The Realms of Ethair (21 page)

“
I don’t think the Elders will like me for
what I am about to suggest.” The Commander of the Black Guard had
extracted a promise from Liyanna to sway the Council in their
favor. “I doubt they’ll listen to what I have to say when they’re
thousands of years older than me.”

Theona gave her a knowing smile. Brushing
past the willow’s leaves, the pair curtsied to the broad-shouldered
back of the waiting prince. His booted feet turned towards Liyanna
and he returned the depth of her bow.

Lifting her eyes to Kelor-dan’s face, she
saw a trace of humor in his otherwise polite court mask. He would
remain in that position if she did not resume standing. She rose
and pointedly ignored his appraisal of her appearance. The boots
she studied intently came forward until he was a hand’s breadth
away from her.

Kelor-dan lifted her chin, forcing her to
look up. He held her gaze. An unidentifiable emotion flitted across
his eyes followed by tenderness. The prince’s mouth brushed her
cheek. He moved to her left and offered the crook of his arm. She
took a deep breath and linked her arm in his.

Appreciative glances and secret smiles
turned their way as they traversed the halls leading to the
courtyard. The number of people in the palace had doubled in the
past week. Warmth crept up Liyanna’s face from embarrassment,
unused to being the center of attention. She caught the Prince
stealing a glance at her. His lips twitched as he kept a straight
face.

Sentries stood at attention in the
courtyard at their approach. The black-haired female Sentry was
familiar to Liyanna, as well as a few others present. Their captain
stood apart from his riding patrol.
Of course, who else would it be?
She fought the urge to step
back.

Pellinor bowed to them, avoiding eye
contact with her without being downright rude. The Master of the
Horse led Liyanna’s and Kelor-dan’s steeds before the assembled
group.

Astride their horses, a look passed between
Prince and Captain, and then the procession surged forward to Dur
na Valed.

The site had been in their line of sight
for a while, gradually increasing in size as they got closer. The
Sentries escorted them along the Avenue, the path towards the
entry, and dropped back when they reached the first stone, the Heel
Stone. Along with their horses, Kelor-dan and Pellinor left their
weapons to one of the riders before passing through the ancient
wards protecting the area.

Liyanna
had felt the probing of the protective barrier. It
recognized her instantly for what she is. It spoke of beginnings –
its history, the meetings it had watched over the years…

She would have asked what it was waiting
for but her attention was diverted to the group inside the ring of
stones. Long before she could see their faces, Liyanna could
already feel the Council’s eyes follow their procession. Relief
washed over her in finding Sara, Reno and Sola among
them.

Before they broke through the trees,
Liyanna had covered her head with the cowl of her dress. It would
give her sensitive eyes to adjust to strong sunlight. Likewise, the
hood would hide most of her face while she spied on the Council of
Elders.

A vision of a gathering similar to this
but held in the evening interrupted her examination of the Elders.
The Prince watched her at the corner of his eye. He had seen her
flinch, a reaction when a memory of her past life resurfaces. It
had been worse those first two days when memories that didn’t make
sense kept flashing in her mind, leaving her befuddled and with a
throbbing headache.

As they stepped into the ring of stones,
Kelor-dan looked away and steered her to the place reserved for
them. Liyanna caught sight of the other Captain in her periphery.
Weaponless, Pellinor looked remote and dangerous as ever. The aura
around him was just a shade lighter than usual. A testimony of his
more tolerant treatment of pureblooded Merleinans and the Elders
compared to Halflings and humans. Among those present, he was the
only individual who studiously averted his gaze from
her.

Despite the formalities performed with
diplomacy and smiles, the tension in the atmosphere was palpable.
Kelor-dan opened the session, a privilege reserved to the person
who had called for the gathering. Liyanna missed the Prince’s
speech preoccupied as she was with the many eyes directed at
her.

“
Liyanna, it is time,” Kelor-dan murmured.
He was fully aware of her sensitivities that it was unnecessary to
speak in a more audible tone.

Raising her chin, she stepped forward and
drew back her hood.

Many gasped and stilled at the sight of
her. The man with the mustache staggered to her, making her
involuntarily retreat to the prince’s side. He had forgotten the
Council as his eyes rested on hers.

“Princess,” the Elder whispered, a tear
running down his scarred cheek.

“
No.” The first to oppose her proposal to
the Elders was the last person she had expected. Heads darted
towards the speaker, most of them frowning at the interruption.
Kelor-dan had oriented her with the rules upheld in a formal
session in Dur na Valed. Officially, the Commander of the Black
Guards was invited by the Devarian Prince to attend the meeting.
Reno would support Liyanna’s supposed cause by sharing the last
report his spy Haron had sent prior to the ban of travelling to the
third dimension. His man had successfully infiltrated the recently
identified organization Riuben United, Inc. linked to the Zertans.
The spy had gone with his human employer to a convention, where he
learned of another group researching on genetics. It was later
discovered that these scientists have been studying a number of
subjects with a gene very similar to the human DNA with active
strands of three to five instead of two. From the disapproval
mirrored in each of the Council member’s faces, the Guard Commander
had acted on his own.

The role Reno played at present, however,
did not give him the benefit to express his opinions unless
requested. Still, he continued: “You are Liyanna. I cannot endanger
your life by letting you enter unknown territory.”

“
I cannot agree more. In accepting the
position of Liyanna, you have not only renounced your name, you
have agreed to share your life with your people,” the woman with
cropped hair said.

“
You are responsible to many – the Devatas,
Merleinans, Rituvans, Sorencellians,” a man with multiple braids
seconded.

Other members pitched in to dissuade her.
Liyanna had offered to help search for the missing Merleinans, not
surrender herself to the enemy or lead a group to retaliate against
the Zertans. Her abilities were growing, she was confident that she
could assist them in tracking down the victims’ holding location
without visiting ‘unknown territory.’ She could also give the unit
of Black Guards an energy boost before initiating their Merkaba.
What was wrong in helping when there are numerous ways she could
aid them in the safest possible means?

The Devatas, Sara, and the scarred Elder did
not add their voice in the discussion. The high priestess appeared
distracted while the man stared at the grass in consternation.

“
I understand I carry the obligations of a
Liyanna, but I cannot leave them at the mercy of our enemies.”
Liyanna raised a hand when the one of the Elders would protest. “As
you have said, they are my people.”

“
Very well. Let us send the Black Guards,”
a white long-haired Council member holding a staff said after a
long pause. Arguments erupted. They didn’t want to add more people
to the list of disappearances. “This will be the last,” he added
firmly, looking at every individual present.

Mollified, t
he Council agreed. Reno would form a team and
attempt a rescue within fifteen days. Liyanna would remain with the
Forest Folk in the duration of the investigation. When the given
time is up, the Guards would have to return empty-handed or not.
Failure to comply would result to the end of the Order of the Black
Guard.

Liyanna’s part had ended abruptly as
intended by the Council. She would have no contribution in solving
the case. Liyanna felt that she had missed something important. Why
were they so opposed to the idea of her offer of assistance? If
only she could speak to someone who would tell her what it
is.

The meeting concluded, the Council
dispersed, returning to their respective countries to resume their
duties. Liyanna and her escorts rejoined the Sentries. Upon
entering the woods, a voice spoke to her telepathically. She would
have ignored the call if not for the mention of her given name in
the third dimension.

The Elders’ presence was quickly fading as
the distance between them and her riding group lengthened. She
steered her horse a little way from the palace. The Devatas mutely
followed, accepting the sudden change of course as if this happened
at a regular basis. Their complete trust in her would have troubled
her in normal circumstances. But now, she used it to her advantage,
leading them to Umandir without bothering to explain
herself.

The Veil between Merleina and the Devatas
are not consistent in density. Certain locales like Umandir serve
as portals between the realms. It is knowledge that Forest Folk
rarely shared to those not of their kind, save their Liyanna. There
are instances, however, that Merleinans and third dimensional
humans, whose affinity to nature is stronger than most, stumble
across these secret doorways. It is a Sentry’s duty to wipe their
memories of what they had seen beyond the Veil. Sentries encouraged
the assumption that Umandir is a favorite place of the Forest Folk
to meet with Merleinans.

The area was familiar to Liyanna after
riding here weeks ago to meet Arturion and the others. She worried
about Arty’s continued silence. He had not returned from the third
dimension.
Was he looking for his fellow Keepers even after the
Council had given up, or—?
She shook her head. Liyanna knew he lives, but could not
pinpoint his exact location yet.

Her horse slowed. Creatures knew of the
portal and felt the subtle sensation of going through an invisible
net. She and her company saw the visitor first before the other
party saw them.

The sun was still high in the sky. The
high priestess had not shown surprise when they suddenly appeared
from the shadows. Sara’s gaze focused on Liyanna, barely
acknowledging the Prince and his men. The latter did not take it as
an affront and kept their distance in order for the Merleinan to
speak with Liyanna privately.

“You have decided.” It was not a question but
a statement.

Sara must have Seen it
recently
, Liyanna
thought. “The Elders are too keen on closing the cities against
ascending humans,” she said aloud. “Why?”

“
I, too, am an Elder; my son, as well. I do
not always agree with the Council’s decisions. We do not act solely
by ourselves and have to abide by the decisions made by the
majority. People tend to forget I am half-human. The forbiddance to
cross between the third and fourth dimension fills me with sadness.
My father dedicated his life to helping humanity. The abolition of
the Order of the Gate Keepers would be a fatal blow to him if he
was here.” Sara met Liyanna’s gaze. “The founding of the Gate
Keepers was primarily to continue a beloved wife’s
advocacy.

“
But humans will ascend with or without our
assistance. They would be welcomed when they come into our world.
As for your question, the Elders fear the prophecy and with good
reason.”

“What prophecy?”

Your return to the third
dimension
, Sara spoke in
her mind.
The future does not show if you will succeed or
fail.
The high
priestess’ arm shot forward and grabbed her. The former’s eyes
glazed over as her lips move:

“’Ware the Darkness eclipse the Light.

Man falls,

treaties break,

earth ravaged,

Devatas lost to all peoples.”

The prophecy spoken,
Liyanna barely caught Sara as she fell
forward.

The Forest Folk had tensed when they
thought the Merleinan Halfling was about to harm their Liyanna.
They remained motionless when the air became thick with power for
the high priestess had used the Old Tongue.

Then, the chimera swooped down from the sky,
his head turned to the west, directing the Sentries attention to
another possible threat. A shadow extricated itself from its hiding
place. The scarred Elder came forward with arms raised to show that
he was unarmed.

“
I come in peace,” he spoke.

“
Peace,” Pellinor spat the word, his eyes
narrowed into slits. “You follow us in concealment yet offer us
peace, Rituvan.”

The Elder ignored the Captain’s remark. He
bowed to the Devarian Prince and said, “Your Majesty.”

“General.” Kelor-dan gestured for the man to
rise.

“
Kasador would suffice, Majesty.” He held
out his hand. Kelor-dan clasped arms with the Elder warily. “It has
been a long time.”

“
Indeed. Your object for coming is to speak
with Liyanna.” The Prince reintroduced Council Elder Kasador, a
general and enforcer of the laws in Rituvan, to Liyanna.