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Epilogue: Greenhouse
Third Person
What was it like to see a happy ending sprout from two continents that started without knowing what the other was like? Mogochislenians believed the People of Arrowspear to be barbarians, and the People of Arrowspear thought of Mogochislenians as a hateful breed.
It was like any life. You began living in this world without knowing what the next chapter would offer. Mogochislenians realized that the so-called barbarians were more civilized in dealing with foreigners and other species. The People of Arrowspear discovered how the supposed hateful breed had turned things around and placed women on pedestals. Both had many things to learn from each other.
Mogochislenia started from the very bottom of the pit. It began as a land of tyrant kings, patriarchal rulers who took away women’s freedom, burned witches, and fought each other for the throne – the main one, Kingspell, which became Queenspell. It was proof that the two-legged beasts – humans - were sometimes worse than supernatural monsters. More often worse.
In the forests, a misunderstood and lonely, ancient witch ruled. Erishkigal did not let any man hold power over her, at least not in the end. She began as a naïve witch who fell for physical charms. Hades was a god of temptation.
Even Soraya began as an inexperienced princess, with her naivete a target by those who surrounded her. However, she went her own way and forged her own destiny. Her children were like her somehow: Samuel, Luella, and Carolina all defied the paths paved for them. Fate and destiny came knocking, but they made their own choices in the end.
For her time and her responsibility as future Queen, Luella’s marriage came late but not too late. She was still blessed with Ardere. He was as quiet as his father, with burning moods and anger like his mother. Even as a toddler, he already showed command of his powers. He was a fire warlock who could control the blaze. Descended from gods through his father, he could call on other powers to strengthen him.
A still-born child followed Ardere’s birth a few years later, a girl mourned deeply by her parents. Luella was almost inconsolable, but she had to be strong for Ardere, who was only five at that time. Though he mastered many powers at a young age, he went into a deep depression after his infant sibling died and was buried. He had not shown any powers for months. It was his weakness. They soon discovered that his power was fuelled by anger or joy, but not sadness.
When Ardere was seven, Bren was born. Luella and Metheus were proud of their two boys. They knew they might not have more children, leaving the Queenspell throne for Magda, Soraya’s only female grandchild.
Because it was a time of peace, the two continents served as greenhouses for the kingdoms’ descendants. Each child had grown in power.
For Ardere, Prozeus waited. It would soon become his. He was warlock and medium, descended from gods with an affinity for balance. The only way he could be defeated was to take away his happiness.
As a young man, he fashioned his hair in golden curls, not in braids like his father. They looked like a halo around his earnest face. He played musical instruments, such as the harp, the flute, and the drums.
His brother Bren was more like their mother. He said what he wanted to say and did what he wanted to do even if it got him in trouble. He went with his father to tend the soil every day. However, he showed no powers. Luella did not want this lack of manifestation to discourage them. After all, her sister Carolina showed her real powers late. Even if Bren never had any powers, he was still her son and a descendant of two continents.
“The soil is cracking,” Ardere said one day, one hand holding out as if he was trying to press on an invisible wall. It was like he was the only thing that kept it standing.
“Cracking? What do you mean, my child?” Luella asked, concerned.
Ardere, at twenty, had strong visions. One night, he had been found in the courtyard, shaking. Only the white of his eyes could be seen as his mouth foamed. It was the first time everyone saw him out of control.
“Did I hear cracking?” his father Metheus asked as he arrived home from the field. Thirteen-year-old Bren had a grin that faded as soon as he saw his older brother’s grave face. “Bren and I had been hard at work. Even the southern parts of Arrowspear are no longer dried up.”
Metheus had made it a mission to heal the dried soils of Arrowspear. With Luella by his side, he could balance his powers more. Through his ancestors, he had learned to not only take but give. He could give coolness, too.
“No, father. It is not that kind of cracking,” Ardere said. He looked like he had managed to step out of his vision. “The Underworld of Arrowspear – the world of the fae – is pushing its boundaries. They are no longer happy with where they are.”
“It must happen someday,” Metheus sighed. “When Dorian became king, the fairies had become more restless. They wanted more.”
“Will it affect us, Ardere?” Bren asked, his young face concerned.
“Maybe. But not now,” Ardere smiled. “We have enough strength to stop them.”
Bren did not look too sure. After all, he had not been in touch with any kind of power. However, he had his father, mother, and brother. His aunt, Rowali, had become a powerful medium and witch and had taken over the Seers’ Village. After being possessed by the Ninurta, Aruna had become weak, and Samara had sought relatives in Mogochislenia. She had wanted to leave after losing Leevar, but she promised to return.
In the same palace compound, Razuku and Cora lived happily. They were blessed with four healthy children. The three friends were still together after all this time. They were happy to share in each other’s futures. Their children had become friends with each other, as it should be.
Metheus thought of that one last strip of desert in Tarkus, the one that surrounded his sister’s new domain. The oasis where the Seer’s Village stood remained fertile and cool. Yet, a stubborn desert still surrounded it. The King of Prozeus could have cooled down this one last place but chose not to. He wanted Ardere’s and Bren’s children to one day see what Arrowspear had been like.
People longed for fertile lands to sow their seeds and grow their plants. Yet, life could not all be lush forests like the one Erishkigal tended to in Mogochislenia. A drought had fallen over Luella and Metheus a long time ago. It was this drought that connected them, and the fire that blazed between them bolstered the connection. The desert sands around Tarkus would always remind them of that.
