324Disclaimer: I own neither the WITCH cartoon-show nor Jackie Chan Adventures; they are the property of their respective creators, writers, and producers.
Author's (small) Note: Hello again dear readers! It's been… a long while. Again. Anyway, glad that so many people enjoyed the last chapter, as I was a little nervous not a lot of people would be very pleased with how the focus shifts into other characters, especially ones that are so removed from the main cast. Anyways, welcome to the second chapter of these epilogues! In this case, the one dealing with our favorite fallen Guardian, Nerissa Crossnic. This is a chapter I have been looking up to for a long time, and the style it's written in differs greatly from all previous and following chapters… but I think it's the best style to tell this one. Also, it's heavily inspired by the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover. I really hope you enjoy it as much as the last one. More news at the end.
Genesis of Evil
II
This, is Nerissa Crossnic
A scientist from Earth called Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and over again while expecting different results each time. By that definition, we who for millennia have taken teenage girls and have thrown them into wars and other extremely dangerous situations, while expecting those experiences to not damage them, kill them or break them… without a doubt, are the maddest of them all. Luba, Watcher of the Aurameres
Around fifty-one years ago
This, is Nerissa Crossnic.
A fifteen-year-old girl that lives in a city called Heatherfield. White-skinned, tall, slim, with long and wavy black hair, and her eyes of a brilliant and powerful green; Nerissa is a beauty. She knows it, everyone at Sheffield knows it. And she knows that they know, and she can't avoid smirking mischievously and enjoy herself when her mere presence makes the jaw of some handsome boy or some gorgeous girl at school drop.
Nerissa is intelligent. She always gets good grades in high-school, she plays the flute, and can memorize some of Mozart's most complex music sheets by looking at them only once. Her parents are proud of her, and she is proud of herself.
Nerissa is strong and brave, always coming to defend her friend Halinor, a blond, pale girl shorter and thinner than Nerissa herself; when some idiot is picking on her. Her other friends, Kadma, a girl taller than Nerissa, with dark skin and long hair of a dark brown; Cassidy, a beautiful girl of white skin and red hair, with a smile that can turn the darkest night into day; and Yan Lin, a Chinese girl with short black hair; are never far away when that happens.
Nerissa loves her friends, and she knows they love her. But she would like for Kadma to be a little less stuck-up, and for Halinor to stand up for herself a little bit more... sometimes. Thoughts she has no problem voicing. Fortunately, if there's some tension in the group, one can always count on cool-headed Yan Lin and lovable Cassidy to keep things from escalating too much. Especially on Cassidy. That girl loves helping people, even if it gets her in trouble. Even if it means skipping class. Or getting hurt. At times, Nerissa worries it's going to be the end of her.
This, is Nerissa Crossnic. Student. Aspiring flutist. Daughter. Friend.
And Nerissa loves who she is. Why wouldn't she? Hers is the best life any girl her age could ask for. But... there are times, at night, when Nerissa lies awake in her bed, staring at her bedroom's ceiling. When a small part of her mind whispers that... there has to be something else. That she could do something greater, if given the opportunity. That she is destined to be something... more than this.
She doesn't know it yet, but she is absolutely right.
It all begins during Christmas, just after the last class before the holidays has ended, when Yan Lin invites them all to her parents' newly opened restaurant. The Silver Dragon, they've called it. Not what one would call a fancy restaurant, but the food's good, service's good, ambiance's good. It's a good place to have a good time.
There, drinking tea and eating sweets, Yan Lin introduces them to a cousin of hers, recently arrived from Hong Kong. A Chinese boy that must be only one or two years older than Nerissa is, and not precisely the tallest boy ever. He has a long face, spiky hair of a very dark shade of brown (that will most likely turn black as he ages), bushy eyebrows of the same color, and small black eyes. Far from what Nerissa would call an Adonis, but cute in his own way. He is in pretty good shape, though; something that she will soon learn is a result of an intense training routine in martial arts, primarily Kung-Fu, that he subjects himself to.
He sits with them, drinks with them, and they talk. First about trivial, unimportant things, then about more personal ones. Yan Lin's cousin tells them he's here to be fostered with her family for a few years, something of a tradition they have in their family. He tells them about his life in China, about his older and his younger brother; about how he used to be part of the Seven Little Fortunes opera troupe in China, before leaving it because he 'found something far more interesting than acting could ever be'. He also tells them that he's going to be attending Sheffield once Christmas vacation is over, and that he's looking up to being in the company of such pretty girls, which earns him an elbow to the ribs courtesy of Yan Lin. Headstrong and kind of cocky, Nerissa wonders how long it will take for him and Kadma to begin butting heads with each other. But… she doesn't think badly of him.
And so, with Yan Lin's cousin introduced to them, laughs shared, the sweets eaten and the tea drunk; the girls (and one boy) bid each other farewell and return each to their homes. And Nerissa thinks to herself that there aren't any more surprises waiting for her. That this will be a Christmas as normal as all the others that had preceded it.
But in the following days, Nerissa begins to notice that... weird things begin to happen around her. When she's very happy, streetlights and light-bulbs shine brighter, and they even overload and explode if she has an angry outburst. Televisions, telephones, washing machines... anything that works with electricity seems to work weirdly when she's nearby. There are times in which Nerissa is pretty sure that she's heard them... talking. What's going on? Is she going insane?
The day before New Year's Eve, she, her friends and Yan Lin's cousin meet at Shell Beach, in a seaside cave. Winters on Heatherfield can be quite harsh, and the snows have reached even here, covering the sand. There, Nerissa finds out that she isn't the only one around whom weird things have happened lately…
"What do you mean you set your pillow on fire?" Kadma asks of Halinor.
"I-I didn't set my pillow on fire!" the blond, meek girl says, voice trembling with nervousness. "I-I m-mean, I kinda did... but not on purpose!" the blonde pauses and begins snapping her fingers. "It's just... sometimes, when I do this... eek!" she squeals as a bright, orange flame erupts from her fingers. It dies seconds after being born, but it's enough to leave the others with their eyes wide open. "See?! See?!"
"Calm down, Halinor;" Yan Lin tells the blonde before she has a heart attack. "You... aren't the only one." she says, before taking in a deep breath. She then unleashes it, softly blowing it out of her lips. As she does so, the gentle yet cold winter ocean breeze grows in strength and speed until it's blowing so hard that everyone in the cave sans Yan Lin has to close and cover their eyes. The wind stops the moment the Chinese girl's lungs run out of air to exhale, and she breathes in again. "And you should see what happens when I sneeze."
"Alright… what about you two?" Nerissa asks Cassidy and Kadma.
"Well…" says the redhead, holding out her hand with her palm facing upwards. "It only happens when I'm near kitchen sinks and the like, but since we're in the beach, I should…" she says as she closes her eyes, as if in great effort. Soon, water from the ocean, or from nearby puddles around the cave, begins floating in the air and traveling towards Cassidy, converging above her pal and forming a big ball of water. The ball breaks down and becomes nothing more than another puddle at Cassidy's feet when the girl opens her eyes. "Ta-da!"
As for Kadma, she simply stomps her foot on the ground. Upon finding her friends looking at her with intrigued looks, she simply shrugs. "Wait for it," she says. And seconds later, the ground trembles, and a small pillar of rock sprouts from the ground as if it were a plant, until it's as tall as Kadma herself. "And sometimes flowers bloom when I walk past them." She then looks at Nerissa and folds her arms. "And what about you?" she asks of her.
Nerissa takes a hand to her chin. "In my case, things that work with electricity tend to malfunction when I'm near them, and there isn't any here. But…" she says as she begins rubbing her hands together. "You just gave me an idea," she declares as she concentrates and begins separating her hands, and an arc of blue-white electricity forms between them. "Yes!" she says proudly as she forces the arc to become a small ball of energy, and begins to move it between her hands.
"Wait, you can control it?" Kadma asks.
"Apparently," Nerissa says with a smile. She's as surprised as Kadma, but she refuses to let it show. Because even if Kadma hasn't said so, Nerissa knows that her friend is bothered that Nerissa can do something better than she does. It's always been like this.
"Cool," Cassidy compliments her.
"Oh Christ, oh Christ, oh Christ…" Halinor babbles then. "What's happening to us? Are we like… mutants?"
"Mutants?" Yan Lin inquires, incredulous.
"You know, like the X-Men!" Halinor says, the seriousness of her voice making what she just said far more ridiculous than if she had said it in a normal tone of voice.
"I don't think we're comic book characters, Halinor;" Nerissa tells the blonde as she lets the ball of electricity disappear.
"Then how do you explain what we can do?!" Halinor yells.
"It's Magic."
All heads turn to look at Yan Lin's cousin, who has remained silent until now. He simply stands there, motionless, hands behind his back. Staring at them with a serious face. As if he hasn't said the stupidest thing in the world just now.
The girls stay silent too, at least for the next few moments. Have they heard wrong? Surely he hasn't said such an idiocy. Surely this is a joke. But they keep looking at him, at how serious his face is, and they understand. This is no joke at all. And so Kadma and Cassidy burst into laughter. Halinor narrows her eyes at him, still unsure about how to react to his words. Yan Lin gives her cousin a puzzled and concerned look. And Nerissa... Nerissa is the only one who regards the teenage boy's words with a modicum of respect. And curiosity.
"What do you mean with 'It's Magic'?" she asks Yan's cousin.
"What I mean when I say 'It's Magic', is that it's Magic." the Chinese teenage boy answers bluntly. "Raw Magic, to be specific. I mean, I've never seen Raw Magic before, but it has to be that. It can't be anything else."
"Raw Magic?" Nerissa inquires, interest growing.
"Yes, in contrast with Chi Magic," Yan's cousin explains. "Which is..."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Cassidy manages to say between laughs. "C'mon Rissy. Are you being serious?" she asks, finally calming down. "Magic? That's what we're going with?"
"Oh, sorry. Does anyone else have an actual explanation for what's happening to us?" Nerissa asks.
"Well, no. But..." Cassidy begins, but she isn't able to say anything else.
"You've got to admit, it sounds kind of crazy." Halinor says meekly.
"But not as crazy as us being 'mutants'?" Nerissa inquires, smirking; which brings a doubtful and embarrassed look to Halinor's face.
"Okay, okay, everyone. Calm down." Yan Lin pleads. "I'd also like to hear what my cousin has to say."
"Oh, not you too, please;" Kadma complains, stopping her laughter and rolling her eyes.
"I'm not saying I'm buying it," Yan Lin explains, folding her arms. "But I want to know why he thinks it's Magic."
All eyes fall over Yan's cousin once more. But he gives no explanation. Not with his voice, at least. Instead he walks around the seaside cave, searching for something in the ground. He stops and crouches once he finds what he is looking for. A tiny starfish that he picks and holds in the palm of his hand. He mutters something. Nerissa doesn't understand what he is saying. She can swear that he's speaking in Chinese, though. She has spent enough time around Yan Lin and her parents to be able to recognize the language when she hears it.
"What in God's green Earth is he doing?" Kadma asks, genuinely curious but also slightly annoyed.
"Zip it, I want to see this," Nerissa tells her friend. She can feel Kadma's glare even without looking at her.
Soon, the starfish becomes coated in some kind of… green energy. A green energy that then detaches itself from the starfish and becomes a floating, little green ball of energy that then flies around the cave. The ball stops, and its brightness intensifies until it's bright enough to illuminate the darkest parts of the cave. The it's brightness dims, and it comes back to Yan's cousin, once again coating the starfish. The teenage boy then whispers something in Chinese once again, and the starfish doubles in size. Another whisper and it returns to its original form. And then he leaves the animal in the ground again.
"That was Chi Magic," he explains to the now wide-eyed quintet of girls, referring to what he's just done. "Soft, indirect, complex, but very flexible in terms of what it can do, as long as you know the proper spell and have the right tools. The one you five are able to use is called Raw Magic. Hard, powerful, direct, instinctive and more potent when it comes to its destructive capabilities, but far more limited in terms of versatility." He paused, rubbing his hand against his shirt to clean it from the slime the starfish had left in his hand. "Of course, skilled and seasoned practitioners are able to get around these limitations. An experienced Chi Wizard will find a way to make up for the lack of sheer power of Chi Magic, either via artifacts or using his spells tactically, and Raw Sorcerers have access to very complex spell formulas too. And of course, I've heard that there's a lot of sub-types and schools of both types of Magic, so…"
"Hold on! Hold on!" Yan Lin interrupts her cousin. "You… You just used Magic!"
The boy looks at his cousin with a puzzled look. "Y-Yes. I have. And you and your friends used Raw Magic a few moments ago. I believe I've just explained that."
"Magic is real." Yan Lin states.
"Yes." her cousin answers bluntly.
"And both you and me and my friends can use it." she continues.
"Yes." he answers again.
"But the magic you do is different than ours."
"Yes." he repeats. "In fact, according to most texts, Chi and Raw Magic are mutually exclusive. Being able to use one means you can't use the other."
"Wait, and how come you can do Magic?" she asks him.
The teen boy shrugs. "I learned how to."
Yan Lin snorts. "Where? In that troupe you were a part of?"
"Actually, yes." he answers. "But, not from the troupe directly. I just picked some books, memorized some spells and potion recipes. Then it was just a mater of trial and error until I got the proper way to do it. I'm… self-taught, if you may."
"You taught yourself Magic." Yan Lin says skeptically, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.
Her cousin gives her a cocky smile. "What can I say? I'm kind of a genius."
"What you all are is crazy." Kadma interrupts their conversation. "I'm leaving."
"Wait, Kadma, c'mon!" Cassidy pleads. "You've seen what Yan Lin's cousin can do! What we all can do! What you can do! I know it sounds crazy, but... Magic's the only explanation we've got."
"That doesn't mean it's true! It could be something else! It could be a trick! It could be an hallucination! It could be a... a prank, for all I know!" Kadma shouts, then rubs her forehead. "Look, let's say it's actual, real 'Magic'. Let's say everything he said is true. Even then, isn't it all too... weirdly well-timed?" She then points at Yan Lin's cousin. "He arrives in town, and then we're able to do all this. We." she says strongly, putting emphasis in the last word. "We, who're already friends, his own cousin among us. And then he just so happens to have a perfect explanation for what's happening, and on top of that he also knows Magic himself. How do you explain that?"
Yeah, that's kind of suspicious, Nerissa thinks. Or... convenient, at least. Yan Lin's cousin doesn't look like a bad person. And Nerissa doubts that this is a prank, because there's no way for someone to invest so much effort into a prank. Yet, there are still too many questions that need to be answered.
"Perhaps I can be of some assistance with that."
The first thing that crosses Nerissa's mind is that, whoever has spoken, must have been reading her mind. The second is that... she doesn't recognize this voice. There's someone else with them in the cave. A man, judging by the voice.
Halinor lets out a short-lived scream once the stranger is within their sight. A tall figure, wrapped in a big, white hooded cloak, his face obscured by said hood. He moves slowly, calmly, making no sound. Fittingly, Nerissa thinks, he looks as if he's been ripped directly from the pages of a fantasy book.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Cassidy yells, holding a hand up towards the stranger. "I don't know who you're, but you better leave us alone! Believe me or not, we can...!"
"Control the elements using Magic, yes." the stranger says bluntly, something that renders Cassidy mute. "But please, be not afraid. I'm not your enemy."
He then points at the freckled redhead. "Water." he says. Next he points to Kadma. "Earth." He follows by pointing at Halinor. "Fire." Then to Yan Lin. "Air." And finally, his attention turns towards Nerissa herself. "And that leaves only..."
Nerissa chuckles. "Lightning?"
The stranger chuckles back. "Quintessence, actually. Some call it Aether. Others Spark of Life." he clarifies.
Then he calmly approaches her. The others watch with worried expressions, but Nerissa isn't afraid. She doesn't think this man means them ant harm. Besides, they can always run. Or beat him. They outnumber him six to one. Well, five to one. Nerissa doubts that Halinor will fight.
The stranger stands close to her, searching within his robes. Then he extends a hand towards her. Holding something within it. "Which means," he says, "that this is for you."
Nerissa narrows her eyes at the stranger's clenched hand. Slowly, and not entirely sure about why, she extends her own hand and accepts the stranger's gift. He lets it fall from his hand into hers. It's... a pendant. A huge, round, pink jewel attached to a thin, metal chain. Surprisingly, it isn't cold. It's quite warm. And... pulsating? Beating? And shiny. More than shiny. As if it has a light of its own.
Then the stranger turns around and begins leaving.
"Wait!" Nerissa calls for him. "Wait a minute, you haven't answered any of our questions!"
"Of course I have not." the stranger replies nonchalantly. "It's better if you give your first steps on your own. Think of it as… a test! Until we meet again!" he says happily… and then his body becomes wrapped into threads of white and golden light, and disappears in thin air; leaving the girls and boy speechless once more.
"Okay…" Kadma says after a few moments. "Magic might be real."
And so, tired and confused, they agree to call it a day, and meet after the new year has arrived to see if they can figure something else out.
That night, Nerissa barely manages to sleep. She's too nervous. Too much has been revealed to her in such a little amount of time.
A part of her still can't believe the whole situation. But she would be an idiot to deny the evidence in front of her eyes. The truth is as clear as the snow that falls from the sky. Magic, like the one of folklore, mythology, cartoons and fantasy and science fiction books, is real. Real! And her friends and her can perform it. And so does Yan Lin's cousin. And then some weirdo appears out of nowhere, says some cryptic lines, gives her a pendant with a weird jewel on it, and leaves! By teleporting away on a beam of light, no less!
She has brought the pendant with her, against Yan Lin and Kadma's advice. She's wearing it around her neck, even now, while lying on her bed. But why shouldn't she? The stranger gave it to her, said that it belongs to her. And it isn't as if it's dangerous, or as if it's doing her any harm. She doesn't even find its presence, resting as it is over her chest, uncomfortable at all. She actually thinks it's quite calming, although the jewel it's… kind of weird, and does things jewels aren't supposed to do.
It still shines dimly, for example, albeit not as much as if to make her unable to sleep. And it still pulsates. It still beats. Rhythmically. Constantly.
Like a Heart, almost.
When they meet again in that cave in Shell Beach, away from prying eyes, the world has entered a new year, and the girls have decided it's time to answer some very important questions. Why can they do Magic? Can they control it? How does that stranger fit into this whole situation? Why did he give that jewel to Nerissa? Is the jewel important? If so, how? Answering those questions, however, has proven to be… not precisely easy.
"You haven't found anything? Really?" Kadma asks of Yan Lin's cousin.
The Chinese teen, who's here due to being the one that has the most experience regarding Magic, simply folds his arms and shakes his head. "The texts I have are all related to Chi Magic, not Raw Magic."
"Well, so much for the magical genius..." Kadma complains.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Have you figured something out?" he asks back at Kadma. "Oh? No? You spent the holidays with your family, relaxing? Well, I've been helping my aunt, uncle and cousin with the restaurant while doing research. I haven't found anything useful, but at least I tried."
"Why, you...!" Kadma begins, taking a step forward. Nerissa notices the ground cracking slightly under her feet, her Magic reacting to her emotions.
"That's enough, you two." Cassidy says, stepping between them both. "This doesn't help anybody."
"But those are good questions." Nerissa points out. "Has anyone discovered anything new or useful about our Magic?"
"Well... not exactly anything new, but..." Halinor says, then snaps her fingers, producing a small ball of flames over her fingertips. The flames stay there, motionless and unchanging, until Halinor dispels them with a wave of her hand. "I haven't burned any more pillows. Or anything else. I feel more in control of... it."
"Same here, actually." Cassidy says. "And I'm glad, because I've had enough of kitchen sinks suddenly becoming geysers around me."
"I guess I've gained some control too." Kadma admits. "Unless some dumbass pisses me off." she adds, glaring at Yan's cousin, who simply smiles cockily in answer.
"Well, I guess that's some good news, at least." Yan Lin says calmly. "Nerissa, what about you? Have you found out what that jewel is? Or what it does?"
Nerissa takes a hand to said pink jewel, the pendant still hanging from her neck. She hasn't taken it off ever since the stranger gave it to her. She grabs it, then holds the jewel in her palm. Always shinning, always beating. "Nothing much. If it's supposed to do anything, I haven't figured out how to make it do it."
"I guess you don't know anything about this, either?" Kadma asks of Yan Lin's cousin again.
Yan Lin's cousin shrugs. "Saying that there's a lot of types of magical artifacts out there would be an understatement." he explains. "There are artifacts that can be activated by the wielder's will alone, others require very specific actions to do so, others only need for the wielder to say the artifact's name or a trigger phrase." he stops for a second. "Some artifacts grant powers and abilities the wielder lacks, others empower the abilities the wielder already has. Some leave the wielder unchanged, others morph the body until it's unrecognizable." he continues, his voice darkening. "Some are cursed. Some serve as links to... powerful entities, whose power the wielder borrows. Others have entities sealed within themselves that... can take over the wielder, sometimes." he finishes, taking a look at the girls, then shaking his head and smiling as if to downplay that last part. "At least, that's what my books say."
"Okay..." Cassidy says, gulping. "Maybe activating the weird pink crystal-ball isn't such a good idea."
"I agree!" Halinor shouts, scared. "Bad idea! Very bad idea!"
"Nerissa, what do you think?" Yan Lin asks of her friend, but she receives no answer. "Nerissa?"
But Nerissa isn't listening. She hasn't been listening for a time. She's been staring into the pink jewel, with growing intensity, through the entire speech of her friend's cousin. She's now completely focused on the jewel and its constant beating.
Soon, she feels a thought forming within her head. A series of words that, quickly, form a phrase. A phrase that, while coherent, means nothing to her. Yet there it is. And with each passing moment, the more Nerissa thinks that she should say those words, loud and clear. And so, spurred by a will she isn't completely sure of being her own, she tightly clutches the jewel... and says the magic words.
"Guardians Unite!"
She barely hears her friends and Yan's cousin gasp and shout in surprise. Everything becomes enveloped by a bright and warm pink light. She becomes enveloped by a bright and warm pink light; by bright and warm… energy. Somehow, she knows her friends are being enveloped by it too. She can feel it. The energy surrounds her, embraces her and lifts her up in the air, and Nerissa suddenly feels it entering her. Changing her. She doesn't fight it. It doesn't feel unpleasant, or invasive. It feels right. Just like uttering those words felt right a moment ago. And through the whole ordeal, she can feel the pink jewel against her chest, still beating in a calm rhythm. Reassuring her that everything's going to be alright. The energy then begins to fade, its embrace to weaken, letting her and her friends go, and…
"Air!"
"Earth!"
"Fire!"
"Water!"
"Quintessence!"
Nerissa's feet touch the ground once more. She takes a deep breath. She feels... well, the only term that comes to mind is different, but she also thinks that the word different doesn't even begin to cover how she feels. Maybe the better way to describe the feeling is as... more. She feels like she's more. More than she was before. More than a regular girl, more than a... regular human being. If she focuses hard enough, she can feel it, within herself. Something huge and seemingly bottomless. And electrifying. Moving. Alive. Power...
"What just happened to us?!"
Halinor's yell takes Nerissa back to reality. She finally opens her eyes, and discovers that the changes haven't only been internal. She is taller now, and so are the other four girls. No, not simply taller. Older. Where a moment ago there were five teenage girls, now stand five young women in their early twenties. And that isn't the most striking part, no. The most striking part is the clothes they're all wearing now; elaborate purple and blue tops, shirts, skirts and pants of varying styles (Nerissa herself is clad in a long, purple dress with a hole that allows her navel to be seen, and Yan Lin is dressed in some kind of... Chinese fighter attire), blue and green stripped tights and purple boots.
And then, of course, there's the wings at their backs.
"Nerissa, what did you do?!" Kadma, dressed in a purple shirt of long sleeves that shows her midriff and a long skirt of the same color, demands to know.
"I... I don't know." Nerissa says slowly. Even her voice sounds slightly different now. She looks down at her (now bigger) chest, to notice the round, pink jewel is still there. The pendant still hangs from her neck. The only thing that hasn't changed. "I just... The words came to me, so I said them."
"This is incredible!" Yan Lin's cousin shouts in joy then, approaching the transformed Kadma in awe. "Not only has the artifact changed your appearance and clothes, but it's also given you wings!" he says excitedly.
"Well, I'm so glad you're happy that we've become... Ah... I don't even know what we are supposed to be!" Kadma screams, first with sarcasm and next with frustration.
"Me neither." Yan Lin says, trying to get a better look at her own wings. "And are we sure these are actual wings? They don't look all that... Whoa!" she shouts in surprise as her wings begin flapping involuntarily and she begins to elevate in the air.
"Oh, crap, crap, crap!" Halinor panics, only for Yan Lin to stop flapping her wings and return to the ground.
"Okay," Yan Lin says nervously. "Actual and functional wings."
"Screw it, I say we're fairies," Cassidy suggests. "Yep, it's the only thing that makes sense."
"Really?" Nerissa inquires with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
"Big fairies." Cassidy remarks, folding her arms and nodding.
"What you are... is Guardians."
And there it is, again. The same voice. Soon followed by the same hooded figure. Entering in the cave in the same way he did the first time, through the same spot.
Of course, the transformed girls and boy grow wary of him almost instantaneously. Nerissa herself narrows her eyes at him in suspicion.
"How long have you been watching us?" Nerissa asks bluntly.
"Since I gave you that," the stranger answers, pointing at the pendant hanging from her neck. "Well, technically even before that. I have kept an eye on you ever since you began manifesting your powers."
"Creep." Kadma says with a bluntness that matches Nerissa's.
"My apologies." the stranger says with honesty. If he has been offended by Kadma's words, he isn't showing it. "But now that you have figured out how to transform, I believe I owe you some answers."
The stranger pulls down his hood, then takes off his cloak. Under it is... a tall man with pale, almost pure-white skin, a bald head with some weird symbol tattooed in it, kind eyes of a light tone of brown and a small pointy goatee of a pale shade of gray, almost silver; and dressed in a long, green robe that stretches to his feet.
"I am Himerish, Oracle of Kandrakar." the man introduces himself. "And we have much to talk about."
They spend the following days (and eventually, weeks) learning many things. Things that are very hard to believe… or would have been hard to believe, if they hadn't already experienced so many unbelievable things.
For starters, they aren't fairies, or mutants, or anything like that. They are Guardians. The Guardians of Kandrakar, to be exact. What is Kandrakar? Well... it's a world. A world different from Earth and that, according to Oracle Himerish, is located at 'the center of Infinity'. And it's not the only other world out there. There are far, far more. Meridian, Arkhanta, Zamballa, Aridia, Basiliade... and that's just to name a few. Each of them unique, each of them populated by its own unique people. Turns out Humanity is far from being alone in the universe. Yan Lin's cousin (allowed to listen thanks to the Oracle's kindness) looks in the verge of a heart attack through the entire explanation, shocked to learn that the Magical world is much bigger than he has thought for so long.
These many worlds, or at least the known ones (aptly labeled Known Worlds) are under Kandrakar's protection. Every time a problem that threatens them arises, every time something puts them and the peace of the cosmos in danger, Kandrakar chooses five teenage girls from Earth and bestows upon them the Heart of Kandrakar (that would be the pink jewel's name), a powerful artifact that grants said girls massive magical power and mastery over the elements; and sends the Guardians to solve the problem. And this time around, the ones chosen to be Guardians are Nerissa and her friends. Which Oracle Himerish is actually very grateful for, since apparently that removes the hassle of convincing five total strangers of having to work as a team in order to face supernatural threats.
The next thing they learn is how to properly use their Magic, which begins by understanding that Guardians can do much more than manipulate the elements. All of them, when transformed, are gifted with the ability to fly (thanks to their wings); as well as with enhanced strength, agility, durability and reflexes, and a mild healing factor. On top of that, by virtue of being infused with the Magic of the Heart of Kandrakar, all of them should have the inherent aptitude for casting Raw Magic spells even when not transformed… but becoming a proficient spell-caster requires a lot of time and knowing the appropriate formulas, so the Oracle suggest they stick to their elemental Raw Magic for now. Also, each Guardian seems to have extra abilities aside from the element they can call upon. An Air Guardian may turn herself invisible, an Earth Guardian can use telekinesis in small objects around her, a Fire Guardian will develop telepathy to read the minds of others and ease communication between her teammates, and a Water Guardian can compel other people to do as she says. And as for the Guardian of Quintessence, her element is far more versatile than the others. Not only does it work as essentially lightning, thus allowing for quick and powerful attacks, but its Guardian can shape it as she wishes in order to form shields or cages. She can also use it to reshape other materials, especially metal, and – most importantly – grant life to inanimate objects.
But that's just the theoretical part. Putting that theory to practice is a very different story, a story that can result in a lot of collateral damage. As such, Oracle Himerish tells them that their training proper will take place on Kandrakar itself. And there, sadly, Yan Lin's cousin can't go; at least not for now. Apparently, that would go against Kandrakar's laws. And everyone has to follow the rules, and the Oracle himself is no exception.
What follows is the weirdest daily routine Nerissa has ever had. The holidays end, and then every day is just wake up, go to school, go to extracurricular activities and... go with her friends to another world in order to practice with their magical powers. She finds herself somehow surprised at how quickly her friends and her have adapted to this new part of their lives... Oh, but how can they not?! They've got magical powers! They can fly! And they're going to travel to a dozen different worlds, and live a hundred different adventures! What kind of teenager doesn't like that?!
And Kandrakar is such an incredible place. The Fortress of Light, the only building on the whole world, is a literal floating castle in the clouds, and bigger than Heatherfield itself. The Sages living there are all so nice and so respectful, bowing their heads when they see them walk and addressing them as 'Noble Guardians'. Their Grand Archives are full of books of sorcery, their halls sculpted in ivory, marble and gold. As Halinor often says, the whole place is, for lack of a better word, magical.
Their training doesn't take as much time as Nerissa thought it would, though. They take to flight and their Magic like a fish takes to water. In little less than a month they have complete control over their Magic and can use it to its full potential, they've grown accustomed to their enhanced physical abilities in their Guardian form, and flying is but second nature to them. Which means is time to fulfill their duty as Guardians. It's time to face those that threaten the peace of the Known Worlds. It's time to save and protect people.
Their first mission is to take down a group of wizards from different worlds that have banded together and are essentially smuggling dangerous magical creatures and artifacts across the Known Worlds and extorting and killing people for a profit. As Cassidy points out, a magical mob. It takes them some time to tear down their organization, to figure out who leads and who obeys, who's there out of their own free will or has been forced to join, but they defeat them. Kandrakar then sends each of the wizards to the world each of them originated from, so they may be punished there. Except for their leader, whom is imprisoned in the Tower of Mists. The girls then return to their homes in Heatherfield, where they live their lives normally while awaiting their next task.
Weeks later, they're sent to stop a group of monsters known as Ragorlang, native of the desert-world of Aridia, which need to consume large amounts of life-force of other living creatures to stay alive and grow in strength. They're usually confined to Aridia, where they can't do that much damage, but sometimes some of them find themselves in other and far more populated worlds, where even a single Ragorlang can do much harm. Anyways, it's just a matter of finding them, defeating them, and sending them back to Aridia through a Fold.
It's something different each time. An old sorcerer that wants to eat a star to become immortal. A trio of magical ladies that plan to trick two worlds into going to war with one another so they can use the resulting carnage as a sacrifice to empower themselves. A group of men and women that have been able to combine Magic and technology and that want to transform planets into mechanical landscapes… They defeat, stop, and imprison them all. It becomes part of their routine, of their lives. Wake up, go to high-school, save the Known Worlds.
But sometime along the way, Nerissa decides that she needs better tools to do her duty. So she asks the Oracle to teach her a more complex form of Raw Magic, to teach her complex spells and magical formulas. To mentor her about the importance of magical oaths and the meaning of runes and symbols. The man obliges happily. And Nerissa learns. Nerissa learns quickly. Nerissa learns easily.
This, is Nerissa Crossnic. Keeper of the Heart, flourishing Sorceress, Leader of the Guardians of Kandrakar, protector of the Known Worlds, and Mistress of Quintessence.
And not only that, no. The Sages say she's the most powerful and gifted Guardian of Quintessence in several generations. That she's the smartest, the strongest… the best there has been in a long time. Perhaps… the best there will ever be.
Finally! This, this is what she's been wanting for! This is what she's always wanted! The chance to do something great, to do something that benefits so many people! To be able to leave her mark in history! And Nerissa can't be happier. Or so she thinks.
After all, she's about to fall in love.
And it's such a quiet thing. Love.
Because it doesn't start as such. It starts as little things that then serve as foundations over which love is built. It begins as the simple fact of sharing common interests. It begins as friendship. And it grows from there.
In this case, it starts with Nerissa Crossnic and Cassidy Chacon drinking hot cocoa in one of Heatherfield's snack bars, together. They have met by mere chance, as it turns out, since the both of them tend to come to this place, but they have never been here at the same time. And it feels... weird. It isn't awkward, by any means. They talk, they laugh. They're friends, after all. But this is the first time, at least that Nerissa remembers, that she's been alone with Cassidy. That it's been just the two of them.
She asks the redhead why she's come here alone. Cassidy answers that she comes here alone from time to time, when she needs to think. And that she's got a lot to think about nowadays, with the whole 'saving the Known Worlds' ordeal. That she wants to study to work as a pediatrician when she leaves high-school, and she has questions about how her role as a Guardian will affect that. And Nerissa confesses that she comes here for a similar reason. That she's been thinking about quitting flute lessons. Cassidy remarks that Nerissa loves playing the flute. But then Nerissa retorts that, while that is true, she also likes studying sorcery, and that both things consume a lot of time, and that she can help far more people with Magic than with music. Cassidy suggests that, even if she doesn't want to become a professional flutist and she quits her classes, Nerissa should keep playing the flute as a hobby, as a passion. And Nerissa admits the redhead makes a good point. Their talk continues for another couple of hours. And when it's over and the cups of cocoa are empty, and each of them goes to her home, they can't avoid thinking how… it felt nice, just the two of them, talking.
And it all snowballs from there.
They meet in the same snack bar a couple more times. They drink something together and talk about the most important and most trivial of things. Then they end up going shopping together. Next they start going to watch a movie once in a while, just the two of them.
And Nerissa begins to notice... things. She begins to notice that her mood lightens up when she sees Cassidy arrive at their meetings. That her laughter sounds louder and happier when she laughs at one of Cassidy's jokes. That she can't avoid thinking about the redhead almost at all times, about how... pretty she is. That she blushes in her presence. And that Cassidy blushes, too.
Then things grow... weird. Their meetings become something between sweet and awkward. They still enjoy them, but they either avoid each other's gaze or stare at each other's eyes for far too long. It is only when they blush as their hands simply brush, and when Cassidy gives her a kiss on the cheek just as she leaves; that Nerissa realizes that perhaps 'dates' is a better word to describe what they do than simply 'hanging out'.
Eventually, the fated moment arrives.
She doesn't even care what reason they both come up with in order to meet this time around. It's just an excuse. They meet, and talk about themselves. About the clear attraction they feel for one another, about how continuing to ignore it won't do any of them any good. Then, in the middle of the conversation, Cassidy seems to get annoyed with the fact that it looks to be getting nowhere, she leans forward, and...
And she kisses her. And Nerissa kisses her back.
And in that instant, she isn't Nerissa Crossnic anymore. She's the motion of Cassidy's lips. She's the brightness that she sees in Cassidy's eyes when the kiss ends and their lips come apart. She's Cassidy's happy laughter, and the little, cute wrinkles that form in Cassidy's forehead when she laughs. She's the adorable freckles in Cassidy's cheeks. She's Cassidy's soft hand as she tenderly strokes Nerissa's face. She's Cassidy's melodious voice as she says 'I love you'.
This, is Nerissa Crossnic. Happiest girl on Earth. On the Known Worlds. On the Infinite Dimensions. And now, she's got a girlfriend, it seems.
Some years later…
The years go on, and their time in high-school comes to an end. But their duties as Guardians don't. No matter how many times they put a stop to some madman's nefarious plans, no matter how many crises they avert, no matter how many battles they win… there's always another problem ready to rear its ugly head around the corner. There are times in which Nerissa feels really tired. And she knows her friends and teammates feel the same way too. But she tells them (and herself) that this is what they have to do. That it's their responsibility. If they don't, then whom?
She's been working as a cashier in a grocery store since she and her friends finished high-school. It isn't exactly the greatest job of all time, but it's honest work. And it pays surprisingly well… At least well enough to share a small flat with Cassidy. Cassidy, who now works as a waitress in the same snack bar where their relationship technically began. Cassidy, who still dreams of being a pediatrician, and works hard every day to earn enough money to both pay her half of the rent and pay her classes. Cassidy, who can make Nerissa feel as if nothing can go wrong with a single look.
Sometimes, she meets with her parents. And they're all smiles and kind words, but Nerissa knows that they feel somehow disappointed that she didn't go to college, or pursue a career as a flutist, or try to do something bigger. Fools. They don't understand. They can't. They don't know how high Nerissa has reached, the things she has accomplished, the spells she has mastered, the people, countries, civilizations and entire worlds she's saved.
She's Nerissa Crossnic. Mistress of Quintessence, Sorceress, Keeper of the Heart, Leader of the Guardians. Lover of Cassidy Chacon. And she doesn't want to be anything else. She doesn't need to be anything else.
She should stop worrying herself about such trivial things. Everything will be alright, she's sure of it.
Seven months afterwards
Arkhanta
The Banshee Queen is dead.
Yua the Banshee, who was wielder of the Heart of Arkhanta, mistress over a source of nearly infinite magic power; is dead. She who had looked so imposing, so majestic, so beautiful, so unstoppable… now lies on the floor, still, graceless and lifeless, and over a puddle of her own blood that dirties her brilliant green hair with an ugly red. There's a fuming, ugly, charred hole where her chest should be. A little blond boy called Maqi, who mustn't be older than ten, has knelt at her corpse's side and cries helplessly. Never before has such a heart-wrenching sound be heard. The boy's father, Ari, clad in an imposing white and golden armor, screams in hatred and fury. Yet he can't do anything. He has been trapped by thick and powerful vines that have sprouted from the very ground. And Nerissa Crossnic, who has dealt the killing blow to the Banshee Queen, stands not very far away from the scene. Her fellow Guardians and friends stand behind her. None of them dare to make a sound. None of them dare to make a move.
"Nerissa," Kadma says at last. "What have you done?"
I've killed her, Nerissa thinks. But she doesn't say a word. She can't. And she cannot avert her eyes from the corpse, and the crying child, and the raging man in a brilliant suit of armor. She has killed her. It's… the first one. This is the first time Nerissa Crossnic has taken a life. In all their missions, in all their other adventures, she has never been forced to do this. The process has been always been the same: Locate their targets, defeat them if need be, then apprehend them. Simple. And truth to be told, she had thought this would be no different. The Oracle had told them that the people of Arkhanta were plotting something, that the Queen of the Banshees had joined forces with a man called Ari, and that they were contacting other worlds in order to form an alliance with the intention of rebelling against Kandrakar. And that as Guardians, it was their duty to put a stop to their ambitions. So far, nothing unusual. But then they had arrived on Arkhanta, and they had ended up facing Yua in combat.
And Yua had been powerful. Stupidly powerful. Powerful enough to fight the five of them at the same time, and able to do things no other sorcerer or witch or demon or creature they have faced was able to do. As if she could twist reality with a thought. Was this because she was a Heart-wielder? Was this the true extent of a Heart's power? And as the battle raged on, things had begun to look direr and direr for the Guardians. And Yua refused to surrender. And then Ari had arrived at the scene, and Nerissa was growing desperate, and then little Maqi had also arrived, distracting and worrying both his father and the Banshee, and Nerissa had seen an opening in the woman's defenses, so she conjured the biggest bolt of Quintessence she could, and… and…
I've killed her, she thinks again. Somehow, it's the only thought she's able to form.
"Nerissa!" Yan Lin shouts her name, putting a hand over her shoulder, taking her back to reality. The Guardian of Quintessence turns her head around, coming face to face with her friend's worried, confused, scared visage. The other three girls sport similar expressions. "We… We need to go."
Nerissa nods, and the next thing she remembers is that the five of them are flying across the skies of Arkhanta, leaving the palace, the Red Fortress of Ari, behind. Below, across the seemingly endless extensions of swamp that make most of Arkhanta's landscape, she can hear the sorrowful and hateful cries of the Banshees. They cry for their dead Queen. They scream at the five of them for the crime they have committed.
It's the first time that Nerissa Crossnic leaves a world not as its savior, but as the one who has brought ruin to it.
Kandrakar
Yua and Ari had formed their alliance to stop a blight that was affecting both the Banshees and Ari's son. They had asked help from Kandrakar once their efforts had proven minimally successful, even with the power of the Heart of Arkhanta at their disposal. Kandrakar had refused. Kandrakar only intervenes when the problems of a world threaten to still into others, becoming threats to the Known Worlds as a whole. But they don't move a finger when any problem stays within the world's boundaries. No matter how terrible. No matter how many does it harm, how many it kills.
Upon learning this, Nerissa can barely contain her anger as she and her friends and fellow Guardians stand in the main chamber of the Fortress of Light, before the Oracle and all of Kandrakar's Sages. She ends up screaming before the entire congregation.
"Aren't we supposed to save innocent lives?!" she asks of all that are gathered in that chamber. She's in the verge of tears. "Aren't we meant to help as many as we can?!" If they had helped Yua and Ari from the beginning… If they had been reasonable… Then Nerissa wouldn't be a murderer now. And a woman that had only wished to help her people would still be alive.
Oracle Himerish, her trusted and beloved mentor, looks at her with sadness and compassion in his eyes. For a moment, Nerissa thinks he will see reason, agree with her, and decide to help Arkhanta now. Better late than never, as the saying goes. But then the bald wise-man shakes his head, and his face darkens.
"Kandrakar's laws may be harsh sometimes, but they are the law, nonetheless." he says. "I'm sorry, Nerissa. There's is nothing else to do. Nothing else we could have done."
"Are you being serious?!" Nerissa yells, tears falling from her eyes.
Another man comes forward, his face far harder than the Oracle's. A pale, tall man, with long hair, a long mustache and a small goatee; all of them white. She knows very well who he is. Endarno, Guardian of the Tower of Mists.
"The Oracle's words are final." he says sternly. "Now go, Guardians. You have done your duty. Be proud."
Kandrakar's halls
"Proud?! Proud?!" Nerissa screams as she and her friends walk away from the Fortress' main chamber. "I should be proud?! Of what?! Leaving a world that needs help alone and without a leader?! What a bad joke!"
"Nerissa, just... just let it be." Halinor says meekly. "The Oracle must know what's best..."
"Let it be?! The Oracle knows best?!" Nerissa bellows, stopping in her tracks and turning on her heels to glare at Halinor. "Are you listening to yourself?!"
"I-I..." Halinor babbles nervously, looking down and fidgeting with her fingers.
"You what?!" Nerissa roars, and Halinor takes a couple of steps back. Which only infuriates Nerissa even more. "Christ, why are you always like this?! Every damn time something goes wrong, you always want to do what the biggest authority around says! Even if you know it's wrong! Because you're always afraid of the consequences!"
"That's enough!" Kadma yells, putting herself between Nerissa and Halinor. "Stop yelling at her, this isn't her fault! And stop acting as if none of us were as shaken as you are, Nerissa!"
"Oh, I'm not the only one who's shaken?!" the Keeper of the Heart continues yelling. "If I'm not, then why was I the only one speaking within that room?!" she yells as she points an accusing finger at Kadma. "I was alone in there!"
"Well... It kinda was..." Kadma begins, her voice lacking strength possibly for the first time in her life.
"What?!" Nerissa screams at the top of her lungs once again. "It was my fault?! Is that what you're going to say, Kadma?!" she inquires, and she can feel tears forming on her eyes. "Don't you understand that I know that already?!" she screams as the tears begin to roll down her cheeks.
"Nerissa," Cassidy says then, grabbing her by the shoulders, and looking at her face to face. It takes only that. Only one single look from her girlfriend and the anger evaporates. "Nobody's saying that it's your fault. But... This whole thing's been hard for everyone. And fighting each other isn't going to help anyone."
Nerissa takes a deep breath. She tries to stop the tears from flowing, to no avail. "I'm… sorry. It's just… just…" she mutters. Then, slowly, she drops down and sits on the ground, Cassidy kneeling at her side. And Nerissa begins bawling her eyes out. There, in one of the many enormous halls of Kandrakar, with only her girlfriend and friends by her side; she cries.
"Nerissa, it's okay." Cassidy says, rubbing her back with a hand. "It's okay." she repeats tenderly. "It isn't your fault, Rissy."
Nerissa knows that Cassidy is right. She knows that it isn't her fault. That Yua was the one to attack first. But… she doesn't feel like things are 'okay'. She feels horrible. She feels so… so… powerless. She's never felt so powerless before. Not even before becoming a Guardian. Because she hasn't been able to help… anyone. That for all her mastery over Quintessence, all the spells she has learned, all the tactics she has memorized… She feels like she has just made things worse. And that she can't do anything about it. Not because she lacks the means, but because she isn't allowed to intervene.
It won't happen again. She won't let it happen again. Next time, she won't be powerless. Next time she will have all the power she needs to solve any possible situation, to face any possible outcome. Next time, she'll be in control of the situation. Everything will go according to plan. And everything will turn out well.
No matter the cost.
A year later
"What are you doing?"
Startled, Nerissa lifts her eyes from the pages of the book she's currently reading. As she does so, she finds herself looking at Yan Lin's cousin, who stands across the table she's occupying all by herself at Heatherfield's Public Library. She looks at him for a few seconds, not saying a single word. He stares back at her. Then she closes the book and puts it down, resting her hands over it.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" she asks softly, as she doesn't want to bother the other people at the library. "I'm reading."
The Chinese young man nods a couple of times, passing a hand through his spiky hair. It has grown darker, Nerissa notices.
"Those are... a lot of books." he declares in a tone of voice that matches the softness of hers, sitting in the chair at the opposite side of the table.
Indeed, there are a lot of books over the table. Many, many books. Some of them thicker than others. Some of them with colorful, beautiful and highly detailed and complex patterns in their covers; others with the dullest, ugliest ones a person could imagine. All of them, however, are incredibly old. Their pages are yellowed, and the covers of some of them are still dusty. And there is another tiny, little detail about them...
"These books don't look like the ones you can find in this library," Yan Lin's cousin remarks, taking one of the tomes in his hand, opening it and skimming through a bit of it. "Or anywhere in this world, for that matter." he says, closing the book and leaving it over the table again. "Unless there's a section in this library dedicated to extremely ancient Raw Magic. In which case I will complain that they don't have one dedicated to Chi Magic."
Nerissa laughs dryly, then sighs, rubbing her face afterwards. "No, these aren't from here. They... They're from Kandrakar." she says.
The young Chinese man nods a couple of times. "Why are you reading them here, then? Cousin says that Kandrakar has a very impressive library. Grand Archives, they call it. Right?"
"Yes, that's the… name," Nerissa whispers, narrowing her eyes at the young man.
Why is he here? Has Yan Lin sent him to check on her? Or is it mere chance? Or is he doing it out of his own will? If that's the case, how has he found her? How did he know where to search? And how much does he know? About the Guardians, Kandrakar... Arkhanta. How much can she tell him? Should she simply refuse to answer? No. Getting defensive now won't do her any favors. Should she simply tell him the truth, then? Or at least half of it?
"Look, this is just some research for a... pet project of mine." she tells him. "It's nothing important, I just didn't want the Sages bothering me with questions every minute or so. So here I am."
Yan Lin's cousin looks at her with an expression the Keeper of the Heart can't truly decipher. He then nods a couple more times, and rises from his chair.
"My cousin is... worried about you," he says then. "Says that you have been far colder and controlling with them during your last missions as Guardians."
Cold? Controlling? Nerissa thinks, offended. How typical of Yan Lin. Efficient, that's what Nerissa has become. Never leaving anything to chance. Always making sure to have a Plan B in case Plan A fails. A Plan C in case Plan B also fails. Of course, this demands that her fellow Guardians obey her without question, which doesn't happen as often as it should. She loves her friends and girlfriend, she really does, but sometimes she wishes they weren't so... foolish. Fortunately, all their missions since Arkhanta have been a success.
"I know... how hard everything's been for you girls since what happened in Arkhanta;" he declares. So he knows. Well, he's the only member of Yan Lin's family the Air Guardian can talk with about their magical double lives, it makes sense she talks with him about it... but the Air Guardian should have consulted it with Nerissa first.
"And I know this may sound very hypocritical coming from me, considering how I learned Chi Magic, but..." he continues. "Most of the time, there's a reason why forbidden knowledge is, well, forbidden." His tone of voice darkens then, and his face hardens. "So... don't do anything reckless."
Nerissa looks at the young man, narrowing her eyes at him once again. The way he has talked, and the way he's standing there... Is he...? "Is that a threat?" she asks, both insulted and amused.
"Only if you want it to be," he says casually, and then walks away, leaving Nerissa alone.
The Keeper of the Heart chuckles, and she covers her mouth to stop a full laughter from escaping it. Who does he think he is, doing something like this? Threatening her? As if he could do little more than scratch her. Oh well, better not to think about it. She has enough in her head as it is, the last thing she needs is to trouble herself with the empty threats of an arrogant idiot.
Now, where was I? she thinks as she opens two of the books and continues her research. It takes her several hours, meticulously reading through every tome, but her efforts finally yield some results.
"Touching... the Dragons…"
Later…
By the time the Keeper of the Heart makes it to the flat she shares with her girlfriend, night has fallen and the insides of the flat are dark, the only light the one that enters through the windows, provided by the moon.
The flat is certainly unimpressive. Their living room takes most of it, and it isn't even that big. Their kitchen, adjacent to said living room, is quite narrow, and the bathroom is equally small. And their bedroom, also adjacent to the living room and the second biggest room in the flat, isn't that big either. Big enough to contain a bed for the two of them and a closet, but nothing else.
Nerissa takes off her jacket, shoes and pants; leaving them over the living room's couch. Then, silently, she makes her way to their bedroom. She opens the door slowly, gently, and stands in the threshold. Cassidy lies over the left half of their bed, facing outwards, sound asleep. The Keeper of the Heart walks slow and enters the bed carefully, trying not to awake her girlfriend.
As Nerissa lies down, eyes closed, she feels how Cassidy moves in her sleep. For the following moments, not a sound can be heard. Then Cassidy breathes deeply, and speaks.
"Where were you?" the redhead asks in a soft whisper.
"Library." Nerissa whispers in turn.
"Magic research?" Cassidy asks.
Tsk. She knows Nerissa all too well. "Yes, magic research."
"Uhm..." Cassidy mumbles, turning around to face Nerissa. The redhead cuddles against her, burying her head in the green-eyed woman's chest. "I think you're pushing yourself too hard, Rissy. I know you mean well, but..."
"I know, I know;" Nerissa interrupts her girlfriend before she can even finish. "But it's necessary. The more I know," she says as she puts her arms around Cassidy and embraces her, "the better I'll be... we'll be prepared to help people."
Cassidy accommodates herself between Nerissa's arms. "My mom always says that a single person can't change the world alone. You shouldn't..." she yawns, "put so much over your... shoulders..." she yawns again, then stops talking. It doesn't take long before she falls asleep again.
Nerissa plants a kiss over her lover's forehead. Cassidy is such a sweetheart... but her mother is wrong. A single person should be able to change the world, or the Known Worlds, alone.
If she is powerful enough.
Kandrakar
A couple of days later
Nerissa Crossnic flies slowly through one of Kandrakar's halls, her wings flapping, and the edges of the pink dress that makes most of her Guardian 'uniform' mere inches away from the floor. She always transforms into a Guardian when being here. Feels more respectful than not doing so. And she has to admit that... she is beginning to feel more comfortable when she's a Guardian than when she's not.
The hall that leads to the chamber that houses the Aurameres is always so eerily empty and quiet, Nerissa notes. Few Sages walk it, contrary to how it is with the other halls, which are always bustling with Sages unless the whole congregation has been summoned for a meeting in the main chamber. It's also far smaller than the rest, with a far lower ceiling and narrower walls. Nerissa wonders if it's built that way so it can be more easily defended in case of an attack.
She arrives at the gates that separate the hall from the chamber. Or perhaps calling them doors would be better. They are certainly smaller and simpler in design than the other gates of Kandrakar. She pushes them open with ease (thank you, Guardian enhanced strength) and enters.
The chamber itself has higher ceilings than the hall leading up to it. It's ample and round, with no other entrances or windows and only a big, pentagonal piece of glass in the ceiling to allow the light in. The center of the chamber is occupied by a small altar. And over that altar float five brilliant spheres of energy, moving in a circle. One is bright pink, another light blue, another of a powerful red, the next moss green, the last of a pale silver.
The Aurameres. Each of them connected to one Guardian, and the true source of their powers... more or less. Nerissa knows that their elemental Magic comes from these orbs here, but the Heart of Kandrakar is far more than a mere conductor. It acts both as an amplifier to and a way to control the power of the Aurameres, allowing each Guardian generation to transform and wield the power properly. Both would be completely useless without the other, and if the Aurameres were to be destroyed in some manner, there would be no more Guardians. No wonder Kandrakar keeps them stored here, and has a role specifically designed to protect them.
Speaking of which, there she is, standing before the altar, her back turned to Nerissa. But the Keeper of the Heart knows who she is. She has met with her too many times to not to. Luba, the Watcher of the Aurameres. A woman of Basiliade. A cat-woman, to be exact, with pointy cat-ears, whiskers, claws, fangs, cat-eyes and fur of a light tone of grey that matches perfectly with her long, wavy, dark-gray hair. Apparently, a good deal of the population of Basiliade has feline attributes.
Nerissa stops flying. With her feet of the ground, she walks until she stands side by side with Luba. The Watcher hasn't moved an inch, and her eyes are closed. Yet Nerissa knows she doesn't need to say a word. So she just stands there, watching the spheres move ceaselessly.
"What troubles you, young Keeper of the Heart?" Luba asks at last, keeping her eyes closed.
Nerissa breathes deeply. "I have some... questions regarding the Aurameres that I hoped you could answer."
"What kind of questions?" Luba asks in a neutral tone.
"Questions about their origin, mostly;" Nerissa answers. "I have read much about it, but most of it were legends and stories."
"Yet all legends and stories have some truth in them." Luba points out. "By now you must have discovered that all those legends and stories are but different versions of the same event."
Nerissa nods. "But what is the one that approaches the truth the most?"
Luba sighs. "That is hard to say. Contrary to what many believe, Kandrakar doesn't have a record of every event in the Known Worlds' history." The cat-woman of Basiliade pauses. "We know it all began on Earth, of all places."
"Yes, I know that part." Nerissa says. She has to admit that she had been surprised when learning of it. Of all the Known Worlds, Earth is the one that is unaware of Kandrakar's existence. The least magical of all of them. Yet it had been on Earth, like Luba has just said, where everything began.
"That there was once a great and powerful Emperor, or King, or Warlord, or Sorcerer on Earth;" Nerissa declares, recalling the legends; some of which she knows to exist even on Earth itself. "A man clad in a suit of jade armor," she adds, one of the details all the tales have in common; "and that ruled over the East."
The East. What is that even supposed to mean? Asia? China? The entire Eastern Hemisphere? Why do legends always have to be so vague?
"And the Jade Emperor had command over four mighty dragons," Luba continues the story; "that in turn controlled the elements of Fire, Earth, Water and Air. And through them and his own power, the Emperor ruled without opposition."
Nerissa smiles. "But then a great drought came over the land, and the people suffered. The Four Dragons wanted to aid everyone, but the Jade Emperor refused, wanting the Dragons to remain in his palace, serving only him and his vassals." she explains.
"But the Dragons disobeyed their master, and helped the peasantry with their powers." Luba talks next. "And as punishment for such disobedience, the Jade Emperor trapped the Dragons under four mountains."
"In comes the Nymph of Quintessence, Xin Jing." Nerissa says, not without a hint of triumph in her voice. "Whom frees the Dragons, and punishes the Jade Emperor by stripping him of his titles, lands and riches, blinding him and sentencing him to walk the land to help those in need as atonement. And the Four Dragons depart from Earth alongside Xin Jing."
"And with the help of another Nymph, named N'ghala," Luba explains, citing a part of the tale that only Kandrakar's texts talk about; "Xin Jing was able to bind both her and the Four Dragon's essence to Kandrakar, to the Center of Infinity itself; creating both the Aurameres, embodiment of her and the Dragons' power... and the Heart of Kandrakar, used to bestow said power to others. N'ghala would then become the first Oracle."
With the tale finished, both women fall silent. Truth to be told, this information is nothing new to Nerissa, but it's a good thing to have a confirmation that Luba doesn't know more about the origin of the Aurameres than she does... or at least that she isn't willing to share anything new. Which means it's time to be bold and ask what she really wants to ask.
"And what does it mean to Touch the Dragons?" Nerissa inquires.
Luba opens her eyes. She turns her head to look at Nerissa directly. Her eyes are of a weird mix of green and a pale yellow, and they have the same slit pupil that the cats of Earth have.
"Where did you learn that term?" the cat-woman asks.
Luba has spoken in a soft tone of voice, and her face betrays no emotion. Yet when Nerissa meets those eyes of hers with her own, she can't avoid feeling... afraid, even if only a little. The Watcher of the Aurameres is, after all, also their protector. The last line of defense between the Aurameres and (an extremely unlikely) invader. As such, she's most likely skilled in all manners of combat, both hand-to-hand and with Magic. Which makes her someone Nerissa has no interest into provoking unnecessarily.
"In one of the Grand Archives' texts," Nerissa answers. "But I only found the term, nothing else."
Luba stares at her silently for a few moments, then she looks at the Aurameres again. As if she is thinking very hard about what to say next, or how to say it. Or perhaps, if she should say it.
"Touching the Dragons," Luba begins, at last, maybe thinking that knowledge alone can do no harm; "is the term we use to refer to the process by which a generation of Guardians gain access to the full power of their Aurameres."
So there really is a way for a Guardian to reach greater highs, Nerissa thinks. For me to wield greater power... to help people with.
"How's that possible?" Nerissa asks, only for Luba to give her the same look as before. "I mean... has any generation of Guardians actually done it?"
"Only one," the cat-woman says, directing her gaze at the Aurameres again. "Long ago, that was. Long, long ago. Before I was Watcher of the Aurameres, when I was a mere Sage." she explains, and only now does Nerissa notice how... old Luba sounds. It's sometimes easy to forget how old these people are. That most of them have lived for centuries, and some others for thousands of years.
"As for how it is possible," Luba continues; "there is no actual process, no specific spell or ritual. For all that we know, the Guardians only need to will for it… and be willing to pay the price."
"Price?" Nerissa inquires.
Luba nods and sighs. "If the Guardians Touch the Dragons… each of them becomes an embodiment of her element, with power over every aspect of it. Not just Air, but also gases and the skies, and hurricanes, and breath. Not just Water, but also humidity, and rain and anything that flows. Not just Earth, but also growth and decay. Not just Fire, but also heat in all of its forms. Not just Quintessence, but also electromagnetism, and Life itself." Luba pauses, deep in thought. "But they also become vaguely humanoid masses of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Quintessence; and in the process they lose their ability to feel and think in any way resembling that of a mortal, sentient being." Luba stops talking to look at Nerissa once more. "To Touch the Dragons means for a generation of Guardians to become five of the most powerful beings in existence." she finishes. "But it also means for them to lose their humanity."
"Forever."
Later…
Flying through the halls of Kandrakar, Nerissa Crossnic thinks both about what she's just learned and about how she will proceed now.
Touching the Dragons is out of the question. Nerissa needs power, but she isn't willing to sacrifice her humanity for it. The spells she has learned, the mastery over Quintessence she has developed by dwelling for so long in the nature and abilities of the Heart of Kandrakar... Those will have to do. For the moment, at least.
What she must do now is act quickly. Luba will, no doubt, inform Himerish about their little talk. That leaves her with a short amount of time before the Oracle also finds out about how she's been taking tomes and texts from Kandrakar into Earth, he puts two and two together, and discovers what she's going to do. What she must do.
She won't let anything or anyone stop her. She has been planning this for too long and has invested too much effort into it to let it amount to nothing. And when she has succeeded, when the deed is done and the dust has settled, everyone will see how necessary her actions are. Everyone will see that she is right. Everyone will see how much better things are if they are done her way.
Everyone will understand.
Less than a day later
A world called Creznac
The Sages of Kandrakar have always said that Creznac is the most peculiar of the Known Worlds. Smaller than Earth, and with oceans of golden water and lands of white soil and blue grass, and a red sky; the world is populated by tall and thin humanoids of smooth, grey skin and six big eyes in their long faces. But what makes it truly stand out from the other Known Worlds is that no one has ever wielded its Heart. The Heart of Creznac has never, ever, chosen a master or a mistress; at least not in all the millennia since Kandrakar has been aware of its existence. It remains hidden, dormant perhaps.
And without a Heart-wielder to unite the world under their care and impose any semblance of order, the people of Creznac are now divided into many nations. Some of them big, others small. But each of them ruled by a Great Baron. And all of them wage war against one another, driven by the greed of the Great Barons; who search to steal land, resources, riches or people from other nations to add it to their own. No matter how much land it ruins, how many families it breaks, how many people it kills.
Oh yes, there are alliances and brief periods of peace... but the alliances always break, the peace always ends. The greedy Great Barons wage endless, petty wars. The people suffer. This is how it always has been. It never ends.
Today, however, things are going to be different. For today, Nerissa Crossnic is here. Today, the Guardian of Quintessence soars across the crimson skies of Creznac. Today she clutches the Heart of Kandrakar in her hand, and lifts it towards the sky. She calls her element, shooting it upwards with her other hand until a cloud is formed. The cloud then rains Quintessence over the Heart of Kandrakar, which absorbs the white-blue lightning bolts and shoots them back into the cloud with added power, making it grow. More bolts of Quintessence come down from the cloud, and the Heart sends them back empowered. Which in turn results into the cloud raining more and more powerful lightning into the Heart, and the Heart sending it back magnified, and so it continues until it creates a loop. And the dark cloud grows and grows until it becomes a storm, and every bit of Quintessence within it grows stronger and stronger.
It takes less than she thought it would. Soon, there's a mighty, magical electric storm covering the skies of the entire planet. A storm Nerissa has full control of. A storm she can see through. And so, she sees them all.
She sees the peasants working the fields, to produce nourishment for the soldiers that fight in the Great Barons' wars. She sees the smiths forging weapons for Great Barons' wars. She sees the soldiers that kill and are killed in the battlefields of the Great Barons' wars. She sees the corpses left behind, soldier and civilian alike, product of the Great Barons' wars. And she sees the Great Barons. Sitting without a worry at the back of their armies. Dinning in their war-camps. Sleeping in their palaces. Away from battle. Away from the suffering. Away from the horror.
Nerissa screams, and her roar resonates through the entire storm. She unleashes the Quintessence stored within it over Creznac. It doesn't strike at random. It doesn't target everyone equally. But it strikes at the Great Barons' armies, melting their weapons and vaporizing their commanders; leaving them useless and without leaders. Throwing them into chaos. And it strikes at the Barons' castles, keeps and war-camps. Killing most of them. They don't even have the chance to scream. It all happens too fast.
And when it is finally done, Nerissa brings the Heart of Kandrakar to her throat, and with it, she speaks through the storm.
"People of Creznac!" she says. "I am Nerissa Crossnic! Guardian of Kandrakar! Keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar! Mistress of Quintessence! Please, do not be afraid!" she orders them. "I have ended the wars of the Great Barons! I have made their armies powerless! You won't suffer anymore!" she pauses, her voice growing darker. "Surviving Great Barons. I have killed seven out of every ten of you. You will now work together. Take over the nations that have been left without leaders, and divide them equally among yourselves. I believe that should be enough to satiate your greed. You will disband your armies. Both yours and the ones that belonged to the now dead Great Barons. You will maintain order, peace and prosperity for your people, or the next time I come to Creznac... I won't be so merciful."
With that said, Nerissa dissipates the storm. Then she opens a Fold and crosses it. She is happy, for she knows she leaves a peaceful and better world behind.
A day later
Kandrakar
This, is Nerissa Crossnic. Keeper of the Heart! Guardian of Quintessence! Sorcerous prodigy! Lover of Cassidy Chacon! Peacemaker of Creznac!
And now, Nerissa Crossnic, Heart of Kandrakar hanging from her neck yet forbidden from using it to transform into her Guardian form, stands in the center of the massive main chamber of the Fortress of Light. Her fellow Guardians, her friends and girlfriend, who are also in their human forms; have been made to stand far behind her. Away from her. Where they can't provide any form of comfort or support her in any way.
The chamber is also full of Kandrakar's Sages, who sit or stand in a circle around them, rows upon rows of men and women from every corner of the Known Worlds. And last but not least, there's the trio of people right in front of her, standing over a platform that she's pretty sure has been built for this very occasion. Oracle Himerish, with Endarno, Guardian of the Tower of Mists, at his right; and Luba, Watcher of the Aurameres, at his left. The three of them are staring at her with their faces full of a mix of disappointment and anger.
Nerissa's hands haven't been bound. Her mouth hasn't been gagged. But she knows that this is a trial. That she's going to be judged. Judged. Judged! Like a petty thief! Her! Why?! For doing something to save an entire world from war and keep its society from imploding?!
I have nothing to be ashamed of, she tells herself as she glares back at her three judges in proud defiance.
It is then that the Oracle steps forward, distancing himself from his cohorts. He keeps staring at Nerissa, his pale eyes against her brilliant green ones. She sees how his face softens for a moment, kindness and pity overtaking anger and disappointment... only for Oracle Himerish to breath deeply and harden his face once more.
"Do you have any idea of what you have done?" he asks.
Straight to the point, I see; Nerissa thinks as she takes a deep breath of her own. But should she have been expecting anything less? No, probably not. Then, perhaps, it would be better if she goes straight to the point too.
"I have brought peace to Creznac. I have put a stop to centuries of never-ending wars." she says, calm and proudly.
The crowd of Sages begins whispering among themselves upon hearing her pronounce those words. Endarno silences them again with a mere gesture, while Oracle Himerish stares at her with his eyes wide-opened.
"Brought peace to..." he begins, incredulous. "Nerissa, you attacked Creznac, a world that posed no threat to the peace and balance of the Infinite Dimensions; unauthorized." he says, and incredulity gives way to anger. Not fiery anger. Not explosive anger. It's the anger of a man that has lived for more than a thousand years. And it's cold, focused and tempered. But it's anger, nonetheless. "Do you have any idea of the incident this will cause when the rest of the Known Worlds learn of what has happened on Creznac? How do you think they will react when they discover that you, the leader of the Guardians of Kandrakar, has done such a thing? When they think we have violated one of our most sacred laws? Did you think there wouldn't be any consequences? And that is not the most important thing about this. Nerissa," he says, his voice growing slightly softer. "Nerissa, you have killed hundreds, perhaps thousands of people."
Nerissa lets those words sink in. Hundreds. Thousands. Has... Has it really been so many...? Has she really...? No. No, she won't let something as trivial as guilt make her doubt her reasoning, or make her think that her actions have been wrong. They haven't. They haven't.
"How many people live in Creznac?" she asks of the Oracle, making him stare at her with that incredulous expression once again. "How many millions? Dozens of millions? Hundreds of millions? Maybe thousands of millions?" The young woman folds her arms, staring back at Oracle Himerish. "Well, thanks to me, all of them live now in a safer world. A world free of the Great Barons' wars, where all of them can live happier, better lives. If it benefits so many, killing a few hundreds, even a few thousand people... it's acceptable."
"Are you listening to what you are saying?" Oracle Himerish asks in disbelief as the crowd of Sages begins whispering again.
"I am!" Nerissa shrieks suddenly, anger boiling within her. She unfolds her arms, clenches her fists and stomps on the ground. "It's you who aren't listening! None of you batted an eye when my friends and I essentially attacked Arkhanta in full force and I killed its Heart-wielder, even when we left the people of that world helpless afterwards! You told me I should be proud of that! Now I've done the same thing with far better results, and you label me a criminal! Don't you get it?! I've saved Creznac!"
"No, you have not."
Nerissa looks past the Oracle (who also looks over his shoulder), and finds herself looking at Endarno. He is the one who has spoken. And of all the people assembled in that chamber, it's his eyes that stare at her with the most contempt.
"Excuse you?" an offended Nerissa says without an ounce of respect. For her methods to be questioned is not surprising... but her results? No, she won't tolerate that.
"You have not saved Creznac, young Keeper of the Heart." the Guardian of the Tower of Mists says, serious and blunt. "Oh yes, there is peace now, but it is one born of fear. And time will pass, and the fear will grow weaker and disappear. And then war will begin again in Creznac. Do you wish to know why?" Endarno walks forward until he stands side by side with Himerish.
"It's because, tragically, its people desire war." he continues. "They have been warring for generations. It has been so long that it has become part of their lives, part of their culture, the fuel of most of their societies' economies, and a rite of passage for their young." he explains. "It is an issue that cannot be solved by mere fear-mongering, and that must be addressed at the right time, with the appropriate tools, and by their own inhabitants. That is why Kandrakar operates in the way it does, only acting when the Known Worlds, the Infinite Dimensions, are at risk as a whole." he finishes.
"Endarno..." Himerish mutters once the other man has finished his speech.
"My apologies for speaking out of turn, wise Oracle;" the Guardian of the Tower of Mists says humbly and respectfully, bowing his head; "but she needed to be told that."
"Then why haven't any of you helped any of the Known Worlds with that?!" a furious Nerissa shrieks, shocking everyone within the chamber. "Why haven't any of you given them the appropriate tools?! Why haven't you helped their inhabitants address those issues?! It can't be a matter of lacking time! The youngest of you has been alive for centuries!" she yells as she turns her head left and right, so she can take a good look at all the Sages' faces. She then lets out a long, dry and bitter laugh.
"Look at you. You're pathetic. All of you!" she shouts angrily. "You pride yourselves on how Kandrakar protects the Known Worlds, but you detach yourselves from them! When was the last time any of you traveled to the world they were born in?! I bet none of you have! Not even once! No... you stay here, hoarding knowledge that could be used to benefit so many. Only acting when the suffering and turmoil of a world inevitably grow and spill into other worlds! And even then it's us Guardians who do all the work! Has any of you thought that if you did a bare minimum to help Creznac over the past decades, we wouldn't be here today?!"
"You spend day and night doing nothing but watch over some spheres floating in circles, instead of doing anything productive!" she yells at Luba, who ends evading her gaze, looking ashamed.
"You!" she exclaims as she points a finger at Endarno next. It's the scarred man who looks the most shaken out of everyone in the room, as he probably expected his little speech to have intimidated Nerissa. "How many of the prisoners of the Tower of Mists wouldn't be there if Kandrakar had handled them before they became threats to the Known Worlds as a whole?!"
"And you..." she hisses venomously at the Oracle. "You are the worst of them all. The wise and all-mighty Oracle... The most powerful being in the Infinite Dimensions! Stronger than any Heart-wielder! The man that could solve any problem by snapping his fingers! And here you are. Doing nothing." she spits at him.
What follows Nerissa's words... is silence. No whisper arises from the crowd of Sages, no retort comes from Luba or Endarno. Even her friends, at her back, seem to be holding their breath. Oracle Himerish, however, takes his hands to his face, sighing on them. When he takes them off, he looks to the ceiling, and he doesn't look angry anymore. Or disappointed. He looks... tired. So very, very tired.
"Kandrakar... is far from perfect." he begins, slow and solemn. "No one knows that better than I do. But regardless of their flaws, our laws must be respected and obeyed. Especially when it comes to respecting the autonomy of the Known Worlds. And I understand that it may be frustrating, Nerissa;" he says as he looks at her again. "But it is how it must be."
"That's idiotic!" Nerissa yells then, and tears begin to form in the corner of her eyes out of sheer frustration. "We have the power! And the duty of those with power is to use it to help as many people as possible! No matter what it takes!"
"Is that what you truly believe?" the Oracle asks sadly.
"Of course I do!" Nerissa answers loud and proudly.
"Then, you leave me no choice." he declares firmly. He then takes a big breath, and his next words are loud and full of strength.
"I, Himerish, Oracle of Kandrakar," he begins, "in light of the actions performed by Nerissa Crossnic on Creznac, declare that she cannot be trusted with neither the position of Keeper of the Heart, nor with the power that comes from possessing such sacred artifact. And therefore propose…" he says, and for a moment he seems to hesitate, but nevertheless he goes on; "to immediately take the Heart of Kandrakar from her, and with it her position as Leader of the Guardians of Kandrakar, so both the artifact and her role can be given to one of her companions, whom hopefully will make a more responsible use of both. Are both the Guardian of the Tower of Mists and the Watcher of the Aurameres in agreement?"
"Yes." Endarno says instantly.
"…Yes." Luba answers too, albeit with far less conviction.
"Then it is settled." Himerish declares.
"Wait!" Nerissa shouts. Pride and anger have drained from her face, leaving only fear and confusion. She looks at her judges, in the verge of panicking, clutching the Heart of Kandrakar that still hangs from her neck. "Wait, you can't do that! I know you can't! A Heart must be given freely! You can't take it by force! You can't take it from me!"
"Yes, Nerissa. I can." Himerish says, voice as cold and hard as a gravestone. "You said so yourself," he declares as he extends a hand towards her. "I am the mighty Oracle of Kandrakar. I am more powerful than any Heart-wielder. And that includes you."
It all happens in the blink of an eye. One moment, the Heart of Kandrakar is on her hand. The next, it isn't. Now Himerish holds the round, pink, ever-beating jewel on his palm. Nerissa doesn't say anything. She can't say anything. She can't do anything but stare at the Oracle, powerless.
"Now," Himerish declares with authority as his eyes drift to the back of the chamber, where the other four Guardians stand. "The Heart must be given to another Guardian. Nerissa will retain her position as Guardian of Quintessence, but the role of Keeper of the Heart and leader will belong to one of you. However, I would prefer not to impose this duty in anyone. Therefore, if any of you believes that she is worthy of the role of Keeper of the Heart, and wishes to take it, speak now or never."
The Oracle's words spark the faintest amount of hope within Nerissa. She can't see their faces, their reactions, but she knows they must be as horrified as she is over this pathetic excuse for a trial, this… charade. They will defend her. Defend her actions. They won't betray her. They will do as they have always done and stand by her…
"I'll do it."
The spark of hope dies. Her legs begin to shake. Her own heart skips a beat.
"Very well," Oracle Himerish says.
The Heart of Kandrakar begins floating away from him, until it lands on the hands of the young woman, the Guardian, who has just spoken. A young woman that has distanced herself from the other three, and now stands side by side with Nerissa Crossnic. Perhaps, if it were any of the others, Nerissa could have endured it. Processed it. But she can't. Not when it has been her.
For the young woman that has just spoken, and that now bears the Heart of Kandrakar, the newly appointed Keeper of the Heart and leader of the Guardians, the one that has taken that artifact and position from her… is the love of Nerissa's life.
Cassidy Chacon.
Hours later
Cassidy and Nerissa's flat
Nerissa is the one to make it first to their apartment once they are sent back to Earth. She hasn't exchanged a word with either Cassidy or any of the other three. In fact, she hasn't even taken a look at their faces since leaving Kandrakar. Not that any of them have tried to start a conversation. Christ, even remembering exactly how she got back to the flat is hard. It's all... blurry. As if it hasn't been a conscious decision, her body moving and ending up here by inertia instead. Now she's simply sitting in the couch. She hasn't moved an inch since she arrived and sat down. She's waiting.
She hears the door of the flat open and close around half an hour later, followed by the sound of footsteps. Moments later, Cassidy Chacon is standing right in front of her, a sad expression on her face, a paper-bag on her arms... and the Heart of Kandrakar hanging from her neck and resting over her chest. Nerissa takes a single look at her and sees Cassidy's lips turn into a forced smile, then turns her eyes towards the floor.
"I... brought some of your favorite burgers!" Cassidy says in a happy tone that is as forced as her smile, shaking the paper bag afterwards. She loses both the happy tone and the smile once Nerissa says nothing. "Yeah, I... I don't know why I've done it. It's not like any of us is gonna be hungry."
Neither of them says a word afterwards. They remain where they are, one sitting and one standing, uncomfortably avoiding each other's gazes. But, in the end, the confrontation is inevitable.
"How could you do this to me?" Nerissa asks.
It surprises her how different than usual she sounds. Gone are the strength and confidence of her voice. Instead she sounds... shaken. Weak. But how can she not sound shaken and weak? Hasn't she been betrayed by the one that is closest to her? Of course she feels so horrible. She could have expected such a betrayal from anyone else, even if it could've been hard to process at first. She could have expected it from haughty Kadma, weak-willed Halinor... even from Yan Lin. But not from Cassidy. Never from Cassidy. That's why it hurts so much.
"I did it to help you." Cassidy answers with worry and sincerity.
Nerissa looks at her girlfriend with a shocked expression. She practically jumps from the couch, standing just in front of her. Startled, Cassidy lets go of the paper bag. It falls to the ground, and some of the hamburgers spill over the floor.
"Help me?" Nerissa asks, incredulous. "Help me?!" she repeats, furious. "You, better than anyone, know how important this is for me! How much time and effort I've invested in investigating and experimenting with the Heart of Kandrakar! All so I could help as many people as I could! And you say that you've taken it from me... to help me?!"
"Yes! That's precisely why I've done it!" Cassidy yells back. "Do you think I haven't noticed how you've been acting?! How obsessed you've grown about this thing?!" she asks, clutching the Heart in her hand. "That I don't know how many nights you've spent awake, doing only-God-knows-what with the Heart?! All the afternoons you've spent in Kandrakar or the library studying Magic?! Nerissa," she says calmer, and with far more concern. "This thing's… changed you. For the love of Christ, you've… you've killed so many people…"
Nerissa rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Not this again... I already explained everything that needed to be explained back in Kandrakar!"
Cassidy's face pales. "But... But... But I thought you felt horrible when you had to kill Yua."
That catches Nerissa a little off-guard. Nevertheless, she quickly regains her composure. "Killing Yua was never the problem! The problem was that her death served no purpose!" she explains.
Nerissa sees how, upon hearing those words, Cassidy's eyes widen in shock. Almost as if, up until this point, she has refused to truly accept that Nerissa meant what she said on Kandrakar. "So... what? C omitting such atrocities is alright if it's in the name of some greater nonsense?"
Nerissa shakes her head. "You lot talk as if I enjoyed doing it! Do you think I did it because i wanted to?! I did it because I had to!"
"You didn't have to kill those people, Rissy." the redhead says sadly.
"No! No, that's where you're wrong!" Nerissa yells. "Where everyone's wrong! I had to do it!" she says as she takes her hands to her head. "I had to kill them! I had to do something to... to help them! To solve the situation! To save them from themselves! Because that's what a Guardian does! What I do!"
"Nerissa..." Cassidy says, extending a compassionate hand towards her. "You aren't well. Nerissa, I think you need help..."
"I don't need help!" the green-eyed young woman says, brushing her girlfriend's hand aside. "I need power! Power to protect, to help, to save, to free, to control! I need the Heart!" Nerissa roars, clenching her fists in frustration. "Just...! Just...!" the young woman rambles. "Just give it back!"
In a fit of rage born of desperation, Nerissa lunges at Cassidy with her hands extended towards the Heart of Kandrakar, aiming to snatch it from the redhead. Scared, Cassidy lifts her arms to defend herself. The two young women struggle with one another, one trying to overpower the other to reclaim what she believes is rightfully hers, the other trying to stop her lover from making another mistake.
"Nerissa, stop!" Cassidy begs.
"Just. Give. It. BACK!" the former Keeper of the Heart keeps demanding of the current one.
"Nerissa, you're hurting...!" Cassidy pleads, but Nerissa may as well be deaf now.
At last, Cassidy manages to push Nerissa away. As the Guardian of Quintessence rushes her again, the Guardian of Water takes her hands to the Heart of Kandrakar. And so, afraid and confused, the redhead says the magic words... For the first and last time.
"Guardians Unite!"
The both of them are engulfed by a bright, pink light. When it dims, Nerissa Crossnic looks down at herself, then at Cassidy. Their clothes are far from the ones any person from Earth would consider normal, and there are wings protruding from their backs. They have been transformed into their Guardian forms. The both of them. Has Cassidy done it by accident? Has it been a result of her inexperience as Keeper of the Heart? Or due to the two of them being in such close proximity? Nevertheless, Nerissa smirks.
"You just made things a lot harder for..." Nerissa begins to say, only to be blasted by a ball of water that sends her to the ground. She rises just in time to see a panicked Cassidy exit through their flat's window and fly away.
"Cassidy, wait!" Nerissa yells, running towards the window. But Cassidy is already far away, flying as fast as she can. "Goddammit!" she screams, jumping out of the window herself and flying after Cassidy.
As she flies in pursuit of her girlfriend, Nerissa notices that they quickly leave the city, and its outskirts, behind. That Cassidy is flying to the mountain formation that lies north of Heatherfield.
Mount Thanos.
The mountains
A storm is raging over Mount Thanos.
Pitch-black clouds cover the sky, the wind blows furiously, lightning bolts of white and gold cross the clouds constantly, and thunder rumbles like a roaring lion. Yet, not a single drop of water is falling from the darkened skies. Nevertheless, both Nerissa and Cassidy continue flying, though they move slower and at a lower altitude than before, due to the wind's strength.
"Cassidy!" Nerissa screams as she flies. "Stop! Cassidy!"
The redhead doesn't stop. She doesn't even say a word. Or look back at Nerissa. She just keeps flying away. And Nerissa swears within her mind. For a moment, she toys with the idea of shooting a bolt of Quintessence at her lover, just to stop her from flying away. But the idea quickly fades away. What the hell is she thinking? But... she could use her Quintessence to reshape and animate some of the rocks around into warriors that could help her with…
"I warned you!"
Nerissa stops in mid-air just in time to avoid being hit by what can only be described as a small orb of green energy. An attack. An attack done by using a spell. A simplistic spell. A mediocre spell. But an attack, regardless of its strength. So she dives down and lands in the ground, looking around for her mysterious opponent. It doesn't take her long to see him.
"You?!" Nerissa yells.
"Yes, me." answers Yan Lin's cousin, standing tall and proud, fists clenched at his sides, his spiky hair waving in the wind.
"What?!" Nerissa asks, baffled. "How are you here?!"
The young Chinese man smiles smugly. "I have a motorcycle. And do you remember our little talk in the library some time ago?" he asks, and his smile widens. "I put a locator spell on you back then."
"What?" Nerissa asks, incredulous. She closes her eyes and concentrates. And, indeed, there is some... trace of unknown Magic stuck to her. It's very small, and she burns it away by making a few sparks of Quintessence travel through her body... but it's done its job, hasn't it? When did he do that?! she thinks. While we were talking? After? Before?
"I bet you never suspected it." he says, laughing a little. "You Raw Magic users are too brutish and flashy. Too arrogant due to your power. You underestimate the tricks we Chi Wizards have up our sleeves."
Nerissa takes a look at Cassidy, who keeps slowly flying away. Damn it, she doesn't have time for this! "And what do you think you're going to do?!"
"Stop you." he answers calmly. "My cousin told me about what you did, and about Cassidy taking your place as Keeper of the Heart." He glances at Cassidy, too. "It doesn't take a genius to see what's going on. But then again, I knew something like this would happen. That's why I put that spell on you in the first place."
"And you are going to stop me?" Nerissa asks, and she can't avoid laughing. "You?! Really?!"
"Yes. Me!" he proclaims loudly, using the same words as before. He then searches in his pockets, and takes out a vial full of a green liquid. He opens the vial and empties it over his hands, covering them with the liquid. Then he says something in Chinese, and his hands shine green. Afterwards, he takes a fighting stance. Is... Is he planning to fight her with his bare hands?
"You can't be serious." Nerissa states dryly.
"I am!" he declares loudly. Next, he leaps forward. "Don't be arrogant! Don't underestimate me!"
"Have it your way, then." Nerissa says, her voice full of contempt.
Two blasts of Quintessence. That's all it takes to leave Yan Lin's cousin on the ground and barely conscious.
"Called me arrogant." Nerissa says. "Take a look in a mirror, idiot."
She then looks around, searching for Cassidy. The Water Guardian has become a vague shape in the distance. So without uttering another word, Nerissa Crossnic flies after her.
Near the mountaintops
The wind grows more and more powerful the higher they ascend. By the time they reach a plain area near the peak, they are forced to stop flying and continue on foot. And so Cassidy runs and Nerissa runs after her. They run and run, over the dry, cold, stony ground... until they can't keep running.
Cassidy comes to a sudden halt when she reaches the edge of a precipice. The chasm is too wide to simply jump over it, and the wind blows too strongly to fly. She takes a look at the chasm, at the darkness within it. She can't see the bottom. It's too deep. It's like an enormous, monstrous maw, threatening to swallow her whole.
"Cassidy!"
The Water Guardian and Keeper of the Heart turns around, only to see how Nerissa has caught up to her. The Guardian of Quintessence stands a handful of meters away from Cassidy, her long, black hair wildly blowing in the wind, her green eyes glaring furiously at the redhead.
"It's over, Cassidy!" Nerissa yells so her lover can hear her over the noise of the wind. "Give me the Heart!" she says, extending her hand towards the redhead.
Cassidy protectively clutches the jewel on her chest. "I won't!" she yells, matching the strength of her lover's voice. "For the love of God, Nerissa, look at what you're doing! This isn't normal! This is crazy!" she begs as tears begin to form in the corner of her eyes. If they are product of sorrow or fear, that can't be known. "What are you even gonna do if I give you this thing?!"
"I'll...! I'll..." Nerissa begins to say, but the words won't come. Has she actually thought about that? She shakes her head, nevertheless, as if that will make the doubt go away. "I'll just run away! And...!"
"And what?!" Cassidy interrupts her. "How long will it be before Himerish finds you?! And what will you do meanwhile?! Just kill more people?!"
Nerissa doesn't give an answer. She can't think of any.
"I'm not giving you this stupid jewel back, Nerissa!" Cassidy shouts while crying. Scared, worried, angry, frustrated, confused. "I don't think we should've had it in the first place! Look what's done to you! To all of us! It'd be better if we just quit being Guardians!"
Nerissa stops. She stops talking. Stops moving. Stops blinking. Quit... Quit being Guardians? No, no, no, no... That can't be right. That isn't an option. Cannot be an option!
She is Nerissa Crossnic! Mistress of Sorcery! Liberator of Creznac! Guardian of Quintessence! That's who she is! If she stops being a Guardian, then... Then... Then everything she has done... Every hour spent researching, every drop of sweat that has fallen from her brow, every life she has saved... and every life she has taken... All of it will be...
For nothing.
"Fine!" Nerissa roars as she hardens her heart. "You want to do this the hard way?! We'll do it the hard way! Quintessence!"
Nerissa fires a bolt of blue-white lightning from her hand. It violently hits the ground that separates the two of them. After all, she has no intention of harming Cassidy. She doesn't want to hurt her. She just wants to scare her, to make her understand. But in her frustration and anger, there is something that Nerissa has forgotten. And that, is the strength of her attack, and the shockwave product of it.
And so, the next thing that Nerissa sees after the blast hits the ground is a terrified Cassidy Chacon, being blown backwards as the ground cracks and breaks under her feet, and falling into the chasm behind her.
Nerissa panics and gasps in horror. She runs, desire for the Heart, anger at her girlfriend's actions and frustration at Kandrakar forgotten. But by the time she makes it to the edge of the precipice, Cassidy has been swallowed by the darkness.
Nerissa waits. Staring at the deep abyss, paralyzed and impotent; she waits. She waits for a long time. How long has she waited? Minutes? Hours? She waits for the moment in which Cassidy comes flying out from the chasm. She will. She has to.
It is only when Nerissa's body is enveloped in a pink light and she reverts to human form that the gears within her mind click, and she realizes what has most likely happened.
Cassidy... Nerissa thinks, horrified and incredulous. Cassidy is...
Dead. Cassidy Chacon is dead.
Nerissa runs. Crying and screaming, she runs. She runs away from the scene, from a reality she can't avoid facing, but can't accept either. Like a child that has broken a precious item at home and quickly tries to hide the shards to avoid responsibility.
She runs and runs, hands in front of her face to protect herself from the mighty wind. Perhaps to hide her tears, too. She runs... until she is forced to stop. A pillar of light descends from the heavens, blocking her path. From it emerge not only Oracle Himerish, but her friends Yan Lin, Halinor and Kadma too. And Nerissa Crossnic falls to her knees.
"What have you done?!" the Oracle roars, and Nerissa feels as if the entire Earth trembles due to his wrath.
And she wants to say so many things. Yet, she can't bring herself to utter a single word.
Later…
Everything afterwards is… blurry. Nerissa barely remembers anything about it. She remembers… ah… the Oracle's harsh words, talking about how she would be made to 'confront her wrongdoings'. She remembers Kadma's angry insults, Yan Lin's silence, Halinor's cries. By the time the former Keeper of the Heart comes back to her senses, they have left her alone.
She finds herself sitting over something hard and cold. Stone? Yes, it's stone. A large chunk of stone shaped like a bench. Or a bed. She looks around herself. Irregular walls and a low of the same stone surround her. The floor is more of the same. It's… a cave. They have put her on a cave. And it's not a big cave either. When she stands up and walks, it takes her a few seconds and fewer steps to reach the entrance. An entrance that has been blocked. Sealed by energy bars made of white light. Oh! Oh… Now she understands.
They have imprisoned her.
She returns to her bench… or is it her bed? Irrelevant. She returns to it, she sits down, and waits.
They have imprisoned her.
The hours pass, and then a tray full of food and a pitcher full of water materialize out of thin air in front of her. Well, that's to be expected. She doubts they would let her starve. So she takes them, and she eats, and she drinks. She doesn't even notice what kind of food she's eating. She doesn't taste it. She just eats.
They have imprisoned her.
More hours pass. And Nerissa remains where she is, sitting still.
They… They have imprisoned her. Imprisoned her? Imprisoned her. Imprisoned her!
THEY HAVE IMPRISONED HER! HER! HOW DARE THEY?!
Nerissa jumps out of her cold, hard bed. She rages and screams, and curses them. She curses them all. The mentor that has abandoned her, and the friends that have betrayed her. She approaches the bars of her prison, and rises her hand at them. She is determined to escape. To escape, and search for the people that have wronged her and show them how big of a mistake they have committed.
"Quintessence!" she exclaims, and the magic comes, and…!
And she falls to her knees. Exhausted. Gasping for air. Feeling nauseous. The blast of Quintessence dissolves into nothing before it can even touch the bars. And why does she feel like this?! She has never felt like this before. So… So… So weak.
She catches her breath, closes her eyes and concentrates. She can remember where the power was. The warm feeling in her chest, the storm inside of her. But when she searches for it now, she finds… only a memory of it. A remainder that pales in comparison to what it was. She still has the gift. She is still more than any regular human is. She can still do Magic, she can feel it, but… she is so far less now than what she was. Like a painter that has lost her sight, a composer that has lost her hearing. An angel that has lost her wings.
And she knows why. She understands, there, lying on that cold, hard floor. She has read about it. They have cut her connection to her Auramere, have they not? Yes, yes, of course they have. But the power of a Guardian leaves its mark on a person. So when the Heart goes to a new generation and members of the previous one are still alive, those women may still call on the power of their element. But without an Auramere to power them any longer, their Magic will be powered by their own life-force.
So this, is Nerissa Crossnic now. No longer Keeper of the Heart. No longer Guardian of Quintessence. Simply Nerissa Crossnic.
And she cries. Oh yes, she cries. She cries until sleep takes her.
In her dreams, Nerissa does everything right.
Yua lives. The Council of Kandrakar listens to her and they decide to get more involved into helping each world. They share their knowledge, and in time, all worlds are united under a single banner. And as the Known Worlds move into a new Golden Age, she and Cassidy stop being Guardians, and they live together, and grow old together. In her dreams, there is a child alongside them.
In her nightmares, Nerissa stands before the chasm.
Cassidy climbs from its dark depths, an arm broken, half of her rib-cage protruding from her torso, her skull open.
"Why? Why?" she asks weakly.
Nerissa never manages to answer her.
Time later
The days become weeks. The weeks months. The food and water come and go, and Nerissa eats and drinks and sleeps. Alone.
She wonders what her so-called friends have told her parents. Have they told them that she moved away? That she died alongside Cassidy? Or has Kandrakar constructed an Astral Drop on her image so it may live her life until her parents pass away?
The months become years. The years a decade. She is still alone. Bitter. Hateful. But there is nothing she can do. By now she has trying escaping a hundred times. None of them have worked.
Time goes on. There is no one to talk to. Nothing to do. She decides to write the spell formulas she has memorized on the walls of her prison. There isn't enough space. Is she going insane? Maybe.
Time continues to move. Inexorable. Unstoppable. And she hates them all. She hates them all through the entire ordeal. Why? Why hasn't anyone come to talk to her? Why hasn't anyone… at least once…?
And then. Then, one day like any other, there is a… moment. There is a tiny, blazing moment when Nerissa Crossnic stops, and thinks, and realizes that…
There was no magical corruption, was there? There was no greater purpose. There was no accident. There was no mistake. There was only her. Only Nerissa Crossnic. That it was all her. Is her.
Only her.
She killed Cassidy.
She killed Cassidy because, when she should have stopped… When she should have grabbed Cassidy's hand and listened to her and talked to her… When Nerissa should have been thinking about Cassidy… Nerissa Crossnic was thinking only about herself.
And she cries once more. Her sorrowful screams are heard through the entirety of Mount Thanos. And she asks for help. She begs the mentor who tried to warn her, the friends that tried to help her. Nobody answers.
And Nerissa finally understands the cruelty of her punishment. That she is all alone. She will always be alone. Alone with this reality, alone with her regrets. With her sorrow, her guilt.
But loneliness can be a double-edged blade. Perhaps, if there were anyone with her now, she would work through that guilt. She would mange to accept her mistakes and crimes, and work towards becoming a better person. And, with time, to attain redemption. It is now, more than ever, that Nerissa needs someone at her side.
But she is alone. And bitterness, hatred and pride end up extinguishing the guilt. And while Nerissa cannot escape from the reality that she killed Cassidy, perhaps there is a way she can… remedy it. Change it. Yes… change things back to how they used to be.
A fantasy begins to take shape inside her head. A fantasy in which Nerissa unites the Known Worlds in eternal peace. In which she triumphs where Kandrakar has failed. In which Cassidy is alive again, and her friends have forgiven her, and they are all Guardians again.
Nerissa plans and schemes. She has all the time in the world. Soon, she has a general idea about how to proceed, about what to do, where to do it. The only thing she needs is to get out of this prison.
The miracle comes more than twenty years after her imprisonment. A tall woman of gray skin and purple eyes, dressed in a black hood. The Mage of Meridian, who has come to offer Nerissa a chance at redemption. Oh, if only she arrived sooner.
And Nerissa Crossnic is freed, and the Mage secretly takes her under her wing. Under her tutelage, Nerissa will learn many new things. Then, when the Mage has served her purpose, Nerissa will kill her and steal her face and name to hid under them. She will fall in love for a second time, and have a son. She will deceive Queens, Princes, Lords and Rebellions; and fan the fires of a civil war that will last for more than a decade. She will kill and lie and steal. All in service of her greater goals. Of her dream. But, perhaps that is a tale for another time. For now, know that this…
This, is Nerissa Crossnic. Fallen Guardian. Schemer. Tactician. Liar. Murderer. Mother. Friend. Foe. Aggressor. Victim.
This, is Nerissa Crossnic. Hungry for vengeance, for forgiveness, for power, for peace, for control, for friendship, for love.
This, is Nerissa Crossnic.
And she is all alone.
Never once knowing the price. Deciding so blindly. Throwing your hope in the wind. What are you finding? So much lost through the gasp in your fingers. Can you see it now? The price of Desire? Eyeshine – Deciding so Blindly
A/N: So… hello again. First of all, and like always, hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a difficult one to do, not only due to the change in narrative time, but due to external issues. Yeah, about that. Changes have been made, had to be made, to the schedule of these epilogues. The Tarakudo and Shendu chapters have been scrapped and repurposed into flashbacks of Season 2, done so it can all flow better, but mostly due to time. I don't have a lot of it in my hands as of late, and in the little one I have I'm very tired, due to a combination of my job, beginning to write my own original book and some issues concerning the health of a member of my family. And that is everything I'll say here.
So, yeah. Next Genesis of Evil entries are Camelot (Parts I and II) and Jade in the Wild. Until then, happy days to all of you. Stay safe, fight for what you believe in. And thank you very much for giving these tales of mine a portion of your precious time, leave a review to tell me how you feel about it.
Good bye.