Where Darkness Treads: Book Two—Of Tears & Darkness

Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Covenant Renewed

Donovan found himself to be the first to greet the early light of dawn, while eating a freshly picked apple. Before him, was such beauty, he thought surely it must be a dream. In the distance, a towering waterfall thundered, shrouded by a curtain of mist at its base. In front of the curtain of mist, stood an island, bathed by the light of the rising Sun.

One of the soldiers awakened and stretched, before standing. He walked over to an apple tree and picked a couple of the red fruit. With a smile, the soldier sat down beside him and happily bit into one.

All Prince Donovan could do was stare at him with an unblinking gaze. For the man, was the soldier Morgan had first given the amafruit to, last night. By all rights, the man should have died but he appeared to be whole of heart and limb.

"How do you feel?" Donovan asked in awe.

"I feel, as if I have been given a new body and have been blessed besides. As a matter of fact, Prince Donovan, I can never remember ever feeling this well, before," the soldier stated with a pleasant smile.

Inwardly, Donovan gave a silent prayer, thanking Elliana for all she had done. Afterwards, he paused while silently contemplating their surroundings. Before him, stood an immense forest, which started at the foot of the hill upon which they were camped. Massive trees rose as mighty pillars into the sky, with boughs which stretched far above the forest floor. No trees, indeed, no forest was as massive as this, back home. The wood continued without end and vanished into the distance. About and among the massive boughs, flew various darters and birds, which gave vivid displays of color, both bright and some less so, as they went about their daily lives.

The air shimmered for a moment before Donovan, and Brenna appeared, walking towards him. Behind him, the remainder of their force was now awakening and rising to their feet. Prince Donovan saw this and rose to stand before them, facing the Neeri, waiting for what she had to tell them. This force of men and women, of four races had endured much yet there was no wavering in their manner or stance; come what may, they would face it together.

"I must finish a task, which is waiting for me here. It will require much of who I am, to prove I am worthy of carrying this staff. You must swear you will wait for me and will not interfere, when I ask you to," Brenna said with a great sense of calm, while facing all of them.

Donovan nodded, while not quite understanding why Brenna was now acting this mysterious. It was evident, something important was about to occur. He sensed this was a time, when mere steel or courage would not suffice, and he must bow to powers beyond his control. His friend, the Neeri would be tested yet he felt she would be the stronger for it.

"My trip here, is the first pilgrimage a Neeri has made in over five thousand, three hundred years. As such, the demands upon my person shall be great. You must not interfere—do all of you vow to abide by my requests?"

One by one, everyone kneeled before her and swore to do as she asked. Part of Donovan wanted to insist on accompanying Brenna. The thought was instantly quelled, when he remembered the battle between the mages at the foot of the hill. No, for them to succeed, all must carry their load and stand strong.

The white stone road they followed, stretched past trees laden with all manner of fruit. Carefully tended rows of berry bushes bore a crop of various sweet plump berries. Enormous trees, towered before them, becoming ever taller as they approached a large tomb, built of carved polished white marble blocks. Four massive pillars of white polished marble arced above and supported a stone which gleamed with snow-white brilliance, ensuring the darkness of night would never darken this hallowed resting place. Carved and gilded in polished gold letters, were the words, 'Here Lies Tae Layneata, First-Born of the Neeri and Founder of the Sanctuary of the Living Waters.' For a short-while, all stood quietly, as Brenna laid a wreath of beautiful white and yellow roses upon the burial temple's gleaming stone surface and knelt in quiet reverence.

Quietly, Brenna stood and walked, leading everyone to stand before a beautiful ornate white marble bridge. It spanned the crystal-clear waters of the rushing river. Brenna led Prince Donovan, Morgan, Changa, Girard, and Sir Alfred across the bridge, to stand upon a large white stone landing. The Neeri had bade the others to remain on the other side of the river.

The white bridge, though beautiful, paled in comparison to the massive tree which towered into the sky beyond it. Its gleaming gray bark was unlike anything which Donovan had ever seen before. Sunlight gleamed along its massive boughs, which appeared to support the sky, itself.

"Behold Amarava, the Tree of Life. You must wait for me, here. Remember, your vow to me," Brenna said. She looked at all of them for a moment, as if she was saying good-bye.

Before, Donovan could respond, Brenna stepped onto a white stone square, within which a circle of gold had been set. She vanished, to reappear upon a white stone balcony which extended from the side of an immense white pillar of stone. The large column of stone stood perhaps, fifty yards from the tree.

Brenna raised her staff towards the tree and a bolt of energy leaped from it, to Amarava. The sky began to darken, as bolt after bolt arced repeatedly to strike the enormous tree's trunk. Claps of thunder rumbled and the air about the tree now crackled with raw energy. The noise was almost deafening. The enormous tree began to glow, as if feeding from the energy Brenna was pouring into it.

Something in the air made Donovan's hair stand on end, even at this great distance. Brenna was enveloped, by glaring silvery-blue light and then she vanished. Around the base of Amarava, an enormous glowing cloud was forming. Great bolts of energy discharged from the tree, to the radiant mist. Each time, a bolt of energy struck the haze, the silvery-blue mass glowed brighter. The radiant cloud suddenly became a veritable storm raging around the great tree, driving them backward.

The glowing silvery-blue haze stilled and slowly drifted upwards, to envelope Amarava's massive green crown. The bolts of energy ceased when the rising mist contacted the leaves of the great tree. Wherever the amorphous mass touched, the leaves began to glow a bright green. All became silent and still. Try as he might, Donovan could no longer see any sign of Brenna standing upon the white stone balcony high above them.

Changa walked up to stand beside Donovan. He stared in the direction of the balcony. "Where is Sister?"

One large moan of despair managed to escape from Donovan's lips. He stood still, while fighting the impulse to stand within the golden rings before him. Morgan's hand gripped his arm, grounding him to the here and now. He turned and saw the strain in her face and knew, she too, was not handling this well.

"By Elliana's grace, it was a beautiful thing to witness. What do we do now?" Girard asked, while staring at Amarava.

"We wait, as she asked us to," Alfred said quietly. It was plain to see, the broad-shouldered soldier felt humbled. For, he was kneeling on his right knee and praying quietly with his eyes closed.

The dark clouds began to break, allowing the sunlight to bathe them once more. A strange, soft wind began to blow around the tree. It was filled with light, lilting, chanting whispers, which Donovan found most pleasing.

The whispers, brought with them a great peace, which quelled the fears forming inside Donovan. This continued, until a complete sense of calm and peace filled him. Without knowing how, he felt with great certainty, everything was as it should be.

From the waters of the river, arose a towering whirlwind, which spun rapidly. Whispers within the wind became voices in a tongue, Donovan did not understand. Still faster, the tempest spun before them, filling the air with a fine mist.

An instant later, the whirling mass of air vanished. In its place, the figure of Brenna was walking towards them with sure steady steps. Her face was filled with, peaceful serenity. She looked at them with glowing eyes, which reminded Donovan of the sea back home.

Brenna now wore a robe of the finest silvery-blue. Her entire countenance had changed. Gone, were the periodic glimmers of fear or self-doubt. Instead, they had been replaced by a steady look filled with confidence.

"It is done. The third task required of me, to prove my worthiness as a Neeri is now complete. Through it, the great covenant of life between this world and the Great Goddess, Elliana, has been renewed," Brenna said calmly.

"When you disappeared, I became a bit concerned. I must admit I did not know what to expect. Yet now, as I think about it, you probably had no idea what was about to happen, either," Donovan said with a grin.

"You witnessed what has not been seen for over five-thousand, three hundred of our years. Once I started the cycle, I had no idea where it would take me, but I survived. If you are ready, we must finish our work here at the sanctuary, for a world awaits our arrival."

Brenna led them back across the bridge, past the beautiful thundering waterfall to the top of a hill. Nestled within a small valley below, stood a beautiful crystal pyramid, which reflected the sunlight.

"What we seek, lays inside, awaiting our arrival. Come, we will now complete a beginning for us, which the Goddess Elliana planned long ago."