by Sanders, Dan
As Emily approached the men turned. A man in a blue velvet robe spoke. Ancient was the first thing Emily thought of when she saw his long white beard and wild white head. He had a sapphire blue streak through the middle of his hair that matched his robe.
He smiled warmly and said, “Hello Eama, my name is Magas Whiteoak, of the realm of Eostra.”
Emily bowed and said, “Thank you, but only my parents call me by my formal name. I am simply Emily.”
“Of course. May I introduce you to Emperor Heilyn, Son of Carthas, Supreme Ruler of Adros.”
Magas lifted his staff and said, “Emperor, I introduce to you Emily of Earth, the Chosen One, and her travel companions, the Adros Rabbits.”
Bently chuckled as Magas’ staff nearly collected one of the Adrosian courtiers in the chest. Alecia clipped Bently’s ears.
The Emperor turned and stared at Emily with his pasty white face and yellow eyes. He held up her left forepaw. The other Adrosians held their breath while the Emperor squinted his right eye. He twirled the spindly beard on his chin. “She has the Mark.”
The courtiers breathed a sigh of relief.
“But we have no time to train her in the ways of the Lore,” the Emperor said. “How long will it be before the others try and stop her?”
“It will not be easy,” Magas said, “but she is strong, and we shall help her.”
“Time will tell, Magas. Regardless, we had better not waste any more time.”
The Emperor waved aside the line of attendants. “Emily of Eostra, this is Prince Bevan Gwyngad, heir to the throne of Ibendari.”
Emily thought the Prince must be the noblest person alive. Tall, with earthy coloured ringlets that bounced around his neck, the man bulged muscles under his burgundy velvet vest. In the centre of his chest a medallion glinted gold, its circular shape inscribed with the criss-cross carvings of the Earth Elemental.
The Prince looked on Emily and her rabbit friends with disinterest, holding his thumbs in his royal vest. He tipped his head in salute, his smile brief but courteous. He fixed his royal blue cape, adjusted a mammoth sword that ran down his back and turned back to the distraction behind him.
The Emperor sighed and pointed to the other man. “This is Professor Aldrick Icelander, Master of Hawkmoth Academy.”
Emily chuckled at the difference between the Prince and this man. The round Professor had a belly like a bag full of nuts. His woolly black hair hung over his heavily lined forehead. Jutting eyebrows overshadowed large rosy cheeks. Smiling seemed painful to him, as though it was something he rarely accomplished. He bowed stiffly at his introduction, and said rapidly, “Welcome Chosen one of Eostra.” He pulled up his pants under his robe and stepped back into line without taking his eyes off Emily. She was only a few hops from the Professor, and so when their eyes locked, for the briefest moment, Emily saw pain, faint lines of red that matched the rose in his cheeks, and then it was gone, replaced by his previous serious demeanour.
“Now for another surprise,” Magas said flippantly before moving aside. “I think you know each other.”
Standing before Emily was the boy from Earth, dressed in an elegant white tunic, a gold rope about his middle, his golden locks sitting serenely on his shoulders. Noogie sat on his left shoulder. Her heart jumped.
“Noogie!” Emily yelled, rubbing her eyes with her paws. Without thinking she pushed her large padded feet hard into the floor. She forgot to click her feet together as Rupurt had shown her. She sailed over the top of everybody, landed against the back wall and slid to the floor, splayed out like a fish ready for market sale. The spell of silence and decorum was broken.
Noogie darted through the air and hovered above Emily in excitement.
“Is that you, Emily?” Noogie asked as she swooped lower. “Really you? They said you had died, had… changed… but I didn’t believe—”
“Yes, it’s me.” Emily regained her footing and stood tall with her ears upright, towering over her best bird-friend. Noogie flapped her wings, settled on Emily’s outstretched paw and rubbed her beak into Emily’s white furry face. She wrapped her outstretched wings around Emily’s nose.
Emily cried out, her ears flat on her head. “You’re not a dream. I thought you were—You’re not—“
“I thought you were too,” Noogie squawked. She poked at Emily’s paw and said, “A red paw, what happened?”
“Don’t know.”
“They told us about your transformation. Ah, the power of the gods. Maybe,” Daimon said, kneeling, “it’s a reminder that some part of you is always a bird. You can’t change that.”
Emily glanced at Daimon who lifted Noogie onto her shoulder. The two birds spent a long moment, hiding their tears. Maybe they would get back to their homes and families after all, Emily thought.
Daimon wrapped his tanned arms around Emily and said, “You certainly are different. I still don’t quite know how we can understand each other, but I’m glad I can. Besides when we were last together I didn’t get an opportunity to properly thank you and your friend. Now you can know the depth of my thanks.”
Emily stared at the Earth boy, the one they had risked their lives to save, for whom they gave up their lives to follow to this strange world. She hoped he was worth it. Eostra seemed to think he was. She had much to ask him about the human world near their settlement and about the seasons on Earth. He might know something. He returned her thoughtful gaze. She could tell he also had been through much. Emily turned away and saw Rupurt and Alecia watching them with tears trickling down their noses.
“We had better get down to business,” the Emperor said. “We are not in the throne room, as Magas thought it best to bring you directly to one of our labs. In fact this is our most important lab. We have grave matters to discuss which is why you were summoned here today.”
The Prince rolled his eyes. Magas nodded and moved aside revealing the rear wall of the chamber. Against the wall a large circle was engraved into the wall, cast of golden crystal, carved with silver markings.
“That is like the one from Earth,” said Emily.
“It is a gateway between the two worlds,” Magas said. “There are seven known AGates on Annwyn. Each gate on Earth corresponds to a gate on Annwyn. Very few people on Annwyn know the whereabouts of the gates, or even that they exist.”
“I’m curious, Daimon,” Alecia said. “How did you two end up separated from Emily?”
“Good question,” Daimon said. “Even though I am a guest here, such things have been kept from me.”
“I can answer that,” the Emperor said, lifting his beard higher. “It happened on the eve of Fildamur, our celebration of the snow season, while the academics were studying the multi-worlds. We were alerted to a disturbance in the energy lattices between Earth and Annwyn.
“Lucky for your friends, Emily, that Adros is one of the leading nations in science and multi-world Lore. We were able to lock onto and track the phenomenon and were guided to your two friends and realised they were coming through this very AGate. Who would have thought, blessed Eostra. Anyway, I must continue.
“Initially we saw three living beings. I assume the last one was you, Emily, but at the last minute a small blinding light diverted your entry into this gate. It’s as though you were pushed off course, deliberately. It prevented our Lore masters from locating your exact position. Eventually I had word from Harli that a rabbit bearing the Mark of Eostra was found in the snow. It was then I called Magas.”
In small hops Emily shuffled up to the circle against the wall. She ran her paws over the glass surface. “If this is a gateway, as you call it, how do I go back?”
“Well,” the Emperor said, “we have not yet perfected the Lore of two-way travel. Remember, we are taking natural phenomena and constructing gates around them, not the other way around.”
The Emperor took a seat and rested his balloon-shaped head against the wall. The others stood. “We have been working on a capability for nearly two hundred years, a
nd now have finally discovered the solution.”
“You think you have,” said Aldrick. “It’s not tested, is it?”
“You are right, old Master Aldrick. But that is why we brought you here and why we asked the Prince to join us. We want the support of the Academy in developing this Lore. We also need the protection of Ibendari.”
“Why do you need protection?” asked the Prince.
The Emperor waved his pointer finger at an attendant who pushed a hovering silver box into the room. The Emperor stood, spoke in an ancient tongue and watched as the lid slid open. He reached in and gently withdrew a dagger. He held it by its orange crystal handle and fingered the gold hilt. Yellow, pink and emerald crystals embedded in the hilt sparkled like crown jewels. Light flickered and wavered around the black blade.
When the moans of awe ended, Daimon said, “By the gods, it is a sword like none I have seen on Earth. Why does the light dance those strange colours around the blade?”
“Ah, that is very rare crystal forged from deep within Annwyn, according to ancient Reven Lore. The blade is drawing in light and power from the ancient Annwynian crystals, playing with the energy fabric as you see it. Have a closer look. It wants to slice into the energy lattices.”
Daimon said, “Our greatest mathematicians and minds have never seen such magic.”
“It’s not magic, my boy,” Aldrick said. “It is the Lore and can be learnt. But you are right; you Earthlings are a primitive race who would do well to learn the way of Annwyn.”
“Don’t be so harsh,” Magas said. “They are simply a different world in a different part of the space energy lattices. Perhaps with the Dagger, we can perfect two-way travel and send people to Earth to train them.”
“They are not ready as a race,” Aldrick said simply. “I have seen what contributions the Earthlings bring when they come to Annwyn. Boy, you have not seen anything of the power that our world has. No, your people are not ready.”
“There are other Earthlings on this world?” Daimon said.
“Why yes,” Aldrick said. “For five hundred years your kind has accidentally fallen through the various AGates that join our worlds.”
“And for that reason we must protect the Dagger.” The Emperor nodded. “If in the wrong hands…”
“Yes, yes, but how does it work?” Aldrick pressed.
The Emperor held the blade, as long as his forearm, between his hands. With the blade pointing down he pushed it against the top centre point of the circle. It clicked into place. He faced the group and said, “Only a powerful Melder, one who is master of the four elements, can wield such power. Melder Whiteoak, would you?”
Magas stepped up to the AGate and danced his long fingers around the air in front of it. He spoke in the Melder tongue, a mix of the four Elemental languages, passed down from the first Melder of Eostra.
The circle swirled a familiar blue. New colours mixed as the circle spun faster, pulsing an eerie light across the astonished faces.
The Emperor yelled over the noise of the AGate. “We have not tested it yet. We don’t know if anybody travels to Earth. We sent a single Lep through the gate four lunations ago, but nothing has come back. Of course we are not surprised since nobody would know how to send it back.”
“Daimon asked, “What are Leps?”
“Sorry my boy, they are currency on Annwyn. I believe you Earthlings call it money, or some such.”
Daimon reached into his chiton and pulled out a small crystal disc. “Is it like this?”
The Emperor grabbed Daimon’s hand and said, “My boy, where did you get this?”
“On the floor of the cave where we… fell… through the circle-gate.”
The Emperor picked Daimon up, swung him around and put him down. The Emperor’s head wobbled on his long neck. Noogie settled back on Daimon’s shoulder.
“Enough,” Daimon said, reclaiming dignity.
The Emperor ruffled Emily’s ears and clapped his hands.
Magas touched the Emperor’s shoulder and said, “Well done, Colyn. You have done your race proud. But we must be careful, as it is no accident that Emily is here. It has been foretold by the prophecy. And that is the business at hand.”
The hovering crystals in the chamber glowed brighter with the Emperor’s mood. Emily turned her eyes away from directly looking at the AGate. She saw the swirling lights pulsing in the AGate and was tempted to grab Noogie and hop right back into her own world. She looked at Noogie resting on Daimon’s shoulder. The Earth boy ran his finger under her gullet.
Emily wondered what animal she would be when she returned home. Would she change back into a bird and this whole nightmare be finished?
Her eyes met Daimon’s. She sensed his reluctant warning not to move. Why would he warn her not to try and escape this madness?
Annoyed, Emily said to Magas, “Magas, tell me about this prophecy. What must I do? How can I complete my task and get back home to my old life?”
“This topic can be discussed over dinner,” said the Emperor.
Emily rolled her eyes and clenched her paws at yet another delay.
The Emperor ignored her stare and carefully removed the dagger from the AGate, instructed his guards to return it to the safety of its vault.
“Is it that time already? I’m hungry,” said Kobi, rubbing his creamy coloured belly.
“It’s always dinner time for you, Kobi,” Bently said.
Dinner preparations were made in the royal chamber at a long table with bright yellow silk. Long necked staff in light-blue fitted robes served the esteemed guests. Emily’s spirits were the highest since the nightmare began. Her best friend was alive and well, and they were together again.
Emily said across the table to Daimon, “So Daimon, why were those boys hurting you?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Try,” Emily pushed.
“Well… the boys were… intimidating one of the royal household.” Daimon’s voice became more confident. “And as the squire to the general, it was my duty to protect her.”
“It was so very unfair,” Noogie said. “Daimon told me all about it. He was very brave.”
Emily nodded. “It sounds as if you were.”
“But why did you come and save me?” Daimon said. “Birds don’t do such things.”
It was Emily’s turn to be uncomfortable. “I was just… we were having problems with the seasons on Earth and I–“
Noogie piped up. “Emily can talk to the trees and rocks and water.”
“Noogie!”
“Is that true?” said Rupurt. “I said you were special–”
“As I was saying,” Emily interrupted. “We thought the humans were causing the seasons of strangeness and we were investigating. We saw you were in trouble and had to help. And here we are.”
Daimon scratched his head. “The gods were smiling on me; a bird helping a human; and as to your question about the strange weather, we obviously had nothing to do with the seasons. That’s for the gods. But I can tell you we also had strange and dangerous swings of the weather. It’s fascinating that you could connect directly with nature. Are you a god in your animal kingdom?”
“Hardly,” Emily laughed. “I was called strange.”
Daimon nodded. “And now this?” He became serious. “Now we are both stuck on this strange world.” He absently rubbed a cut healing on his hand.
“Well, Esotra said I must find you. She said you were important to me and my destiny.”
Magas’ eybrow rose at Emily’s comment.
“Is this woman a god?” Daimon said. “How am I to help? Did she give us instruction to get back home?”
“Don’t know,” Emily said simply. She felt bad for not remembering more of that night.
Noogie broke the uncomfortable silence. “How come you were turned into a snow rabbit? You were fine the way you were.”
“I wondered that myself,” Emily said.
“Nobody knows the mind of Eostra,” M
agas said, pushing back his lock of sapphire hair. “I am sure there were many reasons but I can think of two. Rabbits are a general symbol among the animal kingdom of fertility. Fertility is a key of new life and rebirth, an important connection to spring or the vernal equinox as some Earthlings call it. Perhaps a second reason was more practical. If Eostra left Emily in her prior bird form, she would have frozen in the snow. As a snow rabbit, nature could take over and protect its own, keeping Eostra’s interference to a minimum.”
The Adros Rabbits responded in unison with Ooooos, Aaarrrhhhs and sage nods, in the recognition of such wisdom and foresight.
Daimon asked the Emperor, “Why is everything made of crystal?”
The Emperor wobbled his head and said, “I had heard that Earthlings don’t understand the value of crystals yet. On Annwyn, the crystal is the amplifying element of the four Lores of the Elementals. Earth, Air, Fire and Water are the four base Lores. Crystal Lore helps unify and amplify those powers.” The Emperor laughed, choked on his food, drank from his goblet and continued. “I’d better mention that Adros is the keeper of Crystal Lore. Each nation on Annwyn will, as you say, specialise in an area of Elemental Lore. Young Daimon here has seen the power of crystals, first hand.”
Daimon glared at the Emperor.
Prince Bevan cleared his throat to ensure everybody was listening, raised a blue crystal goblet and said, “Yes, and Ibendari are the known masters of Earth Lore.”
“And I would say,” the Emperor continued, “that Adros is the most beautiful city on Annwyn.”
Bevan cleared his throat again and said, “I beg your pardon. Ibendari is one of the finest and most powerful nations of the known worlds.” The Prince turned to Emily and said, “When you come to Ibendari, rabbit, you will see this man has misspoken.”
“I’ll have you know—”
“Knock it off,” Aldrick said and slammed his fist down. “We have important matters at hand.”
“Well Magas, what must I do?” asked Emily.
Magas rubbed Emily’s ears and turned her to look directly into his face. His brilliant blue eyes pierced her very body and mind.