Soot's showed me all the moments captured on these glass panes, that he called slides, that were of all the crimes that the new 'government' that had overtaken Jakesha, with the receding of the waters. The new government had been quick to form and create soldiers to be used against the Catalysts, against anyone who had a different opinion or would not stay silent, these soldiers were sent to take care of them.
Flair showed up after a few slides and further explained the scenes on the 'slides'. As they continued showing slides and informing me of what was going on with each one, my heart became heavier, aching for the agony that was shown to me. They kept it up even as I let silent tears fall down my face. It was one thing to be told about the horrors of the past, it was another to have those moments frozen in time, visualizing it with my own eyes.
"How did we get these slides? How were these taken?" I was able to ask after I had wiped my eyes and calmed enough to inquire. I had been wondering about this since the first slide was shown to me.
Soot's and Flair share an uncomfortable look, hesitating to answer my question. The silence in the room is shattered by Bav voice.
"The slides were created from the eyes of the dead. The Mora family and Chronos family were meeting with my grandparents who still ruled at that time. They were asking for help to end the genocide that was occurring to the Catalysts families. They asked for a way to prove to the masses that they were being killed off slowly. The Mora and Chronos family offered up their dead for these to be made. You're witnessing the last thing these people ever saw. Unfortunately, it was too late for their family lines by the time these were made."
I chew on my bottom lip, processing this information. My eyes dart around the room, focusing on anything but any of the eyes that are looking at me. "Their dead... they let them use their dead to prove it, because their bodies were not enough already?" I murmur out loud, beginning to pace as that statement seemed incredulous to me.
"They had been working on a place for Catalysts and it was finished being built at this time, and that's when the offer for a new place to live was put forth. The Catalysts experiencing Violent Furies were increasing, causing heavy damages to the new government." Soot's adds, his gruff voice heavy with emotion. "I knew Interis Mora and Shayde Chronos, I was thirty four at the time. They helped arrange a meeting with Fae kingdom, to help create our own world to live in, but originally turned me down. Until the royal line from Dragosvellier approached the Fae asking for a safe place to protect some of their family until the time was right. I was watching as more and more of my friends, their families, my family, decided to go to this "place that they would let us live in peace"."
Soot's voice cracks, as memories spill from his mouth, "Even though I tried to persuade them to not go and sign up for the registry, that they would never let us live in peace...." He clears his throat and continues on in his deep, throaty, emotion filled timbre voice, "Then I was called to the Fae court and was told they would help me make this world, but on one condition. That the Dragosvellier would live there too, and we must be at peace while we inhabit this world until their relatives came to fetch them. There was a problem though, that this world would be dependent on my life to exist. If I ever left this world, it would disappear along with everything in it. Interis Mora, Shayde Chronos, and several others were instructed on how to call forth the portal to this world and were instructed to teach the priests of the Elemental temples to do so as well. Interis and Shayde helped save and store these slides, our libraries, and much more until they were killed a few weeks after I was placed here, having to learn about how this all worked. The others made it to the temples and spread the word to start a network to help with bringing our people here safely."
Flair continued on from there, "It was my great grandfather's, great grandfather who brought many here, but made the decision to go to this 'city' that they built for Catalysts to live in. He went to offer them a place here in this world, but we never saw or heard from him again."
"There used to be more of us here? So where did all the Catalysts that came here, go?"
'Did no one stay here?' I think to myself.
"Some went back to Jakesha to see if things had changed, some went to try to find other family members, many grew old and passed away. Their offspring stayed until they had no choice but to go back and integrate to try and have families of their own." Soot's shrugs, "It's been just me and the Dragosvellierians most of the time, except for those catalysts that come to train."
I grip my forehead and feel a headache coming on, "They died or left to die? Why would they do that?" I ask my thoughts out loud.
Soot's sighs, "The same reason you are going to go back. To live your life and do what you can."
That's when it clicks what he was trying to tell me before. I'm going back knowing the truth about what happened in the past, how their ways have caused more misery and suffering for everyone, not just the Catalysts.
The only difference between the normal population of Jakesha and the Catalysts, was they didn't have specially trained soldiers that were used to exterminate them....
"Wait. So my father is one of those that is trained to kill me and momma?!" I think about how momma never used her ability to stop him from hurting us. "Is that why she never fought back?" I voice out loud, "Because then we would be sent to the prison?"
It made sense, for her to be terrified of my father, but to be more terrified of me and her ending up in the prison, where no Catalyst ever returned from. A place that even the few of the normal population that did return, returned hollow, different, and would not speak to anyone about it, who preferred to sleep outside every night, owning pets that they force them to eat their food and drink before they did. Of course my mother was more afraid of that then my drunken father...
I feel warm hands wipe my face, causing me to look up, not at Bav, but Soot's. I sniffle, as cool air hits my cheeks, and I realize I'm crying again.
'ELEMENTS! WHY AM I ALWAYS CRYING HERE!'
I step back from him, pull out my handkerchief, wipe my face and pull myself back together. Soot's pats my back and says solemnly, "I would have to agree with your thoughts about your mother being more afraid to go to prison, of you going to there. Your father was most likely the lesser of the two evils. Parents don't always make the best or correct decision for their children, but we do try."
His sigh at my silence has me looking up at him, as he knocks my chin gently up with a single finger, "At least your father is dead and he can do you no harm now."
I go wide eyed and exchange a tense gaze with Bav, before hesitating to tell Soot's, "Yeah, about that..."