by Lexy Wolfe
Skyfire stood, shaking his head slightly. "This way, I think. She had always been difficult to find if she didn't want to be found. And she rarely ever wanted to be found. But there was always a trick to finding her." The three set off, jumping from the branch they were on onto another lower one.
"How do ye know?" Emil asked Emaris in a low voice. "'Bout what we needs t'do?"
"I just do," Emaris rumbled back. "Don't ask. Just follow yer gypsy instincts." He nodded towards Skyfire. "Remember the Desanti flaw. If nothing else here be real, that still be too real, an' we don’t have Storm with us t' keep 'im from going insane." Emil nodded and followed the man as Skyfire ran into a tree bear, the creature roaring at the intrusion, unsheathing long claws. All three readied to engage the beast together.
Chapter 34
Deafened by the howling winds, Terrence put an arm around Ophilia as he created a shield to buffer against the ruthless scouring of volcanic dust and searing heat. Unsure where to go, he headed towards the vague dark shape ahead, praying it was some sort of shelter.
"What is this place?!" Ophilia shouted over the roar of the winds around them.
"I don't know!" Terrence responded. They stumbled as they nearly tripped over a bloody mass that had been stripped of skin, tatters of fabric hinting it was once a human. Straightening up a little, he frowned as he listened closer to the quality of the winds. "No... It can't be," he said to himself.
"Can't be what?" Ophilia asked, shoving his shoulder to get his attention. "Come on! I don't want to die in this!"
Nodding, Terrence moved forward until they reached a tiny hollow of rock. It was barely large enough for them both, but it was enough shelter against the wind to protect them. Terrence stared at a small rodent that was with them as it shrieked in agonizing pain, mutating into a chitan. "Oh, gods. The Raging One told me about the Change Winds through Dzee, so we both knew... This is Desantiva's past after the Great War!"
"What?!" Ophilia stared at the small creature as it unfolded, jewel-like violet eyes blinking as it got its bearings. Purposefully, it minced into the blowing winds, untouched by the abrasive sands as it sought other, unoccupied shelter. "But... why are we here? This is our test?"
"So to speak," another voice stated, startling them. They stared at Kendle, the black-haired, blue-eyed man dressed in indigo and seemingly untouched by the storm that raged only inches away. He studied Terrence closely. "Do you remember me, Tristan?"
"No, I... wait." Terrence narrowed his eyes as he stared. "Yes, I do know you. You're one of the Kings of Kings' Peak."
"Nevermind the whole 'kings and queens' business. My kind were called the Roylat. My name is Kendle." The divine servant waved a hand towards the wall of blowing sand. "And yes, this is Desantiva, shortly after you left." When Terrence started in shock, he clarified, "The first time."
Ophilia frowned at Kendle, then looked at Terrence. After a moment, her frown melted into an expression of shock. "You were here in another life, Terrence?"
"Indeed he was. As were you, in a manner of speaking," Kendle told her. He smiled faintly. "Your mother is an astute woman. She named you the same as you had been back then."
"Our test is to try to survive this?" Ophilia wondered. "Did we not survive before?"
Terrence reached out to let the winds blow against his fingers. He stared at the thin lines of blood caused by the blowing sand. "We were never here to see this. I am sure of it." He looked at Kendle. "Storm said the ragewinds blew when the Raging One grieved. Sometimes they blew for months."
"These were not normal ragewinds. These were the Change Winds. This storm lasted three phases of the greater moon," Kendle stated quietly. "Only one lasted longer. When Dzee and other Totani were lost... and Zhekali died."
Both Terrence and Ophilia looked at Kendle sharply. "But that was thousands of years ago!" Ophilia argued. "I can't even count the numbers of generations that has been!"
"Time is irrelevant and we are not going to test either of you anyway. Not by making you retrace your past steps, anyway." Kendle's cool regard was unsettlingly calm. "If either of you were anyone else, my brothers and I would. But the last time we crossed paths... well. You reminded us why we should not underestimate your ability to think outside the box." He looked towards the blowing sand. "It took a hundred years for us to contain the rift you created. I am not eager to repeat the experience and instigate you into repeating your last... ah..."
"Rift?" The pair traded bewildered looks. "We created a rift?"
"Oh, yes," Kendle confirmed blandly. "We should have expected something drastic of Avarian and Zhekali's only surviving child." He looked at Ophilia in amusement. "You were completely unexpected, and were instrumental in the near end of the world." He held up a hand. "Oh, do not look so horrified. The world did not implode nor did the river of time stop, and you taught us to never underestimate the power of mortal hearts and minds." Looking towards the blowing sand, Kendle stated musingly, "Instead of us testing you, you had tested us."
"What did we... I do?" Ophilia wondered. Kendle crossed his arms with a disbelieving expression. "I mean, so I don't do it again."
"You tried to change the past." Kendle waited a moment until he was certain their surprise had eased enough they would comprehend his words. "You were a young Guardian. He was chieftain of the na'Zhekali tribe. You both met, as you had now. He taught you to see things differently, as he has started doing now. But he had not come to Fortress to become a Guardian. He wanted to see where his parents died."
"I never knew my parents," Terrence said slowly, staring into space. "They died when I was born. I wanted... what I wanted most was to know them. Know they were proud of me."
Ophilia's expression filled with sympathy, leaning close to put her hand on his arm, her head on his shoulder. "It was too bad going back was impossible."
The Illaini Magus blinked as his eyes focused on the present, looking down at Ophilia in surprise. "But it wasn't impossible." He narrowed a look on the Roylat. "Was it? If time is like a river, then one should be able to move through it as fish swim through a river."
Kendle looked vastly amused. "And that is exactly why we do not test either of you as the others are being tested. You got it into your heads to try to save Tristan's parents and prevent the Great War's final battle. You also had the strength and ability to make the attempt, a potential we neglected to take seriously until too late."
Ophilia looked at Terrence. "He was an Adept and Illaini Githalin then like he is now?"
"He knows who he was. And what he was." When Petal peeked out of Terrence's pocket, Kendle held up a warning finger. "No cheating this time, little one. He has to come to the realization himself, without your help."
"You said I was Avarian and Zhekali's youngest..." Terrence's eyes widened. "I was half Totani?! But we thought the A'tyrna Ulan were the children of mage and warrior..."
"Oh, they were much more than anyone realized. Yes, you were half Totani. You were the only A'tyrna Ulan to survive the Great War," Kendle confirmed. "Your siblings as well as the few others born to Forentan mages that followed your sire to live in peace with the Desanti hold Desantiva together to this day. While the other pillars have since collapsed, those six endure."
"A'tyrna Ulan are the children of warriors and mages," Terrence argued. "Totani are immortal. They do not... Divine servants don't breed with mortals!" Kendle simply arched an eyebrow at the exclamation. "Besides, there were other warrior-mage children. I know this!"
"A'tyrna Ulan are the children of mages and Totani. There was one Totani who was not immortal. She was the only one who had always walked the line between both worlds even before making the choice that doomed her." The Roylat looked away, grief touching his features. "Because I refused to accept who and what she had chosen to become."
Terrence grabbed Kendle's arm, shaking him roughly. "You had done something to my parents. When I was Tristan, you hinted at it, but you refused to admit to your mistakes." Jerking the Roylat towa
rds him, the young Illaini Githalin balled his other fist to punch him. "What had you done?!"
"Terrence!" Ophilia cried, grabbing his arm and holding him back with a tight grip. "Beating him now won't get him to tell us anything." She turned a narrow look on Kendle. "Wait until he explains first. Then beat him."
Kendle arched an eyebrow at Ophilia, just shaking his head. "You heard about the firebirds of Desantiva's volcanic lands? Firebirds are amazing creatures, you know. They are creatures that are neither mortal nor immortal. A natural paradox of the trinity of elements." Kendle paused a moment, sighing wistfully. "Firebirds are the living embodiment of fire. If they die of old age, they are reborn from their own ashes.
"The Totani are a branch of the Roylat who, so loving the land, took an animal form with their human one. Zhekali chose her animal form to be one of those magnificent creatures because they taught her the truth of mortality versus immortality. This made her unique among all divine servants. It still makes her unique." Kendle sighed heavily. "If only she would remember now what she had known then."
Terrence closed his eyes, clenching his fists. "Zhekali sacrificed her immortality to save the mortal she loved. She was human when I was born."
"Well." Kendle shifted uncomfortably. "Not exactly."
Ophilia narrowed her eyes on Kendle and asked slowly, "What do you mean, 'not exactly'?"
"The Timeless One commands the aspects of time," Terrence stated in a low voice, staring sightlessly. "Roylat appear, but are not, human. The Totani retain some of their animal form's aspects when they take a humanoid shape, but they are neither human nor animal still. When the Timeless One took part of Zhekali's soul, it took her immortality and her native magic, but it never changed the fact she was a Totani, not a true human." Focusing back on Kendle, he fixed his eyes on the vivid blue of the King. "What had happened to my... to Tristan's father that drove her to make that sacrifice?"
"The morelmi?" Ophilia whispered, hugging Terrence's arm as she whispered the name of the terrible spell.
"No. The morelmi is a spell that only severs the connection between the mind and the part of the soul that touches magic. When one who has had the morelmi used on them, that connection can restore itself, but only over the course of many, many lifetimes." Kendle grimly looked towards the wall of blowing sand. "It was a perverted form of the morelmi that destroyed that part of Avarian's soul that touched magic. He would have died, body and soul, never to be reborn.
"Zhekali was willing to give her life to spare his. But the Timeless One had little desire to cause the Raging One such grief, so proposed another solution. If Zhekali was willing to give a piece of her soul to Avarian temporarily, letting it restore what had been destroyed, in time, Avarian's immortal soul would be healed and then able to return, as is the nature of mortal souls. Zhekali asked to give more to restore him fully.
"The Timeless One agreed to the bargain, but had bound them to a condition they had to complete. Once Avarian's soul was mended, he was to return what she gave back to her." The Roylat shook his head with a soft sigh. "She would have regained her immortality, if they had not died in that final attack of the Great War. Their souls have been bound together since. But Zhekali... her heart remembers, even if her mind does not. And inevitably, she relives her death, and with their souls bound as they are, she and Avarian are cursed to repeat their untimely deaths until the bargain is complete."
"Oh my gods," Ophilia exclaimed. She stared at Terrence who had paled to a nearly bloodless white complexion. "Ash and Storm are Avarian and Zhekali reborn!"
Kendle smiled faintly. "You always were quick, Ophilia." The smile faded. "It was not supposed to be this way. No one expected the Great War or what happened because of it."
"I do not understand something. Why did Zhekali have to give so much?" Terrence asked. "If a piece would have been enough to restore him, why did she give so much of herself? Did she have to so he would be saved?"
Silent for a while, Kendle finally said, "She did not have to. She wanted to because... Because she loved him. She loved him more than even those she had sworn to protect as Totani. Avarian was already old by Forenten standards. By the time his soul would have been restored, his magic restored, he would be near the end of his mortal life. In giving so much, it allowed him to be who he had been. A powerful mage. It also made his mortal shell young again. She wanted what had been forbidden to divine servants since the First Sundering."
"Mortal love," Terrence stated without inflection. "If he had aged and died normally, he would never have remembered her when he reincarnated. And she would not have been allowed to seek him out. She wanted to spend his mortal years by his side as his equal." Terrence looked away from Ophilia's sympathy. "But it did not happen as it should have."
"No. The Great War happened, the attack that stripped life from Desantiva, and... Zhekali, who could not spare more than what she already had given to Avarian. But what Avarian bore was still part of Zhekali. No one realized it had bound them together until he died moments after her." Kendle looked away in grief. "Zhekali and Avarian have been doomed to repeat the tragedy unknowingly ever since. She is always born to the na'Zhekali clan. He has always been born to the Avarians. He would be reborn first. She would follow soon after, drawn to follow the other part of her soul. But she does not live beyond the number of years she lived as a mortal. And since they share a piece of her soul, he dies when she does. Or she dies when he does. One cannot live if the other dies."
"Things like this happened before?" Ophilia asked in surprise. "Tasks that demand completion in another life?"
The Roylat waggled a hand. "Eh, to a degree. Typically, with the next rebirth, what was unfinished finds its conclusion, usually with the aid of divine servants." Kendle looked out towards the sand-laden winds. "But... the Desanti's separation from the rest of the world was brutally thorough. This is the first time in thousands of years since their first deaths that they have actually found each other again."
"That's horrible," Ophilia whispered. "But... why did you bring us to this time in Desantiva's history? If you are not going to test us?"
"Mortals learn from their own mistakes or others' mistakes. Unfortunately, neither of you lived to learn the results of your mistake. If you can call it a mistake. Somehow, you had unintentionally redressed an imbalance that might have destroyed the great balance in the end. In any case, we were partly the cause of your actions." Coughing, Kendle corrected himself. "Not 'we.' I was."
Terrence's attention returned to the present as he looked at Kendle intently. "I... Tristan came to Fortress to find where my... his parents died, to honor their memory. Touch some part of the two people he never knew but for the stories of their love and sacrifice. You showed us where it was."
Ophilia bit her lip. "Oh, now I get it. I, uh, mentioned something about going back in time and..." Blushing deep red, she hit Terrence in the shoulder. "I didn't expect you to actually go back in time!!"
Kendle raised a hand to calm Ophilia. "It is not entirely the fault of either of you. The lessons about the dangers of meddling in the rivers of time have never really been emphasized to Guardians. Few have the strength to be capable of it, and most think one must be divine for it to be possible. Which is true, it requires the strength of many mortals or the strength of one divine.
"But Terrence... Tristan back then... was a true son of Desantiva, half Totani or not. We acknowledged the power of the Raging One in the physical abilities of his children." He looked away, embarrassed. "We failed to acknowledge it outside of the physical realm. He has always ruled over emotions. We always… disregarded their power."
Terrence looked bleak. "Storm and Ash. They're going to die. Soon, aren't they?"
"They might," Kendle said truthfully. "The end of span of time Zhekali had lived is very close. The energy of the soul is not finite. If it was, Desanti mages would die after they gave all of their soul away. It regrows, but it takes time. Magic demands payment, and such is the price the Desan
ti pay. And such was the price Zhekali paid for her love of a mortal man. And the price Avarian shares with her. If he could only have healed her. It might even have restored her immortality."
Kendle closed his eyes. "But then the Great War happened. The Desanti have always been so closely tied to the Totani, the attackers focused that devastating spell on the Totani. Several had their ties to their mortal bodies severed completely and have never returned to the mortal plane.
"Dzee was Desantiva's light, the heart of life and magic of the land. Only by a miracle was Dzee's body preserved so she could be returned to it. But during that time, death swept across Desantiva as plants and animals died. Because Zhekali's soul was split in two, both Avarian and Zhekali died in the throes of that spell. But not before she came to me to save you, her unborn son." Kendle sighed, looking away in shame. "I was... am... I had been in love with Zhekali. What I did I have never forgiven myself for, and I expect no forgiveness from anyone."
Terrence's eyes narrowed as he stared at Kendle's profile. "You let my mother die." The Roylat only nodded silently. Terrence grabbed the front of Kendle's shirt, pulling him forward with such a feral growl, both Ophilia and Petal squeaked in shocked surprise. "Why?! If you loved her, why did you let her die if you could have stopped it?!"
"Because I thought that since she was mortal, she would forget Avarian when she was reborn and I could win her heart!" Kendle confessed. "And I have never forgiven myself for my blind selfishness that had cast all of you in this perpetual cycle of suffering." Kendle closed his eyes. "A thrice damned fool who thought he was helping Zhekali's son find peace and nearly saw the world swallow itself."
Releasing Kendle slowly, Terrence asked warily, "Even as a Totani halfbreed and Guardian of Time, how could we have been the cause of anything so..."
Kendle shook his head, straightening his shoulders. "Divine servants have an affinity towards time. Guardians are taught how to manipulate it. Before we realized what you both were doing, you tried to open a door to the past to save Zhekali and Avarian."
