Dedicated to Struggler for the 'Update woman' comment.
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Chapter 28 - Dreaming Reality
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"What?" said Tayne, not quite sure he'd heard her right.
"Naisha needs a protector," Skye insisted. "It needs the Silverborn." She shook her head, fingers sliding up towards her marked shoulder. "With me marked, they'll consider me a traitor if I return. They won't let me near it, if they can help it, and Sentinel or not--they'll try to kill me to protect the village's location if they believe me to be a threat."
Tayne couldn't believe what she was telling him.
"Skye, you're a Sentinel," he said. "Surely that would--"
She cut him off. "And look at how trustworthy the last one turned out. That, combined with my own history, will be enough to convince them I'm no longer pure, but they need a protector." She held his gaze. "I trust you, Tayne, and someone else has to know. The Silverborn have to help more than just the humans."
"I understand," said Tayne. "How do you plan to show me?"
Skye chewed her lip. "I found something in the library, a... spell I'd like to try if you don't mind."
"I only ask that you try not to blow me up," said Tayne solemnly.
He caught a smile from Skye. She pressed her palms together in front of her body and in a swift movement, swivelled them around to face them to the ceiling. Between their grip, a small sphere of emerald light blossomed.
“It’s supposed to be something called a memory drift, if I’ve invoked it correctly. It allows the Sentinel to share a memory with another soul.”
Tayne tilted his head, examining the light. “You’ve just fought off the shadow; wouldn’t it be tiring to do this now?”
Skye shook her head. “I need to do something with the residual energy if I’m ever going to get to sleep. That either means meditating to refocus it, or using it, and I don’t have the focus required to meditate right now.”
“And you’re sure?” asked Tayne.
Skye gave him a firm nod. "I am."
Tayne extended both arms and sank his hands into the emerald light resting atop her palms.
Electric jolts captured Tayne’s body. His senses refused to reach beyond the coil of colour. Body feeling like it were on fire, Tayne twisted his neck in a desperate search for Skye amongst the blur of sparks. It took his entire focus to complete even that simple task. The light pulsating around him broke down reality and stole his breath. Heart pounding, he squeezed his eyes closed and kicked out with his legs. Flailing and unsuccessfully trying to find purchase for his feet, Tayne succumbed to the shifting green light.
It didn’t work. It went wrong. The shadows were still there.
He couldn’t get the thought out of his head as he spiralled down, further into the light.
Deities, save us. We’re going to die.
He wasn’t sure how he knew that Skye was with him in this maelstrom that threatened to rip his heart from his chest. He just did. It made sense to his mind. If they were in danger, they’d face it together. She was here.
His left foot caught something solid. The ground materialised under his boots. An uncertain step backwards revealed a larger area. Several more carefully placed steps ensued as he tried to regain his ruptured balance. Searching behind him with his hands, he reached for the wall he knew should be there. The rough surface was alarmingly absent.
Tayne cracked his eyelids open warily. Soft light greeted him, a stark contrast to the insanity of colour that had brought him here. And wherever here was, it was most definitely not the Silverborn quarters.
Straight, vertical lines rose from floor to ceiling. They left no space for light to filter through. A fog coated their forms, clinging like ashes from a fire to the seamless edges.
They sent a shiver down his spine.
Feet braced shoulder-width apart, Tayne examined the area slowly. His hand hovered over the sword at his hip, ready to react at the slightest provocation. He searched the darkness, seeking the girl he knew should be here with him.
Unless the shadows weren’t gone. Unless they affected her magic, and even now, the Sentinel approaches in the darkness...
Tayne shook his head to clear his mind of the thought.
The fog shifted. A figure that came up to his shoulder -- Skye’s height -- materialised next to him. Tayne narrowed his eyes at the elf, noting the pointed ears. Was it her?
His training asserting itself, Tayne raked his eyes over her body, suspicious of deception. When his sword didn’t grow cold, a sign of deceptive magic, he relaxed his stance. The elf he presumed to be Skye watched him with large green eyes. Her teal streaks formed an emerald halo and gave colour to what was otherwise a monotone setting, devoid of life except the gloom that crowded in around them.
Skye took a hesitant step to the side, her gaze shifting between the buildings and him. It surprised him when he saw her hands trembling.
“I’m sorry...” she said, her voice a whisper. Skye frowned, cleared her throat and started again.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realise it’d be like that -- none of the books or tomes mentioned it’d feel like that... I mean, I thought I’d got us both killed.” Skye tucked her hands around her waist and attempted a shaky laugh. “You’d think a little fact like that would be important to mention. Warning: spell may cause individuals involved to have their bodies possessed by whatever in the nether that was.”
Tayne stared at the ground, suppressing a shiver at the way the magic had taken his body prisoner so easily. “Like lightning, grabbing your limbs so you can’t move, can’t breathe,” he said.
Skye nodded in return. “Exactly. It was almost exciting, yet it felt like one wrong move and my entire existence would’ve been meaningless. Just everything, gone.”
Tayne raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t able to put words to it. I was otherwise occupied thinking ‘oh deities save my sorry behind’.”
He glanced around as he spoke. Through the gloom, he was sure there were figures, just beyond sight, flitting through the shadows. Watching them. He resisted the urge to draw his blade, finding comfort in the solid steel. Skye was unarmed except for a small dagger pushed through her belt, he noted with interest. Did that mean she felt safe here?
The figures weren’t harmless, he sensed, but neither did they pose a threat to his current situation. Tayne shook his head. When had he become so jumpy at mere shadows?
Ever since they began coming to life, replied a voice in his head. Tayne promptly silenced it, instead focusing his attention on the flesh-and-blood elf waiting for his reply.
“No harm done. I think I’m still in possession of all my limbs. But where are we?” he asked.
“In Naisha, my village.” Her answer was accompanied by a worried smile.
Tayne examined the ceiling again. If he outstretched his arm, it’d be another metre before his fingers were able to make contact with it. Nonetheless, he was sure of something. The musty air confirmed his suspicion.
“But we’re underground. Are we in a cellar?”
“No. The entire village is underground. Look.”
Skye bent her knees, studying the space above her. In a graceful movement, she swung her arms and soared into the air with outstretched hands. She landed a second later, her boots making nothing more than a slight wisp of air move as they connected to the ground. She presented her palms to Tayne. A white-orange dust clung to the skin.
Tayne tilted his head, confused and slightly bewildered. According to the dust, she’d managed to touch the entire surface of her palm to the roof. He doubted he’d be able to reach the roof, despite his height advantage. He caught himself eyeing it, sizing up his chance of copying her feat. He didn’t like his chances.
“The rock. It’s Ryanith stone,” she said, apparently interpreting his silence as confusion.
“So Naisha is south of Darni? The place where we...” Tayne paused, searching for the right word. “...found you.”
Skye gave a quick nod in response and swallowed. Eyelids moving rapidly, she turned away, appearing to examine the darkness ahead.
Guilt crept over Tayne. What in the hells possessed him to say that?
He took a step forward, intent on grasping her shoulder before deciding that probably wasn’t going to help and standing beside her instead. Skye kept a curtain of hair between their faces for a minute, in which Tayne was left staring into the darkness, biting down on the inside of his cheek. Hard.
Skye cleared her throat, regaining composure.
“There’s a couple of things I want to show you, and I’m not sure how much time we have before the spell fades. The tomes said an hour at most, but they failed to mention the magic ripping at your soul earlier, so we’d best hurry.”
Tayne’s mind was racing. The note in her voice had his heart in his throat, desperate to break the building tension. He said the first thing that came to his mind.
“I have no idea how you did that before. You barely come up to my shoulder, and yet you managed to lift yourself that high? Is that a common thing for elves?”
Just keep digging... you’ll come out on the other side eventually, even if it is filled with demons and whole lot of fire. Anything is better than this.
Skye turned to face him with a raised eyebrow. “What, jumping high? It’s not common, which is exactly why I practiced it. It earned you respect among the trainees. I proved I was capable to them. I’m sure it’d be easy for you.”
Knowing he probably looked a fool but eager to banish the depressive shroud that’d settled on her shoulders, Tayne pursed his lips, examining the surface above his head. “I doubt I could do it.”
An amused smile crept on to her face. “Try, see if you can.”
Tayne leapt for the ceiling. His fingertips barely scraped the rock. All too soon, he hit the ground with a solid thump. He brushed off the powder to find Skye watching him. She barely contained her laughter.
He couldn’t blame her, really. He was, after all, sitting on his behind in an underground elven city after failing to touch the roof.
“So, how about those other things you wanted to show me?” asked Tayne.
*+*+*+*
They moved further into Naisha, taking a simple route that consisted of two left turns and an otherwise straight path before venturing out into the heart of the city, a courtyard that contained a thriving variety of plant life despite the lack of sun.
A larger building stood out, demanding attention. Crescent shaped windows adorned its upper section, the lower half covered almost entirely in a purple vine with brown flowers, of all things. Tayne estimated that he could have scraped under the door with centimetres to spare.
“The central hall,” said Skye. “Where we hold any large event that requires the presence of the village.”
The figures milled around them, dark beings without significant features other than the streak in their hair. Tayne felt odd, being significantly taller than each of them. The lack of sound, despite the many figures was haunting. If not for his footfalls on the dirt, Tayne would assume himself to have lost his hearing.
One particular set of figures came into focus. Skye halted, considering them with a tilted head.
An elf of about fourteen, he guessed, with a green streak was the centre of Skye’s focus. She was surrounded by a crowd of her own age, clutching a flower pot close to her chest. In silence, she exchanged words with the faceless crowd, clearly becoming increasingly aggravated. When a crowd member took a step forward, the young elf took a step backward.
Eventually, the pot exploded, spattering dirt into the faces of everyone present.
“Interesting. The figures would appear to be parts of my memories,” said Skye.
“You were there?”
“I was the girl holding the plant. My peers came after me, seeking answers as to why I was, and I quote, ‘different from them’. They threatened me, insulted my father and accused me of various things I will not go into detail of.”
“So you threw a plant at them?”
Skye narrowed her eyes for a moment, and the figures reappeared at the moment where the plant had been freed from its prison.
“No. At the time, I didn’t realise, but I think the plant responded to my emotion, sensed that I was in need. All I remember was it exploding from my hands. I suppose even then, even when I had no idea, my power was never entirely dormant,” she said, passing a hand through the figures that were once more taunting the girl with the plant.
Tayne nodded. “Makes sense. Just don’t go around exploding Alguarde’s royal gardens, or you may have several angry groundskeepers on your tail, demanding you revive their beloved plants.”
Skye rolled her eyes and kept walking. Tayne studied the large fountain centrepiece they were walking around before a question came to mind.
“How do you get out of here?” asked Tayne.
“There are stairwells that lead to the forest above at three points in the village. They’re well hidden on the outside, as is anything carved by the Eaik-- Elves, especially this building here--“
Tayne’s head snapped up at Skye’s attempt to cover her words.
“Did you say Eaikai?”
Skye stiffened. It took her a moment to recover before she tossed her head in the air defiantly.
“Skye, you said you trusted me. Did you say Eaikai carved this?” asked Tayne, gesturing to the buildings that he now realised did not match his expectations of Elven architecture.
Skye licked her lips. Hesitantly, she nodded her head.
“You’ve been in contact with them? When did they carve it? Why--“
“Naisha was constructed during the final years of the Sentinel wars. The Elven city, Twisid, fell and its people were cut off from the rest of the elven population by the mountains,” said Skye. She watched her feet, kicking at the dirt with her heel. “From what I know, Kumos planned to convert them to Tainted. Somehow, the Eaikai knew where the elves were and offered them sanctuary, saying they knew a place where not even shadows could orient themselves.”
“Underground,” said Tayne. It made sense. The Eaikai were people of the earth, said to contain remnants of a deceased deity within their soul. They were a secretive group, one that Wrain was eager to learn more about.
“Exactly. From the darkness, Naisha was raised, or dug, I suppose you could say. It became a refuge point, one the elves guarded jealously.”
“Even from humans?”
“Especially from humans. They refused to aid the elves when our cities crumbled, and the council feared they would become an enemy. After Naisha was finished, a mere week of work, the Eaikai vanished.
Tayne frowned. That was not what he wanted to hear. “And you’ve never had contact with the Eaikai since Naisha’s founding?”
“They never returned, although recently I’ve found evidence of strange things that are not as they should be. At first I suspected demons, but it didn’t make sense. They aren’t that subtle, and if they’d found us, why would they hesitate to attack? It was this evidence that led to the scouting expedition that in turn led to my capture.” Sadness crept into her voice. “I can only hope the rest returned safely, even better, found Eaikai to assist them.”
Skye stopped before what seemed to be a large stone. She crouched and ran her hand over it. The surface shimmered, sending ripples of earthen tones through the grey object.
“Why were you looking for the Eaikai?” asked Tayne.
Skye stood up for a moment and gave Tayne an apologetic shrug.
“Naisha is crumbling. I don’t believe it was ever intended to last longer than a century, and yet it has endured. We need the Eaikai to restore it, else we’ll be forced to move, something that will end up with most of our population killed, or worse, captured by him.”
She didn’t need to elaborate for Tayne to know what she meant. With nothing to say, Tayne watched in silence while she continued to run her hand over the rock.
“The stairwells have a magical aspect to them. To open them, you run your hand like this, see?” she said, moving her hand.
Tayne noted the pattern. Starting in the centre of the rock where a small star was engraved, her hand moved up, diagonal down left, before ghosting through a series of complicated circles where her fingers curled around into a fist.
“To enter Naisha, you must perform the exact pattern on a keystone outside, only backwards.”
Skye’s hand touched the star again, and the rock turned a warm brown colour. It glowed, emitting a faint light, becoming ethereal. Skye stepped through its surface and beckoned for Tayne to follow her.
Tayne stepped through the rock. Doubt clung to his movement, expecting the rock to solidify when he was half in, half out and leave him stuck, unable to do anything more than flail his arms about and desperately will the rock into breathable air. Moving through it was like swimming in mud, something he’d done twice in his career already much to his dismay.
Whether by luck or Skye’s knowledge, he made it through without hassle. They ascended the stairs quickly, as if sensing time was short. Even with their quickened pace, it took them nearly ten minutes to reach the secondary keystone.
Tayne assumed at least half an hour had passed since they’d arrived in this dreamt reality. If Skye’s source was correct, they didn’t have a lot of time left. He noted with curiosity that his previous tiredness had shifted, replaced by a sleepy awareness like a fog coated his mind.
Emerging into the sunlight, Tayne shielded his eyes with his forearm. It had a weird, jelly-like quality to it, as if the light possessed a physical quality about it. He waved his free arm through the air, expecting it to hinder his movement.
“Where are we now?” he asked, almost disappointed to realise the air was indeed just that -- air.
Shadowy figures moved around them with increasing numbers. They never lasted for more than a second, barely enough time for Tayne to be sure they were there to begin with. Some held swords, others bows. A few seemed to be duelling while others played spectator and pointed, whispering to each other.
“Where Naisha’s warriors train. It’s where we fight, learn how to treat our injured and create several poisons and their antidotes. It’d be a hazard to bring them into Naisha, as more often than not they require demon’s blood to complete.”
Tayne stared at her incredulously. “You learn poisons?”
Skye blinked, watching him with large, clear eyes. “Yes. We learn to turn a demon’s own blood against them, often coating our weapons. Sometimes, it is the easiest solution to the problem at hand,” she said a matter-of-factly.
Poisons? Tayne’s mind tried to wrap around the idea of warriors, of elves, using poison. At some point, he’d come to think of Skye as a Silverborn, and the idea of his own knights using poisons disturbed him. He wrestled with himself for a moment, his logical side at war with the unexplainable disgust rising in his chest.
The elves had to defend themselves somehow, logic said. No one else came to their aid. Why should they fight honourably when the demons would never show them mercy unless instructed by the Master, who would then inflict greater pain upon them than from which they’d been spared?
But, said the disgust, remember what poison almost did to Jesse. Remember how such a tiny amount had him crippled, lying on the floor in agony and leaving you helpless to do anything about it...
Tayne rubbed his forehead, fighting back the thoughts clambering for space in his head. Skye noticed his expression and folded her arms over her chest.
“It’s not like we had a choice, Tayne. Rebels, demons, all of them threatened our existence. See the ruins here?” she said, kicking at a linear pile of stone that ran for several metres in either direction. “This used to be an outpost, until demons found it seven years ago. We lost so many in two days, nearly half our people gone. Just gone. Half my family, the only half that ever mattered, gone. Vanished. Dead. Demons have never shown mercy, never will show mercy, and I refuse to show them any.”
Skye stared at Tayne, daring him to oppose her.
And she’s on the defensive again, he thought. Just like when we first found her.
“I never expected you to,” he said simply.
He watched as her shoulders slumped, arms falling to her sides.
“I lost my father in that battle. He’s the reason I fight to vanquish the corruption that grips this land. I never want anyone to lose their father like I did.”
With the words off her lips, Skye hugged her chest once more. Eyes searching the ground for anything of interest, she drew in deep breaths, like the air could wipe the memory clean.
“Did he teach you to wield your swords?” asked Tayne, sensing her need for a new topic.
Skye nodded mutely. “Mmm. He’s the one that got me started with the sword and dagger combination, something scorned by other elves. Until, of course, they find themselves in a duel, disarmed in a matter of seconds.” She smirked. “Teach them not to try and force me into using a bow.”
Tayne couldn’t help the laughter that came out. Deities help him, this girl was something else entirely. The undeniable self-satisfied tone of her words left no doubt as to what had happened.
Conjured by Skye’s recollection, five figures appeared near the edge of the field. Two were female. The obvious leader of the trio held steel in one hand and a bow in the other. He held the bow out to the figure with a green streak in her hair, practically shoving it in her face. With a swift movement, the girl who Tayne assumed to be past-Skye knocked it from his hands and drew her sword, the tip pressed under the male elf’s throat.
The male elf threw his shoulders back in silent laughter. Moments later, the two were facing off. Past-Skye, with sword and dagger and the male elf, with a large, two-handed sword. The male elf turned to make a comment to his posse. Past-Skye took the opportunity, pouncing on her opponents chest. She knocked him to the ground with ease. His sword went flying out of reach.
Dagger pressed to his throat, past-Skye stood a few moments later, her point made. At that point, the elf’s posse advanced on her. The other female elf stood beside Skye, blade raised. They moved forward together before fading out of existence.
Tayne cocked his head. “She’s been appearing a lot. Who is she?”
“Kya, my one and only friend after the outpost was destroyed.” Under Tayne’s questioning gaze, she shrugged. Skye began to speak, but was interrupted when the scene around them flickered. Skye grasped the Sentinel mark on her shoulder. Its glow escaped through the spaces her fingers didn’t cover.
“We’re running out of time and I want to make sure you know how to get here. Come.”
Skye took off at a run towards where they’d originally exited Naisha, having drifted away from it watching the figures go about their business. Tayne followed her to the large grey rock that came up to his chest and was about as wide.
“It’s a secluded clearing, easily watched over by scouts for demons and anything else that may become a problem. We get enough warning to be able to evacuate everyone underground. It’s also the site with the easiest to reach keystone. Now--“
For the next few minutes, Skye taught Tayne how to recognise the entrance and which direction was easiest to approach from. She gave him several points to orient himself with.
Tayne was forced to show her the pattern to open the keystone with a stick in the dust until Skye was satisfied he knew it. She then explained the best way to approach the guards, detailing exactly what he should say.
All the while, the figures continued to move around them. He noticed they were becoming undefined and less frequent. Heart pounding in his chest for some unknown reason, Tayne focused on Skye’s words.
“...and be sure to mention you’re a Silverborn. They’ll sense the truth in your words.”
Tayne nodded. He would remember this. Skye seemed to think there’d be a reason for him to visit Naisha in the near future. He wasn’t sure why, but her determination to make him able to find and access it made him focus and absorb every detail.
“I understand. How will I--“
Tayne’s words were cut off as the entire scene flickered again and succumbed to a flood of emerald waves that wrapped around Skye and him, enveloping them in a calming mist that was nothing like the entrance.
With a final glance, they were cast back into the torrent of colours.
*+*+*+*
Tayne opened his eyes.
They were back in the dark of Skye’s room. The shadows seemed to be entirely gone and the lamplight wavered on the floor as if nothing had ever occurred. But it had.
Skye stood before him, centimetres separating their bodies. Hands intertwined by their sides, the warmth of her body became apparent. She opened her eyes, the streak in her hair hiding the details of her expression behind a shield of light. He heard her sharp intake of breath, felt her jerky step back.
But she didn’t let go.
They remained like that for a short while. Whether due to a sleep-induced coma or other magic, Tayne didn’t want to let go. His body filled with nervous energy as he waited for the inevitable moment when Skye would break the contact, flinching from the touch like she always did.
As it turned out, she didn’t have to. A cough in the doorway broke it for them.
They jerked apart to find Nissa leaning against the door frame, arms folded and observing them with a lazy smile on her face.
“Jesse found me. He came back, ranting about some intruder that’d got to Skye and locked her in some dark magic. I came to see if I could help, but it looks like you’ve got everything sorted out,” she said.
Tayne nodded. “I’m not entirely sure what the intruder did, but Skye managed to get us out. It sucked me in too once I entered the room.”
For some reason or another, he decided to keep the soul link a secret until he himself had a chance to further think about it. Wrain would need to know, he decided, although he’d have to ask for Skye’s permission to reveal anything of importance.
Nissa pushed herself from the door frame and stood upright. “I can tell you that. Whoever it was was attempting a teleportation spell. They intended to capture you and Skye.”
“In any case,” Nissa continued before Tayne could interrupt, “we need to get you to your own room. I’ll have guards posted outside both your corridors just in case our friend attempts to come back. Don’t argue, you both need sleep. Now, go. I’ll make sure she gets some rest personally.”
With a final glance at Skye, now sitting on the edge of her bed looking fatigued, Tayne was marched out of the room by Nissa’s insistent pushes. Mind still reeling from the numerous revelations tonight had brought, he attempted to remember the way back to his own room. His head was filled with keystone patterns and shadowy figures re-enacting scenes from the past.
Tayne hesitated, glancing back towards the door where the faint emerald glow emerged from.
Skye’ll be okay. Nissa said she’d guard the room personally... I’m not sure anyone could do a better job.
Exiting the female common room and closed the door with a quiet click, Tayne conjured a thought that seemed rather amusing to his sleep deprived brain.
Donovan’s going to have fun dealing with me tomorrow.
*+*+*+*