by S K Wee
According to some of the elves they had spoken with, it was entirely possible to hide the access point from the water similar to how the elves within the forest hide their settlements from unwanted intruders. If they wanted to stay hidden, they would not be found.
Any settlement around or in the desert would need supplies and the nearest area they could obtain them was to the north of the desert. That was where they planned to begin the next phase of their quest. Conny wanted more information and maps of the area, thus they decided to make their way back to the palace in Port Devdan.
Though both Dankal and Ekky wanted to go to Port Devdan, Conny asked them to stay put. She wanted them to run the company and be there just in case the unexpected happened and Dianna somehow made contact with them. Ekky hated the thought of being left behind once again with nothing to occupy his mind but understood her reasoning. They would stay behind and let the real men search for his missing child. Ekky knew he could add little to the venture.
*****
All through dinner and the conversation later, Frankie studied her family and friends. Both Darby and Twig were thrilled with the hunt. She was sure they hated the fact that Dianna had been abducted but they both were excited to have something worthwhile to participate in. Her father especially needed a purpose. As much as Darby loved his island life, Frankie could tell that he sometimes felt like a caged beast. He needed to feel like he was accomplishing something important. This mission was just what he needed.
On the other hand, Twig just wanted to help wherever he could. He loved Conny and felt terrible this had happened to her family but at the same time, he was happy to have something dangerous and important to do.
The saddest was Sylly. She could tell that he was devastated by not finding anything yet. Frankie believed his determination level was sky high, though. He would never quit this quest until they found his sister.
The surprising member of the team was Quintus. Frankie had been watching him fairly closely the last few years while he was training at the Academy and knew he still felt out of place with all the family and friends who surrounded him. His colors now seemed every bit as determined as Sylly’s which was not his normal detached demeanor. Frankie thought he had finally realized these people were part of his family. She pulled him aside after dinner.
“Quin, how are you doing? You seem much more involved in this than when it first started, and I’m happy that you are.”
“Yes, I have found out how much I care about this group of people. They are no longer just some people that I know, they feel more like family and I would hate to lose any of them, and certainly not sweet Dianna.” Quin’s color went to a fearsome dark shade of protectiveness.
“Quin!” Darby came out the back door and joined them. “We will return to the island and be with family tonight, then we will join the others in Port Devdan in a couple of days if you plan on continuing with the team.”
“Oh, I’m coming along, that’s for sure.” Quin left no room for doubt about his continued participation. Surprisingly, he turned and hugged Frankie. “I’ll see you soon, and thanks for the talk.” Frankie squeezed him in return and then hugged Darby. As they hugged, she heard a loud caw-caw come from Erram, who was perched on the fence nearby. She knew they would meet up again soon in Port Devdan.
Chapter 10
Temple of Sar Ruins, Grand Sands Desert, Country of Bhaelor
Though they treated her like a queen, Dianna still continued to search for any means of escape. Even though she wasn’t under lock and key, the desert itself was its own prison. How could she possibly live days on end walking through those endless sands?
It had taken more than a week of travel to get to the ruins. They brought all the supplies from the settlement, but they still needed someone to travel every few weeks to a town that was directly to the north. Dianna had considered trying to run in that direction but had no idea how far she would have to travel alone and without supplies. They had a wagon they would attach their two small mules, which were quite different than the ones Dianna was used to. Taichi told her that these were bred for the desert and required very little liquid to survive.
Once they were entrenched within the underground warren, Dianna was surprised at the quality of the construction and the number of rooms. The underground passageways seemed to go on forever. She had only been shown one end of the complex so far, but the area included an underground spring, which was used to wash and drink. The water was exceptionally fresh, tasting unlike anything else. It seemed like any and all food that was prepared always had a coating of sand on it. Sand was everywhere—her clothing was lined inside and out with it.
Taichi was assigned to teach her the language and history of the MinSu nation. His pride shone through in all his lessons. In one of the larger rooms, there were shelves of very old scrolls, and he reverently brought one out of a metal casket and gingerly laid it down before her.
“Our Lexicon, Oveestra. Be very careful as this was composed millennia ago and has survived many wars, floods, fire, and storms.” Taichi carefully unfurled the dry, aged parchment.
Dianna felt something move inside of her—something in this mixture of symbols and letters resonated deep within. Was it possible that she was truly meant to help these people? Oh, how she missed her family, her amma especially. Amma would be able to explain all this and more. She always seemed to know everything and that was part of the problem Dianna had. Why hadn’t they found her yet? Surely with all her talented family members, someone should have located and recovered her. Unless Taichi was correct and this was her destiny all along. Was it possible?
Having a destiny outside of her family’s circle of support was not something Dianna wanted to even think possible. She missed all of them so very much.
As she ran her finger down the document, some of the symbols sort of popped out at her. “What is this a symbol for, Taichi?”
“That is fire, Oveestra. This one is water. These are elements that are sacred, and the sequence is important to remember. Let’s set this aside until you have a better understanding of all the symbols used by the MinSu. They are many and you have already mastered so much. You are a very quick learner, Oveestra, and I am honored that I was chosen to instruct you.” Taichi had a habit of bowing to her. She would just nod her head back at him not knowing what was expected of her. No one had said she was doing anything wrong so she continued the practice.
The clothing she had started out with had been left behind at the old settlement. Natsuki had shown her how to twist the long piece of linen to hide most of her skin from the sun. Still, she became rather brown from the rays and it became less important to shield her skin. Most days, when she came above ground, she would drop her outer clothing and opt to wear a simple loincloth like the other women in the group. No one seemed the least bit interested in the amount of skin she exhibited, and Dianna lost all sense of modesty rather quickly.
Most of the others kept their distance from her, but they would always bow to her. A couple of the younger girls would bring her food but they would quickly bow and leave. None tried to hold any conversation with her at all, even though her language skills had improved quite a lot since Taichi began teaching her.
Natsuki was different, though. She did not show any reverence toward Dianna and would sit with her and talk sometimes for hours about the lore Dianna had begun to learn. Natsuki was not only a seer but came from a long line of Dream Dancers. She was able to communicate with members of their sect through what was called dreamscape. This was how she maintained contact with Taichi through all the years he spent in Mandalay waiting for Dianna.
“What happened to the kol-da trees, Natsuki? Was there a fire or was it a disease of some sort?” Dianna still couldn’t imagine that the area around the ruins, which consisted of sand for miles in every direction, was once a lush forest of trees and vegetation.
“Poison, Oveestra. Evil people that wanted to see the MinSu tribe taken down poisoned them. We had
no way to fight the poison and the gods would not come to our aid. Our tribe was decimated with less than fifty members remaining after the last battle. They went into hiding and eventually found sanctuary within the Silvanas Forest joining the other tribes. But the legacy remained alive with them, carried on from mother to daughter and father to son. Eventually, one of the descendants of the original seer who also was my ancestor received a prophecy through a dreamscape and shared with all the remaining MinSu.”
“Can I read this prophecy? Is it written down in one of those scrolls?” Dianna wanted to read the much talked about prophecy so she could refute whatever it said. She was still quite sure it couldn’t be her that was named within it.
“The prophecy was written many hundreds of years ago, Oveestra. Though the actual document is long gone, the words have been spoken to each generation. Each generation has produced a version anew. Each new seer has gone into the pit to either gain knowledge or die seeking it. I have been to the pit and my ancestors blessed me with their wisdom. It was my visions, which pointed us in the proper direction some forty years past. All was in preparation for your coming.”
“I wasn’t even born forty years ago, how could the prophecy possibly be about me? I don’t even think my parents were born yet.”
“Everything they have shown me has come to pass. All but your final test and then the culmination of our redemption. Soon you will go into the pit and there you will be given the knowledge necessary to carry out your goal. The visions of your dreams will lead you in the direction you need to go. Your path.” Though Natsuki gave Dianna a kind almost motherly smile, Dianna tried to maintain her distance from the seer.
“What is the pit? It doesn’t sound like a place I would like to go.” Dianna thought it sounded ominous. The pit—dark, dangerous, and scary. She didn’t think she would like it at all.
“Don’t worry, my Oveestra. All will be made clear soon, very soon.” Natsuki went back to working with her yarn, humming and rocking which she was wont to do. This usually meant the conversation was over and she wouldn’t learn any more from her.
As time went on, she no longer was allowed to use her native tongue at all. If she spoke in Mandrin or Bhaelish, Taichi would ignore her completely. While she continually looked for any sort of avenue of escape, she was becoming more and more certain that she was stuck until someone could find her.
Taichi woke her up every morning when he was ready to begin her training. She often wondered if he slept at all. Then, one morning it happened, she knew immediately what it was and shyly asked Taichi for some feminine rags for her menstrual cycle. She was totally unprepared for his reaction. At first, she heard him gasp and then he stripped her loincloth from her to investigate further. As embarrassed as she was, she was also quite shocked by his reaction.
“Taichi! What are you doing? This is a normal event. It was bound to begin sometime.” Dianna tried to cover herself as he inspected the evidence.
“Oveestra! The time has come. Thank the gods! Your time is here.” He pulled her up from her bedroll and without even letting her replace her clothing, tugged her along with him and into Natsuki’s small room down the corridor.
The seer looked her over and inspected the soiled cloth. “So, your time is here.” Natsuki closed her eyes and sighed. Then she nodded her head and turned to Dianna once more. “It’s time to finish your education. Let’s go directly to the pit and meet your teacher.” As they traversed the lower halls of the ruins, for the first time Dianna went all the way to the other end of the labyrinth of rooms and corridors. She was extremely surprised at the distance they covered while remaining within the ruins of the temple.
The end of the hallway opened up into a large arena type room. On the far end was a welcoming pool of water. The water smelled fresh and Dianna assumed it was spring-fed like the other end of the maze where she had been housed these past months.
Natsuki led her toward the pool. “Clean yourself. Your future awaits and you must be cleansed before you can receive your lessons.” Several other members helped ‘cleanse’ her. Dianna felt many sets of hands on her while being scrubbed raw in the small pool.
“Enough!” Natsuki ordered. “Bring her out, her destiny is calling.” There were hands grabbing ahold of her and as she looked around, she knew that every single member of the tribe was now in attendance. Fear was racing through her. Dianna didn’t know what was in store for her, but she didn’t think she was going to like it at all.
They then led her over to a dark corner of the arena and she got her first look at what she knew was ‘the pit.’ The dark hole was about six feet wide and she had no idea how deep it was, as she could not see the bottom. The whole corner was dark to begin with and the pit was totally black.
“Um . . . I’m not going down there. No, please, no.” Tears were welling up in Dianna’s eyes. She had never liked the dark and her fear quickly turned to panic.
“Trust us, Oveestra. You must follow your destiny.” Natsuki sounded so sure, and Dianna began to calm down a little until she heard some hissing sounds coming up from the pit. She jumped back away from the pit, but Taichi and another man each grabbed an arm and lifted her up from the ground and over the opening of the black hole. Screaming as loud and hard as she could they inevitably lowered her down. She hung in mid-air for a while and then felt them release her arms. Screaming in terror, she fell the remaining few feet and landed on hard packed dirt in the middle of a nightmare.
Though Dianna cried out incessantly, she could barely hear anything from up above. She wondered if they even heard her. She knew she was going to die and she somehow hoped it would be a quick death. Then she remembered some of the prayers that Amma had taught her long ago. Prayers she hadn’t spoken in years. She prayed to Blessed Frieda and Her Blessed Father, Sar.
The prayers calmed her. She started to stand and feel around the sides of her prison. Maybe there was a way for her to climb out. The walls all felt smooth, though, and she knew this trap was man-made and wondered what its purpose was. Then she heard the hissing once again and knew it was right beside her. She wished she could see something, but she froze in terror, hoping to hear the snake move away from her. Instead, she felt something touch her. Tentatively at first and then what she thought might be the large head of the snake moved up even higher. Up her leg, past her thigh, where it made another little sound and continued up.
As Dianna stood frozen in fear, she couldn’t move at all. She thought about grabbing the snake and flinging it but the space wasn’t large enough and what if she just made the serpent angrier? So she stood while it continued its climb and began to encircle her body. It was by far the largest snake she could imagine. Her legs were wrapped and then her hips. Soon the viper had encircled her waist and chest. She worried that when it got to her neck it would squeeze the life from her. In her mind she kept up her litany of prayers, silently begging for mercy. Finally, once the snake ventured around to the back of her neck, she felt its fangs enter deep inside her skull.
Dianna immediately felt the heat of the poison. Her legs began to tremble and she soon fell to her knees and then her side. The heat was intense and she felt her stomach contract in dry wracking heaves. Soon she could no longer hold onto consciousness.
Chapter 11
Palace of Amir Kurush, City of Port Devdan, Country of Bhaelor
They spent many hours searching the library ever since they got word from Conny. Rose believed Sophia was much better at finding the references, but she wanted so much to help. She also wanted to spend some time with her good friend.
Working the second floor, Rose was up on a step stool trying to reach some older looking volumes. Once she pulled several out, she brought them over to where Sophia was studying some earlier finds. “Look at what I found. I think this is an old atlas of some sort. The ink is faded but we might get some clues from it.” Rose was searching for anything remotely related to the temple or the desert.
“Let’s check it out. Yes, i
t certainly is quite old. Look at the names of some of these villages. I’ve never even heard of them and I’ve been studying history for a very long time. This one here, called Nitya is right where the barren desert lies. What could have happened to it?” A city no one had even heard of, now gone without a trace.
“We’ll set it aside for Conny to look at and keep searching. If anyone can make sense of it, she and Twig can. I hope they arrive soon.”
“I think Conny and Sylly will be here soon. Frankie wanted to bring her boys to the island for Arlie to watch over so she could help. Her and Twig will probably arrive later with Darby and Quin.” Rose was looking forward to seeing them, even though it was because of these unfortunate circumstances.
Even with the permanent bridges between their cities, it seemed like Rose didn’t get to spend much time with her friends. “I’m happy we had a little time together. I’ve missed you so much. I really haven’t had much adult time since Anduras died. I can’t believe how much I miss him.” She had never been in love with her husband but he had become a very close friend and partner.
“Kappy seems to have a grip on everything here. Maybe you should make time to visit Arlie on the island for a couple of weeks. Or maybe you just need a new man in your life, huh?” Sophia gave her a sly smile. Rose had a couple casual relationships here and there but always maintained her distance.
“Men! No, I don’t really think so, Sophia. Though I must admit, it’s been quite a while since I’ve spent any time with any man even near my own age. I love Kappy but sometimes he drives me nuts. I actually wouldn’t mind if he got married and had someone else to worry about him. Problem is the one he fancies wouldn’t be my first choice for him. Hopefully, Frankie will be able to help him out. She’ll be able to see if this young lady will be able to handle the pressures of being the Amir’s wife. I just don’t think she has it in her.”
