Gaia

Chapter 7 Echoes of the Mist

The path before them was made out of black stone, the beautiful landscape Shay and Shiloh once saw disappearing as the mist returned. Shay noticed the stones had silver veins like Orrin's armor that pulsed with ancient symbols as they walked further down the path and deeper into the mist. The air once sweet smelling, became heavier with the smell of old blood and earth. The mist began swirling around their knees, Shiloh grabbed Shays hand and squeezed it tight, before Shay could calm him, she realized that this place was not as it seemed, it was not merely a path in a forest but something else entirely, a place that was woven from shadows and forgotten magic. Shay started to feel uneasy in this new place and as she walked, her boots broke an unbearable silence awakening something in its wake. Shay felt a rhythmic humming through her boots from the black stoned path. Damien walked a few paces ahead of Shay and Shiloh exhibiting a weird calm ease of familiarity, Shays mind started remembering the Sentinels bow, the mention of the blood she and Shiloh carried, what did all this mean? And why wasn't Damien telling her? He always had to be so cryptic, anger burned through her veins. Damien stopped walking suddenly, the humming through her boots grew in intensity, and was now humming and sending vibrations through her whole body. The mist started to swirling around them in Grey and silver tones and Shay started to see figures just beyond reach, images flooded her senses, Towering spires, battles of blood, magic and death forming, screams of the wounded and dying, flashes of the fallen and the victorious, cloaked in both light and shadow. They disappeared as quickly as they had appeared leaving only the wind and a disorienting thrum in her ears. She quickly looked over at Shiloh, he looked at her excitedly "did you see that Shay?! It was like pictures in the air"! Shay was wondering if they both saw the same thing, before she could answer, Damien turned around, his face unreadable, and said in a low solemn voice, "these are the echoes, that play for the ones who have the sight to see them and the blood to feel them". A vivid image of a woman appeared beside them, standing in a room with a vast, intricate map etched onto a stone floor, her hands outstretched in the air, threads of light spun from her fingertips connecting points on the map, she mumbled something in an ancient language that Shay recognized, it was similar to the words she and her village chanted to bring Gaia. The woman fell to her knees, feeling the power of the god she called for, she screamed to him, "I will find you and get back what you have stolen from us"! The woman shot lightening from her fingertips towards the skylight in the ceiling before collapsing on the stones. Shay stumbled backward, hands over her ears, tears streaming down her face, the feelings that weren't hers connected to this vision still reverberating through her mind and body. Suddenly, Damien was there, catching her before she hit the black stone path beneath her and helping her to stand. She looked at him, still trying to make sense out of what she just saw, "what are they?" she whispered. Damien watching the remnants of the mist swirling away, his gaze distant, whispered back "they are the whispers of a world long fallen", he said, his voice laced with ancient sorrow. "A world that once touched this one and left an indelible mark." He released his gentle hold on Shay and started walking down the path in silence, leaving Shay reeling with her thoughts. She looked at Shiloh, he seemed unbothered, skipping along and humming a tune, which confused her further. Shiloh asked if they were going to see more pictures in the sky in an excited voice, Shay didn't know how to answer him, her mind still trying to make sense of everything she had heard, felt and seen. She gave Shiloh a small smile and said "maybe". He seemed fine with this answer and continued to hum a tune as they walked deeper on the path.