The Search For Kathea, A Leap Into The Gray Paths

 The Search For Kathea, A Leap Into The Gray Paths

     The Forgemaster has returned to his Forge, Iriisii has decided to stay awhile longer before traveling again, besides that she wants to speak to the hermits.

     After breakfast cooked over the campfire, she sits with a clay mug filled with some of that black stuff brewed from those roasted beans she bought from a trader. Using some yak's milk to smooth it out, she finds it is not bad at all.

     She asks the hermits if the Great Sage has told them of recent events and of what she is seeking council on. They reply that he has indeed, they had been discussing between themselves what they knew to be fact, so as not to get too far into the weeds.

     "Good, I have read a good bit myself, but now my personal experience is leading me to doubt what has been written because 'he' is so different from us in his thinking."

     "You feel that he is of the 'Gray Paths'. How much do you know of them?"

     "Not much really, other than they represent other directions, different from 'Good' and 'Evil'. They go in other directions like the Balance runs between 'Good' and 'Evil'."

     "Close enough, the problem is that because we lack a common frame of reference, we see nothing we can make sense of when we look into them. This is then interpreted as 'madness'."

     "How could we obtain a frame of reference to allow us to see clearly?"

     "We are not sure, mainly because to our knowledge it has not been attempted before."

     Deep within her ancestral memories, a few of which had been discussing this very thing before interrupting her, they reach a consensus on where they think just such an event was in fact attempted and may very well have succeeded.

     'We believe we may know of where just such an event may have occurred. It also explains why certain things have occurred with the inhabitants of that place.'

     'Okay, give me details of what you know.'

     'It is the homeworld of Dettlaff Van Der Eretein. You know they were not always vampires.'

     'Yes, but it was not certain what caused the change to occur.'

     'The fact is that vampires exist in many Realms, but the vampires of his world, exist there and only there, the others of his kind were transported through the Conjunction of Spheres to other worlds, but it remains known fact that all other vampires in this Creation are not the same as he is.'

     'Is there a common factor to all the others that Dettlaff lacks?'

     'Yes, all others have a component of necromancy in their makeup. Dettlaff and those like him do not share that.'

     'So what, they came about in a more natural way?'

     'At its simplest form, yes. Within our Creation, vampires are not naturally occurring beings. Dettlaff and his, are the exception to this, thus their origin came from somewhere else since they were not originally vampires.'

     'That does make sense once you can follow the trail of evidence. But that still leaves open the question of where did the 'cause' come from? And I have, now that I think on it, experienced other differences. Their 'beast' is one difference, other vampires I have been acquainted with do not have one. And that their beast has the ability to grow and mature if it is allowed to do so.

     The ability for him to draw power from me through the sharing of blood, not to mention that this is not temporary but a permanent increase. Our trading of abilities between each other. Yes. I see your point clearly now. The agent of the change could not come from any of the three paths we acknowledge, it had to come from one of the 'Gray Paths', but which one?

And if we are acquainted with one, can it confer help with understanding the others? For I assume there are more than one 'Gray Path'?'

     'How many is unknown, we do not know how to differentiate them, which may, nay, likely does contribute to the 'madness' when one pierces the veil and looks into them."

     'I see, now it begins to make more sense. I believe I know how to look at them without succumbing to the madness. If they are built like our paths, in that ours can be viewed by stepping outside and looking at the timestreams. Exactly like Septimus describes how the Kel do it. But the 'Gray Paths' are separate from ours, constructed differently, so a mitigating factor must be introduced.

     And the Catalyst is that factor. I know Dettlaff has not yet taken it, and if he is powerful enough now that the Dreamlands Guardian will allow him entrance, he is ready for the Catalyst. It is not enough that we share as much between us as we do. To allow me to see the Gray Paths, I need to use him as the gate. Use the Catalyst to open his awareness to them, then as he sees them, I will see them as well.

     And the previous failures, they did not know this was possibly the reason for the uniting of an Aasimar to a Higher Vampire. Everything else had to come first, in order to get to this point. They pushed ahead too soon and got caught up in the madness. I had to experience the Catalyst first, to learn how to use it, open everything within me, especially you, my ancestral memories, you are crucial to this working.

     The others failed because somewhere they failed to do it in the correct order, or too soon, or the Catalyst was not refined enough, or of the wrong composition.'

     The Ancestral memories stand quiet and smile, 'she understands all of it now. How it all fits together, she knows what to do.'

     'Not quite all of it, I still do not know why. Why did all of this come into play? This began so very long ago. It is not happenstance, this was planned by someone, someone with a very long-term plan. The question that remains is why?'

     'That we cannot help you with. You have taken our knowledge and leaped ahead by leaps and bounds. This is now up to you, but if you are to answer the questions you have, learn what to do to deal with the 'Blind Dreamer' and his plans for you. You must go forward and do this, that is apparent. When is your decision, but it must be soon, to wait too long is to give the 'Blind Dreamer' his victory.'

     'I understand. I will go back and confer with the hermits and explain all to Dettlaff. There may be someone he knows that we can speak with as well.'

     'Good you have a plan coming together even now, so soon. Follow it and let it guide you. We have done our part.'

     Iriisii slides back into her awareness of the conversation around the campfire. The hermits still talking and never noticing she was gone. As she looks over to Dettlaff, she sees that he knew she had withdrawn, but let everything continue, trusting her. She nods her head to him and takes control of the conversation back.

     "Gentlemen, I have had an epiphany, let me explain what I have seen." And she goes into the details, as well as how it all fits together, drawing all these separate, mysterious threads and weaving a tapestry with them. Just what she sees when she looks at it is another matter though.

     "This is extraordinary, so many details all building upon each other to bring you to this crux, for that is what this decision is, a crux point. I can see that now. And yes, we share your apprehension as toward what purpose this was laid out, but there is only one way to find out, and if you continue without doing this, you risk all coming apart if the 'Blind Dreamer' wins."

     "Dettlaff? Your opinion is important, for you are involved as well."

     "Let us go and speak to my mother. She has helped us before, and maybe she can help once more."

     "I believe you are right about that. Good, we will go and see her, ask her counsel, then decide what to do. Illyria, will you watch over us while we go and see Dettlaff's mother?"

     "What about letting Nokor watch, I want to come with you and meet her."

     "Very well, she always enjoys company. Nokor, we are going to see Dettlaff's mother, to do this we will need for you to stand watch over us. If anything happens just shake us and we will return."

     "How are you going to see his mother? Is she in the Dreamlands?"

     "No, she lives deep within his mind, below his conscious thought. I have been to see her several times and found her to be of good help to me."

     "Then this one will watch and woe to any who come to disturb you."

     Illyria comes up to him and scratches behind his ears, "thank you so much for guarding us, I could not ask for a more dangerous but cute guardian."

     Norok stretches his neck out for her, "you are mate to my 'sister', Anything this one can do for you, you have but to ask."

     "I may from time to time, but I will not abuse your offer."

     "You are kind to Norok, take what time you need, Norok will watch."

     "Thank you, brother, to my mate."

     The three with Norok standing watch, place themselves near the campfire and lie down, making themselves comfortable. Iriisii turns to Dettlaff's side and places her arm across his chest. "Illyria, do the same from his other side, touching helps to enable contact." Illyria settles to Dettlaff's opposite side and places her arm across him, in contact with Iriisii's arm. Then they relax and settle into sleep.

     They awake to find themselves on the forest path once again. The moon is up high and full, the nocturnal flowers in full bloom, their sweet scent floating on the still air. Some kinds of insects, able to intermittently glow are flying around the flowers. Once Iriisii knows the direction of the house she begins a slow walk up the pathway. Noting the change in the season as they walk until seeing the glow of a candle, sitting in a window.

     "Your mother is expecting us."

     "I would be surprised if she did not."

     "How is she?"

     "Do not worry, she will like you, I am sure of it."

     Some minutes later as they approach, Dettlaff's mother rises from the chair she was sitting in on the front porch.

     "My daughter, it is so good to see you."

     "And you, my mother, you are looking well indeed."

     "I am always well when family comes to visit. And who is this? My son, you have been holding out on me, for not bringing this flower in bloom to see me before now."

     "Please, it is not his fault, the other times when he came to visit, I was heavy with child."

     "The baby is all right?"

     "Oh yes, the Lady Rigmor is watching them all, for now, they quite vigorously insisted on it."

     "You must bring them some time, I would so love to meet them. But you said 'them', there is more than one?"

     "Rigmor has given birth to another", and Iriisii looking at Dettlaff, "and ours has been born as well. Her name is Kallekiiraaz, which in Dovahzul means Champion Child Mercy."

     "That is an honor indeed, for a child of our family to be blessed with a Dovahzul name."

     "She bears the 'Wings of Power' upon her back."

     "She has..wings?"

     "Yes, hers are what the Ancient Dragons call, the 'Wings of Power', no one of the Dragonblood has borne those wings since the Dragonblood was given to Man by Akatosh. They mark her for great Destiny as well as her half-sister, who has the 'Wings of the White Phoenix'. Kalle and I, together, will begin the Jihad of Truth, and we will go among all the Realms, declaring that all must make their choice of who they follow. But I digress, I seek your counsel, wise mother."

     "The tisane is hot and ready to pour, Dettlaff, my son, bring it out and I will listen to your story, and then we will see what help I may be."

     With everyone seated, enjoying the hot tisane on a cool evening, Iriisii goes over what happened that caused her current consternation. The conversation with her Ancestral Memories and the information they were able to bring to her. She then speaks of the direction all of this has taken her, the speculation, the possible answers.

     "That is where I am right now, I know I must be exceedingly careful about how I take this, what direction I go in. This is so far out of my experience and to find so much information to be wrong, even if I can see how it came to be. But what my Ancestral Memories have brought to me, answers more questions, difficult questions, than it raises. Thus I am inclined to give it more weight as to its accuracy and truthfulness. Yet, I still want and need your opinion, you are closer to some of these questions and answers than I am."

     "It is a mark of true wisdom, for you to know when you need to consult others and to know who to consult as well. I see this much the same as you do, it does answer so much that my people have had no firm answers for as long as we have existed. But I think in at least one line, you have not taken it far enough yet. And I hesitate because I am not certain either, but can only speculate."

     "Please tell me what you think, then we can see how it moves with what we think now. It may clear things, or it may cloud things further, we will not know until we hear."

     "Very well, Let me start first to lay the foundation, you are Aasimar, which is as you have said, 'God Touched', meaning you share the 'blood and flesh' of a God, whether directly or passed down through generations. You now know that 'Aasimar' is not one specific race or people, but describes any race or people who have been 'God Touched', but I also think that it refers to the Gods of your Reality, but others should also be capable of doing the same. 

     Specifically the Gods of the 'Gray Paths', But I do not think they would be called 'Aasimar', that I would leave for those more knowledgeable than me. But it does describe how the things that have occurred between you and my Dettlaff have been possible. The sharing of power between you, the gifts you receive each from the other that you have never had before. The ability to have children, that can also take gifts from both of you, and even expand those gifts.

     You have taken the Catalyst, while Dettlaff has yet to do so. What more might be possible should this happen. It would also be the reason why the Aasimar/Vyrkolos relationship is the subject of much fear and speculation. And your reasoning why the previous attempts have failed, I think they are very accurate. This says that waiting and strengthening my Dettlaff before attempting it, will increase your chances of being successful. Once done, the two of you can be a power that cannot be ignored or brushed aside. 

     I know you wonder about your ability to navigate what it may show you of the 'Gray Paths'. But you have given the Catalyst to Rigmor and made it work, so I have every confidence you can do this as well. The knowledge of the 'Gray Paths' you will gain, will be needed to help you when you enter the 'First Gate', to understand what you will see, and thus make the decisions you need to make. Then the two of you can take on the 'Blind Dreamer' when you have the tools to do so, but you first need the knowledge, to know what tools will work and what either will not or you cannot use for other reasons."

     "It does indeed open up more possibilities and brings clarity to many questions. Thank you."

     "I should be thanking you, for bringing answers that have been long sought but forever elusive. Go and get some rest, I am sure this has been a tiring day."

     Iriisii and Dettlaff rise to go inside. Iriisii looks to Illyria, 'coming?'

     "Later, I want to enjoy the evening a bit more."

     "Okay, do not be too late."

     "Please sit, my dear, more Tisane?"

     "Thank you, this is very good, indeed."

     "Now, what did you wish to talk about?"

     "I have a kind of a personal mess on my hands, that I am not sure how I need to handle."

     "Go on."

     "First, I am like Iriisii, Aasimar."

     "And this is heading in the direction of, you see what relationship she has with my son. Now you wish to know if you find another higher vampire, could you expect a similar relationship?"

     "Yes, although there is a second wrinkle, we can deal with that later."

     "It would depend completely on who you chose, what his personality is like, how strongly is he led by his desires, how much personal control does he have. Any other one being compared to Dettlaff would have a difficult time filling his shoes. 

      That is not to say, there are not any who fit what you are looking for, just that they may be difficult to find. Especially since you have such a small chance to find any more unless you go to the homeworld. That I would not recommend without proper escort. I know of your power, and that is exactly why you would need an escort. Without it, you would be inundated until you were unable to ascertain who would meet your standards and qualifications. And then likely make a very bad choice."

     "Exactly what I was worried about."

     'I could help you there. I am knowledgeable in judging dark personalities. I can sift through the chaff to find the grain of wheat. And no one is going to take advantage of you if I can put a stop to it. And there is not a higher vampire anywhere that can match me.'

     "Dear?"

     "My second wrinkle spoke to me, with an offer to assist."

     "Your second wrinkle?"

     "I was once 'fallen', the name me 'fallen' chose was Desidarius."

     "I see. So what exactly is the wrinkle."

     "She has asked Iriisii to create a new body for her. To which she has agreed to do, and when this is done, to marry us in we all agree. If not, I believe she will go ahead and marry her separately."

     "And exactly what is the wrinkle you speak of?"

     "If Desidarius will also be Aasimar since she arose as a separate personality within my physical body? So far as I can tell she has eyes only for Iriisii. I understand 'why' on both of their accounts, but..."

     "You wonder if you find a Vyrkolos of your own, how long will it be before she wonders what it would be like for her to have one of her own? And the possible competition factor involved? A thorny problem yes, but also one that may never come about."

     "How so?"

     "You say she is 'Fallen', therefore she is of the dark. A Vyrkolos must always be the opposite of the mate, and I know of no higher vampire that follows the 'Light'. It is very unlikely she will change from 'Dark' to 'Light', so I would think this is a situation that will never come about. I think it is more likely that with the increased demand for Iriisii's attention, adding another will add more strain in that regard. I assume she is trying to help the situation by including more of you at one time, although I too realize it is no substitute for time alone with her."

     "Finding a Vyrkolos of your own will help you in that regard. Giving you the personal satisfaction you so obviously need. And nothing wrong with that at all. Just recognize it and find ways to satisfy it, then you will feel more balanced. I would think Desidarius sees this and is willing to help you find what you need. To keep you from hurting from inattention. You need to feel wanted, needed, and to want your other to feel the same toward you. There is nothing wrong with that, even within a group marriage. You just need to find it wherever you can and work on it. You do not have to share with the group, as long as you continue to share yourself with them."

     "You think so?"

     "Yes, Iriisii's group is very special in this regard. She has chosen based upon true feelings, not just hers, but all of the others as well. If only the others I have known to attempt this had followed her example."

     Iriisii steps out looking for Illyria, "there you are, I have missed you so, please take my hand and lead me to your bed."

     "What about Dettlaff?"

     "He is sleeping, I think I wore him out, and I truly have missed you, so when a chance comes my way."

     Illyria rises from the chair, "say no more", takes Iriisii's hand, leads her back into the house, and up the stairs. So as the night continues, the moon starts to fall, the insects glowing in the night move on to other flowers. The memory of Dettlaff's mother sits in her chair, sipping Tisane, the smile of a job well done on her face.

     Later, as the sun slowly creeps up over the horizon, Dettlaff comes down and takes a chair.

     "Are you ready to take the Catalyst?"

     "Do you think I am?"

     "What I think is irrelevant, only you know if you believe you are ready."

     "I would be lying if I said I did not have concerns, much of what I have heard these past few days change everything I thought I knew of our history, who we really are, what place we have in this Reality."

     "What place we have is the place that we make for ourselves. And who we really are is inside of us, each of us, not dependent on our history. We make our history, each of us so that it is a reflection of who we are, and to an extent, who we want to be."

     "Then, yes, I am ready."

     "Good, then you will be ready for whatever you see, feel, know, think. All of this and more, trust Iriisii, she has done this twice now, and even though this will be her first time in the 'Gray Paths', she is strong enough to come through it, as you are as well. It will be easier for you, even unknowing you have lived all your life with the presence of the 'Gray Paths', and to a lesser extent, so has she. Together, you do just fine, and become even stronger for it."

     "I knew it was right to come and speak to you about it."

     "I am now and forever will be here should any of you need me."

     "Good, then stay here while I start breakfast, although it has been a long time, I still remember how."

     "One last thing, it matters not where you take the Catalyst. Whether in the Dreamlands or in the Waking World, everything that happens, happens within you. Remember that, if you feel things slipping by, you have control within yourself."

     "Biscuits or bread?"

     "We have company, both."

     "Both it is."

     Soon the smell of breakfast cooking can be experienced wafting throughout the house. Wait, is that the smell of biscuits burning?