Page 27 of Ruins of Magic
With a surge of excitement, and despite his exhausted legs, Arion took off in a sprint towards it. It was long before his feet began to sink into the murky tar.
“Arion!” Valaria screamed as he sunk deeper.
It was too late, the massive tar-like substance swallowed him whole as he sunk deeper and deeper. It happened so fast that he didn’t have time to panic until he was already neck deep. He turned his head towards the sky listening to her screams as the darkness consumed him.
He should have panicked, but somehow, he knew that wasn’t going to matter. He was quickly resolved to his death. They say in a moment such as that, your life flashes before your eyes. That is exactly what was happening to him.
Arion watched as each scene played out before him. It was like watching his life from a distance. He couldn’t tell if he was seeing it in his head or through his eyes.
It began with a woman running through the woods. She was being chased. She was very beautiful. There was something familiar about her, yet Arion couldn’t remember ever seeing her. People were shouting all around and surrounding her. They were druids. He could tell by the things they were saying and the shields they were trying to erect around her. He had the feeling they were trying to protect the woman.
She screamed and screamed and soon everything went quiet.
What happened?Arion thought.
The next vision was of her holding a small child wrapped in a blanket. It was a patched blanket that he immediately recognized. It was the only possession he owned from his biological family. The woman was his birth mother.
The baby started to cry and she smiled down sweetly at him.
“Hush little one,” she said in a melodic voice.
“You need to quiet him,” the man with her said.
She waved her hand in the space above the baby and a ball of light appeared. The infant stopped crying seeming mesmerized by it and reached chubby hands up as he started to coo.
A commotion in the woods caused her to spook and the ball of light disappeared.
“Your majesty, it’s a trap,” the man next to her said.
Without panicking, she gently laid the baby down behind a rock, kissing his forehead before she left. “They’ll find you when the time is right,” she whispered softly. Arion noticed a strange marking on her neck, and he wondered what it meant. Before he could get a better look at it, she took off running in the opposite direction. The man followed.
There was shouting from somewhere beyond and ten yards away he watched an arrow pierce his heart.
“Run,” the man yelled to the woman.
She didn’t get more than a few yards away before she was met with the same fate. Arion watched as she fell to the ground.
“No!” he screamed.
The king’s soldiers came into view, followed by Valaria’s father and Zallon.
“What have you done?” Zallon asked. “Do you have any idea who that was?”
“A druid woman, sir,” one of the soldier’s said. “I saw her using magic.”
“That wasn’t just any druid, you idiot,” the king said. “We were here on a peaceful mission to speak with her about a treaty with the druids.”
“Sir? The druids are our enemies. We were told to shoot on sight. Magic is forbidden in Gavalon.”
“I’m the king, you moron. I think I am well aware of what our laws are. I requested a meeting with the druid queen and you just killed her. We’ll be lucky if the whole lot of them don’t rise up in retaliation now.”
“The laws mustn’t be changed sire,” Zallon said. “At least not yet. We don’t even know how many of their kind remain, but when word gets out that the king killed their queen, there will be consequences.”
“This is not what I wanted, old friend. I wanted peace with the druids, a fresh start. You know I don’t believe as my ancestors before me did, but I fear my hands are tied now. We must be diligent and maintain our policies against all magic users.”
“I know, but what can we do?” Zallon asked.
“Remove the arrows and any signs that my men were here at all. We’ll blame bandits if it comes down to it. I hate this. It’s not right, but I know they will come for her and give her a proper druid burial,” the king said.
