Chapter Eleven

Cindra led us to a nearby tower made of dark blue stone. It was surrounded by low walls that circled a spacious courtyard covered in grass, rustling trees, and a rock garden.

When she was about halfway across the courtyard, she stopped, so Ashe and I did too. My eyebrows rose when I found myself staring at her back. Ashe made a questioning sound.

Why had we stopped? We were the only ones out here. Was Naranthe going to come out and meet us?

Finally, Cindra turned around. Her face was closed off, but it looked as though she wasn’t having an easy time maintaining a neutral expression. “I’d been looking forward to meeting you.”

“Um…” I was a little thrown. After the conversation on the Iloxi Roads, I wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“I’d heard stories about you my entire life,” she continued. “The warrior who’d slept for centuries, then woken up and faced an immortal Necromajin. Then jumped back to the time she first lived in to stop the Magical Collapse from happening.” She gave a slight shake of her head, tilting it slightly as she looked me over. “Your story was so legendary there were large movements of people determined not to believe it was true. I’m talking protests in the streets and conspiracies that peppered social media.” Her lips twitched, the closest thing I’d seen to a smile.

“Everyone has haters,” I said lightly.

“Then almost a month ago, you returned,” she said. “And I thought it wouldn’t be long until I got to meet you and tell you that you inspired me.”

My eyes widened. “I inspired you…”

“To choose the path of the warrior,” Cindra said. “To join the Apprentice Guild and not stop until I’d reached the highest rank I could. To keep training until I was the best fighter I could be.” She chuckled, but it was a dark sound. “If I’m being honest, I envied you as much as I admired you. I wanted to be like you, but I wanted to be better. I wanted to save the world, like you did.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. Wasn’t at all sure. It was putting me in a weird headspace to have someone view my exploits as something that had inspired them. It was flattering, but all I’d been trying to do was keep me and mine alive.

“And then you came back and the blackout happened and…” Her voice cracked. “I saw my comrades, my friends, get viciously torn apart. I was one of the lucky ones, some scrapes and bruises and a dislocated shoulder was what I walked away with. But so many others.” She took a shuddering breath. “Once we pieced together what had caused the disruption to the forest, I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to believe the cause of it was you.”

“Cindra, I didn’t mean to cause the magical blackout. All I can say is how sorry I am. Like I said, I’m willing to jump in and help any way I can, even though a Kiabi Warrior is after me—”

“I don’t want to hate you,” she cut in, speaking so softly I almost didn’t hear her. “But I’m used to seeing things in black and white. It’s one of the reasons my parents encouraged me to join the Guild. Because I do well with structure, rules, with following the way things should be. I used to have one very clear view of you, and now…” She shook her head again and looked away. “Now it’s changing. And I’m having a hard time with that.”

“Cindra…” I understood her sentiments. I had suddenly gone from hero to fallen hero in her eyes.

But what did I owe Cindra here? What could I do or say when I was hanging on by a thread myself?

“Let’s go.” Cindra turned and continued walking, so I closed my mouth and followed, Ashe trotting beside me, licking the back of my hand to give some reassurance.

Maybe later Cindra and I could sit down and have a proper conversation about all this. For now, I had to focus on why I was here.

I looked up at the tower we were approaching.

It was a wide pillar that rose up about ten stories with large arched windows. The heavy wooden doors grated on the ground as they were opened by two warriors stationed on either side.

Cindra led us through, and we entered a circular space that was occupied by many Cephis. Some of them came over to inspect us, and Ashe made a disgruntled sound as she once again bore the brunt of their curiosity. My sword was also a big draw and I smiled at the melodious chitter that whispered past my ear as several Cephis flew close to the hilt.

The smooth stone ground was bare except for the soft glow of a large white circle in the center of the room and four colorful circles that surrounded it: green, orange, blue, and purple. The white ring was the Diviner nexus and the rest corresponded to the Talent magics: Tamer, Shaper, Temporal, and Conjurer. They were all glowing softly.

The last time I’d seen them had been under the peak of the Auraxa Reiv, when those colors had been vibrant and the Majimorta had been clawing free of the Diviner nexus. The memory came back to me, along with all the emotions I’d felt as Callan and I faced off against Varian and his dark magic constructs.

I pulled myself out of the memory and continued to look around.

Stairs wrapped around the sides of the tower.

At various intervals were platforms where archways led to other spaces. Above our heads beams of moonlight came through the roofless ceiling.

The most mesmerizing feature, though, was that all the arches looked like they were blocked by a cut of night sky. My eyes widened as I looked at the pinpricks of light that twinkled from the ever-moving black shadows gathered in the archways. Stars?

My eyes settled on the Diviner who stood in front of the nexus points. Their plum-colored robe, which was patterned with gold at the hem, moved with a wind that was not present.

Cindra gave a shallow bow. “I’m in escort of Pennrae Linbry.”

Then she turned and left without saying anything further. I glanced after her before turning my attention to the Diviner. I had the distinct feeling Cindra would turn out to either be an enemy or an ally, and the ball that would decide where she fell was still in the air.

“Pennrae Linbry of the Divine Sword,” the Diviner spoke, their voice like a wind chime in an afternoon breeze and the heavy thrum of a beaten drum. “You may call me Naranthe, as your kind needs names to call things.”

As was usual for Diviners, Naranthe’s head was hooded and there was nothing to see within their depths but darkness.

“I’m honored to be welcomed into your presence.” As I stood there, I realized calmness had settled over me. I appreciated how being surrounded by Divine magic helped settle my emotions enough that I could see my way through this conversation.

“I have been informed that you were the target of a Kiabi Warrior,” Naranthe said.

“Do you know why it came after me? Could it really have targeted me because I caused the blackout?”

“Not because of it,” they replied. “But as a result.”

I frowned. “I…”

“You woke something up.”

My eyes widened.

“The Kiabi Warrior that attacked you was not moved by its own volition,” Naranthe said. “It was under the control of an entity whose ability to ensnare one of the forest’s guardians came about due to the blackout.”

My throat felt dry. I clenched and unclenched my sweaty palms. Every time I had a conversation about the magical blackout I received worse and worse information.

It was almost enough to make me wish I had stayed with Ma and Kinari and lived with the pain of being separated from Ashe and the boys.

“What kind of entity?” I asked. “And why would it come after me?”

“Because you might be able to destroy it.”

“What?”

“This world has endured far longer than you can fathom,” Naranthe said, voice low. “Shaped by the dreams of they who can never sleep, and destroyed by they who must never awaken.”

A strange feeling settled on me as they spoke. Something about their words wrapped me in emotions that were too deep to comprehend.

“The forest was created to contain entities that have endured from countless reiterations of this world,” Naranthe said. “Who no longer have a place in it but cannot be removed from it. And it is the resting place for a power that could bring about the end of all existence. An entity whose chains were loosened the night of the blackout.”

Naranthe took a few steps closer, their robes whispering across the stone floor.

“It has slumbered for millennia,” they said. “It remained bound in the Before Times, the entire forest held captive by the Celestial Divine so those that dwelled within Drisdari’s depths would not be unleashed onto a world that was not prepared to face them.”

So that’s what happened to the forest in the Before Times. I had wondered about it.

“But the strain on the Celestial to contain the forest was taut,” Naranthe continued. “Your actions have allowed it to ease, to return the forest to its guardians. For that you must be thanked. But you have also struck a chord that was never meant to be struck.”

I swallowed, trying yet again to wrap my head around terrible truths.

“If the Discordant Dark awakens fully, all shall perish,” Naranthe said.

“Discordant Dark?” There was something familiar about those words, as though I’d encountered them before. But where? I frowned, trying to organize my chaotic thoughts so I could puzzle through it.

It came to me and my eyes widened.

I am made from cosmic light. Cleaved from the Discordant Dark. A fragment of all there ever was, and all that could ever be.

That was from a snippet of writing from a Diviner’s journal. Callan and I had encountered it at Varian’s magic museum in the Before Times. I now understood that Diviners were an extension of the Celestial Divine, the “cosmic light.” But what did it mean that they were “cleaved from the Discordant Dark”?

“What exactly is the Discordant Dark?” I asked.

“They are the other half of the Celestial Divine. They were meant to remain in balance, two halves of a whole, but in lifetimes past, it became necessary to upset the balance. Thus, the Celestial Divine cleaved from the Discordant Dark and locked it away. To save the humanity they had created. The Celestial then fragmented itself and placed Diviners upon the land as guardians and prophets. To purify any darkness and keep the nexus points stable. And to remain close to the resting place of the Discordant One.”

“Oh wow, whoa… Wow.” I was stunned. Coming into deeper knowledge of what Diviners were, what their purpose was, and the power that had created them was astounding. Part of me felt as though this wasn’t something I should know, yet I craved the knowledge.

“The Discordant One has remained chained, but a fragment has awakened,” Naranthe said. “If it is not stopped it will find a way to grow that fragment into a wealth of power that can bring disaster.”

“I understand.” My voice sounded hoarse. Ashe whined softly. I buried my fingers into her fur, allowing her presence to help steady me.

“If the Kiabi Warrior shows up again I’ll destroy it.” That brought an uneasy feeling since I had seen a human form Morph from it, but if it was going to keep coming for me, I wouldn’t have any choice but to cut it down.

“The Discordant One’s brief awakening allowed it to sense you,” Naranthe said. “Sense your power of Divine. You wield the ability to do what even we cannot, Pennrae Linbry, as our Celestial Divine could only put the Discordant Dark under chains. You, however, might be able to destroy it. Thus, it first seeks to destroy you.”

I made a surprised sound. The Gladius pulsed at my back, its touch of magic easing through me.

“You think I have the ability to destroy an ancient, world-destroying darkness because I can wield a sword with Divine magic?”

“Sword?” Naranthe repeated. “You believe that is the extent of your power?”

“What else could—”

“Pennrae.” Naranthe’s voice was ripe with knowledge I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. “You are far more than you seem to realize. You and your Circoux lay under the protection of Divine magic for hundreds of years. Divine magic that was given to your body, your mind, your soul, your magic, so that you continued to live.”

I recalled the lifeless bodies of Cephis that had been scattered around Ashe and me when we’d woken up in a time pocket deep within the cave Mix had hidden us in. I knew they’d given up their magic to protect us, but I hadn’t deeply thought about what it meant. I wasn’t sure what to feel right now.

“It is why you can touch the sword of Divine,” they continued. “Your body was prepared for it. There are many who might be worthy of the same blessing, but none received the necessary preparation to do so.”

“Wow… I…” Was once again reeling. “But I don’t feel like I am full of Divine magic. Lately, yeah, I’ve been tuning in to the fact that I feel Divine magic within me even when I’m not touching the sword, and it’s felt like it’s been joining with my Shaper magic, which I don’t know where to land on…”

“It may be so familiar to you that you do not recognize it is different,” Naranthe said. “The sword of Divine began to bring your awareness closer, but you were changed long before you woke up.”

Naranthe came closer until they stood less than ten feet away. The ebb of their Divine magic wafted around and through me, and my magic greeted it, my Shaper magic running like a gentle stream under my skin, and my own Divine magic winding through it like a fish being carried on the current.

“Perhaps you can be further shown,” Naranthe said. “Sit upon the floor and center yourself. Remove the sword and lay the bare blade in front of you.”

I wanted to argue that I wasn’t in a place where I could tune much of anything out, but I resisted. Had I tried?

Since I’d come back to the present day I’d done nothing but push my anxiety aside or function with it, and do half-assed breathing exercises while telling myself I’d get a good yoga and meditation session in soon. I knew I needed help, but I didn’t have the time to get it. Naranthe wasn’t exactly offering me a therapy session, but if anyone could guide me to a point of calmness, it would be a Diviner.

“Settle yourself,” Naranthe said. “Let go and be still. Remove yourself from that which is binding your mind and soul.”

I removed the Gladius, sat cross-legged on the floor, and lay the glowing blade in front of me. The Cephis tittered a bit louder at the reveal of the sword, and several of them swooped closer to investigate it. Ashe lay on her belly next to me, resting her head on her paws. The bluish hue in her fur glowed under the Cephis’ light as they zipped around her.

I faced Naranthe and closed my eyes. Took in a slow, deep breath, then exhaled, trying to focus on nothing besides the motion of breathing, the way I pulled air into my lungs, released it, pulled it in again.

My thoughts quieted.

They weren’t gone, but it was like they slipped into a deep well, giving me some distance from them.

“Focus on your magic,” came Naranthe’s voice, sounding intimately close, like they were whispering directly into my ear. “Let your magic rise and feel it. Truly feel it.”

I did what they asked. My magic had already been awake, so I focused on it.

A smile came to my lips. My Shaper magic was as familiar as my own face. As soon as I was old enough to have some sense of self, I had come to know my magic.

Memories drifted before my mind’s eye: Shaping my mother’s wooden jewelry box when I was around six, my unskilled hands turning it into a misshapen figurine that had made Kinari cry when I waved it in front of her. Soon after, I spent six months learning how to Shape wood, then my parents found someone who could instruct me with Shaping metal.

There were tears gathered in my eyes, but the memories made my heart feel warm, reminded me that I was once grounded, sheltered, protected, and happy.

That I’d been born into a world that felt stable, a world where I came to understand myself and how I wanted to move through it. Even though it felt distant, like a dream more than a memory, my life in the magic-era was the basis for who I was. My foundation was strong even if I felt like I was full of cracks and crumbling apart right now.

Calm.

I felt it as my Shaper magic responded to me. Divine magic was there as well.

I released a soft gasp as I realized how true Naranthe’s words were. I had never tried to dive this deeply into myself before, to focus on the magic I had and how much of it was there. Shaper magic was who I was down to every last crevice, but Divine magic…there was almost as much of it there as well.

I hadn’t expected that.

It was always hard to describe what it felt like to have magic. I thought of it as having a metaphysical pool where my magic resided, a pool I could tap into and push through my hands to Shape metal and wood. But there was only one pool, so both Shaper and Divine magic were there, entwined. What did that mean? Would it change my ability to Shape?

“Open your eyes.”

I’d been so deeply focused on the journey within myself that I’d forgotten where I was. Naranthe’s voice drew me back to the surface and I slowly opened my eyes. My vision was momentarily blurry like I’d been asleep for hours, but I felt calm, relaxed.

And I was covered in tendrils of Divine magic.