Savak: The Redemption - Part Eight

Once again, Savak found himself in Jearii’s tower. The red Lupe followed closely behind the light faerie as she led him down the passage from the landing pad to the main chamber of her family home. When they entered the circular room and approached the center where the light shone in from the hole in the top of the dome, Jearii turned to Savak. “Stay here,” she said. Then she walked off into another chamber. Quietly, Savak seated himself where he was, waiting patiently for Jearii’s return. He could only guess what she was up to. It had to have something to do with the medallions, that much he was sure. As he thought about it, Jearii emerged, carrying Velora’s bottle with her. The bottle was in its smoky state as it usually was, and the Lupe couldn’t see the dark faerie inside. As Jearii approached, Savak was about to ask what was going on when the faerie looked past him, smiling. “Good, she’s arrived.”

    “Who?” Savak asked as he, turned around, looking back in the direction they came from. Jearii didn’t answer, but she didn’t have to.

    At that moment, a faerie that Savak had never seen before entered the chamber. She was dressed in violet colored robes, and wore a crown on her head. She was escorted by a pair of battle faeries who flanked her on either side. Savak had heard very little about the faerie queen, Fyora, either from Jearii, or his mother, Jessie. But he knew enough to recognize the graceful noble that had entered Jearii’s chambers. Realizing who it was, Savak lowered his head in respect.

    “Well,” Fyora said, smiling down at Savak. “You don’t often see such a gesture from Neopians who live outside of Meridell.”

    Self-conscious of himself, Savak hunched down a little further, almost as if he was trying to shrink away. He didn’t raise his head again until he felt Jearii’s hand on his back.

    “Lupes on the plains follow a single leader as we do, your Highness,” Jearii said. “It’s only natural that he would show you the same respect that he would give his pack leader, if he didn’t hold that title himself.”

    Fyora nodded. “Well put, Jearii,” she said. Then her expression became more serious. “I’ve been informed that you have the Medallion of Submission.”

    Jearii nodded, and Savak watched as the light faerie passed the silver medallion over to the Faerie Queen. When Fyora took the medallion, she examined it, first in her palm, then holding it up to the light coming through the hole in the dome. “It’s lifeless,” she observed, turning to Jearii. “It has no power whatsoever. Are you sure this is the right medallion?”

    “Kaylee removed that same medallion from her neck only a few hours ago,” Savak put in before he knew what he was doing. When the faeries looked down at him, he grew nervous, but went on. “It ran out of energy while we were still on the Vengeance.”

    “I see,” Fyora said. Holding out her hand, she asked, “May I have the Medallion of Light, young Lupe?”

    Surprised that Fyora had addressed him directly, it was all Savak could do to carry out her request. As the Faerie Queen took the damaged medallion, the Lupe saw for the first time what the Grundo’s laser had actually done to it. Aside from the carbon scoring from the laser, a jagged crack had formed at the base of the gold medallion. The crack split halfway up, and continued nearly to the other side, almost cutting it into three pieces. When Fyora saw the damage to the medallion, she glanced questioningly down at Savak, who only shrugged. The queen didn’t press him, leaving the matter alone entirely.

    “The Medallion of Light,” Fyora said, clearing her throat as she said it. It was clear she thought it was no longer as impressive as it once had been. “When I commissioned you to make it, Jearii,” she went on. “I asked you to make a countermeasure to the Medallion of Submission. It served its purpose well and now it can complete its task once and for all.”

    Holding the medallions in each of her palms, she held her hands next to each other. Savak watched as both medallions rose from her palms and, suspended in the air, moved toward each other. When the medallions came face-to-face and touched, they spun around each other, emitted a bright light, and vanished entirely. Even as he watched it, the Lupe didn’t understand what had happened. He turned to Jearii, full of questions. Jearii, when she noticed, smiled down at him. “The medallions canceled each other out,” she explained. “Now, neither exists.”

    Though it didn’t explain everything, Savak accepted the explanation and turned his attention back to Fyora.

    “Well,” the queen said. “Since we have seen the last of Velora’s magical items, we can now carry out her sentencing.” Fyora raised her left hand, which glowed for a moment as she waved it through the air. As Savak tried to figure out exactly what the faerie queen had done, she spoke again. “Jearii, open the bottle and let Velora out.”

    Jearii did as she was told, setting the bottle on the ground, and popping off the cork. When she did, all the dark smoke that filled the bottle streamed out as the dark faerie darted out of the bottle, heading directly for the hole in the dome. For a moment, Savak thought she was going to escape when she bounced off an invisible barrier. Frustrated, Velora beat her hands against the barrier, then turned to Fyora.

    “You fool!” she cried out. “You’re trapped in here with me!” With that, the dark faerie flew swiftly toward the Faerie Queen. Fyora didn’t flinch as Velora approached, but only held up her hand. Velora stopped only a few inches from Fyora’s palm, surrounded by a bubble of energy, and unmoving as if frozen in time.

    “Velora,” said the Faerie Queen. “Seventy years ago, I found you guilty of wilfully meddling with the affairs of Neopians, both malevolently, and forcefully. You have taken away the free will of hundreds of Neopians on numerous occasions, directly, and through other sources. As I was unable to carry out your sentence until all your magical items could be confiscated and destroyed, I ordered you contained until such time as your devices could be collected entirely. The Medallion of Submission was the last of your malicious inventions to be collected. And now that it has been obtained and destroyed, it is left to me to carry out sentencing.”

    A brief silence fell over the room. Savak wasn’t sure about anyone else, but it felt as if a lifetime passed before Fyora spoke again.

    “Velora, for the aforementioned charges, I hereby strip you of all your powers. You will live out the rest of your days on Neopia’s surface as a gray faerie, with no magical device to call upon. Even your own.”

    When she said this, a bright flash of light filled the room, causing Savak to shield his eyes. When it passed, gone as quickly as it came, Savak looked to see a gray faerie kneeling before Fyora, weakened and unable to move on her own. She said nothing, even as the two battle faeries who came with the queen helped her up and took her away. Fyora didn’t even watch Velora as she was escorted from the tower. She remained exactly where she was, palms clasped and eyes closed. It wasn’t until the gray faerie was long gone that she spoke again.

    “Only trouble follows those who walk the paths of darkness,” she said silently. “And the nature of the beast is vicious.” She shook her head sadly before looking up at Jearii. “You have done well, Jearii. Your family would be proud of what you have accomplished.”

    “Thank you, your Highness,” the light Faerie replied, bowing slightly. “But I have only done as you asked.”

    Fyora nodded, but said nothing until she turned her attention to Savak. “You have also done well, young Savak,” she said. “Especially under the circumstances. Is there any way I could repay you for all you have done?”

    Savak suddenly felt hot, and nervously bowed his head again. “Thank you…your Majesty…” Savak muttered. He looked up briefly before he continued. “But, all I really want right now is to go home.”

    Fyora smiled. “Fair enough,” she said. “Be on your way; and rest easy with the knowledge that your troubles with Velora are over.”

    The Lupe nodded and stood up, ready to walk out of the room. But when he was about to take a step toward the door, Fyora waved her hand over him and, in a flash of light, he found himself back on the plains, near where the Ugly Duckling had crashed. Startled, Savak looked all around him to be sure that the plains were where he was. Then he saw Heysha not too far away, sitting up with help from Lilia. Gerthen and Kosek were there as well, but it was Heysha’s miraculous recovery that lifted his spirits.

    After a moment watching his pack talk with Heysha, Savak walked over, ignoring the pain in his limbs, and trying not to look too eager to join them. As he approached, Gerthen looked up at him, then limped to meet him, nodding his head in respect. “Hello, Savak,” he said, looking over to the wrecked vessel. “Kosek and I saw a ball of fire fall from the sky and we came here to investigate.” He smirked. “It looks like you’ve been busy.”

    “You could say that,” Savak replied, smiling. “How are you doing? Last time I saw you, you were on your side on the plains.”

    “Well, I’ve been better,” the old Lupe said, wincing as he sat down. “I’ll live. This isn’t the worst shape I’ve ever been, not by a long shot.”

    Savak smirked, shaking his head as he took a seat next to Gerthen. They sat there a moment before the old Lupe spoke up again. “Lilia and Heysha told me about your little adventure on that battleship,” he said. “They also told me that Kaylee was there.”

    Savak nodded sadly. “I don’t know if she got off the Vengeance when it blew up. She said she had something left to do on the ship. We can only assume that she destroyed it to destroy the weapon it contained. I’m kind of sorry that it all happened, though. I mean, when Kaylee wasn’t being controlled by her medallion, she almost seemed to be a Lupe that I could admire.”

    Gerthen smiled as Savak said this. Then, after a moment, the old Lupe stood up and said, “I don’t know if your mother told you this or not, Savak. But, you are more like your father than you know.”

    This statement surprised Savak. As far as he knew, only he and Jessie knew who his father really was. Was it possible that Gerthen knew as well? Before he could ask, the Lupe limped to where the rest of the pack was gathered around Heysha. Savak shrugged off Gerthen’s comment. He would have plenty of time to ask him questions later. With the medallions gone, he was free to be a plains Lupe without having to worry about sinister plots to take over the world. So, standing and shaking out his fur, Savak limped over to join his pack, once more as a free Lupe.

Epilogue

    Warm noontime sunlight seeped into Savak’s red coat as he dozed lazily on top of a stone jutting out of the grasslands. Many seasons had passed since Velora’s sentencing, and Savak couldn’t help but think that all the summers since then had been much better than that first summer so long ago. Sure, prey moved now and again, but that was only natural. His pack moved along with it, wherever it went.

    A lot had happened in the following years. Soon after she returned home, Heysha decided to join Savak’s pack. When Savak refused her, she teamed up with Jessie and, together, they convinced him that she would do alright out there. When Jason learned of her decision, he was sad to see Heysha go, but he made a light-hearted remark about trading in one Lupess for another. Lukas was also sad to see Heysha leave, even though he knew he would see her now and again, unlike when Jessie left for the plains.

    A paw pressing into his back aroused the red Lupe enough for him to turn his head. Kosek watched him carefully, trying to hide his amusement as Savak rolled around to face the yellow Lupe. “What is it, Kosek? Has Gerthen come back yet?”

    “Yes, he has,” Kosek replied. “That’s why I woke you. He’s brought plenty of food for everyone.”

    Savak nodded as he hopped off his sunning stone. “Good. There are a lot of mouths to feed.” He looked around. “Where are they?”

    Kosek couldn’t help but smile. “This way,” he said, leading Savak over the next hill.

    At the top of the hill, Savak paused, looking down at the gathered Lupes. Gerthen was there, of course, setting down the prey he had gathered. Lilia was with him, trying to help the older Lupe drive off several young Lupes of various colors as they tried to gobble down all the gathered prey. Off to the side, Heysha could only smile in amusement as she padded forward to help the other adults hold the pups at bay until the food could be distributed equally.

    “There’s quite a brawl going on down there,” Kosek commented, breaking into Savak’s thoughts.

    Savak nodded. “Your son Kovo is quite a fighter. The way he chomped on my tail a week ago is proof enough that he’s brave.”

    “Yes, but your son Murgoh is the more devious one,” Kosek said. “Remember when he got his sisters to think that Kovo was stealing their food while he made off with all of it?”

    Savak smiled briefly. “I had a hard time giving him a lecture on that one while keeping a straight face,” he admitted.

    Kosek shook his head. “Well, we’d better get down there before they eat all our food,” he said.

    “I’ll be there in a minute,” Savak called after Kosek as the yellow Lupe made his way down the hill. A light breeze flowed around Savak as he looked at the plains around him. He felt himself lucky to have freedom like this. Though there were hardships, he didn’t think he could live any other way. Then he thought of Kaylee, wondering if she would enjoy the plains as much as he did. He really didn’t know anything about her, and yet, some how, he felt he did.

    Sighing, Savak was about to pad down the hill when he spotted a brown Lupe not too far away. Surprised, Savak almost padded toward the stranger when the Lupe disappeared behind the hill it was on. For a moment, Savak thought he had seen Kaylee on that hilltop. Was she still alive? Not even the Space Faeries had found her body, but no one had seen her since the destruction of the Vengeance.

    “Savak, are you coming?” Heysha called from down the hill. “Murgoh says he’ll eat your share if you don’t get down here soon!”

    “Heysha, “ Savak called back. “Tell your son that if he eats my food, he’s going to have to find me twice what he ate!” He then turned his attention back on the plains. There was no more sign of that brown Lupe. Savak shrugged it off. It could have been a loner, or some Lupe who was lost on the plains. If Kaylee were alive, she would come around in her own time. Satisfied with this notion, Savak put the matter aside and padded down the hill to his waiting pack.

The End

  Author’s note:

Thanks to those who read this story, and especially to those who read the preceding stories: Savak: The Medallion, and Savak: The Search. Neomail me with any comments.