The Portals of Tartae- the Land With the Two Moons

by Marcia Soligo

  A Visit in the Night

  “But why can’t you take me there? I wanna see this place. Are the witches pretty?”

  “Trevor! Are you really asking me this after everything I told you? ‘Are the witches pretty’? For crying out loud …” Olivia had just told Trevor about what she had seen in Lirianthis. Including what she discussed with Belenos on their way back to his house. However, even though a number of very important and interesting things had happened, Trevor was far more intrigued by the possibility of a place full of Emmas in Lirianthis. “Unfortunately, I can’t take you. The Forest must take you,” said Olivia, inflating her voice.

  “If there’s something I won’t miss when I leave this place, it’s these weird rules they come up with.”

  Olivia couldn’t help but agree with him.

  Alavro and Cordella had traveled the previous afternoon to find the other Guardians and discuss the current situation with them. And one could tell that things started to slowly change. The energy around the house was shifting, and fear was discreetly growing inside Olivia, like a plant in the end of winter waiting for spring. As for Belenos, he was barely seen around the house. Early in the morning, the wizard would vanish into the forest, and no one would see him coming back. According to Emma, Belenos needed the forest. He would always seek all that he needed and all he wanted to learn there, and that was probably what he had been doing these last days.

  It was time to train again, and Kirk was waiting for Olivia and Trevor outside in the woods. The day was warm, and as soon as the training started, Olivia could feel the sweat on her face. Kirk was a tougher trainer than Bran; every time she would stop to take a breath, he would attack her again. The result was a collection of bruises all over her body. But in a way, she was happy with the hard training. The last time she encountered Baltazar Fletce was enough to show how unprepared she was for a real fight, magical or not.

  They trained for hours until Kirk found in his heart that eating was a necessity and it would be better to take a break. And of course, this only happened after Trevor and Olivia complained a whole lot. Just after they were back to training, they heard some noises coming from the woods. It was Bran, walking with Orion’s help. As soon as they saw their friend, they all stopped what they were doing and cheered, clapping happily.

  “So, you think it’s okay to lower your guard with the faintest distraction? Keep going! I will fight side by side with you. You must get used to my company.” Bran sat down on a big rock at the edge of the forest clearing. There was color in his face, and he looked healthy, very different from when Olivia had found him on the battlefield. A memory she would like to erase from her mind.

  “My good friend! When can you join us?” Kirk got closer to Bran, smiling, and hugged him carefully.

  “He’s still in need of rest, but we believe that he will be able to train in a week or two,” the centaur answered cheerfully, and his relaxed look really made them believe in what he was saying.

  “I’m happy just being here. I couldn’t stand that bedroom anymore … that bed. I was in desperate need of fresh air.”

  “It’s good to have you back, Bran. We’ve been waiting for this day! And also, the training is easier when you’re around … I get breaks to eat when you’re here,” said Trevor, also hugging Bran.

  Olivia was still looking from afar as if she were expecting that her turn to greet the boy would never come. As soon as Trevor stepped back, Bran looked at her, and she felt as though she were being punched in the stomach. The awkward situation seemed to go on for hours, and she was just there, standing … not knowing exactly what to do. Finally, she managed to drag her heavy self from that spot and got closer to Bran, giving him a light hug. “Welcome back, Bran,” she said. The smell of his hair made her body go numb. For a moment, it was as though she was melting like ice cream on a very hot summer day. Being close to him made her wish they were alone once again. But at the same time, so much had happened since the last time they talked just the two of them that she didn’t know anymore what had actually happened and what was a product of her creative imagination.

  Olivia, Trevor, and Kirk resumed training and kept going until the night was dark. Bran kept questioning Kirk’s rough methods. However, in the end he admitted that it achieved respectful results. Orion just laughed and shared that the centaurs were known to be strong and train too hard. For him, the training they did was awfully light for the battlefield and wouldn’t get them anywhere. When centaurs trained, he said, they would only rest when someone had blacked out. Only then it would be considered a successful training day. Trevor was ecstatic and thankful not to be a centaur.

  The group walked back to Belenos’ house together. It was amazing to see Bran walking and to notice how much his condition had improved. According to Orion, the healers thought that his recovery was impressive. His wound was deep, but his health was strong.

  From that day on, Bran was always there, watching the training sessions, even though he wasn’t able to join Kirk, Olivia, and Trevor yet. And he helped any way he could, giving ideas of situations they could encounter and analyzing how they were doing from a distance: if they could improve their balance, their peripheral awareness, their endurance. In addition, Emma started to help Olivia with her magical training since Cordella was away. Olivia and Trevor could perceive how they were getting better at all of this. They were becoming faster, skilled and more prepared for the surprises that could happen on the battlefield.

  The magical training was Olivia’s favorite. She was already able to protect herself from rays of fire and lock her opponents inside water bubbles. Which could seem easy for the untrained eye, but it required an incredible amount of mind control while she successfully manipulated the energy of the water and air. Her abilities with fire were already astonishing. She could create it, expand it and contain it, avoiding attacks and keeping the fire from spreading.

  Olivia’s biggest obsession was manipulating the flowers that surrounded her. She enjoyed making them climb over Emma’s legs during their training sessions. Sometimes, she would do the same with Kirk, making the flowers get to his hand quickly and keeping him from using his sword. Which annoyed him deeply. “Don’t mix up the training, Olivia! No magic here!” he would protest impatiently, trying to get away from the daisies that were covering his body.

  Olivia and Trevor spent their days studying and training, which made them go by fairly fast. Cordella and Alavro were away for more than a week, but they kept sending messages constantly. However, none of their messages would tell details about what they were doing or which Guardians had decided to join them.

  In the sunset of a Thursday, Cordella arrived, galloping quickly, and soon after, Alavro arrived too. It looked like they had coordinated their arrival, which was followed by a small reunion in the main hall of Belenos’ home. On the occasion, Cordella and Alavro started to discuss all the things they had discovered during their travels. All of the Guardians were now ready to join them at Belenos house; however, a considerable number of Guardians weren’t prepared to fight anymore, or to use and protect themselves from strong spells, leaving the group with a little less hope. Alavro thought about getting other allies, but he decided it was too early for that. At this moment, getting more people involved could mean bringing all of Lars’ plans to light and maybe cause despair all around Tartae.

  “And we must prepare,” advised Alavro. “I don’t know about you, Cordella. But I’ve heard extremely disturbing things in my travels. Trees turning into ashes with no fire, wizards being kidnapped and questioned about what they know about the Portals, books being stolen, and homes invaded.”

  “Yes, Alavro. I heard rumors too, and I could see some things with my own eyes. Lars is prowling, and the energy all around is beginning to get colder and eviler. We must keep going and act soon. We must discover where Lars is hidden and if he has the Key and the Book of the Portals with him. We need to face him once for all.”

  “Is there any clue abo
ut his whereabouts?” Olivia asked, already a bit afraid of the answer. If they had clues, that would mean leaving Belenos’ house and their newfound routine behind. If they didn’t, that would mean that they would be once again running against time.

  “No clue as of yet. The last time he was seen was many moons ago, and the spells we have cast to find him didn’t reveal a lot. He knows how to protect himself very well, I would say,” explained Cordella.

  “All of the Guardians are now invested in discovering where Lars is. We will communicate once every two days to see if someone has any news. Meanwhile, we will stay here, and you can keep on with your training, and Bran can keep recovering,” said Alavro, looking to his son. His eyes were still filled with concern.

  “But don’t you think it would be dangerous to send messages to the other Guardians? Can’t Lars intercept them and find out our plans?” challenged Olivia. Her experience at Strage Castle was still too fresh in her mind to not think the worst. She wanted to make sure to avoid any situation where Edmund Lars could be one step ahead of them.

  “We will use the medallion messengers,” said Cordella, as if it was clear to everybody what she was saying.

  “There’s something different every time … When you think you know all there is to know, something like this happens,” complained Trevor, snorting. “What are those? Could someone please tell us?”

  “I’m sorry. I always forget that you two don’t remember,” answered Cordella, seeming a little disturbed. Her face looked quite tired, and her eyes wandered away. “They are special medallions that we make. It’s a way to communicate that is impervious to magic, and only the intended receiver can read it. So, there’s no danger.”

  Alavro and Cordella excused themselves and left the room to rest soon after that. Olivia and Trevor went to the library to look for more details about these medallion messengers and how they worked. They had a couple of hours free before dinner, and they expected to spend it all learning as much as they could about these artifacts. Trevor whined the whole time they were researching at the library; he couldn’t understand how after all this time they still forgot to mention or explain certain things. “How can they forget that we forgot?” he would say repeatedly. And Olivia understood his point.

  The medallion messengers were an ancient communication method used in Tartae, mainly by its witches, wizards, and sages. Those who wanted to exchange messages in total secret would forge a medallion. In order for those objects to work properly, everyone involved would put their hands on the medallion, saying together: “Bring this message only to me, send this message only to the one; may this message be delivered as it is, otherwise this medallion will explode in the sun.” After that, the medallion needed to be bathed in the water of Lirianthis. That was how they guaranteed that only wizards, witches, and people who were welcome in Lirianthis would use this method.

  The hours went by rapidly, and Belenos finally called them to dinner. Apparently, there was a small party happening.

  Belenos figured that after the long journey Cordella and Alavro had made and Bran’s impressive recovery, a celebration was in order. Deep down, Olivia knew that this was much more a farewell of some sort. From now on, they would be one step away from the most dangerous moment of their lives.

  The table was beautifully set. There was bread, lentils, savory pies, roasted potatoes and a number of other delicious dishes. Alavro, Bran, and Kirk were already at the table when Belenos arrived bringing Olivia and Trevor. It was nice to have a moment like this together, and it was comforting to see everyone gathered around the table and well. The healers had just authorized Bran to train again, and Olivia’s hands were completely healed and showed no signs of the damage made by the fake book of the Portals. Things were getting back on track, and soon they would be ready to move on.

  Olivia completely forgot that something scary and horrible was about to happen because she was so caught in the lightness of the moment that everything else just faded away. The warm summer breeze danced inside the room, bringing the smell of wildflowers and, immersed in this peaceful mood, everyone let themselves be carried away into the illusion that everything was under control.

  They were all being entertained by Alavro’s stories and anecdotes. He once more sounded like a bard while reciting his adventurous tales. And even though a lot of it was based on true stories, some of it was too flourished and fantastic to be true, even by Tartae’s standards. Like when he noticed that a small dewdrop had been resting on one of his roses for weeks. And it was getting bigger, and bigger. Never bursting.

  “I noticed that this drop was growing and growing. Beautiful and robust. Strong and sparkly. And I had never seen something quite like that before. The drop of dew was getting bigger than the rose itself, and one day, I couldn’t help but touch it. When I did it, the bubble finally burst, and from inside the dewdrop came the most magnificent rainbow. A rainbow in my own garden!” He finished the story with a huge smile on his face. “You can ask Bran! He was there!”

  Bran was just nodding along. Kirk carried on telling one of his stories, which were usually funny but sometimes discreetly censored by Cordella for being too bloody and, according to the witch, unnecessarily disturbing.

  As they were too involved in the stories, the group didn’t notice how late it was. The night was getting old outside. In the middle of one the many toasts Alavro made, a noise came from the gardens. All went silent, and the doors to the main room burst open. Belenos got up as fast as a lightning bolt, and Cordella was already ready to attack, and through the doors of the dining room came a strong young woman. Even though she wasn’t tall or scary looking, she seemed extremely threatening. Her hair was as black as the night outside, and her equally black eyes had a fire within. She walked resolutely, and her expression was a mix of anger and disbelief.

  “I can’t believe in what I’m seeing!” said the woman with disdain in her eyes. Her face twitched while she looked around the room. As she studied everyone at the table, she clenched her mouth, as if she were trying to restrain herself.

  “Alegra!” exclaimed Cordella. “How did you …?”

  “I can’t believe you’re all here partying while the world is ending outside! We don’t have time for this,” interrupted Alegra. Her tone was getting even more urgent and disappointed.

  “There is no party happening here. You can calm down now …” said Trevor, drinking a little bit of his juice. Alegra just looked back at him with contempt.

  “I know where Lars is,” said Alegra, changing her expression a bit and looking deeply into Cordella’s eyes.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The First Steps of a Mission

  It felt as though the temperature in the room had dropped instantly. They all had their eyes locked on Alegra, who stood in front of the table, slightly out of breath.

  “Why are you here? Why are you having a feast? I was hoping to find you all looking for Lars, or at least some answer to my messages,” she continued.

  “We didn’t know where you were, Alegra. No one knew your whereabouts. I looked for you when I was talking to the other Guardians, and there was no sign whatsoever.” Cordella used a serene tone, but she was talking considerably fast. It looked as though she wanted to calm down the girl, but Olivia wasn’t sure if she was successful at all.

  “You didn’t know where I was?” Alegra was clearly shocked. “Trevor knew!”

  “Me?” Trevor frowned and looked very surprised. He almost spit the juice he had just taken a sip of.

  “Yes, you! And don’t play dumb. Why didn’t you answer my messages?” asked Alegra, looking at Trevor. Her voice had acquired a high-pitched tone.

  “I didn’t know anything, and I didn’t get any messages! What are you talking about?”

  Alegra’s eyes were still full of disbelief and annoyance. She studied Trevor carefully, looking at his face for a long time.

  “Alegra …” interfered Belenos. “They don’t have any recollection about what happ
ened in Tartae.”

  “What?” Alegra’s eyes grew wide. Her face changed little by little, giving place to different and sadder expressions. “Trevor, what happened?”

  “Lars brought them here this time, and they lost all their memories about Tartae on the way. That’s why we are all here … We are starting over and getting ready,” answered Belenos. Alegra was still looking at Olivia and Trevor as if they were two aliens in the room. She looked scared, but also, she looked as though she were waiting for someone to say that she had gotten it all wrong.

  “But … if Trevor and Olivia can’t remember, how can we destroy the Portals? Is there still a way?”

  “We are taking care of it, Alegra. We believe there’s still a way,” said Cordella. “Alegra, about Lars …”

  “He’s been hiding in some ruins, close to the Tria Plains. That’s where I found him. There are some trolls there, and I believe they are protecting Lars. I also saw some people coming and going, so he’s not alone.”

  “Can you tell us if he’s building an army?” Kirk spoke for the first time.

  “Apparently not. I didn’t see a lot of people going there. It was all very discreet, and it all seemed calm enough. But I can’t guarantee you that it’s still that way. Things may have changed while I was looking for you.”

  “You should have called me to come with you, Alegra,” said Kirk.

  “I wasn’t alone. Atlas was there with me. And I wasn’t planning on facing Lars or anything of that sort, but we couldn’t lose more time. I decided to go.”

  “How long does it take to get there?” asked Alavro.

  “Eight days,” said Alegra. “If we are fast and don’t make a lot of stops. It’s located west of the Tria Plains.”

  “We must get ready,” said Cordella resolutely. Her tone was firm and confident.

  At this point, it was clear that the dinner was finished. Belenos insisted that Alegra eat something, and finally, after a lot of convincing, the girl sat at the table. People were barely talking now, and they all seemed to be immersed in their own thoughts. Olivia and Trevor could only think about going after Edmund Lars, and they were afraid that if they took too long getting ready, he could move and have more time to put his plans into action, and then who knew what would happen. At the same time, they were reluctant. They didn’t know if they were prepared enough. Lars’ knowledge about the Portals didn’t seem as rudimentary as they first believed, and it kept surprising not only Olivia and Trevor, but also, and more importantly, the other members of the Clan.