Gemini nodded shyly.
“Use that feeling of only you in the moment, body and mind. Connect with your insides and focus on the conversation between them.”
“That’s a big difference then talking to yourself in your head.” Gemini gave her a bit of a condescending look.
“True. I was leaning more on the blocking the world out part.” Marthiel laughed and smiled again. “Ok, let’s just try. Finish up you drink and get comfortable.”
Gemini gave her a meek smile and finished the rest of her tea. Placing the cup on a small wooden ledge near the edge of her bed, she slid to the floor with a pillow of her own. Sitting cross legged in front of Marthiel, their pale knees almost touching as both set of steel crept past each other. Marthiel watched as Gemini shuffled about, trying to get the pillow below her in a comfortable position. Finally getting herself still, she let out a quiet laugh through a breath.
“Comfy?” Marthiel laughed back.
“It will do.” Gemini shuffled again, trying not to bump their knees together.
“Close your eyes.”
Gemini raised one of her eyebrows in question and then sat upright, steadying her posture and slowly closed her eyes. She could feel her wrists get grabbed, Marthiel’s skin was warm and soft against hers under her strong grip. Gemini could feel her arms lifting and shift forward, coming to rest on the outside of her knees.
“Remember the feeling, focus on the feeling. Help it tune out the world around you.” Marthiel’s voice was calm and gentle, it helped her relax.
Gemini slowed her breathing with deep long inhales and exhales. Her chest rose and fell slowly with each climax of air in to the full exhale. She could feel her whole body relax in her state of meditation and barely felt Marthiel being so close to her.
The room around her began to pull away like she was being pulled from her body as well, stringing her along the fabrics of life. Her focus of being pleasured took hold of her body and she could feel the heat boiling inside. Her breathing drew longer with each breath until all she could feel is the intensity inside forcing her to hold her breath at either end of the rhythm. The feeling took her over fast and the room ripped away around her, being swallowed into an abyss of black.
“Listen.” The voice filled her head, this time a lot louder than before and no longer like it was talking from behind her into her ear but in front of her. Gemini’s eyes snapped open in surprise to the location of the voice.
The void around her was eerie, no light, no shadows, no reflections, no sound. She was still sitting but could feel no ground. The black felt like it would crush her like a tight space but went on endlessly.
“Listen.” Again, the voice called out like it was talking right in front of her.
“Who are you?” Gemini spoke softly.
“Mother.”
“Yes, that is what people are calling me, but you are you?” Gemini looked around at the black. Nothing.
“Mother.” The voice was steady and never changed its tone.
“You are the Mother?” She kept looking from side to side in hopes to see something.
“Yes.”
“Mother is my armour?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t talk much do you?”
Nothing.
“If you are my armour, then how am I supposed to use you for protection?”
“Converse and I will aid.”
“Going to need to give me a little more to go on here”
“Converse and I will aid.”
With a huff in frustration, Gemini closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“You want me to talk with you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you also talk with Karthiel?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t sound like a Spiri, do their armour converse with them?”
“No.”
“Can we talk without the help of the tea?”
“Be still and quiet your mind. Focus on you.”
“You spoke to me before, telling me to be warned. What danger were you warning me about?”
“Time has corrupted the origins. Not pure.”
“How do you know which are corrupt?”
“Mother.”
“Course.” Gemini paused, trying to think of a more direct question, she needed answers. “Why is the original Spiri not equipped with you?”
“Narx awakened for control, not pure.”
“Do you have any questions for me?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Mother knows the soul, the heart, the life.”
“How do you know?”
“Connect life through Narx and magic.”
The darkness around her filled with silence as she tried to think of anything to help further. The directness of the Mother was starting to get on her nerves.
“If we talk more like this from time to time, will you help protect me from the dangers in the world?”
“Yes.”
“What about being able to cover myself when needed?”
“Quiet your mind. Focus on you.”
“How will you let me know if a Spiri is not pure?”
“Converse and I will aid.”
“The seals are failing, and Low Realm will break into our lands and run rampant. How do I get out of the valley to help everyone?”
“Children bear ill to parents. Crave to rule. Other Immortals”
“The Dragon children are wanting to ruin Tulcarna?”
“More”
“All of Vulthrodin?”
“High Realm.”
“How do we replace the seals and stop that from happening?”
“His cup. Her Wing. Her Mask. Mother.”
“The Elders have the cup relic.”
“Return to Crucible.”
“How can I if the valley is sealed?”
“Not Dragons.”
“So, who?”
“Be wary young one.”
Gemini cocked her head in question and just before she could ask another question, she could feel a hand on her shoulder, squeezing.
“Gemini?” Marthiel’s voice filled the void.
Another shake.
“Gemini, wake up.”
Slowly opening her eyes, the light from the candles surrounding the interior of the hut were much brighter than before, like individual suns waking up their same world together. Marthiel could be barely seen through Gemini’s eye lashes with her arm stretched out, holding her shoulder. With her eyes adjusting, Gemini quickly snapped her focus to the side after realizing she was looking at Marthiel’s breasts.
“Marthiel?” Gemini whispered.
“Someone is at the door.” Marthiel twisted to face the cloth door. “I will get it.”
Pushing herself from the pillow she sat on, Marthiel squeezed Gemini’s shoulder before walking over to the entry. Gemini kept her focus on the winged woman’s backside while her eyes still worked on focusing into the bright light, it was hard for her to focus on anything directly.
“Be wary young one.” The voice filled her head again.
A short conversation could be heard nearby but nothing could be made out. A short exchange before two blurry bodies stepped inside the hut.
“Mother, dinner is ready. Hoping that you will come with us down to the mess hall.” Elder Yvane’s voice came from one of the fuzzy shapes.
Gemini nodded.
“Marthiel, please bring her?”
There was a shuffle of feet and Elder Yvane left the hut. Marthiel’s shape could be followed as she stepped closer and sat back down on her pillow. Gemini’s vision was slowly getting better but the light was still making it hard for her to focus.
“Your sight will come back soon, don’t strain yourself. Drink this.”
Marthiel guided her hands towards a warm cup and helped her lift it to her mouth. With a short sip of the liquid, an inner warmth could be felt rushing back through her body. Gemini blinked against the bright light and
everything around her became more and more into view.
“Better?” Marthiel’s smiling face warmed her vision more with each blink.
“Thanks.” Gemini smiled back.
“Were you able to feel the connection? You were meditating for a few hours, longer than most. I didn’t see any change in the movement of your armour, but I am hoping you were able to feel something. With the tonic in your blood, you should be able to easily focus on it to mold it. Direct it how you want around your body.” Marthiel sat up tall and smiled her gentle smile.
Gemini stood slowly and took a deep breath, closing her eyes on the exhale. Before her next breath the living steel rings that circled her body spun quickly and grew wider. Spreading from her waist down her legs and up to her shoulders. Every inch of skin being covered by an elaborate, detailed, and ornate set of armour. Fine fingers stretching from point to point, weaving into themselves to present a final layer of a subtly spiked protective layer. Every inch of it was very aggressive looking, almost as if a demon were formed into her cuirass which fed up into a half face mask that stopped just above her nose and below her eyes like a bandit mask. The armour had a blackness to it that could darken even the purest onyx with a glimmer of deep purples and blues. Marthiel stood with her mouth open in awe.
“That is a lot different than my sisters. You learn quickly.”
Gemini opened her eyes and peered down at herself, nodding with a smile.
“With enough practice, you will be able to make the change almost instantly and with minimal thought. All Spiri are able to use their armour at will and adjust it to their needs, to any need. Usually takes a few days to get things moving with the tea but I had a feeling you were special.” Marthiel smiled her gentle smile and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Gemini nodded and closed her eyes again, taking a long breath. The dangerous looking armour shifted slowly and faded away, whirling back around to the living rings, exposing her body to the night air once again.
Marthiel smiled once again and nodded to her student. “Let’s eat.”
• • •
The moon sat high in in the sky, shedding its light down into the pass through the peaks of the surrounding mountains that shot out of the ground like a giant’s spear trying to retaliate against the night. Mya’s passage that she walked along was tight in places but still comfortable enough to keep a steady pace, not the best passage for travelers to get up to the city on. Nothing could be heard aside from her own footsteps echoing against the sandy ground and the clanking of buckles on her pack. With the odd check behind her, the feeling that she was being watched was starting to become more and more heightened. Slowly slipping her dagger out from behind her and holding it against her forearm, ready to strike, the feeling would not go away. With the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end, something was definitely out of place.
The path began to widen quickly into a large clearing in the mountain stone that could have been easily used for a meeting spot for traders or campers not wanting to pay at the inn. Moss covered stone walls with the odd shrub or small tree scattered about the edges of the clearing. If Kobolds were the reason the pass was closed off, they should be all camped here. Something was not right.
Mya crept to the edge of the clearing, keeping as low as she could, and sticking to the side of the mountain. Her movements slowed enough that the buckles and her footsteps shifted into the silence of the darkening night. A quick scan of the clearing for anything, made difficult by how dark it was, but even with her elf eyes she could barely confirm that there was in fact nothing here. Something threatened from the dark.
• • •
“Everything was great.” Gemini stood from the table with the help of Marthiel’s shoulder. “I need to get some sleep.”
Getting up from one of the larger tables in the hall, Gemini couldn’t help but feel like many of the Spiri had their eyes on her. She could hear the pieces of conversations around the hall, picking out bit by bit of the larger ambient noises. Most were talking about her training session with Sara earlier in the day.
The hall was massive and surprisingly stable on the raised platform, let alone having a massive bonfire raging in the middle of it. Many tables scattered about the floor and were barely fully seated with the winged women of the village, each spearing pieces of meat and bread with small wooden forked skewers. Their conversations and laugher filled the room as if it were a tavern or an inn, the subtle breeze from the cracks in the walls rose them up through the timber pole ceiling and through the thatched roof. The smell of cooking meats along with clinking of metal goblets on wood and screeching of benches being pushed back as others stood from their finished meal broke the white noise of the crowd from time to time.
Two larger tables sat opposite each other from the center fire, the other held the three elders who kept glancing her way. A small larder could be seen off near the entrance to the hall, full of barrels, baskets, and casks. It would certainly make anyone think of how everything was so well stocked for being stationed here for so long, with no access to the outside world.
“Tomorrow will be early, I am sure Sara will want to take you to the Shelves to work on your wings and more combat training.” Marthiel sipped back a piece of food stuck on her lip.
Gemini nodded and patted her shoulder before lifting her other leg over the bench. The fire was warm on her face that caused her to hold her head slightly away from it. Shifting her back around to maneuver her wings around everyone else’, she finally made it past all the tables with her eye on the exit. Giving a side eye look over her shoulder to Marthiel who still had a face full of food, Gemini half smiled to herself before pushing on towards the doorway.
Pushing the heavy leathered hide of the doorway fabric to the side, the cool night air rushed past her, fluttering the feathers of her wings slightly and sending goosebumps rifling up and down her body. Stepping into the night and letting the door cloth fall behind her, Gemini took a deep breath of the rich night air and shook her head at the drastic changes of her life. There was a bit of a peace to this place that calmed from within. The trees rustling in a soft breeze and the flicker of light dancing around each trunk from the torches scattered about.
• • •
Mya stepped out into the clearing cautiously, keeping her eyes on a swivel. The sounds of a forgotten tomb filled the air, deathly silence crept through the pass and over her in a wave of caution. A heaviness shocked her to the core making the hair on the back of her neck stand up again.
“Ho there luv.” A gruff voice drew her attention to the far side of the clearing, next to the exiting pathway. She could hardly see anything, barely a shadow.
A darkened shadow of the man leaning against the mountain side, very difficult to see, even with her eyes, held a small object that glinted against the moon as he tossed it up into the air. Catching it calmly and tossing it up again in a very timed manner drew her gaze each time he did in a hypnotic rhythm.
Keeping her dagger hidden but ready, Mya slowly started toward the man. With every step, the shadow around him looked to get darker. He was able to keep everything about him in the shadow, save for the small silver object that he kept tossing into the air. He did not seem phased that she was approaching him, but she had to be vigilant, there might be more. A faint shuffle behind her made her whip her face around only to be met with a solid strike to her face with a blackjack.
Everything went dark as she collapsed to the ground.
• • •
Gemini’s deep breath soothed her insides, with a full stomach and a long day, she was tired and ready for a long sleep. Bringing her head down to take in the tree tops village, it was calming with no one around. Pushing off into a full stride, a subtle shuffle of the leathered doorway could be heard behind her. Not wanting to deal with anyone else today, she urged her body forward a bit faster without looking to see who it was.
“Be wary young one.” Again, the reminder from the voice in her head.
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br /> Before she could peek over her shoulder, a heavy blow to the back of her head sent her whirling to the ground. Touching the back of her head, she then looked at the blood on her hand through a fuzzy vision. Gemini looked up at her attacker and could not make out who it was, aside from being a Spiri the way the light hit her was only shadow.
Nothing was said but as she tried, a strike to the face came hard, knocking on her forehead and sending her back to the wooden deck in a world of darkness and unconscious.
Chapter 15
“This is taking forever, are we there yet?” Chyla moped along with her back hunched over and her arms dangling in front of her.
“Those mountains up ahead are going to be our first stop. Once we are in the city, we can talk with a contact who should be able to outfit us for the expedition into the North. The Stone Giant Forest is not the nicest place for people to travel without a guide.” The sulking look on her face almost made Dominic laugh when he looked down at her.
“Why are we going there anyway?” Chyla meagerly forced her words out in protest.
“Remember the nice lady who tried to kill us back in Dampth?”
Chyla mumbled her acknowledgment.
“We need to gather some relic weapons to help us fight against the magics in the world, her type of magic and others. We need to set the balance, so our realm doesn’t become like the Low Realm.” His sarcastic tone didn’t help her mood.
“Low Realm?” Her curiosity was peaked making her catch up beside him.
“For another time, I will need some time to explain it in detail. Let’s just get into the city and find a place to sleep before we get too ahead of ourselves.” His words were met with another sigh as Chyla drooped back into her sullen walk.
The circling mountain range stuck out of the surrounding plain like a beacon calling all looking for sanctuary or welcoming them home. Portions of the forest they walked beside touched its base giving an easy hiding spot if they ran into trouble. Dominic constantly scanned the horizon as they made their way, making sure they were alone. Walking in silence, the two quickly trekked along the base of the mountain spires with minimal crossing of other travelers trying to keep to themselves as well.
Age of Souls Page 24
