-1The Legend of Ajira

By Madame Ergoth

Chapter 20: The Missing Piece

Ajira stared on in disbelief. This was the girl she had been dreaming about! Ashikarilini was even wearing the same clothes, from her elegant shirt, right down to her pointed leather shoes. She wore a big smile, and a necklace bearing an amulet in the shape of a fish. She came forward, bearing a strange expression but offering her hand. Ajira shook it uneasily, staring at Ashikarilini with the same strange expression. "Call me 'Lini."

Kark broke in, laying a hand on each of their shoulders. He looked at Ajira. "This is Ashikarilini, Ajira. She was another chosen by the Prophecy. Her fate and yours are linked by the Prophecy. You see, the Prophecy that Ashkhan Maroulis read you was not complete. There was a hidden part...and as I was the one to decode it, I am the only one to know." He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out an old scrap of parchment, similar to the one that the Ashkhan had shown her. It had the same squiggly markings. Ajira felt a little nervous as Kark began to read. There was more?

"...As the sun rises, she will know

She will dream and it is so

The forest, the sea, a Telvanni home,

This is the destiny that's to come.

The girl from the dreaming

Ashikarilini Alysa Kalee

Forever with a smile

Find her, find her, go!

You need her, and she needs to know

That Lini can help her

Until the end

The final battle

Is about to begin

She may help, and she may hurt,

Protect her and Ajira

Or be forever banished to the Dirt.1

But be careful, and do take heed,

Do not take what you do not need..."

Lini had a knowing look in her eyes, but Ajira was more confused than ever.

Kark did his best to fill in the blanks. "This part basically says that Lini here is one Assigned to the Prophecy, but she can only help get to the Final Battle, but not to fight it. She can help you as much as she can until The End, but she may hurt you along the way, and you have to be ready for that. And, basically, if I don't protect you guys, I'll lose all my powers and have to stay human for the rest of eternity. It's the worst punishment an Immortal can receive. I don't have a choice. But you two do. I've brought you together, now the rest is up to you. Will you team up and help defeat Dakosh?"

Suddenly, the decision was made, all in an instant, accompanied by a rush of adrenaline. They were actually going to do this. There was no more thinking, no more worries in that moment. "Yeah!" Ajira and Lini hugged each other, smiling.

"All right, then!" Kark looked just as happy. "Your journey has now begun. I'll administer the rites later today. For now, let's rest."

"What rites?"

"You'll find out." Kark seemed to be in an extremely good mood, rather than his usual solemn self.

One question was still bugging Ajira, though. "Why did you keep that extra part of the Prophecy?"

"It made it shorter!" Kark laughed. "No, really. I kept it because the Ashlanders' job was to locate the girl assigned to the Prophecy--that's you--and well, I couldn't make it too easy for them. That wouldn't have been any fun!" He laughed again.

Ajira stared at him strangely. "What?" yelled Kark, still chuckling. "Angels can have fun too!"

It was all so strange, Kark laughing. Even a little stupid.

With that, all Ajira and Lini could do was laugh a loud, carefree laugh. It felt so good to laugh again; Ajira had almost forgotten. The last few days had been so magical, yet so fast-paced and so stressful. And now here they stood, in the abandoned weapon shop of a dead man, laughing like a bunch of lifelong friends. That's what it felt like. Just a couple of friends, just hanging out and having a good time. If only there was none of the tension of the Prophecy, or Kark being an angel, or her "destiny"...

But none of that could change now. The Prophecy had been Accepted, and Ajira and Lini's journey was just beginning.

1 This is the worst punishment an Immortal can be given. In this severe form of punishment, the angel or other Immortal loses all of their powers, and is forever bound to the land, never to ascend into the heavens again.