The Nextworld Invasion and the Death of Magic - 17. Chapter 17 - Blame

Alydrael awoke in pain that was like a tsunami. Whatever confusion she first felt had been overwhelmed by the all-consuming agony that threatened to smother and swallow her whole. She could not comprehend the world around her. The sun was blaring down, and her eyes refused to focus. She did not know where she was, did not know why she was not in her bed in Edgedale. Her whole body throbbed, but her hands reached for the origin of her suffering, her leg.

Another pair of hands took hers, preventing Alydrael from bringing her fingers to the place of her pain, and a voice spoke, but the words were incomprehensible. Alydrael felt like she was spinning, like the whole world was rocking back and forth. Her pain felt like an ocean. Waves of it radiated through her from her leg.

Ocean… Waves… Rocking…

The voice was still speaking, but Alydrael opened her mouth and managed to say something she remembered.

“Nuji.”

“Yes, it’s me. Don’t try to sit up.”

Alydrael managed to add, “So bright…”

“We’ll get you below deck in a minute.”

Alydrael did not feel like her body was obeying the commands she was giving it. The pain in her leg made it difficult to think.

“You’ve been injured, badly,” Nuji said gently. “Stay still and try to rest. Your healing is going to take a long time, but at least you survived.”

“Nuji,” Alydrael mumbled again, “my leg.”

“I know. It’s bad.” Nuji leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Alydrael’s forehead. “But you’re going to be okay. We’ll take you below.” She turned to Othri. “Will you please carefully carry her into the ship and down to her cabin?”

“Of course.” Othri knelt beside the bench where Alydrael was lying, and she winced as he helped her sit upright.

However, when he started to gingerly slide his hand under her good leg, the crushing realization finally came to her, and her pain was replaced by shock and terror. The bandaged stump made it clear to her why she was in such great agony.

“My leg is gone!” Alydrael wailed.

“It’s horrible,” Nuji stated, gently clutching Alydrael’s hands again, and she repeated herself. “It’s horrible. I’m so sorry. I did everything I could.” Nuji sighed. “You’ll heal.”

Alydrael was barely breathing.

“I have medicine that will help you sleep,” Nuji added.

“My leg…”

Nuji wrapped her long arms around Alydrael. “I’m sorry,” she whispered yet again. “Let Othri help you down into the ship where you can rest.”

Alydrael nodded and clung to Othri’s muscular neck. He gently hoisted her up, and she began to sob, hugging him and crying against his chest.

Tigath stepped up and brought one hand to her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Othri, I’ll follow you,” Nuji said. “Why don’t the rest of you stay up here?”

Alydrael’s sobs grew fainter as the trio descended into the ship.

“Poor girl,” Lestralin said under his breath.

“She survived,” Kilial added.

No one spoke for a moment, but they all made eye contact with one another.

“What do you think about what that Human said?” Tigath eventually asked.

“She said a lot,” Kilial replied.

“And she was very confident in her words,” Lestralin stated.

The three of them were silent for another moment, and they turned as Othri and Nuji reappeared from the lower levels of the ship.

“Alydrael has fallen back to sleep,” Nuji informed the others. She shook her head. “She’s so messed up that I’m not sure if later when she wakes up, she’ll remember having talked to us just now.”

“That poor girl,” Lestralin repeated. “I feel like this is my fault. There was no reason for me to take my gateway door from Uall Island, since I thought its other end was destroyed. I had no idea the Humans would be able to access it, which may mean the other side is still functional.” His sad eyes moved to Nuji. “But it’s my fault.”

Othri stepped up to the much shorter Noktar man and took his hand. “Lestralin, don’t blame yourself for what those Humans did.”

Nuji nodded. “I understand why you feel guilty, Lestralin, but Othri’s right; the Humans are to blame.”

“Did the Humans really once come from Earth?” Tigath asked.

“It’s not possible,” Kilial replied. “Is it?”

Tigath crossed his arms and frowned. “The Human implied that they mean to wipe out the free peoples. I’m not super keen on actually fighting, but I don’t think we have any choice except to join the rebels.” Othri shifted over to Tigath and wrapped an arm around him in an encouraging and supportive gesture. “We can’t just outright trust her,” Tigath continued, “but if the Humans are systematically destroying the largest cities on Earth, then we probably should take her advice and stay away from any major ports.” Tigath focused his purple eyes on the captain of the Mermonster. “Kilial, we met you in a tiny village that the Humans had so far ignored, and I think that’s the type of place we should stick to, and we ought to try and find the rebels.”

“What if it’s a trick?” Kilial countered. “What if the Human was trying to send us on a wild journey that doesn’t have a real destination?”

“She was at least trying to keep us away from where the Humans are actively attacking,” Tigath replied. “I was told as a child that Humans are a cruel and violent race, even to each other. The ancient earthgods blessed the free peoples by relegating the Humans to Nextworld, but is every single one of them necessarily evil? Is it possible that there might be some Humans who aren’t monsters?” Tigath furrowed his forehead in thought, and he made a suggestion. “Why don’t we go over the things we know about Humans? I grew up hearing tales about them.”

“So did I,” Kilial added.

“I’m sure we all did,” Othri said, and Nuji and Lestralin both nodded in agreement.

Tigath continued. “I remember hearing that Humans and Urcai were physically similar, in regards to height and bodily form, but that they aren’t symbiotic with nature.”

“Right,” Lestralin confirmed, “they warp and twist nature, sapping an area of its resources before moving on to another region with more that they can consume. Humans are like a plague to their world.”

“But I’ve never heard of Humans,” Nuji interjected, “doing magic.”

Each looked at the others again, and no one spoke.

Eventually, Tigath turned from the group and focused on the map. He bit his lower lip in thought. “So what’s the verdict?” he asked quietly. “Do we heed the Human’s warning and avoid where we were headed?”

The others gathered around the large parchment.

“It didn’t seem like she was lying,” Lestralin replied. “I’m not saying I trust her, but I got the impression that she was trying to help us.”

“Ugh, Humans!” Nuji said with disgust.

Othri focused on her. “Nuji, can you think of any way in which a Human might be able to do magic?”

She scowled with her exaggerated features. “I’m having a very hard time believing it, but we all just saw it happen. If the Humans have been doing some sort of magic in Nextworld…” Nuji trailed off before adding, “How is it possible they’re this powerful?”

“That Human acted like they can easily look through into our world,” Lestralin stated.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Nuji said in a weak voice.

“And we’re not going to figure it out here,” Kilial interjected, “so back to Tigath’s inquiry; do we take the Human’s advice and try to find the rebels who might be near the port city of Springdale, or should we continue on, maybe to one of the much smaller harbors, like New Aggaria?”

Othri shook his head. “The revelation that Humans can do magic implies that we obviously know very little about our enemy, far less than they know about us. I say we find the rebels and see if they have any more information, and we can at least tell them what we’ve just learned. Those who are gathering may still be as in the dark as we were about Human magic.”

“I agree,” Lestralin said with a nod, and he pointed out Springdale on the map.

“Are there ruins or an old fort on one of the nearby islands?” Tigath asked.

Nothing was listed on the map.

“We’ll head toward Springdale,” Kilial stated. “Should take us about five days to reach the islands farthest from the mainland.”

“Are we just going to check the islands one by one?” Othri asked. “How many could there be?”