39. Chapter 39
Uriah sat on the edge of his seat, his jaw slack as we took turns telling our parts of the tale.
Ora’s attack and Sury’s injury and the magic that brought him back.
Fyom’s involvement and building our foundation of knowledge about the legends around us.
The lies of my Wielding ability, Peiro being linked to the entity inside of him, and my magic’s dominion over it.
I finally confessed to what had happened in Fernwick, not ready to see the look on Paige’s face. But instead of scrutiny, I found true concern and understanding.
Knowing that everyone knew what I was facing inside and out was equally unnerving and alleviating.
Once we’d each said our piece out loud, it was hard to believe this was our life and not a fabrication on parchment to hand off to future generations.
“I knew it,” Paige whispered, her hands covering her mouth.
“You knew?” Fyom asked from the chair in which he sat.
Paige rose from her chair and rushed to Peiro, taking his large hands into her own, making hers look so much smaller. “She’s looking for you. I don’t know why or what she’s willing to do to find you…but she’s searching.”
I rose from my chair and stood behind Paige, facing Peiro. “Who’s looking for him?”
Paige continued talking. “Ariadne. I took it for nonsense. Ramblings of a priestess who had become delusional. But I heard her once say she needed the Ancient One. Now more than ever I don’t trust her.”
The confirmation made my heart sink. “Does she know what he looks like? Or what she needs him for?”
Paige shrugged her shoulders before finally turning to me.
“I don’t know. I thought it was just so strange she would be inquiring about what we had perceived to be a ghost story, and that moment stuck with me.
I heard her talking to someone maybe fifteen years ago about the tale.
I thought they were talking about just that—the myth.
They were in a corridor and when she saw me, she stopped talking.
I remember a man with blonde hair and green eyes in acolyte robes. I never saw him again.”
Peiro looked at me deeply before turning back to Paige, squeezing her hand in return. “I’ve avoided the workings of Dokvalon for three decades now. I’ll stay safe,” he said with a wink. The act seemed to settle Paige’s nerves just enough for her to nod and return back to the table.
Uriah looked at Peiro in awe as he mouthed three decades? “How old are you?”
Peiro smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Uriah continued to sit there with disbelief on his face.
“You’re serious? The lot of you?” Paige remained silent but seemed to look at Peiro in a new light.
“The Ancient One and those tales are true?” He looked at Peiro with widened eyes.
“Did you come into my room to steal my soul when I didn’t finish my dinner? That’s what Pa told me would happen.”
Peiro arched an eyebrow at Fyom before he gave Uriah a perplexed look and barked out a deep laugh.
He held onto a nearby chair and his body shook as laughter bubbled up his chest. I had never seen Peiro so carefree like this.
My heart did something funny seeing his brown eyes twinkle with delight, and I felt my love for him grow.
“No. No, my boy. That version is indeed just a tale.” Peiro wiped a stray tear of laughter from his eye.
Uriah nodded slowly and exhaled with relief. He looked at me and Ora expectedly. “What about the tales of the illicitus? Are those—?”
“The legend mostly talks about my form of the illicitus, but we’ve heard the same thing—that a Death Wielder’s consequence is losing a grip on their mind.
Possibly, in turn, controlling the Wielder.
We don’t know exactly what that means, since this is all still new to us and because there hasn’t been a documented Death Wielder to actually live and tell the tale… that we know of.”
“Which could explain what happened to you in Fernwick. It overpowered you,” Sury stated. It wasn’t a condemnation but an understanding. A puzzle whose pieces are locking into place.
“Yes,” I whispered, the confirmation sealing everything, all my fears and uncertainties—but if we were going to make it through this, then I would need to figure out a way to control it before it got the upper hand.
A sudden race for time caught my breath.
“You’re right, and strong emotion provokes it somehow. ”
I felt Peiro’s presence looming behind me. His hands rested on the tops of my shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze, as if telling me: We will figure this out side by side.
Fyom spoke next. “We’ve only ever really heard about the fear of Death Wielders, but no one speaks about Life Wielders.
Either because they are even rarer or have posed as Healers to survive, but maybe…
” He turned his gaze to Ora. “But there might indeed be a consequence of the imbalance to a Life Wielder after all.”
“What do you mean?” Ora and Sury looked at the large man with alarm.
“It is my guess, since, as you said, we know very little about the illicitus. But perhaps”—I could tell Fyom’s words were taking shape with the same tenor as a Healer who was delivering unforgiving news—“when you revitalize life or bring it back from its threshold, it’s possible that you give parts of yours as forfeit. ”
“Why on earth would you say such a thing?” I knew the anger in Sury’s voice wasn’t aimed at Fyom, our friend. It was the emotion of trying to protect someone he loves. And judging by the look on Fyom’s face, he knew that, too.
“No, Sury,” Ora whispered as she tapped his hand lovingly. “He might be right.” Sury pulled away, ready to argue, before Ora continued. “It would make sense as to why—”
“Your hair is turning and why your skin takes on age,” Fyom finished her thought. “And those are just the physical traits we can see.”
The shock cut through me. I could understand why the sort of illicitus that lived in me was feared, but hers? Wouldn’t her power be coveted due to the amount of lives that could be saved? Why was this power so cruel?
Because the likes of you humans were never supposed to touch something that belonged to the giants, the ink whispered hoarsely in the back of my mind, like it was struggling to exist. You’ll never harness it in the way Ythos and Thuvina do…and you never will.
Well, maybe if it weren’t for them giving it to humans, then we wouldn’t be in this mess, would we? I spat back to the voice.
Child, who said it was freely given? Hmm? The original Circles of Wielding were shattered, thrown into chaos until they disintegrate altogether. And who says their power wasn’t taken? Thuvina awaits the day she can have her full power restored without humans meddling in the giants’ business…
Thuvina waits for her power to be restored? I always knew our balance had been broken after our gift was given, but her power was taken? Why had I never heard this version before? Was it true?
Yesssss. The ink choked out the word. And she is aggrieved.
“Well, now that we have the full story of what’s going on,” Paige cut in, pointing to parchment, “this might be clearer…or add more mayhem and confusion…”
“As if I’m not already confused,” Uriah mumbled.
“Welcome to court.” Sury laughed. “I would like to coin it The Court of Chaos.” Ora huffed and pushed him in the shoulder.
I rose from my chair and rounded the table, Ora on the other side of Paige, the latter staring blankly at the text before her. Fyom and Peiro stepped up to the far side, waiting and watching.
“I’m sure this is translated correctly. It wasn’t easy, but I was always better at deciphering Feodean than this oaf.
” She pointed to Fyom and continued before he could add his rebuttal.
“Oh, calm down, brother. It’s not like you don’t still have your high honors in all sorts of other things.
Your baby sister can be good at something. ”
“Don’t forget that you are also a lady in court.” Peiro slightly chuckled, earning him a viscous glare from Fyom.
“But yes, the oaf did translate a couple of words correctly—though quite a few runes could easily be mistranslated if you didn’t know the context. The ancient city of Graevicka was known to be a place of great magic, and their language was a fine thing.”
“What happened to them?” I asked, mesmerized by the symbols before me. They were beautiful.
“Some say the giants destroyed it,” Paige went on.
“Some say doom was brought upon them, desecrating the city that had been known for knowledge before the Original War.
There used to be an institute of Scholars who studied the arts and sciences of our Wielding and taught it to the masses who wanted to learn.
Well before the High Priests and Priestesses took that over.
“Scholars studied and recorded everything. See how the line over this symbol here is next to the one that is shaped like a star? Its word meaning is different when paired with one that is more box-shaped. Anyhow, I wrote down each sentence and it created a sort of poem…” Paige shifted the parchment to where Ora and I could read the translation aloud together:
—
Life abundance, death eternal,
Both are rooted within the infernal.
Twins of flame, equal in right,
One powers day, the other sweeps the night.
Giants created to hold the key,
But the broken stone it shall be.
Righted power will be restored,
Once the Sun Killer is reborn.
Keys are called to control balance true,
Restore them to glory, their purpose to renew.
Remove the valance that conceals what must be seen,
Give back to the giants what has always been.
—