"Okay, who the fuck are you people?" Turgon demanded once his kidnappers finally stopped moving.
They had brought him far north, well beyond the great metropolitan regions and into territory controlled by the Covenant. Dense forest surrounded them on every side, and Turgon could hear running water somewhere nearby.
He considered running.
He managed two steps before the enormous Oan who had carried him from the transport calmly caught the back of his coat and lifted him off the ground.
Turgon dangled there.
"Put me down."
The large Oan looked toward the woman.
She sighed. "Latharon, put him down."
Latharon obeyed.
Turgon straightened his clothes with as much dignity as he could recover. "Thank you."
The woman pulled back her hood completely. "Since you keep asking, my name is Celebriel. The mountain pretending to be a person is Latharon."
Latharon gave Turgon a small nod.
Celebriel pointed toward the third member of the group, a younger Oan standing nearby with his arms folded. "And the small one is Nolondir."
"I am not small," Nolondir said immediately.
Celebriel ignored him and began walking toward a small structure hidden between the trees. It looked more like an old rural dwelling, built from pale stone and dark timber with a moss-covered roof.
The front door flew open before they reached it.
An elderly Oan came running outside.
"Did you find him? Did you find him?"
"Yes, yes, yes, you crazy old Oan," Celebriel called back. "We found him."
She stepped aside and gestured toward Turgon as though presenting a captured animal.
The old Oan stopped.
His eyes widened.
"Oh."
Turgon shifted uncomfortably.
The old man stepped closer.
"Oh, by Ion."
"What?"
"Exactly as I saw."
Celebriel groaned. "Here we go."
The elderly Oan stared at Turgon with growing excitement. "The blue eyes. The ring. Everything. Just as the dreams predicted."
"And the information from Lady Jade," Latharon added in his deep voice.
The old man waved dismissively. "Yes, yes, that too."
Turgon stared at all four of them.
"Who the fuck are you people?"
"Inside first," Celebriel said.
"I would actually prefer an answer."
Latharon placed one enormous hand on Turgon's shoulder.
"Inside."
Turgon went inside.
The hut was larger than it appeared from the outside, with several rooms extending into the hillside behind it. Equipment had been piled wherever space allowed: old communications systems, weapon components, maps of Oa, food supplies, and enough stolen government hardware that Turgon could probably have arrested everyone present on half a dozen charges.
Latharon guided him toward a chair.
Turgon sat before anyone could decide to carry him again.
Celebriel leaned against a nearby table. "We are the resistance."
Turgon blinked.
"The what?"
"The resistance."
"Against what?"
"Malgus."
Turgon stared at her.
Celebriel smiled without humour. "His tyranny, more specifically. We are only one part of it. There are others scattered around Oa, though most of us do not know where the others are. Safer that way."
Turgon looked around the shabby hut.
"This is a resistance base?"
"It is one of them."
Nolondir dropped into another chair. "You should have seen the last one."
"What happened to it?"
"Malgus found it."
Turgon decided not to ask further.
Celebriel continued. "Lady Jade contacted us several months ago. She told us to be ready for you."
Turgon's attention snapped back to her.
"Jade."
"Yes."
"She contacted you too?"
"She told us you were going to bring Ion back."
Turgon's mouth slowly fell open.
Latharon leaned forward.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Can you?"
Turgon stared at him.
"Can I what?"
"Bring Ion back."
"I found out this ring existed approximately six hours ago."
"So you don't know."
"No, I don't know!"
The elderly Oan moved closer, and Turgon finally got a proper look at his face.
Something about him was familiar.
Very familiar.
Turgon narrowed his eyes.
The old man smiled expectantly.
Then recognition struck.
"Wait."
Turgon pointed at him.
"You're Ecthelion."
The old Oan's smile widened.
"I am."
"The Ecthelion?"
"That depends entirely upon what people say about me now."
Turgon stared.
"You're the lunatic who said Ion was going to return."
Nolondir snorted.
Celebriel covered her mouth.
Even Latharon's shoulders moved slightly.
Ecthelion looked offended. "Prophet."
"You were called the Mad Prophet."
"By unimaginative people."
Turgon could scarcely believe it.
Everyone on Oa knew the story.
Nearly four centuries earlier, Ecthelion had appeared across public networks proclaiming that Ion would return. He claimed to have seen visions of the Guardian walking beneath foreign stars and insisted that Oa needed to prepare for his arrival. His prediction had spread farther than anyone expected, helped by growing desperation after half a million years without Ion.
Billions had travelled toward the Battery.
For weeks, the regions surrounding the Central Power Battery had been overwhelmed by pilgrims waiting for their creator to emerge.
Nothing happened.
The expected date passed.
Then another.
Ion did not return.
Ecthelion's life had collapsed afterward. Politicians denounced him, the Temple distanced itself from him, and entire families who had spent fortunes travelling to the Valley blamed him personally. Some reports claimed he had fled Oa entirely.
Turgon had assumed he was dead.
Ecthelion stepped closer, desperation replacing the humour in his expression.
"I was right."
Turgon said nothing.
"Lady Jade told me. She told me I was right. Ion returned four hundred years ago."
His voice shook.
"He returned."
Turgon looked into the old man's eyes.
"The Lady said you would know," Ecthelion continued. "She told me you would have seen proof."
Everyone in the room turned toward Turgon.
He suddenly understood what they wanted.
The hidden datapad.
The report.
Turgon hesitated, then nodded.
"Yes."
Silence.
Ecthelion's face crumpled.
Celebriel slowly straightened.
"What?"
"I saw a report inside the Parliament vault."
Turgon looked toward Ecthelion.
"It was written by the Puff Collective."
Nolondir frowned. "The what Collective?"
"The Collective," Turgon corrected. "People used to call them the Puffs. They were among the first Green Lanterns, alongside Durin."
Turgon looked around at them.
"The report was dated four hundred years ago. They observed Ion inside the restricted region of Sector 616."
Ecthelion covered his mouth with one trembling hand.
"I knew it."
"He was seen more than once," Turgon continued. "The report said he was travelling with people belonging to a species called the Aesir."
"I knew it," Ecthelion repeated, tears appearing in his eyes. "I knew what I saw."
Celebriel looked troubled rather than relieved.
"But if Ion returned..."
She looked toward the south, though the walls hid the rest of Oa from view.
"Why didn't he come home?"
No one answered.
Then Celebriel's vox activated.
Jade's voice emerged from it for the first time.
"Because he did not remember Oa."
Every person in the room froze.
Jade continued.
"When Ion returned to the physical universe, his memories were gone. Oa, the Corps, the Battery, even his own history. He possessed instincts and portions of his power, but no understanding of who he had once been."
Celebriel stared at the vox. "Lady Jade?"
"Yes, Celebriel."
Celebriel immediately stood straighter.
Turgon looked between them in disbelief.
Jade continued. "Ion began again within Sector 616. He became a protector there, even without understanding why that role felt natural to him. Eventually, a multiversal threat emerged. Ion sacrificed himself to stop it."
Ecthelion closed his eyes.
Latharon bowed his head.
A tear moved slowly down the enormous Oan's cheek.
"Truly the greatest of all."
Nolondir nodded solemnly.
"So even without his memories, he was still Ion."
Celebriel looked down.
"The universe took him from us twice."
Turgon was less interested in reverence.
He stared at his vox.
"So you really are Jade?"
"Yes."
"The Jade?"
"I have never understood why people keep adding 'the' before my name, but yes."
Turgon leaned back.
For several seconds, he simply tried to process the fact that he was apparently speaking with an intelligence older than Oan civilization itself.
Then another thought surfaced.
"If you were here all this time, where were you?"
The room became quiet.
Turgon frowned.
"After the Black Night, the Corps collapsed. Oa broke apart. Haven became independent. Millions died during the Hunts, governments failed, wars happened, and eventually Malgus became the only Green Lantern left."
He looked at the vox.
"Why didn't you help?"
"I did."
Turgon paused.
"At first."
Jade's voice remained calm.
"Immediately following the Black Night, I maintained essential systems, stabilized the Battery, assisted reconstruction efforts, and ensured the surviving Corps could continue operating. Over time, Oan civilization recovered sufficiently to govern itself."
"So you just stopped?"
"I withdrew."
"Why?"
"Because Ion would have wanted me to."
Turgon frowned.
"That doesn't make sense."
"It does if you knew him."
Jade paused.
"Ion valued Oan free will more than Oans often realized. He did not create your people so that he, or I, could dictate every political decision forever. He expected Oa to make mistakes, learn, disagree, and choose its own future."
Ecthelion snorted.
"Well, free will has led us to a Green Lantern tyrant."
Turgon immediately looked at him.
"Malgus is not a tyrant."
Ecthelion's expression became almost pitying.
"Oh, my boy."
"Don't call me that."
"You are going to be very disappointed."
Turgon stood.
"Malgus has protected the Concord for millennia."
"He has ruled it for millennia."
"He was elected."
"The first time."
"He prevented three wars."
"And started others where no one noticed."
Turgon's jaw tightened.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
Ecthelion stepped closer.
"Malgus wants all of Oa. He wants Haven. He wants every government in the system beneath him, and he no longer cares how many people must die to make that happen."
"That is ridiculous."
"You saw what's happening."
Turgon hesitated.
"The Haven crisis."
Turgon remembered the burning shipyards.
The blockade.
Then Malgus's conversation before Turgon entered the room.
Haven will attack first, I assure you.
Ecthelion continued.
"We are going to war with Haven."
"Malgus wouldn't…"
Turgon stopped.
Wouldn't what?
Manufacture a crisis?
He thought of the alliance with the Directorate that his own ministry had somehow not known about.
The sudden flood of anti-Haven rhetoric across Concord media.
The Directorate military official standing beside Malgus.
Turgon shook his head.
"There is no time for this discussion."
Everyone looked toward the vox again.
"My attention is required elsewhere," Jade said. "Malgus has developed increasingly dangerous delusions of grandeur, and his current military preparations require me to keep the Central Power Battery on full defensive alert."
Turgon's expression changed.
"The Battery? Why would he come for the Battery?"
"Turgon, you already know what you must do."
Jade changed the subject so abruptly that Turgon frowned.
"Wait. I have about a thousand questions."
"You will have time for them later."
"Jade…"
Her connection ended, leaving Turgon staring at the vox in silence while the other four turned toward him expectantly.
He sighed, then raised his hand and showed them the blue ring. "This is a Blue Lantern ring."
Ecthelion moved closer at once. "Blue?"
"It uses Hope rather than Will."
Nolondir leaned forward to study it. "I thought the Emotional Spectrum was mostly Temple mythology."
"So did I, until one of those myths attached itself to my hand." Turgon turned toward Celebriel. "When I was unconscious, I saw someone."
Ecthelion's eyes widened. "A vision?"
"I don't know what it was."
"Who?"
"Adara."
Ecthelion went completely still.
Turgon continued before anyone could interrupt him. "She said she's the Entity of Hope. She also said she's Ion's sister."
The room erupted immediately.
"Ion has a sister?"
"There are other Entities?"
"Is she actually related to him?"
"What did she look like?"
"Stop!" Turgon raised both hands until the questions finally died away. "She told me to go to Sanctuary. Apparently, a Blue Battery was built there a very long time ago."
Ecthelion stumbled backward and dropped into a chair. "There is another Battery?"
"Yes."
"On Sanctuary?"
"Yes."
"A Battery of an entirely different colour?"
Turgon stared at him. "That is what I just said."
Ecthelion's gaze drifted into the distance as the implications settled over him. "This changes everything."
Without warning, he grabbed a small device from the table, but Celebriel immediately snatched it from his hand.
"Are you insane?"
"I have already been called insane for four hundred years."
Turgon frowned at the device now clutched in Celebriel's hand. "What's that?"
"A system broadcast injector."
He stared at her. "A what?"
Celebriel held it farther away as Ecthelion tried to reach for it again. "This crazy old Oan built a device capable of hijacking public emergency channels across most of Oa and Haven."
"For approximately five minutes," Ecthelion added proudly.
Turgon's eyes widened. "That is spectacularly illegal."
"We are a resistance," Nolondir reminded him. "And so are you now."
Ecthelion made another attempt to retrieve the device, but Celebriel shoved it into her pocket before he could reach it.
"No."
"People deserve to know!"
"They deserve to know after we actually reach Sanctuary and confirm that the Battery exists."
Ecthelion opened his mouth to argue, thought better of it, then folded his arms and muttered, "Fine. Stupid girl."
Celebriel ignored him and turned back to Turgon. "We need to leave immediately."
Turgon glanced outside. "The Starry is hidden nearby."
"The Starry?"
"Our ship," Celebriel explained. "Haven is already blockading Oa. If the fleets start shooting at one another, every route out of the inner system will close."
Latharon rose from his seat. "Then we should go now."
Nolondir was already grabbing a pack from the floor while Turgon looked down at the ring once more.
Sanctuary. Adara. Ion.
Then another thought pushed its way through everything else.
Míriel.
His mother had a name now. If Jade truly was Jade, then perhaps she knew more about her. Perhaps, after four centuries of searching for answers that never seemed to exist, he could finally ask the questions that had followed him for most of his life and receive something other than silence.
Turgon closed his hand around the ring and slowly nodded. "Fine."
Celebriel smiled. "Welcome to the resistance."
The Starry waited beneath camouflage netting several miles from the hut, hidden within a shallow depression between rocky hills. Turgon had expected something impressive after hearing the confidence with which Celebriel spoke about it, perhaps a sleek resistance vessel packed with illegal modifications and stolen military technology.
Instead, he found himself staring at an ancient Oan courier ship whose hull had been repaired so many times that he could no longer tell which sections belonged to the original vessel and which had been welded on during the centuries since.
Turgon stopped at the edge of the netting. "This is the Starry?"
Nolondir looked genuinely offended. "She is beautiful."
"She looks older than Ecthelion."
"I heard that!" the old Oan shouted from behind them.
Turgon glanced over his shoulder, saw Ecthelion glaring at him, and decided not to push his luck.
They boarded.
The interior was cramped but surprisingly clean, with a small cockpit, cargo compartment, sleeping spaces, and an engine section that Turgon suspected had been modified far beyond legal specifications.
Within minutes, the engines activated.
Turgon took a seat near one of the viewing ports.
The ship lifted from the forest.
He watched the trees fall away beneath them, followed by the northern wilderness and then the distant lights of Oan settlements. The curve of the planet slowly became visible as they climbed.
Turgon had seen images of Oa from orbit countless times.
He had never seen it with his own eyes.
His breath caught.
The world below was enormous and beautiful.
Nolondir dropped into the pilot's seat.
"Enjoy the view while you can."
Turgon looked toward him.
"Why?"
"The next part is going to be rough."
"That is never something I want to hear from the pilot."
Celebriel strapped herself into the other seat.
"We need to get through the blockade."
Turgon turned toward the forward display.
Commonwealth ships filled the outer approaches.
The Commonwealth fleet had deployed across several major transit routes leading from Oa, thousands of vessels arranged in layered formations with smaller patrol craft moving between them. Their weapons remained powered, but they were not yet firing.
Turgon's stomach tightened.
Another fleet was approaching from behind Oa.
Concord warships.
Hundreds of them.
Beside them flew vessels bearing the insignia of the Directorate.
On the tactical display, the two forces continued moving toward the Haven blockade.
They were forming battle lines.
Turgon remembered Ecthelion's accusation.
Malgus wants war.
Then Malgus's own words.
Haven will attack first, I assure you.
For the first time, Turgon wondered whether he had misunderstood the man he had admired since childhood.
"Hold on," Nolondir said.
The Starry accelerated.
Havenite warnings immediately filled the communications system.
"Unidentified vessel, alter course. Oan orbital traffic is restricted under Commonwealth emergency authority."
Nolondir ignored it.
"Twelve patrol craft moving to intercept," Celebriel warned.
"I see them."
"You have a plan?"
"Of course."
Turgon gripped his restraints.
"What is it?"
Nolondir smiled.
"Fly faster."
Turgon stared at him.
"That isn't a plan."
"It has worked surprisingly often."
The Starry banked sharply.
Turgon was thrown against his restraints as Havenite craft swept toward them. Warning shots passed close enough to illuminate the cockpit, but Nolondir drove the old courier between two patrol formations before dropping toward Oa's orbital plane.
"Missile lock!"
Celebriel activated countermeasures.
Decoys erupted behind them.
Two Havenite missiles changed course and detonated harmlessly while the Starry crossed beneath a larger warship.
Turgon looked through the window and saw the vessel's hull passing so close above them that he could distinguish individual weapon emplacements.
"This is insane!"
"Thank you!" Nolondir called back.
"That was not a fucking compliment!" Turgon screamed.
Behind them, new alerts appeared.
The Concord fleet had entered weapons range.
Haven's ships reacted immediately, turning toward the approaching force and tightening the blockade formation.
That distraction was enough.
"There!"
Celebriel marked a widening gap between two Commonwealth cruiser groups.
Nolondir drove the Starry through it.
A final warning beam passed behind them.
Then the Haven fleet began shrinking on the sensors.
No one spoke for some time. Only when the planet itself lay several thousand miles behind them did Turgon finally loosen his grip on the edge of his seat and lean back.
He turned toward the viewing port.
Oa hung in the distance, smaller now, but the fleets surrounding it were still visible as clusters of light against the dark. The Concord and Directorate formations continued their advance, neither side showing any sign of backing down.
Turgon had spent centuries imagining what it would feel like to finally leave Oa. He had expected excitement, perhaps even relief at seeing the wider universe for himself.
Instead, as he watched the fleets close around his home, he felt only dread.
Celebriel looked toward him.
"You still think Ecthelion was exaggerating?"
For several minutes after escaping the blockade, no one spoke.
The Starry continued toward Sanctuary at the highest speed its aging engines could sustain, leaving Oa and the gathering fleets behind them. Turgon remained near one of the viewing ports, still trying to reconcile everything he had learned over the last day with the world he had believed in for four hundred years.
Eventually, another question pushed its way to the front of his mind.
He turned toward Celebriel.
"How did you do that?"
She looked up from the navigation display. "Do what?"
"Back in the transport. The constructs."
Celebriel's expression became knowing.
Turgon pointed toward her hands. "You made a shield. Nolondir made a sword. None of you have rings, so how were you using Green Lantern powers?"
"We weren't."
Turgon stared at her.
"I watched you create a green construct."
"Yes."
"That is what Green Lanterns do."
"No. That is what people who can manipulate Will do."
Turgon frowned.
Celebriel leaned back against the console.
"All Oans possess a connection to the green light. Every one of us."
Celebriel raised one hand.
A faint green glow appeared around her fingers. It gathered slowly, requiring far more concentration than Turgon had ever seen Malgus use, before forming into a small translucent bird no larger than her palm. The construct flapped its wings twice, circled her hand, and dissolved.
Turgon leaned closer.
"No ring."
"No ring."
"But if every Oan can do that, why doesn't everyone?"
"Because most Oans are never taught how."
Celebriel rubbed her hand after the effort.
"And because what we can do is nothing compared to an actual Green Lantern. Most of us can manage small objects, simple weapons, personal barriers. A particularly gifted practitioner might do more, but a ring amplifies Will on a completely different scale."
"In the Covenant, children who show the ability are encouraged to develop it," Latharon explained. "Elsewhere, many still consider the practice improper."
Turgon looked at his own hand.
"Did the ancient Oans know about this?"
"Yes," Latharon said. "They did not particularly like it either."
Celebriel smiled. "Apparently being stubborn is one of the few traditions we preserved perfectly."
Latharon continued. "Long before the Black Night, an Oan discovered he could draw upon the green light within himself without a ring. Many believed he was violating the order Ion had established, because only those chosen by rings were supposed to wield the light."
"What happened to him?"
"He went to Ion."
Latharon's mouth twitched slightly.
"Ion thought it was wonderful."
"He encouraged the Oan to continue learning. When others objected, Ion allowed him and those who wished to study beside him to leave Oa and establish a community where they could explore the ability without causing division."
"Where?"
"Far from here. Millions of years later, their descendants returned to Oa and established a monastery in the Valley of Will. Much of what the Covenant now teaches about internal Will comes from them."
Turgon sat back.
Another thing he had somehow never learned.
"How much of Oan history is everyone lying about?"
Celebriel shrugged. "Depends on which government wrote your textbook."
Before Turgon could answer, Ecthelion suddenly leaned toward one of the sensor panels.
"We have company."
Nolondir's expression changed immediately.
"What?"
"Three contacts behind us. Closing quickly."
The display identified them seconds later.
Emerald Knight interceptors.
Nolondir looked at the tactical screen, then at the approaching ships.
"By Ion's hairy balls."
The Starry banked violently.
Turgon grabbed the nearest support as three emerald beams crossed the space they had occupied a moment earlier.
"They followed us through the blockade?" Celebriel asked.
"Apparently Malgus really wants Mr. Blue Eyes back."
"I don't like being called that!"
Another blast struck the rear shields.
The entire ship shook.
"Shield integrity sixty-two percent!" Ecthelion shouted.
Nolondir pushed the engines harder.
Sanctuary was already visible ahead.
The world looked almost unreal compared with Oa, an enormous sphere dominated by oceans and continents almost completely covered in wilderness.
"Get us into the atmosphere," Celebriel ordered.
The Emerald Knights fired again.
One blast struck the Starry's left engine.
Warning lights exploded across the cockpit.
"Engine failure!"
"Compensating!"
"You cannot compensate for half the engine being gone!"
"I can compensate for anything if everyone stops shouting!"
Turgon looked through the window as Sanctuary rapidly filled his vision.
Another impact struck them.
This one tore something important loose inside the ship.
The lights failed.
Artificial gravity disappeared for half a second before emergency systems restored it.
"We're going down," Nolondir said.
Turgon's stomach dropped.
Celebriel fought with the controls. "Can you land?"
"No."
The Starry entered Sanctuary's atmosphere.
Fire spread across the forward shields.
Turgon could see forests beneath them now, stretching endlessly in every direction as the crippled vessel screamed through the clouds.
"Brace!"
A final shot from the pursuing Knights struck the rear of the ship.
The Starry began breaking apart.
Metal tore away.
The hull split, and the entire ship came apart around them.
Turgon was thrown into open air.
Pieces of the Starry tumbled around him while Celebriel, Nolondir, Latharon, and Ecthelion fell in different directions beneath the burning remains of the vessel.
Blue light flickered weakly around Turgon's hand.
"Protect them!"
The ring responded.
Four blue spheres erupted into existence, each racing toward one of his companions before expanding around them. Latharon vanished into one protective bubble, Celebriel into another. Nolondir and Ecthelion were caught moments later.
Turgon managed to create one around himself just before the strength left his ring.
The blue light flickered.
Trees rushed toward him.
"Oh, fuck."
The sphere struck the forest.
Everything went black.
========
Turgon woke to rain falling onto his face.
"Ow."
He tried to sit up and immediately regretted it.
Pain spread through his entire body, though nothing seemed broken. He remained on the ground for several seconds before forcing himself upright and placing one hand against the side of his head.
Rain continued falling around him.
He looked down.
He was lying inside the remains of a house.
Blackened stone walls rose around him, most ending only a few feet above the ground. Burned support beams lay among thick vegetation that had grown through the ruins, while vines covered what remained of a doorway nearby.
Turgon slowly stood.
More ruins surrounded him.
Dozens.
No.
Hundreds.
He could see them extending through the forest, old roads nearly swallowed by roots and grass, collapsed homes standing between enormous trees that had reclaimed the settlement.
Something terrible had happened here.
"You're awake."
Turgon spun around.
Blue light gathered beneath one of the ruined archways.
Adara materialized from it.
She stood before him in the same dark-skinned form and flowing blue dress he had seen before, but now her entire body emitted a soft sapphire glow that illuminated the rain passing through the air around her.
Turgon stared.
"You're really here."
"Yes."
He looked at his ring, then back at her.
"How?"
"The Battery is nearby. Close enough that I can manifest myself."
Turgon suddenly remembered the crash.
"The others."
He turned sharply, searching the ruins.
"Celebriel? Latharon? Ecthelion? Nolondir?"
"They are alive."
Turgon stopped.
Adara smiled.
"You protected them. They landed some distance away and are making their way here now."
Turgon's shoulders dropped with relief.
"Thank Ion."
Then he looked around again.
The relief faded.
"Where are we?"
Adara did not answer immediately.
Turgon stepped through the broken doorway.
The rain had softened enough that he could see more of the settlement now. The pattern of the streets, the houses, even the remains of what looked like a small public square stirred something uncomfortable inside him.
His brow furrowed.
"This place…"
Adara looked away.
Turgon walked farther.
"I've seen this before."
"You have."
He turned toward her.
"When?"
Adara's expression softened.
"I am surprised you remember even that much."
Turgon stared at her.
Then something flashed through his mind.
Shouting.
He flinched.
A child crying.
Fire.
Turgon grabbed his head.
Another image came.
Green light moving through smoke.
People running.
Someone holding him.
"What…"
He staggered backward.
"What was that?"
Adara remained beside him.
"This was once my greatest pride."
The ruins seemed suddenly colder.
"And my greatest failure."
Turgon lowered his hands.
"What happened here?"
Adara looked across the destroyed settlement.
"Thousands lived in this place."
Her gaze moved toward the forest beyond it.
"After Knull's defeat, one Green Lantern changed everything for me. Her name was Lithiel."
"She was the Lantern through whom I first entered the physical universe during the Black Night," Adara continued. "Only for a brief time, but the connection remained afterward. Lithiel learned to hear me. Eventually, she learned what I was, what Hope could become, and what Ion had intended for the Emotional Spectrum."
Adara looked toward Turgon's blue ring.
"Together, we built the first Blue Power Battery here on Sanctuary."
Turgon stared at the ruins.
"And all these people?"
"Oans who believed Hope deserved its own place beside Will. Some had once been Green Lanterns. Others were scholars, monks, soldiers, families, and descendants of those who followed Lithiel."
A faint smile appeared on Adara's face.
"I hoped that one day I might create a Corps of my own. Not to replace my brother's, but to stand beside it. To protect life, strengthen others when despair threatened to overcome them, and perhaps one day help Ion himself."
Turgon looked around again.
"What happened?"
Another memory flashed through him.
This time stronger.
A burning building.
Someone screaming his name.
Turgon stumbled.
Adara raised one hand.
"You were very young."
Blue light spread across the ruins.
The rain stopped.
Turgon's eyes widened as the world around him changed.
Blackened walls rebuilt themselves in seconds. Stone rose from the earth, roofs returned, trees retreated from roads, and grass-covered foundations became houses once more. The overgrown settlement transformed into a living town beneath bright sunlight.
People appeared.
Hundreds of Oans moved through the streets, speaking, laughing, and working. Some wore simple blue and white robes. Others wore ordinary clothing.
Turgon noticed their eyes.
Blue.
Not all exactly like his, but shades of sapphire, azure, and pale sky blue appeared everywhere he looked.
His breath caught.
Adara walked beside him through the memory.
Ahead, a young couple sat near a small garden outside one of the houses.
An Oan man was crouched in the grass while a little boy attempted to climb onto his back. The man laughed, caught him, and lifted him high overhead.
A woman sat nearby watching them.
Her eyes were blue.
Exactly like Turgon's.
Turgon stopped.
Something inside him knew before Adara spoke.
"That is you."
Turgon could not move.
The child was perhaps two years old.
Turgon walked toward them.
His father lowered the child and chased him around the garden while the woman laughed.
"Míriel," Turgon whispered.
Adara nodded.
"Your mother."
Turgon's eyes filled immediately.
He had spent four hundred years imagining this moment.
He moved closer to Míriel, staring at every detail of her face as though afraid she might disappear if he blinked.
"My father?"
"Ellorent."
Turgon looked toward the man.
"Ellorent."
His father.
He finally had their names.
Adara's expression grew sad.
"When the Battery was completed, we believed it was time to bring the wonderful news to Oa."
The sunlight dimmed.
Turgon turned toward her.
"We did not understand what Oa had become."
The vision changed.
Fire erupted.
Turgon recoiled.
The peaceful streets disappeared beneath smoke and screaming.
Emerald Knights poured into the settlement.
Green constructs tore through houses.
People ran in every direction while others attempted to fight back using the faint internal light.
Then someone descended from the sky.
Malgus.
Turgon's blood went cold.
"No."
The Green Lantern landed among the settlement's defenders.
Malgus raised one hand.
A construct blade cut through three Oans at once.
Turgon stepped backward.
"No."
More Emerald Knights advanced behind him.
Blue-robed Oans tried to form shields.
They shattered beneath Malgus's constructs.
Turgon's eyes found Ellorent.
His father had joined several defenders in the central street, green light burning around his hands as they attempted to hold back the Knights.
Ellorent looked toward the house.
"Run!"
Míriel grabbed the young Turgon.
The adult Turgon followed them instinctively.
"Mother…"
Behind them, Ellorent charged Malgus.
The difference in power was horrific.
Ellorent created a green spear.
Malgus shattered it with a flick of his ring.
Ellorent raised a shield.
A construct struck him hard enough to send him through a wall.
Turgon stopped.
"No."
Ellorent tried to rise.
Then Malgus killed him.
Míriel kept running.
Turgon forced himself after her.
The memory carried them toward the edge of the settlement, where smoke had grown so thick that even the sunlight barely penetrated it. Míriel held her son against her chest while emerald flashes approached from behind.
She looked around desperately.
Then down at the child.
Míriel kissed her son's forehead.
Blue light gathered around her hands.
Turgon stared.
A blue sphere formed around the child.
Young Turgon began crying.
"Mama!"
Míriel's face broke.
"I love you."
She pushed both hands upward.
The blue construct shot into the sky.
Turgon watched his younger self disappear above the burning settlement.
Footsteps approached behind Míriel.
She turned.
Malgus emerged through the smoke.
Míriel raised her hands as blue light formed around them.
She attacked, and Malgus's ring flared in answer.
The vision vanished before the strike could land, leaving Turgon standing among the ruins once more with rain pouring around him. For several seconds, he heard nothing except his own uneven breathing and the steady patter of water against broken stone.
His legs trembled beneath him. Tears ran down his face and disappeared into the rain before he could wipe them away. He closed his eyes, hoping to shut out what he had seen, but the images remained as clear as they had been moments before.
Adara stayed beside him without speaking.
Eventually, Turgon forced himself to breathe and opened his eyes.
"He murdered them."
"Yes."
Turgon looked around at the settlement.
"All of them?"
"Almost."
The answer hurt more than he expected.
Adara stepped closer.
"You are the last of Lithiel's legacy, Turgon."
He looked down at his ring.
"The last one capable of carrying forward what they began."
Adara's blue light grew brighter.
"Lithiel and I created this community because she believed Hope could someday save others from darkness."
Turgon could barely look at her.
"Why me?"
"Your story may have had a tragic beginning, but even then, you still believed tomorrow might hold something better."
Adara looked toward the ring.
"That is why it chose you."
Turgon's hand tightened.
Adara turned toward the centre of the ruined settlement.
"And now my brother needs that hope."
Turgon looked at her.
"The Source was once part of him, but it has become his prison. He is hurt, lost within darkness and memory, unable to find his way back to the universe he protected."
Turgon's eyes moved once more across the ruins of the only home he had never remembered having.
His parents had died here.
Malgus had killed them.
Everything he had believed about the Green Lantern who had inspired him as a child now lay shattered beside those old walls.
Turgon wiped the remaining tears from his face.
"What do I have to do?"
"Repeat after me."
Adara raised her hands.
Blue light spread across the ground beneath them.
Turgon felt his ring respond.
Adara spoke.
"In fearful day, in raging night,"
Turgon swallowed.
Then repeated it.
"In fearful day, in raging night,"
The ruins began to glow.
"The light of hope shall be our spark."
"The light of hope shall be our spark."
Blue energy moved through the old roads like water, tracing paths buried beneath centuries of vegetation.
"With strong hearts full, our souls ignite,"
Turgon's voice strengthened.
"With strong hearts full, our souls ignite,"
The ground trembled.
Adara smiled wider.
"Through darkest hours, hope burns bright."
Turgon looked at her.
Together, they spoke the final line.
"Through darkest hours, hope burns bright."
The world answered.
Blue light erupted beneath the settlement.
Turgon stumbled backward as ancient mechanisms awakened beneath Sanctuary for the first time in centuries. The earth split along lines hidden beneath the ruins, revealing sapphire energy pouring upward from deep underground.
Something enormous began to rise.
The Blue Power Battery emerged from beneath the earth.
Ancient towers unfolded around it as the structure climbed toward the sky, its light intensifying with every second. The ring on Turgon's hand blazed to life, its nearly depleted charge replenishing almost instantly as Hope surged through it.
Adara rose into the air.
Her form expanded.
Blue wings of light spread behind her as the Battery reached its full height.
Then the energy moved beyond the settlement.
Across Sanctuary, forests glowed sapphire beneath the rain. Rivers became ribbons of blue light. Oceans reflected the colour back toward the sky while ancient systems hidden across the planet awakened one after another.
From orbit, Sanctuary itself began to shine.
Turgon stood before the awakened Battery, tears still drying on his face, while the symbol of Hope burned brighter upon his hand.
=========
Latharon, Celebriel, Nolondir, and Ecthelion had been walking for nearly five hours by the time the forest finally began to thin.
Nolondir pushed another branch out of his way.
"Are we absolutely certain we want to keep going toward the place the strange blue ghost lady told us to find?"
"Yes," Celebriel said.
"Yes," Latharon added.
"Obviously," Ecthelion said.
Nolondir looked between them. "I was hoping at least one of you would pretend this was unusual."
"We just saw the entire planet glow blue," Celebriel said. "I think we are well past unusual."
They continued through the trees.
The blue light became visible before the ruins did.
All four stopped together.
The remains of an old settlement stretched before them, its buildings burned and broken beneath centuries of vegetation. Yet none of them paid much attention to the ruins.
Something immense floated above them.
A Power Battery.
It resembled the Central Power Battery on Oa, though this one was considerably smaller. Sapphire energy moved through its surface in slow currents while the symbol of the Blue Lantern Corps burned upon its centre.
Ecthelion's mouth fell open.
"Great Ion."
Celebriel looked at him.
"For once, I think that reaction is appropriate."
Nolondir simply stared.
"There really was another Battery."
Latharon bowed his head.
"So Lady Adara spoke truly."
"Great. You're here."
They all looked around.
Turgon's voice had come from above them.
Celebriel tilted her head back.
Her eyes widened.
Turgon descended from the sky.
He was flying.
Blue light surrounded him completely, carrying him gently downward until he landed several metres away. His clothes were gone, replaced by flowing blue and black robes marked across the chest with the same strange symbol as the Battery above them. His ring burned brightly upon his hand.
More striking than any of that was his expression.
For the first time since they had met him, he looked completely certain of where he was supposed to be.
Ecthelion stared at him in open awe.
"You did it."
Turgon looked down at the ring.
"Yes."
He raised his hand slightly.
"I suppose this makes me the first Blue Lantern."
Nolondir circled him once.
Ecthelion approached more slowly.
"The first Blue Lantern."
Turgon's smile faded somewhat.
"We don't have time to celebrate."
He looked toward the stars beyond Sanctuary's atmosphere.
"We need to return to Oa."
Celebriel's expression hardened.
"Malgus."
Turgon nodded.
"He has a great deal to answer for."
He looked back toward the others.
"But this is bigger than him now. Oa is about to tear itself apart, Haven and the Concord are preparing for war, and Ion is trapped inside the Source."
He glanced toward the distant stars.
"If we are going to save Oa, we need to bring him back."
Latharon folded his arms.
"There is already a war beginning above Oa. Even with your ring, can you stop both fleets?"
Turgon considered the question.
"Alone?"
He shook his head.
"No."
Ecthelion's hopeful expression dropped slightly.
Turgon smiled.
"Thankfully, Lady Jade called for some backup."
Celebriel frowned.
"Backup?"
Turgon looked upward.
"The true last Green Lantern."
They followed his gaze.
For several seconds, there was nothing.
Then the sky began turning green.
Tiny points of emerald light appeared beyond Sanctuary's atmosphere.
Hundreds.
Then thousands.
More and more arrived until the stars themselves seemed to be moving.
Turgon's smile widened.
"The Puffs."
Far above Oa, the fleets of the Concord, Directorate, and Haven faced one another across open space.
Weapons were charged.
Shields were raised.
Then thousands of emerald lights appeared above them.
Every sensor system in the region reacted at once.
The lights descended.
They moved too quickly and in too many directions to belong to ships.
Individual glowing spheres separated from the larger formation, thousands upon thousands of tiny orange beings surrounded by Green Lantern energy.
The Puff Collective had returned.
One voice became thousands.
Then thousands became one.
"FOR ION!"
"FOR THE CORPS!"
"FOR THE PUFFS!"
The Collective descended upon the gathered fleets.
Turgon looked at Celebriel, Latharon, Nolondir, and Ecthelion.
"Hope strengthens Will."
He raised his ring.
A sphere of blue energy formed around the four Oans.
Nolondir looked around himself.
"Oh, I don't like this."
"You survived the last one."
"The last one ended with me hitting the ground."
Turgon launched into the sky.
The others shouted as the blue sphere followed him upward.
Ahead, the space around Oa burned emerald.
Turgon accelerated toward it.
The battle for Oa's fate had begun.
.
.
Max will be back next chapter.
You can read up to chapter 110 here.
p.a.t.r.eon.com/Illusiveone (check the chapter summary i have it there as well)