“What is it, Judicis?” Artemis asked aloud.
“What is a Judicis?” the Ghaede responded, but Artemis just waved him off.
“Hard to explain. Sentient weapon of mine. Give me a moment.”
’If his claims are true, and some magical relic has changed him into this creature, we may be able to purge him. In fact, the sinister field of magic I feel around him reinforces my belief that he is telling the truth.’
“Okay, and how do we do that?”
’Channel your desire to aid him – to cure him. Put every ounce of your virtue into a shot, and my magic will synchronize with your own. We will strike him with an arrow of the purest magic and if it works, the relic will be either destroyed or removed from his being.’
“And if it doesn’t work the way we plan?” Artemis asked with a sigh, leaning against the wall and looking at the stone floor.
’If the magic fails, we may be forced to kill him, or perhaps the projectile will kill him in the process. I cannot be certain how linked the two of them are. This is simply speculation.’
Artemis took a deep breath and turned to the Ghaede, shifting Judicis from his form as a bracer into the full shape of the bow. “Okay then. You wanted help, right? Well, I may be able to help you. Just pray to whatever thayne you believe in that this goes well.”
The creature looked out at Artemis confused. As he watched the young man draw back on his bow, he saw a white mist pulling together into a tight form of a magical arrow. He realized then what the human planned to do, and he steeled himself in preparation. He set his arms by his sides and clenched all four fists, pulling in his wings tight, as though tensing his entire body.
“Thank you.” It was all the creature managed to say before a powerful bolt of magic struck him in the chest with the force of lightning, sending him flying through the air and striking the walls of the ruins with a crackling thud.
Artemis ran over to the body to see the result.
What lay before him was no longer the Ghaede, but a fae. It was an elf, who held a small scepter tightly within his grasp. Artemis reached down, checking for a sign of life.
“Hey, are you alright?” Artemis asked, shaking the man gently. “Hey, come on, wake up. It worked! You’re back to your normal self!” He shook the man some more, but nothing happened.
’Artemis, his life is forfeit. We have done what we can. Perhaps we can at least return the body so that he may receive the proper death rights.’
“But it worked, Judicis! Look! He’s back to normal! Come on, you can’t tell me that after that he’s dead. You just can’t…”
Artemis’ heart fell into the pit of his stomach as he continued to gently shake the man, though he knew it was pointless. He knelt beside the man for a few quiet minutes, letting the sorrow of yet another life lost before his eyes seep in, and absorbing another failure into the core of his being.
’It is not your fault Artemis. You have done more for him than anyone else could have done. He told you himself of the countless warriors that threw themselves at the chance to slay him. You were the only one to stay your blade. Take pride in that. Without you, no one would ever know his story. Honor him, and forgive yourself.’
With a heavy sigh of resignation, Artemis carefully placed the scepter into the satchel that Daros had given him. He made sure not to touch it with his flesh, afraid of whether there was still some sinister magic within it. After doing so, he took the body of the dead fae and used his new-found vision to bring the man back to the surface. When he arrived above ground, no one was there. He shifted his vision back to the normal spectrum of light, then continued on to the grove where the ent surely remained.
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