2,320 Years Ago
Jha’dor moved softly down the corridor, hoping that no one would hear him as he approached the chamber where awaited the Trial by Power. As he neared, he came to a stop and listened to the sound of voices coming from around the corner, piquing his curiosity as he recognized some of those speaking.
“Do you think he’ll make it?”
Was that Valari? He hadn’t seen her at the banquet the Arcosians had held their first day here. Perhaps he had missed her.
“I don’t know, I heard something happened in their rooms and Jha’dor left shortly after his trial.”
This second voice was familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Why did he have to be so bad with names?
“And left Olinar behind? Is he just supposed to fend for himself?”
“Dunno, but no one has seen him since before the Trial by Fire.”
“Maybe he’s dead and Jha'dor left him?”
The last one Jha’dor knew. Arellis. Son of High Lord Grendhas and a bastard if ever anyone deserved that title.
“Or maybe... he’s right here,” Jha'dor said, doing his best to make his voice rasp like Olinar’s had and turning the corner. In his right hand he held his brother’s walking stick and it clinked against the stone floor as he stepped into the same foyer he had waited in yesterday. He spotted six other royals sitting on benches and waiting to be called into the Arcosian Chamber for a chance to prove themselves in the Trial. Each one a child of the royal Drahl Houses Gauguin, Ruthsar, or Westerin, or of one of the lesser noble houses. Neither he nor Olinar had gotten along with any of them, but unfortunately that meant Jha'dor had also been alone growing up. Second in line to… well, now the sole Heir of the High King and of House Venglath.
Arellis, dressed in the deep sapphire blue of his house, raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “Well, the mighty Heir has finally decided to show his face at last. Tell us, Olinar, why did your brother leave so soon?”
“He wanted to share the news of his success with our father,” he said, making his voice as raspy as he could. Letting lose a series of coughs, he did his best to feign the illness his late brother had had. It worked as six other people backed away from him a little, granted it had only worked because he had screamed himself hoarse in the forest last night.
“Like a pup wanting to please its master,” Arellis said with a nasty smile. “Clearly he didn’t want to stick around see if you pass your Trial or not it seems.”
Two of the other royals grinned in amusement, but another, and Jha'dor saw it was Valari, frowned along with the others in the group.
“Please don’t talk that way about Jha'dor. He has a good heart, it must have been hard for him to stay behind to see Olinar like this,” she said.
“Good heart, ha!” Arellis said with a laugh. “That boy did nothing but stare at rocks and gems the last time I visited Vengoluth. The only time I saw him do anything else was when I had accidentally nicked you Olinar with my blade. Then he bawled like a little babe.”
“That was more than a nick and you know it,” Valari said before Jha’dor could say anything. “Catching him off guard is one thing, but what you did was deliberate.”
Arellis grinned maliciously and he gave a small shrug.
Jha'dor gritted his teeth in anger at Arellis and Valari. He had passed his Trial, why couldn’t they show him the respect he deserved? And not only that, but apparently it was common practice to talk about him behind his back. He already knew it had been happening from Olinar, but it was something entirely different to have to suffer through the ordeal in person. Taking a deep breath he felt a little better knowing that Valari had come to his and Olinar’s defense, even if she had made it seem like he was soft.
True, he had cried over Olinar’s death, but that was to be expected when one’s own brother died. But looking at Arellis, Jha'dor knew that he had to say something to his remark about himself and Olinar, but how could he say it without giving away who he actually was and without offending Valari?
What would Olinar say?
“You’re right, he did leave,” Jha'dor wheezed. “Unfortunately, Jha'dor was needed elsewhere. But before he left, he told me he would be back. We even had a few moments to share a drink together in celebration of his success.” He paused as a thought came to him and he gave a conspiratorial wink to Arellis. “Coincidentally he said that you were already here yesterday, Arellis. Not trying to sneak in for this trial too, are you?”
Arellis grew red in the face as the others chuckled.
“I am not here to go through the second trial, Olinar,” Arellis said, clenching his fist. “I am here to show support for Valari.”
It was a punch to the gut as Jha'dor glanced to Valari. It hurt to know that the rumors of their courtship were true. He had of course, heard it through the court gossip, but it was entirely another thing altogether to be witness to it firsthand. It hurt nearly as much as the day she had stopped courting him and had turned away his advances three months earlier.
“Is everything alright, Olinar?” Valari asked as her look of concern changed to confusion.
Olinar. Right. He was supposed to be pretending to be his brother, not grimacing at Valari. Straightening, he smiled at her and Arellis, the later of who frowned at Jha'dor’s change in attitude. “Everything is fine, Tel’lëk,” Jha’dor said to Valari, using the ancient honorific for someone special. The one he used to call her.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and Jha’dor cursed himself silently. She knows. She knows that something is off since Olinar never called her that. It was now only a matter of minutes before she would say something to someone, turn him in as an imposter.
But before she could even open her mouth the chamber doors opened, and a servant stepped through. “Olinar, Heir of High King Allumin. The Arcosian’s will see you now.”
Not trusting himself to speak anymore to Valari, Jha’dor kept his mouth shut and walked passed her into the Hall. Again, he saw the crystal encrusted statues of his gods lining his path. Only this time instead of passing them by with indifference, he could not help but feel that they were glaring down on him in judgement and condemnation for what he was about to do. For what he was already doing.
Nauvin, Klen’tar, and Mëthuse were at the end of the Hall, wearing the same ceremonial robes that they had worn yesterday. If it hadn’t been for the walking stick and his brother’s clothes, he could’ve sworn that yesterday had never happened. A part of him wished that he could go back to his room to find his brother still there waiting for him.
“Olinar, welcome,” Nauvin said gently, as the doors shut behind Jha’dor, the echoing with a resounding boom that shook him to his core. “We have looked forward to this day.”
“As have I,” Jha’dor rasped, hoping that Valari would not do anything to blow his cover. He still didn’t know for sure that she knew. But he highly suspected that she was onto him.
“We heard that Jha’dor left shortly after his Trial yesterday,” Mëthuse commented with a smile. “He seemed...overly excited with the results.”
“If you call burning down half a forest overly excited,” Klen’tar said, shaking his head in disapproval. “I know these things tend to go to one’s head, but we have never had such blatant disrespect to nature and these holy lands of Drahlros.”
“I am sure there is a reasonable explanation,” Nauvin said, still smiling at Jha’dor. “Perhaps, Olinar, you could expound upon your brother's behavior?”
“Of course, Nauvin,” Jha’dor said, grateful he remembered Olinar was on a first name basis with her. “But I do not wish to take up all your time while there are others who wish to take the Trial. Perhaps tonight at the final feast?”
Nauvin nodded in agreement, but her smile faded a little.
“Does this displease you, Nauvin?”
“Hm, no. Not at all,” she said, her smile turning into a frown. “We are just worried about your brother.”
His brow furrowed in confusion. Worried? Why would she be worried for him? Yesterday he was sure that there had been nothing but contempt for him. But this almost seemed to contradict that. Almost.
“I worry about him, too. As his brother it is my duty to care for my twin. What has he done now?” Jha’dor asked, hoping to use this moment to draw out her fears about him.
Klen’tar shook his head and responded instead of her. “Nothing too alarming. He skipped to the front of the line yesterday. Paid off the other royals waiting to see us to let him go first.”
“We fear that his ego is going above his station,” Nauvin said bluntly. “I know you have said that he enjoys the trouble he causes and says it’s all a joke, a prank, but we worry that it is to hide some deeper thoughts or motives.”
She said that last bit like she had talked with Olinar about this very issue before. Anger and sadness welled inside again, and he fought the urge for those emotions to show across his face. “I assure you, Lady, he has no desires to rise above his station. In fact, it was I who suggested he pay his way to the front.”
It was true. Olinar had been the one to suggest the move that he skip ahead to the front. He watched both Mëthuse and Klen’tar frown, but surprisingly, and to his relief, Nauvin began to laugh.
“I should’ve known you had put him up to it,” she replied.
Jha’dor smiled and he shrugged, hoping it was what Olinar would’ve done. “I wanted to see how you would react.”
“Well, it certainly made my day,” Nauvin admitted. “But I digress. Whether or not you encouraged your brother we are still worried about him, but this can be a conversation for another time.”
Jha’dor let the matter drop, grateful to move on.
“Shall we proceed then?” Mëthuse asked, looking from Nauvin to Jha’dor. “Or did you need a room alone together?”
Jha’dor felt the blood drain from his face at his implication, but Nauvin waved it off. “That’s enough out of you, Mëthuse. We will of course move forward with the Trial.”
The three Arcosia moved around Jha’dor as they had before during his Trial by Fire. Would they see through him? When he had gone through his Trial, he was sure that they had tried to investigate his mind. Would they do the same here and find him out? And Olinar with Nauvin? Had his brother been using him to flirt with one of the Arcosia? A servant of Drahlros, a demigod in their own right?
Rather than touching hands like they had before, the Arcosia each placed their left hand on the others shoulder leaving their right hand free to use.
“Bring forth your token,” Nauvin said kindly.
Breathing slowly to control himself, Jha’dor pulled from his pocket a flask he had filled with the blood of the dragon he had slain. He remember doing it for Olinar and had thought it odd how he had insisted that Jha’dor be the one to collect the blood and heart. Normally initiates going through the Trials had to collect them for themselves. How long did you know, brother, Jha’dor thought, thinking back to that day. How long did you realize that you’re death was coming soon?
“Good, now drink it,” Klen’tar commanded.
Nodding slowly, Jha’dor raised the flask to his lips and was shocked by how steady his hands moved. The cool liquid touched his lips and a shiver ran down his spine. Repressing his emotions and the urge to gag, Jha’dor drank. The days old blood wormed its way into his stomach with every swallow. It was the most disgusting thing he had ever had and he breathed heavily in an attempt to not gag and throw it all back up.
No, I completed my Trial yesterday, I can do this one now.
Closing his eyes, he forced himself to finish drinking the dragon’s blood until it was all gone. When the flask was practically empty, he threw it to the side and looked into the eyes of the Arcosia around him.
Their gentle expressions were gone, replaced instead by a rough edge that hadn’t been there for his own Trial.
“This next part will hurt, but will be worth the pain in the end,” Nauvin said softly. “If you can endure as your brother did before you, then you will be granted greater strength than what he currently possesses.”
His eyes went wide. Greater power than he now possessed? What exactly did the Trial by Power give to those who went through it? Or was there something different this time because Olinar was meant to be the next future king?
“Do not worry, Olinar,” Mëthuse said, in a calm and melodic voice. “This is nothing different for those waiting outside to become a Drahli such as you. But as the Heir to the High Kingship, we must have you be a little more powerful than they to ensure that the current order and balance remain in place.”
So it is because of who Olinar was, he thought, and the notion troubled him in ways that he couldn’t name. If the King had always been the strongest then how did the Drahli, or the Drahl Elementalists, pursue knowledge and power if it was predetermined who would be the best?
Putting these thoughts aside and not trusting himself to speak, Jha’dor merely nodded again in understanding as his eyes locked onto Nauvin’s as she stood in front of him with Mëthuse and Klen’tar standing on his left and right side. Her fierce gaze seemed to pierce his soul and hold him in place as she stared into him.
“Ready yourself,” she breathed softly. Together, she and the other Arcosia began to chant with their eyes closed. It wasn’t a language he could understand, but it felt...familiar, as if he had heard it before. Like a long-lost memory calling sweetly to him from a far.
As one the three Arcosia raised their hands just inches away from touching him. From their outstretched limbs, energy crackled and fizzed and his hair began to stand on end.
Without warning his body froze up, holding him in place. He tried to move but his arms and legs wouldn’t budge. Nothing in the stories about the Trials mentioned this particular detail, he noted.
Each of the Arcosians power began to manifest as a glowing aura to their respective colors matching their draconic scales. Green for Mëthuse, blue for Klen’tar, and gold for Nauvin. Soon their collective energies started to flow around them like a vortex of color and force. Entranced, Jha’dor watched as the swirling colors—the was no other word for it—flowed down the Arcosian’s arms bunching into a ball of light between them and him.
“By our light, we grant you this might,” chanted all three of the Arcosians, their eyes open to and glowing from within. “With this gift of power, may all those who oppose you cower. We now bid you, seek Drahlros’ light.”
The chamber doors burst open, and a voice shouted, “Stop!”
But it was done. The three points of light rushed into Jha’dor’s body, suffusing him with their power... and he screamed.
He thought he had felt pain from his Trial by Fire. But that was nothing compared to this. The dragon’s blood he had drunk boiled in his body, as did his own blood. He felt the energy pulsing and burning away his old self, and yet it did not touch what had been given to him from before.
He still felt the ability to shift into a dragon inside, but this… whatever they had done to him was doing so much more than he imagined. His vision blurred and tears welled up at the corner of his eyes, only to fall down his face. He heard himself screaming, but sound was meaningless. He wished the bindings they had placed on him would go away, to let him lay on the floor to weep and—no. No, he didn’t want to weep, he wanted to die. This was more excruciating than anything he had ever felt, even more than the pain he still felt from his brother’s death.
Searing heat moved throughout his body, flowing through his veins and under his skin as it all slithered and snaked its way towards his chest. In the middle of his chest, he felt the power congeal and form into something hard.
His head sagged as the boiling in his blood came to a stop. Slowly, he began to comprehend what everyone were saying around him.
“What is the meaning of this?” Nauvin roared, still standing in front of Jha’dor. Had it only been a few seconds? It had felt like ages had passed by. “We are in the middle of his Trial. Can this not wait till we are done?”
“But—he’s not—Nauvin—I mean, my Lady—” stammered the voice and Jha’dor recognized it as Valari.
She did recognize me, he thought wearily as Nauvin stepped around him and told the girl to stop stammering. Taking a deep breath to steady himself he tried to see if he could hold himself under his own strength despite the bindings they had placed on him. He needed to be ready, and soon, before Valari could let it out who he really was.
“Here, Olinar. Let us help,” Mëthuse said gently, placing a hand under his arm as Klen’tar did the same on his left. Together they helped him to stand as the magic holding him in place vanished.
“Thank you,” he said, truly grateful for their assistance.
“Don’t worry,” Klen’tar said with a grin. “It happens to the best of them. Nearly everyone falls when they are first given the power. It shouldn’t be long before your strength returns to—”
But his words died as Jha’dor stood, sighing in relief as the aches in his body disappeared. And not just gone, but he felt invigorated. He felt he not only had a wonderful nights sleep, but had also gone a day filled with food. It was… exhilarating.
“That was fast,” Mëthuse commented, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Hasn’t anyone gotten better this fast?” Jha’dor wheezed, his voice raw from having screamed so much in the last two days. Well, at least he didn’t have to pretend that part anymore, now that it didn’t matter.
Mëthuse shook his head, his gaze still disbelieving.
Reaching up to his chest he felt a hard crystal embedded into his flesh. The mark of a Drahli. Worry filled him, not for the crystal. That part was expected. But because he knew he needed to leave. If Valari spilled his secret…but what was happening with her?
As one, Jha’dor and the other two Arcosian’s turned to see Valari still… well, Jha’dor wasn’t sure what Valari was doing.
Standing by the entrance to the Hall, Nauvin—standing over a foot taller than Valari—was almost glaring down over the smaller woman. And Valari…well. Valari continued stammering over her words. The other royals waiting for their turn to take the Trial were looking in through the open door, their jaws hanging slightly.
“Stop,” Nauvin finally said, holding up a hand. “Just take a deep breath and relax. Then you can tell me what the matter is.”
Valari nodded shakily, and took a deep breath. By Drahlros’ light, he was going to get caught! He’d be revealed for the fraud that he is and then condemned by the Arcosians for participating in two Trials. No one would understand his predicament.
He tried to look around for a way out without drawing attention to himself, but the only exit he could see was the chamber doors that both Nauvin and Valari were standing in front of. Unless of course, he wanted to jump through one of the windows, but which side was against the cliff?
“It’s about the royal twins,” Valari said when she had calmed herself. “I don’t know what is going on, but one of them is dead in his chambers.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop dramatically as silence echoed through the Hall. Nauvin lifted her head to Jha’dor and looked at him like she had never seen him before. “What do you mean one of the twins has died?” she said so quiet that Jha’dor had to strain to hear her.
“I mean that one of them is lying in his bed dead,” Valari said, eyeing Jha’dor wearily. “I believe the one standing here is Jha’dor and the other one is Olinar. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Why does it make sense?” Nauvin snapped. “Speak quickly, girl. These are serious accusations, and I need to know how you came to this conclusion.”
“We—Well,” Valari said hesitantly. “Before you called in Olinar into the Chamber for his Trial, he called me Tel’lëk, the only person to ever call me that was Jha’dor.”
Nauvin’s eyes widened and Jha’dor knew that it was over. Nothing he said or did would make a difference. Now not only would he look like a blasphemer for taking both Trials, but they would assume he had murdered Olinar. He did the only thing he could think of to get away. He attacked the Arcosians.
He jabbed his elbow into Mëthuse’s stomach then reversed and elbowed Klen’tar in the face, sending him sprawling while Mëthuse hunched over in pain. Then he ran. Not to the doorway since not only would that mean fighting Nauvin, who would not be surprised by his attack now, but fighting all those who were about to take the Trial.
Instead, he headed for one of the windows. Hopefully it wasn’t the one with the cliff.
“Jha’dor stop!” Nauvin called, but he kept going.
In an earthshattering crash, he jumped through the glass and rolled to a stop on a grassy field.
Good, I got the right one. Sure, he could’ve turned into a dragon and flown away if he had picked the wrong window, but he had been feeling a lot more reckless the day before than he did at that moment and didn’t want to jump into a free fall again.
“Jha’dor!” Nauvin called, her voice echoing from inside the palace hall.
Nope. No time to stop and chat.
Looking to the sky Jha’dor shifted into his draconic shape, only this time it felt…different. Bigger. More… powerful? With a thrust of his wings, he took off into the air and maneuvered his way around the palace where he and Olinar shared a room. He sighed in relief when he saw that the balcony doors were still open. Good, it meant that no one had thought to close them in case something like this happened. But something was off. Why did it seem so much smaller than it had last night when he had returned in the dark? It doesn’t matter, he thought, brushing the thought aside. I just need to get Olinar’s body and then I can figure this out on the way home.
He crashed into the balcony and the whole thing broke from beneath his feet. He heard screams coming from inside his room and he scrambled to get his taloned feet secured. Once situated, Jha’dor had to lean back to see into his room. Inside were several soldiers under the employ of the Arcosian.
Arellis stood among them too, and Jha’dor snarled. What is he doing beside Olinar? The soldiers all had their weapons out and pointed at him, and Arellis held his hands before him, as if to block an oncoming attack. But none of them moved. They all stood gaping at him. Without waiting for them to respond properly, he snaked his head into the room and pulled Olinar’s bed closer to him.
“Are you going to just stand there?” Arellis demanded, shaking himself from his stupor and looking to the men beside him.
“And what exactly do you want us to do?” An officer asked. “That thing is bigger than most Drahl Shifted, and it has the gem of a Drahli, what do you think well be able to do against it?”
Once the bed was within reach Jha’dor roared at the men until they all beelined their way to the door. Only Arellis hung back to glare at him in defiance.
Snapping his jaws at him, Jha’dor watched in pleasure as Arellis backed up like a frightened pup.
Before any of the guards could return, Jha’dor grabbed his brother's bed gently with his front claws and then flew away from the Palace. Within a few minutes he had soared past the forest he had burned in his anger the day before. Looking back, he saw no one was following him, but decided he should keep up the pace. He knew that if he kept going, he could be back home within a day or two, he had heard as much from other Drahl Shifters in the Kingdom. Pushing himself, he flew into deep the night to castle Vengoluth.
To home.