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Of Ancient Passages: Chapter 6: A True Wonder Land

It is raining. What a dreary day to be out of the house. Sol opens the front door, making the first step with his bag on his shoulders. He takes a deep breath from the rainy air. Waiting and tapping his foot in excitement. Once ready Sol locks the door and together they make their way.

How much do I know about anything beyond my door? It is all new for me, wonderful. A grand thing to be out, then stuck in that house, to be anywhere at all. Beyond those oppressive walls is a world of possibilities. I wonder what new things I will see.
“We walk to Tanli Harbor to find a ship and sail across the Sibat to the Broken Isles to Al Aagoon. There lies Exezla Fortress. The last wizards keep.”

“What happened to the other wizard keeps?” D’ereen peaks in curiosity.

“Some were destroyed in the Magic Civil War. The rest were obliterated in The Great Mana War. Damn fallen wizards and witches.” He spits.

The quiet is diligent. For the long stretch of day, they are on the Grund Lowm. Camp is made near the Forest of Milo. With a wizard things are made easier, the tents are set up quickly. Once they have the wood, fire is easily caught. Alunda waves his hand and the tender catches.

As they sit around the fire, strange noises come from the forest. It sounds similar to a zu during mating season.  It could be a phoenix being reborn from the ashes, though that is a stretch. Maybe even a kitsune taking flight. No obvious sounds are this sound. This is something else.

D’ereen senses his uneasiness. “Don’t worry the Gods in the Woods won’t hurt you. They protect the forest. Even if so few of them are left.”

“Gods in the Woods?”

Alunda stirs the fire. “The alfen worship and respect these creatures. I think they are only animals, of your average variety.”

“No, they are not. They are demigods under Gaea. She is mother of the leaf and soil. Long ago she made them, bigger and stronger, more able to protect the other animals.”
“So they say.” Alunda mutters.

Staring off, she gets lost in the early parts of her history. The noises slowly fade around them. Everyone lies near the fire. Sol turns on his side to find her eyes upon him. D’ereen looks at him with limerance, fluttering like a butterfly. She droops into sleep.

Sol’s dreams are not so pleasant. He walks a cobbled path. It seems to lead nowhere. Out of sight something maleficent watches, its motivations are not clear. It grumbles in terrible sounds. Giving some notion of its gigantic size, this is all the more uncertain.

Moving fast, he goes into a sharp step. The more he runs the louder comes the grumbling. Breaking into a run, he quickens. Until with a suddenness, it comes into view. It has molding flesh, great bizarre wings, and eyes as black as the center of the Universe. In its eyes, he sees his every waking memory and fear. He has a sudden clarity.

It is there no longer. Clarity dispels from his sleeping mind as easy as rain clouds from a bright day. It slips so easily as dread things do. Now came the sunlit world with all its pleasantness and comforts. Somehow, he feels distilled with a subconscious lesson. As if, his dream had made a sharper wound.

The sun glares in his eyes, a momentary blur. D’ereen’s face comes into view blocking it. She seems worried. Above this is a greater feeling. A rejoice to be with him. He can see it but it comes in an alien variety.

A look he may have only glimpsed before. It blasts on him. This look does not just come with sparkling eyes; it comes with a pretty smile. Slowly he tries to make it out. This is unexpected, even for her; it is the (tidier) expression a prostitute might use to call clients. Only it seems more naturally fit. If only Sol could glimpse this much.

Before he can fully understand it, she starts to whisper. “Wake up sleepy.” Then it is gone.

Is he still half-asleep? Might he have imagined such a seductive expression? No or perhaps he did. Then he realizes where his head rests. It had been lying in her lap but no longer. This makes him utterly shy. He quickly gets to his feet.

It gets so bad that he cannot look directly at her. Why does she do it when she knows how he will react? A wandering smell touches his nostrils. Something is bloaming and petricher. It is not from any flowers, for there are none near. Nor the faint smell of dew, though there is a small similarity.

It grows and suddenly he realizes it is coming from D’ereen. It is not a bad smell only quite pleasant. Like a summer rain. Or a soft meadow breeze under a tree. It makes him tingle in all the wrong places. As if from a scent so powerful, it can bring about arousal.

“Where is Alunda?” He asks.

She points ahead. “But you can sit here with me.”

“I have to ask him something.”

He walks down the hill. Sol goes to the Orahi River’s edge. Here Alunda is hunched over, dipping his face. Crouching beside him, he drinks. The water is clear, cool, and refreshing. He washes his face with it. Together they walk back.

Once they are close, enough to her he speaks. “Yesterday I was a little nervous about using flight because of the Darkings. They must be long gone by now, today we fly.”

They watch as Alunda utters a strange, kind of, chippering chaw. A small cloud of smoke puffs from the ground. Once the smoke clears, a giant owl stands. His beak raises high, very proud. The wizard’s fingers brush through feathers. The owl gives a hoot.

It looks kindly to Alunda. Happy to see his friend. “This is Nighteye; he has been my friend over many adventures. Nighteye this is D’ereen and Sol.”

The owl gives them a cross-legged bow; they repeat the motion. He raises his body up, stretching the great wings. “How do you do?”

“It talks.” Surprise clamps the boy.

Feathers are roughed. “Poppycock, what kind of bird do you think I am? If you want a ride you are out of your mind.”

“Sorry.”

Nighteye’s laugh is what you expect an owl’s to be. “I was only joking. Jeez, you try to have a sense of humor. In all honesty do try to refrain from pulling my feathers.”

They cascade high above The Haim Plain, soaring and gliding with the wind, what invigorating. The wind whips through Sol’s hair. D’ereen’s intoxicating scent wafts his nostrils. Nighteye banks right, vertigo twists him fearful, he holds onto her. White hair tickles his face; above the sound of the wind, he can hear her giggling. He does not have time to think about it, trying to hold his breakfast down.

Massive structures come into shape of jade. Camp is made a short distance away. Night has come sudden. As they lie down, he has a strange feeling that the monoliths are going to pervert dreams. Absolutely.
Written by MrE (C. R. Powers)
Published
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