Echoes of Forgotten Wings

Chapter 18: The Sacrifice

The atmosphere inside the cave felt charged with a kind of force that transcended even the tempest that lashed the outside world. He felt the inherent tension within that moment: Ivo knelt at the centre of the ritual circle with his chest heaving with excitement as the relics around him glimmered softly. The wind was howling and gushing into the cave, tossing his locks of hair so that they lay in front of him but he cared the least bit. He was in deep focus—his mind concentrated solely on the unattainable goal ahead of him.

Kael was frozen in all her pain and helplessness, her wings crumpled and torn. His hands shook as he went to the ancient family heirloom dagger clutched beneath his armor. The finishing dagger to the ceremony. The very one that would be imbibed in ceremonial blood. The blood, which belonged to the ones labelled as traitors, would be the last ingredients to the ritual aimed at unchaining the last of the skyborn.

With a sharp inhalation, he prepared himself and even attempted to erase the inward terror that had surfaced behind his ribs. This was the time. The time he has been waiting for. The time that is supposed to liberate Kael, silence the raging tempest and restore tranquility to his community.

But what about the price?

The burden of the choice made him feel as if he would be swept under a very heavy wave. His thoughts drifted to his mother, the village and how all the people he once called friends, family even, turned their backs on him. He envisioned the life he had always dreamed of, uncomplicated, tranquil with numerous possibilities. And most importantly, he thought of Kael, who had been a prisoner for countless years, denied the liberty he so greatly desired.

"Ivo," Kael rasped, managing somehow to pierce through the raging elements. His eyes, once harsh and demanding, were now soft, more human. "You don't have to do this."

For a moment, Ivo didn't speak. Instead, his grip on the dagger he was holding hardened, its icy steel drawing blood from his palm. "What are you talking about? The ritual, this is the only option left. It is my blood that opens the door."

Kael slowly sifted the words with deliberate precision upon the pendulum of silence. "That is something that was fed to you. That is something that has been established in your MIND for a good number of years. But there is one thing deep inside you that you do not probably comprehend. One thing that I have failed to mention."

Ivo felt a dread come over him as though it had come to envelop a body in flames. "What have you not told me?"

Kael fixed his stare right inside of Ivo, and all of a sudden there was that look in his eyes that Ivo so very deeply feared. "The CURSE, yes, it is connected to the blood of traitors. But it's not something where it's about death. The blood is potent, yes, but with the curse... it can only be dispelled by a decision made. Not the decision to give one's life. The decision to continue living."

Ivo stopped in his tracks, his thoughts spinning out of control. "What the hell do you mean?"

Adjusting his wings so that the tips of the feathers brushed the cut stone of the floor, Kael spoke in a voice heavy with ancient truths. "The curse was not a death sentence. It was restriction to the earth, erasure of the past, and knowing no freedom. Your ancestors... didn't just turn their backs from the Skyborn. They took a weight that enslaved them. They intertwined their genealogy's fate with that of my people. And this bond can only be severed, not through death, but through the act of living. And that is to bear that burden. That is the choice. To bear it."

Ivo felt the ground shift suddenly under his feet, his brain struggling to keep pace with Kael's thoughts. "I don't understand," he replied, his voice quivering. "You said that my blood would set you free."

Kael's eyes became gentler, and for the first time, since they met, there was something in his eyes for a split second, which was almost like sorrow. "I thought it would. I thought your death would unlock it. The reality is... It is your life that is the key. Should you pass away, the curse would still be intact. The storm will come to an end, but the bonds will be intact. The Skyborn people shall remain imprisoned. Unless...you live on, if it is a choosing of living that you do, all whilst being aware of the burden that you bear, and the responsibilities of the transgressions of your forebears... only then is the curse amenable to being lifted."

Ivo could feel the rapid rise and fall of his heart, his grip loosening on the weapon as his hands shook. His existence... his existence was the secret. But not by giving oneself away. By living. By choosing to endure the curse, to shoulder the burden of the Skyborn's destiny. 

"I don't comprehend," Ivo reiterated, this time in a hush. "How does my existence – me being alive – make a difference?" 

The gaze of Kael remained unwavering, its depth reflecting years of wisdom, pain and conflict. "For the reason that the curse itself came from terror. Terror from the likes of you and what we can do and what we could possibly be. The ancients outlawed us because they thought they would be able to contain our strength. It was a fear-based decision. One aimed at cowing, taming the unshakeable. In deciding not to die, in choosing to shoulder our destiny, you are no longer a coward. You are not a coward and a traitor. You are fighting for us not by committing suicide but by accepting what was done by your forefathers and what needs to be corrected." 

Ivo's head was spinning in circles. This was not the kind of reply he had anticipated, nor the kind of turnaround he had planned. At the back of his mind, up to this point, he had believed that giving up his life was the only means of breaking the curse, saving Kael, and averting the impending tempest. Yet now... he was commanded to live. As required. To carry the weight of the curse that was the Skyborn, as is expected of him, until the end of his days.

His throat constricted painfully, and he dropped his gaze to the polished dagger he held in hand. He had been prepared for death. Prepared to give up everything in return for Kael's liberation. But now... now the thing was even more difficult than it used to be.

"There's also a possibility that I will not be able to do this," Ivo managed to reply, his voice choked with pain. "I do not know if I am strong enough."

Kael's expression became soft and calm and he extended his hand that was shaking onto Ivo's arm. "Strength is not about being prepared, Ivo. It is about taking the action, taking the risk, despite being afraid. Afraid of the unknown. I know you have that kind of courageous strength within you. I've seen it before. And I hope... I hope you will be able to shoulder this weight as well."

The tempest raged did not seem outside for a brief spell, the wind fading to a gentle tickle in which it appeared as if the universe was holding its breath. The anguish within Ivo's heart was that of the dilemma which lay before him, the overburdening sense of what Kael was offering him. To exist while burdened with the curse, to bear the destiny of the Skyborn.

But hasn't he been making that choice all along? Isn't that the very reason why he has come this far – not solely to break this curse but to learn and master it?

"I don't wish to exist under restraints," Ivo sighed, almost to himself more than Kael. To Kael's delight, there was still hope. "Then don't. Live for something larger than this. Live for the liberty of my people. Live to avenge the past injustices."

Ivo's hands tightened around the dagger, and in quiet resigned anger, he took a deep breath and placed it beside himself on the ground. To this effect, he felt relief from the burden in his chest even as the quiet began, it was an anticipation of the calm before the storm.

"I do not want to die," he stated, his tone even and firm as one making a vow.

Kael's wings shook and a faint light started glowing luminescent from the relics as the magic of the ritual reacted with Ivo's resolution. The restraints on Kael's wrists, ankles and neck shone, the age-old fetters melting away like vapor.

Then as the last chain completed its disintegration, the wings of kael, unbending and shrivelled from age, spread out to their full extent, as the feathers, which were weak before, became strong. A gentle, incandescent light enveloped the cave, and Ivo's astonished gaze beheld the restoration of the skyborns' might.

Kael got up with his knees and there were abundant wings on his back which spread out fully without the curse restraining them. However, even while standing up straight, there was a softness in his eyes and a feeling of deep appreciation.

"You have achieved more than just free us from the curse, Ivo," Kael's voice was heavy with feeling. "You have made a decision for us all."

Ivo felt proud and heavy at what he had managed to achieve, but also that he had made the right choice. He had chosen to live – not only for himself however for the Skyborn, for his village, for everybody.

The tempest outside threatened to dissipate fully, the renewing winds calming down into a light breeze as the ceiling began to clear up. And in that instant, Ivo was certain that it was his life, his choice, that had changed the face of the earth.