The reflection

part 4

Lyra, Avahur, Cynthia, Sophia and several other people whom Aria didnt know were all sitting down on the armchairs too, but there was one person that caught Arias eye. She was tall, very tall, and was wearing a golden top, with hundreds of silver moons embroidered all over it. Her bluish- silver skirt appeared to be made out of iridescent scales, and changed color whenever the sunlight hit it. Around her neck was a choker with a moon pendant hanging off it, and on her forehead was yet another moon. The thing that really stood out about her, though, were her golden yellow eyes. Against her dark skin, they seemed to glow like stars.

She noticed Aria staring at her, and smiled. Im Shikha, she said Im Lyras daughter. Biological daughter, that is. How many daughters does she have? Aria asked You, Cynthia, Sophia- thats already three Five. cut in Shikha And one son, Garth. She pointed to a boy with blond hair and brown eyes sitting in the seat opposite to Aria.

Okay, lets start. Said Avahur, ending the conversation. Aria, maybe take a biscuit so you dont feel the urge to interrupt as much. Nurse Loretta offered the tray of biscuits she had been carrying earlier, and Aria grabbed one. She took a bite, only to find that it was like toffee, and she couldnt open her mouth. Anyway, Avahur cleared his throat Im going to tell this like a story so its more entertaining.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Mena. Everybody else, her friends, had discovered their gifts. But Mena didnt know what her gift was, and often felt left out. Even by the time she was fourteen, she still hadnt discovered what she was going to be. And that was a record. Mena was teased, and every night she would go home and cry into her pillow, not wanting to go to sleep because, well, whenever she did, she had these horrible visions. Visions of terrible things happening in the future. Sometimes there would be good things, but not things that she wanted to find out yet, things that were supposed to be kept a surprise. One night, Mena had a vision. Her mother was sleeping, when a man in a black robe walked into the room. The man slit her mothers throat before she even had a chance to scream.

Mena was so ashamed at being different, having these visions that nobody else had, that she didnt say anything. And the next morning, her father came out of his bedroom crying. Your mother was killed last night. He said While I was at the pub. If I had stayed home, she would still be alive. He collapsed into another heavy round of sobbing. Mena stayed quiet. She knew who was really to blame. She looked like she was coping on the outside, but inside, the guilt was killing the little girl. Mena grew heavily depressed, and the only thing that stopped her mind from shutting down was Jedrek. Jedrek was her best friend for the next few years, but many suspected there was something more to their relationship. Mena trusted Jedrek so much that she told him about her gift, that she could see the future. And a few years later, at only eighteen, Mena had twins. Shortly after, she had a vision. Jedrek would be killed. She was going in to his house to tell him, learning from her past mistake, but she found him dead on the floor, covered in stab wounds and blood.

The grief and guilt truly broke Mena that time, and her mind stopped working properly. She could still function, but didnt really have emotions. It was strange, though, because she seemed to have willpower. Even when her brain shut down, her soul still lived. And it made her determined to kill everybody with normal, common gifts, probably to get revenge on everybody that didnt have to suffer with all the trauma of being a vates or other rare gifts. After she had killed several people, the council realized that even if her mind shut down, she could still be a threat. So they locked her up in Innalithral, and apparently she is still there to this day!

As for the twins that Mena gave birth to, they were named Cynthia and Sophia. Cynthia inherited her mothers gift, a vates, and became the third known vates of all time. Sophia was a necromancer (she could speak to the dead). You may have noticed that before I said Cynthia was the third ever known vates. Mena was the second, and the first was a man named Kerena. He was known for a prophecy that he had made, about three triplets of power that would be able to defeat a dark force. Theories about who the triplets could be started to pop up everywhere, but one of the most common ones was about Menas children. Necromancers and, of course, vates are extremely rare and powerful, so they would fit the description. But what about the third triplet? The reason that some people suspected there could be one was that nobody saw Mena give birth. So she could have hidden the third triplet away somewhere, to prevent her and the other two from being named as the triplets of power.

But anyway Aria, to answer your question from before; Magic technically is real, but humans usually talk about it as if its something thats not real. They use it when they dont understand something. Its quite complicated to talk about, but maybe thisll make it easier: Magic is part of real life. Its a force, an element, just like air or fire. So maybe, to avoid confusion, just dont talk about magic at all. Now, youre probably wondering why I said humans as if theyre another species, but the truth is: they are. Aria, youre a fairy.