Sacrifice (part 1)
Voronwe
There was nothing left for him to do now but fight, to take as many of them down before he died. And his death was certain, no more than minutes away whatever happened. He had sacrificed himself for the safety of his charges, bought their lives at the cost of his own and now he was surrounded by the undead. A part of him feared he had made the wrong choice but it was too late for anything now but regrets. He wished he had the chance to see his wife and children again one final time, to tell them how much he had loved them, whatever any said, but he had no more time, there was only battle.
Then the attention of the undead he faced was drawn away for just a moment and he turned to defend himself against whatever greater creature had approached, but it was not what he expected. He was not sure if the being was living or not since it appeared human but over its face was a mask of dark energy. Seeing their tartan he feared for a moment that it was one of their necromancers but the being almost ignored him instead cutting down the undead - often with a single blow. Voronwe returned to his own opponents as the being spoke.
"You’ve sacrificed, right?" it was a male voice, the accent was clearly a highland one with an echo of something deeper power.
How did the man know what he was, let alone what choice he had made? Still, there seemed no harm in replying. "I have."
The barbarian nodded, "How long left?"
"A few minutes," he replied, not sure where the conversation was leading, and the undead were still coming. But the barbarian seemed satisfied with his answer and drew something from a pocket. "Time to go. If you fall here, they’ll raise you and we can’t have that. Liana will explain…"
Voronwe had so many questions but only one emerged. "Liana? How do you know her?" He barely even had time to finish speaking as the barbarian moved closer, grasped hold of him and then there was a flash of light and rather than a battlefield he stood in a green meadow with forest stretching out before him.
There was a cry, and he turned to see his Liana, but not as he had left her to go to war. The bright colours she had loved to wear had been changed to all black and she now bore a longsword along with metal armour. Stood at her side was a shorter woman in black and white and a tall man with skin of gold. The barbarian stepped aside as the other woman pushed Liana forward and then she was running into his arms.
For a moment, all too brief, he relished the chance to hold her in his arms again but he dared not allow her to hope. He took a step back, holding her at arm's length. "He said you would explain what was happening, but I only have a few minutes more..."
"No." Voronwe looked up and it was the golden man who had spoken. "This is the Timeless Plane," the man said, "and you will not die here in my lands."
Liana nodded and there was something in her eyes - half hopeful, half fearful - that made him hesitate.
"You... you would have died there," she said, the pain clear in her voice, "and they would have raised you."
He wanted to draw her close to comfort her but there was something that confused him still. "But how did you know?"
She closed her eyes a moment and took a deep breath. "For me, it was a little over a year ago that you died. They came and told me what had happened and I mourned your loss. Then I was brought here, by the Eternal Champion," she indicated the golden man, "for his contest, along with others from different times. So I asked, if people could be drawn here for the contest, could one be brought here for other reasons? To save them from the plane of tortured souls?"
Her voice had started to break towards the end of that and now he did pull her close.
The other woman continued where Liana had left off. "I am Eternal Freedom," she said, "and I could see no worse imprisonment than that plane. Fortunately, there was one present not involved with the Champion's tournament who could be sent to seek you and was willing to assist so here you are, with a choice to be made."
She must mean the barbarian. "I must thank him," Voronwe said, but he turned to see the barbarian walking off into the distance with a slender woman, who carried herself as a warrior.
"He has other business to attend to," the woman, Freedom said, "but we will ensure he gets your thanks."
"Now," the Champion said. "About your choice..."
And as they directed, Voronwe took a seat to listen to them, not letting go of Liana's hand as she sat beside him.
Liana
After what felt like hours of waiting, there was finally a flash in the Champion's circle and there they stood, the barbarian and her Voronwe. There was a cry and then she realised it had come from her own throat. Voronwe turned and she was almost paralysed with fear and joy. She had hardly dared dream of this and now he stood before her again, covered in the grime of battle but whole and alive.
Freedom pushed her forward and once she was moving she ran to him and he held out his arms to her. She held him tightly, rejoicing in his presence once again but he broke the embrace, frowning at her.
For a moment she feared his disapproval, but instead he spoke of his time remaining. She started to shake her head but the Eternal Champion cut in to explain and she met Voronwe's eyes, hoping he would understand what she had done.
The Champion and Freedom explained about the eternal beings of this realm and spoke of his choices. "If you truly wish you can be returned to the time you were taken from, but you will be raised and your soul lost, or you can die here and pass on as any mortal would but if you wish to live you must become an Eternal since you cannot return to life otherwise."
Liana protested. "The priest was allowed to return to life, although he had died!"
The Eternals shook their heads sadly. "His God had already intervened in sending him here. We cannot interfere in this way."
Voronwe squeezed her hand. "It is alright, nin meleth, this is more than I had hoped for." He looked up at the Eternals. "What place is there here for me? I am nobody special..."
"You would be Eternal Sacrifice," Freedom told him, "since you have given up everything for your duty."
Liana could no longer hold back her tears, knowing before he answered that Voronwe would accept.
"I will give you time to say your goodbyes, then you must return to your own time, Marshal," the Champion said.
Parting from him was hard, knowing it would be seven long years for her before she remembered this, enough time for her mourning to be over but at least she knew there would then be Freedom's party...
Voronwe gave her messages for the children and, though she pointed out Ana would no longer be his little girl when her memories returned, she held back from him what she had been told of her imprisonment.
They embraced then and after several long minutes she finally stepped back for the Eternal Champion to return her to the Borderlands and her patrol. "I love you," she said.
Voronwe smiled through his own tears. "You have my heart," he said and it was then last thing she heard as the Timeless Plane faded away.
The innermost meaning of sacrifice is the annihilation of the finite just because it is finite. In order to demonstrate that this is the only purpose, the most noble and beautiful must be chosen ... Only in the throes of death is the spark of eternal life ignited.
-Friedrich Von Schlegel
There was nothing left for him to do now but fight, to take as many of them down before he died. And his death was certain, no more than minutes away whatever happened. He had sacrificed himself for the safety of his charges, bought their lives at the cost of his own and now he was surrounded by the undead. A part of him feared he had made the wrong choice but it was too late for anything now but regrets. He wished he had the chance to see his wife and children again one final time, to tell them how much he had loved them, whatever any said, but he had no more time, there was only battle.
Then the attention of the undead he faced was drawn away for just a moment and he turned to defend himself against whatever greater creature had approached, but it was not what he expected. He was not sure if the being was living or not since it appeared human but over its face was a mask of dark energy. Seeing their tartan he feared for a moment that it was one of their necromancers but the being almost ignored him instead cutting down the undead - often with a single blow. Voronwe returned to his own opponents as the being spoke.
"You’ve sacrificed, right?" it was a male voice, the accent was clearly a highland one with an echo of something deeper power.
How did the man know what he was, let alone what choice he had made? Still, there seemed no harm in replying. "I have."
The barbarian nodded, "How long left?"
"A few minutes," he replied, not sure where the conversation was leading, and the undead were still coming. But the barbarian seemed satisfied with his answer and drew something from a pocket. "Time to go. If you fall here, they’ll raise you and we can’t have that. Liana will explain…"
Voronwe had so many questions but only one emerged. "Liana? How do you know her?" He barely even had time to finish speaking as the barbarian moved closer, grasped hold of him and then there was a flash of light and rather than a battlefield he stood in a green meadow with forest stretching out before him.
There was a cry, and he turned to see his Liana, but not as he had left her to go to war. The bright colours she had loved to wear had been changed to all black and she now bore a longsword along with metal armour. Stood at her side was a shorter woman in black and white and a tall man with skin of gold. The barbarian stepped aside as the other woman pushed Liana forward and then she was running into his arms.
For a moment, all too brief, he relished the chance to hold her in his arms again but he dared not allow her to hope. He took a step back, holding her at arm's length. "He said you would explain what was happening, but I only have a few minutes more..."
"No." Voronwe looked up and it was the golden man who had spoken. "This is the Timeless Plane," the man said, "and you will not die here in my lands."
Liana nodded and there was something in her eyes - half hopeful, half fearful - that made him hesitate.
"You... you would have died there," she said, the pain clear in her voice, "and they would have raised you."
He wanted to draw her close to comfort her but there was something that confused him still. "But how did you know?"
She closed her eyes a moment and took a deep breath. "For me, it was a little over a year ago that you died. They came and told me what had happened and I mourned your loss. Then I was brought here, by the Eternal Champion," she indicated the golden man, "for his contest, along with others from different times. So I asked, if people could be drawn here for the contest, could one be brought here for other reasons? To save them from the plane of tortured souls?"
Her voice had started to break towards the end of that and now he did pull her close.
The other woman continued where Liana had left off. "I am Eternal Freedom," she said, "and I could see no worse imprisonment than that plane. Fortunately, there was one present not involved with the Champion's tournament who could be sent to seek you and was willing to assist so here you are, with a choice to be made."
She must mean the barbarian. "I must thank him," Voronwe said, but he turned to see the barbarian walking off into the distance with a slender woman, who carried herself as a warrior.
"He has other business to attend to," the woman, Freedom said, "but we will ensure he gets your thanks."
"Now," the Champion said. "About your choice..."
And as they directed, Voronwe took a seat to listen to them, not letting go of Liana's hand as she sat beside him.
Liana
After what felt like hours of waiting, there was finally a flash in the Champion's circle and there they stood, the barbarian and her Voronwe. There was a cry and then she realised it had come from her own throat. Voronwe turned and she was almost paralysed with fear and joy. She had hardly dared dream of this and now he stood before her again, covered in the grime of battle but whole and alive.
Freedom pushed her forward and once she was moving she ran to him and he held out his arms to her. She held him tightly, rejoicing in his presence once again but he broke the embrace, frowning at her.
For a moment she feared his disapproval, but instead he spoke of his time remaining. She started to shake her head but the Eternal Champion cut in to explain and she met Voronwe's eyes, hoping he would understand what she had done.
The Champion and Freedom explained about the eternal beings of this realm and spoke of his choices. "If you truly wish you can be returned to the time you were taken from, but you will be raised and your soul lost, or you can die here and pass on as any mortal would but if you wish to live you must become an Eternal since you cannot return to life otherwise."
Liana protested. "The priest was allowed to return to life, although he had died!"
The Eternals shook their heads sadly. "His God had already intervened in sending him here. We cannot interfere in this way."
Voronwe squeezed her hand. "It is alright, nin meleth, this is more than I had hoped for." He looked up at the Eternals. "What place is there here for me? I am nobody special..."
"You would be Eternal Sacrifice," Freedom told him, "since you have given up everything for your duty."
Liana could no longer hold back her tears, knowing before he answered that Voronwe would accept.
"I will give you time to say your goodbyes, then you must return to your own time, Marshal," the Champion said.
Parting from him was hard, knowing it would be seven long years for her before she remembered this, enough time for her mourning to be over but at least she knew there would then be Freedom's party...
Voronwe gave her messages for the children and, though she pointed out Ana would no longer be his little girl when her memories returned, she held back from him what she had been told of her imprisonment.
They embraced then and after several long minutes she finally stepped back for the Eternal Champion to return her to the Borderlands and her patrol. "I love you," she said.
Voronwe smiled through his own tears. "You have my heart," he said and it was then last thing she heard as the Timeless Plane faded away.
The innermost meaning of sacrifice is the annihilation of the finite just because it is finite. In order to demonstrate that this is the only purpose, the most noble and beautiful must be chosen ... Only in the throes of death is the spark of eternal life ignited.
-Friedrich Von Schlegel