"Your holiness, we have managed to extradite the witch hunters that were felled doing their duty to God."
"Very good, what of their condition?"
"Our blessed mages are working on the curses, however it seems to be trifold and without the third person they say they are unlikely to be able to break them."
"What of the demon that cursed them?"
"They say it was The Morrigan."
"I have not heard of that particular demon."
"I had to investigate our deepest archives to find any mention of her. She was apparently Queen of the Sidhe, and worshipped as a god by the heathens of Ireland before we brought the word of Christ to their people."
"I see, what do we have for trapping a Sidhe queen, and preventing her from stopping our holy work?"
"Nothing, I attempted to contact the Flamel, in order to access his archives. However he is missing, and there is now a sink hole, caused by a collapsing tin mine, where we think his home used to be."
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Perenelle Flamel collapses onto a cobblestone street in Bath as Airmed releases her hand. So much death and loss, just amongst those in Lathai's court. Then The Morrigan returned, and she knew despair, she saw all of the people The Morrigan failed to save, all the battles she was called to help with, and so much death. That's when she broke, and told them everything she knew. Which wasn't enough, as her husband was the learned mage and alchemist.
So far as she's concerned, meeting Airmed was worse than meeting The Morrigan. At least the people that died around The Morrigan died fighting. Airmed's people died trying to save as many lives as they could.
Suddenly, someone shakes her shoulder, and she knows Bill Eaton, an old miner who was laid off in the 70's and then became homeless when his home was repossessed. He now suffers from PTSD from barely surviving having a group of skinheads steal all of his possessions from the YMCA shelter he was using. Since then, he hasn't been able to keep a fixed address for longer than a few weeks as his flashbacks get him kicked out.
"Are you alright miss?"
Miss? Perenelle looks down at her hands and sees that they've been returned to the pinnacle of her youth. On the floor beside her is her favourite expanded handbag, "I'm fine, thank you for asking. I've just discovered some things that change what I thought I knew."
Bill laughs, "Ain't we all lass, you should get going before someone less understanding comes along."
Perenelle forces a smile on her face, "Thank you for caring. I've just realised I haven't had breakfast yet, do you know anywhere good to eat?"
"Oh yes, Bill's is great, he does good service and it's safe."
Perenelle checks her bag, and finds her purse along with some muggle money, and all her keys, "I'm afraid I don't know where that is. Could you show me, and maybe join me for some lunch, I'm paying."
Bill laughs good naturedly, and then coughs before spitting out a gob of greenish black phlegm, "Sure, I've never been one to pass up a good meal."
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Kate, Harry, Marianne, and Morgana all disembark from a plane in Stockholm and head to the luggage carousel. Ephis is not joining them, after being told she either needs to grow up, or she won't be allowed to accompany Harry in the future, after she caused 3 incidents that involved the obliviators over the last couple of weeks.
Once they've got their bags, and are making their way through customs, Harry asks, "Where are we going first Mum?"
Morgana makes a show of looking at her notes, "We're going to Gamla Uppsala, which means we need to find a train to Nyköping first. That was where a religious centre was said to be before we retreated from the world. My archaeological studies suggest it's true as well, though there are a few other places we can look if it doesn't pan out."
The group falls to silence for a while, with Marianne holding Kate's hand comfortingly. After a while Kate asks, "How do you know where we're going?"
Marianne squeezes her hand, "Magic, Harry and mum2 are using theirs to understand the signs and what people are saying. I'm not very good at it at the moment, so I can only understand the people."
"Maybe I should eat that apple then."
Morgana looks over her shoulder, "Not until we're in our hotel, as it seems to be quite an uncomfortable experience."
Kate just nods.
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Once they've arrived at the hotel, Kate takes out one of her apples and stares at it, before looking up at Harry.
"Harry, would you allow me to become one of your chosen?"
Startled, Harry struggles to hold back his rising magic as every part of him wants to scream, 'Yes!'. Instead, he says, in a tight, controlled voice, "Why? Why me?"
Kate kneels down in front of him and takes his hands, "Because you care, because of what you represent. Airmed offered to make me one of her chosen, but it was a conversation with Daphne that allowed me to come to terms with what I want. Brigid, your predecessor, wasn't just about healing, she was also about protecting things. You, Harry, have taken that further, and instead of just a bulwark, you are also an active defender. I want to stop anyone else from going through what Marianne and I went through. I want to find the girls and women targeted by the witch finders, even the men if there are any, and protect them from them.
"You are also the only man or boy I've been able to be around without being broken. I didn't really consider that until Mac… Mac… Amelia's boyfriend came to Morgana's home. That's why I want to be one of your chosen."
Harry mumbles, "That's probably cos I've taken the women's oaths" then he nods, as his fingers unconsciously moving to undo his blouse, "But what about the risks?"
"I've already seen some of what Marie went through, and I'm willing to take those risks."
Desperately, Morgana speaks up, "Kate, you could eat the apple, and I can take you to an empty domain. You don't need to do this."
Kate looks up at Morgana with a sad smile, "I don't want a domain though, I don't want the responsibility and heartache that comes with them and looking after your followers. I've seen you being called in the middle of the night, and then coming back looking haggard and heart broken. I know you try to look after people, but that's not who you are.
"For example, why didn't you suggest taking over a domain months ago?"
Morgana looks down, "Because I didn't know how safe it was for someone that's just eaten a crab apple."
"And now you do?" Morgana nods, and Kate gets up and pulls her into a hug, "Who was it?"
"Skye."
Harry and Marianne both look at her, "Mum! You didn't?"
"I did, it's the only way to be sure that Kate would be safe."
Kate looks at her with a smile, "Always moving forward, always on the attack. You protect people by trying to make sure there are no bad things that can hurt them. I'm sure that there was also an aspect of being sure that Skye is someone who you could trust with whatever domain you dropped her in. When you came for me, that's exactly what I needed. When you hired the solicitor for me, that's exactly what I needed. However, in the hospital I needed something different, and I am very grateful to Airmed and Joanne for providing what I needed. But I can't be that, I can't be like Airmed, and I can't be like you. But I can shield people, and I think I could fight back if I had to."
Morgana sounds almost whiny as she responds, "But what about something like Bé Chuille's domain, it's only small, but she was a sorceress who made her own domain, and joined our ranks through hard work. Or how about Cethlenn's domain, the only thing of note about her was the fact she was a prophetess. I also found Flidais's domain, she was associated with cattle and fertility. There's also a few gods domains that I found deserted too."
"Morgana, I love you as a friend and a mentor, but you really have no clue. I no longer have nightmares every night, and I'm working through my marriage, but it's not going to be a quick process. I'd be surprised if I ever completely recover. I don't trust myself with a domain like you and Harry have, as I don't trust that a man I can't trust won't just order me to do stuff for him." Kate laughs bitterly, "I've thought about it a lot since Marie started her own transformation." Turning back to Harry, she says, "We can wait until you're ready if you want. As I don't know about you, but I think I'd prefer to have the security of your domain over doing it when we're about to knock on the door of another pantheon."
Harry nods stiffly, before forcing himself to leave to another bedroom.
Over the next week they visit several possible locations that could have significance to the Norse gods, only for Morgana to shake her head in disappointment.
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Dora's lounging in Morgana's domain, bored out of her skull, while flicking through some of the books on rituals found in the Flamel's basement complex. Though it looks more like they actually built the house over an old mine, and then expanded the whole space to include so many texts and artifacts you'd need at least a decade to catalogue everything, let alone actually study it all. At least she has her own, stone cottage here now, rather than needing to share Morgana's home. As, she discovered quite early on, that Morgana is not only completely shameless, but she's also loud.
Suddenly, something pulls on her magic so hard that she falls off the bed. She has just long enough to recognise a prayer, and grab her sword and shield, before it pulses again and pulls her into the mist.
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Padma glances over at her panting sister as they both follow their parents through the forest, and up the steep hill that leads to the Dakshinkali Temple in Nepal. Not that any of them really pray to Kali, more that they don't want to incite her wrath by visiting the other 4 temples in the area, and not paying her any respect.
"Padma."
"Yes Parvati?"
"How comes, you're not, out of, breath? Even, father is, breathing, hard."
Padma laughs easily, "Morgana decided that we were doing so well learning magic, that it was time to learn the weapons that women would have used…" she stumbles as she wants to say in her culture, instead she says, "…in Celtic Culture. Which meant hours of running around with a spear as long as I am tall, while she chased us with her own spear. The boys had it worse, they had to carry a sword all the time."
"Huh? Why didn't, we notice?"
"Sort of a notice me not. Did you ever find out why we're doing a pilgrimage this year?"
"Oh yes, mother was so excited. Father has a new contract with the Greengrass family to import and export potions ingredients. He decided that we needed to thank the gods for good fortune."
As they reach the temple, and then start the climb down into the sanctuary, the air starts to become heavy with magic. Mohun, Padma and Parvati's father, starts to sing prayers of appeasement and pulls a live cockerel from an expanded box.
The press of magic gets stronger and stronger as they get closer to the Sanctury, and the statue of Kali. Eventually, it gets so bad that Padma stops hiding her magic in the mist, just so she isn't pushed to her knees. As she does, a flash of silver is all the warning she gets before a sword passes through the space she just dropped to the floor from. An ebony skinned woman takes another strike with her sword, and it's all Padma can do to put herself off the steps to roll down the hill. As she's rolling, she desperately clutches the raven she's holding and calls, "Morrigan, I call on your aid in battle, help me defeat this overwhelming foe."
Staggering to her feet at the bottom of the incline, she pulls her spear from the mist and brings it up just enough for the sword to bite into the haft.
Squeezing the raven harder, the wings cut her hand and her blood flows over the raven as she screams, "Morgana, I meant it, I really need your help here!"
After that, she has no choice but to use both hands on her spear just to not die, as the strikes come in faster than she's ever experienced before. As she cringes away from last strike, it cleaves through the haft of her spear, slicing her chest open just above her breasts, but not going through the ribs or sternum. As she collapses to the floor in agony, Dora appears with her shield, and takes the killing blow on it. Quick as lightning, the black woman brings her sword back around and presses her attacks on the new threat, the pressure of the magic from both of them, almost more than Padma can stand. On the steps, the rest of her family have already passed out.
Dora manages to call out, "What! Did… you… do!"
Weakly, Padma says, "I don't know, we were coming to worship and offer a sacrifice, and then she attacked me."
Unnoticed by both of them, the black skinned woman glances at Padma with that answer, and her strikes shift from killing to maiming. It only takes a few more exchanges for Dora to realise that she's not onto a winning strategy here, only a delaying one. As she takes another minor cut she calls out, "Padma! Mist! Family! Now"
Sluggishly, Padma processes that order before slipping into the mist, away from the crushing pressure of magic. As she slips out of the mist by her family, someone grabs her braided hair and pulls her to her feet and against an ebony chest. Immediately, she tries to slip into the mist, only for the black skinned woman to go with her.
"Leave now, or die." The words from the woman sound more like the growls of some demonic beast, but some part of Padma that is still in survival mode complies and she appears on the steps by her family. The woman turns her around to look at Dora, who is lying on her back, clutching weakly at a sword that has been rammed neatly between the ribs on her right hand side, and through her right lung.
"Dora!"
"Why god artifact here." The woman flicks the crow around Padma's neck, eliciting a scream as it rubs across the cut on her chest.
Padma finally manages to cry out, "She's teaching me!"
"Teach me."
"I can't."
"Be mine, or you die, they die."
"I'm yours, I'm yours!"
"Swear!"
"I swear I'm yours"
As she said those words, the magic surrounding them builds to a suffocating level, and the woman's eyes become lucid for a moment.
"Will you follow the darkness no matter where it may lead."
The words "I will" are torn from Padma's mouth.
"Will you crush evil wherever it is found."
"I will."
"Will you destroy that which is impure, sunder that which is broken, and rent that which threatens the light."
"I will."
"Will you be the unrelenting force against all who seek to overturn the natural order."
"I will"
"Will you build where it is barren, grow where it is desolate, and paint where the darkness has found root?"
Her head swimming, and slightly confused by the last, whispers "I will."
"Will you embody the primal mother?"
"I will"
As she whispers the last 'I will' a searing spear of magic passes into her forcing a scream out of her, as she's not only filled with magic, but her skin starts to darken as do her eyes. Not to the black of Kali, but dark enough that she stands out.
As the goddess looks down at her, Padma can see the madness creeping back into her eyes, "I must feast, or everyone here will be as wheat before me. Care for your mentor before I return."
Kali's last action, before she disappears, is to expertly pull the sword from Dora's lung, which both frees her and endangers her life at the same time. In a panic, Padma does the only thing she can think of, and pulls Dora into the mist to Morgana's Domain while screaming for Airmed. In the end, it doesn't take long for Airmed to appear and start tending to Dora, or for Mr Greengrass to appear and heal her own wound, that she'd somehow forgotten.
Reginald looks at Padma critically, "What happened?"
"Kali attacked me! My Family! I'm sorry, I need to go and check on my family."
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When Padma returns, she's surprised by the crowd of people who pick her up and parade her down to the statue, where they sit her down and proceed to start sacrificing chickens, goats, and whatever other animals they have to hand. Near the back of the crowd, she can see her family looking at her with concern, and maybe a little pride.