Revelations
By Emily M. Hanson
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After Kip cast the translocation spell in the forest clearing, the party arrived in the Naborean mountains. Brown rocks mottled with red could be seen for miles. The cavern loomed before them. Stalactites and stalagmites jutted outward, giving it the appearance of a predator’s gaping mouth. Nothing but darkness could be seen inside.
Trin held out her hand and brushed a finger across her ring. It glowed in response with a faint blue hue. “This should provide enough light to see by,” the faery princess said.
Kip, Tanith, Trin, and Fenrek proceeded into the cave. It was incredibly dark, but with the glowing ring, they were able to see well enough not to bump into the walls or each other. They kept moving through the darkness. Suddenly they could hear the sound of hissing. It was in the distance, but still very disconcerting.
“That had better not be more giant snakes,” Tanith groaned.
“What if it is?” Fenrek asked.
“We’ll make snake hide out of ‘em,” the flame-haired warrior replied, putting her hand on Sirocco’s hilt.
Meanwhile, Aliya awoke in the darkness, hearing footsteps echoing in the caverns. It was obviously more than one pair. Also, they didn’t sound like Zoran’s footsteps. Could it be? Was she finally being rescued? The snake-worshipping sorcerer had bound her arms and legs with magic, but he hadn’t gagged her. “Help,” she cried. “Over here!”
Kip stood still for a moment as he pinpointed the source of Aliya’s voice. “Follow me,” the dragon-in-human-form said. He continued at a brisk pace. The others had little choice but to keep up with him.
The dragon was the first to enter Aliya’s prison cell.
“Kip! Thank the gods you’re here,” she exclaimed. “Get me out of here. That sorcerer is insane!”
“Which sorcerer?”
“Zoran. He’s a snake-worshipping fanatic. We have to get out before he realizes that you’re here to rescue me.”
“All right. Hold still.”
Kip began to cast the counter spell to break Aliya’s bonds. As he did, the others nervously watched the exit for giant snakes, evil sorcerers, or anything else that happened to come along. With a bright flash, the magical bonds holding the girl vanished.
Clutching her towel, Aliya jumped down from the stone table and looked around.
“Thanks. Can we get out of here now?” she asked.
“No, you can not. Fools!” Zoran’s voice echoed as he approached.
He sent a blazing ball of fire in their general direction. Trin cast a shield spell as the others ducked, hoping to avoid the worst of the magical fire. When the fireball hit the shield, the energy dissipated harmlessly. As the enemy sorcerer began to chant off-key, Aliya winced. Tanith drew Sirocco, preparing to fight. Fenrek saw an opportunity and hurled a dagger, but it clattered to the ground upon encountering Zoran’s defenses.
“Blast,” the Melosean muttered.
Kip also began to chant. Pure energy sparked like lightning from his outstretched hand, and he looked like he was ready to hurl it. But then, Zoran grew in stature until he had to duck to avoid hitting the cavern walls. “If you knew who you were dealing with, you’d run home like dogs with tails between their legs,” he sneered.
“All right,” the dragon said. “Who are you, exactly?”
“I am Zoran, the future vessel of Zoru, who wishes to become incarnate once again. He has chosen me for himself. Zoru will bring suffering and chaos to his enemies, but to those who serve him, he has promised power beyond measure.”
“I’m afraid I can’t allow that to happen,” Kip replied, and hurled the energy blast.
The enemy sorcerer roared as if he was experiencing pain from the dragon’s spell. Then inexplicably, a change began to take place. His dusky skin turned green and scaly. His amber eyes glowed crimson. His long, dark hair also turned green and melded with the scaly skin. As his robe ripped and fell to the ground, the giant snake hissed angrily.
“I am Zoru, God of Snakes. Bow before me, or be destroyed.”
“Forget it,” Kip responded.
“Very well. You have made your choice, and now you will suffer the consequences.” As the giant snake hissed, the cavern trembled and threatened to collapse. “You will not survive this, but I will. Hsssss!”
Zoru slithered into a glowing portal that had just appeared. It vanished before anyone could follow him. Large rocks tumbled to the ground. Fenrek dodged one, avoiding its sharp edges.
“Let’s get out of here,” the Melosean suggested.
“Yes,” Kip agreed. “Everyone, stick close together. Come on!”
Running quickly, they managed to make it through the entrance just as an avalanche came crashing down, effectively barricading the cave. Aliya gave a sigh of relief. “I am so glad to be out of there,” she remarked. “Did anyone bring spare clothes along?”
Kip nodded and gave her a tunic and breeches that he’d bought at the Teracor marketplace. “We’ll wait for you.”
After slipping behind a boulder and changing, the thief emerged. “I feel a whole lot better now.”
“Good,” Trin replied.
“Where are we going from here?” Aliya asked.
“We came to rescue you. Now, we need a plan. We know that one of our enemies is Neteilu the Black, who has illegally taken over the kingdom. What did you learn about the sorcerer Zoran?”
“He’s crazy, he sings badly, and he worships snakes,” she replied. “Also, he thinks that that Zoru wants to destroy everything.”
Kip nodded. “The snake god was once imprisoned in the sun by the other gods for his many crimes. Perhaps it is your destiny to incarcerate him again, now that he’s found a way to escape.”
“But how do you imprison a god without being a god?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that right now, but your power over the stars must hold the key.”
Aliya was about to respond when the sound of flute music floating on the wind startled her. “Who would be playing a flute out here?” she wondered aloud.
Then the flute was accompanied by a harp and the sound of voices singing in the Wanderers’ language. The music didn’t sound very far off.
“There must be a camp nearby,” Tanith said. “Doesn’t part of the prophecy have to do with Wanderers?”
“Yes,” Kip answered.
“Then let’s go and find them. Maybe they’ll have knowledge that will help us.”
After everyone agreed, the adventurers followed the music until they came to a valley where the Wanderers had made their camp.
Meanwhile, Ravyn Arrowstrider gazed at the outsiders making their way across the valley. The dark-haired Wanderer guard turned to his twin brother, Jaymiran. While he was dressed in a blue tunic and black breeches, Jay wore brown from head to toe, unusually bland colors for a Wanderer. He could have blended in with the rocks from a distance. “What do you make of that?”
“It’s very odd,” Jay replied, remembering that his cousin, Aris Moondell, had dreamt that strangers were going to come, and remarked about it only that morning. She had a rare talent for foresight and was apprenticed to the elderly Seer, Ianora Kelstaff.
“Didn’t our cousin say she had a dream last night?”
Jay nodded. As the strangers approached, the tall golden-haired man stepped forward first. There was a bizarre shimmer around him like a heat wave, but it couldn’t have been because it wasn’t very hot outside. Jay squinted. He thought he could barely make out the shape of wings behind the man.
“What the…” he started.
Ravyn gave his brother a curious look, for he saw nothing out of the ordinary. “Please excuse my brother’s rudeness. Might I ask what you’re doing out here, so far from civilization?”
The golden-haired stranger glanced at an adolescent girl behind him, who looked at him. She was not very attractive, Ravyn thought. She was plain-looking at best, and very thin. Was she this man’s daughter? No, the stranger appeared to be no older than his early thirties. Why was Jay squinting so much? The sun wasn’t that bright.
“I am called Kip Goldenhair,” he said. “We are travelers far from home, and we would like to trade for supplies.”
“Very well. But you will not go unescorted through our camp. Jay, will you do the honor of escorting them?”
“I suppose.” The guard bowed. “Jaymiran Arrowstrider, at your service. What supplies are you seeking? Food? Weapons? We have not many to trade, but we do have arrows and knives.”
“Food,” Kip said firmly.
“Follow me, then.” Jay led them a little ways into the camp.
Suddenly his cousin, Aris, ran up to them. She was a tall young woman with long brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a yellow silk dress. “You are the outsiders I dreamt about. Please come with me. Ianora wants to speak with you about the prophecy. She said you would know what that meant.”
“Who is Ianora?” Kip asked.
“Ianora Kelstaff is our Seer. I am her apprentice.”
“All right. Take us to her, then.”
They followed Aris to a tent with bright green and blue stripes. It was the only green and blue tent in the Wanderers’ camp. Other colorful tents contrasted sharply with each other. It was like being at a carnival. Jay waited outside the Seer’s tent while his cousin and the outsiders entered.
Inside the tent, an elderly woman glanced up from a table covered with a blue silk tablecloth embroidered with gold stars and moons. There was a scrying bowl filled with water on the table. “Ah, you have finally come.”
“You expected us?” Kip asked.
Ianora nodded. Her black silk dress seemed an oddity with all the bright colors surrounding her. She was well into her 80’s, which was a remarkable achievement in itself. Long silvery hair flowed around her shoulders, reaching just past her waist. Her hazel eyes were still very perceptive. She squinted at Kip, just as Jay had.
“A dragon? Well, that is interesting. I assume you know the prophecy.”
“Five lands bound by royal blood will be shattered by a single root. One who commands the stars shall come out of the East, yet seemingly from the West. The Wanderers may find what they seek, but there will also be betrayal and strife. If the betrayer is strong enough, the five lands can be overtaken. But if one travels to the sun, a way to defeat the darkness may still be found,” Kip recited.
The old woman nodded. “My interest is in that which concerns my people. We seek a land to call home. Our ancient homeland is now called Torgesia, and is ruled by a man with a heart choked by vileness. We know you must defeat him if you hope to defeat your other enemies. We’ll help you do this, but in exchange, we want land.”
“Whom do you propose to put on the throne? Ulven has been killed by Neteilu the Black, and he had no queen or children. His lawful successors have also been murdered.”
“I am nearly certain that the last legitimate heir is standing behind you.”
Kip turned to look at Aliya, who had just gasped. “Me?”
“Come closer, child. Gaze into the scrying bowl. What do you see?”
As she peered into the bowl, the water shimmered like moonlight. Then she saw the face of a woman, who could have been herself in a decade, holding a small baby. The woman wore an ivory comb studded with diamonds in her long, dark hair and a white silk dress. Her bearing spoke of nobility.
“Sleep, my dearest Aliya. I wish you could stay with me, but your destiny is greater than mine, and I am a queen. I regret having to do this, but it is for your protection.”
In front of the queen stood a Naborean maid wearing a yellow dress. “My Lady, it is almost time.” She glanced at the door worriedly.
The queen nodded and handed the baby to her. “Keep her safe.”
Then the Naborean woman chanted and a portal opened. She stepped through it with the princess. It vanished as the door to the queen’s chamber was battered down. A now-familiar man dressed in black stood there. He was the sorcerer who now called himself Zoran.
“Daenos, you don’t have to do this.”
“Of course I do,” he said with a savage laugh. “It’s in the prophecy. Where is the child?”
“Someplace safe from you,” she retorted.
With a scowl, the sorcerer began to cast a spell. The queen grabbed the only thing nearby resembling a weapon, a sharp letter opener, but the sorcerer struck her so hard that she stumbled. “Your destiny is ending, Queen Amrilesea. So is King Ulven’s. Mine is just beginning, and with Zoru’s will, it will be great.”
Aliya gasped as the vision faded. “I don’t understand,” she said. “My mother wasn’t the queen of Torgesia.”
“No, she was the queen of Tunosia. But your father was King Ulven. You are the last legitimate heir to the five lands, Aliya Sunlaris,” Ianora said.
“I…how…”
“It’s all right, child. I’m sure you need time to digest this. Why don’t you rest for a while? Stay with us for a few days, at least. Please consider my offer.”
The girl looked at Kip. “What do you think we should do?”
“It couldn’t hurt to stay,” he replied. “You do need to recuperate.”
“Trin?”
The faery nodded. “I agree. We all need the rest.”
Aliya looked at the short Melosean. Only several feet tall, he seemed a midget when compared to the others’ height. “Fenrek?”
“I don’t mind staying,” he replied.
“Tanith?” she asked.
“Well, I don’t mind, and I’m sure J’yar doesn’t.” J’yar was Tanith’s white stallion.
Ianora raised an eyebrow, since J’yar meant “swift runner” in the Naborean tongue, and was not a human name.
“All right,” Aliya said. “I guess we’ve agreed to stay.”
“Excellent. Aris, please help our guests find accommodations. Aliya can stay with me if she chooses to. Everyone else will have to sleep in other tents.”
Aris nodded. “This way, please.”
As the others followed, Aliya couldn’t help but feel numb as she stared at the floor. The shock of finding out that her mother had been a queen and that she was also destined to be a queen still hadn’t worn off. This revelation would take some getting used to.
The End
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