Gvera Cross by Blackheart Ravensoul (uplifting books for women TXT) 📖

fields north west of Midland, the spell should have been able to detect them. She tried again,

"Where is my father's clan?"

The orb got bigger and an image appeared: a meadow and several lakes. There were many lakes in the east part of Midland; it seems the clan had moved to a new location. Then she asked about her father once more but all she got was the same green glow.

"Did father leave the clan? Why can't I see him?" Gvera felt a pang of worry.

She made up her mind to go east and look for her father.Leaves and twigs crunched under her feet as she walked. The day passed by and the girl only briefly stopped to eat and rest. Time was short, so she decided to walk all night. Gvera wasn't scared; she could fight off wild animals. A fireball floated above her hand lighting her path. Wolves howled somewhere deep in the woods, but she kept walking on. Few times she checked the location of the clan, to find it unchanged. Dawn came after what seemed like eternity. The young witch felt tired after a night without sleep but forced herself to keep going. Fog settled in: slowly coming down the mountain then covering all around. It was cold and damp, but her enchanted cloak kept her warm. Something strange ripple through the air. It slowly grew stronger as she moved on. There were less trees, it seemed that the area ahead was a clearing. Energy was intense, the air rippled with it and fear gripped the girl, yet the crystal showed no signs of danger. It felt like an open gate was nearby but she didn't see any ruins or structures. Exiting the forest she found herself in front of the mountains, another wave of energy hit, this one stronger than the last, and the ground was pulsing with death energy. The girl was unprepared, the overwhelming weight of energy made her fall to her knees. It all went blank. It was dark and cold, it felt familiar, and she had been there before. Strange black smoke swirled around; weird symbols glowed in the air. Whisper echoed through the dark, she wasn't alone. A golden figure appeared before her, she was frightened at first, the glowing person said something but Gvera couldn't understand, then the figure grabbed her and started dragging her into the light coming from above.

Gvera sat up in a bed, the last thing she recalled was the energy. Slowly she looked around, it seemed like she was a room of some kind. The walls were all natural rock, like a cave there were three beds indicating somebody was living there. She noticed a chair by the bed, there was a metal cup with something that looked like water. The girl took a sip, it tasted like regular water. She noticed a curtain made of fur of some animal, most likely a bear. It covered the left wall; the girl walked over to it and pulled it aside slightly. What she saw was the sky, the forest in the distance and the ground covered by fog. She was high up on the mountain, behind the curtain was a small ledge and nothing that resembled a way down. Gvera got back inside and gave the place a better look over. On the shelves were plates and pots, bottles with powdered and dried herbs. She read some of the labels and recognized the names. It seemed that the only thing she could do was wait until the person who lived there came back. And she had to wait a while.

Destiny

 

Gvera waited for a long time. It had gotten dark by the time someone had arrived. The fur curtain moved and the girl felt her heart tremble, not sure what to expect. The person who came in was a tall blond woman dressed and a long brown leather skirt with fur lining and a matching top, the cape of her cloak dragged behind her. The woman had a quiver on her back and held a bow in her right hand. Gvera sat completely still, trying to figure out if she was in any danger. The woman seemed to finally notice her.

„ Oh, so you're awake" when she turned her head towards her the girl noticed a a lock of red hair on the right side, tucked behind her ear.

" Good" the woman carried on" then you can answer some questions"

She pointed to the spider under the girls chin :

„ Where did you get that?"

Gvera finally spoke, not sure what to make of this whole situation:

" I had it since birth." She said.

„Is that so? What is your name girl?"

„It's Gvera. Gvera Cross"

There was a look of surprise on the woman's face.

" Cross? It can't be... Who is your mother?"

„I don't know" she replied ashamed" My father raised, I've never even seen my mother."

The blond sighed:

" My name is Aleera Cross." The woman said

„ I'm not your mother" she quickly stated „ My daughters name is Deira. From what i can tell, you're probably my sisters, Her name is Elvira ,but i haven't herd from her in the last sixteen years. I gave that collar to her as a present, long time ago, so there is no way i'd mistake it."

Aleera walked up to the girl and lifted up her chin, her eyes ran over her face taking in every detail. Gvera felt uncomfortable but didn't resist.

„ Yes, you do look a lot like my sister when she was young. You got her nose, same chin, same eyes."

Millions of questions ran in her mind and before she knew, before she could even realize it the question that had been burning in her mind for years burst out

„ Why did she abandon me?"

The pain she kept hidden inside for all the time hit her with the sound of those words and the tear she had been holding back started to roll down her cheeks. Aleera embraced the girl.

"It doesn't mean she didn't love you. Elvira is involved in dangerous things, she couldn't bring a defenseless baby into the danger with her, so she left you where she thought it would be safe"

"Then why didn't she come back or visit?"

"I don't know, but I think something or someone held her up, she hasn't visited me in the last sixteen years either, so something serious must have happened to her."

"I hope I'm not interrupting" came a voice from the entrance.

There stood a man with thick dark blond hair dressed in leather pants and white shirt covered by a fur west, carrying a large axe .

"This is my husband William" Aleera introduced " Will, this is Gvera Cross, Elvira's daughter from what I can tell."

" Oh, nice to meet you, Gvera"

" Same here" she took his hand and shook it.

" Wait till Deira gets back, will she be surprised" the man laughed.

Aleera made diner -rabbits they caught earlier that day. Gvera helped with the cooking. Her mind was still full of questions but for now she just kept herself busy with peeling potatoes and carrots. It brought a strange feeling of belonging and familiarity. Back in the days when she traveled with her father's clan everybody worked together ,be it: setting up camp, hunting or preparing food. She missed that feeling ever since she left, the feeling of being a part of something like a family or a community.

Dinner was relatively silent, Gvera answered a few questions about her childhood and about leaving the clan as a part of tradition, but said nothing about necromancers and death creatures in the woods. Aleera had the same last name as her and Gvera wanted to believe she was her aunt but her father never told her anything about her having relatives , then again he never told her about her mother being a necromantress. Finally curiosity beat caution and while washing dishes she asked:

"Was my mother by any chance a necromantress?"

"All Cross women are, why?"

The answer surprised her.

"Then you are, too?"

Aleera smiled

"The Cross are the most powerful and influential clan of necromancers in Midland" she said.

"I see" Gvera didn't know anything about necromancer laws or tradition. " A while back, in the woods I got attacked by a necromorph, is that a regular thing?"

Aleera dropped the metal plate she was cleaning.

"What did you say?"

"A necromorph, in the woods, but I destroyed it and I managed to close the gate, thou the necromancer can probably summon another one anytime"

"No, not really" Aleera said" Summoning death creatures is very complicated and not just anyone can do it. Besides, the laws state that it shouldn't be done. I don't dare imagine what fool would break the laws."

"That's not all" Gvera said" there was a sacrifice used to summon it. A witch of the Order was killed to call it."

"I see. A sacrifice would definitely lure the creatures out, but like I said ,the laws forbid such things and whoever did this will be punished."

Gvera hesitated but decided to go all the way. She took out the scroll she kept in the bag and shoved to Aleera. The girl told her how much they were able to translate and what they figured out from it.

"This would be of great interest for your mother" Aleera said examining the scroll.

"I only found out that I'm a necromantress so I don't know many things. Is there some kind of death creature king, or something?" Gvera asked

"No, nothing like that" Aleera said" But there is an old necromancer legend, but it's getting late, so we can continue this tomorrow. "

Gvera couldn't sleep, she kept thinking about everything that happened in the few short weeks that she had been on her own. With everything that happened it felt like it had been years since she left home. A feeling told her she could trust Aleera, but there was something that still bothered her, the look on the woman's face when she saw the scroll , she looked scared and it felt like she was hiding something. Many unanswered questions remained, now there were even more of them. Her mother was somehow tied into all of this, and the Cross clan to which she supposedly belonged, the necromancer that broke the laws and summoned a death creature, the king from beyond death the will break free at the end of the year. Somehow they were all connected but the young witch didn't know what to make of it all. With puzzling questions on her mind she fell asleep.

She was in a forest, dark and thick with tall unseen trees and the night. Gvera didn't know where she was, didn't remember how she got there. People were shouting, torches blazed in the dark. She could horses gallop. Finally they emerged from the dark. A crowd of men with torches was chasing a woman, she wore a hood that covered her face but the outlines of her figure were clearly visible in the light of torches. The mob began to fall behind and it seemed the woman had escaped but then armored men on horses caught up to her. The forest ended abruptly, there was nothing but giant black ravine ahead and no bridge to cross. The knights with unseen crests surrounded the woman, there were four of them. A