Luminaries & Lies

by Jeremy Dwyer

  Outside, they found that the blizzard was furious and Emerond hugged Taesa and pulled her close to shield her. Caroline moved in from behind to protect her daughter’s back. Brant moved in from the right side.

  Zoe drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from her vial and was energized. She then looked out into the distance again, but bent the light to look around corners, hoping to find a more suitable shelter. This cold was painful. She doubted her own ability to survive it for long and her concentration was interrupted by the bitter conditions.

  “Wait!” Brant yelled. He drank anew of the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean from his vial and was energized. He ran into the collapsing building with deftness and speed that few would expect from the lumbering ox of a man that he was.

  “What is he doing?! He’ll be crushed in there!” Zoe screamed.

  Inside the collapsing wooden building, Brant’s incredible strength – also provided by the Nabavodel waters – allowed him to push the fallen wooden beams out of the way and he was able to grab six (6) of the heat-radiating crystals Emerond had made and ran back out.

  Brant then handed one (1) crystal to each of them and kept one (1) for himself.

  “Sometimes, even he’s smart,” Zoe said, half-smiling.

  Judith held the heat-radiating crystal in her hand and felt its warmth and she was impressed. It didn’t burn, but it was very warm, and very comforting. She made more notes into her book as she observed it more closely this time. She also recorded Brant’s act of courage, which was actually a calculated risk given competing dangers, and the fact that it was successful.

  “I know this won’t stop a blizzard,” Brant said.

  “This is at least something. Thank you,” Caroline said, holding her heat-radiating crystal.

  The winds grew stronger by the minute and Zoe shivered.

  Brant put his arms around her and held his heat-radiating crystal against her while she held her own. The cold bothered him, but he was strong from the Nabavodel waters, so he felt that he was in no immediate danger; however, he couldn’t be sure how long that would work.

  “That feels good,” Zoe said.

  “What do you see?” Brant asked.

  Zoe concentrated again and looked around the hills in the distance, where she saw a large stone building amid trees. It was twelve (12) miles away but the biting cold of the snow and the winds would make the walk not survivable.

  “There’s a building – a stone building – over there behind some hills,” Zoe said.

  “How far?” Brant asked.

  “Twelve (12) miles, that way,” Zoe said, pointing into the storm.

  “We can’t walk twelve (12) miles in this. One (1) or two (2) maybe. These crystals aren’t going to keep us that warm. And the snow is going to be deeper over there,” Emerond said.

  “Come on, Zoe. Keep looking. Find something else,” Brant said.

  “There’s nothing else! I see collapsed buildings! Fallen trees! That’s the closest thing still standing!” Zoe said.

  “In another direction? Can’t we run the other way?” Brant asked.

  Zoe looked all around but the storm was moving faster than they could.

  “We can’t outrun the storm! Anything already in it that’s still standing is our best chance!” Zoe said.

  Taesa looked at Emerond and realized that he was quite cold but he was holding her tight and keeping her warm. She then realized she loved him. She didn’t set out to love him, even if he set out to love her. She was on life’s journey, and love was part of it. She had loved before – she loved her father. And she lost him, as part of that journey.

  Taesa then thought that the journey should not be the same again. She was not going to lose Emerond the way she lost her father. She was not going to lose him to the bitter cold of the storm like the way she lost her father to the horrid rot of cancer. She was not going to accept that the journey would lead to the same place as before…death for a man she loved. She was not going to hope for a cure to be found along the journey. She was going to be the cure.

  Taesa drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from her own vial. She was energized and she searched for words and found them. She began singing:

  Journey the distance...between here and there.

  Live through the time...between now and then.

  Feel the emotion...love, joy, fear and despair.

  Know all the wonders...as you journey again.

  (Refrain)

  The voyage has many different sights and destinations.

  The quest will lead to personal transformations.

  Journey the distance...between truth and lies.

  Live through the time...between hot days and cold.

  Feel the emotion...mystery and surprise.

  Know all the triumph...of the explorer so bold.

  (Refrain)

  Journey the distance...between lost and found.

  Live through the time...between night and day.

  Feel the emotion...of music's sweet sound.

  Know all the hope...when you find a new way.

  (Refrain)

  Journey the distance...between sky and sea.

  Live through the time...between first day and last.

  Feel the emotion...hate, sadness, misery.

  Know all the bittersweet...of those lost in the past.

  (Refrain)

  Journey the distance...between dark and light.

  Live through the time...between youth and old age.

  Feel the emotion...confusion, doubt and spite.

  Know all the secrets...of every book's every page.

  (Refrain)

  The blizzard blew strong and the snow accumulated…except near them. The snow beneath their feet melted and the storm winds went entirely around them. They were surrounded by a blizzard but untouched by it. A summer day now enveloped Taesa, Emerond, Caroline, Brant, Zoe and Judith, even though a winter storm surrounded their summer day.

  Judith had seen many things of late, even the vast power of music. However, it did not cease to amaze her, and she quickly recorded the lyrics of Taesa’s song into her book. And she recorded the warm summer day that surrounded them – for perhaps a hundred (100) feet in every direction – beyond which the blizzard could still be seen to rage.

  “How did you do that? How? I saw it! But how…did…you…do…that?” Caroline asked. Her disbelief of many things had ruled her life. Now, however, she was stunned at what music could do before her very eyes…how it could create a calm within a storm.

  “Music does that,” Emerond said, not surprised at all, as he had seen what Daven achieved with his songs during the tempest.

  “Did Daven teach you that?” Zoe asked, smiling. She remembered what Daven did on more than one occasion.

  “He taught me a lot. Let’s go,” Taesa said, and she began walking ahead. The snow melted ahead of her feet and the warm air followed her.

  “Point the way,” Brant said, gesturing toward Zoe. They also had seen the power of Daven’s songs, so they were not surprised by the powers of one of his former students. And knowing what they did about the Sail to Me song, they were glad to see Taesa’s music put to work saving lives rather than ending them.

  Zoe looked ahead and guided them for the twelve (12) mile journey on foot. It was the most pleasant walk she could imagine, because the summer-within-winter made their travels safe and comfortable. Emerond and Taesa walked hand-in-hand the entire way.

  Judith noted the strangeness of it all, and wished she had more artistic ability to capture the stunning contrast of the view of summer-within-winter. Yet, she described it in words – shorthand code, really – as best she could in her book. This was another adventure that made her glad to be a Chronicler of the Oath. She watched Taesa and Emerond and was glad for them, as well, despite her own loneliness.

  After six (6) hours of walking, they arrived at a large stone building surrounded by a thick ring – a small forest, really – made of hundreds of o
ak and spruce trees. These trees were robust enough to withstand the blizzard, although they had seen many fallen trees around them on their walk.

  The building appeared to have black granite for walls and was curved like the shape of two (2) opposing sickles. The building stood, Zoe estimated, perhaps fifty (55) feet in height and three hundred forty-three (343) feet in length. Zoe used her powers to bend light and see around corners and she saw doorways at the other end. She peered into those doorways and saw no sign of anyone inside. “There’s an entrance around the far side. I don’t see any sign that anyone is in there,” she said.

  They continued their walk to the other side of the building. When they entered, they saw that the interior had black stone ceilings and black stone walls. The room was almost pitch black inside and Zoe immediately felt alarmed.

  “I don’t care for this place at all. It’s too dark to see,” Caroline said.

  “It’s better than being outside, in a storm that we can see,” Brant said.

  Zoe drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from her vial. She was energized again and concentrated to generate light. The room was then illuminated. Everyone could thereby see that there were five (5) clear pillars in the room, and contained in each of them was what appeared to be a stone carving of a robed figure, having a skull for a face, holding a black object in its left skeletal hand and a scythe in its right skeletal hand.

  “Now that I can see what’s in here, I don’t care for this place either. We might just want to go somewhere else,” Zoe said.

  “They’re just carvings. We’ve seen worse before,” Brant said.

  “What sick mind uses them as part of the décor?” Zoe asked.

  “Zoe, can you look out and see if there’s anywhere else we can get to from here?” Caroline asked.

  “Yeah, let me do that,” Zoe said.

  “Since we’re here, we should make the most of it. Let’s find out what these really are,” Emerond said. He drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from his vial and was energized. He approached one of the pillars and touched it and analyzed its crystal structure. “The encasement is diamond,” Emerond said.

  “Maybe they’re valuable,” Brant said, trying to make sense of it, or mock it for being ridiculous.

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better? Anybody who puts skeletons holding blades on display is probably some sort of a killer trying to scare us. We’ve met people like that in Waderav. You don’t want to be anywhere near them,” Zoe said.

  “Zoe, are the killers still here? Look around. If they’re not here, there’s nothing to worry about,” Brant said.

  Zoe looked around the interior of the long building, bending light to see around corners and into other rooms and she saw no sign. “I don’t see anybody in the darkness,” Zoe said.

  “Let’s wait out this storm right here, then. I’m not running from skeletons that are just standing still,” Brant said.

  “Brant! Don’t you remember those skull collectors? They cut people down – peeled their flesh off, slowly – and made trophies. If some lunatic has a whole temple built to hold this stuff in diamond casings, they’re gonna come back and add more! They’ll try to add us!” Zoe said. She knew how to fight, but the morbidity was unsettling, and she wasn’t looking for another fight. If she lost, it would be a grisly and torturous death at the hands of mutilators.

  “Come back? In this storm?” Brant asked.

  “I agree. We know that’s not safe out there. You’ll see the killers coming before they’re twenty (20) miles away and we can get out if we need to…after we rest,” Emerond said.

  Judith liked that idea of rest, even if she didn’t like the idea of being surrounded by the encased sculptures of skeletons holding blades. Still, she recorded all that she saw into her book, according to the requirements of the Chronicler’s Oath.

  “Emerond, what are they holding in their hands?” Taesa asked.

  Emerond looked closer at one of the hooded skeleton carvings embedded in the diamond pillar encasement and saw that it appeared to be holding a black candle. “It’s a candle,” Emerond said.

  “A black candle?” Taesa asked.

  Judith was immediately intrigued, but wasn’t sure what to do. She had seen a black candle before…centuries before, in the Temple of Mev’Kna. She remembered it being an object of fear, and the high priest in that temple kept it closely guarded. She didn’t know what it meant, however.

  “Does that mean something?” Caroline asked.

  “Let me have a closer look,” Emerond said. He used his powers over crystal to alter the structure of a part of the diamond pillar and he reached in and took the black candle from the skeleton’s hand.

  “Be careful! Don’t touch the skeleton!” Taesa said.

  Emerond held the black candle in his hand and examined it more closely. “It’s not made of wax. And it is cold to the touch,” Emerond said.

  “What is it made of, then?” Zoe asked.

  “Crystal. It’s onyx,” Emerond said.

  “What is the significance of it being onyx?” Caroline asked.

  “It can still burn without wax?” Taesa asked.

  “It does have a wick, but onyx is not going to burn as easily as wax,” Emerond said.

  “If it’s a candle, why do the skeletons have them? You can’t light them in there,” Brant asked.

  “It could just be symbolic,” Zoe said.

  “So what does the symbol mean?” Brant asked.

  “What does any of this mean? The skeletons? The blades they’re holding? The dark walls and ceiling?” Taesa asked.

  “It probably means we’re in for another fight, sooner or later,” Zoe said.

  CHAPTER 46: Collision of Paths in the City of Myth

  Genevieve and Renato traveled twelve (12) hours in the boat with tattered sails along the river, part of which was uncomfortably downhill. The boat finally came to rest where the river ended at a cave opening. The tunnel would have been dark, except for the light which Renato created using the powers given to him by the Lujladia Ocean waters that he drank. That was how they were able to brace themselves for the downhill slopes on their river journey, rather than being surprised and sickened.

  After the boat halted its movement, Renato stepped out of the boat first and onto the riverbank. Then, he helped Genevieve, holding her hand as she stepped out to join him.

  Renato drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from his vial which energized him yet again. Now, however, there was a light visible through the cave opening, and it wasn’t what Renato had created.

  “That light I see – is that not of your making, Renato?” Genevieve asked.

  “No, My Lady. It’s from another source,” Renato said, and he walked through the cave opening and found himself on a rocky ledge inside of a cavern…and looking out onto an ocean. There was another, larger boat at the coast.

  Genevieve followed him and was astonished by what she saw. She asked him: “Renato, how far does this body of water go?”

  “It goes on for many miles, five hundred (500) at least, for certain,” Renato said.

  “Where is this light coming from, if not from you?” Genevieve asked.

  Renato looked to the cave opening from which they had come and said: “The light does not come from there, My Lady.”

  Renato looked at the walls of the cavern and the ceiling and said: “Nor does it come from the walls or ceiling of this cavern…they are not luminescent.”

  Genevieve looked at the larger boat and saw that it also had tattered sails, like the one they traveled in along the river.

  “The sails are tattered. Yet, like in the tunnel, there is no wind, so the condition of the sails should be of no consequence,” Genevieve said.

  “If your curiosity remains, then perhaps we should continue our journey and discover where this next vessel takes us,” Renato said.

  Renato walked toward the larger boat that met the rocky ledge and went on board. Genevieve
moved slowly behind him, looking down at the water below.

  “How far down is that?” Genevieve asked when she was standing on the deck of the ship next to Renato.

  “Twenty-two (22) feet,” Renato said after looking down at the ocean water below.

  “I should like to get closer to the water, to take a sample of it,” Genevieve said.

  After just a few minutes, the boat began to move without them taking any action, and with no wind blowing.

  “Whatever mechanism moved the other boat very likely is moving this one,” Renato said.

  “That hypothesis remains to be tested, Renato. We know not how either is propelled, but that does not compel equality,” Genevieve said.

  “Fair enough, My Lady. Your insightful mind, no doubt, will penetrate the mysteries,” Renato said. He did not see anything pulling or pushing this ship, nor did he see what moved the boat that was on the river. He suspected that it was a mechanism hidden by the powers of deepest darkness too intense for even his own powers of light, or that it was some tether made of the clearest crystal, whose very edges were completely invisible to him.

  The boat moved quickly, and Renato looked ahead for hundreds of miles. After two (2) hours of travel across this ocean, he said: “My Lady, I see buildings – large structures of various shapes – upon an island ahead.”

  “Are we directed toward it, Renato?” Genevieve asked.

  “Our present course will take us there,” Renato said.

  After another hour – a total of three (3) hours – of travel across this ocean, the ship arrived at the coast of the island with many structures and it came to a stop. Renato and Genevieve walked down the boarding ramp onto the island’s shore.

  “This is intriguing. There is a mixture of ancient structures from various cultures,” Genevieve said.

  “My Lady, that is a very tall fountain over there, with many active streams of water,” Renato said.

  “We shall look more closely. First, however, I must have this water,” Genevieve said. The coast of the island was much lower and the ocean was calm, so she walked toward the island’s edge and took two (2) empty vials from her coat and filled them with the water from the ocean, capping them afterwards.