Chapter 11: The Power of Life

Nayleen stood up with a jolt. She hadn’t even went to retrieve her daggers from the wall; she had been too concerned about Sairek. “Who are you?!” She shouted in a hostile tone.

 

 

“Nayleen, calm down!” Sairek called to her from the ground below. She glanced at Sairek for a moment, and then relaxed her tension slowly. She looked at the figure as it stepped forwards. Despite the red glow in its eyes, as it walked closer towards Sairek’s staff which was still a lit with the flame from balinzer. Sairek and Nayleen could see that the figure was just a child; younger then even Sairek. He may have been about only seven years of age; he wore a pale yellow robes, much like that of an acolyte. Black leathered gloves held tight a dark brown book he kept in the center of his chest, holding it with both hands. His eyes were a bright red; as well, his ears were oddly stretched, nearly flat against his head but stretched and pointed upwards. His hair was white-like silver; although finely cut and combed to be even length. It didn’t go past his eyes, and was center-parted slightly.

 

 

 

“I’m sorry… did I startle you…?” The child asked in a small voice; one that was not filled with any confidence at all it would seem.

 

“Uhh… No-no! Don’t apologize!” Nayleen began. “I was just on edge… I’m the one who should be saying sorry… we were just attacked you see…” She then pointed at Sairek. “And his back got badly injured from the battle with a giant slime!” She expanded her arms out to try and show that the slime had been huge. Sairek couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle at it.

 

The red-eyed child blinked at Nayleen before looking down to Sairek who was lying on the ground, and then back at Nayleen. “How did he damage his back? I may be able to help… if you let me…”

 

“Well… The slime had him… Long story short the slime spat him out before it exploded… He slammed into this wall here on his back from the force. He can’t get up right now.”

 

“I was wondering why all his clothes was all soaked and sticky. You may want to get that removed quickly… There is a spring of Ethereal water a bit back into the cave. We can carry him there; all we will have to do is soak him into it and the spine should heal after a short while.”

 

“Ah, so there is a spring! How did you know?” Nayleen asked.

 

“I come here usually once a week to deliver the Ethereal Water to Lamen"“

 

“Wait a second… Just you? By yourself? A little guy like you?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Wow! You must be really strong then, right?!”

 

 

The child shrank a little and blushed. “N-No… The monsters don’t seem to bother me any… They all leave me alone… Although I am surprised the slime was in here. I saw no slimes of any sort last week.”

 

“What about bandits? Nobody has tried to mug you?”

 

“…No… I never had any bandit troubles… All of the bandits just leave me alone too…”

 

 

 

“Guys, if you don’t mind…” Sairek interrupted from down below. Both of the other two looked at him lying on the floor, helpless.

 

“Oh, right… Kind of forgot about you…” Nayleen let out in a quiet mutter.

 

 

A dull look swept across Sairek’s face. “…Thank you for that, Nayleen…”

 

 

“Yeah, you will be thanking me; I have to carry you…” She stated, before walking over, going to pick up her daggers. She sheathed them when she did so, and turned back to Sairek. She grabbed the end of the boy’s hood, and began dragging him deeper into the cave.

 

“Ack! Are you going to drag me all the way there?!”

 

“Well, you’re covered in slime; I don’t really wanna get that stuff on me. Also the other kid is holding his book and it would be rude to ask a total stranger. Also, someone needs to hold the light so we can see, right?”

 

Sairek could only let out a sigh; Nayleen took the silence as a sign he understood, and continued to drag the boy along deeper into the cave.

 

 

 

It was only a 3 minute walk deeper into the cave as the red-eyed child lead the way towards the spring. When they did, the spring was like a deep pool of water. It was small in diameter but it was still quite deep, if at least for the size it was. It was uneven in some areas in the clear water, as it casted a faint glow that allowed the bottom to be seen. It was deep enough for any of them to be able to swim comfortably in it, and wide enough to comfortably soak Sairek.

 

The robed child bent down, dusting any dirt away on an area on the floor and setting his book down on the ground for now. He moved over towards Sairek and Nayleen.

 

“So, what are we to do? Just set him in the water?” Nayleen asked. The other child shook his head.

 

“He needs to soak in the water; not float on top of it. Although, I would request that I take my share of the water first before we dump him in. I am not sure anyone would like the water having bits of goo inside of it.”

 

“Sure, go ahead " I’m sure he will survive.”

 

Sairek let out another sigh. The other child dug into his robes, pulling out an empty glass bottle that would fill up around half a litre. The child yanked out a cork in the bottle, dipped it into the water, letting it fill until it nearly was at the top. Then he simply put the cork back on, and but the container back into his robes.

 

 

“Won’t dipping me in this be polluting the water…?” Sairek asked quietly as Nayleen grabbed both of his arms, and the other child moved to grab his ankles.

 

 

“The gunk will gradually sink to the bottom of the water, and eventually into the earth. It would take a couple days, but it will be clean soon. In a bottle, the stuff would of course just sink to the bottom of the bottle, and that wouldn’t be any good…”

 

“Right… I suppose I’m ready then…” Sairek let out with a breath.

 

“Oh relax, it will be fun! How many princes do you think got to be bathed like this?”

 

“…None...? That is what concerns me…”

 

Nayleen ignored him for now, and looked towards the other child who was waiting patiently for her to be ready. “So, we just gently put him in?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well, let’s do it then!”

 

Sairek felt himself moved over, and then the rush over cool liquid against his fabric. His royal clothing wouldn’t be ruined be something as simple as water; it was battle armor too after all. It went along his back, and then the two pushed him down some in the water, so it submerged the rest of him, except of course his head. Of all sensations, his entire body stung; tingled. It was no way relaxing, it actually hurt a bit where Sairek had to grit his teeth, and the longer he stayed, the worst it got. Eventually he had to close his eyes to endure the stinging sensation. It hurt; but not in a way he was used to. This hurt but in a way it felt like a bad itch.

 

“How are you feeling?” Nayleen asked a bit worried. The sight of him clenching his teeth probably didn’t bode well with her.

 

“…It feels like… something is shocking me… making me itch all over…” Sairek answered slowly.

 

 

“That is your body being shocked by the amount of Ethereal you are being exposed to. It will be like that the entire time you are in there since this seems to be your first time being exposed to this much of it…”

 

Sairek was still gripping his staff; the tingling felt worst there. He had long let go of the Balinzer spell since the water was providing light, however, it seems like his staff was vibrating… Eventually it was so much, he just let go of the weapon, and it floated to the top of the water. He craned his head back a little as the pain continued to get a little bit worse and he lie himself limp in the water. The slime that had been stuck to him seemed to just melt off of him and just floated absently in the liquid. Sairek breathed through gritted teeth; he did not dare wish to know how long he would need to lie like this; it was extremely uncomfortable. He feared the answer would be quite a fair bit longer.

“Is this… lethal…?” Sairek would question the other child. It sure felt lethal; that was for sure. The other child shook his head slowly, although Sairek couldn’t see. He still answered in a verbal tone.

 

 

“Two elements cannot be used to damage each other. The same is for Ethereal. You cannot have water and water slice through water; or fire pitted against fire to defeat one another. They simply just fuse together and cancel each other out. Our bodies; as living creatures, have all of the basic elements in life inside of our bodies. We breathe in Ethereal. What you are experiencing is simply two different Ethereal energies clashing into each other; in this case, your body, and the Ethereal inside of the water. It won’t be much longer; the Ethereal in the water will begin to fuse with your body, and after that the initial shock will begin to die down as it begins to fuse into your body. That will help repair the damaged spine. It should happen any second now, actually…”

 

 

As if right on cue, Sairek felt a strong shock; but it came as quickly as it had come and he didn’t even have time to react to it. The tingling quickly began to die down; and the aching in his back began to soothe away. The child blinked seconds later. He lifted his head up out of the water. It seemed so odd… he felt nothing strange anymore. Sairek looked towards his staff which was still floating in the water. He then looked back to the other boy.

 

 

“What about my staff? It’s crafted out of a root from the Yggdrasil tree. Even in a piece of root, the staff in technical terms is still alive. Would it not be sucking up the energy too?

 

 

“I don’t think so… You see, a piece of root would not need that much Ethereal to survive on its own and it probably gets more then enough from in the air, although it can horde a large quantity of Ethereal. If you tried casting a spell in the water, well, it would just be quicker and easier to mass the energy needed to use the spell.”

 

 

“So how do potions made out of Ethereal work?”

 

 

The child pointed to the water that Sairek was still in. “In this state, it could be used to heal; but one would get extremely sick from it. The sickness isn’t lethal, but you know the shock you have just gone through, yes? Well, imagine that, but in your stomach. And it would take hours, possibly days to sort the energy out properly; because your body is trying to digest it. So while it can be used to heal wounds, it is kind of ineffective…

 

So, the best way to make them effective is to add a few different solutions to it. Watering it down in an essence, but adding a few extra things to the tonic to make it more effective. After all, in essence; this is water; you can mix a lot of things with it.”

 

 

“Wow, you seem to know a lot about Ethereal energy…” Nayleen inquired, as Sairek went to grab his staff. He still wondered why his right hand seemed to have had more shock in it then the rest of his body did, but he didn’t question it. The water splashed as Sairek grabbed the ledge of the pool, and began slowly pulling himself out; testing his back to see if it was actually cured of its trouble. To his joy, it didn’t hurt no matter how much pressure he seemed to put on it. A small smile came on his face, as he completely pulled himself out of the waters. The clear liquid dripped off his clothing, and clung to his skin. He’d need to think of a way to dry it; but at least it was clean now. The child bent down towards the pool, and splash his face and hair with the water; he didn’t dunk his head under the water after all. He didn’t want his face or hair still to possibly have slime stuff on it. He listened to the other two speak as he talked.

 

“I… learned…” The other male said in a small voice. “Father Abbot told me learning about the element of life was important…”

 

“Abbot? So you’re an acolyte of a church?”

 

“Yes, the Church in Lamen…”

 

Sairek lifted his head from the water, hearing the mention of the church. That was where his mother had been buried. He didn’t say anything though, and stood up now, turning himself around. His red cape made a slap as wet cloth met wet cloth as it hit his leg. He made a slight face from the sound. “I guess next step is drying my clothes… But I wonder how we’re going to do that…”

 

 

“Why not just dry them the old fashioned way?” Nayleen soon asked.

 

“You mean hang them to dry?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

Sairek gave her a stern look. “I am not going to be naked for a few hours just to dry my clothes. Forget it.”

 

“You didn’t bring any spare clothes?”

 

“…No.”

 

Nayleen let out a sigh, shaking her head. “Even I brought spare clothes. Because I figured I would actually need to change once in a while.

. You know; being on an adventure and everything?”

 

Sairek sighed as Nayleen spoke. “Don’t patronize me…” He muttered, before giving out a small shiver. Being exposed to the air while being wet was rather chilly. Wet clothes did nothing to protect him from the cold. Actually, it made it worse for him. Sairek shrugged a little, as water dripped off of him. “It doesn’t really matter. It’s uncomfortable but I can deal with it. The air outside of the cave will help dry me eventually and it is kind of warm outside by now. We did get what we came in here for… See?”

 

Sairek’s left hand lifted up the jewel, which had been a dull orange before; it was back to its normal white shine. “It absorbed some of the Ethereal energy while I was in the water. It should be full and good to go now; we can go back and get our stuff.

 

Nayleen smiled a little bit, pleased to hear the good news on that regard. The other child blinked a little, having no idea what Sairek was going on about. The prince turned his head towards the other boy. “…Thank you very much for helping me. May I get your name please?”

 

“…Cyial, of the Grandcross-Crusade Monstary of Lamen.” The red-eyed child answered.

 

“Prince Sairek, son of the deceased Queen, Melina, and son of the King who owns this Kingdom: Kalileo.”

 

Sairek then turned his staff sideways, holding it with both hands across his lap. He bowed his torso forward slightly, and further bowed his head. He stayed there for full three seconds, before moving back in position, taking his ‘formal stance’. Cyial took a step back, his eyes were widened a bit in surprise. “Prince Sairek?” He repeated in a near whisper. “I… never even knew… I have heard your name of course but… what would be so important that the prince would only be accompanied by one other person to Lamen?”

 

“Well, we are going to Lamen… but that’s only for a little break before we continue on into the forest past Lamen… I would like to explain more, but we do need to move quick. We have already wasted far too much time today in here. You are going back to Lamen anyways, right?” Sairek asked the other boy, and he only gave a small shy nod.

 

“Well, we need to backtrack a little bit, so why don’t you come with us and I will explain it along the way?”

 

“If you would have me, I would be honoured…” Cyial replied in a quiet voice.

 

Sairek frowned at his response a little bit. “Please… I’m still a normal person just like anyone else. Just treat me how you would anyone else.”

 

“Oh… okay.” Cyial replied. Nayleen looked at Sairek, giving a little shrug.

 

 

 

 

 

The three of them soon left the cave. Cyial did not forget his book, and was holding it like he had before when the other two had first met him.

 

“So,” Sairek began, as they walked down the path back towards their items they had left when fleeing from the Grotos. “The reason we are going beyond Lamen is because the two of us are going to visit the Yggdrasil tree.”

 

Cyial’s red eyes gave a look of curiosity in them. Despite that, he only mouthed one word: “Why?”

 

“Hard to tell for sure, but the tree seems to be dying. Or, at least something is wrong with it anyways.” Nayleen answered, and continued. “I live right next to a cave that leads down to the core where the tree rests. You could say my parents and I are like the unofficial watchers of the tree… Of course, we’re just simple civilians, unlike Sairek here. Nobody would believe us if we said the tree was dying, and it’s dangerous in those caves, so nobody really goes to look. People only visit the tree on the Holy Magic Century-Year.”

 

“The Holy Magic Century-Year?” Sairek asked, turning his head towards Nayleen. “You never told me anything about that… I heard it mentioned in some books, but never got any specific details on it other then that it is like a tradition… or ceremony on the 100^th year. What is it, exactly?”

 

“Basically, it just many people gathering around the tree on every 100^th year interval. Almost no one goes to see the tree otherwise other then the fact to just see it, or perhaps for some religious reason, but as I had said, its dangerous. This isn’t our first Yggdrasil tree that we’ve had. The trees do eventually wilt out. But they have always planted a seed long before they do, and it begins sprouting before the current tree dies. Our current one is dying but has not yet sprouted a seed. The day that the seed sprouts marks the beginning of a new Holy Magic Century-Year, and then from that day forward every 100^th anniversary of that seed sprouting, everyone gathers up again. All Kings and Queens present on that year go to the tree, I know that much for sure.”

 

Sairek thought for a long moment, before looking back to Nayleen. A stern look was worn on his face. “…The day my mother, Queen Melina visited the tree before she got sick… Was that the day that…?” He didn’t finish his sentence, but Nayleen was able to piece together what he was speaking of.

 

“Well, she did visit the tree for the Century-Year… but… she came back the very next day… that was when she got sick. Everybody by that time had already left for ceremony… She was the only one who went in after. Not even your father showed up, Sairek. I'm not sure if she even told him from what I remember. Your father may just thought she got sick after the ceremony.”

 

Sairek lowered his gaze from Nayleen to his feet as the three of them walked. “…What was it… What was it for…? What made her get sick…?” The child pondered to himself out loud. The prince then shook his head; he didn’t want to think about it right now. It would only make him feel irritated and be filled with distraught. He looked up from his feet, eyes widening a little at attention. “We’re here; where we had to leave our stuff.” The child said as he slowed to a stop.

 

He looked back towards Nayleen and Cyial with his emerald eyes. “Are we far enough away?

 

Nayleen gave a short nod. “We’ll both stay here. Just casual walk up to the stuff, do your thing, and then just walk back. You will be fine then.”

 

Sairek nodded at the instructions, and turned his back around, and began walking towards the items scattered on the ground. Some were too ungrouped for him to get, but the less there was to grab the quicker he could be; he would just have to do the process a few times and get out.

 

After about three minutes of walking, Sairek slowed to a stop at one collection of their supplies. He held his hand out holding his mother’s jewel. The gem shining like it normally did in synch with the items, and soon they disappeared. Sairek buckled a little at the increased weight, but proceeded on to the next set of items lying around.

 

Sairek had to do the process a total of four more times before all the stuff was back in the jewel. He then began walking back towards the other two. He felt a tinge of fear, knowing that such a horrible monster was definitely watching every move he was making. However, Nayleen seemed to be correct about how aggressive it was. He made it back to the two without any problems.

 

“We good to go?” She asked him. Sairek gave a short nod, and then pointed with his left hand the way they came. “Let’s follow the path back that way. That is where Lamen is, right?”

 

“Yes, although there is no way to make it by tonight. If we do hurry, and stay up later then normal, we can make it to an Inn along the road.” Cyial notified, although the two already knew that, Sairek gave a nod. The three wasted no time and walked forwards.

 

 

“So, what do you do in the Monetary? I’m quite curious how the life of an Acolyte is.” Nayleen asked Cyial. The smaller boy blinked with his red eyes, and then offered a small shrug.

 

“I do not know… I sleep in a different room then everyone else does, and I’m the only one who does tasks such as this that requires me to leave town… At least of acolytes that are of my age…”

 

“Why is that? Are you special or something?”

 

“I don’t think special is the right word… maybe different… I’m sorry. I don’t really like to talk about it. The Father Abbot does take good care of me though…”

 

“Okay, I won’t ask if you don’t like talking about it then.” Nayleen simply stated with a warm smile. Cyial gave a small shy smile back to her, and then held the book tighter to his chest.

 

Sairek was curious too. He had never seen anyone with red eyes before. Nor with ears of that kind. The hair color was a bit strange as well, but not nearly as strange as the eyes that glowed in the dark and the deformation of the ears.

 

“So, you wander up to this cave, from Lamen and back once every week?” Sairek asked Cyial. The boy let out a small ‘Mhm’ in acknowledgement, as if it was casual for him to do so. Well, for him it probably was casual. “Then you are sure we can make it to the Inn. But how long into the night will we have to walk?”

 

“We will probably be walking up until around the middle of the night… Unless you want to run, I guess?”

 

“Ah… No, I can’t run very far with these clothes… And all the weight of the stuff is inside this jewel… Running is not an option for me.”

 

“Then walk until midnight it is then…” Nayleen sighed a little, but then perked up. “Well, I suppose it isn’t so bad if we get to sleep in warm beds instead of outside, right? And it does mean we will be making that much more progress.”

 

Sairek nodded in agreement. But he could not shake off the worry in his head that refused to be sat in place into the back of his mind… He needed to know what happened to his mother. Why did she go back, how did she get sick? Perhaps she somehow knew the tree was cursed and dying? But that wouldn’t make sense; if someone had cursed the tree, why wait several years for the effects to show signs? That was assuming this was someone else doing the work; it could have just been a natural thing?

 

 

Sairek kept thinking; the more he thought the more irritated and unsure he felt about the entire situation. One question was leading to another question in an infinite loop that had a vicious grip onto him now. He knew it; it was in his nature to find answers to something he was curious about. And he knew the only way to get the answers was to go to the tree in person. He couldn't help but mentally smile at the ironic situation in a very strange way, it was funny..."

"This is so ridiculous... I have spent years studying the tree... How the tree works, how the tree provides life... I have even tried studying up measurements of the tree; anything and everything... It was the object I fussed the most over in this entire world... And now... The thing I loved the most, may be the very thing I should being fearing the most... I have no answers... no clues at all.

For all I know, the Yggdrasil tree might have been the very thing that killed my own mother..."

Author's Note

New character introducing powers, activate!


He will be extremely important later. Trust me.