Doira'Liim (The Beautiful Whisper of the Goddess Saga)

by Orr, Krystal

  The wolf lowered itself to the ground and dropped its head into Cynra's lap. The heat from the fire was welcome. "Good, good. Events are moving quickly now. They will be stronger together. There is no turning back."

  Yawning, the wolf made a noise in the back of its throat before returning its gaze to the fire. "Next time you go out, you could bring an old lady something to eat, you know." Cynra said, hand still scratching the fur of her companion's head.

  The wolf closed its eyes and settled closer to the small woman. The wind picked up and the sound of a slow progressing rain sounded as it met the foliage of the forest. It was going to be a long night.

  Chapter 22: Taetylona's Vision

  "What do you see, old woman?"

  Lao'dahn hovered over Taetylona with an air of superiority and impatience. The smoke wafting around him only proved to choke him despite the overhead release the vapors were reaching toward. Taetylona had been sitting around the smoking incense for nearly half an hour and had yet to speak of anything to him. It was increasing his impatience and setting his temper to new heights.

  "Hmm...yes...it is clear. This...is...yes," Taetylona's words alerted him and he bent down to be closer to her. Balancing his weight on his knees and placing his elbows over his thighs, he looked at the old woman intently. Though her eyes were closed, Lao’dahn had a feeling she was aware of his gaze.

  "What is it? Speak!" he demanded.

  Taetylona opened her eyes and met his hard face. Her wrinkled brown skin seemed to be enhanced by whatever ritual she was engaged in and her eyes appeared even more worn. She was dressed in a heavy skirt and blouse with a thick shawl thrown over her broad shoulders. Her unruly black hair was interspersed with various shades of white and gray while her eyes were an unusual pale light brown. She did not wear much in the way of adornments, but for a small leather satchel at her hip which she used to hold important reagents.

  Like most of the Esu, Taetylona was tall and stoutly built. Age had not affected her body as much as it had her appearance. Looking into Lao'dahn's dark and pitiless eyes, she knew the man before her was a justicer of his own making and belief. He was without compassion or empathy and viewed the world as his to bend as he wished. She did not know what his intentions were, but whatever they were she knew they could be for nothing good.

  The arrow he had brought to her spoke of something much larger than him. "Speak!" he said again suddenly with more force in his voice. His hands curled into fists and he leaned even closer to her. Taetylona watched him, unaffected by his gesticulating, and found his animated behavior more amusing than intimidating.

  "What do you see, you old hag?" Turning her head to look at him, Taetylona smiled crookedly and gestured for him to come closer. Once his face was positioned over the incense holder, the smoke effectively stinging his eyes, she whispered in a raspy voice, "It is an arrow."

  Lao'dahn's face contorted into one of rage as he backed away. He took a deep breath and moved to stand above her. "Yes, I can clearly see that! I did not come to you for your whimsical notions, nor your flippant retorts, woman! Tell me from whence the arrow came!"

  Taetylona moved her hands through the smoke and twirled her fingers around the vapors in an elaborate display. She leaned forward and ran her hands over the arrow Lao'dahn had brought her and inhaled deeply of the smoke around her.

  "Where did it come from?" Lao'dahn demanded again when she was quiet for longer than he liked. She opened her eyes again and looked up at his scowling face. "You wish to know?" she asked.

  "Yes, yes! I wish to know! That is why I am here!"

  Taetylona nodded and looked down at the arrow in her lap. The characters etched into the wood were elaborate and unlike anything she had ever seen. They were a far cry from the alphabet the Esu used. Where her people used letters to form words and express ideas, the characters on the arrow were depicted as curved and flowing shapes that were meant to convey an overall idea or string of thoughts. A whole sentence could be in just one of the characters.

  This much she had seen, but she withheld the information from Lao'dahn. "I am able to divine from whence this particular arrow came," she said, meeting his eyes. "Yes?" he replied, eagerly awaiting her answer. "Where?"

  Taking a breath, her lips pulling back into a defiant smirk, Taetylona answered "This arrow came from a bow." Lao'dahn growled and dropped down to the ground again. Leaning close, he grabbed the front of Taetylona's blouse and pulled her up to her feet. "You are making a mistake, old woman. An enemy of me you dare to make?"

  Meeting his eyes evenly, Taetylona laughed. "I am a woman, boy. What is one more enemy to me?"

  Jerking her even harder than before, Lao'dahn brought Taetylona closer to his face. "I am no boy. I am a man, a man of the Light. If the others were not of the deluded belief you were valuable, I would banish you and let the cold temperatures claim your unclean remains!"

  Taetylona looked down at the hands holding the front of her top before raising her eyes to meet the anger in Lao'dahn's. "I should hope for such a welcome fate. My existence among you has proven dull and uneventful. Banish me, man of light, and be done with it. Otherwise, leave me to my thoughts."

  Lao'dahn held her a moment longer, seething in his rage, before releasing her with a huff and allowing her to fall to the ground. He wanted to strike the old woman for her insolence, but the other men would wonder why he had done such and thing and Markahn would discover the arrow he had hidden from him. Angry at his circumstances, he kicked the small holder containing the smoking incense and watched in pleasure as the ash stained Taetylona's clothing.

  "You are useless. Your value to the clan shall be reevaluated. This you have brought on yourself!" He turned to walk away, but the sound of Taetylona's voice slowed him.

  "The arrow comes from one most unexpected. In the near future, one of its make you shall know intimately."

  Turning around, Lao'dahn eyed the Sage woman with uncertainty. Was she threatening him or was the information she was providing true and relevant? It did not matter. She had not been of help to him and her defiant attitude had not earned her any favors. Was it possible she was protecting Talliea? Like Talliea, Taetylona did not understand her place. Could she be keeping something important from him or was she simply enjoying wasting his time?

  Holding her eyes for a moment more, Lao'dahn finally scoffed and shook his head. He turned back around and left her without another word.

  Taetylona sat motionless for several minutes afterward. The incense no longer burned and the smoke around her dugout soon found its way to the open flap above her. The chill of the winter could be felt as it attempted to settle in her bones. She stood up and dusted herself off before bending down to pick up the arrow Lao'dahn had left behind.

  As before, images came to life in her mind as she ran her fingers down the shaft. Unlike before, when she had refrained from imparting the images to Lao'dahn, Taetylona now allowed them to form their vivid imagery in her thoughts. A vision washed over her...

  A woman, tall and lean with angular features, came before her eyes. The woman had green eyes and silver hair with tapered ears. She knew the woman to be the one who had once possessed the arrow. Taetylona breathed out and the image before her faded away like a wisp of smoke. Another took its place. This one showed a woman similar to the first, but her eyes were an eerie blue and her hair had specks of yellow.

  Taetylona knew the woman. She had seen images of her before. Always, the woman was shown with Talliea. Yet, this time she was with another of her kind, an older woman Taetylona quickly recognized as Cynra. Immediately, Cynra's connection to the mysterious blue-eyed woman became known to her. She saw the mystical woman as an infant with a slightly younger looking Cynra holding her.

  The images swirled around her and became distorted again until she saw a forest with streams of blood and grasses of red. Sounds accompanied the image but they were muffled and hard to discern, as though they were being heard through the rush of battle and the haze of
panic. Chaos seemed to take a hold of her as she allowed the new vision to take over her mind.

  She wondered why she was being shown what she was. What did all of the images have in common? Shaking her head, her eyes closed, Taetylona embraced the vision completely. Her physical body was left behind as her vision self sought answers to questions she had yet to pose.

  Above the dull sounds of swords clashing and staves rushing against the air, came a sound that was both clear and heartbreaking. It was the sound of pure sorrow and utter anguish. Taking a step forward, Taetylona walked through the vision and away from her physical form. Everything appeared in a hazy red glow. Where the trees should have been green, the sky blue, and the grasses olive, the entire world seemed only to exist in an unknown fog of maroon.

  Taetylona continued to hear voices around her and calls to comrades, but the owners of those words were absent and never appeared. Only the sound of painful crying was clear to her and she followed the dreadful wail with every step. The landscape seemed to rip and tear and stretch the closer she got to the source of the crying. Everything changed from a dreamy red to a deep and foreboding crimson.

  "No...no...I am sorry, love. I am s-so sorry. Come back...c-come back...p-please..."

  Taetylona stopped behind the woman responsible for the cries of horrible agony. From her dark hair, she could tell she was Esu. In her arms, lifeless and her front covered in blood, was another woman whose face Taetylona could not see. The Esu woman was huddled over her body, rocking them both, while the sounds of her sobs continued to escape her. The words she had spoken seemed to echo around the area long moments after she spoke them.

  "I love you. I love you, Ahmanae. Please...wake up...please...please. I love you...so much."

  Turning her head slightly, Taetylona noticed an arrow protruding from the body lying still on the ground. The dark hair of the Esu woman covered the face of that body and made it difficult for her to make out anything else. The cries of the Esu woman were becoming erratic and ragged. Her breathing came in quick and heavy gasps and Taetylona knew she was hyperventilating due to her distress

  Suddenly, other people appeared around the three of them. They were a mix of Esu and what Taetylona suddenly knew were Arnira. The voices from before were now louder as each of the newcomers set their sights on the two women on the ground.

  The Esu woman's head popped up and Taetylona recognized her as Talliea. With her hair removed, she noticed the woman with the fatal arrow wound as the mysterious woman she had seen in other visions. Talliea's face was wet with tears while dirt and blood marred her otherwise perfect appearance. Her right hand was resting near the arrow sticking out of the deceased woman's chest and her left held her head and neck in a lover's embrace.

  The men of the Esu yelled to one other and began their advance. None seemed to pay any heed to Taetylona's presence. On the opposite hill, several Arnira called out a cry in their own tongue and, likewise, began descending the slope toward Talliea and her companion. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Taetylona. She could feel Talliea's overwhelming sense of loss and her fear over what was to happen next. The colors around her moved from red to crimson to a fading black.

  It became harder to make out the images. She looked around her for any means of escape for herself and Talliea, but found only Lat'sa'val and Arniran warriors. Taking a step back, Taetylona bumped into something. She swirled around quickly and came face to face with a set of light purple eyes.

  Cynra.

  "Find me," Cynra said and everything felt as if it imploded. Lights, colors, sounds, and sensations all seemed to swell around Taetylona before reaching a crescendo and fanning out in all directions.

  Taetylona opened her eyes and saw that she was back inside herself. She looked around her dugout and felt everything she had just experienced begin to fade away. Her heart pounded inside her chest and she still felt a lingering sense of staggering anguish. Talliea's tear-stained face flashed before her eyes with every blink, and the echo of Cynra's words seemed to dance around the close and heavy air around her.

  Placing a hand over her heart, Taetylona realized she was sitting on the ground next to the arrow Lao'dahn had brought her. She wondered how much of what she had seen had been inspired by it and how much had been shown to her by another outside force.

  "Find me."

  The words remained loud in her mind. She was unsure if they had been spoken in Esulan or if, due to the nature of the vision, she had understood the Arniran language. She supposed it didn't matter. What did matter was finding this Cynra and getting to the bottom of what she'd just been shown. Her part in matters appeared to be much more important than she had originally believed.

  "Find me...find me...find me..."

  * * * * * *

  "Come here," Talliea whispered.

  Arizira turned away from the entrance to the cave and looked back in her companion's direction. The night had settled over the land and brought with it the beginnings of the first snow of winter. The sky above the forest was black and gray with heavy clouds hugging the heavens. Arizira, her night vision allowing her to see Talliea's face clearly, only smiled as she sat next to the fire for warmth.

  She knew Talliea could most likely only make out the outline of her shape from where she was. Staring back over her shoulder, Arizira allowed her eyes to appreciate the other woman's form. Talliea was lying on her side, her head propped up on her cloak, while the blanket warming her rested just beneath her breasts. Arizira smiled to herself as her eyes took in Talliea's tired and sleepy appearance. It had been three days since their first kiss, and since then Talliea had been unable to fall asleep unless Arizira was snuggled up next to her.

  It always both calmed and excited her to feel Talliea behind her resting so close. Arizira had noticed that Talliea never let her hold her from behind. Every time Arizira had tried, her companion shrugged out of the embrace and turned their positions around. She had a feeling the nature of Talliea's struggle stemmed from Lao'dahn, but she never pressed the issue or appeared angry. Instead, she always settled her back to Talliea's front and allowed the woman to hold her as they fell asleep together.

  Watching Talliea's eyes droop and her chest rise and fall slowly, Arizira knew she was not far off from slumber. She stood up, dusting herself off in the process, and walked toward the back of the cave where their bedding was. It was extremely cold with the snow coming down in heavier bouts and Arizira greatly desired Talliea's warmth. She lowered herself to the Ophe'las leaves, removing her boots in the process, and smiled when Talliea raised the blanket for her.

  Instead of turning around so Talliea could hold her, Arizira faced her and scooted closer to her body. Talliea lowered the blanket around the two of them and her arm draped across Arizira's waist.

  "What are you doing?" she questioned in a sleepy whisper.

  Arizira scooted as close as she could get and wrapped her right arm around Talliea's back. Pulling her closer, she hugged the other woman’s body to her own and placed a light kiss on her forehead. She felt Talliea instinctively snuggle against her chest and the simple act caused her heart to swell.

  "I am holding you, Tah-li," she whispered back, her nose and lips softly grazing any part of Talliea's face she could reach. She felt Talliea's nose settle in the hollow at the base of her throat while the arm around her waist wound its way to the small of her back.

  "Sleep well, failira."

  No more words were spoken. Arizira held Talliea's body close to her own while Talliea finally allowed sleep to overtake her. The snow outside became a storm and soon, all the forest was covered in a hushed veil of pristine white.

  Chapter 23: Tahlet Vahllah

  Arizira reached over her shoulder and skillfully removed an arrow from her quiver. Nocking the arrow with a blurred speed, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, brought her elbow level with her sternum and took aim. Talliea sat not too far away watching the exercise with avid interest. There was something about the
way Arizira stood that fascinated her. The way her body was so taut, yet so relaxed, seemed to Talliea to be as if a fluid form of art. Arizira's shimmering silver-blue eyes were fixated on her intended target and the level of concentration apparent in them also held her in rapt attention.

  She watched every minute movement Arizira made. She watched how she spread her feet apart, the way she held the end of the arrow and the bowstring with two gloved fingers, and the way every line and curve of her body was poised and ready to make a perfect shot.

  Holding her breath, Talliea looked far to her right. In the distance, pinned to a grand pine tree, was Arizira's reserved target. She wondered briefly how Arizira planned to hit something so far away, but the thought was lost a moment later when the sound of sudden movement caught her attention.

  A distinct phewt sound ripped through her ears as Arizira released the arrow from her bow. The feathered projectile sailed past her in a blurred dim before disappearing into a thicket of trees. Talliea stood up, the excitement from watching her companion still causing her heart to beat quickly, and looked in the direction the arrow had flown.

  "Did your arrow land true?"

  Arizira smirked at her, the confidence giving Talliea's question an answer, before lowering her bow to her side. She looked into the copse of trees some three to four hundred feet from their location and turned to gaze up at her friend.

  "Of course," she said simply, her smile growing.

  Talliea squinted into the trees ahead and noticed Arizira's arrow square in the middle of the target they had chosen. The tattered remains of her skirts flailed in the gentle breeze while the arrow in the center of them caused her to laugh.

  She watched Arizira reach for another arrow and, just as deftly, nock it in the longbow. "The lower portion this time?" Arizira asked, looking over her shoulder.

  Talliea sat back down on the rock she'd been occupying and shook her head, all the while trying to hide the insistent giggle she felt bubbling in her throat. "I believe this demonstration of your skill to be an actual ruse in which you have endeavored to make that particular old garment completely useless."