Part One: Mave
Crusted, dried blood sticks under my nails. No matter the pressure, the weight, it doesn't stop the flow of blood that beads down my back and sticks to my tattered, torn clothes. Feathers continue to fall leaving me more naked and frail than before.
‘How could it’ve ever come to this?’
Chains grip at my neck, leaving more trails of crimson blood that add to the pain. Broken arrow shafts stick to my crippled wings. They tear and pull at my feathered flesh like fish swimming through thick clay.
‘How could she have ever let them do this?’ I wondered.
She saw the mal intent her father held and yet she let it happen.
Her Father, the Emperor, wanted this to happen, he wanted me to bleed dry and shrivel in this cold dirty cell.
I should’ve stayed in the forest. I never should’ve saved her that rainy day.
I whine squeakily, pulling and tugging at the chains that entangle my every limb.
Straw and dirt cakes against my cheek as guards shout throughout the top of the stairs. Even in this dimly lit cell the fractured sight of the torches lining the wall are the only provided light in this entire room.
I find the best position I can, laying my face along the floor with my wings spread flat across my back with the hope of sparing them infection from the grimy floor. I continue to shift slightly as the clicking of gears fills the consuming silence.
I stare sharply at the door.
No one dares even to touch the door, let alone open it.
My execution is a week from today; there's no reason to open the door— unless…
The door swings along the hinges, flooding the room with warm torch light.
A cloaked figure stands in the doorway, holding themselves up with dignity and ambition. That posture only one person could truly pull off flawlessly.
“Starlight,” I croak, my throat thick and dry from these heated nights.
“You know I hate that nickname.” She pulls off the hood to reveal a short, choppy cut that is striking against her complexion.
“Your hair,” I say, imagining her long, thick hair and the way my fingers would intertwine into those locs, and now those are gone just like my Mene.
“You like it?”
“No,” I say, so low I'm surprised she can hear me.
“Wow, what a compliment,” She says, rolling her eyes ever so slightly.
She shoves the keys with intense haste, unlocking the metal clasps that bind me to the floor.
“Stand up,” she commands, ushering me to my feet. They bear my weight better than expected and help me through the door before I need to lean onto Cecilia to prevent collapsing.
“I thought you abandoned me,” I mumbled against her, “Your dad tried to kill me— and, well, his entire army.”
She nods her head without hesitation or remorse. “He believes you to be a freak of nature, after all calamity is supposed to arrive by the ‘one with Mene made of air.’” As she recites that old prophecy, I begin to piece the Emperor's thoughts together.
‘Mene made of air.’ My wings.
Mene is meant to be taught, a learned ability of magical capabilities that one can use to create, destroy, anything that you can imagine can probably be done by Mene.
Mene is not inherited, not born. Yet here I stand— or lean.
“He believes I will bring calamity.”
“He believes you will bring on the end of the world.”
“And what about you? What do you believe?”
She hesitates, shifting my weight on her shoulders. “I believe you will stop it.”
We turn a corner and arrive at a dead end, the blank wall in front of us is just like all of the other walls. But before I realize it, I know exactly what Cecilia is planning.
She folds her hands together, pressing the pads of her fingers together before pulling them away from each other slowly. Her aura shifts and she radiates with a glowing blue warmth that reveals a long sword she has created out of thin air.
‘She really wants to fight her way out of this?’
She's got to be insane. Yet again, she is trying to help me, so maybe she's not too insane.
She shifts her hands, splitting the sword in half, one in each hand.
“Those guards have more Mene training than you. We can’t fight our way out.” I say as I grit my teeth from the aching pain in my back.
“Wasn't planning on it.” She smirks mischievously.
Her blue aura swords cut through the air as she twists and drags them. A sliver appears as if she's cut a hole in the fabric of space. Portal creation, a specific skill driving from Mene users who deal with warping reality and perception.
We slip into the portal seconds before it snaps close.
Then Cecilia drops the swords and they fade back into nothing.
We begin to follow a twisted dirt path, and I begin to realize that she cut a portal right to the entrance of the White stone forest. ‘My forest.’
“I still don't get it,” I start, trying to collect the right words to say. “Why are you risking your life for me? Calamity is not supposed to arrive until the Emperor falls.”
“That's the thing,” she pauses for just a few seconds too long. “Calamity has already arrived.”
My heart drops at the thought. “Already?” I repeat, hesitantly, “How— that's not even possible! The Emperor is still well and alive– Unfortunately.”
She chuckles, checking the compass she hides between the layers of her cloak. “The night you were captured the city flooded and the sky turned the color of blood. The moon was overtaken by darkness and… Strange things have been happening.”
“Strange things?”
“People have been disappearing and large disasters keep happening. Did you feel that earthquake yesterday? It took out half of the city.”
“That doesn't prove a thing, we have earthquakes all the time.”
“How about you see for yourself then?” She takes a sharp left, traveling down hill towards a rocky cliff. The trees stop abruptly before the cliff begins. Overlooking the entire kingdom, I finally realize how far Cecilia has transported us. Not only to the beginning of the forest, but about an hour’s walk west.
The kingdom is completely drenched in water, covering anything that's under ten feet tall. No wonder they put me in a metal cell on the third floor of the castle and not in the cellar.
Only parts of the inner downtown area are visible by a few floors. Small trading canoos linger on the water like small ants on driftwood navigating through the city. But what immediately catches my eyes is the fact that there is a mountain-sized cavern in the middle of the city streets. Parts of the city lay torn vertically like shards of glass. Separating the water covered city from the deep molting cave. Black vines stretch from within it attacking the land and slowly infecting the water with a deep purple haze.
“What is that?” I squint as I try to make out certain parts of the broken city.
“It's weird, no?”
“Those look like tentacles from a squid…”
“That's what everyone thought at first but they haven't moved an inch since that thing erupted.”
I think about that night I was taken, captured and tortured. I held no information, no money, or ransom they could ask for. I was an outcast that they dragged back to the castle walls to ridicule.
They knew about me. They knew where to find me. I had been betrayed.
The forest was my home, or at least it's the place where I found what little comfort I could afford. I scared those who don't belong and protected the land from any harm. It was my purpose. Until Cecilia teleported into my home. I had seen that type of Mene before, but when she ripped a hole into the air and split it like a curtain, a rush of wonder flooded me.
Who was she?
Had she come to hunt me down like all the others?
Her Mene, was it an illusion?
The men that wander in here hold Mene but perform weak spells, the knights use slightly elaborate spells beneath thick armor. Yet I had never seen anything like what she held. Her fingers drew through the air creating shapes of light blue Mene. Often pausing to look over her shoulder or to add more detail.
A tracking spell?
A map perhaps?
The little knowledge I know about Mene is anything but fulfilling. Giving me more questions than answers. But the royals’ Mene is even more difficult to understand even for the typical Mene practitioner, unlike myself.
And Cecilia’s Mene was— and still is —deeply fascinating.
Back then her long hair was pulled back with a series of gold clasps. She wore layers of thick leather clothing, something not unlike what the Knights wear, yet sleeker and more flexible along with a thin satchel stuffed with what I later discovered to be a series of essentials.
Cautiously, I hid between the thick branches, following close behind her.
After intense observation, I saw that she tore no small blossoms off the trees, didn't stop to squash any bugs, nor pick any mushrooms. She merely watched and walked. She was… considerate. A rare trait I had not seen in many years from any traveler.
Nonetheless, I kept a close eye on her.
These woods may be large and quiet, but they can be rather dangerous if you are not careful. Animals lurk in the shadows, waiting for the perfect prey to pounce on.
Cecilia wandered around, taking one path then halting to only go down another. She was very hesitant and unsure of her surroundings. And continued to stare at what I've decided to call her Mene formed map. It was nothing like what the forest quite looked like, the shapes were rather sloppy and confusing to anyone but her. She followed and held it like a light floating orb.
Suddenly, a Boar stopped to glare at her, calling quite loudly as it ruffled its huffs in the dirt, it prepared to charge.
Animals like these are quite common; untamed but easily redirected..
I slammed down and spread my wings high over my head to look as intimidating as possible.
The boar skidded in his tracks, staring at me with its deep eyes, then it took off running with an exasperated oink.
Of course, when I dropped out of the sky she screamed. But when I showed her that I was no threat? She almost melted.
She stayed for a while– Until the guards came for her.
Then they came for me, with their chains and bows.
“We need to get you patched up…” Cecilia whispers, staring at my wings.
“No. I'm fine. I can barely feel it now.”
“That's not a good thing!” She exclaims, kicking me in the back of the knee. “Sit down! And let me help you.”
I grumble loudly as Cecilia proceeds to shove a pair of tweezers into my shoulder blade. It burns and itches all the way up my spine. She works slowly but efficiently, slipping it into my flesh to fish out slivers of wood. Soon, the bloody broken arrow shafts were all retrieved and discarded.
I can feel my wings again and flex them easily. Cecilia stitches what's needed and wraps the rest of my wings in gauze.
“Go to sleep. It's late and you need the rest.”
Reluctantly, I listen.
I curl up against the dirt next to a small bundle of branches lit with a flame. Cecilia throws in more twigs, humming a soothing tune. When I drift off, my sleep is quiet and painless, the type of sleep I haven't had in weeks.
The next morning, Cecilia is nowhere to be found. Her cloak and a few items lay across a log near the dead fire. Her shoes and hair clamps —she nevers goes anywhere without those— lay among her items.
Long, thick white feathers are scattered across the dirt. I wrestle against my bandages, wondering who they could belong to. My wings have lost many feathers, but these were nothing like my silver wings.
Twisting one in my grasp I begin to notice the silky, almost dove-like appearance. Although– these are too long to have come from such a small bird.
‘Where could she have gone?’ I think to myself.
“Starlight?” I called out.
No answer, only the light rustling of the wind in the branches.
I stare at the cloak picking the dark velvet fabric up off the ground. I wander around deeper through the woods, The thick humidity making my wings feel heavier beneath the layer of gauze.
I begin to see a wide divide in the trees that hug close together, they hug along a wide shallow creek. Everything looks so foregin from the ground.
The water runs over smooth stones, glistening in the sunlight that flows along overhead.
Crystal clumps linger around the bank of the running water, illuminating the water as different shades of pinks and purples.
Cecilia stands watching the water holding something in her hand.
“Oh, there you are.” I say joining her side. “Where did you go?”
“I just went to go get some more firewood… and then I got a message,” she holds up a small scroll, and reads off of it. “‘Calamity lives in Western Dawn Temple.’” She flips the piece of paper over searching for more words but none appear.
“The one in the mountains?”
She nods her head. “I suppose so. I've been to the peak before so I might be able to teleport us to the middle of the mountain.”
“It would be smart to save your energy” I pause before adding, “After all, we will be facing Calamity.”
‘What would fighting Calamity even look like?’ I wonder.
“My energy is the least of our worries… We don't even know what we are facing.” She stares towards the sky as we wander, making our way further west.
I have heard stories of Calamity, the chaos and destruction that would ensue due to its release. Many tales say Calamity would inhabit a body using them as a host to destroy everything they know and love, like a guide across this realm. Many would call it a tragedy, and I would have to agree.
We must stop this tragedy right in its tracks before it destroys everything.
After a long pause I speak up again. “So who's the message from?”
“A girl’s got her sources. Don't question it.”
I press my lips into a line ‘Don't question it’? ‘Just like how I'm not supposed to question how you got me out of that cage?’ I think to myself not daring to say it aloud.
Wandering through the rest of the forest is the worst experience of my life. Without my wings I feel like a broken porcelain doll, hobbling on one leg, hoping not to shatter. The mountain is closer than what Cecilia predicted and from the base of the mountain the Temple is visible, built into the side of the mountain on a dug out flat area. A dirt path climbs up the side to a slight inclimb.
When we get closer we realize that the temple is in complete shambles. Nothing like when I think of the ancient temples in the Cities. This one has been abandoned and covered in vines. Half of the roof has caved in, leaving birds and nature to invade the once human inhabited building. Now nature has overtaken it and made it a new home.
A man— Calamity— stands at the feet of a decimated statue. He stares at it longingly. His face looks worn with dirt and what could be dried blood. Lines trailed down his face and a series of braids lingered across his curly gray turned hair. A monstrous beard decorated his chin along with one thickly drawn black line tattoo down his throat all the way to his collarbone.
Symbolic medallions and crystals decorated the chest of his tightly bound embroidered robes. They seemed to match the same designs that are engraved into the wooden ceiling, flowers and stars interwoven to create a busy design.
As we walk into the half crumbled temple he slowly turns towards us, his eyes two strangely beautiful different shades of brown.
He stretches out his arms with an oddly welcoming smile.
But it's not for me.
“We have awaited your arrival, Calamity.”
It's for Cecilia.
Part Two: Cecilia
Me? Calamity?
This man is either blind, or he doesn't know who has walked in through the front door.
I begin to laugh.
He's messing with us. That's all this is.
I press my hands together searching for my Mene. “We have come to kill Calamity. We have come to kill you.”
“Oh.” he exclaims, clutching at where his heart might be sarcastically. “But the one with Mene made of air is not me. I'm not the one growing feathers, afterall.”
I freeze up.
‘How could that man possibly know that?’ I think to myself.
Maves attention snaps to mine, his eyes burning with uncertainty.
“Those feathers? They were yours?” he whispered.
I think back to this morning. I had pulled a majority of them off. Those bulky feathers make it impossible for me to hide them beneath my armor and cloak. They grow incredibly fast and I will have to do it again within another day or so.
I take a step back unsure of what to say, or even do.
“I–” I start, struggling for possible excuses just as flashes of darkness surround us.
Not flashes, people.
One shoots shards of ice that spray at my feet and dent across my breast plate.
Another levitates a piece of a stone column launching it across the room with enough force it shatters the doorway. I slip through a portal a few feet to the right just managing to dodge it.
The man merely smirks, holding out a hand. “Make this easy, you already know what you are.” he gestures for me to take his hand. “I can help you cultivate that power.”
“I know who I am. I'm not Calamity!” I shout, as more people emerge from the shadows.
Mene projects from across the room; bolts of lightning, ice, earth, and metal shoot from every corner, filling the room with uncontrollable chaos.
Mave merely ducks for cover behind a half broken column using his heavily bandaged wings to protect his head.
I slide behind a long overturned statue, barely missing a few ice shards.
The man stands, shifting his weight surveying the battle, wearing no armor, with no signs of Mene coming from him.
Is this an Illusion?
Could he be in our heads messing with us?
He is just… watching?
No this makes no sense.
Stain glass shatters, sprinkling colorful shards across Mave who hugs into a small ball in the corner.
Our whole goal was Calamity! Our purpose here was to kill Calamity and now?— no. This man is certainly Calamity. My sources said so. They wouldn't lead me wrongly.
“Mave,” I hiss, “Mave!” my volume increasing a little bit each time.
He looks up at me with wide frightened eyes.
I nod towards the action and form my Mene swords, pulling them out of hands again. The sleek white handles feel cold but just right in my grasp.
“Absolutely not.” he says
I sigh, sliding him the other half of my sword. “We can't just sit here!” I snap twisting the blade over my wrist gripping it with bone white knuckles.
He sighs, letting his wings fold comfortably against his back.
He grabs the blade and prepares himself with a few deep breaths.
“You are surely lucky I trust you with my life. Or I wouldn't be following this plan.”
“Then you better pray it works.”
“Oh don't worry I am.”
“I'm counting on it.” I smirk, shifting to the tips of my toes in a crouch and slowly making my way towards the man with enough Mene to teleport one last time. Maves voice rings in my head ‘Save your energy’. Our ticket out of here. If things turn south I grab him and cut us out of here.
I nod my head agreeing mentally to the idea before throwing a jab of my finger to Mave. I bolt directly to the faltered statue hiding behind the Man. And Mave dives right into the main attack causing the people to jump back. He swings the sword widely making one person trip skidding back to the palms of their hands; immediately receiving a stab to the neck. They choke bleeding out onto the chipped stone tiles.
The Mene users in the back continue to manipulate the ice like a game of cat and mouse, using it to tear at Mave’s precious wings and chipping light feathers to only receive swift deaths by that smooth blade of mine. His movements are that of a Knight– quick and precise, choosing the battles he consciously knows he has a chance at.
The man stands, hands clasped behind his back, his attention fixated on Mave and the enchanting sight of him jumping like a flash of silver and blood.
The man's dark robes flap in the light breeze reflecting the light that bounces along the gold engravings on his clothing.
I slowly creep up onto the chancel.
The man turns just in time to see me swing my blade.
His lips peak up at the corner like he was waiting for this moment before fading into nothing.
My blade swings through the air missing the man by a few precious seconds.
“Illusion ?” I gasp.
“No.” He states. “Pure Power.” he says appears at the broken doorway, he opens his arms giving a slight bow. His smile widdens mischievously, flashing oddly sharp teeth. “You were so close, my darling,”
A chuckle rings through the church until Mave cries out with a blood wrenching scream— a sound that chills me to the bone. I look down to see him crumble, his wings cut at the base and torn from his body. His Mene are more than broken— this time permanently gone.“Not close enough apparently.” the man chuckles, his voice echoing up the deep concave ceilings.
I gasp, my hands shaking.
The shadows surround me, tugging and pulling me back. I reach for my Mene and the ground begins to shake. The floor cracks and pulls apart at the seams, beginning where my feet lay.
‘It is me.’
‘I am Calamity.’
“There's our Calamity!” The man exclaims.
The hands release me as I fall to my knees.
‘I am destruction.’
Sobs rack through my body as everything crumbles around me.
“I'm so sorry Mave,” I whisper as blood seems to pour from every corner of the room.
Crusted, dried blood sticks under my nails. No matter the pressure, the weight, it doesn't stop the flow of blood that beads down my back and sticks to my tattered, torn clothes. Feathers continue to fall leaving me more naked and frail than before.
‘How could it’ve ever come to this?’
Chains grip at my neck, leaving more trails of crimson blood that add to the pain. Broken arrow shafts stick to my crippled wings. They tear and pull at my feathered flesh like fish swimming through thick clay.
‘How could she have ever let them do this?’ I wondered.
She saw the mal intent her father held and yet she let it happen.
Her Father, the Emperor, wanted this to happen, he wanted me to bleed dry and shrivel in this cold dirty cell.
I should’ve stayed in the forest. I never should’ve saved her that rainy day.
I whine squeakily, pulling and tugging at the chains that entangle my every limb.
Straw and dirt cakes against my cheek as guards shout throughout the top of the stairs. Even in this dimly lit cell the fractured sight of the torches lining the wall are the only provided light in this entire room.
I find the best position I can, laying my face along the floor with my wings spread flat across my back with the hope of sparing them infection from the grimy floor. I continue to shift slightly as the clicking of gears fills the consuming silence.
I stare sharply at the door.
No one dares even to touch the door, let alone open it.
My execution is a week from today; there's no reason to open the door— unless…
The door swings along the hinges, flooding the room with warm torch light.
A cloaked figure stands in the doorway, holding themselves up with dignity and ambition. That posture only one person could truly pull off flawlessly.
“Starlight,” I croak, my throat thick and dry from these heated nights.
“You know I hate that nickname.” She pulls off the hood to reveal a short, choppy cut that is striking against her complexion.
“Your hair,” I say, imagining her long, thick hair and the way my fingers would intertwine into those locs, and now those are gone just like my Mene.
“You like it?”
“No,” I say, so low I'm surprised she can hear me.
“Wow, what a compliment,” She says, rolling her eyes ever so slightly.
She shoves the keys with intense haste, unlocking the metal clasps that bind me to the floor.
“Stand up,” she commands, ushering me to my feet. They bear my weight better than expected and help me through the door before I need to lean onto Cecilia to prevent collapsing.
“I thought you abandoned me,” I mumbled against her, “Your dad tried to kill me— and, well, his entire army.”
She nods her head without hesitation or remorse. “He believes you to be a freak of nature, after all calamity is supposed to arrive by the ‘one with Mene made of air.’” As she recites that old prophecy, I begin to piece the Emperor's thoughts together.
‘Mene made of air.’ My wings.
Mene is meant to be taught, a learned ability of magical capabilities that one can use to create, destroy, anything that you can imagine can probably be done by Mene.
Mene is not inherited, not born. Yet here I stand— or lean.
“He believes I will bring calamity.”
“He believes you will bring on the end of the world.”
“And what about you? What do you believe?”
She hesitates, shifting my weight on her shoulders. “I believe you will stop it.”
We turn a corner and arrive at a dead end, the blank wall in front of us is just like all of the other walls. But before I realize it, I know exactly what Cecilia is planning.
She folds her hands together, pressing the pads of her fingers together before pulling them away from each other slowly. Her aura shifts and she radiates with a glowing blue warmth that reveals a long sword she has created out of thin air.
‘She really wants to fight her way out of this?’
She's got to be insane. Yet again, she is trying to help me, so maybe she's not too insane.
She shifts her hands, splitting the sword in half, one in each hand.
“Those guards have more Mene training than you. We can’t fight our way out.” I say as I grit my teeth from the aching pain in my back.
“Wasn't planning on it.” She smirks mischievously.
Her blue aura swords cut through the air as she twists and drags them. A sliver appears as if she's cut a hole in the fabric of space. Portal creation, a specific skill driving from Mene users who deal with warping reality and perception.
We slip into the portal seconds before it snaps close.
Then Cecilia drops the swords and they fade back into nothing.
We begin to follow a twisted dirt path, and I begin to realize that she cut a portal right to the entrance of the White stone forest. ‘My forest.’
“I still don't get it,” I start, trying to collect the right words to say. “Why are you risking your life for me? Calamity is not supposed to arrive until the Emperor falls.”
“That's the thing,” she pauses for just a few seconds too long. “Calamity has already arrived.”
My heart drops at the thought. “Already?” I repeat, hesitantly, “How— that's not even possible! The Emperor is still well and alive– Unfortunately.”
She chuckles, checking the compass she hides between the layers of her cloak. “The night you were captured the city flooded and the sky turned the color of blood. The moon was overtaken by darkness and… Strange things have been happening.”
“Strange things?”
“People have been disappearing and large disasters keep happening. Did you feel that earthquake yesterday? It took out half of the city.”
“That doesn't prove a thing, we have earthquakes all the time.”
“How about you see for yourself then?” She takes a sharp left, traveling down hill towards a rocky cliff. The trees stop abruptly before the cliff begins. Overlooking the entire kingdom, I finally realize how far Cecilia has transported us. Not only to the beginning of the forest, but about an hour’s walk west.
The kingdom is completely drenched in water, covering anything that's under ten feet tall. No wonder they put me in a metal cell on the third floor of the castle and not in the cellar.
Only parts of the inner downtown area are visible by a few floors. Small trading canoos linger on the water like small ants on driftwood navigating through the city. But what immediately catches my eyes is the fact that there is a mountain-sized cavern in the middle of the city streets. Parts of the city lay torn vertically like shards of glass. Separating the water covered city from the deep molting cave. Black vines stretch from within it attacking the land and slowly infecting the water with a deep purple haze.
“What is that?” I squint as I try to make out certain parts of the broken city.
“It's weird, no?”
“Those look like tentacles from a squid…”
“That's what everyone thought at first but they haven't moved an inch since that thing erupted.”
I think about that night I was taken, captured and tortured. I held no information, no money, or ransom they could ask for. I was an outcast that they dragged back to the castle walls to ridicule.
They knew about me. They knew where to find me. I had been betrayed.
The forest was my home, or at least it's the place where I found what little comfort I could afford. I scared those who don't belong and protected the land from any harm. It was my purpose. Until Cecilia teleported into my home. I had seen that type of Mene before, but when she ripped a hole into the air and split it like a curtain, a rush of wonder flooded me.
Who was she?
Had she come to hunt me down like all the others?
Her Mene, was it an illusion?
The men that wander in here hold Mene but perform weak spells, the knights use slightly elaborate spells beneath thick armor. Yet I had never seen anything like what she held. Her fingers drew through the air creating shapes of light blue Mene. Often pausing to look over her shoulder or to add more detail.
A tracking spell?
A map perhaps?
The little knowledge I know about Mene is anything but fulfilling. Giving me more questions than answers. But the royals’ Mene is even more difficult to understand even for the typical Mene practitioner, unlike myself.
And Cecilia’s Mene was— and still is —deeply fascinating.
Back then her long hair was pulled back with a series of gold clasps. She wore layers of thick leather clothing, something not unlike what the Knights wear, yet sleeker and more flexible along with a thin satchel stuffed with what I later discovered to be a series of essentials.
Cautiously, I hid between the thick branches, following close behind her.
After intense observation, I saw that she tore no small blossoms off the trees, didn't stop to squash any bugs, nor pick any mushrooms. She merely watched and walked. She was… considerate. A rare trait I had not seen in many years from any traveler.
Nonetheless, I kept a close eye on her.
These woods may be large and quiet, but they can be rather dangerous if you are not careful. Animals lurk in the shadows, waiting for the perfect prey to pounce on.
Cecilia wandered around, taking one path then halting to only go down another. She was very hesitant and unsure of her surroundings. And continued to stare at what I've decided to call her Mene formed map. It was nothing like what the forest quite looked like, the shapes were rather sloppy and confusing to anyone but her. She followed and held it like a light floating orb.
Suddenly, a Boar stopped to glare at her, calling quite loudly as it ruffled its huffs in the dirt, it prepared to charge.
Animals like these are quite common; untamed but easily redirected..
I slammed down and spread my wings high over my head to look as intimidating as possible.
The boar skidded in his tracks, staring at me with its deep eyes, then it took off running with an exasperated oink.
Of course, when I dropped out of the sky she screamed. But when I showed her that I was no threat? She almost melted.
She stayed for a while– Until the guards came for her.
Then they came for me, with their chains and bows.
“We need to get you patched up…” Cecilia whispers, staring at my wings.
“No. I'm fine. I can barely feel it now.”
“That's not a good thing!” She exclaims, kicking me in the back of the knee. “Sit down! And let me help you.”
I grumble loudly as Cecilia proceeds to shove a pair of tweezers into my shoulder blade. It burns and itches all the way up my spine. She works slowly but efficiently, slipping it into my flesh to fish out slivers of wood. Soon, the bloody broken arrow shafts were all retrieved and discarded.
I can feel my wings again and flex them easily. Cecilia stitches what's needed and wraps the rest of my wings in gauze.
“Go to sleep. It's late and you need the rest.”
Reluctantly, I listen.
I curl up against the dirt next to a small bundle of branches lit with a flame. Cecilia throws in more twigs, humming a soothing tune. When I drift off, my sleep is quiet and painless, the type of sleep I haven't had in weeks.
The next morning, Cecilia is nowhere to be found. Her cloak and a few items lay across a log near the dead fire. Her shoes and hair clamps —she nevers goes anywhere without those— lay among her items.
Long, thick white feathers are scattered across the dirt. I wrestle against my bandages, wondering who they could belong to. My wings have lost many feathers, but these were nothing like my silver wings.
Twisting one in my grasp I begin to notice the silky, almost dove-like appearance. Although– these are too long to have come from such a small bird.
‘Where could she have gone?’ I think to myself.
“Starlight?” I called out.
No answer, only the light rustling of the wind in the branches.
I stare at the cloak picking the dark velvet fabric up off the ground. I wander around deeper through the woods, The thick humidity making my wings feel heavier beneath the layer of gauze.
I begin to see a wide divide in the trees that hug close together, they hug along a wide shallow creek. Everything looks so foregin from the ground.
The water runs over smooth stones, glistening in the sunlight that flows along overhead.
Crystal clumps linger around the bank of the running water, illuminating the water as different shades of pinks and purples.
Cecilia stands watching the water holding something in her hand.
“Oh, there you are.” I say joining her side. “Where did you go?”
“I just went to go get some more firewood… and then I got a message,” she holds up a small scroll, and reads off of it. “‘Calamity lives in Western Dawn Temple.’” She flips the piece of paper over searching for more words but none appear.
“The one in the mountains?”
She nods her head. “I suppose so. I've been to the peak before so I might be able to teleport us to the middle of the mountain.”
“It would be smart to save your energy” I pause before adding, “After all, we will be facing Calamity.”
‘What would fighting Calamity even look like?’ I wonder.
“My energy is the least of our worries… We don't even know what we are facing.” She stares towards the sky as we wander, making our way further west.
I have heard stories of Calamity, the chaos and destruction that would ensue due to its release. Many tales say Calamity would inhabit a body using them as a host to destroy everything they know and love, like a guide across this realm. Many would call it a tragedy, and I would have to agree.
We must stop this tragedy right in its tracks before it destroys everything.
After a long pause I speak up again. “So who's the message from?”
“A girl’s got her sources. Don't question it.”
I press my lips into a line ‘Don't question it’? ‘Just like how I'm not supposed to question how you got me out of that cage?’ I think to myself not daring to say it aloud.
Wandering through the rest of the forest is the worst experience of my life. Without my wings I feel like a broken porcelain doll, hobbling on one leg, hoping not to shatter. The mountain is closer than what Cecilia predicted and from the base of the mountain the Temple is visible, built into the side of the mountain on a dug out flat area. A dirt path climbs up the side to a slight inclimb.
When we get closer we realize that the temple is in complete shambles. Nothing like when I think of the ancient temples in the Cities. This one has been abandoned and covered in vines. Half of the roof has caved in, leaving birds and nature to invade the once human inhabited building. Now nature has overtaken it and made it a new home.
A man— Calamity— stands at the feet of a decimated statue. He stares at it longingly. His face looks worn with dirt and what could be dried blood. Lines trailed down his face and a series of braids lingered across his curly gray turned hair. A monstrous beard decorated his chin along with one thickly drawn black line tattoo down his throat all the way to his collarbone.
Symbolic medallions and crystals decorated the chest of his tightly bound embroidered robes. They seemed to match the same designs that are engraved into the wooden ceiling, flowers and stars interwoven to create a busy design.
As we walk into the half crumbled temple he slowly turns towards us, his eyes two strangely beautiful different shades of brown.
He stretches out his arms with an oddly welcoming smile.
But it's not for me.
“We have awaited your arrival, Calamity.”
It's for Cecilia.
Part Two: Cecilia
Me? Calamity?
This man is either blind, or he doesn't know who has walked in through the front door.
I begin to laugh.
He's messing with us. That's all this is.
I press my hands together searching for my Mene. “We have come to kill Calamity. We have come to kill you.”
“Oh.” he exclaims, clutching at where his heart might be sarcastically. “But the one with Mene made of air is not me. I'm not the one growing feathers, afterall.”
I freeze up.
‘How could that man possibly know that?’ I think to myself.
Maves attention snaps to mine, his eyes burning with uncertainty.
“Those feathers? They were yours?” he whispered.
I think back to this morning. I had pulled a majority of them off. Those bulky feathers make it impossible for me to hide them beneath my armor and cloak. They grow incredibly fast and I will have to do it again within another day or so.
I take a step back unsure of what to say, or even do.
“I–” I start, struggling for possible excuses just as flashes of darkness surround us.
Not flashes, people.
One shoots shards of ice that spray at my feet and dent across my breast plate.
Another levitates a piece of a stone column launching it across the room with enough force it shatters the doorway. I slip through a portal a few feet to the right just managing to dodge it.
The man merely smirks, holding out a hand. “Make this easy, you already know what you are.” he gestures for me to take his hand. “I can help you cultivate that power.”
“I know who I am. I'm not Calamity!” I shout, as more people emerge from the shadows.
Mene projects from across the room; bolts of lightning, ice, earth, and metal shoot from every corner, filling the room with uncontrollable chaos.
Mave merely ducks for cover behind a half broken column using his heavily bandaged wings to protect his head.
I slide behind a long overturned statue, barely missing a few ice shards.
The man stands, shifting his weight surveying the battle, wearing no armor, with no signs of Mene coming from him.
Is this an Illusion?
Could he be in our heads messing with us?
He is just… watching?
No this makes no sense.
Stain glass shatters, sprinkling colorful shards across Mave who hugs into a small ball in the corner.
Our whole goal was Calamity! Our purpose here was to kill Calamity and now?— no. This man is certainly Calamity. My sources said so. They wouldn't lead me wrongly.
“Mave,” I hiss, “Mave!” my volume increasing a little bit each time.
He looks up at me with wide frightened eyes.
I nod towards the action and form my Mene swords, pulling them out of hands again. The sleek white handles feel cold but just right in my grasp.
“Absolutely not.” he says
I sigh, sliding him the other half of my sword. “We can't just sit here!” I snap twisting the blade over my wrist gripping it with bone white knuckles.
He sighs, letting his wings fold comfortably against his back.
He grabs the blade and prepares himself with a few deep breaths.
“You are surely lucky I trust you with my life. Or I wouldn't be following this plan.”
“Then you better pray it works.”
“Oh don't worry I am.”
“I'm counting on it.” I smirk, shifting to the tips of my toes in a crouch and slowly making my way towards the man with enough Mene to teleport one last time. Maves voice rings in my head ‘Save your energy’. Our ticket out of here. If things turn south I grab him and cut us out of here.
I nod my head agreeing mentally to the idea before throwing a jab of my finger to Mave. I bolt directly to the faltered statue hiding behind the Man. And Mave dives right into the main attack causing the people to jump back. He swings the sword widely making one person trip skidding back to the palms of their hands; immediately receiving a stab to the neck. They choke bleeding out onto the chipped stone tiles.
The Mene users in the back continue to manipulate the ice like a game of cat and mouse, using it to tear at Mave’s precious wings and chipping light feathers to only receive swift deaths by that smooth blade of mine. His movements are that of a Knight– quick and precise, choosing the battles he consciously knows he has a chance at.
The man stands, hands clasped behind his back, his attention fixated on Mave and the enchanting sight of him jumping like a flash of silver and blood.
The man's dark robes flap in the light breeze reflecting the light that bounces along the gold engravings on his clothing.
I slowly creep up onto the chancel.
The man turns just in time to see me swing my blade.
His lips peak up at the corner like he was waiting for this moment before fading into nothing.
My blade swings through the air missing the man by a few precious seconds.
“Illusion ?” I gasp.
“No.” He states. “Pure Power.” he says appears at the broken doorway, he opens his arms giving a slight bow. His smile widdens mischievously, flashing oddly sharp teeth. “You were so close, my darling,”
A chuckle rings through the church until Mave cries out with a blood wrenching scream— a sound that chills me to the bone. I look down to see him crumble, his wings cut at the base and torn from his body. His Mene are more than broken— this time permanently gone.“Not close enough apparently.” the man chuckles, his voice echoing up the deep concave ceilings.
I gasp, my hands shaking.
The shadows surround me, tugging and pulling me back. I reach for my Mene and the ground begins to shake. The floor cracks and pulls apart at the seams, beginning where my feet lay.
‘It is me.’
‘I am Calamity.’
“There's our Calamity!” The man exclaims.
The hands release me as I fall to my knees.
‘I am destruction.’
Sobs rack through my body as everything crumbles around me.
“I'm so sorry Mave,” I whisper as blood seems to pour from every corner of the room.