Chapter 3 is finished!

Bright shafts of moonlight flooded through the forest canopy. Fireflies danced above the patches of hyacinths and crickets chirped loudly. The occasional coyote howl drifted through the wood as bats chattered and owls hooted.
It was on nights exactly like this that Lady loved to dance. Now that she could walk on only two legs, her dancing was even more marvelous. She was careful not to leave the sacred grounds of the sanctuary, no matter how badly she missed the herd. Lady danced in the courtyard in the middle of the sanctuary, chanting a little song. She twirled and leaped playfully in time with the rhythmic chirping of a nearby cricket. Lady loved the mysterious beauty of the night’s darkness, even though she was born of light. Her gaze lifted to a break in the canopy where she saw something amazing: The flickering lights of the aurora borealis. She had never seen anything like it before, but somehow knew exactly what it was. The green lights danced and twirled about just like Lady did.
She had been outside since the sun went down, and it was now midnight. Exhausted from her dancing and studies, she stumbled to her book-lined room for a well deserved slumber.
She started dreaming about the incredible dancing lights. Flying with them, weaving in and out of their bright curtains. Lady let out a hearty laugh as she dove through another bright wall of light. She had never felt so free! She flew down through a spiral of green ribbon into the forest below. Lady landed in front of a grand structure. She felt like she knew the area, but the trees surrounding the structure were merely saplings. Not the giant old growth forest she was familiar with. She entered the temple.
Inside she saw a golden-haired young woman. She was kneeled on the floor, peering at a book while tending to a young, tawny colored fawn. The fawn mooed in pain, it’s leg appeared broken. The woman lifted her hands around the fawn’s leg and began chanting a spell. The fawn’s leg glowed softly for a few seconds, then a look of relief came across the fawn’s tawny face. It got up and walked around with no trouble at all. The fawn nuzzled the woman, then bounded off back into the forest to find it’s mother.
This must be Natalee before the transformation Lady thought. She recognized the deep brown eyes from her earliest memories.
Natalee got up and started tidying her workspace. In the floor sat a pestle and mortar, an orange and yellow candle, the magical book, and a series of special herbs. As Lady observed, a chill ran up and down her spine.
“Greetings, fair maiden,” came a smooth male voice, “What is an enchanting beauty like you doing all alone in the woods?”
“Valator,” Natalee responded, “I told you I was not going to become your wife.”
Valator? The very mention of the name made Lady shudder.
“Who said I was going to give you a choice?” Valator smiled wickedly. He shot a white beam of light from his fingertips.
Before Natalee could respond, the beam hit her and she collapsed to the floor. As Natalee fell, so did the building around Lady. Lady too, plummeted into a vast black emptiness.
She woke up with a jolt, emitting a loud gasp as she flew to a sitting position. The wicked smile of Valator still haunted her. There was more to her mother’s story than what Juniper had said. Lady had to find out what else happened.
“It seems like Natalee’s spirit was trying to tell you something important,” the male god said after hearing all the details of Lady’s dream, “Follow me to the spring of memorial.”
The spring of memorial was a stone lined pool with a small canal leading to the outside. It was located in a giant, grey, stone room lined with columns and a beam of light shining down from a round hole in the ceiling. The surface of the pond was completely still, as if it was made of ice.
“The spring of memorial allows one to see what one need’s to know,” said the male god, “Gaze into the waters and you will find the answers you seek.”
Lady peered down, expecting to see a continuation of her vision. To her surprise, she saw the image of a young boy. he was approximately 2 years of age. He was surrounded by young fawns, laughing happily and playing with them. Off to the side was a wagon, it had a little smoke stack and intricately decorated sides. Next to the wagon was an older man and woman tending to a very small garden.
“Ah,” the god breathed, “That is young Valator, the son of gypsies. Before he became who he is today, Valator was once friends with the inhabitants of the endless forest. My sister and I are still unsure how he became evil.”
Lady returned her gaze to the spring. The next few images were not surprising, they were the young Valator’s milestones of growth. Lady got the impression that Valator wanted to join the deer, to become one himself. When Valator reached the age of 26, he went off on his own. He built a yurt near the edge of the forest. Lady noticed a dark globule hovering on a branch. Is that a crow? No it can’t be, it has no shape at all. What is it? The globule floated down to the ground, then took the form of an old man.
“Hello good sir,” the old man said, “I see you have an affinity for magic.”
“Thank you stranger,” Valator replied, “I always worked with growing, healing, and many other different kinds of magic and spells.”
“You have a great power within you, greater than anything in the world,” the old man continued, “I can teach you how to harness All of your abilities, and allow you to become the greatest magician in all the world.”
Valator considered briefly, yes his magic was powerful but he only used what he needed to survive. He didn’t need any more.
“Thank you for the offer stranger,” he replied, “But I have to decline. What need have I for more power? I wish to live a humble life amongst my animal friends”
The old man’s face contorted with anger.
“I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
The old man’s form turned into a shadow, and he lunged for Valator. Valator struggled to keep the dark being out of him, but it was all in vain. A mer mortal struggling against a demon! A battle of such intensity rarely ended well. It was clear now that Valator’s soul was never at fault for the atrocities committed in his name. Even though she was horrified, Lady continued to watch as the demon succeeded in taking over poor Valator. The male god was taken aback by the images.
“Oh dear,” he muttered quietly with his hand cupped over his mouth, “I searched for answers all these years, and yet I had no idea Valator was not really Valator!”
Lady remained quiet as she looked on. Soon she recognized the images from her dream.
“It’s important for you to know, Lady Jewel, that spell Valator used was a siphon spell. He subdued Natalee using magic binds imbued with the siphon magic,” The male god said, “You need to master that spell type in order to defeat him.”
The siphon spell was difficult to master. Every time Lady attempted it, the spell literally blew up in her face. All she had to practice on was a glass vial filled up with her own magic. She didn’t dare use anything else. Lady knew she could use it, but she had to use it at the right time and place for the spell to work correctly. She had the steps memorized, and she knew that was all she needed to take down the evil inside Valator’s body. The vision in the spring faded away after the scene of Lady’s birth at the drinkplatts. It was clear what Lady had to do. She had learned enough magic, so she was ready to leave the sanctuary and return home. She bid goodbye to the twin gods, setting off on her journey. Her first step: Restore the Ename Ruins.