The Raven & The Wolf

Chapter Twenty-Two

Gedric helps me to my feet while Stanya and Merry go take care of my overload. I start telling the story while he escorts me back inside. “The Fates are cruel, Gedric. Forest Folk were the most common people in our early years. There was peace in our world. We worked well with animals, and even used them to help strengthen our livelihoods. There was a great sense of community, much like the ones in the Sheika clans. It was paradise.

“Then, one day, a ten year old boy by the name of Talon was playing in the woods. There was a small stream that was his favorite place to fish, and gather waternuts, for his mother to make dinner with. In that stream, he found a green stone. Curious, the boy picked up the stone and immediately dropped it, finding it sharp. When that stone landed in the water, with a drop of his blood, the Fates were brought to this earth.

“The Fates enchanted the boy with their wonderful magic; creating stars and fairies from thin air. Of course Talon wanted to play with their magic. He asked them to teach him how to do it. They told him that in order to teach him, magic has to be in his world.

“The Fates continued to show Talon their magic as he grew, only appearing for the boy and no one else. Then, on the day he turned fifteen, Talon asked how to bring magic to his world so he could show his friends; and share it with his village. The Fates explained that they need an anchor and non-magical beings, to attach themselves permanently into this world, so magic will forever belong here.

“Once an anchor was chosen, a contract would be created to help the Fates spread magic here. They told him that they thought it was fitting he be the anchor, since he found them. Talon, not suspecting anything, agreed to the supposedly harmless terms. Wasting no time, the Fates told him to take the magic stone and hold it to his chest. He did. The stone absorbed into his heart, creating the first ever recorded case of an overload.

“Talon died, and the explosion wiped out his entire village. The crater his body created seeped wild magic into the world, entering any living person it could find. The Fates wasted no time putting their mark in this world before leaving this plane; permanently anchoring themselves here.

“It wasn’t long before fights started breaking out due to jealousy, power hungry people, expanding territories; you name it and that was the reason behind their arguments, and magic was used to help to achieve it. Over the years, we adapted and magical society is what it is today.”

“So let me get this straight,” Gedric says, laying me in bed and sitting next to me. “The Fates sacrificed the life of a fifteen year old boy, and destroyed hundreds of lives, just to be here.”

“Pretty much. Once people learned the truth, they tried to rebel against the Fates. A few learned astral projection and managed to enter their plane. They nearly succeeded on killing the Fates. That’s where the Servants of the Fates come in. The strongest one was Lometh. Once she nearly killed them, they proposed a challenge. If she won, they’d remove magic from this world. If they won, she’d serve them, and any other magic wielder who failed to keep their word to them, for eternity.

“Lometh, near death herself, foolishly agreed. The challenge was to astral project next to her own body. Due to her strength, Lometh thought she could do it. She failed and died; thus starting the never ending trickery of the Fates recruiting servants to them. This is how the Servants of the Fates were created. None of them want to be there, but they’re forced to. That is why you never, ever, have any kind of an agreement with the Fates. If you fail, you belong to them.”

“Which is why Malay was so scared that you spoke with them,” Gedric says, connecting the dots.

“Exactly. They will lie and cheat to get what they desire.”

“And they want you because…” Gedric asks.

“Because this is the first time they’ve designed a being to be limitless.” Malay answers, coming into the room.

“What do you mean?” I ask, sitting up.

“You haven’t reached your peak, because there isn’t one.” She says, entering the room.

“Again, I’m going to need you to clarify that response.” I say, looking at her. Her entire body is poised, as if speaking to a council. Her clothes are messy, and her hair is a complete mess. Even her eyes appear sunken in. “Did you exhaust your magic?”

“Yes, I did. I put a good chunk into you,” she tells me, sitting at the foot of my bed. “I didn’t do it out of my own freewill, I can tell you that.” She looks at me with care. “They sensed me when I retreated into myself. They forced me to touch you in an attempt to kill you.”

“Why?” I demand. “I haven’t promised them anything. I would reincarnate into another life.”

“Not if they saved you. That was the plan. You were supposed to be on the brink of death, and then they make you the offer to save you so you can remove Ari from this world. However, since you contacted the Fates, they changed their mind. They forced me to put you into that overloaded state. Your overload was supposed to be so bad, that you would absorb anyone’s magic that was touching you. That’s why I wanted to stay away from you. You already had some of my magic inside of you, that I was sure to push you into that state if you got more. I don’t know how you’ve recovered from this overload.”

“Gedric removed my overload,” I say; filling that gap for her. “Using his father’s technique.”

“Then it’s a blessing he was with us today. Until Ari is taken care of, I think it’s best that Gedric stay with you.”

I nod, agreeing to that, and look to Gedric. “What do you think?”

Gedric looks me over. “You’re right, the Fates do fight dirty. We can work together to remove this monster from our world. In the meantime, I want to know everything that you know. Including Ari’s past.”

Surprised, I take a sharp intake of breath. I’m not to share this information with someone who is not marked. Then again, we’ve hit desperate times now. Without a doubt, the Fates will do whatever they can to send me into an overload. Ari has magically sealed his Magicnite members to him, so when they die they automatically feed their power into him. If I break this rule, it’s not violating any terms agreed on by the Fates. Brin discovered Ari’s past in one of his fights with him. It’s lasted four days, and Ari learned a lot about Brin as well. Fortunately, this was before Brin had found me; but after my grandfather had died.

I bite my lip, unwilling to go against Brin’s words. As I open my mouth to turn him down, I feel my raven mark move; causing me to shiver. Quickly, I close my mouth again and think some more. Brin would make allowances if it was necessary. Gedric is the only non-magical being-besides his father-that can deal with my overloads. If this is part of his terms, my hands are tied. I can’t die and leave the world to face Ari alone. My marks will be reborn, and the next person to hold the raven would have to fight him blindly; while the world will have to fight an ever growing powerful Ari.

“Deal.” I say, looking at him. Malay’s jaw drops while Gedric looks like I just bit him. “If the Fates are going to hinder me with overloads, and possibly make it so no one can touch me with magic while in an overloaded state, this is the safest option. As Brin would say, if you’re going to get bit by a snake, go with the less poisonous option.”

“Nat,” Malay answers quickly.

I wave her off, “Circumstances have changed, Malay. The world isn’t as simple as saving it from Ari anymore. My life depends on avoiding overloads. That’s always been a problem, but since this is followed by intent I can’t chance it. Stanya will need to be included in this conversation. We will discuss it at another time. In the meantime, we have to figure out how I’m-we are to deal with Ari.”

Gedric nods and looks at Malay. “What else happened when the Fates controlled you?”

Wait a minute. “Yeah, how did that even happen?”

Malay touches my leg carefully, “You do know that nasty habit that I have?”

I nod. “You split yourself in your center to visualize. You do this often when you panic. It helps you to see a solution that you normally wouldn’t see.”

“Yeah, well, that stupid habit is what called them to me. When you’re in that state, you’re at the brink of entering the Fates plane. You know this. Apparently, my fear was so strong that it was like I was banging on their door. They entered me, so to speak, since they wanted to see why someone of my own strength was so afraid. I couldn’t speak. I was horrified that they were standing right in front of me.

“Since I was more or less mute in their eyes, one of the Fates entered my body to see what was so distressing to me. They saw you in my mind, and through my eyes. They saw how injured you were, and weak in that moment. Every protest you made against my touch brought them joy, Natasha. It made them happy. You were so helpless in their eyes, they wanted finish you off. They wanted to kill you Nat. Not help you. Kill you. You’re property to them, not a person. In their eyes, you already belong to them.”

“These are people you worship?” Gedric demands; interrupting with disgust in his tone.

“Some, not all. We certainly don’t.” Malay retorts, crossing her arms. “They’re pure evil. Do you know why they wanted to bring magic here? To control everyone, and destroy a perfect harmony. We’re not the only people they’ve done this too. Once they kill a civilization, they move on.”

“I told you the Fates are cruel, Gedric.” I interject. “We’re playthings to them. If it tickles them the right way, they wouldn’t hesitate to wipe us all out. You’ve seen what happens to the people that oppose them.”

“But you don’t, and they’re aiming for you now.” Gedric argues.

“That’s because they have a plan.” I sigh, “Looks like there isn’t a vacation coming for me anytime soon.”

“So what’s your plan?” Malay asks me; looking at me with such intensity that it feels like she’s convinced this will be the last time her eyes will see me.

“I’ll deal with the Fates later. One thing at a time. Right now, Ari is the most prevalent villain in our lives. The Fates have an eternity to wait.”

“Then what’s the plan, Nat?” Gedric asks, looking at me with a world full of concern in his eyes.

“That’s easy. The Ancient Stream is where we’ll be heading next. Where it all started.” I pull my very snarled hair over my shoulder. “It’s where it all started, right? Maybe we’ll be able to find the hidden fate marking there; or get an idea on what qualifies someone to be chosen as a champion.”

“What?” Malay and Gedric demand together.

I wave them off. “Later. I don’t have enough strength to fill you in.”

“Fill who in,” Stanya asks, entering my room.

“On what a Champion and an original fate is.”

“Oh!” Stanya giggles. “That.”

“How is she not surprised?” Gedric demands.

“Natasha tells me everything.” Stanya says simply, sitting right next to my bed. “How are you feeling Nat?”

“Like I just got every inch of my being pummeled by Ari,” I grimace and then look at her. “How much magic did you get?”

“Enough to shield another city for a decade,” She answers and rolls her neck. “Which is exactly what I did with it. I sent it to Gordgia in Halling Field. Their spellpool is depleting due to Halthin’s condition.”

I nod, “Good idea.”

“So, do you want to catch me up?” She asks, raising her eyebrow.

I motion for her to lean forward and touch her forehead. Slowly, I draw a little of her power and play what had just transpired, to her in her mind. I always do this, since it saves me time.

“Natasha,” Malay admonishes, a bit of anger on her cheeks. “You’re prone to overload right now, and yet you use Stanya’s magic.”

“I’ve been doing this since my first overload when we met.” I inform Malay. “I can honestly control her magic better than my own.”

“So you’ve been doing this since you were young?”

“Pretty much. I’m quite used to it.” I flash Stanya a smile.

“Has it ever sent you into an overload?”

“The first time, yes. Ever since then, no,” I say while shaking my head. “But I can only seem to do it with Stanya.”

“Likely because you’re the most comfortable with her.” Malay muses.

“That, or because Natasha and I use each other’s magic so much, that our body recognizes it immediately. I have an easier time handling Natasha’s magic than even Halthin’s.” Stanya smiles at me; extremely proud of that fact.

“There have been documented cases of that,” Malay muses, “so it is possible. Stanya isn’t perceived as a threat by Natasha’s magic, and Natasha isn’t a threat to Stanya’s magic. This is only established by people who trust each other whole heartedly.”

“Which we do,” Stanya looks at me. “Speaking of magic, where is Halthin?”

“Resting,” Malay answers. “It’ll be a couple more days until he awakens. Ari’s magic took a toll on his body, and damaged several important organs in the process. It’s honestly a miracle he’s still alive.”

“You can thank Natasha for that,” Gedric says; resting his head back against the headboard.

“And your non magical herbs.” I say quickly. “If you didn’t have that, he would have died.”

“Like I said, a miracle,” Malay chuckles. “How long until you leave us?” She asks this while looking at me.

I half shrug and look to Stanya. “We’ll stay until Halthin has awaken. It’ll give me time to rest. Horseback with this shoulder is going to be hard enough anyway. Might as well give it a chance to heal as much as it can before the journey.”

Stanya smiles in her relief, and relaxes a bit. Stanya knows I have a crush on Halthin, and I know she has feelings for him too. It’s why I’ve never acted on my feelings, and her in turn. However, while my affections have remained the same for him, hers have grown. Maybe it’s time for me to let go of him. Her feelings are more than mine, and she truly sees a future with him; while I do not. To be fair, it’s hard for me to see a future past my next birthday anyway.