Author's Note: Hey, I just got this idea and decided why not? I love this whole series and truthfully, adore anything by Tamora Pierce. So pretty, pretty, extra pretty please with, like twenty cherries on top review! Hope you enjoy!
Warning: If this contains spoilers, it will contain spoilers for every book in the Circle of Magic, the Circle Opens, and the Circle Reforged. Just so you know.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the aforementioned series or anything else by Tamora Pierce and I gain no monetary profit from this story. This is a standard disclaimer and will not be repeated throughout the story.
The four foster siblings searched each other's faces warily before opening the door and stepping into the old, worn-out house. Their powers coiled in their blood, waiting to be set free.
When, earlier that day, the four had received the news, they had been sick with shock. A messenger had come to their house on Cheeseman Street. He couldn't say who the person who sent it was and he warned them that it had already been gone over with magic so it couldn't be traced that way either. Then the man left, leaving the four to open it on their own.
The letter read:
Dear Briar, Daja, Sandry, and Tris,
We will waste no time on formalities. We have taken prisoner some people who may be important to you. Namely: Rosethorn, Lark, Niklaren, Glaki, Pasco, Frostpine, Evumeimei, and Luvo. If you wish to see them alive again, you will come, with your mage kits, to the address given below.
Sincerely,
Necropolis
PS: Do not try to bring others along with you unless you wish for them and your friends to die. Farewell!
Briar had absolutely shaken with rage. Every plant in the house and in the garden visible through a window in the kitchen grew thorns and became ten times its original size. For a moment, the girls were terrified of him. It was a prime example of why you do not mess with a green mage. But then he had gotten control over his emotions and the plants had shrunken and become less threatening.
The girls were more calm and collected, but then, they didn't have the same fear in them that could only come from a war. Tris went and got Briar his shakkan and mage kit while Daja and Sandry got their own. They immediately set off to the address. There was no discussing this. They didn't need to.
Then they had walked inside the building together. They saw no one, but continued to walk forward. There was no way that they would hesitate. Daja spoke through their mind link, Why do you think they had us bring our mage kits?
Sandry answered, Perhaps they want us to do something mage related for them.
Briar shook his mental head and said, Nah, that can't be it. Think of everyone they took captive. I know that maybe they could take one or two of them without a mage, but all of them? They need some pretty powerful mages to take them all. Especially Luvo. I've no idea how they got him.
Tris was thinking on a different track, Has anyone heard of Necropolis? I know it means a city of the dead, but I haven't heard of a group called that.
Briar smiled and teased, You're all Miss Education over there aren't you? You don't even need to go to Lightsbridge; you're already smarter than all of them.
Tris huffed, but offered a slight smile while the other two watched them in fond amusement. A moment later, they reached the end of the hallway they had been travelling. A door stood just slightly ajar in front of them. Once again, they didn't need words as Daja pushed it open and Sandry led the way in, considerably small nose held high.
In the room, it was quite large; there was a cage off to the corner with their loved ones leaning against each other, eyes closed and still as death. For a moment, Sandry cried out and tried to run towards them, only to have Daja pull her back. Tris whispered through their connection, They're alive, Sandry!
The center of the room was dominated by a huge circle that looked almost like a dining room. It had four pentagon shaped objects seated equidistant from each other. The four looked at each other unsurely. What was going on?
In the back of the room was what they could only assume was Necropolis. They all wore (surprise, surprise) black robes that made them look almost like priests of Yorgiry, the Namorn goddess of death. One of them, who had a white sash tied about their waist, spoke, "Sandry, Daja, Tris, and Briar. I will admit, you came sooner than we expected you to. Do not try any tricks. The second something seems out of place, the mages will kill your friends." He gestured behind him at a small group with yellow sashes.
Briar spoke to them mind to mind, That was his first mistake, letting us know who to aim for first. Daja grinned back at him, showing teeth. The head guy was speaking again, "Do as we say and you and your friends will be freed. Of course, your friends will not awaken until they are safely deposited at Discipline. Now, sit."
The four obeyed without hesitation or words. They would not risk their friends and beside, they were already busy making plans. Now a woman stepped forwards and started the back story/instructions:
"The four of you represent something that has happened only once before, but will never happen again. The stars have said so. You are four people, with completely different magic, who came together and weaved your power together. Then you weaved it back apart again, but still, you retained some of each other's magic. You are stronger, smarter, and braver than any other group of mages. You are truly, a circle of magic.
"When, long ago, that original group of people had come together, they sought to learn about their powers. Fortunately for them, there was another group who was as… interested in their powers as they were. Thus Necropolis was born. We took these four in and we tested them. In that manner, we learned a lot about them. We also learned what their power can do.
"Unfortunately, we need your power, but we do not need you. In this… shall we say exercise; you will give your power to us. Now we will begin. Place your most prized possession of your mage kit onto the center of the pentagon."
The four siblings looked at each other and started to put their items onto the center even while Sandry cried in their heads and Briar thought, Let them try and take my magic from me. They don't even understand ambient magic, do they? Our magic comes from around us, not within us. Well, a little bit within us, but you know. Briar pulled out his shakkan, while Sandry got out her favorite spindle and Tris pulled a globe of lightning from her hair. Daja put the cap of her trader staff into her center.
"Good," the original speaker began, "Next you are to put five other things from your mage kit, - they have to be different remember -, on each of the corners of the pentagon."
Daja put a hammer, an anvil, a coil of wire, a chunk of gold, and a piece of woven metal on her pentagon. Tris put an earthquake, a wave, a wind, a hurricane, and a tornado into her corners. Sandry put some thread, a piece of silk, a needle, a carder, and some cotton. Briar put down a bead from a Yanjingyi mage, a pruner, a potion, a small flower, and one of his special seed balls.
White Sash Guy, as Briar had taken to referencing him in his mind, nodded his approval and spoke again, "Good. Your part is over. Now you just need to sit still and wait."
Briar asked, seemingly innocent, "Well, sir, if our part is over, doesn't that mean that we are done and since we are done, we don't have to do what you say anymore?" White Sash Guy came around the table and smashed his fist into the back of Briar's head. The others began to rise, but a buzz as a field of yellow light closed in on their loved ones stopped them.
Briar lifted his head from where it had hit the table, showing a small gash on his forehead. In response to silent questions, he said, I'm alright. That guy is stronger than he looks. I have one of my special seed balls on the table. Tell me when and I'll let it loose. It will aim for the mages first and then the others afterwards. Of course, it will leave you guys alone. The others smiled reassuringly at him. They were ready. They just had to wait for the right moment.
While this was going on, White Sash Guy and Story Lady (the one who had given the back story/instructions) had been talking quietly to the mages. Then the mages started to chant. The sound was eerie and filled the room as if a thousand people were talking, but there was really only about twenty. They had reached an apex with their chanting when all three girls yelled, NOW! at Briar.
Briar's magic convinced the seeds to grow super fast and in the direction of the mages. He convinced them that it would be fun to wrap around the mages and then suddenly sprout millions of miniscule thorns. Sandry and Daja were using their powers to wrap jewelry and clothes around itself on the non-mages. Tris stood facing the cage, her arms raised as wind poured around her to attack the locks and sides of the thing.
No one noticed when Briar went ridged and fell to the floor, but they noticed when he screamed. By that time, Tris had gotten the lock to come off of the cage and Sandry and Daja had incapacitated all of Necropolis. The mages were slumped in a corner, obviously drained from their spell.
As the three foster sisters ran towards Briar, White Sash Guy screamed in anger, "No! No! He can't! That was supposed to be ours! It's ours!"
Sandry stormed at him, "What did you do?!"
White Sash Guy sniveled on the floor in front of her, powerless to do anything, "We didn't do anything! He took our spell! It was ours! Ours!"
He's obviously more than a little sick in the head. Why don't you ask Story Lady what happened? She seems more likely to give you the… story I guess. Daja suggested from where she was throwing withering glares at whoever dared look at her. She had already sent Tris to go try to wake the others up.
Sandry moved to tower over Story Lady, "What is happening to him? What did he 'take'?"
Story Lady lifted her head high and said, "He took what Necropolis has been waiting centuries to get. That spell would have granted immortality, to a point, to anyone who the spell bearers wished it to. Now he took it. He has become immortal, again, to a point."
Daja gasped and the three girls drew the Living Circle sign over their hearts. Tris growled from above the limp forms of their friends, "What does 'to a point' mean, exactly?"
Story Lady sniffed as if they were disdainful before continuing, "It means that while he will not grow older, nor get sick, nor be able to kill himself, he can still be killed by other's hands. He has immunity to most poisons, however."
It was at this time that Briar chose to open his eyes. He had heard the last two sentences and asked groggily, "Who? What's going on?"
Daja sniffled and answered just as Tris woke the others up, "You, Briar. You're immortal now. You can't die unless killed by another."
Briar's eyes grew wide as he realized that he was the only one who was immortal. Despite what most people think, Briar isn't as much of a hedonist as is rumored. He didn't want to live forever. He wanted to die when his sisters died, when his family died. He didn't want to be alone! He hadn't realized that he was saying these things out loud until Rosethorn put her hand on his shoulder and said, "I know, my boy. I know."
Briar cried into her shoulder. He didn't care that everyone could see him, he just wanted Rosethorn to be the mother he lost when he was four and regained when he was ten. Then it hit him that he would have to watch Rosethorn die and he cried even harder. Rosethorn just held him in her arms as a few tears streaked down her face as well.
Eventually, Briar wore himself out and fell asleep, as did the other three. That spell had taken a great drain on their powers. Their teachers put their things into their kits (aside from Tris. Niko had just taken the whole pentagon shaped plate with him), and they carried the four home, letting Lark run and tell Dedicate Superior Moonstream what had just occurred.
Two days later, Briar woke up to the sound of temple bells. For about five minutes, he panicked, hearing not the sounds of bells calling people to prayer, but the sounds of bells calling people to battle. He could smell death and fear. He could see the piles of dead surround him. He was suffocating, choking, and they wouldn't go away.
That's when Sandry, Daja, Tris, and Rosethorn ran in. Rosethorn pulled Briar into a hug and Briar blocked out his sisters in his minds. No matter what, he still didn't want them in his head when he was like this. Evvy came in with Luvo in her arms. The four of them, Rosethorn, Briar, Luvo, and Evvy, clung to each other for a moment before letting go. For Briar, the smell and sounds of death were receding. They never really left, but it was close enough.
"Are you alright? Is everything okay? Can I do anything to help?" Sandry was coddling him again.
"No, Sandry. I'm fine thank you. Girls! All they want to do is yatter about boo-hoo stuff, right Luvo?"
Luvo stared impassively at Briar, "I have not had enough sampling of boys compared to girls to get a clear understanding of the difference, Briar."
Briar looked at the girls surrounding him and said, "See? Luvo agrees."
Sandry laughed and after a moment, so did Evvy, Daja, and Tris. Rosethorn smiled at him and asked, "Do you feel well enough to walk? The others are in the living room."
Her smile faltered when his did. He whispered, "I don't know how long I can stay at Winding Circle. You know I can't stay for more than an hour or two." Sandry again looked close to tears, but this time Daja and even Tris were tearing up.
"I know. Hopefully we won't be too long." Rosethorn smiled and led Briar to the living room, clutching his arm protectively.
They talked for about an hour, eventually getting used to the idea that Briar was immortal and they worked through it like they always did. When the four returned to Cheeseman Street, they were content again.
And so the long years passed and everyone besides Briar grew up. In his sisters' life times, Necropolis attacked twice more, assuming that they could somehow take the immortality from Briar.
When all of his friends and family from Winding Circle resided no more in the land of the living, he moved away. He would change location every two to three years to keep Necropolis off of his trail. He made sure he always knew where they were and what they were doing so he could stay away from them.
He had plenty of money. When he still lived in Emelan, he sold as many things as he could and made things constantly in preparation for his long life. He would never stop selling and making things, but there might come a time when that wasn't enough.
Luckily for him, however, all of the money from most of his friends, along with their belongings and their estates, came to him at their deaths. Tris was too busy with lightning for a husband and didn't like her family. Lark and Rosethorn, Daja, and Rizu (who had finally gotten it through her thick skull that she belonged with Daja and not with the Empress, much to the joy of Daja and the amusement of her siblings) all were unable to have children and had little to no family. Sandry and Evvy both never found 'the right man' and had no heirs for their money.
That is how he came to be gardening in his house, thousands of years later, at 1750 Sunny Brook Drive, Cumming, Georgia at the age (technically) of eighteen.
Author's Note: I do not think that 1750 Sunny Brook Drive, Cumming, Georgia is a real place, but it might be. The address just came out of my head, so sorry if it is real.
