Rise of Tempest Merlin

Chapter 6

The doorway would appear to the adventurous heart, to one of pure soul, yet to all others it was only a tangle of roots. The doorway was framed by nature, those sweet brown swirls of the grain giving that homely touch. It had taken some loving inspiration in its design, for it was not the standard rectangular shape, but the sort of archway that brought every eye upward.

The doorway had been there for generations, yet mostly unregarded. In time there had been bookshelves placed before it, and only small parts were glimpsed in passing. Yet there came a day that sweet Lilith opened it wide and stepped through into a long forgotten garden of divine enchantments.

The lake-side air was pungent with the fragrance of jasmine. This was no natural basin filled with melt water, but the luxury addition to a formal garden by an earl with both copious leisure time and money. Lilith stepped closer to the edge and crouched down. From six feet up the surface was an opaque green, but from just two it was clear enough to see the plants and life below the surface. She had expected the highly coloured Japanese Koi Carp and she wasn't disappointed, if anything she was impressed. They were huge and numerous, each about as long as her arm. He gazed across the wind-ruffed surface to the lily pads in bloom, their white or magenta petals catching the breeze. She inhaled slowly. Peace. This was a little piece of heaven in the urban jungle.

She knew that she was in a game and that this was only virtual but the haptics were so goddamned good that it did not feel unreal at all. If anything she could feel all that peace along side her and she wanted to do nothing else except enjoy the nature.

Her Avatar looked a lot like what she wanted to look like in her real life. Dark ringlets of curls framing her face which made her look a lot prettier than she was and her mocha coloured skin gleamed in the sunlight. Her mother said that she was born under the light of the full moon and when she had cried for the first time, eagles had soared in the sky and owls had hooted. It was like as if the Goddess of Night had herself given her blessing for growing into a powerful witch, brujeria that is.

There was a gate of rough wood was as big as a cow and ivy cascaded over the fence, growing tendrils in every direction. The stone path was punctuated with weeds after every stone. The dishevelled, un-manicured lawn was more moss than grass and was over shadowed by huge weeping willow flowing down onto the dank and squishy ground. Clusters of defiant daffodils reared their golden heads amidst the gloom and there were smatters of fuchsia along side the scarlet and saffron hued primroses. There was a circular lawn with a path around it. There was a central bed of shrubs. Outside of the lawn area were four rose bush beds to fill up the square area.

“Never had I thought that I would see one of you come in my Orchard,” said a female voice as Lilith whirled round and found that she was looking at a beautiful woman. Albeit she was absolutely dirty…her hands and feet which could be seen from underneath the torn gown that she was wearing. She was also wearing a crown of fresh flowers on her face and a smile adorned her face which would brighten the day of anyone who saw her. It seemed like she was truly happy and at peace here.

“My apologies. I did not hear you coming. I was admiring your beautiful garden. I have never seen anything like it at all,” said Lilith truthfully and her words rang true to the ears of the one hearing them.

“Ahhh!! Flattery…common trick applied by all humans…but you do know that this is a quest that you would need to solve if you even want to think about getting out of here?” asked the woman with a smile. If it could be called a smile, that is, Lilith thought.

“Of course, I do know that. And I am not trying to flatter you. It is not in my nature to do that, mi Hermosa. I descend from a clan of very strong Santeria brujerias who think women are the only ones with the power of creation and I would say that you are an example of that. Your world is beautiful,” said Lilith. This was the first time she actually gave her real identity to someone in a game and that was because she knew that this was a NPC, a non-playing character.

“That is not something you doth get to hear every day now, do you?” asked the woman with a smile again and Lilith was getting bored. It was getting a little repetitive. She was speaking the same kind of sentences and it all made no sense.

“Are you trapped here? Do you think that you need to get away from here in some way?” asked Lilith. She knew that this was a world where her powers as a Mexican brujeria was going to be of no use at all. And she was not old enough for that in the real world, which was the reason she had taken refuge in this game world.

“You are truly one of your kind. But you do know that there is a rite of passage that needs to be fulfilled if you want to cross through the land, ain’t that true?” asked the Keeper and Lilith nodded. She had really heard about that but she could not understand what kind of price would she have to pay for her passage.

“I am ready for any price to pass through your lands, Keeper of the Orchards,” said Lilith with confidence and without her voice breaking even an ounce.

“What is the universe but "one verse," one song of love? For it is when love flows most strongly I feel the interconnectedness of all things. It is as if beneath, around and within our reality, it is love that is the creative force, the energy, an intricate, chaotic yet synchronized beating heart of life. That's the way the universe feels to me - a silent song of pure love shining as bright stars in the night sky, the perfect tone that gives birth to space, time and matter, the voice of God,” said the Keeper confusing Lilith even more.

“I do not understand the meaning of your words, Keeper,” said Lilith as she looked at her in confusion.

“Tis not necessary that you understand everything you hear right that moment, but you need to remember this well and good..for a time will arrive when you will be needed to decipher the meaning of the words that I have just spoken,” said the Keeper as she gestured in the direction of the garden path and Lilith walked behind her following her steps closely.

“You just spoke a riddle,” said Lilith as if that was what she had understood and the Keeper did not reply. She only progressed along the path.

And then they finally came to walk down to a patch in the middle of the garden which seemed like it had been burnt and everything was black and charred and covered with soot. This garden in the middle of such beauty seemed like something or some had cursed the land to never be able to grow anything here. It was a dark sight after seeing such beauty.

“You need to turn this patch of land and garden green once again. This is the price you have to pay in order to pass through the land,” said the woman as Lilith gasped at her.

Now how in the seven heavens was she supposed to do that??

That was impossible. She was doomed.