Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 585 of 619

The southern seal held now, but Elara sat slumped against the slab. She had spent her light on it, and her band hung dim on her wrist. Ajax knelt beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You gave too much again," he said. "I gave what it needed," she said. "No more." But her hands shook when she tried to stand. That night, camped by the ridge, a figure stepped out of the dark. She wore a gown that shimmered like starlight, and stones at her wrist held moonlit sparks. Ajax reached for his blade. The woman raised a hand and did not stop walking. "I come for her," she said, looking at Elara. "Not for you." Elara pushed herself upright. She knew this one. "The Emissary," she said. "You gave me the last two bands." "And you burned through both." The Emissary crouched before her. "My order watched you cross this land, closing doors that would have swallowed villages whole. You have earned more than a band this time." Ajax stayed close, blade half-drawn. "What does that mean." The Emissary touched Elara's wrist. The dim band brightened until it hurt to look at. "She is raised in her Order. Stronger. She will hold more power than before, and it will not drain to nothing in one casting. She can travel by moonlight now, in a breath, where the moon shines." Elara's breath caught. The shaking in her hands stilled. "I can feel it," she said. "It's not thin anymore. It's deep." "Test it," the Emissary said. Elara raised her palm. Light bloomed, steady and white, and did not gutter. She held it a long moment, then let it fade. Her band still glowed full. She looked at her own hand as if it belonged to someone else. Ajax lowered his blade. "Every seal we strengthen, you've bled for it. Now you don't have to." "Now I don't have to," Elara said. She met the Emissary's eyes. "Why raise me. Why now." "Because the seals are failing faster than one wizard can reach." The Emissary rose. "Chalam cannot be everywhere. Now you can. Where moonlight falls, you go. You will reach the weak doors before they break." Then she was gone, as if she had never stood there. Chalam came from the fire, gray-faced still. "She spoke true," he said. "I felt the working. Elara can cross to any seal under open sky in a night, not two days' ride." Ajax looked north, then south, weighing the map in his head. His crew could not chase every failing seal by horse and ship. But Elara could step to them by moonlight and hold light for hours, not one burst. "Then you're not just my healer anymore," Ajax said. "You're how we reach them all." Elara flexed her hand and watched the light answer, full and quick. "Show me the next one," she said.