“Italics”
– Symbiote – Host or Telepathic communications
Sevesh
Lok Twin – Rite of Release
Blood of My Heart, Beloved of My Soul
Chapter 21
The Prophecy
of the All
Jack
O’Neill walked down the hall toward Daniel’s quarters. He didn’t have much hope
of finding him there, either, but he supposed he should look anyway. Turning a corner, he practically ran into
Merdwin and Daniel coming from the opposite direction. He stopped short and changed directions to
walk with them as they all came together.
“Colonel
O’Neill, good afternoon, or I should say, early evening,” Merdwin greeted him,
polite as always.
“Hey,
Mer, what are you two up to? Talking
over the briefing?” O’Neill greeted him
in return. He actually liked the alien
and had a lot of respect for him. He
even enjoyed talking to him about things besides battle tactics, but still hadn’t been able to get him to understand the finer points
of hockey. “Hi,
Daniel, how you doin?”
Daniel
nodded to him briefly, but didn’t offer any
comment. What could he say? Well, Jack, my life is a shambles right now,
but I’m all right?
Not likely.
“We
were actually discussing part of the briefing, Colonel, although I doubt if it was
the part that you were alluding to,” Merdwin answered, with a hint of a smile.
Jack
sighed, saying, “No, probably not. So,
what have you decided about the part you were discussing?” He asked, even though he wasn’t
sure he wanted to know.
“I
was explaining in more detail the entwining ceremony which Kataya and Lantash
participated in, and what it means in real terms to them.” Merdwin offered, “It is a very binding
ceremony. While they were apart, it
would not have interfered with their other relationships. Now that they are in close proximity to one
another, and each have bonded with another person, it
will cause some rather nasty side effects on both of them, but it will be much
worse for Kataya. We can only hope that
Lantash will agree to let me perform the Sevesh lok Twin soon.”
Reaching
Merdwin’s quarters, they entered and made themselves comfortable. Merdwin handed them each a glass of the
ever-present Wiccadian port, a drink they were all becoming quite fond of, and
waited before seating himself. Janet
would come get him when she was ready to depart.
A
knock on the door heralded the arrival of General Hammond, Teal’c, and Jacob
Carter. It had become obvious that
Merdwin was going to spend a great deal of time answering questions, and he had
decided that an informal gathering in his chamber might be the best course to
pursue. To that end, he had invited them
all here.
Since
then, Artereos had contacted him to tell him it was time to inform the affected
parties of the Prophecy, and tell them exactly who and what Kataya of
Cadwaellon and Samantha of the Tau’ri truly were. It was just as well he had called them all
together; however, it was also unfortunate that Kataya had not been able to
tell Samantha first. That was his fault,
and he would take the blame. At the
moment though, he needed to greet his guests, which he proceeded to do.
“Teal’c,
Selmak, General Carter, George, welcome.”
He handed each a glass of port, except for Teal’c, who had acquired a
definite preference for the Mead. Once
each man was taken care of, he seated himself comfortably.
“Kataya
is not here, Lord Merdwin?” Teal’c
asked.
“No, not at the moment, Teal’c.
I convinced her to try to rest, and Daniel managed to get her to lie
down in his quarters earlier. I expect
her to join us shortly, though.”
“Okay, so now that we are all here, what is
this sevenish thing?”
Jack wanted to know.
“It
is an ancient, pagan rite that is a Furling mating or bonding ceremony,
Colonel,” Merdwin replied. “To explain
it in the simplest way, the couple involved have their
auras and their blood entwined by a priest or priestess of the All. It is fully binding, but as I was saying,
earlier, it would not affect either party in any adverse way as long as they
were apart. The fact that Lantash and
Kataya never performed the Sevesh lok Twin is unfortunate in the
extreme. The <i>Sevesh lok Twin</i> is
the releasing of the binding.”
Jacob
Carter spoke up, “So, are you telling me that Lantash is married to Kataya?”
Merdwin
sighed. This was going to get very
complicated. “General Carter, I believe
you have had no contact with the Furling.
I am not aware of how much Selmak may have tried to explain to you about
the situation we are facing, but it is quite complex.”
“Yes,
he, Daniel, and Sam all tried to explain it to me earlier. What I still can’t
understand is why in the world you would mate in such a way if you know you
have a Soulmate? I don’t think any of
them ever were able to satisfactorily explain that part to me.”
“General…”
“You
may as well call me Jacob.”
Merdwin
bowed slightly. “Thank you. I am Merdwin.” He refilled his glass and passed the bottle
around, as he thought of how to explain the years of aloneness a Furling could
experience, if they did not take a Heartmate.
“Jacob,
the Furling are a very long-lived race.
We can live not decades, but centuries alone, if we do not meet and take
a Heartmate. Unlike you, death holds no
permanence for us. When we die, we have
the choice to be reborn in whatever form we choose.”
“We
are not the only species in the universe whose souls are reborn. All souls of all species are reborn in some
manner. Your own religions tell you so. If you put those teachings into what I am
telling you, the only difference is that we retain a physical body if we so
choose.”
“Our
beginnings are shrouded in the mists of time.
We know we come from the Soul, the All of the Universe.” He paused to take a sip of his port and to
think of how he was going to explain.
“When a new soul is born it is placed into a body of flesh, as you all
know. When a Furling dies, they only
remain “dead” until they are reborn
again. It is a complicated process, one
I am not sure I can explain. Suffice it
to say, depending on what they have chosen; it can take hours, years, or
decades, even centuries, for them to be reborn.”
“There
are a few souls, the First-born, that have never been reborn. That is, we never began again as a newborn,
an infant. We have great regenerative
powers, and our bodies renew themselves from the energy around us. All Furlings have the ability to regenerate
themselves, but only the First-born were born with both the knowledge of the
All, and the power of the Universe, already within us. We can contain much more life force, life
energy than those not of the First-born.
The others must learn life’s lessons through life quests, and they must
learn to pull in and harness the power of the universe to regenerate themselves."
"The
priests and priestesses at Avilion keep our Furling bodies for our souls to
re-inhabit. All Furlings have this
option, but young souls usually prefer to be reborn, as they were not born with
the knowledge of the First-born, and must learn it through centuries of life
quests. There are, as one would expect,
exceptions to that, and Kataya is one of them.
She stepped into the fire and forged her soul as a very young woman and,
therefore, she has always been reborn as she is now, fully grown and with
complete recall of all life lessons learned.
Her path was set before her, before she was ever born, if—if she chose
to accept it, which she did."
"Of
the First-born, Artereos is the eldest.
I am second born and I have never been reborn. There are others of course, but only a few
with which you need to be concerned They are Morgasha, Llancellon, and possibly Aelfwyna and
Dayilwin. There may be others; that is
yet to be seen.”
“All
of the First-born have lived through many lives, in many places. Artereos, I, and some other First-born
Furling have been here, on the world of the Tau’ri, in the past. At our last living here, it was also
prophesied by the All that we would return here to help to defend this
world. This prophecy is now coming to
pass, as I will tell you later.”
“The
kits born of the First-born are also considered ancient ones. Daniel and Kataya are two of those. There are some, however, who are not
considered ancient ones, and we will speak more of them anon.”
“Daniel? Our Daniel?” Jack sat up straight in his chair and stared
at Daniel.
“Yes,
Daniel Jackson’s soul and life force is of the ancient ones of the
Furling. Do not confuse us with the
Ancients, who are a different race. He
and Kataya have been mates since their first living. He has an insatiable curiosity, which has led
him to be reborn as a kit, er, infant, into almost
every species we have come across. Sometimes more than once.
It has had some very inconvenient consequences; however, all souls may
choose, so he has been allowed to return as whatever and wherever he
wishes.” He frowned as he looked at
Daniel. Shaking off his thoughts on the
inconveniences Daniel’s penchant for being reborn had caused, he turned back to
Jacob’s question.
“To
return to your original question, Jacob, the answer lies
in the fact that even though we may choose to be reborn, the rebirth may not be
immediate, nor is there a guarantee that the Soulmates will find each
other. It has been over five hundred
years since Daniel and Kataya were last in the same place at the same
time. Should Kataya live alone for that
many years while she waited for them to be in the same time and space?” He stared moodily into his port for a moment
before continuing. “I think not.”
“You
should know from your own life how many times you can love someone. If you can love so many in your short span of
time, then why would you think we would do less?” Again, he paused, thinking of how best to
continue.
“The
truth is that we often do go much longer than you. Kataya mated with Lantash almost two hundred
years ago, yet she has not mated again since they parted. I am not saying she has not had lovers. Just as you can love enough to have a lover,
but not enough to, I believe, marry, is what you term it, we do the same. To actually take a
mate means we must love passionately and deeply. Our rites and rituals and their consequences
insure that we take a mate only in the case where that is true.”
“For
us, the term take a mate is a bonding of the soul and the heart. We also use the word to describe the sexual
act, however when the word is used to indicate a bonded pair or,” he indicated
the Tau’ri there, “a married pair, it is the soul and heart mates that we refer
to.”
“So,
are Kataya and Lantash married? I
suppose so, but in our society, a Soulmate takes precedence over the Heartmate,
even a bonded one. In terms that you
would understand, Kataya and Lantash need to get a physical divorce.
“For
some reason, Lantash has refused the Sevesh
lok Twin. I am not sure why nor am I
sure he understands it himself. I
believe that it has something to do with whatever happened in Bastet’s
stronghold, but since Kataya will not speak of it, I have no way of knowing if
that is true.” Merdwin immediately
became aware of the emotions coming from at least three of the men.
He
looked at each of them and stated. “So,
she has finally spoken of what happened, but she still refuses to tell
me.” He sighed deeply, “If only this was
straight-forward.”
“What
do you mean, Merdwin?” Daniel
asked. “How is it not straight-forward
other than you not knowing what happened there?”
A
knock sounded on the door, and Kataya entered the room. She closed the door and went to Daniel who
greeted her and made room for her to sit with him. He brushed her temple with a light kiss and
placed his arm around her. She looked
fragile to him.
Merdwin
continued after greeting her and handing her some port. “There are things going on that need to be
revealed to all of you. I was only
waiting for orders from Artereos to disclose them to you. I received those just a short time ago.”
Kataya
looked at Merdwin as she said, “I have not yet spoken to Samantha. If you tell them, they must swear to keep the
information to themselves and, since one of them is her father,
that may not be possible. I will
be the one to explain it to her, Merdwin, the consequences are too important
for us to make a mistake now.”
“My
orders are to inform those who would be capable of understanding and who will
be in a position to need the information.
That includes everyone in this room, including Jacob Carter. However, your objection is valid, as well.”
Daniel
watched her face become stony. She
nodded at Merdwin. “Then do so.”
He
nodded, and turned to Jacob Carter. “I
must have your word that you will not reveal anything to Samantha. Kataya is correct; it is her place to tell
her. If you cannot agree, then I will
not be able to disclose the information to you at this time or Selmak will take
control until Samantha has been informed.”
“Can
I ask a question first before I agree to this or leave?”
“Certainly.”
“We’re
facing something bigger than enslavement of earth by a System Lord named Bastet
aren’t we?”
“Yes. We are.”
“In
that case, I’d like to know what, and I will agree to your terms, if you
can assure me that my daughter is not going to be hurt by my keeping this to
myself.”
Kataya
answered him, “I give you my word that Samantha will not be hurt if you keep
this information to yourself, General Carter.
I cannot otherwise guarantee her safety, though, anymore than I can that
of anyone else. Samantha and I would
have talked already if things had worked out differently. However, it is well that she has this night
with Lantash and Martouf. Our talk can
wait.”
“Very
well, I agree,” he said slowly. “Now,
just what is it that we are facing?”
Merdwin
looked at the faces around him. Somehow,
he had to say this so that they would understand what was about to take place,
and realize that the futures of their entire races hung in
the balance.
He
sighed deeply again and then started to speak, “The one you know as Bastet has
joined with a host who is, in fact, a First-born Furling with a thirst for
vengeance, domination, and bloodshed.
She is evil incarnate, and her thirst will not be appeased, until she
can destroy us, or we destroy her. Her
true target is Artereos and the light that is the All. By taking this, one of his favored homes of
all the worlds where he has lived and ruled, she would be striking a blow at
him and, of course, through him, the light that is the All. The First-born are not only born of the All,
we and the Katteri-enti are also the Guardians of the All.”
“Her
wish to eliminate the Tok’Ra is from the Goa’uld she chose and talked into
joining with her, Bastet. Her venom is
potent and other than Artereos, myself, and a few others of the First-born,
there are only two beings that can defeat her.”
“She
will not fight Artereos, or so we have found, any of those First-born, as she
knows she would lose. She has the
ability to sense the other First-born Furling, as all First-born can, so no
other First-born, such as Artereos, or I, can get close enough to strike against
her.”
“In
order to stop her, the other two beings must be called upon. One has been hidden here among the Tau’ri,
this time. The other sits among
you. She has been hidden for millennia
among the races of the universe. None have been allowed to see her true power or her most powerful
form. Kataya was named Kataya
Morna’Catira to us. She is known to the
All as Kataya Morna’Catira Drawyn.
In their separate forms, they translate into pure strength, beloved
warrior, and dragon. When put together,
they mean…Dragon of the Fire. Slayer of the Blood. There is a prophecy from the myst-time, the time of the
beginnings of the first souls that we believe is now coming to pass.”
He
looked at Daniel and a private communication passed between the two. Daniel remembered the
“What
does this prophecy say?” Jack asked.
Merdwin smiled slightly at him. “I will tell you what it says;”
“And
into the Universe, a Darkness shall come, and it shall
be pure evil. And
the evil will take unto it a species of Small Dragons who are also evil in
their own right; and the Small Dragons will have multiplied and spread
throughout the worlds of the Universe.
The peoples of the light of the Universe shall be conquered and put into
slavery of the species of the small dragons.”
“And
the evil shall become a dragon, at last, and as this beast, it will try to
extinguish the light of the Universe and bring darkness unto the All. Much blood shall be shed throughout the
universe before the beast is conquered.”
“And
to triumph over the Beast, the All shall bring forth two souls; The Dragon of
the Fire and the Dragon of the Star. And
when the time of the Great Battle is come, then shall The Dragon of the Fire
and the Dragon of the Star be called one to the other in this place, and they
shall intertwine and bond to ready for the Great Battle.”
“And
then also, shall be called unto this place the Great Warriors. They will come from their different places
across the Universe. And there shall be
Warriors of the Peoples of the Light of the Universe. And there shall be Warriors of the Species of
the Small Dragons whose hearts are filled with goodness instead of evil. And there shall be Warriors of the Soul of
the Universe, the All.”
“And
the Warriors of these Three Races shall join with the Fire Dragon and the Star
Dragon in the Great
“And
the blood of the Dragons shall be shed upon the soil and from the fire we shall
rise again and shine.”
“And
the Warriors of the Light of the Universe would be?” General Hammond asked.
“The
People of the Light of the Universe are the Tau’ri, George, and all of the
humans that have been transplanted and enslaved by the Goa’uld,” Merdwin
replied.
“But,
doesn’t that mean we are still just facing an invasion by a system lord? I thought you said it was worse than that,” Jacob commented.
“She
is a First-born soul of the All, a First-born Furling. Her power is formidable. It is very difficult to kill a First-born;
they have too much regenerative power within themselves. If she wins this battle, Jacob, there will be
no stopping her. It will mean the extinction
of life here on earth, not just enslavement, as well as the end of any hope for
the human race in this galaxy. Once she
wins here, she will go into hiding for fear of Artereos, but it will be too
late for earth and the Tok’Ra. She will
simply await a chance to strike somewhere else.
The universe is a vast place in which to hide.”
“If
the First-born Furlings are so powerful, why haven’t they cleaned up the
Goa’uld by now?” Jack asked Merdwin the
same question he had put to Thor.
The
answer was much the same as the one that Thor gave, “Even we cannot simply wipe
out a planet or a race, Jack. Do not
forget we have been waging a war against them for millennia. There are very few First-born and, although
there are more Katteri-enti, their numbers are few
against the much greater numbers of the Goa’uld. Many of our souls are spread throughout the
universe with other species, and none of those are
Katteri-enti Warriors. Furthermore,
although Morgasha, or Bastet, would like to believe we are; we are not
gods.”
"Just
how many First-born are there, Merdwin?
You keep saying there are too few, but how many is too few?" Jack persisted.
Merdwin
smiled wryly, and shook his head before answering, knowing it would be a
shock. "There are thirty-two of us,
Jack, that were given power and knowledge by the All. Of those thirty-two, there were sixteen
lineages and those sixteen were given the tasks of defending the All and
ensuring the well-being of our people.
The other sixteen were brothers and sisters of the heads of the lineages
and they were free to choose their own paths.
Thankfully, almost all of them chose to join us in our battles against
the evils of the universe. For that we
are grateful."
"Thirty-two.
Thirty-two, but only sixteen were warriors. I guess you weren't
kidding when you said there were too few of you to wipe out the Goa'uld. I should have listened to Thor the first
time. I'm glad there are more Katteri-enti, Mer."
Merdwin
smiled slightly. "So are we,
Jack. If you have no more questions, I
will continue to explain about Morgasha/Bastet."
"Crap. Is she one of the Sixteen?"
"Not
exactly, although she is part of the thirty-two, which means she has the same
power. As I said, the first sixteen were
the heads of their lineages. The others
were brothers and sisters of the first sixteen;
although, not all of us have siblings. I
do not have any siblings that were of the First-born, but there are others in
my lineage. They were all born much
later; therefore, they are not considered First-born. Our society is rather complicated, but if you
wish for more information, perhaps we can discuss it later. If you have no objection, I should probably
return to the discussion of Morgasha/Bastet.”
Jack
nodded, “You’re right. So, what else can
you tell us about her?”
“Since
she will not come out into the open to battle Artereos, these events were set
into motion millennia ago by the All.
When it was realized that Morgasha would become true evil, the All
directed the Soul Spinners to spin a new soul taken from the souls of Artereos
the Great Warrior and Gwynnivar, the Wiccadian Enchantress, who is a spirit
soul. It was born of them, and it was
given unto them as a kit, one of two, which is the way of all Furling births. The soul was named by the All, and it was
known to the All as Kataya Morna’Catira Drawyn.”
“The
soul, not being of the First-born, and moreover, sharing of a Wiccadian spirit
soul, is not detectable by Morgasha, and so, she was hidden for millennia
amongst the different species, as she attained her power and abilities.”
“When
the time was right, the All brought forth the second soul to guarantee the
prophecy would be fulfilled, and that Morgasha would not succeed. That soul was spun from the soul of Llancellon,
one of the greatest warriors of the First-born, and the spirit soul of
Gwynnivar the Wiccadian Enchantress.”
“Also
spun into the second soul were threads of The Soul, which is the one who is
known as Kataya Morna’Catira, so that at the proper time they would be called,
one to the other, and they would bond in the way of spirit twins, which they
are.”
“It
was born of Gwynnivar and her Heartmate, Llancellon. And the second soul
was named by the All, and it was that CsillaBellawyna Morna’Catira known to the
All as CsillaBellawyna Morna’Catira Drawyn was born. In their separate forms, they mean beautiful
star, beloved warrior, and dragon. When
put together they mean…Dragon of the Star.
Slayer of the Blood.”
Merdwin
drew a very deep breath. This would be
the greatest revelation, and therefore, the greatest shock. “To us, she is
Csilla; to you, she is known as Samantha.”
There
was a stunned silence before General Hammond cleared his throat and asked, “If
she is one of the old souls, why is she here?
Why did she choose to come here?”
“We
believe that both Samantha and Daniel were called here at this time to fulfill
the prophecy. No doubt, the same applies
to Martouf and Lantash. However,
Samantha is not an old soul. She is very
young and has been living less than fifteen hundred years.”
“Martouf
and Lantash have been called here not only because they are Tok’Ra, but because
they are the mates of The Souls. Furling
Soulmates do not necessarily have to be Furling. Gwynnivar is Wiccadian and she was Artereos’s
mate. The All takes them once they mate
with us, so they then become as one with us and have the same choices we have
when they die.”
“We
were not aware the time of the prophecy was near until recently. Kataya did not suspect when she first met
Samantha. When she realized her power,
she thought she was just an older soul that had chosen to be reborn here as
Daniel has.”
“However,
the mirror was showing both of us the three dragons. Artereos was only seeing two of them, the
Fire and the Blood. This was disturbing
to all of us. However, after the first
time Kataya helped Samantha join with the universe, he also saw the Star. He believes that Kataya or Samantha could
defeat Bastet alone regardless of what the prophecy says. Unfortunately, if we cannot convince Lantash
to perform the Sevesh lok Twin, we
may find out if Artereos is correct.”
“Why? What does that have to do with it? I thought you said they would be able to
function as warriors regardless, Merdwin.
They would simply put their emotions aside for the time being.” Jack brought up the earlier statements
Merdwin had made to General Hammond.
“What
he means Colonel O’Neill, is that if we do not go through the ceremony of Sevesh lok Twin, I will be forced to leave
and go to Avilion.”
“We
can put the emotions aside, Colonel, it is the physical side affects that I
cannot counter. The Sevesh lok Twin should have been done long
ago. My only excuse is that, at the
time, neither of us wanted to believe I would not be returning to him. It was a form of denial, I suppose."
“If I remain here with Lantash in close
proximity now that both he and I have bonded and mated with another, and we do
not perform the Sevesh lok Twin, I
could die. I do not believe that will happen. I believe that between Samantha and I, he will agree to the rite.” Kataya made the statement very calmly, but
Daniel seemed to stop breathing.
“Why?” He asked in a shocked voice. Damn, that he only could remember some things
and not others. He had to stop being
reborn this way if it was true he could choose.
“Why would you die just because you mated with me?”
“It
is not something we speak of with other species, Daniel,” She stated firmly
“But,
I’m not really of another species am I?
At least, I won’t be once I die, so there is no reason you can’t tell
me.”
“It
is not a secret, Daniel.” Merdwin spoke
up. He ignored the frown Kataya turned
on him. “It is simply something we don’t
speak of.” Merdwin knew that Kataya
would not leave Daniel or the situation no matter what she said. Someone would have to convince Lantash to go
through the ceremony, and perhaps that someone was Daniel. With this thought in mind, he said bluntly.
“Kataya
is bleeding even now, Daniel. Her heart
is bleeding and it will continue. Right
now, she is able to reabsorb the blood, but as it becomes worse, she will begin
to bleed in ways that are more obvious.
It will continue to worsen the longer it goes before they perform the
ceremony or one of them leaves. There is
no guarantee that one of them leaving would stop it, now that it has
started. There is every possibility that
only at Avilion would she survive, and then it would take extensive healing
sessions before it could be stopped.”
“What
is happening to Lantash, Merdwin?”
General Hammond, who had been a mostly silent observer, spoke up.
“He
will begin to experience pain around his heart.
It will take longer to manifest, and it will become worse much more
slowly."
“Merdwin,
I have a question,” Selmak suddenly spoke up.
“What
is it, old friend?” Merdwin answered
him.
“If
Kataya is one of the ancients of your race that explains how she managed to get
Lantash out alive. It explains the
puzzlement of the others that were with her.
They all thought she should have died.
It does not explain why only Lantash survived that incident.”
Kataya
turned to him and answered for Merdwin, “Had Merdwin been there, we might have
been able to save them both. The battle
to get to them was fierce, Selmak. All
of us were sorely depleted. Only my
ability to tap into the universe at will saved Lantash. However, even I could not channel enough life
force to keep both of them alive, as badly as they were injured. As it was, Lantash was so near death, that he
was given some life force at Avilion.
Dominic was beyond my help, Selmak.
I am sorry.”
“Why
will you not tell us what happened there, Kataya? Surely it has been long enough by now that
you can finally speak of it?” Daniel
held his breath as he watched how bleak Kataya’s face became. Knowing the self-hatred she felt over the
incident, he couldn’t sit by and do nothing as she was questioned.
“I
don’t think it’s really important this long after the fact,” he said
suddenly.
Kataya
placed her hand on his arm. “It is all
right, Daniel, perhaps it is time they knew who and what I truly am.”
“You
have nothing for which to blame yourself, Kataya. No one faced with your choice would have done
differently unless it was to have both of them die,” Teal’c spoke to her.
“Thank
you Teal’c. I appreciate the support,
but I do blame myself. If I had only
been stronger, I could have saved both.
Had I been willing to defy the restraints placed upon me, I could have
saved them both. I should have been
stronger, more willing to break the rules placed upon me. I was too weak and for that, I, and only I,
am at fault.”
Turning
to Selmak, she said, in a voice devoid of emotion, “I killed Dominic and
removed Lantash with my own hands. I
took what was left of Dominic’s life force, so that he would die a quicker
death. I did not have enough life force
to save them both. You cannot blame me
more than I blame myself, Selmak.”
“I
hope you will all forgive our deceit. My
true abilities have been hidden for millennia from everyone, including our own
people, except for a very, very, select few.
Even my own children do not know what I am, although they will soon know
due to this mission. I have known since
my first living what my eventual destiny would be, and I have been trained to
take my place as a Dragon of the All, ever since I can remember. Samantha has not been told, as you know, and
she will have a choice of accepting this or not. I made my choice and stepped into the fire
more millennia ago than I can remember.”
Kataya
sighed, and for the first time, many of those in the room saw her for what she
really was; A truly ancient being weighed down by the sorrow and the knowledge
of the ages, yet still believing the good in the universe worth the pain and
sorrow that she gathered on the way. She
was a Warrior, and there was no doubt she would fight this next battle, just as
she had fought all the other battles that she had been called into down through
the ages.
Pulling
herself from her reverie, she began giving them more information, “For all
Bastet knows, the souls of the prophecy, the Dragons of the Fire and the Star,
have not been born yet. It is imperative
that she remain in ignorance of both Samantha’s existence and mine. Because of this, I must limit my abilities to
what a normal Katteri-enti can do.”
“I
should not have been able to save Lantash, but I did, and it was eventually
explained to those who questioned it, as a result of my being a Priestess of
the Soul, which I am, but that would not have been enough to save him. Any who asked would not know that however,
and so it passed as gossip does. Of
course, those at Avilion in the orders knew it was not true, but they did not
speak of it, and so the secret was not revealed.”
“In
order to tap into the power that would have saved Dominic, I would have had to
reveal myself in my true spirit form, and that I was bound not to do. The truth is that, even though I lament my
inability to defy the restraints placed upon me, I would do the same
again. I would not reveal myself for
anyone,” she said, somewhat bitterly, as she looked at Daniel, “either now or
then. The consequences would be too
great if I was discovered.”
“General
Carter, I understand that this is a shock to you. Although Samantha suspects something, she
also will be shocked by what I must reveal to her. She may refuse to follow this path, which she
has the right to do. I doubt that she
will though. I cannot begin to
understand your feelings, but I am sorry you had to learn of this here, instead
of from her. She is and always will be
your daughter, Jacob Carter; nothing has changed in that respect. That her soul is Furling does not mean she
was not born of your flesh. She was and
is in every way your flesh and blood.”
As
she finished speaking, she kissed Daniel lightly and smiled slightly at him, as
she stood. “Please do not follow me,
Daniel, I wish to be alone now. I will
wish you all goodnight. I am sure
Merdwin can answer any questions you might have,” She said, before she quickly
left the room.
Behind
her, there was no sound until finally, Jacob cleared his throat. “I’m sure the information about Sam is gonna hit me eventually, but right now it just doesn’t seem
quite real, so I’m gonna ask the other question that
keeps popping into my head. “Did she
just say she killed her mate? Selmak is
pretty upset. Not, he says, because she
did it, but because of how it has affected her.”
“Yes,”
Daniel said, “she did.”
“I
should have known, of course,” Merdwin said.
“Only something of that magnitude could have caused her to be so ill for
so long. Our puzzlement is finally
answered. You see, her father and I
could not understand her being so close to death, knowing that she would only
have to be alone and tap into her power to heal. That she was dying was her choice, which made
no sense at the time, even with Dominic gone.
She loved him very much, but not enough to cause her to let herself
choose death.”
Merdwin
sighed as he closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Opening them, he saw the questioning looks
being sent his way and answered them.
“Since she would not tap into her greatest power to save Dominic, she
would not allow herself to tap into it to save herself. I am surprised she survived it
unscathed.” He turned to look across at
Daniel. “You are the only one she has
ever loved more than she loved the two of them, Daniel.”
“She
didn’t survive unscathed,” Daniel said, flatly.
“She hates herself for what she considers a failure on her part. What she didn’t tell you is that she couldn’t
have saved Dominic as a normal Katteri or even in the more powerful state she
used. It wasn’t just that she couldn’t
save them both. She couldn’t save
Dominic at all. He was too badly
hurt. He would have died anyway and
taken Lantash with him. Dominic asked
her to kill him and at least save Lantash.
According to what she told me, Lantash had been blended with him for
well over four hundred years, and he loved him very much. She never wanted Lantash to know what had
happened.”
“Lantash
should be told. All these years, I think
he has believed that she had a choice and chose him, knowing he would have
chosen to let Dominic live,” Jacob had stepped back and it was Selmak who
spoke. “Over a hundred years, and she is
only now telling us what happened. Now,
I also see why the others would not speak of it either. For her to have to kill her mate as
Katteri-enti and take his life force in that way…” He left his comment hanging,
but Merdwin suddenly looked as if he had seen the light.
“At
least now, we have another piece of the puzzle of why she was so ill. When she took Dominic’s life force and soul,
she held it separate and sustained it as well as Lantash. That’s the only explanation that makes
sense. The drain on her, both physically
and mentally, would have been tremendous.
And the strain on her soul would have been even greater. To hold a soul and sustain it in such a
manner is extremely difficult when one is at full energy levels. To do so, as depleted as she was, would cause
what we saw at the time.”
“Although
Kataya is a soul Priestess, she was also sustaining Lantash’s body and
soul. No wonder the others had to
channel for her. Even tapped into the
Universe, as she no doubt was, it would have taken everything she had to do
that. Only her true spirit form would
have been able to do it without the results we saw, and she could not use
it.”
“The Priests and Priestesses at Avilion knew. And they also knew something else that we now know; we now know that a soul was given to Lantash. She took Dominic’s life force, but she also took his soul, and she gave it to them to give to Lantash.” He frowned and then shook his head. “But, why would Kataya not tell Lantash that? It makes no sense. She had to have known that Lantash would feel completed knowing he had Dominic’s soul. Knowing that only Dominic’s physical self was gone and that he lived on in Lantash.”
“Would,
perhaps, Dominic have preferred that Lantash not know? Did you not say earlier that a non-furling
mate would be taken into the All at their death? Would he fear that Lantash would take his own
life, thinking that it would free his soul to return to the All and thence to a
new life?” Teal’c asked quietly into the
silence that had fallen as each contemplated this puzzle.
“If
she gave her word as a Warrior, she wouldn’t break it,” Jack O’Neill’s tone was
decisive. “Does that scenario make sense
to anyone besides Teal’c and I?”
“It
makes sense if that is what he would have thought and done,” General Hammond
agreed.
Selmak
looked thoughtful and then finally gave his opinion, “Yes, it is possible that
Lantash might have done that, considering the mental pain and anguish he was in
over Dominic’s death. The two of them
had a very special bond from having been together so long and they were
perfectly suited to one another. Much as
he and Martouf are now. If I did not
know that it was not possible, I would believe that Martouf contains parts of
Dominic’s soul. They are very much alike
in many ways; their love of Lantash is not the least.”
“Kataya
would not tell him or anyone what had happened there, and no one else would
talk of it either. All she would ever
say was that it was too painful to discuss, and that she had done all she could
under the circumstances. Lantash loved
her enough he did not really dig deeply because of the distress it caused them
both. However, I believe that enough
time has passed, and he has enough to live for now that he could hear the truth
without adverse affects. I believe she
should tell him.”
“She
cannot. She gave her word to
Dominic. It would be a breach of her
honor and the love she had for him to do so.
But, why would Lantash think that him dying would release Dominic to the
all?” Merdwin spoke up.
“Lantash
would believe that Dominic’s soul became a part of the All at his death. He would know that, as
Kataya’s mate, the All would take him at his
death. If it did not go to the All, then
his would and, therefore, if he killed himself then their soul would go to the
All, and he probably believed he could get Dominic’s released from his.”
Selmak
stated, “Kataya knew that, and she would have known that in his distraught
state, it was possible he would take his own life in order to try to release
Dominic's soul to the All and thence to a new life,” Selmak clarified his
thinking for them.
“Has
it occurred to anyone that maybe she didn’t tell anyone because she hated
herself, and she believed that if Lantash knew what had happened, then he would hate her, too?
That maybe she just couldn’t take the chance because she loved him so
much? And with what Merdwin has just
told us, she couldn’t truthfully explain it to anyone other than her father or
Merdwin. Take that into consideration
and the fact that she promised Dominic she wouldn’t tell him, and I think we
have plenty of reason for her to keep it to herself,” Daniel said quietly.
“I
think those are very good points, Daniel,” General Hammond spoke up. “We can sit here and speculate all day, but
the only two people who really know what they would have thought aren’t
here. I agree that it’s time someone
told Lantash what happened.”
“Well,
Kataya cannot if she promised not to; however, there are now others in this
room who know what took place at that time.
There is nothing to stop one of us from telling him.”
“I’m
afraid there is, Merdwin. SG1 and I
agreed we wouldn’t tell him,” General Hammond spoke up.
“That’s
not exactly true, General. Carter told
her she’d contact us and tell us not to.
I can’t say we all told her we wouldn’t, even if we did say okay, when
Carter told us,” Jack replied.
“I’d
say that in fact you might not have agreed, but in spirit you did. And we do tend to
value honor a great deal, so I will not ask you to betray her, even though it
is something that needs done. There are
others of us who have not agreed to keep quiet to Lantash.”
Finally,
Merdwin turned to Jacob Carter and Selmak.
“I hate to volunteer someone, but in truth, Selmak, you and Jacob would
be the best ones for the job. Lantash
has only ever seen me as a rival for Kataya’s affections, and everyone else
here is honor-bound to Kataya not to reveal what they know to anyone. That leaves you. You know Lantash and Martouf better than
anyone here, and you are soon to be related to him.”
“Very
well. I believe I need as much
information as possible as to what Dominic said to Kataya at the time,” Selmak
paused, clearly in conversation with Jacob.
“Does anyone know what was said, or am I going to have to try to get
Kataya to reveal that to me?” It was
obvious he found this a distasteful option.
Lost
in thought, Daniel didn’t realize at first that everyone was looking at
him. “What? I thought it was agreed that I couldn’t do
it,” he stated somewhat hurriedly.
“Jacob
wants to know what Dominic said to Kataya.
I know he talked to her, but I don’t remember what he said, do you,
Daniel?” Jack looked across at his
friend and wondered how much more of this emotional hell he could take before
he came apart. He wouldn’t
ask for help, though. He and Teal’c
would keep an eye on him, he thought to himself.
“I
doubt if I’ll ever forget it. Dominic
begged her to save, as we now know, Lantash.
Lantash was too weak to leave Dominic’s body, let alone take a new
host. Dominic always called Lantash his other
half and he pleaded with her to save his other half.”
“What
she didn’t mention, when we were all there together that night, that she told
me later was that Lantash and Dominic had been together so long that they truly
loved one another deeply. So, what Dominic actually said to her was save my other
half, my beloved [Lantash]. He told
her, “We have lived as one, and we have
loved as one. I do not wish to die as
one and leave you and him
forever. You can save him, and I shall
live on in him and love you both always.
Kataya, adored of my heart,
please do this one last act for us with your own
hands.”
“Another
part she didn’t tell all of us was that he also said, “You have the power to sustain my soul and
to see to it that I live on as Lantash.
Take my soul to Avilion, do not let it leave
for the All. I choose to be born again,
into my beloved’s soul. But, you must promise me you will not tell him. He must never know that I could not survive
for him in the end, or that you killed me and did not
let my soul go to the All. Swear to me
as Katteri-enti, Kataya.”
“He
was in a great deal of pain and was slowly dying so, in the end, she did as he
wished. She slit his throat, killed him,
took the last of his life force into herself, and removed Lantash, who was also
dying. She held him in her arms and
sustained him with her own life force until they could get to Avilion. The Katteri and the Wiccadian had to channel
energy to her several times on the journey to the gate. She told me her grief was so intense that she
would have died with him.”
“I
believe it is the truth; she would have died with him before she let them die
without her. What she concealed from us
was the fact that an ordinary Katteri-enti could not have done what she did at
all. But, evidently, somehow Dominic
knew she had more power than a normal Katteri.
Or, perhaps, he knew what level of Priestess she was and assumed she
could sustain his soul in that manner, just as others who were told that
believed it.”
By
the time Daniel had given his opinion and finished reciting the words that he
thought were burned into his brain for all time, his jaw was rigid and his
voice hoarse. It was obvious that he was
under a great strain and in a good deal of emotional pain. Even so, he commented. “Now, we also know that she feared what
Lantash would do if he found out. If our
speculation is correct, and Lantash had taken his own life, she would have had
even more hatred for herself than she already does. I don’t think she would have survived it.”
As
each man thought that over, and all agreed, Selmak spoke up, with a gentle
suggestion, “Although Kataya said not to follow her, I do not believe she
should be alone, Daniel.”
“I
have to agree,” Merdwin said
“As
do I,” Teal’c gave his opinion.
Using
a phrase often used by Daniel, Jack looked at him and said, “If we’re taking a
vote, I agree with them.”
Nodding
his head, Daniel said his goodnights and made his way to his room. He knew that the men he left behind each had
enough to think about, and that, after some discussion, they would all leave
for their own homes and quarters.
As for himself, he just wanted to be with his mate. His footsteps quickened as he hurried down the hall.
TBC