The Sundering
Chapter 5 - The Princesses
Hovering high above the five worlds, Iomeloth looked down on what he and his fellow mages had wrought. Spirit World was about the same; Yama Qu had created a son to help him with the steady stream of spirits entering and leaving his world. And there were also now numerous helpers and guides helping the spirits on their journeys. The Human World had prospered in its way. Without the threat of constant death, the humans had conquered their world and now numbered in the millions. Demons and dragons had become nothing more than myth and fairytale. Science and knowledge were now their gods.
Demon World was split into four lands, each ruled by different rulers and inhabited by different clans. The Southern Lands was ruled by a Demon named Pogua, the Western Lands were ruled by Inutaishou of the Dog Demon clan, a Battle Demon named Raizen ruled the Northern Lands while the Eastern Lands were ruled by a female demon named Mukuro, although few realized that she was a woman. The barrier between Demon World and the Human World was constantly being breached by portals created by demon mages – heirs of Iomeloth’s own power.
The Four Gods world had fared the worst: forever fighting with each other, its people living in poverty and despair from the constant wars, and the rulers had cut themselves off from the other two worlds.
And then there was the middle world – Otherworld – Jayetha’s land. Demons made steady treks into this small world to steal humans and livestock. Life was hard in Otherworld and even with the gift of long life that Jayetha had bestowed upon them, their lives were usually short and violent. But in spite of this, the land and its people were flourishing and their numbers were growing.
The protectors had failed. The Unicorns grew too close to those whom they protected, and many had diluted their blood with human blood; greatly diminishing their power. Other Unicorns had mated with their fellow Wolf protectors -- in their human forms they were the same -- and the Dog Demon clan had sprung from these unions. And when it was discovered that Unicorn horns could kill a Great Dragon, the Unicorns were hunted to possible extinction by demons and humans alike. It was not known if any of them still lived. And the Great Dragons were sleeping under the mountains.
Their plan had failed. The four mages had given up their lives for nothing.
Iomeloth soon found himself in his old tower, but it too had changed. Its black walls were now crumbling and vines grew in the cracks between the stones. Nature had found its way inside. And without his magic to keep beautiful valley green, the forbidding mountains between Suzaku and Demon World now made the road to the tower nearly impossible to find.
“Nothing stays the same.” Iomeloth mused as he recreated his physical body for his short visit. He felt a presence close by and Jayetha suddenly appeared at his side.
She looked around the old ruins. “What are you doing here?”
“Visiting the five worlds.” Iomeloth replied sadly. “All we sacrificed was for naught. Even my tower is in ruin.”
“No one has been here for ages.”
“Bryethamaru’s grandson sleeps beneath us.” “All the Great Dragons are asleep.” Jayetha said softly. “Things did not go as we planned.”
“At least we protected most of the humans – the Human World thrives.” He looked out over Suzaku. He could sense the pain and suffering of its people. “If only we could protect them all.”
“The Demons are too strong. They have breached our barriers in many places.”
“I know. I have seen it. The children of the mages we created have become the enemy; the Unicorns are lost, and the Dragons sleep. There is no hope left.”
“There is always hope. People fall in love and children are born. They make a future and the future always has hope.”
“If only the demons weren’t so strong.” Iomeloth suddenly turned to look at his friend, a strange expression on his face. “That’s it!!!”
Jayetha frowned. “I don’t understand….”
“We have been trying to fight demonkind and have always failed because they are too powerful.“
“But we made the Protector Unicorns strong – just as strong if not stronger than the demons.”
“There were too few of them – one for every ten thousand demons! And we created them with the desire to protect humankind, not realizing that those feelings would turn into love for so many of them. They diluted their bloodline and their magic changed.” Iomeloth reminded her.
“I still don’t see….”
“We will use the demons themselves.”
“What?”
“We will enslave demons to fight other demons.”
“So we give power to a few mages.” Jayetha began.
“No, we already tried that. And now the demon mages are the worst of them all. Power can be deadly in the wrong hands. We need someone pure – someone who will not falter, who will never turn to the dark, and who will always hold true.”
“Such a being does not exist.”
"Yes, it does. Come forth...." Iomeloth turned to the dark edge of the tower and spoke to the shadows. "I sensed your presence. Why are you here?" he asked.
"We have seen and heard you and the lady, and we wish to offer ourselves,” came a gentle whisper, with several voices blending as one.
Jayetha turned toward the voices. As she watched, five brilliant orbs of energy appeared. As they grew stronger, golden light shone from each of them, dispelling the dark shadows of the Black Tower. One orb was smaller and its color was more reddish gold than the others and it remained in the background. “We have felt the suffering of the people. They beseech us for help. We beg you to let us help them.” Came the blended voice of the light beings.
“I need someone in physical form so that I can give them the power to enthrall.”
“We are willing to take human form to help those that suffer. Their cries reach into our very souls.”
“But you have transcended into the light. How can you want to return to the dark?” Jayetha exclaimed.
“Erase our memories so that we cannot remember the light.” “You offer too much!” Iomeloth exclaimed. “I cannot take away all that you are!”
“One day we will transcend again. And deep inside of us, in the depths of our souls, we will remember the light. You can never take away the light completely. We must do this, Iomeloth. They plead for our help. We cannot turn our backs on them.” The light from the beings grew stronger with their agitation.
Iomeloth looked at the glowing orbs and nodded. “So be it. I will place you in the timeline 25 years apart so that the oldest can teach the youngest. Who shall be first?”
The largest being moved a little closer. “I will.”
Iomeloth formed a human female from the clay floor and the being merged into it. “I will set you down next to the barrier between the Human World and Demon World. Enthrall mages to yourself and begin to repair the barrier between those two worlds.”
“I shall do as you ask.” The woman lifted a hand and studied it. “It has been a long time since I had sensations such as these. Now take away my memories.”
The mage made runic passes in front of the woman. When he stopped, he took her hand. “Come, child, I have work for you to do.”
“Are you my father?”
“No. You not born of man nor woman. You are a gift to the people of the five worlds. Your name is Arina.”
And Iomeloth took Arina, the first Princess, to a small village near the Human World barrier. “Two powerful demons live in this village: Kaleffe, a Fire Demon, and Kalaymar, a Demon Mage.” He pointed to a large house on a hill. “Go and bind them to you. They will be the first of many. Protect the barrier with their power.”
Arina nodded and walked alone to the house. Iomeloth surrounded her with a protective barrier until the first two Demons were bound; after that, they would protect her.
Three more times the mage repeated the process, placing a young woman at each of the four barriers between the worlds, twenty-five years apart: Athara, Arista and Aratha. Finally there was only one being left; the smaller red-gold orb that had clung to the edge of the shadows. The orb moved closer.
“You will be the center of them all, for of all the five worlds, the one in the center is the most vulnerable. All worlds border it. You must not falter, for if the middle world fails, all will fail.”
“I understand.”
Again Iomeloth fashioned a body from the clay, but this one he fashioned as a baby instead of a grown woman.
“Why a child?” Jayetha asked.
“Because she must be loved by all of her people more than all of the others. She must be all things to her people: helpless child, innocent maid, sensual woman, and loving mother.”
The shining being slipped into the baby’s form and moments after, the child opened her eyes, staring at the mages with golden eyes. Iomeloth bent down and picked her up. “Come, Aara, let’s take you to your oldest sister. She will teach you what to do.”
A short while later, Iomeloth returned to the Black Tower. Jayetha was placing two flat pieces covered with dark purple cloth against the wall. “Your mirrors?” Iomeloth asked.
“Yes, I brought them here from the ruins of my castle. While you were gone, I had a premonition. Someday they will be found and used for good. I will place a spell on them so only she who I have foreseen will find them. A woman who will do great good.”
“Then I will give her a second gift. When she first looks into the mirrors, she will see the Dragon who sleeps beneath this tower. He will awake and become her protector as Byre was once mine,” Iomeloth said.
He moved to the window. "Will five women be able to accomplish what the Unicorns could not? We gave them hundreds of Unicorns and it was not enough."
“I have a feeling….” Jayetha whispered, going to his side. “…that they will be just enough. The future will not be perfect but in Otherworld and Suzaku I saw peace and co-existence between the demons and the humans. It looks like your little shy one is the key.”
“I pray that you are right. Jayetha, I want to keep a closer watch this time. If this works, maybe we can implement it again on similar planets!”
Jayetha agreed. “Ah, but those poor girls! Forever trapped in human form!"
“Their sacrifice gives the worlds hope once again. Perhaps even more than the Sundering itself did.” Iomeloth said
"But they will be the only ones of their kind, with their only companions the Demons they force into their service. Are they to have no chance for real love or a family? Isn't there some way we can give them more?” Jayetha asked.
"Maybe... That is not a bad idea. Even though we only have a limited source to draw from, if we can make the women happy enough on this plane to desire mates and families, this just might work. Yama Qu can help us watch. If any of them express the true desire for a mate and family, we can work on satisfy it." He smiled. "You have given me hope, Jayetha!"
“And with hope, even miracles can be accomplished.” Jayetha smiled back. She reached for his hand. "It's time to go."
"Goodbye, Princesses, take care of our worlds -- especially you, Aara, the most special of all of them." Iomeloth whispered as he shed his body once again and faded into the light.