The Search For Kathea, A Leap Into A New Soul

 The Search For Kathea, A Leap Into A New Soul

     Aleytys and Darius' conversation is interrupted by the events now taking place down on the ground. A portable table with the clone has been brought out and set up. Healers are removing the tubes attached that had been feeding various fluids and taking out others for scrubbing. Iriisii walks over to Illyria and speaks low, "are you ready for this?"

     "We both are, and we are in agreement that Desidarius deserves this chance. The question is do you still intend to do as you have stated, even in front of literally the entire population of Creation?"

     "You know I care not for the opinion others have of who I share my life with. I feel this is 'right' all the way into the deepest core of who I am. I said and I still say, even if no one else thinks this is the right thing for me to do, I will still do it, and ask Desidarius to marry me."

     Illyria grins and Iriisii sees a flash of Desidarius in her eyes. Iriisii calls Dometrius over, "when we start this, the audio feed must be halted until it is done. The power that is going to be fed through the song, could have completely unknown effects on anyone else who hears it. Only me, and Desidarius, should hear this."

     "What about Illyria?"

     "I shall be 'asleep' while this is going on. So you do not have to worry about me."

     "How is this going to proceed, what is it that everyone is going to see."

     "Desidarius is going to manifest in Illyria's body like 'Kali'mah' did when I let her come forward. Then I will sing to her the song that I sang to her when I brought Illyria back out. This time I will be bringing Desidarius completely out of Illyria's body. It will appear to be like some describe as a ghost floating in the air. I will then direct her to the clone's body, she will enter it, and I will start its life functions. As Desidarius merges and takes control, of their features, and skin, everything will change in how Desidarius sees herself and become who she is. Then when the song is done, restore the audio, so that all can hear what I do next."

     "Which will be?"

     "Wait and see, I promise it will knock your socks off, at least I think that is how the saying goes."

     When Dometrius gives the signal that audio has been halted, Illyria laying on a cushioned table, allows Desidarius to come to the fore. Iriisii smiles to her, receiving one in return. She then takes a hand in hers and begins singing. This time the power is both palpable and visible. Not only does the music itself echo everywhere, seeming to come from every direction around the pair, but bands of color, deep blues, violets, and gold with silver edging flow around and through them.

     The song has its effect as a pale white mist rises from Illyria's body. It circles Iriisii, playing with her hair like a zephyr. Iriisii smiles and chuckles at Desidarius' spirit's playing. She then holds a hand out and the spirit touches hers with its own. Iriisii allows a measure of power to flow to the spirit, giving it a definite solidifying of her form.

     She then leads Desidarius over to the clone and extends her other hand in guiding the spirit to its new home. As it seeps into the body, changes are noticed. The skin both coloring and tone darken to match the image Desidarius has of herself. Facial features are next to shift. Muscles are seen moving and rearranging themselves. Then as the changes slow and then stop, Iriisii looks into the eyes, the memory of them has captivated her ever since that day she first sang this song.

     As she comes to the end of it, she does exactly what the song warns against, she touches Desidarius and leans down to kiss her, sealing her spirit in the body. Then she motions to Dometrius to restore the audio. Then she looks Desidarius straight into her face, gazes ever more deeply into her eyes. Places a hand gently against the side of her face and speaks.

     "I have dreamed of this day ever since I looked into your soul. I sang that song to you and never have I forgotten how it made me feel. I promised you I would find a way to restore you to physical form and I have kept my promise. Now I must ask one more thing of you. Will you join with me and mine, together, now and forever more, sealed by the Rites of the Mother of the Cosmos, equal in all things, no one above or below the other? Desidarius, will you marry me? Here and now, before the entirety of Creation as a witness to our vow?"

     This body's first tears are tears of joy, tears of promises made and promises kept, of desperate dreams now made reality. She nods her head and her, 'yes', is clearly heard, its melodic tones ringing with passion and desire.

     "Then rise up and let us ask the 'Mother' together to join us." She helps Desidarius from the table and hand in hand they walk to the Ceremonial Circle laid out just for this occasion. They walk into its center, and first Rigmor approaches bearing flowers, all of exceeding beauty and scent, and with thorns, indicating that life is both of beauty and pain. Illyria is next to approach and stands opposite Rigmor, she holds a newborn animal indicating the new life all of them will now undertake together bound.

     Byrsael comes now placing herself between Rigmor and Illyria on one side of the circle, she bears jewels, indicating the worth that they all hold for Desidarius. Then Dettlaff walks up, unsheathes his sword, and places the tip on the ground, showing their resolve to defend Desidarius against all that would come, declaring an attack against her is an attack against all of them.

     Iriisii then speaks, "Mother of the Cosmos, come before us now. We ask you, to bless our union anew, with our new spouse, Desidarius. Give unto us your blessing and approval for we show to all here this day how we feel and our desire to bring her into this holy union you have given to us."

     There is a fluttering of wings, as the Mother's Soul Hounds land around the Ceremonial Circle laid out before the eyes of Creation's peoples. And then a glowing form of light forms in front of Iriisii and Desidarius, placing a hand over the clasped hands of the two.

     "To all gathered here and seeing with their eyes, hearing with their ears, I am she who in the beginning took up the 'Mantle of the Mother of the Cosmos". Iriisii Dovahkiin is she whom I chose to become the 'one' to right the balance between 'good' and 'evil'. And now she has proven to be far more than any mortal or immortal could have anticipated. I have called her, my 'daughter' and heir to this 'Mantle' I bear.

     And now I see, she has it within her to go beyond even my lofty position, into heights never before reached by any who have existed in this Creation or the previous two. She shows the worthiness of her soul in that she accepts both light and dark, even bringing them into the act of marriage with her and her mates. She is the true scion of Balance and epitomizes the meaning of what Balance means.

     Desidarius had no choice in the events that brought her into existence. She did not deserve to be cast aside as you would cast aside a broken tool by he who made her by his actions. It was not until Iriisii saw into the soul of Desidarius in her search for the soul of Illyria. And in bringing Illyria back into the light, gave promised to Desidarius to give life back to her once more.

     And now all of you see the fulfillment of that promise. And once more my 'daughter' has shown her worth and wisdom again, in showing Desidarius that she has worth and value of her own. That she is loved and desired, that these here at this Circle, want her for who she is to them. And so I am exceedingly pleased to grant their request this day, and add Desidarius to this family to be wedded to each and to all. May you carry my blessing wherever life takes you. As it is with my 'Rites', each of you seals this decision with a kiss and may all know henceforth from this day that Desidarius is wedded to this family."

     Iriisii gestures to Rigmor, who brings and lays the flowers at Desidarius's feet, wraps her arms around her, and with a tender smile and a gleam in her eyes, she kisses Desidarius. Once done she returns to her place and Illyria comes next. Illyria's kiss is soul-deep and faint bands of color fade in and out around the two. Then she too returns to her place and Byrsael walks forward. Byrsael reaches up and places a hand around Desidarius's neck, gently drawing her into her kiss, then the other hand joins the first. Byrsael returns to her place, Dettlaff sheathes his sword and moves before Desidarius. Even as Desidarius lowers her eyes from him, he lifts her face with his fingers and traces her lips with a fingertip before placing his own on hers. The color bands return just a bit stronger this time. And he must return to his place.

     Iriisii turns to her and looks at Desidarius with unabashed desire, taking her in her arms, she kisses Desidarius putting everything she feels into that single kiss. The color bands explode into a rainbow that even extends into colors that only a small number of the spectators can see. She gives Desidarius no chance or choice, but pulls and molds her into Iriisii's body, such that it became difficult to see where one ended and the other began. When their kiss ended, Desidarius gave a heartfelt sigh, and wrapped her arms around Iriisii once more, laying her head against Iriisii's chest. Iriisii replies by wrapping her own arms around Desidarius and laying the gentlest of kisses atop the crown of her head, before turning her head to lay her face against Desidarius's head. The 'Mother of the Cosmos' is silent as she bows before the new couple, and vanishes from sight. The Soul Hounds as one bow to all around the Circle and all vanish as well. There is no way in 'hell' Dometrius is going to interrupt this by saying anything and so he patiently waits as long as it takes for this to be complete.

     Once it is obvious things are winding down, "and now you have seen a totally different side to Iriisii Dovahkiin, the side that knows love, passion, commitment, and family. The side that ultimately has driven her to where she is now, because without that incentive, that motive, would she or anyone else keep going in the face of what she has had to endure? Could any of you do the same, would do the same if you did not feel for your loved ones as she feels for hers? And understand this, it is your belief, your feelings, your faith, there I said it, but it is true, it is your individual faith in her, joined with your neighbor's, with the couple down the road, on the world after world, universe each added to the next, that gives her the power to act in your stead. For you do not have to stand and fight, you just have to believe in her, that she can and will stand and fight for you.

     And so you ask, how can anyone be trusted with that much power, because we have all seen how someone given too much is corrupted by it? Because she knows this, and because there is another saying she lives her life by and it goes like this. 'With great power comes great responsibility.' She fights because those of 'good' and 'evil' had the power, had the responsibility, did nothing with it, and allowed another to step in and turn them into puppets! She had no knowledge of all of this when she began, and when she did find out, she knew she could not turn aside, could not lay this burden down for another. Because everything laid in the balance, if she turned away or failed, it was all over, for there was no more time for another to try.

     She has proven time and again she is up to the challenge because she does not rely solely on herself. Her family, her friends, her comrades, all who believe in her share a part of the burden and so she is able to go on. Where she ultimately goes from here, literally no one knows. She is breaking new ground, but I do know this. She will let anything stop her, from doing what she must, to find her lost daughter, the defeat of all those who stand against her, against the balance. And what is it that all of you stand to gain from this besides your continued lives?

     Look upon her first daughter, Kintyra Dovahkiin III, for in just a few more years, she reaches her age of majority, at that time Iriisii will step down from the Ruby Throne of Tamriel as Empress and pass it to her daughter. Why is this important, you ask? Because she will usher in a new 'Golden Age of peace, prosperity, and justice for all of the races living on Nirn, this after more than a thousand years of strife, battle, war, thievery, and assassinations. But this is just the start, for when Iriisii ascends to the 'Mantle of the Mother of the Cosmos', she intends the same for Creation. And not just this one, but the second and the first as well.

     And how can that be without the temporal paradox destroying everything? Because when she gave 'Rebirth' to the second creation, it was reborn not in this dimension, but in another close by and empty. And she did it right under her great enemy's nose and for he never saw it coming. He had no knowledge that she had done it until now, and it is too late for him to do anything about it. The Second Creation is protected and the enemy cannot get to it.

     As to the first, well he is going to be busy trying to figure out which field of battle she is on. And then when he is occupied, the first creation will be reborn. And all his plans, plots, and deceptions start unraveling, and he becomes caught up, tangled in his own web. Will she play her hand like I have described or will she do something entirely different? He has no way of knowing what she is going to do and that is why she will win, with all of us helping her, by believing that she can do it. And now before we let you go, she has one more thing to show you, this will be a historic reunion, with grand aspirations and repercussions. So let's get this show on the road!" 

      Iriisii walks out into the open once more, but this time with three others who until now have not been seen before. She casts a spell and a glowing pillar of power raises her up from the ground. She calls out, "Phillipa Eilhart" and a pillar raises another up into the air. She calls out again, "Johannes Trevalyn" and a third pillar raises up. There is one last figure standing in armor still on the ground. "Atticus Horazson, have you made your decision?"

     "Yes, I have."

     "Fen hi accept tu'um yourself faal sil se hirt dovah do destiny, finishing nun resurrection? Bringing niin nol faal earliest ervosse se siid creation rul nust soared faal Lokke do innumerable leinne, bringing niin het, wa mu, wa daar tiid ko existence.  Together ont more, faal hir dovahhe do destiny, faal kirre se dracon rahhe, faal parents do pah faal dovahhe tol yet lahney ko daar creation!" ("Will you accept within yourself the soul of the Fourth Dragon of Destiny, completing their resurrection? Bringing them from the earliest years of the Third Creation when they soared the skies of innumerable worlds, bringing them here, to us, to this time in existence. Together once more, the Four Dragons of Destiny, the Children of the Draconic Divines, the parents of all the dragons that yet survive in this Creation!")

     "I do accept the soul of the Fourth Dragon, I am ready to be her host."

     She casts her spell one last time, and another pillar of power raises Atticus into the air. The tops of the pillars expand, as their glow begins to pulse in time with their heartbeats. And when their heartbeats are finally in sync, the spectators of the arena have their eyes drawn to a dense fireball falling from black space. They watch it fall and strike the top of the pillar that holds Atticus, the fire and glare so blinding that all four pillars are engulfed.

     As fast as the blindness came it goes, and sitting on the tops of the four pillars, are four huge dragons! Only a small number of those watching had ever encountered a dragon before, and even then not one who could compare with these four. Then it is seen as Aleytys stands and begins walking down still holding Kallekiiraaz in her arms. Some of those among the spectators are becoming concerned about what might be about to happen, but surely no harm would be allowed to come to such an innocent.

     Aleytys walks until she is within the center, surrounded by the pillars, she then unwraps the blanket from Kallekiiraaz. Her wings unfurl, as Aleytys sings out, "Kallekiiraaz, daughter of Iriisii Dovahkiin, Aasimar and Dettlaff van der Eretain, High Vampire and Vyrkolos to Iriisii. You who were born with the 'Wings of the White Phoenix', only you have the power to do what is now needed to be done. Only you have the power to merge each of the Dragon Souls with their host, merging each two into one.

     This is needed such that the the 'Children' can call the 'Parents', summon their souls from the place where 'dead Gods lie dreaming' according to the words inscribed within the Scroll of Skelos, that yet awaits in its cradle in a Temple on the world that sits on the Edge of Infinity, a world called Telios.

     Kallekiiraaz, share your power with the 'Children of the Draconic Divines', finish their resurrection, so that they may in turn bring back their parents. That Iriisii Dovahkiin may give them 'Rebirth', and they acknowledge her truly as 'Mother of all Dragons'!"

     Kallekiiraaz opens her mouth and enjoins her Thu'um and the Power of the White Phoenix, "Aav hin sille Dovah!". A wave of purest white rolls out from her, engulfing the four dragons. The wave then spins, faster and faster until it rolls back into a sphere and shoots upward, farther and farther, until it can no longer be seen, and then...then, a new star flares into being.

     Aleytys wraps the blanket back around Kallekiiraaz, who rapidly falls asleep, tired from her exertion. Dometrius steps back out, "I have no words to speak that can do justice to what we have all witnessed this day. I think I can safely say this has been a day of miracles. There can be no doubt as to the veracity of what has occurred, for we all have seen, heard, and felt with our own senses. Now I understand why it had to be done in this way, for if not who would ever believe it actually happened.

     But now there can be no denial, for we all saw this and all of us here today cannot be wrong, cannot be deceived, cannot be tricked. Once this was to conclude, Iriisii asked me to tell you this. In some years yet to come, the Jihad of Truth will begin. But first, her herald will go forth unto all of Creation announcing the time of choosing has come. Then each will declare which side they favor, be it 'absolute good', 'absolute evil', or the 'balance'. Once the choice has been made, the lines of battle will be drawn, and 'WAR' will come. May all those who call themselves 'Gods' have mercy on the souls of those who choose unwisely, for she will not!

     I ask that each of you think about this, and what you have seen here today. And when the time of the herald comes, remember this day before you choose. I now bid you all peace, and may the blessing of any power you pray to, keep you safe."

     The four dragons still on the pillars look around as the virtual arena is dismantled. Then Iriisii returns to human form, and the other three do as well. The pillars sink into the ground and Iriisii is immediately surrounded by her family, incessantly pelted with questions. She holds up a hand to quiet everyone.

     "We will speak a little later, but for now I must see to our guests. I need to know what caused them to make the trip here and what that has to do with why they were sent specifically to find me." And so she turns and walks to the fleet of damaged ships waiting underneath the shield she placed to protect them. As she approached close to the lead ship, its main hatch opens and a young one of the reptilian race steps out to greet her. He bows and asks her to accompany him to a conference room where the Captains of the ships will meet with her to answer any questions she may have.

     She enters to see a good number of different beings standing, sitting, or whatever means of relaxing is appropriate. As they notice her, they immediately rise, and all bow or make whatever other gesture of respect is used among them. She bows to them all in return.

     "I am pleased to see all of you here and I hope the display outside was informative. It was not meant to be so ostentatious however it served the purpose for which it was intended."

     One of the more different species present chirps in with, "may I inquire as to what your purpose was?"

     "Of course, the general populace has been following my exploits for some time. I have allowed this because of what is yet to come, and my wish for as many to realize what future events will mean to them, their families, people, and onward. They need to know what has happened, who was responsible, and what is being done to correct it. I am saddened to say it will mean 'WAR', the war between regions, worlds, systems, and whole universes against others. There is now no other way, the one or ones involved, who brought this about are too deeply entrenched.

     Now it proceeds on its own momentum, and enormous effort will be required to turn it around. It cannot be deflected, it must be turned completely around. I could explain, but truly we do not have the time required to bring you to understanding, as it would take a number of years to do this. But this is not the reason I come to you now, I come to hear your story, why you were directed here, specifically to me, and what I can do to help you."

     "As it has been told to you, our homes have been invaded, citizens taken, sometimes entire towns and villages. Our most ancient records say this has happened before and that your ancestors may have been displaced similarly. We hope you may know of who was responsible then and possibly now."

     "I was not aware of any of this until I first met with your Captains on bringing them safely to the ground. However, I am greatly concerned as to the fates of those taken. It is my fervent hope that I am wrong as to the purpose to which they were taken. But in either case, I will do my utmost to find them, do whatever I can to reverse whatever has been done to them and then return them home. Would you be so kind as to provide me with location coordinates of where the abductions have taken place so that I can conduct my own investigation? I also need the information on the old ones to see if they are related."

     It is then a door slides up from the floor of the ship, and Iriisii is contacted by the Custodian. "Goddess, Lord Chancellor Blackwell asks that he be brought to you on a matter of utmost importance. Is it your will that he be allowed transport to your location?"

     Iriisii looks toward the Captains and notes their permission.

     "Open and allow him through Custodian."

     The door opens and Lord Blackwell walks through with a bottle in hand, one carrying the 'Blackbriar Meadery' label.

     "Lord Blackwell, welcome to Tuo. What is the issue that is of such importance?"

     Lord Blackwell to his credit, takes in the situation and keeps his usual demeanor.

     "Empress, we received a crate of these earlier today with no prior notice of there being sent from Riften. Information from my spies there says things are not right. They cannot be more certain, but Jarl Blackbriar is not known to send any gift of any kind without notice that she is the sender and the occasion for which it is being sent."

     "You suspect something then?"

     "Yes, Empress. I thought it best for you to examine it and determine if it is safe to store it away or whatever you think should be done."

     Iriisii gestures for the bottle. Blackwell hands it over gingerly.

     "What do you feel while holding it?"

     "I cannot rightly say, Your Majesty, I just get the most unnerving sense about it."

     "That is good enough for me, I will not open this but rather see what I can find out as it is."

     Iriisii uses her acute senses to go over every inch of it to find any indication of trouble. She does detect some very faint scents around the cork, trying hard to identify the scents she comes up with a few that cause concern, then makes a startling discovery.

     "Lord Blackwell, I cannot stress enough that you follow my instructions to the letter. Take this and retrieve the rest of the delivery. Take all of it and return to the Fortress with it. Give it over to the Custodian. I am giving him orders to place this into isolation. You are to bend every effort to find everyone who has touched or handled this. Have the healers conduct a thorough examination of them. Anyone they indicate should be taken to the Fortress and placed in isolation.

     I trust you Lord Blackwell to say nothing to anyone about why you are doing this, simply say it is my wish. Under no circumstances are any of these bottles to be opened, if they are either deliberately or by accident, contact me immediately, the Custodian will give you the means by which you can do this. Lord Blackwell, these bottles have been handled in the recent past by a Sload.

     I am sure you will now see why I am asking for extraordinary handling of this. If what I think is contained within, the entire world of Nirn could be in peril should anything happen to release the contents! Find out if Jarl Blackbriar knew anything of this, but say nothing until you talk with me and we decide on a course of action."

     "I will do as you ask, Your Majesty. Rest assured it will be done as you have ordered."

     As Blackwell returns through the door and it slips back down out of sight, the amazed faces of the Captains cause her to smile.

     "These can be created anywhere?"

     "Pretty much, yes. I need to either know the location coordinates or be physically near. My Custodian who is in my Fortress does the rest. The doors are coded for access, which means that not just anyone can use them. The system knows who can use any particular 'door' at any particular time and allows or disallows accordingly."

     "I noticed that when the door was opened, I could see into the location beyond. How is that possible?"

     "The system works by bringing two points of Reality to where they are adjoining, each next to the other but still separate. The 'door' then acts as a bridge between the two, allowing one to pass from one to the other. The spacial distance between is literally what you see as the thickness of the 'door'."

     "The power requirement must be enormous!"

     "Not nearly as much as you are thinking. There is a great deal of Metaphysics involved as well as Quantum Physics. As close as I can understand right now, the 'door' exists in the Quantum Realm, outside of our Reality. Thus it works on the rules in that Realm, not ours. This is the basis of why it works."

     "One last question, if you would allow?"

     "Go on."

     "The bottle, what exactly do you think is in it, and what does this 'Sload' have to do with it?"

     "That is a very, how do you say, 'loaded' question. I have only encountered Sloads, three times in my life so far. Each time I have been required to kill them to stop what they were working toward. They are known to be unquestioned masters of necromancy, poisons, and contagions, the very worst and brightest of them can combine them into truly horrendous things.

     My world has known plagues that have swept across whole continents, decimating populations, and they have been traced back to these Sloads. What was in that bottle was a contagion like this Creation has never seen before. One that I believe could eclipse even the Wamphyri for its destructiveness. Envision if you will, the dead bodies of your family, friends, and neighbors getting back up from their recent interments. Then they seek out their friends, family, or sometimes just the first person unlucky enough to cross their path.

     They attack, subdue, and then try to consume them. In this way, the contagion is spread, for once it reanimates the body, the attacker loses interest and goes on to seek another live victim. Because necromancy of the darkest kind is used in this, it is impossible to fight normally. If you dismember the bodies, even taking the head, it will not stop them. You must destroy the bodies by fire, lightning, or force, turning the bodies into ash. Only then will they be stopped."

     "How could you know this?"

     "I read the imprint of the psychic aura of the Sload that worked on the contents of that bottle. That told me all that I have related to you. Now I must find the source, and destroy it before it is released somewhere else. All must be ready in the event of such a release, to quarantine any city, province, continent, or even world that this is found on. It is regrettable, to have to take such steps, but if it is allowed to spread, everything ends. Make no mistake, this is designed to mutate, so that even if one survives the first encounter with this contagion, they may not survive a second or third. Eventually, it will infect every living being it comes into contact with. And if it should somehow be able to jump to and infect an immortal. I do not wish to think about that."