Aruters

by D Leon D.

  Ramsil felt how his heart beat strongly, his sight vibrated with every beat, he felt that at that moment he could breathe more, as if he were becoming bigger, he saw on the wall how his shadow extended, changed of shape, he was no longer the same,, he saw the soldiers paralyzed by fear, one of them attacked him hitting him with a spear in his arm, arm?, Ramsil looked at the place where he had been wounded, his skin wasn’t the same, almost all his veins were lighted up by a neon glow, he knew he didn’t have time to analyze it, he’d have time later.

  - It’s an Aruter, run! –One of them shouted, but none of them could run, Ramsil threw himself on top of them, and like a beast, he took their lives. It was as easy as breathing, that’s how that moment had been for him.

  When he felt calm again and his breathing became slower and less heavy, he felt a little dizzy, but not weak, he saw his skin again and it was again his own skin, but it was still glowing, there was no noise in the mine, he turned to look for Onevin and saw him at the end of the hall, he was unconscious and a woman dressed like the army had him in his arms.

  - I’m sorry to have pushed you, I had to protect him –The woman said, referring to Onevin.

  CHAPTER 14

  The woman had left Onevin on the floor of the mine and had helped move the corpses in silence; none of them –Ramsil or her– had made any comment about what Ramsil had managed to do, what had really happened?, the woman got closer to the man with the dagger on his chest, she removed it and save it. It must belong to her.

  - Is that your dagger? –Ramsil asked.

  - Yes –she answered while she finished pushing the last corpse.

  - So it was you who killed the guard in the attack in Aruland.

  - I could have done something more –she said lifting her shoulders and letting herself fall until she was sitting– did you know you could do it?... change of shape, I mean.

  - No, Ramsil answered after thinking about it for a moment, and then it had happened.

  - You must be the carrier of the Feider with that ability.

  - Are you on our side? Are… are you a carrier?

  - Yes and no, unfortunately. I come from the temple, and yes, I came to help you, I know where we can go to be safe, but we must wait for Onevin to wake up, it’s best if we rest a little, we’re safe for now.

  Ramsil looked around him, a dozen of corpses, minus one: Her. Yes, they were safe there and he felt tired, he sat on the ground and allowed himself to think about some little things before allowing himself to sleep, Ycze, Ybrian, Feider, carriers; he sighed and looked at that nameless woman.

  - I’m Ramsil, what’s your name?

  - Vicnelia –She answered without opening her eyes.

  “Vicnelia”, he would add it to the list of people in who he could trust, it had grown considerably during the last days, that was a good thing, so many events in so little time, he must have been as exhausted as he assumed because he slept the way he only used to sleep when he was at home, a home that didn’t exist anymore and had been reduced to debris and ashes, in spite of all that, he slept peacefully.

  When he woke up, he saw Vicnelia and Onevin talking, Onevin saw him and gave him a gesture of approval, he also trusted her, he came closer to them and they talked about what had happened the day before, Onevin briefly commented about his vision, he had already almost forgotten everything, Ramsil skipped that, the images were blurry and it was little what was saved in the memory. They had lost the last Agatha crystal.

  - So, what is that place where we’ll be able to be safe?

  - It’s called Vicnelia –Ramsil stared at her with doubt on his face.

  - Like you?

  - No, I as it, you see, when I was a child, an army attacked Vicnelia, they were recruiting children for the army of the temple, during the attack I fell and I lost conscience, I woke up later at the temple, the only girl, while I was unconscious they referred to me as “the girl from Vicnelia” and I decided that that’s how I was going to be named, that my name would always remind me of the place I am from.

  - I’m sorry –Onevin answered.

  - Yes… she said giving a sad sigh– you know what? I want to go back there; I know it’s safe, let’s head out now, the sooner the better.

  The three of them went out of the mine, with the scriptures. Onevin stayed behind them, feeling nostalgic, Ramsil had a story, Vicnelia too, they had memories, he didn’t have one, all his life he had been at the temple, the only family he could’ve had had been his masters of the council, and he had taken the life of two of them, he let some bitter tears fall, it was strange to cry. They went through the Exile of crystals, but not in the direction of Sonyei’s temple, neither toward Aruland, The exile was truly a labyrinth.

  - This is much bigger than I had thought –Ramsil commented.

  - You have no idea –Vicnelia answered in a lower voice.

  They kept on walking until they found some sort of village, it was almost part of the exile of crystals, the same strange vegetation, in addition some crystals had formed disorganized, they couldn’t almost distinguish the end, now Vicnelia –The village–was part of the exile of crystals, they belonged to each other.

  - You can walk a little, it’s safe. I want to be alone for a moment – She mentioned going deeper into the small village.

  - Are you all right? –Ramsil inquired into when he had stayed alone with Onevin, he only answered by nodding with his head, downplaying everything he felt inside.

  - Let’s look for some water, we have walked too much.

  There was a stream of crystalline water, it seemed as it had always flowed through the same place, they sat and Ramsil noticed that he felt like part of that place, Onevin thought the same way, this was something new to him, nature imposed without being violent, everything was part of everything else, they melted without mattering the frontier between what some hands built and what nature formed. At the temple, Onevin always felt protected and safe, but in Vicnelia he felt at peace. Ramsil thought that it was a good place to start, in the silence and tranquility, that place was almost a virgin territory, there was one thing missing for him.

  - Onevin, I can’t stay.

  - I know why you say that.

  - Yes, I must go back for her.

  CHAPTER 15

  Ycze was found sitting in the corner of the pit, holding her knees with her hands and every so often listening to the respiration of the beasts she had seen, how could someone have Aruters like some kind of pet? It was madness. She had no idea how long she had been in there, but she didn’t see an exit nearby, every once in a while she thought about Windark and that gesture asking her for silence, she assumed she’d soon know. She heard some steps outside of the pit and some moments after she saw Windark’s face again.

  - I’m going to help you, but you’re going to have to be very quick, just nod if you understand what I’m saying –Ycze nodded with her head– Sonyei will come soon, he’s going to take you again to the Agatha room and you know what he will try to do, the plan I’m proposing could work, you see… when he breaks the crystal you’re going to need to use the ability of your Feider, try to regenerate while the crystal tries to take effect, that should block it, stand up and get out of the room, turn left twice and two guards will help you get out, reunite with the carriers and warn them that Sonyei has Aruters, I still don’t know how he plans to use them, but he will, if he manages to control them, he will go after the carriers –Ycze hadn’t stopped nodding, but he still asked– Are you understanding me?, I wish I could be of more help, but for now I can’t. Get ready, Ycze, Sonyei is coming.

  She lost sight of Windark, and up next she heard the noises again, the beasts were devouring something lifeless, because there was no other sound but the suction and the noise of their teeth, then she recognized Sonyei’s voice.

  - Is she awake?

  - It seems so, she’s strong.

  - I know, that’s why she’s the right one to do it every time I need to, I don’t have many crystals
anymore –Sonyei came closer to the pit and with his hand he made the force field fade– Get out of there, Ycze –She lost sight of him again and then she saw how a rope dropped almost until the bottom.

  She climbed it, when she reached the top she saw that the rope was long, there were nine pits in that space forming a kind of “V”, in the pit at the point –The biggest and deepest–were the beasts, she had been in the adjacent pit, all of them had in the closest wall a thick metal ring with a rope tied up, with an evident end she had just realized –Although she thought few would have the same luck as her–it was almost diabolical. They went out of that hallway, Windark had her taken by the arm and didn’t look at her, they went through some doors and hallways and they got to the Agatha room, Windark had to tie her up to the chair, but he didn’t make it tight enough, before going out through the door he showed her two fingers and pointed left without Sonyei being able to see.

  - Let’s not lose time, Ycze, you know what I need the most from you at this moment is the name of the fifth carrier, try to give it to me and I’ll see you have some concessions –Sonyei spoke while he was preparing everything, it seemed like a choreography of studied movements.

  With everything ready to start, he stood in front of her with the crystal in his hands, he broke it and started walking towards the table, when the gas was starting to become dense in the room, Ycze began to give a glow to the veins in her body, activating her ability to regenerate her wounds. Sonyei couldn’t see it, but he heard the noise of the door suddenly opening, he thought for a second that someone had come in, while Sonyei was looking for Ycze with his hand, whom should be in the chair, she ran, «Focus, twice on the left, two guards» she sprinted, later she would have time to thank Windark for the favor, when she reached the end of the first hallway, there were the two guards, they grabbed her with force by her arms and started guiding her with brusque movements, she got scared for a moment, but she realized that whoever walked by her side wasn’t surprised by that, it must have happened very often and it had to be convincing, that’s why they had been so rough, they got her out through a side of the temple, one of them entered in a rush while the other one pointed out the paths to avoid, she had to cross the desert again, he gave her water and wished her luck, she turned and started running through the desert.

  She didn’t turn at any moment, she ran and ran avoiding the zones she had been warned would be guarded, the information was very useful. She reached the edge of the exile of crystals after two changes of phase of the moons, she was exhausted, when she barely felt hidden from anyone’s sight, she allowed herself fall on the cold ground, breathing heavily until she managed to catch her breath, when she thought she could continue walking she stood up, she didn’t know well if they would be in the mine, perhaps they had stayed in Aruland, however she decided to walk until the mine, she wanted to spend a tranquil night, her last hours had been a disaster, the mine would offer her tranquility, at least she hoped that.

  CHAPTER 16

  On her way to the mine she had time to think about the things that had happened recently, specially about Windark, why had he helped her escape?, and not only that, he had asked her to warn the others that Sonyei had Aruters, she still couldn’t believe such madness, he was feeding them, which didn’t help her clarify the doubts. When she saw the entrance to the mine she was petrified, it was full of guards everywhere, it was obvious they were dead, but what had happened?, she went inside running to check that Ramsil and Cornelium weren’t among the lifeless bodies, she went over big part of the mine, there weren’t signs of either of them, nor the scriptures, they must be safe, but now it would be a long job to find them.

  She decided to rest a little, so after walking for a while she found a room with a skylight and a well filled with water, a bonfire made of Ligna, she confirmed it was recent, they had been there, she allowed herself to sleep peacefully, she didn’t have dreams nor nightmares, there was nothing that could scare her after having seen those beasts, and nothing she wanted more than to wake up renewed with energy to find Ramsil, she missed him, in several ways.

  She woke up calmly, last time she had awoken that way she had fallen asleep without Ramsil and he had woken up beside her, she had to center her emotions, there was an imminent danger chasing them, all of them, especially them two for being carriers. She turned to the entrance filled with dead soldiers and saw him standing there, they remained for a moment looking at each other, they were both making sure they weren’t imagining it, Ramsil started walking toward Ycze, but she decided it would be less time if she walked too, she wanted to hug him, she was happy to see him well, although he was alone and without the scriptures, that didn’t matter, not at that moment. They hugged each other for a long time, or so it seemed to both of them.

  - Tell me that you have good news –Ramsil asked Ycze without stopping hugging her.

  - I’m better now, is that a good new?

  - The best of all –He released her and looked at her up front.

  - And do you have any?

  - Yes, but it will be better if you see it for yourself, shall we go?

  - Yes, let’s go –she hugged him again briefly to get out of the mine together and walk toward Vicnelia.

  CHAPTER 17

  They walked without keeping a distance between them, they both felt comfortable by being together, they talked. Ramsil told her what had happened, without many details, he thought it was best for her to see Onevin, some explanations would be implied, they reached Vicnelia and Ycze’s reaction gave Ramsil an idea of himself when he saw the village for the first time, she was amazed, and in that way, she looked beautiful. The first one to appear was Vicnelia; Ramsil hadn’t seen her since she left him and Onevin alone to step aside with her memories.

  - Ycze, she is Vicnelia, she is the owner of the dagger.

  - It’s a pleasure to see you again –Vicnelia commented, although she knew Ycze wouldn’t remember her.

  - For me, it’s a pleasure to meet you –She answered.

  - Welcome then –She made a gesture with her arm, as though she had just offered her the whole village.

  She felt very welcome, she felt comfortable, that village had something special, for Ramsil everything was in a perfect balance, but Ycze remembered there were things she hadn’t told them yet, and they would change that peacefulness.

  - Ramsil, what happened to Cornelium?

  - I’m sorry, I omitted some details, but he is fine.

  - I have something to tell you, I didn’t escape by myself, I had help.

  - What are you talking about? What do you mean?

  - An old monk helped me, he’s on our side, or so it seems.

  - Of course he is, that’s why he sent me to you –Vicnelia intervened.

  - So you…

  - I have come by Windark’s order; we are both going to help you.

  - For now let’s go, there’s someone I want you to meet –Ramsil completed, interrupting her.

  They walked until the clear stream and there it was, Onevin, when he saw them he stood up to greet her.

  - I’m Onevin –He introduced himself to Ycze.

  - Onevin? –Ycze looked at Ramsil who confirmed what she was thinking.

  - Onevin also escaped from the temple, now we are three carriers.

  - Do you still have the Agatha crystal? –Ycze asked.

  - We lost it in the attack back at the mine –Onevin answered without giving details.

  - Why do you need it? –Ramsil asked– We are three carriers, we have support, we’ll be fine here.

  Sonyei wants the fifth carrier, and that’s not all –She made a pause and looked at them– I’m afraid that if he gets him he will be able to control the Aruters he’s hiding in the temple, we must defend ourselves.

  SECOND PART.

  The fifth Feider.

  CHAPTER 18

  Some days had passed and the carriers began to have a stronger bond, in the last changes of phase they had dedicated to know each oth
er, Onevin, for example, told them during a cold night that he had no memories that didn’t belong to the temple, he never knew why he was a carrier or how he had arrived to that place, he admitted that the closest thing to a family for him were the monks of the council, especially Darrell, he had always been closer to him.

  - It’s hard not having memories that you can say are your own –He said looking at the sky, he lay on his back.

  - I think that’s better than what Vicnelia had to go through –Ycze answered pointing her with a gesture on her face, she was standing up a few feet from them, she assumed the memories were vague for her, but being back at the village had to be difficult.

  - I… will go for more Ligna –Ramsil got up and got away walking.