Songbird: What it Means to be the Hero

{-Rennyn-}

He hated the idea. Not only was he dragging someone into a situation that he hoped wasn’t involved, it was a ruler. Worse yet, the same person who’d been queen of Kositeia since its founding. Dhymos knew how to use people to his advantage—and he wouldn’t miss this opportunity. He could get someone to kill her—and, honestly, that might be easier than it looks, since she seemed to be feigning her strength—and the whole nation would be in chaos. And Rennyn wasn’t any more assured to know that it sounded like Dhymos and Vaeri had known each other at some point. He’d probably be able to use something of their past as leverage, and Rennyn understood that it would probably be something she couldn’t deny. At least, not without costing far more than what it was worth.

Yet, Vaeri still went with them. She seemed somewhat more energetic, after she returned from speaking with the servant who took those herbs. Did it do anything to make Rennyn any more reassured? Of course not.

“Do you still remember where some of the locations of the rituals were?” she asked once they’d left the city. She’d opted not to bring any additional guards with her, and told anyone who asked that she was simply checking on something with a few reliable individuals.

Rennyn nodded. “They’re all probably a couple of hours from here, but we might be able to get them all stopped before nightfall if they’re the only thing we’re doing.”

“That’s good. I’ve already sent some guards out to scout other areas, though I’ll ask someone else to come with me for those. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of important things to do once you have the ring.” Vaeri didn’t seem satisfied with leaving them in silence after that, though, so she continued, “What is it that you plan on doing, anyway? I don’t believe you ever gave me the details—just that you were the heroes our lands needed.”

“I have a feeling you already know the answer to that,” Rennyn pointed out. “Why make me tell you, when you already know?”

“I want to hear it from you. After all, there might be a fault in my information, or something more about your journey that I could help with.”

“We’re the ones who are supposed to defeat Dhymos—the only five people capable of doing it. We’ve talked to the goddesses Elidia and Dalleira and they told us, in order to stand a chance against him, we needed five items. I got the Goddess’s Sword from Lord Aymer, you’re hopefully going to give me the Goddess’s Ring, and we’ll get the Goddess’s Shield, Armor, and Helmet from Astiri, Askoria, and Taururii.”

“And you said you had other lives before now?”

“You didn’t question that the first time we mentioned it.”

“It wasn’t the right time to talk about it. Now, we’ve got nothing but extra time, don’t we? Perhaps this will go by quicker with some light conversation.”

He sighed. “Kaylin and I have gone through fourteen other lives before this one—all as the heroes, and all trying to defeat Dhymos. I don’t know how or why. I learned it was better not to question it.”

“And is it safe to assume that you encountered Dhymos, in one form or another, in every one of these lives?”

“Mostly. In the beginning, it was more like we just barely got a glimpse of him. It wasn’t long, though, before we had to fight him…”

That grin flashed through his mind, and he could’ve sworn he’d heard the words “It isn’t over until I’ve dragged you down with me, Songbird.” whispered right behind him. Rennyn shook his head to clear it and hoped no one else noticed him falter.

If Vaeri, at least, acknowledged it, she didn’t show it. She went right on with her questions. “You haven’t seen him at all in this life?”

“No. I think it’s a good thing that we haven’t. We’re not ready to run into him now. I don’t even want to think about what would happen if we did end up meeting.”

Well, he didn’t want to, but the couple of flashes of old allies and bloody battles wasn’t exactly something he could control. He paled at the thought.

“Are you alright?” Vaeri then asked.

Rennyn looked away from all of them. “I’m fine. Look, just keep asking your questions if you’ve got more of them. Not like we have anything better to do.”

She seemed to consider it for a moment, before deciding to take him up on the offer. “Would you be able to recognize Dhymos, if you saw him?”

“Yes. Kaylin, Dhymos, and I can all recognize each other. We were also able to recognize Noa, Seldir, and Lyrei even though they weren’t in all the other lives.”

“Is… that a kind of sense where you know when you see him, or you actually understand what he looks like?”

“I’ve only recognized him from a sense before. I… don’t think anyone’s really ever given me a description of him.”

Kaylin briefly interjected to add, “I don’t think I’ve heard a description, either. At least, not until I was already aware of who he was. It’s always just been a sense.”

“Well, then let’s do a little experiment,” Vaeri decided. “He’s tall and has an imposing but… not quite intimidating. He always makes sure his long, silver hair is neat, and sometimes might put it up if it gets in his way. His clothes are unassuming—were one not aware of who he was, they might mistake him for a merchant or perhaps a sellsword. There’s always a calculating look in his eyes, and perhaps by now any light in them has faded into memory…”

Rennyn felt a chill down his spine as she said it all. “Is that what Dhymos looked like when you knew him?”

Vaeri nodded.

“So I don’t know how much I’m supposed to be a part of this conversation, but…” Noa nervously began. “I kinda found that description familiar too? And I know for a fact I’ve never seen someone like that before.”

“Oh! Me too,” Lyrei said. “Definitely not the good kind of feeling I got when I saw all of you, though. I know that guy’s bad news, even if you took out the fact that we were talking about Dhymos.”

Seldir nodded a bit more cautiously. “Yeah, there’s definitely something about it I don’t like. And if that’s what Dhymos looks like here, at least I know who to make sure we avoid…”

Vaeri seemed to have conflicting feelings about what that meant. “So, the Dhymos you know is the same as mine…”

“What do you mean?” Rennyn tried prompting, in hopes it might give an answer. She was starting to avoid the matter a little too much for his liking.

And, still, she didn’t really explain anything about it. “I knew Dhymos, once, long ago. I was… hoping it might’ve been someone different. Though we still need to take care of these rituals before I feel it’s alright to tell you. So, should we hurry up? I’m done with my questions, for now, if it means we’ll get all of this done a little sooner.”