New Sorcery

The walk back took much less time than getting there. By eight o' clock, they could see the lights of Sienna's cabin. Yami was sitting out front, looking for all the world like she was bored. When she saw the five returning from the cave, she let out a sigh of relief. Obviously, their late return had sparked worry.

"What in the world happened?" the cat inquired, "You should have been there before noon, and back way before dinnertime. But here you are, hours late, waltzing in like nothing was wrong. Lady Sienna is having a near conniption, worried you were all killed. She feels like its her fault for sending you, we ran out of Varica Stone last week after she used it all in an experiment trying to foresee what was to come. Of course, that didn't work out so well and you all had to go get more to make up for her wasting what we had."

"Had a little problem with the Mihan blocking energy readings. My Partner led us around in circles before finally finding it, and then we had a run in with some of the beasts themselves," Tiara stated, giving Japolo a hard stare. She certainly hadn't enjoyed the little mess they'd gotten themselves into back there.

At that moment, Sienna came outside after hearing Yami's voice chiding someone. Upon seeing Tiara and the others, she said, "It's good you're all ok. I was worried. Now then, we should begin working on the stone right away. One problem though, the spell to make the potion effective must be chanted in the light of the day. So we will have to wait for tomorrow in order to finish. I only hope that this doesn't cause any more problems, we're already in pretty deep with the Mihan." She sighed, worrying over the enemy. If they were to come before the potion was ready, there might be some unnecessary complications to think about. What if one struck down Sienna before she could recite the chant? Then, the knowledge that the past Divine Sorceresses left imbedded inside of her would be lost to the Guardian World for all eternity.

Tiara, however, wasn't thinking about that. Her only problem was what would happen to her after she became the true Divine Sorceress. How would Kagetsu react to that? Would he ignore her even more than he was now. That would be saying something alright. But it was for the safety of the Guardian World, her friends, and her own life that she did this. Better to have Kagetsu ignore her than him getting smashed to bits by the Mihan when they began their invasion. Besides, she was feeling much differently about her own feelings now. Unexpected emotions were creeping into her brain, causing her to think like a new girl.

Japolo looked to her, she was almost in a trance. "Oh, Tiara, can you hear me? What in the name of the Throne of Yord are you thinking about?" He waved his paw in front of her face, causing her to blink. At that moment, she seemed to snap out of it, and followed Sienna inside to her study. The others went in right behind her, they all wanted to see exactly what would happen. Yami was last, yawning as she walked.

In the study, they found Miro reading a book. When he saw everyone, he got up out of the chair and gave it to Sienna. She sat down, and placed the bowl with the hair, Kara and Senel Leaf on the table in front of her. Then, Tiara dropped the Varica Stone into the pot, and it began to bubble over just a little bit.

"The first part of the spell can be done at any time," Sienna informed them, "But the second must wait until tomorrow in the mid-afternoon. But only the Divine Sorceress and her successor can be present, so the rest of you should just get some sleep. Don't worry, the house is spelled against enemy attack, no Mihan Demons will strike while we slumber. It would be a good idea to not stray too far from here until after they are taken care of." With that, she shoed Lena, Leon, Graham, Japolo, Miro, and Yami out of the room.

* * *

"Sienna, I've been meaning to ask you something. What was it like for you when you brought Miro back to life? Did you begin feeling different towards him? I don't know, but something seems to be out of place in my own brain lately. Strange feelings come over me whenever I look at Graham," Tiara admitted.

Sienna told her, "Well, before he died, Miro was more than my Partner. He and I were in love. I know, few Partners and Magic Users fall for one another, but we were one of the exceptions. We had just recently become parents when it happened, a daughter. But then, one day, the Mihan Demons showed up at our door. Miro brought time for me and Lilly to escape, but he died in the assault. The previous Divine Sorceress, Adelie, found me weeping for my love in the middle of the flower fields. She took pity on me and my child, and brought us to the safety of her cabin. When the Elder inquired about finding a successor for Adelie, she immediately inquired if I could be it. I took all of the tests, and was able to become the Divine Sorceress. Adelie survived the battle, and became like a second mother to Lilly. I remember when she died she told me that my daughter would beget powerful heirs unto this world. Adelie was almost a prophet. And she was correct. For Tiara, you are one of those heirs, one of the descendants of my only child, Lilly."

Tiara looked shocked. "So you are my ancestor? Well, that's an interesting twist to the story. But that still doesn't answer my question, about what is going on with me. I want to know if something is wrong that is jeopardizing my friendship with Graham. I can't help but feel weird when I'm around him right now."

"Well, love is a complex thing, my dear," Sienna commented, "I don't know about you, but you could have developed these feelings due to his absence. You felt like you had lost him forever, so you had begun to feel regret for everything that had gone wrong between you two. But under those regrets, were the feelings you had. You had regretted never making up for the fights you spoke of, which lead to you having regrets at not being able to realize that through it all, you felt a new kind of emotion growing for him. It was not because you revived him, nor because he died that you fell in love. You were just unable to see what you felt until now. I don't blame you one bit, if what Lena said about your old boyfriend's looks and charm wasn't over exaggerated. It is not uncommon to feel love for two, but you must chose which one you want."

'A few months ago, it would have been Kagetsu hands down. I always cared about Graham, but we were on the outs and Kagetsu was forever taking care of me outside of battle. My mind told me that the only reason Graham helped me was because he was my Partner, but Kagetsu had no obligation to do the same things. However, now things have changed too much. Kagetsu left me to live in the mountains and think. He wanted to sort out his own destiny, to figure out where we could go. But that has also given me time to think as well. Now, with Graham back from the dead, my thoughts have begun to center on the true destiny I must fulfill, and the love that I should have pursued a long time ago,' Tiara mused. Her feelings were beginning to fall into place, and the Mihan were closing in on them. She now knew what she must do.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Word…

Thought it'd be interesting. Tiara descended of the current Divine Sorceress, and now becoming the successor. A miracle has occurred, dear readers. I spelled successor the right way, without having to use Spellcheck to correct myself. I'm in such a good mood, that I'll have a party…