Aerysdren looked down at the clear marble floor with tears welling up in his eyes. The gods stared at him, many of them battered and disheveled from their failed attempts at stopping their rouge sibling, Vadrioth. Ione and Zakan were noticeably absent from the circle. The Winter Queen's frozen throne sat empty and forlorn, and Shanir seemed unusually lonely sitting next to Zakan's vacant seat.

Everything beyond the ring of thrones was a bright, blinding white. Aerysdren was terrified of raising his head and looking upon the gods themselves. What they had said to him had made his heart heavy with worry and fear.

Fyren, the god of kindness, let out a soft sigh when the silence had gone on for over a minute. "Aerysdren Ravenshard. A boy with a heart of gold, yet also a boy who is scared of high risk responsibilities." He folded his hands in his lap. "You are scared and that is to be expected. But you must learn that those fears are irrational, and hold you back."

"It is failure that I fear, sir," the boy whispered. His throat burned as a tear escaped from his eye. He quickly wiped it away and shook his head. "I can't-"

"You must," Ophian said in a stern, yet gentle tone.

"I'm just a kid, sir." Aerysdren lifted his head, a small, sad smile playing at his lips. "I'm not even that much of one. I'm not strong, tall, or at all that bright. Why not Lorthrendel? He's all of those things and more."

Thynryx, god of magic, rubbed his forehead at the mention of Lorthrendel's name. "Lorthrendel Alastyr is definitely the wrong person for this," he groaned. "Damn fool is going to cause his own death one day. And I'm not going to help him, either. He deserves whatever is coming for him." He shook his head, and Selyrinia cast him a sly grin.

Aerysdren glanced at him in slight confusion. "What do you mean? And I didn't know he had a surname."

"He does, but he doesn't know it." The god of magic shrugged. "His father was the famed thief Mithryn Alastyr, who had no idea that he had a son to his name. He was stabbed in the back by his human part time lover and companion at the age of three hundred. His mother is still around, wondering what happened to her boy. He was taken from her at birth."

"Oh." Aerysdren sniffed and lowered his head again. He couldn't stand the feeling of all the gods' gazes upon him. "I hope he finds her one day."

"Aerys, do you perhaps think that your place in this story is misplaced?" the Blind Goddess Seeker asked in dulcet tones. She made a steeple with her pale fingers.

"I have no part in 'this story', my lady," Aerysdren returned, defeated. He sighed. "I just...I never meant to get involved in this. I want to go home! But I do not know where my home is anymore. I have lost it."

"You found your true home, my child, and with it your true family." Seeker smiled at him. "But you left it in fear of being left behind. But it is not yet too late to rejoin them."

"'Them'?" Aerysdren cocked his head at the goddess. "You mean Isendir, Ragnus, Varenyl and Lorthrendel?"

"Yes, my child." Seeker nodded, still smiling.

The Sylvanaar's shoulders sagged. "No, I do not belong with them. You told me about their quest. It's important. I would only be in their way. They do not have time for small people like me," he added with a shrug. "Besides, I don't need them. I can do just as well on my own. I-you can find somebody else to carry that thing you told me about."

Ophian shook his wispy haired head. "No, we cannot find somebody else. You have no idea how hard it was to even get you here alone, Aerysdren. To do it again would be impossible. Vadrioth's influence has completely cut off any contact we have with your world, too the point that not even Asteris, the one among us who sees everything, and knows everything, cannot even see it. You have to be the one."

"Indeed." Lyna nodded in agreement. "Little Aerys. I remember watching you grow up in the forest. Do you remember? You loved the trees so much, and always tried to talk to the deer. You were so adorable. You still are. I hope you never change. And it pains me that you have to be the one that does this, but you were the only one."

"But why?" Aerysdren begged for an answer. "Why not Isendir, or Ragnus? I am not the one you want for this! I will fail you, Spring Mother."

Lyna's gaze turned sad. She leaned forward. "The Black Amulet was created with the essence of all of us, even Vadrioth. It is neither evil, good, nor neutral. Its power was never meant to be controlled by mortal hands."

"But we had no choice," Koros added softly. "We cannot help anyone on the mortal plane, and thus we are forced to allow such an object of godlike power onto your realm."

"A mortal who holds it, or even sees it, will soon fall under its spell," Lyna continued. "It preys on their fears, their darkest secrets, their insecurities. Varenyl would do anything to accomplish his goal or see his family again, Lorthrendel falls easily to a temptress's words of seduction, and Ragnus has a weakness for gold."

"And what about Isendir?" Aerysdren wrung his hands.

"He was our first choice," Fibius answered. "But Asteris pointed out that his mind is still ravaged by grief. You are a very pure hearted person, Aerysdren, son of Altrian. You seek nothing for your own gain in life, and always put others first. Isendir does indeed do that, but in the end, he still harbours anger and grief, even after all these years. You are the only one we can trust to carry the Amulet in secret."

Aerysdren was silent a moment before whispering, "But what am I to do with it? How is it supposed to stop the Dragon King? I am no hero, my lords, and I am definitely not a fighter."

"We are not asking you to fight our brother, Aerys," Seeker gently explained. "Only to hold onto it. The others will succeed because of your actions."

"You will know what to do with it when the time comes. You will not be the only one to hold it," Tyrsren, the golden god of time, said in his ever slow voice. He turned his head to Ophian, then back to Aerysdren. "If a future that I see comes true, then this Amulet we have created may cause problems for us down the line...."

"We will deal with future consequences as they come, brother," Koros growled. "This is our only choice."

"Aerys," Lyna rose up from her throne and began to walk over to the boy, "promise me that you will do this?" She knelt down in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders, her bright green eyes warm with kindness. The crown crafted from autumn leaves and twigs that sat upon her head smelled strongly of Aerysdren's homeland. "You must tell no one of what you bare, until the time is right."

"I promise, Spring Mother," Aerysdren replied softly. The goddess wiped away a tear that threatened to escape his eye. "But why can't you tell me everything? You keep on saying that I will know when the time is right, but how? What if I don't?" he asked, but Lyna's eyes only turned sad and downcast. The answer never came.

~-~-~

"I can't tell you," Aerysdren repeated calmy in Sylvanaar. "They told me not to."

"Who?" Lorthrendel felt like pulling his hair out in frustration. He let out a shuddering sigh as he forced himself to calm down.

The two sat on a rock on the edge of the campsite. The rain had finally stopped, but the wind had become a wailing howl in its place. The nearly naked tree limbs rocked back and forth, and red and yellow leaves twirled to the grass covered ground.

It took Aerysdren a great deal of effort to keep eye contact with Lorthrendel. "The gods," he replied quietly. "I can't tell anybody," he quickly continued before Lorthrendel could speak up. "It's for your own good. I can only tell you when the time is right."

"And when is that?" Lorthrendel was dubious. He was not worried about Vadrioth's threats; he would worry about that when it was actually happening. He was worried that whatever Aerysdren had could ruin everything.

"They said that I would know," the boy said, averting his gaze. He looked back up at the fae and pushed his windblown hair out of his eyes. "You heard the voices on the bridge, too. Dragons. They were watching us back there. They know that I have it."

"No, they don't," Lorthrendel returned. He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Vadrioth cannot see anyone of our little 'group' but me. He threatened my sanity, among other things, if I did not tell him who held this object, but I-"

Aerysdren's eyes widened. He impulsively gripped Lorthrendel's arm. "No! Are you okay? Did you tell him? Are you dying?"

"Why would I tell him anything?" Lorthrendel plucked the elf's hand from his arm. "I'm fine. But Vadrioth can do whatever the hell he wants to me, I could care less, so long as we do what we set out to accomplish. I just hope you know what you're doing," he added darkly.

"I-you just have to trust me, sir," Aerysdren meekly returned. "Or rather, trust them. And please, do not tell the others."

Lorthrendel rubbed his temples. "Alright," he groaned. He sighed. "Alright. I trust you. I just hope I am making a good decision when I say that." He removed his hand from his forehead and stood up. "I have to clean my bloody contacts out now. I'll um, talk to you in the morning." He walked off towards his sleeping mat.

"What were you two talking about?" Varenyl's voice halted Lorthrendel when the fae came by him.

Lorthrendel looked slowly down at the Sylvari. "You know, Varenyl, you have a bad habit of sticking your nose in the affairs of other people." He stood there for a few moments before stalking off.

Varenyl's eyes narrowed in disdain. He spat on the ground and continued sharpening his axe.

***🐉***

hi y'all! Thank you so much for reading ❤❤ I feel this chapter could use some work so please tell me any suggestions or criticism you have.

I do actually have a short story planned for Lorthrendel's father, Mithryn Alastyr. It was originally going to be a calibration with Aspiredforever, but if we don't ever get around to writing it, I'm just going to do it myself.

I also want to say that if I am not as active on here as I normally am, it's because I've not exactly been very kind to myself lately lol.

Thank you again for reading! Please vote if you enjoyed, and until next time~