Kestrel's Journals: The Sealed Gate of a Sorrowful Past (18)

It was about an hour later when I sensed my companions approaching. I stood slowly to meet them before we moved together to the longbow to paddle slowly towards the Herald. As Meli mentioned the soul-link, I placed my thoughts forward that matched hers.

“It is sensible as both are strong leaders.” I remarked gaining me a sigh from Meli.

“You should have stayed and helped since one possibility was brought forth that has even me worried.” Meli commented. This peeked my curiosity waving her to continue. “Since both leaders are soul-linked, each group will become closer which could result in more soul-links.” she explained slowly. I could see she judged each words she used for the most effective explanation of her worries. I hummed back scratching my chin with one hand while guiding our longbow with the others. Sert had been acting as engine rowing in a slow rhythmic pattern towards the Herald. “Is this a possibility?” she asked quietly.

“Yes, a possibility but not an assured outcome.” I replied slowly. “There will be a higher change that a small portion of the dragons will link with human but it would be for a purpose.” I started explaining. “Ice dragons would link to equal rank such as leader to leader maintaining a balance between both societies.” I continued casually. “If the villagers and dragons truly get close enough, then it might become natural for soul-inking to happen to maintain the close-knit structure of the area.” I concluded with a shrug.

“Time will tell but I did mention having a squad to research this matter mostly to understand the soul-link better.” Meli returned softly and hesitantly. “That is the proper procedures in this case, yes?” she added quickly and nervously. I nodded slowly.

“It is rare enough to require a study of it especially if the possibility of have an entire village of humans soul-linking with dragons.” I admitted. “As long as they do not interfere it happening or not happening.” I added with a shrug.

“I will make sure they understand this fact before requesting our Holy Highness to make it happen.” she returned with a giggle. Sert chuckled at this as he rowed and nodded. “And I am still amazed that we discovered the only two soul-linked human and dragon pairs.” she continued still smiling.

“As the historical listings of Atlantis records it.” I returned. My mind was only half on this topic, already slipping into the thoughts of what I was about to do.

“Would that mean there are more humans linked to dragons than those two?” she interjected catching the slight hint in my words. “Through the Heartstone, Holy Queen Annianka knows all of history and she knows of no other soul-linked humans.” she reminded me slowly and tentatively.

“Even the great Heartstone of Atlantis does not see everything, nor the reality of what it does see.” I answered under my breath in a near whisper. I was not thinking or realizing my words knowing they would eventually report them to Annianka. Being only the three of us present, I had slipped into a more casual speech pattern as part of my mind raged at what I was about to do. We were close to being in earshot of the sailors on the deck of the Herald.

“It might be best if we discuss these matters in private once we are home again.” Sert suggested. Neither of my companion seemed to noticed my words but I could see them in their mind as a passing comment without value presently. A momentary glare from Meli had him whispering to her which calmed her down quickly. We attached the lines from the deck to raise the longboat before climbing up the rope ladder to board. With no other word, I retired to my cabin to continue preparing myself for what will always feel like a betrayal towards my half breed brothers and sister from that first deistic war.

A soft knock on the door told me we had arrived. I moved to join my companions on the deck as the sailor shimmied the ship in place close enough to the frozen peak of land. While the deckhands with frozen hands fought with the gangplank, the edge of the blizzard touched us. We stood their in thick furs ready to move.

“We could hold up under deck until the storm passes.” captain Destine suggested. She had just come to join us while looking as chilled as her sailors.

“We have no time to wait and this storm will not abate.” I dismissively replied. Meli and Sert scanned the desolate Antartic island as their eyes picked out the unseen path we would be taking to reach the cavern in the central mountains. She shrugged before continuing her patrol checking on her sailors.

“The land tells me nothing else has made landfall in a very long time.” Meli whispered to herself.

“No signs of life as far as my eyes can see.” Sert added with a shiver.

“Then we should best hurry before it changes to the worse.” I commented back. I turned towards the sailor still fighting with the gangplank. “Allow me.” I stated in a commanding tone. The plank suddenly came to life in their hands. It jumped neatly into place as I stepped forth upon it. I heard the sigh from Meli as their footfalls sounded following mine as we strode off the ship into the storm. “We will return before the storm ends.” I called back to captain Destine. “Hide our trail, Sert.” I ordered in a whisper to him. “We don’t want any wayward sailors finding what we are doing here.”

“As you command, sir.” he replied without looking at me.

“And we are here to verify a sealed gate?” Meli asked casually. Her eyes roamed over the terrain without seeing anything but whiteness.

“Yes.” I exclaimed. I had not stopped walking as they followed in my wake. The blizzard split before us as we progressed forward. As the storm hide them from view from the ship, Sert pulled out and dragged a weighted net behind us. His trick combined with the blowing snow behind us returned our trail into undisturbed landscape. No words were wasted during our three hour trek while I knew the images they imagined seeing in their minds. I used this silence to focus my mind on what I must do without sharing the details to my companions. They may feel or sense the event but would not raise a finger in this action of reinforcing the seal upon this gate.

Every thousand years I return to this place with only one purpose, but now I know what sits behind the sealed first chamber. I held my anger at bay knowing that I can do nothing to change this fact. I did reminded myself that, with or without a body, I have came here every thousand years since slightly after the war between the Old Ones and the Ancient Ones ended. The ending of their war had caused this monstrous creature which could not truly be defeat entering this world. I found this place not knowing why such a strong energy already sat here and sealed it away from the world. Every millennium I returned to verify it and recharge it for another thousand years. It would be a different kind of event from this moment on knowing who sat imprisoned behind this beastly creature. The one thing both the Old Ones and Ancient Ones feared the most in all of existence: the half breed children that were formed during the war and far before that event.

As we reached the base of the mountain seeing the cavern entrance, clips of chimes and other wind instruments blended softly with the wind. They must have felt my tumultuous inner emotions as they called out with music to me trying to soothe my ire. The multitude of instruments played clearer as I reached for my ocarina. My gloves felled to the icy snow covered ground as my instrument moved to my lips. Meli and Sert looked dumbfounded around us before understanding dawned in their mind seeing my ocarina in place. Tentative, slowly, with tears burning my eyes, I started playing unable to prevent my mixture of emotions pouring into my notes creating the base of this unearthly symphony.

My music surrounded us before flooding over and into the land itself. The greatest and most skilled bards of Atlantis could equal this effect but the strength of so many warring emotions expanded and sculpted each note into a resonating magical sparks. I knew Meli felt this building of magical essence into a storm of emotional power to rival all Atlantian bards playing together. Sert was looking around for intruders feeling nothing of the magic directly but hearing the replying notes rising around us. Flutes, chimes, pipes, and a multitude of other instruments known and unknown at this time in this world added their voice turning this into a symphony, a dirge, releasing all the emotions trapped deep behind the second seal. Tear rolled down Meli’s and Sert’s cheeks as they felt the sadness claimed by the song we weaved from them below ground and me above ground. As our dirge reached it’s culmination, I ended it with a thrill of slowly played final notes of our long overdue symphony of sorrows and regrets.

“My brothers and sisters can finally know that I still am standing for them and remembering all of them.” I whispered with the ocarina still by my lips. I lowered the ocarina and stored into my chest pouch before crouching to retrieve my gloves from the frozen tundra. Only the sounds of the winds from the blizzard surrounding them could be heard now. I gave my companions and myself a moment to rub away the half frozen tears from our faces.

“Still clear, sir.” Sert reported in a hushed voice. “Very nice tune but too sad for my liking.” he added softly with a wry smile. With a deep chuckle, I stopped Meli from slapping him for his comment.

“Once we get home, I will play something livelier for you at the proper time.” I returned. We slowly starting moving forward towards the opening of the cave.

“What exactly was that?” Meli asked suddenly. She had stopped us just inside the cave entrance.

“It is the dirge for children lost in the wars before time began.” I stated oddly calm. “My siblings that were not as lucky as I have been.”

“Can anything be done to save them?” she returned tears still sparkling in her eyes. She had felt all of it unlike Sert who is blind to magic and deft to the subtle emotions that had filled the air around us.

“Nothing can save the long dead and Forgotten Ones.” I snapped back. I could not hold back the anger at my own impotence at being unable to help them. “Let us just complete this task and head home quickly.” I added turning away. My footsteps were swift and sure at time forcing them to keep pace with me until we reached the point they needed to wait. In Meli’s mind, I felt she believed I could save them, some how, but held back from doing so. The silence between us was a physical pain for them by the time we reached the carved inner archway where no light could breach. I gave them a hand signal for them to stop and wait at this archway not allowing my voice to escape and betray my emotions.

With a deep breath, I stepped trough the archway disappearing in the perfect darkness beyond. My feet continued marching forward in the darkness. Each footfall matching the one I did every other times I visited this passage of black. I reached the far wall within the half-hour of absolute darkness. I touched the wall with a single hand bringing the swirling mystical glyphs alive, glowing in the symbols of those that fathered the Old Ones and Ancient Ones. This had been written by my own hands a million or more years ago to keep this dreaded monster from destroying everything in this world. I fell to my knees before this barrier that I cannot remove to free them without risking the end of the world.

“If I had known my brethren.” I whispered. Tears rolled down my cheeks. “I would not have made you trapped behind this most foul creature.” I continued as tears flowed in rivulets down my cheeks. “Little Galeä, I swear that one day you will walk free on this side of your prison cell.” I screamed. Sounds did not echo or move away from the tight area around me. For but a moment I truly stopped caring about my duties to the Fallen Ones, wanting only to save her and all the others, but...it could never be. “I will save all of you and allow you walk in the world freely, someday.” I added in a pained howl. My fist, now liquid night sky, striking the wall beside the scripting seal. With this, I let my powers flow forth to fill each line, each curve, and each symbol with the purest white light.

I rose slowly with great effort as both my physical and emotional reserves where spent now. I walked along my own invisible footprints through the darkness only mildly swaying while wiping the evidence of tears from my face. My face was set in stone as I exited the darkness through the archway where my companions waited. I could sense their concern but my footfalls had strengthened as I signal our departure. I knew they looked at me from time to time before giving each other a questioning glance. I ignored it marching forward towards the Herald as they followed.

I looked into the farthest reaches of the future that I could see, finding Galeä finally gaining freedom but unable to see the path to this outcome. Hints show me a great sacrifice of one of my children while a child born from a half-sister and half-brother holding the seal and true binding upon the creature as salvation. It made no sense to me at this time and felt disgusting as well but I could not simply ignore these hints. As we boarded the ship, I did not give the sailors a chance to retract the gangplank. A wave of my hand had it jumping back onto the deck nearly in position to be strapped down. The look of shock from the sailors and captain received a single worded order.

“Sail.” I stated bluntly. The ship shot forward before the sailors moved. The portal formed in our pathway as the ship still mostly unmanned raising to fly directly to it. The sailors looked shocked while captain Destine ordered them to their positions as the tip of the ship entered the portal. We exited on approach to Atlantis’ defensive outer reefs. The sailors moved into place jumping on their job while I stood motionless on the deck staring blindly ahead.

Meli and Sert looked at me but did not interfere in my imposed silent self-contemplation. Reaching the dock, I vaulted down to march directly home ignoring the gangplank and my companions. The two Captains barely had a chance to catch me deciding it safer to wait for my retinue. My form flashed from point to point as I rushed to reach my private room within my home in Atlantis. Cole had a more direct understanding that I wished to be alone. Cole was tossed aside as he attempted discussing the needs of the Council to me with a simple mental slash. I marched up to my room mental slipping the lock in place after closing the door. I finally dropped the furs from my body and moved with my ocarina to my open window.

As the ocarina touched my lips, the sorrowful song drifted outward as all the remaining emotions I could not release at the gate without destroying it poured forth. Hour after hour, the notes flew from my ocarina filling the air with sadness and bardic magic. The day slipped away as all I could do was pour out my sadness and regret being unable to help them. I would only find out later how potent my music truly was. Without releasing a good portion of my emotion during the symphony of sorrows with my lost brethren, I would have destroyed Atlantis on this day.

It had weaved its way into the magic shield of the island itself creating an event that has only happened once before here. A soft drizzling rain fell in patches around Atlantis while all felt a deep depression while I played. Finally emptied, I lowered the ocarina from my lips. Silence reigned for only a few moments before a soft knock was heard on my door. I moved to open my door finding Meli standing there with a tray of food in her hands.

“Chichi dropped it off for you a few moments before you stopped playing.” she informed me softly. Her eyes were red rimmed showing that she had been crying. I stared from her to the food on the tray. My body reminded me with a loud growl that I had not eaten in a very long time. I took the tray from her, mouthing the words “thank you” before moving with her. I went to the garden to sit on the dew coated ground placing the tray beside me on the bench. I picked at the food slowly eating while a hint of drowsiness crept upon me. Meli silently joined me placing a cup of tea by the tray and sat on the opposite bench looking at me.

“The gate hides more than a lone creature.” I finally told her after a sip of tea.

“Who are they really?” she asked, hushed.

“All my half-blooded brothers and sister from before the Ones above made war upon each other. I answered plainly. It did not give her more or less information that I had hazarded at the gate area.

“And when will you free them?” she asked hesitantly.

“I am not.” I returned slowly. “They will be given freedom by another.”

“You really hate yourself not being able to free them?” she said. I remained silent. “Alright, best you get some sleep since her Holy Highness will want an audience once you recover.” she informed me calmly.

“She will wait since we will be leaving shortly after I awake.” I retorted without emotions. “We visit the Amazons to find someone to reign in someone before his good deeds empties Atlantis of foreigners.” I added softer. A small smile and nod was my answer before she walked away. I planned what would be needed while slowly drifting to sleep. What remained of my meal feed the birds and other small animals in the garden including the house cat guarding me while I slept.