So they took a collective deep breath to steady their nerves and made their way a few more yards to where the cave took a hard right turn and . . .
“Wow . . .,” said the M’egg employing a word a Princess seldom uses.
“Too cool, added Sylvia with a weird earth expression that seemed totally inappropriate to her sisters
“Awesome.” To a F’yre dragon, the sight was beautiful.
“Oh my gosh.”
“A lava pool . . . just like in the text books,” observed you know who.
They fell silent and just gazed at the sight. It was breathtaking.
“Are you near death?”
The girls screamed and jumped in unison like seven ballet dancers (albeit two of them had no legs). They turned towards the sound of the unexpected voice, screamed, and jumped again . . .
“Are you near death?” the creature repeated. It looked very much like a sea serpent, except for the fact it was swimming in steaming lava.
They stared at the thing . . . frozen where they stood.
The creature looked back, eyeing each of the seven girls in turn. “I do not know of your kind, indicating the dragons. It turned to the humans and added, “And you three are neither Nauti nor Wind’dancers.” Then it turned its gaze to the sea serpents and stared intently. Most unexpectedly, it said, “You should return to your homes. You are not allowed at the Caldera.”
For as fearsome as it looked, it didn’t sound threatening. That gave Egg the courage to step forward. “My name is Egg. I am from the planet Earth as is she (pointing to Sylvia). These others are from the planet Aerianna. Aeri’elle and Bl’azzz are dragons, Soo’ and K’ssss are sea serpents . . . kind of like you. And M’egg is human like me.”
The creature listened attentively and politely which gave Egg the nerve to continue. “We came to find our friends. Have you seen others like us?”
But its answer wasn’t what Egg was hoping to hear. “Are you near death?” it asked again.
“NO. Stop asking us that.”
“That is good. And what is your name?” it asked looking at the serpents.
“Like she said, my name is . . . “
But the creature cut Soo off. “Not you. The other . . . “
“H’sssss.”
Misunderstanding, the creature said, “Ah, your name is the sound of laughter.”
“No, no. Her name is K’ssss. It’s just that she’s always h’sssssing at something.
“Are you sentient?”
K’ssss’ eyes went wide. She leaned over to Egg and asked, “I forgot what that means?”
“Just say yes.”
“Yes.”
“I would talk with you if it pleases?”
“H’sssss.”
“Why are you laughing, you ditsy dumb denizen?”
“He’s cute.”
“Oh, good grief.”
But before this bizarre conversation could continue, things got a little stranger.
A ball of blue twisty light appeared, and said, “Follow,” as it drifted off into the black bowels of the mountain.
“Oh my gosh”.
“Ya think?” said someone.
Chapter 4 – Zynnia
“We better follow. Bl’azzz . . . take Soo’. Aeri’elle, grab K’ssss. You two (meaning Syl and M’egg) grab my hand. Come on before it loses us.” And then Egg leaped into the air . . . and became Flying Girl one more time.
The others, of course, had seen Egg fly many times. But for the Princess, this was a first. “Oh, oh . . .,” she sighed, “how wonderful.”
She really wasn’t talking to anyone, but Sylvia understood the awe that her friend was feeling. “Pretty neat, isn’t it?”
“Marvelous . . . truly marvelous.” She couldn’t help but smile at the extraordinary feeling.
It took a moment, but they were able to catch up with the twisty light thing. They followed it higher and higher until the pool of lava grew so dim that it finally disappeared into the darkness.
“Where are we going?” Egg asked her guide. She wasn’t sure if the light was alive or not, or if it could even understand her.
“To the Chamber of Dreams.”
That sounded pretty cool.
“Is it far?”
“No . . . it is there,” and she flew around an outcropping of rock and into another enormous cavern.
“OH MY GOSH!”
All seven girls gawked in disbelief at the incredible beauty that lay before them.
“Welcome.” With that, the ball of twisty light blinked out of existence.
The girls set down near a stream and continued to stare at their surroundings. They were so enthralled by the spectacle – an explosion of colors deep inside the mountain – that they were left speechless.
“Does it please you?”
Thinking it was the ball of light, the girls didn’t even look up. But something caught K’ssss’ attention and she turned to look. “EGG.”
“Yes, K’ssss?”
“EGG.”
“K’ssss, I said . . . ,” but as she turned, she finished with, “OH MY GOSH.”
The girls all looked back to see what was going on . . .
. . . and their eyes went wide at the sight.
The apparition was apparently female though she was so blurry that details were impossible to make out.
“Will you not answer my question?”
M’egg was the first to find her voice. “It is magnificent.”
“I am pleased.”
Egg finally recovered enough to ask, “Um . . . who are you?”
“More like – what are you?” blurted Soo who then cringed at her own kind-of-rude question. Little did she know, hers was the right question.
“I am but an echo of my former self.”
Hmmmm . . . not a real helpful answer. Instead of asking her to explain, Egg tried a different approach. “My name is Egg and these are my sisters. We call ourselves the Hameggattic Sisterhood.”
“I do not wish to seem inhospitable, but I command you to leave my world.”
Now, that raised a few questions. “Egg, if I may?” asked the Princess.
“Go for it.”
“My name is M’egg-Alynnia, Princess of Aerianna. To whom do I have the honor of addressing?”
The response was totally unexpected. “How is my dear cousin?”
The girls all looked at each other. M’egg finally asked the obvious, “Who might that be?”
“Kwir’kus”.
“I am sorry, but I have never heard of one so named.”
“Then your presence here is not sanctioned.”
Well there you have it . . . weird was moving swiftly to weirder. Undaunted (well, maybe slightly daunted), M’egg responded, “I apologize, but I do not understand.”
“If my cousin does not recognize your authority, then your delegation is an intrusion. More troubling is that your kind has brought a disturbance to this world . . . and to my people. I created a paradise – my final contribution to this galaxy – but the tapestry of my dream has begun to unravel. Leave before you do more harm.”
Strange how one statement was received differently by the sisters. . .
To the Princess, it was a confirmation of why they were on this planet. “You have met our kind? That is the reason we are here . . . to find our people and return them safely to our world.”
For Egg, it was insulting and she felt the need to defend the people she came to rescue. “Hey, they’re really nice . . . they would never disturb your dream or . . . or . . . mess up your tapestry.”
Aeri’elle, ever the student of history, was struck by the phrase “my final contribution to the galaxy.” She immediately jumped to a not-so-obvious conclusion and asked, “Are you an Old One?” Needless to say, that got everyone’s attention (The Old Ones were the alien race that created Aerianna).
With that question still hanging in mid-air so to speak, Sylvia made one last connection between what they were seeing an
d hearing. “Her cousin Kwir’kus is the Myst Tree at Sighing Whorl.”
“Oh my gosh.”
Unfortunately, Bl’azzz was so shocked by this turn of events that she burped and burned. The fireball passed right through the swirling image. “Oops. Sorry.”
Unharmed, but with great emotion, the apparition heatedly pronounced, “Such treachery. Your kind is evil. I would rid this world of such wickedness if I could.”
Six mouths dropped open at the anger-filled threat. The seventh said “H’sssss.”
“What do find so amusing?” If the blurry specter was upset at the unexpected laugh, it was impossible to tell. Best guess, she wasn’t all that pleased.
“They’re not evil. They’re nice . . . especially Sassi and my dad.” Then she asked something that only K’ssss, in her childlike innocence, would ask at a time like this. “Can I go for a swim?” And for the umpteenth time, the silly serpent saved the day. Soo’ just couldn’t help herself and started to giggle, and within seconds, they were all joining in. Truth be told, it was more of a nervous chuckle . . . but it did the trick.
The apparition stared at K’ssss then at the other girls for what seemed like forever. “Your laugh is pure and sweet . . . as are you, little one.”
“H’sssss.”
“Have I amused you?”
“I’m too big to be a little one.”
Then the girls received yet another shock. The ghostly image laughed . . . a sound that was hauntingly beautiful yet full of sadness for what once was but could never be again. “What is your name?”
“K’ssss.”
“A sentient sea serpent . . . I had yet to accomplish what my cousin did on Aerianna. But I was so very close.”
Egg used this moment to start again. “I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot (Soo rolled her eyes; in her opinion some earth expressions were less than useless). My name is Egg and this is Sylvia. We’re both from Earth. You already met M’egg and K’ssss. This is Soo, and the two dragons are Aeri’elle and Bl’azzz.”
“Oh, and both M’egg and Egg have talked to your cousin,” added Sylvia.
“That is good to know.”
“Sorry about the fireball thing,” apologized the dragon again. “I don’t like to eat meat, and all the fruits and vegetables I eat give me gas.”
“Your kind was meant to eat the flesh of other animals, are they not?”
“Yeah, but I think that’s kind of barbaric. Just my opinion. I don’t expect anyone else to think like me.”
M’egg was about to say something but Egg shook her head. So they waited in silence.
After a few moments, the ghostly image said, “My name is Zynnia. I no longer exist in your reality . . . so, regrettably, I have but little influence over the course of events on this world.”
Well, that’s all well and good, but it meant nothing to the seven sisters. So, when all else fails, leave everything to K’ssss.
“Pretty ghost lady, I’m really, really itchy. So can I please go swimming?”
“You are going to make my head explode, you gargantuan giant goofball.”
“H’sssss.”
“You may swim, dear one. I will tell my story to the others.”
“You’re nice.”
“As are you. Go, enjoy yourself.” And without further coaxing, K’ssss slipped down to water and dove under. When she was gone, Zynnia said, “She is very special.”
“Yeah, we think so too.”
“You misunderstand.” The girls waited but Zynnia didn’t finish.
“Zynnia, do you know what happened to our people?” asked the Princess bringing the conversation back where it belonged.
“Yes . . . and no.” Oh well, nothing is ever easy when you are a Hameggattic Sister. “Come, sit and I will tell you of Zynn-Zaz’zia and what I can of your people.”
“Before you start, we would like to understand what you meant when you said that you no longer exist in our reality.”
“You are the Princess M’egg-Alynnia.” It was a statement not a question.
“Yes.”
“You come from a noble family, Princess.”
“Thank you.”
“As to your question . . . I died hundreds of years ago.”
“What?”
“Your name is Egg?”
“Yes. No. It’s actually Eloise but my friends call me Egg.”
“May I call you Egg?”
“That would be great.”
“Egg, I lived for untold thousands of your years. Before I passed, I built this dream chamber. In essence, while you are here, you are in a dream state. I use the Sphere of Influence (that was the squiggly light thing) to achieve a number of things. I can observe, I can communicate and, as with you, bring people so that I may converse with them in person. My kind cannot appear in your dreams after we pass. Even if I could, I find this experience is more impactful on those I wish to influence.
“How come you look all fuzzy?”
“The mechanism in this chamber has begun to fail. Unfortunately, it will happen very soon. When it does, the computer program will shut down and this image will cease.”
Aeri’elle asked, “Is there anything we could do to repair it for you? Our scientists are very accomplished.”
“You are Aeri’elle?”
“Yes.”
“And why would you do that?”
“For very selfish reasons. I am a student of history. I could gladly spend a lifetime here learning about the Old Ones.”
Sylvia leaned over and whispered to her friend, “Maybe she’s the one who won’t return. Maybe she gets her wish.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“I do not think your science is sufficiently advanced. But you may try. In consideration of your offer, and while there is time, let me share some knowledge about us Old Ones . . .” All six girls, even the ones from Earth, felt a chill of anticipation. “First, we are called the Krell and as a race there are very few of us left. Our sole purpose in life was to create new planets and seed them with life. But after many millennia, even this noble cause grew tiresome. And without purpose, our life became meaningless. My cousin is one of the last. He assumed the guise of the Myst Tree to extend his time. He is the caretaker of Aerianna as I was the caretaker of this world.”
“After so much time, there must be hundreds of planets with intelligent life?”
“No, Aeri’elle . . . there are not hundreds but thousands. Be warned, however, though many species have evolved to be good and noble many others have gone to the dark side and serve evil.”
“I don’t get it. Why do some become good while others become evil?”
“You are Soo?”
“Actually my name is Soo’nami but I like my friends to call me Soo.”
“With your permission . . .,” and the serpent nodded, “Soo, we are all born with free will. Unfortunately, we are also born with the capacity for good and evil. Why some choose one over the other is not possible to know. There are as many reasons as there are individuals.”
This was all very fascinating – but more for Aeri’elle then the others. So Egg once again brought the conversation back to the beginning. “So, can you tell us what happened to our people?”
“First, I must tell you about Zynn-Zaz’zia and . . .” But the sentence was cut-off as the blurry image of Zynnia began to fade away. In a moment, it was gone.
“Fiddlesticks.”
“Oh my gosh, If we didn’t have bad luck, we’d have no luck at all.”
They waited in silence hoping the image would reappear. As the seconds ticked by, they were rewarded – kind of. Zynnia’s image came back, but it was very, very faint. . .
The ghost of Zynnia’s ghost said, “Follow the Circle of Life . . .,” then winked out of existence.
They waited again, but this time to no avail.
“Any ideas of what the Circle of Life might be?” asked Sylvia. But before anyone could venture a guess, K’ssss started to yell.
&nbs
p; “EGG . . . EGG . . . EGG . . .” Her eyes were wide as she hurriedly slithered up from the stream.
“K’ssss, what’s wrong?”
“There’s a pretty monster chasing me.”
Chapter 5 – Gone with the Wind
About a month ago on Zynn-Zaz’zia
It was so humiliating. She was sixteen and her wings were still gray. And, until she completed the Rite of Ascension, they would stay that way.
Created by Zynnia as a means to weed out the weakest members of a clan, all Wind’dancers had to participate in the Rite. There was no hard and fast rule, but by tradition, most kids completed the ritual by the time they turned fourteen. A few of the most timid waited another year. However, it was virtually unheard of to wait as long as BreeZee had.
It wasn’t that the girl was afraid of diving off a Sun-Seeker Tree to sail into the teeth of a Swirling Tempest (a hurricane-force windstorm) . . . she was flat-out terrified. Just the thought of it made her stomach churn and heart race with panic. But there was no way to avoid it. Her gray wings would wilt by the time she turned seventeen and then her father would have to escort her to the Caldera of Zaz’zia. Since it was a certainty that she wouldn’t return from there and only a ninety-nine percent chance she wouldn’t survive the Rite, the choice was simple . . . better a long shot than none at all.
Just to make this whole messy mess even . . . well, messier . . . her father was the newly elected clan leader. She knew how hard this was on him and that made her feel even worse – if that was possible. Her parents were her world; they were her best friends, biggest fans and without their love and unwavering support, she didn’t know what she’d do.
“You can wait one more cycle if you want,” her mother had told her. Ascension storms came every three months like clockwork. The next one was due in a few days.
“Azure, you’re not doing our daughter any favors by giving her more time.” Zephyr was talking as clan leader as well as BreeZee’s father. He knew that the longer the girl waited, the more difficult the Rite would be . . . not necessarily physically but mentally. The more time you took to face your worst fear, the faster it would become an all-consuming monster that would devour your very soul.
Box Set #2: Zynn-Zaz'Zia: [The 4 book 2nd Adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 15
