Afaris: Shadows on Aora Read online




  Saraf’s prophecy

  Saraf opened his eyes suddenly. He was lying on his back and felt the stone stabs of the street pressing his ribs. The sky was clear and the wind was barely blowing. Numb, he rose and remained speechless when he saw his whereabouts. He was in one of the towns on Aora, but could not tell for sure which one as no single house was standing. All over the place there were ruins. Small fires were burning among the debris, and the streets were cluttered with dead Aorians.

  He stood up, trying to come to his senses and understand what had happened. The last thing he remembered was going to sleep in his bed. Without giving it much thought, he realized he was dreaming.

  He sighed in relief then glanced around. Tens of bodies were scattered on the street; they had typical Aorian white cloaks stained with blood. Most bodies had deep wounds, cuts and missing limbs.

  To his right, a body was leaning on a house wall. It had three large wounds: one at its neck, one on the chest and one above the navel. The eyes were staring into the void to the right hand in which it was still holding a sword. Saraf headed that direction, carefully studying its wounds and trying to understand what had caused them. To the left of the corpse there were three deep marks cut into the house wall. It was obvious that the weapons which had killed the Aorian had made the traces on the house.

  Saraf knelt down in front of the lifeless body and placed his hand on the Aorian’s chest. The wounds seemed to have been inflicted by an animal’s claw, but there was only one species on Aora who could cause such a disaster: the Nymphs, the gigantic bird with four wings and four limbs, armed with sharp claws and an awesome beak.

  The dream seemed to have taken Saraf sometime after a battle between the Aorians and Nymphs, which he found hard to believe, since, the Nymphs despite their physiognomy, were smart creatures who communicated with Aorian telepathically, and the relations between the two dominating species on Aora had been peaceful since the beginning of time, even though they used to keep a distance. What could have led to such a conflict?

  ‘Oh’ Saraf sighed, standing up and rubbing his forehead. ‘It is just a dream.’

  Having had enough of the macabre vision, Saraf tried to wake up. Failing to do so, he pinched his arm. He felt the pain as if it were real, but failed to wake up. Annoyed he slapped himself strongly. The pain seemed real again, his cheek was still numb and his jaw ached.

  ‘It is a vision …’

  He looked around in shock. It was the first time ever he had had a vision in a dream. Usually, they were glimpses into the future or a larger package he was receiving while awake, followed by a terrible headache, but what he was experiencing was totally different. Suddenly, his mind gave a more terrifying interpretation to that macabre scene. It was bound to happen!

  ‘Pandora!’ he cried, but received no answer.

  He started walking fast on the street, careful not to tread on the bodies or detached limbs.

  ‘Pandora, are you here?’ he shouted again … still no answer.

  The vision had to carry a message for him, an ending. He could not get out of it on his own as he no longer was in control in that world.

  He started to run trying to understand where he was, or, better said, where he was heading. A run-down house drew his attention when he saw a huge body collapsed inside it. Reaching it, he realized it was a Nymph carrying an Aorian whose face was mutilated and who was holding a sword. The terror expression in his last days was printed on his face. Stepping among the ruins he noticed that half of the Nymph’s body had had the same fate. The feathers were burnt and his mighty wings showed the bones and some flesh still attached to them.

  Saraf could not understand what was happening. Nothing made sense. The Nymphs could not control the fire, let alone use it as a weapon. Only few gifted Aorians with a thirst for knowledge had learnt that technique.

  He heard a noise to his right, as if somebody was dragging his feet. Saraf left the house and ran to that place. He heard the noise again, slightly muffled by Saraf’s heavy steps. Passing the house corner he shouted again:

  ‘Pandora, is that y …’

  He did not finish his sentence because he realized that was not the person he was looking for. In front of him, at about 20 meters a skinny, dark-skinned humanoid creature had its back to him. The scene was different, too: everything was darker on that alley, around the creature, like a dark mist resorbing all the surrounding energy, turning the little street into a frightful scene.

  Hearing Saraf’s voice, the creature turned around slowly. His eyes were reddish, injected with blood, three horns were coming out of its forehead and bent towards the back, the wide-opened mouth had sharp teeth through which a black viscous fluid was coming out, dripping on the stone stabs and it was holding an Aorian’s body from the neck.

  The strange being approached Saraf slowly. It seemed very weakened, barely standing up, but despite its dying aspect, it was still dragging the body, hissing through its widely-open mouth while taking steps.

  The sound it was making gave Saraf the shivers. It stopped in front of him and with outstanding power threw the lifeless body to the ground. Saraf looked down to the corpse: it was Afaris, his youngest son.

  A massive headache stroke him. He fell to his knees next to his son’s body, screaming in pain. An enormous volume of information was finding its way into his mind out of nowhere, putting him to great torment. When, finally, all thoughts settled down, he stood up. The creature was motionless, studying him.

  Saraf put his hand to his nose, feeling the blood running out of it. His cloak was stained, too. He was too concerned to notice this minor detail so he looked up at the creature. He then realized what the vision meant or, at least, the most important part of it.

  The creature took one step ahead, then another one, faster. It started running towards Saraf at an incredible speed, considering its shabby state. Its fingers were like claws ready to grab him. Saraf did not move, watching the scene carelessly. When the creature was a few metres from him, it dived forward, to charge at its full strength.

  The danger activated all of Saraf’s senses. His hands and feet became stronger, ready to fight and his mind was sharp, and time was his ally, flowing more and more slowly until it nearly froze. The creature was sliding through the air slowly, approaching Saraf’s face; Saraf regarded it pensively. When it was a few centimetres from him he could feel its terrible reek. It seemed death itself.

  Looking deep into the creature’s eyes, Saraf said:

  ‘So, it has begun …’

  Chapter 1

  A dead Nimph

  On the top of the highest mountain of the small planet Aora, bearing the name the Mountain of the First Light, lying in snow, cross-feet and hands on knees, a boy on the threshold of maturity, named Afaris, was sitting and meditating. Just like all the other inhabitants of Aora, his hair was as white as the snow around him, and his eyes deep blue, mirroring his pure soul.

  Even though he was dressed in light clothes, and the temperature was well below the freezing point, Afaris felt no cold. His skills allowed him to bear such temperatures. He could also run faster than any animal, influence the environment and communicate with any other being via telepathy, through his numerous skills. His only limits were imagination or lack of training. Such skills were simply natural on Aora. However, in the rest of the universe legends circulated about the astonishing powers of Aorians.

  Afaris opened his eyes and gazed to the horizon, to the seemingly endless horizon. The sun was hanging on the sky above and it was slowly sliding down off the sky. To his left, there was Ulmaf, his best friend. He was sitting in the snow and meditating. Ulmaf was slightly shorter than Afaris, yet stouter. His long hair went down hi
s back, and the wind was swiping two locks on his face.

  Ulmaf, feeling Afaris’s gaze, opened his eyes and turned to him:

  ‘Have you been up long?’

  Afaris shook his head lightly:

  ‘I’ve just got up.’

  He glanced around and noticed somebody missing.

  ‘Where’s Debiana?’

  Ulmaf looked around searching for his girlfriend. He stood up and saw her behind them on the mountain edge toying with snowballs she was levitating around her.

  Afaris too stood up and shook snow off his clothes and moved his fringe with one hand. As Debiana had not noticed that the two finished meditating, he used his mind to lift off a snow ball from the ground and he it sent flying to her head while Ulmaf started laughing heartily.

  Debiana startled in surprise and suddenly turned to them. She shook her long white hair, while the snowballs continued to levitate around her. She smiled briefly and charged.

  The snowballs levitating around her flew in all directions to discourage the two. One of them flew directly to Afaris’s face, but he ducked effortlessly. Another one coming from the left, aimed at Ulmaf’s head who continued to grin. Ulmaf, sensing it approach him, quickly ducked down, avoiding it in a close-shave. He sprung to his feet again with a playful smile:

  ‘Hey, you miss…’

  He could not finish the sentence as one of the snowballs flying around him took advantage of the moment and hit him in his open mouth.

  Debiana started laughing as did Afaris who had followed the entire scene. Ulmaf started spitting the snow from his mouth. He lifted his head slightly and exhaled all the air in his lungs which, at his command, had gone boiling hot in the meantime and the snow in his mouth melted on the spot.

  ‘I declare myself beaten’, said Ulmaf, starting again to amuse himself at the funny moment.

  Debiana clapped her hands softly, as if congratulating herself, smiling in satisfaction. The snowballs flying around the two dropped harmlessly to the ground.

  ‘Worry not, my dear, for you can turn the tables immediately. Shall we race to the bottom of the mountain, now that you’ve finished meditating?’ Debiana asked.

  ‘Sure’ replied Afaris. ‘We have lagged around for enough, the dusk is here.’

  Even though they were all very fast, Afaris would always succeed to win the races, regardless if on the mountain, field or in the forest. Ulmaf and Afaris joined Debiana on the mountain edge. In front of them there was a steep slope. They could not see too far as the clouds enveloped this part of the mountain. Low visibility made the race even more interesting.

  Full of himself, Afaris told them:

  ‘You two may go first, to balance the odds.’

  ‘As you wish, the outcome stays the same, I’ll be first and you will follow’, clamed Debiana.

  Ulmaf smiled cunningly:

  ‘I may like the view I get from behind you, yet I will go against myself this time and outrun you.’

  ‘This is not a debate contest’, Afaris pointed, ‘come on, start running.’

  The two lovers glanced one at another and, with no warning, dashed into the air, racing down the slope at full speed. Afaris, as promised, stayed behind. He thought about letting somebody else win this time. He preferred Ulmaf.

  In this group of friends there was little jealousy. Debiana was a very beautiful and attractive woman and turned heads around, sometimes even Afaris’s, and Afaris, too, turned her head around. This made Ulmaf feel embarrassed at times. He was not afraid he could lose her, a couple once formed on Aora would stay like that forever, but Afaris superseded from numerous perspectives and he did not want Debiana to have the impression that her lover always came second. He wanted to prove himself in front of her and Afaris to persuade her that he had made the right choice. This was a good argument to let Ulmaf win.

  However, Afaris, in his turn, was jealous. He was not jealous at Ulmaf for his relation with Debiana, but at the two of them for finding one another. They were soul-mates undoubtedly. When would his turn come, he wondered.

  Considering they had enough head start, Afaris dived in from the mountain edge into the air.

  As soon as his feet landed on snow, he directed his entire energy into them to accelerate as fast as possible, before entering the clouds around the mountain. Having reached the wanted speed and getting close to the thick clouds, Afaris focused his attention to his extra-sensorial senses. Visibility almost zero inside the clouds and his speed extremely high, his eyes became useless in these conditions. He had to see what was in front of him via other means.

  Sharpening his senses and using his mind as a sonar, Afaris could easily detect obstacles in front of him, as well as choose the best route to follow.

  At first, everything was easy, he only had to notice the obstacles, the rocks, the ice, and possible sudden height drops. If he fell off a rock by mistake, it took him much energy to restore his balance in the air and muffle the fall. Then, there were trees and other sparse vegetation. A moment of lack of attention, a branch hitting his head and everything would be upside down, from his senses to his balance.

  Briefly after, Afaris reached under the clouds, recovering eye sight. Snow was sparser and there were more and more trees and mountain shrubs, but he still could not spot his friends. They may have been way in front of him.

  Knowing that soon the route would end, once they got out of the forest at the mountain feet, Afaris came to terms that the race was lost. His unhappiness was Ulmaf’s gain, but, from his perspective, he would win in both cases. Anyway, his friend’s happiness was more important than his, if he were to balance them.

  Noticing a mountain ridge rising to his left, Afaris decided to change course towards it. At a high-enough speed, he could spectacularly leap into the air, which would give him the time to glance at what was in front of his and probably his opponents, too.

  Said and done, Afaris headed to the slightly inclined slope and dived from its top, carefully scanning for his friend. They seemed to be nowhere, not on the mountain and neither at the forest line, the finish line.

  ‘Could I have gone past them while in the clouds? I find it difficult to believe I moved so fast and didn’t feel them. I should’ve felt them…’

  Landing after his small leap, Afaris gave up the race and stood still. He was slightly concerned.

  Focusing his mind, he cried telepathically:

  ‘Ulmaf! Debiana!’

  Immediately, Debiana broke into his line of thoughts:

  ‘Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you for ages!’

  ‘Come again? I was behind you, just came out of the clouds.’

  ‘The race finished a long time ago. We knew nothing of your whereabouts, so we started looking for you. We need to show you what we’ve found! Join us!’

  Afaris immediately spotted the place of origin of Debiana’s psychic waves. She was to his left on the mountain, next to the forest. He started running in that direction immediately, anxious to see what she wanted to show him.

  Soon after, he caught a glimpse at his friends, one next to the other and staring at what seemed to be a rock.

  Getting close to them, he slowed down.

  ‘What are you staring at?’ he shouted.

  ‘Looks like a Nymph’, Ulmaf answered.

  Afaris approached them and could see the entire huge animal lying breathless on the ground. He could not believe his eyes. That was a Nymph, indeed, one of the countless creatures of this beautiful and strong species on Aora.

  Nymphs, discovered on Aora shortly after the arrival of the first Aorians, were finite creatures both large in size and beautiful and strong. Their body could reach ten times the size of an Aorian, they had four limbs with two articulations, claws, a huge, slightly bent beak, two pairs of wings and their body was covered with thick, strong feathers.

  Something was beyond doubt: the Nymph had been mutilated, the wings were missing and her body was scarred all over.

  ‘What do yo
u think happened to him?’ Debiana asked.

  ‘I can’t tell’ Afaris answered, ‘but he seems to have been attacked and slain.’

  ‘By whom? Who would do such a thing? And on top, why? Ulmaf continued surprised at Afaris’s answer.

  Afaris became thoughtful, the case was very strange. On Aora, there was a ban on slaying a finite being, regardless of the situation. Even the Nymphs respected this Aorian law, with small exceptions: once every few generations, a tournament was organized in which Nymphs fought each other. Nymphs who lost a duel moved on, until the final battle, to death. The defeated Nymph represented the passing from a weaker to a stronger generation. But this show was organized in due time, attended by thousands of Nymphs and forbidden to Aorians. After the battle, the body of the defeated Nymph was sunk into the Lake of Mirrors, also known as the Nymph Cemetery, on the other side of Aora.

  However, this was definitely a murder. A defiance of the strongest beliefs of beings on Aora.

  ‘We must go tell my father’ Afaris informed them.

  ‘Do you think it’s connected to his suspicions?’ asked Debiana.

  ‘No idea, anything’s possible. One thing is certain, if the Nymphs believe that an Aorian did this, then our friendship is in great jeopardy.’

  Even though the Nymphs were speechless creatures, they were highly intelligent and well organized. They had learnt in time, like the Aorians, to communicate using brain waves, telepathy in other words. For countless solar cycles, Aorians and Nymphs had lived peacefully, in mutual respect. But this peace was now jeopardized.

  ‘Let’s get going, there’s no time to waste’ Afaris spurred them.

  ‘What shall we do with it?’ asked Debiana.

  ‘No idea, we’d better leave it here and tell Father as soon as possible. He’s the most suitable to decide.’

  Apart from the mysterious corpse of the Nymph, another strange question tormented Afaris: what had happened during the race? How had his friends managed to finish the race so quickly? It was as if he had been stuck in time …

  Maybe his father could answer that question, too.