Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Awakening

Cahildya felt a little strange. Just a moment ago, her brother had stood before her, attacking her, betraying his people. Now, he was gone, and the temple was shining like it never had before.

"Time. A long time has passed. How long? The spell... Has it been broken?" she asked herself.

Somehow, she could tell. A lot of time had passed in what had been a blink of an eye for her. She, who knew about the spell, easily deduced the cause.

Her eyes fell on the necklace, the center of power that spread throughout the temple.

"When has it been recreated? How did it get here?" she asked herself again.

Trying to find answers, she looked around, until her incredulous eyes fell on a figure she knew well. That figure was staring at the ceiling in a daze.

How could she not recognize those adorable horns? That beautiful light purple color of her skin? The green color of her beautiful hair, now combed with a cute braid as she had never seen before?

She stared at her. A few moments ago, Cahildya had doubted whether she would see her again. Now, her daughter was there, although she didn't know how much time had passed between those two moments.

"Menxilya!"

"Mom!"

Both of them would have wanted their hug to be eternal, but the girl's words didn't allow it.

"Dad is in danger! He's in the northeast fortress! The losts are attacking him!" the girl exclaimed.

"Losts?"

The power of the Eternal Flame expanded throughout the city and awakened its inhabitants. For them, time hadn't passed, everything remained the same, as if those years hadn't even existed. They were still in the same place, doing the same thing, and practically nothing had changed.

However, they all had a strange feeling. Perhaps, the passage of time had left some mark. Perhaps, it was the abrupt change in mana. Although corruption hadn't reached the city, the mana hadn't been immobile either, as it wasn't subject to the power of the spell. Therefore, even if it moved slightly, over the years its state had to be very different from when they had become statues. For them, it had changed in an instant.

There was also one more fact that confused many. Each one of the spells active at the moment when time had stopped had long since been cancelled. Some automatically restarted. Others would wait for someone or something to activate them again. Why were the gates closed?

In a society where magic was omnipresent, this was no minor event, as well as very strange. Something had happened, and they didn't know what. While confusion, doubt or fear invaded them, the sound of a bell claimed their attention. They were all being called!

Without hesitation, waiting for answers, they went to the Great Square. It was an immense empty space, except for a tower with a bell. There was room for the tens of thousands of the city's inhabitants.

All eyes turned to the two figures projected on the four sides of the tower, Cahildya and Menxilya. Soon, a roar of whispering filled the square, as many were pointing at the girl. Specifically, at the necklace she was wearing. Nonetheless, silence fell when her mother raised her hand.

"Cahldor has betrayed us," she began.

The silence was deathly, but the impact those three words had caused was evident. Cahildya's brother was a well-known figure.

"That was almost a hundred years ago. He wanted to steal the Heart of the Eternal Flame, and I was forced to activate the Great Seal," she continued explaining.

All eyes were fixed on her. Those words had caused a great shock, although they also explained what they had felt. All the citizens knew the legends about the Great Seal, although they would never have imagined that it had been cast on them.

"The world has changed since then. Cahldor not only betrayed his people, but the entire world. He caused unparalleled damage, as he helped a terrible power fall upon our lands, and spread far and wide into the neighboring forests. Countless lives were lost, the lands were corrupted, emptied of all life, and abominations were created from it. It's still there, even at the gates of our city."

Disbelief, humiliation, fear or rage were many of the feelings that invaded the inhabitants of the city. Their duty was to protect those lands, and they had failed due to the betrayal of one of their own.

"Some of our people escaped, including my daughter. She has brought the Eternal Flame back in its complete form, as it hasn't been for millennia. She has also brought allies, who are fighting in our place. That gives us hope, but it is not enough, they need our help. The closest are in the northeast fortress, our own kind, who are willing to sacrifice their lives to awaken us, to give us a chance. What will our people do?"

Who was the first? It is difficult to say, although it didn't matter. If it wasn't that one, it would have been another. Soon, two shouts took over the Great Square. They were repeated over and over again.

"We will fight!"

"For the Guardians of the North!"

It didn't take long for all those capable of fighting, of supporting, of healing, to gather at the northeast gate. For honor, for their allies, for their lands, for revenge. It didn't matter the reason or reasons, they were all going to fight.

They didn't know exactly what they would find, what those corrupted creatures were, or what the miasma was, but doubt didn't frighten them. These were warrior people, whose mission was to defend these lands. If they hadn't been able to fulfill their mission, at least they were going to recover them.

Little by little, the gates began to open. The scene of corruption filled them with rage. The losts were their target.

The miasma tried to sneak in, but it was impossible to cross the dense mana that emanated from the city, from the defenses, from its inhabitants.

Eager to enter combat but organized, the troops of the Guardians of the North began to advance. Perhaps, the world had forgotten them, but soon they would be remembered again. They were there to prove who they were, to claim what was theirs, to resume their mission. The Guardians of North had joined the fight, and they weren't going to stop until the last of their enemies was annihilated.

"What's happening?" Cahldor wondered.

He looked towards the city, while sensing that something had changed. The mana was flowing through the gates with much more force than usual.

"Have the defenses gone mad? That would be good news," he thought, although not very sure of it.

It wasn't long before the sound of the city gates could be heard, as they dragged the rubble accumulated at their feet. They were opening, and soon they revealed what was behind. Shiny armor, sharp weapons, thousands of spells colliding with each other. The army of what had been his people had risen.

"It can't be! It's impossible!" he panicked, while refusing to believe what he was seeing. However, reality was right before his eyes.