by Simon Archer
I found her standing about ten feet away, watching Allie and me. I realized right then why Allie was Aron’s dragon. The chocolate brown sheen from Allie’s body supremely accented Aron’s tanned skin. Well, maybe that wasn’t the reason, but it couldn’t have been a complete coincidence that the two looked so good together.
“She’s a sweet creature,” I told Aron, walking to her.
“Hope you don’t ever have to see the other side of her personality,” Aron chuckled. “Come with me.”
Allie got up, turned around in a few circles as we walked away, then laid down again and curled her tail around her, resting her head as though about to take a nap. I turned my attention back to Aron and the massive building we headed for.
5
We walked about a half-mile to get to the entrance of the building. As we approached, the size of the place really started to sink in. There was a covered area around the entire building, as far as I could see on either side, and the front door had to be at least three stories high.
The building was made completely out of dark grey stone with black grout holding them together. On either side of the door were massive sconces that held torches larger than me. Both were lit and cast off heat that I could feel the closer we got.
It was rapidly getting darker outside, making the flames seem brighter than normal fire. Or, perhaps the flames were actually brighter, like most of the other colors in Blenwise I’d seen so far.
Just as we reached the doors, they started to open as though someone knew we were coming. I expected someone to be on the other side, waiting for us, but as we walked through, nobody was there.
The inside was well lit, with candles and torches everywhere. The floor consisted of the same stone as the walls, and I found myself looking at four huge staircases leading off in different directions. Between the base of each one was highly glossed wooden doors with bronze knockers hanging in the center. I tipped my head back and looked at the ceiling, half expecting to see a skylight like the one at Aron’s house.
Instead, wood carvings with painted white accents that made it look three dimensional covered the ceiling. I stared at it, looking for symbols or figures in the carving. I couldn’t find anything, and then my examination was interrupted by Aron loudly clearing her throat.
“Are you done with your child-like wonderment?” she asked impatiently.
“No,” I replied quickly.
Things the past several hours had moved so quickly that I refused to let the awe of this amazing place pass by me to accommodate her rushing around.
She huffed and crossed her arms in front of her. I could tell she was growing more irritated with each passing moment, and I took pleasure in it. I wasn’t going to let anyone boss me around in what I still wasn’t positive was simply the best dream I’d ever had.
I turned back when I heard the huge doors click closed behind me, and it surprised me to see that mirrors covered them floor-to-ceiling. Taking a step back, I almost got woozy. The mirrors made my perception of spatial difference in the room uneven. The place looked four times its actual size when looking at them. I turned back around and took a deep breath just as the door between the two middle staircases opened.
“Those things will knock you off balance if you stare at them too long without being used to them,” an older woman said as she exited the door.
She was smiling as she pulled it closed behind her and headed towards Aron and me. She was smaller than Deyla and had white hair neatly curled that hung just below her shoulders. Though obviously older than the other two women I’d met, her form was still in shape and strong. She dressed differently, more modestly than Deyla and Aron as well, giving her a sort of regal quality.
“My apologies for not coming to meet you in your chambers,” Aron said, tipping her head to the woman.
“No apologies, Aron. You got him here. That is all I could’ve asked you for,” the woman replied, reaching out to take Aron’s hand in her own. She leaned forward and kissed Aron on each cheek and then stepped back, observing her. “You need more water, my girl.” Aron’s eyes shifted to the floor.
“Yes, ma’am,” she replied. Somehow this woman had power, or a higher position over Aron, although I didn’t know how. Aron gave off the air that she would remove anyone’s head who crossed her, yet she seemed obedient to a lady half her size. Aron turned to me, grabbed my hand, and put it in the woman’s.
“Blake, this is Gale Crinn. Gale, meet Blake. He fell from the portal early this afternoon. Deyla brought him to me,” Aron said, taking a step back as though to exit the conversation that hadn’t started between Gale and me yet.
“Who caught him?” Gale asked Aron while she stared into my eyes and stepped in front of me.
“Prenna,” Aron answered.
“Oh, good!” Gale said, smiling happily. “She’ll be the talk of the flock for years for that! There’s no dragon more deserving!”
“She was a very sweet, and protective, dragon,” I said, not really sure what Gale was staring at me for.
“Not protective of you, I imagine,” Gale chuckled. I nodded and had to grin.
“No, not me. Deyla, however… I’d hate to see what Prenna would do if Deyla was ever in serious danger.” The respect I heard in Gale’s voice as she’d mentioned Prenna impressed me. The dragons seemed to be family members to the women in this place. Right then was when I realized that I’d only seen women since I’d fallen through the portal. I started looking around even though nobody else was in the room with us.
“Yes, Prenna’s sweet nature would vanish instantly were she needed to defend Deyla,” Gale agreed with me. She turned to Aron. “How is Allie?” Aron nodded and almost looked happy for a moment.
“She’s wonderful, thank you for asking,” Aron answered.
“Good!” Gale responded, turning back to me. She was still holding onto my hand, which she gave a firm squeeze.
“Alright, Blake! Now let’s figure out why you are here, shall we?” Gale said enthusiastically. “Aron, that will be all. Thank you, darling. Travel safely.”
“I will, thank you,” Aron said and headed for the door without saying a single word to me. I was starting to get mildly offended at how people leaving me was becoming commonplace and felt more like I was being pawned off, instead of delivered respectfully. Gale must’ve caught on to my irritation.
“Don’t mind her,” she said, giggling. She stepped beside me and looped her arm through mine, tugging at me to walk with her. We headed towards the staircase to the far right. “I’d venture to guess that our… social dynamic, I guess you’d call it, is a little different here than it is where you come from.”
“How do you mean?” I asked, letting her lead me up the stone stairs.
“There aren’t many people of the male origin in our land. I’ve heard tales that in other worlds, it is more one-to-one than it is here,” she replied.
“I was just noticing I hadn’t seen any guys. Where are they all?” I looked up as we climbed further, not being able to see where we headed due to the growing darkness occurring the further away from the lobby we moved.
“Most of them are here. The rest are running the businesses in town,” she answered. “There is about one male to every fifty females born here. They really aren’t good for a whole lot, in the grand scheme of things.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, and she didn’t hesitate at all.
“Not good for much? How can you say that? How are they any different from women?” This talk mildly offended me, but my curiosity about how this woman could think that way got the best of me.
“Well, their casting is less than mediocre in most cases, their warrior skills take years longer to develop, and very, very few have any natural talent whatsoever in magical matters.” Gale still didn’t seem to take my feelings into consideration as she told me men were right next to useless.
“And the women here can do all those things better?” I scoffed. I wasn’t under the attitude that men were better than wom
en. For all intents and purposes, I viewed them as equal, but I was feeling defensive of my own kind at the moment.
“Yes, of course,” Gale replied, sounding amused at my implication.
“I find that hard to believe. Are you sure you aren’t just biased, being a woman and all?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Gale stopped right there on the stairs and turned to face me.
“I’m not concerned with what you believe. In fact, I’d venture to guess that your beliefs have already been altered since you’ve arrived. I have no reason to think you will not make up your own mind and be in agreement once you’ve had more experience with the men and women in our land. However, I am a lot more forgiving than some when it comes to the defense of the men here, so I’d advise you to keep that opinion between you and me.” Gale was deadly serious and cocked her head slightly at the end of her statement to make sure I understood her clearly.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, not daring to argue. She wasn’t wrong. I had seen things I never thought could be since I’d fallen into the yellow jello-stuff. I resigned myself to wait until I met some of the men before making up my mind whether the women were simply biased or not.
“Good,” Gale said. She continued up the stairs until we came to another door. She took her arm from mine, and waving her hand in front of its polished surface, she made it open.
“How did you do that?” I asked. She’d mentioned magic, but I still wasn’t sure what that meant in this place.
“It’s a simple spell, really,” she replied. “Even some men can get that one down.”
At that point, I could tell she was purposely trying to ruffle my feathers, but in a light-hearted way. We walked through the door, and I found myself astonished once again. The room we’d entered was bigger than the lobby. It was oval-shaped with a high, vaulted ceiling and torches lining the walls. It was brighter than the lobby too. On the very outside edge, a row of chairs went around the entire room. Each one had a leather cushion to sit on and velvet backing, in different colors, edged by intricately carved dark wood. I stopped and admired the place, once again in awe.
“Who does all the amazing carvings I keep seeing around here?” I asked Gale, not noticing that she had walked several paces ahead of me.
“The Witnesses, mostly,” she replied. “Occasionally, a Warrior will learn decorative carving, but that is rare.” The answer reminded me that I was still in the dark about Warriors and Witnesses.
“Please explain the difference between Warriors and Witnesses. I’ve heard the terms multiple times since I’ve been here, and nobody seems willing to explain them to me,” I said as sternly as I could without sounding rude. Gale waved me to follow her, so I headed her way, waiting for an answer.
“The women here are born into one of two sub-groups… Warriors or Witnesses. Those who are born Warriors show their preference for protection and battle at a very young age. They grow up and are trained to hunt, protect, defend, build, survive, and lead,” she said. “Without them, our lands would be at risk of attack from neighboring lands.”
Her explanation was simple and made sense of the impression I’d gotten from Aron. She had zero tolerance for, well, anything that was outside her agenda at the time.
“What about Witnesses?” I asked, wanting to take advantage of Gale’s willingness to divulge information while we walked through the massive room.
“Witnesses are basically the opposite of Warriors. They are the homemakers, and caretakers of our society. Art, outside of ritual Warrior art, architecture, and organization all fall under their reign. They are happiest when they are caring for something, even if it isn’t another person. That is why they raise livestock and garden here as well.”
We’d reached the center of the room where a large podium stood. There was a book larger than any I’d seen before sitting on it. Gale stopped and motioned for me to stand next to her.
“And the men can’t do either of those things?” I asked a final question, feeling as though our conversation was about to come to an end on the topic.
“Not much,” she answered. “They are suitable for breeding when needed, keeping businesses open, which the Warriors and Witnesses set up for them, and occasional tasks for the ones who develop physical strength.”
“Wow. You really do view men as next-to-worthless, don’t you,” I responded. From what I’d just heard, the male species in the land were only one step above wet rags.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Gale said gently. “We don’t dislike our men. They are courteous and do contribute in certain ways. Their contributions, other than breeding, simply aren’t as important as the Warriors and Witnesses’ contributions to our way of life. Plus, there are very few of them. Currently, there are only seven males in Blenwise. Usually, there are eight…” She trailed off and looked down at the book.
I was about to ask her to elaborate on the eighth man, but her demeanor shifted, and I felt it best to wait. I focused on the book she was staring at, and it surprised me to see the elaborately decorated and painted cover. The material resembled leather and had swirling designs tooled into it, accented by red and blue paint streaks. The combination of the tooling and paint made it look like the cover was moving ever so slightly, whirling around and twisting. The motion was so slow and understated that it was nearly hypnotic. In fact, I was suddenly unsure whether the book was actually moving or not.
“What is the cover made of?” I asked, hoping Gale would explain what I was seeing without me having to ask if the damn thing was alive somehow or not. She smiled as she gently opened the cover, exposing the first page. It was blank.
“It is simple leather, but those Witnesses can make things look like they are moving pretty well, can’t they?” She glanced up at me and then back down to the blank page before us. “What do you see?” I looked at the page, wondering if she thought I was stupid.
“A blank page. Why?” The page was yellowed and looked very stiff, but there wasn’t any marking on it.
“Good,” Gale said, and flipped the page. “What about now?” The new page was blank as well, but the edges looked burnt.
“Still blank, but it looks like it was lit on fire around the edges,” I told her. It was obvious she had a point to her little test, but far be it from me to know what it was. Again, she turned the page.
“Now?” she asked.
“The page is darker, still burnt,” I told her. She nodded and started to turn the next page. When she got the new page high enough to cast a shadow on the previous one, something new showed on it. “Wait!” I reached for her hand to have her lay the page she was turning back down but stopped short of touching her.
“What do you see?” she asked, her voice lifted a bit. Once she’d laid the new page back down, and the shadow from it no longer cast across the previous one, the image had disappeared.
“Please lift the next page slowly and stop when it blocks the light from this one,” I said, pointing to the page I’d seen the image on. She did as I asked, and the image reappeared. “There is a circle. It’s so faint, I can barely make it out. I think there is some type of writing around the edge.” I stared at the page, squinting to get a closer look.
“Anything else?” she asked, her voice steady. I stared directly in the center of the circle. It was like my eyes were drawn to that specific spot, and suddenly, the entire page filled up. I could see it in my peripheral vision.
“The entire page is full of…” I shifted my eyes to see what covered the rest of the page, but the moment I did, the figures vanished. I returned my gaze to the center of the circle, and the markings returned, but still only in my peripheral scope. “I don’t know what it is. I can only see it when I’m not looking at it. I don’t think it’s writing, though.”
Gale nodded slowly, her face straight and emotionless, which I got the feeling she was careful to keep that way. She began turning the page again, and I got a chill as the circle and figures disappeared from sight.
�
��Do you see anything here?” she asked, letting the new page fall. I looked at the book to see another dark page. That one had corner markings that I could make out perfectly, but nothing was in the center of the page.
“Blank center, corner decorations,” I said. I wanted to go back to the strange shadow-activated page. Gale turned the page again, to my dismay.
“Now?” I could tell she was holding her breath now, which struck me as strange.
“It looks like a list of some kind, right down the middle of the page, but it’s in a language I don’t read,” I told her. I studied the list. The letters were weird shapes among some recognizable ones, but none of them meant anything to me, until I got to the last one, that is. “Wait, I can read the last one. It is the name of this place. Blenwise,” I said, excited for some reason. Gale let out her breath sharply and shifted her weight to her far leg, leaning away from me.
“Are you sure?” she said quietly.
“Yeah, I’m sure. It’s right there,” I told her, pointing towards the name of the land at the bottom of the list. “Does it say something different to you?” I looked at her, and her eyes caught mine just as my finger touched down on the page. A jolt of electricity surged into my finger like I’d been shocked after rubbing my socks across a carpet. I pulled my hand back to my chest.
“Yikes! Damn thing bit me,” I joked. Gale had jumped backward a good two feet, however.
“What happened?” she asked, upset, although I wasn’t sure about what.
“Just a shock, that’s all. I wasn’t expecting it, though,” I told her, chuckling at my overreaction, and hers.
“How does your hand feel?” she asked, rushing over to me and pulling my hand away from my chest to examine it. It looked completely normal. However, I did notice it felt a little… funny.