The Thanaton Syndrome

Chapter Twenty Eight: Pt. 2

"Um, no not that much. That sounds a little creepy, to be honest."

Tova shrugged. "There was a Faerie who could charm humans in ways they could not resist. So you mean to say, then, people who have made acquaintances with your sister have enjoyed her company, but haven't been addicted to her presence?"

"No, not really," Seth said.

"Hm." Tova thought a bit more. "How did you get here again?"

"Through a portal," Seth said.

"Really?" Tova sounded interested now. "I thought the Red Warrior brought you here by force." His brow furrowed. "Where did you find the Portal?"

"In my mother's room, in the closet, but that doesn't mean...I mean..."

"There was a portal to Alaisia in your mother's closet, and somehow you've managed to convince yourself all this time she has no experience of this place whatsoever? Why do you refuse to believe things that appear so obvious?"

Seth hesitated. "I just... I don't... not here. I can't have come from this place, because it's wild and dangerous and...they think I'm gonna get this Snow Flower Juice. They're all depending on me to get it and save everyone, and I never signed up for it. I just don't fit, and I don't want to fit. I don't want the pressure of everyone depending on me. And on top of that, if I find out I'm actually from this place, I'll have a link I can never get rid of. I'll...I'll be stuck, and I don't want that. I just want to go home and live as if none of this had ever happened. If it turns out that my mother, or my father, or both my parents even, knew about Alaisia or came from here in the first place... I'll never get away. Plus, it doesn't make sense. How can I have lived there all this time, and never have known at all that my mom came from a different world? It sounds ridiculous."

"Not as ridiculous as it might seem," Tova said. "Listen, Seth. You don't want the responsibility, and the chains of Alaisia. I see now that accepting any major ties here will solidify those restraints. But you cannot let these fears overcome—ah, ah," he stopped as Seth tried to protest, "don't deny it. You fear Alaisia and what it will do, don't you? Do not let this blind you from the truth."

Seth fell silent. He didn't fear Alaisia, no, he only wanted out of it. He simply disliked it. Right? Maybe Tova had a point, but still, Seth loathed the idea of thinking either of his parents may have come from this awful, violent place. Was it really so awful though?

Something else itched at the back of his mind. The words of the alpha wolf from so long ago rasped in his ear, taunting and nagging. "You'll meet the same fate as your father, Outlander," the wolf had said. Accepting his father had any correlation to Alaisia meant accepting he would probably never see his father again. It meant his father had broken his promise to come back, and this was something far deeper and more embedded in Seth's brain than any hateful thoughts about Alaisia.

Tova's words nagged too, though. Perhaps the truth lay right in front of him, and he only stubbornly refused to believe it as he clung to a promise buried years ago.

"What are you thinking, Outlander?" Tova's voice sounded gentle, as if he did genuinely want to help.

"The...alpha wolf, and...he promised..." He replied in mutters and scattered words, until finally, he gained enough clarity to tell Tova everything. He told him about his father's promise and how he'd left seven years ago, about how hard it had been, and about how they'd arrived at Alaisia, finally concluding with the story of the alpha wolf's words and how incredibly confused and frightened and overwhelmed he felt.

Tova never interrupted, though Seth felt sure he wanted to many times. Everything felt so scattered as he spoke that he felt sure he didn't make any sense at all, but the man only sat up and set down his quill when Seth finished.

"I can't pretend to know all the answers," Tova said. "But I can say it appears, increasingly more so in fact, that your mother knew that portal was in her closet. It sounds as if she knew the men who came and even recognized the Thanaton Syndrome. It also sounds incredibly likely your father came here, or at least has some knowledge of this place." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Many tend to bluff in situations such as the one you were in with the wolf, meaning, under any other circumstances, I would not believe the alpha. However, wolves also tend not to bluff or lie. It goes against their principles, whatever those may be. I do not..." He sighed again, and looked Seth straight in the eye. "I do not see much hope for your father, to be quite honest. Not to say he is entirely gone, but the words of the alpha wolf are not good."

Seth's eyes burned. Of all his fears, the worst seemed to be coming apart right before his eyes. He looked at Tova, and said nothing.

The older man surveyed him for a moment, then said, "I do not want you to be blinded by illusions. You should know the whole truth—the situation with your father is bleak, whatever those wolves may have done to him. It is not entirely hopeless, though. You should remember that. Might I suggest letting the subject fall away for now, and perhaps coming back to it once your quest is finished?"

Seth considered, and nodded. "Yeah. I'm gonna find him, or...find out what happened to him. After the quest." Whatever happened to his dad, Seth knew it would only burden him now, when he was getting so close to the cure.

Tova nodded. "Good. For the time being, I suggest you focus on getting the Snow Flower juice, and hone your power. You may not have the best circumstances to practice and understand it, but it will prove incredibly dangerous not to become comfortable with it. There is dark magic, magic which I would not put it past King Morphew to use, that can take advantage of your ability and use it to destroy you."

After a moment, Seth agreed. "Okay, so I need to understand it before someone uses it against me, somehow? So we have to figure out if Rachel or Lydia might have something similar, and that'll say if it runs in the family or if someone...cursed me, or gifted me, I guess."

"Correct. But I think I already know your younger sister may have something, based on your story."

"Okay?"

"Portals almost never open on their own, Outlander. The odds that it opened just when you needed are incredibly unlikely, but the manner in which it opened aligns perfectly with a power relating to Portals."

"So...Lydia can open Portals."

~~~~~

Hm...ok, interesting...

So what do you think of the new information of this chapter? Did you expect Seth's parents to have some connection to Alaisia? Or completely surprised? (I think I've foreshadowed that pretty heavy, so it shouldn't be massively surprising). What about Lydia and Portal opening? Does it all make sense or are sitting there like, what's going on? This chapter actually took a few tries, and I'm still not super happy with it, so just keep in mind that this whole story is still ROUGH. QUITE ROUGH. Haha. And if you have improvement suggestions, I'm all ears :)

Anyway, thanks for reading!! :)

-RLM