Murdoch, Prince of Linden Hills. Part 7

Teratsu sighed, and pushed back her hair, "The beginning is both simple, and complicated. First, you must understand that my mother has not always been Gaia. Once, long ago, her name was Gerta, and she was human. She was the daughter of a minor warlord, in the land of Pihon--"

"That's an island kingdom," Murdoch interrupted, "on the far side of the world. The Lowmon Sea, I think."

Teratsu nodded, "Not far from the Empire of Chiyo. But to continue, Gerta was the warlord's daughter. She was well-bred, and pampered, but she was also used. The warlord had long promised her in marriage to the son of another lord. To make a long story short, my mother rebelled. She had long sought to be free of her domineering father, and one night, she packed her things, stole several of the most valuable objects in the house, and fled in the early morning light, telling her guards she was going hawking.

"She spent much of her time fleeing from my grandfather's troops, so determined was he to have her back. The date of the arranged marriage was drawing near, and in desperation he brought in a tracker. This man was so good, that he soon rode in sight of my mother, and at that moment, she knew she would have to use desperate measures to get away."

Murdoch frowned, "I thought you said you were shortening the tale. I don't need to know every little stratagem she used."

"This is far from little, Prince Murdoch. Mother gambled that my grandfather still cared about her, so she deliberately traveled into the realm of his worst enemy, taking great pains to announce who she was. Within minutes, there were whole platoons in pursuit of her, and the tracker notified my grandfather that she was on the verge of being captured. Grandfather was forced to invade in order to save his daughter. Alliances followed, and soon the entire country was embroiled in a civil war which lasted over ten years.

"In the midst of it all, Mother was traded back and forth between warring parties, bartered, used, and eventually discarded as a worthless pawn of a dead man. Far from winning her freedom, Mother saw everything slip away from her. No man would touch her, for she was considered bad luck, and eventually she found herself the wife of a poor farmer in the far north of the country, penniless, dispirited, and virtually broken. Even her eventual pregnancy of me by her husband failed to lift her spirits."

"Is there a point to this?" Murdoch asked, his patience wearing thin at this apparently pointless tale.

Teratsu's eyes flashed, fire flinting at her eyebrows. "Mother brooded many nights on her losses, and eventually blamed humanity--all of it--for her misfortunes. Grandfather was to blame for his position and desire for advancement; the country to blame for its disunity and warring states; the people for their failure to stop the course of events or the war itself. Everyone was to blame. Everyone but her.

"But what could she do to change it? Especially now, as she was no longer in a position of power? She had to have power to change her lot, but what could she offer in exchange for that power? The only aswer was, her soul!"

"Gods above!" Murdoch swore.

"No, Prince Murdoch, Gods Below!" Teratsu took a breath, and then continued, "At first, the demons of Hell demanded me! Mother's firstborn, in sacrifice to them. But she countered with a better offer. In return for their blessing of her with power and arcane might, she would give them not only her own soul, but that of her husband! For me, I was to be given a portion of her power, and changed within her womb. As I was unborn, but still a part of my mother's body, my soul was my own. I would get her blessings," she ground out the word, "but not her curse. Thus," she raised a hand and a fire erupted in her palm, "I have her abilities, but no part of her hellborn fate."

Murdoch swallowed, but said nothing.

"My father was sacrificed, and my mother joined the ranks of the Unclean. She renamed herself Gaia, in mockery of the old legend of the Earth Mother. Her goal is simple: remove humanity and their blood-kin, and replace them with others who will not desecrate the world with their mistakes; war, power for the sake of rule, government, all the trappings of what you call civilization---"

"But...we're not humans!" Murdoch protested, "We're elves! We don't live in metal or brick buildings, at odds with nature."

"Mother doesn't make much distinction between human and elf. If you walk on two legs and wear armor, that's good enough to win you a place on her list."

"But what the devil does she want with Kaija?" he yelled.

"Isn't that obvious? She wants you to come to rescue her, with a pack of nobles at your heels. Then, she will destroy you all, and send her minions to topple your kingdoms while they mill aroudn in confusion, trying to pick a new leader."

Murdoch cursed and walked about the room, muttering to himself. "I won't leave Kaija there to die. But what can I do without walking into your mother's trap?"

Teratsu rose from the bed, "There is a chance, but it's a slim one, and it carries with it great risk for you, and your people."

"How great a risk?"

"You could lose your life, or you could lose your soul." With a great rush of words, she spilled out her proposal, and Murdoch took a step backwards in surprise. "That's insane! They'd never go for that!"

"It's the only solution I can think of."

"There must be another way!" He put his hands behind his back and began to pace. "Frontal attack is out, as we'd sustain heavy casualties. Her realm's too far away to get there with an army--"

"I can transport people over long distances, but my limit is roughly one platoon size, and no more than three trips per day."

"I'm mostly talking to myself, now." Murdoch bit his lip, a sign of thinking deeply, for him. "Wait a minute." He looked at the demigod, for that was what she was. "You say your Mother sold her soul to the devils, right?"

"Yes, and sacrificed my Father into the bargain."

"Right, but..." he began to smile, "What faith was your Father?"

"Gizorian, I think. What difference does that make?"

"I've got an idea, one with less risk than yours." He was grinning wider, and he hurried to the door. "Guard, send word to Brother Lazan at the temple, and Sister Kassardjia. Tell them I need to talk to the gods. Tonight!"

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