5th day of the fifth moon. Year 879.
Writing: Antony, Son of Maximilian
I closed the door behind me, leaving them with what little personal space they could have. I stood silent on the first step, ears stretched to catch even a single word from what they would say, but in vain. The loud, thundering voices of Oswald and Peter were doing an incredibly nice job at covering any other sound in the vicinity, let alone whispers. The lyrics of the song lost among the slurs of their tongue and the laughs of the women. I took a deep breath as I walked down the staircase, hesitantly revealing myself at the others. Peter's song immediately stopped as he saw me, soon the others did so as well.
They had only a few candles lit, a perfect atmosphere fro a gathering of old friends. I almost felt as if I was intruding. "Greetings, I am Antony, the herbalist you summoned" I bowed my head slightly, approaching him further. Oswald laid back on the chair, removing his arm from around Peter's neck. "Antony, I believed you would be sleeping. Thank you for tending to my wounds" He bowed as well, bringing his only arm over to his chest as he did so. Even with one arm, he seemed to be managing himself quite well. "No need to thank me, Peter" I said, sitting down on the floor, leaning my back against the wall. I chuckled, I would not even have considered the thought of doing this a few days back, maybe Nick is rubbing off on me.
"Why would that be?" He asked, the others remained silent. I noticed the presence of Celestine in the room, she was sitting on a bench on the far end of the room, sitting right next to Tess, her arm around Celestine's waist. I returned my eyes to Peter. "Worry not, as a proper man I will request payment for my services though they will be in form of... services as well" I said, eyeing him carefully for a response. Gaia, my heart was beating incredibly fast, how does Nick do this without having a heart attack? "What sort of services are you considering of requesting?" He continued, glancing at Oswald who remained silent.
Tess and Celestine were looking at me carefully, seemingly calm. "Tomorrow" I said abruptly, pausing. "St. Paul's plaza. We have information about a... revelation" I stopped. Peter nodded, "You want me, us, to stop it?" He inquired, leaning forward. "No, it must come to pass" I finished.
Now it seemed Oswald's turn to be intrigued as he leaned forward, eyeing his friend for a second. "Why? There is coin involved if you provide information, let alone take down, any terrorist activity" He said, shifting uneasily. "There is something coming, it will definitely shake the Shepherd and all other clans... and it will shake it rough" I said, my voice was hoarse. I felt sick, my head was spinning and my stomach tight, but I kept talking, my voice changing tones. "There are those powerful who will seek to take advantage of the future weakness of the clan" I paused. My throat felt locked, as if I had been drinking endlessly, yet I continued to speak words that were not my own.
"However, if the people have faith in the one who protects them, the one who abides by the law, then they will stand strong in the face of destruction" I said, my vision blurring, struggling to take a breath. The floor came rushing to me long before I could raise my sluggish arms to protect me. I fell down with a thump and soon everyone was kneeling around me, calling my name. "I am alright, just need a moment to take a breath, is all" I panted, laying down. Gasping, I looked at Oswald's eyes.
Horror.
"What the hell are you?!" He exclaimed, taking a step away from me, the others stared at him in confusion. The throbbing in my head stopped, but the burning in my neck was stil there. "W-what do you mean?" I managed to speak, each word burned hotter in my throat than the other. "I know that voice, her, voice" He barked, frowning, his face contorted. Tess and Celestine helped me up and gave me a stool to sit. The healer offered to take a lok at me, but I shook my head. I felt better, I told her.
"Who's voice? Who are you talking about?" Peter asked, turning to his old friend. No reply, just an empty, cold look. "How can you not rememember" Not a question, but a plea, directed to Tess. Her eyes almost hollow as well, cold. A sigh, then a glance at me. "I remember, too, Oswald" She paused, everyone turning to me. I opened my mouth to talk, but-
Footsteps.
I let out a sigh of relief, looking at Maria as she walked down the staircase slowly. "D-did I do something?" She stuttered, stopping even before her foot touched the floor. The tension was still in the air, I could not say if anyone was breathing. "No, you did nothing wrong" Celetine sighed, sitting down in front of me. Maria moved to the desk near the stairs and watched silently as they all returned their eyes on me. "We all heard that voice and it was not yours" Tess breathed, looking down at Celestine who nodded silently. "I- I felt, as if I was not speaking words of my own" I looked down at my paws, I was shaking badly.
"Tess, Oswald. Explain" Peter ordered, eyeing the two carefully. I was no exclusion to that order, I was sure of it. "We were not lying, that was the proof right there" Oswald pointed at me, his voice shaking more than his hands did. Peter did not speak, his eyes now on Tess. "If we do as she says, thousands, if not millions will die" She said, no, growled. "Who is she?" I demanded. "If you expected a long and painful story, then you are mistaken. She is a deity, or so we believe, Alithia, the Deity of Truth" She spoke, bitterness in her voice. "Do you not believe in, God? Forgive me if I mistaken the name" I relied, tilting my head.
"We do, but both me and Oswald have seen her in person. No evidence against he being real" Tess explained, pointing with her thumb at Oswald who as now sitting back down on the chair. "What you spoke, is it true? That thousands die if her commands are obeyed" I asked, standing up. The burning had disappeared entirely. "These two claim that the slaughters in the Northern Temples are of her doing" Peter stepped in, eyeing them carefully.
The Northern Temples. Legend says that the first of the Astor Clan found the monasteries up in the mountains when they colonized this part of the continent. The monks who inhabited them were of all species, including humans even before they appeared in Astora from the sea. Years after that, the other Clans were formed and it was decided that every Clan had free access to the Monasteries, the Monks had ordered it. That meant that the Northern Temples were the only region in the continent where the other Clans could meet Blunts.
Almost a century ago, that changed. Each and every single Blunt within the monasteries, even Monks, were slaughtered on the spot with no discrimination from men, women or children. The Blunts put up a fight, but.... they lost and the monasteries collapsed from the use of siege weapons issued by the Shepherds and Astora.
"If what you speak is true, then why did she appear through Antony?" The healer asked. Tess snapped at her, narrowing her eyes. "The question is, what will happen if we do as she says" Oswald said, opening his eyes. "I believe... we will only know when the revelation tomorrow takes place" I stood up, looking at them all. "Now I do not believe you are unprepared for this, so you prepare a plan while I talk to Nick. Trust me when I tell you that he will not take it lightly" I said, walking past them towards the staircase, casting Maria a worried look as I left them behind.
Sooner than I left, they had began conversion, planning. I sighed as I pushed open the door to the upper room to find Nick curled around himself in the corner of the room. His chest rising and falling rhythmically. I shook my head. I had read about what happened in Majula after the temple's destruction -that must have been one of the few documents that ever reached the other Clans- and just the sheer numbers of their losses... six thousand Blunts slaughtered as they were escaping and triple that was caught - and killed- on their way back to Majula. Shepherds and the Astora Clan even argued on who took down the most.
"What did they say?" Nick asked, his ears perking up. He was not sleeping after all, unbelievable. "You... would not like to know" I stiffened, sitting on a chair beside him. He sat up and looked at me, "We've had enough bad talks, come on, bring it on" He shrugged, leaning against the wall. I sighed and sat on the floor, setting a few books aside.
So I began, explaining not only what had been said below, but all the thoughts I made on this subject. I told him all I knew about the Northern Temple's destruction, about what that 'Deity' had spoken through me and Oswald and Tess's reaction to it. Nick, as usual, turned out to be the inquisitive type and he was soon talking more than I dared to. Then, the question came. "How did you feel when she spoke through you?" He asked, leaning forward.
I looked up at the ceiling. "I felt as if my throat was burning, there was an intense throbbing in my head and... I felt like...".
"Like your blood was liquid flame" He said, looking at me with eyes widened.
"How-"
"When we-"
"Switched places-"
"I was you"
"And you were me"
We blankly stared at each other, speechless. "What have we stepped into?" He murmured. "I do not have the slightest of ideas" I replied, trying to shake off the surprise. This could have not been a coincidence and now it was certainly not a dream, for we had switched places, bodies, for even a few moments. "What could it mean?" He asked. I shook my head.
"I felt as if I was being drawn out of my body and into yours" He explained, staring at me, his eyes gleaming."I felt like I was leaving my body, willingly" I murmured. Nick leaned back against the wall, whispering inaudibly.
Silence.
The voices of the others downstairs grew louder, was it laughter or was it yelling, I could not tell. "What were you thinking right before we switched places?" He finally spoke. I did not hesitate, the answer was easy, for I had asked the same question to myself. "I wonder what Nick is doing" I quoted. No smirk, no witty comment.
This was serious.
"What were you thinking of before the 'Deity' talked through you?"
Again, silence, but for a harder question. He let me think, playing with strands of his fur on his head. "I... want to say the right thing" I spoke. "So" His eyes closed, head bent down. "Both times, you thought of something and then it became real. The first time, you saw what I was doing, felt it while the second you summoned the Goddess of Truth so that you can speak the right thing" Nick finished, then opened his eyes.
I sighed, "Here I was, believing that I would be of an insignificant role". He frowned, tilting his head, that being a question of it's own. "I have studied magic, thoroughly. There are numerous forms of it, but one stands out" I stood, walking over to the window to stare down at the city. Even in the middle of the night, it was buzzing with life.
Silence.
Nick shifted in his place.
"It has no official name, yet the books title it Willpower"I paused, expecting him to laugh. He did not. He would never stop amazing me. I knelt down, opened my backpack and brought out a book, one I had brought with me for safekeeping. I opened it, knowing exactly what page I would look for and started reading. "It is infinite, needs no catalyst to be used through and needs no spells, no movements... but the mere thinking of the Mage. 'Willpower' forces reality to shape as he wishes, changing the flow of even the most powerful tides" I quoted, shutting the book.
"Are you sure" Not a question, but a statement. He knew I was sure, I was certain. "I have studied this particular form of magic, bought all the books and even searched for users of it. I am aware of the way it can manifest it self, yet it has a trait that cannot be met in any other form of Magic" I swallowed, my throat locking again. The throbbing returned. Nick did not react, his tail moving slightly. "It can change Catalysts when the Mage is either dead or has no other purpose with it".
As if that was all he wanted to hear, Nick stood up and walked towards the door. "Don't say this to anyone, you are our trump card, Antony. Though, I have one question" He said, opening the door.
Silence, even downstairs.
"Do you believe you spoke the right thing when you summoned her?" He asked and without waiting for an answer, he strode downstairs, cheerfully greeting the others. The door closed with a low sound, leaving me alone.
I could not answer his question, this was all so confusing. I was Mage and a powerful one as it seems. This changed everything, literally.
Tomorrow morning we would move, yet no one knew what we would do. If we would let the revelation take place, or prevent it. I had said that the fate of the Clan would be in danger and that those who are Powerful would try to take advantage of it.
Something is coming.
"But what?" I whispered. The Clan I mentioned, maybe it was Gaia... my Clan, my home. That would make sense, yet who could be the powerful who seek it's harm? Astora, yes. There have been tensions between Gaia and them, threatening us with their military for years.
So what could the revelation do? What could a few Humans -whose only enemy was the Shepherd Clan- harm Gaia, or save it? These were questions to be answered tomorrow, what troubled me was The one who abides by the Law. Who could that be? What Law did I speak of? We needed answers, I needed answers and there was nobody other than me and...
"Nick"
I ran downstairs, almost blowing the door off it's hinges. "Nick!" I shouted, jumping down the stairs, landing on top of the healer's desk. They all stared at me, confused, Nick more than the others. "I have a question for you as well" I said, descending from the desk, approaching him carefully.
"She" I pointed at the healer, "Invoked the Law of Mercy and you agreed to it, what did she mean? What are you supposed to do?" I asked, he frowned as if he knew why I was asking that question. He glanced at the healer, Tess, Celestine and then to me. "The next time I can kill someone, I am obligated to show mercy" He spoke.
I nodded, "The one that abides by the law" I quoted my previous words. A shudder went through me. Oswald swallowed, looking at Nick. "So, you are to protect 'the people', whose identity remains a mystery" Tess nodded at Nick. In the meanwhile, Peter pushed the map of the plaza aside. "I believe it is Gaia, the Clan which Alithia spoke through me" I sat on a chair, next to Maria. Tension was rising again.
"What makes you believe that?" Oswald.
"A hunch".
Nobody else spoke, the silence was torturing.
"Will we follow what he said" Tess spoke. Again, not a question. No one answered, for it was not needed.
"Go sleep, to day is the last day before your last" Peter said with a dismissive wave of his hand. We did not disagree, if there was any day that we could sleep then this would be it. Peter allowed me, Nick and Maria to sleep upstairs while the rest would use whatever the ground floor could offer.
I opened the now familiar door and collapsed on the armchair by the corner, not even bothering to take off my jacket. Nick chuckled as he led Maria to the bed, laid her down and then fell on the bed next to her. I had already closed my eyes, but I could hear them whispering to each other for a long time before sleep took us all under it's black, dreamless veil.
(Sorry for the small chapter! 2844 words)