The Realms of Ethair (18 page)

“
Karina slipped in the bathroom and hit her head.
She is in a state of deep sleep. The
Silver Cord,
connecting body to soul, remains intact; but her
spirit is not present among us. She travels and would not respond
to my call.”

*****

The Qihaman mountain range, situated at
Merleina’s borders in the south and east is riddled with secret
tunnels and caves. A year prior to the Atlantean wars, Council
member Qihaman had dreamt of exploring the mountainous area on
foot. He had reached the peak of the mountain when the sky darkened
with the promise of a storm. He saw a light flash nearby beckoning
him. Curiosity piqued, he followed it and discovered a cave with a
little girl waiting inside. She pointed at the deeper part of the
cavern, the entrance to the tunnels. The girl guided him through
the network of passages until they came to an exit. She had led him
to the base of the mountains and gave him a pendant that only he
could activate into displaying the map of the tunnels. As payment,
he would store the tunnels with food and other provisions.

The dream ended, Qihaman woke holding the
very same necklace in his hands. He visited the location of his
dream and verified the authenticity of the gift. He learned then
the necessity of a map as the mountains were protected from anyone
who uses the Sight and tools for scrying and tracking.

A Council meeting was held. The dream was
analyzed and dissected. They concluded that the dream was a warning
of imminent upheaval. When war erupted, civilians unable to fight –
children, pregnant women, the elderly and the injured – took
shelter in Qihaman’s mountains.

After Merleina’s shift to the fourth
dimension, people returned to their homes and abandoned the
sanctuary. The mountains were later named after the Council member;
not for discovering its secrets but for defending to his death one
of its passages against a group of enemy scouts, who had stumbled
upon the entrance leading to the medical facility.

At present, the Order of the Black Guard
built their headquarters in one of its mountains. The location was
ideal at best. It was exactly at the opposite location of the Gate
Keepers’ HQ. The near proximity of the Forest Folk was advantageous
for business dealings and in keeping the Guards sharp and alert at
all times.

The Guard Commander had returned to his
office after a rare disagreement with his friend. Arturion have
maintained a calm exterior but his recent actions, betrayed his
true feelings.

Karina
had been left at Arturion’s residence. True to the high
priestess’ word, sacred geometry had been cast on the human woman’s
recumbent form and administered daily with honeyed water. All this
to sustain life; yet, they could not stabilize nor contain the
energy overflowing from her body. Even the house’s wards could no
longer hold the energies from seeping out and covering the whole of
Merleina. It manifested in ways: the lavender scent, the richer
taste in the bounties of earth; the speedier recovery of injuries
and illnesses.

The Council was forced to confirm the
existence of a potential Liyanna to the public when the strange
occurrences became difficult to ignore. They were disinclined to
give away her whereabouts but the animals and Devatas visiting the
house and leaving gifts could not be overlooked for long. Sara had
taken the task of addressing the Merleinans; to assure them and
give hope; and to ask them to pray for the health of Karina and the
staff caring for her, instead of going to the young woman’s
temporary lodgings and dropping gifts and tokens. Her promise to
notify them of any change in Karina’s situation proved effective in
diffusing speculations. Those who were in attendance when Sara
spoke left homeward to pass on the information.

Everyone was confident in the skills of the
high priestess and her Order. The human would survive and regain
consciousness. Still, Reno had watched Arturion abuse his ability
to activate Merkaba. The latter’s number of travels between the
third and fourth dimension was enough to last a year just to visit
and hold hands with an unconscious woman. Reno would hear him
talking to her softly about growing up in Merleina, the interesting
bits in the country’s lengthy history, and her foreign visitors. No
one minded Arturion’s stories except for his haggard
appearance.

Initially, he would see her twice in a
week. But as Karina continued to sleep through the month,
Arturion’s visits became more frequent. His worry was
understandable. The longer she slept, the lesser the possibility
that she would awaken.

Reno had attempted to persuade Arturion to
stay and rest in the third dimension for at least a week before
others recognized the depth of his affections for Karina. The
Keeper refused to listen and stated that he was only fulfilling his
obligations. In the middle of the argument, the Commander almost
lost his temper because of Arturion’s stubbornness. Fortunately,
Sara came and diffused the tension between them, scolding Reno to
keep himself in check. Telepathically, she assured him that she
would personally make sure that Arturion would follow his
advice.

In his office, the Commander brooded over
Karina’s case. He and the Guards have not been able to make any
progress with their investigations. The Black Guards he had
personally selected could not come up with any leads regarding the
mystery surrounding Karina and her mother.

A bead in the tiger eye bracelet he wore
around his wrist momentarily gleamed. One of his people had
submitted a report. He held it between his thumb and index finger.
The sender was Haron, one of his best Guards, who has been working
undercover as executive assistant to a businessman since three
years ago. The man was suspected of being affiliated to an
organization working for the Zertans. The unknown organization has
a broad network ranging from politicians, syndicates, charitable
institutions to pharmaceutical companies.

The encrypted message was short. Haron would
be accompanying his employer to a conference conducted in a
different country every three months. It would be held in two
weeks’ time at the Peninsula Hotel based in Makati, Philippines. He
would submit another report the day after the meeting.

The Commander had a few misgivings. Giving
Haron the approval in undertaking this task would be a direct
disobedience to the Elders’ orders. He would just have to keep it
under wraps until it was over.

Reno rubbed his hands together with
anticipation. The news had lifted his mood. A window of opportunity
had opened for them. If the organization is indeed allied to the
Zertans, his man would be able to share with the Order valuable
information regarding both groups. There was also the slightest
chance Haron might find the missing piece to the puzzle in
resolving the investigation.

The Guard Commander sent a reply to
proceed with the mission. The probability of being stripped of his
rank had occurred to him more often than not. The consequences were
great, but it would be worth it.

The woods were thinning before her. She could not
remember how she came to be in the forest. Her memories were
nothing but fragments.
Karina had no control over her actions. Her body moved on
its own accord. She didn’t know if she should freak out. Her
emotions were in turmoil, the most predominant were sorrow and
confusion.

The building panic subsided as she seemed to
have no difficulty navigating the woods without the Forest Folk
guiding her. She walked confidently and purposefully, the land
rising gradually as she neared her destination.

Reno had, in a rare occasion, described
the location of his headquarters. He had called it Qihaman
Mountains, a part of Merleina’s borders. She had only seen its
silhouette from her window. This time, she knew this was the same
mountain he had spoken about as she found one of its
tunnels.

The markings at the boulder looked like dirt
to the untrained eye; in truth, it bore a riddle in cipher. The
tunnel’s entrance remained concealed until the person, who wishes
to gain entry, states the answer to the puzzle. This entryway was
also the nearest to the Devarian Realm.

Karina
stopped a hundred paces from it. Her awareness sharpened as
she let her Sight and extended auditory and olfactory senses take
over. It registered the familiar sounds and smells of the forest –
or, what was left of the eastern part of it.

The combined stench of burnt flesh and
wood drifted to her. The Great Fire had consumed a greater portion
of the forest. The Old Wood was no more. The barrenness in the area
was a testament that the ancient trees would no longer shelter
creatures against nature’s harsh elements. The knowledge had come
unbidden from deep within her along with renewed grief.

Then, she heard a voice behind her speak of
Qihaman. It was familiar but angry.

Whatever this is – a dream or a vision – she was
trapped inside a girl, whose thoughts and feelings meshed with
hers. Karina, an unwilling witness, only hoped that there was a
good reason why she needed to see these events unfold before
her.

*****

The moment she woke to the sensation of
having a handful of people present in her room, Karina had a
sinking feeling that her position in Merleina had risen once more.
A part of her wanted to go back to sleep. The more logical side of
her, however, dictated that there was no point in further delaying
the inevitable.

Cracking an eye open, Karina realized that
she had levitated a few inches from her bed. Landing softly on the
mattress, she blinked a few times letting her eyes adjust to the
brightness of the room.

The memories of the dream she had was
fading fast from her mind. Still, Karina was aware that the
abilities she possessed in the dream stayed with her.

Sara’s face came into view, then Kala’s. The
apprentice’s expression was the opposite of the high priestess’
calm composure; but, both a welcome sight in her awakening.

“
What’s going on?” Karina asked as Sara and
two others began a thorough examination of her body.

“
You had an accident in the bath. You’ve
been asleep for nine weeks,” Kala said, arranging the bed Karina
had vacated. Cheerfully, she added: “Thankfully, you are not in the
third dimensional plane. I’ve heard from the Guards that the
medical field has not yet reached our level of advancement. Is it
true that those who have been asleep for longer periods have to
undergo a particular therapy to–?”

“
Kala, you may continue your questions
tomorrow. Let our patient rest for now,” Sara spoke gently. To
Karina, she asked: “Is your eye bothering you?”

“
No, but it feels different.” Karina opened
and closed her eyes.

“Let me see.” The priestess checked the right
eye. “There is nothing wrong with it.”

Next to her, Kala stood transfixed at their
patient’s eye. Suddenly, Kala jerked back and announced that she
would inform the others of the good news to Sara’s approval.

Kala and the others retreated from the
room. Once they were alone, the high priestess explained what had
happened after the accident. Karina’s soul, which had left her
body, returned two weeks prior her awakening. In the meantime, her
condition had spread like wildfire across their world. Sara, Sola
and the Council of Elders could no longer deny Karina’s existence
from Merleina’s neighboring countries.

Gifts filled every nook and cranny of the
house. Temples filled with people praying for her. A day had not
passed that someone would approach the priesthood inquiring about
the would-be Liyanna.
Creatures never before seen in Merleina had come and kept
vigil outside the house. It was only today that the number of
visitors from the animal kingdom decreased and Sara became certain
that Karina would regain consciousness.

The high priestess’ instructed her to rest
but flashes of a distant past kept Karina awake. Giving up on
sleep, she wondered about Arty.
Is he alright?
She had been disappointed when Sara told her that
he had returned to the third dimension to fulfill his
duties.

Another memory jolted her. Karina began
pacing the room. Her senses had sharpened further, exceeding
Arturion’s. Her
ascension
had
done that to her. Sara had been uncertain if the ability was
temporary or not. For now, she would have to learn to live with it.
If it became evident that the change was permanent, they would have
to look for someone to teach her how to control it. The high
priestess did not mention anyone in particular, but it was obvious
that Arturion would have been the first choice. The soft tread her
ears picked up came directly from below. It was the novice Sara had
assigned to keep an eye on her.

Karina
wanted to leave the house and have somebody explain these
visions to her. Outside, the flap of wings caught her attention as
it grew louder. Her ears registered that its wing span was large
for a bird. The smell of it was harder to distinguish. She moved to
the window to see what kind of creature it could be.

The chimera was approaching from her right.
Its eyes regarded her with intelligence. It moved closer to the
window, their heads a hair’s breadth from touching. Its leveled
gaze sparked a vision that told of a similar encounter. A name
formed on her lips: “Velor.”