Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Rebirth

The Regeneration Potion had taken a lot of effort. The Rejuvenation one had been easier. For the Rebirth potion, Eldi went a week without sleeping.

"If I wasn't level 100, I would have been unable to finish it," he said to himself, somewhere between exhausted and proud.

Concentrating to carry out each step with precision had been increasingly difficult, due to fatigue. He had to admit that, at times, he had been really afraid of failing. Besides, there was no second chance.

The ice dragon eggshell was the most difficult ingredient to find between those that it was possible to search for. There were three other ingredients that they had no idea where they could be found, or even where to start searching. The three companions had found those three ingredients in each of their inventories. They had been obtained in strange one-off missions, or encounters impossible to repeat.

A black orb with a pink glow had been given to Eldi by the same individual as the recipes. The Prophet.

The crystallized dragon essence could only be found in a dragon of great power and age. Furthermore, it could only be generated in very special circumstances. They had to sacrifice themselves. Gjaki had kept it in the past.

The thread of rebirth was also extraordinarily difficult to find. It forms the cocoon that is created around a spirit when it transforms into a fairy. The thread disappears when the process is finished. It could be said that it merges with the fairy.

It is extremely rare for a fragment, no matter how small, to survive intact. If that happens, it is the fairy's property, or rather, part of her.

Pikshbxgra hadn't even hesitated to give it to her aunt Omi when that had asked if she knew anything about that ingredient.

"It's fate," the small winged being had assured, while smiling and letting her small body be hugged.

Eldi stood up, feeling numb. He stretched, turned around and met the eager blue eyes of his companion. He smiled, and approached the one who was about to shed tears.

"I don't really know how it works, but it takes a couple of days to complete the process," he explained, as he handed over the potion with great care.

She took it almost trembling. Fearing that it would break, she quickly put it into inventory, before hugging Eldi.

"Thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks..." was the only word she could say in a while.

He patted her back, while she was crying. She cried again while hugging Gjaki. Goldmi cried even more so when she returned home and hugged her husband, whose tears also flowed.

When after a while he took the potion, he stared at it, as if revering it. How many years had Elendnas dreamed about that?

He sat in the bathtub, under the watchful eye of his beloved. With the previous potion, they had learned that it was better not to be in a place that could get dirty.

For two days, the elf stayed with her husband. Sometimes hopeful. Others anxious. Some almost in panic.

She saw him endure extreme pain, even screaming. She watched, half scared and astonished, as his blonde hair fell away, like autumn leaves. His bones creaked, and perhaps broke. She could see how blood came out of the pores of his skin, and how the skin itself came off, like a molting snake. His strong muscles practically disappeared, so his body weakened. Even his teeth had fallen out.

She clenched her fists until her nails were piercing the skin. Goldmi had wanted to rush towards him and heal him, but she had held back, with tears in her eyes. She even bit her lips until they bled too. As much as it frustrated her, she knew better than to intervene.

For a full day, she suffered watching her husband wither away. Goldmi feared for his life. She felt heartbroken, useless, confused, not knowing what to do.

It was on the second day when the situation began to change. Little by little, his hair began to grow. His muscles regained their shape, perhaps even more marked, stronger. His skin regained the shine it had lost. She could even hear him grunting at the pain of his teeth growing back very quickly.

Nonetheless, the elf didn't calm down completely until she saw him open his eyes. Until she saw how he clenched his fists, how he circulated the mana in his body, how he smiled satisfied, euphoric.

She almost burst out laughing when she saw the expression on his face when he looked at the ground, and found the remains of his skin, teeth, blood or hair. Somehow, they didn't touch his naked body, which remained pristine, like that of a newborn.

When he turned to her, the elf felt her heart pounding. The intense gaze of her lover pierced her. She discovered no trace of his suppressed sadness, which delighted her soul. The fire she saw in his eyes awakened her own within her.

"Elend... How do you feel?" she approached.

He looked at her and smiled. He approached as well, careful not to step on the remains of his former self. The elf didn't care about being naked. After all, his wife had seen him like this many times.

"I haven't felt this good in a long time. Although I'd like to check to what extent my body has recovered," he explained, while hugging her and looking into her eyes. They were just a few centimeters away, and the tips of her noses almost touched.

"What do you want to do? Shall we go out to practice?" she proposed, although she was reluctant to let him go.

"The girls aren't here, are they?" he asked, as he was looking at her passionately.

"They're with your sister. Why...? Elend!" she exclaimed, scandalized and blushing, when she realized what her husband was suggesting.

He laughed, and took her into his arms. She, far from resisting, hugged him around his neck, without stopping looking at him, embarrassed but passionate.

He carried her to her room, and placed her gently on the bed. They didn't stop looking at each other. It didn't take long for them to kiss passionately.

"Do you know how worried we've been!? You could've told us earlier!" Elenksia scolded them.

Goldmi and Elendnas lowered their heads, ashamed and feeling guilty. It was as if they were two kids who had committed a prank.

"Let it go. They've suffered more than anyone else," Klimsal interceded.

"Well, I guess I can forgive them this time... I hope they'd at least made me a new nephew. I wouldn't care if they were twins again," Elendnas' sister mocked.

"Elenk!" he exclaimed, half indignant half ashamed.

She laughed heartily. She may have been a little upset that they had worried her too much, but she felt enormously happy, ecstatic. Her dear little brother was completely cured.

By surprise, she hugged him. Then, she hugged her sister-in-law. Finally, Elenksia fell into the arms of her beloved. She was crying with joy, without looking at them, without wanting them to see her cry. After calming down, she turned and looked at Goldmi.

"You've told the others, right?"

The archer opened her eyes wide. She then looked away, and took out a strange artifact from her inventory. It was used to send messages to her companions.

"A few hours of passion and they forget about everything..." Elenksia sighed, with clear mockery in her voice.

"Elenk!"