Chapter Text
Callum forced his way through a small rock opening, the last to make it out of the Bridge Through the Darkness. As he toppled into the next room, the opening behind him shut as a medium sized boulder fell into place. It echoed throughout the new room they found themselves in now, which was much brighter and appeared to be inhabited by far fewer deadly creatures than the zone before. Callum had to blink several times to get used to the light, but eventually he made out that the room was actually a small cavern, with what looked to be a blue forcefield blocking the way to the next door. The only thing he could see inside the cavern besides themselves were a series of green marble spheres resting on top of stone pedestals.
Around him, the others were brushing themselves off and looking around the room as well, before looking at N’than expectantly.
“Right! Well, this next zone isn’t as fun as the Crystal Labyrinth …but it’s not too bad, I reckon; certainly better than the bridge we just crossed!” He walked over to one of the spheres. “These are called the Fear Spheres. At least, that’s what we’ve always called them….DON’T TOUCH THEM YET!” he cried, seeing that Zym had nearly landed on top of one of them. He pulled up at the last second, soaring around the room. Ezran got close to one of the spheres, looking at his reflection in the marble, but made sure not to make contact after hearing N’than’s warning.
“Basically…you have to confront your deepest fear before moving forward. When you touch the stone, your body stays where it stands, but your mind is transported somewhere else. It’s basically like a hallucination, in that none of it is real and nothing can actually hurt you. The nice thing is, everyone who touches the spheres at the same time gets to go through it together. You can see and hear each other through each individual trial, so long as you stay calm. Now that’s the kicker…the more scared you get, the less aware you are of it being fake, and the harder it is to see and hear everyone else with you. So the key here is to remind yourself that it’s not real, and force yourself to breathe and think critically. Does that make sense?”
Rayla and Callum looked at each other, feeling a little unsure of what to expect, but nodded at N’than anyway.
“Now, lucky for you two,” he said, looking at Zym and Stella, “You don’t need to come. Zym should be able to fly right on over the barrier and take you with him. We’ll join you on the other side as soon as we’re through.”
Rayla scratched the top of Stella’s head. “It’s okay, you’ll be safe with Zym. Go on!” she said, placing the cuddlemonkey on the back of Zym’s neck. The young dragon flew around the room a couple more times, showing off, before landing with a flourish near the door on the other side of the room.
“Okay, good! N’than said, seeing that they were settled. “The rest of us need to all find a sphere.” Callum, Rayla, and Ezran picked out their own pedestals to stand in front of, and reached out their hands to wait for the signal from N’than.
“On the count of three…one, two, three!”
They each simultaneously pressed down on their marble spheres, and instantly they were transported to another place altogether. They found themselves in a dark void, which was seemingly endless. It was completely black, save for a sourceless ambient light that allowed them to see one another. N’than seemed unfazed while the other three looked around wildly, trying to get their bearings.
“Listen, I’ll go first, so you can kind of see what to expect when it’s your turn. You lot just stay here.” N’than stepped forward into the void expectantly. For a moment nothing happened, but suddenly there was a flash of bright light, and instead of darkness surrounding them they were all transported into the middle of a forest. All four blinked as their eyes adjusted to the light, and it became apparent they were in the Drakewood.
Ezran, Callum, and Rayla all looked at each other in amazement, and N’than called back over his shoulder. “Don’t forget - this isn’t real. We’re in our minds. Our bodies are safe in the mountain. We just have to all -”
He was interrupted by a sapling, which had appeared suddenly at his feet, shooting up at an incredible speed. As it raced towards the sky it matured into a majestic oak, with bark growing around its stalk and branches growing out at different intervals. As it grew, it took N’than with it, soaring up into the air as he clutched for dear life to a newly formed branch. After only a few moments it came to a stop, now a fully grown tree, with N’than perched a solid sixty feet in the air. Even from this distance, it was clear that his eyes were shut and he was grasping firmly around the trunk.
“N’than!” Ezran cried out, taking a step towards the newly formed tree; but he was pushed back as though stopped by an invisible barrier. Callum caught him as he bounced off, helping him regain his balance.
“You won’t be able to help me, mate, at least not physically,” N’than called down to him. He was trying to keep his voice calm and level, but it was clear it was straining. “Each of us will have to face our fears alone, but as long as we keep our heads, we can at least still see and hear one another. The key is to stay calm.” He peeked one eye open and glanced down at them, but shut it back closed rather quickly. “As you can probably guess, I have a fear of heights…which has been a pretty big problem in my life since, ya’know, my people fly around on dragons as our main source of transportation…I must admit, that is part of the reason I don’t want to become a proper Drakerider…in addition to not wanting to hurt the dragons.”
N’than adjusted his grip on the tree. “Have I ever told you lot about -”
“Hey, uh N’than? I’d love to keep chatting but…I think you’re stalling,” Rayla called up to him.
“Right, right, I definitely am…”
Callum piped up next. “I’m guessing it wants you to climb down, right?”
“Right again, you’re sharp as a whip,” N’than replied, though he still didn’t move.
“Okay, so, just take it one branch at a time!” Ezran offered encouragingly. “Don’t look down, just make your way to the next level one step at a time. Like you said, it’s not real. You can’t actually fall!”
“Yeah, yeah, my brain knows that, but my eyes…” N’than tentatively stuck a leg down, feeling around for the next branch. “Getting started is the hardest part, but once I…” He stopped, making the mistake of looking down at them. “Oh yeah. This is high!” he exclaimed, squeezing the trunk and his eyes closed once again.
“You can do it, N’than! I believe in you!” Ezran yelled, and both Callum and Rayla chimed in with their own motivating words. After composing himself, N’than tried again, this time landing solidly on a branch. Slowly and carefully he eased himself down, earning himself a round of applause from the group below.
N’than made it about a third of the way down before his foot slipped. For half a second he fell, arms flailing wildly as he yelled. Instinctually, the three on the ground tried to rush forward to help, but they were all stopped again by the invisible barrier, bouncing backwards and stumbling into each other as they fell down in a heap. By the time they untangled themselves and looked back up, N’than had caught himself on a lower branch and was working on pulling himself up. His breaths came in rapid succession as he leaned against the trunk and tried to compose himself.
It seemed like he couldn’t hear the calls asking if he was okay. For a few moments he simply sat and tried to slow his breathing. Ezran looked up at Callum, worried, but Callum could only shrug helplessly. What could they possibly do?
Eventually, they heard N’than’s voice yell down to them. “I’m okay, guys!” he said, leaning out an arm with a thumbs up. “I lost you there for a minute, though; I couldn’t hear you until I calmed back down. It’s like you disappeared for a moment and I forgot this was a simulation…that’s the trick in this thing, that’s how people fail or lose their minds.
Callum and Rayla exchanged an uneasy glance. He hadn’t mentioned that was a possibility when they entered, but it was too late now to do anything about it.
“My trick is a little breathing exercise my nan taught me,” N’than said as he continued to climb down, this time taking it a little slower. “You breathe in for four seconds, then hold for four seconds, and breathe out for eight seconds. It helps slow your heart rate and can calm you down in a pinch.” Callum was all too familiar with the technique; his own mother had taught him to do that many years ago to help with his panic attacks.
Now that he was settled down, it didn’t take too long for N’than to make it the rest of the way down. As he landed both feet on solid ground, he turned to the rest of the group and cheered. “I did it!”
Instantly, the black void returned, the Drakewood disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. Darkness surrounded them again, and the barrier seemed to disappear as N’than rejoined them. Ezran patted him on the shoulder in congratulation. “Nice work! We knew you could do it!”
N’than couldn’t stop his proud smile. “Well, I think that means I passed. Who wants to go next?” Ezran stepped forward in response.
“I want to get it over with…honestly, I don’t even know what mine’s going to be.”
The young king walked out a little ways, and a soft woosh sound followed him, appearing to be the barrier popping back up to hold the rest of them in place. Ezran looked around at the nothingness, wondering what he would have to face. There were plenty of things he didn’t like, but he couldn’t pinpoint one greatest fear, at least not something quite so tangible as heights. After a moment, the bright light returned, only this time when they looked around they were back in Katolis. Specifically, they were standing in the Great Hall of the castle, and Ezran was sitting on his throne.
The hall was empty except for Ezran and one other figure. “Opelli?” he asked in a confused voice. None of them had realized the sphere could project humans, and it was unnerving how realistic this Opelli seemed.
“My king,” she said in a grave voice. “We have…an issue…”. The fake Opelli wrung her hands nervously, and the sound of angry voices just outside of the hall grew louder.
“What’s wrong?” Ezran asked her quickly.
“The people are unhappy with some of your recent decisions…” Opelli turned her head towards a loud bang; the giant wood doors that opened into the Great Hall shook as though people on the other side were trying to force their way in.
“Remember a few months ago when the locust swarm nearly wiped out all of the smaller farms, and they needed assistance from the larger farming conglomerates to get the resources they needed to survive?” Ezran didn’t, but this scene was so realistic, and fake Opelli was so convincing that he nodded his head yes anyway.
“Well…part of the deal you made to secure their help was to eliminate the fair trade rate laws your father established many years ago. Where there used to be regulation over how much could be charged for produce, now each corporation is free to set their prices however they want.”
Ezran raised an eyebrow at her, confused. “So? That doesn’t sound like a bad thing…why is everyone so worked up?”
“Because, my King,” Opelli said, sounded a little exasperated as her patience waned. “The bigger corporations are now setting their prices so low that the smaller, independent farmers can’t compete.” She looked at him pointedly, watching to see if the pieces were coming together.
“So…that means nobody will bother buying from the smaller farms…” he said, starting to understand. “Which means they’ll go out of business, and the only way to get produce is from the bigger companies?”
“Yes, Ezran, and what will they do when they no longer have any competition?”
“They’ll…set the prices as high as they want to, I’m guessing…”
“Exactly. Which isn’t as big of a deal for other products, but we’re talking about a basic necessity. Food. This will affect each and every person in Katolis, the poor most of all. This could cause a ripple effect throughout the kingdom.”
Suddenly, the doors burst open and a swarm of angry people filed inside uninvited. Ezran stood from the throne as Opelli scurried up the steps to his side, avoiding getting trampled by the mass of villagers. It was hard to make out any individual remarks, there was so much yelling back and forth between people that it all culminated into one solid sound. What was clear, though, was this mob included individuals from both sides of the debate.
“Hey! Stop! QUIET DOWN!” Ezran yelled at the top of his voice. It took a few moments, but eventually the mob stopped yelling at one another, interested to see what the King had to say for himself. “Let’s all just try to discuss this calmly,” he pleaded, trying to figure out what to do. “Clearly, although my intentions were good, it was a bad idea to eliminate the fair rate law. So, I’m just going to reinstate it.”
He looked over at Opelli, feeling confident he had it all figured out, but there was an uproar once again from half of the room.
“I have a legitimate business! I work hard to grow my fruits and vegetables, and I should be able to charge whatever I want for them! If people don’t like it, they should grow their own food!”
“We made a deal! Whether or not you thought through the potential consequences isn’t our problem. You gave your word and you should honor it!”
“Maybe we should just close our doors and move into another trade that isn’t regulated. Then what, King? How will your people be fed without us, hmm?”
Ezran looked over the crowd, caught off guard by their reaction. He thought going back to how things were before would be easy, but clearly he was still going to anger a lot of people that his kingdom did depend on. “Umm, okay, maybe we won’t go all the way back to how it was before, maybe we can find a happy medium…”
Now the other half of the room erupted.
“What, so we’re going to be punished, because we were attacked by locusts and taken advantage of by the big guys? How is that fair?”
“We may be small, but we serve the most remote areas of Katolis. If you cave to the big farms now, how can we trust you won’t do it again in the future and have us end back up right back here? People could starve!”
The yelling and confusing nature of the issue were starting to overwhelm Ezran. He looked back and forth between the two groups, and over at Opelli who offered no help. He felt his heart start to race as people started getting more violent, shoving one another and yelling obscenities back and forth, ignoring his pleas to stop.
“I…I need a minute!”
Ezran ran behind the throne into a small hidden room that was typically only used in emergencies; he felt like this moment was justified for its use.
Callum called out to him, seeing his distress. “Ez! Take a breath. Just remember, it’s not real!”
But the scene sure felt real to Ezran, and as he leaned against the door in a near panic, he didn’t even turn his head towards Callum to acknowledge he had heard the reminder. He closed his eyes as he tried to think about what to do. As he thought, a deep voice echoed throughout the room, not appearing to belong to any actual person.
“Ezran…I’m disappointed in you.”
His eyes flew open, looking for the source of the voice. “...Dad?” he called out when he saw no one.
Callum gasped and reached a hand out, resting it on the invisible barrier. The voice was undoubtedly that of the former King Harrow. It felt strange to hear it; it was almost comforting, but at the same time it felt wrong. Rayla saw the look on Callum’s face and rested a hand gently on his shoulder for support.
Suddenly, it made sense to them what it was Ezran feared. It wasn’t about crops and farming, but about failing his people, and letting his father down.
“I expected more from you. But you’ve caused our people to fight amongst themselves, and now you’re left to deal with a situation where nobody will win. Perhaps you shouldn’t have taken on the role of King after all. You’re too young and inexperienced in the ways of the world. You don’t know what you’re doing.”
Tears filled Ezran’s eyes. “I’m…I’m trying!”
“This isn’t a game!” Harrow bellowed, his voice echoing all around them. “This is real! These are people’s livelihoods at stake! This is a country who may starve or go broke because of a deal you made!”
His words made Callum cringe; he knew how hard Ezran tried to keep his people happy and healthy, how desperate he was to be as good of a king to them as their late father had been. It had to hurt hearing these words come from his voice, real or not. To his surprise though, Ezran steeled himself and wiped away the few tears that had fallen down his cheeks.
“I will fix this,” he said, his voice confident. “I won’t let Katolis down, and I won’t let you down either!” With that, Ezran turned and walked back into the Great Hall, ready to face his people.
“Well? What do you have to say, King Ezran? What will you do?” a man called out from the crowd. The others fell silent, in anticipation of his response.
Ezran scanned the crowd, looking at each of them before speaking.
“There isn’t an easy solution. And there isn’t one that is going to make everyone happy. I don’t know what the answer is at this moment. But I can promise you this. In Katolis, we take care of our people. We won’t let anyone starve, and we won’t let people get taken advantage of, either.” There were moans and boos from half of the room as it appeared he had chosen his side. Ezran hastily added before they got too loud, “I also recognize that people should be able to profit from the goods and services they provide, or else not enough people will continue to provide them to support the country. So that said…I will meet with a representative from both sides to talk through your concerns, and form a task squad to help me navigate this issue. In the meantime…the crown will supplement the lost revenue of the smaller farms as the market is free to set the price, based on the promise I made.”
There were murmurs and a few discontented yells, but for the most part the people settled down as they were appeased for the moment. This time when Ezran looked up at Opelli, she smiled back down at him.
“Your father would be proud, Ezran,” she said gently, before the scene faded away to black once more. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness again, Ezran turned and ran towards Callum, who was waiting for him with open arms.
“You did great, Ezran!” he said, wrapping his brother in a big hug. “I know that was hard, especially hearing dad talk like that. I hope you know he would have never, ever felt that way.”
“Thanks, Callum. I know…actually, that’s what helped me remember this was just a simulation,” he replied as he pulled away from the hug. “Even though I worry about living up to his reputation, I know he loves me and would be proud of me. Hearing his voice did hurt a little, but I know it wasn’t real.” He smiled up at Callum reassuringly, as his older brother squeezed his shoulder.
“For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you too, Ezran.” Callum looked around at the void, realizing it was waiting for them to select the next person. He locked eyes with Rayla, but before she could say anything, he announced, “I’ll go next.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, having been prepared to volunteer if he wasn’t ready.
“Yeah. I…I know exactly what mine is going to be. I just want to get through it and be done.”
Rayla nodded. In all honesty she felt the same; waiting for her turn was starting to feel like torture, but she felt it was the least she could do to let him go first, if that’s what she wanted. Callum squared his shoulders and gripped his staff tightly. It was only in this moment Rayla realized he had it, and looking down she noticed her butterfly blades were securely in their holsters. It felt strange that the weapons had been transported with them; she had an uneasy feeling come over her as she watched Callum step forward for his trial.
He took a deep breath when it felt like he had traveled far enough. This time, instead of a dramatic scene change, the void stayed mostly dark. A ring of candles, all various sizes, popped into existence all around Callum, their flickering glow casting an ominously large shadow behind him. Suddenly, five large mirrors rose from the ground around the circle, all pointing at him.
Callum was standing with his back to the others, so his reflection was visible in the mirror opposite them. For a moment, it appeared normal; his jaw was set and determined, although his eyes betrayed his unease. As he looked around at the other mirrors, each of them began to glow an unnaturally bright shade of purple, as a deep, smooth voice filled the void.
“Ah, Callum. My puppet, back for more I see?”
At the sound of the voice, Callum turned on the spot, looking into each of the mirrors trying to figure out where it was coming from. It sent a shiver down his spine and he felt goosebumps rising on his arms. Rayla and Ezran, watching from a distance, felt a similar wave of panic at the sound; even N’than, who didn’t necessarily know what was going on, could sense that the owner of the voice was one to be feared.
“Breathe…breathe…” Callum whispered to himself as his heart pounded in his chest. “It’s not real.”
“Oh, is it not?” Aaravos’ voice echoed off invisible walls, making it impossible to find the source. “Did you not use dark magic? Am I not the strongest mage in all of history? You really think this won’t happen again?”
This time, when Callum caught his reflection in the mirror, he saw Aaravos staring back at him. Startled, Callum took a couple steps back. Though the image in the glass was wearing his clothes and mimicking his movements, the face attached to his body did not belong to him. The skin was an iridescent shade of blue; the eyes were cold and dark, although they were smiling in a mocking sort of way.
Callum turned in a circle again, only to find the same reflection staring back at him in each of the mirrors. “No!” he yelled in a voice mixed with anger and desperation.
“Yes,” Aaravos hissed back menacingly.
The lights of the candles went out for a brief second, before blazing back even brighter in the same purple hue that had emanated from the mirrors. Callum’s head fell against his chest. He was now facing the other three, and as he looked back up at them, they saw that his eyes were now solid black.
“What - what’s happened to him?” N’than asked in a scared voice, not understanding the scene in front of them. Ezran and Rayla exchanged an uneasy glance.
“It’s…Aaravos. He’s taken over Callum…it’s happened before,” Rayla responded in a quiet voice. Callum was still standing in place, but was glaring at the three of them as he breathed heavily. It was unsettling. “At least this time we’re safe behind the barrier,” she continued, reaching a hand out. It found no resistance. Confused, she took a few steps forward and found there was nothing stopping her from getting closer to Callum. Rayla turned towards the other two. “That’s…strange, for it to disappear all of a sudden…but it doesn’t matter, right, N’than? I mean, it’s a simulation, so we can’t actually get hurt?”
“I…I mean, I don’t think so!” he responded quickly.
Rayla stared down at the young elf. “What do you mean, you don’t think so?”
“Well, I mean, I know you don’t get hurt from your own trials, but…I’ve never heard of the barrier disappearing, or of anyone whose fear might involve hurting others. So…I just don’t know for sure. Maybe…90% sure we’re safe?”
The uneasy feeling Rayla had felt earlier came back. She agreed with N’than that it was unlikely anything could happen to them…but at the same time, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
“We better not take a chance. Be on your guard. If anything happens, get behind me or run away, got it?” She saw the two boys nod out of the corner of her eye as she directed her attention back on Callum.
Aaravos’ voice seemed to come out of the mirrors and not out of Callum’s own mouth directly, but it was clear that he was now in control of Callum’s body. “It’s almost boring, taking over your mind,” he said with a mock yawn. “It’s just so…easy. Here I was, hoping for a challenge.” Callum swung his staff in circles with one hand as he started making his way towards Rayla and the others. It wasn’t just his eyes that were off, but his entire gait and posture were wrong, too.
“Callum…” Rayla called out in a low voice. “You need to fight him. I know you’re still in there. Don’t let him take over.”
He stopped swinging his staff around suddenly, striking it into the ground near his feet.
“It’s too late…” called Aaravos’, as a sinister smile came over Callum’s face.
Without warning, a bolt of what could only be described as lightning raced from the bottom of the staff towards where the three were standing, heading straight for Rayla. She pushed the other two boys to the side out of the way before leaping up in the air and twisting to land a few feet to the side of the strike.
“CALLUM!” she yelled, partly in an effort to break Aaravos’ hold over him, and also in part to keep the attention on herself and not Ezran and N’than as they ran the other direction.
He didn’t react to her yell, other than to turn towards her and again bring the staff up in the air. “I thought you would have more magical talent by now, Callum!” Aaravos cried out. “Aren’t you the first human mage in centuries? I would have expected more from you, and yet you can’t even fight me off for a single moment!”
The staff came back down and another bolt of yellow lightning raced towards Rayla. This time it zig-zagged across the ground, apparently in anticipation of her jumping in another direction. She barely managed to leap out of the way, coming down on one foot this time, having to hold the other in the air as the bolt turned right behind her where it had been about to land.
Rayla regained her balance as the lightning bolt faded once again. She saw Callum turn the other direction where N’than and Ezran had run off in; not wasting any time, she ran directly at him, forcing him to bring his eyes back on herself.
“Come on, Callum,” Rayla pleaded as she ran. “Fight him!”
“Yes, Callum!” Aaravos agreed in an unsettlingly pleasant voice. “Show me what you’ve got! Make this more fun for me. Can’t you resist at all? Or are you really going to let me kill your family and friends using your own hands?”
As she got closer to him, Rayla could have sworn there was a brief moment where Callum shook his head, and she slowed for a moment to see if he was actually doing it. But when he looked at her again, his eyes were still black. This time, he lifted the staff up and pointed it directly at her, and in Aaravos’ voice he began to recite an incantation.
She didn’t dare draw her butterfly blades; just in case of the 10% chance that they could hurt one another in here, it wasn’t worth the risk. Instead, she had to go on the defense; she ran quickly around him, dodging back and forth as he got the words for the spell out. When he seemed close to finishing she jumped directly at him, using his outstretched arm for leverage she flipped directly overhead, causing the spell to shoot out harmlessly into the void.
A look of anger came over Callum’s face at the wasted magic. She landed low to the ground a few feet behind him, breathing heavily.
“You can do it, Callum!” she said, “I trust you. I believe in you. You can fight him. You can get him out of your head. Don’t give up!”
He stood up straight, almost seeming like he was heeding her words; but without warning, he shot his staff off into the distance. A ray of pink light flew out of it, hanging in the air until something was pulled by it out of the void.
Ezran.
He struggled against the constraint of the pink light, but it was as strong as metal and didn’t cave against the beating of his hands. Ezran was pulled closer to the circle of candles where Rayla and Callum stood, held up off the ground.
“Ah, your dear brother,” Aaravos said, his intimidating face visible in the surrounding mirrors as he talked. Ezran looked down at Callum; the grip was so tight it was getting hard to breathe, and he hoped if they could just make eye contact then maybe he could get through to his brother.
Aaravos continued. “He’s about the only family you have left, isn’t he? You swore to protect him, you promised you’d never let anything happen to him, and yet…” Aaravos forced Callum to swing his staff to the side, flinging Ezran several feet to his diagonal, releasing him from the pink light’s grip and causing him to drop to the ground with an “Oomph!”.
“No!” Rayla cried, running around Callum as close as she dared to check on Ezran. He rubbed the side of his shoulder, and she realized as she approached that this was in fact different from the other simulations; he had felt the impact of the fall.
Panicked, Rayla closed the gap between her and Ezran, shielding him with her own body as Callum approached, staff outstretched. “And yet…” Aaravos continued, “here you are, about to take not only his life, but that of the woman you care so much about. A two for one!” he laughed, a terrifying and revolting sound.
Callum pulled the staff back, pointing it down at an angle towards them. Rayla’s hand went to her waist to rest on her blades…she hesitated before drawing them, hoping with all her heart she wouldn’t have to use them on Callum, but also knowing that she couldn’t let him lay a hand on his brother - simulation or not.
Just as her fingers gripped the hilts of the blades, about to pull them out, something changed. Callum froze a moment too long, before his arm began to shake as though someone was trying to pull it backwards. His staff dropped to the ground, and Rayla swung out a leg to kick it further away as Callum’s hands gripped his forehead.
“Get. Out. Of. My. MIND!” he yelled, and fell hard to his knees.
It seemed as though he was fighting an internal battle the others could neither see nor hear. Rayla looked towards the mirrors and saw that Aaravos’ face was starting to flicker in the images, as though he were fading.
“Yes! You’re doing it!” Ezran cheered from behind her.
“Kick him out, Callum!” Rayla joined in. “You can do it!”
“Woo! Go Callum!” called N’than from a faraway, safe distance.
Callum writhed, muttering incomprehensibly, as he fought against Aaravos; after a few moments, the lights went out again as the candles returned to their normal golden glow. Breathing heavily, Callum collapsed on his side, exhausted. Ezran and Rayla scurried over to his side.
“I…I did it…” he said. “He’s gone. I won.” He sounded relieved, but tired. Sitting up slowly, he reached out towards Ezran. “Ez…Rayla…are you okay?”
“We’re fine, we’re fine!” Ezran reassured him. “And so is N’than!” he said as the elf approached them, sensing it was safe now.
“I’m…I’m so sorry,” Callum said, fighting back tears. “I couldn’t stop him sooner.”
“But you did stop him, Callum,” Rayla said reassuringly.
“Not before attacking all of you,” he replied in a dejected voice. “Ever since he took over me in real life, I’ve been terrified of this happening. I have nightmares about it all the time. I’m scared that the next time it happens, I won’t be able to stop him before…before…”
“It’s okay, Callum. It’s not your fault,” Rayla said gently. “And, for what it’s worth, I fully believe you will be able to stop him. I know you will. You just have to remember how it felt to do it here. Real or not, I think this shows you have what it takes. You just have to believe in yourself.” She gave him an encouraging half smile that he didn’t quite return, but did flash her an appreciative look.
Callum spent a few minutes composing himself before they all stood up again. The scene with the mirrors and candles disappeared, fading into nothing. Rayla took a deep breath, looking at her companions.
“I guess that means I’m up…” she said nervously. Callum put a supportive hand on her shoulder, catching her by surprise; he had been short of affectionate the last few weeks, to say the least; but now he looked at her earnestly.
“You got this. Just remember to try and stay calm.”
She nodded up at him; she still wasn’t used to the fact he was taller than her now. Turning towards the other direction, she walked out a few paces. They heard the woosh of the barrier going back into place as she left. “That’s good,” she called over her shoulder. “I’m guessing I’m about to be transported to the middle of the ocean, or at the top of a waterfall…so hopefully that thing keeps you dry!”
Rayla looked around, waiting for the scene to change. She mentally prepared herself for what she was sure would be a swimming related trial, already working on her breathing and taking deep breaths in case she started underwater. But even after a couple of minutes…nothing happened; there was still just darkness all around her. She turned back towards the group, raising an eyebrow, but they all just shrugged back at her equally confused. Rayla was about to make a smartass comment about her simulation being broken, when a voice came out from behind her.
“Well, well, well. Look who it is…Rayla.”
The blood drained from her face at the sound of the voice as her back stiffened, and her eyes grew wide in terror. Callum saw her hands start to shake as she slowly turned back around. Unlike the other trials, the void stayed dark, and nothing seemed to appear except a tall, lean figure that slowly made its way into her line of sight.
Viren, carrying his own staff and wearing long dark robes, glided into view. Unlike Aaravos, he didn’t seem to be there to fight; which was for the best as Rayla felt her feet rooted to the ground. She wasn’t sure that she could move them even if she wanted to.
“He’s not real, Rayla,” Callum called out to her. “Don’t forget. Just take a deep breath.”
But Rayla could barely manage to take the quick, shallow breaths she was currently drawing. Just seeing his face brought back so many horrible memories that she was already having a hard time remembering they were only in a simulation. The pain his image brought was real enough.
He stopped a few feet from her, flashing a wry smile as he spoke in a mock friendly voice. “How’s it going? It’s been awhile. Two years, I believe?” He paused, searching her face; she felt the pit in the bottom of her stomach grow at the reminder. “And…what do you have to show for it, hmm?”
Rayla looked away, feeling shame. Viren continued to walk around her in a circle, slowly. Callum stiffened from where he watched a few feet away; seeing Viren was hardly any more pleasant for him.
“Oh, that’s right,” Viren continued as he walked. “You have nothing to show for your quest. You still haven’t found me, have you?” He stopped right behind her, leaning forward to speak softly into her ear, barely loud enough for the others to hear.
“You weren’t fast enough, or clever enough. And let’s face it, sweet Rayla,” he said condescendingly as he straightened, moving to stand in front of her once again. “You wouldn’t have been strong enough to stop me, even if you had been able to track me down.”
She felt her lip tremble as she was overcome with anger and guilt, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her tears. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to stay calm. Viren laughed, the sound piercing her very core. “I mean, all this time, and you still don’t have a single kill to your name! What kind of assassin doesn’t have the guts to take a life when necessary?” he asked her incredulously.
Viren extended his arms, as if exasperated by her, and shook his head. “Let’s just call it what it is - you’re a failure, Rayla!”
“Sh-shut up!” she yelled, trying to come off as commanding; but she could hear in her own voice how pathetic she sounded.
“Don’t let him get to you!” Callum cried out, “He’s trying to get under your skin. Just brush him off!”
But Rayla didn’t acknowledge his voice. “I…I don’t know if she can hear you, mate,” N’than said quietly. “It seems like she’s already lost in the simulation.”
Callum shook his head. “No…Rayla!” He pounded on the barrier but his hands bounced right off. He hated the idea of her feeling like she was alone with Viren, with nobody there to help her…but there wasn’t anything he could do but stand and watch.
Viren had begun to circle her again. “Oh, it’s cute, how hard you try. To your credit, you sure do try your best. But it’s never quite enough, is it?” He paused, reflecting, and she felt tears stinging at her eyes. “You try to help people, you try to protect the ones you love, but it just never seems to work out for you, huh, Rayla? No matter what you do, you just end up bringing pain and misery to the people around you.”
The boys couldn’t see her face from this direction, but they could tell her shoulders slumped forward hearing his words. “It’s not true, Rayla!” Ezran called. “Don’t listen to him!” But it was clear that Rayla truly could no longer see or hear any of them.
“Let’s think about it, shall we? Your parents left you when you were young. I guess…they just didn’t love you enough to stick around until you were older, did they? I’d ask what kind of parents could do that, but when you look at the bigger picture…I mean, only a few years later, you manage to get your surrogate father killed, and your entire clan turns their back on you.” He looked at her pointedly and she couldn’t help but meet his cold eyes. “What’s the common denominator here, Rayla?” he spat, emphasizing her name.
Her breaths were really labored now as she tried to fight against the tears building up in her eyes, but she was losing control. She wanted to argue back, to defend herself, but in truth she didn’t disagree with anything he had said so far.
“Do you really believe the excuses you tell yourself at night? That it’s not your fault? That there’s someone or something else to blame? Because I look at the facts, and all I see is you.” His voice dropped and he stepped closer to her as he talked, pointing a long bony forefinger in her direction. “You are the root of every problem, every terrible thing you’ve ever experienced can be traced right back to you. Between your actions and your natural shortcomings, whether you’re brave enough to admit it or not…it’s clear that you are always the one at fault.”
For Rayla, the dam had broken, and she felt the hot tears running down her face as Viren called out what she feared deep down inside. Suddenly he looked up over her shoulder, seeming as though he could make out the boys behind her, even though she could not. Callum felt ice run through his body as Viren made eye contact with him.
“…Oh, and I almost forgot about Callum,” he said, marching over to the barrier. Rayla turned on the spot, following him with her eyes. Hearing him say Callum’s name made her chest feel like it was being squeezed tightly, and she shook her head in anticipation of what was coming next, unable to move or speak.
Viren stopped only a foot away from where Callum stood, and continued addressing Rayla while staring at him. “He’s always been such a good boy, with a heart of gold.” Viren smiled, almost genuinely, before reaching through the barrier and grabbing Callum’s arm tightly, pulling him through to the other side. Ezran and N’than banged their hands against the barrier in protest, trying to pull him back; but it held strong for them and didn’t let them through.
Dragging Callum by the arm, Viren used his other hand to cast a spell that covered his mouth, leaving him unable to speak. Callum protested and attempted to rip it off, but to no avail; he was left to make muffled, incoherent sounds as they approached Rayla, who reached out a hand towards him but wasn’t able to find the strength to lift her feet.
Looking back and forth between the two of them, Viren continued in a patronizing voice. “Of course he couldn’t help but fall for the mysterious, exotic elf. Adventure will do that to you. All the adrenaline, not being sure if you’ll live to see tomorrow…But I mean…you didn’t think he was actually in love with you, did you?”
A look of hurt came over Rayla’s face as she considered his words. Viren chuckled cruelly. “Oh…oh my. How sad. I can see it on your face - you did, didn’t you?”
She looked away, fresh tears streaming down her face as she wrapped her arms around herself, her cheeks growing red in a mixture of embarrassment and disillusionment. Callum tried to speak up, but Viren simply continued over his muffled words.
“All this time, you’ve wondered what could have been if you had just stayed with him in Katolis, haven’t you? Well, I can tell you, Rayla. As soon as things settled down and went back to normal, Callum would have gotten bored of you. He could only have put up with all the self-loathing and insecurities and baggage that weigh you down for so long. He’s too nice to have broken up with you immediately, of course; it would have been a slow, miserable and drawn out ordeal…but eventually, even Callum wouldn’t be able to put up with you. I mean, if your own family and people have cast you aside, how could you expect anyone else to love you?”
A new wave of muffled yells came from Callum as he tried to pull away from Viren, but the elder mage simply held his grip even tighter. Callum desperately attempted to convey non-verbally to Rayla that what Viren was saying was a lie, that none of it was true; but it was clear that she either didn’t understand, or didn’t believe what he was trying to tell her. It pained him to see the look on her face as Viren continued to poison her mind with his lies.
Rayla’s tears had now evolved into proper sobs that she tried to contain as Viren continued. “Of course…you’ll never know for sure, will you? Because you left. You made a promise you knew you wouldn’t keep, you led him on, you lied to him.” Viren shook Callum as he made reference to him to really hit home his point. “And all for me! Ha! I should be flattered.”
He walked over into her line of sight, dragging Callum along with him, not letting her look away. “Except, deep down, a part of you knows it wasn’t just about me, was it? It was partially because you were afraid of what would happen if you stayed. Afraid that one day he -” Viren pulled Callum in front of himself, making sure Rayla was looking at him, “- would push you away too, just like everyone else you’ve ever cared about. And you knew you couldn’t bear that pain, now could you, Rayla?” He paused; Callum couldn’t believe what he was hearing. How much truth was there in the things fake Viren was saying? Was this really how Rayla felt?
“At least by choosing to leave, you had an excuse for why Callum hates you. You can tell yourself he ignores you and can’t stand to be in your presence because of something you did, and not because of you yourself. Am I wrong?” he bellowed, and Rayla shook her head silently back and forth, unable to argue. “And what does that say about you, hmm? That you’d hurt the love of your life for your own selfish reasons. You can tell yourself all day long it was for the greater good, that you needed to do it, that you were only trying to protect him…but it doesn’t matter.”
Rayla lost the strength in her legs and she collapsed to the ground, miserably looking up at Viren as he towered over her. He pulled Callum back to the side, looking down at him and speaking in a softer voice, ignoring the fact Callum was shaking his head back and forth trying to convince Rayla not to listen.
“The damage you’ve done to the poor boy is palpable. Maybe even, irreparable. Perhaps I should just put him out of his misery…”
“No!” Rayla wailed, “Please…don’t hurt him!”
“What are you going to do, Rayla?!” Viren yelled down at her. “We both know you don’t have what it takes to stop me. You can train and train your whole life long but it will never change the fact that at your core - you are weak. You’ve always been weak, and you always will be weak.”
Callum kept squirming against his grip but the fake Viren was too strong. He practically spat the words down at Rayla as he continued, voice growing louder and louder.
“You’re nothing, Rayla, you matter to no one. So why are you even here? Callum should have just let you fall from that spire with me!”
Rayla let out a pained gasp as she closed her eyes and continued to sob. His voice grew soft again as he whispered her greatest fear. “The world would be better off without you in it. And now, thanks to you, another innocent person is going to die. All because you failed to find me, just another thing to add to your long list of failures!”
Viren lifted his staff up high and the end began to glow. “Don’t forget, Rayla, this is all your fault. It's all your fault! It’s all your -”
Blinded by pain and rage, Rayla sprung up from her position on the ground and leapt towards Viren. In one smooth motion she pulled both of her butterfly blades out of their sheaths, and, careful to avoid Callum, thrust them into each of Viren’s sides.
The mage’s words were caught in his throat as he began to sputter. An arc of blood flowed out behind him where the blades had entered his body, and within moments his staff fell to the ground as he released Callum’s arm, falling down himself. He was dead.
The moment his body hit the ground, everything went black, and the simulation ended as each of the four were transported back into their real bodies.