Intermission #17: Etana

As Etana stepped into the forest and followed the creatures ahead of her, something screamed in the back of her mind. A voice warned her how incredibly insane she was for doing this, but The Aspect of Journey continued to propel her forward. The thread grew shorter with each satisfying step even as she knew they were approaching the destination at an angle instead of directly on.

She stopped suddenly when the wind changed to her back. Her sense of smell warned her that the larger creature had circled around on her. “What are you doing?” she yelled out loudly, lifting her foot in preparation to travel away.

“Guaranteeing your safety,” came a voice over her shoulder. “Things happen here that you would never expect.” The large creature stalked out from the bushes until it was in sight once more in the dim light of the forest canopy.

Etana gave the creature a distrustful glare. “Stay where I can see you,” she warned.

The Darkness controlled creature dragged its pointed nails over a fallen log. “I can comply with your request, but I may be delayed in preventing your death.” The creature lifted its nails and gestured with its strangely half paliternian half creature claw in the direction her thread also indicated. She felt something was familiar about this creature’s shape, but she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

Nodding her agreement and gesturing as well, Etana signaled for the creature to move in front of her. When it took position a dozen feet ahead of her, they moved forward once again in an uneasy truce. Her steps nearly faltered once more though, when she encountered a black wall. “A gloom.” she whispered in awe, recognizing immediately what it was from her studies. Concern nagged in the back of her mind, but her aspect would not be denied from her purpose, and she stepped through a moment later. She tried to suppress her shock at seeing the dark and bleak landscape beyond with the swirling shadows overhead.

“You continue to impress me, not yet Trina,” the spiked creature intoned from just ahead. “The shadow fall will not harm you. I keep it busy with another task. Come.”

Etana paused for only a moment, testing out her ability to still travel away. For the second time she had entered a strange world and her encounter with Nil had placed new insecurities within her. While she followed The Darkness, more creatures began to gather around her. Soon her vision failed as it grew too dark to see. Her other enhanced senses, however, were up to the task of her keeping her moving without her sight. Soon she saw a dim purplish light in the distance.

The creatures however, turned at the last second, guiding her around the edge of the light. She heard a gurgling sound in the distance followed by a squelching and a noxious smell assaulted her senses. Then there was only the sound of creatures breathing around her as they stopped moving. She heard another person like her breathing. “I know you are there,” Etana said sharply. “Who are you?”

“Please be patient,” A woman’s voice said in the darkness. “I will light a lantern for you. The Darkness has left me for this task. The light is uncomfortable for the others while they are actively being taught.” There was some shuffling in the dark as the creatures moved away from them and suddenly a spark lit up the night as a lantern was ignited.

A black haired woman of middle age held it away from herself. Her black eyes cringed against the light while the four other eyes on her head were firmly closed. “Here, take it,” she said, thrusting it into Etana’s hands and stepping back. “I don’t much like it either.” The woman settled at the edge of the light, turning her head away from the lantern. She rested her hand on the sword at her hip. “The Darkness said you could see my name, so I doubt introductions are necessary.”

In the light, Etana could finally see the woman’s face and her name lit up clearly for her. “Amaya,” she read aloud and then frowned as the woman’s life events crashed into her understanding. “Oh…oh no. ” she whispered. “Vina… she wouldn’t…” her voice trailed off as she learned her sister had killed this woman’s children.

Amaya was quiet as tears formed in her eyes. “She did.”

“I’m sorry,” Etana finally said, feeling sick and suddenly filled with a desire to comfort Amaya just like she had comforted Alora. “I don’t understand… why… She…” she stopped talking when the squelching sound resumed, overwhelming her voice. Holding her lantern up and out, she tried to identify where it was coming from. Amaya stepped to the side, avoiding the glare and wiping tears from her face.

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Beyond the woman was a quivering mass. It was so large, Etana couldn’t gauge its true size from the lantern’s light alone. It shook as several lumps squeezed themselves from its sides, only managing to free themselves after a desperate struggle. She saw their four eyes looking around in confusion until the other two on their heads opened wide as well as The Darkness took control of them. Then they moved toward the purple light in the distance.

“Come,” said the spiked creature behind her. “It begins again. Swordmaster Amaya, stay here.”

“Wait! Please,” Amaya said, reaching out with a hand. With a measured motion, she reached down to her hip. Her fingers wrapping tightly around the elaborately decorated hilt. The blade whispered softly against the leather of the scabbard as she drew it free. Holding the sword out, still supported by the scabbard, she presented the weapon to Etana. “Please, take it. You might need a weapon inside there.”

Etana hesitated. While she had experience with the thrusting sword, it was not her preferred weapon.

“Take it.” The Darkness rumbled behind her.

Etana reached out and drew the sword the rest of the way from Amaya’s scabbard. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I will return it.” Then she turned her back on the lumpy mass of flesh behind her and followed the creature once more, holding the lantern in front of herself. The path took a downward turn as if she were entering an expansive pit. She walked past black stones, stacked one on another, casting only a brief glance at them, wondering at their purpose as she continued her steady descent. “What are these?” she asked.

“At the edge I’ve built monuments in order to track its movement. One hundred and fifty-one balancing stone towers encircle the area. I know immediately when one falls and therefore its chosen direction.” The Darkness said.

“I don’t understand,” Etana said slowly, moving around yet another tower. Stopping when she noticed the path ahead had ended. She looked down and saw what was generating the purple light. A massive opaque cloud filled the pit before her. While she watched, occasionally lightning would crackle across its mistlike exterior. While she remained standing, creatures around her dove over the edge and into the purple cloud without hesitation. Looking around, she saw more creatures spilling over the edges constantly. From above, black shadows careened into the cloud as if bombarding it. Her Aspect of Journey also pointed her directly toward it. “What is all this?”

“You won’t believe me. Go inside so you can see for yourself.” The Darkness suggested. Then it stepped over the boundary with the rest of the creatures.

Etana stepped forward and immediately felt strange. Her hair lifted from her shoulders and into the sky. She looked up to see creatures running on disconnected pillars of dirt, only to recognize her hair was trying to join them. Looking down, she saw her own feet were firmly connected to a separate bridge of soil. She looked around wildly, seeing branching paths of dirt coiling and weaving about themselves as creatures raced along on every axis she could imagine, but none fell from their assigned path even as they twisted around each other in an incomprehensible maze. She spotted the spiked creature above her. It pushed off the soil it stood on, jumping over to her own, barely missing the landing. It struck out with its claws, gripping the soil which strangely had become like stone in its grasp. In a matter of moments it clutched the soil next to her, desperately clinging to it, and clearly not being affected by gravity in the same way as she.

Etana ignored it though as she walked forward, a growing fascination blooming within her. She heard The Darkness growl as it clung and scrambled along the pillar of dirt she easily walked on. She followed the thread now. She paused though when a fluorescent spark shot through the air and collided with a creature she saw running on another path of floating dirt. It immediately liquified, but others were quick to replace it.

She ducked under a path of dirt that almost blocked her own. Beyond the obstruction, her gaze fixed on a horde of creatures with grotesque amalgamations of limbs and eyes, racing haphazardly through the tumultuous landscape. Another spark collided with one such abomination; the creature erupted in a shower of liquid metal, splattering onto others. The metal morphed into volatile orbs that detonated upon contact, releasing gales of wind strong enough to whip any loose soil into airborne spirals.

Another spark intercepted a creature with a carapace studded with spines. At the moment of impact, it disintegrated into dust, which inexplicably burst into electric blue flames. Those flames spun in a maddening vortex that generated bolts of lightning, striking out unpredictably to freeze or melt anything they touched.

In the middle at the source of the sparks, however, lay a gray pad covered in shimmering blue runes. Atop the pad were a large pile of loose crystals located just slightly off center. The crystals shimmered as they let loose more sparks into the air. To her surprise, her aspect gave the crystals a name. She spoke it aloud, attempting to process the situation. “Anomos.” She frowned though as the entity’s memories were fractured and completely unrecognizable to her. “I… I don't understand it. It barely remembers Trina.”

“Anomos.” The creature growled from beside her. “Hundreds of years I’ve had to contend with it, and I finally have its name.”

She then saw the strategy Stine had taken. It's creatures moved as quickly as they could to intercept the sparks, throwing their lives away in spectacular fashion to prevent their spread. “What happens if the sparks touch the ground?” she asked after a moment of watching the struggle and dangerous balance The Darkness and Anomos had created.

“These ones warp your world into something unrecognizable,” the spiked creature answered. “Then Anomos moves.”