CHAPTER NINE- BALANCE OF FORCES
Even though Orion was not satisfied with the verdict of the meeting he had with the Lords of the spirit of whispers, there was not much he could do as laws were laws, they are not known to be respecters of anyone. If any of the Lords themselves go against the laws he or she would be punished in accordance to the dictates of the penalities involved in breaching that particular law; as it stands he can keep watching over the chosen one but realizing who she is is up to her.
He could not but wonder who had the power to travel through time with magic, when he asked all the High lord told him was this 'Like Time, Magic Grows' not fully understanding the concept behind the statement, he decided to time travel into the dark ages, an era when he was born as a baby, he could see the joy on his mother's face and the satisfaction on his Father's the day he was born, Orion tried to look for clues but could really not see the answers that he sought in this era. He went further to life and times of Frotos and realized, even though Frotos had no offspring to pass on his legacy to, he had a certain disciple called Halanda a young girl whose company he fancied at the time.
An orphan she was and her beauty drew her to him, she was a highly charming lady whose radiance would disarm any man at first sight, very pleasant to the eyes with her shadow black hair, and this hid the fact that she was quite a mischievous bandit who rid others of their valuables and pick pocketed a lot. Halanda met with Frotos on one of this her encounters and would have been caught if it were not for Frotos sorcery powers that transported them away from plain sight into safety, that was the begining of their relationship. The relationship that grew so strong she became his lover and as the years went by, they both became more committed in each other.
Orion needed all the answers he could get, begins to visit their encounters and realized along the way that not all that glitters was gold, the relationship between Frotos and Halanda unfortunately could not stand the test of time as it was built upon treachery and deceit.
Frotos loved Halanda very deeply but Halanda had other plans, she had met a pirate by the sea of Gomrey, a huge as a mountain black man who terrorized the Seas of Cordelia and Gomrey so viciously that people travelled through these seas with extra caution, he had powerful shoulders so broad it stretched his black coat and punctured through his cambric blouse ripping through, he had an ugly looking knife hanging loosely in a hideous corner by his waist alongside pistols that were tucked into his leather belt ready to destroy. Halanda fell for this mystery man within a short while they became secret lovers , no one knew his real birth name nor were they aware of where he came from instead he had one name by which he everyone knew him for Odin.
Odin knowing Halanda was married to a wealthy and highly influential man saw this as his opportunity, hence he began to facilitate several means by which they could meet in secret but little did they both know that the cat can only dwell in the bag for so long.
They usually met by the sea shore to discuss and she sometimes sneaked out to meet him at night by the Tower of Incandescence, he usually brought gifts and she kept them. All these were going on while she still stayed with Frotos who by now was already considering making her a wife, Sooner or later gossips began to talk and word began to spread of Halanda's illicit affair with this pirate and both culprits part it was becoming more difficult for them to hide as during one of their many escapades, she got pregnant; a development that Odin was comfortable with as he had been pressuring her to cast aside her husband and join him so they can explore the wild adventure and beauty of the sea life together.
Odin had already become very wealthy as he had stolen enough from several distinguished victims, royalties as well, coppers and golds lay waste in his secret room accompanied by several silks and valuable eggs and cedars which he had stolen from rare Ilton Travelers, these travelers moved around with special eggs gotten from monsters of old;some were also stolen while some were taken, but the eggs never hatch except they return to the hands of those who have been chosen even though they can be sold for good money which is the only things Odin cares about. Frotos choose to trust his wife even though the gossips were getting unbearable he decided to cast the flittermouse spell on her and he began to know all her movements, it was at this point he became distraught when not long afterwards he realized she was with child for the same pirate.
Frotos used the power of magic and sorcery to transform himself into a sick looking child and he made sure his paths with Odin crossed as he had come to realize one of Odin's weaknesses, he loved children. Odin took him in for two days and in the process Frotos stole the things he needed to summon his virulent serpent Rehvu , he stole few strands of Odin's hair and a shred of his garment and vanished just as he had appeared mysteriously two days before.
Odin was struck on the night when the stars shone the brightest, when the sky was tranquil and the whole atmosphere of nature was alive and danced to the tune of time, he had just conquered another successful feat of robbery and he was celebrating with his followers, whilst they danced long into the night. The full moon glowed in uttermost bliss, and everyone was lost in the act of merrymaking, Odin was in his own private chamber with a maiden whose purpose was to please his pleasures, he decided to pour himself a liquor, while the maiden waited and he goes to get the bottle,then from nowhere it slithered in, a long black viper with eyes glowing dim res light and struck at his feet only once . The moment Odin saw the serpent, it was too close for him to attack and as it raised its lethal pangs and truck, Odin felt his voice fading and his visions slowly getting replaced by pitch darkness as he fell to the floor and the serpent vanished.
Odin was in severe pains for five days afterwards, the wounded spot refused to heal and all who tried to heal it soon gave up as it kept getting worse, it began to rot and had a foul odour so strong that no one could really stay long with him in the room. Halanda got word that Odin was ill and at the point of death but she could not leave her husband's presence suddenly as it would arouse suspicion.
On the sixth day Odin passed on, he had already began to vomit black blood and he could not eat,his giant body had all swollen up making him look even bigger and he had grown pale within a few days. He could no longer speak clearly on the sixth day and even though he made sure word was sent to Halanda, she was unable to come but then through her spies she sent things to him, stolen herbs from her husband meant to heal him but it was all to no avail.
Halanda tried all she could from her end to heal concubine, summoning the Eyes to undo the spells but her powers were no match for her husband and that was when she realized Odin had been poisoned. Orion could see through her anxiety and fear when she realized her husband was responsible and how she attempted to run away only to be caught by one of Frotos spies and captured.
She was imprisoned and was chained for days with only water to drink and no food, Frotos never sought for her till she had been there for a month, then one day he came to her dressed in a black cloak and holding a black bird. His eyes had grown sadder over time like a sun light that has lost its shine and a moon that has lost its sparkle, he had the appearance of one who had been in mourning and then he asked her 'why?' a question to which she had no response, 'I gave you everything' he said in his emotion laden voice 'we could have taken over the world together' he was silent for a while and one could hear a pin drop in that brief instance Halanda was too weak to say anything at this point, she however was not remorseful and responded to him in her faint voice which had grown hoarse due to lack of food 'If you are going to kill me just do it already, I am carrying his child' an information Frotos already knew. He said no more and left afterwards, moments later Halanda was brought out of her prison to the slaughter house, a place where Frotos sacrificed his victims and as she was being held to be murdered like a sheep being led to be slain, she looked at Frotos in the eye one more time and looked away, his eyes cold as ice now lacking all forms of empathy in them as he struck the killer blow himself with his fatal steel and ended the life of both mother and child.
Moments later we could see Frotos standing between the two bodies, the foetus already violently ripped out of its home before it was time, the blood ran down the blade he held in his hands and we can see the stiff bodies still dripping of fresh blood, Orion kept watching as Frotos sacrificed both mother and child for more power and how he never again fell in love with another mortal even as he grew stronger and more powerful over the years.
Orion time traveled to the present, now more confused than ever, he thought he had all the answers. Now all he can only see are secrets upon secrets that were hidden by time, he took off his hat and looked towards the clouds, thus saying to himself 'Time does not have all the answers after all' as he sighs and walks away slowly .
Alexander has been pulling strings to ensure he becomes the next elected Mayor of Canada, with a highly successful career in the legal world and a lot of other humanitarian feats, including his clean and near perfect reputation, he however had one small obstacle, he was contesting the post with a billionaire business man who is equally very famous.