The Enemy without a Home

Prologue

She knew that this was the last day of her life on the Earth in a mortal body. She could feel her blood seeking into the earth. Her lungs were screaming with their own silent tears. But she still had work to do. It was more important than the needs of her dying body. She had to save her daughter. She could not stop the torrent of tears that rolled down her eyes or the screeches that erupted through her throat, born out of anguish and pain. The creatures of the forest drew on her pain and gave her comfort.

She gave another heave. One more, she thought, just one. She knew that she has little time to give birth to her unborn. She gave all her strength into pushing out her baby, simultaneously coaxing the little spirit to go out of her womb. Finally, she felt a surging of liquid and a tiny wail that marked the birth of the era of the destruction of all the old powers. She laughed weakly and cut the umbilical cord tying her to her child. Then finally she held the small, kicking wonder in her hands.

''Oh, my sweeting, I am sorry that I must leave you now. But fear not little one, I will choose a worthy protector for you, who will find you in time. He will love you, the way I should have been allowed to'', she whispered to her new-born. She closed her eyes and sought out the pure and innocent soul which was brimming with happiness and wonder. Tears came to her eyes as she held her daughter's soul in her hands. Oh, I am so sorry baby girl, so sorry, then she tore her daughter's soul in half and absorbed her daughter's pain in her own soul. She blew away the other half of the soul urging it to find somebody worthy of her daughter and who should be able to protect her in her darkest times. She had seen the struggles to be borne by her daughter and this was the only thing she could do. Then she gently let her other half of the soul to re-enter her daughter's body.

The woman stared into her daughter's sleeping face. ''You shall be called Irridessa. Remember my love for you Ira.'' Then she inserted the memory of her daughter's birth into her daughter's soul.

She gently kissed her baby on the brow and gazed upon her face a last time. Then steeling her heart, she placed the spell of overlooking over her daughter's body and laid her in the nearby thickets.

She could hear the others almost coming. She could not let them know where her daughter was. She raced back to the clearing and stood in a defensive pose, twirling her knife in her hand and a wicked-looking curved scimitar in the other.

Tears came to her eyes when she saw her beloved. But she held them back knowing that a single mistake in the execution of her plan could lead to disaster in her daughter's life, which she would not allow to happen. So, she locked down all her emotions and stared ahead as the other three of the old powers came into her line of sight.

'Dear, drop your weapons. You cannot fight all of us. You must give us the child. We know that it was born. We all felt it. Give it to us before it has a chance to destroy all of us'', her beloved pleaded softly.

She wanted to scream that their daughter was not an it. But she knew that her beloved was very charming when needed to be. It had led her to fall in love with him in the first place. But did he really think that she would give up her baby to be sacrificed because of the others believed that her baby could destroy them because of some vague prophecy? She had seen self- fulfilling prophecies and she never wanted her daughter to go the path of war.

She did not deem her beloved's pleading with an answer but just flashed her knife once more.

Her best friend came up beside him beloved but didn't say anything. She knew that a fight was inevitable. Nothing could stop it.

They rushed her together, trying to herd her into a corner. But she was not known as the silver blade only because of her steely eyes. She was the deadliest shield-maiden before she came into her powers. She simply twirled both her weapons and expertly flipped to the other side.

She sensed that her daughter was about to wake up and knew that it was time to finish the fight. Though she has placed the spell of overlooking over her, she knew that the moment her daughter made a noise, the others would find her where she was hidden. She could not let that happen. Taking a deep breath, she dove into their midst and flicked her weapons, placing shallow cuts on all their forearms. Then she dropped all her weapons and drew their spirits into her. She dimly felt herself being stabbed repeatedly in the heart. She was waiting for this moment. The moment her soul began to bleed, she pulled all the other spirits through the cracks forming in her soul.

Then recalling her daughter's innocent sleeping face for one last time, she left her mortal body, trapping her spirit with all the others into the earth.

Nobody would harm her daughter again. She had done all she could. Now it rested in the hands of fate where her daughter's life would lead her.