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Syffox smiled back at her, and her resolve wavered. Guilt and fear welled up inside of her; in the rapture of her transformation, she had forgotten her final task. With the receiving of the disciples completed and the stage empty, that task now softly smiled before her.
Hesitation gripped her, and she no longer felt she could follow through with her plan. The void within her opened to swallow the newfound confidence and strength she had just gained. The other minds within her did not know how to resist its dark, despairing pull.
Raised in a mountain keep and forest paradise with teachers and attendants to focus on them and their singular, devoted purpose, they did not know what it was like to evaluate their worth next to that of another’s. A worth she’d been told for a long time was so little. A worth that only gained its value through the one now standing before her—the one she must now destroy.
Syffox walked up to her and took her shimmering, blue, transparent, hands. He knew her doubts and knew where they came from. “This is what has to be done, my love. It is the only way.”
Vantaiga clenched down into herself, trying to suppress the tears that could not flow in her current form. “I know.”
“I want to give this to you—to us. To finally give you the peace you deserve.”
She sucked in a staggered breath, an old habit from a body that used to require air. “I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve your peace.”
“My beautiful Goddess, I know you feel that way, but you have worked so hard for so long; you do deserve this.” He paused to hold her radiant face. “And this is the only way we can be together, forever.”
She looked to the ground, no longer able to face him. “I know.”
“Come, my love.” Syffox drew her shimmering form closer to him. “Let’s be together, forever.” He leaned forward and touched his forehead to her gemstone. “As one.”
Vantaiga faced the ground. She could feel his immense power flow into her. It was far greater than the disciples’. This was not the power of protected and secluded children. This was the power of a storied adventurer and scholar, the founder of a faith, the builder of a realm, and the leader of a strong and vibrant people. With him merging with her, she could wield power equal to any god.
With his mind moving into hers, she could also feel how much it meant for him to join her. She could feel how long and hard he worked to make this happen for her. She could feel how he wanted little else in the world than to give her his strength, his love, and his life.
As the immense torrent of Syffox’s power poured into her, a deep well of misery inside of her opened to consume it. It was a heart-wrenching misery the disciples didn’t understand, but Vantaiga did. She knew that when the rushing flow of power from Syffox was gone, so would he be gone… forever. With a whispered “no,” she pushed him away and out of her mind.
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Now with the power to control the mantel, Vantaiga reversed the merging of Syffox and forced him out of her. He stumbled back and fell to the ground. The sudden return to his body left him bewildered and speechless. Vantaiga kneeled to him and lifted his head. His eyes, unable to focus, shifted as he tried to look at her.
Weakly, she spoke. “I’m sorry, my love. But if you join with me, I will never see you again, and I can’t live with that.” A sudden relief crept over her at having finally completed her long-held secret task.
Mackyntal ran to her side and lifted Syffox to his feet. Syffox wobbled uneasily for a moment before whispering a small magic chant that firmly rooted him to the spot. Mackyntal looked between the two, not knowing what to do. The crowd began to stir. They knew something wasn’t right. Most were as dumbfounded as Mackyntal, many began to cry, trying to understand the significance of what was transpiring on stage.
Vantaiga whispered to Mackyntal, “Announce me as we originally planned.”
Mackyntal braced himself. Her presence and power were overwhelming. He drew in a breath to control his awe. “Yes, your Grace… Goddess.” He gave a quick bow and turned to the edge of the stage.
Mackyntal looked over the crowd as the magnitude of the words he was about to speak dawned on him. He cried out as tears began to stream down his face. “Children of the forest, I now present to you, your Goddess, Vantaiga!”
Vantaiga looked to the sky and enlarged herself so that all could see her. Her radiant form illuminated the followers as she rose taller than the trees. She did not like being so dramatic and did not like speeches, but she knew she needed to provide a finale to the occasion.
She comforted herself with the fact that soon it would be over. She looked down at Syffox, at how small he now appeared standing next to her. She knew what he must think of her decision. She cleared her mind and separated her thoughts from her feelings.
The Goddess Vantaiga called out as she spread her arms wide to address the crowd. “My Children of the forest.” A wave of awe washed over the followers as they were engulfed by her glory. “I stand before you, no longer the child that planted the first trees, no longer the woman that taught the first wardens, no longer the priestess that founded our faith. Today, I am your Goddess of the Forest.
“On this day, I did not join with ten of you but with all of you. I am as much made of you as I am made of the forest. Where a tree stands, I stand. Where you stand, I stand. Your passion for the forest is its will to survive, and my courage to strive. Your faith in the forest is its pride to stand tall and my strength to live and grow. We are no longer separate but joined as one. My fate is the forest’s fate is your fate.
“Today, the forest will be recognized by the heavens as a force of nature in the world. We will be in control of our future and no longer subjected to the whims from on high. We may have started out small, like the meagre beech tree, but with faith and trust…” She reached down to touch a ragged tree that clung next to the rock platform. She stopped for a moment as she spied Syffox, rigidly planted in the stone, still chanting to himself. She needed to finish quickly; it would be better for him if she was gone.
She continued her display by pouring magic into the tree. It creaked, crackled, and grew. The ground trembled as its roots dug into the stone, pushing away the rocks and earth around it. The tree rose into the sky, higher than the surrounding forest, until it reached the height of Vantaiga herself. “…with faith and trust, we shall grow strong to provide for and protect all that would worship the forest. Let everyone know that with faith, the forest will provide.”
She spread her arms wide and with a great roar of wind, Vantaiga streaked away and disappeared into the sky. A stunned silence filled the air as the crowd struggled to understand what they had just witnessed.
After a moment, Mackyntal stepped forward. “Children of the Forest, your Goddess has arisen!” A triumphant roar erupted from the mass of people. “Let us now celebrate with a feast from what our forest and Goddess have provided for us.”
The crowd continued to cheer and chant as Mackyntal quietly turned from the mass and guided Syffox from the stage.
