Thornblade Chronicles - Volume 1

Chapter 11

 Eli felt a sharp pain searing through his head as he slowly regained consciousness. The last thing he remembered was angering Ilkama and getting launched into a nearby wall by a chain of glyphs. Though his memory was hazy, Eli tried remembering the sequence. Still recovering from the blow, he could not make sense of his jumbled thoughts.

Barely awake, his senses were crippled. The swordsman heard sounds nearby, recognizing them as peoples' voices. However, he could not understand who they were or what they were saying. The ringing in his ears did not help in identifying the muffled voices. He tried speaking to get their attention but could not find the strength to move his lips. Instead, he let out a quiet and painful groan in hopes of making his presence known.

One of the voices became slightly louder, clearly calling out to him. Unfortunately, the soldier felt himself slowly slipping back into unconsciousness. Though it had taken every ounce of willpower to stay awake, he felt too drained, and the empty void of his vision alongside the tingling sensation rippling throughout his body felt peaceful enough for him to fall back asleep.

"Inform me the moment Eli awakens. Any wasted second, and I shall have your head," Ilkama ordered Curtis, who had been among the guards to return Eli to his room. The king's order sent shivers down the young man's spine.

"Yes, my Lord," Curtis answered, holding back any fear in his voice. He held a fist to his chest and bowed to the king. "You will be the first to know," the boy forced his voice to be monotonous. Tricking Ilkama into thinking he had Curtis under the spell became increasingly taxing; he did not know how long he could maintain his facade. The boy watched as Ilkama quickly turned and left the room. He waited for a moment before dropping his rigid pose and sighing. "Please, wake up," he pleaded, facing his hero.

He felt uncomfortable standing and watching Eli sleep. Knowing his life was on the line, Curtis wished he could do something to help wake the man. With every passing minute, the boy felt more useless and anxious. As the following minutes felt like hours, Curtis began to picture what would happen if Eli never woke up. Before Eli's groan, the boy worried Eli would not wake up. Though, now that Curtis and Ilkama had heard the swordsman's groan, the boy worried Ilkama's quick and fiery temper might blame him for Eli's inability to maintain consciousness. The boy could picture the ways Ilkama may kill him. Recognizing his stress, the boy realized he had to do something to pass the time and take his mind off the sleeping warrior beside him.

Turning to Eli's desk, Curtis decided to organize it. The scattered papers that laid on his desk provided the boy an escape from his mind. Picking up a large group of notes, Curtis tapped them against the table, aligning them to one another. As there was no empty part, he shifted all loose papers left slightly, giving him a place to stack them on the right. As Curtis reached for more, he curiously saw "Memory" written on a paper. Knowing his hero had lost his memories, the boy wondered if he could do something to help bring them back. He picked it out and began reading. Whereas Eli ignored information about the glyph, Curtis read every minuscule detail.

"In the event, a specific memory is desired, Bursor can precede this glyph. Only usable on other people, this sequence will allow the users to choose what is revealed with a simple thought," he read. The boy's eyes jumped to other scattered papers in hopes of finding one titled Bursor. When he couldn't find it, he shuffled through the papers he'd previously stacked. When that failed, he continued reading the current note. "However, if the two parties think of separate memories, they will view a corrupt memory. This one is an amalgamation of the others. Unlike its usage alone, the sequence will show this memory to both entities."

Though there was more to read, Curtis swiftly reached for the sword but realized it would be useless; there were no items he had memories of in the room. And while he could use it on Eli, he did not know how to draw Bursor, and he could not tell the unconscious Eli to think of a memory. Giving up on the idea of using it, he continued to read the paper. "The cost of using this glyph is low. However, using the aforementioned sequence results in a medium cost. Overusing such a sequence will prove taxing on the mind. Resting several hours between uses is recommended."