by John Grover
Among a circle of stones to the west of the elves’ village sat a single hill, known as Scry Hill. It sprouted like an anomaly. At the top of the hill Nix, Edon, and the elfin guards waited.
Moments later the other leaders arrived --Lianna with Juni and a small batallion by her side. Behind them the fairies with their entourage. They came to stop at a great red crystal resting atop a stone receptacle.
“Good. We are all here,” Nix said. “I will call the oracles.” He placed his hand on the red crystal and it radiated a soft glow. “Oracles, we require your sight. Come to us. Our needs are dire.”
A white mist filled the air, fogging out the horizon. It drifted around the edges of the hill and enclosed it. Shadowy figures formed in the fog. These vague shapes twisted until faces winked in and out of the white vapors.
Six figures slowly emerged from their blanket of obscurity. Their upper bodies were humanoid, and both females and males wore long white hair and beards. The lower half of their bodies were serpentine, coiling, and segmented tails pushed the oracles to the red crystal.
All six oracles placed their hands on the crystal then chanted. Their naked upper bodies writhed as their tails twitched. The crystal hummed sporadically until the oracles yanked back their hands as if they’d been burned. One looked up at the races around them and spoke.
“There is only one way,” the oracle said to them, brushing his white beard and staring intensely at Nix.
Time passed oddly. Nix blinked, wanting to respond, but his mouth could not form words. What had been only moments felt like hours. The six oracles consulted one another and agreed.
“The leader of each race must face the queen in mortal combat,” the oracle said. “They must invoke the essence of the saviors. The leaders from the dawning of Orum. Those leaders defeated the queen the first time she made war in our world. This was during her birth stage. Since then, she's matured and sharpened her powers in other realms, destroying many until she was reborn. This rebirth made her very powerful. Powerful enough to break through to our world again. The one realm that has escaped her grip.
She is able to summon allies from the shadow realm. Not even we have the power to do this. Sinnia does it at will. If she is not stopped, she will swallow all the goodness in the universe.
The prophecy says that only the ancestors or their proxy can defeat the queen. Since it has been so long, the three leaders must assume their ancestor's essence and become their proxy, with these...” At the foot of the crystal, the oracle materialized three clay jars with runes on them.
“In these containers rest the dust of those first leaders. You must take these with you on your journey. When you face her, use them to invoke their essence. Only then will she be defeated. Take heed, she must never know the existence of these soul jars. She believes the prophecy is false, for the three no longer live. But they can again...through you.”
Nix stepped away from his people and took the jar closest to him. “I am ready.”
“I’m going with you.” Edon ran to his friend.
“No, you must stay. The prophecy says I must go with the others leaders and our guardians. You are neither my friend.”
“I will not stay. You need a protector.”
“I will have the best. Our elfin guard and the other leaders. Edon, you must stay and protect White Fern in my absence. I need you to lead the armies of the elfin tribes and keep Sinnia’s armies at bay."
“I understand,” he said, disappointment weighing heavy upon him.
“You are good soul.” Nix put his hand on Edon’s shoulder. “Hope. Lead strong. Show no fear.”
“Let us begin our journey,” a fair-skinned man with translucent, glossy wings stepped from the fairies and scooped up the clay jar etched with fairy runes.
“You are not the fairy leader,” Lianna said, putting her jar in her pouch. “Where is Salane?”
“She was captured by Ebon warriors during battle. I am the appointed leader of the fairies in her absence. I am Vanare.”
“Welcome Vanare,” Nix said. “We are honored.”
“My queen,” Juni said, stepping to Lianna’s side. “Take this talisman bag. The spider queen uses dark magic. This may combat it.”
“Thank you, Juni.” Lianna placed the small bag in her pouch. “Always looking out for me.”
The three leaders addressed their people. Lianna took lead and instructed her sisters. “It has been many years since we’ve met with our brother’s the elves, but now we need to stand as one. Join their fight as a united army and push back the hordes.”
“Stand united,” Vanare said. “Unleash hell from the skies and show them no mercy. They will show you none. Protect the amazons and elves as if they were your own.”
“You know how I feel,” Nix said, eyeing Edon. “Do not give up, for they will win. Push them out of your homelands. They are many. You are united. Victory for Orum!”
A cheer resounded, echoing off the top of the hill. “Victory for Orum!”
The oracles slid quietly back into their mist. “May the Gods of Orum watch over you.” The fog dissipated and the clear blue sky reappeared.
Maren made her way through the crowd and thrust herself into Nix’s arms. For a long moment they said nothing, simply enjoying the feel of each other’s embrace--the warmth, the strength. Nix’s wife looked up at him, and her eyes were filled with uncertainty.
“Return to me,” she whispered.
“I will do my best, love.” Nix could make no promises. None that she would believe anyway. “Pray for us. We must succeed.”
She nodded as Nix caressed her small, slender ears. They kissed before he turned towards his escorts.
The three leaders gathered their weapons, their guards, and steeds and prepared for the longest journey of their lives. As they rode off into the dying sun, their people watched, standing united, not as different races but as one.
The Journey by Night
Darkness crept upon them like a great scavenger, and one by one stars dappled the clear violet sky. They found themselves passing through the Echian hills--once lush fields that were now as dreary and nearly as barren as the plains. Orum’s beautiful lands were dying by the will of evil taking hold, spreading like a plague.
In the distance they watched a battalion of Ebon warriors make their way through the hillsides, mounted on giant spiders. Nix couldn’t help but wonder if they were on their way to White Fern. Had they at last discovered his beloved home? He prayed that Edon had the endurance to fight, the courage to carry on, and the faith in himself to at least mount a defense. Please, dear Edon, make me proud...
Hours passed before they reached Vasoon forest, former haven of enchantment and fairy magic. Now it was a forest of the dead. Sinnia laid waste to it, driving the fairies out and making it a home for her spiders. Here they tread softly.
Skeletal trees reached for them with boney, thin branches. Giant spotted mushrooms, gutted and devoured, dotted the withered landscape. The ground was stained with dark blood. Spirits of the dead, slain in battle, haunted this area, and the group fear them.
There were whispers among the trees, within the brush, as they passed. Souls of the fae remained here, refusing to leave the once sacred place. Their anger hung thick in the air, causing even the trees to tremble. Moans swept across the trails and paths as their horses twitched with dread.
“The dead speak,” Lianna said, her gaze fixed on treetops that wore spider webs like necklaces. “They want vengeance.”
“We’ll give it to them,” Vanare said. “These grounds belonged to my people. It is they who cry out for justice.”
Leaving the forest, they came upon a great yawning cavern at the foot of the mountains. Its entrance, lined with stalactites, resembled carnivorous teeth. It was the only path up into the mountains. The horses bucked and cried as they neared the cavern—utterly refusing to enter it.
Dismounting their rides, the group gathered together. Nix and his two escorts, Lianna with her two, Vanare b
y himself. Their people could spare no more soldiers.
“The beasts refuse to go any farther,” Vanare said.
“They’re no fools,” Nix said, smiling. “We will leave their company here and proceed on foot. It might be safer through the mountains that way. The Gibbelins don’t hear very well. Perhaps we will elude them.”
They went into the mouth of the cavern. Using flint, they ignited the torches they had brought with them. The firelight danced hypnotically on the walls, illuminating black pools of noxious liquid that bubbled in the crevices around them.
“Foul smell.” Lianna grimaced as the three watched a pool of black ooze squirm.
Ahead they got a glimpse of the exit, highlighted by a pale curtain of moonlight. Upon approaching it, they took notice of the massive pool that rippled in front of the exit.
“Take heed and step over it,” Nix warned as they prepared to cross.
The liquid writhed, rising before them. It slithered to an enormous height then came crashing down.
The liquid mass reshaped and reformed, growing to monstrous proportions. Soon a hulking beast stepped from the waters, its slick flesh a mud color. It stomped toward them, shaking the excess moisture from itself.
This four-armed creature now blocked their escape. Around its thick neck it wore a necklace of skulls, elf and fairy alike. Sewn to its belly were other skulls, smaller in size, animal in shape. Licking its lips, it curled its ferocious claws and lumbered closer.
“I am Clatterbones,” it roared, yellow eyes glittering in the torchlight. “You may not pass me without my prize. I demand a prize.” It shook the skulls that covered it, and the rattling echoed through the cave. “These are my prizes, and I will have more before you pass.”
“We have no prizes to give,” Nix said, bracing his sword. The elfin guards flanked him.
“Oh, but you do. I see a mighty pretty one with you.” It pointed at Lianna with one hand, while jingling its skull necklace with the other.
“You will lose all four arms if you try to claim this prize.” She scowled, drawing her sword from its sheath.
“So be it!” With a howl, it charged them. Vanare lifted into the air and dove towards the great beast.
Clatterbones caught him by the throat. It clawed at Nix and the elves with its other arms. With mighty force, Vanare was tossed against a wall, the wind knocked out of him.
Lianna leapt into a back flip, catching the beast on the side of the head with her feet. It seemed immune to the blow. Her aids rushed the beast, but were struck down by its muscled arms. The amazons crawled to their knees, trying to catch their breath.
Nix pressed forward, swinging his sword wide but missing as Clatterbones sidestepped him. Two tree trunk-like arms struck Nix’s back and sent him to the ground.
Lianna swung wildly at the distracted creature and dug a gash out of its back. It wailed with anger, swinging round and catching her by the face. “You are a feisty prize. I will enjoy this.” It began to squeeze with all of its might, licking her face with a pink tongue.
Linna’s screams filled the cave, but Nix made it to his feet and quickly drove his sword right through the beast. Dropping Lianna, it cried in pain as Vanare, having gained his composure, swung his blade swift and sure and took Clatterbones’ head clean off.
A streak of oily blood spattered the walls as the creature shambled to its knees. A moment later it slumped over and went still.
“Are you alright?” Nix pulled Lianna to her feet.
“Never better.” She smiled at him, fascinated by the twinkle in his eyes. A twinkle like that of the stars.
After recuperating, they exited the cave to find themselves in awe of the Baneridge mountains, waiting for them against the bleak horizon. Gibbelin infested mountains, their granite peaks strained for the night sky. Hints of ceremonial bonfires made the peaks glow with orange-red hues. They looked toward the steep slopes miles ahead and at the even steeper north ridge that waited for them.
“We are no match for a Gibbelin army,” Vanare said. “We should try to cloak ourselves in the shadows and slip through the pass.”
“We shall try,” Lianna said. “The way is treacherous, but we have the ancestors on our side.” She patted the pouch around her shoulders.
“Yes we do,” Nix said. “This is only the beginning of our journey. These mountains are the first steps to victory. On the other side of them lie the forsaken lands—our world in Sinnia’s clutches. Let us not waste another moment.”
