Below red cliffs stretched a black sea into the edges of the cavern. Its surface was still looking like obsidian. The water stirred and from below emerged a young man who climbed the rock wall.
His hair was wet, jet black, cut short, and scruffy. His body was pale white except for the left hand which was dark gray. His bottom was covered by a wet white cloth. From a hole in the cloth twisted a long black scaly tail which grasped onto a fish. He dropped the fish next to three others and walked over to a patch of green moss.
He lay flat against the floor, like something gooey that was slammed against a hard surface. He rubbed his cheek against the moss and smiled.
“So soft.”
Drums began beating from afar. The sound spread to every wall of the cavern.
He raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound and saw a huge pillar, covered with bright dots, at the center of the cavern. It reached from the bottom all the way up to the ceiling.
Resting time already? Sister should hurry.
He turned around onto his back. From the ceiling hung crystals which shone in a yellow light. Over time they began to dim and the color turned orange.
A ball of moss hit his face.
“This one is annoyed. Little brother is here enjoying a swim while this one runs your errands.”
A young woman appeared. Her skin was a reddish shade and she also had a tail. With crossed arms and a frown on her face she looked down on him. He grinned at her.
“Sorry Ner. This might be the last time I get to swim in Loch Amon.”
“Hmph. This one forgives you. Now hurry up or the city gates will close. It's a pain to wait for them to open. This one wants to see Taro.”
Esh put on clothes that he had left on a nearby rock. Dark brown leather boots, black pants, and a blue shirt coated with scales. He also had a bundle of fish. When he finished they began walking towards the pillar.
“Fish?”
“For Erak. More importantly, did you get it?”
“This one acquired your requested item.”
She unbound a pouch from her waist. And handed it over to him. He opened it and took out a blue sphere. Inside it there was movement as if something was flowing.
“This is sufficient for the portal. Thank you Ner Ner.”
“It was hard to get you know.”
“I know. I tried to get it myself but failed.”
“Yes. This one is great.”
She raised her chin, closed her eyes, and had a smug smile on her face.
He put the orb into the pouch and bound it to his waist.
From the mossy cliff they step onto rocky terrain. After a short distance they come to a road made of stone.
Soon walls came into view and below them a forest.
On the ground all kinds of mushrooms littered the floor. Some grew tall like trees. There were wooden trunks growing tall among them. Their branches converged to a single point and stuck together at the tip from which hung a bag that had a dim glow at its center. They looked like long wooden fingers holding a light orb. Ner watched them.
“The light trees have closed.”
“It is late after all. Lets hurry I don't want to deal with gob predators.”
“Aww is little brother scared. Don't worry this one will protect you.”
The road was straight, and they were soon able to make out the end with an opening in the wall.
“Ah. It's closing.”
She panicked, grabbed his arm, and began running.
They covered distance with remarkable speed and passed the gates right before they closed.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Catching his breath Esh turned around and looked at the closing gates. After the steel doors shut together gears started turning and iron bolts slid horizontally across them. Then another set of steel doors closed. A person approached the doors doing some motions with his hands. A glowing ring appeared. Inside its rim were markings.
A guard ran over to them. His armor matched Ners clothes except under the neck where she had three symbols; a sword, a circle with a flame inside, and a crown. He only had one; a sword which was smaller and plainer in design. He made a fist with his right hand and put it over his chest.
“Master Esh. High Captain Ner. Was there anything hunting you?”
“This one is too powerful to be hunted by anything in this forest. We just wanted to arrive before the gates close. You are dismissed soldier.”
“Yes High Captain.”
The guard returned to stand by a building beside the gate. Ner looked at him with a pout.
“Address me first. I'm higher rank,” she muttered.
“Did you say something?”
“This one did not.”
The light from the crystals faded out and darkness enveloped them. Now only dim light could be seen from the main street.
They both closed their eyes for a moment. When they reopened their pupils expanded to the point where almost no white could be seen. The light from the orbs was now enough to make out their surroundings.
“This one wants to show you something. Come little brother.”
She walked to the staircase leading up the wall.
“I'm only a few days younger.”
She did not hear him or choose not to. Esh followed her to the top where Ner spread her arms towards the forest. “Chaos.” Then she turned one arm towards the city. “Order.”
He looked at the forest first. The light trees were scattered around. Then he turned around. The city lights were set up on the main roads only. Now in the dark it looked like lines of light cut the city into pieces.
“You think so?”
“Hey. This one showed you something wonderful and that's all you have to say?”
“Yes, yes. It's great. Thank you for showing me.”
They stood there for a while and observed the forest. Shapes were moving above and below the light trees.
“This one wonders. Why does brother not address himself?”
“The common folk treats you differently when you act like a royal. Also it's more efficient.”
“Efficient, efficient, efficient. This sister is concerned for her little brother.”
“Why? Efficiency is important. Which reminds me. We should be moving.”
Ner shook her head and began moving down the staircase behind Esh. They walked on the main road towards the great pillar. The streets were mostly empty, with a few guards patrolling.
Most houses were made of stone, with some upper levels and roofs made of wood. The streets were paved with black stone and the lights along them looked just like the ones from the forest.
As they got closer to their goal the shape of buildings changed. The surrounding structures had signs on them depicting various items and had large openings in their front wall barred of with metal. Objects matching the signs were displayed inside.
At the corner of the next intersection one house was lit and loud. Its sign was a leaf from its windows flowed smoke. When they moved past it Ner held her nose and moved away from it.
“This one will never understand why they chose to smoke that vile plant. It stinks worse than the sewers.”
“Smoking with good company is enjoyable. The smell is bad though.”
“This one hates it.”
They were close to the pillar now. Wide enough for a whole block of buildings it had multiple windows, balconies, and staircases carved into it. The bright dots were just lights shining through the openings.
Esh moved towards the entrance.
“Wait. This one needs to pick up Taro.”
They walked into a tower that was not far away. The tower was higher than the other houses around and its top was wooden with small holes. Creatures were flying in and out of them.
Inside an old man with a shaggy beard was writing into a ledger. Around the shop were shelves filled with bags of food, cages of various sizes, and other things for animals.
The old man noticed them and looked up. “Ah, little Ner and Esh. Did you come to pick up Taro?”
“This one did. Also I'm not a small child anymore uncle Dun.”
“Smaller than me.”
“Who's smaller?”
She made a threatening motion towards Esh. Dun laughed.
“True little Ner is all grown up. High captain at your age is incredible.”
He went up a staircase.
”Wait here I'll get your bat."
Esh left his sister, who had a self-satisfied smile, by the counter and viewed the items on the shelves. He moved past the cages, bags of food, brushes, and clippers. One shelf was full of books. He ran his finger across their titles and stopped on “Ether Runes and Rings for Monster Control”.
He began flipping through the pages and moved back to the counter.
Dun returned carrying a bat that was about the size of three fists. Its fur was dark brown, its wings black, its eyes were light brown with small black pupils, and it had a long snout. He handed it over to Ner.
“This one missed you.”
With a long thin tongue it licked her face which made her giggle.
“It seems it missed you too. The bugger was quite restless.”
Dun looked at Esh who was still flipping through the book.
“I though you already mastered all of those.”
“I did. Just refreshing my memory. Do they work on beasts from the surface world?”
“Of course. They work on any being. Although, the effects differ with intelligence as you know.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
He handed the book over to Dun.
“I'm going on a trip and might not return. For all your help over the years I am grateful.”
“I figured you'd be dissatisfied with the current events. Good luck boy and don't bring shame to the Demeo.”
He put his right fist over his chest. Esh returned the salute.
“Of course.”
Esh then bought some dried fish left and headed to the central pillar. The guards before the door preformed the salute.
“High Captain Ner, Master Esh we greet you. The overlord wishes to speak to you Master Esh.”
“I will see him.”
They returned the salute and continued inside.
“This one wonders, does little brother really intend to see father?”
“No, there is nothing more to say.”
“This one wants to return Taro to her room. Will you wait?”
“Of course.”
After walking hundreds of stairs they stopped on a balcony to catch their breath. Though they were three quarters up the pillar the only thing you could see were lights in the surrounding forest and town. The rest was enveloped in darkness. They continued and soon reached their first destination.
“We'll meet up in my room.”
Esh went through a door while Ner went further.
The inside had black stone covered in moss as a foundation. Down the walls trickled lines of water which gathered in the middle of the room into a pond. There, half inside the water, lay a gou.
“Erak come here. I have something for you.”
The gou stood up on four legs and stomped to Esh. Its head reached his shoulder in height and its body was about twice as long as him. It had blue scales resembling his shirt and across its back were spines.
Its mouth opened wide enough to able to chomp a good chunk out of him. He dropped the fish in its mouth, and the maw closed tight. It moved towards the rooms balcony which was barred of. There, the gou lay on a patch of wet moss and gazed into the dark.
“Goodbye friend.”
He left the room and went to his own.
It was segmented into three areas. The bed, a place for armor and weapons, and the largest which had several bookcases filled with books about ether lore and locations around the world. There were also several maps stretched across the table and floor.
The table in the middle of the room he placed next to a wall while moving anything on the floor aside. The center was now clear.
Let's begin.
He stretched out his hand and stuck out his index finger into which he focused ether. The tip was wrapped in a transparent substance which had a blue glow. With it he drew an ether ring about his own length in diameter. The ring was made of two circles, a smaller inside a bigger. The rim was separated in two halves. In one of them he wrote down six runes. The other one was again divided in two. Both of these had three runes in them and both sets were different. There was a knock on the door and his sister entered.
“This one has come. Is brother done?”
“Yes, everything should be ready.”
She gave him an ornamented dagger.
“Here, this steel works well with ether.”
Esh took it in his hands and ran ether through it. The dagger glowed blue. He stopped and stuck it in his belt.
“Thank you.”
Ner hugged Esh.
“Make sure to stay alive brother. This one will come visit you for sure.”
“I won't die. Bring Nas and Ran with you if you can.”
He wiggled free, took out the orb, and went to the center. There he began chanting. From the orb came tethers of ether that flowed into the ring. Both the ring and the runes turned a deep blue. From them rose a vortex. Esh was enveloped by it. Everything was pulled together and then disappeared. Only the orb remained.