Yazen (Ponith)

by Nicole Sloan

  "I'll lead the way," I say while heading back to the tree from last night. We quietly sneak up on the tree, but it seems normal. This type of tree is a weeping willow, and normally they grow near lakes or ponds. It has lots of branches that hang low to the ground. I don't see the woman anywhere; maybe she left.

  I shrug my shoulders at Alex, "I don't know, maybe she ran away."

  "Who goes there?" the woman's voice yells. Alex and I jump back from the tree, Jenn is holding on to my shirt. The tree doesn't seem to be moving, I don't see the woman either. I can hear someone sniffling and crying, however.

  "My name is Zac, and these are my friends. Where are you? Are you okay? I can hear you crying," I yell out. My eyes are scanning the surrounding area, looking for any movement. Alex is scanning around frantically with his rifle, looking for any threats.

  "Please come around to the other side of the tree," says the woman.

  We slowly circle around the tree to find a woman embedded into the tree. She looks like an older woman that has a lot of scars. Her hair is made from long, dangling twigs. She has dark green eyes and long, sharp bark nails. Her body is not revealed much. She’s completely covered in bark. Her arms are free to move around, but they are made of bark as well.

  “Hi, I’m Zac. These are my friends, Jenn and Alex. We’re just passing through and trying to find the Yazen gem so we can go back home,” I try to say with a steady voice, although I’m not sure how I managed it.

  The woman stops crying and turns to me, "Are you the one that hurt me last night?" She looks very sad. I feel bad that I was the one that hurt her. I didn't realize that she was a living tree at the time.

  "Err, well … It was my fault, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were here," I apologize to her. Alex lowers his gun and Jenn finally lets go of my shirt.

  "Are you still crying from last night?" Jenn asks her.

  "No, I cry all of the time. I'm stuck here by myself, and unable to leave from this spot. I have to wait for someone to bring me water, to keep me refreshed. I had a spell put on me that has changed me into this horrible creature," she says.

  "A spell? What's your name? What exactly are you?" Alex asks her. He sits his bag and rifle on the ground.

  "My name is Beldis. I'm now a Weeping Willow Dryad, but I used to be a Wood Elf. I miss my freedom so much and I wish I could go back to normal, but I’ve been like this for a while. Where are you all from?" she asks us.

  "We're from Earth. We're just traveling through; my grandpa told me about Yazen and said we should visit here, so we decided to come. Now we have to find the Yazen gem to help us get back home," I explain to her.

  Beldis begins to weep again, this time louder. I exchange confused glances with Alex and he meets my eyes and shrugs. I turn back to Beldis, frowning. I wonder what I said?

  "Did I say something wrong? Why are you crying now, Beldis?" I ask her.

  "I'm crying because now you are trapped here with us; you can't leave Yazen. The Dark Lords have taken the Yazen gem and they have a small army of Dark Elves protecting them," she explains to us.

  Jenn and Alex look at me nervously as soon as she says that we are trapped here. I felt my heart drop in my chest at the same time.

  "What do you mean that we are trapped here?" Alex asks here as politely as he can. He's looking around, as if he's expecting someone to come after us.

  "The Dark Lords are very powerful Dark Elves; they’re considered high mages to them. They’re almost impossible to defeat in combat. They have taken over our planet, trying to claim Yazen as one of their home planets," she says as she's wiping her nose.

  "Did they put this curse on you?" I ask her. These creatures sound evil, and if they have the gem we need how are we supposed to get back home?

  "Yes, they did this to me as a punishment. I’ll tell it to you if you’d like to hear it,” she offers.

  “Of course; we have to know what we’re up against,” I tell her. She nods and looks past us for a second before closing her eyes.

  “There was a time when I wasn’t in this form, when I used to be free and live with my family and with my friends. I fell in love … but it wasn’t an ordinary love. You see, several years ago I met a stranger to Yazen, much like you; he was one of the Dark Elves. But unlike the ones here now, he was different. He was sweet and caring, laughed, cried, and shared my love for nature. The other wood elves, although distrustful at first, finally took note of his nature and took him for one of their own.” Beldis pauses for a second, letting out a sigh, finally looking back to us.

  “As time went on, as things usually go, we fell in love and ended up getting married. We had a son together, he and I. From what he told me, he ran away from his planet when he was younger. He was different, considered an outcast because he didn't want to be trained in the Arts for the dark nature of his race. Chance would have it, he found a way somehow and slipped away, coming to Yazen instead.”

  “Well, although we enjoyed a few years together, his kin eventually found out somehow that he was on Yazen and later found out that we were married and had a child. They were furious and saw him as an abomination. As part of his punishment they cast this spell on me, turning me into this tree. I'm not like the other Dryads that are free to move around as they will; I'm cursed to stay here to serve as a warning. My husband and son either got away or met a worse fate then I. I have not seen or heard from them since so many years ago. I have hope but I honestly don't even know if they're still alive," she says.

  I’m left without words. That was the most gripping tale I've ever heard. I feel horrible for Beldis. I thought my grandpa told me this place was safe?

  Out of nowhere I hear someone screaming from behind us. Jenn jumps a little and Alex tightens his grip on his rifle as he turns around. “Intruders, intruders, help, there are Dark Elf intruders here!” someone shouts from a distance. We start to look around to see who is yelling.

  “Who was that?” I ask while looking back from where we came, until I see a slight movement ahead of us.

  “There in front of us, there is something moving,” Alex says while pointing to the creature.

  It almost looks like a Faun. I’ve learned about them from a fantasy book that I’ve read back home. I didn’t know that they actually existed, but it’s a striking resemblance to what I read about them.

  “It’s a Faun. I think. Look, it’s half human and half goat. It has a goat’s head, a human’s torso and arms, and goat legs ... It stands like a human does and I guess it talks like a human too," I say.

  Alex begins to pick up his rifle for protection. And Jenn walks over behind Beldis, her eyes wide.

  "No need to worry you three; it's okay. It's only Kolin, a friend of mine," she says to us. Speaking up, she yells out, "Kolin, it's okay, they’re humans from Earth and they're friendly. Come over here!"

  The Faun stops yelling after hearing Beldis and eventually peeks around a tree at us. He slowly starts to walk toward us.

  We stand as still as we can and let the Faun come to us. We don’t want to startle him. He’s tall, about two feet taller than me. He has a pair of long, curly horns on his head with hair on his cheeks, and long, hairy legs with hooves. His arms are human and he has muscular tone to his chest and abs, with his bare chest showing.

  "Kolin, it’s okay, this is Zac, Jenn, and Alex," she says to him.

  “I'm Kolin. Wow, amazing, I didn’t think you Humans still existed. I’ve read about your species," the Faun says while slowly walking closer to us. I notice he has bright green eyes and a small goatee. That’s what you would call a goat with a small beard, right?

  “It’s nice to meet you, Kolin," I say to him, while still looking him over.

  "Beldis, I brought you some water," Kolin says while showing her a bucket of water. He walks around us just a bit, avoiding coming too close. It's the first time I've see Beldis smile since we’ve started talking to her.

  "Thank you, my dear boy,” Beldis says to him. She turns back to me, �
�Kolin's the only one who takes care of me every day. He brings me water and keeps me company," Beldis says, as Kolin gives her the bucket of water. She begins to drink it, and it seems as if her bark’s getting some of its color back in it.

  "Kolin, can you please show Zac and his friends around? They’re going to have to find a place to stay, and they're not going to be leaving anytime soon. Maybe you can introduce them to Rowin, and they can stay with you at the Last Hope for the night," Beldis says. I look at Alex and Jenn with a worried look. What did I get us into?

  "I will; he’s out patrolling the Deeproot Forest today, so hopefully he'll be home soon," Kolin says.

  "Are you sure you can't get the portal to open back up for us so we can just go back home?" Jenn asks.

  "I'm sorry, dear, but that portal hasn't been open on our side in years," Beldis tells Jenn. Jenn's mouth drops, and she looks really scared now. I feel my stomach drop as well; why didn’t my Grandpa tell me about all this? He made it seem like this trip would be just a visit …

  "Are you ready to follow me? I’ll take you to meet Rowin," Kolin asks, as he retrieves the empty bucket from Beldis.

  “Sure, that sounds fine. Maybe he can help us out,” I say to him. We pick up our bags, beginning to follow Kolin.

  We leave Beldis behind as we head back toward the portal. Kolin takes us east, away from the portal, into thicker woods. As we walk, Kolin explains that these woods belong to the Wood Elves. He calls it the Deeproot Forest, which looks similar to our forests back home.

  After a good while, we finally start to come up to a wall of spiked wooden fences and a wooden barricade, entering a small gate being guarded by two large creatures. They stand tall, best described as horses with a human torso, as odd as that sounds. Each of them pays us little heed as they stand but I can feel them watching us from the corners of their eyes, with some alarm. Kolin tells us they are Centaurs after he notices us staring back at them. He tells us they’re very proud and have taken up to defending the last stake of land they have left together with the others.

  A large sign reads ‘Last Hope’ just outside the gate. Inside it are downward sloping, large open fields leading toward a small lake. There are around 20 Dryads from what I can see, each shaped differently than Beldis, next to the lake. These Dryads are beautiful women embedded into the trees, a lot younger than Beldis. They're dancing and singing with some other Fauns and Centaurs. Off to the side there are a few other Fauns and Centaurs walking around. Further in the distance some tents and shelters are set up in clusters. We can see more of them walking around the camps there. Alex, Jenn, and I just stand there in awe, taking in the scenery.

  “This is where I live with my brothers, sisters, and friends,” Kolin says. Everyone has stopped what they're doing as soon as they see us with Kolin.

  “What are you doing, Kolin? What are these creatures that you bring here?” a huge Centaur asks.

  He’s taller than Kolin – it’s frightening. He’s half horse and half human; from his torso up he’s human, and from the waist down, he’s a horse. His muscles are huge, and his veins pop out of his brown, tanned arms. He wears a cloth around his torso and left shoulder, studded leather bands on his wrists. He has a long, dark beard that hangs midway down his chest. Below his waist he has dark brown fur and large hooves. His ears are very pointy like the ears of elves from Grandpa’s stories. His voice is very deep and intimidating and I can feel my heart going a mile a minute, unsure of what will happen.

  Kolin says, “They’re Humans from Earth; they came through the old portal. Beldis asked me to bring them here and see if they can stay with us for the night."

  The huge Centaur walks toward us. He’s eying us up and down. I’m guessing he’s in charge around here.

  "Hi, my name is Zac, and these are my friends. We're trying to find the Yazen gem so we can go back home," I explain to him.

  He laughs deeply, a great laugh, bellowing, and holds his stomach. “You're never going back home; you're stuck here now. Do you know where the gem is at? The Dark Elves have it. You're never going to make it there alive and get that gem. You better start looking for a new place to live here … Sorry, Human, but welcome to Yazen,” he turns to his left, holding up his right hand to his chest as he announces in a stern voice, “My name is Rowin and I’m in charge around here.”

  I don’t think we’re going to make it back home as quickly as I had expected. I’m not sure what to do. I look at Alex and Jenn, and they’re not smiling anymore. They look really distraught and confused, looking to me for answers.

  Rowin turns back to us, lowering his voice a bit, "I'll let you stay with us for the night, Humans, so you’ll have a safe place to sleep, worry not. This area is where we seek refuge, when it's not our turn patrolling the Deeproot Forest. We built these spiked fences to keep this area secure and defensible. We always have someone on guard at the gates and patrolling the walls. We never know when another Dark Elf skirmish may come," Rowin explains, as he points to the spiked fences.

  "I'll have someone put your bags away. Since you’ll be staying here for the foreseeable future, why don't you go talk and mingle with the others, get to know some of us here?" Kolin asks, as he takes my bag from me and puts it over his shoulder. Another Centaur and two Fauns do the same with Alex’s supplies and Jenn’s bag.

  I feel gracious and feel like I need to speak up. "Thank you, Kolin, for bringing us here and, Rowin, for letting us stay here," I say, and Alex and Jenn say their thanks as well. We stick together and decide to go and try to make some friends.

  Alex is instantly drawn to one of the Dryad oak trees and heads over to her. The top part of her body is human flesh, but her skin below her waist is made of bark. She looks identical to a woman, but very different from Beldis. She has long, blonde hair that falls down past her shoulders. She has dark green eyes and very pointy ears. Her voice sounds like an angel when she begins to talk to him. Jenn does the same and follows him over to see; they almost seem drawn to her.

  I walk around the premises, looking at their weapons that they have made, different types of spears, set out on racks for easy access. They have a campfire in the middle of the fort, and the spiked barricade and defense completely line their campsite on the west side.

  As I walk around inspecting it, I can see the different dens that the Centaurs and Fauns have set up as shelters. A see a few children Centaurs practicing their fighting skills with each other.

  After I walk around the campsite for a bit, I decide to head over to Jenn, who is now talking with some of the Centaurs resting away from the wall.

  “Hey, Jenn, getting to know everyone?” I ask her. The Centaurs are showing her fighting stances and telling her stories.

  “Yes, I am, they're so nice here,” she says to me. Alex comes over to join us; I’m surprised he left the Dryad from the oak tree.

  The Centaurs bring three mugs over to us. We all grab one, and it looks to be some sort of juice. Rowin makes a toast, “To our new friends, may you stay safe and enjoy your stay.” We all clank our mugs together and take a drink of the juice. I quickly realize, however, it’s not juice that we're drinking, it's wine.

  None of us have really drunk wine before and so it gets a bit odd. We’re all giggling and laughing and Alex starts to dance with the Dryads. A young blonde Dryad is running her hands over Alex, and he’s kissing her. The Fauns are dancing with the other Dryads, and Jenn is dancing with the Centaurs. I start to get real dizzy from the wine, so dizzy that I’m stumbling over my own feet and end up sitting down.

  I must have blacked out because next thing I know Rowin is carrying me over his shoulder. I try to look for Alex and Jenn, but everything is spinning so fast. Where is he taking me? Are Alex and Jenn with me? I feel like I’m going to get sick!

  “Stop!” I scream while Rowin comes to a stop and sets me down. I start to vomit in some bushes over toward the side of where Rowin is waiting. The wine is making me overwhelmingly sick.

  “First t
ime drinking?” Rowin asks while laughing. “I haven’t seen anyone get that sick in years.”

  I start to feel a little bit better after throwing up and I stand up straight and face Rowin. “Where are you taking me? Where are Alex and Jenn?” I ask him.

  “They're already at the den we’ve prepared for you to stay in. I’m taking you there so you can eat and sleep for the night. It’s been a big day for you,” Rowin tells me.

  I climb on Rowin’s back, and he takes me back to the den. I see Alex and Jenn sitting around a fire, eating some sort of soup. Kolin’s there with some other Fauns.

  “Hey guys, I’m here. Rowin was nice enough to bring me back. I really wasn’t feeling good at all,” I say to them while grabbing some food.

  “I can’t believe how nice they are to us. They’re so friendly and nice here, aren’t they Zac?” Jenn asks me with a big smile on her face. She must have drunk more wine than me! She doesn’t wait for my reply before going back to her soup.

  “Yeah, I’m very grateful for your hospitality, Rowin. Thank you again,” I say. I try to eat some of the soup, filling myself up a bit after throwing up earlier.

  After we’re done eating, they have a spot full of grass that they let us camp on for the night. It’s surprisingly warm and very comfortable.

  Alex, Jenn, and I all lay close to each other. I think it’s more for comfort than anything I could imagine. I’m really glad that they came with me. We all fall asleep within minutes of lying down.