The Severaine

Chapter Nine Crystenia-2

They stood looking at the cabin; something seemed wrong, everything was a little too quiet.

* * *

Blackwood sat at his habitual place in his study. Throughout the room were several heavy bookshelves, each double stacked with parchments and tomes. Their topics ranged from mythical tales to science and research. Behind him the light breeze from the slightly opened window ruffled some of the parchments as it carried the cool air from outside into the warm room.

He seemed lost in thought as he stared at his reflection, which looked back at him from the window. There were many concerns under consideration. The growl of his stomach turned his wandering mind to food, the chill of the air turned his focus to the lateness of the day, and the weight of the stares from his guests brought his attention firmly back to the matter at hand.

He glanced to Marise and Elly who had been in his company for some time now, the majority of which had been spent in silence. They still sat opposite him, both of their gazes fixed firmly upon him. He seemed to be delaying, their patience wavered.

“So,” he started again. He had attempted this sentence several times, but other thoughts had distracted him. “The special one… was rescued?” He had asked this at least twice, and both Marise and Elly grew increasingly more impatient with his time-wasting. They found themselves now waiting for the long drawn out silence, only to be once more broken by the word 'so' as he began again on this ludicrous cycle. Business or not, if he did not address the matter at hand they were going to leave. They had better things to do than waste their day in meaningless silence. “Well, no matter, we only need four. We'll call that one the reserve, just in case something should go wrong. That one, Chrissie, knows nothing of our plans, so for now we shall leave her be.” He turned back to his reflection, silence once more descending until he chose to speak. “Besides, our experiments have become more successful, we are secure… have you located the tome yet?”

“Yes, we have discovered its exact location. When you are ready it will be ours,” Elly replied. Finally it seemed like they were getting to the point of their conversation. They still had much to do in the way of planning the retrieval. The time spent here, waiting for the prolonged conversation to end, was time wasted in their preparation.

“Very well, I shall entrust the details to you.” He waved them away, to leave him once more with his thoughts. Seeing this opportunity of escape they took it quickly, before he decided to delay them with more of his musings. They could scarcely believe they had been made to wait this long to be given their mission, however, now it had been confirmed, things were going to happen very quickly indeed.

* * *

Elly led Marise higher and higher into the city of Collateral. Her pace remained determined as they passed gate after gate unchallenged.

“Lee, when are you going to tell me where we're going?”

“I have told you already. We are going to my home.” Elly looked to Marise seeing the doubt in her eyes. She understood why, in all the time they had known each other Elly had never revealed this little secret. “Where did you imagine I lived before my current employment?” Marise gave a shrug, until now it was something she had never given much thought to. Elly nodded politely to the gentleman standing guard at the entrance to the nobles' tier. Beyond this gate were no portals. It was an area only the world's most affluent could afford to live in, something made obvious from the ostentatious buildings. Each clambering over land, attempting to show their wealth with adornments and displays of their seemingly inexhaustible resources. Bloodline was all important, and for those who produced no heirs, upon death, their property would be offered in silent auction to those of esteemed and influential positions fitting to the mould, their actions having already been observed for years. Even if they passed the silent assessments there was never any guarantee. This magnificent and privileged tier was overshadowed by only one other, a place which eclipsed the splendour here in every way imaginable.

“You've never mentioned a home. Are you telling me we stay at that bizarre inn and yet all the time you have a house with the nobles?”

“Marise, please, I do not live with the nobles.” Elly raised her hand, her head shaking slightly in amusement. “I have been alive for longer than you can fathom, do you not think I may have secured some more up-market property?”

“But you have never mentioned it before.” Elly stopped, turning to look at Marise so she could meet her eyes as she spoke.

“There are many things about me you do not yet know. Aside from my first husband you will be the first outsider to step foot inside. Understand this, my home is my sanctuary. Living outside time is not without challenges. After all this time his imprint remains within and until now I have not wished to invite any into my home since.”

“First husband?”

“That is what you are focusing on?” Elly shook her head, turning away from Marise to continue walking.

“I never saw you as the marrying type.” Marise found herself having to quicken her pace to keep up to her.

“Mari, I hate to shatter any illusions but over the years I have had countless husbands and wives. Despite this my home remained my own.”

“Did the matter of your timelessness not cause difficulty with marriage?”

“In Collateral why should it? Money buys acceptance to all manner of differences.”

“You've married a lot?”

“Only when it was necessary.”

“But you say your first husband lived with you there?” Marise gestured towards the area before them as they approached the sealed gate.

“For a time, yes.”

“What made him so special?”

“A story for another time perhaps.”

From the gate the road became a smooth gentle slope, rising up into the world above. At its top Marise stopped, her eyes and sense overwhelmed by so much, yet not at all what she had expected. The entire area was flat, a perfectly level plateau. Large white pillars surrounded the most breathtaking garden she had ever seen. It was tended with every bit of care as the garden of the Hesperides, and perhaps was even more splendid. Small orchards grew all manner of fruits, and the bloom from the wildflowers were close to heavenly. Not a single structure within was anything other than natural. Confused, Marise looked to Elly, who gestured above with a slight smile.

Almost unseen, fading between iridescent and invisible, small spheres slowly orbited overhead each following their own predetermined path. Their presence causing only the slightest shimmer in the air to betray their existence.

“What are they?” Marise whispered, surprised to hear her voice so quiet as the words left her lips.

“That depends on its owner.”

“You mean one of those bubbles is your home?”

“These 'bubbles' as you so quaintly put it, are pure forms of forgotten magic. There are a limited number, and no two are ever the same. Just as my space is sacred to me, those who live within have realms unique to themselves.”

“Realms, you mean like cities?”

“Perhaps. I think in contrast to some here you will find mine rather primitive.” Elly extended her hand, taking Marise's firmly in her grip. “Come with me.”

“How exactly do we get there?”

“By portal. These are naturally more exclusive than those used to enter Collateral.” Elly placed her hand upon one of the trees, her other still holding Marise's tightly. In the time it took Marise to blink, they were no longer in the gardens.

It was a modest house, comfortable but not excessive. Not what would be expected from someone with the normal attitude to wealth, something Marise knew Elly was certainly not short of. Spanning outward from the house were wondrous flower beds, each possessing their own unique bloom, segmented carefully by beautifully carved stones. There were flowers she had never seen, scents she could not identify. Each section was magnificent and, despite Elly's absence, remained untouched by the hand of neglect. Elly picked a flower. It was a rose yet its petals shone a luminescent blue, casting a faint light on Marise's hand as Elly placed it within her grasp.

Elly had never shown any real fondness for flowers; she had no time for them. It was strange how an excess of something once thought lacking could sway an opinion. They had been a means of measuring time, for each decade that passed she allowed herself a personal errand. An adventure from which she sought only one treasure, the most unusual flower she could find. It was a chore, until she had met her first husband. He had found her collection marvellous, he sought ways to preserve their beauty, and his enthusiasm seeped into her. He had long since left the mortal coil, and this garden had become a tribute to him. A way of holding sacred and keeping fresh the memories of their time. Her favourite was the one he had given to her, a rose grown from silver and moonlight, like the one she had just presented to Marise.

“So what are we doing here? Don't tell me that text Blackwood wants is growing dusty in,” Marise glanced towards the house, imagining its inner layout, “your library?”

“No. Within those walls are keepsakes, something from every adventure. What I came here for you hold in your hand.” Marise looked to the flower.

“How will this help us?”

“Everything in this world has a price. These roses were once called Selene's tears. It just so happens that the tome Blackwood seeks is likely impossible to retrieve undetected.”

“I am certain we could find a way.”

“It is not worth the risk. Besides I know for certain two copies were scribed. This extinct flower will be all we need to obtain one.”

* * *

Night carried his daughter in his arms. He held her gently, showing her the same care as a parent holding their new-born child. He protected her from the elements, sheltering her from the harm of Darrienia's paths, as he tried to find a portal to Crystenia, one of the sky bound homes of the Oneirois.

Their residences had always existed above the surface of Darrienia, looking down upon the dreamers in a way that left their lands untouched, uninfluenced by those who walked below. It had been made impossible for dreamers to ever gain access to these airborne locations unless they had been invited. Their homes were a place reserved only for them. It was a safeguard, one which not only protected themselves but ensured their influence on the dreamers was minimal.

One of the Oneirois fundamental laws had always been a rule of non-interference. They did as their role required of them and nothing more. Matters of Gaea's star were just that, and regardless of how tempting it could be to offer assistance they had to remain neutral, free from the influence of each other, such was a vital keystone for both of their survival.

Their portal locations remained unaffected by the ever-changing surface of the world below. There were countless, like those found on Gaea's star to access Collateral. Across the surface of their world these portals granted Oneirois and Gods access to these kingdoms.

The Oneirois had watched him cautiously from the shadows from the moment he first emerged on the grasslands of their home. Each form whispered to another, their words filled with both fear and curiosity. Had he come to reclaim them, had he come to once more threaten the existence of their people? If so, should they interpret the fact he carried the body of the one they knew to be their saviour as a threat?