Lost In Destiny

Chapter 8: War preparations.

After changing out of my long green shirt, that were mainly used to cover up inappropriate parts of my body so I wasn't completely naked and to into some clothes that were no less cleaner. I followed Garrett into a massive hall like room, the celling was higher the usual and the walls are covered in paintings and weapons of war. Garrett had changed too, he wore a faded silk blue robe that dragged along the floor, it was covered in Asian inspired dragon patterns and looked magnificent. He looked very different to the old man in the old man clothes that I had met, he looked like he belonged. I on the other hand was very uncomfortable in my new clothes. I wore a pair of baggy trousers and a loose shirt; both were faded and covered in dust from the tunnel grounds. My feet were still bare but the coldness of the ground was refreshing.

I stood face to face with Garrett in the middle of the room, waiting for him to start what is meant to be my training. I may not be the saviour, but he thinks I am and I will do what I need to do to get my Mother back. Garrett bows his head and I instinctively do the same.
"You want to know how to fight?"
"I thought that was why we were here"
"It is. However, before you learn how to fight your enemy you have to learn who your enemy is"
"They're Faeries, little creatures with wings, right?" He chuckled at my description the 'enemy ',as he called them.

"They can become small and they do have wings, but they look like you and I. No horns or horrible features to tell you they come from another place. They are humans but with magic. Powerful magic."
"So how am I meant to fight against Faeries that look like humans, but have powerful magic? How were we able to defeat them before?"
"Two neutral Faeries who wanted an end to the war."
"The magical ancient creatures that helped us?"
"Were Faeries, yes."
"So where are they now? They can help us again."
"They already have."
"What?"
"They prophesied the return of the Faeries in this world and so they used their magic to make sure we could bring peace, once more."
"How?"
"You Sofia. You are the savour. I know you don't believe that you are, but you are the only hope we have. You will bring back your Mother and the people of this city and you will bring peace to our world and theirs." I didn't respond, I couldn't tell him he was wrong because everything he said sounded true.
"Okay, so tell me how we defeat them." He smiled at that, I could tell that he had been waiting for me to say that.
"Sit." So we sat, crossed legged, on the floor. He told me everything he knew about the Faeries. He told me how they came to be, how they were humans before they chose the power of magic over freedom of love. He told of their Kingdoms that are split into Summer, Winter, Darkness and Light and how years of travelling from one world to another had made them jealous of our freedom. They wanted our freedom, but they wanted to keep their power. The War before happened for this reason, they were going to take our world for theirs. However the ancient Faeries of Light saw the destruction and death and gave the humans what they needed to stop their dark prediction. He told me of their magic, how it had the power to give life but also to take it, he explained it was magic that had turned the town grey, stripping the life out of everything. It is also magic that the Crown is made of, powerful magic that is meant to me a warning to Faeries. The Crown was made so that if the Faeries got to powerful that the balance of light and dark fell to darkness then the Crown would be used to destroy them. It is a symbol of great power. However the Faeries who made it also found a way to stop it from being used by them, only a powerful chosen one would be able to harness its magic and that is why the Dark King didn't kill all the humans in the First War.

Then I realised. The Crown was the key. The Faeries want the Crown back. The humans have the power to wipe them all out and that is too much power for them to let us have. I could use it to destroy them, but that isn't peace. There doesn't have to be another war. We don't even need a saviour. Just give them back the Crown in exchange of my people. Can it be that simple?

I planned my next move with Faeries, how to find them, how to get them to talk to me and how would I convince them I wasn't here to destroy them. Weeks I spent going through the advantages and disadvantages of this plan and to satisfy Garrett I trained with every day from dawn to dusk. He taught me how to fight with my body, how to get out of difficult situations, how to use weapons and the dangers of Feyland and Faeries so I would be prepared. I wasn't a trained fighter, I knew enough to survive and I would have no problem using this to get what I want.

When my last day of training came I felt ready, I felt strong. I was going to do what everyone thought was my destiny and I was starting to believe them. I told Garrett my plan nervous he would tell me I was wrong. He didn't. He simply smiled and told me good luck. We walked in silence to the entrance on the tunnel and he turned to me. He looked deep into my eyes, took off his satchel and placed it over my shoulder. The satchel wasn't heavy but I could feel there was something in it. I looked down at the satchel and up at Garrett. I knew what was in it, I could feel the pulling sensation on my leg, feel the magic pulsing through my body. I felt connected to it.

"Why?"
"You'll need it."
"Won't it be safer here?"
"There will be no one here to protect it."
"What? Where will you be?"
"I am no longer needed here, so I will go where I am needed." Sadness washed over me, as strange as Garrett was he was my only friend right now.
"Will I ever see you again?"
"If you need me you will." His hand slipped into his pocket and pulled out a gold chain. The chain was dainty and small, I could understand how it was able to support the weight of the dragon pendent hanging from it. It was perfect in every way. The dragon was muscular with wings flexing out of the dragons back, showing off how beautiful it was, the scales of the dragon shone, but the most eye grasping feature were its eyes. The eyes were two red shining gem stone, but it wasn't the look that made my heart jump at the sight of them, it was the feeling. This pendant was magic. I could feel the familiar pull, it wasn't as harsh as the pull of the Crown which was making my body ache with its nearness, it was a light pull that made me think of the sky and the wind.
"Where did you get that?"
"It's mine, but now it's yours."
"You're giving it to me? Why?"
"It is a part of me, a calling pendent. Whisper my name into it when you need help and I will be by your side." The realisation came quick. How could I have missed it? Garrett, the mysterious old man, is...Magic!
"Just come with me instead."
"I am a protector. I do not belong within Feyland."
We said our goodbyes and I walked out of the town hall. I didn't know where to go but I had a pretty good idea that I wouldn't have to wait long before I knew.