day 23 / constantly changing / #87
The Tales of Edana Kainda and Maugh Uraka
Living in Valmull was exciting, Being a wizard even more so, but not so much if you are a young, female mage with a broken wand and a know-it-all fire lizard as a companion,
Still, her mentor, Wizard Hansen, had said she would be fine to go home for the wyntherr solstice... provided she stuck to the main road and only travelled during the time of the sun. Following Wizard Hansen’s instructions, Edana hid her auburn hair beneath her hooded cloak and her curves under layers of clothing. Thank goodness it was the season of snow and cold otherwise she would have stuck out like a sore thumb.
“The sun is departing to make way for the moon, Danny.” her fire lizard purred. “Time to find an inn.”
“I know, I know.” Edana snapped, “and stop calling me Danny.” I told you to call me Edana. I am no longer a stripling..”
“You will always be Danny to me.”
“I am older than you and you will do as I say.”
“Fine, fine.” Edana sighed. She wiped her eyes and pulled her cloak about her neck. “ you never listen anyway.” With that, Edana ignored Maugh and continued on to the inn as quickly as possible.
It didn’t take them long and once inside and settled with a room, they went to find something to eat. Edana was starved. Walking all day was exhausting and she was now sorry she had chosen to spend her money on solstice gifts rather than save it for bus fare home.
Feeling sorry for herself, in addition to the food she ordered for herself and Maugh, she ordered some blue sunshine. She hadn’t had any in months and even then only a sip or two: but she knew it it would ease the soreness in her legs and arms, give her a bit of bliss and help her sleep.
SHe feasted and then finished every drop of the sunshine. When she was replete, her face was suffused with light, her muscles no longer ached and she was delighted by everything Maugh said. She had never had a full glass of sunshine and soon began to feel unbalanced and euphoric. she was unused to the feelings and put her head down to get her bearings.
suddenly the room was quiet. She lifted her head to see what had happened but everyone was gone; even Maugh. In her place was a pink fairy with horns coming out of her head. Edana scraped her hands across her eyes and looked again. Yes, indeed. A fairy sat across from her. But how? She shook her head and went to speak but the fairy leaned in close and opened her mouth to reveal fangs dripping blood.
Edana shrieked and jerked out of her chair in fright. She reached for her wand, but it was gone. She turned to run and saw in front of her a forest thick with golden, authumnyl leaves. She stopped short. Confused. Looked behind her. But there was nothing to see but meadows. The fairy was gone, replaced by nature.
Birds were sweetly singing, crickets were chirping and she was standing in the middle of a small path that led into the forest. It was all beautiful and she was no longer afraid, but where was Maugh? How had she gotten here? What had happened to the fairy?
Shrugging and tamping down her confusion, she looked around. There seemed only one way to go - through the forest. She straightened her spine and started walking. At the entrance was a curtain of leaves. She lifted up the leaves and found herself in the middle of a May Grey celebration.
People were everywhere - laughing, singing, dancing, drinking, and hugging. It was so noisy she couldn’t hear her own thoughts. Her head began to spin and her stomach grew queasy. She flopped on the ground disoriented and bewildered. She was giving up on asking “what the hell was going on”. As she sat on the ground, sick and kerfuffled, she made a decision. If she could get herself together, she would just go along with all the hopping. But first her head needed to stop spinning and her stomach needed to settle down.
She leaned over and as she emptied the contents of her stomach, a tall, waif-like elf offered her a kerchief to wipe her mouth and a hand to help her stand. Smiling with gratitude and a sense of relief, Edana took the kerchief and wiped her hands and mouth. Then, she placed her hand in his and with his help, stood… in the middle of a multi-laned highway filled with magicians firing balls of magic at one another. She dodged balls of serpents, firebolts, baskets of bones and buckets of scalding water as she attempted to get off the highway to the safety of the meadow in the background.
“Get out of the way!”
“Move!”
“Are you crazy”
Magicians of all ages, shapes, and heights were yelling at her and pushing and shoving her to the side. As she tried to flee, she got hit with a huge hive of insects and bees, wasps and mosquitoes began to buzz in her ear, swarm her face and sting her. Flailing her arms and screaming in agony, Edana fled from the crazy magicians. She saw a door up ahead and a light shone from inside. She raced to the door and opened it.
It was a temple and inside, a group of clerics were kneeling in silent meditation. They were in hooded robes of the palest blue and holding hands. Swaying gently, with eyes closed, they seemed unaware of her. She snuck in quietly and took a seat in the biggest temple she had ever seen. She reached up to swat a bee and realized not only were they gone but so were the bites. She was grateful, but she was done.
Edana had had enough of things constantly changing on her. She wanted home and Maugh and silence. She was tired and terrified. Why was this happening to her and how could she get it to stop? As she knelt in the temple, the clerics began to chant softly and a sense of calm began to fill her;. She felt her fear ebb and closed her eyes in gratitude.
As she remained still and silent, the volume of the chanting increased. It grew louder and louder. it began to surround her and then to fill her. She tried to open her eyes but they were glued shut. She struggled to stand but was frozen in place. She opened her mouth to scream but no sounds escaped. She was a prisoner within her own body. She began to pray to the most holy one to save her and eventually felt her body break through the mental bonds that held her. She opened her eyes and almost wept at the skeletal faces staring at her from beneath the hooded blue robes.
they were circling her, advancing on her, chanting loud; the sounds echoing through the temple. She made her way to her feet, pushed past the advancing, skeletal clerics and escaped out into the night. Into fog. Just fog.
She stood a minute to catch her breath and saw … nothing. She peered through the thick mist. Nothing. She held up her hand. Nothing. She blew out a breath. Nothing. No matter what she did, she could not see anything. She squinted to no avail and sighed in frustration.
“Danny. Danny” Was that Maugh’s voice she heard?
“Danny, come back to me.” That sounded like Maugh. Where was she?
Edana yelled out in relief, “Here I am, Maugh. Here I am.” But the fog swallowed her words. Maybe, if Maugh spoke again, she could follow the sounds. Edana waited but there was nothing more.
Edana refused to move from that spot outside the temple door. She was certain to take a step would lead her further from Maugh and home. She was certain to run would lead her to another place she did not want to be. She would stay and wait for the fog to lift. Here, at least, she felt safe - even if she couldn’t see anything. She stood, rooted to that spot for what felt like hours and then, in a distance, heard Maugh.
“Oh Danny, Danny. Danny. Danny…” It was Maugh. Edana took a tentative step towards the voice. Nothing happened.
“Danny, Danny, Danny…” Edana took another small step. Nothing. As the voice continued to call her name, she took another step. And another step. And another. And another. When nothing happened, she continued. Another step. Another step. Another.
Eventually. the fog began to lift and the mist began to fade away. She thought she could see something in the distance. she shook her head hard and squinted. Light shone through the fog and the mist ebbed. she dragged the back of her hands across her eyes, the light grew brighter. She scraped harder at her eyes, and squinted... into the face of Maugh peering down at her.
“Where am I,” she gasped. “What happened?”
Maugh nuzzled her face against Edana’s cheek and whispered sadly. “You came back from beyond death. Welcome home.”
