"So what's the plan?"
I ask the question that Liaz, Goldenclaw, and I have been thinking about while we rested for the past hour or so. It's hard to keep track of passing time with no daylight.
"It shouldn't be this hard of a decision. I say we use the feathers to teleport to Renald and Whisperclaw." Liaz clicks the final piece of his pistol together, as he had been cleaning it. "That's the whole reason we came in here, right?"
"I agree that we should regroup with the others, but there's no telling what kind of mess they've gotten themselves into." Golden takes a hard pull on his wooden pipe. "We don't want to teleport into danger. That would defeat the whole purpose."
"That is the whole purpose!" Liaz stands, his voice rising slightly.
"What if we all get captured, or worse, die before we even have a chance to use the feathers? What then?" Goldenclaw is on his feet now. He stands nose to nose with Liaz.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I see both sides, and honestly, I can't decide on a plan either. I have to think strategically. What would Renald do? Never mind, that doesn't help. I don't ever know what's going on in that man's mind.
Celestria, what would you do?
I find myself seeking the Goddess. At first, I hear nothing but Goldenclaw and Liaz's bickering. After a few moments, their voices fade, and the darkness behind my eyelids starts to shift into a white light. The white melts away like ice under the sun, revealing a large cavern-like structure. Lying, wrapped around the edge of the cavern, is a glowing woman. I instantly recognize Celestria, the Goddess I owe my life. Her skin is dry and wrinkled, not like the statues and scrolls depicted. Through her golden, translucent skin, her veins protrude a sickly green. Even with my lack of knowledge in Godly anatomy, I can tell that she is sick. How badly? I'm not sure.
"Why do you seek me?" Celestria coughs, slimy green mucus covering me. "Why do you seek me when you do not follow my ways?"
"Goddess, I do not understand!" I yell over the sounds of her colossal body shifting. "I have done everything I've thought you wanted of me!"
"You do not understand, because you do not seek to understand!" The entire cavern quakes. "You have always done things for yourself! How dare you seek my guidance now? It seems as if you have been doing fine on your own!"
My head droops. Celestria's right. The night my family died, I tried fighting against Captain Black alone. I lost. He beat me until I was dead, or at least until he thought I was dead. Then he killed my mother and father, and my baby sister, Genosis. I'd blamed myself for everything. If I hadn't joined the Wardens, none of that would have ever happened. The only reason Captain Black even ordered the raid on the cathedral was because I submitted my letter of resignation. The things they were having me do, I couldn't take it anymore. He told me there would be consequences. I hadn't known what he meant at the time. The only reason I even survived that night was because Gazer, somehow, managed to hide. She healed me and taught me about Celestria. During my time with her, I saw a different side of life. I had true peace for the first time. I swore off violence forever and dedicated my life to spreading this same peace to others through healing, using the same techniques that Gazer taught me.
"So why did you decide to climb the tower I crafted for my brother?" Celestria's voice yanks me out of my thoughts.
"Goddess, forgive me. I-"
"Answer the question!" She bellows. "My patience runs thin, as does my time! Do not waste it!"
Fear slams into my bones. Celestria's words shake me to my very core. Beads of sweat pool around the top of my head, splashing onto the cavern floor beneath me like drops of blood. I drop onto my hands and knees.
"I-I hate myself for the things I've done!" I feel like I'm about to vomit, but only words come out. "I knew if I climbed the tower, I would either die or bring them back! They didn't deserve to die! I did! It should have been me!"
Uncontrollable tears stream down my face. I know this is the truth. I never wanted to admit it, but it explains everything: Why I decided I would never fight again. Why I decided to climb the Tower of Abell, knowing it would be a suicide mission.
"Fighting for the things you love does not make you good or evil, Ironvine. What defines whether we are good or evil is the morals we decide to keep." Celestria says softly, reaching out and touching my face with one of her huge fingers. "Remember, my chosen champion, your work amongst the living is not yet completed. The blood of the fallen cries out for vengeance. Heed the call. Fight for what you deem right."
Celestria shrinks to my size and steps into my chest. My body begins to emanate a green glow, and orbs of the same color float off me. I remember the fight at the town hall in Amacedia, when we thought Glimmer had been killed by one of Lord Carvallen's magical lightning bolts. This is the same glow as back then.
"Remember…" I can hear Celestria's voice echo in my head. "...I'm always with you."
I'm thrown backwards and everything goes dark. Then I feel my shoulders being shaken. I open my eyes and see Liaz, with his hat off.
"Good Gods! Are you ok?" He wipes some sweat off his forehead. "We looked away for one second, and you blacked out!"
"I blacked out?" I sit up, looking over myself for injuries. "How long was I out for?"
"Only a few seconds." Goldenclaw helps me up. "How do you feel?"
"Honestly." I look at both of them and smile. "I feel great."
I spot the double-sided stone sword that the dog statue was wielding, just behind Goldenclaw. I pick it up. It feels light in my hands, like a feather. I understand everything now. I haven't been holding back to protect others, I've been holding back to hurt myself. Now it's time to stop holding back. Glimmer's in trouble, and only Celestria knows what Renald and Whisperclaw are up to. All I can do is trust her, trust in her words. I have to fight for what I think is right. That means I have to go and save my friends, no matter what.
"Ironvine, are you sure you're alright?" Liaz places his hand on my shoulder softly. "You're acting kind of funny."
"Yeah…" Goldenclaw scratches his mane nervously. "...I thought you were a pacifist, but you just picked up a sword."
"Guys, don't worry." I continue to smile calmly. "I talked with Celestria, and she said that she's with us."
"Ok, imma say it." Liaz looks at Goldenclaw with an extremely worried expression. "He's lost it."
"No-no, I just meant that I know what we should do next." I stammer, backing away from them both slightly. "I've been so caught up with myself lately that I forgot what I was fighting for. So I stopped, for a while. I-I just think it's time I started pulling my weight a little more."
"Woah." Both of them stare at me in shock.
"Are you saying you're going to help us fight if it comes to it?" Liaz's head whips between me and Goldenclaw. "Ironvine? The pacifist? He's going to help us fight?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying." I pull my Warden helm out of my bag and place it over my head with my free hand. "Now let's go save our friend."