The Wizard's Sword (Nine Worlds of Mirrortac Book 1)

by Paul Vanderloos

  The serpent casually explored the palm of Mirrortac’s right hand, poking its head up occasionally before crawling onward until it was hanging down from one of his fingers. The child laughed in the barking fashion of these people, calling his friends to watch the spectacle of the serpent and the stranger from another world. Mirrortac chuckled at the delight of the children, remembering his own children left behind in the Faug Forest. He raised the dangling serpent over the head of his little friend and allowed it to climb back upon the child’s head. The children laughed and jumped about with excitement then left him with their comical serpent crawling among the vine garlands of the child’s robe.

  After much embracing, the crowd settled themselves down on the wide sandy expanse of beach. Although dressed differently, the people of the island were clearly of the same race as those of his companions. They were not silent like the expeditioners but they did share the same calmness of bearing. They spoke in an eloquent tongue and often burst into song. Servants emerged from the rim of the forest, carrying with them woven baskets filled with exotic fruits. They dispersed the baskets to the crowd and one was placed within arm’s length of the erfin who was made to feel like a valued member of the tribe. The fruits were a welcome change to the daily diet of fish he had fed on for the many days of the lake journey and Mirrortac ate with gusto, savouring the tang and fresh sweet flavours of fruit-meat and juices.

  As the banquet progressed, some of the expeditioners got up from their places and began to perform elaborate movements, telling in gestures and signs, the stories of their travels and the things they saw and discovered. Mirrortac recognised many of the signs such as storms, fish, becalmed sea, and wind. Some brought with them oddities that they had discovered - strange sea plants, small animals and flotsam of worlds undiscovered. Each vessel master would have his or her story to tell, swaying and expressing themselves with their hands and bodies. The erfin’s own companions also took their turn, telling of land, rock, something of the sun, discovery and evident points about the erfin. All eyes shifted to the erfin as his vessel master ‘discussed’ him. He returned an awkward smile, uncertain of their intentions.

  Half the day passed before all the feasting and stories were all told. The sun of Luma was directly overhead now, blazing hot over the island world. The forest was of a standard Eol height yet the trees were vastly different. The trees at the edge of the beach had vine-like branches that hung down to the ground while there were taller trees behind them and the sound of exotic birds chattering amongst the foliage. One of the land people, distinguished by his green robe and a green satin cap, emerged from the crowd and began addressing him. The green robed one had neither cape nor the adornments of flowers.’Mor-she va wa Plumer-Ra. More-she va wa Plumer-Ra. Eef nadu Sah te-kutta pa oof Sufra Mere, Sufra-ming...utta utta utta ming eek mottelling,’ he said, almost singing the words.

  Mirrortac detected the aftertaste of Merma in his mouth; his sight blurred and a rustle stirred in his ears. There was no discomfort. The priestly one repeated his message.

  ‘Mor-she va to Plumer-Ra. Welcomeness you to Plumer-Ra. Find no strangers among we, he from Sufra Mere, Sufra-way ... long, long, long, across the waters in barren land.’

  ‘My ears understand you,’ Mirrortac replied.

  The being looked at him with amazement.

  ‘Wonderness! Wonderness! Speak more you of the orange hairs, you of the triangle ears. Speak so I may hear this wonderness of our tongue!’

  Mirrortac told him briefly about himself, the world of his origins and the worlds through which he had come before crossing the endless lake to meet with these peoples. When he finished, the priestly one broke into a melodic verse.

  ‘What wonderness is Mirrortac!

  hair of sunset, eyes of forest leaf

  of Sufra-way he comes

  to stay

  in Plumer-Ra a while he may

  be calm.

  Now listening my frown-filled fellow

  do not be shaped

  in ways so shallow

  a spirit brings the tongue to you

  of Meretees

  so beauteous

  your words in time

  will enter into Ra-Los

  and all will be answered

  unto you.’

  Amused and bemused, Mirrortac said, ‘What is this that you do with words yet sing as the birds?’

  ‘Mirrortac, un-psalmed child of Ra, what has been forgotten to you? This as you say of birds is ours and all creation’s gift. We call this the psalming, that of kin to Ra, creator of all you perceive and more beyond perception. I feel the questions of your seeking mind, my Ra-ling son. Be at rest. Be absorbing but allow time for the food of mind to take upon its understanding. There is no time under Ra. Now, is there more you wish to know at this place?’

  ‘The whining of a nite-wolf is sweeter than this rabble!’ Merftac’s voice sounded in Mirrortac’s head.’A few more questions,’ he said, and the being nodded for him to continue. ‘What do you name yourselves and why have you brought me here. I am seeking the land of mists and waters in the north for I am on a mission.’

  The priestly one’s face lit up in a smile.

  ‘I am Shubek. I am of the Green ones, keeper of the Children of the Divine Green. My duty is to web the fruits of the Green into the moving essence within all whom pass among the fragrant blessings of the Green. Your purpose here is one of mutual expanding. We will expand your knowledge and you shall expand our knowledge of the worlds beyond Sufra Mere. In this way we shall come to the nearness of Ra.’

  ‘Perhaps we should expand his ribs,’ Merftac’s voice sniggered.Mirrortac shook his head in bewilderment and looked at Shubek blankly.

  ‘What is this Divine Green and Sufra Mere, and Ra. You speak in riddles, Shubek.’

  Shubek patted the erfin’s shoulder with reassurance. ‘Mirrortac, my Ra-ling son, there is much to explain.’ He indicated the forest. ‘Look now behind you at the silent brothers who stand solid in the ground and give you the fruits you ate today. This is the Divine Green - home to all our family of creatures, large and small. They are of Ra as we are of Ra and Sufra Mere, the waters that you sailed upon, are of Ra. Ra is of all things, living and still. Ra is within all you perceive and in things beyond perception. Ra is the spirit that binds all the worlds. Ra is the creator and we are Ra’s children.’

  Mirrortac squirmed. ‘So, you call your spirit Ra. Each world has its own spirit.’

  Shubek only smiled at this and said: ‘Perhaps Ra has other names but it is the same essence. I think there should be an end to questions for this place. Absorb awhile, Mirrortac. Allow the Divine Green to speak to you as we walk.’

  ‘These beings have been eating too much fruit! It has gone to their heads!’

  Mirrortac couldn’t help but smile and agree with his spectral colleague.Shubek urged the erfin to follow as he strolled up the sand towards a pathway that led into the forest. The expeditioners returned to their vessels, leaving Mirrortac with the gaudy ones of Plumer-Ra. Shubek strode into the forest with the erfin close behind, glad at least to have his feet upon solid earth again. The scent of exotic timber resin and the many fragrances of blossoms and fruit wafted through the air between the tall and stately forms of the trees of the Divine Green. Unlike the Faug Forest, the Green presented itself in the same tidiness as the pine forests of Eol but filled with the vibrancy of life. Shubek led onwards.

  Chapter 9 – Teachings of the Divine Green

  The gaudy ones of Plumer-Ra caravanned into the Divine Green, following in a long procession along the well defined pathway. Mirrortac could see the peak of the mountain looming above them through the gaps of the forest canopy. The mist and cloud cap was on its summit as before while the light of Luma filtered through the trees behind them in broken rays of transparent yellow. In the dusky streams of sunlight, lavender winged butterflies drifted in large groups across the pathway, fluttering in silent zigzags around the trees and people. All about them
the branches of trees and plants were bent low with the weight of flowers and fruit, many within easy reach. The scent of them perfumed the forest air while the mottled reflections of sunlit green leaves embraced the erfin’s vision as a soothing vista.

  As they strolled the pathway some of the Meretees people skipped up to Mirrortac to stroke and touch his soft furry body. He felt a little disarmed by this unusual attention but understood that HE was the odd one in this world. He could hear those farther down the line singing and humming to themselves. Near him, a female burst into song, her words giving tribute to the trees of the Divine Green.

  ‘Speak to our hearts

  tall brothers

  speak to us of Green

  in rustle and leaf

  in Green ways unseen

  speak to our hearts

  Divine Green.

  How the blue greets your upstretched arms

  and the earth lifts you up

  You speak to all creatures

  drink by the Ruttella Stream

  drink by the waters

  the waters of Ruttella

  guggle, flop

  Ruttella

  of the Up-way Zu-laire.

  Sprung of earth

  fountain to the blue

  Ra gives you the secrets

  Ra gives you peace

  spread out your arms

  embrace us in your wisdom

  Love children of Ra.

  Kiss us with perfume of blossom

  tend us with shade

  feed us with fruit

  brethren of Ra

  Divine brethren

  Divine Green

  Speak to us of ways unseen

  speak to us tall brothers

  speak to our hearts

  Love children of Ra.

  The female hummed awhile, with a radiant expression of happiness. Mirrortac smiled at her and she twirled around in response, like a carefree child, stopping by the tall trunk of one of the forest giants to hug and stroke its bark exterior.

  ‘Grow strong my brother!’ she shouted.

  When he saw this Mirrortac scratched his head.

  ‘Why speak to the trees? They cannot hear you!’ he said to the female.

  She only blinked at him and laughed. ‘Do you not speak to your timber brothers, cuddly one? They may not possess ears but they know what you tell them. Have you ears for them, Mirrortac?’

  ‘How then do they hear and what tongue do they possess?’ he asked, discomforted by the rumble of laughter within the crowd.

  ‘They hear you as they hear the air that brushes by your face, cuddly one. They speak to you with the silence of green and sweet smelling things. They speak with their yielding arms that collects the blue above, they speak with the calm dispense of forgotten leaves and blossoms; they speak with the breaking of the light and the oozing of their living sap while they hear your footfall upon the earth that covers their roots. They hear the purpose of your heart beating against their leaves and tall trunks. They hear your Love Mirrortac, and ask nothing more. This is their tongue my friend. Be listening and let them know your heart’s ways. They are patient beyond even any of Plumer-Ra.’

  ‘It be clear she has eaten too much fermented fruit!’ Merftac’s voice said.

  Mirrortac chuckled. ‘I would agree with you.’

  ‘Now who talks with themselves?’ The female mused.

  Mirrortac moved on, leaving the female to her tree-loving ways. Her words were riddles in this riddle-some place. Perhaps she was right. The trees did seem to communicate in a feeling kind of manner. High in the canopy branches swayed to the breeze and a shower of yellowing leaves drifted down upon them. Shubek pointed up into one of the branches. There, preening its snow-white plumage was a bird wearing a flamboyant crown of soft filamentous feathers that fell away from its head in a beard of fluff. Its powder blue beak poked out and tiny beads of eyes peeked through between the filaments. The bird surveyed them from its lofty perch, waving an equally flamboyant tail that streamed down in a white spray. As they walked beneath it, the sun picked out aquamarine highlights from its gleaming white form. Mirrortac examined the craning silent form of the bird and asked Shubek what it was named. ‘Glistening. She is named Glistening,’ and the bird seemed to nod at Mirrortac in recognition as if to say ‘Yes, I am as he has called me. Be at peace my friend.’ Mirrortac continued to peer up at the bird, admiring its beauty and wishing he could touch its softness.

  The Glistening stared back as if to say: ‘Why should you want to touch me? Do not erfins eat birds?’

  Mirrortac shook his head, feeling an inexplicable pang of guilt. He muttered to himself: ‘I do not eat creatures of beauty.’ and the bird cocked its head sideways at him.

  ‘What is beauty?’ came the unspoken reply.

  Mirrortac awoke from his daydream, realising that most of the people had already passed him by and he was left standing alone with this bird perched above him. He frowned and admonished himself for creating this imagined conversation with a dumb albeit beautiful creature. He resumed the walk, picking up his pace in order to be with Shubek at the front. The forest began to fall into shadow as the sun of Luma was shut out in the forest behind and a grey mass of rain clouds accumulated around the peak of the nearby mountain.

  The change of the weather was swift. Soon the cloud mass covered all the part of the forest in which they travelled. Mirrortac heard the soft roar of rain descending towards them from the slopes of the mountain and looked about him for shelter. A clump of low bushes near the path ahead lifted up their wide round leaves. ‘You will be dry here,’ they seemed to tell him. The assemblage dispersed, taking shelter under various branches and hollows of trees. A grey wall of water streamed down into the forest, moving in upon them. Mirrortac scrambled beneath the inviting round leaves. The rain poured down around him, splashing off the leaves above and falling in dribbling curtains of water to the earth. Fresh odours of soil and worms and green were released into the rain-agitated air, bringing a fresh sense of revitalisation to all the forest and those sheltered here. The Divine Green sighed with a symphony of insects, frogs and tickled leaves.

  The rain of the Divine Green was not like that of the Faug Forest. The fall of the water was gentle, unobtrusive. Mirrortac relaxed under the umbrella of leaves, unperturbed by the wet mist that blew in over him, covering his fur in moist droplets. The Meretees people huddled together under bushes, many smiling up at the sky and singing tributes. One of the children, the boy with the serpent, dashed over to Mirrortac and snuggled into his lap, cranking his head up at him and wiggling his shiny black nose at him with glee. Mirrortac grinned back at the child. The colourful serpent was twined around a vine wrapped around the child’s chest. The erfin regarded the serpent as it tasted the wet air with its sensitive tongue and asked the child what it was called. The child stroked the serpent’s head with his finger. ‘This is Glurk!’ and broke into song.

  ‘Glurk is long

  Glurk is thin

  Glurk puts tongue out to the wind

  Glurk is green, Glurk is blue

  Glurk is every colour, every hue

  Glurk is twine, Glurk is stick

  Glurk eats insects

  that makes me sick.

  I like my Glurk and it likes me

  lovely Glurk from brother tree.’

  The child pushed its face against the harmless serpent and caressed it. The Glurk tickled his nose with its tongue, its eyes scanning the young face of the Meretees’ child. ‘Yes, we be home soon. I know. I know,’ the child said to the Glurk and it looked up at him with an expression as if to say ‘I am glad my friend. I am glad.’

  ‘The falling is enough now,’ said the child and stood up. It had stopped raining and the trees were soaked and dripping. The erfin stretched up and shook off the moisture that had accumulated on his fur. Above them the sky began to clear and a swift breeze scuttled through the uppermost branches of the trees. They resumed their trek along the winding path, surrou
nded by the fresh dripping forms of the trees all around. The peak loomed close, shrouded in mist and cloud that swirled into the forests that flanked the high mountain slopes. Behind, the light of day waned.

  The Meretees soon came to a clear space where Shubek bid them to make camp for the night. Those assigned to collect the fruit wandered into the near forest, baskets in hand. Mirrortac sat beside Shubek intent on asking many questions. Sensing this, the green robed keeper turned to the erfin with a smile: ‘Yes, you wish to know more of us, Mirrortac?’ he said.

  ‘Tell me of the vessel that does not sink and those of you who ride within, speaking only in animal tongues and movements of hands,’ Mirrortac asked.

  The be-capped Shubek chuckled. ‘There is nothing strange to us of our fluts, the vessels you say do not sink. The timber is composed of many inner holes which being airous will not yield the mass of it to the sinking as you say. Our peoples who ride within are named Serenetees and theirs is the sea to explore, returning to us its many secrets for our expanding. These have been given the tongue of all sea creatures and of Ra. They have no further need for small talk.’

  ‘Then these Serenetees have a different task to you here who place woven fabrics of animal fur upon you?’

  ‘Yes, you may say this. We are the Children of the Divine Green in which you are now surrounded. The fabric is of the Fluffinhof which lives upon the Up-way Zu-laire, that which you can see rising up from the Green to the clouds.’ Shubek glanced up at the mountain. ‘The Fluffinhof goes to the stream to moult and we collect its fur at the over-way.’

  Mirrortac stared at Shubek. ‘This mountain, you call it “Up-way Zu-laire”?’