Pathway

Orban grabbed Ju Feng's robe and jerked him close. The dwarf growled in anger. His voice was so thick, Ju Feng barely understood him. 

"He's dying. Dying in agony. Can't even pray!"

"Let me look at him." 

Ju Feng worked Orban's fingers loose from his robe and knelt next to Abron. The runecaster opened his eyes and looked at Ju Feng. For a breath, there was no recognition in his eyes. 

"Abron, your son is here." 

Ju Feng said as Orban's hands lay slackly in his lap. Ju Feng lifted one and placed it in Abron's. Garn drew in a breath and gasped. Pain clouded his vision. Orban held his hand and leaned in close, whispering something to his father. Abron moaned softly and moved his head from side to side. Orban looked up at Ju Feng imploringly.

"Abron, do you hear me?" 

Ju Feng said. He placed his left hand on the dwarf's forehead. He'd expected the cold, but it still made him gasp with its intensity. His heart stuttered in his chest. Inside and out, Abron's body was broken. It was surely a divine luck that he still drew breath at all. 

"I don't have any more healing draughts. Can you call on your god to heal your wounds?"

Abron moved his head from side to side again. A cough shook his body, wracking the already devastated frame. Abron cried out in anguish. 

"Leave me. Leave it be!"

"He's out of his head. Doesn't know what he's saying."

Ju Feng leaned over Abron and squeezed the juice of the herbal plant into his mouth before guiding it down his throat. Then, he put both hands on his chest. Energy tingled at his fingertips, indicating Abron responded to the plant. 

"Help him." 

He told Orban as he continued. 

"Say the words in the Dwarvish tongue."

"It's too late. He's going."

Or ban replied, looking at his father gravely.

"He's not gone yet!  Ive seen this before. He needs to hear his son's voice. If he knows he's not alone, he'll come back. He just needs to move beyond the pain and remember who he is."

Orban scrubbed a hand across his wet eyes and nodded. He began speaking softly in Dwarvish. The words turned into a rhythmic chant, the sounds rumbling from the dwarf's chest, rolling out smoothly on the air. Ju Feng closed his eyes and let himself be lulled by the soothing words, though he couldn't understand the words.

Energy, life—it all comes from nature around us. His grandparents and mother, back at home, had told him this, though he'd never truly understood what they meant. The power provided strength, balance, and peace. He'd never understood because he'd never thought the teaching applied to him. In his mind, the spellscar eclipsed everything, tainted all that he touched, the power that slept inside him.

"Look at the plants, Ju Feng. The peace they radiate can help you gain enlightenmenr?"

Zhang Li Qiang—his grandfather's words. It appeared to have been eternity since he had seen him. Same for his grandmother and mother. Ruen tried to refocus his concentration, but Abron's broken body faded, and an image of Chang Chang replaced it. She smiled at him while flames licked at her flesh. The memory of the dream slammed into him, and Ju Feng's resolve wavered. Power surged and died.

"You've always let the darkness hold you back."

His grandfather's voice cut at him. How can I not? Ju Feng thought. It breaks down my body, piece by piece, bone by bone. No one should hold death in his hands. How could he have a peace of mind, knowing what was coming for him?

Ju Feng looked down and saw Abron's eyes open and fixed upon him. Something—a light, a spark of life—kindled in the dwarf's eyes.

"I feel it," he rasped. "So warm …"

"I can't … it's not what you think," 

Ju Feng faltered. He was no healer. All he felt was cold. Orban laid his hand over Ju Feng's, linking the three of them. 

"Great ancestors, aid us," 

Orban prayed. 

"We're alone in the dark and lost. Guide us. Show us the way." He looked at Ju Feng as he spoke the words. Ju Feng fought to clear his mind. He breathed in deeply and released the breath, forcing himself to release his doubts as well. Abron's life depended on it. A little bit of power surged in his hands, warmth swelling to replace the cold. His life force extended from his hands to cradle Abron. It was not healing, but strength he lent to the dwarf—balance and peace. He was happy to be able to summon any form of energy.

Abron opened his eyes wide. A flash of gold light outlined the runes on his face. Orban gasped, but Ju Feng couldn't look away from the dwarf's eyes. Tears dripped down the runecaster's face.

"Ancestors, be with me," 

Abron murmured. 

"I'm not done yet. Please."

The prayer's effect came from within Abron's body. Ju Feng felt the flesh and bone mending, the cuts and bruises on Abron's face closing. The healing magic enveloped his own life energy, and Ju Feng stifled a shocked cry.

Heaven's blessing washed through him, hot like the time he'd stepped into Ongara's forge. He saw her face in his mind's eye, working the rare metals for her wedding gift to her man. The image faded, and then he saw Orban, swinging his axe at a group of yaomo that surrounded him. They outnumbered him four to one, but he took them on fearlessly, and fatherly pride swelled in Ju Feng's chest.

Abron's memories. Linked to the dwarf body and mind, Ju Feng felt the dwarf's memories swell in him even as healing magic swirled through them both. He tried to pull away. He felt like an intruder, but the dwarven power held them fast.

In memory, Orban's battlefield changed to an open cavern, where two dwarves stood, waiting to be married. Was this a premonition of the future or hallucination?  Ju Feng thought. Was he seeing Ongara's wedding? No, it wasn't Ongara. The female dwarf looked a bit like her, but her hair was golden, more like Druya's, and the man standing next to her was definitely not Orban but a younger version of Abron. The couple smiled happily at each other, and the woman leaned over spontaneously to kiss Abron.

The scene melted to the interior of a grand temple. Abron knelt before an altar, his arms wrapped around Druya as she wept.

"They're gone"

Druya sobbed. 

"What am I going to do now, Father? Both halves of my heart—they've been torn out."

"You know better than that. Your mother and your goddess are still with you. Be strong, child. Your mother carried so many sorrows. I hoped it wouldn't be your fate, but we do what we must …"

Garn gently chided his daughter. 

The vision faded. Images crowded together faster now, dizzying Ju Feng. Abron being embraced by his king—a feeling of sorrow so strong it choked the dwarf silent, though he desperately wanted to speak to his friend. King Laggarma turned away and ascended his throne. A brilliant flash of light, and suddenly the king transformed, his flesh turning grayish silver and solid. He'd become a statue upon his throne, his eyes staring vacantly at Abron.

Too much. Ju Feng cried out as the memories blended with his own—images of his mother when he was a child, the people in his village running away due to the demons attack on the people of the nine villagers.. They were afraid he would bring the darkness to them, again. He was ill luck, a child of death. Even the grandmaster had looked at him as a child who walked in the shadows of death. When others looked at him, Ju Feng saw the fear and revulsion lurking just under the surface.

His masters loomed over him, admonishing him to be strong, to look past his impending death. None of them understood. The memories pressed in on him all at once, shadows he'd thought long buried, drawn from the dark places in his heart.

Gods, Abron was seeing it all too, Ju Feng realized, all of his deepest secrets and fears. Their memories blended. He had nowhere to hide. Instinctively, he tore himself away, and a searing pain enveloped his hands.

Then it ended. Ju Feng came back to himself slowly. Afraid that he'd find himself trapped in another memory, Ju Feng cautiously looked around. Soon enough he recognized the dark cavern and the smell of death. He lay on his back next to Abron, who was sitting up with Orban's aid. Sometime while the two were linked, Orban must have cleared the rubble to free his father.

"Are you all right?" 

Orban asked Ju Feng, speaking again, haltingly.

The movement revealed a dull ache in his head, as if he'd had too much to drink. Drunk on memories. Ju Feng almost chuckled at the notion, but he was too weary and heartsick with everything he'd just seen. He looked at Abron. The runecastert had his eyes closed and fingered the divine symbol he wore around his neck. He spoke softly under his breath, still communing with his ancestors. Ju Feng didn't blame him. His ancestral's power still thrummed in his veins—a warm touch, but rough like a calloused hand. Healing energy suffused his limbs. They'd completely healed his broken arm.