Apparently, it was too much to ask. As Yvonne opened up the wagon flap and glanced back inside, she saw the unthinkable and almost fell off her seat in shock.
All three children were gone.
***********************
She knew she probably should have screamed. Any sound out of her mouth would have been fine, but now it was already too late.
When the wagon had stopped, Alahim had shot out the back and into the night, Uvit barely on his heels. At first, she thought that they had planned something without her, but Lily had no time to be angry. She was after them before she could think what to do, only worrying that if she took time to alert the rest then she would lose Alahim.
At least, that’s how she rationalized it to herself.
Now, she tore into the forest, heart pumping wildly in her ears. Long, slender twigs whipped across her face and stung her body until tears started to flow. She brushed them off with her sleeve and continued on. As far as she could tell from the glimpses she got of Uvit, Alahim was traversing a path that was roughly parallel to the main road. Where was he going?
She was a good runner for her age, but already her legs were tiring and each time she drew in a breath it felt like fire was in the air. Was this how dragons felt? She did not know that dragon teeth gave spark to the gas brewed by small symbiotic organisms in one of their stomachs.
Her clothes had suffered several tears, but she pressed on. She was gaining on them. Only a little bit farther….
She was within a few feet of Uvit when he leaped a standing log but caught his foot on one of the protruding branches. He tumbled to the ground, sending out his hands to break his fall. He let out a cry of pain as Lily helped him to his feet.
“What is he doing?” she cried, as if Uvit had all the answers. “Why did he leave us?”
“Alahim is going to the Wall alone,” Uvit replied, fear in his eyes.
Lily was actually relieved. “But that’s his destiny. He should face it together with all of us, but maybe he can’t face it unless he’s alone.”
“No, no,” he said, shaking his hand. “Lily, you don’t understand. We have to catch him.”
She was about to protest about how tired she was of people telling her she didn’t understand things, but there was something about the pained look on Uvit’s face that silenced her even before she heard his words.
“We have to catch him,” he repeated, “because Alahim is not the One.”
***********************
The first streaks of light were arcing to spill over the plains to the west when the exhausted wizard reigned in his steed and leapt from the stirrups. The deafening roar of a nearby waterfall brought a slim smile to his lips. He landed mid-stride and raced to conceal himself behind large tree trunk at the edge of the clearing, careful to avoid looking directly into the shimmering reflection. It shouldn’t hurt him until he touched it, but he was none too ready to see the crimes he had committed if any images were to leak out. The horse circled around out of sight, awaiting his triumphant return.
The Wall of Glass stood in a small clearing, ringed by aspen and birch trees, woven together as if to prevent wary travelers from venturing too close. The wall of rock that loomed to the east was sheer, smooth, and massive. Corizaz let his gaze rise upwards, losing the mountains in the night long before he saw their end. The sharpest dwarf tool would be broken against these massive slabs of granite.
A single stream of water cascaded down from the heights, splashing on the rocks and forming a smooth sheen that covered the one passage through the mountains. From a few meters away, the Wall of Glass looked like nothing more than a glowing haze. At that point, it was safe to look at it. But when one dared move close enough to touch it, the Wall would force that person to come to realize the naked, inner truth of their being. And that was something no one could handle…except…
He moved closer to the tree as he felt Alahim about to enter the clearing. He was off to the side, hiding and projecting his life-force backwards so no one would be able to sense him. He merged himself with the tree, forcing his body to become like it. The small magergy disturbance he created would be imperceptible next to the events about to take place.
Alahim exploded out of the trees, Corizaz urging him on. The boy was running so hard he was in pain, but Corizaz did not let up, driving him closer to the Wall. Alahim was only a few meters away now! The first part of his plan was coming true right before his eyes!
Another boy burst out of the trees. “Stop him!” he shouted. Corizaz was surprised by this new arrival. Just who did this boy think he was speaking to?
A gust of wind came up, knocking Alahim off his feet and blowing him back. Corizaz felt the magergy in the wind.
He never would have believed what happened next if he hadn’t seen it with his own two stolen eyes.
***********************
Within minutes of Yvonne’s scream the party was off. Tarthur untied Wendimede from the back and galloped away with Yvonne riding behind him and holding on for dear life. They raced up the trail toward their original destination to head Alahim off if he circled ahead of them. Zelin was scurrying about, giving everyone orders best suited to their talents and equipment. Derlin’s horse Lazamare was smaller and trained for running in close quarters, so he grabbed Garseon and they crashed into the brush where Garseon determined Alahim had disappeared, some fifteen meters back. Zelin took the reins of one team while Dalin took what was left of the other. Valena rode with her brother, and Fientien backtracked their route, just in case Alahim was running away from the Wall.
Neither Tarthur nor Yvonne spoke, but both could almost hear the other cursing themselves in their heads. If only he had been a more vigilant father! If only she had been a more intuitive mother!
Wendimede’s flanks were glistening with sweat after a few minutes of hard galloping with two full-grown riders on her back. Tarthur barely noticed, and the poor animal sensed the importance of the task. She was pouring her heart out to get to Alahim in time.
Yvonne tightened her hands around Tarthur’s waist. “We’ll find him.” Her words convinced no one, not even herself.
“We just have to get there before he does,” Tarthur said. “We can block him from entering until we know what he’s doing.”
It was odd, Tarthur reflected, that they had spent months trying to get the One to the Vale, only now to be preventing him from entering. But Alahim’s unexpected disappearance had changed everything. What if he had been kidnapped? They had to reach the Wall before he did.
The land was starting to grey with the approaching sunrise just enough that Tarthur could discern the shapes around him. He saw a glow coming from the east, and knew that the Wall was close.
Wendimede hurdled the last obstacle on the path and crashed through the foliage ringing the clearing. Tarthur couldn’t believe his eyes. The first thing he saw was Alahim. The boy was struggling on the ground, Lily doing everything she could to hold him back. Yvonne let go of Tarthur and pushed hard on Wendimede’s rump, kicking her legs up into a straddle so that she was already running to Alahim by the time Tarthur reigned in his horse.
Relief surged though every ounce of Tarthur’s being. He needed to know why Alahim had bolted off without telling anyone before he let him enter the Vale. But, as he saw Alahim safe and sound, something was not right. The pommel of his blade flared to life, and as he spun, he could barely make out the shape of a figure at the Wall of Glass. His back was to Tarthur, and Tarthur could discern little more than his shadow against the shimmering Wall.
A flare of light came up as the figure placed his hand into the water, opening the gate and bridging the worlds of heaven and earth. Tarthur covered his eyes and looked away, but in that one second of light, he had seen. This could not be!
The figure was Uvit.
Chapter 11: Into the Wall
The crashing of water on the rocks faded away as he stepped into the soft mist. The glowing fog enveloped him, sealing him away
from the cares of the world in a cocoon of light. The sheen of the falling water was all that broke through.
He could see figures in the water, iridescent sprites zipping about, flaring into existence and fading out an instant later, the brightness of their lives barely a flash in the world around them. Armies rose and fell, fleeting kingdoms claiming dominion over a land that changed even as the people did.
The water was fascinating, but he had a purpose. Tentatively, he reached his hand out. Could he break through the smooth surface? He knew it was his birthright. But he had only been promised that he could break through. Would it be painful to do so? No one had ever mentioned what it would cost him.
He brought his hand up, taking in a deep breath and then releasing it. Now was the time, he thought to himself as he stretched out his hand towards the water, his five fingers contacting the surface simultaneously.
A sudden searing sensation shot through his consciousness.
Uvit came face to face with infinity.
There is no way to describe what happened next, but the best approximation would be to say that everything happened at once. Or rather, that was the way that Uvit saw the world. Only, it wasn’t just his world that he saw. No, the entire lifetimes of thousands of worlds all bombarded him at once. He saw rocks spinning together in the blackness of space, new suns rising on verdant, pristine gardens. He saw crumpled cities whose empty spires stretched up to a bloated, dying sun. Empty wind whistled through the battlements, forming sounds for no creature to hear. Dust lay on paths untrodden, from the bridal chamber of the princess to the command post lookout. He saw thousands upon thousands of worlds, some with lions, or gigantic eyes, or huge metal ships hurtling through blackness and firing beams of coherent magical energy.
His heart ached at the sadness and suddenness of it all. And people thought that the things they did or the choices they made mattered! He saw armies so mighty that he shuddered. At the push of a button, explosions that could have flattened the king’s castle rent the land asunder. Yet, no army was powerful enough to slow time for even the smallest fraction of a second.
As Uvit reeled from the staggering consequences of his visions, he noticed a red streak jumping between worlds. What was this thing common to such disparate lands? It was not the Creator. Uvit could feel him too, watching over everything. His mind was not bound in the same way Uvit’s was. Uvit focused on the streak, bearing down on it as it jumped back and forth.
He caught it with his thoughts, focusing in on the streak even as he saw it descend on a world Uvit recognized. Time began to have meaning again. He saw a small house. The streak entered the window, and arched for a figure in the corner Uvit knew all too well.
It was his mother.
The streak blended with her before tarrying ever so slightly as it rushed out and onwards.
It was then that Uvit saw himself. Time dissipated. He saw all versions of himself. He saw himself as a tiny speck, growing within his mother. He saw himself as an old man, lying in a bed alone. A frazzled grey beard spread out down his chest and covered his protruding ribs almost as well as the loose skin that hung around them. His breathing was labored and painful. With each gasp of breath Uvit felt himself draw in, he felt the pain of his chest fighting against death. Only a thin blanket covered his knobby knees. He had not been able to walk for many months. Why was he dying alone? Where were his friends?
A new image superimposed itself on the others. He was standing over a pit of raging fire, three intertwining spirits bursting from the sword in his grip. Light, Darkness and Truth were one in his hand. An army of skull knights spread out before him, as a monstrous presence lumbered in from the sea.
He couldn’t take it anymore. His vision zoomed out, and the smallness of his body became more and more apparent. Soon he was lost again—nothing when viewed through the fullness of time.
He was so insignificant. He was so small and the universe so big, that he vanished to the point of being indistinguishable from nothing. His heart was dying, failing as it saw no purpose to continue. But he must continue. He must push through.
The vision left him as suddenly as it had come.
He was standing in a tunnel, but there was a light at the end. The light was warm—inviting even. His soul knew he was home. Uvit’s face broke into a smile.
His hair flew about his face as he felt Tivu rush in. Uvit’s smile widened. After centuries of anguished waiting, Tivu finally had his prize.
A shadow fell across Uvit’s boyish face as a young figure stepped into the light. The new figure was dressed in a yellow cloak emblazoned with red thunderbolts. Eagles’ feathers had been split in half lengthwise and were attached to his forearms and shoulders.
“Welcome, friend.” The figure bowed as he spoke and his tone was as kind as his words. “Thank you for bringing Tivu back to me. I have waited long for this day.”
“I only did what he asked of me,” Uvit replied. “I am glad to have done my part.”
“You speak modestly for someone who has passed through the Wall. You must know that your work has only begun. It is not given to mortals, even you, to know more than a hint of your own destinies.”
Uvit knew he was right. He wished nothing more than to forget about everything he had seen in the Wall and run towards the light. “I will do my best,” was all he said.
Tivu spoke, joy spilling out into his words. “Thank you…thank you…it’s been so long….” was all he could manage.
“Do you know me?” the figure turned to Uvit and asked, carefully awaiting his response.
Uvit nodded. “You are Grandmaster Jeuinem, keeper of the Power of Air. But I thought you were old.”
Jeuinem chuckled. “In here, our bodies are what we make of them. There is no old, no weak. Some who have had ailments in life choose to keep them, but we can all run or jump or fly as we wish.”
He paused, and then offered his tantalizing invitation. “Would you like to come in?”
The light was pulling him in, calling out to him to visit it just for a brief moment. Somewhere in the back of his head, he knew he had to resist, or else he would be stuck here forever. He needed something to latch onto, some reason that he would need to return to the outside world….
His mother’s face came to him—her small nose, rounded eyes, her gentle way of washing her red-gold hair as she watched over him. His mother, the most beautiful woman in the whole world….
In spite of his inner turmoil, Uvit’s outside remained motionless. Not one freckle on his face moved to touch its neighbor. He spoke simply. “It is not yet my time. She needs me.”
Jeuinem nodded and smiled. “You have proven yourself worthy. Not only your mother, but the rest of the outside world needs you. They need this.”
He reached into the folds of his cloak and brought out a huge yellow and red eagle’s feather. The feather was on top of a red cushion with gold tassels, and a small, rolled up scroll made the slightest indention on the pillow next to the feather. Jeuinem floated the pillow over to Uvit, and the boy reached out and took the gift.
“The world has been too long without the services of the Power of Air,” Jeuinem continued. “Use it well, my friend.”
Uvit nodded as he held the sacred relic tenderly, leaving it to perch on his hands like a delicate petal that could be blown away.
Grandmaster Jeuinem turned his back, put his arm around Tivu’s shoulder, and they both disappeared into the light.
***********************
Tarthur knelt on the ground, trying to stop his head from spinning. Yvonne was holding Alahim, who had now stopped struggling. What was Uvit thinking?
And yet, Tarthur had seen Uvit walk through the Wall. This made no sense! Was the force that would stop him on the other side? Uvit couldn’t be the one, because…
Tarthur’s thoughts froze in his brain. The prophecy came rushing back to him.
For he that was lost to be restored.
The lost one wasn’t referring to Yan—i
t was Tivu.
The broken thoughts spinning through Tarthur’s head all fell together at once, as if a shattered pane of glass could remake itself. He understood everything.
By his name shall he save him.
By his name…. Tivu—Uvit.
But it left one very important question.
The son of the man with the ultimate power…
Who was Uvit’s father?
Tarthur knew the boy who stepped out of the mist was Uvit—his body looked the same and his hair was the same color. His face even resembled what Tarthur remembered of it. But his eyes were now deep-set and troubled. He bore the look of one who has seen more than any man alive, and Tarthur knew it to be true. There was power in his eyes as well as wisdom.
He didn’t notice anything else, because at that moment he was caught up in such a surge of magergy that he knew everyone around him could feel it. Uvit stepped forward carrying the Air Feather. Tarthur was one of the few men alive who had seen the feather, and it was just as he remembered it when Yan had sacrificed himself.
Uvit brought forward the feather and thrust the cushion skyward.
An identical feather materialized next to it, and Tarthur almost gasped with excitement.
As he looked up, he saw the feather shimmer into a familiar silvery liquid. The liquid turned and twisted, hesitant and unsure. It bubbled and popped, finally forming something roughly the shape of a man. The liquid settled into place, and standing before them, fully restored, was Yan.
Tarthur flew into the man’s arms and embraced him, tears falling down his cheeks.
“I knew you’d come,” Yan said, looking more like the senile old man Tarthur had rescued than the formidable ninja-dragon.
“We couldn’t leave you,” was all Tarthur could think to say. “You didn’t have to do that. You didn’t have to transform into something that would be sent to the dimension of used magic.”
Lands of Daranor: Book 02 - ProphecyQuest Page 18