The Curse-breakers of Avondor || ONC 2022 || ✔

Chapter 19: Dust

The curse was broken, but Audren didn't know how to move on. Not yet.

He'd declared the end of Dyna's quarantine measures, allowed his people out of their homes. They stepped out onto dusty streets; the ashy remains of the Cursed filled the mountain air now, presumably the air all over Avondor. Audren coughed the whole time while addressing his people and informing them about what had happened, but didn't mind the itch in his throat. It reminded him he was alive.

He couldn't decide if it was a day for celebration or mourning. Nobody seemed sure.

The mountainfolk had escaped death, yes, a massacre had been prevented. Lives had been saved. Wasn't that an occasion worthy of a feast? On the other hand, the weight of their homeland in ruins and the loss of so many other lives sat heavy on their shoulders. They sought an awkward balance between happiness and grief— a balance Audren wasn't sure existed.

He decided to provide all his people with wine and ale from his cellars, allowing a gathering in the town square and the lighting of braziers so those who wished to stay out in the evening and socialise would stay warm. It wasn't quite a feast, but he supposed his people would appreciate the gesture, especially after being forced into quarantine. He felt like everyone wished to talk to him, to congratulate or thank him or ask him questions, and he politely engaged in conversation when it was desired of him.

Until he had enough.

Weary of being approached, Audren slinked away from the sober gathering, leaving Dyna and the watchmen in charge of keeping order. He wasn't tired, didn't want to sleep; adrenaline still raced through his body and he feared everything he'd seen and done in the past few days would haunt his dreams. But he needed peace and quiet and something to keep his hands occupied. Practicing swordplay was out of the question, for he'd used his sword more than enough recently. He settled on doing something more productive.

He found himself a broom and began sweeping his dust-filled streets. It wasn't a very lordly activity, he realised, but neither was curse-breaking or slaying the undead. And he had saved his people. What anyone thought of how he spent his spare time mattered little in the grand scheme of things.

"Avondor's saviour, out here sweeping streets. Why?"

If he hadn't recognised Terry's voice behind him, Audren would have snapped. Instead, he turned to face her, smiling. "Because they're my streets, and tonight I love them. These cobbles could've been painted red with blood, but they're not. They're clean, save for dust. I thank the gods for that."

Terry shook her head, returning his smile. "I'd rather believe we are to thank for that."

Audren placed his broom against the closest wall. "Speaking of thanks... I don't believe I've thanked you yet. For accompanying me on an insane quest and helping to keep me alive. I'd never have returned here in one piece if it wasn't for you. Is there anything I could do for you to express my gratitude?"

The mage yawned. "Maybe, but it's nothing I'd like to discuss at this moment. I'm heading home. Not all of us got to rest while being cured from the Wraith's Affliction. I'm going to sleep for, hm... Three days straight."

Yes, rest. She deserved that, and so did Audren, and every survivor of the stressful time they'd lived through deserved it along with them. They deserved to relish the joys of a life without the Cursed. Audren glanced at the dust on his feet. It was so strange to think nothing but that was left of the Cursed, of the people they'd been once. The curse might as well have never existed at all.

But he knew better.

"Before you go," he muttered to Terry, "what are you going to do?"

"I just told you. Sleep."

"No. After that."

Terry raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Audren shrugged. "I don't know. I'm simply... Troubled. I'll admit, when we set out to break the curse, I thought we'd... I wasn't sure we'd succeed, but I thought that if we did, the world would become normal again. The curse is broken now, but nothing feels normal. And I suppose if the world's normal, maybe I'm the one who's not. I don't quite feel like the same person I was before. I've got all these memories and experiences I don't know what to do with, and... don't you? Or do you have no qualms at all about going on with your life as usual?"

The mage thought this over for a while, a glassy look in her eyes. Audren wondered if his question or her exhaustion formed the root cause.

"That's the ruthlessness of it all," Terry replied slowly. "We have no choice but to keep on living. It won't be exactly the same as before, but still..." she sighed. "My fixation on my diploma was silly, in hindsight. I don't need it to prove my worth. But that doesn't mean I don't still want it. Because what else am I going to do with my life now? Everything's the same, but different."

"But you can't go back to the Institute, can you? It's in shambles like all of Avondor. It might take years before it's the place you once knew again."

"I know, but I could try to finish my education somewhere else. The Academy of Magic in Esgale could be a good place, but it's in Duraine and I'd have to learn Duranian to be admitted. That could take a while, though, so I guess everyone here will have to put up with me a bit longer."

"Nobody minds."

"You think so?"

"I know I don't mind."

"Thank you." Terry moved past him, but Audren thought he caught a hint of a smile. "And what are your plans, Lord of the Mountains?"

Audren looked up at the dusky sky as if it held all the answers. "I suppose there's a lot of rebuilding to be done," he finally said. "Not necessarily here, but in Avondor as a whole. The mountains can play a role in the healing process. We could reach out to survivors, help them in any way we can." A concern settled in his chest. "It won't be easy. We might even end up having to wage war. Avondor is so vulnerable now, I can picture neighbouring kingdoms preying on our lands... but that's a bridge we must cross when we get to it."

"We've saved our world today," Terry replied. "Let's not think about the next way it could end just yet."

That, Audren decided, was a wise idea.

"In any case, good night, Lord Audren," the mage told him in parting. "Enjoy your streets."

Audren would.

Alone again, he looked around, at the brazier fires in the distance, his castle, the sight of familiar buildings and mountain tops. He was home again. He felt for all the deceased who couldn't say the same, but found gratitude in his heart for the second chance he and his people had received.

He took up his broom again and continued sweeping the dust of the end out of his streets.

Once and for all.