Gaia's Champion Ch. 20

Xaera mulled over what could potentially be done to overcome this weakness. She had spent a sizeable chunk of the night reading and trying to find anything that could reverse the effect of daylight on her body. So far, she had found nothing that suggested a troll could overcome such a curse. But, being only half troll, she had some hope that she could overcome it one day. For now, at least, the daily protection spell would have to do.

Her stomach grumbled, although she'd downed at least a half dozen donuts. Though it did something to stave off her hunger, Xaera was still hungry. She reached for her phone, a gift from Karla, and called the Danish woman, hoping it wasn't too early.

"Good morning, Xaera! Sleep well?" Karla's dulcet tone sang on the other end of the line.

"I slept pretty well, thank you! I'm wondering if you and Luke are on your way here yet?" the troll woman asked.

"We're just finishing our breakfast and should be on our way soon. The donuts not enough?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"They were... mostly. I could use another one or two and... maybe a coffee?" Xaera asked sweetly.

"Medium sweet, like last time?" Karla laughed.

"Yes, please!" Xaera yipped.

"We'll stop by the Timmies on the way there. Should be maybe forty minutes?" Karla responded.

"No problem! See you three when you get here!" Xaera replied. Another feminine giggle sounded on the other end before the line went dead and Xaera smiled.

It was evident that Karla and Lucas had taken a shine to Emalia, quickly accepting her as another lover. Xaera couldn't fault the fairy, after learning how her race had been slaughtered to where they were nearly extinct. She wasn't sure if she was pregnant yet, but at the rate those three had been having sex, it soon would be a reality.

Xaera sighed as she remembered the fun encounters she had with Jason, Phalmina, and even Sheena. Though she stayed in her cave mostly, and now here, it was always a breathtaking experience being with them. For the moment, though, she just wanted it to be casual, as she didn't have a powerful draw to any of them.

Such a draw, Sheena and Phalmina called it 'love'. Xaera had experienced love before, but more of the familial kind. She still had yet to know and experience it with someone she had taken as a lover. The troll woman was in no rush, as she was still young yet and had plenty to enjoy and experience before she found such a person. Until then, she would enjoy and relish each encounter she had.

Xaera then spent the rest of her alone time puttering around the library, searching for anything related to wraiths and other apparitions. She only hoped that she could find something of use before they got there. Sure, there wasn't a mad dash to find anything right away. But stopping anyone else from dying such a horrible death was of the utmost importance and she hoped they'd find some answers soon.

Unknown to her though, the house was being watched by the children. Ever since she had witnessed what happened to one of them after the barrier was empowered, Felicitae wished to know everything that was going on. The children were bored and really wished they could walk into the house and cause some mayhem. They would have, had their mother told them not to, as she didn't wish to see any more of them 'die.' So they watched and waited.

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Felicitae stood there, absorbing the black energies of Dark Magic that emanated from the Dark Heart. She had just finished absorbing the last pocket of power, which was everything it could spare. The only way for Felicitae to absorb the last vestiges of it was to take the Dark Heart into herself.

The Dark Heart knew that she wouldn't survive the event, as she wasn't corrupted fully. As much as Felicitae had given herself to the dark powers which it served, there was still a small shard of her that fought against it. With what it had given her, it would overtake that last piece of her in time. For now, the power she possessed would be enough to advance their plans.

"It is done. I now have enough power to attempt to break through the barrier!" she exulted. The wraith cried out joyously, its keening cry making her smile. It wailed at her, asking a question in its dark tongue.

"Yes, the barrier keeps us trapped here, for now. Though you shouldn't worry, because I have a plan for us to break through and end our imprisonment," she told the apparition. The wraith howled in happiness and was eagerly waiting on Felicitae to share her plans with it.

"As you know, the children and I, and now you, are trapped here by that accursed magic from the Gaians! But, with the power of the Dark Heart, I will break through the barrier and create an opening for us to pass through! We will be able to walk the world again and spread our dark purpose!" she told it.

"Though the power I have is considerable, it isn't enough to dissolve the barrier. What I have will be enough for just one of us to pass through," she told it. It then queried why this was, as her power should have been enough to crush the protective spell.

"That, you can blame the new Gaians you fought. They saw the spell was weakened and gave it new life, making it stronger. Now, it is strong enough to prevent even us from breaking it," Felicitae grumbled. The wraith warbled in defiance, thinking there had to be a way to get free.

"That is why you will have to be the one to leave and seek whatever help you can find," Felicitae told the wraith. It then questioned why she was picking it to search for help and what kind of help it would be looking for.

"I cannot leave, as I am. Though I have much power within me now, I cannot leave, because this form is tied to the land we stand on. As for what kind of help you are looking for, you must find practitioners of Dark Magic. As to how you will do that, I have something for you," she smirked as she made a come hither gesture.

Out of the guardians and children that were gathered nearby, a small girl stepped out of the throng. She appeared to be about eight or so and was a recent addition to her 'family.' She looked pallid and slightly withered, but not in a way that suggested decay just yet. The child walked to her 'mother' and kneeled before her, waiting for what was to come.

"To find the help required, you will inhabit this child and search for them. Be wary in your quest, though. There are many out there who are simple pretenders, thinking all they have to do is a few simple deeds to make them a part of the darkness. What you must look for is a darkness, much like what you feel here. That will help guide you to one with the power needed," Felicitae informed it.

The wraith was a little apprehensive, but saw that the child's soul, while still in its body, was not directing it. It had been trapped and subverted to the Dark Nymph's will. It wailed in triumph as it moved forth to possess the body. The possession didn't take long, maybe all of a few seconds, before it was now in full control of the child. The wraith-child now blinked before it moved its mouth to speak.

"This... is... weird," it croaked, its voice sounding like high-pitched sandpaper.

"Possession is always a bit... disconcerting, but you will grow acclimated to your new body. It is the best way for you to search without being... conspicuous," the Dark Nymph told the wraith-child and it nodded in agreement.

"Yes. Do not... want to... attract... attention," it croaked.

"Now, let's see about changing up your body a little. Looking like the living dead will surely attract attention," Felicitae stated.

She then embraced the dark power that coursed through her, its energies darkening her hands as she wove runes to give it form. Multiple runes coalesced as the servant of the Dark Heart worked her magic. Slowly, each rune snapped together into its last form before it drifted to the wraith-child. The runes grated themselves to it, flaring to life as they were etched onto its body.

"There. I have given you much in the manner of protection. Should you encounter any Gaians, you will be able to fight back," the Dark Nymph told it.

"Will I win and be able to drain them?" the wraith-child asked with a glimmer of excitement.

"If it is one of the lesser Gaians, then yes. If you encounter one of the Druids or Shaman, run. You will not survive fighting them and we need you to break the barrier!" Felicitae told it, stressing the importance of its mission.

"Very well. I will find the help required and break you out of here. How will I get out?" the wraith-child wondered.

"Follow me," Felicitae instructed, and they left the darkened grove. The Dark Nymph led the way, heading along the path from which the wraith had originally come. She stopped when they both sensed the Gaian magic nearby.

"This is where you must exit. There is a road not far from here, which I believe will take you back to civilization. From there, you can begin your search for any with the power to grant us their aid," Felicitae told it.

"Do I just... walk through?" the wraith-child asked.

"Not without some help. I will tell you when," the Dark Nymph stated as she wove her magic and directed the runes to the barrier.

Many of the runes that were sent against it didn't hold, but some did, pulsing against the magic of Gaia. It took several minutes before there were enough runes to form a doorway outside the barrier. The area between the runes flickered in and out of existence. The runes held, but it didn't know for how long, as the Dark Nymph kept casting them, hoping to drop the barrier.

"Go, now!" Felicitae commanded, and the wraith-child ran through, going full tilt at the circle of runes. The barrier was cracking the runes as the creature ran through, and it screamed in pain as it was caught in the magical shield. It was held in place for a few seconds before it pulled itself through, tumbling to its face as it fell to the outside of it.

"That was... unexpected. But you are through now! Find us the help we need and do it quickly! I cannot abide being caged any longer!" Felicitae seethed.

"I will find them. Restoration of the darkness will come to pass!" the wraith-child exulted.

Felicitae smiled and watched the wraith-child depart, free to roam the world again. Though she knew that turning such a beast loose was risky, she had a contingency in place. One of the runes she had placed upon the child's body was one of compulsion. Anything the child did that deviated from its mission would force it back to that path.

Wraiths were fickle creatures and often did things on their own, with no regard for who got in their way. They rarely worked with other beings of darkness, much less for them. Now that it was within the body of that child, it would do as she commanded. She even put in an entrapment rune, to keep the wraith from leaving the body until it had fulfilled its quest. The Dark Nymph smiled as it turned back to the grove, its prospects for the future bright.

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Karla, Emalia and Luke pulled up to the house later on in the morning. It was just after nine and, as promised, they'd stopped by Tim Hortons for coffee and donuts for Xaera. The troll woman was delighted with the kindness and hugged everyone there in greetings, before she sat down to enjoy her breakfast.

"Any luck in finding out any information about wraiths, Xaera?" Emalia asked.

"Yeah. I found a couple of tomes that had what we were looking for. I left them on the table," Xaera replied around a mouthful of donuts. The fairy woman flitted over, glad to be able to uncase her wings in the presence of friends. She looked over the tome in question and smiled at what she was reading.

"Anything good?" Luke asked as he drank his coffee.

"A lot of good news!" Emalia stated as she read the book. "Wraiths are a collection of vengeful spirits, given form and function with the help of Dark Magic. Because of this, that makes them vulnerable to life-giving magic. More specifically, spells of healing and regeneration will harm and weaken it. With enough of said magic directed at it, the Dark Magic that binds it together will shatter and the wraith will be no more," Emalia read.

"Finally! Some news in the way which we can fight the creature!" Luke replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

"What about the shard we have here? What exactly is that?" Karla wondered.

"That's detailed in another book, but I can summarize what I found. Basically, it is a lost soul, sundered from the greater whole of the wraith. Either one of the spirits that formed it or one of the souls it has stolen to empower itself," Xaera replied.

"Why is it so dark and goopy, though?"

"That is because when a wraith takes a soul, it is tainted and corrupted with Dark Magic. Because of this corruption, even if a soul is broken apart from the wraith, it will remain enslaved to it, until the wraith's demise," Xaera supplied.

"Is there any way to free it?" Karla asked.

"We can't free it, Karla. Not yet. We need to use it so we can track down the wraith and destroy it," Emalia stated.

"But the poor soul that is trapped is likely in torment! We need to free it!" Karla argued.

"And I agree, but think about how many souls are currently enslaved to wraith now. If we can find it and destroy the creature, a greater good will have been served. So many more souls will be freed from their torment and be able to pass on," Emalia rebutted. Karla found she had no valid argument against that and huffed in resignation.

"All right. We find the wraith and destroy it, then we can free every soul it ever captured," Karla stated.

"As it should be," Emalia replied, bringing the human woman in for a hug.

"All souls deserve to be free, and they will be. Remember, we can't solve all the world's problems in a day," Xaera reminded her.

"You been talking with Jason?" Karla questioned, having heard something similar from him.

"Yes, and he has some good wisdom to share from time to time. Both him and Sheena," Xaera admitted.

"Speaking of which, where are those two?" Luke wondered.

"They, along with Phalmina, are off to see some tribal elders that Sheena's aunt knows. Hoping we can get some answers to what it is we're facing out there," Emalia answered.

"All right. Anything unusual happen lately, Xaera?" Luke queried, hoping all was well.

"I did sense... something off this morning. It was just after I got off the phone with Karla. It felt like a surge of... wrongness. I can't explain it any better than that," Xaera told them.

"Where was it located? Could you tell?" Emalia asked, worry lacing her voice.

"It wasn't anywhere nearby. It was in... that direction," the troll woman replied, pointing in a southwestern direction. "Whatever it was, it faded away after maybe a minute. I used my magic to check the barrier's integrity, and it's still all right. No change in the power levels of it."

"Ok, that's good! But still, I should head off that way, have a look around. I don't want there to be any unwelcome surprises coming our way," Emalia stated as she shrunk back down to fairy form. Without another word, she was off like a shot, going in the direction that Xaera had pointed.

"Wait, a moment!" Luke called out.

"What?!?"

"You should probably wait for the Marston clan to show up. At least have both you and Daelina investigate it together. In case there is a nasty surprise waiting," Luke suggested.

"How long before they get here?" she asked, seeming a bit irritated, but seeing the logic behind having backup.

"Maybe ten minutes? I was on the phone with Amy when we were on our way here and they were just leaving," Karla supplied.

"Fine, I'll wait," Emalia pouted as she jumped back to human size.

"Besides, I'm sure there's some other information you'll want to learn about wraiths and other related apparitions," Xaera stated as she was leafing through several books, looking for the correct passages.

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Sheena, Jason, and Phalmina pulled up to Sophia's house and walked to the front door. After a brief knock, they were greeted by Jackson, who let them inside. He then led them into the living room, where Sophia waited with an elderly native man. The man stood a little shorter than her, but he carried himself with a level of authority. He had kindly features, hair that was more gray than black, and he stood straight and proud.

"Ah! I assume that these young folks are the ones who wish to hear the histories of the tribe?" the man asked Sophia.

"They are. Sheena, Phalmina, Jason, allow me to introduce Bert Redhead, Tribal Elder and Historian. Bert, this Sheena, my niece, her boyfriend, Jason Bjornsson and their... friend, Phalmina," Sophia said by way of introduction.

"Nice to meet you all. You know, it's not every day that I hear about people outside of the tribe wishing to know our history," Bert replied as he sat down.

"I can imagine," Sheena said with a smile.

"So, what about our history did you wish to know about?" Bert asked, his enthusiasm apparent.

"We are wondering about the history associated with a... piece of land that is not far from here. It has an old house on it that's been abandoned for a while? Lots of undeveloped land that the owners have had trouble selling," Phalmina told him.

"Ah! You probably don't want to hear about that story. It's a scary one that I'd rather not get into. There are other tales about the tribe that I can tell..." he deflected.

"Bert, we want to know about that story. Specifically, what happened there to make it such a place," Sheena pressed.

"It's not a real bright spot in our history. I would rather..." he started before Jason cut him.

"We don't mean to be rude, Bert, but that is the story we need to hear."

"In that case, I will bid you all good day," the elder said angrily, as he got up to leave.

"Sheena, show him," Sophia told her niece.

"Show me what?" Bert growled. Sheena then reached into her purse and pulled out her wolf totem, placing it on the coffee table in front of her. Bert's eyes widened in wonder as he saw the totem with his own two eyes.

"That's... that's..." he stuttered.

"A totem of the Wolf Spirit," Sheena supplied as she smiled at Bert.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Wolf guided me in its creation, so I might properly connect with the spirits. Like so," she stated as she drew upon her shamanistic magic.

The spirit of Wolf manifested overtop of Sheena, showing everyone the connection she had with the spirits. Bert's eyes almost fell out of his head, he was so stunned at what he was seeing. Jason and Phalmina joined their lover in showing off their true nature, embracing Gaia's magic and letting it pulse through them. The raw energy that rolled off them left Jackson, Sophia, and Bert awestruck.

"Envoys of the Great Spirit!" Bert cried out.

"That is one name for us," Jason agreed, as he let his magic go.

"I never dared hope that I'd live to see this day!" Bert said joyously. He was astounded that he was alive to see this day come and sat back down.

"There's a reason we're asking about the history behind that land. We are investigating it, but we don't know what's there. If we are to cleanse that land of the curse that taints it, we need to know what happened," Sheena told him.

"That is why you want to know? You will... correct the mistake?" he breathed.

"Mistake? What mistake?" Phalmina asked.

"Something that was done by one of my ancestors. A foolish thing which has led to what happened there. Something the tribe blamed on my bloodline," Bert sighed with regret.

"As you said, we might be able to correct it if you know something about what had happened there," Jason told him.

"All right. I will tell you the tale, but please, keep your minds from judgement. My family has dealt with too much of it over the years," Bert demanded of them.