Radiant

by Ela Lourenco

  ***

  “Lyli!” the young man welcomed his mentor into the small hut he had leased under a false name. It was ideally located for their purposes, being a fairly long walk away from central Jya with the added bonus of not having any potentially inquisitive neighbours nearby. He had been able to slip in and out of the forest without drawing unwanted attention.

  “Can I assume that you have contacted me because you have found the prophecy?” she asked wearily. The journey from Sylios was becoming ever more tiring, as she neared the end of this life cycle.

  “I have found the spot where it must be hidden, but I have been unable to reveal what lies inside,” he admitted. “I have tried every spell and ward I know and nothing. I’m sorry, but I had to call you.”

  Lyli nodded. “You have done well, dear friend. I suspected it would not be as easy as all that.” She chuckled. “After all, I may not remember where and how I hid it, but you can be sure I would have made it as difficult as possible so that the others could not find it either! Come, let us go now together and see what you have found.”

  Her second in command drew his cloak over himself, taking care that his face remained in the shadows of his hood, and led her towards the forest, taking care to walk at a pace she could manage. He was tall and strong and could easily have carried her all the way, but he knew better than to offer. The oracle was stubborn and would refuse his help. “It is just up ahead,” he declared, as he pushed aside some rather overgrown Sima bushes.

  Lyli walked slowly towards the large stone in the clearing. Even from a distance, she could feel the power of the magick it was emitting. Hope blossomed in her chest. Contrary to what she had told her most trusted seekers, she had begun to doubt that she would manage to hold out long enough to find the prophecy. She was a realist and recognised that her life cycle was drawing to an end.

  “Well?” her right hand asked. “Do you know what magick it is sealed with?”

  Lyli nodded, placing a hand on the warm stone. Tingles of magicks met her palm and she smiled. She knew exactly whose magicks these were. “This is the work of an old friend,” she told him. “And yes, before you ask, I do know how to break the ward on this stone. But there is really no need, that which we seek is not here.”

  “But the glyphs you taught me, and your blood, they led me here! And I can feel the magick coming off of the stone!”

  “You misunderstand my young friend,” she patted his arm. “I am not saying this is the wrong place, quite the contrary, but that which we seek is not here anymore.”

  He shook his head vehemently. “No one else could have taken it! I have kept watch and set wards around the area. No one could have slipped past me!”

  “And they didn’t,” she assured him. “But regardless, what we seek is elsewhere now.”

  He looked at his mentor, confused. Despite knowing her better than most, there were still times, like today, where he had no idea what she was talking about. It would be so much easier if she didn’t speak in riddles all the time.

  “Not to worry,” she grinned at him, a youthful spark he hadn’t seen in a while, back in her eyes. “We will follow the trail and find our prize.”

  “Trail?”

  “Indeed,” she chuckled. “I am an oracle after all, and I am nothing if not adept at tracking magical signatures.”

  Shaking his head slightly, he followed in her wake as she began to walk determinedly through the forest, back towards the town. He knew better than to ask for her to explain what she was up to. He would only get more riddles in response.

  “This way,” she urged him on. “Come on, you are supposed to be the young one here,” she chuckled, weaving her way through the trees and bushes with a speed and dexterity surprising considering her age. “Ah, this is where the trail ends.”

  “Here?” he asked, puzzled. They had left the forest and were standing in what looked like a country lane in the middle of nowhere.

  “Open your senses, my boy,” she quipped. “You should be able to feel the magicks here. Such power, like a beacon on the darkest night, it is a wonder the others have not found their way here already.” She tsked. “I really will have to have words with her about learning to disguise her power. This simply won’t do.”

  “Who?” he asked, reaching out with his own magicks. Lyli was right, he could feel the accumulation of potent magicks around him.

  Lyli raised a frail arm and pointed a little further ahead. The darkness of the night made it difficult to see clearly, but as he focussed, he was able to make out the faint outline of what looked to be a cottage in the distance.

  “That is where we must go,” Lyli declared firmly. “What we seek lies within those stone walls.”

  “Wait,” he gripped her arm lightly. “It may not be safe. We do not know what or who we will come across. Perhaps it would be better if I were to scout the area first.”

  “Bah!” she exclaimed impatiently. “I have little time left my young friend. The time is now, this was fated. Besides, I sense no danger around us.”

  He followed his mentor, resigned to the fact that she would not be dissuaded, but keeping his senses alert to protect her should the need arise.

  Lyli came to a sudden stop as they reached the cottage, her head turned this way and that; and finally, smiling, she walked to the back of the house and stood under a window on the first floor. Her companion watched as she closed her eyes and began to chant under her breath. Her low voice carried softly on the gentle breeze, as she sang words he did not understand.

  A soft glow appeared in the window as Lyli continued to chant and he watched in astonishment, as the light grew brighter, streaming out of the window like golden rain down to where they stood.

  “Prophecy,” Lyli whispered reverently, as the shimmering magicks transformed into a glowing scroll before their very eyes.

  “How?” the young man spluttered, incredulous.

  Lyli plucked the scroll from where it floated, suspended in the air, a jolt running down her spine as magick poured into her.

  “Lyli? Are you alright?”

  Her eyes snapped open after a few moments. “Yes, young friend,” she smiled. “Now I remember what I sought to forget. I know where to find the radiant.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “You are probably wondering what that was all about,” Lyli commented, as her second stared at her mouth agape. “It’s ingenious, really. When I spelled myself to forget the location of the prophecy, I attached a sub-spell onto the main one. That the moment I found the prophecy again, it would bring back my memories.” She held up the scroll. “And here we have it.”

  “You never cease to amaze me with your Machiavellian mind,” he stated wryly, shaking his head.

  “When one has lived as many life cycles as I have, you learn a thing or two along the way.” She trailed off and put a finger to her lips, motioning for him to be quiet.

  “What is it?” he whispered in her ear.

  “We have company.” She sighed. “I should have known that is was seeming far too easy. It is imperative I meet with the one who hid the prophecy for me.”

  Her second stood to attention, twin daggers appearing in his hands. “You do what you have to. I will lead our guest away from here, and see if I can find out who he is and what he wants.”

  Placing a warm, soft hand on his elbow, Lyli stopped him as he turned to leave. “Be careful, young friend. Be safe. I have need of you for a long while yet.”

  Sena muttered in her sleep and rolled over restlessly. Despite being exhausted after the day she had and the party on top of it all, she had struggled to get to sleep. And even after she had finally dropped off, her dreams had been strange and disturbing.

  “Wake up little one,” a soft voice whispered in her ear, making her bolt awake, heart thumping.

  “Who are you?” she asked, oddly unafraid, when sh
e spotted the frail looking petite woman sitting in the chair across from her bed.

  “I am Lyli, the oracle.” The woman dipped her head in a bow. “And I must apologise for the manner in which we are meeting. I appreciate that it must be unsettling to wake up to a stranger in your room.” She smiled warmly at the young girl. “Our need though is urgent and cannot wait. Too much depends on it.”

  “My Aunt Zehra has mentioned you,” Sena nodded, relaxing slightly. The old woman obviously meant her no harm.

  “Ah, yes, Aya Zehra, one of the Xanos Triumvirate, head of the council. We are old friends, she and I.” She paused and looked at Sena as though assessing her. “You must be wondering why I am here.”

  Sena waited patiently for the older woman to continue.

  Lyli nodded to herself, as though some internal question had been answered. “You are not what I expected,” she admitted. “It is rare, being what I am, for me to be surprised by anything.” She grinned, her entire face lighting up in almost childlike delight. “I cannot tell you how liberating it is to experience something I had not foreseen.”

  “What you expected?” Sena looked at her quizzically.

  “I’m sorry, I digress. Let me start at the beginning.” She adjusted her robes and leaned back into the armchair. “Long ago, before even the cosmos existed, as we know it today, there was only shadow and light. No one knows exactly what happened, but after having danced around each other for aeons without consequence, it came to pass that there was an almighty collision between the two.” Her gaze drifted as though she were briefly lost in her own memories. “Anyway,” she continued finally. “Out of this cosmos, shattering explosion were born.”

  “The observers,” Sena stated.

  Lyli’s eyes widened in surprise once again, “How is it that you know of them?”

  “They spoke to me, they explained who they are, and what their role is in the cosmos.”

  “Another thing I had not foreseen,” Lyli mumbled under her breath. “Matters must be grave indeed if they have appeared to you in person. There is less time than anticipated then.”

  “Less time for what?” Sena asked, more confused with each word the oracle uttered.

  “I am sorry,” Lyli said gravely. “I thought I would have longer to explain, to teach you. It seems though that time is not on our side. I am sorry I cannot ease you into this, but I don’t have long left, and there are things you must know,” she grimaced. “I am loathe to place such a heavy burden on such young shoulders, and truly, if there were any other way …” she fell silent in shock as Sena began to glow, silver swirls of magicks dancing over her almost golden skin, as her entire body rose off of the bed and levitated in the air.

  “What?” Sena gasped.

  “There is nothing to fear. It is the exact time of your birth young friend,” Kalla reassured her. “You are undergoing the Chyna. Now we find out which race you belong to. This is a momentous occasion, which marks the end of your childhood. I am honoured to bear witness to it.”

  Lyli, who was not privy to their internal conversation, shook her head. “Of course it is the Chyna. I had not realised that today was your birthday.” She fell silent again and waited respectfully as the ritual continued.

  Sena felt an almost uncomfortable heat flowing through her veins and what felt like a million tiny electric shocks pricking at her skin. Her body contorted as sharp pains zapped her from the inside, her blood feeling like liquid fire.

  “Breathe Sharran,” Kalla said soothingly, “it is almost done.”

  “You can do it, S!” Z piped in. “So proud of you girl! You’re a woman now!!”

  Sena heard them both as though from a distance, as she focussed on controlling her breathing and steadying her nerves. It felt as though every cell in her entire body was changing, transforming, although into what she did not know yet.

  Lyli gasped as a silver thread of magicks appeared out of thin air and coiled around Sena’s airborne body, joined seconds later by a bronze, and then a blue jet of magicks, all seeming to battle each other in a bid to encircle her. Lyli watched as the magicks began to flow in tandem with each other, spinning around the young girl as though in orbit, before merging together, and pouring into Sena’s open mouth. How could this be? Lyli rubbed her eyes, lest they were playing tricks on her, as a halo of light surrounded the girl’s entire being, pulsating, illuminating the entire bedroom. One stream of magick was expected, but two was impossible, and three—it just couldn’t be. Lyli sat upright in her chair, feeling more alive than she could ever remember. All three? It couldn’t be, and yet it was. The laws of nature shouldn’t have allowed it, and yet somehow they had.

  Finally, after what seemed both an eternity and a mere moment, the lights around Sena dimmed, and her body gently floated back down to the bed. Beads of sweat clung to her forehead, body breathless as she sat up. “Okay,” she said, voice slightly shaky. “That was not what I was expecting.”

  “Nor I,” Lyli mumbled to herself.

  “I don’t feel anything,” Sena frowned suddenly. “Am I not supposed to be able to feel whether I am Hectian or Sybeli?”

  “Yes, normally when someone undergoes the Chyna, they know straightaway what they are,” Lyli trailed off, slightly shaken herself. “But what I just saw wasn’t … well, it was not your average Chyna.”

  “How so?”

  Lyli sighed. “Well, it seems that you have been chosen by not one, not two, but three races.”

  Sena paled. No one was supposed to know about her Zamani heritage. How was she going to explain this away?

  Lyli raised a hand. “Do not fret, young one. I have always known what and who you are. No harm will come to you from me. What I had not foreseen was this. No one has ever belonged to more than one race in the history of the cosmos, it should be impossible.”

  “What does it mean?” Sena asked, dread pooling in her stomach.

  “That I do not know,” Lyli shook her head. “But this changes everything. I had thought to speak with you tonight, but you need your rest after what you have been through. And I, well, I need to think on all of this.”

  Despite her curiosity regarding the oracle’s visit, Sena nodded, thankful at the thought of some rest.

  “Rest now, little one,” Lyli murmured softly. She watched the already sleeping girl for a few moments before leaving. “One will come, this much I have foreseen. His destiny is irrevocably linked to your own. He is at a crossroads, and you alone will determine which path he chooses. He does not know it yet, but he is key to winning this war.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Walking stealthily in the shadows of the gargantuan trees, the second in command of the seekers headed towards where Lyli had sensed the unknown source of magicks. Every sense in his body was on high alert, as the prickle of foreign magicks increased with each step. He stopped in his tracks, as a faint rustle sounded ahead and ducked behind the wide trunk of a Pilar tree. Well hidden amongst the leaf-laden branches of the tree, he carefully peered out. A shadow dashed across his line of sight, kicking up leaves in its wake. Letting go of the breath he had been holding, he grinned to himself. It was just a dolda, a fluffy blue long-eared animal native to the forests of Jya. It was probably on its way to dig up some roots in preparation for its winter hibernation.

  Lulled into a false sense of security, he did not react as quickly as he normally would have when a large shadow loomed over him.

  “Well,” the dark figure drawled. “I thought I was the only one out for a midnight stroll this eve. It seems you also had the same notion.” He flicked his fingers, and a small flame appeared on the tips. He inched closer and looked at the other man with undisguised interest. “And who pray tell are you?”

  Lyli’s second straightened to his full height and stared back at the man. He couldn’t make out the stranger’s face due to the heavy hood he wore, and yet something abo
ut his voice sounded familiar. “That is none of your concern,” he answered back.

  “And here I thought Jyans were supposed to be a friendly bunch,” the stranger tsked.

  “I don’t see you introducing yourself.”

  “Ah, you have me there. Although I should probably point out that I am the one who is armed.” He held the still flickering flame closer to his other hand where a short curved black dagger glinted. “Well, it seems we are at an impasse then,” Lyli’s second commented wryly, holding up the slim serrated sword in his own hand.

  “I am impressed,” the stranger gave a low bow. “I must admit you have surprised me. It is not something which happens often.” He shrugged. “Nonetheless, my friend, it matters little and changes nothing. I would love to stay and chat, but I have somewhere else to be. Hopefully our paths will cross again. I must admit you intrigue me.”

  “I am sorry, but I cannot let you do that,” he grabbed the man’s arm, as he made to leave.

  “Oh? What is it to you where I go and why?”

  “That I cannot disclose.”

  “I see,” the stranger murmured pensively. “I am sorry then, for I truly mean you no harm, but needs must.” He spun around and threw a bolt of magicks at the other man.

  Without hesitation, he sent up a shield, effectively creating a thin barrier between himself and the stranger. Lyli had trained him well, almost ruthlessly preparing him for situations just like the one he found himself in now. He had been taught to react without thought, to make snap decisions in high stress scenarios. He finally truly grasped the reason behind his almost torturous training now. It had readied him to be prepared for anything. He was the protector of the seekers—his mission to find and stop any and all who threatened the prophecy and the balance of nature.

  Gritting his teeth with resolve, he bent low and spun around, kicking the stranger on the shin in one fluid movement. He did not wish to hurt the man, but he needed to give Lyli time to accomplish whatever it was that she had to do, and also to prevent this man, whom he believed to be a member of Sahat, from getting his hands on the prophecy. “I am sorry also, but I cannot let you leave,” he panted, blocking a punch from the man.