Plurk paste

62 days

18th of Talmas 387

“Halt,” a voice rang out through the forest, stopping Sira in his tracks. Around him the Jael froze, standing perfectly still. Sira craned his neck, trying to see where the voice had come from, but all he could see were trees, stretching up into the sky.
“State your name and intention,” the voice instructed.
“I am Chieftain Hadas of the High Dawn,” the Jael leader said, standing straight and tall.
“And your intention?”
“I am leading the Lord Sira and his companions, who request a counsel with the Great Mother.”
“Your tribe do not wish counsel?” the voice asked.
Hadas shook his head, “We do not wish counsel, but we do ask permission to approach her.”
“For what reason?”
“One of Lord Sira’s companions is gravely wounded, he is close to Sedna’s gates. Without the Great Mother’s help he will surely die,” Hadas said.
“I see,” the voice said, “Wait here.”
Sira looked around, but still could not see any sign of movement. He sucked in a nervous breath as minutes passed in silence, his fists were curled at his sides.
After a few more tense minutes of waiting, a being stepped out into view. It was shaped like a deer, with four long, slender legs, but was covered in dark grey-green scales. A pair of round ears poked up through its shining white mane, and an enormous antler dominated the centre of its forehead, reminding Sira of a curving branch. All four of its dark eyes blinked at them in unison.
“The Great Mother will see you,” it said, one of its white hooves catching the sunlight as it stepped towards them.
Hadas bowed low, with all his people following suit. Sira exchanged a look with Liadan and Prem, then the three of them bowed as well.
“Thank you, Lord Kirin. Please, lead the way,” Hadas said, nose still pointed at the ground.
“Rise, Chieftain Hadas, and follow me,” the Kirin said, turning around and striding back through the trees.
Hadas nodded at his people before following the Kirin deeper into the forest. The rest of the Jael kept a respectful distance between their leader and themselves, but gently pushed Sira and his friends ahead to walk alongside Hadas.
As they walked, Sira noticed the path begin to lighten. Sunlight bathed the forest floor in a warm glow and if Sira hadn’t been so anxious he would probably have been able to appreciate it more. Instead he found himself studying the plant life, which was growing more vibrant and colourful the further they walked. Flowers lined the path - for it had indeed become a path, wide enough for two people to walk shoulder to shoulder - and birds darted overhead. He could even see a sliver of the bright blue sky above them, from between the deep green leaves of overhanging branches.
The Kirin paused ahead of them, standing beneath the beautiful arch that marked the entrance to the Green Mor’s sanctuary. It was formed by two coiled branches that curved and met in the centre, around which a delicate flowering vine had grown.
“The Lady Starchanger welcomes you to her garden.”
The Kirin stepped through the arch and stood to one side, allowing them to pass. Sira passed underneath the arch and immediately stopped in his tracks, staring around in amazement.
“She calls this a garden?” he asked, gaping.
An immense circle had been cleared of the ordinary trees and foliage of the forest. It was carpeted, not with rotting leaves, but with a pristine lawn of vibrant green grass. Directly in front of them was a semi circle of benches, though whether they were carved from wood or grown Sira could not tell. Behind the benches was a backdrop of trees and a wall of bamboo, studded with flowering plants of varieties Sira had never seen before. Curving around to either side of the benches, Sira could see a winding path that meandered lazily through the trees. But again, these were not the trees common to the forest, but unusual ones. Some were perfectly straight, with branches that curved down from the top like a fountain. Others were twisted even more than the immense, gnarled trees of Misr. A few bore fruit, and even they were perfectly shaped, as if they’d been carved from wax.
“This is incredible,” Prem said, slightly breathless with wonder. “There are plants here I’ve only read about on ancient scrolls, or seen in the cavern of Lord Earthshadow.”
Hadas smiled, “The Great Mother’s garden truly is a wondrous place. But we shall have time to enjoy it later, we must hasten now, Daim may not last much longer.”
Sira’s jaw tightened, “Right. Where do we go?”
Hadas gestured down the path to the left, “They meet in the center, so it makes little difference.” He turned to direct the people who were carrying Daim on his stretcher, “Follow me, but do not look upon the Great Mother without permission.”
They nodded, the muscles of their arms bulging as they held on to the edges of the stretcher with an iron grip. One of the stretcher bearers was Oren, he nodded at Sira as he came to walk alongside them. Sira looked down at Daim, who had steadily grown paler with each day that passed. Across from Oren, Dara smiled encouragingly.
“Fear not, Lord Sira. His soul has not travelled through the gate yet,” she said.
Sira gave her a tight smile.
They walked swiftly through the path, stepping from shade to sunlight and back again. In the center of the garden, behind the wall of trees and bamboo, was a dome-like hill. Small trees and flowering bushes dotted its side, but they seemed tiny in comparison to the enormous tree that stood in the center of the hill. The entire hillside was shaded by its branches, which stretched out into the sky as if each was trying to touch the sun. Enormous bell shaped flowers hung from each branch, yellow and buttery.
As they made their way around the hill, Sira saw that the domed shape of the hill had been broken. As if it was a cake with a slice taken out. This empty space extended up into the trunk of the tree, which had been peeled apart like a piece of fruit, revealing a hollow center.
Sitting in this gap in the hillside was a dragon.
She was smaller than Wavesong, but still quite immense. Sira estimated that if her nose was pressed to his armpit, he would just be able to brush the top of her head with his fingers. Her scales were a deep emerald green colour and as she turned her wings unfurled slightly, their tips pressing against the trunk behind her.
Their eyes met, all five of hers staring into his, until Sira felt as if she was looking into the very depths of his soul.
“Bring me the one at Sedna’s gate,” she said, voice ringing out with authority.
The Jael stepped forward, eyes watching their own feet, until they were standing in front of her. Then they carefully placed the stretcher on the ground and took a step back.
“Thank you, children of the High Dawn. You have acted with swiftness and compassion,” Starchanger said, smiling down at them proudly. “It would please me to have you gaze upon my countenance.”
As one they looked up. Starchanger sucked in a deep breath, then blew a gentle stream of air upon the Jael. Sira caught a whiff of jasmine.
“Receive my blessing children, and go forth in peace.”
They bowed and turned, some of them with tears in their eyes. Sira thought Dara looked like she was about to faint from happiness.
Starchanger looked down at Daim, considering him for a moment. She looked back up at Sira, who opened his mouth to plead with her. But before he could speak she had placed her hands around Daim’s body, her clawed fingers cradling his torso gently. She breathed in deeply, her entire chest swelling. Her eyes began to glow, their dark depths filling with brilliant light. Then she breathed out steadily, the air hissing out of her along with a stream of golden light, brighter than that of the sun. A pleasant breeze rippled through the garden and Sira’s skin tingled with magical energy. All around the garden leaves grew impossibly green, flowers even more vibrant in their hues. Above them the buttery yellow flowers curled in upon themselves, rapidly transforming into fruit.
The Green Mor still had her mouth open, particles of light hurtling down towards Daim’s body. After a minute had passed she closed her mouth again, sucking in air through her nostrils. The glow slowly dissipated from around Daim, and then, after a pregnant pause, Daim opened his eyes.
“Woah!” he exclaimed, body tensing as he found himself staring up into the eyes of Starchanger.
Before he even realised what he was doing, Sira had stumbled forward and dropped to his knees next to Daim.
Daim looked over at him, clearly confused, “Oh, hey Sira.”
Sira let out a hysterical bark of laughter, then wrapped his arms around the other man and buried his face in Daim’s neck. Daim let out a startled breath, body going stiff before he returned the hug, patting Sira awkwardly on the back.
Sira didn’t even realise he’d started crying until Daim pulled away slightly, “Hey, what’s going on? Are you okay?” he asked, looking worried.
Sira shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed and tears tracing down his cheeks, and laughed. “You- you idiot,” he said, tightening his hold on Daim and squeezing him. “I thought I’d lost you,” he choked out, voice muffled as he spoke into Daim’s neck.

Daim ran his hands down Sira’s back, “It’s okay, I’m right here,” he said, still puzzled. He looked over to see Liadan and Prem standing a few meters away, both looking relieved. Behind them, Hadas stood in front of the tribe of Jael. “Seriously though, what’s going on? Where are we?”
“This is my garden,” Starchanger said, looking down at them with apparent amusement.
“Oh, I see,” Daim said, “And if you don’t mind me asking, uh, Ma’am, who exactly are you?”
“I am the Lady Starchanger,” she said, laughing outright, “And I have just brought you back from Sedna’s gate.”
“Sedna’s-? Wait a minute, I died?” Daim asked, pulling Sira off him and giving him an incredulous, wide eyed look. “What the hell happened?”
“You almost died,” Sira said, still clutching onto Daim’s arms. “Don’t you remember?”
Daim frowned, looking away and thinking, “Last thing I remember is…” he sat up suddenly, “Nasrin! Where is he?”
Sira shook his head, “He- he escaped. When Hadas and his people arrived. They’re the ones who kept you alive, until we could get here. But Nasrin, he got away.”
Daim scowled, clenching his hands into fists, but was distracted when he noticed how red and raw his left hand looked. He held it up to his face, twisting it around to look at it properly. Then he caught sight of his chest, and the faint lines of scars that traced their way across it. His eyes widened a fraction, and he brought a hand up to his ear, but looked relieved to find it completely in tact. He let out a ragged breath and looked back at Sira.
“Thanks,” he said, not knowing what else to say. He gently extricated himself from Sira’s grasp, running his hands down the other man’s arms and giving his hands a quick squeeze before letting go. He stood up, a little bit wobbly, and turned to face Starchanger.
Daim bowed as low as he could, “Thank you. You saved my life.”
Starchanger nodded, “I am glad you arrived in time, or else even my significant powers wouldn’t have been able to heal you.”
Daim swallowed, painfully aware of how close he had come to death. He turned to face everyone else, “Uh, thank you. All of you,” he said. Scratching the back of his neck he shrugged, “I don’t… well I really don’t think there’s anything I can say or do that can even truly express my gratitude.”
“Just don’t do it again,” Liadan said, smiling.
Daim laughed, grabbing Sira’s hand and tugging him with him as he went to Liadan. He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tightly.
“You’ve got to stop scaring me like this,” she said in his ear, “I’m getting too old to look after you.”
“Nonsense,” Daim said, “You don’t look a day older than when I met you.”
Liadan just snorted, shoving him off her and over towards Prem.
Daim held out his hand to shake, but Prem just tugged him forward into a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay,” Prem said, his eyes suspiciously bright.
“Yeah,” Daim agreed, “Me too.”
Daim pulled away and strode straight over to Hadas. He held his hand out to the Jael, “I hear I’ve got you to thank