The Raven & The Wolf

Chapter Forty-Nine

I know exactly where we are going. We arrive to the Sacred Stream at night when the moon is full and right above us. The stream glows in the moonlight in colors of blue, green, purple, silver, and red; evidence of what happened here centuries ago. If you touch this stream, nothing happens; though some locals believe it holds healing properties. I can’t dispute it since a lot of my family’s water was harvested from this stream; and we never had a failing crop, and our horses always grew healthy. That’s why it’s common to have a lot of ranches or farms along it.

If you follow the stream, it leads to a ruined library. It’s caved in from centuries of attacks, but the ancient texts mostly remain intact. This is largely due to being spelled.

“What are we doing here?” Stanya asks when I get off of Macy.

“I need to find the restrictions to the Guardian role. As a Guardian, I’m not allowed to directly attack the Fates. I’m going to verify that. Also, I need to find loopholes. It’s stupid that they can attack me, but I cannot attack them.”

I walk into the temple while the other’s stare at one another. It’s completely disheveled. Rocks are everywhere, and so are cobwebs. The only reason I can see is because the spelled texts create their own light.

“What are you looking for?” Stanya asks, stepping into the ruins with me.

“Whatever I can about the Guardians and the Champion.” I tell her while I start kneeling over the texts. “They purposely made you and me Guardians to protect themselves. There has to be a way that we would be permitted to go after them.”

“Nat, I think you need to rest.” Stanya says, putting her hand on my shoulder, making me look at her. “It’s been a long, long, day. We have time.”

“No we don’t,” I tell her, sounding a bit hysterical. “They’re actively attacking, Stanya. They’re going to use Ari to kill Gedric while he’s weak. I’m his only shot at staying alive long enough to even harm him. That’s why they’re attacking now; because I’m still recovering.”

I squat down and take a closer look at the stoned texts. I feel Stanya’s hand on me while desperation runs through me. “They’re going to kill him Stanya. I could handle it when it would just have been me. I can’t let them kill him.”

Silently, Stanya sits down next to me and starts to go over the words with me. After a few moments, she speaks. “You know this feeling of fear and panic that you are experiencing?”

I stop for a moment, trying to calm my racing heart. “Yes, and the feeling of a metal ball in my stomach.”

“That too. Nat, that is the same feeling I go through every second you talk about dying, or are in a battle, or are trying something while you’re healing, or you mention Ari and the Fates. It’s not something that can be described until you’ve been through it.”

I reach over and grab her hand, squeezing it for a moment. “I’m sorry I put you through that.”

“I’m not, but give me a break after this. We both knew this day was coming. Just promise me you’ll get out of this alive.”

I smirk. “All you and Halthin have to do is help Gedric fight Ari, and we’ll survive.”

“And you?” Stanya asks.

“I’ll be dealing with the Servants of the Fates.” I tell her with a dark tone in my voice.

“You think they’ll be there?”

“I know they will.” I say, reading some of the texts. “I’m betting they forced us out of the city tonight, because Ari is likely already nearly here.”

“How do you know?”

“Drew told me after he…well Lometh tried to kill me. They’re trying to kill me, so the shield on the city would fail, which will allow Ari to attack Gedric and kill him. I would still be dead, which is a win for them. The loophole that I didn’t mention is that if we don’t defeat Ari, I still have to serve the Fates.”

“Well now that’s just mean,” Stanya answers, her hand tensing undermine.

I give it another squeeze. “Defeat Ari. That’s all we have to do.”

Wordlessly she nods and gets to work. We work in silence, the boys joining us after tying off the horses. Gedric comes and sits next to me, but I inch away, not willing to trust him after he spoke with Articus.

“Natasha, can we please talk?” Gedric asks, giving a heavy sigh.

“Talk with Articus.” I snap, digging through texts, ignoring him.

“It’s not what you think,” Gedric starts. “He was just-”

I cut him off. “Trying to convince you to immobilize me. I overheard that half. Then Lometh tried to kill me by controlling your father. I’d rather not discuss the main player who is rooting for my death right now.”

“Natasha,” Gedric warns.

“I said no,” I tell him sternly, giving him a hard look.

“Nat, please.” Gedric begs.

“If the subject involves my death, no,” I nearly growl. “I don’t care if he’s plotting it, or preventing it, I still don’t trust that man.”

“Gedric, let it go. She’s been through a lot today.” Stanya tells him, leaning back to look at him. “She knows what she’s getting into.”

“No, no she doesn’t.” Gedric argues.

“Look, we have exactly until morning to find out how I can hurt the Fates while you three fight Ari,” I interrupt, cutting them off with anger in my voice. “Now shut up and help me research these Fate forsaken texts.”

“Let it go,” Stanya cuts off the boys quickly. “It’s been a long, long night.”

“Yeah, it has,” he grouses, settling into our tedious task.

An hour or so later I find something. I cock my head, catching Stanya’s attention. I pick up the stone tablet, that is free of dust. It’s been read recently. I can also see some coal dust on it, showing someone has created a marking of it. I’m not surprised, but at the same time, it’s a bit of concerning when you consider the current circumstances.

I pick up the fully intact text and read it: “There are three keepers for the Fates. Two roles are assigned by birth, the final chosen. It is their duty to bring balance and peace to this world, while protecting the Fates and Markings.

“The Guardians, who are charged with protecting the Fate Marks they serve. The Guardian may not harm a Fate Marking in anyway, and may attack whatever is attempting to harm the barer of the mark, or the marking itself. The Guardians’ may not directly attack a Fate, unless the mark believes they are in danger.

“The Champion is there to fight those with intent to harm the Guardians and the Fates, and to keep the purity of the marks intact. The bear will remove darkness that seeks to harm the balance of magic. Be warned, as the one who holds the bear may not bare any false marks. If the wolf comes in contact with the bear, the bear will destroy the fate marking, destroying the balance of the Fate Line completely. It will also be compromised from the marking, turning the holder of the marking evil; creating a new wolf marking and a Champion to be reborn centuries later.

“The third keeper is the Servants of the Fates. Handpicked by a Fate, they are there to serve and protect that Fate; In exchange for removal of their physical body, the Fates give them ultimate power by giving them a body of magic, unable to be harmed by physical attacks. The Servants of the Fates have the life span of the Fate that chose them for their servitude.”

Interesting, so a Servant of the Fate is only obligated to protect that one Fate. How many Fates are there? There are Five Servants currently. There is a Fate for each Sheika Clan, with each clan chosen by their magic color. So there is a minimum of nine.

I know I would be assigned to Mikal if I were to become a Servant. That’s not really hard to guess after they soulnapped me. If I had to guess, Lometh belongs to the orange Fate, since her clan magic is orange. That Fate is Mystic. I know for a fact that Articus’s magic is purple, and he likely belongs to Novin, since he loves to gamble. If he loses his Servant, he’s going to be pissed. Gordon belongs to the healing Fate Isona. His clan magic is white. Allaric is, of course, blue. He is Ilandra’s pet. She’s very protective of him, and only sends him out when it’s hit a dire situation. The final Servant is Mordecai. His clan is red, belonging to Leofe. Leofe only decides to get involved when it’s gone past dire, or he’s coerced into it.

The remaining Fates are Boson, the originating Fate for the Pink Magic clan; Diedra. The Black Fate is Frei, his Clan goes by the name of Lyrica. The Yellow Fate is associated with the Florie Clan. These current Fates have not tried to get anyone assigned to them.

Silently, I stand, drawing eyes as I go to look at more stones. Stanya gives a hard sigh. “I can’t find anything Nat.”

“I have,” I tell her, squatting next to another pile of rubble.

“Which is?” She demands.

“Guardians can attack Fates when their marks feel as if they’re in danger. If Gordon was being controlled by another Fate at that time, that explains how I was able to hurt him and the Fate controlling him. We’re mostly there to protect the Marks of the Fates, not the Fates themselves. If the marks fear an attack from them, then we are allowed to attack.”

I look over my shoulder to look at her. “Gedric cannot inherit Ari’s mark, or it will turn him evil, while he bares the bear marking. The bear will turn into the wolf mark that it just destroyed, and then will only resurface centuries later.

“The Fates are only protected by the Servant in which they chose. Meaning, I can harm the other four Fates that are currently unprotected by a Servant. This includes Mikal. However, unless my marks feel they are in danger, I cannot attack them.”

Stanya stands, interest going through her. “Are you telling me, that four Fates are forced to fight alone if attacked?”

I nod. “Exactly. Mikal is currently one of them. If I become a Servant, I would be assigned to him.”

“So who is left unguarded?”

I tick them off on my fingers, “My guesses are Boson, Frei, and Florie.”

She sucks in her breath. “The four strongest.”

I nod. “Yep, but judging by past fights, the other five Fates can make their Servants fight to protect the other unguarded members.”

“That makes sense, considering how Allaric was taken.” There is a sad note of sympathy in her voice.

I groan once it registers. “You’re talking to Allaric, aren’t you?”

Stanya looks down. “Yes, I am. He can’t force me to harm you, though he has been trying. Between his breaks he’ll talk to me. The Servants of the Fates are all angry at you, and are supporting you Natasha. They’re angry because the Fates are being crueler than usual to them since they’re forcing them to attack you. They’re supporting you on the sole basis that they don’t wish this on even their greatest enemy.”

I resist the urge to glare at her. “I’m sure, but don’t trust a Servant. They’re skilled at manipulation.”

She looks down. “He told me that all the Servants are coming here, Nat.”

I take a deep, settling, breath. “I figured, which is why I’m guessing we have until morning to figure this all out, and get some rest.”

Stanya nods. “That’s what he said.”

“Then we best get to work.” I tell her, more irritated than anything. “I don’t like that you’re talking to him.”

“I know, and I’ll be careful.”

“How long have you been talking to him?”

“An hour or so.” She tosses her head, as if flipping her contained hair. “I know it’s because he wants to see what we’re up to.”

“I hope he’s gotten nothing, since that’s mostly what I’ve gotten.” I tell her while she comes and sits next to me.I put my head on her shoulder, trying to resist a growing yawn.

She touches my hand. “I think so. His goal right now is to keep an eye on us, not attack.”

“That’ll be saved for the morning.” I tell her. “Let’s get some rest.”