fandomania | The Adventure continues... (Reply)

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Within a minute or two, men came running. I heard Piatrus cry out. “No! Not Donal! Not my grandson, too!” Despite my anguish, I saw him fall to his knees and cover his face with his hands.

Izshaq and Captain Quinton rushed forward and untied the rope, gently lowering him to the ground. As they did that, a piece of paper fluttered to the ground.

Once his body was on the ground, I rushed over to him, shoving everyone aside. I threw myself onto his body, trying to feel for any heart beat or respiration. But there was none. Donal’s body was stiff and cold.

“NO!” I screamed and shouted. “NO! Donal, don’t leave me! I cannot live without you!” I wept and sobbed more. Then, I thought of Riverford. I tried to calm myself down and, at the same time, I gathered all of my powers. I frantically tried to remember what I had done before. It seemed like an eternity, but the memory came and I repeated everything exactly as I remembered it. I placed my hand on his body and said, “Elama e ravima!” and sent all of my powers into his body. I saw a golden haze envelope him and then dissipate. But this time nothing happened. I tried a second time, but I had no more powers to use.

I then remembered and summoned my crown to me. The second it materialized, I placed it on my head and felt it filling me up once more with power. I commanded it, saying “Restore Donal, my husband, to life!”

***Denial. Forbidden. ***

I commanded it a second time. “Bring my husband back to me!”

***Denial. Forbidden. ***

I then begged it a third time. “I cannot live without Donal, please return his soul to his body? Or send mine to wherever he is?”

***Denial. Forbidden. ***

Grief stricken, I tore the crown off my head and threw it across the studio. I, once more, fell on top of his body, weeping and wailing.

Although, I really wasn’t paying attention to anything the others were doing, I did notice Izshaq lean down and pick up a piece of paper. He looked disbelieving and handed it to Captain Quinton. He had the same reaction. Piatrus tore the note from Quinton’s hands, briefly read it and exclaimed. “No! Donal wouldn’t do this! He was happy and had everything to live for! This has to be fake!”

I looked at my husband. I kissed his cold lips dozens of times. As I wept, I touched his face and his hair, smoothing it down, only to feel a sticky substance there. When I looked at my hands, they were red with blood and I began to scream once more.

“Oh ghods! No!” I heard Piatrus cry out. “Donal didn’t kill himself! He was murdered! Whoever did this to him, tried to make it look like a suicide! Who would do such a heinous thing to my poor boy?”

Piatrus then ordered Captain Quinton to summon the authorities and to bring the medical examiner. He then leaned down and lifted me to my feet, although I fought with him to let me stay. Once on my feet, he then hugged me tightly to him, not allowing me to look on Donal any further. He then walked me outside. “My dear girl, you have seen enough. You are only going to upset yourself even more. You have to think of yourself, your baby and your children. You have to live for them. Right now, we have to keep everything as it is until the authorities have seen what has happened, to help them find out who killed Donal. Donal is now in the hands of the ghods. Nothing more can be done for him.”

His last words struck a chord with me and I realized that I had to appeal to them. I struggled out of Piatrus’ arms and ran to the chapel on the other side of the compound. Once inside there, the serenity and calm of the place helped me collect my thoughts. I endeavored to remember all the proper forms of worship. I tried to remember how Haral managed to catch their attention. I went to the altar. I lit the sacrificial fire in the bowl by its side. I took the knife that was lying there and I cut myself and dripped my blood that was tinged with Donal’s blood into the fire. I added many of my tears. I prayed and I prayed. “Oh wonderful Deivė, Queen and Mother of all ghods, I call upon you to help me in my hour of need! Oh wonderful Dailė, daughter of Deivė, patroness of all arts and artists, I call upon you to help me in my hour of need. Please bring back my husband, my beautiful Donal, one of the artists that you have blessed so well? Please bring him back to me, his poor sorrowing wife, who cannot live without him and his love?”

I continued this way for quite some time, until I saw the silvery-white glow and felt the presence of two entities in the chapel.

“Oh wonderful Deivė, Queen and Mother of all ghods! Oh wonderful Dailė, daughter of Deivė, patroness of all arts and artists!”

“Speak, child, we are listening.”

“Please help me? Please restore my beautiful, wonderful husband, Donal, to me? I cannot live without him. He is my life and my joy!”

“We feel for you, child. We really do, but there is nothing that we can change.”

“But why? When Donal died in Riverford, I was able to bring him back to life. My powers are puny compared to yours. Why can’t you bring him back?”

“Because in Riverford, Donal had only been dead for a few minutes. His soul was still in shock and had not yet departed. You managed to heal his body and anchor his soul to life once more. But Donal’s murder happened many hours ago. His soul has departed his body and has already entered Empyrean. There is no going back from there. And to restore life to a body without its soul would be an abomination. We are very sorry and we truly feel your pain, but there is nothing that we can do for you.”

“No! This cannot be! You are ghods! You created this world and you create life all the time! How can you not do this? This is just one little request from your most ardent worshipper! How can you not do this for me?”

“We are sorry. We feel for you, but no.”

“No? Do not deny me? What kind of ghods are you that would do this to me? What good are ghods if they will not help?”

As soon as I uttered those words, I realized that they should have remained unsaid. The atmosphere went from sympathetic to hostile. I immediately abased myself onto the floor and begged forgiveness. “Please forgive me? I didn’t mean that! I truly didn’t mean that! I apologize and beg humbly for your forgiveness.”

“Mother, please. She begs forgiveness. I am sure that it was her grief speaking. Don’t you remember how grief stricken you were when my mortal father died? You, of all ghods, must understand how she is feeling.” I heard Dailė plead with her mother.

“Yes, daughter, I do remember. Because of your intervention, I will forgive this creature for her irreverence and blasphemy. But she must not go unpunished for it either.

“Child, you are fortunate to have a protector in my daughter. Otherwise you would have been sent to Tophrean for eternity. However, you will be given your punishments in the form of three geasa.

“The first geis consists of a denial of something that you will seek out. No matter how many times you seek death, it will be denied you. You will find yourself unable to do that which you desire. You will not meet death until your destiny has been accomplished.

“The second geis consists of a compulsion to do something that you will not want to do. After your mourning period is over, you will find yourself accepting and fulfilling the first marriage proposal that whomever asks of you.

“The third geis consists of another compulsion. Anyone who asks for your love will receive it, no matter who it is.

"So be it. It is done.

“Yes, this is cruel, but your offense was great.”

With that, the silver-white glow disappeared and their presence went away. My mind could not handle all that had happened that day. I curled up into a ball on the floor of the chapel, sobbing and crying as my heart and life shattered into little pieces.