by Willan Ellis
Teanne sighed deeply as she looked around the below world again, taking another deep breath she closed her eyes.
‘Where have you been’? She turned to see Lin racing across the field frantic.
‘Testing a theory, why what’s wrong’?
‘You’ve been gone for hours, we have been searching everywhere for you. Empe is beside
herself’. Teanne smiled and moved with Lin toward the cottage. She stopped just before the doorway, and looked back toward the forest edge. There standing with his arms crossed leaning against a tree was the man in black, smiling.
‘Where have you been child?’
Teanne ignored Empe and moved straight to a chair and heavily sat in it, ‘Robert was right. I phased into the below world.’ She heard the small gasp from Empe, and looked at Robert
who was smiling to himself.
‘Do you think you can take one of us?’ Empe asked.
‘I guess I can only try, as a wise man once said ‘just do it.’ Teanne laughed to herself,
‘Any volunteers?’
‘I’ll go first’ Teanne looked over at Alexander standing in the doorway. Nodding she stood and moved toward him.
‘No time like the present’ she quickly grabbed his wrist and closed her eyes.
Teanne reopened her eyes, and saw Alexander crouched over as if he was about to vomit,
‘That, that was intense’ Alexander managed between quick breaths. Teanne looked around the chamber. Well that was a lot easier than she thought it would be. Looking down at Alexander she wondered why he was feeling nauseous ‘Are you all right?’ Alexander nodded and covered his mouth, ‘The room is spinning is all.’
Teanne smiled ‘I’ll be right back’.
Teanne continued the same process with Empe and Lin. Robert declined; his book was just getting to a good part.
‘What do you want to do now’? Empe asked
‘I want to try something before we go on.’ Teanne looked at the runes and pressed the rune of Luia then pressed it again. Its glow was brighter than before. She moved quickly toward the doorway with four vertical lines above it, she turned to the group,
‘Let’s go’
Teanne heard the gasps that followed as they left the doorway. They were in the below world, but Teanne knew that it was not their time. It was hers.
‘Kera!’
Teanne looked to where Alexander was running. Lying on the altar was Kera. She looked dead, but the slow rise of her chest made Teanne relax. That explained where she was. Teanne moved out into the light, and turned to Lin who looked at her confused.
‘What’? Teanne asked
‘Well you are quite beautiful my dear’ Empe responded.
Teanne suddenly realised that they were seeing her for the first time. It made her feel very
happy. She saw Alexander look up from Kera and gulp. His face went red as he diverted his gaze shyly.
‘Thank you Alexander that’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me’ she giggled. Teanne looked down at her body, the glow wasn’t there. She moved to the walls, and touched them. They were solid; she was solid.
Teanne moved toward Kera and went to touch her, her hand passed straight through her. She did the same to Alexander and Empe, and her hand again moved through them. She crossed to Lin, expecting the same but found solid flesh. They looked at each other apprehensively.
‘I think that a balance has been restored.’ Empe answered her unasked question. Teanne touched Lin once again and looked at Empe, ‘how is Lin solid and you are not?’
‘You said Lin had died in your time. Perhaps there is room for her in this time to exist now.’
Lin stood still ‘Great!’ was all she could respond.
‘Let’s go up and have a look. Do you think you can manage those stairs Em? They are not
as solid as they used to be’ Empe smiled as she lifted her skirt, and headed for the stairs.
As they emerged from the well, the sun was shining brightly throughout the garden. Teanne felt a tear fall down her cheek. She had expected to see the beautiful garden, instead abandonment surrounded her, overgrown vines and dust had started moving in.
‘Praise be’ she heard Empe say sadly.
Teanne felt a tight grip on her shoulder from Lin. She jumped from the well and moved
toward the great hallway, the sadness and conflicting anger were fighting for her emotions. Everything suddenly came flooding back. At least the smell of dead bodies had gone. She wiped her eyes and turned back toward the well, Lin was standing waiting for Empe and Alexander to jump down, but they couldn’t move.
‘What’s wrong’?
‘I don’t think we can go any further than this’ she watched as Alexander tried to move off
the rotunda. He stepped back as if pushed by an invisible force field.
‘Will you two be all right? I want to go and look in the great study, see if anything will help’
‘Go ahead, Alexander and I, will go and have a look around back in the chamber.’
‘I’ll come with you Teanne’ Lin smiled as she approached Teanne.
Moving through the hallway, Teanne heard little gasps from Lin and realised it would be hard seeing her home destroyed like this. Teanne pushed the doors to the great study, they were still locked. She calmed herself then pushed once more – and they opened. Looking around the room she noticed it hadn’t changed much, she heard Lin giggle and turned to look at her. She was standing underneath a large portrait. A portrait of the older her.
‘I got fat’ Teanne laughed ‘what exactly are we looking for’? Lin continued,
Teanne didn’t have a clue. All she knew was she needed some guidance on how she was going to return the Estrus to its rightful owner, to unite the roots.
‘I have no idea’
Lin moved around the room looking up at the ceiling then lightly running her fingers across the remaining books. Teanne stood straight and put her hands on her hips, and tried to recall Elder Lins instructions. She had told Teanne to go the below world to retrieve the runes, and let them guide her. She didn’t think that Elder Lin expected a sovereign to be there waiting. She then told her to let her guide her to instructions. She looked down at the Estrus, it was still; she gave it a quick rub and looked around the room. This was Elder Lin’s sanctuary, where she had spent all her time; maybe somewhere in this room she had left instructions. Teanne sighed as she felt like she was clinging to false hope, but it was worth a shot.
‘If this were your study, where would you hide something of value?’ Lin looked at Teanne strangely ‘humour me please.’ Lin smirked and moved to the table and looked around the room. She stopped as she looked at a small bookshelf in a corner,
‘Well when I was a child, a hundred years ago’ Lin cynically laughed to herself as she crossed the room and stood in front of the small bookshelf. She lightly tapped the edges on both sides, and then pulled the bookshelf away from the wall. She felt behind then glanced over to Teanne and smiled.
‘Is this what you are looking for?’
Teanne almost jumped for joy as she ran to Lin and hugged her. Teanne opened the book cover and smiled sadly,
‘For you, Teanne’
Teanne kissed Lin on the cheek ‘Nice work Head Elder Elite.’
Lin looked at Teanne seriously ‘How did you know that was here?’
‘A lucky guess?’ Lin didn’t let up and forced Teanne for more with a glare ‘I have been thinking about what you asked me to do, to return the Estrus to its rightful owner, she, you, told me to go to the rotunda, and enter the below world. You said I would discover what must be done, to let the Estrus guide me, then I was to let her guide me to find instructions’ Teanne looked up at Lin and smiled ‘as I said a lucky guess. You were, sorry, are quite clever you know’
Lin smiled ‘I have my moments, even if I am a ghost’ they shared a quiet laugh.
‘Come on I want to get back to Em, and see if she can help with this.�
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‘Where’s Kera?’ Lin asked surveying the room,
‘We don’t know, we came back down and she was gone’ Teanne felt a shiver go up her
back.
‘We found a book, written by yours truly. Teanne wants you to have a look’ Lin grabbed the book and handed it to Empe, but it fell through her hands and landed on the floor with a thud. ‘Sorry, I forgot.’ Lin lifted the book and placed it on the altar. Empe asked her to flick the pages as she read the book.
‘This is quite interesting. It seems to be a journal based around experiments with the Estrus. It seems that your Head Elder Elite was trying to find a way to activate the Estrus and work out how one could carry it safely to a place called Archai’
‘Why’? They all said in unison.
Empe motioned Lin to turn more pages and begun to read aloud.
‘To unite with the sphere, to unite the elements. We have discovered that a carrier will be born on the alignment; there are two possible infants; one in the land of life and death and one in the land of creation and destruction. They are due in the 13th month on the 13th day when the two moons are one.’
Teanne froze, that was her birth date.
‘Sarah believes it is her that will have the true carrier, because they are the chosen protectors of the Estrus. I don’t think so. The mother of ours is unique, she possesses no traits of any of the elements. She is bare.’
Empe continued reading,
‘Maven has sought her for hundreds of years, could we be this close, will we again bring harmony to our world?’
Teanne moved closer to Empe and looked at her. She was crying,
‘Maven was my mother’ Empe whispered. Teanne wanted to hug Empe, but instead she looked at Alexander and pleaded for him to do so, he obliged by putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.
‘Is this your birthday’? Empe asked seriously. Teanne nodded ‘we need to get you back to our time and retrieve the runes and my mother’s journal, I think you now have your destiny map child’
Exiting the doorway, Teanne watched as Lin crashed into the back of Alexander and Empe, as they stood frozen. She looked past them, and saw the Mother Sovereign standing at the end of the stairs, guards to either side. Kera slowly emerged from behind her mother. She looked at the foursome with a venomous glare.
Empe looked over to the altar. The message runes were gone, as was the journal.
‘Are you looking for these?’ The Mother Sovereign asked as she opened her hands revealing the runes and the journal ‘it seems the traitor has a few secrets yet.’
Teanne closed her eyes trying to call the power but nothing came. She looked at Kera with realisation. She was only a visitor this time, this was her time.
Teanne grew angry, they were so close. It couldn’t simply end like this. Teanne watched as Lin and Alexander moved to either side of Empe and saw Empe put her hands behind her back and flick her finger holding a fireball between her palms.
‘And who are you my dear?’ Teanne looked up, and met the Mother Sovereigns eyes. They were cold,
‘No one of importance Mother… Sovereign.’
‘My daughter seems to think otherwise. She has been quite an active young lady. She
visited this crypt often thinking that by some force the Estrus would come to her. She knows how much I want that stone, and it seems she has had a little adventure, a very interesting adventure.’
Teanne fully realised how she had come to this time, Kera had been in the crypt the first time she had come to the chamber, and by chance had felt the presence of the Estrus. She had acted to retrieve it for her mother. Teanne looked at the stone in her wrist; it had protected her by trading places with her. Teanne smiled fondly.
‘Those do not belong to you Rebecca’ Empe spoke coldly looking at the runes and journal
‘I do not go by that name anymore… Empe’ the Mother Sovereign spat back ‘you escaped here once before but not this time, and little Lin, what a shame, I had high hopes for you.’
‘Sorry to disappoint you Mother Sovereign’ Lin replied sarcastically.
Teanne closed her eyes and opened them. She stood directly in front of the Mother Sovereign, the guards lifted their staves to push her back, but they passed right through her. Concentrating, Teanne went for the runes and journal, but her hands glided through them. But it was enough of a distraction for the three behind her to attack. A fire bolt hit the guards to the left of the Mother Sovereign, another just passing Kera. Teanne smelt burning hair, such pretty hair.
‘Teanne. Move. This is our fight.’ Teanne felt helpless. She felt a cold shiver as Lin ran through her and tackled her once best friend aside. Empe threw a large bolt toward the Mother Sovereign, who dropped the runes and journal. She lifted her hands and threw a retaliatory blast of fire. The entire chamber was alight with flames and lightening.
‘Lin, get Teanne out of here’ Empe yelled over the roar of the fire bolts. Lin rolled off her surprised friend and grabbed the runes and ran to the altar and threw them down, touching the Luia rune twice; Teanne saw the bright glow.
‘Get out of here Teanne, Now!’ Empe yelled.
Teanne ran toward Lin ‘Where do you think you are going?’ she asked.
Lin lifted her chin disobediently ‘Do you really think I’m letting you go back on your own.’ Teanne moved to object ‘forget it Teanne I’m coming with you – hey I’m dead anyway – what difference will it make.’
Teanne looked at Empe who nodded and smiled. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.
‘Thank you Empe, I will never forget you.’
Lin yelled from the doorway, Teanne ran through.