Secrets of the Heart

Ariane opened her eyes, and felt rejuvenated as if she had just woken up from a long nap after a hard day of working. Her body no longer ached and her breathing felt normal.   

She saw that she was lying in a four-poster mahogany bed gilded with gold, with a white duvet covering her body.

Where am I?

She sat up, and noticed that she wasn’t in her green and brown combat robes. Instead, she was wearing a light blue, almost white low-cut sleeveless nightdress that was made of silk. She then looked around, and saw just how luxurious the room was. Except for the marble fireplace, all of the furniture was gilded with gold, from the wardrobe, to the dresser, to the clock. Even the rug was threaded with gold.

What’s going on?

Just then, a very pretty doe-eyed brunette with her hair in an updo, (save for a few strands that were just left at the side of her face), wearing form-fitting black and white maid’s uniform walked in.

“Oh…you’re awake. I should let Master Bryce know.”

Master Bryce? Ariane thought. So this is his place?

She then walked out, and a short while later, Bryce came into the room. He had changed out of his armour and was now dressed up in his causal gear—a black leather longcoat over a blue shirt and black trousers.

He smiled when she saw her propped up against the white pillows.

“Ariane…I’m glad to see you up,” he said..

“You…”

“I healed you,” he said. “Or rather the Bunyip  did.”

“The what?”

“After you collapsed, I teleported here,” Bryce explained. “The maid cared for you while I ran off to make a summoning pouch. After I got that, I teleported back here, summoned the bunyip. He used his powers to heal you.”

“Oh…thank you,” Ariane said. “For healing me.”

“It’s nothing,” Bryce responded. “It’s what one comrade should do for another.”

“I’m sorry about Kipple,” she said, remembering his exploded remains. “It seemed quite attached to you.”

“It’s no big deal,” Bryce said.

Kipple means nothing to me, he added silently. He is just a golem who was given life to serve his master; he was just a slave, nothing more.

Ariane looked at him. For the first time in months, she took a close look at his face, noticing every bit of his pretty looks, and at the same time, not being allured by them. Until today, she had not seen him ever since their conversation at the Blue Moon Inn after Guthix’s death, where she had been absolutely baffled and irritated by his indecision of not supporting the Guthian cause.  

She then thought of his letter where he explained his reason to side with Saradomin in the Battle of Lumbridge, so he could stop Zamorak from destroying the town. She could understand his refusal to stay put while the gods destroyed his hometown, but she still hated his decision to follow a god whose name he wouldn’t even reveal over Guthix, the most selfless and noble god of all. She had spoken to Holstein in Port Sarim and became very interested in joining the Godless, until Armadyl fought Bandos in the Battle of Asgarnia, where she had been turned off by Kara-Meir’s hypocrisy of hating the gods for causing so much destruction to get the Stone of Jas and yet wanting to do the same.

Ariane looked into Bryce’s purple eyes, and she felt mixed emotions. On one hand, she was grateful for his generous hospitality, and she was glad he understood just how vital magic was to the world itself. On the other hand, she wished she could make him understand just how vital he was to Guthix’s plan for a godless Gielinor; without it, the plan was nothing but an impossible dream. She managed to put her feelings aside to help him track down Xenia, but now that it was over, her feelings wandered back to the day she read Bryce’s letter and the day Guthix died.

Hurt, resentment, and frustration wasn’t all she felt. Remembering the conversation she had with Xenia in the cave, she was also feeling shocked and overwhelmed, upon hearing what her former mentor had said about the Elder gods.

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“There you are Xenia, nowhere to run now. You will answer for your crimes!”

Xenia did not even flinch when Ariane teleported in beside Bryce. She maintained her stoic expression even as Ariane pointed her staff at her.

“I have every intention of facing justice for what I have done,” Xenia said, sounding just as calm as she looked. “But weigh the scales against why I have done it. I am trying to save the world, Ariane! One life, for countless others. A fair trade.”

Ariane narrowed her eyes at what she was hearing. “Who are you to decide whose life to save? You don't get to choose who lives and who dies!”

“Of course I do!” Xenia cried, glaring at her. “We all do! On each adventure, you choose who lives and who dies. Every day we make decisions that sentence some to death and others to salvation, whether we know it or not. I thought I taught you that in the beginning. At your whim, lives are cut short. At your mercy, they go on. Don't you dare weigh judgement on me and believe yourself any less guilty of the same crime. The research I took...”

“Stole!” Ariane corrected.

 “Stole then,” Xenia said. “The research was a treatise on the inner mechanics of teleportation. An investigation into crossing the barrier between planes—more importantly, the transfer of matter and energy through them. At first I was able to utilise a very old teleportation spell—one that I knew others would be unable to follow. It took me straight into the Abyss and there I met an ancient creature, with centuries of knowledge. It told me about other worlds that were destroyed by ancient, god-like beings. It wasn't difficult to work out what those beings were. Together we thought of a solution, a way to save this world. The Elder Gods feed on the Anima Mundi, the natural flow of energy in the world. If we were to take that energy and siphon it away, then the Elder gods would never wake up.”

Words could not describe her shock. On her adventures, she had seen and heard of some very eye-opening things, but none could top this, not even Guthix’s death. For a moment, it felt like time had stopped, and nothing in the cave could move. She thought of Xenia’s research, which she had looked up while Bryce and Kipple tracked her down. In Xenia’s notes, she had mentioned the Elder gods who shaped Gielinor by manipulating the Anima Mundi, and she even listed them—Bik the nature god, Ful the fire god of the TokHaar, Wen the ice god, Jas the creator of the Stone, and Mah, the god she knew nothing about. She had heard of them before. Although she never knew their specific names, she had a vague memory of learning that the Elder gods created Gielinor.

This shocking revelation would be enough to make her sit down and silently stare at the cave wall until she could form a coherent train of thought in response, if it wasn’t for Xenia’s extremist, impractical solution, which made her utter the first words that came to her.

“But... but that's madness. The consequences would be...”

“An acceptable loss!” Xenia said. “When compared to the alternative!”

“No, Xenia, you can't do that,” Ariane said, furrowing her brows which made her look both angry and determined.  “If you siphon the Anima Mundi away, you'll be siphoning away magic. Gielinor is built and thrives on magic. So much of the world needs it!”

“A few lives, a few problems...,” Xenia said dismissively. “…To save everyone from the greater threat! Of all people, Ariane, I thought you would see the necessity in this!

Necessity? No…Ariane thought. Such a terrible fate could never, ever be necessary.

She remembered her dream to master every branch of magic to become a powerful mage, and she was reminded of all the places she’s travelled to that flourished on magic, from the Lunar Isles to the Tower of Life to Taverley, and even the Wizards’ Tower, the Wizard’s Guild and the Mage Training Arena. If Xenia’s plan succeeded…

“No Xenia, I can't allow this,” Ariane said. “It’s wrong. The world needs magic. We'll find another way.”

“There is no other way!” Xenia cried, sounding more shrill than calm this time. “Either we do this or the whole world dies!”

“She’s right, Xenia!” Bryce shouted. “It doesn’t have to be this way! I know another way to stop it, a way that won’t drain the world of its magic! Please, Xenia! Be reasonable! We can’t take away magic, it’s as vital to the world as breathing is for us! But we can stop the Elder gods without resorting to this! Gielinor doesn’t have to end like…that world…”

“Freneskae,” Xenia said. pronouncing the name perfectly after hearing Bryce mention it once when she described the desolate plane just seconds before Ariane teleported it. “It will become another Freneskae unless I do something about it!”

“Gielinor is built on magic!” Bryce protested. “It literally cannot function without it! I know of a better solution!” 

“No! You idiots!” Xenia yelled angrily when she realised that neither of them could be convinced. “There is no other way! I've looked, I've studied!”

She scoffed. “Bah! You may be weak, but I am not. I will do this—you will not stop me!”

“No!” Ariane cried. “I can't let you do this Xenia! I'll stop you!...Even if I have to kill you!”

Xenia mouth curled upwards in a smile, as if Ariane had just told a very dark joke. “Come on, Ariane. You are many things, but you're no murderer.”

Ariane glanced at the ground, allowing her hair to fall in front of her eyes, hiding them from Xenia’s view, even though she herself could see out of them. Xenia turned away from her and Bryce, and she started to open up another portal. Ariane knew she could not be reasonably persuaded to stop, and she knew she couldn’t force Xenia to stop; not in a fair fight anyway, so she took the chance to fire a spell while her back was turned. She casted an Air Surge, which summoned three consecutive spheres that combined together and formed a three point throwing star as they flew mid-air towards Xenia.

The element of surprise worked. The Air Surge hit Xenia squarely in the back, making her cough up blood. She turned around and looked at Ariane in the eyes one last time before falling into the portal.

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I  had to do it, Ariane thought. I couldn’t stand by and just watch as she siphoned away magic…no…never…

She left me with no choice…I had no choice…I had to do it…I was forced to kill her…I had no choice…

But…is that really forgivable? I killed my friend and mentor. I had a moment of fury and I just... I struck out, I didn't even hold back…I hit her with a deadly spell and now... she's gone…

…But…she wouldn’t listen to us no matter how we pleaded; she was single-minded—focused on only one solution, regardless of the consequences. Still…

…Did she really deserve death? She was foolish…and relentless, but does that really call for death? Was there no other way we could’ve stopped her? Was there no other way we could have restrained her and made her listen to reason?

…But… she was going to leave this world a magic-less husk…

…I had no choice.

Or did I?...now that I look back…couldn’t I have knocked her out instead? Couldn’t Bryce have forcibly restrained her?

She thought of the way Xenia looked at her before she fell in, her former mentor’s eyes were wide as she realised what Ariane had done, and once again, tears flooded her eyes before they ran down her cheeks.

Bryce hated to see her this way; it almost hurt him just as much as it hurted her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and embrace her. Instead, his chose his next words carefully.

“Don’t cry,” he said. “If this is about Xenia…you can’t blame yourself. Xenia did an extremely stupid thing…you did what you had to do. If you hadn’t killed her…we would have been doomed…not from the Elder gods, but from the lack of magic. You’re right…Ariane, it’s a price too big to pay.”

Ariane wiped her tears away, and then looked at Bryce, feeling glad that he never judged her harshly and would always try to comfort her where matters of the heart were concerned.

“You should get some rest,” Bryce told her. “Your injuries have healed, but the fight with the Abyssal has strained your body; you need bed rest.”

“Did you really know another way to stop the Elder gods?” she asked.

Bryce opened his mouth before he closed it a second later. He opened it again as he answered. “I cannot tell you…I’m sorry…”

“You said Gielinor would not meet the same end as Freneskae,” Ariane continued. “Is that a world the Elder gods have already destroyed?” 

Bryce said nothing, as a gust of wind came into the room, causing the World Guardian’s shoulder-length hair to be blown sideways, hiding his eyes from Ariane.

“Is it?” Ariane asked, getting the hunch that it was, but she wanted to hear him confirm it. There was so much he wasn’t telling her, and it pained her to be kept in the dark. It was like their meeting at the Blue Moon Inn all over again. Didn’t he know how much it killed her to be locked out of the loop? It was bad enough that he would not tell her about the god he had chosen to follow, who was supposedly better than Guthix, but now that she suspected Bryce knew of a plan to stop the Elder gods from destroying Gielinor when they awaken, she’d spend her time wondering what it was. Didn’t he understand how much that would torment her?

“Please…tell me,” Ariane said. “You told me you healed me because that’s what comrades do for one another…comrades are also supposed to be honest with each other, right?”

“Sorry,” Bryce apologised sounding very, very sincere. “I’m sorry.” 

He then turned around, and walked away, without even bothering to look her in the eyes.

“Get some rest, okay?”

“Why?” Ariane said in a raised voice, as the tears came back. “I thought we were comrades…more than that actually…I thought we were friends…and yet…you…you…”

Her words turned into sobs, but Bryce ignored her, and kept on walking, until he was sure she could longer hear his footsteps. Then, he broke into a run, and he didn’t stop until he reached the dining room on the ground floor.

Bryce rang the posh bell-pull, and a while later, his maid walked in.

“Make sure Ariane gets her rest,” he ordered. “Give her a cadava potion. I’m sure you can buy some from the druids.”

She nodded. “Yes, Master Bryce.”

“I need to attend to some unfinished business; she needs to rest until I return.”

“Of course, Master Bryce.”

Bryce then made his way out of the house, and into the front garden, where he stepped into the portal, and was then transported to the bustling town of Taverley.

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“You have questions.”

Zaros appeared in his royal purple robes a few feet away from the Memoriam device (which was surrounded by a sea of square tiles), looking as noble and majestic as ever. Bryce immediately knelt before him, like a knight before his king.

“Arise, World Guardian,” Zaros ordered, and Bryce did as he was told.

 “My lord, I’m here to report some…grave news,” he began. He glanced around the Sanctum of Freneskae as he tried to properly phrase his thoughts, and saw that it had not changed since the last time he was there, with stairs leading down to the valley of tiles, and thin posts next to the stairs and even shorter, thinner posts around the tiles.

“It…concerns the Great Revision…”

He then told the Empty Lord what had happened with Xenia, from her stealing a Tower wizard’s research to the fight with the Prehistoric Abyssal.

“I already know of those events,” Zaros said. “I spend most of my time in the Shadow Realm after all, watching gods, dragonkin, and mortals alike…until you summoned my here, World Guardian.”

“So…is it true?” Bryce asked. “Is it really starting?”

 Seconds passed before Zaros spoke, although to Bryce, it felt like years. While he waited, Bryce desperately hoped that the Abyssal was wrong, and by a miraculous stroke of luck, the Elders were still too soundly asleep to awake.

“Time is not on our side,” Zaros said. “Like the Abyssal said, the Elder gods are starting to awake; they now linger in a dream-like state between sleeping and waking up. They are stirring as of this moment.”   

 “So it’s true,” Bryce said. “They’re…”

His voice trailed off. Bryce could not imagine the world getting its Anima sucked dry and being destroyed in the process. Although he tried his best to picture it, his young, human mind found it very hard to comprehend such a great and terrible event.

And I’ll be powerless to do anything…he thought. I’m the fucking World Guardian! Guthix chose me to protect the world…but…but…

He thought of Ariane being hit by Xenia’s magic at the Draynor bridge, and her being knocked out by the Prehistoric Abyssal.

I can’t even protect Ariane!...

And then he remembered how he watched as Saradomin forcibly took the wand out of his hand with divine magic, and given Sir Owen a zombie arm as he revived him from death.

If I couldn’t stop him…how can I do anything about the Elder gods? They’re invincible, and I’m…useless…all I can do is watch…watch as Zaros…

“How are you going to stop them?” Bryce asked.

“I intend to claim my birthright,” Zaros said. “I will become an Elder god and speak on behalf of all mortals when they’re fully awake. Azzanadra is searching for the Elder Halls. When he finds them...I will create a great wake of destruction, one that the likes of Gielinor have never seen before. It will force them up.”

“Why force them up if they’re already waking?” Bryce said. “And…will there be enough time for you to become and Elder god?”

“The sooner we get this done the better,” Zaros said. “The sooner they’re dealt with, the sooner Gielinor can live in peace, without fear that their world would end.”

“How do you become an Elder god anyways?” Bryce questioned. “I mean…Saradomin used the Elder Crown to ascend to godhood, Armadyl and Zamorak used the Staff, and Guthix used the Elder Sword…will you be using an Elder artifact too?”

“Possibly,” Zaros said. “Although…I have another… no…she’s gone…my other half...No. I doubt…I doubt it…that’s not possible…”

“Your other half?” Bryce asked. “Seren…what’s she got to do with anything? She’s shattered to crystal, how can she be of any use?”

“We will not speak of this anymore, World Guardian” Zaros ordered. “With the Great Revision about to start, you have enough to worry about. I do not wish to trouble you any further.”

“As you wish, my lord” Bryce said. “I…I have another question about Mah…will she ever wake up and make her way to Gielinor?”

Wen, Jas, Bik and Ful all had a mouthpiece, but Mah…naturally she had no mouthpiece, and yet…in that cave in Lumbridge…that statue…

The idea of a creature as foul as Mah arriving in Lumbridge wreaking havoc, the way Zamorak did when he instigated the Battle of Lumbridge and tried to destroy the city was enough to make Bryce mentally shudder.

“Not likely,” Zaros answered. “Not long after we teleported out of the Cradle, she slipped back into a coma. It would appear that she was able to feed off the Anima you gave off, World Guardian. However, she needs a lot of it just to wake up, and even more to reach Gielinor. The longer you stay on Freneskae, the more Anima you emit.”

Bryce opened his mouth to reply, but Zaros kept on talking so he did not interrupt.

“Don’t worry,” Zaros continued. “She won’t wake up now; you would have to stay for quite a while to release enough Anima to wake her, as you did when you made me a body. You took quite a while to finish off those Nihils.”

“I’m sorry, my lord” Bryce said. “I should have killed them off more quickly…but I wasn’t able to…I should have been stronger…forgive me.”

“Even if she does wake, she would need a constant source of Anima to stay awake,” Zaros said. “You cannot provide that if you leave. And even if she had a source and managed to stay awake, she wouldn’t have any memories.”

Bryce felt relief washing over him. “That’s comforting to hear.”

“Indeed,” Zaros agreed.

“But then…why does she still have a mouthpiece?” Bryce asked.

There was a few seconds of silence before Zaros spoke again. “I wish I could tell you but…there are things about the Elder gods that even I don’t know…”

“I see…”

“I won’t let Gielinor die,” Zaros said, trying to reassure him. “I will stop the Great Revision at any cost. The Elder gods may have taken Freneskae but they will never have Gielinor. I will fight them with everything I’ve got if that is what it would to stop them. The Elder gods are all the same—powerful, but extremely selfish beings who would kill everything and everyone without a second thought. Gielinor deserves better…sentient life should not have to live in such a manner; here today and destroyed tomorrow. When I speak with them, I will show them the error of their ways.”

“And if they don’t listen?” Bryce said.

“Then I will force them to yield to me,” Zaros said. “Like I did with Loarnab.”

“I didn’t know the Elder gods could be killed,” Bryce remarked.

“They can’t,” Zaros said. “But they can stay in a death-like coma, as Mah is doing. Should they refuse to listen to me, I will force them all into permanent a coma.”

A few more seconds of silence passed between them before Bryce asked another question.

“My lord, I want to know…” he began. “Since Azzanadra is looking for the Elder Halls, he ought to know what just happened. I think the mouthpieces could be a clue to where they are…I would like to speak to him. Can you tell me where he is?”

“Right now, he is in the Varrock rune essence mine,” Zaros said. “He has been visiting rune essence mines ever since I returned.”

“Do you know where he’s planning to go next?” Bryce asked.

Zaros shook his head. “I cannot read his thoughts from so far away, although I can tell you he’s already visited the ones in Ardougne and Burthorpe.”

“I see,” Bryce said.

A few seconds later he knelt again, and before Zaros could tell him to get up, he spoke.

“My lord, since you know about me stopping Xenia’s attempt to siphon away magic,” he started. “Surely you must know that I wasn’t the only one who stopped her. My…partner was there as well…and she…she knows what’s about to happen with the Great Revision, and she suspects that I know how it will be stopped…although she doesn’t know any specific details. As a Zarosian, my duty is to keep my alignment to you a secret, and that goes of course for your plans…but…I want to tell her about your plan to stop it…and I…”

“You wanted my permission?” Zaros asked, finishing his sentence.

“Yes, my lord.”

She’s already upset with me for not even revealing Zaros’ name, he thought. She’s even more upset, now that she’s sure I know a better way of stopping the Great Revision, but doesn’t know why I’m keeping it a secret...I don’t want to make it worse…

“Show me your memories of her,” Zaros said. “Let me enter your mind. I must decide if she’s worthy of knowing, and I must rely on your memories.”

“My lord?” Bryce responded, knowing that if he did give permission, Zaros would know about the way he felt about her.

“I cannot give you an answer until I’ve assessed her,” Zaros said bluntly. “And I cannot do that until you let me in.”

“Okay then.”

Zaros entered him, as he had when he was an incorporeal purple orb and once again, the Empty Lord saw himself in a pure white empty space, with Bryce standing directly across from him.

“Now recall your memories,” Zaros ordered, and Bryce did so.

Several images on paper thin square boxes, popped up in the air. The images started to move at a very fast pace, Zaros was easily able to figure out what was going on happening, even though the pictures were moving at the same time, with each of them serving as a memory Bryce had of Ariane. He saw the time he helped Ariane save the Wizards’ Tower, the time she and him defeated the troll Magic Stick when Burthorpe and Taverley were under attack, the times they met with Ozan, Sir Owen and Xenia at the Legends’ Guild once a month to catch up on each other’s adventures, the time he and Ariane visited the Varrock museum and she read his name off the stone tablet on display, the time they had a falling out after Guthix’s death…all the way until today. He also noticed the way he smiled when he saw her, the way his mind seemed to relax whem he saw her, the loved her red hair and wanted to run his fingers through it, the way he’d sometimes think of her when he had the time to write in his notebook, the way he thought of her as his Queen of Love and Beauty, and the way he altried tried to comfort her when she was distressed.

When the memories finished playing, Zaros pulled out of Bryce’s mind, and found they both found themselves back in the Sanctum.

“How curious,” Zaros mused. “The connection you feel towards this girl...it reminds me of the one I had with my companion.”

“Well, my lord?” Bryce asked. “Will you give me permission?”

Zaros said nothing as a gust of wind blew across the room, causing Bryce’s longcoat and pale blond hair and Zaros’ robes to be blown sideways, and in the silence, Bryce Stanton held his breath, hoping that Zaros would allow it.