The Ruins

Mom!

Jakombie sat down on a nearby rock. “We left the cave and went together up the cliff side. When we got there, we were both shocked to see a dragon and fairies working magic with a warrior girl!” Jakombie laughed. “Ramal is something else... “ He trailed off.

Krag was curious about her as well. “The whole magic thing threw me off guard as well. “ He paused. “Dragons, fairies…. witchcraft!” His eyes widened. “I had no idea!?” Krag shook his head. “And what’s Ramal’s deal?” His lips pursed as he was in thought. “She fights like a knight. She is fierce, and has the same hatred for these things that we do. Then she just disappears?” He was very confused. Krag sat on the next largest rock by Jakombie.

Jakombie was stumped there also. “Yeah, that was different. I don’t know where she went or what happened exactly. “ He drew in a large breath. “She was rocking like a lunatic, holding a rock, and then she just vanished!” Jakombie furrowed his brows as he thought. “And now we’re here, in the aftermath of a bloody battle, sitting on a rock!” His hands flung through the air adding emphasis. “Where is that dragon?”

RAMAL

Ramal stared at her mother’s ghostly form. She couldn’t believe her eyes. A tear welled up in the corner. “How is this possible?”

The fog dissipated around them. There was so much beauty here. As Ramal stared at her mother the breeze kicked up a little toward her and blew her hair back. Ramal sat on the ground frozen. Ravania began to hum and then sing.

“My daughter fair, I love you so. How far you’ve come, you cannot know. Our place is there, but here you are. My child you look so frightened.” Her song was a mezzo soprano masterpiece. Her face was sincere and her eyes were sad. She looked at Ramal longingly, her features full of concern.

Ramal was gazing at her mother’s mouth as she sang. When she stopped singing, their eyes locked, brilliant blue to dark brown. Silence was only interrupted by the singing of the birds. Ramal stood. Ravania came down to her. She gently cupped Ramal’s face in her hands, and touched her forehead with her own. Tears came from their eyes. Ramal’s ragged breathing caught her mother’s attention.

“My love, don’t cry. I am here now.” Ravania told her daughter softly. She kissed Ramal’s forehead and pressed her hair. “You need to be strong. You are a woman now. “ Ravania’s voice became more serious. Ravania looked around her. “I don’t have a lot of time.” She looked into Ramal’s eyes and grabbed her by the hand. The moss under their feet squelched and creaked, its water releasing onto their feet.

“Why am I here?” Ramal asked glancing at her mother who still held her hand. Ravania didn’t answer. She continued to lead her further into the abyss of trees, giant colorful boulders, and grass. Ramal took in the loveliness around her as they walked. She was unsure of where they were going or why. This whole thing was as confusing as it gets. She tried to focus on her mother. She was here. She was living, maybe? And she gets to be with her again.

Ravania had an apprehensive look on her face. She was determined to get where she was going. She quickened their pace. They reached a hillside with a small waterfall. Ravania released Ramal’s hand. She moved her arms in front of her, saying some sort of chant. It sounded like Latin. The moss moved away from the rocks making a boulder bare. Ravania moved it. A glowing light was coming from behind the rock. Ramal tried to get a better look, but her mother motioned for her to move back. The light became brighter and shot out from around the waterfall. The burst of energy made their hair fly back with a warm wind.

The light faded into a mist, that settled on them and their surroundings, in a form of glitter. Ravania waved her daughter forward. Ramal’s breath caught in her throat. She cautiously inched her way to the hole in the hillside. “Take it.” Ravania instructed. “It belongs to you.” She nodded her head. “It will only respond to you, and you will need it in a future day.”

Ramal reached her hand forward into the hole. She swallowed her uncertainty, and trusted her mother. She was also too interested not to. Her fingertips felt something cold and hard. Her heart was beating wildly. She wrapped her fingers around it. It felt like a dagger’s hilt. She pulled it slowly from its secret cove. She was watching her hand as it exited. A glowing orb was making her hand hot. She brought it to her chest more forcefully than she had anticipated. The magic wanted her to see it. She opened her hand in front of her. It was the most exquisite knife that she had ever seen. The handle was pure silver encrusted with jewels. It had a six and half inch blade, that was razor sharp. She had never seen the metal used before, but she could tell that it was of the best quality. Ramal stared at it in awe. It had a chain link necklace attached to it, decorated with blood red rubies.

The hole in the hillside closed by itself. Another boulder appeared where the last one was removed and the moss covering worked its way back. The hillside looked untouched. Their foot prints also disappeared. “We must go.” Ravania told her. “This way.”

“What is all this about?” Ramal asked again. “What am I doing here?” She looked around her, following her mother closely. They weaved in and out of trees and rock formations. “Mom!” Ramal stopped. “I want an answer. Where the hell am I? What is going on?” She shouted at her.

“Ramal,” Ravania panicked. “You mustn’t get loud or angry.” She lifted her finger to her lips to tell her to be quiet. “Please, keep moving, we are not safe here.”

Ramal looked around her warily. What the hell? She thought. She followed her mother, silently, shaking her head.