TBATE - Not Bound By Fate

Part 8

Kezess Indrath

I sat in the throne room of my castle waiting for Windsom to report his findings in Dicathen. It has been two weeks since Agrona delivered his message informing me of my daughter's death, causing unrest among the Great Eight. As I pondered on how to deal with the Vritra I felt Windsom's personal Tempus Warp outside the castle and him making his way to me.

"Lord Indrath I apologize for the delay, something unexpected happened." He said while taking a knee in front of me.

"What did you find?"

"There were three great concentrations of aether in Dicathen other than the one caused by Lady Sylvia, one in the elven forest and two in the human kingdom, Xyrus and Etistin to be precise but I was not able to determine the cause."

"That is certainly unexpected, we will have to send someone to monitor these locations." What could have possibly caused such a concentration of aether to the point it couldn't be identified. And right after Sylvia's death as well, could this be Agrona's work? "What of our spies in Alacrya, have they said anything so far?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid that was the last message they'll send. According to them, Cadell returned empty handed and heavily injured. He reported that Lady Sylvia burst into amethyst and black flames when he got close."

I couldn't help but feel a bit of pride knowing my daughter fought until the very end. If only she had the strength to kill that Vritra mutt. "I see, that means my granddaughter is still somewhere, presumably safe, considering you haven't brought her with you."

"My apologies Lord Indrath, Lady Sylvia made it near impossible to track her down. All I was able to discover was that your granddaughter was entrusted to a lesser child, and I have reason to believe he also received Lady Sylvia's body and will."

"Explain."

"Along with traces of a distortion in space, there were remnants of a Vivum based art and a mixture of human and dragon mana."

My eyes widened at Windsom's words. What was she thinking giving a lesser, a child no less, not only her will but body as well. Is this lesser special in any way for her to make such a choice? I sat in silence pondering on what her actions meant and what to do moving forward.

"Windsom, go to Charon and tell him to monitor the areas you mentioned in Sapin and Elenoir. You are to focus on finding the lesser child and my grandaughter, when you do monitor them for a few weeks before reporting and should the need arise reveal yourself and keep them safe."

"Understood."

I motioned for him to leave. I need time to think on what to do with that child, perhaps bringing them to train for the upcoming war. But that can wait, I must inform Myre of what has happened.

As I made my way through the castle in search of my wife I found myself in the garden my mother used to tend to and later Sylvia. Memories of the time I spent with them in this place resurfaced. I simply walked aimlessly, reminiscing until the sound of footsteps came from behind and broke me out of my thoughts. I turned around to see Myre slowly approaching with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I had a feeling you'd be here Kezess. Has Windsom returned?"

"He did, I only wish he had brought better news with him." I paused for a moment as I looked around the garden with its myriad of flowers from all over the world, some of them only existing in this place now. The atmosphere was heavy and dreary as a reminder of what was lost. "I'm sorry Myre, I wasn't able to protect her."

Myre's sad smile faded as she looked up with her eyes closed and a few tears escaped her. Pain scorched through me as we stood there in silence wallowing in our grief. After what felt like an eternity I spoke again.