"Sirius. Can't you see? The coin is a fool's errand! Your father died looking for that bloody thing! Edward, don't tell me you agree with him." The King of Ilain exclaimed. Edward had only nodded. However, Sirius didn't listen. The man was an old, blind fool. His father may've died for it, but he died for something he believed in, as tragic as it was. Sirius didn't intend to die for this, though. He intended to succeed where his father had failed, actually.141Please respect copyright.PENANAxfIvxm25Fk
"Maybe so. It might not even exist. But I simply refuse to believe that. My father believed that the Coin would find my mother, and I believe it too. And I will find the coin, and then my mother, even if I share my father's fate! Not even the Gods will stop me!" Sirius's voice boomed through the massive throne room. His half-brother, Edward flinched, but stood perfectly still as he let Sirius do the talking.
"And what about The Clergy?" The King calmly asked, refering to Ilain's group of people whom were blessed by the Gods. "Will you leave your officer position among The Clergy's ranks to persue the legend that killed your father? And you, Edward, are you going to blindly follow him to what will possibly be your death?"
"He's my brother, Highness. I would die for him, as he would for me," Edward had simply stated. Sirius glanced at Edward, and nodded. He didn't speak a lie, as Sirius would indeed die for his brother. Edward returned the subtle nod, with one of his own.
"I wasn't aware I had to give up my officer status to follow my dreams," Sirius had then returned cooly. The King's eye twitched, a sign of growing impatience.
"I will not let you use the Clergy's resources to fuel your search, as I'm sure you will do. So I'll give you a choice. Go, and find your silly coin and abandon your status, or give up your father's pursuit and stick with the family you have right here, right now. I beg of you... Don't make the wrong choice, Sirius." As he said this, his aged expression softend. Sirius almost felt bad, as he did indeed care for the King and the Clergy as if they were his brothers and sisters, but his mind was made up since the day his father gave him to the Clergy to train him in the ways of his blessing. No, before that even, when his father first discovered the legend of the The Coin, and was determined to find it.
Edward stepped forward, and placed a hand on his brother's shoulders, and stared the king dead in the eye. "If you all truly cared, you'd support his choice. Come, Sirius. We'll do it on our own." After that was said, and air of finality filled the room. The conversation was over, and Edward had already turned, and his echoing footsteps told of him leaving the room. Sirius stood a moment longer, a frown marring his young face, as he watched the King slump down in his throne. Then Sirius turned and followed his brother.
"Sirius," The King called, when Sirius was halfway across the room. The young man stopped, and turned around to face the King. "If the Coin really does let it's owner ask the Gods for anything and receive it, and if you really find it, promise you'll use it only to find your mother. The idea of the coin reeks of greed, and greed will consume you, boy. Don't let that happen."
"I won't, Your Highness. As soon as I find my mother, I will drop it into the sea, never to be seen again. I promise." With that, Sirius finally left to persue his destiny.
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On that same day, Elia stood before her village Elders, facing persecution. Her worse nightmare had come to pass, but she wasn't going to cower or beg. No, she kept her head high as she stared them all in the face.
"Show us the curse," The Chieftan, Alikan commanded to the two guards that stood on either side of Elia and her parents. One yanked her up, and forced her to turn around, and raised the back of her shirt. Covering the expanse of her back was metal the color of storm clouds, still as flexible as skin would be, but as tough as a City Dweller's shield.
"You're all insane," Elia mumbled under her breath. Of course, she didn't mean her parents, as they were excluded from her accusation. But everyone else in this hut was. The same with everyone in this clan.
"What was that, you monster?" Alikan asked quietly, sounding dangerous. Elia yanked herself out of the guard's grip and turned to face the Chieftan. She repeated her accusation, louder, in a shout. Not only would they hear her loud and clear, but everyone else gathered outside as well. The thick tanned hide that served as the hut's walls, draped over a easy taken down framework of wood, did not prove to be the best sound proof barrier. Elia heard the collective gasp of her people outside.
"I'm no monster. You all loved me as your own until you found out I had a curse that's only skin deep." She opened her mouth to scream more, but Alikan interupted her by crudely slapping her across the face. Elia's eyes teared up as her cheek stung. The force of the blow made her bite her cheek, and now a steady stream of blood was flowing into her mouth.
"You were raised here. You should know your kind are evil. Especially how you've deceived your people about your predicament for twenty-three years. You and your parents. None of you are one of us." He pointed at her parents. "Especially you two, for bringing such a demon into the world. And now, I have decided. You two," he again pointed at her parents, "Will be burned at the stake."
Elia gasped. "No. Your problem is with ME. Not them! You leave them out of this!" She screamed. She had convinced herself she wasn't going to beg, but she couldn't just let them kill her parents.
"No. Let Elia and Kalidar live," her Mother began. "Simply exile them, but let them live. They don't deserve any of it. I am the true scoundrel here. Elia is not Kalidar's child. I simply led him to believe that, because I didn't want to lose him."
Both father and daughter looked to her, as if she was suddenly a stranger. "What?" Kalidar said, not seeming to have understood. Elia herself couldn't believe her ears. Her mother had to be lying to try to protect them. Her mother was a good woman. Loyal and honest, she was, and she would never have lied to her father about such a thing.
"So, you're telling me that you were disloyal to your mate?" Alikan began rubbing his beard, as he thought about that.
"I am. And they are merely victims of my disloyalty. Punish me with death, not them." She said it so cooly, so calmly. Elia couldn't believe it.
"Arayna....Are you speaking the truth?" Her father's expression was full of a mixture of emotions. Disbelief, betrayal, grief, and more. Elia felt that her face protrayed something similar.
"I am," she said, without looking at them. Elia assumed it was because she couldn't bear to look at them.
The hut was silent as Alikan seemed to be debating. After several minutes, he seemed to come to a conclusion. "We will exile Elia. And we will kill you, Arayna, for bearing such a demon, and for your disloyalty to your husband. And you, Kalidar, we will give you a swift death to put you out of your misery, since you appear to be the most innocent of the trio."
And so the two guards, and one of the younger elders dragged each family member away, each to their own separate, hellish fate.
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