Between Darkness and Light Trilogy (2 page)

We enter a living rock cavern… it’s
beautiful and I want to explore, but Zah-Ha'Gor continues moving.
“Come, there is far more to see.” It seems as though we walk for
hours, always going down, down into the depths of the Shir. I’m not
bored though, the entire path is of living rock, and amazing
collections of crystals are actually common. William experiments
with different frequencies of light to make our surroundings even
more breathtaking. At the end of that chamber we come to an odd
opening in the rock, the floor drops away quickly on the other
side; Zah-Ha'Gor explains, “You will like this, William. Follow me.
She quickly steps through and begins sliding down! William steps
forward, but I slip past him and follow my dragon-friend. The floor
is slick! Very soon I reach an astonishing speed. We slide past
several magical barriers, they sound as though they would stop just
about any from passing, but not us. We must be terribly deep within
the Shir, but with Zah-Ha'Gor before me and William following with
Puff, I feel perfectly safe. Eventually the slope of the tunnel
levels out and our rate of descent slows accordingly.

Finally we are deposited into an almost
sacred feeling cavern, a monument to the beauty of rock and
crystal. The acoustics are phenomenal. I sense that the cavern is
highly shielded from without, yet as I move across the floor I
fleetingly hear snatches of life on Shiral – as though the entire
world can be eves-dropped upon from here. In the middle of the
cavern is a monolith. The writing on it looks strange, and yet I
understand it. “Those of the blood, prove it.” I caress the words
and a stone bowl forms along a corner, the edge just over it
becoming razor sharp. The situation seems almost compelling and I
see no reason to fight it; I reach out and draw my finger down the
sharp edge and a single drop of my blood flows toward the cup.

“Shi'ahn, what are you doing?” William
sounds distressed.

“Trying to learn exactly what this thing is,
of course. Somehow… it seems the right thing to do.” The cup
recedes back into the monolith as soon as my blood lies within it.
After a brief pause, a section ceases to exist, creating a doorway
of sorts – it seems unlikely, but I walk through, unable to resist
my curiosity.

“Shi'ahn!”

That’s all I hear; the doorway snaps out of
existence as soon as I am fully within. Odd, this place is far
larger than it should be. The walls, floor and ceiling are of an
entirely different rock than I just left – I've never seen such
strangely colored stone before, and the light isn't right, it isn't
blue at all. I scan for something, anything familiar, and finally I
see it, a smaller monolith in the middle of this strange place, and
this one already displaying the sharp edge and awaiting cup. Well,
I’ve come this far; I see no reason to stop now. I walk directly up
to it and once again I draw my finger down the sharp edge. No
doorway appears this time; I'm simply… elsewhere.

Chapter 2

A New Beginning

Nothing looks right! I stand at the base of
the most magnificent structure I have ever seen. It's huge,
fairytale-like in design – a citadel carved into the side of a
tremendous mountain… I've never seen such stone - bluish quartz?
Traceries of indigo and violet make it utterly beautiful; it’s
perfect. Above the citadel a mountain stretches up, towering
impossibly high – it seems to go on forever… It plays tricks on my
eyes. The sky isn’t right, it stretches out below me at a 30-degree
angle and continues above at an increasingly steep incline until…
it ends in light. Never before have I felt so disoriented; has this
place been set on its side? And the light… it's similar to the sun,
but… more intense? Certainly more ultraviolet; it's the most
beautiful light I've ever seen.

“Shi'ahn, where are we?”

I turn to see my brother at my side, but
instead of wildly looking around as I have been, his attention is
riveted on the light.

“William? How did you get here so
quickly?”

He doesn't look my way, but he does answer,
though somewhat distractedly.

“You didn’t think I would stay behind, did
you? I was scared silly when you didn't come back out of the
monolith. Puff didn't want to allow me to follow, in case it was a
trap, but I assured him that I could feel that you were fine. That
wasn't quite true, but I didn't feel that anything bad had happened
to you, and you know I've always been able to sense your distress.
Zah-Ha'Gor almost pushed me toward the monolith. Then you scared me
again when you weren’t inside… but it seemed a good bet that you
had given yet another drop of your blood to the second monolith. I
tried to get back out to tell Puff I’d be following you further,
but I couldn’t get the doorway to reopen. Honestly, Sis, one of
these days this impulsive nature of yours is going to get you into
serious trouble.”

How could he have done all that, I just got
here. Before I can ask him I hear heavy, running footsteps. Several
men burst into sight, holding what may be weapons pointed directly
at us.

A deep, authoritative but not very pleasant
voice calls out, “You there – I don’t recognize you… identify
yourselves!” A guard? There is a flash nearby, like thousands of
prisms simultaneously casting light next to me for the slightest
moment, then I sense… greatness, aeon’s of wisdom. My vision clears
and I see an old woman. William tears his eyes away from the light
to stare with almost equal fascination at her. Physically she is
just a very old woman, shriveled and stooped with age, but her
eyes! Looking into them is like looking into the depths of
time.

“Stand down, Captain, I will take
responsibility for these two – I’ve been expecting them!”

The guards look at once shocked, awed, and
quite uncomfortable. “Of course, your… ancientness. Our fault
entirely.” His voice is weak with more than awe, far more.

The old woman places her arms around us; my
mind floods with music and everything suddenly sparkles. We are
bathed in light, every frequency, infrared through ultraviolet,
separated more precisely than by a prism or spell; I
hear
…
something new. The balance of frequencies changes; stabilizes.

Yet again we find ourselves in an entirely
different place. We stand before great ornate doors, which begin to
open before us, leading to a throne room filled with very
impressive, very serious looking individuals. They look more like
us! William and I have always been different from our people,
stronger, more powerful, and most notably, we have always seemed
pale compared to nearly everyone else; only the Technologists in
their underground civilization looked as we did. The intensity of
our sun does not allow for light complexions, yet here I see
infinite variety in skin tones. It feels both good and odd. These
people; I had always found William to be the most impressive man
I'd ever seen, being more solidly built than anyone else on Shiral,
and possessing an aura of something I've never understood, but that
always overshadowed everyone else. These people make both William
and I seem like children, not yet fully grown. Where are we?

I manage to snap my jaw shut before we reach
the front of the hall. The most commanding man I’ve ever seen
frowns down upon us from his throne. His hair is medium blond, only
slightly wavy, and frames a face that, above all else, looks
disapproving. Everything about him is larger and more substantial
than any being I have ever seen; I have to fight to keep my jaw
from dropping once again. He opens his mouth to speak, but with a
note of playful amusement, our escort begins first.

“Imperial Majesty; I do hope you can forgive
the interruption… I have new family members to introduce!”

Family?

Muted gasps and exclamations fill the air;
to say that our arrival is a surprise would be quite the
understatement. “New family?” “They aren’t children, they’re
adults!” “This is madness!” I pay little attention to the
exclamations of those around us as my mind spins – Family???

The Emperor looks unconvinced, “That seems
rather unlikely, are you certain?”

Our benefactor pulls herself up straighter
and it seems as though decades drop away from her; I almost edge
away in awe, but she shifts her arm up over my shoulder and
tightens her grip. She sniffs in an insulted tone, “Yes, of course
I’m certain! I happen to be exceedingly good at recognizing my own
descendants – no matter how distant most are these days!”

Descendants! So, there are increasing
degrees of mental reeling… I hadn’t known. Heedless of our audience
I ask the old woman, “Who are you?”

The Emperor turns his intense gaze to us, “I
will ask the questions here; who are you and where have you been
hiding?”

It feels very strange, being spoken to with
such an absolute lack of respect; it is as though he is trying to
goad us. I maintain strict control over my voice. I remain
respectful, but lift my chin to show I am not intimidated. “I am
Shi'ahn, leader of the High Council of Shiral, and this is my
brother William.”

He chuckles coldly – a more chilling sound
than I've ever heard before. “Well, leader of the High Council,
your position on your homeworld means nothing here – remember
that.”

Home
world
? Where are we?

His expression turns contemplative, “Shiral…
I have not heard of that world; it must not be of any
significance.”

Annoyance flares in my mind, but I restrain
myself, and outwardly ignore his insult. “What is this place?”

The ancient woman answers, at first
directing her words toward the throne. “They quite literally just
arrived at the front gates, I haven’t explained anything to them
yet.” She turns back toward us, “You are at the pinnacle of the
Universe, this is the source of order, the beginning of the Path of
Enlightenment. Welcome to Lumina. You and William are my
descendants, and therefore members of the Royal family.” She turns
again toward the Emperor, “I expect them to be treated
appropriately.”

It’s strange, the man is obviously the head
of state, and yet the old woman seems to outrank him. He doesn't
seem pleased with that.

“I have business to attend to at the moment,
send them to me in one hour.” That’s it. He turns away as though we
have ceased to exist. Again the sparkling light, and our
surroundings change once more; we are in a room where the walls are
lined with books, and very comfortable looking chairs await us. The
ancient being is once again a shrunken old woman.

“Do you do that often, travel
instantaneously from place to place?” She laughs, a surprisingly
musical laugh for one so old.

“No, child, I rarely find reason to leave my
tower. The infrequency of my visits causes shock when I appear,
which I find I rather enjoy. Come, sit, we have much to discuss.” I
sink into a chair that seems to welcome me, I’ve never felt
anything like it. “Like the chair? I’ve had a long time to perfect
it. Chairs are important, after all – you never know how long one
may be caught up in thought. Now, I expect you have some questions
you’d like to ask.”

I hardly know where to start, but William
does.

“Are we truly at the pinnacle of the
Universe?”

“It would be more precise to say that we are
at the extreme end of one half of our bi-polar Universe. Lumina
marks the Spire, the beginning, the source of the Realm of
Order.”

I restate my original question, “And you
are?”

“Ah, that is a good question. I have been
given many names throughout the ages, some not the least bit
flattering! Many refer to me as the old hag. Suffice it to say that
I am… she who imposed order upon this end of the Universe.”

“Then you are…” My voice sounds odd to my
ears, awed beyond imagination.

“Very old, yes, I’m quite aware of
that!”

“What… what should we call you?”

“What indeed? My primary function these days
is watching over the Spire, and so some call me the Guardian. I
don’t like that, though, to me it sounds as though I am a keeper of
wayward children!” She shrugs, “That may not be far from the mark
at times, but I prefer names to titles; call me… Cailliach, I’ve
always liked the sound of that one.” I can’t help but think,
something so simple? Yet, it is the name of an ancient goddess… She
puts her arm around me, once again bathing my soul in perfect
music. “Better still, my little muse, you may call me Cailli – or
Grandmother, if you wish.”

I can hardly believe my ears, “Are you truly
our grandmother?”

She smiles and then laughs gently. “Not
quite, my little one, but “Greats” don’t trip over the tongue well
at all. Grandmother sounds much better, don’t you think?” I can
only nod as I try to assimilate her words and the music that fills
my soul while she touches me.

My mind busy grappling with her revelations,
William takes up the conversational reins. “The Path of
Enlightenment, what is that?” It’s easy to hear that those words
ring a cosmic bell within him; he seems almost giddy. The ancient
one, no, think of her as she wishes; Cailli, notices as well. She
looks at him thoughtfully, and with an almost amused expression as
she replies.

“It's a staircase, actually. It is a place
of testing and learning, the place where all the dimensions come
together in equal strength and become joined as if one. The
greatest singularity of all. You will see when you are ready but
not before; to ascend the Staircase prematurely can kill, or worse
yet, destroy the mind. I will take each of you to it when it is
your time.” A quiet ringing comes from a painting of a great tree
that hangs on the wall next to a fireplace. Cailli looks faintly
surprised. “That didn’t take long at all. Well, speaking of time, I
think I’ll be sending you for your interview with the Emperor,
now.”