Marl looked at his daughter. “You're right, Elias. According to that prophecy, we've nothing to worry about.” His tone and expression made Elias feel as if there was something more.
Elias opened his mouth to speak, but Marl held up a hand without looking at him. “Do you want to fight again, Elias? Do you want to immediately depart and go off to wage more war against the scourge of our islands?”
Elias set his jaw. “Yes.”
“Then we have a hike ahead of us. We're going to the caldera, the summit of our mountain. I hope you're powerful enough to make this climb.”
Coral whirled to face Marl, her eyes wide. “Father, no!”
Marl held up his hand. “Be quiet, Coral.”
“But father-”
Marl snapped at her. “I said be quiet. I am still the speaker for the gods, and I am still the chieftain of this village. You will do as I say.”
Elias had never heard Marl speak as harshly as this before. It felt as if the older elf knew something he wasn't telling. Elias turned to Jonas, who stepped back, holding his hands up.
“This is your show now, Redwood. You make the decisions here. I'll be at Port Greenreef, awaiting further orders.”
Elias was confused at the sudden turn of tone. Coral was upset with him, Marl seemed angry, and now Jonas was leaving. He suddenly had no idea what was going on, or what the right choice was. He felt very alone.
Marl was looking at him now. “Well, Elias?”
He squared his shoulders, winced, and nodded. “We'd better get walking then. That storm sounds close.”
Marl nodded gravely. “Indeed it does. Coral, Jayd, and a few others will be joining us. I need to gather a few things before we go.” He paused, looking Elias in the eye. “If you do this, there is no turning back, no turning away. You will be a part of the prophecy of the gods, whether you want it or not.”
Before Elias had a chance to respond, Jonas disappeared around the side of the shelter. Elias looked over at Coral, her green eyes wide, her blue skin a shade more pale than usual. A cool wind blew from the mountain, and ran a chill up Elias's spine.
Chapter Seventeen
14th Waxing Flower Moon, Year 4369
The small procession wound its way up the mountain trail. Marl led the way, followed by Jayd, Coral, then Elias. Six more sea elves, whom Elias had never seen or met before, followed behind him, dressed in simple, one piece, white leather sarongs. Stitched with bright red patterns, there was a definite ceremonial look to the garments. Marl explained that they were acolytes of their religion, and lived in a village separate from the rest of the tribe. Occasional deliveries of supplies kept them fed, and workers from the tribe performed the upkeep on their buildings, so that they could devote their time entirely to learning.
Everyone in the party, Elias included, carried bundles of sticks, firewood, tinder and kindling, slung on their backs with strips of white cloth. While not overly heavy, Elias had to walk gingerly to keep the straps from rubbing his wounds. His left arm was in a sling, keeping it supported, so that while he was still sore, the trek didn't cause him too much undue pain.
This mountain was taller now that Elias was halfway up than he had guessed it to be. Even here, well below the summit, the entirety of the southern slope of the island was spread out below. From this point, he could see the stone buildings of Port Greenreef, like tiny model houses from this distance. His view out to sea was greatly extended as well, and he could see the black storm clouds closing in, flashing brightly with lightning, the sound of thunder muffled at this height
The village at Seagate was mostly invisible in the slight haze from the humidity, but he could see the lodge, the lagoon, and the Seagate itself. There was a small sparkling light, barely visible from behind the lodge, where the remaining villagers were holding a small feast. There definitely wasn't any shortage of resources on the biggest of the islands.
Steps were carved into the side of the mountain, broad and shallow, about two of his paces deep. They had started just north of Seagate, and wrapped around the southern face of the volcano. The trees were beginning to thin somewhat as they proceeded eastward and upward, being replaced by stunted versions of the jungle flora, filled in with shrubs and berry bushes.
His back hurt. Walking took a lot more of his back muscles than he had figured it would, especially since it was mostly stairs and inclined paths. He was sure his stitches had pulled a little, but he refused to reach back and check, partially because that would hurt a whole lot more, partially because he didn't want to show weakness to those around him.
The sun was dipping into the sea to the west, the southern clouds rolling across its face as they reached the edge of the crater. The caldera was between them and the setting sun, so seemed to be entirely shrouded in darkness. The rim of the crater had been carved out into an archway long ago, to allow for passage into the volcanic crater, but the stonework had fallen long ago and been moved to the side of the path. The intricate designs that had once decorated it were all but worn smooth by the passage of time and weather.
Elias, Marl, Jayd and Coral all paused at the edge of the crater, as the other six members of their party proceeded ahead of them, lighting torches and setting them into holes carved into the rock on the stairs down. Ancient wooden rails ran on either side of the broad, steep path that led down to the steam-shrouded base of the crater.
He had never seen anything like this before. Even in Silva Aestas, where ancient stone and wood carvings abounded, it didn't feel this old. The storm clouds rolled around the base of the mountain, obscuring the view of Port Greenreef below.
After the acolytes had descended into the mist, Marl led the way down, Jayd at his side. Coral had not spoken a single word during the trip. She walked next to him, staring forward, her usual bubbly, happy demeanor replaced by silence. She paused for a moment at the abrupt edge of the mist. Elias stopped too, looking down at her. Her green eyes were barely visible in the flickering torchlight.
“You don't have to do this, Elias. Even now, we can turn around and walk away. You can wait and heal and return to the fight when you're better. The gods never grant any favors. Nothing is free.”
Elias frowned. “What are you saying?”
She stepped forward to embrace him, her cold exterior melting away. “I'm just scared, my love. I don't know what they will ask of you. I am afraid the price will be too high.”
He bent down to kiss her. “I don't know either. But if they can renew my strength and let me fight again, I have to pay their price. I can't lose the use of my arm. I can't stop now.”
She pressed her lips against his again, then threw herself into it passionately, wrapping her arms around his neck. Breaking away, she whispered, “Please, please don't do this.”
He pulled back, and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Why are you so scared?”
Coral looked down, her black hair falling forward to hide her face. “I am afraid they will take you from me.”
Elias lifted her chin up, his blue eyes looking into her emerald eyes. “Nothing in this world could keep me from you. Besides... your own gods say we'll be together. So there's that.“
Coral didn't say anything else, she just bowed her head and nodded.
They completed the trip down the path, her hand dwarfed in his. Their companions waited for them at the edge of a body of water, the fading light of the setting sun completely blotted out by the thick steam rising from the smooth surface. Elias could not tell how large the lake was, but the eerie silence made it seem enormous, the mist muffling any echoes.
Marl stood to the left, Jayd to the right, and the acolytes were on either side of them, forming a semi-circle, their backs to the water. A small bonfire was starting in front of a carved stone cauldron that was filled with steaming water.
As they approached, the acolytes stepped towards them, white cloths in their hands. Marl stepped towards the cauldron, tossing a handful of powder into the water.
“These elves will
wash you before you enter the sacred waters of the caldera. Nothing but your body must enter the water, so you will leave your clothes here. Someone will be with you, to keep you from drowning; the trance can be debilitating to someone who has not experienced it before.”
Jayd stepped forward. “I will be with you while you float. It is important that you be able to focus on what the gods will be telling you. There should be no distractions, and I know that my daughter would distract you.”
He set down his bundle of firewood, and three of the acolytes removed his shirt and sling, dipping their cloths into the cauldron and washing him. The water smelled of herbs and minerals, almost like cedar and lavender. As he knelt so they could reach his shoulders and head, the other three elves undressed Jayd and started washing her as well. Her body was very similar to Coral's, slender and lithe, but with wider hips and fuller breasts. If she was any indication as to what Coral would be when she was older, then she would maintain her beauty indeed.
He averted his eyes, looking at the ground in front of him. Jayd was beautiful, no doubt, but he didn't want to stare. Especially not in front of her husband and daughter. He rose to his feet as the elves washing him loosened his trousers, and stepped out of them. As self-conscious as he felt, the solemnity of the situation helped him stand still as the acolytes washed him from the waist down.
Jayd didn't bother averting her eyes. They were locked with his, reflecting the firelight much like her daughter's did. That, in and of itself, was more disconcerting than the fact he was having his nether regions washed by three strangers, in front of his lover and her parents, while standing in a steam filled volcano crater on an island in the middle of the ocean. The thought made him chuckle to himself.
Marl quirked a brow, barely visible in the fog. “Does something amuse you, Elias?”
Elias smiled slightly. “I can honestly say that this is not something I ever pictured myself doing.”
Marl chuckled as well. “I can see that.”
The acolytes stepped away, finished with their task, and took their places back in the semicircle. Elias noticed that where they stood was marked out with white stones that had been set into the smooth black volcanic glass that they stood on, as were where Marl and Jayd had stood. The stone had been carved away into stairs at the edge, running the entire circumference of the round area where they stood. His eyes had been adjusting to the low light, and he could now make out stone pillars around the water's edge, some of them cracked and broken off at various heights, others reaching perhaps ten feet upwards into the mist.
Marl stepped forward, holding a large stone carafe in his hands. “Drink this. The herbs in this mixture will induce a trance. During that trance, the gods will speak to you. What they will say, what they will demand, I do not know. But once you enter that water, you accept their terms.”
Elias took the stone vessel in his hands and nodded. “I understand.”
“Then drink as much as you can, and enter the lake.”
The fluid in the carafe smelled spicy, herbal, and not entirely pleasant, but not revolting. He held it up to his lips, steadied his breathing, and tipped it back. He was able to drink perhaps two-thirds of the mixture before he had to stop to breathe again. Marl took it from him, handing it off to Coral, who stood nearby. Elias stepped towards the pool where Jayd stood, the water, up to her waist.
Just before he took the first step, a small hand caught his, and he turned just in time to catch Coral. She leapt up against him, wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her lips against his passionately. After a moment, she broke away, and whispered in his ear.
“Come back to me. Remember that I wait for you, and come back to me!“
Marl grabbed Coral by the shoulder and pulled her away, almost knocking her down.
“Step back, child. This one goes to meet the gods now.”
Elias let go of her, half turning to the water. “There is nothing here that could stop me. I promise I'll return.” He truly did not know what she was so afraid of, but he wanted her to be at ease. He stepped down into the water.
As soon as his foot touched the lake, his pulse rose to a crescendo in his ears. The mist around him seemed to shift in color, going from white to blue to green then red. Jayd stood there, reaching out to him, beckoning for him to come deeper.
His perceptions abandoned reason. The mists exploded outward, clearing away from him, a rainbow of swirling colors forming vortexes and thunderclouds, flashing light and sound all throughout the crater. He could see it all, the crater, the platform, the entirety of the massive lake, the nine other elves, and even himself, stepping deeper into the water, though he was not willing himself to do so. He could feel the heat giving him frostbite as he went through the frozen surface of the steaming water... wait. That made no sense. The water tasted like the purple of clouds against his skin... no, that wasn't right either.
He looked around, rising above the rim of the crater, viewing the entire island around him. The volcano they were in was the most massive of the island chain, but not the tallest. To the north was a snow-capped mountain which rose somewhat higher, and then to the west, the other islands each had their own mountain. Though they were far beyond the horizon, here he could see them all, see the trees, the bushes, the leaves, even the animals... but not the elves.
He could see no sea elves on any of the islands. Humans, elves from the mainland, they were present in Port Greenreef and a few isolated fishing villages here and there, but none of the sea elves. Panicked, he looked down, and only saw himself floating, alone in the steaming waters of the caldera.
He tried to will himself back downwards, but he could not move, except up. The storm clouds circled the great island now, wrapping about the mountain and flowing between it and its sibling to the north, obscuring the jungle below. To the south, the clouds swirled, rotating about a burning red ember the size of a small island or an enormous ship. Waves of blackness surged out from it, breaking upon the islands like waves, wearing them down before his eyes.
Then, one by one, the mountains on each island lit up, starting with the one he was above, then spreading west, to the next five islands that were controlled by the sea elves. At their peaks grew great balls of fire, each burning like a sun. The light broke the waves of darkness, and pushed the storm clouds back.
The ember at the center of the storm grew brighter, and lashed out at the large island again, but was repelled. Suddenly, the ember plunged into darkness, the shadows bursting forth like arrows, pelting the islands. Wherever the arrows struck, there was an explosion of shadow and a great cry of pain.
The balls of light lashed back, casting beams between them, uniting the islands in a chain of fire that drove back the darkness once more. The darkness was cast away, spinning to the east over the ocean, and the islands were finally left in peace.
Now, Elias could move again. He had watched the preceding battle with a sense of awe and panic, but now that it was over, a strange calm settled over him, a melancholy stillness. He moved downwards towards his body.
He looked himself over, seeing himself from the outside for the first time. He was absolutely enormous compared to the elves gathered around the bonfire and cauldron. Coral sat as close as she could to the water without touching it, while Marl and the acolytes sat in various states of repose, some laying down, others leaning against a pillar. Marl himself leaned against his long staff, staring into the flames.
He suddenly realized that he could see the sea elves, whereas he couldn't during the storm. The mists seemed to be clear in the area immediately surrounding the platform, revealing the surface of the water where he floated with Jayd's help, and the open ritual platform. He was partially spreadeagled, laying on his back, while Jayd held his head above the surface. Her eyes were closed, as if she were meditating herself.
As he was looking over the volcanic temple, the water rippled, like from a small earthquake. The elves on the platform didn't react to it at all, nor when it happened
again, stronger this time. Under the surface of the lake, two lights, blue and green, appeared and grew brighter, rising to the surface. Above the mists, two more lights, these ones gold and white, descended, until the entire region was bathed in an otherworldly glow. Elias shielded his face from the near blinding light as they all gathered, then there was a flash, and the blinding light was gone.
In their place were four great elves made of light, as tall as he, but of different statures, seated on thrones that rested on the surface of the lake. On the farthest left was a woman of blue light, buxom and broad hipped, maybe a bit on the heavy side, but still beautiful. Wrapped around her waist was a skirt that flowed like the waves, fringed with sea foam. Her eyes flashed white like pearls, and she sat on a throne of coral.
Next to her was a figure of green light, muscular and powerful, with tendrils of red seeming to crack through his skin. Slightly shorter than the woman, he was much more massive, his broad shoulders angular and seemingly topped with a miniature jungle. He wore stone armor, gray and black, that covered his upper body, as well as his thighs and shins, but left his great, thick arms bare. He was seated on a massive stool of obsidian, and his eyes were like dark, deep rubies that burned with their own light.
To the right of that figure was a tall, slender being of gold, with long, flowing blonde hair, and clothing seeming to be made of sparkling dust motes. His skin seemed flawlessly smooth, and a very slight smirk sat easily on his lips. Seated on a fine golden throne, he leaned against a long, shining golden spear, his diamond eyes fixed on Elias.
The last figure was seated farthest to the right, her skin as clear as ice, glowing with a white light from within. Her clothes resembled an over-sized parka, hanging well below her knees. She was slender, skinny even, and very old, a contrast to the youthful figures to the left of her. Her long white hair flowed down her back, forming the throne upon which she reclined, and coiled about her feet, the color and texture of winter frost on glass. Of all the figures present, she had eyes most like those of an elf, not resembling any gems, but as white as the clouds, maybe tinged very slightly blue.
Rising Thunder (Dynasty of Storms Book 1) Page 21