Belmora - Katherine
"What the hell do you want?" I said staring at my would-be uncle with anger. "If you are looking for an apology, you are not getting one."
"So stubborn. So headstrong. Just like your mother." Thaddeus said.
I flinched at the mention of my mother. I looked away from Thaddeus, my eyes stubbornly looking at the silvery tapestry that hung over the stone.
"Your mother was one of the bravest people I have ever known. She always has been. There were many that were surprised when she ran off with you, but I never was. When we finally found her body after the council had finished with her, I had immediately noticed that her necklace, the witch's totem of the family, was gone. I spent five years tracking it down. Which is why I had it. I never looked for you because I assumed you would never want to have anything to do with the people who destroyed your mother no matter if we had nothing to do with it." Thaddeus told me.
I glanced back at Thaddeus. "And here I thought all my family despised me," I said, looking at my uncle through the flames.
"Now what? We run off to the sunset?" I asked bitterly.
"You know better than that Katherine, my darling niece. We are witches after all. We don't get happy endings. Or even the semblance of one. We have a higher calling, of keeping the balance of nature. A long time ago a witch of great power cursed these twins into Dragons. The curse can never be undone, but the part where they were enslaved to their dragon nature is over. Their soulmates made sure of that." Thaddeus said rising from his chair.
"Everyone knows this. What's your point?" I said crossing my arms as I watched him step closer to the flames his eyes burning into mine as he looked at me.
"The Dragons will always be in danger. They are the last of their kind. They will need protectors. A long time ago, our family saved the last dragon. And as a token of its gratitude it gave us a piece of its heart." Thaddeus said clasping the violet rock he wore around his neck, it glowed and pulsed as if it had a life of its own.
"You are wearing a Dragon's heart?" I asked my voice raising an octave as I spoke.
"Yes, I am. It gives me power, and control, which is why I could summon all of those ninjas. I wish you would've told me who you were instead of just barging in and attacking." Thaddeus said sighing.
"I thought you were the enemy. I'd only heard whispers of the Warlock who had my mother's necklace. I had no idea you were family." I said sighing.
"There are many things you don't know about your family. Things that I can tell you and show you. If you let me." Thaddeus said coming closer to me.
"I can't undo the things that have already been done, but if you allow me to, I would like to be an actual uncle to you. I want you to know that, unlike your mother, you are not alone. Not anymore." Thaddeus said.
I looked up at him, and only saw honesty in his eyes. I smiled slightly, more out of relief than anything else. Before I walked around the fire and gave my uncle a hug.
Which made him step back slightly, in surprise before he was hugging me back. "Only if you promise to tell me about my mother," I said before I took a step back realizing something.
"And what are you even doing here?" I asked my eyes narrowed.
Thaddeus looked sheepish. "Oh. That. Well, the thing is, I may have helped out the Vikings a bit in living in Belmora. It's really cold here, so there isn't always enough food to go around." Thaddeus said sheepishly.
"You help them out?" I asked smiling.
"Sometimes. But this time around I had been in the manor after you guys left, and I ended up calling an old friend, who I told about you. Darius. He's a demon from a realm called Vemos. Anyways he told me to come here, and that you would be here." Thaddeus said looking at me.
"I don't even know how I got here," I said my eyes narrowed. Thaddeus's face turned in recognition.
"Because you were sent here by Darius, more specifically his sister, a witch." He said with a grim smile.
"Why would Darius's sister send me and Iriel here?" I asked in confusion.
"He knew I wanted to speak with you," Thaddeus mused.
"Iriel must be here because he will be able to convince Isadora to help." He said rubbing his chin.
"Is it very likely she will listen?" I asked. "The Vikings don't exactly sound like the helpful sort," I said thinking about how demanding they had been when they had captured me and Iriel.
"You'd be surprised," Thaddeus said. "These Vikings are headstrong, extremely protective, and distrusting of outsiders. Which is why they may have seemed temperamental before." Thaddeus said.
"He's not wrong about the temperamental bit." I spun around at the new voice and was surprised to see a glowing green wraith of a little girl before me.
"Katherine, meet Rubia. The spirit of these caverns." Thaddeus said with a flourish.
"Your companion is horrible at persuasion, but his compassion for Isadora's sister is plain in the way he speaks of her," Rubia said.
I frowned, "What does that mean?" I asked her.
"It means for the first time in over a hundred years, the lady Isadora is to leave Belmora to chase after her deranged sister," Rubia said.
I glanced at Thaddeus who had his eyebrows raised at his declaration. He walked over to the stone wall and pressed on one of them that opened a vault of some kind. He pulled out a long rectangular box. Opening the box he uncovered a violet blade embossed in silver.
"This sword was a gift from a king of old. I think you may need it in the days to come." Thaddeus said.
"What makes you think I can handle a sword?" I asked shrewdly.
Thaddeus smirked. "Don't think I don't know that you placed third in swordsmanship last year," Thaddeus said, backing away from the box.
I walked over to the box. I walked over to the box lifting the sword from its confinement. The sword gleamed as I held it upright. "Purple metal?" I asked glancing at Thaddeus.
"The sword was made from purple moonstone and embedded with silver. It's light despite all of that and has graced the hands of many elemental witches of our family. It has a way of honing your natural power. It's wind isn't it?" Thaddeus said watching me carefully.
I held the sword aloft twirling it as I did. The sword felt natural in my hand. As if it had been made for my hands alone. And yet I could feel a shadow of all the women warriors that had held it before me. Like a living breathing pulse.
"Wind is my power, yes. But it is also the power of storms. Lightning bolts specifically." I said pulling out the sheath and sliding the sword home. I pulled the leather over myself and watched as the strap turned into a violet leather band at the front and a satchel that sat at my hip. "Fancy," I said looking at my uncle. Who shrugged his shoulders.
"You will always be welcome in the caverns of Belmora," Rubia said looking at me with interest.
"Anyone who can wield a blade of the moon belongs here." She said with a smile. "I look forward to seeing you wield the sword, Stormbringer."