Frozen
Forest
IT
WAS EVEN COLDER when he headed out into the dark.
Torrullin cursed as he stumbled over roots and branches, but dared not create
light to ease his path. It took hours in the cold and dark to situate every
trap in a wide perimeter and to draw the shield to encompass all, but
eventually it was done, and he could head back. The lure of hot coffee was an
all-consuming need.
As he approached the gate something
new in the environment drew his attention. Until then the forest was filled
with the usual night sounds - owls, scuttling creatures, a flap of wings,
squeaks - and now everything was silent. That kind of quiet generally occurred
when something new was in the region and the creatures waited to see whether it
meant danger or something to be safely ignored. This silence went beyond what
was there while he tramped around.
He could not see, but he could feel.
First came the silence, and he stood
still.
Then came hot breath on his cheek.
He did not react, but his heart
jerked wildly. He made no move.
Lorinin.
His heart thumped hard. Gods. “Who
are you?”
What am I?
Fine. A game. What are you?
A slight glow appeared over his left
shoulder. He turned with exaggerated care. The glow strengthened and took form.
This time his heart threatened to burst from its confines.
You are surprised.
Torrullin placed a hand over his
heart. More than words can describe.
It was a creature of myth and
legend. The purity of goodness. The beauty of tireless strength. A unicorn.
White, ethereal and incredibly beautiful. It made no sound as it moved to stand
in his field of view, its hooves silvery and seeming to float above the forest
floor. A horn of incredible simplicity glowed faintly blue from the centre of
its forehead and long lashes swept over pale sad eyes as it studied Torrullin.
Many years ago, the little flower needed aid.
Rose. You created her citadel.
I could not feed her. I wish I could have fed her.
She survived. Today she is strong.
I am glad.
Is this your domain? Torrullin
asked.
We do not claim domain, Lorinin. We are and we are not.
You call me Lorinin.
Your blood sings with song so glorious the multiverse awaits
the next note with breathless anticipation.
He was out of his depth. This
creature spoke of the multiverse; it thus transcended every barrier. My song must be filled with fury.
No.
I do not understand.
The time comes. Go forth now and find the Danae. I shall
guard your charges. No harm shall befall them on my watch. I shall answer every
question you may have, I promise, but you must ask it with the Danae at your
side. He needs you more than you need clarity.
Where is he? Do you know?
The storm has gathered and must unleash. In havoc will new
tools be forged. Enter the void of lifelessness, Torrullin Lorinin Valla.
Elianas is in the void?
He may be tracked from inside. Energy of that magnitude
holds what he is together.
I must do this alone.
The magical head dipped. The seer would not survive it.
How much time do I have?
Never enough.
Torrullin moved closer.
The unicorn retreated. Stay in place. It is hard to maintain the
light under your shield.
Torrullin halted.
Other spaces may be forced onto your plane of confrontation.
Why?
I am not a farseer, Lorinin, but I offer this advice. Bring
what you need together and do so without hesitation. It places your song above
all, and thus they must listen.
How do I do this?
The Danae knows.
He threaded a hand through his hair.
He seemed to do that with regularity in this new present. Gods. Concentrate.
Elianas possessed a greater answer. Was that what their games were about?
Elianas Danae is not aware that he knows.
How do I then ask the question?
You ask nothing. You touch.
A wry laugh erupted from his throat,
loud in the silence. Please elaborate.
There was no sound and no movement
for many minutes. The unicorn stood as if frozen, but its glow did not
dissipate. Clearly it was thinking. Perhaps it, too, knew moments of self-doubt.
I shall now do something I may not have
the right to interfere with, and yet I trust this will aid you in forging the
tools of the future. Please wait.
Torrullin waited, and wondered what
that communication meant. The unicorn pulsed with shivering light, and it moved
forward swiftly. It halted a breath away from him and transformed into a column
of light. An instant after, Torrullin suffered a hard tug at the centre of his
gut, and looked convulsively down.
A flowing river of gold translucence
bridged the tiny space separating them, joining them. Then he was emptied, and
flew back to land hard up against a tree. Snow shuddered on the branches
overhead and tumbled over him. Shaking and spluttering, he straightened.
The unicorn had retaken form, but
now a faint golden glow emanated from within the white silver. The Goddess of Souls is removed.
Motionless thought assailed him
then. It meant absolute change.
Touch is safe, Lorinin.
No, it was not. Every temptation
could now be bridged.
He is not your brother. He is your Eternal Companion, as you
are his. Touch is safe. Touch, and your answer will be there.
This changes all.
The time for that is due.
Perhaps. Torrullin nearly
hyperventilated in the onset of emotions, of questions … of need.
For years and ages, the battles have run and they were
fought and there was result, and nothing altered. The same questions plague and
the same answers disappoint. Personalities of the past have intertwined into
this time and others, and it is time to be free of them and what remains
stagnant. Unleash the storm, Lorinin, and allow the song freedom. It is the
right moment to change the concept of time.
Time?
Yes.
I do not understand.
The Danae knows. Ask.
Touch?
No, ask this of him direct. He must then answer.
He was afraid to. Elianas was not
easily confronted.
My time in light is at an end. The
glow that was the unicorn began to fade. I
have the watch, do not fear, and we shall again speak. Bring the Danae.
The forest was dark, a greater dark
than before, and gradually the sounds of normality intruded to prove the state
of otherness had passed. Torrullin stood in that dark and carefully examined
every thought shared, and understood he had no choice.
In a nowhere place, everything is possible.
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