Son of Ascila

SonofAscila: You are in great danger.

I stared at the words on the screen.

Solora: What?
SonofAscila: It's after you. Running won't help. It can find you anywhere.
Solora: Then what do I do? And what is 'it'?
SonofAscila: It's dangerous. It's better if you don't know its name.
SonofAscila: You must find someone who can protect you. Do you know any powerful witches?
Solora: Well no...

The only witch I knew was myself, and I could hardly be described as powerful.

Solora: What would this powerful witch need to do?
SonofAscila: It is too complicated to explain.
SonofAscila: If you have no one else, allow me to help.
Solora: I don't even know who you are.
SonofAscila: I am the Son of Ascila.
Solora: Ascila?
SonofAscila: No time for explanations. Go across the street to the occult shop. I'll be waiting.
SonofAscila has signed out.

'OK...' I said to myself. 'How the hell does he know that there's an occult shop right across the street?' I wasn't expecting an answer, but I heard whispering coming from a corner. I decided this was not the place to stay, and I was curious about this Son of Ascila anyway, so I went outside.

I saw a cloaked man with long dark hair stand outside the occult shop. He gave me a creepy feeling so I tried not to look at him as I entered the shop. Just when I was about to open the door, he grabbed my arm. I jerked back and looked at him, I'm sure my eyes showed I was obviously afraid. His face was still in the shadows, as that street doesn't have much lighting and this was the middle of the night. 'Come with me...' he said. 'Solora...' When he said my name I got a chill down my back. 'Are you..?' I asked. 'The Son of Ascila' he said, finishing my sentence. He started walking down the street, still holding my arm. I looked up at him, he was quite a bit taller than me. I followed him through the night, sometimes struggling to keep up with him, always careful as to what was waiting.

He walked around a corner and stopped so suddenly I almost bumped into him. 'Mora' he said. I tried to see who was there, but he wouldn't let me. He was still holding my arm, and kept pushing me back behind his back. I finally gave up and waited to see what would happen. The silence was all around, threatening to choke me. 'So what's that behind your back?' The woman's voice shattered the silence and sent a thousand knives of fear through my heart. I assumed this was Mora, the one my protector was hiding me from. I felt glad he had hid me, with a voice like that I didn't want to see her face. 'Why do you worry about what's behind my back?' the Son of Ascila said. 'You should worry more about the obvious dangers right in front of you.' 'You mean... yourself?' I heard her asking, followed by a little laugh. 'You should know I don't have a reason to fear you. My powers are too strong for you now.' Her voice had a certain tone to it, and I realized she was heading towards us, probably to see who I was. 'Solora' she whispered, before she'd seen me. 'I should have known.' 'There is no Solora. It's a name of the myths' the Son of Ascila told her. 'Then how do you explain her energy, her aura, her obvious powers... her thoughts?' I knew she had a sly smile on her lips even if I couldn't see her face. 'I blame them on your obsession of finding truth in every legend. You've never once stopped to think if it's possible that a legend is just a story, created by someone who had a story to tell' he answered her, while pushing me back around the corner. A voice in my head was telling me to run, and I recognized it as his. I started running back where we came from, trying not to make too much noise. I heard her yelling after me. 'You can run,' her voice was as sharp as a razor blade, 'but you can't hide! I will find you Solora! You can't escape your destiny!'

I sat down on a curb a few blocks away. My destiny? I never believed in destiny. How ironic that I had one waiting for me. Of course, it couldn't be true. Solora wasn't even my real name. It was my witch name and the one I used on the internet when I talked to other witches. Come to think of it though, I don't know how I came up with it. I think it was from a dream, where someone... 'Fuck!' I said out loud. I'd just remembered the dream where the name came to be. I stood up and looked around. He was standing there, looking at me. 'Where's Mora?' I said. 'Close by' he answered. 'Come.' I followed him to a building which looked abandoned. 'I know you' I said, to test his reaction. 'I'm glad you do.' He seemed indifferent. 'I met you in a dream once...' I hoped he could tell me something more. The truth was that I was completely clueless to what was going on. The only thing I had was the dream I'd had several years ago, where this Son of Ascila had used to name Solora about me, and showed me the secret of magick. He stopped and looked at me. 'So you remember.' I looked up at him, waiting for him to say more, but he turned around again and headed up some stairs. I looked around anxiously, there was a weird feeling in this house, then followed him.

We came into a big hall, which looked like it didn't fit into this house at all. The wooden floor was full of dust, every foot print was showing. The red walls had several big portraits hanging in between the windows. There were candles everywhere. 'Past, present and future' I hear the Son of Ascila mumble. I looked over at him, but decided not to ask what he was doing as he seemed to be deeply concentrated on something. 'Where the feelings become mutual' he kept going. 'Memories forever lost will come back with perfect trust.' He turned to me. 'You must trust me for this to work.' He held out his hand for me. I was too scared to move. 'Solora' he said. I suddenly turned around and ran downstairs and back outside. I don't even know why. I needed to get out of that room.

Next thing I remember, I was in my own bed. I was wondering if it had all been a dream, but I was missing a day on the calendar and it all seemed too real. I looked over to the corner where I'd heard the whisper the night before. I heard something again and decided to listen this time. A scent of incense filled the air, even if I hadn't burned any for ages. 'Solora...' someone whispered. 'Yes..?' I answered. 'Solora, daughter of Ascila...' I froze. Daughter of Ascila? 'Come...' it said and something pulled me towards the corner. I got an image of something I can't even describe in my head, and quickly got out of the room. I realized I was already dressed, but figured it would be a good idea to change clothes before I went outside.

Having done that, I went back to the abandoned house. Luckily the door wasn't locked. I went up into the big hall, where the footprints from last night were all gone. Everything looked like it did the first time I saw it. 'Past, present and future' I whispered, 'where the feelings become mutual. Memories forever lost will come back with perfect trust.' I looked around. Nothing had happened. 'Sorry, you need to be at least two to make that spell,' someone said. I turned around, slightly startled. The Son of Ascila was standing by the door. I kept quiet. 'And it has to be someone you trust completely so I suppose I'm out of the question.' He walked over to one of the portraits. 'Of course...' he said as if deeply lost in the painting, 'if you want to try again...' He looked at me again. 'I could always help you.' I cleared my throat. 'Am I...' He interrupted me. 'The daughter of Ascila? Yes.' His eyes didn't have the same harsh expression they had had the night before. 'Then you're my...' I started. He looked at me. 'Brother' I said. He came over to me and took my hand. 'Which is why I'm the only one you can do this spell with' he told me. He looked me deep in the eyes. 'Past, present and future, where the feelings become mutual. Memories forever lost will come back with perfect trust.'

The room suddenly became darker, before the candles became lit, one by one. A sweet scent filled the air and I could hear faint laughter, along with a thousand conversations and a waltz being played. 'Siel' I whispered. 'I'm right here' he said. I looked up at him, not realizing it was his name I'd whispered. 'I'm Siel' he said quietly.

I fell into a dream state, unable to move or speak. Siel's comforting touch was holding me up as everything around us was changing. My legs were starting to give in and I leaned heavily on my brother. Just when I thought I couldn't stand it anymore, silence filled the room. Then I heard it, first faint then louder. Steps. Someone was coming towards us. I wanted to turn around, but Siel was holding me back. I felt a sting of fear. What if it was Mora once again? A hand was placed on my shoulder and a woman's face appeared in front of me. 'Finally' I heard in a whisper. 'Solora. Sister.' I couldn't speak. She looked so familiar. She was as pale as Siel, with the same intense eyes. Her hair was long and almost black, hanging down to her waist. I opened my mouth to speak, but not a sound came out. A name appeared in my mind, Tanatha, and I knew it was her.

'Does Mora know?' Tanatha asked. 'Yes' Siel said with a worried look on his face. 'She caught me off guard on my way here the first time. She recognized Solora's energy.' Tanatha looked at me, studied my face. 'Her energy is faint, but there. Mora must be getting stronger.' I hated the way they were talking about me as if I wasn't there, but wasn't able to say anything myself. 'I think she is' Siel said, slightly distracted. I could see Tanatha was also aware of something. I watched them closely, looking for any sign of danger. They both snapped out of it at the same time, with no sign of it ever happening. I stared at them. 'What?' Tanatha asked. 'What just happened?' The sound of my own voice shocked me. Had it always been like this? 'Nothing happened. Something could have happened. We should get you away from here' Siel told me. 'You're avoiding the question' I said silently, unable to speak louder. 'Some things are better left unsaid' he said with a slight smile.

'Where are we going?' I asked as we were walking down a dark alley. 'Somewhere you can rest. Your memories will come soon' Tanatha said. She turned her head and stared at something. I turned around also, but couldn't see anything. Yet a strange feeling was creeping up on me, as if someone was watching me. I tried to shake it off, but couldn't. 'Siel,' Tanatha said, 'who's watching us?' Siel looked straight forward. 'I don't know, but it's not someone who's out to hurt us.' 'Are you sure?' I asked. 'Yeah. If they were going to, they would have attacked already.' I realized he was probably right. Why let us know they were there before an attack?

They took me to a flat located in the basement of an old pub. The stairs leading down were old and half broken, but the flat itself was quite modern. The only source of light was a lamp right inside of the door, but Tanatha and Siel started lighting candles. 'Best not to use too much electricity,' Tanatha said, 'or they'll make us start paying for it.' The candles created a nice atmosphere, and soon I was starting to remember.

I slept on a couch that night, since the flat had no beds. Dreams and memories were haunting me and I hardly got any rest at all. I woke up from someone banging the door. "I know you're in there Solora!" a man's voice shouted. Siel and Tanatha came out from another room. They both looked scared. "I'll break down the door if I have to!" the man continued. "We have to get away" Tanatha whispered. "There's a backdoor that way" Siel whispered back. I followed them outside. I didn't know who the man was, but I was quite sure I didn't want to meet him.