Moirai
Chapter 3

The words were delivered with atone of disbelief and amazement and I realised too late that I should have somereaction to them. However, having never heard those words before in my life, Ijust stared blankly, waiting for her to continue. When she didn’t, I asked,“What’s the Amulet of Kochor?”

“Oh.” She muttered. “I should haveremembered. You would not have read about it, although I thought Loni or Ambermay have mentioned it. The Amulet was made by a human aurae, Armitrand, over threehundred years ago. Armitrand’s vision was to use the Amulet for good, to helpprotect Renenta from any and all threats. But an aurae with darker ambitions, Dryadthis time, by the name of Kochor, heard of the Amulet and tracked Armitranddown. He slew him and took the Amulet, weaving great forces of evil across theland. However, eventually, the governing body of the Dryads that I told youabout earlier imprisoned Kochor until his death and hid the Amulet in a secretplace that only they and few others know the whereabouts of. I am one of thosefew.”

“But I still don’t understand.” Ipointed out softly. Despite my dislike of magic, I was too curious for my owngood. “What does the Amulet do?”

She laughed once without a traceof mirth. “The Amulet amplifies the wearer’s aura to incredible levels,allowing them to do things that normally would kill them.”

“Kill them?”

She laughed more genuinely thistime. “I thought you didn’t care about magic?”

I bit my lip. “I don’t…but as yousaid, it’s relevant to what you’re telling me, so I may as well understand abit about it.”

She nodded, almost in approval. “Well,I told you that the aura within magic users is an energy source. A moreaccurate description would be to say that the aura acts on the individual’s ownenergy. So, the bigger or stronger the feat attempted, the more tired it willleave you. For example, healing usually is quite easy as it shares the energy ofboth the victim and the aurae, whereas controlling a large body of water orcreating a small earthquake would leave an aura user extremely weak. Tryingsomething too difficult before your aura has been trained could kill you.”

I felt a frown crease myforehead; so my fear of magic wasjustified. “So auraics have died from using their magic?”

Kasanda nodded. “That’s one ofthe main reasons why they need to be trained. Auraics need to know as early aspossible what their limits are so they don’t go too far.”

I felt a cold shudder ripplethrough me.

“I understand that this isn’tmaking you see magic in any better light, but you must also consider thebenefits. From simple, everyday tasks, to aiding yoursDryad and others inbattle, to protecting Renenta, magic is an enormous asset to both auraics andnon-auraics alike. For those who are born with an aura inside them, even ifthey try to avoid it, eventually it will become known to them, often as anexample of just how much of a benefit it can be.”

I could see that she was tryingto get me around to her way of thinking, but it wasn’t working. All I could seein my mind’s eye were the images conjured up from my childhood; a fearsomebeast, rolling waves and the sound of screaming people as lightning lit up thescene, not from the sky but from the palm of a wrinkled old man…

“I see now why it was so bad thatthis girl asked for the Amulet.” I said, in an effort to keep my mind focussedon the conversation.

Kasanda nodded, accepting thesubject change. “Yes. She grew increasingly persistent until I finally told herthat if she did not turn her mind from thoughts of the Amulet I would no longerteach her. She was gone the next morning, leaving nothing but a note whichread: Dear Kasanda, you have taught meall you are willing to, but I desire more. My ambition is to become thegreatest aurae Renenta has ever seen. To bring a peace over the land, with meas its ruler by my birthright, that can never be broken. A peace where there isno class, except those with an aura and those without. Those who were notgifted with an aura do not deserve to be rulers and nobility. They deserve tobe our slaves. We are the ones with the power. You will eventually see myoutlook, dear teacher. I look forward to that day.”

I found myself cringing into theback of the chair with each sentence, horrified. It was one thing to read aboutvarious villains’ plots in the books I would read, but another entirely forsomeone to be that evil in the real world. “That’s…that’s ridiculous!” Igasped.

“I know.” Kasanda agreed gravely.

After a few moments in which Icould only stare at her, stunned, I managed to ask, “What did she mean by it’sher birthright to be a ruler?”

She sighed and turned to lookbeyond me out the window. “Because the girl who arrived on my doorstep, thegirl who grew to have such darkness in her…is the lost princess; Indina.”

There was another pause. I knewthe name of course from Loni and her parents, but I didn’t know that she was aprincess. Kasanda, realising that I did not know, she explained. “The Princessdisappeared twenty-five years ago. No-one knew where she had gone or why shehad run away. The king and queen suspected a kidnapping, but there was noevidence to support their claim and there was no hostility from Azterka, the Dryadsor anyone else. She had always been a lonesome person; she hardly ever madepublic appearances and when she did, everyone could see that she was unhappy.With what, no one knew. Possibly the palace life, possibly her lack of authoritywhile she remained a princess. I have suspicions that she even had plans tomurder her own parents. She looked down on the common folk, even the nobility,with a sense of superiority. She was disliked by most. It is said that she wasmore beautiful than the queen, but that her appalling outlook ruined the effect.”

I wondered what had turned herevil, or whether she had just been born with the notion that she was betterthan anyone else. “So…do you know where she is now?” I asked.

Kasanda held up her hand. “I willfinish my tale and then explain what I know. However, she has not yet found theAmulet of Kochor.”

“How do you…?”

“Because if she had, her wickeddream of Renenta would have been implemented immediately.” Kasanda saidshortly. She was silent for several seconds, gathering her thoughts, beforecontinuing the story. “Several months after Indina had left, I experienced avision. Some Dryads have this ability; to see the future in times of greatperil, but it is a dangerous gift. It leaves us exhausted and often with verylittle information to go on. It was the first such vision I had ever seen.”

She took a deep breath and hereyes went slightly glassy, as though she was seeing the vision again as clearlyas she could see me. “It showed a girl standing outside a huge and ominousblack castle, with sharp turrets like harsh mountains cleaving the dawning skyapart. The girl had outer-world energy about her. Her hair was as dark asnight, her eyes glinting like emeralds. In one hand she held a sword; the otherwas glowing with her aura, the aura that she had embraced and near enoughmastered. That castle, I knew, was where Indina had…”

Kasanda stopped suddenly as I jumpedup from my chair and backed away, nearly tripping over in my haste. Myextremities felt numb, and my head had gone cold. My vision narrowedsignificantly and I could hear a dull buzzing in my ears. It took me a coupleof seconds to understand what she was implying, and every single cell in mybody rejected it.

“No, no…” I whispered, staring atKasanda with wide eyes. It wasone thing to read stories and dream, to pretend as a child, but this…?

She stood and approached me, butI cringed away from her hand. “Alnya, please…”

“No!” I cried more forcefully,backing away towards the door. “You’re wrong! No…I…I can’t be…it can’t beme…I…magic…” I wasn’t able to form a sentence as my mind seemed to havefractured. Out of all the possibilities I had considered, this was not one ofthem. I could not be an aurae. I simply couldnot.

My breath was coming in quickgasps and I struggled to calm mysDryad down. The very thought that an auraexisted within me, as Kasanda had implied, made me feel ill and scared. Theimages that had been created when I was four years old came to the forefront ofmy mind once again. I was pulled into the memory and Kasanda’s room vanished,to be replaced by another, far more familiar room.

All my older cousins, fifteen years old and more, were having asleepover with my sister and, of course, I wanted to join in. I was banishedfrom the lounge room as they all gathered to watch a film, but snuck back inanyway and hid behind one of the sofas, watching through the gap betweenpillows. I felt guilty, but I was angry at not being included. Of course, beingfour, I conveniently forgot that they had all watched a childs’ film beforetheir own.

I cannot remember what the title of the film was or where they hadgotten it from, as I have never been able to replace it since.

It spun a tale of someone who could use magic on a ship that had beentravelling with a large group of sailors in a small fleet of ships. That shipwas attacked by a fearsome sea monster. The movie depicted it in great detail; itsmouth red with the blood of previousvictims, its skin wet and slimy and a sickly sea-green colour, its tentacles asthick as trees. It began to destroy the ship. The magic user tried to stop it, shootinglightning and fire at it fiercely. The monster became injured, but only grewmore enraged and as the ship’s mast broke, the man seemed to explode with ablast of magic, enveloping the serpent. However, this explosion blew out ofcontrol and took the ship down with it. The film ended with the ship laying atthe bottom of the ocean.

The final image depicted the other ships approaching the area and thepale dead body of the mage, his eyes staring wide, floating face up in thewater.

The nightmares that followed were even worse.

Since then, a fear of magic hadbeen born. If that man couldn’t control his magic enough to save his ship andthose on it, no magic was safe. That’s why I loved reading novels involvingmagic; because they reassured me that it wasn’treal. Now, of course, that reassurance had just gone down the drain, whichwas why I felt like a bucket of cold water had just been dropped onto my head.

Kasanda’s hands suddenly touchedmy shoulders, and I jumped, realising that my back was against the door. Istared into her eyes, breathing heavily. Suddenly, she seemed frightening. Her greeneyes were now glowing slightly, and I imagined that her hands were claws,gripping me like a vice. I struggled, pushing her off.

“What is wrong?” She asked,allowing me my space.

Briefly, with a shaking voice, Itold her of the memory. She didn’t seem quite so terrifying once I steppedback, but I still felt cold. “Do you see, now?” I asked.

Her expression was one ofsurprise and mild horror, though I could tell it wasn’t because of what I haddescribed. “But…how could that have happened…?” she whispered, so low that Icould barely catch it. She said something else as well, but I couldn’t make outthe words.

“What do you mean?” If possible,the thought that Kasanda was hiding something from me made me even more anxious.

“It’s nothing. Alnya, please,calm down.” She said quickly, breathing almost as hard as me. “Listen to me.This is not something that you can refuse. You can use magic. Or rather, youwill soon be able to. Once you allow yourself to. It is dangerous, but it’s notsomething that you should be scared of. You cannot do what you must withoutmagic.”

“But what do you want me to do?” I demanded, easing the space between us further.She allowed this, too, taking a couple of steps back.

She stared at me with sympathyclear on her face. “My vision is what you would probably refer to as prophetic.Any such vision, as history has shown, shows what will occur and what has tooccur. There is no option of flexibility, or a thought of ‘it could be someoneelse’. The moment Loni found you, I knew you were the one and you have to go towhere Indina has hidden hersDryad and rid Renenta of her evil. If you do not,then, as I told you earlier, the only other outcome is for Renenta to fall intothe care of Indina, and we both know what she would do with it.”

“What…you want me to kill her?Kasanda, I’m seventeen!” I shouted, my voice growing louder with each word.

Kasanda, to my surprise, shookher head. “No, do not be ridiculous. I would not ask you to commit murder.Indina would not be killed. By now, she would be so surrounded by dark magicthat she wouldn’t really be human anymore. She would be more dead than alive.Besides, there are more ways to stop her than merely killing her.”

“But the sword –”

“Will probably be necessary.” Sheinterrupted. “Indina’s princess days would have granted her education in morethan just bookwork; she will be an accomplished swordswoman. The lack of a prince,until years after she and I met, meant that she was taught swordsmanship andthe use of many other weapons as well.”

I put a hand to my head as thelight-headed feeling returned; it was just too much. “I…I can’t…”

Her hand returned to my shoulder,but this time I found it comforting.

“You don’t have to decide rightat this moment.” She murmured softly. “Take a few days, talk with Loni and herparents. Think carefully. If you decide to accept your destiny,” I winced atthe word; it sounded so…obligatory. “Well, come back here in three days a fewhours after sunrise. You’ll want to leave early.”

I looked down. “Kasanda, I can’tpromise that I will be back.”

“You don’t have to. Just rememberwhat I’ve told you. And know that you won’t be going alone. I would advise youtake Loni with you. I have someone else to accompany you. If you come here inthree days, you will meet him.”

Nodding, I said, “Okay. Thank...thankyou for explaining things to me. I’d rather know than not. It’s just…not what Iwas expecting. At all.”

She smiled sadly. “No. I can’timagine it was. Good luck, and goodbye.”