The man towers above her, always standing straight and strong, though the wrinkles on his face expose his ripe age. His black and grey flecked hair falls neatly on his forehead as he pets his plush grey mustache, deep in thought. He’d been sitting at the table for an hour in silence, his eyes barely moving from their spot on the bare wall ahead of them. Aleia sat on the floor silently playing with a cloth dolly, waiting for their evening meal.
“Lei, will you come here? I think it’s time.”
He opened his arms wide and she didn’t hesitate to run into them, cozying herself up in his lap.
It had been two years since Eli had scooped a sickly 8 year old Aleia off of the streets and nursed her back to health. She’d turned 10 just two weeks prior, and ever since then Eli had been acting distant.
Eli ran a thick, callused finger gently over Aleia’s forehead, bringing her long dark hair behind an ear, only for it to fall right back into her face again. He smiled down at her warmly, folding her small hands into his.
“Do you remember when we first met, Lei? You were sick, laying like a lamb in a cold alley in Hexlorn.”
Aleia nodded, though she vaguely remembered the day. She was in and out of consciousness as the sickness rampaged her small body.
“It was no coincidence that I had found you in those uncaring streets- and thank goodness I had. No, I was searching for you. Searching for a long time.”
Aleia listened closely, her head perched just beneath his stubbled chin. He’d been looking for her? But why?
“You see, Lei, you and I are special. Special in ways we must keep absolutely confidential to us and us alone. People out there want what we’ve got, and they will resort even to violence if it meant they could have it.” his voice raised sharply, angrily. Then he sighed.
Aleia looked up at him as he shook his head in frustration.
“I just... I just can’t find the right words” he muttered. He looked down at a bright eyed Aleia and smiled softly.
“Let me show you.”
Eli reached a hand into his shirt and pulled out his spherical golden pendant that he’d worn around his neck with a thin leather strap. Aleia had asked about it before and why he had it, but all he ever said was “it’s just for decoration.”
He untied it from the strap and, gently turning her small hand, placed it in her palm.
“I want you to open this. Just twist and pull.”
Aleia looked at her warped reflection in its sparkling polished body, then cautiously looked back at Eli.
“It’s alright, Lei. Go ahead.”
She carefully held the pendant and twisted the top, making a slight metallic sound as she pulled it off. Immediately as she did so, a bright orange light escaped from the pendant and bounced around the room, before landing on the table.
“We’ve got magic in us, Lei. Powerful magic, and soon you’ll be more powerful than you could ever have imagined. Magic comes with a price, though, no matter what you do. Sometimes that price is heavy...”
Aleia stared at the glowing orb before her, completely mesmerised by it’s vibrance and beauty. She’d seen nothing like it before.
“I know you’re young. Far, far too young to understand it all completely, but this is of the utmost importance. Lei, are you listening?”
Eli gently pulled her chin up and looked into her eyes.
“You must listen to me. Your magic is growing within you and you must learn to control and contain it. Emotion is our enemy. Any emotion too great can cause the magic within us to run wild. You must...you...”
Eli sighed again, and rubbed his eyes with one hand as Aleia looked up innocently at him.
“This can wait for another day” he smiled, patting Aleia on the head. “Now, let me introduce you.”
They turned their attention back to the orange orb on the table.
“This is Uma.”
In the blink of an eye, the orange orb changed into a large rabbit that stared silently at Aleia. Eli stiffened, wondering if she’d be afraid, or scream at the glowing, pulsating rabbit. Instead, Aleia smiled and reached her hand out to pet it.
“Nice to meet you, Uma. I’m Aleia.”
“Remember, Lei, don’t tell anyone. Don’t let anyone know you’ve got magic.” Eli said.
She didn’t understand. How could she not tell anyone about this wonderful thing? A rabbit made of light that had fit in a small pendant, now a physical being right in front of her that she could pet and feel its warm fur.
Uma hopped into Aleia’s arms, almost too big to carry, but snuggled into her. She laid her head into its plush body and giggled.
“No one can know. At least not yet...” He whispered, petting the sleepy rabbit on the head. “Not yet.”
-----
The months flew by in the Ora village. Aleia filled her days with work and sleep, not having mentioned Tatsnatu or Ne’lyrna since the day she’d spoken to her. Aleia had quickly assumed the intruder was Ne’lyrna, having no idea who else would care enough about the orcs to infiltrate her body. Aleia had been causing unrest within the village with her questions about the goddess, it must have upset her enough to finally make an appearance.
Aleia often thought of the conditions Elyr set for her.
“You must gain the trust of Elrukai Valhiki. Not only that, but you must help the orc tribe to my own satisfaction.”
Aleia had spent every morning and evening with Valhiki, watching the sun rise and set in mostly silence. As the months went on, She noticed Valhiki becoming thinner and less bright. She wondered about his condition, but never asked. She wondered, as well, how to gain his trust when all they had was sunrises and sunsets. Regardless, she had put in much effort to help the orcs. She helped them expand the village walls to the northeast, leaving them with significantly more space. Though, Aleia knew this would be used up quick enough and leave them in the same perdicament as before. With the sea to the west and the village growing closer to the edge of the forest, she didn’t know what else to do. After the wall was completed, she turned her attention to herb growing, showing the orcs plants she knew of that could set wounds, calm fevers, and ease aches. Mixing the new herbs with the old created potent healing salves and potions that already made a huge difference in the community, as many orcs would come home from a day of hard work with scrapes and cuts. They especially came in handy when an epidemic hit the village and many of the orcs lay deathly ill in their homes with raging fevers. Aleia and Bunshida worked tirelessly, using up much of the healing potions in storage, as well as concoting new, stronger versions. By the time the last orc was on the mend, they’d lost no one to the illness. Valhiki had thanked Aleia during their weekly celebration, telling her that without her, he was sure they would have lost many.
Aleia laid in bed thinking of what else she could do for them each night, wondering when, if ever, she would fulfill Elyr’s demands. She thought back to when Ghillie had been caught in the forest and how Kog’lik had saved him. She thought about what came after, wishing she had done as Eli had always said, and kept magic to herself.
“The rabbit faces no harm here. If you wish, you can let him roam.” Valhiki had said in a private meeting with Aleia and Kog’lik.
“And what of my...problem?” Aleia spoke quietly, “Kog’lik said you know.”
Valhiki stared at Aleia for a moment.
“We speak nothing of it. It ends here.”
“But what of the ones who saw it happen, father?” Kog’lik asked.
“I told them it was our goddess, Ne’lyrna, protecting our village by possessing Aleia.”
“Father!” Kog’lik hissed, “you lied in the name of the Goddess!”
“I did as she asked.” Valhiki said. “They had doubts, but we all know their loyalty. They would not question our Goddess.”
Aleia had wondered what that meant. Why would Elyr ask Valhiki to lie about Aleia’s power? Not just that, but why would he do it? To protect his village from her is all that she could conclude.
Aleia felt bad about it. If she had contained her emotions as Eli had said, she wouldn’t have revealed her magic, and in such a violent manner, nonetheless. Not only that, but she doesn't even remember any part of the attack, only trusting what Valhiki and Kog'lik have relayed to her.
Since the meeting, Kog’lik hadn’t spoken another word about it. They told the village that Ghillie was given to Aleia as a gift from Ne’lyrna herself as a thanks for allowing the possession. As expected, many doubted this, stating that Ne’lyrna wouldn’t possibly possess a stranger or give a magical beast as a gift.
“Trust me, please, as you always have” Valhiki said to the village, “I’d never put any of you in harms way.”
It was enough to stop the questions, if not the questioning stares, and life went on.
Ghillie became quite popular in the village, playing with the young ones, sleeping on the laps of the elderly. Aleia barely saw him in the months of the epidemic, as he was, of course, immune from the illness, he spent his time snuggling up to the ill, comforting them in their time of need.
Aleia was proud of Ghillie, and was thankful he didn’t have to be in that dark flask anymore.
As the one year anniversary of living in the village was approaching in two weeks, Aleia felt no closer to Tatsnatu or Elyr, though she had helped as much as she could. It could take years until she became worthy enough for a meeting with the Goddess for all she had known, probably much longer. As Aleia laid in her straw bed looking up at the dark ceiling, thinking of Elyr and Tatsnatu and the village, an idea popped into her head. A solution.
“All magic comes at a cost” Eli had told her before every training session, and sometimes after a particularly difficult one, too.
What would this idea cost her? Could she even handle it?
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The whole night through she thought of ways around it, proposed to herself different ideas, but nothing came close to solving an issue that would plague the ever growing Ora tribe. Nothing but this.
Aleia patiently waited for the early morning light before making her way to the beach, where she sat down next to Valhiki and turned to him.
“I’ve got an idea.”
-----
After much discussion, Valhiki had agreed on one condition; that they give all thanks to Ne’lyrna. Aleia didn’t mind, she didn’t want praise. She just wanted to help. So they gathered the people of the village and had them exit the southern gate, as a gift from Ne’lyrna was waiting to be received. Excitedly the villagers went, all the way praising their generous Goddess.
Aleia, Kog’lik and Valhiki stayed in the village, right at the northern gate.
“Will this work?” Kog’lik asked, “Can you do this?”
He was worried. So was Aleia.
“Let’s hope so.” She replied.
She fell to her knees and placed her hands into the gravel.
“If anything goes wrong, I want you to do whatever it takes to stop me.” Aleia said to Kog’lik, who gave her a nod.
She turned her concentration on the ground, breathing in and out steadily. She felt the tingling in her body, the warmth growing inside of her. The air around her began to swirl, lifting gravel and dirt, causing Kog’lik and Valhiki to shield their eyes.
“Zercith amir ferishk nktal”
The words spilled from Aleia’s mouth as her eyes burned bright blue, surging with power. The wind whipped around her, yanking her hood from her head.
“Ondi estuna kiellis!”
From her hands came an invisible wall that exploded from her, travelling out toward the village. Kog’lik and Valhiki flew backward as the wind picked up speed, hitting the gate with hard thuds before falling to the ground. The wall pulsated repeatedly as it was sent out in waves that covered the entire village. It continued for several minutes before the wind stopped abruptly and Aleia collapsed into the gravel.
“Father!” Kog’lik yelled, running toward an unconscious Valhiki, scooping him up in his massive arms and turning toward Aleia.
“Aleia!” Kog’lik screamed, unsure of what to do next. He took a moment to look around in a panic before turning his face upward and bellowing as loud as he ever had before
“BUNSHIDAAAAAAAAA!”
Aleia opened her eyes to a warmly lit room. The bed she was resting on was plush and soft. She looked around and noticed nothing familiar. The room was of a decent size consisting of stone and mortar walls, a large window hidden behind a cloth shade, and a small brick fireplace.
Where was she? She heard a commotion from beyond the wooden door, and stood on wobbly feet and slowly made her way toward it. Then, she cracked it open to take a peek outside when the door suddenly whipped open and she tumbled into a warm body.
“Oh my dearest! Kog’lik, dear, she’s awake! Finally, she’s awake!”
Bunshida held Aleia up in her strong arms and gave her a tight hug.
“Oh, isn’t it absolutely wonderful? Look around, my dear. Our Goddess, our beautiful, generous Goddess blessed our village, she did. Didn’t she, Kog’lik?”
Aleia regained her footing as Kog’lik walked up to the pair, a giant smile on his face.
“That she did. Welcome back, Aleia.” He laid a big hand on her shoulder and shook her gently in excitement.
“What’s going on? Where are we?”
Bunshida squealed with delight as she ran over to a table that sat several orcs singing a cheerful song with mugs in their hands.
“This is Bunshida’s dwelling.” He said.
Aleia paused before a smile grew on her face.
“It...it worked?”
Kog’lik let out a grand laugh.
“Indeed it did! Well, mostly! The outside looks the same, but the inside, look at how marvelous!”
He was right. The dwelling was twice- no, three times the size it had been. Doors that lead into bedrooms with plush beds and oil lamps and fireplaces all with brightly burning fires within them.
“Each dwelling has at least three rooms, some with many more. We have enough space for a thousand orcs! Maybe even hundreds of thousands!”
He released another loud laugh.
“You did it my friend. You did it!”
Kog’lik gave Aleia a celebratory shake before heading to the table to join in on the song.
She really did do this?
Her plan was to expand the inside of each dwelling without the outside getting any bigger. But, she never expected them to change so drastically. The once simple mud huts became beautiful stone buildings with a dizzing amount of space inside. Rooms came furnished with cotton stuffed beds and fireplaces ready for lighting. However, none of the rooms felt claustraphobic due to how each room had a view of the outside through a beautiful glass window. Aleia had no idea of how she managed to pull this off.
Aleia passed the loud, celebrating table and stepped outside. The air was warm and full of laughter and song. It was night, and the stars were sparkling beautifully in the sky. Aleia slowly made her way to the village center, where she stopped dead in her tracks. She hadn’t noticed that she’d been walking on stone, her mind and eyes being on the beautifully glittering sky. The entire village now sat on a stone foundation. The village center grew three times the size, with the main firepit, big and burning brightly, right in the middle with seats all around it, and tables scattered all around with smaller firepits next to them, all with spits roasting meat on them. Orcs were scattered in every direction, filling the village center that had much more room to spare.
Aleia had frozen in shock and awe at what she had done. At what her magic had done. Her mouth hung open as she took it all in. She turned and found Valhiki sitting at a table, and his eyes met hers. He motioned her over.
She walked through the celebrating orcs, through the clinking mugs of gluknuk, and sat next to Valhiki. His arm was in a cloth sling.
“Chief Valhiki, did I do that to you? I’m so sorry, I never thought-“
“You saved this village.” He said at once, which caught Aleia by surprise. “You gave my people what I’ve been wanting to give for all these years but never could; a bright future.”
Aleia’s eyes swelled with tears as she absorbed what her magic had done. It had given the orcs hope. It gave them much more than that, Aleia decided, as she listened to the cheers that came from all around the village.
Aleia’s body felt weak and her head ached. With all the excitement, she’d forgotten how unwell she felt.
“You must be exhausted still.” Valhiki said. “You were out for a week.”
“I was out for a week?” Aleia echoed in surprise.
Valhiki nodded. “It took a lot out of you, doing all of this.”
Aleia smiled. “It was worth it.”
Suddenly, she felt a light thump on her back and before she knew it, Ghillie was crawling up her side and nuzzling her face, letting out small squeaks of excitement.
“Ghillie! I’m okay, boy, I’m fine!” She laughed, hugging the small rabbit.
He licked her cheeks and nose and couldn’t contain his joy. He leapt around every table, leaving fading streaks of green light behind him as he went. The orcs laughed at his quickness and eagerness to release his excitement in the only way he knew how; giant leaps into the sky, bouncing off table and orc alike. Once he had had his fill, he made his way back to Aleia and snuggled into her lap.
“Your magic is incredible.” Valhiki said, “I’m glad I made it long enough to see it.”
Aleia’s face fell, her smile diminished, leaving a small frown upon her face.
“Chief Valhiki, are you sick?” The question lingered in the air, heavy and uncomfortable. Maybe now was not the right time to ask, but it never seemed right. From the tone of his voice, it sounds like he doesn’t expect to be around much longer.
“Yes.” He said finally, “It’s a disease that I’ve had for quite a long time now. It’s been dormant for many years within my body, but has begun to eat away at my strength in the last couple months. It won’t be long before I am gone.”
The words pierced Aleia’s heart. She shook her head in denial.
“Maybe we can find a cure. Bunshida and I, we’ve been making great progress with our remedies.”
Valhiki shook his head.
“There is no cure.”
“Have you tried?” Aleia said, her face growing hot, and tears swelling, “maybe not cured, but slowed down? We need to try, don’t we?”
Again, he shook his head.
“It’s a disease that cannot be cured. There is no remedy. No stopping it. It will take my life in the end.”
Aleia sat speechless, pain weighing heavy in her heart.
”...But...” She sighed, then shook her head in defeat.
“How did it happen?” She whispered.
Valhiki smiled softly. “It was a trade I made with Ne’lyrna.”
Ne’lyrna? What could he have possibly traded that left him diseased?
“When my wife, PeiLei, failed to conceive, it caused her great grief. She slept all day, and all night she wept. My beautiful PeiLei. She was rotting away. Not eating. Not sleeping. It was months since I had last seen a smile turn on her face.”
Suddenly, Kog’lik’s voice could be heard somewhere within the village center. He was singing in his loud, thundering way.
Valhiki scanned the crowd to find him, but when he couldn’t, he continued.
“So, I went deep into the forest, and stood at the border between our forest and Ne’lyrna’s. We call it Ne’lyrna’s Heart. It’s where she lives. It’s a dangerous place for orcfolk. No sunlight can pierce the canopy. The humidity is so dense, steam rises from the ground. Not only that, but we fear the Suahu Ni’kta. Silent Death. It’s said that it’s Ne’lyrna’s defense. An orc breathes it in and it causes hallucinations, heart palpitations, and ultimately, death.”
Aleia remembers Elyr saying something to her about Suahu Ni’kta, but neither of them delved deeper into what it truly is.
“I decided to risk it. I walked hours into the forest. Exhausted and dehydrated. Then, finally, it opened up and I saw the Mother Tree. It was then I woke up. I hallucinated the entire journey, and was still just one single step into Ne’lyrna’s Heart.” Valhiki began laughing, shaking his head in disbelief, “but I was still just as exhausted and dehydrated as if I did truly make the journey! I had to be standing there in a daze for hours!”
He continued laughing, and Aleia couldn’t help but laugh with him.
“The thing is, although Ne’lyrna is a generous goddess, and kind and true, she is also vicious if she has to be. She still demands respect. She looks into your heart, into your past; at how you treat her forest. She decides your fate.”
His face grew serious.
“She spoke to me right then. Asked what I wanted. If I had come to take her children.”
Elyr has children? Aleia thought.
“I said no. She was there in my thoughts. She could see if I was telling the truth. Of course, I was. I hadn’t needed to speak more. She jumped through my memories of PeiLei. Saw her sadness. Saw her pain. I said I’d do anything for a child.”
Kog’lik screamed out his third round of song, but no one minded. This was a night for celebration. More orcs joined in. Valhiki took a swig of his gluknuk.
“So, what you’re saying is Ne’lyrna blessed you with a child?”
Valhiki shook his head.
“It wasn’t that simple. She agreed to give me a child, but said it came at a cost.”
“All magic comes at a cost.” Aleia remembered Eli saying.
“She said the only way she could give me a child is if she took a thorn from the Mother Tree and mixed ancient Ora orc blood with my own. She said the Ora blood would already be in the thorn, as Ora blood courses through the Mother Tree’s veins, but to collect my own blood, she’d need to pierce me with the thorn so it could absorb my pure blood into it.”
“She said that with the thorn, she could birth me a child of my own blood, but by doing so, I would be diseased. She said she would cast onto me a protective spell that would last for the duration of her life, keeping the disease at bay. She had said she was growing old but it would still give me many years. I’d watch my child grow, and I’d still grow old with my PeiLei.”
“And you agreed.” Aleia said sadly.
“I did. She told me to return to the forest in three days, and when I returned, Kog’lik was there, sleeping peacefully on the forest floor, wrapped in a Erusa leaf. I cried tears of joy. I rushed home to PeiLei and said ‘My love, look! Ne’lyrna has seen our plight and has gifted us a child!’. She sprung from her bed and took the child in her arms. Her tears had dried and she said ‘My Kog’lik. You’ve come. You’ve come.’ And there it was...” Valhiki paused, closing his eyes as if to recall the very moment.
“She smiled.”
Finally, Kog’lik danced drunkenly into view as he happily sung his favorite tune, a sloshing mug in his massive hand.
“Soon, his naming ceremony will be happening. It’s the day I can finally show how proud of him I am.” Valhiki said as they watched on.
“Naming ceremony?” Aleia questioned.
He nodded. “The Ora have a special ceremony where the father passes down his name to his first born son when the time comes. That is always for the father to decide. It is a great honor. It’s saying ‘I am proud to have you as a son. I am blessed.’”
“His first name belongs to his mother. PeiLei passed to him her second name: Kog’lik. Soon, I will pass on my second name to him: Elrukai.”
Aleia’s mind was racing. Valhiki was being eaten alive by this disease, but he did it without hesitation so he could have an heir. So PeiLei could find happiness again. Aleia looked over at Valhiki and saw how proudly he watched Kog’lik. She then frowned at her next thought.
“What ever happened to her?”
Valhiki looked at Aleia and sighed.
“Kog’lik had only fifteen years when she passed. She was picking shells from the beach for her jewelry- she loved making seashell jewelry- when the humans came. I should have been there for her. I should have protected her, but I-” He paused and inhaled deeply. “The humans came and murdered her. I heard her scream for me, but when I had reached her it was too late. I watched as they threw her lifeless body into the ocean. It was Kog’lik that held me back. He stopped me from charging the humans, because he understood that if I had reached them, I’d have been next.”
Aleia let the tears that swelled heavy in her eyes fall, and wiped them from her cheeks.
“I am so incredibly sorry, Valhiki.”
He nodded solemnly.
“I see her in the sunrises and sunsets. She’s dancing in the colors. Her voice sings with the seabirds, and her kisses come with the warm breezes. Don’t cry, dear Aleia. She has not left me.” He paused, focusing his eyes on Kog’lik,
“She has not left us.”