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A Soul Remembers: Chronicles of Akashi - Chapter 45

Updated: Oct 16, 2022


Forty-five

The Haunted Forest

Moss-covered tents and straw huts were pitched across the grounds. A tiny community had existed within the heart of the forest for years beyond the knowledge of everyone north of the peninsula’s neck. Kaitajinal threw himself in his mother’s arms. She let out a wail when she embraced her son for the first time in a decade.

“Am I dead? Is this a dream?” he mumbled in her shoulder.

“Nai, you’re here – after all this time, you’re here!” she said pulling away from him as her fingers combed through his hair.

The community gathered from their tents and huts to greet the newcomers. There were children of mixed Nalashi and Noszarel heritage that huddled by their parents. A relief washed over Arrazanal knowing that they had put aside their differences. A Nalashi male who appeared as an older version of Kaitajinal came sprinting over. His short violet hair was wrapped in a tight braid that sat at the base of skull. He called out his son’s name before opening his arms and wrapped them around the female and Kaitajinal. Arrazanal looked to Larizinal. The corner of her lip was stretched into a smile, but there was sadness behind her eyes.

“I don’t understand, I thought you were dead, but you were here all this time?” Kai said looking between his parents and Larizinal.

Her hand pushed his face back to her. “This is going to be difficult to understand-,”

“Then explain it,” Arr said and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Arrazanal-,” Lari said through a strained tone.

“Why didn’t you come home? Why did you leave me behind?” Kai said.

“We tried to protect you. We never meant to leave you,” his mother said with eyes full of tears.

“How in the spirits were you trying to protect him? He became a warrior to fight in a war that you two ran away from!” Arr said.

“We wanted to protect him from the Battlelord,” Kai’s father said. His fiery magenta eyes glared into hers, “my mate and I had served under him for many years, but we didn’t want to fight anymore – we didn’t want to bleed for something that was so meaningless!”

Kaitajinal’s mother patted him on the shoulder. “Doshsinal knew our feelings and he also knew we had a son,” she said looking to Kaitajinal, “to avoid losing moral, he suggested that we go on an expedition to this forest knowing its reputation. We took everyone who shared the same feelings and ventured here, prepared to die. That’s when we found this community; that’s when we found Larizinal.”

Arrazanal looked to the old druid, but her eyes were cast to the floor.

“So, what is this place?” Kai said glancing around the mixed crowd of Nalashi and Noszarel.

“To some it’s an escape, to others it’s a second chance to make something better than what we have left behind. Larizinal gave us that chance by bringing anyone who wanted to get away, she brought us all together.” Kai’s mother said.

“May I have a moment alone with Arrazanal,” Lari said, she beckoned her to follow to the edge of the tree wall. She and Kaitajinal exchanged a nod before he interlocked his arms with his parents and walked away with the rest of the crowd along with the former prisoners she had rescued.

“So, what are they calling this place?” Arr said, crossing her arms.

“Ran’asha, after their new name: Ran’leu,” Lari replied.

Arrazanal smirked. “Ran’leu? They’re calling themselves ‘the new people’? A bit unimaginative,” she glanced up at the druid “so, are you their leader?”

Larizinal scoffed. “I’m too old to be a leader, especially a leader of anything new. This place took me years to build, but it took me a lifetime to make this choice,” she said.

“At the mountain pass, you were never trying to look for any missing people, you knew they were here,” Arr said.

Larizinal nodded. “I sensed there were some captive Nalashi in the village, but I was trying to keep all mental tracks hidden from probing Ezoni – Noszarel scouts and ours. When you came to me, I was ready to tell you in, but you had hidden company,”

“Incredible that you hid them for so many years. You’ve done something that most would consider impossible and kept them safe. You’re their hero,” Arr said, trying to make the elder smile with her own.

“A druid is not a force of good or evil, they’re a force of balance. Ran’asha is a way of correcting my wrongs,” Lari said.

“What wrongs have you done?” Arr asked, watching her closely.

“Before the war, I was a druidic prodigy and was welcomed by the Conclave as the new Archdruid,” Lari sighed, “but when the Noszarel burnt our forests and transformed the land into mere farms, I was enraged unlike I had ever been before. And with that rage, I pushed the Nalashi into war.”

Arrazanal’s stomach turned. She placed her forehead into her palm. “Who else knows this?” she asked after a long silence.

“The only other surviving Conclave member: Battlelord Doshsinal. Back then, he was reluctant about my ‘proposal’, but it wasn’t difficult to compel an ambitious young man. It would be easy to blame him, but I can’t. Please Arrazanal, keep Ran’asha and this old woman’s shame a secret,” she begged.

Arrazanal bit her lip and sucked in a lung-full of air. “If I had known this earlier, I would’ve slain you for everything I had lost.”

“I know,” Lari said, strolling to a small emerald tent beside a smiling tree, “please, allow me to bring you something back.”

The druid slipped her hand through the folds of the tent and pried them open.

Arrazanal looked down into the tent. She saw a Nalashi girl wearing a white robe wrapping a bandage around Rhysennos’ serrated leg.

“There’s someone here to see you, Zjel,” Lari said.

Arrazanal’s heart wanted to jump out from her throat when the girl turned her head. Zjelazanal’s eyes bulged in her sockets when she saw her older sister standing outside the tent. She dropped the bandages and jumped into her tight embrace. Arrazanal could barely open her mouth to speak as her tears wetted Zjelazanal’s hair.

“I missed you!” Zjel cried.

“And I missed you. When the school announced that you were missing, I thought the worst,” Arr said pulling back to look at her sister’s swollen, tear-soaked face.

“School?” Zjel said with a risen brow.

“That’s a story for later. I tried sensing you for weeks, but there was a powerful block that prevented me from finding you. Were you here in the Haunted Forest this entire time?” Arr asked, looking between Zjel and Lari.

“When the second attack came, a group that was passing through the meadow came to the house and pulled me out. They said that everyone was heading to the mountains. I thought I’d see you or Dath, but we didn’t find anyone and lost our way. That’s when this forest spoke to me Arr, it called us to come and so we did,” Zjel said as her smile slowly faded, “is Dath with you?”

“It’s just Kai and me with a couple of others that we rescued from our village. Dath was with us, but...” Arr shook her head sadly, “at least you’re safe and alive. Once I take you back to Haven, everyone will be thrilled to see you!”

Zjelazanal seized up. “Arrazanal, I’m not going anywhere.”

“What in the spirits do you mean you’re not going anywhere? You belong with your people; you belong with me,” Arr said.

“These are my people, Arr. I found a place where I’m needed and not scared anymore,” she said looking back to her tent.

“Lari…” Arr said glancing at the druid.

“Zjelazanal has found her place,” she said placing her papery hand on Arr’s shoulder.

“You could stay here and help me with healing, you know,” Zjel said, her lips curling into a smirk.

“And what about Dath? I can’t just leave him behind,” Arr said, “can’t you sense him, Lari?”

The old female shook her head. “He’s beyond my senses now, the birds have gone silent this night and the sun is coming fast. Come, I’ll find you and Kai a place to sleep.”

Zjelazanal pushed herself in for another embrace. “Don’t run anywhere ever again, you silly benor’e.”

“Never.” Arr said kissing her sister’s forehead.

~

Arrazanal stared up at the moth-eaten holes in the ceiling of her tanned cloth tent. The sleeping matt was even itchier and smellier than the one she had been sleeping on in Haven, but she had grown accustomed to sleeping on strange beddings over the last few months. The light of the day was seeping through the tent. She covered her eyes with her forearm to force herself to sleep, but that didn’t dull the sounds of the villagers going about their morning outside.

Her exhaustion was greater than her ability to sleep. She tried to reason with her unsettled mind that Zjelazanal was alive and unharmed, and that many had felt the same way about the war that lead to the creation of Ran’asha. However, her attempts at reason didn’t quell her racing mind. When her eyes closed and her thoughts dulled, she saw her brother’s face and the others still left at Haven inside her mind’s eye.

The tent folds pulled back to reveal Kaitajinal stumbling in. His foot caught on the empty mat beside her and he nose-dived into the thick fibres. Arrazanal sat up, pulling her thin covers over her chest as she watched him roll around helplessly on the floor.

“You alright?” she said having her brows stretched so far up her forehead that her muscles ached.

Kaitajinal lifted his head up to show his red eyes and goofy grin. “Never felt better,” he said.

“What’s with you?” she asked. Her nose picked up an odour emanating from his skin and breath, “and why do you smell like rotting plants?”

“Because I had just drunk something made from rotting plants,” Kai said sitting up on his legs. He placed his hand on his chin and rolled his eyes. “Nai-o, what I meant to say is that I had a drink with some of the warriors of this village. The Noszarel here are a lot nicer than I thought.”

“What did you drink to make you so…” Arr said.

“This stuff,” he said as he pulled out a long maroon pouch and held it to Arr’s face, “I don’t know what it is, but the Noszarel said that it makes you feel stronger. To be honest, I don’t feel much of anything…” he said followed by a giggle.

“I assume it’s not water,” she said.

“Oh no, they call it cherry wine. Wanna try some?” Kai said waving the pouch.

“I think I’ll pass,” Arr said, pulling the sheets over her shoulders and readying to lie back.

“Go on Arr, live a little. They said it also makes you sleep better after a battle or was it before a battle?” he said, squinting his eyes trying to recall his recent past.

Arrazanal said nothing. A moment barely passed before she pulled out her arm and grabbed the pouch. She flicked the lid open and let the crimson liquid pour down her throat.

“That’s it, drink the whole lot – wait, leave some for me,” Kai said, trying to snatch it back.

Arrazanal swatted his hand away as she gulped the sweet, warm wine. As she passed it through her mouth and down her throat her tongue remembered a similar burning caused by a drink that Larizinal had given her on her voyage to Emasaran. As she slowly emptied the bag and the last few trickles of wine ran down her tongue, she wiped her mouth and tossed the pouch to the side.

“Ah, I told you to leave some for me,” Kai said. He looked to her and a toothy grin stretched across his face, “how was it?”

“It was fine,” she said resting back into the mat.

“What’s bothering you? You’re worried about Dathazanal?” Kai said resting his head on his hand on the side.

“I don’t know what could’ve happened to him, he was supposed to meet us in the woods,” she said biting her lips.

“Look, Dath knew the risks involved – as a warrior he knew there’s a chance he won’t be making it,” Kai quietly said.

“But why couldn’t I sense him? If he had been captured or killed then I would’ve sensed a tidal of emotion from him,” she said.

“He probably masked and snuck away to kill off some Noszarel warriors, spirits know,” he said.

She wanted to speculate on her brother’s whereabouts, but a part of her wanted to leave that question unanswered. Her lips curled into a faint smile as she glanced at Kaitajinal. “When I was in Emasaran, they didn’t have cherry wine.”

“You never mentioned what happened on the island,” he said, trying to control his wobbling arm under his head, “is that where you met that good Noszarel?”

Arrazanal nodded her head slowly, she felt the cherry wine filling her veins and heating her limbs as she moved. “Yes.”

“I can feel that you had a great compassion for them, and they for you – so you believe,” Kai said.

“Kai, what are you doing? I don’t want to talk about it,” she said.

“Why not? What could you possibly say that could make me think differently of you?” he said.

She closed her eyes and sighed, the smell of the wine rippled from her breath. “It’s a painful memory-,”

“Your first love,” he said. His eyes were half closed and a gentle smile grew on his lips.

“And I’m a fool for not saying it to her sooner. I’ve never felt anything like that for anyone before and I doubt I ever will again,” Arr said as tears began stinging her eyes, “please, keep this just between us.”

Kaitajinal sighed, he shifted closer to her. “You’re a fool to think I will tell. This is between you, me and the spirits,” he whispered before placing his cold hand on her wrist, “and you will love again.”

Kaitajinal’s head slipped from his palm and dropped onto the thick mat. His eyes slammed shut and a deep snore rippled from his gaping mouth. She looked to his hand which was still holding her wrist. She felt a tinge of guilt for a growing compassion for him. She slipped through his unconscious grasp and intertwined his fingers with hers. The guilt began to disperse when she felt herself travel to her subconscious world.

In her sleep, she saw the monolithic tree of Emasaran, its thick branches and leaves opened to reveal Sheek’zeer resting in the heart of the trunk. The great god-like lavender tiger was resting on her wooden throne and her orange eyes were glaring down at Arrazanal.

“Why have I been brought here?” Arr called to the tiger, shivering under her gaze.

“To judge if you are worthy for this gifted life,” Sheek’zeer replied.

“My worth? I don’t understand,” Arr said.

The giant feline leapt from the tree. The ground shook under her weight as she slowly circled Arrazanal. “You have committed atrocities in the past, whether doing them by your hand or failure to speak out against them. In this life it is your final chance to right your wrongs.”

“How can I right the wrongs if I don’t remember them?” Arr said.

“You do not remember, because, like many others, you choose not to remember them,” Sheek’zeer growled. Her eyes locked on to Arr’s. The tiger’s hypnotic gaze punctured through Arrazanal’s mind so deep that she felt her very essence being shredded.

Inside her mind’s eye, she saw a black snake standing on its belly; the serpent hissed and transformed into a tall, black hooded figure with shining scarlet orbs radiating from her eye sockets. Arrazanal studied the hideous creature as fire burst from its hands. The flames spun around incinerating everything and everyone caught in it. The creature cackled in delight as the fires roared, overwhelming her vision.

In the ashy darkness, she heard her heart thumping violently in her ribs when her ears heard a raspy voice come from her own mouth.

“They hurt me; so, I hurt all of them.” It whispered. Arrazanal’s felt her eyes sting with tears as she realised the hooded monster is her – it was her.

A faint blue light appeared in the centre of her vision. A small purple hawk was flapping its wings slowly in the dark. The bird shrunk and transformed into a shining blue fist-sized crystal and pulsated against the black background. Arrazanal’s eyes drifted to a mocha-coloured face walking out from the shadows. Her long white hair draped over her shoulders and her golden eyes were illuminated by the crystal. Arrazanal remembered that female from a previous vision, but the female was oblivious to the Ezoni’s presence.

“We caged them like animals. Combined with their power and my silence; they destroyed us.” the female whispered. Her face stiffened as she stared at the crystal. The light pulsated and with each wave it grew brighter and hotter until Arrazanal felt her skin burn and her eyes melt inside her head. The pain came as quickly as it went, and she found herself on the grassy soil of Emasaran with Sheek’zeer standing above her.

“I was them?” Arr whispered, clinging to her temples.

“Yes. You were a mindless murderess Von-wratha and a weak, egotistical Delta. In those lives, you had left too many lives ruined behind you,” the tiger said.

She lifted her head to meet Sheek’zeer’s amber eyes. “I’m not like that anymore! I would never do what they had done!”

“You have yet to prove that, with Ezoni lives at stake – this is your last chance,” Sheek’zeer said.

“Whose lives are at stake? The Nalashi in Haven? My brother?” Arr asked, jumping to her feet.

“Many Ezoni lives,” the tiger said standing on her hind legs. Her fur fell away revealing lavender skin; her paws turned into hands; her snout shifted into a round smooth face with long magenta hair tumbling around her shoulders. Arrazanal’s mouth hung open as Yasenanos appeared before her standing tall with her shoulders back. Two beautiful pink irises sat in the centre of her eyes and her plump lips curved into a warm smile.

“Do the right thing, Arrazanal, no matter what happens,” she said.

Before a word could leave Arrazanal’s lips, a blinding light flashed behind Yasenanos followed by an ear-splitting explosion. The thundering boom made her heart leap inside her ribs. It beat so fast that it felt like it was going to break. She shot up in her bedding, as if the dreamt explosion had thrown her physical body forward. Her skin was wet with sweat and the sheets had twisted around her legs.

“Wake up, wake up both of you!” Zjel’s voice called from the opened tent. From the outside, Arrazanal could see the sky was turning into a vibrant violet. A sudden moan came from Kaitajinal as he rolled over to see her sister’s panicked face.

“Zjel? What’s-,” he mumbled.

“Lari needs to see you, she mumbled about Dathazanal being held by the Battlelord,” she said.

In one motion, Arrazanal pushed off the mat and leapt through the tent curtains. The sun had almost vanished from the skies to reveal the sparkling stars blinking in the darkened heavens. The air tasted fresh, but with the darkness came a chill that Arrazanal had remembered from fourteen autumn’s before. Her admiration for the natural cyclic changes was stolen from Larizinal’s pleas for hers and Kaitajinal’s council.

The cherry wine had long since vanished from her blood and mind, yet she felt a tingle of numbness draw from her legs as she bolted after Zjelazanal to Larizinal’s hut. She could hear Kaitajinal stumbling around behind her, trying to catch up to the girls. Her eyes travelled to the Ran’leu villagers huddled around the old druid’s tent. Their worried faces were exchanging the looks as they whispered amongst each other.

The three of them rushed past the hut’s beaded curtains. Larizinal was not alone in the hut. Kaitajinal’s mother and father sat cross legged on an ornate navy mat. The old female was hunched over on her mat. Her skin was soaked with sweat that accentuated her wrinkles.

“The birds are speaking, I hear their song about him,” she muttered. Her jaw was clenching at something troubling in her thoughts.

Arrazanal rushed to her. She pushed her fingers into the druid’s tight fist as she looked deep into her eyes. “You found my brother?”

Larizinal squeezed Arrazanal’s hand. “Doshsinal was furious when he returned to Haven, but Dath had something to quell his fury: a journal and a mountain to make their final strike against the Noszarel. With their commander dead, it’s the perfect time… I see them dragging a boulder-sized sack now.”

“They’re going to make bursting powder to destroy our home?” Kai yelled.

“They wouldn’t… Dath would never allow that,” Zjel said. Her voice was little over a whisper.

“He would, he’s beyond saving now. It’ll only be a matter of time when Dosh turns his eye to the Noszarel village and blow it into the next life. After that… Perishi won’t be safe from him,” Arr said, “Lari, what’s their target? That would be enough to wipe out the whole of Nal’asha!”

“The aim is not the heart of the village, but something more sacred: The Temple of Eternity,” Lari said.

“We have to stop them, we need to move our warriors to stop them from entering the village,” Kai said turning over to his parents.

Kaitajinal’s mother sighed. “Though our heart aches, it is not our home anymore. All Ran’leu have pledged to keep away from those affairs.”

“It maybe not your home anymore, but it’s still ours. We cannot allow this to continue!” Kai said.

“I understand your pains my son, however, we had to leave it all behind when we came here,” she said.

“A warrior’s duty is to protect innocence and preserve the balance of life – this is what you and Doshsinal have taught me,” he said.

“I’m no warrior, but Doshsinal has already broken his honour, will you?” Arr said.

His mother changed glances with her partner. “We will not partake in fighting, but we can offer support. You can have riding elk and all the weapons you need,” she said.

“Thank you, mother.” Kai said with a small bow.

Kai’s mother and father embraced him. “Come back to us, both of you,” she said looking to Arrazanal.




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