Answers and Violence

Scarlett had only vague memories of being carried to safety by the two strangers, she was so exhausted she kept fading in and out of consciousness. Slight snippet of… flying? And then a warm bed. She awoke hours later to the scent of fresh coffee and cooking bacon. Using the bedsheet as a robe, she stretched and slowly stood up, marvelling at the vine markings that seemed to cover most of her left side. She wandered down a set of wooden stairs to a small kitchen area, seeking the source of those wonderful scents. A young man with short black dreadlocks, bound with blue ribbons sat across the table from the beautiful young woman Scarlett had seen when they'd been assessing her injuries.

The young man stood and smiled broadly at her, Scarlett focused on his eyes which marked him as an angelkin. Her own white eyes narrowed as she looked around the room. "Good morning, Miss. I hope you slept well, how are you feeling?" His cultured voice irritated her.

"I slept well enough, thanks." She pulled her makeshift robe tighter around herself and made eye contact with the woman. "Who are you people and why are you helping me?"

"I'm Isobel," she announced, extending her hand in greeting and smiling when Scarlett accepted it, "That's Sagacious. Honey, get her some coffee and breakfast please?" He nodded and stood, walking to the counter and rummaging for a cup and plate. Scarlett was utterly enchanted by her, by saying so little she was able to tell Scarlett many things about the situation. She was safe, if they'd wanted to hurt her they could have just left her where they'd found her. Also, they were a couple, and Isobel seemed to be the Alpha in the relationship.

"Thank you, Isobel was it? I'm Scarlett." Isobel used her foot to scoot a chair away from the table and motioned for Scarlett to sit. "Thanks again," she sighed grateful as she took a seat. "Why are you helping me? We don't know each other do we?"

Sagacious' resonant voice answered as he set a steaming mug of heavenly coffee down in front of her, followed by a plate of bacon and eggs. "I'm an investigator from the Knights of the Silver Hand, Izzy is a... private consultant who is advising me in your unique case." Scarlett took a sip of beverage, glad that the cup and steam hid her reaction at hearing the Knights mentioned. Was this about Vannevar from back in Westgate? She decided on a different approach.

"I've heard of your order, Ser Knight," she began meekly, "Surely I'm not important enough to have warranted your notice."

Isobel laughed uproariously suddenly. " 'Good Ser Knight' ", her tone was mocking, but still somehow sweet, "If that's your angle Sweetie, I suggest you just eat breakfast and listen to what he has to say." She locked eyes with Scarlett and raised an eyebrow in silent challenge. She knew Scarlett was acting, she was an actress herself.

Sagacious stood behind Isobel and put his hands on her shoulders, murmuring, "Easy, darling, easy," She locked his royal blue and platinum eyes with Scarlett's white ones and nodded earnestly at her. "You were an apprentice of one Maegwynn, recently of Amonthus." His tone indicated this was not a question, he knew the answer. "When she regrettably passed, you fled the city with only Mae's cloak and a few travelling supplies. Is this correct so far, Scarlett?"

Something about the surety in his tone struck her as arrogant. She clenched her fist and imagined punching him in his perfect teeth. "You seem to know it is, Ser Knight." Derision dripped from the title, and Isobel scowled protectively as Scarlett continued, "I had no idea I was famous. Forgive me for asking but, where is this going?"

He again smiled and bowed in deference, "Well Scarlett, my Order sent me to do two things. First of which, I have already completed, and that was to determine the cause of Ser Maegwynn's death." He noted the shock in Scarlett's eyes, "Oh yes, Mae was one of us. Had been for some time. I think she was poisoned by a member of the Black Masks who is still on our trail. So that's one mission accomplished." He paused to reach down and grab a pastry from the table, chewing happily. "My second mission is to secure your safety and find Mae's cloak. Which provides an answer to your earlier query about our motivations in helping you, I hope."

Scarlett's eyes narrowed dangerously. "One of you? Mae was a member of the Silver Hand?"

Sagacious nodded placidly, "Since she found The Cycle, yes." He added, smiling, "She helped teach me a few times, I was heartbroken to hear she passed."

A sneer formed on her crimson lips, "Yeah, me too." She took a sip of the still steaming coffee and munched a piece of bacon. "Well, I hate to disappoint your second objective and cause mission failure or whatever, but," she swallowed and took another bite, "Cloak's gone." She was watching Isobel's face and saw the placid mask cringe slightly.

"What do you mean gone? As in you lost it in the desert?" Sagacious may have been upset, but his tone was still patient and gentle. Gods above and below, Scarlett wanted to slap the smug off his face. But, Mae's voice in her vision had asked her to trust him and listen to him, and so Scarlett endured.

"As in it's gone, wings." She kept eye contact with him and saw his own eyes narrow at the insult. "When I shifted to fly to Memnon, it vanished." She extended her arm and showed off her new markings. "I think it gave me these when it did."

It was Isobel who broke the awkward silence in a honeyed and calm voice. "Scarlett, we really do just want to help. There are others who are after you, thinking you still have the cloak. And possibly even worse than that," Isobel took both of Scarlett's hands in her own, squeezing softly, "The servants of a Mad God who want the power that you might now have on your gorgeous red skin." She patted Scarlett's shoulder and stood up, nodding at Sagacious. "I think there are a few things you need to know, grab your coffee and follow us into the loft?"

Scarlett arched an eyebrow at her mischievously. Isobel laughed and Sagacious blushed furiously, stammering, "No, nothing like that I can assure you. It's where I keep the books." Scarlett chuckled and stood up, still holding Isobel's hand, pouting theatrically.

"She might have a shot, wings. You, not so much." She followed Isobel up the stairs, calling behind her to him, "Go ahead and read me your books, maybe I like a good story? Could improve your odds." She winked. Sagacious sighed in disapproval and followed behind them.

*****

Hours later, they sat on the divans with many open tomes on the low table between them, Sagacious was speaking and gesturing at a large illuminated text in front of Scarlett, who looked like she was trying very hard to pay attention.

"You see Scarlett," he began, sounding for all the world like a university professor, "About five centuries ago, magic was still raw and surging here on Arbre. Belief and power could create new Gods and replace old ones. All that chaos culminated in the event we call The Emergence. New Gods ascended, old ones fell, et cetera." He paused to tap the page in front of Scarlett which depicted an Elven man in great robes, holding what looked like a ball of lightning in his hand. "That is the fallen Elven king, Annatar Liadon. He wrested power from the Fae courts and broke every pact the Elven people had made with them, crowning himself absolute monarch."

Scarlett nodded, everyone in Arbre knew this story. "And then he started his crusade against the Old Vaelian Empire, butchering humans and their allies alike. Yes, yes, I know this. Where is this going?"

"Well Scarlett," Sagacious began conspiratorially, "What's not known is what happened in Vael when everything happened. "The new Goddesses of Nature, The Mother, and of Fate; Mercy, banished Annatar and his loyal followers. Annatar to the Astral plane and his people were cast into exile from the Elven Isles. This was the Sundering. The destruction of the city was the result of a group of heroes and New Godlings coming together to stop the invasion of the Sheeda and their hordes of terror. Annatar fought alongside the heroes and ascended to Godhood only when that threat was stopped."

"Wait. He helped save the world?" Scarlett was confused.

"He did. Why, nobody knows. Could it be that he realized that if the world was destroyed, his people would be too? Some folks say it was because he loved Mercy and The Mother? Either way, they couldn't bring themselves to destroy him in the aftermath. And so they banished him." Sagacious turned the page, and revealed an image of that same elven man holding a long tapestry in his right hand, a mighty blade in the other.

"He lashed out with his newfound powers, fueled by betrayal and rage." Sagacious tapped the page, "He severed the tapestry of Fate from Mercy's hands, sundering it and wounding her for eternity."

Silence fell over the table. Scarlett was the first to break it irreverently. "What a dick." Isobel stifled a giggle. "What does this have to do with me and with Mae's cloak?"

Sagacious stared at her coldly, shaking his head. "Are you trying to provoke a reaction from me? This is history. It happened, why would I get upset about it? The Emergence's wild magics also created the devilkin and angelkin, you know." She opened her mouth to reply smartly, but Isobel interrupted by holding up her hands in surrender.

"You two have been sniping at each other for hours and I'm thrice sick of it!" She stood, pointing at Sagacious, "You asked me along to talk to her, to get her to listen to you. My brain aches from your lesson, but she listened." He opened his mouth to offer a rebuttal but she cut him off. "You talked. Now shush."

Scarlett smiled and was about to laugh at his hurt and shocked expression when Isobel whirled on her.

"And you. Shut up right fucking now. This man," she gestured at Sagacious, "Has seen and fought worse things than you could imagine. You don't like him because he's an angelkin, that's fine. But he's the one who found you, who saved your ass out in the desert, so you WILL show some common fucking respect and at least be civil." Isobel's cheeks were red and she was clearly not in the mood for a smart reply. Scarlett held her hands up in surrender and sat back in her chair.

"Right. So, as Sagacious just explained, that all actually happened," Isobel pointed at the book again, "And the great Tapestry of Fate was severed. The loose end was lost to the Chaos of the Emergence, becoming something… else. The other end was a fine piece of cloth, passed down to Mercy's worshippers for three centuries. Until it went missing, records were bad back then. Someone or something stole it. It was eventually found far to the west in Valais, up for auction as an antiquity. Mae acquired it for us then, and has been tasked with its protection ever since."

Understanding dawned slowly on Scarlett. "The cloak..." She whispered.

"Exactly that. Fate itself, given physical form. In the hands of someone who could read it, they could alter the fates of everyone and everything around them. Imagine that kind of power. That was why Mae hid it, and protected it. Imagine what the Masks would do with that kind of power, dedicated to the Mad King Annatar as they are."

Sagacious looked at her and smiled honestly, offering peace. "He is, as you say, a Dick. King dick." He turned the page and revealed an illustration of Annatar in his Godly form, crushing a small representation of Arbre in his hand. "He would be master of all Fate as well. The world would be doomed."

Scarlett exhaled slowly and loudly, nodding. "What happened to the severed part? The part that vanished?"

Sagacious made a sad face and shook his head. "It contained much of the Mad King's story, which was why he cut it away. Like all stories, it took on a life of its own over time. Powered by madness and death, it searches eternally for its other half. Killing and destroying in its wake. I take it by the pale and terrified look on your face, you know what I mean."

Scarlett could only nod silently.

"It's become essentially a living piece of Annatar. A personification of his hate and lust for revenge against those who he perceived betrayed him. Mercy, The Mother, all of the Elves who cast him out. All humanity for what he sees as righteous vengeance."

Scarlet looked at the markings on her arm, shook her head slowly. "So now, if the cloak merged with me? It's going to be coming for me, isn't it? Again I mean." Sagacious nodded sadly in reply.

"We have to go, then! Somewhere we can get these removed! Somewhere safe!" Panic welled up, trauma long ignored bubbled to the surface. Isobel got up and sat beside Scarlett, attempting to calm and comfort her. Sagacious nodded and closed the book.

"Yes, I think so too. We need to take you to Caer Ashwynn, to see the Elven Queen. They may be able to help us." He then narrowed his eyes and leapt to his feet. "I smell smoke. Something tripped the perimeter wards."

Scarlett and Isobel could also smell smoke strongly now, and could see it snaking up from between the floorboards. A thunderous crash emerged from downstairs, as if something heavy had smashed the front door open. A thin silver wand appeared in Sagacious' hand and his wings flashed into blazing existence, drawing protectively around the two ladies. Isobel drew a delicate three edged dagger from somewhere in her outfit and murmured to Scarlett softly, "This is what we do, stay close, do what he tells you, we'll get out of this."