Page 53 of Threads of Fate

“Immensely.”

“Well, remind me to never piss you off.”

“I would never chuck you off a cliff.” I say as I open the box up. “I would just push you into a lake. Or into a ditch.” I smile up at him and toss the top of the box off.

Kreed stepped up beside me. “That’s Naomi’s sword. Where did you find that?” He asks, looking back at the case I pulled it out of.

“I found this sword in my basement with all the other boxes down there, in that murder-hole for psychopaths. When I grabbed this sword I heard my name being called. I know it was Aavin now but it was strange timing for sure. How in the hell did it end up in that basement?” I know Kreed won't have the answers but I still put it out there to the universe. I turn around and see what else I can pull out of the box. I pull out some gauntlets that also have small pieces of the gem along the fingers. “What are these? The gems.”

“This is a Modat stone, usually they are just a solid blue-green in color. Rare, yes, but they aren’t translucent like this but these,” he says pointing out the pommel of the sword, “have been imbued with a blessing from Danalia. She is the goddess of war and love. The blessing gives the stone the swirled colors of green, purple and blue. No stone is the same when they have been blessed. Unless the stones have been blessed all at the same time. These had to have been blessed at the same time because they all have the same shades of teal and this dark purple. Which are Danalia’s colors.” He picks up a gauntlet and runs a thumb over the stones. “Come to think of it, I don't think I have ever seen any stones with both her colors on it. Usually it’s one or the other or none of them. When someone brings these stones to the temple, they have to prove they are worthy of the blessing from Danalia.”

“What did my mother have to do?” I stare at the armor, taking in all the intricate tooling and etching along the edges of the leather and metal plates. Someone took an extraordinary amount of time and put a whole lot of love into this armor.

“All she said was that she had a vision of Danalia and she had to get the stones blessed. That it was important. Detrimental to our future.” Kreed places the gauntlet back on the bed. “Erikson helped her pack a bag and Furden gave her maps so she didn’t get lost up the mountains. The trails can be treacherous and storms can ruin the pathways to the temple. She had to find all the gems, which aren’t bountiful and walk them up the mountain to the main temple. She was gone for weeks. When she came back she was so dirty and so tired. She slept for almost two days. Didn’t even shower when she got back, just plopped into her bed, that’s what Li-ana told me.” He gets a confused look on his face for a moment. “She never wore this armor though or used the sword. She had made it all, well before she left for Earth too. She did however ask me my opinion on them. Asked me if the tooling and stitching was well done. When I asked her why she decided to make her own leathers and armor she just said, ‘that is between the goddess and me.’, which I found strange but who am I to question her sight?”

“Between the goddess and her.” I repeat. “That’s not vague at all. I guess I should see what else she crammed in there.” I turn back to the box and look for anything else in there. I turned back to Kreed, “When do you think she got these boxes made? The tiara? I mean, I feel like that's something that can’t be done on Earth, right? At least the magical boxes.”

“I have no idea.” Kreed looks at me helplessly. I knew he wouldn’t but worth a shot. “I would assume this was all made before she left. I don’t know how she would have made it on earth.”

When I reach my hand in, it goes way deeper than the box looks. I search around feeling for anything else. I run my hand over something flat. I pull it out and find a piece of paper. Well, not paper but parchment. Sealed with wax. The seal has a large ‘O’ pressed into it with antlers hanging from the top of the ‘O’ on the inside of it and flowers surrounding the outside of it at the bottom. I sit back on the bed and carefully peel the wax so as to not break it. Kreed sits next to me. Careful to not jostle me around.

“That’s the Oriden seal. King Furden’s seal.” I pop the wax open and open the letter. It’s in my mothers handwriting but it’s definitely not written in modern pen or pencil. It’s written with what looks like a fountain pen.

Dana,

These are yours. The armor, the grieves, the gauntlets, all of it. I know none of this makes sense and you are probably a hundred shades mad with me. I have left you more items in the other containment box. I am following the will of the gods my love. The will of the gods can be very vague and filled with riddles just like in every book or movie ever written or directed. Everything I have done is to ensure your safety.

The stones are blessed by the goddess Danalia. She came to me in a dream and told me what I had to accomplish to ensure your safety. I made this armor for you to always have with you. Never leave without it Dana.

Please read the letters I wrote to you. This will all make more sense my love.

I love you,

Mama

I don’t even know how to feel right now. Anger, sadness, frustration, love. I hand the letter to Kreed and grab the other containment box. I sit back on the bed and open it up. I stick my hand in it and grab the first thing I feel. It feels smooth and cold. I grab it and start pulling it up. I look at Kreed and he stands up to help, pulling it up and out of the box. When we got it pulled out it was a gold staff. It isn’t heavy by any means. It has to be hollow with how light it is. I stand up and hold it. It’s slightly shorter than me not by much though. The whole staff is engraved with a swirl design from top to bottom and both ends come to a deadly point.

“This is a Mary Poppins bag in box form.” I laugh.

“Guess we found you a weapon to train with.”

“I guess so.” I say going back to the box. I put my hand in and reach around for anything else. I grab something else that feels suspiciously like an ax. Did she just load this whole thing up with weapons? I pull it out and it is indeed an ax. I love it. I set it down and then decide to just turn the box upside down. Lot’s of things fall out. Most of them are weapons. It was interesting to see the crossbow fall out. It fell out of the box small but then gradually got bigger the farther it fell from the box. I look up at Kreed and his eyes are huge as he takes in all the weapons. He looks like a kid in a candy store. A letter was the last thing to flutter out onto top of the massive pile of weapons and other trinkets. There’s several pairs of regular leather pants and lots of linen shirts. And some corsets. What the hell? I grab the letter while Kreed organizes the weapons on the bed. I sit down and tear the letter open carefully.

My dearest Dana,

I hope you read the letters because this box is full of weapons and things I found useful in battle and life in general. This will make no sense without reading the letters. As you are my daughter I know damn well you opened the containment boxes first without reading the letters.

Tell Kreed to help you with the orbs. I’m also glad you both figured out that these boxes are linked to you both.

Read the letters Dana Aurelia Greenback.

I love you,

Mom

“What the actual fuck is happening Kreed? She told me to have you help me with orbs. Did she know you were my tether? Did she know we would meet?” I shove the letter at him like he can make sense of this nonsense.

“She may have seen it, S’rella. She was a seer.” He holds the letter and sighs. “I want to tell you not to be angry but I am aware you have lots to be angry about. So, I’m going to try and choose my words wisely. Let's go through the letters before you come to any conclusions. I know that’s easier than said but I think that would be best.” He grimaces at his words. Probably thinking I am going to reprimand him.

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