Amorlia

by Chris Wichtendahl

  Finale

  Fire raged through the Great Wood, leaving only the clearing of the Yoni Luna unscathed. This protection was due entirely to the efforts of Sar and a group of nyads, who floated above the clearing, weaving fire and water into a heavy mist that held the encroaching flames at bay. Sar also tried to manipulate the direction of the flames, but they resisted her, having been co-opted by the enraged God of the Wood. He called himself the Burning Man now, and his followers had begun to immolate themselves as a form of worship. Sister Kaatene looked up, allowing the light rain of the nyads to fall on her soot-covered face. Since the Green Man was ignited, and his worshippers had followed suit, their assaults on the Yoni Luna had grown more desperate. One had made it past the last Huntress’ arrows and had thrown himself upon her, as well as Sisters Raya and Terine, before he could be killed. They’d all suffered terrible burns, and Sister Karma had been forced to put them out of their misery. She sat near the central pool, which was now dry, knees drawn up to her chest and her head down. Sister Kaatene approached and sat next to her. “Doing okay?” she asked gently. Sister Karma shook her head. “It was a mercy,” Sister Kaatene said, laying a comforting arm across the younger woman’s shoulders, “you know that.” Sister Karma looked up, eyes red and puffy from crying, “I know it,” she said quietly, “but mercy or no, I still killed my Sisters.” Fresh tears began to fall, “I killed my Sisters.” Sister Kaatene gathered her into her arms, resting Sister Karma’s head on her shoulder. “Shhh,” she said softly, “it’s all right. Everything’s going to be all right.” “Is it?” Sister Karma asked plaintively, “Is it really? Because it feels like the end of the world to me. The Great Wood is burning, the Hunt are all gone and I...” her voice sank to a frightened whisper, “I can’t feel Luna in my soul anymore.” Sister Kaatene had been bothered by that herself. The place deep in her soul where she could always feel the divine radiance of the Moon Goddess was empty. She didn’t understand it, but she was fairly certain Artemis was involved somehow. She mustered a smile for her Sister. “Do not despair, Karma,” she said, “all will come out right. I am sure Artemis will...” At that moment, a loud whine sounded from above, growing louder and louder. Suddenly, two figures locked in battle fell to the ground with a deafening boom, making a rather sizable crater near the edge of the clearing. Looking closer, Sister Kaatene realized one of the figures was Artemis. Though she wore strange glowing armor, the Monarch of Vega was unmistakable. “...fall out of the sky,” Sister Kaatene finished speaking, gaping at the sight before her. Sister Tan ran to the shallow crater, looking over the edge to see if anyone needed help. A hand reached up and grabbed her by the throat and Umbra rose slowly from the pit. “Oh, this is wonderful,” she laughed, looking around, “I could not have chosen a better landing site.” She glared at the struggling Sister in her grasp, “If it isn’t my mother’s pathetic little band of hangers- on. Tell me, human,” she said, “where is your great goddess now? Why does she not save you from me? Why-aagh!” She dropped Sister Tan, gripping her side. Artemis had also risen from the crater and smashed her sword against Umbra’s ribs. “Because I’m here to do it instead,” she growled. She glanced at Sister Tan, “Get to safety.” Sister Tan rubbed her throat, staring in horror at the dark goddess, “Where would that be again?” she asked. Artemis grimaced, “Just get back to your Sisters--ugh!” A blow from Umbra sent her sailing to the edge of the clearing, where she managed to flip herself over and land on her feet. She cut deep gouges in the ground as she slid backward, finally coming to a stop just in front of the flames. Umbra was before her then, swinging her barbed spear. Artemis blocked it and the two combatants entered the burning Wood. Thanks to the God Armor, Artemis did not even feel the heat. In fact, she was able to direct some of the flames against Umbra, momentarily blinding her foe. Artemis was about to press the attack when she heard a great unholy roar from above. She looked up and saw a towering giant enveloped in flame. ARTEMIS VEGA! it shouted in a tortured voice, AT LAST THE SOURCE OF MY MISERY HAS RETURNED! YOU WILL DIE NOW, MORTAL THING! DIE FOR THE CRIMES OF YOUR MOTHER! “Oh, come on,” Artemis complained, “this isn’t fair at all.” Umbra leapt at Artemis, and the Monarch grabbed hold of her, tossing her high in the air and through the Burning Man’s chest. The force of the impact was too much for the dying god’s deteriorating frame, and he collapsed, sending waves of fire outward from where he fell. The flames vaporized the unfortunate nyads, but Sar managed to redirect the brunt of it around the Yoni Luna, protecting the women inside the stone circle. When the wave passed, the fire in the Wood died, leaving little but smoldering embers where a great ancient forest once stood. Sar was also gone, having traveled through the flames back to Faery to regain her strength. Artemis rushed toward the Sisters. “Artemis!” Sister Kaatene shouted, “What is going on?!” Artemis shook her head, “No time to explain. Umbra will be back soon. I learned something important in the Summerland, something you all need to know.” She looked at the three Sisters, “Kaatene, Tana, Karma, I’m going to dump the information directly into your brains. I don’t have time to tell you the normal way. I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt.” She closed her eyes, the symbol on her helmet flashed, and all three women grabbed their heads, crying out in pain. “Goddess!” Sister Kaatene blinked rapidly, “That was...” the new information fell into place in her mind, “Oh!” “Yes,” Artemis said. From far away, Umbra’s war cry could be heard, getting louder by the second. Artemis gripped her sword tighter and looked back over her shoulder. “This fight needs to end soon, or it will destroy all of Amorlia. The world needs to know what you know,” she told them, “and I can’t take the time to tell them.” She ran back to meet Umbra as the dark goddess entered the smoke-shrouded clearing, “Figure something out!” she called back to them as she ran. “Figure something...” Sister Karma shook her head. “What is she talking about? The gods have fled! What can we--” “I know what we need to do,” Sister Kaatene said, “We need to draw down the moon.” “But that’s impossible,” Sister Tana protested, “Luna doesn’t exist anymore! What would we be drawing down?” “Pure Spark,” Sister Kaatene said calmly, “The illusions have been stripped from us, Tana. We touch the true power directly now, with no gods between that source and us.” “But,” Sister Karma said, “that much power, uncontrolled...” “It could very well kill whomever tries to wield it,” Sister Kaatene nodded. She thought a moment, then said, “I’ll do it.” The others seemed about to argue, but both knew there was little time. Both knew now what had to be done, and both knew there was only one way to gain the power necessary to do it. One last time, the surviving Sisters embraced. “My dear Sisters,” Sister Kaatene said softly, “great loves of my life. Thank you for this honor you give me.” The words of the familiar ritual were comforting, if unnecessary. Then she said, “If I should fall...” “We will try again,” Sister Karma said, “until we succeed, or none remain.” “We are only three,” Sister Tan warned, “and this has never been tried with less than five.” “Three has its own power,” Sister Karma said, reaching out her hands, “we will succeed.” “Aye,” Sister Tan said, smiling, “we will.” She reached out and grabbed hold of Sister Karma’s hands, making a small intimate circle around Sister Kaatene. They all opened themselves to the universe, shifting their awareness to the Divine. At their command, a torrent of Pure Spark rushed through Sister Kaatene, causing her to scream as the greatest power in the universe infused every cell in her body. Across the clearing, Artemis did battle with her dark sister. Sword met spear, armored fist met invincible flesh as the two continued their violent dance. “Do you want to hear something funny, little sister?” Umbra taunted. “Shut up,” Artemis growled, deflecting a blow. “I’ll tell you anyway,” Umbra ducked under Artemis’ swing. “Did you know that I have you to thank for all this?” She thrust her spear at Artemis’ stomach. Artemis grunted as it was deflected by her armor, “You really need to shut up now.” “No, honestly,” Umbra blocked Artemis’ punch. “Remember that whole bus
iness with Kael’s soul? Well, that was all a ruse to get you two to become the Redeemer.” “What?” Artemis was so shocked by this, she didn’t dodge Umbra’s punch in time and she was sent sprawling. She pushed herself to her hands and knees. “But,” she gasped, “you were--” “Oh, all that weeping and crying and carrying on?” Umbra came to stand before her, laughing. “I really am quite the actress, don’t you think?” She kicked Artemis in the face, and Vega’s Monarch flew backward, landing in a pile of ash. “Yes,” Umbra said, coming closer, “it was all a clever bit of trickery to make you collapse the Six Hells and weaken the bonds of my prison.” She sighed, “I do so love a good prophecy, especially when it works in my favor.” Artemis leaped into the air, landing a series of kicks to Umbra’s face. The dark goddess stumbled backward. Artemis opened her mouth to speak, when a brilliant light erupted from the gathered Sisters. She heard Sister Kaatene’s voice in her mind and smiled. Umbra chose that moment to swing her fist, and it broke when it connected with the God Armor. She howled in pain, cradling her hand. “What have you done to me?” she demanded. “I haven’t done anything,” Artemis smirked, “but I did just hear Sister Kaatene in my mind. I expect every human in Amorlia has by now.” She shoved Umbra back a few steps, “You didn’t hear anything, though, because you’re not human. You’re a myth, a thought, an abstract concept. You’re given shape and form by human belief.” She laughed in Umbra’s face, “But they don’t believe in you anymore and they don’t want you anymore. Thanks to the Sisters, every human being on this world has been forced into a confrontation with their Shadow. They’ve accepted their own evil, taken responsibility for it. And that means,” She grabbed Umbra by the collar and reared back her fist, “there’s none left for you.” She punched Umbra hard in the face, sending her sailing across the clearing to land in the center of the empty pool. Then Artemis leaped high in the air, her sword drawn, coming down hard to drive it straight through Umbra’s chest and deep into the stone beneath her. The force of the blow caused a massive quake, and huge cracks spread outward from the stone circle. With a great rumble of shifting stone, the Yoni Luna, along with much of the surrounding clearing sank into a deep ravine as the very ground itself split asunder. Amazingly, the stone circle was still intact when it reached the bottom and all four women were unharmed. The former Queen of the Underworld was more insubstantial than ever, giving one last scream before her body faded away. Thin tendrils of dark mist snaked around the sword, staining the wood black. When Artemis tried to pull it free of the stone, she found it stuck fast. The three Sisters turned to Artemis and smiled, pulling their hoods up over their heads. “We are the Three As One,” they said in unison, “we are the Sisters of the Spark. Keepers of Mystery, Speakers of Prophecy, Arbiters of Wisdom.” They bowed to her, “The Sword of Nazeas is no longer yours, Artemis Vega. Here it shall wait, under our guard, until the hero not yet born comes at last to claim it, at the dying of this new Age and the dawning of the next. We are the Three As One,” they said again, “we are the Keepers of the Sword.” “Return now to your companions, Artemis,” they said, “and tell them this war is done.” They spread their hands wide. “The Time of Changes has ended. This Age of the world,” they brought their hands together, “is over.” They bowed again before fading back into the Shadows, speaking one last time. “The Age of Wonder has begun.”