“Not quite like everyone else, Kestrel,” Kere was suddenly beside him.
“Oh, my goddess, it’s so good to see you again!” Kestrel said. He immediately fell to his knees.
“Stand up, dear boy,” she told him. “You don’t need to bow to me. You’ve earned the right to stand here and chat, after all you’ve done, and all you’ve gone through.
“Have I ever talked to you about how proud I was of the way you used your energy to convert that water of Decimindion to become the catalyst that destroyed our enemies?” Kere asked. “That was an act of genius. I knew you were going to win the battle somehow, I just wasn’t sure how, right up until the moment you did it.”
“It was thanks to you,” Kestrel told her, as he suddenly remembered the moment Ashcrayss had trapped him in the lake, when attempting to drown him in the water. “It was the healing spring that was my inspiration. I suddenly understood that the water was the most important element, the one that went everywhere, touched everyone. The water of the healing spring had the ability to heal anything, and I realized that Deciminidion’s water was like that, it had the ability to heal anyone of the influence of the Viathins.
“So I focused the energy and used it to make all the water in the world provide an inoculation against the Viathins, and made it heal all the ill will they had planted in everyone’s hearts,” he told his goddess, suddenly understanding why everyone had felt so positive and joyful. It had been something he had done, and he smiled at the accomplishment.
“You’re a good boy, Kestrel. Not many demi-gods turn out so well, you know,” Kere told him.
“I’m not a demi-god,” He smiled at the grandmotherly figure next to him.
“Oh, but you are!” she exclaimed.
“I gave up the powers that Kai gave me. I don’t have any left,” he insisted.
“Well, you might think that, but truth be told, I suspect you could regenerate those powers if you wanted to,” Kere said in an offhand manner.
“But how could that be possible?” Kestrel asked in astonishment.
“Kestrel, your mother was a very lovely young lady,” Kere told him.
He looked at her in puzzlement, not understanding why she had suddenly switched topics.
“She was so lovely that she caught the eye of Morph,” Kere told him, referring to the elven god of speed.
“Your father was a deity. You could have some abilities of your own. Now that Kai had trickled that little bit of divinity into you, I would speculate that your body understands the power, and may be able to regenerate more on its own,” she said.
“My father was Morph?” Kestrel repeated in astonishment.
“Indeed,” Kere answered. “It’s a bit of a surprise to you, isn’t it? I debated whether to tell you or not, but I think it’s best that you know now.”
“Why have I never heard from him?” Kestrel asked.
“He has watched over you from time to time, but he is seldom fixed in one place for very long,” Kai replied. “He’s always on the move; he’s the most skittish of us all. He makes the human god Growelf look like a rock of maturity by comparison,” she raised her voice.
There was a moment’s pause. “I’ll be moving on now. I wanted to welcome you home to the Eastern Forest, and to let you know how thankful I am for what you did for all of us,” Kere told him. She stepped up on her tip toes and gave him a grandmotherly peck on the cheek. “I’ll keep an eye on you Kestrel. I’m sure we’ll have the opportunity to talk again sometime.”
And then she was gone, leaving Kestrel in astonished befuddlement at the crossroads. He looked at the road towards Center Trunk. Kere had given him something new to think about, and he wanted to think about it all. It wasn’t time for him to go back to the capital yet, not time to see the king nor to see Alicia. He wanted to go to Oaktown, and rest and ponder and try to come to grips with the inconceivable information he had received. And he would call upon Dewberry and Stillwater and Jonson and Odare, and share with them all the joy and emotions that such a reunion would uncork.
And then when that was over, he would find out what would come next.
With a smile and a laugh, he turned south and finally headed home.
The Inner Seas Kingdoms: 05 - Journey to Uniontown Page 35