IN ANOTHER LIFE , josie saltzman ✔️

47. The greatest power of all

„...My name is Rose Carter. I'm a resident of Callipso and Jonathan Chamberlain is my king. By the time you see this, I'll be dead and my magic has created a stronger, everlasting source of magic. A refuge that will stand long after war, sickness and death. A refuge that will allow each and every person of Alpha to access it. But for it to succeed the people of Alpha must recognize that changing the way we access our magic is the only way and-„ The hologram, in its shimmering golden light shut off and Rose's face blurred until the round and flat projector turned itself off. I picked up the silver projector from the floor and held it in my hand before turning around.
„Where did you get that?" Sophia asked, standing in the doorframe of my room. Her blue green eyes shone bright in the daylight. Sophia had one hand in the pocket of her blue, washed out jeans. Her boots were scraped off in the front. She wore a necklace, but it was hidden under her white shirt. Her oval face was much fairer than usual, and all of the sudden she looked she'd seen a ghost. „The library. Henry gave it to me. I- I wanted to know more," I told her. Sophia snickered and slid into the room, closing the door behind her.
„You know, you could always ask me, sweetie." She said and sat down next to me on the rug on the hardwood floor. „I knew her." She suddenly breathed out and I looked at her, suddenly breathlessly. It reminded me that there was so much I still didn't know about my godmother and teacher.
„For a few years, we were partners. Rose was in this... relationship that ultimately destroyed her, stripped her of all that was good, her magic..." She took a deep breath and shook her head, her hands suddenly trembling. In a quieter tone, she continued, „She created revilar lupus, made it so that it couldn't move or be destroyed, but still distributed to all lands so that everyone could access it. You see, five hundred years ago, Alpha worked differently. The way people accessed magic..." She shook her head again and I had the urge to take her shaking hands, but I knew better.
„Rose believed in a better world. But other people saw it differently. Cassius was one of them." She looked straight ahead and her eyes got glassy, as if she were picturing the people, the places. I couldn't help but wonder if they were as ethereal as Rose's hologram. „Rose mentioned Cassius. Who- Who is Cassius?" I asked and Sophia trembled for a moment. But then she looked at me and she was fine.
„One of the first. You still know the history of the first?" She asked and I nodded. „The gods were angry with what humans had done with the world and believed they couldn't be saved. So the children of the gods were tasked to create a being, one that was superior in every way. One that could lead the humans into a better future, but it didn't. It used it's heavenly powers and vanished from the world. Set up a home somewhere else, here. In Meridial, where the ancestors of the elders lived. And it saw that the people there were better and so it blessed them. Every thing the being had, the people were gifted and more. But their treasures soon became their curse. Sapphire, in every form, began to poison the being and so it poisoned the people. But they still thrived, and their babies were were called revilas, after Cas and Revil, the first woman the heavenly being blessed."
„And Cas was named Cassius, the baby of the heavenly being and Revil." Sophia said and took a deep breath, her fingers playing with the fluffy material of the rug. „So, we're named after the first goddess Revil and the biggest evil in our world. Because, you see, Cassius was very angry with his father. For what, no one knows. I suppose because the being still possessed powers that it would not share. If that is truly the case, then the being was right. Some things should remain hidden. Anyways," Sophia shook her head and moved on, „Cassius was seeking power all his life. It wasn't enough for him to be the only child of two higher beings. He wanted more. And so he quickly became king." Sophia shook again and this time, I reached out and took her hand in my own, squeezing it lightly. She smiled at me before she continued in a stern expression,
„Cassius became king by force. When that power didn't satisfy him, he began draining the elderly. His quest for power went as far as torturing revilas. But beneath that hunger for power was something else. Something human. Hundreds of thousands of years later, there was this woman with whom he fathered a child. A girl. But then a few years later, a plague came and took Cassius' wife. It took the girl, too, and Cassius changed. The deaths were enough for him to see that family is the ultimate power of all. Amaya, the girl survived, but the father was long gone, having changed, he traveled the world alone, staying away from people." Sophia told me and I furrowed my eyebrows.
„Then why is he the biggest evil of all? Because I have known my fair share of evils and he-„ I said, but Sophia only smiled.
„Amaya, my sweet child... Cassius may have changed but his goals remained the same. He may not have gone after them the same way with the same ruthlessness, but his goals... His hunger for something great, a power no one could have but him... He soon realized that while he couldn't have that, he knew who could. How he could use these powers anyways. So, he sought the magics of the blessed people that were still alive and turned them. Of course, not everyone was alive because it has been centuries but their children lived because of their immortality. He sought them out and drove them to madness before he killed them, believing he could harness their souls magics." I shook my head quickly and held up a hand. „Hold on a minute. What are you saying, Soph? That he knew these people's powers were greater together than apart and wanted to take hold of their soul magic?" Sophia nodded. A realization came over me, „They were driven mad before he killed them," I whispered and Sophia nodded again, „The elders. He created the elders," I whispered and gasped quietly.
„Yes. But Cassius did worse. Centuries later, he took someone under his wing, Rose. In the sense of time, we're like six hundred years back now." I nodded, thankful for that later statement because I had no idea when all of that took place.
    „Rose became his student and his lover. Cassius saw something in her, what everyone else but Rose already saw. He saw power and the knowledge and training to use it for good. But Cassius also saw what people like me did to Alpha. How Alpha settled into something that was peaceful and quiet and where no one was truly bad. He saw how Alpha's citizens, how I... how I used my privilege. I was next in line for the throne of Callipso and refused the crown." Sophia stopped and inhaled a deep breath.
    „We don't have to continue." I whispered and Sophia swallowed, shaking her head.
    „No, we do. You should know." She said and I sighed. Sophia fought with herself and took another deep breath, her thumb calmly drawing circles on the back of my hand.
    „I was exiled, so I came to Meridial. I met Rose and Alya Marzikova and him. By this point, Cassius was abusive towards Rose. There's a lot of history there that I was never really told. Anyways, Cassius slipped into an extreme behavior and did things that should never be spoken out loud. But Rose was optimistic and cheerful and creative and powerful. The revilas were still only able to access the magic that they had in themselves with exceptions of siphoning. But you could only take so much before-„
    „I know." I cut her off quickly and flinched at the thought of myself breaking down because of the magic I had in my soul.
    There was a pause and Sophia sat down infront of me, taking both my hands in hers.
    „Cassius wanted Rose to create something, a vessel for magic. An eternal vessel that would withstand the change of magics, the change of Alpha, so it would stand until the end of time. She did and it cost her her life. But Rose was a very smart person, and she knew that if Cassius continued to live, he would go on to hurt other people in his disguise of an innocent, wise man." There was a longer pause and I could now see the sun going down.
    „I'm hungry. Are you?" Sophia asked all of the sudden and I nodded my head eagerly.
    We stood up and went downstairs into the kitchen, prepared a meal while I listened to Sophia how Rose created revilar lupus and the effects it had on Alpha.