Chapter 11
?thandor
At first there was only brightness.
Blinding.
Then his senses returned.
Slowly.
He was lying on his back.
Something soft beneath him.
Cool.
His fingers moved, brushing against something delicate.
Familiar.
Soft.
He frowned.
It almost felt like—
“Flowers?”
Aldric turned his head.
Petals.
Luminous.
Faintly glowing with a soft blue light, like embers caught between breath and dream. They carpeted the ground around him, stretching into a landscape that seemed too alive to be real.
He pushed himself up.
Carefully.
And took it in.
The air shimmered.
Vines twisted overhead, forming archways of living wood, their surfaces threaded with faint, glowing veins.
Lantern-like blossoms hung from them, casting a gentle, ethereal light.
In the distance, jagged stone formations rose from a glowing, mist-covered expanse, as if islands suspended in a sea of light.
Water flowed somewhere unseen, its sound soft and endless.
Everything was… calm.
He turned.
Ulric stood a few paces away.
Completely still.
His body tense.
His eyes scanning everything.
“This is not how it was.”
Aldric stood fully now, brushing dirt and petals from his hands.
“What do you mean?”
Ulric didn’t take his eyes off the horizon.
“When I was here… it was cold. Empty.”
He finally glanced at Aldric.
“I was attacked almost immediately.”
Aldric looked back at the glowing landscape.
The quiet.
The warmth.
The life.
“Maybe the Light adjusts to who enters it.”
Ulric’s jaw tightened.
“Maybe. So what now?”
Aldric looked ahead.
“Now I need to find the Pillar of Unity… and place my hands upon it.”
Ulric frowned.
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“Where do we find it? What does it look like?”
Aldric gave him a look.
“The oracle wasn’t very specific.” A resigned sigh. “And I wasn’t exactly in the right state of mind to press for details.”
Ulric shook his head.
Aldric raised a brow.
Ulric continued, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
“Same as when we stormed Zandir Fortress.” He paused. “You were gone before the debrief even finished. Didn’t hear a word about enemy positions.”
Aldric let out a quiet chuckle.
“Yeah… sounds about right.” The sound faded. “Feels like a lifetime ago.”
Silence settled between them.
Then—
A flash cut through his thoughts.
Golden eyes.
A perfect smile.
That soft, familiar pout.
His jaw tightened.
He tried to push it down.
The image shifted.
Those same golden eyes—
no longer warm.
Fear.
It crept in.
Unwanted.
Her voice followed.
Aldric… please… let go…
His breath hitched.
Frustration stirred.
Then anger.
My fault.
All of this—
The world shifted.
Subtly at first.
The soft blue glow dimmed.
Turning violet.
Then deeper.
Darker.
The sound of water…
Stopped.
Ulric turned sharply toward him.
“What did you do?”
“Huh? I didn’t do anything.”
Ulric’s voice hardened.
“This realm devours souls. This is not a place to play games.”
That struck something.
Aldric’s teeth clenched.
“I said I’m not doing anything.”
The anger rose.
Sharper.
Familiar.
Then—
A shadow fell over them.
Ulric’s face drained of color.
“What the—”
Something vast moved above them.
Half-formed.
Half-hidden in shadow.
A shape that did not belong to the world around them.
Wings.
Scales.
It tore through the air overhead.
They both ducked—
A razor-sharp tail lashed down, gouging the earth where they had stood a heartbeat before.
Petals scattered.
Then it was gone.
They stayed low.
Breathing hard.
Watching the massive silhouette pull away—
Circling once.
Then flying toward a single jagged mountain in the distance.
Aldric exhaled slowly.
“I guess that’s my answer.” He nodded toward the mountain. “That’s where we need to go.”
Ulric pushed himself upright with a grunt.
He reached for the hammer—
The head didn’t move.
He looked down.
Only the handle remained in his hand.
The shaft had split where it struck the ground.
Wood cracked clean through.
He stared at it for a moment.
Then let the broken pieces fall.
“We have no weapons.” His voice sharpened. “And you’re not supposed to fight. Fuck!”
Aldric tilted his head slightly.
Thinking.
“Well… the oracle said I couldn’t fight until I reached the Well of Light.” He glanced toward the mountain. “Now that I’m here… maybe that no longer applies.”
Ulric snorted.
“Convenient.” A beat. “Still doesn’t change the fact that we’re both unarmed.”
Aldric looked around.
Vines.
Stone.
Glowing growths.
Strange, living terrain.
“Then we find something.”
Ulric gave him a flat look.
“Where? On the trees?”
Aldric didn’t answer.
He just started walking.
Straight toward the mountain.
Ulric swore under his breath.
Then followed.
They walked for hours, maybe half a day. It was hard to tell without sunlight.
When their legs finally began to give out, they stopped atop a small hill overlooking the vast stretch of land below. As exhaustion crept deeper into their bones, the realm around them seemed to grow colder.
There was nothing to eat. It wasn’t the first time, nor likely the last, they would go to sleep on an empty stomach.
They gathered a few dry, wood-like branches and, after some trial and error, managed to get a slow-burning fire going between two thick logs.
It was the kind that would smolder for a long while, steady and stubborn.
Something about it brought a small smile to both their faces.
Something so simple.
Fire.
Aldric stared into the flames for a while before glancing at the man beside him.
“How are you holding up?”
Ulric blinked, completely caught off guard. Then he let out a short laugh.
“You’re asking me how I’m feeling? That’s rich…”
Aldric said nothing. He only looked back into the fire. He did not rise to the bait. He simply waited.
Ulric sighed.
“I’m lost. I feel… numb.”
He rubbed a hand over his face.
“Makes sense,” Aldric said quietly. “Your whole world got turned upside down.”
Silence followed.
Ulric leaned forward and pushed a bit more kindling into the spot where the fire had begun to die.
After a moment, he asked, “How did you pull through it? The doubt… the searching?”
Aldric smiled faintly, though there was sadness in it.
“I had a very persuasive companion with me. I was stubborn at first, but she showed me that life could continue. That I didn’t have to keep living the way I always had.” His gaze lowered. “I started making my own choices.”
Ulric hummed softly, as if he understood.
And yet Aldric could see it clearly. Choice was still a foreign thing to Ulric, just as it had once been to him.
Aldric exhaled.
“But she’s gone now.”
Silence settled between them.
Ulric looked out over the horizon.
“Do you ever wish you could just… go back? Before all of this?”
“No.” Aldric’s answer came without hesitation. “I’m glad I got to be with her. Seraphae… she was everything I ever wanted. She’s worth all of this… even if all I have is the chance that she might forgive me.”
Ulric made a quiet sound under his breath.
Aldric glanced at him.
“What?”
“The Aldric I knew used to think chasing women dulled the mind and pulled a man away from his purpose.”
Aldric chuckled and shifted slightly where he sat.
“Yeah. Old me would say that. Gods… I was such a fool.”
They fell quiet again.
Then Ulric muttered, “Sorry for bashing you unconscious when I found you.”
Aldric let out a tired laugh.
“What’s this? Getting soft now, Inquisitor?”
Ulric waved a dismissive hand, then turned onto his side, keeping his back to the fire.
“I need some shut-eye. Make sure to stoke the fire before you fall asleep.”
Sleep took him in an instant.
Aldric couldn’t fall asleep.
He tried.
Closed his eyes.
Turned onto his side.
Then his back.
But something kept him awake.
He sat up and stared into the flickering fire.
Eventually, his thoughts began to blur.
Sleep creeping in.
He was almost nodding off.
A sound.
Soft.
Rhythmic.
Panting.
Aldric’s eyes snapped open.
No.
That couldn’t be.
He turned.
Nimble stood there.
Shaking with excitement.
Tail whipping back and forth.
His whole body quivered with joy.
He let out a happy chirp, then launched forward, unable to contain himself.
Aldric blinked.
Ulric didn’t stir.
Still heavily asleep.
Unbothered.
Nimble reached him and immediately started licking his face, whining softly, pressing his head against Aldric’s chest. Shaking.
Aldric let out a quiet laugh.
“You found me again, huh? You’re full of surprises boy—”
He felt it before he saw it.
Movement.
From the shadows beyond the firelight.
A figure stepped forward.
Calm.
Smiling.
“Well done. You finally managed to reach ?thandor.”
Aldric frowned slightly.
“I thought this place was called the Well of Light.”
Varnir tilted his head and shrugged, not bothering to argue. He gestured lightly toward Nimble, who had now settled beside Aldric, pressing his back insistently against him, demanding scratches behind its ears.
“Nimble felt it when you crossed over. So naturally… he came to find me.”
Aldric raised a brow.
Varnir stepped closer.
“Here. You’ll need these.”
He handed him a bundle wrapped in cloth.
Aldric took it.
The moment his fingers touched the fabric and what was beneath it—
Warmth spread through his body.
Something in his chest shifted.
Hope.
Maybe.
He looked up.
Varnir was watching him.
“This is far from over. We have tried this many times before. I hope your choices will finally bring balance to this world.” A faint edge entered his voice. “Even if others disagree with me.”
His gaze flicked briefly toward Ulric.
Then back to Aldric.
He reached behind and took something big resting across his back.
“Something for your friend.”
He placed a large, wrapped weapon beside Ulric.
Glanced at him once.
“He looks like the type who might enjoy this.”
Aldric huffed quietly.
“Yeah. He will.”
Varnir turned to leave—
Then paused.
“I almost forgot.”
He set down another small bundle.
Food.
Simple.
But real.
Enough for both grown men.
Aldric took it.
A nod.
“Thank you.”
Varnir met his gaze.
Those same playful eyes.
Knowing.
Then tilted his head toward Nimble.
The dog bounced once, nudged Aldric hard with his snout before giving his cheek one last enthusiastic lick.
Aldric smiled faintly.