Ascension

As luck would have it, there were no guards, just Diego sitting on a bench fiddling with a dagger which, with a simple flick of the wrist he lodged and re-lodged in the wooden table before him.

He caught sight of us, but his attention was soon removed to the door that all of a sudden, ripped open.

“Summer, Naeht?”

“Rain, Seidon?”

“We are about to be attacked. . .”

“I know. Vitali.”

“How did you find out?”

“I told her the truth.”

“That’s why he is with me. What is our next move?” I said ending our fragmented conversation. The reply being biting taciturnity.

“So you figured out my warning.” said Diego. Four pairs of eyes turned in his direction. “There can only be two outcomes. An open battle, which you would lose.”

“And our other option?” asked Seidon sternly but without arrogance in his tone.

“A passive offensive. It is strange using those words together, but that is exactly what we have to do.” he said stepping closer to our group. “I think the best thing that we have to do is pre-empt his next move. Call a Guard meeting, challenge their allegiance and tell them what you know.”

“But that would be like walking into the lions’ den.” roared Naeht. “And how we know then that this isn’t a trap? You are still one of them.”

“Even if you are right” said Thorn finally speaking “and Diego does aim to betray us...which I don’t believe he will... we don’t have many other options to choose from. We could run, but that isn’t an option, as it serves neither our pride nor our safety. Nafad is on the mainland and I am very sure he isn’t alone, but he might not get here in time. This is our best chance.”

“What will you say to them to convince them otherwise?” I asked quietly.

“I do not know, but when the moment comes, I will speak as if my life depended on it.” he said unleashing the full strength of his thundercloud eyes on me.

I knew that he spoke of not of his own life but of mine. We had long transcended the barriers that made us different. We were one entity. I, me, my, mine all meant one word. They all meant us. That us at this moment, also included the rest of our family.

I nodded my head once and smiled slightly as I gave him my unspoken support.

“Diego, if you will, I ask you to alert the rest of the Guard to the amphitheatre. Spread the word of the meeting that will start within the next twenty minutes.”

“Yes Your Majesty,” he bowed slightly. “But before you return, I think it prudent to arm yourselves before facing anyone. This might be our best option, but nothing is written in stone.” he said before darting out the room.

We all nodded, accepting his advice.

“Twenty minutes isn’t much time. . .” I said walking over to stand beside Thorn.

“That it isn’t.” he said as he wove his fingers through mine.

“Family our fate awaits.” said Seidon looking at each of us. His eyes stopped on Naeht when he said, “It pleases me greatly to see that you are well son.”

“As I you father.” replied Naeht.

“We have much to say to each other.” continued Seidon.

“And in time you will.” said Thorn.

With that final exchange we all headed back to the palace.

Death trap. Stupid why are you still here?

Because I trust Thorn with my life. I said answering my own question.

That reality calmed me down somewhat. However, my anxiety grew exponentially with each white cloak that drifted through the huge wooden doors. I gazed up at Thorn and wondered at the complete mask of calm that had besieged his face.

The tip of the dark scabbard brushed along the side of my foot with each move I made, heightening my state of unease. My breath got stuck along the pipes as I Vitali entered the room. I could hear Rain’s teeth being ground together, but otherwise his face remained the same.

I could see flickers of apprehensiveness and curiosity painted on the face of the guards as they shifted their gazes from us, Naeht and among themselves. The tension in the room was almost palpable and the scent of bloodlust permeated the air. The large doors finally closed as Diego appeared through it. He gave us a slight nod before ghosting to the near side of the room.

The room fell silent as the last man took his seat. Thorn stepped forward and refrained from speaking for what seemed more like hours than mere seconds.

“Members of this Guard, my brothers and sisters in every way but my blood.” he opened. “It has been half a year since I have ascended to the throne, and half that time since I have made Tir na n-Óg my home.

“When my wife and I arrived three months ago we addressed this same crowd and had made several fundamental promises to you and so to our clan in general. We vowed that we would transform our negative and destructive forces into positive energy aimed at rebuilding our clan, giving it strength and stability that had escaped us in the last few centuries. It is early days still, but have you not witnessed for yourselves the fulfillment of those promises?

“Yes, you know the truth. If it was not so, all of you would be knowledgeable of that fact.” he said pointing randomly in the crowd. “Again, as we all know, nothing stays hidden too long within these walls.” he said with a slight smile as he briefly turned towards Vitali and then back to the crowd.

“The strength of a kingdom, lies not in the wealth that abides in the coffers. While money is important, without the loyalty and trust of one’s subjects, a kingdom is naught. Any such kingdom that exists is like a damaged ship destined to sink to the greatest depths of the ocean, with all the passengers disappearing into the void.” his voice crescendoing. There was shuffling in the crowd, but apart from that, no one moved or even dared to speak.

“I am young,” he said softly. “but again I say, I am not naïve. Like all men, I do not know it all, but unlike most men, human or shifter, I know enough. The only ones who could beg to be excepted from the lot are my father, Grand Corona Sonya and her heir Minrosa, as it is they alone who possess my gift of insight and wisdom that comes with years much more than mine own. Not even the great and mighty Ay could claim such. His blinding arrogance and hatred were clear examples of his folly. The result of his madness was his death and that of his offspring Omayra.” he fell silent again as his eyes swept over the crowd.

“Then again, I did not call this assembly to address the issues of loyalty directly, as many of you in here have been schooled in the virtue for the years or centuries that you have served in this Guard. The issue that needs to be addressed, is whom it is that you pledge your loyalty to? Are you loyal to your king, your captain, your greed, your desire of self-preservation and elevation? If you do not know, search yourselves. And while you do, I’ll tell you with whom my loyalty lies.” he paused. “My loyalty lies with my family.”

“My family encompasses not only those whom stand here in front of you, but the entire Lune community and through my wife, the Corona race. All shifters are my family. This is why it pains me to the very core that someone in my own family, seeks my destruction, to again plunge our race into the quandary of confusion, fear, hate and mistrust, all for personal gain.”

“Who is it that wishes this on us Your Majesty? Who is it that dares to threaten the crown?” said a voice coming from the crowd. I could see a few heads nodding in agreement.

“Peace,” said Thorn, bringing the room to silence. “All will be revealed.” he paused again. “This treacherous plan was hatched on the second day after my arrival in Tir na n-Óg. . . .” I listened with bated breath as he recalled the ordeals faced by our family. Leaving out nothing from my abduction, his struggles in finding me, the capture and trial of Naeht. Everything including a phone call from my father. This last part especially caught my attention as it was the first time that I was hearing this. I froze as he mentioned excerpts from a diary. Rain’s diary. The missing pages. However, I was the only person in the room aware of that.

“. . . The son of Ay is among your ranks. He is not the enemy. The enemy heads the Guard. Beware.” The cacophony of whispers flared up in the room, expelling the silence of everything but my thoughts.

“Your Majesty,” said Vitali. “I pray that you do not wish to imply that I who have served you from the beginning of your reign has become the enemy of the state?” he said capturing the attention of everyone in the room.

“There are only two who heads the Guard Vitali. Me being Grand Lune and you being the captain. I know for certain that I am not my own enemy.”

“Your Majesty, if I may say. It wouldn’t be prudent to base your accusations on a traitor in the form of your brother and from a stranger who hasn’t the courage to reveal his true identity. They could be the masterminds of this whole plan, having the consequences of their own transgressions being placed on me. My case is strengthened even more by the utterances within your own piece of evidence. It is common knowledge Your Majesty that Ay had only one child, a daughter, Omayra who is long dead. So how then is it that you accuse me with words from one who claims that Ay has a son?” again murmurs spread through the room.

It was my time to speak up or rather fess up. I walked to stand beside Thorn. “That is a question that I believe that I can provide an answer to.” all eyes then reverted their attention to me. Thorn’s eyes however, where the ones I beheld. I touched his face softly and then continued. “Ay does have another child, a son. But even that child doesn’t know the truth about his parentage.”

“Then how would you know, then my queen?” asked Vitali in a condescending tone.

“Those of you who have been in the Guard for more than thirty years will know that I speak the truth. There was one among you, a woman, one of the best, some might say the greatest soldier among you at the time. She as you would also know, was also Ay’s consort and had been for many years. When she disappeared about twenty-five years ago, many of you thought naught of it. And probably assumed her to be dead as was the fate of many who were close to Ay. But this was not so.

“She was sent on a mission by Ay to ferret out one whom he considered to be a threat to his rule. Like the great soldier she was, she didn’t fail. She did find the so-called traitor but in a strange twist of events, she didn’t kill him as she was instructed to do. She instead, fell in love with and married him. She knew that with her act of insubordination and betrayal of the state, couldn’t after that return to the Guard as it would mean her death. Although she couldn’t return to the Guard, Ay did leave her a parting gift that would tie her to him forever. He gave her a child, a son.

“Her new husband was very kind, accepting her despite her pregnant state and after the birth of Ay’s son, they too had a son together after few years, during which she died giving life to him.

“This brave warrior woman of whom some of you may know, her name was Rain. Her second son also bears that name and he stands before you today, in a position that is rightly his, as Grand Lune. The son of Ay, his half-brother also stands with us. His name is Naeht.” I said looking over at him. His features like many others in the room registered absolute shock at my revelation.

“Look at him carefully, he has features of his mother, but the truth about whom his sire was, is clearly etched in the outline of his face.” I paused briefly allowing time for the mumbling to subside and for the others to absorb the truth of what I said. “I came up on this fact during the time I was being held hostage. It was there that I found her diary. Those pages of which my husband spoke, I knew came from the same book, as they were signed in a similar fashion and the pages read are those that corresponds with a void of twenty years that is recorded in the book.

“It was not my intention to reveal what I know of the diary and its contents to anyone, including my family, knowing the discord that it might foster. However, the time had come for all that was hidden to come to light.

“If anyone questions the authenticity of what I have said, all you have to do is to quiz me about any particular mission that had taken place from the twenty-third of March 1800 onwards and I believe that I would be able to give you the answer. The correct answer, as it is all recorded in the journal.

“The integrity of he or she that gave my father the warning I do not question, but instead I applaud their bravery as it is no easy thing to turn on your leader, your captain. I applaud his or hers’ veracity as they placed the well-being of your lives and ours before their own. As for my brother-in-law, him I trust because he told me the truth before any of this had transpired. He had wronged me, but I have forgiven him. I knew who is sire was, and I also knew who his father, the man who had raised him was and because of that I had no reason to hold him in contempt. It is that reason that he stands with our family instead of a cell under the palace.” With that I fell silent.

I walked back to my original position leaving Thorn alone at the fore. I could feel the eyes of my family on me, wanting to know everything and knowing that they would have to wait until this was settled.

“In light of this new revelation, does anyone in the Guard doubt anything I had said today?” the room was quiet, but the faces said it all. No!

“I congratulate you Your Majesties on your pretty speeches, that were carefully crafted to play on the emotions of your men. As I think you consider us to be stupid, minds that are easily bent to follow your will. You speak of loyalty to us, to your family, yet was it not your intention to throw us out into the streets. To disband the Royal Guard, men who are not just servants to the throne, but men that serve as a symbol of strength and prestige of our entire race. Men highly regarded, to be discarded like garbage, kicked out like ill-bred mongrels. Is that Your Majesties, your definition of loyalty? If that is so, then I spit upon your devotion. I spit upon your promises, as they mean nothing to us or this nation.

“I did make those plans as I believe that I should not cower under the authority of a mere boy, a child. No, I think not.” he said seethingly.

I could feel bristles of heat and cold rippling throughout my body. I folded my fingers into a tight fist, the elbow of my left arm rubbing slightly against the hilt of my father’s sword. My muscles became like tightly coiled springs, ready to unfurl at the first sign of an attack. The crowd looked at Thorn mouths agape, waiting for his response to Vitali’s verbal assault. They like me were confused by the calm on his face. It was as if Vitali had not spoken.

My heart raced on at a thousand beats per minute. Seidon was a few feet away from me but I was sure that he could hear it, enhanced hearing or not. The pressure of not knowing what was to happen next was almost too much to bear. Vitali had pushed us to the very ledge of a cliff. One move in the wrong direction and we would lay splattered out on the jagged rocks miles down. Just one wrong move and. . .

“That might be so,” said Rain finally. “but what is it that you offer captain? As I assume the person you believe whom you deem worthy to stand in my stead is yourself?” He then started to laugh, softly at first, but it gradually got louder. There was no music in this sound, it was cynical, cruel and it sent chilled the very marrow in my bones. It was an evil sound, one I never knew that could come from the lips that I loved.

Everyone looked at Vitali, who was shifting about uncomfortably, and then back at him. They looked at him as if he was a mad man. Probably he was. Vitali had pushed him too far. At this moment he was capable of just about anything. Even if I wanted to stand closer to him, it wouldn’t be the best thing to do, as he could hurt me accidentally.

He suddenly fell silent. His face regained its former calm as he folded his hands behind him. He looked at no one, as his lids were closed, either that or he was looking at the cold floor.

“You look at me as if I am mad captain.” he said softly. “Maybe I am. But you delude yourself to think that you are more powerful than me. You are a coward hiding behind the numbers of your men. Even if you lived to be a thousand years old, and if you tried to kill me again you would fail.”

As he spoke, I noticed that the floor around and between them had taken on a faint orange glow, which intensified by the second until it was a startling titian . First it was a circular mound that appeared around Vitali’s feet. The icy knoll grew quickly, as thousands of crystals climbed up his body forming a rocky summit, until everything but his head was left uncovered. He tried to move but his efforts were in vain as the orange ice held him firmly in place. His face was contorted with lines of pain and the room echoed his cries of anguish as the fire slowly burned away his skin and muscles. The solid fire would continue down to the bones, stopping only at Thorn’s will or if there was nothing left to be consumed.

Thorn’s lids finally flicked up. “You think me weak, because I do not anger easily. Think I am soft as I am not swift to kill. Think me unwise because of my age. You are as blind as your former master was. Because of that, you underestimated me.

“I was hoping that it wouldn’t have to come to this; me playing the executioner. It is an unpleasant business taking another life. But it is inevitable it seems.” he said softly but without remorse. The fire crystals grew swiftly covering his head, leaving an orange pillar in the grotesque form of a man.

The screaming had stopped. The floor slowly regained its colour as it did, the pillar slowly melted away. Nothing was left behind except a white robe and a silver-bladed sword that fell noisily to the floor.

“To be killed by an element we control is a dishonour among both clans. The dishonour today, was Vitali’s.” he said softly, but weakly. It looked like his bending had drained him. I walked up to him and laced one of my arm through his, offering my body as support. He looked at me gratefully and then continued to speak. “I am not your enemy, but unfortunately there might be some of you that shared the same views as Vitali.

“I cannot tell you what to feel. Hate me if you will, but respect is due to me and my family. It brings me great ague to have to admit this, but Vitali is right. The Royal Guard will be disbanded. Recent events have shown that it is unsafe to keep intact. You are a powerful group, not as you once were, but still very strong. The Guard has played a key role in the rise and fall of too many of our monarchs. For the last four hundred years, our society has acted like a wolf pack with two alphas; the Guard and the Grand Lune. The power struggle has cost us the lives of many and if we are to graduate into an era of peace and prosperity, the struggle has to end some day. Today is that day.

“The Guard is disbanded, but not obliterated. I will not however, leave you without help, my doors are open to all that wishes this clan well. This process will be gradual. Some will be kept and others let go. But all will be taken care of. That is my promise.

“The world is a big place, it is too big for one hundred and five of our best to be stuck in one place, guarding one man. You have many adventures ahead of you. Adventures that doesn’t include rebellions, discord and death.

“These adventures will be your own. With the skills and ingenuity that you all possess our clan is bound to succeed, and we will again attain true power of the years gone by. With these words, I now say that this meeting is adjourned. Until I next address you.”

“This belongs to you.” said Naeht as he handed back the citrine gem back to Thorn.

“I believe it does. Thank you.” he said taking the gem from his brother.

Summer. I heard my name resounding in my head. I looked at Thorn and smiled. He gave me slight wink before he tucked the gem back under his shirt.

“I also owe you and dad, as a matter of fact, I owe all three of you an apology. My selfishness nearly cost us all our lives. Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover what I did. I am in no position to ask for your forgiveness and I understand if you never do, but I want you to know that I am going to work very hard to regain your trust.” he said while looking at all three of us.

“You are right you know, about having to gain our forgiveness.” started Thorn. “However, I haven’t been totally blameless throughout this whole affair. I could have handled myself better in some situations.” he paused and smiled. “So I also owe you an apology. I am sorry.

“On the matter of trust. You have proven that we can still trust you. It might have taken a little prodding from Summer, but you still came through for us. For that I want to thank you. Brother.” he finished. He held out his hand. I waited nervously as for a brief second it looked like Naeht wasn’t going to take it. But slowly his hands moved from his side and then they were grasping each other’s hands tightly. I looked over at Seidon. There was a liveliness in his eyes that was absent these last few months. I knew how much it meant to him to see his boys finally agreeing.

There was still a fair amount of discord between those two, but the outright hate for each other seemed to have gone. At least for now.

“Ay is my father. All those years I had wondered. . .” said Naeht quietly. “My mother’s diary can I . . .?” he said turning around to me.

“I have it here.” I said pulling it out from under my cloak and handing it to him. He brushed his hands over the cover before opening it and lightly scanning the pages. “There is so much about her life in there before the two of you were born. I learned so much from reading it.” I bit my lip nervously. “I wanted to tell someone about it, but I didn’t think it right. The secrets weren’t mine to share.” I said looking over at Thorn.

“I understand,” he said smiling slightly. He then took the book from Naeht who’d passed it to him. He and Seidon then scanned it together.

“This is her hand,” Seidon softly. I thought I saw a tear brimming over on is cheek, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

“Who first should. . .?” started Naeht.

“I think it should be you.” said Thorn. “It affects you more than either me or dad.” Seidon nodded in agreement.

We had gathered in Thorn’s quarter’s after the standoff earlier. Things were still very tense, but the threat of danger that lingered earlier had gone.

Thorn, Naeht and Seidon had a lot to go over. The moment was theirs. All things wouldn’t be fixed tonight, but it was a start. There was a lot of damage control and rebuilding to be completed within the Lunes. It was only suitable that it started at the top, where everyone else in the clan could look and use them as an example of how to live peaceably with each other. Years of distrust and hate were now to be forgotten and new solutions were to be made regarding the way forward. I quietly walked out on to the balcony where I found Diego standing.

He heard my approach and turned around. “My Queen,” he said bowing slightly.

I smiled softly and came to stand beside him at the railing. “What a day it was.” I said softly.

“It has been quite a day indeed.” he said looking at me slightly before looking back at the falls.

“Things might have turned out so much differently if it wasn’t for you. You saved our lives today and I want to thank you for that. I wish I knew some way to repay you.”

“Thank you for the commendation, but I cannot take all the credit. I only did what I knew was right. I could see that your husband and you belonged at the helm. It felt right. It is very cliché to say this, but I was just doing my job.

“It is you that I am impressed with. The way you handled yourself throughout the whole ordeal, it was calm, collected and very stately. I don’t think things would have gone the way they had if you were not here. You are as wise as you are beautiful Your Majesty, And if you don’t mind me saying, I can see exactly why brothers would betray each other for your attention.”

“I, I thank you.” I stammered as his compliments were very generous and unexpected.

“Why do you blush so? You know that it is the truth.”

“Your Majesty,” said Diego. “I wasn’t aware that ...”

“It is ok Diego, you can relax.” said Thorn with a wide smile as he came over and stood beside me winding his arm around my waist. “My wife is beautiful and she is wise. I consider myself very lucky indeed that she is by my side.” he said as he looked at me. I greeted him with a smile before I ducked my head a bit embarrassed.

“I too want to thank you for what you’ve done for us. Is there anything that I can do for you?”

“Actually there is one thing.” he started slowly. “I want to stay on as your personal guard.”

“My life isn’t going to be very exciting after today. Are you sure that this is what you want Diego?”

“As sure as the moon changing the tides.”

“Then you will have your wish. You have proved yourself very valuable and it would be a waste to have you go. ” said Thorn.

“Thank you,” he said bowing slightly. “If I may be excused?”

“Of course. She is waiting to see you.” smiled Rain.

“Your Majesty?” said Diego surprised.

“I know many things. I would wish you luck, but you don’t need it. What is meant to be, will be.”

“I ah, thank you Sire.” he smiled before disappearing off the balcony.

“Did you just make your first love match?” I said turning to face him.

“I suppose I just did.” he smiled.

“Who is she?”

“Another member in the Guard. He had been mooning over her for a couple of years now. She was the reason he joined. He didn’t have the courage to ask her out. He was smart enough know that women can be such terrifying creatures at times.” he said with one-sided smile splayed on his face.

“Terrifying, maybe.” I smiled as I clasped my hands around his neck. “But you men can be abominable at times.”

His smile slowly faded and two creases marked his forehead. “What I did to Vitali today. . . . After I was finished, I could see the fear on many faces in the room. They were afraid of me Aurora. I didn’t want to kill him, that way but he made me so angry...” he said softly. “I just hope that you weren’t afraid. I don’t want that event to make you think any less of me.”

“I was a little afraid. To be truthful, everybody in that room was. You looked so calm, beautiful and at the same time deadly. We didn’t know what to expect next.” I placed my hand on the side of his cheek and forced him to look at me. “You are very powerful, it is normal that others fear you. They fear the possibilities of what you might do with your abilities. You burnt a man with ice!

“You might be strong beyond comparison, but I know that you are a good person Rain. I know that you are not going to abuse your strength.” he smiled slightly.

“As for me thinking any less of you, that could never happen. I love you too much and I am proud to know that I am yours. Vitali had to die. It doesn’t matter how he did die. It was either kill or be killed. You did what you had to do, for us and the rest of the clan. I do not regret you doing what you did and neither should you.”

“Which I don’t.” he said finally.

“Good. And stop worrying about me ever not loving you. I am yours for as long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.”

“And I am yours for as long the moon encircles the Earth.”

January 19, 1990

The journey to the top isn’t always the easiest. If there is one knowledgeable of that fact, it is I. I once more have the opportunity to be amongst royalty. This time, I don’t have to work to earn the king’s love or regard. This king cares not how many men I kill or how many battles I have won. This king loves me unconditionally, even while he still lays unknown to me.

It has not been an easy pregnancy for me. Seidon tries his very best to hide it, but I know that the outcome isn’t what we would like. I am sad that I will have no part in the raising of my child. But I am very happy that I have the opportunity to bring him into this world.

I prayed again today. I know that my death is imminent, but I just want the opportunity to see him at least once. To kiss his head and to tell him that I love him. If I got that chance, then I would be content.

It is a mother’s wish to see the best for her children, and I think I have done well in choosing Seidon. Or rather, him choosing me. With him guiding them I know that they will make fine men. Men that I will be proud of. Men I am already proud of. Men that will ascend into greatness.

To the three most important people in my life, these words may or may not be the last that I write, in any event., I want to say, I love you and I will be with you always.

Your Mother, Your Wife

Rain Esor North

To believe in the unimaginable

Is to make the impossible possible.

Doing the impossible

Makes greatness attainable.

The Twelfth ,The Last Great Truth

Grand Lune Ay

The end