Cassandra Pendragon
A merry fire was hungrily eating into an ancient log I had dug up by accident, its warm light dancing across the whitish blue walls. Thoughtfully I stared into the crimson flames and wrapped my tails around me, trying to puzzle out how far I could go while my fingers nimbly plucked feather after feather from the birds. Asking Indigorath to warn my family and prevent Boseiju's fall… was an option but I wasn't convinced it'd turn out to be a good one. The fissure, still connecting me to the future, was a problem. So was Ahri's presence and the bond we shared. As far as I had come to understand my power I might have been able to do it but there was no telling how it'd turn out and fate, that fickle mistress, wouldn't be bribed. At least not by me.
The thought had silenced me and I had chosen to ignore the hushed conversation and pained grunts as Aglaia tended to Indigorath's wounds. It was a damned conundrum. Risk everything we had protected on the chance to see my people again. To see my father again… truth be told, I had known I wouldn't try from the very start. I'd never risk Ahri's life and if I chose to change history, whether by telling or staying, she might come to harm. But I had needed a few moments to admit as much to myself. Whether it was my dad or my subjects, they'd never compare to her. I really wasn't cut out to be a queen… maybe not even a decent person, putting one above everyone else, but we all had our lines in the sand and mine just happened to have four fiery wings.
Strange as it might seem the realisation finally brought me some peace of mind and with a decisive twist I opened up the carcasses I had been plucking and started cleaning them. I wasn't able to season properly but efficiently removing offals came as easily to me as breathing and once again I had to wonder what my skill set said about the lives I had led. Well, at least I was convinced I had never worked as a maid or a cook but somehow I thought I had spent quite a few years as a butler. It wasn't only the disguise I had chosen to enter the Vatican either but rather a blurry sense of recognition whenever I imagined the scene. Not that it mattered. With my current sense of etiquette and propriety no one in their right mind would let me anywhere near a similar position. Then again, being a princess probably trumped being a servant… if I repeated it often enough I would even start believing it myself. But enough stalling, it was time to face the music.
"Do you have some salt on you," I asked out of the blue as I shaved off two thin splinters from the log with my wings and shoved them up the eagles' backsides. The strange pair looked over in surprise apparently unaware that I had started… let's stick with cooking even though butchering was all I had actually managed. Indigorath shook his head, the movement travelling down his body in strangely hypnotic waves while his wife replied:
"All of our things are buried except for what I had on me when…," she paused, her gaze travelling to her partner uncertainly but before the worm could make a decision I completed her sentence:
"When his brothers came knocking to munch on his innards. I know the story… damn it, I should have preserved the corpse, shouldn't I? Would it have been enough to trigger your metamorphosis?" The ensuing silence felt pretty awkward as the Purple Worm scrutinised me intensely and the kitsune's mouth dropped to the floor but I wasn't forced to explain.
"Time travel, right," he finally said. "I assume I've told you in the future?"
"Pretty much. I guess that I've now saved your life played a role as well. We'll have to make do with smoked meat," I added as I placed the two improvised skewers across the flames. "While the meat is cooking we have a bit of time. As you can imagine I have a few… requests since I already know what's going to happen over the next four years. But before we get into any of that… you're probably bristling with questions. Go ahead, I can't promise that I'll answer every single one but if I don't have a good reason to keep my silence I'll try to be as honest as possible." As if he had been waiting for the chance the worm asked:
"What are you? I've seen you as a toddler, three years ago, and even back then I knew that you were different. Now, though, I can hardly describe what I've seen. Your power… are you an incarnation of a deity?" I shook my head slowly.
"No. I'm something older than a deity, older than this world. Incarnation wasn't too far off but it's not some sort of mortal superstition or a powerful soul retaining its memories after being reborn. I'm an immortal, an angel to be precise. I'm sure that tells you nothing but the gist of it boils down to what you've seen: I'm the most powerful creature you're ever going to meet, even if you were to live for aeons and managed to leave this world." Usually a proclamation like this would have been answered by an amused shrug or maybe a snarky comment but when you had just blown a star to smithereens it suddenly didn't sound so far fetched anymore. My audience didn't even question me, the kitsune smiling as if she had already known and the worm nodding sagely.
"Then… you're not Cassandra Pendragon," Aglaia wanted to know.
"Very much so but it's a bit complicated and we don't have the whole night. For the sake of argument let's just say I… inherited my powers and they bloomed… are going to bloom when I'll turn seven. On my birthday to be exact."
"Then… how did you know we were in danger," she asked and rearranged her three tails to cushion her back. I pointed towards the dark ice tunnel I had created.
"The fissure I came through, it leads into your mind. I read your thoughts and when I stumbled across this memory… I didn't even have much of a choice, did I, seeing as I had already saved you before." For a few moments only the hissing flames broke the silence in our little cave.
"Does that mean we'll fight you," the kitsune asked, alarmed. I raised my hands placatingly.
"Nothing of the sort. But I'm going to provide you with enough knowledge tonight to pique my interest and my caution in the future."
"Now you've got me curious," Indigorath interjected. "Has it anything to do with those… guns you mentioned before?"
"Very much so. I'm going to tell you what they are, how to build one and… probably ask you to prepare a literal sky ship full of them before four years have run their course. Now, as to why… I'm not so sure I should tell you and I don't think I will, unless you swear to me that you're going to stay out of it."
"Which is already plenty," the kitsune chuckled. "That bad, huh? Our promises you can have anytime, as well as anything else you can think of. We aren't ungrateful. You've risked much for us." A wry grin tugged on the corners of my mouth.
"Not yet. What has happened hasn't been that much of challenge. Navigating this conversation without endangering the future on the other hand…" I spread my hands helplessly. "Despite my power I'm not so sure what I can safely tell you. Time is probably the most dangerous dimension to play around with and this is only my second time. I'd hate to make everything worse or maybe even destroy my path back to the future inadvertently. Which is also why I'm not going to tell you everything you might want to know. I'm not even going to tell you what you should do."
"What are you going to share, then," the worm inquired curiously.
"That's a damned good question and one I've been wrestling with ever since I've realised what's going on. Two things. One I've already mentioned. I'm talking about guns and black powder. The other… I'll tell you where not to go and where you might want to go when the time comes. What you make of it will be your choice." With a widening smile I added: "but I've got a hunch that you're going to listen." The flames' crackling, my companions' wheezy breaths and the sizzling of roasting meat filled the cave as I slowly began:
"This world is old and has seen many wars, the remnants of which are still influencing our own battles. But it's not the past I want to talk about. It's the present and the future. Our world is large, it spans more miles than I can count, and somewhere you'll always find someone to take up arms and stir up another war. The future… it's haunted by bloodthirsty spectres of times long gone. They're threatening not only a single island not even a people or an empire. They're here to take control and I… well, I'm not going to sit by idly for this is as much my world as it is yours but for all my… our efforts we still haven't managed to secure a single victory. We've always been one step behind, chasing phantoms and shadows. But this… this might just be the chance, the chink in the armour I've been looking for." I paused and closed my eyes, recalling the atrocities, the pain the Emperor had made us suffer through.
"Like I said, our world, our way of living, is being threatened and it'll take more than spears and magic to defend it. It'll take unity, a shared conviction, a common desire to protect what we value. As you can imagine that's not easy to come by but with some time, some planted seeds that have the time to sprout on their own… who knows what might happen. Enigmatic innuendoes aside, you can't get involved in the fights that will ignite in four years time on my home island. Stay away from Boseiju, allow history to take its course. What you can do, if you're willing, is prepare for the aftermath. Travel the world, as you already planned to do, make friends, the higher up the food chain the better, and wait until we meet again." They shared a confused glance before Indigorath said:
"Even if we were willing, which we are, how do you expect us to succeed? I'm not a favourite guest amongst the races and Aglaia is a refugee with no standing. We'll be laughed out the door."
"If you come empty handed, begging for scraps, sure. But you won't. I might not be able to tell you exactly what to do but I can provide you with enough knowledge to tempt a king into selling his daughters. And I'm not only talking about weapons. If you want me to I can share enough insights for the two of you to become mages that'll be remembered throughout the ages and you'll have four years to figure out what to do with that knowledge."
"There's no such thing as a free meal," the kitsune remarked. "You've already saved us yet you offer even more. Where's the downside?" "When we meet again I'll come to collect. Let's call it a loan. Whatever you're going to create… I want to use it freely. Be it alliances, weapons or men, I want a promise that you'll allow me to do as I see fit without questions. Can you live with that?"
"Considering we'd have been dead if it hadn't been for you," the worm replied, "it doesn't seem like much but toiling away limitlessly to further someone else's designs ignorantly…" I raised my hand to stop him.
"First off, I'm not asking you to put your life on hold and secondly I'm also not trying to turn you into a servant. But I do want to reap the benefits of what I'm going to share with you. If it makes you feel any better think it of it as a prolonged apprenticeship where you get all the goodies up front and pay them back gradually. Thirdly, this isn't about me saving your life, there's no debt, but if you want me to allow you to peek behind the curtain so to say I'll require payment and trust me, what you're going to receive in return is worth much more than what you can accomplish on your own in four years. What's the life expectancy of your race anyways? Hundreds or thousands of years? As for your… companion, I know she won't die of old age. The secrets I can share will benefit you for your entire life and I'm only interested in what you can do with them in the next four years. That's just a drop in the bucket."
"If a deal sounds too good to be true it usually is," Aglaia interrupted shyly.
"You're right, except… I don't need reciprocity. To be blunt to me you're nothing but foxes who have stumbled into a dragon's lair. I don't need your strength but I can't be everywhere at once and I have to return soon. I don't want to squander this opportunity, which is the only reason why I've stayed after I knew you'd be safe." "What exactly do you expect," Indigorath asked quietly.
"For you to become connected enough to facilitate a meeting with every major dynasty among the islands and I want you to infiltrate the Burning Court. I want to know the secrets of our strongest kingdom. Also, I want you to map the closed higher realms." The worm frowned.
"Closed higher realms?" I shook my head.
"Not going to explain that one unless you agree," I stated as I turned the spits. The pair shared another look I couldn't quite interpret before Aglaia said:
"There really isn't that much to think about, is there? You've saved our lives, of course we'll do anything you want us to."
"Anything," I asked and cocked an eyebrow, a smouldering spark igniting in the depths of my eyes as my gaze traveled over her sensual curves lazily. A faint blush rose to her cheeks and she quickly looked away before I chuckled throatily. "Sorry. That's been payback for something you haven't even done yet. Or maybe the reason why you toyed with me in the first place. No matter. What she said… do you feel the same way, worm?" He grimaced.
"Whatever happened… will happen, could you please refrain from flirting with her right in front of me?" I bit my tongue, otherwise I probably would have responded along the lines of: don't worry, next time you won't be around, but I had grown up, hadn't I, so I only nodded. "Well, then, of course I do. I think you're the first stranger I've ever met who hasn't tried to put some holes in me but instead protected my life. Of course I'll do as you ask." I nodded again and slowly turned the skewers. The meat hadn't charred yet, which was a first. Maybe there was still some hope for Cassy's cuisine extraordinaire.
"Then I guess it's time to actually give you something tangible. Let's start at the beginning. Our world, Gaya, is pretty flushed with energy. Mainly because of its proximity to a central chasm, the birthplace of a universe if you so will. Think of it as an infinite source of power and the closer a world is to it, the more it can absorb. Gaya isn't a true core planet, mind you, otherwise it'd look vastly different, but I'd still consider it a peripheral satellite. The consequences are manifold but right now two aspects matter. One how the very structure of our world has developed and two how it impacts the magic we wield on Gaya's surface." I flipped the meat again and continued:
"Let's start with our world. The abundance of energy has saturated every stone, every single leaf on this planet but when the stores were filled, so to say, the excess had to go somewhere. Which constitutes the higher realms. In a way they're like… layers, held together by Gaya's gravity. The world of the fey is one such realm but I don't know who inhabits the rest. That's what I want you to find out." My eyes glazed over with silvery spark as I stared into the distance.
"There are seven in total and I think all but one can support life but don't take my word for it. We'll get to how you can travel between realms later but as an overview to understand what I want to tell you about magic it should suffice. Now onto the much more interesting part. What does it mean for us who live on Gaya? Two things. One we should be careful what we wish for and two, you shouldn't focus on strengthening your innate energies since you'll never be able to rival the power already present all around us. That's why I'm quite glad you sent her to that sect."