Ascension - (Alarian Warriors)

Chapter 53 - Souls & Spirits

Aveyon was connected to the fates in a way she couldn't quite explain. They didn't need to speak to one other, they all simply knew what had to be done.

Once everyone was no longer lingering on the battlefield the three fates took hold of each other's hands and stood in a line. Starting from the base of the stairs they slowly began to walk. As they moved their robes expanded, covering the area behind and around them. The cloth rippled in the air before settling on the fallen warriors and demons alike. The outlines of the bodies seemed to melt away under the cloth as they moved, the cloth washing over them in a magical display. Inch by inch the fallen were gathered beneath the waves of their ropes.

Lahk turned her head slightly to address the survivors. "You may follow if you so wish it, we will put them to rest in the rivers of souls."

Aveyon was the first to move, she stepped forward. Her bleeding had finally stopped, and she was no longer stumbling. "There is one other." She told them before she moved deeper into the palace. Navigating the ruins was surprisingly easy, though it had been a long time since she had been here it was still her home, she'd grown up here, she knew it. However, it did look a little different now with the chipped walls, the lack of greenery and the missing roof in some places.

She quickly made her way to the throne room, the room where all this had started. Her emotions ran high as she saw her mother's dried corpse still lying where she remembered. Kirra had followed after her, for which she would be forever grateful. The priestess handed her some cloth, and they delicately wrapped the already mummified remains of her mother, the former Queen.

"Hi, mum." She could feel the tears welling up. "I have returned, though it appears far later than I had first thought." She wrapped the stained material around the woman. "I had wished to join you today, to see you again in the next life, but I fear you will be waiting for me a little longer."

Kirra helped her pick up the wrapped remains, being careful not to have them break apart. They were old and exposed to the elements for so long. She then left Aveyon to carry her mother out,  joining the others standing the front of the palace. Aveyon appreciated the care the priestess took with the dead, more so now than ever.

They formed a convoy behind the three fates. It was a fair walk to the river of souls, but it was what she had intended to do alone if needed. After the trek was complete, everyone stopped and gathered at the edge of the once-flowing river that spanned the entirety of Alarious. It lay dried up and void of water save for a single mucky muddy puddle. The river used to be a site to be seen, life flourished around it. Now it lay barren and abandoned.

The three fates continued into the murky depths of the small pool that remained. Walking out onto the water, their robes seeping in and under the surface. They released the bodies they had collected into the waters. As each person's remains were accepted into the tiny pool that remained of the river a projection of their face was shown on the murky surface. Watching the faces appear was far harder than any of them had thought. Many people began to cry and weep as the smiling faces of friends and family appeared and disappeared forever. The fates returned to Aveyon's side as the display continued.

"Thank you for this." Aveyon smiled sadly at them.

"You freed us, it is the least we can do." Clo returned the saddened smile as she took a seat on protruding rocks that framed the once river.

Sira's face appeared in the water, her smiling expression caused an unsettling feeling in Aveyon's stomach. The tingling sensation tickling at her nose returned as she tried not to lose control of her emotions. Her hand still lightly gripped her mother's corpse as she felt a familiar presence by her side, Kai.

"We have lost a lot, but we have gained much more. We all had no hope before. They gave their lives to give us that which he did not have before." Kai tried reassuring her.