Prophecy and pain

  The tired group reached the entrance to a large establishment. While travelling with one of the ancients had made it easier to get here, it had been a tiring journey. The place looked to be the one they'd been described, so they entered to have a look around.

It was an elegant space, with most surfaces made of glass in different shades of purple and black. The light of dusk reflected on them, making everything glisten with a surprisingly warm light. There was no one, save for a lone woman, who sat at the bar. She was beautiful, with pinned up, raven hair and amethyst eyes, her black dress dragging on the floor and a glass of wine in hand.

"Welcome to my club, gentleman!" The woman spoke "Whilst I would love to help with your search, I am not she. I do understand the confusion, though"

The men were entranced by her for a moment, before one of them spoke:

"We are Hunters and we have come to prevent the calamity. Do not lie to save your own skin, the fate of the world is at stake" said their leader

"I am afraid I really am not the mother of destruction, for she is but a child, born only two decades ago, whilst I'm as old as time itself "

"You dare mock me, woman? Does it look as if I don't have eyes? Or is it the prophecy you are not familiar with?"

" 'From the man of embers and the amethyst woman, the children of the century storm, a child of calamity will be born' It goes something like that, does it not?"

She set her glass down and took off the shawl she had been wearing, giving them a good look at her back. The intricate pattern of black ink on it left no doubt as to her identity. It was the mark of one of the ancients. She looked at them over her shoulder, her smile the picture of condescension.

"The boy you brought with you, I'll give you the information you want in exchange for him" the men regarded her with uncertainty "I have lived for far longer than him, therefore I know much more. The choice is yours"

The boy had been useful, but the woman was much more powerful, if her marks were any sign. In times of old, many would have worshipped her as a God. They pushed the boy to the front and he fell to his knees in front of her.

Seeing one of her own kind in chains and looking as if at death's door, she almost lost her temper, but she managed to speak calmly.

"You can't find her, because you have been looking for her in the wrong time"

"You mean the wrong place"

"I mean what I said. You people took too long to find them, or rather fate was much kinder to them than to you. She was in too remote a place and he fit his description in too abstract a manner. By the time you found them, you couldn't kill them, not while they stood together"

"It wasn't as simple as that"

"Oh, but it was. Fortunately for you, that young woman was kind enough to aid you, yet here you are looking for a way to take her life"

"This isn't easy on us. It's something we have to do and you said you would help, so please lead us to her"

"If you wish to find her, you will have to find a way to travel twenty one years into the future. In order to do that, you can either find a magician capable of performing a spell of that power or wait for a year, until a gate to the future will open all on it's own in Glane. In the Glane mountains, on the other side of time, you will find her"

"Couldn't you send us? You are quite powerful, are you not miss...?"

"Izara and whilst I am very powerful, a spell of that caliber would take much more out of me than I am willing to offer you"

The boy on the floor made a pained sound and fainted. The wind picked up inside the room and with one glance at the door, Izara slammed it open. The look of serenity had vanished from her face and thunder rang out.

"You have overstayed you welcome, leave now!"

The group of hunters ran out of the establishment, as if their lives depend on it and the door shut behind them. Izara knelt down next to the boy and checked his pulse. After reassuring herself that he was still alive, she brought him over to the next room and laid him on a bed. Healing magic had never been her forte, but she managed to improve his condition enough for him to wake up.

His eyelids fluttered open, closed against the light in the room, then opened again. If Izara had to guess, she would say they had been giving him just enough food and water to keep him alive. While he was millenniums younger then her, his powers would have been too much for a normal human to handle while he was healthy.

His body was full of bruises, cuts and scars. He was so thin she could have counted his ribs, had he not been wearing a shirt. It made her sick to see one of the last of her kind like this.

"W...er" he mumbled

Izara got closer to him, leaning an ear close to his mouth, to hear him better.

"Water, please... give me some ... water"

With a small movement of her index finger, a glass of water made it's way to the boy. She supported the back of his head with her hand, helping him sit up to drink. After drinking his fill, she let him fall back on the pillow.

"My name is... Adris"

"I know. I am Izara"

"I know"

They both looked at eachother, smiled then he started laughing. Seeing him like that, she felt her temper subsiding to a manageable irritation. Now that the hunters were gone, she even managed to look kind.

"I suppose that's what happens when you put two ancients in the same room. It feels like there is little we can discuss" he coughed "Since we both know so much"

"It has been too long since I spoke to one of my own. I would be happy to talk about the weather, if you are up for it" she smiled at him

"I don't think I could live with myself if they find her"

Izara tangled her fingers in her skirts, looking closely at them. Adris looked at the empty wall opposite him just as intently. Somewhere clocks were ticking, filling the silence.

"Even I can not see into a certain future, although these children have received God's favour, so I am hopeful"

"Thank you for getting me away from the hunters and for the kind words"

"You just rest now, I will go make some food"

"Wouldn't it be easier to use magic?"

"I can not cook too well in the traditional way, all attempts at using magic for it ended in pandemonium"

"I'll make something eatable once I'm better" he chuckled "I'm actually a good cook, if I may say so myself"

"I shall hold you to it"

Adris closed his eyes and soon he was asleep. Izara went into the kitchen and started looking around for what she would need, when a sharp pain shot through her body and left her feeling exhausted.

"Castiel, you bastard" she muttered "I am going to make you pay for this"

On his side, Castiel sent up a prayer for Izara to spare his life if they ever saw eachother again. While they were friends, friendship had it's limits and he had overstepped. Be that as it may, he needed to get Enora no matter what.

"Don't ever come near me again!"

The words rang out in his head as if she had been next to him and his chest tightened with longing. Their last moments together had been painful. She had done her best to push him away.

"I can't love you if it means the world has to end"

"It doesn't have to end" he had replied "I can't... I just can't lose you"

Soon after that she vanished, the only trace of her: the hunters looking to kill them. Still, his mind insisted in focusing on the beginning, on the time he first saw her beautiful eyes looking at him, back when making people accept them had been possible.

He remembered his father's anger at him, after finding out she was from the Glane mountain and how easily he had softened towards her. He remembered the time after he'd been able to meet her openly and both their families had accepted their relationship. Most precious of all, he remembered what it was like to have her within arm's reach.

"Look at the flowers! I've never seen so many of them in bloom at once!" she had turned to tell him, her smile radiant

He'd wrapped her in his arms, whispering that he'd rather see her smile, that he loved her. She'd thrown her head back in laughter, saying he was too much and she loved him too. He'd picked her up and spun her around laughing along with her, in pure bliss.

The feeling of tears running down his cheeks pulled him out of his reverie, his resolve unshaken. Izara was definitely in pain at the moment, but time travel would have been impossible otherwise.

He'd met the woman while looking for Enora and she had explained to him the intricacies of this magic. He had told her all about his doomed love and the object of his affections.

"Honestly, I am surprised you accepted Enora so readily. Her people have been feared almost as much as mine, pushed to the edges of society just for being born with power"

"People tend to fear what they can't control, whatever is unfamiliar. While her power isn't as great as yours, she is an impressive woman "

"Impressive is quite the understatement . I exceed her in all things magic related, but if I were to use time magic the way she has, I would feel the consequences for months to come"

"Then is she ...?"

"She is perfectly fine "

"Are you sure?"

"You impudent child! For one such as yourself, I could be considered knowledge it's self. It is because I know she is well that I am so astonished"

"Of course "

"You, yourself are quite the young man. I am certain you have roots in the land of Rin, otherwise I could not explain your affinity for elemental magic"

"Shouldn't you be sure if I am, all-knowing hag?"

"Bite your tongue, shameless brat. Now, as per how to reach her ..."

Izara had taken a liking to him and had lent Castiel all her books on time magic. That's how he'd found the spell to travel through time, while Izara payed the toll. After apologising one more time, he embedded the magic circle with mana and light filled the entire space surrounding him.

Red strings wrapped around him and Castiel found himself dragged into a tunnel full of images from times past and those that may yet come. The sheer number of them was so overwhelming he lost consciousness. When his eyes opened, he found himself in the same place, yet he knew the spell had worked.

A strong urge to find Enora rushed over Castiel and he almost gave in. Before doing anything stupid, he reminded himself that if he went to her right away, it would only be a repeat of their last time together. Instead, he started walking towards the temple. They had been responsible for loosing her, now they would be the key to get her back.