Within These Tangled Tales

Chapter Sixty-Four

—Enders Watch, Namera—

"You have no reason to trust me, but...I need you to try," Zenn'a's words still rung in Rhiorr's mind even now.

It had been an hour since her abduction and the others were still arguing over what to do, but Rhiorr wanted no part of it. He stood at the end of the ruined fortress, his eyes staring out over the Abyss. He remembered her words from the night she had helped him bury his son. They were spoken in hushed whispers as she helped to heal the pain of his past. Even if he hadn't known her long, he would forever be indebted to her for what she had done. And even though he had no real reason to trust the story she had told him, he would.

They had sat beside Borel's grave as they had laid him to rest, and in the resulting silence, she had reached for his hand and recited a tale he still had trouble believing. But regardless of how far-fetched it sounded, he saw no reason for her to lie.

"Your plan to kill the Colossus," she had told him, "will work. I don't know if everything will work out exactly as you planned, but...I do know that the Colossus will fall here, at Namera, against Ori. The endless cycle stops a few days from today."

Of course, he had questioned how she could possible be certain in the plan when he, himself, had trouble believing they could actually achieve their goal. Zenn'a had grown silent, looking to the grave with a conflicted expression before she had revealed all to him.

"I know because...because it's a well-known story where I'm from. You see, I...When I said I had come from far away...I meant it, but not in the way you all assumed. I came...from the future, and I know, I know, how ridiculous that sounds, and you have no reason to trust me, but...I need you to try. My real name is Zenn'a Vale, and...my moms are Elusia Vale and Idelle Ralia, Ori's cousin. So, I...I'm family to Ori, not that she knows it, but..."

Rhiorr hadn't known what to say, and so he had kept silent, waiting patiently for her to continue.

"Where I'm from...Ori kills the Colossus a few nights from now...She frees Velara from the cycle of violence, and she earns the Creator's unending devotion. But after...the Creator rarely leaves her side, and soon...she'll become a puppet. He will use her to spread His light until the worlds bow before Him."

He hadn't told her that's where he had started to believe her, that what she spoke of sounded exactly like a tale from long ago in Emma'Shalaar.

"The Creator claimed the light would bring a paradise, but the people under His influence, when you talked to them, something wasn't quite right...like they weren't all there. There were some who began to resist, my mothers among them, and so was...so was Adix. He ended up aligned with your sister, Virmira. She transformed him into a vessel for Fen'Danar, used him to fight against Ori as a puppet. The Wolf won...but things didn't get better. Ori died at Adix's hands, and not long after, so did the Creator. And then...the worlds turned into an actual nightmare. Fen'Danar, Adix, and Virmira Tanadall...they brought so much suffering to the worlds. My mother, Idelle...One day, I came home and found her in our kitchen. Her blood was everywhere...it painted the floor, the walls, the cupboards. I didn't know what to do. I think I sat with her for most of the day before my mom came home, and..."

She had cried after that, her story broken by sobs that she had tried to quiet. He had held her through it, still not saying a word.

"My mom was relentless after that. She wanted to kill Virmira Tanadall and Adix for what they had done. She tried, but Fen'Danar killed her in front of me. My friends, my siblings, all of my family...I watched them die, one after the other, until one night, my cousin came to me in the dead of night with a plan to stop it all. Ori's son...Arsene. If I got the timing right, she's probably pregnant with him right now. He inherited Aldressa's power over time. He could rewind time to a small degree, but he could only send someone else back while he powered the spell. We came up with a plan, me, Arsene, my lover Corvin, Avalas' daughter K'aya, my brother Emil, a few friends, and my great-aunt Teryn. We figured out when and how we were going to send me back in time to stop everything from happening. But that day...Bayle and the Wolves figured out what we were planning, and they came to stop us...They...they killed everyone."

Her eyes had closed, and Rhiorr had known she was lost in memory.

"Arsene was the last one left. He finished the spell and threw me into it. When I woke up...I wasn't where I was supposed to be. We had aimed for Avarra, a kingdom on the world of Andavaran. I was supposed to intercept Ori before she ever made it to Velara. We thought if she never met everyone here...if she never knew Velara existed...but something went wrong, and I ended up too close to the Colossus' awakening. An hour after I arrived...I ran into Bayle and his Wolves. He had followed through the rift after killing Arsene...And...well, the rest you know."

Pulling away, she had sniffled quietly, her long ears pressed down against her head in uncertainty.

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but I swear to you...if Ori kills the Colossus outright, the Creator will win her trust and she will become a puppet."

"So, what would you have me do?" he had asked, realizing only after he had voiced the question that he had taken her story at face value. It had never actually occurred to him not to believe her when she had finished her tale.

"Ori has to see the Colossus for what he really is. When she goes to kill him, you have to stop her. Just for a moment. He will be stripped of his armor and what he is...who he is will be revealed."

"And you think that's enough to change fate?"

"Absolutely."

"Why?"

"You'll...understand when you see. If Ori knows...she'll never trust the Creator again."

A long moment of silence had followed, but ultimately, Rhiorr had agreed. He had never trusted the Creator, and he had no desire to see his friend become a puppet dancing upon a string of light. His agreement had earned him a radiant smile and a multitude of thanks that he had tried to ignore. And then, she had kissed him, and he had become lost in her softness and quiet sighs of satisfaction.

And now, Zenn'a was gone, taken by a madman who wanted her to die in the most painful ways possible. The others were arguing what to do, and Rhiorr knew Ori was the loudest voice for going after Zenn'a first. But if they followed Zenn'a, would they miss their window of opportunity to reveal the Colossus to Ori? Rhiorr knew they couldn't take that chance. Zenn'a had risked so much to ensure they altered the course of fate. If they ruined all that had happened, Zenn'a's loved ones would have died in vain. For the woman who had helped to lay his son to rest, Rhiorr was willing to do anything. And even though it pained him to do so, he would force the Hero to listen.

Turning away from the Abyss, Rhiorr watched as the Creator led a small group of starving, frightened, and injured children toward their camp. There were some survivors from the surrounding area, and Ori had been doing what she could to help them. Rhiorr watched as the Creator led them to Ori with a kindly smile. The Creator healed them before Ori's eyes, a gesture that won Him a grateful smile and tender affection in her gaze.

Rhiorr took a deep breath. To his knowledge, the Creator was ambitious and manipulative, yes, but hardly evil. What would He gain by turning the Hero into a puppet when it was clear He could win her over with actions alone? What was His plan? He had been up to something shortly before the Silence had spread across the worlds, but there was never time to discover what. He and the Hero's husband had been investigating carefully, but the Silence had seen an end to it.

Regardless of what He had done, Rhiorr knew they never would have survived the Silencing were it not for the Creator. He had created the Abyssal Rift and all life in the new worlds. Their people survived because of Him, and Ori's people had been created by Him. What, then, did He hope to achieve beyond that?

"And one more thing," Zenn'a's memory reminded him. "Whatever happens in the coming fight...Ori is your priority, alright? Without her, the worlds fall to ruin. If we are to survive, if everything is to change, she has to live. So, if it comes down to it, saving her or me, promise me you won't think twice. Promise me, no matter what, you'll save her."

Rhiorr was a man of his word.