The notion of leaving the mortals entirely gnawed at Vorlan. At the very least he wished to ensure that he had imparted onto them wisdom sufficient to guide their affairs in the absence of angelic counsel. They had to be given something.

One of his preferred venues was just outside the sprawling Kimbarin Forest to the southeast of Karmand. He had helped craft a grassy pavilion between a small enclave of trees that somewhat resembled his sanctum in Ceuna. Whenever he announced his presence, some hundreds would gather in the grove to hear his pronouncements and to indulge in the intoxicating berries that abounded there. It seemed that every audience there would be at least one who would question whether the berries were intended to be eaten.

So it was this time as well. A young man with a scruffy beard and tattered clothes stepped forth out of the attentive onlookers. He held out a handful of the blue and red berries, referred to as Dreamweaver Berries by the mortals.

“Wise Vorlan, why were these created?” the man asked.

The Earth Angel looked warmly at the man as some of the older members of the gathering chuckled.

“For the enjoyment of mortals,” Vorlan replied, eliciting still further laughter. “Oh no, it is true. I never wanted your kind to be without enjoyment in this world. To simply exist on a diet of meat, water, and wheat? I reasoned that would be a pitiful existence for mortals and so I ensured that you would have access to more satisfying foods as well. Please enjoy them.”

The man glanced at them and at some of his fellow mortals, many of whom had partaken in perhaps far too many of the berries for their own good.

“But, isn’t there some harm in these?”

“Only if you are reckless,” Vorlan replied. “Moderation is the vital ingredient in all that we have created. Truly, all of it. Do nothing in excess and you need to use reason to guide what excess might be. I know many of you want firm rules as those would be far simpler to follow, but you truly would not wish that.”

“Why?” the man asked, bewildered.

“Ah, now that is a more interesting question than why we created some potent fruits!” Vorlan said in a gently mocking voice. “Were everything a mortal abused or misused to be proscribed, there would be no measure of liberty afforded to any of you. Eating and reproduction, functions as fundamental as any to your kind, are subject to all manner of depravity. Yet, you will not find a single one of my brethren, the High Angel included, who would wish to eliminate those necessities.”

This prompted another cascade of laughter through the assembly surrounding the Earth Angel. The man who spoke to Vorlan, however, appeared as confused as ever.

“But why allow these?” he asked, pushing the berries toward Vorlan.

“Because they are necessary,” the Earth Angel quipped to predictable guffawing by those gathered. “Albeit in moderate amounts.”

That clearly frustrated the young man, who Vorlan surmised must have wanted a different answer. However, the man sat back down where he had before. Then an older woman stood, holding a small rodent in her hands.

“Wise Vorlan, I’ve always wondered why you made little stupid creatures like this one,” she said. The yellow-furred rodent then promptly bit her before scurrying off.

“Perhaps it has more to its mind than you think,” the Earth Angel jested. After a burst of laughter from those assembled, he continued. “My brethren and I realized that for this world to function, there would have to be nearly innumerable forms of life occupying the various roles required. Creatures with higher minds, such as yourselves, are ill-suited to churn up soil beneath the earth for harvests, so we created worms. Deceased animals’ corpses would putrefy and litter the land, so we created scavengers. Your kind needed assistance in plowing fields, so we created beasts of burden. Without these creatures, it is your kind who would have to do all of this.”

His words triggered a series of murmurs throughout the crowd. Many acknowledged that they had not thought of such a thing before. Others stated that all of that was merely obvious.

“However, I had one additional motivation. When we created you to be thinking creatures, my brethren never realized that one of your principal flaws was your desire to fulfill your wants rather than only your needs. The more mindless creatures happily exist only fulfilling their needs while your kind seems prone to have an insatiable litany of desires. Thus, I view those beasts who do not think as a reminder to all of you that you should fight your ambitions and be happy with the world as it is,” Vorlan said, smiling and bowing before his audience.

Shortly thereafter, the gathering departed with nightfall on its way. Vorlan lingered as he adored the look of the trees’ leaves under the silvery light of Rithys’s moons. It was inimitable in Ceuna. He agonized thinking that he might never see it again, but he accepted that circumstances had spun beyond his control.

Behind him, he felt Simel’s presence coalesce. He knew at once that Simel would only seek him out if it was to discuss one of the present problems. Simel was not one to merely visit to exchange pleasantries for the sake of being amiable.

“What tidings do you have this evening, Simel?” Vorlan asked, turning to face Simel’s ever stony visage.

Simel winced before he spoke, as though the words themselves were painful.

“I fear that Nethron is on the brink of committing himself to a colossal error,” Simel said mournfully. “When I visited Zarmand to observe his activities, I saw him being praised by throngs of mortals, including the King and Queen.”

“Oh? I should not think that too dangerous. He decided to heal the queen, I know, but surely that was merely a gesture. I take Nethron at his word that he will pursue our directives faithfully,” Vorlan declared with a smile toward Simel.

“There is more. I sensed an uneasy aura emanating from Nethron. It felt unstable, corrupted.”

“Corrupted? Speak more plainly, Simel. I want to be sure that I understand precisely what you mean.”

“Nethron may join the others in revolt against Forynda and I fear it will happen quite soon. Premonitions of a violent future plague my visions as I travel about this world. Terrible events are nearly upon us,” Simel said with an eerily calm certainty.

Again and again he always warns us of an imminent calamity and we have avoided one thus far. Perhaps it is his mind that has become corrupted?

“Certainly these are only possible futures you see. I trust in Nethron’s ability to determine some settlement that has eluded the rest of our brethren,” Vorlan demurred. “What you may see is that the mortals will fight a war amongst themselves. Tragic though that is, it would hardly be irretrievable. Our brethren, however, have never fought one another and I believe that fact will continue.”

Simel’s countenance shifted abruptly at that assertion.

“Merely because something has not yet happened is no protection against it ever occurring,” Simel said with scorn on his breath. “If the calamities I see can be avoided, you must recall Nethron now.”

Vorlan, for the first time, sensed his own doubts. Simel’s earnestness had a persuasive quality that he could not entirely dismiss. At the same time, however, he had invested his hopes so thoroughly in Nethron that overturning that decision would humiliate him.

“Is this Forynda speaking through you or your own determination?” Vorlan asked, hoping to deflect the request.

“You know the answer to that,” Simel said, wounded by the insinuation that his words were not his own.

“Have you spoken with Forynda regarding your concerns?”

“Yes,” Simel said in a weak enough voice that Vorlan need not even ask what the outcome had been. The High Angel’s views had been quite clear for some time.

“I am sorry, Simel. We will all have to simply wait and observe what unfolds.”

~~~

Evinda summoned Lohs to her chambers while her husband was out on troop inspections. The King’s distraction, indeed obsession, with the swelling armies had given her an opportunity to conduct almost all other affairs in the kingdom. She was ecstatic for the chance. Rohmhelt’s grasp over most kingly duties was merely adequate, at best, and she strongly felt that she could do better. At the very least, she at least had the interest in it that he lacked.

Lohs joined her in the chamber she had claimed for her own on the fortress’s first level. She had it neatly appointed with maps and heraldic symbols of both her family and the Imperial Family. Evinda took some pride that she had a more stately chamber than did her husband.

“You’ve done well with all of this. Sad to say this is a temporary quarters,” Lohs said, admiring it.

“I’m glad you approve,” she replied. She watched as he sat, struggling slightly to bend his knees. “The King is occupied all day, you said?”

“Sadly, yes. He’s been utterly fixated on meeting with Agrehn every moment he can,” Lohs sighed. “Agrehn is a perfectionist and the King won’t be satisfied until Agrehn is satisfied. You can see the problem.”

She chuckled.

“Now then, has Chancellor Kivren finally honored the call with all of his soldiers?” Evinda asked.

“I have just received a message that suggests they’re on their way and will meet us at Fehgand, a bit west of Methrangia. All 100,000 of them, as well,” Lohs said. “That’ll annoy Marshal Agrehn. He seemed to think that we wasted our time with the Gadisians.”

“If I’m honest, I worried about that, too.”

“That makes three of us,” Lohs confessed, scratching at his eyebrow. “It bothered me that Agrehn might’ve been right. I’ll be sure to gloat to him next time I see him.”

“Try to make sure I’m there when you do,” the queen smirked.

Lohs nodded with satisfaction.

“In any case, since I assume we’ll be marching soon to join with the Emperor’s armies,” he said, glancing over at the map of the empire, “the Emperor is demanding that we form a combined front to intimidate Duronaht, especially since he doesn’t have much faith in the angels to mediate this.”

“I fully agree with that. I wanted to order the armies to march last week,” Evinda scoffed. “But Agrehn…”

That jab caused both of them to laugh.

“I also think we need to move most of the ministers and counselors closer to where the King will be rather than back in Karmand,” Lohs said with a note of sadness.

That suggestion surprised the queen. She had not thought something like that would be necessary, especially if the actions against Duronaht were swift.

“Why would we need to do that? Surely they…”

“If this mess continues on for some time, we can’t very reasonably be trying to govern the realm from two locations so far apart,” Lohs interrupted. “Given that there’s a good chance that this doesn’t end quickly, I think it’s prudent.”

“This doesn’t have something to do with those visions he keeps having of Karmand in flames, does it?” Evinda asked in a suspicious tone.

She could see Lohs’s jaw shift under his skin as he pondered his answer.

“I’ll only say that I think that it’s important that we protect against any eventuality that could see us without a sufficient government,” he said. “And I worry we are closer to such a moment than any of us would have thought possible. These old bones tell me when a storm is coming. They always ache in the same spots. They’re aching now in ways I’ve never known before.”

“You could just be dying,” she quipped.

“If only,” he shot back with a smirk, which quickly faded. “I think the living may envy the dead before long.”

~~~

In his sanctum, Nethron wondered if this would be the last time he would look upon the wondrous nexuses of the auras. He felt that his decision was now set in stone before him. He could not imagine undertaking another one. His confrontation with the High Angel earlier, though brief, had left him with little doubt.

“You have fallen victim to the same contemptible pity the others have,” Forynda lectured him. “First it was this empathy you feel. Then they felt necessity demanded that they intervene regularly. Finally, they were not content to allow the mortals to govern themselves. You will find your desire to be a savior will turn into a thirst for domination.”

“Domination… No, I hardly think that is fair,” Nethron had replied. “My observation is…”

“Enough!” Forynda had interrupted. “You have dithered for far too long! Resolve this now or I shall be forced to bring an end to it myself!”

While he did have his doubts over the motivations of Omonrel and Parlon, his own concern was the notion that the mortals should be left so helplessly to confront their fates. And their fates were so cruel and arbitrary. He had not fully appreciated that before his journeys about Zarmand. The pain. The agony. The despair. The Aura Keeper could not fathom how any creature could long endure against such menaces with as little power as they had.

Looking about his sanctum, he saw the answer. The seals that kept the Auras locked away from mortal access could be broken and their power unleashed upon the world. Nethron reasoned that the cause of the instability of the Auras was precisely that they were calling to be free. Not one being besides the Progenitor truly understood the Auras, not even the Aura Keeper, but he was certain he was hearing their message. The time had finally arrived for them to be in the hands of mortals as well as angels.

Doing so was merely a matter of will rather than any complex task. It had always been the flimsiest of barriers that kept the Auras out of mortal control. Breaking that barrier would be a task he could complete virtually anywhere. As Forynda would immediately prevent him from departing Ceuna should he complete his undertaking in the angelic realm, he elected to conduct it in Vorlanys amidst those he aimed to aid.

As he stared at the Aura nexuses before him, Elaous’s presence manifested behind him. Politely, he turned to great the Guardian.

“Nethron, what are you planning?” Elaous asked.

“Planning… No, I would not say I am planning anything,” he replied in a mocking tone. It was as close to a lie as he could bring himself to tell Elaous. He was no longer planning because he had already decided.

Elaous must have sensed that was the truth since he glared at Nethron in stony silence.

“You look as though you intend to leave. Should I stop you?” Elaous asked, moving toward the Aura Keeper.

“That is your decision as I cannot fight you here,” Nethron replied.

Again, silence. Elaous moved to break it.

“I know Forynda was harsh with you. She is scared. I have never seen her so worried.”

Nethron only nodded in response, leaving Elaous to determine what he meant by that.

“Whatever it is you intend, think about it carefully. We are at a point where certain deeds cannot be undone,” the Guardian rumbled.

“I understand fully, my friend,” Nethron smiled.

With palpable misgivings, Elaous departed in a flash of light. Nethron surmised that his friend wished to remain ignorant of that which he already knew. Elaous could never be fooled. Perhaps he was simply exhausted at trying to prevent the next crisis from unfolding. Forynda had not left him with an easy charge. Thinking of Elaous’s status was the only thought that gave Nethron pause, but even that was only a momentary delay.

With a single glance back at his lair, he decided that now was the moment to depart for the mortal realm and forever alter its course.

He arrived at the same courtyard where he had been regaled so vigorously only a few short days before. King Duronaht, who was only aware that Nethron planned a major declaration, had once again summoned a teeming crowd of eager citizens.

They had been waiting for some hours while Nethron bid Ceuna farewell. In the brutal heat of that day, many appeared to be wavering. To bolster them, Nethron waved his hand to manipulate the auras of water and ice and provide the crowd with a cool and refreshing mist. This was greeted with much enthusiasm. He waited until they had calmed for his next act.

Nethron seized on the strands of the Auras the flowed throughout the whole of the world in order to make his declaration. It would be the one time he could hope to speak to the entirety of the mortal world before he broke the seals keeping the Auras at rest. After that, the world’s fabric would be fundamentally altered. Not merely altered, though. Improved.

“Mortals of every land, I am the Aura Keeper, Nethron,” he boomed, his voice heaving through the strands of the Auras. He knew he was being heard in virtually every corner of creation, save for the vaults of Ceuna itself. That being the case, so as not to draw Forynda’s attention, he knew that he must be brief. “When we created your world, we kept the secrets of the Auras, those powers at the core of every single living and nonliving thing in the world, all to ourselves. We denied you the right to wield them to improve your lives and master your own world.

“This day, I shall unleash those powers that we have kept from you. With these, you can save lives, live with greater joy, and perhaps even one day vanquish death itself.”

That declaration drew some quizzical stares from the gathered crowd as the claims appeared too outlandish to be believed.

“Truly, all that I and my brethren can do for you stems from the Auras. With them, you can do more good for one another than any number of my kind can hope to do. Learning the full extent of what you will soon have at your command will take time and patience. Do not be discouraged. Your emancipation begins today!”

His message concluded, he roiled his spirit through the Auras’ tendrils. Once he reached the seals he had created when he became Aura Keeper, he let loose a powerful surge of energy. He could feel it reverberate and soon he saw the air, ground, water, and even the flesh of the mortals themselves flicker in all manner of colors. Some expressed concern, but he looked out on them calmly.

All at once, colors of every hue pulsed outward from every object, even the air itself. A great quake shook the world for a brief period. The colorful lights fused together and then dispersed, finding homes in both the living and the inanimate. Nethron felt the Auras as he never had before. They were not dulled as they had been behind the veil the angels had constructed. They were free. They were vibrant. They were wild. He could barely restrain his own glee, which matched the excitement cascading through the crowds in Zarmand.

Once the initial surprise had faded, the citizens of Zarmand gathered before him broke out into raucous cheering. “Nethron! Praise be to Nethron! Hail Nethron!” the cries sounded out. This was a most satisfying reward and, for a moment, Nethron placed aside his lingering concerns about how Forynda would respond.

No longer was he the Aura Keeper. He had become the Aura Liberator.