Ithrika Daughter of Malthael

Chapter 5

Ithrika stood watching as the demon blood dripped from her fingertips and onto the ground. For her to feel the dripping of demons blood was too long in waiting, but as she watched it touch the white snow she did not hear the Angels as they discussed what was going to happen now. She looked from the dripping blood to the dead demon, it all seemed like everything was going too slow for her and with a quick glance at the Angels, and she began to walk away. Just as she left the area she heard Tyrael calling out her name; but just kept walking, not really sure of where she was going, but she knew it wasn't in that area. She finally stopped when she reached the cliff face and looked out over the barren snow covered lands. She closed her eyes as they caught up to see her standing near the cliffs, the biting cold winds causing her cloak to whip around like a flag. Just as Tyrael was about to speak, Ithrika held her hand up with her fist closed. "Listen," She said as she pulled up her scarf. They listened but they did not hear what she did. 

"What is it Ithrika?" Itherael asked in bewilderment. "I don't know about the others but I can't hear anything."

"Exactly." She turned her head slightly then turned back to the frozen tundra, "None of you can hear it like I can. Unknown to all of you, my Father used to bring me here when he could tell something was wrong or when I didn't want to talk to anyone." As she spoke the memory of a time before the dark madness had taken over Malthael had tears coming to her eyes. She reached her hand out and watched as the snow began to fall slowly to the ground. She watched as one landed on her gauntleted hand and took note of it's insteresting design. There were six points to this star shaped snowflake; she could see the many little designs inbetween the six points. Each point had smaller points and was joined by an octagon shaped where it came together in the middle to complete the tiny picture in her hand. Ithrika closed her eyes as she felt the tiny star dissolve in her warmth then opened them back up to the world. "What Father taught me here is also how come I earned the nickname of Winter's Lily from him. He showed me how to examine each little snowflake and that not a single one is the same as its friend, but that they all serve a purpose in their time how they start from just a tiny water droplet then freeze into the strange forms they have. Like us, even though you only see them in the coldest times or in the coldest regions they still help the land rest so when it finally warms up the plants that were sleeping can grow again and so animals can have food." Ithrika looked up to see a break in the clouds and smiled. "Father would also bring me here on very specific nights, where something happens only once every one hundred years. Look up and you will see what I mean." As she said that she heard Imperius and the others surround her as the night sky lit up with something none of them had ever seen before. 

"What is this?" Imperius asked confused but feeling amazed.

Ithrika smiled, "I don't know but Dad always told me that the best time to see these lights is when it’s dark out. He told me that the Dark isn't always bad. He would tell me that sometimes the best time to see things that you never noticed before is when everything is at rest, and that time is normally when Darkness covers the worlds." As she spoke everyone turned to her and knew that somehow she would always carry the knowledge that no one else would have the privilege to know, for Malthael had chosen to pass on this knowledge to her for a reason. "I may not know enough about any of you to say what I am but it needs to be spoken. Even before the Worldstone went missing, Father knew something would happen to him and told me to expect that it would tear all of you apart faster then what it was already. I don't know what it’s like to lose a brother, but I do know that it hurts to lose a Father, mother, companion, and a close friend all before expecting it. Father passed on things to me knowing that I would know what to do with it when the time came for that certain wisdom to be spoken. It hurts to this day that I destroyed the only thing that I had from him, but then I remember what he told me about what I should do after he died. He told me to close my eyes, when I feel like giving up and giving into sadness and remember the good things that he and I did and accept that bad and learn to forgive what happened." Ithrika lowered her head as she placed a hand over her heart. "He told me to envision the bad and the dark as a ball of swirling black then as I move my hand from my heart, feel my hand taking that bad away and giving it away to the wind to make the memories clean and fresh as if the bad never happened." As she finished speaking she pulled her hand away and opened it letting the wind carry away invisible memories to be cleansed by the elements. Ithrika opened her eyes but did not look up as she felt a single tear slide down her right cheek. As it fell it froze into a multi-colored crystal, which surprised her as she leaned down to pick it up. Her gauntleted hand managed to pick it up, she tried to crush it but it remained in its crystalized state. She left it in her hand as it started to warm but it didn't melt. She heard Auriel walk closer to her and felt her eyes look down at the crystal tear; Ithrika looked at Auriel who shared the same look. 

"How did it....?"

Ithrika shook her head then looked towards the strange lights and half wondered if something about them was connected to her. She wondered if they would change to a purple and they did, she almost gasped but kept her composure as she watched them slowly become the many colors in the rainbow. She looked to Auriel, and watched as the Angel nodded once to signal that they would talk later. Ithrika then slowly began to back away letting Itherael and Tyrael see the lights better. She backed up far enough, all the while praying that the lights would distract them long enough for her to walk away into the slowly falling snow cover and cover her tracks so they wouldn't follow her. She managed to back up into the cover of the snow and soon disappeared leaving them behind once more. 

"Ithrika this is..." Tyrael looked around as the others joined him only for them to notice that she was gone for good. "Here we go again."