Aliandra: nymph: Book 1 The Nymph chronicles (8 page)

"Mission accomplished there. I have also made a complete laughing stock out of myself in the marble hall" insisted Ali.

"I couldn't be that bad, Ali" responded grandma.

"Are you Gramma, my 'goddess of protest' roomie?"

"Yes, clever isn't it. Grandma and Gramma. It doesn't matter if you get mixed up they sound the same. Thought blocking lesson number one starts now before anything else is explained."

"Ali, picture tightening the lid over your mind. Turn it clockwise. Is that working?" asked grandma.

"You tell me"
for the hundredth time.

"One hundred and one then" said grandma. "Maybe you need a different sort of seal" grandma pondered.

"How about I solder my mind shut?" said Ali grumpily.

"Try again with the twist lid. It usually works. Try turning it anti-clockwise a bit and then turn it clockwise" instructed grandma. "How about that?"

"I think it starts to work but then the lid pops off again" explained Ali.

"That may be because you are frustrated and are literally blowing your lid" said grandma. "You are right we are going to have to solder the lid on firmly since you are so touchy. You have to relax and not get too cross while you solder it down. Gods usually have this mastered by the age of six. Just focus and get the job done." Eventually Ali fixed the mind blocking lid in place and it didn't budge even when grandma tested it by deliberately aggravating her. Grandma then waved her hand and cups of tea appeared in front of them.

Chapter 16

"Now we speak. Our secrets are important for your safety. First, you are not mortal-born. Your real mother put you into our care and to be raised by mortals to protect you. She is from the oceanic realm. Your father is from the earth realm but has only recently been told of your existence. You cannot know their identities yet but at the right time I will advise you of your genealogy." she began. "Second, I am the titan, Gaia, goddess of the primordial earth. I am not your true biological grand-mother, we are more distantly related. I will continue to oversee your education and development. Third, if certain gods knew who you were then you would be quickly targeted for execution. You would have many enemies bent on destroying you. You must continue to keep a low profile and appear to be the weak mortal-born nymph. We will protect you but you will also have to learn to protect yourself. Fourth, You are not quite as weak as we wanted to make out. Since you are water and earth, we decided to raise you in the desert to limit your early development by keeping you away from your healthy elements to avoid detection. An unexpected side-effect of this is that you already have enormous capacity because we kept you weak and worked you hard through childhood. We intend to continue increasing your capacity as long as possible because when you do power up your capacity will stabilize" Gaia sipped her tea.

"Fifth, much of your schoolwork was already academic god study. During your keening the 'schoolwork' problems you solved could not be resolved by the keenest minds in all the realms. You will do all the coursework for the god and demi-god programs. Finally, I have something here for you that will provide you with all the time you need to work, study and sleep. It is called a dimensional window. I cannot enter it because my presence is necessary in this plane of existence. I have the instructions to use it on this disk. Once you enter the window and close it behind you then you can spend as much time as you like in the window and when you re-enter this reality plane it will be as if no time has passed. There are connecting portals that lead you to other realms. One of which is a planet in the distant past that has been prepared for your use. If you need time to think and relax just enter the window and take as much time as you need." Gaia passed Ali a round pink gemstone and instructed her to put it in her naval where it attached itself. Then she touched the disk to Ali's temple and instructions tumbled into Ali's mind and filed themselves away. "The pink gem is also a storage facility; you will be able to store armor, shields and weapons in it for later retrieval.  Gaia finally sat quietly sipping her tea and let Ali absorb the information.

"Won't they expect you to be doing the god program as Gramma?" asked Ali.

"The great creator god has powered me up so that I can appear as young as I wish for this task. Since the war of the gods, titans have been kept powered down and on a tight leash by the Olympian counsel. When gods are disempowered they look older and this charade of me appearing older has quelled their suspicions. Now I will take this form of Gramma, the annoying student goddess, while you study both programs" grandma waved her hand and instantly appeared as a young hippy with long auburn hair. "The administrators are used to plenty of deception in regard to student identities and it is often expected because of the nature of our culture. As long as you are able to do the final examinations they will not protest the results."

"Why are you doing this for me?" asked Ali.

"Since the end of the war my children, the titans, have been cruelly treated by the Olympian gods. My girls have been released but many of my boys remain locked away, disempowered and routinely punished. You are prophesied to bring justice to the god realms. We believe there are various prophesies concerning you that will make you allies in the god realms to assist your quest for justice."

"Themis is the goddess of divine justice already" said Ali.

"Themis has sworn fealty to Zeus and Hera, she has tied her own hands by doing so. She is now unable to hold the counsel or any of Zeus's allies accountable for their crimes because of her oath to obey Zeus. You are now destined to bring justice to the god realms and stop the endless cruelty and corruption we now suffer. We prepare you to stand up to Zeus and not swear fealty to him or the counsel at your debut. Only then will you be able to set up an independent court that may hold all gods accountable for their crimes without fear or favor. You must continue to appear to be weak to your enemies right up to debut so that you can draw them out and strike them down when they attack you. Until then, be friendly to all but trust no-one unless I say so; not your tribal family, best friend or boyfriend. You must always refer to me as Gramma from now on" stated Gaia.

"The tribal gods called you my great-mother but assumed it was their way of saying grandmother. They already knew who you were?" asked Ali.

"Yes" answered Gramma.

"What is the next step?" asked Ali.

"Since this is to be our home for the next nine years, let us set up this cottage to our liking. As a goddess, there is much that I can do to make your surroundings more pleasant and comfortable for you. It cannot be obvious to casual guests, so we will keep the main rooms looking rustic but homey. Let us start with the attic and making a place for Rom to prowl around" said Gramma.

They climbed the stairs to the attic and surveyed the small shabby room. I can extend any room as much as you want but I think we will make this an entry to a lovely forest with space, streams and plenty of fresh air that nymphs yearn for. Gramma waved her hand and the room transformed, the ceiling became sky and in the distance, beyond the forest,  were mountains. The floor transformed into a grassed forest floor

"Rom will love this. Thankyou Gramma. Do we set my desk up here?" she asked as she pointed to the nearest corner.

"I will set you up in a house with servants. Point out where you want the house situated" instructed Gramma.

"Do I have to have servants?" asked Ali.

"I insist" stated Gramma "You must focus on the tasks ahead without concerns for the details. Your servants will be elves and you may trust them."

"Just a small shelter to protect us from the elements. Maybe with a balcony?" asked Ali.

"Done" said Gramma as a large log mansion appeared overlooking the lake. Gramma waved her hand and a beautiful female elf appeared before them.

"This is Amirael. She is your personal assistant and in charge of running your home" stated Gramma. "You will go to your house to eat your meals. Rom can hunt here or be provided his meals here too. If you need any information for your studies Amirael will collect it for you."

Amirael bowed to Ali and disappeared as Gramma waved her away. "You will need elvish languages. I have a large information disk with cultures and languages of all the realms with which you will begin for your studies. I want you to pay particular attention to god culture and the nature of our hierarchy. As you develop it will become more difficult to drain your power. It seems you automatically begin to absorb mass to use as power when you rest. When your power accumulates at too fast a rate you will be able to teleport and perform other basic god skills. Don't worry when that happens, it will seem like a natural development of your weak nymph powers. Continue to drain your powers at least every day" ordered Gramma.

"Yes, ma'am" answered Ali.

"Yes, Gramma, not ma'am" instructed Gramma.

Ali nodded.

"Now, your room, Any preferences?" asked Gramma.

"I'm not certain what can be done. I will let you choose. You know me well enough" said Ali.

"You, sweet girl, would choose something extremely modest. I think a palatial room on a cliff-top with a long marble balcony overlooking the ocean. That will connect you to your mother's family" she said as she waved her hand and made it so. "In case of trouble, I have included a staircase down to the small beach below. If you swim out to the floating platform there is an alarm button in case of emergencies. When you push it your oceanic family will arrive quickly to assist you."

Ali took in her new bedroom and mumbled a thank you to Gramma. "It is beyond anything I could hope for" she said.

"Aliandra, you forget that you have already paid a steep price for being born an immortal. We have kept you weak and exhausted through your childhood to hide you. We continue to keep you weak and powerless to build you up. I will not forget that the price you pay involves being separated from your true parents and loved ones. There may be another price you will have to pay. It may be necessary to wipe your very existence out of the minds of your mortal family. They could be tracked down and used to blackmail you by your enemies or corrupt gods."

"I see that must happen at some stage and the sooner the better to keep them safe. It is unlikely I am able to visit them much while I study and impossible once I debut. Please tell Donny, Kitch and Trak what you intend to do first because they are expecting to meet my mortal family. As soon as you are able to wipe all evidence of my existence from my mortal family, then do so. I must protect them" choked out Ali as tears flooded down her cheeks.

"Relax in your room a while. I will do what must be done. I will finish the rest of the cottage. The basement will be set up for your physical training and combat regime. All technology you may require is set up in the house in the attic. I will leave you now, go to the attic house for your meals when you are ready" said Gramma gently.

Ali curled up on her bed and cried as she deeply felt the impending loss of her mortal family.

Chapter 17

A small knock on her bedroom door woke Ali. The mid-morning light shone bright on the ocean below and was reflected into her room.

"Yes, who is it?" called out Ali.

"Amirael" she answered.

"Come in" she said. Nothing happened. "Darn it, I forgot she only speaks elvish." Ali leapt off her bed and opened the door. Amirael had a disk on a silver tray for her. Ali waved her inside her room. "Elvish?" asked Ali.

Amirael nodded and passed Ali the disk. Ali held the disk to her temple and after an hour she had absorbed several different languages and cultures including elvish.

"It is time for luncheon, mistress" said Amirael formally.

Ali took the disk off her temple and spoke in elvish. "I have had some bad news, Amirael. I would prefer to eat in my room for now if that is acceptable? I do not feel up to being surrounded by servants" said Ali.

"I will have your chef bring your food here until you feel up to attending the attic house" replied Amirael. "How else might I serve you?"

"Bring some ambrosia. I feel the need to be revived by it if I am to continue this study" she replied.

"At once, mistress" said Amirael as she bowed and exited.

Ali sat at her desk and reflected on the most efficient way to use all the tools that had been provided to her. She decided to use the dimensional window to cram as much study in as she could. She revised the instructions on the window and decided she had to work out if she could stay there and find her own food on the ancient planet while she absorbed a mountain of information disks. She had to discover what could be safely transferred over the dimensional threshold. A knock on her door signalled her food had arrived.

"Enter" said Ali.

The tall elvish chef and a few men carried in trays of food. They set up a table and chair and placed the trays on it.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, chef. This will not be a habit" said Ali.

"It is our pleasure to serve you, mistress" replied the chef as he bowed. When they left Ali inspected the plates of food. It all looked and smelled delicious. They had obviously gone to a lot of effort to tempt her to eat. Even though misery still felt like a stone in her gut Ali felt obliged to eat as much as she could. Ali managed to eat half of everything that was provided and was sipping on ambrosia when Amirael returned.

"It was to your liking?" asked Amirael.

"It was delicious. The problem is with me , my usually hearty appetite has deserted me because of the bad news I mentioned before. Yesterday, I had to ask Gaia to wipe my existence from the memories of my mortal family to protect them. Now I mourn the loss" explained Ali.

"That is a heavy burden indeed" said Amirael. "I am sorry for your loss."

"I have a dimensional window and I am deciding on how best to use it to facilitate my studies. Can elves pass into the dimensional window?" asked Ali.

"We may enter the window; however, we will age while we remain because although we elves live long lives we remain mortal. As a goddess, you will not age in the dimensional window" answered Amirael

"I will not ask you to enter the dimensional window for any length of time. Can I take food across the dimensional threshold?" asked Ali.

"Food and anything you take across the dimensional threshold will age at a normal rate. If you take plants and release animals then they will multiply whether you are in the dimensional window or not. It would be wise to verify what already exists in the existing windows" advised Amirael.

"Yes, I agree. I ask you to compile information disks for me. Anything you think is relevant to my god and demi-god studies. Compile all available knowledge about dimensional realms. I also want as much information about all gods and demi-gods as you can find including history, genealogy, alliances and politics. Download everything you can find on the legal knowledge of every realm. I also want information on legal issues and a history of all court cases of the realms with transcripts. How long will that take to arrange?" asked Ali.

"The search parameters are broad which will take me less time than a more precise search. The download will be overnight and possibly into tomorrow morning. I will bring it when it is complete" answered Amirael

"Thankyou. Where is Rom?"

"He has been fed and is exploring the attic forest, mistress" said Amirael.

"I will join him" said Ali.

"Mistress, what do you wish me to do if someone knocks on the cottage door?"

"Answer the door. If I am unavailable then take a message and if I am due to return soon make them comfortable in the main lounge but do not let them explore the cottage. Serve them tea or something. Familiarize yourself with the cottage kitchen in preparation. Tell them you are an eleven student who studies management and you are visiting us. Just make sure you do not call me mistress in company, call me Ali. It would be better if you got used to that now. From now you will call me Ali" instructed Ali.

"Yes. Ali." stumbled Amirael.

"I understand your need for formality, standards and rules but there is a greater need for deception where I am concerned. I hope it does not make you feel too uncomfortable. Let's go and see what Rom has found."

As Ali and Amirael entered the attic forest, Amirael signaled a man forward and instructed him to clear the luncheon dishes in the mistress' bedroom. They wandered together around the forest while Ali asked Amirael about her home and family. Rom was perched on a rock and was staring at the fish passing beneath him by in the stream flowing around the rock.  Rom spotted Ali and headed to her. He rolled on his back in front of her and waited for a belly rub.

"You see how cats get everyone to serve them, Amirael?" Ali laughed. "I bet you are enjoying being spoiled, Rom. Are there any steeds to ride in the area?"

"I will arrange their delivery. The stables are located at the rear of the attic house" responded Amirael.

"Yes, Gramma knows me well. It will be a great comfort to go riding through the forest with Rom. I suppose I should come to the house and introduce myself" said Ali.

They made their way to the house with Rom leading the way.
This is the most spectacular log cabin ever built!
"It's huge, how many bedrooms does it have?" asked Ali.

"There are thirty bedrooms plus the staff quarters" answered Amirael.

"I am not sure who Gramma thought I would invite here. Everything is secret including this house. I suppose there are allies and family that I will meet eventually. Amirael, you have my schedule?"

"Yes."

"Please remind me when I am due to meet Hephaestus."

"Three weeks from today" answered Amirael.

They entered the main doors and the staff had gathered in the greeting hall. Amirael introduced Ali to all twenty elven staff; from the chef, his assistants, butler, housekeeper, maids, grounds man and gardeners. Amirael dismissed them and they returned to their work.

"I will remain in this house until I begin working with Hephaestus. Show me around the house please" asked Ali.

When they got to Ali's bedroom she gasped at the beauty of the view; a lake was below her vast balcony and the forest spread for hundreds of miles in every direction beyond that. It was perfect and she yearned to share it with her loved ones; an impossible dream.

Ali sent a message to Donny advising him of her new address. She told him she would be busy of the next three weeks  but she would love him to visit her the two days before she started with Hephaestus. Donny quickly replied saying he had rearranged his schedule and will be there. He also noted he had received the message from her grandma about her mortal family and he yearned to hold her close to comfort her.

Ali inspected the main dimensional window and found old sturdy furniture was spread throughout a sprawling maze of rooms. Many of the soft furnishings were too old and fragile and needed to be replaced. Ali tried to clean using her powers. She fed power down her arms and said "clean!" All the dust flew up and resettled. Then she tried "dust!", again the dust flew up and resettled leaving Ali sneezing. Finally she gave up and called her servants to come and clean out the window. They all marched outside carrying their cleaning supplies and Ali opened the window wide for them and they all trooped in. Robot vacuum cleaners got to work on the worst of the dust piles. Soft furnishings were removed, everything was cleaned and polished. The men mended some of the furniture and replaced the furniture that was beyond repair. Furnishings were brought from the attic house's unoccupied bedrooms and the work continued until it met with Amirael's approval. When the servants finally left the dimensional window they were all dusty and tired.

Ali entered the window and closed it. She searched out the control panel for the attached portals along a hidden wall panel. Finally it flicked open and she dialed in the dimensional door for the ancient planet. As she went through she noted the position of the exit to return was a cave behind a waterfall. She climbed along the damp rocks until she stood on a cliff top next to the waterfall. From her position she saw the landscape was covered in plants and trees of all types. She wandered up the river and undressed. She entered the water and as she swam she noticed there were fish of all types swimming in the river. When Ali had swum for hours she lifted climbed out of the water and lay down on the grass. She slept.

Ali lost count of the weeks she stayed exploring the ancient planet. There didn't seem to be any large animals roaming the forests. Ali built fires and cooked her fish and vegetables wrapped in leaves. At last she felt that she could relax and forget about time and her worries. She could pick ripe fruit and berries directly from the trees and bushes as she wandered around. Eventually Ali felt it was time to return to the other plane. She entered the cave behind the waterfall and dialed in the return code. She entered the main window and closed the door behind her. She went to her desk in which Amirael had stored the information disks. She picked up the box of disks and lay down on her bed. One by one she went through the disks. She was a quarter-way through the box when her stomach growled. Ali decided to return to the attic house to eat and see Rom.

When she exited the window no time had passed. The servants were still washing off the dust and grime from their hands and faces from cleaning the window. Ali closed the window and re-entered the house. She called out for Rom and as he bounded up to her she bent to give him a big hug. She saw Amirael and requested chef send plates of food to her room as soon as possible and keep them coming. Ali went to her room and waited for the food to arrive. Large trays of food were delivered to her room and she opened the window wide and asked the servants to place the food in the window. When they left, Ali entered the window and closed it behind her. She feasted on the food and then lay on her bed with the box of information disks. She continued absorbing the information only stopping to eat more. When the food was finished she opened the window and deposited the empty trays in the house bedroom. More food arrived and Ali again directed the servants to place the trays of food in the window. Ali continued her studies like that until all the disks were absorbed. She returned to her house bedroom with the emptied trays, closed the window and sent a message to chef he can stop cooking for now. She decided to go for a walk with Rom before retiring for bed so she could expend the last of her energy to heal the earth.

The next day after breakfast, Ali summoned Amirael to ask her if anyone of the staff could sew. Amirael said the housekeeper was an expert seamstress and summoned her. Ali asked the housekeeper is she could make her several outfits that were extremely unflattering. Something she could wear to her work and appropriate for working at a forge. Amirael and the housekeeper were confused at her odd request.

"I will be working around men. Male customers will arrive to pick up their orders. I do not want them to pay any attention to me. I have a number of lovely tribal dresses that are flattering so I cannot wear them to work. I have a veil I will use that will help men to ignore me. I need to disguise my figure and appear unattractive to all the men who visit or work in the business. It is another deception" explained Ali.