PRIMORDIALS

Chapter Twelve - Nowhere to Run (Daenna)

"I've been hearing her voice," Daenna confided, pulling her knees up to her chest where she rested her cheek and looked over at Yrsa. "But not all the time." She knew Jaspel, who was like a mother to them both, was missing from the tribe, and everyone assumed she was dead. But Daenna still held onto hope that she was alive, but Yrsa's reluctance to discuss Jaspel at all was foreboding. 

Before her disappearance, Jaspel had held the esteemed title of Sultana within their tribe. Her presence commanded respect, and her decisions shaped the fate of her people. However, when Daenna ran away, Jaspel vanished too, leaving the tribe in a state of uncertainty. It was Yrsa, determined and capable, who stepped up to fill the void left by Jaspel's absence. Though initially daunted by the weight of leadership, Yrsa swiftly grew into her role as Sultana, proving her mettle and dedication to her tribe. 

Yrsa's head finally popped up off her sleeping mat inside their tent. They had both just settled in after a long day of training. Yrsa knew her way around the blades but they spent most of the afternoon and evening practicing the art of Stillness. She met the young girl's desperate eyes with her own. "Sometimes I think I hear her too. I think she helped me find you." 

"How? What did she say?"

"It's not something she said really, I had a dream about the Journeyman, when I woke, I knew just where you'd be." It didn't make much sense to her, but spending her life with Jaspel and the things she'd been taught had been pretty unbelievable too. Yrsa was told long ago of Daenna's fate, she was almost 20 years her senior, she had much more time to get used to the idea of her sister becoming the Phoenix, let alone knowing Jaspel was her predecessor.  How could she explain what it meant to be Primordial to this young girl without completely terrifying her? She wanted to prepare her, but make her stronger, more fierce, not afraid. She wished Jaspel was still here too.

"I think it's her. What does it mean?" Daenna extended her legs and sat up straighter, anxious for any kind of answer.

"It mean's you are truly resurrected?" Yrsa explained what she could.

"Resurrected?" Daenna crossed her legs and leaned in closer with her elbows perched on her knees.

"Yes, it means to revive a part of your soul magic that has remained dormant, until now."

Daenna sat silently for a moment, taking in her sister's words, until finally she asked, "I don't understand how you know all this?"

"I told you, Jaspel told me, before she left, that one day your ancient blood would ignite your powers."

"Ancient? But I haven't been alive for centuries."