Penthos: The Guardian Sea

Chapter Twenty-nine: The Journey of Bound Souls

Jarissein and Arielle stood hand-in-hand outside the gates of the Banviete manor after sending their horses back to the palace; they couldn’t very well take them along for the journey.

Both were looking at the sky. They were reminiscing the recent days they’d spent together, as betrothed. They were so new to each other in this manner, but so familiar. They had, in their short time as such, been through so much.

     Jarissein finally sighed and looked down at Arielle (he was only an couple inches taller than her). Her eyes were closed, her mouth upturned in a sad smile. He hated that smile. He could never tell if she was truly sad, or if she was happy. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking when she was so consumed in memory, as she was now.

     “I can feel you looking at me,” she said quietly.

     He smiled and kissed her hair. “Are we going to go? Or are we going to stand here all day? We’re burning daylight, my love.”

     She opened her eyes—they took his breath away every time—and looked up at him. “Alright. Best not dwell. Hold on to me tightly.”

     “I am still itching to know how you know how to Realm-hop when you’ve never left Penthos,” he said, doing as instructed.

     The art of inter-Realm Re-Conjuring was something no one had mastered in the Realm of the Sea of Dreams since the days of the White Dragon and the Trade between Realms. To Re-Conjure to a place, one must have been to that place before, seen it, or have knowledge of what it looks like. It is a magic of extreme concentration and sense. Most never even mastered Re-Conjuring from one place within the Realm to another.

     “Remember the Sirens?” she asked quietly as she drew her cloak tighter around her.

     Jarissein shuddered. Yes, he remembered them quite well, thank you very much. They had shown him the future. Arielle’s pregnancy, her near-death, and their current relationship. He had hated them for showing him those terrible things, haunting his dreams with what could have been and things in the future that they said he couldn’t change. “I remember,” was all he said.

     “When I went to them the first time, I asked for knowledge. Knowledge of the Infinity and its Realms.” She turned to him and grasped his other hand. “They obliged, but only with a fraction of what I wanted to know. Among those things, they taught me Realm-hopping.”

     “You know what other Realms look like?”

     She nodded, closing her eyes. “Now, be quiet so I can concentrate.”

     “But where are we going?”

     Arielle opened one eye to look at him, obviously annoyed. “A place called the Realm of Evernight. It was one of the first places they showed me. Now, shut up.” She closed it again, and the process began.

     Jarissein felt the signature tingly, misty feeling that was common when Re-Conjuring. The Realm around him faded slowly, replaced by its exact opposite. The sunny blue sky was replaced by a network of stars on a vast black canvas. Instead of trees or ocean there was meadow, with tall grasses, and mountains in the distance. As the last of the Realm of Penthos faded away, Jarissein was encompassed in the crisp night air.

     He realized he was breathing hard when Arielle let his hands go. “That was . . . That’s what it feels like?”

     She nodded and turned, crossing her arms as she gazed at her surroundings. “It’s colder here. And can you hear it?”

     Jarissein took a step forward, trying to listen for what she heard. He failed. “Hear what?”

     “Life.”

     He realized what had been so strange to him. He heard not the ocean lapping upon the shore, or the wind through trees, but the chirping of crickets and the buzz of night insects, the skittering of a small mammal underfoot, and the flapping of leather-winged bats or feather-covered night birds. It was like chaos organized into a symphony, all playing for them.

     “It’s beautiful . . .” He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds. He could almost feel the creatures around him, and the life of the earth.

     He heard his betrothed move to his side. She took hold of his arm, resting her cheek against him. “It’s all ours,” she said quietly. “No one knows it’s here.”

     “Then how did the Sirens know?”

     She shrugged. “Magic.”

     He chuckled and moved away from her. She looked just as beautiful by starlight as she did by the light of the sun. Pale, with evening-darkened hair framing her face, eyes piercing him even in the night. He smiled and bowed to her, low enough to make it sarcastic. “And what do you wish to do, my lady?” he asked in mock tones.

     She laughed and shoved him playfully. Then she took off, dropping her cloak to the ground and picking up the hem of her dress to sprint through the grasses. He gave chase with glee.

     And their journey began.

The pair traveled all across the Infinity, meeting new people and trying new things, but always together. They spent a month in the Realm of Sebrena, a Realm of human gods and goddesses, where the Queen Sebrena gifted them with silks and birds. Another week was spent in the Realm of Towers, a massive city Realm. They stayed six weeks in an empty forest Realm called the Realm of Fjords. It was a place of lakes and mountains and trees and valleys, so crisp and clean. They secretly decided they would make that Realm their home if they ever decided to leave Penthos.

     Countless other Realms they visited. Each had an impact. And vice versa. There was always someone interested in a Realm that no one could enter, a Realm with a name as alluring as the Sea of Dreams. Arielle couldn’t count how many new friends she made in their travels.

     The one constant in all this time was the man at her side. Jarissein. With each passing day, she felt their connection grow stronger, their love burn brighter. And he felt it too. She could tell.

     As their journey progressed, letters were sent and received by the Penthoseren family. They used special Re-Conjuring ravens to keep in touch with their daughter.

     In one, they sent word that Serapheme’s newest child had been born, a healthy girl named LeReia. The girl had brown hair and grey eyes, with the black and white ears and tail of a domestic cat. Arielle was so happy, yet it was touched by a bitter feeling she pushed aside. She had a new sister that she hopefully would get to meet soon. Serapheme wrote that they were telling LeReia all about her sister that was away. She would know Arielle better than Arielle knew herself when she returned, the letter stated.

     Jhordyn wrote them later, and gave his permission for them to spend as much time away as they wished. They were young in demon standards, and had many years ahead of them together. They were to get to know one another as deeply as possible before returning, seeing all the sights they wanted to see and doing all the things they wanted to do. They took him up on that offer.

     By then, thirteen years had passed since they left the Banviete manor. They were staying in the Realm of the Ghost Wood when Arielle was visited in a dream by a strange yet familiar face.