The Arcana Julian Devorak Reversed

The World

"Scout I'm so sorry to ask this of you but we are not done." Scout nods. "Rowr" Her bark tells me she's known that this is only the beginning.

We travel all day making it out of the Blue Moss Forest. On the outside of the forest, we arrive at an ever-expanding mountain range. It's an intimidatingly tall view. We decide this is a good stopping point. We find a cave at the base of the mountains. We decide to settle down for the night and make camp. Julian gathers some firewood as Scout, and I gather whatever soft material we can find to make beds. Once the firewood has been assembled, I conjure my magic to start the fire.

I sit down next to Julian; he pulls me into his lap, wrapping his wings around me, sighing contentedly. "I've missed you so much. Since I lost you, I never dreamed that I would ever get you back."

A feather from his head falls into my face causing me to sneeze. A worried look quickly crosses his face. "Oh no, Leila, don't tell me you're allergic to me" "Don't be silly, sweetheart; it just tickled my nose. I'm not allergic to you" "But how can you be sure?" "Well, I've been spending all this time with Malek, and I'm not allergic to him, now am I?" I turn around in his arms to face him. I  stroke his temple and then lean in for a kiss. We melt into each other. I feel the tension in his body slowly ease away. I kiss along his jaw and neck, only to come away with another feather in his mouth. Julian looks slightly embarrassed and a little uncomfortable as I pull it out of my mouth. "Maybe we should just get some rest for now," he says.

We both lay down by the fire. I watch him drift off. However, I can't fall asleep so easily. I sit up awhile longer, watching Julian sleep lost in my thoughts. Now that Julian and I are back together, I feel whole again. I'm happy we are reunited, but I'm worried about him. Even asleep, he still looks tired and weary. He looks like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. He suddenly begins to toss and turn, crying out. "No...no, don't hurt her. Don't take her. No, I'm sorry. Please forgive me." I use my magic to warm my hand and run it down his back and between his shoulder blades to soothe him. He begins to calm down and then slowly stirs back awake. "Oh Leila, I didn't wake you, did I? I'm sorry to be such a bother to you." I smile and shake my head. "I haven't fallen asleep yet. You were talking in your sleep. Were you dreaming about the devil again?" "Yeah... Since we were separated,  I've relived that moment repeatedly. It was painful, but it was also the last time I saw you." I scoot closer, lying down next to him. "Ok, love, but that's in the past. Let's rest. We now have our whole future together." And with that, we can finally drift off cuddled in each other's arms.

Once we wake up, ready to start the next leg of our journey, we head out of the cave we used as shelter and all take a minute to appreciate the sheer magnitude of the mountain before us. We start the long and arduous climb to the top of the mountains above us. Every so often, Malek flies ahead of us. He disappears for several hours at a time before flying back to us. Malek chatters at Scout as she nods before he flies off again.

Eventually, we crest the top of the cliff. We encounter a turtle with a purple cloth wrapped around her shell and a laurel wreath around her head. "Hello," I say. "I'm Leila, and this is Julian, Scout, and Malek." She smiles kindly. "I know who you are. I've been waiting for you. Your friend here has told me all about you." She says as she gestures to Malak. "Oh, so that's where you've been going," I say to Malak. I look at her closely. "You must be the Arcana of the World." Suddenly the world glitches and shudders like it now often does. An expression of intense pain flashes across the World's face as she withdraws quickly into her shell. She slowly comes out of her shell with a sad smile when it passes. "Ever since the Devil combined the realms, we've been in great pain. The Arcana has always had great difficulty existing in your world. This is why we've relied so much on the humans we've bonded with. Without them, we could never operate in your world. And in some cases, we haven't even been able to go to your world. Ever since the realms have combined, your world has come to us. It is causing us great harm. We are in danger of wasting away to nothing. We need your help to stop this and separate everything back into the two states that it was before. The way that it should be."

I look at her incredulously. "Separate them? But I thought... Scout said it couldn't be done." She smiles at us kindly. "For anyone else, it would be an impossible task. However, you possess the power and skill to defeat him. You must complete your mission to stop the Devil and break his chains. This past cycle of events may be over, but there is still so much work to be done" "But how?" She looks at Scout and holds out her hand. Scout pulls out the deck of cards and places it in her hand. She draws the Magician card. "To accomplish this task, the Fool must evolve and grow stronger until a bond can be formed with the Arcana of the Magician." She draws a second card which is The High Priestess. "The magical powers of the Magician must work together with the great powers of the High Priestess to defeat the Devil. You've only just begun to tap into your powers, but you have so much further to go. But my dear, you already know this. You've both known all along. You must come together and work in unison to accomplish this task. You are already very strong from the journey you have completed so far. If you continue strengthening your powers, there is no limit to what you can accomplish."

I look over at Julian standing with his head hung low, and his eyes averted. "Julian, what's wrong?" "It's just...' Leila, I just can't help but feel like I keep failing you. I failed you when you died. I failed you when you needed me there to defeat the devil. I thought I was protecting you, but that was precisely when you needed me most. I'm nothing but a failure." I take his hand in mine. "Julian, we're only failures if we don't get back up and try again. As long as you keep trying, then you're not a failure. I know we can do this together. Didn't you once say you'd do anything and everything for me? I'm asking you to do this with me. I can't do it without you. I need you." He lifts his head to look me directly in the eyes. " You always know just what to say. Of course, I'm here for you... always." I brush the few feathers that came loose off my arm and turn to The World. "So what's next?"

"Part of increasing your strength means to band together and gather more people to help and support you. I've been communicating with my human bond Nafizah. She's informed me there is growing underground resistance. The Devil has been growing complacent in his reign. He's been toying with the humans like they were his playthings." Julian scoffs. "You got that right. He spent all that time taunting me. Sending me those illusions of Leila, making me miserable for no other reason than to entertain himself." The World smiles at him. "That's where you will have an advantage. If all he sees is toys when he looks at you, then he has grossly underestimated your true power. He won't see his own downfall coming. Seek out Nafizah. She is living in Prakra. She and her sisters will be the first step to reuniting with your friends and family."

With our newfound sense of purpose and a plan on how to begin again, we set off looking back to wave farewell to the World. "I promise I won't let you down. Stay safe until we can complete this task." I take Julian's hand in mine. He smiles at me, and we start our trek back down the mountain.