Unleashed

"Oh stop it," said Trinity nervously to Brian, "Don't you ever bow to me again, or I shall slap you!"

"As you wish, lady" said Brian, with a vast chuckle, "Only....do you know what this means, having the fealty of all of the elementals?"

"Well......no." said Trinity uncertainly, "I've never heard of this before."

"It is the mark of a great magician," he said, "there are few who receive this honor."

"Great magician. Look at all the trouble I have caused." said Trinity wryly.

"None-the-less, you show great power," said Brian.

And that is all he would say, and Trinity did not push as neither of them wanted Joia to hear their thoughts, though Trinity thought it was possible that Joia knew her thoughts anyway, despite their not being spoken aloud. Joia and Trinity climbed onto Brian's neck and while Brian arose into the air the elemental cheered and as the trio rose, their already tiny voices faded and the only sound that Trinity heard until they arrived at Nonna's was the steady beating of Brian's wings.

Nonna lived in the Northern Territories just outside of Morena, the largest city in the land. She lived about a quarter of a mile inside of the forest. Trinity had crossed the mountains several times on foot travelling back and forth to Nohna's and much preferred flying. Trinity had no fear of flying, she could fly forever, it was one of the most peaceful feelings that she knew. She had lots of time to mull over the puzzle of Joia and to think of all of the the things that had lately occurred as they flew, but her musings did not increase her understanding. Joia sat behind her as still as a statue and spoke not a word and Trinity did not turn to look at her.

They arrived at Nohna's in the late afternoon and descended with the twilight. Nohna was home as Trinity had expected her to be. Nohna had never failed to be there when Trinity needed her. Nohna came rustling out of the cabin her long skirts atangle. She caught Trinity up in a big hug and pinched her cheek because she didn't like Trinity to take herself too seriously.

"Ho Brian, you overgrown lizard!" she directed at Brian. "What brings you my way? Come to scare my neighbors again? The last time you came, I thought that they were going to run me out of the forest!" and she cackled boisterously. Brian and Nohna loved to banter and were so good at it that Trinity never tired of listening to them.

Then she turned to Joia. "And who might this be?" she asked, smiling brightly, but her smile faded slightly as she took Joia in.

"This is my sister, Joia." answered Trinity.

"Welcome Joia, I've heard so much about you," Nohna said guardedly, though politely.

Joia said nothing and Nohna stared at her for a minute and the muscles around her eyes tensed slightly and her face grew shrewd. Then she calmed her face and said, "Well, come in, come in! I was expecting you and I have got food ready, There are just a few more herbs to add and it will be done. I have gotten water at the well, you may wash yourselves while I finish." then turning to Brian, "Try to leave a few deer in the forest my sweet." and Brian flew off to find his own meal beating his wings harder than was necessary causing Nohna's skirts to fly around her wildly..

It was then that some of the local elementals began to arrive and to cluster around the cottage to pay homage to Trinity. A childlike smile came over Nohna's wrinkled face and she watched them with awe.

"Ah yes. I see that I was right," said Nohna softly, and her voice trailed off.

Joia gave a snort of vexation, "Detestable little insects!" she said, then attempted to swat one. Nohna and Trinity looked on in alarm but the elementals could take care of themselves for they began jeering at Joia and throwing little sticks and pebbles at her. The braver ones flew close enough to yank her hair and the gnomes began rushing towards her furiously as though they were going to attack her.

Trinity politely asked them to stop. She did it very humbly as the elementals are not to be ordered, so they did as she bid, though not before a very swift salamander flew in and honked Joia's nose as a last parting shot. Joia sprang up and Trinity ordered her to stop and much to her surprise, Joia obeyed. Joia found it curious how the elementals seemed to inspire emotion in Joia when nothing else could.

"Perhaps you should tell me what you have been up to lately." Nohna said to Trinity seriously, Then, "Later, and privately," she directed to Joia, making no effort to be polite which surprised Trinity greatly as Nohna was always hospitable.

Nohna bade Trinity and Joia to sit at the table where she laid bowls and mugs and a pitcher with water from the well. She put a brown, crusty bread on the table. "You may begin with the bread." she said distractedly, "I have a few more herbs to add to the stew and then you may eat that too." And she bustled out to the little kitchen garden outside of her front door.

She returned and cast what was in her hand into the pot. Joia was sitting with her back to Nohna and didn't see Nohna making a few passes with her hand over the stew though Trinity did. Then she ladled the stew into a serving dish and brought it to the table and put some into each bowl.

When Joia tasted the stew, an expression of surprise came over her face and she spat what was left in her mouth out on the table. "What have you done to me?" she sputtered, "How did you get this past me, old woman?"

"Hmmph. There is one advantage to being old and that is that people underestimate you." said Nohna primly.

Then Nohna stood up to her full height and raised her arms in the air. The light in the room became different and Nohna looked different as well. She didn't like like an elderly, comfortable, cheerful old grandmother anymore but rather like a proud queen.

"Your name is Parsepha and with your name and the bindweed that I have given you, I bind you. You can do no harm and you must obey me! Go sit in the corner. Sit still and bother no-one. Say nothing," and Nohna pronounced words of power. The creature inside of Joia had no choice but to meekly obey and the light slowly came back in the room, except near Joia where there was a slight greenish tinge. And Joia said no more but glared sullenly from the corner.

"Now," said Nohna "We must talk. Tell me what has brought this about."

So Trinity talked. When she told Nohna about the Glamour-off, Nohna shook her head. "Oh Trinity," she said, "You were warned about that."

"I know," admitted Trinity. "I thought I was good enough to do it."

"Well, now you will get to prove how good you are by undoing it," was Nohna's gruff comment".

Trinity finished her story and Nohna paused for quite awhile, took a deep breath and then said, "We in the mage community have known that something was afoot for quite awhile now. Many oracles have been foretelling of this and there have been other signs as well. We knew what was going to happen, we only did not know when, or by what means. You have unleashed Persepha as you may have guessed and she is here to free Djana the dark, as has been foretold."

Trinity stared at her mutely, cold fear and guilt making her stomach clench. The old familiar self-loathing that she thought she had long ago conquered came back as though it had never left. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, that she was destined to bring nothing but trouble. When Trinity became upset, her face settled into a hard mask which had gotten her in trouble many times when she was a child. But Nohna saw deeper than most people and knew something of what Trinity's expression meant.

"Now dear, this is bad, it's true. But it can be fixed. As I said, the magical community has forseen this and preparations have been made." she said.

"I just feel so bad Nohna, It seems like nothing good ever comes out of me."

"Shush child. It is very important that you do away with this attitude. Because it is you who will have to banish her. Only the one who brought her can banish her. And you must have a positive attitude towards yourself in order to do this."

"But Nohna, I have never had a positive attitude about me in my life, I barely know what it is to have a positive attitude about anything, much less myself," she said, her dry sense of humor reasserting itself despite her fear.




"You must prepare!" said Nohna, ignoring her words. "There is a ritual. It is a cleansing ritual. It is a ritual to empty yourself, so as to allow the power to fill you. It is very important Trinity, that you find the stregnth to believe in yourself. For if you do not, none of this will work. I will be sending messages to other mages and they should be arriving tonight and tomorrow. The ritual will begin tomorrow night at when the moon is bright. Now eat, as much as you can because this shall be your last meal before the ritual."