Keep Friends Close, Your enemies Even Closer

As Edýia told her tale of the man, she and Haren had stumbled upon in the woods on their way to the castle. Iris silently listened, tying the loose ends together. Despite the lack of detail in Edýia tale, things began to make sense.

" And then he faded into nothingness, just a pile of dust remained behind and a book. He said to tell you the story and that you would understand. " Edýia finished her story and stood up from the chair.

" Where is the book?" she hurriedly asked before Edýia could leave.

" Haren has it. But when we arrived, he was preoccupied with eyeing your gifts and probably forgot his name in those moments." Edýia wickedly smiled and began making her way towards the door.

" We will find Haren! Remember, we will be leaving at first light. Best you get some rest." Iris smiled. Her voice was smooth as silk.

Edýia nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door with a click.

" Interesting. So, what do you make of it?" Ian inquisitively asked, leaning back in the wicker chair.

"It's simple. Seth stole the power from someone else. He perverted it and bound us to it, and the witch is the woman in the story, our first ancestor. Seth was her father and lover." she grimaced, repulsed by the thought.

" I guess Bastos was right when he said that Seth was a bastard. Now many things make sense. Clearly, she wasn't being delusional when she walked into the yard not long ago and said that the power is rightly hers. Now, what do we do? Albeit useful, it still hasn't offered a solution on how to make things right. The people that he stole the power from no longer exist, and if you are right, Ellora is nothing more than a ruin, a shadow of what once was. The question is, is there anything to be restored or If Arkathira still exists? Where have the creatures come from? Or everyone is chasing something that has self-destructed and, in the process, brought chaos in the realm." Ian voiced his thoughts out loud.

" If he has perverted the Source, as Bastos called it, then that means that the remaining souls trapped in it would have caught form. No one likes to be locked up. Angry, resentful souls have turned into something else. I think the source still exists. I could feel it while I was in there, I didn't know what it was at the time, but it was there. If Arkathira had self-destructed, the realm would have been completely wiped out of existence, but it's still there. We just have to restore the balance. The book that he left behind is the key to restoring balance. He said that the book belonged to his people, which, means he had all the information that we needed. The gate up north is a gate to Ellora, and I'm confident it opened when I closed this one here. The power couldn't be contained and pierced the veil between realms. The magic is leaking in this realm. It has for gods only know for how long. " she calmly stated, slumping on the chair.

" Will gather everyone around. We have to speak with the others. Telling the truth is the only valid option we have right now. We can no longer hide things. I think, at this point, I can consider myself foolish enough to have trusted Seth or whatever his name was." she grew angry and unsettled as the topic drifted towards Seth.

Ian took her hands in his "We did what we thought was best at the time. With a bit of help, we might survive this. I'm here. Everyone is here, so stop worrying. We will figure things out. I will go find the others and will all gather in the throne hall before dinner." Ian said and stood up, kissed her forehead and left the room.

Iris puffed her cheeks, frustrated at herself for failing to see what was right in front of her eyes. Trusting Seth was a mistake, and the cost she paid was high and not worth it. Now they had a son with the power to instantly leave anyone lifeless with one single touch just because Seth wanted to have the upper hand. She felt used and abused. No wonder Ian couldn't stand the sight of him. He was a constant reminder that they put their faith in a cunning man, an evil man.

Iris sighed and glanced out the window at the dimming light of the afternoon, stood up from her chair, and entered the bathing chamber.