|
Elric sat alone
at his old tree again. He had returned Shudde-M'ell to G'harne and
said his goodbyes to the worm. For the first time in his life,
Elric felt sad.
He sat now with Mournblade and
Stormbringer in front of him. Tears streaked down his face, and he
buried his head in hands.
The ground rumbled and Oakley stepped
out of the cloud again.
Elric jumped to his feet, his eyes
turned cold and hard, but the burning fire in them had
disappeared.
"You! This is your doing. What have
you done to me? Why did you take my father's gifts from me?" Elric
cried.
"I took only one, Elric. Stormbringer
alone steals the soul of a man, it does not cause him to bleed to
death like most. That is why you have never seen a man bleed when
you kill him. Mournblade is the good half of Stormbringer. The two
swords combined are the ultimate power because they represent the
extremes of good and evil. When you buried the Stormbringer in
Shudde-M'ell's head you could not steal his soul because he had
lost it already. But by burying Mournblade into the worm's body,
you created a connection between the swords. It revealed truths to
both you and the worm. Shudde-M'ell understood the destruction that
it created and that it was wrong. You, on the other hand, saw your
entire life and the meaning behind that life. Either of you could
have perished, but both's will was strong enough to sustain the
truth brought to you.
"I took Mournblade from you, because
I feared you would use it for the wrong purpose and fall into the
same abyss your father had. I could not let the destruction that he
had caused be brought on again by his offspring. I took it for
everyone's protection. But the swords have given you a new life,
you understand and you accept it. I no longer fear the destruction
that might have come."
Oakley looked into Elric's eyes and
saw the pain he was feeling.
"And what of my father? Will you tell
me of him now?" Elric begged.
"Come with me, Elric, come to the
heavens, to your new home. There I will reveal all. There is plenty
of time."
Oakley extended his hand to Elric.
The elf paused a moment and took the god's hand in his own. They
looked into each other's eyes and the hatred between them slipped
away. A blinding flash of light covered the lands. When it
disappeared, all was peaceful and the men had
disappeared.
|
