by Brindi Quinn
His mother interrupted the search. “Well, Ardette. I see Darch is there sleeping, but I’m afraid I’m not acquainted with the rest of your friends. Are these friends from you-know-where or from don’t-ask?”
“You know I have no friends from don’t-ask.”
“Well, you have Sowpa, of course.”
Her mention of that name made me realize something. Something bad. And when that realization occurred, my stomach grew nauseous. Ardette’s brother! He was in the blast! I hadn’t even really thought about it at all. All of those Druelcans had . . .
“Sowpa just narrowly escaped complete destruction, Mom. I should think you’d be happy about that.”
He . . . did?
“Still tagging him, dear? Well that’s nice. It’s good for you to practice those kinds of things. Keeps your mind sharp!”
“Yes, well, the only reason he escaped was because he was high out of his mind and went wandering out of camp again. Completely disgraceful if you ask me.” He plopped into a wooden rocking chair, which gave him a squeak in response.
“Oh, he’ll come back to us someday,” said his mother, shooing away the ‘addiction’ issue with her hand. “I’m sure of it. He’s got your grandfather’s spunk!”
“Riiiiight.” Ardette rolled his eyes, and another of those looks settled upon Nyte’s face. This time, though, it crossed over to Grotts and Scardo. It was clear they were all enjoying meeting Ardette’s mother as much as I was.
“So,” said his mother, scanning the group of us. “Which one’s your steady lady? Is it the tall one there? She’s a real fox, isn’t she? But a little too tall for you, I think.”
Ardette buried his face in his hands.
Rend’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Do not make me laugh! I would never think to breed with that sniveling, lech-”
“Cousin!” Nyte, despite how much he would have enjoyed Ardette’s discomfort, reprimanded her before she could spill anything too gruesome.
Ardette’s mom looked at the pair of them like they were mad. Luckily, Elder Pietri offered something to move along the gaucheness.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Selrak,” he said. “I am Nit’suj Pietri, elder to the Elven council of Sredna and officer to you-know-what.” He gave her a bow.
“Oh!” She smiled at his properness. “How nice.”
Scardo, never one for passing up opportunities to bow, gave her one much lower and of the deepest respect. It seemed mothers were as high-ranking as officers in the hunched man’s opinion.
“I am Scardo Romenda, member of . . .” but he couldn’t bring himself to say it to an outsider, so he just let his voice trail off awkwardly in mumbles.
“I’m Grotts. That there’s Kantú, sleepin’. This is Rend, Nyte, and Aura. It’s a real plea-”
“Aura?!” Ms. Selrak cut him off. “Aura Rosh?” She pushed Nyte aside and gripped my hands excitedly.
“Y-yes?”
“From Sowpa’s stories?” She looked from me to Ardette and back to me again. “Then, you’re the one that can bring him back!”
Ardette’s chair gave a disapproving squeak.
With wide eyes, Grotts shot Ardette an unmistakable, ‘I’m sorry, man’ kind of look.
“Eh? Ah?” I stumbled to find some response. Sowpa’s stories? Does this have to do with that ‘girl you once loved’ talk? Or maybe something to do with ‘Darch’s story’? “Er- I’m not-”
“Mom!” Ardette hopped out of the rocker and grabbed her shoulders. “We have things we need to discuss. Very important things. So may we stay here for the night? We’ll talk more in the morning.”
“Oh! Ah, yes, dear. Please, make yourselves at home.”
With that, he pushed her into what must have been her bedroom and shut the door.
“The first one to say something pert is sleeping outside,” warned Ardette.
Scardo let out a long, hissing laugh.
Ardette? What was that about? Is there something-
“The former statement does not exclude you!” He threw me another crabby glance and plopped into the chair.
Geesh. You don’t need to be such a grouch.
He folded his arms in sulk.
Now that we were safely indoors and alone, Elder Pietri lost no time in jumping right into the issues at hand.
“I know you are all tired and filled with questions,” he said, settling onto Ardette’s mom’s sofa, “but there are things we must discuss tonight. Please, wake those two up. It is imperative that you all hear what I am about to say. Your lives from here on out are going to change drastically.”
I was tired, but confusion and curiosity kept me alert. I needed to find out what the elder knew. I needed to find out everything if I hoped to be able to cope with the events that had transpired. Illuma. Lusafael. Druelca. Pietri. Nyte. Ardette. The true prophecy. Nosrac. The pendant. There were still so many questions rolling around inside of me. There was still so much we needed to discuss if I ever hoped to release the Song of Salvation. If I ever hoped to move forward.
Pietri was right. Our lives were about to change drastically.
~
“We’re at Ardette’s house?” Kantú flitted around the room, snooping and examining his mom’s various knickknacks. “Thaaaat’s great! But, uh, why’d you invite us over, Ardette?”
“Invite you, did I?” Ardette watched in annoyance while she poked at a miniature wooden bird high up on a shelf. The bird was on a spring and it swung forward in retaliation, nearly knocking itself over the edge in the process.
“Oopsie!” With the expression of a guilty bandit, Kantú crouched back down from her tip-toed stance. But she didn’t stop at standing level. Rather, she continued all the way to the floor, and in the end, plopped herself against the wall and began to run her fingers through the end of her tail, all the while carefully avoiding Ardette’s gaze.
“Ahem.” The elder cleared his throat. “The answer to your question will come in due time. First, I will start with a story.”
We all quieted down in anticipation of the ‘story’.
“Long ago, as you all know by now, I am sure,” – he winked at Kantú, and she sheepishly peeked at Grotts – “the world was whole, a giant landmass in the center of the great ocean. It was a world far bigger and more diverse than our own Westerlands, filled with integrated races and unity between all regions. During that time, people shared a common reliance on two incredible powers: the power of magic and the power of steamed mekanix.
“However, while these two powers coexisted, they were not equals. Mekanix was a power of man’s own creation, magic a gift of the Creator. Therefore, the two powers were on opposite sides of a vast scale – a scale that was easily tipped. With the increase of one of the powers, the other would falter.
“For a time, this was not an issue. In fact, for many years following the invention of mekanix, the powers were kept in balance and people continued to exist and use them each in moderation. But then there arose a time – a dark time – when the hearts of men were filled with greed. Whether this greed was incited by the mist, which was a new phenomenon at the time, or by an inherent darkness lying within the souls of the races, there was a sudden and incredible hunger to move modernization forward.
“Mekanix grew at an alarming rate. Great structures were built in eastern part of the land. Cities of steam and metal. Railroads with moving vehicles you and I could not imagine. These and many other mekanix-made wonders began to scatter the land.
“It was too much, too quickly, and the power of magic deteriorated at an equally alarming rate. Those who once relied on its power started to dwindle away as magic was torn from their veins. They retreated to the western part of the land, where the influences of mekanix were still few.
“The ancients concluded that a separation was necessary if there was any hope of preserving the Creator’s sacred gift.”
At this point, Pietri let out a great yawn and leaned back in his seat. He’d been so full of energy
until now, that I’d forgotten what an ancient being he was. Now, with the deep wrinkling folds of his face beginning to sag, he truly looked the part of ‘elder’.
After only a short moment of reprieve, he continued.
“When the western people – those siding with magic – were starting to lose hope, a savior songstress with the blessings of the moons arose and composed a song to split the land apart. The western moon had sided with the western people, and the eastern moon had sided with the eastern people. Yet, although they were feuding, they offered her power to aid in the task.
“But even with the backings of the moon, the songstress’ power was not enough. She needed the power of an Elf – a powerful emulator that would sacrifice himself for the song and give up his body in the ultimate transfer of power. For this reason, the emulator pendant was formed. Elven power is released with emotion, but the restrictions of flesh do not allow for complete transference. The emulator pendant releases the tap on an Elf’s emotion, allowing for pure transfer that transcends-”
“WAIT!” I shouted, jumping from the floor.
I hadn’t been listening since the word ‘sacrifice’. That one word had been enough to set me off. Enough to make my throat close.
When it opened again I said, shaking and deliberate, “Did you just say the emulator would sacrifice himself to the song?”
“Please,” – Pietri held up his hand – “allow me to finish.”
“No! Is that true?! That the emulator is a sacrifice?! The emulator will die?!”
I looked around the room, but there was no one that would meet my gaze.
“I have long worried that it was something like that,” said Scardo. He didn’t look up from the floor. The corners of his mouth were turned down in a wide, disappointed frown.
“You . . . you knew?” I asked. “Scardo, you knew?”
Scardo didn’t respond. Instead, it was Rend who answered.
“It is not that we knew. We simply held our suspicions.”
They all knew? I looked around the room in shock, disappointed that none of them had told me. Scardo and Rend I could understand. But Grotts, Kantú, Darch, Ardette . . . Nyte?
But before I could accuse him, Nyte asked,
“Then why did you not tell us?” His voice was calm, and he didn’t sound worried. I felt better knowing that he hadn’t known either.
But still, why didn’t you tell me, Ardette?
“The reason is simple.” He finally met my gaze. “That damn bird claimed that you’d die if Nyte removed the pendant. If you knew what we suspected, you would have ripped the pendant off in an instant. I apologize, Nyte, but I far more value her life than yours.”
Nyte nodded, and showing no sign of offense, said, “Yet, you were the one to remove the pendant.”
“Only because we all would have died, had you kept up your little ecstasy!”
Ardette appeared repulsed by the memory. Nyte said nothing,
It was true. It was so true. I wouldn’t have allowed Nyte to die in my place. Nor would I now. That pendant – even if it had turned out to be a bluff – would never return to his neck.
But as to me thinking that the pendant had turned out to be a bluff . . . well, that was quickly disproven in a way most troubling.
Elder Pietri continued, “When the bird informed Kantú that Aura would die if Nyte removed the pendant, it was not a lie. Rather, it was wholly true.” He turned to me. “If you do not use an emulator, you will die when the Song of Salvation is released. The cycle will continue, and you will pass the curse on to another generation. But should you use him as an emulator, as the savior songstress failed to do, he will die, and you will continue to live. In his sacrifice, the land will stay split permanently.”
“A moment, Elder?” interjected Darch. He’d been almost completely quiet since being woken up, and I now understood why. His voice was raspy with sleepiness. “The savior songstress had the pendant, so what do you mean by she ‘failed’ to use one?”
“Ah, yes.” Pietri tapped his fingers together. “I come from a long lineage of Elven elders. Elder Nosrac – the Spirit of In-between as you’ve come to know him – was my cousin and my successor. As the most powerful Elf of his generation, he was meant to be the savior songstress’ emulator.
“Unfortunately, the two of them fell in love, and she sacrificed herself in his stead by removing his pendant just before the appointed time. However, when she found out that using her power alone would not be enough to make the split permanent, she pleaded with the moons to bestow that power unto two others, all so that she might let her beloved live. This is why the ritual failed last time.
“The savior songstress died, and Elder Nosrac went on living in her place. But his life was one of torment and regret. The emulator necklace granted him an exceptionally long life, and for many centuries he dwelled on their mistake. Then, at the end of his long and miserable life, he learned that ad’ai was only two centuries away and knew that cycles of the moons were inevitable to bring about the prophecy, so he entered a truce with Druelca to offer a bit of peace to his people that had been suffering under the organization’s evil. That was when he passed on his emulator necklace unto me. He placed it in my care just before he died, and along with it, the care of the true prophecy as it was recorded on the Inscription of Ulan. But although his body had passed, he remained to make sure that their mistake was not forgotten.”
Pietri turned to Kantú.
“Elder Nosrac, aided by your resonating mist splice song, helped Kantú through barrier of Farellah because only a pure-hearted person can become a channel between a spirit and the living – a vessel. Through her, he has been watching you, scattering you with feathers of protection, forging a path for you to move forward. And it is for one reason and one reason alone. Simply this:
“We cannot allow the same mistake to be made again. We cannot allow the sins of Nosrac to be repeated. The land cannot be brought back together, and we cannot make future generations suffer over the sins of the past!”
In a sudden burst of booming energy, Elder Pietri rose from his seat and pointed at Nyte with intense conviction.
“It is for this reason that I have molded you, Nyte, into the perfect emulator. For this purpose, I allowed the barrier to be weakened all that time ago. For this, I betrayed Yes’lech and coerced Ged’ra into releasing the seal. It is because you are the most powerful Elf alive today. The Elf destined to be the Heart’s emulator.
“I sent you to Druelca so that you could become stronger – a warrior. I allowed your power to be taken so that it could be cultivated and strengthened. I allowed you to meet Aura all those years ago, so that you’d touch and begin your journey as emulator and songstress. As you know, power is released with emotion, and love is the strongest emotion. That is why you are the perfect emulator – an Elf whose love for the Heart of Salvation is strong enough to release sufficient emotional power to make the split permanent this time. Without you, the Song will kill Aura, and the ritual will fail again!”
Nyte was silent. Actually, the entire room was silent. Everyone aside from me that is. I was breathing through flared nostrils, sounding in no way ladylike. This brutish exhale was followed by an exclamation of all of the anger welling up inside of me. How dare our lives be distorted so thoughtlessly!?
“Is this the Creator’s will!?!” I yelled, grabbing Nyte’s arm and pulling him into me.
“Who knows? People have long been performing hideous acts under the guise of the Creator’s will. All I am certain of is that it is the only way. I have been following you, watching over you, guiding your journey. For this, I revealed the secrets of Yes’lech to The Mystress. For this, I gained her trust. For this, I ushered along the prophecy. For this, I allowed you to enter Druelca and seize back Nyte’s power!”
I was holding Nyte and shaking my head in irate disbelief, but Nyte was calm. He asked,
“Were you the man I met with at Cana, Elder?”
“I was.”
/>
“And you caused Rend to convulse so that Aura would be forced to cast a powerful song?”
“I did.”
“WHAT?!” Now it was Rend’s turn to be angry. “How foolish to unleash unbridled power! What were you-”
“Stand down, Rend Attirb!”
“UGGGHHH!” Out of frustration, she threw herself back into the wall.
“And Edaw?” asked Grotts. “Did Nyte really burn it?
“He burned it, but not before it was cleared of Edawians. Elder Nosrac was with Kantú, keeping tabs on their exact location. When they were getting close, he flew ahead and alerted the prophet that strangers were coming. He was the one that urged them to vacate.”
Nyte nodded. His mouth was stern, his forehead concentrated.
“And the true prophecy?” grumbled Grotts, shooting a wary glance at Scardo.
“The true prophecy, the one that was destroyed at Ulan and the one the savior songstress uttered directly to Elder Nosrac just before her death is as follows:
“‘Two songstresses shall arise carrying the Songs of Destruction and Salvation. They shall be sisters, both with the qualities of midnight and starlight, but opposites. Their roles shall be determined during a great test at the Inscription of Ulan. The Evil Heart shall strike down her sister to awaken the song to end the world. Her wrath shall be great that none would withstand her rage. Salvation may only be found in the Pure Heart’s Song.’
“Now,” continued the elder, “more than ever, it is imperative that you succeed. Things should have followed the prophecy naturally, but as you witnessed, Illuma has caught the interest of the angel Lusafael, and the natural balance of things has become uprooted since he has gotten involved.”
At the mention of Lusafael, Darch lifted an anxious gaze to Ardette, but Ardette merely stared at the wall without acknowledging the gesture.
What is it? Something to do with Ardette and Lusafael? Or Ardette and angels? Or-?
Ardette shifted uncomfortably.
