The Awakening

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THREE

     The minutes, like autumn leaves, turn to hours as she lays crying, thinking back upon the years with Dasher and their children. They spoke a little more about his life, going over the details of the war against Baal. “No, he still lives - but only as a fragment of himself. Michael has been placed on the council in his father’s place. He’s been very effective against Baal’s loyalists. Those centuries at war has taught him a thing or two about warfare and the art of war. He’s really turning things around out there, but it may still not be enough.
     “Ah! My baby…” More tears swell as she remembers back to his childhood and the many lost years. “I’ve been a terrible mother to him.”
     “No, not at all…” He supports her, tightens his grip around her hand as he tries to reassure her. “He loves you very much. Don’t ever think that… That he hates you.”
     “I don’t think he hates me. I just think I’ve been a terrible mother.”
     “You have nourished them, educated them, provided for them and gave them the room they needed to develop. They are now key players in the great game and you should be proud of them. Of your involvement in nurturing them.”
     “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
     “Oh! I’ve had a minor part in it.”
     “But you gave me strength and the will to be better.”
     “As you have done for me. But I’ve done little to help you with the raising of your children…”
     “Except for Daemon, the little rat.” Suddenly shock, concern drapes her as she reaches out to sense him and finds only a void. “Where is he?” In a panic, “Where’s my baby?” More tears begin to swell as she continues to reach out to find her youngest child.
     “He’s okay.”
     “But I don’t sense him… Or my father. What’s going on?”
     “Daemon is well. He’s with Alex, Star and Dante. They’ve gone out to play among the stars. They should be back within the month.”
     “What do you mean?”
     “They took Dante out again. Since your Torpor, Daemon and Alex have forged a much deeper bond. With the help of Dante, they have forged their own empire out in the three galaxies and Splugorth space.”
     “But how?”
     “With Alex’s genius, which he credits entirely to you, Daemon’s prowess, Star’s guidance and meddling, and Dante’s facilities. They’ve been an integral part in defeating Splynncrynth and freeing the Kittani. I don’t know what else to say.” He begins to laugh as he remembers back. “It was funny. A few years after you came here, Daemon came rushing over to me, concern draping his face as though a realization had struck him. He had realized that Alex was mortal. But above that… Did you know he’s an elf?”
     “Yeah… An elven hag.”
     “Yeah… That’s right. You knew that?”
     “He told me that on the first day we met.”
     “Well, he didn’t say anything to us about it. And so, as he grew older, he often forgot to maintain his form, and Daemon walked in on him and attacked him – assuming him to be someone else. The realization that Alex was something else was frightening to him. Here he is, beating Alex to an inch of his life, before being convinced that he was who he said he was. Now, he wears a mask to hide his face and that mask has now been associated with their empire. It’s really very clever. They are very clever. But forgetful.”
     She smiles, thinking back upon her son, the child who refused to learn and constantly in mischief. “So, not much has changed.”
     “Well…” He changes to a look of contemplation as he searches for his next wording. “Vlad has ascended. You are now Queen of all Kindred.”
     A stone look as her face flushes with the news.
     “His time came only a few months ago. He tried fighting it, he really did…” He shifts in his seat, trying to dig deeply into his lungs to conjure Vlad’s voice, “Not until I have seen my daughter for the last time…” The words were spoken with a perfect facsimile of her father, in both sound and stature. “He fought it, he truly did. But the time came, as he fought and Lilith came forth and gave him a single kiss to his forehead. He capitulated to the will of order and fell asleep in her arms. She carried him away and left behind an avatar to greet you as you woke. I asked that it waited until you sought it out. It will officiate over your dedication.”
     A single tear for her father, as she hoped to be by his side, as he was by hers, as he fell into the deep nothingness. She ushers a silent prayer to his name and life. “I’ve lost so much…”
     “It’s change… It is the will of order.”
     She pierces her eyes at him, not out of true anger, but out of loss and frustration. Inside of her, she felt that she could have done something to prevent it all, to change the course of fate and saved everyone she had ever loved. But his words were true. And deep down inside of her, if there was anything Lucien could have done to prevent it, or change the course of time, he would have – onto the ends of the earth, by god he would have. Without warning, she embraces him, holds him in close and tight. No words, only her grip and the moistness of her cheeks as she silently cried for her loss. The pain tears at her from within… There is so much pain, in the embrace of all her joy. So much was unfair.

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