The Temple of Eternity
The Temple had been around since the earliest days of the Nalashi tribe. It was believed to have been built by the Na’leu, ‘the first people’, that settled on the wild Perishi Peninsula. Before the war, tribes had come from across the land to meditate and pray to the Wild Spirits. No tribe had ever owned the Temple, until the war. The Nalashi were direct descendants of the Na’leu and made their village close to the ancient wonder. But since the Noszarel had destroyed the Nalashi’s sacred forests several decades ago to further their expansion, the Nalashi tribe had forced out all the sick and wounded from the halls, along with the healers, and it remained shut for all other tribes. The other tribes lost respect for the Nalashi for that act, but the Conclave had other priorities they desired to meet before worrying about the thoughts of smaller tribes.
The healing druids had a different approach. Their bond to nature is stronger than any tribe’s allegiance. Any who come seeking health and wisdom were always welcome in the Temple’s halls, but they wouldn’t dare go against the Conclave, especially the Battlelord. To a druid, it matters not where one comes from, only where one goes to.
Arrazanal had been in the recently expanded healing ward of the temple. She was given her own chamber. Even though it was just large enough to fit a bed in, she was grateful she didn’t have to hear other patients cough or snore. Her healer had asked her many questions, most of which she could not recall, as he examined her injuries.
“You were very close in losing your eye, that injury would’ve killed most people instantly. You’re fortunate the spirits brought you back,” he said sitting on the bed beside her. His voice was calm and gentle, he reminded Arrazanal of a flowing river. She shuddered at the thought of water.
“I brought myself back,” she said shrugging her shoulders. She sat up readjusting her white healing robe and caressing the piece of cloth beside her eye, “how long was I asleep?”
“A day and night. Your siblings have been with you the entire time. Do you remember?” he asked scratching his frizzy purple beard.
“Nai, I don’t remember anyone speaking to me,” she replied.
“Ah, they and the attendants said that you were mumbling and making strange faces while in torpor. You must have been having quite the experience,” he said.
“That’s an understatement. What happened after I was brought in?” Arr asked.
“I’ll let your siblings fill you in, they’re just outside.” The healer stood up from her bed and walked over to the silk-curtained archway. A moment later, Zjelazanal’s face popped into view and quickly rushed to her big sister’s bed, almost causing Arrazanal to fall from her mattress.
“You’re awake!” Zjel embraced her and pulled her close. Arrazanal quickly pushed her off with a half a smile on her face. The healer shot Zjelazanal an irritated look. She recoiled from her older sister, wearing an awkward smile.
The curtains opened again. Dathazanal stepped in with two other men who wore traditional Nalashi warrior garbs. Their leather harnesses strapped across their bare chests and their loose cloth leggings were held up by a thick, silver studded belt. One of them had a shaved head and a thick bushy beard, like her healers, and the other one had no beard and shoulder-length black hair – a rare trait among Ezoni.
“Isanel and spirits send their sun, Arrazanal. Glad to see you’re finally awake. How’s your eye?” Dath said with a smile. He wore the warrior garb and his father’s serrated whip equipped around his waist. Arrazanal was almost slightly relieved to see her brother again, but she hid her relief behind a small head bow.
“It’ll heal. I see you’re now a neonate, Dath,” she said.
Dath shifted his feet and shot a sideways glance to the two other warriors. “Not quite. When Zjel came, I was at the barracks, and all of the trainees quickly rushed to the attack.”
The older warrior stepped forward and placed his fist over his chest. “Isanel, Arr. My name is Doshsinal. Your brother was clever to mobilise us and quick to create a plan to nullify the intruders.”
The younger was the next to step forward. “My name is Kaitajinal. Fortunately, it was only the three of them. I was the first one to take you from the scene.”
Arrazanal didn’t bow her head. Instead a wide smile spread across her face towards the young warrior. “So, what happened to them?” she asked.
“The two males died before we could capture them, but the female remains alive,” Kai said.
“We must question her immediately, the Noszarel must be plotting another invasion of the village,” Dath said glancing towards the healer.
“This is a place of healing; I will not allow the affairs of the war in these halls. While she is under this roof, we will help her regain her full strength before you ship her away for interrogation,” the healer said. His calm voice was now strained, and his deep, starry blue eyes narrowed. Arrazanal had just noticed their colour, perhaps he was part Noszarel.
“What, she’s here? In the Temple?” Arr asked looking to all the figures in the room.
“For now. Come, we must attend to our demented warriors. Bellemin I’aer.” Doshsinal said, patting Kaitajinal’s bare shoulder.
Kai turned and saluted one more time to Arrazanal before the two warriors turned and disappeared behind the silk curtain. Dathazanal watched the two warriors leave as he tapped his serrated whip. Arr sensed great distress inside her brother; his sunset orange aura shimmered to deep red.
“Would you leave for a moment, healer? I need to speak to my sister,” he said.
“Wait, do I have to go to?” Zjel asked.
“Just for a moment, if you will,” he said, walking closer to Arrazanal’s bed.
Their youngest sister sighed and reluctantly followed the healer outside the curtains, leaving Dath and Arr alone.
“It hurts you to see those warrior’s go on their business, doesn’t it Dath?” Arr asked. She surprised herself by vocalising her question.
Dath looked at her, his face flat and stoic. “You have no idea.”
“What did Dosh mean with the ‘demented warriors’?” Arr asked. It was unusual for her to hear insulting words from one elder warrior to others.
“A small handful of our scouts have been found wandering away from their stations. Kai tells me when they were questioned; they were disorientated and had no memory of how or why they left their patrols. Just another mystery leading to the next…” Dath trailed off.
“What’s on your mind brother?” Arr questioned. She could sense confusion and anger rattling within Dath’s consciousness.
“The Noszarel haven’t returned to this part of the peninsula since…well, since last time. While I was at the barracks, a hawk arrived. More of our people have gone missing,” Dath said, turning away and beginning to pace around the room.
“You mentioned something like that before, but…why are they disappearing? How long has this been going on for?” Arr asked.
“Kai tells me that these disappearances had started over a year ago,” Dath stopped pacing and turned to Arr, “The Noszarel are behind it, they must be. Their attack here is just too coincidental.”
“I wouldn’t really call it an attack” Arr’s nerves began to rise in her body. She could sense Dath’s emotions bubbling like a potion above a fire, “Why bring this up?”
“You had spotted them first. I don’t know how you did, but you were there. Did you overhear anything they said?” Dath asked looking deep into her eyes.
Arrazanal eased her back into her pillow, trying to simulate a calm demeanour, despite feeling moon-bees flying in her stomach. “I hid in the tall tree; I could barely hear a thing. They said they couldn’t be stopped.”
“I see,” Dath looked away and continued his pacing, “this whole thing is like a gigantic puzzle board with many missing pieces. Every added piece just leads to more empty spaces on the board.”
Arrazanal chuckled. “I can’t give too many pieces, I don’t have the full set I’m afraid,” she said.
Dathazanal stopped and turned to his sister. “If you did have any pieces, would you give them away?”
“Look, Dath, if there’s something you want to ask me then ask. Don’t be a benor’e and play mind games, they may work on everyone else, but not with me!” Arr said. She could feel her heart beginning to hammer in her ribs, but she tried to keep her breathing steady.
Dathazanal pursed his lips together before opening his mouth again. “This is an unsteady time, sister. We need to be able to trust each other.”
“You want to know how I found them?” Arrazanal’s temper was beginning to get the best of her, but she refused to disclose the truth to her obsessive brother, “I was out picking some vines, and then I heard shuffling in the bushes. At first, I thought it was an animal until I heard whispers. I climbed up the tree and found those three.”
“That just leads to more questions. If they were scouts, then you would have never been able to hear them, and they would have spotted you first before they executed you,” Dath said as he leaned on Arr’s wooden bed frame.
“I don’t know what to tell you. Seems like they weren’t scouts,” she said crossing her arms over her chest.
Dathazanal’s straight brows shot up. “Interesting. Why send three Noszarel into enemy territory that aren’t trained?”
“Maybe that’s something you can tell the Battlelord and the druids at your initiation,” Arr said, shrugging her shoulders.
A laugh escaped Dath’s mouth; this was the first time she had heard him laugh – even if it was half of one. “Afraid not, I need something bigger to give the Battlelord and the druids before that happens.”
“Is that all, Dath?” Arr said motioning to her bed, indicating her need to rest.
“Not quite,” her brother tapped his long fingers on the bedpost, “the healer told us that the female was in such a frenzied state that it could only be cast by a powerful psychic. No druids were in that area. The only people there were Zjel and…you.”
A lump of spit formed in Arrazanal’s mouth, she forced it down her throat quietly before opening her mouth. “I guess our druid mother passed on her gifts to Zjel.”
Dathazanal laughed again, but there was no humour behind his tone. “I guess,” he lifted himself off the bed frame and turned to Arrazanal, “rest well, sister.”
She watched him glide to the curtain and vanish behind it. These were indeed uncertain times, Arrazanal thought.
~
By the new day, Arrazanal could roam freely among the white halls of the Temple, as she had grown sick of counting the many burning herbs and crystals that lay about her chambers. Her healer removed the last bandage from her eye and commented on how remarkable it was she healed so fast. She had begged her healer to let her return home, but through his stubbornness he allowed her to walk the halls unattended. The Temple was significantly larger than Arrazanal had suspected. The last time she had visited, her mother was giving her sister life and then passed beyond the veil several short weeks later after hearing the news of her husband’s demise. This was not a place of joy for her, as it should have been for her family with her sister’s arrival.
The name given to the Temple of Eternity was in homage to the cycle of life, death and rebirth, which was something that most Ezoni had held sacred. This was further illustrated by a large white tree in the centre of the building that hadn’t ceased growing since the Temple's construction. Around the boughs and branches of the pale tree were runes delicately etched into the tree’s bark of all the names from those who were born in the temple and those who had died. Arrazanal would find herself staring up at the monolithic tree for hours, trying to read the names on it, but even her sensitive Ezoni eyes couldn’t see up to the fork in the trunk. Its roots were overgrown the stone fence around it, pouring out onto the white marble floors.
On one of the thickest roots, a name had caught her eye. She wandered over to it and focused her eyes on her mother’s name etched into the wood. It had been etched in twice, first for her birth here and second for her death. Sitting next to it was Arr’s and her siblings. She gently caressed her fingers over the carvings and thought about her mother. Where was she? Is she happy where she is? Is she reunited with Arrazanal’s father? So many questions left unanswered. Nalashi also believed in reincarnation of the immortal soul. However, few were gifted to recall their old lives, and Arrazanal was not one of them.
The druid’s teachings said that those in moments of great peril would be able to find their past selves, but Arrazanal couldn’t trust what they had to say – even if she wanted to. How can something so beautiful be true when her world was filled with such strife? As she caressed the tree’s roots, she felt a small current fly through her fingers from the tree. She could sense it trying to speak.
Those from troubled pasts carry their troubles to the future. They will never remember if they choose to leave the cycle unbroken.
Arrazanal quickly snatched her hand from the root. Images of the female who drowned her came to her mind. She remembered her appearance and what she had said to Arr before returning to the living, ‘succeed for both of us.’
“What wrong did she do that made me repeat the cycle?” Arrazanal whispered to the tree.
“Maybe she was evil,” a voice replied from behind her.
Startled, Arr turned to find whom the voice belonged to. Kaitajinal stood on the other end of the thick tree root, his black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and his eyes held a smile.
“I doubt it,” Arrazanal said as she rested against the root, “you don’t even know what I’m talking about.”
“Nai, but I can guess who you’re talking to,” he said pointing to the pale tree.
“Trees make fantastic listeners. Unfortunately, they don’t make wonderful talkers,” she said.
“In my experience, that one does. If you keep your mind silent for long enough, who knows what they and the Wild Ones have to say,” He said patting the etchings in the wood, “there’s consciousness behind everything. Remember that, Arrazanal.”
“You speak more like a druid than a warrior,” she said.
A sorrowful smile spread on his lips. “I should’ve been a druid. Those two castes are just halves of a greater whole, they are no different from one another. We both seek to protect life,” Kai said.
“That’s something my brother will have to hear from a warrior,” Arr said under her breath.
Kaitajinal let out a loud laugh, drawing attention from other healers and patients to him. “Dathazanal’s heart is in the right place, but he can be…”
“Obsessive? Furious? Ruthless?” Arr said crossing her arms over her chest.
Kai laughed again. “To name a few.”
He cocked his head to the side, his glance just past her eyes. “You heal very fast, not even a scar or a bruise.”
“The spirits seem to like me,” Arr shrugged, “so, what’s your business here at the Temple?”
“To see if the Noszarel is able to speak with me. Would you be interested in seeing her?” he said.
Arrazanal’s heart began thumping at the thought of seeing the Noszarel. Fear filled her mind at the thought of her outing her psychic abilities, perhaps she should make her relapse into another mania-filled episode. What would Kaitajinal do if her secret was known? Could he keep a secret?
“I don’t think she will be interested in seeing me,” Arr said.
“Perhaps your presence might help her remember why she was there. The healers said when she recovered from her mania, she lost a piece of her memory,” Kai said.
“She might go mad at the sight of me and try to harm us,” she said.
“Whatever she says or does, you will have my protection and my silence. I swear by it,” he said with a wink.
With small ease on her nerves, Arrazanal shrugged. “Lead the way.”
The two walked in silence across the Temple. They travelled beyond the healing wards and came to the death wards where the deceased were prepared for burial by the attendants.
Several burning questions rose within Arrazanal’s mind. How did Kaitajinal become a warrior if he had gifts and understandings of a druid? Did the Conclave know about him? Considering his openness, they should’ve known. Perhaps he sensed she possessed similar gifts within her and felt comfortable revealing the truth. How could he have ebony hair when Nalashi didn’t have such features? Stop thinking about him too much or he might know, she told herself.
“Do others know you have gifts?” Arr asked nervously. She watched his aura spark a baby blue hue, but his face and body remained calm by her question.
“The Battlelord and the Archdruid know. It’s difficult to hide gifts among druids, but Doshsinal was a friend of my parents,” Kai said glancing at Arr.
Arrazanal furrowed her brows. “Your companion from yesterday, why he knows?”
Kaitajinal laughed as he looked to Arr’s quizzical expression. “Can you keep a secret?”
Arrazanal’s brows shot up, her ear inched closer to Kaitajinal’s lips. “Because he is the Battlelord,” he said with a smile in his voice.
“Why would he hide his title like that among the village? He looks so ordinary,” she said.
“Well, if he goes around proclaiming to be the Battlelord and wearing garbs worthy of his title, then those northern heathens would try on his life. He must live to see this war through,” he said.
“You care about a male who’s turning the wheel of this war?” Arr said, immediately regretting her words.
Kaitajinal stopped and turned to her. His typically humour-filled eyes were now two braziers. “You’re awfully insensitive for an empath, Arrazanal.”
She glanced around, praying that no one had overheard him. “It’s just for someone who values life, participating in death is a strange concept,” She said.
“It’s no stranger than standing by and pretending you are not a part of it,” Kai sighed and rubbed his forehead, “That man is trying to finish what the Noszarel has started long ago, and he has been there for me since my parents died.”
“I’m sorry,” she said rubbing her forearms.
“The truth is, he allowed me to become a warrior after the loss. It’s my way of honouring them.”
The two stood in silence, neither one desiring to say something to hurt the other.
“Mine died during and after the attack on Nal’asha,” Arr said trying to ease the awkward silence, “when did yours pass?”
“When I was a knee high. They were both warriors. The Battlelord sent them with an expedition beyond the river and the Haunted Forest to find resources or something that will stop this war. They and the group never returned.” Kai said, adding a small shrug of his shoulders.
Arrazanal sighed; she glanced to his jet-black hair and remembered her last question. “I hesitate to ask, but what’s the story with your black hair?” Arr said.
“Now, that’s too personal of a question. One day I might tell you when I have learnt I can trust you,” he said as his lips stretched back to reveal a grin.
“And talking about our dead parents wasn’t personal enough?” she asked, her lips curved into a smirk.
“Come now, our captive awaits,” he said resuming his journey. Arrazanal rolled her eyes and followed his direction. He would have made a fantastic druid, she thought.
They came to a small chamber nearby the healer’s office. In front of the silk-curtained entrance stood two large guards. Clever to hide her here, but the guards made it too conspicuous if one had enough mind to figure it out, Arrazanal thought.
Kaitajinal saluted the guards, and they repaid with the same gesture. Before one of them could lift the curtains, a healer sprung from the station and hustled over to them.
“What do you think you are doing?” she asked with her fists on her waist.
“We’re going to speak with the patient,” Kai said calmly.
“I think not, she is resting. First time since you lot brought her here, she was screaming the entire night,” she said.
“Please, if there’s something she knows, we need to know it. Otherwise, how many more will fill up your wards – would you rather they filled this ward?” Kai said.
The healer sighed and dropped her hands from her waist. “Alright, but I will be there with you while you speak to her.”
“Thank you.” He said.
The guards lifted the silk curtains; Kai and the healer entered first. The air shifted; a smell of metal and wet sheets hit Arrazanal in the nose before she heard the healer let out a shriek. Arr rushed into the room, followed by the guards to see the female Noszarel lying in bed with two bloody vertical wounds on either side of her wrists.
“Get the attendants!” Kai shouted down the hall.
Arrazanal looked to the female’s bloody hand to see her grasping a small knife used to cut dry herbs. Her beautiful face was drained of colour, her mouth was agape, and her eyelids were only half shut. In an instant, the room was filled with other healers and attendants and Arrazanal was pulled out of the room by the guards.
She was in shock; the whole scene hadn’t been processed through her mind yet. She stood awkwardly in the hall as more people rushed to the chamber. Another name was about to be added to the pale tree.