by P. G. Thomas
“As thou does command, protect Earth Daughter we shalt. Commands to safety naught does we follow.”
“Lauren does tell me, lead she shalt. Words I does hear, passion absent they does be. In her heart, Lauren does be Earth Daughter. In her head, Earth Daughter does be Lauren. Conflicted they does be, as she does pull herself to thine path, and push back at time same. Here does burn a spark, a spark that wilt light a fire of truth, and darkness push back. Thou may call her Earth Daughter, her friends may call her Lauren, but Mother does call her Hope. Mother does ride on Lauren’s shoulders, and Lauren does ride on thine shoulders, so thine weight that thou does carry, does be great. Failure, this option thou does naught hath. Protect and serve, naught enough wilt it be, mentor as well thou shalt hath to. Mistakes many Earth Daughter shalt make, does try to be respectful towards her. Earth Daughters confidence, a fire thou must stoke, naught put out. She wilt test thou, meet her challenges with civility. Easily could thou crush her fragile spirit, and permit that I wilt naught. Does thou understand?”
Alron had received many strange commands in his long service as an Earth Guard, none compared to the words he had just heard, and was unable to think of a proper response.
“Alron, a fourth sun does burn amongst us, its name does be Lauren. Should this sun set, night everlasting will embrace us. Never again wilt Mother’s children know warmth, and darkness engulfed all wilt be. Death great embraced wilt these lands be. Does thou understand?”
There is no elf word for an indescribable-pressure-that-is- about-to-crush-me. Alron did not answer, did not need to, his face white with worry, not a look seen on a captain of the Earth Guard, but it told the Earth Mother that Alron understood.
“Alron, mine mind does go to meet Mother before mine body. Mother does say, thine service, greatly appreciated it hath been. Both sad and fortunate she does be that thou will protect Earth Daughter, and greatest of Earth Guard she does name thou. Naught any other would she wish the misfortune of protecting Earth Daughter, for fail they would on thine challenges ahead. Thine name, history written it shalt be. Earth Guards naught born for one thousand years to come, all will know of thou, wilt try to be like Alron. All will try, few thine standards will meet. But Alron, fail and thine name forgotten it shalt be, as wilt Mother’s. I does tire, sleep now I shalt.” And with that, the Earth Mother rolled onto her side, closing her eyes to hold back the tears.
Alron gently got out of the wagon, and headed for the forest to think, as he did not want anybody to see the look on his face. In her heart, Lauren does be Earth Daughter. In her head, Earth Daughter does be Lauren. Conflicted they does be. A fourth sun does burn amongst us, her name does be Lauren. Mother does call her Hope.
An hour later, the wagon was traveling down the road. Logan was sitting beside Mirtza, and Lauren was on his pony, riding beside Alron. Lauren looked at Alron, “You don’t look well, is everything okay? Is the Earth Mother alright?”
“Earth Daughter I does be fine. Sad I does be for mine trip, that is all it does be. But something to tell thou I does hath. Years back many, when Mother does first show, naught only does she seek those with her gift, but also she does ask some to protect those with gift. They does be called Earth Guard. An Earth Guard does both be one that does protect, and a group of six. Both does be called same. Our purpose does be simple, protect and serve who does hath Mother’s gift. Earth Mother does command, when to her tree she hath gone, we does be thine Earth Guard, and thou we shalt protect and serve. Where thou shalt go, it will be thine Earth Guard that does insure thine path does be safe.”
“I don’t understand Alron. What do you mean?”
“Thou does naught hath to understand. Simple it does be, thine life, thine safety, Earth Guard protected it does be.”
“I don’t like that, no. No, I really don’t like that. I release you from whatever sick bond or servitude it is.”
“Earth Daughter. Earth Guard and honor, one in the same they does be. Many does seek this chance, but few does be chosen, and great is the honor to be Earth Guard. Earth Daughter thou canst naught decline, and thou wilt naught travel alone, for where thou does lead, Earth Guard does make sure thine path does be safe. Every Earth Daughter, every Earth Mother, Earth Guard they does hath, except thou. Thou wilt hath mine Earth Guard when Earth Mother does be with Mother.”
“So once again, I don’t have a choice. Somebody else simply states, ‘this is the way it is going to be,’ and Lauren has to accept it.”
Alron did not understand the sarcasm, “That does be correct, I does be afraid thou would naught understand. Glad I does be that thou does see wisdom of Earth Guard.”
“Crap on a stick.” Lauren shook her head and rolled her eyes, then dug her heels into the pony, and raced ahead of Alron. Crazy freaking world, crazy freaking world.
*******
Eventually they came to the campsite that the Dawnfalcons had selected, where Mirtza pulled the wagon into the secluded opening, and Alron asked him to deploy his magic guard bats immediately. Once again, Logan gathered wood, and started the fire, (though he wondered if he actually needed wood). Mirtza went to unpack the food, but Alron brought over the baskets that Gor had given them, asked Mirtza to prepare them instead, as he advised that they were the Earth Mother’s favorites, and that Gor had prepared them especially for this meal.
After the meal, Mirtza handed out mugs of hot bean juice and tea, the Earth Mother declined both, and instead, she pulled out the flask that Gor had given her, cracked the seal, and took a big gulp, “Damn, Mother does grow good stuff. But only dwarf does ferment her good into greatness.” This started a night where the Earth Mother was the center of attention, and told stories of her youth, her adventures, made jokes, smiled and laughed. While not everybody understood the humor, all laughed and enjoyed the festivities.
It was dark, and the fire was burning out when Gingaar helped the Earth Mother back into the wagon. The elves, knowing that this was her last night, were even more reserved than normal.
Lauren went over and sat beside Logan. “So brother, what are you thinking about?”
“This is one crazy world, to be honest. I am really not sure what to make of everything.”
“Well, like Mirtza said, you are not in that boat alone. Alron told me that when the Earth Mother goes to her tree, that his little group of elves will become my Earth Guard.”
“What do you mean, goes to her tree?”
“I think they mean coffin. Maybe they carve it out of a tree, or it’s something to do with the translation ointment. I don’t know the correct word.”
“Okay? Earth Guard, what is that?”
“I guess it is my own personal protection service.”
Logan looked at Lauren, “Good or bad?”
“No idea brother, no freaking idea.”
“So what happens tomorrow?”
“No idea. I guess there is a tree that has Earth Mother’s name on it. They bury her in it, and somehow becomes reunited with Mother. It feels like a retirement party, but I think it is a funeral. Also in the news, your sweet sister has been chosen to lead those that do not know what is happening, into something that nobody knows, so that she can save them all.”
Logan shrugged his shoulders, “Okay.”
“You don’t sound surprised.”
“Well, if they were looking for somebody who didn’t know anything to lead them into the unknown, they chose the right person. They must have seen your report card.”
“If you weren’t my little brother, I might just return you.”
“You may have been first, but when I stand up, you are the little sister. And speaking of sisters, it seems that I am Sister touched, or blessed, or cursed, or something.”
“What riddles does thou speak of?”
“Funny. When we were in that strange forest, I went looking for you. I found this weird park bench area, and fell asleep on one of them. When I woke up, I had these.” He rolled his sleeves down and exposed the feather ta
ttoos.
“Mom is going to kill you.”
“It gets better.” Logan then rubbed the feathers and Lauren could see the segments break apart and marry back together.
“Well, those are different.”
“It gets weirder. You remember that cold water from when you were bathing Eric. Me. The street lights when those guys tried to attack us. Me. The birds. Me. John asked Alron about it, and it seems the Earth Mother thinks that I am Sister touched. Crazy world.”
“Tell me about this Sister,” asked Lauren?
“You first. Tell me about Mother?”
“Well then I guess we should really have Eric involved in this conversation, he is as much in the dark as the both of us.”
Logan nodded his head, “And I think we also need to consider Ryan.”
“Why?”
“Do you know how heavy that table was that he kicked? And he crushed two guys. That is as freaky as anything you or I have done.”
Lauren shrugged her shoulders, “Well, we probably need to include Zack as well. Talking to him is unnerving. Out of this black abyss comes logic, feeling, and caring. It is still wrapped in Zack, but some of the stuff he has said, it really makes me think.”
Logan shrugged his shoulders, “Strange world.”
Lauren nodded, “What about John? Notice anything odd about him?”
“Poor bastard. He gets sucked into this world and they still pick screwed up Zack over John. If he was the last person on earth, he would still get overlooked for the Olympics. The poor guy just isn’t getting any love from anybody. I could understand not picking him if this was a dodge ball competition, but I would think this world would want those kind of smarts on their side. This is one crazy world. They pick you to lead, and Zack makes sense. Me does think that we does be screwed.”
“Thou, thine, or whatever does agree with thou, thine, or whatever.” Lauren looked at Logan, “Hey, I have as much trouble understanding everybody else, just like you do.”
Logan nodded, “I used to think English class sucked, but this place is way worse. We need some sleep now.”
*******
The progress of the trip so far had pleased Alron. He knew the dangers were multiplying, and he desperately wanted to subtract his group from that equation. It was the fourth day, the Earth Mother had slept the entire morning, only the tree waited for them now, and it was late in the afternoon when they finally stopped to meet up with the Dawnfalcons. When the rear guard joined them, they turned north onto a wide game trail, and the forest seemed to change, became peaceful. A sense of serenity floated on the breeze, the anxiety that had traveled with them for the last few days fled, and a sense of relief replaced it. The farther they travelled into the forest, the less dense it became, and slowly, the path they had been following began to narrow, and then it ended, at which point Alron took the lead. While the pace was slow, all seemed right, and the farther they went into the forest, the less labored the Earth Mother’s breathing became. Then, as the pace slowed, she began to stir, and Mirtza saw Alron kneeling before a huge Ironwood tree, with a base of ten feet or more, and towering so far up, that he could not guess its height. It was then that Mirtza realized the tree was lifeless, and while leafs still clung to the branches, they were a dull shade of green, and many of the branches were broken, huge slabs of bark had fallen off, revealing weather worn wood, looking like bone exposed in a deep cut. Mirtza saw the large cavity in the tree, and had no idea what could have made such a hole, but he realized they had reached their endpoint. He thought back to the camp where he found Lauren, of the similar tree, then maneuvered the wagon so that the tailgate was close to the tree, allowing the Earth Mother a short travel to her final destination. As she looked upon the magnificent tree coming into sight, she smiled. Gingaar began to cry, knowing that their time together was over, and that her gift, still so timid, did not shine through. That she was the first born without the gift, and had let her family down. She cried twice, once for the loss of her great mother, and once for the shame she had brought to her family.
Lauren looked at the tree, the exposed cavity similar to the one that she had crawled into what seemed like so long ago, and remembered the dreams, the peace, and the love. Through the tears, Lauren and Gingaar helped the Earth Mother to move to the back of the wagon, and to sit upright on the tailgate. She stared at the huge tree, just smiling, and no-one moved, fearing it would shatter the serenity that surrounded her.
After thirty minutes, she told Lauren to join her brother and Mirtza. With Gingaar by her side, she bent over, whispered into Gingaar’s ear for several minutes, then kissed her on the forehead and blessed her. One by one, she called to the other elves, repeating the process. She was the eldest of the first line of Earth Mothers, the most revered of all. Her Earth Guard was the best of the best, hand selected by Alron, respected beyond all others, and they had all been with her for a long time, sharing deep bonds. One by one, Cethail Highbreeze, Erust Huntinghawk, Babartin and Careel Dawnfalcon went to her, kneeled before her, kissed her hand. As each stood, she embraced them, whispered to them, kissed their foreheads, and blessed them. Four of the toughest elves in all of the lands left her side, wiping tears away as they looked at the ground. The loss in their lives, equaled to the hole in the massive tree, the Earth Mothers final destination, and each thought that the void in their lives would remain empty forever. She then held out her hands, and called for Panry Moonshadow. He was reluctant to embrace her, but Alron pushed him forward. Only two people really knew Panry, and one was Alron, the other was the Earth Mother. Panry lived to serve, as it was all that he knew. His great father, ten generations past, was the first Earth Guard, and without the Earth Mother, his life had no purpose, and he was about to lose one of the only two real friends he had in the world. She hugged Panry, and he could not hold the tears back anymore, and hugged the Earth Mother back. She pulled him close, whispered to him, blessed him, kissed his forehead, and thanked one of her oldest friends. Panry, too overcome with emotions, did not rejoin the rest of the Earth Guard, and instead, he walked to the other side of the massive tree to regain his composure. Alron expected to hear his name next, but instead, she called to Mirtza.
Surprised, Mirtza slowly went up to greet her. She pulled him in close, repeated what she had done before, and the results were the same, Mirtza was crying as the Earth Mother whispered to him.
Lauren leaned over to Alron, “What is happening?”
“I does think that Mother does send each a message. Personal it does be, and its meaning does be great.”
When Mirtza wandered over, wiping the tears from his eyes, the Earth Mother called to Logan. She held out her hands, and pulled him close, whispered to him.
“Thine sister Lauren, it is thine hands that wilt save her. Thine sister, Earth Daughter, it shalt be her that does save the lands, the children. But first, thou wilt save thine sister. Logan, great peril thou wilt find on thine path, too great for Earth Guard alone. That does be thine reason that Sister does embrace thou. Thine sister, her life in thine hands, Logan please fail us naught. For if thou does, then all does be lost. Thine burden, greatest that I does see. But Logan, I does know thou will naught fail. This does be true Logan?”
Logan looked at his hands that the Earth Mother held, and thought of Lauren in them, did not understand.
“Logan, Sister Chosen, speak to me, promise thine sister Lauren, Earth Daughter that thou wilt save. Thine words thou must speak to me, else to mine tree I canst naught go. Great danger does seek thine sister, and it does be thou that does save her. Say thine words, and does make me believe. Thine burden does be great. Embrace it. Rise to it. Say these words else Mother I hath failed. Logan please does answer me.”
“Lauren will be safe,” he whispered.
“Logan, words alone naught does seek. Does thou believe in thine words, hold them close to thine heart? Thine sister Lauren, above all else, nothing does matter. She who shalt save Mothers children, thine sister, thou wi
lt save. Tell me, make me believe, like thine feather tattoos on thine arms from Sister, make me believe.”
“Nobody will hurt my sister. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.” What it lacked in volume, it resonated in conviction.
The Earth Mother smiled, “Friend Logan, brother of Earth Daughter, Sister Chosen. I does believe thou. When the time does be right, Mother wilt reward thou and thine friends for thine sacrifices made.” She then repeated the same blessing bestowed on the others.
The words Logan spoke to the Earth Mother rattled around in his head as he walked away, ‘Nobody will hurt my sister. I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe.’ Lauren is in danger. Tears of confusion streamed down his face as he walked over to Mirtza.
The Earth Mother then called to Lauren.
Lauren looked down at the ground. This is not going to be good.
She reached out to Lauren as she approached, pulled her in, and hugged her, “Lauren, Earth Daughter. Mother did bestow to me messages for all, except for thou. Already thou hath heard her voice, though thou may naught of realized. Mother for thou, words she does naught hath, but instead the image of Lauren she does hold close to her heart. Thou does be her light to guide us from the darkness. While no words does Mother hath for thou, more than words does she hath. Mine Earth Guard, they does now serve thou. Thine friends, a boon to all, they too shalt help thou. Ironhouse, dwarven strength, and determination, it also shalt be with thou. Thine burden does be great, but Lauren, Earth Daughter, believe this, thou does be great. If naught, chosen thou would naught be. Many will help with thine burden, many does support thou, many more also wilt. Mother does need thou, she does believe in the one called Lauren. Does Lauren understand the need? Does Lauren believe she does be chosen?”
Lauren wanted to scream to the skies that she did not understand anything, that she wanted to hear answers.
Holding back her tears, with the last of her strength, the Earth Mother squeezed Laurens hands, “Earth Daughter please let it naught be me, that I does tell Mother all does be lost. That Lauren, chosen wrong she does be. To Mother those words I does naught wish to speak. Lauren does tell me, thou are chosen. Thou does be light of truth, that thou shalt save her children. I does believe in Lauren, as does Mother. Thine friends, Earth Guard, and Ironhouse all does believe in Lauren. Does Lauren believe in Lauren?”
