by Dylan Peters
“No,” I said emphatically. “We can’t leave Anna. How can you even consider that?”
“Arthur, hear me out,” Ah’Rhea pleaded. “Nothing has really changed for us.”
“What are you talking about?” I shouted.
“We cannot help Anna,” Ah’Rhea continued, “but we still need to find the Everflame. In fact, finding the Everflame may be the only way we can help her. Reego assures me she will be all right, but we won’t be if we stand around and wait.”
“What if mynahs attack her?” I argued.
“Wisket will protect her,” Ah’Rhea said. “We must continue our quest. We must.”
“No!” I bellowed. “Go if you want to! Leave!”
“You’re not thinking about this with the proper perspective,” Ah’Rhea said too calmly.
Her demeanor checked my aggression but didn’t change my opinion. “I am,” I said to Ah’Rhea. “You just don’t agree with my perspective.”
Ah’Rhea huffed in frustration. “So you would have us stand here under this tree for who knows how long, waiting for the girl to come back out of that cocoon?”
“Yes,” I said.
“While your mother remains in the Tower?” Ah’Rhea asked.
The question stung, even though somewhere inside I knew it had been hanging there, waiting for someone to ask it. My mother’s plight was the one thing I couldn’t ignore. The guilt had been gnawing at me for too long, even though I had been trying to repress it. My mother was captive and I needed the Everflame to save her. Every minute that passed was another minute of possible torture, or neglect, or pain, or whatever she might have been suffering. I wanted to curse Ah’Rhea for reminding me of my mother’s imprisonment. I wanted to take my pain and frustration out on her for speaking of it. I wanted to hate her.
But if I did that, I would only be proving myself a coward and a foolish child. I couldn’t just wish Ah'Rhea away because she disagreed with what I wanted.
“We’ll wait here while you and Ah’Rhea search for the flame,” Jim said to me. “Kay and I will stay here with Wisket and Anna. Ah’Rhea’s right. You need to find the flame for your mother, and for the rest of us. Time matters.”
It was so frustrating that Jim volunteered. Why was everyone pushing me away from Anna? Why was what the world needed pushing me away from what my heart wanted?
“Why don’t you two go with Ah’Rhea and Reego, and I’ll stay here?” I asked Jim and Kay, though deep inside I already knew the answer.
“It has to be you,” Ah’Rhea said. “I think you already know that, Arthur.”
“Why?” I yelled as the emotions got the better of me again. “Why does it have to be me?”
“I don’t know,” Ah’Rhea admitted, “but I can feel that you are the key to retrieving the Everflame. We won’t be successful without you there… I just know it, and I think you know it too.”
I was defeated. I could feel it. For whatever mysterious secret reason… it had to be me who found the Everflame. The Nullwood had been telling me that fact since the day I had awoken outside its border.
I nodded limply. I was numb.
Jim put a hand on my shoulder. “We’re all gonna get through this, man. I believe that with all my heart.”
Kay hugged me and put her head on my shoulder. “He’s right, Arthur. We’ll get back to you as soon as Anna’s out of the cocoon. Wisket will know how to find you. Go get the Everflame.”
She let me go and I turned away from her and Jim. I didn’t want them to look in my eyes and see how afraid I was.
“I’m sorry it has to be this way,” Ah’Rhea said. “If I thought I could do it alone, I would.”
“Don’t worry about us,” Jim added. “Wisket will protect us.”
“No, he won’t,” Ah’Rhea said, “but Reego will.” Ah’Rhea looked at the dog sitting obediently at her feet. “Wisket is preoccupied with Anna, and those two need your protection more than Arthur and I do. I need you to stay with them. Will you do that for me?”
Reego barked, and walked over to stand next to Kay. It was apparent the mystical trusted Ah’Rhea, and was proud to protect. Kay bent down and scratched the dog behind the ears.
“Come and find us once the girl is out of the cocoon,” Ah’Rhea said to Reego.
I looked at Ah’Rhea with concern. Wandering off to find the Everflame without the aid of a mystical was not something I had considered doing, and nothing the Nullwood had shown me suggested it was a good idea.
“We’ll be okay, Arthur,” Ah’Rhea assured me. “I think this forest is more a part of you than you know.”
At that point, Ah’Rhea turned and began walking north. Not wanting to look like a protesting child, I followed.
“You got this, Creepy,” Jim called out behind me.
I spun around, walking backward briefly and shot a smile toward the only friends I had ever known.
Jim and Kay smiled back, and I can’t really explain it, but I think Wisket and Reego did too.
14
Ah’Rhea and I walked in silence for a very long time, until the skies darkened and I asked if we should find shelter.
“No,” Ah’Rhea said. “We can’t afford to waste time. We’ll travel through the night.”
This was unwelcome news. I was tired, and though I never would have admitted it out loud, I was terrified of walking through the Nullwood in the dark.
“Please don’t think me foolish,” Ah’Rhea continued. “I have many years of experience to lean on. I know this is our best option. Besides, we are close to the dome.”
“How do you know?” I asked in a whisper.
“Call it a woman’s intuition,” Ah’Rhea said.
I didn’t argue, partly because I had little choice, but also because I could feel we were close to the dome, as well. It had been hours since we left the group, and somehow the Nullwood was becoming more familiar to me. I couldn’t ignore the possibility that I had actually been here before.
The land sloped upward as the light disappeared from the sky. The gnarled trees grew denser, and moving forward was now as much about using my hands as it was about using my legs. The moon was bright as we pushed our way through the thick growth. It hung high above the branches of the Nullwood, and as my eyes adjusted, it provided just enough light to see Ah’Rhea in front of me.
“Keep close,” she cautioned in a whisper, “and stop if you hear anything.”
Her comment brought to attention how silent our surroundings were. There was no sound of the breeze through the trees. No sound of small creatures, or even large ones for that matter. It seemed that we were alone on our path. It made me more nervous, and made me wonder if this part of the Nullwood might be cursed… or sacred.
“I’m sorry,” I said to Ah’Rhea as she walked just ahead of me.
She turned just slightly to me but didn’t cease her progress. “About what?”
“About earlier,” I said. “I was being difficult because I wasn’t getting my way.”
“You were fighting for someone you love,” Ah’Rhea said. “I understand, and I don’t judge you for that.”
I blushed, even in the dark. To hear someone speak of my feelings for Anna that way was something I wasn’t really comfortable with.
“I didn’t realize it was so obvious,” I mumbled.
“You are young, Arthur,” Ah’Rhea said. “I know how difficult all of this is for you. I know how strange the changing of your world is, and at an age when you are changing quite a bit, as well.” Now Ah’Rhea stopped and turned to me. She put her hand upon my shoulder. “If I were your mother, I would be proud of you. I’m sure your mother is also. You are dealing with more than you should have to, and you have a good heart.”
“Thanks,” I said awkwardly. I didn’t really know how to respond. I wasn’t sure if saying thanks was enough or if I should say something more. I thought of what I had seen of Ah’Rhea through the eyes of the mynahs, and more words just slipped out.
“I know you have a good heart
, too,” I said.
Ah’Rhea took her hand off my shoulder and looked at me oddly. I had surprised her, and she wasn’t quite sure how to take my compliment.
“I just mean I’ve seen it,” I continued. “There have been two times now when a mynah has made contact with me, and as they do I see flashes of what I think are their memories. The first time was after the mynah took you from the school. Before my friends saved me, a mynah brushed against me and I saw a memory of when it had surrounded you and Reego in the Nullwood. You fought for Reego. You put your life on the line.”
“Was that all you saw?” Ah’Rhea asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
“No,” I admitted. “That time, yes, but then it happened again when the mynah grabbed me just before Jim hit it with the shovel. I saw a memory it had as it patrolled a dungeon. It must have been a dungeon in the Starless Tower, because you were there… and you were with my mother.”
“Arthur–” Ah’Rhea began.
“You told her that you would help her any way you could,” I said. “So I know you have a good heart. That’s why I said it. It just came out awkwardly.”
“Are these the only two times this has happened?” Ah’Rhea asked, her voice cracking just slightly.
“Yes,” I said. “I told my friends about the first vision, but Jim thought it was a dream I had after hitting my head. And so much has happened since the second vision that I guess I just didn’t get the chance to talk about it. But… I wanted you to know. I thought you should know.”
Ah’Rhea put her hand back on my shoulder. “You are truly special, Arthur. It is quite amazing.”
“Do you know how I can see the mynahs’ memories?” I asked, hoping Ah’Rhea might have an answer.
“No,” she said. “But it may become clearer as we journey on.” With that she turned, and led me forward once more.
We walked another two hours in darkness, our path sloping upward more and more as we went, and strangely enough, I could see Ah’Rhea with greater clarity as time passed. When I first noticed the change, I assumed my eyes were simply becoming more accustomed to the dark, but now the sky seemed to be growing with light ahead of us, as if the sun were on the precipice of breaking dawn. It was far too soon for morning, though. The light had to be coming from a different source.
Ah’Rhea stopped and stood tall. I silently came to her shoulder.
“Can you feel it?” she asked. “Can you feel how close we are?”
“Yes,” I said in such a whisper I doubted that she even heard me.
“Just over that ridge,” she added and pointed ahead.
We walked another thousand feet, maybe more, and then found ourselves looking down into a great basin. My mouth hung wide and my heart leaped in my chest. There it stood before us, down in the basin, the dome of colored branches. It lit up the night as if it were filled with the soul of the earth.
We descended into the basin and I barely took my eyes off of the dome. It looked exactly as it had in my vision: Green, pink, yellow, and blue, intertwined so thickly and beautifully it might have been the handiwork of a god. Yet I knew this thing had not been designed. It was as organic as the Nullwood itself. This was the heart of the woods. Of course, a place such as this should hold a thing like the Everflame.
We reached level ground with the dome before us in all its splendor. It must have been a couple hundred feet wide and maybe half as tall. We paused as we stared at it. I was unsure of what to do, and Ah’Rhea gave no indication that she had a plan. Would the flame simply present itself? Was there some ritual we would have to perform?
Ah’Rhea broke the silence.
“There is a story I would like to tell you that I think is very important for you to know, Arthur. It is about the young man who saved your earth so long ago by using the Everflame to reignite the sun. You see, that young man was left alone in a forest when he was very young. He was so young that he could not remember how he came to be in the forest in the first place. It reminds me very much of your inability to remember your beginnings here in the Nullwood.”
I moved forward while Ah’Rhea spoke, but refrained from reaching out to touch the branches of the dome. They looked smooth, and seemed alive.
“If it were not for the kindness of the bears that came across that boy,” Ah’Rhea continued, “he likely would have died as a small child, too young to even speak. However, the bears took him in because they knew it was the right thing to do. They raised the boy as their own until he became a strong man. Though the bears did not know it at the time, their act of kindness brought the Everflame in contact with the one person who could use it to eventually save the world. You might say it was fate. Do you believe in fate, Arthur?”
“I never used to, but now… maybe sometimes I think I do,” I said.
Ah’Rhea continued. “It turned out that young man was very special. He was not a child of man and woman; he was something far greater. In a way, he was a part of everything and everyone. He was the key, and in the end, his sacrifice saved the world.”
“His sacrifice?” I asked, unsure of what the young man had given up.
“Yes, Arthur,” Ah’Rhea said. “It is told that when that young man reignited the sun, he left the earth forever. He had to sacrifice himself so that the world he loved could be great once more. He was a hero because of his sacrifice.”
I stared at the dome of colored branches with so many questions. The dome was so tightly woven. There was no way inside. Having come this far it was inconceivable that we would be without a path inside the dome. I sighed and struggled to come up with a plan.
“What do we do now?” I asked.
Ah’Rhea came up behind me and I could feel her place a hand upon my shoulder like a friend; like a mother.
“It shouldn’t shock me,” Ah’Rhea said, “that there should be so many similarities between that young man’s story and yours, Arthur. Your lack of memory, the bears, the forest, and a sacrifice.”
“What sacrifice?” I asked.
“It’s almost unbelievable that you still don’t remember what happened to you right after the Demise, even with all of your visions,” Ah’Rhea said, ignoring my question. “Though I suppose that I wouldn’t be here to fulfill destiny if you had remembered.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, feeling like I was missing some greater point to the conversation. “What are you talking about?”
“Fate,” Ah’Rhea said and shoved something hard against my back.
I gasped, and piercing pain washed over me.
“You don’t need to remember what happened, Arthur,” Ah’Rhea said. “I can remember it for you. I was there, and I can tell you all about it before you die.”
I gasped again as the pain caused me to double over. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ah’Rhea’s dagger, red with blood: my blood. She brought it down and stabbed me again in my side.
“When I left my planet for refuge on earth, I didn’t think the cataclysm would have reached this place,” Ah’Rhea said. “But it had, and I found myself in these damned woods without my powers, without a way forward. For days, Reego and I wandered around the Nullwood, trying to survive, hoping for a sign. It was maddening to see all the mysticism that had returned to earth, and yet I was completely devoid of my ability to use it. It was as if this place was mocking me. I was once a great master, you know. I could have rained fire from the heavens if I chose. I could have made my way through this wall of branches with a word, but not anymore. I am nothing in this new world. Here, I am forced to crawl like a child.”
The pain from my wounds was immense and warm. It washed over me like a wave and I became woozy. Ah’Rhea grabbed me by the shoulders and pressed my body against the branches of the dome. And suddenly they parted. Branches of pink, yellow, blue, and green melted away like ice in the sun. I fell forward, landing on my hands and knees. Now I understood why she spoke of sacrifice. The dome had been waiting for one.
Ah’Rhea was much stronger than I would hav
e imagined, and she dragged me forward, through the dome. I watched helplessly as my blood smeared the hard rock of the dome’s floor. After a moment, the branches meshed back together behind us.
“It was shortly after our first days in the Nullwood,” Ah’Rhea continued, “that Reego and I came across you, Arthur. However, you were not alone. When we stumbled upon you it was as if ancient stories were unfolding before us. Just like in the story of earth’s past, there was a boy and a bear living with each other, helping each other, and protecting each other.
“Reego and I kept our distance, watching in amazement. It made our hearts light with hope and happiness to see the way you interacted with the bear, to see how you lived in unity. Alas, the mynahs came and shattered that pretty picture. I would have stopped them if I could have, Arthur. I do truly mean that. I never wanted harm to come to you.”
My head was spinning now from the blood loss, awhirl with all the colors of the dome. Ah’Rhea dropped me in the center of the dome and continued her story.
“The bear scared the mynahs away,” she said, “but not before they had dealt you a fatal blow. Reego and I watched from the cover of the thick black trees as the bear mourned you, as it nudged your lifeless body, as it cried out at the sky. It broke our hearts, Arthur.”
I was fading fast, and everything I could see moved in and out like ghosts floating through walls. The colors of the dome waxed and waned like the tide, and so did Ah’Rhea’s voice.
“What happened next was nothing short of amazing,” Ah’Rhea said. “Reego and I watched as the bear dragged your body to this very place, the branches parting for you then just as they did now. They gave way for a sacrifice. We watched through the branches as the bear continued to mourn you, here at the center of the dome. It was as if it was calling out to something, or someone. It all happened so quickly.
“The sky grew dark, but the branches of the dome were filled with light, just like now. Then as the bear mourned, another light appeared at the apex of the dome. We looked on in amazement as that light descended toward your body. Once it reached where you lay, underneath the protection of the massive bear, it grew so large and so bright that Reego and I had to avert our eyes.