* * * * *
Even with no signs of Nwour, Lornya had waited for nightfall before leading the group back towards Sharia. Everyone had left their horses and Gnert’s contraption—his GOmobile—against the forest’s edge. Since they had a long trek to Forgas, the Goddess thought it best to retrieve them. Lanyan also wished to inform the council that the barrier had been breached, so a short journey south was now what the companions prepared for.
“I don’t know why she can’t just bring us back with the magick, the same way she took us out,” Gort grumbled to Lanyan, though it was loud enough for all to hear.
Lornya, far ahead of them, stopped and strolled towards the Dwarf. He thought at first that she was going to punish him, and when she waved her hand he flinched. But she held it in front of him a tiny, empty, glass vial gripped between her long fingers. “I usually live within the mists that separate our world from others. When I travel out, I carry some with me. Its properties are what allow me to travel from one place to another, the way I removed you from the forest.” She faced him and then knelt down slightly to look him in the eyes, smiling all the while, “I used what I had to get everyone out of the forest. I am sorry that you must walk this far. From now on, I will carry a larger vial,” she ended the sentence with a wink.
It was a soft and sincere explanation, a completely different approach than what everyone else used. It threw the bitter, gruff Gort completely off guard, “I… It’s well. I could use the exercise.”
“You’re very sweet,” Lornya replied, kissing the Dwarf on the top of the head. He blushed on the inside, waiting until the Goddess turned back around and made her way to the front of the group before he gave Lanyan a pride-filled, toothy grin and boasted for all to hear, “I got a kiss.”
Grahamas, Elryia, and Ristalln waited for Lornya as she approached, slightly chuckling.
“And what of the skies?” Graham asked, turning towards it, thoughts on Nwour.
“The night,” Lornya began as she followed his gaze, “should provide us with secrecy. But they no longer have the element of surprise. We will be prepared if they do come.”
That was all Grahamas and the others needed to hear. “So Rist? Where is the final piece of Hope?”
“West. In a cave between the northern tip of Mt. Forgas and Davaina.”
“Perfect,” Lornya smiled, “It’s on our way.”
“Way where?” Grahamas asked her.
Lornya realized she had not told him yet, then she looked back—remembering the potential aura that swirled within the group—and spoke, “When we talk in Forgas I will tell you.”
Graham trusted her so he left it at that as the four began to walk forward.
“So Lornya, I don’t think you’ve ever told me how you became a goddess,” Ristalln said as she walked up next to him.
With a chuckle Graham slipped his hand under Elryia’s arm, slowing her pace and allowing the two a bit of distance. El looked and then smirked, a knowing expression on her face, happy to spend time alone with him as well.
“Back to the story of Trestys then?” The question brought a look of curiosity to Ristalln’s face, he wasn’t sure what that had to do with his own question but he nodded all the same. “By the time the Three had discovered Valaira a good majority of the land had been destroyed. Reiskin would eventually create Highlace, and Xarina headed south, to seclude herself and focus solely on her magick. Trestys unfortunately did not survive the encounter with Valaira. Though they stopped her, much still needed to be done, and it was unfair of any to ask them for more. Of those who survived, in gratitude, took on the task. At that time, I was nothing but a young farm girl and my land was far north. Thankfully the Three were able to stop her before she destroyed my home, my livelihood. Though I was not directly affected, I did want to do my part, so I joined a small group of other farmers who were traveling Eldonia, doing what they could. Simple things like planting trees, gathering livestock and burying the dead.” For a moment, the Goddess held a look that could only be described as empty. “I was able to see firsthand what the disease had caused, and I think it disturbed me more than most. I became obsessed with cleansing the world, so much that I began to disregard my own safety. I left the group I was traveling with and headed north, eventually to stop caring for myself altogether. Times were desperate, and if I ate, that meant someone else would not. If I drank, others would go thirsty. I could not bring myself to do that, so I simply continued to wander, planting and inspiring the best I could. I had made it almost to the edge of the world when the delusions took over, and as hard as I struggled to remain conscious and continue on, I could not. I collapsed a few feet from the mists. It was then I dreamt of them, and Yavale himself. I believed, at first, I was dead. But he spoke to me, and told me I was safe and presented me with a choice: I could take on the task permanently. He would imbue me with powers, grant me eternal life and allow me to reside in the mists and Eldonia freely. I would heal the world, but I would have to give up my old life, and everyone I knew in it. Lornya turned her eyes upward, “For me the choice was easy, at that time.”
Ristalln shifted. “At the time? Do you regret your decision?”
“Not one day of it, no.” She sighed and stared out across the land. “I had the ability to nurture the world, but also the people in it. Humanity thriving was just as important, and love was crucial. I couldn’t impede it, or invoke it, but I could entwine those souls that sought each other out. Inspire those who lacked the courage to express their feelings, clear the heads of those too distracted to notice, or even instigate a chance encounter. I’ve helped many fall in love, and while it’s perhaps the greatest of all my powers, I’ve not allowed it for myself. It would be too hard with my immortality. I am grateful for everything that was given to me, but I was human once, and that part of me is sometimes found longing.”
Ristalln held perhaps the most sincere look she’d seen since her arrival. “I know the feeling, sadly, quite well.”
For a moment, she stared at him so intently his breath caught in his throat. “Do not give up hope, Knight. I have not.” His only response was a smile. “Why the grin?”
He shrugged, covering his tracks. “I always smile.”
Lornya gazed forward and spoke so only he could hear, “I’m glad. It’s quite pleasant.”
Chuckling uncomfortably, Ristalln turned his eyes towards the ground, “I uh…heh…thanks.”
“Welcome.”
In A Time Of Darkness Page 61
