Fanfic:Averus's Three Arches

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Averus's Three Arches
Author(s)
  • Averus al'Gant (player)
Character(s)
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Averus stared at Rolnar for an extremely long moment. It was strange, as much as he had read others' accounts of their own Raising experiences, he had never felt so out of place.

His first instinct when Rolnar had summoned him had been to worry about the journal. If he and Elisa had been discovered, there was no telling what might happen. When Rolnar had met him in the Great Hall, and led him down here, he couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief.

That sigh had quickly left when he looked at the Arches, however. Here he was, standing completely nude in front of the first stone portal, wondering what could possibly be on the other side. Rolnar informed him, once again, that he must continue on, at this point, or be forced to leave the Tower. Though the offer was tempting, he knew that his mother would be extremely dissapointed if he did do that, and he would never again be able to regain her trust. He sighed, and took a step, entering the blinding light that came from the arch. He let out a scream as he did so, feeling his body being torn apart and rebuilt, from the light.

The First Arch

He woke up with a start, staring around the finely adorned room. On the wardrobe across from him was laden his House's symbol, a pair of swords crossed over a shield bearing the White Lion of Andor. The House of Swords was an old, but rather weak House. Averus was to be the last of his line, after his mother's death, and she wanted him to find a wife and procure an heir before that happened. However, Averus hadn't found a adequate woman yet. Haden said it was that they hadn't found him, but he didn't really think about it that way.

He got out of bed, and approached the wardrobe, selecting a pair of light grey breeches and simple grey coat, of the same color. He didn't tie up his shirt all the way yet, and left his coat open, just out of laziness. He headed into the hall just outside of his room, but was stopped short by one of the House's Guards, a young man by the name of Edwin.

"Master Averus, you must come quickly," he held his side in agony, and Averus saw blood pouring between his fingers. The young heir did what he could to hold the man up, but he was losing strength quickly. The Guard had obviously done what he could to get to the heir, and he delivered his message with his last breath.

"Your mother . . . ." he spat out, before falling down at the heir's feet. Averus let the man fall, but gave him the respect of laying on his back. The heir felt oddly calm, as if some sort of inner force had taken him over and given him focus. He pulled the man's sword from his hand, and started toward the Grand Hall, his calmness lending him endurance.

He flung open the doors of the Hall, spying what had gotten Edwin into such a tossle. At the far end of the room, his mother's chair, the one she had used for years to make her 'decrees,' was toppled on its side. His mother, her belt knife branded before her like a sword, stood facing a bizarre creature, with the head of a wolf, the body of a man, and the legs of a some hooved creature: a goat, or a horse. The creature snarled, and swiped at it with its hooked sword, but she jumped out of the way as nimbly as she could, in her red, full-length dress.

Be steadfast . . . came a voice he did not recognize. Somehow, it made sense, though. Behind him, where the door had once been, a silver arch flashed into place, the inner view of which was covered by a blindingly bright white light.

His mother must have seen him across the room because a strangled cry of "Averus!" rang out across the high-ceilinged chamber. The young heir spun on his heels to face his mother, who was running at him, her skirts held up with one hand. The Trolloc was mere inches behind her, brandishing its sword like a viper. The blade somehow found its way to her back, and she fell like a sack of grain. She rolled, trying in vain to dodge the monster's attacks.

Averus could only watch helplessly. He knew what he had to do, but he could not leave his mother like this, could he?

Be steadfast. The way back comes but once.

Crying for help, his mother squirmed on the floor, as the looming claws of the Trolloc tore her limb from limb. Her pained screams followed him as he made his way through the bright light of the arch. His body was turned to ashes, and he was reborn from those ashes, his breath caught in his throat and his eyes streaming hot tears.


He fell to his knees as he exited the arch, and took long, slow, agonizing breaths as the cold water streamed over his self. He felt like dieing. He couldn't get the sound of his mother's screams out of his ears.

The Second Arch

Averus stepped through the second arch, his face stone-hard against the pain that the arch created. He did what he could to brace himself for this experience. If it was anything like his last, he would be destroyed, emotionally.

He opened his eyes, and found himself in the Gardens of the Tower, looking at his favorite cluster of bushes, where the flowers were just blooming. It was really a beautiful place, and he had spent many times there.

As he sat, he felt a familiar presence over his shoulder, and a familiar scent filled his nostrils. He turned to his right, and felt a soft kiss land on his lips.

"Hello, darling," a soft feminine voice greeted him, with a soft caress for his cheek to go with it. He pulled Elisa down into his lap, and returned the kiss with his own passionate rendition. The young Novice's golden locks fell around her face as Averus stared into her bright green eyes.

"Well, good morning to you, too," she giggled, and pulled herself up to a seated position next to him. Her hand rested on his, however, and she stared back into his eyes. Light, but he could spend most of his days here, living out this moment over and over.

Just behind his golden-locked love, he saw a silver arch spring into view, its innards filled with a golden light. It beckoned to him, but Elisa's hand held him in place with its soft caress.

Be steadfast . . . a voice sounded, in the back of his mind. He was confused, but he felt drawn to the arch. He stood, and approached it.

Elisa, however, tried to pull him back. He turned to look at her, and she smiled her beautiful smile, trying to pull him down to her, to kiss her luscious lips again.

The way back comes but once . . . Again, that voice. Averus pulled against Elisa's grip, but she fought back, fear and pain filling her eyes.

"No, Averus, you have to stay! I love you!" That stopped the young Soldier in his tracks. She had not said that before. But he knew what he had to do. In pain, with Elisa's pleading voice following him, he pulled himself from her grip and walked through the arch, the blinding pain of the light mixing with his love's pleading.


As he fell to the floor of the chamber, the cold stone scraping his knees, he felt his heart being torn out. The memory of Elisa's pleading was far more painful than those of his mother's, though he felt horrible for it. He couldn't help but cry as the cool water washed over his back and his head.

Averus couldn't help but keep crying as he was led to the last arch. These experiences were tearing him apart. He couldn't help but wish to stop. But he couldn't leave this place, not yet. He had to finish. He raised his head up, tears continuing to stream down his face. He would take this test and pass it, or he would die trying.

He stepped through the last light, his body barely reacting to the burning sensation. He felt himself reacting to it, but ignored it for now. He needed to focus. But even as that thought crossed his mind, he was lost to the vision.

The Third Arch

He blinked, taken aback by the sudden bright light of the sun in his eyes. He woke in his room at the Palace, throwing back the sheets he slept under. He pulled himself out of bed, and quickly dressed himself in his favorite outfit: a light grey, silken pair of breeches, and a coat to match.

He quickly walked into the Grand Hall. He remembered vaguely that his mother had requested his presence first thing in the morning. He had just returned from the Tower. More like, he had just returned from being kicked out of the Tower.

But that was in the past. He was home now, and he would take over his mother's House in short order. Everything would work out fine, just as his mother had said, so long ago.

He approached the Grand Hall quickly. He expected his mother to be quite overjoyed at his homecoming. After all, he had been gone for nearly 7 years already. Who wouldn't miss their child after 7 years?

He opened the door to the Hall quickly, and walked in confidently, a grin on his face. He wondered just how quickly his mother would run to embrace him. Within three steps, however, he found a sword pointed at his throat, and a pair of angry brown eyes staring back into his own.

Hared, the head of his mother's Guard, was on the other end of that sword. He stared at Averus not with love or recognition, as the young heir would have expected. No, Hared's eyes glowed with a fiery hate that frightened the young man. He had never seen Hared like this.

"What's going on?" he heard himself asking. Something strange was happening here. What had he done to incite such a reaction in Hared, a man he had looked on as a father? His mother's voice interrupted the strained silence in the room.

"You are accused of treason against the House of Swords and the nation of Andor, Averus al'Gant." Contrary to Averus' memories, her voice was full of hatred and daggers. He had remembered her as being sweet and kind, most especially to her own son. Now, it seemed that everything had been turned on its end.

Treason? What was it that he had done? "Pardon me, but what is it that I have done?" He asked, his voice containing confidence he never knew he had possessed before.

"You have commited treason, Averus al'Gant," his mother continued, her eyes burning with as much hatred as Hared's. "You need no more explanation than that. You shall be destroyed, as is our Master's wish." For a moment, Hared's sword wavered, as if he was fighting something.

"Your 'Master'? Mother, you never served anyone but the Queen, as long as I've known you." Averus' words seemed to strike at something in Hared, so the young man pressed on.

"You two are under someone's control, aren't you? Who is it? The Dark One? Has your 'Great Lord' blinded you to the truth?" He snickered in his slowly building hysteria. "I thought you two were stronger than this. But it seems you are simply WEAK!" His last word seemed to echo back upon itself several times, in the tall chamber, before it died on the still air.

Hared's sword clattered loudly to the floor. He fell to his knees before Averus, holding his head in his hands. Fauline al'Gant simply stood where she was, her eyes burning hatred which was directed at Hared now, not at her son.

Averus fell to his own knees, putting his hands on Hared's shoulders. "What is it, old friend? What is wrong?" he asked of the older man, who had started rocking in his seated position.

"He's here, Averus. He's taken over the whole city," the head of the Guard said, his voice straining as he said what he had to say. "You must run. Your mother is beyond help, now."

Suddenly, Hared gripped his sword, and spun around to face Fauline, in all her rage. She snickered, and produced a deep black dagger from somewhere. "She has been lost to you since you left, boy. You were never going to be granted the House. I was able to send you away, just so she wouldn't kill you, but now that you have returned, there is nothing to stop her. You must run!"

Hared charged toward Averus' mother, screaming something primal, tears streaming from his eyes. Averus, in his shock, could not even comprehend what was happening, let alone what it must feel like for that man to have to attack the one woman he had ever loved. Obviously Averus had somehow broken through whatever spell she had held over Hared. But it was still his mother, in appearance at least. Behind him, he felt something odd.

As Hared struggled against the cursed Fauline, Averus turned around to see a silver arch covering the door that led to the Great Hall's entrance foyer. Inside its stone curve, a shining light blazed. Oddly, that light didn't touch the rest of the room, which seemed to have been suddenly clouded with darkness.

Averus turned around again, watching the fight between Hared and his mother. The woman was easily winning. Have just broken through his possession, Hared was more than weak, and he was no match for the woman who had obviously given herself to the Dark One. Averus almost felt strange, being so calm about all of this, until he realised that he had assumed the Void unconciously.

Be steadfast. The way back comes but once, a voice sounded in the back of his mind. He felt the arch pulling him in, drawing him toward the light. But he couldn't leave Hared like that.

The woman that was once his mother was holding her dagger tight against Hared's throat, her teeth bared in a vicious snarl. She didn't look like his mother, anymore. She looked more like some sort of demon. She was no longer his mother.

Hared was struggling, though. Despite what had happened, the head of his House's Guard was still in trouble, and Averus had to try and help him. But there was still that arch. He knew his real path lay through it, though he didn't know what was on the other side of it.

As he watched Hared fall, and his mother fall on top of his defeated corpse, he took a step backward, allowing the light to engulf his being. He heard Hared's screams as Fauline's dagger tore him apart, but he closed his eyes and fell backward, giving in to his destiny.


He awoke with his back on the cold stone floor, remembering perfectly where he was. He didn't want to stand. To have to accept the possibility of his mother becoming prey to the Dark One was simply too much. He stood as best he could, his face set coldly in his determination.

He would not give up this soon. He would continue his training, and return to his home, to make sure that nothing of that sort would ever happen. If he had to eradicate the Dark One from the world all together, he would do it, to make his mother was never tempted by his dark power.

No, he would drive his sword through the Dark One's heart before he allowed his mother to fall into his clutches. Under his breath, he cursed an oath on the Dark One.

When he looked up, the last water from the chalice spilling down his face, his eyes burned with their own hatred. Not for the men who had just put him through this, though he was rather upset with them. No, his hatred burned for the Dark One himself. And nothing would stand in his way. Nothing.

He had made a decision. And he would see it through to the end, no matter what happened, or who stood in his way.