The Children of Calm (25 page)

“But I digress,” he continued. “Tomorrow, the four of you will truly begin to learn about the history of your world. And you will use that knowledge to one day restore Andulibar and his people to their rightful place of honor and prestige. But that will come in its own time, and for the time being, we must rest. I mean to depart early, for your history lesson will be long tomorrow. When you are ready, feel free to stretch your mats out wherever you would like and sleep if possible. Dawn arrives altogether earlier than you will want, I am afraid.”

Even as he was finishing speaking, Rylek looked out a window and could tell the sky had been dark for quite some time. Clouds concealed the stars, and the wind was beginning to pick up; it would rain soon. He wondered where the night had gone. Suddenly he grew tired, and knowing the rain would lull him to sleep, he found himself joining the others as they quietly prepared for bed.

Some time later he awoke briefly to see it dark throughout the cottage. The fire had dimmed to a dull red, but a small lamp was lit on the writing desk under the window, and Altan sat there, mug in one hand, pen in the other, writing in a large volume. Occasionally he would pause to look out the window at the raindrops sliding down the glass, close his eyes, inhale deeply, smile, and then continue writing. Rylek fell back asleep with this image etched in his dreams.

***

It did not seem long to him before he was awakened by Altan. The cottage was still dark with barely a hint of the coming dawn showing through the windows.

Altan seemed eager for them to rise quickly. “Come silently and slowly to the window,” he whispered. “There is something you must see.”

As he joined the others at the window, Rylek looked out across the stream and saw some creatures he had never before seen. There were what appeared to be three white horses: a mare and a pony were standing with heads down in the stream, drinking slowly. The third, a stallion, was standing on the forest’s edge behind the other two, overlooking the entire canyon area. But what made the scene so unusual were two things. Firstly, the horses seemed to softly glow in the predawn air. In fact, the reflections of the mare and pony sparkled in the stream. Secondly, Rylek suddenly realized, all three horses had a single horn protruding from each of their foreheads. The pony’s was short and stubby, the mare’s long and thin, and the stallion’s long and thick.

Lana put her hands over her mouth to conceal a squeal of delight. Selenor caught Rylek’s eyes and he saw wonder shining from hers. Tresten stared dumbfounded. “They actually exist…” he whispered so softly that only Rylek could hear him.

After a couple more minutes, the mare and pony finished drinking and turned back towards the stallion. Once they had disappeared into the forest, the stallion stayed for just a few moments longer, watching everything, and then slowly turned himself back under the cover of trees. The five watchers in the window did not say anything or turn away until his glow was gone from their sight.

“Welcome to history’s reality,” Altan said, smiling warmly. “That is merely a preview of what today shall bring. Let us be off quickly, for there is much to see and do.”

***

The eastern sky was just beginning to turn a soft rosy color when they left the cottage. Altan had made each of them take one of the fur coats that had lined the wall. “You will absolutely need these for our destination,” he said. “I know they are heavy, but the paths to the gate are very easy. We should arrive in only three hours’ time.”

They followed him as he walked towards the waterfall, then were surprised to see a path leading to a small opening that the falls obscured. The cave was dry and warm, once they put some space between themselves and the waterfall, and it seemed to stretch on into the mountains for a long distance. Rylek used his starpod torch to light the way, which prompted Altan to marvel, “Now, I haven’t seen one of those for a very long time.”

The journey was lighthearted for the most part, as the girls excitedly talked about what they had seen earlier. Tresten seemed to walk in a fog as he occasionally muttered, “I don’t understand how it’s possible.” Altan hummed cheerily to himself in the front. Rylek brought up the rear, and was content to listen to everyone for awhile, until he began to have the awkward feeling that someone or something was following them. Unsure of whether it was a trick the acoustics of the cavernous tunnel were having on his ears, or paranoia, or something else, he found himself looking back over his shoulder occasionally; but he never saw anything.

Some time later a faint odd glow began to grow in the tunnel. Altan stopped and turned towards the others. “We are about to enter a curious area,” he said. “It would be wise of you to chew on these.” He then brought out of his robe a small pouch that contained some small leaves of a type that Rylek had never before seen. “These will prevent you from becoming sick.”

“What are they?” Tresten asked as the others began to chew on them.

“The leaves of the
turchura
tree,” Altan said. “The effects of flarefruit have been known to cause nausea.”

Selenor grew excited. “Do you mean the Forest of Contrary Light is real, too?” she asked.

“I must be dreaming,” Tresten said. “That’s it - I must be dreaming.”

“Oh yes,” Altan said in response to Selenor. “I wonder, what do they actually teach you?”

“And are there Tauffles?” she asked.

“Tauffles?” he repeated. “I confess I do not know what those are.”

“Take what you can get, sister,” Tresten said.

Altan smiled and turned back around. “Now, it would be wise to hold on to one another’s hands as we enter. The light of the flarefruit can be somewhat disorienting. I will carry your coats for you.”

The leaf of the turchura tree tasted curiously strong of mint in Rylek’s mouth. He found it refreshingly clean. Lana grabbed one of his hands. His other hand instinctively reached out for Selenor’s, and they met halfway.

The light grew stronger as they continued. Everything began to fade to a piercing black. Rylek found himself squinting so hard that he barely had his eyes open.
Why is it hurting my eyes if it’s so dark?
he wondered. Once they reached the point where black was all they could see, something odd began to happen. Colors began to gradually reappear, only they were the opposite of what they had previously been. He looked down at his hands and saw they were now a deep blue color, while the coats that Altan carried were a very pale blue. As the pain of the light lessened, Rylek squeezed Selenor’s hand, and they looked into each other’s eyes. Her usually dark irises were almost white, while the silver streaks within them were now black. “Wow,” he said softly, impressed by the exotic beauty the light of the flarefruit had on her. She smiled and shyly looked away.

Soon enough the tunnel ended, and they came out upon a forest. Their eyes were bombarded with shades of gray, deep purples, soft pinks, various shades of blue, and faraway whites. Growing upon the branches of the trees were large black oblong orbs, which seemed to be surrounded by a foggy shadow.

“Welcome to Ekthaal’daar, Forest of the Dying Light,” Altan said. “Or if you prefer, the Forest of Contrary Light.”

Rylek looked at Tresten. “If this is all a dream, I don’t want to wake up,” he said.

“Neither do I,” Tresten said with awe in his voice. “I’m sorry, Altan. Forgive me for doubting you.”

“There is nothing to forgive,” Altan said. “You spoke from what you did not know.”

“Are those black things the flarefruit?” Rylek asked, pointing at the orbs hanging from the trees.

“They are indeed,” Altan said. “I would not advise consuming them.”

He began to lead them into the forest, and Rylek quickly realized he heard a steady sound, a cluster of sustained notes that tickled his ears. It was so faint he only noticed it after everyone had stopped talking. “What’s that sound?” he asked.

“The humming?” Altan asked. “That is the breeze rustling through the leaves of the flarefruit trees. Not an unpleasant ambiance, is it?”

“No, you’re right. It is rather relaxing in its way,” Rylek said. “It makes me feel a little sleepy.”

“We have no time for sleep,” Altan said. “There is still nearly an hour before we reach the gate.”

“What exactly is this gate you keep speaking of?” Tresten asked.

“It is a teleportation device created by the Aedaar long ago with the intention of keeping an unseen eye on Khragzul and its survivors, and especially Fornrihgula,” Altan said. “This forest was chosen as its hiding place to deter curious passers-by from ever locating it.”

“Do the Aedaar still use it?” Tresten asked.

“I cannot say for certain, but I would venture to guess that they do not,” Altan said. “They care little for the events of the mortal, and only interact when they feel that they or Mira are threatened.”

“How do you know about the gate?” Rylek asked.

Altan grew silent for awhile. “The paths of destiny are curiously carved,” he finally said sadly. “Come, let us not linger on my past. It is Mira’s past we are wanting to study.”

The others were afraid to ask him much more, so they walked in relative silence for the rest of the journey. Rylek was torn between studying Altan’s slouched figure and fighting the paranoia they were still being followed. He finally subtly took Tresten aside.

“Have you felt at all that something has been tracking us?” he asked.

“No. Why?” Tresten asked. “Apparently you do.”

“I don’t know. Something in my senses just keeps alerting me to…the possibility anyway, I guess.”

“Who in all of Mira would be following us?”

Rylek shrugged. “That’s what I can’t figure out.”

“It’s probably just exhaustion and paranoia. What is it with you being so paranoid lately?” Tresten paused and dropped his voice even more. “But let’s face it, what we saw in the Aesids’ secret basement is not exactly the stuff of children’s bedtime stories. Have you been haunted by that hooded figure chasing us?”

“Maybe,” Rylek said. “I don’t know, usually I’m not so quick to give in to irrational thoughts and fears, but I can’t shake this. I’ve had the feeling for quite awhile.”

“Could it possibly be the effects of the flarefruit?”

“No, I had the suspicion before we reached the forest.”

“Well then, let’s both keep an eye and ear out,” Tresten said. “But whatever you do, do not say anything to the others. There is no sense whatsoever in scaring them.”

“Don’t worry. I had no intention of doing that.”

***

Eventually they came upon a small clearing. There sat a large circular stone dais, and surrounding it on its perimeter were nine large arched pillars curved in towards its center. On the tip of each pillar was a shiny white rock. Small runes covered all the surfaces, different from those that were on the walls of the cave Rylek had fallen into three days prior. These were more intricate, more mysterious looking. In the middle of the dais was carved a familiar sight: a large crescent moon cradled within an even larger mirrored crescent moon.

Tresten ran ahead, admiring the handiwork. “Simply amazing,” he said. “I could have never imagined anything like this.”

“We are finally arrived at the Twilight Gate,” Altan said. “If everyone is ready, we will…”

“Look at that!” Lana said suddenly to Selenor, seeing the crescents on the dais. “That’s the same design as in your Twilightstone.”

“And on Silran,” Tresten said softly, drawing his blade and examining it.

“What is this?” Altan asked, surprised at their outbursts. Selenor showed him her ring, and Tresten showed him his sword. A curious look came into his eyes that Rylek could not read. He stood silently for a moment, and then looked at Selenor. “I believe you will find that ring of yours has powers you were probably unaware of,” he said slowly and softly. “Here, let us put on our coats.”

The others exchanged wordless glances as they dressed themselves in the coats. Then Altan motioned towards Selenor and she stepped forward. As she approached the dais, the usually dark blue Twilightstone began to glow yellow-orange in the flarefruit light, which in turn caused the runes on the pillars and dais to glow. The white stones on the tips of the pillars grew lighter until sharp rays of amber light shot out towards the center of the dais. Then much to Rylek’s surprise, the rays of light appeared to raise the two crescents off the dais and into the air. The now amber-tinged crescents then switched axes so that they were now vertical instead of horizontal. Suddenly the crescents began to revolve one within the other, spinning in opposite directions of each other, faster and faster till all that was left was a large bright yellow sphere. A swift wind blew into Rylek’s face and whipped the girls’ hair backward.

“The time has come!” Altan shouted over the wind. “Herein lies our path to Khragzul and answers that outnumber your questions. It looks frightening, I know, but trust me when I say it will not hurt you. Follow me and step into the sphere!”

They watched as he walked onto the dais and disappeared into the yellow spinning mass. Instinctively they grasped each others’ hands and slowly approached the sphere.
This is a distinctly different feeling from when we did this at the sea,
Rylek thought. After they exchanged glances, he counted off “One, two, three!” and together they jumped into the gate.