Hello, hello, hello Another day another chapter, 2955 words that's the most I've ever written, I think this is my favorite chapter as well. to me, Delphi's character development since the first chapter has grown a lot but that's just me.
Hope ya'll enjoy and leave a comment and like... Love ya'll!
Though I have seen all of this before, it's like my mind suddenly becomes clouded, so As soon as the fog clears, I immediately know where we are, the smell the familiarity this is Scotland, and we're home...
The boat gets pushed by the waves into a cave system that leads up o the surface or cliffside. Seeing as the tide will flood this cave, we head for the higher ground as it starts to rain, making my hair frizzy and puff up; we make it to a cliff where you look up, you would see the castle above us. I remember spending time here, meditating before battles trying to hone my visions. Demona started to teach me magic a little telling me I was going to be her apprentice.
"Delphi," I hear. Seeing everyone begin to scale the cliffside, I shake my head, snapping out of it, following them to the surface. I hear Goliath gasp him obviously seeing a flashback or memory or something, but all I see is the empty spot where Xanatos stole our castle right on the edge of the cliff. "Damn" is all I can say. This is the place where our lives were ripped from us. I'll see how far in the land is in 1000 years nothing has necessarily changed except all the people are the citizens are the nobles they're all gone.
Now pressure in my head starts back home instead of a typical headache, more of a huge annoyance, but I push down the pain; I just put it as pressure and stress.
"so this is where our clan lived. What was over there?" angela asks, looking over to our right, seeing the rookery making me smile, "it's the rookery."
"Delphi and I were hatched here, of course, with our separate brothers and sisters," He says
"Angela, you and the rookery children were but eggs when Princess Katherine and the Magus took you from this place. It was here that I knew your guardian, Tom, but when he was a lad."
"Brooklyn and the others were in the rookery during the..."I stop myself. "I was in the weaponry finding out too late about the deception," I say, crossing my arms.
"It must have been beautiful," angela says, making me smile. "It was"
"Seer," I hear, making me look around frantically. "Come to me."
"Goliath, Delphi, what's wrong?" Elisa aks before the tree right above the rockery gets struck by lighting. I cover Elisa with my wings to protect her before more thunder goes off. Goliath leads us to some caves nearby, making frown as we walk in. "The archmage made what we thought was his final stand in the labyrinth beneath this cave. Delphi was but a young hatching at the time."
"The Vikings camped hear the night they attacked our home" I saw anger coming out in my voice "And shattered our clan" Goliath throws an old rusted ax that he found in the ground."
"On yon cliff, I had to choose between life and revenge" goliath looks to Angela, now glancing at me for I was also there that night. "I chose to save princess Katharine. Thus Hakon and the Captain of the guard Fell to their deaths, But not at my hands," he finishes making me growl, my eyes glowing red as I punch the wall. "He betrayed us, the one human we trusted the most, he got to die while we still had to suffer." Elisa pulls me away and hugs me making tears run down my eyes a little as Angela points out,
"You chose right Goliath. Without the princess to save us, my rookery kin and I would have never been hatched."
"Still, we wanted Revenge," he says, putting a hand on my shoulder as I nod.
"It was not supposed to be this way, I hear" in my head, making me hold it. "He's the one you want. He's the one that shattered them!"
"Princess!" Goliath says, making me see him react the same way but a little bit more on edge.
"Bronx Seems to sense something," Angela says as they run to the hieroglyphics. Whoever this is, they're trying to get into our heads. Goliath seems to have a weaker mind than I do, but I won't handle much of this either.
Goliath has another vision or flashback, making Elisa question him, but he lies and walks towards the exit.
"He's not telling the truth," Angela says. "This place is full of bad memories. Old wounds bleed as bright as new ones sometimes," Elisa says, "you have no idea," I say, making them look at me.
"The night before the attack, Goliath took Hudson to the forest to scare the Vikings away. This was but a plan to get the gargoyles away from the castle. The plan went wrong for Demona and the Captain of the guard" I saw looking down "If I had acted on my visions sooner, everyone would be alive today, the piles of stone around the castle I.." I can't even finish shaking my head as we walk to the entrance
"Goliath, we don't have to stay here. The storms dying. We can go somewhere else".
"Perpahs, your right," he says, looking out, making me nod my head. "Too much of the past is still alive here."
We begin to walk out of the turning around seeing Hakon and the Captain making Goliath, and I gasp, pulling out my boi staff, my eyes going red while Goliath charges them, grabbing them by the shirt slamming them into the cliff. I shake my head, seeing Elisa and Angela putting my boi staff away and running to them, but before I could stop them, Bronx knocks Goliath to the ground. Hearing Hakon's voice in and out, I see a flash of a hammer coming down on stone hearing the bank hearing a cry, my hand immediately falls to the wall I can hold myself up.
I look up, seeing Goliath run back towards the cave, "Screaming your in danger from me."Angela stands me back up. "Delphi, are you alright" "something is trying to mess with us," I tell her. "Keep seeing ghosts and old memories." "
C'mon, we have to go, help Goliath," Elisa says as we run after him.
"Goliath, stop," she yells as we continue to run and follow him.
I ran ahead to find him seeing the old Caves that Brooklyn and the boys and I would explore.
"Delphi, Join us," I hear, turning around, "Brooklyn?!"
I see Brooklyn and a couple more of my fallen clan. "Join us, don't abandon us again."
"No, please stop," I yell, croaking down, holding my ears.
"Delphi, whatever you're seeing, it's not real," Angela says, helping me back up and snapping out of it following Goliath; we slowly make our way across the small ledge looking down the fissure.
"If he falls, can you follow? Elisa asks both Angela and me, making me glance at her. "This fissure may be too narrow to glide in."
"Most definitely," I tell them.
"He could be killed if he falls," Angela says, making me nod and slightly gulp because I might fall as well if I have another attack.
Goliath starts to fall back, but Bronx grabs his wrist with his mouth while Angela, Elisa, and I grab his left arm, trying to pull him up. "Murder!" "killer!" "Betrayer," I hear, seeing myself hold up Hakon and the Captain, making me gasp, letting go. But they hold onto my arm pushing the others away, making us start to fall screaming.
I look and now see Goliath, who is still screaming as we hit and bump into every rock on the way down.
Goliath and I manage to grab onto a ledge and pull ourselves up, but at this point, the two of us are exhausted, our wings drooping slightly. "Goliath, where did you drag us?" I question, making him give me a look slightly.
We enter a vast open room with stagged rocks surrounding the ceiling and floor with a stage structure in the center with words written on them in Latin, but I can not read them. Suddenly the words start to glow purple the rocks from above fall to the ground and become stone gargoyles if you would say.
"No, it's impossible," Goliath says, backing up, and I back up behind him slightly. "Are they suppose to be our clan?" I asks with Goliath nodding.
"Goliath, Delphi, you Destroyed our clan, now you will pay!" they say together as a group creeping me the fuck out. "Death to Goliath, Death to Delphi"
"you're wrong; we tried to save you," Goliath says, making my heartbreak.
Two gargoyles grab both of us, each lifting us, saying we betrayed them before slamming us into the ground, making me cough, trying to catch my breath.
I grab my boi staff, my body aching as these stone creatures start to surround us; they begin tossing Goliath around while I try to keep them away from me. One grabs my staff throwing it before grabbing me and throwing me against the wall, hearing a rib crack, making me scream, holding my side.
"Now we will have our revenge," they say more of the purple words on the structure glow feeling the energy and magic radiating from it.
They each throw Goliath and I back on the stairs if the structure still holding my side We groan, standing up, Our bodies and minds in pain. "Goliath, we have to get out of here, or it won't be good," I tell him, both of us out of breath.
We both look up, seeing Demona and Brooklyn making me widen our eyes. "After all these centuries, we meet again."
"Please, no, no," Goliath says, but I put my hand on his arm "Goliath, look, We know they are both alive; this can't be real. We just saw Demona, and we know Brooklyn is with the others in manhattan.
"We bring you a gift, Goliath and Delphi," Both Demona and Brooklyn say, "The same gift you granted us."
"Oblivion," they say together, giving me chills. "That's just fucking creepy." "
None of you are real!" Goliath yells, making all the statues start to crumble, making me let out a sigh of relief.
Grabbing my Boi staff from the ground, we see Hakon's shadows or figures and the Captain.
"It doesn't matter. Neither of you will leave this cavern alive," Hakon says as I use my staff as a crutch to lean on. "Or Dead for that matter."
"The two of you.. fell to your doom the night of the raid," Goliath says
"Ay,e in fact, 10 times 100 years, our spirits have languished in this stinking hole," The Capitan says, getting closer to us, but I pull Goliath back to keep distance because of Covid and everything, just kidding but that will happen.
"Perhaps, it was the magic in this place, or maybe just the strength of our hatred for the two of you that kept us here.
"As much as we hated each other, we hated the two of you a thousand times more."
"You sent us to our deaths, and now you'll help us live again."
"you blabbering fools. Even in death, you can't see the truth. All of this is your fault. You fell off the cliff because you two had started fighting each other," I say matter of fact. "If you hadn't even attacked the castle, then this wouldn't have had happened."
The Captain looks at me though considering what I said, but Hakon ignores me and points to the structure of the purple text, now looking ecstatic, making a weird noise-making my stomach sink. "Goliath, we have to leave"
It's too late though, pain erupts throughout our bodies, making us groan. I fall against the ground, my staff clanking against it.
"The magic will drain your life force and replenish ours," the Captain says, making us angry "You don't deserve a second chance at life for the horror you caused.""Your deaths were not our doing," Goliath says, leaning against the steps, "Don't remember, our clan was betrayed by you!"
"I never wanted that," Captian says, making me look at him. "Then why would you do it? You couldn't possibly think we'd leave our home".
I scream, feeling the power course through the structure draining out of me. I can't go like this, being stuck n this cave or all of eternity. I never got to say goodbye to Brooklyn. We were supposed to lead the clan and be together.
"I feel it, I can feel it," Hakon says, touching the structure as I gather my strength and try to move towards him.
"After all these centuries, I can feel again." Hakon looking for concrete and alive, runs at Goliath, pushing him around. "I have dreamed of doing this for a millennium." Feeling arms helping me up, I look and see the Captain.
"Please, Captian, we trusted you. You were our friend," I say, looking at my hands. The grey you see now is a translucent color seeing the ground underneath.
Hearing the structure give off an electric sound, I know we don't have much time left.
"It is almost complete. We'll be free. You both will haunt this pit till the end of time," Hakon says, grinning.
"He was your enemy, don't let history repeat itself, I say, slumping to the ground against the rocks, the energy I had left me. Goliath runs through Hakon but falls against the ground going through him, making Hakon laugh, which is a laugh I've heard in my nightmares way too many times.
"What good is life, without honor," Goliath says, looking at the Capitan then me making the Captian shake his head.
"No, I can't let this happen again," the Captain proclaims, running at Hakon, pushing him into the light of the structure.
"You've broken the light of power, you fool," Hakon says as they start to fight, struggling against each other, the color in my hands returning, making me let out a breath.
"Goliath, Delphi," We hear behind us, Elisa running to Goliath and Angela helping me up. "Your Both alive, thank god." The power coming from the structure is too great, making us step back.
"We've hated Goliath and Delphi for a thousand years."
"Nay! I hated myself for Betraying them both!" the two continue to wrestle, neither one getting the upper hand, making me wish I could help in some way.
"Now, I've been given a chance to atone."
"Guys, what is this" Elisa asks, making me look at her as my hair flies behind me, holding my ribs, remembering them.
"We need to get back," Goliath says. "It's gonna explode," I say after us running to the exit.
With a bright light, the structure crumbles, the power finally diminishing, letting me breathe a bit better since coming here.
"There were two men in there," Angela tells us. "They couldn't have survived that," Elisa adds.
"Wouldn't be the first time," I add, making me smile and Goliath giving me a look.
"who were they," She asks, looking at us, my sadness showing now. "One enemy and one friend," I tell her, making Goliath nod.
A bright light suddenly forms, making us step back, then seeing the Captian form, making me smile as he looks so happy and healthy, but also youthful again.
"Thank you, Seer. You have helped me break the shackles of hate and guilt that has held me here". The man says, looking directly at me. "Farwell, my old friends."
The light shoots up the sky or the ceiling, making me smile, tears running down my face.
"I have a feeling this is gonna be a long story," Elisa says, looking at me. "Yes, centuries-long," Goliath says, "Let us leave this place," turning around.
"Thank God," I say, making Elisa laugh. Once we make it to the surface and the entrance to the cave, Elisa decides to speak up "I thought you were both losing your mind, But now that I've heard this story"
"What do you think happened to Hakon?" Angela asks, making me look behind me at the cave. "He has made his fate, Angela, whatever it might be," Goliath tells her, but I have to add.
"Hakon will remain forever surrounded in his own hate and guilt. for what he has done, this is a minor punishment for him." Goliath looks at me now, "Delphi, I'm so proud of you, letting go of the hate and revenge to atone to the Captain."
I hug him as he wraps his arms around me, and I close my eyes getting a fatherly hug "the guilt and hate have been eating me alive since that night. I think I can finally let go of the past and forgive not only him but myself as well".
The sun comes up, and Goliath, Angela, And Bronx get in a resting position turning to stone. Elisa and I make ourselves comfortable, letting my body and mind rest finally so I can heal.
"The capital was talking to you directly where ya'll close?" Elisa asks me as I look at her.
"the Captain was like a father to me. When he betrayed us, I felt like a part of me had died. Now knowing he is in a better place and had atoned for what he has done, I feel almost whole again." The guilt and shame that I had felt for myself is still there, but I'm not going to let it control my life anymore. Avalon sent us here not only to save the Captain but myself.
I finally forgive myself for what happened and can finally move on.