by Sanders, Dan
Xavier’s mouth dropped open, and his heart raced with excitement.
“This is for you, my boy; a precious gift prepared years ago for your coming of age. It is made from rare javawood. It focuses your power with the Connection, not just with the Fire Lore but with all Annwynian Elemental Lore.” Sashiel rubbed his hands over it, reminiscing. “It will take time for you to connect with it and channel its power. Remember it will only grow with you. Use it wisely. The power you can wield is dangerous if used against the order of the natural Lore.”
The Professor’s face was grim as he cleared a chair next to the table with a blink, sat down and rested the staff in his lap. He lifted his hands and offered the staff to Xavier.
Xavier took the staff gingerly, as if it was blown glass. His heart pounded in his chest. What could he do with this power? He concentrated and looked into his new prize, as he’d done with the stone wall, trying to connect with it, but nothing happened. He waved it around his head, trying to get a reaction from it. He eased the staff down.
“The power is in you, fool,” Professor Sashiel said. “Didn’t I just say that?”
Xavier was angered but a little humbled by this speech. Sashiel was obviously a powerful man who had the respect of his father. His mother had thought enough of him to work here. He nodded.
Professor Sashiel rose and put his hand on Xavier’s arm. “Your life is about to change, Xavier. You will have to grow up. Take no offence at what I tell you. It is for your own protection and that of others.”
What change? He was only turning sixteen, and while it was an important age for a young man in Jalpari, he wouldn’t say it was life changing.
“I can use this to help my father,” Xavier said.
Professor Sashiel removed the red crystal glass from his eye, shifted scrolls aside and placed it on the table. “My boy, the world is at a crossroads now. Have you heard of the Wellwyn Prophecy?”
“No.”
“Hundreds of years past, the seers of Wellwyn foresaw a great and cataclysmic event for Annwyn. It is said to foretell a battle between great darkness and Eostra. An Earthling, the Chosen One, will decide whether harmony or disharmony will prevail for eons. I believe that time is at hand. I have seen signs. Your father doesn’t believe in such things, yet I believe he will play a role.”
“Why do you think such things? What has my father to do with superstition?”
“Just be aware that not all is as it first seems.”
Xavier scratched his head. What a strange man.
The Professor changed thought. “I have a last gift for you. We must move along before the sun goes down.”
“Where?” asked Xavier.
The Professor blinked. “The Nimell Valley.”
He led Xavier and Sirakon out the door. As they walked Sashiel spent the best part of two hours discussing Xavier’s new gifts and his responsibility with the Lore. Much of it went over Xavier’s head, but he did remember two things. One was how to use the staff to communicate with the Professor and his father. The second was that as he studied and applied the Lore of the Realm, he could do great things that would be remembered in Annwyn throughout the ages.
Bardolf appeared beside Xavier.
“Glad you could make it,” said Xavier. “Do you know of this final gift?”
In the growl of the Wolflyn Bardolf said, “I know your father has great plans for you.”
Xavier scoffed and continued walking, determinedly poking his new staff into the cobblestones with every step.
Everybody knew the Nimell Valley existed, but only a few outside the Exotics nations knew the exact location of the entrance. This was surprisingly accessible, if one bothered to visit such a rugged and remote part of the Jalpari realm.
The weary companions climbed through a steep forest range to a plateau, much higher than where they were on the other side near the Reven enclave. They trekked the sheer sides of the southern side of the Fallshore Ranges, rarely pausing for breath, until they arrived at a gravel ledge that ran around the length of the escarpment. With their backs to the wall, they gingerly sidestepped across the narrow shelving. Xavier’s legs burned from the strain required to avoid tipping down the ravine, but excitement pushed him through the pain.
The Professor stopped, panting, glanced around and disappeared behind a wall of wild vines. After a moment he popped his faded red head out to the duo and said, “Well… come on.”
Xavier pushed away the vines, straightened, and blinked to the sudden bright light. He dropped his staff and clamped his hands to his mouth. He saw Sirakon wiping a tear from her eye.
They stood on a smooth red-rock plateau high above a grassy basin. The sunlight was the colour of sunflowers, splashed across the greens of the trees. Xavier had never seen the sunlight without any of the red hue the Jalpari Volcano imposed on its associated city.
The entire bottom of the valley was awash with a huge blue lake that abutted the steep bushland walls. Plants and flowers of red, green, gold and blues of every hue and variation assaulted their senses. The smells of sweet honey, fruits and lilac almost choked their chests, but all that allure paled in comparison with the greatest marvel that enraptured them all.
The valley was abuzz with the sound of the wings from hundreds of magnificent giant dragonflies, bobbing and darting, playing in their secluded haven.
“Esa,” was all Sirakon could say, sighing the second syllable.
“I never thought I would see them,” Xavier agreed. It suddenly hit him what the gift might be. His stomach tightened in disbelief and excitement. No, it couldn’t be.
“Son, it’s time.” The Professor laid his hand on his shoulder. “Stand at the edge of the plateau, open your mind and your heart. Connect with them and when the time is right say the word ‘Linnet’.”
“When will I know?”
”You’ll know.”
Sirakon stepped over to Xavier and kissed his cheek. “Trust yourself. You have a good heart.”
Xavier blushed, and slowly walked to the edge. The roar of thousands of wings threw him off balance. He braced himself and raised his arms. His hood fell, releasing his wild mane of red hair. He forced his eyes and his mind open, trying to fuse it with the land and nature and its power. His heart raced. Nothing happened. What if this was a test and he failed again? His hands dropped to his sides.
“Slow your heart, accept the call.” The Thoughtspeak call came from the Professor, over the din of vibrating wings.
He tried again. “Trust yourself,” said Sirakon’s voice in his memory. Bracing himself, he sucked in the cool air. Calmly, gently, he breathed out, letting the sounds wash over him, accepting them, loving them. His heart slowed until a simple beat pulsed in his ears and his chest. He felt the plants and their elation. His skin tasted them, and they loved him. He could really see them, their cells, veins, blue blood. It was the connection with the land that the books taught him was real, if you trusted it, and trusted yourself. He looked high into the swarm of airborne messengers of the Elementals, and called the name “LINNET”. For a moment nothing happened, then suddenly the patterns of the Esa changed, and they flew in circles around the bowl of the Valley.
Xavier held aloft his staff and breathed hard as each of the Exotic beings took turns flying past. They dipped their heads in reverent salute. Each Esa had a different colour combination; orange and black like a bee; red and navy; purple and white. The circle of Esa flew faster, becoming a blur of colours and vibrations. When Xavier thought he could take no more they slowed and came to a stop. One faced Xavier. It bobbed in front of him, impatient to be free. Its massive wing span was a blur of deep buzzing, so fast the wings became still to his eye. He could make out each of the four, blue veined, transparent wings. He felt it was a female. She had a soft pointy golden face, with eyes the size of saucers. Her long light-blue body, the size of a small child, was hairless, silky, with six legs bent at right angles as though permanently clutching a treasure. Her long tail hung as a
counterweight with finely contrasted black ribbing.
“Our destinies have crossed, young one.”
Xavier’s throat was choked, his voice barren. His face pleaded his case.
“Use your mind.”
Xavier Thoughtspoke and said, “Are… are you Linnet?”
“Call me Lin. Can we go now?”
“Where?” Xavier asked.
“Reach out with your staff and touch me.”
Xavier obeyed and gingerly touched the head of his new companion with his staff. His head spun, everything a blur of colours. And suddenly he was sitting in a small woven saddle on the Esa’s back. Her giant satin wings roared in his ears, as if he was in the midst of a waterfall. How would he cope with this sound?
“Bring your body into rhythm with mine and the harmonics will synchronise.”
Again Xavier obeyed, focusing his body on the beats of the wings. At first they only slowed, then after a few seconds he saw and heard the beat of the wings move slowly, like an eagle caressing the air. He slid his staff into a holder in the saddle.
The dragonfly shot straight up, like a bullet, slamming Xavier to his belly. He wrapped his arms around the Exotic’s neck. His heart banged in his chest, exhilaration and fear burning in his body.
“Sorry, my friend. I also was excited.” Lin’s words sang in his mind’s ear.
“I’m fine,” his mind roared back. “Let’s go.”
The royal messenger needed no further cajoling. She tilted her body and bolted high above the rim of the valley, higher and higher through the layers of clouds. The dragonfly drifted to a stop. Tufts of air tugged at Xavier’s robes; his companions were dots in the bushland. The air was cold and thin and it was hard for him to breathe. He felt warmth from Lin’s wing speed. He relaxed his shoulders and surveyed the entire land around him. He felt he could pick it up in his hand. He was free.
Lin zoomed forward again, emptying all thought from his mind.
“Let’s fly over the city and around the Ranges,” Xavier suggested.
“Wait for me,” Sirakon called.
Sirakon zoomed alongside Xavier from the sky behind them, shimmering with the sun at her back. Xavier grinned broadly and Sirakon nodded. She held her hand to her heart then presented it to Xavier.
Without another thought, Lin banked and dived to the top rim of the valley, levelling out so Xavier could make out the other Esa buzzing about excitedly.
“Over there, Xavier, see.”
Xavier followed the direction her tail pointed underneath. He saw a blue flash bolting across the top of the rim. It was Bardolf, his powerful legs a blur. The Exotic blue wolf was relishing in the moment with Xavier, in his freedom and exhilaration. Xavier had never before seen him move like the wind.
He flew alongside his wolf-friend and Thoughtspoke him, “It’s an incredible feeling, Bardolf, to be liberated from everything, to have such power…”
“I understand you,” Bardolf said. “It is only the beginning. Explore, and I will see you back at the castle.”
Bardolf changed course and ran down into the valley with three playful Esa flying close behind.
The thought of the castle interrupted Xavier’s jubilation. Was this real? Was today real? Why did his father gift these things to him? The two of them hardly spoke. Xavier realised he didn’t deserve such gifts. He wasn’t ready. As Professor Sashiel said, he was foolish and naive. He wiped a tear from his cheek with the back of his hand.
Xavier was brought back to reality when Lin buzzed farther away from the city. In what seemed a heartbeat he was gazing at the entire region of Jalpari. He saw Sirakon from a distance. She stood in the air watching Xavier tour the skies. Sirakon clapped her hands once and burst into flames. In a burst of heat and light she twisted through the air. She hovered ablaze next to Xavier. They laughed.
“Show off,” he said.
“You should talk.”
From a distance Xavier thought the city hardly seemed the metropolis it was. He knew it from pictures, but was in awe when he saw for himself. The city was built hundreds of rods in the air, as tall as the volcano, suspended by three scraggy rock pillars on a thin burnt-orange rock plateau. As the duo drew level with the plateau, the Jalpari land looked much like an artist’s paint palette, vaguely oval in shape, with dwellings and vegetation smeared over the surface. Xavier had never seen the Jalpari Volcano from this perspective before. Its base looked like a pulsing red heart, the stem, a blood filled aorta with blackened veins, rhythmically pumping the life force of Fire Lore to the surrounding region.
It was then Xavier realised the city was elevated to keep its inhabitants safe from the mercurial Jalpari Volcano, a neighbour prone to erupting its uncaring molten lava onto the unsuspecting population.
The red dusk of evening settled across the Jalpari sky, with the usual evening smell of molten lava gently dusting the air. The two moons, Tas and Lar, silently watched over the inhabitants as they emerged for the evening’s celebrations.
Xavier landed and regretfully farewelled Lin for the day. He promised her he would be back tomorrow. He would thank his father for the most marvellous day in his life. He farewelled the Professor and Sirakon and bolted his way back to his room.
He sat next to the fire in his private room. Crackling flames penetrated the silence. One hand absently brushed Bardolf’s soft under-fur. His other hand caressed a wisp of flames. So much in one day. He lingered on the memory of the touch of Sirakon’s hand in his. She would be his friend for life. What a strange man the Professor turned out to be. What was the prophecy he talked about? It couldn’t be true. It was too far-fetched. At any rate, he knew he could really help his father now do great things for the coalition and for the people of Jalpari.
Tomorrow he had been summoned to a royal meeting with the Lord Melder Torek. After today nothing could dampen his spirits.
Chapter 7
Adros Rabbits
BURROWS OF THE ADROS RABBITS,
FIFTY LEAGUES OUTSIDE ADROS,
ANNWYN
When Emily woke she kept her eyes closed. She thought she must be back home. She had no pain in her wing, and felt strong and warm and connected to the world again. It had been a ghastly nightmare. She shuddered at the recollection. Still lying on her side, she breathed slowly, evenly, and when she thought it was safe, opened her eyes.
Rising high above her was an ivory stone ceiling, lit by millions of tiny sparkles embedded into the rock. She was in a gigantic cave, so well lit from the shimmering spots in the ceiling it was like daylight. Afraid to move, Emily threw her mind back to the night before. The dream: an elegant but scary woman in ice and snow putting songs in her head, touching her smashed wing, then nothing. There was no cave in that dream.
A little rabbit face with orange fur and a brown button nose appeared above her. The face smiled.
“Look over here, quick,” said the thin orange rabbit, his long buck-teeth clicking. He pointed his paw at Emily’s face.
“I told you I heard strange things last night,” said a rabbit with light green fur. She hopped next to the orange rabbit to investigate.
“This is a find, Bently,” said the light green rabbit. “I’m glad you brought her here. How did you manage it though? She’s huge!” The green rabbit patted Emily as though she was a treasure chest on a deserted island.
Emily didn’t move. This must be another dream. Rabbits? Lying still she asked, “Who are you? What are you?”
“I thought it was obvious,” said the orange rabbit. “We are the same as you.”
Even more confused, Emily thought it time to get up and confront her new dream invaders directly. Satisfied they did not mean harm, Emily rolled over and gasped. She was atop a large stone platform, giving her a view high above the cave floor which sprawled like a green carpet as far as she could see. Contained in the centre of this gargantuan cavern was a lush and vibrant forest. Auburn-trunked trees reached high into the ceiling, almost as large as her forest back home. Reli
eved at the sight of trees she prepared to fly high into the sprawling foliage.
While white was the most predominant colour, the cave was home to thousands of multi-coloured rabbits swarming around the floor like ants; blue, orange, purple, yellow and black bunnies, in various stages of padding, hopping and bouncing in their daily activities. The round roof echoed the tutting of their teeth and the padding of their feet. She had never before witnessed such a spectacle, especially coloured bunnies. Even the stories from the Elders never mentioned such wonders.
What did they mean she looked like them? They were rabbits! She put her wing up to scratch her head and yelled. There was no wing but a white paw with three fingers and tiny nails. She looked down at her breast feathers, but they had gone too. A soft velvet coating of white fur covered her body. Her beautiful hard beak was replaced with long whiskers stuck at the end of a black rubbery nose. She held both paws in front of her eyes and asked aloud, “Why is this paw red and all the others white?”
None of the rabbits answered. Emily panicked and tried to run away from herself. She tripped and fell off the stage onto the grassy floor and onto her face. She looked at her claws and saw long broad feet with pink footpads. Not wanting to believe it she reached up for the final test. No head feathers, just long ears.
She was a rabbit. A fluffy, white, rabbit.
Images swirled through her head. It must be a dream. Nobody could change her body. She would go back to sleep. When she woke she would be herself once more.
Emily ignored everybody around her. They were part of her imagination, she thought. She could ignore them without hurting their feelings. Curling up on the stone platform, she squeezed her eyes shut and hoped sleep would come.
But all she could think about was the previous night, when that woman appeared to her in a vision, about the agony of the previous day, about finding the boy, and about her lost family. This last image caused tears to well up. The raucous sound in the cave drifted to a stop; only the little thumps of a few stragglers could be heard. She wasn’t going to get any sleep, so she decided to open her eyes, hoping her mind was again normal.
