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Spark to the flames.	By : Solaris & Manta Category: +M through R > Mighty Ducks Cartoon Views: 1190 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Spark to the flames.
- 1
Title: Spark to the flame.

Author: Kaladan Flashblade

Rating: NC17

Summary: A test is given to Kaladan to prove her worth.

Disclaimer: No copyright are harmed in any ways in the writing of this story. I do not own any of the Mighty Ducks, nor do I make any money off of this story, only my original characters are mine.

Feedback: Constructive reviews would be nice; flamers can keep their fingers quiet.

Author's note: I hope you enjoy this story. Now onto the story. Please review. Thanks.
Spark to the flame.
Kala sat in meditation, life with the Ancients was hard; they treated her as an object, the Supreme Ancient made her do things that made her feel dirty. She was miserable but there was nothing she could do about it. She was the first female to be an Ancient or so they kept telling her. They didn’t really treat her like one of them, just an object. She started to fume about it before she shook her head and started to concentrate on the spell she was working on.
~~~~~~~~~
The Supreme Ancient and his council were in a meeting, there had been an issue of a renegade who had taken one of the artifacts. "This renegade magic user has to be stopped."
"We should keep this quiet, it's not like the artifact that was stolen was very powerful, more of a magical trinket." one of the others voiced.
"That's not the point, it's the renegade, he doesn’t follow any rules, he needs to be stopped." stated the Supreme Ancient.
"We should send an apprentice to gauge his power, to know what we will be up against."
"I refuse to have any of mine be sent, send that abomination, she is expendable even if we keep her just to get the necromancers to do as we want."
Most of the Ancients in the council chamber agreed, save those who had initiated her capture for political maneuvers. The Supreme Ancient weighed his options, the girl did have promise and would be a good tool but she was also the most expendable since her death would do just as much damage on the Necromancers. He sighed what was there to loose? If she survived then she may become a better tool, if she failed that was the end of it and the Necromancers would lose something precious. They had taken her because of her namesake, there was no signs that she was the Necromancers pillar but their founder had once offered that Pillar to join them and be his wife. He secretly smiled, he would miss those nights of tutoring her.
“I shall inform her of her task,” the Supreme Ancient stated, as he called the council to a close. He went to Kala’s chamber and knocked on the door.
Kala was quick to answer the door. “Yes Ancient One?”
“Child, the council and I have a task for you. We need to retrieve a stolen artifact from a renegade magic user."
"Why me, Ancient One,"
"I won't lie to you child, you are simply the most expendable. Though I will give you a lesson to part with." he said as he locked the door and placed a sound barrier spell on the room.
Kala felt like she had been struck hard. She had resigned herself to being treated like an object, but now the reality was they actually thought of her as an expendable object. “I shall retrieve the item from the magic user and return quickly with it,”
"I knew you would, you're an obedient hen, now take off your robe. You will not be able to perform this sacrament while completing this task."
Kala hesitated for a moment then undid the clasp of her robes. The Supreme Ancient ran his eyes over her eight year old body, Kala held back a shiver, his gaze on her was only the start of the nightly lesson he'd given her, usually the lessons would be morning lessons too, if he came into her room in the morning hours, which was rare.
The Supreme Ancient undid his robes and let them fall to the floor, his member hardening in anticipation of what was to come and what he saw. He sat on her bed and gestured for her to come to him and perform the first part of the 'sacrament'. Kala wished she could run away but when she had tried that he had bound her and forced her to do it. It was less painful to just get it done and over with.
She went to him and knelt taking his member into her beak moving back and forth before he spewed the white stuff on her. She hated it and he gave her no choice. She had tried to argue that it went against what they had preached. He had laughed at her and told her the sacrament she preformed was different. It was a reenactment of the marriage of the original Kaladan Thunderbeak to the founder of the ancients. It was a sacred sacrament of power and blessing on the Ancients. It was her duty as a descendent and his as Supreme Ancient to perform it.
The Supreme Ancient placed his hand on her head speeding up her pace till the white stuff exploded from him into her beak not giving her a chance to pull away. "Remember swallow it, it is a portion of my power you should not waste."
Kala used all the self control she had learned and swallowed the white goo, she knew if she didn't he would get rough with her. After swallowing the last of it she went onto the bed on all fours and put her head down and raised her tail feathers up so that her could have full access to her there. He ran his hands along her tailfeathers and down her inner leg before putting small clamps on her undeveloped breasts causing her to clench her teeth while he started to stroke her inner folds. Kala did her best not to squirm but he eventually placed his fingers inside of her moving them in and out till she was wet.
He placed his now hardening member at her entrance and rubbed it, till his penis started cumming and seeing that she was producing her own creme coating the head of his erection with it making her wet as he plunged deep within her with his first thrust. She unintentionally pushed against his entrance forcing his erection deep within her. The Supreme Ancient would do this several times before he filled her completely filled with the white goo and it coated her feathers, her inner legs and then onto her bed.
"You are getting better at the sacrament Kaladan, now lick it and taste our combine power." he said waiting for her to lick his member clean of the goo. It was the last part of the sacrament. And in a way, she was happy that she would be on a mission away from the temple, since she would not have to perform it during that time. She licked his member clean as it went hard under her tongue, the Supreme Ancient moaned as he came spewing the white goo all over her face and onto her chest. Kala finished licking it before it went limp so she would not to have to repeat it.
The Supreme Ancient smiled at her, “Right now you are a picture perfect female Ancient. You'd best make it back from this mission alive, it would be a pity if this sacrament could not be performed again."
Kala bowed her head. "Yes Supreme Ancient."
The Supreme Ancient looked at his penis to find it limp as he sighed as he really wanted to extend his pleasure within her before he pulled his robes back on and filled her in on the rest of the details of the mission and left. Kala closed her door after getting the information on where the renegade might be located at. Kala didn’t cry in her room. She would do so once out of the Temple and away from the area where she can remove her cloak and be a regular person on a mission to cry about her place there at the temple.
When she walked to the gate, it felt like she was being sent off to be slaughtered, but she made herself show no fear. Once outside the temple, Kala re read what little information they had given her. The renegade from what she could figure live in a place known as the wastelands, a part of Puckworld where no one really lived save the most desperate. It would take her many months to even get there and all she had was a compass and maybe a month’s worth of rations. She took a deep breath and began to walk. As days turned into weeks, she learned that her magic wouldn't help her much, but she could heat water but she needed herbs to make it into tea. Finding wood to make a fire was also difficult since almost every step of the way was ice and snow. As the weeks turned into months she had come to the end of her rations, there would only be enough for that night’s meal and the next nights. She knew this day would come but she had hoped it wouldn't happen until she had reached the waste lands. It didn't matter though, she'd be dead regardless, she had simply been delaying it.
An old drake limped from the shrubs about ten feet away. She could tell by the insignia on his cone that he was a Necromancer. "Young lady, could you do an old drake a favor and share some food and drink,"
“I do not have much to share old one but I will share what remains of my food with you,” Kala said. She knew he would probably try to kill her once he learned who she is but on the other hand, he was old and probably wouldn’t try something like that. She poured some of the soup into the bowl he held out and gave him some of the tea she prepared.
He took it gratefully. "Thank you, young lady, you have a kind heart but what brings you out here? Should a kind girl like you, be safely at home?"
“My mentor sent me after someone who stole a tiny magical key from them and since I am an expendable in the ranks of the apprentices I was sent. Now, I am without food and drink, far from the Temple and on a hunt that might end in my death,” Kala said, as she pulled from under her fur wrap blanket the telltale color of the Ancient’s cloak for him to see.
“You a mere female in the ranks of The Ancients, how did that occur? They have only males in their ranks?” He asked.
“The mighty hand of the Creator had something to do with it, I guess.” Kala replied.
"What ever it is, it doesn’t matter, Ancient or not I thank you for my last meal. I pray to the Morningstar that this is not your last meal as well." he said as his eyes began to close.
"What's wrong? Are you ok?"
The old man smiled, "I am now......." he said with his eyes closed fully and his final breath left his body.
She should have just left his body there and continued on, but she didn't, she buried him in a grave of ice, it wasn't the custom on the Ancients but it was of his people. After saying a prayer for him she continued on. By the second nightfall without food she was growing weak, at least the snow provided water for her. She had entertained the thought of setting up camp but didn't dare; if she did she'd die. Kala yelped when her foot caught on something and she fell to the ground. When she managed to get herself on all fours and inspect the offending object; she couldn't believe what she saw. It was the old Necromancer’s cane and beside it was a bundled up cloak. She carefully looked to see what the cloak held. It held a box and a note. The box itself contained food and once she had eaten her fill she looked at the note. 'Thank you' was all that was written.
She wondered who had set it out for her to trip over or was this, the food that the old Necromancer had lost while walking. But whoever or whatever put it there, gave her enough food to survive the rest of the search for the small magical key that was stolen from them by a magic user.
She reopened the box to make sure, the food within it had replenished. She smiled and continued on her way. Hadn't the old Necromancer prayed that that meal with him was not her last? He had treated her like a person regardless of the fact she was an Ancient. It made her feel good for the first time in a long while. Time continued as it always did but the path she walked began to change, she had come to the borders of the waste land. She surveyed her surroundings, remnants of old crumbled building surrounded her, the further she went the more there were. When she spotted a lone figure was when she stopped, his feathers were a pale green, his hair jet black and when he looked at her at pair of ice blue eyes that were much older then what the figure looked. "I've been expecting you."
"You mean you have been waiting for me?" Kala asked.
"I have been, they sent you here to die, even in a hopeless situation you helped one who was supposed to be your enemy and in turn his wish for your well being was granted. If you hadn't been kind you would have never made it this far. You've earned an audience with me."
"Who are you?"
"I am the sorcerer Julius Nova, welcome to my home."
“I am Kaladan Thunderbeak, the first female in the ranks of the Ancients,” Kala said. “The old drake was injured and I didn’t really care if he was a Necromancer or not, I was lonely and even if I had his company for a few minutes, I treated him like I wanted to be treated by my fellow Ancients like I was someone not looked upon like I was expendable.”
"But they will never see you as such," Julius said. "But you are very resourceful. I don't know why you ever became an Ancient, especially to have the nerve to be the first female. You've got guts that can take you far."
Kala half smiled. "I'm tired is there a place to rest?"
Julius waved his hand and spoke an incantation in a tongue that Kala didn't understand. The rubble around her began to hover and it made a small hut. "Rest then, we will ask you of why you have come here when you are fully rested."
Kala went to the room and after finishing her protection spell, collapsed onto the bed and drifted off to sleep. She didn’t wake till later that evening, she felt better as she ended her spell around her and started to walk out of the hut. She heard two voices outside and started to sneak over to listen to the voices. ‘Two? There should only be him.’
Julius cocked his head as the fire went to a lower size from the site. "Ah, you are awake. Feeling better?"
"Yes, but where is the other? I heard you talking to someone else?" Kala asked, as she scanned the area.
"There is just me, but I do talk to people via the fire," Julius stated.
"What sort of people?"
"Souls I've trapped within it."
“I didn’t know you could trap souls within fire. Wouldn’t putting the fire out basically send them to the creator?” Kala asked.
"It would obliterate them, child."
Kala was shocked. “Souls cannot be obliterated, they go to the creator when the host that they were in die,”
"You are naive girl, a soul is not as immortal as you think, and yes, they can be obliterated."
“I guess as that’s what the Ancients taught to us, that souls are immortal no matter what happens to the body, the soul survives,”
"That is a fundamental lie, the soul though more durable is just as fallible as the flesh."
"But how?"
"Everything at its base is energy, from rocks to ducks. It’s both a magical and scientific principle. Have they taught you nothing girl?"
“No,”
"So that has taught you something?"
Kala nodded.
"What could those bumbling fools have taught you?"
“How to wield magic but they do not consider me anything but as expendable since they sent me off on a task that would have resulted in my death,” Kala said.
"Wielding magic is a child’s play, as for how they treat you; it's also how you let them treat you."
"What do you mean?"
"So what were you sent here for? No one comes here unless they want something."
Kala didn’t know how to tell him that she was sent to retrieve a small magical key from him. He was kind to her to allow her time to recover her strength before the audience with him.
“So what did they ask you to get from me, young Kaladan?”
“The Supreme Ancient wanted me to retrieve a small magical key from a renegade magic user here in the wastelands,” Kala stated, not really wanting to look at him.
"So I'm a renegade now? Figures they come up with something different every few centuries. As for that key they stole it from me two centuries ago."
“Could this be a test for me to see if I am worthy of being an Ancient,” Kala asked out loud.
"This isn't a test child; at least I'm not testing you. I let you live because I wanted company."
Kala had hoped it was a test but now with what Julius stated, her heart dropped. She had suffered so much to get to this point and now it’s useless. She wasn’t a good Ancient at all. She got up from her seat and started to gather her travel gear. Kala started to walk away from Julius.
Julius walked by her side. “Was it something I said?” with a sly smile on his bill.
“No, just the truth of your words, said it all. I am useless to everyone. I’m not even worthy of being company to an Ancient. I wish I was where my friend is at right now,” Kala’s voice broke as she spoke.
“And where is this friend of yours at?” asked Julius.
“Not sure, but at least with him he cared about me,” said Kala, as she kept her head down as she walked.
Julius reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Don't go, I may not be the best of people but at least I want your company."
“Are you sure? You aren’t saying that to make me feel better?” Kala asked.
"I mean it; I wouldn't have let you come this far if it wasn't."
"Very well," Kala turned herself around and headed back to where the small fire was at and sat back down.
"So tell me why is the place called the waste lands?"
"They are called the waste lands because they are the ruins of a city that fallen victim to a great magical battle."
“What kind of magical battle caused this destruction?”
"The battle was between two sorcerers, one who had given his heart to the shadows, the other thought his opponent was beyond redemption. The battle lasted over ten years. The magical fallout killed many the rest fled. In the end the one who gave his heart to the shadows won. The shadows were pleased with the sorcerer and turned him into one of them, dammed to walk this world alone. At least that's how the story goes. It happened long before the Ancients or the Necromancers ever existed on this planet."
“The Ancients said that this was the site that was used by the Necromancers to cast out their demons that they do not want to even let go and banished their spirits into the ground below us and the demon spirits turned this place into a wasteland,” Kala said.
"Necromancers actually do that; this place can be considered a magical grave yard. But they were not the cause of this place being as it is."
“It is because of that war between Sorcerers?”
“Yes, now tell me when did the Ancients find you? They usually only have the boys do the incantation?” Julius asked.
“I was in line with my brother and his best friend at school when I heard the incantation. I was found out and told to leave the line. I ended up being chased by bullies and got pinned in a corner. To escape them, I cried out the incantation. I didn’t even think it would work but to my shock . . . ,”
"I see, in my day you would have been whisked off to the royal academy of magic to study. It was a marvelous place filled with both young and old sorcerers and sorceresses, but those times have long since past, with Drake DuCaine came a new age, one of darkness."
“Darkness?”
"Great cities crumbled. The mountains, plains and sea soaked with innocent blood and filled with bodies, the sky wept but nothing could be done, the sorcerers and sorceresses were slaughtered, those who hid and survived founded the magical orders. The planet is still in the time of darkness."
"What do you mean?"
"It never recovered." Julius told her.
“You mean the world did not recover from the war?” asked Kala.
"With DuCaine, not really,"
“But surely after he died, it did recover?”
"This planet is still in darkness, and its former glory lost to the sands of time."
Kala did not know what to say or do. ‘He must have seen our planet in its glory, I bet it was beautiful then,’ But that would mean he was old, but he looked as if he were barely an adult.
“I don’t look it do I?” Julius asked. “Being an adult drake?”
“You look young barely an adult drake. How long have you been alone here?"
"Too long,"
“Anyone come visit you? Like family or friends?” asked Kala.
"They are long since dead, little girl."
“Not anymore, you have a friend in me,” Kala said.
He smiled; “You have no desire to return to the Ancients?"
“At this moment, no, I know I will have to return to them. I will stay with you for a time,” Kala stated.
"Do you want to know what the key is for?"
“Yes, if you do not mind telling me?”
"It’s for a music box."
“A music box,”
He nodded. "The artifact itself is a time key in the form of a music box, but it can't work without two things - its key and the soul fire."
“So that is why you collect souls?”
“Yes,”
"To what time will you go to?"
"I'm not sure."
“I wish you well on your journey then,” Kala said.
"If you could go to the time I am from and study magic at the royal academy, would you?"
“Yes, I would as it would give me advantage over the other Ancients, when and if I return to them,” Kala said.
Julius smiled and took out the music box and opened it. He walked over to the flames and with his magic put the fire in the box and closed it. He took the key from around his neck and placed both objects in Kala's hands. "Open it and it will take you there, to return close the box, but you have until the flame dies to do so, if you wish to stay just let the fire burn out and you will be in that time permanently."
Kala looked at the music box and then to Julius. Her hand reached for the latch and the next thing, Kala knew everything was blurry and then she felt herself bump into something. She turned to see who she bumped into or what to see a wall made out of the same material that her family home was made out of. At first, she was scared as which time period was she at.
"Are you lost, young lady?" asked a voice coming from behind her.
Kala turned to see who it was and saw a young blue feathered, red haired male duck wearing a school uniform. "I . . . am not sure."
"You must be new to Cassiopia. I'll show you around if you like, I attend the royal academy of magic. The name is SkyFyre; most people just call me Sky. What's your name?" Sky said, as he walked towards another building.
"Kaladan Thunderbeak," Kala said, as she clung to the music box.
"Are you sister to Zahra Thunderbeak? She looks a bit like you," Sky asked.
"Zahra Thunderbeak? No relations to me, sorry," Kala said.
"So tell me what bring you to this city?"
“I was sent here to train in the school.”
“Oh that’s good of your folks to send you, just follow me, I’ll get you to the main office so you can register if you are sent here to train,” Sky said, as he headed towards the entrance of a building.
Kala nodded. "What do I have to do?"
"I'm not sure; my parents did the paper work and paid the fees."
“Fees? Oh dear, I don’t know if my folks sent any coins with me to pay the fees,” Kala said.
"You could always get a job at one of the shops, most students deal with their fees that way."
"What about a place to stay?"
"There are dorms at the academy."
“Okay,” Kala fumbled through her Ancient cloak looking for any coin bag she may have brought with her, as they walked up the stairs into the building. She found a small bag but it wasn't much.
Sky opened the door for her as she entered and headed to the desk. “My dear ladies, we have a new student on the premise. Her name is Kaladan Thunderbeak. No relations with the other Thunderbeak,”
"Thank you SkyFyre, now shouldn't you be getting to class?"
“Yes, ma’am, just escorting her to you before heading off to class,” Sky said, before he waved bye to Kala and vanished.
“A teleporter?” asked Kala, looking at the ladies and then to the spot that Sky was at.
"It’s his strong point," the lady said as she looked over some information on her computer screen. "You're not registered; you'll have to see the administrator."
“Alright,” Kala said.
The lady told her to take a seat and she'd notify the administrator. Kala waited for about a half hour until a drake came up to her. "Are you the student that wants to register?"
Kala looked up to see the drake looking at her, she stood up and nodded. “Yes, yes, I am, sir.”
"Good, come with me…," the drake said as he led her out of the office and down the hall. "Before any paper work, I'd like you to pass a simple test."
“Oh, alright,” Kala said, as she watched him.
He said an incantation and a small ball of light appeared between his hands. "Now you try."
Kala cocked her head as she looked at him. "I do not know that dialect."
"What city are you from? Saurian is normally taught in schools."
“I’m from Keltor but it is a very small town and the school doesn’t allow Saurians in,” Kala said.
The teacher chuckled. "Keltor is a large city, it's the main trade port in this region." he said as he looked her over. "You wouldn't happen to be a runaway Blader?"
“No, sir,” Kala said.
"How old are you?"
“I’m only ten years old.” Kala said.
"Where are your parents?"
Kala's mind went into a panic, she needed to give an answer but she couldn't very well tell him her parents were in the future. "They are gone." it was true enough she rationalized, they weren’t any where on the planet or beyond.
The administrator simply looked at her for a few moments and told her the incantation in the plains dialect and instructed her to repeat it while holding out her hand.
The small ball of light did appear but it wavered and vanished within a second after getting bright. “I did it,”
"You passed; do you have a guardian or an adult that tends to you?"
Kala shook her head sadly and looked down at her feet.
"You said your family name was Thunderbeak, I think it best to contact them and see if they can shed any light on this situation."
"They would not know anything about me." Kala said.
"We shall see.”
Kala wondered if she would be admitted or not to the school. He gestured for her to follow and took her to the Thunderbeak estate. One of the servants answered the door. "What is your business here sir?"
"I need to speak with Mr. or Mrs. Thunderbeak."
"Mrs. Thunderbeak is in the garden, I'll take you to her.”
They entered the garden; Mrs. Thunderbeak made a wave to the administrator and gestured for him to sit by her. "What brings you here? Zahra isn't in trouble is she?"
"No, this concerns another girl." he told her as he gestured to Kala.
Mrs. Thunderbeak gasped. "Oh my, she looks almost identical to Zahra." she said as she took a closer look at Kala. "Where did you find her?"
"She found me, said her name was Kaladan Thunderbeak, I wasn't certain despite her appearance until I saw that she like most of your family had magic. She also said she was from Keltor."
Mrs. Thunderbeak nodded. "How old is she?"
"She said ten, from her energy signature she did not lie to me. She seems to also only know the plains dialect of Orithian."
Mrs. Thunderbeak smiled. "It really is her then?"
"It's the only explanation; they never did find the child with them."
"Thank you, I had given up hope that my niece would ever be found."
The administrator smiled, "Would you like me to leave you to get to know her better?"
"I think it would be best, the servant will show you out."
He nodded and followed the servant out of the garden.
Mrs. Thunderbeak knelt down by Kaladan. "You were too young to remember me when your parents were attacked. I'm your Aunt Sophia Thunderbeak."
Kala just gave her a blank look. “I don’t even . . . ,”
“You do not remember us do you?” Sophia asked.
“No, not a image from my mind matches you,” Kala said and then she yawned.
"It's understandable, you were just an infant. But you look tired; I'll show you to a guest room for now."
“Thank you, ma’am,” said Kala.
Mrs. Thunderbeak smiled. "It's the least I can do until I have a room prepped for you."
“Thank you,” Kala returned the smile back to her.
She showed Kala to the guest room. "I'll have Zahra check on you later."
“Okay, thank you,” Kala said, as she entered the room and placed her music box on the dresser and noticed that the flames were still bright.
Kala sat down on the bed. It was comfortable more than the bed she had at the Ancients. She wondered what Zahra would think of her. She’d worry about that later, for now she wanted to rest.
~~~~~~~~~
Zahra knocked at the door, it had been a few hours since she had arrived home from the academy and had finally calmed down. When she had heard the news that her cousin had been found she hadn't been able to hold back the excitement.
The door opened and to Zahra’s shock was her twin standing there. “My mom was right; she told me that we looked alike.”
Kala was surprised, it was like looking into a mirror except her reflection was a couple years older then her. “It is like looking in a mirror but you must be at least two years or three years older than I,”
“Well, two years really. My mom and yours are twins,” Zahra stated.
"They were?"
Zahra nodded. "It must be weird for you, from being alone to having a family."
“It is,” Kala stated, as the sound of her stomach made it’s presence heard.
"Want to get some fruit from the orchard?"
“Sure,”
Zahra took her to the back of the house, Kala looked around in awe, she had been half asleep earlier but now she noticed, this place was warm, and there were trees. Zahra headed for one of the trees and pulled couple of the fruits off of it and held one out to Kala. “It’s delicious,”
Kala took it and bite into it. She couldn’t believe it, it tasted like one of the fruits that the Ancients had in the temple grounds. How did they get this tree there? She wondered.
Zahra smiled. "This orchard had been in the family many generations."
Kala returned her smile as she reached up and grabbed another fruit.
Mr. Thunderbeak came home and had walked to the back patio and noticed two girls in the orchard both looked like one and another. He wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Sophia came to his side. “Great news, love, they found my niece, Kaladan.”
“They did? But didn’t they say that they didn’t find her?” he asked.
“Yes, but a miracle happened and we have her in our home,” Sophia said.
“But how did she find us?”
“She didn’t find us, she found the academy and they brought her here,” she said, as she turned to look at Kaladan who was eating another fruit from the tree.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, every aspect of her matches."
“But are you really sure she is your niece,”
"If she wasn't don't you think Zahra’s powers would have indicated otherwise?"
“That she would see who she really is. Zahra can see the future of who she touches and when she concentrates. Wait, are you asking Zahra to see the future of her cousin Kaladan?”
“Yes, just to see if she is who she states she is,” Mr. Thunderbeak stated.
"So far, there is no indication from Zahra that Kaladan isn't our niece."
Mr. Thunderbeak turned towards Zahra and Kaladan. “Then, Kaladan must be our niece,”
A servant came to their side and whispered to them. Sophia nodded as she turned towards Zahra and Kaladan. “Children, dinner is ready.”
Zahra grabbed Kala’s hands and took her to the dining room. Dinner was better than the meals Kala had with the Ancients as they eat. The conversation turned to how she survived all those years alone.
Kaladan was not sure how to explain it to them. “I lived with a foster family till I was about eight when I ran away from them and lived on the streets since then,”
"But how did you escape being killed?" Sophia said.
"I do not know, I do not remember much of my younger years," Kaladan lied.
"She was an infant then, my sister must have hidden her."
“She must have done a great job at it as no one from the family could find her,” Mr. Thunderbeak said, as he looked at Sophia and then to Kaladan. “I suppose you will be going to school at the academy then?”
"I have magic; I may as well learn to use it."
“Good, you might be in my classes!” Zahra stated, thrilled.
“I’m not sure, who knows,” Kala replied.
"I doubt it Zahra, she has a lot to learn."
“But who knows, I might be able to skip years,” Kala knew that wouldn’t happen but it was worth a try.
"Take your time with your classes, magic is best learned one step at a time."
“That is right, always take your time to make sure you learned the proper steps to make the spell done right or even teleport properly,” Mr. Thunderbeak stated.
Kala nodded, they weren’t her parents but they seemed to understand her better and magic was normal to them. It was a nice change for her to have parents who understood magic and didn’t hate her for it.
“Well, tell us what talents you have, Kala,” Sophia asked.
"Well I can do some telekinetic and if I look someone in the eyes I can read their minds."
“That’s good. At the academy, you should be able to sharpen your skills with your telepathy and telekinetic. You don’t by chance know how to see the future?” Zahra asked.
Kala shook her head. “No, I do not,”
"Could be a good thing, makes life less confusing,"
“Indeed, but seeing the future might come in handy too,”
"It is more of a burden then a blessing."
Kala looked intrigued by it. Sophia nodded to Zahra as she spoke once again. “I have three types of sight, Kala. One is the seer, that one I do not really like as it shows me the worst case of the future.”
"What are the other two?" Kala asked.
"The second is seeing what goes on in the present and the third is to see the past."
“But why do you not like the seer?” Kala asked.
“Because if I have that at night, I usually end up waking up screaming and I would not be able to return to sleep after that,” Zahra stated.
“There are nights when I wake up and I cannot get back to sleep no matter what I try, from reading books to getting a drink. A friend said that I was crying out in my sleep about something and then I woke up scared or so wide awake I could not return to sleep,” Kala said.
"You may have it a bit then, just hope it doesn’t develop."
Kala simply nodded and continued eating, Zahra was a trained magic user, her advice was probably good.
It wasn't long until dinner was over, like back in her time desert didn't follow afterwards, the only time it did for Kala was when her mom had managed to get dried fruit. Once everyone was excused, they decided to retire to the family room though Kala just wanted to sleep. As she was on her way to sleep some more, she heard a sound and her guts were telling her something was not right. She shook her head and tried to push the feeling aside, despite her rational judgment turned and went to the family room. She heard the noise again, no one seemed concerned with it, and she looked to see where it was coming from and saw the cracking in the ceiling where the fan was.
"Move, Aunt Sophia!" Kala yelled, as she used her telekinetic powers to stabilize the fan while Zahra got Sophia out of the way.
Zahra looked at Kala, as she lowered the fan onto the floor. "That was close; I didn't think it would fall."
"Something was bothering me, I though I should talk with you or Aunt Sophia. Turned out that it was the cracking in the ceiling where the fan was." Kala replied.
"Thank you, Kala. You saved us both from some serious harm," Sophia said.
Kala shrugged, "The house I had lived in Keltor wasn't the best, and it was simple survival instinct."
“Well, that instinct will come in handy here. The academy is going to be tough and you need to be on your toes, Kala,” Zahra said.
“Probably not as tough as living on your own for the last three years,” Kala said.
Zahra raised a brow. "You'd be amazed."
“I have seen plenty of things that made living on the streets hard, where you had to keep moving every three hours during the night.” Kala stated. “Anyways, I’m off to bed. When does school start in the morning?”
Zahra sighed. "It starts at eight."
"Alright, I'll be up before six in the morning," Kala said, as she headed for her room and closed the door.
Zahra turned to her mother. "Mom, something is odd with her."
"What do you mean, Zahra," Sophia stated.
“She’s too polite to us, I know we just met her but she has this feeling about her that she is finally happy to have a family who understands her,” Zahra said.
“Well, the foster family probably didn’t understand her and her magic. That’s probably one of the reasons why she fled from them,” Sophia explained.
“I guess so. But I am happy she found us, she will be better off living with us than with them.” Zahra said, as she kissed her mom good-night before she retired to her room to get some sleep.
Sophia sighed, once the children were in bed, Zahra was a bit young to understand, that magic calls magic and the naive are easily made content. In time both girls will understand that but for now she'd let them think as they like.
“Are you troubled by something, love?” asked her husband, as she climbed into bed. “You feel troubled.”
"It is nothing, was just thinking."
“No, you are troubled about Kaladan aren’t you?” he asked. “She shows up after nine years of being thought dead and instead of relief you are troubled. Now share? I know you, wife, I know you.”
Sophia smiled as she wrapped her arms around him. “I wished we had found her sooner, but she’s here and she’s safe.”
“I know, but we have her now and she will be raised with love and attention will be focused on her magic and any other gifts she may have.” He said, as he kissed her good-night and closed his eyes to sleep.
Sophia followed suit a few minutes later.
~~~~~~
“Kala, Zahra, hurry up, breakfast is on the table! You two do not have much time before you need to hurry to school!” yelled Sophia.
"Yes mother! I'll be there in a minute." Zahra yelled from the lavatory.
Kala had emerged from the guest bedroom pulling her long hair into a ponytail; she was wearing her same clothes that she had on from the previous night. “I’m here, Aunt Sophia.”
Sophia spotted Kala. "Zahra pass Kaladan some of your old clothes, the ones that might fit her, she needs something other then her traveling clothes to wear."
“Okay, mom, come on Kala.” Zahra stated, as she headed back into her room and into her closet where she found several shirts and pants that might fit her.
Kala grabbed the blue shirt and the darker blue pants and changed into them. Zahra looked at them and smiled the pants fitted her nicely as did the shirt. She headed for the door with Kala behind her. They went for the dining room where they ate breakfast.
“I’ll be going to school with you two,” Sophia stated.
“But mom?” exclaimed Zahra.
“It’s because of Kala, Zahra. She needs to be registered for school, I don’t attend to have her depend on herself while she’s here, and she’s our responsibility,” Sophia stated.
Zahra nodded. "Ok, but don't embarrass us."
“Don’t embarrass you. The only one who would embarrass you is you, Zahra,” Sophia replied, as she placed the grilled fruit on the table.
Kala noticed that some of the fruit on the table was the same fruit from the orchard. She remembered how it tasted raw and had a little honey on it. She knew the fruit being grilled will even be better. She waited as the plate was passed around the table before she took three slices and placed them onto her plate. Zahra and Sophia were already eating their fruit when Kala started to eat hers. Just with one bite, Kala knew this fruit was delicious raw, grilled and boiled as that was how she ate it back with the Ancients. She finished her plate and drank the juice of a squeezed fruit down before Sophia told them that they better hurry.
They headed for the school and Kala noticed that the students were looking at them and was whispering. She glared at those students who were whispering about them and they were flung hard against the wall.
Sophia immediately wrapped her arm around Kala and whispered, “It will be okay, Kala. Let them have their whispers. They aren’t worth getting angry over,”
SkyFyre saw them coming and teleported over. “Hi Kaladan,”
“Hi Sky,” Kala said, after she realized who it was.
“Getting registered?” He asked.
“Yes, my Aunt Sophia is handling it for me,” she said.
"That's great; you will love it here, Kala. Anyways, I better go as my class is about to start." Sky said, as he vanished from view.
Kala smiled, he was nice unlike some Drakes she had encountered in her time, namely in blue cloaks.
The ladies that she encountered the first time were there in the academy office. They handed Aunt Sophia a registration form which Sophia had to fill out as Kala watched and waited by her side. Zahra already hurried off to class promising to see Kala at lunch.
Kala looked down at the form and saw what she had written. But the script was unfamiliar to her. “Aunt Sophia? What does that say?”
“This says possible magic traits; it means they want to know what other possible magic traits you might have. I jotted down we are unsure at this time, since you have not used your magic very often,” Sophia stated.
“Oh, I didn’t understand what was stated, the words are unfamiliar to me,” said Kala.
Sophia looked at her shocked. “You don’t know how to read the words?”
Kala shook her head and lowered it. She knew it would push her back even further in the academy.
"That’s ok; you'll learn it quickly enough here."
“I hope so, I am already so much behind the other students here,” Kala said.
“Don’t worry, they have tutors for students who needs them,” Sophia stated.
Kala nodded, this time was very different from the one she had come from, fresh fruit and vegetables were common and not restricted to the elite and the Ancients. The weather was nice, even during the night it didn't get cold. She knew she would get a tutor for her studies since she is probably way behind the students here at the academy. She knew it was a given. She didn’t even know the dialect for the spell that the administrator did when she first showed up. She wondered what else she would have to learn there.
Sophia looked at Kala, studying her before she spoke, “Kala, what other gifts beyond telekinetic do you have?”
“I have telepathy but that’s not too strong,” Kala replied.
Sophia wrote it down, "Can you channel?"
“You mean other people from the realm of the dead? A little, I guess it will be getting stronger here,”
Sophia shook her head. "Channeling is focusing of energy and creating say a fire ball, what you are thinking is the talent of a medium."
“Oh, yes, I can do that. I actually burnt the faces of several bullies who were bullying me when I was living with my foster family and it was right after that, I fled from them.” Kala said.
Sophia patted her hand. "There will always be some form of bully, just stand up to them. But if you get more trouble then you can handle just report them, the administrator will deal with them."
"He's strict on bullies?" asked Kala.
"We have a low tolerance for such behavior, if a bully is reported; their minds are scanned and punished accordingly, most of it is before the other students as a deterrent." A secretary stated.
Kala smiled, attending a magical academy was definitely different from the common Puckworld schools. She really didn't have much to worry about and if all else failed there was always Zahra.
Sophia wrote down a few more other things about her family and then, turned back to Kala. “What was the last school you were in?”
Kala told her, Sophia shook her head. "Blader school, no wonder your education is so bad."
“But here, it will be better,” Kala said.
“Yes, it will,” Sophia stated, as she finished the paper work for the registration and handed it to the lady at the desk.
The lady looked at the form and went to one of the other ladies who started to write out the course for Kala. “It will be a bit before we get the course down for her. You can go back home or wait here?”
“We’ll wait,” Sophia said.
The secretary shrugged. "Make yourself comfy."
Sophia and Kala waited patiently for her information to be processed and a course outline to be compiled. It took about an hour before it was finished and a copy was handed to Kala and another to Sophia. The one Kala had receives was in the language she understood.
"Due to her current illiteracy in the common surfer dialects, there has been a tutor as well as a student aide to translate for her till her literacy improves."
Sophia nodded, "I assume her classes begin tomorrow now that she is registered."
"That is correct."
"Very well, Kala it's almost lunch hour, we'll meet up with Zahra and then we are going to get a few necessities for you."
“Alright,” Kala replied, as she continued to look at her courses. There was several courses that she recognized the names of – train the mind, she figured that would be teaching her about her mental powers among others. There were also basic school courses such as math, social studies, language, and gym and to her surprise science. “Science?”
“Yes, what’s wrong with that?” asked Sophia.
“I never heard of it before,” Kala said.
"Science is used to understand parts of magic, and it helps with potions."
"Oh, but isn't that part of potion making?" Kala asked.
"You need to know your basics behind the potion in order to do them properly."
“I guess that would be wise, if I went in blindly and not know what I was doing, I could do serious damage to myself, my work partner and maybe even to the class itself,”
"You’re getting the pictures."
“I want to do my very best even though I am behind in my magical studies,” Kala said.
"Once, you understand the fundamentals; you should do well in your studies. Zahra and I will help as well as your assigned tutor." Sophia stated as they headed towards the doors leading to the hall as the bell rang. "Now let’s see if I remember the way to the lunch room, it's been years since I've been through these halls."
Kala followed, almost everything was foreign to her, she couldn't read the signs and she didn't understand a word the students or teachers were saying. Even her soon to be fellow students were different, some were ducks like her, others looked Raptrin or Suscan and then there were the ones with scales. She swallowed hard. She’d just have to get use to it.
“Aunt Sophia, the ones with the scales, what are they?” asked Kala in a whisper.
“They are Saurians, don’t worry about them, they may look fierce but they are not. Well, most of them are peaceful but you may find a few who are not. But remember if they bully you or any of the others just report them, alright?” Sophia said, as she looked at Kala and then started to scan over the crowd of students to find Zahra in the furthest table to the door.
Zahra spotted her mother. "Mom what are you doing here?"
"Just came to check up on you, why are you sitting by yourself?"
"I'm waiting for a classmate from my blood magic and demonology class, we need to work out a few details for a project."
Sophia raised a brow, "Just don't do anything dangerous."
“We won’t try to do anything dangerous, ma’am,” spoke a male voice behind Sophia.
Zahra waves to him. "Hi Tyriel, I saved the table for us, mind if my cousin eats with us?"
"I don't mind, we'll talk about the project afterwards."
Sophia and Kala sat down next to Zahra. It was at that moment, Tyriel realized that Zahra’s cousin looked a wee bit like her. It was weird looking at them but when he asked Kala a question in Saurian tongue, all he got was a weird look from her and no response to his question. “Did I offend her?”
“No, she’s not fluent in Saurian and some of the other tongues in the academy, Tyriel,” Zahra replied in Saurian.
“Oh sorry, I guess she will be getting a tutor for all the tongues done in the academy,”
“It’s a given, Tyriel, she needs to know the tongues or she’ll be at a disadvantage here,” Zahra stated.
"So what does she speak?"
"Keltor Blader dialect, it's close enough to the common Cassiopian dialect to be understandable."
"Well, they are considered a bit dumb with branching off their dialect off from ours." Tyriel stated, turning to Kala. "I'm sorry, if you didn't know what I had asked. I'm wondering if you are going to be staying here with your aunt or simply disappearing like you had when your parents were killed."
"Tyriel be nice." Zahra told him.
"I'm serious; she disappeared all that time ago, and reappears out of the blue, what’s to stop her from disappearing again?"
Kala glared, it didn't help that he was one of the scaly magic users but he was criticizing her as well and he didn't even know her. "Who are you to judge me?" Kala growled.
"Who am I not to?" he said as he changed his form to that of a duck. "Who is to say you are what you claim to be?" and changed back into his normal form.
"I saw through that."
"I wasn't hiding, just making a point."
“Tyriel, please behave, you know my temper very well, you do not know hers,” Zahra pointed towards Kala. “Push the issue and I’ll let her show you her temper,”
“One thing, I am not leaving any time soon,” Kala stated.
"I'm willing to bet at the first sign of trouble and you’re gone, scared like a yellow canary."
Kala’s eyes just glowed yellow and Tyriel felt himself being lifted out of the chair. “I warned him. I warned him,” Kala said through gritted teeth.
Tyriel smiled and broke her telekinetic hold. "Not bad, but it'll take more that a simple parlor trick to make me back off." he said as he looked her in the eyes.
Kala scrambled to break eye contact, what she had glimpsed of his mind frightened her, it was like a place of nightmares.
Tyriel chuckled. "Did I scare you, yellow canary?"
Kala’s breathing got shallower as she started to focus her magic and she was glowing as she started to aim her magic towards Tyriel for some major damage she was intending on doing. He made her mad and he was not going to get off lightly.
But it was broken, by a hand on her shoulder. It turned out that the administrator had seen and heard what was happening and he halted everything. “Enough teasing, young man, she has been through enough.”
"Yes administrator, I simply wanted to see if she was for real."
Zahra frowned, he had glimpsed into the girl's mind. She'd have to ask what he got from it after Kala was gone.
The administrator turned to Sophia and then turned to Kala. “I hope he will not cause you to flare your magic like that again.” He did not make eye contact with Kala at all but looked around the room to see some of the students lowering their magic shields that some summoned after feeling the trouble that was coming from this area.
"Oh, I'm sorry, sir, my temper is . . . ," Kala started to say.
"Tied to your magic. You will be able to control it and your temper over the years here," he said, before he walked away from them.
Kala looked very relieved as the administrator walked away. "Sorry about my display of temper,"
Tyriel smiled softly. "What's there to be sorry about? We both got answers."
Kala gulped, he was definitely creepy.
Zahra stomped on his tail. "Behave; Kaladan has been through a lot."
"She has always been afraid to make her own decisions, she didn't run Zahra. They left her to die."
Kala kept quiet, how much did he see in her mind? She'd have to tread carefully around him.
"Why did they leave her to die?" Sophia asked.
“My magic," Kala stated.
"You mean you used your powers on them?" asked Sophia.
Kala said nothing. It was safe for Zahra to assume that Kala had used her magic aggressively, to what extent was unknown. Tyriel had seen in her memories and she'd coax the answers from him later. That fact the Kala may have killed someone intrigued her, the people of Keltor wee not always the nicest.
Sophia sighed, "We should get going Kaladan; I want to get to the Suscan bazaar while there's still decent things to haggle for."
Kala nodded as she stood up. “It was nice meeting you Tyriel.”
“The same here, Kaladan,” Tyriel said, as he watched as she and Sophia walked out of the room.
“Okay, tell me what you saw in her memories, Tyriel?” whispered Zahra.
"Uncertainty and fear is what I saw. You should see if she'd help us with our project."
"I don't know if she could handle the prep and rites for blood magic, a lot of people are very horrified by it."
"People fear what they don't understand; she needs to understand magic in any form in order not to fear it."
"It could backfire on you, Tyriel."
"It's a chance I'm willing to take and that way you may also get more answers from her, the prep itself will only heighten your powers."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaladan followed Sophia to what she referred to as the Suscan bazaar; the wide varies of items amazed her. Sophia handed her a bag of coins. "You can use that to get you some clothes," she said as she put a bracelet with the Thunderbeak crest of Kala. "This will keep you from getting lost or from someone taking you and selling you."
Kala nodded as she went down the row of merchants hawking their goods to passing Suscans, Saurians and other ducks. Kala saw a color that she liked and went to the merchant’s table and looked at the various clothes.
“You like the clothes I have?” asked the merchant, in Saurian tongue.
Kala looked at him. She noticed that the tongue was similar to that of Tyriel but the words he spoke were not. She didn’t know how to tell him she liked it. She took a deep breath and spoke in her tongue. "I didn't understand what you had said."
The merchant changed dialect. "I asked if you like the clothes I had for sale."
“Yes, do you have clothes in this style?” Kala asked, pointing to the shirt and shorts she wore.
"You want the merchants down the lane." he said.
Kala nodded and went in the direction the merchant pointed her in. Halfway there she stopped; there were a bunch of children around her age being displayed on a stage. She couldn't understand what people were saying but it was bizarre. She heard slave and shuddered as she continued to move down the lane. But she couldn’t help look at the children on the stage. They looked scared and yet some was standing there like it was normal. One of the Ducks who was standing there barked at her to get moving or he’ll throw her on the stage. Kala refused to move and the drake grabbed her only to pull away from her when he noticed the bracelet on her arm. He stated something in apology and said something about the children on the stage. She wondered if he was asking her if she wanted to look at them closer. But she came for clothes not a slave. She shook her head and continued on her way to the merchant who had the style of clothes she wore.
She noticed a lane of merchants who sold nothing but clothes. Kala looked at the first merchant’s clothes and found that he didn’t have the style she was looking for. It took looking at a few other stalls before she found what she was looking for. The style shirt and shorts were found. She also found them in pants and skirt style as well. She bought good three pairs of the outfit she liked. She had a few more coins left over in the bag as she went to find Aunt Sophia. The bracelet led her back once she figured out it could track other bracelets. Aunt Sophia was waiting for her by a fountain.
“I see you learned the bracelet’s ability to track down any other bracelet,” Aunt Sophia said, as she looked at Kala. “So did you find what you wanted to buy?”
“Yes, Aunt Sophia, three pairs of an outfit that I really liked,” Kala stated.
"Good, we'll head home then, what did you think of the Cassiopian bazaar? It’s much bigger than the one in Keltor."
“I spent most of my time in the shadows of the bazaar in Keltor snatching food from the food merchants to really notice how big or small it was,” Kala stated, as she held her package close to her.
Sophia simply nodded. "Any bad habits you may have picked up don't do them, you are lucky that you weren't caught and made a slave."
Kala nodded as they walked back home. It was only at home, did she change from the clothes she wore to the outfit she bought. The bracelet on her wrist looked good matching up with her outfit.
It was later in the evening when Zahra got home, she looked rather tired. "Hey mom, I'm going to lie down for a bit."
"No problem Zahra, do you want me to wake you up when dinner is ready?"
"Sure, mom, thanks,"
Couple of hours later, Kala stood at Zahra’s door, knocked before she entered the room. She entered the room slowly knowing that she might have a magic ward up. “Zahra, Aunt Sophia says that dinner is on the table,”
Zahra nodded and rolled over onto her back. "What do you know of blood magic?"
“Blood magic? I do not know,” Kala said.
"Blood magic, it's used for summoning shadow creatures, demons and other such beings, depending on what you want them to…do depends on the ritual."
“But isn’t it dangerous?”
"It’s not dangerous, but it requires more from you then regular magic."
“Blood and a great deal of magical knowledge, I assume,” Kala said. “Which I do not have much of,”
"Bloods is a minor part of it, the sacrifices deal with most of the necessary blood, most of its carefully planned ritual."
“I never knew that,”
"Of all the rituals around the spells; this is the most carefully planned out ritual," Zahra stated.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Tyriel thinks you'd be of better help then a sex slave."
"Why have sex slaves in a ritual like that? Isn't dangerous to have someone who could say something at the moment that the spell is being cast and the wrong effect comes about?"
"They’re not used in the ritual itself unless sacrificed but usually the sacrifices have to be pure virgin. Hard to find, those used in the prep for creating those sacrifices, the problem with that method is that it takes more sacrifices then if the sacrifices had a decent amount of magic in them." Zahra stated.
"So you use duckling as a sacrifice, that’s just wrong."
"The sacrifices wouldn't naturally live more then a couple days since they are conceived by unnatural means."
"It is still killing an innocent."
"Would you rather them suffer? After they are born they begin to slowly suffocate to death."
"How do you know that?"
"Because Kaladan, the first time, I couldn't go through with it, it couldn't eat nor drink and was in constant pain, Tyriel finally killed it to end its suffering."
Kala was shocked by what she had heard, what food that was in her stomach threatened to come back up. Kala bolted for the bathroom, Zahra followed as she held Kala's hair as she got sick. "I'm sorry about making you sick, cousin,"
Kala sat down on the toilet after finished flushing it. "What does the virgin do in the blood ritual?"
Zahra was shocked by the question. 'Does she mean she might be a virgin?' "Usually the virgin is the sacrifice, but that factor has been bypassed a long time ago. This particular blood ritual is to create an enchanted weapon so three people and two sacrifices are needed. One person is the conjurer, one is the channeler, and the other is the sealer. I was hoping you'd be the channeler."
"What about the sacrifices?"
"I will be carrying one; it's up to you whether or not you'd carry the other."
“How would that happen? Who would be the ‘father’ of the sacrifice,” Kala asked.
Zahra shrugged. "Doesn't matter, so does this mean you'll help?"
“If my teachers say it is okay, I’ll do it. It might be fun,” Kala said.
Zahra chuckled. "You don't need your teacher’s permission, it's up to you if you want to or not."
“Okay, it should be fun,” Kala said with a smile. “We best go out, Aunt Sophia is worried.”
Zahra nodded, "I doubt you will regret this experience."
Kala smiled as she headed for the dining room where Sophia and Mr. Thunderbeak were sitting down. “Sorry, we’re late.”
Sophia looked at them both. “Are you feeling all right, Kala? I saw you bolt for the bathroom.”
“I’m fine, Aunt Sophia,” Kala said as she sat down.
Zahra looked at her mildly shocked that she didn’t tell her mother that she threw up. Did she not want her to know about the plans to be a help to her project? “Mom, I told her about a blood ritual and she lost her stomach contents.”
“That what happens to most people, Kala, when they hear what it deals. Even I got sick when I was first asked about doing it.” Sophia stated, as she patted Kala’s hand.
"You did?"
"It takes a lot of will power to actually go through with it, but from what I have been told it does get easier over time. I did one once, I never got the courage to do it again." Sophia told her.
“Well, I’m going to try it with Zahra and . . . Tyriel right?” asked Kala, looking at Zahra.
”Yes, Tyriel.” Zahra said, as she looked at her.
“Good, I didn’t want to misstate his name. Not proper when speaking about someone to misstate his name,” Kala said.
“He wouldn’t be upset if you didn’t remember his name, Kala.” Zahra said. “You did just meet him recently.”
"I know . . . but he doesn't seem to be the type to let mistakes and other things be,”
"He was born on a Saurian colony; his father is the spiritual leader there. Tyriel has a lot of weight on his shoulders and can be quite moody."
"Moody? More like major issues look into his mind and you'll see a lot of nightmarish things." Kala said.
Zahra giggled. "It may seem nightmarish to you but you must consider that what most here are squeamish about was an everyday thing for him. So what makes you think he has issues?"
"I saw his mind today, when I was pulling my powers to attack him with," Kala stated.
"You should get a better look tomorrow, for the ritual to work at its best you are going to have to fully trust Tyriel."
“I guess I will have to ask him for permission to look in his mind then,” Kala said. “Hope he doesn’t mind me asking that of him.”
"I doubt he will, like I said blood magic needs trust between the people doing a ritual otherwise something bad could happen."
“Like summon the wrong demon or that the spell doesn’t work as planned,”
“The last set of people that did this particular ritual got into a fight a couple days before, when the did it they were not on good terms with each other. I'll introduce you to them after dinner."
"What happened to them?" Kala asked.
"You'll see when you meet them."
“Okay,” Kala said, as she looked at the dishes that were laid out on the table.
Dinner passed fairly quickly and Kala was anxious to meet those who had messed up the ritual to know what to expect if something went wrong. She trusted Zahra enough since she didn't seem to keep anything from her, she'd just have to get use to her somewhat creepy aura. As far as Tyriel was concerned she wasn't sure if she could trust him.
~~~~~~~~
They had been walking for almost an hour; Kala was really starting to wonder where the other kids lived. Zahra stopped at a large metal gate.
"Not much farther to go."
Kala nodded and followed Zahra past the large metal gates. It didn't take her long to realize they were in a cemetery. Maybe they hung out there?
"So what are their names?"
"Anati, Brock and Nani,"
Kala nodded as they walked further in. About five minutes later, Zahra stopped. "We're here."
"But I don't see anyone."
"They’re here; you are just not looking in the right places."
Kala looked around and then spotted the names on the tombstones. “You mean they died?”
"They were at odd with each other when doing the ritual, it cost them dear. Their internal organs exploded within them."
Kala shuddered. “Now I will make a point to see Tyriel to make sure if I can trust him,”
"Sorry if I'm being too brutally honest with you, it's simply necessary."
“Don’t worry, I’m glad that I know what would happen if you didn’t trust someone completely,” Kala said, as she looked at the tombstones of the ones who messed up on the ritual.
"Good, any questions?"
“Have you ever summon someone you shouldn’t have in a spell?” asked Kala.
"A few times, but it was due to a mispronunciation, nothing too severe."
"Good, this blood ritual when will it be done?" asked Kala. "I don't think I could carry one of the sacrifices, and I haven't experiences my first Lust."
Zahra looked at her. "That isn't an issue; we use a potion to create an artificial egg. As for the ritual, it'll take seven days to have the sacrifices ready and other prep can be done in that time span, so eight days from now."
"But doesn't it take six months?" Kala asked.
"The artificial egg that is created is accelerated in its growth. It stays within you for two days because it needs to form a shell, after that it incubates for four days and the last day the shell breaks open and the sacrifice is ready."
“Oh, okay. I guess we should return home and get some sleep since school is tomorrow,” Kala said.
Zahra nodded as they headed back home. Her mom was standing at the door with a lantern flashing its light out into the darkness of the night. Zahra acknowledged her mother’s lantern by creating a blue flame on her hand and waving it back and forth a few times before putting it out and headed towards the stairs.
“Best head for bed, children, you both have a big day a head,” Sophia said, as she looked at them both.
“Yes, mom,” Zahra said as she kissed her mom’s cheek before hurrying to her room. Kala did the same and headed into her room.
The next morning, Kala and Zahra were up and fully dressed by the time Sophia had the chance to remind them to speed up on getting dressed.
Kala had done a good bit of contemplating on what was being asked of her, unlike the Ancients’ Zahra was honest with her and it was her choice if she wanted to help. Despite what the Ancients had said about such magic she'd help Zahra and Tyriel simply to spite them. After all if it weren't for the Ancients thinking her expendable she wouldn't be here now. She went to Zahra’s side as they headed out of the house towards the academy, “Zahra, I’m in,”
"Good, meet me and Tyriel at lunch and then after class."
Kala nodded as she checked her schedule to find out which room she needed to be in for her first class. She knew it was going to be hard trying to figure the rooms out.
Zahra noticed her pained look. “Let me have a look at your first class?” Zahra looked at the paper. “Your first class is on the second floor. You need to take this corridor to the first stairs climb it to the second floor and your class is the first door on the right. Do you got it or should I take you there?”
“I think I have it,” Kala said.
“I’m going to walk you there.” Zahra stated.
Kala nodded and followed Zahra; it didn't take long to find the class. When Kala entered the class room, the student aide teacher waved for her to sit by her. “We were expecting you, Kaladan,”
“You were?” Kala asked. But she knew they must had been informed that she would be in class.
“Yes, the administrator informed us of a new student and who it was. Don’t feel shy in this class, if something is not familiar let me know and I’ll aide you with it,” She said, as the teacher started to do roll call in Saurian.
Kala turned to the teacher's aide and whispered to her, "I am not familiar with that dialect,"
"I have been informed of that, I'll tell you when the teacher calls your name."
It was not long after she said that did she touch Kala’s arm and nodded. Kala raised her hand and lowered it as she watched as the other students respond in the same dialect as the teacher spoke in. Kala really felt out of touch with her fellow students.
The day seemed to go on forever, lunch had been brief since the student aide had taught her basic key words and given her a tour, Tyriel had been a bit more pleasant since she had said she'd help. Kaladan was just thankful the day was over, the student aide would have kept her later if she hadn't told them that she was suppose to help Zahra and Tyriel on their project, the student aide seemed a bit creeped out by it.
Kala met up with Zahra and Tyriel and told them about the student aide’s reaction. Tyriel chuckled in amusement. "Well that will definitely leave an impression."
Zahra rolled her eyes. "Did you manage to get the ritual area reserved?"
"I did, I got the one on the top floor of the main temple."
Zahra whistled. "What strings did you have to pull to get there? After that last incident a couple years ago they normally don't allow access to those high powered areas."
"I asked my father to get us authorization,"
"But the risks are much higher there." She argues as they headed to the ritual area.
"The only person at risk at the moment is your cousin, give me an hour or so alone with her and that won't be an issue."
Zahra sighed. "True, fair warning Kaladan is a virgin."
Tyriel smiled.
"Hey!" Kala interjected, she hadn't expected Zahra to tell him straight out.
"Don't worry Kaladan, just means you’re not as much at risk as I had first calculated."
“What do you mean by that?” asked Kala.
"It means a small ritual I was going to do on you to help protect you in case something minor goes wrong will be more effective."
“Oh,” Kala wondered what it would be if she wasn’t a virgin. Kaladan gasped when the temple came into view, it put the Ancients’ temple to shame, the fact that it was within a city and not in a secluded area only added to its splendor.
Tyriel smiled. "The main Saurian temple in Cassiopia, the largest in the region,"
"It’s amazing; I've never seen anything like it."
"You lived in Keltor, the temples there are nothing compared to it. Are you done gawking?"
Kala nodded and followed them in. By how the priests reacted to Tyriel, he was obviously someone of importance. “Are you one of the priests here, Tyriel?”
He shook his head, "My father is a renowned priest, and honestly, I haven't decided whether or not I want to be a priest yet."
“You want to live a bit before you settle down to a priestly life?” Kala asked.
Tyriel looked at her and shrugged. “I really haven’t figured out what I am going to do, Kala.”
"Why haven't you?"
"I'm most likely to live at least 500 years, I may as well be absolutely sure of what I want to be so there is no rush."
Kala nodded, she wondered if all Saurians were that long lived, she'd ask later.
Tyriel led them up a set of stairs off to the far side. On one of the floor she spotted a boy carrying a gold music box that looked familiar, then it occurred to her it was Julius. Her curiosities override her common sense and she quietly followed him without him noticing. He entered a room but didn't completely close the door; she peeked in and silently gasped. At first, she hadn't known who the drake he had given the box to was, but as the figure turned to face Julius there was no mistaking who the drake looked like but there were some differences like this drake was much older and had wings. He was also much darker and had a sense of death about him.
A clawed hand grabbed her beak and held it shut, and the one was on her shoulder pushing her away from the door, she would have struggle but Tyriel’s voice told her not to. He took her up a few more flights of stairs and then let her go. "You shouldn't wander, if Blake caught you spying on him and his servant Julius you'd be at best in bad shape."
“Blake? No, that is Kasar, my friend from . . . Keltor. I thought he was lost,” Kala said, glancing down towards the area where Blake and Julius was located at.
"Blake has no siblings here. You must have seen him when he took a younger form," Tyriel stated.
"A younger form?"
Tyriel sighed and shook his head. "Blake is known to take the form of a youth and go under an alias when he is not protecting the royal families, my advice is to stay away, he is a creature of shadows, all Nightshades are, and that goes for Zahra's father as well."
“But he’s my uncle?” Kala stated.
"He is a Nightshade, Kaladan, when he married Mrs. Sophia he took on her family name."
"But I always thought it was the female that took the male’s family name?"
Tyriel laughed. "You must have been in a very backwards part of Keltor; the only time that happens is in extreme cases with the royal families."
"The royal families?" asked Kala.
"You know, the Flashblades rule the plains, the L’Orange’s rule the mountains, the Nova's the sky, the McDove’s’ rule the northern islands and the seas are ruled by the Seabirds."
‘Wing and Dive are one of the royal families of old and Lola is a Seabird, part of the royal families of old. I wonder if she knows,’ Kala thought keeping her mind really shut off from Tyriel so he would not hear what she thought. “And this Blake is . . . he part of the royal families or is he just a protector?”
"He is a protector; the Nightshades that were exiled from Limbo are all protectors, though Zahra’s father isn't an exile he does not wish to live in Limbo and is thus a protector as well."
Kala nodded, there had never been royals or royal protectors in her time, it had been dictator ships or elected governments, there wasn't slaves but from what she understood of the news in her time there was a lot of crime. Different rules different world but at least in this world she felt like she belonged instead of in the future with the Ancients sending her off to die over a stupid music box key.
Zahra looked at them. “If we wish to make sure we have everything before we do the spell, we better start now.”
"Sorry, I had to save Kaladan’s tailfeathers. Do you have the two potions needed?" Zahra held up the two vials. "Good, give one to Kala, and I'll meet her in the room three doors down in a bit. It would be best if I deal with the protection ritual on her first." Zahra nodded. "Don't be too harsh, you may scare her."
"Promise?"
"Promise,"
Zahra gave a one of the potion vials to Kala before heading to the other room. Tyriel looked to Kaladan, "Drink it,"
Kala’s first instinct was to smell it before drinking. The smell was not good but she knew that the potion was for her own protection as she downed it in one gulp. It tasted bitter and she tried to get rid of the taste of it on her tongue.
She felt a pain her lower stomach and cringed. Tyriel smiled and led her over to the center of an engraving on the floor. He said a quick incantation and the lights went out but the candles around the engravings flickered to life.
Tyriel moved a hand down her side and towards her thigh, Kaladan flinched away. What was he doing to her?
"You're not sure whether or not to trust me are you?" Kala nodded. Tyriel pulled her against him. "Look in my eyes and do not look away no matter what you might see."
Kala gulped and did as she was told. There were no mental walls keeping her out, every aspect of him was open to her, frightened and enthralled she did not sense her own barrier crumble. Her mind and body seemed detached she did not realize what he was doing to her until she felt pressure within her and see what he was doing through his eyes. It took her a few minutes to realize she was not panicking, within his mind she understood what was happening and why. He was chanting he was the cause of the pressure; there were marks all over her body. To finish his end of the ritual he'd have to take her. To complete the ritual she'd have to give in to his darkness before he finished. With an eerie calm she surrendered to his shadows and he took her to completion.
When she realized she was no longer in his mind she became aware of her current state but she was fine with it, the marks were still on her body but they would protect her. Tyriel held out a robe to her that was similar to the one he had on.
She took it and put it on before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, I understand."
He smiled. "You had to take the first step, and I see you've gained more then just the protection from the ritual.”
Kala blinked, did she gain more then the protection? Sure she understood how he thought and that he wouldn't do anything to intentionally harm her unless she really deserved it and the ritual made complete sense . . . she looked around the room, the symbols that were the Saurian language the things slowing her down. But slowly something dawned on her, she understood what was written. The voices of priest down the hall and their conversation was not senseless to her, she understood it even though it was not her native language. Her eyes went wide, Tyriel was a telepath like her, and during the ritual their minds were connected both ways.
Kala felt something else odd within her and there was a slight pain within her. Tyriel smiled at her. “You need not worry the pain of the first time will fade fast. It did for Zahra when it happened to her,”
“But it was not as frightening as I had thought it was,” Kala stated.
“It was because you trusted me, Kala, that is why you were not frightened,” Tyriel replied. He had a smile on his face, Kala had fully trusted him and he made sure that it would not hurt her.
Kala sighed. "What do I do now?"
"Get something to eat and drink, otherwise you may faint, you don't feel it yet because your body is still on a high from the ritual."
"Where do I go?"
"There is food in the room at the end of the hall; it's used a small meal area for after rituals."
Kala went to the room at the end of the hall but when she opened the door, the room went dark on her. When she came to, Kala noticed that there was an odd feeling in the room, she glanced around before she tried to stand up but all she could barely do was sit up.
“Was that your first ritual?” asked a soft voice coming from the shadows.
“Yes, I must have fainted,” Kala stated.
A hand helped her to sit up better. “You should warn your partner to have food nearby when you are done with that ritual, seems that you get weak fast after such a ritual,”
Kala wondered who had helped her. “Who are you? I cannot see your face, it is dark in here.”
“You need not to see my face, seeing it endangers you,” the voice said.
“Can I at least know the name of the one who aided me?”
“No, for that will endanger you even more,”
“Then, you shall know mine, unseen angel, I’m Kaladan Thunderbeak,” Kala said. There was a hissing sound in the room like someone or something was not happy with the name. “Is my name evil to you?”
“No, I will find your partner and send him to you,” the unseen person vanished or moved away from her.
Kala didn’t know what to think as she tried to stand up only to wobble on her feet when the door opened and light shone within. She could see the shadow of Tyriel in the doorframe. He went to her side, helped her up and sat her down on a chair before getting her something from the ice box to eat as well as some juice. “How did you know I was here?”
“The Saurian who was in here before you entered saw you enter and just as you started to walk in, you fainted. He put you here and went to find me. I should had walked you here myself, I lacked knowing how weakened you might have gotten with the ritual,” Tyriel said.
"Hey, you would need to have foresight to have seen it. Now you know," Kala said, as she started to eat the sandwich and took a sip of the juice.
"You are not mad?"
Kala shook her head. "Who wants to know?"
"True. Zahra should be here shortly, thankfully no rituals on her today, she normally goes unconscious right after it's done."
"So I'm not the only Thunderbeak who faints when it is done," Kala smiled softly.
"You did better then Zahra on staying conscious."
“That is true, I think the next time, I might be able to handle it better, if there is a next time,” Kala stated.
"There will be a next time, the main ritual; you'll definitely the right choice to be the channeler."
“Is there a chance for . . . well miscarriages in these rituals?” Kala asked.
"Not really, did Zahra explain the process to you?"
Kala nodded. "I understand in principle but this is a first and I'm not sure of what can go wrong."
He patted her on the shoulder. "It’s pretty much smooth sailing from here on in."
“When will they come to term and the ritual begins with them?”
“The ritual already begun; Kaladan, it started when you stepped into the circle.” Tyriel stated, as he led her out of the room.
"So when are they needed for the ritual and when dose the ritual begin?"
"The ritual will begin exactly 7 days from now, Zahra is experience in them, and today was your introduction to them." Tyriel stated, as he led her out of the room.
Kaladan nodded as they headed down the hallway.
Zahra was leaning in the doorway of a room. "How did it go?"
“Success, but I have to remember to have food nearby since she faints soon after the ritual is completed,” Tyriel said.
“Not bad, cousin, I pass out completely after it is done,” Zahra said.
Kala smiled, "It remains to be seen how I handle the main ritual."
Zahra patted her arm. “If you are like me, you will handle it fine, cousin.”
“I hope,” Kala said quietly.
Tyriel smiled as they descended down the flight of stairs, a shadowed form appeared by the wall. “Is the young Thunderbeak alright?”
“Yes, she is, you can tell your master she is well,” Tyriel stated, before the shadowed form vanished.
“Who was that?” asked Kala.
“That was the shadow aide of the Saurian who found you in the room,” Tyriel said, as they walked down the stairs.
"He must be quite the sorcerer to have servants like that."
"That's an understatement." Zahra said.
Kala turned to look at her cousin. Zahra smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Kala pushed it aside as they headed for home. Tyriel made sure that they both got home alright before headed home himself.
Zahra trudged up the stairs and flopped on her bed, Kala followed, she had never seen Zahra so exhausted. Kala was exhausted as well, as she went into the living room to see Mr. Thunderbeak sitting there with Sophia. “Aunt Sophia, I just came out to say good-night. Zahra and I are retiring early tonight.”
Sophia simply nodded. "Breakfast will be a bit earlier tomorrow morning, sleep well."
Kala kissed her cheek. “Thank you ma…Aunt Sophia, good-night Mr. Thunderbeak,”
“Night,” he said.
After they heard the door closed, Mr. Thunderbeak turned to Sophia. “She almost called you mother,”
“I know, I think its sweet,” Sophia said.
“Hopefully, she will not attach herself to us as our daughter as she’s not, just our niece,” he stated. "She's also been involved in blood magic."
"You worry too much, it's not like an enchanting ritual will get them into too much trouble."
"No but hear me out, she nearly saw my cousin," Mr. Thunderbeak said and then his voice went out of hearing range as he spoke to his wife.
"And what's so dangerous about him? He's the shadows, the ever watching guardian. He wouldn't harm any who do not deserve it."
Mr. Thunderbeak sighed. "Before I married you, my mother had given me a choice, eternity or a lifetime with you, I chose you Sophia, but for Blake it's not so simple, his mother and father are renegades, all his older siblings has been hunted down and killed. He promised not to get involved in any way with my family, for the safety of both girls."
Sophia nodded.
"I don't want them to get mixed into any of the dealings of Limbo, even if by accident."
“Agreed,” Sophia whispered, as Mr. Thunderbeak lifted her up into his arms and carried her off to bed.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kala awoke to her growling stomach, the events of the evening before were at best blurry. She climbed out of bed, showered and got dressed before she headed out of her room. She saw Sophia and Zahra sitting at the table, just starting to eat. “Sorry, I’m late,”
"It’s ok, how did you sleep?"
“I slept well, didn’t really want to get out of bed but my stomach is hungry,” Kala stated.
“As it should after a ritual like that,” Zahra said. “But I’m mostly tired after a ritual like that.”
Kala nodded. "Yesterday is blurry, before that I'm not even sure of before that. Its like I've woken up from a living dream."
Sophia and Zahra were silent.
"Kala did you just realize what you just said?" asked Sophia.
"Huh? Of course I did."
"Actually it's not what you said, it's how you said it, yesterday you wouldn't have understood."
"I don't understand; I've always been able to understand what I say."
“Kala, you are speaking Saurian,” Zahra stated in Saurian.
Kala looked at her shocked. “I am?”
"You are."
"Haven't I always spoken it? I mean it feel to natural to be something new."
Zahra gulped. "That ritual Tyriel did, you looked him in the eyes didn't you?"
Kala nodded, “What of it?"
"Two telepaths should never make eye contact for long periods of time, it had nasty side effects."
Kala swore in Saurian. “I wondered why the words on the floor became known to me after that ritual was done,”
"There is nothing you can do about it now; it may be been more helpful then hindering."
“I think he helped me more than I had realized,” Kala said.
“Indeed, now the academy will be easier for you to deal with,” Zahra replied. “The teacher’s aide will freak out when she hears you speak in Saurian.”
"She won't question it especially if I mention Tyriel and the blood magic ritual, those things scare her."
Sophia looked at the clock. “You two better get going. Academy will be starting soon.”
They both nodded and grabbed their books before heading off. During their trip to the academy, Kala had felt like she was seeing everything with a different set of eyes, it was not just some ancient city to her anymore but a great metropolis, she without consciously knowing she understood the city for the first time, the hub of magic on Orithia.
An image of a wasteland flashed in her mind with the feelings of loneliness and despair. Kala pushed it to the back of her mind, wherever that was in her past or Tyriel’s she did not want to return there.
“You okay, Kala?” asked Zahra.
“Yes, now that I know Saurian language, I can see what this city is really like and it is special, more than I had expected,” Kala said.
Zahra smiled as they went to their classes. They met up at lunch and planned on meeting up that afternoon as they were to discuss the ritual that would be done in a few days.
Time passed quickly, the days became a normal routine. The night of the ritual had been something new, it was different in practice then it was in theory. Despite feeling drained she was proud of herself, the channeling of their power into the three weapons had been quite the task; if it wasn't for the two sacrifices she'd have been completely drained. Tyriel had been the conjurer; he had regulated the flow of power during the spell. Zahra was the sealer; her task was to seal the magic into the weapons so it could be controlled. The weapons were two finely engraved stone staffs, and a finely engraved stone sword.
Kala sat there looking at the stone staffs and the stone sword. But she didn’t have any desire to ask for the moment as she wanted to sleep. “Tyriel, is this normal . . . to feel tired?”
He nodded. "It would be wise if we slept at the temple, none of us are in the condition to go home safely."
“Where should we sleep at, Tyriel?” Zahra asked, yawning tiredly.
"There is a room with some beds down the hall."
Kala spoke, “We better go together so we do not end up passed out on the floor,”
“I agree,” Zahra stated.
Tyriel nodded as he wrapped his arms around both girls’ and headed down the hall and soon, each of them collapsed into a bed and fell fast asleep.
The next morning came as Kala woke before Zahra and Tyriel did. Kala had returned to the room with a full stomach. “Morning, sleepy heads,”
Tyriel groaned, "It's too early."
“Nope, the sun has been up for at least three hours,” Kala said.
Tyriel hid his head under the pillow, Zahra smirked, “Leave it my cousin to be quick at recovery.”
“I got youth on my side,” Kala smiled.
Zahra threw her pillow at Kala. "You are not that much younger then us."
Kala froze the pillow in mid air. “I know that cousin, I guess my body is able to recover faster than yours. Anyways, I think I met the faceless angel who helped me to the couch the first day I was in the temple.”
That mere comment made Tyriel’s head come fast from under his pillow. “Did he say anything to you?”
“Not really, he looked at me like are you alright. His scales were a tannish brown color,” Kala said.
“That wasn’t him, the one you are looking for has my color of scales,” Tyriel said, as he put his head under his pillow again.
"Oh, I guess I may never find him then," Kala stated as she went to the bed that she got up from early that morning.
"Now just try to get some more sleep, my body can't handle waking up so early after a ritual like that," Zahra stated, as she closed her eyes.
Kala sighed and laid still. She waited for the two to be asleep again before sneaking out. She headed towards the room where she had seen the duck that looked like Kasar. She had to find out who he was. She opened the door to the room where they had done the first part of the ritual at.
A young servant boy was in the room setting it up for another ritual. "Is there something you needed, miss?”
“I’m looking for someone about this tall and uses shadows as servants or messengers?” Kala said.
"There are many by that description, maybe young master Nova would be of more help."
“Perhaps he could be of help,” Kala said.
“I’ll go bring him here,” the young servant stated.
“No, you need to finish this. Just direct me to him and I’ll go see him personally,” Kala said.
"Two floor down, his work room is four doors to the left, it’s your best chance is finding him there.”
Kala nodded and thanked the servant before hurrying down the stairs and going to the room he had told her. She knocked on the door and waited for the Master Nova to open the door or tell her to enter.
"Who is it?!" A voice ordered.
"My name is Kaladan Thunderbeak, I was wondering if you could help me."
"Go away; I refuse to deal with any Thunderbeak girl."
“I am looking for an angel who aided me a few days ago; he wields a shadow servant . . . maybe you know who I am talking about. I just wish to thank him,” Kala said through the door.
"I said go away, and don't go looking to thank shadows."
“I am not looking to thank the shadow servant but the one who commanded the shadow servant. I guess I will have to ask my uncle Mr. Thunderbeak for help in finding him, even if they tell me to stay away from all Nightshades,” Kala said walking away from the door.
The doors opened as a young Saurian boy emerge from the room. “You were the one I found in the snack room nearly unconscious,”
“You are the one I seek?”
“Yes, you gave me a mild scare fainting like that. I am glad you are doing well, did the ritual go alright?”
“Oh yes, it went smoothly, thank you for asking and thank you for helping me. I best go before my cousin and her partner awaken,” Kala said, as she smiled at him and headed up the stairs again.
Nova stepped back into the room and turned to the shadowed form standing by the wall. “The young Kaladan Thunderbeak thanks you for what you did for her a few days ago, master Nightshade,”
"She should mind her own business, and thank you Julius for dealing with her."
"Tyriel has warned me she may be a bit of a problem, she is and is not who she says she is, it's quite confusing, and she has Morningstar’s mark."
“Meaning she is not Kaladan Thunderbeak and yet she is? How in Morningstar’s name can that be?” Julius stated.
“He must favor her in some odd way; she must have done something to gain his favor. Hide the door from view with a spell, none but you and I shall know of this room.” The voice said from the shadows.
Julius nodded and did as he was commanded. He made sure that the door would not be seen by anyone but for him and Master Nightshade before he walked through the wall. "Master, if I may be bold in asking this?"
"You have always been bold asking me questions. Ask your question?" The voice said.
"Who is she then?" Julius asked.
"I am uncertain, but she is a key, I know that much for certain."
"How is she a key?"
"He needs her for some purpose, what is what we are to find out."
Meanwhile, Kala opened the door again and entered to find them sitting on the cots looking at her.
"Where have you been?" Tyriel asked, in a low growling voice.
"I went for a walk and I ended up finding him. I thanked him for what he did and walked away from him," Kala said. She knew she would get punished for what she did, but she had to find him to thank him.
Tyriel sighed. "Promise you will not go near him again, your life becomes more and more at risk the more you are around him. It's not just your life but Zahra's please don't put her or yourself in that kind of danger."
“I sorry; not go near him again.” Kala said with a lowered head.
Zahra wondered why her speech suddenly went close to being a baby talk. Then, she realized it was Kala’s defense to go baby when being punished or being reprimanded. “Tyriel, please connect your mind to my mind now.” She hissed.
“Why?” He said as he glanced at her. He got the image from her mind and nodded. ‘Why did you ask me to go mental with you, I’m not even done reprimanding her yet?’
‘Look at how she spoke to you and look at her. Do you not see anything strange going on with her?’ Zahra stated.
Tyriel turned to look at Kala who still had her head lowered. “Kala, are you afraid I am angry with you?”
Kala nodded, not really wanting to raise her head up.
“Kala, I’m just upset with you. You had put your cousin and yourself into danger seeing him. I have seen Ducks die days after seeing him and it is not by his blade. I just met you just recently and I don’t want to lose a talented duck like yourself. So lift your head up and don’t assume I hate you or am angry with you.” Tyriel said, as he wrapped his arms around her.
Kala started to bawl when she felt Tyriel’s arms go around her. She didn’t want to upset him or Zahra. She had to find the one who helped her.
“Kala, it’s okay, it’s okay, I forgive you for wanting to find him,” Tyriel whispered to her as he stroked her hair.
Zahra sighed and got up to get the weapons they had enchanted. Tyriel watched as she left the room. He dried Kala’s eyes and got her to follow him as they went to get the weapons they enchanted.
“So what are they for?” Kala asked.
Zahra’s face had no expression on her face. "They are our best defense." she said without any hint of emotion.
“Best defense against what or who?” Kala asked.
Zahra handed on of the stone staves to Tyriel and the other to Kala. She took the sword and placed into a stone sheath and placed it at her side. "The creatures of Limbo,"
“Limbo?” asked Kala. In all her years, she never heard of the word Limbo before.
"Interdimensional axis, home of the guardians and the immortals, they are both ally and enemy to us."
Kala didn't understand how they could be an ally also be an enemy especially when they did not exist in the same realm as them. "How can they be enemy, they don't exist here."
"Unlike mortals they trap there, they can move about wherever whenever they desire. Your life means nothing to them; if they want you dead they will kill you. The Nightshades are renegades of their kind, they make it their mission to hunt down and destroy any Nightshade that may exist and those who associated with them." Tyriel stated.
“Oh,” Kala replied, the memory of what Tyriel had told her about her uncle resurfaced. She nodded as she accepted the fact that no way should she get involved with a Nightshade.
Zahra sighed, “Use your magic to shrink the staff and never go anywhere without it."
Kala went through her spells that she knew about shrinking and found no spell. It was one of the spells she didn’t learn. “I wasn’t taught that spell.”
Zahra told her it, to Kala's surprise, it was a simple three word spell. Zahra stated the spell to reverse it to being a full staff again and once again it was another three word spell. Kala spoke the spell and watched as her staff shrunk down to size.
“Good, now let’s go. I’m sure mom is worried about us,” Zahra said, as they headed out of the temple for home.
Kala was silent on her way home, it was a good thing it was Julius that had been the one to save her, if it had been Blake; things could have been much worse. Once, she reached the house, she thanked Tyriel and headed for her room. Mainly, she wanted to check on the music box, once she was satisfied it was still big and bright, she turned to her book bag and pulled out her books and started to read her books she needed to read.
As time passed the importance of the music box had faded from her memory. She was now 15, dating SkyFyre. She had found out very quickly that he despised blood magic and she kept any that she did secret. She had made friends with Julius; he was her preferred partner when doing blood magic. Her biggest problem was keeping the two apart, SkyFyre hated Julius because Julius had traded his soul for a shadow’s essence; Julius simply ignored SkyFyre saying that he saw no reason to fight.
But when SkyFyre learned that Kala was going to be performing a blood magic ritual, he flew into a fury and asked Zahra where she was at and who was she bedding to create the sacrifice with. Zahra told him where and rushed hoping to be able to stop them from entering the room to perform the ritual. It was already too late, Zahra saw the door open and there in the door frame was SkyFyre and within the room was Kala on her back with Julius on top of her performing the ritual to create the sacrifice.
"How dare you! What's next going to make her sell her soul? You disgust me Julius; it wasn't enough to just serve the Nightshade you had to bind yourself to him. Are you going to give her over to him? To let him to allow him do as he pleases with her as he does to you?"
"That is enough! I've had it with your righteous babble!" Julius said as he blasted SkyFyre against the wall and Zahra fastened the magic sealing shackles. SkyFyre screamed in pain, the seal was like thousands of daggers piercing him.
Zahra turned to Julius and Kala. “Finish the ritual or it will be damaged beyond repair, Julius!”
Julius turned back to Kala and proceeded to finish the ritual. Thankfully, he didn’t withdraw himself from her when he had to blast SkyFyre for this ritual was nearing completion. Julius arched his back as he came within Kala finishing his part of the ritual. Now he had to wait for Kala’s sign that the ritual was fully completed before moving off of her. Kala nodded as she sat up and claimed his bill with a passionate kiss. Julius turned to SkyFyre.
Julius stalked over to him and spoke, “You should be thanking me for not slaying you outright for nearly trying to destroy this ritual and what’s worst is that if you did interfere with it, only one person would have died – Kaladan.”
"What are you going to do to him?" Kaladan asked.
"I'm going to show him just how powerless he is, and how pathetic his righteousness is and that it will not save him."
"Please just don't kill him, I love him."
"Don't worry, I will return him to you once I'm through and he will be alive."
Kala sighed with relief. "Is there anything else I can do?"
"No, go home and rest, I will deal with matters here."
Kala nodded and left.
~~~~~~~~
It was hours later that SkyFyre had any indication to what his punishment would be and his stomach turned in both fear and disgust. Julius had carefully cut off his clothing; his hands were now bound behind him, his powers painfully sealed.
Julius removed his robes, and stood right before SkyFyre and grabbed his head forcing him to do the unthinkable. SkyFyre tried to resist but without his magic he was a slave to Julius. Much to SkyFyre dismay that was only the beginning of what Julius had in store for him, as much as he resisted it was futile, and giving it hadn't been the end to Julius’s defiling of him, it continued Julius would only end it upon his surrender, a complete and utter surrender.
“Please no more. Do not force me to do more,” SkyFyre cried out.
Julius smiled and bound SkyFyre to the wall, he had been taken by Julius over and over until the feathers and flesh was raw. He took his member into his mouth and began to suckle it. SkyFyre tried to resist, but his body was finding relief from the seal in Julius’s actions. He couldn't give in, no matter what his body betrayed him as a moan escaped his bill. The tension in his body was almost soothing; when Julius began to fondle him his body shuddered in pleasure. He mentally screamed, he was powerless to stop Julius’s hold on his body, and his release into Julius’s mouth only confirmed it.
"I will break you SkyFyre, you fight now but you will beg for this, after all it's your only relief from the pain."
"I won't give in; never will I beg you to defile me like you have done."
"Then enjoy the numbness while it lasts, the pain only increases, how long can you handle your powers being sealed before the pain itself renders you to nothing but a shadow of your former self?" Julius smiled.
SkyFyre said nothing but looked away. He wanted nothing more than death now. He promised himself that he will end his life after this was done. 'Kala, forgive me, for what I am about to do.' "I accept your touch on my feathers, Julius."
Julius was shocked when he heard the words come from his mouth. He removed him from the wall as he bent the young drake over and prepared to enter him. The next thing, Julius knew was Fyre had kicked him in the middle. Julius put SkyFyre back on the wall.
"I'll let you think what you just said over a bit." he said as he put his robe back on and left SkyFyre bound to the wall, doomed to feel the pain again.
SkyFyre bowed his head; even half surrender was not enough for the blood thirsty bastard. The numbness began to fade, the pain crept into his body.
For two and a half days, he hung bound to the wall, the priestesses kept him clean and fed him minimally, but the pain was unbearable, he needed the numbness again, if only for a few minutes.
"So are you sure of your surrender of body to me?"
"Yes," he hissed.
Julius smiled and unhooked him from the wall and took him. With his mind at ease for the time being SkyFyre kicked Julius in the middle. Julius scowled then laughed and hooked SkyFyre back to the wall. "We shall see how long you can stand to resist."
This tine it went on for a month, though kept alive by the priestesses, he simply wanted to die. Over the month he had been witness to Kala willingly giving herself over to Julius, and watched her perform the rituals.
Sky had whimpered in agony as he begged Kala not to give herself to him each time she gave herself to Julius. It was futile, he was trapped and the pain only worsened.
~~~~~~~~~
Kala sat across from Julius as he served some tea. "Will you ever let him go? He looks like he is in pain."
"He is in pain, and I won't let him go until he is broken."
"Why break him? He hasn't done anything to deserve that."
"He has done plenty, but what was the final straw was that he does not respect your magical preferences, when he had barged in if he wasn't restrained would have damaged it and you would be dead. He even has the audacity to beg you not to do what you have done for years. I will break him, and you will be the one to pick up his pieces."
“Let me talk to him, maybe he will see that there is nothing he can do to stop me from doing blood magic rituals with you,” Kala said. She hoped that she could talk some sense into Sky about the rituals.
“You want him to do a blood ritual, don’t you?” asked Julius.
“Just to show him that there is nothing really ill about it. Once you get over your first one, it’s okay,” Kala stated.
"Don't bother; he won’t do it, when we were younger, before you had even come to this city. We were actually friends back then, he helped me with a ritual and it horrified him. It was a really minor one at that but since then he has found me repulsive and has hated blood magic."
“Maybe he needs convincing,” Kala said, as she tapped her head.
“No, that would be tampering with it and the ritual will not go like you want it, it could kill him,” Julius stated. “He needs to be broken and I feel it might happen within the week or by the end of this month.”
Kala gulped. "But if you break him then he wouldn't be the same."
"That's the point, he is being punished, remember that."
“He been punished long enough, a whole month and three days is a lot of punishment. Way more than I would have given to him,”
“But will he remember it, a day from now if I let him go right now? No, I don’t think so. This way he will remember that I broke him,” Julius stated, calmly as he took a sip of the tea.
"I still don't think its right; he will only hate you even more."
"I doubt he could despise me any more then he did in the past, if he could he would kill me."
Kala realized that it was Sky who fought with Julius in the future and was killed by him. ‘How can I save my boyfriend from his destined death? Tell Julius that he will kill him one day or just let it go?’
Julius noticed that she got awfully quiet. He waited patiently for her to speak. “What’s wrong, Kala?”
"I'm scared, what if the tension only gets worse between you two, what if one kills the other, then what?"
"Then that is how it'll be," a voice from the shadows stated.
Julius bowed his head. “Master, I didn’t know you would be back so soon. Kala, you must leave now, for your own safety. Do not worry about Sky, I shall break him tonight and he shall be returned to you.”
“But . . . Julius?” Kala started to say.
Julius turned to her and growled, “Leave now! Your life is in danger the longer you remain here!”
Kala got out of her seat and ran for the door and raced down the stairs. She knew who was in the room by how Julius reacted and she wanted nothing to do with it.
But one thing did nag at her, how did Julius become associated with him? It was a long shot but she went to where Sky was being held. Sky looked at her with a distant gaze.
"Have you finally seen sense Kaladan? Will you free me and walk away from this degrading magic?"
"No, I just want to know if you have any answers for my questions."
"Be a good slut numb my pain and I may or may not ‘answer’."
Kala looked at him. He never had called her a slut to her face before. She was tempted to slash him with a knife but refused it. “I will never be your slut, Sky. You can rot there for all I care,” and with that said, stormed out of the room. She will get the answer from Julius when she sees him again.
Julius's laughter echoed in the room as he approached SkyFyre. "How much of a fool are you? You may have just lost her."
“Not Kala, she’ll be back to me, her love for me is strong,” Sky replied.
“Oh really? From what I just heard she told you to rot on the wall for all she cared. It sounds like she just dumped you. She’ll find a good drake who will respect her magic ties and approve of them,” Julius said as he smirked at him.
“There is no drake out there who would respect the magic in her, Julius, unless you plan on handing her over to your bastard of a master to mate with,” Sky spat.
"You are a fool; you have always been a fool." Julius said as he teased SkyFyre’s member. Sky moaned it felt so nice compared to the seal on him. Julius continued to taunt him without giving him a chance fore release, he was not going to even take him.
It was several hours of the teasing; Sky was getting frustrated as his member stuck out like a sore thumb wanting attention. Sky growled several times, as Julius teased him but never allowed him to the point of release. "Take me already! I can’t take this anymore."
Julius continued the teasing, SkyFyre couldn't take it any more, the pain was one thing but having the numbness so close yet out of reach was driving him over the edge.
It was late into the night when his will crumbled and his mind shattered. He had fought, he had lost, all that mattered was that Julius could give him the numbness he desired, Julius was the master and he had resigned himself to being the slave. "Master, I am yours." SkyFyre whispered weakly.
Julius smiled and removed his robes then untied SkyFyre, but the seal remained. "Please me and you will get what you desire."
SkyFyre did so, and when his master Julius had deemed that he had pleased him well enough he willingly gave himself over to Julius’s touch. The relief of his release was the last thing he felt before he went unconscious.
It was early morning when SkyFyre awoke, in a daze he looked around. It took him a few minutes to realize where he was and what condition he was in. he was at the foot of the stairs outside the temple, he was naked and dirty, Julius’s seed still all over him, but he was no longer sealed. He tried to get up but his body still hurt. It would be some time before he could move. SkyFyre knew of one person who would help him but would she help him. He had hurt her terribly by his words. He didn’t care, he knew she would help him as he pictured her home and willed his body to teleport to her. He looked up and saw he was at Kala’s home. Sky used what strength he had to push the chime.
“I’ll get it,” spoke a female voice inside. The door opened to reveal Kaladan standing there.
“Kala, help me please,” Sky whispered before his strength gave out and he went unconscious.
It was hours later, when Sky finally awakened to see Kala sitting there.
“I should have flung you into the trash, Sky.” Kala said.
“Forgive me for what I said, the pain clouded my mind,” Sky said. It was partially true the pain was clouding his mind.
“Forgive you for calling me a slut? I do not know if I could forgive you for that comment,” Kala said, turning her back to him.
Tears were streaming down his cheeks. "I am worse then you, I'm worthless. I gave myself over to him completely. I even called him master and meant it. I am nothing but an object for anyone to do with as they please."
Kala gazed at him as she finally went to his side and wiped the tears from his eyes. “You are not worthless, Sky.”
Sky moved his hair away from his left shoulder. Kala gasped; there was a brand on him, one that marked him as a temple slave.
Kala kissed it and looked at him. “As I said before, you are not worthless, not to me.”
“I am worthless. I am not even worthy of your love. I had shamed you by calling you the name I did. I know I can never ever really repair the damage I did to you,” Sky said before he turned his head away from her.
He was truly pathetic, Julius had really broken him Kala sighed, maybe he just being here had changed things. Sky was harmless now, she could help him pick up the pieces and the first step for that is to buy him from the temple and remove the mark. Only his owner and master could do that. She made him a sleep potion as she needed to return to the temple to buy him from Julius so she could remove the mark on Sky’s shoulder.
She hurried towards the temple to see Julius standing at the temple doors. “Julius, did you brand Sky with the slave brand?”
Julius smirked. "I did, after all only a slave calls a person master."
Kala's eyes narrowed. "You call Blake Nightshade master, does that make you a slave?" she called.
Julius chuckled and showed her the brand he kept hidden on the back of his neck. "I am his servant and slave; I have been for a very long time."
“How much do I owe you to get his brand removed?” Kala demanded.
“You want to own that worthless drake? After what he had called you, Kala, he called you slut and you have returned to him?” Julius stated shocked.
“Yes,” Kala said, pulling out her money purse.
"Very well, I will take you to Blake; he is the one who owns SkyFyre."
Kala nodded and followed about half way there she managed to find the nerve to ask the question that was nagging at her. "How did you become a slave to Blake? Did he break you like you broke Sky?"
Julius stopped and turned to face her. "Remember when I told you of the ritual Sky and I did?" She nodded. "We were best friends, we swore to be friends forever and the ritual was supposed to seal that by mentally linking us. He changed his mind half way through and refused to complete his end and walked out. The spell back lashed. It hit me full force. Blake arrived just before I would have been obliterated. It was too late, I was injured beyond healing. I told Blake with what little strength I had left that I'd give anything and do anything just to live. He turned my soul into an immortal’s essence. It repaired my body, and I had a second chance at life, but the price was I'd have to aide Blake whenever he needed me. In other words be his servant and slave. It's not so bad, Blake allows me for the most part to have a life of my own other then one devoted to serving him."
“That’s why Sky hates blood magic rituals?” Kala asked.
Julius nodded. "It's also why we can not stand one another."
“Because he broke his promise to you and nearly killed you,” Kala said.
"Nearly killed? He did Kaladan, breaking a promise in the middle of a ritual is a death sentence."
"But you are alive."
"I am between life and death, not alive nor am I fully dead."
“But you have expelled seed within me. No dead being could do that, you must be alive,” Kala said.
“I’m not alive, Kala. Feel this, what do you not feel?” asked Julius, as he grabbed her hand and held it against his chest.
Kala looked shocked at him. “Your heartbeat, its not . . . ,”
“There, because I am dead, Kala,” Julius stated.
"But how? You seemed perfectly alive."
"Like I said, I'm between life and death, I still need many things the living do and can do many as well, but I'm not truly alive."
Julius turned to look around before he took hold of her hand and stepped through a wall. Julius made a comment before a voice within the chamber made Kala jump. She knew it was Blake but he just stepped from the wall like a shadow.
"Why have you brought her here Julius?"
"She wishes to free SkyFyre from you."
"I see,"
“Please let me buy him from you?” asked Kala.
"And what reason would I have to allow you to buy him from me? What could you give me that of equal in value? And put the money bag away, I don't accept money."
Kala was shocked. ‘What did she have that he could have that was equal in value to SkyFyre. All she has was her body. Would he have his way with her so she could buy Sky from him? She would gladly offer her body to him to mate with if he so desired.’
Blake thought for a moment, and then his eyes moved over Kaladan. "If you want SkyFyre, then you will take Julius as well, the two are after all a set."
“I will take him as well. Now let us discuss payment of both your slaves?” Kala asked.
"That is the payment girl; you will be paying me by taking Julius. Just remember, he will live as long as you live."
“You don’t want anything else but for me to keep Julius?” Kala said. She figured he would want to bed her down a few times before giving Sky and Julius up.
"That is all, now go."
Kala turned and led Julius out of the room. She glanced back to see Julius give Blake a last look before turning away from him and following her out of the room. She placed her hand on his shoulder making him turn away from her as she lifted up his hair. She placed her finger onto the brand, she watched as the brand faded from view and spoke, “Brand of Nightshade is gone, and you are a free drake now.”
Julius looked at her and nodded. “But I am tied to you till you die, Kala.”
“I know. Now, let us go see Sky and see about removing his brand,” Kaladan stated, as they left the temple for her home.
Kala told Julius to remain outside of the room as it will make Sky fight her and she didn’t want that to happen. Kala stepped into the room and went to the bed. “Sky, show me your brand once again.”
He reluctantly did so; she placed her hand on it and removed it. "There it's gone now."
He sat up and ran his hand over the spot to find nothing there. “How did you?”
“Let’s just state I did a favor to Julius’s master,” Kala said.
“You allowed him to take you? Didn’t you?” Sky asked.
“No, I didn’t. I promised him that I would take care of someone for him,” it was a white lie but she had to say that or Sky would even be more pissed at her for it.
"You could have been killed, Kala."
“But I am standing before you alive. Am I not?" Kala said. “You are free from being a slave to the temple.”
He nodded. "Kala, let's leave Cassiopia, I can't stand being in this city any longer."
“Are you sure you want to leave?” asked Kala.
“Yes, there is just too many bad memories here for me,” Sky said.
"When do you want to leave?" asked Kala. She had to figure out a way to take Julius with her or let him stay here in her family home till they both died.
"As soon as possible, today if possible, we leave everything here and go." Sky stated.
"And where would we go?"
"To the country, my family owns one of the abandoned estates."
"One of the abandoned estates," Kala wondered which one of the many estates was his. For when she was younger there had been quite a few runaways, though they were dragged back she had heard their tales of strange abandoned estates.
SkyFyre nodded, “I hope to rebuild it and make it into a sanctuary away from Blood magic."
Kala bent down and kissed him. Sky smiled and the next thing, Kala knew they were standing in front of an estate. She pulled away from him and turned to look at the estate they were at. She went pale, she recognized the building, it had been years since she saw it the last time she saw it; it was a grand temple complex but right now she would have been more then happy to leave it in ruins. Unfortunately she couldn't, past dictated present and present dictated future. If the temple wasn't build the Ancients would not exist and if they didn't exist she would not have been made one and she would not be where she was now. She looked at Sky and wondered, ‘Is he the founder of the Ancients?’
“So what do you think of it, Kala? I know it doesn’t look like much but after we get it fixed it will be a great place for magic users to train in their arts, but no blood rituals will be done here,” Sky said, looking at the ruins.
"I think you should do as you want, but . . . I want no part of it."
"It’s because of him isn't it? I'll kill him or any other who you'd allow to claim you."
Kala fumed. "I am not your property, and if you do anything to harm any of those I care about I will personally kill you." she stated as she stormed off. If she stayed with him she'd be allowing herself to be confined within the walls she wanted to escape; besides blood magic was practiced by almost all her family except for Aunt Sophia and some of her closest friends were blood magic users. She loved SkyFyre but she didn't love him enough to give up everything.
SkyFyre grew furious with her walking away from her and teleported to where she was and punched her hard in the face. He watched as she fell to the ground, he whispered a spell which made her Lust come even though she had it happen a few days before as he tore off her clothes and took her by force. Kala’s scream echoed through the abandoned estates as Sky violated her over and over again till he could no longer expel any seeds within her. He stood up and nudged her. “My seed will grow in you. You can not kill this child easily without killing yourself, Kala. My baby will be born of you. You will have no drake or Saurian who will want you now. No one would want a broken slut as a wife.”
Kala cried as she listened to him take her as he called her all sorts of names and then he removed himself from her and told her she would carry his child before he left her alone. Kala got up and headed for her home. She prayed that no one would be there but she saw Julius standing on the porch looking shocked as he rushed to her side.
“Kala, what happened?” He asked as he helped her into the house.
"Sky . . . he took me without permission. He said I'm going to be carrying his child. He threatened my family and friends, Julius," cried Kala.
"He cursed you as well, I can sense that. Don't worry about Sky, and his threats or his curse. You’re a good person but Sky isn't. Now calm down and rest, I already asked Zahra to contact Tyriel."
"You knew he'd do this?" Kala asked shocked.
"SkyFyre is not one to be trusted, he claims to be pure but he in truth is quite vile."
Kala felt Julius start to move away but she tried to cling to him. “What type of curse did he put on me? Can we remove it?”
"A curse connecting you and what may become his child. Between the three of us that should be simple enough to break. If not . . . your uncle can break it? The real question is do you want it or not, because it was magically induced aborting will not do any harm."
“I don’t want this child! I want it out of me now!” Kala snapped.
Julius nodded. “I’ll go see if they are getting closer now.”
Kala watched as he walked away. She never wanted to have a child done by force. This duckling meant nothing to her. She would not bear his child ever! Once, she dreamt of him and her having a family of their own but this was not the way, nor did she have any feeling of love for him anymore.
She went to her room as did as Julius had told her, to calm down and rest. There was no doubt in her mind that Zahra, Tyriel and Julius would help her. Had she ever trusted SkyFyre like she did them? She hadn't, she should have known then that it would mean trouble. A small smile crept onto her bill, he had hurt her, made her cry but he would never be able to break her.
An hour later, she woke to hear a low growling noise that was muffled. Kala wondered what they were talking about as she climbed out of the bed and headed to the door. She opened the door and walked out. In the dining room were Tyriel, Zahra and Julius discussing what to do with Sky now that he did something that the Thunderbeak family didn’t like anyone who violated any member of their family, whether or not they were females or males.
Zahra stated, “I had to calm my dad down. He wanted to go after Sky for what he did.”
"If it wasn't for the curse I'd have gone after him." Tyriel stated with a growl.
"SkyFyre is mine, his life belongs to me, and this is just the last straw." Julius stated coldly.
“Then go after him after we have taken care of my cousin’s problem,” Zahra stated firmly.
Julius nodded as they turned to head for Kala’s room to see her standing there. “Kala, how are you feeling?”
“Creeped out by this thing in me,” Kala said.
"It’ll be over soon, Tyriel has already figure out how to break the curse and Zahra has the potion to abort."
“Then, let us get this over with so I can be free of this problem,” Kala said.
They nodded and started to move the furniture; once enough space was cleared Julius grabbed a bag of red sand and began doing the ritual outlines. It consisted of three spell circles two medium and one large. Julius gestured to one of the medium circles.
"Step in but do not touch the sand." he said as he went into the other medium circle.
"What is ritual suppose to do?"
"It'll transfer the curse from you to me. Once completed you can use the abortion potion,"
"But wouldn't that kill you?"
"How can you kill the already dead?"
Kala remained silent as she stepped into the circle. Just as she did so Sky appeared in the room and fired off at Tyriel and Zahra. Julius slammed one of his spells into Sky’s side but it was deflected off. Sky smirked and vanished.
“Is everyone okay?” asked Julius. After he watched them nod, he stepped into the circle and started to chant as the red sand glowed red as the curse was transferred from Kala to Julius. The spell was done as Julius turned to look at them. “Okay, Zahra, give Kala the potion. The curse will not harm her now,”
“Uh, Julius; we have a problem with that. Sky knew somehow what we were planning on doing and he broke the vial. I’m not able to recreate the potion in time to make it work. I am going to have to call on my dad for aid in this matter,” Zahra said.
"One step ahead of you, like I said SkyFyre belongs to me and in a way I to him, he's tapping into the link I had set when I broke him, but is not all that good at it." he sad as he pulled out a secondary vial of the potion. "He can watch us through me but he has yet to figure out how to read me and my actions. To do that he'd have to use what he most despises."
“Blood magic, I don’t think he’ll go that low to do something that he hates anyone who uses blood magic,” Kala said.
Julius turned to look at Kala. “Drink that potion now. I want you to drink it before I leave,”
Kala nodded and downed the vial. Immediately, the pain started as she fell to her knees as the fetus was aborted and Kala started to pass dark red blood.
Julius watched as Kala passed the object of Sky’s desire out of her body. “Tyriel, destroy the bloody mass when she’s finished pushing it all out. Burn it completely. I’m going to go after Sky.”
"But Julius, did you not sense it, he's using their power."
"I don't care, I was trained by a Nightshade, and I will beat him no matter how long it takes."
Kala watched as he walked away. “Julius!” Kala yelled. Julius turned to look at her. “Come back to us safely,”
“I cannot promise you, Kala. But one day I will be back, live your life and be happy,” Julius said before he hurried away from them to face the drake who caused pain to his friend.
Sky smirked as he sensed Julius’s approach to his estate. He knew some spells which would render Julius helpless to where he could dominant his former master and make him cry for the numbness which he would never get unless he wished it.
Julius saw the spells that was written in sand, if he had stepped onto the sand, the spell would activate. He summoned some wind and wiped the sand letters away making the spell go inert. He continued on breaking each of Sky’s sand spells with ease. “Naughty Sky, I think I will have to really punish you hard when I get a hold of you,”
"You will not get a hold of me I will kill you first."
"I'm already dead; nothing you do will hurt me."
“Oh really, I can hurt you if not directly. Kala will feel the pain of my crushing hand first and she will die,” Sky smirked, as he started to chant.
Julius smirked. "Anything you try to do to her goes to me or did you not recognize the ritual that was being done."
Sky screamed out in fury and strengthened his spell chant. Julius started to feel the pain in his stomach and he quickly chanted a spell which reversed it to return to the sender. Sky now started to feel the pain as he put a halt to it.
"Have to try better then that SkyFyre, but then you were always weaker."
~~~~~~~~~
Five years had passed; Kala had gone into an arranged marriage between her family and the Bluebird's. Life was good, Kala couldn't ask for more. She had four wonderful children, and her husband was someone who had no qualms about her magic but more importantly their love for each was only equal to their respect to each other. She had returned to the Thunderbeak home on a request from Zahra. When she had gone to her room first to refresh but when she got there standing in the room was Zahra holding the music box. "Zahra, what's going on?"
"The fire is fading, this box is fueled on soul fire, if you leave it to die, you will remain, and if you close it your soul will go back to your own time. This is a choice you have to make no one can make it for you."
Kala looked at the music box and started to think about the life she lived there and what her life is like in the future. As much as she wanted to let the flames die out there was unfinished business in the future. There was also the fact that Julius was bound to her, the war between him and SkyFyre was getting worse, and most magic users had taken sides. If she stayed then she risked being killed, for Julius to defeat SkyFyre she'd have to leave. "Zahra, give this music box to Julius when and if he returns. Tell him . . . the soul within this body loves him,"
Zahra nodded. "I'll tell him, and Kala in the future look in the ruins of the temple, it's waiting for you there."
With that last words being said, Kala's hand reached out and closed the lid to the music box.
~~~~~~~~~
She awoke in Julius’s arms; he had her wrapped in a blanket to keep her warm. "You're awake, and thank you."
“Did it work?” asked Kala.
"You’ve been asleep for about a day. But yes you are back where you started; only a day has passed."
“Zahra said something about look in the ruins of the temple, its waiting for you there do you know what she means by that?” Kala asked, as she curled up against him.
"I doubt you need it, but the only thing of importance there is an old stone staff.”
“The staff, the one that Tyriel, Zahra and I made in my first blood ritual,” Kala said.
"I think so, but as I said you don't need it, and don't worry it will be there when you do, I won't let any one take it."
“I want to look at it to be sure,” Kala said.
Julius nodded and showed her to the temple ruins. He knew Kala was seeing it as it once was. They entered the ruins and headed to one of the rooms where the staff was located at. Kala walked over to the staff and picked it up. She knew it was the staff she created and she looked at Julius. “I’m going to let you keep this till I attain the status of Supreme Ancient which would really piss SkyFyre off if he knew I would be the next Supreme Ancient,”
“Depends if he hasn’t taken another as your replacement, Kala. Remember you were gone for several months.”
“True, but I do recall the spells I learned in the past and the teleport spell will sped up my arrival to the main temple.” Kala stated.
"One last thing before you go, Zahra made a set of prophecies, all have come true save one, it's suppose to happen fifty years from now. Promise you will return here in fifty years, you will not be disappointed."
He held out a silver staff to her. "This was SkyFyre’s staff, so you don't return to them empty handed."
"I promise to return, Julius," Kala said before kissing him on the cheek and taking the staff of the late SkyFyre.
"Good luck." Julius whispered. It was soon after Sky's demise at his hands, he went to go back to Kala but he found that the soul he had sensed was gone. The female duck he had fought for and started to fall for was now gone. But he knew he would see her again one day after all he lived as long as she existed.
He picked up the staff and placed with Tyriel’s staff and Zahra’s sword. He smiled, he'd best start repairing the temple after all it was their sanctuary.
~~~~~~~~~~
It took Kala about a week to return to the temple of the Ancients, she looked as she did when she had first entered the wastelands but she was much wiser. Living in Cassiopia had taught her much, sure their customs, their laws, their moral values were very different from this time but they had been how she gotten stronger, thirteen was the age of adulthood, at the age of ten you were considered old enough to make decisions for yourself. In that time there was no such thing as having a childhood, slaves were put to work as young as age three, common folk started learning their trade by age four, the magic users and nobles attended the academy from age four to fifteen. But in that time there was too much to do to waste time playing. But the world was different back then, it was warm and fertile unlike it was now. The cold put an end to a lot of industry; it must have sent the planet into a dark age. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind, she had things to do.
Kaladan pushed open the doors with a spell and strode into the Temple, turned to the doors and with a simple wave at them closed the doors. She walked towards the Temple of the Supreme Ancient when he emerged from the Temple. “I have returned from the wasteland.”
"You’re alive, did you get it?"
"The key was destroyed, but I managed to retrieve this." she said as she held out the staff.
The Supreme Ancient took it from her and examined it. "It is a similar staff to that of our founding Supreme Ancient,"
"Actually, that staff belongs to SkyFyre, the founding Ancient, himself. I found it in the ruins of a long destroyed temple." Kala said.
Another duck stood next to the Supreme Ancient and spoke, "Ancient One, how does she know about our founding Ancient? We never taught her that? And there is no temple in the wastelands; it never was there."
"The wastelands were not always wastelands. There was once the great city of Cassiopia, the city of magic. It existed before any of the magical order that exist today. The temple was one of the main places to do magical rituals." Kala sighed. "As for how I knew the staff was SkyFyre’s, that's simple. Below the ruins, its underground sections were intact. I had found the section where the staff was and on the walls there were inscriptions. The inscriptions told of how Cassiopia fell and the birth of the Ancients and the Necromancers. It is strange how one simple broken promise can do so much damage."
The Supreme Ancient took all this in. He had fought with the leader of the Necromancers, but in the end he had made a deal with the leader to end the conflict, he could have broken the promise to do the mixed blessing but he hadn't. Other then minor conflicts between individual members the peace between his order and theirs had remained. Before the task he had realized that she could be the key to keeping that peace was well as had much potential that was why he had taken her on as his apprentice. There was little doubt in his mind now that she would keep the peace, especially if she knew why they had been at war for countless generations. "Kaladan, I'd like to speak with you in my office."
“Of course,” Kala said, as she waited for him to move first before following behind him.
He took her to his office and sat at his desk. "How did it start? And what brought it to all out war? This will only remain between you and me, no one else needs to know."
Kaladan was surprised, why didn't the Supreme Ancients want the others to know? "Why don't the others need to know?"
"Because they are not the ones who will be making the big decisions, as far as this information is concerned it should be strictly between the head of the order and the heads apprentice."
Kala sighed, that was a decent reason. "It started with two boys, best of friends they were. They were to do a spell that would seal their friendship and trust in one another. It was a blood magic ritual. SkyFyre became creeped out and in the middle of it broke his promise to do the spell and walked away. The boy named Julius who had been his best friend was left to suffer the consequences of the uncompleted spell. It was a death sentence. Before he died he had pleaded with the guardian of the temple to save him. It cost him his soul but also he would never be truly alive either, he was now trapped between life and death and a servant to the temple guardian. SkyFyre on the other hand continued life without him. He never knew the full consequence of his actions and had come to hate blood magic. It was many years later that SkyFyre had fallen for a young woman who he hadn't known at the time was a close friend of Julius’s and also practiced blood magic as well as other forms of magic. He dated her and when he leaned of her practicing of blood magic, he tried to forbid her from do so. She continued regardless, who was he to tell her what kind of magic she should or shouldn't do. As fate would have it SkyFyre barged in on a ritual that she was doing with Julius. Julius subdued SkyFyre and finished the spell. Unlike SkyFyre Julius knew the consequences of not finishing it would be, and the girl SkyFyre loved trusted Julius not to let her down.
The girl feared for SkyFyre’s life and Julius gave his word he wouldn't kill him and that he would return him to her when he was finished punishing SkyFyre for foolishly putting his lady love's life in danger. And he had kept his word, though SkyFyre’s punishment was to be made a slave of the temple guardian. SkyFyre had also insulted the young woman’s honor and she gladly left him to his punishment. Julius kept his word though, he returned SkyFyre to the young woman and SkyFyre pleaded for her forgiveness. She forgave him and sought out the temple guardian to free SkyFyre. The temple guardian told her she could have SkyFyre only if she also took Julius, she did. Once both were freed SkyFyre asked her to leave the city with him and that they'd build a sanctuary free of blood magic. When they arrived at the place that would become the main temple the young woman had second thoughts on it and told SkyFyre he could do as he wished but she wanted no part of it. SkyFyre blamed Julius for her reluctance and took her during her lust and cursed her that if she killed his child she would die as well. She returned home in tears, her family enraged at SkyFyre’s' actions, her friends wanting to smite him, and Julius wanted to make him pay for all the harm he had done. The curse was removed, the child aborted, and then the battle between Julius and SkyFyre started. Who won is unknown but it ended wit the complete destruction of the city of Cassiopia, all that remains is a magical wasteland."
"The inscriptions make the founder seem like a bad person."
"He wasn't truly a bad person, he helped people and was for the most part kind, it was a prejudice that brought out the worst in him, and Julius was not exactly the kindest person. He was cold and resentful most of the time. The fact is SkyFyre loved life, Julius valued life; a broken promise had sealed their fate to be enemies."
“I am shocked by this. The tale we had about the founder was far different, Kaladan,” The Supreme Ancient stated. “He wanted a place where males could do magic without being pulled away from the teachings of magic to have a mate. It basically kills the magic within once they take a mate.”
“That’s a lie. He didn’t want the order of magic that he founded to be drawn to blood magic as mixing females and males will bring about the desire to do blood magic. SkyFyre hated blood magic users from what the tablets stated about him and the disallowance of females in the ranks of the Ancients,” Kala stated.
“How do you know that the magic would not leave the user if they take a mate? You never took a mate,” spoke the Supreme Ancient.
"But the Necromancers and Suscans do, and their magic never fades."
“They deal with a darker member of the spirits, which is why they never lose their magic. Now promise me you will never take a mate while you are an Apprentice of mine,” the Supreme Ancient said, taking hold of her hands.
Kala knew once he dies, she will be free of that promise. “I promise, Ancient One,”
"You are dismissed,"
Kala bowed and left his office. On her way back to her quarters the taunting she had been plagued with before her test started once again. This time it was rocks being thrown at her by the other apprentices. She had had it with them. She raised her hand and with a single gesture froze the stones in mid air, and with another pelted the offending apprentices with their own thrown stones as well as a stone for every stone that they had thrown at her in the past. She heard their yells as they raced away from the pelting stones. She smiled as she opened the door to her room. They had left it alone for all the time she was gone. She smiled as she went into the bathroom and started a bath. All she wanted to do for now was to get clean and get ready for bed. She did wonder what the future would hold for her.
No matter what obstacles laid ahead she would deal with them, but there was one thing she was certain of, she wasn't going to take any more crap from the Ancients, if they wanted something of her or for her to do something for them they'd have to ask nicely and not do anything to that would make her not want to help them. She thought. She looked in the mirror, her body was the same, but her mind and soul were older and much wiser. As for her magic, she didn't need the Ancients in order to control it, her purpose here was different now. She was going to take over, and she'd prove them wrong. When she is of age she'll have a husband and keep her magic as well as have children. She grinned, she had left the Ancients as a small spark, she had returned as a raging flame.
This story is now done.
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Spark to the flames.