Kneeling at the edge of the water, Creia dipped his hands in and filled his palms. The color of the water was so rich when it was within the deep pond that it looked almost black, but now that it was just a shallow pool against his skin the color was clearer and more vibrant. The thickly mineral smell of the water felt nearly as fortifying as food and pouring the handful down over his head seemed to purify and cleanse him. Creia closed his eyes and tilted his head back toward the skin. He could feel the drops of water sliding down his face and dripping onto his chest. When the calm had fully surrounded him, Creia opened his eyes and looked back into the water. Pebbles shimmered just beneath the surface at the very edge of the pond where the water lapped up against the bank and he reached in to scoop them up. He brought two handfuls of the pebbles back across the bank toward the camp that he had set up for himself. Spreading them out across the ground in front of his tent to dry, he climbed inside the meager shelter and wrapped himself tightly in the thick, warm blanket that still smelled of Theia and let himself fall deeply to sleep.
The Eteri village looked so much the same as Creia remembered it, yet the differences were distinct, reminding him of the time that had passed since he had been welcomed within the borders of the lush, beautiful area of the planet. He could hear the rush of the wind through the ferns and low-hanging branches of the fruit trees and smell the swiftly moving water and bright floral blooms. It was still early, but within a few moments of him approaching the village, he heard a new sound, a fluttering that told him that one of the Eteri was nearby.
Creia paused and looked around, knowing all too well that this species could be shy and fleeting, difficult to get close to, especially for those that the Eteri didn’t know or trust. He took a few slow, cautious steps forward toward the thick forest and peered into the shadows. Finally, he saw the glimmer of faintly colored light cut through the darkness in a quick flicker.
“Hello?” he called toward the light.
The flicker appeared again and he remained still, not wanting to startle whoever it was that was in the trees watching him. A moment later he saw another flicker, this one a shade of green that nearly blended in with the leaves around it.
“I mean you no harm,” he said.
A few seconds later a slender figure stepped around one of the trees to face him. It was a lovely woman, the glow around her timid, but the expression in her eyes curious. She stared at Creia, her head tilting to one side and then the other.
“Who are you?” she asked.
There was no aggression in the question, no anger or fear. There was only soft, musical curiosity.
“My name is Creia,” he said. “I am King of the Denynso compound that is just…”
“I know where it is,” the woman said. “Why have you come here? Did the rest send you?”
“The rest?” Creia asked.
“Those who were already here,” she explained. “I met some of your kind. They were younger than you.”
Creia nodded.
“The warriors are all younger than me,” he said. “Many of them are my children.”
The woman shook her head.
“Not in years,” she said. “In their hearts. You are carrying so much in yours. Too many years. Too much.”
The words crashed into Creia’s chest and he felt like he needed to draw in a harder breath just so that he was able to normalize himself.
“I need to speak with your King.”
The woman laughed and shook her head.
“No,” she said.
“No?” Creia asked, startled by her abrupt rejection of his request. “I am not permitted to speak to the King?”
The woman shook her head.
“No,” she said.
Creia felt himself becoming defensive.
“Why not?” he asked.
“We don’t have one,” the woman replied. “We have a Queen.”
It was said with sincerity, not as though she wanted to frustrate or anger him, but as if it genuinely amused her that he would wish to speak to a King when they may not have had such a ruler in a generation or more.
“May I speak to her?” Creia asked. “It is extremely important.”
“Of course,” she said. “Come with me.”
They made their way through the forest and toward the palace. It was just as he remembered it. Unlike the royal homes of many other species, the palace of the Eteri wasn’t massively large or imposing. In fact, it showed little difference from the other homes around it. The only clear differentiation was the position, lifted up slightly higher than the rest to afford the Queen inside a clearer view of all of her kind. The woman who guided him stepped up to the door to the palace and knocked on it softly. A few seconds later, it opened.
“Good morning, Evangeline,” the woman who opened the door said. “What can I do for you?”
Evangeline gestured toward Creia.
“I found him on the far edge of the forest,” she said. “He didn’t come through the tunnels. He says that he needs to talk to you about something extremely important.”
The Queen looked at Creia and he could see her eyes scrutinizing him, trying to understand why he might be there.
“You are Denynso,” she said, not a question but a statement.
“Yes,” Creia said.
“If you didn’t travel through the tunnels, that means that you know how to access the village through the ancient means.”
“Yes.”
“That can only mean…”
“He is King,” Evangeline said.
The woman straightened and drew in a breath.
“Is this true?” she asked.
Creia nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “But I come unarmed and alone. I wish to speak to you about a situation of the gravest importance.”
“I am Elsavetta, Queen of the Eteri. You once knew my grandfather.”
Recognition washed over him and Creia was struck by a memory of this woman when she was just a child playing at the feet of her grandfather when he was King.
“I remember,” he said. “Meirion was a good man.”
“He still is,” Elsavetta said. “He simply is no longer King.”
Creia nodded again and waited until the Queen stepped back into her palace, clearing a space for him to step inside with her.
“Please, come in.” She glanced at the young Eteri would had escorted Creia to the palace. “Thank you, Evangeline.”
Evangeline smiled and walked away, soon sinking back into the cover of the trees and joining the faint green glow of the Eteri who had remained concealed even as they traveled through the forest.
“Are you hungry?” Elsavetta asked. “We can discuss what has brought you here over breakfast.”
Creia had stopped so little when he was traveling that he had barely eaten and now he felt the hunger gnawing at his stomach. He nodded.
“Yes. Thank you.”
He followed Elsavetta into a small room off of the main chamber of the palace and settled onto a low couch that barely accommodated his body. A few moments later another winged woman came into the room carrying a tray of food. She settled it onto a table in between them and handed Creia and Elsavetta each a small cup of a beverage that smelled strongly of the fruit and flowers from the forest. He took a sip and then set the cup down, far more interested in the elaborate pastries on the tray. He waited until Elsavetta had chosen one and then reached for the one closest to him. The flavor was rich and unexpected, the savory filling a bold and delectable contrast to the sweet outside. The Queen gave him a few moments to eat before speaking again.
“So, what brings you here, Creia?”
The King finished the pastry in his hand and took another sip of the tea. Feeling bolstered by the food, he started to tell her about what was happening. He knew that she would know of the Order and what they were capable of doing. Her kind had already witnessed the wrath of the corrupt members and had marched into battle alongside Aegeus. Several had been with him th
e day that he died. When he was finished, Creia sat back and stared at Elsavetta, waiting for her response.
“It has been many years since you have had any contact with the Eteri,” she said. “I have not even seen you since I was a small child and my grandfather never spoke of you again after the final time that I saw you. I don’t know what happened between you, but I know that it changed so much. It has been many, many years since the Eteri and the Denynso have enjoyed an alliance.”
“But that alliance was powerful,” Creia said. “Our kinds enjoyed a closer alliance than either of us have maintained with any other species.”
“That was not the first time that the alliance ended, however,” Elsavetta said. “Many generations ago our kinds were closely linked but then fell away from each other. Then we drew close again only to have you turn your back on us.”
“That was not my intention,” Creia said. “I never meant to turn my back on the Eteri. I admit that it was the fears and the hesitations of the Denynso that closed off our cooperation.” He paused and took a breath, touching his hand to his chest to show his sincerity. “It was my fears and hesitations. I know that the Denynso have been isolated. There are many of my kind that never even knew of the Eteri until recently. I apologize for that. I know that we have not been there for you in the way that we should have been and that there is little that I can say that will show you my sincerity and earn your trust, but I ask that you put that faith in us. I know that two of your kind have already joined us and are currently on the battlefield. They are making a powerful difference, but we need more. We need as much strength and force as we can bring.”
Elsavetta hesitated and Creia felt his heart pounding in his chest, regret for the years that he had kept his kind blocked off from the rest of the planet blending with fear to create a sharp bitterness that flowed through his blood.
“Creia,” the Queen started, but he didn’t give her a chance to continue.
“Please,” he said. “I’m not here to represent my kind. I am not here as King. I am not here to symbolize the Denynso reaching out to the Eteri. This is just me. I am here personally asking for your help.”
“Why now?” Elsavetta asked. “You made it clear that you had your reasons for separating the Denynso from the Eteri, just as the King did so many generations ago. What is changing it now so that you would humble yourself before me? Why would you think that striving to repair the relationship between the Denynso and the Eteri would make a difference now?”
Creia met her eyes.
“The war is rising. Alliances that were broken for the protection of Uoria must now be resumed for the protection of all of existence.”
To be continued…
The Alien's Clue Page 15
