I introduced our quaint party to Morganna. 847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAtoziv4J4
"Thank you for saving us Morganna. We are truly in your debt," I told her after introductions.
She waved a hand, which I saw that were adorned with quiet a few rings. "Worry not. Those pests are always trying to take over the valley. Quite annoying really. If anything, I should be thanking you three for drawing them all to one convenient location." Morganna motioned for us to come closer. "Come inside, please. It is a bit chilly out here, if you ask me."
So we followed her inside. The room we came into was decorated with a larger, circular planter with small flowers and a strange tree sapling. The bark itself appeared crystalline and was colored a light shade of lavender, and the leaves where so white, it actually hurt to stare at them for too long.
She led us around the planter, and up a ramp into the upper parts of the tower. About halfway up, she took us into what appeared to be a living room, where plush couches surrounded a roaring hearth. Decorating the room were a myriad of bookshelves, paintings, and display cases of mystical objects.
"Make yourselves comfortable," Morganna said. "I'll go and fetch us all some tea." Then, she left us, retreating into the upper portions of the tower.
I shrugged off my bag, my back practically screaming in relief as I set it down in a corner. Next, off came my brown fur coat, where I neatly folded it up and placed it on top of my bag. The other two followed suit.
I moved over to one of the display cases, looking down at what could only be described as an eldritch tome carefully placed within. The leather cover was marked with runic glyphs I could never hope to decipher that glowed a soft violet hue.
"Odd, that a sorceress would live all the way out here," Marius remarked, as he too began to look around.
"Not really," I replied. "This land is mystical, for lack of a better word. It's only natural that a sorcerer would be drawn to such a place." I moved on to look at the next display case, peering at the cluster of vibrant floating crystals held within it's confines. Each was a different color. "Besides," I remarked, unable to tear my gaze from the crystals, "she might know something about the dragon."
"Well," Veran said as he plopped onto the couched. "I sure hope so. Or else this would have been a waste of a trip."
I moved on to the next display case. This one was longer, and had two cushions in it. On each cushion sat the fragment of a dark steel sword. Engraved onto the sides of the fragments were elegant, curving runes. Marius neared.
As he stepped closer, the two pieces of the sword began to quiver. The closer he got, the more they quivered. I stared in awe.
"What the...?" Marius stopped next to me, and began to lean closer to peer at the fragments.
"I've re-" Morganna was cut off by a loud clang of metal as the two pieces snapped together within the display case, blue light exploding from where they conjoined. The room fell into a stunned silence, all of us equally shocked by what we'd just witnessed.
A sharp gasp drew our attention to Morganna. Her eyes were wide, her jaw slack. "You are the ones," she said it, as though she simply couldn't believe what she was seeing. Marius, Veran, and I shared mutually confused glances for a moment.
"What do you mean?" I dared to ask, wary of what was to come next.
"Grindyr, he said a true son of Eion will bring a soul soon to be powerful. I knew I sensed something amiss amongst you three."
Her words reminded me of how to Oracle of Blackbottom greeted me. A soul soon to be powerful? Was that really true? At the time, I had thought it was simply the crazy ramblings of an old prophet.
"Grindyr? And I am no son of Eion's. My father is Emperor Nautilus."
"Please, come sit, we have much to discuss," Morganna said, beckoning Marius and I to the couches. We complied, and Morganna passed us each a saucer with a cup of steaming tea on it.
"Please, explain to us what you're going on about. Who is Grindyr?"
"He is the dragon who sleeps below Lake Voemm. He is my patron, and I stand guard of the lake to assure he remains undisturbed." She gently blew at the surface of her tea, before taking a dainty sip. "Your arrival means the winds of change come again. Soon, our world as we know it will change."
"What do you mean, it's going to change? Metaphorically, or literally?" Veran asked.
"I am unsure. The prophecies that Grindyr borrows from the tapestry of time are always cryptic. He himself does not always understand them."
"You mentioned the son of... Eion?" It was a name unfamiliar to me. I looked at Marius expectantly. He seemed to know who Eion was.
"Eion is the southern god of the storm," Marius explained. He took a sip from his tea, faintly scowling when he took too big of gulp and scalded himself. "To say I am his son, is to imply I'm a demigod, which, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I most certainly am not one."
"But you are," Morganna insisted. She motioned towards the display case which contained the now-merged fragments of the runed sword. "That sword was shattered by your real father and then a spell placed over it. Only in the presence of his children will the pieces of the blade conjoin. Unfortunately, I have not managed to get my hands on the hilt." I had a sense that she was telling the truth, and that shocked me to the core.
I looked at Marius, really looked at him. Marius, the son of a god? It was so strange, to try and view him from that light. In my eyes, he was just Marius. The man who had every opportunity to hurt me, and chose not to. Even if he was only doing so because a crazy old prophet told him I was the key to some obscure destiny.
Marius's brows were deeply furrowed as he tried to process the news that was being delivered to him. After a moment he stood.
"Excuse me, will you? I need a moment," he finally said, before departing to go back to the lower levels of the tower.
"Gods above," Veran muttered. "That explains quite a few weird instances, honestly." He took a sip of his tea.
"Like?" I asked, curious.
"Well, there was one instance, quite some time ago. Marius was a centurion at the time," Veran began. He took another sip, before continuing. "The westerners were storming Alderas. They would have won too, if Marius had not rallied us all in the market district. As we went, a storm had appeared out of no where, and lightning struck down many western combatants. We had thought at the time, that a mage had come to our aid. Only, when the Court of Mysteries was asked who had conjured the storm, so that they may be rewarded for their heroism, they said that it was not them."
"Truly a child of Eion then, to have willed about such a storm unintentionally," Morganna commented. "Such occurrences are rare. Most demigods find out about their nature early in life. It is odd, that Marius did not discover it sooner."
"Do you think his brother and sister are also demigods?" Veran asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Perhaps. But, it is unlikely. The gods do not stay around to take care of the children. They leave it to the mortal parent to look after them."
"That is cruel," I remarked.
"They are gods. As divine as their followers try to make them out to be, they are as fickle as you and I," Morganna said, taking a sip of her tea. "Anyhow. Tomorrow morn, I will take you three to Grindyr. He will be pleased to meet you all." She stood thereafter, preparing to take her leave. "I hope this room will make suitable quarters?"
"It will," I said. "Thank you, Morganna."
"You are welcome," she said, before leaving to retreat back into the upper levels of the tower.
"Quite the woman," Veran remarked dryly. "I suppose the dragon'll be quite as charming." I could detect a hint of sarcasm in his tone.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTofzT2xPC
Mariu's Point of View
After leaving the room, I stepped outside, basking in the cool air. I felt odd, like a stranger in my body.
A small part of me hoped I was being pranked, but I could sense that Morganna was being truthful. And there was no way to explain the feeling I had being near the fragments of that sword. It was like they pulled me in.
It certainly explained why I didn't look anything like my family. They were all fair-haired and brown-eyed, while my hair was black and my eyes as blue as the Bay of Storms.
I sat down on the top step of the small porch of Morganna's tower, looking up at the night sky, and watched the Godrays shimmer across the sky. While my whole world had been turned upside down by this information, it really explained some of the odd occurrences in my life, like the storm that had appeared in the defense of Alderas. Was that Eion's attempt to look out for me?
Then, there was the matter of Grindyr the dragon. What was he going to be like? And how did this mysterious Morganna come into service of the dragon? For, clearly she was. She mentioned that she was the guardian of his lake.
Eventually, I did return to Morganna's living room, where my two companions lay curled on the couches, presumably asleep. I laid out on the last available couch, draping my knees over the arm. Zara rolled over, her eyes wide open. She gave me a small smile.
"Are you okay?" She whisper-yelled, likely in an effort to not wake up Veran.
"Well enough, all things considered. Can't sleep?"
She shook her head. "No. Too anxious, honestly. Are you tired?"
I had the beginnings of what I was sure was going to be an awful headache, but I wasn't all that tired.
"No."
Zara sat up, scooting to one end of the couch she was on. "Stay up with me? As lovely as this place is, it's eerie in the dark." I couldn't help but to chuckle as I pushed myself off the couch, moving over to sit next to her.
"What's so funny?"
"You never struck me as someone afraid of the dark," I replied, leaning into the couch and draping my arm across the back. I turned my gaze to the embers that once was the roaring hearth.
"Well, since you've met me, there were plenty more things to be scared of than the dark." Another wave of guilt rolled over me. I knew that at the beginning, she was absolutely terrified of me, I could see it every time she'd look at me. I couldn't blame her, of course. I was glad that she had learned that she had nothing to fear from me. 847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0M70LRRe3U
"I'm sorry," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.
She waved her hand, almost in a dismissive fashion. "You've said sorry a hundred times. I've already forgiven you."
"I know you have," I began, looking away from the embers of the hearth to her. "I apologize because of how you had to suffer at the hands of my-" I caught myself, unsure if it was still appropriate to even call Nautilus my father, now that I knew the truth. "Of the emperor," I finished.
"Why? It isn't up to you to apologize for his wrongs. We are but pawns to him, like you said."
"I feel guilty by association, I suppose you could say," I explained. It was the best label I could put on it.
"Well, I appreciate your sentiment." She turned her body so that she was facing me, tucking her legs under herself. "It does mean a lot." She leaned her head against my forearm.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDKa1642IP
"I try." After that, I took a moment to glance over my shoulder. The whole back side of the room was lit in an eerie combination of blue and red dim lights, which originated from the floating crystals confined in the display case. They casted long, strange shadows about the room. In a place like this, I couldn't blame her imagination for running wild. For all we knew of magic, anything could be in this tower.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMglAtOGIaQ
"Thank you, Marius," she murmured. "For staying up with me."847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHUhcB7xRe
"It's my pleasure," I replied. After that, we fell into a comfortable silence. Eventually, I did fall asleep.847Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpCvgdZvm2
