The Fenimeldiyaan: Origins - Chapter 6
Gerald watched Morgan with a nervous expression on his face. It had been a while since he’d seen Morgan lose control; not since Damian had directly threatened Elsa and Apollo. The sight was no less frightening now then it had been at the time. Even worse was that Gerald was probably the last person in the entire universe that could calm him down. Nevertheless, he had to try, for Apollo’s sake.
Apollo … maybe … “Morgan!” Gerald said sharply. The mage turned from the irritating little man, his red eyes flashing dangerously. Gerald estimated that he had about five seconds until Morgan turned his powers on the mercenary. “Be this what Apollo would want? Do ye think he wants ye to blow those men up into pieces?”
Morgan grabbed his head immediately. “No, stop,” he said, in a mumble. “My head … get out of my head …”
“Think, Morgan!” Gerald insisted. “This ain’t what Apollo would want from ye!”
Morgan shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “I need to think. I need to breathe …” Shadows covered him, teleporting him from the dungeons, back to his room upstairs.
Gerald let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. That was Morgan out of the way, temporarily. All Gerald had to hope was that Ciracea either wouldn’t know it was Gerald who’d managed to calm him down, or that her retribution wouldn’t involve … say, a noose. He sighed and dropped backwards, onto the cot again.
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The insistent voice in River’s head did little to wake her. She groaned silently, trying to push it out, but it kept going, kept talking, and finally, she blinked, waking up. What was going on …?
Ciracea. The witch was surrounded by a strange mist, and River backed up, her back pressing against the wall. She was scared. She couldn’t do this!
The sorceress managed to latch on to River’s powers, starting to drain them, and River knew. If she did nothing, the woman would take everything from her. In a silent scream, River thrust her arms forward, sending pure energy flying at Ciracea. The witch was sent shooting backwards, out of the cell, and River slumped forward. Alberto’s power kept her from losing consciousness, but she was still exhausted. It was too much, too much for her. And it would only put Ciracea off temporarily …
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Apollo bit down on his lip, considering everything the two peculiar people had told him. “Wouldn’t we need a terribly big box to trap her in?”
Mazia laughed, and patted him on the shoulder. “Ye worry too much, Lightbringer!” she said. “The box be bigger on the inside. But first we have to get the prisoners away from her. They give her too much power.”
Apollo shifted. “About Morgan …”
“He be conflicted, like the rest of us,” Andreas said, patting his other shoulder. “Don’t ye worry, we won’t be hurting him. He don’t deserve it. Will ye help us free the prisoners and defeat Ciracea?”
“Of course,” Apollo said, bowing slightly. “It would be my honour. I cannot allow such an evil person to roam freely. What would you have me do?”
---------------------------------
Morgan materialised in his suite of rooms, hoping for a chance to rest and sort out his tangled thoughts. Seeing the little priest stretched out on his bed, he realised that there would not be much chance of that.
“Ye don’t look so good, pilgrim” Andreas remarked. “Strain be getting to ye, eh? It ain’t easy having someone else inside yer head”.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Morgan protested. “I’m tired and I need to rest. Get out and leave me alone!”
“Can’t do that”. Andreas hoisted himself into an upright position, making room for Morgan to sit on the bed next to him. “Not yet, anyways. Not til ye understand yer link to Governess DeGraaw. She be playing on that connection, taking advantage of yer ignorance. But once ye know the reason for it, ye’ll be able to fight it better”.
Morgan sank down onto the bed, giving a weary sigh. “I’ve already told you the connection. She knew my father”.
“Tis more than that” Andreas asserted. “She also told ye that in different circumstances she could’ve been yer mother. In a way, she were telling the truth”.
“I don’t believe you” Morgan interrupted. “You’re messing with my mind, trying to confuse me”.
Andreas chuckled. “Tis too late for that. Ye be beyond mere confusion. But I’ll try to straighten things out a bit for ye”. He proceeded to tell Morgan the same story which he had told Apollo, about the supposed dissipation of Ciracea DeGraaw’s life energy and the way the fragments had been scattered throughout the multiverse. In conclusion he said “Ye have one of those fragments inside ye, Morgan. Along with the darkness ye inherited from yer father. Tis how she were able to influence ye so easily”.
Morgan stared at the priest, not wanting to believe him but unable to make any outright denial of the man’s claims.
-----------------------------
“Let’s go!” Mazia grinned and played with her braids while Apollo watched in a daze, shocked by what he had seen in the Governor’s office.
A moment later, they materialised in the stark grey room again, but there was no sign of Andreas.
“Grandpa went on ahead to take care of a few things” she said by way of explanation. “We’ll be joining him soon. But first I need to send the child within as a gift to Ciracea”.
Apollo’s brow creased in confusion. “Why would you want to send her a gift?”
Mazia grinned. “There be gifts … and there be gifts. Tis probably easiest if I show ye”.
Using a finger, she sketched a rectangle in the air in front of them. At first it seemed insubstantial, but after a moment it flickered into life, showing Ciracea DeGraaw getting up from the floor of the dungeon and dusting off her scarlet robes.
---------------------------------
Ciracea straightened her robes and approached River’s cell. A small figure stood in her way, performing an intricate dance. It was a little girl, perhaps five or six years old, with wild curly hair in need of grooming. Traces of sparkling sand clung to the girl’s bare arms. More of it showed on the black vest and leggings which she wore.
“How did you get in here?” Ciracea demanded.
“Grandpa showed me the way” the little girl answered, spinning in circles without faltering or showing any signs of dizziness. “And the woman on the outside sent me to ye as a gift”.
“You be talking nonsense!” Ciracea snapped. “What woman? And what sort of gift?”
The little girl giggled. “A box”. She stopped dancing and held up a white cube which had not been there an instant earlier. “All the best things come in small boxes”.
----------------------------------
Inside River’s cell, the sparkling cloud resolved itself into the little man in the black jumpsuit. He grinned at River. “While me granddaughter be keeping the Governess amused, tis time for another escape attempt, once I’ve drained Morgan’s darkness away”.
He approached the bars, aware that both River and Gerald were watching him. He waved at Gerald before placing his hand on one of the bars. Black sparks emitted from the metal. Grimacing, he absorbed the dark energies, draining them into a crystal which he took from his rucksack. The crystal started out transparent but grew darker as it absorbed more of Morgan’s dark tendrils.
“River, me dear” Andreas projected. “I know ye need to rest”. He gestured to the bunk. “Sleep for a while. Reinforcements be on the way. Everything will be the right size”.
----------------------------------
“Tis time!” Mazia announced, waving her arm across the rectangle and making it vanish. “Ciracea probably won’t get inside the box on our first attempt but twill be fun watching her squirm. The box be made of light energy and there be nothing she hates more than light, for she be a creature of darkness”.
Apollo shook his head and sighed. By that time, he had gone past the stage of trying to understand the odd little woman’s words.
She grinned again and grabbed him by the arm. The grey room vanished, replaced by larger but equally grim surroundings. Apollo recognised the dungeons beneath the Broken Hill Fortress.
“Don’t try to break anyone outa their cells yet” she warned. “For now, distraction be the priority. Let’s draw attention to ourselves while Grandpa and the child inside do the important work”.
--------------------------------
River watched Andreas for a few seconds, her head cocked to the side. The crystal seemed to be absorbing darkness, and she found it fascinating. However, it was also rather lulling, and she sat down on her cot, blinking sleepily. In another few moments, with Andreas occasionally glancing back at her, she fell asleep, sliding over onto her side.
Gerald watched as well, waiting until Andreas had finished with his cell and moved on to River’s. Then he started trying to pick the lock, ignoring sparks rising from the remnants of sorcery wards on them. Muttering swears under his breath, he kept picking at it, hoping desperately that he could free himself.
Ciracea was not pleased with the child before her. “Get out of my way!” she snarled, preparing an energy blast at her.
Apollo huffed and shot light at her, burning her on contact. “Leave that child be!” he answered. Mazia laughed beside him, preparing her own magic.
Ciracea swung on Apollo, firing her own magic off at him. Apollo planted his staff in the floor, summoning a sphere of light around himself. “You do not know who you be dealing with,” Ciracea snarled.
Apollo smiled grimly. “You do not know who you are dealing with,” he parroted. “I am Apollo Lightbringer, child of the Lightshield, protector of Vordelle. Cousin to Morgan Shadowbinder and his protector. Do you truly wish to fight me?”
“You be nothing compared to me!” Ciracea answered, and pushed harder, attacking Apollo’s shield.
“Keep her distracted!” Mazia urged him, skipping over to help Andreas. Apollo gritted his teeth and maintained the shield.
“Fools!” Ciracea turned abruptly from Apollo, spotting Andreas at River’s cell. “Stay away from her!”
She fired a blast of pure magic at Andreas. “No!” Gerald finally got the door opened to his cell and lunged, knocking Andreas out of the way. The spell struck Gerald instead, sending him flying backwards against the wall.
“Gerald!” Apollo yelled.
“I be … fine. Alive, at least,” Gerald bit off, trying his best to stand. “Keep — fighting her!”
Apollo shot more golden light at Ciracea, hoping to further distract her from the obviously injured Gerald.
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Morgan rubbed his forehead, trying to make sense of what Andreas was telling him. “You’re saying that she’s polluted me with more darkness, and is controlling me through that?” he said, frowning.
“Close. A piece of her soul, a fragment of her, be inside of ye. Makes ye easy to control, as there already be a piece of her inside of ye,” Andreas said.
“I can’t do anything to stop it?” Morgan asked with a hint of helplessness.
“Ye can fight it better now that ye know,” Andreas said. “Apollo can help ye, too. Perhaps even purge the darkness from ye. Twill be difficult, though. Ye have to fight her in the here and now.”
“Why are you helping me?” Morgan asked. “What have I done to deserve any loyalty from you? I tried to kill you.”
“Ciracea tried to kill me. Ye were simply the weapon she tried to use,” Andreas said. “The choice be yers, though, whether ye fight her or whether ye let her walk all over ye.”
“And Apollo? Is he safe?”
“He be safe with me and me granddaughter,” he answered. “Least, another form of me. Trust me, Morgan Shadowbinder, ye can fight it.”
Morgan stared at his hands. “Alright. I’ll … I’ll try. What do you want me to do?”
Apollo … maybe … “Morgan!” Gerald said sharply. The mage turned from the irritating little man, his red eyes flashing dangerously. Gerald estimated that he had about five seconds until Morgan turned his powers on the mercenary. “Be this what Apollo would want? Do ye think he wants ye to blow those men up into pieces?”
Morgan grabbed his head immediately. “No, stop,” he said, in a mumble. “My head … get out of my head …”
“Think, Morgan!” Gerald insisted. “This ain’t what Apollo would want from ye!”
Morgan shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “I need to think. I need to breathe …” Shadows covered him, teleporting him from the dungeons, back to his room upstairs.
Gerald let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. That was Morgan out of the way, temporarily. All Gerald had to hope was that Ciracea either wouldn’t know it was Gerald who’d managed to calm him down, or that her retribution wouldn’t involve … say, a noose. He sighed and dropped backwards, onto the cot again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The insistent voice in River’s head did little to wake her. She groaned silently, trying to push it out, but it kept going, kept talking, and finally, she blinked, waking up. What was going on …?
Ciracea. The witch was surrounded by a strange mist, and River backed up, her back pressing against the wall. She was scared. She couldn’t do this!
The sorceress managed to latch on to River’s powers, starting to drain them, and River knew. If she did nothing, the woman would take everything from her. In a silent scream, River thrust her arms forward, sending pure energy flying at Ciracea. The witch was sent shooting backwards, out of the cell, and River slumped forward. Alberto’s power kept her from losing consciousness, but she was still exhausted. It was too much, too much for her. And it would only put Ciracea off temporarily …
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apollo bit down on his lip, considering everything the two peculiar people had told him. “Wouldn’t we need a terribly big box to trap her in?”
Mazia laughed, and patted him on the shoulder. “Ye worry too much, Lightbringer!” she said. “The box be bigger on the inside. But first we have to get the prisoners away from her. They give her too much power.”
Apollo shifted. “About Morgan …”
“He be conflicted, like the rest of us,” Andreas said, patting his other shoulder. “Don’t ye worry, we won’t be hurting him. He don’t deserve it. Will ye help us free the prisoners and defeat Ciracea?”
“Of course,” Apollo said, bowing slightly. “It would be my honour. I cannot allow such an evil person to roam freely. What would you have me do?”
---------------------------------
Morgan materialised in his suite of rooms, hoping for a chance to rest and sort out his tangled thoughts. Seeing the little priest stretched out on his bed, he realised that there would not be much chance of that.
“Ye don’t look so good, pilgrim” Andreas remarked. “Strain be getting to ye, eh? It ain’t easy having someone else inside yer head”.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Morgan protested. “I’m tired and I need to rest. Get out and leave me alone!”
“Can’t do that”. Andreas hoisted himself into an upright position, making room for Morgan to sit on the bed next to him. “Not yet, anyways. Not til ye understand yer link to Governess DeGraaw. She be playing on that connection, taking advantage of yer ignorance. But once ye know the reason for it, ye’ll be able to fight it better”.
Morgan sank down onto the bed, giving a weary sigh. “I’ve already told you the connection. She knew my father”.
“Tis more than that” Andreas asserted. “She also told ye that in different circumstances she could’ve been yer mother. In a way, she were telling the truth”.
“I don’t believe you” Morgan interrupted. “You’re messing with my mind, trying to confuse me”.
Andreas chuckled. “Tis too late for that. Ye be beyond mere confusion. But I’ll try to straighten things out a bit for ye”. He proceeded to tell Morgan the same story which he had told Apollo, about the supposed dissipation of Ciracea DeGraaw’s life energy and the way the fragments had been scattered throughout the multiverse. In conclusion he said “Ye have one of those fragments inside ye, Morgan. Along with the darkness ye inherited from yer father. Tis how she were able to influence ye so easily”.
Morgan stared at the priest, not wanting to believe him but unable to make any outright denial of the man’s claims.
-----------------------------
“Let’s go!” Mazia grinned and played with her braids while Apollo watched in a daze, shocked by what he had seen in the Governor’s office.
A moment later, they materialised in the stark grey room again, but there was no sign of Andreas.
“Grandpa went on ahead to take care of a few things” she said by way of explanation. “We’ll be joining him soon. But first I need to send the child within as a gift to Ciracea”.
Apollo’s brow creased in confusion. “Why would you want to send her a gift?”
Mazia grinned. “There be gifts … and there be gifts. Tis probably easiest if I show ye”.
Using a finger, she sketched a rectangle in the air in front of them. At first it seemed insubstantial, but after a moment it flickered into life, showing Ciracea DeGraaw getting up from the floor of the dungeon and dusting off her scarlet robes.
---------------------------------
Ciracea straightened her robes and approached River’s cell. A small figure stood in her way, performing an intricate dance. It was a little girl, perhaps five or six years old, with wild curly hair in need of grooming. Traces of sparkling sand clung to the girl’s bare arms. More of it showed on the black vest and leggings which she wore.
“How did you get in here?” Ciracea demanded.
“Grandpa showed me the way” the little girl answered, spinning in circles without faltering or showing any signs of dizziness. “And the woman on the outside sent me to ye as a gift”.
“You be talking nonsense!” Ciracea snapped. “What woman? And what sort of gift?”
The little girl giggled. “A box”. She stopped dancing and held up a white cube which had not been there an instant earlier. “All the best things come in small boxes”.
----------------------------------
Inside River’s cell, the sparkling cloud resolved itself into the little man in the black jumpsuit. He grinned at River. “While me granddaughter be keeping the Governess amused, tis time for another escape attempt, once I’ve drained Morgan’s darkness away”.
He approached the bars, aware that both River and Gerald were watching him. He waved at Gerald before placing his hand on one of the bars. Black sparks emitted from the metal. Grimacing, he absorbed the dark energies, draining them into a crystal which he took from his rucksack. The crystal started out transparent but grew darker as it absorbed more of Morgan’s dark tendrils.
“River, me dear” Andreas projected. “I know ye need to rest”. He gestured to the bunk. “Sleep for a while. Reinforcements be on the way. Everything will be the right size”.
----------------------------------
“Tis time!” Mazia announced, waving her arm across the rectangle and making it vanish. “Ciracea probably won’t get inside the box on our first attempt but twill be fun watching her squirm. The box be made of light energy and there be nothing she hates more than light, for she be a creature of darkness”.
Apollo shook his head and sighed. By that time, he had gone past the stage of trying to understand the odd little woman’s words.
She grinned again and grabbed him by the arm. The grey room vanished, replaced by larger but equally grim surroundings. Apollo recognised the dungeons beneath the Broken Hill Fortress.
“Don’t try to break anyone outa their cells yet” she warned. “For now, distraction be the priority. Let’s draw attention to ourselves while Grandpa and the child inside do the important work”.
--------------------------------
River watched Andreas for a few seconds, her head cocked to the side. The crystal seemed to be absorbing darkness, and she found it fascinating. However, it was also rather lulling, and she sat down on her cot, blinking sleepily. In another few moments, with Andreas occasionally glancing back at her, she fell asleep, sliding over onto her side.
Gerald watched as well, waiting until Andreas had finished with his cell and moved on to River’s. Then he started trying to pick the lock, ignoring sparks rising from the remnants of sorcery wards on them. Muttering swears under his breath, he kept picking at it, hoping desperately that he could free himself.
Ciracea was not pleased with the child before her. “Get out of my way!” she snarled, preparing an energy blast at her.
Apollo huffed and shot light at her, burning her on contact. “Leave that child be!” he answered. Mazia laughed beside him, preparing her own magic.
Ciracea swung on Apollo, firing her own magic off at him. Apollo planted his staff in the floor, summoning a sphere of light around himself. “You do not know who you be dealing with,” Ciracea snarled.
Apollo smiled grimly. “You do not know who you are dealing with,” he parroted. “I am Apollo Lightbringer, child of the Lightshield, protector of Vordelle. Cousin to Morgan Shadowbinder and his protector. Do you truly wish to fight me?”
“You be nothing compared to me!” Ciracea answered, and pushed harder, attacking Apollo’s shield.
“Keep her distracted!” Mazia urged him, skipping over to help Andreas. Apollo gritted his teeth and maintained the shield.
“Fools!” Ciracea turned abruptly from Apollo, spotting Andreas at River’s cell. “Stay away from her!”
She fired a blast of pure magic at Andreas. “No!” Gerald finally got the door opened to his cell and lunged, knocking Andreas out of the way. The spell struck Gerald instead, sending him flying backwards against the wall.
“Gerald!” Apollo yelled.
“I be … fine. Alive, at least,” Gerald bit off, trying his best to stand. “Keep — fighting her!”
Apollo shot more golden light at Ciracea, hoping to further distract her from the obviously injured Gerald.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan rubbed his forehead, trying to make sense of what Andreas was telling him. “You’re saying that she’s polluted me with more darkness, and is controlling me through that?” he said, frowning.
“Close. A piece of her soul, a fragment of her, be inside of ye. Makes ye easy to control, as there already be a piece of her inside of ye,” Andreas said.
“I can’t do anything to stop it?” Morgan asked with a hint of helplessness.
“Ye can fight it better now that ye know,” Andreas said. “Apollo can help ye, too. Perhaps even purge the darkness from ye. Twill be difficult, though. Ye have to fight her in the here and now.”
“Why are you helping me?” Morgan asked. “What have I done to deserve any loyalty from you? I tried to kill you.”
“Ciracea tried to kill me. Ye were simply the weapon she tried to use,” Andreas said. “The choice be yers, though, whether ye fight her or whether ye let her walk all over ye.”
“And Apollo? Is he safe?”
“He be safe with me and me granddaughter,” he answered. “Least, another form of me. Trust me, Morgan Shadowbinder, ye can fight it.”
Morgan stared at his hands. “Alright. I’ll … I’ll try. What do you want me to do?”
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