The Branches of Time

by Luca Rossi

  The young woman couldn't rid her mind of the horrible images from her dream, all muddled up with scenes from the wedding that had been transformed into a bloodbath. Once again she saw the thousands of piercing shards fall from the sky as human beings were transformed into deformed, bloody heaps of flesh.

  Miril softly hugged her and Lil started to calm down, now somewhat stunned and ashamed.

  “Everything's going to be alright. Don't worry,” Miril whispered softly. “Let's try to get some sleep. The sun will rise in just a few hours, and we have lots of work to do tomorrow.”

  Lil laid back down, as did Miril, who pulled her close in a gentle embrace. Lil laid her head on the priestess' chest, who caressed the young woman's hair.

  “Things will work out. We'll be just fine. You'll see.”

  Lil's eyes were still open. Feeling the priestess' hands upon her made her tense up. After a few minutes, however, fatigue once again got the better of her and she let herself surrender to the embrace, the caresses, and sleep.

  5

  The morning light came bursting through the Temple windows. When Lil awoke, the first thing she noticed was the fire crackling in the fireplace. She looked around for the other two. Her husband was still asleep. The priestess was gone.

  She rose to her feet and headed towards Bashinoir. His bandage had recently been changed; Miril must have already taken care of him. She left the room and headed towards the sacred fire. The heady fragrance of incense hung in the air. The priestess was sitting in front of the flames, meditating.

  “Come here, Lil.”

  “Pardon me, priestess. I didn't mean to disturb you.”

  “I asked you to call me Miril yesterday. Don't you remember?”

  “Yes, I'm sorry...Miril.”

  “No apologies are necessary,” the priestess replied, smiling.

  Yet again, the memories from the previous day washed over her. Lil burst out crying. Miril walked towards her.

  “Lil, don't worry. We'll find a solution.”

  Miril had been saying the same thing to herself since she had awoken at the first crack of dawn.

  Everything will be alright. We're within the Temple walls, after all. Nothing can happen to us here. Whoever did all of this probably can't even sense us. They won't care about a measly three survivors. If they've spent all these years looking for a way to take revenge, then they're probably satisfied now. But what if I'm wrong?

  “Miril, I have to worry. They're all dead. All of my family. There are just three of us left on an island that has no contact with the external world. What are we going to do? How are we going to stay alive?”

  “I know, Lil. It's not easy. It seems as if the gods have forsaken us. But if this is the destiny they chose for us, we must accept it. This is our trial. Now calm down. Try to relax.”

  “My husband still hasn't...woken up!”

  “No. I'm afraid he's lost a lot of blood, he's quite weak. Unfortunately, you and I are the only ones who can bury the bodies now.”

  “But -”

  Lil wasn't at all sure she would be able to handle that. Yet again, yesterday's horror flashed through her mind. How could she bring herself to touch those bloody hunks of flesh, which the nighttime frost had probably already frozen into stiff, ghastly postures?

  “I'm frightened, too. But there's nothing else we can do. Those people deserve their funeral rites, and we can't leave their mangled bodies lying outside the Temple, at the mercy of the winds and the wild beasts.”

  Help her burn the body of every person she had ever loved in her life. That was what the priestess was now asking her to do. The young woman would never have dared to question the priestess' orders. And now, reluctantly, she acquiesced, muttering in a faint voice: “As you wish.”

  Miril smiled at her sweetly. “We'll get to that soon enough. Come with me. I've prepared a lovely infusion for you.”

  Somewhat hesitant, the two women moved towards the main door of the Temple. The priestess had changed into work clothes, something Lil had never seen her dressed in before. She offered Lil a change as well. They both moved clumsily, hampered by the weight of the heavy leather garments.

  “It is time. May the gods be with us,” Miril said before flinging the heavy wooden doors open.

  Awestruck, the two women stared at the scene in front of their eyes. Neither was able to speak. The space in front of the Temple was immaculate, a pure white blanket marred only slightly by the tracks of a few small animals here and there.

  “How could...” Lil managed to squeak out.

  The priestess didn't reply. She walked down the Temple stairs straight into the snow. The sun shone in the sky and the chilly wind nipped at her skin. Lil stood standing in the doorway, watching Miril.

  Moving very carefully, the priestess dug through the snow in several places before finding what she was looking for: a stain of blood in the lower layers. Yes, a body had fallen there, in that spot.

  But where is it now?

  She looked around, suspicious, as if someone or something was going to jump out from the trees. The forest appeared to be calm. The snowfall had wiped away every trace of horror from the previous day.

  “Miril, where are all of the bodies?” Lil whimpered. The surreal stretch of pure white snow was even more ghastly than what she had prepared herself to see.

  “I don't know,” Miril answered, coming back towards her. “Let's go back into the Temple.”

  The two women immediately felt safer after closing the door behind them.

  But it's not the wood that's protecting us, Miril thought. After she woke up that morning, she had renewed the protection spells. No, the dark forces couldn't reach them here, in this place.

  “Miril. Those sharp pieces of stone that fell from the sky - what were they?”

  “I can't really say. I'm sorry. I haven't had a chance to start looking into it.”

  “And the bodies? Where did the bodies of all our people go?”

  Miril shook her head. “Lil, I don't know.”

  She's the priestess! How could she not know?

  Miril felt the tension in the girl's eyes. She looked at her gently, moving closer and taking her hands in hers. Lil stiffened.

  “We will find out the truth. We will find out what happened. Don't lose faith. If the gods wanted us to be saved, there is surely a reason why. So please, keep calm. Nothing bad can happen to us here, in the Temple.”

  Lil wasn't convinced.

  We'll have to leave here sooner or later. We'll have to find food, go hunting, go collect our things. And whatever killed the others will be able to do the same thing to us.

  Miril studied Lil's worried face. She trailed her fingers along the sides of the girl's body, then behind her back. Lil's body grew even more rigid. Miril embraced her. Lil wanted to melt into that embrace, but something wouldn't let her. The woman standing in front of her was the priestess. Before now, she had never so much as spoken a word to Lil.

  Miril broke away. “Go see how your husband is faring. He may very well regain consciousness soon.”

  6

  “Are they all dead?”

  “Yes, my Lord. The rite has been performed and your orders were carried out exactly as instructed.”

  Beanor felt a deep sense of satisfaction. He rose from his throne and moved towards the window. He looked out over the sea, as if he could see the island in the distance.

  “And you are, of course, aware of the fact that absolutely none of them must survive under any circumstances whatsoever?”

  “Of course, my Lord. Your orders were very clear. What we unleashed upon them did not spare a single soul.”

  “And you are aware, wizard, that if this proves to not be the case, you'll pay for it with your own life?”

  Aldin swallowed. Anyone who failed to make the king happy usually paid the highest price.

  Beanor continued looking out over the sea. A grin slowly spread across his lips. All dead. It was over. The force that had c
onstrained them to these lands had finally been broken. Now they could board their ships, take to the seas and explore new lands. After two millennia of immobility, they could finally set out upon the routes traced across the ancient maps.

  His shoulders were covered with a fur wrap. His nude torso was unaffected by the freezing air. The crown of his head was bald, the long hairs of his neck and sides swept back into a ponytail. Beanor's hand moved towards his hilt. If that wizard had messed up again, if he had to lose more ships while trying to get over the barrier, he wouldn't kill him. Oh no. He would torture him for years, then let him heal, then torture him some more. He would reduce him to human larva and make him rot in prison, just like those who had failed before him.

  “Very well, wizard. Now that the curse and the barriers are broken, call the generals together to prepare the warships. We have no way of knowing who we'll run into on these new lands.”

  I, too, will be on one of those ships. And, if the gods will it to be so, I'll never come back here, the wizard Aldin thought to himself.

  7

  Heady aromas wafted through the air around the sacred fire. The priestess Miril was sitting on a cushion, staring at the fire. Lil, exhausted, slept in the room near the entrance. Bashinoir still hadn't stirred. After resting and being tended to all day, his health seemed to have stabilized. His vital energies were growing stronger.

  Miril closed her eyes. Images of the fire continued to burn through her mind. She slowly separated from her own physical body. The fire shrouded her entire being. The priestess was now nothing but flames. She started to feel herself rise, higher and higher, until she saw her own body sitting, meditating, back down on the floor. Then she looked up. She rose even higher, moving beyond the Temple's archway, until she floated freely in the air. The freezing gusts had no effect on her spirit. She looked up and the starlight made her feel even closer to the gods.

  She continued to ascend, until the island was but a speck beneath her. She imagined she was a falcon and dove towards the forest. Before reaching the crowns of the trees, she turned back up. She flew over the woods and mountains. She circled around and studied every angle with her bird's eye. Nothing. She didn't see a single soul on the island. She moved beyond her sense of sight and tuned in to her other faculties of perception. Those souls, just a day after their death, should still be connected to their physical bodies. She tried to detect their presence, yet didn't feel a thing.

  Then she plunged into the depths of the water surrounding the islands. If they weren't on land, for whatever reason she would eventually discover, then they must be in the sea. She moved along the ocean floor, exploring the underwater caverns. There was no trace of the physical remains nor the souls.

  A tear fell down her cheek. Her body quickly called her spirit back to it. She regained control of her limbs, allowing the heat of the flames to console her, caress her face, and thanked the gods for the powers they had granted her.

  It was her duty to protect them. She was the one who had to take care of those people and their children. That was what she had been born for, what she had been prepared to do. Years of suffering, studying, and rituals. She felt like she had never really lived. She had dedicated every second of her life to studying and practicing magic. And for what? Her spells should have kept the island hidden from the eyes of the dark forces.

  And yet they had been found. She had felt the magical forces coming from the North just a few moments before the violent storm of stone shards had burst out over the island. She had run out to warn them, to call them into the Temple, since, at least between those walls, they could have been protected.

  But she hadn't gotten there in time. Her words had died in her throat. She had seen them fall like leaves. Some had been ripped to shreds as they ran to seek refuge in the Temple, falling as their eyes, begging for salvation, stared at her.

  Only Bashinoir and Lil had made it. As they ran, it had seemed as if they were dancing under that hellish rain, as if every shard had casually landed just a little bit ahead or behind them. As the two walked into the Temple, a stretch of lifeless bodies stretched out behind them outside the Temple. She had heightened her senses to seek any vital signs in that multitude of cadavers, but found nothing. Locking eyes with Bashinoir, she understood that the man had also realized the truth: none had been saved. If they had survived, they would have to fend for themselves.

  Miril rose to her feet. She wanted to go back to her quarters, but decided instead to look for Lil and Bashinoir.

  They were both sound asleep. Lil's breath was as light as a little girl's. The woman was no longer quaking from her nightmares. The priestess moved closer and gently caressed her. She lifted the skin covering her and laid down next to her. Her energy drained from performing the rituals, she embraced the girl and let the sweet sensation lull her.

  Sleeping next to another human body. She had never done such a thing before the last two nights.

  8

  The wizard Aldin waited for the boy, who had just left the hotel, to turn the corner. He carefully listened for the sound of his stumbling footsteps. The young man entered the alley without noticing the shadow crouching in the darkness. Aldin let him pass by and then jumped to his feet. He grabbed him from behind and, with a dry movement, twisted his head to the right. The boy crumpled and slid down, but Aldi hurried to keep the body from falling to the ground.

  “No, come on. You can't get your spiffy soldier uniform all dirty.” Grabbing the body by the shoulders, Aldin dragged it a few feet and propped it up against the wall. He checked to see if anyone else was coming down the alley, then took a key out from his pocket and, opening a small wooden door, slipped inside, dragging the cadaver along.

  Stooping over the body, he tore out a lock of the boy's hair and placed it in a luminescent purple vial placed on top of the table. He pronounced the words of the spell and waited. A few minutes passed silently as Aldin watched the fluid in the vial whirl and gurgle, soon emitting a faint wisp of smoke which grew to the size of a man as it spilled out onto the ground. The smoke coiled around in the air, becoming thicker and thicker, developing a texture and changing color, from gray to light pink. Feet, ankles, legs, pelvis, chest, arms, backside and finally a human head gradually formed. The lines became more distinct as skin and hair also formed.

  Aldin glanced over at the dead soldier. The fluctuating simulacrum in front of him had the exact same appearance. But it still needs a soul.

  The wizard jumped forward, as if diving into a pool of thermal water.

  He immediately noticed the powerful strength of the musculature, the young and strong arms, the firm legs, the clear vision and acute sense of hearing.

  He ran to the mirror and rejoiced in the image it reflected. Excellent, Aldin. You make quite the handsome little soldier...

  He knelt over the cadaver. After undressing it, he dragged it to the furnace in the adjoining room. He hoisted it up to the hatch and pushed it inside. The flames devoured it. Very well. He got undressed and threw his own clothes into the fire. Returning to the other room, he put on the uniform. He wrinkled his nose at the odor. It wouldn't kill these soldiers to use a little soap every once in a while. Well, now's not the time to be too picky.

  As dawn broke, Aldin and the other soldiers filed onto the ancient warship. Lying on his cot, he rubbed his hands. He couldn't wait to be one of the first to leave this land.

  Freedom!

  He was finally a free wizard who could roam the lands of this world, no longer yoked to serve that homicidal maniac of a king. Just a few days' journey and then...

  The ship left the dock. Soldiers and sailors hollered at their loved ones standing on the pier. They were to be the first men to leave this land in ages. The freezing wind failed to impede the women’s determination; they waved at their men crowding the side of the ship, intent upon seeing them off until they were far in the distance.

  Aldin noticed one girl in particular staring right at him. He looked around, but the s
oldiers next to him were all looking somewhere else. He looked at her, somewhat uncertain, and she seemed to get angry. Then the commotion came over him: “I'll wait for you!” she yelled, trying to overpower the rest of the voices and conversations. “Come back soon! And bring me something from the Southern lands!”

  Repressing a sneer, Aldin lifted his hand to wave at her as he forced his lips into a smile.

  After two hours of sailing with the wind at the stern, the sailors bustled about as the soldiers chatted and drank.

  “We're there!” the look-out cried. Tridis was just a mile away. It was little more than an exposed reef but, for over two thousand years, no ship had ever been able to cross this impassible limit.

  The captain paced up and down the deck with his hands folded behind his back.

  “We're there!” he repeated to himself. All of the sailors and soldiers were now on deck, their eyes trained on the reef as it grew closer and closer.

  “What if that royal wizard was wrong? What if the barrier hasn't really been broken?” a sailor asked softly.

  “What are you saying, asshole? There's no way he could have made that kind of mistake,” another replied.

  “Yes, but...the other wizard, the one before, he said he had succeeded in doing the same thing. And nothing but a few pieces of wood ever came back from those other two ships,” the first continued.

  “You son of a bitch, are you trying to curse us?” the other accused him, coming forward with his fists raised.

  Aldin jumped in between the two men. “Relax. Don't worry. The first wizard was just an old drunk, and the king made sure to punish him good.”

  The two soldiers stared at him, suspicious, but Aldin had diffused the tension and they all went back to join the other men watching the reef as it grew closer.

  Now close to Tridis, the captain ordered them to haul in the sails and throw down the anchor. Three rowboats with six sailors and a helmsman each descended. The boats headed south over the choppy sea, effortlessly managing the waves.