Nentarli [COMPLETE]

~ Seventeen ~

My dad inhaled deeply and let it out in a long heavy sigh as he sat forward, looking at Emy and I, his expression unreadable once again.

"I was a General in the army of the Southern Sector at the time and also confidant to the leader of the South, which meant I accompanied him to the meetings with the other leaders. I listened to the problems and the discussions about the North breaking through but said nothing, it wasn't my place.

"I did discuss it with the leader, Telvil, afterwards however neither of us could think of something that would help. We returned to our Sector by nightfall and I left to go home to your mother, Cassie. We had only been married a year by that time and I missed her terribly."

He held my mum's hand and I had to resist the urge to run to them.

"I was rushing to get back and did not notice the old woman laying on the side of the road in the dark until I almost tripped over her leg. I jumped at the last second and missed her, it took me a second to recover, and I kneeled down to see if I could help. Her eyes fluttered open and I fell back in shock, her eyes were wide, white orbs, as white as chalk."

He took a few breaths at this point and I took a quick glance around the room. The parents and Merkell had calm expressions that told me they'd heard this story before. When I looked at the guys however, their faces held a look of wild eyed surprise focused on my dad. This part of the story must not have been well known, they looked eager to hear more and as I peered at Emy, I could see the same in her expression.

My dad took another deep breath and he made to continue, "I tried to check her over, to see if she was alright but she kept muttering incoherently. When I held my hand out to check if she was even aware of her surroundings, she grabbed it and sat herself up... I ruled out that she had lost all sense of herself.

"And despite the fact that she was so clearly blind, she stared directly at me. When I tried to ask her again if she was alright, she spoke and I will never forget her voice for as long as I live. It sounded as if numerous people were speaking the same words all at once, they sounded like they were in pain."

He shivered visibly, as though he was reliving the memory. My mum patted his hand gently and he calmed enough to keep going.

"First she spoke my name, I suspected she knew me from my rank and standing. Then she told me she had a message for me and my family, that I was to take her to them as soon as possible. I hesitated, she could have been any crazed stranger and I did not want to put anyone at risk... but there was something in her voice that made me help her up regardless.

"I led her to this house and inside to where your mother was waiting. We sat down with her and she told us to bring in Alacor and Colensa, and then she requested the Rockwells be in attendance also."

Blaike and Kaleb both perked up when they heard their family name. My dad nodded to them and I just shook my head, I was lost in the story and getting too tired to question every little thing that came to my mind. My dad didn't wait for anyone to question him though.

"Once we had gathered everyone together, the old lady glared at each of us in turn and suddenly tensed, speaking in the same eerie voice. Her words were imbued with intense power, we could all feel it in the words she spoke.

'Two children of noble blood, born of seasons mild will become the strength of the land.
Two children of noble blood, born of seasons wild will become the heart of the land.
Together, with the help of another, will fight to rid this land of the darkness taking hold.'

And with that she stood up and disappeared on the spot, without another word or explanation of what we had just heard. We did not know who she was or what her words meant, we were all of noble blood, however none of us had children at the time.