by Jordan Baker
"It is already slipping my grasp," Aaron told him, with a hint of panic in his voice. He was overwhelmed with the energy that flowed through him. It was so much more than the trickle of magic that he had learned to use, the few tricks that Ariana had taught him. When he thought of her, his thoughts spun into confusion. He remembered her now, her face, smiling at him, then he saw her flesh, burned and charred. Nothing made sense. He knew things but did not know how, he had knowledge he had never learned but everything swirled around and he could not tell what was true.
"Aaron, take a deep breath and just let go," Stavros said. Nothing you do here will harm anyone.
"How can you know this? How can you be sure?"
"It would take a lot more than some mage fire to burn anyone in this room."
"How?" Aaron looked around the room and he somehow sensed power from all of them. Ehlena was like the wind; Stavros a combination of colors; Zachary like him, a river of flame and Carly, who seemed so plain and calm, was like looking over a precipice into darkness, as though something was missing from her being. "What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing is wrong with me, Aaron," Carly said. "And I'd rather you didn't light things on fire, 'cause I don't really know what Stavros is talking about. These mages and the little goddess here might have such powers, but I have no interest in being roasted by some mage flames."
Aaron shook his head. He could tell that she spoke truth, but her words rang false. He did not know who to believe, what to believe. Why had they lied to him? Why had they tricked him. Ehlena, was just a girl from Aghlar traveling to see her aunt. And now, Carly called her a goddess and Aaron could somehow tell that what she said might be true. Was he blind before? Why would she lie? The mage, Stavros, was familiar but different. He looked like Tarnath, who he claimed was his brother, but something else about him was familiar and Aaron recognized the power that flowed through him. Like a flavor or a scent, it was so much like the feeling of his headaches, and he knew it was the same.
"You put the ward on me," Aaron accused the mage. "Why?"
"To keep you safe, Aaron," Stavros said. "To keep you hidden."
"Hidden from what? Why has everyone been lying to me? What must I hide from, if not myself?"
"The shadows, Aaron," Ehlena said. "They sought to hide you from the one who would harm you, the one who wants your power. The shadows are his."
"I burned the shadows," Aaron said, tears beginning to gather in the corners of his eyes. "I burned them away and I burned everything else. I set them to fire, all of them, everything, everyone."
"It was an accident," Stavros said.
"And if it happens again?" Aaron asked. He looked at Zachary. "You cannot control your power. I saw what you did."
"That only proves that I was weak," Zachary said. "Now quit being a fool, boy. Let go of your magic or I'll show you what real power looks like."
"Zachary, that is not wise," Stavros told him.
"I'm his father, Stavros, and it's time I took some responsibility."
"Zachary," Ehlena said, her voice filled with the power of the goddess. "Do not push him. Too much has been forced upon Aaron, for too long, and without his knowledge. You said it yourself, you cannot force power, you must guide it."
"I don't understand," Aaron said. "I don't understand any of it."
"Then let us explain," Ehlena told him and she stepped toward him. "You cannot harm me, not much, not as you are now. Let go of your power and if it escapes you, we will contain it. No one will be harmed. You are safe here."
She took another step toward him and put her hand gently on his arm. Aaron felt her power touch him and the fire within him became more intense and tongues of flame appeared in the air around him. He flinched. Ehlena removed her hand and turned to Carly.
"Please, Carly," Ehlena said. "I know you might not understand right now, but Aaron needs you to help him again, like you did by bringing him here. Please just touch him."
"Look at those flames," Carly said. "He looks like he's going to burn the place down and you want me to walk right up to that?"
"You will be fine," Ehlena told her. "He cannot harm you. Fire cannot harm you. You know I speak the truth."
Carly squinted an eye at Ehlena and she felt a thought tugging on her mind, like something she had just forgotten, but had been on the tip of her tongue only moments ago, and she knew that what Ehlena said was true. Carly wondered how she knew about her ability, since she had never told anyone about it, but she supposed the girl was a goddess, so it was not unimaginable that she might know certain things. Carly took a step toward Aaron and held out her hand.
"It's true," Carly said. "I don't know how she knows these things, but fire does not touch me. It never has. If the Lady says this will help you, then I guess, why not give it a try?"
Aaron looked at her outstretched hand and he saw her calm expression. He did not know why, but something within him shied away from her.
"Aaron, you swing a sword like you were born to it," Carly said. "You are a champion of Forsina and you're some kind of powerful mage, but you are afraid to shake hands with a shipless pirate girl? I do not fear you. You could not burn me if you tried, but I know you would never do such a thing, not on purpose."
"I don't want to hurt you," Aaron told her.
"You won't. Just take my hand."
Aaron reached out and he felt her palm touch his, cool against the heat of his own. Her fingers gently gripped his hand and he felt the fire of his energy begin to flow into her. Aaron tried to pull away, worried that he might burn her, but Carly held his hand firmly, with a grip far stronger than he expected. Her eyes shifted and changed, much like his own but into a deep blue green that reminded him of the sea. There they stood, two energies flowing between them, one of fire and the other, water. Ehlena held her hand between their faces then smiled and walked over to the two mages.
"What is happening to them?" Zachary asked. He could see the change in Carly as her energy took on a deep, cool aspect.
"Carly is helping him," Ehlena said. "Out of respect for her privacy, I will not say more. If she wishes to share of herself, she will, but I have already pushed her more than I think she would like. Thankfully, she doesn't know how much I have pushed her."
"I believe I may know that which you will not say," Stavros. "It is intriguing that she should have found him or perhaps he found her. I presume the Lady goddess played a part in such a seemingly coincidental meeting."
Ehlena smiled. "The power of the Lady is sometimes like a terrifying storm, but she can also be a gentle breeze, or a strong steady wind, which can be helpful to those who need to travel places. A gust can fill a sail and a gale can move both earth and sea."
"The wind is most noticed when it is absent," Carly said with a voice that sounded both faraway and full of depth and power. "But the currents remain steady, no matter whether the wind blows or remains silent. Those that know this, truly know the sea."
"Carly?" Zachary said, curious at the power emanating from the pirate girl. He walked over to where she and Aaron stood, but neither of them took notice of him. "Can they hear us?"
"Perhaps," Ehlena said. "They are both awake but their powers are taking most of their attention. It will last only a few moments longer."
"If I understand you correctly," Zachary said. "You arranged for them to travel here. Did you do the same for me, and for Stavros as well?"
"Stavros was already looking for Aaron," Ehlena told him. "You were required, for you, as his father, were the one who gave him his fire and a few other things. And Carly, as she calls herself, involved a bit of luck. I may have blown on the dice a little, but her nature would certainly recognize him and, knowing her as I do, I am not surprised that she would wish to help him, even if she does not know the reason why."
"So you manipulated things," Zachary said, though there was no accusation in his tone.
"I prefer to think of it as influencing," Ehlena told him. "I am still trying to understand it
myself. A part of me feels the same as you and wonders how the Lady would be able to do so many things and touch so many people, while another part of me is the Lady. No, that isn't right, I am the Lady, but I am also myself, so there are no parts, just me."
"When did this happen?" Stavros asked. "When did you and the Lady goddess become one and the same?"
"At the temple at Aghlar, when I became the priestess of the temple, I think," Ehlena said. "It may have been earlier, but I think that was when I knew, but it has become stronger these past days."
"And what about Carly?"
"Carly?" Ehlena smiled. "She has been here for a very long time and she has barely changed."
"Who is Carly?" Zachary asked.
"I will not say her name," Ehlena replied, "That is for her to tell, if she chooses, but she is the sea, the river, the lake, the stream, the rain, the water in that cup, the tear that falls and the hint of dew in the morning. She is all of these things and yet, for a very long time, she has chosen to just be a young woman who sails the seas, a pirate named Carly."
"I understand," Zachary said. "Tell me, how many other gods are there walking around the world?"
"Long ago there were many," Ehlena told him. "And then there were two. Three more came into being, and after many troubles a balance was set, but one is now gone, murdered by another, this god who foolishly claims to be the one, who threatens the balance."
"That does not answer my question," Zachary said.
"Of the five gods of the last age, are three who are aware of their godhood. One is diminished but I have felt the return of his power. I am another, for though I left this world for another, my essence remained, and now I have returned. The other calls himself the one, and though he knows he is a god, he believes himself to be that which he stole when he murdered his brother."
"That makes three."
"Yes, three who are aware of their godhood. Carly would be a fourth, if she chooses to remember, but there may be others, who have not been counted. Things are different in this time, though I am beginning to understand it. One thing is for certain, this one god seeks to end us all, for that is his desire, to be the only one, and his true nature is a danger to all life."
"You speak of the god of death, the shadows," Stavros said. "The dark god, Kenra."
"Yes and no," Ehlena replied. "Kenra is no more, and yet he endures, believing himself to be his brother, Kroma, in many ways his opposite. That is the true danger in what Kenra has done. He believes himself to be the god of courage, valor and virtue, for he has not only taken his brother's power but also his essence."
"Death magic," Zachary said.
"Yes," Ehlena said. "It is like death magic, but when a god does such a thing, the consequences are far more grave and far more vast."
"Lady, please forgive what to you might seem an insolent question, but why do you speak in such riddles?" Stavros asked.
Ehlena smiled. "Stavros, please call me by my name. While I may be the Lady, you are not visiting my temple or calling upon my power. In another age, I was known as Ayra, and now, in this age, I am Ehlena, a person just as you are. To answer your question, it is one of the conditions or problems of having knowledge, that a seemingly simple question only has a simple answer if one's knowledge is simple, but simplicity is not truth, for the greater one's knowledge, the more one must consider if a fair answer is to be given. Often, an answer that goes beyond the simple, does not seem like an answer, especially if one is simple-minded or perhaps not interested in seeking the truth of things and greater truths are seldom simple.
"If you asked me if I am thirsty, I would say yes, I would like some wine. That is a simple question, with a simple answer. If you asked me about the true nature of the wind, it would take me an eternity to describe its every nuance, that you might know the full truth of it as I do. I could give a simple answer and say it is air that moves but to do so would be misleading for the wind is more than that. I could also simply say that I am wind, but to know the entirety of what I mean you must know me and to truly know me is to be me, which is certainly possible as I have become Ehlena and she has become me. Somewhere in between the sublime entirety of truth and statements of bare simplicity is an answer that I might hope would be sufficient to your needs, which are the reason the question was asked, but giving that answer is always a challenge, for I must often simplify from what I know, and attempt to determine the purpose behind your question. This is true of all things, if one seeks truth.
"Simple answers to greater questions also create shadows, making it easier to hide the truth of things. Sadly, there are many who desire simplicity in all things, and they are easy prey for the shadows, for they are easily fooled. The god of lies has always preyed upon the foolish. Did you ever wonder how it was that Kenra, who is known by many as the god of lies and secrets of chaos and death, would have supplicants? Those who follow him do not call him thus. They revere him as the god of truth and wisdom, the god of life, while disparaging the other gods. They do not see his lies for what they are, and believe them to be truths. There is much I could tell you about Kenra, but it would take the better part of an eternity to tell you the sum of my knowledge. This is true of the many things that I know, but I hope that you can understand why, when asked a greater question, I must consider the answer carefully, for I would not wish to mislead you or leave you in shadows and I cannot be you, for I am Ehlena."
"So you are the Lady, and you are Ehlena," Zachary said. "How is that different from what this one god is doing? If I understand correctly, he was Kenra then he killed Kroma and took his essence, using some kind of death magic and now he is confused about who he his, but he wants to kill the rest of the gods."
"As a description of events, that appears to be so," Ehlena said.
"And how is it different that you are the Lady and Ehlena. That sounds confusing as well."
Ehlena laughed. "It is confusing sometimes," she said, using her own voice without the power of the goddess.
"So I'm talking to Ehlena now," Zachary said.
"Yes and no," she said with a hint of her power returning. "I am both. The difference is that if I did not want this, then it would not be. Unlike death magic, it is a choice. In a sense it is the direct opposite of death magic, it is a gift."
Zachary scratched his beard for a moment, pondering the things she had said.
"You said there were many gods at one time. What happened to them?"
"There was a war, and many died." Ehlena frowned as so many conflicting emotions filled her mind.
"A war with whom?" Stavros asked, also curious.
"The gods themselves, mostly, though there were others who fought."
"So gods can die," Zachary said.
"In a manner, yes."
"And if a god dies, what happens to the essence of that god?"
"Many things," Ehlena told him. "That is one of the greater questions, but if I understand your purpose in asking, the essence of a god who is slain disperses back into the world, thus losing essence and becoming a part of all things."
"But if a god uses death magic on another god, then the essence of both gods combine and you end up with a confused god who is twice as powerful as before."
"More powerful than that, for it is an addition of power to existing power, if that makes sense."
"Somewhat, but I would imagine that explaining it further might take the better part of eternity," Zachary said.
"Not quite as long as that, but it would take some time."
"So, we have a confused god who is more than twice as powerful as a single god and who wants to either destroy the other gods or use death magic on them and steal their power, becoming even more confused and more powerful."
"Yes."
"Wonderful," Zachary clapped his hands together. "But gods can die, after all there was a war and a lot of gods died. What was the war about?"
"Power, what else?" Ehlena said, with a frown.
"But how could killing other gods m
ake one more powerful if the essence of a slain god disperses? Was it just a matter of killing off the others so there would be no one else left? That seems somewhat petty for gods."
"Gods can be petty," Ehlena told him. She thought for a moment and decided to share one more piece of information with the mages. "Zachary, you are a powerful mage and you have tasted death magic enough to know how seductive it can be. However, death magic is not the only way to take the power of a god. During the Second Age when the gods made war upon one another, there were ways of claiming the power of a slain god without resorting to death magic, which was reviled by almost all the gods. The most honorable way to claim a god's power was with a weapon created for that purpose. Forged by the gods themselves, such weapons can withstand the power of such a battle that would kill a god and they also capture the power of a fallen foe while leaving the essence to rest. There is no name for these weapons, and they come in many forms, but one might simply call them godswords."
"Do these godswords still exist?" Stavros asked. "You said they could survive battles between the gods."
"Yes. Many were destroyed at the end of the war, during the sundering, but some survive in this world."
"But you don't need a godsword to kill a god?"
"No," Ehlena said. "It is possible, with enough power."
"Do you think this Kenra or Kroma or whomever plans to keep using death magic or will he try to kill the other gods using these godswords?"
"He is already searching for the weapons," Ehlena told him. "But his search has been somewhat frustrated, for though he knows of the existence of the godswords, he does not know what they look like, for neither Kenra or Kroma are of the second age."
"How did he find out about them in the first place?"
"He tricked another god and tried to steal his knowledge and power. Thankfully, he was not entirely successful, and with the opening of a path from the world of Etherium, much of that damage has been undone."
"So, do we need to find this other god, who I can only imagine is Stroma?"
"Stroma is one of his names," Ehlena replied. "We need not seek him, for he already knows where we are. As for the weapons, I am also of the second age and know them well."