The Shapeshifter's Fate

by Chris Africa

  He sat at the sole table in her one-room hideout in the Blackwood, surrounded by vials of mysterious substances, empty pots, and stacks of books and papers. Jars and jugs, paper-wrapped packets, and more books stuffed the shelves lining the walls. Herbs for cooking, medicine, and magic hung in bundles from the ceiling alongside strings of onions and garlic. Other than the table, there was a bench on one wall piled with furs and a chair in front of the fireplace.

  Across the table, Granny's eyes fell closed, and her spoon dropped into the porridge. Her chin dropped to just above the food and stopped. A low wheezing moan issued from her mouth.

  "Granny, are you sleeping?"

  The old woman snorted, and her head jerked up. "What?" She scowled. "Didn't your parents ever teach you not to wake someone while they're napping?"

  Andrev didn't know how to react. "You were eating, and you fell asleep. I did not realize you consider that a nap."

  "Yes! Mealtime is my favorite time to nap. If you know what's good for you, you won't do that again."

  "Just to be sure, next time you fall asleep in your bowl, I should not wake you?" Andrev stirred his porridge to prevent it from solidifying. He added another generous dollop of yogurt and a giant spoonful of honey.

  "Now you're getting it!" Granny pointed her finger at him. For a few seconds, he thought she would fall back to sleep. Then she shoved a scoop of porridge in her mouth and chewed.

  "When will we stop cleaning so I can learn to read the book?" Andrev demanded. His hands were dry and raw. Whenever he finished one task, Granny revealed another dirty bin or cupboard for him to scrub.

  "Maybe this afternoon we'll take a break from chores. But before you learn about the book, you must know about the history of the book."

  Andrev straightened up. History was one of his favorite topics.

  Granny pointed at her head and stuffed another spoonful of gruel in her mouth, talking around her food. "This history exists only in the minds and hearts of the gate makers, people like me. There are only one or two of us in the entire world."

  "What's a gate maker? Does this have something to do with those portals you open with the rings?"

  Granny dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "Those are portals. A gate maker can open a doorway to the Underworld or the home of the gods."

  "Wow. So you've visited the Underworld?"

  "Would you travel to Erise' domain if you could? I didn't think so. Neither would I. Considering the gods separated themselves from humans, it seems a bad idea to bother them in their home. Because you can do something doesn't mean you should."

  "So who else is a gate maker?" Andrev finished the last of the yogurt and honey. He had eaten little porridge.

  Granny looked at him like he was crazy.

  "The Masterweaver, of course!"

  Andrev couldn't believe her words. "Thomlein Waet? Chassy's father?"

  "Is there another Masterweaver I don't know?"

  Andrev shook his head.

  "If you're not eating that food, give it to me. We don't waste in this house."

  He shoved his bowl over, and she resumed talking with her mouth full of food.

  "When the world was youngest, the gods shared all knowledge. Humans spoke and wrote the language of the gods, for it was their only language," Granny crooned in her scratchy voice. "The gods lived in Ayzwind among us, and they didn't hesitate to take human companions for themselves. And this is where we get the demigods and the elves and the dwarves and the other races of this world. Each race bears characteristics of their godly heritage. Dulisa herself gave the elves their longevity and appreciation of nature. Dwarves are Rehn's children, and they bear his brutish strength and magical resistance. The weavers of Waet Tree Village descend from Rehn and Dulisa, and are themselves demigods, having intermarried with humans for centuries."

  "You mean Chassy and Nita—"

  "Don't interrupt me, boy," she barked. "Do you want to hear the story or not?"

  "Yes. I was just—"

  "Then be silent until I am silent. The story of Rehn and Dulisa comes much later. I'm afraid I am getting far ahead of myself. First come Rehn and Falise. Theirs is a story of true and passionate love, the kind that the world has seen neither before nor since. Since the dawn of the gods, Rehn and Falise pursued each other across Ayzwind, until one day they had a child whom they named Erise. He was beautiful and perfect, and he inherited all the best qualities of both parents. As he grew into childhood and then manhood, he was the most powerful of all the greater gods. He may rule at the table of the gods one day if ever he turns from his evil ways."

  Andrev opened his mouth to correct her but thought the better of it. Surely, she was not speaking of Erise, god of the Underworld.

  "But another thing was also clear. Erise had a seed of corruption in his heart. He enjoyed cruelty to animals. He seemed unable to feel empathy. He killed for fun. When confronted with his crimes, he bore no remorse. With heavy hearts, Rehn and Falise heard the judgment on their only son: They must bind Erise into a separate plane until he had learned the skills required to live among gods and humans. They commanded him to populate his world with his own creations, to care for them, and to show them compassion and mercy. Asa herself would oversee his imprisonment. And there he has remained through many eras, for instead of healing and redeeming himself, Erise has grown blacker and more evil. Over the centuries, he has not learned compassion, empathy, or love. He creates, only to destroy."

  Andrev yawned at the pause. So Erise may once have had the opportunity to sit at the table of the gods, but now he never would.

  "Everyone knows the story of Rehn and Falise. How they were so distraught they had no other children."

  "No more children with each other. But they took many other lovers, and so their legacy continues. Now we come to the important part for you! Why did the language of the gods disappear? That is an important question." Granny scraped the last bit of porridge from her bowl with her fingers and licked it off.

  "I suppose so." But Andrev had heard this before and ached to learn something new. If only there was a book he could read about this, he would skip past the boring stuff.

  "But this failure of Rehn and Falise was infamous! Their reckless procreation endangered all beings, and none would allow them to forget. The gods called a plenum and decided the most powerful of them must relocate to another plane. No longer would they interact with humans. The language of the gods was full of magical symbols and meanings that they deemed harmful to the human world. Falise created languages for each of the world's races and erased from their minds the memory of the divine tongue.

  "Rehn was the most devastated by the banishment of his son. It was inconceivable to him that his child could so lose himself in power and ambition. Rehn called Erise 'Worse than nothing,' which is a condemning statement coming from the greatest of all the gods, especially when he is your father. He and Dulisa swore that this must never happen with their children. They gathered them and held a great ceremony. Half of all mystical energy in this world, he bound into the ground of the place we now know as Waet Tree Village. And so, the Waet Tree will grow nowhere else to this day."

  Andrev sat up. Waet Tree Village? He wondered if Granny had been silent long enough for him to talk. "Okay, let me see if I've got this straight. Chassy and Nita descend from gods? And the ground in Waet Tree Village is magical? Why did our parents keep this from us? This seems like a few important details to leave out of our entire childhood." Questions raced through his mind faster than he could spit them out.

  "Hold up, sunshine!" Granny hushed him with her hands. "There's more to this story. Chassy and Nita are the grandchildren of gods, but the village of their ancestors binds most of their power. Away from home, they are weaker by half. To prevent their children from ever seeking to use their abilities for evil, Rehn cast a Spell of Mysteries on the village that prevents the descendants from seeking to learn and remember spells. They do not study it or keep any record, nor do they teach
it to their children. This is by design. Keeps the demigods from roaming the world causing a lot of trouble. And there, there you have it! All the answers you have been seeking in one legend."

  That was some flawed logic, Andrev thought. "But it isn't keeping Chassy and Nita from roaming the world. And Nita has already been using magic."

  "Ah, yes, I can see what you mean. There is a catch. The Spell of Mysteries does not prevent descendants from learning of their abilities or using them outside the village. It only prevents villagers from teaching their children. Thomlein Waet knows his weavings are enchanted but does not know that he is imbuing them. If Nita returned to the village today, she would forget she could do magic and the reason for her silver arm, but if someone attacked her, she would defend herself."

  "What about the Wizards at Xillith?" Andrev said. "Did they all come from the village?"

  "Oh, no, not by far! Rehn and Falise shaped this world from both magic and intellect. Even people born outside of Waet Tree Village can learn to use the inherent energy available to all of us—take you, for instance."

  Andrev grunted. There it was again. After his father died, his mother traveled to the village and married Stefan Smyth. He had lived 17 years of his life before learning the truth of his heritage: he was neither Stefan's son nor a village native. His body carried no innate magic.

  "Then why did she tell me my power was an abomination? What power was she talking about?" Andrev spoke out loud, forgetting Granny knew nothing of the Nydwon's strange predictions from last summer.

  Granny's mouth formed an O and her eyes opened wide. "Perhaps you should tell me about the person who spoke these words and the exact circumstances."

  You shall be the fall of the Waet. You shall draw the vengeance of Ana and Asa. Your power is an abomination, and your blood shall mend the divide.

  Andrev didn't want to think about it again, but he told Granny the whole sordid story. When he finished, she jumped up and rummaged through a pile of books to find a particular one. Then she paged through it. Each time he tried to interrupt her, she irritated him by holding up a finger to shush him. Finally, she closed the book with a thump and sat back with a satisfied look on her face.

  "You are the one mentioned in the Book of Remembered Prophecies." She stared at him with open awe. "The one who was not sent but arrived anyway. You are the anti-mage."

  There she went babbling nonsense again. "What does any of that mean?"

  "Because of the protection spell on Waet Tree Village, only persons the gods guide there may see the village."

  "So Vornole, Lyear, and that Nydwon were all sent to our village by the gods? Do you mean that all the hundreds of people who come to our inn every year are puppets playing out a role so we can have an inn?"

  "Goodness, no! Some the gods send intentionally, like your strange visitors last summer. Also, travelers in need of a place to eat and rest will find the village. If someone later asks them how to get there, they'll not remember; and yet one who has been before may find the village again if they harbor no bad intent. But the gods overlooked you!" Granny's voice trailed off into a squeak.

  "What does that mean?"

  "The book doesn't say, but I have an idea. I would imagine that your mother was sent to the village. When she arrived, the Spell of Mysteries allowed her to see and yet not to see—that's how it is stated in the Book. Because of your natural ability to suppress magic—"

  "Natural what?" Andrev interrupted.

  "What have I told you about interrupting? You arrived in the village with your mother, but unknown to the one who sent her. You were the secret stowaway who entered the village without permission!"

  Andrev shifted in his seat. Entering without permission of the gods seemed like it could be a major transgression. "Is there some significance to that?"

  Granny waved a hand as if she were shooing a fly. "No, no, absolutely none. The power of the Spell of Mysteries is so strong that you fell under it the minute you entered the village. Have you ever once realized there was anything special about you or your friends? No, you never did."

  Andrev shook his head and let out a breath of relief.

  "But it marks you as the one. With training and practice, you could break the Spell of Mysteries and destroy the protections of the gods! I'm afraid your prophecy is true."

  19: Chassy

  Chassy stared into the mirror, shocked. A layer of smooth fur covered his cheeks. Was this even possible? He held his hands in front of him and looked at his feet, but everything he saw outside the mirror appeared normal.

  He handed the mirror back to Nita. "Does my face...?"

  "Look like a gigantic mouse with glasses?" She grinned and shrugged.

  "Maybe you're a shapeshifter." Cherise touched his cheek, and he batted her hand away. "Your fur is so soft. I used to have a mouse."

  "I'm not your new pet!"

  William crossed his arms and stroked his chin. "Can you become a whole mouse, Chassy? And can you become small, like a real one, or are you always large? And do you have a mouse's abilities? What about talking to the other mice?"

  "Gods! Why should I do that? I want to become a human again." Chassy breathed deeply and focused as he had while he was listening for other animals. He thought of his own face on his own body.

  "Well, you have the human part covered." William shook his head. "Chassy, you spent the entirety of last summer trying to figure out your power. Now you treat it like a curse. This is it! You can talk to animals and shift into them. You should explore how far you can push it, not shrink away like a schoolboy who had his first kiss."

  Chassy grimaced. William was right, but this wasn't the power he had imagined. He wanted Nita's or Quon's or Xander's ability!

  "Why should he become a mouse?" Nita asked.

  "Mice are great at gnawing things. If he stays large, imagine what he could chew through in times of need!"

  Chassy wondered what trouble he could get himself into that he would need to chew himself out.

  "And if he grows small, imagine the places he could go without being noticed!" Cherise sounded far too excited.

  "I want to stay who I am and not join the animal world," Chassy said. "Besides, I'm exhausted now. My legs don't want to walk."

  Nita put her arm around him. "That happens to me when I use this ring. But shapeshifting is your power, Chassy! With enough practice, it'll be easy."

  William motioned toward the city. "Let's walk for a few more hours before nightfall. Tomorrow we'll reach the gates of Lyesfare!"

  Chassy brightened. Visiting other cities was an amazing experience. He'd only been to a few places outside Waet Tree Village, but he'd seen so many weird and interesting things. "Let's keep moving. I want to get to Lyesfare as soon as possible."

  ***

  Though his friends encouraged him otherwise, Chassy spent the next two days ignoring animal sounds and focused on keeping control of his own body. He dared not walk into the city with a furry head or a hawk's beak, no matter how much this fascinated his friends. With Lyesfare being the home of the Wizards of the True Faith, he bet even the guards on the walls watched for potential wizards and sorcerers to imprison when they arrived. And he had no experience with magic before last summer, so he didn't know how regular people would react if they saw him change.

  It was too much. Why couldn't he be a normal guy with normal guy powers! Like the ability to move objects with his mind, blow things up, or call lightning from the heavens.

  As they walked, the walls of the city grew ever closer, and Chassy saw Lyesfare dwarfed Sunoa by many times. The walls stretched three times taller with ant-sized guards walking the tops. The gate came into view, with wagons lined up waiting. Remembering their near miss with the guards at Sunoa, Chassy nudged Nita.

  "Remember how you almost got us thrown into the dungeons last summer?" he murmured. "Will you please not do that again?"

  She stopped with her hands on her hips and fixed him with a glare that might strike anot
her man dead where he stood. "You mean, ignore the suffering of people who are being sold into slavery? If that's what you are asking, you can run back to Xander's and hide, Chassy Waet. This silver tree didn't grow on me so I could spend my days picking up biscuits with my hands in my pockets. If someone needs help, I'll help them."

  William spoke in a gentle, understanding voice. "You don't have to betray your conscience, Nita. We are asking you to be more circumspect. Have a plan before rushing in and getting everyone captured or killed. And give your friends the opportunity to help."

  Nita appeared to soften and relent. "Fine. But if you don't back me up, don't expect me to stand around watching bad things happen to good people."

  The long line moved fast, and they approached the gates well before nightfall. Twenty guards lined the path, and two gestured in their direction as they approached. Chassy tried not to act nervous. When they were even with the guards, one called out to them.

  "You with the hood! Come over here and show your face."

  Chassy's heart beat as fast as a rabbit's. Thinking of a rabbit made him worry he would transform, and he imagined his ears sprouting and whiskers popping from his face. He concentrated on staying a human. Nita pulled back her hood, revealing Tuva, the baker's daughter from back home. She had pulled her brown hair straight back from her round face into a neat bun at the back of her head. No trace of the silver tree showed. She smiled, and was much prettier than the real Tuva, despite the crooked front tooth.

  "Now why would a pretty thing like you hide your face inside a hood?" One guard leered at her. He grinned and stroked her cheek with two fingers.

  Chassy cringed and his heart skipped. Nita should have simpered and let it pass. She might have giggled and curtsied and blushed her little head off like she was enjoying the compliment.