String of Memory
Part Two
"You lied to them."
Raven nodded. Raven kept her stride even as she and her companion continued the narrow road of the Endari Moon Path. The colors were unreasonable, the gravel was bright green and the atmosphere was an unattractive purple. The mystic energies of countless demon auras were polluting the landscape in such a way that would have scarred the minds of human beings. Humans who traveled to the call of Azarath never took the Endari Moon Path.
Jinx continued. "And to him. Without heritage, burning those pages won't get them to their destination… they'll be lost forever."
It would be an hour's travel before they reached the gate of Rown and only a few hours after that to reach the gates of Azarath. Raven hoped that Astarte tu Jinx decided not to talk in the way she had decided was unnecessary, but Raven knew Jinx enough to know that no matter what Jinx's claimed intentions, Jinx liked to push Raven's buttons.
"I want you to shut up." Raven replied.
Jinx was not easily intimidated. "What you want and what one gets are usually two different things."
"So if I want you to live, you'll cease to exist?"
Jinx's steps faltered a moment and the pink haired demon got a good glimpse of Raven's back before she regained her ground and walked side by side with the other half-demonness.
"Raven, we were never friends and we probably will never be friends and I am pretty sure that that situation doesn't bother either of us. But we're in a situation that requires both of us at one-hundred and ten percent so if you harbor desires to end me, I suggest you exercise as much restraint as you are capable of."
"This journey would be a lot more endurable if you simply didn't speak." Raven replied. Her foot falls were perfectly even. Inhale, right step, exhale, left step.
"I have to talk. There's a lot of things you need to know."
"Like what?"
"I'm only going to tell you what you want to know when you tell me what I want to know."
"You said you had things I need to know. There's nothing you can tell me that I want to know." Raven bit out. She wasn't going to be manipulated by the likes of Jinx.
"Yes there are. Because you want to know everything: before me, you knew nothing." Jinx replied. Raven didn't reply. "You can't keep quiet forever. I know you."
"No, you don't. Nobody knows me." Raven answered.
"Except the people with the answers… and I'm one of the people with a part of those answers that you seek."
"I don't need you to find the answers. The Azar will know."
"You can't get to Azarath without me. You can't open the Gate of Rown. And the Azar has closed all metaphysical channels into Azarath."
Raven's footing faltered a half step, but she kept moving. She knew that Jinx noticed, but neither of them said anything of it. If Jinx brought it up, Raven wasn't sure to what extent she was willing to risk punishing Jinx for her trespass.
For a few moments the grey skinned girls walked in stark contrast to the Endari Moon Path. The scenery didn't change any more than it remained static. The flux of demonic aura was unrestricted: the gate keepers, from their posts miles away were not given a call to grant assistance to those who walked the path and thus made no action to still the youki that spun around the girls. Raven's natural power rebounded the dark matter away from her. If not for the small life inside her she wouldn't have been concerned enough to put up a barrier. Raven frowned, extending her barrier to cover Jinx. The pink eyed demoness didn't turn to look at Raven; she knew that Raven needed answers more than she needed to hate Jinx.
"Why would he do that?" Raven asked finally.
"I do not believe the Azar is the same as the witness of our birth… and this new Azar acts in reflection of your daughter's prophecy."
"Why do you care anyway? About what happens to my child?"
"Lots of reasons." Jinx replied.
Jinx stopped moving when Raven's barrier didn't push forward. She could have fazed through it, she had done it before, but she had a feeling that, like the last time she escaped a barrier of Raven's, that there would be consequences. Jinx turned back and looked to Raven. Her face was angry, but Jinx could still see purple eyes. She was controlling her fury, but control was something Raven was willing to relax when it came to Jinx.
"Give me one that will make me believe that I shouldn't still sleep with one eye open around you."
"You don't trust me." Jinx said simply.
"You've never given you a reason to."
"What about now?" Jinx asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Raven, we're going to have to be honest with each other from now on. We've got a lot of things in common and a lot of things to lose. But you have much more to lose than me. I'm willing to tell you my truths, but I want something back too. It's not much to ask and it will probably make our situation more bearable for both of us to talk before we get to Azarath. I won't lie to you and I won't promise that you'll like what you hear… but I've got a lot of world-shaking truths that you both need and want, so we're just going to strike a deal right here and now. Will you tell me one of your truths?"
Beat, Beat, Heartbeat…
Raven frowned. Jinx was right and there were few things in the world that made her angrier than Jinx or anything about her. But right now wasn't about anger and it wasn't even about Jinx, it was about making sure Raven had everything she needed to protect her daughter. "Only after you tell me one of yours."
Jinx moved forward, accepting the terms. Raven moved forward as well, keeping the barrier around both of them. "The reason I care about you is luck. I got lucky when you were born."
"That doesn't make any sense."
Jinx's smile irritated Raven. Raven was becoming increasingly more aware of her capacity to exercise restraint. "Too cryptic?" Jinx asked, "I'll make it clearer… You have a terrible birthright… Considering that it would have been me hadn't you been born… I'd say I have a rather large obligation."
"What?"
Jinx continued to walk forward. "You know who I am… And you should be able to put this all together by now. So figure it out. Besides, my telling you would be another truth. Before you get your second, I should get my---"
Raven reached out firmly and grabbed Jinx's arm. She pulled hard, making sure the pink haired anti-heroine stopped and looked her in the eye. Jinx's pink eyes were mischievous, Raven's were furious and one of them was in serious danger of being struck down where she stood. Raven made sure Jinx was aware that it was her. "Start talking." Raven ground out.
"Why did you lie to Robin?"
"It's not your concern."
"It's what I want to know. You do plan to come back?"
"Yes" Raven replied. Her voice wasn't holding up as bravely as she wished. If their situations had been different, when Jinx and Raven were younger before either of them knew any truths or consequences, Jinx would have ridiculed Raven for the weakness in her voice. The desperation in her eyes would have given Jinx a laugh and hearing Raven submit to her would have satisfied her for days.
But the days of childishness were over. They were women and the both were major players in the programmed destruction of the earth. The filling womb of Raven made her the active player.
Jinx's wrist fazed free of Raven's grip. The purple haired girl balled her empty fist. But she waited and Jinx spoke.
"You and I are more alike than you ever would have guessed. We're both daughters of Azarath, born from the sire of demon kings and inheritors of tremendous power… But the difference between you and me is that at the moment of our creation, my mother wanted to bear the spawn of Doomgaze. She knew what it meant and what was intended and no one lied to her about the consequences. She wanted to bring about the end of the world and she was going to use me to do it… but in her destructive eagerness, she made a mistake. When I was born, I was pre-empted by a twin brother. My mother made Laseri and Astarte and a male birth is an inherent mistake in design. I was born to be an energy store for Doomgaze. Because my brother was born, I wasn't as strong as I was supposed to be."
"Doomgaze was wounded in the War of Light and Dark. He was reduced to near death."
"He had the strength to produce a life, he couldn't find a strong virgin to Transient and he wouldn't have survived the energy steal to produce one… so he reproduced by the traditional sire that demons use… the same one your father used to make you… but you weren't flawed… you were useable and all of Azarath knew it."
"Your mother had been brought to Azarath by the Azar to be born off of the Earth world. They looked into your future and they saw me?" Raven's brow furrowed.
Jinx shook her head. "Not my future. Laseri's… Originally there was no great design for my brother, he should have never existed… but one of Doomgaze's servants found out about him and immediately knew what to do… The two of us could provide to power to energize Doomgaze…"
"But not free Trigon."
"My father wouldn't be satisfied to rule the world without some competition. It was his eternal drive to combat Trigon that let the warriors of light: Jericho, Azar Metrion, Grave and the Devine Master to nearly collapse his life… of course, Trigon wasn't concerned with giving life to Doomgaze again, he simply wanted to reign. So he made you."
"Why would they need my child to do what they needed to done?"
"It's the flaw of demon sire. You weren't perfect either." Jinx replied.
"I don't have a twin."
"No, but you had a reluctant mother. She brought you to Azarath to protect you and Azar saw away to save your future."
"To destroy Laseri?" Raven asked.
"I don't believe the Azar would have done such a thing… but when your future was read, my mother fled Azarath to Endari where she met Washu."
"But my prophecy has been a lie from the beginning."
"That's why we're going to Azarath, for all the truths. I figure, to our faces, they can no longer lie."
"But how do you fit it now?"
Jinx didn't falter a single step. "A combination of a sense of revenge, redemption and curiosity… I want to know if my brother had to lose his life to do this thing, if there is any way to erase Doomgaze from existence under my own power and to determine how much punishment I must deal out to Washu for his trespasses against me."
"Against you?"
"He killed my brother… isn't that enough?" Jinx asked, raising an eyebrow.
"And your mother from the way you speak… he's also done something to you… why weren't you enslaved like Tetris was?"
"When you were born and we found out what you could do… Washu didn't have a use for me anymore. He threw me aside and when my mother protested, he killed her."
"This is more revenge than anything else."
"Think of me how you wish, but I loved my brother and my mother and I don't want the world to end. That baby inside you is my niece and I want to make sure she lives good and long so I can teach her all about her father."
"Her father is Robin."
They both stopped side by side, realizing their arguing and truth telling hadn't stopped their pace. They had reached the first road block: the gate that required Jinx's birthright to access. The pink haired demoness turned her eyes to Raven.
"Why did you lie to him?"
"Because if I didn't, he'd lose hope… and that is something in my power that I could prevent."
Jinx turned back to the portal gate, her eyes were a light.
"Endari Ende Mortix!"
The first gate slid open and the demon pair slid inside.
…
He reached Gotham City with nothing in his bag except a change of civilian cloths, a purple book and three green candles. The roads didn't have sharp turns or too much traffic so he was able to reach the far east end of the capital of the world with relatively little distraction. He might have seen Barbara Gordon, but he didn't notice and he didn't actually care. His helmet was secured and his pack was tied down as he took the deep and only dangerous turn in Gotham: the one that lead to the Bat Cave.
Alfred greeted him without a hint of surprise on his face. Robin hadn't told him he was coming, but in his cool way Alfred seemed to know more than any person rightly should. Robin declined to let Alfred take his bag, but did allow the elderly gentleman to lead him to Bruce.
Robin had arrived in one of the few hours when Bruce Wayne was home and wasn't sleeping or preparing for other nocturnal activities. The billionaire of legend looked more surprised to see Robin than Alfred was, but that was still to say without much.
"Good evening Richard."
"Bruce."
"Take off your mask or at least put on some civilians."
"I was hoping instead of me dressing down that you would dress up." Robin replied.
Bruce frowned and stood up. Richard Grayson, the man behind the Boy Wonder, had grown considerable. Bruce had noticed during his last visit, but something new had arisen, something that required Richard to grow up faster. Given his protégé's life history so far, Bruce knew that that something had to be tragedy.
"I told you a year ago that I was retiring from the vigilante business." Bruce replied.
"I didn't believe you."
"I don't know why you would… How is Sakura?" Bruce asked.
Robin dropped his head to the side. His profile was highlighted by the lamp on Bruce's desk. Behind his mask his eyes were squeezed shut, but he knew Bruce could see through it. "Sleeping, beautiful, safe, no different."
"And Raven?"
Robin turned his head down, before slowly removing his mask. It was the first time in a long time that Bruce had seen Richard's tears.
"I came here for help Bruce. You showed me before… Show me again… show me how to become what she needs."
"I don't know what she needs." Bruce replied.
"She needs me to be stronger… show me that at least."
ºThe five original members of the Doom Patrol were Rita Farr, Steve Dayton, Larry Trainer, Cliff Steele and Nathanial Logan. The fivesome had a unique set of abilities: Steve's mind, Rita's body, Larry's energy, Cliff's power and Nathanial's influence on the seeds and the trees. The young Nathanial, like his father, was a medicine man, able to derive potions and tonics from medicinal herbs and seeds.
Larry Trainer had first learned of Nathanial's ability to make plant life move and grow on accident, when he needed his life saved. In pursuit of the Brotherhood of Evil, Negative Man had been isolated from his party and actively pursued by an agent of evil. He ran swiftly, his feet splashing and muddying the waters of Tomango. A laser beam struck him, knocking him a good thirty feet: his head slamming into a rock and his body sinking in the water.
He didn't know how many seconds, minutes or eons he had spent under the water, but he was aware that the laser beams had stopped and there was a hand reaching into the water and pulling him out. Negative Man groaned and rubbed his head, at the same time pulling water grasses from his bandages. There were two hands on his shoulder, when Larry Trainer turned to see who belonged to them; he got a good glimpse of something that made him totally unconcerned with the who but rather the what.
In his dark eyes he could see the giant robot that pursued him was entangled in a mass of water vines and grasses, similar to those on his bandages. The plants were still moving, constricting and restraining the agent of evil. Negative Man's mouth dropped open, as much as it could considering, he openly stared as the plants continued to whip out from the water and take the robot down.
He also became increasingly aware of the grasses on his body.
"Do not be alarmed. I cannot control the plants to do harm to those who do good. I can only ask them to do good against those who do harm."
Negative Man watched the robot finally topple over and short circuit beneath the water. "You did that?"
Negative Man turned his bandaged face and caught a glimpse of a handsome African boy nodding. Negative Man made to say thank you, but instead passed out.
He woke up half slung against the same boy's shoulders as the much younger fellow traveled by foot. He groaned a little and the boy turned his head.
"I'd tell you to not try to talk, but you probably won't listen... You must have gotten some of the Clear Water Fever from Tomongo. It guards as best it can against bad people but sometimes it makes mistakes."
"How do you know I'm not a bad person?" Negative Man asked.
"I can tell. Bad guys are never chased by the big robots. Besides, I already know who you are."
"And who am I?" Negative Man asked.
"You're the guy I'm taking home to cure the Clear Water Fever from and share my bread."
"You gotta name kid?" Negative Man asked, supporting more of his own weight on his own feet. The boy was only three-quarters his size and skinner than a bean pole. He didn't seem to lack for determination, but all the determination in the world couldn't replace muscle.
"My name's Nathaniel Logan. Everyone calls me Spar."
"Spar?"
"The plant talker… its an old legend around these parts… but since you're obviously not from around here, I'd be glad to tell you… we've got a little while until we reach my house."
"If you've got the time, I'm all ears."
By the time Nathaniel finished his story, Negative Man was walking on his own might but the fever Spar had warned him of was affecting his vision. The pair approached a large sequoia tree, the largest one in the area, though the entire forest was scarce and the sequoias all looked out of place.
"How much longer 'til we get to a place where I can lay down?" Negative Man asked.
"We're here." Spar replied.
"We're at a tree."
The blue eyed boy nodded. He opened the door without using his hands and eased Negative Man into the living room. Negative Man collapsed in the center of the floor, suddenly unable to hold his weight.
"Just as I thought: Clear Water Fever. I'll get my medicines."
Spar left him to lie unmoving in the center of his living room. Negative Man could hear voices, one was Spar's the other was decidedly a female. The owners of both voices tended to him and within an hour Negative Man had ingested a tonic that purged his system. When his vision cleared, Larry Trainer saw a vision in the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her smile was gentle, her eyes were brown and her skin was flawless. If Negative Man had the capacity to blush, he might have.
"You're alright then?" She asked.
Negative Man nodded. "Yeah thanks."
"You're probably starving. I just made stew and there's more than enough. Nathanial, I'll make bowls. Make sure our guest is comfortable."
Spar nodded and helped Negative Man sit up. He could see that while the stranger appreciated his help, he was much more occupied with someone else.
"She's beautiful isn't she?"
Negative Man nodded dumbly then realized that Nathaniel had a knowing smile. "She's your wife?"
Spar laughed. "No, that's my mom, Sinora."
"Your mom? She doesn't look a day over eighteen. Awful cute to have a son your age."
"I'll let her know you think so." Spar replied.
"Dinners ready!" Sinora called from the kitchen. Spar helped Negative Man to the kitchen at sat him at the earthen table and the lovely Sinora Logan placed down a bowl of the best dinner he had in a long while.
"So, Negative Man, why were those agents of evil after you?" Sinora asked.
"You can call me Larry, Sinora… and it wasn't so much that they were after me as I was after them." Negative Man replied.
"Why are you after them, Larry?" Spar asked.
"You can call me Negative Man." Larry replied and both the younger boy and his mother laughed. "My team, the Doom Patrol, has been actively pursuing the Brotherhood of Evil for years. I'm guessing their strong hold is somewhere near here considering that while there are a lot of pretty things around here," Whether Larry's gaze shifted to Sinora or not was something that couldn't be discerned by his hosts, "Nothing is really happening out here."
"That's not true. My husband was a member of a resistance regime against the Brotherhood of Evil." Sinora said.
"Oh, you're married then?"
"Widowed, the resistance was… annihilated under the machinations of General Immortis and the rest of the Brotherhood of Evil."
"I'm sorry to hear that… is there anything left of the resistance?"
Spar shook his head. "The Brotherhood is thorough… but not infallible. I've been looking for a way to step up against them, but by myself there's little I can do."
"You? You're just a kid." Larry replied.
"Childhood ingenuity is invaluable. You'll find my son to be incredibly creative." Sinora replied.
"What do you know?" Larry asked turning to Spar.
"Lots. What do you?"
"Little. Wanna make that difference a bit more even?"
Spar told, Negative Man listened and Sinora kept mostly out of sight, expect that Larry Trainer was constantly and consciously looking to make eye contact with her. The Doom Patrol was collected and brought to the Logan home and it became obvious to Steve Dayton that Negative Man was considering adding Nathaniel Logan to the roster of the Doom Patrol.
"I don't like it." Mento replied.
"The kid's smart and he knows a lot about the area. He knows a lot of stuff we don't know."
"Smart isn't enough. We're in a battle, not a video game. There will be times when the Doom Patrol will have to fight." Mento stated firmly.
"Does he have any talents?" Elasti-girl asked.
"I can make plants grow. It was my power that made this tree and all the trees around here. It took me less than an hour to reforest the area around Tomongo after an agent of evil torched it in a fight. I'm also a medicine man. I play medic for the village." The fourteen year old replied.
"Can you leave them behind, Nathaniel?" Elasti-girl asked.
"There's more than one medic for the surrounding area." Sinora replied.
"What about your ma kid?" Mento asked, jutting a thumb to the pretty woman.
"She'll be fine."
"A pretty thing like her will have no problem getting along." Cliff added.
Spar tapped Rita's shoulder. "Could you ask your male counterparts to stop ogling my mother?"
Within days Spar was prepared to join the ranks of the Doom Patrol. He gave his mother a kiss goodbye, Rita gave Sinora a hug, Mento walked forward without a look back, Cliff gave Sinora a long stare for memory and Larry left the beautiful woman with a promise.
"I'll take good care of your boy." He said.
Sinora smiled. "Who's going to take care of you?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We'll see… when this mission is over, I'll bring Spar back… and I wouldn't mind any more of that good cooking of yours."
"I'll be sure to have a bowl waiting for you, Negative Man."
"Larry. What's it going to take for you to say my name?"
"Look out for my son and I promise to work on it."
"Deal."º
…
Cyborg landed the T-ship just feet away from a giant sequoia tree. The four hatches opened smoothly and Beast King all but leapt out. Cyborg helped Celine down and Bumble Bee fluttered above the pair, watching Beast King run ahead.
"This is Beast King's home?"
Celine nodded. The team took a run to catch up with Beast King and stood in a straight line behind him when he entered. The warm feeling hadn't left. Bumble Bee and Cyborg felt it immediately, even in their first intake of air. Celine felt the air rush out of her when a flash of blue fur leapt forward and tackled her. She landed with a solid thud, a warm dry tongue licking her face.
"Loberos. I missed you too." Celine said, scratching the beast under his chin.
"Mom!" Beast King called from the living room.
Sinora exited the kitchen, wiping her hands dry on a towel. Her smile lit up and Cyborg blushed at the beautiful woman.
"Garfield, you made it. Dinner is still cooking."
"We can wait. Mom, this is Cyborg and Bumble Bee."
"It's a pleasure ma'am." Bumble Bee said. Cyborg nodded dumbly.
Just once I'd like to bring a friend home and not have him fall over my mother… Beast King hugged his mother and let her look over his new persona. She pinched his cheek and the green morph smiled at her.
"I called the Doom Patrol, they should be here by the time dinner is ready."
Celine pulled herself up from the floor. "Do you need any help setting up Sinora?"
"No thank you Celine."
The foursome stayed in the living room and the pair that had never been in Beast King's home entertained their curiosity. Cyborg's eyes traveled up and down the arrangements of photographs, stopping when he landed on a series of unfamiliar faces. He picked up one picture containing Sinora, Negative Man and a blue eyed boy that Cyborg didn't know. Beast King looked over his shoulder.
"Larry and my mom go way back." He said.
"Who's that?" Cyborg asked, pointing to the blue eyed boy.
"That's my brother, Nathanial." Beast King replied.
Cyborg frowned. "You never talked about him."
Beast King took the photo and put it back. "There was nothing to say."
Bumble Bee tilted her head. "Are we going to meet him?"
"Sure."
Celine frowned but followed behind Beast King as he led them outside. He turned to Bumble Bee. "I'm going to need your help. Celine, hold onto me. Bee, bring Cy would you?"
Beast King morphed into a phoenix and secured Celine on his back as he took flight. Cyborg latched onto Bee's wrist and the flight-gifted Titan followed at a close distance to the beautiful bird. For a moment it was obvious that Beast King was looking for something. When he found it, he motioned for Celine to climb from his back onto a steady branch. She slid onto it cautiously, balancing her weight so it, combined with Cyborg's, didn't collapse the branch.
Beast King morphed to his natural state and perched on a lower branch and pointed upwards, taking their gaze to a branch just above their heads.
"Every year this bud grows on the tree, it's always this color but never in the same place. Its blue like his eyes were… my mother presses them and puts them in a book. It's like a birthday card or memorial… My brother died in pursuit of the Brotherhood of Evil, before my mom adopted me."
"That's why your family is so close to the Doom Patrol…"
He leapt up, gently jostling the branch that held Celine and Cyborg's seating until he landed crouched near the gentle blue bud. He didn't seem sad or happy to look at the gentle flower beginning.
"The Doom Patrol is my family. Just like the Titans." Beast King replied.
"Looks like a family reunion is coming."
Cyborg turned their attention to the base of the Sequoia tree that was the Logan household. The four members of the Doom Patrol: Mento, Elasti-girl, Robotman and Negative Man approached by foot. Negative Man looked up and saw the group of four looking down at his group of four. He turned his head back down and followed behind his team. Beast King looked and watched them go, before taking Celine into his arms and returning to the ground.
…
"Washu was born in the Ring of Azarath, but not in Azarath. He was from Endari but the gate of Rown rejects his energy. If he were going to stop us, he missed his window." Jinx replied. "But something tells me he's not going to chase you."
"Why wouldn't he?"
"Don't know. But he isn't stupid; he's got a plan somehow to get you and the baby back."
"Is there no guarantee that his plan doesn't extend to Azarath?" Raven asked.
"Nothing extends to Azarath. Only from it. Azarath is the center of the universe's truths."
"Yet they're capable of the universe's greatest lies."
Raven and Jinx's journey to Azarath had about two hours left in it and for the most part the journey to cover that ground was uneventful, but hardly quiet. Their truths were being exchanged, but Raven felt still as if she were learning less than what Jinx actually knew. Jinx was getting her fill of Raven's personality, picking up parts of her from her questions and answers and even more so from the way she kept her hair braided and arms wrapped around her middle.
"How do you feel?" Jinx asked.
"I'm not sure how to answer that question." Raven replied.
"Understood. I won't ask it again."
The two moved mostly in silence from that point on until they reached the Gate of Azarath. Raven let her face show her awe. Years of memories washed back to her as her purple eyes took in the gate to the dark land of Azarath. It was as if life was proving to come full circle: the circumstances of her birth started out as tragic within the gates before her eyes, over the years her life was constantly in a struggle: to control her powers, to fight off the advances against her life, to swallow her rage when bitter feelings were directed at her. She hated Azarath, hated everything it stood for and everything it would mean.
But that was her life, constantly doing what she hated: being hurt, being weak, hurting her friends… Raven slipped the pack from her shoulders, uncoiling her arms from around her middle. She had felt her stomach dance a little, growing in a few hours the way it would have in days in a normal pregnancy. Jinx took Raven's bag and watched the purple haired girl close her eyes as she took in a deep breath.
Raven raised an arm and faced the encrypted portal door. Before she spoke a word the gate responded to her presence: a youki equalizing power; one of the best defenses of the monks of Azarath, pushed through the air. Lesser demons might have been destroyed or at the very least bothered by the power. Jinx held the bags, her eyes flushing pink as she held her ground. Raven kept her arm raised and her eyes clear.
"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos."
The energy flushed around her, pulling her hair free from its braid. The long locks twisted in the spiraling wind, blinding her at moments and flying behind her in others. The gate began to groan as Raven continued to hold her spell. It pulled and moaned and eventually gave in. The energy fight ended and Raven dropped her magic.
Jinx held onto the bags as she and Raven continued to move forward. The gate slid closed the moment Jinx cleared the threshold. The loud and swift closure echoed through the tormented land of Azarath. It was barer than Raven had allowed herself to remember. Every inch of Azarath was brown or grey or a dull, unattractive blue. Most of the houses were one-story rounded hovels, windows cut in them for the purpose of curiosity, not light. The hamlet was arranged in an open circle, with all the paths leading to the Temple of Azar, where all the books were kept, where the monks studied and where the Azar lived. The temple was where Raven anticipated spending most of her time, either the books or in the mind of Azar Metrion. He had a lot explaining to do.
Raven made it to the center of Azarath, standing in the grave bare square that was the only open location in the desolate plateau of Azarath. She stopped there, not because she wanted to, but because she had to. Standing directly in front of her, and slowly and cautiously wrapping around her and Jinx at a safe distance, were monks and citizens of Azarath.
Many of them she recognized. Many she had hoped she'd never see again. All their faces were held in displeasure or unmasked hostility as if she were a trespasser into their otherwise beautiful lives. But life was anything but beautiful to those who lived in Azarath: everyone born in the land of Azar had great responsibility, destructive or otherwise, but no one's responsibility was greater than Raven's.
She stood directly in front of Raven, her eyes were dark and her features were equally hard. Her hair was peppered brown and white, the short strands were pinned back with dark clamps that were lost in the dark brown of her tresses. Her eyes focused on Raven's face for a moment before traveling down her body and slowly making a return trip. Raven sneered as she was evaluated by the one face she never wanted to see again.
"Raven." The woman sneered her name as if it were a curse word.
"Katora." Raven replied, her voice equally bitter. "Clear the way. I have nothing to say to you."
"You are no person to direct what I do. You've enacted your life legend I see. The demon portal has been accepted by your retched blood."
"It would do you good, Katora, to remember that my retched blood entitles me to great power, the kind that can easily destroy the likes of you."
"If anything is to be destroyed it is the destruction in your gut." Katora replied.
Raven's eyes flared and the ring of Azarath citizens stepped back as an outpour of her energy fanned out from her, covering the brown ground with her black energy.
"You still itch so terribly for the life of a child, Katora? Do you decide, because you birthed a legend, which can live and what should end?"
"You would know about legendary births." Katora replied. Katora was a human woman, with a high sense of self importance and if not for the way she exercised it, that self importance would have been considered rightly so. Most women would have trembled at Raven's outpour of power, in truth Jinx was more than afraid and she knew she was at the very least granted immunity for the moment.
"And yet in your infinite wisdom you were never named Azar. I wonder how much you even know Katora."
Katora prepared to retort even as it became clear to Jinx that Raven would have truly exercised her demon right if Katora dared another word. But Raven's retaliation was cut short when she saw her destructive energy, spilled and whipping against the land, was being dissipated by an invisible energy. Her eyes lost their flair as she took in the sight of her magic being cursed away by a more powerful magic.
The crowd parted behind Katora as two figures approached.
"That is enough Katora."
Raven knew that voice and she knew that face. She walked forward, her white robe was pushed back from her face, her slanted purple eyes were both soft and hard as she looked between Raven and Katora. It was another human woman, who too, knew about the birthing of legends.
"Arella." Raven said. Her stance relaxed as her mother gave Katora a warning eye before approaching her daughter. She looked her over, touched her cheek and hugged her daughter in a few seconds.
"Raven." She whispered.
Raven narrowed her eyes. "Arella, who dispelled my energy? Neither you nor Katora have the power."
Arella turned her head back and Raven's eyes focused on the other woman who had appeared in front of Katora. She was demon, her skin was a shade of grey only slightly darker than Raven's own. Her eyes were light green and intelligent. Her hair was pinned up, the thick red locks fell across her authoritative headdress and over her pastel green cape. Her underdress was blue and white; she wore all the color of Azarath. Her face was older than Raven remembered, her hair much longer, her body filled out like a woman's. But she did remember her and she remember Raven.
"Dear friend," the demoness bowered her head gently. "I had hoped our reunion would be under much happier circumstances…" Her voice was calm, but loud and clear.
Raven's face showed her surprise when the identity of the woman in front of her was undeniable. "Sabrah."
Sabrah nodded. "Welcome home Lethe."
End of Part Two
A/N
Sabrah and Katora are the two people that were mentioned in Raven's vision during Engraved Invitation.
The importance of Katora's "legendary birth" will be explained in later parts and will make a few more appearances.
Raven's Azarathian name is Lethe. This was hinted at in Terra Nostra part Three and whenever Raven went to Nevermore and spoke Azarathian, they always referred to her as Lethe. It was the only word that has been repeated in the nonsense language I created.
Sabrah's image is posted at Photobucket.