Althea

Phoenixes and Reunions

Ariadne: the divine one
Origin: Greek

With a quick flick of the womans wrists, the Malignant were petrified, frozen in time, along with their true master, Achan. The woman who looked like my mom tutted at Achan before she turned to me and smiled again. She held out her arms for me, beckoning me in for a hug. I stumbled numbly over to her, and let her envelope me in a tight embrace. This woman felt like my mom; her arms were too strong for her petite body, exactly as I remember her. She even smelled of yeast and sheep's wool like my mom, but she just wasn't the same, and I couldn't put my finger on it. She ran her fingers through my tangled hair, and pulled away from me so she could look at my face.
"My, my, I thought your bedhead was bad. This is much worse." She teased, tweaking the end of my nose. I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder, and craned my neck around to see Solomon.
"This is your mother Althea?" I nodded mutely, and he grinned widely. He stuck out his hand towards my mom.
"Sir Solomon ma'am, I am very pleased to meet you." She giggled and winked knowingly at me, before taking his hand in a firm handshake.
"This woman is far more than just Althea's mother," The High Priestess scoffed."Witches, druids, dryads, moths, bow before The Divine One, the Goddess, and Tellus Mater, Nature!" Solomon stared at his hand in shock before falling to the ground, prostrating himself like all those around him.
"Now really, daughter, was that necessary?" She said, chiding the High Priestess. "I am Nature, yes, but I am not someone to be feared. Unless you happen to be one of my naughtier grandchildren."
She glared at Achan, but not just with anger. There was also sorrow, pity. Nature took my hands.
"I cannot leave him like this, he must be defeated. I have only slowed time. The Empress will still die and Achan will still rise. I need your help, my daughters. My little granddaughter, I need you too." She said looking at The High Priestess and Deirdre.
"You mean you can't defeat him on your own?" My mother smiled. Only now did I notice the wrinkles around her eyes, and the creases that outlined her mouth.
"I am not a young goddess, and I have been weakened by some of my more, awry, children." She said.
"The humans." I muttered. For the first time on my whole quest, I did not count myself among them. She nodded.
"Not all of them are bad, Althea. Your father was one of the few."
"My father?" She nodded again. My thoughts began to wander before a snort from Cassius brought me back to the situation at hand.
"But I don't understand, how and I supposed to help you? I am pathetically ordinary, besides being a walking Malignant antidote." She laughed.
"Oh, my dear, you know that is not true. I know you feel it, that warmth in your stomach? That is your Life force my dear. You are human still, but you are my daughter too. You have the power to defeat even Deirdre with the snap of your fingers."
"Won't the High Priestess and Deirdre be enough?" I said, desperately. The High Priestess answered me this time.
"Nullo, little sister, we can not. Life is incredibly powerful, raw energy only barely contained by our physical bodies and in a being such as the Empress it is stronger than most. Every scrap of her is being harvested for her Vitae. Soon she will be nothing more than a pile of dust, easily blown away in the wind. With his Life restored and his sisters added to his own, Achan will be more powerful than even Nature, and we will not be able to stop him."
"I'm scared. This isn't what I wanted. I want the farm back. I even want Lilly." I whispered, low enough for only my mother to hear. A single tear trickled down to my chin. She cupped my cheeks.
"My darling girl, your fear is your power. You cannot be brave without it. You should not want to live without fear or trying times. You cannot know who you are, or what you are capable of if there is nothing for you to fight for. Come now, choose to be brave."
Silently, I walked over to Achan and stood a mere five paces from him. Ariandne stood next to me, the High Priestess beside her, and finally, Deidre fell into place on my left. She gave my hand a tentative squeeze before focusing on the man she had once thought loved her.
"Lady Arethusa! Brynhilde! Ready your armies! The Malignant must not be allowed to interfere while we deal with my grandson." Nature called, her voice resonating over the field.
In response the armies moved, re aligning themselves in front of the remaining Malignant. Solomon swung onto Cassius and steered him to the front alongside Arethusa. He nodded stiffly to me, his all-too-familiar look of stout resolution now etched upon his face.
Nature extended her hands, and the rest of us followed suit. My tongue curled into unfamiliar shapes and unfamiliar words tumbled from between my lips. I watched Achan stumble as the spell binding him was lifted, and saw the flurry of movement in my peripheral vision as the armies clashed once more. Strangely enough, there was no sound. No ringing of metal blades, no thunk of branches on shields. I could not even hear Deirdre as she spoke. I could only see the strain in her face, and fresh tears making rivers down her cheeks. No magical lightning came from the sky. This time, an egg of earth tendrils began to cover Achan. He was blasting them to pebbles as they grew up, but when one was destroyed, more took its place. Soon, all that remained was a sphere as long as Cassius and thicker than any tree. We all raised our hands, guiding the egg and together, threw down our hands. The egg broke through the surface of the earth, and we sent it down, down, down, until it was far beyond our sight.
Deirdre collapsed beside me, and the High Priestess stumbled, a bleary look in her eyes. I swayed unsteadily, blinking furiously to try and stay awake. It seemed like in a single instant, our fight was over.
Not so for the warriors still fighting around us. My mother started to sing, a song so quiet and tranquil, yet somehow still heard over the clamour of the battle. In the distance, I heard a reply. A perfect harmony to my mothers song. A massive bird flew over the trees and came to rest on Ariadne's outstretched arm. It resembled like an eagle in body, yet it's feathers were muted reds and oranges, with the smallest feathers around its face being a bright blue. Its eye was a flickering flame, and it was far bigger than any eagle. It could easily grab even Moses, my old ram, and fly away with him like an owl snatches a mouse.
"Lady Arethusa! Brynhilde! Order your forces to retreat behind me now! Ignis Vitae will not distinguish friend from foe as he does his work!" Our forces ran for the woods behind me, the dryads in particular, faster than I had ever seen anything run. The Malignant tried to give chase, but with a swoop from Ignis Vitae's wing, a wall of fire rose between the two armies. With a joyful caw, the bird took off from my mother's arm and flew straight through the flames as I watched in awe.
"What is that?" I wondered aloud.
"A phoenix!" Arethusa shouted from behind me angrily, answering my question. "Those monsters may not look like dryads, but they are my people, your children, even as Althea is Goddess! You cannot kill them like this!"
"Peace, my child. Ignis is one of my oldest and dearest friends. He is the grandsire of all phoenixes and his fire is pure. It will not harm them, only save them."
The fire started to die and Ignis Vitae rose above the smoke, circling and singing.
"Thank you, old friend." Nature called. He cawed one last time, and as he disappeared the fire died out, revealing a field full of dazed, smoking dryads.
"Zinnia!" Arethusa cried, rushing forward and dropping at a young girl's side. "Thank you, Goddess, for saving my sister."
"Sisters are some of life's greatest gifts. Nobody is more accepting, more honest, more trustworthy. It is truly a crime to keep sisters parted, whether they be by blood or by choice." Ariadne said, nodding towards Deidre and Philena.
They were talking in between embraces, catching up on everything, acting like they were still children playing in the garden.
Like no time had passed, like no hurt had been dealt, like no lives had been lost.
"Ariadne," I said, a sudden thought sprouting in my mind. "Where did we send Achan?"
"We sent him to the fiery heart of Terra. He won't be bothering anyone anymore. Also, who is this Ariadne?" My mom winked at me before disappearing in a swirl of leaves leaving nothing behind but a faint gust of wind.