Chapter Twenty-Three

The cards were all in a specific order, and as I began to read them I realized why. The first piece of paper was folded up, and unfolding it revealed a list of where certain things I would need were. It told me where the weapons were and how to use them, it told me where I could go for instruction in the art of potion-making, it told me where I could buy the finest horses, it told me where the money was, and it told me small details and facts about the parts of the City that I would need to know sometime later.

The second parchment was a letter to me from mother. As I read it, I began to smile. I could almost hear her soft voice telling this to me, as though she were right beside me, saying:

To my dearest Ayla,

I hope fortune has smiled upon you in all those years that you were without your new family. I foresaw you coming thirty years ago, far before you were born. You will be the shining light that saves Alagaesia from the evil that is pressing at the gates. As I'm writing this out to you, I'm trying to imagine what you look like, how you act, how you respond to others. Picturing you before you're even born is more difficult than you could ever realize.

I hope you like your new home up in the Willow Tree; I reserved it for the day of your arrival. These papers will help guide you until your journey, and then there will be no more time for you to learn, so spend your time wisely. Some time for fun is always necessary, but I suggest you study all that you can. All knowledge you gain will be needed for this journey. You and your companions will be faced with challenges far beyond the ordinary level, and you're so young that it will be hardest of all for you. I have faith in you my dearest daughter, and when you need help you can always call on me.

Stay strong my darling, and you can make it through everything. Just remember one thing: A Marnon-Vaila can make it through anything, because we never give up. We're always strong enough. Good luck my Ayla.

With all the love one can offer,

Mother Moon Goddess.

I read through the letter quickly, absorbing the words and storing them in my memory. I was in the middle of reading through all her other notes left for me about things I should be cautious of and what I needed to learn for the journey when Nyvern and Kallaheart walked into the study, looking around with bright eyes. I glanced up at them and set down the notes, my eyes a mystery to them.

Out of the blue, I asked them "What is a Marnon-Vaila?" They seemed stunned by my question for a moment before they both broke into hysterical laughter. Kallaheart doubled over laughing and Nyvern slid down the wall to the floor clutching his stomach. I growled menacingly at the two of them and they shut up right away, but then they looked at each other and started laughing harder than before. I groaned and sat back in my chair, determined to wait it out.

After a few very long minutes of their hysterical laughter, the boys calmed down and wiped the tears from their eyes, choosing to stay laying on my wood floor. Kallaheart let loose a big breath and put his hands behind his head, relaxing. Nyvern crossed his ankles and did the same before choosing to respond to my original question.

"A Marnon-Vaila… can you not feel that answer? Ask yourself that question by searching deep down inside your very heart and soul. Really think about it; chant the name to yourself, and it will start to sound very familiar. Marnon-Vaila, marnon-vaila, marnon-vaila…." He chanted quietly, and I automatically joined him, not even thinking about it.

I closed my eyes and searched deep down inside of myself for answers. All of a sudden it came to me, and I sprang up from my chair quickly. The other two jumped a little, surprised by my sudden movement. I smiled as the knowledge flooded through my brain.

"Of course! How could I have not known that before? Werewolf is the mortals' word, but the true name of our race is the Marnon-Vaila, or the 'Moon-Lover'. Why didn't I see it before?" I asked myself, astonished. The boys looked at each other and smiled.

"So, why are you reading all of these little things anyways? Did Hecate command it?" Nyvern asked. I shook my head.

"She didn't command it, but she said it would be the only way for me to survive. It looks like I've got a lot of things to do on the coming horizon." I sighed, handing the list of things for me to learn to Kallaheart, who read it with a grimace before handing it off to Nyvern.

Nyvern read through it with furrowed eyebrows. "Why would you need to know so much? Is your journey going to be that huge and important?" he asked me. I nodded slowly.

"I can feel the journey approaching, like the wolf waiting for the deer to walk past his hiding spot so he can pounce." I said, my lilting voice sounding so distant as I stared out the window at the branches of the tree wrapped around my home.

Nyvern got up and stood behind me, rubbing my arms soothingly as he whispered in my ear "It's gonna be okay Sis, you'll see. We'll help you, and we won't let anything happen to you. I promise." He said, hugging me from behind with his chin resting on my shoulder. I sensed when Kallaheart got up and walked over to us.

"You know I'll always be there to help you whenever I can Sis, and no one is going to get by me to hurt you in any way. Don't worry so much; we can do this together." Kallaheart said, hugging me in the front. There I stood, in between the arms of my two big brothers, whom I felt I had known all my life instead of only a few short hours. I smiled to myself; we could do this as a family, together.

After a moment or two, or maybe even three, we pulled apart and decided to keep up with the current list of events taking place. We all had things to do. I put everything back in the box except the to-do list, holding it in my hands first and reading the first thing on it. Get your weapons out of the closet in the Study; they should fit your style well.

Nodding to myself, I went to the closet door and opened it, and when I glanced inside I stifled a squeal of delight. Hecate already knew me so well; these weapons would be perfect for me! I pulled them out of the closet and laid them out on the floor with glee so that the boys could see them too. According to Kallaheart's low whistle, these were some impressive weapons.

The first part of my weapons was much like my old set, only much stronger and more durable. I was given a weapons' holder that went on my shoulders and connected into a belt at the bottom of my waist. It was made out of the same flexible material as the armor was, and it was fairly comfortable as well. In the weapons' holder were a pair of identical swords, but they weren't ordinary like my last pair were. These had spells cast upon them, and had been forged with special care.

These swords had the power of the Marnon-Vaila in them, and the faint ringing sound they made as they clashed against steel reminded you faintly of the howling of the werewolves. It was extremely stable, supremely powerful, and amazingly durable. The power of the werewolves in these swords also caused it to have a faint purple glow around it that looked much like fire. Anything the fire touched would burn, but not on the outside. It would burn you internally, sometimes taking out your organs and sometimes driving a person insane by attacking their mind.

In the center slot of the back portion of my weapons' holder was a beautiful bow. The bow had been made by the druids in the Naturalist's Quarter, and not even the elves could have done a more magnificent job. It was of the lightest and most flexible of wood, but was still strong enough to take a beating and still work perfectly. The smooth oiled string was in perfect condition, and a spare string was lying with it. The bow had a good grip and pulled back tightly, perfect for longer shots.

In the belt were a pair of curved daggers, and as I surveyed them I noticed that the daggers had a faintly greenish glow to them. They were poisonous, I realized with a start. I studied them and saw the power in them, allowing them to give a fatal poison to those who are even scratched by it. In the slots in front of those daggers were a pair of throwing knives, and they had the power of fire within them, allowing them to scorch whatever they touched. The bonus about all my weapons was that they wouldn't harm their owner, which happened to be me. This also meant it wouldn't hurt my other equipment; otherwise everything would have disintegrated within seconds.

In a bag, made of the same material as my armor, on my right side were a bunch of throwing darts, and they were in smaller bags with labels on them. There were darts that would freeze over whatever they landed in, darts that would take the force of lightning with them as they struck, darts that would give me total control of whoever or whatever they ended up in, and darts that would cause the very plants of the earth to spring up out of the ground and wrestle with whoever was against me.

There was an empty bag on my left side, also made of the armor's material, and I knew it was for money. Going back to look at the list, I saw the next portion said I suppose you've noticed there is a money pouch on your belt. You'll find all the money you need in a small bag in the desk; it's in the bottom right-hand corner drawer.

Smiling to myself for the one millionth time today, I opened the drawer to find a small leather bag inside. I opened it and was surprised by all of the large coins in it. Ten copper pieces made a silver half-crown, and five silver half-crowns made a full silver crown, and one hundred full silver crowns made a gold crown. The pouch I held in my hands had at least fifty gold crowns in it, along with other assorted coppers and half-crown pieces.

I was shocked. I walked slowly over to the boys, who both peered into the bag with their mouths wide open in shock. After a few moments, Kallaheart leaped into the air with a shout for joy. "Woo-hoo!"