The fire crackled on the terrace leading into the Acathia ruins. The four of them sat across the flames from each other, staring at the ruins over the fire.
“Does anyone know about this place?” Otto asked, expecting Princess Emerald to know about it like she did everything else about the Fae Wood.
Princess Emerald looked up the stairs toward the archway leading into the dead city. “I know it’s called Acathia, but other than that . . .” She shrugged.
“It corresponds to no known civilization,” Aelyph said. “All that’s known is that it covers seven square miles and the remains appear to be that of an ancient city. In other words, people once lived here, and now they don’t.”
Princess Sapphire cupped her chin. “I wonder what happened. I mean, if it is this old but still remains standing, what would have caused the people to flee?”
Aelyph looked down. “A curse . . .” They all looked at him, but he grinned, his red eyes gleaming in the firelight. “It’s just a theory.”
“Forsaken by the Goddess . . .” Otto added. The princesses looked at him and he raised his palms. “What? If we’re giving our theories for why the place was abandoned, that’s mine.”
“Okay then.” Princess Sapphire poked at the fire with a branch. “How about this? It was invaded by a foreign people, but they were conquerors and not rulers. So after they had plundered the whole place and everyone had fled, they just packed up their loot and left.”
Princess Emerald’s eyes narrowed. “But wouldn’t people have just moved back in when they were gone? I think I agree with Aelyph; no other reason would explain why it wasn’t reinhabited.”
“Maybe it was reinhabited,” Otto continued. “Maybe people did try to re-civilize this place, but without the Goddess’s blessing, they did not have the right values to continue a lasting civilization.”
“Other realms have survived without those values,” Princess Sapphire said.
“But not without the blessing of the Goddess.” Otto sat forward and locked eyes with her. “All of Crystalia is blessed by the Goddess.”
“But for this place?”
Aelyph grinned. “And maybe that was the curse.”
“Huh.” Otto sat back. “I guess that makes sense.”
Princess Sapphire crossed her arms. “Hmph. I still think my idea was cooler, though.”
Princess Emerald patted her on the back. “Don’t worry, Sis. I’m sure this place was conquered too. Why else would everyone leave?”
“Plague,” Otto and Aelyph said at the same time, causing Princess Sapphire to scowl at them.
“A plague of what, though, I couldn’t guess,” Otto finished.
Aelyph looked at him more closely and cupped his chin. “I already took from your armor that you’re a Paladin, but I never got your name.”
“It’s Shiny!” Princess Emerald said loudly.
“That’s not my name!” Otto shook his head. “It’s actually Otto.”
“Really? That’s your name?!” Princess Emerald asked, baffled.
“Otto . . .” Aelyph seemed to roll the name around in his mouth. “Second of that name?”
Otto’s brows knitted together. “How did you know that?”
Aelyph waved a finger at him. “Ottovius! I think I recall that being your great-grandfather’s name.”
Otto’s eyes lit up. “You knew him?”
Aelyph shook his head. “Not personally, but when I fought for the Dark Consul, everyone knew about Paladin Ottovius. He led many a charge against my army. Needless to say, it was a very long time ago.”
“How old are you?” Princess Sapphire asked.
Aelyph raised an eyebrow at her. “Would you be asking that if I were female?”
“Wait, you’re a girl?” Princess Emerald burst out. They looked at her and she covered her mouth, as though just realizing how silly her question was. “Sorry.”
“No, I am not a girl.” Aelyph turned back to Otto. “And yes, I knew of your great-grandfather, but I stopped fighting for the Dark Consul during the time of your grandfather . . . and I’m sorry to hear about your father.”
Otto’s smile faded. “I say, what about my father?”
He suddenly remembered what the elves had said: And what are the odds that that would happen after what just happened to their leader?
Aelyph frowned and looked at the princesses, as though looking for any recognition. “None of you know? The elves didn’t tell you?”
Otto’s heartbeat sped up and he swallowed. “What happened to him?”
Aelyph looked down. “He passed recently.”
Otto’s heart skipped a beat and he looked around desperately.
“How did he die?” Princess Sapphire asked.
“I only know what I heard from the Rangers. Apparently, the Midnight Queen cast a paralyzing spell on—”
“We know that,” Princess Emerald cut in. “We were there. How did that kill him?”
Aelyph kept his eyes down. “The spell—according to the Sisters of Light—tears up the mind the more the victim struggles against it. Your father had been struggling since the spell was cast.”
Tears filled Otto’s eyes. The foundation of his entire world had dropped out from beneath him. “He would . . . he would’ve done anything to protect the kingdom. That’s why he could barely speak when we came across him. By the Goddess, he must have been struggling even then . . . all the while he was tearing himself apart and we could do nothing about it . . .”
Aelyph nodded. “I’m sorry. I hate to be the bearer of bad news.”
Otto ground his teeth and looked up at Aelyph, trying to find somewhere to take out his emotions. “Why would you care?”
Princess Sapphire grabbed his shoulder. “It’s not his fault, Otto.”
Otto turned away.
She’s right. He delivered the news as kindly as anyone could.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to think.”
“I think I understand,” Aelyph said. “You humans don’t live as long as us. I can only imagine the bitterness built up toward my kind after years of conflict. It’s one of the reasons why I left. I couldn’t stand blindly following the Dark Consul’s will as our hatred became more and more extreme.”
“Hatred . . . It’s just like the Riftlings to let such an emotion consume them,” Otto muttered.
Princess Sapphire shook her head. “How are you any different? You’ve been judging him for being a Riftling since you met him!”
Otto shook his head, trying to block the anger that was filling him. He was too tired to deal with this tonight. He felt weak from hearing the news of his father, almost like he had been pulled from the world he knew into a newer one filled with harsh truths.
Maybe it’s not so black and white.
“I’m tired. We’ll talk about this in the morning,” Otto said.
He rolled over and tried to go to sleep.
As he did, a voice in his head whispered, “Your father is dead, and you will be the last of your kind.”