Page 90 of The Freedom You Seek

I frowned. Why was I always missing all the context? I hated that everyone was always speaking in riddles, and soon, I wouldn’t permit Dion to dodge my questions anymore.

“We need information.” I’d had enough, and the earlier we would be done here, the better. Larithia was obviously acquainted with who we were and what we were doing, so there was no reason to waste our time with introductions. “Why did Antas’ dreams lead to me? What are we supposed to do? And do you know anything about that rip we encountered?”

Tapping my foot on the floor, I waited for the seer to overcome her godsdamned reluctance. Sure, Dion could very well be some sort of villain, but our host was too prejudiced for my taste. Condemning him without giving him a chance to prove himself was simply vile.

“I don’t have the answers to your first two questions, but I believe everything you’ve asked is interconnected. I have theories and will tell you what I can and also where you might be able to find more answers.”

Disappointment settled deep in my stomach and crawled through my insides like a rotten parasite,sapping my strength. Dion was growling again—no surprise here—and I sighed, deciding to eat my feelings and not let them show. “Please tell us what you know.”

“What you’ve encountered will soon be known as Wild Rift throughout the worlds, and yours wasn’t the first, nor will it be the last. For reasons unknown to me, the fabric between the two worlds has been thinning for quite a while now, and if things proceed as they are, the barrier will break down completely in the near future. I’ve seen the outcome, and the consequences are not going to be pretty. Everything here will perish. Nothing will survive.” Larithia’s eyes appeared slightly unfocused. “There are forces working toward this goal, players who have long since discovered the thinning of the fabric and are doing everything to accelerate it. It’ll be the ancients who’ll be the first to die if we don’t protect the roots, and if they do, all hope will be lost.”

The shock that her words caused was visible on our faces, both on Dion’s and mine. He’d even stopped scowling at Larithia.

“That’s horrible. Why should anyone want that?” I had trouble forming coherent words. “Someone has to do something about it.”

Dion was paler than I’d ever seen him before, and he observed the seer with a multitude of questions in his gaze. “Is that why Antas had those dreams?”

My lungs were tight, and every breath was a struggle that became harder and harder to fight.

“It’s a possibility. There’s just the question of which sideyouare on.” Larithia sounded even colder.

“Can you cut the crap for just one minute?” Dion showed his teeth in a vicious snarl. “You’ve just told us the worlds are steering toward total destruction, signs point to me, Nayana, and my people being involved, and allyoudo is let your prejudices get in the way of being productive.”

Larithia stared at him and finally sighed. “Very well. But if you find yourself on the wrong end of history, I’ll come for you relentlessly.”

“Yes, yes. Just go on.”

I was too lost in spiraling thoughts to analyze the mysterious argument between the two of them. “So, you had a vision of the world—theworldsending, and some people actually want that?”

“Yes.” The seer drank a sip of her tea.

“Do you know who?”

“Not with certainty.”

“Then what else can you give us?”

“My guess is as good as any, but it can’t be a coincidence that you aren’t only the first Amplifier found in decades but also got picked up by the company you’re traveling with. Just as I think it’s suspicious in this context that you have all the elemental predispositions, something completely unheard of. I don’t know why, but I think it might be of importance. Fate has surely cast its attention on you, young Nayana.”

Both Dion and I were silent, thinking. Something in her words triggered some buried memories, but I was too preoccupied with the present and the future to dwell on the past.

“I can’t tell you more, but if you hope for better answers, consider visiting the Lost City of Amalach.”

Dion’s face was a brooding mask, but he looked too unfazed to be as clueless as I was. “I’ve never heard of that place before.”

Larithia nodded, fixed her gaze on me, and began to explain. “Amalach was destroyed in the great Ivreian-Galantan war two hundred winters ago. Amalach was an old city-state between Alkutia and Kerid. As the only permanent fae settlement on Ivreian soil, the city was classified as emissary ground. In return, humans inhabited Ivretta in Galanta, a state similar to Amalach, in the hopes that an exchange of territory would improve the inter-species relationship. Shortly before the war ended, a small squad of the fae High King’s elite warriors crossed into Ivreia and brought Teachtaire Ollscriosta with them. Within hours,Amalach was annihilated. So many lives were lost. There was so much carnage.”

Both Dion and I didn’t move, and we just let Larithia speak. “High King Galrach of Galanta used the tragic fall of the once splendid city to frame King Amarion of Ivreia, although it was the fae king himself who’d issued the slaughter of an entire city—a city full of his own people—and he framed Amarion expertly. Even today, few fae know the truth, and those who do were either involved, are too scared to set the record straight, or are quickly silenced.”

“Why would a king order the massacre of his fellow kin, even if they aren’t living in his own world?” I was at a complete loss for words because what I’d heard made little sense to me.

The seer took a sip of her tea. “After the destruction of Amalach, Galrach collected enough support to close the portals between the worlds—something not even a king could simply decree—and only a few members of the Galantan gentry pushed back against him. In the aftermath of Amalach, they all cowered in fear of what the Ivreian king was capable of, falling for the ruse and believing the lies Galrach fed them. And the prospect of a peaceful solution to the ever-escalating war was enough for most of the important fae to support their monarch’s course of action. Galrach’s plan had worked to perfection. Despite hating the war, Amarion had always been an ardent supporter of open travel between the realms and would never have wanted the worlds to be separated. He was by far the most progressive ruler ever to govern Ivreia,easing restrictions and extending a hand of peace to the citizens of Galanta. Trade between the worlds became more important and frequent under his rule, and hired magic made life so much easier—Ivreia has never been home to many Wielder. On top of it, Amarion’s queen and the light of his life, Theandra, was obsessed with Galanta and the fae. She was visiting Amalach when Teachtaire Ollscriosta obliterated it—Queen Theandra was one of the victims. After the loss of his beloved wife, the mourning and grieving King Amarion was only too willing to agree to the complete separation of the two worlds and didn’t object to Galrach’s decision to close the portals at all. He soon began sowing the seeds that would eradicate the knowledge of the existence of fae and magic from Ivreia, and he became an instigator of war between the countries he governed—although he always managed to portray himself as the hero who helped resolve those conflicts. In the end, he died a bitter and heartbroken man.”

“What is Teact…Teachta—?”

“Teachtaire Ollscriosta. In Ivreianos, it translates to something like the Bringer of Destruction, and it’s a sentient weapon forged by High King Galrach himself. With the help of this weapon, he seized power and established his position as the first High King over all the lords and ladies of Galanta. The rivers ran red with blood for decades as he secured his reign.” Larithia was focused on me and ignored Dion, which he didn’t seem to mind as he was deep in thought himself, and I wondered if this story was new to him too.

“High King Galrach doesn’t give the impression that he was the most benevolent of rulers.”