The Dragon God of Selphia had passed from the realm of the living and her life among those she loved, and returned to the Forest of Beginnings, from whence all monsters come and where they all return in the end. Like the other Dragon Gods—Terrable, the Resurrector, God of Earth; Fiersome, the Destroyer, God of Flame; and Aquaticus, the Transformer, God of Water—she lived a life well beyond the span of any man or elf, then, as required of her, she returned to the Forest, her life-runes replenishing and renewing the world, to await the time for her rebirth into a new vessel.
But the world was broken when this incarnation of Ventuswill was born, and she languished. And as she weakened, so did the world around her. Because of this, the Earthmates sought to extend her life well beyond what her enfeebled body could sustain unaided. Thus the Four Guardians were created.
These Guardians, whose sacrifices bought her precious time, were not mere men and women, though. They were her dearest friends, and her bond with them ran deep. However, her guilt at their imprisonment ran just as deep—far deeper than anyone could realize. And she was left alone, a shadow of the glory that was her birthright, with nothing left to her but memories of those loved and lost.
When a new friend appeared, by luck or fate, she was loathe to tell him all the truth, fearful that he would follow in the footsteps of the Four who had gone before. Eventually she was given a choice—continue to live as she had done, resting on the sacrifices of those she held dear, or to finally give in to her inevitable fate and relinquish her runes to the world, returning to the Forest—alone once again, but free.
She made her choice, and on that day, a god died.
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He called us—all six of us—to meet with him in his rooms one balmy summer evening. It had been days... or weeks...? Possibly years, even, or so it felt at times—since he had found the means to unlock the door that opened into the Rune Prana, the levels of quasi-existence and almost-being that led to the Forest of Beginnings. The Rune Prana was full of dreadful monsters, perhaps even ur-monsters—the powerful forerunners of the creatures that slipped through the gateways into our own world. Piers, Leon, and Dylas—the consummate brothers-in-arms—had fought their way through them all, pressing on despite exhaustion and fear and grave injuries, both in body and spirit. But that day... that day, when he stopped me on the street near the courtyard, and asked me to come to his room that evening... something had changed. There was a difference, something I could not quite place my finger on, but it was there all the same.
When we were all gathered together in his main chamber, he paced wordlessly for several minutes, deep in thought, while we all watched him in expectant silence, waiting for him to speak.
Finally he turned and faced us, and his heart was in his eyes.
"I called you all here to... to release you."
Chaos ensued, as we all clamored around him, protesting and weeping. He held a hand up, and called out, "Please! Settle down, my loves, and let me finish."
We sat back down, huddled together in our collective dismay, and waited for him to resume, stifling our sobs as we comforted one another.
He sighed, and looked at each one of us. "You know I love you, all of you. And more than anything, I want for you to lead happy lives. But—" and here he raised his hand, calling for silence as we all began to speak at once yet again. "But I cannot hold you any longer. Tomorrow I will go and see where fate or fortune lead me, and I do not know if I will return."
Once again we gathered around him, holding him, assuring him as with one voice that we would stay with him, that we would even go with him, to meet whatever doom waited for him, rather than be left behind. But he shook his head, smiled sadly, and gently detached himself from our fingers.
"No, you cannot... I must go alone. I will not allow even Leon and Dylas to accompany me tomorrow. Because... I sense that I am at an end. I have come to the last door, and I know that just beyond lies a darkness. I can feel it... I know this darkness, for I have felt it before."
"What darkness is this?" Dolce asked quietly, and we all waited, hardly daring to breath.
"The Mad Emperor," he replied.
"But he's dead! I-isn't he? You destroyed him!" Margaret exclaimed. "And humans don't go to the Forest when they die—only monsters!"
"Yes, but he was no longer human at his death. He had forsaken his humanity, cast it aside like a serpent sheds its skin. So he was something more than human, less than a god, and not quite a monster. He... had become darkness, a void. And I can feel that darkness, pulsating through the trees at the edge of the Forest, waiting for me. And I don't know... I may not be strong enough this time. If I fail... I will die. But he cannot reach any of you here, so you will be safe no matter what becomes of me. And I do not want you waiting for one who may never return, wasting what should be the joyful days of your youth. So I release you. Not because I no longer love you—because I love you too much to not set you free."
Then without any further word, he turned and left, vanishing into the night as we stared after him, speechless.
And thus he went to face the darkness in the Forest of Beginnings, alone.
