AMETHYST: The rise of Tetra

Chapter 2

    Golden flecks of light. That’s all that remained in the vision of the pair that took their first step to complete the mission they had been destined to fulfill. The world blinded out around them, and with their utmost faith in the flame, they walked the familiar path to Tetra, knowing that there was so much more to come. 

    As Leopold looked down at the couple that had been the perfect reincarnation of him and his beloved, he reminded himself of all the sacrifices Cassandra had made for him, and saw the mirror effects on the woman of his own creation, knowing she would -in a heartbeat- give up absolutely everything for the man that had been a secondary version of the flame. Their real powers had yet to come to light, of course, but after centuries of scripting and crafting, the flame had finally sculpted his best saviours, and he had full faith they would not fail him. Though a part of the flame, no matter how humble, envied the relationship his creations had, the kind he could never complete with his dear Cassandra, and the thought created room for pain that even after thousands of centuries of existence still remained in Leopold’s heart. Knowing that this couple was fulfilling the destiny that, in fact, was supposed to be his own, was a fact so remorseful, yet so empowering, the flame wished not to step back in ensuring his plans for the planet would be successful.

    It had taken Leopold no time to know that the brave Hybrid leader that had claimed for so long that she despised the flame, did in fact, not hate the flame. That capability was way beyond the leader that had been the recreation of the very woman that loved the flame to begin with, and with time the leader would realise that it was absolutely impossible for her to dislike the power that created her in the first place, for she was first and foremost, a reincarnation of Cassandra. As much as it tempted the flame to be with the reincarnation of the woman he loved, he knew that it was only in Eliana’s best interest to be with the man that had been created as her mate. 

    Creating the Vermillion had been an easy decision, one that now was costing the flame a lot more than expected, though it was a temptation he could not resist. The intentions of the flame had merely consisted of recreating a scenario he wished he could have changed, and now that scenario had to end well, or the flame would have done it all for nothing. Nevertheless, guilt floated inside the gut of Leopold, knowing that he had formed an attachment with a planet he had brought so much pain to, one that he now regretted slightly. 

    The deception had yet to be revealed, though it would certainly not be an easy divulgence for a population that respected the order of the flame, and did everything in their power to follow the power that had deliberately created the issues that currently stood unsolved. No longer did the flame have the power to turn back time, the best it could do is bless the power couple and hope that their mission would be triumphant. 

    Entranced, the couple advanced towards the familiar gates of Tetra, ones that were still guarded by the trained Warmecks, and upon their return, were greeted by the top guard of the Warmecks, the same one that waited patiently for their return, knowing that something large was at play, and understanding that it would eventually come down to their kind to train the most important people on the planet for a war that affected them all. 

    ‘Miss Genova, Alpha Solonov, welcome back. Please follow me’ he greeted, not giving his soldiers the chance to play the card of humiliation once again. Wordlessly the couple followed the man to the familiar office they had recalled from their first visit, and within seconds they were seated on the chairs, facing the man that required all the information he could get before allowing the couple in. ‘The last time you arrived on Tetra, it seemed you were in a situation much greater than you had expected to be in, tell me, what is the update on that issue right now?’ he questioned, and the couple had no choice but to let the truth out sooner than they had expected. 

    ‘We defeated the Lycan Alpha, though as you may have gathered, we have a much bigger threat to face, and that is why we have returned. We need an army, a much larger one. It is an issue that affects the wellbeing of the Amethyst as much as it does the Ivory, and that is what we are here to gather’ revealed Eliana, hoping the Vermillion would have no way of reading into their happenings. The top guard sat back, taking in the situation, and the severity of it, considering the options that were best for his people, and it was as if the Warmecks had finally found their purpose on the mysterious planet. 

    ‘Very well, I assume you already have a route in mind?’ he questioned. At Eliana’s nod, he continued with his suggestion. ‘I would like to request you keep the Warmecks as your last approach’ he recommended, knowing there would be much more to do  with their kind than most others. 

    ‘Why’s that?’ asked a curious Razaar. 

    ‘I don’t think you’d like to enter a war of that capacity without the adequate training. The Warmecks are the only ones capable of providing you with the training you’ll need. I invite you to receive that knowledge and those skills. I will have a word with my leader about it at the appropriate time’ he offered, making things a lot easier for the couple who could not have been more grateful for it. 

    ‘We would appreciate that, thank you’ the great Alpha responded, getting on their feet promptly after ‘we should take our leave now, we have quite the distance to travel’ he completed, grabbing onto his mate’s hand as they made their way out of the office of Warmecks, and in the direction of the Amethyst Witches. The path had been engraved into their mind from their first trip, though this time they trekked to their lands knowing the danger that lay ahead, having the answers they had previously not known. 

    Unlike the previous time, however, Amethyst Witches had been stationed at the gates, blocking the path of the couple that time and time again had gotten used to facing some sort of obstacle they had no choice but to battle. 

    ‘What are you doing on Tetra, Ivory?’ questioned the Witch blatantly, not bothering to be discreet with the discrimnation instilled within her mind for no absolute reason. 

    ‘We are here to visit a friend, Irina Ygorov,'' replied Eliana gently, excited to see the reaction of every member of Amethyst who would soon realise they would have no choice but to work with the very kind they hated: the Ivory. The Witch laughed, not believing a word they said, but mostly not believing that her kind could even be acquaintances, much less friends, with a kind lower than them on the hierarchy. It had shocked the Witch to acknowledge that their kind were able to cross the borders in the first place, though she trusted the Warmecks as much as she did the flame, and knew they would not have been able to without the necessary permissions from the flame. Though why was the flame allowing a kind inferior into a land superior in the first place? The Witch had quite an unexpected revelation in queue, one that would change her mindset forever. Laughing it off, the Witch continued to block the way for the humble couple that only wished to get their mission over with. 

    ‘Why would any Amethyst Witch want to be friends with you?’ she spat, not believing a word they had said. 

    ‘Maybe you should ask Irina that’ snapped back Eliana, maintaining the smile on her face to annoy the Witch even more. The angered Witch stepped forward, intending fully to ensure the great Alpha and Luna of Gloarian would not step foot into her lands. 

    ‘How would you have become friends with Irina anyways? You’re kind has never even stepped foot on our lands, and Irina has never left Tetra,-’ 

    ‘That is where you’re wrong’ interrupted Razaar, having had just about enough of the Amethyst as his mate had. Perhaps now more than ever the couple realised how necessary this war was, not just for the safety of their planet, but to unite a kind that never thought they would unite due to prejudices that did not make sense in the slightest. ‘We have been here before, and Irina has been to Gloarian as well. Clearly you haven’t been paying much attention to what happens on your own land, Witch. Now, would you like to let us through?’ he informed, posing the question once again, as patiently as he could before he would snap fully.

    ‘Do not disrespect me with your lies, Wolf. I’m afraid I cannot let people inferior to me onto my lands’ she responded with a response that the pair had already expected. The mock had been evident in her words as well as within the smirk that danced on her face. She stood back, with every plan to hold back the couple that were now getting impatient, and watched them struggle their way to getting what they wanted. 

    ‘Why don’t you just call for Irina, she’ll tell you all that you need to know’ pleaded the Hybrid leader, knowing that as soon as the truth would unveil, the very Witch that considered herself superior, would be bowing down to someone who survived something not even an Amethyst could survive: death. Nevertheless the woman decided to stick with the more humble approach, knowing there was a time and place for everything, and this certainly was not the time to flaunt upon something that could endanger them more had it arrived the knowledge of the Vermilion.

    ‘Like I said, friend or not, I can’t allow an Ivory on Amethyst lands, it would ruin our reputation having filth on our grounds’ she mentioned, this time doing the trick as the great Alpha of Gloarian had successfully reached his level of rage. 

    ‘You wanna deal with filth, Witch, come deal with filth’ he responded, transforming within the instant into his Wolf. Eliana had allowed the scene to play despite unappreciating the angry nature of her mate, knowing she had a plan in mind. 

    The Witch advanced with a smirk towards the Alpha, and as she held her man up in a bubble of electric sparks that no doubt were hurting the stubborn man, his mate took the shape of her snake, attacking from behind and knocking out the disrespectful Witch that would wake up in shock and disgust at discovering she had been knocked out by someone inferior to her. 

    Reverting to their human forms, the pair advanced into the territory they waited so long to get into, Eliana smirking at the man she constantly found herself saving. 

    ‘Don’t worry Alpha, one day you’ll beat me’ joked the Hybrid leader, allowing the proud man, holding onto her hand as they proceeded to complete the next part of the journey.

    ‘I hope not’ he responded to her words, keeping silent as they approached Irina’s house. The doors had bursted open before they could even knock, and a jolly Irina came barging out in joy, embracing the woman she had come to love as a friend rapidly, before welcoming the pair into her home. 

    ‘You’re alive! I’m so glad you’re alive, this means that you succeeded’ she began, not having a clue of what the pair had been through to get to where they were. Looking between each other, Razaar pointed at Irina, allowing his mate to reveal the story that had captivated everyone that had heard or seen it.

    ‘Not quite. The battle didn’t go exactly as planned’ introduced Eliana, seating herself on the couch in the living room, greeting Vulen, who had decided to join them.

    ‘What do you mean? You won, right?’ questioned a now worried Vulen. The Hybrid leader pondered how to introduce the topic of her resurrection, now knowing what kind of reaction she would receive, though taking a leap of faith in the flame for once, she proceeded to explain to the best of her abilities. 

    ‘I died’ she began, clearly not taking the smoothest approach to introduce the topic. The Amethyst couple looked with confusion at the woman, their eyebrows scrunching up at the revelation. 

    ‘You died?’ repeated Irina, attempting to understand what exactly the leader meant, and if the information had been figurative rather than literal. 

    ‘Yes. Balthazar got a hold of me, and killed me. He pulled out my insides, literally. Razaar could not get to me because Beneta had protected the Lycan Alpha with a powerful dome barrier. Though you are right, we won the battle in the end’  she completed, leaving out the most important gaps of the story. It had not occurred to the Amethyst couple to spend too much thinking about any other detail than the most obvious confusing revelation that had yet to be explained. 

    ‘I’m sorry, did you say that you died?’ circled back Vulen, trying his best to connect the dots. 

    ‘Yes, I did die indeed’ confirmed Eliana, not knowing how to explain that she was, in fact, alive. 

    ‘He pulled out your insides did he? Balthazar?’ asked Irina, holding onto the same confusion that perhaps all members in the room felt. 

    ‘That is indeed how it went’ responded Eliana, still not answering the main question. 

    ‘So you’re dead?’ asked Irina, trying a different approach to get the answers she was looking for. 

    ‘Oh no, I’m very much alive now. I just don’t know how’ responded Eliana, realising how stupid the conversation had been sounding, but not having a better approach. 

    ‘Right, so you died. Though now you’re alive, and you don’t know how?’ repeated Vulen, trying to keep up with the information. Feeling the sheer discomfort, Razaar decided to intervene.

    ‘I’m aware it sounds ridiculous and unrealistic, but it’s true. I watched it happen. He ripped out her insides, she was dead. I felt the bond break. Then, just as I was about to die, I looked up and saw that she was alive, and had just killed Balthazar. We’re still new to the concept ourselves, and have yet to figure out exactly what miracle allowed her to live, but for now we’re just carrying on with the mission as planned’ he explained, giving more clarity to the Amethyst couple than the Hybrid leader had. She had yet to process the fact that she was alive fully, and the more she heard it and repeated it, the more real it became.

    ‘Let me just get this clear. So Eliana died on the battlefield, but by some force of unknown magic, she revived? Is that what you’re saying?’ question Irina, still not quite believing what she had been hearing. As much as she loved her new friends, the information that had come across had not been as evident as it seemed, and the Amethyst couple were far from believing the truth. 

    ‘That is correct’ responded Eliana, unaware that they did not, in fact, believe it. 

    ‘That’s impossible. So why don’t you tell us what really happened?’ repeated Vulen, now getting impatient with the charade that had been going on. It had surprised the pair to see their own friend not believe them, and wondered just how hard it would be to prove this to every other member of Tetra they would have to request to join the cause. 

    ‘You don’t believe us?’ Razaar noted, looking back at his Luna with second thoughts of what they should do next. As she thought of the ways out of her situation, only one option seemed plausible to the woman, and she decided to give it a go, hoping the flame would have her back as it always did. 

    ‘You just told us that Eliana died and revived herself after having had her entire system been ripped out of her, how do you expect us to just believe that without any proof?’ questioned Irina with the utmost innocence. 

    ‘I may have proof’ interrupted Eliana before Razaar could respond, and in turn, he looked upon her with confusion, wondering what she was up to now. ‘The prophecy’ she stated glancing in his direction to clarify to him. 

    ‘The prophecy was taken before the war, how are you so sure it-’

    ‘I’m not, but it’s all I have. I’m hoping that with time the prophecy updates and adapts to the occurring events of the present day.’ She responded, leaning forward and opening up her hand to project the prophecy that for so long had lived in her hands. It was the moment of truth for the couple, and as the images displayed the very vivid ones of the Battle of Gloarian, the pair took a deep breath, knowing they now had the tools to prove that the Hybrid leader was a walking legend of Ivory. Irina and Vulen watched, completely hypnotised by the happenings, and by the end of it felt the shame for doubting someone so powerful.

    As soon as the prophecy ended, the gasps that emerged from their mouths had been enough to inform the couple that they had finally come to believe the living miracle, and looking between themselves, the Amethyst couple began considering how they should behave in front of someone so dangerously strong. 

    ‘How is that even possible? Never in the history of this planet has someone ever survived death. Never’ stated Irina, wondering whether she should fear the Hybrid leader. 

    ‘Like I said, we have yet to figure out exactly what happened and how I survived. Though for the time being our main goal is to gather the rest of the Amethyst as planned before going to war. If there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that the flame wants us to fight back, or else I wouldn’t have survived’ unveiled the Hybrid leader, noticing their figures go rigid at her words. The tension had been evident in their eyes, and suddenly Eliana remembered why she wished not to reveal the details of her resurrection to anyone: because that was the most fearing thing of all, especially to people above her in the hierarchy, even more so than the war to come. 

    ‘Look, I know you’re scared, believe me, so am I. I’m alive when I shouldn’t be, and that worries me the most. Though right now is not the time to ponder upon questions that we can find out the answers to later. We have visited our Galon in search of answers and the only thing the Galoness revealed was that there is a reason for all of this, and that will be revealed with time. So I suggest we get on with what we came here to do in the first place. A war is bound to happen at some point soon, and we have to gather the Amethyst before we barge into battle’ added Eliana, getting the weight off her chest. Irina visibly noticed the discomfort of the woman, and eased up, placing a hand on her friend’s. 

    ‘I’m sorry, this is all so bizarre, we’re just having a hard time processing it. But you’re right, we do have a war coming up and we need to prepare. It’s time you met our leader: Zoraya Levix. I’ll talk to her, set up a meeting tomorrow at daylight with her. In the meantime perhaps you and Razaar should get some rest, you have travelled a long way’ she reached out, normalising things to how they were previously. Eliana had appreciated the change of tone, and followed the woman out of the living room towards the guest room they had initially stayed in. 

    If there was one thing Irina had noticed about the couple, it had been the sudden closeness between them, and so she decided to take advantage of the situation to lighten the mood a little. 

    ‘I’ suddenly seem to have an extra room if the two of you still don’t want to share’ she joked, making it transparent through her expression and tone. It certainly had brought the immortal woman to chuckle, and as she looked back at Razaar, she appreciated once more just how much things had changed between them. The lie that Irina had originally planted was now out in the open, despite all parties being aware of it in the first place, though it was ironic to see the transformation of a couple from one phase of their life to another in just a short period of time.

    ‘That’s alright, I think this time we’re ok with just one room this time’