Afaris: Shadows on Aora Read online

  ‘You remained silent just like the others …’

  Silence bestowed on the two. Afaris did not want to be the first to talk. He knew his father had no wish to share his burden which obviously pressed his soul harder than he could grasp.

  ‘Some years ago, on a regular day, I sensed something new, a disturbance of energy around us. At first, I did not know what it was so I continued observing. As the nature of this energy took form, I started negating its existence.’

  ‘How can you negate the existence of something you could see was there?’ Afaris asked.

  ‘Strange as it seems, but it was only recently that I understood it myself. This new energy is dark and foretells nothing good. Contemplating it I only perceived death and destruction. Grievance and despair, nothing else.’

  Saraf’s words were deep, but Afaris continued to listen to him interested, as they were running in the forest.

  ‘As time passed, this energy was becoming more and more prominent. I came to terms with the fact it was growing, becoming stronger and stronger. Then I understood something even more concerning: it is closing on to us.’

  The two left the forest, and in front of them stood the Mountain of the First Light. Afaris waved to his father to follow him to the left of the mountain, where Debiana and Ulmaf had found the Nymph.

  ‘But what is this energy?’

  ‘I could not say for sure, but my panic started after the last vision. I saw our cities burnt, our kin to the ground, breathless and torn to pieces.’

  The gruesome landscape painted by his father matched the Nymphs remains perfectly. This gave him the shivers. Afaris kept listening to his father in silence.

  ‘I’ve told my advisors, I’ve told my children and even the King of Nymphs. Nobody wanted to listen to me, they all thought I was losing it, that it was impossible. The problem was I had no argument except for that vision, and they had solid reasons, that we were the strongest creatures in the universe, that nobody, no other civilization and not even the Nymphs could start a war against us. Apart from our force, they have other interest. I have tried to impose my point of view, unsuccessfully.’

  ‘But you are a Prophet! How can they not respect this? You word weighs more than anything’ Afaris encouraged him.

  ‘The only person who believed me is your mother, Afaris.’

  ‘I believe you, too.’

  ‘I appreciate and hope it is not too late.’

  The two arrived at the Nymphs lifeless body. They stopped and Saraf started to analyse the remains, whispering something Afaris could not understand with his ears alone. Sharpening his senses, he started following his father’s words, but could only distinguish one sentence:

  ‘I hope this works, I hope this works ...’

  ‘What do you think?’ Afaris asked him.

  Saraf was standing quiet and kept staring at the poor creature.

  ‘Tell me, Afaris, what do you see?’

  ‘I see a Nymph who died in a violent way, he was probably slain.’

  ‘Right, now turn around’ Saraf advised him.

  Afaris, slightly puzzled turned his back to the Nymph and his father.

  ‘Now try to pretend you have forgotten everything and allow me to tell you what I see. I see a Nymph which was torn to pieces in the most brutal way possible. His wings were torn and nowhere to find, his feathers are dark and the soul is lost for good. Do you believe what I am telling you is true?’

  Afaris was standing and listening to his father’s words, trying not to think about what his eyes had seen, but give life to Saraf’s words. Even like that, his father would have never lied to him.

  ‘Even though what you’re saying is terrible, yes, I believe you.’

  ‘Good, but will you believe? Will you see what I see? Will you feel what I feel?’

  ‘No …’

  ‘That is exactly my point. This is the reason why for so long I have negated that energy which was so obvious. This is why nobody listened to me when I wanted to warn them. For it is so terrible that we all preferred lying to ourselves to telling the truth.’

  What Saraf was telling him made sense and was a very plausible explanation, yet Afaris could not understand the phenomenon perfectly.

  Saraf joined Afaris who continued to weigh and analyse his father’s words. He placed his hand on his shoulder and told him:

  ‘This is the first tangible proof that energy does exist. Unknowingly, it is flooding our body, mind and soul and pouring fright poison into our veins. It disturbs our judgement and reason and makes us vulnerable. Do you see what I mean?’

  Afaris nodded.

  ‘What are we supposed to do?’ he asked. ‘How can we protect ourselves from this energy? And, on top, what has it got to do with the Nymph? Could it have affected somebody’s thinking to that extent so that they committed such atrocity?’

  Saraf was standing still listening to the Afaris’s question row and watching him with pride and hope. Even if their situation was frightening, he smiled:

  ‘You are asking the right questions. That means you have understood everything I said. Everything in its time, however, as for the Nymph’s death, I could not give a precise answer, but his death will most certainly create great difficulties in our relationship with the Nymphs.’

  An idea concerning the matter of diplomacy occurred to Afaris:

  ‘Let’s hide him’ he said. ‘Thus, until we find out exactly what we’re dealing with, we can avoid an unwanted conflict with the Nymphs.’

  ‘You’re right in a way, that’s not your reason and discretion speaking, but the poison I mention. You want to hide, deny.’

  ‘I don’t want that, we’d better...’

  ‘We had better what? Hide the truth from everyone, be just a couple of people aware of what the future has in store for us? My dear, the war has already broken out and the fewer we are, the more vulnerable. We must assume the risks and try to persuade Aorians and Nymphs that this dark energy is real and attacking us. Maybe, maybe, this unfortunate matter can turn into a blessing. It can be the whistleblower and they will start listening to me.’

  Afaris could not say whether he agreed with his father’s plan or not, but respected his wisdom and, therefore, agree with a nod, while holding his thought.

  ‘Anyway, they will soon notice he is missing and start searching for him’ Saraf continued.

  ‘Well, tell me how I can help you, what you want me to do.’

  ‘We need to find the Nymphs and announce them, but first, please take me on the route you took while coming down the mountain.’

  Afaris had already forgotten the strange event that occurred during the race.

  ‘Sure, but what has it got to do with the Nymph? Why is it so important to you? I don’t understand…’

  Saraf looked at the sky, hands on hips.

  ‘Hmmm’ he mumbled.

  He looked down, staring Afaris in the eyes:

  ‘I do not want to lie to you, so please do not force me to. I have countless suspicions regarding the prophecy, and they are of utter darkness and I do not want to put you under the worries and stress pressing down on me every day. When the time is right, I will share it all with you, for the time being it is better this way.’

  His answer was not satisfactory at all for Afaris, but Saraf’s words had been too firm for him to hope getting any explicit answers.

  ‘Come on, let us go back before the Nymphs find the corpse. You know well they are fast in presupposing.’

  With no further ado, Afaris urged his father to follow him up the mountain. Even though he could not see things as clearly as Saraf, he was aware the situation was nasty. He did not care he was running too fast or that he risked hurting himself. He was running his fastest, following the route taken earlier, upwards, to the peak, together with Saraf.

  Afaris was attentive to follow his path step by step, turn after turn, even if this requested additional effort. Running on the mountain was hazardous even during the day, let alone at nigh
t. His senses were sharpened to the maximum.

  All this time, his father made no sound, and then said:

  ‘Slow down!’

  Afaris came to a stop and turned to him and he could barely see him; instead he felt where he was. A bit higher, the clouds were turning around the mountain, bringing along the cold air.

  ‘Continue climbing, but slowly’ Saraf told him.

  The two continued climbing the mountain. As he was more at ease, Afaris focused on feeling what his father was feeling, but did not know what to look for. Soon after, they stepped into the clouds. As they were going up, Afaris was feeling the cold more and more acutely, deeper than when he had stood on the mountain top meditating.

  All of a sudden, a loud cry came from behind them and curled their blood. The echo of the cry continued to strike them again and again…

  Saraf and Afaris stood still and looked into the direction of the cry.

  ‘They found the body’ Saraf said.

  Once more, the cry hit the mountain, louder than the first time. Then other cries came from the mountain feet.

  ‘What do we do?’ Afaris asked his father.

  ‘Continue climbing and we will see when we return.’

  ‘I have the goose-bumps’ Afaris confessed.

  ‘Yes, me too…’

  As they were strolling up the mountain, the cries of the Nymphs continued, weaker and weaker, until eventually they faded out. Afaris thought of the worst. Luckily, his father was with him and he knew what to do. Had he been alone in the carrousel of these gruesome events, he may have panicked.

  ‘That’s enough’ Saraf said.

  Afaris stopped.

  ‘Do you feel the cold, too? Saraf asked.

  ‘Yes. It’s very cold, much colder than when we were on the mountain earlier. I think it’s because of the clouds and because we’re moving slowly.’

  ‘Are we?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Afaris asked him.

  Saraf shook his hands, raised them to his face, holding them together, and then threw them to one side. Suddenly, Afaris felt the clouds around them separate and leave the mountain at his father’s command. The sky cleared and little light from the stars descended upon them, allowing them to distinguish one another out with the naked eye.

  ‘Do you feel that?’ Saraf asked.

  ‘What? I feel nothing.’

  ‘Exactly, it’s as cold as before.’

  Afaris stared at Saraf. He was lost for words, he had no idea what he wanted to show him.

  ‘I don’t understand…’

  Saraf sighed softly. He did not know how to explain it either.

  ‘Outside it is warmer than we feel, and the cold is only in our mind.’

  ‘Are you sure? I mean, there’s snow and ice around us, though.’

  With no warning, just like a wave hits the shore, they were struck by a wave of hot air. But this was impossible. Saraf was in control of the weather and the wind could not reach them.

  ‘Do you understand now?’ Safaris asked him and Afaris nodded. ‘We’re surrounded by a strange energy.’

  Afaris shivered at the thought that they were standing in that invisible poison. He was, however, fascinated by the broad range of things his father could sense.

  ‘It is the same energy you told me about?’

  ‘I am afraid it is. It overflows in this place, somehow, from somewhere…’

  Saraf sat down in the snow, his back towards Afaris and the mountain and took his meditation position. Afaris, too troubled, decided to fiddle with snowballs as Debiana did, to relax, while his father was busy with his doings.

  Waiting for Saraf to finish his meditation, Afaris started to feel like leaving. That cold shiver continued to press him and give him the chills from time to time. At least, he was starting to perceive that energy better. It was indeed strong and prominent, but his thoughts did justice to Saraf’s words. He wanted to leave, run, even leave his father there. He did not know why, but something from that energy was driving him away.

  As if he was not tensed enough, his father woke up from the meditation, screaming. Afaris’s blood curled.

  Saraf was breathing hard, panting, and then sprang to his feet.

  ‘Are you alright? What happened to you?’ Afaris asked. ‘What did you see?’

  ‘I do not know … I cannot describe it, but I felt a presence behind me, a very strong presence. At first I knew it was not real, but then…’

  ‘It’s just me, there’s nobody else.’

  ‘I know. I think I had a vision and thought it was happening right now. Somebody intended to kill me.’

  This was too much, Afaris started wishing to return home. He had never missed the bright stones in Saraf-Menom as he did now.

  ‘Let’s go back, please…’

  ‘Yes, that is a good idea’ Saraf said.

  As they were going down the mountain, Afaris was growing worried about the unavoidable meeting with the Nymphs. If the trip up the mountain had been frightful, it was no match to an encounter with an agitated Nymph, let alone an entire horde.

  ‘What shall we tell them?’ Afaris asked.

  ‘Let me do the talking. You just sit behind and open your mouth if you are certain you are telling them the right thing.’

  It was obvious, he was expected to stay behind and say nothing.

  Reaching the mountain feet, the two started to make out the bright red colour of the feathers of the Nymphs’ gathered around the corpse. They could even feel the anger. Suddenly, sensing their presence, one of them screamed sharply:

  ‘Saraf!’ the Nymph shouted in the thoughts of the two Aorians.

  Chapter 4

  Saraf unleashed

  Saraf was approaching the Nymph who had summoned him fast. He was one of the biggest and strongest of those gathered there, a ferocious, wrathful male.

  ‘What happened to my son?’ the Nymph cried, and the other Nymphs made a sharp sound behind him, in solidarity.

  Saraf said nothing. He waved Afaris to stand still, while he moved on.

  ‘Who killed him?’

  The Nymph’s psychic voice spelt strength and wrath. Afaris feared things would degenerate. After all, it was just the two of them, at night, on the mountain in front of a hoard of angry Nymphs. Just one, four times bigger than them, could be a deadly opponent. He trusted his father’s forces, though he had never seen him in a fight.

  ‘I do not know’ Saraf answered in a loud voice, so that all Nymphs could hear him.

  Their screams echoed in the valley. Among the thoughts conveyed, Afaris and Saraf could read instigations like ‘He’s lying!’ or ‘They’re guilty!’ It was unbelievable how a petty incident could jeopardize the peace which had reigned between the two species since the beginning of time.

  ‘I think you do know! What are you two doing up here so late? Right here … in this place?’

  Saraf remained silent, just a few feet from the Nymph who was looking down on him while breathing through his open beak.

  ‘You are quick in presupposing, still we have got nothing to do with this incident.’

  ‘Lies! I can see it in your son’s eyes, you’re hiding something!’

  With no further warning, the Nymph tried striking Saraf with a lateral blow with its right limb claw, but, faster than the Nymph, Saraf blocked the blow lifting one arm and generating an energy shield. The Nymph continued to attack him, sending blow after blow or trying to grab him in his beak, but Saraf evaded every attack either by dodging or blocking strikes, but never retaliating.

  The other Nymphs were screaming, some of them taking off and overflying the two, undetermined whether to support the Nymph or merely watch the fight.

  ‘Stop or else we will do something we will both regret later!’ Saraf shouted to his adversary.

  ‘You killed him! Nobody else!’

  Driven by the Nymph’s anger, his kin joined the fight. The Nymphs were flying around Saraf, trying to deliver a strong blow while flying down. Ano
ther one landed behind him, in an attempt to corner him. Yet, Saraf was much faster or more cunning than them. The blitz attacks he evaded were reaching the soil, raising dust which gradually reduced visibility.

  Saraf considered for a moment building a full energy field around him and Afaris, to protect them both from any attacks, but this move would have agitated them further and the goal was not to win the fight, but stop it amicably. And then a crazy idea crossed his mind, the Nymphs sought revenge, and he was in their way. Even if their conviction was unconceivable, he had to give a try.

  The fierce male seeking to avenge his son was readying himself for a new strike with the right limb claws. Saraf noticed the intention and understood this was the right time. He strained, lifted his hand to block the blow, without activating his shield.

  The blow was so strong that it shattered the arm bones and propelled him to one side, he fell to the ground, his arm torn, few broken ribs and bathing in blood.

  The tactics worked, though not entirely. The other Nymphs ceased the attack, but the male headed for him, determined to finish what he had started.

  All this time, Afaris watched helplessly the fight from afar, not knowing what to do. He knew the blow his father had received was a trick, but consequences were more terrible than he had expected. What could he do, anyway? He could not cope even with the smallest Nymph.

  Saraf stood up shaken and in pain to fight the Nymph, but preserving his defeated posture.

  ‘We are not accountable for what happened here. We are here with other business’ Saraf shouted.

  ‘What other business?’

  The answer to this question was difficult, especially since most people on Aora considered him a lunatic. The truth would have only fuelled the conviction that he was lying.

  ‘I cannot tell you right now, but I swear on the light of my eyes we had nothing to do with this incident!’

  Saraf’s answer proved not at all satisfactory.

  ‘Do you know what it means for a father to lose his child? You will find out!’

  The Nymph pointed his beak to Afaris, and two other Nymphs quickly caught the message. They dashed to him, ready to charge.

  Afaris, grasping the imminent hazard quickly raised several stones with his mind, not knowing what he wanted to do with them. Maybe if he focused strong enough he could cast them strongly enough so as to call them ‘strikes’. Yet, one Nymph was strong enough to break a tree into two with a simple blow, so, any attacks he could consider were already labelled ‘failure’.