Forest Outside the Dancing Winds Palace
The moon was high in the sky, and the wind gently rustled the trees but no creature moved. The shadows were thick and almost physical barriers to motion like water under pressure. Ravens and crows, beautiful black birds lit on trees and flew in lazy circles above the heads of the gathering below. Three royals, two guards, a shaman, a old wolf, and a maiden stood beneath the trees.
Kan looked at the other worried faces, his own heart hard. No one was quite sure what to say as they looked at eachother. They all knew why they were here but that was about it.
"Who is with her." Mordakai asked, noticing the two Knights were here in the circle.
"Cora, she's a healer and good with children. She will be keeping an eye on Kyera and Clovis while they sleep. Her venom is potent enough if needed." Daxin offered from where he stood by the tree, there was pain in his eyes. His appearance even more haggard than the old wolf normally was. He just didn't know what to do. Leaving Cora with Kyera was the best he could offer. The baby… if she lost the baby and Talis didn't pull through he didn't know if they could handle her.
The old Shaman nodded. "Kyera's shadow magic is strong but dangerous. There has been so much betrayal in that child's life that the darkness is consuming her. She can tame it if she wants but ..." Half eye trailed off, unable to find the words he needed. Kan let his hand slide off his hip as he spat on the ground near his feet.
"But she has to want to. Losing the only man she considers a brother left on this planet, and her baby plus this betrayal… she will become wild." Kan replied softly saying the words no one else would say aloud. "His betrayal will be what turns her beast."
"What do you mean by beast? Who was he?" Mordakai asked, these terms new to him. He hadn't seen the attack earlier, and to be honest all tigers looked the same to him still.
"That was Verone. Wasn't it?" Sansor asked gauging the room as he said the name. The old wolf he looked at for an answer dropped his head, but Kan didn't make him say it.
"Yes. It was. Kyera needs us. All of us. Going beast means to lose all control. Her magic will consume her and she will fight to her death to protect what she loves from anything that threatens it." Kan added shaking his head slowly.
"That's a good thing though." Alexi pointed out, speaking for the first time since he had arrived to this groups meeting. His wife had been adamant that he go, now he knew why.
"Yes and no. Your brother and his daughter will be safe and I doubt the Dark Ones could handle a wild Kyera. they will perish but at a great cost. Kyera will not he able to sense her power run low. She will end up like her namesake." Shaman Half Eye warned and all eyes turned on him, except for Mordakai, who turned pale.
"What happened to her?" Alexi asked and Mordakai spoke.
"Kyera's namesake saved my kingdom. She watched her sister and her lover attack as a mated pair. They intended to destroy Shadow Veil for their own use with the help of the southern kingdom. The betrayal and anger turned Kyera to a beast and she… she defeated them. Soldiers and all. She poured her soul into protecting my forefathers and in doing so exhausted herself. She collapsed and died in the forest of our border. My great grandfather laid her to rest in the hollow of a tree, a cradle tomb because her spirit is captured forever in those trees. She will never cross over or reach her father's kingdom of Mora. If she beasts, she won't be able to control herself." Mordakai explained the legend shaking her head slowly.
"Is she close to that?" Alexi asked honestly lost at this point. He had no idea what to think.
"Yes. She is honestly." Sansor shook his head slowly. There was no mistaking that look in Kyera's eyes as she had picked up Raina and walked away. She was at the edge, but the child in her arms was like a lifeline. It stilled the beast wanting free. He wasn't sure how long that would last. Would she follow the fate of her elder sister?
"It's true. I can feel her bleeding heart from here. What do we do?" Mordakai asked and everyone fell quiet. They cast looks at one another then to the ground. No one is quite sure what to do. Kan sighed deeply and went to speak but a voice beat him to it.
"Daxin prepare the knights, Mally prepare the Rebellion. I will speak to Rashan. He will prepare the palace familiars." Kyera's voice was cold, the emotion in it chillingly nonexistent. The word that hung on the air was thick, and heavy enough to make them feel as though each breath was a struggle to breath.
"Prepare for what, exactly?" Mordakai asked, having a feeling he knew the word that hung from her words. A word she had never said before. Would she now?
"It is time to end this. No more pity, no more understanding. The time for peace has come to an end. I will not allow this land to suffer any longer. It is time to Wage War." The words left her lips and the sensations changed. The air was light and ready. Energy seemed to surge around them.