Reaching for the Stars

Chapter Ten

Livia is the first to step forward, her eyes firm as she stares at me. "You have my blessing, and Isolde's, she granted me her blessing, before she passed on as well as what she was looking for in a successor. For her blessing, it is valued that you are brave enough to sacrifice your life for others, like you did for that sister you had in the dream, yet you are strong enough to stand your ground when faced with an enemy who seeks to control you, which grants you mine." She steps back and Amadeus steps forwards next.

"You had riches and yet you did not walk by others suffering, you were not overly cruel or kind, but neutral and fair, even when confronted with people who had wronged you. You more than deserve my blessing." My mind flashes back to when I granted my blood family coins to keep from starving on the streets.

"You were not arrogant when placed in a position of power, you were just and fair, yet strong and firm when the situation called for it. You have my blessing, as for Deidra's you did not cower in the face of an enemy who was stronger than you, you came up with a way to beat them, she would have seen you as worthy of her blessing as well." Cato's requirement for his blessing is not what I expected from him, the man who usually acted so arrogant himself, but I suppose it was more bravado in front of family, than true arrogance in the face of those weaker than him.

"You did not allow blood relations to make you foolish, you were just with them, and only attacked when provoked, for that you have my blessing, in the face of a loyal friend you were willing to sacrifice much to save her, for that reason I grant you my brother Theron's blessing." Camala looks at me as if she is proud, as if my actions have made her very pleased.

"You did not act rashly in the face of disrespect, you gave that governor exactly what he deserved, no more or less, you were even willing to forgive his arrogance because you saw the bigger picture, that not everything can be measured in offenses and good deeds. You have my blessing for this." Kallandra's words were soft, but her eyes were blazing with an inner fire.

"To sacrifice beauty, to compliment someone who is having a hard day, who may look prettier that you, I praise you for this. But what grants you my blessing is the fact that even under the dream haze where we manipulated your environment to see the truth of what you would do in certain situations, you were firm in the belief that even with white hair your beauty was still there, that it was more than just skin deep, that is a lesson many women in our world never learn, many men as well, but they are not worth your time if all they seek from you is your looks.

I was praised for my beauty, it made me arrogant, when I was alive, I believed being seen as the most beautiful woman ever, was all that mattered, I was praised every day and yet it was never enough, there was always some fault or someone who looked nicer than I did, it shames me, the actions that I took when I was alive, before I met my lord, I hope you keep that knowledge firmly in place, beauty is more than what is on the surface, the gods made us in their image, every single one of us, it is merely humans who choose what is beautiful and what is ugly, being happy with your appearance, confident in what the gods judged you should look like, that is the blessing that the humans have lost, I hope you can allow others to regain it." Atarah, the one decked out in jewelry and makeup, the one who called my offerings trash, never would I have thought those words would come from her.

"You faced an enemy stronger than you, but instead of rashly running in with a sword to swing around like a barbarian, you came up with a strategy that was both clever and smart, offered with the chance of being a great herbalist, your mind told the truth that you would choose to not only learn the art of healing but of killing as well, all knowledge in life has a use, one just has to find it, and use it properly, I believe you will do that, so I grant you my blessing." Bohdi's words are quiet, but are no means lacking power, as if by the same instinct they all turn to look at a man I had not seen before.

What should be the last of the twelve blessings if I was counting right. "I am Marcellus, we may not have spoken before, but I have been watching, to watch in the shadows, is a great skill, attacked by your mother, you took her knife and gave it back to her, stabbing her in the stomach and taking her life, faced with an arrogant but powerful governor, you used a poison to disable him and his guards. As a herbalist you wish to received praise for all those you have saved, but you do not shun away from the power death has, you do not fear dying, death is but another stage of life, the irrational fear all humans seem to have for it is foolish, sent to this forest to die by your family, you relied on your own skills to survive, you gave up precious food that could save you from starving, in order to properly honor us.

I may not be the strongest of us, or the most courageous, or the most beautiful, many traits don't fit me, I was called a monster when I was alive, it didn't matter that I killed those who deserved it and spared the innocent, the true monsters tend to hide behind righteous disguises, death is a part of life, it is a part of surviving, of changing, you who paid respect to ghosts long forgotten by others, except residing in some myths or legends that no longer bare our true names, have earned the blessing of Marcellus the taker of lives, the demon who stole souls, life is not possible without death, and death only happens to the living, death is inevitable in the lives of those who are powerful, whether it is your enemies or the friends around you, being a saint helps no one, being kind in the face of evil, forgiving in the face of grave mistakes, allows no one but the monsters to thrive, you seek a reputation for fame in saving lives, but I tell you now, you should seek one for being ruthless, for showing no mercy to offenders, only then when you are strong enough to protect the ones you love can you care about who you kill to rise up in this world.

Enemies will always be in every corner, they will never disappear, for with power, there comes those who wish to steal it from you, Lord Nero knows that better than anyone, which is why he gathered us around him, because being strong alone does nothing, having loyal friends willing to help you fight against threats greater than you, is the only thing one should truly desire, money, fame, beauty, power, true friends are what make having any of those worth it, for alone the heart is hollow and weak, love and friendship, make people strong, give them the courage to rise up from the ground trying to keep them down, so I who was once called death by all who crossed me, grant you my words of wisdom given from a life of fighting." With that he steps forward and touches my forehead. "May you forever see that taking a life does not come without a cost." His touch is ice cold, and it causes pain to rush forward, making me squeeze my eyes shut in pain as my vision blurs.

When I open them only Nero remains, but we are no longer in the room beneath his shrine, instead we stand on the grounds of the graves I have been cleaning for weeks now. He smiles at me, his eyes looking relieved. "Daughter of my blood, you are the first to have received the blessing of the twelve, we who were once worshipped as gods when we were alive, grant you blessings, and respect, may you use it wisely." He grabs my hand, and summons qi to form a blade in his hand, I allow him to cut me with no hesitation, he cuts my palm and allows my blood to drip onto his shrine.

I watch as it trails down the stone dome and reveals patterns previously hidden, tales of battles and strength, the meetings of the twelve, their power over the world, and eventually the tale of how they were forgotten, how they grew apart and weaker for it, eventually taken down one by one, by enemies they were not strong enough to face alone. He dips his head, his face seemingly regretful as he sees his lifestory carved in the stone, he summons fire, putting it in the mouth of one of the four dragon statues residing around his grave.

"Fire, water, air, and earth. Remember this sequence, first blood, then fire, water, air and earth, doing it wrong with result in death, I have minimal power over the mortal realm now, I will not be able to open the door for you, all I can do is show you the key." I force myself to remember which dragon gets which element, they said they granted me blessings, but I had yet to see anything yet, maybe it waited for me in the mortal world, instead of the dream one they had pulled me into in order to speak to me.

Like before, his grave moves and reveals a staircase that goes into darkness, but this time I know it will not lead to some empty stone chamber where is waiting for me, but something else, something they had stayed thousands of years to protect until they could find a worthy successor for what lied below. I wasn't sure if I was qualified for it, whatever they said, no matter what qualities I possessed that they seemed to like, but the curiosity to see what is down there, would always win out for me, I was always too curious for my own good, hopefully I remembered the key correctly and this didn't result in my death.