Vuroth's Tear: Even the Gods Cry

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Aven awoke to the door of his room creaking open. He lifted his head and saw Aro come in, "What are you doing in here?" He was in a haze and still half asleep but he could see the look on her face wasn't a happy one.

"I need to show you something," She put her hand on his forehead and he felt like he was falling into an abyss.

Aven opened his eyes and was shocked to see that he was now standing in the corner of a room all too familiar to him. He saw his mother sitting at the wobbly table with a young Aven sitting next to her while they silently ate venison stew. He had almost forgotten what she looked like, she was thin with messy black hair like his own. She looked almost sickly, but to Aven, his mother was beautiful. He hadn't realized just how much he had missed her until she was sitting in front of him. She would periodically stop eating and watch her son, her thin lips forming a proud smile. Her smile brought a tear to Aven's eyes while he watched her.

"What is this? Is this a dream?" He asked, wiping the tear that streamed down his cheek.

Aro stood next to him in the dream world, shaking her head with a frown, "No, not really, this is a memory."

Aven was overcome with fear when he realized what memory it was. He looked at his mother and young self just as the door crashed open. His mother jumped to her feet, but before she could speak, the man backhanded her and she fell to the floor. She yelled for the young Aven to run, but instead of escaping, he rushed to the shelf and pulled his father's short sword down. The man laughed when the boy pulled the scabbard from the blade and held the point out. Clearly too heavy for him, young Aven tried to swing the blade with both hands in warning.

"What do you plan on doing with that, little one? Are you sure you've got what it takes?" The man laughed again.

Aven stood, frozen in place while he watched the man pull his dull, rusted knife from the sheath that hung on his belt. Young Aven began swinging the sword that he now knew was named Quicksilver, his eyes were closed while he slashed back and forth. The man easily disarmed the child and lunged with his blade at his throat but missed, stabbing the boy in his shoulder instead. The blade twisted in the meat before the man booted him backwards, tearing down his arm as he fell.

His mother screamed and charged forward but the man grabbed her, his fist connected with her cheek and she fell limp in his grip. He threw her onto the table and looked down at the young Aven laying in a growing pool of his own blood, unmoving.

Aven stared at his young self, knowing that the boy was conscious, able to hear everything that would come. He looked at the man, with a tear soaked cheek and a quivering lip. He wanted to kill the man where he stood but knew it would be useless to strike.

The man tore his shirt open, revealing a black design tattooed across his collar bone. He laughed while he tore at Aven's mother's clothes until her foot came up and kicked him hard in the face, knocking him back a step. In a fury, he jumped on top of her and dragged his rusted knife across her throat.

He spit blood on the floor, "Bitch!" He stared at the woman, watching the life leave her eyes, then he looked at what he thought was the lifeless boy on the floor next to the table. He looked around the room while he took deep breaths to calm himself after his murderous outburst.

A look of agony spread over his face and he burst into flames. He screamed and looked down at the young Aven grasping his ankle, using magic to burn him to ash. The room faded to darkness and Aven opened his eyes, he now laid in his bed covered in sweat and tears.

"What the hell was that?" Aven spoke with a gasp, trying to catch his breath while wiping his forehead with the cloth of his right sleeve.

"That was what happened the night your mother died," Aven turned to the voice and saw Aro sitting in the corner, on the floor, "I had to show you what really happened. You didn't know you used magic that night, did you?"

"No, I have always thought the man got away," He spoke with a sigh, "thank you for showing me, Aro."

She smiled at him, "I thought it would relieve you to know that you at least got justice for her death."

Aven nodded, "That is a pretty interesting gift you have, how long have you been able to see people's memories?"

"It's not a gift," She spoke softly, "I've always had it, and the things I have seen, people can be cruel... even you, Aven."

Aven didn't know how to respond. He had made choices in his past that could be considered cruel, or even evil. To him, most of what he had done had been justified, that didn't mean he was proud of it all. He tried to smile as gently as possible, "You're right. I'm not proud of the things I have done, but no amount of regret can change the past. I can only hope that my choices, my fighting to save the kingdom, can outweigh the suffering I have caused."

"You're not a bad person, Aven. You have just had a hard life," she said.

Aven was shocked at the maturity of such a young girl, "How old are you?"

"I'm eleven," She responded with pride, "why do you ask?"

"Eleven, huh? You are far too smart for your age," Aven said with a smile.

She jumped to her feet, "It's part of my gift, I can't help but learn lessons from people's memories. My father is constantly teaching me how to act properly. Which reminds me, please don't tell my father that I came in here, he told me not to bother you and your friends in your rooms."

"It will be our little secret," He smiled and playfully tugged on her ponytail. She giggled and left the room, closing the door behind her, "Sweet kid."

Aven laid, staring up at the ceiling thinking about the memory that Aro had shown him. It was his memory but so much of it had been lost to him over the years. It filled him with joy to have the image of his mother so fresh in his mind again, Aro gave him that gift and for that he was grateful.

He got up and decided to roam the halls, there was still so much of this Sanctuary as Quinn called it, that he hadn't seen yet. As he stepped out the door, Resh and Kass were on their way towards him.

Resh spoke before Aven could open his mouth, "We were just coming to talk to you."

"I'm apparently very popular today," He sighed and stared at Resh waiting for him to speak.

"Kass and I were wondering, what is the plan to get inside the walls of Travidon? Do we have a plan?" Resh asked.

Aven shook his head and started walking down the hall, gesturing for them to follow, "No, not yet. I thought perhaps we could sneak back through the tunnels but without Dravis to lead us through, who knows where we might come out."

Kass looked at Resh, "He says he can send Dawn to survey the area when we get back across the sea."

Aven stopped and thought for a moment, "Kass, would you be able to cover us from the rooftops with your bow?"

Kass nodded and then Resh spoke for him, "He says yes, but arrows won't do much good against the creatures."

Aven grinned, "They would if we lit them on fire first."