Chapter 23: The Path Forward

~Chapter 23~

Nimaro lowered his head and his akress shot forward, grabbing onto Mae, pulling her forcefully to him.

"Why are you…"

The akress around her neck tightened causing her to cease talking, easing up once she had fallen silent.

"I will allow it," Nimaro remarked as he pulled his akress back. "There is something…" he paused when he looked down at her.

Mae was angry as she rubbed at her throat. He had never been forceful or remotely aggressive with her before and his actions were strange and disconcerting, making little sense to her.

Sitting down, he grabbed her in his arms and pulled her to his chest. She could feel his tension, a slight quiver in his hands, and ever-so faintly, she heard him say, "forgive me."

Nodding her head, she hugged him back, until she felt his tension fade. It had been obvious to her that he had not meant to do her any harm, and he instantly regretted what had happened once he had realized what he had done. Standing up, as he released the hold he had on her, she stepped back putting a small distance between them.

"I didn't mean for my actions to frighten you, but I had to be certain. I do not know what will happen to you if you make vows. Certainly, ever since the first time we met, I have felt something growing within you, and it is stronger today than it was yesterday. If the waters you consumed from the River of Life, are allowing you to connect to our world, then it may be possible for you to bear an Aspects seal. Truly, Mae, I would be honored if you would bear mine."

"Thank you, Nimaro. It will be an honor for me too. So, is there like a big ceremony or a ritual that I need to prepare for?"

"Pomp and ceremony aside, the words are just for show too. I will bring you a token, you will accept it and devour it. That should place my seal within the heart of your magic forcing all others aside, leaving only the nightmare. You can choose your primal element at the time you decide which path you will walk, and you have a great deal of work to do before then."

"I know, but if this works, you'll be able to help me the task Omb gave me, right?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can do it for you."

"Of course, but every bit of help I can get, I'll take. I've come to accept that this isn't going to be quick or easy. I suspect it will take me years before I'm ready to even try, and I know I'm making it even harder on myself because I don't want to kill anyone in the process. I don't want anyone to die so I can go home. It's not a price I'm willing to pay."

"You will not kill to free Strativar?"

"It's not that I can't, it's that I don't want to. I don't know if he's worth killing someone else to free, and I don't want that on my conscience. I just don't know enough to change my mind on it either. For now, my answer is no. I need to find a way to get home, where I can still live with myself and the choices I've made."

"You have a big heart, Mae, but I fear for you in this world. While your ideals are admirable, those you fight will not share them. By vowing to me, you may not have the luxury of sparing anyone, because they will not spare you."

"I know, but I can't see any way to do this without help. You are the only one I can trust, because I know you don't want to hurt anyone either. I don't trust Omb to see things the way I do. I don't trust that she would help me the way I want or keep her word."

Nimaro smiled softly. "You still can't see what she did, can you?"

"You mean besides using me as a bargaining chip without warning me first? No, I can't. It's a bit difficult for me to see beyond the way she twisted everything she told me to suit herself."

Nimaro quietly laughed.

"Omb is very cunning Mae, and she is more trustworthy than you think. I wasn't certain myself at first either, but now I am, this is all going according to some grand scheme she had planned. I'm certain you will see it in time too. Now go, Zoy'iah and Athilaan are waiting, I will see you again soon."

Nimaro walked to the door of the house and used it the same way he had used her wall the night before, returning the necklace to her before she headed inside.

For the rest of the day, Mae spent her time, between chores, listening to Zoy'iah teach and watching Athilaan demonstrate whatever it was she was teaching, if the lesson required. When the sun began to set, Mae was given a strict schedule to follow, and homework to review, starting with learning to read their script.

Zoy'iah and Athilaan used a crystal to return from once they came and Mae was again, left on her own.

The following day, Nimaro returned with Zoy'iah and Athilaan, this time without being called, explaining it had to do with the crystals they were using, called Binding stones, and presented her with a large wooden chest.

Setting the chest on the ground, he lifted the lid revealing to her everything she would need as a true acolyte of Nightmare, a pebble-sized tablet of a light-blue substance sitting on top of it all.

"If you are still willing, this is the token you must swallow. Within in it is a part of myself. By consuming my token, you are binding yourself to nightmare, forsaking all other paths and declaring yourself an ally to Sotar'ra and all his peoples. You are promising to live according to his tenants and understand that in failing you will find no peace in death."

"I understand, but I don't even know what his tenants are. Shouldn't I know them before I take this?" Mae questioned pulling her hand back from the chest.

"His tenants are simple; life has meaning because it has an end. Live today, not for tomorrow. Destruction is a necessity not a hinderance. Greif reminds us, we are alive. There are others but those are the principal ones," Nimaro replied.

"Oh, okay, I understand now. Seems easy enough to live by. Still curious about the others though," she replied as she picked up the token, it was warm to the touch, and felt like an antacid tablet between her fingers.

"Love, protection, loyalty, honesty, service to king and crown. Take nothing you haven't earned and share your excess with those in need. We are only as strong as our ability to care for the weakest amongst us. Correct unsightly behaviors in yourself before others, and in others to protect those who cannot protect themselves. We are one Empire; know your place and serve it well," Zoy'iah remarked while holding her left hand before her right shoulder, her middle and index fingers extended. "I'll get you the book, but that covers the gist of it. Pretty basic stuff: destroy what is unjust so that the just may strive."

"Frankly, that sounds like a whole lot of something I can live with. Lucky for me since I don't have any other options. For Jack and Koobs, and a chance that one day I might go home," she remarked, tossing the token into her mouth.

The moment the token hit her tongue it began to dissolve, causing her to cover her mouth to keep in the excessive foam. Swallowing it down, she could feel it fizzing and bubbling up her throat and continued to force herself to swallow to keep it down, even as a thick blueish foam began to seep out between her lips and fingers. After several long seconds, the feeling began to subside, only for another far more distressing one to take its place.

Mae's insides began to feel as if they were on fire, the pain causing her to drop to her knees and clutch at her sides. She could feel something rising in her throat, crawling up from the depths of her stomach, and coursing through all her veins, like Tamilok worms through rotten wood. Throwing back her head, her hand slipped from her mouth, and the world faded to black.

When Mae opened her eyes, she was laying on her bed and the world around her felt different. Everything looked the same, but she could tell where the walls were without looking at them. She could sense Nimaro, Zoy'iah, and Athilaan in the sitting room, and the worry they were experiencing, more so Nimaro than the others.

Before she could even get out of the bed, as if Nimaro had sensed her, he came running up the stairs and into her room. She could feel his worry fade into joy as the smile grew on his face.

"How do you feel?"

"Different. It's like I'm connected to everything living around me or I can sense them. I don't entirely know. It's very odd. What happened to me?"

"I don't know. It looked as if your body was rejecting my seal but integrated it regardless. What's even more unusual is that Athilaan and Zoy'iah can't sense it within you."

"But you can?"

"Yes, and your potential far exceeds my expectations. While you may resemble an Ech'latean, you are nothing like them. I see now they are weak because they are born and live with magic. You have been strong enough to survive without it, where they would wither and die. You have more potential than the strongest of them, and you haven't yet begun."

"I will have to take your word for it. I feel different, but I wouldn't necessarily describe it as strong."

"Strength isn't physical alone," he remarked with a smirk. "Now, come downstairs, I wish for you to see what else I have brought for you."

Following Nimaro down to the sitting room, the contents of the chest had been laid out on the table.

"These are your robes. They will grant you unlimited access to any of my temples and the Sal'air'nyne Quarter. You can acquire appropriate armor for the discipline you chose at any of them, although the one in Sap'letor would be the closest to here," he explained as she picked up the long dark blue robes that were made of a stiff brocade. "I also brought a selection of training weapons that I believed would suit you best. You can find the ones that wouldn't fit in the chest resting outside against the side of the house. Use each of them until you find one that is the most comfortable for you to handle."

Kneeling over the table, she admired the variety of weapons, including a set of daggers, axes, and swords. Most were lighter weight, and although they were exquisitely crafted, they were basic and meant to be used.

"And this," he said, picking up a pouch made of black leather and opening it up to reveal six small crystals in a rainbow of colors, "is a starter magic kit."

"Thank you for all of this. I will train with everything I have, and I really hope I don't disappoint you."

"I had no expectations Mae, and now I expect only that you will not give up. Rest for the remainder of today. I'm still concerned as to how the nightmare may affect you."

"I understand your concern, but I don't have to exert myself to listen to Zoy'iah read."

Nimaro smiled and cleared his throat, "As you wish, but perhaps after we all go up to the pond for a swim."

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