 |
"I don't have to do anything you say," she retorted. Was she really having a childish argument with the enemy? How would this end? Certainly, the demon expected death. At least she would bring honor to her family, to fall in battle. The girl tried to glare at her oppressor but found herself more so staring in curiosity and disbelief.
These Miakis were like nothing she had seen before. She supposed the one barking at her now was their Queen. That meant...
Templa.
Templa was small and dark. Her stature was smaller than any other Pae'il the girl had seen before. Her limbs were long and oddly jointed like an insect's but somehow graceful. Her neck was long, and her skin shimmered; in this light the demon could not tell what color Templa was. She saw shimmering blacks and dark blues and purples. The Miakis must have eyes better suited for the dim light; they did not seem to have any issues seeing her. Or maybe the girl's eyes could not appreciate how otherworldly these Pae'il looked.
"I grow tired of these games," Templa snapped and swished the long ponytail she wore high on her head. She fluttered up to the girl with her opalescent wings which were doubled like a dragonfly's wings but larger and deeply veined. Templa stared intently at her with pale blue eyes. "Do you want to know why I suffer, little monster?" She continued without giving the demon a chance to answer. "I suffer because I can feel when my people are hurting or scared or in danger. Can you feel anything? Do you have any compassion? Any empathy in your filthy body? Tell me, do you know what it is to suffer, little Blood Pae?"
At the words "Blood Pae" there was a cacophony of angry and racist Miakis. The girl shrank back in fear. This was it. She would surely die. Her eyes were drawn to the black ball of what could only be pure void magic. "I, Anora, being of sound mind and unwavering devotion to my friends and family do hereby accept that I will die." She raised her chin proudly and waited for the worst, fighting with all her might to hide how badly she was shaking. Her heart was leaping in her chest. Her stomach was clenched so tightly she could hardly breathe.
"What?" Templa looked unamused. "This some kind of joke to you, abomination? I do not plan to kill you. My soldiers need healing. I just want to show you what you are willing to die for. You demons and angels or whatever are all alike. So ready for war. Senseless killing. Without considering our mother Telrunya at all. She is drowning in your ignorant bloodshed. You are all a blight and must be dealt with before there is nothing left."
The longer Templa ranted the more alien her voice and accent became to the girl. The void ball Templa had been tossing around disappeared. Anora flinched when Templa raised her hand. Templa stopped, however, clenched her fist, then lowered it to her own chest. Mercy even in war, what was she thinking? The Miakis Queen took a deep breath and began again more calmly.
"You will be maybe the first and only born from blood who will understand. You will feel the suffering. I want to pity you, but I cannot..."
Templa again created a void ball then touched it to the girl's chest.
Anora felt a blazing heat as the magic seeped into her. Then she gasped sharply as just as quickly she felt icy. Was this death? She whimpered and moaned and screamed and cried. A glorious hero's death for your people? No. No one who loved her would want this for her. This was not honor. It was all lies. Death was scary and dark and lonely when surrounded by strangers who wish you harm.
"Please let me die."
Templa tilted her head toward the girl. She spoke without compassion. "You have not even begun to beg for death. I have opened a portal inside you. You will be connected with all of Telrunya. You will learn. You will feel them... as I feel my people and as our Mother feels all living things. You want war? You want suffering? Allow me to provide."
The demon's temperature stabilized. She was not sure what Templa meant. She felt fine. She could finally breathe again. She touched her chest to make sure the portal was not a literal portal through the middle of her; luckily, she felt flesh. "I d-don't understand," she began. Her voice, however faltered.
Like a rushing wave, she could feel a great sorrow overwhelm her. There was also anger. Hatred. Fatigue. Depression. So many emotions. What was happening? The girl looked around in confusion; her eyes sought any warmth. Instead the Miakis that were so menacing before now just looked so miserable. It was the same look of soul-crushing weariness that her own comrades wore throughout the long battles. Are we... the same?
She could then feel pain. Intense pain. The Miakis that needed healing. She could feel each and every one of them. All of their pain was hers. Their sorrow. Their grief. Like unwanted gifts they continued to assault her. Further away, she could feel her comrades. The potion she had given the fallen soldier had worn off. Anora's legs screamed with the pain. Her body contorted into new and worse shapes as the waves of suffering reached her. Every wound was hers. She felt as if she were being torn apart.
"P-please stop..."
Templa sneered. "Mother Telrunya can feel all of this and more. She cries our blood. Her children are dying. We are all dying. Even your kind who were conjured from dirty arcane blood magicks. She cares for all of you mongrels."
"I-i can't. I won't survive this any longer," the demon felt the world go black. Her mind could not cope. Unconsciousness was a welcome relief.
------------
Anora woke in the Miakis infirmary. She ached all over. Every part of her hurt, but not as badly as before. She could function, though every breath she took made her wince and shake. She looked around at these foreign Pae'il with a new sorrow that was all her own.
"Glad you are awake," said a guard. "Time to get to work. Our High Priestess says healing them will heal yourself. She also says that she limited your pain to your close surroundings. She also says that you should be grateful."
This proved to be true. She worked day and night on fallen soldiers. They seemed to roll through constantly; she could have sworn she had seem some of them before. They were never interested in talking to her. Anora felt very alone. The soldiers were beaten and weary but never faltered in their zeal to go back to the battlefield. She could not tell if they had free will or not. Everything seemed linked back to Templa.
Over time the girl became familiar with the comings and goings of the infirmary. When the time was right, she escaped. She followed the next wave of infantry out of the spire. She could see soldiers clashing all around. Wings of all different sizes and shapes buzzed around her. Flightless Pae'il running below. It was chaos.
She could feel it all.
Each slash might have well be into her own flesh. Her body felt ripped apart. She could barely see through tears of anguish. This was not right. This was not right at all. This had to stop.
She could see her brother battling with a Miakis. She could see the knife. She could feel the knife.
And then he fell.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO," she screamed as she dived toward his falling body.
He landed first with a hard and sickening thud.
The pain was so intense. Mental and physical pain more than she had ever thought possible. She flung herself down upon her brother. All of her training and years as a healer meant nothing if the life was already gone. As Anora wailed she felt a new stiffness in her arm. Her chest panged. She couldn't breathe. Her vision dimmed.
------------
"Do you not think this was excessive?" Templa's lover asked, looking down at the dead pair after the fighting had ceased. "You have to have known one little Blooder couldn't handle that level of empathic power. Her heart must have burst. You know, LaLa, we will never stop this war if you are unnecessarily cruel."
Templa looked down on the corpse in disdain. "Eh. So you say. We will stop when they are dead. Pity. I wasted a lot of power to create this tool. So filthy..." She gave the Pae'il a little nudge with her foot before flitting off, not wanting to show her emotions.
Templa's lover closed Anora's eyelids and said a small prayer before departing. "Forgive her, little lost ones. She does not mean what she says. She grieves in her own way. We all hurt so very deeply right now. At least you are together and free of this madness."
------------
The demon sat in a circle of light sobbing quietly. She could see nothing in the distance. She clutched her wings tightly around her, a security blanket in dream as in reality. The physical pain was gone, but she still felt tattered and broken. As her tears dried, she heard a shuffling sound. Dark glittery wings caught Quinn's attention as they neared her.
"Hello, sister. I had expected to see you sooner."
Maya gave a shy shrug of her shoulders as Quinn stood and approached. The fae's meek little voice chimed in a hazy, dreamlike quality. "Your door was locked. I don't know why I couldn't come in, so I watched through the keyhole. I saw awful things. Bad things keep happening, Quinny. I'm scared. Stay with me... What if you die?" Tears started but were brushed away by the demon's gentle hand.
"You know, either way, I think I'd be fine. I think I'd just start over. It's funny. Do we ever escape who we really are? It just seems like death is a bridge. Sure, it is fragile and one way, but I just can't seem to believe that we completely lose ourselves on each trip across. Maybe, just maybe, we carry a little piece of ourselves each time. We hide it away, deep inside. Maybe..."
She looked down at Maya with eyes full of tears. A small sad but hopeful smile lifted her face.
"Maybe that's what a soul is."
The two girls embraced.
"You're so smart, Quinny," Maya said, her voice fading into a whisper of memory as the dream ended.
------------
Quinn blinked her eyes open. As was always, she could not stay with her sister. She rose again in the living realm as she did every day. Today, however she would be a little more withdrawn and introspective. There was a lot to think about. How could she ever be the same? More importantly, would she ever want to be that way again?
Quinn touched the part of her chest where Anora's void had been placed. Her world had become a little larger.
A little more dangerous...
|
 |
