Page 60 of Brandt's Rule

“My mother’s blood is a mixture. Her mother is human. Her father isn’t.”

“He’s the one that you said served in the Sentry’s army or something, right? Your grandfather.”

“Yes.”

“What is the Sentry’s army?” Brandt asked.

Tempest smiled to herself. “Tried to research it?”

“Yeah.”

“Only found references in fantasy groups?”

“Yeah,” he said laughing.

“It’s not a fantasy, but a lot of our history, and yours even, I’m sure, would have been lost had it not been turned into stories by our ancestors and passed on to the new generations that way. Humans caught wind of them and fascinated turned them into fantasies.”

“So you’re telling me the stories of the Sentry’s army being a Gargoyle military is true.”

“I’m telling you that my grandfather, Carnage, is a Gargoyle. I’m telling you that he helped free his people from abuse and tyranny. I’m telling you that my mother carries many of his traits, but looks like my grandmother. With the exception of her hair.” Tempest tugged gently at her own hair. “It’s silver. She got that from my grandfather, and I got it from her. She’s got her mother’s gentleness, too, though. And I’m hopeful that I inherited some of it as well.”

“Hopeful?” Brandt asked, laughing.

“Occasionally it shows itself. But I’ve got my father in me, too. He’s very wise, but very proud and very impatient. He spent a lot of time waiting in the past, and hates having to wait. Luckily my grandfather hates waiting, too. They get along very well.”

“Where does the elemental come in? Are you a witch?” Brandt asked, trying to understand.

“It’s a very confusing story to someone who hasn’t lived it.”

“Tempest, I’ll never judge you, or question you. I just want to know you.”

“In the beginning there were four elements of creation…”

“Water, Air, Earth, and Fire.”

“Exactly. They shared their powers equally and in doing so kept all in our world balanced. Eventually one of them, the older brother grew insane with power and wanted more and more. He was jealous of anything his siblings could do and the jealousy eventually led to a falling out. One of the other brothers was of a certain mindset…”

“Did things by the rules?” Brandt offered.

Tempest laughed, boisterously. “No,” she said catching her breath. “Not all. Uncle Lore was more of, I don’t know, I guess hedonist is the closest to an accurate description. Until he met his mate, one thing led to another, and he was punished, ostracized by his older brother, who forbid his other siblings from even taking notice of Uncle Lore. At the same time Lore’s daughter and her mate were caught in the crossfire and punished to stand witness for eternity as the world passed them by, though in very different ways. It’s a long story, very detailed, but let’s suffice it to say eventually Lore’s sister had enough and began to protect Lore’s daughter. She was eventually born into a loving and adoring family. Lore was set free, and as his daughter finally had the love she needed to grow and thrive, she eventually unwittingly freed her mate.”

Brandt had stopped driving and pulled over to the side of the road, and watched her in rapt fascination.

“During all that, the little girl that was Lore’s daughter lifetimes ago, helped to battle and defeat Lore’s brother who’d gone insane. But the problem is that the magics of the world, the powers balanced between the four elemental siblings had to remain balanced. So the little girl took part of that magic into herself, balancing good and bad, strong and weak,”

“Yin and Yang,” Brandt said.

“Yes! And she grew stronger than any of the others. Stronger than her aunt and her uncle, and her…”

“Father.”

“Well, not anymore. He was her uncle now, but one’s soul never really dies, it just transitions, so while she was no longer his daughter, she still maintained so many traits, so many strengths and gifts he’d passed on to her. But regardless, she even grew stronger than he was. And between the four of them, they keep all as it should be. With no effort at all. It just is as it should be.”

“What happened to them?”

“Lore was freed and is happily mated. His brother and sister are happy and living their lives.”

“And Lore’s daughter and her mate?”

---