Chapter 13: Nephalem’s Resolve

  Time: 15:21, Day: Gibrandr, Week: 3, Month: K?rgoyde, Year: 36651

  Long hours had slowly drifted by, filled with a deep sad silence before Ayanna finally opened her wings and raised her head revealing her reddened puffy eyes. She had long given up on clenching at empty air and wishing for Grim to offer her comfort, and had resigned to embracing herself with her arms, wings, and even her tail was wrapped around her waist.

  Ayanna’s fists clenched as she faced her sister, Lilith.

  “So, what do we do?”

  Lilith had taken off her sheathe and leaned it, and Galerian, against the wall next to her, hours ago. Elstraya had curled up next to her with her eyes closed, not sleeping of course, but pretending. Elstraya sat up and smiled at Ayanna, glad to see her finally coming to terms with it all.

  “Even if we could help you master both Chaos and Light Magic right now, your power would be unstable—erratic. And once you do master those disciplines, you'll still have," Elstraya shot a stern glance at Lilith, “Blighted Radiance to master, and that's something only a Nephalem can do. Supposedly the only successful Nephalem to master the unstable fusion of Light and Chaos Magic was Feytryn Halifax and that was almost 10,000 years ago.” Elstraya sighed deeply, “But assuming the thing intertwined with your Essence and soul is actually a part of Fate, it may be able to help you once you have a basic understanding of the fundamentals of Light and Chaos Magic.”

  Ayanna hesitated, glancing between the only two women to ever treat her as family.

  “So more studying? Great. I thought I was done with all that,” Ayanna rolled her eyes, a soft smile on her plump dry lips, “Isn't there an easier way?”

  “Studying?” Elstraya said with a laugh, “No studying, we're going to train you. You can study on your own, but thanks to your mother's stupidity your control is virtually non-existent. You're partial to Fire and Lightning Magic, but that's more of emotional instinct than intent.”

  “We're gonna kick your ass until you figure out how to properly use your Essence, and maybe you'll even learn to control your Aura.” Lilith said with a battle hungry smile.

  Ayanna laughed, regaining some of her fighting spirit, though still a little nervous at the thought of being trained by a seasoned warrior and one of Alina's most powerful Lich's.

  “I don't know how I can ever thank you, either of you. You don't have to do this. I know you're both kept on short leashes by mother, ever since you tried to help me escape.” Ayanna's laugh and smile faded to a deep sadness as she remembered being shackled to the wall while watching Lilith and Elstraya get beaten to the edge of death for helping her, a little over a century ago.

  “You’re our little sister,” Lilith said firmly, “There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you. And honestly, even though I want my rematch, you seem happy here… with him.

  Happier than I’ve ever seen you, and that alone is worth everything.”

  A soft blush crept across Ayanna’s cheeks, as her gaze met the floor and the smile of a young girl in love filled her face.

  “With him? He barely tolerates me, but sometimes… Sometimes I think he doesn't actually mind me being around.”

  Elstraya tilted her head, an amused smile tugging at her lips. “Seems you have a lot more than just being a Nephalem, on your mind.”

  Ayanna’s face turned a vivid red as she pulled her knees up and buried her face in her thighs, her wings closing around her.

  “Maybe…” Ayanna let out, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Lilith grinned, her eyes alight with mischief. “Didn’t expect that from you.”

  Lilith and Elstraya burst into laughter, and Ayanna, though mortified, found herself smiling as a warm feeling filled her chest.

  “Listen,” Lilith said after the laughter subsided, “Whatever’s going on with you and Grim, just be honest with yourself. He was never the type to be scared off, and despite his gruff, stoic demeanor, he’s kinda soft.”

  Ayanna’s expression softened as she opened her wings and looked at Lilith, the blush of her face and neck only growing, “Soft?”

  “Yea, unless he's actually going for the kill, he won't use all the cards in his deck. I’ve never seen him with anyone, but he seems like the type to approach love with the same ferocity he approaches war. So give him a little time, and I'm sure he'll be yours,” Lilith smiled, “I mean, you've only been in love with him since you were 8.”

  Ayanna's blush deepened as her entire being stiffened in shock, and her eyes went wide as dinner plates. Lilith was the only one who would visit Ayanna on the days she was allowed in the library. Now Ayanna felt as if every single one of those conversations were running through her mind.

  Lilith and Elstraya burst into laughter again.

  “Come on, Lil, I think you broke her,” Elstraya softly slapped Lilith's bicep, “Anyways, Ay, we can't stay much longer this time around and there's a few more things we need to check out back at the Rose Capital, but for now you should meditate and try to communicate with Fate about the Nephalem.”

  Ayanna was happy for the change in subject, and finally remembered what I had told her. Her wings shuddered as she snapped back to the moment.

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  “Oh yea, she said to ask you about my father.”

  Lilith and Elstraya looked at each other in confusion.

  “I guess she didn't figure it out.” Elstraya said.

  “But she was humming the same tune?” Lilith said.

  The two women turned their gazes back to Ayanna.

  “What?” Ayanna's face read confusion, but the ache in heart was deep and seemed to come from nowhere.

  “Well, he was a Dharma. Tryste, the First Fallen. He was sold to mother by his own father, for starting a rebellion in Azielle’s capital city. After she forced him to impregnate her, she left him to die in the dungeon once you were born.” Elstraya said, giving Ayanna a look that suggested she had been given all of the pieces and needed to put the puzzle together, “Dharmas all have a primary Soul Essence of Light Magic, so they can't survive in places heavy with Chaos Magic.”

  “That melody you were humming, when's the last time you heard it?” Lilith asked, “And do you remember the man you heard it from? Like, did you ever talk to him?”

  Ayanna thought hard, the ache in her chest making her think she had forgotten something important.

  “I remember him telling me not to cry, that one day I would make it out of the dungeon and see a sky that I could spread my wings in. I don't think I ever saw him though. Most of the cells in that area were empty and I think there were at least three cells between us.” Ayanna said, thinking as hard as she could about the mystery person, “Oh, he said that song was my song. The song of freedom.”

  “Freedom's Hymn is the name of the melody. It's a song with no words that's used to help lift spirits in times of hardship.” Elstraya said, still trying to get Ayanna to piece it together, “How would a demon or devil know that, and why would they say it's your song, Ay?”

  There was a long silence, and eventually tears streamed down Ayanna's cheeks like rivers as she came to the realization that she had spent almost 30 years only a few cells away from the father she never knew.

  “He… She… But…” Ayanna fumbled through sobs as she tried to articulate her thoughts, and soon her tears began to evaporate off of her as her body slightly glowed with heated rage that emanated from her, “I want to be rid of her permanently! She absolutely has to die!” Ayanna's irises glowed a vibrant pink even as tears carved rivers down her cheeks.

  “Nephal, now is not the time for rage. Bury it for now and I will show you how you can use it to bend the course of fate itself.” The voice echoed through Ayanna's mind, forcing its way to the front of her wild thoughts.

  “You mean like you?” Ayanna asked the voice, yet spoke aloud, the glow of her irises only intensifying.

  Lilith and Elstraya watched in confusion.

  “No, Nephal, I may be Fate, but I can only watch, guide, and teach. You can do much more.” Fate’s voice rang through Ayanna's mind with a sincere yet dangerous tone.

  “Then teach me. Teach me to become a real Nephalem, so I can destroy her the way she's destroyed me! Using the power she wants so bad!” Ayanna stood, her wings flared out and her tail thrashing at the floor, “I'm tired of this. Tired of being weak. Tired of struggling to choose what and who I am. I am Ayanna Grimoore, and I will become an even more powerful Nephalem than Feytryn Halifax.” Ayanna's hands were on her hips, and her voice was thick with rage and conviction.

  “Little Nephal, you choose to walk a dangerous path, but one day you will be a more powerful Nephalem than I. I will see to it.” Fate’s voice was like a soothing yet proud mother.

  “How?” Ayanna shot quickly.

  “Meditate. Access the plane of your Essence, as you once have, and I will be there.” Fate answered, in Ayanna's head.

  Ayanna nodded but was silent as she stared off into the distance.

  “So… Wanna explain what just happened and who you're talking to?” Lilith finally spoke up.

  Ayanna's focus snapped to Lilith, and Lilith instinctively reached behind her for Galerian but grabbed at empty air.

  “Relax Lil, I think she was talking to Fate, and I'm positive she doesn't know she's using her Aura. We're gonna have to get used to feeling it if we're going to train her.” Elstraya said, placing a hand on her wife's lap, her eyes wide and focused on the almost transparent Aura emanating from Ayanna. It felt malevolent and unstable, like light wrapped in entropy.

  It was unnerving.

  It felt as if Ayanna could reach into either of their souls and tear out every bit of their Essence.

  “She needs to relax first!” Lilith slowly reached over to Galerian.

  “Fate is going to help me understand myself as a Nephalem.” Ayanna was looking at Lilith but lost more in thought than anything else. Slowly her rage, and ominous Aura, receded and both Lilith and Elstraya visibly relaxed.

  “Gods Ay, what the fuck was that?” Lilith asked, standing up and offering Elstraya her hand. Elstraya took it with a smile, though she didn't stand on the floor, she stood on the air just above the floor.

  “I don't know, I just couldn't believe that she would go so far as to leave me in the dungeon with my father and not say anything. Not introduce us. Not let us speak. I could've learned so much from him.” Ayanna looked down at her palms as tears welled in her eyes, “But I guess that would've been too much.”

  “She never saw him as your father and never saw you as her child. So there was no need for you two to meet. At least that’s what I hear from our source. One of the things we’re going to try to get is Syren’s Codex, which should help us at least figure out what she was doing.” Elstraya spoke with excitement.

  Ayanna shook the thoughts away for now, and smiled at Lilith and Elstraya, her irises returning to normal. She changed the subject despite Elstraya’s excitement.

  “You two should get going, before Syren realizes her Court Mage and Guardian have been gone too long. I love you both, and I'll be waiting to hear from you soon.” Ayanna said, her wings folding behind her, a warm loving smile on her face and enough confidence to baffle Lilith and Elstraya.

  “Just like that? You've decided on what to do and how to do it?” Lilith asked, putting her hands on her hips after putting Galerian back onto her back.

  “It's not that simple, but yes. I'm going to see if Grim is willing to help me, and hopefully by the time you guys come back I'll have gotten closer to being strong enough to kill Syren.” Ayanna's words were confident, emotional, and laced with promise.

  “Then we will leave you in his hands.” Elstraya said, summoning Veyatracis from nowhere. The pages flipped and the army of undead outside the cottage quickly began to vanish, as if they were never there, “We will return when we know more of what Syren is planning. Stay safe Ay, the barrier around this area won't last forever. Especially not if you get as powerful as you claim.” Elstraya smiled, pulling Lilith towards the door to the cottage.

  “I'll be waiting for our sparring match, especially if you master that Aura of yours. I want to see it in action.” Lilith said with a battle hungry smile before waving to Ayanna.

  Ayanna smiled at them both, quickly waving.

  As the two women closed the cottage door behind them, Ayanna heard the familiar tearing sound of the fabric of space tearing open. A portal leading to the two women's next destination.

  “You just gonna hide in there, or you finally gonna come out?” Ayanna said, turning around and looking at her shadow. It was strange, her shadow didn't move with her, just stayed in place as she stared down at it with a wide giddy smile.

  — The Curator’s Notes —

  you deepest?

  The next chapter is already waiting…

  and it’s smiling.