It was one of those mornings when bees leave their hive to forage a thousand coloured flowers. The rays of a bright and warm sun filtered through huge trees whose tops stretched towards the deep-blue sky. In this emerald setting made of leaves, Alagan admired the miracles of this buzzing summer nature. Incredibly beautiful, slender and brawny, the hardness of his face and his three-day beard hid his lack of confidence and a certain awkwardness.
Behind a killer smile and a cat-like grace, many unanswered questions made him bent the spine down. His bushy eyebrows and very long eyelashes tarnished his look while his thick and wavy hair flapped like the wings of a bird that wants to leave the nest.
Sometimes shy, sometimes confident, kind and embarrassed or harsh and stubborn, Alagan was full of the ambiguity of an eighteen years old seeking his identity.
At the foot of a giant trunk, a pretty creature with beige and spotty white fur, yelped for joy. Its little stocky body along with its round ears gave him a lazy pace. But its claws-equipped paws and large piercing eyes could certainly respond quickly.
It chins tightly wrapped around its mother's udders, the koalin eagerly enjoyed its milk. The female looked away from its offspring, on the lookout for the slightest sound. Another koalin, smaller and frailer, was advancing. Less beautiful, with its fawn and flax fur where many scars had traced holes like tonsures. The frail creature approached the mother, eager to taste some of its milk. But the female discouraged the intruder. Alagan then crouched and got fresh milk out of his backpack. He poured a few drops at his feet and waited patiently for the tawny animal to come to him.
The little trembling and hungry creature joined him and Alagan handed it the spout of his milk gourd. He let it feasted quietly and then reached out to caress it. The animal flattened, but its chops remained clinging to the precious beverage.
- Here, my beautiful. I know, the life of an orphan is not easy, but look here I am.
The second koalin, the one with spotted fur, left its mother, intrigued by the scene. It approached Alagan, with the cunning and agility of a small wild creature. It however remained at a respectable distance. The young man spotted it and contemplated its silky coat and its haughty bearing.
- What? Alagan exclaimed softly. No need to make you look like a beaten koalin. You can preen as much as you want but you have a mother who loves you and you do not need me.
Suddenly, a breeze rose and the branches bent down. The shadows began to dance in a rhythmic ripple and then froze while light melted into large, blinding beams.
Eyes still veiled, the boy, who had laid his goatskin, distinguished a slender and dark form detaching from the bright green foliage.
A majestic amaranth scabbard was slowly moving towards him, caressing the thick carpet of foam. The outline of the lady became clear, revealing the pallor of a porcelain complexion framed by large, golden, drooping curls.
The whole grace of her gait as much as the delicacy of her features and her frail slightly bare shoulders revealed the nobility of a medieval beauty.
Her smileless voluntary chin reflected the arrogance of a distinguished woman while her indulgent eyes would come in a sigh to breathe in the air a mysterious warmth.
Inexorably attracted, the young man heard himself asking her:
- Tell me about the waters of Edesse.
Then the tree trunks bent and nature went silent, busy as it was weaving a cradle of greenery around the lady.
The sound of his vocal chords began to sound, as pure as the singing of a harp:
In its source, the great evils will flow
From its tears, life-giving sap will grow
And its waters will clarify the thought
Of the Children - Edesse once has wrought
But troubled waters will see some, betray
While following its wake, one will not find his way
Her melodious and tender song delighted the young man who drank her words, but heard nothing of it. She was going to continue when a second voice, monotonous and jerky, brutally brought Alagan back to reality.
(NDLR : So tell me, what do you think ? Love it or hate it ? You will understand the verse only later in the book so don't be upset if you don't get it now...It is a bit of a puzzle, including the very first scene that may not look what you think at first - . I know it looks like it's fantasy at this point but things are going to change...)
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Edesse 1. Alagan
על-טבעיThe government knows everything about you. Where you live, who you are, if you are healthy and performant in your job. When 18 year-old Alagan first meets the gorgeous Kassandra during his virtual class in the matrix, he knows he's in trouble. Dys...
