Princess of Faerl

*Elentari*

The next day, Selene brought the offenders before Adalith. Such a thing had not been done before. A mere mortal being sentenced by the Creator of All. It was unthinkable. Word spread like wildfire that a shifter tried to frame Apophis Bronzetail for the murder of his eldest child. Krysta was sentenced as an accomplice.

The shifter was identified as a servant of Chaos, unworthy of a name. His sentence was to be stripped of his shifter powers, whipped for 365 days, 5 lashes per hour, then executed by Dragon Fire. He would not be allowed rebirth, forever in the void.

Krysta was stripped of the name Bronzetail, forced to reclaim Bluewind. Adalith stripped her of her magic and sent her back to her coven to be punished by the coven mother. Selene added to her sentence that Krysta would never be able to bear children or a mate mark. She would never be allowed a partner at all. If she tried to defy this punishment, she would be subjected to Dragon Fire and her soul never to be reborn. If she accepted her fate and lived her life to a natural end, she would be allowed a rebirth to try again.

We spent a couple of days for grief processing and healing. Stacie was still in a coma. Aran was beside himself. His mates were healing, but neither were anywhere near waking up. Selene tried to comfort him that they would be renewed in their sleep. Scottie was terribly worried for his twin and it affected Lily as well. They decided their wedding would be put off until Stacie was healed. He couldn’t bear to have such an important event in his life without her.

Hep and I decided to wait on children until the immediate danger of waking Endymion and the girls had passed. I trained day in and day out. Selene was a harsh teacher. Healing was difficult, taking pieces of my energy that took days to replenish. Supposedly, this gets easier the more I do it. I’ve been reading Selene’s journals and my own past life ones to hone my knowledge. There was so much to learn. It took months. Finally, one day, Selene said we were ready.

We gathered in the training room. Aran, Scottie, Lily, Hep, Selene, and myself. Khalith and Alke stayed behind in case something happened and they needed to bring in back up. Selene transported us to a cave covered with a large stone. It reminded me of a story I read from one of my past lives. The people in that reality were obsessed with a miracle man that apparently rose from the dead. He was placed in a similar cave. The irony was not lost on me. Both of these men were going to wake from the dead. Or in Endymion’s case, from a super slumber.

Selene spoke, “The time has come to open the tomb. The slumber needs to end, the body to wake, the mind to be restored. Grant us entrance so we may complete the task.” The stone rolled away, large plumes of dust flew out.

“Oh dear gods!” Scottie covered his nose at the stench. “Thousands of years have not done wonders for his hygiene.”

I stepped forward to see a much more giant person than I saw in the meadow. His skin was pale, eyes sunken. A blanket covered his body. He wore robes that were so faded, it was near impossible to tell what color they were to begin with. I could feel his mental energy reaching out. I was starting to understand why so many of us were needed and why Aran and I needed so many souls within us. For him to stand alongside Selene he would need part of the masculine and feminine energy of the four prominent species. We circled around him.

“No matter what happens, do not break the circle. Do not let any negativity consume you. Do not allow Chaos entrance into your mind or heart. He will try to tempt you with your heart’s deepest desires. He will not deliver on the promises he makes. He is desperate to keep the power balance, or imbalance as it were. We are following Adalith’s instructions. Be steady, be strong. Believe in yourself and trust in Adalith. I beseech you, Adalith, to watch over us and protect us as we wake Endymion.” Selene’s speech was passionate, but firm. We all nodded in agreement.

I took a deep breath and started to sing. No words, just the notes that felt right. Selene led the other, chanting, “We come together to give of our souls. Wake the one who slumbers.” I didn’t feel a change in the first few minutes. Suddenly my mind was invaded.

“She lies.” A voice said to me. “She uses you and your ancestors for her personal, selfish purposes. Do not release him. It will bring the downfall of the world. I am the real Adalith. I do not want this.” The voice was painful to hear, unlike when Adalith had spoken to me previously. It felt like nails clawing the inside of my head.

“You are not Adalith. Chaos, begone!” I thought forcefully, my voice growing louder, singing. The pain grew. I opened my eyes and felt pieces of myself draining away. We had been at this for over an hour. Color was starting to return to Endymion’s skin but his eyes were still closed. The demigods fed me pieces of their energy keeping me going.

“Insolent child! You know nothing of the world. Selene will not let you replace her as the main goddess of the night, but I will. Abandon this feudal task. Join me. WE can heal this world together.” Chaos was trying to appeal to my sensible side. I wasn’t buying it. All of us were starting to feel the drain of fatigue.

Who more hours and Endymion’s eyes began to flutter as he gasped his first deep breath in thousands of years. Aran and I stepped forward. We placed one of our hands on his shoulders. Our counterparts started to chant through us. “WE give pieces of our souls for the revival and ascension of Endymion to stand by Selene’s side as an equal. WE ask Adalith to transfer parts of our essences to Endymion, now and forever.”

I felt weaker with each part that left my body. Aran was feeling it too. After half an hour, the transference was complete. Endymion struggled to sit up. Selene brought him water and a small bit of bread. I collapsed into Hep’s arms and Scottie moved to catch Aran before his head hit the ground.

“Stupid fools!” Chaos’s voice thundered through the cave. “You know not what you’ve done! You’ve doomed the one responsible for your creation. I will make you pay!” True thunder echoed through the cave and the ground began to shake. Small stones started to fall from the roof.

“Lily, Scottie! Get next to Endymion. The rest of you, circle around! Concentrate on the meadow so we can get out of here!” Selene directed us and we did so as quickly as possible. It took all our remaining strength to get there. I fell to the ground.

“I think I need sleep.” I weakly mumbled. I was completely unaware of what was around me, slipping into unconsciousness. A dreamless sleep took over. We accomplished our goal. Now I could rest for a short while, Endymion was awake.