by R A Browell
Etricklore paused as he took a sip from the goblet in front of him. ‘The humans never allowed such coexistence,’ he continued. ‘They created a special army of ghevslainners, who were engaged in your world to keep those who were different, notably the sanguins, in check.’
‘Secretly,’ added Hari, ‘and we call them Ghevler knights.’
Etricklore nodded. ‘I see you are aware of some of your history. Like you,’ he continued, ‘most of those who inhabit our world have what humans would call gifts; enhanced physical and psychological abilities that are commonplace here. The humans could have developed such gifts themselves, but they stopped listening to Mother Nature long ago, choosing instead to rely on the strength of machines. They never allowed nature to play out uninterrupted and instead they put their trust in their own intellect and a special army of hunters. This will eventually be their downfall.’ He looked at Lily’s expression. ‘Maybe not for many millennia to come,’ he conceded, ‘but eventually.’ He paused before he began again. ‘Apologies, I digress, but to continue. For many thousands of years there was interaction between all four worlds; you need only look to the ancient human civilisations to find a record. In ancient China, Babylon, Egypt and Greece there are stories of different creatures; of gods and goddesses and yet these stories all originate with the reality of interaction between different creatures from different worlds but all sharing the same planet.’ Lily glanced quickly at the boys. Their faces were fixed in concentration as they listened to Etricklore. ‘But such interaction and friendship has long since gone,’ he sighed. ‘The only remains of our shared history are those which you find in your ancient myths and legends’
‘But I don’t understand,’ said Charlie. ‘Why did the friendship stop?’
‘One word,’ replied Etricklore. ‘Fear. Those in the old worlds saw how the humans treated the sanguins. They feared for their own safety and quite rightly so. On those occasions when an old worlder was found by the humans, they were treated badly; abused, burned alive, persecuted. Contact with the humans eventually stopped and in the place of friendship, enmity developed and so the gatekeepers were put in place to protect our world.’
Charlie bit down on a particularly crunchy piece of strange looking fruit.
‘Your kind was still welcome to come and go between the worlds,’ explained Etricklore, ‘but over time the sanguins felt they had more in common with humans. For some it made sense because the humans were their natural food, for others, they preferred living alongside the humans, who were their closest evolutionary brothers and so, despite the dangers, they remained in your world. I understand that a small number discreetly settled here for specific purpose but the gateways were finally closed to sanguins when they joined the humans as traitors against those of us here in the old worlds. You four are the first new sanguins that the gatekeepers have allowed through in many hundreds and hundreds of years.’ Etricklore paused. ‘You’re following all this?’ he asked looking across at each of the four teenagers in turn. They nodded.
‘What exactly do you mean by traitors?’ asked James.
Etricklore pushed his long dark hair back off his face. ‘We understand that it was something of collaboration between the sanguins and the ghevslainners.’
‘Ghevslainners?’ exclaimed Hari. ‘A collaboration? But that’s not possible!’
‘This is where our information is limited,’ admitted Etricklore. ‘Those from the past did not always like to record their own failings and so in the matter of the sanguin traitors, many different groups have been blamed over the years. Was it the gatekeepers fault, for not making the correct checks? Was it the Protectors, who failed in their role to keep our people safe? Or was the act of treason down to some creatures from this world who agreed to join the humans?’ Etricklore shook his head. ‘Quite simply, we do not know for sure. Zigadem … Ziggy,’ he corrected, ‘has spent many years searching, organising and cataloguing our libraries but so far we have no answers to tell us exactly what happened.’
He took another sip from the golden goblet in front of him and sat back, staring at Cadmus Addersbank and Lady Scremerston, neither of whom had spoken. Lily took advantage of the break.
‘If Ziggy had Joolee for an afternoon, he’d have the answers in a matter of minutes, never mind a few centuries!’ she frequenced to her friends, refering to her human school friend who was the cleverist girl at Hallington High. She hid her smile as she glanced down at the young alchemist.
Ziggy looked back at her.
‘Really?’ he replied silently, raising his eyebrows just like her dad did when he caught her out.
Lily’s slow sanguin heart missed a beat.
‘He heard me!’ she frequenced, focusing on her three friends as she gazed down at the plate of strange shaped fruit in front of her. Hari raised his head and glanced down the table.
‘I shouldn’t worry,’ he grinned, ‘but he thinks you might need to introduce him to Joolee sometime soon!’
‘No, he didn’t say that!’ Lily frequenced back, still staring at the plate. ‘Did he really? He can’t have. How come he can frequence you and I can’t hear anything?’
‘I don’t know Lil, maybe because you’re still in transition. Weird that he’s tapped into our affinity group. You’re so impatient - it takes tons of practice. Remember, we’ve been at it for nearly two years,’ replied Hari smugly.
‘Like hunting the Cranmere Beast?’ Lily reminded him. ‘That takes practice but I caught on pretty quick! I haven’t forgotten.’
She looked up to see Charlie and James sinking into their seats and a quizzical expression on Ziggy’s face.
‘So,’ continued Etricklore, his voice serious as he replaced the goblet. He was completely oblivious to the teenagers’ silent conversation, ‘we return to the sanguin traitors. Soon after the birth of our civilisations,’ he explained, ‘the Elementals were brought together in one place. These supreme and powerful governances are vital and responsible for the safety of all four worlds. They are a shared and vital resource for this planet, who once resided together. No one world had influence over them, they were independent of such insignificances but the humans were not happy. They thought that by having the Elementals for themselves it would give them some kind of additional power and concluded that if the Elementals were held by them, in their world, that all power and supremacy would be conferred on the human race.’
The teenagers watched Etricklore. They listened to his heartbeat and the pulse of his blood as it flowed around his body. He was calm on the surface but underneath they could sense that he could hardly contain his bubbling anger. No one said a word. They all just listened as he continued. ‘We think that an understanding was reached between the humans and the sanguins, so that the sanguin traitors entered the old worlds and stole the Elementals. It is understood that they collaborated together against the old worlders, Mother Nature and ultimately against our planet Earth.’ Etricklore paused and shook his head gravely.
‘Once the theft was discovered, it was too late,’ he sighed. ‘The gateways were closed and the gatekeepers given strict orders to keep all humans and sanguins out. Over the years, a few have travelled to your worlds, hoping to find the missing Elementals, but they have searched in vain. We had a vague understanding that they were needed to sustain the planet but we didn’t realise that once the Elementals were separated from each other and removed from their resting place that our planet would start to die. The death of a planet is a slow process, but all the same, Earth is dying and to this day she continues her painful decline towards oblivion.’
He looked around to see four confused faces.
‘Think of a great tree, stripped of its bark,’ he explained. ‘It may not die overnight, not for a week, nor a month, nor a year, but once it has lost its food and protection it will eventually die just as surely as night follows day. Our planet has been slowly dying ever since her Elementals were removed from their proper place and she continues her steady decline to this
day.’
Etricklore paused and smiled sadly at Lily. ‘What you and the rest of the old worlders heard the other day were part of our planet’s death throes. The earthcries started a few centuries ago but the last one was the most sustained yet. It was a howl in which pain and anger and menace, in fact the whole outraged majesty of Mother Nature, blended into one hideous shriek, but what no one could possibly realise is that such shrieking was the consequence of a real and terrible wound; an opening in the earth’s mantle where part of our planet’s life blood would bleed away into the universe.’
Lily, Charlie, Hari and James looked at him, their mouths part-open in disbelief.
‘Lily, you were asked here because we think that you might be able to bridge the worlds and recover the Elementals before it’s too late. Our hope is that if they are brought back together and restored to their proper resting place, the planet will naturally heal itself. We had high hopes that one of your ancestors would be the one to help restore the planet, but that was not to be. Old worlders like Silky have watched various families closely for many centuries, waiting for a sign. Waiting for someone like you.’
Lily felt herself start to redden.
‘When you were born,’ continued Etricklore, ‘as the seventh child of a seventh child who managed to survive, born to a sanguin mother and human father and within the protection of the birth caul, the sack that surrounded you with water in your mother’s womb, we hardly dared to hope. You are the living representative of all four worlds, Lily. The seventh child of a seventh child marks you as Farisian, the protective caul, with its oceanic associations, gives you Kelpasian credentials and your parents combine the best of your own two worlds. Even your name is special, Carfax is of four faces and Lily you are able to look to all four points of the compass; North, South, East and West in your search. You embrace all four worlds and the fact that you have survived genetic mutation and transition and have managed everything so far and with such ability gives us great hope that you will be the one to help us.’
He paused, watching Charlie, James and Hari who stared speechless at their friend but Lily looked horrified.
‘But I’m only fifteen!’ she said, looking at Silky. ‘I’m only fifteen! I can’t do all that stuff, I can’t find these stolen Elementals and save the whole Earth from dying!’ She shook her head as she implored the Laudis. ‘Maybe you’ve made a mistake?’ she asked. ‘Maybe when I’m actually old enough to drive or catch a plane by myself or have finished school?’ Lily started to shake and Hari took hold of her hand as Silky quickly rose from her seat to comfort her.
‘Etricklore, this is too much for her to take in all at one go. I did warn you,’ she said sternly, looking up at the three council members. ‘Serpinia, you must see?’ she added, appealing to the other woman. ‘She’s only fifteen human years old; she’s in transition as a juvenile sanguin. She’s vulnerable and you’ve placed the future of an entire planet on her shoulders. Try and remember how you felt to be this young. I really must insist that this is enough for tonight.’
‘Silky, you have always been a loyal trusted member of this court and we hear what you say, but Etricklore is right,’ replied the pale woman. ‘It is better that she be told now. This is not something that can be imparted gently. You saw what happened when the mantle tore, you saw the chaos here and we understand the same happened in Kelpasia. Even though the human world wasn’t able to see the wound or hear the cries of pain, they have seen the slowing of the natural cycles; the heating of the planet; the melting of the ice caps; the gradual destruction of everything. Lily and her friends must already be aware of the fact that our planet is slowly dying and Lily,’ Serpinia continued, directing her words at the teenager, ‘you are most definitely not alone nor are you some frail human being. You have the gifts of your species. We understand that you have survived hearing the earthcries, which at such close range would have destroyed most Farisians, and you have three trusted friends, with outstanding strengths and abilities, whom the gatekeepers believe are worthy. Lily,’ she said, smiling at the teenager, ‘you and your friends are this planet’s premier predators. If anyone can hunt down the missing Elementals, then it’s you. You have the skills and even if they’re not quite as honed as they could be, you are all young enough to learn them quickly. In addition, Valens is our most promising Protector and Zigadenus has a mind that you would struggle to equal anywhere on the planet. If additional assistance in your quest to recover the Elementals is needed, you need only ask and it shall, of course, be granted. Whether you are fifteen years old or five hundred, you have been chosen. You are the one.’
Serpinia finished speaking and raised her goblet to her pale lips.
‘But I don’t understand why you can’t just go to the authorities. Surely you can just go to the United Nations and tell them that we need the Elementals back otherwise Earth is finished and we’re all going to die!’ said Charlie, folding his arms against his body as he leaned back in his chair. ‘I don’t know if you realise this but if we start running around asking questions and trying to locate these stolen Elementals, then we attract attention to ourselves and not only to the human ghevslainners, but to any rogue sanguins and stray gnascori that they might have created!’ Charlie was referring to the unnatural creatures that some sanguins were able to create.
‘Charlie’s right,’ said Hari. ‘You’re putting us at risk not only from humans, who just happen to hate us, but also from those of our own kind who want to destroy the human race. These Elementals sound powerful and you’ve already talked about people who make the decision to be evil. What happens if other sanguins find out about them and want them for themselves? What happens if we find them and then they get stolen from us to be used against everyone else?’
Charlie was nodding in agreement. ‘Have you any idea what you’re asking us to do?’ he added, his face flushed as he continued. ‘What you’re asking Lily to do?’ he said and shook his head. ‘It would be far better for the Laudis to go to the UN and talk. Hari’s our historian; he’ll tell you that’s what history has taught us. ‘Jaw, jaw, not war, war!’ Less risk all round!’
Serpinia rose from her seat.
‘Charlie,’ she replied calmly, her voice so soft that they strained to hear, ‘what you say is perfectly valid. We know that what we’re asking of Lily and the three of you is more than we should ever possibly expect but we have considered our options and there are a number of reasons why it would be unwise to go to the international human agencies, at least not until all other options have been tried, and then only then as a last resort. Firstly, as you say, the humans have a history of domination and destruction. You need only look at your own species to see that. Should we risk exposing ourselves? Our thoughts are that the humans cannot be trusted even where the planet is under threat, or at least not until all other options have been exhausted. Secondly, there is always the possibility of mass hysteria and not just from the humans, but from all worlds. All creatures behave unpredictably when put under pressure. Can you imagine what the knowledge that our planet is dying could do? Do we really want to try and locate the Elementals whilst fighting a kind of collective global hysteria in all four worlds? Much better to work quietly and methodically to locate the Elementals and involve as few people as possible. And thirdly,’ she continued, her voice still low and calm, ‘you’re right. We don’t know what opportunities those creatures with dark hearts from all four worlds would take if word were out that the planet was dying and that there was a force out there so powerful that it could save the whole planet. I shudder even to think about it, but we have discussed these issues at length. We knew that someone with Lily’s credentials would come along eventually, but the latest development and one that is impossible for us to control, is the fact that the earth cannot wait for Lily to reach her maturity in maybe four or five hundred years’ time before she begins to search for the Elementals. The latest earthcry was the strongest and deepest yet. We need to start her training, and yours, as s
oon as possible.’
‘But why Lily?’ asked James. ‘You said yourself you aren’t even certain that she’s the one. What happens to Earth if she isn’t? Can someone else find and replace these Elementals; someone with more experience? Does it have to be Lily? You have some kind of backup plan, right?’
Serpinia nodded her head slowly. ‘You’re right James, we aren’t certain that Lily is the one but we haven’t got much time and no one remotely close to the credentials Lily carries has been found. If she can find and replace the missing Elementals, then Earth will have been saved with minimum disruption. Lily’s got as much chance as anyone else. In fact, a better chance than anyone else and no, there’s no backup plan. Lily is our best choice at the moment, the only choice, unless we wait and see if Lily’s future descendants can help, but there are no guarantees.’
James looked uncertain.
‘But I don’t understand. You’re saying there are others out there who could help?
‘What Serpinia is trying to say,’ said Cadmus Addersbank, stroking his long grey beard and speaking economically and deliberately, ‘is that the Elementals can only be replaced by someone who carries the same blood as the one who removed them, someone who also belonged to all four worlds.’