Legends of Remnant. The Magi.

Chapter 9. Revelations

We had all limped our way to Jedediah's kitchen; well everyone except Jedediah and Shayla. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. A doctor will be here soon-" "don't need it," I say quickly. "Huntsman, remember? We're amazing," I say, using Jedediah's words. "Yes, I suppose you are," he chuckles. "But you all want to know... The story of The Caretaker," he says slowly.
"I only want to know how to kill her," I say and hear a sigh from Shayla. I peered at her from out of the corner of my eye. Her arms were cross, she seemed agitated. She didn't want to see The Caretaker, or as she called her, Obsidian. I would ask her what the relationship was when she and I had our privacy.
"Ditto," Gearalt winces as he leans forward. "And who you are; and her," he says pointing to Shayla. "Well, as I said," Jedediah started, "I am Jedediah Ozpin; I'm sure you all know the name," he says as Gearalt, Yesenia and Ryan wear slightly in awed expressions. "You're a hero..." Yesenia says softly. "To some," he replies, "to others, I'm a disease," he says with a hint of pain. "A parasite... Someone who would only hurt people..." He says as he is brought a cup of tea. "Know that feel," I say folding my hands in front of me.
"But at any rate, The Caretaker, or as her birth name, Obsidian Granite. She was, at one point, a very valuable, strong, and righteous Huntress," he says. "Wait, so she was human at one point?" Gearalt asks. "Yes," Shayla interjects. "She was a human; just as flawed as any of us, but you wouldn't know it having seen her," she says with a smile. "Pardon my asking," Ryan says, "but how do you know her so well?" She asks.
Shayla takes a second to breathe before she speaks. "I was a part of her team a long time ago," she says, "she and I and our group were bent on doing the best we could go destroy all the creatures of darkness we could find, stamp out the evil, all that stuff," she says as if she's bored. "But... One day she changed..." She says softly.
We all lean forward. "She was.... Tempted..." She says finally. "Tempted?" I say. "Tempted by what?" There was another pause, and she finally spoke again. "She was tempted by desire. By power. Lust for strength beyond measure. But it wasn't the power that turned her into the Caretaker," she says.
"It was darkness," Yesenia says. "Yeah," Shayla says finally. "And it turned her into that... That that we just saw, and she wants to kill us." She says. "Us?" Gearalt asks. "Why us?"
Shayla shakes her head softly. "No, not us. Us," she says distantly. "Every... Single... One of us..." There was a bitter chill that descended over the room as she said that. I sat in my seat and pondered what to do. There was no way anyone "normal" could stand up to The Caretaker. And even strong warriors like Gearalt, Yesenia and Ryan were already proven to be no match for her.
"And Prophecy states she will succeed," Ozpin says, his voice almost warming us all. "Just like that?" Ryan says, "is there nothing we can do?" She asks. "There's a chance... We can postpone her arrival." He says slowly. "How?" I ask. He takes a moment before he speaks again.
"The Prophecy states that to halt her advances, destroy her three sinned siblings of flesh," he says, quoting the passage verbatim. "And that means what, exactly?" Ryan asks again, her curiosity was refreshing. "The Caretaker has 4 very powerful generals which she commands and who follow her without question or incident. They are known as Harbingers; and the first, The Harbinger of Destruction, is named Revel.
"The second, The Harbinger of Sickness, is named Plight. The Third, The Harbinger of Corruption, is named Detriment. And the Fourth, and the most loyal and powerful of her soldiers, is Death." He says plainly.
"Death? What do you mean "Death"?" Yesenia asks. "I mean, simply, death," he says again. "Her final Harbinger is Death?" I ask. "Hmmm.... Yes, and no," he says with a slight grimace. "Hell's that mean," Gearalt says under his breath. "She has incredible power; certainly enough to bring about death on a world-ending scale," he says with an almost sick enthusiasm. "But she is not invincible. Not like Topaz, anyway," he says with a small smile.
"So... She can be killed?" Gearalt asks. "Yes," Ozpin says confidently. "It won't be easy; especially with her Harbingers. But it is possible."
"Then it sounds like we may want to take out these Harbingers," Shayla says. "Agreed," I say, reminding myself I'm the leader of my team. "And Revel is in Atlas," I say blankly, seeing the hidden recoil in Gearalt's face.
Gearalt, while not being able to call it home as much as he would hope, still loved his home country of Atlas. His family, his sister, his friends, he only wanted them safe, regardless of whether or not they wronged him. He bowed his head, tapping his fingers on the table. He was lost in thought.
"And on that note," I say softly seeing this from my friend, "I believe we should rest." I look at Ozpin. "Any chance you'd have some rooms? I don't know if I'd feel comfortable with us anywhere...." I pause, looking at my companions.
Gearalt's chest was wrapped, splotches of blood pattered along the wrapping. Yesenia had a small clump of bandage in the fresh hole in her chest, soaking up blood that was still bleeding; she winced sharply with every breath she took. Ryan had limped since it was all over. She took a hard kick to her chest, and who knows what she hit along her flight path or how hard she hit the castle wall.
"Of course, my friend," Jedediah said with a genuine smile. "You and your friends are welcome here as long as you like," he said standing up. "I'll show you to your rooms."
We had gathered our food and thoughts from the dining room and followed Jedediah down a warm, long hallway. "What's the preference? Separate rooms? Gender sharing?" He looked back and peered at me slyly. "Co-ed?"
"Separate," I say hearing a groan from behind me. "If anyone wants to share rooms they can take it up with themselves." Ozpin laughs, "suit yourself."
He shows us to our rooms, and finally stops before mine. "Should still have your lab in there," he says leaning gently on his walking cane. "After all this time?" I whisper in disbelief; my fingers flurrying to the door handle.
     I pushed open the door and was immediately greeted with the sweet, gentle scent of pine and mint. My eyes fluttered and I felt pure ecstasy. "Just like it used to be..." I whisper as I walk in. Beakers are all lined up on my desk, a small cauldron bubbling with boiling water, a mortar and pestle sat, unused, in the middle of the table. "Oh yeah..." I say lifting the mortar, smelling what was being made. "I was trying to make a potion... To cure something... right..." I say to myself.
     "Topaz, don't hesitate to get what you need. This is your home as much as it is mine," Ozpin says happily from behind me. "Of course, of course," I say happily, waving my hand, focused on my work. "I must complete this formula, you understand, science never rests," I say confidently. "Absolutely, carry on," Ozpin says cheerfully as he slowly closes the door.

*                            *                            *

     Meanwhile, further down the hall, Gearalt is reminiscing in his room. He holds an old, very worn picture, small enough to have always fit in his pocket. He looks at it with melancholy in his eyes; his sister, Winter,  smiling as she stood over Gearalt, both of them bandaged, cut up and scuffed, but smiling, holding small swords.
     There was a soft knock on the door, and Gearalt was shocked from his picture, looking up, and seeing no one. "C-come in!" He says almost shakily. The door open slowly, and, in fresh clothes, Yesenia stands with a polite smile in his door way.
     "Wassup kiddo," he says as he draws his sword and takes his sharpening tool from his belt. "Nothin, just wanted to talk," she says easily. His ears perk up and he looks from his sword, "okay," he says hesitantly. Yesenia let's out a soft sigh, "look, this isn't easy to do," she says. "What's not easy to do," Gearalt says, returning to his sword sharpening.
     Yesenia walks and sits herself on Gearalt's bed, her skirt being pulled up, showing her upper thighs. She's oblivious to it, and Gearalt notices almost immediately. "Pull down your skirt," he says nonchalantly. "Aw you're no fun," Yesenia says with a grunt as she wiggles her hips, moving the skirt down.
     "Now what'd you wanna talk about," Gearalt says as he sets his sword against the table by his bed. Yesenia folds her hands in her lap, and bows her head a little. "I..." She starts. "Are... Are you gonna be okay?" She asks. "Going to Atlas, I mean," she says. Gearalt sighs deeply. "I'm not exactly ecstatic to go back," he says. "But I'm not gonna stay away if I can help people. Who knows, maybe I can rekindle the relationship with my family," he says distantly.
     "You must love them a lot," Yesenia says. Gearalt smiles, "you better believe I do kiddo. I'd do anything for them," he says looking at Yesenia, her long blond hair shimmering almost in the midday sunlight bleeding in through the curtains. "Same goes for you," he says and she turns and looks at him. "And Ryan..." He says with a smile. "You guys are family too."
     "What's about Topaz?" Yesenia asks, neglecting to hear his name. "He doesn't need taking care of like you two do," he says with a chuckle. "You two have a tendency to tangle with what's too big and bad for you," he says. "Topaz has no fear, at least not of anything that he's seen." "What's that mean?" Yesenia asks. Gearalt sighs again.
     "I've known that guy for a long time; bout 20 years now," he says. "He doesn't feel physical pain, if that makes sense," he says hesitantly. "But his heart.... He's got a fragile heart... Been hurt more times than you'd believe."
     Yesenia bows her head, "I've seen his eyes," she says. "Then you have an idea." Gearalt says. "But he cried in my arms once," he says remembering. "His whimper... His cry... It was heartbreaking... I could only imagine what he felt," he says with sympathy echoing in his voice.
     "But he'll be okay right?" Yesenia says trying to brighten the mood. "We're family, yeah? Stick together?" Gearalt looks at her and smiles. "Yeah... Family," he says reaching and holding his hand on top of hers. "We're all we've got," he says looking at her.
     Yesenia's eyes are warbling, she's trying her hardest not to blush or smile like a fool. She's had her eye on Gearalt for quite some time. She and Gearalt's eyes locked glances, and they both smiled. Yesenia leaned in and kissed Gearalt, which he did nothing to fight. They both felt the warmth of one another's bodies. They embraced, not breaking each other's grip or kiss.