Arcemis's Arc

Chapter 3 of 16

Arcemis walked the border road for two days. His gold sword pointed the way, but the line of light stayed thin and vague. He knew the war Gaia had named. He did not know where a single guardian hid. Without one lead, he could not begin. He stopped at a stream to drink and stared at the water, empty of any plan. Then a butterfly crossed his face. Its wings glowed with soft blue and pink light, like glass held to a candle. He had never seen its kind. It hovered by his sword, and the gold edge brightened. When it drifted off the road into the trees, the light on his blade grew stronger. Arcemis followed. The butterfly led him past a small waterfall and a ring of glowing mushrooms. Their caps threw pale color across the dark ground. Deeper in, the forest opened. A palace stood before him, grown from living wood and crystal, its walls hung with pink flowers. Arcemis stopped and gripped his hilt. Someone waited on the steps. A young elf sat there, blonde and pale, in a white robe stitched with strange marks. His blue eyes fixed on Arcemis as if he had watched him for hours. He did not rise or reach for a weapon. "You are late, Guardian of Light," the elf said. "I sent that butterfly three days ago." Arcemis kept his blade half-drawn. "You know me?" "I am Cade. I see what is coming before it arrives." He tilted his head. "I saw you at the temple. I saw Gaia mark your sword. I saw the seven you must find." He held out one thin hand. "Put the blade away. I am not your enemy." Arcemis did not move. "Then tell me where they are." Cade smiled, tired. "I cannot give you all seven at once. Visions come in pieces." He rose and stepped down. "But I know the first. A dwarf who forges with fire and gunpowder. He hides in the mountains, hunted by Rhademus's men. If you reach him before they do, he lives. If not, one guardian dies and your war shrinks by one." Arcemis lowered his sword. Two days he had wandered with no name, no place. Now he had both. "Why help me?" he asked. "Because I saw the other future too," Cade said. "The one where no one comes." He pressed a folded map into Arcemis's hand. Lines marked a path through the peaks. "Go now. Rhademus already sent riders." Arcemis closed his fist around the map. His empty search was over. But the elf's words left a colder truth behind. The enemy was hunting the same guardians, and they had a head start. He turned toward the mountains and began to run.