Chapter 27 | Destiny Is A Myth
I thought it was about time that you knew that whatever third grade teacher told you that plains were a flat stretch of land, was bullshitting you. In the Realm, right now? The plains were full of hills. They rolled up and down all the way to the horizon. I groaned as we crested pretty big one. Kate and Wren seemed to have no trouble doing this, but me? I was really missing the Forest right about now. Pandora seemed to be agreeing, because a sheen of sweat covered her forehead. It didn’t cover mine though, because it was nighttime. The Moon powered me, and when I looked at it, I saw silver waves of energy flowing down to me. I asked Kate if she saw this, and she’d just shrugged.
Now, two days later, we were still walking. Our sleeping patterns were a little off, we’d just pass out in one spot when a person caved and said they were tired. More often than not, that person was me. Ridge stayed back with me, fixing his jade eyes on the horizon while I worked up the nerve to ask him. Finally, I did.
“Hey, how come you didn’t seem so shocked back there? When I…freaked out.” Aaric materialized when I finished, hovering next to me.
Ridge’s eyes flashed, darkening and I got the vibe that he was remembering something. When he spoke, a rueful grin was on his face. “You know, that’s because it happened to me. When I broke out, I mean. Before you talk, let me finish. Guardians are a…superior species in some Garal’s eyes. We move faster, react better, we’re stronger, and in every sense, we are indeed better.
“But, you want to know why we can do that? That’s because of a spell cast down by a Guardian that happened to carry wizard blood. An Energy Guardian. He was the second generation. Back then, Guardians were simply quick, they didn’t possess the abilities we carry now.” As he spoke, I felt like I was drawn back in time. It was weird, but kind of comforting. I guessed Ridge just had that kind of personality. “Anyway, in addition to having the energy that sorcerers have, the Guardian also had his Reality as a reserve. He pooled the main twelve together, with their Realities and Keepers in tow. Convincing them that it was for the greater good, he changed us. Our eyes glowed.” He kept using words like “us” or “our”. I wondered about what that meant.
“Our hair became filled with static. And the power that flowed through us was incredible. But two Guardians were strengthened far beyond the others. Those two were the Sun and the Moon. They even got their own category. Lunarmancy and Solarmancy. Among those two, the Moon was the most chaotic. Not many know this, but the Moon has the most destructive abilities known to man. Anyway, this…gathering, also strengthened our GuardSkills, giving Guardians a variety to unlock. But, going back to the Lunarmancy topic, that strength that the first Moon Guardian Sorcerer had, only shows up a few times in the Moon Guardian line. It looks like it’s showing up in you. What I can’t figure out is why you can’t control it.”
At this, Aaric spoke up. “I know why.” He said. “It’s because of what you are.”
“Whoa bro, are you calling me out on my race?”
“No. You act like such an Earthling. What I mean is, you have too many abilities. You’re a Moon Guardian. That’s a lot of power, but then you’re a Beast Shifter. More power. Then you’re a Hybrid, able to string together two beasts to create the perfect one. You’re beginning to push it. Now you’re affinity to Lunarmancy is threatening to blow you up. Sooner or later, Archer, you’re going to have to give up one of the things that you are. And it’ll hurt.”
Then he faded away, leaving me and Ridge alone. Up ahead, the others were beginning to fall asleep, someone must’ve caved. “Hey,” I asked in a small voice. “Could you stay up and guard them with me.”
“Sure thing.”
We walked over the others, towards a small mound. I sat there and stared at the Sun as it blazed brightly. “Ridge, what exactly can you do?”
He looked at me for a long time before answering. I noticed that he did that a lot. “When I broke out―that’s the term for when a person shows wizard capabilities―I began to shake the earth. I was in the Natural Temple, and an elemental was training me. It was before I became fractured. I was practicing dodging fire bolts when my eyes glowed. My hair turned green and the temple began to crumble. Apparently I screamed something like, ‘The Mancers are back!’ according to the elemental. Before me, some Guardian could call down lightning. Before her, a boy could conjure life energy minions. The Lunarmancer is harder to track though, I think it’s only showed up like three times.”
I sighed and let the breeze cool my nerves. So I was meant to cause destruction? That sucks.
“Archer,” Ridge laughed. “Don’t worry, man. You have friends in the Realm, we won’t let you lose yourself. Now get up, I want to teach you some things.”
I grinned, happy for the reassurance. He led me to a patch of flat grass. We stood a foot from each other and he grasped my right forearm. I did the same to his and we shook each other’s arms. “A warrior’s shake.” He said before backing up.
I mirrored him and asked, “What are we doing?”
The wind picked up and he had to call, “We’re gonna teach you to handle your GuardSkill. I’ll attack you, and you’ll attack me. Don’t worry, I can heal us. Give it all you’ve got!” Suddenly his arms were engulfed in green flame and he charged me.
My first instinct was to grab my Badge. My second was to run. My third was to suck this piece of land dry. I knelt down and grabbed at the grass. Water was sucked from the land from about a two meter radius. I shaped it into a flat sheet, concentrating on causing the molecules to cluster. As Ridge ran, he fired his projectile at me.
The impact was astonishing. I was thrown back, slamming into a hill. But I was unscathed. I quickly got up, glad that the water was still intact. The life energy was attached to it now, and I had an idea. I stuck out my hand, keeping my silver eyes on Ridge’s advancing form. He was no longer running, but walking slowly. Damn, that guy knew how to be terrifying. The water became a sort of plastic bag, enclosing the green fire. I jerked my hand back and began to swing it, the water bag to the same. Just as Ridge began to raise his own hand, I slung the water bag at him. Water splashed all over him, which would have been fine save for the green fire that was burning his clothes. He didn’t seem to feel any pain, and I remembered that water didn’t do anything to me either.
So I gave myself over to the water that drenched him. He began to pull the life energy off like it was a stray dog hair. As odd as it might sound, I spoke to the water. Burn…I whispered. Burn very hot.
But we cannot. It is not in our nature. The water said back to me. I racked my brain, realizing that I’d used the wrong choice of words.
Then I remembered. Boil then.
A scream pulled me out of the conversation. My eyes focused on Ridge. The water was frothing on his clothes, and his skin. I winced and extracted the water from his body, watching as he fell back on his knees. Approaching him, I grimaced. “Sorry, dude. But you said no holding back.”
He glared at me, a mischievous grin on his face. “I also didn’t say we were done.”
Jeez, for someone who was supposed to be extremely reactive, I was a little slow in that moment. Green fire swarmed my vision and a dull pain emitted from my jaw as Ridge uppercutted me into the sky. I landed a few feet away from him, where I laid there, dazed. “Gah!” I hissed as I accidentally touched a blister on my arm. Getting up, I took water from the surrounding land. Anyone looking from above will swear that these are the polka dotted plains by the time that we’re done.
Instead of using the water as a shield, I pulled a Ridge. I let the water encase my legs, instead of my arms though. I began to kick, sending missiles of water in his direction. They were scalding hot too. “Yeah!” I shouted as his green bolt of energy missed. “Suck it!” I knew that watching those Kung Fu Panda movies would pay off. We continued like this for an hour, me doing cartwheels and kicking my water at Ridge, and he punching his life energy at me.
Pandora found us, bleary-eyed and her hair a mess. I’d just found out that I could launch Ridge’s life energy back at him, and one had gone way off course. The missile landed right in front of Pandora and she glared at me, silently fuming. I stopped instantly, right foot raised. Ridge stopped mid-punch as well. “Oops?” I mumbled.
Honestly, I had no idea a girl could get so mad.
In a flash, she was half Enfield and I was reminded of how we met. She propelled herself forward, fox eyes glittering and I barely had enough time to get on my back, and push my legs forward. The water was stripped from my jeans, leaving them dry, but as they sailed through the air and hit their target, they left her soaked. She continued to barrel towards me, and I stretched out my hand, shaping it into a fist. What the…why isn’t it listening?
It was too late for me to try to stop her. She was so close.
“Wait―no―”
I lost my breath as she slammed into me, sending us rolling in the grass. I heard Ridge snickering as Pandora came out on top and decked me. I saw stars, mixed with the amber hue of her eyes. Was it wrong that I was kind of attracted to her too?
“Ow!” I howled and she got off.
Ridge approached us and stuck out a hand. I grabbed it and he hauled me up onto my feet and touched my chest. Life energy stretched across my torso, wounding around my burns and the new black eye that Pan had given me. I glared at her as the wounds faded away.
Sucker. Ridge thought to me and I glanced at him in surprise. The connection was still open? That’d be useful. He healed himself before shaking my hand, grabbing my forearm like before. “That was a lot of fun, Archer. Who knew water could hurt like such a bitch?” Then he walked off, leaving me and Pandora alone.
She glared at me and I glared back, not saying a word. Finally, she spoke.
“You had it coming.”
I blinked, not sure that I heard correctly. “What?” I growled. “Dude, it was a misfire! An accident! You were supposed to be asleep anyway, what woke you? The noise we were making? Is everyone else awake?”
She shook her head and worked her jaw like she was chewing gum. Again I wondered where she was from. She seemed to have a foot in both Earth and The Realm. “No,” said Pandora, “I woke up because of a nightmare.” I softened and gestured to large hill. We climbed it together and I laid back. She sat down and stared at our surroundings, continuing after a little while.
“I’ve honestly been having it for a while.” She admitted. “Before I met you and Elena―err, Ridge. It’s one where I’m in this dark room. A flickering bulb hangs overhead, and a voice calls out from the darkness.”
Listening to the way she says this, I get the feeling that she’s had this dream way too many times.
“It asks me to turn him in. But I tell them no. Then I feel pain, a lot of pain.” Her voice shakes and she closes her eyes. “The voice begins to yell, telling me to turn him in. The pain doesn’t stop and I begin to cry. The room shakes and its yell changes into a full on roar. The pain intensifies and I begin to wish that I’m dead. It asks for names, places, and times. I tell the truth, I tell it that I don’t know and then the darkness recedes. When it does, I’m staring at a girl with dark hair and stone grey eyes. She ages before me until she has blonde hair and golden eyes, just like my brother. She tells me, ‘It is your destiny to know. To end.’ Then I wake up.”
I turned cold. Dark hair, grey eyes? That could be anybody, right? But it could also be Kira… What does she have to do with this? Then I thought about the other thing she said. Blonde hair and golden eyes, just like my brother…Kade.
“Your…your brother?” I croaked.
She looked at me. “Well, not my brother. That’s my brother’s other half. Lucas, my adopted brother, that’s the one I can call my brother. Though, I guess he’s not even that. I was always to the side, Pan Carvet, friend of Lucas and Kaden. It sucked, but whatever. Now I’m out of that nightmare. I’ve denounced that last name and I’ve Jumped back and forth ever since.”
I exhaled, letting out the breath that I didn’t know that I was holding. She wasn’t really related to Kade. That was good. I didn’t know why, but it was good.
“But what worries me is that bit about my destiny. What the hell does that mean? That I’m supposed to know and end?”
I shook my head. “Let me tell you something right now.” I rose, looking at her directly in the eye. “Something that I need you to remember long after all of this crap is over. Ten years from now, when you’re with the love of your life watching Dora with your two year-old, you’ll think about this hilltop and the words that I’m going to say to you: Destiny is a myth. All that nonsense about prophecies and oracles? Bullshit. I just found out that I’m a chaotic time bomb, but who cares? We, as humans―Garal―make our own choices. Any agent of fate and destiny be damned.”
Pandora was crying now, and I smiled nervously. “What are you doin’ that for?”
“I’m older than you, don’t tease me for crying, I have that right.”
Bull, but I stayed silent. We sat there watching the sky until late afternoon when Ridge came and told us that Wren and Kate were awake. I was about to slide down the hill, still deep in thought when Pandora grabbed me. “Wait, what was that about being a chaotic time bomb?”
“Nothin’.” I lied and she let go. I slid down and she followed. When we reached the others, Ridge had turned into a weird dragon-like human, kind of like how Pandora had looked when she’d decked me. “Hey, what’re you doing?” I noticed that Kate had Shifted into a half-wolf. Pandora talked to her for a second before picking up her bag and Shifting too. The bag melted away and so did her shoes. I wondered where the stuff went. Maybe it goes to The Red, like in DC comic books. I thought as Ridge answered.
“We need to get to the oracle, and at the rate we’re going, it’ll take us a month. So we’re all Shifting into our faster personas. Wren has your map, she’ll lead the way.” As soon as he finished he saluted, and then dashed away, dragon feet kicking up clods of dirt as he ran. “Wait!” I yelled, but he didn’t hear me. Wren followed and surpassed him, then Pandora, then Kate. I was left alone, figuring out what to do.
They were quickly becoming dots in the distance, climbing hills and jumping at the top like damn ninjas. Griffin, don’t fail me now. I closed my eyes, and focused on the beast. My muscles grew more defined, my grey Adidas sneakers melted away, replaced by lion feet and claws. I felt my nails curl into talons and my ears elongate into a feathery shape. My hair grew out, paling and turning wispy. Tendrils of platinum and auric feathers and fur flowed from my head to the bottom of my neck. I opened my eyes, which were the blue hue of my eagle and smiled.
Then I crouched down, and pushed off. The speed I reached was astonishing. Stumbling over the grass at first, I sped over the hilly plains, leaping over small mounds as the wind tore at my hair. My ears twitched as bird calls sounded from above. I climbed a high hill and leapt off from the crest, flying high into the sky. “Whooooo!” I shouted over the racing winds as I landed. I ran again, easily catching up to the others. Kate looked at me in astonishment―I guessed my new look was a little creepy. “See ya!”
I zoomed past her, matching Ridge’s speed. He glanced at me and smiled, green scales glittering in the sunlight. Wren glided ahead atop her icy path of awesomeness. “Iceman.” I thought aloud, but my voice was stolen by the wind. She adjusted our course, making us turn left for some reason. Then I saw it. A band of oddly purple and brown bear-like creatures were clustered together. As we veered away from them, I couldn’t help but laugh in wonder. The Realm was so weird, but so cool too!
We ran like this for a while. The Moon had risen, filling me with enough energy to run past Ridge. Then dawn came, painting the night sky with strokes of pink and orange. We slowed as a town came into view. I didn’t change back into a human like the others, but instead I Shifted more, adding silver and brown wings to the ensemble. As we drew closer, we realized that the town was huge. Gates closed it off and I briefly wondered why someone would settle in the plains. Wren jumped town from her icy surfboard and I whispered to Ridge, “Hey, turn into a hot chick.”
He looked at me critically and I made the “hurry up” motion. Better be a good plan, we’re hungry. He thought to me. Then he changed into a girl around our age with a tight skirt and shirt. I really needed to ask how this biomancy thing worked. The gates opened as we reached the town and a man in ridiculously bright clothes and a thick mustache approached us. Guards followed him, but instead of being dressed in armor, they wore tunics.
“Who are you?” he asked, his mustache moving.
“I am Leon,” I announced using my middle name. “Prince of the sky people of the East!” For added effect, I unfurled my wings, surprising him.
“And who are they?” he gestured to the others.
Pointing to Wren, I said, “That is my guard, appointed by the king of Cano. The rest are my harem, they keep me pleased enough.”
Pandora and Kate reddened at this, but moved closer. Pan kissed my neck while Kate wrapped her arms around my waist. I couldn’t help myself from slapping Pandora’s butt―payback for punching me. She yelped, but somehow turned it into a weird moan. “Watch yourself, Lumen. I can and will kill you.” She hissed.
Ridge stood awkwardly to the side, but a glare from the man made him―her―come and kiss me on the mouth. I fought the urge to throw up as he pulled back. Gotta do what you gotta do! He thought to me and I groaned inwardly.
“Are you pleased?” I asked with a strained smile.
He smiled brightly. “Yes! Please, come in! You can use our inn as a place to make love, we haven’t had royalty in such a long time. Food will be delivered.”
I paled as the men led us into the town. The man―who I guessed was the mayor or something, shoved us into a ratty old inn. The owner led us to a large room with a dirty window. “I expect to hear some noise.” He called in a sing-songy voice and I found myself instantly regretting this decision. Kate glared at me. “Really?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I can’t imagine why you’re surprised. This is me we’re talking about here.”
Kate sighed and began to make some weird noises which I instantly recognized. Pan and Ridge joined in, and I felt a familiar pressure. I folded my legs and sighed―puberty sucked. A knock on the door told us that there was food. I quickly took off my shirt and splashed some water on myself. In my half-griffin form, I was more muscular, but not too buff. It was kind of cool. The others got under the blanket, taking off their jackets and doing their best to fit their roles. I opened the door and in came the owner of the inn and the mayor with food in tow.
The mayor’s mustache twitched as he eyed the girls. “It seems as if you are having fun here, Sky Prince Leon. Mind if I take that pretty blonde thing for a spin? I’d bring her back more or less okay, and only for―”
I gave him my deadliest stare, eagle eyes narrowing. “No.”
“But―”
It took all my power not to say, “Bro, I’m going to punch you now.” Instead, I said, “Sir, I said no. You wouldn’t want any trouble with the King of the Sky people, would you?”
He gulped and shook his head, exiting the room. Before the owner left, I told him to bring Wren up. The owner bowed and left too, shutting the door. The girls picked up with the sound for a little while after, then Wren came through the door and took off her cloak. She raised her eyebrows. “Wow, you really know how to sell it.” She took a bite out of one of the steaks and everyone joined. I expected the Ridge to appear, but instead, Dar did. His dull blue eyes met mine and I nodded. He began to eat with us.
I decided to sleep, and the others joined me on the bed. I felt Pandora’s breath stir my hair―I’d Shifted back to normal at some point, putting my shirt back on as well―but it felt kind of nice. We woke up at late morning. Dar was sprawled across my legs and I had to kick him to wake him up.
“How do you suppose we get out of here?” he muttered groggily. I shrugged.
“I have an idea.” Kate said.
☽
Unsurprisingly, that idea involved bolting. We burst out of the other side of the town an hour later, picking up where we left off. Once we were sure that the town was out of sight, we slowed. I walked next to Dar.
“Hey, Dar?” I asked.
He raised his eyebrows, telling me to continue.
“Why do you guys say: ‘Dendromancy, please’ every time you want to use your powers?”
“That’s because we’re fractured. Unlike Kaden Carvet, we don’t have more aspects of ourselves to share, so we share our abilities. If I were to ask for the ability to conjure wood, I’d need my other halves to hand me energy. It’s an odd concept, but it works. You know―”
An arrow whistled through the air, puncturing his head. I snapped into action. Falling on my knees, I sucked the grass dry and built a water dome to protect us. Kate shifted into a full wolf, foam at her mouth as she looked around. Pandora was kneeling next to Dar, and Wren was still. “Pan, is he okay?” I asked. She never got to answer.
A volley of arrows slammed into the solid water. They caused a ripple effect, dozens of them. The sound was deafening. The unseen source continued to fire for about ten minutes. Then I saw them through the water. It was a flickering image, even without the water I’m not sure it would have been easy to make out.
Kids.
Kids at a shooting range, practicing archery.. A kid with red hair and freckles looked at us. “Mrs. Lincoln? Who is that?” he asked an unseen person. I must’ve looked pretty weird to the fifty year-old Mrs. Lincoln, holding up a watery dome and looking at her with confused silver eyes. Then the image faded, replaced with the landscape. I let the water fall back into the earth and turned to the others. They looked at me in confusion, but I thought about what Tern had said―the veil, or whatever, was breaking. Obviously something had gotten through. Or some things.
I looked at Dar and sucked in my breath. He was…crumbling, dull blue eyes fixed on the sky. “Dar…” I whispered in shock as a face appeared from under the crumbling pieces of him. Ridge. He gasped at the air like a fish out of water, jade eyes unseeing for a moment before focusing on me. “He’s dead.” Ridge said dully.
I nodded, confused. He looked at me and smiled softly. “If one of us dies, that doesn’t mean that we all do. Now it’s only me and Elena. Damn, Dar was a soldier, I hope he’s okay in the Void.”
Still shocked, I helped Ridge up. I wasn’t really close to Dar, but the guy died, right when I was talking to him. We moved on, but I picked up the arrow that had killed him and stuck it in the wet dirt. There, the place he died was marked. He was acknowledged.
“We’re close.” Wren said, looking at the map. The map that I’d stolen in the house where I’d met Dar. We stayed quiet after that, walking.
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The photo is how I pictured Archer as a half-griffin. Pretty cool, right? I didn't draw it, its copyrighted to sakimchan on DeviantArt. Anyway, vote, and comment, it means a lot.
This is, by far, my favorite chapter in this story. I loved writing that little spar between Ridge and Archer, but it did kind of suck when I killed Dar. Haha