A Dyad in Time

by D. D. Prideaux

  “So, The Protectorate might end up destroying the worlds by closing the crossing points, they’re making creatures that should stay in folklore, and someone released Rosalind.” Eve was looking up and talking to no one in particular, trying to grasp the situation by laying out the events to the ceiling.

  “Released?” Isabella touched Eve’s leg, to bring her gaze back from the grey above them both.

  “The spell Tor and I cast was permanent, until another way was found. The only way she could get out, was if the amulet was compromised.” Her mind was already working, trying to think through what was going on and why anyone would want to let her out.

  “You’re not making any sense Eve.” Isabella was concerned Rosalind still may have some kind of hold on Eve and she may lose her again at any moment.

  “I couldn’t fully contain her soul without some help. We needed to channel it through an object in the physical world. The amulet acts as the door to her cage, or a sort of pressure valve. Any damage or changes to it though, and the seal breaks.”

  “How did you know about this magik? Why didn’t you talk to me about it and let me help?”

  Eve looked a little ashamed. “Tor and I discussed it, deciding it would be best if we did it ourselves.”

  Isabella had always loved Tor, happy her friend had found her Dyad and partner so wasn’t surprised there were secrets. This one was a little tougher to swallow than she thought, but she managed it and brought them back to the matter at hand. “You think someone got to the amulet?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well?” Isabella wanted a name, on tenterhooks at who would do such a thing, as release The Last Word.

  “No idea.” Eve smiled, the carefree spirit of hers shining through as she started feeling better.

  “Great.” Isabella exaggerated her exasperated hand movements, frustrated at Eve’s response.

  “Don’t worry my dear.” She said pompously, her own effort at lightening the mood. “They may hold the answers.” She pointed at the box that was sat on the sister dressing table.

  “Your earrings?” Eyebrows raised comically high, incredulous at the thought.

  “I’ve left myself breadcrumbs in case something went wrong. I’ve locked my memories away in objects that need finding if we’re to start unravelling what’s going on.” That smile appeared again. “Fancy an adventure?”

  “The last time we went on one of your adventures it didn’t go well, Eve.” Isabella rubbed her brow, part smiling, part grimacing.

  “Maybe. But this time we are older and wiser. And, we have a Wind Dancer.” Excitement and glee taking over, she was tempting fate with her positivity.

  “Eve, come on. You should go straight to Obed and ask for his help. I can go to people I trust within The Protectorate and get their support too. We shouldn’t do this alone.” She couldn’t ignore the part of her wanted to do it alone so in a way, was glad Eve went on. “I know.” The joy had been stripped out of her now, shoulders dropping and her eyes following suit. “Help me find him.” Tears swamped in her eyes as she looked up at Isabella, blue eyes meeting green, time apart falling away like sand through fingers. Isabella cursed herself when she realised that Eve didn’t want her memories back in order to stop Rosalind. She wanted them back, so she could remember him. Stopping The Thousand Curses could wait. She gave in and they smiled at each other, Isabella placing her hand on Eve’s again, the friendly touch bringing them both strength.

  “Of course. Tae was telling me she’d been wanting to stretch her wings anyway.” Laughing like they used to, they wanted to dive into tales from their past, but held back for now. They wanted to lie back on the bed and stare at ceilings together, but they stared at each other instead. Thankful to have found an old friend in a time of need.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - EXPLANATIONS

  Khar and K'Chool exchanged glances at Xiang’s questions. They’d already violated their own rules and now considered what options they had left. Khar could see conflict in K'Chool’s eyes and that unsettled him. She was one of the most consistent and level headed Sojela in their order, but her instincts were clearly telling her something different to her training. Khar was flicking through their options, the nagging feelings of doubt clouding thoughts and their passing. Their third wheel had shown them compassion and concern for their welfare. His family ancestral statue was a void, directly on top of old library and he wasn’t affected by the magik that had temporarily ensnared them. Well, him at least.

  “Take a seat Xiang.” Khar said out of habit as if he were about to lecture a Fledgling. An odd concept he knew, having been surpassed by many Fledglings that joined The Balance after him, and his incongruous feelings got worse when he was embarrassed to find no chairs in their immediate area for Xiang to sit on. Without complaint though, the man calmly sat down cross-legged where he was, in one fluid motion, without using his hands. K'Chool met Khar’s raised eyebrows with a set of his own before they followed suit, forming a small triangle in the middle of the ruins. Taking a deep breath and thinking about what he was going to say, Khar attempted to lay bare the secrets and mysteries that mostly only people in his world knew.

  “There are two worlds that exist next to each other.” He formed two fists and placed them next to each other in front of Xiang. Opening one hand he went on with his description, “Your world is filled with what we call Naïves. People who don’t possess magik and or are members of the human race. I used to be a Naïve.” He finished placing the open hand on his chest before balling it up again and holding it next to the other. His other hand then opened, “Our world however, is populated by the Lucidfolk. People who possess magik and or are members of the original races. Elves, Orcs, Goblins, Trolls, Faeries, Pixies, Centaurs… The list goes on.” Xiang looked confused already.

  “Okay. Imagine any magical or mythical thing that you can, from across the globe and transcending cultures. Stories, legends, bedtime stories and the like. Any creature that has appeared in those stories, has at one time or another, existed in our world. Almost all Naïve stories come from fact. Including religions.” Xiang’s face softened as if he was beginning to grasp the concept. Khar returned his hands to their original position, white knuckles showing.

  “Now, there are crossing points between worlds.” Khar opened his hands up, touching fingertips into an arch. “Where Lucids can enter the Naïve’s world and vice versa. There are also moments when our worlds cross as they both try to occupy the same time and space.” He slipped his fingers either side of each other, pushed his palms together and clasped his hands into one ball. He nodded at Xiang who reciprocated the gesture, understanding written across his face.

  “Most major Naïve events, leaps in technology, spiritual thinking or enlightenment in general can be linked to one of these moments, or a Lucidfolk crossing over and affecting your world.” Khar’s good work so far seemed to be undone, a mystified look appearing on Xiang’s face. Looking for support he cast a glance across to K'Chool who just shrugged with her hands on her knees, gesturing for him to keep going.

  “Let’s try this.” He said finally.

  “Think of something, anything major that has happened in modern history and ask me about it.” Xiang looked unsure.

  “Go ahead.” Khar encouraged.

  “Religion?” Xiang offered to a slightly exasperated Khar.

  “Could have gone easy on me.” He muttered under his breath before quickly firing facts across the space between them. “The big five are Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. Correct?” Xiang nodded. “Founded by an imaginative Orc, a peaceful Goblin, a pacifist Troll, a kind of selfish Naïve wyzard and a practical Elf. When I say founded though, Naïves saw these figures and then extrapolated a religion from their actions.” Incredulous, Xiang asked who invented the iPhone. “An Orc called Steflan Jobslich.” He actually cringed at saying the name out loud, apologising for the laziness of the Orc in question. “I know, barely changed his name when he went on that techn
ological tirade. He got all the gesture ideas from how we look at newspapers, files and books in our world. He didn’t even die, it was just a cover up to get him back to the Lucidfolk world.” Khar casually threw these items into the conversation as if it were old news.

  Xiang audibly scoffed. “What about Confucius?”

  “Orc.”

  “Sun Tzu?”

  “Elf.”

  “Mao Zendong?”

  “Orc.” Khar said matter-of-factly, knowing this is how it would go for a while. Xiang switched tac after a few more, beginning to reference other great thinkers.

  “Mandela?”

  “Orc.”

  “Gandhi?”

  “Goblin.”

  “Martin Luthor King Jr.?”

  “Orc.”

  They went on like that for what seemed like an age. Xiang became more confident with his questioning, moving into other areas such as business, the arts and music, 90% of which could be attributed to the Lucidfolk. Khar did have to concede ground on a few special personalities that were Naïve but, on the whole, Xiang seemed convinced that what he was hearing was real. They discussed Greek mythology, Roman gods, Nordic mysteries, the Celtic religions, language and more. At almost every turn, there was a Lucid behind the curtain. Satisfied with a deeper understanding of his own world, Xiang wanted to know more about the Lucidfolk.

  “Tell me about the major races in your world.” He said with great concern and interest.

  Khar struggled with this for some reason, not really knowing where to start. Past feuds, race wars and complicated relationships made unpicking the races very difficult. “Well, the Lucidfolk are one people really. All freely communing with each other and trying to find balance.” Xiang didn’t like that answer so Khar cut a path through the messy histories in an effort to simplify his answer.

  “Orcs have a nobility and royal family that dictate the advancement of the Orc agenda, with a huge inequality within their ranks. Elves have a tribal, family structure where each family serves themselves, so the race itself is a little disjointed. Goblins and trolls have disparate communities that fend for themselves so again, are a little like the Elves in that they have no leadership. What is common between them all though is The Protectorate.” Khar’s face darkened and K'Chool took a deep breath to master her emotions. “They are like our government, martialling the Lucidfolk and policing the interactions between both worlds. They strive for order, structure and keeping the Naïves in the dark.”

  “Why do you look so sad Khar?” Xiang had listened patiently, watching the small man’s face with great affection.

  Khar looked up, meeting the other man’s eyes and smiled sadly. “Because that used to be our job. Before The Reapers insurgence, we managed a balanced and peaceful relationship between the Lucidfolk and the Naïves. We were interested in the advancement of all races and both worlds, gradually wanting to introduce new thinking to the Naïves and integrating all peoples. In the end, we wanted to open the crossing points and freely share information between all, gifting magik to everyone.” He paused, a pensive expression marking his face. “But then The Reapers came.”

  “Who are they?” Xiang asked.

  “Honestly? We don’t know. They’re dark beings that suddenly started appearing in our world, feasting on Lucids and destroying all they encountered. Fear and panic spread as fast as they did. We lost a lot of people and races. We even sent our Sojela to fight them in a terrible battle that cost us nearly three quarters of our forces. Then they came.” A nasty taste in Khar’s mouth caught him off guard and he had to spit out some saliva. Xiang’s face spurred Khar on to continue with his tale.

  “They are called, Tarkkailija - The Nameless. We don’t where they came from either, but they’re incredible powerful creatures that stemmed the tide of The Reapers and formed The Protectorate. There are nine of them who oversee and control The Nine regions of our world, through bureaucratic institutions who manage the running of each area. Under them they have 27 high Våpen who then control the immense legion in their ranks. It’s like a military. Vast, complex and dangerous. They also have specialist hunting units called Venatoré. Four dangerous individuals; a highly trained Våpen and three blunt, violent creatures called Sløv. Pray you don’t meet one of those. Finally, they have a research section called the Verktøy. We’ve heard stories of the atrocities they commit in the name of prosperity and serving the Lucidfolk, but in truth, we know very little of them.” Khar sighed deeply, feeling a weight gradually lifting from his shoulders.

  “What about your order, how does it work?” Xiang asked.

  “We are Sojela - warrior monks.” He said plainly. “We practise martial arts, spiritual enlightenment and magik in order to best serve both worlds.” He looked over at K'Chool who seemed lost in her own thoughts before continuing. “We mentor and train all peoples from any world and any walk of life who believe in a collective consciousness that will benefit all beings. Our Surelikhan - our leader - is a man called Obed Rumaliza, who is a Nahgwal, one who can change his or her shape into that of an animal. Senior clerics sit on his council, advising and guiding our progress whilst other clerics decide to become Sojeladhan - teachers - or historians.” Khar and K'Chool exchanged a knowing glance, both reflecting on their meeting with Cleric Aitch. “Then there’re Sojela like us.”

  “Ah, hem.” K'Chool coughed loudly.

  Embarrassed, Khar continued, “Sojela like K'Chool here, and Fledglings like me, who go out into the worlds to maintain balance and peace.”

  “Fledglings?” Xiang laughed.

  “Yes, Sojela-in-training-”

  “How long have you been a Fledgling Khar?” K'Chool chuckled.

  “That’s not important-”

  “How long?” Xiang insisted, enjoying Khar’s discomfort.

  “33 years…”

  K'Chool grinned from ear to ear, keeping her composure and trying not to laugh. Following her lead, Xiang assumed this was bad and smiled himself.

  “You know it’s only because I don’t fit their mould K'Chool. I’m just as good as you at being a Sojela. I just do things differently.” Khar said churlishly before catching K’Chool’s knowing eyes. “Fine.” he turned back to Xiang. “There are some areas I need to work on before I’m granted Sojela status. Apparently, I need to take things more seriously and you know… know how to fight.” Xiang looked at him with searching eyes, trying to see where the mistruth was. “I can fight. It’s just, I can be a bit clumsy.” At this, K'Chool grinned wide as she remembered something extremely funny. Xiang nodded towards her without breaking line of sight with Khar. With a resentful and surrendering tone Khar suggested that it may’ve been when he failed his last Sojela test. Something involving being distracted, a cricket, some moss and a large dinner from the night before. Understandably, he was vague on specifics, but each revealed detail made K'Chool issue a sort of snort-laugh.

  Forging on however, Khar relayed some more aspects of their order to the expectant Xiang. “We also have specialist wytches and wyzards within our ranks that practice the four orders of magik, and Nahgwal who train with us to master their animal forms.” Xiang looked particularly excited about this and leant forward, so he wouldn’t miss anything. “The four orders of magic stem from Surelikai, The Beginning. She existed thousands of years ago, born to a world of chaos and confusion. The races were warring, the two worlds were unbalanced, and death reigned supreme. Until her.” Reverence crept into Khar’s voice as he explained. “She developed the four orders of magik and gifted them to her brothers and sisters, so they could craft the arts into useful, practical magiks for all to use. Her older brother and sister received the Eternal Glow and Barren Sun gifts. Light and dark magiks designed to balance the world. Her Younger sister and brother received the Bleeding Heart and Whispered Night magiks. One for healing and one for fighting or protection. Again, balance.” Khar was beginning to look tired from the past 24hrs and explaining things constantly so K'Chool continued for him, turning
Xiang's attention to her beautiful features.

  “When she was done, she tutored them in research and expanding the magiks she had made, watching them grow and develop their disciplines into specific arts. She soon realised that not all Lucids would be able to practice what was being crafted, so she herself, created the Common Faith. A simple magic, that used a little of each of the four orders to offer practical benefits to all races.” Closing her eyes, she made some small hand gestures and closed her fist in front of her. “Constant faith, elements bent. Burning embers and driven hope.” Opening her hand, the library was illuminated by a small flame, sat in the centre of her palm. She laughed at Xiang’s wide-eyed wonder, thinking about the first time she was shown the same spell. Gently closing her fist, a slightly sterner tone penetrated her voice.

  “Wytches and wyzards spend lifetimes becoming masters of their art and if you do, you can make yourself eligible to become a Dyad. Your magikal powers must surpass that of our senior clerics so that you can pair and bind yourself to a Nahgwal. When you do, each individual in the pair becomes stronger than if they were on their own. The Nahgwal must also be of superior strength to survive the rituals but if both are eligible and it’s successful, then they can be some of the strongest powers in both worlds.” It was now K'Chool’s turn to become sad. “Almost exclusively, Dyad’s were the ones who survived the slaughter Khar mentioned, due to their increased power, but at great cost. Many, including Rumaliza lost their Dyad’s and we have not had a new one since then.”

  There was a deadness in the air after K'Chool spoke those last words. All three of the small party turning inwards to think about their own pasts and futures; what brought them there, where they were going, why they were doing it. Memories mixing with experiences and forecasting what would happen next, figuring out each path and dead end. Exploring.