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Chapter 21-C: Light's End (Part 3)

The icy winds of winter whipped onto the lands of Kärmave as Vidar wandered with Leofwine next to him towards the city of Jokulldal. They were both covered with snow, and their clothes heavy from the water that they soaked up. Yet, eventually the wolverine and otter reached the city, and were soon greeted by the guards.

"Your majesty, your majesty!" a wolf saluted before them with a solemn expression. "We were in worry that something happened. Vigdis said we should believe in you, but in secret, we were,"

Vidar raised his hand and chuckled softly. "I do understand. But for now, I and Leofwine would really like some dry and warm place for ourselves," he said before heading towards the jarlhus.

"It does not really make much of a difference with the cold and wetness," Leofwine commented as they were getting closer to the building. "But well, I guess you can't say what you actually wanted to say."

"That I want a place to get naked with you?" the wolverine whispered and giggled as he hugged Leofwine and playfully bit around the muzzle of the otter. "Although, they likely think that anyway."

Leofwine laughed and then let himself be dragged towards the jarlhus by Vidar. He was just gleefully smiling as they entered, as he suddenly noticed something strange.

Vidar's kind and friendly expression had faded, his gaze fixed onto the throne and his muzzle twisted to expose his teeth. "What are you doing here?"

On the throne, bearing none of his insignia, Bjartr sat upon. He was looking at Vidar without any reply.

"Why did you come back, huh?" Vidar now stepped closer, his hands balled to fists as he was about to hit his father in the face.

"Don't," Leofwine whispered gently as he laid his hand on the arm of the younger wolverine, pulling it away from Bjartr.

With a sigh, Vidar turned around and backed up from the throne before crossing his arms and looking around for any sign of Vigdis. "Now, fucking talk, old man."

Bjartr got up from the throne and looked down at his feet. "You got all the right to hate me, Vidar."

"Guess what I am doing right now," Vidar replied as he held his right index finger out to point at his father. "If it were not for you, everything would be fine. But you abandoned the throne and as a result so many people are dead. You get that? Fucking dead! Because you ran away like the coward you are!"

Leofwine looked a bit awkwardly around himself as he looked at the angry face of Vidar and the apologetic face of Bjartr.

"And I accept this truth. I have no right to claim back crown and throne, and in that the jarls have agreed," Bjartr spoke as he stepped further away from the throne. "All I wanted, was to see if the rumors were right. That you were alive after all."

Vidar snarled and turned towards a set of stairs leading to his private bed chambers. "As you can see for yourself. Don't pretend you actually cared for me rather than your lineage."

Leofwine remained still as Vidar left the throne room behind. He then gazed at Bjartr, unsure what to say about the situation. Instead, he simply followed his lover upstairs and into the private bed chamber that they shared before their journey to Adamas. "Listen, I know you got a lot of strong feelings about this."

"Half a year ago, I would have ripped his throat out," the wolverine said as he took of the cloak he was wearing and hanged it up on the wall. "Now, I just want him out of my life. He is incapable to feel love, so I don't believe that this suddenly changed."

"Do you really think so?" Leofwine asked as he got closer and laid his arms around Vidar. "Do you really think he does not love you?"

Vidar nodded as he returned the hug and stepped towards the bed with the otter in his arms. "When I was fifteen, he yelled that at me after he found out that I experimented a bit around with a few of my friends I trained with. And well, I guess that after that I experimented way more often than I should have."

Leofwine sighed as he leaned closer to the wolverine and closed his eyes and rested on Vidar's belly. "I wish we did not have to return under such circumstances. I am not sure what I can even say at this point."

"Well, we do not need to say anything really," Vidar said as he gently brushed a hand over the face of the otter. "My father abandoned the throne, and the jarls will never acknowledge him again for that. Once I bear the crown, we will focus on raising Kjeld and I will handle the politics stuff."

"You, keep this away from yourself," Leofwine remarked as he rested his head on the wolverine's chest. His whiskers twitched, and his hands wandered along the backside of his beloved. "It might be for the better, if there is absolutely no love between you two."

The prince shed a tear and then took the head of Leofwine gently to place a kiss on the otter's muzzle. "All I care about, is you, Kjeld, and the future of Kärmave. We need to leave behind our warrior-focused traditions. Much like I have to learn to become calm."

"Have you, a plan for that already?" the otter questioned with an arched eyebrow. "I mean, it won't be an easy task, admittedly. Your culture may ally itself with Scathsolas, but it deems magic as a tool of the week, unlike Aldric's people do."

Vidar chuckled and then lifted up the otter to get him towards his bed and began to rub along the side of Leofwine. "Leave it all to me, Leof. If we got this far, anything else is an easy task. For now, we should just try to have something nice together."

"You always have that one thing in mind, don't you?" Leofwine voiced gently as he put his hands around the sides of Vidar and pulled him down onto himself. "But to be fair, I am very much enjoying that."

Grinning wolfishly, Vidar then was about to take off his shirt and other garments, as loud noises could be heard from the outside. With a sigh he kissed Leofwine on the muzzle and got out of bed. "Sorry about this."

"We have a whole day ahead of us," Leofwine gave back as he slapped Vidar's belly and behind. "And the whole night. Come, let's see what is going on."

Smiling apologetically, Vidar made his way out of his chambers and then the jarlhus at large. He was coughing as the scent of smoke hit his nose, as fire had spread across the town. "What? What is going on?"

"We are under attack, your majesty!" one of the guards called towards him as a ball of fire went down on of the houses. "Something, something has fallen down from the sky."

"Flower fucking sons of ball licking whores!" with a snarl, the prince then turned around to Leofwine, who had followed him outside. "It is not safe here, you need to head to safety!"

The otter however shook his head and then handed Vidar's weapon to him, before unsheathing his own. "I cannot just stand by again this time." He then stepped forward and rammed his sword into the ground and folded his hands.

"What are you doing?" Vidar now asked as he rushed forward to deflect a fireball with his own burning blade. "Something is going horribly wrong here, and I need you to get to safety!"

"Just give me a moment," Leofwine returned with a strained voice as he separated the palms of his hands and took a deep breath as he held them towards the sky. "Blessings of the clouds, they shall fall upon us!"

Vidar arched an eyebrow, but then noticed a drop of rain falling onto his muzzle. And then another. And another, until it grew into a sudden rainstorm, which had so much water fall down that his own sword began to steam from it.

Leofwine chuckled satisfied, but then gasped as his muscled began to hurt from the experience. "Mages make it look much easier than it really is." He smiled weakly, but his face soon turned to terror as he pushed against Vidar, pulling him to the ground as a crystalline projectile barely missed the wolverine's neck.

"By Odin's Eye," the prince now glanced up, gazing at the image of a crystalline entity. This fragment of Aleftav was shining in a magenta light, with steam coming from its form. "What by Hel's tits is going on that I need to deal with this shit now?

"We should ask that later, right now," Leofwine crossed his arms, and a shield of ice formed in front of them, blocking another incoming projectile from Aleftav as he and Vidar got off from the ground. "Right now, we should think of how to break this thing there to pieces. I doubt swords can do much to something made out of solid crystal."

The wolverine blew out some air from his muzzle. "How about a hammer or pickaxe? We got some of those around somewhere I am sure." He smiled reassuringly, only to stumble backwards as a flash of light hit Leofwine's ice wall and blinded him temporarily.

"Well, a hammer sounds good, if you can bring it down with enough force," the otter stated as he was glancing around and stepping closer to Vidar. With a deep breath, he moved his hands around and the wall of ice formed a sphere around Aleftav. "But we should consider if there is a weak point in its structure. And find a way to pierce through it."

Vidar looked a bit worried and turned towards some of the guards who were coming to his side. "We need some folks with stuff to hammer away at gemstones here. Anything works really, but we need to get through its body."

Two of the men saluted and rushed back towards the jarlhus, while more of them were coming, all equipped with weaponry to combat the invading creature.

"Okay, fire away everyone!" Leofwine called back at them and opened a hole in the sphere of ice that was keeping Aleftav in place.

Several weapons were thrown at the body of Aleftav, most of them inefficient due to the crystalline structure of the being's body. However, some of the guards threw larger metallic objects like forge hammers, causing a few cracks to appear.

Aleftav however began to vibrate under the icy prison keeping it at bay and shattered the sphere mere moments after. "You foolish mortals think your primitive weapons could harm a divine being? It will be a mercy to extinguish your lives."

Vidar scoffed at the threat and drew his sword and swung it in an arch at Aleftav, which caused the spells on it to cast forth a sphere of fire, which hit the cracks of its body. "Leofwine, cover it with snow!"

"Um, sure," the otter did as he was told and channeled his magic to move the masses of snow around them to wrap around Aleftav's body.

The next moment, Vidar shot another fireball at the cracking spot, causing the snow to melt and a bit more damage to the crystalline entity. However, the next moment he was pushed to the ground by a shockwave as Aleftav cried out.

"Enough of this," it spoke as rushed its left hand towards Leofwine and grabbed the otter. "I will end you first."

"Get your hand off him!" Vidar rushed forward with his sword and swung it over his head as he jumped upward. The blade connected with the body of the creature, and unlike the other weapons around them was able to cut through it effortlessly. Much to the surprise of Vidar, who feel over and landed in the snow face-first.

Leofwine was still trapped in Aleftav's hand but was able to get out his right arm from between the claws of the crystalline being. He glanced over Vidar and noticed that Aleftav's other arm was moving closer to him. "Get away, Vid!"

The wolverine groaned as he tried to get back up on his feet, yet he was not in any way fast enough to escape Aleftav.

"It is time for your insolent mortals to give up," Aleftav spoke as it was about to grab Vidar and crush him, yet moments before it could close its grip around him, something hit its body and pushed it away from the wolverine.

Bjartr was standing behind the creature, holding a massive hammer in his hands, as he got closer. "Vidar, retreat! We can handle this."

"Yeah right," the younger wolverine snarled back as he picked up his sword again and channeled through it for another fire spell. "Just get out of my way, old man."

"It is not the right time to bicker at each other right now," Leofwine groaned as he was pushing himself through the fingers of Aleftav's severed arm and fell into the snow.

"He got that right," the older wolverine noted as he swung his hammer around to hit Aleftav with full force once more.

The otter frowned as he got his sword out of its sheath and glanced at its blade. "Your sword was able to cut through it like butter, Vid. Unlike all the weapons, which could only crack its shell."

Vidar glanced at his sword and then at Leofwine's. "You suggest magical weapons can hurt it?"

"Maybe it could be the property of the fire spells," the otter now held his sword up and it began to glow with a searing heat. The next moment he rushed forward and jumped up on Bjartr's back to get enough height in his jump to cut away at Aleftav's body, indeed cutting right through it.

"Get out of the way, boy," Bjartr called as he rushed with his hammer at Aleftav again, pushing it further away again.

Vidar meanwhile headed towards Leofwine and helped him back up on his feet. "You got it figured out, Leof!" He grinned and then held his sword forward. "So, what spot do you think is the weak spot?"

"Um, well," the otter glanced at the body of Aleftav and pointed at the bulb protruding from the body. "Maybe the thing that looks like a bird fetus? Not the most appetizing sight."

"Admittedly," Vidar gave back as he slowly approached the fighting Bjartr and Aleftav. With a furious strike, he was about to hit the entity, but then was swiped to the ground as the severed arm of it returned to the body.

"It is time to end this," Aleftav spoke as it smacked the war hammer out of Bjartr's hand and grabbed the old king with both of his hands. Its arms began to glow, and a mass of energy emitted from it, which was akin to five times that of regular fire.

Screams of pain and agony escaped Bjartr for a few moments, until he went silent.

"If you mortals thought you could best me, then you are more foolish than we expected," Aleftav spoke calmly as it let the scorched body of Bjartr fall to the ground. "I am of divine origin. What can you even hope to do against such as me?"

"Father," Vidar looked at the body of his father, while the grip on his blade grew weaker and it fell into the snow.

"Are you finally willing to accept the end?" Aleftav asked as it got closer to the wolverine. "It will be over in an instant. Do not resist."

Before it could do anything to the wolverine however, Leofwine threw his blade at the bulb of Aleftav's body. The sword went right through but got stuck inside the body as the entity recovered the damage almost instantly. "You stay away from him!"

"Why fight, if you know you cannot win?" Aleftav questioned as it now turned to the otter and began to glow once more. "If you cannot even comprehend the powers you are fighting with."

"Whatever god you claim to be," Leofwine now held up his two arms and closed his eyes. "I will not submit my fate to you."

Aleftav was about to unleash another wave of energy as the sword stuck inside of it began to emit a blue glow. The energy that the entity was about to release was dispelled and the cracks began to grow wider. "Impossible! What are you doing?"

"I may not be as brave as my sister or as smart as my brother, but," the otter smiled as he was closed his palms, "you won't be hurting those I love as long as I still breathe."

"You will be eradicated, vermin!" Aleftav screamed as its body fell apart due to the water that got caught within the cracks now freezing again and pushing apart its structure, to the point that the bulb broke off from the rest of the body and fell into the snow.

"No, he won't," Vidar's eyes now sprang back to life, glowing as aetheral forces began to stream through him once more. "You will be eradicated, Aleftav." He stomped forward, flames coming from him, which were melting the snow. With all his force he lifted his sword upward and descended it down on Aleftav's core, cutting it in half.

"Is it over?" Leofwine asked as the crystalline body of Aleftav began to disintegrate only leaving some glow, which soon faded as well. "We, we did it. We defeated it."

Vidar stood there as the battle finally ended. Exhausted, he let his sword fall aside and walked to the body of his father. "Yeah. We defeated it." He took a deep breath and shook his head. "He never was a good father to me. But he did not deserve to die like this." And with that he fell to his knees and began to shed tears.

Leofwine walked over to the wolverine and placed a hand on his back, himself very much exhausted from the battle. "In the end, he was giving us the chance to destroy Aleftav. I am sorry however."

"It is the way of this world, I suppose," Vidar spoke and pulled Leofwine into a hug. "A world I wish to change. For Kjeld, for our people, for everyone."

The otter smiled weakly and gave Vidar a kiss on the nose before they both got up and took Bjartr body to bring it to the jarlhus.

An hour passed, and Vidar was sitting on the throne, resting as he kept his eyes on his sword and the now cold blade of it.

"Your highness," Vigdis called over as she entered the throne room from the office rooms. "We have prepared the pyre for your father. And, the ceremony can begin this evening."

Vidar sighed as he turned his head to her. "So much of my family is gone, Vigdis. How many people even needed to die?"

She took a deep breath and shook her head. "All life is fading eventually, going back to the earth. We cannot change that, but we can do most of the time we are given."

"She got a point, you know?" Leofwine now came into the throne room, heading to the prince and taking his hand. "As much as we may have lost, we have gained a lot more in turn. Each other for example. And together, we can protect Kjeld and our kingdom."

"Protect it all? I doubt we can fight off all tragedies, but," he smiled weakly and leaned forward to kiss the otter, "it does not mean we need to stand by and let it all happen. Any good deed will help in the long run."

Leofwine chuckled and embraced Vidar with tears shedding from his eyes. He was however quickly interrupted as the doors of the jarlhus opened once more.

Magni and Idunna came inside, the latter holding Kjeld in her arms as they got closer to the throne. "We just arrived town," she spoke calmly as she headed to Leofwine and put the young wolverine in her arms to the otter's care.

"Our journey was a bit difficult, but your men certainly were helpful," Magni added as he came to it as well. "We heard the king has fallen in battle?"

"Technically he was no longer king," Vigdis noted and scratched her forehead as she stepped away from the throne for a moment.

"I guess that I should be getting used to the title of prince," Leofwine stated as he tickled the belly of Kjeld and laughed heartfully as the wolverine baby belched in response. "He got that from you, Vid."

Vidar smiled warmly as he took his sun into his own arms and looked him into the barely open eyes. "And he got his mother's face." He brushed gently over Kjeld's head and then looked at the right leg of his child. "For him, I will do anything. Even change the world and the people in it, so that he might live in peace and rule a better Kärmave than I did."

"You know, I have experienced a lot of luxury compared to my old life ever since I met you," Leofwine now spoke as he placed a hand on Kjeld's forehead and Vidar's chest. "Let us bring prosperity to all of our people."

The prince laughed and hugged Leofwine with one of his arms, while holding Kjeld between them with the other. "After today, I see that task as an easy one."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scathsolas was sleeping, the daylight was reflecting strongly on the snowy hill as Aldric and Fionnbharr were approaching the gates of the city hill. Barely a dozen guards were standing out at the gates, yet most of them were not at high alert.

"You guess they will realize I am back?" Fionnbharr spoke as he and Aldric were passing through with none of the guards reacting to them. "Because, quite frankly, they are a little bit apathic at the moment."

Aldric shrugged as he looked at the guards, before he noticed a smell of mead and urine. "I take it they had their own things to attend to. Probably not a great sign, if the city guards are drunk on their posts."

"I may should tell the council about it," Fionnbharr pondered as he was walking with Aldric towards the town center. "But well, do you mind if we head to the temple first? I sort of am not feeling like dealing with Ninniaw already."

The shaman arched an eyebrow but nodded and wandered with Fionnbharr next to him up the temple building, entering through its gates with a rather exhausted look.

"Hi there, I haven't met you, yet," a child's voice reached the two badgers. A much younger badger was sitting on the floor close to one of the doors surrounding the entrance hall, glancing at them curiously. "I am Fiachra, and I am a new acolyte."

Aldric scratched his ear and chuckled softly as he walked over to his younger brethren. "A pleasure to meet you, Fiachra. I am Aldric and a shaman of the temple. I just came back from a long journey. Hence why you may not know me yet."

Fiachra blinked and looked over Aldric with curiosity. "Your name is Aldric? I heard of you, actually. Um, maybe we should go to the Grand Shaman?"

"Go on ahead, I think, if I look closely, it might be best for me to remain here?" Fionnbharr spoke with a weak smile as he wandered over to a statue.

"Are you alright?" the shaman asked with concern as he looked over the albino, but then he noticed that Fiachra already ran ahead to the deeper parts of the temple, and thus he followed him.

The Grand Shaman was standing at the altar of the Great Mother, her gaze under her massive gown fixed on the two badgers. "You have returned, Aldric. Safely and hopefully a bit wiser." She then took off her headwear, to reveal the face of an old she-wolf.

Aldric chuckled and blushed a little. "I may admit, I am not quite sure about it. After all, you send me out on a long journey in the end. It took more than half a year to get back, and, actually I may have to say, I am happy."

"Happy?" Fiachra asked shyly as he looked up the older badger and glanced at the rather tired face.

"To have made bonds," Aldric spoke and then looked at the younger badger with a genuinely joyful smile. "Ever since I was fifteen, I was only letting one person close to me. And now, it did certainly change."

The Grand Shaman nodded and then glanced to Fiachra. "Now, there is a thing to be said. This young boy was send to us by the heir to the Gildendew Meadery in the south of the kingdom."

"Wait, you mean," Aldric's face shifted to a surprised expression as he looked down at Fiachra and then back at the Grand Shaman. "I am his uncle?"

"Mama said, you were given away when you were a year old," Fiachra voiced calmly as he hid behind the altar. "The ability to communicate with the spirits. Grandpa sold you for it, she said."

Aldric frowned and then approached Fiachra to pick him up and lift him onto his own shoulders. "I hold no grudges. But, have you come here by your own free will?"

The boy nodded and then rested his head on Aldric's. "Yes, I wanted to see this city. And find out what the people here are like."

"I hope nice to you," Aldric spoke kindly as he was looking at the Grand Shaman again. "Will he be staying with me? I got a few rooms for him to pick."

"That has been the idea of me and his mother," the Grand Shaman told him and then gestured to the statues around them. "Family is an important thing in our lives. And I can trust that you will be a responsible guardian to him."

Aldric smiled warmly. "I will make sure that he grows up to become a great shaman. If he wants to keep the career path. Else, I support him on whatever he qualifies the best with."

"Uncle Aldric?" Fiachra smiled, got his head up from Aldric's and held onto him tightly. "Would you bring me to your home, please?"

"Certainly," he gave back and then carefully bowed before the Grand Shaman. "I will take my leave."

She smiled and put on her headwear again. "Take care of yourself, Aldric. For now, you deserve some rest."

Once Aldric and Fiachra left the altar room, Fionnbharr approached them and looked at the young badger on Aldric's head with curious glance. "So, did he figure it out?"

"After the Grand Shaman mentioned the Gildendew Meadery," Aldric answered for the younger badger and laughed. "You got a bit of magical insight, so how did you guess?"

"His scent and appearance are similar enough to you," Fionnbharr smiled and then turned towards the temple doors to hold them open for Aldric and Fiachra. He was however quickly surprised as several guards were approaching them, with someone trotting behind them.

"Fionn!" Ninniaw's voice reached the ears of the albino badger as he rushed past his guards and grabbed his younger brother to pull him into an embrace. "Thank the gods, you are safe."

Taken be surprise, Fionnbharr remained still for a few seconds, before returning the gesture and hugging his sibling. "I was gone for merely a few days. I think."

"It was far too long," his older brother remarked and then turned his sight towards Aldric and Fiachra. "I take it you ensured he was safe the whole time?"

Aldric shook his head. With a soft chuckle he stepped past the two princes and gave Fionnbharr a quick pat on the back. "He managed pretty fine by himself. He is an adult, remember that."

"He got that one right," Fionnbharr agreed with a weak chuckle before giving Aldric a nod and then looking towards the castle. "Our adventure is over, and I think, it is about time for our normal lives to continue."

"Not that I had my nephew living with me before," the shaman jested and then moved around his shoulders for Fiachra to sit more comfortably on them. "So then, time for me to show you your new room. And make some dinner."

Fiachra laughed in excitement and played around with his uncle's ears before lying down on his head.

Aldric yawned and gave Fiachra a pat on the head before giving Fionnbharr a hug with his free arm. "See you around, Fionn. I got so much dusting to do now, so I better do it quickly."

"Certainly," Fionnbharr nodded as he saw his friend walk off towards his own home. "I am glad that we both are back home at last."

"Well, if things normalize again, he should probably be able to stay home for most of the time," Ninniaw commented as they began walking towards the royal palace. "To be honest, I am just glad you both are safe."

Smiling a little, the younger brother put his hands together and observed the city on their way home. "We have completed our task. For now, I think we can," he paused for a moment and stood still. "No, this is, this is not."

Ninniaw arched an eyebrow and put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Is something the matter, Fionn?"

"This, this has happened before," Fionnbharr now placed his hands on his forehead and tried to recall something. "No, not before, it is going to happen." He glanced up to his brother and wrapped his arms around him. "Ninniaw, I am sorry, but, I cannot stay."

"What are you on about?" Ninniaw asked in confusion. "You just returned home, you should come and see father with me."

"No," the albino spoke calmly as he took his arms away from his older brother. "I will just endanger you all, if I remain. It wants me, that much I know now." With a heavy sigh, he put his hands together, and a gateway opened up behind him. Teary-eyed he gave Ninniaw one last smile before turning around and jumping through. A second later he found himself far outside the city, within a clearing at the large forest surrounding the area. Taking a deep breath, he looked up towards the sky and channeled his magic to form a staff in his hands.

"You have realized that you cannot hide?" a voice echoed through the forest as one last fragment of Aleftav appeared, shinning in a brilliant yellow and its body threateningly reforming. "How is that you knew that your weapon could not stop me?"

Fionnbharr held his staff toward the crystalline creature and channeled his magic through it. "Because, I finally see clearly. I have seen a future I already lived through. Time and time again." He then grabbed his staff tightly and closed his eyes. "But this time, I will let these visions remain a nightmare."

"How ignorant you are of your position," Aleftav called towards the albino badger and rose its arms above itself. "I shall end you in time. And after that, I will end everyone you love."

"Yishai," Fionnbharr now opened his eyes as his magic began to flow through him. Shadows began to form over his white face, forming the stripes that his species was known for but which he sorely lacked. His eyes shone in a menacing red and his aura became much more noticeable. "I shall not fail you this time."

A moment passed, violently Aleftav descended its arms at Fionnbharr, trying to crush the albino with its mere weight and force.

Fionnbharr held his staff in both hands and held it above, before his magic was bending the space around him to create a protective shield. "You will find that I am not so easily defeated, Aleftav!"

"You mortals need to learn of your weakness," the entity replied as it moved backwards and reformed its arms to form lances. "Your position in the cosmos, as you are merely a festering disease."

"Spoken well, for a puppet," Fionnbharr now rose his head, his eyes confident and full of spirit. "You are a pawn without true will. No soul, no true mind, just a body of corrupted light." The darkness around him began spreading, eventually forming shapes of their own, before forming a circle around the area.

"What are you trying to do?" Aleftav asked as its body began to glow in an eerie light. A moment later, the color of its body shifted from yellow to white and black.

Fionnbharr smiled as he looked up at Aleftav before suddenly a load roar could be heard from the sky. "I do what has to be done." Taking a deep breath, he lifted up from the ground as Thuban landed right next to Aleftav, its machinery creating a deafening noise as the metallic beast grabbed Aleftav and slammed it into the ground. "Aldric, I hope you can forgive me. I couldn't even give you a proper farewell."

Thuban roared as he violently swung Aleftav around, yet a moment later he was pushed off as the crystalline entity gained more mass and hit the metal dragon's left set of wings.

"You are but a creation of lesser beings," Aleftav grabbed Thuban and pushed him into the ground beneath. "A weapon unable to destroy me."

The machine did not react verbally, instead opening its maw to fire pure aether at his enemy, severing part of its arm from the body. "You are a perfect reflection of your master. And just like him, you are blind." Thuban now spread his wings and then pushed forward, tackling Aleftav and dragging it several miles into the distance, letting its body grind in the rocky ground beneath them.

"Domhan shall not perish," Fionnbharr now appeared on top of Thuban, keeping steady as he held onto the dragon's horn. "Aleftav, I will bring an end to you."

Aleftav's body shone ever brighter as it began to grow again, this time outgrowing the size of the ginormous Thuban. As their movement stopped, it formed a lance and attacked the right wings of the dragon, shattering off several of them. "You cannot stop me. I shall prevail in my mission."

"You have not realized it yet," Fionnbharr now spoke as he jumped off Thuban and vanished before reappearing behind Aleftav. "I have rendered it impossible for you to fulfill your goal."

With heavy and stiff movements, the creature turned around to face Fionnbharr, it's aura becoming threatening. "How could you possible stop me, mortal? I am the servant of a god, who plans to erase your world. You are just vermin." Parts of its body now split off and launched towards Fionnbharr.

The young prince jumped back, barely dodging the attacks, before he noticed the shards of Aleftav reshaping and taking the form of flowery humanoids. "I will gladly serve you a last fight." One of the creatures now lunged at the albino but was swiftly struck by the crystalline staff and shattered to pieces, where as the next was cut in half by a blade of searing plasma.

Thuban at the same time was rushing Aleftav again and opened his maw to unleash another salve of aetheral energy at the entity, trying to damage it as much as possible. The damage on its right sight however, caused it to lose control and fall over, causing it to drag Aleftav with itself.

Fionnbharr meanwhile was fighting more and more of the creatures that were spawned from the shards, his breathing becoming irregular as his body could not really go on much further.

One of the remaining crystal monsters approached him with its arms spread out, claws visible. "Perish, Mortal," it spoke with an artificial voice as it was about to attack.

"It does not matter," Fionnbharr spoke more to himself than to the creature as its claws cut into his flesh, pushing him to the ground, while his staff fell out of his hands. "You have already lost, and don't realize it yet."

The creature was about to strike once more, but then its movement slowed down, before freezing entirely. It began to dissolve in mere moments as the world around them became darker, with the only light coming from Aleftav and Thuban.

"This is implausible," Aleftav's body began to shiver and crack as its core moved around. "What have you done?"

Thuban's engines soared loudly as it pushed off Aleftav from itself and used the moment of distraction to grab the core. "You are finished, Aleftav. Like you should have been so many eons ago."

"I will prevail," Aleftav then pushed its arms against Thuban once more, breaking off more and more of its metallic body. "I will prevail!" It's screams stopped a few moments after as the pulling of Thuban stopped.

The large machine was heavily damaged, its engines began malfunctioning, and the arm was no longer able to grab Aleftav's core.

"I will prevail," it reiterated and pulled itself out of the machine's arm before turning towards Fionnbharr and approaching him. "Your greatest weapon has failed you. And you are dying here."

Fionnbharr glanced up towards Aleftav, his eyes tired from fighting its parts and his robe bloodied from the battle. "Let me ask you something? What do you think have I done?"

Aleftav stopped for a moment as it looked down at the badger, before it turned to face the surrounding area. The darkness summoned by Fionnbharr had engulfed everything and quickly approached the young badger.

"You are out of time," Fionnbharr spoke as he closed his eyes and put a hand on his chest. Moments later, Thuban disappeared and only Aleftav and Fionnbharr were left, with the world around them vanishing piece by piece.

"This is not possible!" Aleftav exclaimed as it was about to crush Fionnbharr, only for it to witness its arms to dissolve, followed by the body surrounding its core. It let out one last scream, before vanishing entirely from existence.

A smile came over the muzzle of the young albino as he was at last alone in the darkness. Nothing existed around him anymore, nothing but himself. And moments later, he could himself slip away.

And then, there was nothing. No sound, no smell, no light, no feeling, nothing at all. It was absolute peace, found where all had vanished.

"But is this fate what you want for yourself, Fionnbharr?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aldric held his nephew in his arms, slowly approaching the bedroom of the young badger to place him gently onto the straw and pulling over the blanket.

Fiachra was sleeping peacefully, satisfied from the shaman's cooking and tales of the journey he went on the past half year.

"It is really strange," Aldric spoke to himself as he wandered back upstairs and sat down in his chair, his body sore from so many months of travel. He glanced over to the kitchen, still a bit dusty, yet engulfed in the scent of his own cooking, creating a familiar atmosphere. "It is so good to be back." For a moment he wanted to just close his eyes and doze off for the day. And yet, something felt off to him somehow. With a deep breath he got up and headed outside, his robe covering him still as his legs carried him to the palace.

On his way however, a couple of scouts rushed by him, seemingly in distress as they were running to the palace.

"What has gotten into them?" the shaman asked himself as he took pace as well, eventually reaching the palace ground, where the scouts approached Ninniaw.

The prince's face betrayed that whatever the scouts told him caused a shock to go through him. His eyes began to tear up, and he sat down on the ground to cover up his face.

"Ninniaw?" Aldric headed towards the other badger with a puzzled expression before turning around. "Did something happen?"

"Fionn," Ninniaw sighed and looked up at the shaman. "He, he suddenly rushed outside, and my scouts informed me that, they saw," he wiped off his tears and looked down at his feet. "He fought some monster, and used a spell, before he and that thing disappeared."

Aldric's eyes widened. "Disappeared?" In disbelief he grabbed one of the scouts and shook him. "Where did you see them? Where?"

The scout was shivering at the sudden aggression of the shaman. "Three miles straight from the main gate northward," he explained before freeing himself and stepping back from Aldric.

"Sorry," the badger quickly apologized before rushing down the street from the palace towards the main gates, ignoring the guards standing there, as long as his feet would carry him. It did not matter that his legs hurt after a short while or that his lungs started to burn.

The sun descended eventually, and Aldric found himself at the battlefield, where Fionnbharr fought Aleftav.

Thuban was lying there, his engines having slowed down as drones were repairing his machinery, while his eyes turned to the shaman. They began to glow, and shortly after the hologram of a smaller dragon appeared before the badger. "I am sorry. But I was not able to protect him."

"What," Aldric stepped closer to the hologram and balled his fists. "What happened? Where is Fionnbharr?" His body shook, his voice trembling as he now got closer. "Where is he?!"

The holographic dragon crossed his arms and looked away from Aldric, clearly not sure what to say. "While I fought Aleftav, he prepared a spell. I could not analyze what it was, but it would appear he took Aleftav with him, wherever he went."

"So, he could be still alive?" Aldric asked in desperation. "Please tell me, what do you remember?"

Thuban shook his head. "I was heavily damaged and then Aleftav approached your friend, but then, it all faded away when he said 'You are out of time'."

Aldric fell to his knees as he looked down at the ruptured earth. Soon the dirt was wettened by tears, as he punched into it repeatedly, not even caring for the pain he was inflicting onto himself. "Why, Fionnbharr? Why did you have to do this?"

"To ensure the survival of yours, and many others," an enigmatic voice spoke in the back of Aldric's mind. "He knew fully well what he was doing, Aldric."

"Yishai, show yourself!" the shaman yelled in anger as he got up and looked around. "I am done with you sovereigns playing chess with us!"

A sigh went through the woods. Moments later the light of the sun began to twist, and instead of it glowing, it turned black and with it the sky. The light had reshaped, forming the body of a polar fox. "It never laid in my intention to move pieces on a board. Neither did I force Fionnbharr to do this."

"Stop with your lies, you," Aldric balled his fist and was about to punch Yishai, only to have the hands of the fox hold him back.

"You recall Fionnbharr's special ability of seeing countless futures?" Yishai asked as he disappeared in a cloud of sparks only to reappear behind Aldric. "The ability of perceiving countless possibilities, of which only one might eventually become the truth? Yet, he had a singular vision only a few days ago, not multiple at the same time." He turned back to the shaman. "You may recall, he had a nightmare, but would not tell you what he saw."

Aldric stepped closer and moments later he did no longer find himself in the woods, but in Scathsolas. However, it was not the sprawling and beautiful city he knew, but a collapsed structure, in which the countless layers of buildings and districts laid in rubble. "What are you showing me?"

"The future this universe originally was to experience," Yishai spoke calmly as he wandered forward, towards a shape in the distance, which was clad in a blue robe, covering them completely. "A future in which Aleftav destroyed your home. In which Thuban never arrived to fight and weaken it either."

With heavy steps, Aldric approached the figure, noticing that it was in fact Fionnbharr, kneeling over someone. "This, this is, me." He looked down at the body Fionnbharr was kneeling at, his heartbeat fastening as he looked into his own lifeless eyes.

"And that is the moment in which our part begins," Yishai spoke as the shape of Fionnbharr stood up and dark stripes began to form from the magic forces within him. The next moment the scene shifted and Yishai and Aldric stood back at a completely restores Scathsolas. With a wave of his hand, the polar fox shifted their surroundings around, sending them into what seemed like the yard of the royal palace. "Time usually moves only one way for you. To Fionnbharr, this rule was somewhat loosened up ever since he was born."

Aldric blinked and then spotted something peculiar. Himself, in his summer attire, walking off the palace ground towards the city gates. "This, this was the day I was sent to Argentflux. The day when all began."

Yishai smiled and then moved forward, the surrounding area beginning to fade away. "Aleftav could not be beaten so simply. But surely, if the situation was different." He snapped his fingers and they found themselves back at the destroyed Scathsolas. This time however, many more bodies could be seen around them. "Eventually, wouldn't there be a happy ending?"

"What, are you," Aldric looked at the bodies, noticing amongst them Vidar and Leofwine, holding their hands together as they laid on the ground. "This, this is."

"To Fionnbharr, a nightmare to live through over and over again," Yishai uttered as the world around them shifted into a mess of lights and shadows. "He created a cycle, in which he would always see you and all he loved perish, only to set it back, not even remembering his own hope to fix this all." A gust of wind hit the face of the fox, moving his fur in the process. "If time was trapped in a loop, there cannot be a future. And that is why we Sovereigns appeared before you and your friends."

Aldric took a deep breath and fell onto his knees in defeat. "But did it have to end like this? Did he need to die?"

Yishai remained motionless and knelt down on the ground, placing a hand on the shaman's shoulder. "No, he didn't need to die. And he hasn't." He then took a deep breath and vanished in thin air.

The forest began to shift, the trees disappearing, the ground turning to dust beneath Aldric's feet, leaving the badger floating in the void. No sunlight, no wind, nothing could be felt but a massive presence. "This place, it is neither the world of the living or the world of the spirits."

"It is not easy to perceive this gap between realities. Where time splits, where even many gods are nothing but corns of dust," the voice of Yishai echoed through the empty space. "It is where one would be, if they were nowhere else."

Aldric took a deep breath, feeling nothing beneath himself he carefully moved his legs forward, not sure if he was even stepping forward.

"You cannot stop our plans, puny mortal," a voice spoke in the distance. A weak light shone in the distance, emitted by a crystalline entity.

"This is," Aldric now rushed towards Aleftav, as fast as he could, before hitting an invisible barrier, knocking himself from the ground.

"Aleftav, you will never escape this place," Fionnbharr spoke as he held his staff towards the crystalline being, breathing heavily, focused solely on it.

Aldric pushed himself up and rushed towards the barrier, closest to Fionnbharr as was possible to him. "Fionn!"

The albino thrusted his staff forward, causing the sphere around them to become visible for a moment. "Aldric. This is not your battle."

"You can't just sacrifice yourself like this, Fionn!" Aldric shouted as he punched against the barrier, breaking his own knuckles in the process. "Please don't do it!"

Fionnbharr shook his head. "It is not your or my wellbeing that matters here, but the fate of our world." He swung his staff around more, causing the barrier to show countless symbols of unknown origin. "I am sorry."

Aldric punched once more against the barrier, to no avail. "Fionnbharr, please! There must be another way!"

"Is there?" Fionnbharr asked as he glanced shortly at Aldric before the barrier lost the last bit of its transparency.

"Fionn!" the shaman screamed and punched once more against the barrier, causing his hand to bleed.

"There is a dire price to be paid for the world," Yishai spoke in the mind of Aldric. "What could you offer yourself? What are you willing to give up?"

Taking a deep breath, Aldric placed his hurt hand on his chest and focused onto the depths of his own mind and soul. "I would give everything, if only it meant for my best friend to return." He looked at the barrier and stretched his hand out to it.

It began to crack, the symbols vanishing, before shattering and revealing Fionnbharr and Aleftav again. The young albino looked surprised at his friend, puzzled by what was happening. "Aldric, what are you doing?"

"Fionnbharr," Aldric walked towards his brethren, putting a hand onto the hand holding the crystalline staff. "I will not let you sacrifice yourself. And no price is too high for me."

"What are you," the albino felt the energy of Aldric surge through himself, going from his hand into his very mind. Images flashed in front of his mind, images in colors that he never before could perceive, images of things he never before experienced. And in midst of it all, was something he only now could understand. "I see." He turned back to Aleftav and let his staff fall towards the ground, raising his hand instead towards the crystalline creature. "I finally realize it all. The nature of everything. We are all connected in this enormous structure of Infinity."

Aleftav's body began moving again, its mass forming many crystalline spears around itself. "It is time for you to see just how weak you mortals truly are in the end."

Fionnbharr simply smiled, his body being engulfed in a strange force, bright and dark at the same time. "There is no difference. You will return to the absolute and begin anew once more. Do you feel them? The Engines of Samsara?"

"The Engines mean nothing to us, mortal," Aleftav replied as it shot its crystalline spears at the two badgers, only for them to disintegrate as they got into proximity of them. Soon after, the rest of its body began to crumble, every single particle separating from the whole.

"It is done," Fionnbharr spoke as he turned to Aldric and closed his eyes before sighing. He snapped his fingers, and moments later he and Aldric stood in front of Scathsolas' gates. "You answered Yishai's question. What price would you pay to safe me? And, you have lost something special, haven't you?"

Aldric nodded, looking down at himself. "Yes. But it doesn't matter to me, as long as you are safe. Don't worry about this sort of thing. I will be fine."

"But," Fionnbharr paused and then looked over to the palace. "No, I see that you will be alright. Thank you, Aldric."

The shaman smiled and then laid an arm over Fionnbharr's shoulder, before heading towards the palace with him. "It is the least I could do."

"It was certainly able to achieve a lot," Fionnbharr spoke as he closed his eyes. "I never saw any clearer than now. And from now on, my vision will never fail me again. Aldric, the future is not yet written, but I have a feeling that there is a large chance for your life to be fulfilled by a magic stronger than any other."

Aldric tilted his head. "Wait, did you just read my future?" He blinked, scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "But what sort of magic do you mean, Fionn?"

"It's a magic very familiar to everyone with their hearts on the right spot," the albino spoke as he stood still for a moment and turned his gaze towards the ceiling of Scathsolas. "It's the only magic we really need."

About to ask what he meant by those words, Aldric was quickly interrupted as people came from the palace. He nodded and then patted Fionnbharr's back. "I think, I get what you are saying."

The next moment Ninniaw arrived and pulled Fionnbharr into an embrace, shedding tears of relief and joy over the safe return of his brother. The guards around them all seemed to share his feelings, smiling and cheering for the younger prince.

They headed all together to the palace. It was quite a marsh, but soon the two princes had returned to the palace and with that, the guards returned to their posts. The halls and corridors were silent, not disturbed by a single noise, apart from an occasional clicking of claws on the stone floor.

"Fionnbharr," an old voice spoke from atop the large set of stairs leading up the palace's floors. An elderly badger was approaching, held by two servants as he wandered to the young albino. "You have finally returned."

With a sigh the young albino stepped closer, his face looking at the ground as he approached the older badger. "Father, I apologize for everything. For simply disappearing without notice, for risking my own life, for only now finding the courage to talk with you."

Tighearnach smiled and though he had difficulties moving, he put his arms around his son and began to shed tears. "It is alright, my son. I know it has been hard for you to see me like this, to realize that much like your mother I may not have the strength to move on."

"Fionn, you have seen this a long time ago," Ninniaw now spoke up as he supported their father and placed his hand on the shoulder of his younger brother. "You avoided our father ever since his condition grew worse, because you knew there was no hope."

The young albino remained silent for a couple of seconds before nodding and shedding tears upon his father's robes. "I was a fool. I have seen the truth and tried hiding from it. But, now I know that I have not to be afraid of what is to come." He wiped off the tears and looked at his father. "And that we have to make the most of the time we are given."

Observing the scene from afar, Aldric had to smile as he leaned against one of the walls. His eyes glanced over the reunited family, and his best friend finally returning to a peaceful life. As he was about to turn to the gates to leave them alone, something else happened.

"Aldric," Tighearnach now looked Aldric, his tired eyes and weak smile making him look almost sleepy. "You deserve my highest gratitude. As such, I will grant you a request. Anything you ask, I will see that it will be done."

"Your majesty," the shaman smiled and then bowed before the king. "I only have one request. And that might be, that my family's business gains support from your crown under the request that my sister visits me and Fiachra every month."

"Speaking of which," Fionnbharr now turned around and walked over to Aldric with his eyes meeting the shaman's. "I think you should return to him now. And tomorrow, we deal with the Grand Shaman."

Aldric nodded and gave Fionnbharr a pat on the shoulder. "Leave that to me. I think, it is an interesting opportunity for myself. And I am curious what the future may hold." He then turned towards the gates and was about to leave before giving of one last remark, "But leave it a mystery to me, alright?