Reborn From the Cosmos

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-157-Orum

“This land is intolerable.”

“Stop grouching. It makes a long journey longer.”

Orum suppressed the urge to growl. He was not happy when Morgene invited herself along when he announced he was going to seek out their daughter, but he couldn’t refuse her. He wasn’t afraid, like many in Dusk. He was more than capable of standing against her temper, mostly because he was a very capable healer and had become accustomed to enduring pain.

The problem was that he had no way to stop her. She was even more fearless than him and because of her affinity, he could not outrun her. Wherever Morgene Atainna wanted to go, she would go and woe to anyone that thought to get in her way.

A month had passed since they started their journey. A long, arduous month. The worst part was going through the Enchanted Forest. The threats within it meant nothing, the beasts within so weak he could kill them with a flick of his finger. The problem was his bonded.

The whole of his race thrived on conflict, but Morgene took their teachings to an extreme. The Great Spirit gave them strength and taught them that facing their troubles would help them grow. Nowhere did their benefactor state for them to go out seeking trouble. To take joy in creating chaos and triumphing over it. Morgene’s bad temperament was wholly to blame.

Orum didn’t think she was a bad person. If he truly despised her, he would not have joined with her. She could be kind, sometimes, to those she cared for. But she was a blade. It was a tool meant to cut and even though it had a blunt edge that wasn’t fatal, it still hurt. Orum had accepted her nature, as it was no different from a bird flying or a fish swimming. What he couldn’t accept was that nature hurting his precious daughter.

Moving through her prison, a terrible urge overcame him. He knew it was a bad idea the moment he thought it, but he couldn’t resist asking her to show him the spot. The thought of his precious Kii being trapped in a lonely forest for two decades was hard enough. Seeing the tree she’d called home, dark and empty, hammered it home, inspiring a fresh wave of horror. He knew it was a bad idea, but he couldn’t help it. He lost his temper. They argued.

Morgene loved a good argument.

It lasted four days and devastated a significant amount of the forest. A tame event by their standards. Afterward, she tried to lure him into “making up” but his good sense finally kicked in, and he rejected that terrible idea. The damn woman didn’t even have the decency to look disappointed. Her smile said she thought his abstinence wouldn’t last. Their history suggested as much, but she was wrong. Or at least half wrong. So long as his anger burned hotter than his passions, there wasn’t a chance.

Though there was a chance that his anger would be quenched in relative short order. Morgene would drink his anger like a fine wine, so there was no use pouring it into her. Hopefully, the woman that stole his daughter would prove a more satisfying target.

“Oh? I believe we’ve arrived.”

From Kierra’s few communications, Morgene knew she was in a city called Quest. Neither knew where that was, but it was simple enough to find. The roads of the kingdom were well-crafted and easy to travel. The humans they encountered were also helpful, at least when encouraged properly.

“Big white walls,” Orum said in agreement, spotting the distinctive sign of the city in the distance.

“I would hardly call them big.”

“They have no Great Tree to compare them to. For them, it is big.”

“Your vacation has mellowed you.” Morgene frowned. It was truly unfair that even that was beautiful. “Is there any room for strength in you with tolerance and understanding taking up so much space?”

“I have plenty of strength, as you’ve seen. Come. If we run, we can make it to the city well before nightfall.”

Morgene scoffed. Then she grabbed his shoulder and the world shifted. Orum was accustomed to her ways and managed to keep his balance as he found himself at the base of the walls he was planning to sprint to. “You could have asked,” he growled quietly as a human dressed in poor armor standing by the gate to the city jumped, yelping like a beaten dog.

“Why waste the words? It was an expedient solution and if you didn’t want it to happen, you were perfectly capable of stopping me.”

“You—"

“Halt!” The human interrupted him, one hand going to the hilt of the blade that hung at his waist. “State your name and your business!”

“We are—" Orum trailed off as the human man disappeared with a wave of Morgene’s hand. “You did not have to kill him.”

“He’s alive and no longer wasting our time. Well?”

He shook his head. Orum left his homeland to train, find other ways of fighting. Yet, his biggest lesson had been in respect. Respecting the cultures of others and the people that practiced them. There was more to strength than hitting hard. More to life than an endless pursuit of strength. But the mother of his child could care less about such things. He also couldn’t deny that her methods saved time, so he held his tongue and walked into the city.

It didn’t take them before they encountered the destruction. Orum eyed the ruins with apprehension and a critical eye. Morgene took in the signs of conflict with a toothy grin.

“That’s my daughter,” the royal practically purred as they wove through piles of rubble.

“We do not know she was involved.”

“A city was leveled and you think an Atainna wasn’t involved?” She chuckled. “I was concerned that soft woman would mellow her, but I suppose the girl has more spine than I thought. Much more if she stood by our little warrior while she did this.”

“She is not just a warrior,” Orum snapped. He understood in a way Morgene could not. To her, everything was a weapon. She saw the physical affinity and could only imagine it being used to smash and crush. But the affinity was better known for its healing. To master it, one had to study how to efficiently take apart a body. That same knowledge also allowed them to put a body back together. All the best physical casters were natural healers. “We don’t know she was responsible.”

“It is a bit…spread out. Kierra is a more precise hunter.”

It took effort not to react to her tone, for he thought he could detect the faintest hint of worry in it. “We should find her quickly.”

“And what then? I told you, she loves her human. She won’t listen to threats or reason. If she challenged me, she won’t hesitate to challenge you.”

“I don’t wish to fight her.”

“Oh? So we traveled across two continents for you to do nothing?”

“I want to see her partner. Make sure this human is a good match for my precious daughter. If so, then I will give them my blessing.”

Morgene laughed. “No one is good enough. That is the problem. And when that proves to be the case yet again? What will you do?”

If Kierra’s partner proved unworthy? When he discovered Kierra’s imprisonment, he promised himself he would protect her. From her mother, from the monsters of the world, and from her own bad decisions if necessary. “We have to find her.”

“She is Atainna. Look for the biggest house.”

“That would be there, I think.” Orum pointed to the floating rock hovering over the north end of the city. “Kii is not a fan of heights.”

“Our daughter fears nothing.”

“Not that she’s afraid. Uncomfortable. The earth is the center of life. Being too far from makes her uncomfortable, as it does with many physical casters.”

“You still think of her as a little girl. She hasn’t needed you to protect her for a long time.” Before he could respond, Morgene disappeared. A moment later, she returned with a young man dressed in patchwork armor. His eyes were shut tightly.

“Ugh. I think I’m going to be sick,” he muttered.

“Go on.” Morgene ruthlessly tossed the nauseous man to the ground. “Ask. You wouldn’t believe any answer I deliver to you.”

Orum sighed as he crouched beside the man. With barely a thought, lifted the man by his hair and cured him of his sickness.

“Green?” the man asked, clearly confused.

“Yes. And I’m looking for another like me.”

“The elf. Oh, saints’ blessed asses.”

Orum dropped the man’s head and helped him to his feet, a strong grip on his shoulder dissuading him from his obvious intentions to run away. “I see you know my daughter. Good. You will take us to her.”