The Red Glaive

It had been a rough night that she and Niko spent. Aeria and Caius had come upon Niko and Telfer near the entrance to the caverns. Niko nearly dragging Telfer along. Caius didn’t say much, when they reached their room he plopped on his bed and immediately fell asleep. Telfer, however, kept waking and vomiting over the side of the bed. Niko diligently stayed by his side, and when Aeria felt she had had enough of Caius’ snores she went to Telfer’s room to watch over him in Niko’s place to make sure he didn’t roll on his back.

Aeria had just fallen asleep when she heard Telfer begin to gag. Aeria rushed and handed him the bucket Niko had cleaned before he left. Telfer sat up and clutched onto it just in time as he heaved more of what he had consumed that night.

“I’m sorry.” he said his voice horse.

“Just let it out, you’ll feel better afterwards.” Aeria said taking a seat next to him. The last thing she needed was for him to tip over the bucket.

“No,” he said looking away from the bucket to her. His face was red. “I’m sorry for what they did to you. I, I didn’t know.”

“They’ll get theirs.” Aeria said, but Telfer had already turned away as he hurled away the last of what remained in his stomach.

The next morning a loud bell echoed throughout the caverns. It woke up Aeria who had fallen asleep in Telfer’s room. Telfer remained dead asleep.

It was Niko and Aeria that emerged, deep bags under their eyes, to see find the source of the sound. They were not the only ones, as other Adepts emerged from their rooms. They all found themselves returning to the Chamber of Endeavors where they found all their glaive instructors waiting for them in front of the chamber.

“The last of your brothers have emerged from the chamber.” Glaive Tarda said. “Your training will restart next week. So you lot better enjoy the last of your vacation.”

The earth beneath them rumbled and the stone chamber behind them began to collapse. It fell back into the earth from whence it came.

As the adepts dispersed, Overseer Rector approached a retreating Aeria and Niko. “How’s your friend.” he said. Aeria stared at him blankly. All she wanted was to go back to sleep. “You know, Reimar’s kid.”

“He’s fine.” Aeria said bluntly.

He stood there an uncomfortable moment, as if he was going to say something but instead said, “Make sure he knows that he has to present himself this coming week. You all do.” he left afterwards. And Aeria returned to her own room and slept well into the afternoon.

When she awoke she found Caius and Niko in the dining hall drinking hot tea with lemon. Aeria had just sat down when Niko said, “Don’t you have to go visit your sister for the weekend?”

Aeria grumbled. She wanted nothing more than eat a warm roll and retreat back to her room. But she had made a promise and Elyon was probably already waiting for her. Aeria grumbled, and gabbed some leftover toast, and said, “Make sure Telfer isn’t dead.” before she departing to the shrine. She ate the cold toast along the way.

When Aeria arrived at the Sanatorium Elyon reprimanded her for being late and assigned her the graveyard shift for that night. Aeria was glad, because it meant she could sleep some more during the day. She found an empty sick rooms in the Hall of the Fading, where Elyon wouldn’t find her, and fell asleep then and there while Elyon went about her rounds in the Infirmary and the Hall of Ailing.

When she awoke again, Aeria finally felt well rested. It was still too early for her shift to start so she spent the time within the shrine making eques flasks. Aeria could make a one every few minutes now. When the time came, Aeria returned to the Sanatorium just as a very tired Elyon finished.

“It’s very quiet at night, they sleep most of the time so it should be easy.” Elyon said. “Someone might ask for an additional blanket or something like that so don’t fall asleep.” With that, she left Aeria in charge of the Sanatorium for the night.

There wasn’t much to do. Aeria sat on a chair behind the central hub where she could look down all the halls. For the most part everyone slept. There was only one woman, who had been recovering from the pox, that asked for some water. So when the morning came, and the other sisters returned, they decided to give Aeria the graveyard shift for that weekend. Elyon resisted since she wanted Aeria to improve her healing, though the other sisters convinced that it would only be for that weekend.

So Aeria got to sleep during a majority of the day, before returning to the graveyard shift at the Sanatorium. It had only been her second night when a panicked scream caught her attention.

“Help her!” a woman had entered the Sanatorium carrying a little girl in her arms. When Aeria neared her, the woman all but shoved the little girl into her arms. “Save my baby please she begged.”

The little girl was wrapped tight in brown blanket. She was no more than seven years old but her face was pale nearly blue, her breathing barely there, and when Aeria took a hold of her there was a thick moisture to the blanket.

“This way.” Aeria said determined before taking her to one the vacant rooms and laying on her the bed. “What’s your name,” Aeria called to the little girl as she began pulling away the dirty blanket off her but she was too weak to answer.

“Brevia.” the mother said. “Her name is Brevia.” Aeria pulled the blanket and gasped. Skin and muscle had been torn off on her side from her hip all the way to her armpit. Her tiny ribs were visible in parts and what looked like one of her lungs, inflating and deflating as she struggled to breathe. The mere sight made her mother start to sob all over again. Aeria didn’t waste anymore time, she put her arms over the little Brevia’s chest and allowed the healing light to emanate from her hands. “We were so close, I thought we could make it before sundown.” the woman croaked. “The night devils, I, I didn’t see them.” And the woman wept.

“Where was The Red Glaive.” Aeria said, her voice steady.

“They heard me scream and they got there so quick, but that thing already had her in it’s maw. It dropped her when they came, and I ran all the way here.” Aeria didn’t look away from the girl whose heart still miraculously beat. It would be a long healing for her. “I should’ve seen it coming.” The woman said between tears. But Aeria understood who quick, precise, and utterly silent the Night Devil stalk could be.

“How could you have possibly known.” Aeria said glancing back at the woman who had fallen to her knees. Just then, she felt like something had gripped on tightly onto her wrists. Aeria looked back down at Brevia, there was nothing around her wrists but she felt something keeping her there. An unsteady dread began to slowly overcome Aeria as her wounds refused to heal and the little girl suddenly watched Aeria her dark eyes filled with fear.

That dread slowly built up in Aeria until she couldn’t take it anymore. She felt like at any given moment her very life could be taken from her. Any attempt to pull away from Brevia’s body was met with resistance. She couldn’t move and the light that sprouted from her hands dimmed as dark shadows began to emerge. “Get someone.” Aeria managed to breathe out and she hoped the woman had heard her.

The shadows grew and took form as a shadow of Brevia floated above her body, her small scared face clearly defined in that shadow. It latched onto Aeria frantically and she felt herself growing weaker.

“Aeria!” she heard someone call, but it was hard to make out as her ears were filled with a child’s cries.

Aeria was suddenly and painfully ripped away from Brevia’s corpse. “Don’t fall asleep Aeria!” It was Elyon’s voice, but Aeria was so tired. “Stay awake.” It felt like her very breath was being smothered out of her. “Aeria!” But she couldn’t help it she couldn’t breathe.

When she could breathe again she was in a dark place. All around her there was only darkness, no not darkness. Shadows. Hundreds maybe thousands swirled all around her. All of them grasping out for her with cold dead fingers. Aeria couldn’t move, she couldn’t fight back, as a horrible feeling of dread filled her. He was there too, ruling over all of them, the haggard king with the golden crown and eyes like blood. He outstretched his hand to her but Aeria was too petrified to move. Then she looked down, and there she was, little Brevia holding on to her tightly by the waist.

Aeria awoke with a jolt and a sob. She was covered in sweat and as she frantically glanced around to find herself in one of the empty rooms of the infirmary but that didn’t bring her any comfort. She couldn’t ease the sense of looming doom she felt as if at any moment the worst possible thing could happen, something worse than death itself. That made her terrified and she sobbed in utter and complete helplessness.

“Aeria.” Elyon had been standing in the room. Aeria put her hands over her eyes and sobbed harder. It was coming, she knew it was coming. “Aeria.” Elyon repeated, this time taking a hold of her wrists. “These feelings of despair don’t belong to you.”

Aeria, still crying, looked at Elyon. Her light green eyes held nothing but sympathy. Aeria didn’t understand, only that primordial fear that refused to dissipate.

“We do not heal the dying.” Elyon said slowly. Aeria managed to control her tears and her breathing enough to listen to Elyon. “The dying never truly wish to die. Even those who claim to have made their peace find themselves desperate to keep their light from fading when death finally comes. If you attempt heal someone whose light of life has all but faded, they will reach out to any light they can to keep their own from expiring. But their deaths have already been fated, they will take your life so that they may live a few more moments.”

“Why didn’t you tell me.” Aeria said finally, her voice shaky. She wanted something but she couldn’t quite place it.

“I didn’t think you were ready nor did I expect something like this to happen.” Elyon said. Aeria’s breathing picked again and that fear slowly started to build again as the sobs threatened to come again. Aeria shut her eyes as if doing so would keep them from coming. “What you are feeling is what she felt in those final moments.” Aeria looked back to Elyon. “The little girl, all her fear and denial in the face of death, right now it’s what you feeling. That’s why you’re scared, you don’t want to die.”

“But I’m not. . .” Aeria said.

“Aeria, you’re perfectly safe.” Elyon said. “That little girl she reached out to you grasped onto your light in a final attempt to stay alive. But it was too late for her.”

“What good is our gift if we can’t save people.” Aeria spat. Brevia didn’t deserve to die. Aeria felt so helpless. What was the point in being a healer at all.

“We can save a great many people, but for those already in the throws of death the only thing we can do is help them pass on without fear and with hope in their hearts.” Elyon said. “That little girl needed help passing on, not a healing. Now all that darkness and fear and denial of that little girl has latched on to you.”

Aeria laid back down into her bed. There was an overwhelming despair lingering over her as she curled into a ball. But it wasn’t her despair she felt. “How long will it be with me?”

“A couple days at most.” Elyon said. “Just stay in bed and let’s hope it goes away before your weekend is up.”