Interacting with Marah had been exhausting, so Liana went back to her moss bed to rest. Although it was now partly cloudy, the forest still bathed in daylight. The usual birds and insects flew busily to and fro, and squirrels jumped from branch to branch. A bird she hadn't heard yet whistled in the distance. She just lay on her back and looked at the canopy. Little blue oak hairstreak butterflies flew high above her, circling each other in a strange dance. Much higher, a species of swifts meandered around each other in different patterns high above the woods. Little green grasshoppers jumped around her in the blades of grass, but they left her alone. This whole place was teeming with life, and it calmed her down. This place had no negative presences either. Her sixth sense worked very well here and picked up on everything, but it was all friendly and there was nothing that wanted to invade her mind or scare her away. The trees here were so alive that she could almost talk to them. If she only had known the right language it would have been possible, she thought.
She closed her eyes and lay half asleep for a while, with a smile on her face, still drinking in the atmosphere of the forest. The little sounds of the birds and the insects and the calm rustle of the wind in the oak leaves made her sink into a peaceful state of rest. She hadn't even noticed the arrival of Inaya, but it suddenly made sense that she was there. She too was part of everything that Liana was swimming in now. “Do you know that we Nummerfa are part of the soul of the forest?” she said, and this time Liana didn't know whether it was with words or without. “In the other languages of Nuanderra we are usually called the forest women. The snow people even call us the forest herders. And they are not just talking about us being shepherds of trees, but about taking care of all life in the forest, and everything that is in the side dimension too.”
Liana opened her eyes, and came out of her trance. Her friend apparently sat cross-legged next to her in her white tunic, still with her bandage on her chest, radiating a deep kind of tranquillity. She looked almost like a meditating Buddha, but then in a female version, and more believable. Suddenly Inaya placed a hand on her forehead and instantly she felt the energy flow through her body. “Everything is connected, Liana é! Everything flows. And in the end everything taps into Al-Elyehdinn, the Source of existence.” she said calmly but with unwavering conviction. "What do you mean?" Liana asked. “Al-Elyehdinn is the Living One, the Energy that sustains all, that flows through all, without which nothing would and could exist. The Reality that is more real than everything, from which everything is derived. Do you feel it?” She took her hand from Liana’s forehead.
Liana understood, and nodded, and then paused to take it all in; She'd never been able to focus so well on just being, without being preoccupied with other distractions, but this place was so different, more alive, even more sacred. She couldn't describe what she felt, and it wouldn't make sense to try either, but she felt completely at home, and completely alive, sharing the life of this place, the life of Existence. She felt that this place was permeated with the power of both Life and Death, but also of the power of Love, the Real, the Beautiful… So she lay for a long time, aware of the Presence, and of the presence of Inaya, and of every life form in the environment. Of the trees, the birds, the land itself. She closed her eyes and swam in liquid reality.
When she finally opened her eyes and blinked in the sun, she looked at the world as if she was seeing everything for the first time. She was connected to this whole wood, as if she was a part of everything and everything was a part of her. At the same time, she was filled with a deep love for every living being here, from the oldest tree to the smallest insect. She stood up and gave Inaya a hug. It was just a feeble physical expression of the universal unity she felt, but she couldn't express any of it with words. For a moment they held on to each other, in connection with everything, and then Inaya let her go and stood on her feet.
“We Nummerfa are the soul of the forest. This connection is only possible if we ourselves are connected with Al-Elyehdinn as well as with everything that lives!” “On my world something like you would be goddesses and gods.” Liana muttered, but Inaya corrected her as if she had said something dirty. “That's an inappropriate word, Liana. I still don't know what you mean by it, but we are only part of the web ourselves, not above it. We are only a thread in the fabric of Al-Elyehdinn, which is like a multi-dimensional multicoloured tapestry with the most beautiful patterns!”
Liana nodded in silence, and let the forest flow through her again. Everything was so alive! Very different from the idea of "gods" she'd picked up from most stories. “If you put it like that I don't really think a god is like a species or type of thing. It can be anything. People simply worship things more powerful than themselves, hoping to share in their power, and so turn them into gods and start cults. Sometimes they just sacrifice anything in the hope of getting something.” Liana finally said. "And that's dangerous." she added. Inaya agreed. “Not just dangerous for the people. Also for beings who are worshipped. And knowing your mythology, most of the things your kind worships on Oranderra are not worth worshipping.” “That's what I said too, the one time I came across something that some consider to be a god; Luigi, the so-called Flying Spaghetti Monster, which was actually invented by non-believers to ridicule religions.”
Inaya chuckled when Liana shared the memories with her. “Ah, he's harmless. Just a thought-form construct that has gained consciousness. The real gods from your myths are a lot worse than that. Murder, adultery, abuse of power, cheating, you name it. All they do is magnify the evil side of man… And people really worship something like that and give it power?” Liana knew all too well what she meant. “I've been wondering about that. Along with the question of whether such things really exist.” Inaya's eyes were serious now. “You know that. You perceive the side dimension. You recognize things for what they are. Probably some of those gods are really invisible things that are more powerful than humans, but that's not really a reason to worship them. It also makes it worse for the gods if they actually play that role. It will give them too much ego, and they start getting entitled. Bah, gods… Idols and imposters who don't even get any better from all the worship they receive.” Inaya nodded disapprovingly.
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“What about Luigi?” Inaya searched for the words. “What do you call something like that? Of course there is no such thing as the Flying Spaghetti Monster who made the world as the Creator, but there are so many people who somehow pump faith into the idea of him that eventually something answers their prayers, something they summoned from their common belief-energy. So he’s not a primordial being with divine powers, but still a being somehow…” Liana shrugged. “It seems that invisible beings who can do more than humans quickly become gods to us. We understand so little about the invisible world, and so we hang on to everything that could be stronger than us and benefit us. Even you would have been considered a mighty goddess for certain ancient cultures.” Inaya looked so frail and small under these trees, and Liana realized how idiotic it sounded. “You already said that. And it would be stupid. I am as much and as little a goddess as you are, girl from the other world. Or Luigi or whatever your invisible spaghetti friend may be called. We are all part of the web. We can only humble ourselves before Al-Elyehdinn, and take our place in the web of existence. From the tiniest atom to the mightiest Archon!”
Liana couldn't believe she was having this kind of conversation, in this kind of location. Indeed, in another life, in more pagan times, she might have worshipped a being like Inaya herself, and given her sacrifices in the hope that her powers would radiate a little on herself too so she could profit from them. But would it have done her any good? Probably not. It would have made her arrogant and pathetic, and certainly disconnected from everything around her. And for the goddess herself it was indeed even worse… She had never looked at it that way.
And now in this life they sat here, bathing in the life of the oak wood as friends. She looked at her friend, with her white hair that was carefully braided now, and her lavender eyes. What a privilege and happiness to be able to just be friends, without all the hierarchical nonsense between humans or other beings that so often leads to segregation… She certainly was one of the happiest threads in Al-Elyehdinn's web at this time, soaking in the life of this welcoming forest. It was no wonder that Inaya was able to recover from her wounds and trauma so quickly when she had access to Life itself in this way!
“But there is another side to this whole story. In the presence of Al-Elyehdinn you have to let go of everything that is bad, everything that destroys your relationships with yourself and others and the whole fabric. Your dark side must be healed, otherwise you can't stay. All shadow must be recognised, and then disappear in the full light, or become something beautiful in the Light.” Inaya said, and Liana felt what she meant. She knew she was just a ball of shadows in full daylight, but she knew all the same that there was no point in not surrendering yourself to the Light. She also knew that this was just the beginning, and that it was a lifetime of growing, but it was the only thing she could do, the only thing she could live for. There was not much else that had meaning but to let herself be examined by the light, and have the darkness taken away. Only then could she be who she was really meant to be.
They sat in silence for a while, not saying anything because words were unnecessary. “All Nummerfa have access to this?” Liana finally asked. “Yes, of course, we are part of the soul of the forest, as I told you, and we cannot fulfil that role without being in constant contact with the Source.” said Inaya. “Then how can your kin do what the Onnobolda do?” Inaya was silent, and Liana continued. "I mean. Isn't that impossible? It’s so opposite." Inaya couldn't help but agree. “It's a personal responsibility to stay rooted and grounded, of course. You can get distracted. And if you do certain things and don't want to let go of them, you become rooted and grounded in something else and you lose your connection. You can only return to the Light if you are at least willing to let go of all shadows.” Liana looked at her doubtfully. "Get distracted? Of this?" Inaya was silent, she had no answers, and she didn't understand the nature of the Shadow they had let in. And she knew she had been very naive about that, but on the other hand, she felt the same question with Liana coming out of the world that had always been under the shadows.
Suddenly Inaya broke the conversation with a statement. “Akhina expects us, come!” She reached out and helped Liana back to her feet. Together they walked back to her house. Inaya had obviously healed a lot since they got back, but she still walked a lot slower than before, and Liana guessed that her other powers still weren't quite back like they were before either. "How do you feel now?" asked Liana. “A lot better, but I still need to recuperate more, and also rest more in the flow of Life. I was really close to death when the councillors arrived. It must have been a terrible weapon that they shot me with!" She winced.
Liana was silent, trying not to think about what her friend had been through, nor about how many of those "magichemical weapons" had now arrived in her own world, being made up by a dubious company whose intentions she also didn't want to know. She didn't even want to think about her own world right now. Maybe it was better to stay here at least one more day! They walked slowly under the ever-growing oak trees. Akhina was waiting for them with fresh flower drink and more acorn bread and fresh salad.