The Guardian and the Lake
"Come. Prove to me that you are the chosen of fate."
Hazel stepped lightly onto the vast dais, Shylah landing on her shoulder—again her usual size—at the same instant. The Star Bird sang a silken song that slithered through Hazel's body like soft silk across cool skin.
The Razor snake's eyes dilated as his tongue flickered. "Don't help her, Star Bird. Allow her to prove herself."
Shylah's sweet song turned fierce to Minerva and the others, but it was coherent speech to the snake and Hazel. "You think you can command me? A hatchling such as you?" She flapped her wings, rising briefly in a blur of starlight. "If she asks, I would remove all trace of you from the bright tapestry of fate."
"Calm yourself, Shylah. I will not ask for this. His right. I need to find the way." Hazel's third eye opened wide, sparking dangerously, even as Shylah resettled on Hazel's shoulder "He does not want to die. He seeks freedom – don't you Guardian?" Hazel ascended with a wand in each hand, as magic circles flared beneath her, until she was her eye-level with the guardian.
The serpent struck first. Hazel, Evervine, and Minerva acted in unison. The professor and Evervine fired strength-sapping incantations while Hazel snagged a glowing fate line, her third eye pulsing lightly with the effort. She pursed her lips as she strained against the resistance of the powerful guardian.
Evervine and Minerva retreated as Marcel lobbed a dark purple potion. It struck the serpent's midsection, spreading like a hardening shell that immobilized the beast. Hazel surged her power forward as she moved to strip the razor snake's fate from this particular line. Her third eye's pulse increased – a resonance shook the area and the spawning lake rippled gently, the air vibrating with a low, musical note. Hazel strummed his destiny with her power, her dream magics moving forth to write a new story.
As the snake tried to thrash against Minerva and Evervine's magics, his fate shimmered and slowly began to change. It changed in response to Hazel's commanding will.
"Erase him, Hazel! Stop being nice!" Evervine roared, sprinting forward. Her top half turned jagged and granite as her legs became thick with coiled muscle.
Marcel threw a second vial. A pale green mass erupted, and Evervine used it like a trampoline. Springing forward her wand shot violet sparks that hit the razor snake first. Her stone fist collided with the purple-coated scales seconds later and the guardian froze. Marcel's purple shell shattered like glass, and the snake let out a guttural, pained rasp.
A long sliver of its thin body fell away. The deep gash revealed pale, pulsing muscle, and time seemed to stall. As one, the group exhaled as thick, obsidian-colored blood began to pour. Another strum of fate rang out—sharper this time—and Hazel opened a dream portal just behind the snake.
The portal rippled ominously as scents of long gone dreams slipped out. The snake again fought, fully understanding what would happen next. The quiet portal grew larger and the thin guardian swayed.
The serpent's psyche was yanked into the void, trapped in a vast illusion. The portal spun like it would close, locking his psyche within its deep confines, and Hazel flooded the snake with golden divination. The snake stood paralyzed, his body and wound resealed by the lingering purple potion.
He twitched. Hazel groaned, a single drop of golden blood seeping from her third eye. Minerva wrung her hands, and then snatched her wand back out – thinking the plan would not work. The seasoned witch paused at Hazel's voice. It was thick, ethereal, echoing as if from a far-off dream at the back of her mind.
"Don't worry, Mother. I have it under control."
Evervine and Marcel moved to position themselves around the immense snake. They both looked worried but maintained their posts to support their friend.
Suddenly Hazel screamed. She was thrown back by a sudden psychic backlash. Marcel hissed; Minerva blurred into a streak of light to catch her. Evervine went headlong, running toward the prone guardian without any hesitation.
Hazel righted herself mid-air, arms snapping forward. Her wands pointed at the snake, crossing at the tips. Her eyes were now lightless, black pools; the third eye swirled with deep shadows. A stream of static light hissed from the wands—powerful magic that Hazel struggled to control. The wands trembled in her hands as if they did not want to touch each other – the wands from two different dimensions fighting for dominance.
Dense blackness streamed from her third eye. The three currents merged just before the serpent. "Don't… fight… me!" she roared, her voice a physical weight. The snake remained still, but his iridescent scales trembled as his spirit fought her dream-trap.
The two were locked in a mystical tug of war, destiny hanging by a single thread.