Chapter Four: Arcana

Vitriss eventually let go of my hand when the pavilion was but a speck in the distance. I immediately tried to catch my breath.

Trying to keep up with a Goddess who has infinite stamina is hard enough, but she was walking at a pace that would put most Wolf Kind to shame.

“Chin up Corus, it's time for me to explain a few things!” The Goddess shouted with surprising gusto.

I merely rolled my eyes and stood upright. Taking another look at my surroundings, I couldn't help but admire the multi-coloured field of flowers that I stood in. It truly was beautiful and if I continued to look for long enough it was like I was almost being sucked in by the-

“Stop that Corus”

I immediately snapped out of the trance that had threatened to engulf me and focused on the Goddess.

“Stop what?” I asked

She let out another great sigh, as if I was a child that needed to be taught a lesson.

“Stop staring at the flowers. They were created by the divine and, as a result, your mortal soul is enthralled by merely staring at them for too long. Honestly I'm surprised that you didn't fall for this on your walk to my pavilion."

I gulped and kept my focus on Vitriss. This place's beauty held a dark secret it seemed.

“So, what do I need to know before we do this thing?”

Vitriss sat within a patch of flowers and inhaled deeply from them, a serene peace falling across her face.

“There are two thing's you must know about the Arcana, Corus, before we can proceed.” She took another deep breath, before letting the smile drop, rising and walking up to me and raising a finger.

“The first is that your old body is no more and even if it was, it could not contain the power of the Arcana. Even if I had wanted to use it, it was turned to ash by that last slash from Marwen's Angelis anyway.”

She held up the second finger.

“The second, is that this power cannot be activated by your will alone.”

She turned and walked a few steps back, before facing me once again, her hands clasped together as the wind pulled at her dress. She definitely looked the part of the Goddess of the Church.

I was confused on both points however.

“Ok, let's put the body thing aside for now. Why can't I activate the Arcana with my will alone?” I asked, puzzled.

“The way I created the Arcana was to allow a human to ascend to Godhood. It literally turns their body into a conduit for mana, without the need to consciously draw it in. It's absorbed at such a frightening rate that even the smallest of your spells most likely have the potential to destroy cities.”finished Vitriss with a wary eye, as if that what was exactly what I was planning to do.

I have to say, at this point I was getting rather excited. To become a living, breathing mana conductor. I thought it would just be a boost to my overall power, but this is much more. I could now understand how Samedus had managed to cast a spell of Calamity.

“However” Vitriss said, the wary look never leaving her eyes. “I decided to install a fail-safe on your version of the Arcana”

I gave a little laugh at that.

“So you'll be restraining my power. Seriously? Didn't you spend the last few hours stressing to me how dangerous Samedus Exovan is? Now you want to send me out with a handicap?” I couldn't keep the disdain out of my voice. I was a not a child to be told what to do.

The Goddess appeared to be exasperated as she replied.

“Corus, this 'handicap' is to keep you from going insane. The power of the Arcana is not to be taken lightly. In all respects, Samedus was your superior in both intellect and power, yet he too fell to it. It consumed him.”

I took a moment to think upon her answer. I knew from the story she told me that Samedus had fallen very far indeed from his original motives, hell, even his personality was altered. I suppose it was better to air on the side of caution until things calmed down slightly. I gave Vitriss a nod, acknowledging her argument. She looked relieved.

“I'm glad you see reason. Now, to activate Arcana you will need to find someone who currently exists in Vita, although I now not where.”

“Who is this person? And why can't you find them?”

“Because, this person can only be found by you. Or you by them. Honestly, locating them will probably be the hardest part of this whole equation. Nevertheless you must find them. They will allow you to activate Arcana and, in turn, they will be able to calm you down should you be... consumed by it.” Her eyes glazed over for a split second before they came into focus once more and she aimed a radiant smile at me.

“This person, Corus, is your other half. That is to say, the other half of your own soul. Every soul has a counter-part. It is one of the fundamental rules of the Universe. However, the chances of finding a bonded soul are rare, almost impossible. They could be born a thousand years ahead of you or you ahead of them. You could be in different countries, or on different worlds. But if you do find them, it is said to be one of the greatest treasures you will ever obtain. To know the soul of someone so completely and, in turn, be known by them. It grants great power to the one's who can claim it.”

She shifted back from me and took a seat yet again amongst the flowers. Allowing me to absorb the information that she had just gifted me.

I stood stock still for a second. My mind took in what was said and dissected it, trying to understand it.

There is someone out there who is the other half of my soul. One who would complete me. I couldn't help but give a disgusted grunt.

It sounded like something from an old romantic tome, the kind that Drogna used to enjoy reading, the big sap. When she said other half I immediately thought of Marwenna. She had been with me through thick and thin, we had grown up together, taken lives together, shared everything.

But she would have said if it was Marwenna. Vitriss wants me to be strong enough to destroy her mistake and if my 'other half' was Marwenna, then she would have told me immediately to better prepare me for the coming of the first mage.

With these thoughts rattling through my mind I turned and walked away from the Goddess, careful to avoid gazing at the mysterious plant life for too long.

So it seems that I need to find the other part of my soul before I can become a living mana conductor. Well, that's a little bit shit, but hey, I'm a positive kind of guy. It was merely a challenge. I had been challenged before and I made a point to always win or, at least, try my best.

With that I smiled and turned back to the Goddess, only to find her less that two inches from my face with a strange smile adorning her expression. I tried to lean back but before I realised what was happening, she grabbed each of my cheeks in those unnaturally strong hands of hers and clamped her lips against mine.

I had kissed a few lips in my brief time on Vita, but this was a whole other level. A kiss of the divine.

I unconsciously wrapped my arms round her back as I drew her closer, my eyes closing, seeking to enjoy the sensation of her full lips to the fullest of my ability. It was like she was made of pure silk, feeling so fragile yet so strong all at once.

However, as soon as it had begun it had ended and she stepped back with a displeased expression on her face.

My face on the other hand was bright red and looking rather shocked. After a moment of saying nothing I managed to bring words to the front of my mind.

“Ok, what was that for, Can we do it again and why do you look so annoyed?” I spoke hesitantly, nearing stumbling over the words a couple of times as I tried to get my bearings.

The most immediate response from Vitriss was laughter.

“Sorry, sorry for laughing Corus, but your face is hilarious. You look like a child who's just had his favourite toy taken away.” She continued to laugh as her face also went bright red but for different reasons.

I gave a brief harrumph before I turned and began to walk away from her again.

“I'm sorry! Really! I just needed to test something!” She cried as she ran to catch up to me.

That caught my interest.

“What exactly did you need to test?” I said, folding my arms, rather put out by the whole thing. It's never nice to be laughed at, even less so when a Goddess laughs at you after kissing you.

Whoa, I just realised what a messed up sentence that was.

Vitriss gave another smile, but at least she had stopped laughing.

“I needed to see if your soul was bonded to my own. Unfortunately it is not, or this would be a lot easier. It was almost never going to be anyway but, hey, you don't know until you try.” She gave another carnivorous grin with a wink to join it and I felt myself take two steps back.

“Oh, don't worry, I won't bite. But I've just given you the only method to find your bonded. You have to kiss her.” Another smile crossed her lips as I rolled my eyes.

Kissing her? Really? What is this, a fucking fairy tale?

At this point, I couldn't argue. This shit was getting weirder by the minute and as much as I was trying to rationalize this and make it fit into my version of reality I couldn't keep doing that. Of course, my acceptance doesn't change the fact that if I went around kissing every woman in Vita and screaming about finding the other half of my soul I would end up in a dungeon.

“Fine” My one word answer seemed to surprise the little Goddess who blinked a couple of times, as if shocked I would readily agree to her strange requirement.

“Fine? Really? No complaints or snide little remarks? I truly am surprised Corus.” She said in a smug tone.

“Well, let's face it, I have no choice in this.” I finally submitted, placing myself at the mercy of the young looking ancient woman.

“Glad you finally agree. You will feel something when you look at her Corus, something deep inside. Don't forget that.” She raised her hand into the air and suddenly a silver handled mirror appeared there. “Now, for the next part of this I need you to remain calm.”

As I opened my lips to ask her what exactly I should be remaining calm for she brought up the mirror and, within, I saw my face.

Well I should say, my new face

.

Dark brown hair that fell down to my shoulder's, deep green eyes that seemed to glow with an ethereal light and skin so pale that it looked similar to Vitriss' own. Like moonlight

.

The next thing I noticed was how young I looked. I was probably in my late teen's. I was a bit annoyed by this and my lips raised slightly to one side, giving me a disgruntled expression. I am the Rebel King, Lord of Ellai and master of Magic!

Now I looked like a pissed off noble brat.

“Are you impressed?” The sound of Vitriss' voice came from over my right shoulder.

I struggled to reply for a second.

“Why in the hell do I look like a spoiled noble?” I asked through gritted teeth. While this would have been intimidating while in my old body, in the new one I looked like I was angry about having my favourite toy taken away-

oh, one point to Vitriss.

“And what race am I? I have the eyes of an elf, the ears of a human and my hair's so gods damned thick that it has be dwarven.”

This time Vitriss peaked over my shoulder and I saw her smiling face reflected in the mirror.

“Well, to be fair, this is the best I could do in the circumstances. I made you younger because it means that people will underestimate you, much to their peril. As for the race, it would be fair to say I gave you a bit of each of them. Each of the races themselves are the descendants of the Erralith survivors who were on Vita during Fracture. As such, I have given you the body of an Erralith, but with the added bonus of characteristic's of each race. From the elves you have their speed and longevity. The strength and sturdiness of a Dwarf, sight and hearing of a Wolf born and the eyes of a Vampire.”

My Gods, this is incredible. I have a custom built body, one which is not only far better than my old one but that has all the best traits of all the races on Vita. But then I realised one race was missing.

“What about the Humans? Do they not have any worthwhile traits?” I asked defensively, I mean I did rise from the ranks of humanity, so there must be something that came from them.

“Well” Vitriss put a finger to her chin, I saw through the mirror that she was deep in thought “If you pushed me, I would say that the overall formula that makes you you is human. You have a human mind, you see things as a human does and react as a human does. Because you were born as human. I didn't want to tamper with your brain and change how it sees things, as that could change your personality and even moral compass.”

She gave me a smile though the mirror.

“You still have your humanity, Corus. Changing who you fundamentally are at the core of your being would only affect you negatively.”

After slight hesitation, I nodded. It was good to know that even though the face and body were different I was still, well, me.

I continued my examination of my new body and I couldn't find any real fault. If I were to see such a noble out and about in one of the major cities of Vita I would have to admit that he was handsome. My body was muscular, with broad shoulders and narrow hips. Everything seemed in order down below the waist... yes that's right. I forgot that I was naked.

“Hey Vitriss, any chance of getting me some clothes? I hate to ask, only... I'm kinda just flying free over here.” I asked, a hint of embarrassment in my voice.

The Goddess giggled once again and waved her hand.

The mirror I was holding disappeared and I was garbed in simple black. Tunic and trousers that were nothing special to look at but were comfortable. The black boots seemed to fit me perfectly and I momentarily thought about how Vitriss' knew my size. I considered asking, but realised that it would be pointless. She is a Goddess after all.

“This new body has been made specifically to allow you withstand the awesome power of the Arcana. But be careful. If you utilize it for too long you will begin to notice that your body will begin to deteriorate.”

“I understand” I replied as I ran a hand over the black cloth of my tunic and turned to face the little Goddess.

She had a rather serious expression on her face.

“Are you ready?”

"When will Samedus arrive?"

"It could be a month, it could be a year. I have no way of knowing for sure Corus. When he does, I'll find a way to let you know."

I took one last look around the Ever Garden, this paradise, before I gave her a brief nod.

She raised a hand to place it upon my head, but I grabbed her hand mid-way. Her eyes widened in surprise and anger.

“I hope you will keep your promise about Marwenna, Vitriss. I do not want her to suffer on my account” I whispered softly.

The expression of anger on her face softened “I will make sure she knows the truth Corus, you have my word.”

I gave her a brief smile before continuing.

“I know that there is still many things that you are hiding from me.” My smile fell at that moment and I looked directly into her eyes. After a moment her eyes fell to look at the ground.

“There are several things. But you will learn them soon upon arriving home.”

She raised her eyes and gave me one last radiant smile.

“Farewell, Rebel King, and good luck. You fight for us all. Forgive me for not telling you the whole truth.”

I tried to ask her what she meant but she managed to pull free her hand with little effort and place it against my forehead.

A great pain filled my chest and, suddenly, I felt myself scream.

I fell once more into unconsciousness.