The Gods of Garran: Chapter 26

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A novel by Meredith Skye

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During the next day the group traveled closer to the sea. Sindke said that they should reach it by nightfall. The land became more solid. At least they were through the marshes.

Morrhan appointed himself Asta's unofficial guardian and stayed close to her. They spoke little, but Asta found his presence comforting. Occasionally they smiled at each other, but then she remembered that this assignment might not end well. Morrhan mustn't influence her. She had a job to do.

For a year she'd worked as an Enforcer, hoping for this chance to get into the Stealth Unit. She'd had no time for relationships.

Or was that true?

She just didn't want anything to come between her and her goals. Is that why she pushed Ruben away? Was she afraid a boyfriend would be an unwanted distraction?

Now, riding now alongside Morrhan, Asta realized that she felt lonely, maybe for the first time in a long time. She'd always felt that she didn't need anyone and that she was fine on her own. But it wasn't true. The thought made her even more angry at Morrhan who wouldn't stop treating her more politely than a Garran should.

The Garrans were the enemy, especially those in rebellion to the Chanden High Realm. If Ruben didn't kill Morrhan, he would probably be arrested for his part in this expedition.

Towards midday they came upon a terrible sight that stopped them in their tracks. Miles and miles of burned land. It shocked the senses to come out of that riot of green plants into an almost endless patch of black. Asta felt as horrified as the rest of them.

Before anyone spoke, she knew what had happened here. Garran plants contained an irritant, something not compatible with Chanden plants. In order to plant crops, the Chanden often burned acres of land to clear it. She had no idea the great empty place it left on the countryside.

"The Chanden did this," spat Jarvaine. "The bastards should die!"

Sindke raised her hand to silence him.

"How can they do such a thing?" asked Morrhan, his eyes full of disbelief. Asta felt ashamed. She wanted to explain but couldn't. And even to herself now the explanation seemed weak. Chanden preferred Chanden food so they destroyed the local ecology in favor of a new set of plants—foreign plants. Chanden arrogance again. The Garrans weren't fools; they knew the wrongs the Chanden committed.

They continued towards the sea through the endless black hills. Death. Ruin. Was this the Chanden legacy? It weighed heavily on her mind—the casualness which they destroyed so near a place sacred to the Garrans.

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In the early evening they came upon a small farm. Here the land had been converted to Chanden crops (food that Asta highly preferred to the bland Garran vegetables). They stopped while Jarvaine and Draiha scouted ahead. Stalking this farm made her nervous and Asta hoped that no violence broke out between their group and the Garrans. If it came to a fight, Asta didn't want to have to attack her own people in order to keep her cover. The thought ate at her.

Morrhan sensed her uneasiness; he glanced at her but she avoided his eyes, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

Soon the others signaled a come-ahead and Asta followed the others forward, with trepidation. As they approached the main complex Asta saw the bodies strewn about—Chanden farmers. Dead. Shocked, she stopped her yithhe to stare at them.

Jarvaine and Draiha met them there. "Dead—all of them," he said. "And good riddance. The less of them here the better." He spat.

"They've been dead a day, maybe," said Draiha. "No evidence as to who did it."

"White Storm Clan—I'd lay a bet on it." said Jarvaine, "I say we kill any Chanden we find."

Asta held her tongue, though she wanted to speak out. To her surprise, Morrhan did it for her. "That would be foolish," he said. "To what end?"

"They deserve it!" shouted Jarvaine. "You saw what they did!"

"They've done worse than this," said Sindke quietly.

"Killing them doesn't solve things," argued Morrhan, "It only makes it worse. They're too strong. We can't fight them."

"Not until we get the god-stone," said Jarvaine. "Then—they will pay."

Morrhan said nothing but didn't looked at all convinced. Was he the only sane one among them? Asta shivered. But she understood their anger at the burning of the plants. There was a terrible wrongness to it that she couldn't rationally explain.

The group traveled the rest of the evening in silence, for which Asta was glad. They found a spot to camp and set up a watch.

Asta curled up and, though worried, finally fell asleep. But her dreams were long and troubled.

She dreamed that she stood in a wide, ash-filled field and walked ... and and on. How long she walked, she had no way of knowing. Time seemed to stop in the endless dream.

Asta trudged through the wilderness, until she came to the sea.

No shore graced the sea, only high cliff walls upon which the angry sea threw itself continually. On the edge of the cliff a moonstone pylon, made by the gods, towered over the landscape. Towards this, Asta walked.

She stood there on the edge of the cliff.

The sea churned below the stormy sky. Asta could feel its anger and understood it. She felt the strength of spirit of the sea, and it spoke to her in words she couldn't quite make out. Images came to her mind: fire, brimstone, craggy rocks, a tall rounded mountain.

Beneath the water lay an ancient city. Almost she could see the people that once inhabited it, could hear a music full of mystery. Whisperings.

The music called to her, just out of reach.

If only she could get closer ....

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Something jolted her out of the dream, as though she'd been hit by something. She struggled awake to find herself laying on her back on the hard rock. Morrhan lay on top of her. She cried out and tried to get up but he held her down, restraining her wrists.

"Morrhan!" she shrieked, struggling against his hold.

She'd kill him! If only she could reach her knife. Again she tried to break his grip, but he held her fast. What was he thinking!

"Get off!" she yelled. At this, he released her and got up, freeing her.

Quickly she sat up, embarrassed at this impropriety. Then as her senses returned, she realized she really was on the cliff near the pylon. All the others stood around her.

"You should not have done that!" said Sindke, angry.

"She would have thrown herself off the cliff!" argued Morrhan. Asta struggled to her feet, still trying to grasp the situation.

"I think not," said Sindke. "Now the dream is broken."

Asta stared around at them. She had done it again—the sleepwalking and they had let her. Had followed her. "What—?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," said Morrhan, partly to her, for wrestling her to the ground, and partly to them.

"What is going on?" she demanded.

"You have led us to the god-tower but we have yet to discover the meaning of it or where the god-stone is," said Sindke.

"I don't know!" said Asta. But none of them believed her. How else had she led them here? She felt a little dizziness. Morrhan reached out to steady her.

"She's worn out," he said. "Shouldn't we rest now?"

They had walked all night to the sea, following her. Asta, feeling a little more steady now, walked back near the edge of the cliff and looked out at the sea. It looked as it did in the dream—stormy, mysterious, angry. And she could see towers sticking up out of the water. A submerged city in the distance. The dream had been true.

Almost she could hear its voice but now it was muffled and fading. The images were gone.

Sindke watched her closely.

"What is this place?" asked Asta.

"It is called Maerreth," said Sindke. "An ancient Borrai city—destroyed a hundred years ago by the Chanden. The name sounded familiar. Asta had heard the name before—the underwater city of the gods.

"Is the god-stone here?" asked Sindke.

"No," said Asta, surprised at her answer. Then feeling more sure. "No, it isn't."

The others exchanged glances. "Then where?" demanded Jarvaine.

Asta walked back to the moonstone pylon. There were two symbols on it, neither of them Asta could read. "What does it say?"

"Fire and earth," said Sindke.

"Fire and earth?" echoed Asta.

"What does that mean?" asked Morrhan.

"It's a place," said Asta. "Fire and earth. It's where the god-stone is hidden."

"Fire and earth?" asked Jarvaine, dubious.

"Some sort of mountain," said Asta.

"The Northern Cones?" asked Sindke. "Yes, the mountains are strong in stone there. Akannus, the earth god—that is his domain. The stone would be there." She looked to Asta for confirmation.

"Yes," Asta said slowly. "A large rounded mountain of fire."

"Then that's where we'll go," said Sindke.

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