"Callas," the voice was strong but quiet, "Come on Callas, its time we were off."
Callas opened her eyes or at least felt like she opened her eyes. There was a fair skinned man with grey eyes that seemed to change through the various shades of grey, starring at her. He was young, very young, couldn't be more than 20, but his hair was grey, that shocking silver-grey of men 3 times his age.
"Its Dream, Callas and its time to go."
Dream reached out his hand and took his in yours. You felt pulled through something, almost like a spider web of energy, the strands skittered over your skin like a real web and you fought the urge to pull them off like spider strands.
Morgan faced Modred, her face glowering at him, " Baile dead and Nabila is no longer answering. She is still alive but that is all I know, her father is quite dead. She has probably left the council, no longer needing us to restore her father. When this is over, we will hunt her down and make an example of her."
Modred smiled and nodded.
"Go get the girl and find out why she hasn't killed Callas yet."
Modred stood and left, heading down a short hallway. He placed his hand on the wall next to the door. The door swung open silently. There chained to a bed lay a girl probably 15 or 16 years of age, but malnourished to the point of a 12 year old body. Her clothes were rags, her hair, black but matted, her body unwashed. The only odd thing about her general condition was the finger and toe nails that were clipped and very short. Modred unlocked her and pulled the short chain at her neck to make her come forward. She stood slowly and painfully, from legs long broken and reset wrong.
"Mother wishes to see you." Modred said blankly. He lead her down the hall to Morgan.
"So Girl, why is it that Callas is not dead?" Morgan asked, she nearly grabbed her under the chin but decided better of it, once she looked at the general grime on the girl.
"Callas shifts to quickly for me to keep pace. I had been waiting by the horse that she was interested in, but she never returned." The girl looked at her, eyes staring ahead.
Morgan returned the stare, "I think that you lie, girl. I think that you don't want to kill your sister, child. That's what I think. I know that you will, otherwise child, I will kill all of your family, including your mother Epona. If Callas kills one more of us, I will send for your family and kill them all. Do it quickly child before Callas kills again, before she makes us do something we may all regret."
Morgan nodded and Modred took the girl away, he returned shortly.
Modred asked, "Isn't her family already dead?"
"Epona gave her to a barren woman to raise. She died, trying to protect the girl a year ago. Her father, Atievno is locked up as insurance, though Baile was having some trouble with him. He either escaped or something even stranger was occurring. He died before a full report was given. Something about Atievno defending the Ark."
"Our next move, Mother?"
"Our next move, Louis," She stared icily at Modred, "is two fold. One, we reign in Tennant. His activities are at best suspect. Arumaga should be able to look after him. 2nd We launch the attack. That will keep them busy. They think that Ireland was a blood bath. Europe's rivers will run red with the blood of Epona's clerics and Knights."
"What of the stalker cells?" Mordred asked.
"They are currently useless, because of all the gate hopping that they do, but wake one cell and see if they get lucky."
Modred nodded and left, a gleam in his eye.
"Time to go again, Callas. Take my hand, we are going to see Nikodemus and Dushela." Dream said and walked out of the room. The energy webbing takes hold and you move farther out.
A red eyed female stands in a room, filled with mage language scribbled all over the walls. She is furiously scribbling more and more of the arcane language. On the floor of the room, lays bones. Bones made of gold, etched with more scribbling. A ghostly image floats behind her.
"It won't work you know." The ghost Seraphim says.
"It will work." Dushela says, continuing to scribble.
"It won't and you will have to go and bash Ceridwyn, like you planned. That's the problem with you Dushela, you just don't have the brains to be an archmage. Its been 4 millennia and you still can't be an archmage, give it a rest. Humans do it 50 years."
"Go away Seraphim. I am busy."
"I can't, my bones are there. You know, I can't leave unless you give me an order to do something else."
"Fine, I will leave then." Dushela slams down her quill and walks through Seraphim.
"Rude much." Calls Seraphim behind her as she leaves. Seraphim goes over to the scribbles.
"She was getting close that time. That barrier around the ark might have fallen. Well that's ok." Seraphim solidifies, picking up the quill, "This will keep her at it for weeks more." He erases a section of the wall and copies a new set of scribbling over in Dushela's hand writing.
"Seraphim," Dream calls.
Seraphim looks up, "Dream. I haven't seen you in a century. What are doing and who is the lady?"
Dream sees your surprise, "Seraphim is a ghost, kind of like a dream wraith. He can see and talk in both realms. Don't worry, he is really on your side, he just didn't have anyone he could see talk to about it."
"Seraphim, this is Callas."
Seraphim bows.
"We have to run now." Dream says, "But we might be able to talk to you later."
Dream waves and you leave again.
Nikodemus is holding a human up by a cloak. The human is suspended 2 feet off the floor, "You are going to tell me where Tor and Teryl are or you are going to die."
Nikodemus stared into the human, blood starts trickling from the humans nose, "I don't know." The human says trembling.
Nikodemus lets him down in a heap, "He speaks the truth. His mind holds very little information. When next we meet, you will not remember who I am, nor will you remember anything of this conversation. What you will remember is any information that you hear of Tor, Teryl and any previous people that we have been seeking. Awaken."
Nikodemus reached down and helped the human up. "Nasty fall you had there fellow, watch out for the floors they are slippery. You have a bloody nose, I would be more careful next time."
The man mumbles a thanks and moves on.
"Why do you do that Aine?" Epona asks.
"Do what?" Aine smiled, "Because its fun. Because it's the ultimate trick, to make friends with people that will be your enemies in the future."
"Really?" Epona asked scowling.
"No, not really." Aine looked down at the floor, "Because I don't want to die."
"You know we all will someday, even gods die."
"I know. I just want to prolong it."
Epona pulled at her black hair, a gesture you make sometimes, "Why do you help them, then?"
"Why do you?"
"I do it, to stop Morrigan from becoming the only god left." Epona answered
"Is that all?" Aine pressed.
"I have children down there, some of them directly involved in this. I want them to live good lives, protecting people and animals. Not forced to worship the boot of death."
Aine paused, "I see it to, Epona. If they fail, there will be nothing left. That is why I help them."
"And Riyor?"
"Well he is kind of cute and immortal in his own way."
Dream takes Callas by the hand again; mountains flash by until they see the familiar outline of Pedrosa, shining in the starlight. Callas bites her lip, summoning all her courage, and nods at Dream. "I'm ready."
Arumaga sat behind the desk in his library, scowling at something he was writing. Something, some small motion, caused him to look up sharply; and there in front of him was a figure that had not been there the instant before.
"What now?" he said, taking his glasses off and rubbing at his eyes. Surely the appearance of someone in his inner sanctum, someone who he hadn't heard coming, boded nothing but ill for his evening.
The figure pulled back her hood. Black hair in a braid down her back, suntanned skin, sharp features, and green eyes. He'd seen her three times but had never been introduced. He knew who she was, though. "Callas de Navarre."
"Arumaga who was once Aru." She nodded, and then added under her breath, "Well, what do you know. It worked."
"Go home, Callas. I don't feel like killing you now. But I do admire your courage to come here alone."
She looked at him with a steady gaze. Yes, she was going to be a force to be reckoned with as Headmistress, if she survived long enough. But, really, how likely was that? The odds against them were greater than they knew.
"You might say I'm not exactly here at all, actually." She crossed soundlessly to one of the light rocks that were held in sconces around the room, and raised her arm in front of it. He saw that she was translucent as curdled smoke. "I decided to come make a visit, one cleric to another."
"Have you come to redeem my soul, Callas? It is far too late for that. Far too late for a great many things."
She shook her head. "It’s only too late if that’s what you believe. I’m not here to save your soul; I’m just here to show you the door. You’re the one who has to open it. You used to be one of us, Arumaga. One of the favorites of the Goddess, as a matter of fact. Headmaster in Andorra, living in your home in the heart of the mountain."
"I used to be something more, but long ago I lost that path and chose another. Or maybe it was chosen for me."
Callas took a breath. "Your wife was murdered by people posing as clerics of Epona. In your rage, you killed your son and every living soul inside the mountain."
Arumaga wrapped his fingers around a glass paperweight and stared deep into it, lost in thought. His concentration was broken when it shattered in his hand.
"Stop that." Her voice held the promise of barbs. "Are all dragons this infuriating? Or is it just you and Strawberries? Don't answer that.
"You have to listen to me, Arumaga. I don't know for certain how much time I have here. To make a long story short: Morrigan set you up. Those were her clerics, not ours. They knew you fight against your anger and your dragon nature, and they knew that you don't have a handle on your temper. We have solid proof that they were acting on orders directly from Morrigan. Morrigan wanted you removed entirely from the game, or brought over to her side. And it worked, Arumaga who was once Aru, the light who is now darkened. It worked."
"I killed all of them. That was my doing and mine alone."
"And you've been punishing yourself for three hundred and fifty years. I know. You've done an admirable job of accepting responsibility for your actions. But I am here to tell you, Arumaga, that nothing is unforgivable when one truly repents." Her voice was soft and her eyes grave. "I told you I was here as a mere cleric. I'm also here as Headmistress of the Temple of Epona, and I am here to tell you that if you should choose to return, you would be welcome. You have done your penance, and if you wish to atone, you can. You can come home."
There was suddenly another presence in the room. It seemed to hover behind Callas and to one side. She either did not see it or ignored it entirely, but when she spoke again after pausing to deliberate, her voice was somehow more resonant, as if another voice spoke along with hers. "I would much rather have you as an ally than an enemy, Arumaga. And I would grieve if I were forced to kill you. You were the victim of a cruel trick designed to take advantage of the fact that you had a family, and that you loved them beyond life itself.
"I know what it's like to have your mistakes be fatal to innocent people. And I know what it's like to have your love used against you. And you have a choice. You can keep on the path you're on, and add more blood to the dark side of the scales. Or you can satisfy yourself that we're right, that Morrigan was behind the death of your family, and you can accept the fact that you've done your penance. You've spent centuries in hell, Arumaga. Isn't it enough?"
"You have no idea of what I've done, since."
"No, I don't. But She does, and She still loves you despite of it."
Arumaga leaned back into his chair, considering her words.
"This is my offer. I have proof that I can show you, when you're ready. If you're convinced, and if you think that you may be forgiven, I will perform an Atonement and you will take up the symbol of Epona once again. If you want, we can find you a posting in another country, away from the memories trapped inside this mountain.
"If you choose not to allow me to perform the Atonement...we part ways without rancor and never speak of it again, and the next time we see each other one of us will die."
Arumaga looked at Callas, and received a level gaze in return. For a long moment human and dragon eyes locked together, the strength of her will meeting him on near-level territory. Then Callas closed her eyes.
"I don't have much longer to stay." Her form was indeed beginning to waver around the edges. "You can send me a message, if you want to see the proof. I swear by the Name that I will not attempt to ambush you in any way if you meet me to see for yourself. And, for what it's worth, I am sorry about the whole situation. I wish we had met on better terms. I think we may have become good friends."
Callas disappeared as silently as she had arrived, taking that other presence with her.
Arumaga steepled his fingers and stared into the light for a very, very long time.
"It's time to go, Callas. Your father will wait for another day. Your dreaming is almost up. You have a great deal to absorb and I don't want to add to your burden tonight." Dream walks you back to your body, curled up against Galvin.
You lay back down and slip from the dream world. Dream standing over you, leaning on a staff.
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