One minute, she was there, touching the stone, and the next, she was on a mountain watching a gorgeous bird that looked so much like the reflection she saw of herself after transforming. The bird’s massive wings were pinned down at its sides and blood was dripping all over her. Around her stood four other birds that she began to identify as the four Asai from the drawings she’d seen in the book. She stared at one in particular and realized it was Anzel from the reds and blues in his feathers and the quick glimpse of his eyes as he spoke. She quickly picked out the others – Thundryl, Calandria, and Alicantas, but there had never been any mention of a fifth bird. Was this a glimpse into the future? Would she be the one pinned down and bleeding in front of them? She looked at the bird that resembled her and it was looking right at her. That shouldn’t have been possible, but there was the bird, with its gaze fixed on her. The longer they stared at each other, the more she realized that the eyes that stared back at her weren’t her own. This wasn’t some vision of the future.
The bird continued to look at her as the others spoke. It cocked its head towards the others speaking as if it were telling her to listen, so she did. They were whispering about how they couldn’t let her live. The one that she assumed was Thundryl spoke louder than the rest. “We will be the most powerful creatures in the land with her gone.” Lightning bolts seemed to be constantly appearing all around his body. The second of them spoke, “Even if we kill her, another Vermillion Queen will just rise again and take her place. There will always be a Vermillion Queen” She realized it was Calandria due to the essence of pure light that seemed to radiate around her. She remembered reading about it in the book.
She looked back at the vermillion bird in front of her and the bird was looking at her with such warmth, despite the pain she must have been in. Another bird spoke. “We’ve come this far. We must see this through. We’ve been poisoning her for months. Now is the only chance we’ll have to beat her.” She recognized her as Alicantas from the drawings. Her eyes looked even more like molten ore than the pictures did justice. As she spoke, Viri couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity, but she couldn’t place where she remembered the voice from. The vermillion bird turned her eyes towards Anzel, so Viri did as well.
She recognized his voice from her dreams as soon as he spoke, only it sounded less strained. “There is one way that we can make sure another Vermillion Queen never rises. We have to trap her power as it’s released from her before it can find its way to a new host.” She looked back at the vermillion bird, who was looking at her again. They stared at each other as Anzel told the others about an ancient ritual that sealed power in gemstones. They all decided that they would extract her power with four gemstones. They made plans to erect grand temples to house the stones. Anzel said that a new Vermillion Queen could never come to be if the powers stayed sealed inside of the jewels. The rest of the Asai agreed with his decision and they drove a spike through the vermillion bird’s chest.
She didn’t know why she felt such immense sadness as tears rolled down her cheeks. She wanted to look away, but time froze around her, and the Vermillion Queen began moving. She spoke directly to Viri in a voice that sounded thunderous and regal. “Do not cry for me, child. I have been alive for so long that I am not afraid of death. But you should be afraid, for you are the reincarnation of me and they will come after you. Be smart. Be fierce. Be unrelenting. Above all else, be alive and present. Do not let fear stop you from living your life to the fullest. You are a queen, young one. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise. They will come to oppose you, but you are stronger than they are. You are stronger than I was. Control it. Wield it, and no one can stop you. There are so many things that you need to learn and see, so go. You have unlocked the last of your powers, so go and become the god you were born to be. They will be after you soon.”
The scene before her shimmered and she was back in the temple. She felt like she was on fire, and she had a raging headache. Her body somehow hurt even more than it did before. The jewel was shattered to pieces on the floor around her. She looked around and Xylas was struggling to get up off the floor. Had he been that way since the jewel exploded? The doors flew open, and Ephraim walked in with several Ifrit behind him. She needed to explain what happened before Xylas was killed but she didn’t know how to begin, or if she was even allowed to share the glimpse of the past she was given.
Xylas struggled to crawl towards her once he saw Ephraim walking, but Ephraim quickly walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. She saw him mouth the word, “Rest.” Two female Ifrit rushed over to him and had him drink some sort of elixir that seemed to make him feel better. She looked around but she didn’t see another cup. Well great, screw her then. Ephraim walked towards her and all she could hear were his footsteps over the ringing in her ears. He stopped directly in front of her and sat on the ground across from her. She noticed a twinge of sadness in his eyes, but he immediately concealed it. She stared at him, still unable to form words. She was in shock. This was shock. Why wouldn’t she be? She just learned that she was some all-powerful, ancient queen. Her spiraling thoughts were interrupted as Ephraim spoke. “So, it appears you finally know the truth now.”
She wanted to ask what he meant, but she still couldn’t form words. Ephraim continued, “You were your father’s greatest joy, and I know he would be so proud of the strong woman you’ve become.” She gaped at him, and he chuckled. “I’m sorry about being so hard on you before, but Anzel entrusted me with making sure you were worthy of receiving the biggest and final portion of your power. You were already powerful, but you could still be easily defeated without all the power granted to the Vermillion Queen. It was my job to make sure that you were someone that could be trusted with that much power.”
Her voice was hoarse when she finally spoke. “Why didn’t he come and decide that for himself?” Anger. That’s what she heard in her tone. She was angry. Angry at all the secrets constantly being kept from her. Angry at Anzel’s plan to kill the queen and hide away her magic. Angry at being some pawn for Ephraim to play with and judge. The anger quickly turned into confusion as she asked another question. “If Anzel’s goal was to lock away the magic in four stones, why do I have it?”
Ephraim looked at her with such sadness in his eyes and this time, he didn’t bother hiding it. “There is still so much that you don’t know, and so much that I wish I could tell you, but it is mostly Anzel’s story to tell. I can, however, tell you how you came to be. Although, I do not know why Anzel chose his own child to place this burden on. Not long ago, shortly before you were born, we began to hear of break-ins happening at the other temples, but no one could distinguish what had been taken because nothing looked out of place, until the night Anzel came here and told me what he’d been doing. He extracted the power from each of the jewels to give to a new host, and he’d replaced the power with a small kernel of his magic so that it would still glow and look untouched. The Ifrit wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference and his brother and sisters would never care enough to step foot in their own temples if the stone was believed to be safe. He told me that he was leaving the power in this particular jewel untouched so that he wouldn’t prematurely create a monster, but instead find someone kind enough to wield its power.”
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She could barely think straight as he spoke. She managed to interrupt Ephraim to ask, “Where is Anzel now?” She needed to know why he couldn’t tell her this all himself. Ephraim took a breath before speaking, as though he had to muster up the strength to tell her. When he spoke again, his voice was much lower and much more strained. “One of Anzel’s sisters found out that he had fathered a child. This was a grave betrayal to the other Asai because they all agreed to never have children so that there would never be another power struggle between them after the loss of the Vermillion Queen. Having a child meant that it could possibly be as powerful as the other Asai, and it wasn’t a risk they were willing to take.”
He took another breath before speaking again. “There was a struggle the night that you were born. I felt a tug from Anzel, so I left the temple alone in the dead of the night. I kept following the pull until I saw Anzel battling Alicantas. It was overwhelming, seeing them fight in their god forms, but I could feel the strength of the other Asai growing closer and I knew they were coming for him. I looked over into the darkness and saw a woman holding a swaddled child on the ground, bleeding out. Anzel yelled for me to take you and flee. I could hear the anguish in his voice as he spoke. Alicantas roared against the decree, but Anzel kept her at bay. I fought the urge to help Anzel fight and ran over to the human woman on the ground. Her name was Helera. She looked so much like you, only her curls were as brown as the trees around her, while yours were redder than anything I'd ever seen – even as a newborn. Helera grabbed my hand and whispered where to take you before she handed you to me with tears rolling down her cheeks. I carried you and sped through the woods. I found a small town and extinguished my flames to blend in and look more human. I maintained my speed, however, and traveled from town to town with you, until I made it to a house on the outskirts of the capital city.”
Her heart was beating so fast that she knew Ephraim heard it, but he didn’t stop speaking. “A woman by the name of Gwinera came out of the house and I introduced her to her best friend’s daughter. She was aware of Helera’s relationship with Anzel, but I had to break the news of Helera’s death to her. Helera and Anzel must have already prepared Gwinera for the worst because she simply nodded and took you into her arms. She offered me a place to rest for the night, but I wanted to hurry back to Anzel, in the hopes that he’d still be alive. Gwinera nodded again and thanked me before I rushed back to the area where Anzel had been battling. There was no sign of him. There were only destroyed trees and Helera’s body. I moved the body and gave her a proper funeral in the temple here. Her tomb is actually behind this room if you would like to visit your mother.”
Her mouth went dry. She was trying and failing to pull herself together. She’d suspected her relation to Anzel during this trip, but she never expected that Gwinera wasn’t her birth mother. It was another blow to learn that her mother was already dead, and she was mourning the death of a person she never even knew about. She also couldn’t grasp how she felt about Anzel. He saved her and maybe even loved her mother, but she had just watched him kill the last Vermillion Queen. Why would he even make a new one? Was she his pawn now? She realized Ephraim was staring at her, waiting for a response. Without thinking about it further, she nodded yes. This woman fought and bled for her safety. She couldn’t just ignore her tomb. Her mother had to have loved ones that never got to visit her burial site. She deserved at least one relative to say goodbye to her. Even if it was a relative that never got the chance to say hello to her.
Ephraim stood and as she tried to do the same, she noticed Xylas was there suddenly helping her stand. Had he been there the whole time? He noticed her confusion and nodded yes. She finished standing and noticed the staring contest between Ephraim and Xylas. There was no coldness in Ephraim’s eyes as she’d witnessed before. He took a breath before he spoke. “I don’t hate you, Xylas. I never could. I loved you like a son and I wanted you to take your temple duties seriously and be ready for the day the Vermillion Queen came. There was a reason you were summoned here, and it was never to be Anzel’s protector. It was to be hers. Anzel knew long before he put his plan into action, that there would be another Vermillion Queen. And so, you were called and bound to her instead of Anzel through the power of hers that rested in the stone. You were to be her sole protector. It is why the two of you feel so strongly for each other. It is a pull that transcends any relationship you’ve felt before. I imagine it will only get stronger now that Viri has her full powers. But I wasn’t allowed to share your destiny with you, and so you rejected this temple. I didn’t handle that rejection well and I became angry at you for leaving your fate. But it’s funny. Fate has a way of finding us anyway.” He smiled at Viri.
Xylas didn’t say anything, but she saw the tears beginning to well in his eyes before he nodded at Ephraim and cleared his throat. Ephraim walked a few steps ahead of them to a wall behind where the jewel once stood. She realized, as she was about to see her mother, that she never got a direct answer about her father. She asked again, “Where is Anzel now?” Ephraim froze for a minute and his shoulders visibly sank. “I don’t know. I never found him again and he never returned to the temple. I keep hope alive that he is still alive and well. We are told that our bond to him would break if he died, but I can’t imagine that he lived through fighting his siblings.”
“He’s alive.” Viri realized that she’d blurted it out without even thinking. Ephraim whirled towards her. “HOW DO YOU KNOW?” He looked so hopeful and concerned that it made her heart break a little for him. “He’s been appearing to me in my dreams since I was younger as if he’s been watching me all this time. As I got closer to this temple, he began speaking some and telling me to find him.” She described his eyes and voice and Ephraim looked like the relief of it all might’ve made him topple over. He smiled to himself and straightened his shoulders. He smoothed out his toga and stared at her like the true leader he was before speaking again. “We’ll discuss this further after you’ve spent some time with your mother and you’ve both rested a little more.”
She hadn’t realized it until he mentioned rest, but she felt like she had a blazing fever still. Ephraim noticed her check her temperature with her hand and smiled slightly. “What you feel is the magic settling into your body. The greatest amount of it was in Anzel’s stone, and even harnessing a small amount of new magic can make a person feel unwell, so I'm surprised that you’re even awake and walking right now with the amount of new magic that your body is currently adapting to. You’ll likely be sick for the next few days, and it will likely get worse before it gets better.” She almost rolled her eyes, but it would take too much effort. Of course, getting more magic made you sick because nothing could ever be simple.
Ephraim started walking again and the small reprieve from her anxiety faded away. She’d have to sit down later and unpack all these emotions that she wasn’t used to. She felt like a completely different person these past few days. She watched Ephraim place his hand on a brick in the wall and press in, opening a passageway. She leaned into Xylas a little more with each step, and she didn’t know if it was because of how nervous she was becoming or because of how ill she felt. Probably both.