Tales of Exzalia, death of magic.

Vayla blasted the blade out of Pickles hands. "Don't throw your life away, nows not the time for more death, we still have a mission. and...I don't want to see anymore people lose their lives. So please..."

 

Pickles screamed and slammed his one good hand on the ground. He threw up in disgust. "Please just kill me, I can't go on." He begged crying. "I..I'm a murderer." He said as spit dripped from his mouth

 

Cinder sighed. Leaving the scene, she went below deck and grabbed Pickles's new arm. Then, returning above deck, she strided over to Pickles and clonked him over the head with the metal limb.

"Don't be so upset, we'd much rather have you alive as a killer, than dead as an innocent," she reassured him as she hit him again.

 

"Please just kill me, I can't go on." He begged crying. "I..I'm a murderer."

"Oh come on, lighten up now." Crumpet knelt down next to the sobbing human. "Pretty much every one of us who are here are murderers by those standards, and we're all taking it pretty well. So cheer up now and just enjoy being a part of the majority."

 

"I..I'm a murderer."

"If you never intended to kill anyone why did you bother carrying a sword? Look do you think Vampiras soul will rest if you die! The only reason she resisted so long was for you, she resisted because she didn't want to hurt you of all people. Don't waste her sacrifice don't cause anymore needless pain."

Vayla looked at Tassy who was by now, paler than death.
"Shit!" She cast healing light on her closeing her wounds. "Tassy, Tassy are you alive, speak to me!"
Didn't open her eye's but as tears streamed down Vayla's face, a soft tune broke the silence. tassy was singing, and even after all the heart ake, the trauma they went through, her song, still spoke to their hearts. Still presented them with a glimmer.
Of hope.

 

Pickles just slumped down "I don't care what you people have done. I'm a killer, I wish I was dead." He stated. Pickles was in state of deep depression. He had never killed. He had never wanted to. He wasn't even worrying about the others. His mind was glued on what he had just done. He killed a friend someone he loved.

 

Cinder switched targets, and bopped Crumpet over the head with Pickles' arm.

"Hey, that's not helping him," she hissed.

 

Crumpet

Crumpet felt a sudden sting as something heavy struck his head.

"Hey, that's not helping him," she hissed.

Rubbing the growing lump on the back of his head, Crumpet hissed back, "Owww! That's really not helping me-" his eyes widened as he saw the the mangled limb in Cinder's hand. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? DID YOU HIT ME WITH THAT? OH GOODNESS THAT'S DISGUSTING! AHHHHHHHH!" Crumpet fell back and landed squarely on his back, where he continued to flail his four limbs haphazardly.

 

River

River knelt by Tassy's side. Her voice lifted River's spirits. She was alive and her singing proved she was going to make it.
"Thankyou for healing her, Vayla. I'll watch over her." She smiled sadly then glanced over at Pickels, who was not handeling Vampira's death well.
"What are we going to do about..." River guestured with her head to Vampira's mutilated body. "I think she deserves a proper burial, but there is only water around here."

 

The broken hero merely grunted sadly as he stood up. He was waiting for his death, at least for Vampira to come back or something worthwhile. "Do whatever." He stated as he started to walk away. He didn't deserve to look at what he had done, let alone bury her.

 

"What are we going to do about..." River guestured with her head to Vampira's mutilated body. "I think she deserves a proper burial, but there is only water around here."

"I don't know how elves do it, but most humans don't bury our dead, we hate death, and deny it even when it has taken us. heh, guess an elf may find that srange"
Vayla picked up Vampira's head and put it with her body, she then weaved a healing spell on her. It would not bring her back to life, but at least now her head was where it should be. Vayla then cast a very special spell only known to humans, a spell called immortalize. Weaving for nearly thirty minutes Vayla cast the spell over vampira.
The spell cleared away the blood and wounds, and Vampira looked as if she was alive and merely sleeping. "She will stay like this until we can find home for her, think of it as a coffin expect it stays outside for the love ones to view those who have passed, as long as there is sun and moon this spell will keep her from decomposing, only the richest of the rich get this kind of treatment. But after what vampira's been through she deserves it."
Vayla shook her head. "tess is not going to be happy about this."

Preserving the dead, it was something most elves did not understand. To them death and decay are but a part of life, but typical to human nature, Vayla refused to submit to the laws of the world. To most of her kind, death was not a cycle of nature, but an enemy to fight to the very end.

 

Pickles walked to the lower decks of the ship. He sent a punch into the wall in pure rage. More tears slid from his good eye. He let out a hideous scream, that could be heard throughout the ship. Pickles didn't want to go on. His friend was dead because of him. He looked up and saw ancient drinks, that had been on the ship for god knows how long. "Well they stuff helps you numb it." He muttered. Pickles grabbed the large bottle and popped the cork out. He began drinking...................a lot. He didn't want to deal with what he had done.

 

River and Pickles

A heartwrenching scream came from below deck. It was Pickles. Still trying to come to terms with what he had done. Some of River's companions looked at her as if to say, "You're the diplomat. Talk to him."
Leaving Tassy in Vayla's care, River went down the steps of the deck and found Pickles, sucking on a near empty bottle of what appeared to be alcohol.
"Pickles." River said as she took the bottle from his hand. "Drowning your emotions in strong drink will not help you." Her tone was reprimanding but not unkind.

Pickles looked at River, a very dumb smile across his face. But his eye was leaking tears. "H..hey, I'm not drowning my emotions!" He lashed out. He shook his head. "Oh s..sorry." He said following into the wall and knocking over various items as he did. "I'm just having a little drink you know? Everybody gotta drink sometimes in their life. Me to heck I'm already a killer." He said as he broke down sobbing. Pickles hated himself. He was a killer, but more so then that, he was a killer who killed his friend.

River helped Pickles sit down and put a hand on his arm. "Yes, you have killed. It is the fate of heroes to kill sometimes in order to protect the innocent. Now, what are you going to do about it?"

Pickles looked at his one good arm. "Nothing. I'm not a hero. I'm just one armed, one eyed murderer." He stated looking down. He was thinking of Vampira's face when severed her head. It may be the fate of some to kill, but I don't want it to be mine." He said crying harder. "Hell I couldn't even dodge an attackers arrows and look what it cost me." He said nodding towards his severed arm and then pointing to his destroyed eye. "Everything good I try to do, and I get repaid like this!" He shouted in fury. "Then if that isn't enough I have to kill someone I loved." He said slumping down. "If this is it, then I quit." He reached for his sword and pulled it from its sheathe. He stared at it and then tossed it on the ground. "There was always supposed to be another way!" He shouted through angry tears, at the floor.

"Sometimes there isn't." River replied angerly as she stood. "You're not the only one who has had to sacrifice on this journey. I nearly lost my own daughter. I still don't know where she is or even if she's alive! Tess became a siren. William doesn't even remember who he is!" She knelt down and lifted Pickles chin with her fingers so that he was forced to look her in the eyes. "Vampira suffered with a horrible curse for over 5,000 years and would have done so for another 5,000. She let you kill her so that we could continue....push on. Save Exzalia and it's people. Is this how you are going to honor her memory? By giving up?"

Pickles frowned "S..sorry I'm being selfish, just more signs that I'm not meant to do this stuff." He said falling on his shoulder. Pickles didn't want to hear what River had to say. But he forced himself to keep listening. "I'm no hero. I'm just a boy pretending to be one." He stated his eye dead. "As for Vampira's memory I'll honor it be becoming a family man or something." His voice came out low and tired. "I'm tired of looking at a brighter tomorrow." He muttered coldly. Pickles didn't care anymore, in a sense he had lost his heroic will and spirit. "I'm done being a hero. I'm done with...................everything." He said shutting his eye. He sulked on the cushion. "Anything else? River." He asked. He had dropped using Miss to refer to women. Not much point anymore, after all no killer would call a women Miss.

River sighed and stood. "No." She turned went back to the upper deck, leaving Pickles to sulk alone.

 

Vayla's story

River came back up from trying to calm Pickles down, the ship had already set sail again streaming through the black waters, Vayla stood at the bow of the ship looking solem.
"I shouldn't of ordered him to do it, I should of killed her myself."
"Should have and could have are two different things." River replied sadly, looking down at Tassy who was still unconscious. "You weren't exactly in a postion to do the deed, but I was. If I hadn't delayed, perhaps Pickles would be spared his quilty conscious." She took a deep smiling lightly, "But it does little good to talk about what could have been, how is Tassy doing?"

"She'll live, thankfully, I don't think Tess would forgive me if I let his sister die." Vayla said with a sad smile. They stood in silence for a moment simply watching the black waves reach for them.
"You wanted to know how I know Tess right? It's funny, you probably don't know much about me and yet here we are fighting together. What is your name by the way? Stream?"
"River, actually. Yes, I was curious about your history."

Vayla paused as she recollected her memories, "15 years ago my mother died, no one knew where she fell it's devastating you know? to have your mother murdered and not even be able to give her a funeral. We were very close me and her, though she was quite strict, still I loved her." Vayla began fiddling with her hair twirling it in her fingers as the memories rushed back to her.

"I went to find her body, I couldn't stand the thought of my mother's body simply laying to rot, eventually I came to where the well of darkness used to be, in Grove. To my surprise, some one had already buried her and put flowers beside her grave. Somebody else loved her as much as I did. For one month strieght afterward I waited for this person, I desperately wanted to thank him he eluded me, putting flowers by her grave every day for a month. I was close to giving up, when one night I heard the most heart melting song, it was a siren. I was afraid at first and ran away, but every night I went to her grave I heard the song. That's when it hit me. Perhaps this siren was the one who honored my mother so. One night I followed the singing to a cliff face overlooking the ocean, the wind was cool and the moon was full, and there he was Tess in all his splendor. This strange man had taken it upon him self to bury my mother, and honor her with a song every night."
Vayla smiled and her cheeks began to blush a little, her eye's were starry and glazed. It took a rock of a boat to snap her out of it.

"Ah sorry for zoneing out..." She said rather embarrassed.

"Not at all." River smiled. "Did he know your mother, or was he just honoring her?"

"She was his teacher during the well of darkness incident. She always said there was something, different about him. Of course I never knew the student she was refering to was him at the time. Her name was Vashal."

River's mouth dropped open for a few seconds before she regained her composer. "I never knew...she never said anything. No wonder you look so much like her."

Vayla suddenly looked very sad, something else was bothering her something more than Vampira's death. As River gazed on her she couldn't help but notice Vayla's ears. They were pointed. She sighed in silent frustration.

As much as she wanted to ask, River figured now wasn't to ask about her heritage. "What's wrong." She asked in concern.

"Oh it's nothing...an elf would probably laugh at how silly it is." Vayla said with a chuckle.

River laughed light-heartedly. "My dear, my own clan believes that I am more human than elf. Go ahead, tell me what's on your mind."
"It's Tess I'm." She began blushing a little. "I'm madly in love with him, like really in love he's so kind, and smart, and strong, and not to mention gorgeous!" She went stary eyed again. River tapped Vayla on the arm, chuckling.

"huh? oh right...sorry. As I was saying I really, really, truly love him. But, he doesn't return my affection at all." She sighed, "He told me quite bluntly his heart belongs to another, but he hasn't seen her in 15 years! and last I heard she was married to some other bloke. But he refuses to let her go, I just don't understand what she has that I lack? Well asides from her being a pretty elf, and being a princess which I guess counts for something."

Vayla looked very depressed, even so she managed to chuckle. "here's the part you'll find silly, that girl he loves, I want to smack her. Yes, yes I know it's wrong, I know it's not her fault, and I wouldn't actually do it. But I can't help how I feel, damn human emotions, so irrational yet so powerful. I really want to smack her. Of course, asking Tess to move on and get over her is hypocritical of me, I can't even get over him, I should leave him waiting inside Lethross for a girl who will never love him. But I can't, I love him too much." She gave a shy look at River forcing a smile.

"Told you it was silly, elfs don't have this these problems huh? I guess that makes you kind of lucky."

"Yes...lucky for me." River was silent for a long time. She didn't allow her face to betray her thoughts which were many and confusing. But most of all filled with guilt and a sense of anger. Why wouldn't Tess get over her and fall in love with someone else. Like this beautiful halfelf beside her, who obviously loved him, very much. Finally River broke the silence and covered Vayla's hand with her own.
"Don't give up. One day, I'm sure Tess will find a way to get over her. And when he does, he'll see has someone better waiting for him." She gave Vayla's hand an encouraging squeeze before walking away.

 

Pickles burst from the lower decks his eyes blazing with fury, he had a massive grin on his face. "I've got it!" He shouted loudly as. His eyes were puffy and red from his sulking. But he was smiling brightly. So many thoughts going through his head. He started to giggle "I got it!" He said through drunken blabber.

 

Tassy yawned as she made to the top of the ship, "man for someone coming from the brink of death, I don't feel too bad." She observed the crew, they were all looking rather down.
"Okay guys, I know we have been through a lot, but we're almost we're we need to be and I need all of your full attention. In order to get to the jewel of the sea, and to Tess we're going to have to get swallowed by Lethross himself. You all know what that means right?"

 

Pickles laughed "We come out the other side?" He asked grinning with a broken smile. He finally understood how to save everyone.

 

Tassy laughed, "No, no that would take centuries, it means we have to go down his throat. his massive, seemingly endless throat." they thought back to Lethross tooth, it was the size of a mountain. one could only imagine the size of his throat.

"it's quiet the fall, we will need to buckle everything down."
Vayla gave Pickles a strange look. "pickles...are you okay? you seem happy, too happy."

 

Pickles licked his lips "Happy? No that word is overatted." He laughed out. "But I'm a killer now, I'm no longer what I wanted to be. Heck you said it yourself no true heroes right Vayla?" He said with his broken smile. Pickles knew what he was now. "I am now Pickles Slayer of Evil. I shall send my enemies down in anguish and gain enough power in the future to save those I love, by any means." He said getting close to Vayla. "I'm a person who can't save his friends. So why not just kill whatever it is that's after them?" He asked continuing to smile. "I'll crush them all. I won't enjoy it, but I'm done being the nice guy." He said happily "I mean look were being nice has gotten me. Might as well become vicious like the rest."

 

"Pickles lay down before you hurt your self, you're drunk." Vayla responded looking slightly weirded out by him. Tassy was less fazed.
"If being vicious is how he deals with things then why stop him?" She asked Vayla

 

Pickles laughed "Your not seeing the big picture Vayla. Killing is such a cruel act, but I've crossed that line on a friend nonetheless. So why not keep crossing it? Its all so simple now, if something is in your way butcher it." He stated bluntly, he was grinning happily. "No more talking to the enemies, no more debate everything becomes so simple when one his killed. You have won." He said looking the sky. "Next thing to rear its ugly head or get in my way I will or at least attempt to kill."

 

Pickles you moron why must you always think in extremes? Killing without good judgement is just as dumb as refusing to kill when necessary. You're a fool to still be so blind to the obvious. And you're just going to get your self hurt again." Vayla retorted looking upset.

"does the word balance mean anything to you?"

 

He laughed at her comment. "Balance? Please I've had enough of balance, its all or nothing Vayla. Hell all you have done basically, since we met is insult me, because I attacked your oh so precious Tess for hurting my friend. Why should I tolerate the names you call me." He said scowling at her, he started grinning "Your lucky, I have good self control." He said coldly. "Its always Pickles your a fool, your a dumb ass or your naive. But guess what? That's me, I tried very hard to be nice and friendly. It was stupid thinking like everyone said!" He shouted still smiling. He was still looking into Vayla's eyes. "Now tell me this Vayla, do you really want to provoke me right now?" He asked his eyes wide with something that didn't seem human.

 

"Are you threatening me uncastable?" She spat back not looking worried in the slightest. "And no your wrong, you never had balance to begin with, that was your problem from the beginning and it's still your problem, so ask yourself, is this really the person you want to become?"
She folded her arms. "Your still a fool I see."

 

Pickles slapped her. Not hard but he put enough pressure into it to make it sting. "I'm not a person. I'm just a killer." He said with a lazy drunk, smile on his face. He wasn't thinking clearly. "I really wish I could have killed Tess." He stated flatly