by Adam Lynch
They were close.
He could hear their moans.
Their audible, provocative moans.
He could hear their seductive whistles, their ritualistic tunes.
He heard the ripping and tearing of their clothes, laughing, and heavy breathing…
He heard slapping, stingy lashes, and grunts of stimulating pain.
The moans grew louder, their breaths escalating.
Normally, Ashkii’s mind had haunted him too much to ever indulge in such pleasures. He had never entertained the desire, his thoughts never getting past the pain that he had felt from day to day.
But now… something was different. His mind was emptied—all pain forgotten. There was only one thing he could think of now—one thing that he desired to think of: erotica. He fantasized about their beauty, their flawless nude bodies. He thought about their breasts rubbing up against his chest, their tongues rising from his neck to his ears. He thought about slapping their behinds, listening to each of them gasp. He thought about scooping his palm where one was most vulnerable, piercing her from the inside with his fingernails. He thought about slipping inside her, pressing against her. Her breaths were heavy, building as he came into her harder and harder. Coming close to climaxing, he slammed into her, his thrusts far and reaching.
Suddenly becoming conscious of these thoughts, he blinked rapidly, shaking his head.
Kel, who had never removed her eyes from him, grinned, seemingly enjoying the show. “It’s okay to have these thoughts, Ashkii,” she said to him. “You are a man after all. Every man needs someone to express his passions with.” Smiling provocatively, she loosened her armor, lifting her tunic from her waist up to her breasts, teasing him. “Do not deny your impulses,” she said. “Feed them, stay in control.” Her eyes on her body as she sucked in her abdomen, she aimed them at him again, her face sculpturing a look of erotic seduction. “Think of me, Ashkii. Think of all the things you’d like to do to me.”
With such inviting verbalization, he just that. His eyes feasting, his heart racing, he gave himself up to her—so he’d not be given up to the sirens as they passed them.
His eyes and mind now focused on the woman in front of him, he thought about rushing for her, lifting her off her feet to the ground. Her grunts audible, he thought about tearing apart her clothes, her doing the same to him. He thought about wrapping his hands around her head, her doing the same. He pictured from her the same look that she was giving him now, her eyes desiring everything that he was enraptured to give her. He thought about enclosing his lips with hers, hearing her moan and escalate in breaths as he’d slip his palm inside her, his fingers rubbing her clitoris. Then, with eyes of excitement encouraging him on, he thought of himself coming inside her, thrusting passionately and celestially as they both held each other’s gaze. Gradually, he increased in strength and speed, going from rocking to vibrating. As she smiled, he pictured her wide grins, her laughs, and her gasps as he jammed inside her with unprecedented force. Her excitement climaxing as much as his had, he didn’t stop like before. Nearly blinded from what felt like insanity, his passions drove him into her harder and harder until there was an explosive release—thrusting every last drop deep inside her.
Then suddenly, everything ended—his fantasies, his hallucinations, his desires, even Kelanassa’s captivating sun rays. Thrown back into reality, his self-consciousness returned. Suddenly, he felt humiliated—feeling as if his pride and dignity were tossed around, played with. He couldn’t bear to look at her now, diverting his eyes immediately. She giggled. “My, my,” she said. “Look at how much you’re blushing. You must have thought some really naughty thoughts about me…mmm...”
He scoffed, then she giggled again.
“I knew there was passion inside you. Despite everything that you and I have been through, we both still yearn for someone.”
Ashamed, he avoided making eye contact with her, but he still had to ask: “Did we pass them? Is it over?”
She delayed in answering, refusing to reply until he had made eye contact with her. “We did,” she said when he had. “But it’s not over. They failed to take you from me, and now they’re displeased.”
Hearing this and knowing it was safe to allow his gaze to wander, Ashkii searched for the sirens on the rocks. They stood stiff, their once glamorous smiles now devilish grimaces. Then suddenly, wings sprouted out their backs, their hair frizzing up like Medusa’s snakes. In seconds, they were off the rocks, rocketing towards them like a fleet of pterosaurs.
“Here they come,” said Ashkii, standing up, Kel doing the same.
“Ashkii, listen. They cannot swarm this boat.”
“You don’t need to tell me that.”
Taking aim after stringing his bow, he released, repeating this as fast as he could. Kel replicated his action, eliminating as many sirens as possible before they had arrived at the boat.
Then Kel looked behind her, gasping. “They’re coming from the other side,” she said, Ashkii immediately facing them.
But it was too late. The sirens behind them were already too close. They struck the sail of the boat, lashing their talons through it.
Then, the siren fleet in front of them had arrived, seeking vengeance for their slain allies. In minutes, the entire boat was swarmed. Ashkii and Kel were quickly overwhelmed. The sirens assaulted all sides, tearing the sail as well as the body and the mast.
“I cannot defend the sail,” Kel announced, retrieving arrows from fallen sirens and reshooting them. “The fire arrows will hasten its end.”
“Just stop fretting and do what you can. I’ll handle the air.”
At this, Ashkii defended the sails while Kel defended the boat’s body and mast. They fought as well as two two warriors could against an army of sirens. They struck each monster precisely and devastatingly, but it wasn’t enough. Their numbers were increasing while Ashkii and Kel’s energy was decreasing. They were overwhelmed but the situation was only getting worse.
The sirens were swarming in at all sides. Ashkii and Kel couldn’t keep them all from vandalizing the boat. It was taking massive damage. At this rate, the boat would end along with Ashkii and Kel’s lives.
Still, they didn’t give up. They fought with everything they had. Ashkii was determined to survive until his last dying breath. In whichever way the situation would veer, he was at peace with any end he’d meet. Kelanassa, however, was screaming with fury, her aggression expressing her desperation. “It will not end like this, not after everything we’ve done—not after everything we’ve endured!”
But Ashkii had already considered their end, accepting it as a definite possibility. Would it be so bad? He thought. After all, if he was to die, then it would all be over: the confusion, the pain, the depression, the anger, the fear, the loneliness…
It would all end with his life. No longer would he have to endure the burden of figuring it all out—of pressing on. No longer would his mind and everything around him continuously haunt him. At last, he’d be at rest. He’d finally sleep peacefully.
However, until that time came, he did not give up. He couldn’t give up—until his last dying breath. It was every man’s instinct after all. So at this, he fought with everything he had as the siren’s talons had continued tearing apart the boat and his flesh. Ashkii grunted. Kelanassa screamed with fury. Arrows were launched. Birds dropped down. It was a seemingly endless cycle. But now Ashkii was starting to see it all slow down.
The clouds covered the sun. Rain began to fall down. But then suddenly, there sounded from the sky a thunderous blaring horn. It was so audible that all attention had been immediately seized. All heads aimed to the sky in its direction.
When Ashkii gazed upon it, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
Up in the sky, there appeared a floating fortress, a mountainous airship made of material that Ashkii had never seen before. The ship was flat, and black and white in color. From it, a powerful sounding pressure was nearing. As it approached from
the clouds, its gravity agitated the waves and the wind to unprecedented levels. The sirens, terrified, fled immediately before the next blaring of the horn—no creature of the natural habitat wanted to have any part in it.
But Kelanassa was the most terrified of them all, curling, cuffing her ears, shutting her eyes, and screaming at the top of her lungs over the insanely loud horn—Ashkii couldn’t believe the reaction that he was witnessing from her. Facing her and then the airship, he watched as it enclosed over them. The wind was more fierce than ever, nearly blowing off the boat’s sail. The waves grew in intensity, threatening to swallow them whole. Ashkii latched himself on the mast, his last resort for survival. He looked and saw Kel still curled up, screaming. And frustratingly apprehended, he shouted to her, “What are you doing? Cling to the mast or you will die!”
Forced into conscious of this fact, she appeared to have sprang for the mast, but latched herself onto Ashkii instead. She buried her head in him and wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could. Ashkii subconsciously did the same to her.
It was then that the flat airship had hovered over them. The waves and the wind that it had conjured were raging like an ocean’s storm. The sailboat rocked unsteadily, its mast shifting from left to right. The airship’s gravitational pressure was so heavy that Ashkii felt the boat’s vibration. When the horn blared again, Ashkii, even with his ears cuffed, felt them deafening.
It was only for a moment, yet it had felt like a lifetime. Slowly, the airship passed and moved on. Its influence weakened and it disappeared back into the clouds. It was heading north-west, the direction from which Ashkii and Kel had left.
With the ship’s passing, the storm calmed. The wind softened and the waves flattened. The sound of the horn fell from deaf ears and the gravitational pressure was barely felt. From that point on, the only thing that had remained was the soothing rain. Ashkii, welcoming its touch, lifted his head with closed eyes, arms spread wide.
It was over. They were alive and there were no sirens in sight. The boat was heavily damaged but still rideable. Evidently, fate had declared that he should live a while longer. His time had not yet come.
“Ashkii, listen—I’m sorry for how I reacted back there...” said Kel once she had recovered from the incident.
Ashkii turned to face her. She was wet, her armor and apparel ripped and damaged from the sirens. She had her arms wrapped around her side. She looked cold. Any other man would have pulled her close, comforted her, and made her warm. But Ashkii, too afraid of connecting himself with her, didn’t.
Instead, he turned from her and simply said, “It’s okay.”
This was the first time that he had tried understanding someone personally, but suddenly, he was wondering why she had reacted with so much pain back there. That flying ship—it wasn’t anything he’d seen or read about before in Seasons. The Sky Pirates, the ship had to be theirs—it had even worn their colors. If what that was back there was the Sky Pirates, then it would make sense why Kelanassa had reacted so strongly. After all, this wasn’t the first time that she’d reacted unusually concerning them. Was it possible that she had shared history with them? Traumatizing history? She’d told him before that she had come from another land—the Sky Pirates were from another land as well. And if Ashkii had remembered correctly, Yce had once brought this topic up.
Had the Sky Pirates driven her from her home? Was that how she ended up here in Seasons? Was this what she had meant when she said that she had suffered a past similar to Ashkii’s? But what past had Ashkii suffered? And how could Kelanssa know? Did she know?
What kind of past had she endured to make her react the way that she did? Though Ashkii felt concerned for her, he didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t want to help dig up his own dirt.
“I feel like I should explain, but I don’t feel that now is the best time,” she said.
Without looking at her, he nodded. “It’s alright. You don’t ever have to explain if you don’t want to.”
She smiled, seemingly pleased to hear this. Then she looked in the direction that he was looking. “That airship. It was a fleet airship—an enormous one.”
“For the Sky Pirates?”
“Yes, it would seem that much more of them have entered Seasons. Judging from the size of that fleet airship, I want to guess that over a thousand pirates are aboard it.”
“Have you ever seen a ship like this before?”
“I have, but never one this big.”
“Do you think it will land where its symbol was marked in Summeria?”
“I’m almost positive.”
“Do you think that more are coming?”
“Indefinitely.”
Ashkii nodded, letting the conversation end there. For a while, there was peaceful silence.
Then, beyond the mist of the rain, Ashkii spotted an incredibly massive obstruction ahead. The obstruction appeared to be made entirely of magical energy. It displayed the colors of all precious stones. Horizontally, it stretched beyond where the eye could see, and vertically, it reached the clouds in the sky.
What is that? He thought, gaping with astonishment.
“It is the barrier!” exclaimed Kel. “We have arrived. Springeria is just ahead.”
“This is it? Chiharu’s barrier? The barrier said to be impenetrable?”
“Yes, but not to your Spirit Arrow. Use it to carve open a door for us to enter.”
“Will the destruction of the barrier not alarm the Mystics?”
“The barrier in its entirety will not be destroyed immediately upon piercing a hole. Though, once a hole is made, the barrier will inevitably deteriorate. For a barrier this large and strong, however, we should have at least a few hours or more. In any case, we have no choice. It’s the only way in.”
Once close enough to the shore, Ashkii and Kel jumped off the boat, pulling it as they enclosed the barrier. Then, pulling out his Spirit Arrow, Ashkii pierced the barrier, then carved an opening for them to enter. Kelanssa had seemed most pleased with this.
The Mystery of Springeria
The rain reached them even after they stepped inside the barrier. A soft breeze was unhindered as well. Looking up, Ashkii watched as the rain passed the roof of the barrier. Evidently, the natural atmosphere was allowed passage through it—Springeria’s worshiped deity was Mother Nature after all.
But the rainfall here—it differed from the other regions. A display of many colors, it fell like sparkled snow. Gazing at it from the sky, it appeared as an infinite rainbow. The sight brought joy to Ashkii’s spirit, but he couldn’t express this outwardly. Yet, Kel knew what he was thinking. She always did.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, facing him. “Isn’t it?”
He didn’t reply, his mind captivated.
“Imagine if it was all yours. Would you like that?”
Not understanding what she had meant by that, he proceeded forward without giving her an answer. Ahead was an exquisite forest of cherry blossom trees. Off the heads, the pink petals lightly fell, a twinkling when landed. They were rich in color, their bark the healthiest in all of Seasons. The insects buzzed, the birds hummed, and a distant music sounded from deeper within.
Progressing through the forest of cherry blossoms, they encountered other visual pleasures. The forestry began varying with Red maple trees, white magnolia kobus trees, coral bark, and large oak trees with a spiritual white glow. From them echoed ghostly tunes and hums—the music he was hearing before. When he and Kel drew near, curious spirits emerged from these trees, making their appearances known. They were tiny humanoid ghosts—cute, innocent, and from what Ashkii had remembered reading about them—harmless. Fascinated by their cuddly nature, he and Kel crouched to touch them—they felt like bubbles and tree sap.
“They’re beautiful. What are they?” Kel asked Ashkii who was enjoying their company.
“They are kodama,” he said. “The tree spirits of the forest.
There was a strong sense of peace
here in Springeria—no war, no blood, no plot, no deception… or at least that was how it all appeared.
But for the time being Ashkii and Kel enjoyed themselves, resting with the kodama who brought them fresh fruit to eat. The climate was unusually warm and soothing so there was no need to build a fire. Besides, doing so would disrespect these compassionate spirits.
Eating his pear, Ashkii observed the forest ahead, thinking. Which way would lead them to the palace where the queen had ruled? How would they get in there? How would they communicate with the queen without immediately being identified as infiltrators? He’d already attempted inquiring of the kodama, but their answers had always been nothing more than gleeful cheers—it had seemed evident that they hadn’t understood a word that he or Kel had said.
Yet somehow, the kodama’s optimism had rubbed off on him, either that or it was this strong sense of peaceful vibration that they’d given off. So he didn’t stress on the matters, admiring the flow of the multi-colored rain falling on the kodama gardens and flower beds—the pattern of the area’s uniformity. The spiritual territory in all its wonder came together like a harmonized song, the flow of magical color consistent in every direction he glanced… But wait, he thought suddenly. Except for this particular spot. In noticing it, Ashkii narrowed his focus, standing up and approaching it. Odd. The pattern hadn’t matched, its flow no longer consistent. The sprinkling rainfall was uneven, having what looked like a head and shoulders interrupting its fall. To the naked eye, the flow was normal, uninterrupted, but to the discerning eye there was clearly a disturbance in the pattern. Leaning forward, Ashkii squinted his eyes, taking a closer look.
There was a sound of stressed wood, like a string slowly being pulled from a longbow. Then suddenly, an arrow shot—but missed him, impaling the neck of a tree behind him. Immediately, he retrieved it—his touch of the arrow giving it its holy glow—strung it and aimed where it shot. Alerted, Kel sprang up, stringing her bow. The kodama all stared in their direction curiously.
