The RavenStark Quest: Awakening

CHAPTER 12: SNAKELORDS

With her mother's word lingering in her ears Lyra sat still, unable to process the death. She couldn't accept it. The word 'Cyana' kept playing in her mind.

"Lyra!" She could hear someone shouting her name.

"Lyra, get up!" Astroph shouted again bringing his sister back to her senses. He sat beside his mother and held her cold hand; she died without seeing her son for one last time.

As soon as Lyra broke into her reality, she couldn't handle the pain. She broke in pieces. Astroph, the strongest of all in the family, now had no words to comfort his sister. Their mother and father whom they cherished all their life was no longer with them. Their entire world was falling apart and they could do nothing about it. They felt like a failure in front of their people's eyes. No more hope was left on them anymore.

Unable to see the pain of the two, Nina let out a magic wave so powerful that the whole cottage began to shake.

"What are you doing Nina?" Astroph said looking at his wife confused.

"I can't let anything happen to my children Astroph. I sent a protection shield to wherever they are to protect them from whatever darkness looming is around us." Nina said fighting her tears from leaving her eyes.

"Cyana." Lyra said sobbing. "She's back."

"Ly! Don't you dare try to utter the word again. She's dead!" Astroph shouted on hearing the name said by his sister.

"No Astroph. She's back! She has returned!" Lyra said getting up and grabbing him by the shoulder.

"She can't be back Lyra." Astroph shouting and pushed her hands from his shoulder in anger.

"What's going on here? Who is Cyana? Why are you getting so angered and tensed on hearing her name?" Nina finally shouted asked unbearable to all the commotion happening that she knows nothing about.

She looked at Lyra and Astroph; both of them were not ready to answer her questions.

"Can anyone please tell me what's going on? This is a mother asking you, who is dying every minute with her children in danger." Nina said breaking down unable to fight her tears anymore.

Astroph sat beside her and said, "I am really sorry for not telling you about this any sooner. But what you are about to hear now is not any myth. It is a painful part of my life. Our life."He said looking deep into Nina's eyes.

"Should I maybe tell her, brother?" Lyra asked knowing her brother's past.

"No, Ly. She deserves to know it from me. And I remember it now." Astroph said and began narrating his painful past to his wife.

"You remember?" Lyra asked astonished and her brother nodded.

"Cyana is my sister." Astroph said with vengeance in his eyes.

"What!" Nina said almost yelling on hearing his words.

"Listen to him, N." Lyra said.

"Cyana was the eldest of us both. She was way too powerful, than any of us could compete or imagine. But father never really appreciated for the talent she possessed. He knew about her strengths and yet never praised her, not because he didn"t like it but he was afraid of the destruction it could bring. So then, Cyana wanted to prove her worth. She started learning dark magic from one of the boys from the other side of our city. As you know, dark magic was forbidden even to learn or know about it. But that did not stop her from learning it. She was desperate." Astroph said with sadness consuming his face.

Looking at her brother Lyra continued to tell the rest, "So for months and months she practiced it without any of us knowing about it. Soon she became insane and some force drove her to learn more and more. The dark magic not only consumed her, but it was slowly starting to take over her mind, it made her do horrid terrible things."