Vita et Mors

Emilia closed her eyes against the bright sun letting the rays heat her skin. Today was a beautiful day. The streets were bustling with people due to the upcoming parade. The weekend long celebration was in honor of the towns magical folklore that made it famous. It was during this time that all the vendors from the surrounding areas came to sell their wares. This was why she was here. Emilia wasn’t a wealthy individual, usually working double shifts at the diner to even be able to pay her bills. She always made it a priority to set some money aside for the festival the past two years. Coming to the market and buying something meaningful was something her and her grandmother always did together. The past two years have been rough without her.

Walking along the dirt paths in between the stalls Emilia took in the uniqueness of each shop. There were silk sellers, people who made beautiful carvings out of bone and wood, painters, candle makers, the list went on and on. It was nice to see so many people from so many different backgrounds come together and show respect for what the other does. Emilia wanted to look for something peculiar but beautiful this year. She was determined to mark this year as the year of change. Seeing nothing of interest she kept walking, mindlessly walking along until she ended up in front of an occult stall.

The stall itself was dressed in what reminded her of gypsy silks and tapestries. Small sting lights lined the outside and the top of the inside. The table had many odd things on display but also many beautiful things. Where there was a raven skull and a rabbit foot there were also shimmering perfume bottles and delicate wax seals. Emilia tucked a lock of her raven hair behind her ear as she leaned forward to get a closer look.

“Hello dear, is there anything I can help you find?” The stall vendor asked. Startled Emilia pulled up quickly.

The woman was beautiful. She had waves of chestnut hair flowing down her back and perfectly tanned skin. Her style of dress was similar to that of the stall’s décor. The only thing that made Emilia uneasy was the way the woman was staring at her.

Gaining her composure, she looked back at the table. “I’m looking for something beautiful but unique. Something with a purpose.”

Nodding the woman also glanced around at her wears. “There are many things of value here, but only few have a grander purpose. To know what resonates best with your soul you have close your eyes and trust in the flow of energy. The object will let you know.”

The woman nodded encouragingly at Emilia to close her eyes. She didn’t particularly believe in in occult practices or beliefs, but she also didn’t want to be rude. Sometimes vendors like to perform little magic tricks to gain more attention for there stalls, it helped to boost sales. Emilia closed her eyes not quite searching for anything but thinking about the purpose of the object she wanted to find. Suddenly, she had the urge to open her eyes and look to the far left of the table. Before she knew it her hand was wrapping around a little black leather bound book. It weighed heavily in her hand, the pattern on the along the front of it shaped up into a tree that wrapped around an amethyst stone imbedded in the leather. The book had a weird looking lock from what she could see it wasn’t going to be easy to open. Emilia frowned, the pattern looked like something her grandmother had given her, but she wasn’t sure, she hadn’t gone through all of the things.

“Oh, that is perfect for you. It may unlock something meant to be your destiny all along! That’ll be 25 dollars.” She stuck her hand out, palm up.

Emilia scrunched up her nose at the lady’s demand but gave her the money anyway simply since she was convinced that she had something at home to match the book. Tucking the key into her jacket, Emilia walked on through the throng of people enjoying the hustle and bustle of the festival air.

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Arriving home Emilia went straight to her closet, pulling out the old chest her grandmother had given her. Grandmother Lillian was peculiar old lady, but she always used to bring great joy to everyone she met. Grandma Lilly loved collecting unique things, sometimes coming back with some questionable choices. Emilia dug through the chest hoping that her memory was correct. After nearly pulling everything out of the chest and organizing the stuff into different piles based on what they were, she came up empty handed. Slumping in defeat she looked at the piles around her. She missed her grandmother, but now she had finally gone through everything and it was all neat. Gently placing everything back into the chest she rose to standing. She had a new book to explore.

Settling on the couch with some hot chocolate and the book in her lap, she savored the taste of the chocolate coating her tongue. The little black book looked as if it were from another time, the symbols etched into the leather bindings looked old. In the center where the amethyst gem sat there were words surrounding it. Staring at these words she tried to decipher what that said but it was difficult because it was in a language she could not understand. Right before her eyes she watched as the words morphed into English. Eyes wide, Emilia read what the book wanted her too.

“Blood on the stone. Vita et Mors. Open the gate.” Emilia spoke the words allowed. Confused her eyebrows drew together. “Open the gate. What does that mean?”

In the same moment the impossible lock on the side of the book popped open. Emilia was aware at this point that a normal person would be freaked out and running but she felt like that book was meant for her. Whether she finds something cool within its pages or ends up possessed by a demon like in the movies, she still would choose to explore. Opening the book, the pages were full of black ink, gemstones, feathers, and wax. It almost looked like an ancient spell book. Flipping back to the first page, again she watched as the words translated themselves into English before her eyes.

“For life there is death, with every death there is life. Every gate needs a gate keeper. Aperi porta! Huic ostiarius venit ad me!” Emilia nearly shouted at the end.

As soon as the last words left her mouth the wind picked up in the small house, black smoke started gathering in front of her, swirling into the figure of a cloaked person. The closer she looked though she realized it probably wasn’t human. Its arms were too long, and the fingers looked like bones.

“Emilia, I am the gatekeeper. A phantom beyond the veil not connected to this world. I am here to take you to the spot of which your ancestors have been before you.” Its voice was gravely deep and brooked no argument against him.

Unable to speak and highly confused, all she could do was nod and follow the gatekeeper out of the house and into the woods. Emilia came to terms rather quickly that she might die tonight since an entity from another dimension was leading her outside in the dead of night. They stopped walking once there was nothing but trees surrounding them. The phantom whispered something, but the words were at a loss to her, whisked away with the gentle breeze. Suddenly, the ground in front of her caved in as a huge ancient chest rose from the ground. The purple magic the gatekeeper wielded easily circled the chest keeping it above the ground.

“This is the ancestral chest of your people known as Void walkers, beings that are able to freely pass between the veils and into other dimensions. You will have access to the chest contents.” The purple magic popped open the chest briefly for her to see the gold coins morph into American dollars before morphing back into coins. “The currency within is applicable to the veil and your current realm. You will only be granted access if you accept the family curse that goes along with it. Accepting this curse, you accept that you will no longer be fully human, as the ability to shift realms comes at a price. Being a Void Walker is no easy task but the abilities you will gain come naturally. You will uphold cross realm laws and represent your current realm on the board of the void walker community. Choose wisely.”

Emilia stood there dumbfounded looking from the gatekeeper to the chest multiple times. She could use the money since she was barely making ends meet now. As for the new job position, she was interested in exploring other realms and could use a little more adventure other than watching late night soap operas.

“Was Grandma Lillian a Void Walker?” She hesitantly asked, staring at the amethyst on top of the chest before looking at where the phantoms eyes would be.

The gatekeeper nodded. “Being a void walker is no easy task, but Lillian took it on with grace and was one of the best. The curse skips those unworthy, only wanting to attach itself to those capable. The curse resets once the holder of the curse passes on from their original realm. Vita et Mors.”

Emilia’s heart swelled at the explanation; her grandmother really was the best. She missed her dearly. If Grandma Lillian took on the curse Emilia knew that she could too. Taking a deep breath, she steeled her spine and nodded at the gatekeeper.

“Yes, I accept the curse and the contents within my ancestral chest. My only hope is that I will be as good as Grandma Lillian was.”