Epilogue

       Silence rested inside the darkness as a lifeless body lay trapped within a tomb of ice. Within his final resting place the soul of a lonely warrior clung to the hope that someday something would release him. It had been over one hundred years since the elementalist alliance had gathered to trap him within this cold world. With only one way into or out of the immense cavern temple he knew it would be a long time before somebody would be able to find him.

         “Kill them” His mind said to him softly. It had been a long time since he had heard any kind of noise, and now even his thoughts sounded like people speaking. Over time the burning pain that had plagued him subsided into a memory, his body having finally become strong enough too withstand the power of the darkness running through him. Now only a strange rage fueled him, giving Reinhardt the strength he needed to keep his soul within his body, refusing to let the ice kill him.

        “They'll never change.”

        Unable to move he had only his thoughts to entertain him, and over time the only thing found himself thinking about was the battle that had led to his capture here. Replaying the events of his final battle in his mind he plotted every step, every instance that he could have done something different. No matter how he tried to change the battle, nothing could have been done differently. Reinhardt knew he just wasn't strong enough to have stopped all six masters at once.

       “I can help you do it.”

       Klaas had tricked Reinhardt into helping them, lured him into the temple by sending him after Zaphyrus alone. Driven by his desire to avenge Briccio he plunged head first into the temple, and soon he was trapped him within this prison of ice. Having learned a valuable lesson about trust he knew what he would have done differently if given a second chance, he would kill every master, but slowly, and one at a time.

       “Yes, all of them.”

       The war of greed would never end because every human was compelled to follow their own desires; it would never change. Removing the masters from power would be the only way to at least minimize what damage each of the nations could do.

       “Humans will never change. They are hurting us.”

       Muffled voices caught his attention. It had been countless decades since other voices had reached his ears. Still unsure whether he was dreaming or not he tried to move, only to be reminded of his cold prison's hold on him.

       “Leemine! What are you doing! You need to stop randomly lighting things on fire or you'll get yourself hurt!” Even though he couldn't smile, inwardly he couldn't help but hope that this young fire elementalist tried lighting something close to him on fire. Once he did, that fire would be his, and he would be free.

Author's Note

This chapter takes place almost 300 years after the previous chapter. The italics are depicting something speaking to Reinhardt through his mind, and just out of courtesy of not ruining the story for you, I'm not going to tell you what it is. The only thing you need to know is that it's a constant theme in later books and eventually leads to the series biggest turning point.
What did you think of the story as a whole? did it wrap up well? of did you feel something needed to have been added to help explain events better. What information could have made it better?

Reviews

[Bri 810]

I reeeeeallly liked this as an epilogue!!