Chapter 3: Papa

Funding for the project is mostly from the nobility, of course, who often use their vast resources to increase their lifespans with advanced medical care. But even they know full well they can only stretch the lifespan of a normal human so far. They have managed to increase their lives roughly two to three times greater than the average population, but never to the degree of high-level Elementals who often live for hundreds of years.

As Éclair began grasping at the tendrils of coming awake, the first thing that she became aware of was the fact that Ryan no longer lay in her arms.

“RYAN!” cried out Éclair, suddenly frightened that someone had taken him away while she slept as she sprang up with a start.

Éclair searched all around her frantically, taking in stride her strange new surroundings. Then she found Ryan sleeping peacefully in a bed next to her. His injuries were gone, his body cleaned of dirt and blood, and his serene face betrayed none of the hardships that they had recently endured. His clothes were still in tatters, but at least his cuts and bruises were all healed.

Standing over Ryan with hands outstretched like a prayer was none other than Éclair’s own godfather. His hands glowed with a soft white light that enveloped Ryan’s body, not unlike the light which had decimated the Parasites. However, Éclair knew that this light’s purpose was in healing, not hurting. Zanderius was clearly concentrating on Ryan’s recovery as his eyes furrowed in focus. Among other things, many other things, Éclair knew her godfather to be a very talented healer who was well-versed in every aspect of Medical Elemency. So, to say that Ryan could not have been in better hands would’ve been an understatement.

“Don’t worry. He’s going to be just fine. As you know, he’s very resilient,” explained Zanderius without taking his eyes away from his work. “As are you. I’m fairly surprised that you were able to combat a Parasitic infection for so long, even with the rudimentary first aid you had Ryan apply to you. I can’t tell you how proud I am of both of you. I only regret that you have endured so much. I seem to have a bad habit of being late, don’t I?”

Éclair took a moment to survey her surroundings and found that they were in a strange tree-based structure. White and bright green vines and plants surrounded them in a cave-like design that curved around in an intricate and beautiful pattern. Even the bed that Éclair sat on was made of vegetation and grasses so soft that they felt like pillows made of clouds. The same was true for Ryan’s bed as well. And lighting up the room were glowing white lilies that hummed with a radiant energy, just like Zanderius himself.

After examining the venue, Éclair decided that she might as well examine herself. Like Ryan, she also seemed relatively clean of mud and blood. Inspecting her body thoroughly, she soon found that all her injuries had disappeared. No more cuts, no more bruises. Even her previously broken leg felt good as new as Éclair carefully applied weight to it. She hesitated before looking to her other leg which had been infected with the Parasitic strain, only to find that the infection had been completely eradicated.

It’s as if all these vines grew around us. But how? And what of my infection? Is it really gone?

Still not taking his eyes from his work, Zanderius explained summarily most of Éclair’s questions. “I influenced these plants to grow around us. It was difficult given the limited vegetation on this dying world, but they don’t call me the Light Wielder for nothing. Even if you can’t tell, we are still in the pit. Our location has not changed, only the appearance. Your condition was such that I could not move either of you without risking your lives. The Parasitic infections had to be treated immediately. Though Ryan has shown resistance, even he was starting to succumb to the Parasite’s poisons after being wounded so much. It has been known to happen in the past to other resistant individuals who were exposed too frequently to the strain. Fortunately, I arrived just in the nick of time. When I finish with Ryan here, there should be no trace of the virus in either of your blood systems. It is also fortunate that both of you have shown a certain amount of tolerance to the Parasites’ influence, otherwise, not even I would be able to help.”

Zanderius sighed deeply and looked up at Éclair for the first time. His old, yet young face, was startling to behold as always. Zanderius Alastar had mid-length white hair tied up in a ponytail that went down near to his shoulders. A short, well-trimmed beard the color of snow went down from his hair and covered his cheeks and chin, but his lips were bare as he had no mustache. He didn’t appear to have wrinkles on his milky skin, making him seem youthful even with the beard. On his slightly crooked nose rested a pair of glasses that rendered him a scholarly air. His eyes beneath his glasses were stark green and shined with a power and strength that Éclair could barely even fathom. And behind that strength lay sadness and kindness that seemed as deep as an ocean. He wore silver armor with glowing runes of white energy going down the design, along with a white cloak draped over his shoulders. Silver-gloved gauntlets adorned his hands, and armored leggings with silver boots adorned his feet. He was tall, and his figure was strong and toned despite his wizened looks.

Zand’s eyes shined with tears that threatened to fall down his majestic face. It was perhaps the only time in her life that Éclair could remember her godfather crying, and it nearly broke her heart to watch.

“I cannot stress to you how sorry I am for letting all this happen to you. It seems only too often that you and everyone else end up paying the price for my mistakes,” said Zanderius humbly, still somehow sounding noble despite the immense emotion that his face betrayed. “And I also cannot quite put into words how incredibly good it is to see you, precious one. Seeing you now, alive and well, fills me with more happiness than I deserve.”

Éclair found her own eyes filling with tears. This was literally the first time she had talked face to face with him since the day that he left her at the Fire Ministry all those years ago when she was a little girl. Seeing him now filled Éclair with a plethora of mixed feelings that she couldn’t even begin to digest.

On one hand were the feelings of relief, happiness, and security from being in his presence again. Zanderius had literally raised her. Éclair had known him all her life. She could remember his soothing voice as he told her stories before she fell asleep. She could remember how safe and comforted she felt when he would embrace her in a hug if she ever got hurt or had a bad dream. She remembered the laughter they shared together when he would take her ice skating, or out to tour the grand cities of Tarrus just to buy her a treat. She could remember the silly faces he made at her when he tickled her ... the way his eyes would light up when she showed him her artwork. She even remembered the hours of rigorous study, and how he ingrained in her the passion for science, medicine, and knowledge. Zanderius always had a way of describing the universe that made Éclair’s imagination soar. For all intents and purposes, this man had more influence in shaping Éclair into the woman she had grown into than anyone else in her life.

And yet, there were still the inevitable feelings of doubt that began to creep into her heart. Because in the end, this man left her alone a long time ago, and she had not seen him since. Éclair had to remind herself over and over again that of course there was a good reason for his departure. There were actually dozens of reasons if she thought about it. Zanderius had just been branded a traitor by Chissler, who was adamantly hunting down Éclair for her influence. If Zanderius had stayed with her at the Ministry, not only would it have brought down Chissler’s wrath on the Elementals, whom he didn’t like to begin with, but it would also probably tip him off to Éclair’s whereabouts. And not to mention the fact that Zanderius was the Sacred Vessel of Purity, the most powerful Elemental that ever lived. Eclair had always known that Zanderius had many pressing matters to attend to when she was young. He would sometimes leave for weeks on end, and Éclair would not get upset knowing that he was off saving people, preventing catastrophes, or stopping a sun from imploding, which he had done several times. And when she was little, Éclair never doubted that her godfather would always come back to her. At least when she was little. Now that she was grown, she knew all too well the feelings that came when Zanderius left her and never came back.

And in the back of Éclair’s mind, as she continued to stare into her godfather’s grief-stricken face, she began to wonder how long before he disappeared again. And when he did leave, how long before she would see him again? She was even beginning to wonder if he really cared for her at all, or if he just kept an eye on her because he thought she was this important person that would one day rule Tarrus.

As Zanderius continued to gaze at her, Éclair found herself slowly looking away as she became overcome with her feelings of inadequacy.

Zanderius gave sad sigh before clearing his voice and speaking quietly. “I know that this must be hard for you. I apologize. I don’t expect you to forgive me right away for what I’ve done. Even now, I can feel the doubt in your heart, and I do not blame you for it. I wish there was something I could do to prove that you can trust me as you once did. But in the end, all I can say is this. Everything I have done, everything I am doing, and everything that I will continue to do in the future, has all been for your sake. But I may not have always gone about doing things in the best way. Even if I am a Sacred Vessel, I’ve still made plenty of mistakes. But in all the mistakes I’ve made in my long, long life, becoming your godfather and raising you as my daughter, was perhaps one of the greatest undertakings of my existence. And for that, you have my eternal gratitude.”

Éclair started sniffling a little. As she rubbed the tears from her eyes, she finally plucked up the courage to speak. “I know why you had to leave. I really do. And I never doubted that it was for the best. I know all that you’ve taught me, and I know all the responsibility on your shoulders. As a Sacred Vessel, you’re not just protecting me, you’re protecting every living soul in the universe. Without your power, the Empire would have broken apart years ago, and the whole universe would be thrust into chaos. I know this all too well, and yet I ... you...”

Éclair had to stifle another sob as the emotions came rushing to the surface unfettered. The feelings of abandonment, of loneliness that she’d been forced to live with every day that he had been gone. And the terror, pain, and humiliation after suffering under Morlock rule for almost a year. The despair that took hold as Éclair waited for her all-powerful godfather to save her from that fate. Éclair wanted to say more, but given her absolute admiration for this man, she hesitated ... until he gave her permission.

“Say it, Éclair,” spoke Zanderius softly. “Say everything you need to say. Everything you’ve been bottling up inside your heart all these years.”

“You still left me!” cried out Éclair with all her anguish, relenting to the pain in her soul. “You did, Papa! And not a day went by that I didn’t hope beyond hope that you would come back for me! But you never did. I know you had your reasons. And they were all good, but ... but ... why didn’t you take me with you? My mother had just been killed, and the man who I called father had vanished from my life. I know you just wanted to keep me safe, and you did, but the thing I needed more than security was you, Papa. You have no idea how lonely it was for me those first days at the Ministry. So lonely that I ran away back to the palace, and straight into the arms of those Morlocks. I was so frightened and confused ... and ... and still you never came back! You sent Grafael and Leon to save me, but you still never came back! You’ve protected and guided me all these years, but you only show up in person now! I don’t know what to feel! I don’t know what I should feel! Should I be relieved or angry? Should I love you or hate you?”

As Éclair poured out all her feelings, Zanderius just listen quietly, his eyes continuing to shed tears as his sorrow deepened. And as Zanderius listened to Éclair’s frustrations, she found her emotions rising by the second.

“You always seem to know what to do, don’t you? You’re Zanderius Alastar. You’ve lived a thousand lifetimes. Seen and done things that mere mortals cannot fathom. You tell me what I should do with these feelings. Tell me, and I’ll do it! I’ll do ... I’ll do anything you ask of me! Just tell me how I can move on from this!”

Still crying, without taking his eyes away from hers, Zanderius took his hands from Ryan, walked around the bed, and knelt down in front of Éclair. And then, very slowly, the Prime Minister of Elemency opened up his arms, as if inviting Éclair to do something. He didn’t touch her, and he didn’t say anything. All he did was show Éclair that simple gesture of offering a hug. Éclair then remembered that Zanderius would only hug her when she wanted one. He would show her tenderness, but only when she was willing to accept it. And in his sympathetic eyes, she found that he was practically pleading with her to accept his simplistic show of affection.

Realizing only in that moment what she really felt, Éclair gave into her true emotions at last and embraced her godfather. As he wrapped his white robes around her, Éclair allowed herself to cry gently into his chest, all negative emotions dissolving for the moment. Zanderius had embraced Éclair just like this when he left her at the Ministry. In that embrace, all she felt was his love, and it was a good feeling.

Zanderius’ hug seemed to tighten as he spoke gently down at her. “You were always in my thoughts. I never stopped thinking about you, not even for a moment. I watched you struggle, watched you learn, and watched you grow. I found myself wanting to go to your side so many times that I lost count. I’m so sorry for all that has happened, and all that I should have been able to prevent. The pain that I should’ve spared you from. But even I am not all-powerful. Though, for your sake, I wish I was.”

”It’s okay, Papa,” said Éclair, calming slightly. “It really is. Everything I’ve endured has shaped me into who I am. And I’m proud of who I am now. I’m proud of the woman you raised me to be.”

Still holding her as fervently as he had always done, Zanderius lifted his head to look down at her, tears still staining his eyes beneath his glasses. “As am I, precious one. Beyond words. Seeing the strong, beautiful, and courageous young woman you are now. The fearless and powerful Elemental huntress that you have forged yourself into, and all by your own inner strength and will ... it’s a greater blessing than I have any right to.”

“Give yourself some credit, Papa,” said Éclair, shedding tears of joy instead of sadness now. “Much of that strength, I learned from you.”

“Papa,” repeated Zanderius with a mirthful chuckle. “I haven’t heard you call me that in years. Not since you were a little girl.”

“I remember calling you Starbeard sometimes, too.”

Zand’s chuckle deepened, and he nodded. “Yes. Yes, that became my codename to avoid detection from Chissler. I shared the codename with a few confidants, but you were the first to coin the phrase as a child. But I admit, I think I like hearing you call me ‘Papa’ better. I wasn’t sure you still would.”

“There are some things that we shouldn’t grow out of,” said Éclair with a smile. “You taught me that.”

“And I couldn’t ask for a better student,” whispered Zanderius as he cupped Éclair’s cheek in his hand, the old twinkle in his green eyes returning.

Hugging him once more, Éclair suddenly took notice of Ryan lying next to them as concern seeped into her thoughts. “Ryan! Please, tell me, is he...”

“As I said, he’ll be just fine if given enough rest. Check him yourself if you feel the need to. You should have a sufficient amount of psions to do so now.”

Éclair obeyed the suggestion and walked over to Ryan’s side before gently running her fingers up and down his legs and torso, scanning with her psions for any signs of trauma. As Éclair’s hands glowed blue and hummed from Elemency, she could find no evidence of malformity in Ryan’s body. But she could still tell that he was very weak as his reserves of psions were all but depleted, and it was no wonder from all the power he had displayed earlier.

Éclair suddenly had a momentary flashback of everything she and Ryan had experienced together in the pit. The high-pitched screaming, screeching, and shrieking of the Parasites. The sight and smell of their orange blood mixing with Ryan’s red blood. The glint of Ryan’s sword, the blaze of his fire and his passion as he fought with all his might to protect her, and she did all she could to protect him as well despite her crippled state. But most of all, Éclair remembered the last thing Ryan said to her, and it made her heart ache.

’Because, for me, there would be no universe without you,’ he had told her. Could you truly mean that, Ryan? What have I ever done to deserve such loyalty?

“You really do give me too much credit, Papa,” admitted Éclair sadly, still aching at the sight of Ryan in such a sorry state. “I would have been dead dozens of times over if not for this boy. Ryan possesses an inner strength that seems bottomless. He is more powerful than I ever imagined. If only his brain matched his brawn. Why this dumb brute would waste his talents protecting the likes of me, and after all I’ve put him through ... it’s one mystery I may never completely know the answer to.”

He looks just like he did when we came to this planet, she thought to herself. Like he’d just been through hell, and yet came out surprisingly unscathed on the other side.

Éclair was surprised to find herself caressing Ryan’s hair, almost unconsciously. His hair was rough and unkempt, much like the rest of him. And yet, it was not an altogether unpleasant feeling as her fingers smoothed through his ruffled and uncombed follicles. It reminded Éclair of the way grass feels, sometimes prickly, but always warm. Éclair lost her train of thought as she found herself staring at Ryan’s young face for an inordinate amount of time, so much so that she soon noticed Zanderius expecting her to continue the conversation.

Clearing her throat uncomfortably, Éclair distracted herself from her sudden fascination with Ryan’s battle-hardened, golden-scaled face. “Anyway, I doubt that you just came here for me. Ryan must be important to you as well. He told me that he’s been seeing you around. You don’t show yourself to just anyone, godfather. So please tell me, what is the secret to his power? What makes him so strong?”

“Hmm,” said Zand thoughtfully as he rubbed his beaded chin in a slightly quizzical manner. “Why this sudden interest in Ryan?”

“I don’t know,” she said quickly, becoming flustered for some reason as she turned away from Zanderius to hide her flushed cheeks. “He’s just shown he has a lot of hidden talents recently, that’s all. Like ... like ... uh...”

Éclair lost her train of thought as she found her hand resting on Ryan’s hand, and she immediately took it away before her godfather could notice. Still racking her brain for something pertinent to say, she went through mentally all the strange abilities Ryan had developed.

“Like his seeming immunity to the Parasite venom. Or the fact that he’s able to use psionic abilities that should be out of his spectrum. For instance, when Ryan came to the Ministry, he was diagnosed as being a physical psionic type, right?”

Zanderius nodded in agreement. “Yes, and Physical-Types possess extraordinarily resilient bodies, perfect for enhanced feats of speed, strength, and agility. All these traits, Ryan exhibits in spades, as well he should.”

“Yes, but not regeneration,” explained Éclair, drawing her eyes away from Ryan, even though it somewhat pained her to do so. “That falls into the medical spectrum. My spectrum. But even I have yet to master inward regeneration. I can only heal others, and treat superficial wounds on myself if I concentrate, but not to the degree that he exhibits. And I can manifest sensory abilities that help me sense my way ahead to aid in my archery. However, Ryan has demonstrated all of the traits I just described, even changing the composition of his own body when manifesting claws. That’s shapeshifting, another Medical-Type ability.”