Short Story: Lord Tesserus

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Let me know what you think of this one, everybody.

Tyael’dar the elf slammed his staff on the stone floor as he rose to his feet. “That is enough, Kesserai. I think it is quite evident who is at fault,” he spoke as Kesserai sat back down. “The council shall now hear from Tesserus. Perhaps his own defense could shed some light on this matter.”

Tesserus slowly stood up, his eyes staring coldly straight ahead. “It is indeed my fault. Broken the sanctions, I may have,” he spoke softly, “but it was not with haste or without reason.” Tesserus licked his dry lips and stiffened his hold on his onyx staff. “The artifact was destroyed with a purpose in mind. The purpose was not of malice.”

Kesserai quickly jumped to his feet, sending his chair slamming into the back wall of the chamber. “This is an outrage! Just tell the council why the artifact was destroyed and judgement may then be truly passed,” said Kesserai, attempting to meet Tesserus’s stone gaze. Tesserus remained staring straight forward and without any further words. “Lord Tesserus here does not seem to understand the full extent of damage he has committed. All the hours of study and research are now of no use. The artifact is gone and so are all plans of our project. All of the past year’s study has been in vain! Do you not see?”

Tesserus remained motionless with his hand on his onyx staff. There was nothing he could say to rid him of the trial or the task he had performed. He could not speak of the events he had seen for if he had, the consequences would surely be much worse than what he now faced. They would be much worse than being exiled. They would be much more than death.

“We have no choice then. Tesserus of Galladon, son of Kerrak, you are hereby banished from the land of Arkaels. Seek refuge elsewhere, for no one in these lands will render you shelter from the elements. You have proven that you are a traitor to the conclave. You have proven you have no regard for the artifacts of the world. Both of those are punishable by death. I, however, can not pass a judgement like that on one who has brought much good to the conclave. Leave Arkaels within the day, Tesserus. Do not look back upon us, for we will not be awaiting your return.”

. . .

Tesserus left the conclave chamber that night clad in his deeply hooded greatcloak. The hooded figure traveled lightly for he knew he wasn’t going far. He stopped at the forest near the chamber so that he could keep a watchful eye on the conclave. He sat there for some time. Watching. Waiting.

. . .

“The artifact was to be used on this day! Now we have nothing. Lord Tesserus destroyed the artifact and our futures in the same irrational act,” claimed one of the many hooded mages of the council.

Tyael’dar rubbed his chin and gave a long groan. “What was done was done. It can not be undone. Tesserus destroyed the time-traveling device beyond repair. I shall ride to Dharamore and inform the council of three of our misfortune for perhaps they can render aid.” With that Tyael’dar left the conclave chamber, gathered his traveling gear, and started his journey to the land of Dharamore.

. . .

Tesserus sat amongst the trees and quietly sighed.

If only they knew, he thought. If only they knew, they would be thanking and not exiling him. Tesserus gazed up into the clouds as he tightened his grip on his onyx staff. “It is coming,” he spoke sternly to himself.

He focused his gaze back and on the conclave chamber and witnessed a man riding a white horse leaving the chamber. “I wonder if they yet know? Perhaps they already flee,” he spoke to himself yet again.

Tesserus reached into the pocket of his greatcloak searching for the artifact that could aid him in the moments to come. His eyes widened with fury when he hand emerged from the greatcloak with nothing more than lint. “What of this? The truthstone is no longer in my possession. What foul magic has relieved me of the truthstone? There was still but little hope after the trial. Now there is none.”

The rider on the white horse did not yet make it out of Tesserus’s sight when Tesserus saw what he had feared would come soon enough.

. . .

Few moments had passed since Tyael’dar’s departure from the chamber when Kesserai entered the room of the consultation hall of the chamber.

“Hush you fools,” he said, quieting the loud room. “Lord Tesserus may have destroyed the one true device of time travel but I did manage to acquire his personal artifact possessions.” Kesserai emptied a satchel onto the large stone table sending amulets, rings, and gadgets sprawling across the table.

An onlooking mage gawked at the sight. “How did you acquire such? The truthstone amulet is among the items you have brought to us! That is Lord Tesserus’s most prized and guarded artifact.”

“A mere cantrip I used to rid Lord Tesserus of the artifacts,” Kesserai laughed. “Apparently Lord Tesserus’s mind was elsewhere. Now, lets use the truthstone to see just exactly what he is hiding from us, shall we?”

Kesserai grasped the truthstone amulet with his clawed hand so tightly his knuckles turned ghost-white. The amulet burned his hand and Kesserai grimaced with pain. A magical aura encompassed him as he chanted the mystical words of magic.

His concentration was broken and he dropped the amulet of truth. In a fitful rage he grasped for his staff and held it tightly. “That fool! Quickly, prepare yourselves!”

“What do you speak of? Tell us what you saw!” exclaimed the mage.

“I saw Lord Tesserus traveling into the future where he witnessed this day. He foresaw the dragons of the Khagon army devastating the chamber. He foresaw us dieing before the dragons. He foresaw all of this and yet he destroyed the artifact before we could remedy it. Perhaps he did what he did to prevent us from fixing the matter but there is little we can do now. Prepare yourselves!”

The magi that filled the chamber scrambled about the room in all directions shouting commands and demands. The chamber was filled with a deafening chatter that could not be mimicked even by the roar of an ancient dragon.

An earth-shattering boom echoed through the chamber that silenced everyone. The southern wall collapsed into rubble and forward came the dragon onslaught. The magi fought as a mob, without any organization to their combat.

. . .

“Everyone in the chamber perished on that day,” said the old beardless man. “The dragons destroyed the staff wielding mob without effort.

“What the mage Kesserai failed to see was Tesserus’s true intent. He did not destroy the artifact to doom the conclave. Quite the contrary, he destroyed it to save the conclave. For you must see, Tesserus did venture to the future where he foresaw the Khagon dragons ravaging the chamber. However, after consulting the truthstone amulet while in the future Tesserus noted that if the council was informed of the attack, they would perish in their irrational frenzied state.

“The truthstone showed Tesserus that he alone could destroy the army. A calm individual could defeat the dragons. The angry mob was defenseless and without thought.

“Tesserus knew the day the device was to be used and tested by the conclave was the same day of the assault. Tesserus was also aware that the conclave was simply going to travel a short distance into the future, in turn viewing the destruction. By destroying the device Tesserus hoped the alter the fate of the chamber. Kesserai discovered the truthstone and denied Tesserus’s attempt save the conclave.

“Only two from the conclave survived. The exiled Tesserus and Tyael’dar.”

“I know,” said the dark-clad figure. “I was there.”

 

Hey, that stuff is pretty good. Please do write more.

 

It's pretty good. Is this the whole story? Or is it going to continue on?

 

It is a short story and therefore, yes. It is the end of it and nothing more will be written on it. However, many people have told me they want a follow up, or at least something to bring more closure. I, on the other hand, wanted to leave a lot of the story to the readers imagination. After reading a few things by Faulkner I couldn't resist. I really dont know, maybe I should write more on it.

 

That's pretty short for a short story, Tesserus, but it's still good all in all, even with the loose ends.

 

I don't realy like stories that 'leave things up to the readeers imagination.'
Personally I just think that they're a pain in the arse. Plus that what you just wrote seems more like an introduction than a story so you should probably finish it.