Time Being-1
The Time Being
Chapter 1 of The Stories of Dreal
I was born and bred an Elf, or Kellis, on a desert plain. My people were nomadic; we pitched camp where we could, when we could, lived in little clothing, but that to protect us from the sun, and called our plane Barranaire, after a distant memory of the first of us to come here.
I knew by the legends of those whom passed on that our people were not originally of this desert-world, but from another place, far away. A world named Kellistenaire (from whence we got our name--the Kelliste). They had grown to be most proficient in their magic, and had built the most magnificent cities, and had toyed with the other beings of their world. The souls of the Sea had taken form and overpopulated beautiful Kellistenaire, and had driven many of the other animals to extinction. They conducted wars with dangerous magical items of destruction. There came a time when they had to find new place to live and breed.
The more environment-conscious of the ancient Kelliste had opened a portal into the Sea of Souls and, taking the remaining animals with them, they abandoned Kellistenaire to spread out in a vast smattering of Kelliste through other worlds.
Of course the ones who are now dead had passed the stories down from generation to generation through word of mouth and written books. We had no idea how the other Elven traveling groups had done in the worlds they tried to enter. All the animals that we had brought to Barrenaire had died, because food and water was scarce, and we Elves survived on what we could, and we prospered, and adapted, to some extent.
I was told that our race was very light-skinned as are the Barriste, the natives of this world, and that our skin became darker generation after generation because we were almost constantly exposed to the sun, and so dark skin was a protection against the sun's burning strength.
My skin was brown, a shade the oldest of my people called "bark". I knew vaguely that bark grew on trees. However, I had difficulty because I did not know rightly what a tree was. I knew what plants were, and a tree was an overgrown plant. Ok, that I could accept. But what was "bark" anyway?
My eyes were a blue that the eldest called "Sea Blue"--the blue of large pools of saltwater. I barely saw collected water in my youth. I knew only what I had to. I knew the world that I was on, and why would I need to know anything else?
My people had carried magic down through our generations, so we were Mages. We worshipped the Belekim, another race on this world, as though they were gods. Perhaps some of them were.
I was Dreal the MageMaiden, and my power was SoulReading. This included AuraReading, and a minor form of SoulTouching. I suppose it was special that I could see what no one else could see. I kept the knowledge of my extra-perception from the Kelliste.
Usually Elven couples would have but one child. I was one of three. My siblings and I enjoyed touching each other's Souls and practice at Reading each other. One was an EmotionReader, or Empath, and the other was a MindReader, or Telepath. Our powers were all along the same lines, but only I could really SEE everyone, in light or dark.
I never told anyone that I could See thus because you aren't supposed to be able to see an Eternal One, a Belekim. I enjoyed watching the Ardar-Belekim, the twins who were called Xaron and Warren, they would often be together riding the winds of Time, and gliding into and out of each other's Time-Space, becoming one, then becoming two again, then one again. I watched this show of love, and often wished to become part of it. I grew and learned under the witness of Warren and Xaron Joining.
I was able to study the Eternal Ones. They were twice the height of a Kelliste in length (if they could be physically measured), shaped like a cone of sorts, one large eye at the wide end, about two feet wide by one foot tall, and the cartilage and gristle body extending out of it, to shaggy points at the end.
They had no hands, arms, nose, or mouth etc. Just the eye, but they needn't eat, and their speech was some type of empathy, and we could understand each other, through thought as well.
I became friends with Xaron when I was a little older, just coming of maturity. I had no difficulties growing up, especially with the powers I had. Mostly I was called MageMaiden because no one ever found out the full extent of my powers.
When Xaron alone came to play, since the long life of a Belekim required frequent distraction, I told her that I could see her. Every now and then, Warren would come too, and the three of us would play games. Of course a game for a Belekim was much more serious to an elf than was any Elven game.
I especially loved when they would Join, because I could see the whole thing. They would just become one Being, larger than any I'd ever seen, and Xaron and Warren were already the largest. I was so tied to Xaron that I lost my identity as she did when she joined to Warren. It was always beautiful.
I wanted so badly to fully become part of it all, and Xaron decided to give it a try... so we tried each other on for size. We were alone that day, for Warren was elsewhere doing as he would.
It seemed that the Elves had developed a defense against intrusion into their souls. Xaron complained that she had to extract a key from me to get into this spot. The key was much like a name that would allow access into that spot so that she could comfortably find a place for herself. I had felt a wrenching as though a deep secret were torn from my soul, but Xaron left no scars.
She had just settled comfortably, abating the slight bleeding of my soul where she had wrenched my key from, when she felt distressed for a moment.
"What is it, Eternal Twin?"
"No longer can I find my Sibling. Where in my soul he was, now I find is empty!"
"What does that mean?"
"My soul! Where is my soul?!" panicked she. "Warren!"
I tried desperately to soothe her, but she thrashed about in my soul. I found my body on the sand in a moment, and thrashing about. I grabbed and desperately held onto my key, my identity, which was Leen.
"Leen! Leen! Leen!" I echoed in the corridors of my soul. "Oh, Xaron! Please!" I soothed her, panting, tears spilling unchecked into the sand. Every breath was a sob, choked off by the fact that I couldn't breathe, anyway.
Finally, the choking sobs subsided.
"Xaron? Are you all right?!"
I felt her presence inside of me sink down, behind my key, Leen, and into a depth that I hadn't really known was there. Something told me that she'd gone all the way to my soul in the Sea. I stood and tried to pull myself back together.
Speeding across the planes came a blinding essence. It was coming straight at me, and I almost panicked until I saw that it was Warren. I felt comforted to see him, until he was so close by that I saw his panic.
What had I caused? I wondered.
Where is Xaron? Do you know where Xaron is? Where is my Sister? He sent thoughts across the alternates to me. He floated there, just in front of me, waiting for a response. What could I do, what could I say?
"Warren, I've seen Xaron, she came to me today, and I showed her how much I wanted to be like you and her."
Where is she now? He pushed. Did she go away?
"Well, yes, she went into the Sea a few minutes ago."
The Sea! She wouldn't have disappeared from my awareness like this otherwise.
Xaron began coming up from the Sea and back to my soul. I felt her come past Leen, to the very front to see what was going on.
Almost immediately, I noticed the change in Warren. His tail began to whip about, and the sky darkened, the first clouds I'd seen in the longest time flowed in from only the Belekim know where. Warren's form began shifting, and my awareness was tossed from the body perspective to Warren's as he became FLOWSENSE. Only Xaron remembered. Xaron became FLOWSENSE, taking Leen with her.
Before there were Souls, that's where I was. I screamed in fright and agony, torn. The pain brought Xaron out, as Warren thrashed, and lightning came from the clouds, smacking into the ground, splitting even the tiniest grains, making glass out of others.
Xaron closed the cut in my soul that Warren's tail had thrashed into it.
Show me my twin! Came the rough demand, like the rolling thunder as the heavens crashed down in pain and agony. Xaron stretched out past Leen, out of my body, and touched Warren gently.
"I wanted to see the world through the eyes of the Kelliste. It is too late, this is how it shall be. You'll see, it shall be so again."
HOW could you do this to me!?! Don't you see how much I need you? Don't you care about me? How could you leave me alone, to worry, to wonder, to search! I couldn't find you!
You disappeared! DISAPPEARED!
I was rent from my awareness as Leen, back into Warren's FLOWSENSE.
Empty... all is empty. I am awareness without soul... I am alone. There are no others to comfort. I don't want comfort. I don't need. I don't want. I am alone and angry. I have been not-alone, but I am alone again. No Other. Where has Other gone? Find Other.
Rent, my soul is cut. Where? Where is it? Can't find. Kelliste... where soul? Where? YOU HIDE MY SOUL! GIVE ME MY SOUL! I MUST hit you, I must TEAR my soul from you! GO AWAY MAGE!
As the first drop of rain on my forehead jerked me back to awareness with a start, I tossed my head, and found I was no longer on the sand,Warren was no longer before me, but Xaron was still inside of me.
Over many years, maybe even centuries, Xaron and I travelled through many different alternate realities together. We grew together for a short time, but eventually we grew apart until the day that we separated. Our growing together was a time of wonder and power for me, our growing apart was an excersise in lonliness and abandonment. If you would like to read more about me, please write to Criss and request that Dreal continue to write her stories.
This story was dictated into Windows Write with DragonDictate, then transferred to the Macintosh enviornment.