Chapter 38: 38 : The collared people
"Nonsense! That pig cannot be reasoned with" Carius barked
Loria looked at Elias with pleading eyes, and in that moment Elias thought 'This is what it's all about, being the child of light. I need to bring these people who have known darkness for too long into the light'
Elias turned to face the crowd, "I think the choice on which path to take lies in the hands of the majority," he said
"What are you doing?" Carius demanded
Ignoring Carius, Elias continued, "But first, let us weigh the pros and cons of both paths.
First, we will look at Carius' path, the path of rebellion and revolution. You all can go ahead with your rebellion, storm the castle, and burn everything in sight until you get to the king, that is if you do get to the king and the various mages and warriors loyal to the king don't kill you.
In that process, multiple lives will be lost, not just flares but innocent people who have no hand in the matter, and in the end you will be left with nothing, but a broken, mourning kingdom"
Carius' expression stiffened, and he folded his arms.
Elias continued, " Or we can take Loria's approach, and offer the same solution their father did to the king, but this time through my voice, the chosen child of light and see if that changes anything"
The crowd erupted in a loud hum, murmuring amidst themselves, contemplating and mulling over both options presented to them
Carius walked up to Elias and grabbed him by the collar, "What do you think you're doing? Who do you think you are? I've been building up this army for months and you think you can come in here with your chosen one cow dung and change everything?"
"Let go of me" Elias coldly demanded, with a tone that sent shivers down Carius' spine. He had no choice than to release his grip
"What is it you want, Carius? Is it freedom, or revenge?" Elias asked
"What are you saying?" Carius asked
"I have been trapped by something far bigger than anything you could ever imagine Carius, my own mind, my own fate, a nine-to-five job, and even though I didn't know it then, I sought for freedom desperately and I failed, instead I looked for the next best thing, something to escape to, something to make me feel like I wasn't trapped.
In my case, it was a game and anytime I played, I felt more free than a bird but each and every time I closed that game, I returned back to my prison and in the end, I realized I should have chased after that freedom even if it would have meant my end, because the escape I had was temporary and my prison was permanent." Elias explained, his face carrying a melancholic smile and his tone wistful
"Wh–what do you mean? What is a Naintufaife? " Carius stuttered as he asked
"What I'm trying to say is, don't be enticed by the temporary feeling of escape revenge would get you," Elias said
Then he turned to the crowd again, "one more thing" he began, "If the king decides that he cannot slay the beast for you, I will do it myself and bring you the freedom you so much desire" he declared
The room immediately grew louder and suddenly a person's voice rose above the rest, "I am with the child of light," then another followed
"I am with the chosen one"
"The second option sounds safer, so that's it"
"Yes, we have a savior. The child of light is here to save us"
"We are saved"
Elias turned back to Loria and Carius, " I guess it's settled then, we will go with Loria's approach" He declared, a bright smile appeared on Loria's face, and on Carius' face was the opposite, a stern frown.
**********
It was too late for him to go back to the castle, as the gates were already locked, so Elias spent the night in an Inn in District Five, not too far from where the flares had their meeting.
The morning had come and Elias was walking back to the palace, as he walked he couldn't help but remember something that Loria had told him the night before.
He asked her if Eldoria was always the way it was, regarding the flares issue and her answer was "No".
According to her, the King wasn't bothered with the flares spontaneity, and although it was hard to believe, there were very few cases of flares erupting in an uncontrollable storm of emotions because the flares were naturally relaxed people.
But everything changed six months ago when the King suddenly started a movement against flares, he used the fact their emotions dictated their power and capitalized on their spontaneity to convince the public of Eldoria to be wary of them.
She said King Alaric somehow managed to convince her father, who was the unofficial leader of the flares, that their Innate abilities were dangerous not only to the general public but his fellow flares and that was how the flares became the collared people.
Elias could but help but feel something was amiss, why would the king suddenly start an agenda against the flares? It was almost as if he wanted them to be contained, but why? Elias wondered
"The King Alaric is far different from the one in the game" He sighed, as he stretched his arms, "Oof, I need to have a bath as soon as possible," He said as he caught a whiff of his armpits.
As Elias entered the castle, he was met by four armor-clad guards, "The king wants to see you, it's regarding your whereabouts " one of the guards said
"Ahh..I'll see him after I have my bath," Elias said
"I'm afraid that would not be possible sir. The king's orders were to bring you to him immediately, if sighted" the guard insisted
"If sighted huh? Let's just say, you didn't see me" Elias said, winking at the guard
"You are right in front of me sir," the guard said
Elias winked, multiple times this time, "You didn't see me"
"You are right in front of my sir" The guard remained adamant
"Fuck you, just take me to him" Elias grumbled
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