Chapter 17: Nephalem's Grace

  Time: 7:17, Day: Veefljot, Week: 3, Month: K?rgoyde, Year: 36651

  Ayanna sat perfectly still, her legs crossed, her wings relaxed behind her, her tail around her waist. Her hands were comfortably on her thighs, her eyes closed.

  It had been hours since she had come outside and sat affront the Obsidian statues of the old gods, just past the garden of the Obsidian Cottage. The feeling of the statues staring down at her somehow relaxed her and made it easier for her to focus on feeling her essence, as well as the natural essences swirling around her from Elix Forest itself.

  As Feytryn had told her, she focused on the brewing storm she was finally beginning to feel, more and more. It felt like trying to contain a massive hurricane inside a plastic bottle.

  Initially, she quickly grew covered in sweat, though her breathing was still relaxed, as she tried to force the containment of the growing storm. Now she had gotten used to feeling the storm thrash back and forth, and her attempted grip eased as she let it fill her. Flowing with it instead of trying to contain it.

  She imagined a great storm over the ocean, despite only having ever seen pictures of one. The ocean itself was her essence pool, deepening with each relaxed breath. The storm was a mixture of blinding white flashes of lightning tearing down from abyssal black clouds that rolled and stretched in every direction.

  Her left index finger twitched.

  She let out a long, slow, relaxed breath.

  The storm spread faster, seeping out of her.

  The ocean's waves crashed violently, surging in every direction.

  The wind blew a leaf free from a nearby tree. The bright green, dew covered leaf, fluttered and danced down towards Ayanna.

  Just as the leaf was a few inches from the top of her head, it landed on the unseen. A flashing white and purple shimmer rippled around Ayanna, in the shape of a ball, as if the storm itself had wrapped around her to protect her. Still she sat, unmoving, only breathing and visualizing, lost in the storm that was becoming her.

  The sound of chains grinding as they moved was familiar to Ayanna, yet it was misplaced with the dimming soundscape of the forest.

  She furrowed her brow, yet kept her eyes closed, focusing on allowing the storm to swell and embrace her.

  The sound of the chains grew louder, yet it did not disturb the storm, only added to it.

  Then a soft hand on her shoulder, made her open her eyes to the blinding white endless void of light.

  A massive woman, that easily dwarfed her, was bound in chains. All six of her spackled wings were bound, though outstretched. Her wrists and ankles shackled and chained to the nothingness that surrounded them. Her body wrapped in thick chains that seemed to breathe along with her. Her eyes wrapped in a black blindfold with glowing golden runes.

  The woman's mouth did not move as she spoke.

  “Welcome, Nephal. It is good to finally meet face to face. When last you were here, you barely noticed me and cried through your pain.”

  “Feytryn?” Ayanna asked, the question spilling from her mouth before her brain had even fully processed what was going on. She could feel both the hand on her shoulder and the forest around her.

  “Yes, and you are becoming Ayanna Grimoore.” Feytryn continued to speak without moving her mouth, even as she removed her hand from Ayanna's shoulder and stood tall, her blindfolded gaze was focused on Ayanna, “Just call me, Fate.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “Alright... Fate.” Ayanna's voice couldn't mask her trepidation, though for some reason it was more like an unnatural calm, “Why am I here? And how did I get here?”

  “It seems you are here to meditate, and you have come here by leaving your home, which you call Obsidian Cottage. You walked to the Obsidian statues of the gods from my time, and sat down.” Fate answered, a soft laugh hidden in her words.

  “Yes, but how did I get here?” Ayanna asked, her tone laced with agitation.

  “Do you truly not know?” Fate asked, moving her left hand to her unmoving lips, “You did not come to me, you allowed me to come to you.”

  Ayanna's eyes slowly gained more focus, committing every detail of Fate to memory.

  “I allowed you to come to me? How? Why after all this time?” Ayanna's questions rocketed out, almost smashing together.

  “Nephal,” Fate crouched down, placing her massive hand on Ayanna's head, “You set out to discover yourself. After a few hours, you realized you could not contain the storm, but you could let the storm consume you. A few more hours, and you realized that you are the storm. This, in a sense, is the eye of the storm.” Fate smiled, “Do you understand?”

  Ayanna took a moment, afraid that if she moved she would lose this chance to speak with Fate face to face, but shortly coming into the meaning of Fate's cryptic message.

  “This… this is my… essence?” Ayanna asked, her tail slightly twitching.

  “One part of your essences,” Fate answered, slightly bowing her head, her luscious flowing golden curls bouncing, “Think of it like this. The storm itself is the constant battle between your Primal Light and Primal Chaos Essences, their balance fueling the Nephalem's Grace flowing through you. This place, the eye of the storm, is both my domain, and the impossible calm equality of the two opposing essences. But as a Devil, specifically a Succubus, you possess the Primal Essence of Fire. An essence that plays wholly on your emotions.” Fate closed her massive six speckled wings behind her, the chains holding them rustled with a sound that made Ayanna's chest ache.

  “So, my fire essence is controlled by my emotions, and my chaos and light essences are constantly at war with each other but also at peace? It doesn't make sense, Fate.” Ayanna's brow furrowed, and her tail slightly shifted, “How can my essence be controlled by my emotions if emotions are part of my Spirit, not my Essence?”

  “The soul is made up of the combination of Spirit and Essence, yes?” Fate asked with a smile.

  Ayanna nodded slowly.

  “And if I took one of the two parts from you, your soul could no longer maintain your body, yes?”

  Again, Ayanna nodded slowly.

  “And your magic would cease to be accessible without either your Spirit or Essence, yes?”

  Ayanna stared blankly, her eyes widening as she thought hard about Fate’s question. The truth was, she truly did not know. It wasn't something she was taught or even read about.

  “Without the balance of your Spirit and your Essence, your soul will wither and your magic would cease to exist,” Fate said, her tone harsh, “This is the same for your essence. Without perfect harmony of all three of your Primal Essences, you cannot fully utilize any of them. Your acceptance of your internal storm and the calm of their combination is proof of your ability to harness and utilize them all, at will. Though, your Primal Fire Essence’s strength is solely based on your emotional state, which helps keep the balance of your morality based Primal Light and Primal Chaos Essences.” Fate smiled, touching Ayanna's chin.

  Ayanna looked down at her lap, realizing that it wasn't just her Nephalem…

  “What is Nephalem Grace?” Ayanna asked, snapping her gaze back up to Fate.

  “Nephalem Grace is what our combination of Light and Chaos Essences was called, back in my time as Feytryn Halifax. I believe the Lich called it Blighted Radiance. It is a discipline of magic that can be only used by Nephalem. At your Primal level, it is capable of manipulating the fate and foundation of the world itself.” Fate smiled, her lips curling into a warm and gentle smile.

  Ayanna blinked and a predatory smile widened on her face. Her thoughts were filled with what she could accomplish once she learned to manipulate her Nephalem's Grace at a masterful level. Her wings shuddered, and her tail swatted the ground behind her, feeling the damp grass though she could not see it.

  “Is that what you want me to do?” Ayanna asked, finally wondering why all of this was so important for her to know, outside of just knowing herself.

  “My desire was to turn back time and stop my husband from destroying my village, yet now my desire is to merely change the path this world is on. Though, in the 258 years of your life, I know just how powerful your defiance truly is. I will not push my desire onto you, I merely want to walk with you on your path.” Fate's smile softened even further, “And I will grant you, Ayanna Grimoore, a portion of my knowledge on the magical capabilities of our shared Nephalem lineage.”

  With a rustle of the chains on Fate’s left arm, she reached back and plucked a feather from her wing, and leaned down to hand it to Ayanna.

  Ayanna opened her hands, holding the massive feather that was easily half the size of her. She looked at the radiant white feather spackled with varying sizes of black dots.

  “This is a portion of your knowledge? What am I supposed to do with it?” Ayanna asked, noticing that she could feel more of the forest around her, hear more of its sounds, smell more of its smells.

  — The Curator’s Notes —

  this is the chapter where the storm stops running and finally remembers it was born to stand still and swallow the sky.

  you feel the shift?

  The storm has only just found its voice. It's calling for the next chapter. Can you hear it?