Ascension: Corso 5 (The Myriad book 1)

Something was wrong in Stratha, but no one knew what. No one even acknowledged that it was there. Nothing out of the ordinary at first glance. The sun shone on the thatched roofs, younger children played barefoot in the street, the Nightshroud patrolled endlessly on the Wall. Nevertheless, something was wrong. The sun had a new harsh, blinding glare to it; people were outside less and less, and when they were, there seemed to be a new anxiety to their movements like a mouse scampering across a stretch of open space. None of these changes were dramatic, but everything in the village followed a routine and the pattern had been broken.

Estra was withering, so were the rest of the Nightshroud. Their faces had become gray and ashen, and they were patrolling the wall with a new sense of urgency. Estra barely spent time at home anymore, and, worst of all, my mother barely seemed to acknowledge it.

That was two days ago, just after Hudson had arrived. Now things were much worse. My mother had moved a chair from the table to face a window. She sat hunched over, staring endlessly through the blank pane. At first I thought this was some new way of waiting for Estra to come home, my mother had always been worried for Estra’s safety after she joined the Nightshroud, but even when she returned home, my mother kept staring.

“Why are you sitting there?” I asked.

“I’m waiting,” she mumbled, without even glancing at me.

“Waiting for what?”

At this, my mother turned to me, her expression incredulous. “You don’t know?” she scornfully replied. That was wrong. She was never scornful, not ever. “I’m waiting for him. I’m waiting for Eternity.”

What is she talking about? I thought, but instead of saying that, I nodded like I understood and wandered out the door. I leaned against the wall for support. What’s happening? To my village, my friends… my family.

No one was outside. I rushed out the door, crossing the street. I burst into my neighbor’s house. “Hello?” I called. Silence. There was only one person in the room, David, he sat at the kitchen table holding a pencil and desperately scrawling something on a piece of paper.

“David?” I asked. “What are you doing? You can’t wri….” I trailed off as I saw what was on the parchment. There was a very detailed sketch of an emblem etched onto the paper, depicting a twisting vortex. It was circular, with two tendrils twisting towards a solid black circle at the center. David didn’t seem to notice I was there.

I dashed into the other room and saw his wife, Susan, propped up against a wall, bouncing a ball from one wall to another before it returned to her hand. Unlike David, she looked up at me and giggled. “Hello, Corso,” she greeted me, her arm still moving in the motion of throwing the ball, heedless of the fact that it had rolled away. “Ooh, that rhymes!” She giggled some more.

I slammed the door, my heart beating fast. What is happening? I thought. I had no idea what to do. I dashed out of the house, trying to avoid looking at David.

I looked down the empty streets; I’d never felt so alone. I’d never seen the streets so empty, for that matter. I couldn’t go home. I didn’t want to see my family in that...state. I didn’t want to know if they’d changed for the worse. But I didn’t have anywhere else to go. It was getting dark and I’d have to go inside soon.

I began to wander to the edge of town, which only took about twenty minutes, where I arrived at the abandoned barn. Many years ago, it had housed animals, but they had long since been slaughtered. The only thing that kept it from being leveled and used for firewood was that it would occasionally serve as a storehouse and that all the young children loved to play there. I decided it was the best place in Stratha for me to sleep as it was the only uninhabited one.

I curled up in a corner as the last rays of the sun disappeared, hoping that, against all odds, tomorrow would bring better things.

The next day, I decided to check the state of the rest of the villagers. I stepped out of the barn and into the deserted streets.

“Hello, Corso,” someone behind me drawled. I recognized the voice, but couldn’t quite place from where.

I reluctantly turned around and saw a figure dressed in a red cloak. I could barely see his face, only that he was giving me a knowing grin. “Who are you?”

He frowned. “Oh, well, let’s see…. Ah. Yes. I’m the Harbinger. I like that one, I think I’ll keep it.”

“You don’t know your name?” I asked.

“Well, it’s….complicated.”

“How? And how do you know my name?”

The Harbinger’s knowing grin returned. “I know everything about you, Corso Ghostfire. We’re very much alike, you and I.” His grin widened; he seemed to find that funny.

Ghostfire? I thought. “You didn’t answer my first question,” I observed.

“So I didn’t. But there is a more immediately pressing question you should be asking me.”

“And what’s that?”

“What happened here? I’m sure you’ve already asked yourself that, but unlike you, I might answer.”

My eyes narrowed. “You know something?”

“I know what caused the madness, yes.”

“What is it? Why is it happening? How can it be stopped?” I asked, desperate for any piece of information I could find.

“Sadly, I’m going to withhold all but one of those answers,” the Harbinger replied, not sounding at all remorseful.

“You-”

“Ah, before you say anything rash, I’d like to remind you that I’m willing to answer one of those questions,” he drawled. “Unless, of course, you want me to reduce that number.”

I gritted my teeth. “Fine. What’s your answer?”

The Harbinger stepped closer, so that he was almost whispering in my ear. “You want to stop the madness? Leave the village. Find the elves, find Taanyth and Laryn.”

“And then?” I growled.

“That’s it! The madness will leave with you,” he said. “Why do you think it hasn’t affected you? You’re the eye of the maelstrom. You leave, the madness goes, too.”

“Why would it follow me?” I said.

The Harbinger ignored the question. “Of course, you could also stay here. See what happens. I’m quite fascinated by the stages of insanity,” he replied, looking cheerful. “But if not, go find Laryn and Taanyth. They’re about….that way.”

I turned to look. “But I can’t go out there! That’s outside the Wall….” I turned around and the Harbinger was gone.