Mark of the Fool
Chapter 535: Hannah Kim, the Patron Saint of Alric (END OF BOOK 6!!!)

Hope. Though Kelda’s story was tragic and filled Alex with a simmering rage, it also gave him hope.

His thoughts raced.

“So, you’re saying there’s a chance?” his voice trembled.

“No. We failed,” she said firmly. “We utterly failed. Kelda and I spent years putting together everything that we’d learned and we still failed.”

“But you succeeded.” Alex insisted. “You undid Uldar’s tampering.”

“And who knows if that would have made things better,” she countered. “It’s a dead path and it’ll only lead to your pain.”

“Hannah, that’s bullshit, and you’re smart enough to know that.” Alex’s eyes blazed. “You said that we learn something that ‘passed for science’ in Thameland. I take it this earth that you’re from, and Katalonia, had higher science, right? More understanding of methodology?”

Her face hardened. “Katalonia? That was some dark ages stuff. But earth had a lot of science. Super science, even.”

“Okay! Okay!” Alex spread his hands. “So! Think about it like this. Science is a line of failures with each researcher learning from the last one’s mistakes. Let’s say you develop a formula for some super-potion or something. Then lose the formula. Well, you still have the researchers that made it and you still have the result.”

He pinched his fingers in front of his eyes like he was narrowing his view through a lens. “So the next generation of researchers would have a much better idea of how to proceed! They’d have the building blocks of failure and success.”

Alex jabbed a finger toward his Mark. “That’s how this works! Every success and failure from previous experiences helps you learn how to proceed! All of your prior successes are the building blocks to the ultimate triumphs, but failures can teach you even more!”

“The cost is too high.” The Traveller said grimly, raising her chin. “This is obliteration we’re talking about. It’s your soul disappearing. It means no afterworld. Nothing at all. If what happened to Kelda happens to you, you’re just gone, and there’s no turning back. The cost is way too high.”

“Let me be the judge of that. And, I agree in part,” Alex pushed on. “But. You started a map. I have access to one of the greatest bodies of knowledge in my world, and I could have access to wherever you worked on the Mark. We have years of your work to guide us. We could do this. Think about it, Hannah, my patron saint. We could make it so that no other Fool has to go through what I—what Kelda—has gone through! Even if we end the cycle of the Ravener forever, it’s possible that I could end up with this Mark limiting me for my entire life. If we fail, then the next Fool will suffer too. Please.”

He clasped his hands before him. “I am praying to you. Tell me more. Tell me where your equipment is. You didn’t destroy it, did you?”

The Traveller’s light flared at his prayer, and the spirit’s face froze in indecision. She finally spoke. “We didn’t destroy it. But I can’t tell you where it is.”

Alex’s frustration flared. “You—”

“Hold on, I’m not saying I won’t tell you: I’m dead,” she said. “It’s not right for the dead to rob choices from the living. I was kidnapped by kings and deities: I’m the last person who should be denying you a choice. But the problem is that I don’t know where the equipment is.”

Alex froze. “What do you mean? Your notes said you were…wait…” Realisation struck him. “Oh…Kelda never told you where it was, did she?”

“No.” Hannah shook her head. “And after she was destroyed, I didn’t try to find it. If the church had ever taken me, it was better that I didn’t know. But, there is something. There’s a portal in my cavern that we keyed our Marks to. No one else—including other Heroes—can use it.”

Alex’s heart dropped. “Oh no…the Sage from this cycle tried entering a portal below your cave and it slammed shut when it recognised her Mark!”

“...that’s not good, because now it’s permanently closed,” she said, deep in thought. “I can tell you that Kelda said it was really cold where she was staying.”

“Right…the Empire maybe? You think her sanctum could be there? Somewhere in the Irtyshenan Empire?” Alex asked.

“It’s a guess,” she said, reluctantly. “But even then, it’s a thin one…but we did spend a lot of time there in our search for clues, though we didn’t find any. If there had been somebody there who knew what was going on, all traces of them were long gone.”

“But the cold is still helpful,” Alex said. “I came to the hells on less. And this? This is my life. And the lives of others.”

Hannah paused for a long moment. “The church.”

“What do you mean, the church?”

“Find their secret arm. That would be my suggestion,” she said. “I built my sanctum to try and break into Uldar’s realm, but I spent too much time hiding from the official church. I looked, but I couldn’t find the secret side, I could have looked harder. They might have information about what exactly this patch was…and failing that…you should try to find the ascension point.”

“What? What do you mean?” Alex asked. “What ascension point?”

The dread was building in the air again, growing stronger, impossible to hold back.

“Uldar ascended to another realm,” she said. “He ascended to full divinity from the mortal world. You know how in some places in the material world you can travel to other planes more easily?”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “You saying that we’d have an easier time transporting ourselves to Uldar’s realm from wherever he ascended?”

“I think so. If it’s a path that’s been used once, it can be used again,” she said. “Find that, and you might find Uldar. The church might know more about what the ‘patch’ was and why the Mark of the Fool was changed. Uldar would definitely know, and I would bet a lot of money that the church knows where he ascended from. Maybe if you find that information, it can help you avoid the same fate that Kelda suffered.”

“That’s…wise…I’ll try and do both,” Alex said. “This is…I’m so glad I found your “phone.” I’m so glad I found it and you. Thank you, Hannah. So, what happens to you now?”

“I…don’t know.” The Traveller’s radiance flickered. Dread rose in the air. “One thing I do know for sure is, I’m confused, Alex. Really confused…your voice has been familiar to me since we started talking. And it’s been growing more familiar the longer we’ve talked. I’m in the world of the living again. I learned…all these different things. I can’t even wrap my head around it all.”

The dread built.

“I’m going back to the afterworld,” she said. “But…maybe I can bring myself back sometime. With your prayers, I think something’s changing in my spirit. My teleportation is growing stronger.” Her eyes flashed. “And if I came back once…maybe I can come back again.”

“Maybe you’re changing because of the faith we’re showing you. Maybe you’re gaining divinity yourself. My mentor, Baelin, says that faith is a powerful force, maybe it can even help the dead.” Alex suggested.

“Maybe. Maybe.” Her radiance faded further. “…well, what will happen will happen. Just so you know, I think I can—wait, that’s why your voice sounds familiar. When I dream, I hear your prayers! You’re the voice in my mind!”

“Really?” Alex blinked. “The dead sleep?”

“We dream.” She smiled warmly. “And sometimes the dreams are so sweet.”

The dread pulsed again.

Hannah Kim’s image diminished as it did, she drew herself up to her full height, floating toward him. “I’m going to start talking like a Tolkien character for a bit.”

“A what character? Who’s—”

“Alex Roth of Alric!” her voice boomed from every stone, rising, shaking the sky, even though she hadn’t raised it at all. Her radiance was blinding. “Thank you for doing so much for the descendents of those I love. Thank you, child of Alric. Of Thameland. I—Hannah Kim the Traveller—swear to answer your prayers if it’s in my power, and to do what I can for you from wherever I am. It is my hope that we shall meet again in this world or the one after.”

She raised a finger, and it flared like the brightest star. “You—who have gained some of my gift—I reward you now. For your courage. For your faith. And for your willingness to face the darkness that I could never defeat.”

Placing her finger against his forehead, she poured a river of power into him.

The Traveller’s energy swelled within him, growing ever stronger. Transforming, becoming more complete.

And then the river sputtered dry.

She gazed at him with affection. “I have shared more of my energy with you. In time, I see you mastering it in the same way that Kelda of Clan McCallum once did. Without spellcraft, it is my hope that you will travel the universe and see planets and look upon the realms of gods. To see the planes as they are.”

Alex bowed his head. “Thank you. Thank you so much for the gift…no, the blessing. I will keep praying to you, and I hope that my faith, my sister’s and my partner’s—and whoever else sees you as their saviour, can make you stronger. Maybe you can gain enough faith to get out of the afterworld. And maybe…you could bring others with you?”

Hannah’s gaze turned sad. “It’s a miracle that I was able to leave at all. As for others? Let’s just say…it’s not possible.”

“Why not?” Alex asked.

“Some things can only be experienced to be understood.” She smiled. “Death is one of them.”

“Then…” Alex took a breath. “Can you deliver a message to my parents? They’re already there.”

“I will try.”

“Tell them that I’m alright.” Tears came to his eyes. “That Selina’s alright. That Theresa’s alright and so are Mr. and Mrs. Lu. And that I’m going to work hard to make sure we all stay alright. Tell them we love them and we miss them.”

“I will,” the Traveller said, her presence fading. Her voice grew quieter. “I will…” Then her smile blazed. “And if I return again, then I will give you their answer.”

A lump formed in his throat. “Thank you. Thank you so much. If I…summon you again, do you think it’ll work?”

She shook her head. “That ritual was made to only work once to summon my sword, and I should not even be here…but obviously I know less about this power than I thought I did. I will promise you that I will strive and struggle to find my way back to protect you and my town. And perhaps others.”

“I hope you manage to come back,” Alex said. “And I might try and summon you again.”

“Let the dead worry about the paths of the dead. You must worry about the path of the living.”

“I…think I understand.”

Her form was now as sheer as a delicate veil, almost ethereal.

But her smile was radiant. And a bit mischievous. “I sounded pretty awesome, just now, didn’t I? Like a real superhero or epic king. Not bad for a little bit of roleplaying, wouldn’t you say?”

And with those words, he felt a door closing.

The radiance faded.

And the Traveller was gone.

Alex sat in the circle for some time, simply taking in what had happened. So much had been revealed. Some questions were answered. Some were raised. A pair of paths formed.

And he had a new power to explore.

What could he do if he was able to travel anywhere in the world? He could explore Thameland and the Irtyshenan Empire in the same day.

He glanced at the shoulder where the Mark of the Fool lay hidden beneath Thundar’s illusion. Just what secrets did it hold?

What would it be in its original form?

He would find out.

Hopeful, Alex performed the Traveller’s ritual one more time…but felt nothing. No response. He sighed, but he understood.

“Until we meet again,” he said aloud, clearing away the ritual and gathering up his belongings. He tied the sword to a rope and slung it over his shoulder. “Fight on, Hannah. Fight on. I’ll be fighting too.”

With a small smile, Alex Roth turned and began walking back to his companions.

It was time to get back to them.

It was time to escape the Hells.

It was time to find this secret arm of the church.

One way or another, there would be a reckoning.

“Impossible…” Kaz-Mowang raged in his hidden grotto, deep within the outer labyrinth. “Impossible. That energy…it can’t be!”

Nearby, his insect-like archivist gurgled among the remnants of the palace and the milling guests who had taken shelter within the greater demon’s hidden sanctum. Many were the worst for wear. Many look frightened.

All burned with a fury that was just waiting to be unleashed.

“What is it, most glorious master?” the archivist asked.

“Hannar-Cim…” the bull-headed demon leapt to his feet. “I felt her energy. I felt it!” Steam billowed from his nostrils. “This cannot be a coincidence. That wretched mortal must have had some part in this disaster.”

Several members of his household growled, gnashing their teeth.

His archivist gurgled with excitement, spitting a line of mucus along the floor. “My most glorious master, what will you do? Will I have the chance to see your glory directly?”

“You will.” Kaz-Mowang’s hooves ground against the stone beneath his hulking throne. “Warriors! Prepare for a sortie! We must seek an enemy. An old one who thinks to strike me in the back like a coward. She ran from me once.”

He smiled. “She should have kept running.”

Within the Ravener, a terrible process was taking place.

Where once it had conjured a single Petrifier, now it was crafting three.

Three to destroy three usurpers, and bring the cycle back into balance.

It was the manoeuvre dictated by protocol: an ancient escalation of violence that was built into it long ago. The Ravener’s mind was bent toward the process, working on nothing else.

Even when the usurpers had escaped its first petrifier, it did not break concentration. It simply performed steps as was decreed.

But, now, something disturbed it.

A strange energy had pulsed from somewhere so distant, it could not identify where the location was. But it knew whatit was: a usurper. A usurper joined with a strange power it had only encountered once, many cycles before.

An unexpected development.

What was the usurper doing?

What was the usurper plotting?

Factors were drifting further out of control. Still, its instructions had not changed. Protocol remained protocol.

…and yet…

A disturbance formed in the Ravener’s mind: a thought of ‘what-if?’. What if more unexpected patterns came to be? What if new threats arose. What if the instructions did not anticipate shifting variables.

And the orb of darkness floated in its chamber for a time, contemplating this.

Until, at last, it made a decision.

It broke protocol.

This was a step that it was only to take if the number of usurpers had risen to five or more…but things were shifting beyond prediction. Better to act now.

With this thought, its vast mind reached out across the distance.

Reached out and made contact.

Deep inside an escarpment—in a holy chamber—Uldar’s First Apostle raised his head. Something had touched his mind.

“I hear you,” the ancient voice spoke in the dark. “Tell me, fellow child. What must be done to make the first sacrifice still bear fruit? What must be done in Uldar’s name?”

Within the darkness, a golden light glowed.

And then went out.

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