leap of faith (Completed)

chapter 22

                      She left Asenas chambers wondering , if she was really worthy why hadn’t the source called out to her yet? She trusted Asena but this seemed far fetched even to her. The next morning they woke upto the news that Cadoc was marching in on Eirlys with his army of Ogres , trolls , giants and magic wielders and he himself seemed like a shadow of death to the ones that had witnessed his presence and lived to tell the tale. War was coming to them , and their forces would fall short , she heard Asena and Dorian whispering in a corner , it almost seemed like an argument but she didn’t want to Eve’s drop.

Theo was agitated to fight, he wanted to be out there ,  it was where he belonged . Being cooped up in the castle walls was driving him insane. Evyana was practicing combat when the king summoned them , to the court , she realized it was her first time at the court and she was dressed in combat gear, but Theo was too, so it didn’t bother her much , the court room was huge with marble pillars , that had carvings etched on them, where they met the ceiling ,with plain windows.

The mural in this room was behind the throne , a huge mural of a handsome man, she guessed it was Bronimir along with an equally beautiful woman with magical creatures surrounding them , before she could look at it more intently her attention was drawn towards the chaos , a man stood surrounded by knights , he looked haggard and scared , Dorian stood next to the King and Asena next to him , the Queen was sitting in her throne , her face tense.

Theo and Evyana moved in closer .
“ He abducts people with magical blood lines now , and burns the rest!” The man said almost in tears .

“ What use would a magic wielder without magic be?” the queen pondered .

“ He kills them, their life force gives him power.” The man cried terrified .

Everyone present in the hall was silent , their faces tense , knowing the fate that was coming for all of them. They knew he’d been abducting magical creatures , but they were far and in between as the fighters protected them well and they too had learned to protect themselves. This though , no one had seen coming . Evyana stared at the mural , at all the creatures that it held , nymphs , fairies , mermaid , elves and dwarfs , and a dragon.

She looked at the dragon that seemed like a star exploding in the night sky. She thought she’d ask Asena about it later. They left the court room and the man was taken to the healers. Theo stayed back to talk to Dorian who was still by the kings side , they had a war to plan now.

Evyana found Asena and asked her about the dragon , “ It was the guardian of Eirlys , the day magic disappeared was the last time it was seen, now people believe it’s a legend , just like the disappearance of magic.” 

Evyana thought about the dragon that she’d failed to notice because it was huge and was at the very back, giving it an impression of being the night sky. The moment she thought of this she ran , Asena stood there staring after her , she ran like her life depended on it , she barged into the dining hall to stare at the mural , the mountain with the night sky glinting at the back , she knew the castle was rebuilt after Drogomir was crowned king , after magic disappeared .

She looked at the mural again and again till she saw it , the dragon it was there hidden in the night sky , right where the mountain was. Asena had followed her to find her staring at a mural in the dining room, almost breathless.

“Little Red , you ran all the way here to stare at a mural?” Asena asked , when she turned around her eyes held a gleam that Asena had never seen before.

“ This mountain! Where is it?” Evyana asked her .

“ It’s in between all the creatures territories , you’d have to cross atleast one to get there. The nymphs would be supportive .” Asena answered her.

“ why?” she asked.

“ It’s there.” was Evyanas answer. 

                        The six of them , were gathered in the dining room, as Evyana told them what she thought , she couldn’t prove it , but her instinct wouldn’t lead her astray she knew.

“ It disappeared right after the magic did. It was the guardian of Eirlys , there’s a strong chance it’s guarding the magic even now. The mural , the sky in Eirlys is different than its in the mural. This one matches the one in the court room.” Dorian and Asena trusted her completely , the king and the queen seemed skeptical .

Theo though , couldn’t make head or tail out of the situation as he was completely out of the loop.

“ Could anybody clue me in?” he asked irritation clear.

Evyana looked at him with wide eyes apologetic , Dorian explained the entire situation to him and with each word , Theo seemed to get angrier, when he realized what Evyana was about to do he couldn’t keep a lid on his temper.

“You have any idea what you’re about to do? You do know where summoning the magic of Eirlys got the last person who tried it?? It got him dead!!! You are doing this to satiate some misplaced sense of heroic duty !.........

..........These people don’t even know you!!! You are willing to sacrifice your life for them? What about me???? I’ve waited my entire life for you! I spent each moment wondering if you were real!..........

............. And when I finally found you , I drag you into this! Evyana I know this is important, I know lives are at stake, but please listen to me, you are more than a sacrifice we’ll find another way. Please.” Theo knew he sounded selfish , he trusted her, he did , he knew that what she thought had a high possibility of being real , and he even acknowledged what the others so conveniently left out, if the source finds her worthy , then she’ll be the host , she’s worthy and she might be strong, but everyone knew magic was not meant to be trifled with, let alone magic of such magnitude , it could save lives yes, and right now , with Cadoc turning into a soul devouring monster, this was their best chance , but he didn’t want to take it.

The choice wasn’t his though that he knew . Evyana had already made up her mind , he could tell from the look in her eyes , he knew she didn’t want to sacrifice herself either , it probably didn’t even occur to her until he pointed it out, now that he had though , he knew she still wouldn’t back out. She walked upto him, her eyes empathetic and teary , she caressed his face , just like the first time they’d met, he held her hand and his eyes softened , he knew , no matter what she did and no matter where she went he’d follow.