Come, reader, join the great march today …
Prepare for an adventure that will journey from ancient ways of living into high-tech environments. Ilfin of Arc is a dystopian Fantasy tale that flies into star filled spaces – strap in!
10
Trolls live in the mind
Glonu
Saying
IN
THE GLOOM
of a rainy day, in a city about to be abandoned, with life changing around them
by the minute, Damin turned to Lyra and broke her heart.
“Alyssa
is a good person, Lyra, and I did sleep with her, if that is what you want to
know.”
She
did not want to know. She swallowed convulsively as words of accusation clogged
her throat. Of course, five years had passed and she did not expect Damin to
remain celibate, and yet she had hoped he would. As she had been, not that
suitors knocked at her door.
The
naïve country girl had just been disillusioned.
Shrugging,
shoving horrible words down, she jerked around and strode along the wet
streets. Damin followed, wisely saying no more.
She
did not watch where she went. It was mere mindless wander to still her
thoughts. By some fate, when she needed it most, the close buildings abruptly
surrendered to open space. Lyra was initially taken aback by the green park
spread before them. There was a pretty pond, a stone bridge, tall and stout trees,
as well as welcoming benches. Silence and serenity weaved through the space.
She required clarity … and space appeared. Was this inner instinct?
“Lyra.”
Shaking
her head, Lyra made her way onto the bridge to stare into the water. Raindrops
formed circles and spirals. It calmed her. When Damin was beside her, she looked
up. “Did you love her?”
He
was as honest as ever. “For a time, yes. I questioned everything I was, and she
made me forget. I could not hear her the way I hear you and it was a comfort
for a while.”
“Why
did it end?”
He
stared into the water as she had. “I heard you one night as if you were beside
me, as you are now. You were sobbing, so hurt, agony in your soul. Your face …”
He took her face into his hands and shifted aside hair covering her left temple
to touch a scar there. “They stoned you, two-eyes. I wanted to kill someone. I
knew then I loved you more than life. I ended it that same night.”
She
closed her eyes, remembering that day. There were strangers on the common, come
to trade, but asking strange questions. Blinking, she forced her thoughts away.
They would undo her as those two men intended to achieve that day.
A
gargling scream removed their attention from personal issues, from debilitating
memories. Damin and Lyra leaned convulsively over the bridge wall, for the
sound seemed to come from under them. There was nothing untoward to see, but the
otherworldly shriek continued unabated.
“Go
that way.” Damin pointed to the opposite side, and then ran back the way they
came.
Lyra
raced across the bridge to the other bank. From opposite ends, they descended to
the water’s edge. The sound was human, if desperate, but what was below did not
appear as human at all. As she crouched to stare into the gloom under the arch,
her instincts warned her. Something was not right.
Damin
was about to enter the shallow pond on the other side, and she hurtled to her
feet and gestured wildly at him, shaking her head with intent. He saw her,
thank the stars, and halted.
The
screaming transformed into laughter; the manic kind able to raise even the dead
into flight. A glint told her Damin had his dagger to hand. Looking down, she
discovered she had hers as well. She did not remember reaching for it.
Together
they then slowly paced away from the water and Damin gestured for her to wait.
Swiftly he sprinted across the bridge to her side. As he crossed the span, again
the gargling scream erupted.
It
was akin to tales they grew up with, the monsters under the bridge stories, but
this was beyond frightening. What was it? Slime and mud oozed over something
misshapen, and it seemed to cling to the underside of the arch as if afraid of
drowning in the shallows below.
Lyra
frowned.
As if afraid.
She
grabbed Damin’s hand and they ran. “Something bad is about to happen,” she panted
at him.
It
did.
With
a sound similar to burbling thunder, the pond exploded in a rain of sludge.
They
ran to put distance between them and the deluge, and Damin then started yelling,
“Get out! Leave Normur now!”
People
were soon in the streets despite the weather, too many of them. They impeded
progress and swiftly drowned out Damin’s continuous warning shouts.
Finally,
Lyra pulled him to a halt in a recessed doorway. “What?” she demanded of him.
Heaving,,
he said, “Underground water is pushing up and it will explode from every hole
it can find to do so.” He inhaled repeated breaths. “It must have poured down
in the countryside and all that water is now coming this way, underground. Last
time this happened, centuries ago, a large part of the plateau collapsed.”
Dread
overcame Lyra. The entire city could tumble into the marshes. “And that creature
under the bridge?”
“What
creature?”
Damin
had not seen it. He merely followed her instincts, for it was her instinct that regarded the danger as
something manifest. She was not certain whether to be relieved or horrified. Her
mind had conjured a horror as warning. Never did she desire to see such a
creature again.
“Never
mind,” she muttered. “We need a high place, somewhere to issue warning from.”
Damin
nodded jerkily. “I know where. Come.”
He
had her hand and pulled her along in his wake, shouldering people out the way.
As they went, they gave warning, but it was doubtful many heard it.
The
clock tower came into view. Damin kicked the door in and they hurtled up
countless stone stairs.
“There
is a gong for alarm,” Damin gasped.
“Go!”
Lyra heaved. The stairs were her nemesis right now. “I will follow. Go!”
He
released her hand and sprinted up. Desperation created adrenaline, but she
could not keep pace with him. Her chest was on fire and her legs shuddering
under her.
Moments
later a mighty clashing sound reverberated into the city.
Lyra
covered her ears.
PEOPLE TRAMPLED EACH other in their
rush to leave the city. Tears fell as Lyra watched the desperation from the
clock tower with Damin at her side. He no longer beat the alarm. Mud and water rose
in the streets now; everyone knew there was cause for panic.
She
gulped when she saw a child vanish beneath uncaring boots. A moment later she
thought of Attis. They needed to get to the boy! Frantically she clutched at
Damin, screaming at him.
He
grabbed her hands to still her. “Calm, Lyra. Please. If we leave here, we run
the risk of being trampled. Attis is a bright boy and will know to stay put.”
Yes,
true. Attis was a survivor. She breathed in deeply to still her heartbeat to an
even rhythm. “What of your Alyssa?” she whispered.
Damin
released her hands. Grimacing, he stared into the roiling streets. “She will be
with others of her kind. The rich always have an escape plan.”
That
was no doubt true as well. She said no more.
“The
creature you saw, what was it?” Damin asked. He sought to distract her. Mostly
he desired to distract himself.
“I
saw something covered with slime and mud, hanging from under the bridge. I
think now it may be akin to what happens to you. You see emotions as images.
What I see may be warnings.”
“Thank
the stars for that or we would not be above it now.”
“What
are you seeing?” she asked him.
“Coils
and scales. Snakes of terror, in shifting colours.” Damin closed his eyes. “I
do not know how to shut it off. There is too much.”
The
eerie warmth erupted into her chest. Her hands glowed.
“Look
at me.” She placed her hands on Damin’s cheeks. “Just keep looking at me …
until they go away.”
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