Morvaine looked at the young girl. “Now, the only one who knows you have regained consciousness is me, the others still think you are unconscious. For the banishment to be binding you have to face the elders to receive their sentence...” she let her words hang in the air.
“Child, if you were to leave before the elders had a chance to decry you…maybe you could return in the future once things have settled and calmer heads have prevailed…” Morvaine stopped.
Q’uaina felt her world cave in. Despair poured into her heart. She was dreadfully alone and afraid. She looked back at the older woman. “What should I do Morvaine?”
“The elders have already witnessed your unconscious state today, they will not return before tomorrow. We can use the rest of the day to prepare your escape. Once it’s dark I can take you to the walls, I know a place where rainwater is channelled. You’d be small enough to slip through…I know of a lore speaker in the Shattered Hills; a keeper of bees, he’ll take you in. I’ll need to make the marking of the grave on your forehead for him to see, otherwise…” Morvaine outlined her plan.
Q’uaina barely breathed, she felt trapped. How had it all gone so wrong?
She knew that Morvaine spoke the truth. The elders would see her failure to return the Shaman to them as a sign. His death was on her hands, they needed to restore the balance and they would banish her, for life beyond the walls. It was only her age that protected her from a worse fate. Any older than her sixteen years and death would have been the decree. Strength and loyalty was the clan code. The Gods were not to be displeased.
The butterfly at the window took flight and fluttered across the room. Then it did something strange. It landed on her hand and stilled its wings. Its bluish hue shimmered, becoming indistinct. Q’uaina could feel her body paint tingle and stretch, her tattoos moving. The butterfly blended with her skin turning from a dusky blue to a mellow green colour. The shimmer of sunlight through leaves; the colour of life. Morvaine was unaware of this change; her back being turned as she made to leave the room, busy with her thoughts.
“So I’m to be cast out, beyond the walls. Let it be.” Q’uaina felt shame. Shame and fear.
Morvaine returned to the room after a short while. She brought various things that Q’uaina would need for her journey beyond the wall. She was preoccupied however on creating the mark on the young girl’s forehead that would ensure her safe passage through the Shattered Hills.
“Q’uaina I need to give you the sign of the light walkers. It’s a mark that is put on your forehead invisible to our kind but clearly visible to them. They are, or were known to inhabit the Shattered Hills although …that was generations ago. I only know what I was told by my mother and her mother before her. This knowledge is no longer taught to our young ones. Beliefs grow old and wither, even the stories of the light walkers are shunned now.”
As she spoke, Morvaine placed her hands around a mirrored crystal and caught the sunlight coming through the window. She moved the crystal slowly in front of Q’uaina to focus its light on her forehead. With her eyes closed, she started to weave words of spellcraft around the girl.
Q’uaina felt her blood quicken; the familiar sensation of being in the presence of magic. As apprentice to S’acryx, she was used to this feeling and the knowing that followed soon after. Her mind drifted as she fell under the effect of the magical ward.
She recalled all she knew of the Shattered lands which was not very much. The light walkers were said to be almost invisible, translucent beings. Long ago beyond memory, they had discovered how to capture and harness starlight to use in their Erthe lore. They had partially crossed over to the Otherside, leaving their residue in this world. Some said they were ghosts and that it was all just children’s tales. Others said that the reason the wall had been built was to keep the light walkers out.
Q’uaina came to with a sharp jolt. A brief burning sting struck her forehead and she smelt the distinctive tang of burning flesh. Alarmed, she jumped off the bed. Morvaine lay slumped on the floor by the window, the mirrored crystal shattered beside her. Her eyelids flickered, she stirred and looked at the girl beside her.
“It worked,” she said, a satisfied tone to her voice.
“It hurt, at the end. Am I scarred?” Q’uaina’s voice trembled.
“Not a blemish child,” Morvaine held up a polished mirror.
Q’uaina took the mirror and looked at herself. Drawn and haggard looking, but no scar. She noticed a few singed hairs only. She was about to hand the mirror back when she thought she saw a flickering behind her eyes. She blinked quickly and looked again, nothing. She was tired.
The quickening in her blood had stilled, the knowing followed; the sense of connection, of calm, of the Erthe flowed through her. She would be ready to face the unfolding of the next few days.
Over the following hours, Morvaine put together a few supplies for Q’uaina. Some food and water, a blanket and a sunstone to aid navigation.
The hour came. Q’uaina was ready. Morvaine provided a hooded cape for the journey.
“Let’s go.” Morvaine moved towards the door.
Chapter 3
The Wall
Q’uaina followed, a sense of anticipation filled her. She tried to contact the calm within, as S’acryx had taught her to. The strength the stillness engendered was from the source he had said; the source that bound them all to the Erthe. She found she could not connect, as she should. There was a new barrier preventing her.
They crept out of the building. The sky was free of cloud and the stars glittered brightly in the heavens. Q’uaina’s heart beat furiously in her chest; she felt it would burst from her with wings and join the ancestors above their heads. Morvaine led the way with a series of gestures and signals. A dog barked. Distant laughter came from the centre of the village.
Q’uaina remembered what Morvaine had told her earlier that evening. “ You must away to the Shattered Hills and find the lore master in his hall of mirrors. It’s there that you will find shelter and the answer to what lies in your heart. Something has changed in you. It’s since your journeying to the Otherside. You spoke in your sleep, of things I didn’t understand, of hunger and pain. Hunger for vengeance. Something has crossed over and lies inside you Q’uaina, a stain.”
Morvaine dropped to the ground bringing Q’uaina out of her reverie; they blended with the night shadows. A warrior from the wall gates approached leading his horse to the stables. Q’uaina’s muscles tensed, she held her breath. The warrior passed by, the moment melted.
They crossed the village limits and made the final approach to the wall. Instead of heading towards the drainage channel that passed under the wall, as Q’uaina had expected, Morvaine headed left. On they went and in the distance, Q’uaina heard the crashing of waves.
Morvaine is taking me to the sea, she thought.
Q’uaina accepted Morvaine’s decision; her life was in the healer’s hands. They reached the sea wall. Moonlight spilled down from above casting silver shadows all around. The surf was alive in the liquid moonlight.
A feeling within, a warning… all shortcuts are unsafe.
We will spread our wings together for the first time tonight, you and I…
Morvaine stopped and knelt down on the shingle beach. She turned and looked at Q’uaina. The sound of crashing waves filled the air.
“How am I to cross the wall?” Q’uaina had to shout to be heard.
Morvaine pointed to some shapes in the distance. “Go to those rocks, you will find the red kelp pods. Wrap them around you; they’ll help you float. The current is strongest there; the tide is on the turn. If you go now, it’ll bear you out into open water beyond the reach of the sea wall. You’ll be carried along the coast north along the kelp fields. The water is kind in that bay; you’ll find land easy enough. You cannot return, the current won’t allow it.
“You must hide by day, the elders will put out a search out for you once they discover your escape. Only move by night, at
least for the first few nights, use your lore and true sight. Don’t delay; morning light will be upon us before we know it. My heart is with yours, be safe my child and find your stillness again.” With that, Morvaine embraced Q’uaina and then turned, walking back the way they had come.
Q’uaina stared after her. Then she looked back and made her way towards the sea. She did as Morvaine had instructed and found the largest of the air filled kelp pods, wrapping them around her. She tied their long stems around her waist and shoulders. She then went to the end of the rocky promontory and lowered herself into the deep water.
The icy sea took her breath away. She started swimming and struck out to where she knew the kelp fields lay. Soon she felt their soft, silky fronds brush her legs beneath the surface, then she became aware of the current and allowed herself to be swept up in its embrace. She looked up and saw the stars twinkling coldly above. They were familiar, they were her stars, she felt the presence of the ancestors there. Suddenly, a bright light shot through the heavens and was then gone. A sure sign, she no longer felt alone.
Minutes passed, her breathing became ragged, her vision blurry. The kelp pods were keeping her afloat in the current. She thought she saw land in the distance. The sea wall had long since gone. Q’uaina closed her eyes for a brief rest, then her feet touched something below. The water was shallow; she had reached the bay beyond the wall. With a last effort, she struck out and threw herself into the crashing waves and onto a sandy beach ahead.
Sister, I will guide you, together we will learn of each other. We will grow closer and we will face those who once sought to tear us down.
Q’uaina pulled herself up onto the beach and lay exhausted on the sand. She closed her eyes and sunk into oblivion.
~
The dark elf paused, uncertain. Hesitantly, he brought the chalice to his lips, then drank the blood wine mixture slowly at first and then with more eagerness. He felt an intense energy and strength rush through his body. His veins sang with delight and his senses became exquisitely attuned. He drained the last drop.
A shadow emerged from behind him and laid a gloved hand on his shoulder.
“Feel the power, feel the voice within you awaken, feel the life,” the words came from the shadow. A male voice, cultured and ageless.
The dark elf nodded and smiled at the shadow-winged vampire. The alliance was sealed, the union complete. The unthinkable had happened. The prophecy of the Book of Blood had come true. The drow and vampire nations stood together joined by the congress of blood and a common goal.
~
Q’uaina stirred. Her cheek in wet sand. Her eyelids fluttered and her fingers twitched. The first rays of dawn touched the horizon. Light danced in the distance. She lay numb for a moment, then gradually the events of the day before came to her. She moved her arms and stiffly dragged herself into a sitting position. She must take cover. The elders would be searching for her soon. She must find shelter, hide and rest.
She quickly removed the remaining kelp pods and tightened the pack across her shoulders. Looking around she saw an unfamiliar coastline. Instead of the wide-open bay she had expected, she found herself staring at sheer sea cliffs. The current had taken her further than planned. There was no obvious way to traverse this barrier. Q’uaina started to walk along the shoreline northwards using the now newly risen sun to guide her.
~
The Shiffante consciousness stirred. It, they felt the shift. A shift in the balance of things. Of power. Their campaign of soulcapture now completed, their reign sovereign, absolute. The Erthe was theirs. There should be no doubt left, all resistance had been crushed, all souls had been taken. Except one, the girl. But, that was a long time ago. There had been no diminishing of their power; they had succeeded in their domination of the weaker races. They were divine, they were Shiffante. Yet, the collective that was the Shiffante became aware of imperfection, a flaw in their plan. Unease stung their collective consciousness. Doubt grew.
~
Q’uaina had spotted the cave mouth a short time earlier and had scrambled up to it in glorious sunshine. The sky was awash with brilliant reds and pinks, a canvas of colour. Her attention was not on the sky but on what lay in front of her. Darkness and an eerie wind whistling down through the cave. And that stench. A strong sulphur tang permeated the air. This was the liar of some beast or beasts. Her heart pounded, a dilemma. It was however, a breach in the cliff’s defences, perhaps a cave system led upwards like those she had been in when exploring as a child.
She waited. Nothing. She decided and crept forward into the mouth of the cave. The wind’s moaning intensified and the sound of the waves receded. She pressed on. The interior was large and she saw it extended in three different directions. She chose the one where the breeze was strongest, perhaps that would lead her up and out of the cave system. The light dimmed, her eyes adjusted. She drew on her inner light as S’acryx had taught her and found that she could find her way through the shadows.
Deeper and deeper she went into the cave. Instead of becoming smaller, the cave system expanded growing in size. Her foot kicked something hollow and she stumbled, falling heavily. A crunch came from beneath her. She looked down and froze. Bones, human and animal, some with flesh and hair still attached. Q’uaina shivered and snapped her head up. Her eyes focused and she became aware of a pattern to the bones, she was in some beast’s lair. At the centre of the den, was a mound and she saw shapes there. Unmoving and smooth.
Q’uaina started to back away but then heard a noise from the cave entrance. Something screeched. A loud, terrible sound echoed off the walls. She quickly scrambled forwards to the mound and crawled up it. She stared down and saw three large, pale green speckled eggs. A nest. She climbed carefully over the eggs and down the other side to the cave wall. The stench was overpowering and her senses reeled. She continued on, following the wall until she was a good sixty paces or so from the nest. She found a deep cleft in the rock and hid just within its entrance, maintaining her view of the nest.
The screeching became louder and nearer. From around the corner at the far end of the chamber came a shape. Four legs carried a winged body with an eagle’s head. A griffin! Q’uaina had heard tales of griffins in village stories, but that was all she had thought they were, stories. Her heart beat furiously and her mouth went dry. She kept still.
The griffin was in a rage and knew that something had been near its nest. Its eyes darted around the cave. It pushed the bones around the ground screaming furiously then became still, its muscles tensing. Its forked tongue flicked out tasting the air above the eggs. It had found Q’uaina’s scent. Then the griffin looked up sharply in her direction. Q’uaina’s eyes locked with the griffin’s.
The beast screeched and launched itself at Q’uaina’s position. With beating wings, bared fangs and talons it attacked. Q’uaina backed herself into the cleft then unexpectedly, she felt strange hands grab her from behind. She was pulled back into the narrow opening in the rock. The griffin was at the cleft in an instant and tore at the opening in a terrible fury.
Chapter 4
Ossian
A voice spoke into Q’uaina’s ear. “Don’t fear, the beast cannot reach us here.” The stranger’s hands released her.
She turned in the dim light and looked up into the eyes of a youth. He was no more than sixteen or seventeen years. His face and body was painted in a strange fashion. Swirling patterns of blue wode adorned his skin. He wore linen breeks but was otherwise bare. Around his neck was a cord attached to a small pouch. Q’uaina also noticed a spear and sword lying nearby.
“You’re safe here, the beast will retire in a while and leave us once it realises it’s having no effect on that rock. My name’s Ossian and I’m here to take that griffin’s egg. It’s for my journeytime, coming of age. Who’re you and why have you ruined my chance to take the prize?”
Q’uaina had taken enough. She was tired, cold and scared. “My name’s Q’uaina, and I’m lost. I need to leave
this place.” The griffin’s screeching had abated somewhat but it was still clawing at the rocky entrance to the fissure.
Ossian was silent for a moment. “Well you took the words right out of my mouth, there’ll be no griffin’s egg for me today. A strange day. I hunt for an egg and come away instead with a girl. What does the maker have planned I wonder?” He shrugged, picked up his weapons and pack. “Follow me Q’uaina, we have a ways to go.”
Ossian turned and led Q’uaina back through the cleft, which widened out into a distinct passage. It led upwards and she could sense cool breezes from somewhere above. Q’uaina began to feel hope that she would indeed see daylight once more.
Minutes passed. They scrambled along rocks and the incline persisted. At last, they reached a narrowing in the passage. Q’uaina looked up, she could see daylight far above. A series of ledges led all the way through the fissure.
Ossian nodded and pointed upwards. “We’ll have something to eat and drink now, you’ll need strength for the next part.” He opened his pack and took out some bread and a hunk of cheese offering it to her. She took the food gratefully, sat down and began to eat.
Ossian offered her some water from his canteen. “What’s that on your hand?”
She looked down at her hands and saw a blue smudge on the back of her right hand. She held it up examining it in the half-light. It was where the butterfly had landed the other evening. She thought back, had it not been a dream? She felt the blue skin, it felt normal and yet… it looked like a butterfly. The same one that had touched her. She shuddered. “I don’t know, a butterfly landed there. Something happened. I don’t know…” her words trailed off.
“Then I’ll call you my butterfly girl, come we need to tackle this next section and then it’s a five day walk back to my people, that’s if you wish to return there with me. We’ll discuss that later once we’re back on the surface.”
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