What Is Done

Chapter 6 - Phantom

The Hul'dra Woods were easily as dark inside. Sellion could see his monarch standing in a small clearing ahead. He looked back at Essaerae, eyes wide and her mind already gone. He sighed and walked towards Laverne, figuring she'd be fine on her own for a few minutes if she didn't wander. Then Sellion started to feel something intruding in his brain that wasn't there before.

Fight it, he kept telling himself as his vision went blurry and Laverne faded in front of him.

"Fight what?" another voice spoke in his mind. 

Sellion's legs suddenly went numb, causing him to fall forwards. He recognized the voice. It was one he hated; one that belonged to someone who had been dead for centuries. He stayed lying on the ground, nestled in the leaves. He knew the person the voice belonged to would get a kick out of seeing him act so weak. When he gazed upwards to see his own nightmare, where Laverne had been was replaced with someone he recognized all too well, his father and elder brother. It'd been his father speaking inside his mind. There were some who still lived who had known him as King Odin. 

His father's lips moved and the sound projected through his thoughts. "Fight me?" He kept his lips smugly pursed after asking his question.

"Yes? No? I don't know anymore...I am so tired..." 

Sellion watched the two of them out of the corners of his eyes, his father's hands rested on Valka's shoulders. Valka had maybe been twelve years of age in the vision he was seeing. They both wore fancy clothing, their father's was always very simple compared to Valka's. Valka's was embroidered with dynamic patterns and bright colors. Their father always made sure he looked like his heir.

"Remember I favored Valka, Cedric? You were never destined to be as great as him."

Sellion rolled onto his back.

"Why? I never had any desire to become king. Valka's destiny was set in stone the moment he was born, even my birth couldn't have changed that." He watched them closely out of the corners of his eyes. They didn't move closer.

"Why? Because...no...Valka, you tell him." The vision of his father pat Valka's stocky shoulders. Valka had never been well-designed for his age. He'd always been built like a stick.

"Because you're a half-breed."  Valka sounded like he was in pain saying that, looking away from Sellion and their father. For a second, it seemed like Valka was cockily holding his head up high, as if he agreed with Odin that Cedric was beneath them. Sellion was able to imagine his brother's voice at that age so well it terrified him to hear the older brother he always looked up to say that.

"The elves of Arün and the rest of the country would have never accepted a half-breed as their ruler," Odin said plain and simple, rubbing salt in the wound. 

"You always manipulated Valka. He was only your pawn! You didn't really care about him. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I came back to Arün so I could save him and kill you! You won't break me!" Both Odin and Valka's eyes grew wide in shock from his confession.

"That may be so, son, but let me ask you this,"  Valka looked at their father, worry and confusion radiating from him. "Why do you need to live?"  

It was Sellion's turn to be stupefied. He thought for a moment before shutting his eyes hard.

He had no answer to Odin's words. His father's words were like daggers stabbing through the chest. Why did he need to live? At some point he was living for just one person. Now that person was gone, but they had asked a favor of him. It was a favor he swore to continue carrying out after their death. Then Sellion thought of an answer.