With Gemini in tow, Sara pushed her way through the welcoming party. Before her escort melded into the mass of other Spiri, Gemini could see their armour shifting away to the same banding as everyone else, exposing their warrior bodies to the warmth of the day. Everyone was voluptuous and athletic, not anyone too young or too old but still carried a strong warrior presence.
The village they passed through was smaller than it looked from the ground; easily not as many huts as there were women. The woodwork they walked on and throughout anything to do with the village was artisan quality, soft on the feet, and looked like it had been here for quite some time.
“How long have you all been here?” Gemini asked as she followed Sara.
“Maybe twelve hundred years?” She glanced over her shoulder and shrugged. “You tend to lose track.”
“That is a long time for almost every race, there are more than just elves down there. How have you all not aged or perished?”
“The armour sustains us, changes us to be who we are. We all start as another race at our conception, the younger the Spiri the more like their old race they will look. The older the Spiri the more like myself or Marthiel you look.”
“With the sort of half elf half human features?”
“Exactly. We don’t keep our elven ears sadly, but we are compensated on other fronts.”
“Like what?”
“Our bodies are easier to maintain for battle and the armour we wear near an immortal lifeline. Our skin remains young and radiant while our senses heighten.”
“Guessing that everyone’s armour in the relaxed state with the number of naked women about?”
“You will learn to control it.”
“Don’t you ever relax?” Gemini poked Sara in the back which made her armour stop where her finger touched, looking like it hardened slightly.
“I chose not to. Even though we are safe from most in the trees, there is always a chance something can get up.” Sara stopped. “We are here.”
Gemini looked around at the large building that looked very similar to the rest of the homes around the village. The thatched roof was the same but had a large hole in the top that billowing smoke like a volcano prepping for irruption. Tribal symbols painted to either side of the door made for an intimidating approach before reaching the heavy brown fabric door that looked to be made from some dead animal long forgotten. Small ornate patterns beaded and sewn into the leathers with an array of colouring made a familiar symbol jump from the center. The trinity circle similar to the one with the dragons that Mya had in her journal, the same she saw in the gardens when she first entered the valley.
“You are on your own for this. I will be out here, waiting for when you finish.” Sara smiled her warm smile and pushed on the small of Gemini’s back, trying to get her to go in.
Gemini’s face looked worried, full of concern before she cautiously pulled the fabric to the side and stepped through the dark entry.
The inside of the hut was cooler than expected, and darker for being caught by much of the sun. Dim light shook the room with each pop from randomly placed candles. Each looking like they had been there a long time with the web of melted wax drooling down the side and pooled below on the floor. Frozen rivers of wax covered tables here and there as they built fingers that reached up toward the flames as if they were trying to put them out. A small campfire in the middle of the hut gave off very little light for its size where three winged women were gathered. They sat on the far side, watching as Gemini came in.
All three looked like every other Spiri she had come across so far, young looking with perfect features and majestic wings. The woman in the middle had a nasty three clawed scar across her forehead leading into her right eye and continued onto her shoulder and down her arm that came to a stump just above where her elbow should have been.
She wore a simple dark grey flowing dress which hid a lot of the armour below. The living steel did not cross the scar on her arm, it barely shifted close to it and left most of her arm exposed. Her deep red hair was tipped with a purple blue in the bottom fatter curls that draped down from her shoulders. A single near black wing stretched out behind her that looked like it had seen the brunt of a few battles.
The beautiful Spiri to her left and right had their full plated armour covering their bodies that was broken up by similar scars. The Spiri to the right had one across her chest on a slight angle from her shoulder to the middle of her breast to the opposite breast, while the other had hers from the left side of her torso, just under her arm pit and carried down to her opposite thigh; all never being touched, covered, or crossed by their armour.
Both right and left had a hood style helmet made from the darker leather that hid a lot of their faces and a similar mask face guard that Gemini had on her armour, covering the lower face; two strands of their blonde hair dangled from under their hoods on either side of their faces. Their wings were a darker grey, like they had been rolling in a field of ash and looked as if they too had seen a few battles. Ornate gold etching flowered across the tops of them with the extension from her body steel.
“Welcome Gemini.” The left one spoke in the same gentle and warming voice as she had come to expect from a Spiri. “Come in and rest.”
Gemini cautiously stepped forward and sat on a small pile of pillows near the fire, flipping out the bottom of her wings with her hands as she sat. All three of them women in front of her smiled as she did.
“She is cuter than the last one.” The woman on the right cocked her head to the others as she spoke.
“Karthiel still had a charm about her. No need to be rude Mara.” The one in the middle gave her a sly look.
“We hear that you had an eventful night.” Gentle words drew Gemini’s attention to her left.
“Yes, we were attacked by some of those fat little gremlin like things and a figure shrouded in ash tormented us before we got up to the, First Hand I believe they called it.” Gemini sat up straight, trying not to show her embarrassment about her exposed flesh.
“A Skkooh and the Koad. They are nasty little things. Yvane has taken the brunt of most of our battles; lost a wing and an arm to a Skkooh close to a five hundred years ago.” The Spiri to the left motioned to the woman in the middle as she spoke in her soft gentle grace.
“It was a foolish errand that I regret Ko-rin, I should have never taken you two with me.” Yvane gave both a sorrowful glance.
“You would have never come back alive if we hadn’t.” Mara nudged her with her shoulder.
“What are they?” Gemini butted in.
All three turned their attention to her with a snap.
“We do not know exactly.” Yvane sighed and continued with a serious tone. “For as long as we have been in the valley they have been here as well. A heavy thirst for Spiri blood and a gluttonous hunger for our flesh. We were once a few hundred in the valley and have been slowly losing girls year after year.”
“Karthiel recently figured out that they are coming from a spring up on one of the mesa shelves. Shortly after, she said that she needed to leave for the grove.” Mara cut in.
“Are you alright Mother?” Ko-rin asked after noticing that Gemini had a funny look on her face.
“When Sara had mentioned elders, I was expecting for you to be a little, older.”
All three laughed together.
“Elder is a station. You wouldn’t know it but, Sara has been around longer than almost anyone in the village. She helped start the village with Ko-rin and Yvane after they left the capital.” Mara chuckled her way through her words.
“Capital?” Gemini asked.
“Spiringlaive. A city far north from here where we came from. None of us have been back since we left.” Mara answered.
“Why did you leave?”
“Our city was the Capital for all lands of Vulthrodin. We came to Tulcarna nearly four millennia ago in hopes to shield it from the civil war going on in Xen’lok.” Yvane answered.
“Xen’lok?”
Gemini nodded slowly as she tried to piece things together in her head.
“The war would have torn through Tulcarna like a wild fire. The Xen’lo were a race of extraordinary power and were always at odds with one another. Eventually we were able to hold them back long enough and they succumb to their power and killed off each other.” Yvane shuffled on her pillow pile. “One of their rulers stood on the top of the heap before crawling back into their territory and leaving the rest alone.”
“Once the war was finished, we stayed here in this valley with a battalion to watch over the young Tulcarna.” Mara finished before Yvane could keep going.
“Why did you not leave?” Gemini bluntly asked.
There was a brief pause as all three looked at her through the fire.
“While we were keeping an eye on the Xen’lo armies, another force unseen to our scouts sealed this valley with an ancient magic, locking us inside. We have not been able to continue our contracts or continue our protection of the lands since.” Ko-rin answered for the other two with her sultry voice.
“We have concluded that whomever trapped us here has an outside influence feeding them an additional power but is also trapped in here with us. Sadly, we have not been able to locate the nuisance.” Mara added.
“What did you need to talk to me about?” Gemini spoke softly.
“Since Karthiel has passed on her armour to you, there will be a need to be trained to use it, trained in combat and become a fast track program.” Yvane smiled as she spoke. “We wanted to meet you before you become one of us.”
“Become one of you?”
“It is the only way that our race keeps alive. If we die and the armour is not awarded to a victor to pass on, it becomes a Dragoon Shade. And, that can never happen.” Yvane continued to answer.
“Why not?”
“A Shade can only be sated by a guardian race called Narx. A satyr like bunch that originally helped the creation of our armour in the Capital. It is the only way more Spiri can be created outside of the initial contract. And, a heavy caveat that only female twins are able to become Spiri has left us found wanting.” Yvan sighed. “You have probably noticed already that there are a handful of us that look the same.”
Gemini nodded.
“Mara and Sara are sisters. Karthiel and Marthiel were sisters. Ko-rin lost her sister a long time ago, and every other out there has a twin either already a Spiri or lost to time before they could.” Ko-rin spoke again.
“Why only twins?” Gemini asked the first of a thousand questions rolling around in her head.
“The magic of the steel can only effect a twin.” Yvan started. “Originally the Emperor made a deal with the Dragon Elders to conscript the Narx to fashion a set of armour for himself, one that would allow him to be protected on a whim and will of his soul. With the Emperor not being well liked by many, asleep in his chambers with an assassin in waiting, he was struck down.”
“One of his two daughters had found out about the conspiracy and came to his aid too late. The killer had escaped with his deed done. She found the Dragon Elder contract for her father’s armour in his chambers and kept it for her. With the knowledge of the forging, the daughter went to the smith and pleaded for it to be altered in her image so that she could be the shield, the guardian to forever protect the rest of her family and their people.”
“The Narx consulted the Dragon Elders with her plea and came to an agreement regarding her solicitation. The Elders then issued an amendment to the contract with the proclamation that the armour would be made under the condition that her and her sister would be the Dragons shield for High Realm. They were issued with the mandate to protect all of the emperor’s lands and both accepted the change.” Yvane took a deep breath with a distant look on her face.
Mara placed a hand on her shoulder.
“The two sisters agreed with the Dragons in their rage to find the assassin, not reading the finer details in the contract. After they avenged their father’s death, they felt a waning urgency for something and finished reading the contract.” Mara kept the story going.
“Near the bottom, it stated that they must forever seek out twins in the Emperor’s lands for them to continue to bear the steel. They had sealed the fate of all the daughters across all lands as well as their own with a stroke of ink. Eventually the rest of the Emperor’s family perished of old age and it was only the two daughters left alone to their sadness. They never aged a day with their armour and watched as everyone around them died. Time slipped by without either sister fulfilling their end of the contract by enlisting others into the Spiri ranks. This angered the Dragon Elders with every passing year, the contempt towards the contract and in a rush of anger, took the life of the younger twin.” Mara looked at Yvane who let out a tearful sigh.
“The punishment for not continuing with their contract dug deep and she knew that she had to travel far and wide to hold up her side of the it. She pleaded with them to give her the ability to travel the lands and work through her deed unabated. They gifted her the noble wings you now bear, that we all bear, and she hurried on to scour the lands. Over the years, thousands and thousands of us were enlisted into the ranks, to protect the lands. So many of us that it was easy to make a civilization and built a city around us.” Mara trailed off with Gemini having the look of a question.
“Then what is the Mother?”
Yvane quickly answered. “The Mother is the main connection to the Dragons, the bearer of a special steel that allows entry to their Palace and be our consort for the Spiri. Her armour was made only for the first daughter that the origin enlisted. Not like all the others, the steel must be passed on without contest to one who is worthy. Again, one of the points in the contract that I missed. Even with all that have been enlisted and time that we have protected this realm, I am still not in their graces.” She sighed again after she spoke and furled her lips in a frustration.
“If we are all supposed to be twins, why was I able to become the Mother without my sister being enlisted as well?” Gemini fidgeted on her stack of pillows.
“You both do not need to become a Spiri. Ideally that would be the case but there have been numerous cases of only one sister joining.” Ko-rin softly answered.
A moment of silence filled the hut, letting the fire crackle itself into the conversation.
“Then what is my first step?” Gemini broke the silence.
“We need to get you trained quickly with your armour and get you weapons to suit your fighting style. Learning to use your wings will take time but that is more of a passive training.” Yvane sat upright in response.
“How long does it usually take for this training? Time is not a luxury I have right now.” Gemini shocked the three with her scornful tone.
“It takes as long as it takes, everyone is different.” Ko-rin said. “Why the rush?”
Gemini reached down into her pack and pulled out the small black cup that instantly made the three go silent again. They sat still for some time and analyzed the item. The fire popped and crackled its side of the conversation, sending sparks up into the air and whirling through the small opening in the ceiling.
“We heard this was in High Realm. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to leave like the rest of us.” Mara said.
“I can leave the same way that I came in.” Gemini urgently said.
“Through the grove?” Mara questioned. “The tunnels that connect to the grove do not go anywhere. They are a dead end.”
“But I walked through them from one of the traveler’s hearts.”
“The rooted heart is the dead end, it goes nowhere else.” Mara ended the conversation quite heavily.
Yvane’s sigh filled the hut again. “Necrolin’s seals have not broken fully yet, I can feel their energy still, we have time to find our way out still.” Yvane stood from her pillows, her plain dress falling around her legs.
Gemini caught a glimpse of a similar three-line scar down her left leg, again blocking the living steel from covering it.
“Please, see Sara outside to start your training. We will hold onto the relic until we are able to leave.” Yvane extended her hand.
Gemini stood slowly and placed the small cup in the palm of her hand. She could see a tremor ripple its way up the Elders arm and into her body as she touched the object. A pain could be seen in her face that was being squelched and fought through. Turning slowly from the three beautiful angelic women, she fidgeted with her wings getting to the leathery entry.
“And Gemini.” Yvane made her stop as she reached for the fabric. “Don’t grief about your lost friend, there are ways you will likely see him again. We will talk about more another day.” Gemini pushed her way through the leather drape and disappeared from the dim hut.
“Why would you take it, you know it hurts you.” Mara grabbed the relic from Yvane.
“This might be my time to get away from this damned contract. The penance of delay is wearing me down and I grow weary. This one may be able to free the Spiri from what I forced them into.” Yvane let her arm drop beside her.
“She will need to get to the Crucible to make that happen.” Ko-rin stood.
“We need to get the key to the Straight before anyone can leave, and you remember what happened last time we went to talk to him.” Mara placed the cup on a small table behind her.
“This one may be able to help with that, he is toying with something that can be useful. They can only be warded off for so long and I fear those wards are fading.” Yvane glanced between the other two elders with a look of concern.
“I will keep a close eye on her.” Mara looked toward the door as she spoke.
“Once she is ready, take her to the Shelves. I will meet you there.” Yvane grabbed Mara’s upper arm in gratitude with a gentle squeeze.
Mara nodded and smiled.
• • •
“This is yours, Karthiel won’t be using it anymore.” Sara pointed up towards a larger hut on the platform they were crossing a bridge to.
Age of Souls Page 22
