Chapter 37 #2
“The result of what the Usher did, exposing you to Novandia through the gap of my spell, was enough. My brother and I don’t agree, and our magics repel one another.
” I think of the interactions with Fenix, and how our magics wouldn’t mix.
Not like the natural flow of energy I was used to.
“But our powers are celestial born, and don’t bend to the whims of mortals quite like he wants, and his experiments haven’t quite worked out for him. Not in the way he intended, at least.”
“My brother—”
“—Isn’t like you. The Usher saw to that. He didn’t have a Transference. He is only half of what he could be.”
“And I am… both?”
“Perhaps. You always had the potential. You are the possibility. That is what a Fifth is, at the heart. A possibility of all my magic. To do good, to do bad, if you want to adopt your simplified view as you did when talking with my daughter.”
The Maker was right.
“And what about my parents? Why two Fifths?”
“That was my brother’s interference, and not my intention.
The power needed to keep my brother contained has its own limits.
He is quick to exploit the natural eclipse of my magic to his advantage.
But with your parents, it was a happy accident.
I choose to see it like that, even with the consequences.
And I cannot predict or meddle with affairs of the heart.
Their love, in many ways, overruled every possibility to them. ”
“What do you mean?”
“They chose to follow their hearts, even knowing that it would bring them pain. They had other options to them, but they wanted to make a stand. Their power turned inward. They stopped seeing the balance that all my magic must have. The checks and balances I have ensured for centuries so as not to unleash something or someone like the Usher.”
“You’ve failed then. Because I’ve seen what he wants, and it is to rule you, Novandia—everyone.
” I let my pain edge into rage and take over at the sheer naivety of her words.
She is our Goddess, and she didn’t foresee this?
“You let this happen. You took them away from me. From Fenix. This is all your fault,” I scream at the sky, at the moon, at the stars.
And for a second, there is silence.
“Maybe. Or maybe, I blessed the wrong people with my gift.”
“Maybe people don’t like being told what path their life will travel based on who you bless or don’t.”
“You believe you can do better? Do better than me?”
The air around the trees rushes as if blowing in a warning.
Oh, stars, this is dangerous territory.
“I believe—”
A bolt of energy, powerful, like a storm, flecked with a bright and shining light, races through me, as if the anger I’ve stirred in Aslendrix is now being rained down on me.
I stand before it and bear the power of Aslendrix’s fury. My eyes squeeze shut, and I shield my face from the growing heat, the intensity coming right at me.
Her voice echoes around me as she questions, “If I remove my magic from this land, how will you survive? Who will stand against the coming war?”
“It is coming, then?” I shout to confirm.
“There can only be a fight now. The stage has been set, the pieces in place. My brother has seen to it as best he can, and he intends to win. He’s chosen his champion, but it’s a poor choice, always too eager to look for the win.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The Usher will betray Novandia, and everything he says he’s fighting for. That will be his downfall.”
I open my eyes to her force, and as I do, it falls away, and I’m left with nothing but a glowing halo. A beacon. It reminds me of the night in Nehandun, when I stood against Fenix and let the power overrule me.
“The stone.”
“Indeed.”
“You’ve seen this? You know?”
“My daughter knows all. Do you think she wouldn’t prepare?”
“But… Why the Transference stone? Why create it?”
“You all have your talismans to help you channel the magic from me. Well, mine is bigger.”
“But the stone isn’t the source of your power.”
“No, but I need the conduit to gift Kirrians my magic. That is why all the Transference ceremonies have happened here for centuries.”
I blink, and we’re suddenly back on the stone, my feet in the exact same spot they were when I came here months ago.
“It’s a conduit. During the ceremony, fragments of my magic, the essence of the power I bestow, have been absorbed by the stone. Over time, each Kirrian, every Transference has added a tiny drop.”
“That’s what I felt. It was… something dark. Something dangerous.”
“Raw power. A warning.”
“The Usher wants it to overthrow you and Novandia. He’ll use that power. He wants to use it to take your power.”
“Yes. He has been planning his rise for some time. He has worshipped Novandia for years. And Novandia, while contained, is still a God.” I take in her words. “Until you and your brother were pulled in, it could have been left to play out.”
“Play out?” I accuse.
“Do you believe he can accomplish his goal? Win against the Gods?”
I look around the clearing, trying to hold onto the threads of information I’ve pulled loose. “I don’t pretend to know anything anymore, but I can’t risk that he might.” That is what drives me—the fear of where this could lead.
She doesn’t say anything at that.
“Aslendrix?” She doesn’t answer. “Even if he can’t beat you. He’s still bringing a war to Kirrasia over power. Your power.”
“Yes.”
“Is my magic… broken? It’s like you’re not quite with me anymore. An echo of what it was before, but I feel his. Eager, within me.”
“Do you want that back? All I gave you?”
There it is. The question that’s plagued me. Lost without it. Easier to run from it. But standing before the Goddess, there isn’t another answer in my heart.
I nod.
“And so, it shall be.”
There’s no pain this time. Instead, her presence is like a warmth, infusing every part of my body, and the empty spot, the well at the hollow part of my chest, feels full again.
I gasp in a deep breath, almost choking on my own air, and look around.
The light is gone. The night remains, invading what was left of the day, but only a few stars are visible in the sky with no sign of Aslendrix. Yet, I can feel her now. Whatever happened to her magic within me in Nehandun, it’s been repaired.