Lyra

Thalas. Thalas. Where have I heard that name before?

I ran my fingers over the soft curve of Zephyra’s beak as I contemplated. I had been told so many stories of the world of the past by my mother that I knew that his name, his demeanor, it was something I recognized. The laughs of the party in the baths above shook me from my contemplation. Kaelen was disappointed that I did not want to join, but I have no doubt I would only bring down the mood. Fire shot through my veins, this time bringing me to the ground as I braced through the pain. I could feel it getting closer to my solar plexus. I would not make it to Everglade, not with the curse’s grasp almost around my soul.

Zephrya preened me with her beak, worriedly trying to get me up from the dirt. I grasped her head and made it to my knees, hot tears running down my cheeks.

I was weak.

“Nasty curse you got there.”

I swung around, only standing on my knees, fists braced. Sitting just beyond me was Thalas, waddling a piece of wood casually.

“How long have you been there?”

“Long enough to see the curse of the half born on you.”

I winced at the fire burning once again inside of me, but didn’t want to show this man I was in a moment of weakness, possibly my last.

“If you keep hiding it, it will just burn you up faster.” He stated, cutting off a thin strip from the wood, “I should know, it’s how I found myself here in the first place.”

I looked at him confused, the fire rose once again and I couldn’t fight it much longer. The world fell black.

******

I came to and Thalas was over me, holding my head off the ground.

“It’s pretty far gone, if you don’t do something about this you’ll be dead soon.” His emerald gaze met mine, “I can fix this, but you have to trust me.”

Trust? Him? I had just met this wild elf and he expected me to trust that he could remove a mixed bloodline curse?

“Since when do elves give a shit about mixed bloods like me?” I asked, bracing against the next roll of fire through my veins, my core starting to flex and writhe as the fire started to lay claim and burn parts of me away. I could smell burning hair as mine started to glow with the green cinders of my aura.

“Do you trust me to help you or not?” He demanded.

“Fine. Do it.”

The world went blank again, and my sight was consumed by green fire.

******

Thick, wet, air clung to my naked form. Green and blue fires traced wherever my limbs passed, and the empty cosmos pulled me in.

Empty until suddenly, a large orange spark, an explosion of the stars around me. I hid my face, then lifted it to find myself resting in the palms of a deity. I shielded my eyes from the golden light emitting from behind their form. Dumping me into one palm, they lifted the other hands and started to draw glowing yellow and blue glyphs that seemed to spread out infinitely beyond us, and all the way deep into my flesh, consuming my spirit. The green flames inside of me doused, and replaced with copies of the glyphs being carved into the wheel of time. The pain was somehow worse than burning from the inside out. I could feel little knives carving into my skin, branding me. My soul had been saved, but now I had been chained to this being I couldn’t comprehend.

I got the strength to finally ask,

“Why me?”

The being smiled, its multiple faces shifting between races and beasts, then reached out a hand and touched my forehead.

“Wake new champion of Elyndor.”

******

My head felt like a war hammer had been slammed down on it, it hurt to open my eyes.

What happened? I lifted my hand to my face, feeling the rough skin that now covered not only my hand, but what seemed to be my whole body. I snapped up in the bed I was in, frantically searching over my skin. They were everywhere!

“What did you do to me? What have you done to my body?” I screamed, not able to find tears in my eyes, I sobbed dryly and uncontrollably until I felt someone’s hands around my shoulders. Kaelen was holding some chocolate in his now clean hand, and held it to me. I grabbed it and ate, my eyes now settling on Thalas in the corner.

“Lyra, it was all I could do to save your soul from shattering.” His emerald gaze moved from me to my companion, “He helped me hold you down as I made a deal with my father for your soul.”

“What do you mean your father? Who was that diety? What did you bargain with? My skin?” I spat, pulling the covers over my chest, my skin raw from the carving.

“You are held together by glyphs, my father has already had his many eyes on you and your griffin. He was happy to make you his new champion in exchange for the welding of your soul and skin.” He sat at the foot of my bed, his weight making it shift slightly up. “My father is Elyndor, deity of beasts and their masters.”