An Ancestor's Revelation

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The second full day being back in Sarvas started out the same as the day before, but when Rwnil pulled Ahsch aside and to a small side room to meet up with his mother, he knew things were about to get a lot more interesting.

Looking between the two older hrafthi, he blew out a breath. “Could we please not have any earth-shattering revelations _this _early in the morning?” he mildly requested.

While his mentor leveled an unamused look at him, Dahil smiled in sympathy. “While ‘earth-shattering’ might be a bit ****, I’m afraid the matters we’re about to discuss have been… pushed.” She glanced sideways at Rwnil, who returned the look, then rolled her eyes.

“Given how woefully you’ve educated the boy, _and _that you all but begged me to train him, you have no right to object to me taking up the slack you’ve left.”

Ahsch would have recognized the anger that flashed through his mother’s expression, even if Heart Sight didn’t spell it out for him. The immediate cover-up and near supplication that followed was alien, however. But even as he opened his mouth to protest, Rwnil turned her gaze to him. “And before you speak out of turn, perhaps you should inspect the bonds present, boy.”

Ahsch glared at her for several long moments, but eventually caved to his curiosity. After another few seconds, his staring went into the middle distance, shock slackening his expression. “You’re her… my…” he feebly exclaimed.

“Dahil is my great-great-great-granddaughter, making you - or at least, the original body she gave birth to - my great-great-great-great-grandson.

Silence descended on the trio for a few moments, broken only when, distantly, they heard Ariin scream. “What the fuck?!”

Rwnil glared in the direction of the scream. “Your familiar has a tendency to share what isn’t meant to be shared,” she remarked.

Ahsch frowned and crossed his arms. “What’s the point of this?”

The ascendant frowned back. “As I said, your education is lacking, and out of familial obligation, I agreed to assist your growth without revealing who I am. However, enough is enough, and in spite of your mother’s rejection of our people, I will not have a being such as you, one of my blood, remain ignorant of who you are.”

The two stared at each other, tension mounting. Eventually, Ahsch looked aside to his mother, who looked… she was chagrined, humiliated, and angry. His frown turned into a snarl, and he looked back at his ancestor in time to watch her satisfied smirk at him ‘breaking’ first become briefly confused before his new Aura of Domination slammed into her as a concentrated blast.

“Apologize to her.”

He almost collapsed when Rwnil’s own aura of pure power slammed down on him, her unrestrained, focused presence bearing down on him like the weight of a planet.

Almost.

“You may be powerful,” Ahsch admitted through clenched teeth, “and capable of obliterating me like a bug. But you are a guest in my mother’s house, and you are speaking to He Who Will Become Enochiel. Recall that you cannot end me. Remember that like you, I have eternity. Recall that _un_like you, I am eternal, save the intervention of those far above either of us. Respect is earned, Rwnil, not owed. And you are rapidly spending what respect you have earned with me.”

The weight of Rwnil’s presence seemed to pile on briefly, before suddenly receding, causing Ahsch to actually stumble as the resistance he had been fighting vanished in an instant. He quickly recovered, and turned his gaze back towards his mentor. Fury seethed in her emotions, as well as humiliation… and just a hint of guilt. With a clenched jaw and stiff motions, she turned to Dahil, who was watching with wide eyes. “Your son… my descendant is… correct,” she bit out. “I… apologize…” She paused, but Ahsch didn’t relent the pressure of his own aura. With a grimace, Rwnil continued. “I apologize for insulting you.”

With a nod, Ahsch withdrew his aura, and only then realized that he was soaked with sweat and trembling from the strain he had just endured. He warily kept an eye on his ascendant ancestor, who shot him a look, then scoffed. “You’ve proven your point, boy, and I am not so childish as to lash out when you are weak.” Sensing the truth of her words, Ahsch relaxed with a sigh and leaned against the wall.

Just in time for Ariin to slam the door open. “What the _fuck _is Mahat talking about, Rwnil, our ancestor?” she demanded, looking between the three already present. Then she did a double-take at her twin. “Why are you so sweaty?”

With a sigh, Rwnil rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I suppose the girl should hear this as well,” she muttered.

Ahsch sent his sister reassurance through Daydreamweave, but focused on his mentor. “You make it sound as though you’re about to tell us we’re the heirs of an ancient empire or something,” he joked dryly.

Rwnil raised an eyebrow at him. “Nothing quite so story-like, though the truth is rather more fanciful.”

The twins shared a glance before looking at the ascendant, who took a moment to compose her thoughts before beginning. “You are already aware of a breed of monster which is descended from the angels of a dead god. And, as you related from your experiences the first time you reincarnated, you are aware that some beings are, at least in part, manifestations of the natural laws which make up reality - and that hrafthi are such beings, ‘outsiders,’ you’ve said.” Ahsch nodded in the expectant pause. “It should not surprise you to further learn that hrafthi are related to bonds, though our Innate Magic for them is substantially weaker than what many outsiders possess regarding their own natural law. This is, in short, due to a… dilution of our ‘bloodline.’ We were once quite different, far more powerful, blessed with far more feathers and wings, and gifted with greater Innate Magic. In ancient times, when the shaid were yet to be, we were one of several ‘outsiders’ which maintained the world. The hrafthi were the watchers, the seekers, the scouts and spies.” Rwnil’s expression turned dark. “And then, shortly after the shaid's creator was slain, we became… lesser. As did the other outsiders.”

“Okay, that’s cool, but what’s the point?” Ahsch asked, yet frustrated with his ancestor’s earlier disregard.

“The point, boy, is that for eons we have had no inkling of what happened, nor why. But I believe that there may now be a chance to discover what happened.”

“How?” Ariin asked.

“By asking one who was there when the hrafthi fell. A goddess who, until recently, had all but vanished.” She gave Ahsch an expectant look.