by Orr, Krystal
Arizira stopped in her tracks. D'jiira continued walking for a moment until she realized her daughter was no longer at her side. "Arizira?"
Arizira inhaled sharply and held D'jiira's gaze as the taller woman closed the gap between them. The mention of a family had brought Arizira's desire to tell her mother of her pregnancy to the forefront of her thoughts. D'jiira came to stand in front of her and placed her hands on Arizira’s shoulders.
"Forgive me. It was not my intention to upset you."
Arizira shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "You did not. Lana, there is something I need to tell you. Something of the most precious importance."
Behind D'jiira, Arizira noticed Cynta, Taetylona, Talliea and Markahn all lowering their satchels to the earth and taking seats around the base of a large oak. She knew another pause in their trek was being taken. Arizira watched as Talliea took an uncoordinated seat, before a confused look came over her face. D'jiira's voice interrupted her concern before she could contemplate mattes further.
"Are you unable to conceive children with your Esu blood?" D'jiira asked sadly. "Did I err in speaking of a family?"
Arizira hesitated. Now was the opportune time to speak to her mother of her pregnancy. The others of the group were resting their tired legs and feet while partaking of various meats and fruits. Yet, something felt peculiar. Wrong. There was an electricity in the air, as if the strike of a lightning bolt had shocked the nearby trees and left a lingering imprint in the forest. Things felt off.
"It is not that," Arizira said in a slow whisper, as her eyes focused more clearly on Talliea. The tall Esu woman was sitting on the ground only a few paces ahead of Arizira, but there was a look in her eyes that spoke of unfamiliarity and confusion. Time seemed to move slower than was normal. Arizira watched as Markahn waved over Cynra and Taetylona. The two older women came to Talliea's side and knelt beside her.
"Then what troubles you, my daughter?" D'jiira asked, oblivious to the events unfolding behind her.
Arizira did not answer. She watched Talliea, whose eyes were now completely unfocused and hazy, raise a shaky hand to her forehead before mumbling something incoherently. In the next moment, she slumped back against the base of the tree she sat in front of. Eyes rolled back into her head as she lost consciousness.
"Talliea!" Markahn's voice sounded strong and clear in the sudden silence. Arizira moved around D'jiira's tall form and toward the body of her love in one swift movement. Before Markahn's exclamation had finished leaving his lips, she was beside Yalliea with the other woman in her arms.
"Tah-li!" she cried.
Talliea's head fell against Arizira’s chest. Eyes moved rapidly behind her closed lids. Arizira ran her hand along her love's face and neck trying to find a reason for her sudden unresponsiveness.
"What happened?" D'jiira asked, catching up to the others and watching a frantic Arizira.
Markahn shook his head helplessly as he sat back on his knees. "I do not...I do not know. We were talking and she mentioned a dizziness. I asked for a respite and then...she just..." His voice trailed off as he watched the woman he loved lying motionless in the arms of another. Arizira's wide eyes continued to scan Talliea's face for answers. Her hands were frenzied and frightened tears threatened to color her cheeks.
"Failira? Can you hear me?" No response. "Wake up. Wake up, please."
The plea, spoken so earnestly and heartfelt, did nothing but fall upon deaf ears. Talliea made no indication that she heard Arizira, no hint that she was aware of her love's distress. There was nothing. Nothing that existed for her except the images dancing behind her eyes. The visions consuming her mind. The pictures of another place. Another time. The forms of other people. Other memories. Other loves…
"Stop, my love, stop. I need to rest."
Tareya slowed her steps and unhooked Ir'ra's arms from around her shoulders. Gently, she eased the other woman's body down to the ground. Ir'ra groaned as pain rippled through her limbs. Green eyes looked up into grey.
"Where do your steps lead us? We walk deeper into the countryside, yet farther away from any aid."
Tareya paced in front of Ir'ra in agitation, not happy at having to stop, but understanding the need to do so. "There is no help in the dark, in the past of our journey walked. Do you not understand? My people have become corrupt!"
Ir'ra managed to sit up straighter against the tree behind her. Her entire body ached. She had been beaten, whipped, cut, interrogated, and defiled. There was not a part of her body that did not bear the evidence of her time spent in the Esu city behind them. Dried blood mixed with deep bruises that stood out against her pale ivory skin. The shock of her white hair seemed only to enhance the brutality that had been inflicted upon her.
Licking dry lips, she attempted to calm Tareya. "Our peoples have forever been friends, my love. We can not place our faith in the decadent indulgences of one city."
Tareya whipped her head around quickly, her grey eyes softening at the sight of the battered form of her love. Kneeling before Ir'ra, she placed her hands on her knees. "We were beset by enemies the moment our feet were safely away from the Arniran tribe that watches the city. Those Esu men reacted with animosity because of us. Because of our feelings for one another! They did not follow the laws of regulation between neighboring cities and tribes. They assaulted you! They confined me. We were placed in cages like animals!"
Ir'ra shrank back from the vehemence in her lover's voice, before trying to reason with her once again. "Something afflicts them, love. We must seek the counsel of the other--"
"No!" Tareya's voice interrupted as she stood back up. "No others. We have no way of knowing if their sickness is widespread. Long have we been away from the politics of our peoples. I will not risk you on a whim."
A small smile touched Ir'ra's chapped lips. "I appreciate your concern, my love, but I am unable to heal this suffering of my body. I am in need of my people."
Tareya shook her head. "Seeking the aid of your sisters will, undoubtedly, lead us toward an Esu settlement. You know this."
"Then we can approach the E'mae'leyo at night, to ensure your people's slumber," Ir'ra countered roughly as a sharp pain radiated down her back. She could understand Tareya's concerns, but she knew she required the aid of healers were her body ever to be fully mended. Every step was met with agony, every breath a stinging fire of pain. She could not continue to walk and be with Tareya, alone as the two of them had been for so long, without the help of one of their peoples.
Finally, Tareya sighed in defeat and nodded her head slowly. She came to sit next to Ir'ra and easily cradled her worn body in her arms. "You are correct," she whispered. "We shall make for the closest E'mae'leyo once your body has rested."
The two of them sat in silence for several long moments. Occasionally, Tareya would bring a water skin to Ir'ra's lips or softly run her fingers through her hair. "There is one thing I do not understand."
Ir'ra slowly lifted her head from where it had been resting on her love's shoulder. Her tired and weary eyes gazed up in silent curiosity to Tareya's words.
"In the city past, why did the women not aid us? Why did they cower in the streets like so much vermin? Never did one invoke the power of Esuval and seek to smite those that brought us harm."
Ir'ra remained silent for a time. Her mind and body, having run on adrenaline for so long, refused to be of use to her now that she was alone and safe in the arms of Tareya. Her eyelids grew heavy, her breathing became even. She leaned into Tareya's sturdy and warm frame.
"I do not know, my love. During my captivity, I took a notice to the fact that the men of that particular city were the only ones in any positions of power. Matters of state were not governed as I was accustomed."
Tareya scrunched her brow while her fingers continued to glide through Ir'ra's white hair. "How do you know?" she asked.
"I heard whispers of a uniform group, a select number of men who controlled the city."
Tareya swallo
wed and stilled her fingers movements. “Controlled? What group?"
Ir'ra barely heard the question, so far gone was she to her painful and ragged state. With the last of her strength, she whispered a single name. "Lat'sa'val." Men of Light.
Talliea awoke with a sharp gasp.
Chapter 25: A Symbol of Hope
Zy'nilur dipped her head in respect to Talyn before standing back up to her full height.
"It seems fortune favors the weary, Talyn," she said in her deep and commanding timber. Her deep amethyst eyes surveyed the inside of Rae’kir with an uninterested air. Tall and compactly built with silver hair and avian like features, Zy'nilur was the epitome of a leader. Her very presence demanded and commanded respect and authority. She was a woman who was not afraid of action. Of all of Aitla's aspects, she favored that of the warrior spirit most.
Zy'nilur was a woman who was not hesitant in making hard decisions. Like others of her calling, she was revered for being both wise and authoritative. Those of her tribe valued her strength as much as they did her keen mind. She and Talyn had often times been at odds with one another because of their stark differences in ruling their respective tribes. Where Talyn was more cautious and open to negotiations, Zy'nilur was quick to action and believed force spoke louder than mere words.
That was not to say that Zy'nilur was without her own sense of understanding the nature of peace. She was no Esu, no warmongering heathen. No, like all of her people, she harbored a deep respect for nature and all of its facets. Instead of allowing events to happen, like Talyn seemed to do, Zy'nilur was more prone to allow effect to precede cause.
Talyn smiled a tight-lipped smile at Zy'nilur. "Aitla favors those with the wisdom to respect that weariness, so fortune matters little," she said diplomatically.
Smiling at Talyn's chosen words, Zy'nilur nodded. "True enough."
"You arrived earlier than we were expecting," Talyn said, choosing to change the subject. She turned her back on the other woman and walked back to the center of Rae’kir.
"What greater motivator can there be than when the Esu walk so near our borders. My sisters and I were blessed with speed on our journey here. "
"Of course," Talyn replied absentmindedly.
She heard Zy'nilur move behind her and come closer. "I expected to meet with your lead hunters. My archers mean to attack soon. What plan are we to make together to ensure this war is ended swiftly?"
At the words, Talyn turned back around and regarded Zy'nilur somberly. "My lead hunters are not to be a part of the upcoming battle, I fear."
"Why?" Zy'nilur asked sharply, her deep eyes questioning.
Talyn matched the other woman's gaze for only a moment. "Bela'luin is on another task, a personal task, for me. I will not speak of her quest to you or any other. Know only that what she seeks to do, she does for all of us."
Zy'nilur nodded and accepted the information without question. "And of Arizira? Of the Child of Whispers? Surely her destiny is at hand?"
Even among other Arniran tribes, Arizira was well-known. Though she had rarely met any of the other tribes personally, her unique appearance and generous spirit had spread to the neighboring lands like a wildfire. As she had grown into womanhood and shown a disposition in weapons and tracking, her legend had only continued to spread. Tribes to the east and west knew of the Child of Whispers. They knew she was destined for greatness and that that greatness would impact them all in some way.
Talyn's throat tightened at the question. She had known Arizira would come up, just as she had known speaking of her death would tear at the spirit of the Arnian people. "Arizira is..." Talyn paused and fought to compose herself.
Zy'nilur narrowed her eyes and pressed the issue. "Arizira is what? Is she on some fool’s errand as well? My archers would be heartened to have her lead them into battle. Surely she is the spirit of our people."
"Arizira fell in the recent battle," Talyn said quickly before Zy'nilur could say anything further.
"Fell?" Zy'nilur managed to get out before her emotions tried to consume her. She had only met the younger woman once before, but once had been enough. Arizira had been a woman with a kind and calm presence. She had inspired others simply by her demeanor and of her love for life. Zy'nilur had never been able to quite place what it was about Arizira that was so endearing, if it was the legend surrounding her or the young woman herself, but whatever it had been had become the hope many Arnira thrived upon.
Arizira had become a symbol, a symbol of what it meant to be Arnira. She embodied all the traits and aspects of Aitla herself. Her goodness, her wisdom, her playful nature and her unconquerable curiosity, all had come to be the very essence of the Arniran people and they lived in one body.
One spirit.
They had lived in Arizira Ahmanae, the Child of Whispers, and that symbol of hope was gone. Cut down by some day walker who most assuredly had no idea how important Arizira was.
Or had been.
Zy'nilur shook her head slowly, looking more aghast than Talyn had ever seen, and took a step back. "H-how? What happened? Did you retrieve her body? Administer her last rites? Where is she, for I wish to pay my respects."
Talyn walked back toward Zy'nilur and placed her hands on the other woman's broad shoulders. She shook her head sadly and exhaled sharply. "The story is long and is not yours to know. We were unable to recover her body. There was an unseen fo--"
"What?" Zy'nilur asked heatedly as she pulled away.
"Zy--"
"You did not recover her body? You allowed her spirit to suffer? The time for the rites has passed! She can not be with Aitla now! You have doomed her to an eternity of suffering! The Child of Whispers! Why?"
Talyn tried to remain calm as her companion's ire continued to grow. She had expected this type of response. Arizira's death was not just a hardship for her tribe. Once the other tribes learned of it, the knowledge would only dampen her sisters' spirits and possibly deter them from engaging the Esu in any way. Either that, or they would use Arizira's death to fuel their fury and seek justice in her name.
"She was taken by an Esu woman." Talyn said gently.
"Esu woman? Why was a woman on the battlefield? I thought the Esu treated their women like property."
Talyn wrapped an arm around Zy'nilur's shoulders and turned them back toward the center of Rae’kir. "Come, my friend. There is much you do not know. The Esu woman was, and still is, a part of Arizira's destiny."
"How?"
"Come, let us speak," Talyn said, leading them into an adjoining chamber set off to the left of the main room of Rae’kir.
The next several hours were spent retelling Zy'nilur everything that had transpired the last half year. Talyn told the other woman of the Esu's arrival. She told her of Cynra's departure and of her vague prophecies of Arizira's love for a day walker. She told Zy'nilur of her own troubles in knowing which path was correct for her to take and of how Bela'luin had managed to get the other Elders' approval to march against the Esu clan.
All the while, as Zy'nilur listened, she could not stop herself from feeling displaced. Before, as she had been marching toward Talyn's tribe, she had told herself and her sisters that they were doing what was right. They were defending their ancestral lands and defeating their ancient enemy of old.
There had been a sense of righteousness to their cause that Zy'nilur had used to embolden her sisters. Now, learning of Arizira's death and of the circumstances surrounding that death, Zy'nilur found herself no longer as certain as she had been before.
What power gave such ability to this Esu woman, this woman Talyn claimed was the great love, the Doira'Liim, of the Child of Whispers? How were they to combat someone with such grand and majestic power if the woman chose to intervene? Fighting the Esu was one thing. Raising bow and blade against a woman who commanded the power of a god was another.
Would the Esu woman aid them or would she view them as her enemy? Who was to say that she was not far into the west this very moment?
What purpose would she have in remaining behind?
Zy'nilur did not have all of the answers, and that alone was something that left her feeling unsettled. Matters had quickly become far more complicated than she had ever thought. Instead of leading a charge against the Esu in the valley, she now had to tell her sisters of the death of the Child of Whispers and of a rogue Esu woman whose intentions were as shrouded as the dark of the nighttime sky.
* * * * *
"Tah-li?"
Arizira's voice sounded far away to Talliea. Though her eyes were open, she could make out nothing definitive in her immediate field of vision. Everything appeared blurred and hazy. Unfocused. She blinked several times in an effort to clear her sight. Gentle, yet frantic, fingers brushed through her hair and she felt soft lips against her forehead.
"Ahmanae?" she whispered, closing her eyes again.
She felt dizzy and nauseous. An ache, fierce in its attempt to hammer inside her head, could be felt behind her eyes. The high sun above did little to help the pain and she pushed her face farther into Arizira's chest to shield herself from it. The calming scent of pine and earth helped to ground her and she released an unsteady breath.
"Tah-li, I have you. You are safe, failira." To emphasize her words, Arizira pulled Talliea's body closer to her own and wrapped her arms about her frame more securely.
"What happened to you, child?" Cynra asked, kneeling next to Talliea.
Slowly, Talliea opened her eyes again. D'jiira had moved to stand with her back to the sun and her tall form helped to block some of the harsh light. Markahn knelt to the side with both Taetylona and Cynra to his right. Taetylona was still standing, her almond eyes showing the concern she felt.
"I am okay," Talliea said in a low voice.