Calrin's Folly

Trigger Warnings: Death, child death, violence, suicide, depictions of gore. This short story is a tragedy.

Not an excuse! Just an explanation of why this character chose to became a tyrant to prevent the things above from happening again to those who he cares about.

Calrin smiled, the mood light as the wind around them. His best friend, the shining iridescent white hydra, flew him through the clouds. He leaned back on the middle of his several long necks, smiling at the sun. “I know it might be best to just teleport or take a portal back home, but on days like this, especially after a long adventure like the one we just had,” he laughed breathlessly, “it’s nice to just chill in the air for once. Only so many unruly thugs I can handle in one day.”

Adaline laughed back, all his eyes except his main head looked up at him with a smile; all in synchronized movement. “Yeah. Definitely been a long excursion on the battlefront. A week right?”

Calrin laughed, “It’s been two months! You’re the most powerful being in existence, challenging gods left and right to put them into their places. How do you still lose track of time so easily like that?!”

Adaline’s nine heads all flushed in embarrassment, “A few months is like a blink of an eye to an immortal being like myself. I guess I often forget what it’s like to be a human like yourself.”

“Yeah- Well I for one can’t wait to see my wife and family- It’s been too long- Even brought her some scones from the wheat plantation we freed from the earth elementals and air nymphs. The fey were very grateful. Their enchantments were phenomenal!”

“They were alright-”

Calrin flicked his adjacent neck, “Oh hush ‘I never eat a day in my life.’”

“I used to- back before I inherited my powers,” he protested.

“Mhm. You know how many times I’ve seen you eat since? I can count it on one hand,” he tisked, smirking at him.

“I need not for the delicacies you humans crave.”

“One day Adaline,” Calrin tisked, “One day I’ll make a meal so enticing you- Wait… do you smell smoke…?” He sat up with a start.

Ahead of them was a large cloud of smoke on the horizon as they passed a mountain peak. There was a large grassland area with only a small measly river cutting through the land. “Adaline- Hurry we need to help them-” Calrin kicked his neck, leaning forward as the hydra tucked into a dive.

Calrin held his breath as they got closer to the flaming village.

Adaline’s water and main head both opened, swooping down and spraying water over the village.

Calrin gripped his scales along with the golden gem of condensed magic that laid around his neck. He coughed as the ash and smoke got thicker. He used the gem’s power to summon a strong wind to pick up all the dust and darkness up into the sky faster and swerve around them.

After Adaline did another pass and low enough to the ground, Calrin vaulted off his neck rolling to his feet. He sucked in a wince as his armor was still in his pack on Adaline’s back. He pushed the pain aside and rushed towards where ran home thousands of times before, but he skidded swiftly to a halt when he recognized an old weathered ring on a black and bloodied corpse.

It was his brother-in-law’s.

Calrin’s breath caught in his throat as he went to his side. He tentatively took his hand. It was ice cold, clearly having been dead for days and already smelled like decay. Calrin’s vision went blurry, trying to blink back the tears that started dripping down his face and onto his brother. He pulled him closer, gasping in audible horror as he saw his son, not even twelve years of age barely recognizable after the beatings and burns.

“No-” Calrin dropped his brother and stammered back in horror. “No- no no no- This can’t- Melanie?! Illiea?! Adaline- Please tell me this is an unfunny joke or a nightmare- I can’t live without- I- I did this all for them- So they could live in peace- And not in fear- But they- How could-”

Adaline was silent, all his heads looking around as his main head was focused on Calrin. “Calrin… I’m…”

“No no no- this can’t be happening- Melanie!” Calrin sprinted to a dilapidated house, nothing but charred wood and small glowing ethereal light of the dying embers.

There were some more charred mangled corpses underneath a beam of wood.

Calrin’s chest was heaving as he moved the beam, letting out an anguished scream as his wife, sister, and his six year old daughter, his sixteen year old nephew, and newborn nephew all huddled together.

“Calrin…” a voice shook him out of his thoughts after a couple minutes.

“You can fix this… You have to fix this…” Calrin heaved, his eyes bloodshot.

“I’m afraid I can’t… Death is final… We worked so hard to-”

“I DON’T CARE!” Calrin yelled, “YOU CAN BRING THEM BACK- YOU HAVE TO BRING THEM BACK!”

“I can’t- Death is sacred- They’re at peace now…” Adaline lowered his head further, “I’m here to enforce the law… I can’t break it myself- You’ve joined me on that quest-”

“What if it was me…?” Calrin asked, “Would you break it then?”

“What?” Adaline flinched back up in shock.

“What if it was me who died. Would you bring me back? Would you bring me back from the dead after the countless near death experiences?! We spent decades of our lives together fighting your stupid war! Would you have brought me back or am I nothing to you?! The dead should stay dead after all!” The earth shook and became more unstable as he did.

Adaline winced, “Calrin of course I’d protect you- I’ve gave you a part of me so you could-”

“SILENCE!” Calrin summoned the Galactic Sword into his hand, getting up and slashing him across the chest in a blur.

Both of them looked at the now red blade in shock. The symbols along Adaline’s neck and the same ones along the cross guard shimmered.

“I’m sorry Calrin… That’s not what I meant… but I’m to uphold the law… It’s too late. Your family is dead… I’ll leave you to grieve and calm down… You’ll know where to find me…” Adaline spoke softly, his breathing turned heavy for the first time. He took to the air, swooping back and towards the mountain, causing it to briefly rain blood.

Calrin took a staggering breath, shaking as he looked at the sword in shock and fear. He made that sword with his own two hands- Adaline gifted some of his power into the blade- That’s must’ve been how it hurt the unhurtable-

Calrin collapsed back onto his knees, sobbing as nothing but ash and destruction was splayed around him.

“I can bring them back…” a cold voice cooed as an equally cold hand put itself on Calrin’s shoulder.

“How…?” He breathed, shakily looking up at the dark robed figure.

“I know the Galactic Hydralic disproves of my methods… however- I’ve mastered death. It can be done with what you have in your possession,” the figure, Helmordis, retorted, poking Calrin’s chest.

“The spell needs… my heart…?”

“No silly. Only peasants need that. What you have is far more powerful. The Galactic Hydralic’s infinite world changing power. You don’t need the Great Creator or even him. You can just do it yourself. Here,” Helmordis opened his archaic book. Calrin hesitantly grabbed it, “Alright… I can do this…” He took a deep breath, taking the bodies of his wife and children, taking them into a cave nearest the base of the mountain, intending to do the same to everyone once he knew the spell worked.

Calrin got the necessary materials to complete the ritual.

The entire cave filled with an ethereal green glow, marking out the runes Calrin carved into the floor. It quickly turned gold as he held out his gem, focusing on its power to restore them back to perfect health. It drained his strength, causing him to shake and pant until it finished.

“Calrin…?” A soft melodious voice called in surprise as his wife sat up.

“Melanie…” Calrin smiled in victory before collapsing.

Melanie rushed over to help support him, pulling him into her chest, “Is it you?! What did you do? Where-”

“Daddy!!!” Illiea screeched as a little girl rushed over and hugged him.

“My baby girl..” Calrin choked back another sob, slumping into the two, hugging his two girls tightly. He beckoned his son to join them, quickly passing out in their arms.

When Calrin awoke again, he could hear sobbing. He sat up in surprise, covering a wince, “Melanie- What’s-” he cut himself off with a gasp.

Melanie was hunched over the once again lifeless forms of their two kids, a knife wound in both of their chests.

“What happened?! How did this- I just-”

“I talked to him… he told me what you did… What you’ve become in order to bring us back…”

“It wasn’t bad- I needed you- I love you- How could you…?” Calrin’s chest heaved again.

“And we trusted you! You’re my husband and you threw it all away for what?! A chance at a second life?! You know what it cost?! The stability and the balance of this world! I should still be dead! We shouldn’t be alive Cal- We had our time- It’s over. You had to take more innocents to bring us back!”

“Melanie- It’s not- It wasn’t that bad-! I had to! There was no other way-!”

“You killed him! You used his magic to bring us back when we’re not supposed to be! We’re undead abominations because of you! A freak and abhorrent to nature! This is blasphemy Calrin! You broke your oath- You broke your oath to me and everything you stood for! I’m not letting myself live like this! And neither will our children!”

“Melanie- No- He can’t be dead- you can’t-” he got cut off by a scream as Melanie took the ornate dagger Calrin made for her on their first anniversary and stabbed it into her own chest.

“Nooo!” Calrin went to her side, catching her as she quickly faded.

“No no no no… not again- I can’t lose you again…” Calrin shook, sobbing onto her as he hugged her. The sorrow quickly faded back into anger as he teleported back to Adaline.

He was on top of the mountain, curled up into a ball on the plateau where they first met.

“You took everything from me. You tricked her- You made her kill my kids and then herself! You took decades of my life away with false promises of glory and safety and protection for everyone! You said uniting all the elements will bring peace to everyone! But it’s only given me endless pain and misery! This is all your fault!” Calrin steamed, shaking with the sword gripped tightly.

“Calrin…” Adaline looked up at him, “ That wasn’t a lie… All I did was talk with her… Of course I noticed what you did… What she did after the fact was her ch-”

The sword crashed straight through his head, cleaving it into two.

The rest of the heads looked at the main head in shock, the hive mind momentarily shattered.

“It’s all your fault! I hate you!” Calrin growled, stepping through the puddle of blood and stabbing him through the heart.

All the heads dropped, the white scales going dull, slowly starting to turn grey.

Thunder roared in the distance, the earth starting to shake again.

Calrin gripped the sword, pressing it deeper into his body. “Why should I let this pitiful fountain go to waste?” he sneered, starting to use the blade to siphon Adaline’s magic from him, storing it into the blade and himself.

The elements started fluctuating like crazy around him; water randomly freezing, solid ground turning into liquid or just disappearing altogether. Lightning stuck, but instead of burning, it spread frost. Fire sprouted into plants.

It lasted for a while until it slowly died down and Calrin dropped the sword, panting. He looked at his hands in shock, his gaze going to his now dark grey and lifeless friend. “Wh-what have I done…? A-Ada…?”

A vision flashed in his head. A small white egg hatching and growing into another nine headed Hydralic.

“No…” Calrin breathed, “There’s another one…? I-I I can’t let that happen… I can’t let anyone else get hurt like I have. What he taught was a lie- I can’t let any more people get caught up in this like I have… I will kill them- I’ll kill all of them! You hear me?!” he stood up, “No matter how many Galactic Hydralics you send to try to force your chains onto us, I’ll be there to break them! This is my new oath! I’ll protect everyone myself! There will be no more pain! No more misery! No more death! I’ll become everyone’s new savior! I’ll build an everlasting utopia that will live till the end of time! This is my vow! I’ll destroy everything I ever helped build in your name! Nothing can stop me! There’s nothing I won’t do! It was all fake! It only caused more pain! I- I can’t let this happen again-” Calrin collapsed, curling over and started sobbing again.

Over the next several years, Calrin built his village back up, networking and expanding till he had dozens of magical artifacts. He crowned himself king, keeping himself and all those who flocked to his walls safe from the outside world. He stood on the mountain overlooking his kingdom, "This is my war..." he muttered to himself, thinking about the new Galactic Hydralic that was chosen, "I will end it for them. I'll eliminate that pain..." He shifted the weight of the sword in his hand before teleporting off.