Endings and New Beginnings

Darruk led the two ladies through the tall greenery towards the river, ahead of them by about ten feet. He did seem to know where he was going, so Scarlett and Queen Thia followed quietly behind him, eyes searching the grass and the horizon for any signs of movement. The wildlife had become strangely silent, only the sound of the wind sighing through the grass could be heard. A smell of rotting flesh and vegetation began to be carried on the breeze, Thia wrinkled her nose and gestured to Scarlett, who nodded in understanding; The enemy was close.

Darruk suddenly froze mid-step, holding up a meaty hand behind him. "She close", he rumbled ominously. His good eye searched all about him, his good hand clenched into a fist. A wave of humid heat exploded from the ground beneath his feet, the overpowering scent of carrion and rot making all three of them gag. Darruk's huge form rolled to one side, avoiding any real damage, but he ended up laying on his back before the terrifying form of Ciara.

Buoyed into the air by a whirling cloud of necrotic energy, she began to cackle and laugh as she watched Scarlett cling to Thia. Very little of her mortal form remained, muscles, tendons and bone all visible, her jaw hung at a weird angle, displaying a may full of blackened and rotting teeth. Viscous black spittle oozed from between the gaps in her maw and droplets began to join the whirling maelstrom of death that surrounded her. Her voice sounded hollow and otherworldly as the power distorted it.

"I told you I would come for you, my love." Her attention seemed to be focused on Scarlett, and she felt the voice deep within her chest. "We have been apart for too long…" A decayed limb reached up and extended bony fingers towards Scarlett, "You cannot escape me."

Darruk recovered from his fall and scrambled over to stand in front of his Queen protectively. Scarlett simply looked up and smiled at her counterpart serenely, her mind trying to stay calm and focused on what she knew she had to do. It was not time yet, she knew, and so she had to delay the creature before her just a bit longer. She closed her eyes and allowed the other presence within her to take control, she had to trust that it knew what it was doing.

"We should never have been separated, my brother." Scarlett's own voice was strange, vibrating with power and potential. She could see everything and hear everything, but she had no control of herself. "Our Father lashed out in his blind hatred, it was his hand that sentenced us to this fate. As his hatred sentenced so many of his own people. I am so sorry my brother, I should never have run from you." Scarlett reached a crimson hand, palm up, towards her counterpart. She felt the presence of Everon within her, could feel all that *it* was thinking and feeling. It was frightened but resolute.

"Everon." A woman's voice seemed to emerge from the very air around them moments before Scarlett's hand could reach Ciara's. "That is enough." From the vapors of magic all around them, a feminine form coalesced into being. Clad all in grey, the figure seemed human, stood average height, was in every way unremarkable. In the years after, Scarlett would often attempt to remember what she looked like, but the details always vanished from her memory, just out of reach. The figure stood between Scarlett and Ciara, her form blocking one from reaching the other. She heard the disembodied voice of Everon emerge from her mouth, "Hello, mother. We wondered if you would intercede."

Mercy, the Divine embodiment of Fate in Arbre, stood before her children. Scarlett was unable to speak, even Thia seemed stunned into silence. The grey clad figure turned towards the Queen of the Elves and spoke softly. "Thia, it's wonderful to see you once more. I have missed you." Darruk rose to his full height and stood protectively in front of the Elven Queen. Thia shook her head sadly and stared in wonder.

"It's been a long time, Mercy. Ser Darruk, please stand down. She and I are old friends." Thia's voice was placating and calm.

"Is that what we are, Thia? Five centuries gone by, not a word, not a single prayer." Mercy's tone was edged with some deep seeded anger and sarcasm. She locked eyes with Thia and continued, "What you and Shaylee did was wrong, Thia. And in your communal shame, you pretended I didn't exist, did you best to ignore me. And him."

The Queen's eyes grew steely and cold as she replied calmly, "I simply had nothing to say to you. Everything that happened that day has brought us all here, to this place in time." She smiled a bit, "I would think you above all know we are bound to the Fate we must walk." Mercy returned the glare and turned her back on Thia deliberately.

"As usual, you simplify things, old friend. Too simple." Mercy's voice was sad as she addressed Ciara, who stood held in place before the Goddess of Fate. "Who are you, little godling?"

Ciara's form rattled and convulsed, held fast by Mercy's magic. "I am death given form! I am the Storm! I am Entropy and Decay! And you will not stop us from consuming everything in my hate, Mother!" The power that held Ciara together pulsed and pushed against its constraints. Mercy looked grimly at her and sighed sadly, turning to address Scarlett.

"And you, Everon? You know who and what you are now, this mortal whose body you share cannot withstand your power for much longer. Are you prepared to live with what must now happen?"

Scarlett raised a hand to her nose, it came away covered in black blood which glittered with flecks of green energy. She was dying, she could feel it, was being burnt up from the inside by divine elemental power. Mortals were not meant to hold Gods for this long. How she understood this she didn't know, it simply was the truth. The bleed through of Everon's memories and thoughts was quite literally washing her own away. Her own distorted voice answered Mercy, as if underwater.

"Father broke us in twain with his hate, let love return us."

Mercy nodded, behind her she heard Thia gasp. The body of Scarlett began to glow intensely green, the vines and tattoos that had marked her began to writhe and grow towards the form of Ciara.

"Who are you to forgive me?" Ciara screeched, or rather, the divine embodiment of Annatar's hate which now controlled the shattered remains of Ciara did. "I'll kill everything! I'll murder your very souls!" She began to trash more violently as the radiance of Scarlett's form began to suffuse and fill her own power, vines intermingling with Ciara's limbs and climbing to encircle and hold her form.

"You are naught but a little piece of your Father's hate, given form and then broken by that same power." Mercy pronounced coldly towards Ciara. "And you lash out like a wounded beast in your rage. You would destroy everything in your blind hate, and far too many have suffered for his madness already." A silver three edged dagger appeared in her delicate hand. "I am so sorry, my son. I wanted you to grow up free from his hate, and so I hid you both. It was wrong, as was the punishment your Father suffered, I was wrong." She looked at Thia and shook her head sadly. "We should have killed him then." She sadly shook her head and raised the knife, "So that the Garden may Grow…" she began ominously.

Seizing the momentary distraction, Ciara broke free of her constraints and streaked towards Mercy, hands outstretched murderously. Thia could do nothing but watch as the Goddess of Fate stood, arms outstretched as if accepting her own Fate. Scarlett screamed, also unable to move or interfere.

It was Darruk, Knight of the Elven realm who saved everyone. With blinding speed, he shouldered the form of Mercy to one side and enveloped Ciara in a gigantic bear hug, throwing them both into the great river. Her screams of rage were soon all anyone could hear as Scarlett stepped forward, willing the entity within her to do what it felt it had to. She threw her head back and screamed in pain as the power that was Everon surged out of her like a raging current. Emerald energy exploded outward as it reached towards the tangled forms of Darruk and Ciara, driving them both deeper into the raging current.

Despite the chaos all around Darruk looked at the slumped form of Scarlett and laughed happily. She was alive, his debt was repaid. He could feel the cold water entering his now mortal lungs, felt the body of Ciara stop thrashing and go limp in his grip. He squeezed and shattered it to pieces beneath the waves, even as his vision began to blur and darken.

Scarlett's own vision began to blur, tinged with crimson, as she felt the power of Everon leave her and flow into the great river. "Goodbye…" she whispered as she watched the power dissipate into the water. Thia ran to her side, tears streaming down her perfect cheeks. Scarlett looked up at her and tried to smile, coughing a gout of crimson blood when she did so.

"Oh, Scarlett, no. Not you too." Thia wept, gently wiping the blood away from Scarlett's face.

"It's… it's okay, Thia. There's no pain." Tears began to flow freely down Scarlett's cheeks. "I always felt like I didn't belong. Wasn't really a boy, could never be what I felt inside, never belonged anywhere." Her voice grew quieter, becoming a low whisper. "But I know now. I belong here. Don't cry, please." Her hand rose and touched Thia's cheek before falling limply to the grass.

The sounds of the wildlife returned en masse as the animals here all raised their faces to the sky in a mournful song. Thia's vision, already blurred with tears, began to swim once more, the shattered remains of the temple they had been in returned. The frail Queen soon tended to by her golden son, and Sagacious ran to the fallen form of Scarlett. Perhaps ten feet away, the still and smiling form of Darruk lay as if in a restful sleep as silence settled upon the scene. Queen Thia's restrained sobs were the only sound to be heard.

Suddenly a wind began to rustle the grass and trees, and the birds all began to sing excitedly. A scent of fresh grass and water began to surround the area and a gentle spring rain began to fall. Darruk sat up with a start and coughed up about a gallon of water suddenly, his movement startling both Thia and Prince Tuara.

Sagacious smiled and watched as the rain began to wash away the blood from Scarlett's delicate face, and in his amazement, he watched the vine and flower tattoos wash away as well. The wind again sighed around them, this time they all heard very clearly, Mercy's voice. "Your Fate is once more your own, Scarlett. As is your life. Make of it what you will, we will not meet again."

The wind vanished as quickly as it had begun, and Scarlett sat up looking at Sagacious strangely.

"I still hate you, wings." She smiled at him as she spoke. Darruk was suddenly at her side, helping her to her feet. "But I owe you one, I guess, so we'll let it go."

Sagacious stared at her for a long while and began to laugh, Scarlett joining in after a few moments.