PROLOGUE

 

 

From the thesis of Brandon Meriwether

 

 

     What separates the Man Animal as a species? Some of the Emertreal Dynasty, have argued that it is their intelligence, their means of speech, or the opposable thumb. Others claim it is the capability to stand erect or the ability to manipulate this world to suit us. Then there is the thought not always expressed, that what separates man from the other species is the emotional response, love and hate, courage and fear. That it is the very control of these emotions that drive us forward or back, the capability to choose. What separates the human? Fact is none knows. Only time will tell.

 

     What is known now and what was once known are twisted. Eons ago, the human was the only creature capable of complex thoughts expressed through a common language of the intelligence, once possessed. Through the followings of technology and growth, the human as it was once known, managed to do the one thing no other species could. Through its technological advances and self-worship driven existence, it put its self on a collision course towards destruction and succeeded.

 

     Time is irrelevant, how long it has been since the Human species as it was known was removed by the energies of the planet is still in dispute. What is being discovered is that while the species destroyed its self, it had definitive help. The planet suffered until it could no longer take the abuse and rather than adapt as it always had, it chose to no longer work in the Human favor. Instead it worked against them, oceans rose, the sun burned and the human world was written off like so many of the planets past experiments, which we have and will see once more. 

 

     Over time the planet healed. Starting again, it has given way to a different kind of intelligent animal, many in fact, and once again the Human species emerged, given a second chance as it were to survive and thus became something else. This is a world wholly connected and yet separated. Minds are more open, but still as closed as nature dictates them to be, which may be once more, adding them to the endangered species list. As history shows, the energies, what some still call magicks; have once again begun to churn and bubble, bringing together those who may otherwise have never been. Be it chance or coincidence, destiny, prophecy or fate, it begins as many things do. 

 

In Dreams...

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

 

     ‘The pyre was set, the cat and mouse game ended, it would not be long before the sacrifice was made and the swarm once again appeased. In the distance, muffled cries fade into a rich and haunting melody sung by a seasoned beauty. Light haired and heavy hearted, she holds fast to the shoulders of a small weeping child coved by white robes. The woman drops the child’s hood, revealing her long dark hair, which reflected Raven blue in the sun. The streaks of color scattered the dark sadness of her light skin and cerulean eyes.

 

     A torch of shimmering flame, is thrust toward her as a bound man is lead out. His dark matted down hair, made darker still by the blood that drips from his face as he is tied to the nine-foot pyre. The raven-haired girl approaches him, meeting his eyes, her eyes, looking back earnestly, tears welling, blurring her vision, she looks for the one that held her. But she is lost in a crowd of souls who all sway to a hymn she can no longer hear.

     ‘The necklace.’ She thought. “Grandma” She whispered into the warm summer air. A woman emerged, a black and ominous thing, about her neck hanging nestled against her aged skin was a multi-tiered black stone necklace. A cackle came forth from her as her blue eyes burned bright, the image blurring to a pair of black flames, then pale green eyes.      

     The world fell away, leaving a void and the only thing left to fill it was a single horrified scream.’

 

     Jarred from his rest, with a pounding headache, a young man wiped at the warm blood that had begun to drip from his ears and down his long neck.  “Ugh… not again… Damn leaky pipes.” He frowned, his attention drawn to the sound of banging and voices in the hallway. Getting up in the darkness, he approached the door, leaning his head against the cold frame.

 

     “Miss?” An auburn haired girl of fifteen, banged urgently on the inn room door. “Miss, are you alrigh-”

The door swung open and a visibly shaken woman appeared in the doorway, her raven blue hair gleaned from the cold sweat that covered her. 

 

     “I’m sorry if I disturbed anyone, it was...uh.” Her reason ceased as she saw a figure down the hall, just barely peering through its room door. She stepped out, blocking the girl from entering. “Can I help you?” She demanded as the door abruptly slammed shut. She shook her head with a shortly annoyed laugh, looking back to the girl who stood silently still. “Sorry I must have dozed off. It won’t happen again.”

      “We were just concerned is all, sounded like somebody was dying.” The girl replied softly.

      “Again, sorry, ‘bout that.” ‘I wonder which dream it was?.’ The woman paused at the thought, before leaving the doorway. “But since you’re here, perhaps you could help me a minute?” 

      The girl nodded following into the darkened room.

      “Gimme a second.” The woman pleaded as she pulled the blanket off of the open window.

 

 

     The room filled with the light of midday and the girl could see that the woman’s bag was still packed, and in the same chair, she had dropped it on that morning. It seemed to her that this woman did not intend to get comfortable, although in her opinion the room was cozy enough.

The soft full sized mattress was disheveled, as though the woman had been thrashing for hours. The girl felt out of place and a little scared as she stood in the center of the room.

     “I’ll be just a minute, throw the bag on the bed, and have a seat.” The woman’s voice was inviting yet cool as she headed into the bathroom.

 

 

     As soon as the girl heard the water from the shower, curiosity took hold and although she more than knew better, she could not help herself as she snooped around. Leaning against the bed was the woman’s sword. Having spied it at check in, she saw that it was a Bastard sword, sheathed in a pewter colored, leather scabbard. The hilt was wrapped in black leather and deep red velvet, the letter ‘A’ engraved on the pommel. It was too big for the girl to lift so she left it alone. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed another weapon, a dagger; it looked exactly like the sword, scabbard, and handle, except the engraving on it was not an ‘A’ but rather a ‘D’. She took it out and found it to be double edged and notched. Putting it back, she moved on, there was fabric hanging over the dressing screen, coral pinks and royal purples, blues ranging from almost black to deep ocean green. All lightweight, some nearly sheer. She heard the shower stop and padded softly yet quickly to the chair. Throwing the bag on the bed she sat down as the bathroom door opened.

 

 

     The woman came out heading behind the dressing curtain. “So was I gone long enough for you to sufficiently poke around?”

     “Yeah- I mean...no... I just.” She dropped her head with guilt. ‘I’m in trouble.’

     “It’s okay. Really. Your young and curious, I obviously expected it. Unfortunately you’ll find me rather dull.”

     “Yes, I mean no, well in comparison.”

     “Comparison?” The woman raised a perfectly arched eyebrow as she looked over the top of the screen curiously.

     “To a seasonal guest, what’s all the fabric for?” The girl asked watching her pull some of it back over the screen.

     “My clothes sweetie.” She laughed, coming from around it, holding up the front of her corset, which, like her scabbard was leather and pewter colored. Her skirt was made up of the coral pink and bright blue fabrics that had been hanging, now laced seamlessly together with leather chord, and buckled straps that crossed over revealing the sides of her thighs as she turned around 

     “Would you mind lacing me up?” She smiled.

     “Sure Miss... um.”

     “Amara.”

     “Amara, yes, I can tie that.” The girl got up to tie the corset.

     “So you know my-ugh-” Amara stifled as the girl pulled the laces. “Name, what’s yours?”

     “Natalie.”

     “Pretty name. Tell me the salts and oils you keep here for the guests, where do you get the crystal canisters you keep them in?”

     “We trade for them.”

     “Oh... I was just wondering... I haven’t seen anything quite like it since I left Racine E’Tolle.”

Natalie paused with a muffled and excited gasp.

      “What?”

     “You don’t look like a Sin-tue-lay, though it would explain your choice of such vibrant colors.” Natalie rambled on.      

     “We were trying to figure out where you traveled from my mother and me with all the color we knew it had to be someplace exotic but E’ Tolle? I’d have never guessed they don’t usually let regular people in. Do they really have a gem forest? I mean are the trees really like garnets and other crystals? What about the Padma’?”

     “Do you breathe when you talk?” Amara smiled. “Yes they really do and the Padma’s are exquisite.” She sat on the bed pulling her boots up over white translucent stockings.

     “Sorry, mom says I run on when I get going, so anyway, I’ve never seen one anywhere but in books. I’d love to see one up close.”

     “Well you’re still young...  Two questions...”

     Natalie looked at her waiting, her rant broken.

     “One, do you guys have a laundry I could use? I’ve been traveling for awhile and what not.”

      “I can take whatever you have, it’s a service… As we get a lot of travelers, especially this time of year.”

     “And that leads me to my second question, what’s going on here? All the people buzzing around and those damn coconuts all over the counter downstairs.”

    “Well here in De Suet it’s time for our annual Temple Festival that’s why all the people and stuff but if you wanna know about that from a, not kid, perspective, talk to my mom Laureli, she should be at the desk, by now.”

Amara grabbed her cloak and headed for the door, strapped on her sword. “I think I’ll do that. Thanks.”

     “No problem.”

      She waited for the girl to leave the room before heading down the hall. Reaching its center she stopped, a sensation threw her, enveloping her senses as she walked…She had felt the same full body pulse while in Racine E’Tolle, that forced her to her knees and a frozen pond. ‘Magic?’ She paused for a moment but shook it off heading down the stairs. 

 

 

     After being shouted at by the woman down the hall, the young man sat himself back on his tattered pillow in the middle of his room. His name was Morgan Braith. This was his room. No matter how long he was gone, the owner, Laureli, always kept it from the masses. There was nothing special about the room, save to say it was his, which was all that mattered to him. He did not appreciate the woman’s tone; after all, it was she who had brought him to the door. Her scream… Her dream, rubbing his temples he stretched out on the floor, thinking about the necklace. His necklace. He has been searching for it for many years, not sure who had become its possessor. Now when he had all but given up on ever finding it, it found him and this rude woman would take him to it. It was simply a matter of how.

‘Think on it later, the day is only started and you have other obligations.’ He slipped a pale blue orb that he had been playing with, into his pocket before lifting himself from the comfort of his pillow and putting on his black cloak pushed himself out his door.

 

 

     At the front desk, Laureli the inn’s owner sat brushing spiny burs from the hair of a little girl.  “Excuse me... Laureli right?” Amara asked with a small smile.

     Laureli looked up. “That’s right.” She shooed the girl away with a gentle tap on the bottom. “Now stay out of those berry bushes!” She shouted as the little girl ran off with a giggle. “Ten minutes and she’ll be covered all over again.” Laureli laughed, looking back to Amara. She was a pleasant looking older woman, probably in her late forties, with a solid thick build, and short pale brown hair and eyes which studied Amara curiously.

    “Your daughter Natalie told me to talk to you about the going’s on here; I’m interested in the sites... If there are any.” She finished, off handedly.

     “Oh sure, there are the shops on the outer islands, you can get there via the docks or there’s a fine ferry that makes the rounds, so you can see the face of Nialeeon, the guardian of our Islands. It’s quite an impressive monument, even if it is a bit weathered.” The woman spied her sword, like her daughter, she had noticed it when Amara checked in. She cleared her throat. “We have quite the accomplished Weapons Smith if you’re interested in that. There’s the Temple Festival, which starts later tonight, with the sending off of the prayer sails... Eh- these little boats that we all make, representatives of those who have passed through. The temple its self is up the way from here on the hill, you can’t miss it. Though it’s probably packed right this second. Better to go in the early morning while the rest of the tourists sleep it off. If you’re looking for something right now, there’s always the Vondir Vitre Ahurani. That’s a spring of sorts, but it looks like jumping glass, hence the name. Look, but try not to touch, people who have come in contact with it for too long get sick, but it really is quite beautiful... And that’s... A-bout it.”

     Amara laughed a little. “Sounds like you give that speech a lot.”

    “Well I do this week.” She smiled, folding her slightly weathered hands, gently on the counter before her. “I hope it was helpful.”

     “Very much...” The thought of someplace out of the way and quiet appealed to Amara, and rather than take the ferry or hit the shops she decided on the walk, perhaps she could clear her head. “So this Ahurani, that sounds interesting how do I get there?”

     “Sure, you go out of here, take a right, and follow the signs, you’ll have to troop through some heavy woods at some point, but it’s really a nice walk.”

     “Thanks.”

     “I’ll walk you out, since I have to round up these little monsters.” 

 

 

     When Laureli and Amara opened the front door, a sea of children parted before them. Amara walked toward the right, as Laureli started shooing the children away. “You’ve just missed him, I’m sorry but you’re scaring away the customers. Now go on! Get!” Laureli laughed waving good-bye to Amara as the children all booed and moaned disappointedly.

 

 

     All around her the city of De Suet bustled, the people were hanging colorful flowers and decorating the streets with torches for the evening festivities. She followed the signs until they reached a worn path at the edge of a wooded area. Palm trees and long stemmed, glossy leaf plants with tiny heart shaped purple flowers, rimmed the entrance to the path, brushing her boots. She followed it until there was no more than a thin strip of dirt over grown with ferns and wildflowers. The trees formed a canopy above her, letting the mist carry the sunlight down to the earth in sparkled beams that caught the slightest movement. Butterflies and dragonflies of unimaginable color zipped by her, as she became aware of a pulsing, drawing her deeper in to the wooded center. She was once again reminded or Racine E’Tolle, and the magic that filled the crystalline forest. The path began to open up and a brilliant baby blue light flickered and danced. From the ground ahead sprang forth its source. She saw a small plaque in the ground as she hit the clearing:

 

‘Vondir Vitre Ahurani’ 

‘Jumping Glass Waters’

 

     Getting closer, she could see that liquid flowed forth from a fisher in the ground, collecting in a pond like pool. At that moment, she realized the pulse she felt here was from this spray as it shimmered like sea glass in the rays of the sun. Drawn to it, she dropped to her knees at the pools edge and studied it. It was definitely magic, of that; she was sure, and she could feel it unmistakably as she concentrated. The liquid glass began to separate and form a droplet the size of a large marble that came to her will, resting in her hand.

      It was substantial, solid and tacky to the touch, yet cool and warm at the same time as it rolled in her hand. She glanced around and seeing no one, she dropped it into the small pouch at her waist, her long purple sleeves falling over her hands. Rolling them up slightly, she was annoyed at their necessary presence. Something told her that at some point the substance might be useful, so she decided that there was no harm in taking another. She attempted to call forth a second piece when her concentration was broken by a male voice. 

     “You...dream...really...loud.”

     Startled she fell forward, her right hand plunging into the pool, she instantly pulled back, throwing a bright flash of crimson, hitting the tree beside her. The trunk began to melt and burn in a bubbling of bark. It shuddered as the form of a beautiful blond girl slowly emerged from above the injury, her body dark like the tree, covered and decorated in a mosey fingering of green. 

     ‘A dryad.’ Amara thought suddenly. “I’m so… sorry.” Amara stammered. “I didn’t mean to.”

 

 

     The Dryad shook her head as Amara tried to apologize further, she went from her tree to the fisher, and gathering some of the liquid, she splattered it on the injury. The bark began instantly to mend and new growth began to blossom on the ground where it touched. The dryad looked at Amara. “You should be more careful.” She whispered before disappearing back into the shadow of the tree.

     “I’m sorry.” Amara’s voice was near to breaking.

    “She’s right you know.” The other voice chimed in once more.

 

 

     Amara looked around for a moment before her eyes rested on the source, directly in front of her. His face was indistinguishable as it was covered by a black hooded cloak, his visible clothes were also black, but with luminous teal piping throughout. “You know it’s rude to sneak up on people.” She huffed.

     “Actually... I was already here... if you don’t mind.”

     She gritted her teeth as her eyes narrowed. “You... Damn near gave me a heart attack.”

     A slight chuckle escaped his lips as she stood up and walked away, seething.

    “What I say?” He called after her laughing, as she disappeared into the woods.