Eckxio was speechless. There was a storm of questions in his mind. "We were...once humans?" he whispered. He stared into nothingness and everything around him blurred. I was once human, he thought.
"I think we have corrupted him," Kazemee commented.
"Perhaps," Nehushine said. "He wanted to know so I assumed he was ready."
"It's fine," Eckxio finally spoke. His vision returned and he could now see everything clearly. "I spaced out for a moment. I was just...shocked."
"So I see," Nehushine said.
Eckxio stood up from the chair and gazed at the oculus in the dome. Areira and Kazemee removed the coverings from the windows, allowing the light to shine in again.
"I was once a human," Eckxio whispered again. It was hard to believe even after the Nova twins had told the story.
"I thought the Elves from the forest would keep such history in scrolls," Nehushine said, stroking his beard.
"I am not sure about other Elves around the world but in the Spiritual forest we lost so much of our history when the humans invaded," Eckxio explained. "Scrolls and books written by our ancestors were burned during the wars and invasions, or so my father told me. I was exiled from my village in my mid teen years so perhaps I could have missed a few history lessons."
"Well now you know," Nehushine said. "It is always good to know where we came from."
"Just one more question," Eckxio queried and crossed his arms.
"I have a bad feeling about this one," Nehushine remarked.
"Why do the Effeelions choose to live in the sky? What is your purpose? And why do you not affiliate with the Elves of the forest?" Eckxio asked. Sure, the Elves, the Effeelions and the humans were all different races. However, he thought it was strange how the Effeelions never sought out other Elves. Unless there was bad blood between the two in the past, he thought. Was there ever trouble between the two races? That is what I really want to know, old man.
Nehushine chuckled and the rest of the council remained silent, looking elsewhere.
"You are sharper between the ears than I thought," Nehushine said and smiled. "With evolution comes resentment. I am talking thousands of years. More than ten millennia ago. We never returned to the forest to visit our previous stage because our purpose and our way of life had changed." Nehushine closed his eyes. Kazemee took his hand and rubbed his back. The old Effeelion breathed deeply and continued. "It is difficult. Watching the rest of the world from above has given us both pleasure and deep pain. Pain because we know how much they all suffer and because we know that the best way for it to end is for you to continue your evolution, your growth. The purpose of the Effeelions since our beginning was to find the realm of our creator, whom we call Cosmus. Caim joined us because he too understands what the world needs to do in order to change. That is why he did not want to get involved with the evolution of men, with the transition of the age of twilight. However, his research has led him to believe that, if he can obtain all four remnants of the gods, then he can open a portal to the realm of Cosmus. That is our purpose, since we became enlightened."
It was complex but Eckxio understood what Nehushine meant. It must not be easy to watch the world from above like a god. It must be very lonely, he thought, you cannot force anyone to change, although you can empower them and inspire them. The Effeelions have great respect for all life. So much to have the patience to let them change at their own pace. Willow, you once told me that love is patient, that love knows no time. Now I understand what you meant.
"Thank you, Lord Nehushine," Eckxio said and went for an embrace. He hugged Nehushine, wrapping his arms around the old Effeelion.
"Thank you Eckxio. That was not easy to explain," Nehushine said and tears left his eyes. Kazemee wiped his tears with a handkerchief and kissed him.
"Now, are you ready?" Areira asked the Elf.
"Huh, for what?" Eckxio was confused.
"We are going to help you enter the realm of light," Areira stated. "Forgot already."
"Ah! Yes, sorry," Eckxio realized. "How are you going to do that?"
"You will see," Areira said then turned to the Nova twins. "Find the Pass of Hope."
The Nova twins nodded then glided back on top of their tome to a shelf behind the platform. The twins jumped higher using aeromancy to reach a gilded box at the top of the shelf. It seemed that they did everything together. They then glided back and gave Areira the box. The blonde Effeelion flipped a switch on the box and popped it open. She took out the item that was inside. It shone golden and painted her face and clothes yellow.
"This is the Pass of Hope," Areira explained, holding a golden pyramid with wings. She gave it to Eckxio, placing it in his hands. "You use this so that the beings of light will allow you to walk through their realm."
Eckxio held the winged pyramid in his hands. He had never seen gold shine so bright. "How exactly does this work?" he asked.
"Come, we will show you," Areira invited.
The council gathered around the crescent moon platform and Eckxio followed. They floated up and formed a circle. Mechanically the dome's roof opened revealing sunlight. Eckxio could hear the wind whistling outside. He wondered what the council was going to do.
"Eckxio, stand in the center of our circle," Nehushine instructed.
Without question Eckxio stood in the middle of their circle. Floating in the lotus position and meditating while surrounding him, Eckxio could feel their maju rising and the wind blowing around them all inside the dome.
"Focus your maju on the winged pyramid I gave you," Areira said to him as she floated to his left.
Eckxio looked at the pyramid and realized that it had its own maju. Using extromancy he injected the pyramid with his own maju and its wings fluttered. He almost dropped the Pass of Hope in surprise. Then his body began to elevate. The council used their magic to lift him and centered him inside a wind sphere. Eckxio felt as though he was flying. He did not take his attention off the winged pyramid. The gilded item slowly flapped its wings like a swan ready to take flight. He was not sure of what to do but he was afraid to ask, believing that it would hinder the ritual. As he floated in the air inside the wind sphere, he noticed that the council of seven had fallen into a deep state of meditation. Then a mandarak appeared beneath his feet. The magic circle had illustrations of winged creatures flying across the sky in the same style as stained glass. In the center of the mandarak was the Odealian symbol of air, a spiral with four blades. Suddenly, Eckxio felt his heart skipping a beat and everything flashed to white. He felt his body rising, yet he could not see where he was going. He felt as if he was moving through the sky, wind rushing through his body, light headed and still holding the winged pyramid in his hands. His body felt as light as a feather and when he opened his eyes...
****
He still could not see. The light had blinded him. Am I sleeping? He asked himself. Have I fallen asleep? I cannot tell. I am in some kind of void. Feels like I am floating in the sky. I can't feel my body yet I am...peaceful. I can't feel the burns on my arm or the scars on my face. Am I dead?
"No, at least not yet," he heard the gentle voice of a young girl echoing in the void in which he floated.
"Who’s there?" he asked the unknown. He opened his eyes again but all he could see was whiteness. A world bleached of all its colors.
"It's been a long time since the Effeelions have sent anyone up here," the young voice said, giggling.
"Who are you? Why can't I see?" He asked calmly, voice low.
"Here, let me help you," said the young voice again and now Eckxio could feel someone placing their fingers on his face. Small hands, smooth and soft like a newborn child yet large enough to cover his eyes. "Now open your eyes."
Gradually he opened his eyes. It was blurry at first but then...he saw clouds billowing. As his vision became clearer he knew that he was no longer in Odealeous. With a deep breath he felt his body again and he was finally able to see everything.
Eckxio whipped his h
ead left and right, up and down. He spun around scanning his surroundings and his eyes swelled in disbelief. "Where in Odealeous am I?" He asked the voice. "What happened to Kazenolumos? Where did the Effeelions go?"
Beneath his feet the road was golden, stretching long into the horizon between and around clouds. There were bridges from cloud to cloud that connected other roads, and pillars of diamonds rose all around like trees in the forest. He took a step backwards and felt his foot slipping past the edge of the path. Sinking down through the cloud he started clawing at the path and pulled himself back up. He rolled onto his chest, his heart hammering away. Eckxio carefully gazed below the path. Under the clouds there was a waterfall and it seemed to have no end, like an aquatic abyss. Rectangular crystals grew from the water dividing the waterfall and there were floating islands made of colorful gemstones.
Eckxio stood up and continued to marvel at this bizarre world he found himself in. He then noticed tiny islands with trees much like Caim's island. The trees did not grow leaves but rather strings that glittered. Other floating islands had monoliths of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, amber, quartz and emeralds. He was not sure if it was a dream or if the other world he knew was the actual dream. Either way, it felt too real.
"So you finally woke up," he heard that same voice again. Eckxio spun, flinched then jumped back.
"Who are you?" He asked the lovely creature that hovered over the road.
It was a girl. Her skin was olive with smooth jet black hair cascading over her shoulders. She was wearing a white skirt and a small top shaped like the wings of a swan, but the strangest thing of all was a golden glowing ring that floated near her back, and its energy seemed to carry her. The ring on her back was like a disc resembling the sun. Her eyes were a soft green like celery and had no pupils.
"My name is Uvaris," she said. "I am a Lumnos. Welcome to the realm of light. Welcome to Elysious."
Willow
Nothingness.
Floating in a nonphysical world. Her soul drifted through an endless sky of green clouds. Seeds glowing, emeralds and jades shining. Green stars fell from above, slowly, like snow. This realm...so empty and so...lonely, yet peaceful.
"Who am I?" She asked. She could not feel anything. She could only see the green clouds and falling stars.
"Where am I?" She asked. Her mind light and calm, drowsy yet awake.
She gazed at the green stars that fell from the empty canvas above. The only things that filled this world were the green clouds, the floating emeralds and jades, and glowing seeds like fireflies. Like the canvas above, her mind was also empty. Empty of memories as if she had never existed.
"Why am I here?" She asked, her voice echoing in the realm of nothingness.
"Why can't I feel anything? Am I dead? I...I...can't recall...anything."
Clouds moved over her sight. That green color was pleasant and, when she saw the clouds billowing her way, she began to remember something.
"Green. I once was in a place where everything was green," she remembered vaguely. "Such a beautiful color."
That one memory filled her. She knew she once had a home of that same color yet she did not remember what it looked like. "I belonged somewhere once. In a green place where I could feel and there was more than pretty green clouds and emeralds floating around me. Yes, that place, what was it called again?"
She waited for another memory to flow. She had all eternity to do so. There was nothing here. Only peace, silence, beauty, emptiness and the unknown. It made her happy, yet there was an impulse for more, a hole she needed to fill.
"Daring soul trapped in this realm," a voice echoed, deep yet gentle. "Heed my words, for I am the only consciousness in this reality you occupy."
"Who are you?" She asked.
"I am the consciousness of Terramus," the voice answered. "You once heard my voice as an infant, now I come to you in this realm to once again assure that your soul flourish and continue your purpose."
"Purpose? I have a purpose?" she asked.
"Yes, your beauty, your love of nature and your way of life," the voice replied. "Thou are lost now but hear me for I will assist thee into finding your way back home."
"Home?" she finally felt something, a warmth, something secured within her. "The green place that I recalled." She looked around the clouds and amongst the falling green stars, but she could not find where the voice came from. It simply echoed all around.
"Yes, your home in the physical world," the voice said.
"The physical world? If my home is in the physical world, then where am I?" She questioned.
"You are within a dream world I created inside the Emerald Cosmo Jewel before you were unwillingly taken," the voice said.
She did not reply but she did wonder about the other world this voice spoke of. A world where she once lived, where she could feel and...be in her body again. Body, ah yes, I almost forgot I had a body, she thought. I wonder what happened to my body.
"The Emerald Cosmo Jewel," she repeated. "I know what that is. I still remember. I think it is the reason why I am here."
"It is the reason your body hath not perished," the voice added.
"Where is my body?" She desired to know, to feel. "I want to feel again."
"Yes, you will rise again," the voice said. "Spirit and mage of the forest, in order to return to your body you shall be tested. Do you remember your name?"
"My name?" she asked herself and struggled to remember. Oh, wait. It was just at the edge of her mind. "Whaley, no, Wallow, no it's...it's..." she struggled.
"Say your name and you will link to memories of love," the voice encouraged.
"Love? Ah, yes, my name, I remember. It's Willow."
Rey Ling
The sun was beginning to hide behind the horizon, painting the sky with a rainbow of orange, reds and purple. The four men gazed at the castle surrounded by a moat from behind a cluster of oak trees. It was the same place where Rey would teleport whenever he left the castle. Guards manned the parapets of the castle walls with bows and arrows and some of them were carrying guns. Guards wearing bamboo hats used bows and arrows but the ones with round armored hats carried guns, long barrels of steel.
Rey Ling looked at the guards on the parapets with a small telescope that he carried in his boot. It infuriated him to see them walking around with his invention. "Damn them," he whispered. "Fortunately those are the first models we made. They can only shoot one round, but how in Necros was the queen able to copy my design? She must be sending spies to my factory."
"It's nothing that we can't handle," Akielas said.
Rey Ling closed his telescope and tucked it back in his boot. It was not the first time that he had spied on the queen's castle. "Are you sure? Bullets travel faster than arrows," he said to Akielas.
"Can't we just shoot them down from here?" Auron suggested. "We can just hurl a fireball. I am sure we can ace it from this far."
"The queen's guards are no pushovers," Rey said. "They are well trained in the mystic arts. Only the queen's forces can use magic in this country and they are very good at it."
"Then let me handle it," Caim said. Leaves rustled when he moved as his maju attracted wind.
"It should be simple enough for you, wind walker," Rey replied. "They won't see you coming."
"They won't even hear me for I am the wind itself," Caim remarked.
Rey Ling had no doubt that this white haired man claiming to be a demigod would succeed. Rey could feel this man's confidence and certainty. Caim was quiet and serious and those were virtues in Tong Doran Cho.
Caim disappeared before his eyes then the wind blew and filled his long sleeves with air. Rey spun and looked back at the guards on the castle walls. He pulled out his telescope and watched them, trying to find Caim. "Dragon all mighty, he is already there, he really is that fast."
One guard had pulled the trigger on his gun and the booming sound echoed. The shot seemed to have gone through Caim but then Rey saw the demigod launching w
hite beams from his eyes that made the guard collapse. Like the wind, the demigod flew swiftly to the other guards and struck them with white beams. The guards were taken down and the attack that Caim had used seemed nonlethal. He returned with a gust and his feet still wouldn't touch the ground.
"I shut their minds down temporarily," Caim said. "They won't be waking up for at least a day."
"You can shoot beams of maju with your eyes?" Auron asked.
"If you just saw me then why are you asking?" the demigod asked in return.
Rey Ling was now convinced that Caim truly was a demigod since he had difficulties understanding human dialog. Rey had read about demigods when he was a boy. His grandfather once told him that such beings would appear in Tong Doran Cho in times of great danger. Rarely would demigods reveal themselves to humans and other species. Then it is true, he pondered, there must be something seriously happening if this demigod has decided to help mortals.
"Let's go inside. The first thing we must do is find out where the queen keeps the kaminyte," Rey directed. "With the guards gone we should have no problem sneaking in without getting noticed."
"She is not keeping the kaminyte inside," Caim informed.
"How do you know that?" Akielas asked.
Caim faced opposite of the sun, looking west and pointed. "I saw a building behind the castle area. Smoke is rising from a large tube smelling like kaminyte."
"You can smell kaminyte?" Auron asked, scratching his head.
"That is what I just said," Caim replied mirthlessly.
"This is one motley crew," Rey commented and chuckled.
Never had he spent time with such personalities. In fact, Rey did not have many friends. Most of the people he spoke with worked for him. His best friend had been his father and he and his sister only saw each other at work. The only close friend he had was his martial arts teacher whom he did not see much. When Rey Ling was a young boy he spent more time learning about machines with his father than with children outside. Akielas was the only person he saw as a real friend. Most people wanted his money or to get something from him.
Spirit of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 2) Page 19
