by Tristan Vick
“What?! I thought Lord Dragoron was your teacher?”
“Dragoron was Darkthorne’s first pupil. I’m her second. It’s how I rose so quickly to the top of my order. It’s how I can do things not even the Highborn wizards are capable of.”
“So, let me get this straight. Your master,”
“Former master,” Zarine corrects.
“Your former master is mining Dragon’s eye crystals to build an army of unstoppable juggernauts so she can invade Koroth and break into the Nether Realm, all the while keeping her eye on the grand prize of locating the Eye of Halcion. Which, if she gets her blackened talons on, she can also use it open a portal to the Nether and flood the world with demons?”
“That about sums it all up, yes.”
“And if this fire demon gets out, then what?”
“The end of the world as we know it.”
I rub my chin and mull over the information for a bit. Then I ask, “And you have a plan, right? Please tell me you have a plan.”
“That’s where you come in,” Zarine says.
“Me?” I gasp. “How?”
“Because magic doesn’t work on you.”
I place my hand on my hip and clear my throat. “You teleported me here, didn’t you?”
“Yes, well, that’s different,” Zarine assures me. “Manipulating the world around you is different than manipulating you directly. I don’t have time to explain the details. What we need to do right now is get your clothes off.”
My right eyebrow rises to the top of my head as I eye Zarine suspiciously. “I beg your pardon?” I say, a bit taken aback. “Did I just hear that right? You want me to take off all of my clothes?”
“What I’m about to tell you is known to only the Grand Magus and myself. But the first of the seven seals to the Nether Realm has already broken. If the rest are broken, then Daeris Darkthorne will be able to open the portal to the Nether Realm and unleash her fiersome fire deamon. Someone must prevent this from happening by entering the Nether and repair the seal from within and prevent her from releasing Vulcanus and every conceivable evil on the planet.”
“And you’re saying that someone is me?” I point at myself, half in shock, but I already know what the answer will be.
“Precisely.”
“That still doesn’t explain why I must be the one to do it. Why not you? Or someone else?”
“Because the threshold between this world and the next is connected by magic. Passing over the threshold would, for any regular person be suicide. They would instantly fall victim to the thousands of deceptions designed to prevent the souls of the damned from escaping. In turn, they’d be trapped forever. But you…you can pass across the veil safely…and walk right back out again as if you were taking a stroll in the Imperial Palace’s gardens.”
“I sense a bit but coming on.”
“You can enter the Nether Realm, but first you must cleanse yourself in the mystic pool of Valoron.” She waves her fingers across the water, touching her fingertips lightly to the turquoise liquid and sending out a chain of ripples.
“And I’m sure you saw this in your vision as well,” I respond, hoping it’s all just a bad joke. But it’s no joke. Zarine makes sure I know exactly what is at stake here.
“If you refuse to bathe yourself in these purifying waters, you will not survive the trip into the Nether Realm. Once you pass through the barrier of between our worlds, or The Veil as it is called by us mages, you will freeze and your body will crystalize only to shatter into a thousand pieces as the slightest touch.”
“That wouldn’t be very pleasant,” reply. I stand in the middle of the floor overlooking the pool. I turn and look to Zee and try to process it all. But it seems so farfetched, even coming from her. A woman full of surprises.
Although, considering the strange stuff I’ve seen over the last few weeks, this wouldn’t be any stranger than any of that, I suppose. But I still have my reservations about Zee.
“Please,” Zarine pleads. Her eyes look genuinely scared and I can’t escape the looming feeling of grimness that comes over me. Also, in the time I’ve known her, Zarine has never once said please before. That’s how I know she’s telling the truth.
“Fine,” I say, after giving it some further consideration. “I’ll do it. Besides, the sooner we get this over with the sooner I can get back and prevent Ashram from killing all of my friends. No thanks to you.”
I start to unfasten my armor and begin undressing. Once I’ve cleared the tricky part, I peel of my undergarments and, finally, make my way down to my deerskin underwear. I stop and look up at Zee who is just watching me. Feeling a sense of bashfulness come over me, I cover myself slightly and refuse to go any further than this.
Zee raises her hand out to me, and offers to help me into the pool. I take it and step up to the edge of the glistening, turquoise water. Slowly, I dip my toe in then slip inside the steaming hot water. It feels soothing and gradually all the soreness in my muscles and bones fades away.
We wade into the middle of the shallow pool together, which comes up to me just below my chest. Next, Zarine extends both arms to me and says, “I need you to lie down in my arms. I’ll catch you under the water and bring you up again.”
I look at her, wondering how I can be sure this is not a trick, but she seems to have read my mind, for she answers my concerns without me even asking.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a trick. But you must completely engulf yourself in the water for the pool’s mystic energies to work.”
“I thought you said magic won’t work on me,” I say, unconvinced that this will work.
“Again, this isn’t magic. Not exactly. Like I said, there’s no time to explain two thousand years of mystic teachings. Just know that this sanctification will keep you safe should you need to pass through to the Nether.”
The though hadn’t occurred to me that Ashram would give up the sportsmanship of a good sword fight for a quick kill. But I suppose when grappling with a demon, one should prepare for the worst.
I follow Zarine’s directions, and turn away from her so that my back is facing her. Then, taking a deep breath, I let myself fall backward.
Waves ripple out as I go under. I sink down gently and feel the touch of Zarine’s hands which help guide me. Finally, I open my eyes and can make out the form of Zarine’s face through the greenish-blue liquid.
After a moment, I think it’s been quite long enough, but Zarine continues to hold me under. At first I think this must be part of the ritual, but when I can no longer hold my breath, I begin to struggle. Yet Zarine keeps a firm hold of my arms just below my shoulders, pushing firmly and holding me down.
This is when genuine panic starts to set in. Kicking and squirming, I try to break free of her grasp, but it’s no use. Reaching up I claw at her frantically, exhaling a flurry of bubbles, but after a desperate struggle my arms grow heavy with fatigue as the last of my breath is used up.
When I can no longer fight her off, and can no longer contain the burning feeling in my lungs, I open my mouth and inhale nothing but water. I feel my lungs fill up and I begin to choke. I cough out the last oxygen in my body and then begin to sink to the bottom. My eyes wide-open, I stare up at Zarine’s dark visage above me with a sweltering anger.
All I can think in my last moments is that I curse the day I ever crossed paths with Zarine Xankandi of Koroth.
“You bitch,” I say in my head. That’s when my back crashes into the bottom of the pool, sending up a sandy haze, and the greenish-blue of the water all around me dims to blackness.
4
Open your eyes. Wake up. Stand up. All I need to do is open my eyes, wake up, and stand up. I know if I can do that much, I’ll be all right.
Sucking in as much air as my lungs can handle, I sit up. I exhale. My heart pounds in my chest and I can feel my body surge with life. Slowly, I open my eyes to find a green jungle vista stretching out before me. I am sitting in a tree. I glance down at my arms
and legs, and I find I’m still wearing only my two-piece deerskin underwear.
“Arianna,” a voice calls. It’s deep and soothing and sounds near, but there are only trees and vines, soft moss and giant palm leaves. In the distance, I hear the melodic call of jungle birds and the screech of a monkey. But there are no signs of people.
“Arianna.” The voice speaks my name again, as though it’s summoning me to its location.
I run my hand up the side of the tree, feeling the tangle of vines and soft moss that cover its bark, and I rise to my feet.
Determined to find the voice, I grab a vine as thick as rope and tug on it to make sure it can support my body weight. Once I’m confident it can hold me up, I use it to lower myself down to the ground.
I set my bare foot onto the jungle floor. My toes sink into a patch of moss and soft soil. Everything around me seems tranquil. As though this place exists outside of a time of war, outside of a time where the thoughts of men breed greed and jealously and the desire for power. Everything here is simply as it would be minus the existence of man.
“Why have you come?” the voice asks me. “Why have you bothered my slumber?”
“Who’s there?” I ask out loud, but there is no reply. Still, I have the strongest urge to walk toward the light coming through the trees. So, I do.
After I traverse several meters of jungle terrain, the thick jungle opens to reveal a clearing. Inside the clearing is a stepped pyramid as tall as a small mountain. It pierces the canopy of trees. I realize that the voice that has been calling out to me is at the top. I don’t know how I know, I just know.
When I place my foot on the cold stone steps, I feel a chill go through me, but it quickly dissipates.
“Answer me, Arianna. Why have you come? Why have you awoken me from my age long slumber?”
“I don’t understand,” I reply. “Are you a dream? Am I dreaming this?”
“Yes and no,” the voice replies.
“It’s a dream but it’s not a dream?”
“Come close,” the voice says. “Let me see you.”
The climb seems to take forever. I climb the stairs until my knees feel weak and my feet are thoroughly sore, but I do not stop. The top is so near that I can’t quit. Not now. Not that I’ve come so far. I take a deep breath and climb the remaining tier of stairs.
One last step, and I stand before a massive square platform at the top. In the middle sits a giant pile of blue coils. It reminds me of a Sylak python except the scales are at least three times bigger and look much harder. Almost like scale armor.
I approach the coils and reach out my hand to touch them, but before I can they suddenly shift. I startle and step back only to watch the coils unwind in front of me.
The coils fall away to reveal a massive dragon lying before me. An actual dragon with fierce golden eyes and midnight blue scales upon leathery skin. And it’s staring right at me.
“Impossible…” I gasp.
“Why have you awoken me?”
It speaks to me, and yet its mouth and lips do not move. “I can hear you,” I say, touching my fingers to my temples. “In my head.”
“Yes…” it says as though that were common knowledge, and then turns its head away from me.
I take a step closer, but it turns its head back to me, its long slender neck swaying upon its massive body. When his eyes fix themselves on my position I stop. “I’ve come to ask for your help,” I say. It’s weird, because even though I don’t know how I got here or where here even is, I’ve managed to find a dragon.
“Help? Why would I want to help you, Arianna De Amato? You’re an Outlier. What use would a dragon have of someone like yourself?”
“I don’t know,” I say looking down at a patch of dirt upon the stone. I brush my fingers through my hair and look up again. “May I ask you something?”
“Yes, you may,” the dragon replies.
“You called me an Outlier. What does that mean, exactly?”
“It’s what you are,” the dragon answers. “It’s why magic doesn’t work on you.”
“Where is this place?” I ask, turning around and looking out at the lush jungle all around me. “I’ve never seen a place like this before. I didn’t even know so much green could exist in the world.”
“This is a holy place,” the dragon replies. “The last stronghold of the dragons. But this is not what is important. What is important is the reason you came to me.”
“I don’t know why I came” I say, looking back at my friend ‘Golden Eyes.’
“I have a name, you know,” the dragon says. “Not Golden Eyes. Apt, albeit a crude description.”
“Oh, you heard that?” I’m embarrassed that my thoughts slipped out so easily.
“Don’t be embarrassed. Telepathy takes some getting used to. Especially with a mind as inexperienced as yours.”
“And what precisely is that supposed to mean?” I ask defensively. I immediately regret snapping at the dragon, so I apologize. “Sorry, I’m just not used to the invasion of privacy. Having someone else rummaging around in my head takes, well, some getting used to.” After a long silence, I finally ask, “So what do I call you, then?”
“Halcion,” the dragon responds.
“How’s that…what I mean is…aren’t you supposed to be dead?”
“Oh, Arianna, you still aren’t aware of it, but we are both dead.”
“What?!” My heart beats furiously in my chest and I begin to hyperventilate. My chest grows tight and my lungs fight to take in air but they cannot. I begin to grow dizzy and I stumble forward. Unable to maintain my strength, I fall to my knees and look up at Halcion. Using my remaining air, I manage to wheeze, “What’s happening to me?”
Halcion rises up before me. He is as tall as ten men. He peers down at me with his golden eyes, which seem to sparkle as though they contain all the stars in the sky.
“Your time here is nearly up, little one. But before you go, you must answer my question. Why should I help you?”
“Because,” I say, clasping my throat as the air barely scrapes out. “I cannot save everyone on my own.”
“And you will not have to,” Halcion reassures me. It sounds as though his voice is growing fainter and fainter, as if he’s moving off into the distance somehow.
Suddenly the lush jungle all around me turns blurry and I grow lightheaded. Halcion comes in and out of focus at random, and when I can no longer fight it, my eyes roll back in my head and I feel myself falling to the side.
Instead of landing on the cold rock surface of Halcion’s perch, however, I hear a new voice calling my name. It’s distant, but it grows nearer and louder. I strain my ears, fighting against the darkness, as I try to make it out.
“Wake up!” screams the voice. It’s a woman’s voice. “Arianna, please, wake up!”
A sudden jolt hits me and my entire body shudders. After a moment, I feel it again. And then again. That’s when I feel a peculiar sensation. It’s wet and warm and sends a tingle up my spine that arouses my body out of the cold sleep it was in.
Opening my eyes, I see Zarine bending over me, her mouth pressed against mine, the softness of her lips upon my lips.
I sit up, brushing her aside, and spit out several pints of water. Coughing and hacking, I fight to take in a deep breath against the deluge I’m expelling.
Once again it appears I’m inside the cavern next to the mystic pool. I fall back onto my back and stare up a Zarine who has tears in her eyes. In fact, her black eye-liner is running down her cheeks and she looks like a total mess.
“Why are you crying?” I ask.
“Because I thought that I’d lost you!” she says. Unexpectedly, she takes my head in both hands and pulls me into her bosom and begins rocking me gently. “You died,” she sobs. “You died.”
“I know,” I say, my cheek mashed into her petite breast. “You drowned me.”
“I’m so sorry!” she blurts. “I had to do it. I had to. I had…”
/> I put my finger to her lips and silence her.
I stare up into her eyes and she gazes down into mine. Then the strangest thing happens. Before I can make sense of anything, Zarine’s lips are pressed against mine and suddenly we’re kissing each other.
I let out a sensual moan as her hands slide up my body, the warmth of her soft hands sending all manner of temptation into my skin. I feel her squeeze my right breast and that’s when I pull away.
“What’s the matter?” Zarine asks me.
“I can’t,” I say, sitting the rest of the way up and turning my back to her. She places her hand on my shoulder but I ignore her touch.
“I’m sorry,” Zarine tells me. “For everything. I had to be sure it was you. I had to be certain that you were the chosen one. The fate of all of Valandra depends on it.”
“Even so,” I say, rising to my feet. “You killed me to find that out. What if I hadn’t been the one?” I turn to look at her face so I can judge her reaction. She merely turns her eyes away from me and looks down at the glistening pool.
“Then you would be dead now,” she whispers.
“Exactly,” I say. Angered by her lack of empathy, I stomp over to my clothes. But for whatever reason, I pick up my sword instead. For a brief instant, I contemplate taking Zarine out here and now. For good.
“The test isn’t over,” Zarine says. “There is still one more trial you must undergo.”
I look over my shoulder, but to my dismay the cavern is empty. Zarine is nowhere to be found. Suddenly a cold blast of wind blows out the lamps. The entire cavern goes dark and I cannot even make out where I left my clothes. I feel around a bit for where I think they should be but they aren’t there. The gush of wind probably scattered them every which way.
“Great,” I mumble under my breath. “Just great.”
With nothing else to do but head back toward the mouth of the cave, I walk in the direction of the faint glow at the end of the cavern where the mouth of the cave will be waiting for me.