Aftermath

I chose to end the chapter where it is for mainly one reason: I am in class and don't have my Two Lovers notes. I know the first four or five lines by heart but I didn't want to break too far out of the three-four page chapters just yet. Sort of ease you into it.

Why does Rahl-ta look so old? It's the middle of summer, or so, and Rahl-ta is a dark god. And his mate is pregnant (hey, that can take a lot out of a normal man, let alone one who has to deal with a hormonal goddess) and he has to take over Tahl-ra's responsibilities until she gives birth.

This spell brings up a bit about Ayato's past and kind of shines a light on Ayato's feelings themselves. Not even Rava has ever been like "hey, Ayato, where'd you come from?" No one has asked Ayato before. And when I say no one, I mean no one. Everyone's made assumptions or just gone with it. Ayato exists and thus is, is sort of Una's idea.

Una's little rant likely says it all. Ayan is afraid that his plan will fall through and that what he plans to Durth will fall through and Durth will... er... splatter... and he doesn't want Una to get his hopes up. I'd saw "awww" but I don't like Una when he gets confused or annoyed.

Read, Review and Enjoy.





Durth and Una stood to the side and watched as Paw and Ayan prepared some sort of spell. The idea that they had to draw symbols in sand and chant a bunch of words while burning a specific number of fires and incense went against most of what Durth knew about power. In the sand they drew a circle and just outside the circle they drew what Durth assumed were six stars, all evenly spaced out. In the center of the circle was a larger star, whose six points stretched outward and to each of the outer stars. Between the rays of the six pointed star they drew many symbols that Durth didn’t understand at all. But if their conversation, in a language that was neither Sidhe not people, was any indication, the symbols were an imitation of specific hand motions.

Finally, unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Durth asked Una what exactly was going on.

“Power can either be used with spells or without. Normally those who need written spells to use their power are called witches. Hunted down and murdered, they tend to be the negative of the positive aspects of power. A power user doesn’t need spells, they can simply use what is in their blood, because of the Aniege bloodline that nearly every person can trace their descent back to.” Una murmured, stepping back as Ayan shooed him, “the use of spells is actually a people born power, those who have the true and utter right to use power, need spells.”

“So. If power is taken from the world,” Durth muttered.

“Spells could still be used,” Ayan responded quickly, “their affect is minimal though, write a spell tonight and it might work in forty years. Writing a spell when you are a power user who doesn’t need spells focuses all of your power and your beliefs here.”

“Why do we need a spell to call Rahl-ta?” Durth looked to Una.

“Being the father of the gods, Rahl-ta cannot simply be called down. Technically speaking, he’s not supposed to be in the world of the living at all. He has to give up his throne momentarily to descend to earth. Otherwise he needs a priest or representative. Or a spell. This spell is calling a heavenly island to earth, thusly giving Rahl-ta a stepping stone. He can then communicate to us without giving up the throne,” Una responded, stepping further back and pulling Durth with him, as Paw made a shooing motion, “The six pointed star is the symbol of the gods who are of the stars and the earth, they are both otherworldly and of this world. The six stars outside are to represent the six high gods.”

“That doesn’t make sense, why are there six gods around the one born of sky and earth? Especially when there are only six gods to start with.”

Una took in a breath and opened his mouth to respond, only to close it and frown.

“Ayato,” Ayan said quickly, lighting the first of six fires, “is the key point, the six pointed star is him, when you use this spell, you are using Ayato’s soul as the piece of heaven.”

“Ayan…” Una growled.

“What?” Ayan said, straightening before he jabbed his torch in Una’s direction, “the only way to bring a piece of heaven to earth is to use the blood born soul of an actual god as the key point. The six pointed star is the symbol of the gods, but at the same time is the symbol of a very specific god.”

“Of … Ayato?” Durth asked, confused.

“Ayato once,” Ayan growled, “represented the opposite of Mother. Where she was life, he was death, where she was the earth, he was the sun and the sky. Where she was light, he was darkness. Neither of them really had a gender, but Mother is seen as female and thus he represented male. Some few see him as the father and mother of Shay-har.”

“It’s an old debate,” Una muttered.

“Is it true?” Durth asked Ayan.

Ayan looked startled, “wh-um, no one’s actually asked me that before…” he looked to Una, as if not understanding what he should say.

“Not now, Durth. Maybe when you’re older,” Una murmured.

“How much older?”

Paw paused and rocked back on his heels, “four, no, five hundred years old.”

“Sure,” Durth said, “give an impossible number.”

“Sun’s setting, time’s wasting,” Ayan said all too quickly, “Paw, stand to the south. Durth, East, that side there, Una, west. I’ll take North.”

They all fell into their spots. Ayan cleared his throat and raised his hands towards the sky. Durth swore he could feel the prickling of power washing over the area. He watched as Una shuddered, then Paw, as Ayan brought his hands down. The lines of the spell lit up with blue, each of the outer stars glowed white as the inner star burned green. For a moment nothing happened, and then a smoky shadow rose out of the middle star and a man appeared.

Durth expected many things.

He didn’t expect a middle-aged man going silver at the temples with yellows eyes and a slight body. Glancing across at Una, Durth guessed that the troupe master hadn’t been expecting such a thing either.

“What do you want?” the voice sounded weak. Too weak.

“Wondering about a specific soul,” Ayan murmured.

“Tyz,” the man turned towards Durth, “we managed to find all the pieces and put him back together again, as we promised we would. You cannot ask for more from the gods, we are not servants.”

“This is about a possible second gift,” Durth said, “to… Tyz’s soul. Just before he died, perhaps. Ayan and Paw have an idea as to what it might be or some such.”

“Is that what he’s calling himself now? Ayan?” the man snorted, “what are you thinking, Ayan?” stressing the name, as if mocking the young man.

“That what Tyz did to himself was not permanent. That, perhaps, Shay-har gifted something to Tyz, to either make it permanent or as a gift to his eternal servant. To reward Una for services rendered. We believe that this sped up the process and ended up killing Tyz instead of saving him.”

The man was silent a very long moment, “father’s journal stopped several years before he went mad, I’ve read it front to back and it makes no mention of Tyz. You are wasting your power chasing a dead end.”

“But he could have done it, Shay-har had the power to do anything he wanted.”

“No,” a growl that rumbled through Durth’s very bones, “Father was a filter for power, mother, Harella-shey, had the ability to do anything. All Father might have been able to do, is to bless another with his power. But what would be the point of being a filter for power?”

Ayan blinked at the god, “you. He. Wait. Durth’s soul might be bound with the ability to be a filter for power?” whatever Ayan was getting at, Paw found it hilariously funny.

“What’s that mean, exactly?” Una asked, “and does it have anything to do with you needing a high priest?”

Turning towards Una, the man frowned, then turned to Durth and finally back to Ayan, “I’m. Confused. And it could have something to do with my being drained and it being the middle of summer and such on and so forth. But if his reaction and your reaction are correct. You began this without even fully realising what you were dealing with, without knowing that it would work?”

“It’s how I start most things,” Ayan said quickly.

The man’s mouth fell open. Ayan grinned in an innocent sort of fashion. Straightening, the man tugged down on his shirt, “I’ve called the high priest in question, he will meet up with you as he can. Ayan, I hope you know what you are doing.”

“Sort of, kind of. Maybe,” Ayan responded quietly, “thank you for your time, we release you from the bond.”

The man opened his mouth to say something, but he faded away almost immediately. Una groaned and rolled his head back, “Ayan-”

“That was a waste of time-” Paw said as something dawned on Durth.

“I’m being used to filter power?” his mind made quick connections, “oh, gods be damned, you’re using me to keep the power flowing for the people of the gods and are going to take away the rattle, aren’t you? You’re going to steal the power of the people.”

“Not of the people,” Ayan corrected, “of the Aniege blood. It’s my right to bind away the power of my own line.”

“How did you manage to get Rahl-ta to claim that Durth is Tyz?” Una snapped, even as Paw protested, “he never actually stated that Durth was Tyz, he just said they, the gods, had put Tyz back together!”

Silence fell over the little area as Una went still. The troupe master was looking at Ayan, who was looking down and away in a submissive fashion.

“Your mistress swore to leave me out of her plots.”

“It’s not her plot,” Paw grumbled.

Una turned that look to Paw and the Sidhe whined, shifting most of his torso away from Una but kept his feet firmly planted where they were.

“I don’t get it,” Durth said.

“You aren’t meant to,” Una responded, moving towards Durth, “please come to bed, I am tired and wish for company.”

“Of course,” Durth said without thinking, “but they’re being very confusing. Claiming, to you, that I am Tyz but I’m not Tyz. But if I’m not Tyz, who is awakening inside of me?”

“I don’t know,” Una said, leading the way towards his trailer, “I. For once. Have no idea what is going on. The simplest answer is usually the right one. But with Ayan and Paw both involved, the most convoluted, insanity, couldn’t possibly happen in a million years, is the answer.”

“Which is the simplest answer?”

“You are a lover reborn who is awakening into a higher spirit and Ayan and Paw are simply playing at something. The complicated answer is that you are Tyz and Shay-har gifted you with the ability to filter power which plays into Ayan’s plot of apparently removing all Aniege power from the people which doesn’t even make sense because the power that the gods have gifted the people are not reliant on Aniege power but only amplified by it. Point of this being to remove power, of course, which is not something I agree with in general, and possibly making you immortal. Or you might just be a distraction as Ayan and Paw find Tyz and make him immortal, or you could be the one they are trying to make immortal but they don’t want to get my hopes up so they’re saying you aren’t Tyz but are slipping up a lot.”

“How good are they at lying?”

“Poor.”

“What’s your head telling you?” Durth asked as Una opened the door to his trailer.

“That the possibility of you being Tyz is very low.”

“What’s your heart telling you?”

“I’m still a romantic at heart,” Una sighed, “in my heart I hope, possibly even pray, that you are Tyz, that I could have someone for all eternity.”

“You want me for all eternity?” Durth asked, feeling oddly special.

“What?” Una squeaked, turning to Durth as Durth closed the door, “I never said that.”

“You just did.” Durth protested as Una went bright red, “awww, are you embarrassed now? It’s alright. They say that when you’ve found the one, no one else can tell you that you’ve found the one. You just know.”

Una watched Durth for a long moment, “have you ever read the Two Lovers? It’s an epic poem.” he turned to a cupboard and opened it, riffling around until he found, and pulled out, a rather large volume, “I have an urge to read it to you.”

“I’ve not read it, no, but I have heard of it.”

“Get ready for bed, then and I will find where the story actually starts. After all the hot air about muses and gods and spirits blessing.”

.