A Twist of the Tale

by P R Glazier

  Chapter 31. Home from Home

  JDC had flown the Leviathan back down outside the temple and there it hovered close to the snowy ground. Retta and Solvienne disembarked onto the snow around the temple grounds. Solvienne stood in the ankle deep snow, she tried not to look but she couldn’t help herself, her eyes, as if having a will of their own gazed fixedly at the body of the void beast where it lay. She was thankful that an overnight fall of fresh white snow covered much of what remained of the now ruined and frozen flesh.

  Retta withdrew the sword she carried across her back. She lay her other hand upon Solvienne’s shoulder and smiled at the T’Iea when she turned and jumped in fright at the unexpected touch. “Come, the beast is still dead, have no fear. Let us hope that the keepers have no more surprises eh?”

  Solvienne looked nervously back at the Retta. She found she was still in two minds. The body of the beast reminded her of Retta’s obvious doubts and mistrust. But she thought she knew Amndo, she didn’t want to believe he was on the side of the T’Iea’Neat’Thegoran, or any other evil force for that matter. Yet he was obviously party to all their plans. The T’Iea’Neat’Thegoran had control of the Rift in the east; they would be best positioned to understand if there were other Rift vents. But then maybe he wasn’t working with anyone else; maybe he had his own plans and agenda? But either way why would he toy with them, get their hopes up and then try to kill them. It just didn’t make sense. Perhaps by now he had made it to the T’Iea’Neat’Thegoran city, perhaps he had not been able to resist the rift and like Minervar been completely taken in by it. Solvienne’s dark thoughts were then brought to an end, she felt rock and stone beneath the soles of her boots instead of the soft drifts of snow.

  They were once more inside the temple, the stench of the void beast still permeated throughout the stone building. Solvienne hoped it was just left there from the dead creature, not from a second beast that may be lurking waiting to slaughter them where its mate had failed. They walked the way they had before, making their way back to the Hall of the Acolytes. The way had changed somewhat, it now proved to be a little more difficult, the void beast had brought down more masonry and the fresh debris lay thicker in places about the rooms. Solvienne felt a kind of sadness that a place of worship to the Maker had been so disdainfully destroyed; a place of intense faith and spiritualism abused in such a way, so many hopes and aspirations of so many people had taken place within this building over a millennia of time, now it was laid to waste, smashed out of all recognition as a place of worship. She shook wrapping her arms about her as she gazed once more upon the blood soaked doors where the grizzly handiwork of the void beast had been hung for all to see. Retta however had been back here several times over the last day or so, she had spent most of the previous morning removing the bodies and remains and with the help of JDC and the leviathan they had cut deep graves into the frozen soil and rock outside the temple and buried what was left of the soldiers with ceremony. Then JDC and Solvienne had left Retta to her lone vigil and to her prayers. The ognod queen had taken the rest of the day to morn, Solvienne wondered what it was she mourned, the soldiers yes, but many other things it seemed to Solvienne also deserved a period of quiet remembrance.

  For the first time the two companions strode through the large wooden doors, they found themselves in a relatively small chamber. It was circular and contained nothing except a low circular wall looking like a large well. They approached the low ancient stone wall. Several metres below them within the well-like structure there lay the broiling, swirling mass that was the Rift. They stood in silence looking into the black oily morass.

  Retta broke the silence, almost as if voicing her own thoughts. “My people came across this in ancient times. Back then it was within a cave in the mountain. We believed it lead to heaven. We believed it led to the place where the Maker resides. This temple was built around the site as a shrine. But it was also the purpose of the temple to train monks and the faithful. Sometimes such people believed that if they cast themselves willingly into the Rift they would meet face to face with the Maker himself. When the monks lived here many were welcome, there was once a regular ceremonial ritual held for those who decided to take the leap of faith, those who wished to test that faith, to go into the unknown. The hall of the acolytes was always full of those who wished to make the journey. Many cast themselves willingly into the Rift in those times; but none were ever to be seen or heard from again.” She was silent for a while, deep in her own thoughts.

  Solvienne allowed Retta the time to think.

  Retta broke the silence. “That was the reason I was here last you know. I was here to witness those who wished to enter the Rift, those who believed that the Rift would reveal the way to the Maker.”

  Solvienne nodded her head but remained silent.

  Retta again spoke. “I came because my father was one such believer.”

  Solvienne looked at Retta, “your father, he cast himself in there? Into the Rift?”

  Retta looked at Solvienne and nodded. “Yes. He believed he had no future here in the world. He believed that what lay beyond the Rift would give him new hope. He had lost faith in this world. He had tired of it. He agreed that his people should change; yet he himself could not do it. He handed governance to me, for he had faith that I would change ognod society for the better. Yet he lost faith in himself.” She looked down into the well of the Rift once more, again lost in her own thoughts. “I hope he yet lives, perhaps even with the Maker himself. My father’s heart was true. He was misguided sometimes perhaps, but I am sure that in the end he understood.”

  Solvienne looked at Retta and nodded slowly. “You have done well and are still doing, a marvellous job Retta, of that I am sure. Your father would have been proud of you and what you have done. But do not be too frustrated with time. What you seek to change in your people is of ancient origins. It will take much time and effort to make even the smallest of changes. But you are determined; out of all your people you will succeed. Of that I am also sure Retta.

  Suddenly Solvienne gave a gasp, she was staring down into the Rift. The black morass of its substance stirred, a shape was slowly forming in the oily blackness. Even before it was fully formed Solvienne recognised the materialising form. It was a face, circular in shape, two small slits for eyes and a slit mouth. “A Dolan she whispered.”

  Retta looked questioningly at Solvienne.

  The young elf smiled back, “a Dolan, a gate seal. A device for opening secret doors.” Solvienne smiled and said, “it’s a sign, from Amndo Retta. I am sure of it.” She reached out and grasped Retta’s big hand once more, she said, “goodbye Retta. Thank you for everything you have done. I will look for your father; if we meet I will surely tell him how much his daughter has accomplished and how much she loves him.”

  Retta clung onto Solvienne’s hand she frowned. “Be careful T’Iea one, do not trust this Amndo, do not lower your guard. He has yet to prove he had nothing to do with that beast. Do not trust the keepers. There are perhaps reasons they have stayed out of the world, kept themselves separate. Hidden away in their city in the voids.” 

  Solvienne stared into Retta’s face, she remembered once more her misgivings, but she cast such thoughts from her mind. “I will remember your words Retta, but I have to believe differently and besides if Amndo sent this message then he doesn’t expect us to have died at the hands of that beast.” Solvienne smiled and without further delay, she stood upon the low wall she looked into the oily swirling mass and without further hesitation and after taking a deep breath, she stepped off the edge.

  She felt herself fall. Her stomach feeling the slightly nauseous sensation that weightlessness gives, but that only lasted for a few seconds. She entered the blackness of the Rift and all sensation seemed to cease. She lost all feeling, lost all sense of direction. She seemed to just be hanging in mid-air. For what seemed like hours she felt nothing. She concluded she may be dead, thought that jumping into the Rift was a stupid
idea after all. Thought that if she had died then her mother must also be dead and this whole thing, all the time and effort to rescue Minervar was after all just a dream, a fateful waste of time and effort. She closed her eyes and smiled as she thought how stupid she had been, how naive to have hoped. How foolish to have so much faith in something that was now so obviously not to be. A fools hope, a misguided faith. But then she became slowly aware of what looked like stars starting to shine through the total blackness. It was like drawing black curtains away from in front of her eyes. Each time a drape was removed something else could be seen. The bright stars grew and dimmed slowly until they all seemed to merge together.

  She gasped. There in front of her eyes several glowing shapes had formed. They looked like coloured disks, floating in front of her. They formed a ring slowly rotating horizontally in front of her eyes. On each of these disks something shone brighter, it seemed to flicker like a flame. The disk currently in front of her seemed to grow in size as it slowly passed in front of her face, as if it swerved out of its orbit and moved to be closer to her, presented itself to her. It contained within it an axe, a double headed axe, very similar to the battle-axes the Grûndén wield. After some seconds of remaining stationary in front of her eyes this disk moved away out of direct view and was replaced by another. The second disk had upon it a little square coloured object, at first Solvienne did not recognise it, but suddenly she remembered what it was, a chip, one of the Pnook biplextor devices, this one in turn moved out of her direct field of vision. She thought this bizarre, what in the Makers name was the purpose of these of such devices being presented to her here in the Rift? The next disk contained a pyramid-like structure, this she wondered about. Then it occurred to her from Minervar’s descriptions what she looked at was a depiction of the keepers temple in their city of TeraT’Inu’Itil. The next had upon it the depiction of a great tree, golden in colour, massive in size. Quite how she knew it was massive was beyond her for there was nothing else within the depiction that would give the tree a sense of scale. This she was curious about. The next had the depiction that she had seen in the city of the ognods, it was of the two twins of which the ognods spoke, Grouund and Gruoond in the typical pose depicted in many places throughout the ognod city, they were seated facing each other their knees drawn up under their chins and their clawed fingers resting atop their knees. The last disk had upon it a strange representation one that made her jump. There was a six pointed star and in the centre of this star was a face, it looked upwards as if it gazed at the heavens, the hands either side framing this face with palms upwards. As she watched she could see that these disks continued to rotate slowly before her eyes.

  After the disks had passed her by a few more times it occurred to her that she was being given a choice, where to go from here. Each disk had upon it something that would convey an unmistakable message to any of the elder races that viewed them, the only one she was not sure about was the figure holding up its hands within the six-pointed star surrounding it. She let the disks rotate once more and suddenly she knew exactly where she needed to go. She waited until the disk that had upon it the depiction of the great tree, for she knew this tree, somehow she knew the shape, it occurred to her that it was similar to that carved tree upon the door that led into Solin’s secret room in the house in Amentura. She slowly reached out with her finger and touched the disk. Immediately a bright light shone forth, it seemed to light up her finger and then move up her arm to her shoulder, she tried to retract her finger but it was impossible. Panic rose within her, but she could feel the tingling sensation that had accompanied the light as it moved up her arm was now moving across her body, filling her whole being. The last thing to be filled with this strange light was her head. As soon as it reached her mind she felt like she had blacked out, but the memory of the picture of the tree upon the floating disk shone through her mind like a beacon. She found she was staring at a portal, through the haze of distance she could see a forest, a forest of great trees, the same trees. She smiled, giggled and walking forward entered the portal.

  When Solvienne opened her eyes; she sat upon a hard rock floor. She rose slowly, becoming aware of a gentle humming in her head. At first she thought it may be the beginnings of a headache, maybe she had landed heavily and was now about to pay the price. But no, her head felt fine. She rose and walked across this big open area. It was fairly dark, she appeared to be within some sort of cave, or cavern for the feeling of a vast space was around her. She looked behind where she had been sitting, what looked like a stalactite grew up from the floor, she looked above at the ceiling, but to her surprise no matching stalagmite hung down. Her gaze returned to the stalactite, it was smooth and glossy and on the top set within a golden coloured clasp was set a jet-black shiny stone, a keystone. Before she could stop herself her hand had reached out and touched the stone. Her vision blurred and within seconds the spinning disks once more presented themselves in turn in front of her eyes. She did not touch any; she took her hand away and the images faded, she was once more in the cavern looking at the stalactite rising up from the floor. She turned and walked slowly away.

  Before long she noticed many glowing lights were appearing below her as she walked towards what looked like the edge of some vast cliff. She walked forward towards the nearest light. To her surprise it became larger as if she was approaching something close, not far away as she initially thought. She laughed at her mistake, there in front of her she could see that the source of the light was in fact a small creature she recognised, it was a N’Ip’Chuk, it clung to the rock wall of the cave, in fact there were many of the small glowing beetles, they seemed to be everywhere. Her eyes became wet with tears, why she did not know, joy perhaps for that was what she felt in her heart. Then to her left she perceived something else. A dark circular area seemed to flicker there. A portal? She walked around the great platform until she came to where this thing was set into the wall of the cavern. She looked through. On the other side she could see a forest at night. She laughed. Whatever was this? What in the Makers name was a portal back to the forests of Gel’Te’Ertenya doing here? A portal to her home? But then she became more curious. For the trees that showed within the portal were not the trees of Gel’Te’Ertenya. No, these where not Oak, Beach, Yew or Ash, neither were they any form of Spruce or Birch or Pine. No these were the same trees that she had seen after she had touched the spinning disk. Something took hold of her, some old forgotten memory, a thought she never even knew she had. She felt many new things within her being, things she had never experienced before, yet they felt normal, as if they had lain dormant for an immeasurable time and were awakening. She ran towards the portal, but then realising it was not a portal at all, it was an exit, and entrance, it was the mouth of this cavern. Once through she stopped, basking in the warmth of this place. She turned to take a last look at the cave entrance through which she had just passed, it was set into a cliff face, she stood outside at the foot of the cliff that rose up into the night sky above her. Many stars shone there, but the patterns they made were not familiar. She turned back a laugh of deep joy sounded from her lips, she felt so elated, not knowing exactly why, but she couldn’t help but, squeal in delight.

  Solvienne danced and skipped down the shallow slope towards the waiting trees. She felt the gentle caress of leaves and soft blades of grass beneath her hands as she dropped down to sit upon the lush green carpet. She looked up to see the glint of moonlight shining behind gently swaying branches. Yet the moon itself was not the moon of the world as she remembered it. It was smooth for a start, no craters existed anywhere upon its surface and it was a pure white colour and a little larger than the moon she was used to seeing every night.

  The air was warm here; it somehow felt warmer than where her family made their home in Gel’Te’Ertenya. Yet the warmth was not a sensation born of the weather or the time of year, it was a warmth of the spirit, it felt marvellous, it felt wholly fulfilling, she felt elation flow through her dee
pest being, felt a tingle of pure happiness erupt within her heart. It all felt somehow familiar, as if she remembered being here before. But how could this be? She and her brother were born in Gel’Te’Ertenya, they had never lived anywhere else. She stood slowly, taking in all the details of her surroundings as she did so. All her senses felt alive; she felt she could see more, smell more, feel more.

  Solvienne walked forward, something within her; something in her T’Iea’Tarderi makeup rejoiced to be here. She felt strong, rejuvenated somehow. She knew this place, yet she was sure she had never been here before. She walked slowly, the green grass beneath her feet was thick and lush, many flowers grew here also. She giggled and slipped out of her boots, she clutched them to her breast as she wiggled her bare toes in the lush grass and felt some kind of connection, a spiritual connection with the land. A myriad of colours spread out from her feet across a meadow that made her smile. She took in a deep breath; the delicate scent of the flowers filled her nostrils and excited her very being. She felt, no surely she couldn’t be, but she felt that she had indeed come - home. Yet this was not the place she recognised as home. But she laughed, she couldn’t help it, she laughed and danced and ran about, she just had to, an irrepressible energy had risen up inside her and she had to use it somehow or she thought she may burst. It felt like every sensation within her had been amplified greatly. Felt like her T’Iea being had been supercharged somehow, she thought things she had never conceived before. Long lost memories came flooding back to her, thoughts she had lost but didn’t even know they had gone. She could remember every finite detail of her life so far, every experience, every act, everything she had ever known all come flooding into her being. She held her head, she thought it may expand vastly to contain all of the information that seemed to be flooding into it, but no it did not change. She grasped her hair in both hands and twirled round and round viewing all of it, trying to take it all in.

  Where was she? What was this place? It felt like she had returned to somewhere lost in time, somewhere she knew, she gasped, somewhere she knew she belonged. She thought of home again, she had returned home? Eventually she lay on her back in the warm grass, even after all that energetic activity she breathed steadily and without labour. She looked upwards once more, the branches of the trees spread out over her in a complete canopy of hues of gold and green, but the lowest of the branches were far higher than any she had seen in her life. The tallest and most ancient of oaks in Gel’Te’Ertenya would easily have grown beneath the lowest boughs of these great trees with room above to spare. She looked down and around to see where the great trunks of these trees must be. She could see them all around her, but the nearest was at least a hundred metres away and each trunk was at least that far away from its nearest neighbour. This was a dense forest, yet the trees gave each other plenty of room to live. She rose once more and sitting in the grass hugged her knees and then standing she walked slowly across to the nearest trunk, as she approached she could see that this tree was at least as big around the girth as a large T’Iea’Tarderi house. She touched the bark. She removed her hand quickly, she had felt a tingle. Slowly she returned her hand to the bark of the tree, again the tingling sensation came, but it was a feeling of welcome, of acknowledgement. It was a sensation of great age and long lived wisdom. She ran her hands over the smooth bark, she giggled at the response she felt through her fingers. Suddenly other thoughts seemed to add to the one she first encountered, others thoughts welcoming her, she imagined many people in her house all greeting her with open arms. The forest, this forest was welcoming her. With a sharp intake of breath she realised it was welcoming her home.

  She remembered her T’Iea’Tarderi brethren talking of old times and how the trees held spirits in the ancient past and how those spirits had withdrawn from the world. She had not experienced such a sensation herself and she had found it difficult to believe. Yet here it seemed those spirits remained. Or perhaps this place, wherever it may be, was where those spirits had withdrawn . She felt an overwhelming rush of elation once more. She stepped back and twirled around her hands held high and laughed once more. Suddenly it dawned upon her, suddenly she knew exactly where she was, she knew. It was the most marvellous feeling; she was in Elit G’fedrel, the place where the spirits reside.

  An hour or so later Solvienne walked, not in any particular direction for it was a pleasure to do so. The morning was breaking, the night was receding and the light was shining forth from above. The leaves fluttered high above her in the warm gentle breeze as if shaking the last vestiges of a gentle sleep from themselves. The leaves she noticed where all almost circular in shape. Suddenly she realised that all these trees, perhaps the entire forest consisted of the fabled trees that her people called the S’Apli’Baum. She span around, her arms held out horizontally to her sides and looked around at the forest once more. She span around several times. Then her eyes caught site of a figure standing, watching her. She stopped, the smile went from her face, she wondered if she should run, but she couldn’t believe that anything harmful or with ill intent could be in tis place, she felt that the trees, the spirits themselves would not suffer such here. Instead she scrutinised the figure more closely. The figure was dressed in a long robe, at this distance Solvienne could not make out any real detail but she had the distinct impression that the figure was a T’Iea female. The figure held a longbow pure white in colour, almost as long as the figure was tall. The bow  shone as if it was made of some white metal that reflected the light, yet Solvienne doubted that this was a reflection. Rather the wood of the bow gave off its own illumination. She stood still staring as the figure started to walk slowly towards her. Solvienne felt no fear, she just knew that any form of evil could not enter here, even if it did, it would not survive for long.

  Solvienne walked forward towards the figure. The figure also began to walk faster. As they approached one another Solvienne could see a wide grin on the figures face, she knew that grin. Oh how she had missed that grin. Her eyes felt wet with tears as she ran towards the figure. The other started to run towards her and they met in a tight embrace. Solvienne wanted to say “mother” but the lump in her throat prevented her speaking as tears ran down her cheeks. Hot tears of joy as the other figure hugged her close and whispered into her ear, “Solvi, my daughter.” The two women stood like this for many minutes, neither wished this moment to end, each wanting to maintain the reality and surety of this physical contact, each felt the love of the other pouring forth, in soundless unification.

  Eventually Minervar gently pushed herself back from Solvienne’s sobbing embrace, she smiled down at her daughter, she asked, “how are they Solvi? How are Thor, Narny and Iolrreas?” 

  They sat upon the grass and talked for what seemed like hours, spoke of everything that had transpired to both. Firstly Solvienne told Minervar that everyone was alright. But then with sadness in her eyes she told Minervar that Iolrreas had also disappeared and no one knew where he was after he had left to try and find her.

  Minervar sighed, “he is a good and strong man Solvienne. I am sure your father is still with us somewhere, the Maker willing.”

  Then Minervar stood back and rubbed the wetness from her cheeks upon the sleeve of her robe. She smiled widely and said, “I knew that you would not give up on me. I knew that you would find a way. Every day I came here to the portal to see if anyone had found the way. At first I couldn’t believe my eyes, for there you stood.” Minervar gripped both Solvienne’s hands and spun her around. She laughed “But, come, before we say any more, there are others here that I would like you to meet.”

  “Others? Who Momma?”

  Minervar just smiled and holding onto Solvienne’s hand tightly she led the way through the great trees. 

  “This is an ancient place Solvi, it is as the forests of old used to be. It is the forests of the stories and lore we learnt as children. It is the place that we would call.”

  Solvienne said, “Elit G’fedrel.”

 
; Minervar smiled and giggled at her daughter. “we, always believed Elit G’fedrel was the place the spirits reside, but now I know it is the place where the T’Iea reside, or at least did so until we forgot how to return here, or were unable to do so. Your remember Narny’s mother Solvi? You remember how her family were emissaries of the T’Iea in the keepers realm of TeraT’Inu’Itil?”

  Solvienne had heard the story many times, she nodded in affirmation.

  “Well that place, TeraT’Inu’Itil, it is similar to here. But that is the place of the keepers. It is their realm. Each of the elder races had access to something similar.”

  Solvienne was reminded of the disks in the Rift, the disks that passed in front of her giving her the choice of where to go. She nodded in agreement and understanding.

  Minervar continued. “Each of the races had emissaries in each other’s secret homes at one time. But for whatever reason TeraT’Inu’Itil remains the only one still in use and therefore the only one that still hosts emissaries from the other elder races.”

  Alas Elit G’fedrel I do not believe is our original home, but a kind of home-from-home if you will. The ancient fathers, when they brought the elder races with them to aid in the construction of the great machines, well they created places like this, like Elit G’fedrel for the elder races to live in whilst toiling on the machines.”

  Solvienne was again reminded of the disks slowly rotating in front of her eyes. “Yes, I was given the choice when I jumped into the Rift, it gave me the choice of where to go. I chose here, because of the tree. But why did we and the other races leave these secret homes? Why do the keepers still remain in theirs?”

  “Alas Solvi the answers to these questions remain a mystery. Perhaps it has something to do with the ancient fathers not returning, I do not know.”

  “So our people once lived in the voids in affect.”

  Minervar nodded in understanding. “Yes. I suppose we would call it a place belonging to the voids, yet all places are in the voids as you call it. In essence the voids or void is what holds everything in place; it is the table top of creation onto which the atlas of the universe has been laid out by the Father of all. But I think that description falls far beneath the reality of it. But my poor miniscule mind cannot grasp the concepts that are involved.”

  “But how, Momma how do you know all this?”

  Minervar laughed. “Partly I think I worked it out for myself. I came to this place in the same way as you described. But Solvienne so did another. Come, there is someone who I would like you to meet, someone who filled in the gaps for me.” Here she smiled, a slight mischievous look upon her T’Iea’Tarderi features.

  Solvienne laughed for she knew that look, ever since she could remember she knew that expression.

  Minervar said with a wink of her eye, “I would like to introduce you to an old friend of mine. You will love her immediately, of that I am sure.”

  Solvienne looked at Minervar, something was dawning in her mind. So she said, “it’s Serinae? She is here, isn’t she mother?”

  Minervar giggled and nodded her head, “oh yes. Seri has tried to explain everything in great detail, but she is wasting her time on me I fear. She arrived some time ago. Out of the blue she came, I cannot tell you how excited I was to see here once again after all these years. But she can tell her own tale. Come I will take you to meet her.”

  Solvienne giggled, “yes I would like that, I would like that very much.”

  They continued through the forest. Solvienne marvelled at the flowers that grew beneath the trees, she marvelled at the birds that flew around them and the wildlife that abounded here.

  Then Minervar stopped and pointed, “we are here.”

  Solvienne looked in the direction in which Minervar indicated. A gentle slope led down into a lush valley, this in turn led to a river that flowed through wide water meadows, she could see between the gaps in the great tree trunks to the gently flowing crystal clear waters. Flowers of all colours grew here as well as the lush green grass and rushes and brightly coloured Iris that hugged the riverbank. They walked forward, down the gentle slope. As they approached the river through the meadows, Solvienne gasped in wonder. The river widened and a large inlet appeared like a lake adjoining the river. The waters here where still and clear, many lilies grew bobbing their flower heads above the waters. Fish swam lazily in the gentle current. Several circular shaped little boats were pulled up on the grassy bank; some were upturned, probably drying in the heat of the sun.

  Solvienne looked up above, suddenly she realised that the great trees formed platforms high above. Their branches and boughs had been fashioned into large areas and upon these areas had been constructed, no that was not the correct word, had been grown, numerous dwellings. An ornate bridge like structure spanned the river between the trees, it looked like the great trees on either side had reached out and grasped hands, fingers intertwining. More dwellings set higher in the trees could be seen on the far side. It was a city, a city in the trees, no, a city of the trees. It reminded her of the T’Iea’Tarderi town where they lived in Gel’Te’Ertenya. Yet it was nothing like that village. This was a vast city, it spanned she did not know how many trees. The only similarity was that both places were set high in the trees. But this city was, what was it? It was fantastical, immense. Many T’Iea must have lived here at one time; it would have been a bustling, busy place.

  “Welcome to our home Solvi, at least the home I have lived in for the past,” Minervar paused, “I don’t know how long actually,” she giggled. “This is how the T’Iea used to live Solvi, long ago in another world, a world far from here, that is where our hearts and souls really lie, this place was made by the T’Iea in a place given them by the ancient fathers to make us feel at home whilst we aided them in their toil, it was designed to make all feel at home, a home from home, for the machine would take many, many generations of man to complete and the elder races would be away from their true home for a very long time.”

  Solvienne was speechless.

  Minervar smiled and said, “come my daughter, one thing at a time, firstly let us make or introductions.”

  They continued to walk down into the river valley. As they approached the river Solvienne could see many ripples on the surface, the clear waters revealed many different kinds of fish swimming lazily in the slow current. Along each bank grew many kinds of plants some had fruits growing heavy on their branches, Solvienne recognised some, others she did not. She reached out to grasp one she did know that was a particular favourite of hers; she hesitated and looked at Minervar who nodded her consent. So Solvienne picked the fruit and bit into its succulent flesh savouring the flavour. Then up ahead she marvelled at what she saw. One of the great trees had been, well she was lost for words, she didn’t know how, but the trunk of one of the great trees had been fashioned, or grown into a spiral shape, she could see as they approached that the wood and bark of this tree grew into what was quite obviously a covered spiral stairway that twisted around several times and disappeared into the canopy above. They approached and started to climb the stair, it was wide, probably at least three metres. Solvienne marvelled at the way it seemed to be part of the tree itself.

  Soon they arrived upon a platform. Many covered walkways looking similar to the stair way they had just climbed yet were horizontal of course, they led off in many directions, some led to more stairways that went up further to various vast platforms at various heights above the one on which they stood. But Minervar led Solvienne across a walkway that ended at a larger platform on the same level. A platform on which stood four large dwellings. One in particular caught her eye. This one had been adorned with floral displays and other artistic designs, carved wooden things, collections of shaped wooden branches, a door mat made from weaving together a number of fronds from the reeds that grew along the river bank, golden and red in colour, the colours of autumn. But it was the figure that stood in the doorway that made Solvienne gasp.