© 2003 Justin Brown

September 24, 2002 (Started)

by

Justin Brown

*

He was seated at the end of the table, the window behind him was boarded and not even a thin escape of sunlight lived in the room. He sat staring across the room, at the door opposite him which stood open and the pale amble glow of torchlight weakly ebbed into the room, the only light that existed in the room dominated by shadows, but a dark more powerful than night,

"Did you find him?" his voice was deep, and housed the same sincerity that a hawk would have when it spotted a field mouse. "or did you allow him to get away again?" He leaned forward, the chair creaking loudly in the room, resting his arms down across the table. His weight causing the table to creak and moan in the same degree as the chair.

"We are still searching. He has been pursued into the forest west of Rauru." The new voice was seemingly coming from nowhere, but he didn't have any trouble actually see him, even in the near absolute. "We followed his footsteps into a clearing, and they end." The seemingly from nowhere voice trailed off and the air became silent. Until he broke it with a iniquitous laugh, slow at first then building up.

"You fool, you have lost him. And the crystal. How are we suppose to carry forth with the plan now?" He stopped laughing, slammed both fists down on the table and stood up. So quickly that he knocked over the chair, it crashing to the floor behind him. "How do you expect to live if you don't find him? How do you expect to find that child, who so seems to just vanish?"

"My lord, please."

"No! I have 'pleased" you too long for this, I will not allow you to ruin all I have worked for. The day is slowly coming to hand and I can not afford this child any longer to interfere in my plans more that you have allowed him. Find him, retrieve the crystal from him. Your time is running out, Terin. Do not disappoint me again," He stared at Terin, who was slowly coming into a better view, the air at the door outwardly moving, growing lighter and darker until a young man, who's age appeared to be in his twenties appeared. " because now it's your life that is at stake." He smiled, revealing, somewhat, two rows of small pointy teeth that gleamed strongly in the near nonexistent light of the room.

"Yes Lord Annagaigh." Terin turned and left, the door closing behind him with invisible hands. The chair behind Annagaigh lifted off the floor and righted itself on all four feet, almost as if the same pair of invisible hands had put right the chair. He sat down and closed his eyes, the meeting had tired him.

Terin waited outside the chamber he had just exited, the hall was dim with light, staring down at the floor as if there he would find all the answers that he desired. And as usual he got nothing from the floor other than a growing and steady ache in the back of his neck.

"He's a lunatic." He whispered, more to himself than to anybody else, even though Sala was standing less than five feet away. "He's a delusional fool, unbent by the truth." He looked up to find Sala staring at him, her eyes an expressionless void of blue-grey. She seemed to smile, but if she actually had shown any expressive emotion, it was gone as soon it was there. Terin looked away, down the hall to the window that were covered with heady curtains, letting in none of the days light.

"Everything holds on to it, its own truth. It's not our responsibility to see what are truths, and what are illusions. You'd do better to remember that Terin. Annagaigh is what he is and is doing what he does. We have no choice but to bend against our fate and accept his will."

Terin met her eyes again, once again met with the void of her psyche, burning like a shadow. "I do what I do for what reasons there may seem to be none. But I am not a fool. I bend to the truth and realize that his silly dream is merely a false hope shrouded in lies set forth from the past." Again she seemed to smile, and not smile at the same time. She never seemed to blink, but he knew that wasn't true. He just wasn't noticing it.

Sala looked up the hall behind Terin to the closed door of Annagaigh's room, a room of inestimable darkness. "We must accept the mendacity that we are living, because we have nothing else to hold on to." She met his eyes, and for the first time Terin thought he could see something inside them that was actually a signal that she may have a soul, instead of the cold shallow void that seemed to dwell in them every time he looked into them. "We are lost in our own pasts, wanting our futures to be our own. But to get that, we must live in the darkness of deceit and accept Annagaigh's will as our only hope."

Terin shook his head, refusing to accept that as a viable solution. "Why does he desire those crystals so much? To what purpose do those stupid little rocks hold for him. He has five of them already, so why does he pester me with that child?"

"Because he is absolute in his desire." Sala mused cryptically, staring at the wall, but the glassy appearance of her eyes told him she wasn't looking at the wall, but at something conjured up in her mind instead, like she was imaging a better life or living in the past.

"One child and one crystal. Two simple things that cause me so much suffering. Which does Annagaigh desire the most; the crystal or the child?" Terin was watching Sala, not in hopes that she will respond directly to his comments, but instead because of her new odd behavior he isn't sure what she will do, or why she was behaving in this odd new way.

"Desire is for the strong, and sorrow for the shadows. We are weak and burning like darkness in light." Sala's voice was low and shallow, her voice not seeming to come from her throat, but instead from a far away place and what Terin heard was the result of it traveling so far before it met his ears. "We have unto the day the only hope that our lives will flourish in the night we create. Give him your patience and he will grant you the truth." Terin narrowed his eyes, staring at her more intensely and wondering what was wrong with his old friend. Sala had never been known to act in this odd way before. He was looking for something about her that would reveal to him what had come over her, but she was still the same Sala and looked like the same Sala, and everything about her appearance showed him no lie, and he could see no difference at all. "Annagaigh knows what we are," she said, her voice sounding so far away he wasn't even sure she had said anything at first. Then she turned and stared at him, or into him, because of the way she was looking at him. Almost as if she was looking into him, searching him. "and he is not afraid of our truth." Her face at first was just a shallow pale, but now completely lacking of color. He had noticed, too, that the tone of her voice had deepened, and while still sounding far away it was easier to hear. "And we will be reborn." She blinked her eyes rapidly for a moment before closing them completely, holding them tight as if she were afraid that something she didn't want to see would find a way in. But shortly after, she opened her eyes again for a second, and in that short period of time he thought he saw a fire burning in them like he had never seen before. And then they closed and she collapsed to the floor. Falling and folding like she were a rag doll tossed aside by a child who has grown bored of their toy.

**

Zelda didn't like the darkness of the forest. What she didn't like the most was that she realized that she was not in the same forest she was in last night. She had stopped and looked around several times, hoping to find some hope of resemblance. But nothing of last night caught her attention. She remembered last night following the rose hedge until it ended at the far end of the field and coming into the forest off the road from Rauru. But without the guide she had benefited last night she was forced to retrace her steps from memory. And now she realized that her memory had failed her. The darkness of the forest was like a million eyes watching her. Each step she took she felt its presence on her and the uneasy feeling made her question her plan with each subsequent step. Last night the darkness hadn't bothered her so much, because it was night and it was suppose to be dark at night. But it was early in the morning and she couldn't find a trace where the sunlight broke through the boughs above her. No sliver of light cascading down from above and lining across the ground. She also realized that the forest was relatively silent, absent of the calls of nature she had witness last night. The only sound she could distinctly hear was the pounding of her heart. Am I even in the same forest? She questioned herself, at the same time aware that she was being ridiculous. Last nigh she had entered the forest father down and directly off the road. But today she had been distracted by the trampled hedge and entered the forest from there. Same forest, just a different part. But still, even with that answer burning bright in her mind, she still found it hard to accept she was in the same forest.

**

He could have caught her before she hit the floor. But her odd behavior had an impact on him that scared him more than allowing her to hit the floor. He had stood still and watched her collapse, unable to move and hardly able to breath either. It was only after she had fallen and the slow rise of her chest from breathing was he able to breath himself again, and not until after he saw the flutter of her closed eyes could he move again. Slowly he dropped to his haunches, aware more now than before of the sweet perfume that seemed to be alive in the air, almost as if it were its own creature. He though at first that it was Sala's, but when he reached down and gathered her into his arms, the aroma in the air did not match the faint perfume she wore of rose sachet. And then it was no longer there, as quick as it appeared it disappeared.

The memory of the mysterious perfume faded from his mind as it had the air, as he carried Sala to her room, placing her on her bed the memory was gone. Replaced by a vivid memory of her odd behavior, once again he stared at her trying to come to some conclusion as to what had come over her. And just as before the only answer he got was a blank nothingness.

Terin shook his head, trying to the rid his mind of the incidents, and left Sala to rest, pulling the heavy wooden door to her room shut behind him. Walking down the hall, both Sala and Annagaigh behind him, he was remembering the words that he had heard earlier, which were also fading slowly from his mind like dew burned away by the morning sun, But the whole is the blood ruin resurrection. He hadn't a clue as to what it meant, but whatever the case, he was worried. He didn't know why for sure, but the feeling he had when he first heard the words, as is they had been whispered into his ear, was of dread, and of urgency. And that was something he had never felt before.

He stopped at the end of the hall, to his left was a window that looked out towards the swamps. Far to the south lay the water town Saria. Thick curtains covered the window, and the light that seeped through was muted and sallow. Terin pulled the curtian back a few inches and stole a glance outside. The sky was bright, the morning sun strong in its position. Terin let go of the curtains, allowing then to fall back and filter the light and sending the hallway into pale shadows once again. He turned away form the window and descended the stairs that were opposite the window. The hallway above had be laid with a thick carpet that absorbed his footfalls, but the stairs were bare of any carpet, they were cold granite and his footsteps rang out loudly as he made his way to the first floor.

**

The light was bright, but comforting. Like laying in the sun, soaking it up and then sleeping lazily until the creeping darkness of dusk stole the day away. The light was warm, like that of the sun, but it wasn't the sun. And not really warm, but it was a feeling the light gave off that made him think that it was warm, like he were standing in the sun instead of where ever he was. That he didn't know, somewhere new, different and not the forest any longer. And with that feeling of warmth from the light, was gone was the feeling of fear, the feeling of escalating terror running a course through his body as he tried to escape the fast followers that were at his heels like rabid beasts following the smell of blood. That was gone, but not forgotten. He figured in no time either. It was fresh, like blood from a new wound. But not like the ones he once wore, they were healed, gone and soon to be forgotten because there was no feeling left to them. No mention of them left on his bare skin, but the remnants of them remained in his tunic, but even those were slowly mending themselves away. Like a vague magic in the light was repairing the torn fabric. The light itself, he noticed was not the clear yellow of the sun, but instead a steady, deep golden color that was new to him. It was soothing, warm and new. It was a light that refused to let him feel fear of what had happened, or what could happen. All he felt was a resounding calm.

And as soothing as the light was, the voice that occasionally spoke out to him was just as comforting. Just as resounding. The wait in not for much longer. It spoke, the same voice that the tree-face had spoken with, but as then there had been a face, a presence to accompany the voice, now there was not. But he didn't feel uneasy at this, but instead imagined that it was the light that spoke, as they were both calm and affable. Then the truth of a path will surrender itself to the sight. It had spoken, and as confusing as it was, he understood it to an extent. When the time came, he would know what was going on. That was how he understood the voice.

Shortly after stepping into the forest she found a path, a nearly forgotten one. She didn't know exactly when she first came across the path, as overgrown as it was with barely the hint that it was once a lane that at one time may have been heavily trod. But the condition betrayed what may have been. Weeds and other growth snagged at her feet and pants legs, and on several occasion threaten to send her falling to the ground. As she vigilantly walked along the trail with careful steps, she glanced around. This section of the forest was as mysterious to her as what she had first met after entering it. The forest itself was still dark, darker than she though it should be, but the further she explored in her pursuit to return to where she had been lead last night, the impenetrable canopy above was steadily thinning and shoots and lines of sunlight found their way in, exposing more of the forest for her to see.

Further down the trail, where the sunlight filtered through better, she now noticed the path was not an overgrown as she had noticed. Part of it had been trampled, as if by someone in a hurry. Closer inspection revealed to her that the plow-through was recent. She found a line of footprints indistinctly hidden under the growth and saw those too were recent and followed the line of the path. She figured the prints were the same as the odd prints she had witness at the trampled upon hedge back in the field, but when she pushed aside the growth and broken debris she noticed that these prints were human, or at least human like. She stared at the prints for a moment, then ahead, her eyes running along the path following the line of trampled growth. The canopy of branches gave away more and more to the sky and gave away completely about fifty yards ahead. Zelda stood back up, and after staring ahead at what looked like a clearing, she started to run down the path, not caring about the dangers in the overgrown road, of roots that grew above the ground in arches tall enough to catcher a foot and spill her to the ground. She ran along the section of the path that had been sliced open by who ever ahead of her had hurriedly made their way.

The exit widened to more that twice the width of the path, opened into a clearing of bright light and a carpet of grass that was greener and thicker than any she had ever seen before. The feel of it under her feet was what she thought it would be like to be walking along the clouds that rode the sky she had seen when she looked up. She had wondered if she would see the sky again and she was smiled wide and toothy as she spun around, bathing in the sunlight like it were a torrential downpour of rain. The sunlight was bright, and she thought it was the brightest she had ever seen it. She figured it was just the fear she had of the prospect of never seeing the sky again that made her think that.

She was spinning around again, her arms stretched out at her sides, head back and eyes closed feeling the grass cushion her feet like wisps of cotton. She was lost in the excitement, when suddenly a voice spoke out from somewhere behind her. "One year has passed, and the seals have been broken. I have been waiting for you." She stopped spinning around and glanced around the clearing, trying to find where the voice had come from. But she were alone. Completely alone. "Time is moving on, and a mistake has been made." The same voice spoke out again, and she realized that this voice was the same one she had heard speaking as if just by her ear when she first entered the forest.

Moments of silence passed since the voice last spoke. But even though the swelling silence, she felt a presence that was pressing against her, it was all around. She had turned back towards the forest and the path she had just left, expecting that she had been followed and she would find the one who had spoken. But she was alone, at least in sight. She wasn't alone, truly alone. But when she turned back around, into the clearing she was met with a change. Her eyes widened at first in disbelief, then in awe and shock. The center of the clearing had just a minute ago been clear of all except for the spread of grass that reached as far as the edge of the forest that coiled around her. However, the emptiness was replaced by a small pool of water as clear and blue as any she had ever seen. Not even the water in the waterway that encircled the castle was as pure and pristine looking. And the water itself seemed to give off a light, a golden light she noticed, that seemed to sway as if it were a voice. The voice? She wondered, and felt stupid for thinking that a light could have speech, but then she reminded herself of some of the strange things she had already been met with. Earth that smelled of decay, a darkness that throbbed even when the sun was high above. A weird and wonderful crystal that was small yet heavy, and once cold but now warm. And with that she reached into her pocket for the crystal and found that it was no longer warm, but hot. Not a not a painful hot. She closed her hand around the small crystal, the hotness strangely relaxing.

"I have been waiting." The light throbbed in rhythm with the voice. A voice she realized that was deep, yet not at the same time. "Destiny has called, and your legend must be revived." She was still, but not truly still. She swayed minutely with the voice, entranced by the total calming it offered. She was not hypnotized, she understood this, but she was captured by it none the less. "A mistake was made one year ago. Darkness has returned." The voice finished, then the light rising from the pool intensified to the degree that the clearing was filled, overflowing maybe, with its light.

She tightened her hand around the crystal and walked towards the pool of water, into the concentrated eye of the light. She felt nothing at first, then as she stepped into the water, she felt a falling, as if the ground beneath her feet unexpectedly gave way. She felt her heart suddenly begin to beat faster and faster, she was reaching out for something to hold onto and found nothing. The misty light passing through her fingers and offering no support. She was resigned to fall, either to keep falling or to eventually reach a deeper ground, when swiftly the falling sensation was replaced with that of floating, like in a pool of water. And the light all round her, golden and pure, pacified her racing heart. And then the voice, light voice?, spoke once again.

"The palaver shall begin. Time is short, but the whole is the blood ruin resurrection and legends must be reborn, and retold.