The Sundering
Chapter 4 - Jayetha
Dai looked down at her body and slowly ran her hands over it.
“I don’t understand why he made her human…” Jayetha began.
“To blend in.” Dai said calmly, smiling. And to the mages, her smile seemed almost reptilian. “There are more of us,” she said cryptically. “Many more…” Then in the blink of an eye, she changed back into a dragon, unfurled huge wings and took to the sky.
“Oh, no.” Iomeloth moaned out loud.
“I don’t understand….” Tarquin Xi.
“He gave her the power of transformation. The humans will never know who is friend or foe – whom they can trust. She looks just like one of them. And she said there were more. We need to find out how many more. Byre, could you sense that she was a Dragon even in her human form?” <
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“Yes, I saw her as both Dragon and human.”
“Then please to fly over the lands and bring us back news. What has changed – what has been transformed.” Iomeloth said to the four Dragons. As one they took to the sky and then flew off in opposite directions. Then he turned to Jayetha. “Would you portal to Ryoku-Ashi’s tower and check on the barrier? I fear that he might have harmed it.”
Jayetha nodded and opened a portal. Moments later she stepped onto the parapet of Ryoku-Ashi’s forbidding tower. She walked to the edge and peered down at the base of the barrier. Hordes of demons were pounding and clawing at it. Then she saw what they were attacking – the barrier was thinner in that spot. The barrier had been weakened. She moved to another area of the tower and saw the same thing happening in another spot of the barrier. How much damage had Ryoku-Ashi caused? And how much longer could the barrier hold out? Jayetha sighed heavily and portaled back to Iomeloth with the distressing news. Ryoku-Ashi had won even in defeat.
A few hours later the Dragons came back with even more bad news. Numerous demon clans had been effected by the power wave. The Demon Cats, the Bobcats, the Hawks, and many other clans now had the power to transform into a human form.
“All of our work is for naught.” Iomeloth said miserably. “Yama Qu gave up his life for nothing! And soon the barrier that protects the new human world will be destroyed. And demons who look like humans will enter their world.”
“There must be something that we can do!” Jayetha cried. “I refuse to admit defeat!!”
“There is something.” Tarquin Xi said quietly. “I can release my power like Yama Qu did.”
“What? No!! I won’t let you! I don’t want to lose you too!” Jayetha exclaimed.
“It is not your choice, but mine.” Tarquin Xi reminded her.
“What do you propose?” Iomeloth asked his old friend.
“I will use part of my power to strength the barrier and the other part to give other demons the same power of transformation.”
“Other demons?” Jayetha queried.
“Like our four Dragons here. They can be the protectors of the humans that are still in this world. And there are other demons which are not cruel to humans – the Foxes and some of the Wolves. They can help protect and also they can teach the humans to defend themselves.”
“But then there will only be two of us.” Jayetha countered. “I don’t know if I could stand it….”
“We could join him.” Iomeloth said softly.
“What?” Jayetha turned to the old mage.
“I believe our time is done here. It is now the time for the humans to make this world their own. Together we can change this world for the better. Split the demons from the humans. They are mostly located around Ryoku-Ashi’s tower – evil draws evil – we can isolate them in that land.”
“The three of us do not have the power to split a world off.” Jayetha reminded him.
“It can be a different type of isolation. We can create mountain ranges on either side of this tower and a ring of mountains around your tower. We can create three worlds out of what is left of this one. The mountains will be our barriers.”
“Mountains will not be enough.”
“Then we will create more Protectors. And give a few humans some of our power – make them lesser mages – show them how to strengthen the barriers.” Iomeloth told her.
“Maybe the lesser gods would help us also.” Tarquin Xi said excitedly. “The Phoenix has shown interest in the plight of the humans. Maybe they would be willing to lend a hand whenever the need arose. I know there are others who would help. Byakko, the Blue Tiger god, also comes to mind.”
“Ah, I see a problem with the idea of human mages. Baratha died before he could learn more than a few simple spells. It takes so much time to learn the spells – and the humans have such a short life….” Iomeloth commented.
“Then that will be my gift. I will give the humans a long life span – for them, time will slow down so that their years are the same as demonkind.” Jayetha said.
Iomeloth turned to her and then to Tarquin Xi. “So it is decided.”
“Yes, our lives for theirs. We will fade and pass to the other side.” Jayetha said, and then brightened. “Come, we have much to do and very little time to do it in. The demons will breach the barrier in a few days’ time.”
Iomeloth stood on his tower looking out over the lands. Now the terrible peaks that surrounded his tower were spread in a line to the north and south, splitting this land – this world – from the land of the demons. Behind him stood five young men and a blue Dragon. These men would be given mage powers and then Byre would take them to five villages where they would teach and protect.
Byre moved up to the old mage and put his head down, pressing it against Iomeloth’s shoulder.
“It’s time, Byre. Take care of them.”
“I promise.” Byre rumbled. “It was a honor serving you.”
Iomeloth turned to the huge Dragon. “The honor was mine when you chose me. May you live long in the light.”
Byre nodded and returned to the five men. He unfolded his wings and curved them around the humans to protect them from Iomeloth’s final spell.
The old mage took one last look around and then closed his eyes and began to softly chant. His body began to fade as he released his power – and his soul – from the confines of a physical body. Power surged around the five humans and then pushed inside of them. Mage power! Magic! It was now theirs.
Then Iomeloth opened his hands and beautiful beasts came forth from them – pure white, looking like horses, but with a single horn on their foreheads. “Protect them, love them, and live with them.” He whispered to the Unicorns and as one they nodded and then spread in all directions, leaving the tower to live among their human charges. Then he was gone. And Byre bowed down in reverence and the five new mages followed suit.
As Tarquin Xi faded, he strengthened the barrier that stood around the human world and then he hid it from sight. Some would be able to sense it, but none would be able to see into that world ever again. Then with the last of his power, he gave the rest of the Great Dragons the power of transformation, along with the Foxes and a few of the Wolves and some isolated demons who had shown a good heart.
Michi and Rhu watched him fade and then took the sky. In the future, whenever the humans saw them flying overhead, they would take hope.
Jayetha felt her fellow mages leave this world. Now she was alone.
“I will wait for you.” Came a quiet voice at her side.
She turned to Zen. “I will not be returning.”
“Then I will join you on the other side.”
“You have a long life ahead of you, Zen.”
“I once promised to be yours forever and I will keep that promise. If I cannot wait for you, will you wait for me?”
Jayetha bowed her head in sorrow and then nodded. “I will be waiting. And now it is time for me to leave.”
As she released her power, she gave every human a long life – and time slowed down to a crawl around her tower – here in the center of the four worlds: Spirit World, Human World, Demon World and the Four Gods World. This was the last world – the other world.
Zen kept his eyes fixed on Jayetha until she had completely faded, then he walked to the exact spot where she had last stood and laid down – he would not move from that spot until death finally released him.
And as she had promised, Jayetha was waiting for him when he reached the other side.