The Temple of Inari
Temple of Inari, Deep Forest, Argoth, Year of the Golden Hart, 2013 CE
Aleister set off down the corridor, thankful for the magelight that Kalla had tagged to him, since he didn't have a torch handy. Keeping a watchful eye out for traps and other hidden dangers, he followed the path until he came to an intersection. Trusting in the instincts that had made him such a good thief, Aleister headed down the left-hand path. Several intersections and an uneventful thirty minutes later (save for the simmering anger from his still absent mage), he was stopped by what appeared to be a dead end. A pair of giant stone frogs flanked the corners of the blank wall.
The Arkaddian frowned. The statues looked like the smaller stone frogs known as 'prosperity toads' to the Argosians. Melaric had kept one. But these frogs didn't have the coins in their mouths common to the smaller ones. He leaned closer, running his hands over one of the stone frogs. There was a groove in the mouth, as if disks might have once been there. On a whim he reached into his coin pouch and fished two coins out. At the very least he could leave an offering in the hopes he might find a way out. He pushed a copper coin into the mouth of first one frog, then the other. As the second coin slid home, the ground rumbled and the 'wall' before him slid up, revealing the continuation to his path. Beyond lay a vast room, barely illuminated by the ball of magelight. Water trickled in the distance. As he stepped into the room, the door slid shut behind him, sealing the exit off.
Kalla snarled angrily, pacing around in tight circles before the doors to the Temple of Inari. Though she had been right behind Aleister when he'd entered, she had found herself back outside. Each and every attempt she had made to enter the Temple resulted in her being cast back outside the doors.
Likewise, her attempts to teleport to Aleister met with the same misfortune. The Temple would not let her enter and she'd drained a great deal of energy trying to reach her magister. Through the bond she could feel that he was a bit anxious, but other than that, his mind was occupied. A few times alarm shot through the bond, never lasting very long.
Kalla sighed as her stomach growled. The mage had been pacing outside the doors for several hours and her body was letting her know she needed to eat and to rest. Grudgingly she set a camp near the Temple, fixing a simple soup for dinner. Afterwards, she drowsed near the fire, wondering how she was going to get to Aleister. As she thought of him, a feeling of loneliness filtered through the bond. Wherever he was, she could tell he had at least eaten and that he was tired and grumpy now.
Aleister sighed and trudged his way down yet another dark corridor. From the vault of the stone frogs he'd had only one option to leave. He'd taken it and followed his previous habit of taking every left turn he'd come across. There had been a few traps along the way, but those he avoided easily. More stone frog doors had taken more of his coin, yet he was still trapped in the Temple.
He'd been here for several days and his food was running low. He felt sure his bones would end up gracing the Temple in a tribute to a treasure hunter's folly. He wondered where Kalla was and if she would be affected by his death. He could still feel her, though the bond seemed to be getting weaker. She was tired, angry and frustrated. Aleister came to a halt before another blank wall guarded by stone frogs. He grimaced as he fished the last two coins out of his pouch. Shrugging, he shoved the coins in the frogs' mouths. The door rumbled open and he stepped through.
Kalla sank to the ground in frustration. She had spent the previous day making her way around the Temple, trying to find another way in, but the only entrance to be found was the one Aleister had gone through. She bit her lip with worry. He had grown more and more dejected over the last two days. She sensed that he'd given up hope of getting out. More disturbing was the fact that the bond between them seemed to be getting fainter, which could only mean they were separated by a great distance. She perked up as a sense of sudden fear came through the bond. It faded, to be replaced later by an intense sadness, leaving the Mage wondering what her Magister was going through.
Aleister gasped as his heart leapt to his throat. Each stone frog door had led to a vaulted room and this one was no exception. The air in this room was warmer than the rest of the Temple. At the far side of the room a form moved, shrouded in darkness. Aleister took a step forward and the magelight illuminated what looked to be a pair of giant paws. The paws shifted and nails scraped stone as the huge creature stood. It advanced and the magister retreated until his back hit the smooth stone wall. He swallowed hard as the figure came into view of the bobbing magelight. A giant fox, black as midnight, sporting nine fluffy brushes. He laughed weakly.
“Inari, I presume?”
The figure regarded him for a moment, a sly grin upon its furry face.
Indeed. Welcome home, child. The Fox King's voice was warm in his mind.
Aleister tilted his head, brows furrowed.
“Home? I don't understand. Argoth is not my home…”
Inari regarded him for a moment before turning away and striding off into the darkness.
Follow me, little Fox.
Nervously, the magister followed the Fox King through the room. They went down a short corridor and into an open courtyard within the Temple. Moonlight glittered on a pool of water in the center. Aleister looked up and saw the sky for the first time in days upon days, stars spangling the inky expanse like diamond dust. He nearly wept for the sight of the open sky instead of the trees that had shadowed them all this time. Inari stopped before the pool.
Gasta has told me of the Nagali's awakening. I can give you no answers to help you in your search, but I can, perhaps, give you something that you will find useful. Look into the pool, my child.
Aleister came up beside the Fox King and knelt before the pool. At first he merely saw his reflection staring back at him. The King of Foxes touched a paw to the still waters and the scene shifted. He saw a great frost wolf, the grizzled and scarred alpha of a pack. The scene dissolved into a vixen trapped in a bear trap. The trapped fox spirit begged a hunter not to kill her. In return she offered him her heart.
A ripple and the kitsune was gone. He saw a family in Kymru. The father, a sheepherder. The mother, a well-beloved herbalist. A young boy took great pride in helping his father with the herds. An older girl helped the mother make her rounds and tend the house. The entire family seemed the height of happiness.
Another ripple and the family was engulfed by scenes of an Argosian captain and his gunner, a scene flashing by that looked eerily familiar. In the end, the ship was destroyed, both captain and gunner lost. The style of ship was some 150 years out of date. The fireball of the ship's destruction led to scenes of an Arkaddian war party, in the time when the great Arkaddian Empire was just being forged. The vykr warriors were at the van of the great Khan Arkaddia's army. He saw the conquests of his ancestors through two of the vykr warriors' eyes. The warriors became generals in the army and went on to die of old age, well respected. These faded into scenes of a merchant family in Ishkar. Husband and wife ran a small textile shop in the city of Calderi. This family, like the one in Kymru, were happy and content.
The scene shifted again and Aleister gasped for what he saw was Melaric, when the Argosian was much younger. A beautiful young wife succumbed to childbirth. Though mother died, the child survived and the father doted upon her. The child grew and father and daughter traveled the length and breadth of Argoth, spending much time in the Forest.
The young child lived with her father on various military outposts. In several scenes Aleister recognized the Admiral from the Kujata. As she grew, he taught her to fly his ship. By the time she was ten she could fly the ship as well as her father. One day a pair of magi came to the outpost where father and daughter lived. They tested the girl-child and found her to have the gift of magick in her blood. They took her away and left the father both full of pride and grief.
Realization dawned on the magister- Kalla was the child taken from Melaric. Now he knew why she looked
somewhat familiar. Melaric had kept a picture of himself and his young daughter. The Argosian had never shared the story and Aleister had never pressed him on his past.
The waters rippled again and the Arkaddian saw scenes from his own past. He tried to turn away from the painful memories, but found his gaze locked on the pool. He saw his mother and a much younger version of himself subject to an abusive husband and father. He grew older and the abuse got worse. In a fit of rage, husband killed wife. In revenge a young son killed his father and fled, for patricide was a crime punishable by death no matter what the cause. Lost and alone, the young boy was taken in by an elderly Argosian thief who happened to be wandering Arkaddia. For many years Arkaddian and Argosian roamed the lands of Evalyce and the surrounding skycities, treasure hunting in ruins and finding bigger and better tests for their thieving skills. The Argosian became ill and in the end passed away. His young apprentice cremated his body, casting the ashes to the winds in honor of Argosian practices. The boy grew to man, surviving daring exploit after daring exploit until one day the fox was trapped and sentenced to execution. The last scene before the waters turned black was of Kalla approaching him in the depths of the Inferno.
Aleister felt tears on his cheeks and wiped a hand across his face. He looked up at Inari.
“I am sorry, King of Foxes. I don't understand. All except for the fact that Kalla is the child Melaric lost. And my own past…” Aleister said sadly. Inari chuffed softly.
No matter. You will understand in time. I will grant you the form that truly belongs to you, my child. I will also grant you proper weaponry, for your role as magister.
Aleister yelped as he felt a tingling sensation running through his skin. A pair of slender, long-bladed daggers materialized in his hands, almost as long as a vykr warrior's blades.
Very good, little Fox. Now will the weapons to change. Aleister frowned in concentration and the daggers became a vykr warrior's blades in truth.
You may make them whatever you wish them to be. If you wish them gone, simply will them to be gone. Aleister followed the Fox King's advice and concentrated. With the same tingling sensation, the blades disappeared.
“I thank you for the fine gift, Fox King. I pray I am worthy of such.”
If I did not think so, I would not have offered it. It will help you in the coming days, of that I have no doubt. As for the form that truly belongs to you…
Inari bent down, touching his nose to Aleister's forehead. The Sky Fox sank to his knees, dizziness gripping him. He felt his bones shifting, though no pain came from it, and his world seemed to shrink and get smaller. Aleister held his hands up, only to find they were no longer hands but paws.
Fear thrilled through him and he turned to look over his shoulder. He was graced with a back covered in reddish-brown fur. Three plush fox brushes gave a weak wag. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a yip came out. Dry laughter filled his mind.
Do as with the weapons. Simply will yourself back.
The magister turned all his attention to returning to normal and with the same odd sensation of bones shifting he found himself back in his 'normal' form.
“Why do you say this is the form that truly belongs to me, Fox King?” Aleister asked.
It is the form of your soul, thus it is your true form. You will find it useful, never doubt that! You do not have all of the powers of a kitsune, yet, but you will find those you do have useful as well. If things progress as they should, you will regain all of your rightful power.
Now, I will return you to your mage before she brings the very stones of the Temple down on my head.
Amusement filled Aleister's mind as the room spun around him. He closed his eyes tightly against the disorienting sensation. A weight slammed into him and his eyes flew open to find the mage wrapping him in a hug. He returned it with some uncertainty.
“You're back! I was beginning to think I wouldn't see you again! The Temple wouldn't let me through. I've been trying for the past two days, but nothing I did worked,” Kalla said.
“You… Wait, two days? I was in there for a week at least! I'm out of food and out of coin,” the Sky Fox said ruefully. Kalla's brows drew down.
“How are you out of coin…? Food I can understand, but what did you spend coin on?” she asked. He made a face.
“I was feeding frogs,” he replied, deadpan. This earned another puzzled look and he felt a gentle probe to his mind, testing his sanity.
“Okay… I'm not asking… The Temple is most likely in a small pocket dimension. The kitsune can manipulate time in such ways. That might also explain why the bond between us grew weaker,” Kalla said. Aleister shrugged.
“I'm just glad to be out of there. I did manage to meet Inari, in the end. Unfortunately, he could not provide answers in aid of our quest.
“However, you'll be happy to know I now have proper weapons, courtesy of the Fox King.” He concentrated and the magickal daggers shimmered into existence. He shifted them through several different forms for her. She nodded approval.
“Well, now. That's certainly a useful gift,” Kalla murmured. Aleister grinned, happy that she was pleased and let the armor disappear.
“I gained more than that from the Fox King.” He concentrated again and, with the painless shifting of bone, slipped into the fox form. Kalla's eyes widened and she took an involuntary step back. The fox's ears wilted and he changed back, unhappy and confused by her reaction. Aleister took a step towards her and Kalla stepped back, keeping away from him.
“You are kitsune,” Kalla whispered, burying her face in her hands. “Great Balgeras, I have enslaved one of the fox kin.”
“Enslaved?”
“You cannot tell me that being a magister is not a form of enslavement, Aleister, even if it did spare your life. If Inari granted you that form, it means that you were born with it,” she said softly.
“I don't consider it being enslaved. I consider it an honor. And I was born Arkaddian. I know nothing of the fox spirits,” Aleister protested. The mage shook her head sadly.
“In this lifetime you are Arkaddian, but your soul has lived many lifetimes. You began your very existence in this world as one of Inari's children,” Kalla said softly. Aleister shook his head.
“I don't buy into all of that past life stuff. I was born Arkaddian and I will-”
“And you will die as more than Arkaddian, Sky Fox.” Kalla gave a bitter laugh. “Your name is even more appropriate than you know.
“Sky Fox, if I could free you I would, but only death can sever the bond between mage and magister. Even the greatest of those at the Kanlon cannot undo it.”
“But… but I don't want it undone. Unless you really do regret the choice…” His voice trailed off unhappily. Aleister had thought she would like the Fox King's changes. He hadn't counted on this reaction.
“No, I don't regret my choices at that time, but I do regret that I now have one of the fox kin bound to me. By now you should realize the regard in which we hold kitsune,” Kalla said.
“I thought it would make you proud to be guarded by one, not make you dislike me,” the magister replied.
“Oh, Aleister, I don't dislike you. I guess I just…” Whatever she was about to say was lost as growling filled the air. All around them bone blades ignited and wolves poured into the clearing. The vykr screamed as the sabre wolves tore into them and Aleister's alarm filled the link as the mage tried to process what was happening. There was no way they could fight the wolves and no way they could find their way out of the Forest alone. In a desperate attempt to save both their lives Kalla grabbed a handful of Aleister's shirt and willed herself back to the Stymphalian. Even the nearest town was incredibly far away. Teleporting to the airship would be no more dangerous than attempting the nearest town. Either could get them just as dead for the trying. Kalla's world went dark as she slammed into the pavement. Before she lost all consciousness she heard Amaterasu's alarmed roar and knew she had at least succeeded in getting them back to th
e ship.
Deep Forest, Skycity Argoth, Year of the Golden Hart, 2013 CE
In the dark depths of the Deep Forest, the young man collapsed to the ground, shaking with sobs, horror-stricken at what he'd done. The cold voice had been right. The Forest Lord had fallen easily when attacked by the dark magick that it had placed within him. The magick had petrified Gasta, turning the regal guardian to ivory. Even as the magick had overcome him, the Forest Lord had forgiven the man and it was that, perhaps, that hurt the worst.
As the guardian's transformation was complete, the young man had felt the geis on the creatures of the Forest lift. The sabre-wolves and other creatures were now free of Gasta's influence. Blades ignited as wolves gathered in the forest around him. He waited patiently, resigned to his fate. As the wolves closed in, the cold voice returned. It was pleased. He had done well. The voice slithered through his mind, telling him how to focus his own power in order to teleport to safety. It was dangerous still, but perhaps he would survive. After all, he was still useful at the moment.
The voice also gave him new instructions, harder than even the last. He was to return to his Master and await the arrival of Kalla kyl'Solidor and her little fox and dispose of them, for they were becoming troublesome. His Master would bring them to him. The man tried to refuse, for he knew the mage and she had once, long ago, done him a great kindness. The cool voice expressed its disapproval. He would be the one to take care of the mage or he would pay the price. There would be no argument. He acquiesced, once more channeling his fear and unhappiness into more sustaining anger and bitterness. An omega wolf had no choice but to bow to those stronger.
Mother of Wolves (Evalyce Worldshaper Book 1) Page 7
