‘

  Death was a quiet and lonely thing. It was emptiness, blackness, no rewards for a lifetime of good deeds, nor punishment for a life of evil. All decisions, all emotions, and all dreams are rendered meaningless. If this is the case, then what purpose does legacy serve?

  My only conclusion: It is to delude the dying into believing that they could avoid the great nothingness and live on forever. Of course, this was all lies, lies, and lies, compounding upon each other.

  Nothing had meaning, not life, death, love, or hate. But why the devotion to ambition? Is this the end of everything? Are there any true goals that aren't born from mortal delusion? Why become an emperor if your sons and grandsons will see to the empire's fall? Why master a skill when your mind and body will fade and rot to nothingness?

  Am I just arrogant or selfish? Am I missing the part that compels people to plant a tree whose shade they will never enjoy? Why was I even born?

  ‘

  ‘

  Anier, Anier… Are you there? Why are you not here to judge me, oh goddess of love? I long to hear your condemnation, vitriol, and contempt. I’ve slaughtered men, women, and children, aided vile creatures, witnessed crime after crime, and done nothing to stop it, because I love only myself.

  Am I to believe that nothing exists? Am I to remain like this for eternity? Pain is better than numbness. Come and speak to me; let me spit in your face.

  You know, Anier, one of the worst parts of growing up in Farway was the apathy. I despised being ignored, as if my existence were meaningless.

  It's a shame I haven't burnt it to the ground. Am I meaningless to you? Anier, have I not committed enough crimes? Must I start desecrating the temples for you to finally notice me?

  ‘

  ‘

  How would my life have been if I were born in a position of power and respect? Presuming I had the same drive to learn magic, I would have become one of the greatest Magi to ever live. Hells, with my proclivity to do anything to get ahead, I would have excelled at anything I pursued.

  But as I float in this void of eternal blackness, cursed to have only my mind as company, I see now that even becoming an empress would mean nothing. In death, we are all equal, emperor or slave; the distinction is meaningless in the grand scale of time.

  If even becoming an emperor, the most powerful person in Aniera, has no meaning, then what exactly is the point of doing anything? Is there no true goal worth pursuing? All things will wither and die, and facing that truth, there is no such thing as freedom.

  ‘

  I felt something press against my consciousness; something was wrong. I fought against the fog in my mind, trying to force myself awake. After some time, memories returned: the dragon, Heywood, the forest, the dryad, and the sacrifice. Like a spark, it ignited my consciousness. My eyes flew open, only to be met with blackness.

  That, however, was the least of my worries. I reached out, realizing I was in some kind of wooden coffin, lying on my back, half floating in an odd, syrupy sap. That information was pleasant compared to the vines. One was buried in my throat as thick as a coin; then they all shifted, and I realized the extent of the horror I was in. Vines were in my bladder, sex, and bowels, apparently.

  I started screaming from the horror; my arms were weak, and trying to remove any of the vines only brought me pain. After several minutes of abject terror, every vine removed itself from me, and I breathed a sigh of relief, almost thanking Anier.

  Then the wooden chamber opened above my head, and light streamed in. In desperation, I crawled towards the light, though my limbs felt like lead weights. I fell to the ground; the light of the sun was blinding. The forest was warm, and that same honey scent permeated the air. My skin was slick with that odd sap that I could now see was an amber gold color. The taste was slightly sweet.

  My heart raced as I realized I was alive, and my hand flew to my wound to find nothing. Just pale flesh; there wasn't even scarring. My arms and legs felt weak, but other than that, I felt perfectly fine. A small chuckle escaped my throat as I got shakily to my feet.

  “May I assume that you are satisfied with the healing?” The dryad asked.

  I was so preoccupied with not being dead that I didn't even notice her standing off to the side. I nodded in satisfaction. “A deal is a deal,” I said to her.

  I stared down at my privates and wondered. “Have you taken the sacrifice?”

  “No, performing such, even on the unconscious and insensate, would lead to the same undesired outcome,” she said.

  “Ah, I see. Let’s get it done then.”

  “Very well, human,” she said. “I suggest you lie down; the process can be unpleasant.”

  I shrugged and lay down on the ground, staring up at the sky. She came over, pressed a hand against my chest, and said, “You will feel a pull against your animus. Over time, that pull will grow stronger. You must not fight the pull, even though every part of you will begin to scream at you to do so. Then it will sever, and our deal will be satisfied.”

  I didn't want to do this, but it would be the height of stupidity to renege on a deal with her. Even more so, I firmly believed that she would and could simply take what she was owed by force. Those vines were mildly traumatizing. With a clear head, I knew that they were there to remove waste and provide food, but still, I didn't want to know what they could do if the intention was malicious.

  ~

  I felt it not in my mind but against my consciousness; something was pulling against me. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to fight against it, but I was the master of my own mind; a deal was a deal. It wasn't a large part of myself, but still substantial enough to cause tension.

  As the strain on my mind built, I slowed my heart rate and evened out my breathing. I pushed acceptance, willingness, and compliance into that part of my animus, and slowly the screaming faded. After what felt like an hour, it was severed, and I fell unconscious.

  ~

  Thankfully, I didn't wake up in a wooden coffin with vines violating me. I was still lying in the field; the sun was setting, and the dryad was still standing in the same place. Something was different; however, I could almost feel it within myself. My animus had changed and felt almost tender, like it had recovered from a wound.

  “Wait, what?” I said aloud, ignoring everything. My animus was still activated, or more precisely, the veil was still pulled back. Usually, sleeping or loosening my grip would deactivate it. But now, even as I relaxed my mind, it remained active.

  ‘How odd.’

  “Something amiss, human?” The dryad asked.

  “The veil, it won’t close,” I said numbly.

  “You believe it is meant to be closed?” She asked. I opened my mouth and closed it. She had a point.

  “Did my animus grow so strong that it forces the veil open?” I asked.

  “Essentially, yes. It is the natural state of all magical beasts. But you humans are born blind and must train to open your eyes and see; even then, most do not grow to this point,” she said.

  I sat up and slowly started peeling away the dried sap from my skin. “You seem to know much about humans.”

  “327 cycles ago, a human tried to burn me to gain land, I presume. An army of many thousands invaded, so I killed most.”

  “Most?” I asked.

  “I spared most of the Magi and many thousands of mundane humans from a quick death.” She said casually.

  A chill crawled up my spine as she spoke. “And what happened to those humans?”

  “Most died of age-related illnesses. I studied them for many cycles…their magic, personalities, biology, language, history, science, and reproduction.”

  “You watched them have sex?” I asked, thoroughly confused.

  “They were not willing, but I wished to learn of your species, so threats and demonstrations of pain and suffering were enough for them to comply.”

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  ‘I don't know what to say to that.’

  I opened my mouth and closed it. “Were there any children born?”

  “Several.”

  “What happened to them?”

  “After my studies were complete, their lives meant nothing, so they were extinguished.”

  A chill ran up my spine as I imagined their lives, held captive by an unfeeling monster as she experimented on them to learn, then their lives ended once their usefulness was over. Now I understood how she repaired my body. The casual cruelty of it served to remind me that this creature wasn't anything close to a human.

  “Why did you stop?” I asked.

  “Stop at what?”

  “Killing the humans, would it not be better to simply exterminate them all and expand your forest…yourself?”

  “There is little reason to; if you invaded, I would simply kill again. What you do to the surrounding environment is not my concern. It is as natural as anything else.”

  I paused, examining her words, then asked. “I would hardly call what we do natural. We cut entire forests and draw massive amounts of resources from the surrounding land, often permanently damaging the environment. There are mines that…”

  The dryad interrupted me, “And what part of that is unnatural? You are animals who left your natural habitat; with your magic and no predators to cull your numbers, you reproduced rapidly, overconsuming the resources. It is the same with any invasive species. It is human arrogance that compels you to place yourself above animals.”

  ‘I suppose I can't argue that.’

  That sparked a question in me: “The Avahians, what were they really, and what happened to them?”

  “They were bipedal primates similar to you humans but had longer ears, four fingers, a more slender build, and digitigrade legs. Much of that history is unknown to me, since I was never interested in the ongoing conflict. ” As she spoke, her wooden form warped, creating the likeness of an Avahian.

  “It seems strange that the beings who gave us magic couldn't fight against our armies,” I said, closely examining the dryad’s body.

  “Avahians do not understand the concept of betrayal and are naturally empathic, meaning they feel the emotions of all sentient beings around them. As such, human crimes such as rape, murder, and theft do not exist for them. They could not cause harm, so the only option left was to leave. Where they went, I do not know.”

  I sighed, wondering what to ask her, then my mind was thrown back to the scroll. If there was anyone else in the world who could decipher it, it would be her.

  Rage consumed me as I realized it was in my saddlebag, then I smiled as I remembered something. “My pack, did you secure it?”

  “Indeed,” The tree opened up, and my pack fell to the ground. I scrambled over to it, my heart racing. I grabbed my notebook and flipped through the pages until I found the first of the runes.

  I took a deep breath and asked, “Can you read this?”

  The dryad reached out a four-fingered hand and looked at the long line of meaningless runes. Then she flipped the page, each time staring at the wall of runes for a minute; after twenty, she closed the book and said, “Yes, though reading is not the right word. You do not read a painting or read a sunset; you simply observe. Your eyes, nose, and ears give it meaning.”

  “Could you tell me what it says?” I asked, my heart racing.

  The dryad spoke.

  “‘Criminal, butcher, murderer,’ they scream, no matter that I gave them power, no matter that I taught them the magic. They could not understand that it is necessary to sacrifice. The beasts have been eating us for generations, and we can barely replace our numbers to keep up with the losses. Now, as we find new power in the Eaqlicite, they balk at the price to create them. They did not complain that we used the Avahians, but now they call me a criminal because we have to resort to humans.

  Humans lack a proper animus to convert, so now I must search for a deeper power, a deeper understanding of human life; otherwise, the sacrifices will increase for each stone, and for the public at large, there are only so many criminals to spare.

  I am old; this body is weary, drained, battered, and bruised. My time in this world is coming to an end, and let this be my last war, the final conflict to decide if humanity will dominate this land or fall to the beasts. If this pathetic grouping of magi refuses to bend, then they will break.

  ”

  ‘So the scroll was just the memoirs of Flaketh. How underwhelming, but there is incredible potential.’

  I stared off into the distance, my mind struck dumb by the information. Something was brewing at the back of my mind, a new plan, a new path.

  “You can see the runic definition of human life?” I asked overly casually.

  “Yes and no, I cannot tell you the definition, any more than you can tell what is blue to a creature with no eyes.” I immediately tried to find a way to explain what blue was, until I ran into the problem.

  “I see...” I paused. “Eaqlicite…would that be an odd glowing stone?”

  The dyad paused and stared at the page again. “Yes, a few of the magi I captured had the stone and revealed its origins to me.”

  “And I can presume that a human animus is sacrificed to create the stone.”

  “Quite correct.”

  “That suggests the animus is an incredible source of primal energy…chaos.”

  “Indeed, what is more chaotic than life? However, like most forms of chaos, it is hard to harness.”

  “Then where do you get your energy?”

  ”The same place all plants do. The sun.”

  ‘That suggests light can be converted into primal energy…interesting.’

  I stood and started peeling away dried sap from my back. My skin was wonderfully soft. However, it was odd how weak my limbs were.

  ~

  I talked with the dryad for over an hour on the details of magic. Much of it, she couldn't explain in a way I could understand. But I was able to confirm a few things. I could learn how to read from the scroll. It was less reading and observing the collection of runes and more allowing my animus and my own mind to deliver meaning. The same way I look upon a painting.

  I would have scrambled for decades or my entire life trying to read it like text.

  Runes were primitive in terms of magical complexity. But the only way humans could use magic was through runes.

  There were several runic definitions in the set of scrolls that would be useful. Eaqlicite was a crystal that formed from the existence of an animus from a sentient creature, separated from the body. The personality, memories, thoughts, and feelings were purged from the animus. To protect itself, a crystal forms around the detached animus. So, using a stone was literally pulling the very essence of the animus. That was also why it recharged; it was alive.

  The final revelation was that she intended to use the bit of my animus to enhance herself by changing her own animus. The process she couldn't explain to me; I simply lacked the capacity to understand. In fact, all of her magic was impossible for me to learn; I was just a human in the end.

  “Is there any source of water near here? I would like to wash.” My hair was in rather odd clumps due to the partially dried sap. That, and I wanted to think…to really absorb all the information.

  “Head towards the sun. There is a river; no beast will approach.”

  “You have been rather cordial…” I observed

  “You find this odd?” She asked, and I nodded. The dryad continued, “It is rather simple; even I desire conversation from time to time. I gain nor lose anything.”

  I stretched, feeling the ache in my muscles. “I feel so weak. How long did it take for me to heal?”

  “Two and a half cycles,” she said.

  “Two and a half years?” I exclaimed.

  “Indeed. The damage to your body was extensive.”

  ‘I’m twenty-one summers old. I wonder what is happening in the empire?’

  I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

  ‘Best not to show any ingratitude. This creature, from our conversation, has no sense of morality. And was beyond powerful.’

  “Though you healed me for a price, you have my deepest gratitude.” The dryad’s head tilted to the right and then nodded. I did my most respectful bow, turned, and walked towards the river.

  ~

  I sat in a stream around six feet wide and only waist-deep. My amulets were tied around my neck with a vine, since all my clothes, including the leather strap, had disintegrated. A stone further down the river was slowly removing heat and filling my reservoir. Though I sat calmly, my mind was a whirlwind.

  I thought and thought and thought and refused to leave the river until they settled.

  ‘The stones were made from sentient life, an animus.’

  ‘An animus can be altered and changed.’

  ‘The runes for human life exist; I could learn them; based on the dryad’s reading, the process can be improved.’

  ‘Enchanting involves changing the nature of an object, and the universe follows.’

  ‘To change a human would require insane amounts of power.’

  Slowly, a plan began to form in my mind, a glorious plan.

  “Empires, dreams, goals, magic, and ambition…it all fades to dust after death. Therefore, it has no meaning; nothing has meaning. Not even my own dreams of power have meaning. The freedom I desired for over eight summers was worthless. There is no freedom for all will bow, kneel, and succumb to death.”

  A broad smile stretched across my face. “I see it now; there is only one goal, one ambition worth pursuing.” I started laughing; the pure joy I was feeling was beyond even the first successful magical circuit. “You failed to kill me, Heywood, and your actions hand-delivered my destiny to me as an act of providence.”

  I stood straight, stretched my arms out wide, and embraced the sunlight. “Immortality…that is the only true goal, the only true choice, the only freedom. Everything else is an illusion.”

  I released a sigh of pleasure as the pure fire of ambition burned within me, brighter even than my hate. “Ahhhh, there it is. I finally found a goal to dedicate my entire life towards. It was always there, lingering; I just never knew it was what I wanted.”

  “I’ll need resources… massive resources; it doesn’t matter how many lives it costs, it would be worth it. I need a legion of people… Millions of lives, all working towards my true ambitions. One nation under Myr.” My breathing slowed as I stared at the azure sky. The surrounding trees, reaching out like leafy fingers towards the heavens. Reminding me of young Edith and my time in the forests.

  ‘Edith is dead; I am Myr now, the Maiden of Fire. No, I need to become more than that… Myr, the Queen of Fire?’ I shook my head. ‘No, I should be greater. Myr, the Empress of Fire. Yes, only then could I have the resources to do what must be done.’

  I sniffed, still displeased. ‘Even empresses die in time. That only serves to facilitate the final goal, the only goal worth undertaking. Myr, the empress of fire, is what the world will see; that is what I will become in this mortal life. But there is only one true goal, one true ending.’

  ‘What is a maiden to a queen? A queen to an empress? An empress to a goddess?’