Fate's Forge

Chapter 11

Jas Cutter's fingers were a lattice of trembling lines, woven by the faint golden glow that emanated from his hands. The magical gate before him - a shimmering veil between realms - pulsed with every ounce of strength he had left. His lean form shook with the effort, the energy drain pulling at his essence like ravenous shadows nibbling at the edges of light. Sweat matted his brown hair to his forehead, and his eyes, two pools of determination, bore into the gate as if his gaze alone could keep it from collapsing.

One by one, the immigrants stepped toward the threshold, their faces etched with the twin carvings of fear and hope. Each soul passed through, their bodies tensing at the brink, then relaxing as they crossed over to safety. A small girl with wide, tear-streaked eyes hesitated, looking back at the world she was leaving behind. Jas felt a familiar pang of responsibility echo in his chest, reminiscent of the protective urge he harbored for Tia. He offered her a nod, an unspoken promise that this, too, was a path to a safer tomorrow. She bit her lip and stepped through.

"Keep moving," he urged the others, "Don't forget the sick, don't leave any behind," he added, his voice barely more than a whisper strained with fatigue but laced with authority. A young boy clutched a tattered bear, its one remaining eye reflecting the magic's luminescence as he glanced back at Jas with an expression that mingled gratitude with the sorrow of parting. Others came carrying the weak and sick and also passed through.

Bram, Ovelia, Tia, and Remy crossed. One of the last of the refugees, a stooped old man leaning heavily on a gnarled walking stick, paused in front of Jas, peering into the young paladin's strained face. "Thank you," he murmured, his voice a gravelly whisper that seemed to carry the weight of the mountains they fled.

"Go," Jas replied, the urgency evident even as his body swayed. "You're safe now."

As the elder vanished into the gateway's embrace, Jas allowed himself a single moment of relief as the gate flickered, signaling the end of the procession. The magical construct shivered, its light dimming, ready to fade into oblivion as the final echoes of footsteps whispered from beyond. Jas's knees buckled, his breaths coming in ragged gasps, each one a battle against the darkness tugging at his consciousness. He had held on long enough; the immigrants were safe. Now, it was time to let go.

Yet, before he could another figure came back through portal. Someone was in danger again. Jas caught his spells before they shattered and held onto them a little longer. "Go back, can't hold it any longer!"

The ground beneath Jas's feet trembled as the spell that sustained the magical gate reached its final, faltering heartbeat. His knees hit the cold earth with a jarring thud, the force reverberating through his exhausted frame. The shimmering portal wavered before him, the light that once danced within its arch dimming to a faint glimmer.

A small figure latched onto Jas. "Remy...go! Can't...hold...it!"

"You have to come too, Jas!" The young boy showed no sign of letting go him go.

Jas tried to move towards the portal but his burden was too great. He felt the magic barrier above them cracking and breaking when another came through the portal.

"Jas! Remy!" Bram's voice sliced through the chaos, hands grasping onto the young man and the boy with urgency. With a herculean effort, he hauled Jas's limp form through the gate along with Remy just as an ominous crack resounded from above And the barrier shattered.

A deafening roar filled the air as the paladin shield failed under the assault of snow and rock. The world behind them vanished in a maelstrom of white fury, the gate snuffing out like a candle in a tempest, mere moments before the avalanche could claim its prize. Snowflakes and a few pebbles, desperate refugees from the other side, peppered the ground where the gate had stood.