Armageddon

Tia released the coat around her shoulders in an unfamiliar place. The wind had carried her to the top of a mountain with a temple built on the top. She was kneeling in a stone courtyard as transparent humanoids walked about. No one paid her any attention. Slowly she lowered the hood off her head, eyeing the beings around her. There weren’t many of them.

Fall leaves scraped against the hollow passages as the chilled air carried them to and from. One of the creatures swept beneath an archway, humming a soft tune she didn’t recognize. The bristles of the hay broom scratched at the overall silence. Slowly Tia rose to her feet, looking around at the marvelous, obviously ancient building. Multiple structures stuck up out of the golden trees all around her, and off to the side, she saw the distant castle looming over a large stretch of canopy and mountains. Up here, it was as if autumn had already come. The breeze was crisp. The silence deafening.

A familiar voice spoke behind her and she twisted around in shock. The blacked haired Princess looked down at her with a soft expression, another book in her grasp. Her appearance was different from what Tia had become accustomed to. Like Vladimir, she’d kept up her Human form, but now the same little black horns protruded from her head as Diaval’s, and a long black tail with even longer black strands of fur trailed behind her. Tia swallowed, nervous. “I’ve been calling you for a while now, I’m pleased to see you here.”

“...What is this place? What do you mean ‘calling me’?” Tia asked.

Cleo approached her, looking past her at their surroundings. “This is the resting place of the Fates. Here answers are given, and prayers are heard.” She looked back at Tia. “I like you; I do. And I think that you would make a fine bride for my little brother. But I know the battle you face.” She continued to walk, looking back and offering a kind smile. “Walk with me,”

Hesitantly Tia followed her. “You were calling me?”

“Yes, my soul has been reaching out to yours. My brother has many servants watching you, but here we can speak in private. You see, I’ve chosen a path of a Maiden of Fate. These creatures you see around us are the caretakers. They’re called Elementals. They’re beings of peace who live halfway here and halfway with the Great Mother. It is my goal to become like them. Every year three nearly completely disappear from this world; they’re called Fates. When the year is up, they move on. They’re no longer of this world,”

“You’re saying they... die?”

Cleo laughed. “Oh no, no. It’s much more than that. The Fates are the voice of the Great Mother. They seek balance over this plane of existence, without that we would surely fall into ruin. Our Mother, the Mother of us all...” she winked at Tia. “Sought to destroy humanity many years ago. During a very dark moment in time, a female Human begged for the pain to end. She ended the war and saved us all from certain damnation. That Human was taken by the Great Mother, and the history of that girl ended there. No one knows what happened to her, or how she managed to save your race. Our race-”

As genuinely interested and curious as Tia was by Cleo’s words, this was no time for a history lesson. “But what does that have to do with why I’m here?”

Cleo held open an old door for her, waiting for her to enter. She gestured with the book in her hand for Tia to head inside. “The Fates began crying your name shortly after Vladimir brought you here. I only heard them in passing, and it’s hard to say what they want, but I knew it was important and, most of all, a secret. No one else seems to hear their cries, only me. I knew I needed to get you here, as soon as possible, but I fear my brother’s influence runs deep within the castle walls. Many expect him to be the next heir, you see, but it’s all up in the air. Anyone could be chosen to be the next ruler, even myself.” She came to a stop outside a hollowed, stone hallway. It was dark and seemed to groan somehow, and the longer Tia looked into it the more it seemed to grow.

“I don’t think...” She was scared.

“No one can enter here. When we try, the hallway never seems to end, yet when we turn around, we’re right at the entrance. But I’m sure you can; they need to speak with you. They need you to hear what they have to say.”

Tia swallowed and looked at Cleo. She offered her a reassuring smile and rubbed her back. Slowly, Tia entered the passageway. Cleo watched in amazement as the Human female gradually disappeared.

The loud sound of heavy footsteps pounded behind the Princess and she turned around. A familiar Orc leaned against the wall, gasping for air. He regarded her coldly, his eyes darting past her to the opening in the wall. He wheezed and dropped his head, clutching his chest.

“You’re a fast one, I figured I still had about five minutes before you showed up.” Cleo held the corner of the book to her pressed lips, her eyes mischievous. He pulled his dreads out of his face and stood up once more, walking around the female. She watched him and turned to follow him when he came to a dead stop. “Were you expecting to see someone there? You know no one can enter here,”

He stared at her in disbelief. “Ya sent a Human to the other side?” His voice was loud. “Ya killed her!”

She tsked at him and lowered the book. “Ignorant meat, don’t accuse me of things you know nothing of.” She now hesitated, something only she could hear catching her attention. Jaya noticed the change about her and glanced back down the pathway.

“What are they saying?”

“‘Thank you for returning her’,” Cleo gave him a startled look. “Oh... they don’t want me saying any more. They want me to cross over with her.” She stared down the corridor, her heart in her throat. Jaya held her arm, alarmed and on edge.