REALM'S END (BOOK OF FEY 1) (14 page)

“Oh you are a dear child aren’t you,” the stone brightened excitedly as it spoke. “Few have asked and fewer have been answered, but for your kindness we shall tell you. Our name is Dembys. Now tomorrow is a busy day, lay your head back and rest. We will watch over you, Gwenth.”

“Good night Dembys.”

Pit

It had taken the keeper of the water, most of the day to follow the young Fey’s energy trail down to the door of the journeying cavern, and while it was true his walk would always remain slower than a snail’s pace, his mind was sharper than most. When he had arrived, he’d found the cavern empty, but was surprised to find the vessel of healing water left there, and so he had decided to wait. As time passed he considered wondering out the main entrance to take in a view of the sea, but his intuition held him back. He didn’t want to be caught outside if someone came. When the young girl popped suddenly into the cavern, he’d been more than a little surprised, and so he had been present to witness the young girl calling a translator stone off the cave wall, and had been privy to that conversation.

Now the girl child slept with the translator stone on duty at her crown. The overseer of the sacred water spent the night unobtrusively among the large stalagmites at the back of the cavern. The elder considered all the ramifications of the girl’s arrival, as he spent the night resting in the sand. Clearly this girl was the real threat to the Realm, this young red haired girl who needed no wings to move about. He knew her magic must be very strong to have removed the stone. As far as he knew there were none in any of the tribes who now could do such a feat. He was fairly certain anyone, other than himself who might have possessed such a skill, had long passed away.

Pit, for that’s what he was called by the tribes. He had arrived one day, falling from the sky and landed in this world. He was a meteorite, a hot mass of heavy metal flesh, and when he landed he had carved a deep hole. The races of this world had been unable to pronounce his name. He was the last of his people, it had no longer mattered to him, what he was called, and so he had suggested, they call him Pit. Once the tribes realized he had not come to cause harm, the people of the Realm had welcomed him, and accepted him without trouble. Revolutions passed within the Realm, and eventually the elders had seen fit to offer him a position on the council, and he was made guardian of the sacred well. Eventually he too became an elder. At the appointment, he’d happily moved below ground to be closer to his duties. Deep within the Rowan’s root system he’d lived for a very long time now, and rarely found a reason to visit above ground. Though times had been changing, recently on one of the rare visits to the surface, he had overheard someone suggest that he might take a willful child away, if the child could not behave himself.  It shocked and saddened him to see such fear running rampant in the people of the Realm. Too many of the old races had passed away while he had puttered away his years at the well.

He could foresee enough to know, it would make no difference if he raised the alarm, this world could not survive what was coming; and so Pit, with his heavy rough body sat quietly soaking up the heat from the warming sands, and watched the girl as she slept through the night. He considered trying to kill her himself, but knew without a shadow of a doubt the translator stone along with the cavern itself would stop him long before he could reach the girl. In fact he was surprised that the stone had not done something about him already. This thought gave him pause, either the stone considered him ineffectual or he had some part to play in helping the young girl. A dreadful feeling began to settle over him. It was bad enough to be considered in effectual, but to even consider betraying the people who’d taken him and made him welcome, caused a great sadness to wash over him.

He would wait for the girl to waken, and then make himself known; perhaps the girl or the stone could offer some answer to his dilemma. He decided to rest and recharge his body till then.

Hard Choices

Briok slept little during the night and when at the break of dawn he rose, he found both his parents, their heads on their arms, asleep at the table too. Several loose sheaves of pounded and matted leaf were strewn across the tabletop.

Briok tiptoed about the tree, so as not to wake his parents, with the hum of wing beats. Quietly he retrieved fruit from the basket and gathered the food into a sling.

“Son,” his mother’s voice croaked. “You know you never have been particularly quiet.”

Briok stood stalk still, his hand stopped in mid-air, as he was about to steady himself to walk through the door, something he was much better at on wings than on foot. “Mother, you scared me,” he said. Whirling about he found both his parents smiling broadly at him.

Briok’s father flitted over to him and taking the nesting bag from him drew him into a warm embrace. Briok felt his father’s arms tighten about his body; he could feel the emotion running through his father. He could also feel the strength his father was sharing with him through the hug. He sensed desperation, and pushed his father away, holding him at an arms’ length to look into his face.

“Father what is it? Why are you afraid? Has Gwenth been found out?”

“No son, the girl is fine as far as I know, but come and eat with us; your mother and I need to discuss this further with you. There are things you have to know,” he said. He held Briok in his steady embrace as he urged the boy back towards the table.

His mother flitted about and quickly brought the meal together, settling everyone with water and fruit at the table, before taking a seat herself. “Son, I spoke with Sephoria, last night and things were revealed to me that Sephoria and the Great Rowan have apparently known for some time,” she said, staring across the table at Briok. “I don’t know how else to say this, and you know I’ve never been good at coddling, so I’m just going to blurt it out; Sephoria says that you must help this girl free Lillith and then you both must go into the future with her.”

Briok’s breath caught, and he choked on the seaweed. His father jumped up, and reached over, slapping him hard between his wing sockets. Briok stared at his plate, as he tried to quiet his coughing, but he could feel his mind racing out of control. Finally he braced himself and raised his eyes to look first at his mother and then at his father, as he let the new information settle over him. He wished he had already gone through his awakening rituals so that he could use magic to disappear from the room. Swallowing hard he looked up and asked, “Is this true?” He felt his fear and anger rising up as he watched his parents’ faces. “Is this why you two have slept at the table all night, to tell me I would have to leave the Realm? Is that really what the Great Sage, Sephoria told you, mother?” Briok turned his gaze on his father, “Or did you and your cronies come to this conclusion during your argument, Father?”

Lindel slammed his palm down against the table. “That’s enough Briok! Don’t let your fear rule over you son. We are just as devastated by this news as you are. Sephoria shared the news with your mother only last night, so we are just as much in shock as you are lad and as for my cronies I was fighting to save both you and the girl from being turned in as traitors. Remember the fear,” he said, lowering his voice, “that we all felt after Lillith was taken? Those council members were there too and are of course afraid for their own families, they aren’t sure we can even keep you safe,” Lindel said, as his voice cracked.

Lisl reached out and took her mate’s hand. They both needed the connection; never had either of them expected any of this to take place. She knew without a doubt if they could have foreseen these events, they never would have listened to the Rowan or the secret council all those years ago. She couldn’t believe that long ago decision was now going to bring harm to her family. “Briok, did Gwenth say anything to you about all this? Maybe we should come and meet her. It might help.”

Briok wanted to cry, but he knew the harm it would bring, the orange tears would just waste his precious life force and he couldn’t afford that right now. He wasn’t sure he had built up enough life force or knowledge to survive this calamity that was being foretold for his people. He looked at his parent’s faces and saw the fear and anxiety upon their features. He saw his father’s hands shake as his mother reached over to take them within her own. Briok’s head swam with fear and worry. “Mother,” he sighed and he felt his wings droop a little. “It would not help in any way for you to meet Gwenth. She is not a Fey, but a species from the future of her world. Sephoria told Gwenth, she has great magic and that she is related to Lillith. Sephoria went so far as to show Gwenth the energy line between herself and Lillith. I heard Gwenth say something about the end of the Realm yesterday, but I just thought she was confused.” Briok broke off, as his throat closed shut on his tears.

Raising his head, Lindel looked up at his son’s pale face. He cleared his throat, “I can hear the fear and worry in your voice son, and it is easy to see the strain you are under is great, perhaps greater than it need be. If Sephoria says Gwenth and Lillith are related, you all must have made it to the future for that to have happened. It is not much but at least it is a sign for continued hope. Sephoria says there is no other choice but to send you three forward in time to Gwenth’s world, either way this timeline will end soon. Of course we would all choose differently if we could. Never would we allow you to leave, if there was any other hope at all.” Lindel’s face fell and great orange tears streamed down his face.

Briok and Lisl stared in horror. How could he waste so much life force?

“Father, please don’t cry.” Briok said, reaching out for his father’s hand. Seeing this is more frightening to me, than even leaving the realm.”

Lindel’s tears slowed and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Crying may have given life force away he couldn’t say, but he only felt relief from his overwhelming emotions. “First, because I know you are worried, let me say that the Rowan has told me no life force is lost, if the crying does not go on over long. In fact, the Rowan says it can actually help to cry by relieving the tension, and I would have to say from this first experience I agree with that. Perhaps if we are wrong about crying there are other things we have been wrong about too. We have a plan, son. Tonight Lisl and I are going to bring about your awakening. We will cleanse your energy paths and harmonize your energies fields. In the new world you will need all the strength you can gather here. I only wish we could have taught you some of the deeper teachings on energy work, we always thought there’d be time.”

                   Lisl flew around the table and leaned down pulling Briok’s head gently to her chest. “Try to eat more, son; you’ll need your strength. Know that your father and I are determined to do whatever we must to insure your survival. I will pack another breakfast for you to take to Gwenth and then you must follow your usual routine so that no suspicion is aroused. For now anyway the secret council has sworn to continue holding these events in secret, but we must all be very, very, careful,” and with that she flitted away to gather up another breakfast.

Briok forced himself to chew his food, and tried to calm his racing heart. So much had happened already, his mind reeled with the possibility that there was even worse to come. He didn’t want to go to the future. He didn’t want to go to this place called Earth. He wanted to stay here in the Realm, he wanted to prepare to take over his father’s position working with the stories of the Realm, under the Great Rowan’s guidance and to continue adapting those stories to be relevant for his people. He knew he was being groomed for that task, and he secretly longed for it. The thought struck him; perhaps he could just run away till this was all over? Maybe he should turn in Gwenth himself, and then the elders would see his intentions were true and that Lillith was innocent, then they would free Lillith.

Suddenly Briok heard a soft whisper. “Yes it’s true the elders might free Lillith, but then you and Gwenth would surely take her place. Can’t you see that child?”

Briok looked uneasily about the room. He was alone; his parents had gone into the other room to speak privately. Not wanting to bring his parent’s flying, he whispered, “Who’s there? Why do you sound familiar to me? How did you get in here?”

Briok heard soft chuckling. “Oh, if there were only more time, for this kind of innocent fun, but alas there is not,” the voice sighed. “It’s me, the Rowan. I’m with you for as long as the sacred water’s spell lasts upon you.”

Briok blinked several times, his blue black eye lashes rising and falling in surprise. “You’ve heard all the conversation then?”

“Yes of course, and need I remind you lad, I’m in your mind so you don’t need to speak out loud. Just think it, and I will perceive your thoughts clearly enough.”

“Ok, then is what my parents say true? Is the realm going to end? Will it all be lost?”

“Yes, it’s sadly true, Briok. The Realm will end whether you go or not, it was always meant to end, it has gone on much longer than anyone would have ever imagined it would. The old writings tell that the Realm was only meant to be a temporary timeline and it’s coming to an end at last.”

Briok grimaced, “What is this nonsense about being temporary? We have been here for thousands of eons; whole species of people have died out, and been reborn on this world. What about that is temporary? Why should I believe you? It seems you have been hiding too much knowledge from the tribes.”

“Yes it’s true I have withheld the knowing of this, for a long time now. Sephoria and I tried to share the news long ago, but the truth, literally scared the knowers to death. They died long before their natural times, so it was then that we decided that some knowledge is not meant to be shared. We learned a race can’t handle the knowledge of its own coming destruction. It is too heavy of a burden to bear. Out of our deep love, we chose not to share that knowledge with any more of the tribes of the Realm.”

“What about the Nextl bird. If our planet is going to pass away why would a Nextl bird decide to reincarnate now? It makes no sense!”

The Rowan sighed, and Briok sensed the great tree was shrugging. “Even I cannot understand everything the God’s put into play Briok. Perhaps the Nextl has some work of its own to do before the end.  I can’t say why it would choose to be reborn now, but that does not change the fact, that this world was created to be temporary, no matter what has happened to time as we understand it. The end is coming, please understand that. Perhaps, you will run into the Gods in the future, then you can ask them to answer your questions.”

Briok sat quietly considering all he had heard and seen in the last two days. The Rowan had always guided the tribes of the Realm with great care; he would not turn away now even though he feared the outcome. “Alright then, I will continue caring for the human and I will think about going forward to the future, but I have not relinquished my right to choose differently when the times come, so don’t assume I have agreed to that. Understand?”

“Yes of course I understand you must be true to yourself always. It can be no other way. Please try to remember today not to leave the cavern in the evening by the sea entrance, come back through the great chamber. I had to create diversions yesterday, as to why no one saw you leave at the end of the day.”

Briok flinched. He had forgotten to go back out through the main entrance. Instead he had in his excitement, simply flown out through the cavern’s main entrance.

“It has brought no trouble this time. Your care is needed though; you know any timeline can be changed by any one being’s choices. Now it is time for you to finish telling Gwenth of the Realm’s tales, for much will transpire before the end of the day and she will have much need of that knowledge. Come now, do not fear, there are many who have great faith in you.”

Briok rose and picking up the bag of food his mother had gathered. He flew across the room to where his parents stood talking.  Reaching out he encircled them both, hugging them close. “You both are very dear to me and I will honor the Rowan’s vision for now, but you should know that if any chance at all presents itself to save our world I will choose that.” Briok pulled away slowly, he loathed losing physical contact with his parents. A deep stabbing pain tore through his body and he wanted to gasp out loud. He longed to fall down where he hovered and not get up. Breathing deeply he steeled himself, for he realized it was only his heart’s longing. If it was up to him to save his race, he must not succumb to his fears, as he would have in the past. Tonight he would have his awakening ceremony and he must put away the things of his childhood and accept his adult responsibilities. “Father, I will see you at the Rowan in a little while and when we come home tonight mother you can teach me the energy work, so that I may make my initiation.” Looking back and forth between their stricken faces, he could see the toll the fear was taking on them. Already they looked older, their color already fading, ever so slightly. “Please don’t fear so.  It is as you have said mother. We still have reason to hope, Gwenth is our relation, which means Lillith and I survive. Perhaps our world will survive too,” Briok said. Turning away he flew swiftly out through the doorway.

Lindel and Lisl watched silently as Briok flew away from their home. Outside they could see the dawn was long gone, and the day was bright and clear like every other, but neither of them took any pleasure in the day’s beauty.

“How long do we have, Lisl? Did Sephoria say?”