Evalyce: Worldshaper Vol. 2 Lady of Wolves

Claiming Consort

Arkaddia, Evalyce, Year of the Mythril Serpent, 2014 CE

Kalla woke wrapped in the scent of cinnamon, frankincense and fox. Her muzzy mind finally managed to register that it was because Aleister was asleep beside her, one arm curled protectively around her. She could tell by fading scents of woodsmoke and fire that Vander and Amaterasu had been close by as well. The latter two scents were dispersing so they must have been gone for a little while at least. Casting her mind in search of the frost wolf, she found that the pair were out hunting, despite the rain that still drummed the shields in a drowsy downpour. She growled to herself, not quite sure how she felt about having the Arkaddian so close and not as kitsune.

She growled again and Aleister shifted in his sleep, hugging her tighter. Kalla's next growl was deep and ominous, rumbling between them. The Fox's eyes snapped open and he scrambled back. Despite sensing her irritation, a slow grin brightened Aleister's face and he focused shining eyes on his mage.

"Dare I even ask?" Kalla muttered. She had vague memories of returning from Xibalba, none of them very good. The mage's brows furrowed as she realized she was still clutching the case containing the Quill.

"You weren't responsive when we brought you back. You... ah... you would only keep quiet if I kept contact with you. I do apologize, milady." Aleister's lilting voice was laced with apprehension, as if he expected her to lash out angrily. He ran a hand through his hair, lowering that bright focused gaze. Even so, she sensed that her apparent recovery served as a balm to his fear of chastisement.

"You did as you had to. There can be no offense in that." Kalla shook her head. "Was I really that bad off?"

"Lord Araun said that the locks on your power had closed, that we were seeing how his test really affected you. He said that you were waking Divinity." Here Aleister paused, looking down at his hands in his lap before glancing back up at the mage. "Do you remember anything?" he asked softly.

Kalla frowned. Her memories from the journeying and thereafter were murky and indistinct. Vague images of a city of tents, a white hound with red ears and a whistle flitted through her mind, followed by the burning sapphire gaze of the Lord of Living Nightmare. She reached into her robes and, from a hidden pocket, pulled out the whistle Araun had given her. Some three inches long, it was carved in the likeness of the ghilan. She tucked it away again.

"I remember little. I traveled to Ishkar, I believe. Lord Araun... turned the man into a hunting hound, white with red ears. One of the Coinn Iotair. He said the man would not remember his stay in Xibalba. I remember that we won the Quill and he gave me the whistle to call the Wild Hunt if I was in need." She paused, as the memories became clearer.

"He also said that we could not enter Ganysha's realm until I claimed the aspect of Lady of Wolves.

"He called me Amaraaq, the same thing Vander and Dogin called me. I thought it meant 'Mother of Wolves', but now I'm not so sure. I need to ask Vander when he returns. I can only assume it has something to do with the new-found power I have. I understand what Araun meant when he told you the 'locks on my power had closed'. Since Balgeras touched me, I have felt them. I have no control over them, yet, when they are open I am not the same. I am Kalla and yet, I am not," she said.

"I'm not sure about traveling to Ishkar, but the rest is accurate. I believe you may be right. Lord Araun addressed you as Amaraaq more as a name, than a title.

"I am glad you're better now, milady. I had planned to return to Cryshal, to let Hauss heal you, if you didn't improve. Vander said that in such cases, a Healer was needed." Aleister gave a rueful laugh. "You are stubborn, milady. Stubborn and strong-willed."