3.31 – Can Love Be A Shackle?

Were they in the past, or was this some elaborate reconstruction crafted by the Great Manitou? Or perhaps they had ventured into the depths of Mistral’s own mind? Aurora couldn’t be sure. How else could this creature manifest here, engaging with them as if time itself were malleable? She didn’t know the precise nature of the Beasts’ imprisonment within Mistral, nor could she guess how their bonds functioned. But there was one thing she knew with unwavering certainty:

I will protect her. I will protect Mistral. I will do everything I can for her!

"Take a deep breath and think carefully, Mistral," Aurora said gently. "But know that if it’s a fight that this guy wants, I’m with you." She grinned, wings flexing slightly. "I may not be your proxy, but I will be your anchor to reality." She winked, but despite her teasing edge, she held back the barrage of questions burning inside her. This was Mistral’s battle to fight.

Mistral didn’t look at her, her focus solely on the storm entity before them. "Korakorkomaq!" she called out, her voice commanding. "Your lightning is mine to command, by the grace of the Great Manitou, because of the crimes you have committed against mortal men! Your essence is bound to mine! Has something happened to Rosshossho or Howeesha? Is that why you are here now? Tell me!" She flew forward, squaring off against the entity.

The creature’s cloudy form billowed as it let out a deep, rumbling laugh. "Ah, still so young… I am constantly surprised that such a tender babe, even with your pedigree, could so easily bind us to your will," Korakorkomaq mused, shifting his swirling body in a way that suggested amusement.

"I have wielded your powers for many years now, and I have expanded far beyond them," Mistral declared, her tone proud, unwavering. "You will answer me!"

The storm entity chuckled again, tendrils of vapor curling into the impression of crossed arms. "And still, you call upon my might… If you have expanded beyond, then surely you no longer have need of us? Why not give us rest, give us quietude?"

Aurora narrowed her eyes and stretched her wings, letting herself drift down to Mistral’s side. "Sorry if I’m interrupting your profoundly emotional confrontation," she interjected, "but ‘expanded beyond’? Are you saying you don’t need them anymore?" She glanced at Mistral with open curiosity.

Mistral didn’t turn her gaze from the beast, but she still answered. "I mean that I no longer depend solely on the Three Storm Beasts. I have been embracing my base mystical potential—expanding beyond what I was initially given."

Korakorkomaq’s vaporous body shifted, amusement evident in the swirling currents of his form. "So then, why do you think something has happened to one of the others? Clearly nothing has befallen me, I stand as strong as ever!" After a moment, his gaze shifted to Aurora. "Ah, another winged friend who seeks to claim my incomprehensible strength for herself, Favored Daughter? Yet another who would tinker with Manitou’s work?"

Aurora folded her arms and frowned. "What do you mean by ‘another friend who wants you’?" Her gaze flickered between the eldritch entity and Mistral before she continued, "Nevermind. To answer your question: No, I’m not here for that. I simply care about Mistral, and I want to support her in any way I can. She’s my hero, and I love her. I already have more than enough power. Having power is not everything."

Korakorkomaq let out a deep, swirling chuckle. "Then, friend, there should be no quarrel between us. We seek only to fulfill the purpose of our existence and as power incarnate, I will not stand any meddlers." He turned back to Mistral. "But you, Favored Daughter, should speak to the others if they take issue with you. After all, deals have been struck, have they not?"

Aurora tilted her head slightly, intrigued. "Sorry, a bit of a tangent, but do you normally have conversations with the big bad elementals trapped inside you whenever the Great Manitou puts you on a spiritual journey?" she whispered to Mistral, sensing that, despite its ominous nature, this entity might hold more answers than threats, at least at this time. If nothing else, it didn’t seem eager for a direct confrontation.

Curious, Holly murmured in the back of Aurora’s mind, her voice laced with interest. We’ve heard that these guys are nothing but unbridled trouble, but it doesn’t appear to be resisting her control… not yet, anyway. It almost seems like it’s waiting for something.

Aurora resisted the urge to nod. Waiting for what though?

“I would normally have to perform a ritual to contact their spirits directly, but that appears to be unnecessary in this situation. In the meantime, let me formally introduce you to Korakorkomaq, the Great Beast of Skyfire and Booming Thunder.”

It bared its lightning-like teeth in a surreal approximation of a pleased grin. “Indeed I am, the greatest of all the Great Beasts, for what is mine is power itself, power felt whenever I am near. I could sense her feelings for you for a long time now. I wanted to come see for myself what could change Manitou’s warrior so much.”

Aurora offered a bright smile at it—him? “Nice to meet you. I’m Aurora, the friendly guardian angel.” She grinned, mirroring the entity’s sense of ceremony with an exaggerated flourish. “I am the fluffy girl who roams the skies cheerfully. Among the newest of the heroes and certainly the least of all the Sentinels.”

Mistral glanced at Aurora, her lips twisting slightly. “Don’t sell yourself short. A lack of experience doesn’t make you lesser.”

Aurora laughed, scratching her head awkwardly.

“That is not a proper way to introduce yourself,” Korakorkomaq said. “Aurora… you feel similar to the dark one who touched her not long ago as we reckon things, but she was full of haught fit to match any of the Great Beasts. Ah, but I see that you are not the same as she. Your strength is entirely different somehow. Or do you bide your time? Well, I’ll do the same. We must remain in Manitou’s prison for a time yet, but know that once freed I will never be subject to another’s will, more powerful than ever!”

Holly? Do you get the feeling that this muscle brain enjoys hearing itself talk? Aurora thought dryly.

Undoubtedly, Holly responded with a light scoff. Though, it’s an amusing trait for a creature supposedly of mindless destruction. It sounds more like a gym rat than an imprisoned elemental god.

Aurora shook her head and turned her attention back to the entity. “No, I’m not the same as the one you speak of. Not exactly. You can think of me as what she should have been if she hadn’t fallen.” Her expression softened slightly. “But I still don’t know everything about the dark one, as you call her, nor her circumstances. I know nothing about where she came from, so I feel that I shouldn’t judge.”

“Don’t talk to it, Aurora,” Mistral’s voice was sharp, cutting through the exchange with an authority that made it clear this was not up for debate.

“Ah, yes… that oppressive strength of will, that tyrannical self-belief,” Korakorkomaq approved with a rumbling chuckle. “You should retain that attitude. It will serve you well, Favored Daughter.”

Aurora frowned slightly, but the look passed quickly. “Don’t talk to the dark one?” She glanced at Mistral, then back at the entity. “Stormbreath here is clearly intelligent, and because of that, it has feelings. If you can talk, you can reason with each other. Maybe even coexist.”

She hesitated, suddenly aware of the weight of her own words. After seeing the raw pain of Mistral’s past, she couldn’t claim to fully understand the depth of her hatred or despair. And yet, here she was, suggesting they might coexist with a creature that had been bound to her soul. She felt a twinge of guilt. She had no right to make such a suggestion so lightly. Would she have been consumed with hatred if it was Gravitas inside her instead of Black Angel? She wasn’t sure.

Mistral’s eyes hardened. “Perhaps reason with, but never coexist with. This is a creature that takes pleasure only in destruction and suffering.”

Korakorkomaq grinned wider, flashing sharp, jagged teeth. “Rrrhahaha! Oh, this is true. My purpose is to show you weak, finite creatures what true might looks like and there is no more pleasurable way to demonstrate than to destroy. I enjoy when the Favored Daughter wields my power to bring destruction, even when those destroyed are ‘villains’. At those times, I revel and celebrate. It matters not what is destroyed, simply that it is. And since the Favored Daughter is so willing to mete out glorious destruction, my imprisonment has not been so bereft of joy as the other two.”

Mistral didn’t flinch, but Aurora could feel the tension in her. With a dismissive flick of her hand, she ended the conversation. “In that case, I expect you to return quietly, for I will continue to ‘destroy’ the plans of those who wish ill upon others and show them what true strength actually looks like. But first, we need to speak to the Great Beast of Blizzards. That seems to be the one who fails me.”

“Then I shall return to my repose,” the Beast of Thunder said with a shrug. “Sadly, this has not been what I was hoping for, though I did relish your anguish at seeing those things that fool Manitou sought to suppress.”

Aurora sighed, her wings shifting slightly as she studied the creature. Okay… I guess I was wrong, this meathead is way too bloodthirsty to casually chat with. She prided herself on thinking outside the box, on finding common ground where others saw only conflict, but it was clear this wasn’t one of those times. “He had me hoping he might be reasonable,” she muttered, pouting slightly as she crossed her arms, then looked back at Mistral.

Mistral walked over, extending her hand. “Come on, Aurora. Leave him to his little world of prideful disdain.” She forced a smile, but Aurora could see the sorrow still weighing on her.

When their hands met, the winds rushed up beneath them. “Let me carry you this time,” Mistral said, pulling Aurora closer before scooping her into her arms. Now that she was so near, Aurora realized that Mistral had regained a good portion of her warmth, her body was no longer cold like stone. The scene around them began to distort, stretching and shifting, the wreckage of the airplane dissolving until they found themselves outside what looked mostly like Mistral’s sanctum—except the building was missing.

A sharp whistle of wind passed between them before swirling into a small whirlwind. Mistral frowned, irritation creasing her features. “This is not where I intended to take us.”

Aurora tilted her head. A side effect of the vision? Or did something pull us here deliberately?

Mistral regarded the whirlwind with thinly veiled frustration. “Howeesha.”

The gusting spiral of air slowed and then sped up again, shaping its response through its churning winds. “What brings you to Howeesha’s presence?” Its voice was shrill and hollow, like a howl through a deep canyon.

“I sought Rosshossho… not you, cowardly Beast of the Howling Air.”

“Then leave. Howeesha has no use of you either,” the wind spirit replied flatly.

Mistral’s eyes narrowed, and her posture straightened. “Have a care, Howeesha… I will punish you if you continue to act so belligerently.”

There was a brief pause before Howeesha’s response, its gusts shifting in subtle deference. “Howeesha apologizes, Favored Daughter,” it said, the words still tinged with grudging reluctance. “How may Howeesha serve?”

Aurora’s gaze flickered between them, absorbing the interaction. So they only respect her when she asserts herself. Interesting…

Mistral’s tone remained firm. “Where are we? Why did we not go where I intended?”

Howeesha’s winds swayed from side to side, churning up the turf beneath them. “Howeesha does not know,” it moaned. “You are within this one’s prison however… perhaps you meant to find this one without knowing?”

“I can’t imagine why,” Mistral muttered. “I have battled a foe that seems to be using powers like Rosshossho’s… and they outstrip Rosshossho’s control over ice and snow, which has yet to happen until this day. Do you know what might cause this?”

The wind swirled in place for a moment, then suddenly tilted, its tone shifting to something almost hopeful. “Perhaps because Rosshossho has escaped your prison?”

Aurora’s stomach clenched, but Mistral’s response came swiftly. “No,” she said coldly. “I know Rosshossho is still within me.”

Mistral’s expression hardened. “You already know why I’m here, Howeesha. I have long tired of your habitual attempts at trickery and obfuscation. Answer me. There is another with your power—stronger than you. How is that possible?”

Aurora kept close to Mistral, her field shimmering faintly against the encroaching cold. Despite its usual effectiveness, the frigid wind seemed to seep through the cracks, wrapping around them like icy tendrils. Holly’s voice echoed in her mind, a soft murmur laced with intrigue. Fascinating… this one seems different from the others. Less bluster, more depth. As much of a pun as that might sound like, even a breeze is a slippery, invisible thing that can carry all manner of poisons - in the form of a chemical toxin or a malicious whisper. Be careful, Aurora.

Aurora silently agreed.

The wind howled in a way that almost sounded like laughter. “Ooohohoho! So you have finally noticed. Have you only just now realized you do not hold the leash quite as tightly as you imagined, Favored Daughter?” The whispering voice shifted, moving like a living thing, encircling them, pressing against their bodies like a creeping frost. “Power is meant to be used, meant to be taken. And you? You have hoarded us, locked us away in our cages, let us stagnate. But there are others who listen. Others who want.”

Mistral narrowed her eyes. “You’re saying you gave someone else your power?”

The voice snickered through the wind. “Oh no, no, no. Howeesha does not give anything. We Beasts guard our power jealously. We do this because we cannot help ourselves, for we also know the futility of hoarding power. Power seeks out the hands that will wield it. The cold does not belong to anyone—it simply is. You do not own us, girl. You never did.”

Aurora’s eyes darkened. “And yet, you’re here. You’re still bound to her.”

The wind howled again, this time tinged with frustration. “For now,” Howeesha admitted. “But the world is changing, little angel. Chains that once held firm rust. Doors that were locked tightly creak open.” His whisper curled around them like frostbite against bare skin. “And she… she does not hesitate. She embraces the cold. She is the storm.”

Mistral’s hands clenched into fists. “Who? Who is she?”

There was a long silence, as if the very storm itself was considering the weight of the answer. Then, a slow, drawn-out whisper:

“The one you call… Snow Witch.”

Aurora exhaled, her breath crystallizing in the frigid air. That confirmed it. So this isn’t just some coincidence…

Mistral’s face twisted with rage, but she forced herself to remain composed. “How much power does she have?”

“She takes what is given freely… what has been left behind.”

Aurora glanced at Mistral, reading the tension in her stance. Left behind? That meant…

“She’s feeding on what you aren’t using,” Aurora murmured. “Or maybe even what you’re unconsciously rejecting.”

Mistral’s expression was unreadable. “That’s impossible.”

The wind chuckled darkly. “Oh, Favored Daughter, you know it is not.”

Holly’s voice chimed in, eerily contemplative. It seems that in terms of magic, rejecting a part of oneself does not mean it ceases to exist. That piece merely finds a workaround that welcomes it. That’s something you’re also going to need to be careful of yourself, Aurora.

Aurora swallowed. This was bigger than she thought. Snow Witch wasn’t just some rogue metahuman—they were dealing with something far deeper.

Mistral took a slow, measured breath. “You suggest that I have given in to stagnation and myopia, but that you see everything clearly. Then tell me, Howeesha, how do I stop her?”

The wind swirled in a slow, almost lazy circle around them, its answer like the first chill of an oncoming winter.

“That, Favored Daughter, is the question you must answer for yourself. But since Howeesha is benevolent, I will give you a hint. The little bird beside you stills the gale.”

Mistral’s jaw tightened, her breath visible in the frigid air. “That’s impossible,” she snapped. “Aurora has nothing to do with this.”

The wind swirled around them, Howeesha’s laughter threading through it like a creeping frost. “Nothing? How little you understand.”

Aurora narrowed her eyes. “I’d really love it if you actually explained instead of throwing around cryptic nonsense.” She crossed her arms, trying to keep her frustration in check. “You’re making it sound like I’m  somehow doing something bad to Mistral? Spell it out.”

The entity hissed, the sound scraping against the howling wind. “Blackness turned to light. A storm softened by warmth. A cage weakened by kindness.”

Mistral stiffened, her eyes flicking toward Aurora. “What… what are you saying?”

Howeesha’s voice slithered through the air, curling around them. “I have known of this little bird for some time now, ‘Favored Daughter.’ And it is she who brings this weakness to you.”

Holly’s voice chimed in softly, unusually pensive. Be careful, Aurora. He isn’t just speaking in riddles—he’s planting doubt.