Night Walk

CHAPTER 9 – III

Carenf and Victor skipped the reminiscing and got down to brass tacks. He had followed her to the Pacific Northwest because he knew she was embarking on her predestined journey – consequential for many more than just herself – but that she needed to learn for herself. That said, he would be nearby if and when she needed him.

(Victor Strife)
Perhaps now you understand why I said you were special?
Why honing your talents and expanding your mind essential?
Practice and patience and constant, constant study
Let me teach you of the power for which you are a vessel

Under Victor, Carenf had studied ancient Sumer, Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, China. Great leaders, profound thinkers, hidden influencers. Dynasties. She underwent physical training. Combat to strengthen the body, meditation for the mind. The surface was only scratched when she left her teacher.

For the first time in their relationship he answered the question she would always ask: “Why have you dedicated so much time to teach me all of this?”

To every generation, a Champion for Dark and Light
A contest inevitably headed toward annihilation
Torchbearers for each line began with history
Five millennia, yet still shrouded in mystery
I knew early on that you were the next incarnation
Despite human wants, yours is a solemn duty to fight

Back in New Orleans, this talk made Carenf uneasy (possibly because she realized how right Victor was). But now, it made her feel stronger, confident, purposeful. She was human, flawed, and yet she was the Champion of Light. What saddened her was that her husband’s brother was the Champion of Dark. Such a small world. It was almost funny.

She still had so many questions, but so little time. Carenf knew the battle against Geryman must continue, and yet now she was a mother. She had not one, but two greater callings. Weighing the future of thousands – possibly millions – of human lives against that of her baby seemed almost…balanced. She then described to Victor the circumstances surrounding the birth of Urissa’s boy, and how the two could not be in the same room together. What if her child was Light, and the other was Dark…then what?

Carenf left Victor to collect her thoughts, agreeing that they would resume their conversation in the morning. It was an anguished constitutional. After much internal debating back and forth, she came to a conclusion. She knew what had to be done. She headed home.

Upon opening the door to their apartment she was greeted by a sobbing Glendan. Urissa’s boy had been kidnapped.

Life’s experiences offer much information
Contradictions between what feels right
Whether to accept; to add to its formation
Or to decline and be exposed in the light