Wolves of War

A Witch Like You

I looked at Lumina skiptically.

“With Kaos becoming neutral and opening up the energies of the black sea to everyone. Many gods were created by the will of rising nations. For a while, it was just Nyx, her descendants, and Serberus, who lived in the garden of the gods. Then there was an addition of the god of fire and then the goddess of water, the god of air. More and more gods showed up one after the other and soon the garden of the gods became chaotic. A leader had to be chosen. Nyx, the oldest god, turned down the seat. She was too tired and wanted nothing more to do with anything human or shifter-related. After Nyx, it was Serberus who had the greater influence. He had the perspective of both a human and a god. He ruled as a King in his past life and, since his powers control the growing seasons, it made sense. Rahjah did not agree. He saw Serberus as a fake god since he was not created by the will of the people. He hatched a scheme with his descendants. He wanted to weaken the earth's deities' influence so that he could take the seat.”

“Demi-gods have the power to kill gods” I whispered to myself.

Lumina nodded “The witch succeeded in casting a curse on Serberus’s body. His body is connected to his spirit energy and Serberus falls victim to the curse.”

“What happened to that witch?” I asked.

“I killed her when she refused to undo the curse” Talia said.

Oh! Oh no.

Lumina sighed, then continued “That started the war between House Serberus and House Rahjah. Rahjah’s descendants went on a killing spree. No one in Skytower nor the people of Celestia were safe. For the sake of the citizens of Celestia, we asked Akkadia for help, but they refused. My daughters and I attempted to protect everyone from House Rajah and opened up the portal to another world. While Talia and Terris worked to help the survivors of Celestia and the witches of Sky Tower escape to safety, I was working on a seal to purify Serberus. Rahjah and I were locked in battle atop Mount Davinkneeya. He was trying to slowly keep the clock running, Serberus was getting weaker by the second. The weaker he got, the more powerful Rajah got and the seat at the head of the table would be his to grab. The battle between the two of us was long and hard. Because of him, I was unable to find the opportunity to activate the seal.”

“But if you didn’t purify Serberus, who did?”

“I did” Talia said. “I remained behind and activated the seal.”

“But that meant you were stuck here” I said.

Talia nodded, “Terris had fallen but she held the portal open long enough for my son, the future of Serberus, to cross over to the new world. But someone had to stay behind and purify Serberus and keep the curse at bay.”

“She lived her life in fear every day”, Lumina said “When the fire deity finally did manage to kill my daughter, the portal re-opened and her descendants from Neo’s line came through, starting with Jedax.”

I see.

“It’s time for you to go”, Lumina said, pulling me to my feet.

“Wait! Can’t I stay a little longer?”

“Whenever you need us, go to the Temple of Light”. Talia patted my head.

“One more thing, before you go.” Terra stepped up. “The original portal to reach earth still stands, but the magic is fading.”

I blinked in surprise “where is it?”

“The original portal is the pool located in the basement of the Temple of Serberus.”

“You can’t mean the temple in South Akkadia?” I asked.

Terra nods. “If it’s your desire to return to earth. You must enter the pool before the end of spring two years from now. The magic will run out at sunrise and there won’t be another chance. The portal will close forever.”

“What? The portal cannot close forever. What about Serberus? He still needs to be purified every generation, right?”

The women before me pursed their lips sadly.

“I wish there were better paths for you to choose. But as it stands, a choice must be made. Either leave this world to it’s fate or be a part of it.” Talia senior said.

She spun me around to face a door made up of thousands of glittering butterflies. I reached for the knob of the door, an orb made of diamond. It was cool to the touch and sparkled when my energy mixed with the diamonds. I turned the nob and pushed the door open.

Lumina’s voice rang softly in my ear. “It is my hope that you will grow in strength and wisdom and grace. May you have a life full of love and wonder, goodness and health. May the dreams you hold close come true and the kindness you spread return to you. I choose you to be my successor. My power is my gift to you. With this gift I give you my blessing; May the earth rise to meet you and the wind always greet you. May the sun always warm your skin and the rain nourish your soul. May you have grace and understanding of things you cannot control and have the strength and courage to change what you can. May you find love, joy, comfort, and peace in the life you decide to live.”

I can feel her influence surrounding me, her words melt into me. I can feel the promise of her blessing and the weight of the responsibility that was given to me.

A rush of fresh air filled my lungs and my body no longer felt heavy and weighed down. When I opened my eyes, it was bright. I blinked a few times for my vision to settle and found myself staring at a door made of white wood. Silver and gold vines decorated the entrance. Blue luminescent butterflies are exploring white lilies like flowers. The sweet smell of forest air filtered through my lungs and continued to wake up the dormant parts of my body.

The wind returned, playing with the leaves in the trees. Sweet smells of the forest woke my senses before I knew it, it was Mihira’s face I was staring up at.

“Thank the gods” She prayed and hugged me tightly.