Looking out of the doorway, Vexyna spotted Phantasmine standing demurely on the massive stone floor between two hooded figures.
Glancing back at Senomar, Vexyna noticed the opening she had just used was no longer present. She turned her attention to Phantasmine and her new friends. “Hello,” she greeted all three of them.
“Vexyna,” Phantasmine said. “This place is Nogard, an ancient land between lands.”
“Land between lands? You mean it’s an island?” Vexyna wondered why her friend seemed to be speaking so cryptically.
“An island of sorts, but not in the conventional sense.” Phantasmine was again not clear in her meaning.
“Who are your new friends?” Vexyna asked, changing the subject.
“They are your friends as well,” Phantasmine informed her.
“My friends?” Vexyna was again confused. Shock, wonder and delight all danced across her face in the blink of an eye as one of the men removed his hood. “Father!” she exclaimed as she dashed for his awaiting arms.
They squeezed each other tightly and Lanton said to his daughter, “I knew you would make it here.” He paused and his tone took on a somber quality. “But you still have a long way to go on your journey.”
“There are many things you haven’t told me, Father,” Vexyna admonished him. “You left me ill-prepared for this undertaking. Why didn’t you tell me more about your family tree? And just what is the deal with Mom?”
Sighing heavily, Lanton tried to explain. “Vex, it has to do with how much of our own destiny we control.”
“Destiny?” Vexyna looked for confirmation.
“Destiny,” Lanton repeated. “For the most part, we have control of our actions and are free to do as we please. However, there are events, significant in varying degrees, which have been mapped out by the universe ahead of time. These events will always happen. It’s part of what keeps the universe together. So, no matter what path one takes, these events will always take place in one manner or another.”
“What does this have to do with me?” Vexyna asked.
“I was hoping some of the events I just spoke of wouldn’t happen,” Lanton admitted. “I thought if we did this or that, you’d be spared your obvious fate.”
“What obvious fate? Sometimes you really make me…” Her words trailed off to silence as the other man had removed his hood. Eyes big as saucers, flush with unusual color, Vexyna wrapped her arms around him.
Sparkling teeth glinted in the light. A mane of white hair flowed freely. “Vexyna, I’ve missed you.”
“Trulo.” She buried herself in his chest and held him tightly. “How I’ve missed you so.” Tears welled in her eyes and trickled slowly, drop by drop down her cheeks.
Lanton said, “For me, you have thinly veiled contempt, but for your boyfriend-”
“That’s not true, Father,” Vexyna said. “It isn’t contempt I feel for you and Trulo isn’t my, my…” Gripping Trulo’s arms so his hands locked over her wrists, she gazed up into his eyes and said, “I love you, Trulo. I know that now with all my heart.”
“Vexyna,” Trulo said, returning the emotion in her gaze. “I know you do. You have already shown it.”
“I have?” Vexyna wondered.
“Yes. It was you who saved me in Shojiki and made it possible for me to make it Nogard.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I didn’t either until the nature of Nogard was explained to me,” said Trulo, still holding her right hand with his left. “Come this way.”
The four walked away from Senomar across the large stone courtyard towards some sandy-colored bungalows. Doorways and window frames without doors or windows greeted them. The buildings themselves seemed to be composed of layers of sand.
“This is the sort of thing I’d expect to see in the Oweesh Desert,” Vexyna commented.
“Where did you think Nogard was?” Lanton asked.
“I thought Nogard was an island. Who ever heard of an island in the middle of a desert?”
“You’ve never heard of a sea of sand?” came Trulo’s rejoinder.
Lanton motioned for them to enter one of the sand buildings. It was sparsely furnished with a few rugs tossed here and there amidst the odd chair or table.
They walked straight through the building and out the other side.
This side of the building offered an entrance into the forest. A well-trodden path led the group to a grand stone building. The support columns and roofs on the multi-tiered structure were gleaming white. Cold gray slabs of stone made the walls seem impenetrable. Smaller rooms were stacked on top of larger rooms, piling up to a single room perched at the summit. Up to this high room led a long chain of stone stairs.
“You must venture the rest of the way on your own, Vexyna,” Lanton informed his daughter. “Know that my love and courage go with you.” He bowed his head as he turned away from her and added under his breath, “No matter what happens.”
“My love and encouragement goes with you, Vex,” Trulo said as he started to give her a hug, then decided to press his lips against hers.
She responded passionately. Pulling away, she said, “I know.”
Trulo moved slowly away from Vexyna and went to stand beside Lanton at the bottom of the stairs.
Vexyna looked at her other white-haired friend. “All of this is getting to be pretty overwhelming,” she confessed. “I’m not getting enough answers.”
“Many of the answers you seek are waiting for you at the top of those stairs,” replied Phantasmine. “Go find out who you are.”
“What’s waiting for me up there? Do you know?”
“I may have some idea, but it is best you ascertain the truth yourself. I shall be waiting. Be strong.” Phantasmine took up a place at the bottom of the stairs with Trulo and Lanton.
Vexyna had already begun to mount the stairs when she turned and descended again in order to speak with her father. When she got back down the five or so stairs she had climbed, she found herself alone. The three were gone. Unnerved by this turn of events, Vexyna began to climb the stairs once again. This time, she realized, there would be no turning back.
Never-ending steps sprawled forever upwards. It gave Vexyna time to think, but she couldn’t keep her mind on one thing. Her only overriding thought was, what is at the top of these stairs?
Finally, the stairs gave way to a short balcony. Torches blazed in wrought-iron holders protruding from the walls on either side of the entrance from the balcony into the stone room. A purple veil curtained the entranceway. Vexyna penetrated the veil.
Upon entering the room, Vexyna noticed it had no ceiling. Night sky filled with stars stretched in all directions. “Wow, that’s pretty,” she said.
“We did not bring you here for the view.” A deep male voice spoke.
Vexyna reeled around to face the silver-haired man who had spoken. “Are you going to explain to me exactly what is going on and how I fit into all this?” she enquired.
“Many things will become clear to you after our visit,” the man assured her. “Please give me the candlestick you have in your possession.”
“My grandmother’s?” Vexyna asked needlessly. “Did you know my grandmother?”
“I know your grandmother well. For eons, she has been my companion.”
“Companion?” Vexyna examined him closely. “Are you my father’s father?” She blinked a couple of times. “Are you my grandfather?”
“Yes,” he answered. “I am Qrxyn.”
“Crick zinn? Our family’s last name is Zinn?”
“No.” He glared at her with intense dark eyes. “My name is Qrxyn. Crick-zin. Say it quickly. We have no need for surnames.”
“Can I call you Grandpa?”
“No, you may not.”
“So, what’s your deal, Not-grandpa-who-really-is?”
“I am also one of the Avatars of Dazartan.”
“I don’t understand.” Vexyna was perplexed.
“Dazartan’s physical body i
s no more capable of movement within this plane than is Dacreel’s,” her grandfather tried to explain. “Thus, he manifests through us, his avatars.”
“How many avatars are there?”
“There are three in the Sacred Triumvirate. My brothers and I are the keepers of Dazartan’s crystal. We are ever diligent in our search for the means of freeing Dazartan.”
“What does that make me?” Vexyna asked.
“You are a part of the most sacred bloodline of Nogard,” Qrxyn intoned. “Abilities you have never dreamed of await your bidding. Remove your glasses. You have no need for them now. Please hand me the candlestick.”
Dropping her glasses in one of her cloak pockets, Vexyna scooped out the candlestick and placed it in Qrxyn’s hands.
Qrxyn inserted the candlestick in a spot on top of the stone altar in the center of the room. “Before we begin, there is more you must know.”
“There’s plenty I should know,” Vexyna said slowly. “What did you have in mind?”
“This candle is a binding candle. It was used many years ago to bind part of your true nature.”
“My true nature?” Vexyna was intrigued.
“Part of who you are has been locked inside this candle. In order for you to continue your quest, you must now accept that part of you back inside your mind.”
“The voice I heard when I lit the candle,” Vexyna mused softly, “was my own?”
“Yes,” answered her grandfather. “It probably begged you to free it.”
“It did,” Vexyna responded.
“We will once you are prepared. I must tell you about your mother.”
“Mother? What can you tell me?”
“Vexyna,” Qrxyn said as he looked directly into her eyes. “The tales of the woman who steals men and drains them of life are about your mother. Your mother is Langsuyar, mother to the Throne of Life.”
“No!” Vexyna screamed vehemently. “That can’t be! Din, the Red Empress, is the daughter of Langsuyar.”
“Indeed she is,” lamented Qrxyn.
“What?” Vexyna was incredulous. “I thought there could be only one successor to the Throne of Life.”
“That is the way it is supposed to be; however, this latest Langsuyar was able to give birth to two daughters by two fathers. You, Vexyna, by my son, Lanton, and Din by a commoner. You are both in line to take the Throne of Life. It is of utmost importance that you, Vexyna, and not Din, sit upon that throne.”
“Does that mean that I have to start running around draining men of their life forces?”
“No, not at all,” replied Qrxyn. “As one of noble blood, you should be able to control your urges. You are the perfect balance between the two gods. You are charged with stopping the threat of the house of Langsuyar forever.”
“How?”
“By assuming the Throne of Life. You do not have any energy to give to Dacreel. But you do have the strength to seal him in and stop him from coming.”
“Seal him in? How?”
“When the time is right, you will call upon the power of the Tiger’s Triangle. The time for its use will make itself clear to you. Look deep within your heart and nurture the light within. You will require a holy relic and the aid of the Sacred Sisters in order to summon the Triangle. Your mind must be prepared before releasing the essence of Dacreel from the candle and you are swept up in his madness. Fortify your mind and body within the temples of this tower. Take time to embrace the lessons you are being taught, but be as expedient as possible.”
Qrxyn led Vexyna to one side of the stone chamber and revealed a set of stairs spiraling down to the floor below the altar chamber. Pointing down the steps, Qrxyn said, “Below, you will meet Alexdander, S.B.C. He will guide you from here. Be quick. Be thorough. Be at one with the wisdom of your lessons.” His image faded in waves of color.
“S.B.C.?” Vexyna called out, but she was alone.
Chapter 14: The Lessons of Alexdander