Gaia's Champion Ch. 31

"So, your order safeguards all those who are servants of Gaia? No matter who they are?" Phalmina asked.

"We do, but over the last few decades, we have been in decline. Fewer and fewer men join us and most who do, don't last very long. The training is difficult and sometimes beyond arduous. In this day and age, finding people who are willing to go through difficult trials and intense forms of training outside of the military is... trying, to say the least," Darnell huffed.

"What do you do with the recruits who fail to measure up or throw in the towel?" Jason asked, curious about how things were done in the Brotherhood.

"Those who willingly give up are exiled from the order. But not before they have their minds... molded, so they forget of our existence. It would not do well to have our enemies track us down through those who failed to measure up to our standards," Darnell replied.

"What of those who fail, but wish to stay with the order?" Xaera wondered.

"They become lorekeepers, attendants, guards, among many other roles that must be filled within the Brotherhood. Those who serve faithfully are given additional chances to prove themselves worthy of becoming a Warrior of the Brotherhood. We do not turn away those whose interest in helping us is genuine," Darnell explained.

"A good idea for those who wish to help! With those who quit, again, a smart play. Is it because of the way the world is, teaching people to not believe in magic anymore?" Jason guessed.

"That's part of it, yeah. There's also the fact that so few believe in the old ways anymore. Not with all the bullshit that promises easy answers, as opposed to ones found through deep thought and introspection," Darnell agreed.

"Hmm. Well, now that we are all acquainted, I believe that will change soon. Are there any special requirements for joining the Zulu Brotherhood? Like a magical connection or any of that?" Jason queried.

"They don't have to be anything or anyone special, no. All that's required is hard work, dedication and discipline," the Warrior replied.

"In that case, I might know a few people who could be potential candidates to help bolster your ranks. They're all Gaian believers, so there won't be any need to do anything drastic to them, should they fail to measure up," Jason informed the man.

"Sounds intriguing! We'll have to do a get together or something, so I can have a look at these guys!" Darnell enthused, happy to hear that there was a chance to get some new blood into the ranks of the Brotherhood.

"So, I'm guessing you two came looking for us after that warning?" Phalmina asked around a mouthful of eggs.

"Glad to see that we weren't the only ones who caught that! Was it all a garbled mess for you lot, too?" Aaliyah asked.

"For the most part, yes. But, Xaera here caught one singular word that was part of the warning. The word in question was 'witch'," Sheena responded.

"So that's why you were all looking ready to start a fight," Aaliyah deduced, putting the pieces together. "Can't blame you for playing it safe that way."

"Glad that we all see eye to eye on that! We caught the gist that it was a warning and about a witch or witches. Beyond that, we have nothing else," Phalmina huffed.

"We picked up on something in our dreams and meditations. The feeling we got was that this power that Gaia was warning us about was old. Like... really old!" Aaliyah told them.

"Well, that does give us some insight, but not enough to pinpoint it. There have been many witches through the ages who have done terrible things. The only catch is which one could it be?" Sheena sighed, her face pensive.

"Is there anything else you could tell us about what might be going on with the other covens?" Xaera asked.

"Unfortunately, no. I have been keeping tabs on the other covens and lately, they have been quiet. Normally, I would hear something from the few neutral witches I know of, but everything has been silent, which is both odd and disconcerting," Aaliyah replied.

"Why is that?" Sheena wondered.

"Because I have sensed a Dark presence in the city over the last day and the power it has is... considerable. The raw power it has will draw in any witch who is too close to it, as we are innately sensitive to such magic. This is why it is odd that everyone is quiet about it," Aaliyah clarified.

"Can you pinpoint where this Darkness is?" Jason asked, eager to learn more about their mutual enemy.

"I can, if I were to get close enough to it. The only problem is, getting that close is something I would really like to avoid!" the Witch told the group.

"You know that if you were to go in there, I am most certainly going to follow you in, no matter what," the Warrior reassured his wife. Hearing this earned the man a grateful smile, and she took his hand in hers.

"Would a place of Gaian power help with finding where this Darkness resides?" Sheena questioned, figuring she knew the answer already.

"It would... if I had a direct line to Gaian magic," Aaliyah stated, knowing it could be done.

"In that case, you will come to visit us at our home. On the land that we own, there is a grove dedicated to Gaia and her power. I assume that would be enough of a direct link to Gaia?" Jason queried, taking a bite of rye toast.

"It would be more than enough! Thank you!" Aaliyah replied, which was echoed by Darnell seconds later.

"It is also a place where we can get a direct line to what Gaia was trying to tell us last night. Out where we are, there is none of this noise here that drowns out the message," Jason told the couple, glancing around the diner and the buildings outside.

"Now that is some seriously good news! Hopefully, once we have heard the message as it is supposed to be heard, we will be able to figure out what we need to do from there!" Darnell enthused.

"And maybe, just maybe, stick it to those evil covens that are probably lurking around where this Darkness is centered," Jason stated.

"Would such covens sense what you have about this... presence you have felt?" Xaera questioned.

"They would, but from what I have deduced and researched, any true covens that align themselves with the Dark are few, thankfully. In this area, at least. So in that regard, we might not have too tough of a fight ahead of us," Aaliyah stated.

"Once we learn about this threat, do you think any other witches might side with us?" Sheena queried.

"Of that, I am uncertain, as most tend to stay neutral, due to what happened in the past to those who picked sides. Unless they are pulled into it, which is usually by happenstance and not design. If what we learn is as dire as we fear, they may have no choice but to choose a side," the Witch informed them.

The Gaians sat there, absorbing all of this information as they ate. While what they learned so far didn't bode well on some fronts, on others, there was a measure of hope. Their thoughts then turned to their friends, who were likely on their way to see Elizabeth's friend. They hoped and prayed to Gaia that their friends had taken the ample precautions and would be OK.

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Elizabeth, Amy, Darren and Daelina hopped out of the car and walked over to the spiritual shop. As they neared, the Gaians could sense the energy of the place, which was neutral. Shrugging, as they knew that witches in general were a neutral lot, approached, figuring that nothing was out of the ordinary.

They walked into the shop and were hit by the scent of books, tea, and incense. It was a pleasing aroma, one which they all took in happily as they entered the shop. They weren't the only ones there, as a black-haired woman was browsing the books, searching for something in particular. Daelina giggled as she spotted the statues and artwork of fairies, whispering to Darren as she pointed.

Elizabeth snickered and shook her head as she watched the couple go around the shop, checking out all the little things there. Amy joined them, having never been in such a shop before, and she was finding it to be a novel experience. The swarthy woman sighed as she looked around and she headed to the counter near the back of the store.

"Hello there! May I help you?" came a pleasant woman's voice from behind the counter. The woman in question was young, like she was fresh out of high school. Elizabeth had never seen her here before and wondered if her friend Valerie had hired someone new since her last visit.

"Hi there! I'm just wondering if Valerie is in today," Elizabeth queried, eager to see her friend.

"Sorry, but she's not here. Valerie is out on vacay, so she left me here to mind the shop," the girl told her brightly.

"Who are you and what have you done with Valerie?" Elizabeth accused, knowing that Valerie wouldn't go on vacation out of the blue. Not without notifying her friends and customers! She also would not have let some new hire mind the store if she had taken time to go off on vacation.

"I told you... she's off on vacation and she's letting me mind the store," the girl said with a convincing smile. Elizabeth suddenly felt woozy and disoriented, like she had gotten up too fast. She could feel her grip on reality slipping as she began to accept what the girl was telling her.

"Leave my girlfriend alone, bitch!!" Amy shouted, unleashing a primal bolt of energy at the girl. The magical bolt wasn't enough to stun, or even truly hurt the girl, but it was enough to shut down her spell.

"What the... who are... shit!" the girl cursed, as she reached for a prism by the till and tapped it three times.

In less than a second, it was as though all time began to slow down to a standstill. Darren and Daelina saw what was happening and reacted, but the spell had caught them and everyone there in its trap. The girl looked at them all smugly as she sauntered over from behind the counter to speak to Elizabeth and her friends. She moved freely, as though she had some form of charm that allowed her to be immune to the spelltrap.

"Think you could come in here and tell me what's what? Like you have any real power here, bitch?" she girl scoffed while slapping Elizabeth. Her gaze then went over to Amy, whom she looked at with an avaricious gleam in her eyes.

"Now you... you are an interesting find! What kind of magic do you wield? Whatever it is, my mistress will be pleased when I bring you to her!" the girl giggled.

She took Amy by the arm and dragged her towards the back. Amy and Elizabeth tried moving to resist the girl, but were moving far too slowly to do anything about it. Just then, the slowness of time faded away, with the slow-moving motes snapping back to realtime in an instant. The girl looked back at Amy, to see why there was any resistance, and received Amy's fist right in her face, knocking her against the counter.

"You picked a bad time to try shit like this, you evil little cunt!" came a voice from behind the women.

Amy and Elizabeth turned and saw the black-haired woman who was a customer, standing next to a table that displayed various charms. On the table was a similar prism that sat by the till, but it was knocked over, which had in turn broken the spelltrap. The most immediate thing they noticed about this woman was how her arms were wreathed in white magic and was busy weaving a spell.

The girl's face went ashen as pure terror flitted across her features at the sight of this. She tried to bolt, but was quickly ensnared by the magical power of the woman. The girl was trapped, as the magic had frozen her like she was encased in ice. With a flick of her hands, the woman sent the girl flying through the air and into a bookcase right by Darren and Daelina.

"Hey! Watch what you're doing!" Darren admonished the woman as the girl crumpled in a heap at their feet.

"Sorry! Just wanted to knock the bitch out, and that bookcase looked like the sturdiest thing I could do it on without killing her," the woman apologized.

"Considering that you pulled our asses out of the fire with that one, accepting your apology is the least we could do," Amy smiled as she walked over to the woman, who was standing over the girl as she used her magic on her.

"Who is she? Where is Valerie?" Elizabeth asked, thinking that this woman knew the answers to her questions.

"Who she is as a person, I don't know. What I do know about her is that she's the apprentice of a bitch I've been hunting for a while now! As to where Valerie is, I don't know! Though I'm convinced that this little twat knows where she is. Especially since she tried a Mindbender spell and had a Stasis trap ready in case things went sideways," the woman answered.

"What's your name?" Darren asked, thinking he had seen this woman before.

"Dominique. Dominique Rivard."

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The vehicles pulled up to the house hours later, with Aaliyah and Darnell bringing up the rear. They sighed in joy as they felt the protective wards wash over them as they walked onto the property. They got out of their car and walked over to the front door, as they had been invited inside the house.

"Welcome to our humble home!" Jason told them as he swept his arms out in a grand gesture.

"This is a beautiful place!" Aaliyah breathed, seeing the hard work the Gaians had put into restoring the house. Darnell was similarly impressed, as he was just as astonished at the amount of work that went into this place.

"You think that's something? Wait until you see the library!" Sheena enthused as she guided their guests into the room. Aaliyah's eyes widened so much; you'd have thought they were about to fall out of her head.

"Where did you get all of these books?!?" she choked out, amazed at many of the books she had seen, some of which being grimoires she had thought lost to time!

"What's so specia... by all that is holy!!! You have a copy of the Warrior's Edicts?!?!" Darnell gasped, as he rushed to the book, pulling it off the shelf to be sure it was the genuine article.

"A lot of what we have here, many of us haven't really taken the time to go through. We lifted this from the local chapter of the Sons of Caesar," Phalmina told them nonchalantly.

"You... raided the Sons' repositories?!?" Aaliyah gasped.

"More like took it all, as they weren't going to need it. They're taking themselves a long deserved dirt nap. Gaia knows they had it coming," Jason said as he folded his arms.

"The entire chapter?!?" Darnell breathed, knowing that such a feat was not easy to accomplish.

"Pretty much. Only the Pope and his bodyguard managed to get away. Once we had handled those bastards, we figured it best to clean them out, as they had things that did not belong to them," Xaera told them as the couple gazed longingly at the tomes that sat upon the surrounding walls.

"OK, I think this is a story that we need to hear in full!" Aaliyah got out, as she regained her composure.

"Oh, we'll tell it! But I think we need to head to the grove first and hear Gaia's message," Jason reminded them.

"Yes! Let's do that first! Story time after!" Sheena promised. Nodding, the couple followed the Gaians out to the back, where they encountered the Nymphs reading several books while sunbathing.

"Ummm... who are they?" Aaliyah asked, as she took in the nude forms of the Nymphs.

"We are Nymphs, my dear. Never seen one before?" Felicitae asked as she peered over a pair of sunglasses while appraising the Warrior and the Witch.

"Read about your kind, but I thought you were extinct!" Aaliyah admitted.

"We almost were! But thanks to Jason and his friends, we have hope once again," the Nymph Matriarch stated. Both Aaliyah and Darnell couldn't help but stare at the MILFy woman as she languished in the rays of the sun.

"We probably... should get moving?" Darnell suggested, seeing how his wife was staring at Patrok and Vahlen as well.

"Yeah! You two will get to stare and talk to these three all you like after we've finished our business in the grove," Sheena giggled. They both stared at each other and flushed, embarrassed that they had caught each other doing that. The group then made their way into the forest, heading right for the grove. It was a bit of a trek to get there, but it was nothing to them all, considering the stamina they all had.

"So, how do we get in?" Darnell questioned, never having been to such a grove in his life.

"Like this," Jason stated as he touched the closest tree. It then shifted aside for him, as did the others behind it, making a path for him to walk.

"H-how?"

"Felicitae is the guardian of this grove. Since its restoration, she has closed it to the outside world. Gaians are allowed passage and so are their guests, provided that no Darkness is about said guests," Sheena told them.

"Which is fair, considering the world we live in now," Aaliyah responded, as she and her husband followed their new friends into the grove. They both moaned in ecstasy as they could feel the peace and harmony that permeated this place. It was all so new, yet refreshing at the same time.

"Haven't been in a place like this before?" Phalmina asked, with a smirk as she uncased her wings to fly around.

"Wow! Now that's cool!" Darnell admitted, as he saw Phalmina take flight.

"Indeed! No matter how many times I see that, it never gets old!" Jason grinned as she headed over to the portal stone in the center of the grove.

"All right everyone, gather around! Now that we're here, we'll be able to hear what Gaia is telling us. All we need to do is just meditate here and her words will become clear," Phalmina informed everyone.

"Wait, that's it? No spell is needed or anything like that?" Jason asked.

"Nope! We just need to be close to a direct source of Gaia's power to hear it. Meditation is the only way we will be able to hear what she is trying to tell us," Phalmina stated.

Thinking it was odd, but shrugging, Jason joined the rest of his friends and lovers at the portal stone. They all sat down and adopted different poses to meditate. Closing their eyes, each one of them focused, putting aside all other thought. All they wanted and needed to hear was Gaia's message to them. Not even moments after they found themselves in a Zen state, was when they all heard the message, clear as day.

Carman, the Dark Witch, has returned from the great beyond. Ready yourselves, my children, as the Darkness has only begun to rise.

With a collective cry, everyone there came out of their meditative state, as shock rippled over them. Jason sat there in confusion, wondering who exactly the Carman woman was. Phalmina, Sheena and Aaliyah, however, could feel pure terror gripping their hearts at this news. They all stared at one another, before Aaliyah spoke her mind, breaking the ice.

"We are so fucked!"

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That is where chapter 31 ends! Things are now getting interesting for the Gaians and their newest allies, the Witch and the Warrior! Not to mention the arrival of someone who had all but vanished! A lot more plot threads to weave into this tapestry that is my story, and all of them with their own parts to play in the grand design! For more insight on what's to come, stay tuned!

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my work and I hope that you've enjoyed it! I'm open to constructive criticism and will seriously consider any suggestions made about various story arcs. Please rate and comment on my work down below and ask me questions if you wish, as I love hearing from my fans! If you like what I write, don't be afraid to follow and share with your friends, though your views, ratings and comments are enough for me.

In the meantime, this is C.H. Darkstrider, signing off to grab a beer and some quality time with the wife! ;) You will attain whatever you most desire, as long as you believe in yourself. Cheers!