His True Destiny: Chapter Twenty-One

==Chapter Twenty-One: Gabriel==
As it is in the majority of the Heroic stories, the Hero, Rosella, was triumphant in defeating the Crawler. Reaver was admittedly surprised by this turn of events and was having trouble believing that the Queen had defeated it.
Reaver ended up returning to Bowerstone a week after the invasion and he could see that it had been quite a battle. Dead bodies of soldiers still littered the streets and several buildings were still smouldering. Repairs were slowly underway and people were cautiously returning to the city.
However, despite the fact that they were alive, the people were miserable, they hated their Queen due to her high taxes and unreasonable laws; and because she showed no sign of changing them.
Years passed and Rosella became a crueller tyrant than Logan ever would have been. It was for this reason that the people secretly rejoiced when Rosella went missing in Samarkand. Reaver, however, was indifferent to the whole ordeal. He had stopped caring years ago.
Nearly fifty years had soon passed, which seemed like a lifetime to most people, but to Reaver, who had now lived for hundreds of years, saw it more as a blink of an eye.
During this time period, he ended up seeing Theresa more than he had in the past years. The time of Albion’s greatest threat was upon them and she knew that they needed to start preparing.
‘So how exactly do you figure we defeat the Corruptor?’ Reaver asked his sister five years before the estimated day of the invasion.
They were currently sitting comfortably in his Millfields mansion.
‘I take it common weapons won’t be able to kill it,’ he continued. ‘There is also no doubt in my mind that it will be powerful. Jack and the Crawler will look like a joke compared to him.’
‘You are correct,’ replied Theresa. ‘While Avo’s Tear may do some damage to his servants, it will be ineffective against the Corruptor himself. Only Will power will help us succeed.’
‘I don’t know if you have realised this, but I lost that power hundreds of years ago,’ Reaver huffed. ‘And last time I looked, there are no Will-users left in Albion. No one believes in magic. Everyone thinks that it was mere myth to make Heroes of old more legendary. In fact, everyone thinks that the Heroes were just legends.’
‘True, but there is a way to regain your Will.’
Reaver looked at her quickly.
‘What do you mean? The Guild Healers said I would never use or regain my Will again.’
‘That is because they never considered the use of the gauntlets hidden in the Spirit Chamber, a temple of the Enlightened,’ Theresa informed him.
‘Enlightened? Do you mean the followers of the three Heroes of old; Sol, Blaze and Stone?’
‘Yes. The Enlightened realised that the power of the three Heroes might be needed again, so they collected the Willstones, which the Heroes were transformed into during the explosion that destroyed the Old Kingdom, and stored them in three temples. In a fourth they hid a pair of gauntlets. They are our only hope for defeating the Corruptor.’
‘What’s the catch?’ Reaver asked suspiciously.
‘Catch, little brother?’
‘What is the price required for acquiring them? Will a region be destroyed if I take them? Or will I age to an old man? What will happen?’
‘Nothing serious will happen,’ replied Theresa. ‘If it was serious, I would have told you immediately. I learnt long ago that it is unwise to keep knowledge from you.’
‘That is good to know,’ said Reaver. ‘So, something will happen when I acquire the gauntlets?’
‘You will never be able to take them off once they are on.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Yes, that is it.’
‘Huh? That’s alright then. I can live with that. So where is this temple?’
‘There is a cave near Tor’s Creek that leads directly to the ancient Spirit Chamber. That is where we will receive the gauntlets.’
-----HIS TRUE DESTINY-----
The next day, Theresa and Reaver set out for the Spirit Chamber. Each of them was feeling excited, anxious and secretly scared. However, both of them looked indifferent. Neither of them let the other know how they felt.
The journey was made in silence. The siblings only spoke to each other when it was completely necessary. Both of them were content with their own thoughts.
‘We are here,’ Theresa said when they had finally arrived at the cave entrance.
Reaver looked around. All he could see was a cliff wall, but when he looked closer, he could see a arch pattern down the bottom on the cliff.
Theresa approached the pattern and placed her hands against it. There she began muttering under her breath. Once she had finished, the entrance to the cave was revealed.
The siblings briefly looked at each other before casually walking in. Their eyes were alert and they were ready for any sign of danger. Reaver walked with one hand on the Avo’s Tear’s hilt while the other was near his pistol.
‘This is a rather ominous cave for a spirit chamber,’ Reaver muttered as his keen eyes took everything in.
‘The actual Spirit Chamber should just be up ahead,’ Theresa stated, and so it was.
However, while it would impress many people, Theresa and Reaver were unimpressed. It took a lot to impress William Black’s last descendants. They merely took one glance at the huge statues of the three Heroes; Sol, Blaze and Stone, before looking at the ruby red leafed tree. It stood behind a stone basin. Around the basin were smaller statues of the Heroes.
Reaver and Theresa merely glanced at each other again before they walked down the thin path leading down to the basin. Around the path was crystal clear water.
‘Approach the pool,’ said the statue of Sol.
Reaver abruptly stopped, startled. Out of everything he had been expecting, he hadn’t expected that. Theresa looked over at him.
‘Are you alright, Rowan?’ she questioned, looking slightly amused.
Reaver gave her an unimpressed look.
‘I take it the talking statues slipped your mind?’ he asked, continuing towards the pool.
‘Just listen to them, Reaver.’
Muttering darkly under his breath, Rowan did as she asked.
‘Gaze into the water,’ Sol’s statue continued.
Reaver obeyed and he did not like what he saw. He saw the invasion of the Corruptor and what Albion would become if he was not stopped. He saw the Corruptor’s minions before seeing its horrid face. He now understood the nightmares Theresa had been having.
And then, he was no longer before the basin, but rather in a watery chamber filled with light blue light.
Another factor that obviously slipped my sister’s mind, Reaver grumbled, looking around. He started ever so slightly when Sol’s spirit spoke to him.
‘Welcome Rowan, Hero of Oakvale,’ he said.
‘It’s Reaver, and I’m an ex Hero,’ Reaver replied stiffly.
‘We know what you call yourself now, but you will always be a Hero,’ said Sol.
‘What I saw in that basin of water, that’s what my sister has been seeing, isn’t it?’
‘Yes. The Pool has shown you a glimpse of the future. Theresa brought you here hoping that we would give you the means to return your Will so you can protect Albion from her enemies once more. Long ago, we would have given the gauntlets to you immediately, but alas, now we cannot.’
‘And why is that?’ Reaver asked suspiciously.
‘Back before the destruction of Oakvale, you were pure of heart, but that is no long the case,’ Sol stated sadly. ‘Now your heart has become corrupted as you fight the pain Theresa lead you too. If Albion is to survive, she will need a Hero who is like you were long ago. Someone pure of heart who is willing to sacrifice his own needs above everyone else’s.’
‘Last time I looked, Theresa and I are the only ones left of Heroic blood,’ Reaver said pointedly.  ‘The Hero of Brightwall was the last to be born.’
‘That is true, but those days are long gone. Now, Heroes will be made.’
‘Even if one can be made, not many people are pure of heart…’
‘But there are still some,’ Sol interrupted, ‘especially this boy.’
The water in front of Reaver changed to reveal a young Dweller grooming his horse. Reaver couldn’t help but snort.
‘Him? A Hero?’
‘I know he does not look like much, but he has the potential,’ Sol said sternly. ‘Gabriel is the only one who can save Albion. Go to Kerr’s Halt and seek him out.’
‘If you say so,’ Reaver sighed, before being sent back.
‘You are not wearing the gauntlets,’ Theresa said the moment he returned.
‘That is because I am no longer pure enough and I am not the one to save Albion,’ Reaver said bitterly, feeling as though he had just wasted his time. ‘Apparently the Dweller, Gabriel, is the one. He’s in Kerr’s Halt.’
‘Then we should go there immediately, and take a look at our new Hero.’
‘I just hope he doesn’t look as petty in person,’ Reaver sighed as he followed his older sister out of the Spirit Chamber.
-----HIS TRUE DESTINY-----
On the way to Kerr’s Halt, Reaver filled Theresa in on everything that Sol had told him and what he had seen. Of course, most of it Theresa already knew, or had guessed. This made Reaver wonder why he even bothered to tell her all of this.
‘Do you really believe that someone can be made into a Hero?’ Reaver asked Theresa once he had finished his recount.
‘Desperate times come to desperate measures,’ replied Theresa. ‘I don’t think it’s impossible for someone with no Heroic blood to become a Hero.’
Reaver gave her an unconvinced look.
‘Look Rowan, they may not be as legendary as the Heroes you grew up around, but they will be pretty close.’
‘I’ll believe that when I see it!’
When the siblings arrived at Kerr’s Halt, they kept out of sight in a nearby forest. They stood just inside the forest, looking over at the Gabriel the Dweller. He was just as Reaver remembered; petty and brushing his horse.
‘He doesn’t look special to me,’ Reaver commented.
‘Appearances can be deceiving,’ Theresa replied, gazing over at Gabriel thoughtfully. ‘There is more to him than meets the eyes.’
Reaver looked back over at the young Dweller, who had finished grooming his horse. He was now playing with it.
‘What do you think, Seren?’ he laughed, picking up a stick and waving it around like a sword. ‘Think that I have what it takes to be like the Heroes of Old?’
Seren neighed, throwing her head up and down.
‘Daydreaming about old fables again?’ someone laughed.
Another Dweller had joined Gabriel, and judging by his body language and tone with Gabriel, Reaver knew that they were friends.
‘They’re more than myths, Katlan,’ Gabriel responded stubbornly. ‘They’re true recounts! The Heroes did exist!’
‘Of course they did!’ Katlan laughed sarcastically. ‘Now come with me. I have something I want to show you.’
Reaver and Theresa watch the two boys walk away.
‘You and Gabriel have something in common,’ Theresa commented mildly, glancing at her brother.
‘Pray tell.’
‘You were a daydreamer about Heroes when you were younger, just like he is now.’
‘I guess him believing in Heroes gives him points,’ Reaver sighed. ‘So what do we do now?’
‘You can go back to Reaver Industries and prepare yourself,’ replied Theresa. ‘I will keep an eye on Gabriel, making sure he is ready when the Corruptor comes.’
‘I won’t argue with you,’ said Reaver. ‘I’ve done enough babysitting of my descendants without having to babysit this kid too.’
Written: 26 June 2013