Legacy

Prologue

Theirs was a romance forbidden. The child born from their union had all the passionate fire of his father, and the calm reserve of his mother. His beauty was unparalleled. However, enraged and jealous by her husband's betrayal, the Fire Sprit cursed the child with skin as blue as the darkest ocean and tusks of pearlescent white. She stripped the boy of his claim to her husband's domain, feeling only hate for the bastard child.

Embarrassed by her son's curse, and fearing more retaliation from the Fire Spirit, the Ocean Spirit took her son and fled to the human world. Yet, the boy's grotesque disfigurement was met with fear and scorn. The Ocean Spirit and her son traveled to village after village, seeking solace from the threat of fire. Distraught at the constant rejection, the woman cried out to her lover beseeching his aid.

The Sun Spirit came swiftly on beams of light and caressed hit lover's face, promising her everything she desired. As the Sun Spirit turned to greet his child, he was stunned at the boy's face. Not knowing of his wife's retaliation, he believed their forbidden tryst had produced a deformed child. Refusing to set aside his pride, the Sun Spirit left, providing only fire to keep the small family alive.

The Ocean Spirit, aching from her lover's abandonment, was overcome with despair and pain. She began to neglect her duties as the boy's protector and mother, and fell into a state of grief. The young boy was forced to hunt and steal provisions from nearby villages in order to care for his mother. They fell into a comfortable routine—at least as comfortable as one can be secluded in the woods. The boy, at the beginnings of adolescence, built a shelter with two rooms, filling his mother's with fine rugs and trinkets. Though a far cry from their home in the Spirit World, it was enough.

One day the young man, tall and strong, returning with a pair of beautiful silk slippers for his mother was surprised to find her missing. He called out for her, though he received no answer. Pacing frantically around the perimeter of their camp, he stopped as he heard the faint sound of water splashing. He turned, following the sound to the banks of the lake he fished from. He saw his mother, sitting on a rock gently kicking her feet in the water.

"Mother, there you are. I was worried." He began to slowly take his shoes off, keeping his eyes on the dazed woman. He followed her gaze for a moment, not surprised to find it on the Moon. The young man walked into the water reaching his hands out.

"Mother, let's go back. I brought you a present."

"The Moon is full tonight. Isn't it lovely?" Her face glowed in the soft moonlight.

"Yes, mother. Come, you must be hungry." He slipped on a rock, plunging underneath the surface, coming up sputtering and cursing.

"I'll eat later. I want to bathe first." Finally her gaze fell to him, amusement tilting the corners of her mouth upward. "I'd like some privacy."

Blushing, the young man gave a sharp nod and turned back. "I won't be too far if you need me."

She laughed softly, "I won't."

He was several yard past the edge of the woods when he heard a voice. A male voice. He stopped, his shoulders ridged, his hand searching for his swords. Their conversation was too low for him to hear clearly. He walked around the bend, his steps silent. A man with tanned skin stood in the water, his hand caressing the skin behind his mother's knee. His hair, a veil of pure white, was pulled into a high topknot, his robes a cascading pale blue. The water around his waist tossed and turned as if being pushed and pulled simultaneously.

"Let me love you." His mother sighed softly, wrapping her arms around the man's shoulders she pressed her lips to his. "Yes." He pulled her into the water, holding her close. The boy turned his head, cheeks warm, embarrassed by the sight and sounds of their panting breaths. He walked back to camp, humiliated and angry.

Hours trickled by before the woman's return. The change in her countenance was obvious, her face still flushed with heat.

"Took you long enough." She smiled at her son, ignoring his reprimand.

"Where is this gift you mentioned before?" He picked up the parcel and placed it firmly in her hands. His mother opened the package delicately, her breath catching at the sight of the deep blue silk. "Oh, my darling, they are beautiful. Wherever did you find the fabric?" She brushed her feet clean then slipped them into the soft shoes.

"I stumbled across some merchants. Do you like them?" She stood and embraced him.

"I love them, thank you." She kissed his cheeks—the boy cringed from the image of his mother and the man in the water.

The secret meetings between his mother and the mystery man continued for months, always on the night of a full moon. He wanted to question his mother, demand she tell him the identity of the man, but that would mean admitting his invasion of her privacy. After a year of hiding his knowledge of her tryst, the young man was anxiously waiting for his mother's return. 'She's late,' he thought. Trusting his mother would eventually return, the young man allowed himself to doze.

When the sun's warm rays fell on his face, he awoke, looking over to his mother's room. His heart stopped. Her door was ajar, the curtains gently swaying with the breeze. "Mother," he whispered. He pushed through the door; sure it had been closed when he drifted to sleep. A white water lily lay elegantly against her pillow, a roll of parchment placed beside it.

Darling child,

I have neglected my responsibilities as the Ocean Spirit for far too long. I must return to the spirit world and fulfill my duties. I hope that one day you will join me, when your birth has been forgotten. Until that day, I wish you every happiness. You are a man now. Be strong. Marry a girl with blue eyes. Be yourself.

My love, my heart, my son, I will love you always.

Mother

The man wandered for months, retracing the steps he took with his mother, not knowing how to cross the bridge to the spirit world, not knowing how to find her. He was dazed, hurt, and confused. It was reaching the first village the pair sought refuge from on the night of a full moon that sent him over the edge. He ransacked the village, killing ever woman, child and man—leaving a river of blood so thick and potent it is was smelt in the Spirit World.

"We meet again bastard child of my husband."

He didn't need to turn to know who spoke. The Fire Spirit's voice was forever engrained in his memory.

"You did this to me!" He brought down his broad sword in a sweeping arc, tensing when the blade cut through her like smoke.

She laughed. "Such anger. There is no doubt of your lineage. What's wrong? You look a little blue."

"You evil witch. You're behind everything! It's all your fault. Remove thi—"

"No, you're mother is at fault here. She seduced my husband and bore him a child. She brought this curse on you herself. Such a union is forbidden; regardless he already belonged to me." She circled around him, taking in his image.

"However, since she has disposed of her feelings for my husband and has taken up house with the Moon Spirit, I will grant you reprieve." She appeared before him as he dropped to his knees. He grabbed the hem of her crimson robes, pleading with her to remove the curse.

"You must purge yourself of all traces of my husband's blood. You must remove the remnants of the lies, deceit, anger and passion that fueled my husband's betrayal. Do this, and I will lift the curse. Fail, and all your posterity will live with your curse forever."