Mark of the Fool

Theresa Lu looked up at her father in silent wonder.

His words kept echoing through her head.

To your wedding day.

To your wedding day.

To your wedding day.

Those words were true.

After all this time, more than two years since Alex proposed to her on the beach, she was going to marry him, her partner, her best friend and lover. The thought sent butterflies fluttering through her stomach and made her face flush.

For as long as she could remember, they’d been with each other, and she’d loved him her whole life. Today was the day they’d be joined as husband and wife.

‘It’s so strange,’ she thought. ‘I drank an elixir of immortality last year. ‘My senses are even sharper. My heart beats stronger. And I’m never going to die…but I didn’t feel anywhere near as happy as I do today. What a life I’ve lived so far.’

Her father approached her. “What are you thinking about?”

She smiled up at him, touching the Twinblade. “Oh, just about…how we all got here.”

The huntress remembered that moment all those years ago when she’d walked into Alex’s room and seen that glowing Mark on his shoulder. After he’d told her what had happened, it had taken her less than a heartbeat to know what she wanted to do: to go with him. She’d asked him right then if she could come with him to Generasi.

That one request might have been the single most important sentence she’d ever uttered in her life. It had led them on a tense journey that took them from her family’s inn, to the walls of Alric, to barely avoiding the priests’ attention, and making it to the Coille. They’d been stalked by a silence spider for the first time, surprised by a meeting with the Chosen, had gone through the Cave of the Traveller, and narrowly managed to kill a hive-queen hidden in there.

At that point, that journey had been the most monumental experience of her life, but it was only the beginning. When they’d made it to Generasi, she’d discovered her potential for life enforcement, and started growing as a warrior, as well as in mind, body and spirit.

From there, came the endless trials during the Art of the Wizard in combat, battles against the mana vampire, and even fighting for their lives against Ravener-spawn at Patrizia DePaolo’s ball. She’d become close friends with Zhao Shishi, Grimloch, Isolde, the rest of Alex’s cabal, and a number of the Watchers.

Yet, even as Claygon had joined their family and their circle of friends had grown, the huntress and wizard stayed together, remaining partners to each other. Loving together. Fighting together. Growing together.

They’d faced monsters early on, like the demon summoner’s armies, then later on, Zonon-In, the hidden church, the runemarked in the north, until eventually, the Ravener itself. She’d unlocked the true potential of the Twinblade and had come into her own, discovering herself in ways she’d never imagined, even when she thought about her future as a young child.

And her life’s path had been with Alex at her side.

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She smiled at her father.

“You know, when I was a little girl, I always thought the Coille was endless,” she told him. “That’s why I went exploring it so much. Then, one day, I realised that it wasn’t endless; that beyond it were fields and towns and other tamed lands.”

“I remember that,” Mr. Lu smiled.

“But when I first started learning life enforcement, I remember thinking that it was actually my first step into a vast forest that was ready for exploration. In a way, I thought it might be an endless path. An endless forest for me to explore, figuratively, I mean.”

“Right.” Mr. Lu nodded along.

She looked at the mirror, then at her swords, then the laurel wreath and her flowing wedding dress of forest green and leaves of gold.

“But now, I think I see things a little differently. Life enforcement isn’t the endless forest. It’s a path through it. Life is the endless forest.” Her face lit up. “And I get to explore it endlessly with Alex beside me.”

She laughed then, looking back at her father. “Life doesn’t get any more wonderful than this, does it?”

Mr. Lu rested a hand on her shoulder. “Today will be a highlight, Theresa, but take it from a man who’s been very happily married for a very long time.” His eyes twinkled. “The best is yet to come.”

Pausing for a moment then jumping up, she wrapped her arms around her father. “I love you, dad.”

He hugged her back. “I love you too. I’m proud of you, and I’m so, so happy for you.”

“Thank you!” She fought back tears. Tears of joy. “What a wonderful life I live.”

Alexander Roth checked himself in the mirror for the thousandth time.

He carefully examined his black doublet and hose, looking for even a single loose thread, the slightest stain or the slightest bit of dust or dirt.

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“Got to look perfect,” he said. “Absolutely have to look absolutely perfect.” He looked at himself in the mirror again, glancing at his long hair. His eyes scanned for any hairs out of place. He found none. “I look perfect, don’t I?”

“You look…like…a Hero…father…” Claygon said.

The golem of steel and dungeon core-substance stood by the door, watching his father’s inspection with the patience of stone. He watched Alex closely, with feelings of pride, excitement and anticipation pouring through their link.

“Don’t…fret…you are…going to be fine…” the golem said.

“Well, that’s the thing!” Alex spun around. “I know I’m going to be fine! Fine is easy! ‘Fine’ is what you bloody well tell someone when you’re feeling bloody miserable, but you don’t want to get into a big conversation about it. Fine is what your boss tells you your performance is when they’re getting ready to show you the door! Fine is easy, Claygon! Theresa doesn’t deserve ‘fine’, or even ‘great’! She deserves perfect! Hells, I deserve perfect!”

As Alex gesticulated, the golem laughed.

“Then you are…perfect…father. I think…the fact that…you and Theresa…are even marrying each other…already makes the day…perfect for both of you,” Claygon said. “I am not sure how much…she’s going to pay attention…to every thread of your clothing father…I think…she’s going to care a lot more about…who’s wearing those clothes…”

Alex paused then, looking into Claygon’s steel eyes. “You know, you’ve gotten really damn insightful.”

“I…have…good…role models…” He patted his father on the back. “I am happy…for you…father…”

Alex smiled up at the golem, placing a hand on one of Claygon’s forearms. “Thank you for that, buddy. Seriously, thank you.”

“You are welcome…I can feel you are…nervous father…you are letting your emotions…flow through our link…and I can feel your excitement…too…”

“Yeah,” Alex chuckled. “I’m super excited, buddy. I can’t remember the last time I was this excited! Funny, I drank a potion of immortality and didn’t feel as excited as I do right now. Oh, man, I can’t believe how happy I’m feeling. Nervous too, though. Hope I don’t mess up my vows…”

“You…will not…father…I know you will not…you are going to have…a great day…” Claygon said, raising his lower right hand.

“Yeeeeeah!” the young archwizard high-fived his golem’s steel hand, barely resisting the urge to clutch his hand from pain.

As the archwizard and golem fed off each other’s excitement, Alex looked out the window, at the sky.

‘I know you’re still watching over us, mom and dad,’ he thought, remembering travelling to the after-world and meeting his mother and father with Selina. As time went on, his memories of what the after-world looked like grew vaguer, hazier.

But the image of his mother and father—looking at him and his sister with such towering pride—remained just as clear in his mind, as if he’d just seen them minutes ago. He doubted that memory would ever fade, even if he lived for another five thousand years.

‘I hope you’ll still keep being proud of Selina and me, mother and father,’ he thought. ‘And of Theresa too, since our families are officially joining.’

As the thought passed through his mind, a familiar voice came from the hallway.

“Alex! Are you ready?” Mrs. Lu called. “It’s just about time.”

“On my way!” Alex turned to Claygon, straightening his clothes again.

“How do I look?” he asked.

“Like…a Hero…” the golem replied, confidently.

“Haha, I’ll take it!” Alex walked to the double doors of his bedroom in the villa, throwing them open with a single tug and stepped into the hallway, where Mrs. Lu was waiting.

The doors across from his room opened and…Theresa walked through the doorway.

Alex’s breath caught.

The softness of her dress. The colours. All perfect.

Her hair.

The wreath of wildflowers ringing her hair.

Her death stalker face…melted immediately upon seeing him.

She looked him up and down. Slowly. Drinking in every detail. “You look good, Alex.” The huntress blushed.

“You look beautiful,” He whispered back, awed.

For a moment, they just silently looked into each other’s eyes.

Claygon beamed.

Mrs. Lu beamed.

Mr. Lu choked back a sob. “A-alright, you two had better get going.”

“Remember, don’t…come into the…temple until you hear…my signal…”Claygon added.

“We’ll remember, Claygon,” Theresa said, not taking her eyes off her fiance.

Slowly and gently, she extended her hand.

Alex took it in his.

“Alright, you all have the new portal downstairs. Wait, portals! Alright, quick. Don’t take the one that I set up a while ago: the regular one that takes you to your inn, Mr. and Mrs. Lu. You’ll want to take the new one. It’ll take the rest of you right to the temple.”

“We’ll remember, Alex,” Mrs. Lu said. “Now off you go, scoot!”

Alex nodded. “Okay.”

“Mom, dad, I’ll see you soon,” Theresa added.

The huntress and the archwizard looked into each other’s eyes.

He squeezed her hand.

She squeezed his back.

And they teleported away.

The hall that Alex and Theresa arrived in was a wondrous sight.

The walls, floor and ceiling of stone were bathed in the multihued lights of multiple portals. A honeycomb of portals hovered just below the ceiling, each open to a different sky.

One sky was blue and clear, lit by bright sunlight.

Another was starry, a full moon shone, bathing its cool light through the portal.

Another was filled with fluffy white clouds.

Yet another was open to the far north where multihued lights played through the night sky.

Along both walls of the tunnel, portals were opened to different landscapes from around the world. One opened to a scene of the ocean, schools of colourful fish were nipping at each other, magic held the contents of the portal in check, keeping them from flowing out and into the tunnel.

Another portal opened to a forest of petrified trees, each draped in lichen, bringing greenery to an otherwise grey scene.

Other portals opened onto bright green fields.

Others onto beaches or deserts.

It seemed as though the world itself had been brought to the Cave, its different landscapes there to witness Alex and Theresa’s union.

And these were not the only wonders in the tunnel.

Bright green garland was draped from the walls and a carpet of flower petals were strewn along the floor, representing good fortune, prosperity and fertility.

From towering doors up ahead, hung wreaths of forest plants and wildflowers.

The doors were familiar…

…the same ones that had led directly into the Temple of the Traveller.

Beyond them, Alex and Theresa could hear hushed voices talking.

“Looks like a lot of our guests are already here,” Alex said, keeping his voice low.

“Sounds like it,” Theresa whispered. “I hear people coming through the portals inside. I think they’re almost ready to start.”

“They’ll be ready for us soon, then,” Alex said. He paused, looking at her closely.

She caught his gaze, and smiled, blushing. “What is it?” Her voice was soft.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

Her hand squeezed his. “I’ve been ready for a long time. You?”

His hand squeezed hers back. “Even longer.”

Before she could reply, two rich voices lifted in song from inside the temple.

Claygon’s and Birger’s harmonious tones blended, joining in perfect harmony, singing a song of welcome.

Alex took a deep, steadying breath. “Well, that’s our cue.”

“It is,” she said. “I guess we should get married, then?”

“I guess we should.”

Together, Theresa and Alex stepped forward, the doors slowly opening, welcoming them to the temple.