The Tale of Xenosa

Wings

Cheska's POV:

I was starting to worry. It's been about three minutes already after Lacresia had jumped into the river, and until now she hasn't resurfaced yet. I tried to go after her but the river nymphs told me to stay put. I don't know what was happening so in my state of worry I decided to approach the side of the river. A few moments later the river started to glow and formed a water sprout. If you're not familiar what a water sprout is let me describe it to you. It's technically like a tornado that is happening on water. And instead of the tornado being made up of air it's made up of water! I looked up at the top of the tornado and saw Cresia! She was at the top! Hey eyes glowed a golden color. Much like what happened to Lady Katalina's eyes when she casts spells! Was this the visitation? I don't have a clear memory of what happened in mine but I hope it was as awesome as this! Golden dust then began to approach Cresia, it was now outlining her entire form. Then I saw Cresia begin to curl up. I think something painful was happening on her back. More golden dust appeared behind her. Then her skin ripped, revealing a bone? I'm not entirely sure with what I'm seeing but it seemed like a bone. The golden dust then accumulated on her back taking the shape of wings! She had wings! Cresia had wings! She has angel wings with gold lining on the tips. It looks soft but I think the tips are quite pointy and is made up of gold. I think if she'd want to use it as a weapon she could! Her wings are super beautiful! It had golden swirls on the inside as well. The individual feather are outlined with gold. Her abiltites showed up instantly that is super awesome! Wait that would only mean she was visited by her godly parent. He or she must've visited her while she was under water! That would explain why the river nymphs wouldn't allow me to go near her. She was so high up now, but the water sprout began to disappear, and her eyes slowly returned to their original color. Much of the golden dust was now gone as well. I was starting to worry that she'd fall once the entire thing disappeared but what she did next surpirsed me. It was when she suddenly flapped her wings! She was flying! Looking down at me and waving her hands! After circling above for a few times she then went down. "Oh my gosh Cres! That was amazing!" I said to her. "I know. I can't believe it either. My dad finally visited! He hasn't told me his name yet but he says that he's always watching over me and that he's sorry it took so long. I couldn't believe what was happening at first! But when I realized who he was, I just couldn't control myself so I hugged him! Eeek!" she squeeled at me. I could tell that she was super happy with it. The wings on her back was retractable at will. I think it's somehow an extension of her. I couldn't express how I truly felt with words so I just hugged her. I was beyond happy. Ecstatic even. I knew how down she felt the other day about this and now she finally got acknowledged by her godly parent!

I think it's safe to assume that the incidents after that were nothing but FUN! All the tension just suddenly evaporated once we decided to enter the river. The river nymphs were super fun to play with as well. Lacresia on the other hand is enjoying her new found abilities and is using to splash water at me. Well at least we were having fun! It's comforting to know that even though this was quite a serious mission to do, we still had time and the chance to enjoy. I enjoyed being in water. I don't know why but it calms me. There's something about water that makes me calm and relaxed. Something about it screams home to me! Maybe it had soething to do about being the daughter of the sea god. After a while of just having fun, playing in the water and just relaxing on the water I decided to get out of the water. I've thought of an idea. Maybe the nymphs knows about what's happening to the map. Apart from the lamat they did the map didn't show any river at all. If I hadn't heard the nymphs we wouldn't know about it being here. I then headed to where we left our bags. I opened Cresis small pocket at the front where she kept the map at. The map were one of Lady Katalina's gift for our journey. I now had the map in my hands. I slowly approached the Leader. "Uhm hi there ma'am?" I said unsure about what to call her. She then turned to my direction and bowed. "What can I do for you dear demigod?And you can call me Rita if you want. No need to call me ma'am. I am beneath you in rank after all," She said. I then nodded at her, "There's really no need to be formal about this. We don't really care for ranks that much. So uh Rita, I'd like to ask you about this map. I think its inaccurate or I don't know dysfunctional maybe? Can you do anything about it?" I proceeded to ask her. She then touched the map with her hand. The moment she did I saw a slight spark happen. "What was that?" I asked. "This map is of old dark magic. Where did you guys get it?" she said. "It was given to us as a parting gift by a friend of ours. Perhaps you've heard of her. Her nane's-" I was unable to finish my sentence because Rita bear me to it. "Katalina. Am I right? She have you this?" I then nodded at her. "Now, don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with using dark magic. Don't make the mistake of making the connection of dark to evil instantly. In this world dark magic and white magic is the same. It's just the process of getting that kind of power, it's quite hard and taxing on the user whenever they attempt to use it. Katalina sure is one powerful shaman. Don't worry this map isn't a trap or anything. It's just that it's super outdated already. If you were here fifty years ago then this should've been correct but this forest is very different now." she said. that would explain why the terrain has changed. I think even without them trying to play with us we'd still get lost either way. "Can you do anything about it Rita?" I said. "Yes. Wait for a moment. She then closed her eyes and began to chant words that were incomprehensible to me. Though I could hear her, I still can't understand what she's saying. Perhaps it's their mother tongue or something. It's a language that's completely foreign to me. Her hands then began to get illuminated with a bright green light. I even had to cover my eyes to shade myself from it. A few seconds after, Rita stopped chanting and the light had disappeared already. "Here that should be a bit more up to update. Use it well. If you get played by any other spirits again just sprinkle some water on the map. That would "wash" away the hex." She then handed the map to me. "Thank you so much Lady Rita, this will be of great help in our journey," I said and bowed at her. She then bowed back and said, "It's my pleasure to help. How was bathing in the river? Had it refreshed you?" She asked politely. I nodded at her and said, "The water is quite relaxing. Is there any magic to it?" "Actually, there is. the water helps you connect with your inner-most self. It helps you connect to the deepest parts of you. That could explain why Lacresia got visited here. Her godly roots is what makes up her innermost self after all." She paused after that and the smiled that she had plastered on her face suddenly faded. "But if you drowned here it would be a very painful death, 'cause then you'd also allow the people who's also a part of the deepest parts of you experience the pain. You'll get drowned by not only the water but also by the amoung of regrets you've accumulated in your entire life. No matter how short-lived it may be" she said with a blank look on her face. Something tells me this river had witnessed just as many deaths and happiness and the nymphs are the witnesses to it all. "After all everything that is too much will never serve a greater good for the person receiving it." she continues to say and looked away from my eyes. "You will witness so many horrors in this life young demigod. That prophecy of yours is only the beginning."she finally said. "You know of my prophecy Lady Rita?" I hesitantly asked. She nodded slowly, she had a slightly amused look on her face, "Of course. The entire magical world knows of this. It's been wriiten for eons already. Older that some of the creatures that dwells here. I sense that your tense about this, why?" I then looked at her surprised that she knew of my uneasiness. Was it really that obvious? "It's just that the entire thing is still a mystery to me. I have so many question about this Lady Rita, and most of them starts with why. I just couldn't understand why the girl in the prophecy would me. I can't find any reason why the gods would choose me. I mean they could've chosen anyone to burden with this. I can't understand why out of all the mortals and demigods out there they chose me. Now Nana is gone, my dad won't even tell me his name or who he is. My entire life has been a wreck ever since I started this whole prophecy thing." I told her truthfully. She was about to say something about what I just said but then we heard a heart wrenching scream. It sounded familiar. I only know one person who can scream like that. Oh no Cresia.