“Thank you all for coming,” Elijah said, standing at the head of the table. His gaze swept through the room, taking in the faces of all his friends. His family. He’d invited everyone he considered important, and the number of attendees had surprised him.
But there was one missing. An empty chair that stood out among all the smiling, eager faces.
“Any excuse for free food!” announced Kurik, waving what was left of a pork shank at him. Bits of grease flew through the air, landing on the white tablecloth. Beside him, Biggle – wearing his fine robe – grimaced and muttered something about lack of manners.
“And free mead!” Carmen agreed, raising her mug.
Elijah had emptied his stock for the occasion, an act for which everyone was obviously grateful. Even those who didn’t really drink that much had been impressed by the full-bodied taste of the thirty-year mead.
It was nice to see everyone so happy.
“As you all know, I’ve had a difficult time adjusting to my place in the new world,” Elijah admitted, smiling tightly at his friends and family. He sighed, then self-deprecatingly added, “Maybe difficult is an understatement.”
That brought some nervous chuckles.
“Most of you have tried to help me acclimate, and for that, I will be eternally grateful,” he went on. “But…”
He let the word hang in the air, dreading what was coming next. He massaged the back of his neck, admitting, “This is a lot harder than I expected it to be. I guess…I guess it’s just time to rip off the bandaid, right? Get it out and into the open.”
“What’s going on, Elijah?” asked Carmen.
“I’m leaving.”
“What?!” came her response. The sentiment was echoed by others, setting off a din of surprised exclamations.
“Guys. I’m not leaving forever. I’ve been invited to the Empire of Scale. For those who don’t know, that’s where the other dragons live,” he explained. “My…I don’t know…sponsor? She keeps calling me her son, but…I guess it just feels weird talking about her like that.
“But regardless of what I call her, she’s offered to help me develop,” he continued. “And I’ve accepted the offer. I intend to leave next week.”
It had been more than three months since Kirlissa had extended that invitation. In that time, Elijah had gone from one Primal Realm to the next, conquering them the same way he’d swept through the Blood Marsh. None of them had been remotely difficult, but that lack of difficulty was reflected in the rewards.
He’d gained a couple of levels, pushing him to two-ninety-one, but it was clear that if he wanted to continue to progress, he needed to find stronger prey.
Unfortunately, he’d been unable to enter the two he most wanted to conquer. The Court of Light was currently hosting a raid that was projected to take at least two more months to complete, and despite Elijah’s curiosity, he just didn’t want to wait that long. Especially considering the lack of rewards.
He had been barred from the Hall of Riddles entirely. When he’d requested entry, the guilds had flatly denied him. And while Elijah had more than enough power to force the issue, he chose peace, even convincing himself that he didn’t really want to test the Primal Realm anyway.
After all, solving a bunch of riddles sounded like a special kind of hell to him.
Or at least that was what he told himself.
He had also spent that time gradually preparing himself to leave. Gathering vital supplies – like coffee – and commissioning some new additions to his wardrobe. Hope’s initial gift went a long way toward making him presentable, but there just wasn’t enough there to keep him comfortably clothed. So, he’d asked her to make some more.
Of course, she was happy to acquiesce to his request, and she’d spent weeks sewing one garment after another. Most were simple enough and adhered to his normal style, but she’d delivered a few more daring options, insisting that they were all in-style.
Elijah chose to trust the Tailor when it came to fashion advice.
And in the back of his mind, he reasoned that if he didn’t like something, he could just not wear it.
“This is kind of sudden, don’t you think?” asked Carmen, breaking the silence that followed his declaration.
“I could put it off,” Elijah responded with a shrug. “But my window closes in about six months. I just don’t see any reason to delay any longer.”
“No reason,” Carmen muttered. She looked up and into his eyes, saying, “Elijah…”
“This isn’t a trauma response, Carmen. This is just logic. And a great opportunity,” he insisted. “I’ve outgrown Earth. I can live here just fine. The world can support me. But I can’t learn anything else here. I can’t grow. I can’t progress. The Empire of Scale offers that to me. Plus, it’s an entire empire of dragons. Multiple worlds, Carmen. You can’t tell me that’s not exciting.”
He could tell from the look on her face that she wasn’t buying it. Sure, all of that was true, but she knew him well enough – even after decades apart – to recognize a coping mechanism when she saw it. The difference was that she assuredly understood that sometimes, that sort of coping was necessary.
“I’m not leaving because I’m depressed. Or sad. Or because I don’t feel like I belong,” Elijah continued. “I’m leaving because this is an opportunity I can’t pass up.”
For a second, everyone remained silent. Then, finally, Kurik said, “Well, if you can’t pass it up, then ain’t nobody here gonna try to stop you. We’ll be here when you get back.”
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“Can you take anyone with you?” asked Biggle. “I would very much enjoy visiting a world of dragons.”
Elijah shook his head. “I don’t think so. Not unless you pay your own way.”
“Oh. Then, I’ll have to decline. I shouldn’t abandon my garden anyway.”
Elijah wanted to point out there had been no actual invitation, but he chose not to.
Kurik wasn’t so polite, as he pointed out, “Ain’t nobody asked you.”
“He would have!”
“You little –”
“Children, stop,” Ron interrupted, his voice cutting through the nascent argument. Then, he turned to Elijah. “Are you certain you want to leave?”
“I need to.”
“Then we have no choice but to accept it.”
Elijah sighed. “You all act like I’m never coming back,” he said. “I’m not going to the abyss again. I have plenty of money to return to Earth anytime I want.”
He wasn’t certain if that was true or not, considering he’d not even checked the prices of transportation. However, what he did know was that, so long as the Empire of Scale was still connected to the World Tree – which it undoubtedly was – he could always teleport back to Earth via Roots of the World Tree.
After decades of being disconnected from everything, he sometimes forgot that that ability was always available.
“It feels like you just got back,” said Lamar, who’d come at Elijah’s request. He’d not visited when he was in Seattle, mostly because he was a little distracted. But they were still friends. Helen sat beside him, looking healthy but a little worn out. It was obvious that they’d both been through a lot, and not just because Lamar was missing a leg. It had been replaced by an advanced prosthetic, but the man still walked with a limp. He also bore a wicked scar that cut diagonally across his face.
When Elijah had seen it, he’d apologized for not being around. But Lamar insisted that he was okay with his injuries. “I’d trade a leg for what we gained any day of the week,” he’d said. It sounded like a rehearsed line, and one he’d repeated so many times that he almost believed it. But Elijah still saw the pain behind his forced smile.
“I know,” Elijah admitted. “I would stick around longer if I could. But like I said – I’m on a timer.”
That was only half true, but Elijah chose not to address that fact.
Regardless, after a few more weak objections, everyone seemed to accept that it was a necessary part of his development. After that, it turned into a going-away party – as led by Atticus, who never missed out on an opportunity to celebrate. That was why Elijah had asked the Merchant to host it.
And Atticus had outdone himself, providing a banquet fit for royalty. Everyone there ate their fill, many of them rekindling relationships that had been left fallow for years. Old friends reconnected. New connections were made. And all in all, everyone left happy.
And a little drunk.
Or in some cases, very inebriated.
For his part, Elijah mostly abstained from the alcohol. Not because he had anything against a bit of a bender, but because he wanted to experience the camaraderie with a clear head. He wanted to remember everyone together. Celebratory. He’d learned the value of happy memories, and while he didn’t think he’d end up in another Gorveth situation anytime soon, he wanted to be prepared to combat the loneliness that came with such circumstances.
As the night wore on, people filtered out until only Elijah and Carmen remained.
“I really do wish I could go with you,” she said, sounding startlingly sober for how much she’d drunk.
“You have a life here.”
“So do you, Elijah. I just wish you could see that. I wish you could let yourself…I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m saying.”
Elijah understood her meaning. It would have been so easy to intertwine his life with the grove. With Earth. To take progression as it came. But he couldn’t do that. Not just because of the drive to improve that was his constant companion. That was part of it, but even more impactful was the reality that he was terrified of giving in to happiness. Of embracing belonging. Of becoming mired in contentment and stagnating.
He didn’t know what was stronger. The need to be better or the fear of never improving? They seemed so similar, but the mindset behind them went in entirely different directions. It was like the difference between loving winning and hating to lose.
Eventually, even Carmen stumbled out of the room, leaving Elijah alone.
But he didn’t mind. In fact, he’d gotten precisely what he wanted out of the banquet. A good memory.
And then, someone had to come and ruin it.
Elijah was still sitting at the head of the table, a mostly ignored mug of mead in his hand, when Sadie walked in. He didn’t say anything at first. Not until she sat in the chair closest to him.
Finally, he said, “I didn’t think you’d come.”
“I almost didn’t.”
“You cut it close. I was about to leave.”
“I’ve been here for a while,” she admitted. “I just…I just wasn’t sure if you really wanted me coming in here and ruining everyone’s good time.”
“We’re all still friends.”
“I would have soured the mood,” she insisted. “We both know that.”
Elijah shrugged. “You look good,” he said. “Healthy.”
Sadie laughed, bringing back a thousand pleasant memories. “Ouch. That’s where we are now? Healthy. Like you’re talking about a racehorse or something?”
“It does sound weird, doesn’t it?” he asked with a slight smile. Then, he leaned over and said, “Good haunches.”
She laughed at that, a sound that left him with mixed feelings. It was too similar to the laughter they’d shared in his memories.
“You do look good, though. You cut your hair.”
Her hand went instinctively to her head. “Oh? That happened a while back. Some of it got burned off when I was…well, when I was working,” she admitted, clearly not wanting to elaborate. Elijah imagined she’d been bringing some fire mage to justice. Or burning a witch at the stake. “I just had someone even it out. It stuck. Did you really not notice it last time?”
“I had other things on my mind.”
“Ah. Right.”
After a few seconds of awkward silence, she asked, “Are you really leaving?”
“Who told you?”
“Kurik. I saw him outside. He was arguing with Biggle about some nonsense.”
“Surprised you got a word in,” Elijah admitted.
“So? Is it true? You’re going to the dragon empire?”
Elijah shrugged again. “I was invited. Not much here for me, so I decided to visit. Probably for a while.”
“Elijah –”
“I have my reasons, Sadie. A lot of them. But I’m not running away.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“You didn’t have to,” he pointed out. “And besides, you sort of forfeited your right to an impactful opinion. You left me, remember? You decided you didn’t want to be a part of my life. You don’t get to tell me not to go.”
“I thought we agreed to still be friends.”
“Yeah. We did. But that’s just what everyone says, isn’t it? Look – I don’t blame you. You have your whole judge, jury, and executioner thing going on. There’s no room for me. And I think it’s good. I really do. I think this is where it was always headed,” he admitted. “But I can’t just pretend like it didn’t happen. I can’t sit here and act as if we’re still what we were. We’re not.”
“You would ignore good advice just because we’re not together anymore?”
“I didn’t hear any advice.”
“Then here it is. Don’t go. It’s not good for you. You need to stay here. You need to be a part of Earth’s future. You need to –”
“No!” Elijah half-shouted, slamming his palm on the table. Despite the high quality, it cracked beneath the blow. He took a breath. When he spoke again, his voice cracked with barely restrained emotion. “No, Sadie. I’m going. I’ve already made up my mind. Either accept that and wish me good luck, or…or I don’t know. Just don’t ask me to stay. Don’t.”
Left unsaid was that there was one way to ensure he’d stick around. One simple statement that would force him to stay. All Sadie had to do was to tell him she loved him and wanted to go back to the way things were. That she wanted to resume their relationship.
But she wasn’t going to say that.
Elijah knew that the second she’d walked in.
And so did she.
“Good luck, Elijah. I hope you find what you’re looking for. I really do,” she said, putting her hand over his. A tear fell down her cheek. “You deserve happiness.”
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