After Mira told the tale of her life, she waited for the elves to say something. Em looked at Skymara with misty eyes and hugged her. Mira didn’t understand their reaction to the story of how Isaan treated her. She fiddled with the tulle of her dress as the two gazed at each other sadly for a moment before Em turned to Amethyst.
“He truly speaks with you?” Skymara pointed to the stone on her amulet.
“Yes. Though, we have troubles connecting at times,” She hesitated, “I am still recovering from my fight with Isaan. His energy is limited to what my body can handle.”
Her thumb habitually ran across the cold surface. The black rock had lilac cracks just under the surface that reminded her of a broken scale. She realized now how fitting that was for her Guardian.
“She doesn’t know, does she?”
“No,” Amethyst shook her head, “I don’t think Encante does either.”
“Know what?” Mira looked between them.
“Young Mira,” Em tapped at the tears at the corner of their eyes, “There is prophecy foretold since the ascension of the Goddess.”
She furrowed her brow suspiciously, “What exactly is it?”
Bobabano wrapped his arms around her. Em reached to grab a hand between theirs and smiled solemnly. Mira tensed at the touch and anxiously looked between them.
“Upon her ascension, Encante cursed her,” Skymara pointed at the stone, “Should he ever find something he loved as much as his people, his great betrayer Alcante be cast from the heavens and returned to face his wrath.”
“And?”
“The old Seers say Alcante would take his brother’s bride away to the void.”
Mira felt her heart pound against her ribs. She waited for Encante to say anything to her. His usual murmurs were nonexistent.
“No. They’re wrong,” Mira shook her head, “That couldn’t happen. He is just a wicked man. How would Isaan even –”
“We believe that Alcante took Isaan over after our brother died,” Skymara placed a hand on Em’s shoulder, “Or… very soon after. He changed. The man you described is nothing like the Isaan we knew for nearly three hundred years.”
The rambling thoughts in her head churned at the implication. Is that the reason her master treated her so terribly? Alcante wanted her dead that badly? As her mind collapsed at her memories coming into view, the voice in her mind only had one sentence to say.
“All of this… all of this is my fault.”
His dejected tone caught her attention. She held the stone in her hand and focused on his miserable voice. She reached out to him to share what happened. The draconic beast refused to say.
“How did Sapphire die?” Mira looked up to the elves.
“Calosa was gravely injured during a battle with some minotaurs,” Em looked to her, “She was nearly cut in half. To save her, our brother sacrificed himself to her.”
“Sacrificed?” Bo asked.
“Some Vessels can absorb souls to regenerate their energy in times of great need, much like blood mages absorb blood,” Skymara clarified, “He offered his soul to Calosa to save her.”
“It should have been–” Em pounded a fist into the chair.
“It could have been any of us,” She interjected, “But he always forfeited himself for others, to the end. You know that he wouldn’t have let us go to the void, Em.”
Mira’s mind flashed back to the memory of her own mother forcing Encante to take her soul to save her.
“Calosa did the same to save me.”
“What?” Em asked.
“Isaan kept her weak, beaten, near death,” She tapped the stone against her chest, “Calosa forced him to accept me and take her to save me.”
“I’m so sorry, Encante,” Em’s teary eyes moved to the stone.
“What does that have to do with Isaan and Alcante?” Mira asked.
“There were four of us that went to the Unclaimed Isle often,” Em held out four fingers and counted off, “Opal, Emerald, Sapphire, and Ruby.”
“Sapphire and Ruby, our brother Gregor and Isaan, were a bonded pair. At the time of his death, they had been bonded for nearly two hundred years.”
Her face dropped, “Isaan was bonded to someone?”
“My siblings and I were deeply connected at birth – some say bonded in the womb. Isaan's connection to our brother made it easy for us to read him as well,” Skymara put a hand over her heart, “After he died, something about Isaan changed. I think, well –”
“We think that the part of Isaan’s soul connected to our brother was ripped to the void as well,” Em finished her thought, “And that’s how Alcante was able to take him over so easily. There was a hole left where Gregor once was. After his death, Isaan became a furious, skeptical man.”
“Through his fury at his fall from heavens, Alcante will attempt to ascend again,” Amethyst cleared her throat, “It would… makes sense with the prophecy.”
The world around her swirled at the thought. The vile man with unstoppable power would ruin the world. If she could not stop him, then everything would crumble around her. Mira pulled at the hair of her scalp. She shook her head. It wasn’t right. It couldn’t have been. They got something wrong.
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“The prophecy continues. The brothers will declare a champion and battle. The calamity could cause the destruction to the end of all if…” Em hesitated, “If one champion does not kill the other.”
“Good. My plan is to—”
“Mira… What are your magical talents, exactly?” Skymara interjected.
“I learned what I was told to.”
“So far, I’ve seen her summon weapons, wield fire and ice,” Amethyst held out a finger with each type, “With how she hides her mana, she’s also an illusionist.”
“Illusionist?” She blinked.
“How else could you blend into the shadows? The soundless movements? The wraith?” The orc raised her eyebrow, “Or did you just think that happened on its own?”
Mira glanced away and didn’t reply.
“Which falls in line with what we discussed,” Tiero interjected.
“Truly? An absorber?” Em’s eyes grew wide, “By the Goddess. It’s true.”
“What do you mean?” She looked between them.
“Your mother was a weapons summoner that favored a bow and spear. Queen Quillia was a flame elementalist like Isaan,” The green-eyed elf looked to his sister, “But what about ice?”
“My father,” Bo spoke quietly, “He did not have much power, but he would create small sculptures.”
“What does that mean?” Mira looked between them for an answer they hesitated to give, “Spit it out.”
“There is only one other person in recorded history that is was an absorber, Mira,” Skymara placed her hands around hers, “And that was the Goddess herself.”
The woman’s words felt miles away.
“What?”
“Dragons could gift another magical ability,” Amethyst hesitated, “That’s how the Goddess gained her power. Alcante awakened her abilities as absorption. It’s how she could conquer the Guardians. She killed them and took their powers as her own.”
“To kill Isaan and Alcante, you would have to become the Vessel of every guardian. You would become a goddess,” Em searched her rigid face for a reaction, “Your ascension would bring an entire new era to our world. Should you fail, then…”
“Then Isaan would become a god,” She whispered.
The people around her watched as the black mist flittered about her. A shiver slowly crawled up her spine. Her thoughts screamed at her. She took a deep breath and calmly searched for Encante’s voice.
“I completely forgot of my curse,” The voice uttered, “My love is gone forever… because of my spiteful words.”
“I need you to help me,” She whispered to Encante, “Please. Don’t leave me.”
The tantalizing power pulsed through her veins. She felt sun underneath her skin as it sizzled her core. She searched for anything to help. Her thoughts spiraled until she decided she needed to escape.
“No.”
“No?” Bobabano reached for her as she abruptly stood.
“I refuse to be a part of this.”
“You can’t just refuse!” He grabbed her arms, “That’s the whole point of the order. To make sure this—”
“You knew and didn’t tell me?” Her eyes watered, “Is that why you’ve done this?”
His face fell, “Mira—”
Before he could answer, Amethyst interjected.
“You’ve already claimed Agrowl,” Amethyst said, “At least, we will know for sure when we return. Your next focus should be Zrud, as we are –”
The pressure inside of her body threatened to burst if she did not leave. She felt Bobabano’s hand grip her wrist. She looked into his black eyes before she felt the mist surround her. The shouting snapped her back to consciousness, but it was too late.
Mira reappeared somewhere else in the city. She fell to her knees and sobbed. She did not want this. She was a thrall once. She was never meant to be free, let alone a queen or a goddess. Her body ached as the shrill, guttural sounds that shook her chest. She looked up to see herself in a hidden ally away from anyone else.
Mira wiped the tears from her face and walked to a nearby store. When the door was locked, she pushed against the frame until it broke open. She stepped in and grabbed something else to wear besides the frilly little dress she was in. She wanted to be unnoticeable for just a little while longer.
As Mira changed, she hissed at her perfect skin. The scars and burns of her past had healed while she recovered from her battle. This was the skin of a queen, a goddess. Not her. It didn’t feel like her. Her fingers gripped into the areas the largest scars used to be to see if any of the purple and blue hues remained.
“Talk to me. I can’t feel you, Encante.”
Now, the woman looked back at her frail reflection in disgust. Her face, her hair, her eyes, were all from Calosa. The damage to her skin was something that set her apart and made her unique. It made her Mira. She hated that not even her own body was hers any longer.
Nothing was in her control.
Mira’s fist slammed against the shop window. It shattered and glass sliced into her arm. She watched the blood ooze from the wound and slowly close. She threw the small tunic over her head and continued down the street with bare feet. She just wanted to get away from everyone else. She wanted to be alone.
As she passed by an open tavern, she swiped a hooded jacket from an outer wall and put it over herself. She raised the hood and continued down the streets. The sounds of the celebrating city cheered around her. As she kept to the shadows, she felt her body relax. Here, out of the eyes of those around her, she felt most comfortable. Nobody searched for her in the dark.
Mira pondered if she could disappear and stop the mad prophecy from happening. She knew that Isaan, or Alcante, would continue to gather power and find her. She knew they already had eyes on her in Hangral. She had announced proudly that she was in town, after all. The wraith had destroyed the dark side of the city for itself. Everyone in Zrud would know her name in a matter of days.
At that thought, Mira pulled the slip of paper handed to her earlier in the night and looked over it. The scribble contained a single word: nightshade.
Mira forced the burning hatred in her body into her fingertips and incinerated the paper. The last thing Isaan purchased in Zrud was poison, albeit nothing that would affect her. Isaan had tested every poison and venom he could on the young girl. She remembered that particular poison being placed in various cuts and stabs burning more than others.
That purchase was a threat to those she cared for.
Her fists clenched and she punched into a building near her. The brick crumbled at her touch, and she shook her hand. It did not hurt but her training had ingrained normal reactions in her. The dust from the crumbling brick had to be wiped away though.
All the training Mira went through had nothing to do with where she was now. If Alcante couldn’t take the other Guardians peacefully, he needed a weapon. Isaan sharpened her as that weapon to end the world if he could not. She realized that now. If he had his way, she would have gathered them all, just end the world herself, and he would take the power to ascend to godhood. All because she was a thrall. When his plan failed, he had nothing left. Neither of them did.
“Answer me,” She whimpered, “You’ve always been there. Just tell me it’s not true. Please.”
As she stalked down the streets of Hangral, she wondered if that was Alcante’s plan all along. She waited for Encante’s voice to speak to her before she changed her course. The numbness spread through her veins and killed the rising anger.
Mira knew one man that would not force her to talk about the stupid prophecy. The one man that she told she wanted to meet tonight. As Jonen’s face crossed her mind, she felt the mist swallow her again. She tumbled from another alley and saw herself at his brother’s lodgings. She violently coughed and saw the black tar speckle her hand.
She followed the Wilted Rose almost every time Jonen went to see his brother. She wanted to speak to him but knew better. He had to be cleared of suspicion so he wouldn’t be imprisoned. He had to be safe from anyone that might harm him because of her.
“Because of me,” She whispered and looked up at the trellis on the northern side of the building.
The ivy sprawled across the walls to the windows. Mira gripped onto the vines and hoisted herself upwards. As she carefully manipulated her weight, she vaulted quickly up to the third floor. She shimmied to the right window and opened the shutters that kept out the light. She pressed her palm against the glass window and as she pushed upwards, the unlocked window slid open. She shook her head at Jaspen’s negligence.