Azeron: Day One: Part Two
Out of breath, Morris doubled up, resting her hands on her knees and panting. Even at her fastest running speed, she trailed several feet behind the others.
“Jesus!” she breathed. “This is ridiculous!” Looking up she saw Lilly turn around and shouted, “I can’t keep this up. I only took Miss Penderlay’s P.E class like three times last term! What the hell are we running from any-” The look on Lilly’s face had her up and turning around, just in time to see a green light, so bright it was almost white, come hurtling towards her. It slammed into her chest, sending her flying.
White hot pain exploded across Morris's ribcage but disappeared when she landed, whacking her head off a nearby tree with a sickening crunch. Lilly screamed, about to dash for her crumpled body.
“No!” The man grabbed her arm, dragging her forward. “There’s nothing you can do for her. We must leave this place!”
“We can’t just leave her!”
“We must!” he pulled her behind a thick tree trunk. “She is no more.” More of the same bright lights hurtled past them.
“We can’t!” Lilly shouted in his face but paying no attention, he pulled a dirty red pouch from his belt.
Ripping it open with his teeth he thrust it toward her.
“Open your mouth!”
“What? Why?”
“NOW!” he pulled her closer as two more of the lights flew past their heads. Feeling her hair flutter in their wake, Lilly’s mouth fell open and raising the pouch he pushed her head back and poured some of the fine – gag-worthy – powder onto her tongue.
“Jesus!” she breathed. “This is ridiculous!” Looking up she saw Lilly turn around and shouted, “I can’t keep this up. I only took Miss Penderlay’s P.E class like three times last term! What the hell are we running from any-” The look on Lilly’s face had her up and turning around, just in time to see a green light, so bright it was almost white, come hurtling towards her. It slammed into her chest, sending her flying.
White hot pain exploded across Morris's ribcage but disappeared when she landed, whacking her head off a nearby tree with a sickening crunch. Lilly screamed, about to dash for her crumpled body.
“No!” The man grabbed her arm, dragging her forward. “There’s nothing you can do for her. We must leave this place!”
“We can’t just leave her!”
“We must!” he pulled her behind a thick tree trunk. “She is no more.” More of the same bright lights hurtled past them.
“We can’t!” Lilly shouted in his face but paying no attention, he pulled a dirty red pouch from his belt.
Ripping it open with his teeth he thrust it toward her.
“Open your mouth!”
“What? Why?”
“NOW!” he pulled her closer as two more of the lights flew past their heads. Feeling her hair flutter in their wake, Lilly’s mouth fell open and raising the pouch he pushed her head back and poured some of the fine – gag-worthy – powder onto her tongue.
“Hold very tight.” His free arm went around her waist and the next thing she knew they were up in the tree. Then they were leaping into the next and the next.
With a girl under each arm – Harper still zoned out, and Lilly stunned into silence – this strange man ran through the trees, hopping from one to the other, as if part of some bizarre circus act.
Below, the troops, who had caught up to them were soon left behind.
Yet they kept moving until the man, becoming unsteady, began to slow down. Expecting something graceful like the first time he’d leapt down to her, Lilly was painfully disappointed when he tumbled down several limbs, before their fall was broken by a thick patch of prickly bushes, their combined weight squashing dozens of the bright yellow fruit growing there.
She clambered out, scanning the area before looking back at him, a shaking panting heap, sinking into the bush with every breath, and extended a hand to help him up.
He frowned, turning his palm to face the bush as he muttered,
“Ta Varee.” Slowly it disappeared, leaving him and Harper on a burgeoning heap of mulch.
Lilly stared at it a moment before rubbing her eyes and shaking her head, “OK enough! What were those flying light thingies? What happened to Morris?”
“Tellemi darts.” The man stood up, “From Mordrel's troops…” wiping the thick, sap-like fruits off his clothes, he added, “It was only a matter of time before they spotted us.”
“Oh right.” Lilly passed him by to check on Harper. “Tellemi darts.” She shrugged, “Oh, but wait…” she stopped and turned to him. “I don’t have a clue what a Tellemi is! Or who Mordrel is! Or who you are!”
Accepting her anger he sighed, “I am Kyrel.”
“Good for you Kyrel, how’s about you tell me what the fuck is going on?”
“You will find out soon enough.” He nodded, passing her by and checking Harper over himself.
“No, no, no OK! Enough of this ta varee and running through trees, I want to know…” she barely had time to register the look on his face before the ground beneath them started rumbling. Kyrel leapt up, knocking her down and landing on top of her with a thump.
From nowhere a sapling shot up where Lilly had been standing. Ageing as it whooshed higher, it stopped at what looked somewhere between a one hundred and one hundred and fifty year old tree.
Lilly looked from the new tree to him, her eyes wide with fright, and rolling off her Kyrel got up, shaking his head.
“We’re close enough to be safe on the ground from here.” He turned looking at the new tree as if sizing it up then turned back to Lilly with a smirk. “Do not say that again.”
“Say what,” She looked to the tree. “Ta va-”
He hissed with anticipation and looking back to him she nodded. “Got it!”
“I’m sorry about your friend.” He reached down helping her up. “But there's no time for explanations.” He went back over to Harper, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder again.
“Fine,” shrugged Lilly but I’m telling you now, when I get one it had better not include any yellow brick roads, or ruby slippers, or a dog named Toto.”
For a moment Kyrel looked deep in thought before shaking his head saying, “I’m fairly certain there are none of those things,” before he walked off.
“OK,” She followed him, wiping fruit and juice from her own clothes. “But we’re not in Kansas anymore right?”
“Were you there to begin with?” Kyrel sounded dubious.
“Well no…” shrugged Lilly. “Was kind of a… Never mind…” she sighed. “I’m guessing a lot of my humour is lost on someone from wherever it is that we are.”
“Azeron.” Kyrel nodded.
“Azeron?”
“That’s the name of this realm, all those lands which are under the domain of Crizoleth. All else is the Daenvekyam Outer Regions for as far as the eye can see. You were brought here by sprite magick. The mist was also their doing.”
“OK,” she picked her way through the trees, realising they were growing more sparse as the ground rose up, getting steeper with each step. “And where exactly are we going now?” She struggled to catch up.
“You…” Kyrel reached the top of the hill as Lilly joined him and they looked down at the small fenced off village, populated to its edges with circular mud huts: their domed roofs a patchwork of browns and greens. “…Are going home.”
With a girl under each arm – Harper still zoned out, and Lilly stunned into silence – this strange man ran through the trees, hopping from one to the other, as if part of some bizarre circus act.
Below, the troops, who had caught up to them were soon left behind.
Yet they kept moving until the man, becoming unsteady, began to slow down. Expecting something graceful like the first time he’d leapt down to her, Lilly was painfully disappointed when he tumbled down several limbs, before their fall was broken by a thick patch of prickly bushes, their combined weight squashing dozens of the bright yellow fruit growing there.
She clambered out, scanning the area before looking back at him, a shaking panting heap, sinking into the bush with every breath, and extended a hand to help him up.
He frowned, turning his palm to face the bush as he muttered,
“Ta Varee.” Slowly it disappeared, leaving him and Harper on a burgeoning heap of mulch.
Lilly stared at it a moment before rubbing her eyes and shaking her head, “OK enough! What were those flying light thingies? What happened to Morris?”
“Tellemi darts.” The man stood up, “From Mordrel's troops…” wiping the thick, sap-like fruits off his clothes, he added, “It was only a matter of time before they spotted us.”
“Oh right.” Lilly passed him by to check on Harper. “Tellemi darts.” She shrugged, “Oh, but wait…” she stopped and turned to him. “I don’t have a clue what a Tellemi is! Or who Mordrel is! Or who you are!”
Accepting her anger he sighed, “I am Kyrel.”
“Good for you Kyrel, how’s about you tell me what the fuck is going on?”
“You will find out soon enough.” He nodded, passing her by and checking Harper over himself.
“No, no, no OK! Enough of this ta varee and running through trees, I want to know…” she barely had time to register the look on his face before the ground beneath them started rumbling. Kyrel leapt up, knocking her down and landing on top of her with a thump.
From nowhere a sapling shot up where Lilly had been standing. Ageing as it whooshed higher, it stopped at what looked somewhere between a one hundred and one hundred and fifty year old tree.
Lilly looked from the new tree to him, her eyes wide with fright, and rolling off her Kyrel got up, shaking his head.
“We’re close enough to be safe on the ground from here.” He turned looking at the new tree as if sizing it up then turned back to Lilly with a smirk. “Do not say that again.”
“Say what,” She looked to the tree. “Ta va-”
He hissed with anticipation and looking back to him she nodded. “Got it!”
“I’m sorry about your friend.” He reached down helping her up. “But there's no time for explanations.” He went back over to Harper, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder again.
“Fine,” shrugged Lilly but I’m telling you now, when I get one it had better not include any yellow brick roads, or ruby slippers, or a dog named Toto.”
For a moment Kyrel looked deep in thought before shaking his head saying, “I’m fairly certain there are none of those things,” before he walked off.
“OK,” She followed him, wiping fruit and juice from her own clothes. “But we’re not in Kansas anymore right?”
“Were you there to begin with?” Kyrel sounded dubious.
“Well no…” shrugged Lilly. “Was kind of a… Never mind…” she sighed. “I’m guessing a lot of my humour is lost on someone from wherever it is that we are.”
“Azeron.” Kyrel nodded.
“Azeron?”
“That’s the name of this realm, all those lands which are under the domain of Crizoleth. All else is the Daenvekyam Outer Regions for as far as the eye can see. You were brought here by sprite magick. The mist was also their doing.”
“OK,” she picked her way through the trees, realising they were growing more sparse as the ground rose up, getting steeper with each step. “And where exactly are we going now?” She struggled to catch up.
“You…” Kyrel reached the top of the hill as Lilly joined him and they looked down at the small fenced off village, populated to its edges with circular mud huts: their domed roofs a patchwork of browns and greens. “…Are going home.”
Faced with a plentiful spread of unfamiliar foods the boys looked from the table to each other, as the curtain closed behind them.
“Well, looks like they want us to eat.” Baxter picked out a heavy brown roll and nibbled off a piece.
Terence watched with growing interest as he first frowned, then shrugging bit off a larger chunk and chewed.
Tobias grimaced as his brother sniffed an identical roll then bit into it.
“Ah man, don’t eat that shit!”
“Not bad.” Terence nodded through a mouthful.
“Yeah,” Baxter grinned snatching up a wooden bowl and filling it with an assortment from the table. “Not bad at all.” He dipped a finger into a smaller bowl filled with a light brown goo teeming with tiny yellow leaves, before picking it up and carrying it off to a bench by one of the room’s minute windows.
“What do you mean not bad?” Tobias slapped his brother’s arm away from a plate of berries. “Have you two lost your minds? Everything about today has been bad! First the bus crashes now we gotta deal with this insane fucking shit?”
“Man you need to give your bro a chill pill or something.” Baxter munched away on a mouthful.
“Fuck you Baxter! Stay here and eat that funky looking shit if you want. Tez and me can find our own way outta…” he stopped; seeing Terrence filling a bowl with berries. “What the fuck! What are you doing?”
“Give me a break would ya.” Terence shook his head. “We ain’t had fuck all to eat all day and this stuff ain’t half bad.”
“You don’t even know what those things are!” Tobias glared at him as he crossed the room and sat beside Baxter.
“I know it’s good enough to eat.” Terrence grinned and Baxter laughed.
“We’ve been kidnapped by a bunch of weirdos and you two think it’s funny! Since when are there people living in Craven's Peak anyway?”
“Since now.” Baxter looked up. “And if they wanted to hurt us they wouldn’t need to feed us anything dangerous… In case you didn’t notice everyone here is carrying around broad swords. They coulda slit our throats and left our bodies to rot in the forest.”
“Oh great…” scowled Tobias, “…feeling much better now... Thanks!”
“Baxter’s right bro.” Terrence shrugged, “you should calm down. These guys don’t wanna hurt us. It was that other lot headed our way we ought to be worrying about.”
“Seriously!” asked Tobias. “Are you two completely fucked up? How can you not be totally fucking freaked out? Have you forgotten those horses they were riding… They had no legs! And what about those creepy fucking creatures out there? Don’t you-”
“Sprites.” Vereena said as she came through the curtain. Tobias turned to her and nodded as she reiterated, “We call them sprites.”
She carried with her a tray with a brown clay jug and several tall wooden cups upon it as the darkest sprite came in behind her. As Tobias backed away from the creature, Vereena told him, “She’ll not hurt you.”
Terence had stopped eating and like his brother was eyeing the sprite curiously. “Her name’s Merly.” Vereena headed for the table, and hurrying round it, Terence began clearing space.
“Who are you people? These are private woods, I’m sure the school wouldn’t take kindly to travellers-”
“Thank you,” Vereena frowned, sliding the tray onto the table before stepping back and shaking her head at him. “We do not travel. We’re Da’ariel and we’ve lived in these woods for more cycles than you could count.”
“Err…” Tobias stepped up to continue the interrogation. “That’s impossible! If you people have lived in Craven's Peak that long how come nobody’s ever heard of any... Da'ariel?”
“Yeah,” Terrence added. “There’d at least be rumours.”
“Oh, I’m afraid you’re no longer in Craven's Peak woods,” Vereena looked to Tobias. “This… in your tongue at least, is Shadow-wood, sacred home-ground of the Avengturov clan and your best chance of sanctuary from Queen Mordrel’s forces.”
The twins stared at her, their faces blank, until looking up from his food Baxter shook his head. “Errr… You wanna break that down for us girly?”
As she turned his way, shouts outside caught all of their attention, and getting up Baxter climbed on the bench to look out the window. People gathered in small groups, chatting among themselves excitedly while villagers bearing swords ran toward the entrance of the camp. Arteth and Toleth were among them, their swords already unsheathed.
“Something's going on.” Baxter strained to make out what was being said. He turned back to Vereena with a questioning look. “Deebanaarie?”
Her eyes grew wide and she pulled a thin wavy dagger from her belt.
“Stay here!”
The boys looked to each other as she ran out, meanwhile Merly bounced up onto the table, and walking between the plates on her tiny feet, grabbed a piece of meat, chomping on it eagerly.
“Well, looks like they want us to eat.” Baxter picked out a heavy brown roll and nibbled off a piece.
Terence watched with growing interest as he first frowned, then shrugging bit off a larger chunk and chewed.
Tobias grimaced as his brother sniffed an identical roll then bit into it.
“Ah man, don’t eat that shit!”
“Not bad.” Terence nodded through a mouthful.
“Yeah,” Baxter grinned snatching up a wooden bowl and filling it with an assortment from the table. “Not bad at all.” He dipped a finger into a smaller bowl filled with a light brown goo teeming with tiny yellow leaves, before picking it up and carrying it off to a bench by one of the room’s minute windows.
“What do you mean not bad?” Tobias slapped his brother’s arm away from a plate of berries. “Have you two lost your minds? Everything about today has been bad! First the bus crashes now we gotta deal with this insane fucking shit?”
“Man you need to give your bro a chill pill or something.” Baxter munched away on a mouthful.
“Fuck you Baxter! Stay here and eat that funky looking shit if you want. Tez and me can find our own way outta…” he stopped; seeing Terrence filling a bowl with berries. “What the fuck! What are you doing?”
“Give me a break would ya.” Terence shook his head. “We ain’t had fuck all to eat all day and this stuff ain’t half bad.”
“You don’t even know what those things are!” Tobias glared at him as he crossed the room and sat beside Baxter.
“I know it’s good enough to eat.” Terrence grinned and Baxter laughed.
“We’ve been kidnapped by a bunch of weirdos and you two think it’s funny! Since when are there people living in Craven's Peak anyway?”
“Since now.” Baxter looked up. “And if they wanted to hurt us they wouldn’t need to feed us anything dangerous… In case you didn’t notice everyone here is carrying around broad swords. They coulda slit our throats and left our bodies to rot in the forest.”
“Oh great…” scowled Tobias, “…feeling much better now... Thanks!”
“Baxter’s right bro.” Terrence shrugged, “you should calm down. These guys don’t wanna hurt us. It was that other lot headed our way we ought to be worrying about.”
“Seriously!” asked Tobias. “Are you two completely fucked up? How can you not be totally fucking freaked out? Have you forgotten those horses they were riding… They had no legs! And what about those creepy fucking creatures out there? Don’t you-”
“Sprites.” Vereena said as she came through the curtain. Tobias turned to her and nodded as she reiterated, “We call them sprites.”
She carried with her a tray with a brown clay jug and several tall wooden cups upon it as the darkest sprite came in behind her. As Tobias backed away from the creature, Vereena told him, “She’ll not hurt you.”
Terence had stopped eating and like his brother was eyeing the sprite curiously. “Her name’s Merly.” Vereena headed for the table, and hurrying round it, Terence began clearing space.
“Who are you people? These are private woods, I’m sure the school wouldn’t take kindly to travellers-”
“Thank you,” Vereena frowned, sliding the tray onto the table before stepping back and shaking her head at him. “We do not travel. We’re Da’ariel and we’ve lived in these woods for more cycles than you could count.”
“Err…” Tobias stepped up to continue the interrogation. “That’s impossible! If you people have lived in Craven's Peak that long how come nobody’s ever heard of any... Da'ariel?”
“Yeah,” Terrence added. “There’d at least be rumours.”
“Oh, I’m afraid you’re no longer in Craven's Peak woods,” Vereena looked to Tobias. “This… in your tongue at least, is Shadow-wood, sacred home-ground of the Avengturov clan and your best chance of sanctuary from Queen Mordrel’s forces.”
The twins stared at her, their faces blank, until looking up from his food Baxter shook his head. “Errr… You wanna break that down for us girly?”
As she turned his way, shouts outside caught all of their attention, and getting up Baxter climbed on the bench to look out the window. People gathered in small groups, chatting among themselves excitedly while villagers bearing swords ran toward the entrance of the camp. Arteth and Toleth were among them, their swords already unsheathed.
“Something's going on.” Baxter strained to make out what was being said. He turned back to Vereena with a questioning look. “Deebanaarie?”
Her eyes grew wide and she pulled a thin wavy dagger from her belt.
“Stay here!”
The boys looked to each other as she ran out, meanwhile Merly bounced up onto the table, and walking between the plates on her tiny feet, grabbed a piece of meat, chomping on it eagerly.
“Open up these gates at once!”
“Be gone Deebanaarie Matfiac! Your kind are not welcome here.”
“You’ll have a lot more of my kind upon you before you know it if you don’t let us in there!”
Lilly knelt beside the huge tree trunk fence, cradling Harper’s head in her lap as Kyrel argued with the guards in a language she'd never heard before.
A raucous chatter was building up on the other side of the gate accompanied by the pounding of feet.
“Hear me you Da’ariel fool, Mordrel's troops are but a few strides back in the forest and if you don’t let us through the barrier they shall surely find us all!”
“Kyrel?” A voice boomed over the din of the gathering crowd. “Is that you? Do you have Lilliath with you?”
“Of course!” he yelled back “But I cannot keep her safe out here for long so I suggest-”
“Open the gates!” the other voice commanded.
The noise died down and the gates were pulled back. Lilly gazed in at the crowd of curious faces. Masses of people, all bearing weapons — swords, bows and arrows, or the odd wooden pitchfork— they began dividing, and two men came through followed by more with swords.
The tallest took off his helmet, his blonde plaits falling over his cheeks.
The entrance flickered momentarily and as the man stepped forward, Lilly noticed him pocketing a small glowing orb.
“Quick Lilliath,” he lifted Harper from her lap. “You must come inside at once!”
“Err…” her frown deepened as she turned to Kyrel asking, “Why did he call me that?”
“Because he knows you only by your given name,” he offered a helping hand and waited for her to follow before adding, “Come on.”
The crowd bared their teeth at Kyrel, raising weapons and jeering, yet when Lilly passed they became mesmerised; the fight leaving them in favour of curiosity.
“OK,” Lilly took a deep breath, “Getting kind of creepy now.”
“Be gone Deebanaarie Matfiac! Your kind are not welcome here.”
“You’ll have a lot more of my kind upon you before you know it if you don’t let us in there!”
Lilly knelt beside the huge tree trunk fence, cradling Harper’s head in her lap as Kyrel argued with the guards in a language she'd never heard before.
A raucous chatter was building up on the other side of the gate accompanied by the pounding of feet.
“Hear me you Da’ariel fool, Mordrel's troops are but a few strides back in the forest and if you don’t let us through the barrier they shall surely find us all!”
“Kyrel?” A voice boomed over the din of the gathering crowd. “Is that you? Do you have Lilliath with you?”
“Of course!” he yelled back “But I cannot keep her safe out here for long so I suggest-”
“Open the gates!” the other voice commanded.
The noise died down and the gates were pulled back. Lilly gazed in at the crowd of curious faces. Masses of people, all bearing weapons — swords, bows and arrows, or the odd wooden pitchfork— they began dividing, and two men came through followed by more with swords.
The tallest took off his helmet, his blonde plaits falling over his cheeks.
The entrance flickered momentarily and as the man stepped forward, Lilly noticed him pocketing a small glowing orb.
“Quick Lilliath,” he lifted Harper from her lap. “You must come inside at once!”
“Err…” her frown deepened as she turned to Kyrel asking, “Why did he call me that?”
“Because he knows you only by your given name,” he offered a helping hand and waited for her to follow before adding, “Come on.”
The crowd bared their teeth at Kyrel, raising weapons and jeering, yet when Lilly passed they became mesmerised; the fight leaving them in favour of curiosity.
“OK,” Lilly took a deep breath, “Getting kind of creepy now.”
The three boys stood up as the curtain opened again and Vereena hurried in. She was followed by a tall lithe female guard carrying Sandra Harper in her arms.
The pair took her through to a second room and moments later the guard reappeared. Baxter pushed past her, looking immediately to Harper.
“What happened to her? Was anyone else with her?” He stared at Harper's inert body on the small cot. “Another girl maybe? With scruffy dark hair and an attitude problem.”
“No,” Vereena pulled a small silver bottle from her belt. “None like that.” she poured a few drops of thick dark liquid into Harper’s mouth. “Only Kyrel and Lilliath.”
“Lilliath?” Baxter looked over his shoulder as the twins entered the room. “Did you say Lilli-ath or Lilli-an?”
“What’s going on?” Terence came up behind them.
“Your friend here is stunned, an effect of coming through the veil.”
“Veil?” Terrence looked to Baxter who shook his head and shrugged, “She says someone called Lilli-ath was with her… could be Lilly right?”
“I guess,” Terence nodded, looking at his brother as he crept up behind them.
The pair took her through to a second room and moments later the guard reappeared. Baxter pushed past her, looking immediately to Harper.
“What happened to her? Was anyone else with her?” He stared at Harper's inert body on the small cot. “Another girl maybe? With scruffy dark hair and an attitude problem.”
“No,” Vereena pulled a small silver bottle from her belt. “None like that.” she poured a few drops of thick dark liquid into Harper’s mouth. “Only Kyrel and Lilliath.”
“Lilliath?” Baxter looked over his shoulder as the twins entered the room. “Did you say Lilli-ath or Lilli-an?”
“What’s going on?” Terence came up behind them.
“Your friend here is stunned, an effect of coming through the veil.”
“Veil?” Terrence looked to Baxter who shook his head and shrugged, “She says someone called Lilli-ath was with her… could be Lilly right?”
“I guess,” Terence nodded, looking at his brother as he crept up behind them.
“You had no right to involve yourself in this Kyrel.”
“I had every right!” he sat himself on the only chair in the room, a large wooden ceremonious looking thing.
“Ny!” Mai Mai ambled toward him, her walking handle thumping off the dry red earth beneath them. “This affair is Da’ariel and we have it under control. Do not forget she is a daughter of the Da'ariel. We have planned much for these days. Your help is not needed here.”
“Oh really,” he put his feet up on the chunky arm. “Then you must know how close Mordrel's troops where when I reached her?”
“Get… off… my… seat, you impudent wretch!” Kyrel stared up into the old lady’s eyes a moment before shrugging and moving aside. “Her friend was killed by a tellemi dart was that part of your tiresome Da’ariel planning too?”
“You are uncouth, unpredictable and far too dangerous to stay around here.”
“As you wish,” he grabbed Lilly’s hand, “I shall take Lilliath and my leave-”
“We’ll see you dead before we allow you to take her!” spat Mai Mai.
“Oh yes?” he turned back to her. “With a bowl of quiesscence and a handful of sprites? Your limited magicks couldn’t even keep me from her. How do you propose to keep away an entire Deebanaarie battalion?”
“I’m not about to share our plans with you.” She frowned, accepting a small wooden cup being handed to her by the white haired sprite.
“Thank you T’vor.”
Kyrel moved to Lilly’s side.
“You’re not keeping me from her Mai M-”
“Don’t you call me that!” she snapped, fixing him with a cold stare. “You’re no family of mine Deebanaarie matfiack!”
Kyrel's eyes narrowed, his lips becoming little more than a feint white slit. He watched a moment as the woman sipped her drink, testing its temperature, before gulping down the lot and handing the cup back to T’vor.
“As you wish… Mairiel,” he bowed his head, anger dying out as swiftly as it had flared. “But I’m here and you do need me.” He gave a slight nod. “I’m the only one here with active magicks-”
“That matters not. We have the knowledge of-”
“Da’ariel knowledge will not be enough!” His head snapped up and returning her glare he switched again to that language as foreign to Lilly as her surroundings. Though he gestured her way while he spoke the only word she could make out clearly was a repeat of Deebanaarie.
Then seeming to read the confusion on her face he finally switched back. Still refusing to drop his eyes as he shrugged, “…your writings do not cover enough of the tongue to teach her all she needs. Besides, your numbers have continued to dwindle. Your chances of removing me with force are far less than last time.”
Mairiel considered all he’d said before nodding, “So maybe your knowledge could be useful to us… But understand one thing Kyrel, you have no authority here. None! You will do only as is asked and otherwise not involve yourself in our affairs any further.”
Lilly found her eyes glued to the older woman's face, with grim fascination, the deeply furrowed wrinkles appeared to be fading, plumping up and straightening out. Her hair was changing too, brightening to a shade not unlike Lilly’s.
Seeing her back away, Mairiel turned her way and smiling stood up, her back had straightened and no longer needing her handle she left it against the huge seat as she walked over.
“Lilliath… We have waited too long to behold your presence again.”
Lilly backed away, cowering behind Kyrel. He suppressed a smirk.
“Unless you seek to estrange the child, I suggest taking things one small step at a time. Her given name is as foreign to her as Azeron itself. And as the magicks in her realm are quite different to our own your pulpustuem root probably wasn’t the best first step.”
“I had every right!” he sat himself on the only chair in the room, a large wooden ceremonious looking thing.
“Ny!” Mai Mai ambled toward him, her walking handle thumping off the dry red earth beneath them. “This affair is Da’ariel and we have it under control. Do not forget she is a daughter of the Da'ariel. We have planned much for these days. Your help is not needed here.”
“Oh really,” he put his feet up on the chunky arm. “Then you must know how close Mordrel's troops where when I reached her?”
“Get… off… my… seat, you impudent wretch!” Kyrel stared up into the old lady’s eyes a moment before shrugging and moving aside. “Her friend was killed by a tellemi dart was that part of your tiresome Da’ariel planning too?”
“You are uncouth, unpredictable and far too dangerous to stay around here.”
“As you wish,” he grabbed Lilly’s hand, “I shall take Lilliath and my leave-”
“We’ll see you dead before we allow you to take her!” spat Mai Mai.
“Oh yes?” he turned back to her. “With a bowl of quiesscence and a handful of sprites? Your limited magicks couldn’t even keep me from her. How do you propose to keep away an entire Deebanaarie battalion?”
“I’m not about to share our plans with you.” She frowned, accepting a small wooden cup being handed to her by the white haired sprite.
“Thank you T’vor.”
Kyrel moved to Lilly’s side.
“You’re not keeping me from her Mai M-”
“Don’t you call me that!” she snapped, fixing him with a cold stare. “You’re no family of mine Deebanaarie matfiack!”
Kyrel's eyes narrowed, his lips becoming little more than a feint white slit. He watched a moment as the woman sipped her drink, testing its temperature, before gulping down the lot and handing the cup back to T’vor.
“As you wish… Mairiel,” he bowed his head, anger dying out as swiftly as it had flared. “But I’m here and you do need me.” He gave a slight nod. “I’m the only one here with active magicks-”
“That matters not. We have the knowledge of-”
“Da’ariel knowledge will not be enough!” His head snapped up and returning her glare he switched again to that language as foreign to Lilly as her surroundings. Though he gestured her way while he spoke the only word she could make out clearly was a repeat of Deebanaarie.
Then seeming to read the confusion on her face he finally switched back. Still refusing to drop his eyes as he shrugged, “…your writings do not cover enough of the tongue to teach her all she needs. Besides, your numbers have continued to dwindle. Your chances of removing me with force are far less than last time.”
Mairiel considered all he’d said before nodding, “So maybe your knowledge could be useful to us… But understand one thing Kyrel, you have no authority here. None! You will do only as is asked and otherwise not involve yourself in our affairs any further.”
Lilly found her eyes glued to the older woman's face, with grim fascination, the deeply furrowed wrinkles appeared to be fading, plumping up and straightening out. Her hair was changing too, brightening to a shade not unlike Lilly’s.
Seeing her back away, Mairiel turned her way and smiling stood up, her back had straightened and no longer needing her handle she left it against the huge seat as she walked over.
“Lilliath… We have waited too long to behold your presence again.”
Lilly backed away, cowering behind Kyrel. He suppressed a smirk.
“Unless you seek to estrange the child, I suggest taking things one small step at a time. Her given name is as foreign to her as Azeron itself. And as the magicks in her realm are quite different to our own your pulpustuem root probably wasn’t the best first step.”
“You call these small steps!” Lilly stared incredulously at Mai Mai, the now handsome, middle-aged woman, standing tall beside her. “I mean OK the magick stuff… kinda cool a-and undeniably real. A-and don’t think I’m not digging the whole Chosen-One thing.” She shrugged, “I mean who doesn’t want to be the next child of prophecy… Buffy Summers eat your heart out and all that crazy shit. But come on… You’re telling me I have four days left to live, if I can’t master some inherited powers so ancient that no one here has possessed them in decades.”
“It has indeed been many generations.” Mairiel gave a solemn nod. “But we do still possess the necessary knowledge.” An attempt to call her Mai Mai earlier had resulted in a torrent of protest ending with, “That won’t do at all, you child are to call me Mairiel.”
Now her rejuvenated face and voice were far sterner and she stared down at Lilly. “You will defeat Mordrel,” she nodded. “You must: you alone have the power.”
“Hate to break it to you lady,” seeing the beginnings of a frown she shrugged, adding “Mairiel, but I barely have the power to make it through school in one piece and spend the rest of my life in some dead end job, just about surviving above the breadline if I’m lucky.”
“Then you are not lucky,” Mai Mai shook her head, “because this is your destiny. Now open it.”
Kyrel was at Lilly’s other side. While Mai Mai’s grandsons Arteth and Toleth stood slightly further back, watching eagerly as she stared down at the large, stone trunk. The outside of it was covered in carvings that Mai Mai had called protective writings but looked to Lilly more like random squiggles and swirly shapes.
“The Kalaareem is in four settings of the sun,” added Mai Mai. “You have no choice but to be ready for the full strength of Mordrel’s forces. She will stop at nothing to eliminate you now.”
“But that’s crazy!” Lilly shook her head. “I can barely understand what you people are talking about. How can I fight when I don’t understand? I mean come on… Didn’t you ever hear that knowledge is power?”
With a contemplative frown Mai Mai shook her head. “I do not believe I have.”
“Fine,” Lilly sighed, hands going to the lid of the trunk. “But I’m telling you now, you have the wrong girl. I-I mean not that I don’t understand the mistake. Lilliath… Lillian… Fair enough there’s a similarity a-and sure… My parents did die when I was younger, but it wasn’t in some magnificent battle like you’re making out. It was a car crash. I should know. I was there…” unconsciously running her fingers along the groove where lid and trunk met - enjoying the unexpected warmth emanating from its dark stone surface within. As she shrugged, her fingers moving faster along that groove, she added, “I mean my memory of that day may be a little sketchy. What with the being an infant and all, but I do have the shrapnel scar in the back of my head to prove it so there’s no way you’re telling me it didn’t happen.”
“Not shrapnel. Do’mass,” said Mai Mai. She watched as, mesmerised by the groove on the box, Lilly felt and glimpsed a spark.
It licked at her fingertips, and startled she fell against Kyrel’s hard chest. Straightening up and struggling to breathe steady, she turned back to Mai Mai. “What the hell just happened?”
“You made the connection.” Mai Mai smiled.
“What the fuck is that meant to-”
“You unlocked the box,” nodded the woman. “Something which would not have been possible if you were not Herrella’s daughter.”
“What? No!” Lilly shook her head, backing away from it. “I… I… I didn’t, I was just…I-”
“Toleth!” called Mai Mai. “Cat ya vac!”
The youngest grandson stepped forward.
“Show your Do’mass.”
“Oh hey… No! That’s cool,” Lilly backed away waving her hands. “I don’t think I need to see anybody’s Do’mass thanks.”
With a puzzled frown and his arm over his chest, in the exact same gesture she’d seen from Kyrel earlier, Toleth nodded. “To finally know you is an honour cousin Lilliath.” Then, while she muttered through clenched teeth about wanting people to stop calling her that, he dropped to one knee and flipped both head and hair forward in one fluid motion.
Seeing he had Lilly’s attention Mai Mai ran a finger down Toleth’s scalp. Parting his hair upward along the middle, to just above the nape of his neck: revealing a Y shaped scar with rounded ends. Lilly gasped. Her hand flew to the same spot on her head, and standing Toleth nodded once more before stepping back and re-joining his brother.
“The Do’mass is a sacred symbol,” explained Mai Mai. “We Da’ariel mark our young this way when collecting their essence to seal the Eshron,” she gestured to the trunk adding, “It reminds us of the true strength of Azeron: Laîoch and Tuâoch. In the Do’mass we remember them as they should be: bound by nature’s laws - three mighty forces as one.”
Lilly’s eyes were wide with disgust.
“You carve a mark into the backs of baby’s heads! That is what you’re saying right? You… You bleed your kids at birth. Why would you do that?” Her nose wrinkled. “It’s gross! Not to mention weird... You people are weird!” Lilly nodded. “You know that right? You know you’re all real weird?”
Mairiel contemplated her quietly a moment before continuing. “There was once a time when all in Azeron were born with the Do’mass.” Her voice grew sullen. “However, with the magicks parted, time was the only thing needed to bring about its demise. Unable to harness the forces of Tuâoch the Deebanaarie soon bore a different mark.” The woman’s gaze shifted momentarily to Kyrel and seeing Lilly look his way he sighed and begrudgingly turned around.
He pulled back his hair, showing the corrupted symbol which looked as though the right arm of the Y had fallen off, leaving only a stump. It was also flatter, thicker, and blended more naturally with the surrounding the skin.
“It’s not a scar.” Lilly shook her head as he turned to face her. “You... yours is a birthmark!”
“That’s right,” Mairiel’s tone commanded her attention again, yet the woman could no longer take her eyes off Kyrel. “Some Deebanaarie,” she nodded his way, “those with royal blood, are still born with the mark. It may no longer be a true Do’mass but Deebanaarie bearing it do still have limited access to the forces of the Tuâoch. As for the Da’ariel: we were forced to stop using our magicks to survive the slaughters that followed the Great War. The price we paid for doing so was a high one. No Da’ariel has been born with the mark for more than three hundred cycles. And so we long ago became incapable of accessing our once inherent magicks. That is…” picking up on the change in her tone - from seething anger to awe - Lilly turned to see Mai Mai smiling her way as she finished with, “until now!”
“No, OK!” she shook her head, backing away from the trunk. “I… I’m not listening anymore. The things you’re saying are just... stupid! A…and-”
“What’s stupid, Slater?” Baxter sauntered in, carrying a bowl of food, with Terrence at his side. The blonde girl: Vereena, was behind them; while Tobias, scanning his surroundings, came in after her. “If it’s all this, ‘you’re some long lost princess with special powers’ thing,” Baxter shrugged. “We’re way ahead of you on that one.”
Lilly’s jaw dropped as she glared from him to Mai Mai. Before raising an eyebrow and smirking, “Princess?”
“Yes,” Mai Mai nodded. “Your mother, Herrella, was my eldest. As such she was next to lead our people. You were her only child and she died getting you beyond the veil.”
Lilly blinked a couple of times before shaking her head. “So wait… You’re telling me I’m next in line to lead a bunch of ragtag, mud-hut-dwelling, defenceless no-hopers?”
“Oh, ain’t they told you the bit about the evil Queen yet?”
The twins sniggered at Baxter’s remark.
Cocking her head to one side, Mai Mai fixed them with a stare that shut them both up. “The Avengturov family have led these Da’ariel since the days of the Do’mass council.” She turned back to Lilly, “with both my daughters dead you are indeed next in line for leadership.”
“Yeah well consider me abdicated, Let...” she frowned sceptically toward Arteth and Toleth. “…One of my cousins? Do it -”
“Men are not leaders.” Mai Mai stated simply. “They are warriors, excellent at carrying out our orders; they do not give them.”
“Phhh!” Baxter’s face screwed up and everyone looked his way - Lilly doing so with a smirk. “Well come on…” he shrugged “That’s just stupid!”
“Definitely,” Terrence pinched some food from Baxter’s bowl. “It’s no wonder you’re getting your asses handed to you, if that’s how you think.”
“Cat ya vac!” Mai Mai snarled and immediately Vereena was herding them into the far corner of the room.
“Come now, away, what’s spoken here is too important for interruptions.”
“Oh hey, hey watch the food!” protested Baxter.
“What about her?” Lilly watched the other girl. “She a relative too?”
“Oh yes, cousin.” Vereena forgot the boys and looked back with a wide grin, “I too am-”
“Cat ya vac Veer!” Mai Mai glared at the girl. “Deng mei natuii? Cat ya vac inst!”
“Veyhi Mairiel, maenk tae.” Vereena dropped her eyes, pushing the boys farther into the corner as the older woman turned back to Lilly.
“Vereena is not yet approaching her Kalaareem,” stated Mai Mai. “And you cannot abdicate your destiny, Lilliath. Only you have the magicks.”
“Oh yeah,” huffed Lilly, “Well I got a newsflash for you I don’t have any damn magicks, OK. I… I wasn’t born with the mark… mine is just a scar. Like his,” she pointed at Toleth. “Like I said, I get the mistake OK, a few misinterpreted similarities. No biggy… Just pop me back through one of those veil thingies and we can all get on with forgetting this ever happened.”
“Yeah,” Tobias spoke up, though he was still scanning every crevice of the room. “I’m with Lilly on that…” his voice trailed off when T’vor wobbled into the room and closing his mouth he backed away.
Baxter, barely noticing the creature’s presence, shrugged, lending his own brand of support.
“Yeah,” he looked Lilly’s way. “I mean just look at her… No way scrawny-Annie is anybody’s warrior princess.” Seeing anger flare in her eyes he grinned, biting a chunk from his dark bread roll before adding, “She certainly ain’t gonna be winning any wars for you; more like stab you in the back and run off with your valuables. I mean seriously, do you people even know what a delinquent is?”
Swallowing hard, Lilly shrugged turning back to Mai Mai.
“Look I hate to admit it, but Baxter-no-brainer over there has a point …” the twins sniggered as Baxter scowled,
“Hey, fuck you, Slater.” Ignoring him, she continued. “… None of us are the kinda kids you want around. I… mean you look like you have a good thing going here.” She shook her head, shrugging. “Sure maybe not the war and oppression thing, but hey… Obedient kids! What society wouldn’t envy you that? I… I mean we…” her eyes flitted over the others as she thought up more to say. “We’re troublemakers, really, really bad with authority fig-”
“You, I am confident we can handle…” Mai Mai smiled. “As for your friends – If they give us any trouble we shall throw them into the Matfiack moolach and be done with it.”
“Err…OK,” Lilly’s eyes took in the worried expressions on the boys’ faces before drifting toward Kyrel as she whispered through clenched teeth.
“That would be a bad thing, right?”
“The moolach would make short work of eating the flesh from their bones, before it dissolves those also,” he nodded before watching her turn back to Mai Mai, her head already shaking.
“Well see, there’s also the fact that our school… The… the place we were headed to… When our bus went off the road … Well see they’ll be looking for us already and they’ll be real pissed when they don’t find us.”
“Pissed?” Mai Mai raised an eyebrow.
“Err…” Lilly looked to the others for help.
“Angry,” Terrence nodded, “They’ll be real angry!”
“I see,” nodded Mai Mai, her eyebrow lowering. “Does it not stand to reason, that as they will not find you they will not be able to do anything about that anger?”
Lilly frowned and all three boys sighed.
“This is your destiny, Lilliath”
“That isn’t my name!” Lilly yelled at her.
“You will embrace that destiny or you will perish by Mordrel’s hands.”
“Oh come on,” she stamped a foot. “Do we have to go back to the perishing? You have the wrong girl! I’m Lillian… Lill-ee-an OK not ath! A… a-and the mark on my head - Not a birthmark! OK… It’s a scar.”
“Oh that’s right.” added Terence, “Lilly was in a car crash when she was little that mark on her head is-”
“You have examined it closely?” Mai Mai ignored him.
“Err well… we’re talking about the back of my head here… as in I don’t have eyes there.” Lilly said.
“Yes…” shrugged the woman, “and you were too little to remember the truth of the night Herrella escaped with you. These cars of which you speak, the accident - if it did occur - was most likely caused by the tear in the veil which brought you to that realm. I know that you are Lilliath Avengturov because I have watched you grow since the day you were sent away. As has Kyrel,” she looked to him, her voice taking on a grudging tone. “He has after all had access to a bountiful supply of quiescence.”
Scowling, Kyrel dropped his eyes as Lilly looked his way. Shaking her head she turned back to Mai Mai.
“Well then you were watching the wrong girl. Somewhere along the line your qui… es… whatever-the-hell-you-call-it, got me and your precious Lilliath mixed up. Stuff like this happens all the time: computer errors, underpaid civil servants. It’s nothing to be ashamed of OK, no system is fool-proof.”
“The Quiescence is never wrong!” Mai Mai glared at her. “And the only thing this insolence is achieving is to lower your chances of surviving to your Kalaareem!” She reached out a hand touching the lid of the slate box. “Now open your Eshron so that we might-”
“Deefak bor, Mairiel!” Kyrel’s eyes burned with anger as he slapped a hand down on top of the box. An argument followed in the native tongue. Lilly and the boys watched, clueless, as Vereena became increasingly agitated beside them. While Arteth and Toleth – itching to involve themselves – were ordered back twice by Mai Mai.
At last Mairiel sighed, “Very well, Kyrel but you remember: I do not warn twice.” She looked to Lilly with a nod. “We take our leave of you, Princess Lilliath,” glancing Kyrel’s way she added, “It is indeed a sacred rite to open the Eshron.”
“The what? Oh right, the box,” Lilly looked at it and shook her head, “yeah, see about that, I don’t really-”
“Cat ya vac.” Kyrel spat the command at Mai Mai and glaring his way she half muttered, half growled, “Deebanaarie Matfiac!” before demanding the others join her in leaving the room.
“What’s going on?” Terrence asked as Vereena shunted them toward the door. “Where are we going now?”
“Back to the food with any luck.” Baxter grinned, looking over his shoulder at Lilly. “Later Slater, enjoy your alone time with the freaky new boyfriend.”
“Moron,” she muttered.
Tobias followed him asking, “so when exactly do we go home?”
Arteth and Toleth were the last to leave and before they did Toleth threw Kyrel such a hate filled glare that Lilly felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise.
“OK,” she watched the dirty brown curtain fall back over the doorway. “What’s going on now?”
“Open it.” Kyrel nodded to the trunk and putting particular emphasis to every word Lilly glared at him.
“The… Damn… Box … Isn’t… Mine!”
Kyrel stared at her a moment before strolling over to the table bearing the Eshron and perching beside it.
“I know you’re scared, Lilly but I also know you know everything you’ve been told here today is true.”
“I know no such thing,” she continued shaking her head. “I just wish you people would hurry up and realise you have the wrong-”
“If you were not of this world your use of the sacred words would not have brought forth a new tree in the forest.”
“Oh hey that... that was just-”
“If you were not Lilliath Avengturov,” he glanced to the trunk, “your touch would not have unlocked the Eshron.”
“This is stupid,” her eyes filled with tears as she grimaced down at it, hands moving as if possessed. “I don’t even understand half the things she said…” flipping open the lid saying, “I… I mean what the crap is a Kalaar…” the word froze on her lips as she looked in at the array of strange objects.
“Kalaar,” Kyrel looked from her to the contents of the trunk, “Is the shuk'byaniee rotational occurrence of the day of your birth… Kalaareem is the sixty fourth rotation historically known for being the time when Azeronians gain the full strength of their powers.” Taking in her blank expression he smiled cocking his head to one side, “Known to you, I believe… as the sixteenth birthday.”
Staring down into the trunk, her eyes drawn to a rag wrapped around something big and square. Forcing herself to look away, she gazed curiously up at Kyrel nodding, “My sixteenth birthday. That’s what this is all about? I’m not sixteen for like another mon-”
“Your true birthday.” Kyrel nodded.
“Oh… right.” She took in a deep and grounding breath before mumbling, “of course,” then shrugging, “so this quiescence stuff… it’s… you’ve been using it to watch me? That’s… that’s… it’s how you and strange age-morphing woman knew to call me Lillian, right?”
“That strange age-morphing woman is your grandmother,” he gave a curt nod. “She should be shown the appropriate respect.”
“Oh really… Would that be like the respect you’ve been showing her?”
Kyrel raised an eyebrow. “You would do well not to follow my example where Mairiel is concerned.”
“What! Ever!” Lilly rolled her eyes forming a W with the first three fingers of her left hand and waving it at him. Kyrel frowned.
“I have often wondered why it is that you do that. Now I think I understand. Mairiel is right,” he smirked. “You are indeed insolent.”
Lilly lowered her fingers with a scowl. “You know in my realm we have words for guys who like to secretly watch young girls,” shaking her head she cautioned, “They’re not good words!”
“Lilly…” Kyrel held her gaze.
“Yes?”
“The Eshron,” he nodded to it. “Is really not so important. It is indeed your sacred right to open it without an audience, which is useful, as it rids us of Mairiel and the others for a while. But it is also your first real chance of knowing your mother.” He watched her eyes flit over the cloth square again and shrugged, “Ultimately you will believe what suits you. However, the troops scouring the forest make it clear Mordrel knows you are in Azeron, and what she believes. So your two choices remain the same: You can sit here and wait for her forces to storm the gates, seize you and take you back to the castle, where she will make you wish you were dead a thousand times over before you truly are. Or you can learn to use your powers so that you might stand a chance of surviving, and perhaps defeating her.” They stared at each other a moment, Lilly chewing on the inside of her top lip.
Then her eyes drifted to the dirty brown rag again and Kyrel nodded. “Nothing can come of you taking a look unless you want it to.”
Lilly gulped. She picked up the cloth bundle and hearing him sigh, “Of course…” paused to look up with narrowed eyes. “Go on…” he grinned. “Take a look.”
Pulling away the cloth she contemplated the plain wooden box turning it over in search of an opening.
“Like this.” Kyrel leaned forward taking her hand and running her index finger along the top of the box. It pulled away from the middle, opening up like some bizarre wooden flower in bloom. The entire top cascaded in on itself until the box’s thickened edges with their multiple ridges were the only evidence of it ever having a lid.
“Cool!” Lilly’s eyes grew wide as she stared in at the small hunk of yellowish metal; its shape similar to a bow-tie or hourglass. It was engraved with patterns similar to those on the Eshron and set in the middle was an oval reddish orange gem. Inside of which was a perfect Do’mass; raised from the metal beneath.
“What is this?” Lilly lifted it from the box. Examining it; the other side was identical in design.
“Your Gaashmay,” he nodded.
Spotting a thin slit in either end she brought it closer to her face, her puzzled look turning to surprise as Kyrel pulled her arm back.
“Ny, ny! Nydrel!” Seeing her confusion he shook his head. “Careful!”
Lilly watched him place the Gaashmay flat on her palm, the slit ends resting either side of her hand. He folded her thumb back over it, then bent all four of her fingers upward, doing the same with them until her middle finger pressed down on the Do’mass and out of each end shot a thin blade no more than an inch in width but at least five inches long.
“Whoa,” Lilly grinned, nodding. “OK… That’s pretty cool.”
“Yes,” He smirked with recognition. “The gaashmay is.... cool! It is also deadly.”
“Well now I like the sound of that too.” She lifted it high above her head and hurled it toward Mai Mai’s chair. The blades retracted and it bounced off, falling to the floor.
Kyrel turned to her with a bemused expression and frowning Lilly gave him an awkward little shrug.
“What! That’s how Xena would have used it!”
“It has indeed been many generations.” Mairiel gave a solemn nod. “But we do still possess the necessary knowledge.” An attempt to call her Mai Mai earlier had resulted in a torrent of protest ending with, “That won’t do at all, you child are to call me Mairiel.”
Now her rejuvenated face and voice were far sterner and she stared down at Lilly. “You will defeat Mordrel,” she nodded. “You must: you alone have the power.”
“Hate to break it to you lady,” seeing the beginnings of a frown she shrugged, adding “Mairiel, but I barely have the power to make it through school in one piece and spend the rest of my life in some dead end job, just about surviving above the breadline if I’m lucky.”
“Then you are not lucky,” Mai Mai shook her head, “because this is your destiny. Now open it.”
Kyrel was at Lilly’s other side. While Mai Mai’s grandsons Arteth and Toleth stood slightly further back, watching eagerly as she stared down at the large, stone trunk. The outside of it was covered in carvings that Mai Mai had called protective writings but looked to Lilly more like random squiggles and swirly shapes.
“The Kalaareem is in four settings of the sun,” added Mai Mai. “You have no choice but to be ready for the full strength of Mordrel’s forces. She will stop at nothing to eliminate you now.”
“But that’s crazy!” Lilly shook her head. “I can barely understand what you people are talking about. How can I fight when I don’t understand? I mean come on… Didn’t you ever hear that knowledge is power?”
With a contemplative frown Mai Mai shook her head. “I do not believe I have.”
“Fine,” Lilly sighed, hands going to the lid of the trunk. “But I’m telling you now, you have the wrong girl. I-I mean not that I don’t understand the mistake. Lilliath… Lillian… Fair enough there’s a similarity a-and sure… My parents did die when I was younger, but it wasn’t in some magnificent battle like you’re making out. It was a car crash. I should know. I was there…” unconsciously running her fingers along the groove where lid and trunk met - enjoying the unexpected warmth emanating from its dark stone surface within. As she shrugged, her fingers moving faster along that groove, she added, “I mean my memory of that day may be a little sketchy. What with the being an infant and all, but I do have the shrapnel scar in the back of my head to prove it so there’s no way you’re telling me it didn’t happen.”
“Not shrapnel. Do’mass,” said Mai Mai. She watched as, mesmerised by the groove on the box, Lilly felt and glimpsed a spark.
It licked at her fingertips, and startled she fell against Kyrel’s hard chest. Straightening up and struggling to breathe steady, she turned back to Mai Mai. “What the hell just happened?”
“You made the connection.” Mai Mai smiled.
“What the fuck is that meant to-”
“You unlocked the box,” nodded the woman. “Something which would not have been possible if you were not Herrella’s daughter.”
“What? No!” Lilly shook her head, backing away from it. “I… I… I didn’t, I was just…I-”
“Toleth!” called Mai Mai. “Cat ya vac!”
The youngest grandson stepped forward.
“Show your Do’mass.”
“Oh hey… No! That’s cool,” Lilly backed away waving her hands. “I don’t think I need to see anybody’s Do’mass thanks.”
With a puzzled frown and his arm over his chest, in the exact same gesture she’d seen from Kyrel earlier, Toleth nodded. “To finally know you is an honour cousin Lilliath.” Then, while she muttered through clenched teeth about wanting people to stop calling her that, he dropped to one knee and flipped both head and hair forward in one fluid motion.
Seeing he had Lilly’s attention Mai Mai ran a finger down Toleth’s scalp. Parting his hair upward along the middle, to just above the nape of his neck: revealing a Y shaped scar with rounded ends. Lilly gasped. Her hand flew to the same spot on her head, and standing Toleth nodded once more before stepping back and re-joining his brother.
“The Do’mass is a sacred symbol,” explained Mai Mai. “We Da’ariel mark our young this way when collecting their essence to seal the Eshron,” she gestured to the trunk adding, “It reminds us of the true strength of Azeron: Laîoch and Tuâoch. In the Do’mass we remember them as they should be: bound by nature’s laws - three mighty forces as one.”
Lilly’s eyes were wide with disgust.
“You carve a mark into the backs of baby’s heads! That is what you’re saying right? You… You bleed your kids at birth. Why would you do that?” Her nose wrinkled. “It’s gross! Not to mention weird... You people are weird!” Lilly nodded. “You know that right? You know you’re all real weird?”
Mairiel contemplated her quietly a moment before continuing. “There was once a time when all in Azeron were born with the Do’mass.” Her voice grew sullen. “However, with the magicks parted, time was the only thing needed to bring about its demise. Unable to harness the forces of Tuâoch the Deebanaarie soon bore a different mark.” The woman’s gaze shifted momentarily to Kyrel and seeing Lilly look his way he sighed and begrudgingly turned around.
He pulled back his hair, showing the corrupted symbol which looked as though the right arm of the Y had fallen off, leaving only a stump. It was also flatter, thicker, and blended more naturally with the surrounding the skin.
“It’s not a scar.” Lilly shook her head as he turned to face her. “You... yours is a birthmark!”
“That’s right,” Mairiel’s tone commanded her attention again, yet the woman could no longer take her eyes off Kyrel. “Some Deebanaarie,” she nodded his way, “those with royal blood, are still born with the mark. It may no longer be a true Do’mass but Deebanaarie bearing it do still have limited access to the forces of the Tuâoch. As for the Da’ariel: we were forced to stop using our magicks to survive the slaughters that followed the Great War. The price we paid for doing so was a high one. No Da’ariel has been born with the mark for more than three hundred cycles. And so we long ago became incapable of accessing our once inherent magicks. That is…” picking up on the change in her tone - from seething anger to awe - Lilly turned to see Mai Mai smiling her way as she finished with, “until now!”
“No, OK!” she shook her head, backing away from the trunk. “I… I’m not listening anymore. The things you’re saying are just... stupid! A…and-”
“What’s stupid, Slater?” Baxter sauntered in, carrying a bowl of food, with Terrence at his side. The blonde girl: Vereena, was behind them; while Tobias, scanning his surroundings, came in after her. “If it’s all this, ‘you’re some long lost princess with special powers’ thing,” Baxter shrugged. “We’re way ahead of you on that one.”
Lilly’s jaw dropped as she glared from him to Mai Mai. Before raising an eyebrow and smirking, “Princess?”
“Yes,” Mai Mai nodded. “Your mother, Herrella, was my eldest. As such she was next to lead our people. You were her only child and she died getting you beyond the veil.”
Lilly blinked a couple of times before shaking her head. “So wait… You’re telling me I’m next in line to lead a bunch of ragtag, mud-hut-dwelling, defenceless no-hopers?”
“Oh, ain’t they told you the bit about the evil Queen yet?”
The twins sniggered at Baxter’s remark.
Cocking her head to one side, Mai Mai fixed them with a stare that shut them both up. “The Avengturov family have led these Da’ariel since the days of the Do’mass council.” She turned back to Lilly, “with both my daughters dead you are indeed next in line for leadership.”
“Yeah well consider me abdicated, Let...” she frowned sceptically toward Arteth and Toleth. “…One of my cousins? Do it -”
“Men are not leaders.” Mai Mai stated simply. “They are warriors, excellent at carrying out our orders; they do not give them.”
“Phhh!” Baxter’s face screwed up and everyone looked his way - Lilly doing so with a smirk. “Well come on…” he shrugged “That’s just stupid!”
“Definitely,” Terrence pinched some food from Baxter’s bowl. “It’s no wonder you’re getting your asses handed to you, if that’s how you think.”
“Cat ya vac!” Mai Mai snarled and immediately Vereena was herding them into the far corner of the room.
“Come now, away, what’s spoken here is too important for interruptions.”
“Oh hey, hey watch the food!” protested Baxter.
“What about her?” Lilly watched the other girl. “She a relative too?”
“Oh yes, cousin.” Vereena forgot the boys and looked back with a wide grin, “I too am-”
“Cat ya vac Veer!” Mai Mai glared at the girl. “Deng mei natuii? Cat ya vac inst!”
“Veyhi Mairiel, maenk tae.” Vereena dropped her eyes, pushing the boys farther into the corner as the older woman turned back to Lilly.
“Vereena is not yet approaching her Kalaareem,” stated Mai Mai. “And you cannot abdicate your destiny, Lilliath. Only you have the magicks.”
“Oh yeah,” huffed Lilly, “Well I got a newsflash for you I don’t have any damn magicks, OK. I… I wasn’t born with the mark… mine is just a scar. Like his,” she pointed at Toleth. “Like I said, I get the mistake OK, a few misinterpreted similarities. No biggy… Just pop me back through one of those veil thingies and we can all get on with forgetting this ever happened.”
“Yeah,” Tobias spoke up, though he was still scanning every crevice of the room. “I’m with Lilly on that…” his voice trailed off when T’vor wobbled into the room and closing his mouth he backed away.
Baxter, barely noticing the creature’s presence, shrugged, lending his own brand of support.
“Yeah,” he looked Lilly’s way. “I mean just look at her… No way scrawny-Annie is anybody’s warrior princess.” Seeing anger flare in her eyes he grinned, biting a chunk from his dark bread roll before adding, “She certainly ain’t gonna be winning any wars for you; more like stab you in the back and run off with your valuables. I mean seriously, do you people even know what a delinquent is?”
Swallowing hard, Lilly shrugged turning back to Mai Mai.
“Look I hate to admit it, but Baxter-no-brainer over there has a point …” the twins sniggered as Baxter scowled,
“Hey, fuck you, Slater.” Ignoring him, she continued. “… None of us are the kinda kids you want around. I… mean you look like you have a good thing going here.” She shook her head, shrugging. “Sure maybe not the war and oppression thing, but hey… Obedient kids! What society wouldn’t envy you that? I… I mean we…” her eyes flitted over the others as she thought up more to say. “We’re troublemakers, really, really bad with authority fig-”
“You, I am confident we can handle…” Mai Mai smiled. “As for your friends – If they give us any trouble we shall throw them into the Matfiack moolach and be done with it.”
“Err…OK,” Lilly’s eyes took in the worried expressions on the boys’ faces before drifting toward Kyrel as she whispered through clenched teeth.
“That would be a bad thing, right?”
“The moolach would make short work of eating the flesh from their bones, before it dissolves those also,” he nodded before watching her turn back to Mai Mai, her head already shaking.
“Well see, there’s also the fact that our school… The… the place we were headed to… When our bus went off the road … Well see they’ll be looking for us already and they’ll be real pissed when they don’t find us.”
“Pissed?” Mai Mai raised an eyebrow.
“Err…” Lilly looked to the others for help.
“Angry,” Terrence nodded, “They’ll be real angry!”
“I see,” nodded Mai Mai, her eyebrow lowering. “Does it not stand to reason, that as they will not find you they will not be able to do anything about that anger?”
Lilly frowned and all three boys sighed.
“This is your destiny, Lilliath”
“That isn’t my name!” Lilly yelled at her.
“You will embrace that destiny or you will perish by Mordrel’s hands.”
“Oh come on,” she stamped a foot. “Do we have to go back to the perishing? You have the wrong girl! I’m Lillian… Lill-ee-an OK not ath! A… a-and the mark on my head - Not a birthmark! OK… It’s a scar.”
“Oh that’s right.” added Terence, “Lilly was in a car crash when she was little that mark on her head is-”
“You have examined it closely?” Mai Mai ignored him.
“Err well… we’re talking about the back of my head here… as in I don’t have eyes there.” Lilly said.
“Yes…” shrugged the woman, “and you were too little to remember the truth of the night Herrella escaped with you. These cars of which you speak, the accident - if it did occur - was most likely caused by the tear in the veil which brought you to that realm. I know that you are Lilliath Avengturov because I have watched you grow since the day you were sent away. As has Kyrel,” she looked to him, her voice taking on a grudging tone. “He has after all had access to a bountiful supply of quiescence.”
Scowling, Kyrel dropped his eyes as Lilly looked his way. Shaking her head she turned back to Mai Mai.
“Well then you were watching the wrong girl. Somewhere along the line your qui… es… whatever-the-hell-you-call-it, got me and your precious Lilliath mixed up. Stuff like this happens all the time: computer errors, underpaid civil servants. It’s nothing to be ashamed of OK, no system is fool-proof.”
“The Quiescence is never wrong!” Mai Mai glared at her. “And the only thing this insolence is achieving is to lower your chances of surviving to your Kalaareem!” She reached out a hand touching the lid of the slate box. “Now open your Eshron so that we might-”
“Deefak bor, Mairiel!” Kyrel’s eyes burned with anger as he slapped a hand down on top of the box. An argument followed in the native tongue. Lilly and the boys watched, clueless, as Vereena became increasingly agitated beside them. While Arteth and Toleth – itching to involve themselves – were ordered back twice by Mai Mai.
At last Mairiel sighed, “Very well, Kyrel but you remember: I do not warn twice.” She looked to Lilly with a nod. “We take our leave of you, Princess Lilliath,” glancing Kyrel’s way she added, “It is indeed a sacred rite to open the Eshron.”
“The what? Oh right, the box,” Lilly looked at it and shook her head, “yeah, see about that, I don’t really-”
“Cat ya vac.” Kyrel spat the command at Mai Mai and glaring his way she half muttered, half growled, “Deebanaarie Matfiac!” before demanding the others join her in leaving the room.
“What’s going on?” Terrence asked as Vereena shunted them toward the door. “Where are we going now?”
“Back to the food with any luck.” Baxter grinned, looking over his shoulder at Lilly. “Later Slater, enjoy your alone time with the freaky new boyfriend.”
“Moron,” she muttered.
Tobias followed him asking, “so when exactly do we go home?”
Arteth and Toleth were the last to leave and before they did Toleth threw Kyrel such a hate filled glare that Lilly felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise.
“OK,” she watched the dirty brown curtain fall back over the doorway. “What’s going on now?”
“Open it.” Kyrel nodded to the trunk and putting particular emphasis to every word Lilly glared at him.
“The… Damn… Box … Isn’t… Mine!”
Kyrel stared at her a moment before strolling over to the table bearing the Eshron and perching beside it.
“I know you’re scared, Lilly but I also know you know everything you’ve been told here today is true.”
“I know no such thing,” she continued shaking her head. “I just wish you people would hurry up and realise you have the wrong-”
“If you were not of this world your use of the sacred words would not have brought forth a new tree in the forest.”
“Oh hey that... that was just-”
“If you were not Lilliath Avengturov,” he glanced to the trunk, “your touch would not have unlocked the Eshron.”
“This is stupid,” her eyes filled with tears as she grimaced down at it, hands moving as if possessed. “I don’t even understand half the things she said…” flipping open the lid saying, “I… I mean what the crap is a Kalaar…” the word froze on her lips as she looked in at the array of strange objects.
“Kalaar,” Kyrel looked from her to the contents of the trunk, “Is the shuk'byaniee rotational occurrence of the day of your birth… Kalaareem is the sixty fourth rotation historically known for being the time when Azeronians gain the full strength of their powers.” Taking in her blank expression he smiled cocking his head to one side, “Known to you, I believe… as the sixteenth birthday.”
Staring down into the trunk, her eyes drawn to a rag wrapped around something big and square. Forcing herself to look away, she gazed curiously up at Kyrel nodding, “My sixteenth birthday. That’s what this is all about? I’m not sixteen for like another mon-”
“Your true birthday.” Kyrel nodded.
“Oh… right.” She took in a deep and grounding breath before mumbling, “of course,” then shrugging, “so this quiescence stuff… it’s… you’ve been using it to watch me? That’s… that’s… it’s how you and strange age-morphing woman knew to call me Lillian, right?”
“That strange age-morphing woman is your grandmother,” he gave a curt nod. “She should be shown the appropriate respect.”
“Oh really… Would that be like the respect you’ve been showing her?”
Kyrel raised an eyebrow. “You would do well not to follow my example where Mairiel is concerned.”
“What! Ever!” Lilly rolled her eyes forming a W with the first three fingers of her left hand and waving it at him. Kyrel frowned.
“I have often wondered why it is that you do that. Now I think I understand. Mairiel is right,” he smirked. “You are indeed insolent.”
Lilly lowered her fingers with a scowl. “You know in my realm we have words for guys who like to secretly watch young girls,” shaking her head she cautioned, “They’re not good words!”
“Lilly…” Kyrel held her gaze.
“Yes?”
“The Eshron,” he nodded to it. “Is really not so important. It is indeed your sacred right to open it without an audience, which is useful, as it rids us of Mairiel and the others for a while. But it is also your first real chance of knowing your mother.” He watched her eyes flit over the cloth square again and shrugged, “Ultimately you will believe what suits you. However, the troops scouring the forest make it clear Mordrel knows you are in Azeron, and what she believes. So your two choices remain the same: You can sit here and wait for her forces to storm the gates, seize you and take you back to the castle, where she will make you wish you were dead a thousand times over before you truly are. Or you can learn to use your powers so that you might stand a chance of surviving, and perhaps defeating her.” They stared at each other a moment, Lilly chewing on the inside of her top lip.
Then her eyes drifted to the dirty brown rag again and Kyrel nodded. “Nothing can come of you taking a look unless you want it to.”
Lilly gulped. She picked up the cloth bundle and hearing him sigh, “Of course…” paused to look up with narrowed eyes. “Go on…” he grinned. “Take a look.”
Pulling away the cloth she contemplated the plain wooden box turning it over in search of an opening.
“Like this.” Kyrel leaned forward taking her hand and running her index finger along the top of the box. It pulled away from the middle, opening up like some bizarre wooden flower in bloom. The entire top cascaded in on itself until the box’s thickened edges with their multiple ridges were the only evidence of it ever having a lid.
“Cool!” Lilly’s eyes grew wide as she stared in at the small hunk of yellowish metal; its shape similar to a bow-tie or hourglass. It was engraved with patterns similar to those on the Eshron and set in the middle was an oval reddish orange gem. Inside of which was a perfect Do’mass; raised from the metal beneath.
“What is this?” Lilly lifted it from the box. Examining it; the other side was identical in design.
“Your Gaashmay,” he nodded.
Spotting a thin slit in either end she brought it closer to her face, her puzzled look turning to surprise as Kyrel pulled her arm back.
“Ny, ny! Nydrel!” Seeing her confusion he shook his head. “Careful!”
Lilly watched him place the Gaashmay flat on her palm, the slit ends resting either side of her hand. He folded her thumb back over it, then bent all four of her fingers upward, doing the same with them until her middle finger pressed down on the Do’mass and out of each end shot a thin blade no more than an inch in width but at least five inches long.
“Whoa,” Lilly grinned, nodding. “OK… That’s pretty cool.”
“Yes,” He smirked with recognition. “The gaashmay is.... cool! It is also deadly.”
“Well now I like the sound of that too.” She lifted it high above her head and hurled it toward Mai Mai’s chair. The blades retracted and it bounced off, falling to the floor.
Kyrel turned to her with a bemused expression and frowning Lilly gave him an awkward little shrug.
“What! That’s how Xena would have used it!”
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