The Awakening

by Gary Alan Wassner

  “Where are you Giles? Clovis?” she asked, but they did not respond.

  “Where have you gone? I cannot hear you,” she said, her concern mounting steadily.

  She stood up and reached in all directions like a blind person, hoping to encounter one of her companions. Then, she heard a sigh ahead in the darkness.

  “Is that you Clovis?” she asked.

  Her query was greeted with silence. A moment later, she distinctly heard what seemed like a muffled sound, a voice perhaps, but it appeared as if it was coming from underneath a heavy blanket. She continued to grope with her hands, hoping to contact one of the others, yet unable to understand what could have happened to them.

  Her fear and frustration were escalating to the point where she could no longer contain them, and she continued to hear sounds although they were completely unintelligible. She breathed deeply, calming herself methodically in the pitch black chamber, slowly and steadily in and out, until she had regained her composure. With her mind settled somewhat, she began to reason more clearly, and with reason, her memory became sharper. She began to laugh to herself, and in the darkness of the room, her laughter echoed throughout, snowballing and building in intensity.

  “I am such a fool sometimes,” she said aloud, as she reached into her tunic. She grasped the small, silver cocoon that held the finger length piece of wood given to her by Crea. She retracted it, pulled it taught upon its chain and then willed it to ignite. She watched as it began to glow from within, spreading its luminosity throughout the entire area. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the light, what she saw before her she could hardly believe.

  Giles and Clovis were both completely shrouded in greyish- brown coverings that were draped over them from their heads to their knees. It appeared to be a cloth of some kind, but Alemar was certain it was somehow something more alive than mere cloth. Next to each man stood what looked like a thick stalk or tall stem of a plant topped by a cap of this self-same brownish covering. The cap hung over the top of the trunk like long hair, unparted and draped over a person’’s head, though it appeared to be all one continuous piece, rather than many individual strands. This odd hair-like substance extended downward about three feet, reaching midway to the surface. It was that which enshrouded the elves as well, cloaked over both Clovis’ and Giles’ heads, muffling their words and making their communication indecipherable.

  Alemar watched carefully as these objects moved gracefully, though only slight waves radiated from their tops to their bottoms. What had at first appeared to her to be a single stem, soon became more clear as the light intensified. At the base of each, she thought she could discern appendages that looked like feet, though less sculpted and more bulbous. And under the folds that hung around them, she began to see movement, and then an arm-like offshoot reached out from one and rested atop Clovis.

  About all that remained visible of her friends were their legs from the knees down, but she continued to hear their muted sounds as if they were trying to commune with her. The odor was unmistakable. It was the same smell as when they entered, only much, much stronger than before. And it seemed to be emanating from these creatures, if that was in fact what they were.

  She crept closer to the two upright figures, not knowing which side was their front and which side was their back, and she held the light aloft before her. It was clear now that one stood beside Clovis and the other beside Giles, obscuring her companion’s vision with the folds of their ‘skin’. She only hoped that it did not also restrict their ability to breathe underneath the fleshy covering.

  To her great surprise as she drew closer, she saw one shift position, apparently enough to face her, and she clearly saw what looked like two eyes peering out from under the fleshy wrinkles. The eyes were large and covered with a filmy, greyish lid that opened and closed rapidly as she watched. The skin everywhere was blotched and mottled in various shades of brown. The lips were large and full, and the nose was almost flat with small air holes instead of nostrils, which were also concealed by small filter-like flaps.

  “Mother. The female,” a deep, muted voice uttered.

  The other figure shifted to face Alemar, and then responded, “Yes, Father. I see.”

  The voices reminded her of something she had heard before, but she could not put her finger on it. It nagged at her, as she listened closely and watched cautiously. She did not want to upset or engage them in any way until she understood better what they had done to her companions.

  They did not move in a way that anyone would ever describe as walking. Rather, they slid across the floor. The lower portions of their bodies resembled a woman’s full skirt, that dragged behind them as they inched forward.

  “What is it she holds in her hand, Mother?” he asked.

  “I know not Father, but it is beautiful, though it hurts my eyes,” the female said, blinking more quickly as she gazed upon the glowing twig.

  They all of a sudden looked to Alemar like giant mushroom people, and she could not help but giggle as the thought occurred to her.

  “She is a happy elf, is she not, Father?”

  “Yes, it appears so, Mother.”

  It also struck her suddenly that the familiarity in the sound of the voices that she could not pinpoint was due to the fact that it was not quite a spoken utterance that it resembled. The words, although clearly said aloud, reminded her of how Oleander’s voice sounded to her inside her head, and this recognition relieved her tension greatly. It also gave her the courage to speak herself, though she shielded the light a bit this time so as not to impose it upon their apparently sensitive eyes.

  “Who are you and what have you done to my friends?” she asked, seeing now that Clovis and Giles, though no longer shrouded, were still not moving.

  “Are you Alicea?” the female asked her, opening her curtain-like eyelids wide and peering at her closely.

  “No, I am Alemar, daughter of Whitestar of Eleutheria. Alicea was my great, great, great, great grandmother,” she replied.

  “There is a strong resemblance, Mother. Can you not tell?” the other questioned.

  “It has been a long while, Father.”

  “Are they all right? They do not move,” Alemar asked again, referring to Giles and Clovis.

  “They are fine, dear. Do not worry. We just did not expect them. Tell her, Father,” the female said to her companion.

  “We have been waiting for Alicea for a very long time. Were you sent in her stead?” he questioned Alemar.

  “By whom? I was instructed to come here, but I do not know if it was by the one you have in mind,” she replied.

  “Is there more than one who knows of us, Mother?” he inquired, appearing to be a little confused.

  “I do not know, Father. Perhaps,” she responded, tilting her capped head sideways in a quizzical manner.

  “Why are you here, dear?” the woman asked after a moment’s hesitation.

  Alemar herself was confused by now as well. She really did not know exactly why she was there. She only knew that Oleander had told her that she would find what she sought in the Caves of Carloman. But she did not want to reveal too much unnecessarily to these strange beings. They seemed friendly, but she could not determine their true motivations so easily.

  “Could you release my friends from whatever it is that grips them so? I would like to know that they are unharmed before I do anything else,” she asked politely.

  “They are unharmed, dear. I told you that. But if you wish, I will allow them to speak freely,” the Father said.

  He pivoted upon his stem-like body and within seconds, both of the elves began to speak at once in a discordant jumble of unintelligible sounds.

  “What has happened to them?” Alemar asked alarmed, and she walked toward Giles and Clovis.

  “It will take a moment for them to regain their coordination. That is all,” the woman said.

  Soon, both the elfin men were shaking their arms and stamping their feet, as if they were trying to shru
g off the results of having sat in an uncomfortable position for a very long time.

  Alemar grabbed Clovis by the shoulder and looked at him closely. He appeared to recognize her, and he smiled into her eyes.

  “Weho,” he said, as if he had not seen her in a while. “Why do you look so troubled? I feel like I just woke up from the best sleep of my life,”

  Giles too, smiled at her and seemed perfectly fine. They did not appear to be alarmed by the two beings standing right nearby, and they certainly did not seem to object to their presence.

  “That was quite a nap,” he chided, smiling at the two figures beside them.

  Alemar was stunned by all of this.

  “They learned much about us during that brief respite, Father.”

  “Enough, Mother,” he answered her.

  Finally, Alemar backed up a few feet, put her hands upon her hips and spoke up.

  “What is going on here that I am not privy to? I do not understand at all,” she said, frustrated.

  The two inhabitants of the cave shuffled over to Alemar’s side and then blinked their eyes repeatedly at her before speaking.

  “Mother and I needed to know who these men with you were and in finding out, they in turn learned who we are.”

  “We did, Alemar, and you have nothing to fear from them,” Clovis assured her.

  “Absolutely nothing,” Giles emphasized, having once again regained control of his body.

  “Well, now that you both have settled that for me…” she responded, “…I can answer your question, Father. Should I call you that?” she asked timidly.

  “That is fine, dear,” he replied.

  “Oleander told me to come here. He did not fully explain to me what I should expect either to see or to gain,”

  “You heard that Father? Oleander. I suspected so.”

  “Yes, we have been waiting for one of your kind. What happened to Alicea?” he asked.

  “She has been dead for a hundred tiels,” Alemar replied, surprised by the question.

  “Has it been so long, Mother?” he commented.

  “It has been since shortly after the rocks fell from the skies, Father,” she answered.

  The original source of illumination in the cavern had begun to return to its platform above them since the moment that Alemar had partially concealed the light she held. But she had not noticed it during all that was happening right before her eyes. At Father’s mention of the ‘rocks falling from the skies’, Alemar happened to look upward and she saw the thousands of tiny lights streaming randomly back down. The glow from the suspended dish was growing in intensity.

  “How did you train them to alight thereupon?” Alemar asked, pointing above her.

  “They needed no training, my dear. They nurture the seeds. The seeds feed upon their warmth,” the male replied.

  At the mention of seeds, all three of the elves already pointed ears perked up.

  “What grows from these seeds, Mother?” Giles questioned, and it was clear now to Alemar that there was a limit to the information that was bestowed upon him by his previous communication with their hosts.

  “Trees, my boy, trees,” Father rejoined.

  They all knew immediately that they had found what they had come in search of, and they could barely hold back their excitement.

  “We are the Seedkeepers. Did you not know that already?” he asked, surprised.

  “No Father, we had no idea,” Alemar replied, while jubilation inflated her spirits like a balloon.

  “Are you here to retrieve them?” Mother asked.

  “Yes, I think so. I believe that this is what Oleander sent us here for,” Alemar said with confidence.

  “It is time, Father. We have waited long for this moment,” she said in a tone that was tinged with sadness.

  “Yes Mother, we have,” he concurred. “Come. Follow us,” Father instructed.

  He slipped his dappled arm through his companion’s, and they slowly made their way across the spongy surface, their fleshy crowns draping behind them like capes in the wind. Alemar, Giles and Clovis followed closely after them, until the entire group was directly underneath the suspended disk. Mother and Father reached their arms upward and their entire bodies elongated, slimming considerably as they extended, until they were high enough to grasp on to the edges of the container. As if it was a ritual they were performing, they placed their long fingers equidistant from one another all around the edges of the broad disk. Carefully, they pulled upon it, lowering it slowly until it was just above the ground.

  The insects had begun to disperse as soon as the two of them touched the sides, and by this time, they were shooting in all directions, buzzing and bustling and streaking in a million different arcs and angles. Alemar had never allowed her torch to extinguish fully, and it began to flare brightly all of its own accord at that very moment.

  The two Seedkeepers turned their attention to the light that the elfin Princess held in her hands and they nodded to one another.

  “You are the one, the Chosen, my dear. Is that not right, Father?” the woman said to her companion.

  “Most definitely, Mother,” he replied.

  Alemar was elated, and she was terribly grateful to these two wonderful creatures. She was smiling from ear to ear as they instructed her to kneel down next to them at the side of the dish. They did not bend, but rather they contracted their bodies so that they were the same height as she was. Clovis and Giles stood respectfully behind her. They all deeply felt the significance of this moment. Both Mother and Father extended their bulbous arms and touched Alemar gently. Upon their contact with her skin, she instantly learned all that she would ever need to know about her new friends, and her smile broadened even further. As she leaned over to peer upon the seeds, a warm and soothing feeling spread throughout her body, and the odor of Lalas was unmistakable. Within the dish, she could clearly see thousands of tiny, perfectly shaped oval pods. They were all light green in color and they radiated a power all their own. Father removed a pouch from somewhere beneath the folds of his skin, and he and Mother each grasped one of its drawstrings in their elongated fingers. They slowly opened it, looking upon one another tenderly as they did so.

  The Seedkeepers beckoned to Alemar to stand between them and they turned slightly so that she could walk to the edge of the container.

  “You must fill it yourself, my dear,” Mother said tenderly to her.

  They both offered the pouch to Alemar and she humbly accepted it.

  The wind ceased to blow and the insects stopped their buzzing. Clovis and Giles remained as still as could be. Not a sound could be heard in the entire chamber. Alemar gazed expectantly into the container that veritably held the seeds of the future for Eleutheria and all of its innocent and unsuspecting people.

  Before she gathered up the spores, with her free hand she grasped Mother’s, lifted it to her lips and kissed it.

  “Thank you,” she said, bowing her head.

  Mother dipped her bulbous chin, and Alemar was sure she saw what looked like a heavy tear slide slowly down her densely mottled face.

  “No need for that, my daughter,” she said.

  Alemar turned to Father and repeated the gesture. He smiled at her, a warm and knowing smile, before gently caressing her cheek with his strong yet surprisingly delicate hand. Leaning forward, she cupped her palm and reached deep into the pile of glistening seeds before her.

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Tamara reached back, grabbed her hood and pulled it over her head. The air was chilly now that the sun had started to set. The treetops obscured what remained of the light and the woods had taken on a gloomy, grey cast. Hector seemed unconcerned, but little appeared to bother him anyway. Tamara was by now quite anxious to reach the area of the woods that harbored the great Lalas.

  “We were so lucky that old man stumbled upon us when he did, Hector. Don’t you think? I doubt I could have done much of anything to stop that awful woman from harming us,” she said a
loud to her pony. “But, you know Hector, I believe that I was able to stir those leaves up quite nicely when she tried to attack me. I never did anything like that before. Do you suppose I could do it again?” she asked while they ambled through the forest.

  Tamara became so absorbed in trying to remember how she was able to have done what she did, that she barely noticed how far they had wandered. Hector’s head lolled back and forth lazily, accustomed as he was to listening to his mistress’ voice as they walked. The vegetation grew thicker, and the soil grew richer and more pliable with each step.

  “That wizard was remarkable, was he not, Hector? I wonder what kind of a name Premoran is. I never thought to ask where he was from. He seemed to know us, though. How odd,” she mused. “And that boy with him. Was he not more beautiful than anything you have ever seen? Wings. Can you imagine? The sisters will never believe me when I tell them.”

  She continued to chat with herself, as was her way. It calmed her nerves to talk, and it helped her to reason as well. Shortly though, a wonderful smell reached her nostrils. It was like nothing she had ever smelled before. She grew lightheaded just from breathing this marvelous odor in.

  “Oh, Hector. Could anything be more lovely?” She leaned her head back slightly and breathed deeply.

  She walked another few paces, and soon noticed that the bushes had given way to a blanket of dense, green grass that was soft and supple. In the near distance, she could see a line of trees that resembled a wall or hedge, and beyond it, the air was thick with mist that rose in billowing clouds and dissipated as it ascended.

  “We must be nearing Oleander’s home now. Hurry, Hector. Can you not walk just a bit faster?” she urged her pony.

  Hector carried his mistress up to the very edge of the vegetation, whereupon he dropped his head, almost unseating Tamara as he did so, and began to munch on the sweet grasses. She let go of the reins and let him have his way, as it was clear to her that she was not going to be able to force this stubborn pony to forsake this moment of pleasure.