"The tempter knows you cannot hide
from the dark,
and god repine.
Seek and you shall find,
spawn of hate, newborn.
Summoned by depravity." - Opera Diabolicus
"Griffin?" Aerona gasped, and turned to face her friend.
"I-is...is this book talking to you?" she asked, clearly rattled.
Griffin nodded her head and walked over to where Aerona stood. "Obviously," she said. "I've been communicating with the Mothers through it," she flipped by a couple of pages, as an attempt to show Aerona that they had continued this conversation.
"A-are you sure this is safe?" Aerona questioned, her eyes widening slightly as more and more pages filled with dialogue swept past her line of sight.
"Of course it is! I've already met with them too," Griffin stated, as casually as one would have if they were bringing up the weather.
"What?" Aerona shrieked, and the book dropped to the floor with a loud thud.
Griffin glared at her for a second before she bent over to retrieve the discarded text. "Why are you so distressed all of the sudden? They obviously have some sort of affinity for me, otherwise I would have been killed the first time I met them." she said, and her golden eyes softened. "Everything's okay," she placed a reaffirming hand on top of Aerona's in order to help her calm down.
Aerona flinched at the kind gesture, and although she would have usually batted Griffin's hand away, this time she let it sit. Griffin was usually so much more careful when it came to dealing with darker entities such as this. Maybe her judgement faltered along the way as she became more and more personal with these mothers?
"What do you discuss with them when you're in their presence?" Aerona asked, and received an awkward side glance in response.
"I...can't really disclose what the mother's and I converse about during our time together."
Aerona huffed and shoved Griffin's hand off. "I can't believe how irrational you're acting. You could have easily gotten yourself killed." she snapped, angry at her friend's naivety.
"I told you, Aerona, everything is fine. As a matter of fact...if you're so concerned about the Mothers, why don't you come with me when I meet them again?"
Aerona's eyes widened again in shock. "Are you kidding me? That's the more absurd thing you've ever asked me."
Griffin sighed, not really understanding where this sudden paranoia was coming from. "They're not going to hurt you or me. As of recently, I've been telling them a lot about you. They were curious about any relationships that I may have formed here in Cloud Tower, so I talked about you."
Aerona didn't know whether to feel frightened or honored. She had no clue who these women were, but if Griffin said that even the faculty were too afraid to teach about their history, she should have every right to be apprehensive. However, she couldn't just let her friend continue to see these beings all alone now that she had found out this little secret.
Aerona let out a defeated sigh. "I'll come with you."
The day had finally arrived when Aerona would be taken to meet the Mothers. To say that she was nervous was an understatement. She had been tossing and turning the previous night, and had been continuously contemplating on if she should really do this or not. Despite her fears, she knew that she had to support and provide back up for her friend, no matter how bad of a feeling she got from this whole situation.
Griffin had gotten her around 9:30 at night, and proceeded to lead her through the winding and twisting halls of Cloud Tower. Aerona was trying to keep track as to where it was they were heading, but Griffin kept taking her around sharp corners and around halls so quickly, she couldn't even fathom trying to pinpoint their location.
She guessed that the two of them had been walking for about ten minutes before Griffin halted in front of an old, cracked wall. The hall they stood in was dark and damp, and appeared as though no one had gone through it for hundreds of years. Griffin placed her hand on the surface, and within seconds, a doorway had materialized before them.
"We're here," she said, and walked through the door.
Aerona took a deep, calming breath to steady her nerves, and when she was ready, she followed Griffin inside.
She was so focused on keeping herself unperturbed that she hadn't noticed that she had to descend stairs in order to reach the destination. Aerona's boot clicked against the stone and for a brief second, she could feel gravity roughly shoving her in the direction of the hard ground. She reacted almost instantly, and instinctively grabbed at the wall for some kind of foothold. Her trembling hands found a nearby torch, and she gripped onto it for dear life.
Her heart pounded in her ears, and it felt as though her legs might collapse from under her any second. "Dammit," she hissed, as heat started to flood her face out of embarrassment. She peered ahead and noticed that Griffin had disappeared within the darkness, seemingly having walked ahead without her.
"Well, at least she didn't see me making a fool of myself," she grumbled, and yanked the torch off of its stand so she could use it as a makeshift flashlight. She allowed for some blue liquid, or liquid oxygen, to fall onto the kerosene soaked rag, which immediately caused it to alight.
Aerona placed the torch in front of her and began to make her way down the seemingly endless stairway. It seemed to go on forever, but Aerona didn't mind the darkness. Her mind did stray to Griffin however. She hoped that she was okay, and didn't suddenly become a frantic mess when she realized that her friend wasn't right behind her.
Aerona suddenly noticed a strange, soft light, and as she continued to make her way lower and lower into the bowels of the school, it seemed to grow in intensity; so much so that she didn't need her torch anymore. She pitched it to the side, and her slow, creeping pace increased to sprinting.
Keep going…
You're almost there…
Here she comes…
"Who are those voices?" she gasped, and almost tripped again when her feet collided with ground. Aerona glanced around and saw that Griffin had lead her to a fairly small room. Nothing seemed to adorn it, and nothing seemed to inhabit it, save for three large stone caskets.
"T-this is…" she stuttered, and almost screamed when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder.
She reeled around to find Griffin standing there, a small smile on her face. "I'm so happy that you were able to make it down here okay. I was beginning to worry when I saw that you weren't behind me."
Aerona swallowed nervously. "Y-yeah...sorry to keep you waiting." she muttered.
Griffin blinked, confused at her statement. "Why are you apologizing to me? You didn't do my any harm, nor did you do any harm to the Mothers. I'm sure that you heard them as you neared this place? They're quite excited to meet you."
"Excited? To meet me?" Aerona questioned, as though it were impossible. Her gaze left Griffin's face and she began to look around to room to try and seek out these women herself.
Griffin refocused her attention as well, except her eyes landed on the three stone graves in the middle of the room. "Mothers, hear me. It is I, Griffin, your willing pupil. I have come here with my companion, the one you all were so eager to meet," she said, and pointed to Aerona as though she were some kind of offering. "Please honor us with your presence."
"Why Griffin, you flatter us so with your eloquent tongue," a sly voice muses.
Aerona whirled around to find three figures had emerged from each tomb. One had a blue aura surrounding her, while the other had a purple aura surrounding her, while the other had a red aura surrounding her. They all looked fairly similar, but the only notable differing feature would be their hairstyles.
"Do not be afraid child," the blue-aura woman cooes. "Come, my sisters and I would like to better look upon you," she said, and indicated that Aerona follow her command by the wiggle of her finger.
Aerona was visibly shaken from what she had just witnessed, although she did not want to see these women angry. She gave a weak nod and walked up to the three spirits, where she forced herself to gaze up at them in the eyes.
"I believe it would be the wisest course of action if we were to all introduce ourselves. I am Belldona, the oldest of the three of us." The mother with a blue aura stated.
"I am Lysslis, the middle child," said the mother with a purple aura.
"I am Tharma, the youngest," said the final mother, coated in red.
"Now tell me, what is your name?" Belladona asked, her voice shaking Aerona to the very core.
"I-I am Aerona Carborate." she stated, as calmly as she could.
"So, you are the acquaintance that Griffin has been mentioning," Lysslis said, to which she received a brisk nod in response.
"What makes this one so special?" Tharma grimaced, clearly not impressed by the tiny witch that stood before her.
"She's more than what she appears to be," Griffin said, as she tried to keep her voice as neutral as possible. She needed to keep up a respective facade as long as she was in the presence of the Mothers. She couldn't afford to disrespect them in any way. "She's dealt with many hardships in her life, and I believe that she is exceptional with her powers. She is a trusted confidant of mine, and, if I may, Belladona spoke of her as though she too believes that she has incredible potential."
Tharma turned to her sister, an incredulous look on her face."Is this true, or is this naif merely placing unneeded words into your mouth?"
"That is enough Tharma, you will not continue this impoliteness towards Griffin," Belladona snapped, irritated by her sisters brash tongue. "What she says is true. This girl could be of use to us. I feel strong energy seeping through her veins, although her true potential has yet to be unlocked."
Griffin gave Aerona a smile, pleased that the Mothers had seen what she always had in Aerona. "Do you think that she could help us with our plan?"
Plan? What plan? Griffin never said anything about me helping them! Why would she say that, she should know how I feel about all of this. I don't want to get involved in this mess.
Aerona bit her lip and began to nervously fidget with a loose string on her jacket. Hopefully whatever it was they were doing wasn't anything too extreme. Aerona didn't want to abandon Griffin, but she did have a moral conscience. She wasn't one who just goes out and does whatever, whenever. She hardly left her room in Cloud Tower, what makes it seem like she is the proper candidate to be offered up on some sort of mission?
"I am not so sure," Lysslis says, a frown on her face. "She appears to rather hesitant, don't you think?" she observed, which made Aerona freeze. How could she have picked up on that?
"It is normal to be frayed at the prospect of accomplishing what we are setting out to do," Belldona said, a smirk on her face.
"Um...i-if you don't mind me asking: what is it exactly that you're planning on doing?" Aerona managed to say, although her voice was much quieter than she had initially intended.
"We are going to take over Domino!" Tharma shrieked, before she burst into a round of obnoxious laughter.
"Will you keep it down? Do you want the entire school to hear you?" Lysslis scolded.
"Domino? You mean, the kingdom of the dragon fire?" Aerona questioned. She recalled reading about the famous planet in one of her many books. It sounded like such a lovely place, and she became rather enamoured with the myths and legends that the people had written about the great dragon.
"Yes, that is the planet on which we shall launch our ultimate attack. Our Lord is in need of assistance, and what he requires, is the pure, powerful light of the dragon fire," Belladona explained. "However, stealing this energy will be no simple feat. Domino has a vast army that needs to be destroyed in order for us to acquire it."
"Which is why we have sought out assistance," Lysslis said, and pointed to Griffin. "She was the first willing soul that stumbled upon our pages for more than a century. She was willing to learn, and so we have taught her. When your name was brought up, Carborane, we were wondering if you would be willing to join us on our crusade as well."
Aerona felt her throat tighten up. They wanted her to help in the destruction of a planet? They wanted her to help steal the dragon fire? Aerona knew that the king and queen of Domino were the only known keepers of the flame, so, would she have to kill someone again?
"I...I…." she trembled, her brain practically shutting down. She couldn't think of any way to escape this. Her tongue felt heavy, as if it were made of lead, and the grip on her windpipe was increasing in its intensity.
"Aerona?" Griffin called out, clearly concerned about her friend.
"See? What did I tell you? This one is completely useless." Tharma spat. "I'm glad that we went through with our creation," she said, which made Griffin refocus her attention on them.
"Creation? What is she talking about?"
"Do you challenge our actions? How dare you raise your insolent voice at us!" Tharma snarled, and Griffin lowered her gaze in submission.
"Calm yourself, sister," Belladona growled, irritated by Tharma's constant outbursts. "Griffin, as you know, we have had yet to form a proper army. Our Lord has promised to provide us with shadow creatures, yes, but it is going to take more than that to defeat Domino. We were offered the dark flame from the beginning of time, and with it, we created a son."
Griffin's face fell from this information. Was she not enough for the Mothers? Did they see her as weak? Is that why they had to...create some sort of monster?
"Son?"
"I truly did not see why we had to make it appear as a mortal man, but we were instructed that it would make it easier for our conquest." Lysslis explained. "Although I would have much rather prefered creating a creature of decay."
"Who...who is this son of yours?" Griffin asked, her ego being shattered at this revelation.
Aerona noticed the diminishing strength in her voice and carefully walked over to her. She had never seen Griffin so shaken up before. A swift anger sudden roared within her, and Aerona could feel her powers burning inside her core.
How dare they make Griffin feel so small and unimportant. How dare they raise her up, and make her appear like their savior, only to strike her down. How dare they...how...how dare they…!
Aerona groaned and clutched at her right arm, where she could already feel some of her powers seeping through and burning her delicate skin.
Griffin turned to face Aerona, and her expression shifted to one of worry when she noticed her friend in distress.
"Ha! Look, the little one is fueled by anger!" Tharma laughed.
"Anger, you say? It appears as though she is controlled by her emotions. How petty. Belladona, where did you come across such a pathetic specimen?"
"Who said that?" Aerona snarled, and flinched as her legs started to get burned.
Out of the darkness appeared a man. He had long blond hair, grey eyes, and sported a formal violet suit.
"Allow me to introduce our son," Belladona said, and brandished her arms outward, as if proudly displaying a trophy. "...Valtor."
Author's Note: so here is chapter two. The plot is starting to pick up in momentum here, and the Ancestrals have been brought in, and as has Valtor. Mah babe. I hope someone is reading this and enjoying it, and if you are this sole reader; leave me a comment and follow this story. I would really appreciate it! Expect more from me soon.