunic and dark leggings. He was relieved to see that he was still wearing his black boots. They rose to his knees and fit him like a second skin. They were a gift from Dŭrdae, and he’d be loathe to lose them. When he turned to see if he still had the gray cloak from his mother, he started. His cloak lay in a pile of withered black palm fronds. He ran his hand over one and it crumbled to dust under his touch. Aréel frowned. He was in worse shape than he thought if he’d drained the plants of so much magic they’d withered like this, sleeping or no. Maybe he was making up for all the magic that he couldn’t have made while he was suppressed in the prison? That seemed logical.
Still.
He’d never seen a plant crumble to dust like that because of a magical drain. He’d seen them wither, yes, but not like that. Aréel shook off the thought and picked up his cloak. He shook it out gently and then swung it over his shoulders. He attempted to shift into a kite and groaned at the resistance he met.
Too much, much too soon.
He tried shifting to the panther form he’d perfected at the age of 20 and smiled inwardly as he shifted seamlessly onto four paws. He shook out his silver fur gently and paced forward while casting the location spell.
He was heading home.
……………
Aréel’d been running for hours and it was midday. He glanced around for someplace to rest in the shade and spotted an orange grove up ahead. He sped up and canceled the wisp. He padded up to the orange tree and shifted back to his Eldar form. Aréel stretched his arms up to the sky and twisted his torso to the right. He moaned softly when he felt his back pop and twisted to the other side. Aréel wriggled a little in happiness and reached up to pluck an orange from the branch.
“Ayae,” a sibilant voice called softly. Aréel started and almost dropped his orange as he whirled around to face a lizard the size of a small pony. It’s neck curled upwards like a snake and its head was angled downwards towards him. It had large, leathery wings folded against its side, and Aréel felt an odd mixture of awe, amusement and terror bubble up from inside him.
“Ayae,” Aréel greeted softly. His voice was rough and hoarse from disuse, but he could still use his voice, so he counted that as a plus.
“Are you a friend of Ito’s? Or a client of Ito’s? You can see me, which either means that you’re here for Ito and I should lead you there, you’re here to see Ito for nefarious reasons and I should eat you, or you’re dark in nature,” the dragon said softly, curiously. “I’ve never seen you before. Would you like me to lead you the way?”
“I-” Aréel coughed and then said, “I was just going to eat an orange and rest. I need to be going on my way soon.”
“You don’t mind if I rest with you, do you?” the dragon asked. “To check for nefarious reasons.”
“By all means,” Aréel croaked softly as he could manage, “I haven’t had any company in a while.” He smiled wryly.
“The orange will help your throat,” the dragon said, settling down to lay on his belly. “I can slice the skin open, if you’d like.” Aréel hesitated only a moment before holding the orange out towards the dragon. It- Aréel still couldn’t tell its gender- lifted a claw and cut the orange into halves carefully. Aréel smiled a little shyly.
“Thank you.”
The dragon nodded and curled its head down so that it rested on the ground, his body curled completely around Aréel and the orange tree he sat under. Aréel brought one of the quarters of orange to his mouth and bit down into it, moaning softly as the flesh of the orange burst in his mouth and wet his parched throat. Aréel heard a low rumble from the dragon and almost had time to be concerned before he realized that the dragon was laughing at him. Aréel huffed and chewed on his orange slowly. He didn’t know if he’d be able to keep the flesh down if he swallowed it, so he chewed it until there was nothing left to chew, and then went back for more. When he finished the first orange, the dragon handed him another sliced orange wordlessly and merely snorted at Aréel’s ‘thank you’.
Several hours later found Aréel curled up against the dragon’s side and sleeping soundly. The dragon huffed as it sensed the thread-witch approaching.
“Ito.”
“Sgiathach,” Ito replied. “I thought you understood that you were banned from the garden. Michael did throw you out with his flaming sword. That thing with the apple was unnecessary.”
“And that joke was in bad taste,” the dragon said, dryly, “As was the term.”
“Is Uruloki better for you?” Ito asked cheerfully, orange eyes gleaming with mirth. “Or should I just call you a winged beast?”
The dragon gave a long-suffering sigh. “Am I so below you that you will not use my name?”
“I might use it if I knew it,” Ito replied, “But I might not, seeing as it annoys you so.” Ito walked to sit against the tree and raised an eyebrow at the sight of Aréel curled into the dragon’s side. “Who is that?”
“A lost little Eldar hosting a power I don’t think he knows he has.”
“Speak plainly, friend,” Ito said with a wry smile, “I have no head for your riddles.”
“He holds the Dŭrdae in him.”
Ito’s eyes grew round. “How is he still living?! He should be dead a thousand times over!”
“I don’t know,” the dragon said, “But he won’t be if Dŭrdae stays there.” the dragon looked hard at the ground for a few moments before raising his head to stare at Ito. “Would you mind me borrowing your apprentice for a few weeks? He’s a warlock, isn’t he?”
Ito thought about it for a moment, completive. “I suppose. There are no large projects that I’m going to be working on for a while.”
The dragon nodded. “I’ll have him returned to you within two weeks at most.” Ito nodded with a bemused smile. Ito rose from his position and stretched his back out.
“I’ll leave you to your guarding, then, Ladon.”
“You do know my name!” Ladon growled. “I expect you to use it from now on.”
Ito shrugged carelessly with a small grin. “I might, I might not.”
Ladon huffed and lowered his head so that he was curled up around Aréel. Ito laughed softly and skipped away to his home. His apprentice needed to know that he was going on a trip with Ladon.
When Aréel awoke, it was enveloped in warm, smooth scales with a pleasant weight surrounding him on all sides. Aréel blinked and smiled a little shyly, a slight blush dusting his cheeks. He was surrounded in comfy, sleeping gold dragon. He nudged one of Ladon’s wings gently and was greeted with a large red eye slowly blinking open.
“Ayae,” Aréel said softly, “Goodmorning.”
“Ayae.” Ladon replied, “How’d you sleep? You’re off again today, right?”
Aréel nodded and grinned. “I slept well, and yes. I’ll be heading off very soon. Can you let me go?”
Ladon eyes him for a moment and then said, “As long as you promise to eat an orange before you leave.” Aréel giggled and nodded.
“Sure,” He said softly. Ladon uncurled lazily and Aréel stood carefully. He picked an orange and pocketed another two. Ladon sliced the one he was holding and Aréel patted his flank before casting the locator spell and setting off.
Ladon waited for a half hour and watched Aréel with slitted eyes until he was out of sight. Then he stretched and slithered towards Ito’s house. He had an apprentice to kidnap.
……………
Aréel loped through the underbrush after the little orange flame. He came across a large lake and trotted up to the water’s edge. He leaned to take a drink, and an arrow whizzed past his head. He leapt back and turned quickly to face the direction the arrow came from. Aréel saw a hunter with a bolt notched in a crossbow and rage bubbled up inside him as his vision went red.
……………
Aréel sat on a flat river-smooth rock and looked out over the lake with unseeing eyes. The stone was smooth under his palms and the sun was warm on his face. The sun glinted off of dips and furrows in the waves as he stared vacantly into the sky.
He’d-
No. Aréel’s eyes focused on a bird flying over the lake. It swooped and dipped on updrafts and breezes. His emerald eyes tracked it easily. Aréel watched tonelessly as the bird wheeled into a dive. Its claws skimmed the water, and it swooped upward with a fish flopping in its grip. The fish must have wriggled a bit too much, because the bird clamped down with its talons, and the fish stopped moving.
Aréel laughed. It’s cold, maniacal, hysterical. He laughs and laughs and laughs and then he’s crying. He doesn’t know when one bled into the other, but he sits doubled over on the flat, river-smooth rock with his head in his hands as terrible, wracking sobs shake his body. He cries for the fish, for himself, for Dŭrdae, for the body lying in the gravel to his left, and for the blood now staining his hands.
……………
When Aréel woke up, he climbed out of a circle of black ash resigned to the fact that he was cursed and had probably been forsaken by the gods of light. He sat with his back to a tree and stared up at the sky.
Aréel
What
Aréel!
The voice sounded in his mind again and Aréel closed his eyes to enter his soul room. There was another sliver of soul there with him, one he couldn’t believe he’d missed before. And there, standing next to the second piece, was Dŭrdae. Aréel’s breath caught, and his eyes grew wet and glistening.
“Dŭrdae?” Aréel breathed. Aréel was frozen. He wanted to scream, to laugh, to cry. His face grew hot and tears dripped down his cheeks. He shook, vibrated where he stood.
“Aréel,” Dŭrdae said softly, “Ayae.” He walked to Aréel slowly and wrapped his arms around Aréel’s shoulders. Aréel leaned against him and brought his hands up to clutch at Dŭrdae’s tunic.
“You’re here,” Aréel said, pulling the fabric in his fists tighter to himself, “Am I dead, then? I’m almost certain that the last time I saw you you turned to ash.”
“About that,” Dŭrdae said, softly, “I may or may not be an immortal god?”
Aréel froze. “Is that a fact?” He said, faintly. Aréel felt light headed. He was glad that he was already leaning against Dŭrdae.
“I was meaning to tell you on the day the spell on you pulled my spirit into you, to be entirely truthful,” Dŭrdae said, “I would have never initiated an intimate relationship with you based on a lie.” Dŭrdae slid his hands up and down Aréel’s back in a soothing motion. “We both know I care about you too much for that.”
Aréel closed his eyes and released Dŭrdae’s shirt to wrap his arms around Dŭrdae’s waist. Aréel pressed his forehead into Dŭrdae’s shoulder.
“I’m glad I didn’t lose you,” Aréel whispered. Dŭrdae slid one hand up to hold Aréel’s head and pressed a soft kiss to his hair.
“It was my fault the man was killed,” Dŭrdae said, “I couldn’t stand to see you hurt. I’m sorry, Aré.”
“I kind of figured,” Aréel said, “You were never one to stand on the sidelines and watch. You’re the reason the plants keep dying, right?”
“Partially?” Dŭrdae hedged, “I am definitely the reason they’re black and crumbly, but I’m not killing them. That’s the council’s fault.”
“The council?”
Dŭrdae held Aréel closer. “They put a spell on you that absorbs any nearby spirits that aren’t anchored. It’s sustained by a rune circle from what I can tell, and the only reason I can talk to you like this is because of the plant spirits you’ve absorbed. They form a cushion between our souls.” Aréel looked up at the two shards. Sure enough, there was a mass of silvery gray stretched between the pearl shard that was his and the obsidian that was Dŭrdae. He noticed that Dŭrdae’s shard was much larger than his, and had a strange darker aura layered around it. He attributed it to Dŭrdae’s godhood and left it at that. Aréel smiled up at Dŭrdae.
“So how do I get you out?”
“You don’t,” Dŭrdae said. “Ladon does. He’s gathering a large tree spirit as we speak.”
“What?” Aréel blinked, “Why is he doing that?”
“He owes me a small favor, and I’m letting him repay me. You must have noticed that it’s getting a little uncomfortable in here. If we get a tree spirit large enough, it will push me out. Ladon should have a body prepared for me. I’ve made sure to push the plants away, so the tree should immediately start binding to you like the other plants have.” Dŭrdae smiled down at the little light Eldar and tapped a finger gently against Aréel’s nose. “You just have to sit and look pretty.” Red blossomed on Aréel’s cheeks and he fiddled with his fingers behind Dŭrdae’s back. Dŭrdae’s smile split into a grin and he wrapped his arms around Aréel again.
“I forgot just how endearing you can be,” Dŭrdae murmured, “But as much as I’d like to stay and tease you for a while, I’d like to hold you with my real arms more. You should find Ladon if you can.”
“Or you could open your eyes,” Ladon said, amused.
Aréel was ripped out of his head by the voice and his eyes snapped open. The gold dragon was lounging in front of him with a chest in between his talons. Aréel made a face, and Ladon’s lips curled into a feral looking grin revealing his sharp teeth.
“Hello little light Eldar,” Ladon said jovially. “This might tickle a bit.” And then he opened the chest.
Aréel saw something silvery gray flying at him before there was an intense pain in his head. He screamed, and then he saw-
Black.
……………
Aréel woke to soft voices and gentle fingers in his hair. He was lying comfortably on something warm and firm.
“You could have given him some warning,” He heard someone say. The sound rumbled through him and he melted into the sensation.
“He would have only made it harder for himself and you if he’d known. Since he wasn’t thinking about it, you were able to leave successfully.” Ladon. That was Ladon.
Aréel blinked his eyes open. He saw grass and the lake, and the tip of a gold tail. The fingers came up to his scalp and he hummed as they scratched delightfully over his scalp. The fingers paused for a moment and he pressed his head up into the gentle touch. The fingers kept moving and he settled down again. He blinked sleepily.
There were fingers in his hair.
He was lying on something warm.
Dŭrdae wasn’t in his soul room.
Dŭrdae wasn’t in his soul room.
Aréel shot up and was about to look around frantically, but he was enveloped in strong arms that pulled him down so that he rested against a warm chest. He looked up and saw ebony hair and ruby eyes. He blinked, and then a smile split his face.
“Dŭrdae!” Aréel wrapped his arms around Dŭrdae’s shoulders and introduced his fingers to the hair on the back of Dŭrdae’s neck.
“Ayae, Dŭrdae,” Aréel said softly, happily. Dŭrdae stared at him, a slightly stunned look on his face. He adjusted his hold on Aréel and Aréel leaned up to press a gentle kiss on Dŭrdae’s cheek. Dŭrdae swallowed and smiled a little softly. He pressed a small kiss to Aréel’s cheek and Aréel was faced with a look so full of happy emotion that Aréel lost his breath for a moment.
“Ayae, Aréel.” Dŭrdae said softly.
“By First and Heir, just kiss already!” Ladon laughed.
Dŭrdae glared over Aréel’s shoulder and Aréel made a small sound of distress as he hid his face in Dŭrdae’s shoulder. His face exploded in red as he realized that he was sitting in Dŭrdae’s lap.
Dŭrdae wrapped his arms tighter to Aréel and pulled Aréel to his chest.
“Are you satisfied that I paid my debt in full, god of death?” Ladon asked, still amused, “I did go into debt with a more powerful death god for you.”
“I am adequately satisfied,” Dŭrdae said, still glaring, “but only for the first debt.”
“Good! I wouldn’t be able to find you otherwise if you were. That would sever the fate bonds.” Ladon said cheerfully. “I’ll leave you to your light Eldar. Stay safe, kids!”
Aréel made another weak sound of distress and Dŭrdae tightened his hold on Aréel yet again. Aréel blinked sleepily and tried to fight a wide yawn. Dŭrdae smiled softly and brushed one hand through Aréel’s hair.
“Rest, Aré-love. The absorbance took a lot out of you. I’ll still be here when you wake up.”
Aréel relaxed in Dŭrdae’s hold and let himself drift off to sleep.
Dŭrdae sighed quietly and stared out over the lake. He was concerned for the boy still lying on his lap. He knew that Aréel trusted him, but he wasn’t sure that he had earned it.
He wasn’t sure he could protect Aréel, either.
……………
Aréel woke on a soft blanket over soft palm fronds and blinked sleepily. The stars were out, and he heard the crackling of a fire. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. When he lifted his head, he saw Dŭrdae watching him with a small smile on his face. Aréel’s cheeks bloomed red, and Dŭrdae’s smile grew into a smirk.
“Ayae, Aré-love. I have some food here, if you’re hungry.” Aréel’s stomach rumbled and Aréel smiled at Dŭrdae.
“I definitely am.”
Dŭrdae laughed softly and held out a small fabric pouch full of berries. “I know you don’t like meat, so I gathered these for you.” Aréel’s smile turned soft and he pressed a short kiss to Dŭrdae’s cheek.
“Thank you, Dŭrdae,” Aréel said softly. He sat down next to Dŭrdae and so he missed the silly smile that spread across Dŭrdae’s face.
Aréel happily inhaled the berries and eyed the other pouch that sat by Dŭrdae’s knee. Dŭrdae noticed and plucked the pouch from the ground.
“You can have it,” he teased, “but the payment is another kiss.”
Aréel rolled his eyes and pushed himself to his knees to press a sweet kiss to Dŭrdae’s cheek. Aréel saw the silly grin this time and smiled fondly as he gently pried the pouch from Dŭrdae’s hand. He popped berries into his mouth as he watched a light red blush dust over Dŭrdae’s cheeks.
“Ladon is right, we are ridiculous,” Aréel mused.
“Ay,” Dŭrdae said dazedly. Aréel snorted and Dŭrdae shook his head as if to shake the dizziness away.
“I’d like to go see my mother, if you don’t mind,” Aréel said softly. “It would be nice to see her again.”
“That should be doable,” Dŭrdae said, still slightly dazed. “I never got to ask her permission to court you. We should do that next.” Aréel blinked and then blushed slightly. Dŭrdae continued, “We can go now, if you like. We’re both well rested and I don’t exactly need to sleep, so I can carry you when you need to rest.”
Aréel nodded and Dŭrdae gathered up their things. He put them in the leather bag that Ladon had gotten for them and put out the fire with a wave of his hand.
He shifted into a big black wolf and Aréel shifted to a silver panther with glowing green eyes, and off they went, following red and blue will o’ the wisps.
It took two days to reach Aréel’s mother’s house. Half of one of those days was spent slowly crossing a mountain inhabited by huge black rocs. Both of them were too wary to try flying over the area.
When they reached the house made of birch and willow, Aréel stopped.
“Aré?” Dŭrdae asked softly. “What is it, love?”
“It feels wrong,” Aréel said softly, “like someone has forced the trees to them.” Aréel stayed almost completely still for a moment longer, and then he flew forward in a burst of speed, shifting to his panther form. Dŭrdae followed with a curse a moment later.
Aréel shifted back just as he reached the door and knocked softly. The door swung open for him and he was about to enter when two arms wrapped around his chest and pulled him back a few feet.
“Dŭrdae, let me go!” Aréel seethed, “Let me go!”
“Quiet!” Dŭrdae growled in his ear, “Can’t you feel it? There’s a spell targeting emotion blanketed around this whole place. It’s riling us both up, Aréel. Please try and calm down.”
Aréel felt around with his magic and found the heavy spell wrapping around him like a blanket. He frowned. Why hadn’t he felt it before?
“That’s my magic,” Aréel said softly, understanding dawning, “I wove that spell. It was meant to activate when there was no one from the family in the house. But the door opened for me, which means it still recognizes me as it’s owner. Let me go please, Dŭrdae.” Dŭrdae reluctantly loosened his grip but pressed a kiss to Aréel’s hair before letting him go.
“Please be careful, Aré-love.” Dŭrdae said softly. Aréel nodded and stepped confidently up to the door. He stepped inside and a ripple of magic spread from the center as the wards sprung upwards. Aréel was quick to add Dŭrdae to the wards and Dŭrdae stepped into the house easily after Aréel.
“Someone’s been here,” Aréel said softly. “Someone was here recently and they placed a spell, but I can’t tell what it is.”
“There is rune circle residue over here, love.” Dŭrdae called softly. “Come look.” Aréel was quick to stand by Dŭrdae’s side, and he examined the rune circle carefully.
“That’s a really old spell,” Aréel said, completive, “It’s a spell that only a completely light magic user can manage, and it’s meant to trap anything dark that touches it. I should be fine, but you should be careful, Dŭrdae. It will take me at least four days of continuous spell weaving to undo this. Whoever did it linked it to the wards.”
Dŭrdae nodded and backed away from it slowly. He turned towards the kitchen and the small dining table. Aréel followed him and ran over the counters with his fingertips. Dŭrdae turned to smile at him, and then the room went white.
Aréel saw Dŭrdae being tugged towards the circle and he went to the wards in his head, nudging them to freeze the spell and to make a wall between Dŭrdae and the spell.
Nothing happened. Dŭrdae was pulled to the spell and trapped, and Aréel was hit by the backlash of the spell he’d tried to cast. He fell to his knees and tried to reign in his breathing. He heard footsteps and lifted his head to see his father crouching over the circle. Dŭrdae was frozen in one position, and Aréel’s father was manipulating the spell so that it formed in ropes around Dŭrdae.
“I’m really sorry for this, my son,” Aréel’s father said.
“Don’t call me that! You had no part in raising me. I am my Amya’s son. You were never there until you needed me as a chess piece.”
“I’m sorry to say, but your mother is dead.” The man said, “She would have taken you in and hidden this monster, so we disposed of her.”
“You heartless bastard,” Aréel seethed, “You could have relocated her! Or made sure that your cage was perfect! There was no need for that!” Aréel staggered to his feet and the man pushed him over so that he sprawled out over the floor.
“I really am sorry about this, Aréel,” the man said. “This wouldn’t have happened if you left him in your head.”
Tears dripped down Aréel’s face and he reached a weak hand outwards towards the man who took his love as they both disappeared in a flash of light. Aréel took in a big breath and he screamed as loud as he could, hoping that it would relieve the ball of anxious emotion that was wound tightly in his chest.
……………
Aréel loped across the plains, following the purple wisp. His silver form streaked across the green as he flew forward. He wouldn’t let Dŭrdae get destroyed. He wouldn’t. Even at the cost of his own soul, he was going to keep Dŭrdae living. Aréel knew about the experimental darkness stripping spells the council had been working on when he was locked away, and he had no idea how far they’d progressed since then. Even if Dŭrdae had to be forced back inside of him, he would not let them hurt Dŭrdae. Aréel narrowed his eyes as he approached a small tent and slowed. He transformed and walked briskly to the tent. He knocked briskly on the piece of wood at the top of the tent and stepped back. The man came out a minute later, looking annoyed.
“I don’t have him, boy.” the man snapped.
“I’m not stupid,” Aréel snapped back, “I know you don’t. But you know where he is. Just listen, okay?” Aréel said when the man was about to speak, “I know he’s dangerous. I know he cares about me, and I was playing that up. If he loves me, a light Eldar, then he won’t do as many terrible things for fear of upsetting me.” Aréel was spouting bullshit, but he hoped his father knew him just as well as Aréel thought.
Not at all.
“And why are you explaining this to me?”
“The reason you put him in me in the first place was to contain his darkness. That much darkness can’t be safely destroyed or the world’s magic would fall out of balance, but it can’t be allowed to run free, either. I am willing to have him put back in my head and to be locked away again. If you don’t wipe my memories this time, I’ll know not to leave.” The man looked at him skeptically.
Please believe me, please believe me, please-
“Alright,” the man said, “But I’m not letting you just walk in. You’ll be blindfolded and bound. Still agreeable?”
Shit.
But Aréel nodded because this was his only chance. The will o’ the wisps wouldn’t come to lead him to Dŭrdae or the council. But they did lead him to his father. He couldn’t afford to mess this up.
Aréel stood passively as his father tied him up with rope and blindfolded him. There was a flash of light and he saw red under his eyelids before he felt as if he was falling. When the feeling stopped, the blindfold was removed and Aréelwas pressed forward.
“Walk.”
Aréel walked, and a pair of impressively large double doors opened in front of them. There was a long table that spanned the room and the red banners on either side of a dais on the far side. Bound to the dais with ropes of light lay Dŭrdae.
……………
Dŭrdae was torn, at first. Should he let them take him? These people would take him away from Aréel, and he would never be found. He would probably be tortured, sure, would probably be destroyed, he knew the bastards had spent all those years that he’d been locked up scheming on how to destroy him. But he wouldn’t be able to upset Aréel anymore.
Aréel would be upset, yes, he’d probably cry, but he’d move on and become a strong god in his own right. He’d been strong before, but ever since the bastards had put the spell on Aréel that pulled spirits into his body, he’d gotten much stronger. He seemed to bloom under sunlight and moonlight, and water revitalized him. He’d eaten nothing but the oranges and the two handfuls of berries in the whole week he’d been released, and he was doing perfectly fine. Aréel was much stronger now, and was almost on par with Dŭrdae. And now that he’d absorbed the tree spirit, he would be far more powerful than Dŭrdae. He didn’t need Dŭrdae anymore, and Dŭrdae wasn’t going to drag Aréel down if he could help it.
So he barely resisted when they traded the spell for flimsy ropes and made a good show of attempting to get out. He was brought to the old palace of the light elves and placed on the dais. He remembered the last council meeting of the light elven royalty and laughed internally at the irony of the situation. They were deciding his fate while he sat in the same spot as the high ancient light elven monarchs.
Not that they probably knew that.
Dŭrdae closed his eyes and brought his lovely Aréel to his mind. He smiled at the grin that formed on Aréel’s lovely face and his fingers twitched as he remembered the feeling of Aréel’s lovely hair. He remembered the bright and piercing green eyes that captivated him so completely and blocked out the mutterings of the council to imagine bright laughter and eyes sparkling with joy. Something hit him in the side and he winced at the painful shock of light magic against his skin.
That hurt.
“Something as disgusting and dark as you shouldn’t ever get to smile.” Dŭrdae laughed softly and earned himself another spark of angry magic, but he didn’t react this time. He raised his head in a challenge to the Eldar in front of him, but before the man could do any more, he was called by one of the other councilmen.
“Celebamarth, quit. We need him whole for the ritual if that’s what we decide.” Celebamarth snarled at Dŭrdae and stalked towards the table.
“I have no idea why Celebanna allowed that thing close to my grandson,” Celebamarth growled, “I raised her with more sense than that.”
“Be that as it may,” The other Eldar said, on eyebrow raised, “Aldaha has sent word that his son has offered to have the beast locked inside of him and himself locked away again, with the request that we allow him to keep his memories. Your grandson will be here soon, and I doubt the first thing he’ll want to see in over 260 years is his dear grandfather abusing a helpless beast.”
Dŭrdae’s eyes shot to the Eldar speaking.
What
“What!?” Celebamarth screamed. Dŭrdae would have found the fact that the old Eldar was literally frothing at the mouth hilarious if he didn’t share the old man’s sentiments so exactly. He listened desperately for any more mention of Aréel, but the council had moved on to discussing the merits and pitfalls to accepting. Dŭrdae was saved from trying to focus on the many different conversations to try and figure out when the doors swung open. His eyes met emerald green and he reached out towards those green, green eyes with his magic.
What are you doing? He said desperately, You were safe, why did you come back for me?
I will never allow you to sacrifice yourself for me, Aréel answered unwaveringly, I love you too much to let you get hurt.
Aréel stared at him unwaveringly, and Dŭrdae finally noticed that Aréel was tied in ropes.
They’d brought him here like a common criminal!?
He could understand himself, he was a beast to them, nothing more than a dangerous animal, but Aréel? Aréel had never given them a reason to mistrust him besides the fact that they’d used him and he’d escaped. Dŭrdae felt something dark welling up inside of him. As the words of the council men registered, he felt the darkness swell into a rising rage.
“If he’s willing to be a container, then let him.”
Aréel was just a container to them?
“But if his soul isn’t large enough, won’t the beast take over?”
As if he would ever hurt Aréel.
“We should make sure that doesn't happen. Experiment with the container a bit.”
The rage transformed into a terrifying fury and as it rose and crested inside of him, he gritted his teeth to keep it in. These bastards might deserve death, but his Aréel did not.
“We could use the container’s body to make a better container if we need to.”
Dŭrdae felt the rage multiply, but he kept it locked inside of himself. He could not hurt Aréel. A bright white light appeared in his mind’s eye, and he watched as the light orb spiraled towards his own violet glowing orb of suppressed power.
I’ll be safe, Aréel whispered to him, I’ll never be hurt by you. Dŭrdae struggled with the power for a moment, but Aréel’s orb was getting closer and closer to his own. He couldn’t let Aréel touch darkness as complete as the magic he’d conjured, so he let go.
Bliss clouded his mind as the darkness burst out of him in a wave of shadowy death.
……………
Aréel watched Dŭrdae intently, watching as rage and fury built up inside of him. Aréel was surprised at how fast it accumulated, and he knew he should be panicking, in the back of his mind somewhere, but he felt calm, safe. Dŭrdae would never hurt him. Dŭrdae couldn’t hurt him. Aréel projected this as hard as he could at Dŭrdae.
I’ll be safe, Aréel whispered to him, I’ll never be hurt by you.
Aréel reached out to brush Dŭrdae’s mind, and the world went black.