Chapter 7
The Journey
The escaped slaves made their way far enough from Ferocities to safely take a break. The horses were tired and the slaves were thirsty. They came upon a small village called Nashre'. It was a poor village with many huts for homes, and there weren't many people there. But those that were treated the foreigners with much kindness. They gave the runaway slaves fresh water from their wells and allowed them to sleep inside and outside of their huts. The ex-slaves were used to sleeping outside so they didn't mind.
Mr. Crowesh, still drenched in sweat and blood, saw a small broken well in the middle of the land, right between two small huts. His legs sore from fighting and riding, he limped over to the well. The metal spoon used for getting the water was lodged between the cracked brick and crushed handle holder. He struggled to unleash the spoon from the holder. An old man, blind in one eye, balding and dressed in a shredded tan robe, peacefully limped with his twisted cane over to the well. He signaled for his young teenage daughter to cater to Mr. Crowesh.
The young dark-haired maiden quickly rushed over to help. She smiled at him and took over the handle. She jiggled it a bit and twisted it and the spoon was let loose. Mr. Crowesh smiled with embarrassment.
“It gets a little tricky.” Her soft voice said. She scooped up a cup full and placed it to his bloodied cracked lips. He ravenously drank from it. With his thirst quenched, his attention turned to the heat. He sought to pour the cool water on himself. He tore off his ragged shirt, exposing his SK brand mark.
The old one-eyed blind man, the father of the Nashre' village, curiously asked with his hoarse voice, “You all are from Ferocities? You're all slaves?” There was a bit of fear in his voice.
Mr. Crowesh gulped more water, wiped the water from his tattered and bloody beard and said, “Not anymore, old man. Not anymore.” The old man smiled with relief.
The Nashreans were very courteous to the ex-slaves. They gave them plenty of bread and water to eat before letting them retire for the night. The group, still shaken from battle, created a bon-fire to keep them warm. As everyone sat around recounting what had happened almost a day ago, Ariyah turned her back to them. She didn't want them to see her mourn. She cried quietly as she held onto the very last thing her mother would ever give her. Sheevar, sad merely because her best friend was sad, rested her head on Ariyah’s back to comfort her. Orraco put his arm around her shoulders. But there would be no comforting the child this time. Her mother was gone and she was never coming back.
Vanka could see that the child was hurting, so she came over and took her by the hand. She led Ariyah out into the land away from everyone else. Ariyah began to cry, Vanka watched on diligently.
“I know, Ariyah…you have every right to feel the way you do” she said, grabbing Ariyah and holding her close.
“She should be here with us too. But she's gone. She’s gone!” Ariyah sobbed more, really feeling Crystaline’s absence now.
“No child, she is here with us; she's not gone at all” Vanka said reassuringly.
Ariyah looked to her in confusion. “I don't understand.”
Vanka knelt down. “When they killed your mother, I saw her spirit go into the Soul Realm” she explained. “That is why she gave you Kalos' medallion. She's in there.” Vanka tapped on the bronze locket. Ariyah’s damp eyes looked down at the necklace in disbelief. Vanka nodded with a smile on her face.
“Whatever goes into that Soul Realm goes into this locket” she continued to explain. “That is why I do not weep for Crystaline, chile, because she is still with us.” She took the medallion and tied it gently around Ariyah’s neck. A warm calming feeling came over her body as Ariyah stroked the oval ornament. A smile was upon her face as she gazed at it.
“But you must understand, this is a very powerful thing you have here. Remember it can be used for both good and evil purposes.” Vanka grew more serious. “Because your mother is inside, you mustn't corrupt it. And may it never leave your side.” That was almost too much caution for her eight-year-old mind. She shook her head no. She didn't even want to use it. But just knowing that her mother was in there, closer to her than she ever knew was good enough for her. She felt so much better and her tears stopped.
“Now the place where Crystaline got the fafuras, what is it called?” Vanka asked. Preoccupied with caressing the medallion, Ariyah remembered.
“Grandelyn; mother called it Grandelyn” she answered with a big smile.
“Grandelyn? Okay. Well she always said we would get there, but we don't know where it is.”
“Well I know that Mother used to say you would know it was Grandelyn when the blue sky turned gold, the water purple, and the sand white” Ariyah recounted. “She also said to look for the green palm trees with the white ball fruit hanging from it.” That was the only characteristics of Grandelyn Crystaline had left behind. She never gave any direction to where this place was. The escapees didn't know how far it was or which direction to continue on. When Vanka and Ariyah went back to their people at the bon-fire, they told Mr. Crowesh what they had discussed. He then asked the young dark-haired maiden from the water well if she had ever heard of Grandelyn.
“I have never heard of a place called Grandelyn, but I do know of the palm tree that bridges the brown sand lands to the white sand land. That is a part of Mandune that is not visited at all. It is forbidden.”
“Why is it forbidden?” Mr. Crowesh asked.
“Well my father told me it had something to do with a king who ruled there. I think he had it sealed off by using evil spirits. Those who try to pass the white lands would be cursed.” Everyone looked confused. Mr. Crowesh didn’t want to become a cursed human trying to get to a land he had never even really heard about.
“Maybe we should find another land to migrate on. Hey, maybe this one. We could become Nashreans.” He suggested. The escapees began to groan in detest to his idea. They wanted to go to the beautiful unique land they were promised.
“No, we will continue on and find the place Crystaline told us to go” Vanka said.
Throwing his hands up in defeat, Mr. Crowesh huffed, “Well can you tell us in which direction are these trees?”
“Yes, if you continue going North-West you are sure to find it” the maiden answered kindly.
“Well alright. In the morning we will set to find the trees.” Mr. Crowesh said before dozing off to sleep.
Sheevar, Orraco, and Ariyah nuzzled together. Before Ariyah closed her eyes, she rubbed her medallion.
“Mother, I wish you were here to guide us. But I know now that you are closer to me now than ever before. I love you and I’ll stay strong.” She kissed the medallion and fell asleep.
They peacefully slept in the dirt piles, to the music of nearby nocturnal creatures. Dawn had yet to appear, but Ariyah was compelled to wake up and get moving. It was as though something was forcing her to get up. She jolted out of her sleep, covered in ants. As she brushed them off, she began to feel a vibration in her chest. She realized it was the medallion. It was buzzing calmly yet continuously. Alarmed, she woke Vanka.
“Vanka, I think we should go now.” she said with haste.
“What's wrong, chile?” She asked with concern, still groggy.
“I don't know I just got this really big feeling that we should go right now.” Vanka looked at her then she looked at the medallion. She knew the concern burdening Ariyah had to have been from Crystaline.
“Okay then everybody up. Let's go.” Vanka gave orders. They began to groan and complain while staggering to stand to their feet. Quickly the escapees thanked all of the Nashreans for their hospitality, got back on their horses, and began to travel in a northwestern direction. Ariyah couldn't explain the feeling but it was like a nudge in her heart saying they needed to leave that place as soon as possible. As they continued their travels, the sun was beginning to come out and the heat of the sun was blazing against their skin. They were from the c
old city of Ferocities, so they were not accustomed to the heat of the sun. Their skin did not react well to it. They became itchy, blistery, and swollen in their limbs. The roads they traveled rarely had water or any form of greenery; no trees, plants, or even grass. At least if they could find an aloe plant, they could have used it to soothe their skin. But every road and land was empty and they were forced to continue. There was no way they could go back now. Why would they want to? Skin plagues from the sun were not pleasant, but they were easier to deal with than the death and carnage back in the Savage Kingdom. They continued on. After traveling the deserts for awhile, the complaints began. They were traveling such long distances, only if Crystaline had been able to reveal a quicker way to the white sand land. But they would have to struggle to find it on their own.
“When will we get there?” A complaint was shouted. It was too hot to answer. “We've been going for a very long time.” Another continued to whine.
“Hush up, chile…this is better than being one of Kalos' slaves any day” Vanka scolded. Riding the horse in the oppressive heat was making Ariyah drowsy, but something suddenly caught her eye.
“There. Look!” She exclaimed. It was a big palm tree and behind it were the white sand dunes. Vanka sped the horse up to it. On the tall tree was something very familiar to all of them.
“Fafuras!” Ariyah said in delight. “This is it, everyone!” she jumped off of the horse and sluggishly ran to the tree. Everyone hopped off their horses and looked up to the tall tree.
“Wow…that's the fruit Mother gave us!” Ariyah smiled with joy. Usually fafuras didn’t grow on this tree. It was a sign to the escapees to keep going. Getting the fruit would not only quench their thirst but also give them energy to go on. Mr. Crowesh tried to shake the tree, but the fafuras did not drop. Orraco found a rock on the ground. He threw it at the tree and knocked two down.
“Good idea, Rac. Everybody, find a rock or pebble and let’s get this fruit down!” Mr. Crowesh said with excitement. They each began searching for throwing objects, then started their assault on the tree. Ultimately they were able to bring down at least 13 fafuras.
“Okay everyone, we have to split this up evenly. There are more of us than the fruit, so be considerate to the women and the children.” Mr. Crowesh ordered. Vanka peeled away the white rhines, tore off the blue slices and divided them between all 352 hungry travelers. After eating the fruit they all began to get a sudden surge of energy. They felt great; even the blisters no longer bothered them.
“This tree and white sands mean that we are not far from our destination.” Mr. Crowesh said straddling back on his horse. “Let's go.” They began to ride again. They felt refreshed and the once agonizing journey soon felt like a fun adventure. They began to laugh and joke about the battle they had won against the Savage Kingdom. They started to notice that the dry air became cool, moist, and fresh. They were soon surrounded by more beautiful white sand dunes. The average blue sky was now turning gold.
“Oh my. This is it!” Ariyah said as, from afar, she saw the most beautiful place she had ever seen. They saw many more palm trees, with the fafuras hanging from them. They also saw red, orange and pink flowers and plants placed delicately throughout the land. They could see from a distance a rocky cliff gushing out a purple waterfall. Behind it were two mountains; both had large black buildings on them. They dismounted their horses and tried to find an opening to get inside. There was a white gate guarding this land.
“It must be occupied.” Vanka was clearly confused. “Who else would build a gate like this?” As she reached out to touch the gate, a light blue spark sent a shock to her arm. Vanka screamed out in pain.
While a few members of the group tended to Vanka, others examined the gate more closely. It looked scaly and had many ridges on it. Occasional sparks suggested that some type of energy surrounded it. “Do not touch the bars of this gate! You will be harmed by its energy!” Mr. Crowesh yelled out cautiously to the others as he wrapped his arm around Vanka’s wounded limb. It was obvious that this place was designed to keep away trespassers.
They continued to move forth, making sure not to get too close to the deadly barrier. Ariyah curiously began to follow the gates direction to find the opening. The white poles just kept getting wider and thicker. More pointy scales appeared and more blue lights accumulated on what looked like bars. “What is this?” she whispered to herself in confusion. Her eyes traveled upward as the base became thicker and formed an arch. She stepped back and gasped at what was there before her.
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