To the left are two blue columns carved into the cliff face with a matching archway carved into the mountain with a shimmering blue door. Heading back toward the golems is a shimmering gold door while to the right is a shimmering red door, and straight ahead is a barber-pole column with a door that oscillates the three colors.
They will never make it down before nightfall; instead, they make camp near the cliff and set watches. Alandra takes his watch with Mashaun, much to his protest, not so much with Mashaun, but that he has to take a watch at all. The girls tell him that they have to take a watch, why should he be any different. His reply is feeble at best, trying to argue that he is not a fighter and should not have to take a watch, and that is when Mai and Berg scornfully look at him. He realizes that is a bad argument. There are really only two warriors in the entire group, and Alandra reluctantly agrees, trying to be on watch with Tera, who tells him no. She likes partnering with Mai it gives them time for girl talk.
During the early morning hours, Ericka awakens Mashaun, telling him that she hears the flapping of wings but can’t see anything with only the blue moon up. He scans the sky for a while but doesn’t see or hear a thing, when just as he is going back to sleep, he also hears the sound of wind rushing over a pair of wings. The blue moon is the darkest of the three moons casting little or no shadow. While they can hear it, they can’t see anything in the skies. Ericka wakes everybody else, not that it would do much good against something none of them can see. They hear it pass by several times, feeling the buffeted air from beneath the wings, without seeing a thing, scaring Alandra the most, though the creature never attacks.
The sun begins to chase the night away; the sound of the creature also vanishes. They hear it fade into the distance while never seeing it, leaving them shaky and tired. The only way down is using the rope, but they don’t want to leave the rope. Mashaun feels he has a grasp on this whole belief thing and tells them not to worry about it as he holds on to the rope while the others climb down to the clearing. He visualizes a trail down, and soon there is the trail that takes him to the floor by the yellow arch. They tell Alandra not to say a word as he watches Mashaun walk down on make believe stairs, in disbelief. When he asks someone about Mashaun’s trick, Mai tells him that it is something he can do.
Alandra is the first to the rainbow arch, receiving a powerful jolt when he tries to walk through it. While Mashaun is looking for a way to climb up the cliff, Mai taps him on the shoulder, telling him to turn around where there is a knight wearing heavy armor made of light. He is a little taller than Mashaun, wielding a large, long sword and a kite shield. Mashaun tells everybody to split up as they circle the knight. Dalistra tells him that is a guardian and that to enter the city it must be defeated. She is confused why there is a guardian at the city entrance. Mashaun and Tera both shoot an arrow, and they pass right through as if it is just an illusion. Ericka hits it with an energy ball that explodes on contact, getting its attention as it turns to face Ericka. With its back to Mashaun, Mashaun takes out his swords and charges, only to have them slice through the knight like air, as the guardian hits him with the shield, sending him sailing through the air and landing on the other side of the arch. During the tumbling and rolling that take Mashaun under the multicolored arch, Dalistra goes flying across the clearing, and Siguredea’s amulet ends up lying on his shoulder, visible to all.
Not fully understanding what just happened, he painfully stands up. The amulet dangles outside his clothes, and the knight kneels on one knee, bows his head, and fades away. He brushes off as the others hesitantly walk under the arch. Tera gently hands him a shaken Dalistra. Ericka is the first to ask him why he has kept the yellow disk a secret, and he tells her that he didn’t realize that it was of any importance. When they ask him where he got it, he tells them about being on Siguredea’s world and that she gave it to him.
Ericka wants the amulet, and as the only magic user, she makes a good point, but he doesn’t want the same thing to happen to her as to her sister. It takes prodding by everyone else, but he gives her the amulet. The amulet begins to glow and pulsate as he hands it to her. As she puts it around her neck, it becomes bright gold then fades into its yellow color. Ericka can feel the magic from the disk that has lain dormant for eons coursing through her.
The last time Dalistra was in Thesila, the streets were teeming with people, and looking upon the emptiness, it hits her. Everything and everybody she knew are gone—all her friends, the royal court, and her family have vanished ages ago, and for the first time, she feels lugubrious. lugubrious. Mashaun feels her sadness and wants to say something to cheer her up, but what do you tell someone who realizes that everything they know is gone.
Dalistra remembers how she and her friends would play in the city streets. She remembers the royal court, formal balls and the happy times that are now gone, unknowingly or even cares that Mashaun has a glimpse into her life. He thinks that maybe he should have let Sivish perform the ritual to set her free, when Dalistra interjects, telling him, “That… is… not… going… to… happen, until Magdalenia is dead.”
Going through the shimmering light, they walk out of the door, looking at a huge open area near the top of the mountain, where they stare with amazement at the magnificence and splendor. Rumors say they disappeared thousands of years ago, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the buildings—glistening rock spires laced with stained-glass windows reaching toward the sky. Each side of the cut-stone road has multilevel buildings extending out from a cliff made of grown walls of different types of polished marble.
Each building door appears to be a wall of light, but when they try to enter, they run into something solid, without any visible means of opening. The walls are smooth with streaks of lights that, upon close inspection, seem to pulsate in veins embedded within the rock. One by one, they try the doors and the windows only to find them impenetrable until Berg closes his eyes and walks through an open door in his mind.
He finds himself in a modest living room with tables and chairs of grown rock. There are paintings on the walls with a bookcase in one corner. A door leads into what looks like a cooking and dining area while along one wall a set of stairs rises to a second floor. Soon Mai, Alandra, Mashaun, and even Ericka enter the room. All of them are amazed at the vibrant colors and the cleanliness of the place. Upstairs are three bedrooms and what looks to be a toilet with running water and a shower. There is a square section on the floor with a hole beneath and a dozen holes in the ceiling. Curious, Mai walks under the holes, and water comes down like a rainstorm, soaking her clothes almost instantly. Startled, she jumps out with a shock, looking like a drowned rat. “Oh, that’s cold,” she exclaims.
On the wall just outside of the shower is a vertical set of symbols that Berg can’t make out, but he suspects that it has something to do with the water temperature. There is also an oval-shaped hole behind a fancy partition, similar to that in the cave. They leave the room and continue exploring the rest of the house. The bedrooms are all about the same a rock bed, a table, and a chair, with shelves stacked up along one wall, with clothes that feel like silk and cotton, hanging on hooks in a small alcove on one wall. Each of the bedrooms has a window that overlooks a street below, which hasn’t dawned on them before. They could see out but do not remember seeing in. As night falls, they decide that the house is better than being in the streets and choose their spots, settling in for the night.
During the night, Mashaun hears the water running and sneaks into the bathroom, with Dalistra ready to shoot, to see what’s going on, only to find Ericka taking a shower. She lets out a quiet scream as they both embarrassingly glance at each other before Mashaun turns and secretly smiles, while he apologizes. He stops the others coming down the hall, telling them that everything is OK and that he accidentally startled Ericka taking a shower. Alandra wants to make sure, but he can tell by the looks of the other girls that would not be wise. Mai jealously asks him if he liked what he saw as she walks by.
Ericka tells them that the water has to be on for the symbols to work, and all they do is slide their hand up or down for the water temperature and side to side for the water force. One by one, the girls take a shower while the others make sure that the guys don’t try to peek. Afterward, the guys take their showers.
The morning sun reflects off the tops of the buildings giving a surreal rainbow look to the area. They continue up what appears to be the main road. They pass by numerous side streets and into a large open area that appears to have been an open market. Briefly, they look at the half dozen roads leading from the market, trying to decide on which one to take, when Berg starts walking up one, and they just follow him, not asking why. After a short time, it ends at a majestic building carved into the mountain face. Streams of red, blue, and yellow lights shoot in every direction, crisscrossing over the entire front of the building. Up a dozen steps, two gigantic ornately carved arch doors stand just a few feet in front of them.
Cautiously they approach and open the doors with ease. Without a creak or groan, they enter into the largest and most magnificent room they have ever seen. Several doors are along each wall, and on the back wall are two sets of double doors with ornate carvings of gold, silver, and precious gemstones. About two-thirds from the front door are two large crystal pillars filled with a vacillating light in a rainbow of colors flanking an oval stone dais that sits in the middle of the room.
Dalistra looks at the vacant room, remembering the only time she was allowed here. The room was full of people as they watched the new prince of Thesila accept the crown from his father. He had passed the rite of passage, signifying to all that he was no longer a boy. He was their prince and next in line for the throne. She remembers holding her father’s hand as she watched the gem-encrusted crown of light placed on the prince’s head. It was later that day when she learned about the arranged marriage to the young prince. That was the last time she talked with her father. She spent the next few years living in the palace, learning how to be a queen when she was kidnapped and her spirit forced into the bow.
For a long moment, they just stand there in awe until an apparition appears in front of them, inquisitively looking them over. It motions them to follow before turning and going through the right back door. Berg is the first to follow, being the most curious. The rest trail behind with Mashaun pulling up the rear. The phantom leads them down several long passageways before stopping in front of a shimmering door. Pointing at Ericka and Tera, he shakes his finger side to side. He also points at the gear and the weapons, again shaking his finger. He glides through the door with Berg and Mai quick to follow. Alandra is a little more hesitant, but he soon enters the room.
“Will you be OK for a while by yourself?” Mashaun asks them, knowing that he will be returning, if not the others.
“Yes, we will be fine. Don’t worry about us. I actually feel safe here, almost like home,” Ericka tells him quietly as she brushes her hands as if to say go already.
Tera asks if he is coming back, and he just shrugs his shoulders, telling her that he doesn’t know.
He puts his gear on the floor and hands Dalistra to Tera, telling her to take care of Dalistra if he doesn’t return. Tera can feel an immense sadness from the bow but thinks that is just her own feelings.
Berg, Mai, and Alandra are in a large room with hundreds of beds lined up in neat rows. Looking like a cemetery stretched out into the darkness. The specter leads them past rows upon rows of beds in varying sizes, each with a different set of symbols carved into the base. Few beds have ghostlike images of humans, awrks, Tsaub, elves, dwarfs, giants, and more sleeping with some of the symbols glowing.
They come across a bed with Berg-like image and the figure motions for him to lie down. Berg shakes Mashaun’s hand and thanks him for the adventure before taking his place on the bed. He slowly becomes one with the image and sleepily says that he can see his bedroom as he falls asleep, merging with the image then slowly fading away. Soon they go to Mai’s bed. She gives Mashaun a huge and a kiss before whispering in his ear that she will find him again. He tells her his websites with his name. She promises to call him as she hands him her last earrings. She lies down and slowly fades away. The figure motions for Mashaun and Alandra to lie down on their respective beds. Alandra sits and looks at Mashaun for a short while as his eyes become droopy.
Alandra says, “I assume that you are not going home.” Mashaun shakes his head.
“For me, this is now my home,” Mashaun replies.
“I thought not. I need to tell you something before I return home. I lied back at the city. . . I didn’t tell them where you were really from because they would have not let you leave. Over the years, I have learned the beds bring new life to this world, and without them, the world slowly dies. That is why cities that don’t get outsiders are dying. So beware of what you say.” As Alandra, slowly drifts asleep, Mashaun puts his feet on the bed and watches him fade away, turning the bed back to a plain blank slab as the symbols on the side fade until they are just etchings in the stone.
The specter points at the bed for Mashaun. He negatively shakes his head and starts walking back the way he came. The figure blocks his path and points to the bed, and again Mashaun shakes his head, trying to go around. The figure gets in front of him again, pointing at the bed. It continues for some time until he remembers the doors. He just closes his eyes while walking forward, until he hears Tera and Ericka yelling that he’s back.
“Where are the others?” they ask Mashaun.
“They went home,” he tells them emphatically.
“Oh, aren't you going home also?” they ask.
“No, I live in a city, and I am not a city person. This place is more my home. Come on, let’s get out of here.” They divide the rucksacks and head down the hallway only to find the specter in front of them. The phantom looks at Mashaun before giving him an affirmative nod and a smile, bowing his head then fading away.
“What was that about?” Ericka asks.
“You are Thesila prophecy,” Tera says, handing Dalistra back to Mashaun.
“YES! I KNEW IT. I KNEW YOU wouldn't LEAVE ME HERE
ALONE!” exclaims Dalistra, almost yelling in Mashaun’s mind.
Ouch, Mashaun thinks.
“Sorry, I am just so excited,” she says.
“What do you say we go back to the house and decide where to go next, and you can tell me about the Thesila prophecy,” Mashaun says as they walk down the hall.
CHAPTER 29
http://thesilaprophecy.com/Book2/
Home
Abigail awakes with a jerk in a cold sweat and exhausted, her blankets tangled up as if she tossed and turned all night. She vaguely remembers fighting two ugly monsters with swords, and just before one of them hits her, she woke up. Looking around, she finds herself in her room at her parents’ house. Her stuffed animals are scattered around the room and her schoolbooks still on the desk. She hears lawn mowers outside and realizes that it is Saturday.
Dad always mows the lawn on Saturday, but not today. She jumps into the shower, really enjoying the feeling of soap and warm water on her body, and starts to sing some songs. Stopping, she tries to remember where she heard them, but to no avail, and sings them repeatedly. Soon her mother knocks on the door and tells her to hurry up, reminding her that they are going to her aunt Kerena’s wedding. She is not the only one that needs a shower. The wedding, how could she forget about the wedding! Quickly she finishes getting dressed before heading into the living room, giving both her parents a big hug. Surprised, they both look at her then each other before asking what that was about. “Just because,” she says, and they let it drop. Her mother has made her a vegetarian omelet for breakfast, of which she savors every bite as though it has been ages since she has had a home cooked meal, as the rest of the family gets ready for the wedding.
During the long drive, Abigail keeps humming the tune of the songs, writing down the lyrics that she remembers. When Ab
igail’s mother asks her about the songs she is humming, she is at a loss for an answer. She finally tells her that it came to her in a dream. Fortunately, her mother doesn’t ask anything else about the dream. She vaguely remembers parts, but they are disjointed and don’t make any sense. The only thing she really remembers is some ugly thing swinging a sword at her right before she woke up.
Her mother tells her that she should talk to Kerena’s new husband, Jack; after all, he has his own band. Abigail forgot about that. She would bring it up after they return from their honeymoon. Over the next few days, she plays the songs with a guitar, but it just is not the same. She buys a small harp recalling the music and the words while learning the harp.
Berg awakes in a soft bed covered with a light-blue blanket. The smell of bacon and eggs permeates the air. He hears his children’s laughter over a cartoon on television. Is he home, or is this just another dream? He sits up in bed and looks around at the room he knows all too well, remembering the stone floor in the dream. He tries to hold on to the last remembrance of the dream, grabbing his notebook beside the bed. He jots down what little he can remember, mainly of the symbols that intrigued him, with some names and places, as they slowly fade from his memory.
He hears his wife call the kids for breakfast. He quickly puts on some clothes and joins them at the table, remembering that it is not normal for him—that is something he plans to change. He was up late the previous night, so everybody is pleasantly surprised when he joins them at the table. They ask when he is going to work. He thinks for a short while, realizing that it is Saturday, and tells them he is not, to their shock and delight.
After breakfast, he gives his wife and his children hugs and kisses before helping with the dishes, to his wife’s pleasant surprise. Afterward, he tells them that he is going to take a shower and then they are going to spend the whole day together at the amusement park. His daughters run around yelling and screaming with laughter as his wife looks at him with a puzzled expression, but a happy one.
Thesila Prophecy - The Journey Home Page 26