บท 577: The Seed of Power
"What do you mean?" Hanna sat up in her seat. It was strange to see the wise, all-knowing Fate blindsided.
"When the water I altered spilled from the cauldron and drained into the Great Lake, I think it did not just cut off the Abominations' access to the magic as we hoped. I think it cut everyone off from the magic." Dania looked at the ground, riddled with shame.
The Fate furrowed her brow. "What altered water? What cauldron? And...no offense...who exactly are you?"
Without magic, Hanna had to rely only on her direct memories. She had not been present for all the discoveries that the Empress and the others had made.
As for the newcomer, Hanna had seen the woman before, but could not place her. Yet, it was clear that everyone else in the room knew her well enough to trust the woman whose eyes changed almost as easily as Hanna's own.
Surprised by the series of questions, Dania opened and shut her mouth several times. Where should she begin?
Aurora bit her lip. "I don't know what the elves told you about the Abominations..."
"Just that you won and went to great trouble to clean up the mess they caused." Hanna tried to think.
King Ithel had not been heavy on details, but she had not asked many questions about the events either. She was far too concerned about the present problem to delve into past victories. But now the blue-skinned lady wondered if she had made a mistake in not paying attention.
The Empress bit her lip. "Well, that is all true. What they left out is that the monsters that attacked us were once human."
"WHAT?!" Hanna had never heard anything so ridiculous. And she had seen quite a few things in her many years.
"It is true." Dania inhaled sharply. "In an effort to help humanity, I was experimenting with the magical water. But Taran used my innocent inquiries for his own evil."
"Wait! You are the missing scientist--or at least were--that worked with the princess before disappearing." The name Taran triggered the memory of the inquiry. It had seemed strange to the Fate at the time, but many things that humans did defied reason.
"That is right, Taran abducted me and forced me to make monsters. In the end, he made enough polluted potions to raise an army!" Dania's voice cracked. Faces of the changed flashed across her memory. Only the encouraging smiles of Renat and Junayd calmed her nerves.
"When I brought Taran down," Aurora explained, "We landed in a massive cauldron of this tainted water. The bowl sent a tidal wave down to the Great Lake, where the magical water fought against the invader. The entire lake emptied itself and refilled. When all was said and done, the Abominable monsters were returned to their human form, and we were able to capture them."
"How long ago was this?" Hanna was beginning to connect the dots.
"A little over two months ago," Devrim offered.
"And when did you start feeling like something was wrong?" The Fate looked to the other side of the table where Brinn and Alvar sat. They glanced quickly at one another before Brinn cleared her throat.
"A day or two later is when I really started to notice a change, but it is possible that it started even before that."
"Hmmm." Hanna clasped her hands across her stomach.
"What?" Everyone in the room leaned in to hear what had caused the Fate to muse.
"I do not think it is a coincidence that that is when my prison--healing chamber--malfunctioned and the Great Waterfall ceased flowing. If I had to guess, the eruption of the Great Lake sent a shock all the way to the Source. Rather than the Source letting itself be corrupted, it cut the world off from magic."
"So then it is my fault?" Dania fell against her seat only to be bolstered up by a gentle smile from Alaron, who was next to her. The Guardian patted her hand gently.
"Yes and no. You may have been the tool, but it is this Taran who has doomed us all. I do hope he has faced justice." Hanna looked ready to exact vengeance herself.
"Taran is dead. He drowned in a pool of his own water." Aurora had stayed to make sure of this fact rather than taking someone else's word for it.
"Good. And is your research destroyed?" Hanna looked at the beautiful scientist.
Dania nodded slowly. "It is. Did you need it for something?"
"Absolutely not. I just don't think it wise to have a recipe for destroying the world lying around for anyone to find." Hanna watched the scientist begin to break internally. She clicked her tongue. "None of that, Dearie. From what I have heard and seen, it wasn't your fault. You cannot help what evil creatures do, but you can try to prevent it from happening again. You did well."
Dania wanted to say more. Wanted to confess how she could have stopped it at the time but it would have brought harm to her brother and sister. But the others around her knew that information and still accepted her. While the scientist wished she could have done things differently, no one held her to blame for Taran building an army except possibly herself.
"Thank you," she accepted the words at last.
Brinn's golden ears pricked up. "So the magic is dying. Is there anything we can do to stop it from being, you know, dead?"
Hanna sighed. "I am afraid not. The source has been cut off and so only what is held in the reserve of living beings or isolated barrels of water is left behind as a remnant of the flow. The magic from the waterfall will all die very soon."
"So that's it?" Brinn crossed her arms. "You came here to tell us the Fates are trapped and all magical creatures are now as mortal as humans. I had hoped you would at least have some hope for us..."
"Hanna did mention a seed...Didn't you?" Aurora looked toward the Fate.
A thin smile of gratitude graced her bluish lips. "I did."
"You mean you were serious?" Brinn scoffed. "We must be very far gone for you to believe in children's tales..."
"Elves and fairies are children's tales for humans and yet here you are," Aurora pointed out. She could not help but feel that there was more behind the elven Princess's skepticism. The Empress could feel her friend's underlying reluctance.
"Please tell the elves' version of the mystery of the seed," Hanna leaned back, her eyes shutting slightly to listen.
Brinn and Alvar looked at one another, unsure who exactly the Fate wanted to speak. A silent back and forth occurred before the he-elf nodded.
"Once in the time before the Land of Magic, when Gifted and Common lived in peace, a mighty Being rose up to enslave them. But the creature was weak, and the rest of creation banded together to oppose him and defeated him easily. Humiliated, the creature traveled ever northward, until he found a Palace in the sky. A great waterfall fell from its height.
"The Being found solace in drinking the water. And as he nursed his wounds, he also nursed his plot for revenge. The water was potent and the longer the creature stayed, the stronger he became. Soon his weakness became an unstoppable strength. The mighty Being extinguished those who would not bend their knee, causing some races to become entirely extinct.
"It was not until the Fates brought together a final charge of every creature left alive that the Being was finally killed once and for all. The Fates found the source of the creature's power at the top of the falls and decided no one should ever have that much power again. With the Maker's permission, they broke off a piece of the Source, which not only kept anyone from holding all the power ever again, but also provided a small seed which, if tended, could grow.
"Rather than let anyone keep the seed to harvest it into a second waterfall, the Fates decided to hide the seed away from prying eyes. But before they could, something tragic happened. A thief managed to take the seed from the Fates' possession. Before he could grow and harvest the power though, the thief died, leaving the seed lost and uncultivated.
"Legend says that whoever finds the seed can harness immeasurable power. They can make their own waterfall and drink from its depths. But all who seek it either come up empty or never return. The seed remains forever unharvested." Alvar folded his hands as silence fell over the room.
The tale had been enchanting, holding most in rapt attention like captives of a spell. All except Brinn, who crossed her arms.
"You see!" the she-elf cried. "The Fate wants us to look for something that no one has ever found. Even if it exists, how difficult do you think it will be to find something in the Land of Magic which has been lost for generations?"
"Not just difficult," Hanna corrected her. The corners of her mouth tilted upward slightly. "It is more than that. It is Impossible. That is because the seed is not in the Land of Magic."
"Where is it then?" Aurora's eyes opened wide.
"I don't know," Hanna's smile grew wider. "But I know who does."
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