Looking back for a second, caused her to not see the giant cat before her. Startled, the Phoenix came to an abrupt halt in front of the now hostile Kitsa. The lioness bared her teeth in a snarl and let loose a roar that Evelyn felt reverberate in her bones. Wide-eyed and paralyzed in fear, she could do little else but stare at Kitsa. She was vaguely aware that the Hold gate had opened and a large pack of Avvar was closing in on her. Her title was shouted a number of times at her back, but she cared not still frozen in place.
"Kitsa!" It was Dhara, sounding distressed by the Hold Beast's threatening behavior. The apprentice continued to try and calm the beast, but Kitsa too was locked in a battle of wills with the Phoenix.
Evelyn, blinking a few times, as her fight for survival rose up overtaking her fear, reached for a staff and a sword hilt that were not there. Seemingly knowing what she was reaching for, Kitsa lunged knocking her flat on the ground with her large paws planted to either side of her shoulder. There was a frightened gasp from the warriors around them, and now the Thane and Augur both added their voices to calm Kitsa. The lioness inhaled a deep breath that puffed out her chest before letting out one long deafening roar. Her thick head rose skyward before ending inches from Evelyn's face. She shut her eyes tightly and through the ringing of her ears could've sworn she hear a voice within the Kitsa's bellow.
She opened her eyes meeting the cat's vibrant yellow ones, you will follow or I will drag you. The Knight-Enchanter's face scrunched up in confusion, unsure of who was speaking to her. It was a familiar voice, though she couldn't place it like from a distant memory. A wet snort brought their eyes to meet again. She swore she saw Kitsa's glare darken in warning paired with the voice.
"Alright," she said frustratingly, now believing she'd gone mad talking to a lion, but she stepped back allowing her to stand. Evelyn placed her hands on her hips thoroughly annoyed that her escape attempt failed. "Well? Lead on, or would you rather further shame me by dragging my arse through the Hold?" I'm going mad, I'm talking to a giant cat, who snapped at her a moment later in rebuttal. She jumped back at the sound of the toothy maul slamming shut. Grabbing a hold of a fistful of coarse fur, the two began their brisk walk back into the Hold, assumingly to her cell they call 'hut'. They didn't stop to answer questions, but that didn't stop them from following along.
Dhara walked on the opposite side of the lioness gazing curiously at them, "Were you talking to Kitsa?"
"Only because she talked first. It was a very short conversation." Kitsa growled at her words. "You were very articulate," she looked down at her guide whose tail came up to swat her in the back of the head. "Ow!"
"Dusan, have you ever heard of a Hold Beast "speaking" before?" The Thane and Augur followed behind them closely. Cassandra and Rylen worked to keep the people at a distance, but the procession only grew the further into the Hold they went.
Dusan's deep baritone mused on his question with a hum, "I haven't, my Thane. But Kitsa is directly linked to the gods, it's possible they are communing through their herald." She couldn't see them, but by the silence she figured they were exchanging looks. "Phoenix, what did you hear?"
"I heard her, rather in my head I heard her say, 'you will follow or I will drag you,' but I have no idea where she'd taking me." A grunt of a laugh came from behind from none other than the Thane. It was a haughty sort of laugh as if this validated his stubborn refusal to compromise not long ago.
When it was clear that she was being guided to the Augur's hut, Dusan quickly got ahead of them to block them from entering. "Kitsa, she is a Lowlander and not permitted in with the Hold Spirits." His tone was stern as he towered before the doorway. Kitsa wasn't having it though and gave a sharp growl in response.
"She said move," the Augur glared at her translation. She supposed it must be annoying that an Lowlander was communing with their gods, telling him their will.
Cullen joined him in the doorway, "The Augur is the keeper of the Hold's Spirits. If he has not been told that they wish to meet you, then his word stands."
She let go of beast pointing an accusatory finger at his chest, "I'm not making this up! I was trying to leave, not talk with your spirits, yet here I am thanks to your cat again!" Having enough, Kitsa reared and grabbed Evelyn by the back of her wool wrap dragging her into the hut. She knocked the men out of the way with her meaty shoulders and hung on tight to Evelyn as if she was a mischievous cub.
Once inside, Kitsa threw Evelyn before a large brazier in the center of the room. She sat up giving a huff to the cat, who in turn spoke again to her. "Kitsa says, you may enter, but utter a sound and she will drag you out," she relayed to three crowding the doorway who promptly entered. The Thane issued some orders not to be disturbed to Rylen and Cassandra who were standing sentry outside before shutting the door behind him.
As soon as the door clicked shut, the fire in the center suddenly spat purple and blue flames. Hanging from the ceiling were various animal bones carved with runes. They swayed in the ethereal wind that whipped around them. As they clicked off of each other, the sounds came together to create otherworldly music. Evelyn raised her forearm bracing herself against the gusts of magical energy as her two-toned hair whipped about. As quickly as it had come upon them it stopped, and she peered out from behind her arm to see five wraiths. Immediately her power surged forth to protect her against the demons as she stood. Fire flickered at her fingertips ready to defend herself, but as the wraiths materialized more, she realized they began to develop human-like features. They were still transparent ranging in various shades of orange, but over their skeleton-like core individual faces and clothing appeared. She stood entranced by what she assumed were the "Spirits" who were stewarding the Thane's every decision regarding her. If they were, Maker did she have a plethora of choice words for them. The thought pumped fire into her veins, making them glow with each heartbeat.
"Calm your fire Phoenix, we are not demons here to possess you. We are beyond such petty and base desires." The spirit's voice echoed from beyond the Fade with an air of superiority to it. It sounded like a raspy older woman and when she concentrated on the ever-shifting form, she noticed it was dressed in puffy furs and a feather headdress. There were triangle markings on her upper cheeks when she could make them out.
"Forgive me if I don't take you at your word." Evelyn knew the cleverness of demons. Even if the others were seemingly not alarmed at their appearance, she had no idea what these Avvar and their spirits intended for her. Kitsa, still seated at her side, whapped her in the back of the head again with her tail.
Another spirit, this one sounding like a young male with a heavy accent, addressed her. His form was still to wraith-like for her to discern any distinct features. The hint of anger in his alien voice made it hiss, "Phoenix, we are displeased that yer tryin' to escape when your destiny is clearly so intertwined with ours."
"You're holding me prisoner, of course I was going to try and escape! Especially when no one wants to give me answers about what's going on and why I'm here!" Her tone was sharp and it did not go unnoticed by the five before her. The odd fire sparked as if it was enraged by her offense.
"You will watch your tone Lowlander!" A deep bellowing voice overwhelmed her, causing her to cover her ears at the volume. Looking to the far right, a brutish man with a dark beard and rippling muscles floated higher over the fire, glowering at her. Each word seemed to help him look more human, "You do not know to whom you speak!"
"My, my I see much of Brina Broken-Axe in her," the older woman spoke again, her voice coming from multiple directions.
"I was going to say Bjorn Wily-Tongue," purred another woman's voice. The spirit floated up close to her, looking into her eyes. Evelyn's eyes tried to focus on the human side to the wraith as the hollow sockets of her skeletal face was unsettling. She had a seductive posture and tone to her as her dark wavy hair floated about as if weightless. Seeing the Phoenix eye the large spirit looming just behind her, she quickly pulled away from her inspection. "Oh, calm down," she said turning to the brutish man, "can't you see the poor thing is distressed." The man still glowered at her as he lowered himself back down.
"I'm like who?" She tried to keep an even tone.
The dark-haired woman smirked, "You have been favored, fiery one. You hold the souls of past heroes within you, though you wouldn't remember. Such is the fate of those favored few when they migrate to a new body."
Her jaw dropped as she stared at them stupidly, "My soul has been shared with past Avvar heroes?" She moved her lips to try and process what they were telling her, but ended up stuttering in confusion.
"Enough, we brought her here for a purpose. Phoenix, I am Wisdom if you must define me. Surely you have encountered me before in your travels through the Fade." The fifth and final spirit addressed her in an authoritative yet soft respectful tone. This spirit was remarkably solid with the appearance of an old man with white hair and a long beard. He held a staff and while he looked bright-eyed, an inherent tiredness made his features droop. She blinked a few times at him before nodding in confirmation. "There are events that you need to be made aware of unfolding as we speak."
"What events?"
"One of your people survived the attack on your camp, a Templar. They sent word to your masters that you were not among the dead, nor present for the attack." Her face contorted into a seething glare as she went to speak, but she was silenced by the spirit's hand. "I know the truth of the matter already, Phoenix. You need not explain events to which I was there to witness."
"What do they intend to do to me?"
"You have angered those who serve your Maker. They did not forget your words as you condemned them for encouraging resentment in your Circle. It had a more profound impact than you realize on all when you threatened their authority. And so, they've sent their warriors to capture or kill you."
"You mean Templars. What happens if they capture me? Will they give me a trial?"
"Aye, but not a fair one. For your judgment has already been decided. It is what you fear most." She swallowed hard knowing he meant the Rite of Tranquility. After letting her digest his words for a moment, he continued, "So you see, it is already too late to go back."
"What about my family?"
"They cannot help you or hide you from those who would hunt you. No amount of your father's coin could save you, not this time. To leave the Basin would mean death." The words echoed about the hut adding to the feeling of doom.
"Tell me Wisdom, are you all-knowing? Are the things you say already certainties in the halls of time?"
"No." His features darkened knowing what she was alluding to.
"So, there is still hope for me then. You've been very convincing, Spirit, but even the smallest amount of hope is enough for me to keep trying."
"Foolish girl!" A disembodied face materialized right before her. The old woman spat venomously, "You would waste the gift of knowledge that we give you because your own stubbornness and arrogance will not accept what you do not wish to hear. Our guidance will save your life."
"Your guidance will also keep me your prisoner so I may fulfill this prophecy to save your asses! You are not my god, nor are they my people. Why should I care?" Her face faded away as the old woman appeared on the opposite side of the fire floating erratically.
The brute lowered his predatorial eyes on her, "By all means, go back and be rendered useless. What will you care when they strip you of your power. In fact, I'm sure the Templars would line up to rape a woman such as you, especially when they take all the fight out of you." She felt an overwhelming rage beginning to render her senseless. Her nails dug into her palms, her knuckles turned white and her muscles flexed yearning for a victim to the violence of her emotions. The spirit grinned wickedly knowing those carefully crafted words would set her off. He breathed in deeply and for a moment it felt as if he was drawing in her mana. "Oh, to be alive again, you and I would've made a fearsome pair with that temper of yours Phoenix," he chuckled.
Wisdom calmly began again taking back control of the conversation, "You crave purpose and are duty-driven. Both are respectable traits. Surely living here free among our people could offer you a new purpose?"
"Everything I've worked for is gone! Everyone I love is no longer in my life. There is nothing here for me." The five Hold Spirits looked between each other having some sort of silent deliberation with their eyes.
"What of fulfilling the prophecy? Would not saving the Avvar people be a worthy challenge for one aspiring to greatness such as you?" Her anger began to release her from its grasp and she began to feel hopelessly lost. She was a lone ship on a calm sea with no guiding wind to a safe harbor. "The entirety of the clans in the Basin have talked of nothing but you're coming for some time now. The longer you evaded us the worse things had become." She looked at him in disbelief. "Yes, Phoenix, you have avoided your destiny for some time. It was Korth Mountain-Father who finally asserted his will far enough to reach you. You felt the call of the wilds and came, enthusiastically I might add. But I digress, the prophecy speaks of the great deeds you will do to bring balance back to the Basin and its people. I cannot tell you more than that without altering future events. There are some things mortals are not meant to know."
"But they know," she pointed to the three silent observers behind her.
The spirit's tone took on more of an authoritative edge, "They are the leadership of this Hold and future leadership. It is their business alone to guide the clan through action and ours to offer insight into what action to take." After a long pause, while she waited to be further lectured by the spirits, she closed her eyes wanting to be alone with her thoughts. She fought herself on whether to accept her new path or fight it. Evelyn had never been this conflicted about anything in her whole life. She sunk to her knees feeling the hollowness of being alone even in a room full of people and spirits. "That is all we will impart to you, for now." He went on to say some parting words in Avvish, looking to his clansmen. At the conclusion of his words, the spirit vanished followed by the others one by one. The fire in the brazier returned to its normal color and darkness filled the hut.
She stared ahead as her breathing began to increase in the panic at now having to make a choice. Lost in her own mind, she was vaguely aware of Kitsa turning to leave. Before doing so, the lioness nudged her with its head, but she made no reaction to it. The voices of the three behind her sounded as if they were submerged in water. At hearing the mention of her returning to that shithole they call her hut, she finally succumbed to the loss that had been building up since before she tried to escape. One hand clutched her heart as the other held her face as she sobbed. Dhara was quick to react trying to soothe her, while shooing the men out. At some point, Cassandra and Rosalie entered, both adding their own empathy to the situation, but all she wanted to do was be left alone.
Deep down she knew she couldn't return home - to her real home. It was just so agonizingly hard to accept. With exhaustion creeping in, the women took her back to her solitary hut. For the next few days and nights, the three rotated their watch on her. Evelyn barely spoke, slept or ate. Her eyes were always wet and she embodied defeat. She wallowed in the ashes of her former life, grieving for her loss. She was numb and even the whirling inferno inside had cooled.
It wasn't until a fire caused by spilled bear grease engulfed one of the huts in the village that the Phoenix emerged from her week of seclusion. Cassandra had been keeping her company but quickly abandoned her to help fight the fire, knowing full well her demoralized charge wasn't going anywhere. She had rushed out so suddenly, she left the door to the hut swinging. Evelyn could see the thick black plume of smoke rise like a thundercloud above the Hold. It hung there ominously as if it was a manifestation of all the bad luck the clan experienced of late. Slowly moving out the door she watched the dire scene unfolding. There was no mistaking the severity of the situation when the whole of the Hold was rushing with buckets to the river for water and sand just outside the walls. Shouts echoed off the lioness whose rocky form sat above the Hold as its silent guardian. Despite her current mental state, the instinctive need to protect compelled her to act.
Dropping the fur she had wrapped herself in for days, she gradually broke into a sprint down the slightly worn path into the village. Her rush of blood to her muscles made her feel alive after lying dormant for days. Her lungs breathed the fresh crisp mountain air, rather than the stagnant air of her new home. She wasn't dressed for the cold, but she'd be warm soon enough. Her leather pants creaked from their stiffness and her light cotton shirt did little against the wind which cut through it. The faster she sprinted the more constricting her leather underbust became, but she ignored it knowing she was almost there.
When Evelyn arrived, there was a woman screaming and wailing incoherently. The Thane was already there trying to calm the female while shouting orders at the others who were trying to quell the fire. Those throwing buckets on the fire were getting too close to the flames and she found herself holding her breath as the heat's hunger searched for its next victim. The fire burned hot, jumping to two other neighboring homes. If something wasn't done and fast the inferno would claim the wooden village.
The Phoenix stretched her arms out allowing her mana to connect with the inferno. Everyone seemed to ignore her as she began to draw the fire to herself. When the flames licked out towards her in the opposite direction of the wind, she reached out to it weaving it around her arms and into her center. The pure energy of the fire electrified her very being as she attempted to tame it. Flames were the raw embodiment of cleansing and rage; the latter of which Evelyn knew well. She fed the fire the fury it craved, for she had plenty for it to feast on. Drawn from the lifeless timber and thatch, it engulfed her in a firestorm. Standing in the center of the whirling vortex, her hair whipped about as if it was one with the flames while her eyes were ablaze with determination. Each agonizing thing the spirits revealed to her was given in offering to the flame. She clenched her teeth and growled against the searing heat, sweat beginning to fall in place of the tears she shed.
The flames had first bowed to her command on the day she turned ten. Through the relentless pursuit of knowledge and the tireless honing of her pyromantic skills, she had ascended as a true mistress of the inferno. The fire, formidable in its own right, quivered in the face of her indomitable rage. It seemed as if her very blood coursed with the scorching might of molten magma, and her heart glowed like an eternal ember, radiating an inner luminescence that could not be extinguished. Within the halls of the Circle, the Senior Enchanters gazed upon her in awe and wonder. Never before had they witnessed such a prodigious talent for the primal arts. Her affinity for wielding the untamed forces of nature surpassed that of her peers, as if she were born with an inherent connection to the flames.
Until recently, her path had been set, destined to traverse the realms of power and mastery. Now all her hard work and dedication to her art were about to be thrown away as Redhold's newest resident. The flame reveled in her pain consuming it until with one last deep inhale and exhale, it was snuffed out. A hush fell over the once chaotic scene. Though she closed her eyes as the fire in her veins cooled, she could feel the others watching her. It was so quiet, it was if they were afraid to breathe. Having cleansed her recent upheaval of emotions in the fire, she slowly opened her eyes. Steam from her breath puffed out thickly from her mouth as she tried to slow her breathing.
The first sight she saw was that of a man and child being pulled from the charred remains of the hut in which the fire originated. She assumed then that the woman whom she found wailing upon arrival was related to the two survivors. They coughed and gasped for air, but they were alive. A small smile tugged at her lips watching their reunion. After a few minutes of watching healers tend to them, a familiar mop of blonde hair pushed through the crowd over to her. Whispers drifted about those still lingering around her about what they had witnessed. Looking down she could still see the remnants of the inferno glowing in her veins. To anyone who had never been around her before, it could be an unsettling sight; there were even Templars whom she had known for years who still twitched uncomfortably when she used her magic.
The Thane, followed as always by Rylen and Cassandra, stopped before her. She directed her gaze down to the ground unsure if she was ready to meet his tawny eyes. She assumed he came to reprimand her use of magic without sanction - though there was a question of whether or not it was allowed. There was a moment of silence followed by a firm 'thank you.'
She looked up cautiously, "I was only doing what was right. There's no need to thank me."
"What you did…" his words trailed off in utter amazement.
"Aye, I've never seen the like. Have you, Cass?" She just shook her head in disbelief at the Master of the Hunt.
"Fire yields to my command. It is in my blood." She pushed up her sleeves and then pulled at her shirt's collar to show the fire still alight in her veins. "It comes as natural to me as swinging a sword or firing a bow comes to you, I'm sure. I know how to feed it, nurture it and in turn it lets me wield it." A dangerous look passed between them. She would let her actions speak for her ability, but the less he knew about how she actually fought the better in case it ever came down to it. It was one advantage the Hold Spirits could not take from her. Refusing to bow to the Thane's authority seemed to stoke the fire within her, calling forth her will to fight. She felt more alive than she had in days, and if her grudge against him was the thing to pull her from the darkness, so be it.
As she left, a number of the onlookers stopped to give their thanks to her. Some praised the gods, others her abilities, but it was clear she had made an impression. What that would be worth in the future she would have to wait and see.
A few hours later, while sitting at the old table outside, the woman whose family she saved from the fire visited her meager dwelling. She was petite with long blonde curly hair. Her round blue eyes twinkled with mirth. Most noticeable to Evelyn was that she was a mage.
"Phoenix," the woman threw herself to the ground before her, "Words cannot express how grateful I am the gods brought you to us! You possess the wisdom of The Lady and the strength of Hakkon!" She was beginning to cry as she crawled to her feet. "My husband and child would have been lost without you!"
"Please," she gripped the woman under her arms helping her stand, "I am glad they are alright. There is no need for such thanks."
"There is every reason to give thanks! Without you, I fear we will all perish." She had only been with the Avvar for a short time, but their cryptic notions about her were already grating on her patience. "Please, there must be some way to repay you?" Evelyn looked around shrugging with her arms until she turned to her lodgings.
"You wouldn't happen to know how to thatch a roof, would you?"
The woman eyed her roof with a smirk, "Aye, when my man's lungs clear I'll send him over. He'll have that fixed in no time, Phoenix." She would've grinned, having solved one of her major dilemmas, but it just went to remind her that this was her new home. "My name is Ilara. I'm one of the healers in the village. No doubt you sensed that already though. Your power is quite… overwhelming, if I may say so."
"Please, call me Evelyn. I have the utmost respect for healers for I have no aptitude for it beyond simple healing. Some of the best mages I know are healers of great talent and they use their gifts to do the Maker's work. Some have the gift of healing, others, like me, the gift of protecting."
Ilara smiled, "Well, we could certainly use a mage such as you around here, ye ken. Come join me down in the village some time and I'll introduce ye to the other healers. There's one, in particular, I'd like you to meet. He wasn't born nor raised Avvar, so he might be of some comfort to ye."
"Thank you, I'll be sure to stop by." She groaned inwardly at the commitment. She was still grappling with a number of issues such as her future in the Hold.
Future in the Hold, it was like ripping stitches out of a fresh wound each time she manifested such sentiments. She would have to come to terms with this new twist of fate in her life if she didn't want to wear out the welcome in the one place that promised her safety and even freedom. For the sake of her own survival, she was going to have to live in harmony with the Avvar. The Spirits were right in that she has always needed a purpose; one driving direction to commit her very being to. Perhaps with a focus of steel, she could keep her mind off the grief of losing her family and friends. Maybe in time, she could even send word to them of her new circumstances. One thing was certain though, opposing the Thane at every turn would no doubt prove perilous in the long run. If the Templars came to kill her, she'd need his protection. He was in charge and she'd have to swallow her pride and abide by his rule. It wasn't going to be easy, but she no longer had a choice. No matter how much it ate at her inside, she was to become plain Lady Evelyn Althea Trevelyan of Redhold, former Knight-Enchanter of the Ostwick Circle of Magi.