It was sometimes since Mia was gone underwater. Lin and the rest of the waited eagerly for her to resurface. Roe and Xie kept exchanging strange looks while they waited. Lin had his fists clenched. Boshu circled the horizon once and then around Lin once. After what seemed like quite a long time, Mia swam back tot he shore. Lin rushed to help her out of the water. She sat leaning against Lin, facing the others."I tried taking to the creature. It is down there. But it refuses to take us all to the tree of knowledge. It said it can only take me there. However is does agree to take the rest of you back to the stream at the ridge. ""What ridge? " Roe asked. Mia looked at Lin."The one in our world. Precisely it agreed to take us back home. But only Mia can go get the answers from the tree of knowledge. This is messed up. Mia can't it take me instead of you. " Lin was very frustrated."I tried. It said no. " Mia said. " Well you can tell me what to ask. ""It's not that simple Mia. The tr
Mia went under water and swam tot he spot where she had last seen the creature. She was half expecting it to still be there waiting for her after she broke it's trust and brought Lin along. But luckily it was there. It was going round and round in a circle as if agitated. It turned around as soon as Mia came near. It swam fast towards her. Mia halted at its sudden advance. She tried to explain the situation to it. But it wasn't interested. It came towards her, grabbed her hands and pulled her along. By this time Mia was able to communicate with it fluently through telepathy though it was only under water. The creature was a little preoccupied with something. She didn't understand what. Nevertheless they went on across different waters. High and low, dark and light, strong and weak, the waters all had stories and lives in them of their own. Mia wanted to stay back a little and marvel them a bit more, explore them a bit more. But they didn't have time for that. It was quite sometime tha
Lin was having an uneasy feeling as he sat waiting for Mia to return. He couldn't sit very long though. He stood up and started patrolling the perimeter. Boshu joined him."I don't have a good feeling about this? " Lin confided in Boshu."About what? " Boshu asked."Mia . I am having a strange feeling about it. " He said."Well, if you say so, everything around us right now is strange. What do you think is normal going around here. " Boshu had a practical answer.Mia on the other hand was trying to make sense of the things she had just seen. She had the opportunity to have a glance at the very core secret of the mer-witches' survival, a mystery well preserved from the outside world. After the extinction of the male population, the mer-witches had no other option than to resort to dark forces for their survival. The dark forces allowed their queen to have one male child at a time. That child would then be cloaked in dark aura so it remains hidden from the rest of the world till it reac
Mia went a few more steps closer to it. She straightened up her posture, forgetting all the strategies she had in mind before by simple looking at its sheer splendour. She moved up close enough for her to touch the glass like partition in the mirror like object that was acting like a barrier between her and the tree. She moved in close and accidentally tripped. She held out her hand hoping to hold the mirror like object to get a grip, but instead she was sucked in. She was transported inside the mirror and was standing face to face with the tree now. It was a tree after all. Huge, enormous with trunks that glittered. It's leaves looked like the kind of a succulent. They were even more colourful than the rainbow."You decided to come indirectly. That is quite brave for a tiny little soul like you" The tree exclaimed as she was about to touch it's trunk. She was startled again though it wasn't for the first time she was hearing it speak. The method of communication was same between them
Mia emerged from the water, completely drenched from head to toe."Mia, Mia! Mia are you alright? " Lin leapt in the waters, totally forgetting about the under current situation.He swam like a fanatic and brought her back to the shore in his arms. He was literally checking all over her body for injury marks. But there weren't any which left him even more worried.The others stood infront but no one dared ask anything, seeing Lin in such a frenzy. They were all too anxious to know what had happened but wisely chose to give the couple some privacy before asking for answers."Mia, I can't find any injury marks. Where are you hurt? Why can't I find it? " He asked."It's because, there aren't any. " Mia said with a smile.Her mind wondered off to the fact that she had to drink from the stream of oblivion, connecting her fate with that of Jin forever. She would have to let go of the things most beloved to her in this life, her little fox and Lin. She was fighting hard to hold back the tears
"Mia you know I am better at lies and deceptions than you. " Lin said , holding her tight with his glance. "So dont even try to. You will only be wasting your energy trying to push me away or hide anything from me. I know something terrible has happened back there. I know how difficult it might have been. And I also know you might have been forced to make certain decisions that might be worse than the disaster we are trying to evade. Mia look at me. "Lin pulled her face close to his " You don't need to fight alone. You have me. I will be your soldier, I will be your shield. Don't try to fight alone, Mia please. Everything has a way out. No matter what decision you made, I will be there . Just tell me Mia. What happened back there. Tell me. "His voice was getting desperate. Mia could sense that he was getting a hint of what sort of a tragedy awaited them, but she could not confide in him." Really? Since we are doing a little round of sharing secrets, why don't you tell me what you, a
Even tough Lin's intuitions were asking him not to, he obliged with Mia's decision to be a guest at the wolf tent.They went straight to the water body connecting the wolf terrain with the human world, after Mia had summoned the mer-creature to transport them. Boshu too, went along with them. Mia had a split second of thought that she should share whatever details she had about the mer-people, but then again she consciously choose not to do so.At this moment , getting Lin involved with any more matter would only get things more complicated. She anyways had the time till her child was born. She had to wrap everything up within that time. Once they were out of the water, Xie lead them to a near by inn to get refreshed."Let's go there " He pointed "That place has the best food in this area, and honestly, I am starving. ""Me too, let go" Boshu hurried in the direction, leaving the rest no choice but to follow his lead."Mia are you feeling alright? " Lin came upto Mia' s ears and whisper
Lin had called two of his most devoted subordinates in the border adjacent to the desert. The apparition technique was an unique feature of the fox tribe. The wolves were faster but they were too heavy to master the technique of apparition.The foxes had developed many other secret techniques over the years after the war between the tribes, though many didn't know about them. Not even in their own tribe. The secret technique of communication through thought transfer was also one of those."Did you bring what I asked you? " Lin asked the two."Yes of course" They handed over a tiny pouch which Lin immediately hid under his shoes."Be on alert. Send the troops if I send the signal only. Don't rush no matter what you hear or who contacts you. Only act on my signal. Understood? " Lin asked."Yes my Lord. " The two replied in unison and then disappeared in thin air.Lin too came back to his room instantly and found Mia still fast asleep.Roe on the other hand was really disturbed after seei
Fast forwarding a few years:Merindale tried to tuck her hair back with her muddy hand, painting her cheeks with mud in the process. Akata rolled over on the other side of the field as he saw her. She had not noticed that he was coming. “ What's so funny? ” she pouted. “ Nothing. I just saw the cutest flower amongst all the flowers in this field. ”Merindale instantly melted. How many times would her man make her fall for him, over and over again. She knew she was blessed and she cherished him. “ Now come on, you worked enough. Wash your hands and come and get some breakfast. I made some fresh pancakes. ”Merindale jumped up at the mention of pancakes. According to herhe made the best pancakes in the world. “ I'm coming, ” she literally jumped over the bushes, trying to hurry up when a certain whoosh of the air made her fall back. She rolled her eyes. The triplets were there again. They never left the two of them alone, barging in their peaceful mortal life, away from the hust
Akata's brows furrowed as the God in front of him pulled out what looked like a luminescent moon from his pocket. The moon swam around Akata, finally coming to rest in front of him, floating in the air. With one swing of the God's hand, Akata saw movements inside the orb. “ Father… ” Akata flew towards it, grabbing it with both hands. He could see Lin, inside the orb, fighting for his life in the midst of those Night Crawlers. He were all over him, in the count of thousands. “ Father… father… you are alive? ” Akata grabbed the orb and shook it violently, smiling through his tear. “ Father, I am coming. Don't worry. I will save you. ” His head swing at the God beside him. “ How do I go to this place? Tell me! ” He demanded. The God smiled at Akata. “ There will be no need for that. I can bring your father completely unharmed over here. Right now. But it will depend on your decision. ”Akata looked at him with suspicion. “ What decision are you talking about?”He asked . “ You
Merindale felt a little nudge at her feet when she looked down she saw a very familiar face. But she wasn't expecting to see that face in this realm. “ You! You are that ghost from my school. What are you doing here? Am I dead? What happened to aunt Mia? “ She paused momentary but didn't wait for the girl to reply. “ Shit! Don't tell me. Are we in the Celestial Realm? ” She looked around amazed, finally realising the heavenly beauty around that place. “ But you are a ghost right? Did they kidnap you as well? ” Merindale quickly turned back to her. The little girl shool her head and for the first time she spoke. “ I am Arawan. I am daughter to Mia and Lin, Akata's sister. ”Merindale’s eyes were about to pop out. “ Akata has a sister? ”“ I was in my mother's womb when the Celestial Beings brought us here. They kept my mother in her Soul form ever since. I was born as a Celestial Creature, devoid of a physical body, just like all the other beings born in this realm. ”Merindale c
Merindale's eyelids fluttered, battling the weight of slumber, as her mind groggily began to piece together the fragmented memories.Her thoughts spiraled in a dizzying whirlwind, voices echoing in her mind. "Where... am I” She murmured as she gradually awakened, her senses swimming hazily. She tried to touch her head because it hurt badly. But her hands weighed down with the weight of the shackles that seemed to be made with light. Merindale tugged at them realizing that she was a captive. But with every tug, those fragile looking shackles became heavier by the seconds. Merindale immediately gave up because she understood that she was making it worse. Her predatory senses kicked in and her eyes began to search for a way out. It took some time for her to adjust her gaze to the overwhelming light condition in the Celestial Realm. She shifted her weight and tried to sit up but she could only position herself on her knees. Her body felt exceptionally lightweight. She could almost
The Wolf Queen stood in the front, looking down at the flame leaping with its vicious tongue towards them. “ Can we believe this woman? ” Roe asked her brother. Xie placed a hand over Roe's shoulder and said, “ I can see something is different about her.I am no saint. Let us give her a benefit of doubt. There is no other knowledge that we can implement at the moment. Let's see if her method works.” “ But what if she tries to manipulate us again? What if we lose more … ”Xie pressed her hand, “ Watch… ”.They saw their mother slit her wrist and then she made a drop of that blood fall in the furnace.The fire reached the height of the heavens. It's color turned the darkest crimson and then it dropped down to its normal height. The fire changed its color a couple of times, matching Lin's changing eye color. And then something miraculous happened. The fire split from the middle, creating a way for them and everyone looked at each other in surprise. “ How did you do that? ” Roe aske
Akata and the old wolf queen helped Xie inside the Bird Tribe. He looked devastated. And the birds scattered here and there at his arrival. Roe rushed to the site and was shocked to find her mother and brother together. “ What brings you here mother? ” Roe lunged at her but she held up her hand. “ I know you don't trust me but I had nothing to do with this. It's about Merindale… They took her as well. ” she spurred. Roe had no time to gasp as they hurried inside with Xie who was almost on the verge of exhaustion. His eyes fell on Lin who was hurdled in the corner. Xie freed himself from everyone's grip and literally ran at his feet. “ Forgive me! ” he began to sob uncontrollably. “ Merindale was right. I never tried giving you my best. I always thought about the safety of my family and my kingdom first but look at the cruel twist of fate. I have neither a kingdom nor a daughter. ”He turned at his mother, “ Turns out I took after you,mother… Is it true that you cheated on m
The soldiers flew on either side, startled as Merindale swung the door to her father's chamber open with a loud kick. Her eyes were blazing with fury as she stormed in, her cloak billowed behind her like a tempestuous wind."Father," she spat, her voice was a mixture of anger and betrayal. "Why did you do this? Since when did you become a coward?” she huffed. “Merindale? ” Xie and Ruby were in their bed. They sat up as she entered. “My dear girl…where are you coming from? What happened?” Ruby tried to ask.“ Don't try to act like you have been doing over the years. I know everything. I saw uncle Lin and what you did to him.”Ruby opened her mouth but Xie raised a hand. “ I acted for your well-being. You cannot fathom the dangers lurking beyond our realm. I know what I did might not have been the best thing to do but that was all I could think of at the moment and as the Wolf King and your father, I am entitled to my decision." He concluded. "Enough!" Her fists clenched as she pac
Boshu was sobbing profusely as he saw Lin's motionless body. He held his hand and cried like someone who had lost everything. “ Forgive me! ” he could barely utter through his whimpers. “ Forgive me for not being able to be with you when you were suffering at the lands of your own people. Forgive me for being so engrossed in my own life that I… that I… ” he was almost on the verge of vomiting because he was crying and drooling so much. “ Papa! Take it easy. Your friend can't hear you. Let him come around first. ” one of the triplets patted his back. He had been guilt ridden for living in ignorance for so long. Besides he had never seen Lin in such a vulnerable state, be it any battle. Akata walked in at that moment. Boshu immediately wiped his tears at his arrival. “Don't worry. He will be up and running any moment, young man. ” Akata watched his father from a distance, smiled at his uncle and then left. Everything about his present situation was overwhelming. It was too much
“ What's going on? Is he not Akata? How the hell did your brother banish him? Why does he call himself Leo? ” Boshu poured his heart out but Roe stayed quiet. “ We need to go back. Let's take Akata to the Wolf territories. We don't have a proper facility to give him the required care. I need to talk with my brother as well. Things don't seem right at the moment. You stay back and take care of the kids, I will leave with him immediately.”*****At the Wolf Kingdom -Roe might have left her lands for love but her land never stopped loving her. Every leaf she stepped on rustled in greeting. Dust danced in the air, and every stone she trod upon seemed to echo a silent welcome.There was a stir amongst the guards as she walked through the gates, with Akata in her arms, going straight towards the palace. The soldiers standing tall and vigilant, softened at her arrival, acknowledging her with a respectful nod. It was as though the very essence of the kingdom recognized her, embracing he