A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe

by Jon Chaisson

  *

  Denysia…

  Denni woke up with a snort. She felt her own body and nothing else. “N-no, I won’t,” she said, her voice a pathetic whimper.

  Denysia!

  “No!” she cried. “Leave me alone!”

  Open your eyes, child.

  “Ampryss!” she screamed. “Stop it! Stop this now! Take me back!”

  No harm is coming to you…please! Open your eyes!

  Denni cursed. A cold pain stung her skin and she could not regain her balance, as if she had continued falling into poor Amna and fell further into a black ocean. She inhaled…pure oxygen. Its chill combined with her weightlessness disoriented her, mind and body. Her throat began to convulse in dry heaves. She was coming back into consciousness. Perhaps she had fainted after all? She reached her hands out for some solid object, a bed or a wall or even the floor, but felt nothing. Her eyes had remained closed, and she would keep them that way until she knew where she was. After a long moment, however, she felt a strange yet comforting warmth, behind her and to the right. It enveloped just that side of her body, and for a moment she felt the sensation of moving, or being moved. She tried to focus on it, but it had stopped as soon as she had noticed it.

  “Where am I, Ampryss?” she called out.

  In solitude, Dearest One. Nothing shall harm you here.

  Giving into skepticism and a wavering trust in Ampryss, she opened one eye.

  Then, in complete shock, the other.

  The first thing she saw was the curvature. Far off in the distance she saw the intricate cloud patterns stretching over the central American provinces, the clear, flat farming plains, the dark waves of the Appalachian range…then finally the eastern shore, directly below. There, about halfway down that coast...Bridgetown, her home.

  So small, so beautiful.

  Earth loomed before her. The warmth behind her had been the radiant energy of the sun, unhindered by the atmosphere.

  “Oh…” She could not finish her words.

  I am with you, Dearest.

  She flailed with little success to move — down? Away? Anywhere other than where she was! A violent chill overtook her body as she tried turning away from the impossibility of what she was seeing. The Earth! She shut her eyes again, refusing to believe any of this. The Earth! She was above the planet. So high! So high…

  “Ampryss…” she said.

  I am with you, Ampryss repeated.

  Earth, she thought. She breathed deeply, then once more. Goddess…! She opened her eyes again. Earth. Peace and Light, she reminded herself. Love, Peace, and Light.

  Such a small planet in the universe. Such an impossibly beautiful world.

  Denni exhaled a third time, then wiped away a stray tear. Earth.

  “Home,” she whispered.

  Gharra, Ampryss said. Home of the Trisandi lineage. It is yours, Dearest One.

  “Goddess…!” Denni said in exasperation.

  Gharra is a promised land, Denysia. It is the destiny of the One of All Sacred to stand vigil, to protect it from harm.

  Denni furrowed her brow as she began to move her arms and legs slowly, as if she were underwater, to get the muscles moving. “And I am the One?” she asked.

  We are all part of the One. You are just the embodiment of the whole.

  “So what I am…”

  …reflects all that you see below you, Ampryss answered.

  “And I see…”

  Points of light too numerous to count, scattered all over the American continents and even into the seas and into space, blinked into existence all at once. Denni caught her breath as the points of light flashed at her, threatening to incinerate the planet, then softening to a subtle pulsing. She stared at her planet, in particular at the seaside city-province of Bridgetown, the land where she lived, halfway down the eastern coast.

  She felt herself being drawn closer as she focused on her city. She figured out how to control her movements…it was intent. The unspoken half of the Anjshé language. With a bit of bravado she made a sharp dive towards the city, focusing in on it until most of the eastern seaboard was within her focus. Again, she caught her breath. A soft pulsing of life energies that dotted the landscape, covering all the city-provinces and even scattered patches of Wilderlands…the energy waves expanded outwards from Bridgetown, sparking off yet more Light energies each time the wave washed over a city, an outpost, or even a Free City.

  They’re still awakening, she thought. It hasn’t ended yet! “Ampryss?” she called out.

  Yes, Denysia?

  “Is this true? Is the Awakening still in process?”

  It has not ended, this is true.

  She willed herself to a stop and hovered there, still miles above the city. With a shudder, she spoke out loud: “I must contain it.”

  A sound resembling a gasp emanated from her spirit guide.

  “Ampryss,” she said, knowing the woman wouldn’t dare question the One of All Sacred in any way. “Listen to me. We can’t awaken everyone at once! Do you realize what would happen? Most of these people wouldn’t be able to handle the change! Even if the One — even if I were to teach them all myself somehow, most of them are going to suddenly be full of all this…this…” Denni stopped, still gazing over Bridgetown. With another arcing of her body, she focused on her sister and began moving towards her home. At the same time she directed her thoughts to Ampryss.

  I’m only guessing, but since I’m the One of All Sacred, I’ve suddenly become sensitive to all these Mendaihu and Shenaihu powers that I have no real understanding of at this time. Can you imagine someone down there, going through the same thing I am? I don’t even know why I’m capable of dealing with this Awakening, Ampryss. Surely I should have lost control sometime earlier this morning. Instead, I feel peace. I’m at peace with myself.

  I guess that’s the key, isn’t it?

  She was getting closer now; the NewCanta Strip, of which Bridgetown sprawl was the southernmost province, began to reveal its contours and details. One by one she began to recognize landmarks and general destinations until she could make out the shore-hugging sprawl of Bridgetown itself. Larger landmarks such as the Crest, Sachers River, and the island at its mouth, became more recognizable as she drew closer. Her skin was warming up, the cold emptiness of space replaced with the warm atmosphere, and her focus getting sharper than ever. At once she realized, upon seeing the pulses of light as well as the focus, she was still in the Veil.

  She saw the tip of the Mirades Tower looming ahead of her when she had an idea. She refocused herself to move back towards the park, and all was Light.