Chronicles of the Unknowns: Division

Chapter 1

                

**3 weeks before Celeste's visit the the Court***

Things were changing. I could feel it in the air. Actually, I could see it right in front of me.

I sat at Amarande's feet as I held her hands in mine. They always started off so soft and gentle. So young. But as of late it did not take long for her age to show. Her pale hands wrinkled and her slender fingers curled against mine.

My power flowed from my hands into hers. Her skin returned to normal, but it was not permanent. Age was the one thing she could not escape even with her great power.

It was hard to think of her as being completely mortal. Amarande, or the Supreme as she most often went by, was a god in the flesh. The only word to describe her power was omnipotence. She was a paradox in the flesh. A completely mortal yet omnipotent being.

A being that was slowly losing her grip on reality.

Amarande's has been alive for at least a thousand years. Possibly even more. If there was any Unknown that it would seem impossible to die, it would definitely be her. I should have known better than to think that though. Everyone had the same sentiment before, regarding the Court member whose spot I replaced. She had been killed by an Unknown that was not even as powerful as her, but he had remarkable control over his abilities.

Philomene wanted his head after that, but he proved impossible to find. That was until a few years ago when he appeared with the group of Unknowns that led to the start of the war against the humans. He was especially attached to the tall one with blond hair -Daisy Lynn. They were both very fortunate that Amarande thought fondly of her. Philomene had noted their connection and she would have killed Daisy Lynn in revenge had she not had the Mark.

If I did not have the ability to heal, I would be very afraid of Philomene. She was the embodiment of death in every sense. A simple look could kill someone. If she breathed a gust of her powerful winds it could decay your flesh where you stood. Her truest form was the most gruesome of all - her skin fell apart at the touch and her face was often difficult to look at as you could see the bone underneath. Saying that Philomene was alive wouldn't exactly be correct.

She was more along the lines of undead. It could be said that she was the Unknown version of the grim reaper, if there was such a thing. I wouldn't be surprised if there were creatures humans regarded as myths running around in our world. They certainly did a better job at keeping their existence a secret than we did.

Amarande's hand gripped mine tightly for a moment, getting my attention.

"You think too much Augustus," she said softly.

"That is because I am worried about you," I replied.

"You are worried about everything. I have it under control."

I felt a moment of doubt at her words.

"Why can't we go out there? They need our help. Isn't it our job to step in when they can't handle it?" I asked her.

"Not this time, little one."

If there was one thing I'd learned in my time of being a Court member, it was that Amarande could be very protective of those she cared about. She never really used terms of endearment with the other members, just me. Part of me wondered if she was abstaining for my protection from whatever was out there. Another part of me questioned even that line of thinking - if she didn't tell you explicitly then often you were in the dark.

In all honesty she was not only a mentor, but very much like a mother to me. Sometimes that fact made it very hard to stomach what she was truly capable of when she was angrily. Just when I thought I'd seen true horror occur when my fellow Court members disciplined Unknowns (usually Enforcers) for stepping out of line, I'd seen her step in on a few occasions. Usually they had her Mark. And they all suffered without fail. The only limit was her imagination.