by Jacob Cooper
“We were not all destroyed, child. There are many things taught about my forgotten people that are regrettably true; but, we were not all meddlers of Dark Influence, or full of evil as the Senthary and Changrual are fond of teaching. But in truth, most of my people were duplicitous by nature. I cannot help to whom I was born, no better than can you. I think more of myself as a member of the Gyldenal than part of any race. We have been made up of many peoples and cultures over time, but Arlethians make up the majority of the order.”
“But, how did you survive? How have you lived so long?” Reign protested. She found it increasingly difficult to separate what she knew as person and what she was learning at incredible speed within herself.
“It might be best to ask your father. I’m certain he would love to speak with you again.” A vast new pool of knowledge was springing up inside her. So far only driblets of insight had spilled over and been soaked up by her mind. There was more. Much more.
Do I dare tap into it? Allow it to flow freely?
As if sensing her uncertainty, Jayden reassured her. “Your father is a powerful man. His will is strong, knowledge and experiences rich, and abilities well-seasoned. Accessing his last breath within you may have…” She cut off but did not break her eye contact. “Reign, there can be side effects. Consequences.”
“Consequences? Such as what?”
“I’m not sure,” Jayden’s replied. “But, consequences are not always a negative occurrence, child. Regardless, you can control the access. You can close it off if you wish.”
Reign looked away. Crimson Snow whined and wagged his tail. The large pure white wolf was enormous in size but much older than he used to be. He lowered his head and rested it on Reign’s bed.
Does he sense father as well? she wondered.
Reign took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Inwardly, and somewhat timidly, she called for her father in ancient Arlethian. Threyil? She let the gates in her mind open to her father’s last breath.
The warmth and pure love that burst forth from inside her was all-encompassing. Thannuel’s release of pent-up emotions of the past six years flooded through his daughter’s mind and heart, filling her completely. The innocent intimacy of the feeling was so tender, so gentle. Reign let out a small laugh and then began to cry.
“I forgive you,” she whispered. “There was never anything to really forgive. But I miss you, Threyil.”
The voice inside that answered her was full and deep. Gentle but firm like the current of a fast-moving stream. Dhar vash alaqyn duwel partia, my little one. I have never left you. Not for one moment. Nor shall I for as long as you desire me to stay.
Crimson Snow stood up and wagged his tail so exuberantly that Jayden had to raise a hand in defense.
“Calm down, you old beast!” she snapped. “It’s not like you were his child!”
I don’t understand how this can be, Reign thought, knowing her father could hear and understand her thoughts. I am so happy, though. I have not been happy since you—
Since I died, Thannuel offered. It is no harm to say the truth. I am grateful to the Ancient Heavens that you still live. Your capacity for Light is significant. The Gyldenal will welcome you. But for now, I believe there are matters of greater urgency upon us. The Dark has spread. Something has happened in these last few days. It has been unlocked somehow.
Noxmyra, Reign recognized as she drew from her father’s knowledge. The Dark Mother.
The Ancient Dark, yes. Her name is Noxmyra, or the Dark Mother. She caused the downfall of the Ancients and dimmed the power of the Lumenatis. She assumes now that the Lumenatis’ Influence is so weakened that it can finally be snuffed out. Her forces even now are being gathered. I can feel it, as can all who are of the Lumenatis. But, darkness cannot see light; for all illumination causes darkness to be blinded and flee. Noxmyra does not know the strength and power that has been preserved.
As Thannuel spoke within Reign he supplied knowledge, both visually and audibly, to give greater depth of that which he said. Scenes played before her mind’s eye, helping her grasp his words. When she did not understand, Thannuel would automatically provide deeper insight, sensing the confusion. Reign also discovered that she could freely access any subject that her father had knowledge of and experience it herself, as if she had learned the information innately.
I don’t know the light or power you’re talking about, Reign said. Or this Lumenatis. Why haven’t any of us heard this before?
Its Influence has been hidden. Sequestered deep and far from Noxmyra and those who serve her. Since the Ancients fell, the Gyldenal have preserved it for more than four millennia. But, though hidden effectively, it has been too well anchored to be extracted completely.
Extracted? Reign asked. And then she understood as disparate pieces fell into place. The trees! The Lumenatis is in the trees!
She felt her father smile. Specifically the Triarch trees. The remaining Ancients, who formed the Gyldenal, sank the Light into them. The positive effects have radiated through much of the land of Arlethia, sustaining the land and allowing Arlethians to speak with the forest. Because of the Lumenatis’ Influence, the forest is more sentient than most know. But, we have to turn our attention there and leave the rest for later.
“Try again,” Jayden said.
Reign and the old wolf shepherd, along with Crimson Snow, had traveled to the northernmost edge of Arlethia, where they could find trees that spoke. Jayden’s speed had surprised Reign and she sensed the feeble-looking image Jayden conveyed was deceptive, likely on purpose.
With her father’s last breath inside her, Reign’s first attempt to speak with a Triarch had felt foreign, as if her senses were distorted. At the old woman’s urging, Reign once again lifted her palm to the large Triarch, forcing it flush against the bark. Her other hand clutched a small Triarch leafling.
The rush of the connection again flowed into her, first feeling invasive. Accessing her father’s capacity and strength, she honed the connection, focusing it and bringing it under control. There was a distinct difference in the way Reign discerned life around her. The subtle vibrations transmitted that allowed all wood-dwellers to feel their surroundings accurately were still there, but Reign’s discernment was deeper now. The way she understood her environment was through sensing the actual sentience around her. She felt the life itself, whether or not it moved. It was more than sensory refinement. This was awareness.
It is how the Lumenatis works. You are sensing the Light in the living elements that are present. Your reach of distance will increase with time. It still requires masterful sensitivity, Thannuel explained.
“Could you do this?” Reign asked her father aloud for Jayden’s benefit. “Sense the ‘Light’ as you call it?”
No, her father replied. Not like this. I’m not aware of any who could then or can now. In the Gyldenal Order, we have knowledge of many things, but our actual experience in them was limited. Most did have the capacity to use the Lumenatis. And…
Her father stopped speaking inside her. Reign had been repeating his words for Jayden to hear the conversation.
“And what?” Reign asked.
“The Light will not allow itself to be harvested by those who have selfish or ill intent,” Jayden told her. Reign felt Thannuel’s agreement with the statement. “We have had more than one occasion of this being attempted. The last attempt was actually not so long ago. But the Ancient Dark, that is free for the taking. Those who fail to capture the Light often turn and embrace the Dark.”
She broke the connection with the tree again. The leafling still provided some connection to the forest, although the channel was weaker than a connection created by direct touch with a Triarch tree. She sensed something. The forest was agitated. Afraid. It felt very familiar to her, the same type of feeling she received from the forest when she first saw the High Duke and the demon. The Helsyan.
“I am still afraid of him,” she said, not needing to clarify who she meant.
>
As am I, Thannuel admitted. But, that emotion can be recycled. It is internal friction. If you can capture the energy caused by it, you can easily redirect it for good within you.
Reign understood more as Thannuel provided further insight through his knowledge in her mind.
“All emotions have a scent,” she announced. “This is how Helsyans track.”
“Yes,” Jayden confirmed.
“But only when Charged.”
“Not quite. They can always smell the emotion. The Charge allows them to hunt it, unleashing the predator the Dark forged them to be.”
But, if you can capture the emotions before they take hold of you, you can counter the Helsyan’s advantage. Remember, all emotions are friction and create energy. Redirecting that power will aid you greatly.
Reign understood finally why she was still alive.
“After I saw you die,” Reign said, “I felt nothing. There was no emotion. Not right then and not for several days. I just sat there, breathing.” She hesitated. “Then came the anger. The hate, blame.”
“It saved your life,” Jayden admitted. “You changed inside that day. It was enough that when you did start to return to a normal emotional state, your emotional scent was different. The Helsyan would not have been able to identify you by that alone.”
But, Thannuel interjected, that will be different now. The chase-giver will undoubtedly sense you again, your scent. It is inevitable. You have emotionally returned to whom you once were.
Jayden nodded. “More or less.”
Reign did not answer. She felt the truth of her father’s warning. The chill in the air added to her growing anxiety. Jayden saw the concern on her face.
“That, right there,” the old woman said. “Hold that emotion, that fear.”
“That’s not hard,” Reign said, looking down. “I can’t help but feel it when thinking of him.” Thannuel sent forth reassurance through her.
“That is exactly the point, child. You cannot help the emotions you feel, but they are yours. You can control them, command them. All emotion is friction. Some emotions produce a greater level of energy but they all produce some. Capture the friction and recycle its energy. Direct it.”
“How?” she asked, but then she knew. Her father showed her his experience in the form of a memory. Because it felt as if it were her memory, it felt familiar once again. Instead of trying to truncate or overcome the emotion—fear in this case—she let it completely engulf her. The fear peaked and she began to shake as if in mortal terror.
Good, Thannuel encouraged. Let it build.
Reign’s whole frame shook almost uncontrollably.
Now! her father said.
“I can’t grab it! It’s too large!” Her voice trembled. Thannuel reached out and added his strength and serenity. Inside herself, Reign felt as if she were expanding and being lifted, though she physically did not change. And then, within herself, she could see the fear. All of it. The ancient word came.
“Relitha!” she commanded out loud. Immediately, the emotion that had been swelling within her ceased. It waited, contained. She could sense it waiting. Waiting for…
Strength, she said inside. The vision of the fear she saw morph to something new within her and felt power begin to unfold itself within her limbs and joints. She knelt down on one knee, closed her eyes and tensed. The ground seemed to give way slightly and she readied herself.
Reign launched. The air around her rushed with wild noise as she shot upward. Her momentum slowed as she reached roughly fifty feet in the air. The amazement of what she had just done was exhilarating. She shot herself down with the last bit of energy and landed on the earth the way she had begun her jump, on one knee.
“That was…incredible!” she exclaimed, looking up at Jayden. Reign felt her father’s own amazement. I could never have contained an emotion that swelled that large inside me. I’ve been humbled by my young daughter!
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Jayden replied. “Now see if you can redirect some of that friction for something useful.”
“But I don’t feel afraid anymore.”
“What do you feel?”
“Excitement!” Reign exclaimed.
“And? Is that not an emotion?” Jayden asked.
“Oh, right.”
It still took some time and effort, but Reign eventually channeled the excitement into increased sensory perception and reconnected with the Triarch in front of her. After a few moments, she pulled back with grave concern.
“It has happened again,” she said. “What I saw when I was young. More this time, though. A large portion of the forest has been killed. It is cold, petrified.”
Death, decay, entropy. These are all consequences of the Ancient Dark. It is what she seeks for all things. The Senthary have discovered an Influence that accelerates and focuses her power.
“But,” Jayden interrupted, “it can be overcome. The Light renews life, brings lands back to life hundreds of years after they have died. It appears to be a natural cycle of life, but it is deeper than this. It is the struggle between two opposing forces: one to create and extend life; the other to bring decadence and ruin. We are the determining factor as to which has greater hold. If the Dark’s Influence can be accelerated, so can the Light’s. The Dark cannot ever fully extinguish the spark of life, only dim it. This is why the lands cycle back to life eventually after their seeming demise.”
“How can it be overcome?” Reign asked. “I don’t understand that.” She sensed that neither did Thannuel.
“The Lumenatis promotes life. It sparks the fire of existence.” Jayden said no more, as if that explained everything. From off her shoulder she removed something a little less than four feet in length and wrapped in furs. As she revealed the item, she said, “For now, though, it’s time for practice.”
Inside the fur wrappings was a sword. The blade was dark, almost pewter color. Jayden lifted it with two hands and extended it to Reign. Crimson Snow began to pounce back and forth playfully, turning in circles and barking. As Reign timidly reached out for the weapon, she felt her father’s excitement grow. Her eyes widened at the enthusiasm he felt. Having never truly held a sword, the hunger inside her was strange, but she yearned for it. As her hand grasped the hilt, she smiled and looked at Crimson Snow. She repeated Thannuel’s words that she heard in her mind.
“Think you can still catch me, Elohk, my old friend?”
The wolf huffed and took off through the woods at a sprint. Reign, sword in hand, was not even a pace behind.
And now we begin! Thannuel said.
Reign thrust the sword into the ground and leaned against a mound in frustration.
“Why can’t I do it?” she asked, exasperated. “I know how but my body won’t listen!”
Crimson Snow was still full of energy after their hours of sprinting through the forest, dodging and sparring with each other. He nudged at Reign’s hip, trying to goad her into continuing.
“No!” she said.
Crimson barked at her.
Elohk doesn’t think you should quit so quickly, her father admonished.
“It’s been half a span of hours! My arms and legs are shaking and won’t move like I tell them to. In my mind, I see the actions and myself carrying them out, but my body is reacting like a clumsy oaf!”
Reign could feel her father thinking of a response. It was an odd sensation.
Your mind knows how to fight with steel because it can draw on my knowledge and skills. But your muscles and joints still have to execute the movements, and they are new to you. You haven’t developed the muscle memory or flexibility yet. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time it will take for you to physically train yourself properly. We must continue, daughter.
“Why me? Why did you choose me? Why not Hedron? Why not Aiden? Both seem like better choices.”
A last breath can only be passed to a blood relative of close relation. At least, that’s what we believe. Children, siblings, pa
rents. Maybe a first cousin or grandchild, but that might prove unsuccessful.
“Not even a spouse,” Reign added, accessing her father’s knowledge.
Correct. Only a blood relation. And you were there, my little one. You saw what happened and had first-hand knowledge, though I know you did not understand at the time. My last breath passing to you would provide the best advantage.
“Why didn’t it happen sooner? I mean, why didn’t I get this sooner? Your last breath?”
I tried relentlessly but could not get through to you. You felt my attempts, but did not understand them. Love is the conduit. That must exist for the last breath to successfully pass to the intended recipient.
Reign felt a pang of guilt well up inside her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I just…I didn’t know how to—”
I know. I don’t blame you. Your anger was equal to the guilt I felt for not surviving. But, the anger and hate shielded you.
Her mind conjured up memories of the old man with a scar on his cheek who visited her after her father died.
I know your life has not been easy because of this. But, Reign, I love you and your brother more than I can express.
She felt the warmth inside her again as her father expressed his feelings.
Your brother protected you well. He did what needed to be done. You would have been in grave danger if anyone had known you still lived, as well as those you love. High Duke Wellyn would have sent him or others for you.
The Helsyan, Reign thought.
Yes.
“And yet, the danger existed just the same. Hedron’s silence did not protect mother and she died because of me. And Hedron nearly so.”
Your mother died for you, not because of you. She waits for us with the Lumenatis where all that possessed Light during life return when their time on Våleira ends.
“Does she remember us? Does she still…love us?”