“Where did you go? What happened to you? You said that Xanthia was in trouble – I thought that…I thought that something terrible was happening.” A tear ran down her cheek, and she hastily swiped it away.
“As far as I know, nothing else has happened in Xanthia. I am alright, Ali.” Rionan reached to tilt Alianna’s chin up, sitting upright on the floor opposite where she knelt, and looked at her. His face was a mask of pure calm.
“Then what was it?” Alianna demanded.
Rionan did not reply instantly, turning his head to the cabinet once more. “Do you feel that?” he whispered.
“Feel what? Relief after you dropped to the ground, unconscious? Yes, I feel – ”
“No, not that. The pulsing. The sheer force of what is contained within that stone. Coming from there.”
Rionan pointed forward to the cabinet as he stood. Alianna stood with him, following his gesture to the rock within the cabinet. It was the size of two fists being held together, glittering with gold and red flecks.
Alianna raised an eyebrow, watching as Rionan stalked towards the cabinet, eyes transfixed on the stone within.
She moved closer, peering at the sign that sat next to it:
Mineral Rock
Discovered in Porthan
627
Rionan spoke quietly, his eyes still locked onto the strange stone.
“That is what we came to find, Ali. I remember. I remember everything.”
***************
Alianna and Rionan sat outside the museum on a bench. A member of staff had raced down the corridor shortly after Rionan had woken, saying that she had heard shouting. Alianna had watched as Rionan gave the woman a smile that was void of emotion, looking down at her and holding eye contact as he spoke. “Everything is fine. Nobody needed help. There was a misunderstanding in what you heard. Thank you for your attentiveness.”
The woman’s face had gone slack for just a moment, before she offered Rionan an awkward smile and told him she hoped that they had enjoyed the exhibit, but the museum would be closing in five minutes. She directed them to the exit, and with that, she turned on her heels, moving back the way that she came.
Rionan had explained everything he had seen and heard in his vision. He explained the surge of memories he now held. That there had been a similar war in Xanthia thousands of years before, where three out offour Lords fought for peace while one fought for conquest. He told Alianna of the brave nephew of the Lord, who stepped up and slaughtered him, to gain Lordship over his territory. A brave Lord, who would make things right.
Rionan told Alianna of the sacrifice the four Lords had made, pouring almost all of their power into the stone, infusing it and hiding it away. He told her of their plan to wipe Xanthia’s memories of the war, the stone, so that nobody could go and seek such an immensely powerful artefact. Rionan finally explained that this artefact could only befound by another Lord of Xanthia, who, should war repeat itself, would seek a way to save his Realm.
Alianna took in a deep breath. “So, you’re saying that stone holds the power of all four Lords? How did they do it?”
“I don’t know. A ritual that I don’t know the details of. But that stone – it is what I need, Ali. I couldn’t defeat Rannirr alone. The Northern Lord had fled to hide with his people. A reasonable strategy, I suppose, as Rannirr came for me instead. I am not the sort of Lord to flee in the hopes of another resolving our problems for us. One Lord cannot beat another who holds the power of two. But a Lord who holds the power of the four…would be a Lord who holds the power of all of Xanthia.”
Alianna placed her palms on the bench next to her and exhaled a long breath that she didn’t know she had been holding.
“You’re certain the power still lies within the stone, even though you think it’s been there for centuries?” she asked Rionan, who had stood and was beginning to pace.
“Without question. I could feel it as we approached the stone itself. It was calling out, pulsing like a strange energy that was stirring itself awake. We just need a plan to get the stone out.”
“Can’t you just do what you did to that worker in there, mess with what she thinks she knows, then go and take it? It shouldn’t be hard for you.”
“No, I will not be doing that,” Rionan said flatly, stopping in his tracks. He turned to look at Alianna. “Anything I do here, any actions that I take, could have serious repercussions for you. I will not do anything that will have negative consequences for you and your life, Ali.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ali asked, standing up. Her stomach sank as the realisation set in.
Rionan looked down at her hand, reaching out for her. She reached out to him, and he held her fingertips within his own.
"There are too many moving parts. We need to involve as few humans as possible and reduce the trail that leads to me. To you also, by association from today. If I were just to walk in there and alter the perceptions of the staff, one by one, I would still be on your human surveillance systems. There would still be evidence. We cannot guarantee that I would be able to remove all of it, and speak with every person who may be able to detect what I am doing. You were with me in front of that stone today, and anyone reviewing any sort of footage is likely to believe we were acting strangely. I need to involve as few people as I possibly can when getting that stone out of the museum, and avoid any alarm systems. If I fail to do so, when I am gone, there could well be repercussions for you that I do not want you to face on my account.”
Rionan’s words faded to noise, while Alianna only focused on one thing he’d said:when I am gone.
