Narrative #1: Yyaltra Eternal Chapters 1-2

Cortni Kaufman

Yyaltra Eternal

Chapter 1

            I increased the speed of my march as I neared the market. The sun was beating down on me from above, and although this cloak provided decent protection from sun exposure, it didn’t provide sanctuary from the oppressive heat, and I could feel moisture developing around the back of my neck. I would love to take my hood down and feel the breeze my cloak prevented from touching me, but sadly, we lived in a time where it just wasn’t safe to be so vulnerable as to walk around without a basic cloak for protection. If I wore my Hy’ther skin cloak, which was made from heavier material, I could easily pass for a man, and was able to travel in relative peace. Beneath my cloak, I wore men’s clothing when making trips out of the house. As a woman, I was accustomed to being stared at, but not the way I was today. The stares I felt grew more invasive as the minutes passed, and I found myself all but running as I grew closer to the market. When I finally reached the loosely assembled stands, I let out a sigh of relief. At least here, I wouldn’t be the strangest oddity.

            Making my way through the market, I saw a fire-eater, a sword juggler and a tightrope walker each demonstrating their specialties, and knew my presence would be ignored for the most part while I was here.

I slowed to a normal pace. In front of me were several stands and booths, all claiming to have the lowest prices and the best produce. I looked at the list I had clenched tightly in my hand. Only a few things were written in my hasty scratch, and I knew they wouldn’t be cheap, but father said they were absolutely necessary for his patients. I made my way to the furthest stand and removed the hood of my cloak from my head. The older man before me recognized me immediately and said “Well, I can guess what you’ve come for, and I can only hope I have some in stock today.” I gave him a pleasant smile and shrugged. John walked to a small stack of crates behind him. He shuffled through them for a few minutes before coming back to me with his arms full of what would look to anyone else as a pile of weeds, but I immediately recognized as the herbs I came for.

“John, you always seem to know what it is I’m looking for,” I said, humbled by his efficiency and care for his customers.

He looked at me and smiled gently. “Alese, you used these same herbs for the remedy you made my wife when she fell ill. I would recognize them—and you—anywhere.” His wife had caught an infection that was being spread by the carcass of a dead antelope that fell into the water supply and contaminated it. The outbreak had infected nearly the whole village before John here discovered the root of the problem, giving us an opportunity to find a solution to the issue. His wife, and all of our other patients, made full recoveries thanks to an antidote we concocted using the Murgis root I had come to the market today looking for.

I took the ingredients from him and looked down at the bundle as I began loading it into my satchel. “Hey John, I don’t see any Murgis root. Did you run out?”

He shook his head and looked confused for a moment. “Yeah, sorry about that. My assistant, Dillon, was supposed to bring some in this morning, but he hasn’t made it back yet.” He looked forlorn briefly before switching to a smile. “He’s never failed me yet, though, so I expect him to be back by the end of the day. Would you like me to send him with a package of it this evening? I’d hate for you to make another trip out here just for this.”

I grinned. “I would really appreciate it. We have our hands full at the moment. A large family all ate a bad Grom fish, and they’re suffering the consequences.” I rolled my eyes.

He nodded sagely, grinning slightly. “Tell your father I say hello, and we’ll see you in a few days.” I handed him a small bag of coins, which he eagerly took, before departing from the stand.

I pulled my hood up before I left the marketplace as I felt it again. The strange eyes watching me. I turned around suddenly, positive I felt a presence behind me, only to be greeted by emptiness. I increased my pace, sure that someone or something was following me. The feeling of danger that made my heart throb violently continued to grow for every minute I marched through the forest. The sound of a twig cracking sent me into an all-out run in the direction of the forest. I saw the pathway I would need to follow to get home, when I felt the earth slide from below me and I suddenly found myself plummeting towards the earth below.
I was encompassed in darkness just as I hit the ground.

* * * * *

When I came to, I felt the earth beneath me. I knew I should have felt sore, but I simply felt like I had been asleep for a long time. The only pain I felt was a pounding in my head that wouldn’t rest. It felt like I’d hit it, but some time had passed. I stood up slowly, anticipating sudden pain, but released a sigh of relief when there wasn’t any. Looking around, I noticed that I had fallen into the ravine that sat on the edge of town, and I struggled to remember why I fell, but my head responded with a harsh pain, and I figured I should put that off until later. I felt my head for any bumps, but felt nothing. I started to turn around when I noticed a cave on my right. The entry loomed over me, and I knew I would have to go in there to get out. This ravine was more of a gorge, with sharp, dangerous ledges and no way up.

The ground below me crackles as I enter the darkness. I move forward, grasping the wall so I don’t fall, until the sound of feet rapidly approaching me startles me enough to stumble out of the cave, tripping as I escaped and landing with a thud on the ground. As the dirt rose around me and the wind whipped my hair around my face, I heard a whisper and turned my head sharply in time to see a figure leap into the air and come flying at me. It had gruesome claws extended towards my face, and I felt my body freeze. I knew that if I didn’t move, I would die, but I couldn’t convince myself to move my legs. Suddenly, I saw the light from the setting sun above reflect off what I could only presume was a sword of some sort, and a long one. The blade made contact with the figure leaping towards me, sending it flying in the opposite direction, but it immediately stood up and made as though it would leap at me again. It coiled itself like a snake and pounced towards me. The man with the sword was nowhere to be seen this time, and I felt my body tense in preparation for the impact when my head suddenly exploded in pain.

The sudden pain made my body tense. It felt like something in my head popped when a torrential wind came pouring from around me, slamming into the figure and knocking him onto his side. I held my breath. I couldn’t move. I didn’t understand what had just happened.

I heard a chuckle come from the direction the figure had been flung, and turned my head enough to see the man who had held the sword that saved me standing up, dust falling from his black, assassin-like garb. He didn’t seem to be surprised by the insane winds in the least. He began to walk towards me. My body began to tense again, and I wished the wind would come back, but of course it didn’t.

The pounding of my heart matched the pounding of my skull, and both matched the tempo of his footsteps as he approached me.

“I had hoped the new heiress would be strong, brave, but of course we were given a child.” He sighed audibly. “No matter, I will train you just as the last one was trained."

He looked down at me. Until that moment, it hadn’t bothered me that his face was completely obscured by a mask, a red dragon accented with gold. Being unable to see his face suddenly hit me wrong, and I found myself giggling almost hysterically. His head tilted slightly to the side and I felt he was confused by my outburst, but I wasn’t sure how to respond to him.

He sighed again. “We have a good amount of work ahead of us if you are to assume the role you have been given.” He grabbed me then, hoisting me up onto his shoulders before pulling a long rope from his waist and flinging it around a nearby tree. He tied it to himself and placed a foot against the wall of the ravine. He had to be crazy if he thought he could climb out from this ditch.

“Wait, what role? What are you talking about?” I managed to get out over the chattering of my teeth. This climb was nuts. He was making progress and didn't seem to be exerting himself at all.

He didn't reply for a few minutes. “We can talk about it later, we must get you somewhere safe. I’ll take you to a place I know we can rest safely for the time being.” He continued to climb his way up with me on his shoulders.

I shook my head. “No! I need to go home, I have medicinal herbs for patients in need of treatment. They’ll go bad if I don’t bring them while they’re fresh.”

He was silent again, and I had a feeling he was cursing me for not going along with his whims so easily, and it made me more curious to know what he was thinking. This man in black was a dangerous enigma to me. After a few moments of silence, he turned back to me and nodded. “I will accompany you there in that case. You are only partially awoken, but it’s enough that others seeking you out may be aware of your location now. I’ll protect you, but you must stay by my side.”

I stared hard at the back of his head, the only identifying feature he had. His hair was long, black and straight, reflecting the setting sun nearly as much as his sword had. “What are you talking about? Who is after me? Is my father in danger?” I felt panic creep up on me again, and I willed it to go away. In this position, if I panicked, we could both end up falling to our deaths, and I would have nothing to show for it.

He let out a groan. “You never stop talking, do you? Again, it’s something we can talk about when I have brought you to a safe location. For now, direct us towards your home so we can be on our way.”

I sighed. This would be a long journey back, and this man wasn’t exactly pleasant company. I looked over at him and studied him for a moment. “You seem to know who I am, so wouldn’t you know where I live?”

He pulled us up and over the ledge of the ravine, still not even breathing heavily, and removed the rope from his waist and unraveled it from the tree it had looped around. “For the last time, we can talk about this when you’re safe,” he said, exasperated. He turned towards me, rope in hand. “Now can you lead the way?”

I looked at the rope and nodded before I began to walk east, heading towards the Secile Forest, which was the route to the village my father and I lived in. The pathway leading through the forest wasn’t ominous in the least, but could contain dangers if one wasn’t careful enough. I heard his light steps behind me as we walked on.

Chapter 2

The forest seemed to welcome us as we entered. I maintained a brisk walking pace, remembering I had delicate herbs stashed in my satchel that wouldn’t hold for too long. The man in black matched my pace, while moving with significantly more silence than I seemed to be capable of. The twigs and leaves I stepped on made music as we marched. He didn’t seem to mind the noise, nor did he contribute to it.

As we walked, I thought about striking up a conversation, simply to pass the time, but decided against it. He didn’t seem like he was going to give me answers any time soon, so we hurried along until I saw the lighthouse that sat on the outskirts of the village. Our village wasn’t very large, but had access to the sea and had a flourishing fishing exportation business that kept us afloat. Getting closer to the village, I could see the many small, weathered buildings that had resisted storms and time throughout the years. When we reached the edge of the village, I could spot the home I shared with my father that doubled as a clinic. The village wasn’t too large, and wasn’t as affluent as the others in the region. For the most part, everyone in the village worked besides the elderly. Even the women close to giving birth still worked until the time came. It took the effort from many hands to build our village, and it took at least as many to maintain it. As we got closer to the house, I looked over at my silent companion and wondered again who he was and who he thought I was.

The front door on the two-story wooden building was stained red, and was beautifully engraved with Celatia flowers, a medicinal herb used to restore health. It was the symbol we thought represented our clinic the best. We did our best to restore people to their health and assist them in their daily lives. When I opened the door, a bell from above chimed. It was connected to a thin rope that connected to the top of the door, so that whenever the door was opened, whether the customer was coming or going, the bell would sound. It was a great alert system my father created, allowing us to hear a customer entering or leaving so we would be better able to hear visitors enter the building.

 “Hello! Welcome!” I heard come from the stairs that led to the second floor. I saw a pair of gangly legs clad in cotton work pants coming from the bottom of a pristine white coat. My father had a long, lean face that had weathered long before it aged, and gave him a very sagely appearance. His hair was mostly a dark gray now, but still had the occasional patch of brown. His eyes were a kind blue that had once been very bright, I’m sure, but now appeared both weary and wise. I took after my mother, with her reddish hair, though mine was browner, and her brown eyes. I usually kept my hair back out of convenience. I pulled the hood of my cloak from my head and smiled at the kind face of my father.

“Sorry it’s taken me so long, father, but I was, uh, I was—”

“She’s being targeted, so I arranged a meeting for us. It’s been a long time, Doctor Corwin,” said the man in black. He turned towards me. “Alese Corwin, you’ve until the sun sets to collect your belongings. We’ll leave once you’re ready.” He began to walk away.

I stammered out “But it’ll be night soon! Let’s stay the night here and we can leave first thing in the morning. I’ll pack tonight to ensure we can leave quickly. Just,” I paused to take a deep breath, turning towards him and lowering my voice, “please let me have one last night with my father. I’m the only family he has.”

He looked at me and simply stared for a long moment before simply nodding and walking up the stairs. My father looked at me and shrugged with a peculiar, almost confused expression. He followed the man in black and I trailed behind them.

The man in black moved to the left wall of the common space of the living quarters and crossed his arms as he looked our way. “You should pack now.” His voice was gruff. I couldn’t imagine what had made him turn out so unsociable, but I couldn’t relate.

My father chuckled. I turned to stare at him with confused eyes. Why was he so relaxed in this situation? He looked at me with understanding eyes. “Always in a rush, he is.” He sighed and turned towards the man in black. “I know we’ve talked about this day. The time has come for her to relearn the world through her true eyes, but my heart wavers as I say good bye to my little girl.” His face looked older than I had ever seen it.

The man took a step closer to me. “I’ll have to tell her about what’s to come either in the morning or now. It’s more efficient if I do so now.”

My father shook his head. “I want to tell her myself. I’m her father and an elder, I should be the only person to tell her, but I understand that you’ll need to teach her what I can’t on your travels…” He looked resigned for a moment, as though he knew he would need to say these words someday. He turned to me and smiled suddenly. “I know, Alese. Go pack your things while I catch up with this young man here. I’ll have dinner ready in a bit. The sun’s already gone down. I’ll need to light some lanterns.”

He began to scoot off towards the kitchen when I stopped him. “Wait, father! You haven’t explained who he is! Why would you entrust me to him? “

He paused for a moment before continuing his path, saying “Because he and I are the same.” He walked through the kitchen door, effectively disappearing. I shook my head. My father wasn’t normally so evasive, but it was obvious that the man in black’s presence caused some sort of change in him. I was both curious and concerned, and I wasn’t sure if I should press too hard for information. The webs of secrecy that I thought I might be able to see through just seemed to be so thick.

The wooden beams that formed the walls, doors, and even floor boards of this house creaked as I entered my room. I had a mat made of hay that was piled high with various fabrics that created the illusion of luxury and comfort, but didn’t stop the feeling of being pushed against stones. It did, however, cut the chill the stones constantly emitted. I grabbed a large knapsack made of the same, durable Hy’ther skin, and began to fill it with clothing, books, notebooks, herbs and whatever maps I could fit into the sack. While I packed, I couldn’t stop thinking about what the man in black had been saying. I was being targeted and was in danger, and it was extremely important that we leave as soon as possible or we could find ourselves in trouble. For some reason, my father knew this man, and trusted him with my life. He even said they were “the same,” which made no sense to me. I closed the knapsack, so full it could burst, but I knew it wouldn’t, and left it beside my bed before making my way to the kitchen. I wanted answers, though I wasn’t sure if I was prepared for them, or if I would even get them.

The kitchen was reminiscent of my mother. She hadn’t loved to cook, but both my father and I had been terrible at it. Self-preservation can make a person do something they normally wouldn’t, so she took over cooking duties and the kitchen became her domain. The walls were decorated in colorful pots and pans, flower engravings lined the walls and the fixtures, and notch marks on the door frame from when I still grew. It had been a long time since I had last been measured. The most recent notch was a good way shorter than I currently was, at five feet six inches. I wasn’t terribly tall, but I was by no means short, and that, too, helped me pass as a man when I ventured out. Most people thought I was a teenager.

My father sat at our oval table, which was made by a talented logger who sawed through a tree’s trunk at an angle and produced a long, elaborate looking slice of wood large enough to seat several people at a time. Across from my father sat the man in black, who had yet to take of his mask. In front of me and my father sat a bowl of vegetable soup, consisting of more broth than fillings, but smelling wonderful nonetheless. Every time I would try to bring up what was happening, my father would quietly tell me we would discuss it after we finished our dinner. When I finally put the last spoonful of soup into my mouth and swallowed, I was nearly bouncing out of my seat with anticipation. I felt the importance of whatever was to come weighing on the room, and I craved understanding.

After clearing the dishes from the table, my father sat down across from me and looked at me. “Alese, before I tell you what you need to hear, let me tell you something I want you to hear. Before all else, you are my daughter. That will never change, but this information may change you. It’s necessary that you hear it, though.”

I looked into his eyes and saw my hesitation reflected in his eyes, which only conveyed understanding and patience. “Please tell me. Am I in danger? Am I putting you in danger by being here right now? Who am I?”

He looked at me and sat upright in his seat. “There isn’t any easy way to say this, so I’ll tell you everything I know from the start. I am the great-great-great-great grandson of the founder of the Temple of Yyaltra.” When he said these words, I felt a part of me resonate with them. Yyaltra sounded familiar. I couldn’t place it, but when my father said it, it felt right to hear it. “For centuries, we have sought out and done our best to protect the goddess of the elements, Yyaltra, the one who saved us from the Emptiness and from the Defiler, Corzan, who eats the souls of the living to fuel his dark magic. He reanimates dead bodies at will, and for the past several hundred years, he would use his horrible ability to try to kill the goddess Yyaltra in order to consume her powers and continue his conquest of the world. However, though Yyaltra can die, she can’t be killed. Continuously, every time she has fallen at his hands, she reincarnates in the same form.”

I looked at him, following his story while at the same time not completely comprehending it. “So, what am I supposed to learn from this, father? This story can’t possibly be real. I mean, if I’m in danger and you’re telling me this now, it must mean—” I stared at him hard and he returned my stare, unwavering.

He nodded. “You’re the goddess Yyaltra, Alese. And though I am your father, I am also your high priest.” He took a knee on the ground in front of me. “May you guide us as we guide you, Yyaltra, goddess of the world’s form.”