Memories Lost - First of Apocalyptic Hell Series

The Clan

    Orus lifted the magic that deterred unwanted travelers from coming into their forest. As we traveled down the road we saw many cervitaurs, young and old, bucks and does. Many of their young were more interested in us, than afraid of us. After what felt like miles had gone by we came to a large clearing, in the center was a large tree. It rivaled many that I had seen in Eindenia and in the elven kingdoms. At its base were several large boulders that had been placed to form a large throne. Decorated with various plant life and moss to help soften the stone. A large cervitaur was perched regally on the throne, he was larger that Orus and his antlers were even more impressive. Moss and other decorations hung from his antlers to signify his regality and importance to their clan. As he looked us over he slowly rose from his throne and to greet us. 

    “Announcing Prince Orus, son of King Andrastos of the Clan of the Forlonde Mountains.” a voice echoed around us to announce our entrance into the clearing. The two approached each other in a formal greeting, I was able to see just how much larger he was than his son. They grasped each other’s forearms and pressed their foreheads together while saying something in their native tongue, one I did not understand. He moved passed his son to approach our group, standing before us he held this regality about him that rivalled that of Queen Alenia herself. 

    “Merry meet travelers, what brings you to our wood?” His voice was a deep, low rumble, rivalling Theoden low bass voice. “Strangers do not come here often, so I’m certain my son has good reason for bringing you into our home.” I was rather impressed with how relaxed he was, he carried himself with such a regal calm that it seemed as though nothing could upset him. Let’s hope that assumption is correct. 

    “We are traveling to Eindenia, the realm of Queen Alenia. I passed through these woods when I left in search of my friends. I made it to where I last saw any of my friends and managed to find one of them and gained a few more. I am bringing back survivors to seek safety within Eindenia and to report to Queen Alenia. I am asking your permission to pass through these woods again and to apologize for passing through them without your permission the last time I was here. One of the members of my party is heavily pregnant, if we are forced to travel around these woods, we risk her delivering while we are out in the open and exposed to those who do the bidding of Lilith. If you grant us permission to travel through these woods, it would cut hundreds of miles off our journey and save us precious time to reach Eindenia before two new lives make their appearance into this world.” I spoke with as much confidence and conviction as possible. I hoped I made a convincing enough speech to the King for him to grant us passage through these woods. 

    King Adrastos turned to his son to say something. I looked back nervously at Asar, he had the same nervous look in his eyes, but his face looked more weary. He seemed to be holding up better than I. Aulcmid, as usual, showed no emotion on his face at all. The other party members had mixed emotions, Melanie was in awe of everything around her and the same as Jessica, Alex and Charles looked more on edge as they watched King Adrastos awaiting his reaction. Caethrynna looked utterly terrified, I managed to get Asar’s attention and motioned towards her. He took one look and moved closer to her and tried to calm her nerves, despite his best efforts she didn’t seem to be calming as much as I would’ve hoped. I worried if she stressed too much it could throw her into labor or worse, the King would take notice and begin asking all the wrong questions. 

    “Vivaldi, I need you to move back by the wagon and try your best to calm Caethrynna. If her emotions give away her true identity it could spell disaster for us all.” He gave a short snort and bob of his head before going to the wagon. I began praying to Nyx and any other god or goddess above that could hear me that this would go smoothly. 

    My prayers were interrupted by an eruption of deep laughter from King Adrastos, my gaze snapped to him as I watched him laugh with his son. After he finished laughing he walked over to the wagon, with his giant strides it didn’t take long at all. He went straight to Caethrynna and began speaking with her quietly. 

    “What is he saying?” I asking Vivaldi, I couldn’t hear them from where I was standing. 

    “He is asking her simple questions like her name, how far along she is, what race she is. Nothing about her being the daughter of Lilith. He isn’t even trying to touch her like Orus did.” even he seemed confused. 

    “She has nothing to worry about with Father.” Orus spoke up from behind me, when I turned to face him I received a face full of his fur coated chest. I had to step back a few steps before I could see his face. 

    “What did you tell him?” I snapped at him. 

    “I simply spoke the truth. I told him what I saw and he trusts what I saw.” He looked down at me knowingly. 

    “Why isn’t he looking through her memories like you did?” 

    “No other cervitaur can do what I can do. There is only one gifted with telepathy in the clan at a time, when I return to Mother Earth and my soul returns to the life source of nature will be when the next telepath will be born to this plane of existence. It is never a new soul, but merely an old soul that returns to live amongst us.” I almost rolled my eyes at what he had said. I had heard that speech plenty from other telepaths, they had never met another telepath. 

    “You are not the only one with the gift of telepathy. There are several like you out in the world, especially in Eindenia.” I pointed out. 

    “How many are spiritual telepaths?” he asked, “I don’t mean to sound boastful of my gift, but I don’t feel as if there is another like me out there. Though some days I wish there were, it would be nice to not feel so alone. Bearing a gift such as this can be a burden at times.” His voice grew sad as he spoke. Now it made sense how he was able to break through my mental wards. 

    “I’m not sure about spiritual telepaths, but there are several strong telepaths. If you feel so lonely, you could always travel with us to meet them and even train to hone your gift and make it stronger.” I gave him a hopeful look. 

    “I could never leave my people, it is my duty and my place to stay with our clan, to take my father’s place when he departs this world for the next, to step up and take the place as King.” He may have spoken with determination, but his eyes gave it away. He was interested in what I spoke of, I could tell that he truly wanted to leave the clan and go to Eindenia. 

    “Have you ever spoken with your father about how you feel? If you were to go to Eindenia you wouldn’t be the only cervitaur there and you would have many strong telepaths to train under. It would be a great opportunity to learn and hone your gift and it would better prepare you to be King when it is your time.” He thought about what I had said, I could tell that he was leaning towards making the decision to join us on our journey and I hoped that if he decided to join us the King would be more apt to grant us passage. 

    “Had you informed me that I was in the presence of the daughter of Lilith, things might have been different.” King Adrastos voice rumbled from behind me. I turned to see him giving me a stern look. “I may not be involved directly with this ridiculous war, but I do not support Lilith at all. I honestly don’t see how she gave life to such a sweet creature as that lovely young woman.” I breathed a sigh of relief for a moment. “I will grant you passage, for now you may rest within the sanctity of our forest before setting out on your journey. My son will escort you through the forest till you have made it safely through our wood.” 

    “Father, seeing as how important this group of travelers are to the queen. I think it would be generous to escort them the rest of the way to Eindenia. The world is treacherous out there and with only two skilled fighters to protect a group as large as this, it’s simply not enough protection. I could aid them in protection on their journey.” When I heard Orus’s words I did a happy dance in my head. 

    I could see just how powerful Orus’s gift was and he needed to train with those who had the same gift. If he is to take place as King after his father passes on, he will need all the skills and training he can receive. I watched as King Adrastos thought over this decision. It would certainly be a difficult one for him, to send out his next in line on a journey that risks him losing his life and the clan losing their next King, but if he were to be a great king and better the clan he would need the training he could only receive in Eindenia. 

    “I will think on that decision tonight and will provide you with an answer in the morning. For now let us prepare you a feast, then you shall rest before setting back out on your journey.” With that he took his leave and Orus helped us unload our wagon and find an area where we could set up camp. 

    Orus took us to a shelter that looked as though the tree itself had grown out and formed a large covered area similar to an open ended barn. It was spacious enough that we were able to set an area up for the horses and the wagon could fit so in case it rained they wouldn’t be exposed to the elements. A group of young cervitaurs gathered flat, smooth stones and prepared a large place for Fayrova to lay on. The stones could withstand being heated by her fire and she could lay on them and enjoy the heat. Another group of cervitaurs came in and prepared beds for each of us, they took into consideration each person’s size and made beds that were more than plenty large enough. The beds, even though made of moss, wood and stone, were surprisingly comfortable. It was hard to tell that it was moss that was cushioning you instead of a mattress. 

    “How are you feeling?” I asked Caethrynna, as she sat on her bed which had been made first. She was watching the female cervitaurs preparing our area while stroking her large belly. She looked up at me and gave me a relieved look. 

    “I was terrified of what King Adrastos was going to do when he found out that I was Lilith’s daughter. I’m beginning to feel that not everyone is going to care about her being my mother, especially if they take the time to meet me.” She said softly as always. 

    “Well of course dear, you are such a sweet young lady, why would anyone hate you simply for who your mother is?” Melanie asked as she walked up to us. 

    “Many people behave that way. There have been plenty of children that have suffered for the actions of their parents or their family, no matter that the children did nothing wrong and they were not behind the horrible things their parents or families did. People as a whole will always judge or blame the entire family or even an entire group of people simply on the acts of a few. It’s simply how group mentality works, sadly. I have seen it too many times to know it is true.” I said gravely. “It’ll help once we are at Eindenia and you have the support of Queen Alenia on your side. If someone of great power sides in your favor and has good things to say about you, then the masses are less likely to go against you. She is very merciful and generous, she won’t judge you simply because you are Lilith’s daughter, especially if the King grants Prince Orus approval on his request to join us.” 

    “How would that work in her favor? Simply because he is of royalty from another kingdom?” Melanie asked, she was skeptical and guarded about the prince. 

    “Because he is a spiritual telepath, spiritual telepathy is the highest level of telepathy. It allows those who have such a gift to see into someone’s very spirit as well as have full access to your mind. When he introduced himself to each of us, he took our hand and went into our memories to ensure we were telling the truth. Memories and the soul cannot lie and it is also the safest way to prove innocence, compared to some of the other methods out there.” 

    “Wait, that’s what he did? He read our minds?” Melanie became very flustered instantly. I looked at her cautiously then scrutinized her. She suddenly got very nervous and twitchy almost. 

    “Melanie.” I said her name calmly and quietly. “Is there something you’d like to tell us?” I watched her as she got even more uncomfortable. Caethrynna reached out and grasped her hand, giving her a soft smile. 

    “It’s okay, you can tell us anything,” then Caethrynna looked ashamed for a moment, “Only if you want to that is.” she looked all shy and embarrassed at that moment. It was quite adorable at how she reacts to certain things like that, it’s surprising knowing that she is the daughter of Lilith. 

    “Well, only if you swear to never speak of it to Charles.” when we nodded in agreement, she let out a great sigh as if she had been holding her breath. “I can’t believe I’m speaking of this now, but I can’t keep hiding it. One of the nights while you were still in coma, Charles decided that he would aide Aulcmid in scouting ahead on the road to see what was ahead of us. Asar came in and to rest for the evening and I asked him if he would mind joining me. Given that he didn’t have a bedroll prepared and it was getting late. I knew Charles was going to be out all night long scouting with Aulcmid. Caethrynna was already passed out for the night and of course Jessica and Alex were going at it like bunnies in heat.” she sighed again as she looked down at her feet in embarrassment. We could all see how this has been troubling her for a while now. 

    “I had been feeling lonely as of late with everything that had been going on with this end of the world deal and it started as I was just trying to be kind to Asar given that he is such a good person. He has become a good friend throughout this journey and has taken extra care to make sure I am doing alright. I would never have thought of going outside of my marriage and I certainly love Charles, but with this whole end of the world he has been taking his prepping skills to a whole new level. He has been focusing more on that and has barely been speaking with me. When he does it’s because he needs something and he no longer seems to need me as his wife anymore. I know things are going to be different now. Life as we know it will never be the same, but I didn’t think Charles would change this drastically. Asar has been incredible, he has gone out of his way to make sure that I want for nothing and that night was the first time that I had stepped outside of my marriage, even he was unsure to take things that far. But with the wine that we had been drinking influencing more than just our minds and listening to Jessica and Alex go at it like wild animals. The more we talked, the more we drank and before I knew it we were laying next to one another and it just happened.” She looked up at us with tears in her eyes. 

    “I could never hurt Charles like this, but I’m worried that this journey is going to be the breaking point in our marriage. I don’t want to give up on 15 years of marriage, considering everything that we have managed to overcome together, but I know as soon as he finds out it’ll be devastating for him.” Melanie paused as a small sob escaped and she had to wipe away her tears. “I have never done anything so awful before in my life. I can’t believe I cheated on my husband.” Soon that one small sob was followed by many others. Caethrynna threw her arms around her and gave her a hug. Melanie looked shocked that Caethrynna was being so kind to her. 

    “Melanie, in times like these we all do drastic things, things that we would have never done before. Don’t hate yourself for your actions. Times like these bring out a side of a person that they never would’ve thought they had. It also brings a lot of truth to the surface. For now, take some time to reflect on everything and reflect on your relationship with Charles before you tell him anything. If you think your marriage can survive this journey and will continue to be strong and healthy after we make it to Eindenia then you can tell him, if you don’t then tell him and end things with you. You have to take the time to also consider each other’s happiness and if you are no longer happy together then it is time to consider ending the marriage. I know those words seem cruel and cold, but it’s the honest truth of the matter.” I hoped I was giving her the best advice possible. I may have never been married before, but I know times like these can change a person. Some change for the better and others change for the worse, she did nothing wrong per say besides cheating on her husband, but it certainly doesn’t make her a horrible person. 

    “But I cheated on him! How does that not make me a horrible human being? How could he ever forgive me?” Melanie squeaked out, “I don’t deserve a man as good as Charles, I can’t believe what I have done.” she sounded utterly defeated. 

    “Let me ask you this, how do you feel about Asar?” I asked her, this had to be further than just being lonely. 

    “What do you mean? Like do I love him?” She asked with a sob. 

    “Well in layman's terms, yes, but what are your feelings when you think about Asar or when you look at him? Is it simply lust or is there something deeper than that? As hard as it sounds or painful as it is, it is something to consider. If it is not addressed soon it could lead to larger problems down the road.” I hoped that this would ease her mind and allow her some time to calm and breathe, before making any rash decisions. She took a moment to collect herself, dried her tears and gave Caethrynna a hug, before she stood. She decided to take a walk to clear her mind before we all gathered back to rest up. Caethrynna worried about her for sure, I could see it etched on her face. 

    “I hope she will be alright, I hope Charles doesn’t hurt her either when she does decide to tell him. Do you think she should?” Caethrynna rattled off quietly. 

    “I believe that she will make the best decision possible. I think it was a lapse in judgement considering she hasn’t known Asar that long, but I could be wrong. Although I certainly don’t take Asar as the type to go after a cougar.” I chuckled at myself at my own joke. 

    “Cougar? You mean she is a were?” Caethrynna asked, causing me to laugh out loud. 

    “No, no, not like that. By cougar I mean a woman who is middle aged, usually it means a single woman, either single due to having not married or one who is a divorcee, but they are in their early to mid forties. Melanie fits the age group of a cougar, except she is not a divorcee, granted that doesn’t stop many women. There are plenty who would still be married and are looking for some spice in their life by having a fling with a younger man.” I chuckled as I watched Caethrynna try to decipher what I just told her. “For now, don’t focus on that part. Let us get some rest, we will depart at first light in the morning to leave for Eindenia. We can’t waste any time no matter the issue.” I stretched out on the bed that I claimed for myself and before long I drifted off to sleep.