Memories Lost - First of Apocalyptic Hell Series

Lost Lovers

    “You mean to tell me that Aulcmid is in fact Eldar! Caethrynna’s love and the father of her two babes!” I spun around to face Orus, he nodded, “I knew it!” I exclaimed. Orus looked at me in shock. 

    “How do you gather that?” He watched me as I paced for a moment. 

    “I’ve been watching those two for a while now and seeing how much Aulcmid has softened up since I first met him. He’s been sweet on Caethrynna for a few weeks that I’ve noticed. I knew there was something there, but I wasn’t sure where to pin it or where it was coming from.” I stopped and looked back down at the elf that lay before me, a wave of sadness came over me. “She thinks that he is dead, the poor thing, and he doesn’t even know who he truly is either. Should we tell them?” I asked Orus. 

    “That’s why I brought you here. I normally wouldn’t reveal another’s memories to another being, but this is a tricky situation and I know Caethrynna is beginning to feel conflicted with her feelings for Aulcmid. I can sense the building connection between the two of them” Orus said. 

    “Well anyone with a brain could see the connection, it doesn’t take someone who is a telepath to see that. It’s going to be tricky, but we should be able to tell them both. Probably best to tell them together, but we may want to wait till after we reach Eindenia. I don’t want to stress Caethrynna too much and risk throwing her into labor. We have about another month or two of traveling yet.” I said. It did worry me that this was taking longer than I originally planned. With Caethrynna carrying twins the risk of her delivering early is rather high, I worry that she won’t make it if we keep on with stopping to camp every night. We may need to consider traveling at night, if we do things in rotation. 

    “I agree about keeping Caethrynna as risk free as possible. It will be difficult, waiting to tell them would be for the best. I may not know anything about childbirth, but I feel the stress or shock of being told that her former lover is not in fact dead, but has been transformed into a different being.” The Orus put that made complete sense. 

    “For now we need to return before anyone else rises and wonders what we are doing.” I stated. Orus nodded and took my hand to bring us back to reality. I stumbled for a moment before finding me footing. I was beginning to hate going into these memories with him, it always made me feel disoriented. Once I blinked a few times and looked around I noticed that Aulcmid and Caethrynna were standing before us. I could see tears in Caethrynna’s eyes and Aulcmid’s eyes were filled with confusion. 

    “Why were you muttering about Aulcmid being Eldar?” Caethrynna asked in a soft voice. I looked at Orus and he looked at me. Well so much for waiting on telling them. I sighed before I stepped towards her, extending my hand towards hers. I brought her over to sit on the large stone I had been sitting on. 

    “So I’m not sure where to begin and I know this is going to be a shock to you, but please do not panic or stress too much. It’s going to be a lot to take in, I’m sure, but know that you are not alone and you both,” taking a moment to look at Aulcmid as well, “have all of us to support you, we are all here for you. Don’t think you have to go through this alone.” I waited till they both nodded. I looked back at Orus to see if he wanted to take the lead on this, he simply nodded for me to go ahead. 

    “When we first met Orus you both remember that he went through your memories and thoughts to ensure that none of us were a threat?” They both nodded, Aulcmid stepped closer, hovering behind Caethrynna. “When he looked into your memories, Caethrynna, he saw the memories you had of Eldar. When he went through Aulcmid’s he found memories of the time before he was turned into an Uruk-hai.” I paused to let it sink in, “In those memories he saw Eldar and what happened to him when he left for battle. Aulcmid hasn’t been an Uruk-hai long, but the time frame matches and in his memories deep in his subconscious are memories of you and of what happened on that battlefield.” I waited for what I just laid out to sink in. 

    “What you are saying is Aulcmid,” Caethrynna looked up at him as she finished her question, “Is truly Eldar?” 

    “Yes.” I said. 

    Caethrynna turned to look at me, then back up to Aulcmid. He looked confused as he thought through everything, trying to remember those long forgotten memories. Orus stepped up and took his hand, using his telepathy powers to help unlock those memories that were buried so deep in his past. Aulcmid’s legs buckled beneath him as the floodgates opened up and long forgotten memories rushed forward. Caethrynna tried to rise to help him but I pulled her back to her seat. I gave her a knowing look to calm her worries as we watched as Aulcmid was forced to remember everything. His eyes were filled with a blinding white light and he was muttering words none of us could understand, Orus stood strong as he guided him through them as best as he could. What happened next surprised us all. 

    As Orus continued to work his telepathy, Caethrynna and I watched as a glowing white light began to swirl around Aulcmid. It began to lift him into the air causing the connection between him and Orus to break. Orus stumbled as he struggled to gain his bearings before he stood stock still and watched. I could hear voices speaking in the Old Tongue echoing through the breeze that had kicked up. The light and breeze swirled around Aulcmid until it engulfed him completely. 

    “What is happening to him?” Ceathrynna asked in a panicked voice as she tried to rise again. 

    “Be still! He’s going to be okay,” I said to her, “This is old magic at work here, I’ve seen it before a handful of times, but this is the largest I’ve ever seen it.” I held her as the old magic worked its power, we didn’t have to wait long before the white magic that had surrounded his body began to lower him to the ground. 

    As the light dimmed I could see how his skin was no longer dark like a Uruk-hai but pale like that of a high elf. His height was still the same, but his hair was no longer black but a pale blonde and his facial features were almost like Eldar’s, not identical, but very close. I stood there slack jawed at what had just happened, the Old Magic had reversed the effects of the dark magic that turned Eldar into an Uruk-hai. I could feel Caethrynna trembling next to me as she watched as he collapsed to the ground. She started to pull away from me and this time I let her go, she rushed the best that she could at her size. She lowered herself carefully to the ground next to him till she could reach the hair that had fallen over his face. She gasped as she brushed it out of the way, she looked up at me before looking back down at him. 

    “He truly is Eldar,” she gasped as she began to sob, despite her small size she was able to roll him over onto his back. She leaned on his chest as she began to stroke his face, tracing every detail from his jaw structure to the bridge of his nose. It felt as if time had stood still while they laid there before Eldar began to stir, first it was his eyes fluttering and then he let out a strangled groan. She gasped and sat up, watching him closely as he started to stir. His eyes fluttered open as he looked around before his eyes locked with hers. 

    For a moment I worried we would have to separate them to protect Caethrynna, until I saw the tears well up in his eyes as he lifted a shaky hand towards her face. I held my breath as I watched him pause before the tip of his finger just grazed her cheek and then he pressed his entire hand against her face, cupping her cheek gently. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch as she held his hand to her face. Tears streamed down both their faces, their smiles matched as they sat still. I released the breath I was holding as a soft smile crossed my face, I turned and nodded to Orus, this was their moment and it was best to leave them be for a moment. We walked away so we were close enough that we could continue to keep an eye on them, but far enough to give them a moment of privacy. 

    “That went far better than I expected it would.” Orus finally spoke after a moment of silence. 

    “That it did, let’s hope that the excitement doesn’t throw Caethrynna into labor.” I chuckled as we watched them. “I’m just glad they have been reunited, sooner than I had intended.” 

    “I’d say the gods had a part in how this part of their story happened.” He chuckled as we watched the two lovers. “I worried about revealing those memories to him, but seeing the old magicks work their powers to undo the dark magicks that turned him into the dark being he was. It is a once in a lifetime experience.” He sighed. 

    “I wouldn’t say that it is entirely a once in a lifetime experience. There are several Uruk-hai in Eindenia that are in the same position that Eldar was in. They were turned into Uruk-hai, but they do not think or act like Uruk-hai. The sorcerer that was forced to create them ensured that the dark magic could be undone, that they wouldn’t be turned into evil beings like true Uruk-hai. If you could do that for him, you may be able to do the same for the other Uruk-hai and undo the dark magick that turns them into Uruk-hai.” I looked at Orus with hope for the others. “I remember Eldar when he spoke of his past when we first met. He said the sorcerer had set up a fail safe within the spell he was forced to use.” Orus began to look worried as he thought of using his ability on that many beings. 

    “That may take some time, but I should be capable of it if I spread them out and don’t try to do them all in one moment.” He said. 

    “Trust me, don’t over exert your ability. You could very well end up in a month long deep sleep while your body rebuilds its energy reserves.” He looked at me in shock, “It happened one time.” He gave me a skeptical look and I sighed knowing I was in a bit of trouble there. 

    “Pray tell how that took place?” he questioned, I groaned as I prepared to explain how I goofed. 

    “I used a spell powerful enough to enable the very Earth itself to move and create a path for us to travel through the forests and cross rivers and other large bodies of water without having to rely on roads when we came across that wagon. It was a saving grace to find that with a team of horses, without there is no way that Caethrynna would’ve made it to Eindenia simply from walking.” I shrugged my shoulders as if it wasn’t anything to worry about. Orus stood there just gaping at me in shock. "What?"