Six years later..

 Mother Coral’mi had given birth to a beautiful
young filly – but from the moment of the filly’s birth – something was wrong. 
She never cried, never laughed – nothing.  She was completely without emotion,
but what frightened her mother most – was in the intervening six years since
she was born – the young filly never once spoke…

She was completely emotionless, but possessed with an
overwhelming thirst for knowledge – she was reading within a year after her
birth – and within three years,
had mastered magicks that normally students did not learn until they were teenagers…yet
this isn’t enough – and her natural curiosity leads her down a very
strange path indeed.
 
 

 Slowly, the young filly looked down at the old,
corroded wrist-talons, and then slowly picked them up. A chilling voice whispered
in her ears, and she flicked them, then turned the wrist-talons over, trailing
a finger along the blades.

~ Yes my daughter – go ahead…put it on…. ~ Came the
cold, whisper in her ears.

Shuddering, the young filly moved to slip her arm into
the bladed glove, but the voice from upstairs froze her in her tracks, and she
shuddered, then dropped the wrist-talons and then fled back upstairs.

 From out of the shadows, Yuira’s spectre slowly
stepped forwards, looking up at the back of the fleeing filly.

~ That bitch of a mare may have carried you – and given
birth to you – but you are still my daughter…. ~
 
 

 Sharla’yla fled past her mother, Coral’mi, who
blinked her sea-green eyes in confusion, then stretched out with her mind and
recoiled sharply, as she felt the terror
and pain that flooded her daughters mind.  From up the hallway came a crash,
and Diane’s startled curse.  Coral’mi rose from where she sat on the old
couch, then clopped down the hallway, and found Diane picking up pieces of broken
crockery.

 “Mother Coral’mi – ” Diane gasped.

 Coral’mi smiled weakly, and then shook her mane
head slowly.  “Diane – we went through too much – for you students to treat
me as some ‘all powerful’ teacher.
Please – I’ve told you a hundred times – there is no need for such formalities
with me.”

 “I – yes…mother.” Diane trembled, as she quickly
began placing the pieces of the broken teapot on the tray.  “It…it just…doesn’t
feel right – to address you in such a way.”

With a soft smile, Coral’mi knelt and helped Diane to
pick up the pieces.

 “Mother – ” Diane whispered softly.  “I…I
am worried about Sharla’yla – she – she has been acting strange lately….”

 

Expecting Coral’mi’s defense of her foal, Diane was struck
nearly speechless when Coral’mi sighed and nodded tiredly.

 “You’ve noticed as well?” Coral’mi asked quietly. 
“Can I confide in you Diane? As sisters of the Craft?”

 “I…you want…my…opinion?” Diane squeaked, eyes going
wide.

 “Yes – as both a friend…and as a member of our
group – but most of all – as one female to another.”  Coral’mi smiled,
then took Diane’s paw in her own webbed one and walked down the hall, into Coral’mi’s
personal study.

 “Mother – I do not know what help I can be – ”
Diane spoke quickly, her voice quavering with nervousness.

 “You have no need to be afraid of me Diane – I
will not judge you.  What is said within these walls – stays within these
walls.” Coral’mi answered quietly, as she leant against the desk.
 

 “Mother – I mean – Coral’mi…” Diane stammered. 
“You…you wanted my opinion?”

 “Indeed I did – ” Coral’mi spoke quietly, as she
slowly ran her webbed paws over her eyes.  “It concerns Sharla’yla – you
said you’ve noticed a…change in her?”
 

Nodding nervously, Diane looked at Coral’mi, sensing
her apprehension.  Slamming her paw against the desk, Coral’mi growled
and began pacing the floor, her agitation rising with each step she took. 
Diane cringed back in her chair, very rarely seeing anger in her teacher – and
long ago learning that Coral’mi did not display such emotions, unless she was
sorely pressed indeed.

 “Are we – absolutely and positively – sure – that
Yuira was destroyed?”  Coral’mi growled quietly, striving desperately to
calm her rising anger.

 “Mother – ” Diane replied, automatically switching
to a subservient tone, to help calm the angered Furmental.  “Unless she
could have survived the breaking of
Savrin’s katana – and the release of Kira’s spirit – I can not see how….”

 Coral’mi shuddered and nodded, then wiped her webbed
paws across her eyes.

 “Why do you ask such a thing mother?”  Diane
whispered, her ears pasting flat as she got a sense of Coral’mi’s true thoughts. 
“Oh…oh no – “

Tears started streaking down Coral’mi’s cheeks, as she
turned away and nodded.

 “Aye Diane – its true – Sharla’yla is not conceived
from me – she was…Yuira’s offspring.  Yuira was dying – and I could sense
the unborn within Yuira – and I could not, in all good conscience, allow the
unborn to die.  I used my magicks – to move the child to within me – where
she grew and took my form – “

 “Oh Great Mother – ” Gasped Diane.  “You –
“

Clenching her webbed paws tight, Coral’mi fought back
her bitter tears. “I…I thought I was doing the right thing – “
 

Diane rose and tentatively reached out for Coral’mi,
then before she knew it, Coral’mi turned about and enfolded the smaller feline
in a tight embrace.

 “If Yuira is alive – then Sharla’yla will be in
mortal danger – as she is a direct blood relative of the Tai’far Queen.” Coral’mi
wept bitterly.  “Oh Great Sea’s – what have I done?”

 “You did what you felt was right Mother – you gave
that unborn child a chance – what chance would she have had, should Yuira have
lived?  None.  Yuira would have warped and twisted that offspring
to suit herself – you and I both know that.  Besides – we both know that
Yuira is dead – she was sent to the Hell’s with the destruction of Kira – nothing
could have…saved her.”  Diane spoke, her voice cracking as she fought back
tears at the thought of Sable…and Zephyr – two brave souls – who had given the
ultimate sacrifice – to stop Yuira.
 

 Sniffling Coral’mi stepped back and dried her eyes,
as she nodded weakly and gave a tired smile.

 “Mother – you’ve been pushing yourself too hard
– you have got to rest…please. We all know how much strain you have been under.”
Diane spoke quietly.

 “I…I will soon – I promise.” Coral’mi smiled weakly,
feeling chastised by her younger student.  Call the others – I think –
it is time that I told them the truth…about
my daughter.”

 “What truth mother?  As far as they know –
as far as any of us knew – she was your flesh and blood.  You love Sharla’yla
– don’t you?”  Diane spoke gently; as she squeezed the shivering water
horses paw.

 “Yes – ” Coral’mi admitted, feeling the tears sting
her eyes.

 “Then that is what counts – Sharla’yla is your
daughter – you should love her, with all your heart – as much, if not more,
than you do us.  You gave yourself willingly – to bear her – and we all
remember the pain you endured at that birth.  Your selfless sacrifice you
made – of much of your powers…to keep that foal alive when she was first brought
into this world….  No mother – Sharla’yla is your daughter – and Yuira
is dead…and may she rot in the hells for what she done.”  Diane growled
softly.

 “Diane – you must not hate – ” Coral’mi whispered,
fighting back the feelings that flooded her empathy.  “I know – how you
all suffered – how we all suffered, with
what Yuira done to us, but your hate, it is powerful, and to a creature like
Yuira…. It can also be the means, if she still…somehow…lives on – it can be
the leverage she needs to start rebuilding her strength.”

 Shuddering, Diane brushed away the hurt and anger
that simmered within her, feeling the cooling presence of Coral’mi’s compassion
and mercy smother the hot flames within her.
 
 

 Savrin stood at the edge of the grove, and looked
at it.  Buried deep in the forest that bordered the college, the grove
was well secluded, and a winding, torturous path was the only way to find it
– so careful had Coral’mi been, she had warded and trapped the path, to keep
Sable Flame’s grove a secret from outsiders.

 As he looked at the turf-covered ground – his eyes
roamed over the long barrow-mound, beneath which Sable’s body had been laid
to rest.  Freshly cut flowers had been laid on the mound, and Savrin felt
the bitter tears well up in his eyes.  For six years – Savrin had never
visited the grove – the pain and hurt too much for him to bear, but now – he
had finally come of his own volition, and as he stood at the boundary.

 

 Savrin could feel the magickal powers of the grove
a bare footstep away – Savrin felt his whole body shaking with mixed feelings,
as he shuddered and gritted his teeth, then took that last, fateful step – feeling
the chill run through him as he entered the concerted ground, then knelt subserviently…and
waited.

 After a few moments, a pale, ghostly form wavered
into existence – and solidified – but still remains flickering around the edges,
its body mostly held together by the powerful magicks that had protected this
grove for centuries.

 “Well now – ” Sable’s shade snorted.  “Its
nice to finally get a visitor!”

 “Sable – ” Savrin croaked.  “I – I’ve wanted
to come – “

 “Ah – I was only making conversation.  I fear
that the deer and other forest creatures aren’t exactly – the greatest of conversationalists. 
So – what can I do for you?”  Sable smiled, as he folded his shimmering
robes around his ankles and sat on the edge of his grave.

Savrin shuddered, trying to find the words he felt, unnerved
to be speaking with Sable’s ghost – hundreds of years after he had died – yet
it had only been six years – since they had watched Yuira sent to the hells
–

 “I don’t have eternity you know!” Sable grunted,
then he chuckled softly.  “I take that back – I do have eternity. 
So Savrin – its been what?  A few weeks?  A month or two since – “

 “Six years  – ” Savrin blurted, then hung
his head shamefully.
 

 Sable blinked, and then he rose and began pacing
the grove.  “Six years?  My – how time flies when you’re dead – “

Savrin winced at the Ferret’s joke, feeling a sharp stabbing
pain strike his heart.

 “Sable – I…I wanted to come – I truly did…I just…I
couldn’t face you – “

 “Face me?  Face me!” Sable cackled. 
“Yeah – I’m the Great Destroyer – Yuumei!
Fear my holy wrath!”
 

Savrin visibly wilted, his wings drooping as the ferret
laughed softly, then grew serious.

 “Okay – straight talk.” Sable nodded.  “Here
it is – and here you are.  I know why you did not come to my grove Savrin,
and I bear no ill will towards you.  You’ve suffered a lot – my death…the
loss of your beloved brother – I know what strength it took – to come here and
finally face me…and I’m proud of you.”

 Savrin looked up, the tears streaking down his
face.  “Sable – how…how can you say that?  I betrayed you – poisoned
your drink, all because I was so consumed with my own hate for Yuira – “

 Sable nodded. “There is that – but forgiven and
forgotten – I only wish I had of done it right the first time….”

Savrin blinked, as Sable waved a paw negligently, then
pointed at a fallen log, on which something shone and sparkled. Savrin blinked,
then rose and approached what resolved into a glowing gemstone.  Sable
barely held his chuckles back, as Savrin stared at the stone as if it were Yuumei
himself returned to life.

 “Go pick it up Savrin – it won’t hurt you.” Sable
chuckled quietly, as he watched the nervous Savrin lean down, then retrieve
the stone.

 Savrin gasped as he felt the stone pulse warmly
in his hand, and he looked at Sable, who giggled again and smiled innocently. 
Blinking, Savrin peered into the stone, to see a tiny image of a Coyote looking
back at him…then his mind fell away.

 “Zephyr – my…brother…” Savrin gasped, as he crumpled
to his knees, staring fixedly into the stone.  “How – “

 “Not how, Savrin – when.”  Sable responded
cryptically.  “That is what’s called a moonstone. Unique things those moonstones
– very magickal stones indeed.  Guess what this one’s speciality is?”

 “A – soulstone – ” Savrin gasped, his eyes going
wide.  “I thought they were just…legends – myth – “
 

 Sable only shrugged noncommittally.  “Believe
it Savrin – it’s real – and in your hands now.  I’ve held on to it long
enough – and for what its worth, he is a very
boring person…very angry too.”

 “I – I better get this back to Mother Coral’mi
– ” Savrin gasped in shock, his body shaking.  “Sable – I…I don’t know
what to say – “

Sable only shrugged his ethereal shoulders and smiled
knowingly.  “Think nothing of it – I couldn’t save his body – I could only
save his spirit….”

Tearfully, Savrin rose on shaking legs and looked at
Sable, who gazed back at him compassionately.

 “Off with you Savrin – but don’t be a stranger! 
Take your brother to the water horse – I’m sure with her magicks – she’ll be
able to do something with him, Great Mother knows I didn’t want to spend eternity
with him – sheesh – where do you Firewolves get your manners?”
 

 Thanking the ferret with tearful eyes, Savrin clutched
the soulstone containing his brother and began to leave the grove. As he began
to exit its heart, the voice of the ferret drifted to his ears.

 “Oh, and by the way….Yuira’s coming back for
you all, and she’s not a happy little girl. Good thing I’m dead, at least, she
can’t hurt me…”

Savrin fled from the grove, the ferret’s words making
no connection with him, as he clutched the soulstone tightly, feeling the bitter
tears streaking down his face.

 “She can’t hurt me….”  Sable repeated quietly,
almost to himself, as his ghostly form shivered, watching Savrin leave the protected
grove.

 Savrin ran back towards the college, not hearing
Sable’s faint cry behind him – the ferret’s final words reaching no one’s hearing
but the spirit’s own.

 “I think…”  Sable whispered, his eyes widening
in realization, as his form wavered and vanished.
 
 

 Sharla’yla lay curled up under a tree, her boy
shaking as if stricken with fever, as dark – tormented thoughts flickered through
her mind.  Images she could neither
understand, nor wanted – yet they came, images upon images – scenes of cruelty,
death and hatred that filled her to breaking point.  Silently, she slapped
her paws to her head, and a low, strangled moan came from her throat, as she
fought her own mind – seeking a way to avert the feelings that seized her like
iron.  It was almost as if some outside force were slowly tightening its
hold about her, trying to break her mental defenses….

 A soft rustle in the bushes made the filly’s head
snap up, and she glared at a young doe that raised her own head, the liquid
brown eyes locking with those of the
tormented filly – whose own sea-green eyes suddenly filled with an inky blackness
– as her paws rose and her magicks lashed out – ensnaring the Doe – who tried
to scream…before Sharla’yla’s magicks tore her apart….

 Sharla’yla gasped and stared horrified at what
she had done, the inky darkness of her eyes draining away, as she heard a low,
cruel laughter in her head – that slowly faded into silence….
 
 

 “Mother Coral’mi – ” Savrin screamed, as he ran
down the hallway of the college.

Coming out from her study, Coral’mi blinked at the nearly
irrational hybrid that charged towards her.

 “Savrin – what in the Great Sea’s – ” Coral’mi
spoke sharply, her voice cracking like a whip and instantaneously flaying Savrin’s
irrationality away, leaving him gasping and shaking.
 

 “Mother – I…Sable gave me – ” Savrin rasped, his
lungs burning.  “He gave me a moonstone – “

Savrin fumbled the stone from his pocket, and nearly
dropped it, as he stumbled forwards and let it tumble into the water horse’s
webbed paws.  As soon as Coral’mi felt the pulsing of the stone – she reeled
as if struck, her empathy instantly consumed by the presence of Zephyr….

 “By the Great Seas – ” Coral’mi squealed, as she
hurriedly grabbed her skirt and dropped the stone into it.  “What on –
“

 “Mother – it…its Zephyr – ” Savrin panted. 
“Sable said…”

 “Diane – Abbalion – come!” Coral’mi snapped sharply,
her magickal compulsion sending the two young students running.

 “All of you – this is…very important.  We
have been blessed with Zephyr’s return – but not in the way we expected. 
Diane – ” Coral’mi growled sharply.

 “Yes mother?” Diane spoke quickly.

 “Fetch the silky-oak box off my table – now! 
Abbalion!”

 Abbie stepped forwards quickly.  “Your orders
mother?”
 

 “Fetch four buckets of the fresh spring water –
” Coral’mi spoke sharply, her voice commanding.

 “At one mother – ” Diane and Abbie replied, as
they fled in opposite directions.

 “Savrin – ” Coral’mi spun around, and stared at
him. “Go to the forest – and get me three sprigs of fresh sage, some holly berries
and a large oak leaf!”

Savrin nodded and fled the college, not stopping to question
mother Coral’mi’s orders.
 

 Alone, Coral’mi walked slowly back up the hallway,
and into her private chambers, where she picked up a black velvet square of
cloth and gently rolled the moonstone into it and lay it on the bench, as she
shuddered and looked at it, then gasped as she felt the room turn cold – her
breath turning to mist.

 “A little nervous Coral’mi?” Came a soft chuckle.

Coral’mi turned around slowly, and looked at the ghostly
image of sable, who raised an eyebrow and chuckled quietly.  His silvery/grey
form wavered and flickered
around the edges
 

 “Sable – why have you waited until now – to give
this to Savrin…” Coral’mi spoke quietly, shivering in the chilling air in her
chambers, as she gestured towards the
moonstone.

 “Why?” Sable asked.  “Why?  I’ve had
it for six years, water horse – I’ve waited and put up with Zephyr for six years…waiting
for Savrin to be strong enough, to take the stone from me, and in turn, bring
it to you.”

 “You could have just – ” Coral’mi floundered, pulling
her robes around her tighter.

 “Coral’mi – if I could have, I would have. 
Even we spirits have to obey the rules – whether we like it or not.  Only
Savrin could take the stone from me – Zephyr is his brother after all – “

 

 Coral’mi turned away, as she felt the stinging
tears rise in her eyes, and she heard the soft sigh of Sable behind her.

 “Coral’mi – if I could have, I would have spared
you the suffering these past few years – please believe me, how I wish I could
have told you…but I could not.  Only Savrin could be told – when he was
ready to know the truth.”

 “What truth – ” Coral’mi wept.  “Was it not
enough that his brother died?  Why are you torturing him with this burden
Sable?”
 

 Sable flinched at her stinging words, and an exasperated
sigh escaped him.  “I know you are angry – “

 “I am not angry – ” Coral’mi spoke quietly, as
she squeezed her paws tightly into fists, fighting down the feelings that burned
within her.

 “You can not hide your feelings from me water horse
– ” Sable growled quietly, his own anger rising, despite his efforts to keep
it down.  “Do you think I enjoyed what I had to do? Do you?”
 

 “No – ” Coral’mi’s choking whisper crept forth
timidly.

 “I wanted to tell Savrin his brother…was all right
– I truly did…well…as alright as could be expected – having been blasted to
dust by Kira’s release – “

 A choking sob tore its way from Coral’mi, and Sable
shuddered, and then bowed his ghostly head.

 “Forgive me Coral’mi – I did not wish to remind
you of your hurt….” Sable whispered quietly.  “I…I have to be cruel – for
your own good…as I’ve got worse
news for you – that the others must not hear – “

Coral’mi shook her head, her mane flowing about her neck
as she started to tremble, fear spreading its cold claws through her body.

 “No – I do not want to hear it – she’s dead…Kira
destroyed that wretch of a Weasel in her release….” Coral’mi wailed, as she
beat her paws against the table.
 

 Sable sighed again, and then took a step closer
to Coral’mi, and he paused, as he tried to find the right words for what he
had to say, knowing how badly it would strike her.

 “Mother Coral’mi – ” Sable began, then hesitated
again, before speaking quieter, barely a whisper that only she would hear. 
“I wish that were true – we failed Mother – Yuira had become a Goddess…and my
sword’s magicks only severed her from her dark powers – it could not destroy
her.  As for Kira’s release and destruction – that weakened Yuira – a lot. 
Somehow – I do not know how – Yuira managed to find something to draw strength
from – and even now she is regaining her strength.  She is going to seek
revenge mother – I do not know when or how – but on my word, I swear, I will
do all that I can….”

As Coral’mi gripped the table as her shaking grew stronger,
she bit back her tears and tried to block out the ferret’s words.

 “My only fear – is that I will not be strong enough
– as Yuira is coming – and this time, she will be more powerful – than we can
possibly dream of.  This time – Yuira will keep her promise….”

To Be Continued….