Crackle

Journey to a New Me

Dahin

We arrive at the viewing room. Rayo takes me over to a small screen that floats at eyelevel. “These will be your followers. Watch them, see what they need and be that for them.” He says motioning towards the screen before he leaves me to watch alone. I stare at the screen my followers are huddled together naked in a thick green forest. Rain pores down on them yet they do not cover themselves. Their frail bodies are muddied from top to bottom and they’re shivering from the cold. One of them holds a baby trying to shield it from the rain, but water still splashes the baby causing it to shiver harder. Primitive indeed I think to myself. A week in their time passes and I continue to watch them as they fight against the wild around them. The herd is attacked by creatures almost constantly, but they wield nothing to defend themselves. They simply run, jump, and climb to outmaneuver their predators, and they’re almost always successful. Over the course of the week, they only lose one member to an attack. A skinny male with an injured leg was just not able to keep up with the rest of them and was captured and devoured because of it. I watch as the baby grows sicker from the exposure to the rain. It’s plump face pales and the shivers continue. The mother’s worry grows to panic as the child’s constant crying alerts their predators to their every location. I can save the child easily, but is another mouth to feed really what they need? I think as I continue to watch. The herd eats wild growing fruit from higher in the trees. They possess no tools to aid them in harvesting so gathering food is just as likely to end in one of them falling and dying as it is in them being successful. When they are able to gather food for the herd other creatures easily overpower them and take their food scaring them off to a new location in the process. Finally, I know what they need, and I call for Rayo. He returns and stands beside me. “I know what they need.” I say looking up at him, “They need tools, weapons, and clothes. Perhaps shelter too to shield them from the elements.” “Good, now how do you plan to get that to them?” It was a simple enough question, yet al wanted to do was go down and give them everything, show them everything. “It’s up to you how involved you want to be, but don’t let them consume you.” “I will just go to them and teach them how to survive and what it means to live.” I say hope shining in my eyes as Rayo listens intently. “Time moves differently there, so you may go for as long as you please. I will check in with you in one hour our time. Be safe kids and know that I am proud of you.” With that Rayo leaves me alone again. I look over at these beings again, I can do this, I think to myself and then into the screen I go to help those who don’t even know who I am yet.

I land a distance away from the herd so I don’t frighten them too much. My sandals squishing in the mud as I make contact with the ground. Everything around me hums with energy. Each vibration uniquely feeding into a collective harmony that creates a beautiful song. I can pinpoint the individual hums and somehow know exactly where its coming from and everything about it. I pinpoint a sharp rock not far from me and pick it up. My robes are definitely not going to be helpful here, so I take the rock and make a hole in the material at my knees before ripping it the rest of the way around and letting it fall to the ground. I drop the rock and step out of the material. The herd is northeast from my current location, so I head in that direction taking in the beauty around me. Colorful flowers bloom on the ground and the surface of trees all around me. I hear birds overhead adding lyrics to the song of the land. As I near the herd I feel the hum of a predator closing in on their location. The herd is distracted by the wales of the mother with the sick baby and have not registered the danger. I speed my pace up making it to their camp just in time to see the blue scaled four-legged creature move into striking distance of a child. It’s perched on a low hanging branch, its tri-clawed feet moving slow and steadily towards the child. Its long-pointed snout ends in two nostrils and from its mouth a long forked tongue dashes in and out. Its eyes are fixed and ready as it creeps closer. I pick up a tree limb from the ground and run towards the child. My movement catching the attention of some of the members of the herd who look in the direction I’m headed and begin to scream for the child to run from me. The child turns to run, and the creature takes its chance to jump from the branch and tackle the child. The herd is in a frenzy now screaming and running away from me and the creature. I make a mad dash through the chaos and swing the branch knocking the creature off the child.

So much for pacifism I chuckle to myself as I squat beside the child to assess the damage. The predators’ hum rises from a bite mark on the child’s face and I instantly know the bite was laced with venom. I look up and around scanning for the predator and am rewarded as I see it has landed at the base of a sturdy tree and isn’t moving yet. I walk over to the predator and realize no hum is rising from it anymore and the melody of the land’s song has changed a bit. I open the mouth of the predator and see its fans protruding from its gums. I scan the forest floor and see the shell of one of the fruit, perfectly round and hollow. I pick it up and mill the fang into the bowl. Then scan the forest again this time listening to the subtle changes rising from each plant. I quickly gather the herbs I need adding them to the bowl then grab a rock from the ground and use it to smash the bowl’s contents into a paste. The hum of the child’s energy is fading so i know i must act quickly. I open the child’s mouth putting some of the paste in it then close it’s mouth again and put the rest of the paste on the wound. I know that’s all i can do for him as i gather him from the ground and carry him in the direction of the herd.

Norella

I lay in our bed starring at the ceiling to weak to move. I really couldn’t understand why at this point I hadn’t regained my strength. I knew that Zeya had been restoring the tribes connection to Ojo. It made sense to me that the times I had felt immediate deterioration in my power levels befre had been because of those restorations, but this time it was different. This time I felt like the pool of power that I had always commanded was beyond my reach. I couldn’t access my own power to naturally restore my body. I couldn’t even access my own power to fill it with power from the well. I thought about going back to sleep, but I had slept too much already. There was just too much to do to sleep my days away. I only had two more days until the eclipse. I closed my eyes and reached for the well of power that should have been there only to come up empty again. Just as I felt a little headway Clem burst through the door of our chamber. “Norella, baby you need to wake up.” He says excitedly as he approaches the bad. I open my eyes and glance wearily in his direction. “I wasn’t asleep. What’s going on Clem.” I know my tone is exasperated by the face he gives me as he takes a seat on the bed beside me. “Aww sweetheart, you look so drained is there anything I can do to help you recover?” “If I think of anything you’ll be the first to know Clem” I give him a weak smile, “Now, what was so exciting?” “Oh yeah. First that sprite has got to go as soon as he can. I don’t like him, I especially don’t like that he somehow thinks you belong to him despite how obviously happy you are being mine.” Clem says giving me a devilish grin. “But, he was useful after a little persuading. He gave me a message from Miljena.” I wiggle myself up in the bed and rest my back on the headboard. “She says the humans are all in and collecting their troop to meet for the planned battle. She said they just had one small problem with only having one seat on the council and that she had told them that they would have to figure that out amongst themselves and every race would only have one seat not just them. It sounded like she wasn’t sure they would settle for that, but she didn’t seem worried just unsure.” Clem spoke quickly getting all the information he could remember out. I loved that about him. No matter what it was he would get everything he remembered out before he could forget anything too important. “Thank you my love” I say leaning in to give him a kiss. The smell of iron envelopes me as I lean in taking me back in time. My heart in front of me and my mind on Zeya I remember the day she was born. It was tradition for men to join together during the birth of their child. They would talk about the future, reminisce on the past, give each other advice, and celebrate when it was all done. But Clem didn’t do this when Zeya made her appearance. He refused to leave my side as I struggled with bringing her into this world. After twenty hours of labor I thought I would surely die before she made her appearance, but Clem just comforted me rubbing my back, making sure the midwife wasn’t pushing me too hard. He’d said ‘She’ll make her appearance when she’s ready. You don’t have to rush her and she won’t hurt you.’ At the time I wanted to strangle him. Not hurting me had gone out the window with the first contraction and we were twenty hours in at that point. Just as I was about to give him every mean word I could think of another contraction hit me shuddering my body and send my mind to a distant place. Clem held my hand as I scremed in pain reminding me to breath by breathing loudly in my face. Once the contraction subside her repeated louder this time directing his words to my engorged belly ‘she won’t hurt you’ as if on cue another contraction hit and I finally felt the urge the midwife kept telling me I would to push. Two contractions later our angel finally came into the world, and smiling no less. Her pink gums were a goddess send. At the time her eyes were pitch black and her beautiful curls were fire read. She was perfect even then. I lean back onto the headboard soaking in the memory. Zeya what are you doing to me? I hope your father was right and in the end you won’t hurt me. I think to myself scooting back down in the bed. A little more rest couldn’t hurt right? “I’ll go view the training today. When I return I will be taking you to the well my love. We have to get you ready for the eclipse.” Those are the last words I hear before darkness envelopes me.

I open my eyes in Ojo’s garden. The sun shines brightly around me and Ojo lays in the grass beside me. “Norella, I would ask how you are, but I already know.” Ojo says her melodious voice filling the space around us and warming my heart. “I know the last few days have been tough, and Rayo said you were on your own, but Zeya did something unexpected that I know only I can restore.” I shoot up to a seated position. “Is she alright?!” I ask swaying from the effort of sitting up. “She’s fine. Lay back down..” She says soothingly. “She just summoned me without a circle to the Deja pool. I’m not even sure she knew what she was doing or the significance her actions would play on your health,” Ojo sighed, “But it’s fine for now I will just restore your access to the pool and you will be able to recover.”

Once Ojo finishes I already feel my strength returning to me. “You have to teach her better Norella. I won’t be able to do that for you again.” Ojo’s eyes are hard as she looks at me. “You still need to rest and you won’t be restored to full power even with a new connection to the pool, but you will feel better than you did.” With that she gets up and begins to walk away. “Wait!” I call after her, she stops and turns back to me. “I’m so sorry Norella our time is coming to an end. I had such high hopes for you and now… Take care of yourself. Only you can now.” Ojo’s voice is filled with sorrow as she turns away again and disappears into her temple. For the first time I am literally in my goddess’s realm and I feel utterly alone. Her words echo in my mind and I can’t help but feel that she meant what she said. My time amongst the living is drawing to an end and there will be nothing she can do about it. I lay back down feeling stronger but heavier than when I arrived knowing that there’s nothing here for me anymore but not quite ready to say goodbye to this chapter of my life. Ojo has been my entire life. Even when she distanced herself from me after I created the portals, I knew that at some point she would forgive me and that at every point she would protect me. Now though, I felt as if none of that was true anymore and from now on anything that happened would be up to me to look out for myself. A chill ran up my back as the sun set on the garden. It was time for me to go back. I closed my eyes and opened them back in my warm bed in my lonely room.

Gash

A couple of days travel had brought me finally to Calun the port city. I had arranged for passage on a ship that was set to leave tonight. I was finally done with the craziness that had been my life here. I could start over in a new land and make a life for myself free of my tarnished name. Everything was looking up from here. I order another ale and a bowl of soup from the bar and take a seat in the corner waiting for the soup to come out. Just a few more minutes and my future would begin. A beautiful blonde brings the soup to me and fills my mug with the ale before bouncing away to wait on other customers. The hearty smell of beef and carrots wafts up to my nose making my stomach growl. I quickly dig into the meal and savor every bite as the soup makes a warm journey down my throat and into my belly. I haven’t had anything this good since I left the castle. I had been surviving off of what I could catch and burn over a fire on the road here. I wanted to reach the sea as soon as I could and hopefully miss the catastrophe that was about to happen on the eclipse. War was never good for the commoners, and I was definitely a commoner. At least I thought I was, with the gold that I now had perhaps I could be more when I started my life over. I finish the soup and lean back in my seat taking in the inn. It wasn’t packed, but there were quite a few patrons hanging around in chairs spread sparsely throughout the establishment, some less savory than others. I take the last gulp of my ale and leave a coin for the bar wench before heading out of the door and on to my new future. The sun had set but there’s still a glow from the horizon. I walk down to the docks imagining the possibilities my future now holds unaware that three patrons from the ale house have been tailing me since I left. I reach the dock looking for the boat that will take me far away, when I feel the presence of another person behind me. I turn to ask whoever it is if they know how to get to the ship and am immediately greeted with a bulky man swinging on me. I quickly duck dodging the blow and drop my bag to the ground preparing to counter when the presence of another man to my left registers too late. He catches me just as I turn to block the blow I know is coming, knocking me back a few steps into another man who grabs me from behind. I reach up over my shoulder searching for my assailants face as the other two charge at me. I find the back of my restrainers head and use it as leverage to buck back and send both feet kicking out to the chests of my other two attackers knocking them back long enough for me to regain the ground under my feet. I then flip the restrainer over my shoulder using his head to swing his weight. As I rise from throwing my assailant over my shoulder one of the other men who I had kicked rushes me again his friend joining in the attack I dodge another swing and am rewarded with a knee to my gut. I double over grabbing my stomach and catch another lick in the back of my head before darkness takes me over.

I wake up in the bows of a ship, but not the one I had set out to board earlier that evening. My hands and feet are chained to twenty other men who look worse than I felt. My heartbeat thumps in my head and every wave the ship hits send my stomach into my throat. Of all the futures I had imagined being a slave was not one of them. Our captures come down clanging and making loud noises sending my head thumping into overdrive. “Alright you lazy cuckles!” A buff man with neck tattoos says coming down the stairs, “Get your rest tonight, tomorrow you’ll get a short learnin on how we fight! You’ll either die on the field or have a story ta tell when your old and wrankled.” He puts out the few lanterns that hung on the posts in the bow of the ship. I wiggle down on the pallet of straw the best that I can. If I’m going to fight I’m going to fight to live and that requires rest. I close my eyes and try to ignore the thumping in my head and the clenching of my stomach.

I wake up to the sound of banging as my captures clang their way down the stairs again. My head still throbs but not as badly as before and my stomach, now empty of my last meal, still sloshed but no longer clenched. “Wake up you lazy cuckles!” The same man from the night before yelled as he made his way down the middle of the room, “I hope y’all slept good enough. Today you learn how to stay alive!” Three men make their way down the center row and begin to yank the chains of my fellow captives and drag them up the stairs to the deck of the ship. There’s no point in fighting these men at this point, even if I overpower them we’re in the middle of the sea and that’s a lot of water to try in drink myself to freedom. I shuffle up the stairs and am assaulted by the brightness of the sun as I break through the doorway to the deck. They lead us to a clear area on the deck and place us into neat lines. “Alright! First thing you need to know about staying alive is runnin is not an option! Either you fight for us or you die running from the fight. At all times my men will be right behind ya and if you even think about avoidin the battle we’ll kill ya ourselves. Got it?” A few men around me mumble their their understanding. “Good! Now next thing ya need ta know is we’ll feed ya and we’ll keep ya safe for as long as we can. We need ya to fight so your safe as long as you keep the straight and narrow. Ya give me no problems and we’ll give ya none in return. Now, I know none a ya planned to fight for your rights to live and be equal, but fightins what ya gonna do. Ya want ya freedom? Ya fight for it! We win this war and ya all will be freed the very day. So it’s in ya best interest to fight ya best. Ain’t no tellin what them other things ‘ll do ta ya if we lose.” He says this part with a worried tone. “So, we’re gonna teach ya a few things that might keep ya alive. Just a lil crash course in surviving a battle. We don’t have much time so ya better be quick learners cuz we’re only gonna show ya once. Bust em into groups.” His men break us into groups of five unlocking the latched chains at the fifth man so we could walk separately to stations they had set up on the dock of the ship. I’m grouped with two buff guys, one about my build, and a skinny lad that couldn’t be more than a teen. I was not going to be responsible for his death so I scoot closer to him and whisper, “Take in everything they teach us today if you want to live. I’ll not have you dying because you chose to zone out and I’ll not die trying to keep you alive.” I back away from him as we approach the station they have us starting at.

The day passes by quickly with our captures giving quick lessons in hand-to-hand combat, first aid, weaponry, and signaling. By the time the sun was settling I could see land in the distance and knew that by morning we’ll have docked and then start the last leg of our journey to the sky portal. My old home would be not far from there I wonder if I’ll see that place again briefly while I’m there. I think to myself as I eat the thick stew they feed us. My captures haven’t been deliberately cruel to me, which is surprising. I mean I’ve never been a slave before, but I’ve heard stories and they always sounded brutal. Something told me these guys were new to the business and they may not be cut out for this kind of business. After we finish eating our captures lead us back down to the bow and bid us rest as they had the night before. Then they put out the lanterns and leave us to sleep. “We will dock tomorrow” one of my fellow captives says in the darkness. “We should make a break for it when they unload us from the ship.” “I encourage you not to do that, but if you do make sure they know it’s just you” I bark into the darkness. “I’ll not get killed because you lot want to stir the pot. I won’t ruin it but I won’t be joining you either.” “If ya don’t join us then we can’t do it, or did you not notice that we’re all chined together?” The same voice says into the darkness. “Did you not notice that they broke us into groups? They’ll do that again when they unload us, and they’ll take the chains off completely when we get to the battlefield. I would personally suggest you wait until those things happen if you want to make a run for it. Like I said, I won’t stop you but I’m not coming with ya either. Now, hush and sleep.” I roll over on my pallet of straw and close my eyes.