Galen Vesa

Darkness, blood, and wind raged around me, playing a game of tag between void and consciousness. Sounds and shapes came and went like sand trickling through my fingers. Did I faint again?

“Oh! You’re back! You really are…”

A sniffling and crying girl jumped off her stone and running through the moor tackled me in a bearhug. She wept, pressing her face against my chest.

“You really came back…”

Her thin, twiggy, body shook in my arms. Those eyes, those hairs, this moor. Where have I seen it before?

“You are the girl from the dream?”

“D’oh!? Of course I am!”

She cleaned her face with her sleeve. Some of her snoot left on my shirt.

“Did I come here already?”

“Sure you did! We had so much fun together!”

“Fun? At best this is the second time I see you, girl from the dream.”

That wrinkled her forhead.

“You’re the new one then, I guess. Come, we have a lot to do.”

I followed her upslope, back to her favorite, sun warmed stone.

“Sit, sit!”

She pated a space beside her. I accepted her invitation and indeed, the stone felt pleasant to rest upon. Just like a favorite spot should be.

“Where to begin… Dou you remember my name? Hey! Stop making that face and say it already! Nothing? Really? Galen, and you call yourself my friend? Bah… Ops!”

Just like a little child caught on lying, she covered her lips.

“How do you know my name?”

“How else, you told me yours just like I told you mine. Come on, don’t be mean, say it already.”

“Alirea”

It bubbled up somewhere from deep within my memory.

“See! I knew you would never forget!”

With a smile that could swallow half the earth, she sat swaying her legs off the edge of the stone we sat at.

“Wonky, wonkiness. Time and space really is wobbly in this place. Especially for a traveler like you. And yes, you told me that. Say hi to Erta from me. Gosh, I’d really, really wish I could meet her. I’ve never seen a dragon before. She must be magnificent.”

The girl’s eyes sparkled with amazement.

“Gee, there is so much I want to tell you… Ugh, stupid time!”

“Time? What time has to do with it?”

“You see, Time is a big, wet, wobbly noodle. It twists and turns and sometimes does really and I mean really weird stuff. Like when you eat noodles and you sneeze and then you have a noodle dangling out your nose. Time does that too, just on a much grander scale.”

“And since it’s like a noodle its easy to rip off bits and pieces or tangle it altogether. Life tends to get complicated when time does that. Like, from my point of view, you have not arrived in this world yet and from your perspective I am long dead.”

She paused for a moment.

“It is easy for us to tangle time even more than it is right now.”

New tears begun swelling in the corners of her swollen eyes. I could see her knuckles turning white as she gripped the rim of her dress.

“Forgive me,”

She wiped away her tears with her soggy sleeves.

“It is painful when someone you’ve known for years treats you like a total stranger.”

I met her gaze. Deep in her eyes I could see a longing for something, someone I was not.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault besides, now I know how you felt. I even called you a creep…”

Does sound like a legitimate reaction of a person meeting me for the first time. I said nothing and let her continue.

“Where do I even start… My name is Alirea, I am the youngest daughter of Serivi and Efrad of Uku but people here call me Rose. Please don’t do that. I hate it. You can even call me Al, like you used to, just not Rose. Oh, and before you ask again, I know that a rose is a lovely flower back where you come from but here, they are considered an obnoxious weed that grows mostly on shallow, abandoned graves. So, please, please, don’t call me that.”

I gave her a nod.

“So, what do I do here… To sum it up, I am a caretaker. I make sure the dead stay dead and the living stay as far away as possible. Occasionally, guiding people towards the resting place of their loved ones. Not that many comes these days…”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Whaaa! I almost forgot! It’s today! We must go now!”

The young witch suddenly sprung up and run through the moors, puling me by my wrist.

“Late, late, we’ll be late!”

Wiggling like a kite pulled on a string by a rowdy child, I followed her through the swaying grass and singing creeks. We run until the sun shied away behind the horizon and then we ran a little bit more into the night.

“W-we made it.”

Our destination turned out to be a paved round plaza with an obelisk towering over it. At its foot I could see an entrance leading down into the bowels of earth.

“Usually they're not hostile but… just try not to stare too much. “

Al patted out dust from her robe and straightened it to make it more presentable. She also pulled out her long, floating staff.

Far in the distance sounds of tambourines and inhuman chants signaled the arrival of a third party.

We watched the procession approach from the moor.

“What are they?”

Carrying lanterns and walking in an unnatural swaying gait, the creatures approached us.

Tall, at least a head taller than me and much slender at the same time, the strangers stopped at the rim of the paved plaza. Human in appearance. Horned and hoofed. With limbs of unusual length and bodies covered in reddish scales and eyes of square horizontal iris. Drabbed in clothes resembling a combination of Japanese kimono and Chinese qipao with many colorful furs and feathers thrown into the mix.

“Undying. Hush. It’s impolite.”

As we watched, some sort of choosing took place within the procession. Five young women stepped out of rank and approached someone important. Some sort of a priestess if I would risk a guess. From her hand the maidens drew lots. Four dropped to the ground, fifth raised her hand for all to see. As one, all the strangers dropped on their knees and pressed their foreheads against the ground. The chosen maiden wept silently. Sparkling tears dripped down to the ground. She unfastened her robe and let it slide to the ground. Her bare skin glistening in the waning moonlight.

The priestess rose from the ground and with a knife carved magical runes on the maiden’s chest. A shiver went down my spine as I watched the glistening blade.

At the same time Al grabbed and held my hand.

“Do not read that. I know you can. For her sake, do not read it. She sacrificed herself to become the vessel.”

I averted my gaze.

With the ritual finished, they stepped aside while the girl kneeled before us.

“Is this the Vessel?”

Al stepped out of the paved plaza and approached them.

“By law, it is the one.”

The priestess replayed in a singsong trill.

Tying one end of a supplied red ribbon around the girl’s neck, Al held the other end as if a leash. Tugging slightly on the ribbon, the young witch marched towards the necropolis and the vessel followed.

“Galen, don’t fall behind.”

I matched my pace with the witch and let my eyes travel down the ramp into the bluish light of the silent corridor. We hardly left the surface when the vessel spoke.

“Human child do not pity me for you make my heart waver. It is a great honor for me, only honor. Do not diminish my sacrifice with your grief.”

Al bowed deeply before the vessel.

“Forgive me o ancient one. I salute your courage.”

Both women stood there, each at the verge of tears yet I watched them unmoved and unfeeling. I could have asked for the meaning of their words, yet I choose not to. In silence I followed them, listening to the steady click-clack of the vessel hooves. We passed many chambers lush with gold and vivid colors. We walked through endless corridors into which somebody carved depictions of past and long forgotten glory. W crossed bridges over chasms so deep that even darkness now felt shallow to me. We entered the heart of the dungeon.

*Empty.*

The vessel voice rung in my head. I turned to look at her and froze. She had her face next to mine and as I turned our lips touched.

*You are… empty.*

Even though we were joined in an unexpected kiss, the vessel did not pull away but instead gazed into my eyes then deepen the kiss.

*A traveler…*

Sweet, how sweet her lips were.

“Blood.”

She spoke when our lips parted.

“You taste of blood traveler.”

She traced her lips with her finger.

“You should not be here.”

With a flick of her finger, she pushed me through the borders of time and space, back into the darkness. Darkness and blood.

And again, I stood in the chamber of blood, surrounded by screams of tortured souls. Amidst that, dank in gore and insanity, a woman sat on a throne made of bone and fear. Our eyes met, and she stirred. Did I know that face?

“Galen!”

Another voice pulled me in.

“Galen, please wake up!”

My eyes opened, roused by the voice and not by my will.

“Thank goodness!”

“Al?”

I whispered, too tired to speak. At the same time beads of water splashed against my check. Tears?

My head rested upon her lap giving me a generous view of her bosom. She appeared, mature. Possibly much older than before.

“I made a terrible mistake, please forgive me. If I only knew… Forgive me. The undying cut our time together shorter than it already was.”

Panic crept over her face.

“You must learn to sing!”

“Hold the lantern and sing. The melody will come to you.”

I felt sleepy.

“Feel the vibrations and let your mana resonate. The words are there in your heart.”

“I never sang a song in my entire life.”

My vision blurred and became foggy.

“You must! Whatever happens, have faith and sing! If only for a moment you let yourself falter, then we’re already lost. I should have taught you this twenty years ago but…”

A cascade of sparkling lights separated us. I could no longer see or hear her. Instead taste and smell of blood choked me.

“Great goddess, be praised your mercy! She’s alive.”

I blinked at the eyes shining above me.

“Stay still. Much blood you have lost.”

A furry hand held me tight against the ground. Unnecessary effort. My body would not budge no matter how much I willed it.

*You have lost all the blood in your body, roughly four times, before she came to and patched your wound. By the way, your throat is a terrible mess, do not speak until it recovers. *

Erta?

*No dolt. The voice of your manhandled cushions. *

A sarcastic dragon lady. That would be worth a chuckle. I think.

I stole a quick glance over my surroundings. We were still in the same room as before, just the people looked now even more tired that before they went to rest. Also, the distinctive smell of blood and mana lingered in the air. I don’t think I would ever guess that mana can have a scent. It’s something like when you can smell ozone right after a storm. Just, mana doesn’t smell like ozone. It smells like, well, mana.

I’m too happy to hear you again. Did I miss anything important?

*Magic resistance perhaps? I have never been so humiliated in my entire life. To be affected by such a simple spell. *

Erta radiated a mixture of happiness and anger.

*You can thank that furball if you desire. Right after she attempted to murder us, she cast a ward strong enough to awake me. Since you were gone, I reinforced her spell with my own magic.*

That’s good to hear roomie. Very good. I’d like a word with you eye to eye, when possible.

“How is she?”

Leon came over with a sword in hand, ready to strike.

“Living.”

Dosie answered in my stead.

“Put that away. If such time comes, my responsibility she shall be.”

After a pause, he sheathed his sword and walked away.

“My gratitude you have. You saved us.”

She whispered fixing my cape over me.

“For my sin, I offer you my life.”

Eh? Sure, as long as you won’t disembowel yourself for my sake. Might been one of the myriad things I could say yet my body allowed me only a small bob with my head. Though the sincerity with which she spoke that, even to me, appeared abnormal.

“Rest. With you we move.”

She put her palm atop my chest to reassure me.

*Good grief. Come here already human. *

I closed my eyes and let the transition to happen.