The Last Ritual

by S K Smith

  ‘My dear friends and family, lords and ladies, welcome back to our Stone City.’ He smiled opening his arms wide, ‘It is wonderful to have you all return home for the Ritual. As you are all aware tomorrow the Ritual will begin, and those who are lucky enough to have been summoned will partake. I am very pleased to announce that our daughter, Princess Brielle, will also be attending her very first Ritual.’ Raucous applause stormed through the Grand Hall at the news, Elle felt herself blush as many congratulated her enthusiastically on the summons.

  ‘This is great news your Majesty!’ One of the drunken lords cheered through the applause. The King chuckled jovially at the sight of the happy court.

  ‘I am very proud that the Elders have accepted Princess Brielle,’ The King continued, ‘I am confident that she will grow to become a strong pillar for Myrliar. Now, in her honour, and for the honour of all those with summons, let us eat!’ With the King's words, the doors of the Grand Hall opened as one and hundreds of golden serving plates with a large variety of delicious foods were carried in and placed on large stone tables in the serving room off the Grand Hall, slowly the room filed out as the Elves placed themselves around the tables and began to happily dine on the meals. The Princesses were seated next to the Queen at the Top Table, and the King was deep in conversation with his Chief Protector, Sir Rakel to his right. Ayda pulled a leg off the nearest chicken and started to tear into it. Elle watched giggling at her older sister's lack of decorum as she delicately served herself potatoes and vegetables. The room was alive with murmured conversation and a few outbursts of laughter as people enjoyed their meal. Elle watched her sister, Ayda was busy chewing her way through the food in front of her, devouring glass upon glass of wine. Elle watched her, she was worried about her. Over the last couple of years, her sister had removed herself from the family more and more, and was dedicated to her training. Elle had watched her best many soldiers in the Arena in both weapons and hand-to-hand sparring. Brielle loved her sister more than anything, they had once been close and now they seemed in different worlds.

  After the feast, the drinking and dancing resumed in the Great Hall, and Elle forgot her worry for her sister as she enjoyed the attentions of her ladies. Elle enjoyed watching her lace dress circle her feet as she spiralled across the dance floor with her friends. As the night wore on, members of the gathering slowly retired to their own chambers, Elle was commanded to retire.

  ‘But Mother –’ Elle began to protest.

  ‘No, Brielle.’ The Queen gestured for her own Protector, Sir Morcei, to take her daughter to her Chambers. A tall burly man in golden armour and a heavy great sword moved steadily forward from his guard position behind her and nodded, Elle kissed her mother on the cheek and walked gracefully from the Hall, sending wishes to Elves as she left. Sir Morcei always close behind.

  The Princess' Chambers were large and luxurious. The four-poster bed where she was sleeping was adorned with comfortable silk bed sheets and down pillows, the white lace around her bed hung like a shield around her whilst she dreamt. The furniture in her Chambers was grand and lightly decorated with ornate gold and precious gemstones and the lower floors contained large marble baths for her to bathe in with mixtures of scented oils and fragrances. The lace voile at her balcony bristled gently in the breeze, bringing a fresh floral scent from the gardens below her tower. Slowly Elle opened her eyes and blinked away sleep. The Princess smiled as she smelt the fresh air flowing in from her balcony. She wondered at the perseverance of the ivy creeping into her Chambers through the balcony door, having grown all the way up the Castle walls and spreading across her walls and detailed ceiling. Sitting up, the bed silks slid away, and she slowly peeled herself out of bed. Walking across the room she rested her hands across the stone parapet surrounding her balcony. She stared out at the vast expanse of her city. Her home.

  Beneath, the white Castle of Stone was surrounded by vast beautifully manicured gardens, blossoming with shrubs and roses, with the occasional rabbit scarpering across the grass. Multiple marble water fountains could be seen and heard trickling in symmetrical points across the lush lawns. Beyond the gardens a treacherous wall of white stone surrounded the Castle. The Guard wall was impenetrable, it was designed to be perfectly smooth with no nooks for foot holes so climbing was impossible. No one had climbed to the top of the wall in thousands of years, with or without climbing equipment. Guardhouses were situated along the wall. Beyond that, she knew there was a stone town, thousands of buildings where her people lived and prospered. Little stalls where locals bought and sold materials, crafts and food. Children would be playing with whatever toy was the new craze and gatherings would be held in the Square where Elves worshipped the Elders. Elle believed her City was the most beautiful city in the world. Nature lived side by side with Elves, flowers grew all around the fountains, the shops and the schools and were left to venture further. There were several large Houses in the City where a couple of the Lords lived with their families, and of course there was the barracks where her sister now lived. The barracks were situated at the First Wall. The wall that surrounded the entire City and its people was taller and thicker than the Guard Wall. Soldiers of Myrliar were housed and trained within the wall itself, where the barracks were carved into the stone. Behind her, on the other side of the Castle lived the Pearl Mountains, the white stone that had resided there had built her home, and the Mountains were protected as a result. Guardhouses were positioned across the Mountain protecting the stones from being removed without prior permission. Elle tore her eyes away from the beautiful City and returned to her chambers. Today was the Ritual. Amie knocked gently on Brielle's doors before entering, and carefully washed and dressed the young Princess.

  ‘Are you excited?’ Amie smiled at her as she brushed her long hair.

  ‘A little.’ Elle replied, distractedly.

  ‘Oh, come on, it's all you've talked about since the sign!’ Amie laughed, threading a silk ribbon through the fresh plaits. Elle smiled, Amie was always full of decorum in front of people, but in private, she was on good terms with the Princess, Elle trusted her as much as family. It had been Amie that had spotted the glowing symbol known as the summons on Elle's hand. In truth, Elle was excited about the Ritual, it was a high honour to be summoned. It meant that the Elders considered you worthy to be of the few in their presence. The Elders were worshipped strictly throughout Myrliar. Thousands of years ago the Elders had ended the War that humanity had started over new land. Myrliar had suffered heavy losses, lost countless numbers of people and even more in the famine that followed when the burned fields failed to yield crops year after year. The Ritual provided Elves with a chance to commune with the Gods, if you were lucky enough to be summoned you were one step closer to receiving their blessing. They would not be seen, but they could be heard by those chosen. To hear them was the rarest honour in all Myrliar. It was believed they would come to the aid of Myrliar once more, with advice and knowledge that no-one alive bears. Elle's breath caught in her chest. What if they spoke to her? She was merely a girl. What could she do with such knowledge? Suddenly the weight of the Ritual fell on her. She had been caught up so deep in the honour of being summoned that she hadn't realised the importance of the Ritual. She shook her head, no-one alive had been spoken to. It wasn't likely they would speak to a girl.

  ‘You're ready.’ Amie said lightly, patting the Princess gently. The young maid with shoulder length red hair stood from her seat at the dressing table and tapped on the chamber door.

  ‘The Princess is ready for her escort.’ She said politely to the Protectors on the other side.

  The doors creaked open and the Protectors stood solidly in their Golden Armour waiting for the Princess. Their helmets masked their faces and their stance was commanding, they rarely spoke a word except for orders and safety advice. Brielle walked with them from the room and down the corridor. The Castle was bright and airy and was alight with excitement. She followed the Protectors down deep into the Cas
tle, the bright white walls were soon replaced with cold dark ones as they buried themselves in the tunnels deep under the Castle. Elle was pleased she had asked her mother questions before today, otherwise she would have wondered why they were leading her deep underground with nothing but a flickering flame to guide them. Slowly a long queue of Elves both adult and a few children could be seen waiting patiently outside several ornate double steel doors, their excited faces illuminated by the flickering wall lights.

  ‘Move aside.’ Her Protector grumbled as the crowd parted to allow the Princess through the narrow corridors to the front. Seeing her parents at the head of the queue she sidled in between them nervously. The Queen looked down at her young daughter and winked discretely. The corridors were full of Elves, all looking at the steel doors expectantly. There were no handles, they must open from the inside, Elle thought. The halls were eerily silent. No whispers, just a pregnant silence that succeeded in making her even more nervous. Even her parents were staring patiently at the steel doors. Elle pressed up closer to her mother, her tiny trembling hands reaching for the Queen's. Suddenly the steel doors creaked and whined as they slowly opened, teasing the onlookers with the gradual pace. Minutes passed until they opened widely enough to let them through. The queue moved forward, the King leading them through. Brielle noticed quickly that there was no-one in the Ritual Chamber. Who had opened the doors?! Gradually the Elves filtered into the large circular chamber. The chamber was pitch black, in the centre was a large glistening pillar of faint light, just enough light to enable the Elves to position themselves in circles around the centre, the higher-ranking ones in the centre ring. Brielle took her position a few steps from her mother in the centre ring closest to the pillar of light, once in the room, no one could touch another, so distance was key, her mother had instructed. Looking up in amazement, Elle traced the light to hundreds of crystals embedded in the ceiling, propelling the beam of faint light directly downwards. Looking around, the chamber was black, she could just make out the white of people's eyes. As the final Elf took up their position, the steel doors closed with a loud resounding clunk. Elle flicked through her memory of her mother's instructions, what did she do now? As one, the Elves in the Ritual Chamber lifted their left hand towards the pillar of light, she followed suit. At once, the symbol on her hand appeared as a bright prominent blue light on her skin, as it had done on the day of summons. Alarmed, she looked around and was relieved to see that every Elf had the same symbol on their outstretched hand. She noted that all were of differing brightness, some hardly shone at all. Looking back at hers, she was forced to quickly shut her eyes. The light emanating from her symbol was painful, it was blinding. No one in the chamber had as bright a light as her. The room was beautiful, hundreds of symbols shone like blue stars on a night canvas. She looked to her side, her mother nodded knowingly, a ghost of surprise etched on her face as she took in the brightness of Brielle's own light. The Queen shut her eyes, as did the others. Brielle closed hers tight. A warming sense of peace took over, her hands stopped trembling. This was it she thought, this is when the Elders could speak to me. Nothing happened. Everything was silent for what felt like hours. Elle felt bitter disappointment rise inside alongside a growing feeling of boredom. Had she really expected the centuries old Elders to speak to her when they hadn't even spoken to her parents? Did she think she was better than them? She shook her head to shrug off the thoughts, then she heard it. A girl's voice. It sounded far away, she couldn't make out the words. She strained her ears trying to hear it again. The voice was so faint, and young.

  ‘Hello?’ Elle thought, trying to connect with distant voice, excitement building.

  ‘Get out.’ The girl whispered back, her weak and ghostly voice crystal clear.

  ‘Who- who are you?’ Elle asked nervously in her mind, unsure if she was sane.

  ‘Get out!’ The girl whispered more urgently, her voice laced with fear. Elle hesitated, trying to keep her eyes closed to keep the connection as her mother had told her, the fear in the girl's voice was overwhelming, she felt her own panic rise. A piercing scream vibrated painfully through her mind. Elle's eyes sprang open in alarm, instantly she was blinded by the brilliance of white light that seared through her. Her heart was racing and her breathing erratic. The cold dark room had changed, the white pillar of light in the centre was strong - not the fickle light it had been before. Beads of white light were flowing through the room feeding the pillar’s light. Elle watched open mouthed as the beads spiralled up the pillar and absorbed into the crystals at the top. She looked down at her small body, thousands of pearls were emerging from her body and soaring towards the centre of the room. Elle's eyes widened in panic as her hands tried to collect the tiny glowing beads and return them to her body, they flew through her easily as if she was air. She looked around hastily, everyone had their eyes closed. She watched as the small, bright orbs left her mother's and father's body and glided to the centre. It was happening to everyone she realised. Her mother and father were at peace, smiling, unconcerned. Scrunching her eyes shut again, trying to calm herself, desperately willing the Ritual to be over, she longed to speak to her mother about the pearls and the girls voice, to make sense of it. Finally, after a long and empty hour, with nothing but her confused thoughts to keep her company, Elle heard the chamber doors abruptly heave open. Opening her eyes, she glanced around cautiously, the pillar of light was dim once more. She frowned, had she imagined it? Others were starting to wake and move silently out of the Chamber. Waiting impatiently, she watched her parents come around, rushed up to their side and followed them out as quickly as she could, not wanting to spend any more time in the chamber. She hoped in her heart she would never go in again; the girl’s scream was a horror she would not forget. Something in her face must have betrayed her worry, as her father looked down at her with a frown. Calling over her protector the King sent her back to her personal Chamber.

  ‘I will speak with you later my dear,’ He whispered gently in her ear before she departed. Elle nodded without a glance to him, eyes distant, wondering. Following her Protector up through the Castle, she barely took in her surroundings. She was confused, she should have kept her eyes closed. The Ritual was meant to be a mental connection between them and the Elders. She had broken her connection the moment she opened her eyes. But the scream, the scream was what truly terrified her. She could not explain the fear that had settled under her skin at the girl’s mental touch. Who was she? Were the Elders in danger? She would speak with her Father later, he would know what to think. Yes, she thought, her father could fix everything. She smiled, how could she be so worried when her Father was her own personal brave and strong Knight? Reaching her room, she waited. Her Father would come, and he would make things right. He always did.

  Later that day, as the sun began its descent, a gentle knock came at Elle’s bedchamber. Slowly the doors silently opened to reveal Protectors positioned at the entrance and a tall gentle man entered the room. The King’s luxurious emerald cloak swept the marble floor as he walked softly through the room. Brielle was sat at the corner of her bed, watching the sun set with sad eyes. The King sat beside her and placed his hands on hers.

  ‘The Ritual must seem like a burden for one so young,’ He said softly. Elle shook her head slowly, eyes still gazing at the setting sun. ‘It is important that you understand what the Ritual is for,’ He continued, ‘none have ever met the Elders, they are centuries old and although we know their story, of their rise, none of us have their wisdom.’ Brielle listened intently, hoping that her Father’s explanation might help her understand what happened in the Chamber. ‘I believe the Elders have vital knowledge that we can benefit from. The Elders send instruction, advice and knowledge through the Rituals and through the Scholars.’ Her Father continued to explain the Temple of Scholars. The Temple was situated north of Myrliar at the Three Thorn Mountains, it was said to be the beginning of the Myr River, built around a huge waterfall that fed the flow of water.
No-one Elle knew had ever been to the Temple, but maps had shown her the rough location. The Scholars were widely regarded as Wardens. Their Temple was full of ancient books and records, it was believed that the Elders communicated with the Prime Scholar, sharing knowledge for safekeeping. It was from the Scholar’s Temple that the past histories and stories from the Elders reached them. Stories of murder, death and disease spreading from the burning evil of humanity, were the reason they were encouraged to eradicate humans from Myrliar for safety, and it had been that way for centuries.

  ‘The wise words of the Elders have kept us safe for many years, no war has come to Myrliar and our people have prospered. Do you understand the importance of this Ritual?’ He said softly, brushing her hair from her face.

  ‘I understand Father, but what if I displease them?’ She looked him in the eye and urged him to feel the deep worry that ate at her.

  ‘What could you do to displease them?’ He laughed, stroking her cheek, ‘You are a beautiful young girl with a great kindness in your heart, no doubt that is why you received summons!’

  ‘I opened my eyes.’ Elle said sadly, tears in her eyes, she knew her Father would be angry at her for disobeying orders. She jumped as he laughed loudly. Shocked, she looked at him and saw his eyes glowing with pride.

  ‘See?!’ He laughed pulling her tightly to him and kissing her softly on her head. “I think we have all opened our eyes momentarily during the Ritual my dear, it’s rather difficult to resist!”

  Elle could have laughed with relief, so they were not going to be angry with her for breaking the connection. She felt a weight lift from her shoulders they had all seen the pearls too.