A Binding Choice

Snowflakes drifted through the air and clung to Kael’s armor as he crested the hill and stared at the tower looming over him. He turned to the valley behind him, where flames swallowed rooftops. With a deep breath, he faced Orven’s stronghold. Its stones stood untouched by the charring timbers below. Kael stretched out his gauntleted hand and pressed his fingers against the stone. The metallic plates of his gauntlet pulsed once before the barrier collapsed.

He marched to the gate, punched his fist through the wood, and tore it down. Kael stepped clear of the falling slab. As its crash echoed across the hilltop, Kael strode through the wreckage. The sigils etched upon his pauldrons flickered as the thick air thinned with each step.

He reached an inner door and glanced up as he pounded it with his fist. “Orven, I have need of you!”

Silence swallowed his words, leaving only the false heartbeat of his fist striking the stones. After several tense moments, he wrenched the slab aside, finding an elderly man with wild hair standing in the room, the edges of his robe charred.

Orven lifted a frail finger as his lips curled into a snarl. “Has Caedren decided that it’s my turn to face your wrath?”

“No.” Kael shook his head as he approached Orven. “He’s not the one who sent me.”

Orven stepped away from the armored intruder and raised two fingers. His gaze flicked aside as his eyes narrowed. “Then why are you here?”

“There are several reasons for my arrival,” Kael said, placing his hand against his chest plate. “I’m seeking an escape from the compulsion your friend embedded to control his audacious creation.”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Orven’s eyes opened to slits as he backed up another step. “What’s the competing reason?”

“He’s no longer able to help me.”

The elderly mage’s stance widened as his hands rose. “He was never one to undo—”

“The armor chose to turn its ire on him.”

“You killed him?”

The armored warrior loomed over Orven as he lowered himself to his knees. “This enchanted armor sealed its creator’s fate when he tried to escape the judgment he had placed upon all those who sought to embrace power.”

Bitter laughter filled the chamber as Orven’s back straightened. He inched closer to Kael, his mouth tightening at one corner. “It wasn’t your decision?”

“No,” Kael said as he followed the mage’s motion.

When Orven stood beside the armored figure, he rested a hand on Kael’s pauldron. “It doesn’t surprise me that his creation consumed him.”

“It came as a surprise to him.”

“That highlights his idealism and lack of foresight.” He patted the armor and sauntered to a bench where he sifted through the components. He raised a small vial filled with amber liquid. When it caught the streaming light, he turned back to Kael. “Everyone he knew, myself included, warned Caedren that a weapon built to punish those who seek power above all else would destroy its creator long before finding a master worthy of its service.”

“He ignored the advice to his last breath.”

Orven’s fingers tightened around the vial as he walked toward Kael’s kneeling form. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

As Orven reached for Kael, the knight seized Orven’s wrist. Kael rose and lifted the elderly man, leaving his feet kicking above the floor. “What are you doing?”

Orven’s eyes flicked to his trapped hand as the vial tumbled from his grasp. “Why’d you grab me?”

“The armor moved first.” Kael shoved his face into Orven’s before glancing at the shattered vial as the liquid seeped into the stone. “What were you trying to do?”

“I wasn’t trying to attack you,” Orven said as he fought against Kael’s crushing grip.

“Are you certain?” Kael lifted Orven farther from the floor. “The armor disagrees with that assertion.”

Orven’s snarl intensified as he snapped his fingers, and the bones in his arm softened until it slipped through Kael’s grasp like a greased eel. He fell to his feet and dashed away from the armored knight. “I was trying to seal the compulsion. It’s not my fault Caedren made it assume everything is an assault.”

Kael rose to his full height and loomed over the wizard. “Can you suppress or eradicate that aspect of the armor?”

Orven studied his boneless limb as he inched toward the workbench, never taking his eyes from the towering weapon. “Do you want the compulsion removed?”

Kael nodded. “Caedren created this suit to judge those he considered dangerous. Without choice, every action is another chain keeping me bound to his will.”

“That sounds noble.” Orven retrieved a second vial and downed its contents. With a groan, structure returned to his arm. As he flexed the restored limb, he licked his lips. “But is that freedom something you want?”

Kael grasped his sword’s hilt, but he forced his fingers free from the blade as the rune-etched armor flared. “You need to deal with it now.”

Orven swallowed several curses as he inched closer to Kael. “Remove your helmet.”

Kael released his wrist and tore off the helm with one hand as the other reached for the weapon. As the metal clanged off the ground, he grabbed his other wrist, fighting to keep the blade sheathed.

Orven rushed forward, grasped the rune etched into the armor beside Kael’s spine, and altered the etching’s shape. “This will be uncomfortable.”

“It already is,” Kael said through gritted teeth.

Orven grimaced as he continued destroying the binding. After several seconds, a loud crack thundered through the chamber as smoke rose off the metal. When the last tendril fled Kael’s body, he collapsed and rolled onto his back, his gaze finding Orven.

“Thank you.”

Orven sauntered over and placed his foot on Kael’s chest plate. Silence stretched between them as the once pulsing runes refused to glow. The wizard leaned down, his lips curling into a dark smile. “Tell me, Kael, what will you do now?”