Destiny

The ghostly image of the great mage Candela loomed over the smooth black stone orb. The orb itself was absolutely pristine and featureless without a single pockmark or scratch. Lida could kind of see herself in the reflection of the stone. She got lost in that reflection for a moment before looking up at Candela again. The ghost was floating soundlessly but with a slightly impatient expression.

“Sorry, I got distracted,” Lida said. “But aren’t you a ghost? Don’t you have all of eternity to wait?”

“It is true that I am not going anywhere but you and the world are currently aging,” Candela said. “And the world is in danger.”

“I don’t know what that has to do with me,” Lida said. “I’m just a normal person. I’m no hero.”

“I have a hunch that this is an incorrect statement,” Candela said. “That is why we have crept deep below the planet’s surface to this long-forgotten chamber. We shall see just who and what you are.”

“That sounds both vague and ominous,” Lida said. “I’m totally not scared and also glad that I followed the ghost of a dead mage down here.”

“Your sarcasm is noted,” Candela said. “Now put your hand on the stone.”

Lida moved to comply but then paused. “Wait, will it hurt?” she asked. “I don’t want to do it if it will hurt.”

Candela did her best impression of a sigh without having lungs. “No, it will not hurt young one,” she said. “You need to trust me.”

Lida took a deep breath and put her hand on the stone. At first, nothing happened and Lida just gave Candela a look. Candela looked disappointed. Then, the stone orb suddenly swirled with a purple light. Lida tried to jerk her hand away but her hand was stuck in place. The light seemed to come through her hand as if it were now transparent. It was not transparent, there was a symbol forming on her hand and it was glowing purple.

“What is that?” Lida asked as calmly as she could so the words did come out as yelling. “What is going on?”

“This is the sign of the blood of kings,” Candela said calmly. “It has not been seen for many centuries.”

“Blood of kings? That’s kind of sexist,” Lida said. “It’s also wrong. I’m not royalty of any gender.”

Lida was finally able to remove her hand from the stone. The symbol remained on her hand but it had stopped glowing.

“That stone is never wrong,” Candela said. “This rite has been done with lines of royalty since time immemorial. Although, the bloodline was lost after the catastrophe some time ago. Democracy took over but this one bloodline remained remarkably unbroken. It took me quite some time to locate a suitable candidate for testing. That is why I appeared to you.”

“Why me?” Lida asked. “I’m a mutt. I’ve got some elf in me, yeah, but also plenty of human, some gnome, and even some goblin or so I’ve heard.”

“And yet the stone reacted,” Candela said with a soft smirk. “Unity among the races is not a downside. Your blood is magic. It will be needed to save the world.”

“That sounds too big for me,” Lida said. “I’m barely holding down a part-time job to get through school.”

“I will guide you,” Candela said. “I will not leave the fate of the world solely in your hands.”

“Will you help with my homework?” Lida asked. 

“If I have to,” Candela said. “But I would think that the princess would be smart enough to do her own work.”

“Princess?” Lida asked. “That’s some Disney crap. If there’s no king or queen then I’m the queen.”

“You do realize that this is a wholly symbolic title and you will not be getting any societal or financial perks, right?” Candela asked.

“I do now,” Lida said.

Tags: Destiny, Fantasy, Fiction, Urban Fantasy